The “Cold Day in July” song? Well, I assume that what they are saying is that whatever they’re singing about won’t happen until a cold day in July, inferring that it will never happen. Being clever and all, right? Well, it’s cold. And it’s July. The end of the world is coming, I tell you.

Swim lessons are my life, and I’m still really enjoying it. I wish I were taking them, but it’s still really fun to see the girls learning so much and having such a good time. They all advanced a level last week.

I’m trying not to feel like “creepy old lady” when noticing how cute those young lifeguards are.

And wondering when lifeguards were suddenly younger than me. They didn’t used to be younger than me. Unfortunately, my daughters are also noticing the cuteness. Aren’t they too young for that?

Clark was three months old last week.

(That’s Clark and my brother at the Mariners game last Tuesday).

He’s trying to talk a lot now. We’re not a quiet family by any means, and he tries to get in on the noise making too. Olivia did that a lot. It’s really cute.

The 4th was great.

And everyone still has all their limbs, although it took forever to get through all those fireworks.

I’m still trying to get it together for the Christmas stocking knit-along. Knit Picks is out of their color cards for the Wool of the Andes, so I need to order a bunch of colors. It looks like they have some good, inexpensive needles now too, so I’m also going to order a couple 32 inchers to try my hand at the magic loop method of sock making. And then I’ll need to Google to find some instructions, or pick up the little book, or call the lady in my church congregation that does it and ask her to show me.

So much to do.

My plans for today, after swim lessons (which are rapidly approaching, I need to get off the computer and get dressed) is to hit Costco real quick and then clean my house.

Hi there!

Once again, I’m happy to say I exercised very well. And once again, I’m sorry to say, I ate like a pig. I think my body is trying to maintain its sick sense of “balance”, because even I can’t believe how much crap I’m eating.

But enough of that.

Monday I did my 35 minutes of treadmill.
Tuesday I spent celebrating the fourth of July, and didn’t do my weights and physical therapy, but I picked up the PT on Wednesday and still got in Wednesday’s treadmill.
Thursday I did weights and physical therapy.
Friday I did my treadmill, and was even going to push it to 40 or 45 minutes, but for some reason my hip started hurting really bad. I had to slow down to finish the 35 minutes I’m used to and had a hard time walking the rest of the day. Today, it’s touchy.

I have no idea why or how. I wasn’t jogging. I haven’t done anything stupid. I’m doing my physical therapy, which includes some modest hip exercises and stretches.

Whatever.

I’m really hoping that it corrects itself by Monday so I can get on the treadmill again. I’ve got momentum. I don’t want to stop because my stupid hip hurts.

Today I need to fit in weights and PT and I’ll have another solid week of exercise behind me, bringing it to a total of three consecutive weeks!

I’m saying it again. Three weeks!!!!! Yay me!!!

I’m still up at 226 on the scale, and I don’t wonder. Even with as open and shameless as I am to publicize my weaknesses and goof ups on my blog, I can’t bring myself to tell you just how bad my food consumption has been.

So, now that I’m in a good exercising habit at the moment (ignoring the hip and thinking positive), I’m going to work on my diet next week.

Really, I am. My clothes are pathetic again. Either they’ve lost their shape, don’t work with my nursing bra, or are stained and spotted. So I need new ones, and I want to hold out buying them until I drop a size. Or get more desperate than I am now.

All in all, I’m happy to be doing better than I have in over a year.

How was your week?

It’s raining this morning. After all the sweltering heat we’ve had the past two weeks, on the 4th, it’s raining. Of course. But I see breaks in the clouds, so I still have hope.

We’re in for a fun day. Nate bought tickets to the Mariners game at Safeco Field for this afternoon.

Afterwards, we’re stopping home to pick up food and such on our way to my brother-in–law’s house for a barbecue like last year, because it was a really good time.

Last night, on the way back from taking my brother home, we stopped off at a Fireworks stand so Nate could buy some for the festivities and street show at the barbecue. The kids and I waited in the car, and were shocked when he came back with this.

Street show fireworks make me nervous. I think it’s because my biological father was always so afraid of someone blowing off an appendage in the process, he wouldn’t even let us stay and watch. We always went home from whatever social gathering we were attending once they broke out the fireworks.

I’m not as neurotic. I enjoy watching them very much, but I get uneasy when my own family is lighting them off.

However, it is not very often I get to see “that” expression on my sweet husband’s face. His eyes light up and he smiles in such a way that makes me see the little boy in him very easily. The first time I saw “that” expression is when we were in Israel and he and his brothers were floating in the Dead Sea.

