Screen time, Social Media

Friday links! Making me laugh and cry

  • Have you seen the Rickroll thing? It never fails to make me laugh. And when it “evolved” into the BarackRoll? Priceless. Oh, but it gets better! Click over to watch as John McCain gets BarackRoll’d.
  • On a more serious note, Mary at Owlhaven has pledged to spend only $200 at the grocery store this month. That might not sound all that difficult. Until you learn that Mary has 10 kids. I’m going to stay tuned in over there to find out just how she does it.
  • Rockford pointed out a story this week at MSNBC, and I’m not sure if it’s terrifying or hilarious. I think it may be a little of both. Here’s a little taste of what I’m talking about:

    … the real headline-grabber is the claim that the world’s most powerful particle-smasher could create microscopic black holes that some fear would gobble up the planet.

    Read more at Boon or doom? Collider stirs debate.

  • Here’s a little life-skills test for you: Dog or Wizard.
  • The Tomato Nation posts about the author’s 9/11 “disaster buddy” always make me cry. This year’s post, Angels in America was no exception.
  • Also making me cry this week: My friends’ baby is celebrating his first birthday today. Just so the sun don’t hurt you when you cry made me a little teary-eyed because I haven’t gotten to hug the little guy yet. I’m sure he gives great hugs. Happy birthday, Z!
    • Family matters

    Exercising in the living room

    Works for Me Wednesday logo

    I mentioned yesterday that I’m having trouble losing weight. Although the pounds aren’t dropping off, I have been putting an effort into exercising. So I must be at least a little bit healthier than before, right? I sure hope so.

    Anyway. When I decided I wanted to start working out again, I was faced with a dilemma. A gym membership isn’t in our budget right now, and the roads around our house aren’t safe for pedestrians. There are quite a few parks around here that I could have gone to, but I knew that the combination of having to leave the house and walk around in the heat would stifle my desire to exercise right quick.

    I needed another solution. And I found it at Netflix. We already had a Netflix account, and it only cost me a few dollars more every month to add another queue to our account. I filled that queue up with workout DVDs. When I get bored with one, I can just pop it in the mail and get something else!

    So far I haven’t found what’ll work for me to get the weight off, but a Netflix queue is working to help me exercise every day!

    Visit Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

    Family matters

    Motivation

    My #1 motivation to lose weight has been a shallow one. I want to look good at my brother’s wedding, which is next September. This hasn’t been, apparently, enough to really kick me into gear. I’ve been on Weight Watchers for ten thousand years more than a couple of months, and I’ve only managed to lose a pound. That’s one. One stinkin’ pound.

    Today, I found myself up against a new, more immediate motivation. A friend and I have been toying with the idea of taking a ballroom dancing class, and we were going to “observe” a session this evening. The woman at the dance studio told me that we didn’t need to wear ball gowns but that we should wear nice slacks. Definitely not jeans.

    Now, I haven’t gone the way of the sweatpant. But I’ll admit that I don’t do a whole lot to gussy myself up every day. I do have some slacks in the closet, but I haven’t worn them in a good long while. And this afternoon? I discovered that none of them fit.

    I called my friend to tell her I needed to lose 15 pounds or buy new pants before I could hit the dance floor, and she sounded relieved. She was headed to her closet when I talked to her. She has a 3-month-old, and she was worried she wasn’t going to fit into the pre-pregnancy clothes.

    Me? I’ve gained 10 pounds since having Pete. I can’t fit into my post-pregnancy clothes. This is not good. I need to back away from the desserts. Because I can’t afford a new wardrobe.