We are weathering the storms

Contrary to speculation, we have not been lost at sea. We weathered Hurricane Thanksgiving and are still hanging out on The Beach, gripping the sand by our fingernails, and doing okay.

Mommy 31 lbs
Cap'n 42 lbs

We are headed for Monsoon Wedding.

May Day, May Day, May Day...

Autumn on The Beach

Baby it's cold outside!

Here's our weekly check-in.........


Cap'n 40 lbs

Mommy 30.25 lbs

Yippee - skippee!

Lucky 13 on The Beach

Yep, 13 weeks!

Cap'n 39
Mommy 29

Hurricane Thanksgiving is coming.
We're boarding up the windows.

Schwamorto!

We got the prettiest wedding invitation in the mail. We haven't gotten the mail in a couple of days, so I can't say exactly which day it came, but it's here. No backing out now, Josh.

Rachel- we'd still understand if you did though.

Milestones on the Beach

We've made it to another big milestone! 12 weeks on The Beach! That's a record for us!

Weekly weigh-in:

Cap'n = 38 lbs
Mommy = 26 lbs

He's ahead of me, but I don't care because I'm still losing!

Head of the Lake Regatta

Yesterday I was in a 3 mile rowing race starting at Gaswork's Park, going through the Montlake cut, and ending by Husky stadium. In case you were wondering, 3 miles is far. Just thought I'd clear that up.

We took 2nd. Since there were only 3 boats you could say we were next to last, but I prefer "1st runner up".

Hannah's Dream

This is a good one!

Oh boy...

Looks like I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year (which of course, you're all invited to if you're in the neighborhood). So if you guys have great recipes, send them my way.

Hanging out on The Beach

I bet you guys thought we were washed out to sea because we didn't report in yesterday.

But no -- we are still hanging out on the beach. No storms or sharks circling yet.

Cap'n -- 34.5 lbs

Mommy - 24.5 lbs.

Yep, he finally pulled ahead by 10 lbs. It's not fair, not fair at all -- but I understand it is normal.

So -- upward and onward.

Quote of the Week, November 3, 2008

When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either.
--Leo Burnett, Advertising Executive (1891-1971)

WHERE IS EVERYONE??????????????

The Wednesday Letters

I read this book last week. Fast, simple read. Uplifting and inspiring.

October 27

Yep. It's snowing.

The Sun Shines on The Beach

Here's our weekly report --

Mommy 24 1/4

Cap'n 32.0

la la la la la......

Halloween

What is that yellow thing?

This was the picture on my home page weather report today...

I'm so confused. I have no idea what that yellow dot means. I've only ever seen this...


I'm frightened.

Boss of the Year 2008

I was invited to attend the monthly meeting of NALS (National Association of Legal Secretaries) of Greater St. Louis and did so last evening with several staff members. Much to my surprise I learned that I had been nominated and was chosen for their annual Boss of the Year Award. I received the award last night at J. Bucks downtown.

Woo-hoo!

Now Josh can stop calling me Debbie the Ax.

Another Excuse Gone ...

My building opened up a gym for tenants. It's not much, but it's free! The picture is what I'm going to look like in about a week, I think.

Competition on The Beach

We just completed a full 9 weeks on The Beach. We're hanging in there but Cap'n is pulling ahead again. I'm thinking of packing bologna and crackers in his lunch box so he'll give me a chance to close the gap again. We plan to reward ourselves with a trip to the St. Louis Art Museum once we hit 30/25 goals. We also have a bottle of champagne chilled which will only be opened if we complete a full 12 weeks!

This week:
Cap'n 30.5
Mommy 23 lbs

We've been good beach bums, except for Friday night when we left the beach to have dinner at Del Pietros. They had this unique little side dish there called "pasta" and it was too delish to pass by.

Stay tuned for next week's Beach report.

Pumpkins in the Park 5K

Josh and I ran our first 5K Race yesterday! Pumpkins in the Park is a Halloween themed event in Lincoln Park. The first 3 pictures are the "before" shots and the last one is the "after". So, as you can see...we survived! We had a great time and hope to do more 5Ks! I was unsure if I could do it...I'm not much of a runner...but it was very motivating to be in a crowd with everyone, all different paces (people going for speed, recreational runners, and walkers). We had no problem running the whole time and finishing the race!

It was very entertaining, too, because people were dressed up in Halloween costumes while they were running! We went as "5K First Timers" :) But we also saw 2 guys dressed up as Barbie and Ken INSIDE the big pink Barbie boxes, a 2 person camel (where the second guy is under the sheet and crouched down), a farm scene (a barn, cow, chicken, pig, etc.), and some girls dressed as big bunches of grapes with green or purple balloons attached to their whole body! They ran the race like that--even the 2 guys in the camel suit! It was great.

We are currently taking suggestions for our costume for next year's run!!!

Had my test today...

I think it went well. There were 47 multiple choice questions and I wasn't dead sure for only about 5. Most of those were true/false, so I got a 50/50 shot on those. I'm pretty sure I clinched a B+ and maybe higher (but I want to be pleasantly surprised).

