My Modem Hates Me

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

I get this fabulous new computer for Christmas and my modem decides it no longer wants to work and offer me internet service.  So here I am at Panera using its free wi-fi and rue the day.  I just want to be able to play with my new computer and check my email.  I love email.  I miss email.  I have gone for nearly two days with limited internet connection and I am going to go crazy.  I am going out of town tomorrow so won’t have much if any internet access and that just frustrates me more.  UGH!!!!

Things have been crazy at home.  We are working on Minnow’s fifth day of Christmas.  The presents just keep coming.  I am ready to be done with wrapping paper and putting things together.  Have I said how much I love my new laptop.  It rocks.  It has a raised battery so that it is nicely propped for easy use and the keyboard slightly rises for more comfort.  Hubby is the best. 

I promise to post some pictures from Minnow’s Christmas extravagance as well as some video.  Did I tell you all that my little 20-month-old can play the harmonica?  Well he can and he is pretty good.  This boy’s talents never cease.  My MIL leaves tomorrow and I am so sad for Minnow.  He is smitten with her.  He follows her around everywhere and wants to be with her all the time.  It is awesome.  I am sad she is leaving and that she lives 2000 miles away and only sees Minnow once or twice a year.  That just totally sucks.  It has been great having her here. 

Well, I am off to get back home.  I have one more chair to put together and a babysitter to line up for tonight.  Hope everyone’s holiday season (whatever holiday you celebrate) was great.  See you all soon. 

Someone Was Good This Year

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 4 Comments

Merry Christmas Internets.  I am posting from my new and awesome HP Laptop.  I have been a “good” girl this year.  I have been wanting a new laptop because my laptop is about 4 years old and in technology time that is ancient–the “t” key has been missing for nearly 2 years and the “e” is hanging on precariously by sheer hope alone.  Now that I am embarking on the long road of earning the dear little letters “PhD or EdD” after my name, Santa thought I deserved a new laptop.  I love Santa.  I also got an awesome flash for my camera–which will take me months and months to learn how to use and a digital picture frame from Santa’s mom. 

Santa brought hubby a golf gps thingy…in the golf world I hear it is pretty cool.  Santa also got hubby a much covetted Wii.  He was very surprised and is very very excited. 

Santa also brought us a 5-pack of baseball tickets for the family–even Minnow got a ticket.  Minnow got a wagon from my dad and bonus mom, an easel and lots of art supplies from Santa and he got lots and lots of other things.  Too much that I would bore you all to pieces with the long list of things that Minnow got–I am glad he isn’t really old enough to understand this whole getting presents thing; otherwise, he would be completely ruined for ever!

I am thankful beyond all belief that I am lucky enough to have the great family I am.  This holiday seaon has also been one of great saddness for me.  I am sad that Minnow’s mom does not have the great pleasure of raising this amazing child.  I am sad for all that has been lost and cannot be regained.  I wish I could in someway repay her for the amazing gift she has given not only us but this world. Those of you who know Minnow know what I mean.  My wish for her this holiday season is that she somehow senses and knows what an amazing little boy he is and I hope she knows how much he is loved by everyone.  I will do my best to honor her gift to us by raising the best little man that I can. 

Merry Christmas. 

Take A Breath

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

I have been pushing myself a little crazy with the impending visit of my MIL–not because she is coming but because our house wasn’t ready for her to come.  I am so excited for her to get to spend some quality time with Minnow.  He hasn’t seen her since February and I am sad about that.  I wish she could/would visit more.  I know this is a big change from what I thought last year after she came, but I have begun to understand, realize and accept that it isn’t about me or hubby.  It isn’t even about my MIL it is about Minnow and his future sister and any other kids we have.  It is important for them to get to have this time with their grandparents.  Grandparents are great and Minnow has a great relationship with my parents because he sees them every week.  But sadly he only sees hubby’s parents once or twice a year.  It saddens me. I was lucky enough to have my parents stay married but my grandparents were all still married and they lived in town.  They were a big part of my life and some of my fondest memories are of spending time with them.  I know Minnow will have those types of memories about my parents but I really want him to have those memories of hubby’s parents as well. 

We will be home this holiday season and I will try to post a few times when I can.  I hope you all take a breath and enjoy the special blessings that make life truely great. 

Happy Holidays

154 Days

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 4 Comments

or 26 weeks or 6 months…however you want to look at it, it is still a long time to wait.  That is how long we have been waiting for the referral of our baby girl.  I am starting to get anxious and nervous and excited and a little neurotic about this whole waiting thing.  I imagine this must be what the last month of pregnancy is like–without the swollen ankles and the inablility to consume huge amount of wine at the holidays or any random afternoon…

The end of this waiting period is hard.  At this point it is very likely that our little girl has been brought into this world by a courageous and generous woman who knows she cannot take care of this baby who she loves and has loved for 9 months and has nutured to the best of her ability.  This is the hardest thing for me to reconcile.  I want to start loving her (and I already have in the abstract) and want her to know she has another family who longs to love, hold, and nuture her.  The waiting is so hard. 

I have the holidays to distract me, but that isn’t really a good thing as I have been distracting myself by Christmas shopping and have totally spoiled both my son and my husband this holiday season.  Oh, well.  It is just money right? 

Our wait is looking to be at least another month but the end is in sight.  Wait let me rephrase that–the beginning is just around the corner. 

Holy Sh*@! If Only I Had Known

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 2 Comments

As many of you know, I have struggled with my weight for a long time.  Not only do I love food, but I also have PCOS which helps weight gain and hinders weight loss.  I have tried to do a few different weight loss plans, but none of them have really worked.  I like variety and I love, I mean L-O-V-E, love food.  So, I haven’t  been successful in the long term and it is frustrating.  I was reading an article in Women’s Health and it talked about keeping a food journal.  And how those who keep a food journal tend to be more successful than those who don’t for long term success.  I really want to make a change and lose weight, but I want the change to be forever.  I also want to feel like I can eat without feeling guilty.  I have tried (not fully committed) in the past to keep track of what I ate.  But writing food down on paper was hard, as I would often lose it and then I would have to look up what I ate in a book or online and it was very time consuming and then I would really just give up.  Well, I am in love with My Food Dairy.  It really makes things easy and it does all the math for you.  It tells you at the end of each day when you will reach your ultimate goal and a few intermediate goals.  It breaks down carbs, protein, fat, vitamins, etc.  It highlights what was good and what was bad.  It tells you what percentage of your calories come from the aforementioned categories.  It really is awesome and it is online and I can access the site from any computer.  That makes it so easy. 

Back to the title of this post…I was eating way to fucking much food.  OMG! No wonder I couldn’t lose any weight.  It was so interesting to me to see how much I was really eating.  It is insane and now I am armed with a tool that will allow me to hopefully finally be successful.  The program holds me accountable and I hate to see frowns–it gives you smiley faces for good and frowns for bad.  Amazing how something so insignificant is enough to make this overachiever work hard so the computer isn’t frowning at me. 

Oh yeah!  If I keep it up I get an iphone so it will be easier for me to track my food all the time.  How awesome is that?  Talk about incentive.