Happy Thanksgiving

Last night I made the mashed potatoes and cranberries. Today comes roasting the turkey, sweet potatoes and heating up the mashed potatoes. Oh, and stuffing. And then we take off out of town to a water resort hotel, the whole family. And, by the way things roll, my Monthly Visitor has come to brighten the day.

Goodness.

Still, I am greatful for the day, blessed by family, health, and warmed in spirit. This is the first “vacation” we’ve taken that I haven’t used our credit card for. I purchased it months ago with cash and am taking cash with. I hope that is a preview of our finances to come – increased responsibility with our money, and the ability to live without being indebted to anyone. It is a big goal, but I don’t feel as if it is unreasonable.

The house is filled with delicious smells, sounds, and the excitement of a change, a ruffle in the regular mechanics of day-to-day life. It is pleasing, and I am filled with gratitude.

Wii Fit Plus With Balance Board

Today I bought a Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board. I am completely new to the whole Wii Fit craze. The balance board is taking some time to adjust to. The boys helped me set it up, and then proceeded to try and move in on my game time. Momma says NO. Rarely do I get a new toy, and I wanted to be the one to break that badboy in.

It’s easy to set up and pretty easy to use. Or… it appears to be. I don’t know if there’s something wrong with mine, but it does have one challenge: it runs backwards. So like, when I’m doing the soccer thing, if I want to go at a ball that is on my right, I lean left. Is that normal? ‘Cause it’s making my brain work too hard. I couldn’t even do the table-top thingy with the ball. I felt like I was going to melt my own brain trying to make my body do the opposite of what my brain was instinctively wanting it to do.

But, that’s only day 1. So far I learned that:

  • my Wii Fit age is 45 (I thought it would be 65)
  • and I’m obese (nothing new). It was kind of cute when the little stick figure suddenly packed on some girth, as the BMI radar hit the roof. The boys were defensive, telling me that I was not obese. How sweet.
  • that I do not “outweigh” the board (it wasn’t until I got it home that it dawned on me that the board might not like people over 150 pounds – but guess what fellow fatties?! – the Wii Fit balance board weight limit goes all the way up to 330 (I guess that’s as high as it officially counts)

I’m actually looking forward to Day 2 and being a penguin again, eating more fish. That was probably my favorite so far.

Shopping Cart Disinfectant Wipes

Last year around this time, they were scarce. This year, they are all over, at least in my area. The germaphobic hypochondriac in me has grown semi-dependant on using them and I don’t have children who sit in the cart anymore, which is maybe what they are intended for. I never liked touching the cart handles in the first place, having put my hand in someone’s leftover goo on more than one occasion. Last month I grabbed a cart and as I recoiled my hand to see find the culprit of my discomfort, I saw (and smelled) a sweet, sticky substance covering the handle, the sides, and the back of the seat. Surely it was leftover from a mother trying to satiate an impatient child as she pushed him down the isles.

I was repulsed. As much as I love kids (and I really do enjoy the little buggers), I’ll tell ya, one thing that grouses me out – even more than a dirty diaper – is a sticky-faced little kid. Sticky with candy or sugared treat gives me the feeling of being dressed in all white and having a muddy dog bounding towards me. I can’t explain it. Worse yet, though is a coughing, snotty-nosed toddler. I literally feel like ripping my shirt and running around screaming, “THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING!!!” when there’s a wee one with a snot-crusted nose, coughing and touching things. So, as glad as I was for the sweet candy smell (rather than grabbing a cart laced with snot), it was just the lesser of two evils.

Clearly, I traded that cart in for a new one, as that job was bigger than any disinfecting cart wipe in the world. But for the most part, for everyday shopping, I love me some cart wipes. I don’t just use them because they might kill some germs, I use them because I don’t always have my gloves with me. Yes, I do generally have cart gloves that I use. What of it?