Mad hot ... Jenn?

I watched Mad Hot Ballroom yesterday and found myself completely enthralled by a bunch of kids from New York City in their efforts to learn ballroom dancing and compete in a citywide competition. I was amazed by the language some of the kids used (and I don't mean foul) to describe other students, their feelings and their surroundings. These were fifth-graders, and they were expounding on the reasons why girls are more developmentally advanced than boys. Then, others would easily articulate the challenges of their lives and forcfully insist they wouldn't end up dealing drugs, pregnant as a teenager, etc. despite all of the pressures from their environment. I cried along with one of the school's teams when they realized they wouldn't be going on to the finals and cheered whole-heartedly when another did. I highly recommend this film to anyone looking for something out of the norm. And, who knows, maybe I can convince my husband to take ballroom dancing lessons with me?!

It's that time of year again ...

It's my birthday today, and this morning, my husband had me open a present from him before leaving for work. It was a pair of Life Is Good pajama pants, a cap and a very cool mug. When I pulled the PJs out of the bag and held them out in front of myself, Jason said, "try them on!" I hesitated and said I'd rather not try them on in front of him (because just by looking at them they looked like they'd be too small). So, after he left the room, I got out of bed and immediately slipped them on (the operative word being slipped!). There was no tugging or pulling involved; I just slipped them on! Mind you, they must have intended them for Amazonian women as I was walking on them, and they are an XL. But, hey, they fit! So, I immediately ran to the kitchen to show him, and he gave me a really big hug. Amazing, just truly amazing.

And, to top it off, he sent some absolutely beautiful flowers to me at work! Yeah, I think I'll keep him. :)

Unhappy Halloween

We had not one trick-or-treater last night. I'd even dressed up as a spider lady for the day ready to give out candy to the kids. Our neighbor told us not to expect many kids, if any, but I put up lights and carved some pumpkins. So, I thought maybe that would help encourage the few kids in the neighborhood to come down, but alas, not a one. I truly do not understand why, but this fact depressed me. So much that I had a strong desire to eat some of the candy I had ready to give out; the chocolate just smelled so good. I refrained, but it was really hard. And, that, honestly was the first time since surgery that I'd had such a desire to use food as a comfort. Up until today, I honestly believe I've just been using food to sate my hunger. I'm not saying I've been perfect (I've given in to reduced-fat potato chips a few times.), but I really think I've done well at not using food to make me feel better emotionally. Last night sucked, though, to say the least.

Speaking of despressing subjects, my sister had to have an emergency appendectomy last week. They were able to do it laparoscopically, so I've been trying to help her by describing my experience with laparoscopic surgery. But, as of today, she's still feeling weak, is coughing and has had signs of a fever. So, the Dr. told her to go back to the hospital for more tests. Her 9-year-old is taking it all pretty hard (given that their house mostly burned down a little over 2 months ago and she was already stressed out about that), and it just kills me that I can't be there to help. Both of their girls are heavily involved with activities, and couple that with the stress of school, losing just about everything you own (which is your whole world when you're 9) and having your mom unexpectedly go into the hospital for surgery, it's amazing these girls don't break down more. I just wish I could do more.

On to happier things, though. People are really beginning to notice (and comment on) my weight loss! I went to a Chinese restaurant with my parents this weekend that my husband and I used to frequent quite often. We'd been there regularly enough that the waitress/owner had gotten to know us. So, when this weekend I walked in by myself and didn't receive the normal warm welcome I'd become accustomed to, I was surprised. I thought it might be due to the fact that we hadn't been there in a while, but once my parents arrived, she recognized them right away. And, then it clicked; she came over to give us our menus and said to me, "You're so skinny! I didn't recognize you!" Dang, did that feel good!!

Trick-or-Treat

I love Halloween. I don't know exactly why it is, but I do. Maybe it's because as a child my parents were never into it, so I never had a very good costume or anything. They'd let me go trick-or-treating and everything, but it wasn't a big deal to them at all. So, recently, I bought some candy to give out to kids on Halloween and decided to take some in to share with my co-workers. I've had it there for about a week, and every day I have to refill it. But, I've been very good. I haven't had one piece of the stuff despite the fact that in previous years it was the one time of year I'd allow myself candy. Although, I will admit I did buy myself a small bag of sugar free York Peppermint Patties. I've had a few, but it's not something that I'm really drawn to anymore.

And, further bolstering my resolve, I had to get a new ID today, and when the person taking my picture saw what my old picture looked like, she was thoroughly shocked! I hadn't looked at my old ID much, and now that I have the new one to compare it to, I just can't believe the difference!! It's soooo fabulous!!

Too little sleep ...

makes a very wonky Jenn. We had a power outage last night at about 1:30 am. I sleep with a white noise machine, and as soon as the power went out, I was up like a bolt. Jason wasn't in bed, so along with the dead silence and pitch black, it really freaked me out. The power didn't come back on until 4:30am (just a half hour before the alarm was set to go off), and during that time I got probably no more than an hour of sleep. So, today, I've been thoroughly run down and completely exhausted. I can't say that it's any worse than it would have been prior to surgery, but who knows! I just hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon!!