Top o' the mornin' to ya - that's Irish for 'good morning' :) Just finished my second double-maybe-triple-caffeinated coffee, the sun is shining, house is quiet (except for my tunes)....Monday morning and all is well. It's truly amazing what a bit of sunshine can do. Seriously, as I mentioned last time, the weather here has been incredible for the last two weeks. Such a mild winter I have definitely not experienced here, and this is my tenth. Bill took the kids to the thermal baths yesterday, and although it's not uncommon to be sitting outside in the pools in January, it was unusually warm and very pleasant. Now if it will just freeze for the third week in February so we can ski we will be in business. We are hitting the sports store after school today to look for skis for the boys. I go back and forth about whether it makes sense to buy them skis, but since Riley will pass to Liam and he will pass them to Keira, we've decided to give it a shot. We are trying to get at least two weeks of skiing in each season, which adds up if we keep renting.

Bill just left the house for a bunch of meetings today and then he's off to the US tomorrow. Funny, he hasn't been home for even a day since the new year. Perhaps thats for the best :) I am not terribly excited about being on my own for three weeks, but I'm sure it will come and go in a blink like everything. His mom and dad are really excited for him to come and visit, and I know that they need him at the moment more than we do. Plus, poor guy, he will be able to bring back lots of yummy weight watchers snacks that I can't buy here :)

Weighed in this morning, 6.5 pounds down from last Monday. That would be very impressive, however my colonoscopy last Tuesday accounts for probably 3.5 of those pounds. Hey, I'll take it where I can get it, and truth be told that was a perfect way to start off my diet (sorry if it's too much information). There's nothing worse than busting your butt and eating like a bird for a week only to lose 1/2 pound. I need to kick up the activity part a notch, but just haven't found the time/place to do that. Exercising is right up there with root canals on my list of favorite things, but from previous experience I know that without it, the process of shedding the pounds is much more painful. Also integral to the mission, finding creative ways to use my 25 'points' each day. Last night for dinner, while the boys were eating big juicy cheeseburgers, I was chowing down on 'BBQ Chicken Snacks', which are comprised of chicken, red onion, bbq sauce, and a sliver of cheese, piled high on a rice cake. It actually wasn't as bad as it sounds. Just have to keep dreaming about those size 10 jeans. That may be a bit agressive, will shoot first for a size 12. Oh, and dream of the possibility that I might actually put on a bathing suit and not gag :)

Need to run some errands and get the guys from school, finish later....

8:30am Tuesday.
...or tomorrow. I'm not quite as chipper this morning, somehow the departure didn't go quite as well this morning. Keira always picks me up, though, on the ride to her nursery. She is going swimming today and is very happy about it. Yesterday the whole nursery went to the 'big TV' (movie theater) to see Ice Age 2, which she's seen ten times but was nonetheless as thrilled as the first. Next Monday they go into Budapest to the puppet theater. Rough life, eh? Just wish she wanted to stay home with me occasionally.

We had Keira's birthday party on Saturday, which was hailed by all as a great success. All the mommies ended up staying, which made things much easier. Keira's best buddy Mia stayed all day, then slept over, so they had a ball. Bill grilled burgers and chicken, as it was 15 degrees (C) outside. Keira's boyfriend Boti was number one on the guest list. He brought her a bunch of roses and a framed picture of himself. Ah, young love. I am uploading some pictures today to the photo blog.(http://mcgannphotos2006.blogspot.com/).

I am starting up the scrapbooking classes again today after a long holiday break, so I really need to go and get organized. I have two ladies this morning from 9-11:30 and three more from 11:30-2:30. Will still do one for the kids Wednesday afternoon, and maybe Saturday morning. Trying to get myself motivated to get back to my own projects, somehow I just never make the time for it at the moment.

Anyway, have a good week, will post again soon.
K.

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great holiday season, filled with the stuff that all good memories are made of. We are finally back in the swing of things here after two weeks of being, for the most part, couch potatoes. Dragging the boys out of bed this morning for school was nothing short of a nightmare, but we got them somewhat dressed and out the door. Bill is home now for the time being, which makes it a bit easier for everyone to get organized. He is going to the US to visit his parents on January 17th for three weeks, back February 7th. It works out perfectly (or should I say it was planned perfectly), so that he will be here for Keira's birthday on Thursday and then back for Liam's on February 12th. Keira's 'Pony Princess' party (apparently the theme for the moment, as it was also a Pony Christmas) will be Saturday. I will only have six little monkeys, three boys and three girls, from 10am-1pm. Am still trying to figure out what I might do with them, they aren't really old enough to get into games, etc., and left unattended can only wreak havoc on my home. Not sure I can do 'duck, duck, goose' or 'pin the tail on the donkey' in Hungarian, but something along those lines is in order. The boys are quite pleased that they don't have to participate in these shinanigins, as it was conveniently scheduled during their Saturday am football session. Liam's birthday is next, and he has opted instead for a football (soccer) party at the local tennis/soccer facility. Guess I should get organized and try to make a reservation this week. He will be eight, not even fathomable for me. Anyway, the holidays came and went and now we are fast approaching the next celebration(s).

