It Feels Different this Time...

I have lost large amounts of weight twice in my life.  Both of those times I fell right back into bad habits once I had lost enought to say "just one won't hurt."  This time just feels different.  I am down 15 lbs from the summer.  I don't feel deprived.  I don't long for my Dr. Pepper.  I don't miss the dairy products.  I don't crave the fast food.  Best of all, my skin looks better, my guts aren't in a knot all the time, I am sleeping better and the numbers show my health is improving.

I've developed good habits and now they are second nature.  I take my lunch to work every day.  I cook meals from scratch as much as possible.  I shop for groceries differently.  But I have reconciled myself to the fact that I may not ever lose all of this weight and I am OK with that.  In fact, I feel great about that.  I just feel GOOD.  That's not something I could say for a long time.

Reporting In

Our new school, band and work schedule hasn't afforded me a lot of time for blogging over the last couple of weeks.  I do have to say that despite our hectic schedule, I have pretty much stuck to my eating plan.  I'm still off caffeine (can't even remember the last time I had a caffeinated beverage) and still cooking 90%+ of our meals at home from mostly "real" ingredients.  For the most part, any cravings I had have gone away and things are much easier than they were in the first week of this change.  Phone Guy has seen dramatic decreases in his fasting blood sugar readings every morning and I think he may be convinced that this is all working to guide us to better health.  The Pleaser still makes a face at everything I put on the table but I pick my battles with him.  I require him to try everything I make, then he can have a peanut butter sandwich.  And Danger Boy, well he just rolls with the flow.  Most of the time he ends up liking what we have, or at least some portion of it anyway.

I don't have an "official" weight loss number yet but I believe it is somewhere around 10 lbs.  I've been doing this about 6 or 7 weeks I guess so I guess that is not too bad.  I kind of thought the number would be a little more significant but as they say, "Rome wasn't built in a day."
 

Laughing So I Won't Cry

It is stressful trying to get the kids home from school and dinner on the table before The Pleaser has to be back at band practice at 6:30.  It didn't help yesterday that the boys were fighting while I was trying to get them to the table.  I lost my temper with them and asked them not to say another word to anyone until dinner was over.  They continued squabbling and picking at each other after the meal was over and while we were trying to get out the door for band.  I won't go into all the gory details but that sets up the situation for you.

As we were on the way to band practice, my phone alerted me of a text message.  I generally don't text and drive so I ignored it for the moment.  Then a few minutes later, it dinged again and since I was at a stoplight I picked it up to see what it was.  Well, as it turns out, The Pleaser had accidentally texted me instead of one of his friends.  The text read, "I hate my family.  I am going to live at xxxxxx (his school) from now on...."  Needless to say I was hurt and angry (mostly angry).  I proceeded to tell him how wonderful it was that he hated us and how I was so sorry that he had to live with us, and ride in the car with us to his band practice (which many parents would not make the sacrifices or efforts to let their kids go to),  etc.  He was stone silent the rest of the way and got out at school without a word.

We ran an errand and went back home.  Danger Boy was upset by everything so I tried to reassure him that everything was OK.  He and Phone Guy and I had a nice evening.

I picked The Pleaser up at 8:30 and he immediately apologized when he got in the car.  He told me he was just upset and felt blamed for everything.  I didn't have much to say but we made conversation on the way home.

This morning he asked if he could just stay through until band practice instead of coming home in between.  Of course, I had to ask.  "Why?  Because you don't want to be at home with us?"  (I know, I couldn't help myself)  "NO! Why do you have to bring that up again."  And he left for the bus stop shortly after for his 15 hour day at school. 

If you want to nominate me for Mom of the Year, go right ahead. *sigh*

Hungry Days

Do you ever have those days where you are hungry all day long?  I don't often, but yesterday was one of those days for me.

My kids went back to school yesterday.  I now have a junior and an 8th grader.  (Who are these people?  What did they do with my babies!?) It was a busy day.  I woke up at 4:45, got The Pleaser up at 5:00 and sent him off to the bus stop at 6:15, then got Danger Boy up and ready after that.  Then it started raining.  I dropped him at 8:30 and headed to work.  After a long traffic delay, I finally made it to work. 

