'Nuff said.
Sunday, April 07, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Happy Easter
Update: Holy cow, this sounds depressed. I swear I'm not! Just sort of laughing at the insanity... good grief, what a weekend. Oh well, so it goes. Sheesh :)
AND the Gum Zombie's down for the count with the flu. Rumor has it he'll survive, and I'm off in a flash to pick up his Tamiflu and also my steroid eye drops that are likely going to make me blind.
Not that they're doing much good at this point. Once again, I'm near scratching my eyes out. Adding insult to injury, my male snakes are giving me fits, but you can see my other blog for the details on that -- I'll spare you here. You can thank me in the comments :D
Until I can breathe again, here's a lovely pork roast I've got in the oven for dinner. The colored carrots just tickled me, so I tossed them in on top of the regular ones. I also picked up the multi-colored baby potatoes because... well, purple root vegetables are cool.
Asparagus will round it out, but I'm cooking that later. This is in low-and-slow at 225 (after its blast at 450) for another 6.5 hours at least. Happy almost-Easter, folks!
AND the Gum Zombie's down for the count with the flu. Rumor has it he'll survive, and I'm off in a flash to pick up his Tamiflu and also my steroid eye drops that are likely going to make me blind.
Not that they're doing much good at this point. Once again, I'm near scratching my eyes out. Adding insult to injury, my male snakes are giving me fits, but you can see my other blog for the details on that -- I'll spare you here. You can thank me in the comments :D
Until I can breathe again, here's a lovely pork roast I've got in the oven for dinner. The colored carrots just tickled me, so I tossed them in on top of the regular ones. I also picked up the multi-colored baby potatoes because... well, purple root vegetables are cool.
Asparagus will round it out, but I'm cooking that later. This is in low-and-slow at 225 (after its blast at 450) for another 6.5 hours at least. Happy almost-Easter, folks!
Friday, March 08, 2013
DV Ruminations
[Excerpted from a letter I wrote regarding my own domestic violence experience -- this is pretty much navelgazing, y'all, but you're welcome to read on. It's just not your standard perky Friday reading fare. My apologies :)
Oh, and standard "may be triggering" warnings apply.]
-------------------------------------
Growing up hearing about my maternal grandmother's marriage and how she left, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd never let myself be in a relationship that involved domestic violence. The second someone reaches out to strike you, you leave. Full stop, end of discussion. G taught it, Mom seconded it, I believed it. But over the course of my first two marriages I learned that abuse has more forms than a raised fist. Between the two of them, I endured every type of marital abuse that exists with the exception of an outright, bloody beating.
What kills me (and this appears to be a universal feeling among various subsets of domestic violence survivors) is that I know better. I knew it going in. I'm intelligent, I'm educated, and I grew up in a family where we were taught to be honest, kind, and to use our words -- by anyone's measure, a "good family."
I know it's wrong to talk to people like they're trash. I know it's wrong to threaten to abandon your family on a regular basis simply as a means of venting your displeasure. I know it's wrong to withhold money for basic household bills. I know it's wrong to make your family suffer because you refuse to provide the means to secure adequate medical and dental care. I know it's wrong to threaten to discipline your children physically to coerce your spouse into behaving a certain way. All of that is wrong and there is so much more to add that I dare not even attempt a comprehensive list; but every item on that list is a means of one person increasing their control over another. I get that. Because every item on that list (and more) was employed against me, by the person I should have been able to trust most.
And yet I let it happen not only once, but twice. As it was occurring in my life, I didn't see it as abuse. I saw it as irresponsibility, as idiocy, and at times as plain-out meanness, but the fact that all those behaviors put together created a pattern of abuse just didn't take, and dealing with it turned me into a person I didn't even recognize at times. Looking back, I still don’t. It took me finally getting sick of the constant divorce threats from my second husband, leaving him, and then actually sitting there in the Parents Children and Divorce class with that domestic violence cycle diagram staring up at me from the workbook for the reality of what I'd lived for the previous decade and more to actually sink in.
This was all because they didn't hit me. Somehow the lack of a direct strike was supposed to make it okay.
But it wasn't okay.
I want other people to understand that. I want them to understand that domestic violence isn't only found at the end of a fist, but also in a pattern of behavior used to belittle and control. The simple fact of the matter is that there isn't a batterer out there who didn't first start with verbal abuse, with emotional abuse. Not one. I remember the story of how G's husband started treating her differently right after they got married. When she asked him about it -- contrary to common perception, women who deal with domestic violence are rarely voiceless doormats -- he said, "We're married. No use to be dragging bait when the fish is caught."
That was the first overt sign of things to come.
I'd like fewer women to have to deal with those "things to come". I'm not sure how to accomplish it*, but that's what I'd like to see.
-------------------------------------
*Actually, how I accomplish it now, outside of putting my limited monies where my mouth is -- including a specific donation this letter accompanied -- is by occasionally sharing about domestic violence on my blog. I don't want to go nuts with it here, because as I've said before this is not the place. But on occasion... definitely. Because I'm a normal, relatively well-adjusted woman who also happens to also be a domestic violence survivor. If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. The only shame is silence.
Oh, and standard "may be triggering" warnings apply.]
-------------------------------------
Growing up hearing about my maternal grandmother's marriage and how she left, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd never let myself be in a relationship that involved domestic violence. The second someone reaches out to strike you, you leave. Full stop, end of discussion. G taught it, Mom seconded it, I believed it. But over the course of my first two marriages I learned that abuse has more forms than a raised fist. Between the two of them, I endured every type of marital abuse that exists with the exception of an outright, bloody beating.
What kills me (and this appears to be a universal feeling among various subsets of domestic violence survivors) is that I know better. I knew it going in. I'm intelligent, I'm educated, and I grew up in a family where we were taught to be honest, kind, and to use our words -- by anyone's measure, a "good family."
I know it's wrong to talk to people like they're trash. I know it's wrong to threaten to abandon your family on a regular basis simply as a means of venting your displeasure. I know it's wrong to withhold money for basic household bills. I know it's wrong to make your family suffer because you refuse to provide the means to secure adequate medical and dental care. I know it's wrong to threaten to discipline your children physically to coerce your spouse into behaving a certain way. All of that is wrong and there is so much more to add that I dare not even attempt a comprehensive list; but every item on that list is a means of one person increasing their control over another. I get that. Because every item on that list (and more) was employed against me, by the person I should have been able to trust most.
And yet I let it happen not only once, but twice. As it was occurring in my life, I didn't see it as abuse. I saw it as irresponsibility, as idiocy, and at times as plain-out meanness, but the fact that all those behaviors put together created a pattern of abuse just didn't take, and dealing with it turned me into a person I didn't even recognize at times. Looking back, I still don’t. It took me finally getting sick of the constant divorce threats from my second husband, leaving him, and then actually sitting there in the Parents Children and Divorce class with that domestic violence cycle diagram staring up at me from the workbook for the reality of what I'd lived for the previous decade and more to actually sink in.
This was all because they didn't hit me. Somehow the lack of a direct strike was supposed to make it okay.
But it wasn't okay.
I want other people to understand that. I want them to understand that domestic violence isn't only found at the end of a fist, but also in a pattern of behavior used to belittle and control. The simple fact of the matter is that there isn't a batterer out there who didn't first start with verbal abuse, with emotional abuse. Not one. I remember the story of how G's husband started treating her differently right after they got married. When she asked him about it -- contrary to common perception, women who deal with domestic violence are rarely voiceless doormats -- he said, "We're married. No use to be dragging bait when the fish is caught."
That was the first overt sign of things to come.
I'd like fewer women to have to deal with those "things to come". I'm not sure how to accomplish it*, but that's what I'd like to see.
-------------------------------------
*Actually, how I accomplish it now, outside of putting my limited monies where my mouth is -- including a specific donation this letter accompanied -- is by occasionally sharing about domestic violence on my blog. I don't want to go nuts with it here, because as I've said before this is not the place. But on occasion... definitely. Because I'm a normal, relatively well-adjusted woman who also happens to also be a domestic violence survivor. If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody. The only shame is silence.
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Allergies
Never being one to do anything in moderation, my allergy testing revealed that I am allergic to All The Things. Grasses, molds, pollens, cats, dogs, roaches (!!!)... essentially, if it's tested for on a standard scratch test, I react to it.
The first round of testing was on my back. Out of 50 scratches, I reacted to 32.
The next round was on my left arm and was injected. 18 shots. They weren't deep, and at worst it felt like a little bit of a pinch. I reacted to all 18.
And yes, my left arm and portions of my back still itch. Thankfully I'm back on Zyrtec at least, and can take Benadryl toward the evening when things get rougher.
What this ultimately means for me is that I'm going to have to take allergy shots. When someone my age has allergies this severe, to the point where the standard medications -- --antihistamine pills and eye drops -- don't work, it's time to haul out the big guns. Sure, the steroid eye drops are working except on the worst of days, but one of the side effects from those is glaucoma and considering that my genetics already predispose me to same, I'd rather keep my vision thankyouverymuch.
On the minus side to all of this, once I stopped the steroids my face puffed up. Lovely.
--------------------------------------
So anyway, there we are. In light of all my lovely allergies I've decided to avoid gluten starting, well, now. I'm not going to freak if I screw it up, but considering everything I figure it won't hurt to see if I'm possibly gluten sensitive, or at least if I somehow feel better without it in my diet. I'm not married to this concept by any means :P I'm more just entertaining myself by using my own body as a science experiment.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
The first round of testing was on my back. Out of 50 scratches, I reacted to 32.
The next round was on my left arm and was injected. 18 shots. They weren't deep, and at worst it felt like a little bit of a pinch. I reacted to all 18.
And yes, my left arm and portions of my back still itch. Thankfully I'm back on Zyrtec at least, and can take Benadryl toward the evening when things get rougher.
