10.29.2010

This is a commercial break

I needed some gifts recently.
5 items that were similar, but not all exactly the same.
Something that could be a constant reminder to the recipients.

And then I remembered Keight, my friend and fellow blogger who can sew just about anything.
And she has recently opened up a custom order blog site full of all kinds of neat custom made items.
And I had my answer- I purchased 5 keyfobs from Keight.

All unique and beautiful and all made by hand.
No store bought gifts would have done.
And if you are looking for a custom made gift, you too should give Keight a try.
Her prices are reasonable and her gifts are beautiful.
But hurry and make your orders quick- she's due to have a baby girl any minute!
Here's what's next on my wish list: a jewelry roll.




10.28.2010

In it to win it

We were both surprised at our weekly weigh-in this week.
I really thought I might have lose less than a pound or maintained.
But I actually lost 2.2 pounds! Bringing my total to 16.6 pounds.
I am beyond thrilled!
And Evan got a lecture from our leader about how he's losing way too much weight.
He has managed to shed 28 pounds in 8 weeks!!
And that goes against all of the Weight Watchers rules.
But I don't think they realize they have one determined man on their hands.
So, I'm thinking they should just tell him Good Job! That's what I'm doing.
And there you have it, this week's recap and 44.6 pounds less of the Bryants.

10.27.2010

Happy Birthday Dad!


I feel certain my dad does not know what a blog is.
And he certainly does not know that I spend countless hours recounting my life on this blog.
But I felt it necessary to wish my dad a Happy 64th Birthday here, just so that you the blogging public would know that I adore him.
I truly love my dad with all of the love in the world.
He has always been the sweetest, most gentle soul.
And of course, I'm his favorite.
So Happy Birthday to my dad. I love you.

10.25.2010

Future Dork


Haley got her first laptop at age 9.
I'm thinkin' this kid will probably be way ahead of that.
He loves to play on the computer.
And he can beat your tail at Bubble Town.
I just hope that he makes money with his mad computer skills as an adult.
I'm afraid he might prefer to just live in our basement and play computer games.

10.22.2010

The Incredible Shrinking Man and his wife

Dear Friends, The picture at the bottom of this post should totally make your day.
If my memory serves me correctly, Evan and I started dating in late November 1996 and this picture was taken the next month in December 1996. We had been dating a month.
It was taken at Evan's dad's graduation from a Masters program at Tech.

As you can tell, we did not pick each other because of our good hair.
Evan had some strange slicked back Mafia look going on.
And I had yet to let go of my big bangs.
We were hot right?
But what I would like to point out most about this picture is how scrawny we were.
This was obviously before we figured out we both like to eat!
I know for a fact that Evan was at his skinniest size as an adult.
And I might have been a buck twenty.

And guess what?
Evan is getting pretty darn close to the weight he was in this picture.
Dude has lost 24+pounds in 7 weeks!
It's so bad that Weight Watchers is sending him hate messages about how he needs to consult with his doctor because he's losing weight too quickly.
What they haven't factored in to his weight loss is that he's burning 600-700 calories a day running. He's become a health machine. My hero.
And I haven't done so bad myself.
I lost 3.2 lbs. this week. Bringing my total to 14.4 pounds. I like it.
And I am officially right below the point were I told myself I would get a little reward.
So I'm pretty excited.
And I also told myself that I wasn't buying any new jeans until I was down 15 lbs. or more.
So hopefully next week I can get a new pair.
The one's I'm wearing now are lookin' a little droopy!

10.21.2010

Second guessing

I keep telling myself I did the right thing.
But I'm not sure.
I keep telling myself that she will thank us in the end.
But I feel bad.

I took Haley yesterday to get her new expanders at the dentist.
They are like retainers, but a little more complex.
So complex that they are widening her pallet and moving her entire jaw all at the same time.
Oh, and they are straightening her teeth. And correcting her bite.
But to get all of that done, she has a mouth full of wires and plastic.

It's very sad.
The most outgoing girl I know is now reduced to mumbling and having this pitiful, awkward look on her face. She tries to smile but she just looks like she is wanting to tell the world to shove it.

