Arielelf

The Secret

2008-01-30T20:44:00.000-08:00

href="http://www.whatisthesecret.tv">

Biggest Loser Comment

2007-12-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

Everyone has done very well, but I don't think the majority of them put out the dramatic results we've seen in previous shows...but there was some remarkable success there tonight...but what I'm really going to comment on is how VERY UNCOMFORTABLE Gillian looks in a dress and heals!? Poor thing. People sure love her but she sure doesn't have the femininity to bring to the party....all I'm saying is I need a trainer that is comforatable wearing lifting gloves and lifting heavy weights AND wears high heals...its the way I want to be so that's only natural...above all else you have to go with the trainer that fits for you...

Let's discuss

2007-12-13T17:48:00.000-08:00

Man Finally Put In Charge Of Struggling Feminist Movement

WASHINGTON—After decades spent battling gender discrimination and inequality in the workplace, the feminist movement underwent a high-level shake-up last month, when 53-year-old management consultant Peter "Buck" McGowan took over as new chief of the worldwide initiative for women's rights.

Enlarge Image
Head feminist "Buck" McGowan leads a march on Washington for women's rights.
McGowan, who now oversees the group's day-to-day operations, said he "couldn't be happier" to bring his ambition, experience, and no-nonsense attitude to his new role as the nation's top feminist.

"All the feminist movement needed to do was bring on someone who had the balls to do something about this glass ceiling business," said McGowan, who quickly closed the 23.5 percent gender wage gap by "making a few calls to the big boys upstairs." "In the world of gender identity and empowered female sexuality, it's all about who you know."

McGowan, who was selected from a pool of roughly 150 million candidates, made eliminating sexual harassment his first priority before working on securing reproductive rights for women in all 50 states, and promoting healthy body images through an influx of strong, independent female characters in TV, magazines, and film.

"It's about time," McGowan said upon returning from a golf game with several "network honchos" in which he brokered a deal to bring a variety of women's sports to prime-time television. "These ladies should have brought me on years ago."

McGowan claimed that one of the main reasons the movement enjoyed so little success in the past was that the previous management was often too timid and passive and should have been much more results-focused.

"You can't waste time pussyfooting around with protests and getting all emotional about a bunch of irrelevant details," McGowan said. "If you want to enjoy equal rights, you have to have a real man-to-man chat with the people in charge until you can hammer out some more equitable custody laws."

"And don't get me started on how disorganized and scatterbrained their old fundraising methods were," McGowan added. "Let's just say the movement never really had a head for numbers."

After McGowan successfully appointed three of his best men to lead Smith College's women's studies department and called in some favors to a number of powerful board chairmen to triple the number of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, analysts predicted that the feminist movement could achieve all of McGowan's goals by as early as 2009.

"With a charismatic, self-assured guy like Pete pulling the strings, we might even see a female elected president one of these days," said Nathan Roth, an analyst at the Cato Institute. "Finally, the feminist movement has a face that commands respect."

McGowan, however, said he didn't get into the business of women's rights for the praise.

"What these women were able to accomplish with the little manpower they had is very impressive," McGowan said. "I just bring a certain something to the table—I'm not sure what—that gave us that extra little push into complete female independence. I guess it just comes naturally."

But despite his modesty, McGowan continues to garner praise from those closest to the cause.

"The whole movement just seems more legitimate with Buck in charge," leading feminist Gloria Steinem said at a gala dinner Friday. "His drive, focus, and determination are truly remarkable. Mr. McGowan is a man with a plan."

Although he has not hinted at any future projects after all forms of gender discrimination are a thing of the past, McGowan has vehemently denied rumors that he will leave the feminist movement to head up the struggle for gay rights.

"The wife would kill me if I took on any more hours," McGowan said. "I'm sure those fellows know how that goes."

Tiger In the News

2007-12-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods Putts Baby Into Diaper

ORLANDO, FL—Tiger Woods added yet another accomplishment to his already outstanding rÃ©sumÃ© Sunday when the 13-time major winner successfully putted his baby daughter, five-month-old Sam Alexis Woods, into a fresh Huggies...

Seitan

2007-01-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

Seitan – A protein-rich food made from wheat gluten and used in many vegetarian dishes. Seitan’s firm texture is definitively chewy and meatlike (which is why it’s also called wheat meat), its flavor rather neutral. That mildness, however, allows seitan to be a kitchen chameleon that easily picks up flavours of the foods with which it is cooked. Available in the refrigerator section of natural food stores and Asian markets, seitan typically comes in foil – or plastic wrapped cakes that may be square or rectangular and that average about ½ inch thick. It also comes in 8-ounce plastic tubs. Check the expiration date on fresh seitan.

I have real difficulty with the name of this myself. (Seitan - pronounced SAY-tahn, so I really accent the h in tahhhn.) It is an ingredient required in a 40-40-20 recipe that is completely vegetarian. Two Bean Seitan Chili

A friend provided other references to learn about this stuff.
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/cookingtipstools/ss/HowToSeitan.htm

http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vjseitan.htm

Apparently seitan can be made easily enough by boiling Gluten Flour in water or flavoured broth. Still too much trouble for me as I’m not that interested in going to so much trouble to make a vegetarian recipe. The recipe was right on the box (of Arrowhead Mills Vital Wheat Gluten) I opened today when I made Irish Brown Soda Bread

If you are struggling to find a way to get more protein in your diet without eating cottage cheese then I suggest gluten flour. It would seem that you can use it in addition to the regular flour in your recipes to bump up the protein.

You can get other balanced recipes that call for gluten flour at Kinetixliving.com. Go to recipes and do a search on gluten flour.

Heavy Thoughts

2006-11-05T16:46:00.000-08:00

I am struggling with what to get my girlfriend for her birthday.
What do you get for a girlfriend who is dying of Cancer?

Blogger's Block

2006-09-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

I'm having difficulty coming up with content for my blog so I am stealing ideas from forums and threads I read.

1. Do you work hard or do you take the easy way out? With respect to working out, I work pretty hard. I think I could work harder. I am scared to think of how a trainer would push me. Regarding work these days, I am bored and unchallenged. I have become complacent in my work. I like what I do but the pleasure just isn't there because of my Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde boss. I never know who I'm dealing with. My boss if female so that only adds to the complication and misery. As to 'taking the easy way out' I'm all for streamlining and efficiency without sacrifice for the finished product.

2. How's your day going? Boring. But I did clean my desk up at work. I have 3 IN trays and I had shit in there from 2003. I hold on to things because 'you just never know' and then there comes a point in time that the shit is meaningless now, don't know what its for or it doesn't apply any more and it can just be turfed. That is a great feeling and it is great looking over at my in tray and it is tidy and it's contents current.

3. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 10 maybe. Only 3 in regular rotation.

4. Do you consider yourself cool? Sure I do. But its all relative. There are a lot of losers out there. (My 12 year old son thinks I’m cool because I used 'k' instead of typing Okay in MSN messenger the other day.)

5. What's the last song you listened to? "One Gun" by 54-40 on www.jackfm.com

More drivel:

First Name JENNIFER

Birth Year 1967

Where are you from - originally & now? RICHMOND BC, CANADA

Kids? ONE

Married? How long? COMMON-LAW 3 YEARS

Occupation? What would you do if you werent doing this job?
ADMIN ASSISTANT, WORKSAFE BC; RETIRED TRAVELING/GOLFING/PHILANTHOPIST

Hobbies?
COOKING/GOLF/WORKING OUT/ BLOGGING/ READING

Habits?
TEA EVERY MORNING, PIZZA ON FRIDAYS, Work Out Mon-Sat

What do you do well? (ie; sing, dance, sew, paint...stay out of the gutter y'all!)
I’M TOLD I COOK PRETTY GOOD. I CLEAN HOUSE GOOD. GIVE GOOD HUGS.

Use 3 adjectives to describe yourself.
LOYAL, INQUISITIVE, FUN-LOVING

ONE favorite of each of the following: Book, CD, Music group, tv show, Movie, dessert, & meal (yes it always get's back to food!!)
THE MISTS OF AVALON
CRAZY – SEAL
ABBA
WKRP IN CINNICATI
STAR WARS RETURN OF THE JEDI
CHOCOLATE CAKE
ROAST BEEF, PORK OR CHICKEN W/ ROASTED POTATOS AND ROATED CARROTS

Favorite vacation destination?
MEDITERRANEAN

What dream (besides a perfect & healthy body) would you like to see fulfilled in your life? GO WITH BILL AND TAKE AARON ON A TROPICAL OR MEDITERRANEAN VACATION

So ya, just a bunch of Blog fodder tonight but check out this link I just found. I thought to myself before I sat down to the laptop...I wonder if I just did a search on 'blog content' at Google, if it would help me with ideas to write about....

http://weblogs.about.com/od/writingandcontent/

Enjoy your coffee

2006-09-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal,
some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to
help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor
said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up,
leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your
problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself, adds no quality
to the coffee in most cases, just more expense and in some cases iteven hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you
consciously went for the best cups... And then began eyeing each
other's cups. “Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and
contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change
the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the
cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups..........enjoy your coffee.

Definition of uncomfortable

2006-09-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

I had a new laptop delivered to my desk today by the tech guy. Unfortunately my tummy was rumbling and gurling and I had gas from the cafeteria meatballs earlier. Luckily it wasn't the stinky kind but uncomfortable nonetheless. Making matters worse, he had to crawl under my desk. I rolled my eyes hoping for a brief respite from the gurgles.

In addition to my own personal discomfort this guy - Serbian I would guess from the heavy accent, had THE MOST disgusting cigarette breath.

Though he appeared to be in his mid-thirties he smelled like a 70 year old geezer who'd been smoking for 55 years. I could just imagine his black calsified lungs...I think I could tolerate fishy cat breath better.

Ugh! How can people DO that to themselves? No matter how good looking you are, if you smell like a wet ashtray you are UGLY. There are two youngish people at work. One is an Asian girl in her late 20's I would guess. And a guy who is in his late thirties. They are pretty okay looking until they smile and reveal their yellow teeth and receding gums.
It is shocking how OLD their mouths look.

Moral: DON'T SMOKE. And don't eat the meatballs in the WorksafeBC cafeteria unless you are going to be alone….

Mango Chicken Caesar Salad

2006-09-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Serves 1

Calories: 354
Carbs: 35.5g
Protein: 35.8g
Fat: 9.3g

Ingredients
nonstick cooking spray
1 garlic clove, minced
4 oz bonless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and gr. black pepper to taste
3 cups romaine lettuce
3 tablespooons low-fat Caesar dressing
2 tablespoons low-fat parmesan cheese
3/4 cup cubed mango (about 1 small mango)

1. Spray pan with non-stick spray and warm over medium heat - add minced carlic and cook for a minute. Season chicken with garlic powder and salt and pepper - add to pan. Cook about 6 minutes until no longer pink inside. Remove from pan and cut into cubes.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, toss the lettuce, dressing and parmesan cheese. Add the cooked chicken and toss. Sprinke the mango on top and enjoy..

Try this! It is VERY good!

Weekend Food and Personal Best

2006-09-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

I was doing so well with eating and working out the week of Aug. 21st to 25th - even though I was still recovering from a heavy duty sinus infection the week before. I was in the gym every day and my eating was pretty spot on. It wasn't perfect but pretty darn good for me. I lost a whole 1.2 pounds - the scale registered 132.4 for 5 whole days the week of Aug. 21st to 25th. I was so pleased with myself because I had been stalled at 133.6 for a long time. I really wanted to be just as good the following week in preparation for my boyfriend coming home for the Labour Day weekend. But some how, I just pooped out. I didn't get to the gym AT ALL that week. One reason is we had pizza/sushi day at work and I have to do all the leg work getting it organised. And now I can't remember the other reasons I jammed out of workouts that week. I felt bad about it. I really wanted Bill to see the definition in my arms and torso but it just wasn't there by then. Doesn't take long to lose it!

