Just for Fun

Yesterday Zed called me at work because he needed 2 things: Paint and reeds. Paint for a science project he was finishing, and reeds for his clarient. Then I asked him if he needed anything else. His reply? Just a hug from my mommy. All together now: AWWWWWW!

I usually roll my eyes at email forwards and links sent to me. But yesterday I laughed my butt off at this video. And then, there’s this poor guy. He just can’t catch a break.

And, my apologies in advance to Mexicans, Yankees, vaccums, Harley riders, divorcees, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, men, blondes, attorneys, women, dogs, bunnies, porcupines, Rednecks, Rabbis, the Chinese, people from Arkansas, Italians, the Irish, and sweet little old ladies. But I laughed.

12,250 Down

Calories that is. I weighed myself this morning, and I’m down 3.5 pounds from the last time I weighed two weeks ago. I need to be more consistent about stepping on the scale. But it was that week and I hate stepping on the scale then.

One has to burn off or avoid intake of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound. I’ve also determined my ‘cardio zone’ heart rate versus my ‘weight-loss zone’ heart rate, and I try to watch that when I’m at the gym. Did you know that there is actually a point where you can exercise that you are burning glycogen (muscle fuel) and not fat? When exercise at over 80% of your max heart rate, you hit that ‘anaerobic’ zone and you start to burn glycogen. This is important if you want to lose weight. You can determine your max heart rate, and with your resting heart rate, you can then figure out your own ‘zones’ for exercise.

My friend Judy is trying to tempt me. She sent an email out looking for runners for a relay race in Reno-Tahoe. Be-yoo-tee-ful. How can I not want to run there? And I think I’ve found a half-marathon to run right before my full marathon training begins. It’s local, in my ‘hometown’ in fact. And I think I could get Elle and Zed ready to run the 5K event. Elle’s been doing so good on her Marathon Kids endeavor, and Zed’s been heading to the gym with me. I think they need a challenge!

Notes on a Weekend

I barely remember Friday night. Not for any good reason like having too much fun, but because I was exhausted. I seem to remember eating dinner, and then fell asleep, waiting for something. I roused myself enough to watch The Last Supper. I should have stayed asleep. Last night I watched Closer. It was better, but in a very bizarre kind of way.

On Saturday Elle got up before me. When I came out she was dressed in her basketball uniform, ready to play. Problem was her game wasn’t until Sunday. Poor thing. Sunday morning she was dressed and ready to go, but had to wait all day for her game at 4. They played much better this week, coming down to a very close 8-8 tie. Zed had a bye week, and he stayed in his pjs all day yesterday. Lucky thing.

Saturday night was my friend Amy’s birthday. Well, the anniversary of her birthday anyway. I think she’s trying to stop counting them. She looks so young anyway, I don’t think people would believe her if she tried to tell them how old she really is. The only note I have about the party is, either a) if you find out the restaurant you want to go to doesn’t take reservations and you have 20 people coming to dinner, find another restaurant, or b) show up early and get your name on the list so your friends don’t have to wait 2 hours for a table. We waited longer for the table than we sat at the table.

There’s something exciting about going to the grocery store and between the store card and coupons, saving nearly $30 on groceries. Or maybe it’s just me. Gosh, how lame am I?!?! Seriously, I came home and high-fived Nick, woo-hoo-ing my savings! I just realized I truly am a L.O.S.E.R. I must go hang my head in shame.

New Reads and Chicken Fried Steak

I didn’t yoga last night. About mid-day I decided I missed my kids. Hadn’t seen them much all week it felt like. So I decided to cook dinner, and I made it a family affair. Zed peeled carrots and potatoes, and Elle got to be the first user of my new crinkle cutter. I gave her very clear instructions and hovered, wincing a few times and correcting so we didn’t crinkle cut a finger. Nick cleared and set the table. Prep work done, everyone else was banned from the kitchen while I fried. I’m nervous when it comes to hot grease. My mom burned her legs bad when I was a kid, and I don’t want that for me or mine.

