Status Update:
Pounds lost this week: none - I actually gained .4 pounds
BP this week: 122/79
Recap of the week:
My stress level at work this week went way up and I didn't handle it well at all. I was in SAP training every day from 8am to 5pm. I also had to try and keep on top of my regular workload so I was putting in another hour before training and 30 to 60 minutes after training and checking me email at home in the evening. Long days don't go well with me. We were also having lunch brought in every day so I was eating like crap. Our grill was stolen on Tuesday so we had an impromtu shopping trip and meal out that evening. Carly was especially obnoxious this week with her nightly disturbances so I was also sleeping like crap. Add it all up, and it made for a not-so-great week. So I must say I was surprised to see I'd only gained .4 pounds since I hadn't even considered working out at all the entire week.
This coming week might not be much better, but hopefully I'll be equipped to deal with it more successfully. I have training Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday starts another month-end cycle. I'll have long days all this week again but I'm trying to get back in the swing of working out and eating better. I tried to plan easy, no-brainer meals for dinner this week since my brain tends to get fried after 9 hours of SAP talk.
In other health-related topics, I made my annual doctor appointment a few weeks back. I asked for the first appoinment of the day and was shocked when they came back with 7:15. That's awesome! I'm back with the NP instead of the OB/GYN so perhaps this will be a more pleasant experience. That's not until August though. Both Adam and I also have dentist appoinments coming up in the next couple weeks. I haven't seen a dentist since before I graduated from high school (you do the math) so I'm kind of afraid to know what they might find. I'm also afraid they'll tell me they have to take my wisdom teeth out. Ugh. We'll see how it goes. My appoinment is April 13th.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Photographic Memory #16
My younger sister turned 25 years old this past Friday so this Photograhic Memory post is dedicated to her.
Here we are in October of 1986:
We did theater together. Apparently I'm supposed to be a daisy and Catherine is "the wind":
Sometimes we dressed alike:
We both grew our hair out:
We acted silly for the camera:
But only she did a dance in the Office Max parking lot. I really have no clue what that was about...
We visited Niagara Falls when she graduated from college:
Danced like fools at my wedding:
And in a couple months we'll meet again to celebrate her graduation from medical school and her transition from student to resident, from NYC to Boston. She's accomplished a whole lot in just 25 years!
Happy Birthday, congrats and good luck, Catherine!
Here we are in October of 1986:
We did theater together. Apparently I'm supposed to be a daisy and Catherine is "the wind":
Sometimes we dressed alike:
We both grew our hair out:
We acted silly for the camera:
But only she did a dance in the Office Max parking lot. I really have no clue what that was about...
We visited Niagara Falls when she graduated from college:
Danced like fools at my wedding:
And in a couple months we'll meet again to celebrate her graduation from medical school and her transition from student to resident, from NYC to Boston. She's accomplished a whole lot in just 25 years!
Happy Birthday, congrats and good luck, Catherine!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Photographic Memory #15
So, there was this time that a rabbit climbed up into my engine and decided it was a good place for a nap.
My check engine light came on when I started my car so I popped the hood to take a look. Not that I'd know what to look for... but whatever. This was the Saturn (ie, the car from hell... part 3, and I figured I needed to top the oil off.) At first I didn't see it, but then it moved and scared the living daylights out of me.
I took a picture because I knew no one would believe me. I'm just so glad it wasn't injured. I know I wouldn't have handled a "puree of rabbit" very well.
Then again, it did chew through some wires and cost me something like $500. So, I was not happy with the rabbit. But I understand its reasoning. I'm sure being up in my engine was warmer than under a bush or something...
My check engine light came on when I started my car so I popped the hood to take a look. Not that I'd know what to look for... but whatever. This was the Saturn (ie, the car from hell... part 3, and I figured I needed to top the oil off.) At first I didn't see it, but then it moved and scared the living daylights out of me.
I took a picture because I knew no one would believe me. I'm just so glad it wasn't injured. I know I wouldn't have handled a "puree of rabbit" very well.
Then again, it did chew through some wires and cost me something like $500. So, I was not happy with the rabbit. But I understand its reasoning. I'm sure being up in my engine was warmer than under a bush or something...
Kitties in the Sunlight (and other pictures)
JC. I especially like the reflection in the glass table top:
Connor:
Ted:
And yes, even Carly:
Although she looks a little ticked because Connor was laying next to the table:
Other shenanigans...
Ted conked out on the couch next to me. Don't you just want to eat that paw up?
JC, Connor, and Ted hanging out on the bed:
The clasp on my necklace broke so we moved the barstools up to hunt for it. Carly saw this as a perfect opportunity to explore:
(And I realize he's not a kitty, but) Adam, the roofing man:
Connor:
Ted:
And yes, even Carly:
Although she looks a little ticked because Connor was laying next to the table:
Other shenanigans...
Ted conked out on the couch next to me. Don't you just want to eat that paw up?
JC, Connor, and Ted hanging out on the bed:
The clasp on my necklace broke so we moved the barstools up to hunt for it. Carly saw this as a perfect opportunity to explore:
(And I realize he's not a kitty, but) Adam, the roofing man:
Weekly Updates #5 & 6
Status Update:
Pounds lost last week: .8
Pounds lost this week: 2
BP this week: 119/76 (forgot to take it last week)
Recap of the weeks:
I’m not even going to try and remember what I did on which nights. I know it wasn’t my best showing, exercise-wise. Once again bad week struck and all I wanted to do was sleep and eat chocolate. Stupid hormones. Is it too soon to ask for a hysterectomy?
Anyway. Last week brought two fun events. First was Adam’s birthday on Thursday. Now he’s once again a year old than I am. Ha ha! We went out to Pullman’s for dinner where I had the awesomest salad ever – Berry Walnut. I’ll be doing a whole separate post on that one. It’s that good. Since we both worked full days we didn’t do much else in the spirit of celebration. He had complained that I got so many more cards than he had in the days leading up to his actual birthday so I went out and bought him three cards. And it ended up being four when I got another gift idea. So I think it all evened out. And really, I got probably seven cards total so it wasn’t like I had a mountain of them. It’s always a competition with boys, isn’t it?
The second fun event was Mark and Pat’s wedding on Saturday. I had mentioned previously that she had gotten a not-so-great diagnosis that pushed their wedding way up. It was a small affair, maybe thirty people, in the chapel at a non-denominational church in Oshkosh. Since both had been married before and both have children, it was not the most traditional service. What I thought was the best idea was instead of lighting a unity candle, they had all their sons come up and the all lit candles together. Symbolism at its best. After the service we stopped home for a quick wardrobe adjustment (let’s just say…um…Adam got hot) and then headed to Primo for the dinner. It was a good time. Same small group and Adam got lucky and we sat by a pair of golfers. This didn’t leave me with much to contribute to the conversation most of the time, but that’s ok. Instead of a cake they had a tower of cupcakes with the best frosting ever. Also a neat idea.
She started her first round of chemo yesterday, so keep her (and Mark, and her kids) in your thoughts.
My ten-year high school reunion was last Saturday. We didn’t go. I couldn’t justify paying $60 to see people I probably didn’t even want to see. I didn’t have a good time in high school so I don’t know that I would have been happy to have gone. And that $60? Didn’t even include food. It was for booze. No thanks. My attitude is if people really wanted to see me, they can find me. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not so great at hiding on the internet. Type in my name (married or maiden) and you’ll find some way to contact me. My decision was also greatly helped by the fact that we had the wedding that afternoon and the bell choir played at the 8am service Sunday morning. Oh, and there was a time change too. So, yeah. Wasn’t that hard of a decision. They’re already talking about a 15-year one. My suggestions? Try not having it in MARCH. Have food. That is all. Although since I have nothing to do with planning it and didn’t go to this one I suppose I don’t really have any right to criticize all the work I’m sure it took to organize the event. It’s not for everyone.
Sunday we were up bright and early due to the aforementioned church commitment. We were originally going to play for Saturday’s service but I got them to switch to Sunday so we could go to the wedding. So, since I made everyone get up an hour earlier than the butt-crack of dawn I baked some cupcakes and Adam also brought along some Amish Friendship Bread as an apology. They both seemed to be appreciated. After church we went to breakfast and then came home to springify the house a little. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. Since it seemed like the whole week before had been one big blanket of fog, it was so nice to see the sun again.