Oh, but we had a good weekend together. He surprised me by driving all night Thursday from Calgary and he slipped into bed at 4:10 in the morning. I wasn't expecting him until Friday evening - I took the day off work to clean the house for the weekend. But we had a whole extra day together. We had a great weekend full of FOOD INDULGENCES. We dropped my son and a friend off at the swimming pool and went to the only quasi-New York deli in Vancouver. It’s a kosher Jewish deli where they have smoked meat, pastrami, corned beef, turkey, tongue etc. piled high on rye bread. Bill gets the 'hungry' (lg) pastrami (because he says this smoked meat from Lester's in Montreal is inferior to Schwartz's in Montreal) and I have the 'not so hungry' (sm) corned beef. We start with chopped liver served scooped in a ball on lettuce leaf with a slice of tomato and cucumber. The chopped liver is spread on delicious rye bread. I've never had chopped liver before to compare but this stuff is really really good! It’s beefy and oniony. The sandwiches come piled high with a toothpick holding them together and a most excellent dill pickle on the side. You have a choice of Dijon, spicy or regular mustard you put on at the table. We splurged and took home some Florentine rolls and Rugelach. Florentine rolls look like Canolis but are made with a sugar lace "cookie" rolled in a cone shape and piped with a wonderful chocolate whipped cream. Rugelach are a flaky butter pastry filled with jam or chocolate and sprinkled with ground almonds. Had these for the first time and they were awesome. The short large Jewish lady looked me up and down and said I could afford it! It was Friday so it was Pizza Night - we had our usual Flame pizza and Bill and Aaron has spaghetti with theirs.Saturday while doing errands we stopped in at Cobb’s Bread. I have been leery of buying their products feeling that their mass-market approach is muscling out the local baker and the artisan quality is just not there. But we got a loaf of multi-grain bread Bill was pretty pleased with and I quite liked the gooey cinnamon bun. Oh, well. For lunch we picked up a roasted chicken and had that with the huge pitas and feta cheese and olives he gets from a local Greek deli in Calgary. For dinner we bbq'd some buffalo burgers, chicken burgers and a homemade Mennonite sausage he brought back from friend. It was good. (Buffalo burgers were bought frozen locally and I make the chicken burgers)Sunday morning I made pancakes for my boys. The Top Secret Recipe for IHOP pancakes from www.topsecretrecipes.com. These are the best - Aaron loves them and they are easy to make. I didn't have any buttermilk so I just used 1 tbsp lemon juice to sour 1 cup of milk. Worked perfectly. I put blackberries in Bill's pancakes. I like mine with just butter and real maple syrup warmed up. Okay - LOTS of butter and syrup. Sunday night we went to the Keg for supper because Aaron wanted lobster. He got a tail and ate it all. I had a steak with blue cheese and roasted garlic and mashed potatoes. Bill had the Baseball steak. I think he is still digesting that today…Supper on Monday was roasted pork tenderloin with roasted onion, peppers and tomatoes. Bill loves that.

I was back at it in the gym today with some enthusiasm. Not a pumped up great deal of enthusiasm but I was eager. I did biceps today and 20 minutes of intervals on the elliptical trainer. After a week off from the gym I was really pleasantly surprised to reach a personal best in bicep curls. I did 2 x 5 reps at 15 lbs (for sets 3 and 4). Wahoo! Previously I maxed out at 4 times on the first set and maybe only was able to squeeze 3 out on the second set. (from there I do 10 reps at 10 lbs for the 5th set) So it goes to show, definition may be lost from an absence in the gym but muscle building (or memory!) can continue. I then changed to hammer curls and started with 8 lbs weighs instead of the usual 5 lbs and worked through the 10 lbs weights for 10 reps to and got out 3-4 reps at my 15 lbs max. I am pleased.

What to do about Tiger?

2006-08-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't done anything about Tiger. Two weeks ago I called the local Animal Protection Society and left a voice message. They never take calls but respond the next day. I left a message saying I was in a position that I might have to put my older cat down and do they have room for him? I never got a call back. That kinda really ticks me off. Okay. I know they are pretty full. Well, the last time we were there they were FULL with over 300 cats. The shelter is a very comfortable confined (as in protected) spacious place for cats - on acreage. We got Lucy there last August. If you haven't been following, Tiger is much older and he's been peeing on the floor, the counters and the stove top. Recently he turned around and crapped in the dry food bowl and there was blood in the soft stool. I can't pay $290 for a medical diagnosis just to find that he's either going to die anyway or he can be maintained on expensive drugs for who knows how long.

ANYWAY, I've decided I can't 'off' the poor guy just because he is incontinent and inconvenient. Can you imagine living in the house with a family member and you walk by and make eye contact and smile and one of you is thinking "I'm going to have you killed...." It just isn't right and I can't do it. The poor bastard has no idea. I sit here ruminating about him and he walks in like always, glances over, continues on his way. Eventually he jumps up on to the sofa next to me and massages my full bladder. I guess he likes it here. After all, he adopted us 3 or 4 years ago. He just showed up on our door step one day. He was curled up in the sunlight on our door matt like he owned the place. He was very tentative to come in at first but we made him welcome and did not pressure him and he stayed. Lucky for us he didn't bring any friends!

Tiger was looking pretty sickly last year so we decided to get another cat, a "back up" if you will. Lucy is a handful. I said I wanted a more affectionate, cuddly cat but she and I just don't gel for some reason. I guess that's just the way it is sometimes - even with animals - let alone people. I'm not going to agonise about it but the redeeming thing is that she can be pretty okay at times.

Tiger goes for some time before having a problem. But I came home yesterday from a day trip to find dried pee in the dining room and this morning woke up to bloody poo on the outside of the litter box. I am proud to say that I did not huff or have a fit when I discovered either of these transgressions. Maybe I am getting soft in my old age. (but not as soft as Tiger's poo...)

Cut and Colour

2006-08-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here it is straight from the hairdresser's. I won't be doing it so frou frou. I can't wash it for 3 days. I like it but its always different when you add your own touch. My dad always said 'what's the difference between a good haircut and a bad hair cut?" Answer: Two weeks. Okay, so it is not too different from what I've had before but the next cut should be much more interesting. Have faith.

In other news, I finally went to the doctor's today and I have a sinus infection. I've been on and off work for a week. The pressure in my head has been incredible and yesterday it started to be unbearable. So she prescribed an antibiotic and decongestant pills and spray. I am feeling relief already after just one dose. I haven't worked out in over a week. I'm feeling very soft and need to get back to working with weights pronto.

Medium Hair

2006-08-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Time for a hair cut this week. Not that I will listen to you all but I thought I would show you some pictures I showed to Bill and a girlfriend and see what you think. They are all of who I think is the epitome of beauty. Charlize Theron. Bill and Gaida really liked the first picture here I do too but I don't want to look too frumpy.

Except for this last one. This is sort of the look I was going for when I got my hair cut last but I just can't get it to go like this. Besides, its too much work when you are showering twice a day. Doesn't look like a lot of work does it, but it is.Needs a straightening iron and lots of goo - which isn't conducive to lunchtime work outs. I never ever did get it to go right.

Vacation Pictures

2006-08-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Me and Aaron at the Calgary Tower. Neither of us wanted to go out on to the glass floor. It is 534 feet up!

Aaron and a Sherman Tank. My grandfather joined the army in WWII under age. He went over to England and stormed the beaches of France. It was a horrible battle and he was the only survivor in this tank. He lost an eye. He was only there for 4 days and was sent home.

Aaron on a bed of nails at the Telus World of Science.

Bill and his new VW 2.0 GTI Turbo.

White Noise

2006-08-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

The power went out Saturday night in the middle of the night. I remember seeing a flash and rolled over and didn’t think more of it. I believe the last time I looked at the clock was about 1:30am so I think the power was out starting from 2 am or so. I woke a couple hours later (I usually wake many times during the night) and I noticed how very dark it was….and QUIET. I thought for a moment ‘it’s always darkest just before dawn’, and then I looked at my clock radio. It wasn’t there. I thought someone had taken it. (dumb eh? Sleepy I guess) I even reached out to touch it. I looked over at the house alarm panel and could see that the trouble light was on. It was so dark and quiet…..it was nice! I got up and walked down the hall to Aaron’s empty bedroom. From there I can usually see the flashing traffic light through two townhouses. There was nothing but blissful darkness. Our garages at the townhouse complex usually have pot-lights on all night and it was all darkness. It reminded me of camping in the middle of no-where. No electricity at all. It is truly impressive how quiet it all is when you remove the ‘white noise’ of life. You just don’t realize the noise (and light) pollution of everyday life. I’m talking about the buzz of light fixtures, computers/servers humming in an empty room, the fridge running etc.

Remove it all and….it is peaceful.

I miss my days of camping in the wilderness. It was a few years ago. A relationship ago. I don't think I'll ever have that same kind of experience again. But that is not what this post is about...

Home Sick

2006-08-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

I was sent home from work this morning by my co-workers and manager. I’ve been sick since Tuesday. I worked half days Wednesday and Thursday and stayed home all day Friday. I thought it was best to make an appearance at work at least but expected not to make the whole day. When your co-workers and manager give you trouble for coming in in the first place WHY STAY!

This cold has been ever changing. It hasn’t been miserable but it has been a tough one. It started with a sore throat, so be warned; It is going around.

Eating when I am hungry enough hasn’t been great but it hasn’t been totally awful either. I do okay for the morning meals but lunch is lazy. I cooked myself a steak and salad for dinner Saturday but last night I was lazy and wanted comfort food and had homemade tortellini alfredo. I am planning to have a chicken stir-fry tonight to use up some vegetables in the ‘fridge.

I look forward to getting back to my workouts. I also want to get back to waking at 6am for a brisk 20 min. walk every morning. This really gets the metabolism jumpstarted for the whole day. It’s just planning. (Isn’t it always about the planning?)

The hardest thing these last few days has been feeling sick and lonely. Aaron has been with his dad all week and Bill returned to Calgary on Monday and I won’t see him again until the Sept. long weekend. The highlight of my day yesterday was going out for gas and cat food. I really don’t know how single people do it. Sometimes I can really fill my time but I suppose I’m a bit (more?) pathetic because I am ill. Sometimes I have energy and I did laundry, vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen. Other times, I’m just loafing on the sofa here watching tv and surfing the web. For example, today I posted pictures of Lucy on a radio website to win a prize of free pet food.

I promised you pictures of my trip to Calgary so here they are:

At Calgary Stampede

I'm having technical difficulties uploading more pictures...stay tuned.

The Van Gogh Family

2006-08-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

After much careful research, it has been discovered that the artist Vincent Van Gough had many relatives. Among them were:
The dizzy aunt: Verti Gough
The brother who ate prunes: Gotta Gogh
The brother who worked at a convenience store: Stopn Gogh
The brother who bleached his clothes white: Hue Gogh
The cousin from Illinois: Chica Gogh
His magician uncle: Wherediggy Gogh
The Mexican cousin: Amee Gogh
The Mexican cousin’s American half brother: Grin Gogh
The nephew who drove a stage coach: Wellsfar Gogh
The constipated uncle: Can’t Gogh
The ballroom dancing aunt: Tan Gogh
The bird lover uncle: Flamin Gogh
His nephew psychoanalyst: E Gogh
The fruit loving cousin: Man Gogh
An aunt who taught positive thinking: Wayto Gogh
The little bouncy nephew: Poe Gogh
A sister who loved disco: Go Gogh
His Italian uncle: Day Gogh
The second cousin with this tiny car: Yu Gogh
And his niece who travels the country in a van: Winnie Bay Gogh.
As far as I know this is all – if you find anymore let me know.

Gone to camp

2006-08-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

I took the day off today to get Aaron downtown to the drop off point for 7:30am. The ferry left with about 100 kids at 8:30 for Camp Potlatch in Howe Sound. The camp leaders looked like kids themselves! They must range from 16 to 19 years old. Aaron’s been really looking forward to this. His friend Michael invited him along. Aaron invited his friend Bijan. Michael invited another friend, Ron. The four of them were getting to know each other as they waited on the dock.

($330 for 5 days. I guess $66/day isn’t too much?) I think they are going to have a blast. I got him a 27 exposure disposable camera to document the week.

I’m alone tonight and Friday, then Bill’s in town Saturday for the BC Day long weekend. We have a 10:30 tee time for golf on Sunday! Bill goes back to work Tuesday morning early, Aaron comes home at 2:30 but then he’s at his dad’s for the next two weeks.

To make the most of my day off I’m cooking a 40-40-20 meal for myself for the next week. (Mediterranean Meatballs) I really want to apply myself to the eating part of healthy living. The workouts are much easier for me. So, I need to plan ahead have stuff in the freezer to pull out.

