Do You Smell That?

This is my oven. My "you belong in the Smithsonian and not my kitchen" oven.

The day we came to New York to look at apartments, we took notes. After touring this place, I remember I wrote down the following: Large, new carpet and linoleum, washer/dryer, parking, weird oven. It was such a turn-off that I almost couldn't see past it for all the good things. And to be honest, I was afraid of it. The main reason was due to the lack of a pre-heated light. How was I to know when it was warm?

Anyhow, we moved in and I started using it. It turned out to work just fine and I actually got very used to it. Except for one thing.

Every time I walked past the oven I would notice the faint smell of gas. It concerned me but I thought maybe I was over-reacting. Maybe that's just how old gas ovens smell, I kept telling myself. After several months, I decided that I shouldn't ignore it anymore. So last night, I called Con Edison. Let me tell you, they don't mess around. I told the operator that it wasn't urgent and they could send someone out the following day. She replied "Oh no, we'll have someone out there within 45 minutes".

The man came within 20 minutes and brought all sorts of tools and measuring devices. He fiddled around for about 10 minutes, using this device and that one, poking them in every crack he could find until finally he declared, "Yeah, you've got a leak". Thank you! I'm NOT crazy!

To make a long story short, my "weird" oven has now been rendered useless. The gas man cut the flow to the oven and stuck a huge red tag on the pipe. Now I have the unfortunate task of calling out landlord to tell him he has to buy us a new oven. Good for us, bad for him.

Depressed

The last time I did Weight Watchers I lost 6 pounds in the first week. I was, to say the least, ecstatic! Following that first triumphal week I lost an average of 2 pounds each succeeding week.

It's been a week since I re-joined and I've only lost 2 pounds. I know I should be happy with that but, I am less than enthused. I have followed the plan to THE LETTER. I stick to my daily point allowance and I NEVER use my weekly points. I thought I would be rewarded for my perseverance. I'm utterly panicked that my body will just never be the same. I'm worried that my overly large hips and plentiful belly fat are with me forever. And it's making me very depressed. So depressed that I ate a cinnamon roll at book group last night.

I'm also having a really hard time with the whole "feeling deprived" thing. Normal people are able to eat healthy meals, feel free to eat a cinnamon roll once a month at book group and STILL maintain their weight.

Guess I'm not normal.

When Daddy's In Charge...

Last Saturday, I left the house at 6 am to attend a session at the Manhattan Temple with the Relief Society. Spencer is an extremely competent daddy and I had no qualms about leaving him charge. However, I am also very aware of the differences in our "entertaining" style. Spencer likes to indulge Anna's "busy-ness" and need to make a mess.

When I got home, Spencer showed me the following video that he shot. I laughed until I cried!

Day of Reckoning

I know you are all probably wondering why I chose to post two very unattractive photos of myself. And probably like me, wish I hadn't! However, the reason is this: I decided to "own up" to my fat.

No longer can I pretend that it's not there or that I "don't look that bad". The rolls, sags, pooches and booty have all got to go.

I know exactly how it happened. I got too comfortable with "pregnancy eating". It was so easy to fall into this pattern because I felt like my previous medicated self. When I was on Topamax, I could eat anything and everything and still be a cute little thing. Alas, such is not the gene pool I inherited. After Anna was born, I quickly bounced back to my pre-pregnancy weight. BUT, I was cursed with a severe case of the "nursing munchies". While I was nursing, I was constantly STARVING. I thought that since I had to produce enough milk for my baby that it would all even out. Oh, the dilusions of first-time moms. Now she's 8 months old, I stopped nursing a month and a half ago and I have nothing and no one to blame!

Here's the plan: This morning, I re-joined Weight Watchers. It's expensive and I'm not happy about it but, I gave up my right to not spend extra money on dieting tools months ago. I am also going to become best friends with my pilates DVD and jump rope. Spencer just purchased some new Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells. Hopefully those will help to get rid of my "bye-bye" arms. I didn't know I had aquired this lovely accessory until I went shopping on Monday and saw the disgusting flesh hanging out of a short-sleeve shirt I tried on. Oh mercy!

So there you have it. You are all my witnesses. I am going on a diet and exercise plan. As a way of keeping myself honest (as if having to log everything I eat on WW.com isn't enough) I will try to keep you all updated. Hopefully it will always be good news. It may be a very long time until I reach my goal but hopefully it won't be long 'til I start feeling better about myself.

