Friday, July 30
Hobbies and Obsessive HabitsOk, so I didn't make it to the gym today but I have a really good excuse!!! I forgot that I have an incredibly long day. Today, is Steven's last day at camp and then he has a birthday party for his friend in New Jersey. It doesn't start until 5pm, but to avoid shore traffic I am picking him up from school at 12pm and then going right to NJ. The party goes until 7:30pm and then I'll have to pick up Jeffrey at my mom's and THEN drive home. I know I won't be home until 9:30/10pm so getting up at 4:30ish just wasn't in the cards for today. I WILL go tomorrow though!
Now I know in my profile I mention that I love to garden, but I neglected to include that I am also a tiny bit of a freak about it. This year, I did all regular and wave petunias. Everything was going great and they were happily thriving until we had a few hard rainstorms. Now, they are a bit ratty and "leggy" looking. The general rule of thumb is to pinch back the "dead heads". However, I have so many flowers, that they are nearly impossible to keep up with! I am still getting compliments from people as they walk by, but to me, they look terrible. This is where my being a freak comes in. I have decided to rip all of them out and start over again with new flowers. I know, I know... but my rule of thinking is that if I replace them this weekend, I will keep them until October 1st and THEN replace those with late seasoned mums which I could possibly have until Thanksgiving. I told you I was a freak. I will settle for nothing less then perfection! What's even more scary is that I have already designed my front garden (in my head) for next year!
I suppose by now you're wondering why my blog address is JavaGirlKnits instead of JavaGirlGardens or JavaGirlFreak (LOL) since I haven't regularly mentioned knitting. Knitting is my favorite hobby, it's just that I spend every waking, non raining moment outside with the boys right now. Unfortunately, they are so young (4 and 2.5) that I still need to be on top of them all of the time. I've had to start some things completely over again because of throwing it down in the middle of a row. The younger one is the most difficult of the two. He'll think nothing of suddenly running out front to beg the ice cream man to stop at our house or run away to throw rocks in the gutter. He's even had fun trying to make friends with the Poison Sumac we have growing along the tree line in our back yard. (We're trying to wait until the fall when everything is dying off before removing all of the poisonous brush.) We're considering putting on a deck next spring and I'm beginning to think we shouldn't even bother because as long as "The J-Man" is outside I will never be able to sit on it!
I am sure as the weather gradually turns colder and we are forced be inside more and more regularly, I'll find myself knitting more often again. And I can't wait. :-)
~Lauren
Wednesday, July 28
Good Morning!I am proud to say that I made it to the gym at 5 both Monday and this morning. It's actually not as bad (so far) as I thought it would be. Stumbling around in the dark while still being half asleep before getting there isn't much fun though. Of course, not being able to find my glasses doesn't help the situation, either. I'm thinking it would be wise to lay out everything the night before while I still have my contacts in, am more alert and can actually see what I'm doing.
Honestly, working out that early is better then I expected it to be. It's actually nice to officially start my day knowing that it's behind me. It's also quite nice to come home and have the house to myself. Steve is in the shower, the boys are still asleep and I actually get to sit down and eat breakfast by myself!
My neighbor, Maria, will be away on Friday, so we'll see if I am disciplined enough to go on my own. The whole reason we go together is because individually, we'd each keep hitting the snooze button until our children (she also has 2 young ones) roar in to drag us out of bed. I suppose Friday will be a true test of how committed I am to making this a regular routine.
So far, this week hasn't been too eventful. The thing that stands out the most over the last two days is that (much to my dismay) my boys seem to be doing away with the whole nap thing. Don't get me wrong, they are still in their rooms for mandatory quiet time, but they just don't understand (or accept) the concept of actually being quiet. Unfortunately for me, both days have been nap and quiet free. Of course they have a great time in their rooms, yelling and laughing back and forth with each other... however, this is a battle I'm not ready to lose yet. I will prevail!
And with that, my hungry children have just woken up and are anxiously waiting to be fed.
~Lauren
Sunday, July 25
Movies, Late Nights and Early MorningsI did it! I went to the movies and it wasn't rated G!!!
We have a pretty cool thing going with our neighbors, called free babysitting. We try to be regular about it, but with how busy we've been lately it hasn't been possible. Anyway, yesterday it was our turn so Steve and I decided to go to the movies. We saw Spiderman 2 and it ROCKED. It was so, so good. It had romance, comedy, special effects and was full of action, from beginning to end. I want to go see it again! I know as a girl, I'm not supposed to like action movies but I LOVE them. Some of my favorites are The Die Hard Triology, The Jackal, The Fifth Element and Armageddon. Wow, I just realized two things about the movies I just mentioned. They're all more then 5 years old, and Bruce Willis stars in each one. He is pretty yummy, but I'll save him and my other favorite hot celebrity men for another post. ;-)
Tomorrow, I am beginning my quest for fitness (again). My neighbor Maria and I are headed to the gym for 5 am. Eeeshk! That sounds SO early. Does that ungodly hour REALLY exist? I have no idea how I'm going to do it. The logical side of me is telling me to go to bed early, but the night owl in me is appalled by the suggestion. I love, love, LOVE staying up late. I think my natural clock would have me in bed at 2 am and keep me there until about 10 or 11. Now, if someone could tell my boys that, we'd be good to go.
I have to go now, it is almost 4 in the afternoon and I should probably get to bed so I can wake up in time to go to the gym tomorrow. Ha ha ha!
~Lauren
Friday, July 23
My First Blog EVER!Hi, my name is Lauren and this is first my blog. I just learned about blogs/bloggers and blogspots last night at my first session of Chester County Stitch and Bitch! Woohoo! I have FINALLY found people who love to knit together!
Everyone seems to have a blog, and yet somehow I managed to get along in life without really knowing it even existed. I used to be so on top of things as far as technology is concerned, but I'm afraid that staying home with my two young sons has fried my brain. I don't care what anyone says, there is only so much of, "He's touching me, He took my toys, and He's looking at me", etc. a person can take before the mind begins deteriorating. So, in an attempt to salvage what (if anything) is left, I am going back to school in the fall. I say 'back' to school because I went to college for a little more then a year. I was majoring in Journalism, and was the editor of the school's monthly newspaper, The Gazette. I loved it, but due to some events that were occurring at that time, I was forced to take a break. Unfortunately, every time I tried to go back, something else came up. I haven't taken a class since the spring of '99, so this time I am really going to do it. I am determined to continue my education, even if it is only a class or 2 at a time. Wish me luck.
Back to the whole Blog thing, this is so cool! I love the idea of blogging. I've tried several times to keep a journal or jot some thoughts down, but I could never keep it going beyond 3 days. Hopefully, I'll do better with this.
As far as Stitch-n- Bitch is concerned, these people rock! They get together and knit at BARNES & NOBLE some times!!! It is my second most favorite place on earth next to Disney World. That's right, I love Disney World, Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse coffee mugs, reading, knitting, talking (could ya tell?) and drinking coffee. Can you imagine what my happy place would look like? Here's a visual- Put me in a Starbucks inside the Magic Kingdom with my cell phone, some yarn and needles, People magazine, and a Mickey Mouse mug with either a Vanilla Bean Frappucino OR a White Chocolate Mocha in it (depending on the season of course) and I am good to go.... I really should try to get out more.
Ok, I have rambled on long enough. Have a good day!
~Lauren