I understand that eventually she will get used to her new mouth.
That what we are doing is best for her long term.
We are saving her from having to have major braces in middle school.
But it's hard to watch my sweet girl not only deal with pain, but also her new appearance and altered speech.

But I will pray for her. And I will do all I can to make her comfortable.
And I have promised her a special gift for enduring those stinkin' retainers.
So hopefully it will all be ok. Hopefully.

10.19.2010

Move over Tony Hawk


Britton is very rough on shoes.
I'm not sure he has ever had a pair for more than 1 month without wearing them out.
It's pretty amazing actually. He can wear the soles out, rip holes in the toes, make them smell like death and embed them with mulch in just one wear.
So recently, it was time to replace his shoes.
I should mention first that the kid got his feet from me.
And I got my feet from my dad.
Basically, we have block feet.
They are as wide as they are long.
Like Fred Flintstone.
And it is IMPOSSIBLE to find shoes for this type of foot.
But we found the secret this past weekend- skater shoes!
Specifically VANS!
Our cute little man is hard pimpin' some skater shoes.
And he loves them. And we love them because they slide right on.
Apparently, skater shoes are super wide because of how flat and spread out they are to keep you on a skate board.
Who knew?
Well we do now. So all shoes going forward will be some awesome shade of black or gray and might include skulls and crossbones.
But if it means I don't have to pry the kids foot into a shoe every morning- skater shoes it is.
I should also mention that as soon as we said his shoes were made for skaters, Britton was insistent that he needed a skateboard.
I'll call you when we get out of the emergency room.

10.18.2010

Camp Voice of Truth

Evan and I have these 2 really awesome friends, Nadeena and Mike, who have an amazing vision. They have the vision for a Christian Family Camp.
Somewhere that families can go and enjoy a weekend together.
Somewhere that kids can play, parents can enjoy time away from the hustle of life, and a place where God is the center of all things.

Right now, the camp is starting to take shape.
It's on a really big piece of property in rural Lanette, Alabama.
In the picture you can see the expanse of the property.
Right now, it's simply a few graded roads and a bunch of trees.
There is also a bath house that was constructed this past year.
But there is a 10 acre lake under construction and within a few years there should be 4 cabins and RV hook-ups for campers.



Bath House

This past weekend, our family and several other families went down to help out with a few small projects and the hang out.
We did a little tiling in the girl's bathroom and the guys built partitions for the shower area.
Simple stuff that will make a big difference.

But the best part was that we all enjoyed hearing about the vision of this great place and how God is at work.
We also had little lessons throughout the weekend about having a true relationship with God.
And the relationships that we already had with the other families there were strengthened this weekend with our time spent working and playing together.
We truly had an awesome weekend!

I'll leave you with two pictures. The first is of Mike reading form the Bible at the highest point at the camp. It's a simple picture, but it's beautiful to see a man who is giving it all to God to control. And he and Nadeena are in 100%.


And finally, this is a picture of some of the kids that were with us this weekend.
The pile of rocks in front of them are rocks that have been carried up the hill by each person who has come to visit Camp Voice of Truth.
The kids took turns placing their rocks and it is the hope that in the years to come, they will return to this place with family and friends and maybe they can find their special rock.

I hope soon this pile of rocks will be huge. I will love for everyone to get a chance to visit this neat place.



















10.15.2010

Time to catch up

I've been asked a few questions about some posts that I have written in the past.

Seems like I've been leaving some of you in the dark and you need closure!

So here it is, the rest of the stor(ies)...



1. The boy in my office- the one with the new girlfriend

They dated for the better part of 3 months.

They were inseparable.

Until he decided he needed some "breathing room".

I think she freaked him out by telling him she loved him.

So they broke up on Tuesday.

He broke up with her.

He was nice about it.

And now she is stalking him.

Non-stop texts and phone calls.

I expect her to show up here at work at any moment.

Ca-ray-zee!

Poor girl.

I hope she realizes there are many more fish in the sea.

One's that don't mind being smothered.

And really girl, he's not all that.



2. My ATM pin number

Did I ever remember it?