I had eaten a protein bar at 5:30 but by 9:30 I was starving.  I ate the protein bar I had packed for my afternoon snack.  At 11:00, I was starving again.  I finally ate lunch about 11:45.  I was a good girl and had packed some homemade chicken tortilla soup, one bean and cheese taco, some grapes and about 5 chocolate covered almonds.  Normally that would be plenty for me but I was still hungry.  Since I ate my afternoon protein bar at 9:30, I was out of luck. 

I picked up The Pleaser about 3:45 and then went straight to Danger Boys school.  He is supposed to get out at 4:10 but we didn't manage to locate each other until almost 4:45.  You've probably seen that graphic on the interwebs that defines the word Hangry.  Well that's how I was feeling about that time.

I had planned dinner so that it wouldn't take long to fix.  I was supposed to go to a meeting at 6:00 and have The Pleaser back for band practice at 6:30.  Since it was already 5:00 when I got home, I immediately ran to the kitchen and started my second "meatless Monday" creation.  This time we had Spicy Spaghetti Squash with black beans.  I think I had way too much squash compared to the other ingredients and it wasn't what my family considers to be "spicy" but it was good and in case I haven't mentioned it - I was STARVING!  I quickly ate 2 helpings. 

After dinner, I decided there wasn't going to be time for me to make the meeting so I ran The Pleaser back up to school for band practice.  I came home and watched a couple of Criminal Minds re-runs.  Amazingly there were 2 episodes I hadn't seen.  I still felt like I needed to visit the all-you-can-eat buffet.  I ended up popping a little bit of popcorn and coating it with olive oil and sea salt.  Then I had a few almonds.  I felt like I might live, but truth be told, I was still hungry.

I picked The Pleaser up at 8:30 and he told me he had homework...in 3 classes...Really?  Who has homework on the first day of school?  So as he worked on that, I washed dishes then watched part of another Criminal Minds episode (one I had already seen about 4 times).  I was so glad for bedtime.  I was exhausted and hungry. I was hoping sleep would solve both of those problems. 

Let's hope today isn't another hungry day for me.

Shampoo, Who Knew?

Oh Dove shampoo.  I have loved you for so many years.  You smell so good and make my hair feel so great.  But we are in an abusive relationship - you are hurting me more than helping me so I must let you go. As I was researching estrogen dominance, I found out that the shampoo I had been using all these years could have been contributing to the hormonal imbalance.  No way?  Yes way!

Most consumer shampoos contain parabens.  Parabens are used as a preservative in a lot of cosmetic products and pharmaceuticals.  They are probably in the shampoo you love, the toothpaste you use, and the make-up that makes you beautiful.  Parabens can mimic estrogen and while there is some debate about whether or not they are harmful, they are thought to contribute to estrogen dominance and breast cancer.  Since I am trying to eliminate all of the factors contributing to my high estrogen levels, it seems logical to get them out of my life as much as possible.  If you give up things containing parabens, you will likely have to give up many of the products you have loved for years.  I have decided that, for me, it is worth the sacrifice.  Now, I haven't gone through the house and found all of the evil parabens and thrown them in the trash but as I finish things up, I am replacing them with items that are better for my overall health.

The first thing I did was change shampoo and conditioner.  I went with a paraben-free, sulfate-free brand, Nature's Gate.  Burt's Bees and Say Yes to Carrots are other brands that are "safe" but I liked the scent and price of Nature's Gate so I went with that one for now.  It took me a few days to get used to it since it didn't lather in quite the same way as my old shampoo but it is acceptable.  It smells great and gets my hair clean and doesn't leave it feeling too greasy.  What more could a girl can ask for?  Of course, you will find that paraben-free brands are a little pricier than drug store brands but if you are used to paying for salon brands, then you probably won't pay much more for a paraben-free brand.

I was also excited to find out that select Wal-Marts will begin carrying a paraben-free, sulfate-free brand called Simply U.  You can actually request a free sample through that link.  Of course, my local Wal-Mart won't have it but there are a few stores in this area that will carry it plus it is available online.  It is very affordable too, which cheap me loves.

DIM Prospects

As I mentioned in my last post, I take a handful of supplements and a few meds every day.  I quit taking several of my medications without consulting my doctor (not recommending this approach - just how I did it).  The metformin made me sick, the birth control pills were just contributing to my high estrogen levels, the thyroid pills because I don't have a thyroid problem and I'm really not sure why I was on them in the first place.  I was also able to quit the daily Prilosec after I gave up dairy.  I had always just taken whatever my doctor gave me without really questioning it.  The only medications I am continuing on are the cholesterol and blood pressure meds (although since I quit caffeine my BP has gone down significantly and is in the "high normal" range now).  I am hoping, eventually, to be able to give these up as well.

