September 2004 Archives

I am feeling crappy today. Headache, cramps campy. So I am on the couch today. However, being a dedicated new Weight Watcher, I dragged my ass to a local meeting. I lost 2.6 pounds. Yay! Seriously though, earlier this week I was expounding on all the reasons I thought I hadn't done very well this week. Maybe my body is still in the "oh yay! she is ready to lose weight!" stage where it casts off every ounce you let it. I call them miracle pounds.

While I am glad to discover I have lost, I am almost wishing I hadn't left the house, because putting my body in motion made me feel worse. Back to the couch.

Yummy new Treat:

Dulce de Leche Luna Bar! The Nutritional info reads like a vitamin: Vit. A 25%, Vit. C 100%, Calcium 35%, Iron 35%, Vit. B6 100% and so on.

I have ordered a sampler box containing every flavor so I can find my favorite. All are only 2 or 3 points. Good stuff.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my weigh-in tomorrow is not going to go so well. Maybe it's because I have eatten pizza TWICE this week. Maybe it's the Lasagna I had for lunch on Sunday. Maybe it's because I have not been counting my points? Maybe it's because I have only walked once this week (though I was highly active Saturday and Sunday)? Maybe it is all of these things. So today I count every item I put in my mouth. Drink lots of water. Cross my fingers for tomorrow. :) Perhaps I will be pleasently surprised?

I am looking forward to hosting Mi Mama, Micah and Gma S for an early dinner on Sunday. Chicken Skewers, Orzo and Greek Salad with lots of olives of course! Yum!

 Meawhile I have really been slacking on the day-to-day boring stuff at work and home the keep the world going round. Tonight I resolve to:

• Feed my fiancee a decent dinner


• Fold all the clean laundry (w/ Flounder help)


• Move the stuff that belongs on the basement OUT of the bedroom


• Shred the paperwork sitting around the livingroom

That's enough for one night right? I thought so too! I will report back my progress with these matters tomorrow.

Quote for the Day:

I just got back from my week 1 ww weight in! And a drumroll please.....

5.4 pounds! Obviously the first week is always amazing and next week will probably even out to a nice 1 or 2 pounds, but all the same, what a great jump start! So now, what should I change my Halloween goal to? I have 5 weeks, 5 more pounds?

Whoo Hoo! Happy Girl!

Today I picked up the Washington Post on the way into work because I wanted to check out the Weekend section and I was just feeling sort of papery. :)

The cover story of the Weekend section is Maize Mazes. I LOVE maize mazes! Actually I really just enjoy everything that Fall is about. The start of a new school year has always felt like a new beginning to me (which most people associate with Spring), which brings new hopes and goals. I love pumpkin picking, changing leaves and bonfires. I love hayrides. I love the cooler termperatures and crisp air and ultra blue sky. Love love love! Even better, it was this time last year that I fell in love with my der_flounder. So now all the Fall related things we did last year have special warm-fuzzy feeling. How could I NOT fall in love
with a man who would spend a whole Saturday shopping for antiques and trudging through a muddy dark Maize maze? I couldn't
resist!

I will warn you now. In below entry, you will find whining. I am in a whiny kind of place.

Tis coming weekend will basicaly be a non-weekend for me. I will not be at work, which is great, however I will be working. My ex-room mate is moving out of our apartment this Saturday. Our moving team is not the largest I have seen, so I am afraid it will take all day! Ack! That isn't so bad though, the real kicker will be spending Sunday cleaning the apartment and painting my bedroom white. Yes, I was supposed to do that last Saturday and basically punked out. I just know I will find myself Sunday night tire and dirty, wondering where my weekend went. *sigh*

I will end the whine here.

In other news, I have really been dragging my feet setting up the basement and getting that space organized. I think it is partially because the walls need so much work (patching, painting...) and I know that even after I have it all worked out, the room will still generally look like crap. Doesn't sound very motivating does it? But in the meantime I still have "basement things" up in the bedrooms just sitting there collecting dust, mostly because that was where they landed after the move. I guess I should at least take that stuff downstairs hugh?

NEXT weekend Flounder and I are hosting Mi Mama, Micah and Gma S for lunch or dinner (I don't know which). I am looking forward to that. Gma S hasn't been over since we first moved in, and I am happy to say things are MUCH more settled. Maybe it will even motivate me to get a few more items checked off the list.

Also, I have been doing well with WW, and I am looking forward to my firsst weight in tomorrow. :)

Quote of the Day:
"One's mind has a way of making itself up in the background, and it suddenly becomes clear what one means to do."
-A. C. Benson

It's been awhile since I checked in....

Saturday turned out to be a bit of a mess. I went grocery shopping while Flounder went to Home Depot*.  Then we loafed around for awhile before heading down to the old apartment to paint my old bedroom. We get there and set everything up, only to dicover I didn't have the right paint. I had been dreading the task anyway, so not having the right paint was enough to make me put the whole project off to next weekend. Instead of painting we went to Ikea to pick up a few things for the house. Then home.