Nope.

Did I go 6 months using it as a charge card?

Yep.

And why you ask?

Part of it was embarrassment.

Couldn't bring myself to go to the swank bank in Peachtree City and tell them that like a moron I couldn't remember my pin number. The one I had had for over a year.

The other reason is that our effing bank has an bleeping branch manager that leaves at 4:00 every day. And she is the only one that can change a pin number. So since I get off at 3:30 every day and work in College Park, I was never able to time it right to get there when she was there.

And I'm pretty sure that the tellers there would laugh at me every time I showed up at 4:02 asking for my pin changed.

But low and behold, one Saturday morning, at Evan's STRONG urging, at strutted in at 10:30 and caught that crazy branch manager woman pulling a Saturday shift. HA!

And now I have a new pin number.

And I gave my ten year old a secret question that she is supposed to ask me in the event I forget it again.

Hopefully she remembers that question.

Otherwise, we will look pretty stupid at the Kroger saying, "What's the question Haley??"

"I don't know Mom, if you'd remember your pin number I wouldn't have to remember some question!" And so on and so forth.

3. The house remodel
Not happenin'.
We got this ridiculous quote from the builder.
And his sidekick was too lazy to type up a real proposal.
He kept calling Evan on the phone with "the numbers".
And seeing how Evan puts together estimates and proposals every day for a living, we weren't having some nimrod ripping our house apart without specifics.
And I'm scared of the whole process.
So there has been no talk of the remodel since.
We will just be happy in the home that we have the privilege of owning and affording.
Shouldn't we be thankful we have a home?
Yes we should.
End of story.

4. And I don't know what else?
Anything I forgot to update?
If so- let me know.
If not, keep up the reading.
And have a great weekend!

10.14.2010

Can you tell a difference?


The picture on the top was at the beginning of my weight loss journey.
The picture on the bottom is after 5weeks and 11.2 lbs lost.
I can't tell too much of a difference, but I really do feel better.
And I've gotten some really sweet compliments.
This cute man at church stopped me and said, "Well you've just gone and gotten skinny on us!"
I still have a long way to go, but I'm excited about the future.
And did you notice the hair?
What do you think?

I Don't Remember

I had this conversation with our daughter Haley last night.
She asked me a simple question about something that happened last week.
Starngely enough, I can't remember what she asked me.
Because that was yesterday.
And I don't remember the details of yesterday.
And I don't remember the details of last week.
So I couldn't answer her question.
And before you go off and assume I must have a drug or alcohol problem, let me assure you I don't. There is nothing I do that messes with my mind.
I simply don't have much of a memory.
I know this all sounds odd.
It is odd.

I have a few theories about why I am the way I am.
The first involves my hospitalization when I was pregnant with Haley.
For about a week I was sedated on and off. And I was on the worst drug ever- Mag Sulfate.
I'm just convinced that some time during that week, my brain decided it was done storing information long term. I distinctly remember ( That's weird isn't it since I just said I can't remember) thinking that my mind was different after that week.
And then there is my thyroid. I have a really awesome underactive thyroid. And one of the issues that goes along with a non-functioning thyroid is "brain fog".
Problem is, my fog seldom lifts.

One interesting fact about my weirdo condition is that I can in fact remember some things much better than others.
I am pretty good about remembering phone numbers.
I am great at remembering dates, but not so good at times.
And that might be it.

Everything else gets shuffled into my head and out not long after it entered.
Don't ever expect me to remember your name!

So there you go. Another post where I am being honest.
Do you think I'm crazy?

10.12.2010

Vroom!


My latest creation for Giggle Gowns.
Hopefully this gown will make some young man battling cancer smile.
I am LOVING my sewing for a cause.
It warms my heart.

