The Reason I Can Never Lose Weight

Yesterday I went running without my music or one of my kids in tow. I rarely have a second to myself these days, so I thought it would be nice to be alone with my thoughts. You know, maybe I could set some goals, fantasize about a clean house, the usual. Strangely enough I found myself thinking about food and how I couldn't wait to snarf the dinner that was waiting for me at home. Then it hit me: Every time my clothes start to feel a little loose, or the scale drops a few pounds, I think, " Yes! Now I can have 3 peanut butter ice cream sandwiches instead of the 2 that I was going to have."

This is completely the wrong mindset. What I should think is, "Sweet! My jeans aren't snug anymore, so if I lay off the junk food I can drop a dress size by my 10 year HS reunion!" The same problem exists outside of my own thoughts. After Sophie was born, someone said, "You look great!" What they meant was: "You look great for just having a baby", while I took it to mean, "Sweet! Now I can make cookies and eat half of the dough!"

So there you have it. You know why I can never lose weight, and you know what I think about when there is nothing to think about. Now get to Walmart and buy some peanut butter ice cream sandwiches!

P.S. You can tell I have been feeling nostalgic about high school and reading through my old journals because "Sweet!" is my exclamation of choice. I have been using it like crazy.

What's in a Name?

Sophie is only 3 months old and already has a nickname. This, of course, is Ryan's doing, so brace yourself.

Here it is: Sophenhoggle.

I don't even know how to spell it.

Not only is it a mouthful, but it's a horrible mouthful. More often than not just gets shortened to "The Hoggle." As in, "Where's The Hoggle?" Or, "Can you put The Hoggle to bed tonight?" Or my personal favorite, "Don't hassle The Hoggle." Because here's what happens when The Hoggle gets hassled:

Unfortunately Ryan's nicknames have a knack for sticking. That's why 3 1/2 years later we still call Riley "Bruiser" or some variation thereof.

On a side note, today is July 4 and I am blogging instead of watching fireworks because Ryan has been gone all week on a 50 mile Scout hike. He missed seeing the kids in their darling outfits (thanks Grammy!) and someone needs to appreciate their cuteness.

Bruisey, Sissy, and The Hoggle. Perfectly normal sounding names. Right?