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Sunday, April 15th, 2007
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12:52 am - Suck it in!!
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Well, after sticking with my diet and exercise routine (swam 2500 M yesterday!!) I was very pleased to make headway in my refusal to go up a size plan when I squeezed my fat ass into my slim-fitting size 10 jeans. Looking darn good, I headed out to dinner and a concert with Lou and some friends.
Bad news? Boy, those jeans started to feel real tight, real fast! Although I wasn't in danger of splitting any seams, and it did remind me to pay attention to calories (while others munched on burgers and fries, I had a yummy bowl of soup), the pants definitely caused pain. And belly marks.
Good incentive to hit the pool again tomorrow...
Tomorrow also marked for getting two lectures for next week ready - yikes, I'm very, very far behind!!!
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| Monday, April 9th, 2007
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11:07 am - Snow in April - yikes!!
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This weekend I felt like I was back in Upstate New York when I awoke on Saturday to find my yard full of snow!! So much for the gardening plans...
It was a cold and blustery weekend in DC. Lou and I went to the Nats game on Friday and toughed it out through 8 cold and depressing innings before hitting the tavern with some friends.
Despite the cold, I did well with exercising this weekend - swam 2000 meters on Saturday and took London on a 2 hour hike on Sunday.
I've decided I'm pretty much the world's most impatient person, and I was reminded of that multiple times this weekend.
First, we wandered over to a neighbor's house and I was struck with nearly immediate house envy. They've been spending lots of time working on their house. But it made me come home and want to do lots to our house. Sadly, there are two hang-ups to this. One, my husband is both un-handy and extremely cautious. His caution is generally a good thing, because it means we don't rush into foolish decisions. However, it clashes with impatient me and he's especially tentative about home projects. You wouldn't believe what it took me to convince him to buy a $15 lighting fixture in stainless steel (to match new appliances) to replace a broken identical fixture that is now white.
Second, I want it all done now. And money and time wise, that just can't be done. On my to-do list, after my bout of house envy, is: replacing the kitchen counters; tiling the kitchen floor; tiling the basement bathroom floor; redoing the first floor powder room; getting a new rug for the dining room; replacing the wall-to-wall carpeting in our upstairs; getting a new light fixture for the dining room; and buying a dining room table. Lou pointed out all of these should probably wait until after we've started and completed the major renovation currently being contemplated - renovating our master bath. So impatient me had to settle for buying new cabinetry hardware for the kitchen and calling another bathroom contractor for an estimate. Sigh....
I am also impatient when it comes to losing weight. While I'm doing a great job exercising and watching what I eat, I'm pretty much ready to have the weight gone now. I know it doesn't work that way, that it's a long term process, and I feel good about what I'm doing. But inside, I hear my inner annoying 5 year old going, 'Is it gone yet? How about now? How about now? Is it gone yet?' Sigh again....
My plans for today include running out at lunchtime to buy some more granite blocks to edge a flower bed (something else Lou was skeptical of, but I convinced him to buy a few blocks to see what it looked like, and now he's on board) and then heading out tonight for another swim. I have to manage fitting in buying goggles, since I think I left mine at the pool - swam without them this weekend. Ouch, sore eyes!!
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| Thursday, April 5th, 2007
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11:23 am - Ooof, tired!
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It has been a slow, slow week at work - boss and practically everyone else is out. I don't do well when I don't have pressing deadlines. Should probably clean up my office. We'll be moving to new office space soon - one floor up. My new office is ridiculously huge - I feel like I should have a fooz ball table or something! LOL!
Made it through another Passover with my in-laws. Went pretty well, if I do say so myself! Actually, getting ready and staying up late for seder could explain why I'm so exhausted - I keep going to bed early but I am soooo tired!!
Despite the inevitable amount of eating that takes place around seders, this week I am back on the diet and exercise bandwagon! On Tuesday it was a gorgeous day, so London and I went for an hour long hike in the woods. Glad to report my back and hip felt fine - Macchu Picchu here I come!!
Yesterday I swam 2000 meters for the first time, up from 1600. Did some sprints as well - boy, it felt good but sure was tiring. My goal is to do a min-triathlon in June. Funny, when I'm in the pool, I don't feel that wiped. Then I get out and wonder if I'll have the energy to make it home. After swimming last night, I pretty much flopped on the couch, drinking water and alternating between a movie about Laura Ingalls Wilder and Mulan - how pathetic is that! By the time Lou got home from hockey practice at 10:30 I was sound asleep!
