I hope you don't mind

Jack Jack with Nana Terry and "her twin"

Today is a very important day.

It's the 11th birthday of the cutest baby ever born who has somehow turned into the handsomest, smartest young man I have ever met.

My nephew Jack.

He has changed all of our lives.

Jack, when you read this one day, I want you to know...

You are brilliant.

You are so sweet.

You are just like your dad in all of the good ways.

(And some of the 'debbie snack cake' ways too!)

You are a great leader for your siblings.

You taught me what it really means to love someone more than my own life.

I can't imagine what the future holds for you but I know you'll be amazing at whatever you do.

I can see you being an experimental chef, a video game maker, a stay at home dad to 6 crazy girls, a teacher- you could do anything you wanted.

I have loved every minute of the past 11 years. From clapping for you as a baby, to chasing you as a toddler, to creating secret clubs with you as a little guy, to now making youtube 'Chopped' videos with you as a young man.

I have a million memories that I will always cherish.

Thank you for being you. You are incredible and I thank God every day for bringing you into our family.

Love always,

Aunt Lori

Watching the tide roll away

Today I am 34. 

This blog is officially 4 years old.

I think the last 4 years have worn off the last of the child like excitement I used to feel surrounding my birthday.

It's kind of like an average day where people give me gifts. 

I think that is good for me. 

It's a sign (hopefully) of emotional maturity.

Anyway, here are my goals for 34.

1. Go to church every week for all 3 hours. 

(except Stake Conference which I consider a get out of church free card)

2. Get my Temple Recommend renewed. 

(Which means giving up the weed, younger men, and trips to Atlantic City, but I think I can do it:)

3. Exercise 5 days of the week- leading up to...

4. Walk the "Love" half marathon in Philadelphia on March 30th, 2014. Maybe run some of it- we'll see.

5. Do legitimate weekly service. (i.e.- not baking brownies for my dad)

6.  Do not wear my hair in a ponytail ONCE for the entire year.

  (I am wayyyyy too dependent on it- I need to learn to actually style my hair)

7. Give up all junk food- soda, candy, cake, any refined carbs and sugar. No exceptions.

8. Accomplish 12 items on my bucket list

(crossed off one today- adding a streak of pink to my hair!)

These are all self improvement goals. I usually fail at self improvement goals but I have a little momentum this year with some of these. 

I've started to see the benefits of some of them and I feel like that will help me get through the long, hard days when I want to give up.

If you've read this blog just for today, thank you.

If you've read every painful entry for the last four years, thank you.

I write mainly for myself and for my nieces and nephews to remember me and their childhood but I've appreciated every single supportive comment (and even the debates!)

Here's to another four glorious years of the infamous Spinster Chronicles.

(Although I fully anticipate that by then  it will be called "The I married an emotionally detached divorced man whose middle school aged children resent me just for the social status of not being a Spinster Chronicles") 

Lori Ann

p.s.- Thanks to my family for the...festive...gifts, the wonderful lunch, and for giving me the glory of having defeated an entire tableful of Monroes! 

It don't run in our blood

Another Random Picture Post from the kick off of my Birthday Weekend!!

You guys, a year ago today, I was here

Scariest license picture ever taken

Today I walked my first 5K. And not to be self congratulatory but  I could have kept going.

I was obsessed with getting a picture of my FIRST EVER shirt number thing. But I ended up looking like a perv taking multiple pics of the chest.

If you are considering a 5K, this one was tons of fun;) 

I did get kind of bored waiting for it to start. I arrived at least 2 hours early to get good parking. Hence the excessive number of weird selfies.

I was SO excited to cross this finish line. It's the first one I have ever crossed. 

We are having a heat wave here and I was sweating like I'd been in a sauna. That's for the sweating genes, Dad;) 

Other people looked cute and girly and sparkly at the end. I looked like I was getting moldy. 

My mom and nieces/nephews got me 130 balloons- one for every lb I've lost. (well, technically its 138 but I told my mom I forgave her for the missing 8 ballons:)  I've got a seriously amazing and supportive family. I thank God for them every day!!

Close up of Elly doing her now classic Elly jump!

My mom is so awesome. She always knows when I am kind of just hanging in there. I can't believe she spent 130 dollars on balloons. It meant the world to me though. 

Amazing.

All of this on Conference weekend. It's like the best weekend ever and  a great way to send out 33 and welcome year 34, baby!!

Next up on TSC- my goals for year 34. They are going to be very different from what I've done before.

Brace yourselves:)

Lori Ann

Well I think it's a total disgrace

Once again, TSC is going back on it's word.

We promised not to talk about politics until 2014.

But come on..a government shut down?

I bet both parties are waiting to hear my analysis before proceeding.

So...

Let me; for the record, give up all pretense of objectivity.

I despise liberal ideology.(shocker, I know)

Now here is where I usually go into my whole "well, there is good points on both sides, I am trying to be fair" apologizing for my beliefs song and dance.

