You know what I miss about blogging at Mindsay the most? Bullet points:

  • I wrote extensively about my son, av, growing up from a baby to a toddler and then into a preschooler.   Since I last posted here a lot has changed:  he's now in first grade! And he'll be seven at the end of next month! Where does the time go?!? We're sending him to a private Jewish school here in Northern Virginia -- which is an amazing fit for him.  He's in a class with 18 other kids with whom he's become great friends.  The teachers this year (as were the kindergarten teachers last year) are truly wonderful; they allow all of the kids to excel and immerse themselves in learning. I'm proud of him being able to work addition and subtraction problems with two-digit numbers; find different countries on a map and read entire stories in Hebrew. It's just great to see what he learns every single day.
  • He's also very tall -- one of the tallest in his class. I have no idea how that happened.
  • ... and he plays guitar! Well, kind of. He's been having guitar lessons every week for the past month and a half, and he's (slowly) getting it down. Perhaps the hardest part of it is his concentration during lessons and practice sessions. But when he gets it, he gets it.  He has six chords under his belt; this week we're focusing on transitions between chords.  He can play "The Wheels on the Bus." exciting!

(No, that's not him really playing. But it's a cool picture.)

  • Enough about the kid; let's talk about ME! After taking a break from blogging, I decided to get more exercise and join Weight Watchers. I was at a pretty dangerous weight and was leading a more sedentary than not lifestyle. Well -- a summer of running in the neighborhood paid off (as did a pretty good change of diet): I'm now down about 30-some pounds from June! I still have a ways to go before my goal, but this really feels good. I've been told that I look different. It makes me happier and more confident. (Having bought pants in a smaller size for the first time in my life certainly didn't hurt!) I look forward to keeping up the progress. Although I can't run outside in the Fall/Winter season (too dark), I've joined the gym at work, and I find myself on the treadmill, elliptical and stairmaster a few times a week.
  • Modern Family on ABC is the best new show of the season. With Glee as a close second. There. I said it.
  • The Mindsay community was very helpful and supportive when I was going through the grief of my mom's death back in 2006, and I appreciate you all being there for me. Since then a lot has happened in my Dad's life:  He started dating a wonderful woman, and they have since moved in together. In March of this year he sold his home -- the home where I grew up since age 2. He also was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. An aggressive case of it, in fact, which required chemotherapy. But after a spring and summer's worth of chemo treatments, he has kicked cancer's ass into remission.  His hair is short but it's pretty much all grown back. I'm so proud of him for staying strong throughout this time.
  • Oh -- and did I mention? He's getting married this month. At age 65. My brother and I will be walking my Dad down the aisle. And moments later, I'll have a much, much bigger family. A stepmom. Step-siblings. Step-nieces and nephews.  The cool part? We all get along pretty well.
  • arrrgylesocKs and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary a few weeks ago. We spent the weekend in Baltimore and had a lovely time.  Here's to eleven more years! (Hell, maybe 12!)
  • I've been spending a lot of time volunteering. But I'll save that experience for a post later this week.
And them things is bullets!  Have a good night...
 
   

 


Comment Page: 1 2   [Next]
 
mystupidmouth on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
I loved reading aviblog (is that right?) during the time period you were doing that.  That was one of your sweetest, yet most creative ventures if you ask me. His school sounds wonderful, I'm glad to hear he's doing so well...and growing so tall. You must've taught him to eat his vegetables (Firefox is telling me that must've is not a word...but to hell with Firefox.)

We talked briefly about your weight loss and your life these days. Again, I'm very impressed with your new healthier life style, as well as the fact you've been making more time for your family.  Michael and I have been dating for two years now, and we recently got into a pretty big rut.  We sat down and talked and really reevaluated our lives together and our relationship, and decided that we love each other and want to continue our relationship.  Since then we've been working harder to spend more time together and not let our busy lives get in the way so much.  Sometimes you just need to realize what's most important, I guess.

Congratulations to your dad, my dad got married in May at the younger age of 51. Nothing wrong with a fully grown blended family!
shiny on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Yup -- aviblog was the site.  We're doing the same thing on Twitter occasionally -- you can see some words of wisdom from him at http://twitter.com/avischuschein .

And congrats to your dad as well!

-- S
johnndepp on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Ya know what, I just realized that one day quite along time ago, we had a conversation about how we both lived in VA
shiny on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Yup! Still living in the Commonwealth! It'll be interesting to see what life will be like under new leadership. And by "interesting" I mean "a smidge disturbing."

-- S
johnndepp on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Yea, this was my first election I voted in. When I went to my school to vote, there were people there that were handing out their fliers asking me to vote for them but they were fill-ins that I havent heard much about so I was lke ummm no.
snuggs on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
how lovely about your father!  and congrats for kicking cancer ass!!!  this whole post deserves nothing but congratulations on every bullet point!
shiny on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Thanks!

-- S
misshap on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
That's amazing news about your Dad! 
shiny on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Yup - he's quite an amazing guy.

-- S
laughwithme on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
I second Snuggs and say congratulations on every bullet point!
No, wait... except for the one about Modern Family and Glee.
shiny on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Not a fan of Modern Family? I think they do a pretty good job.

I mean, it's no Deal Or No Deal, but still...

Happy Birthday!

-- S
laughwithme on
Re: So - what have I been up to?
Not a fan of Glee...

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