What this ultimately means for me is that I'm going to have to take allergy shots. When someone my age has allergies this severe, to the point where the standard medications -- --antihistamine pills and eye drops -- don't work, it's time to haul out the big guns. Sure, the steroid eye drops are working except on the worst of days, but one of the side effects from those is glaucoma and considering that my genetics already predispose me to same, I'd rather keep my vision thankyouverymuch.
On the minus side to all of this, once I stopped the steroids my face puffed up. Lovely.
--------------------------------------
So anyway, there we are. In light of all my lovely allergies I've decided to avoid gluten starting, well, now. I'm not going to freak if I screw it up, but considering everything I figure it won't hurt to see if I'm possibly gluten sensitive, or at least if I somehow feel better without it in my diet. I'm not married to this concept by any means :P I'm more just entertaining myself by using my own body as a science experiment.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Meh...
I feel like I'm in a holding pattern at the moment. I got down to 140.5, and then my weight did its usual wonky thing where it spiked up to 144 (thanks to a more carb-laden week -- mostly lentils, but it had an impact), then went back down to 140.5 again by last weekend, and THEN...
...Sunday hit, and I started my prednisone in preparation for my allergy testing tomorrow. I have to have been off all antihistamines for a total of five days prior to that testing, and let me tell you it's been hell even with the steroids. I'm itchy, my eyes are icky, and I hate this. I can't imagine how bad I'd be without the prednisone, and regardless of any side effects I'm glad I'm on it.
Speaking of side effects, those don't appear to be awful. I haven't gotten on the scale since I started the course because I didn't want to have to scream at it, but I'm still fitting into my pants fine and since that's the most important gauge in my world I think I can deal. It may help that I'm drinking water as if anticipating a trek into the Gobi Desert, and also that I'm not using this as an excuse to eat All The Food.
But I am feeling as if I'm retaining water. My fingers are a little tight, and my stomach is a bit more poochy than usual. That'll be lovely for belly dance class. Looks like tonight's going to be a sports tee kind of night rather than a dance top.
Have I mentioned the itch? Because I'm itchy. I loathe this. I want my Zyrtec back.
More tomorrow, or maybe later if I'm too hive-laden after my testing. Yuck. Thankfully this too shall pass, and rather quickly.
...Sunday hit, and I started my prednisone in preparation for my allergy testing tomorrow. I have to have been off all antihistamines for a total of five days prior to that testing, and let me tell you it's been hell even with the steroids. I'm itchy, my eyes are icky, and I hate this. I can't imagine how bad I'd be without the prednisone, and regardless of any side effects I'm glad I'm on it.
Speaking of side effects, those don't appear to be awful. I haven't gotten on the scale since I started the course because I didn't want to have to scream at it, but I'm still fitting into my pants fine and since that's the most important gauge in my world I think I can deal. It may help that I'm drinking water as if anticipating a trek into the Gobi Desert, and also that I'm not using this as an excuse to eat All The Food.
But I am feeling as if I'm retaining water. My fingers are a little tight, and my stomach is a bit more poochy than usual. That'll be lovely for belly dance class. Looks like tonight's going to be a sports tee kind of night rather than a dance top.
Have I mentioned the itch? Because I'm itchy. I loathe this. I want my Zyrtec back.
More tomorrow, or maybe later if I'm too hive-laden after my testing. Yuck. Thankfully this too shall pass, and rather quickly.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Uhm... why????
Here's a map of where my readership comes from:
Okay, once you've settled down from laughing at my rather petite readership (I value each and every one of the six of you!), take a gander at where most of my viewership has been from the last week. No, it's not the US. Look harder at the dark green blip in central Europe.
It's the Ukraine.
*blink*
No, I don't get it either.
So, anyone actually reading today from the Ukraine want to fill me in on what's so fascinating on my sporadically-updated highly-disjointed blog?
I mean, I could almost understand it better if it were my snake blog.
Who knows, perhaps an English class is using me for their curriculum. Have mercy.
Okay, once you've settled down from laughing at my rather petite readership (I value each and every one of the six of you!), take a gander at where most of my viewership has been from the last week. No, it's not the US. Look harder at the dark green blip in central Europe.
It's the Ukraine.
*blink*
No, I don't get it either.
So, anyone actually reading today from the Ukraine want to fill me in on what's so fascinating on my sporadically-updated highly-disjointed blog?
I mean, I could almost understand it better if it were my snake blog.
Who knows, perhaps an English class is using me for their curriculum. Have mercy.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
No Title for You!
Why no title today? Because in 6.5 years I think I've about run out :P Or at least I'm out today. But regardless, forward!
----------------------------
The scale has gone crazy in the past week. I've been eating 100% on, just like I have been since January 7th, but last week I was eating the rest of the lentils I'd made over the weekend as opposed to my more standard lean protein/ dark green veg. The lentils were marvelous, but by mid-week my weight was 144. The hell? No, no, no... icky. When I finally was done with the lentils my weight started going back down and today I was a shade under 141 again, so I'm almost back to where I was like a week and a half ago. Lordy.
This kind of scale craziness is why I've given myself until April 22nd to lose the entirety of the weight I put on over the holidays. Sure, I can drop 3 pounds in a week as far as the scale is concerned, but then I can continue on, eating exactly what I've been eating, exercising exactly as I have been, and see zero progress for four weeks.
Then I'll drop another 3 pounds, seemingly "mysteriously". Eyeroll.
It's nuts. But It's how it goes. On average, I lose a little under a pound per week, and considering where my weight is right now it'll take me just that much time to hit 135.
It's frustrating, but it's how my body likes to process things. At least the scale eventually goes in the right direction, and considering that I fit into all my pants again, overall I'm good with it.
----------------------------
Finally, because I'm shamelessly hijacking this from Nikki at Furry Bottoms, here are 48 random things about me. Why? Because I'm off work this afternoon with the still-ailing Gum Zombie and I figure I might as well :) And no, there's no "I'm tagging X-people do to this!" That gives me the headache.
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Yes -- my maternal great-great-grandmother. She was Amanda Jane also.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Listening to my sister sing O Holy Night over the Christmas holidays. She's an operatically trained mezzo soprano, did the requisite recital at Carnegie Hall, etc. At 33, her voice is just now reaching its peak and it is freaking amazing.
3 DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
When it's legible, sure.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I don't think I have one. I've been off that track so long it tastes like non-food.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yup, 2 of 'em, male variant.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
The way I am now? Yes. I wouldn't have liked me 10 years ago, though -- I was living in an untenable situation and coping with that had me a bit nuts.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
It's just one more service we offer :P
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Nope -- they were taken out when I was four.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I don't eat cereal. Unless you count oatmeal? If that counts, then oatmeal.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Nah -- although I do end up untying and then retying them when I put them back on.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Hell yeah.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Honestly? I have yet to meet an ice cream I didn't like. But my all-time favorite is Breyers Natural Vanilla Bean.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Whether or not they look pleasant.
15. RED OR PINK?
Neither.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
That at times I'm so absolutely paralyzed by anxiety I cease to function. It's ridiculous. Fortunately, those moments are becoming more and more rare.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My sister, BIL, and niece. The Divine Miss M is two-and-a-half years old now and is amazing. We're missing so much with her living in NYC!
18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?
Telling the anxiety beasts to shut it. Again, it's getting better (I'd not still be in my belly dance classes if it weren't), but there's still work to do.
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
None -- bare feet (it's like 80+ out there).
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
My standard lunch.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
"The Talk". I have trashy TV tastes when I'm off work with a sick kid.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Forest Green.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Christmas trees, big holiday meals cooking, berry-scented candles.
24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?
I like my own political views, and I really resent anyone trying to push a different opinion onto me. What I believe is what I believe, nothing you say will change it. Don't preach, don't push, don't even try. (this was Nikki's answer and I lifted it shamelessly and in its entirety, because it's how I feel as well)
25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
Mountains definitely -- but the beach is only an hour away. And honestly, if someone offered me a beach house I wouldn't turn it down!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Sumo wrestling. Yes, I'm serious. I was in Japan back in 1993 during Sumo season and it was the first televised sport I actually understood. It's delightfully basic.
27. HAIR COLOR?
Originally it was dark brown with chestnut highlights. Now its natural color is "Marilla Cuthbert" iron grey, so it's instead dyed a medium-reddish-brown base with golden blonde highlights.
28. EYE COLOR?
Irish blue-green-grey
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Nope -- I tried as a teenager but my astigmatism is severe and the only lenses I could wear were gas permeable lenses, which were essentially hard contacts, just with a little bit of flexibility. It felt like I had tin can lids in my eyes no matter how long I worked to wear them, so eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I'd be wearing glasses the rest of my life or view the world through a bit of a haze.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Freaking pound cake. Dammit.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings. I look up movies in IMDB or Wikipedia to make sure the endings are happy. If they aren't, I won't watch. Real life is quite enough realism for me, thankyouverymuch.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
In the theaters? I think it was Magic Mike. I didn't know who Channing Tatum was before that movie. Nice, nice, nice looking boy.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Brown.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter, or what passes for it down here.
35. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Effing damn pound cake.
36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
Strength training.
37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?
I'm a multitasker.
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Kim Harrison's Ever After (no relation to Cinderella -- this is the latest Rachel Morgan urban fantasy book)
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Dust? It's dark blue, so... yeah, dust.
40. FAVORITE SOUND?
My husband coming home at night. Yes, I'm really this sappy :)
41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?
It depends on my mood -- sometimes it's bubblegum pop, sometimes it's hard rock or metal. My MP3s range from Katy Perry to Iron Maiden, with some Bach and Mozart thrown in for good measure.
42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Japan.
43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I read really quickly, although I don't know if that's so much a talent as it is more a symptom of my book addiction.
44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Near San Francisco, CA
45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
Central Florida
46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?
Grey wood siding with some faux-stone accents.
47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?
Dark green
48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS?
It's either that or I'm a masochist :)
----------------------------
The scale has gone crazy in the past week. I've been eating 100% on, just like I have been since January 7th, but last week I was eating the rest of the lentils I'd made over the weekend as opposed to my more standard lean protein/ dark green veg. The lentils were marvelous, but by mid-week my weight was 144. The hell? No, no, no... icky. When I finally was done with the lentils my weight started going back down and today I was a shade under 141 again, so I'm almost back to where I was like a week and a half ago. Lordy.
