Forewarning: This will be long!
I didn't go to bed 'til, like, 0200 or something, and I had to get up at the buttcrack of dawn (0630) to wake up The Fam. I haven't stopped running since. Both girls had to be at their soccer fields at the insane-if-you-ask-me hour of 0745. Sophie's game was at 0800, and Chloë's was at 0830, but her team pictures were scheduled for 0745. How do they expect these kids to play when they are so darn tired?! Anyway, I managed to sneak behind the professional shutterbug and snap these pictures of my older soccer player. He requested she not wear her glasses - fine by me! Now you can see her face.
Here's the whole team of Purple Dolphins, minus one who didn't show. On the left is Coach Cam, and on the right is Coach Matt. I stayed and watched the photo shoot while Rob took Sophie to her game. They were short players - and therefore parents - and he ended up coaching Sophie's half of the team while CoachJohn took the other three girls. Glad it wasn't me!
They had one picture for being silly! Too cute.
Can you see my little Chlo running out there in the middle? Unfortunately, I forgot to put a memory card in the new camera, so these are all the soccer pics I was able to get next week. I have one now, so maybe more and better ones next week, after I've had a little time to learn the camera some more.
We're SO proud of the girls today. I first watched Chloë play, and she ran her little heart out! She even managed to steal the ball away from the other team and kick it halfway down the field before they stole it back. Then she kicked the ball and slipped on it, twisting her leg. She was just sobbing, and I held her and let her cry into my shoulder until snack time, when she was magically better. Jack and I left her then, running down to Field 3 from Field 5, to see Sophia play.
Now, Sophie was completely exhausted from staying up too late herself. She was sound asleep while I dressed her in her soccer clothes, and didn't really wake up until halfway to the Sportsplex! So I didn't expect much out of her for today's early game. But when Jack and I arrived to find Daddy coaching, Sophia was running clear from one end of the field to the other, with the ball in her control, and made a kick for the goal. She missed, but it's clear she could be really talented at this support if she would just apply herself.
She saw me, then, and left the field, refusing to go back. So I bribed her, telling her that if she would just stay ON the field - she didn't even have to play, just stay on the field with her teammates - I would take the kids to Linda and Tony's house later, at night. Of course, they were going to go anyway, so I was banking on the fact that they super-enjoy going there, and as I'd hoped, it proved to be enough incentive. She literally just stood there on the field, but at least she got out there!
Back to Chloë's game we ran. Just in time to see her put back in the game and take the ball away from the opposing team again! She only got a couple little kicks in, but I was so proud of her - and I could tell the other parents were, too! Several of them know she has a background in dancing, and everyone knows this is her first season playing soccer, so they were really shouting out encouragements to her. I guess it worked! I was elated. So happy for her! Well, except when an opposing team member completely body-checked her, and she got hurt again. Ugh! Poor thing.
Jack and I arrived back at Field 3 just in time to see the game end, with Sophie standing there sucking her thumb. No matter. She stayed! Rob and I lined up across from each other, to make the tunnel for all the players to run through - Sophie's favorite part of the games after snack time. We grabbed her post-game snack, said sayonara to Coach John, and ran back to Field 5 with Daddy. Chloë continued to run with the pack, really getting in there and attacking that ball whenever she had the chance. As Coach Matt said, she really showed some hustle today, and he noticed a major improvement over last week.
Good job, girls!!
After we again made the tunnel for the players and fetched Chloë's post-game snack, we finally headed home after 2½ hours at the Sportsplex. By now, the kids were pumped up and raring to go.
Rob again didn't get his motorcycle license today, because like the past three weekends, it's been too late after soccer ends to get in the DMV on time. Maybe next weekend he'll just have to miss a game, and make taking that test as high a priority as it is for me to stop paying a trillion dollars every three days to fill up his LandCruiser with gas. Know what I'm sayin'?
I had a lunch date with Steph for a mystery shop, and the girls were originally supposed to go with me while Jack and Rob sold popcorn. Their sale was canceled, so the four of them stayed home and cleaned the kids' rooms while Steph and I had a lunch date.
I had a really nice time with her today! We had a great conversation over a very nice meal, and it was wonderful to be able to go without the kids hanging on our every word. She's really close to having Baby Luke now, so we talked at length about all things labor, delivery, and newborns. I can't wait to meet the littlest Goetsch!