Cat news

Lucy is driving me crazy as per usual. Always in my way, and climbing on me to lick and suck and massage any exposed part of my body. (Bill encouraged this bad habit when she was a kitten last summer.) Ah, but she’s okay. Pretty darn cute at times. Tiger though is becoming a real pain in the butt. He’s been peeing on the counter. He’s an old cat – estimated to be 12 years old. That’s 62 in human years. Tuesday just as I was leaving for work the old codger was eating from the dry food bowl. He stopped turned around and assumed that stance! I said “what are you doing!?” He was totally zoned out and I heard a squirt, like a fart and I saw soft turd and blood in the food bowl! That bastard! He’s been peeing on the counter on occasion for a while now but shitting in his food bowl – blood no less, is new. I took him to the vet after work. I got away with a $25 check-up but if I want to know exactly(?) what is wrong with him it will be $300. It could be diabetes, could be thyroid etc. but it’ll cost that much just to get an idea and maybe it could be maintained with medication ($$$) or maybe he’s terminal. I’m sorry. I’m sorry all you cat lovers, but I just can’t stomach or afford $300 on the possibility either way. Pay the money and still find out he’s gonna die anyway? Bill’s take on this is that Tiger came into our lives a few years ago. He showed up on our doorstep needing a place to live. He adopted us basically. We took him in and gave him a very comfortable, rich life. If its his time now then, it just is. Mom made a good point today that kind of eased my mind…she said what if he’s got something that he picked up outside and could possibly give it to Lucy? That would be no good. Tiger is an in/out cat. Lucy is an indoor cat. (We had to make a promise to the cat shelter when we adopted her.) I’m having a real moral dilemma about this.

PS - if I sent you a Birthday Alarm please respond. There's nothing 'funky' about it. It will just help me remember you!

In the beginning

2006-08-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives..

Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on theside. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created HMOs.

Thought for the day .
There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

Preamble

2006-07-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I’ve been busy this last little while and also have been having computer problems.

Aaron and I went on vacation to Calgary for Stampede, July 10 to 23. We saw the rodeo with bronco and bull riding and calf roping. The next night we saw the Chuck Wagon races and the Grandstand show. Having seen the Calgary Stampede once, we/I don’t feel the need to do it again anytime soon. It certainly is a different culture – cowboy culture which is pretty foreign to a BC girl. Other than the rodeo and the Grandstand show it is just like our PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) here in Vancouver which runs the last two weeks of August every year. It started years ago as an Agricultural Fair but for most it is all about the Midway rides, games and food.

I have so much to write but just no time to sit down and dedicate the time.
I ran into a ‘catastrophic error’ downloading the pictures from the camera so I’m a bit spooked and may not get them done until Bill is in town next weekend for the BC Day long weekend.

We sent Aaron home on Sunday July 16th by himself on the airplane. It’s only an hour and 20 mins flight. He did fine as he has some experience traveling with me and WestJet has a VIP program for unaccompanied minors. Aaron was watched and treated very well. He had fun. The purpose of me staying was so that we could be together for my 39th birthday on July 21st.

I spent the week with Bill and toured rural Alberta with him while he visited some clinics for his work. Lots of driving but it is interesting to me seeing the landscape and rural towns. I even sat in on one of his clinic meetings and had a very nice potluck lunch catered by the clinic staff. (They heard I was out in the car reading and waiting and insisted I come in and eat while they met. The clinics do these meetings on their off hours so as not to cut into patient time.)

There was suppose to be a staff meeting in Edmonton on July 20th and I thought it would be perfect for me to kill time by meeting up with a couple of ‘on-line’ fitness friends who live in the area. Unfortunately Bill’s office changed plans (that the meeting would be in Calgary instead) but he insisted that I stay in Edmonton and meet my friends as planned. He was such a darling and rented a car and got up at 5:30 am and drove to Calgary for his meeting. I met my friends that day (more on that later) and afterward I drove to Red Deer by myself in his brand new VW GTI 2.0 Turbo. (Nice car!) and he met me there in the rental car. We rendezvoused at Tim Horton’s about 5:00.

Bill returned the rental car and we drove to Invermere, BC to Panorama Resort to golf for 2 days at Greywolf Golf resort for my birthday weekend. The golf course was excellent and I highly recommend it. The views are wonderful, the course challenging but I also got some really great shots – it’s nice to use my driver! (a few courses in Richmond are too short for that!). A good time was had by all.

I took Monday July 24th off to recuperate, do laundry, grocery shopping and get back into the work mind-set. It was difficult this time getting back into the work mind set. I could certainly live the retired golf and travel lifestyle – let me tell you!

More to come!

Okay, here's a link to another 40-40-20 fitness program. I use these products and they taste fantastic. They are also available in the States (on-line for sure, but I don't know if they are found in stores.) The recipes available through subscription are great and perfectly balanced. A lot of work goes into their developement.
Check out this introduction I found to Kinetix Living. In this introduction you will find the link to their website.

1-800-PIS-MEOF

2006-07-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that I have call display. I can choose the calls I’m going to answer and believe me, it is my choice/right to do so. I CANNOT believe the number of 1-800 calls I get in a day. Today I got 8! Luckily I wasn’t home for them! But as I was always taught – if it's important they will leave a message. These guys never do. Sometimes, I get so sick and tired of seeing the same number on my call display I will pick up the phone. I hear the pause while the telemarketer hangs up all his other auto-dial numbers and tries to get me and I hang up. IF I’M REALLY FED UP, I answer and let them speak and tell them I only answered because I’m sick and tired of seeing their number and disturbing me. Gee whiz! If I want something I’m going to go out and get it! I’m not going to wait for someone to call me out of the blue and sell me something! I DO pity the person who does that job. No apologies. There are other jobs out there. I would never do this job. This is an invasion of my life, let alone privacy.

Congratulations

2006-07-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

to all the kids who were born in the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's, & 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because....

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out that we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, DVD's, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms....WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They acutally sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned

HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Class of 2006 - Grade 7 Grad - Wed June 28'06

2006-06-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

These days it’s a big deal to finish 7 years (8 if you include Kindergarten) of Elementary school and it is celebrated by their very own ‘Grad’. (I suppose it is a ‘prom’ in the US.)
The Graduation Assembly was Wednesday afternoon, and it went really well and I'm really glad I went.
Aaron and I were recognised along with maybe 8 other families for having attended since Kindgergarten. Aaron and I and all the kids and parents had to go up front and he presented me with 'the gift of Thyme'. An herb plant in a Thompson school coffee mug. I cried a bit!

Aaron did an excellent presentation for the Learning Assistance teacher thanking her for her help through the year. He also received recognition as a Reading Partner for the younger kids. It was great hearing his name announced so many times!There was a great slide show presentation at the end of the whole school of pictures taken throughout the year. That sure brought tears to my eyes too!

Aaron doing his presentation.

Proud mom and Aaron.

So I’m very pleased with the changes I have seen in my body. Keeping in mind (I believe) that the changes I made 3-4 weeks ago started showing up this week.
1.) I cut back and sometimes eliminated wine during the week.
2.) Had structured feeding times. (every 2-3 hours.) Drank 1-2 cups ofreg. tea in a.m. and one decaf green tea in the afternoon. Also been diligent about water intake. (10 cups a day)
3.) I was doing the trainer from the gym’s workout for 4 weeks which I did because it wastime to change from my previous BFL routine. It was 3 sets of 12 reps increasing weights each rep.
4.) At this same time I started doing weights and cardio in Fat Burning zone. (walking on treadmill after lifting) 40 mins workouts.
5.) Two weeks ago I started doing the Kinetix workouts again. One bodypart, 2 exercises, (x15 x10 x5 x5 x10 x15) and 20 mins. HIT running ontreadmill (40 mins workout)
6.) I'm trying to eat more Kinetix meals but I don't eat as manycalories as they want me to.
7.) Going for a run Saturday and or Sunday mornings on empty stomach (well, after a cuppa tea)
8.) Been taking LeanXP (fat burner, appetite suppressant, carb blocker -so they say). I don't care about the appetite supp. Or the carb blockerbecause that hasn't been a problem for me but something sure seems to be helping!

I hope to have pictures taken this weekend! Bill has surprised me and will be flying out Saturday afternoon and taking a Red Eye back to Calgary on Monday night. I am pleasantly surprised for sure! Its Canada Day Long Weekend!

Been Away Too Long

2006-06-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

Apologies to all my readers for my long absence (again). I am really impressed with all you prolific writers. You do so well keeping your blogs up-to-date and you all are so interesting!

I am well. I am thrilled today to find that the scale read 133.4 lbs! Wahoo! I wore a suit today that I bought 3 years ago from the Victoria Secret catalogue. It never fit me until late last week and I think it fits better today than it did then! I sure got a lot of compliments on it! It’s a beige suit and I wore a white camisole and black belt and black sandals. (just like the catalogue picture pretty much!)

Obviously it is so out of the norm for me to dress nice and be so well presented that's why I got so many comments. Even my former manager, a man, walked by in the hall and said "WOW". I smiled demurely and said 'thank you'. That was all there was to the exchange. I wish Bill could see - he wants me to send him a picture but all got was a picture from my cell phone and it isn't great but it'll do. Perhaps its just as well [that he's out of town]. I might have had to call in a sick day.

I know many of you will identify with this 'thing' that some of us have. You know when you feel bad about yourself you dress badly? I feel like I'd been dressing like a bag lady. Well, for the last couple of weeks I've been seeing improvements in my body. Things are starting to pay off! I know in the past the time I start seeing these things is when I start to slack or sabotage myself. I really endeavor not to let that happen this time. What is the problem? Why do we do that? I guess I fear looking good. But that's all I want! Okay, living healthily is the goal too, but appearance certainly is something I fixate on.

So one of the reasons I've not blogged in awhile is that the new laptop I got at the beginning of May was a complete LEMON! It crashed constantly and the main problem I suppose was the memory. They asked ME to open it up and 're-seat' the memory card. I couldn't even get the bloody thing out. I was on the phone with the help desk guy and sweating like it was my first open-heart surgery. I subsequently broke one of the holding pins. The guy says 'okay well, you can close it up now and we'll send you a replacement laptop.' So, it was mid-to end of May when I got my new laptop and its been working well from the get go. At the same time at the beginning of May the desktop computer crashed and Bill fixed it when he was in town for the Victoria Day Long Weekend. Not the best way for him to spend his time at home (he's working in Calgary) but I really appreciated it. But now, it is dead again I can't seem to access some files that are supposed to be on the network - so they must be on that hard drive.

That's all for today - TTYL

There are rules around these things

2006-05-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again ladies.... please read the following pledge and THEN look at the attached pictures!! (Ewwwwwwwwwwwww )

As a member, I pledge to follow The Rules when I wear sandals and other open-toe shoes:

1. I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

2. I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free. I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

3. I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.

4. I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

5. If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it -- no matter how much it hurts.

6. I will not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.

7. I will resist the urge to buy jelly shoes at Payless for the low, low price of $4.99 even if my feet are small enough to fit into the kids' sizes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat, and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle.

8. I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

9. I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/co-worker when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes look like they've been dragged behind her car on the way to work and no sandal in the world is going to make her feet look good.

10. I will promise if I wear flip flops, that I will ensure they actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

11. I will promise to go to my local beauty school at least once per season and have a real pedicure (they are about $20 and worth EVERY penny). I say spend another $20.00 and get an even better one.

And finally . . .
12. I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear . . . nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals .. . .

For all our sakes, please don't keep this to yourself - pass it on.

Today's Nonsense

2006-05-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

Four jobs I have had:
1. Cashier
2. Sandwich maker
3. Housekeeping staff (hotel)
4. Admin Assistant

Four nicknames I've been given:
1. Thunder Thighs
2. Two Tonne Tessy
3. Jennifer Peacock
4. Jenna

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Grease
2. Grease II
3. Wizard of Oz
4. Star Wars - Return of the Jedi

Four places I have lived:
1. Richmond
2. Vancouver
3. Surrey
4. -

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. 24
2. LOST
3. Restaruant Makeover
4. Flip This House

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Mexico
2. England
3. Hawaii
4. Amsterdam

Four things I could NOT live without: (in no particular order)
1. My Mom
2. Bill
3. Aaron
4. Chocolate

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Roast Chicken
2. Prime Rib
3. Chocolate
4. Pasta

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. with Bill
2. by the pool waiting for Manuel to bring me my margarita
3. Jogging in a park
4. on a plane going Spain

DATING RITUALS

ENGLISH WOMEN

First date : You get to kiss her goodnight.
Second date : You get to grope all over and make out.
Third date : You get to have sex, but only in the
missionary position.

IRISH WOMEN
First Date : You both get blind drunk and have sex.
Second Date : You both get blind drunk and have sex.
20th Anniversary : You both get blind drunk and have sex.