Wait a minute. Where did that resort come from? All that was there 8 1/2 years ago was sand, water, and a couple of open air concrete showers. Wow. And for those of you who don’t know, you can’t sink in the dead sea. You just go out into the water and sit down. No floatation devices, just sit in the water. Or if you’re Nate and his brothers, do everything you can to TRY to sink, or make one of your brothers sink, and laugh like a child when you can’t.

Yes, so, “that” expression. He doesn’t even get that way at Christmas. But lighting fireworks, now, that’s excitement.

It’s really cute. And I can hardly deny him that. But mercy. That’s a huge box of fireworks.

This morning I woke up to the sound of the garbage truck coming down the street. I didn’t figure they picked up trash on the 4th, so we hadn’t put our trash out. I jumped out of bed and ran outside to put the garbage can on the sidewalk and smashed my big toe in the process. Dangit. It really hurts. I came face to face with the garbage man, actually the yard waste man, in my pj’s and bra-less. I hate it when that happens.

After all that, I couldn’t get back to sleep. Didn’t even try. So I took the opportunity to finish up my socks.

They’re awesome. I’m so happy! I used Austermann’s Step sock yarn. I looked it up on the internet to get links and it looks like the colors have changed since I bought my yarn. Either that or the pictures online REALLY suck.

Yesterday, I went back to the yarn store that was closed in the middle of a Wednesday (I found out later she had a knee replacement surgery, and I guess didn’t get anyone to fill in for her) to pick up another sock bag and to look at one or two circular needles to start another pair of socks.

They were closed.

I was so irritated. So, they’re closed on Mondays too I guess.

Anyway, Happy Fourth of July! I’m so grateful to live in this wonderful country. I haven’t seen much of it, but I’m completely in love with my little corner of the nation. And I’m reverently grateful to the people that sacrificed so much to build and protect it.

Have a great holiday.

Yesterday I had an unexpected opportunity. Veronica woke up with a bad, seal-bark cough, so I stayed home from church with her and Clark, leaving me with a very quiet house, and nothing that I HAD to do. No place I HAD to go.

So I cuddled Clark to sleep and laid him in my bed.

Then I quickly made my way to the couch and picked up the long lost green sock.

That’s not a joke. It took me quite awhile to find it. And you will note that in my enthusiasm to actually knit, I didn’t even clean up the background before snapping the picture. (Don’t tell my mom).

And guess how much I got done? 1/2 a round, baby! Half of one, stinking round before he started fussing. So I let him fuss while I knit a total of two rounds before picking him up.

Then we tried to read a couple blogs. Something else I haven’t had the opportunity to do much of. I gave up after he ripped out those tender little hairs on the back of my neck, at the bottom of my hairline while fussing.

So I nursed him. Again. Which put him back to sleep. I seized another potential opportunity and did this.

Baby bundle.

Back to the sock.

I didn’t even take the opportunity to pee.

Well, at first anyway.

I came out of my room to see poor little Veronica on the couch, bored out of her gourd, with her “angry face” on.

Which really is the cutest thing ever. I wish you could see it better.

So I picked her up and put her downstairs with a cold fruit nectar and a straw, and Pink Panther.

Things went well. He stayed asleep. She was entertained. I finished the first sock to the toe shaping and started on the second.

Junior slept most of the day. He’s probably fighting off whatever Veronica has. When the girls got home from church, they headed down to the basement to watch Pink Panther with V. Nate and I spent a very quiet afternoon, and I finished the foot on the second sock!

Whew! That’s a lot for one day. I have more to show, but it’ll have to wait. I’ve got swim lessons and brother visits ahead of me, and I don’t yet know if Veronica is healthy.

Before I sign off, I wanted to share something with our American readers. This is the coolest thing ever, and you all should see it. If you’ve seen it already, see it again. We happened upon it on PBS a number of years ago. Nate, who has always loved that period in history, was very excited. I was wary. We were both enthralled. It is fantastic. Even if you aren’t into that sort of thing (which I’m not). It’s fascinating. It’s engaging. It’s suspenseful. It is cast with many recognizable “character” actors. It’s moving. It’s inspiring. We watch it every July.

You must see it.

Please.

Good morning! I had another good week with the exercise, but I’m still struggling with food.

Monday- 35 minutes of treadmill.
Tuesday- didn’t have the opportunity to do anything, but we DID get to see Superman at the drive in.
Wednesday- I did the 35 minutes of treadmill and picked up the physical therapy from Tuesday
Thursday- weights and physical therapy
Friday- I snuck the treadmill in, 35 minutes again, right before midnight.

Today I will do my weights and physical therapy.

The scale did a weird thing this week. I’ve been between 221 and 223 for a couple months, and then out of the blue, I jumped up to 227 one morning. The next day, I was 226. The next day, 223.5, which is where I was this morning as well.

I don’t know what that’s about, but whatever. I know I’m gaining muscle already, because I can see it in my quads and my biceps.

How was your week?