too tired to think of a clever title

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~i finally had my appt for my back today. not good news.

~i've been ordered to NOT RUN AT ALL (no impact) for 2 weeks. well poo. i've only ran 3x since returning from WDW as it is, which comes out to once per week. a lot less than I would like.

~i will follow the orders but only until 4.10 as I am already registered and scheduled to run a 5k race that day. hopefully by then I will have enough relief that i'll be able to run comfortably.

~the doc said it's a "biomedical" issue, at least I think that's the word she used. and that basically means that likely my legs are too strong for my pelvic area which in turn causes an excess in torq or friction or something (I guess I should have written this all down) which then causes the pain. maybe it was "biomuscular"...ugh, cannot remember.

~i've been given/assigned exercises to do. i've been prescribed anti-inflammatory meds and muscle relaxers (yay me!) and have a physical therapy appointment next tuesday.

~i've never had back issues before and so the only thing I can think of is that even though I waited 5 days to run after the WDW 1/2 and felt fine, my body wasn't entirely recovered and the result is the injury. since the 1/2 was the one and only time I ever ran that far, i guess this makes sense.

~it totally stinks having tons of motivation to run & then not being able to. honestly, i've never had this problem before...the too much motivation one, that is.

weekend recap

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~looking SO forward to a 3-day-work-week. Hooray. I SO need this break...more than I could ever explain.

~we are heading north to VA for the Easter weekend. i'm looking forward to getting away and doing nothing.

~i'm down to two big projects left this semester (and a few smaller things). made a pretty big dent in one of them today. hooray. 30 days to go.

~E and I went to a working-moms-meet up at a park on Saturday. it was ok except that I spent alot of time chasing after him thereby limiting my socializing time which was a big reason in going to the meet up at all. oh well, it was still fun.

~i got some potentially VERY bad income tax news on Saturday night which is causing me EXTREME anxiety...no exaggeration here. hoping the numbers are wrong and if not, then i guess i'll be hoping for an extension.

~got in another 4 mile run on Saturday. paid for it today. ouch!

~planning to call a chiropractor on Monday to inquire. not sure if my insurance covers it though.

~also have an appointment at the student health center on Wednesday. hoping for some sort of answer. I am scheduled (and planning) to run a 5K on April 10. It's at the Zoo!!! How fun will that be?!?!?!

looking for paradise

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Looking For Paradise by Alejandro Sanz & Alicia Keys

LOVING this song right now...

Everybody say oh oh oh oh

Driving in a fast car
Trying to get somewhere
Don´t know where I´m going
But i gotta get there

A veces me siento perdido
Inquieto, solo y confundido
Entonces me ato a las estrellas
Y al mundo entero le doy vueltas

I'm singing for somebody like you
Sorta like me baby
Yo canto para alguien como tú
Pon la oreja, nena

Oh oh oh oh…

Estoy buscando ese momento
La música, que cuando llega
Me llena con su sentimiento
Con sentimiento, vida llena

Walking down the sideway
Looking for innocence
Trying to find my way
Trying to make some sense

Yo canto para alguien como tú
Sólo como tú, baby

I'm singing for somebody like you
What about you

I'm singing for someone
Someone like you
Tú, dime a quién le cantas
'Cause there's something about you there
Speaks to my heart
Speaks to my soul

I'm singing for someone
Sorta like you
Yo canto para alguien
Someone like you, someone like me
Sólo como tú, oh, my sister
Todo el mundo va buscando ese lugar
Looking for paradise

Oh oh oh oh…

A ese corazón herido
La música le da sentido
Te damos con la voz tus alas
Le damos a tus pies camino

Oh is anybody out there
Feel like i feel
Trying to find a better way
So we can heal

I'm singing for somebody like you
Sorta like me baby
Yo canto para alguien como tú
Sólo como tú
What about you?