ITALIAN WOMEN
First Date : You take her to a play and an expensive
restaurant.
Second Date : You meet her parents and her Mom makes
spaghetti and meatballs.
Third Date : You have sex, she wants to marry you and
insists on a 3-carat ring.
5th Anniversary : You already have 5 kids together and hate
the thought of having sex.
6th Anniversary : You find yourself a girlfriend.

JEWISH WOMEN
First Date : You get dynamite head.
Second Date : You get more great head.
Third Date : You tell her you'll marry her and never get head
again.

CHINESE WOMEN
First date : You get to buy her an expensive dinner, but nothing
happens.
Second date : You buy her an even more expensive dinner. Nothing
happens again.
Third date : You don't even get to the third date and you already
realized nothing is going to happen.

INDIAN WOMEN
First date : Meet her parents.
Second date : Set the date of the wedding.
Third date : Wedding night.

AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN
First Date : You get to buy her a real expensive dinner.
Second Date : You get to buy her and her girlfriends a real expensive
dinner.
Third Date : You get to pay her rent.
Tenth Date : She's pregnant by someone other than you.

MEXICAN WOMEN
First Date : You buy her an expensive dinner, get drunk on
Tequila, and have sex in the back of her car.
Second Date : She's pregnant.
Third Date : She moves in. One week later ~ her mother, father,
his girlfriend, her two sisters, her brother, all of their kids, her
grandma, her father's girlfriend's mother, her two cousins, her
sister's boyfriend and his three kids move in and you live on rice and
beans for the rest of your life in your home that used to be nice, but
now looks like a home along the Rio Grande.
The point? Don't you just love Irish women?

Golf day

2006-04-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

At the lesson yesterday I worked on my stance, grip, swing and connecting the ball squarely but still hitting it under to skim the matt...
Unfortunately, I got to be in a lot of pain by the end of the lesson in my left foot. It seems the shoe is too narrow and I can feel the ball of my foot crumpling up and cramping. I was really bummed about it on the drive home but the thought struck me. It's still early enough in the afternoon. I can head to Nevada Bob's and get those Calloway's...it should be okay...I got my bonus...I certainly can't play a round with my foot hurting like that. It will be miserable...they were only $10...I can do this...without too much guilt. That is all what went through my mind. So I drove to NB's and tried on the Calloway's but I did not get them. They creased in a funny spot on my foot when I stepped and I was just not convinced I needed to be so 'stylish' on the course. People might think I'm a real player. I decided to go with an athletic shoe rather than the traditional looking shoe. They are very comfortable! They are going to be the best runner I have in the closet for awhile! Best thing is they were on sale. It was a better discount than the Golf for Gal’s discount. They were regular $99.99 but got them for $69.99. So, I looked at the tops I had been eyeing before. I bought myself a long sleeve white zip shirt. I love it. But it was expensive. It was $89.99 but I got 10% off. I've been baad. But I love the things I got AND I wangled myself a free shoe bag! I told the salesman and the manager about the shoe bags I saw at the Golf show and the manager knew the one's I was talking about and he said they didn't have any but offered this one. I said how much? They said no charge! Lucky me!

I was really rough to start today. The three ladies I played with were quite nice. My scores were really high. I got some 4 and 5's on the par 3's. But a few 5’s and 6’s and a 7.
I got better on the back 9 which is backwards for me usually. I started to get decent drives off the tee at the 10th hole. That's when I had the hot dog and a Smirnoff Ice...
I had some really nice chip shots with the 9 and 7 iron. The 5 played well for me on a couple short holes when I need it where they are tho
The first tee is the hardest because EVERYONE is there watching and there is a big water hazard right there. I think I lost 2 balls right off the bat there.

Water vs Wine (This one is for Pamela!)

It has been scientifically proven that if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli bacteria found in feces, in other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of Doo Doo. However, we do not run that risk when drinking wine (or rum, whiskey, beer or other liquors) because alcohol has to go through a distillation process of boiling, filtering and fermenting. WATER = Doo Doo WINE = HEALTH Free yourself of Doo Doo, drink WINE!!! It is better to drink wine and talk Doo Doo than to drink water and be full of shit.There is no need to thank me for this valuable information, I am doing it as a public service. Have a nice day...

Husband daycare

The joke below reminds me of an incident I had a work last week. I saw one of the file clerks who does not work for our department, at our mail cubby holes and it looked like she was delivering mail. She had a bunch of interoffice envelopes on the counter. A few minutes later I notice all of our interoffice envelopes were gone! She bloody well came and cleaned us out instead of going down to the mailroom like I have to whenever we run out. She’s closer to the mailroom for crying out loud! I charged down to her department and said ‘Henrietta, what’s the big idea of taking all of our interoffice envelopes!?’ She was shocked and she said but I left some! I said no you didn’t! She said I did, I did. She insisted on showing me and walked back to my department and she went on and on about how she left some and ‘BUT YOU HAD SO MANY…” As it turned out there were a couple left but they were shoved way in the back and one would have to bend right over and dig back there to find them. I had to explain to her the point is, you can {bloody well}go down to the mailroom yourself, just like I have to get your interoffice envelopes! But you had so many! She went on again. She kept going around in circles like that and I had to leave. When I got to my desk I thought to myself…Bill Gates has lots of money – should I just go and help myself!? Geeze I just don’t understand how people can think like that. “But you have so much…”

Young Conservatives...

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college.
Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a
very liberal Liberal and was very much in favour of the
redistribution of wealth. She was deeply ashamed that her father
was a rather staunch Conservative, a feeling she openly expressed.
Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the
Occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for
years harboured an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought
should be his. One day she was challenging her father on his
opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more
government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"
She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy
classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so
popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to
all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes
because she's too hung over." So her father asked his daughter, "Why
don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your
GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will
both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal
distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired
back, "That wouldn't be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades!
I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done
next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail
off!" The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently to his daughter,

"Welcome to the Conservative party."

It's All Good

2006-04-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Thank you for your comments. It is a great feeling to be read isn’t it? For me it’s kind of like getting a letter in the mail or having a package delivered. It’s a little something to look forward to and I thank you all. (Am I sounding lonely?)

Special Hi, to Karenna, and Pamela and Suzanne. Hice to hear from you again Jeremy! And I must not forget my regulars, Tom and Jess. And that’s another little perk isn’t it? To be mentioned in someone else’s Blog. Well, in a good way I think.

It was a good day today but I’m sorry it is not in the fitness/nutrition kind of way. But it was good! I scheduled half the day off work today to have lunch with 2 girls from work It was nice and leisurely. We each had a glass of wine and had a nice girl chat. I miss those. After lunch I went shopping for shoes. I am a very difficult shoe buyer. (They are either too ugly, too high. too open or too strappy). I went to 4 stores and in the 5th one I found I some and they were 15% off. And wouldn't you know it, I needed a purse to go with them (the salesperson suggested).

They are beige. She saw my purse was black and suggested that maybe a new purse to match the shoe and they are also 15% off.
The one I liked was the last one in stock so she invited me to inspect it first and I saw a couple small blemishes. It is real leather. I asked for a discount and she said she could give me another 10% to the 15%. I said sure and she attempted to get the marks out. No big deal I thought. Its not any worse than I will probably do to it over time. To top it off I got a free beach bag.

My shopping was cut short because I had an appointment at 3pm for a hair cut.

Tomorrow is the Swing Clinic at the driving range and the weather is expected to be rainy. No worries, the range is covered and heated – but outdoors. Sunday the weather is supposed to be great and I have my first round of golf of the season and my first with this new ladies club, Golf for Gals.

Maybe I AM becoming a bored housewife?

Happiness Is - a stocked wine cabinet.

Let's get Interactive!

2006-04-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

I have the second of three appointments for my root canal on Monday. I will be talking to my dentist about tooth whitening and what she recommends. I would like to hear from anyone that might read my drivel, what they use and would recommend. (thank you for your responses…)

Lets play: What’s in your ‘fridge! (comments welcome. I can take it.)

I am cooking shredded beef in the slower cooker this afternoon. Just one way I keep myself busy - a hobby of mine if you will. Just trying something new when I know no one's supper will be sacrificed if it doesn't turn out! I'm hoping it does turn out well andI will freeeze some until Aaron and Bill are back and I will send some to my ex-husband - to feed our wonderful son on lacrosse nights.

And other useless information:
· Heavy cleaning for 45 minutes burns 250 calories for a 155 lb person.
· Elevated blood sugar levels may increase your risk of memory loss as you age. Regular exercise and a healthy weight help you lower your blood sugar levels.
· According to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, today’s children could develop heart problems as early as their 30s unless they improve their eating habits and exercise regularly.
· For families with a history of food allergies, it is safest to avoid feeding high-risk foods such as nuts, seafood and egg whites to a baby under one year of age.
· Osteoporosis fractures occur in 25% of men over 50. Both men and women need to make sure they are getting enough calcium in their diet.
· Weight training is a great way for women in their 20s and 30s to maximize their bone mass and minimize their risk of osteoporosis after menopause.
· If you have low energy levels, you may be suffering from iron-deficiency anemia. But before adding an iron supplement to your diet, check with your doctor since too much iron can cause indigestion or constipation.
· If left unopened, a full freezer will keep food frozen for about 48 hours in a power outage. Count on 24 hours for a half-full freezer and only about 4 hours for a fridge to keep food safe.
· Two chocolate chip cookies have the same amount of fat as five cups of cooked brown rice.
· Only 42 percent of Canadian men and women are physically active.

Fancy Feet:

Today's Quote:
The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. - Allan K. Chalmers

Last but not least...heeerre's GRUMPY!

Jen's new toes

2006-04-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

So. Here are my new toes. It was not an unpleasant experience on the whole. I'm not all gaga over it like some ladies do. It sure is different seeing paint on my toes - dark colour no less. Shame they are always covered by socks and slippers...

The most important thing I had to do today was get kitty litter. Petcetera was all out of Nature's Miracle kitty litter but after some effort they put me on a list to call when it comes in. I will have to check to see if Bosley's got theirs in, tomorrow after the driving range.

After that I went to the ethic grocery store - Sandhand Market - which I've driven by many times and recently seen ads for. I was looking for nice fresh whole wheat pitas and I found them! They had a lot of quantity and it was the same brand as the donair place we discovered in Marpole. They also have fresh Naan we will get next time we cook a curry.

I bought some coarse sea salt ($1.99), some fresh walnuts and some wuuunnnderful dates. The guy in the store sold me on them. I asked if the walnuts were fresh (NO, I didn't say 'are your nuts fresh?') and he said in his accent, SURE YOU TRY ONE, so I did. Nice. He said what's really good, is you eat the walnut with the date over there on the counter. He had an open box of dates on the counter for buying like a box of matches or, remember you used to get chunks of chocolate at the counter (penny candy)? The date was divine by itself but with the walnut it was a really natural pleasant treat or dessert. So I bought some! A nice box only $3.99 and the walnuts were less than that at $1.99 a pound. I thought I would take them in to work for Food day.

I feel really pleased with myself that I got my run in today before breakfast and before NOON! ha ha. I think I missed lunch altogether, though. Can I make up for it tomorrow?

Tomorrow is the driving range and a second chance at kitty litter. I also have a diabolical plan to use the slow cooker tomorrow. And it aint BFL friendly.

TTYL friends.

Pictures!

2006-04-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Tiger in a box

Where's Lucy?

Lucy Up on Top

Aaron and Kevin - this is a shot for their album cover

Me and dad at Easter dinner

All waxed up and ready to go

2006-04-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

But perhaps that should be "…and no where to go".
Had my bikini and eyebrows done today. Must be just for me because Bill ain't around to enjoy it! They are having an April sale on pedicures and as I'd never had one I booked an appointment. $10 off.

I don't want to turn into a bored housewife but it’s kinda looking that way. Give me strength to resist the chocolate and wine.

I'm going to tidy the house tomorrow. I can't stand being in that mess all by myself. Cats are messy you know! Lucy tracks kitty litter all across the hardwood floor, and this morning I woke up to Tiger's throw up on the hardwood in the kitchen. So it’s not just me! (To be clear: It’s been years but when I throw up, I do it in the toilet.) Tiger leaves the little clumps of ginger hair and you can't see Lucy's because she's black but she is shedding now too - I see it in the Swiffer Vac filter. (She didn't shed when she was younger.)

My pedicure appointment is at 2pm Saturday so I am planning on going for a run sometime before that, shower and head over there. Tidy the house when I get back. Sunday I'm planning on going to the driving range and hitting a bucket of balls.