This kind of scale craziness is why I've given myself until April 22nd to lose the entirety of the weight I put on over the holidays. Sure, I can drop 3 pounds in a week as far as the scale is concerned, but then I can continue on, eating exactly what I've been eating, exercising exactly as I have been, and see zero progress for four weeks.
Then I'll drop another 3 pounds, seemingly "mysteriously". Eyeroll.
It's nuts. But It's how it goes. On average, I lose a little under a pound per week, and considering where my weight is right now it'll take me just that much time to hit 135.
It's frustrating, but it's how my body likes to process things. At least the scale eventually goes in the right direction, and considering that I fit into all my pants again, overall I'm good with it.
----------------------------
Finally, because I'm shamelessly hijacking this from Nikki at Furry Bottoms, here are 48 random things about me. Why? Because I'm off work this afternoon with the still-ailing Gum Zombie and I figure I might as well :) And no, there's no "I'm tagging X-people do to this!" That gives me the headache.
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Yes -- my maternal great-great-grandmother. She was Amanda Jane also.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Listening to my sister sing O Holy Night over the Christmas holidays. She's an operatically trained mezzo soprano, did the requisite recital at Carnegie Hall, etc. At 33, her voice is just now reaching its peak and it is freaking amazing.
3 DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
When it's legible, sure.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I don't think I have one. I've been off that track so long it tastes like non-food.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yup, 2 of 'em, male variant.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
The way I am now? Yes. I wouldn't have liked me 10 years ago, though -- I was living in an untenable situation and coping with that had me a bit nuts.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
It's just one more service we offer :P
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Nope -- they were taken out when I was four.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I don't eat cereal. Unless you count oatmeal? If that counts, then oatmeal.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Nah -- although I do end up untying and then retying them when I put them back on.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Hell yeah.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Honestly? I have yet to meet an ice cream I didn't like. But my all-time favorite is Breyers Natural Vanilla Bean.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Whether or not they look pleasant.
15. RED OR PINK?
Neither.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
That at times I'm so absolutely paralyzed by anxiety I cease to function. It's ridiculous. Fortunately, those moments are becoming more and more rare.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My sister, BIL, and niece. The Divine Miss M is two-and-a-half years old now and is amazing. We're missing so much with her living in NYC!
18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?
Telling the anxiety beasts to shut it. Again, it's getting better (I'd not still be in my belly dance classes if it weren't), but there's still work to do.
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
None -- bare feet (it's like 80+ out there).
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
My standard lunch.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
"The Talk". I have trashy TV tastes when I'm off work with a sick kid.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Forest Green.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Christmas trees, big holiday meals cooking, berry-scented candles.
24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?
I like my own political views, and I really resent anyone trying to push a different opinion onto me. What I believe is what I believe, nothing you say will change it. Don't preach, don't push, don't even try. (this was Nikki's answer and I lifted it shamelessly and in its entirety, because it's how I feel as well)
25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
Mountains definitely -- but the beach is only an hour away. And honestly, if someone offered me a beach house I wouldn't turn it down!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Sumo wrestling. Yes, I'm serious. I was in Japan back in 1993 during Sumo season and it was the first televised sport I actually understood. It's delightfully basic.
27. HAIR COLOR?
Originally it was dark brown with chestnut highlights. Now its natural color is "Marilla Cuthbert" iron grey, so it's instead dyed a medium-reddish-brown base with golden blonde highlights.
28. EYE COLOR?
Irish blue-green-grey
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Nope -- I tried as a teenager but my astigmatism is severe and the only lenses I could wear were gas permeable lenses, which were essentially hard contacts, just with a little bit of flexibility. It felt like I had tin can lids in my eyes no matter how long I worked to wear them, so eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I'd be wearing glasses the rest of my life or view the world through a bit of a haze.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Freaking pound cake. Dammit.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings. I look up movies in IMDB or Wikipedia to make sure the endings are happy. If they aren't, I won't watch. Real life is quite enough realism for me, thankyouverymuch.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
In the theaters? I think it was Magic Mike. I didn't know who Channing Tatum was before that movie. Nice, nice, nice looking boy.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Brown.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter, or what passes for it down here.
35. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Effing damn pound cake.
36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
Strength training.
37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?
I'm a multitasker.
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Kim Harrison's Ever After (no relation to Cinderella -- this is the latest Rachel Morgan urban fantasy book)
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Dust? It's dark blue, so... yeah, dust.
40. FAVORITE SOUND?
My husband coming home at night. Yes, I'm really this sappy :)
41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?
It depends on my mood -- sometimes it's bubblegum pop, sometimes it's hard rock or metal. My MP3s range from Katy Perry to Iron Maiden, with some Bach and Mozart thrown in for good measure.
42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Japan.
43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I read really quickly, although I don't know if that's so much a talent as it is more a symptom of my book addiction.
44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Near San Francisco, CA
45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
Central Florida
46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?
Grey wood siding with some faux-stone accents.
47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?
Dark green
48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS?
It's either that or I'm a masochist :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The "Winter" Plague
We're currently dealing with the annual winter* plague, which means sick kids. The Elder spent the weekend and yesterday convalescing, and the Gum Zombie woke up yesterday with a fever. I left the boys with Choreboy while I went on to work (we've been freaking slammed, and it's been awesome because hooray! something to distract me from the clock ticking), and today the Elder went back to school. The Gum Zombie, though, is still home, and today's my day to stay home with the sickie.
As his temperature rises, he becomes more perky. I don't get it. Here's hoping he can go back tomorrow or at least, failing that, he can head to my parents' house while I get back to the office. I have sick days for a reason but they are limited and we're still slammed.
---------------------------------
Since I was home today anyway I made some whole wheat pancakes for breakfast. I had two, and measured out my butter and syrup (yes it was real and it was amazing). Those combined with some blackberries came in just under 400 calories, and while I won't do pancakes every day (I think I make them twice a year) these were definitely worth it. Lunch will involve a piece of Ezekiel bread with a tablespoon of nut butter of some sort, the rest of the blackberries, and a piece of 2% cheddar. Dinner's looking like my old faithful of turkey burger with mustard and steamed broccoli. A snack will figure in there somewhere -- likely apple with either cheese or more nut butter.
It'll do.
---------------------------------
I've been having to work on some new recipes for lean protein sources since we reworked Choreboy's macronutrient levels. I settled on this recipe for chicken in garlic-vinegar sauce and it was fantastic. Skinning the chicken was a bit of a PITA, but I got to use my ridiculously over-priced Le Creuset Dutch oven and any day I have an excuse to use it is a good day indeed.
Not only did I love the outcome, so did Choreboy which is a good thing considering he isn't content with sucking down turkey burgers or tilapia every night. Eh, it helps to break out of my rut as well on occasion.
Next I need to work out a decent low sodium marinade for my chicken that goes on my workday salad. I'm moving from the pressure cooker to the George Foreman because, honestly, I just can't stand another week of the shredded variant.
---------------------------------
Rat count is still at 4, thank God, so we might have dodged that bullet. Another 10 days and we'll know for sure.
Okay, that's about it for now. I'm feeling sluggish, and I'd better not be coming down with what the kids have had. Have a good one, y'all :)
*Yeah, I know. "Winter". It's 72 now, with a high of 84 expected. But on Thursday we're not supposed to even break out of the 60's! Choreboy's gonna be all bundled up -- if the mercury doesn't rise above 70 he considers it a cold snap.
As his temperature rises, he becomes more perky. I don't get it. Here's hoping he can go back tomorrow or at least, failing that, he can head to my parents' house while I get back to the office. I have sick days for a reason but they are limited and we're still slammed.
---------------------------------
Since I was home today anyway I made some whole wheat pancakes for breakfast. I had two, and measured out my butter and syrup (yes it was real and it was amazing). Those combined with some blackberries came in just under 400 calories, and while I won't do pancakes every day (I think I make them twice a year) these were definitely worth it. Lunch will involve a piece of Ezekiel bread with a tablespoon of nut butter of some sort, the rest of the blackberries, and a piece of 2% cheddar. Dinner's looking like my old faithful of turkey burger with mustard and steamed broccoli. A snack will figure in there somewhere -- likely apple with either cheese or more nut butter.
It'll do.
---------------------------------
I've been having to work on some new recipes for lean protein sources since we reworked Choreboy's macronutrient levels. I settled on this recipe for chicken in garlic-vinegar sauce and it was fantastic. Skinning the chicken was a bit of a PITA, but I got to use my ridiculously over-priced Le Creuset Dutch oven and any day I have an excuse to use it is a good day indeed.
Not only did I love the outcome, so did Choreboy which is a good thing considering he isn't content with sucking down turkey burgers or tilapia every night. Eh, it helps to break out of my rut as well on occasion.
Next I need to work out a decent low sodium marinade for my chicken that goes on my workday salad. I'm moving from the pressure cooker to the George Foreman because, honestly, I just can't stand another week of the shredded variant.
---------------------------------
Rat count is still at 4, thank God, so we might have dodged that bullet. Another 10 days and we'll know for sure.
Okay, that's about it for now. I'm feeling sluggish, and I'd better not be coming down with what the kids have had. Have a good one, y'all :)
*Yeah, I know. "Winter". It's 72 now, with a high of 84 expected. But on Thursday we're not supposed to even break out of the 60's! Choreboy's gonna be all bundled up -- if the mercury doesn't rise above 70 he considers it a cold snap.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Newsflash
Edited to add the following request, in light of a comment I just received and deleted:
Folks, I respect peoples' rights to believe or disbelieve in spiritual matters as they see fit. Please do not troll the comments portion of my blog to leave atheist-bashing comments, or any sort of bashing comments for that matter. Although I personally view myself as a "woman of faith", this blog obviously does not serve as any sort of major platform for my beliefs and I ask that you respect my boundaries in keeping it that way.
