Blog # 356

Thinking up titles for these things is the hardest part of blogging, bar none.  So here it is, the second to last day of September, and a random chicken cartoon suddenly seems like a great idea.

I love this one.  There’s no point in egging on a person who wants to talk doom and gloom, is there?  So don’t do it.

The healthy eating is still going well!!  I’m very proud of myself.  And very full of raw vegetables.  Now I have to go fire up the DS and do my daily brain age training.  Life is full.  Even without cake.

Checking In 09/28

After a three day weekend I’m more tired than when it began.  The computer is moved into the basement, along with the filing cabinet and a whole whack of living room clutter.  I’m toying with the idea of having a nice living room instead of a junky mess…..that would be a big refreshing change for us.  The new floor I’m sure won’t be the end of it.  The one and only time we purchased living room furniture was in Yellowknife in the 80’s.  I’d say we’re due.  So I’ve spent a lot of time wandering around imagining where everything new can go, and actually physically rearranging everything else.  Figured it was better to do it now than to scratch the hell out of a new floor later.

We also re-vamped the cardboard playhouse down here, cleaned it up, made it bigger, incorporated part of the furniture on one wall, fashioned a sun roof, and propped up the sheet roof with a sponge mop.  It’s quite impressive.  And a great excuse for not using the sponge mop.  We even vacuumed in there and then Kenzie spent as much time fixing up her space as I did mine.  I love that she has a bear named Barry.  This weekend he wore a pink house coat and slippers to get married to Brownie, a little brown bear in a wedding dress, and they now have a baby bear dressed in a pumpkin suit.  There’s really no explaining families. 

The healthy eating thing is going well, because after picking at three healthy meals that I was verging on too tired to prepare today, I’m now too tired to eat.  So goodnight nurse.  Tomorrow I’ll head to work for a rest.

Fifty One

I did drop by here yesterday but got interrupted before I could get even one picture uploaded.  W. got back after midnight on Thursday, wandering into the house hauling boxes and bins and paraphernalia.  I might have been more startled but no burglar could ever create such a commotion.  We didn’t get to sleep until that fine line between very very late night and ridiculously early morning and of course the next day there was lots to do.  My cupboards and fridge are so jam packed with stuff I can’t find anything.  There must be 51 jars of salad dressing alone.  I got my hair cut again at last, and now Kenzie is here for the weekend.  And speaking of pictures, because I was, way back there at the beginning of this, W. had our camera for 5 months and took a grand total of 51 pictures.  And suddenly I’m fixated on that number.  I think that’s just pathetic, and I’m not talking about the fixation.  I took that many pictures in one day, and of nothing but inanimate objects.  Which is why I now have my own camera, after realizing how camera incompatible we are for eachother.

We discussed the new floor, the new stove, the new dryer, my new family ring, the repairing of the old family ring, the new DS that’s supposed to keep me occupied and sane, the whereabouts of the new car, and just exactly how broke are we?  I heard the “what (where, who, why) the hell” phrase more than 51 times yesterday morning alone.  It’s kind of music to my ears, actually.  “Where the hell is the coffee pot?” – that one said while standing in front of the coffee maker that dispenses a cup at a time and doesn’t even have a pot.  We discussed the fact that WE are going to be eating healthily now for the rest of our lives even if it kills us.  Really all that means is cutting out all those convenient take out meals and not bringing home empty calorie junk.  And maybe not putting butter and sour cream on everything.

And I’m doing well!  I ate three meals yesterday, and nothing after 6:00 p.m.!  I had breakfast this morning – cereal, skim milk and fruit!!  Kenzie is now in the bath tub with roughly 51 Barbie and Polly toys!  W. has gone to work at the car wash where he will wash the floor a record number 51 times!  Megan from next door will be over soon and I’ll have to take 51 pictures of them wearing their flying bat head bands!  I have my Brain Age training to look forward to!  Did I mention that I always get a rocket ship for the piano playing game????  And I might be moving the computer into the basement.  I have to move it when they come to do the floors, and knowing me, I’ll likely be too lazy to move it back from wherever I put it now.  So I’m trying to think of a good place.  Might be fun to be on the computer and watch tv at the same time – and it would definitely force me and W. to spend more time in close proximity to eachother.   

