Frère Jacques

Saturday my brother-in-law, John (my dear hubby's older brother) graduated from Mayo Clinic and officially became a doctor. He is also in the Air Force, and therefore was promoted to Captain because of his newly acquired doctor status. So here is a big congrats to John, and in my salute I will include a picture of John in his "Captain" swearing in ceremony.

Ha! Ok really, John, we are very proud of you. Congrats!

Happy Birthday

Today is my sister-in-law, Wendi's birthday (she is married to my hubby's older brother).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENDI!!!!!!!!

Weight Loss

I have decided to blog my weight loss journey in order to, by allowing everyone to see my progress, keep myself more accountable and keep myself on track. I hope that this will in turn lead to my success. It's a very hard journey to be on, and it's even harder to talk about with people who haven't faced a weight problem themselves. I find it's so much easier to be open and honest with people who are in the same boat as I am, but I think it's important for me to get it out in the open and let everyone see transparently into my life and my current fight. I believe that opening myself up like this puts me in a place where I need to be to compete with myself, and ultimately win, since I am a pretty competitive person. Some of you already know this, and some of you don't, but in February I sent an audition tape in for the show The Biggest Loser for the same purpose-- to put myself out there, on the line, in front of the world so that I can try my best and get this done. Obviously, there was a very small chance of even making the show, and while I did get pretty far in the process, it was no surprise that I was not chosen. So that's what brings me here, to my blog, now. I have a goal to accomplish, and I am determined now to get it done.

I can't really remember much before high school, but I know that I've alway been a little overweight. Although, I was always still pretty comfortable with myself nonetheless. I've always been a pretty outgoing person-- the social butterfly, funny, sarcastic, overall happy person. But in the last 5 years, I've put on about 45lbs on top of already being at my highest weight, and it has affected my personality to the point where I really try to avoid being around people other than family members. The outgoing person I once was has become a major introvert and homebody, all caused by weight gain that was all POST pregnancy weight gain. Ironically with both Grace and Nate I was 10lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight only 2 weeks after their births. So somehow all this weight was gained on my own. In high school I was very active in sports, and I haven't really been exercising or active since graduation 12 years ago. Even still, I've only gone up and down weight-wise a certain amount despite my eating habits and have been able to maintain my weight around a certain level, also despite how awful I had been eating in the past.

So, I have tried to lose weight several times in the past 5 years, and each time I get to a point and stop. I think the most I have lost in the past was 30lbs before I throw in the towel, which is why this time I am more determined than ever.

I am currently doing the Weight Watcher plan, and this has worked the best for me in the past, at least better than any other plan I have tried. I am also currently also a part of a group of people that formed online who met one another through the audition process for The Biggest Loser. So far, its working well. Some people have seen weight loss upwards of 40 lbs now. As a group, collectively, we have already lost over 430lbs (even more but we're still waiting for this weeks numbers to come in and be tallied). I can't recall the number of people in the group, but my guess is it's somewhere around 26 people.

Anyway, I will probably blog my weight loss for the week on Mondays. During the week I will probably blog about anything and everything, including any weight loss related issues I am having or vents I want to make. This is going to be a long emotional journey, and I have found I am definitely an emotional eater. But I invite you to see into my journey so that 1) I may possibly be able to help someone else, and 2) so that I can help myself.

I weigh myself every Monday morning, so this is technically the end of week 8--even though I haven't been following my eating plan fully except for maybe about 3 weeks--and I am down 8.4lbs, which means I'm down 3.89%!

Here is my weight loss thus far, week by week:

3/26/07 Start
4/02/07 -1 lb
4/09/07 +2 lbs
4/16/07 -3 lbs
4/23/07 -2.4 lbs
4/30/07 -1 lb
5/07/07 -1 lb
5/14/07 + .6 lb
5/21/07 - 2.6lbs


Thanks for reading!!!

Katie and Eddie

Here is a slide show my wonderful husband put together for his little sister and her new hubby of their wedding. It's put together with one of Katie's favorite songs (this particular version), "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," done by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Congratulations are in Order!!

