Losing It: Ice Cream Treat Edition (Week 9)

I know, I know. Eating ice cream isn’t really going to help me meet my weight loss goals any better than not counting my points and eating McDonald’s for breakfast.

And I’m not even a big ice cream person. Mark can eat half a gallon in one sitting, but not me. Unlike most unhealthy tasty foods, like Pop Tarts or cheese dip or chocolate frosting, ice cream can be in the freezer without me feeling even the slightest bit tempted.

See, just like hot wings, ice cream takes too much effort to eat. The getting out of the freezer and the scooping and the waiting for it to thaw a little bit and the eating slowly to avoid brain freeze? Eh. I can do without it.

However . . .

Several weeks ago, I was looking for blog ideas and discovered that 2010 is the Dairy Queen Blizzard’s 25th anniversary.

And I couldn’t just ignore that little nugget, could I?

Thankfully, there’s not a Dairy Queen near my house or my office, so it was really a one-time celebration. (Because, seriously, if one was close by, you know I’d be celebrating all year!)

Sonic is another story. (Which might make you wonder why I even brought up Dairy Queen, but I’m getting there. I promise.)

After I picked up Annalyn from daycare on Wednesday, we stopped at Sonic and got a Butterfinger Blast for Mark and an Oreo Blast for us.

Just like her daddy, that little girl loves her ice cream! She ate at least ¼ of my ice cream – and then wanted to share with Mark, too!

[Side note: As we shared the treat, using the same spoon because why wouldn’t we, I thought, “Good thing she’s not sick or anything.” Yeah. Guess which TWO members of our family woke up with a cough and scratchy throat yesterday?]

I’m still trying to get back on the Weight Watchers wagon, so yesterday morning, I looked up the points in a Blast. And then I wondered: Which is worse for you, a Blast or a Blizzard?

Just in case you’ve wondered, too (and in case you have the good fortune to live near both a Dairy Queen and Sonic), here’s the lowdown:

Dairy Queen Blizzard
Size: 10 oz.
Calories: 550
Fat: 20
Fiber: 1
Points: 12

Sonic Blast
Size: 12.8 oz.
Calories: 548
Fat: 20.8
Fiber: .7
Points: 12

The verdict? Go with the Blast. It’s still 12 points, but you get more ice cream!

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This post is part of the Losing It Challenge. How did you do this week?


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I {heart} Earth.

Today is the 40th Earth Day. Or do we call it "Earth Day 40"? Or "the 40th anniversary of Earth Day"?

Whatever it is, it's a day - at the least - to think about our planet and what we're doing to care for it.

This year, as I may have mentioned since I'm irrationally proud of myself, I started [finally] recycling. And thanks to my very smart readers (and a guilty conscience), I just told Mark last weekend that we need to buy good water bottles and stop buying the plastic, disposable (I mean, recyclable!) ones.

We're also in the process of replacing all our light bulbs with the twisty, green kind. But I'm just going to be honest: I don't love them. I'll keep buying them, but I think they put off a weird light.

In honor of the holiday, I thought maybe we could talk about our favorite places on Earth. Of the natural variety, not the Disney World or Mall of America variety.

Two of my favorites are White Sands National Park in New Mexico and Bear Lake in Colorado.

Image by Ed Siasoco

I went to White Sands on a youth group trip in high school. We sat on the dunes and talked about deep things for what seems like - in my memory - hours. I was amazed that God just this incredible amount of sand in the middle of nowhere. It was beautiful. And so were the conversations my friends and I had.

[For the record, I don't remember at all what we talked about. But I distinctly remember it being important as only conversations can be when you're 15 and hundreds of miles away from home.]

Image by Alaskan Dude

Bear Lake is in the Rocky Mountain National Park. I've visited it twice with my parents and once with Mark. I have pictures of us on each trip on the same rock. Cool, right?

Also, hiking around the lake (the hard trail, not the easy one, thank you very much) with Mark was the day I realized that I am deathly afraid of climbing down from a mountain. Or from a tall rock. Either way, it's scary. But the lake is beautiful. Postcard, can't believe it's real, wish I could take more pictures beautiful.

What are your favorite places on Earth? And how are you celebrating Earth Day?

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The night we ate at Chili's, not to be confused with that OTHER place.