Today, I can't decide if I want to do swimming or hiking. London could use the exercise, but it's a bit chilly. Might be a game time decision, depending on weather.
Calorie-count tells me I will reach my goal weight by the time we head to Peru. Somehow that seems very doable...
In other, purely superficial vanity type news, I am considering having my hair colored for the first time ever. I'm really a hair styling chicken, but I seem to be getting braver in my old age. A couple of months ago, I found a stylist I really like and she convinced me to take about 5 inches (!) off and I have absolutely loved it. So now I'm thinking of having her color my hair, too - in my youth, when I spent more time outside, I was much blonder in the summer time. I sort of miss that. I'm a bit bored with the dirty blonde color I am now sporting, and was thinking of going a bit more golden blonde. We'll see if I build up the courage...
My student have become a bit whiny about their final papers. And, despite being seniors at Georgetown, seem to be incapable of using the library. I am rapidly losing sympathy and switching from the young, cool professor to the old, curmudgeonly professor!! I hope I wasn't that whiny as a college student...
Just as I was getting into spring, it has taken a turn for the cold here in Washington. Thank goodness I didn't jump the gun on planting veggies!! A random neighbor was walking by as I was getting home from work a few days ago and remarked that he loved my garden - that he and his wife are always commenting on how nice it looks. That made me feel really wonderful - because I put so much time into the darn thing and I often feel like the weeds are winning! Glad to know someone thinks it's admirable!!
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| Monday, March 26th, 2007
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9:52 am - I'm baaackkk.....
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Wow! It has been forever since I've posted here...
(Thanks for the nudge, Mo!)
Let's see, how to catch up on all this time...
Well, let's start with the lousy parts, because I'm well past them now. It was a tough winter, ironically stemming from that last post in my journal. So I hurt my back. Went to physical therapy, took lots of drugs, got a cortison injection, the whole nine yards. Pain seemed to fade and I thought all was well, I just had a muscle strain.
Not so much, as it turned out...
A few weeks later, I started to experience pretty serious hip pain. Even just walking the dog or sitting at my desk hurt. Bad. Turns out that I, ever the overachiever, not only did muscle damage to my back, I injured a disk. Not herniated, fortunately, but bulging to the point of pushing on some nerves, causing sciatica, thus the hip pain.
So the winter can be summarized as debilitating pain, leading to frustration and inability to be active, leading to weight gain and depression and irritability, and more frustration. Ick.
Now on to the good news... Because as terrible as the winter was, it wasn't all bad.
First on the sciatica front... I'm still not healed. Nerve damage takes a long time to repair, and I've finally accepted I've done permanent damage to my back that I will need to be conscious of forever. But physical therapy helped. And I've developed a new addiction - swimming!! I'm up to a mile, 3-4 times per week and I'm loving it!! Plus, I'm at the point of pretty controllable pain, most days it's just the teensiest twinge and ever the bad days can be tolerated with some ibuprofen.
Thus, I am on a path to losing all of that weight I put on in the meantime (I refuse to buy clothes of a bigger size!) and generally feeling pretty good. We're planning a trip to Hawaii in May and Peru in the fall, so I'm pretty excited about that. I've been teaching a class at Georgetown this semester and although it is a tremendous amount of work, I am finding it pretty rewarding.
This weekend I got a tremendous amount done in the garden - it was the first really nice spring weather we've had. Funny, Lou was soooo worried I would reinjure my back with the gardening but as it turned out I was so busy protecting my back now everything else hurts! Definitely a bit achy today, but a good kind of ache, the kind that comes from satisfyingly hard work.
I've got a tremendous more to report, but sadly not the time to so it, so I'll just have to be better about updating!! Happy Spring!!
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| Thursday, October 19th, 2006
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11:58 am - Icky, terrible, horrible week!!!
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Ever have a week where everything that could go wrong, did?
So last weekend I went to Cape May with my friend, Giovanna. Generally, the trip was a blast, we rediscovered how we make each other laugh hysterically, just like we did in high school. Cape May was lovely, we relaxed and had great food.
Only problem? I got out of the car on arriving in Cape May and experienced a sharp pain in my back. Uh-oh.... It got progressively worse throughout the weekend, and by the time we got back on Sunday, I was in excrutiating pain and had very little range of motion (no bending down, for example...)