I don’t remember what picture I was going to upload, or if I’d even decided on one.  The good news is, there’s more than 51 to choose from, thanks to me.

The P. of H. and V. 1

And now for something completely the same.  No, forget it, I’m not even going to bother with excuses for not getting back here for an entire week.  It’s enough for you to know that all my excuses are basically very lame and much repeated.

Tomorrow W. comes home!  That will be pretty weird.  I’m taking the day off in honor of that.  And also in honor of the fact that I’m sick of working. 

I am making a deal with myself to stop by here daily from today until, I don’t know, Christmas?  Vague deals appeal to me.  This will help me monitor my progress in the pursuit of health and vitality.  (Cryptic title explained).  I would REALLY hate to have to report something stupid like I’ve just eaten an entire chocolate cake, so I will either not be doing that or I will simply be lieing about it.  But honestly, I’ve made some little lifestyle changes already!  I was told to take it slowly and one step at a time and not get overwhelmed.  So I’ve been taking a lunch to work and making sure everything in it is some kind of healthy choice.  So far this has made for some pretty interesting combinations, depending on what I can grab from the frigde in a hurry and stuff into a bag.  Broccoli and tuna comes to mind.  I’ve been eating breakfast!  Oatmeal is the gaggiest food ever, but it sure sticks with you for hours.  And I’ve been taking calcium supplements and drinking skim milk.  Not the highlight of my day by any means, but I’m pretty confident that I can make it a habit without too much hassle as long as I remember to buy milk.  I don’t really want to end up as a brittle boned old lady.  Especially if I’m also an over weight one.  That could get ugly.

I’m also concentrating on breathing and observing without judging and emptying my mind.  Trust me, that’s harder than it sounds, but one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.  Or not done, however you want to look at it.

So, even thought it’s maybe not totally necessary,  I probably should think up some kind of tangible reward for myself for keeping this deal that I made with me.  Peace of mind is hard to display in your living room.  I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

Getting Healthy

We’re having an absolutely fabulous fall!  The days are sunny and bright and warm and breezy, the leaves are changing color slowly and so far they’re staying on the trees.  It’s not so hard to accept that the days are getting shorter as long as the weather stays like this.   

I’ve had kind of a busy few days this week.  Monday morning I had to return some floor samples to the store and arrange for someone to come here to give me an estimate on removing the old and installing the new.  Then I had my appointment with a nurse and a dietician, referred there by my m.d. because basically he’s fed up with all my whining about being tired all the time and is running out of things to do with me.  The nurse was lovely, very down to earth and sympathetic with my situation.  In fact she showed almost a little too much empathy maybe, because I found myself thinking I should be feeling even MORE sorry for myself, having so recently lost my mother and with my husband having been away for going on five months.  But the dietician snapped me out of that little funk in a hurry.  She was much more in drill sargeant mode.  Make some lifestyle changes.  Get active.  Eat healthy.  The nurse told me to slowly reduce my calorie intake – try for 2500 to start off and go down from there.  Ms. Dietician slapped a food plan down on the desk and told me 1600.  Do it. 

They did both agree that if I get all gung ho and try to change too many things at once I’ll just become overwhelmed and ultimately give it all up.  Funny how they know that about me.  Another thing we all agreed on was that I’m not at all active (to the point of being down right lethargic some days) and a lot of my food consumption is associated with extreme boredom.  So I need to find a couple of hobbies or just do some kind of activity that absorbs me – like cleaning out a drawer or a cupboard or a closet.  Good grief.  That could keep me occupied indefinitely.  I might even starve to death if I don’t remember to take a break before I’m finished. 