Eyes Wide Open

I have not felt like being on a diet this week.
I'm tired of eating chicken and veggies.
But I know in the long run that eating right will make me healthy.
And that's what I want to be, healthy.
So when I was discouraged and ready to eat some bad for me meal today, I was sent a visual gift.
I was sitting in the parking lot at Wendy's eating my plain baked potato and side salad.
Not the meal I wanted- I hate Wendy's.
And as I sat there, I thought about how nice a Frosty would be.
Or some french fries.
And then I looked in front of me and I saw the Pizza Hut parking lot.
Ohhh- pizza. How I love pizza. I would love some pizza.
But then the focus of my attention changed and I began to look at the droves of people filing into the Pizza Hut. Most of the were local Delta and Airtran employees from the airport.
And they had all ridden in cars to get to Pizza Hut.
What I noticed most about these people though were that they weren't fit and lean.
Most of them had love handles and guts. The typical picture of an American today.
There was the occasion slender companion, but I imagine they were there for the socialization.
And then I turned my attention back to Wendy's and I noticed that a large number of people going into Wendy's had walked from work to eat.
And they were often times leaving with one of those familiar bags you get when you order a salad.
So I took one look at my potato and salad and was thankful I decided to eat that for lunch.
Because I want to be an example of good eating.
I want to take care of the body that God gave me while I am here.
Thank you Pizza Hut for scaring me straight!


10.08.2010

Slowly but Surely

Weigh In #5
I had my lowest weight loss on record this week.
But I still lost 1.2 pounds. Not so bad.
It puts my overall weight loss at 9.4 lbs!
And that got me over my 5% Mark.
I was pretty happy even though I was hoping for a little more.
The fact that I have reduced my body weight by more than 5% is awesome I think.
And with 5% more, I should be able to get off of blood pressure medication.
That is my dream.

And my smokin' hot man did fabulous again this week. He was down another 1.4 pounds making his total weight loss 17.4 lbs!
He's getting close to being down right skinny!
But he's working out hard and I love seeing the muscles.

Together I think we are really enjoying our adventure in weight loss. There are times when it sucks not being able to just pig out. But most of the time we just view it as a challenge.
SO that makes it fun. Like a game.
How will I/we get through social settings without eating too much?
Mostly, we are able to do it because we are doing it together.
We are a team. And it's working out great.

Here's to next week- when I hope to be down 10 or more pounds!

10.07.2010

My Favorite Coworker


This is Sally.
She works with me.
And by works, I mean she sits in my office and provides moral support.
She's a pretty awesome dog.
Very friendly. Easy going and low maintenance.
And she also loves to play ball in the parking lot and she helps me eat my lunch.

The greatest thing about Sally at work is that she does not talk.
So I don't have to hear about UGA football (not that there is anything to talk about there).
And I don't have to hear her complain like I have to hear the men in my office complain.
And I can complain to Sally about the men here and she just gives me her big eyed glare.

Oh, and I don't have to take Sally home with me, so I get the enjoyment of a dog without all the hassle.

So Sally is my favorite coworker.

10.06.2010

Bionic Mouth


Yesterday we went and visited our new favorite dentist, Dr. Jason.
Yes, he let's you call him by his first name.
If I had to guess, it's because his dad started the practice and he was the first Dr.Lee.
Thereby making it confusing to have 2 Dr. Lees.
So he is Dr.Jason.
Or Mr. Jason as Haley called him yesterday.

So anyway, we were there for Haley to have impressions and pictures made for her new contraptions that will be going in her mouth in two weeks.
Technically, I think they are called expanders. To expand her pallet.
Sounds like fun huh?
And she gets the bonus of having to have 2 expanders, one top and one bottom.
Because she has a tiny little mouth.
You could have fooled me since that little mouth can speak a whole bunch of words.
But I digress.
And after she wears the expanders for 3-4 months, she will then have a new set of contraptions made that are called twin blocks. Those are supposed to force her bottom teeth forward and her top teeth backwards to give her a new and improved bite.
Sounds painful to me, but I'm not telling her that.
What I am telling her is that she will thank us when she gets to middle school.
As Dr.Jason says he feels certain she will have a nice bite and a beautiful smile by then.
Oh, and I also threatened her life if she didn't wear the retainer things and/or lost them.
Because I once lost a retainer and it was hell on earth for me. So it's only fair.