Off to the doctor I went... Turns out that the grouting of the flagstone patio, combined with 6 hours of driving, was too much for my back to take. I badly strained a muscle. The past few days have been full of really shocking, unbelievable pain (blowing appendicitis out of the water, and that's saying something!), and the revelation that my back is pretty much involved in everything I do.
As a result we had to cancel our trip to Grand Cayman. :-( Although we both passed the test with flying colors.
So instead of heading to the airport right now, as planned, I am typing in my livejournal trying to ignore the twinging of my back. Which is feeling better, I have to admit, although I still can't bend over. But I can at least sit down without screaming or crying...
As if the pain and the trip cancellation weren't bad enough, Tuesday was our anniversary. We hadn't planned anything, because our trip to the Caribbean was supposed to be our anniversary celebration. Lou brought me flowers (aw!) and we ate Baja Fresh before I crawled back in agony to my prone position on the couch. Sigh - not exactly romantic!
The doctor suggested I try a therapeutic, deep tissue massage to help my back. Did that, and it certainly did help for about 15 minutes before my back began to stiffen up. But as a result of the deep tissue massage, I now have bruises all over my lower back - I bruise pretty easily. Now my back not only feels painful, but it looks painful, too.
Needless to say, this whole week has been pretty awful.
In an attempt to end on a positive note... One, I talked to my OB and am switching BC methods - hopefully that'll take care of the weird mood swings. Two, I am setting myself a goal of losing 10 lbs by Thanksgiving, which I think is doable, and gives me something to aim for. I'm not really in exercise shape, quite yet, but I can at least get walking and can pay close attention to what I eat. This I am feeling pretty happy about! Finally, we've rescheduled our trip for December. So I'm focusing on what's positive about that - nicer to get away when it's colder, gives me time to work on my 'beach body', right after our Board meeting, so it'll be a good time to relax, etc.
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| Monday, October 9th, 2006
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10:56 pm
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Turned out to be a busy, back-breaking, yet productive weekend! Spent much of it hunched over, meticulously and tediously gleaning grout off the flagstones. About 6 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday - ooof!!
Heartbreakingly, we were in about 15 minutes of finishing when we totally ran out of supplies. Given that it was 8:30 PM on Sunday night at that point, there wasn't much we could do. I plan on finishing it up tomorrow after work. Pictures to be posted soon!! I will be sooo happy to have the project done!
Lou and I also took our written scuba test this weekend - think I did fine. Bought a wet suit - boy, wriggling into those suckers is a humiliating and humbling experience! But getting more and more excited about the Cayman trip. I've never been to the Caribbean!
Despite having today officially off, spent it working - attending a stem cell conference. It'll all be worth it come Friday, which I'm taking off as a comp day to head out for a girls weekend to Cape May with my friend, Gio. Can't wait!
Happy Monday to you all!
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| Saturday, October 7th, 2006
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5:55 pm - Taking a break!
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Taking a break from the Great Flagstone Project of 2006 while Lou is out at the hardware store getting more supplies. Grouting is hard work, much harder than I expected!
Had a little breakdown this morning because one of our stones came loose. It was sort of like that Donna Summer song, Macarthur Park. "Someone left a cake out in the rain, I don't think that I can take it, 'cause it took so long to bake it..." That was how I felt, like I couldn't take it. Hysterical tears ensued. Fortunately, Lou arrived home, soothed me, and took over replacing the stone. I feel much better and have become a champion grout smoother in the meantime.
I cannot wait until this darn patio is done!
Tonight's plan? Study for the written portion of the scuba test, which we're taking tomorrow. In two weeks, we'll be in Grand Cayman getting our certfication!
Haven't been eating very well today, but have certainly been getting a workout with all the masonry! Ooof, who would have thought a grout bag could be so darn heavy?!?
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| Friday, October 6th, 2006
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11:34 am
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Funny, Mo, that you should mention the course of treatment that your friend took, because I made an appointment for early next week with my gyno, too! One of the things I'm wondering about is whether my symptoms might be related to the BCP I'm taking - it's pretty high progestin, which is linked to depressive symptoms. And I've been having some other symptoms, too - breakthrough bleeds, crazy mood swings around my period - that make me wonder if something hormonal is going on.