I also take several supplements.  Most were recommended by my doctor, but a few I have researched on my own and have added since I started researching estrogen dominance.  DIM-Plus is one of the things I have added on my own.  DIM-plus contains highly concentrated amounts of diindolylmethane, a phytonutrient found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. DIM has unique hormonal benefits that you don't find in other plant nutrients.  It is supposed to help reduce the risk of breast, cervical and other estrogen-driven cancers cancer by helping your body to make a better balance of the “good estrogen” (2-hydroxy-estrone) compared to the “bad estrogen” (16-alpha-hydroxy-estrone).  It is recommended to help with menopausal symptoms and for those of us who have an imbalance of estrogen/progesterone.  I love veggies but I would have to eat dozens of servings to get the benefits I get out of taking the DIM-Plus caps every day.

The verdict is still out on this one.  I've been on it for about 3 weeks now but it's hard for me to say for sure if it has made a big difference.  My hormones didn't get out-of-whack overnight and it is going to take some time for them to get back to normal.  Hopefully DIM-Plus will help.

Supplementing

Today was my 4 month checkup at the doctor.  I dread these visits but today's wasn't too terrible.

The good news:  My A1C had gone down and I have lost 4 lbs.  The bad news:  My cholesterol was back up some.  How?  I have no idea.  I tend to think last time's numbers were a bit of a fluke.  At any rate, I have already made several dietary changes that should make my next visit numbers much better.  Only time will tell though.

The doctor wants me to add CoQ-10 and Vitamin D to my already vast list of medications and supplements.  Yay.  More pills to swallow.

Phone Guy's cholesterol and triglycerides were all out of whack so he got a firm talking to.  I will be trying to keep him on track but he's a little stubborn in regards to his diet.

We started our "Meatless Monday" experiment today.  We made vegetarian stuffed Poblano peppers.  They were delicious.  We all enjoyed them, although Danger Boy ate the filling and left the pepper and The Pleaser wasn't having any of it so he ate tortillas with peanut butter in them.  Peanut butter is the reason he is alive today so I guess I won't knock it too much.

I am optimistic about my next doctor visit.  I hope to knock his socks off with some great numbers and significant weight loss.  Wish me luck!

It's Alive!

I am once again resurrecting this poor, neglected blog o' mine.  I thought about starting a new one, but I am a little partial to this old gal so I figured I would dust her off and take her for another ride.

I am still watching too much TV and enjoying the adventures of my ever-hilarious children (who are both now teens) and after reading some of the old entries, I realized I missed documenting some of their antics here.

But the main reason I came back is to chronicle a new journey to improve my health and lose some weight and conquer "estrogen dominance."    I was just recently diagnosed with this condition and it explains so much of what has been going on in my life the last 13 years or so.  The list of symptoms reads like a book based on my life.

I have already made some significant changes.  Even before the diagnosis, I had given up most dairy.  I just can't tolerate it anymore.  And it was a chore for me.  I am a chocolate milk girl.  I drank it every morning.  And then, within 20 minutes, I would face some of the worst...uh...let's just say intestinal distress.  It took me a couple of years to admit it was the milk and give it up completely, but let me tell you, I have felt soooo much better since I gave it up.  I don't eat yogurt or cottage cheese either.  I do have cheese sometimes but not nearly as much as I used to.

I also gave up my beloved Dr. Pepper.  And for those who know me, you know this was a big change for me.  I lurve my DP and it was a big decision.  I wanted to give up caffeine because it is a major player in the whole estrogen dominance arena, so I tried the caffeine-free stuff.  Then I decided to eliminate all of the processed and chemically altered things like HFCS so I gave that up.  I did find a soda called Dr. Better made by Virgil's which is reminiscent of Dr. Pepper and made with all-natural ingredients.  It is also caffeine-free and makes for a nice treat once in a while.  It's way too expensive (read: I am way too cheap) to make it a daily thing anyway.  I am, for the most part, a water-only drinker now.

I (mostly) gave up fast food.  I was eating that junk 3-5 times per week.  Now, I have it about once per week - usually when I have failed to plan and don't get away from here with my packed lunch.  On those occasions I try to make smarter choices from the fast food joints but there really isn't much that is smart about those places.