Yo canto para ti
I'm singing for someone
Yo canto para alguien
'Cause there's something about you there
Speaks to my heart
Speaks to my soul

I'm singing for someone
I'm singing
Sorta like you
Yo canto para alguien
Someone like you, someone like me
Sólo como tú, oh, my sister
Todo el mundo va buscando ese lugar
Looking for paradise

whole bunch of randomness

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~i'm submitting my resume & cover letter for the Bilingual Guidance Counselor job today! Eeks!! *crossing fingers*

~i've really been missing the SAHM lifestyle I led almost two years ago now.

~i was browsing my Runner's World magazine and thought how I would like to run the Chicago (hi Em!) 1/2 marathon someday...well, until I saw the required 13 minute/mile you must maintain...I'm not there yet for long races...so maybe next year.

~i rented "Love Happens" on iTunes the other night. Cute movie. I give it 4.5 stars outta 5 if you care. :)

~i have an unsatiated craving for new music. it's been going on for a while. just can't find any to suit my mood or style.

~i wish O and I would have taken advantage of the Disney Give a Day-Get a Day volunteer program....it's over now. A plain ordinary one day ticket costs almost $80!!! It would have been SO worth it!

~my back is playing tricks on me. the lower pain subsided late Saturday and stayed away mostly on Sunday so that I could squeeze in a 3.1 mile run. On Monday it was yelling at me for doing such a silly thing as running. still sore today, but the intensity is less than it was initially. it's almost turning into more of a stiffness issue than sharp pain issue. and I think that's a good thing.

~i wanted to get into the student health center for my back, but that seems to be next to impossible. i'll re-evaluate and try again next week I guess.

bursting at the seams

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~with excitement...can you believe it? My blog...with so much JOY right now?

~it's because last night when checking my school email account I discovered a "want ad" for a Bilingual School Counselor at the local Catholic school. OMG is all I have to say!! I'm pretty excited about this because I'm 99% sure no one else in my Masters program is fluent in Spanish AND the ad said they would take candidates who had not completed the program yet...which means I would be a good candidate for them to consider.

~SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO if I were to get hired...that changes ALOT of things...like I could quit my Graduate Assistantship (yay!) AND I would graduate in December 2010 instead of May 2011 since I would basically be doing my Internship while working AND getting paid for it. Wooohooo!!

~I'm trying really hard to not get too excited about this...but I cannot contain myself. It's certainly the high point of my week and gives me some hope.

~This is also the school I've been hoping to be able to send E to, so if I were to end up working there, we'd likely get reduced tuition. Hooray!! I also believe they have child care/pre-school so I could hopefully have him right there on-site with me every day. How awesome would that be!!

~So if you need me I'll be updating my resume and writing my cover letter.

~Well wishes and prayers are welcome!! This job would be a such a blessing!!

the search...

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~Sometimes I feel like I will never find a profession where I will be happy (most) of the time. I really thought I had found that with school counseling... until this morning.

~I am in the process of doing a "needs assessment" at a local high school as part of a class project. The surveys were given to the staff school counselor who took care of distributing them to the teachers/students and the results of the assessment will be provided to her for use at that school.

~The assessment had 17 statements (one line only) and the instructions were simply to mark the ones the individual felt were important to them and then rank order the top 5 by level of importance.

~I picked up the completed surveys yesterday and was looking at them briefly this morning. That is when I noticed this-->a statement from a teacher "need to work on your lack of courtesy, especially if you're going to ask practicing teachers to do you a favor"

~Um ok.

~then it got worse...the student surveys attached to this teacher survey were IDENTICAL. This teacher instructed his/her students to write on theirs "I feel like I can cope with high school without the intervention of pointless surveys from self importance of the state land grant institution. This is a waste of my time". The teacher also clearly instructed them to check every item as important and than rank order 1-2-3-4-5 so ultimately the surveys are of no value.

~the courtesy piece this teacher is referencing is an introductory paragraph telling them we are UT graduate students and asking for their help in completing the survey. I did NOT write this part NOR did I feel it was rude or discourteous. At the end, there was a statement to THANK them...so I'm not sure what the hell this crabby person wanted.