We'll see what she has to say! I'm glad I'm going, after feeling really good yesterday, I started to spiral downward last night. I think tiredness contributes. By the time Lou got home from his business trip, I was feeling teary and down. Sigh! I'm kind of frustrated with Lou, too, to be honest. I can't make him understand what I'm feeling and how I don't think this is normal. He seems to feel like it's just stress, that I'm feeling overwhelmed and it's just something I can get over. I keep trying to tell him that I think it's something more than that, but he remains skeptical. He is very supportive, though, of me going to the doctor, counselor or whatever else I need to feel better.
Thinking of going to a Kirtan -- yogic music concert -- tonight. Cold and rainy out, though, so we'll see whether I abandon the warm coziness of home to venture forth!
Day 3
Not much to report - too early in the day. Food is OK - no exercise planned, but maybe I'll take a walk aroung the building, up and down stairs, etc. at lunchtime.
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| Thursday, October 5th, 2006
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4:45 pm - Fat and unhappy? Or maybe happy? Unsure...
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OK, I never intended to use this as a weight loss journal. On the other hand, I'm certainly not using it as a just-regular-old-put-my-thoughts-down journal either.
And the thing is, I need to get back on the weight loss bandwagon. Really badly. I don't know how much I weigh right now (living in fear of the scale) but I know I'm sucking it in to squeeze into size 10 jeans (some size 12's aren't exactly roomy, either!), and it wasn't that long ago that it was a size 6 I was squeezing into...
So, I need to get healthy and get rid of this belly fat before I regret it years from now when I'm suffering from some obesity related illness.
Here's the thing... I'm starting to suspect I'm suffering from minor depression. I'm sad for no reason a lot, can't concentrate, feel overwhelmed and like a failure frequently, focusing on the negative, trouble sleeping, can't motivate, yada, yada, yada...
I suspect, actually, there's some cyclic effect going on here. I think exercise, in particular, would help reduce some of the depression symptoms, but because I'm down, I'm having troublem motivating to exercise.
Last night I had a complete sobbing breakdown over the phone to Lou, who's away on a business trip. He did his best to try to cheer me up (including sending me beautiful flowers today, the darling!) but -- and this is part of the reason I suspect depression -- I kept trying to explain to him that I couldn't be cheered up, there wasn't anything particularly wrong, I was just SAD... terribly achingly sad...
The good news is, today I feel better. And I'm totally functional, not to mention somewhat convinced that getting back into regular physical activity will help. However, I am still toying with the idea of seeking professional help.
Here's where the dark humor comes in... So my work has an employee assistance program, for just this sort of thing. Feeling overwhelmed? Stressed out? Anxious and depressed? Need to talk? Here's this website and phone number - they can help!
I go to the website, I take their quiz, they tell me I'm experiencing a high degress of stress, here are some tools. The thing is, none of the damn tools seem to work. Online courses, advice, articles, connections to professionals. I spent a half hour on the darn page, getting more and more frustrated. Urrrggghh! Good thing I wasn't severely depressed or suicidal. It's not nice to frustrate people who are already overwhelmed, in my opinion.
But back to the whole weight loss thing... Because one of the few articles I did manage to access suggested making plans to take control over things that you feel a lack of control over.
For me, this definitely includes diet and weight loss. Thus, the transforming of my seldom used online journal into a hopefully-frequently-used tracking of my fabulous return to healthiness!!
Day 1 (actually yesterday, before the big sobfest)
No weight (still feuding with the scale) but am taking pictures of myself in a bikini to track the remarkable transformation. Needless to say, there will be no posting of the pictures until I'm at a state where I can look back and chuckle ruefully. Currently they remain grim motivational tools seen only by myself.
Calories Consumed: 1206
Water: About 2 liters?
Exercise:
22 minutes boxing against the heavy bag
30 minutes brisk walking with the dog
15 minutes 1 min, circuit weights
Day 2
Calories Consumed: 846 (so far, dinner still to go)
Water: More than 2 liters
Exercise:
90 minute yoga class
POSITIVE THOUGHTS: Teaching a class at Georgetown next semester!!! Lou will be home soon!! Almost done with the Great Flagstone Project of 2006!!! Doing well in my class!!! My boss is happy with me!! Yoga tonight!! Had a good day today!!
OK, off to get back to living my life, now... Namaste!
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| Wednesday, July 5th, 2006
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10:59 am - An emotional rollercoaster of a holiday!!