Back in the day – our dating days, that is – Mark decided that he hated a certain Mexican restaurant we’d gone to a couple times. I didn’t mind that so much; Kansas City has plenty of places that serve chile con queso. But the problem was that Mark kept confusing the restaurant he hated – Chi-Chis – with a perfectly decent restaurant – Chili’s.

Chi-Chi’s is not Chili’s. But he wouldn’t listen.

I would suggest Chili’s, thinking of their chicken tortilla soup or the quesadilla explosion salad, and he would say “No, I hate that place.”

And I’d remind him that he actually hated Chi-Chis. But he wouldn’t listen.

Until the day I was asked to review Chili’s for the blog. Suddenly, faced with a gift card and an assignment, he wasn’t so averse to Chili’s-which-is-not-Chi-Chi’s.

So after taking a trip to the car show several weeks ago, Smitty, Mark, Annalyn and I headed to Chili’s.

I pointed out to Mark that they serve fajitas, which is what he eats at every Mexican restaurant (except Chi-Chi’s, because we don’t eat there, you know). I’m not sure if he wasn’t in the mood for fajitas or if he didn’t want to get more confused about just where we were eating, but he opted out of that dish.

Instead, he and Smitty both ordered from Chili’s new Fresh Pairings menu. It’s a good deal: for $9.99, you get an appetizer and an entrée. Smitty got chips and salsa and the Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad, and Mark got the Texas Cheese Fries and the Shiner Bock BBQ Burger.

Both of their entrees looked sooo good! And I always love Chili’s chips and salsa (although I’m not a fan of smothered fries in general, which you may find surprising). Mark didn’t care for the Shiner Bock BBQ sauce, but I liked it. It had a vinegar taste to it, and I thought it was good.

We ordered grilled chicken and fries for Annalyn. The grilled chicken was so good that I was jealous! I wish I’d ordered it for myself! Lucky for me, my sweet girl only had eyes for her fries. So the chicken was mine for the taking.

And that was a good thing, because I was actually a little disappointed in my own meal. In an attempt to be healthy, I ordered the Smoked Turkey Sandwich. It wasn’t bad. It was okay. But when we go out for a special dinner, I want something more than “okay.”

Which means I should probably have ordered something other than a turkey sandwich.

And this review wouldn't be complete without telling how great our waitress was. Annalyn was a little difficult (since it was dangerously close to bedtime), and I was weird (because who takes pictures of their food at a restaurant?). Smitty ordered her salad without bacon, and Mark insisted on getting multiple refills of his iced tea. But our waitress was on top of it - and with a smile.

It's almost as if she knew I was reviewing the place!

Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner. And I’m pretty sure Mark has finally figured out the difference between that other restaurant and Chili’s.

As part of this review, I have two exciting things to tell you. Click over to my other site to find out (And don’t be skipping this part. You want to check it out!).

Have you ever gotten two restaurants confused before?

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Chili’s Contest and Gift Card Giveaway

I love reading cooking blogs and printing out new recipes and admiring the glossy pictures in a cookbook. I even love making a grocery list and buying groceries (sans toddler, of course).

And I do like to cook. But sometimes, I do not feel like cooking! Enter Chili's . . .

Chili’s knows all about this feeling, and that’s why they’ve started their new campaign called Shout Out to Eat Out. Every day until August 30, Chili’s will be giving away a $50 gift card to someone who, you guessed it, shouts out. All you have to do to enter is upload a 10- to 30-second video, telling Chili’s why you don’t want to cook tonight.

Easy enough, right? (Or, at least, easier than cooking dinner!)

And because I don’t want you to have to wait to win that drawing, I’m giving away a $50 gift card to Chili’s to one of you. Just leave a comment telling me what your solution is for the nights when you don’t want to cook.

I’ll let Random.org choose a winner this weekend, so comment by Friday at midnight (CST).

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And THAT is the night the lights went out in Georgia.

I was sad to hear last week that Dixie Carter passed away. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I want to be just like Julia Sugarbaker when I grow up.

In honor of Ms. Carter, I set out to find 10 of her best rants from Designing Women. It shouldn’t have been hard. After all, she had a good rant at least once every episode!

But YouTube wasn’t feeling cooperative last night. It seems like only a few episodes are available online. I still found plenty of good stuff, though, so if you were a fan, here are 10 videos for you. (Which means, yes, this post will be linked to OhAmanda's Top Ten Tuesday.)

1. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
2. It Has Been the Men
3. We’re proud of our crazy people.
4. The Designing Women Talk About AIDS
5. Jury Duty
6. Sweet Georgia Brown
7. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
8. It’s still compost.
9. Football in the South
10. Dixie Carter on The Bonnie Hunt Show

Did you watch Designing Women? Do you ever like a good rant, too?

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Perspective on a Monday

I have not had a good week, you all. It seems that every aspect of my life - work, home, parenting, marriage, finances, blogging - is overwhelming, discouraging, frustrating or all of the above!

But instead of dwelling on all that (because, believe me, it's boring), I'm going to share the view I had last week as I left Cedar Falls, Iowa. I'd just been blessed to spend the afternoon with two amazing women, two blog friends who are real friends, and this is what I drove into for about 45 minutes.

I love it when rays come through the clouds like that. When I was a kid, I thought it was God pouring His love down on us.

Okay . . . I still think that.

A couple weeks ago, I was having a rotten morning. As I rushed down the hall of Annalyn's daycare, I barely glanced at the mom and son in the foyer. But as I walked back out, cringing at the screams I could still hear coming from my child's mouth (how much do I just love that separation anxiety comes and goes more than once?), that mom said, "Have a great day!"

I looked over at her, sitting there beside her son and smiling. And I remembered that I really don't have that much to complain about. See, she was sitting with her son, like she does every morning, waiting for the bus that takes him to his preschool. She sits next to him, and he sits in his wheelchair.

My daughter gets 60 minutes of physical therapy once a week. And she takes it upon herself to exert her strong-willed personality every single day by yelling, screaming, hitting, pulling and running away.

But that little boy? Can't do any of those things, despite therapy services much more extensive than Annalyn's. And yet, there's his mom, every morning: smiling and laughing and, I imagine, thankful for what she has.

It's good to have perspective, isn't it?

Has anything put life into perspective for you lately?

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Losing It - Week 8

All day yesterday, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Or at least a Chrysler Pacifica. But no, I’d just spent the previous day driving said Pacifica.

I told Mark, “I feel like I worked out really instead of just sitting on my butt!” Too bad I’m sore from driving nine hours, not running nine miles. Or something.

[Don’t get worked up. I’ll tell you all about the driving and the nine hours and the whole reason I did it all . . . next week.]

I never would have thought that sitting perfectly still – aside from some very enthusiastic jamming to the sporadic radio stations and my favorite CDs – would make my stupid, weak muscles hurt. And all that random aching has made me think about the many different ways I’ve hurt those same, weak muscles.

• Crunches, leg lifts and lunges in my bedroom every night in high school.
• Running sprints and separators at early-morning basketball practice.
• Learning how to lift weights with my friend Jeremie and then with my boyfriend.
• Frequenting the student rec center that sat next to my dorm.
• Joining Curves. Quitting Curves. Joining Curves again.
• Walking with my friend Katy – at that rec center, of course – weeks before my wedding.
• Taking aerobics for an “easy” credit. Ahem.
• Kickboxing.
• Walking.
• Tae-Bo.
• Walk Away the Pounds.
• More walking.
• Water aerobics.

I’m sure there’s more. But I can’t remember now. So, tell me: What’s your favorite way to exercise? What’s the hardest thing you’ve done to burn calories? (Mine would definitely be the kickboxing class. It was super hard and super early in the morning!)

This post is part of the Losing It Challenge. If I’m one thing, it’s consistent: still not losing weight, but still not giving up. How about you?


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Survey says...

I love surveys and quizzes. Almost as much as I love lists – and you know that’s a lot! And I have to say that seeing your answers to my blog survey was just about as fun as taking a survey myself. Thank you so much to everyone who answered my questions. I appreciate your input and will absolutely take it all into consideration as I move forward.

Because I’ve found that at least some of you (you know who you are) were very proud of your responses, I thought I’d share the ones that caught my attention most. (Note to the person who said, “I wish you’d write about me more”: I will. Oh, I will!)

Does it bother you that I . . .

• The ads have become overwhelming. It's all about the ads now, not all about Mary.
• Sorry, nothing personal, I really just don't like Disqus.