I started exercising again.  Mostly, I am just riding my recumbent bike.  It's a start, it gets my heart pumping and (best of all) it is in the living room, facing the TV, so I can watch Roseanne while I ride.  Plus I need to ride for my torn ACL (a story for another day) anyway.


I am making other changes which I will chronicle here as I go along.  I'd like to say my family is 100% on board with all of this, but The Pleaser has never met a veggie that he liked and Phone Guy (despite his good intentions) is not ever going to be a "health nut."  He wants to be supportive but he also wants to eat bacon cheeseburgers and chocolate ice cream for every meal. Danger Boy is receptive to a lot of things.  He really digs spaghetti squash primavera.   But he thought I was trying to kill him with cauliflower mashed "potatoes."  So it's a battle.

So that's it, in a nutshell.  I came back to blogging in hopes that it will help me be accountable on my journey and let me share a laugh or two...even if I am just talking to myself most of the time. And if someone else finds me in their quest for information on estrogen dominance, then maybe they will find some of the information I have found helpful in their own journey.

I Called Her Grandma

We lost my grandma.  Almost 2 years to the day after my grandpa passed. 

This is the poem I wrote for the service. Hokey poems were my grandpa's thing. I wrote one for him so I felt it only fitting to write one for her as well. Of course, I won't be reading it myself because I'll be a blubbering mess.

I Called Her Grandma

Some folks called her Lillie
Others called her Maye
I called her my grandma
I am very pleased to say

My kids called her MeeMaw
She was so proud of those boys
She really loved to show them off
It brought her such great joy

Still others called her their Sister,
Auntie, Granny or their Mom
There were so many names
By which she had been known

Whatever it was you called her
I’m sure, like me, you will miss
Her sweet laugh (with that tremble)
And her wet, sloppy kiss

She is in a better place right now
At peace with others who she loved
It is a comfort knowing
She is with the Lord above

Some folks called her Lillie
Others called her Maye
But to me she was Grandma
And I’d have it no other way

Curses, Foiled Again!

It seems like every time I make big plans to get things done, something gets in the way.  Do you ever feel that way?

I have been working very hard to declutter my house and, as part of that goal, keep my laundry done. To that end, I spent Sunday morning gathering and sorting all the dirty clothes.  I got the first load started and sat down to enjoy my recorded episode of Smallville.

A few minutes into the show, I heard what sounded like water splashing on the floor. I ran into the laundry room to find that the washer drain was overflowing onto the floor. I stopped the washer and ran to the backyard to find Phone Guy. As I passed the kitchen sink, I noticed that it was full of soapy water. Nice.

Phone Guy determined that there was a clog in the drain (duh!) somewhere passed the laundry room and proceeded to work on it, and (after only one trip to The Home Depot) got it unclogged.  Thank goodness I married a handy man!  I’m sure having the plumber out on Sunday wouldn’t have been cheap.

Of course, the clog-induced delay put a crimp in my plans to get all of the laundry done.  I still have 3 or 4 loads to do.  But I guess since I also had a sick kid all day yesterday, I’ll be home from work with him and free to spend time doing laundry today. Oh joy!

The Bright Spot of my Day

I am babysitting my neighbor’s kids.  They are extremely loud, terribly bossy, crazy wild, and absolutely precious 3 and 4 year olds.  My heart melts every time one of their tiny voices says, “Look at me Mama Debbie” or “See what I got Mama Debbie.”

After such a disappointing, depressing day, they are making me smile…a lot.

Prejudice – It’s Not Just for White People Anymore

Our school district has been realigned for next year.  The Pleaser’s two best friends live in different areas than we do and the three boys are districted to three different schools according to the new plan.  They were given the option to stay in their current school for next year and The Pleaser insisted on the transfer because he assumed his other friends would do the same.  This means we won’t have bus service and I’ll have to resume the Mom Taxi next year.  But I’m willing to do that for him so he can stay with his friends.  I’ve already filled out the paperwork and sent it in.

Today he told me one of the boys (his very best friend) has decided not to transfer because there are “too many Blacks and Mexicans” in the current school.  Now this boy is Mexican.  I mean, his parents were born in Mexico and immigrated here.  He and his siblings are the first generation of his family not born in Mexico. 