Last Saturday, my sister in law, Katie (Ray's youngest sister) got married. Here is a picture of her with her husband, Eddie. They are the ones who live on Catalina Island, which by the way, their town made out just fine.

Also, yesterday, my brother in law, Matt (the older of Ray's younger brothers) asked his longtime girlfriend, Danielle, to marry him. She said YES!!! (Like we had any doubts). Here is a picture of them from Matt's Basic Training graduation last May.

Matt is in the Army Reserves and will be leaving on Saturday for Orlando for a week, then he will be off for 3 months somwhere, doing something. After that, it is unknown where he will be or what he will be doing, so please keep him and my family in your prayers. (Sorry this was vague, gotta keep it that way)

Catalina On Fire

The island of Santa Catalina, 22 miles off the coast of California, is battling a wildfire that started yesterday at about 12:30pm local time. As of this morning, over 4,000 acres have burned threatening the tourist town of Avalon. Avalon, as some of you may know, is where my sister-in-law Katie and her new husband Eddie live. They once worked at Camp Fox, a popular camp on the island that was run by the Glendale YMCA until recently, along with my other sister-in-law Elizabeth and her husband Grant (who now live here in Florida). Katie and Eddie's apartment is located in a section that was being threatened by the flames last night and they needed to move to a more eastern location. As of today, state, county, and military officials are bringing in firefighters from as far away as Fresno, including about 70 inmate firefighters, to battle the blaze while the temperatures are cool, the humidity is up, and the winds are down. They are trying to battle the blaze before the winds are due to pick back up later this afternoon. They were expected to have 700 firefighters to fight the blaze this morning, but I haven't heard any more on that.

I have gathered some pictures from various news medias. Here is what I have so far:

View from Whittley Ave

View from the Green Pier

View from East Side of Avalon

View from Whittley Ave in Avalon

Evacuees lining up at Catalina Landing

Evacuees lining up at Catalina Landing

View from Catalina Landing

Evacuees waiting to board a ferry

Evacuees lining up at Catalina Landing

Overhead view of Avalon Harbor and Casino

Fire crews arriving

Ferry leaving around 9pm with a full boat of evacuees

Overhead view of Catalina Island

Navy crews getting the Hovercraft ready to bring supplies to Catalina

Planes dousing fire retardant on the island

Overhead view of Catalina

Overhead view of Catalina

Overhead view of firefighters battling the blaze

Overhead view of Avalon Bay from the north

Night view from the Green Pier

Evening view from the Green Pier

Firefighter near blaze

Firefighters near blaze

View from the Green Pier

Man on the Green Pier

Man watching the blaze get closer

View from the Green Pier

Florida

Florida is currently experiencing a drought. In fact, this may be the worst drought in Florida, ever. When water restrictions are placed in effect, they are referred to in phases: Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III. The biggest difference between the phases is when you can water your lawn, going from three days a week between 4am and 8am, to two days a week between 4am and 8am, to one day a week between 4am and 7am. Currently much of south Florida is under Phase II, however, the City of West Palm Beach has voluntarily adopted Phase III.

Lake Okeechobee levels are currently 4 feet below normal this time of year at 9.37 feet above sea level, nearing the all time record low level of 8.97 feet above sea level. Lake Okeechobee is the center of an interconnected system for Florida. Because the big lake is in the midst of the region-spanning Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades ecosystem, conditions in and around the lake affect lands, rivers, people and creatures to the east, west, north and south. (from the South Florida Water Management website.)