Sunday we cleaned our little hearts out in anticipation of a visit from Mi Mama and Gma O. We spent most of the visit discussing the wedding. This was very nice except Mi Mama kept throwing out a million senarios, and contingencies, so by the time they were ready to leave I was getting a bit agitated. So many ideas and possibilites! UGH! The worst part for me at this point is I can't DO anything yet. The wedding is over 19 months away. I wan to start making concrete all the plans I have been considering and begin making reservations and such. But it is not to be. So instead I try to concentrate on other things and mot worry about that which I can't control just yet.

Yesterday was the first day of the two day PageMaker class. So far so good. A little too much of the info thus far isn't new to me, but I have picked up some good tips. Last night, was a tough food night. I just couldn't come up with anything I really wanted to eat, and yet I REALLY wanted to eat. 1 atkins brownie, 3 handfulls of baked doritos and 1 container of chinese left overs later, I settled down with a bowl of Eddy's  ice cream with Hershey's lite chocolate syrup. I took two bites and banged the bowl down on the table in a huff. "It tastes like diet!" I told Flounder. So frustrated was I! Thankfully at that point I gave up and sought no more food. Good thing, who knows what point-packed item I would have choosen yet.

That story aside, I have been doing pretty well with my points so far this week. I have not been writing them down, just keeping an accounting in my head, which is bad, bad, bad. But seriously, how many changes can one girl make in one week?

*With all the heavy rain lately, we have found that the front garden is graded badly (and I suspect the gutters need to be cleared) so water is collecting in a depression by the foundation of the house near the front door. Flounder bought some additional topsoil and stamped it down well in the depression. Hopefully that will do the trick.

I have offically joined WW. I payed up for 10 weeks and weighted-in. I weighted more than I have ever weighted before. Thankfully my home scale is accurate so I knew what was coming. The amazing part was, I didn't feel bad about it. I just felt great I was doing something good for myself.

This morning and I are headed out to the grocery store to load the house up with good food.

This afternoon we paint my old bedroom back. I just hope we can get it all done today.

Quote of the Day:
"Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action."
-Benjamin Disraeli

In a impulsive move I have decided to offically join weight Watchers today. I am going to my first meeting (along with my boss, who is a member) in a few minutes. I fooled around with the system (as you may recall) several months ago, but it is time to committ. How else will I loose 5 lbs by Halloween?

I will report back later!

Mi Mama and I just walked during lunch and my legs are feeling it. Out of shape I am. While I was walking I decided I needed a short term weight goal. I am making it my mission to loose 5 pounds before Halloween.   and I are planning to go back to Williamsburg that weekend so I thought setting up my walking routine would be a good ramp up for two days of historical sight-seeing. So tomorrow morning I will weight myself and that will be my starting point. Go Me! Big loser yeah!

This weekend I will be filling the house with lots of fresh veggies. Must be prepared! Flounder and I are also painting my apartment bedroom back to the drab white the complex requires. Sunday I am hanging out with Gma O and Mi Mama. I am actually pretty excited about showing Gma O the new house. :)

Quote of the Day:
Do you think the people who were trying to reach to the Everest were not full of doubts? For a hundred years, how many people tried and how many people lost their lives? Do you know how many people never came back? But, still, people come from all over the world, risking, knowing they may never return. For them it is worth it - because in the very risk something is born inside of them: the center. It is born only in the risk. That’s the beauty of risk, the gift of risk.”

Osho, 1931-1990

Shity.

Weather was crap. Lost my Debit Card (no harm donw, just inconvenient). Had to deal with a stupid and frustrating project. Micah was found liable for $10,000. He is 19 and is expected to make $500 payments for the next 20 months. Needless to say my litle family is pretty distraught. There have been plenty of other ramifications. 12 points on his license, and traffic school. And the community service and the probation meetings every week. Not to mention the car insurance that will shoot to the moon.

Right now, it is not so good to be my brother.

Pitt Band Alumni Day had it's ups and downs. It was great to finally see Pitt, Meet some of the people that defined  's college years and see the band in action. However there was one very important thing I forgot to pack for the trip -- a buddy.

Everyone Flounder introduced me to was in the band or assisting with it. Which ment whenever
they were doing band stuff (most of the time) I had to entertain myself. Flounder had never been
an SO at a Pitt Band Alumni event so he didn't realize no one else brought their wifes/fiances/gfs to practice and seemingly none of these people attended the tailgate either. And then I got to watch
the football game alone too. So long story short, next year I take a buddy.

Today is not a good day for Micah and Mi Mama. They are back in court to determine if
they owe restitution for the car Micah was convicted of stealing and wrecking. Cross your fingers.
No one wants to put out $10,000 to pay for a vehicle they didn't crash.