My Mankey

I saw this Valentines Tag on a friends blog and she tagged "whoever wants to do this". I thought it looked fun so I decided to give you an inside look at My Mankey!

1. What is his name? Spencer Lewis Youngstrom. His dad named him. Spencer from a "cool guy" he went to high school with and Lewis was his father's name. I think it's fitting. I saw this (link) old picture of his grandpa and thought he looked exactly like him.

2. How long have you been together? We will be married 5 years in August, but we knew each other for a year before we started dating.

3. How old is he? 30 We are the same age.

4. Who eats more? It used to be Spencer. Now we eat about the same. He used to shock everyone with how much he could pack into that tiny body. He hasn't been eating as much lately and I give him a hard time about it. He says it's because he's not working out.

5. Who said I love you first? He did. It was after his 26th birthday dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. I was kind of surprised but happy as well!

6. Who is taller? Spencer. By about 5 inches.

7. Who sings better? Um, I do. But, he has a very nice voice and great theory skills. He can sing either tenor or bass very well.

8. Who is smarter? Depends on the subject. Spencer kicks my trash on anything financial or mathematic. I kick his trash on history and common sense.

9. Who does the laundry? I do...it is part of my new job description.

10. Who pays the bills? I do. Spencer doesn't have time.

11.Who sleeps on the right side? Spencer. He slept on the right side in Utah but for some reason, we switched in Delaware. Now we are back to the original arrangement, and all is well with the universe.

12. Who mows the lawn? Um...our landlord. But, if we were responsible for the upkeep Spencer totally would. He loves that kind of thing and can't wait to have a garden.

13. Who cooks dinner? I do. That is on the nights he's home for dinner. Otherwise he gets to sample all sorts of amazing food in the city...on JPMorgan's dime!

14. Who drives? Always Spencer. I prefer it that way.

15. Who is more stubborn? Oh, definitely me.

16.Who kissed who first? He kissed me first. We had been dating for about three weeks or so and I was pretty sure he really liked me but I had been burned before so there was NO WAY I would have kissed him first. Not that I have ever kissed anyone first.

17. Who proposed? Spencer. We used to take drives all over Utah County while we were dating. One Sunday he drove me out to Springville where he had a friend set up a nice dinner in a vacant lot on top of a bluff. He couldn't find it and we ended up heading back to Provo. The friend called him on our way back and he told me we had to turn around. I was so confused but once we finally found it, it was all good!

18. Who has more friends? I guess it would be me. I'm just much more of a people person. Although Spencer will talk to anyone. He's better with strangers, I'm better with aquantences.

19. Who is more sensitive? Hands-down me.

20. Who has more siblings? Spencer, only by 1

21. Who wears the pants? We have "joint custody" of the pants. But when it comes to big decisions, he's in charge.

He's such a great husband and a wonderful daddy. I'm so lucky to have him!

I Will Not Be Ignored

Last Saturday, Spencer and I were hanging out in the living room while Anna took a nap. After awhile, we started to hear her babbling. We aren't the type of parents to run into her room the moment she makes a peep so we kept on with our conversation.

A few minutes later, we heard a knocking sound on the wall. The sound was as if to say Hello, I can hear you! Come get me! We both figured that she was sticking her hand through the crib slats and banging the wall.

I walked into her room and almost fell on the floor when I saw this:


She had pulled herself up on the slats and was holding on the rail with one hand while she banged away with the other.


My little baby has turned into a little monkey. She is always pulling herself up on anything taller than she is. I guess this can prove that the infamous monkey gene is definitely passed on through the Seely side.

New 'Do!

Anna's hair is growing in mowhawk fashion. It is short on the sides and in the back but very long on top. Her bangs are so long that unless we clip them over or give her a little ponytail, they hang into her eyes. The result is a Beatles Mop Top that is not very complimentary to her cute face.

Because the little clippies and bows tend to fall out very easily, our "go to " hair do has typically been the single pony ala Pebbles Flintstone. It's a cute look and we think she looks adorable. The below picture is a little exaggerated, but you get the idea.

Recently, we decided to try something new. The double pony. Also known as the Cindy Lu Who! We think it's pretty cute!