~Now I realize that teachers are under the gun and all nowadays with the whole NCLB crapola...but this survey was reviewed and APPROVED by their principal and would take no more than 5 minutes.

~What is MOST disturbing is that this teacher did not allow his/her students to think for THEMSELVES as it was clear he/she wrote the statement on the board for all the students to copy. Ridiculous.

~I have notified the counselor at this high school to see whether she noticed this or not. I also mentioned it to a counselor at the high school I am currently working at...she said the teacher who did this should be written up. Ha! I think so too!

~All that to say...I need thicker skin. This gave me a stomach ache this morning and I didn't even write that introductory paragraph. Also many people had proof read this document and NO ONE mentioned changing anything there or that it wasn't courteous. This whole situation (small, I know) has made me feel like I really don't want to work in this profession EITHER as I don't want to deal with such ridiculous & petty issues.

~Oh I know I'll encounter crap like this everywhere, but with the way my week has gone, this was truly the icing on the cake.

~TGIF!!

attempt to be positive

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~i'm quickly knocking out the hour requirements for my practicum.

~after next week, I'll have a week of reprieve from the HS as it will be their Spring Break!! Yay!

~only 4 more weeks left of working at the high school. i enjoy it, but I'm REALLY ready to be done.

~we are going to VA for Easter weekend (dad too!) to relax and do nothing out in the country. the country is not my ideal setting long term, but a weekend there does wonders....there's nothing to do, but i'm never bored. looking forward to hanging out with my 'sister'

~i put a TON of E's old clothes & toys in a consignment sale this weekend. hoping for a windfall. hee.

~it's FINALLY Friday!!!

the way it is

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I found this on MckMama's blog and since she put it so perfectly well and I can entirely relate and instead of typing up my own post, I will just copy her post here (taking out what doesn't apply to me) giving her FULL credit...it's just that it is SO spot on for me right now...this week gets accolades for "crap week of the year" (so far)

Can I be really honest with you? I'm overwhelmed. I'm frustrated. I'm sad. I might even be depressed. Every emotion possible for a human being to have, I feel like I have had in the past week. Well, at least all of the bad ones. So many people want things from me, want me to do things, be someone, say something, feel a certain way, act on an issue, explain this, do this, do that, change this, admit that. It's overwhelming and it's more than I can handle. I love to be strong. Put on my brave face. But today I don't feel brave or strong. I feel overwhelmed.

I just want to be myself. But I don't want to be myself. I'm sick of myself. But I'm sick of not being able to just be myself. I'm totally overwhelmed and I have no idea what I'm even talking about.

People want me to be someone I'm not. I want to be someone I'm not. I am trying to be so many things to so many people that I'm losing myself.

And that, folks, is just the way it is right now.

thoughts

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~i am thinking about signing up for this half marathon

~i need my lower back pain to go away first.

~i really wish I could do the DisneyWorld Wine & Dine 1/2 in October. or even better, the Disneyland 1/2 in September. Then I could get the finisher medal AND the "coast-to-coast" medal for doing races @ both parks in same year. but i can't. not fitting the schedule OR my budget.

~i really, really want to start taking yoga @ a local yoga place, but cannot seem to make it fit into my schedule OR my budget (again). :(

~really looking forward to running another race with Beth, Page and Meghan...i haven't had that much fun in a long time.

~i can't help feeling a bit competitive nowadays with this running stuff...I want to set a new PR for my next 5K as well as the next 1/2 I do.

20 Questions

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1. What was the easiest subject for you in school?
photography...oh did you mean academic classes, English and anything that wasn't Math.

2. Three signs Autumn is here:
I think the leaves on the trees change color :) cooler weather. shorter days.

3. What is your favorite flavor of potato chip?
plain ruffles please with Dean's French Onion dip. YUM!

4. What is your favorite dessert to get at a restaurant?
anything with chocolate usually, although it doesn't happen often.