They seem like wonderful people.  They have 3 children who are all excellent students and, better yet, nice kids.  They are very involved with their kids and never miss a school event.  My son has spent the night at their house and gone with them to the movies.  He’s played video games at their house.  I can’t help but wonder how they would feel if I told my son that he couldn’t go to school there because there were too many Mexicans.  Would they be offended?  Would they allow their son to continue being friends with my son? 

Of course I would never do that.  We live in a very diverse neighborhood and my kids grew up in a very diverse elementary school and I believe that they are better, more tolerant individuals for it. They each have friends of many different races and religions and I am glad that they don’t see color as a barrier.

The Pleaser is completely devastated that he won’t be in the same school as his very best friend anymore…and I am devastated for him.

It’s the perfect end to an extraordinarily disappointing day.

Disappointed

(dis-uh-poin-tid)

–adjective

depressed or discouraged by the failure of one's hopes or expectations

 

That’s how I feel today.

Hitting Mom Homeruns This Weekend

My mom self-esteem is in the toilet this weekend as I have caused both of my children to cry without the intent to do so.

Friday: The Pleaser called me at 4:37 p.m. He told me he missed his bus and asked if I could come pick him up. He sounded upset and when I asked if he was OK, he said he was but I could tell he was holding back tears. A million terrible thoughts ran through my mind as to why he was so upset as I rushed to the campus to get him. When he got in the car, I asked him what was wrong and through a flood of tears he said, “I lost my jacket.” (Now for the record, this was a $10 or less sweatshirt that he got for Christmas. Not his $40 coat or something of sentimental value.)

OK, he is famous for losing things but I don’t beat him or anything when he does. It doesn’t make me really happy, and he knows that’s why he doesn’t have a cell phone yet. Obviously, though, I have made him feel so bad that he thinks it is tragic when he does misplace something. Guilt set in. The Pleaser left for the weekend his dad a few hours later. The guilt, however, stayed right here with me.

Saturday: My mom asked me if I had seen this story about the man on death row who popped out his eyeball and ate it.  I had not seen it but proceeded to read it and commit it to my vast amount of useless knowledge for later use in NTN Trivia.

Last night, Phone Guy, Danger Boy and I decided to go out for pizza before an exciting Saturday night visit to Super Target.  On the way, I happened to think about that story and asked Phone Guy if he had seen the article. Apparently, as we talked, Danger Boy listened (There’s a first time for everything). Now I’ve said before, that Danger Boy is ALL BOY. He is usually not squeamish (except for the whole cockroach incident) and he loves to get dirty, revels in bodily functions and is just, overall, a disgusting human being…as he should be.  He is a 10 year old boy for Pete’s sake.

Anyway, we arrived at the pizza joint, ordered and sat down. Danger Boy was very quiet while we waited for the food, which is unusual for him, but I didn’t think much about it.  When the pizza arrived, I pulled a slice for him and put it on his plate and he just sat there staring. I asked him what was wrong and he told me he lost his appetite. I said, “Why?” He burst into tears and told me it was because of the whole eyeball story. He was genuinely freaked out by the whole deal. I eventually calmed him down and he ate. We did our shopping and came home. 

It was late when we got back so I immediately told him to get ready for bed. I tucked him in and turned out his light and headed to my room to watch Neil Patrick Harris on SNL. No sooner had the show started when I heard a knock on my door. Danger Boy couldn’t sleep because he was freaked out and he BEGGED us to let him sleep with us. I told him no way, that he needed to go back to his own bed. I got him settled, turned on his radio as a distraction and headed back to bed.  He was up and down all night. I could hear him going to the bathroom, opening his door (presumably to check for no-eyed boogie man) and at 2:30 am he came back in my room begging again to sleep with me.  Once again, I took him back to bed. I don’t know how many more times he was up and down, but it was a long night for everyone.

He came in this morning at 8:30 am and was crying again. He told me he was hungry. I told him to get a snack. He said, “but I’m lonely” and proceeded to bawl. And because I feel guilty for ever bringing up the eyeball eater, I got up and consoled him and made him some breakfast. 

I’m not so sure the whole “eyeball ordeal” is over though.  I can tell something is still on his mind.  I may have another long night ahead of me. 

Jeans – Now with 100% More Rotten Egg Scent!

I hate buying Jeans, probably because they don’t make jeans to fit Weebles, but I finally had to break down and buy some because my last pair gave up the ghost.

