Mile Two

I am now down twenty pounds! In five weeks on the diet, I have now lost 21 1/2 pounds. Yeah!

I've also started moving all of my things from the house in Horseshoe Bend to my new house in Batesville. I hope I don't have to move anytime soon. I really, really despise it. Loathe it, if you will.

Luckily this week I am on Spring Break. Good thing to, because on top of moving my entire life, I am sick, again. BOO!!!!

I am the Spector of Death!

At least that's the way it feels. In all my 32 years on this earth and through all the cross-country travel I've done through the farmlands of Arkansas, I have only seen one, count them one, dead cow.

Until this week.

I think I've counted at least six dead cows in pastures close to the road since Monday. I don't know why they catch my attention, but there they are: lying on the grass, usually beginning to bloat, with their tongues hanging morbidly out of their mouths. Strange, I know.

And that doesn't count the three birds I've killed on my way to school this week. Seriously, animals here is your last chance. If you see me coming, run the other way.

Mile One

February 10th brought about a lot of changes for me and my mom. About two years ago, she joined a weight-loss program and did a great job, losing almost eighty pounds. Well, two years later, she and I both had not accomplished what we wanted in regard to our weight. Weight has been something my family deals with on a daily basis. There are very few members of my family that are not considered obese to morbidly obese by medical standards. I've been on mom since before Christmas to go back to this weight-loss program. Her blood pressure, breathing, and other health factors were really starting to scare me. And then I thought, well, if I'm griping at mom for this, I might as well look in the mirror and gripe at myself about the same things. So I did.

We cut out caffeine, sugar, and salt; began drinking what seems like a million gallons of water; and began eating properly portioned meals. I've started exercising every day between 30 to 60 minutes a day. I'm really excited about the progress so far. In four weeks, I've lost almost 17 pounds and 22 inches. I've dropped my blood pressure from the first reading of 146/91 to 121/76. And I feel so much better. And I can already tell a difference in mom too.

Please keep us in your prayers. Willpower can only get you so far; sometimes divine intervention is needed to change lives the way we are trying.

I hate being sick...

I've been diagnosed with bronchitis. I hate coughing, I hate coughing, I hate coughing. It's not my favorite thing to do. Let alone, the nose blowing or the not being able to breath. I missed the last two days of school because of this. Not fun in the slightest!

On another note, because of the ice, our school district was originally going to have to make up four days. The school board wanted us to fore go our spring break to make up the days. All the teachers vetoed that one! After the state forgave two of the days, we now only have to make up two days. This is going to be a lot easier to do. We already have to go two days after Memorial Day in May, so why not go the whole rest of the week anyway!

Ahh, just think- only 61 school days to go until Summer Vacation!

Monthly Report

I really didn't mean to go for almost a month before putting up a new post. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, lots of things have been happening. January 26 brought some light to heavy rain that decided to freeze as it fell. Because of that, I lived without electricity or phone at my house for almost two weeks. Okay, so I didn't live there when there wasn't electricity, I was at my parents' house, but the point is I was displaced because of the storm.

We were out of school for six days and are still suffering from the effects of the ice- no phones and internet at the elementary and no drinking water at the high school. Yes, I said no drinking water. Brockwell is under a boil order, so all the drinking fountains and such have been turned off. Each day, students and teachers are given one bottle of water to last all day. Mr. Walker, our superintendent, has filed an appeal to see if we can have the days we missed forgiven so we don't have to go through the middle of June.















The community in and of itself looks like a tornado has gone through it. A large quantity of trees are either down or have lost or broken branches. Houses have suffered lots of damage from falling trees and branches, not to mention the weight 3-4 inches of ice plus 5-6 inches of snow puts on roofs and trees. We're trying to get back to normal, and it looks like we are going to survive, as long as the tornadoes and straight line winds don't tear down all the work the electric companies just completed!



I officially am a homeowner. We closed on the house last week, so all the papers are signed and the deed to the house is now in my name with mom and dad. It's going to be so fun getting this house ready. As you can see from the pictures, there needs to be a lot of work. The previous owner had her own style of decorating that does not include good taste! I've been working on color pallets and flooring choices, and wishing for new furniture. We'll see what happens in the near future.

***Warning***
Viewing these pictures may cause you to want to vigorously clean your house and may insult your aesthetic sensibilities.

We also welcomed a new member to our family. Jonathan and Melanie adopted a full blooded black German shepherd named Black Jack Special, or Jack for short. He's a beautiful dog and absolutely huge!

From January 2009

Anyway, all's good here.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Lots of things have been going on over the last two weeks. School started back with a bang, the previous choir director at my school was convicted on 16 counts of sexual assault, my grandmother is home from the hospital, I got a new cell phone, and MY DAD BOUGHT ME A HOUSE! I'll have pictures in a few days. I'm so excited!

Don't Forget to Eat Some Black-Eyed Peas Today!

It's been a crazy few days around here. Christmas was really fun, all the wrapping paper has finally been burned or taken away by the trash men. All the chaotic mood changes have really had me a little on edge- a family can only spend so much time together without driving each other crazy. And my grandmother is in the hospital (keep her in your prayers- it's not supposed to be too serious, but with hospitals, the more prayer the better!). Yeah, I've had a fun couple of days.

So, in order to bring me all the good luck and prosperity I can glean in the New Year, I'm making sure to eat some black-eyed peas. Plus, I need to make sure there's a tall, dark-haired man walking through my door as the first visitor in the new year. Some of these superstitions are kind of fun and crazy. But, I'm certainly not going to chance the black-eyed peas!

I've watched the ball drop in New York Times Square and am planning to watch my favorite parade in the morning, the Tournament of Roses Parade. Happy 2009 everyone!

Some fun New Year's memories:

Mid 1980's

Cramming what seemed like 25+ family members into our small house in Jonesboro, watching the ball drop, sleeping on any available flat surface, watching the Tournament of Roses Parade, and hoping it will snow to keep us out of school for one more day.

1995

Sitting in the airport in Miami, watching the aviation repair men weld the wing back on the plane I was about to board.

1998

Spending some time with Jamie and Rachel in the big town of Green Forest.

1999

Partying like it's 1999 in Orlando with all the other crazy Arkansas fans in Florida for the Citrus Bowl.

2000

Hoping the world didn't crash down on us as we partied out 1999 and welcomed the new millennium in Dallas with my other bandies.

2001

Unpacking from the free trip to Las Vegas. What's not to like about free?

2003

Spending the day with my family, eating and hoping the Hogs can win.

2006

Hanging with my buds and letting the New Year ring in with a bang, and maybe some man soup in the hot tub!

2008

Hanging with the family and watching the Hogs get slaughtered, again.