All Al Wants for Christmas is a National Championship

Merry Christmas

Happy Birthday Nicholas

I was nice aenough to make him a Birthday breakfast, and this is what I get when I tell him to smile for the camera.

Much better.

Confused as to why his brother gave him a memory card.

Ahhh a new camera...that explains it.

Al looks very enthused. He's actually saying "Hurry up we're going to be late for church." Oh well Christian wouldn't even let me take his picture. Happy Birthday Nicholas.

Is Your Glass 1/2 Full?

Around Black Friday, Al was digging through all of the sale ads and talking about some of the deals that were being offered. One of the ones we were most interested in was a deal that the movie theater was offering. It seems you could buy a $25 gift card and get 4 more free tickets. However, anything that seems too good to be true usually is, and the catch was that the "free" admissions were in February to special "family" movies, i.e. old stuff my kids don't want to go see.

I always have been a pessimist about Black Friday sales, and I asked Al if he was thankful that he was married to a pessimist. He said sometimes he was and sometimes he wasn't. I won't get into the debate we had about whether that sometimes was referring to me or the pessimist that is for another conversation all together. Anyway I was trying to point out that some pessimism makes you less vulnerable to people who prey on naivete'. This discussion led him to ask me "Do you think the glass is half full or half empty?" I said "neither". I said I simply see the glass as it is with x amount of liquid in it. He pressed me and I finally said "I guess half full, but with something still missing." That is pretty much my take on life. Be aware of your accomplishments but always strive to do better.

The first two months I did Spark People I lost about 10 lbs per month. This month my goal was to lose 10 more pounds. What I was naive about was that traditionally I look at November as the beginning of 2 month feast. It begins with my birthday on November 11th, and doesn't end until Al's birthday on January 10th. My plan this year was to eat sensibly for the entire 2 months with the exception of 5 days: my birthday, Thanksgiving, Nicholas' birthday, Christmas, and Al's birthday. I didn't have plans to attend any holiday parties so I figured life would go on as usual in between.

What I forgot to plan for was how I usually celebrate my birthday for about a week with various groups of friends. So...my birthday started my downhill slide. I only went out a couple of times, but one was to the Cheesecake Factory and the other was an all day excursion with Al which started with Applebees, continued with a visit to the wine store and Cupcake Island, and ended with Old Chicago. Luckily (not really) I was extremely sick over Thanksgiving and I only got ONE Thanksgiving dinner with no leftovers. This is very sad to me because I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some dressing and my Daddy's ham.

So back to my point. I lost 5 lbs this month not the 10 lbs I had hoped for. Does this mean I met 1/2 of my goal or missed 1/2 of my goal? Does the pessimist say "fail" and the optimist say "good job"? Well here is what I say: I was 5 lbs lighter on December 1st than I was on November 1st, and 25 lbs lighter than when I started my journey. I was hoping to be 30 lbs lighter, but 25 lbs is nothing to sneeze at right? I feel pretty good that I got through November and lost weight instead of gaining (which I would have if I hadn't gotten sick). I also need to try harder through December to make sure that I keep tracking my food and don't let those calories get away from me. I am trying to take this 1 day at a time, 1 weigh-in at a time, and 1 goal at a time, and while I really want to hurry up and meet my final goal, I know it is a long journey. It will be a lifetime change if I do it correctly.

So honey, let's just say you are married to a cafeteria pessimist. I pick and choose when the glass needs to be refilled. OK?

P.S. Currently weight loss stands as follows:

Al- 36 lbs
Mitzi- 25 lbs
Nicholas- 24 lbs
Christian 15 lbs

Grand Total for the Cardona Family.....100 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!

Is It Fall or Winter?

Is it just me or is October 10th just a little to early for snow? For some absurd reason I thought we'd have time to rake BEFORE we had to shovel. Just saying...

Logan's 1st Birthday Party

We all drove down to Manhattan and celebrated Logan's 1st birthday in the park by his house.

Logan's 1st birthday cake.

Logan meets his Great Grandmother Cardona for the first time ever.

Lita and her first Grandchild.

Grandma Shirley shows Logan the wagon she got him for his birthday.

Looking at all of the presents.

Can I open one now?


Grandma Shirley took him for a ride in his new wagon. He loved the paper decorations.


The gift table and the poster mommy made for Logan.

Four generations.

The highlight of the day was the bubble machine Aly bought. It worked fabulously.

Grandma Shirley and Great Grandma Eloisa.

He was a little freaked out by 30 people staring at him and singing "Happy Birthday."

Blowing out the candle.

Licking the icing off of the candle.

Standing AND drinking out of a straw instead of a bottle. I taught him that.

Al & Aly"s high school friend Michael. His parents live across the street from us.

(L) Ben a friend from high school, (R) Kat a friend from Junior High and (C) Kat's sister Karole.

Brennan, Nicholas' friend from pre-school and his mom Julie.

Lucy & Bob.

PLHS Alums & friends Ben & Michael

How would you like to grow up around a bunch of your mom's sorority sisters?

Uncle Wes, Uncle Chris, and Daddy Andy.

Grandma Shirley and her sisters Betty and Millie.

Great Grandma Eloisa and Grandpa.

Logan and his Daddy playing on the slide.

Logan and his mommy opening presents.

He was tired when he started, but near the end he was exhausted.

Watching his mommy smile makes him feel better.

Getting ready for his very own cake.

Aly and Andy kept smashing his hands in it and kept trying to lick them clean.


OK, he says, I'm DONE.

Starting to get whiney.

All cleaned up and bonding with his Great Grandma.

Lita and her babies.

Alyssa and Logan after church on Sunday.

He loves to fly...whee.

He was too pooped to pop after his big weekend.