Abundance
A week or so ago I got one of those 'feel good' emails from my mom. It was about a mother saying good bye to her daughter in the airport. It was a family thing to say "I wish you enough". The mother was very sad at the daughter’s departure and a stranger asked why did you wish her 'enough'? The mother goes on and on saying "I'm getting old and fear this may be the last time I see her so I wish her enough tears to ….I wish her enough hugs to…I wish her enough pain to…enough money to…"

I know this is meant as a really nice heartwarming email but why settle for enough!? I kept saying to myself. Wish ABUNDANCE on people and yourself. There is abundance for EVERYONE. We are not being selfish for wanting this for ourselves or the ones we love or strangers we have never met. It is the Way of God and the Angels that our every need be met. We have the power to create our own abundance - in all things. All we need to do is open up and ask, know that we deserve this and expect it.

Bill and I came together through Divine Intervention, we firmly believe. It is so special to be with a man that is spiritual minded. He has taught me so much. We have many great conversations about God, Angels and Fairies and the Universe. I am no Bible thumper but I have an unshakeable faith in God.

Today's book selection: The Abundance Book by John Randolph Price.

Need something else to read. Look what I just came across.

www.coryholly.com

Have a look at the Articles tab. There’s enough there to keep you busy and motivated in your fitness and health quest.

Now - I digress:
http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=9145bab2-c938-40e8-86d0-73722adc7e19

Today's Lesson

2006-04-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Okay that was kind of funny today. Tracker people teaching each other grammar and how to spell. I've never seen a larger group of lazy spellers - except perhaps high school students.

Today's lesson started with Loose and Lose. That is a difficult one at the best of times and I am guilty of that one, but my peeve - and I see it ALL THE TIME on Tracker is when people use the word THEN when they are comparing things - the proper word is THAN.

I shall borrow an example from another lesson that was being preached in another thread: Whole foods are better THAN bars and shakes. I suppose this error comes up mostly because people say what they think they hear.
I am no English teacher or grammar expert (but granma was always on our case) but I really do try to speak and write correctly - unless I am intentionally doing it. My hardest lesson is IT'S and ITS. I still don't have it right to this day.

I had a good LBWO today on my new plan. I had extra time and energy so I ran 10 mins on the treadmill at 4.0 mph and 2.0 incline.

I am struggling with what to make for supper tonight as I am alone. I made a balanced Tomato Fiesta Soup (has ground turkey breast in it) last night for supper and there are 3 servings left over but I'll save those to take for lunch to the office. I think there is a frozen hamburger patty in the freezer. It might even be a homemade turkey burger.

Today's food intake:
Meal one:
2 Colonix pills
Colonix psyllium fibre drink (does not taste too bad)
RTD shake 230 calories 40-40-20 balanced

AM Snack
Eggbeaters
MRP bar 170 calories, 40-40-20 balanced
1/2 pack of soy nuts (one pack 95 calories)

Lunch
Oven baked chicken, mushroom tortellini with rose sauce (not balanced)
Chocolate mousse, 148 calories

PM Snack
Shrimp & dip, 100 calories
and the other 1/2 pack of soy nuts

8+ glasses of water so far

Today's 40-40-20 Recipe:

Chocolate Mousse
Calories: 148
Carbs: 14g
Protein: 14g
Fats: 3.3g

1 1/2 cups 1% cottage cheese
1 cup dry curd cottage cheese (aka pressed cottage cheese)
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup light cream cheese
2 Tbsp light sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup Splenda
1 pkg fat free Jell-O instant chocolate pudding
1 cup ultra low fat Cool Whip

In a blender combine both cottage cheeses, milk, cream cheese, sour cream, water, cocoa and Splenda.
Blend on medium-high speed until smooth (about 4 minutes).
Pour the mixed ingredients into a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix in the pudding powder until Mousse thickens (about 2 minutes). Gently whisk in the ultra low-fat Cool Whip.

Let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

When chilled, divide between 7 serving dishes (3/4 cup per serving).

(I have frozen them and they thaw nicely in my cooler lunch bag and is ready to eat the office. The mousse freezes too hard to eat directly from the freezer, so it needs thawing time in the fridge or cooler bag)

(if you don't have dry curd cottage cheese where you live, you can simply strain it in a sieve in the fridge for a few hours and towel dry - just make sure it is dry)

Bonus Recipe:

Strawberries and dip
Calories: 89
Carbs: 8.9g
Protein: 8.8g
Fats: 2.1g

1/4 cup 1% Cottage Cheese
1 Tbsp low-fat sour cream
1 Tbsp Splenda
1/2 cup strawberries

Using an electric hand blender, whip the cottage cheese, sour cram and Splenda until smooth.
Serve the strawberries with the dip.

Hello Sports Fans!

2006-04-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Again, it’s so nice having my blends check on me. Everything is fine. I guess I'm just adjusting to the changes in my life. My Significant Other was here for the long Easter Weekend and we had a really good time. My son, Aaron, is now back with his dad for two weeks so I am all on my own again. That's what I'm talking about when I say I'm adjusting to the changes in my life. I guess it is constant change. But it is not a bad thing. Aaron's dad just lives a minute away by foot in a neighbouring townhouse complex so I see him whenever he's forgotten something and you know how often that is when you have a 12 year old! The S.O. will be out again for the May long weekend May 20 - 22. We bought him a really skookum travel bag for his golf clubs so he will be lugging them back and forth from Calgary. I'm going to reserve a tee time for us for May 21st.
Have I mentioned that I joined a lady's Golf Club to help me spend my spare time and make friends - and keep active? Golf for Gals provides the opportunity to play a short round (Twilight) after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and they have Saturday tee times too. I also get to go to seminars and specialty lessons. There's a swing lesson coming up in May I'm going to sign up for. Last July my S.O. and I golfed for a day up in Kelowna and really enjoyed it so we intend to do a lot more of it and make our vacations golf holidays.
On the Fitness front, I recently had my Body Fat professionally tested at my gym and I had a program put together for myself. Firstly, BF% came in at 25.13%. She did a 10 point caliper test. That sure is nothing to be excited about but it is better than I was back in Aug. 2004!

Aug. 30'04 Oct. 18'04 Apr. 6'06
Cheek 14 11 12.5
Chin 15 13 14
Chest 28 23 20
tricep 28 24 24
Subscapular 23 17 15
Midcostal 25 13.5 15
suprailiac 19 15.5 15
abdominal 20 15 18
suprapatellar 21 19 17
midcalf 24 18.5 22

Total:
217 169.5 172.5
% BF 29% 25% 25.13%
BF Weight 40.7 lbs 33.6 lbs 34.5 lbs
Lean Body Mass 99.8 lbs 100.9 lbs 102.7 lbs.

Height 5'4" 5'4"
Weight 140.5 134.5 137.2
Surface Area 1.7 1.68 1.68
Shoulders 41.5 41.5 42.5
Chest 37 35.75 36.5
Bicep 12.2 12.25 12.25
Waist 30 28.75 30
Hips 39.75 39.5 39
Thigh 23 22.75 22.75
Calf 15 14.75 15

Okay, now I see quite a discrepancy in the Lean body mass above over the three measurement periods. The tests were all done by the same lady but she does seem like a bit of an airhead to me. I don't see how the LBM at the highest BF% can be less than the other two LBM's. at lower BF percentages.

I decided to get a program put together for me because I feel my body really needs a major change up in routine. I had been re-starting at the beginning every time and I feel my body was just really used to it.

So now that Easter and all the chocolate that comes with it is done and over with I should really have a chance at achieving my goals. My S.O. is gone for 5 weeks so I won't have the Friday Pizzas dragging me down. All in all eating should be much lighter simply because I am not inspired to cook a lot of food or things that may be more complicated or serves 4 people. Also with Bill gone I really have nothing to do but concentrate on me.

Now that is something quite different - concentrating on me. It is really funny how when I'm alone there doesn't seem to be pressure to clean or tidy, cook, prepare for up-coming week. It all just seems to be a bit more…relaxed. And I’m not saying I’m living in a pile of filth! I am more on top of things. After all, if I’m looking at a mess now – it’s gotta be MY mess now, eh? Okay, the kitty litter that is tracked along the floor isn’t my fault (its Lucy’s!) but somehow, I have the energy and certainly the time now to deal with it right away and not groan and put it off until I’m in the mood. (i.e. weekend, with glass of wine in hand.)

God, The Universe and the Way Things Work Out
I am not a ‘religious’ person per se but I am quite spiritual. I have many examples from this weekend alone of Divine Intervention or The Way Things Work Out- fully attributable to God, the Universe, Angels or Fairies. When you are ‘in tune’ to these, things just go your way…I was SO looking forward to may hair cut on Monday but my S.O. recorded the appointment time wrong in his PDA. (we think the time might have been adjusted due to Daylight Savings Time but that doesn’t matter) We thought it was 11:30 but in fact it was 10:30 so the girl didn’t have time for my cut and colour but at least Bill got his hair cut. (he really needed it!) The silver lining here is that I am OFF THE HOOK having to go see Bill’s hair stylist now! I can go back to my regular girl without guilt. Now that Bill is in Calgary I’m certainly not going to go downtown by myself for a hair appointment. She’s good sure, but not worth the trouble of me going down there on my own when I don’t get a lunch or dinner out of the deal from Bill.
Back tracking a little to Sunday – Aaron, spent the day with a friend. Conversation came around to summer day camp where they met a few years ago. He mentioned the week-long destination camp he has gone on every year. His dad was there, we talked about it and I said I would love to get more info from you if you can get it. He had a camp brochure right there and said it was extra and I was welcome to take it. My heart is so full that I can make it possible for Aaron to go to this camp with his friend for a whole week this summer. He told us exactly which week he attends and it is very likely they would be housed in the same cabin. Aaron is going to have a ball! I registered him on line – we’re just waiting for confirmation. It’s only because my S.O. is now working and we will be completely solvent in the next month that this is possible. I wouldn’t normally be able to afford this. Things are certainly looking up for us and I am so thankful. www.camppotlatch.com.
I was looking forward to a good LBWO today on my new plan but I didn’t have my runners in my gym bag or in my locker at the office, so I couldn’t work out. Instead I returned some slacks (that fit awfully) to Sears Catalogue desk on my lunch hour. I felt gassy and grumbly – really uncomfortable - “down there” all morning so I thought I would go home to see what I could do about that. I had a little bit of relief but as I was sitting down to lunch, the door bell rang! I had a delivery and I was home to receive it by coincidence (or Divine Plan!). I am expecting a few items delivered to the house but TODAY – it was my Colonix order! Yipee! I was also home when my son called me on my mobile phone to say that he forgot his homework and if I had a break coming up could I deliver it to the school? Isn’t he LUCKY his mom was home and I was able to find it and deliver it on my way back to the office! I also seized this opportunity to deliver the 3 bags of clothing to his school that help to offset the cost of his school camping trip coming up in May…life is good when you believe…

I’m gonna make this quick.

2006-03-23T17:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry I’ve been absent. I am well. My significant other took a consulting job in Calgary and I took him to the airport on Sunday this past week. He went out early on a two day “look-see” to familiarize himself with the city and started the job on Tuesday. Sure, it’s a bummer he’s out of town, but this is good $$$$ (REALLY good $$$) and Calgary is only an hour away by WestJet. (the Greatest regional airline in Canada – and I don’t just say that because by OLDER brother is a Captain for the airline. I’m sure he would beg to say they are MUCH bigger than a Regional airline, Jennifer.) I’m going out to see Bill next Thursday night, returing Monday, and then he’s back for the Easter long weekend. After that, I do hope he can come home every 4-6 weeks. We’re solid, so I am not worried.

I am however, completely on my own for the first time in about 10 years. Except for these two darn cats! My wonderful son goes to this dad’s just up the road for two weeks every month and it was time just this Monday. So some people might say I should rejoice in being single, part-time. Well, sort of, maybe only 10-20%. I really am a ‘connected’ person. I need people. (Barbara Streisand – people..who need people…)

Anyway, I’m going to ramble on in more detail tomorrow when I am much more comfortable skiving off of work at my desk, and put it all down. Bill had to take the laptop with him as part of his business. I am much more comfortable lazing in front of the TV on the sofa with the laptop with a glass of wine, er, water next to me, than I am in this dark uncomfortable office watching this little, what is THAT a 14 inch TV!? At LEAST its colour! (the computer however, is much faster than the laptop.)