Let's see, let's see... what next? Oh, after lunch, Steph and I headed to Toys 'R Us to do a little birthday present shopping. Well, I did. She's 90 weeks pregnant and had to pee. Hehe. On Friday, Sophie was invited to a classmate's birthday party on Sunday. Hello, short notice! But I figure it's good karma to let them go to as many parties as they can attend and make the honoree happy. I bought an "I Spy" game and a reusable gift bag that I hope the mama, well, reuses.
We came home and chatted some more in our kitchen, and then Steph took her leave. Rob took some "before" pictures of me, since I was about to go get a haircut, but I hate them. I think I look a lot fatter in the pictures than I do in real life, so I don't want to show them. Oh, what the hell. This is today, at 130 lbs lost, but I'll take newer, better ones at the 150-lb mark:
Focus on the hair. There was a big change from that to this:
Which I just LOVE!
As for the clothes, I'm wearing a shirt and jeans that I've never been able to wear before. After my shower, I went through my whole wardrobe and dismissed everything that was a 2x or 3x (I only want ONE X in my clothes now; the others just hang off me and look ridiculous), or a 20+ size. It does me some mental good to get rid of those humongo sizes, and it does me some mental good to only have smaller sizes in my closet. Unfortunately, that leaves me with about three things I can wear, not including my work uniform, so I will need to head to the thrift store on Monday and take advantage of the 20% Military-Monday discount! They get some really good clothes in there and assign them awesome prices, so I should get some great deals.
Anyway, I went to get my haircut, and I knew exactly what I wanted. My sister gave me layer upon ridiculous layer, and I was so sick of it. It just did NOT look good on me. What was she thinking?!! So, I wanted a chin-length bob, angled toward my face, to get rid of the layers.
Tommy cut my hair; it was the first time a man has ever cut my hair before. He was the only stylist available on such short notice when I called earlier in the week, fed up with my tresses, but I wasn't worried, since he owns the place and has cut both Jack and Sophie's hair in the past.
He was a man of few words, being both tired and sore from working all day, but I rather liked it. I'm not really a big fan of all the hair salon chit-chat. I always feel like I have to come up with some juicy gossip or some really interesting tidbit about my life, and it's agonizing for me. I'd rather just sit quietly and enjoy the pampering.
At the end, though, I could tell he was just as pleased as punch with my haircut - as much as I was! He kept showing me off to other stylists and clients alike, and they all gushed about how great it looked on me. I have to agree - I felt rather hot and sexy with my new 'do! Rob also concurs. He's been all over me ever since I came home. Hee!
Rob and I had a dinner date down at Rudee's Inlet (a marina near the oceanfront), so we dropped the kids off at Linda and Tony's and headed out to another mystery shop. Our expectations were high, as I had a rather large dinner budget, but the place just did not meet our pre-conceived notions. By itself, it didn't suck, but it was not at all what we thought it would be. We were expecting something like the Ruth's Chris of seafood restaurants, and instead it was more low-key, casual, with a cafeteria-like feel. Lots of children. And we spent less than half of our budget. Which is fine, but it just wasn't the fancy night out for which we were hoping. Oh, well.
Rob took this picture of me at dinner, so I could put it up on Facebook as my new profile image. Not bad, but he never tells me when my hair is a mess or something needs fixing!
Not that I can complain much, because what the hell is he doing in this picture? I have no idea.
For an appetizer, Rob got a half-dozen oysters, and I chose the jumbo shrimp cocktail. I shared half of mine with him, because of course I couldn't eat it all. It was really good, though, as was all our food. The food wasn't the issue. It was the ambiance. Eh, well.
For an entrée, Rob had the tuna special, while I chose the crabcake combo, including broiled lemon-pepper scallops (yum), green beans and baby potatoes. I ate about two bites of that before I had to run to the bathroom and puke. I think I'm developing a problem with that, but I don't know. I have to make myself throw up, sticking my finger down my throat, to relieve the discomfort of too much food or something just not sitting right in my pouch. It happens an awful lot, and while I'm doing it to relieve pain and not to get skinny, exactly, sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it out of habit or because I really need to. I think I should talk about it with my doctor, and also find a new therapist. Sigh.
