Jill Reese

Mom and I are officially going to St. Louis! Whoo hoo! In two weeks, actually. Ive really started trip planning now. Marilyn always bothers me to get on the trip planning, but I just cant do it that far ahead of time. Otherwise I stop everything I am supposed to be doing and just think about the trip. Not good!

We are definitely heading to the ballpark….right after the All-Star break, so that will be fun! AND you can take food inside the park. What a concept! This is going to be added to my list of ballparks: Wrigley, Fenway, Turner and MMP. So that will make five! Slowly but surely making it. Ha!

Apparently in St. Louis you have to have fried chicken, concretes and gooey cakes. Whatever the hell those are. I havent quite figured that one out, yet!

This is what it looks like, though….

Im hoping to be in a better mood tomorrow to start off my week than I was on Friday and Saturday, to end my week. Friday was just super blah. Crazy work week filled with events and drama is just completely draining! Ugh. My day didnt end so well, either, when I got pulled over for my inspection sticker being over due. Double ugh. At least I pulled into a gas station parking lot with the cop, and convinced him to just let me go get it inspected right then instead of getting a ticket. I definitely dont need another one of those! Saturday was long – good lunch in Beaumont, but still a long day. Came home with the worst headache! Triple ugh.

Today was better, though. I met Lydia for my 60 minute walk. Saturdays are rest days, and Sundays are walk days! The humidity and heat were crazy, though. Makes me appreciate, even more, mine and Jorge’s early morning runs! 6:15 a.m. doesnt seem so bad now.

Anyway…this week will be good. Im declaring it! I am also really wanting a trip to Jake’s. I miss Jake’s and seem to be having withdrawals. I may have to save up Weight Watcher points for that one! Ha!

Jorge and I have had three good runs in a row this week….yesterday we didnt realize that we had almost done a full mile more than we usually do until it was over! Very cool. Today I started feeling really light-headed….I think the crazy humidity was getting to me. Still a good run, but now I am dragging. Just cant seem to get in gear. Tomorrow is rest day, and Sunday is walk day. Hopefully Ive convinced Lydia to meet me for that.

I know it seems like all Ive been talking about lately is exercise and weight watchers, but putting it out there is helping me stay motivated! Ha!

Also, calling myself out when I am bad helps as well. I dont handle guilt very well. Maybe I am a Catholic in disguise. Hmm. At the reception last night I had two of Spencer’s WONDERFUL mini crab cakes with risotto. They were DIVINE. But the cream sauce was a killer! Boo on me. Back on the wagon TODAY.

Yes, I spell grey the British way. Of course.

I had decided this week that it was time for the grey sweater to go away, but made the mistake of making that decision public! So when it had NOT gone away by this afternoon, LG took matters into her own hands and made sure I HAD to throw it away. Or at least wouldnt get it out of the trash!

It was sad! My sweater has been around a while…other people borrowed it if they were cold, Penny rarely took it off during her last pregnancy. It has been used as a blanket, a pillow…all sorts of things. It was time to say goodbye, though…holes were developing at the elbows. Ha!

So goodbye, grey sweater!

LG working on the sweater and modeling her handiwork…

My favorite show in the summertime is definitely “So You Think You Can Dance.” I have been looking forward to this one for months! They had a season last fall, but it just wasnt as good. The fall schedule makes it feel rushed, and then they had way too many people in the final…the whole thing was just awkward. SYTYCD definitely belongs in the summer. This summer they have an entire new format, as well. Instead of a Top 20, where each week a female contestant is randomly matched up with a male contestant, and then they are randomly matched up to a dance genre, this year there was a Top 10. (which turned into a Top 11 ) And each week one of the contestants is matched up randomly with a SYTYCD all-star….contestants from past seasons. Then they have to dance in the all-star’s style. It is actually kind of neat. It is just hard to get to know this year’s contestants because let’s face it…the all-stars are all-stars for a reason, and tend to overshadow the contestants. Still some fabulous dancing, though! This is one of the only “reality” shows that I will watch. I seriously hate American Idol…and most other reality shows, for that matter! Ha. (dont hit me, Blanca!)

Other summer shows I enjoy:

Lie to Me - this started as a summer show, and was another they tried to show during the regular scheduling year, but it is working much better in the summer, in my opinion
Rugby! – Okay, this isnt a show….I am well aware this is a SPORT, but thanks to the universal sports channel that I get on my antenna, I am loving some rugby!
Reruns of NCIS, glee and Vampire Diaries.

So Blanca is making me blog about this as a motivational tool. Ive lost 10 pounds in two weeks! Whoo hoo! I may actually have to buy a new dress for the Soiree if I can keep this up! Thank goodness. I cant wait!

I was really off on the whole diet thing on Thursday and Friday. *sigh* I had been doing so well! Blanca corrupted me! Ha! (just kidding, Blanca)

I got back on the wagon yesterday and today. So hopefully this week will be a good one! Even though my running partner is gone. Booooo. I am really going to have to suck it up if I expect to make it to the park to run before work now. Cross your fingers!

Okay…I forgot to mention my favorite part of going to the movies. The preview trailers! I LOVE the preview trailers and often considered the trailers better than what Im going to see. Okay, maybe Im exaggerating, but I LOVE previews. The real point it this…I was so disappointed in the previews before The A-Team! When I go see an action movie, I expect to see trailers for action movies. Does anyone else consider Inception to be an upcoming action flick?? I mean, stuff blows up, I guess….but true, mindless, fun, action flick?? There was one for Takers, which Im sure dad and Jay will be going to see. Nice to see Paul Walker is still getting some work. The main one I enjoyed was for the Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz movie Knight and Day. Now, I havent really enjoyed Tom Cruise in anything in a while. He kind of freaks me out, actually. But this movie looks like FUN. Totally over-the-top and fantastically cheesy. PLUS explosions and guns and car chases!  Awesome. I cannot wait! Dad and I will be going to see that one.

We celebrated Father’s Day a couple of days early, starting with the Astros game on Friday night. Awesome tickets, awesome fireworks….pretty crappy baseball. *sigh* I love sitting in the club level, though! I was halfway good and had a turkey sandwich…but balanced it out with some potato salad that probably had more calories than a person needs in a week! (dont worry, I only ate half or less)

Saturday morning we went to the movies early to see The A-Team. I love action movies and this one did not disappoint! And let me just add that Bradley Cooper with no shirt on is worth the ticket price. Although, I must point out that he has been on my “list” of celebrities since ALIAS…and nobody knew who he was!  Now he is all famous, with the A-list actress girlfriend, the requisite breakthrough role in The Hangover, and the follow-up “hot actor” role in an action flick. But sorry ladies, I claimed him a long time ago. Ha! That just makes me want to watch ALIAS again.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

This week I am re-reading a trilogy that is related to Pride & Prejudice. It is the P&P story told from the viewpoint of Mr. Darcy. I love books that do this…when I really enjoy a story I always want more and more and more. Providing an alternate version with a different lead is perfect! The first and third books are quite entertaining and true to the original plot and ideals…the second goes off on a weird tangent with what Mr. Darcy is doing away from Netherfield. It is a bit odd…quite enjoyable, but not really comparable to the idea of the original story.

Back to the point….here are my latest reads:

An Assembly Such as This

Duty and Desire

These Three Remain

All written by Pamela Aidan