TTYL folks.

The Magic Box

2006-03-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

Creme Eggs
The chocolate season is just about over. It runs from October (Halloween), through December, February and wraps up with Easter in April.
6 months of chocolate. I love these Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs. (Love, Love, love)
I have a magic box. Its a box of 3 creme eggs. I will eat one egg a night. I go to eat one the next night and it is full again with 3 eggs! I love my magic box!
Last Sunday night I confused the Easter Bunny. I had TWO eggs. (oink) but I loved every minute of it. So my magic box was down to 1 egg so when I went Monday night
to my magic box it was only replenished with one egg. :( But that's okay. I over-indulged one night so I deserve the slight let down but I have faith in my magic box.
But I do worry....there is a recall on Cadbury Eggs. Bah! Something about peices of plastic in the creme. For the amount of eggs I've eaten I haven't come across one.
So on one hand I'm worried my easter creme egg supply will be running out soon but my fitness and nutrition program could use some relief from the sugar injection every night
at around 9pm....

Today's Video Clip
This just cracks me up. This guy is a great skater - and entertainer obviously.
The musk-cles are not real but you can't fake that skating!
Make sure your sound is on.

http://www.mojoflix.com/Video/Evgeni-Plushenko-Sex-Bomb.html

A Canadian Quiz

2006-03-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

A Canadian Quiz

This was a lot of fun, try more than once and you will get different questions.

Click below:
http://www.cbc.ca/chillybeach/trivia/trivia26.swf

Joke of the Day

Doing the Math

A husband wrote the following letter for his wife and left it on the dining room table:

"To My Dear Wife, You will surely understand that I have certain needs that you, being 54 years old, can no longer satisfy. I am very happy with you and I value you as a good wife.

Therefore, after reading this letter, I hope that you will not wrongly interpret the fact that I will be spending the evening with my 18 year old secretary at the Comfort Inn Hotel.

Please don't be upset - I shall be home before midnight."

When the man came home late that night, he found the following letter on the dining room table:

"My Dear Husband, I received your letter and thank you for your honesty about my being 54 years old. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you are also 54 years old.
As you know, I am a math teacher at our local college.

I would like to inform you that while you read this, I will be at the Hotel Fiesta with Michael, one of my students, who is also the assistant tennis coach. He is young, virile, and like your secretary, is 18 years old.

As a successful businessman who has an excellent knowledge of Math, you will understand that we are in the same situation, although with one small difference - 18 goes into 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18. Therefore, I will not be home until sometime tomorrow."

Feb. 28, 2006

2006-02-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

Joke of the day

Two lawyers had been stranded on a deserted island for several months.The only other thing on the island was a tall coconut tree, which provided their food. And each day, one of the lawyers climbed to the top of the tree to see if he could see a rescue boat coming. One day, the lawyer yelled down from the tree, "Wow. I can't believe my eyes. There is a girl out there floating in our direction."

The lawyer on the ground was most skeptical and said, "I think you're hallucinating and you should come down right now."

So, the lawyer reluctantly climbed down the tree and told his friend that he had just actually seen a naked brunette woman floating face up headed toward their island. The other lawyer started to laugh, thinking his friend had surely lost his mind. But within a few minutes, up to their beach floated a naked brunette woman, face up, gorgeous body and breasts and totally unconscious.

The two lawyers went over to her and discovered, yes, she was alive. One said to the other, "You know, we've been on this island for months now without a woman. It's been a long time. Do you think we should, you know ... screw her?"

The other lawyer glanced down at the totally naked woman and asked, "Out of what?!!"

Lucy in the Wash Tub

Olypmic Walking

2006-02-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

Joke of the day:

A guy is walking through a fairground one day, when he notices a stunning redhead sprawled on the ground unconscious.

Kneeling next to the beauty, he lightly slaps her face. No response. Then he rubs her wrists. Nothing. He even tries mouth to mouth. The gorgeous woman does not respond. Finally, the guy takes another tack. He unbuttons the girl's blouse, and slides it off her body. Then, unhooking her bra, he begins to massage and fondle her firm, soft breasts.

The girl begins to moan and gasp in pleasure, her nipples stiffening, and finally her eyes flutter open.

"Oh thank you," she sighs. Looking down at the guy's hands, still massaging her tits, she goes on. "Tell me, how did you think of such a novel way to revive me?"

"It wasn't my idea," he says. "That guy over there kept shouting, "Rubber balloons ..... Rubber balloons!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really didn't feel like going to the gym today - but I did! I compromised and did 40 mins on the treadmill walking at 3.5 incline and 4 mph. I was watching the Olympic skating and it was a bit tricking walking and watching at the same time. I would start to move with them as they wound up for their jump and oooh, it startled me too when they made a fall. It was better to have done something than nothing at all..

Dinner Ideas - all BFL friendly! (click for recipe)
Italian Meatloaf
Citrus Chicken Burger
Lasagna and Caesar Salad
Cheeseburgers and Coleslaw
Spicy Sausage Manicotti

Back At It

2006-02-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

Today's Quote
Usually, when you go to someone's house they offer you coffee. They say, "You want some coffee?" I tell them, "No thanks, I have coffee at home. But I could use a little pancake mix." I try to get the things I need.
- George Carlin

I got myself back to the gym today after an 8 day absence. I had been suffering headaches for a while there so missed one or two because of that. Took a day to go the dentist to investigate the cause of the headaches - but she had nothing to offer, just to watch grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw. Took Bill to the airport one day. It all adds up. So today I thought I would take it easy getting back into the swing of things. I did 15 mins on the elliptical and 15 mins on the treadmill running at 4.0. Average HR was 154. It felt good but I know I could push more. Isn't it great when everything is working right? No complaints from the feet or the knees or the hips or lungs? Just go go go. The last song on my MP3 was GREAT! It was Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf. Now THAT is a great cardio tune.

27 days left in this challenge and I want to do well. Tracker friends have put me to shame with their dedication and motivation. I've been thinking about it quite a bit and I have identified one of my problems is that I don't like competition. I don't like to PUT expectations on myself for fear of failure. Pretty pathetic isn't it? Everyone says set goals, but for me setting a goal is setting myself up for failure. Ack! Kick me!
Seems like I am only willing to go so far. I shudder to think of a trainer pushing me, egging me on. I believe this comes from when I was a child. Hated seeing the kids tease each other, push each other, compete and put down others. I just wanted everyone to be nice and get along. I'm not saying I go for mediocrity and equality. My son's school seems to subscribe to that. Sports day has no individual 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. They get 'participant' ribbons for each event. The team houses are colours and not mighty Greek Gods like when I was in Elementary school. I just don't get how "participant" gets them ready for the real world. "Thank you for showing up in life, carry on in mediocrity." Is that the kind of doctor we want working on us? The kind of leaders we want in government? BAH! I'm getting off topic.

It shouldn't be that hard. I just want to lose 10lbs. I weigh 135. 125 is the goal but 130 would probably look mighty fine too. But as Leonard Cohen would say "Why not ask for more?".
I do well during the week. I work out at lunch across the street from the office. We have a good cafeteria here for those times I don't bring lunch or heaven forbid, my snacks (mid-meals in BFL speak). I eat 5-6 times a day. I have a balanced MRP for breakfast, balanced snack, good enough lunch from the cafe if its not leftovers from dinner, balanced pm snack and dinner is usually pretty balanced or at least lean and low fat/low carb. Weekends are not as good. Can't be bothered to make a 'proper' breakfast for myself - it is not my favourite meal of the day anyway. I'm funny that way. I'll make my son a cooked breakfast every weekend. Eggs with sausage or bacon. Sometimes pancakes. I'm not tempted by it. I'll have an MRP or toast and peanut butter (yeeessss, peaaanut butter). I don't have the discipline of doing the mid-meals on the weekends either and then there's the wine after 3pm! Ah! I'm pathetic.

Snacks:

Corn Muffins

Raspberry Cottage Cheese

Shrimp Cocktail

Nutrition Bar

Its all good

2006-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Suzanne, thank you for stopping by.

I just wanted to say that I never said peanut butter is bad (because, oh it is sooo good) but I think moderation is the key.

Also, I’m not saying I have given up on Tracker and staying away because as we all know, it is a very addictive site. All it takes is an attitude adjustment. You know, from the Life of Brian, “always look on the bright side of life.” (are you whistling now?) The Tracker part of Tracker is awesome and I don’t want to give that up. Not to mention my BLENDS!

This one of my dream cars.
The Bentley Flying Spur

Long Time No Post

2006-02-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank my blends FV Tom, J-Dub and Havlow for checking up on me. I am fine. I haven't posted in a while for no reason other than I haven't had much to say or report and other things have taken my time. I DO HOWEVER, have a few things on my mind today!

Things have been very quiet at work. I've been bored even, but have successfully been able to act like I'm really, really busy. (don't tell anyone) Its been on my mind to write for my blog at my desk - wow! I'd really look busy then wouldn't I? But still, I just did not have the fire within. Well, this week my manager is in Palm Springs on vacation. So, I can really skive off work! (definition: evade a duty or depart evasively)

So, lots of topics have flitted through my mind in the last week or so but today, we're going to talk about Tracker. Hot topic among us Blends right now. Last week the shit hit the fan again in the Off Topic threads - PG and R-rated categories were created. I have chosen not to view the R-rated thread and I am very comfortable with that. Though I really DO NOT see the necessity to have R-rated category AT ALL! From what I gather having read some of your Blogs is that it pretty much spiraled into complete debauchery. Reminds me of the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Maybe, as a few of you have suggested, the thread, topics and personalities subscribing to that thread will implode. I just don't get it. I don't see the need for THAT kind of discussion in a Fitness and Health site. WHY don't they just email each other with their lewd conversations? Oh, and I agree with what someone said on Tracker - just because we might say this isn't the place for that [kind of talk] doesn't mean we are prudes! I am a Hell of a lot of fun. Never had any complaints! (You might have seen my number on the wall: 867-5309) But I digress…

Today I see a Poll asking whether all Off Topic Threads should be removed and discontinued - not just the R rated OT thread. This is simply asinine. To paint all Off Topic threads with the same brush as the juvenile sexual banter on the R thread is just wrong. Come on! Captain Kirk would NEVER do that: sacrifice the good of the many for the good of the few.
Now, there are some regular OT stuff that I have no interest in. I just don't read them. I REALLY don't care how your sweetie proposed to you. I don't care about the score in your State's football rivalry. But it is also a place where we can feel a certain safety and freedom to express ourselves and ask questions. But I do think that if you fear you have a hernia or some ailment you should see a doctor - not ask strangers on a website for their thoughts or opinions. JMO. In short, Off Topic threads are not a bad thing and don't need to be banned altogether. However, r-rated topics have no place on a fitness and health related site. Again, JMO.
I want to express my puzzlement that the Webmaster dealt so swiftly and effectively with that hijacker (Butt Conspiracy) on the pooping thread. WM rode that doofus right out of town using every threat he had the power to use; reporting to his employer, threatening to report him to his internet provider etc. Now, how come he didn't do the same for The Magpies? (as I've seen some of you refer to those shit-disturbers as.) Why weren't those posts/threads shut down and locked with the same swiftness? And reprimands handed out? (pointing to the shit that went down in December and last summer) I learned from some of your blogs that the Webmaster has actually participated in these recent R-rated threads, that's why. By participating he is condoning it. I guess it is his site after all. PMO. This does not represent him in a very good light. Jerk. I agree with some observations that someone who really has a problem with a stalker or harasser may not feel that they can go to him and report the problem and trust that it will be dealt with properly. His integrity is questionable.
I'm going to switch gears now, away from the drama above. Tracker is loosing its luster for me. I am likening it to the same way my boyfriend and I have evolved in our fitness knowledge. To very simply illustrate: Shape magazine used to be enough for me. Now I see it as a regular fluffy woman's magazine with some fitness advice and skinny girls demonstrating exercises holding 3 pound weights. They are not the kind of fit body I want. Oxygen filled the gap for while but soon all the articles are the same and it is getting a little fluffy too. Bill's hit the wall similarly with Men's Fitness and their message boards. We evolved to Hussmann's fitness site and Burn The Fat Feed the muscle. Now where do you go from there?
So I'm saying Tracker is loosing its luster for me because I'm tired of seeing the same topics time and again from the newbies. Its tiring to respond with the same answer we did months ago and tiring to read the same answers. I do appreciate those of the long term trackers who do respond very helpfully to the new people. I haven't been one to post much anyway - its fear based. I've mentioned that before on Tracker. Fear that my comments thoughts or opinions will get lambasted or even just ignored. (FYI Peanut butter is more a FAT than a protein! 12g Carb; 14g protein; 72g fat. And beef jerky is not a health food!)
So, how has my fitness been going? I'm no star. I have good days, bad days, good weeks and bad weeks. I just have to do what I always advise - string more good days together than bad days. There was a week I made it to the gym every day. Then the next week I fizzle out going 3 or 4 out of 5 days. I burn out so easily. It is real work dedicating yourself to fitness and healthy eating. I also succumb to that strange phenomenon that Skwigg wrote so well about - self-sabotage. When I start to look good or see a number on the scale its very subliminal, something in me feels fear about looking good. Oh, I don't even want to go there right now. I recorded on Tracker that I reached 133 at one time in this challenge. I know now that it must have been an error on the digital scale. When it reads low like that I get off and then get on again and I get a truer reading. I haven't gotten below 135. Please don't tell me to get rid of the scale. I understand the scale and use it as a tool. I only weigh in once a week on Friday mornings - when I know I've been doing good on the program. I didn't get to the gym at all last week so I'm not going near that scale until I've been in the gym for a week.