5. Where is your favorite place to go when you need some time alone?
good question...

6. Scatter-brained or organized?
organized most of the time.

7. Would you pay extra for a room with a view?
depends on the view, but most likely not since i'm typically on vacation when this scenario presents itself and I don't plan to spend a whole lot of time in my room when I'm on vacation. heck, we didn't even pay extra for an ocean view in HAWAII!! Not to mention that it was quite a difference in price.

8. What is your favorite black-and-white movie?
is it bad that I don't have one?

9. What's the best part of the playground?
the swings.

10. Which do you prefer: the activity of city life or the peacefulness of country life?
Give me NYC baby!

11. The color yellow makes me think of:
sunshine. Spring time.

12. What was the last tv program you watched?
probably either "Max & Ruby" or "Ni Hao Kai Lan"...obviously not my choice.

13. How old were you when you got your first bank account?
i have no idea...maybe 14 or so...

14. What is your most productive time of day?
the morning hours typically.

15. Ketchup goes on:
french fries. hamburgers. hot dogs.

16. Which room in your home needs the most cleaning attention right now?
E's bedroom. you are bound to step on at least one toy if you go in there at this moment.

17. What bill do you hate to pay the most?
the mortgage, only because it's the biggest bill.

18. Why did you choose the shirt you are wearing today?
it matched the rest of what I am wearing.

19. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
right now, yes...outdated among other things...

20. Where was the hangout spot when you were a teenager?
Primo's Pizza.

unfocused

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~i'm sitting at SBUX for my regular-Sunday-study-session..except...I'm blogging, not studying...scold me please! I am having a really HARD time focusing. This semester is kicking my butt for some reason...I have a lot to do, but I've had heavier semesters with more work, so not sure why I'm feeling like my head is just barely above water.

~early this a.m. I finally finished transcribing 20 minutes of a counseling session. It took FOREVER and is 7 pages long (single spaced!) Now I have to go through and make comments throughout regarding my responses and how I was feeling during the session in relation to my responses. THEN I have to write a two page paper about the case. I should really be working on that instead of blogging...

~E and I woke up at 8am this morning. I was so excited to see that we slept in an extra hour. Then I remembered that I changed my clock before going to sleep. Darn! No extra sleep for me.

~Oh and I managed to run 4 miles on Friday evening, but have had lower back pain ever since. not good. i've never had back pain after running before. what is going on? my new best friend...ibuprofen.

~Ok I need to stop reminiscing (fondly) of last weekend and how much fun I had and get back to reality...and studying.

~Happy Sunday~~

the meltdown

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~just to clarify...DisneyWorld is NOT the Happiest Place on Earth it claims to be...just ask E!~yep, that would be him in FULL MELTDOWN MODE while we were in line for Space Mountain. Upon ride entrance, it was posted as a 30 minute wait but turned out to be closer to 45. Regardless, E hit his limit at about the 20 minute mark...and for NO reason at all except that he didn't want to be there anymore...well I take that back...he DID want to be there, right ON the floor. He was COMPLETELY calm while laying on the (nasty, gross, dirty) floor, but when I went to pick him up....the kicking, wiggling & screaming began. And it was ugly. very, very, ugly indeed.

~I'm glad it was dark/dim in there because I was probably turning 47 shades of red from sheer embarrassment & humiliation. The stares from everyone in line were nearly unbearable for me. I'm one who lets what others think really bother me and while I realize I will never see any of those people again, I was still quite upset about the crazy scene that my fabulous son was making!

~Dawn (AKA "the baby whisperer") was waiting in line with us and since she didn't want to ride she was able to take E out of line once we reached the point where the line opens up and allows you to do that...which seemed about 1000 miles away at the time. I have never felt a greater sense of relief in my life once he was out of line & no longer sprawled out on the floor.

Note: I went on this trip to WDW with plans to ride only 2-3 things and instead spend the majority of time on things E would enjoy...and after this experience in line, I really didn't care if I went on another single ride all weekend.

~Thankfully that was the ONLY time he had a full meltdown over the weekend.