So what does this drought mean? It means fuel to the current wildfires as well as ones that could start due to the dry ground conditions. It means we need to conserve water or we will be in big trouble. The rainy season doesn't really get going until late May, and we already have tons of wildfires burning in Florida alone. Here is a map of the State of Florida and all the wildfires currently burning:



Thanks to a major wildfire up in northern Florida that started in Georgia, and a fire in nearby Collier County, most of south Florida has been under smoke and currently has health warnings in effect until the weekend. Basically, that means to not do any exercising outdoors, and limit outdoor activity to a minimum. Subtropical Storm Andrea has been downgraded to subtropical depression status, however, it was unclear as to how much rain she would bring in to the region to help the wildfire status. Man, it's busy here in Florida for those meteorologists. But where there's weather news, there I'll be. This is Gabbi reporting from Blogger.com weather center. =)


****************************UPDATE********************************************
Water Management officials have now imposed once-a-week watering restrictions on Broward and Plam Beach Counties, setting the toughest limits ever in response to one of the worst droughts in history, according to Sun-Sentinel. For more info, see Sun-Sentinel article.

Here We Go........

Hurricane season already??? Seems so. Three weeks before the official start of the hurricane season, a storm has been named off the coast of FL and GA. Andrea, the season's first named storm, is considered a sub-tropical storm, which according to www.wsvn.com, is a "hybrid weather formations that are usually weaker than hurricanes and tropical storms. They are kind of a half-breed, sharing characteristics of tropical systems, which get their power from warm ocean water at their centers, and more typical bad weather that forms when warm and cold fronts collide."

Andrea currently has maximum sustained winds of 45mph, which is hardly a threat. However, if this is an example of how this season will be, count me out! I think its due to hit Florida....but I don't have time to look it up just yet....I will update this soon. Stay tuned.........

Update

On Wednesday I got my wisdom teeth taken out. It really wasn't horrible, however, my jaw is really achy and feels like I had been punched in the jaw. I was taking my pain meds (Darvocet) but since 1) they are making me feel loopy, tired, and a little nauseous, and 2) when I am not taking them I noticed I am getting headaches (which I am assuming means my body is trying to become dependent on the pills and is why I am getting the headaches), I have decided I am not going to take them, or at least I am trying not to. So today my jaw hurts and the Advil isn't really helping, and since I have to drive to pick up Grace in a few hours, I really can't take them. Other than that, it looks like things went well. I go in to have my sutures removed on Wednesday (I had to have like one or two little sutures on one of extracted areas) and that is the same time I will have my new crown put in.

Yesterday we had a repair guy come out to look at the fridge. We were told by one company they could get out May 7th, another told us Friday (today), and another said Thursday (yesterday). So, the guy comes in and looks at it and immediately sees the problem. Let me just say that when you know that you yourself have not done something, and that your spouse for sure has not done it, then it kinda slips your mind a little. Some how, both Ray and I, forgot that there are children in the house who could mess with things, and it never occurred to us that it could have happened. Apparently the dials in the fridge that set the temperature for the freezer and refrigerator had been turned down to off. Hmmmmm. I wonder who did that..................GRACIE! Anyway, Ray and I both felt very embarassed that we never thought to even look at that. I mean, it was working and then it wasn't. It would make loud sounds when the compressor would turn off and on at times, and so we thought for sure that was the problem. Well, Grace now has to help me with some extra chores around the house to help pay back messing around with the refrigerator and costing us $75 for a service call that lasted 30 seconds. Yeesh. The good news of this is that if it was the compressor, we may have had to wait 7-10 days before the art was in to repair it. So, I guess this was a blessing in disguise, even if it did cost us some money that we didn't need to spend.

Crowns, Wisdom Teeth, and Broken Refrigerators

It's been a while, so I thought I'd update you on some goings-on here in my life.

I had gone to my dentist back in February for a check up and to see about a tooth that had been bothering me for a while. Well, lo and behold, I needed a root canal on that tooth and a crown. I got the crown put on about a month ago and have not been happy with the color of it. To me it looked gray, but I have also been told it looked a bluish color. Anyway, I went back to my dentist about a week later (I had been real sick with a bad sinus infection, so I had to wait until I felt better) and talked to him about what could be done. We left it at me deciding what I wanted to do, but he would redo the crown for me if I was still unhappy. I waited a couple of weeks and since I just wasn't happy with it, I called to make an appointment to get it redone. I went last week and had to have my impression for the new crown redone, so therefore that meant I had to have the crown cut off and a temporary put on. Blah. I hate this temporary. It hurts my gum. Ick.