[I hear you. And as soon as I can afford to move to Wordpress, where they have fancy plug-ins and rainbows and unicorns, I will amend the situation. Until then, I think I’m going to stick with it. I am truly sorry about the inconvenience, though!]

• No actually to all, but survey monkey says I must include an answer.

[Bad Survey Monkey! Bad! Okay . . . I must confess . . . that was my fault. And I’m sorry. Perhaps you can say that is what bothers you on my next questionnaire!]

Why do you read Giving Up on Perfect?

• Because you're my friend and that's what friends do! :) It's also usually pretty entertaining. :)

[Usually? Awww, you really are a true friend! Ha!]

• Because you are Mary, and there is no other. End of discussion.
• Because you have some good posts :)

[Some? Um, thanks? Are you related to my friend up above? :) ]

• b/c I met you once and really liked you!

What would you like to change about Giving Up on Perfect?

• GUOP is now much too formatted. It's too gimicky. The realness is gone. Instead of a post about what's on your mind today, it's about someone else's blog, or book, or whatever.

[I’m not going to lie. This comment – including the part I left out of this post – hurt my feelings. I’m sensitive that way. BUT it also made me think, and that is not a bad thing at all. Honesty – even when it’s not what I wanted or expected to hear – is a good thing. So thank you.]

• P.S. Please tell me how many 18- 24 year old males you get to respond. :)

[Yes, sure. That would be none. I had one male respond, and I’m guessing it was my brother.]

• I would trick you into moving next door to me.

[I like that. I don’t find it stalkerish at all. Seriously. Because there are absolutely bloggers I’d move next door to in a heartbeat! (Say it with me now, in our Jim Gaffigan whisper: “Bloggers are weird.”)]

If you haven’t taken my blog survey and want to weigh in, it’s not too late. No, there’s not a prize and I can’t hug you through my screen (plus, it’s anonymous, you know), but it will help me as I make some changes around here.

A few other insights to share with you:

One person mentioned that my sidebars “can be distracting with the buttons and ads,” while another person pointed out that the site sometimes takes a long time to load. I know. And it is annoying, isn’t it! I’m saving up for a redesign and can’t WAIT to get those things fixed.

The majority (69% and 75%) of respondents thought the new feature ideas sounded interesting, although two people will hate a series about non-profits or charities. I’m not sure what to think about that, so I’m still processing. If you have any additional feedback about my ideas – Mission Monday or Wednesdays at Work (The names are still in progress, so don’t laugh. Short copy is not my thing.), leave it in the comments!

[Unless you’re one of those who hate Disqus, and then you can always shoot me an e-mail.]

Last but not least, I found it interesting that 44% of respondents started reading my blog because someone else linked to me. With that in mind, I’d like to encourage each and every one of you to link to me today.

KIDDING.

Mostly.

Seriously.

The end.

[Except this: Who is standing in line at the Post Office today to file taxes??]

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Science lab, mysteries and a book review

Eighth grade was the first year we had science lab. Not being particularly inclined toward the sciences (do not even get me started on College Chemistry), I only remember two things.

One, our teacher had pigs – in a jar. And two, I was paired up with Trevor. And I did not like Trevor. I don’t remember where those feelings came from, but I remember feeling them. Strongly.

However, while I couldn’t tell you for the life of me what pickled pigs have to do with, well, anything, I can tell you what I learned from Trevor.

One day in science lab, I noticed that Trevor had a book. That still strikes me as odd, but whatever. I thought it looked interesting, and he said it was. Then he actually loaned it to me. From the moment I opened up Sue Grafton’s H is for Homicide, I was hooked.

I’d always been an avid reader and a huge fan of series, but until then I’d stuck with young adult books. Important fiction like those epic novels written by R.L. Stine. But after reading the gritty, complicated mystery by Grafton, those simplistic books didn’t do it for me anymore.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could end this random story by telling you that Trevor and I became the best of friends after that? Well, we didn’t. But I don’t remember carrying my torch of hatred onto high school, so maybe sharing that book did bridge somehow bridge a gap. Whatever that gap was in the first place.

Today I still love reading mysteries. My favorites are political thrillers, although I eat up the cop/detective stories, like James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series (yes, another series).