You can't say I'm not giving you quality reading lately. I mean who doesn't want to hear Weight Watchers updates and Dental Procedure Updates? I mean really people, I should be charging for this stuff. That way I could make enough money to pay for Haley's new bionic mouth.

10.05.2010

Tipsy Girl's Night


A few nights ago, I got to get away with some of my favorite girls and go to an awesome place called Tipsy Canvas. This place is so neat! It's the perfect place for a girl's night.
Basically, you go to the studio, bring your own food and beverages (yes, adult beverages are allowed) and you paint an awesome picture to take home.
The picture idea is preset and Dusti the owner is there to show you how to make you artwork beautiful. She also has several examples of how to change up the design a little if you want.

The girls and I painted a fall pumpkins themed painting. And Dusti used step by step instructions to show us how to make the perfect pumpkins.
Now I have to say, I am pretty crafty and I was sure this was something I could do. But Dusti made it so easy that anyone can do a perfect painting!
We had a variety of different designs, but they all came out as something that you would be proud to display at home. I just love mine!
And getting to hang out with 8 other girls and drink a little wine and eat some yummy treats was a blast.
Thank you so much to Claire and Leigh for allowing me to tag along on what was a very fun girls night. And thanks to the two best husbands ever for watching the kids late into the night. I have a feeling they enjoyed themselves though getting to hang out and catch up.

10.04.2010

Don't touch anything

Everything I touched today broke.
My car. My vacuum. My sanity.
I had a crappy day.
My kids both are grounded until Friday.
As a result, I don't get to go to the Coweta Fair.
I'm tired.
My head hurts from the weather changing so drastically.
I weighed myself this morning and was not happy with the number.
I had rotten lettuce in my Chick-fil-A salad.
And I'm tired of eating salad.
But through all of this, I rejoice because a friend of ours got good news about his job.
And my BFF is following her dream tomorrow.
And I have a warm house to come home to.
Tomorrow will be better.

10.02.2010

Wall of Success


Weight Watchers is currently doing a campaign called "Lose for Good".
It's a pretty neat idea. Basically, members of WW are encouraged to give to their local food bank based on weight loss for a given period of time.
Evan and I have decided to participate, and Thursday night we donated 18 cans of food to the Tyrone Baptist Food Pantry. 18 was the number of pounds we had lost up until that point.
And the good news is, we owe 6 more cans next week because of our additional weight loss!
Pretty awesome huh? We lose weight and help someone else eat who might not have otherwise.
I love it. I'm glad we have been given this opportunity.

10.01.2010

Weight Watchers Week #3- We're Gettin' There!

You're probably already tired of hearing out our weight loss journey.
I know, I know.
But let me just say I'm so thrilled to not be blogging about cancer that I can't stand it.
So instead, you are getting weight loss updates.
Sounds like a nice trade right?

Here's how we did for week 4-
I lost another 1.6 lbs. this week, putting me down a total of 8.2 lbs!
Doesn't look like much on paper, but I am thrilled.
I know that my losing weight will be slow and that is fine with me.
I'm hoping this time around will be forever, so if it takes 6 months or more, I'm fine with that.
That's what I had planned on.
And as a side note, I have gotten my super lazy butt up the last 3 mornings at 6:00 to exercise.
If you know me, you know what a big deal it is for me to get up early.
I am LAZY. And I hate mornings. All mornings.
But I have to admit, I have felt better the last 3 days. I have had more energy and I just feel like I am ready for the day.
So yay for me!

And then there is my fabulous husband. Who is quickly becoming the most hated person in our WW meeting. He has lost 16 lbs total!! Yes, that is correct. 16! 4 of those pounds were this week alone. And he is really shaping up and looking quite hot these days.
Not that I don't think he's always hot. But my goodness, he's starting to look like a slim and trim weight lifting machine. I love it! And I am so proud. What man has a shitty year filled with cancer appointments, surgery, new medication and all that stuff and decides he's going to work out like a mad man and lose weight? That's my husband. Quite the inspiration.

So we are looking forward to seeing how this week goes. No big plans that should get in the way of our current state of awesomeness. We just have to keep up the good work.
And we have so much to be healthy for, so it really is all worth it.