I don’t make CFS (that’s what we called it when I waited tables at a ‘home cookin’ kind of place) (or anything else fried for that matter) that often, and the last couple of times I was disappointed in my effort. And then I got worried because I was low on pepper. Very little in the grinder and no more peppercorns. So I dug in the cabinet and found some McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning. Has pepper. Sounds like it’ll work. And it did. I guess my problem before was not enough seasoning! My gravy also turned out really well. Go me. Used a little bit of drippings from the grease, and the dredging flour mix, and it was good!

Then, Carnealian‘s comment reminded me that at Thanksgiving, I had borrowed Running with Scissors from my cousin. The book. Not the Weird Al album. I’m sure she’s going to want it back sometime. Maybe I’ll get her Christmas presents to her eventually too.

This weekend Nick and I are going to a birthday party for my friend Amy. She’s celebrating the 8th anniversary of her 27th birthday. What do you get for someone for that occasion? Elle has a basketball game on Sunday. There’s no football on this weekend. It’s supposed to rain some tomorrow. Hope it doesn’t get too nasty.

Anything fun going on in your neck of the woods?

Thursday Thirteen, ed. xxii

Thirteen Thoughts from InterstellarLass 1. Heroes came back on this week! Yay! I’ve been missing it! Now the story can continue. Have you watched too? 2. It’s warmed back up here in Texas. Nice and cool in the 40s and low 50s. Makes me want to take a long walk. 3. Elle had to spend three days at school without her glasses…she left them at her dad’s house. She didn’t bother to tell me until Tuesday evening. 4. I have four knitting projects, sitting, begging to either be finished or started. I think I got a little burnout after Christmas. But I’m about ready to get them started again. 5. My hip/backside is starting to feel a bit better. It was still rather sore yesterday. Like I got a shot in by backside. I think I might go to yoga tonight and stretch it. 6. My flowerbeds seem to be OK. My pansies appear to have survived The Great Freeze. Some of my bulbs had already started to sprout before the freeze. I wonder if my tulips will poke through before Easter. 7. Last night Nick and I went to dinner. The food was pretty good, but the service was horrible. This kid ignored us as much as possible. I typically like my cappucino with my dessert, not after. Don’t you? 8. We were going to see The Painted Veil, but ended up missing the start due to the slow service, so we walked around the shopping/restaurant area we were in. 9. We heard music coming from a place across the street, so we went to check it out. The place is called Martini Park! Sounded like my kind of place at first, but we spotted four bouncers with earpieces and microphones, and two hostesses that were hasseling a non-fabulous looking lady in jeans and we looked at each other and said “uh uh”. We don’t do pretentious. 10. So we walked around a bit, puffed on some cigars we’d picked up in a very nice cigar shop around the corner. I had a nice little baby vanilla flavored cigarillo. 11. On the way home we spotted a place that’s opened up near our house. It used to be a Burger King if that tells you anything. They had a shuffleboard table, 2 pool tables, and lots of seating space. The guy had a good selection of beers on draught, but couldn’t sell any…still waiting for the liquor license. I was bummed but accepted a ‘free’ Bud Light to be polite. 12. Over the weekend I was making a martini, and my new shaker broke. It was glass, and evidently not very good glass. I put ice in and it broke right through the side. So, we bought a metal one. 13. I love my sweetie. He’s such a good sweetie. I hope I tell him enough. I love you Nick baby. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Shelley 2. Becky at This Mom’s Journey 3. Sparky Duck 4. Christina at Patent Princess 5. Nancy at Crazed Mom 6. Jen 7. Gabriella Hewitt 8. Chelle Y. 9. Brit 10. Susan 11. Starrlight 12. Your Name Here

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Reading in lieu of Sleep

I’ve never been more happy with a book I just picked up and thought might be interesting. Last night at about 12:30 am, I finished Love Walked In. I didn’t mean to stay up so late. But once I got close to the end I couldn’t just put it down. It was getting too good. And when it was done, I didn’t want it to be over.

