playing catch-up ... again

i've been meaning to blog for awhile now and just haven't had the chance to sit down and compose something. in the meantime i forgot everything i wanted to write. ugh. old age is slowing me down!

rupert "celebrated" his 32nd birthday last monday (he's not particularly thrilled to be well into his 30s). my gift to him was this poster i've been eyeing for awhile (it's made its rounds on the crafty blogosphere). with the added stress of school and work -- and dealing with a crazy maya -- i thought this would be a great mantra for him (and me) to follow. it's an old british world war II propaganda slogan. you can buy it online through u.s. distributors but i got it from england (barter books) for much cheaper. once it's nicely framed we'll put it up in our living room in place of the art canvas i got for our dating anniversary last year.

let's see ... my fitness challenge is going well. i think i left off with the week 4 weigh-in and since then i've continued to lose weight each week (except for this past week when my weight didn't change). in total i think i'm down about 6 or 7 pounds, which is more than i hoped for. i know i keep saying this, but i'm not too concerned with the number on the scale. i'm concentrating on incorporating and sustaining healthy habits that will stick with me for the rest of my life. and i'm well on my way :: i work out for at least half an hour six days a week and i eat smaller portions of healthier foods. just another month left of the fitness challenge but i know i will be sticking to my exercise and eating routine.

the camera finally came back ... fixed! we missed it so. we were reveling in the glory of not having anything broken in our house when -- you guessed it -- something else broke. our beloved television wouldn't turn on (it's only two years old!). this is a big deal because we are a huge tv-watching family. at the very least, we need (yes, need) the tv to play the wii and ps2, and maya cannot go a day without watching a movie. the repairman came yesterday and quoted us $800 without even opening the back of the tv! rupert and i think it's the fan (it's been whirring like crazy lately) so rupert cleaned it and it's working ... for now. we're keeping our fingers crossed.

then, a city inspector came by yesterday and cited us for not having mowed our lawn. sure it's overgrown and yellow with dandelion flowers, but we were just enjoying the greenery the recent rains brought us. ;) we suspect one of our elderly neighbors, who always complained to rupert about the state of our yard, "reported" us to the city. so much for the "city of good neighbors" (our city motto).

to top it all off, rupert and i are fighting off colds. what a week!