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So, on Friday morning, we were all ready to go to Michigan for a friend's wedding. We were looking forward to a long weekend with a group of good friends - we'd decided to basically take over a B&B and hang out together past the wedding. Sadly, one couple had to cancel at the last minute due to a death in the family.
Lou, who tends to cut flights a little close, in my opinion, decides we should take a cab (as opposed to Metro) to the airport, which turns out to be a bad, bad decision. Due to the flooding, many of the parkways are closed around DC, and the resulting traffic is dreadful. We're in the taxi, crawling through traffic, convinced we're going to miss our plane - Lou pretty much has a total breakdown, he's upset, he's swearing, berating himself. As for me, I'm much more que sera, sera - if we have to take another flight or drive, it'll all work out OK. This is actually a positive thing about Lou and I as a couple - we may both be prone to fits of hysteria and overreaction, but it's hardly ever at the same time!
As it turned out, we made our flight by the skin of our teeth. Whew!
Had an excellent time in Northern Michigan - ready to pack up and move there for the summer. The weather was gorgeous, and it's just fun to be on vacation with your friends. Went swimming in Lake Michigan and climbed the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The wedding was at a vineyard owned by Madonna's father - Ciccone Vineyard - beautiful, but man, was the wine awful!! Ick!!
It was hard to return yesterday to the hot, humid, mugginess that is DC. However, it was great to come back to our dog, who was very happy to see us. Great, that is, right up until I was rubbing her belly and discovered a couple of grape-sized lumps!! Yikes!!
There are times when a doctoral degree in animal science is a real hindrance. There is such a thing as knowing too much, and this thought occurs to me whenever my dog, or I, or Lou, or anyone close to me is having a medical issue. My imagination tends to leap immediately to the physiologically worst conclusion. In this case I was envisioning intestinal blockages and an abdomen full of cancer. I was a wreck. Despite the fact that London was ridiculously happy and healthy in apparently every other way - hardly on her last paws. Lou tried to reassure me that there was no need to panic until we knew something more definitive (see, again with the only one of us panicking at one time...) but I spent a restless, worried, crying, sleepless night and took her into the vet first thing in the morning.
Allow me to break for a moment to give many kudos to my boss. He has quirks that drive me nuts on occasion, but here was his email reply to me when I told him about London and how I would be late as a result: "Sorry that London is having problems. Get them taken care of immediately and don't worry about the office. Keep me updated on how she is doing. I hope that it is just something minor." When I thanked him, he replied: "And no thanks are needed, we have a "family friendly" office and it works for all of us." Can't ask for more than that, eh?
Long story short, London is fine. The vet is 99% sure that the tumors are benign. Interestingly, in running some blood work just to make sure everything was OK, she tested positive on a snap Lyme disease test. Since she was negative in February, this is surprising, but we're running an immunoassay to confirm, and have started her on antibiotics. Haven't seen a single tick on her, so I find it perplexing - but in any event, if it is proved to be a positive positive, we've caught it early, so all is well.
And now I am here, at work, with my dog snoozing at my feet, wishing I could join her on the floor for a nap...
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| Thursday, June 29th, 2006
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9:52 am - Parking a recipe... boring, but true!
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BLUEBERRY BUCKLE
Batter:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 ground cloves
2 cups fresh Blueberries, rinsed and drained
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup soft butter or margarine
Preheat oven to 375F. Mix sugar, shortening, eggs, and milk until well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Fold in Blueberries. Spread batter into a greased 9 inch square pan.
Combine remaining ingredients and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle crumbs over batter, Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Serve warm, cut into squares.
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| Thursday, June 22nd, 2006
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11:44 am
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So I'm considering signing up for an 8K race on July 15.
The question is, will I be able to run 8K by July 15? It might help if I actually was keeping up on my running, but I am being amazingly lazy. Last night, I was supposed to go to see 'An inconvenient truth' with a friend, but she cancelled on me.
Rather than use my time to go to the gym, take a yoga class or go running, I lounged on the couch and caught up with my TiVo. (Lou was in Tampa on business...) Seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm sort of regretting it.
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| Tuesday, June 20th, 2006
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4:26 pm - Just parking a few recipes...