So, while I'm at the dentist's office I asked him about my wisdom tooth on the bottom left side of my mouth. I am having a lot of pain with the gums around that tooth. Its the same problem I had with the wisdom tooth on the bottom right side about 7 years ago and had to have both wisdom teeth on the right side removed. So, he said that the tooth, and the one above it, will need to go. Yay. Fun. Actually, I'm not to upset about it. I didn't have any problems really with the extraction or with the recovery afterwards for the last extraction. However, I did find out last time that I am possibly allergic to codeine, so I am not sure how great my pain meds will be this time around. I never get the good stuff.

Now for the refrigerator.........Last night Ray and I realized our refrigerator stopped working. So, at 11pm at night, my poor Ray had to run to Walmart to buy a cooler and lots of ice. Today we found out that even though our warranty had run out, if it is the compressor that went, which we think is the problem, Whirlpoo covers that for 10 years. We are still unsure if they cover the labor portion of it, however, something is definitely better than nothing. Now, we currently cannot get someone out here until May 7th. Yes, I did in fact say a date that is 13 days away. They did say we could be put on a list and if a cancellation comes up, then we can be put in. But 2 weeks, really?? Phhbt! Sheesh. Thats a long time without a fridge. Oh well, what can you do.

P.F. Changs

So last night I took my hubby Ray to dinner for an early anniversary meal at P.F. Changs. It was great. I made reservations for 6:30pm and it was A LOT more casual and A LOT less expensive than I thought it was going to be. The ambiance was nice and very comfortable, and the food was excellent. However, I have some news that may shock most of you, if not ALL of you. So sit down. Shortly after being seated and after our drink order was taken, our server came to serve our drinks and set a plate of Lettuce Wraps down. We told her we did not order the appetitzer, and she told us that it was on her. Ok. We were talking about ordering the Lettuce Wraps anyway. However, these weren't your ordinary Chicken Lettuce Wraps, mind you. Nope, these were the Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps, made with none other than Tofu. Hmmmm. Picky Gabbi apparently doens't like veggies and therefore probably won't like Tofu. Well, Picky Gabbi gave it a shot (because even though Gabbi is picky, she is still ADVENTUROUS and will give it a shot first!). Well, Gabbi must say it was quite yummy. Perhaps it was all the soy sauce flavoring, but since I've been wanting to give Tofu a try (yes I did just say that I actually wanted to give Tofu a try), I'll probably try it made some other ways again since it really was quite good. Anyway, so there you have it, I ate stinking Tofu. Oh yeah, and I even wrapped it in lettuce, and since as Ray would say, "Gabbi only eats lettuce in a salad, or in a Twister sandwich from KFC." and those are truly the only two instances I usually eat lettuce, now there are three instances. Ha. Ok, you can get up off of the floor now and quit laughing at me. Or maybe you fell on the floor in shock, either way, get up. I like Tofu. So what? There have been stranger things to happen in the world you know.


(By the way, I recommend trying P.F. Changs sometime if you haven't already. We had three different things we orered, plus two sodas and before tip it was only $34. Not bad at all.)

Nate Mumbo Jumbo

So, my little, yet big Nate-dog had his 15 month check up on Tuesday. Nate, my friends, is growing wonderfully. He is a whopping 33 inches tall and weighs 27 lbs. This puts him in the 90-95th percentile for height, and 75-90th percentile for weight. I must say, he has caught up quite nicely. Grace was 21 inches long at birth while Nate was only 18 1/2 inches at birth. Now, Grace is only 8 inches taller than him!! And she's 4! Well, his growth is actually slowing down at this point. I read somewhere online that girls and boys both are about the same height at 15 months while boys will be slighty heavier than the girls. On average, at 15 months they will stand at about 31 inches. By age 2, they will be about 33 inches and 27-28 lbs. Well, it seems that my three week early (any earlier and he would have been technically considered premature) child has the body of a 2 year old. Now, if only we could get him to talk like one..............