These are not my cats. Tiger and Lucy will never been seen like this. But this picture just makes me smile whenever I see it.

It is my desktop wallpaper at work and it is our Theme for the day: Can't we all just get along?

Oh, the Guilt!

2006-01-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

Daily Angel Wisdom

Angels are "messengers from God," and they are in your life whether you follow a religion or not, and even if you don't believe in them.

- Margaret Neylon

(Stick with me Tom – your stuff is at the end)
Yesterday, I took the day off work (it was a scheduled day off approved by the manager) to go downtown and have my hair cut and coloured by someone other than my regular stylist! I’ve cheated on my hairdresser! Oh, you know how it is…sometimes your regular girl has been doing you so long and knows you too well and you just feel you need a bit of spark. My girl is very up-to-date actually, with what is current and is always going on training sessions to see what’s new in the industry. Last time she did my streaks I just felt they were done too finely – she said ‘chunky streaks are out’. I beg to differ – I see them all the time in the office, on the street and on tv. The month leading up to the appointment I wondered, How do I face her again afterward? How do I explain? My whole mindset was that this would just be a one time thing and I’d go back. Well, I was sitting in the chair yesterday and the new girl says, and next time it will be easier because I’ll be able to pick these out…Next time? Oh…now who am I going to offend? I came to this new girl because my boyfriend gets his hair cut by her. It’s a good trendy salon downtown and I thought I needed a change. And then at the time of payment she asks when I’d like to come back…then Bill says he’s back on March 1 and as luck would have it there was an opening right after his…Oh, well. Change is good right? I could just not ever see the regular girl again right? But oh. I started taking my son to her a couple years ago and he is in real need of a cut right now - guess I’m wearing a hat to his next appointment!?

BTW – had a good LBWO today. Missed it yesterday so did it today.

Joke of the day

(okay, so if it wasn’t on your radar, we’re having a Federal election on January 23rd, hence all the political jokes)

School
One day a fourth-grade teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up fireman, mechanic, businessman, salesman, doctor, lawyer, and so forth. But little Justin was being un-characteristically quiet. When the teacher prodded him about his father he replied."My father's an exotic dancer in a Gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other men and they put money in his underwear. Sometimes, if the offer is really good, he will go home with some guy and make love with him for money." The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other children to work on some exercises and then took little Justin aside to ask him, "Is that really true about your father?" "No," the boy said, "He works for the Liberals and is helping to secure the re-election of Paul Martin, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids!"

Fitness Tip of the day
Improve your grades! For every 2 percent increase on the treadmill grade, you burn 25% more calories. Try intervals of increasing the inclines during your walks or runs to increase your level of fitness and burn more calories.

Free Day Friday

2006-01-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

Today's Quote

"Some cause happiness wherever they go;
others whenever they go."
Oscar Wilde

It was a good UBWO today, though I didn’t make it through all the weight stages. I’ll tell you why.

Since the upgrades at my gym they got rid of the weight set I used to use. It progressed nicely from 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25 lb dumbbells etc. I now have a jump from 5, 10, 15, 20+ lb dumbbells. I had a nice (successful) routine going with my BFL workout of 8, 10, 12 and maxing out at 15 lbs for six reps.

Now I have only 5, 10, and 15 lbs to work with. Sounds like a piece of cake doesn’t it? But in reality these dumbbells are 7, 12 and 17 lbs and boy, that jump to 17 lbs I am not ready for.

Well, I can do the Military press alright with the 15’s. I really hit a 10 on that today with my rep of 8 but there’s no way I can lift the 20 yet (22 lbs in reality counting the handle). So I’ll just plug away at this. I’ll have to modify the program and know that when I CAN finally lift that 20 for even one rep – wahoo! - I’ll know I’ve reached the next level.

This kind of started me thinking…should I try Creatine to get over this hump? Naw, what’s the point if I can lift 20 lbs but I feel miserable because I feel fat and bloated!? I think it will be much more satisfying to me to bridge that gap all on my own power.

So tonight is Free Meal. Friday is Pizza Night. It’s a Flame Pizza – hot chilis in the tomato sauce, hot cappicolli, hot pepperoni, green peppers and mushrooms. Remember – HOT food raises the metabolism! I’m enjoying my white wine – though I plan to be back on the water for the weekend. (Hey Tom, what brand of beer is it you drink? That’s pretty much like water to us up here anyway.)

Joke of the day

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin was invited to address a major gathering of First Nations two weeks ago in Northern Canada. He spoke for almost an hour on his future plans for increasing every Native's present standard of living, should he be re-elected. He also referred to his career as Finance Minister. Although the Prime Minister was vague on the details of his plan, he seemed most enthusiastic about his future ideas for helping his "red sisters and brothers". At the conclusion of his speech, the Tribes presented him witha plaque inscribed with his new Indian name - Walking Eagle. The proud Prime Minister then departed in his motorcade, waving to the crowds. A news reporter later inquired of the group of chiefs as to howthey came to select the new name given to the Prime Minister. They explained that Walking Eagle is the name given to a birdso full of shit it can no longer fly.

Good Day

2006-01-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

Today's Quote

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.

-Hugh Downs

I had a good day today. Slept the best last night than I have in days, two girlfriends I haven’t seen in a while said I had lost weight and was looking good, ate well today and got in day 4 Cardio at the gym.

I attribute my sleeplessness to not having had a drink since Sunday Jan. 2nd. I have cut out alcohol in order to speed up my fat loss on this challenge. Normally I would have 1-2 glasses of wine when I got home from work. It really does “take the edge off” as they say and now I know it really relaxed my brainwaves when I went to bed. When I go to bed without having had a drink my mind is wired, flitting from thought to thought, I can’t relax, I worry, and I have dream after dream after dream. I seem to wake up every 40 mins or so. I hate this. I have tried Melatonin. (for those of you that want to try it, it was suggested to me to take it about 10 mins before bedtime, opening two capsules under the tongue and drinking a glass of warm milk.) Melatonin didn’t work for me. I am one of those people where if a medication says it will make you drowsy – it does the opposite for me. I believe this is also one of those supplements that you have to take for a while to really see results. I sure couldn’t take more nights like that. It wasn’t AWFUL but it sure wasn’t the expected outcome. In November I had my yearly check up with the doctor and I talked to her about this sleeplessness. I’ve known her for years and she is aware that I’ve had this problem for many years. She prescribed Lorazapam. (aka Ativan). I haven’t tried it yet. I’m afraid to! I tried it 10 years ago when I was depressed and HATED IT. Okay I would have had a couple beer before bed and I took it and I had a horrible night! I felt like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown – more depressed with a dark cloud hanging over me.
Anyway, hope I sleep good tonight! Kinda looking forward to a bottle of wine this weekend…I’ll have to talk about my problem with goal setting another time…

So we are 5 days in to the New Year – how many NEW diets have you seen on the market already! Yesterday was The Sonoma diet. (This I could possibly do! Says I can have my wine and my cheese and eat it too!) Today I get an UNSOLICITED email from Prevention magazine touting The Flavor Point Diet.

http://www.flavorpointdiet.com/uof/flavorpointdiet/?keycode=011424

“What if losing weight could be effortless? If you could watch those extra pounds just disappear? If diet foods and “meal replacements” tasted like the foods you crave, instead of like cardboard?” TRICK YOUR BRAIN INTO FEELING FULL, ANDWATCH THE POUNDS JUST DISAPPEAR!At some point during every eating experience, we all begin to feel full and fulfilled. When you reach that point of fulfillment—the Flavor Point—you stop eating. If you reach the Flavor Point early enough, you will feel full on fewer calories. If you reach the Flavor Point too late, you overeat. By combining foods by flavor, The Flavor Point Diet tricks the brain into being satisfied all day long…helping you reach your Flavor Point more quickly, fill up on fewer calories, and lose that extra weight once and for all—with almost no effort!

Give me a break! Come on people! Anything worth having is worth striving for. It don’t come easy. It takes dedication. A plan. A new mindset. A lifestyle change.(And let us not forget exersize!) Then when it is truly a lifestyle…it is easy…or easier. There will still be temptations. But the more good days you have on plan, then you can treat yourself to the things that are only reserved for special occasions.

Diet Tip of the Day: Make your resolution to change one thing weekly. Instead of resolving to lose 20 pounds in a month, stop drinking soda. Drink one less soda a day and you'll save over 1,000 calories a week. In just one month, you'll lose a pound without much effort. Small changes pay off in big rewards.

Sorry Tom. No jokes today.

Cardio Day

2006-01-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

Today's Quote

To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.

-Unknown

Stardate: C2D2. My cold was feeling better all morning today, but when I got to the gym and onto the elliptical trainer I couldn’t stop coughing. I figure I my medication was wearing off because I was an hour away from my next dose of medication. I think it was also the change in air from the office. I expected the cardio area of the gym to be quite busy due to new resolutions but luckily I was the only one. (So at least I didn’t bother anyone with my dry cough.) Bill said the gym wasn’t busy this morning either. But then our gym didn’t do ANY advertising in Dec. They never do! We wonder how long this gym is going to be around even though they just did a whole bunch of upgrades. With no advertising how can they survive?

An 80-year-old man

An 80-year-old man went to his doctor for his quarterly check-up. The doctor asked him how he was feeling and the 80-year-old said "Things are great and I've never felt better. I now have a 20 year-old bride who is pregnant with my child. So what do you think about that?"The doctor considered his question for a minute and then began."I have an older friend, much like you, who is an avid hunter and never misses a season.One day when he was setting off hunting, he was in a bit of a hurry and accidentally picked up his walking cane instead of his gun.As he neared a lake he came across a very large male beaver sitting at the water's edge. He realised he'd left his gun at home and so couldn't shoot the magnificent creature but out of habit he raised his cane, aimed it at the animal as if it were his favourite hunting rifle and went 'bang,bang'.Miraculously, two shots rang out and the beaver fell over dead.Now, what do you think of that?" asked the doctor.The 80-year-old said, "If you ask me, I'd say somebody else pumped a couple of rounds into that beaver."The doctor replied, "My point exactly".

A Fresh New Year

2006-01-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work."-- Thomas A. Edison

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. Now its time to get back on track with my fitness goals. I’ve had a head cold since Dec. 23. I think it is just starting to let up now. Today was the first day of Challenge 2 for me. I had a half assed upper body workout today at home with dumbbells and a fitness ball. I will be packing tuna and cottage cheese and raspberries for snacks tomorrow at work. It’s my first day back at work since my vacation started on Dec. 19. I got some time in on the recumbent bike and had 1 great 30 min. run outside in the rain the first week but that is it for fitness over the holidays. I am not looking forward to getting back to work EXCEPT for the fact that I really need to get back into the routine of things. My scheduled breaks really help me get my meals and snacks in. I have no discipline when I’m at home and honestly the boring food is not as hard to handle when I’m working. When I’m at home I want pizza for lunch or grilled Panini sandwiches or A&W Mozza burgers. If I don’t take leftover turkey breast from home tomorrow I’ll be getting a turkey wrap at the office cafeteria. They make them fresh.

I like the quote above because it tells us that we cannot expect different results if we keep doing the same things, or follow the same habits over and over. If every diet or fitness plan has failed in the past for you it’s because you didn’t change something(s) very critical – whatever that may be for you – in order to achieve the desired results. Oh, someone in the fitness world said it much better I think. I hope you get the drift.