~did I mention we are also struggling with him hitting these days? oh TWO is such a lovely age. please note the extreme sarcasm here.

~oh and here's hoping that age 3 is better than 2 as it's official....I'm signing up for the 2011 WDW Princess 1/2!!! Woohoo! Registration begins on May 1, 2010.

A Peek - The Results

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OK - I have finally had a chance to complete this post with pictures...Blogger really needs to improve their picture uploading process...one at a time is the pits! Anyway...here we go...

Dawn wanted to see my dishes...we got these as a wedding gift and well, after using them, I no longer like them...they are navy blue and the round plates dip in to much, almost making a bowl shape and the small square plates...well those pointy corners are a pain for the dishwasher and well they are just overall a pain. The bowls are "ok", but a tad bigger would be better and the teacups, well, we NEVER use them. Ahhh, they may look good on the shelf initially, but you learn alot once you start USING an item. I'm ready for new dishes, but waiting until more of these break...

Beth wanted to see my laundry room. This would probably be the most boring and drab room in the house. In fact, I just recently told O I want to paint it because (1) it's plain white and (2) it is right off the garage so receives all kinds of bangs to the wall etc and could use a coat of paint to brighten it up...please leave me your color suggestions. Hopefully in my next house I'll have a bigger laundry room, it was really something I was searching for before we bought this house, but just didn't work out. This was a hard picture to take, hence two shots, one from each side, because literally the room is only the length of the two machines side my side.


Hydrant Girl wanted to see my favorite part of the house...that would be my office...when I'm able to get in there and really get things done or just relax and surf the web.

Travel & Dive Girl wanted to see my kitchen counter, where I do my baking...it's not much and it's a bit smaller than I'd like it, but I make do for now. That corner cabinet is where all my baking ingredients are stored, so at least it's convenient.


Sara wanted to see my living room as it is now...eeks...toys abound and if you look closely you can see E's head near the fireplace...he was likely adding more toys to the floor. Oh and that window treatment is a thorn in my side...it never stays in place so it usually just looks like a piece of fabric thrown up there.


Lindsay wanted to see a view from E's perspective...i took 2 shots...



Fidgeting Gidget wanted to see my favorite shirt and my softball glove. I am a "life is good" t-shirt junkie and I really like this one right now... "less is s'more"...haha. And my ancient softball glove - how i miss thee - poor thing hasn't been used since 2006. sad!



Brandi wanted to see the entrance or foyer to my house. Sadly my house is so ridiculously small that we don't have a traditional foyer, the front door basically dumps right into our living room...so as you walk in, this is what you see. Also, unless we have guests coming over the front door is rarely used since we come in through the garage. Hula had to squeeze herself into the picture.

long to-do list

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~i took E to school this morning and i'm home today working on a long list of things to-do...I should NOT be blogging...let's consider it my lunch break.

~i completed my fafsa for next (and the last) school year. finally!! such a pain!

~I am finishing up the past 2 weeks "reflections" on my counseling activities at the high school...you know, being in this touchy-feely profession means lots of reflecting on myself and how I feel.

~finishing up a couple of lesson plans on nutrition topics. I need to do some classroom guidance in the CDC room for the rest of the semester....I'm way behind on my direct hours.

~made a call to the Disney ticket office. got good news which will hopefully prevent me from losing a day on my 3 day ticket since we only made it to the parks on Sat & Sun.

~heading to the post office this afternoon to mail 4 packages.

~i really need to get all this school stuff done so I can use the weekend to do a transcription of one of my counseling sessions that will occur Thurs/Fri this week. Note: transcriptions take FOREVER...every.single.word.noise.um.like.ok need to be documented.

~i've become a fan of interval running now. really want to go to Target to look for a watch like Meghan had for the race.

~i signed up for a 5K on April 10, 2010...it benefits the schools, I can even pick a particular school to benefit. yay.

~still need to upload my Disney pictures to Shutterfly...dreading that...big time suck.

~back to the schoolwork.

and the winner is....