Adam and I removed the gutter guards, did some shingle replacement on the roof, swapped the snow blower for the lawn mower (which hopefully wasn’t blind optimism), took the deck furniture out of storage. I got a little muddy tromping through the yard and a little wet when we discovered the underground sump pump hose must still be frozen somewhere since all the water came gushing out the downspout instead. But overall, much was accomplished and we got to be outside for awhile. I opened the windows to let the house air out and the kitties basked in the fresh air and sunshine. Except for Carly. I had her in the office with me while I was updating IMA emails and instead of sitting on the shelf by the open window she plopped herself on Adam chair and took a nap. *sigh* Epitome of rebellion, that one.
This past week was IMA, which was pretty well attended considering we're in the throes of tax season. Our topic was the future of manufacturing in Wisconsin. Bottom line was not a very optimistic outlook unless the smaller to mid-sized companies get into sustainable/green ideas and embrace a global market. I was supposed to be training my May replacement since we'll be in NYC for the final meeting of the season but she was more interested in talking to people. Granted, she IS the incoming president, but hopefully she'll do alright for me. I'm kind of obsessive about my record-keeping.
The rest of the week was trying to play catch-up. The weather was beautiful. Sunshine, temps in the 50s. I opened the windows every day to let some fresh air in. But now this morning it looks as though it snowed overnight. Not a lot, but grrrr.
Activity-wise, I totally fell off the exercise wagon this week. Like I didn't work out at all. But I also had a pretty good week food-wise. I kept to the plan, although I will admit I did have 4 girlscout cookies: 1 peanut butter and 3 shortbread.
This coming week might not hold much improvement. I've been required to attend SAP end-user training every day even though MON doesn't go live until August. I'll also be expected to do my actual job in addition to the 8 hours of instruction each day. Luckily this week is generally a rather slow one, but it will still be interesting to see how the accounting department works when no one is there.
Pounds lost last week: .8
Pounds lost this week: 2
BP this week: 119/76 (forgot to take it last week)
Recap of the weeks:
I’m not even going to try and remember what I did on which nights. I know it wasn’t my best showing, exercise-wise. Once again bad week struck and all I wanted to do was sleep and eat chocolate. Stupid hormones. Is it too soon to ask for a hysterectomy?
Anyway. Last week brought two fun events. First was Adam’s birthday on Thursday. Now he’s once again a year old than I am. Ha ha! We went out to Pullman’s for dinner where I had the awesomest salad ever – Berry Walnut. I’ll be doing a whole separate post on that one. It’s that good. Since we both worked full days we didn’t do much else in the spirit of celebration. He had complained that I got so many more cards than he had in the days leading up to his actual birthday so I went out and bought him three cards. And it ended up being four when I got another gift idea. So I think it all evened out. And really, I got probably seven cards total so it wasn’t like I had a mountain of them. It’s always a competition with boys, isn’t it?
The second fun event was Mark and Pat’s wedding on Saturday. I had mentioned previously that she had gotten a not-so-great diagnosis that pushed their wedding way up. It was a small affair, maybe thirty people, in the chapel at a non-denominational church in Oshkosh. Since both had been married before and both have children, it was not the most traditional service. What I thought was the best idea was instead of lighting a unity candle, they had all their sons come up and the all lit candles together. Symbolism at its best. After the service we stopped home for a quick wardrobe adjustment (let’s just say…um…Adam got hot) and then headed to Primo for the dinner. It was a good time. Same small group and Adam got lucky and we sat by a pair of golfers. This didn’t leave me with much to contribute to the conversation most of the time, but that’s ok. Instead of a cake they had a tower of cupcakes with the best frosting ever. Also a neat idea.
She started her first round of chemo yesterday, so keep her (and Mark, and her kids) in your thoughts.
My ten-year high school reunion was last Saturday. We didn’t go. I couldn’t justify paying $60 to see people I probably didn’t even want to see. I didn’t have a good time in high school so I don’t know that I would have been happy to have gone. And that $60? Didn’t even include food. It was for booze. No thanks. My attitude is if people really wanted to see me, they can find me. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not so great at hiding on the internet. Type in my name (married or maiden) and you’ll find some way to contact me. My decision was also greatly helped by the fact that we had the wedding that afternoon and the bell choir played at the 8am service Sunday morning. Oh, and there was a time change too. So, yeah. Wasn’t that hard of a decision. They’re already talking about a 15-year one. My suggestions? Try not having it in MARCH. Have food. That is all. Although since I have nothing to do with planning it and didn’t go to this one I suppose I don’t really have any right to criticize all the work I’m sure it took to organize the event. It’s not for everyone.
Sunday we were up bright and early due to the aforementioned church commitment. We were originally going to play for Saturday’s service but I got them to switch to Sunday so we could go to the wedding. So, since I made everyone get up an hour earlier than the butt-crack of dawn I baked some cupcakes and Adam also brought along some Amish Friendship Bread as an apology. They both seemed to be appreciated. After church we went to breakfast and then came home to springify the house a little. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. Since it seemed like the whole week before had been one big blanket of fog, it was so nice to see the sun again.
Adam and I removed the gutter guards, did some shingle replacement on the roof, swapped the snow blower for the lawn mower (which hopefully wasn’t blind optimism), took the deck furniture out of storage. I got a little muddy tromping through the yard and a little wet when we discovered the underground sump pump hose must still be frozen somewhere since all the water came gushing out the downspout instead. But overall, much was accomplished and we got to be outside for awhile. I opened the windows to let the house air out and the kitties basked in the fresh air and sunshine. Except for Carly. I had her in the office with me while I was updating IMA emails and instead of sitting on the shelf by the open window she plopped herself on Adam chair and took a nap. *sigh* Epitome of rebellion, that one.
This past week was IMA, which was pretty well attended considering we're in the throes of tax season. Our topic was the future of manufacturing in Wisconsin. Bottom line was not a very optimistic outlook unless the smaller to mid-sized companies get into sustainable/green ideas and embrace a global market. I was supposed to be training my May replacement since we'll be in NYC for the final meeting of the season but she was more interested in talking to people. Granted, she IS the incoming president, but hopefully she'll do alright for me. I'm kind of obsessive about my record-keeping.
The rest of the week was trying to play catch-up. The weather was beautiful. Sunshine, temps in the 50s. I opened the windows every day to let some fresh air in. But now this morning it looks as though it snowed overnight. Not a lot, but grrrr.
Activity-wise, I totally fell off the exercise wagon this week. Like I didn't work out at all. But I also had a pretty good week food-wise. I kept to the plan, although I will admit I did have 4 girlscout cookies: 1 peanut butter and 3 shortbread.
This coming week might not hold much improvement. I've been required to attend SAP end-user training every day even though MON doesn't go live until August. I'll also be expected to do my actual job in addition to the 8 hours of instruction each day. Luckily this week is generally a rather slow one, but it will still be interesting to see how the accounting department works when no one is there.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Photographic Memory #14
Aah, the school dance. So wonderful, yet so humilating to look back on...
Homecoming 1998:
Note the "Rice Krispies" mirror. Totally happening. I think I still have this dress in my closet...
Prom 1999 (which we already discussed here):
Awesome. A cat hair on the scanner. Gah.
Homecoming 1999:
The window behind me says "North 2000." Woo! Go School Spirit!
And Prom 2000:
This is the dress that was too big so everyone who was taller than me, which, let's face it, is the majority of the human population, could look right down it. No one told me about it until later on. Shame on you, Justin...
Someone (probably Jess) took this awesome picture of me down by the lake that night. Looks like I'm floating unless you look closely. Cool...
Homecoming 1998:
Note the "Rice Krispies" mirror. Totally happening. I think I still have this dress in my closet...
Prom 1999 (which we already discussed here):
Awesome. A cat hair on the scanner. Gah.
Homecoming 1999:
The window behind me says "North 2000." Woo! Go School Spirit!
And Prom 2000:
This is the dress that was too big so everyone who was taller than me, which, let's face it, is the majority of the human population, could look right down it. No one told me about it until later on. Shame on you, Justin...