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Turkey meatloaf
Nonstick Spray
1/4 C. Chopped Bell Pepper (Red or Yellow)
1/4 C. Grated Carrots
½ C. Onions (White or Green- I liked it with the white better)
1 ½ lb. Ground Turkey
16 Saltines, finely crumbed
2 T Milk (Fat-Free)
2 Large Egg Whites
½ C. Bottled Chili Sauce (Divided)
1-2 T Brown Sugar
1 T. Vinegar
Approx 1 tsp Dried Basil OR Oregano
Pepper
1. Spray small non-stick skillet. Cook veggies 5 – 8 minutes until tender. Let Cool.
2. Combine cracker crumbs, milk, chili sauce, and egg whites – mix well. Add ground turkey and veggies, seasoning, and mix thoroughly.
3. Shape into one loaf or mini-loaves (I use either a bread loaf or muffin tins) – turn out into a baking dish – do not bake in the loaf pan or muffin tin). Bake in a 350 oven for about 25 – 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mix remaining chili sauce, brown sugar and vinegar together. Set aside.
5. After the 25-30 minutes – spoon the chili sauce mixture over the loaf (loaves). Bake another 10-15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 10 servings.
Nutrition Info: 140 Cal, 6 g. Fat, 2 g. Sat Fat, 54 mg Chol; 312 mg. sodium; 8g. carb; 1 g. fiber; 14 g. p
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Spinach-Cheddar Casserole
4 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt (use less!)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 16-ounce container cottage cheese
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup packed grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dillweed
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Beat eggs, salt and pepper to blend in large bowl. Mix in spinach. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Transfer mixture to prepared dish.
Bake casserole until center is firm and top is golden, about 45 minutes.
8 to 10 side-dish Servings.
I did it in a square pan and considered it 9 servings. if you plug the recipe into nutritiondata.com using fatfree cottage and fatfree cheddar, it comes out to 120 cal, 3 g fat, and 16 g protein per 1/9. and that's not subbing out w/ egg whites.
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Zucchini pizza
This is the recipe, 3cups shredded zucchini, 3/4c egg substitute, 1/3c flour....mix all together, spread in pan, and bake at 400 20min. ( I added some garlic powder and some italion seasoning)
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| Monday, June 19th, 2006
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9:50 am
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Busy, busy, busy weekend!!
Silverdocs, the AFI documentary film festival, was in town this weekend, so saw lots of great documentaries - 5 altogether. Ran a 5K on Saturday (ran the whole way! Yay!!) and then on to Bridal Showerpalooza... Two showers, same day, 75 miles apart and yet still in the DC metro area, which takes some doing! Doggie birthday party on Sunday, part of which included a short hike (oof, hot!) and lots of house cleaning.
Lou finally hit the limit of his messiness tolerance with our bedroom, which is saying something, because his threshold is well above mine. But since no one sees the bedroom but us, it tends to be low on the priority totem pole of rooms to clean. Yesterday, however, we really cleaned - I'm not sure we've seen this much of the floor since we moved in! It's very nice - now we're focused on maintenance.
We've finally decided to hire someone to come in and clean, we just don't have the time to keep up with it. But, pathetically enough, I've been so busy, I don't have time to hire someone! Arrgggh! Been playing phone tag with a woman who will hopefully come by next Saturday.
Didn't sleep well at all last night, got up at about 2:30 AM and watched TV until 4:30. Goal of today is to stay awake!! Already I've managed to spill smoothie all over myself, so clearly not operating at my highest level of function...
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| Monday, June 5th, 2006
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2:04 pm
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So I am writing this from my Board of Directors meeting, which needless to say is not very exciting. Thank goodness for Blackberries!
It was the best of time, it was the worst of time... This is a pretty good description of my weekend. On Saturday, after taking off a week to heal my shin splints, I suceessfully ran the full 5K course for the race I'm running in a couple weeks. It felt great, and I heaved a big sigh of relief that I could do it. Sadly, the weekend was cut short by the beginning of our Board meeting. I didn't get home until midnight last night. Then had to be back here by 7 AM - ick!
I'm also very bummed about my weight these days. Although I'm doing a great job exercising and getting to the gym and watching what I eat, I'm feeling very impatient. It was very sad to realize how few of my suits I could cram myself into for this meeting. I know I'm on the right track, and I'm doing well, but I'd rather be closer to the end of the track, you know?
