Reflections, with a Twist (Read on!)

I'm going to start this post off with a great picture of the baked oatmeal that I mentioned for one of the foods that I like to snack on, the post is here. I make this recipe at least once a week, sometimes twice. It is pretty dense, almost like a muffin bar. I like to grab it by the chunk and munch on it, but you won't find me turning my nose up at throwing some in a bowl, microwaving it, then adding milk and mixing it all together.

This recipe, courtesy of here, had to be adapted to suit my tastes. Of course, those tastes wouldn't have come in to play if I had enough oil for the recipe during one session and hadn't decided to switch it off to applesauce. Best unorganized thing that has happened to me in a while!

My suggestion is to use 1/2 of the oil called for, and replace the other half with the applesauce. This recipe is already sweet enough, so completely substituting out the oil will make it sickly sweet (in my opinion anyway, take it or leave it). One more thing, try to use the smaller sized quick oats (not the package size, I'm talking "oat" size). I made it for my sister, and the oats were huge, and I felt that it ruined the recipe.

Hope you guys enjoy the recipe as much as I do, it's semi-quick, super cheap, and easy to make. Plus, it feeds a lot. How can you go wrong with that? I refuse to go back to microwaved oatmeal (which I previously worshiped) or regular plain Jane oatmeal. Once you go baked, that's all it takes!!

Enough about food. That's really not why I'm here. I noticed the pic on my camera when I transferred the ones in the rest of this post off of it, and thought it would be a good time to share it. Voila. This is me, at 2 years old. I'm sure you are asking why it matters that I dug that far back into my childhood for this post. Hush, it's a progressive post. I had to start somewhere. Plus, I want you guys to think that I'm really super cute and adorable.

Somewhere along the way, I took a liking to food. Junk food. Lots of it. So, that perfectly chubby-but-fit 2 year old, managed to plump up a bit by the time she was 10.I would be the one on the left of the screen. With the funky pale yellow shirt. See all that pudge straining against my t-shirt? That was the product of 8 years of eating whatever the hell I wanted, when I wanted. I shouldn't be so harsh on myself, I really could have blown up like a balloon with the food that I liked to pack away.Fourteen. *sigh* What a beautiful age that was. I still had the makings of a "big boned gal", but I. Was. THIN. And this is the Porkchop that T-Bone fell madly in love with. Don't mind the slightly bad hair, it got better for a while. Pardon the interruption while I cringe. *Cringe* *Cringe* Okay, I think I'm over it. Yes, that is me. Yes, that is a wedding dress. And NO that is not the man I was marrying. That was my dad. Notice the short, stylish hair. Mine, not his. The still *mostly* thin body. Please keep in mind that I married extremely early, I was nearing 17 in that pic, and I was 3 months pregnant. Blah blah blah, too young, blah blah where were your parents. Now that we have that out of the way, and I decline to answer those questions, we can skip them. *wink*

A little footnote (or is it a side note, since I'm barely through my post? you can choose). When I am single, or in any sort of a non-live-in relationship, I'm thinner. I eat less, I have more energy, and the freedom to fill my mind with whatever I like that doesn't pertain to the rooming with the opposite sex variety. Once I get settled in, the fat moves in like an uninvited guest, and invades every last piece of me. It's true. I can prove it.I have to admit that this pic in particular makes me want to build a time machine, travel back over 10 years, and kick the ever loving snot out of the woman standing right there. You know, the one with the baby on her hip, the 8 month pregnancy bump, and the awful hair. Very awful hair. My oldest was almost 11 months old in that pic, and I was pregnant again. Must be that I never realized how it happened the first go round. Anyway, that pic doesn't prove that I was fat, although I was. Not just pregnant, but F.A.T. I gained 70 pounds with baby number 1, and managed to lose maybe 20 pounds of it before getting myself knocked up again. You do the math, and I can guarantee you that this pic above had me sporting all of those 70 pounds again, plus some!Let's fast forward a good five years. Through the diapers, the feedings, the birth of 3 total children, the loss of one, and a messy ordeal that left me moving back in with my mother. I don't think I mentioned that during the "bad" pregnancy, I lost 20 pounds during the 6 months that I should have gained at least half of that. I was malnourished due to blood loss, and climbing back to something resembling healthy was a long haul for me. The picture above shows me at ten pounds over the ideal weight for a woman of my height and body mass index. TEN FREAKIN' POUNDS, and not a single person could walk by without asking me if I was sick. A few even ignorantly asked what kinds of treatments I was going through that would cause me to look so ill. Let's just say that the money I paid for a fitness trainer to point out a couple of years after this picture was taken that my ideal weight was less than what I weighed in that pic had me wanting to throttle him. There is no way I can hit my target weight and maintain any semblance of looking healthy. Been there, done that, and have the pictures to prove it, somewhere. This one isn't the best, but it shows the thin.Here I am at my sister's wedding a long time ago, but maybe 3 months after the previous picture. I had managed to gain 10 healthy pounds in 3 months, and was looking the best I have ever been.