Thank you.
------------------------
I have allergies! I know this comes as a shock to everyone.
Eyeroll.
But yes, I went to the allergist yesterday because having to move to steroid eyedrops just isn't a good thing for the long-term. They're not great even for seasonal use, to be honest -- two of the complications are cataracts and glaucoma, two conditions which I'm also predisposed to thanks to genetics. So on the 28th of the month I'll be going in for Official Allergy Testing.
What that means is that the last 5 days of February I'm going to be on a dose of Prednisone because I can't have any antihistamines in my body. Bleah. I hope a 5-day course isn't going to cause some sort of nasty weight gain. Is that just intrinsic to Prednisone, i.e., does one just automatically gain weight on it? Or is it the fact that it makes you so crazy-ravenous that you gain weight because you'll gnaw your own leg off if other options aren't available?
Regardless, that's what's going to happen, so I'll just suck it up and deal. Hopefully I'll get some relief from this that doesn't involve me risking my future sight.
I had more to say, but somehow I can't remember what it was. Genius, I haz it. Okay, since I'm blabbering to no purpose, just have a good day y'all :)
Folks, I respect peoples' rights to believe or disbelieve in spiritual matters as they see fit. Please do not troll the comments portion of my blog to leave atheist-bashing comments, or any sort of bashing comments for that matter. Although I personally view myself as a "woman of faith", this blog obviously does not serve as any sort of major platform for my beliefs and I ask that you respect my boundaries in keeping it that way.
Thank you.
------------------------
I have allergies! I know this comes as a shock to everyone.
Eyeroll.
But yes, I went to the allergist yesterday because having to move to steroid eyedrops just isn't a good thing for the long-term. They're not great even for seasonal use, to be honest -- two of the complications are cataracts and glaucoma, two conditions which I'm also predisposed to thanks to genetics. So on the 28th of the month I'll be going in for Official Allergy Testing.
What that means is that the last 5 days of February I'm going to be on a dose of Prednisone because I can't have any antihistamines in my body. Bleah. I hope a 5-day course isn't going to cause some sort of nasty weight gain. Is that just intrinsic to Prednisone, i.e., does one just automatically gain weight on it? Or is it the fact that it makes you so crazy-ravenous that you gain weight because you'll gnaw your own leg off if other options aren't available?
Regardless, that's what's going to happen, so I'll just suck it up and deal. Hopefully I'll get some relief from this that doesn't involve me risking my future sight.
I had more to say, but somehow I can't remember what it was. Genius, I haz it. Okay, since I'm blabbering to no purpose, just have a good day y'all :)
Monday, February 04, 2013
Manic Monday
Yep, totally co-opting the song title, but it fits. In addition to work I've also got to pick up my steroidal eye drops and take the rats to the vet. Why? Because we have to check on how their respiratory viri are doing. I'm not hearing any more sneezes from them, so that's a plus.
The downside is I'm 99% positive that our three females are all knocked up. Thanks, Oops! Sigh.
-------------------------------
Super Bowl Sunday was totally a non-issue as far as eating was concerned. Choreboy and I aren't massive football fans, so we haven't even been paying attention this season. To let you know how out of the loop we managed to be, I had to ask my mother who was playing and who won this morning. So food was just that: food. Saturday I fixed my favorite pork tenderloin recipe (linked here) doubled, so Brent would have some decent protein for the week, and on Sunday I tried out a new lentil recipe (this one). The lentil recipe calls for red lentils, which I went and purchased. I'd been curious about them for a while, but I'm cheap so I required an excuse to spend the bucks on Bob's Red Mill. Well, I won't be making THAT mistake again, because once you've cooked the red lentils they turn into the same, disappointing muddy green the already muddy green (and much cheaper) lentils have!
Guess which color I'll be buying in the future, regardless of what the recipe calls for?
But -- visual disappointment aside -- the lentils were good. I think the cayenne pepper and the mustard seeds added a bit more "oomph" to the flavor profile, which was fun. Good thing I like it because I'll be sucking those down all week -- the full recipe makes a ton of food.
-------------------------------
Scale verdict? 140.5. I'm interested to see how several days of lentils for dinner impacts that. It's upping my carb intake a bit, so my guess is I might hold steady until I've finished all of them. We shall see.
Happy Monday, y'all!
The downside is I'm 99% positive that our three females are all knocked up. Thanks, Oops! Sigh.
-------------------------------
Super Bowl Sunday was totally a non-issue as far as eating was concerned. Choreboy and I aren't massive football fans, so we haven't even been paying attention this season. To let you know how out of the loop we managed to be, I had to ask my mother who was playing and who won this morning. So food was just that: food. Saturday I fixed my favorite pork tenderloin recipe (linked here) doubled, so Brent would have some decent protein for the week, and on Sunday I tried out a new lentil recipe (this one). The lentil recipe calls for red lentils, which I went and purchased. I'd been curious about them for a while, but I'm cheap so I required an excuse to spend the bucks on Bob's Red Mill. Well, I won't be making THAT mistake again, because once you've cooked the red lentils they turn into the same, disappointing muddy green the already muddy green (and much cheaper) lentils have!
Guess which color I'll be buying in the future, regardless of what the recipe calls for?
But -- visual disappointment aside -- the lentils were good. I think the cayenne pepper and the mustard seeds added a bit more "oomph" to the flavor profile, which was fun. Good thing I like it because I'll be sucking those down all week -- the full recipe makes a ton of food.
-------------------------------
Scale verdict? 140.5. I'm interested to see how several days of lentils for dinner impacts that. It's upping my carb intake a bit, so my guess is I might hold steady until I've finished all of them. We shall see.
Happy Monday, y'all!
Friday, February 01, 2013
Guess it was Legit
141 according to the scale today, so it looks like the downward trend is legitimate.
We'll see what happens over the next few days. Not in an "I'm going to blow it" sort of way because, uh, no. That won't be happening. I mean it more in a "let's see how long my body is agreeable to dropping poundage at this entertaining rate" kind of way.
In other news? Craving peanut butter. I could eat a jar right now.
I'm not.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
We'll see what happens over the next few days. Not in an "I'm going to blow it" sort of way because, uh, no. That won't be happening. I mean it more in a "let's see how long my body is agreeable to dropping poundage at this entertaining rate" kind of way.
In other news? Craving peanut butter. I could eat a jar right now.
I'm not.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Scale Weirdness
So today in theory I weigh 142.5. I don't know -- it could be right, it could be wrong. I mean, it's a pound down again so yay! But it's also our old dial scale (the only one we have) and I always question its accuracy, even when it's going the direction I want it to. Oh well, as long as it keeps moving in that direction I'll be happy.
I should trust it, since I've been eating correctly and exercising my butt off (what there is of it that will leave -- even at 135 it's not insubstantial), but since I can eat correctly and exercise my butt off and have it stay static for weeks on end, you'll have to pardon my skepticism.
---------------------------
So Monday night I introduced Choreboy to the Wonderful World of Weights and Resistance Training! It went well, and even today he's a bit "ouchy" in his legs and so forth. I don't have a full range of motion in my lower body for squats and lunges and the like (thanks, stupid knees!) but he does and let me tell you he used it without me even prompting. The man is inspired.
And I love it, because now I have a partner in crime with all of this :)
---------------------------
Lastly, the Emily Cat update: we have no clue what's going on with her and neither does her vet even after two rounds of bloodwork. The latest batch shows all her gamma globulin levels are up, whatever that means. So since we don't have just one or two spikes any diagnosis is utterly up in the air. Could be fungal, could be immuno-deficiency... no clue. The plan is to start medicating her with both a steroid and an antibiotic and see what effect that has on her health, so that's what we're going to do. On the plus side, she's visibly eating and drinking. On the minus side, she's still losing weight and that is, obviously, Not Good.
So, one cat to medicate, 4 rats to medicate (they have a respiratory infection, joy)... next?
Kidding, kidding!!!
Okay, running away to go find some wood to knock. Have a good one, y'all. Oish...
I should trust it, since I've been eating correctly and exercising my butt off (what there is of it that will leave -- even at 135 it's not insubstantial), but since I can eat correctly and exercise my butt off and have it stay static for weeks on end, you'll have to pardon my skepticism.
---------------------------
So Monday night I introduced Choreboy to the Wonderful World of Weights and Resistance Training! It went well, and even today he's a bit "ouchy" in his legs and so forth. I don't have a full range of motion in my lower body for squats and lunges and the like (thanks, stupid knees!) but he does and let me tell you he used it without me even prompting. The man is inspired.
And I love it, because now I have a partner in crime with all of this :)
---------------------------
Lastly, the Emily Cat update: we have no clue what's going on with her and neither does her vet even after two rounds of bloodwork. The latest batch shows all her gamma globulin levels are up, whatever that means. So since we don't have just one or two spikes any diagnosis is utterly up in the air. Could be fungal, could be immuno-deficiency... no clue. The plan is to start medicating her with both a steroid and an antibiotic and see what effect that has on her health, so that's what we're going to do. On the plus side, she's visibly eating and drinking. On the minus side, she's still losing weight and that is, obviously, Not Good.
So, one cat to medicate, 4 rats to medicate (they have a respiratory infection, joy)... next?
Kidding, kidding!!!
Okay, running away to go find some wood to knock. Have a good one, y'all. Oish...
Monday, January 28, 2013
Wheee!!!!!
143.5 on the scale this morning. I'll take it! It was actually 142.5 on Friday but that was after a rather unpleasant bout of the... well, let's just say I spent lots of time in the restroom. But seeing an actual loss, even of half a pound?
Yup, that's all mine :)
Oh, and I had to laugh. Brent and I totally smoked a couple of teenagers who were walking on our usual route last night. We came up behind them, zoomed past, and one of the girls said to the other "I play softball and I can't even move that fast!"
I told them it was okay; that our expertise was because we had more than 90 years of practice between us. Hee.
Icing on the cake? Passing them on the way back -- past the 1/4 mark, even. Wearing my knee braces.