So here are the rules that I’m learning to live with.  No more eating in front of the tv unless it’s an actual meal that I would have been eating anyway.  Do not skip breakfast and lunch.  Drink milk and take calcium supplements.  Take 1000 mg of vitamin D every day.  Eat uncooked things as much as possible.  (I KNEW I should have held off on buying that stove…..)  Three balanced meals a day, two healthy snacks, and slowly decrease the portion sizes.  Sigh.  I guess this means my gigantic twelve inch square dinner plates weren’t such a great idea for every day.  Start walking.  Contrary to popular belief, it will not kill you.  All those potato chips ultimately will.

There’s much more, but those are the basics.  I wore a pedometer to work one day (I only put it on at 1:00 p.m. because that’s about the time I decided to get up off my ass) and chaulked up an amazing 4700 steps.  Well, it seemed amazing to me, until I read that anything between 5000 and 7500 is considered sedentary.  Over 7500 is “low activity level”.  So my goal is to reach low.  Okay it’s not a lofty goal by most people’s standards, but at least I’m headed in the right direction.  I own a treadmill, for gawdsakes.  Time to get the cobwebs off it I guess.

Or, I could always wander outside and find out how many steps it is around the block and enjoy this incredible weather at the same time.  I do like to multi task.  Too bad my choices have been things like reading and watching tv at the same time.  Or putting on makeup and completing a sudoku puzzle while drinking that third cup of coffee.  Hmmm.  Perhaps that explains why I look like this.  Anyway, those are all picks from the “sedentary” category.  I’ve got to start thinking “physical” before all my muscles (except for those used at the computer keyboard) atrophy from disuse. 

So, I’m going outside!  I’ll get back to you on how that went.

The Gorgeous Alberta Experience

It’s a beautiful cool fall morning and the coffee is fabulous.  My house is quiet.  The day looms.

So, let’s get this historical blather up to date.  Without over-using the word beautiful for once in my life.  My sister Ann and her two gorgeous daughters arrived last Thursday for their Alberta Experience holiday.  We spent all day Friday at West Edmonton Mall.  It’s never all about the shopping there since there’s so many strange un-mall like things going on.  Like the amusement park rides, the skating rink, the water park,  the Bourbon Street restaurants and the performing sea lion to mention only a few.  On two levels, no less.  It’s exhausting fun.

And to let you in on what an incredibly boring person I can be, the highlight of my day was purchasing two boxes of those strange hard to find water filters for my coffee maker – the ones that are supposed to be changed every 60 brews.  I had fallen a little behind.  Okay, I’ve had the thing for 9 months and NEVER changed it, if you want the exact truth.  The original filter was looking just a bit weary.  And that night we were all too weary to cook, so we went to Montana’s.  And then off to the theatre next door to see “The House Bunny”.  We all found it hilariously funny.  Perhaps being deleriously over tired and completely stuffed contributed to that. 

On Saturday AKA (aka my sister and her two gorgeous daughters) got together with my gorgeous daughter and HER gorgeous daughter, and when I got home from work we all went out to Boston Pizza for dinner.  A lot of Caesars were consumed, and Kenzie did some artwork for Alison to take home to great grandpa.  Sunday and Monday AKA went touring.  To Drumheller, the Calgary Zoo, met up with our nephew/cousin in Calgary and travelled to Banff for a guided tour, rode on the gondola, stayed at the Banff Springs Hotel, visited Lake Louise.  Drove their rental car up through Jasper and finally back here, rather late at night, and a little toured-out.  But……on Tuesday we headed north and drove another six hours to visit my gorgeous daughter-in-law and HER gorgeous children.  That’s a LOT of Alberta highway quality time. And a whole whack of gorgeous people. 

Highlights of our stay on the ‘ranch’ included long walks in the fields, excellent meals, a visit from the tooth fairy (Kale lost two bottom front teeth in one day!), an unfortunate accident involving backing over Caber’s leg and a rush visit by Jen to the vet, and wildly entertaining conversations with the kids.