The first thing I liked about this book was the way the story was told from two perspectives. Each chapter switched between the two characters, Cornelia, written in first-person narrative, and Clare, written in third-person. The second thing I liked was that, despite the title, this was not a story focused on romance. Rather it focused on relationships. The descriptions of the characters are so vivid. The really come alive with each chapter. The author’s writing style is smooth and quick, which made it an easy read. Some of the plot was slightly predictable, but there are a few curve balls the author throws in to keep you wondering just a little. You’re more hoping that something will happen than knowing it will happen. There was a point in the story where I actually started to cry with sadness, and another point where I cried with happiness. When a book can make me cry, you know it’s got to be good. Each of the characters in the book are so well developed and you really get to know each one personally.

Marisa de los Santos will definitely be on my ‘watch list’. And there’s supposedly a movie in the works. Evidently Sarah Jessica Parker loved the book so much, she’s producing it. Now, I’m not a big fan of hers, and I’m not sure I can see her playing the character of Cornelia, but I think this book has the potential to make a great film.

I actually don’t have anything sitting on my bedside table to read next! What will I do?!? C’mon. Help me out. Tell me what you’ve read recently that I should read next!

Spilling the Beans

Everything is fine. No one is hurt, sick or otherwise. I’m just a teeny bit disappointed. And a slight bit more irritated. No need to gripe and complain though, won’t do me any good.

A week ago Friday I went for an interview, and I was supposed to receive a decision by last Friday. I got a call last Friday telling me that I was going to have to wait over the weekend till Monday. Yesterday I got a call telling me that they needed just a little more time and I would definitely get a decision today. Well, I got the decision, and it wasn’t in my favor. So, I was slightly bummed. The position would have been a good step forward for me – very high profile within the company and lots of exposure to new facets of the type of work I’ve done for the last 7 years. There’s supposedly the possibility of a similar position coming open that I’ll be a fit for, but I’m not going to hang my hopes up on it. I wasn’t exactly looking, it was a call out of the blue, so, that’s that. Thanks for the concern and well wishes though! I’ll try not to be so cryptic and worrisome next time, but I was trying not to jinx it.

Patience Not Have I

I’m calling on Master Yoda to channel the force for me. Use a Jedi mind-trick on these people. Still waiting on the call. I mean, my phone rang yesterday. Still no decision though. Me on pins and needles is not a happy me. Or a nice me.

So last night I decide to go to the gym to get my anxiety out in the form of exercise. I decided to try a new class called Boot Camp. Take my advice. Never voluntarily sign up for or enter in to any activity called Boot Camp. Zed was with me. I should be referred to DCFS for inflicting this type of activity on my child. No Mom of the Year award for me, again.

The first thing was traveling lunges across the room and back. Anyone that knows me knows well the fact that I hate lunges. These are the exercise of the devil. Well, a tie between lunges and wall sits really. And we did those too. And jumping jacks, and running around the room over step obstacles. And football dribbles and side scoots. It was pure torture. During the wall sits, Zed looked over at me and said “We are not doing this again.” I looked back at him and said “You are 1000% right we’re not.”

It all went to hell when we were running zig-zags between the cones across the room. Then sprinting back. On my first sprint back, I dug a little too deep. Pushed off with my right leg and POP! There went something. In my hip. Perhaps my hip flexor. Perhaps my gluteus medius. I just know it hurt like hell. I tried stretching it for a moment, but every time I moved after that, it siezed, and I hurt more. Time to stop. 34 minutes into Boot Camp and I was D.O.N.E.

At home, I took two Aleve, sat on an ice pack, and had Nick massage my backside with The Stick. (Don’t worry…it’s OK to click!) This morning I’m feeling stiff and sore in my right hip and not exactly a happy camper.

I hope this anxiety is relieved soon. Help me Master Yoda. You’re my only hope.

Update: Next on InterstellarAdventures: Dealing with Disappointment or “You have won second prize in a beauty contest– collect $10”. 😦 At least I know now.

I’ll never look the same at people

Still no news so far. I feel bad for Nick and the kids. I was pretty snippy Friday night while I cooked dinner. So after dinner I just kept my martini glass full and only opened my mouth to sip from said martini glass. Then I was OK Saturday. What could I do? Nothing except enjoy my weekend.