Otherwise all is quiet, and I am waiting with baited breath.

Quote of the Day:
"In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."
-Laurence J. Peter

Tomorrow   and I are off to Pittsburgh for Pitt Alumni Band Day! We will be staying the weekend and doing such things as marching in bands, attending a football game and socializing with college students. I think my weekend will consist mostly of meeting new people, and watching. Lots of watching. Watching band rehersal, watching the football game, watching other people march. You get the picture.

This Satuday is our one year anniversery. As much and Flounder hate that Sept. 11th in our anniversery I think we will have to stick with it until the wedding. Perhaps we can celebrate our engagment anniversery (Aug. 28th) until the wedding.

Yesterday was really busy at work. Today I will be working late to wrap some stuff up before the long weekend.  I am feeling especially ADD today. My mind is a whirl of work priorities, wedding stuff, to do lists and details none of which I can totally bring into focus. Which is a bit frustrating.

Quote of the Day:
"Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands—a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, the assurance that you are not alone in the world."

Sidney Lovett

The latest of the wacky movies I am looking forward to seeing.

In general I would say I had a great weekend. After the moving and BBQ yesterday (which was a great fun success!) and I pretty much vegged. The house was so CLEAN that I almost didn't know what what to do with myself. Like I just didn't want to touch anything. So I started my registries (Crate and Barrel and Target) mostly just for fun. What's not fun about making a wishlist right? That kept me busy for awhile. Then Mom called and I talked to her for about an hour.

When I arrive at work this morning, I was having a hard time getting my head back in the game. I didn't remember all the things I put off on Friday until a little while ago. So I wasted time this morning on stuff I should have saved for later. Now of course and am procrastinating even furthers and my consience is starting to catch-up with me. So I have better scoot.

Tomorrow is Labor Day and Flounder and I are preparing for our first cook out in the new house. This morning there were still quite a few things which had been brought over from the apartment that had not found it's proper home in the new house. MUCH sorting and putting away. To be honest, I don't think the house will totally be settled until after Christmas (and after we fix up the basement. But for the moment we are at least presentable.

Red and her wonderful Swedish boyfriend Sven are coming over (with many helpers!) the move the stuff we have been storing for them out of the basement. It will be nice to reclaim that space and set up my desk...up until yesterday my lovely desk had been languishing away in my old bedroom, unused but not unloved. After the moving we will commence with the BBQ festivities. We are also expecting Bambi, Yoda, KT, maybe DK, V, Flanny, Condorman, and probably some extra helpers I haven't met before. OH! and Flounder's friend Yess and her BF S are coming which is great! I think Flounder will be happy to have his bestfriend around as my friends decend on the house for this improptu house-warming of sorts. For me it will be great to meet S for the first time.

While I write this entry, I am putting off the vacuuming I need to do. And the bathroom I need to clean. It is nearly 9:30 pm, so I had better get to it!

Quote of the Day:
I think over again my small adventures, my fears, those small ones that seemed so big, for all those vital things I had to get and to reach, and yet there is only one great thing: to live and see the great day that dawns, and the light that fills the world.
 
Old Innuit Song

Today I officially moved out of Silver Spring, and the apartment complex where I first became independant. I'm not sad to be leaving, but I did have a few whistful moments thinking about how far I have come in the last 4 years. Let's just say LOTS pretty much sums it up.

I LOVE the moving guys Flounder and I have used for our moves*. There are still a few odd and ends I have to go back for, not to mention the painting and cleaning that will need to be done before we turn in the keys.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
Even if you have a lot of work to do, if you think of it as wonderful, and if you feel it as wonderful, it will transform into the energy of joy and fire, instead of becoming a burden.

 Tulku Thondup Rinpoche
The Practice of Dzogchen

* If anyone in the DC Metro area is looking for a great moving company, I have someone to refer!

Yum! I just had Subway for lunch. I heart Sun Chips!

My Wednesday = the biggest waste of money and time I have ever personally been apart of.  I flew to Chicago and back yesterday in order to attend a 2 hour training session. That training could EASILY been conducted using NetMeeting. Redic. Oh well. During my travels, I picked up my first bridal magazine. Oh the fluffy happy girly joy! An entire publication devoted to white dresses, big diamonds and drop dead parties! What could be better?

Needless to say I am already obsessed with our upcoming wedding, even though it is at least 20 months away. It's acutally really nice to be able really think about what we want to do, and how we want to do it. :)

Great News! My God Mother went into surgery yesterday for her buldging disk and bone spurs on her spine. As of this morning, she was already back home, sitting at the table eatting breakfast (which she couldn't do before!) and feeling great. In her words "it's a figgin' miracle!". YAY! When I went to see her last Sunday, she was in SO MUCH pain. It's great to know that she is doing so much better. Probably in October sometime I am going to take der_flounder down to VA to meet her. Good times!

Quote of the Day:
I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.    

The Bible
Matthew 17:20