Someone (probably Jess) took this awesome picture of me down by the lake that night. Looks like I'm floating unless you look closely. Cool...
Weekly Update #4
Status Update:
Pounds lost: 3.2 (ish)
BP: 115/78
Recap of the week:
Aah, month-end. What's not to like? Monday was a long day. I went straight from work to bells. When I got home all I wanted to do is have dinner and go to sleep. So that's what I did. Tuesday I think we did Tae Bo. Wednesday I lazed out again. Thursday I think we might have done Tae Bo again and Friday and Saturday it was back to the treadmill. Adam moved a cable box down there this past week so now we can watch TV. I've been catching up on DVR shows. Makes me want to start recording more shows again. TV can't be that bad if you're watching it while on a treadmill, right?
Doing well with the "no potatoes" lent thing. Haven't missed them at all. Perhaps I should have made it a "no pasta" thing. That would have been much more difficult. Or "no ice cream." That would be torture.
In total, this last 36 days I've lost just over 8 pounds. I've got 17 more pounds to go for my May goal. We'll see how it goes this next two months.
Pounds lost: 3.2 (ish)
BP: 115/78
Recap of the week:
Aah, month-end. What's not to like? Monday was a long day. I went straight from work to bells. When I got home all I wanted to do is have dinner and go to sleep. So that's what I did. Tuesday I think we did Tae Bo. Wednesday I lazed out again. Thursday I think we might have done Tae Bo again and Friday and Saturday it was back to the treadmill. Adam moved a cable box down there this past week so now we can watch TV. I've been catching up on DVR shows. Makes me want to start recording more shows again. TV can't be that bad if you're watching it while on a treadmill, right?
Doing well with the "no potatoes" lent thing. Haven't missed them at all. Perhaps I should have made it a "no pasta" thing. That would have been much more difficult. Or "no ice cream." That would be torture.
In total, this last 36 days I've lost just over 8 pounds. I've got 17 more pounds to go for my May goal. We'll see how it goes this next two months.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Life With Cats
This past weekend Adam vacuumed in our bedroom and had flipped our comforter up over itself so he could get under it. The cats are always playing in it so I'm sure there was plenty of kitty hair to get there. Afterwards he didn't put the blanket back down, but the cats didn't seem to mind much. Aah, adaptation.
Then I caught Ted and Connor cuddling in the chair in the office. I had been on the computer and when I turned around and saw this at first I was surprised, but then I knew I had to go get the camera and take a picture of it. I just love Ted's arm around Connor. They're so cute! (sometimes.)
Finally, the other morning JC must have been having a bad day. He sat by the sink like this the entire time I ate my breakfast. The picture doesn't quite capture how tragic he looked. He'd stare off into the distance, glancing dejectedly at me every once in a while while letting out a dramatic sigh. Such is the life of a cat. Must be rough...
Then I caught Ted and Connor cuddling in the chair in the office. I had been on the computer and when I turned around and saw this at first I was surprised, but then I knew I had to go get the camera and take a picture of it. I just love Ted's arm around Connor. They're so cute! (sometimes.)
Finally, the other morning JC must have been having a bad day. He sat by the sink like this the entire time I ate my breakfast. The picture doesn't quite capture how tragic he looked. He'd stare off into the distance, glancing dejectedly at me every once in a while while letting out a dramatic sigh. Such is the life of a cat. Must be rough...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Celebrating A Life
In the past year I've been to far too many funerals. More than in any other year of my life. Perhaps this is an unfair comparison, since before last April I'd only ever been to one funeral. So three in one year is a lot. I really hope this isn't a warning as to what my life is going to become as people I know get older and the world gets crueler.
When we got word that Father Mike had passed on Monday I immediately assumed the bells would be part of the ceremony. Although I thought perhaps the fact that we hadn't practiced in two weeks would hinder that. It wasn't a problem at all. Nancy chose music we were familiar with and we pulled it off quite nicely, considering the circumstances.
Knowing how far-reaching Father Mike had been, I asked Adam to just drop me at the church and come pick me up afterwards rather than trying to find somewhere to park. He couldn't get off work to attend the ceremony, so this worked out quite well. It was a zoo. The police officers arrived to direct traffic around the same time I got dropped off. The front doors of the church were closed off and the church itself was packed. There were people in the community room, the chapel, and across the street at the school gym. You can see the numbers for yourself, as well as pictures and a recording of the service (that was streamed live on Friday) on the Post-Crescent website.
Up in the choir loft we bell choir members were joined by the adult choir, the Emmanuel choir, the Resurrection choir, and Alice Pichler. Before the service these groups, as well as a bagpiper, did a short prelude concert.
Which reminds me of a joke:
The bagpiper was so young - I'd guess 16 or 17. He was very good - bagpipes can't be the easiest instrument to play. One of the selections he played before the service was "Going Home" (you know, the song played on the Titanic as it sank...oh and part of Dvorak's New World Symphony...) There were many moments where it was hard to keep it together and that was one of them.
The service itself was lovely, but difficult. Father Mike's sisters tried to keep it light, as did Father Larry, who gave the homily. I think we all try to lean on humor in sad situations (case in point, that stupid bagpipe joke up there...) But ultimately, I don't think anyone really wanted to be where we were, doing what we were doing. It still just seems so unnecessary. Although I don't share their religious beliefs, when they say that Father Mike was needed more "up there" than he was "down here" I still find that very hard to reconcile with. But what's done is done.
The service was a true testament to how many lives he was able to touch in his time here. The whole center section of the church was a sea of white with at least 70 members of the clergy in attendance in addition to the bishop(s) and deacon(s) presiding over and assisting with the mass. It's hard to imagine what the parish will be like without him.
When we got word that Father Mike had passed on Monday I immediately assumed the bells would be part of the ceremony. Although I thought perhaps the fact that we hadn't practiced in two weeks would hinder that. It wasn't a problem at all. Nancy chose music we were familiar with and we pulled it off quite nicely, considering the circumstances.
Knowing how far-reaching Father Mike had been, I asked Adam to just drop me at the church and come pick me up afterwards rather than trying to find somewhere to park. He couldn't get off work to attend the ceremony, so this worked out quite well. It was a zoo. The police officers arrived to direct traffic around the same time I got dropped off. The front doors of the church were closed off and the church itself was packed. There were people in the community room, the chapel, and across the street at the school gym. You can see the numbers for yourself, as well as pictures and a recording of the service (that was streamed live on Friday) on the Post-Crescent website.
Up in the choir loft we bell choir members were joined by the adult choir, the Emmanuel choir, the Resurrection choir, and Alice Pichler. Before the service these groups, as well as a bagpiper, did a short prelude concert.
Which reminds me of a joke:
A young Scottish boy decided to try life in Australia. He found an apartment in a small block and settled in. After a week or two, his mother called from Aberdeen to see how her son was doing in his new life.
"I'm fine," Angus said. "But there are some really strange people living in these apartments. The woman next door cries all night long, and the guy upstairs bangs his foot on the floor all the time."
"Well, I suggest you don't associate with people like that," said his mother.
"Oh, I don't, mom," said Angus. "I stay inside my apartment all day and night, playing my bagpipes."
The bagpiper was so young - I'd guess 16 or 17. He was very good - bagpipes can't be the easiest instrument to play. One of the selections he played before the service was "Going Home" (you know, the song played on the Titanic as it sank...oh and part of Dvorak's New World Symphony...) There were many moments where it was hard to keep it together and that was one of them.
The service itself was lovely, but difficult. Father Mike's sisters tried to keep it light, as did Father Larry, who gave the homily. I think we all try to lean on humor in sad situations (case in point, that stupid bagpipe joke up there...) But ultimately, I don't think anyone really wanted to be where we were, doing what we were doing. It still just seems so unnecessary. Although I don't share their religious beliefs, when they say that Father Mike was needed more "up there" than he was "down here" I still find that very hard to reconcile with. But what's done is done.
The service was a true testament to how many lives he was able to touch in his time here. The whole center section of the church was a sea of white with at least 70 members of the clergy in attendance in addition to the bishop(s) and deacon(s) presiding over and assisting with the mass. It's hard to imagine what the parish will be like without him.