I actually found some jeans that fit really well. I tried them on in the store but since they didn’t have the colors I wanted, I came home and ordered them on the web. I bought 3 pairs in 3 different shades of blue.

I wore the lighter pair first and I was satisfied with the fit so I decided to open up the darker pairs and wash them. One pair had an odd kind of burnt smell, which I chalked up to the dye. No biggie…or so I thought.

I washed them and threw them in the dryer, then left the house to go pick up Danger Boy at school. I came home to the foulest rotten egg stench I have ever smelled. I thought there was a sewer leak. Seriously.

When I took the clothes out of the dryer later I realized that it was those jeans stinking and now the entire load smelled of sulphur. Back into the wash they went, only to reek all over the house again when they started heating up in the dryer.

That pair of jeans STILL smells of rotten eggs after 3 washings. It’s not so bad after they have been out of the dryer but they stink up the whole house every time I dry them.

Anyone know of a cure for rotten egg scented pants?

Interesting Choice of Names

Squirt Wipe & Go Car Wash
Originally uploaded by DigitalHowie

This is an actual car wash not far from where I work. I pass it every time I go to lunch at Taco Bueno and it never fails to make me snicker.

I found the photo on Flickr because I forget to take my camera every time I go by there, so big thanks to Digital Howie.

Mom’s Day Off

Sometimes I just need the day off.  After two weeks of Christmas vacation, my kids and I have had just a bit too much togetherness.

My parents wanted my kids to spend the night last night and given that we all needed a break, I jumped at the chance to spend a few hours in the grown-up world.  Since Phone Guy (aka Christmas Light Guy) decided he needed my help pulling down some lights, they ended up taking my kids about noon yesterday and they kept them until about 5pm today.

So after a few hours of pulling down lights, we came home and cleaned up and headed off to visit a friend of ours.  I spent the evening participating in adult conversations without having to excuse myself to break up a fight, console an injured child, or get somebody a snack.  We also went out for dinner and I never once had to correct anyone for belching or farting at the table, not eating their food or interrupting me while I was talking.  I know…amazing, right?  Especially since Phone Guy was with me.

We got up early this morning and went for breakfast, then headed out and spent the entire day shopping Christmas clearance sales.  We had so much fun and it was really enjoyable to shop without the kids complaining the whole time or asking if they can have every toy they see.

It was sheer heaven.

After we picked them up and got back to the house, Danger Boy climbed in my lap (he is 10 mind you) and snuggled with me for a while.

There was a little heaven in that too. 

Does your Google Reader Ever Overwhelm You?

I went a few days without reading and I have all of these thousands of unread posts. I feel guilty if I mark them all read when I didn’t really read them (as if someone would know and smack my knuckles). Then again, most of them I could go without reading and still live a fruitful and complete life.

It’s such a dilemma.

On the Way Down

So I wrote a couple of months ago about my cholesterol being up.  Well I am happy to report that as of my last doctor visit, my cholesterol has gone down…a little.

I still have some work to do, but here are the numbers:

3 months ago:
Total: 221
LDL: 144

Last checkup:
Total: 204 (Not too bad if the LDL wasn't so high)
LDL: 133 (he would like it to be in the 70's but def. under 100)

I’ll take that.  I go back in March so we’ll see if I can get it down further before then.

Sidenote:  After hearing numbers from some of my friends and family, I have decided I am very proud of my slightly high numbers.  Tee Hee.

Happy New Year

Yes, I am still alive, though you couldn’t really tell from this site, eh?

So I hope you had a nice start to the new year.  Exciting woman that I am, I spent my NYE with the usual Raspberry Ginger Ale, junk food and my family.  The boys and I played on our new Wii while Phone Guy napped.  He woke up about 11:30, just in time to ring in the new year with us and then go back to bed.  We are the quintessential party animals.

Speaking of the Wii, it is my new best friend.  I have enjoyed many hours of Wii Fit, Wii Sports and Guitar Hero Aerosmith over the last week or so.  I beat Guitar Hero on Easy, and I’m about halfway through on Medium now.  So I was feeling like Cheap Trick might call me any minute to join them on a reunion tour or something.  Well Guitar Hero gave me the smackdown yesterday when I tried out a duet with The Pleaser, him on Easy and me on Hard.  I was booed off the stage.

I realized I am NOT a Guitar Hero.  Yet.