Thursday Thoughts

1. Jello brand sugar free pudding (double chocolate) tastes soooo much better than Handi-Snacks brand. So even if Jello brand is more expensive, you should go for it. Because if you're two weeks into no desserts like me, taste is everything. And also, if you haven't eaten dessert for two weeks and you also haven't lost one pound, you may be considering eating some dessert. But then you'll be feeling stubborn, like you should hold out for at least a month. But then you'll think of your dark chocolate stash. And then you'll decide to just take it one day at a time. My cheat for the week: 1/2 of an orange stick. They were from Christmas and I never had one and they were almost gone. And I don't feel guilty.

2. Kara's destined to be the best cable repair person ever. I hope she resembles Charlize Theron in "The Italian Job" and not Larry the cable guy. Her new love is Elmo, or Sesame Street, and she has learned how to turn the TV on in my room. No problem, since you also have to turn on the satellite box. Which she now can do. No problem, since the TV has to be on channel 4, so just move the TV to channel 6 or so before you turn it off. Nope, she solved that one too. She walks into my room at all times of the day, says "Elmo", and turns on everything she needs to watch a show. And she can also turn off the Wii (if everyone's playing Mario Kart and ignoring her), eject the disc, and take control of a Wii game by using another remote, and record things on the DVR. She once recorded a whole series of some boring show on PBS. Both Kyle and I were thinking the other person had recorded it. Finally I asked him "Why did you record this? Are you ever going to watch it?" We laughed when we realized who the culprit was! Look out, MIT, we've got your next tech genius. Probably it's all luck, right?

3. I think I'm actually going to be able to grow my hair out past the A-line, stacked bob thing I've had for over a year. Yes! It's finally looking a little longer. This spring (I'm thinking late April) I might actually be able to wear a ponytail. Hurrah!

4. I've decided to run another marathon. Meet me in Newport, OR, on May 30th if you're interested. Should be fun! Training starts January 26th and I'm certain it won't be 8 degrees and snowing like it was last year when I started.

5. My kids' new bus driver must think I'm a neglectful mother. Hayden always gets off the bus with Jillian after school, and then they walk the 50 yards home. I sometimes go out to greet them, but I'm usually trying to finish something up while Kara is napping. Well, on Tuesdays for the last two months Jillian's been staying after school for Spanish club. This means Hayden has to ride home alone. I would make the effort to go and meet the bus, but not always, and I wasn't always waiting right at the bus stop. I didn't think much of it until this Tuesday, when I went out to meet Hayden. The bus wasn't there but the kids were off. I was pondering what this meant when I saw the bus come around the corner again. The bus stopped, the driver waved me over, and then kind of chewed me out and told me how upset Hayden was that I wasn't there and she wouldn't let him off of the bus. I told her this was all news to me. She said it was district policy. I thought in my head "Then you should have told the other bus driver that." Then, on Wednesday morning, Jillian went out the door to catch the bus that comes at 7:30. Apparently it was already there, even though it was only 7:27. Now she insists that she has to leave the house at 7:22 because the bus driver told her to be there 5 minutes early and that she couldn't run to catch the bus. Whatever! I'm pretty sure there's no district policy about running. Safety, I know. Now I've got to show my good Mom side so I don't get in any more trouble!

Hope everyone else is having a good week. Can't believe the weekend is almost here!

Amy