Photographic Memory #13
These kind of fell by the wayside. Time to bring them back!
Jess, Catherine, and I took a road trip to Green Bay. Judging by where these pictures were in my album, I'd say this trip happened in the August before my senior year of high school (that'd be 1999.) I'm not sure what the motivation was, if there even was one. We went shopping at the Bay Park Mall in Green Bay. There was an exhibit of absolutely enormous insects for some reason:
Then we went to the Bay Beach Wildlife Reserve where we encountered the goose mafia:
Seriously, there were hundreds of them. They surrounded us. Apparently, they made Jess their leader:
Eventually they let us proceed:
It was on this trip that I was able to find the Debbie Gibson CD I'd been looking for. Score! I played it all the way home... using a tape adaptor for the portable CD player in the car.
Jess, Catherine, and I took a road trip to Green Bay. Judging by where these pictures were in my album, I'd say this trip happened in the August before my senior year of high school (that'd be 1999.) I'm not sure what the motivation was, if there even was one. We went shopping at the Bay Park Mall in Green Bay. There was an exhibit of absolutely enormous insects for some reason:
Then we went to the Bay Beach Wildlife Reserve where we encountered the goose mafia:
Seriously, there were hundreds of them. They surrounded us. Apparently, they made Jess their leader:
Eventually they let us proceed:
It was on this trip that I was able to find the Debbie Gibson CD I'd been looking for. Score! I played it all the way home... using a tape adaptor for the portable CD player in the car.
Weekly Update #3
Status Update:
Pounds lost: 1.5 (ish)
BP: 125/81
Recap of the week:
I'm not going to lie, it was a rough week. With Monday came the news about Father Mike. Bells was cancelled again. I think we did Tae Bo. I don't really remember. I do know that on Wednesday we watched a movie (Defending Your Life - pretty good) instead of working out. On Friday I gave myself a pass since I had inventory in the morning. I had meant to bring along my pedometer to track just how much I walk around the plant in that hour and a half, but I completely forgot. Oh well. There's always next month. The other nights it was treadmill for me. So overall, not great in the exercise department for the week.
This week I also went back to a quasi-Weight Watchers kind of thing. I've never been part of WW, but the formulas and point calculators are all over the internet so I can figure out what my points should be and I can figure out the number of points everything I eat have. It's a pain in the butt and all this measuring things while cooking is killing me, but I suppose it's the "right" way to do things. It's depressing, how sneaky packaging can be. It also kind of takes all the fun out of eating. The price to pay.
Since I was out of the office for a good four hours on Friday and Adam had to work Saturday anyway I decided to go in yesterday morning to try and catch up. It was interesting to see how many people in the office actually come in on Saturdays. I feel good about where I was in the month-end process when I left. We had done our grocery shopping on Friday night so the rest of my Saturday afternoon was spent taking everything out of our cupboards, spice rack, and refrigerator, dumping all the expired and unwanted food items, and reorganizing. It was scary. I'm totally not kidding when I say I found something that had expired in 2007. For shame. (Note to Adam: The garbage weighs like 50 pounds. Sorry!) Surprisingly, the only things we had to get rid of aside from expired stuff was a box of Lucky Charms, a box of Fiber One muffin mix (have you looked at the nutrition info on these things? Terrible for something that touts itself as "good for you"), and a bottle of barbecue sauce. Everything else in the cupboards was still ok to have around despite our change in diet habits.
Pounds lost: 1.5 (ish)
BP: 125/81
Recap of the week:
I'm not going to lie, it was a rough week. With Monday came the news about Father Mike. Bells was cancelled again. I think we did Tae Bo. I don't really remember. I do know that on Wednesday we watched a movie (Defending Your Life - pretty good) instead of working out. On Friday I gave myself a pass since I had inventory in the morning. I had meant to bring along my pedometer to track just how much I walk around the plant in that hour and a half, but I completely forgot. Oh well. There's always next month. The other nights it was treadmill for me. So overall, not great in the exercise department for the week.
This week I also went back to a quasi-Weight Watchers kind of thing. I've never been part of WW, but the formulas and point calculators are all over the internet so I can figure out what my points should be and I can figure out the number of points everything I eat have. It's a pain in the butt and all this measuring things while cooking is killing me, but I suppose it's the "right" way to do things. It's depressing, how sneaky packaging can be. It also kind of takes all the fun out of eating. The price to pay.
Since I was out of the office for a good four hours on Friday and Adam had to work Saturday anyway I decided to go in yesterday morning to try and catch up. It was interesting to see how many people in the office actually come in on Saturdays. I feel good about where I was in the month-end process when I left. We had done our grocery shopping on Friday night so the rest of my Saturday afternoon was spent taking everything out of our cupboards, spice rack, and refrigerator, dumping all the expired and unwanted food items, and reorganizing. It was scary. I'm totally not kidding when I say I found something that had expired in 2007. For shame. (Note to Adam: The garbage weighs like 50 pounds. Sorry!) Surprisingly, the only things we had to get rid of aside from expired stuff was a box of Lucky Charms, a box of Fiber One muffin mix (have you looked at the nutrition info on these things? Terrible for something that touts itself as "good for you"), and a bottle of barbecue sauce. Everything else in the cupboards was still ok to have around despite our change in diet habits.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Not off to a good start...
So that whole having a better week thing isn't going too well.
Adam called me at work this morning and proceeded to tell me that one of our mututal friends (who just got engaged - congrats!) was diagnosed with breast cancer and multiple doctor sources have encouraged a very agressive chemo treatment plan. That can't be a good sign. What rotten luck. This is, of course, messing with their wedding plans and it sounds as though perhaps there will be a small ceremony in the next few weeks.
Then, as my dad and I were talking while I was at work this afternoon I discovered, via his Caring Bridge site (note: you will have to sign up to view) that Father Mike, the priest at St. Mary's, had passed away this morning. It was a week ago today that he fell outside his home and sustained major head injuries. I can't even quantify how terrible this is. He was a wonderful man and will be missed by countless people, myself included.
Of course, bell practice for tonight is off for the second straight week.
Things can only get better, right?
Ok. I think we could all use some Cute Overload. Seriously, if you need to smile, this site is almost as good as Cats in Sinks.
The caption on this one, that cracked me up this afternoon, was:
Adam called me at work this morning and proceeded to tell me that one of our mututal friends (who just got engaged - congrats!) was diagnosed with breast cancer and multiple doctor sources have encouraged a very agressive chemo treatment plan. That can't be a good sign. What rotten luck. This is, of course, messing with their wedding plans and it sounds as though perhaps there will be a small ceremony in the next few weeks.
Then, as my dad and I were talking while I was at work this afternoon I discovered, via his Caring Bridge site (note: you will have to sign up to view) that Father Mike, the priest at St. Mary's, had passed away this morning. It was a week ago today that he fell outside his home and sustained major head injuries. I can't even quantify how terrible this is. He was a wonderful man and will be missed by countless people, myself included.
Of course, bell practice for tonight is off for the second straight week.
Things can only get better, right?
Ok. I think we could all use some Cute Overload. Seriously, if you need to smile, this site is almost as good as Cats in Sinks.
The caption on this one, that cracked me up this afternoon, was:
"Slowly, hesitantly, Olive arrived at a disturbing new theory: The intentions of the alien visitors were not as benevolent as had been originally claimed."
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Another Week Gone
Status Update:
Pounds lost: none. again. (boo)
BP: 132/84 (gah)
Recap of the week:
Not such a great week, obviously. Monday afternoon Adam called me at work to tell me that bell practice had been cancelled - because Father Mike had fallen outside his home and was in a coma in the hospital and there would be a prayer service in the church that evening instead. He's still in a coma and things are all up in the air. It's just terrible. His family has set up a Caring Bridge site to keep everyone updated, but it's an awful situation. It's going to be a rough Easter season.
Anyway, with my usual Monday obligation cancelled, we tried the new (45 minutes long) Tae Bo DVD. I didn't like it. Maybe I'm set in my 1998 VHS version ways, but I thought it was boring are far less challenging, even though it was almost twice the time as the older version. I think I'll stick with the old version.
Tuesday was IMA. Adam decided to come along and I think it was a good time. Not what we had originally planned, seeing as how our Player Development speaker got replaced by a Strength Coordinator speaker. Eh. It all worked out.