We had a very quiet Christmas, just us and our friends, the Clements, on Christmas Eve for dinner, and just us at home Christmas Day. We left for Slovakia on the 27th, where we were very happy to find a bit (and I mean a bit) of snow on the slopes. The kids were able to have four days of mediocre skiing, much to the relief of all parents who were pondering what we might do with them if they couldn't ski. Keira got up on her skis a few times but wasn't really interested yet in having a lesson. We will hopefully have another week in Austria Feb.17-24, where she will have no choice but to spend some time with an instructor. I got a late Christmas present in the form of new skis, which is very exciting, and I actually joined the kids on the slopes for three of the four days. New Year's Eve was a bust for me this year, as I felt pretty rotten and was in bed by 9pm, but again the kids had a great time. Truth be told, I found myself in a big fat funk from about midday on the 25th until we got back here on Jan.2nd, and have decided upon further introspection (is that the right word?) that perhaps I will vote for a sunny beach holiday next year, leaving on the 22nd, coming back on the 2nd of January. We can have a tree and all that, just not the buzzkill/letdown that comes after spending four weeks in the build-up of Christmas, only to watch it go out the window after a few hours on Christmas morning. So much for my last posting, where I was ranting about my dreams of a Martha Stewart Christmas. Just a thought. And what if we weren't actually here to open presents on Christmas morning? Would that be such a terrible thing? I'm thinking Sharm El Sheikh, or even Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Work with me here, people, I'm trying to forge on and imagine life beyond Budapest in January, or even March/April for that matter. Absolutely no complaints this year about the harsh winter, as it hasn't even gotten cold yet, but it's grey and blah nonetheless.

And with any luck, if my new Christmas plan is put into action next year, I may even be able to force myself into a bathing suit (big allergy of mine). I'm starting back on Weight Watcher's this week, after about a 13 year hiatus, so it also works out well that Bill won't be here to tempt me with whatever he's eating while I'm in the first few miserable weeks of the carbohydrate detox process. I can just throw something easy, perhaps even healthy, on the table for the kids and get on with my business of tuna and rice cakes. The last time I had any successful weight loss, it was pre-Riley when I was still working like crazy and didn't have time to stop and think about food. I am now forty pounds up, almost exactly where I started in 1994, so it's time to get my big butt moving again. My biggest problem - finishing whatever the kids don't eat. Why do I feel like I need to do that? Anyway, it's a new day out there in W.Watchers world, compared to my last experience. Now, since there aren't any support groups or meetings here in the village (ha.ha), I will attempt to accomplish the same thing using their online program. It's actually probably just as good for me. I can track everything, find recipes, use the message boards, etc.. to keep me motivated, and I still have to weigh in every Monday morning, come rain or chocolate chip cookies. I'm using the point system (you have a choice of programs), whereby I just discovered that two Hershey's Kisses will cost me only 1 point, of my 25 point daily allowance. But wait, there's more. I have 35 extra points a week to use as I please, which will no doubt be devoured in my red wine consumption - a glass a day keeps the doctor away - proven fact. I had hoped that Bill would join me in my endeavors, but he remains a diehard fan of Dr.Atkins and can't even contemplate contemplating the size of his portions. Keep your fingers crossed for me please, I really need some sort of a boost at the moment, and success in this effort would go a long way.

What else to report? Not much, really. I am enjoying having Bill home for the moment, and even more happy about quiet the house is today. It's great to have the angels home for awhile and then just as nice to send them back :) Sorry, just being honest. Bill seems to have relaxed somewhat in the last few weeks and it very positive about our options for the future. He still hasn't committed 100% to the gig he originally planned on here in Budapest, but he is moving forward with the project and it will likely take up more of his time in Feb/March. He also talked to someone last week about a job with a mobile phone company in Papua New Guinea. There is always something interesting to ponder, even if it's just for the fun of pondering.

In entertainment news, we went to see the new Luc Besson film last week, Arthur and the Invisibles. It doesn't open in US theaters until Friday, but even the grownups will dig it. It's half-animated, with lots of great voices, although we saw it in Hungarian and I would still like to see it again in English. The Bucks are playing Florida tonight for the national college football championship....Go Bucks!!! No information please from the US, downloading it to watch Tuesday or Wednesday. We actually got to watch the Michigan game in suspense, which was great. And finally, my iTunes download tip of the day. If you haven't had a chance to see the new series in the US, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, you really need to do so. The show is created and produced by Aaron Sorkin, producer/writer of the West Wing. In my opinion it's much too intelligent for 90% of the American public, thus explaining the lower ratings and possible yanking from the lineup, but it is fabulous. Matthew Perry has moved up about twenty notches in my book - I never had much use for him on friends. Check it out.

On that note, I really need to go spend some time with the monkeys, check on the homework situation, think about dinner, etc. Will try to get back on track with my blogging effort, although reading back over this masterpiece, I'm not sure who would be hanging on for the next chapter.
xoxo. K.