Canadian Politics

2005-12-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

John the farmer was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called pullets and eight or ten roosters, whose job was to fertilize the eggs.

The farmer kept records and any rooster that didn't perform went into the soup pot and was replaced. That took an awful lot of his time so he bought a set of tiny bells and attached them to his roosters.

Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply by listening to the bells. The farmer's favorite rooster was old Harmarton, a very fine specimen he was too. But on this particular morning John noticed old Harmarton’s bell hadn't rung at all! John went to investigate.

The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover. But to Farmer John's amazement, Harmarton had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring. He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. John was so proud of Harmarton, he entered him in the county fair and Harmarton became an overnight sensation among the judges.

The result... The judges not only awarded Harmarton the "No Bell Piece Prize" but they also awarded him the "Pulletsurprise" as well. Clearly Harmarton was a politician in the making.

Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren't paying attention!

Bill’s Christmas Eve Tourtiere

2005-12-24T15:35:00.000-08:00

Bill is from Montreal. He is not French Canadian but he likes a traditional Tourtiere on Christmas Eve. It is a pork meatpie that is eaten before mid-night Mass. (Only we won't be waiting until that late and we don't go to Mass.)

This is my first time making one and I have the filling simmering on the stove right now. As far as I can tell I am right on track. It is looking just as it should and preliminary tasting says it is gonna be good and will garner me two thumbs up from Bill. But then, he is very very rarely disappointed in the food I make.

It is a simple recipe. I am using frozen pie crust and half beef and half pork. I have blended the recipe found at Allrecipes with one from my Aunt France who is definitely French Canadian. I have omitted cinnamon and added a bit of poultry seasoning. Maybe you’ll try it sometime. Click here for Meat Pie (Tourtiere). I'm serving a salad and a nice bottle of Merlot with it.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas Jokes!

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Christmas stamps?" The clerk says,"What denomination?" The woman says, "God help us. Has it come to this? Give me 6 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran and 22 Baptists."

Things to remember before the Christmas Party. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:
1. Innovative
2. Preliminary
3. Proliferation
4. Cinnamon

THINGS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN YOU'RE DRUNK:
1. Specificity
2. British Constitution
3. Passive-aggressive disorder

THINGS THAT ARE DOWNRIGHT IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY WHEN YOU'RE DRUNK:
1. Oh, I couldn't. No one wants to hear me sing.
2. Nope, no more beer for me.
3. Good evening, officer. Isn't it lovely out tonight?
4. Sorry, but you're not really my type.
5. Thanks, but I don't want to have sex.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The chief of staff at the hospital remarked to the director of nursing that there seemed to be an awful lot of expectant nurses in their hospital.
As they were walking down the hall, he was becoming more and more concerned about a possible staff shortage as everyone seemed pregnant.
He began to ask the director when each pregnant nurse they passed was due. "When is she do?" "Some time in late September."
"How about her?" "Late September."
"And her?" "September."
"Jesus!" exclaimed the chief of staff. "How about her?" "I have no idea, sir. Norma wasn't at last year's Christmas Party."

Jennifer's Christmas Fitness Struggle (no joke!)

My eating hasn’t been on plan but at least I’ve been having something for breakfast. (230 calories, 23 g protein, 24g carb, 5g fat) And 3 out of 5 days this week I did SOMETHING for fitness. I ran on Tuesday in the rain for 30 mins and did 30 mins. on Wednesday and Thursday on our recumbent bike downstairs while watching the Food Channel. My thought was to at least still be kinda still in the groove of following a fitness lifestyle instead of giving it all up for gluttony for two weeks. My main downfall while I’ve been off work since Dec. 19 (to Jan. 2) is the constant glass of wine I have – after 2-3pm that is. It just makes the chores and baking go that much better, you know?

I know I really rely on the structure at the office too when it comes to meal times and even my workout. Bill delivers a protein smoothie to me while I get ready for work in the morning at about 7:30 am. That’s my first meal. Then at work for coffee about 10:30 I’ll have an egg on rye from the cafeteria or oatmeal and protein powder or a RTD chocolate shake for my mid-meal. Lunch time I go to the gym a short walk from the office. If I bring a cooked chicken breast from home I’ll get salad in the cafeteria to go with it. But often I’ll get a cold turkey wrap or cold roast beef wrap made fresh in the caf. Mid-afternoon snack will be a protein bar (170 cals. 17g protein, 17g carb 4g fat) or cottage cheese with frozen raspberries or shrimp and dip. Dinner is pork tenderloin done one of a thousand ways or chicken (ditto), or extra lean ground beef done one of many ways too. We also have ground turkey or turkey breast steaks often.

But hey, Christmas is a bit more lax. Cooked a wonderful Chicken Jerusalem (click for recipe) on Thursday night with brussel sprouts and boxed stuffing. Bill and I loved it and Aaron didn’t complain either. (always a good thing.) Chicken breasts with any sauce is a good thing! Oh, like Chicken Tikka Masala, or Butter Chicken on basmati…haven’t had that in a while. I guess next week is the week to get that out of our system – then its back on plan and only splurging on free days. We had Tacos on Monday. We ordered Pizza and KFC on Tuesday because Aaron had a friend over for a sleep-over. I didn’t think he would be ‘in-to’ the Adobo Pork Tenderloin with creamy cilantro sauce…we had saved that for Wednesday. Friday is always Pizza night but I hope to modify that in the New Year with a healthier homemade alternative…as I know my mom and dad got a pizza stone for Bill for Christmas. (He’s never met a pizza he didn’t like – he had the shirt to prove it).

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

The Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart

2005-12-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

The Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart

50° Fahrenheit (10° C)
Californians shiver uncontrollably. Canadians plant gardens.

35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)
Italian Cars won't start. Canadians drive with the windows down

32° Fahrenheit (0 ° C)
American water freezes . Canadian water gets thicker.

0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C)
New York City landlords finally turn on the heat. Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)
Mt.St. Helens freezes. Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

-100° Fahrenheit (-73° C)
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Canadians pull down their ear flaps.

-173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)
Ethyl alcohol Freezes. Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.

-460° Fahrenheit (-273° C)
Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops. Canadians start saying "cold, eh?"

-500° Fahrenheit (-295° C)
Hell freezes over. The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup

Pregnant Turkey?

2005-12-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, I got this from my mom by email today. It refers to Thanksgiving but it is still very apropo, don't you think?

One year at Thanksgiving my mom went to my sister'shouse for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick on her. She told my sister that she needed something from the store.When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(S) back in the oven.When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, "Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant bird!" At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry.It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs! She is a Blonde.

Now, this is a picture of me at the office last week. Close one eye and squint while looking - but don't look too long...

Christmas Baking

2005-12-22T17:03:00.000-08:00

Today's Quote

If you have the will to win, you have achieved half your success; if you don't, you have achieved half your failure.

-David V.A. Ambrose

If you were wondering what to make to take this Christmas season you should try these. I made these twice this week because they are SO easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. Sent some home with 2 of Aaron's friends each day I made them. I will have to try Splenda instead of sugar next time. I use Kraft Light Peanut butter. These are a hit!

KRAFT 3-Step Peanut Butter Chip Bars
1 cup Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
2 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, cut in chunks

MIX together peanut butter, sugar and egg.
SPREAD in a small baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks.
BAKE at 325 F for 20 mins.
TIP let squares cool completely before cutting.

Print the recipe from the website:
http://www.kraftcanada.com/EN/Recipes/RecipeTemplate?recipe_id=83243

Here's a picture of my No. 1 son taken yesterday. Okay, he's my only son.

Is it really that funny?

2005-12-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

Just a quick one before the end of the night.
Is it really that funny to post a picture on a motivational fitness site 'subtly' flipping the bird? Or completely naked save for a well positioned product placement? Save that self-absorption for a BLOG.
Or how about calling your friends a retard? ("don't take any offense. I say it to my friends all the time!"). WHAT??? Would you call your black friends Niggers? Just to be funny? I DON'T THINK SO.
Help me here, my American Blends - I just don't see the humour in that. Is this my Canadian perspective?

DISCLAIMER - HEY - this is my site! If I can't say here, what's been on my mind and niggling at me ...then I might implode.

Tiger

2005-12-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

Tiger came into our lives in July '04. He adopted us.
I'd been noticing animal hair on the front door mat. I thought hmmm the people before us had a dog - but how could our mat have all that hair. One day Bill said hey, come here. And we looked out the bay window and there was this orange tabby cat curled up there on the mat in the warm sunshine like he owned the place! Bill said he has seen the cat there before (but he never told me about him). We thought of all kinds of stories about how he came to be at our house. I started to leave food and water outside for him. He seemed really shy so we thought he was a wild cat, or stray - as wild as a cat can be in this residential area. We slowly started to offer to let him in but he was so nervous. Eventually he came in and took up permanent residence. He's a bit of an aloof old codger. He doesn't show any affection other than that massaging thing some cats do. But he's nice to have around. I worry about him if he is outside in the cold all night. I love to see him eat with gusto.

Lucy is the complete opposite of Tiger. He tolerates her but that is about it. She sure makes up for his lack of energy. She chases him and picks on him and grabs his tail and jumps on his back. She was only 8 weeks old when we got her at the end of August. She would follow him around and pester him and it reminded me of the way Lucy pester Charlie Brown - the way she would grab the football out from under him just as he took a running kick.

Time Wasted

2005-12-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

Holy dynamite, a day can be wasted just Blogging and reading Blogs!

I would like to thank Christie and Suzanne for their nice welcome, in addition to Jeremy and Jen whom I messaged earlier.

So what I did accomplish today was getting Lucy's claws clipped at the Vet and the grocery shopping done. Didn't get the bathrooms cleaned, the papers put away, the tree fininshed, the fiing done. Luckily I'm on vacation starting tomorrow until Jan. 3. My favourite saying when someone has asked if I am ready for Christmas is "Well, I'm not behind yet." Just have a few things left to do and I am on track.

Here's a picture from Septemeber'05 of me before going to the 25 year High School Reunion..

I've been 'outted'.

2005-12-18T15:56:00.000-08:00

So, I've had this blog for some time but I've neglected it. Its a dicipline and I have been putting my energy elsewhere. Lame as that is. Jeremy presented me to all the Bloggers from Tracker - I wonder if that is what a 'blend' is? A blogger friend = bl-end?
I like meeting new people and I have found some peoples thoughts, ideas, opinions to be really intriguing. OTHERS, not so much!
I really really need the help and support with my fitness and nutrition. Man, it is such WORK eating right. I LOVE food. (I'm sure some of you other Cancers feel the same way. I should be 300 lbs the way I watch and read about food all the time. ) I just find the clean eating to be so BORING. And it is hard work keeping fresh food in the house. No one likes lettuce or salad that is looking pretty lifeless itself.

Your Pimp Name Is...

Her Majesty Kisses

What's" Your Pimp Name?

Pen to paper

2005-11-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

Its time get back to blogging. This is a discipline. I think it will be good for me. I know many, many others have taken up blogging and they seem to be loving it. I guess I just worry "what interest is there in what I have to say?" But does it matter? There are SO many people out there, all different types that may find mild interest in what is written here.

I have thoughts all day long that I could be putting down here...but do I remember them? No. Sometimes I think they're even pretty clever or poingnant. I should carry a journal around with me. I used to be a creative writer. What ever happened to that? uh, ya. Boyfriends. That was high school - and a good topic for a future entry!

Dream

2004-10-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

I had a dream a wolf was loping toward me with an Indian beaded necklace around its neck of blue, white and black beads, with black leather and black and white feathers - woven, kind of in the shape of a dream catcher. I knew it was coming for me, to deliver the necklace. It ran past me but I called to it "I'm here." and it came back and let me take the necklace off. Then I saw on the ground here and there other items belonging with the necklace in similar design - colours and leather matched the necklace. Decorative wrist straps, leather rings, feather hair clips etc. and I went around and gathered them knowing they all went together. They were intended for me and I needed them. Then I woke up or the dream changed into something else entirely.

Any thoughts on what might mean when a wolf enters your dream and brings you a gift?

My first post

2004-09-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

This is very cool. I have to thank thinnerkate for introducing me to Blogs!
Its not that I think I have anything important to say - well, maybe sometimes I will. But sometimes, I just have things I want to say. I know you know what I mean.
So I look forward to sharing my thoughts, feelings, experiences, favourite sites, authors - anything and everything. I hope I'm entertaining and perhaps even insightful for some readers of my posts.