Wednesday was another days of unexpecteds. Adam called me at work to tell me that he broke the range hood while making his lunch. So, instead of the salad we had planned for dinner we ended up at Cinder's while out shopping for a new range hood. Later on, after a successful installation, it was back to the treadmill for me. The five pound weights turned out to be a little more than I think I can handle right now so I went back to my twos. Maybe I'll look for 3 or 4s. Or not.
Thursday was a rough day. I had a headache for most of the afternoon and when I laid in bed after dinner to read for a little bit I was hit with such tiredness I couldn't even imagine doing the Tae Bo we had planned to do. So when Adam went downstairs to work on his models and was gone for like two hours I was perfectly ok with it. It was all I could do to haul myself out of bed to clean up the kitchen and scoop out the cats' litterboxes.
Friday was a little better. I think I might be getting a cold or my sinuses are just acting up for no reason in particular. Given my perpetual headache, I resorted to the treadmill again instead of Tae Bo and even that just about killed me.
Yesterday we did a bit of shopping and then some more shopping. I spent the afternoon watching a movie (A Serious Man), taking a nap to try and get rid of my continuing headache, and reading. Adam had overdone it a bit on the treadmill so it was another treadmill day for me as well. Hopefully we'll get to the Tae Bo tonight.
I was better about the chocolate this week. And though I'm not even Catholic I decided to give up potatoes for lent just to see if I can do it. So far, so good. Haven't even had a challenge. When we went to dinner on Wednesday I would have gotten the steamed veggies anyway since I cut out french fries back in August. We'll see how things go in this next week.
Speaking of this coming week, hopefully it will bring good news. It leads up to another month-end, and that's always fun...
Pounds lost: none. again. (boo)
BP: 132/84 (gah)
Recap of the week:
Not such a great week, obviously. Monday afternoon Adam called me at work to tell me that bell practice had been cancelled - because Father Mike had fallen outside his home and was in a coma in the hospital and there would be a prayer service in the church that evening instead. He's still in a coma and things are all up in the air. It's just terrible. His family has set up a Caring Bridge site to keep everyone updated, but it's an awful situation. It's going to be a rough Easter season.
Anyway, with my usual Monday obligation cancelled, we tried the new (45 minutes long) Tae Bo DVD. I didn't like it. Maybe I'm set in my 1998 VHS version ways, but I thought it was boring are far less challenging, even though it was almost twice the time as the older version. I think I'll stick with the old version.
Tuesday was IMA. Adam decided to come along and I think it was a good time. Not what we had originally planned, seeing as how our Player Development speaker got replaced by a Strength Coordinator speaker. Eh. It all worked out.
Wednesday was another days of unexpecteds. Adam called me at work to tell me that he broke the range hood while making his lunch. So, instead of the salad we had planned for dinner we ended up at Cinder's while out shopping for a new range hood. Later on, after a successful installation, it was back to the treadmill for me. The five pound weights turned out to be a little more than I think I can handle right now so I went back to my twos. Maybe I'll look for 3 or 4s. Or not.
Thursday was a rough day. I had a headache for most of the afternoon and when I laid in bed after dinner to read for a little bit I was hit with such tiredness I couldn't even imagine doing the Tae Bo we had planned to do. So when Adam went downstairs to work on his models and was gone for like two hours I was perfectly ok with it. It was all I could do to haul myself out of bed to clean up the kitchen and scoop out the cats' litterboxes.
Friday was a little better. I think I might be getting a cold or my sinuses are just acting up for no reason in particular. Given my perpetual headache, I resorted to the treadmill again instead of Tae Bo and even that just about killed me.
Yesterday we did a bit of shopping and then some more shopping. I spent the afternoon watching a movie (A Serious Man), taking a nap to try and get rid of my continuing headache, and reading. Adam had overdone it a bit on the treadmill so it was another treadmill day for me as well. Hopefully we'll get to the Tae Bo tonight.
I was better about the chocolate this week. And though I'm not even Catholic I decided to give up potatoes for lent just to see if I can do it. So far, so good. Haven't even had a challenge. When we went to dinner on Wednesday I would have gotten the steamed veggies anyway since I cut out french fries back in August. We'll see how things go in this next week.
Speaking of this coming week, hopefully it will bring good news. It leads up to another month-end, and that's always fun...
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Weekly Weigh-In
Status Update:
Pounds lost: none (boo)
BP: 129/77
Recap of the week:
So, I know I had mentioned that I wasn't expecting great things this week due to my excessive chocolate consumption. Add to that a birthday cookie cake, a night out at The Melting Pot, and the fact that it's what we refer to around here as "Bad Week" (Happy Valentine's Day, Adam!) and I'm not at all surprised that there was no downward movement on the scale.
Monday through Wednesday we did old school (ca 1998) Tae Bo with Billy Blanks. Seriously - it's on a videotape.
Thursday was a night off. I got little bit tipsy from wine at dinner...
Friday and Saturday (and will be tonight) was back to the treadmill. (See above reference to "bad week" as to why I didn't want to be kicking around with Tae Bo...)
For this coming week we've got an updated version of Tae Bo to try out - Tae Bo Cardio (ca 2003) (on a DVD!)
We'll see what new things Billy has in store for us.
Yesterday I bought two things that I ended up returning this morning. The first were wrist weights. I was originally going to get 5 pound neoprene dumbbells. Right now we've got 2 pounds ones and I'm feeling like I need more of a challenge. I thought maybe it would be easier if I could just strap the weights onto my arms. No way. I can't even stand wearing a watch or bracelets so I'm not sure why I though I'd be ok with weights around my wrists. I got the 5 pound dumbbells this morning so we'll see how that goes tonight.
The second was a heart rate monitor watch. Our treadmill has the handles that you grip and it registers your heart rate, but I thought maybe it was off and it would be easier to have something on my wrist. This watch also gave the % of target and a few other nifty things. But it doesn't work while you're moving! What's the point of having a heart rate watch if you have to stop to use it?!?! So stupid. I was disappointed, but I'll just stick with what's on the treadmill for now. It appeared to be pretty accurate.
I had also been considering getting an aerobic step. I had one back in high school (not sure where it ended up - maybe my mom has it?) and I enjoyed it. They're not really expensive - about $30 - but I think I'll wait on that for now too. I even considered looking around for a step class at a local gym or the Y.
Right now I'm listening to a dance channel on Pandora in a search for some new music. I'm getting bored of the same old songs... I'm taking suggestions!
Pounds lost: none (boo)
BP: 129/77
Recap of the week:
So, I know I had mentioned that I wasn't expecting great things this week due to my excessive chocolate consumption. Add to that a birthday cookie cake, a night out at The Melting Pot, and the fact that it's what we refer to around here as "Bad Week" (Happy Valentine's Day, Adam!) and I'm not at all surprised that there was no downward movement on the scale.
Monday through Wednesday we did old school (ca 1998) Tae Bo with Billy Blanks. Seriously - it's on a videotape.
Thursday was a night off. I got little bit tipsy from wine at dinner...
Friday and Saturday (and will be tonight) was back to the treadmill. (See above reference to "bad week" as to why I didn't want to be kicking around with Tae Bo...)
For this coming week we've got an updated version of Tae Bo to try out - Tae Bo Cardio (ca 2003) (on a DVD!)
We'll see what new things Billy has in store for us.
Yesterday I bought two things that I ended up returning this morning. The first were wrist weights. I was originally going to get 5 pound neoprene dumbbells. Right now we've got 2 pounds ones and I'm feeling like I need more of a challenge. I thought maybe it would be easier if I could just strap the weights onto my arms. No way. I can't even stand wearing a watch or bracelets so I'm not sure why I though I'd be ok with weights around my wrists. I got the 5 pound dumbbells this morning so we'll see how that goes tonight.
The second was a heart rate monitor watch. Our treadmill has the handles that you grip and it registers your heart rate, but I thought maybe it was off and it would be easier to have something on my wrist. This watch also gave the % of target and a few other nifty things. But it doesn't work while you're moving! What's the point of having a heart rate watch if you have to stop to use it?!?! So stupid. I was disappointed, but I'll just stick with what's on the treadmill for now. It appeared to be pretty accurate.