Alright people, let's fast forward again. To a time where I have been in a comfortable relationship for almost 4 years. Of course, the fat has moved in, as I've mentioned in other posts. But, just how much fat? Muahahaha, I think I just started myself with my first blog giveaway.

Listen up people. I will show a couple of current pics. And, I must say, that my sister, T-Bone, Shell, and Sara MUST be excluded from entering, in order for it to be fair. The person who comes closest to guessing the correct weight just from these pics alone, will receive a gift-card from Target. The contest will run through the weekend, ending Sunday night. If more than one person guessed the same thing, or were the same distance from the actual weight, I will use a random generator to choose the winner.

On with the pics, my dears!Backside shot. I'm the one with the non-graying hair. :)Wedding pic, taken 2 years ago.
And, of course, I'm the taller one with the blonde streaks.

I really don't have any pics that show me better, but after the contest is over I will have T-Bone take a full body for me to post.

So, the rules.

1. Leave a comment with your guess on what I weigh. Really... I will not be offended. At all. Well, just don't say like 600 pounds. Then I might have to hunt you down and gut you like a fish. But we won't have that happen, right? RIGHT?

2. Feel free to blog about the contest, but it is not necessary in order for you to enter.

3. Anyone found canoodling with Sara, Shell, T-Bone, or my sister to try to get an accurate guess will be disqualified. :) Let's keep in the spirit of fair play, shall we?

Looking forward to pulling some shock and awe faces, along with a ton of laughing (I'm sure) at your guesses!

***Update*** I am 5'9". And, please don't ruin the contest by posting that you think weight guessing is rude. If that is how you feel, even after I asked for it, then please don't leave a comment. And no, I haven't had anyone say that.. just want to clarify it before it happens. :)

About Me

I was tagged a LONG time ago by Jessica over at The Barn Bums, and for some reason I could never find this tag when I wanted to blog about it. Guess what? I found it. I deserve a medal or something! Enjoy.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and post their names, then goes to the blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

What I was doing 10 years ago: *sigh* Ten years ago, I was a mother of 2 little guys, with a new pregnancy under my belt. I was married to Hubby #1, wanting desperately to move (I swear, the house I lived in was haunted and I wanted OUT), and I had no goals in life other than making it through another day full of dirty diapers, vomit, and screaming little ones. Barney, Teletubbies, and Jay Jay the Jet Plane headed my T.V. viewing schedule. I was desperate for something else, but resigned to the path that I chose.

5 Things on my To Do list today: Keep my sanity, drink more water, wait for T-Bone to get home from work, go shopping for the rest of my Easter stuff (which we are celebrating this weekend), and do laundry.

Snacks I enjoy: Oreo Cakesters, all the way baby. Those things rock! Pepperoni & Cheese, Dove Truffle Eggs (thanks Tracy!), Baked Oatmeal, and Jell-o.

Things I would do if I were a Billionaire: I would go on a Cruise to the Bahamas (even though I am deathly afraid of cruise ships/ocean liners), visit Europe (even though I am deathly afraid of planes), pay off my debt, buy a new home, put money into a fund for my children with strict regulations that they are to receive ONLY a stipend a month that would require them to hold a job in order to survive (I'm evil, but I don't believe that children should be HANDED everything, that they should work for what they want), buy a new car, donate to find a cure for Breast Cancer & HIV/AIDS, dole out some money to each of my siblings, T-Bone's siblings, and my parents, along with my wondiferous grammy. I would have T-Bone quit his job, and pursue a career in something that he can do on his own time, so that he isn't a slave to "the man" any longer.