Saturday afternoon, Nick and I went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at our Museum of Nature and Science. It was both thrilling and disappointing at the same time, if that can be possible.

In all, it was an excellent exhibit. The plastinates were fascinating to look at. It was as much a display of science as one of art. The details of the dissections were so precise, and the positioning of the bodies was so natural. I think that actually made it more comfortable to look at them. One thing I noticed was that there was some aspect of life to the bodies. For the most part, they all had nails and lips. It was still slightly human and in no way grotesque.

The part I didn’t like was the crowd. The tickets were sold with specific admission times, and you figured they would have a limited number of tickets sold for each admission time. And they may have. It was just too many. We actually had to skip a few display cases because there were so many people crowded around them it would have been 10 minutes before we even got close enough to see. And it was also very hot, which made it more difficult to wait. We stayed by one exhibit longer just because we found air conditioning!

I know that’s not the fault of the exhibit, but rather the museum. I wonder if it would have been less crowded during the weekday or a weekday evening. I’d like to take Zed, but I will definitely need to study up on my anatomy before I go again. There were some explanations, and I remembered some of my learnings from Anatomy and Physiology from high school, but there were some things that just wouldn’t come to me.

After, we were able to enjoy a nice quiet lunch, then a little bit of a nap before the kids had back-to-back basketball games. Elle’s team didn’t fare well. I don’t know what it is that they’re not getting, but it is their first season and hopefully they’ll improve over time. It was very frustrating to watch. Zed’s game was also frustrating…in that it was 30 minutes late starting due to long-running games before. How is it that they’re able to get backed up when they allow 60 minutes for a 24 minute game to be played? But once the game started, it was fantastic. This is also the first season for Zed’s team to be together, but a few of the boys have played before. There’s one kid on the team that’s quite obviously the best, and he typically scores the majority of the points. He’s a fast-break scorer really, and he’s able to get those opportunties a lot. But not Saturday night. We had several kids, including Zed! that really stepped up and played. He was 3 for 6 (a personal high score of 6 points), and had numerous rebounds and steals. He was really playing ‘heads up ball’. A couple of other boys on the team that don’t typically score much put up several baskets as well, and the coach even sat the ‘star’ player out more than he ever has before. I was all smiles and thrilled for Zed to have a such a great game, and for his team to win. If they continue to have games like that they’ll finish the season really strong.

My other accomplishment over the weekend was that I took both dogs for baths. Tori did pretty well. She only freaked (and I do mean freaked) when the girl tried to help me cut her nails. I’m not sure I’ve heard a more painful noise come from my dog. Wrigley was good too, but I think I’ve figured out she’s afraid of heights. She laid on the drying table and clenched her paws around the end of the table. When I made her stand up to dry her belly, she was shaking the table with her tremors. I stopped and patted her and tried to soothe her along the way, but I know she was glad when it was all done.

I also took down all the house lights from Christmas. I leave them up till after New Years, but the first weekend after we were out of town, and last weekend we had a bit of ice. I was so excited when it cleared up and was actually SUNNY (for the first time in over a week!) yesterday. I was quick. The actual taking down was about 15 or 20 minutes. Then about another 10 for wrapping the strands. Nick was impressed with the speed in which I completed this. Go me.

How ’bout you? Do anything fun?

Zero Refills Remaining

That’s the thing about anxiety…it’s soo hard to relieve! I’ve been on pins and needles all day long. And I got the phone call I’ve been waiting for…and I have to wait until Monday now! GAH! What’s so hard about the decision! Pick me! Pick me!

Now I have the whole weekend long to ruminate, cerebrate, cogitate, contemplate, deliberate, excogitate, manducate, speculate, and otherwise preoccupy myself with apprehension.

I’m all out of Xan*x. I do think I have a couple of Hydr*cod*ne though left over from a root canal. Damn. Nick had better pick up some more vodka on the way home…more fun with martinis tonight**!

* used to hopefully avoid more sp@m than I already get.
** I promise I don’t plan on mixing alcohol and drugs. I’m kidding about that. No, really, I am. It’ll just be martinis.