I had also been considering getting an aerobic step. I had one back in high school (not sure where it ended up - maybe my mom has it?) and I enjoyed it. They're not really expensive - about $30 - but I think I'll wait on that for now too. I even considered looking around for a step class at a local gym or the Y.
Right now I'm listening to a dance channel on Pandora in a search for some new music. I'm getting bored of the same old songs... I'm taking suggestions!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Progress
Back in July/August of last year I had my biometric testing for my health insurance through work and my doctor’s appointment within a few weeks of each other. At my biometric testing appointment I was informed my blood pressure was high (147/88) and was given a card to remind me to talk with my doctor. When I went to the doctor my blood pressure was high (138/90) and this time the doctor gave me this little booklet and asked me to track my blood pressure for a few months on my own to see how much the “white coat syndrome” might be affecting me. I ended up buying a small wrist blood pressure thing to monitor myself.
At the same time, I started changing my eating habits. I cut out fast food, fried foods. I never drank much anything other than water, but I tried to stay away from the soda that Adam had around the house. My weaknesses are carbs (especially potatoes) and ice cream. I tried to stick with baked potatoes (they’re lowest on the GI) and low-fat ice cream (like Skinny Cow.) I also started using the treadmill that had languished in the basement for over a year.
Just after the new year began, Adam kicked into “get healthy mode” as well. Not sure what inspired it, but he’s taking it very seriously. Whereas I just try to not eat so much and eat better things, he’s counting calories and drinking whey protein shakes. Whatever works I guess. In any case, for the last few weeks we’ve both been using the treadmill pretty much daily. He wakes up early and uses it in the morning. I use it after dinner, before bed. It works. Then last week I decided to resurrect my Billy Blanks Tae Bo videotape I got my freshman year of college. The VCR is in the office so that’s where the Tae Bo-ing goes down. Adam decided to join me on Monday and then again last night. It’s definitely more challenging and interesting than a treadmill. I’ve pretty much got the tape memorized. I did it every morning the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. I made my dad promise to stay upstairs until 6:30 every morning because I’m sure I look ridiculous. Anyway, now Adam and I look ridiculous together.
We also went out and got a new scale. I’ve had an old school scale since like 2001 and I wanted a digital one that had all kinds of bells and whistles – body fat, bone density, etc. It’s kind of neat. Back in July/August I weighed (mumble mumble) and as of this past Sunday, I’m down a total of 19 pounds, 4 of which came in the last week. My blood pressure at last reading (also done weekly now) was 128/83. So something must be working. I’ve got a long way to go before I’m where I want to be – ideally the weight it says on my driver’s license, which has been a laughable lie for a good 6 years now. More short-term, I want another 20 gone by May when we go to New York. Longer term, I hope by my next birthday to be where I want to be – which means another 40-50 between May and February. We’ll see. It’s not going to be easy.
But it’s not just about a number either. I noticed almost immediately how much better I felt when I stopped eating so much junk. I also never want to have to take medication for hypertension or cholesterol. I don’t want to be diabetic. I’ve got more important things to spend my money on. I’ll try and do a weekly recap from now on to keep me motivated and accountable. This week might not look so hot – I’ve been overindulging in chocolate. Stupid Valentine’s Day…
At the same time, I started changing my eating habits. I cut out fast food, fried foods. I never drank much anything other than water, but I tried to stay away from the soda that Adam had around the house. My weaknesses are carbs (especially potatoes) and ice cream. I tried to stick with baked potatoes (they’re lowest on the GI) and low-fat ice cream (like Skinny Cow.) I also started using the treadmill that had languished in the basement for over a year.
Just after the new year began, Adam kicked into “get healthy mode” as well. Not sure what inspired it, but he’s taking it very seriously. Whereas I just try to not eat so much and eat better things, he’s counting calories and drinking whey protein shakes. Whatever works I guess. In any case, for the last few weeks we’ve both been using the treadmill pretty much daily. He wakes up early and uses it in the morning. I use it after dinner, before bed. It works. Then last week I decided to resurrect my Billy Blanks Tae Bo videotape I got my freshman year of college. The VCR is in the office so that’s where the Tae Bo-ing goes down. Adam decided to join me on Monday and then again last night. It’s definitely more challenging and interesting than a treadmill. I’ve pretty much got the tape memorized. I did it every morning the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. I made my dad promise to stay upstairs until 6:30 every morning because I’m sure I look ridiculous. Anyway, now Adam and I look ridiculous together.
We also went out and got a new scale. I’ve had an old school scale since like 2001 and I wanted a digital one that had all kinds of bells and whistles – body fat, bone density, etc. It’s kind of neat. Back in July/August I weighed (mumble mumble) and as of this past Sunday, I’m down a total of 19 pounds, 4 of which came in the last week. My blood pressure at last reading (also done weekly now) was 128/83. So something must be working. I’ve got a long way to go before I’m where I want to be – ideally the weight it says on my driver’s license, which has been a laughable lie for a good 6 years now. More short-term, I want another 20 gone by May when we go to New York. Longer term, I hope by my next birthday to be where I want to be – which means another 40-50 between May and February. We’ll see. It’s not going to be easy.
But it’s not just about a number either. I noticed almost immediately how much better I felt when I stopped eating so much junk. I also never want to have to take medication for hypertension or cholesterol. I don’t want to be diabetic. I’ve got more important things to spend my money on. I’ll try and do a weekly recap from now on to keep me motivated and accountable. This week might not look so hot – I’ve been overindulging in chocolate. Stupid Valentine’s Day…
28 is the new.... 28
Another year older, though not necessarily wiser.
My birthday itself was kind of uneventful. We’d gone out to dinner last Friday with Dad and Cheryl. We tried this new(ish) Scandinavian restaurant in Appleton, Oslo’s. Everything was delicious, from the shrimp artichoke dip (I dipped around the shrimp, obviously) to the potatoes drowned in butter. Slight stomach displeasure as a result of all the cheese, but still an interesting time. We were supposed to go to the Monkey Bar on Saturday, but the rest of the group cancelled and I didn’t really feel like going anywhere anyway so we just stayed home. We’ll reschedule at some point.
Yesterday I took six dozen mini chocolate cupcakes with me to work. Well, six dozen minus the three I ate while baking and whatever Adam took before I left. They were very popular. Some people even said they were addictive. Excellent. My world domination by baked goods plan is well on its way. Or not. Anyway, it was a normal workday for me, birthday or not. It snowed off and on all day and I had to scrape my windows off for only the second time this winter before I could head home. I was greeted by wound-up kitties and a cookie cake.
I love cookie cakes… (although for some reason those sperm-y looking balloons make me feel like I should submit this photo to Cake Wrecks.)
Some reading before dinner, a dinner of improvised porcupines (I guess I neglected to make sure we had tomato soup. We didn’t. So I used diced tomatoes instead. Interesting twist.), and some cake. Some more reading, a rousing session of Tae Bo (more on that in another post), my nightly clean-up rounds, and "NCIS" before bed.
Also, some notable additions to my library:
(Don't know what this is all about? Go here and prepare to laugh your head off.)
My birthday itself was kind of uneventful. We’d gone out to dinner last Friday with Dad and Cheryl. We tried this new(ish) Scandinavian restaurant in Appleton, Oslo’s. Everything was delicious, from the shrimp artichoke dip (I dipped around the shrimp, obviously) to the potatoes drowned in butter. Slight stomach displeasure as a result of all the cheese, but still an interesting time. We were supposed to go to the Monkey Bar on Saturday, but the rest of the group cancelled and I didn’t really feel like going anywhere anyway so we just stayed home. We’ll reschedule at some point.
Yesterday I took six dozen mini chocolate cupcakes with me to work. Well, six dozen minus the three I ate while baking and whatever Adam took before I left. They were very popular. Some people even said they were addictive. Excellent. My world domination by baked goods plan is well on its way. Or not. Anyway, it was a normal workday for me, birthday or not. It snowed off and on all day and I had to scrape my windows off for only the second time this winter before I could head home. I was greeted by wound-up kitties and a cookie cake.
I love cookie cakes… (although for some reason those sperm-y looking balloons make me feel like I should submit this photo to Cake Wrecks.)