3 of my Bad Habits: I drink Mountain Dew like it is going out of style, I smoke like a chimney (less during the winter since we smoke outside and it's too damned cold!), and I eat wwwaaayyyy too much. Oh, and I swear a lot. More than I should, but I'm not changing that!

5 places I have lived: I have only lived in 2 places for more than a month or so, which would include a small town in NY that is 7 miles from where I now live in PA. I have spent time in Nebraska, Indiana, and North Carolina for a few weeks/month with intentions to NOT return to NY at the time, which is where I lived. I always found my way home, and have no intentions on leaving. But.. I would LOVE to live in Indiana!!

5 jobs I have had: Ugh, I so don't want to go here. Ok, ok.. here goes. I have been a waitress, on more than one occasion. I have been a Data Entry Rep for a credit card company, I have been an Error Processing Rep & 800 phone number installer for MCI, I did a stint of nearly a year and a half as a laborer in a fabricated board plant, and I am currently a seasonal kitchen supervisor at a summer camp that has been manned by women in my family for 4 generations. The piece de resistance? I worked at McDonald's, right before Buckwheat was conceived.

Would you like fries with your shake??

Okay, that's a ton about me. Now I wanna hear from Shell, Sara, T-Bone, Tracy, and my sister. I'm waiting. :)

Back In the Saddle Again

While doing my daily blog rounds, I noticed a post here that made me feel ashamed. Wretched. A bad blogger, to say the least. I didn't go MIA to look for sympathy, and have people calling for me to return to the masses. It was just a matter of being busy, then being lazy. Which happens a lot for me. So, without any further ado, here's a general recap of what I have been up to.

A LONG time back, we went to dinner with my sister, to celebrate my nephew Potter turning 13. Here are a couple of pics from that day.Here's my nephew Potter with the gifts that we got him. A pair of exercise sweats, and a Yankee's (his fave team) t-shirt. The lady holding up the t-shirt is my mom.
This is me with my niece Tookie. Not my fave pic of me, but I'm just keepin' it real.

I have a ton more pics from the dinner, but I really need to keep this post short, my sister just called and asked me to go somewhere with her, so I need to get ready soon.

T-Bone loves to pose, and found the opportunity with the next pic while we were visiting at some friend's a while back.
As you walk down the stairs to the basement at my friend's house, you are greeted with this nasty sight. Every damned time, it scares the hell out of me, and I know it's there. It catches me off guard. It is normally covered with the blue t-shirt dangling around its neck to keep the little ones from being scared out of their gourds. I can see why.I really don't think that I have ever posted pics of my older guys on here. Not because I love them less, or fail to take pics, it's mainly because things are pretty uneventful when they are around, so blogging ideas go elsewhere. Here is a pic that I managed after 5 (count them.. FIVE) tries to stop them from fooling around. The first pic, Princess was goofing off. The second pic? Toad was goofing off. The third?? Buckwheat. T-Bone wasn't looking in the fourth, and I was at my wits end. Finally, Buckwheat stood (I was assuming that he was heading out and offing the pic process) and went to stand behind Daddy. I managed THIS pic, and I'm seriously thinking of having it used as one of my pics for my calendar next year!
St. Patty's Day dinner went off without a hitch, as always. And it turns out, that Buckwheat loves corned beef! Here he is with his "corned beef tongue" as he poses like a ham. Or corned beef. Either way, he was posing!
On Saturday, our local town held an Easter egg hunt. Here is Buckwheat with his stash, sitting with his cousin "Eggie" as he calls him. They both had a blast!

Saturday night, we went to T-Bone's sister's for Easter dinner. His brother was up from Pittsburgh, so we all got together, had dinner, then played some games. Somehow, we all wound up looking like this....
T-Bone's sister, "Aunt E-Moggy". The hat lit up all the way down the back.
Uncle Kenny, in full Disney World Pirate get out. Notice the beads wrapped around his "beard" (gag, seriously.. I don't like that thing)? He's chillaxin' in that pic.This was actually a high hat with stripes, that had long dangly goofy ears. T-Bone is tying them up around the top of that hat in this pic.One more of Uncle Kenny, wearing the Princess Pirate Mickey Mouse ears. This was right before the "pick his nose and wipe it on E-Moggie's pants" episode. Gagged me out. Hardcore.

Anway, I have to be running, my sister is on her way. I might possibly be back later with a second post for the day! *gasp*