Not this time.

Most liberals do not apologize for their beliefs. Because to them, they are passionately held ideals which should not be apologized for.

Rather than passionate ideals, conservatives are painted as having "extreme right wing ideology".

Well, it's my passionate ideal that the government not compel people to buy things they don't want. Do things they don't want to do. Believe things they don't want to believe.

It is my passionate belief that our representatives are there to represent us. Not to make cozy, 'go along to get along' deals that inevitably take us closer and closer to a  Brave New World type existence.

Where everyone takes their soma and sacrifices the individual for the greater good.

My passionate ideals are: 

The less government the better.

The less worshipping at the idols of fairness and equality the better.

The less of a social "safety net" that slowly tangles up and immobilizes large numbers of our fellow citizens the better.

The less Uncle Sam is the dad and provider for our nation's children the better.

The more that can be done at a state and local level the better.

I could go on and on and I know that not much of what I've said is actually relevant to the issues that are happening in the government shutdown.

But like I always say- I write this blog not so much for myself or whoever is reading it today but for my nieces and nephews (or if I were ever lucky enough to have my own children) and I want them to know what I stood for. What I believed.

Not just what kind of crafts I liked to do or how I decorated my Christmas tree.

Once again, one thing I do admire about liberals is that they don't apologize. They don't let anyone shame them for their beliefs. They don't remain quiet or passive out of fear of offending someone.

This is one liberal philosophy I can get on board with.

Lori Ann

p.s.- No matter how much the media spins it, hang in there Republicans! A lot of us are with you.

It's been sure nice talking to you

Random Life updates on a weird feeling Thursday afternoon

I visited my dad in the hospital this morning before work. He had both knees replaced on Tuesday morning. It was so strange. I've seen him in pain before but nothing like this. I have always thought of him as the strongest man in the whole world. I don't like to see him like this.

I have fallen OFF the wagon again. My feet hurt after five mile Monday and I haven't been walking or to the gym since.

The difference between this time off the wagon and the last is that I am not going to stay off for a whole month. I've got to get back on. (Right after I finish these cookies...)

Today was our staff picnic. There was an outpatient and psychiatric table but there wasn't an empty seat. So, I was stuck out in the middle of nowhere with people from the Recovery center. (Drug and Alcohol) I felt like I was sitting with a rival gang.

Today, some of the girls at work snuck a picture of George Clooney in the file of my first client. The back story to this is long, so I'll spare you. But let's just say it involves Rand Paul and a 5 hour psychiatric evaluation:)

Lori Ann

No one sees her at all

So, for every self righteous blog update about my awesomeness, there comes a corresponding crash.

Yesterday was five mile Monday.

Today has been "sleep through my personal training appointment, eat eggs and toast and pretzels for breakfast, almost arrive late to work" Tuesday.

My room is a mess. I haven't gotten anything on my to do list done yet.

Oh man.

I need to get back in gear.

The only silver lining to this disastrous morning is that I have felt so off kilter.

Slumped down on the couch, watching the news, eating eggs and toast, I felt awful.

And that is what my mornings used to be EVERY DAY.

Eating crap for breakfast, lolly gagging around until I had to run out the door.

My old routine is no longer comfortable to me.

I didn't enjoy it. I don't miss it.

I missed walking today.

I even missed my evil trainer.

So...

Who's up for working out tonight?

Lori Ann

Back on the street

Substitute "walking" for running- apparently there aren't any inspirational walking quotes out there :)


I walked 5 miles this morning.

From 6:33 am to 8:14 am.

My legs now feel like lead and my skin (4 hours later) still has a slight chill to it.

Not to say that I have it all figured out- which I completely do not- but this morning was hard and tiring and made me feel like I could do anything in the world.

I used to wonder how people lost weight and got in shape.

 I pictured montages of them, at the gym, running up museum steps, drinking raw eggs...ummm, that's actually the plot from Rocky.

Never mind.

But you get the idea.

 People just got swept away and suddenly it was easy and awesome to be healthy.

I would start trying to do it. 

But the lack of immediate results and lack of "eye of the tiger" playing in the background always stopped me.

 Usually after a few days at most.

But a walk like today made me feel like I can do it. 

Getting healthy is not a 2 minute movie montage but a long series of days where you leave your comfortable, warm house and go out and do something hard.

 And tiring.

 And repetitive.

 And tedious.

As I walked 8 laps around the track today, I had moments of feeling inspired- mainly when my Christina Aquilera man hating music came on- but most of the laps consisted of me, silently pushing myself "one more step, one more step, one more step".

I wanted to quit after 2 laps.

 Then after 4.

 Then after 5 when my ipod said it's battery was getting low.

 Then after 6 when my back really hurt. 

Then after 7 when I thought "Oh my gosh, this is far enough, isn't it?"

Only the thought of walking in the door and yelling "Five mile Monday!" to my cat kept me going.

And I made it.

Happy Five Mile Monday to you all!!

Lori Ann