Some reading before dinner, a dinner of improvised porcupines (I guess I neglected to make sure we had tomato soup. We didn’t. So I used diced tomatoes instead. Interesting twist.), and some cake. Some more reading, a rousing session of Tae Bo (more on that in another post), my nightly clean-up rounds, and "NCIS" before bed.
Also, some notable additions to my library:
(Don't know what this is all about? Go here and prepare to laugh your head off.)
Friday, February 05, 2010
Oscar Noms - Film List Update
Gah - so many new ones to add! (Haven't updated the list on the right yet, but I hope to get to that sometime this weekend.)
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price
Il Divo
In the Loop
Paris 36
Star Trek
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Secret of Kells
The White Ribbon
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
I can tell you right now (despite Adam's protests) that I'm not going to watch Harry Potter or Star Trek. It's my challenge and I make the rules. So there. Ha!
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price
Il Divo
In the Loop
Paris 36
Star Trek
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Secret of Kells
The White Ribbon
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
I can tell you right now (despite Adam's protests) that I'm not going to watch Harry Potter or Star Trek. It's my challenge and I make the rules. So there. Ha!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
MIA
I apologize for the void of meaningful blogging around here lately. I’ve just lacked the motivation to do much more than make a list of movies or post pictures of cats. It’s been busy at work – January is always the busiest month of the year with month-, quarter-, and year-end all hitting at the same time. With the arrival of snow I also stopped going home for lunch which has resulted in me working through it most days, intentionally or not. The days seem to go quickly because I keep my mind working, but when I get home I just want to lay in bed and read a book.
Also hindering my creative posting-ness is that there really hasn’t been much going on. Holidays are over, weather sucks, pretty much your typical mid-winter slump. I’m pretty sure everyone would get totally bored if I just posted “I went to work, I came home, I fed the cats, I made dinner, I read a book, I watched some TV, I went to bed” every day. There are, of course, some deviations from that normality. I have IMA, I have bells, we occasionally go out to dinner. But really, nothing mind-blowing going on here lately.
As previously mentioned, I passed my five-year mark with Bemis a few weeks ago. In addition to a certificate (that has yet to be hung up on the “Wall of Martha”) I also got a flyer with various gifts that I could choose from. Since I ended up with Adam’s five-year gift (the iPod dock/clock/radio I have at work) he took my five-year gift. I think he chose some wind-breaker jacket thing. Fine with me – I didn’t need another jacket I wouldn’t wear or a clock. Why are the gifts always a clock? Anywho, in addition to all that, I also got a third week of vacation and a slight raise. Less than last year, but more than nothing. I can’t complain. Ok, I could, but I doubt it would do me much good.
IMA in January was a mixed bag – attendance was down, we continue to struggle with our venues, but the ethics workshop was a good time and the food didn’t suck. I have high hopes for February – we’ve got a “Sports Accounting” night planned with reps from the Timber Rattlers and a former Packer player speaking. If that doesn’t appeal to students, I don’t know what would.
I find myself being pestered about VP Admin again although I think they’ve relented to let me stay where I am for another year. If, for no other reason, then because no one else wants to do what I do. Since we’ll be out of town in May I’ve already had to arrange for someone to cover that meeting so perhaps that will open a door. I don’t know that I want it to be opened though. I really enjoy my positions. It makes me talk with everyone who attends meetings, it’s organizationally motivated, it keeps me in the know about pretty much everything the chapter is doing, and it apparently makes me the go-to person for questions. It’s likely I can find an answer so I suppose I’m the logical contact. That and my name and email are plastered all over our newsletter and website. No hiding, that’s for sure. Just not sure I want to give up what I’ve arranged to be the face of the chapter.
We had yet another week off from bells because our fearless leader had a conflict. We don’t have a schedule for the spring yet, but we already started in on Easter music two weeks ago. I’m torn because the ladies I stand by up at the top octave are in agreement that things get stale and we’d like to try new music, maybe play with the choir. They tried to elect me to talk to Nancy and suggest things, but I don’t really want to put myself in front of the line of fire since I already seem to have a bad reputation, what with that “bell police” comment and all. But sometimes I almost can’t stand the stupid things that go on. Last week someone suggested we should have a metronome around to make sure we don’t rush. Any guesses as to who suggested it? Yeah, that’d be the person who rushes the most. Gargh! I do my best to keep my comments and annoyances to myself. I remind myself that I’m the youngest member (by my calculations, by at least 15 years), I’m not a member of the church, or even a member of the religion. I guess I could use my experience as a selling point, but I still don’t want to be the one to rock the boat. With all the weirdness that the year began with, I’m thinking we should all just be happy that Nancy didn’t throw herself over the choir loft railing at some point.
I mentioned that I’d been reading a lot lately. Still trying to keep away from too much TV. It helps, that whole Conan/Leno debacle. I had just made the decision to quite DVR-ing Conan every night because it was so hard to keep up with them. Then this whole mess came about so I turned it back on for the last two weeks. I never liked Leno much but Conan was usually too late for me and my old person bedtime. I’m saddened that they couldn’t work something out, but I’m hopeful that Conan will come back ten times better. My one concern is that NBC owns the characters he created on both Late Night and Tonight, so if he can’t take Conando with him, I don’t know what I’m going to do. That, and the Central Time New Years celebration, were two of my favorite parts of his show. We’ll see what happens I guess. I didn’t watch Jay Leno’s bomb and I won’t watch the regressed Tonight Show either.
Back to the reading though. (Geesh, you’d think I had ADD or something.) For Christmas my mom sent me a stack of books – mostly mysteries with cheesy titles about cooking and cats (Crepes of Wrath? Bwahahaha.)
Cheesy titles aside, they’re TOTALLY ADDICTIVE! I’m especially enjoying the books by Diane Mott Davidson about Goldy, the caterer who solves murders with her cop husband on the side, and those by Tamar Myers, about a Menonnite B&B owner who assists her incompetent brother-in-law with his job as sheriff. The books include recipes and enough WTF moments to keep you on your toes. The plots are completely ridiculous, but they pull you in. I’ve already burned through the ones from my mom and I’m 6.25 books into a 7 book stack from the library. Who needs deep, classic literary works when you have kitschy murder mysteries?
In cat news, we’ve gotten into a groove I think. Carly is a pain, JC is a pain, Ted is a pain, Connor is somewhat less of a pain. Most of the time. Unless he’s climbing the furniture, then he’s a big pain.
Thankfully we’ve moved on from the “let’s scratch Martha as much as possible” game with Carly and she’s figured out how to jump onto my shoulders without tearing my back up. She still has regular “Carly Ferry” trips to and from the cat room both during the day and at night. One of these days I’m going to “forget” to bring her to bed and see what happens. Almost every day I’m reminded that she definitely prefers Adam and just kind of puts up with my presence.
Ted is obsessed with being petted. After lurking under beds and chairs for so long, he’s suddenly decided he wants attention and he wants it NOW. He yowls, he whines, he’s generally obnoxious. I try and make a point of petting him every night before bed, but I’m usually done before he wants me to be. My excuse? He drools and that’s totally gross. He’s also started jumping up on the bed on top of Adam. This in and of itself is pretty impressive, but then he creeps toward me, sneaking a glance at Adam every once in a while to make sure he’s not looking at him. It’s pretty funny.
Connor is still stand-offish, even with me. Adam’s gotten pretty good at sneaking up behind him and catching some petting time before Connor realizes what’s going on. He likes to cuddle, that’s for sure, but generally behind my knees where I can’t touch him. He’s been eating better lately too. I usually open his door first and he wanders for a little bit, but then goes back and eats some more. He’s a strange one.
JC… well he’s just crazy. His favorite pastimes these days are staring at himself in the plasma TV, sitting in the kitchen sink, and watching bubbles in the humidifier, water dish, and soda bottles. I swear a few days ago he was watching ice cubes melt. Oh, and trying to kill me by tripping me. Evil, evil cat. He’s got a lot of energy and has random stampede parties with Ted each evening. He still sleeps part of the night next to me most nights. He’s not very cuddly under normal circumstances. He struggles when I pick him up to hug him but eventually relents to being cuddled with.