Like a boss.
---------------------------
Believe it or not, there's more. The news I'm really psyched about is the Choreboy is finally wanting to do some resistance training. Wahoo! I can't begin to tell you how much this thrills me. I've mentioned before that it's been difficult for me to reconcile the amount of time my workouts take, and the simple fact that this is now something we'll be able to do together to some extent is huge. We've got dumbbells at home going up to 30 lbs (I'm optimistic for myself, what can I say?), and after that we'll see where we are and go forward.
Sad thing is, initially I'll be training him. Oh well, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Or something like that. I at least have good form and safety information, and I know some good basic moves that will get him started. He's also as bad as I am when something interests him, so I figure once we get going on this he'll start doing his own reading and moving in the direction that's right for him.
What I do find mildly irksome is I've been telling him that if he wants to lose weight he's going to have to do some resistance training for awhile. He listens, nods, and files it away. Then when his immediate supervisor confirms what I've been babbling about? Then suddenly it's something he should do!
Oh well, it worked. The means makes me gnash my teeth a bit, but ultimately I'll take it :)
---------------------------
And on a final note, one of the rats is now verifiably a male. He'll be going in for a little snip-snip operation.
His name is Oops. It fits.
If we have baby rats I think I might lose what's left of my mind.
Yup, that's all mine :)
Oh, and I had to laugh. Brent and I totally smoked a couple of teenagers who were walking on our usual route last night. We came up behind them, zoomed past, and one of the girls said to the other "I play softball and I can't even move that fast!"
I told them it was okay; that our expertise was because we had more than 90 years of practice between us. Hee.
Icing on the cake? Passing them on the way back -- past the 1/4 mark, even. Wearing my knee braces.
Like a boss.
---------------------------
Believe it or not, there's more. The news I'm really psyched about is the Choreboy is finally wanting to do some resistance training. Wahoo! I can't begin to tell you how much this thrills me. I've mentioned before that it's been difficult for me to reconcile the amount of time my workouts take, and the simple fact that this is now something we'll be able to do together to some extent is huge. We've got dumbbells at home going up to 30 lbs (I'm optimistic for myself, what can I say?), and after that we'll see where we are and go forward.
Sad thing is, initially I'll be training him. Oh well, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Or something like that. I at least have good form and safety information, and I know some good basic moves that will get him started. He's also as bad as I am when something interests him, so I figure once we get going on this he'll start doing his own reading and moving in the direction that's right for him.
What I do find mildly irksome is I've been telling him that if he wants to lose weight he's going to have to do some resistance training for awhile. He listens, nods, and files it away. Then when his immediate supervisor confirms what I've been babbling about? Then suddenly it's something he should do!
Oh well, it worked. The means makes me gnash my teeth a bit, but ultimately I'll take it :)
---------------------------
And on a final note, one of the rats is now verifiably a male. He'll be going in for a little snip-snip operation.
His name is Oops. It fits.
If we have baby rats I think I might lose what's left of my mind.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
More Pants!
More pants that fit, that is -- in addition to my lone pair of khakis, I can now also fit into my dark brown slacks and my black trouser jeans. Don't ask me how, because that scale is still registering 144, but I'll take it however I can.
It's nice to not be confined to skirts the majority of the week. Yucko.
----------------------------
Workouts and walks are continuing apace. Food is a struggle, which bugs. I'll get through it, though. I have to. I refuse to let a season of indulgence sit on my backside forever, because the moment I do that I'll have the next season of indulgence, and the next, and the next, and before you know it I'll be staring at the scale wondering how in the world it could possibly say 200 again.
Hell to the no, y'all.
----------------------------
I'm still entertaining myself with my hair, and am now on the "curly girl" method which has proven to be incredibly entertaining. You've seen plenty of pictures of my usual hair, which is blown-out/ straightened (yes, that's as straight as it gets). Well, here are a couple of pictures I took yesterday morning:
That's just air-dryed. Ho-ly cow, y'all.
In addition to air drying, I'm not using shampoo or conditioner with sulfates or sillicones. I started just conditioner washing a couple of weeks ago, and a week ago I mentioned I'd gone with a baking soda/ vinegar rinse hairwash (which still amazes me by how well it cleaned my hair), and reading more about haircare on the internet, I came across the curly hair folks.
It appears I have curly-ish hair, when I'm not drying it out with detergents and heating it into compliance.
Who knew? But I think I'll keep at this. It's significantly less of a timesink than my blowouts were, and with the sweating I insist on doing, it's maintainable.
Plus it looks freaking awesome.
Anyway, that's all I've got for the moment. Have a good one, folks!
It's nice to not be confined to skirts the majority of the week. Yucko.
----------------------------
Workouts and walks are continuing apace. Food is a struggle, which bugs. I'll get through it, though. I have to. I refuse to let a season of indulgence sit on my backside forever, because the moment I do that I'll have the next season of indulgence, and the next, and the next, and before you know it I'll be staring at the scale wondering how in the world it could possibly say 200 again.
Hell to the no, y'all.
----------------------------
I'm still entertaining myself with my hair, and am now on the "curly girl" method which has proven to be incredibly entertaining. You've seen plenty of pictures of my usual hair, which is blown-out/ straightened (yes, that's as straight as it gets). Well, here are a couple of pictures I took yesterday morning:
That's just air-dryed. Ho-ly cow, y'all.
In addition to air drying, I'm not using shampoo or conditioner with sulfates or sillicones. I started just conditioner washing a couple of weeks ago, and a week ago I mentioned I'd gone with a baking soda/ vinegar rinse hairwash (which still amazes me by how well it cleaned my hair), and reading more about haircare on the internet, I came across the curly hair folks.
It appears I have curly-ish hair, when I'm not drying it out with detergents and heating it into compliance.
Who knew? But I think I'll keep at this. It's significantly less of a timesink than my blowouts were, and with the sweating I insist on doing, it's maintainable.
Plus it looks freaking awesome.
Anyway, that's all I've got for the moment. Have a good one, folks!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Ease on Down
The scale very politely said 144 this morning and yesterday morning as well for that matter. I am not offended in the least. What's silly is how different I feel having 9 pounds to lose as opposed to over 10. Even just that pound-and-a-fraction was enough to make a big difference in my head. Weird.
Also, I did the math on my 49,000 excess calories consumed in 35 days and you know what? That's an additional 1400 calories per day which, mid-holiday insanity, is sadly totally do-able.
I'm living proof.
Still, 5 of the 14 pounds I gained are gone, and I continue 100% on food and exercise. The only wrench in my future works (oh of course one was coming, because that's life) is that my brother's 40th birthday is Monday, and Sunday we're going out to eat. That wouldn't be a problem except it's to a damned buffet. A very nice one with good choices available, but a buffet nonetheless. Oh well, there will be protein and vegetables available, and those are what I will eat.
You have no idea how hard it was to type that sentence; in spite of the recent holiday foodfest and the fallout therefrom, I still want to hit up that dessert table like there's no tomorrow. However, I won't.
Thank goodness my "official" weigh-in day is Monday. I'll take what I can get to bolster my at-times-nonexistent will power.
---------------------------------
Our little ratling is doing very nicely settling into our home. She's named Sarah, which yes is the recycled name of one of our sand boas, but the Gum Zombie desperately wanted it for his rat as well and I told him I saw no reason at all why we couldn't have a warm-blooded Sarah in addition to our cold-blooded Sarah. Now I just have to survive the total mind-trip I'm going to have to play on myself when I'm feeding the scalier members of our household tonight. Because there's Sarah, our pet. And then there's the frozen food.
Sigh.
Outside of that not-so-little issue, it appears I overlooked the fact that rats are social animals and do much better with at least one additional rat as a companion. This means our Sarah needs a little fuzzy friend. I'm hoping I can convince the Elder that he needs his own little rat, because otherwise the new rat will be mine and Choreboy's head will finally explode. I already spend part of most evenings handling our other critters, and adding one more to my list might be a bit more than any of us can take.
I'm torn also because although our rat is young, she may not have been too young, if you know what I mean. So I'm thinking that I might want to just sit and wait three weeks* before getting her companion to be sure we're not about to have multiple pet rats already. Yowzers. Because no, I could not "use" them for another purpose. Don't ask me how it makes a difference, it just does. There's the frozen food I buy at the store or have shipped in, and then there's the cute little fuzzy being in the Gum Zombie's room. The only way I can manage this is to keep them both firmly established as separate items entirely.
---------------------------------
Still no word on Emily. I've got a call in on the latest test results. I'll let y'all know when I hear something.
*Rat gestation is 21 - 23 days. The More You Know!TM
Also, I did the math on my 49,000 excess calories consumed in 35 days and you know what? That's an additional 1400 calories per day which, mid-holiday insanity, is sadly totally do-able.
I'm living proof.
Still, 5 of the 14 pounds I gained are gone, and I continue 100% on food and exercise. The only wrench in my future works (oh of course one was coming, because that's life) is that my brother's 40th birthday is Monday, and Sunday we're going out to eat. That wouldn't be a problem except it's to a damned buffet. A very nice one with good choices available, but a buffet nonetheless. Oh well, there will be protein and vegetables available, and those are what I will eat.
You have no idea how hard it was to type that sentence; in spite of the recent holiday foodfest and the fallout therefrom, I still want to hit up that dessert table like there's no tomorrow. However, I won't.
Thank goodness my "official" weigh-in day is Monday. I'll take what I can get to bolster my at-times-nonexistent will power.
---------------------------------
Our little ratling is doing very nicely settling into our home. She's named Sarah, which yes is the recycled name of one of our sand boas, but the Gum Zombie desperately wanted it for his rat as well and I told him I saw no reason at all why we couldn't have a warm-blooded Sarah in addition to our cold-blooded Sarah. Now I just have to survive the total mind-trip I'm going to have to play on myself when I'm feeding the scalier members of our household tonight. Because there's Sarah, our pet. And then there's the frozen food.
Sigh.