He is vigorously working on his vocab. He is trying to say more things, such as: That, More, Cup, Book. However, these are still a work in progress, but the dr said as long as he is using specific words or sounds for words for specific things, then he is grasping the whole vocab concept. He says dat for that, bah for ball, mah for more, cupakah for cup, at ah for uh oh, and bookabook for book. He says nigh nigh for night night and he can say bye bye. He says ah dah for all done, while he does his own version of the sign language for all done as well. He also does the sign for more. And he says ba ba for his bottle. And that I think is the entire Nate vocab as of now. But stay tuned and don't change the channel, as another vocab update will probably follow again soon.

Newton's Third Law of Weather

Newton's Third Law of Weather:
For every post Wendi makes about the weather in MN, there is an equal and opposite post Gabbi can make about the weather in FL. And thus, since Wendi has NOT blogged about the weather in MN, I will not blog about how it is hot here in March, once again. Nope. Not gonna do it! Instead, I will find something useless to post about.

Ok, so what then will I blog about. Good question. Nothing really exciting going on here. How about American Idol? American Idol kind of stinks this season, to tell you the truth. I always pick a favorite during the initial audition process and this year, she was voted out in Hollywood week. Now she did forget her lines but she was really good and I think she deserved another chance. Don't get me wrong, there are some good people on the show, but overall, I am not "crazy" about anyone in particular like I am every year past.

On another note, Grace has come down with her first case of pink eye. Now, this isn't a big deal because she didn't have to miss any school and no one else to my knowledge has contracted it from her. However, we did have plans to go to Chuck E. Cheese yesterday with her friend, Anthony, who no longer lives down here, but is down here until Saturday. So that had to be canceled. Poor Grace.

Nate will be 15 months old in 6 days. Wow, he is getting bigger everyday. He is already wearing 24 month and 2T clothes. He's a big boy! He's also getting himself into trouble. He has started consistently opening up the doors to the bedrooms, so now we have to chase after him more often. He is also climbing up onto the dining room chairs and trying to get onto the table at times.

On Monday, I go to the dentist to get fitted for my crown and to get my temporary put on. Yay. (Note: that was a sarcastic yay).

Well, thats all for now. If you think about me today, throw a prayer up my way (hey, that rhymed....didn't mean it to)

News

It has officially been decided that this fall, when Grace starts Pre-K4, she will attend the alma matter of so many other K's in her family. Wait! ALL the other K's in her family.................Go Crusaders! She is very excited about this, because why? Well, she really likes the playground there. Ha ha! Kids and their priorities.

Oh and check out my new featured song (on the right hand side). It's called Work by Jars of Clay.

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

Ok, so, yeah I know I live in the tropics, but this is ridiculous. Yesterday, I was driving in my car when my temperature gauge read 88........yes, 88 degrees. Today, I was again in my car, at 10:30 am when the temperature read 85.....IN THE MORNING!! Does anyone see anything wrong with this?? I do! I do! Its March 3rd. Summer is not for another 3 months, but even still, it doesn't usually get this hot until May. Why is it so hot? Bleh.

Anyway, enough of that, because I could go on forever about how hot it is here and how much I hate that fact.

In other news, my little Nate-dog is really a cutie pie. But seriously, he's becoming more toddler-ish and less baby-ish everyday. He's starting to talk more. He can say, "Bye-bye," and "All done," (in which he tries to do the sign language sign for it, but he has made it into his own version) and thats about all the new words so far. I think. I can't remember. Anyway, I had been showing him the sign for "more" off and on, here and there. The other day Nate was eating and I looked away to get him more food, and I turn to see him pointing his little index finger into the palm of his other hand, making the sign for more. Cute. I do believe he's been doing that for a while, slightly skewed a bit though. I see him point a lot to his tray when he is wanting more food. Perhaps thats the lazy boy version. Who knows? But he's a smart little booger. He also has a little temper, oh, and he loves to scream at the very toppest top of his lungs while shopping in grocery stores.