We kind of struck out in the “cuddly cat” lottery. None of them like to sit on our laps or cuddle much. Carly will sometimes sit in the crack of the couch between us, but she much prefers curling up on the back of the couch.
Coming up:
Month-end is upon us again. Seems like just yesterday I was working on year-end. Apparently everyone (but me, of course) is going to be out of the office for SAP for like three weeks in February. Fun!
We’ll be going to try a newer Norwegian restaurant (Oslo’s) on the 5th with Dad and Cheryl. Kind of an early birthday celebration.
Another unofficial birthday thing at The Monkey Bar on the 6th.
We plan to use a great coupon at The Melting Pot on the 11th, an early Valentine’s Day night out since we generally try to avoid restaurants on Valentine’s Day. I still need to figure out what I’ll be making at home the 14th though. Ideas?
Also hindering my creative posting-ness is that there really hasn’t been much going on. Holidays are over, weather sucks, pretty much your typical mid-winter slump. I’m pretty sure everyone would get totally bored if I just posted “I went to work, I came home, I fed the cats, I made dinner, I read a book, I watched some TV, I went to bed” every day. There are, of course, some deviations from that normality. I have IMA, I have bells, we occasionally go out to dinner. But really, nothing mind-blowing going on here lately.
As previously mentioned, I passed my five-year mark with Bemis a few weeks ago. In addition to a certificate (that has yet to be hung up on the “Wall of Martha”) I also got a flyer with various gifts that I could choose from. Since I ended up with Adam’s five-year gift (the iPod dock/clock/radio I have at work) he took my five-year gift. I think he chose some wind-breaker jacket thing. Fine with me – I didn’t need another jacket I wouldn’t wear or a clock. Why are the gifts always a clock? Anywho, in addition to all that, I also got a third week of vacation and a slight raise. Less than last year, but more than nothing. I can’t complain. Ok, I could, but I doubt it would do me much good.
IMA in January was a mixed bag – attendance was down, we continue to struggle with our venues, but the ethics workshop was a good time and the food didn’t suck. I have high hopes for February – we’ve got a “Sports Accounting” night planned with reps from the Timber Rattlers and a former Packer player speaking. If that doesn’t appeal to students, I don’t know what would.
I find myself being pestered about VP Admin again although I think they’ve relented to let me stay where I am for another year. If, for no other reason, then because no one else wants to do what I do. Since we’ll be out of town in May I’ve already had to arrange for someone to cover that meeting so perhaps that will open a door. I don’t know that I want it to be opened though. I really enjoy my positions. It makes me talk with everyone who attends meetings, it’s organizationally motivated, it keeps me in the know about pretty much everything the chapter is doing, and it apparently makes me the go-to person for questions. It’s likely I can find an answer so I suppose I’m the logical contact. That and my name and email are plastered all over our newsletter and website. No hiding, that’s for sure. Just not sure I want to give up what I’ve arranged to be the face of the chapter.
We had yet another week off from bells because our fearless leader had a conflict. We don’t have a schedule for the spring yet, but we already started in on Easter music two weeks ago. I’m torn because the ladies I stand by up at the top octave are in agreement that things get stale and we’d like to try new music, maybe play with the choir. They tried to elect me to talk to Nancy and suggest things, but I don’t really want to put myself in front of the line of fire since I already seem to have a bad reputation, what with that “bell police” comment and all. But sometimes I almost can’t stand the stupid things that go on. Last week someone suggested we should have a metronome around to make sure we don’t rush. Any guesses as to who suggested it? Yeah, that’d be the person who rushes the most. Gargh! I do my best to keep my comments and annoyances to myself. I remind myself that I’m the youngest member (by my calculations, by at least 15 years), I’m not a member of the church, or even a member of the religion. I guess I could use my experience as a selling point, but I still don’t want to be the one to rock the boat. With all the weirdness that the year began with, I’m thinking we should all just be happy that Nancy didn’t throw herself over the choir loft railing at some point.
I mentioned that I’d been reading a lot lately. Still trying to keep away from too much TV. It helps, that whole Conan/Leno debacle. I had just made the decision to quite DVR-ing Conan every night because it was so hard to keep up with them. Then this whole mess came about so I turned it back on for the last two weeks. I never liked Leno much but Conan was usually too late for me and my old person bedtime. I’m saddened that they couldn’t work something out, but I’m hopeful that Conan will come back ten times better. My one concern is that NBC owns the characters he created on both Late Night and Tonight, so if he can’t take Conando with him, I don’t know what I’m going to do. That, and the Central Time New Years celebration, were two of my favorite parts of his show. We’ll see what happens I guess. I didn’t watch Jay Leno’s bomb and I won’t watch the regressed Tonight Show either.
Back to the reading though. (Geesh, you’d think I had ADD or something.) For Christmas my mom sent me a stack of books – mostly mysteries with cheesy titles about cooking and cats (Crepes of Wrath? Bwahahaha.)
Cheesy titles aside, they’re TOTALLY ADDICTIVE! I’m especially enjoying the books by Diane Mott Davidson about Goldy, the caterer who solves murders with her cop husband on the side, and those by Tamar Myers, about a Menonnite B&B owner who assists her incompetent brother-in-law with his job as sheriff. The books include recipes and enough WTF moments to keep you on your toes. The plots are completely ridiculous, but they pull you in. I’ve already burned through the ones from my mom and I’m 6.25 books into a 7 book stack from the library. Who needs deep, classic literary works when you have kitschy murder mysteries?
In cat news, we’ve gotten into a groove I think. Carly is a pain, JC is a pain, Ted is a pain, Connor is somewhat less of a pain. Most of the time. Unless he’s climbing the furniture, then he’s a big pain.
Thankfully we’ve moved on from the “let’s scratch Martha as much as possible” game with Carly and she’s figured out how to jump onto my shoulders without tearing my back up. She still has regular “Carly Ferry” trips to and from the cat room both during the day and at night. One of these days I’m going to “forget” to bring her to bed and see what happens. Almost every day I’m reminded that she definitely prefers Adam and just kind of puts up with my presence.
Ted is obsessed with being petted. After lurking under beds and chairs for so long, he’s suddenly decided he wants attention and he wants it NOW. He yowls, he whines, he’s generally obnoxious. I try and make a point of petting him every night before bed, but I’m usually done before he wants me to be. My excuse? He drools and that’s totally gross. He’s also started jumping up on the bed on top of Adam. This in and of itself is pretty impressive, but then he creeps toward me, sneaking a glance at Adam every once in a while to make sure he’s not looking at him. It’s pretty funny.
Connor is still stand-offish, even with me. Adam’s gotten pretty good at sneaking up behind him and catching some petting time before Connor realizes what’s going on. He likes to cuddle, that’s for sure, but generally behind my knees where I can’t touch him. He’s been eating better lately too. I usually open his door first and he wanders for a little bit, but then goes back and eats some more. He’s a strange one.
JC… well he’s just crazy. His favorite pastimes these days are staring at himself in the plasma TV, sitting in the kitchen sink, and watching bubbles in the humidifier, water dish, and soda bottles. I swear a few days ago he was watching ice cubes melt. Oh, and trying to kill me by tripping me. Evil, evil cat. He’s got a lot of energy and has random stampede parties with Ted each evening. He still sleeps part of the night next to me most nights. He’s not very cuddly under normal circumstances. He struggles when I pick him up to hug him but eventually relents to being cuddled with.
We kind of struck out in the “cuddly cat” lottery. None of them like to sit on our laps or cuddle much. Carly will sometimes sit in the crack of the couch between us, but she much prefers curling up on the back of the couch.
Coming up:
Month-end is upon us again. Seems like just yesterday I was working on year-end. Apparently everyone (but me, of course) is going to be out of the office for SAP for like three weeks in February. Fun!
We’ll be going to try a newer Norwegian restaurant (Oslo’s) on the 5th with Dad and Cheryl. Kind of an early birthday celebration.
Another unofficial birthday thing at The Monkey Bar on the 6th.
We plan to use a great coupon at The Melting Pot on the 11th, an early Valentine’s Day night out since we generally try to avoid restaurants on Valentine’s Day. I still need to figure out what I’ll be making at home the 14th though. Ideas?
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