Wednesday AKA drove to Dawson Creek, mostly just for the fun of phoning home to say “hi honey, we’re in B.C.!”  We headed back on Thursday and I finally got to cook a meal for all of us before we vegged out in front of the tv. watching movies.  Friday they were off shopping again while I worked, and later D. and Kenzie came over and we ordered in Chinese food – dinner for 40 I think. 

(Kenzie trying on Alison’s hair extensions) 

And suddenly it’s Saturday again!  Time to get packed up and ready to go after dragging me kicking and screaming to a floor store to choose some laminate flooring.  I’m kidding about the kicking and screaming part of course – I’m happy someone finally helped me put an end to my procrastination on the deathly ill living room carpet situation.  Their flight was an overnight one back to London, and after that they’d still have over a two hour drive home.  I expect all three of them will be lethargically zonked for the rest of today.  Or maybe I’m just projecting my own semi comatose state onto them.  It was a great 10 days.  I’m surprised I’ve been able to so severely condense it here.  I hope they had a good time – I’d have all of them back in a hearbeat to stay for a month if they could do it.  But now it’s back to ‘normal’ for all of us, with some gorgeous memories to treasure.

Canadian Idol Top Two

I’m a little bummed out by this season’s top two because seriously, it’s just not much of a contest anymore.  I do like Mitch, although I never imagined he’d get past the top five, never mind all the way to the final.  To me, he just doesn’t have the universal appeal that a lot of the other contestants have.  So once again, regional voting screws us up, and a lovable easterner comes THIS close to winning it all. 

Of course, if Mitch does win it all I’ll have to eat my words, won’t I?  But I truly believe Theo has been marked for the top from the beginning.  The ‘piano man’ will be one of the most rounded and talented idols we’ve ever had.  But damn, it’s like the Kalan season when the end result was never in question.  Theresa and Jacob fans tried to delude themselves that an upset was possible, but sorry, Kalan winning was written in stone practically from his first audition.  Melissa vs. Rex was a nail biter, and so was Eva vs. Craig.  Even last year I lived in agony thinking that JD might squeak through over Brian Melo.  But this time around?  Drew might have given Theo a run for his money, but Mitch is just plain out of his league. And that could be exactly how the powers that be want to guarantee the right result. 

I hope Amberly gets a recording contract, and that Mookie and Earl do some colaborating;  and that Mitch puts together an entire album with songs just like ”There’s A Reason Why I Love This Town.”    It’s quite possible that Theo will leave them all behind in the dust.  But Geeez, they could have made him work a little harder for it when it got down to the wire.

CI Top Three

It was all Bryan Adams, all night long, all three singers, all six songs.

A friend of mine was thoughtful enough to make a dvd for me of all the CI episodes I missed!! Wow. I owe him big time. I have been completely and thoroughly CI’d out for one day. Yep, watched all of it tonight. The beatles/judge’s choice night was amazing.

Now seriously, can everybody please agree with me that a much more fun and exciting top three would have been Theo with Mookie and Earl??? I SO miss those two.

But it is what it is.

Drew: Cuts Like A Knife. That was just too rocked up for me. As in made into too much of a rock song type thing. Jake, Sass and Farley liked it a lot. Zack felt he limped out on the vocal side.

I’m Ready. Awwwww. I liked that way better. Even though Zack saw it as Drew playing Bryan Adams in a Bryan Adams musical. Jake and Sass LIKED the theatrical, intense, dramatic Drew. Farley found it awkward and passionless. And that’s why there’s four judges, so you can like two and hate two, and it all evens out at the end of the day.

Theo: Heaven. That will be one of the performances they play back after Theo wins this whole thing. I don’t think he has any competition left. At least nobody with such universal appeal. His voice is dynamic and his performances are always from the heart. The judges fall all over themselves trying to think of adjectives worthy of him.

When You’re Gone. I loved this one too, although that first one was a hard act even for Theo himself to follow. Zack didn’t like him wandering aimlessly about the stage, although I’m sure he’s also told him more than once to get his ass away from the piano. The judges are all on glue.