But sometimes the gore and worldliness gets to me. Jonathan Kellerman used to be one of my favorite authors, harking back to my days as a psychology major. But in the past few years, I haven’t been able to enjoy – or in the case of his last book, finish – his books because the situations and people he describes are just too awful.

That’s where good Christian mysteries come in. However, that phrase, “good Christian mysteries,” is more often an oxymoron than not. Which is why I was so excited to discover Diann Mills’ Call of Duty series.

[Yes, another series. I also buy multiples in different colors when I find a pair of shoes or pants I like.]

This series, like the O’Malley books from Dee Henderson – which I LOVED, features characters with real flaws and real problems. The dialogue is authentic, the mysteries can’t be solved in the fourth chapter, and the Christian part of the book doesn’t hit you over the head with preachiness. In short, Mills writes good Christian mysteries.

Here’s the summary for Sworn to Protect (Call of Duty Series, Book 2):

Border Patrol Agent Danika Morales has sworn to protect the southern borders of our nation, but that oath has cost her. Two years ago, her husband, Toby, was killed trying to help the very immigrants Danika was responsible for sending back to Mexico. His murder was never solved. But now, a recent string of attacks and arrests leads her to believe that someone in McAllen is profiting from sneaking undocumented immigrants into the country . . . and it may somehow be tied to Toby's death.

If you like mysteries but appreciate a smart, moving story more than CSI details of human horror, I highly recommend this book and this series.

Do you like mysteries? And what about [here comes the “whammy” question] Christian fiction? What are you reading right now?

Disclosure: This book was provided for review by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, and this post includes Amazon affiliate links.

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Granny's gold couch

Remember when I asked you to choose which couch I would write about? No? It’s been too long? Well, then, this will be new and exciting for you.

Or not. I am writing about a couch.

After tallying up the votes, it has become clear. You all are dying to know about my grandparents’ brown, gold and orange flowered couch.

[You all have weird taste. Kidding. But seriously? Orange flowers?]

Are you wondering why it’s taken me so long to get around to writing this post? Part of it is only that I’m a mess, always behind and doing things last-minute. This, I’m sure, comes as no surprise. But the other part is that I have so many random, seemingly unconnected thoughts and memories with that couch. It’s actually been hard to figure out how to write about it.

So I decided to make a list. Then I decided to do it on Tuesday. And that is how I came up with this Top Ten Tuesday list.

The Top 10 Things I Love About Granny’s Gold Couch:

1. It was retro before retro was cool.
2. As kids, we never had to worry about spilling. Those hideous flowers really hid stains well.
3. I have so many pictures of my cousins and me sitting on that couch, all bunched up together and laughing. Or posing. Or all looking in different directions. (above) You know, we didn’t have digital cameras back then.
4. It really was comfortable!
5. I know this well, because Mark moved into his first apartment around the same time Granny moved into assisted living. She sold that couch – and a matching chair, side tables and two orange lamps – to Mark for just $100.
6. If it hadn’t been for that couch, we probably wouldn’t have had anywhere for visitors to sit in our first apartment after getting married. With it, we had ample seating for our couples’ Bible study, various “dinner parties” (a.k.a. Little Caesar’s pizza for all or a taco bar on a card table), and just hanging out with our friends.
7. Owning and living with that couch in all its gold and orange flowered glory really made me appreciate the first couch we bought. Blue and green plaid, if you’re wondering, for quite a bit more than $100 (and, sadly, quite a bit more than we could really afford).
8. Back to the fact that I grew up sitting on this couch at my grandparents’ house . . . just thinking about it has taken me on a rabbit trail down memory lane, bringing to mind the sounds of Channel 5 news and Hee Haw, the taste of pudding cups and Pop Tarts (okay, that one isn’t a stretch), the sight of a wooden calendar and green coveralls, and the simple pleasures of feeding the birds, eating a brisket and going to the beauty parlor.
9. The couch’s matching chair made a great spot for the birthday girl to open – or, at least, pose with – her presents (below).
10. And apparently, the couch was so great that they bought it twice! Look at those pictures. The two chairs? Not the same. Both are gold, brown and orange. Both have flowers and fake wood. But they are different chairs. That, my friends, is priceless.

So, what about you? Are any of your memories connected to furniture?

ALSO - if you haven't taken my blog survey yet, would you please? It really won’t take more than a few minutes, and I really want to know what you all think about what goes on around here. Thank you!

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