Birthday Week Begins

Staci and me being silly

          It is birthday week!!!  My daughter turns 12 on Saturday, so this week is all about her.  I cannot believe how fast she is growing up.  I keep trying to convince her the 1+2=3, but she is not going for it LOL she was adorable when she was 3, at 12 she is just stunning me with her beauty inside and out.  I am so very blessed to be her mom.  Yesterday her first present got here. I got her a Nintendo Switch Animal Crossing Edition.  I did not intend to get her that though, my brother started that LOL he send her a Switch game, but she has Switch lite, so it would not work. That got me looking into how much a regular Switch was and I found on Amazon it was not that bad now. So, she ended up with one.  Oh, and my brother LOL I got him back. He did not think his purchase through. As soon as his granddaughter heard that Staci was playing the game they picked out, she wanted one too LOL so now he must buy it again so they can play together LOL I am rationalizing the purchase as since I could not get a reservation at a resort with a waterpark or a backyard waterslide, the money I would have spent on those, more than covers what I spent on the Switch. After seeing her play with it, it was totally worth it. Between my son and I, we have a present for her every day this week to make her birthday celebration last longer. I changed up my work schedule so that I would have all weekend of to celebrate her. Bonus is once I work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I will have six days in a row off so a mini vacation for me!!!

                With only two days off right now I am having to smush everything I normally do in 4 off to just the 2.  I do not know how other people manage with just two days off LOL that is one good thing about being a nurse, I am off work more than I am on. Yesterday I mowed my back yard but ran out of weed whacker line to finish it. So, my son, daughter, and I went to Home Depot. Inspiration hit while we were there, and my son and I ended up getting the supplies to make this Halloween decoration. We are making a scary archway to put in front of our outside hallway leading to the front door. We got PVC pipes to create it. Is going to be 8 feet tall. We are painting the pipes black and attaching purple and orange Halloween lights to the sides, so it lights up the hall just enough to see but still stay spooky for the trick or treaters. From the top we are going to get a black tarp and I will cut it so it is shredded lengthwise, and people will have to walk through it to get candy. We are also going to find a spooky sign for up top that says, “Enter if you dare”.  My neighborhood goes crazy for holidays, so this will be great. Our skeletons this year are going to be dressed as the king and queen holding court on the front porch LOL last year, they were Disney Tourists. Lots of people took photos on our porch LOL we had about 100 kids show up last year and that was with Covid restrictions. This year I figure that number should double. I love that we get all those kids roaming about for trick or treating. It makes it so much more special.

                I have been totally into Autumn this past two weeks. I joined a Facebook group called Fall Lovers and the pictures and posts are stunning. So many amazing decorations and recipes.  I want to do all of them. Some have been posting finds at Cracker Barrel, so going there is on the agenda today LOL Last week I bought a bunch of decorations online that should arrive soon. I have been hitting up Hobby Lobby and Michaels but hiding my purchases from myself. I will bring them out in September.  If I wait too long to get the stuff it will be all gone. Last year we shopped in September and almost all Halloween was gone, and Christmas was out. This year we are planning better since Autumn is our favorite time of year in my home.

                Autumn will be a definite challenge with Noom.  So many recipes I want to make. I love making soups, but they have lots of calories.  I am going to have to be exceptionally good and either abstain or figure out a way to make the soups have less calories LOL for the pumpkin stuff, I got sugar free pumpkin spice and such syrups LOL.  I can make my own lattes at home. Sundays are still my no diet day, so all the goodies will have to be on that day. I like that Noom allows me to eat anything I want; I just must stay within calorie allotment.  Last week I lost another two lbs. so now total lost is 18!!! I cannot believe that. Since schedule is off, I am not sure how it will go this week and next.  If I can figure it out and stay within my allotment, by the time I weigh in next I will be down 20 lbs!!! That is something I once thought was impossible. I have hope again that I can get down to a normal weight before this time next year. Okay I have babbled enough in here. Time to go get half my steps in before kids wake up and daughter tries to take over my TV again to play her Switch LOL