John was so nice to come down with a really bad cold yesterday so that I could use him for a model while studying. Now THAT'S supportive!!

Buffet Speaks: It's Time To Buy

The Oracle of Omaha, the richest man in the world, gives a nuanced view of why he believes it's time to start investing again.

Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.

Finally -- someone explained the bailout to me!

We're booked!

Just made the plane reservations for the wedding of the year - yea!! And I booked that fabulous hotel through Sunday (can't wait to play in Chicago).. it's like a wedding and a vacation all rolled up into one! Love it!!

Quote of the Week, October 14, 2008

Multitasking Is Out, Single Tasking Is In
Multitasking is yesterday's news. Single tasking is the wave of the future. Instead of doing a lot of things at the same time poorly, focus all of your attention on one task at a time. This skill increases the quality of your work, maximizes your efficiency, and will increase your job completion ratio.

-- Claire Keeling, Sort It Out (Improving the Way Employees Work)

Movies!

Dad & I decided to treat ourselves to something (not food!) when we both hit the 20 lb weight loss mark. So we went to the movies, which is a rare treat for us since we just don't take the time to do it. We saw Fireproof. As movies go, there were no grand special effects, box office magnets, or stellar acting capabilities -- but the message was "the real deal". This is a Christian themed movie, but it is not overly preachy, and it doesn't lean heavily toward any particular religion. It's never too soon or too late to boost your relationship!

There is a book associated with the movie titled "The Love Dare".

Lounging on the Beach....

The weather's fine on the beach this week. We've been out in the sun and surf for a full 8 weeks now! That's a record!

Cap'n - 27 lbs lost
Mommy - 22.5 lbs lost

Fingers crossed for week # 9!

It's about time.

John McCain just sent me an email. Huh. I thought he didn't use email? Oh well, at least FINALLY I'm being consulted.

My Friends,

Millions of Americans on Main Street are feeling the effects of our current economic crisis largely brought on by corruption and greed at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Wall Street. Our next president must come into office with a plan to address the very root the failing housing market.

Last night, during my debate with Senator Obama, I announced my plan to fix the root of our problem and I'd like to share a little more with you today.

If elected president, I will direct my Treasury Secretary to implement an American Homeownership Resurgence Plan to keep families in their homes, avoid foreclosures, save failing neighborhoods, stabilize the housing market and attack the roots of our financial crisis.

America's families are bearing a heavy burden from falling housing prices, mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures, and a weak economy. It is important that those families who have worked hard enough to finance homeownership not have that dream crushed under the weight of the wrong mortgage.

For those that cannot make inflated payments or their mortgage exceeds the value of their home, mortgages must be re-structured to put losses on the books and put homeowners in manageable mortgages.

This Resurgence Plan would purchase mortgages directly from homeowners and mortgage servicers, and replace them with manageable, fixed-rate mortgages that will keep families in their homes.

By purchasing the existing, failing mortgages the resurgence plan will eliminate uncertainty over defaults, support the value of mortgage-backed derivatives and alleviate risks that are freezing financial markets.

I am ready to lead our country out of this financial crisis and I am ready to work with anyone and everyone who will help. Together, I know we can work together to find solutions for these challenging times. Please do your part today and spread the word about my new plan by forwarding this email on to your neighbors, friends, family and coworkers. Thank you for your time and support.

Sincerely,

John McCain

P.S. Homeownership represents the very core of our American economic system. This is not the time for politics. We must move aggressively to provide relief and stability for all Americans.

Puke warning ....

The firm got a letter from our financial advisor/broker to distribute to our 401(k) participants to let them know they were about to get their 3rd quarter statements.

When you get a letter warning you in advance that the statement is coming, you know the numbers are going to be ugly.

The G in Google stands for...

Genius!!

John's gone hippy...

John went and bought us doughnuts this morning... but wait!...they were vegan organic donuts. What?!?

I have gone over the marriage contract and "hippy" was never mentioned as one of the things I had to love him through.

Ok, so the donuts were good, but if he buys a pair of Birkenstocks or puts an Obama sticker on his car, it's over.

We came in third!!

There were only 4 boats, so maybe it's not the crushing victory the girls were hoping for. I, however, (10 week novice girl) managed not to fall out of the boat nor do anything detrimental to my team the entire time. I probably didn't help them so much either, but there was no coast guard rescue required... so, yea for me!

Quote of the Week, October 8, 2008

Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.

-- George Herbert, cleric

John McCain drinks COFFEE!!!

I found this on Kaldi's Coffee's website blog. Apparently McCain had the opportunity to partake of some of their delicious brew when he was in Springfield. Here is what they said about this photo:

"McCain's been drinking coffee for a long time. Here he was drinking it in 1974. That's no cup of tea. Look how intelligent he looks: There's coffee in that cup, for certain. "

Did I mention that McCain was hot?!

Checking in from The Beach!

Here is our weekly check-in from the Beach.

Mommy 19.5 lbs

Cap'n 26 lbs

Despite a fabulous food tasting, some Chicago cupcakes that were awesome, and a double cheeseburger on the way back from Chicago -- I managed to scrape off some weight this week. Yeah!