Mitch: Heat of the Night. When he started into this song I found myself wondering why in the world Mitch is still here. He looked stressed out and sounded strained. Farley said he looked physically uncomfortable. Zack said he seemed uncommitted. Jake said it’s because trying to be angry doesn’t work for Mitch. Sass said I love you Mitch but the song was too intense.

When You Love Someone. The minute he got into this one I knew exactly why he’s still here. He reminds me of the little rascal’s Alfalfa. A little weird and quirky, but so sweet you just want to hug him. Mitch is lovable in the extreme, and he needs to completely deep six all that nonsense about pushing for some kind of edge.

If Theo leaves tomorrow, the top two will be the most boring and anti-climactic show in idol history and I don’t care who wins. If Mitch leaves, Drew will have to be absolutely brilliant to win it over Theo. And if Drew leaves, it will be East vs. West and anything can happen. Except that I can’t imagine Mitch ending up on top. Have I covered all the posibilities?? With all those predictions, I’m bound to be right about something, you would think……

At this point I’m just looking forward to having the top ten back as a group for the final results show.  Mookie and Earl and Amberly, together again.  And if a couple of the remaining long gone idols suddenly come down with something horrible and contagious and can’t make it, I’d be able to live with that too.

Are we there yet?

Is it really autumn already?  Maybe not officially, but once September rolls around I always feel like summer is done and any nice hot weather now is just a lucky bonus.  Last September I was heading off across the ocean!  This September my sister and my neices will be here for a visit, and I think that’s just about as exciting!  With less plane travel for me!  I’m waiting for some brainiac person to invent a way that we can simply choose some exotic push button destination and then beam ourselves there and back with a minimum of fuss and bother.  I know you’re supposed to ‘enjoy the journey’,  but seriously, that’s a mode of travel I think I’d enjoy to the max.  Due to my short attention span and inclination to fret over small details.  Like passports and boarding passes and luggage that weighs more than a baby elephant.

Will W. actually head home before this month is over??  It’s been a long hard haul since the middle of May for everyone concerned.  I believe things are finally settling down for his brother and that there’s not a whole lot more to be done that can’t happen without W. being there.  So we’re hopeful that life as we knew it will start up again for us here.  Maybe we’ll appreciate eachother more.  Or maybe we’ll realize that separate residences make perfect sense.  Hard to say.  Part of it might centre on how trainable he is on the new garbage regime.  I’m trying to stay optimisitc.

How many more new appliances are we going to need before our lives are finally over???  Now I’m thinking it’s about time to get a new vacuum cleaner.  Not that I ever personally use the one we already have more than once or twice in a blue moon.  But I noticed it’s sounding sick.  And a new washer would be nice to go with the new dryer.  And a new fridge to go with the new stove, which is supposed to arrive on the same day as my sister.  And if W. doesn’t read this I expect he won’t even notice that it’s new – he’ll just think someone finally cleaned the oven.

Other pressing questions with no immediate answers:  what kind of a stupid pathetic raise will I get from our dip-stick of a D.M. next week?  I vacilate between thinking I’m grossly underpaid, and wondering why my wage is so high when I really don’t do a whole lot of actual WORK.  I see no reason why he needs to know that second part.  Will Theo be the next Canadian Idol?  Will the finale be great or incredibly lame?  Will Mookie and Earl team up and do a Canadian tour?   I’d pay huge money for tickets to that!  Will we have snow for Hallowe’en?  Will I cook a 400 pound turkey in my gigantic new oversized oven this Christmas?  Will I EVER be able to pick up and use a hot glue gun without burning myself?  When I go for my appointment with the nutritionist/dietician/nurse on the 15th, will I get all crazy and stubborn and think that what I’m being told to do is NUTS?  Or will I keep an open mind and shut up and just do it?  I’m very unpredictable even to myself when it comes to that kind of thing.

Okay, I’ve worn myself out with all these questions.  Time to get ready to tune in to CI for the top three and get some answers.