Rob ordered the chocolate eclair cake for dessert. Apparently it was quite tasty but too sweet. He got an upset stomach after that and has been crapping his brains out ever since! Poor thing.
So after we picked up the children from Linda's, we headed over to HT where I work to get a few groceries. Little did I know what drama that would entail...
I didn't really know what I wanted, just that a lot of produce was on special. I was out of fruit for the kids' lunches, so I picked up lots of good fruits and veggies for next week: apples, bananas, peaches, nectarines, grapes, baby carrots... and more. Some fresh baked bread, some cheeses and whole grain crackers for my own snacks, some Cokes on sale, but mostly good, fresh, healthy stuff. A lot of stuff, much more than what I'd expected to buy.
I'd never spoken to or really met the store manager, T, before tonight. He'd never introduced himself to me while I was working, or vice-versa. So when I asked a deli clerk for help with some cheese, she in turn needed help and called him. I told him who I was and that I worked there, and thanked him for the help. That was that.
But then, when we checked out, our order came to $160. I had $80 in cash and wanted to pay the rest on my debit card. You with me? Well, the cashier rang in the $80 cash twice, essentially paying for our order without allowing me to use the card. He proceeded to try to give me change to boot! I stopped him, of course, and told him that he had made a mistake. He refused to admit his mistake, but I wasn't going to allow him to be $80 short, so we called customer service.
The store got really busy all of a sudden then, so we waited and waited and waited until someone could help us. Finally, T, the store manager, took us over to the customer service desk to straighten things out. Unfortunately, something in their system changes at 10 pm, and it had just turned to 10 pm, and he wasn't able to fix the mistake. (I'm trying to make this long story short, so sorry if it's a little confusing!) Finally, in frustration I think, he said, "I just canceled it out. Go ahead, have a nice night."
Huh? What? I was like, "But, but..." and he insisted, "Go on. Have a good night!"
So what happened was, we got $160 worth of food for only $80, because he wasn't able to fix the problem. I was stunned. It wasn't my fault, but I still feel really guilty about it, like I was scamming my store out of food... but that's Harris Teeter for you! They really take care of their customers, and I was treated like one myself. I even offered to let him dock my pay for the amount, but he insisted we just go. Wow. Rob and I were both incredulous.
But that's not all. When we got home, we realized that Rob had had my wallet while this was all going on, and he'd forgotten to take it out of the cart and bring it in the van with us. We couldn't find it anywhere, and I was trying like hell to maintain my composure and not go ballistic on him. That wallet is basically my whole life; I'd be up shit's creek without a paddle if it was lost or stolen!
We got everyone back in the van and rushed back to HT, calling the store on the way to see if it had been turned in. The manager, T, was looking all over for my wallet in the shopping carts, while Rob and I searched the van. Finally, T came over and informed us that he'd found it! Thank God, thank God, thank God. I was sending up major prayers of thanks... until I couldn't find my debit card!
T took Rob inside to look at the security tape from our transaction at customer service, to see what happened to that red card. I stayed outside with the children. They came rushing out to tell me that the tape showed I'd stuffed it in my purse with the receipt, and we instantly found it. So, more thankfulness!
I turned to T and told him, "Sorry about all the drama tonight! I think I'm going to reintroduce myself to you on Monday when I come in to work!" He laughed, told me not to worry about it, and again wished us a good night. He seems like a really, truly great guy, and I like him immensely. I just wish I'd met him on better terms!
I'd promised the kids a treat long before, when we were leaving Linda's house, and Chloë and Jack still wanted to cash in. Sophie fell asleep in the car, so Rob carried her to bed and tucked her in while I took care of the groceries and fixed their treat. Jack just wanted some of the honey sunflower bread I'd bought - easy enough. Chloë decided on some chocolate-dipped bananas, so I melted the chocolate wafers I'd just bought and dipped about five sliced bananas. I had to try one myself, of course - pure deliciousness! She popped four or five before deciding that she'd had enough. That kid is really good at regulating her intake of sweets.
The treats don't look quite as good wrapped in green cellophane, do they? No. But trust me, they are the shizznat, and you want one.
And that, my friends, was our crazy Saturday. I hope you had a good one, too!
Fin.
Recent Comments