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| Thursday, June 1st, 2006
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2:22 pm
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Had an excellent happy hour last night, got back in touch with old and dear friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Poor Lou was stuck working on a proposal until ridiculously late. I was so soundly asleep I didn't even hear him come in!
So, I have to confess I am totally addicted to So You Think You Can Dance? I loved last season, and I am loving this season even more!! I'm not much of a reality TV buff, although Lou and I do watch the Amazing Race together, but I just love those crazy dancers. Dunno why, maybe because it seems more 'real' somehow.
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| Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
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2:45 pm
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Back at work after a weekend in NYC with the inlaws.
Generally had a good time - stayed in family friends' swanky Park Avenue apartment, traversed all of Manhattan, from visiting the Cloisters, to touring behind the scenes at Lincoln Center, to taking a walking tour of the lower East Side.
Ate entirely too much, including a lavish meal at Gramercy Tavern. Yum!
Only downside was the family and miscellaneous tensions. Lou's parents are just very tense people, so there was the normal bickering there. Some mother and daughter sniping between my MIL and SIL. Then there's Lou, whose best friend is living the glamorous single life in NYC, and everytime we go to the city, he has this 'maybe we should live in NYC, we're not fun enough, "road not taken"' melancholy that drives me nuts! It's not singleness that he yearns for - he just romanticizes his friends life and sees none of the tradeoffs, or at least diminishes them.
Sigh! His funk always ends up putting me in a funk, because I feel like he's expressing disappointment in the life he's chosen, and by extension his life with me. He swears this isn't true, but it can be hard not to take it personally...
Getting ready for our Board of Directors meeting - sadly, I am not highly motivated at the office. Need to get my rear in gear...
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| Friday, May 26th, 2006
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9:51 am
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In good news, my Friday weigh in tells me I've lost 2 lbs this week. Yay! Went to yoga and the gym last night, and came home to a delicious, healthy meal cooked by my husband (which pretty much never happens!), so it was all in all a fabulous evening (even if I still haven't managed to watch the complete finale of Lost!)
Off to NYC this weekend - my inlaws both turn 65 this year, so our presence is requested for a celebratory weekend of just doing NYC touristy stuff.
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| Thursday, May 25th, 2006
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2:23 pm - Stashing some yummy sounding recipes
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From the SBD livejournal site (http://community.livejournal.com/sbd_recipes/)
Rich Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients:
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup Dutch process or unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup splenda even measure
2 cups sugar free cool whip
Directions:
Sprinkle gelatin over water in small saucepan; let stand 2 to 3 minutes. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved; cool. Stir 1/4 cup of the milk into cocoa to make a paste; gradually stir in remaining milk.
Stir in gelatin mixture and splenda. Refrigerate until mixture begins to thicken, 20 to 30 minutes. Fold in 2 cups whipped topping.
Spoon mixture into stemmed glasses or serving bowl. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours. If desired, garnish mousse with dollops of whipped topping.
Yield: Makes 6 servings.
Thai Chicken for the Crockpot
4 (4-oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
Mix the remaining ingredients except the cilantro together in a small bowl and then pour over the chicken.
Cook on low for 8 – 10 hours. Remove chicken with slotted spoon. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve hot.
Simmered Cabbage
Serves 2
185g (6.5 oz) cabbage leaves, cut into 1 inch squares
2 rashers of turkey bacon, cut into 1 inch squares
250ml (9 fl oz) chicken stock
2 tsps low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsps vegetable oil
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the bacon over a low heat until cooked.
2. Add the cabbage and fry, stirring, for two minutes.
3. Add the stock and soy sauce. Simmer, covered for ten minutes, or until the cabbage has softened. Stir occasionally. Serve as a side dish.
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10:20 am - Not made for running??
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So I bought new running shoes yesterday, and after bookclub took my puppy out for a late night run.
After about 3/4 mile, major, major pain from shin splints.
This is the 2nd time, just before a race (only 5K) that I've had problems with pain. Last time was plantar fasciitis, which was much more serious. But it's frustrating to have trained and then be halted by the breakdown of my own body. Arrrgggghhh!!!
The web and running friends tell me that the only thing you can do for shin splints is rest, rest, rest them. And ice, of course. So I guess my plan is to increase my gym workouts to try to keep in cardio shape, but not actually run for a week or two. Problem is that the race in June 17th, so there's not a lot of time for me to take off. Poop.
I'm starting to feel that maybe I am just not meant to be a runner.
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