Outside of that not-so-little issue, it appears I overlooked the fact that rats are social animals and do much better with at least one additional rat as a companion. This means our Sarah needs a little fuzzy friend. I'm hoping I can convince the Elder that he needs his own little rat, because otherwise the new rat will be mine and Choreboy's head will finally explode. I already spend part of most evenings handling our other critters, and adding one more to my list might be a bit more than any of us can take.
I'm torn also because although our rat is young, she may not have been too young, if you know what I mean. So I'm thinking that I might want to just sit and wait three weeks* before getting her companion to be sure we're not about to have multiple pet rats already. Yowzers. Because no, I could not "use" them for another purpose. Don't ask me how it makes a difference, it just does. There's the frozen food I buy at the store or have shipped in, and then there's the cute little fuzzy being in the Gum Zombie's room. The only way I can manage this is to keep them both firmly established as separate items entirely.
---------------------------------
Still no word on Emily. I've got a call in on the latest test results. I'll let y'all know when I hear something.
*Rat gestation is 21 - 23 days. The More You Know!TM
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
This 'n' That
145 yet again, but at least the numbers are either holding steady or moving in the right direction. 100% on food and exercise, so I'm pleased that I haven't lost my mind and decided I'd just suck it up and come up with a new wardrobe at Sam's or something. Nothing wrong with Sam's, but the clothes there don't fit me on the best of days and at 145, trust me, this is not my best.
I'm still somewhat floored by the amount of weight I put on (14 lbs in a month). Since I stopped tracking when all hell broke loose -- i.e., when I started eating All The Food -- I don't have the data to see how I really did, in fact, consume 49,000 calories more than I need to survive in a one- month period of time.
The mind boggles.
-----------------------------------
I spent part of today even googling whether the steroid eye drops I've been using could possibly have weight gain as a side effect*. From the beginning of December through just the past few days, I've been plagued by the most awful allergy attack I can remember ever experiencing. It didn't settle in my nose or my chest. No, it settled in my eyes. It was so bad I would wake myself up scratching at them.
I took my Allegra and used Zadator antihistamine eye drops, which saw me through the same season last year marvelously. They didn't even touch it. I overused the Zadator to no ill effects, but at that point I figured I really should see my doctor.
Went in to my GP, and she confirmed that yes indeed I had allergies! Duely noted, Dr. Awesome. She prescribed some stronger antihistamine eye drops that I was so hopeful would work. She also recommended a switch to Zyrtec.
The Zyrtec is lovely, but for the eye drops? No dice. It seems these particular eye drops have a potential side effect where they cause burning, itching, and the feeling of a foreign body in the eye; that is the grouping of side effects that hit me. Inconveniently, these were the very symptoms I was wanting the drops to alleviate!
So next stop, on to the ophthalmologist. He, too, told me I had allergies. Such a shock. But he was great. He prescribed the steroid drops, got a tiny sample bottle for me, and even found a coupon to help offset the cost of the medication. The dude rocked.
Things are improving on that front, finally. I'm down from 4 drops a day to 2. I'm still taking my Zyrtec, but may see if I can drop that as well in a bit. Whew.
-----------------------------------
I'm trying something weird with my hair. It's obnoxiously thick and naturally wavy to curly, which would be fine except it veers toward the extremely frizzy side with the humidity down here (I live in the wrong section of the country, clearly) which leads me to blowing it out with straighteners, using flattening irons, etc. That's all well and good, but with the exercising I do it's simply not feasible from a time standpoint, let alone the standpoint of the health of my hair. So I'm trying to let it just be its natural self (except for its color because there are limits).
But with curly-ish hair there also comes dryness, and I know that after I shampoo I look like I've got a haystack mounted on my head unless I straighten the snot out of it, so I've moved to washing twice a week and rinsing my scalp daily in between. That's actually been going pretty well, so I took the next step. Today I washed my hair, not with shampoo, but with baking soda followed by a vinegar rinse. Apparently, many women on long hair forums swear by this. And I have to say my hair and scalp both feel clean.
Now if only I didn't smell like an Easter egg.
-----------------------------------
Lastly, if anyone prays/ lights candles/ sends good thoughts toward animal-kind, my lone girl-cat, Emily, isn't well. We took her in to the vet on Saturday and her doctor ran a thyroid panel because that's what it looked like at the time, but the bloodwork showed some disturbing markers so now we're having more bloodwork run (to the tune of another $100, yippie). From what I'm hearing him say, none of what we're looking at is good but I hope I'm misunderstanding.
She's a doll. I'd like to keep her with us. She's only 6 1/2, and I've always thought I'd have at least another 10 years with her.
Thank you.
*Answer: Not very likely. The likelihood of weight gain as a side effect with these drops is 1/10,000. That said, eh... it could happen. I'm not so special that it couldn't be me. If an insane weight loss occurs once I finish weaning myself off the drops, perhaps. But I still ate like an unbridled fiend even before I got the drops.
I'm still somewhat floored by the amount of weight I put on (14 lbs in a month). Since I stopped tracking when all hell broke loose -- i.e., when I started eating All The Food -- I don't have the data to see how I really did, in fact, consume 49,000 calories more than I need to survive in a one- month period of time.
The mind boggles.
-----------------------------------
I spent part of today even googling whether the steroid eye drops I've been using could possibly have weight gain as a side effect*. From the beginning of December through just the past few days, I've been plagued by the most awful allergy attack I can remember ever experiencing. It didn't settle in my nose or my chest. No, it settled in my eyes. It was so bad I would wake myself up scratching at them.
I took my Allegra and used Zadator antihistamine eye drops, which saw me through the same season last year marvelously. They didn't even touch it. I overused the Zadator to no ill effects, but at that point I figured I really should see my doctor.
Went in to my GP, and she confirmed that yes indeed I had allergies! Duely noted, Dr. Awesome. She prescribed some stronger antihistamine eye drops that I was so hopeful would work. She also recommended a switch to Zyrtec.
The Zyrtec is lovely, but for the eye drops? No dice. It seems these particular eye drops have a potential side effect where they cause burning, itching, and the feeling of a foreign body in the eye; that is the grouping of side effects that hit me. Inconveniently, these were the very symptoms I was wanting the drops to alleviate!
So next stop, on to the ophthalmologist. He, too, told me I had allergies. Such a shock. But he was great. He prescribed the steroid drops, got a tiny sample bottle for me, and even found a coupon to help offset the cost of the medication. The dude rocked.
Things are improving on that front, finally. I'm down from 4 drops a day to 2. I'm still taking my Zyrtec, but may see if I can drop that as well in a bit. Whew.
-----------------------------------
I'm trying something weird with my hair. It's obnoxiously thick and naturally wavy to curly, which would be fine except it veers toward the extremely frizzy side with the humidity down here (I live in the wrong section of the country, clearly) which leads me to blowing it out with straighteners, using flattening irons, etc. That's all well and good, but with the exercising I do it's simply not feasible from a time standpoint, let alone the standpoint of the health of my hair. So I'm trying to let it just be its natural self (except for its color because there are limits).
But with curly-ish hair there also comes dryness, and I know that after I shampoo I look like I've got a haystack mounted on my head unless I straighten the snot out of it, so I've moved to washing twice a week and rinsing my scalp daily in between. That's actually been going pretty well, so I took the next step. Today I washed my hair, not with shampoo, but with baking soda followed by a vinegar rinse. Apparently, many women on long hair forums swear by this. And I have to say my hair and scalp both feel clean.
Now if only I didn't smell like an Easter egg.
-----------------------------------
Lastly, if anyone prays/ lights candles/ sends good thoughts toward animal-kind, my lone girl-cat, Emily, isn't well. We took her in to the vet on Saturday and her doctor ran a thyroid panel because that's what it looked like at the time, but the bloodwork showed some disturbing markers so now we're having more bloodwork run (to the tune of another $100, yippie). From what I'm hearing him say, none of what we're looking at is good but I hope I'm misunderstanding.
She's a doll. I'd like to keep her with us. She's only 6 1/2, and I've always thought I'd have at least another 10 years with her.
Thank you.
*Answer: Not very likely. The likelihood of weight gain as a side effect with these drops is 1/10,000. That said, eh... it could happen. I'm not so special that it couldn't be me. If an insane weight loss occurs once I finish weaning myself off the drops, perhaps. But I still ate like an unbridled fiend even before I got the drops.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Pushover, Revisited
In addition to the 4 unmentionable pets (relevant blog linked here), we are now the proud owners of a baby-esque rat.
I know. I give. Lord knows my poor husband has.
------------------------
So I weighed in this morning and saw a nice, firm 145 on the scale. I'd be excited except yesterday I was below 145 and had hopes of being able to fulfill the whole "5+ pounds in a week" prediction I'd made earlier, but my optimism didn't quite pan out. Oh well, not like I didn't see that coming anyway :) We'll see what it says tomorrow.
I'm still on plan and haven't deviated. Weekdays remain static, and on weekends I tend to mix up my choices more. The logic? On weekdays my time is severely limited. By choosing a very simple menu, I stick with it. There is no temptation to pick something up on the way home because what I'm eating already is at home. For me, it works.
On the weekends I have more time and am able to make foods that still fit within the my parameters (eggs/ egg whites, lean proteins, vegetables with an emphasis on dark greens, whole grains, fresh fruit, limited and/ or reduced fat dairy, no artificial sweeteners), but I'm able to mix it up a bit in the variety department. This weekend I cooked a batch of baby spinach, onions, and mushrooms, and used it as a bed for the tilapia fillet I'd cooked with Frank's Red Hot. It did not suck.
I also made honey peanut butter oatmeal, which was freaking awesome. I had it on Saturday using regular quick-cooking oats, and on Sunday I ate it using steel cut oats. I cooked those in my rice cooker for the first time, rather than stovetop, and they came out marvelously! It was a fun texture change. 1 TBSP peanut butter, 1 TBSP honey, and 1 cup cooked (1/2 cup uncooked) oatmeal both times. Both days I ended up with right at 300 - 310 calories. I swear, it tasted so good I almost felt guilty.
