I dislike getting older....

No worries, this isn't a rant or a huge complaint about the approaching 3-0.  I didn't feel as wowed or excited about Halloween this year and I blame my age.  I've barely watched any horror movies (luckily I can watch those year-round).   My decorating was limited due to the remodel of the house so I'm hoping that next year I can really spruce up the front yard with some spooky stuff.   Is it bad that a motivating factor for having another child is strongly associated to being able to dress up a little kiddo and Trick-or-Treat regularly for several more years?  I'm hoping I feel more of the Christmas spirit and the holiday doesn't just slip by like Halloween did.  I guess I feel old because life is all work, work, work and I'm not enjoying the fun little pleasures.  

Gavin didn't trick-or-treat in Ankeny.  He helped Jon and I hand out candy on Tuesday night.  He did trick-or-treat on Wednesday night as he came up to Ames (thanks to my taxi service) and hung out with his friends.   Due to his height, I believe this may be his last year of participation.  I didn't take pictures or anything.   I was in a rush to get to DMACC so I wasn't late for work.

The weight loss process has hit a nice mental bump.   It always seems to happen around 20 lbs too.   I'm lazy and complacent when it comes to tracking my food intake.   I'm eating too much every day and I can tell I've gained some weight back.  Blah!  Work kept me from Weight Watchers last week.   My taxi service kept me away yesterday.   I need to just go in Saturday and get my weight so I know what's changed.   I also need to make more of an effort to work out more regularly.   My treadmill is covered with a comforter (needed to dry more after a ride in the dryer) and I think other blankets are sitting on the actual track.   I'm seriously thinking of using the interval running program I got years ago from a friend to start back up with running.   In a perfect world, I would wake up at 6am, run for 20-30 minutes, hit the shower, get all purdy for work, drive Gavin to school, and be on the road for Ames by 8:15am.   It's amazing how difficult it is for me to get up that early.   I'm even going to bed earlier most evenings. 

Anyway, I really want to be close to a 30 lb loss by the end of the year.   It will be tough considering that Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up quick.   Here's the deal though....why do I get so worked up about the food related to those holidays?   I can have turkey at any time.   Same with mashed potatoes, green beans, etc.   I'm actually not a fan of pumpkin desserts.   I'm also not a big fan of cookies and stuff associated with Christmas.   Yet I get around people and I feel the need to stuff my face.   The psychology of eating really rears its ugly head around the holidays.  I really want to go to Taki for my birthday meal too but I am willing to postpone that for an early 2013 venture if need be.   I know I'll end up eating too much at that venue because it's so delicious.   Thank God I don't live closer to that restaurant.

And to end this blog entry...here is a before picture of the house:

Here is an after picture.   They completed the stone work yesterday. 

We still have a ton of work to do....well the contractor has a ton of work to do.  They still need to paint the trim on the house, put the gutters back on, paint the front door red (ISU red), insulate the windows, stain wooden part of the window frames, put trim around the windows on the inside, attach the storm doors, do the trim on the garage, etc.  It will be interesting to see how much they get finished before the snow is flying.   I just want the work done so we can do some major cleaning on the inside and outside.

I'm sure I'll be blogging again soon as I need to get my butt to Weight Watchers to weigh in and see what the damage is.