Did anyone notice I'm closing the gap on the Cap'n?

Rachel's Kingdom

Rach and I made the trek up to Skokie this weekend to participate in a fundraising walk for her school district. While we were there, I was able to peek into her classroom. It was decked out in many cute, colorful, and creative things, as anyone who has met Rachel would expect. Also got to play wither her Smartboard which was very cool! Thought you'd enjoy some pictures ...

What we Learned

From ESPN.com ...

"Nebraska coach Bo Pelini probably should learn something about talking smack before facing top-five teams. Pelini openly talked about shutting out Missouri. So what happened? Missouri scored within a minute to set the tone for a 52-17 victory over Nebraska that was the Cornhuskers' worst home loss defeat since 1955. Maybe Pelini will think before he speaks next time around."

Love it. GO TIGERS!!

Mizzou - rah!!

We're ready for the Nebraska game! Go Tigers!!!!!!!

Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!

Quote of the Week

A comment from a Yahoo! message board responding to public opposition to the Paulson plan...

"By screaming for this package to be voted down, you are essentially cutting off your ketchup stained wife beater to spite your cut-off jean shorts."

Love it. I'm holding it in my esteem right between "Ask not what your country can do for you", and "I'm not dead yet."

Cutter's favorite video....

A sure thing?

I got a kick out of this excerpt from a column in today's Wall Street Journal discussing the differences between the current economy and that of 1929, and thought I'd pass it along.

"Investors hate uncertainty." Well, that's just tough. Uncertainty is all investors ever have gotten, or ever will get, from the moment barley and sesame first began trading in ancient Mesopotamia to the last trade that will ever take place on Planet Earth.

If tomorrow were ever knowable with absolute certainty, who would take the other side of a trade today?

The financial future is no more uncertain now than it used to be; in fact, it's far less uncertain than it was in the summer of 2007, when the Dow shot above 14000, the future seemed bright, and utterly no one foresaw the disaster that would befall the financial system. The absolute certainty of blue skies ahead was an illusion then, and the notion that we all know that worse misery lies in store is an illusion now.

Tuesday night after "the tasting"!

Debbie Holland, CLM / Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile / 314-726-6670

When $700B Is Chump Change

Newspapers like to scare us with figures -- like the $700B-Paulson-not-a-bailout-package -- that have no context. Yes, $700B is slightly more than I make as an unemployed writer, but the U.S. financial system held $62.7 trillion in assets at the beginning of this year. For comparison, that's like calling me, at 5'10", tall, amidst an NBA populated by players well over 550 feet in height.

Mizzou is No. 4!

We jumped two spaces to our highest ranking of the year, securing the No. 4 spot in the AP poll. Thankfully we didn't have to play during last weekend's jinx, which saw No. 1 USC, No. 4 Florida, and No. 9 Wisconsin all lose to unranked teams. No.3 Georgia also fell to No. 8 Alabama. Give Pinkel props for knowing when to schedule an "off" week.

The real season starts this weekend when we take on Nebraska. If we win, it will be our first W in Lincoln since 1978. If that doesn't strike fear into your heart, Nebraska is 124-14 in Lincoln over the past 21 years -- wow!

Here's Where You're Staying for our Wedding in Chicago!

Does anyone object to changing the wedding location to this lovely establishment I found on my way home from work today?

Rooms are a steal!!!

And...the bum sitting on the stoop is like free entertainment!

These school supplies look good enough to eat...

...and they are!

Josh brought these cookies home a few weeks ago. They included a pencil and a crayon, too...I don't know what happened to those...yum!

Where's the Beef???

I know seeing Josh shoveling food into his gullet isn't the prettiest picture, but...

I used the Family Cookbook for the first time (I know that technically we're not supposed to use gifts until after the wedding, but we just couldn't wait) and made the Classic Beef Stroganoff! This was probably the first time I made something like this from scratch, too. It turned out GREAT! We made the full amount (4 servings) and had it the next night, too!

We are excited to see what other goodies grace the Family Cookbook! Thank you!!!

Republicans Hasten Economy Toward Recession & Obama Toward White House

The failure of House Republicans today to pass Paulson's $700B economic stimulus package -- which despite all talk to the contrary is not a bailout -- shows a lack of understanding and a lack of leadership. Republicans' abdication of responsibility places their personal interests above the good of the country and will ensure more Democrats win Congressional seats, and likely the presidency, in November. I am not sure I have ever been more disappointed in my party.

P.S. The media should be tarred and feathered for pitting Main Street against Wall Street. They are the same. Who among us has not sought a loan on our car, house, etc? Who among us does not own stock, if not in a personal portfolio, then as part of a 401k, 403b, IRA, pension, etc.? To try to separate the two is ridiculous; akin to lowering the water level on only one side of the tub.

A Hard Day at The Beach

We're still on The Beach. Cap'n is kicking sand in my face and I must be eating it because I'm stalled.

Cap'n 23.5 lbs

Mommy 17 lbs

....and No, I am NOT CHEATING!

Gotta keep going....

Rachel's Shower Fun!