I was also bloated last night, which is unusual. I generally don't eat carb-based meals, though (like the oatmeal) so perhaps that was the cause. Or perhaps it wasn't, because I'd had the oatmeal on Saturday too and Sunday morning was my lowest weight to date (to the heavier side of 144.5). I know I was on track so some days I just have to chalk it up to my hormones and shrug. It's either that or go nuts.
Anyway, here's to making it through last week and continuing on this week! Have a good one, y'all :)
I know. I give. Lord knows my poor husband has.
------------------------
So I weighed in this morning and saw a nice, firm 145 on the scale. I'd be excited except yesterday I was below 145 and had hopes of being able to fulfill the whole "5+ pounds in a week" prediction I'd made earlier, but my optimism didn't quite pan out. Oh well, not like I didn't see that coming anyway :) We'll see what it says tomorrow.
I'm still on plan and haven't deviated. Weekdays remain static, and on weekends I tend to mix up my choices more. The logic? On weekdays my time is severely limited. By choosing a very simple menu, I stick with it. There is no temptation to pick something up on the way home because what I'm eating already is at home. For me, it works.
On the weekends I have more time and am able to make foods that still fit within the my parameters (eggs/ egg whites, lean proteins, vegetables with an emphasis on dark greens, whole grains, fresh fruit, limited and/ or reduced fat dairy, no artificial sweeteners), but I'm able to mix it up a bit in the variety department. This weekend I cooked a batch of baby spinach, onions, and mushrooms, and used it as a bed for the tilapia fillet I'd cooked with Frank's Red Hot. It did not suck.
I also made honey peanut butter oatmeal, which was freaking awesome. I had it on Saturday using regular quick-cooking oats, and on Sunday I ate it using steel cut oats. I cooked those in my rice cooker for the first time, rather than stovetop, and they came out marvelously! It was a fun texture change. 1 TBSP peanut butter, 1 TBSP honey, and 1 cup cooked (1/2 cup uncooked) oatmeal both times. Both days I ended up with right at 300 - 310 calories. I swear, it tasted so good I almost felt guilty.
I was also bloated last night, which is unusual. I generally don't eat carb-based meals, though (like the oatmeal) so perhaps that was the cause. Or perhaps it wasn't, because I'd had the oatmeal on Saturday too and Sunday morning was my lowest weight to date (to the heavier side of 144.5). I know I was on track so some days I just have to chalk it up to my hormones and shrug. It's either that or go nuts.
Anyway, here's to making it through last week and continuing on this week! Have a good one, y'all :)
Friday, January 11, 2013
Optimism and Realism
It appears my guesstimate of losing 5+ pounds by Monday might have been a bit optimistic; I'm holding steady-ish at the low-146 scale reading. Although the "low-146" is moving ever closer to 145, unless my body does something terribly interesting over the weekend (which I will grant you is still possible) I'll be more at 4-ish pounds lost for the week.
It's still primarily water weight, and still nothing to sneeze at.
I've done the calculations and if I keep eating at the level I'm currently choosing and exercising at my current rate*, I believe it will take me about 100 days to get back to 135. That puts my target date at Monday, April 22nd. Okay it's more like 105 days if we're counting from this past Monday and 102 days from today, but I'm calling it an even 15 weeks just to keep my A/R tendencies happy.
Well, I've got to keep some part of me happy. Because 100 days? Holy cow. The time it took me to gain this weight was only a month. December 3rd I had a blog entry announcing my post-Thanksgiving return to 135, and today I'm still more than ten pounds over that.
Appallingly, I'm actually questioning if it was worth it. Questioning it! Shouldn't this be a no-brainer? No, no Amanda, the food fest was NOT worth 100 days of a limited wardrobe, feeling bloated, and having your chest crushed (thanks to part of my weight gain being in bra-relevant areas). It is NOT worth having to watch yourself so carefully you're pushing the office chocolates onto your coworkers simply because this way you won't eat them**.
On the good news front, though, I continue 100% on-plan for both food and exercise, so that's freaking awesome. The guys were going out to lunch today at a new restaurant which we'd all tried to hit over the holidays but gave up because it was packed. I told them I'd just take their review, and I stayed in and ate my salad (which was already paid for anyway, yay!).
Things are looking up. We'll see what that scale says on Monday :)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
*1200 calories/ day averaged over the course of a week
1 hour brisk walking in the evening + 20-30 minutes resistance training in the morning.
**Yes, I was totally a food-pusher yesterday and worse yet I'm only mildly ashamed. My coworkers are adult men. They're big boys; they can take it in more ways than one. If they don't want chocolate they don't have to eat it. And their metabolisms still beat mine easily.
It's still primarily water weight, and still nothing to sneeze at.
I've done the calculations and if I keep eating at the level I'm currently choosing and exercising at my current rate*, I believe it will take me about 100 days to get back to 135. That puts my target date at Monday, April 22nd. Okay it's more like 105 days if we're counting from this past Monday and 102 days from today, but I'm calling it an even 15 weeks just to keep my A/R tendencies happy.
Well, I've got to keep some part of me happy. Because 100 days? Holy cow. The time it took me to gain this weight was only a month. December 3rd I had a blog entry announcing my post-Thanksgiving return to 135, and today I'm still more than ten pounds over that.
Appallingly, I'm actually questioning if it was worth it. Questioning it! Shouldn't this be a no-brainer? No, no Amanda, the food fest was NOT worth 100 days of a limited wardrobe, feeling bloated, and having your chest crushed (thanks to part of my weight gain being in bra-relevant areas). It is NOT worth having to watch yourself so carefully you're pushing the office chocolates onto your coworkers simply because this way you won't eat them**.
On the good news front, though, I continue 100% on-plan for both food and exercise, so that's freaking awesome. The guys were going out to lunch today at a new restaurant which we'd all tried to hit over the holidays but gave up because it was packed. I told them I'd just take their review, and I stayed in and ate my salad (which was already paid for anyway, yay!).
Things are looking up. We'll see what that scale says on Monday :)
Have a great weekend, everyone!
*1200 calories/ day averaged over the course of a week
1 hour brisk walking in the evening + 20-30 minutes resistance training in the morning.
**Yes, I was totally a food-pusher yesterday and worse yet I'm only mildly ashamed. My coworkers are adult men. They're big boys; they can take it in more ways than one. If they don't want chocolate they don't have to eat it. And their metabolisms still beat mine easily.
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
This is Where the Title Goes!
Yeah, I was totally at a loss when it came to naming the post :P
This morning I weighed on the thin side of 146, so I figure by Monday the scale will show a "loss" of 5+ pounds from this past Monday's high of 149. "Loss" is in quotation marks because let's face it, 5+ pounds in one week for a woman of my weight* and height is ridiculous -- it's primarily water retention, and I know that. But I have to say that I don't mind seeing the scale go down.
I am 100% on-track with both my food and my fluids, and I'm staying there. I keep a tally of fluids, and I take in a minimum of 80 ounces of water per day, 18 ounces of unsweetened herbal tea (Tazo's "Passion" and a peppermint tea), 18 ounces of unsweetened caffeinated tea (1 cup Tazo's Green Ginger, 1 cup black mint), and a jeroboam of black coffee (okay maybe not quite that much, but at least 24 ounces). Diet Coke also happens, but in much smaller quantities than it once did because one can't drink tons of Diet Coke while also consuming the rest of that mess.
I used to sweeten at least the Passion, but I've since determined that if I can't justify actual, honest-to-gosh sugar in my tea and coffee, I'll drink them straight. I already get more than enough artificial sweetener with the Diet Coke; I don't need to add more.
------------------------
The Nia class I took last night was interesting on a few levels. I'd heard about Nia for awhile and had been curious as to what it entailed, but we had no local providers -- the nearest class was an hour away. That changed when one of my friends got herself certified in Nia. She offered an open house for it, so I attended. And I have to say... it's not my style? Or perhaps it's just not for me at this time in my life. It's got a "get in touch with your inner goddess" vibe to it, and my inner goddess is as much of a klutz as my outer goddess, so frankly she's no help. Furthermore, neither my inner nor my outer goddess are fans of any sort of improvisational movement. Moving in a choreographed fashion strains my abilities enough!
Also, I learned just how freaking awful my knees really are, in comparison to every other woman in that class. The attendees ranged in age from early twenties to late sixties, and the lone standout, literally, was me. The movements we used involved a lot of circling, knee bending, knee flexing, etc, and I... couldn't participate much of the time. It sucked. I felt old.
I've never really considered myself disabled or anything like that. I mean, I have to be cautious with all lower-body exercises thanks to my knees. My quads, hamstrings, and glutes are all affected by this. But there are absolutely exercises I can do for them, and I do. I'm just limited in how much I can do which means their potential development is less.
I also have to be cautious with my aerobic exercise. The terrain where I walk has to be stable or familiar lest I risk re-injury (unacceptable, because that means zero aerobic exercise until it's better). Running is off the table. It's too high-impact. Even walking past a certain speed is a no-no. I can go up to 4 MPH, which isn't godawful slow, but dang it cheeses me off. So we're stuck with walking or the recumbent bicycle.
I know, I know. Suck it up, Buttercup. I'm just annoyed. Last night brought it home to me that I'm really in much worse shape with those joints than I'd realized. I've gotten used to it, and with the accommodations I tend to use for myself it's livable for the most part. I'm accustomed to the near-constant twinge in my right knee. It's normal for me to watch something to make sure if I can do it without hosing my joints yet again. I. Am. Functional. I look at my little brother who had two back surgeries at age 32, had another one less than two weeks ago, and who's using a walker.
He's only 39.
I'm blessed, truly.
Oh well. I've been living with it awhile, I can keep on living with it. I don't have the 6 weeks of zero driving time that surgical recovery would require, and even with this latest revelation I simply can't justify the expense or the way my entire family -- nuclear and extended -- would be inconvenienced by me being out of commission. I can move, and I can exercise. It's not the way I want to but it's the way I've got.