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~i took 180 pictures on my Canon Rebel and I took 17 with the point and shoot along the race course...for a grand total of 197 pictures...so that means that the winner is....

AMY!!!!!

Let me know where to send your Disney prize...

WDW Princess 1/2 Recap

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~I have not been able to download my pictures yet, but here is a brief review of the race...hoping to post pictures later tonight.

~The short story: I met my time goal, finished the 13.1 miles and I avoided the "van of doom"...the one that picks you up if you fall behind a 16/min mile pace. Phew!!

~I got about 4 hrs of sleep the night before the race & was fighting off some intense nerves which caused me to have a super upset tummy.all.night.long. and then I woke 30 minutes before the alarm...ugh. A rough start.

~I met Meghan, Jessica, and Beth in the lobby at absolutely insane hour of 3:30am to head to the race start. We waited around some, used the porta-potties some, froze some, checked our gear, headed to our corral, froze some more, peed in the bushes (where I got burrs all over the back of my shirt) and then finally started our race.

~Meghan, Beth, Page (Beth's friend) and I were all in Corral E and started at 6:28am...after being "in process" for 3 hours...

~Meghan and I ran the first 9 or so miles together doing 5/1 intervals after running the entire first mile. <---we were desperate to avoid the "van of doom"...at about the 9 mile mark I could not continue with Meghan as I needed more recovery time...she kept going and I lagged behind with a bit more walking, although not too much more. In the end, I finished 6 minutes after her.

~At every mile mark, there was a princess-theme billboard w/time clock and music. There were tons of characters along the way as well and while we thought we would stop for pictures, we quickly changed our mind when we saw the crazy long lines.

~I realized how much I like the song "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler :) Really though, it has got to be THE perfect "make-you-want-to-run" song. Or maybe it was just that it was playing as I passed the Disney float thingee with 5 Disney Princes on it...i dunno, let's just say it was the song.

~My goal was to finish under 3 hours and I (barely) did just that... 2:58:26 was my finish time. I'm already thinking that's not good enough and want to improve it...I'm sure these feelings will fade in a couple of days. LOL!!

~I would love to do the Princess 1/2 again next year and I'm making tentative plans (in my head)...so now it's just a matter of the stars aligning correctly, i.e. date/timing.

~I took a bunch of pictures. I haven't totaled them up yet, but I will do that tonight and post the winner.

~Oh and I'm still putting together that "pictures of my home" post...hoping to finish that and post this week too.

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Back to reality...just left Florida...entering Georgia...and on to TN. :(

a Disney-inspired giveaway

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I have a great idea for a giveaway on my blog...

How many pictures will be taken on our trip to WDW?

*tidbits to know to help you in forming your answer*
-we will be visiting the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios AND Animal Kingdom
-we are staying on Disney property (potentially more picture opps)
-we will be "on vacation" for approximately 4 days...depending on if you count drive time
-it will be E's first trip to see "the mouse"
-i will have two cameras & will compile the number of pics from each for the final answer
-my small P&S will be with me in tow on my 1/2 marathon
-i will likely use the big Canon SLR for everything else

The winner will guess the number closest to the actual number of pictures taken WITHOUT going over...you know, sort of the Price is Right style...

The prize will be something of a Disney theme...to be purchased while I'm down there!!

food finds

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I have found a couple new foods lately that have become "regulars" for me and are great for anyone watching calories or points and I wanted to share these great finds:

~the first one is Smartfood Popcorn Clusters...they come in 3 flavors. I've only tried the Chocolate Cookie Caramel Pecan flavor (purple box) and it's YUMMY!! The box contains 6 packages of popcorn and each package has 120 calories AND 5 fiber (lookout!) which comes to 2 WW points!!
~my second find is the Special K Fruit Crisps. They come in Strawberry and Blueberry and are absolutely scrumptious...like mini-pop-tarts and did I mention that as a kid I absolutely LOVED pop-tarts. The box comes with 6 packets and each packet has 2 crisps inside. One package is 2 points. Give them a try and if you do...enjoy!!