Whine over. Humpday is here. That's a good thing. Carry on, folks!
*I know I weigh more than I prefer, but I also know that I'm still well within a normal weigh range for my height and age.
This morning I weighed on the thin side of 146, so I figure by Monday the scale will show a "loss" of 5+ pounds from this past Monday's high of 149. "Loss" is in quotation marks because let's face it, 5+ pounds in one week for a woman of my weight* and height is ridiculous -- it's primarily water retention, and I know that. But I have to say that I don't mind seeing the scale go down.
I am 100% on-track with both my food and my fluids, and I'm staying there. I keep a tally of fluids, and I take in a minimum of 80 ounces of water per day, 18 ounces of unsweetened herbal tea (Tazo's "Passion" and a peppermint tea), 18 ounces of unsweetened caffeinated tea (1 cup Tazo's Green Ginger, 1 cup black mint), and a jeroboam of black coffee (okay maybe not quite that much, but at least 24 ounces). Diet Coke also happens, but in much smaller quantities than it once did because one can't drink tons of Diet Coke while also consuming the rest of that mess.
I used to sweeten at least the Passion, but I've since determined that if I can't justify actual, honest-to-gosh sugar in my tea and coffee, I'll drink them straight. I already get more than enough artificial sweetener with the Diet Coke; I don't need to add more.
------------------------
The Nia class I took last night was interesting on a few levels. I'd heard about Nia for awhile and had been curious as to what it entailed, but we had no local providers -- the nearest class was an hour away. That changed when one of my friends got herself certified in Nia. She offered an open house for it, so I attended. And I have to say... it's not my style? Or perhaps it's just not for me at this time in my life. It's got a "get in touch with your inner goddess" vibe to it, and my inner goddess is as much of a klutz as my outer goddess, so frankly she's no help. Furthermore, neither my inner nor my outer goddess are fans of any sort of improvisational movement. Moving in a choreographed fashion strains my abilities enough!
Also, I learned just how freaking awful my knees really are, in comparison to every other woman in that class. The attendees ranged in age from early twenties to late sixties, and the lone standout, literally, was me. The movements we used involved a lot of circling, knee bending, knee flexing, etc, and I... couldn't participate much of the time. It sucked. I felt old.
I've never really considered myself disabled or anything like that. I mean, I have to be cautious with all lower-body exercises thanks to my knees. My quads, hamstrings, and glutes are all affected by this. But there are absolutely exercises I can do for them, and I do. I'm just limited in how much I can do which means their potential development is less.
I also have to be cautious with my aerobic exercise. The terrain where I walk has to be stable or familiar lest I risk re-injury (unacceptable, because that means zero aerobic exercise until it's better). Running is off the table. It's too high-impact. Even walking past a certain speed is a no-no. I can go up to 4 MPH, which isn't godawful slow, but dang it cheeses me off. So we're stuck with walking or the recumbent bicycle.
I know, I know. Suck it up, Buttercup. I'm just annoyed. Last night brought it home to me that I'm really in much worse shape with those joints than I'd realized. I've gotten used to it, and with the accommodations I tend to use for myself it's livable for the most part. I'm accustomed to the near-constant twinge in my right knee. It's normal for me to watch something to make sure if I can do it without hosing my joints yet again. I. Am. Functional. I look at my little brother who had two back surgeries at age 32, had another one less than two weeks ago, and who's using a walker.
He's only 39.
I'm blessed, truly.
Oh well. I've been living with it awhile, I can keep on living with it. I don't have the 6 weeks of zero driving time that surgical recovery would require, and even with this latest revelation I simply can't justify the expense or the way my entire family -- nuclear and extended -- would be inconvenienced by me being out of commission. I can move, and I can exercise. It's not the way I want to but it's the way I've got.
Whine over. Humpday is here. That's a good thing. Carry on, folks!
*I know I weigh more than I prefer, but I also know that I'm still well within a normal weigh range for my height and age.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
2013
Heya gang! Yep, I'm still alive. Again.
Really, are you shocked? I didn't think so :P
To get the ugly and embarrassing stuff out of the way, no I didn't take my own advice over the holidays even after my recovery from The Thanksgiving Debacle. The reasons why are numerous and private* and I've gone over them in my brain and am understanding better why I have been coping by eating ALL THE FOOD (Holy Jesus God it was bad) during the month of December, but it's done and I'm back on track. Weight yesterday was 149. Yes, you read that right. I am a rockstar when it comes to gaining weight.
Eyeroll.
Anyway, I've had 1.5 good days. Yesterday was 100% on plan, today will be, and the rest of January will proceed likewise. At the moment I'm following the eating plan I was using before all hell broke loose:
Breakfast
1 egg, 2 whites
1/2 ounce cheese
1 cup seasonal fruit
Lunch
1-2 cups dark leafy greens
3-4 oz chicken (breast today)
2+ TBSP fresh salsa (I don't stress on this measurement)
2 TBSP 2% fat cheddar, shredded (I measure this with great precision)
2 TBSP reduced fat sour cream (see cheddar notation)
100 calorie pack spicy Wholly Guacamole
Dinner
1 turkey burger
1 "Ultra Thin" slice Swiss cheese
1 TBSP-ish Boar's Head Deli Style Mustard
2 cups steamed broccoli with lemon juice and black pepper
Snacks (optional)
50 - 100 calories fruit
1 TBSP peanut butter
1 cup max FroYo
This keeps me between 1000 and 1200 calories per day, depending on my snack choices. If I eat all of the snacks, I'm right at 1200.
The reason I say "at the moment" is because I'm toying with mixing it up with the lunch or dinner, but right now I don't have energy or inclination so I believe I'm going to stick with what works. The evening protein might change from turkey to fish, depending on what's available, and my evening vegetable may vary to wilted spinach, roasted Brussels sprouts or asparagus.
Weekends I can go up to 1500 calories, but I may not. It depends.
Activity-wise I've managed to straighten out my knee for the moment and am wearing the brace to make sure it doesn't go crazy on me again. That just sucks too much for words. So last night, Brent and I went on a very brisk walk outside (in the air!), tonight I've got a Nia class I'm taking for fun, Wednesday is belly dancing, Thursday will be walking, Friday will be walking, and I'm pretty sure there will be walking aplenty on Saturday and Sunday. Failing that, I'll get on the recumbent bicycle and pedal for awhile.
Wake-up call is at 5:30 for my resistance exercises. When I feel like slacking I just think about my age and the fact that women over forty lose muscle at an alarming rate only to replace it with fat. Flatly unacceptable.
Some of you may be wondering how I'm even wearing clothes, considering I got rid of everything that doesn't fit me (usually). The answer would be rather uncomfortably. I spent the last part of December and the first week of this month in skirts.
I hate skirts.
So... yeah. This ends now.
Happy 2013, everyone!!!
*To clarify a bit: "Private" in that the issues causing stress are not mine to share, but I can share that they are not involving members of my direct household, for which I am incredibly grateful. But it sucks, it really does. Both the ongoing mess as well as my total coping fail.
To get the ugly and embarrassing stuff out of the way, no I didn't take my own advice over the holidays even after my recovery from The Thanksgiving Debacle. The reasons why are numerous and private* and I've gone over them in my brain and am understanding better why I have been coping by eating ALL THE FOOD (Holy Jesus God it was bad) during the month of December, but it's done and I'm back on track. Weight yesterday was 149. Yes, you read that right. I am a rockstar when it comes to gaining weight.
Eyeroll.
Anyway, I've had 1.5 good days. Yesterday was 100% on plan, today will be, and the rest of January will proceed likewise. At the moment I'm following the eating plan I was using before all hell broke loose:
Breakfast
1 egg, 2 whites
1/2 ounce cheese
1 cup seasonal fruit
Lunch
1-2 cups dark leafy greens
3-4 oz chicken (breast today)
2+ TBSP fresh salsa (I don't stress on this measurement)
2 TBSP 2% fat cheddar, shredded (I measure this with great precision)
2 TBSP reduced fat sour cream (see cheddar notation)
100 calorie pack spicy Wholly Guacamole
Dinner
1 turkey burger
1 "Ultra Thin" slice Swiss cheese
1 TBSP-ish Boar's Head Deli Style Mustard
2 cups steamed broccoli with lemon juice and black pepper
Snacks (optional)
50 - 100 calories fruit
1 TBSP peanut butter
1 cup max FroYo
This keeps me between 1000 and 1200 calories per day, depending on my snack choices. If I eat all of the snacks, I'm right at 1200.
The reason I say "at the moment" is because I'm toying with mixing it up with the lunch or dinner, but right now I don't have energy or inclination so I believe I'm going to stick with what works. The evening protein might change from turkey to fish, depending on what's available, and my evening vegetable may vary to wilted spinach, roasted Brussels sprouts or asparagus.
Weekends I can go up to 1500 calories, but I may not. It depends.
Activity-wise I've managed to straighten out my knee for the moment and am wearing the brace to make sure it doesn't go crazy on me again. That just sucks too much for words. So last night, Brent and I went on a very brisk walk outside (in the air!), tonight I've got a Nia class I'm taking for fun, Wednesday is belly dancing, Thursday will be walking, Friday will be walking, and I'm pretty sure there will be walking aplenty on Saturday and Sunday. Failing that, I'll get on the recumbent bicycle and pedal for awhile.
Wake-up call is at 5:30 for my resistance exercises. When I feel like slacking I just think about my age and the fact that women over forty lose muscle at an alarming rate only to replace it with fat. Flatly unacceptable.
Some of you may be wondering how I'm even wearing clothes, considering I got rid of everything that doesn't fit me (usually). The answer would be rather uncomfortably. I spent the last part of December and the first week of this month in skirts.
I hate skirts.
So... yeah. This ends now.
Happy 2013, everyone!!!
*To clarify a bit: "Private" in that the issues causing stress are not mine to share, but I can share that they are not involving members of my direct household, for which I am incredibly grateful. But it sucks, it really does. Both the ongoing mess as well as my total coping fail.
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