Overheard conversation

OK, so I'm in the bank this evening getting out a wad of cash for the coming weeks (in NYC you need buckets of the stuff...but you never know what for?) and I nearly peed myself when I over heard this.

Girl 1 "I love my mom"
Girl 2 "That's nice"
Girl 1 "She looks great. She's thin, she works out, she looks after herself"
Girl 2 "Hmmmmm....that's great"
Girl 1 "Well, time is running out. She's 41 this year"


I nearly burst out laughing. I couldn't even tell you how old these girls were, but the fact that I said girl and not woman sums it up. The fact that they thought 41 was "running out" blows me away.

It's funny how you think that 41 is really really old when you're in your early 20s, but I can honestly say I like my age, I don't feel past it, I like having had the experiences I do and I like the assurity that maturity brings. Can't say I'm happy with middle-age-spread and crinkles, but hey everything has a price.

I think that exchange was priceless - it made my day!

Two pints

One of my favourite shows is Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. It's on the BBC3 channel in England - I usually have to wait to buy the UK DVD which I can only play on my crappy region free DVD player. The BBC at the end of last year launched the iPlayer - a website where you could download the previous week's TV programmes. Very cool. Downside is that you can only do it from the UK - and I'm crap at trying to figure out how to get a UK IP address to fool it into thinking I was there. Any suggestions on a postcard please....

Anyway, the BBC3 website you can actually watch the latest live episode online....very very cool. For whatever reason it's not subject to the IP address rules - all the other links are, bu tnot this one. Then, I found out that iTunes now has some BBC programmes online that I can buy. Of course they're not available on the US iTunes site - but luckily I have a UK credit card....so that works pretty well.

That makes me happy.

A snow day brings a ton of guilt

Why am I struggling so much with this diet? I did so well for months, managed to lose pounds in the holidays. It sucks.

Today is a snow day - about 5-6 inches of slushy wet horrible snow - decided to stay home. Now I know those of you in Iowa have had oodles of the damn stuff - but this is our first downfall this winter. And we have to walk everywhere in it. Yuk, at home.

Anyhow....Jackie (my neighbour) and I decided that we needed to clean. So we did. that is no excuse for the amount of food I've eaten today so far....I'm embarrassed, and have decided to cleanse myself of this evil doing I'm going to admit to what I've eaten. It is 3.30pm on Friday Feb 22nd, here is my guilt fest....and in no particular order

Bowl of Readybrek (British instant oatmeal type thing), yogurt
2 Aero bars
About 8 Bourbon biscuits (cookies)
Bit of mango (and really not much at all)
Left over chinese - take 1 - chicken curry
Left over chinese - take 2 - chicken and mushrooms

It has to have been 6 months since I've indulged so badly. I feel like crap, I've not followed my protein/carb diet plan at all and it's paying off.

My pennance is that I will get my ass to the spin class tonight, and then do at least 1 class tomorrow (if not 2).

Do you think it's because Billy's been away a few weeks? While I've exercised, it's been nothing like the gruelling schedule I normally put myself through. I dunno... maybe. I've still done 3 classes in the last week (1 weight training and 2 spin) so it's not awful....it's just not like what I usually.

We also got our quote for all the work we wanted doing in the apartment. $30,000. Enough said. We'll be rethinking what we want to do....that's for sure.

What a fat ass I am.....and I'm still thinking of the flipping chocolate. This evil twin of mine needs to take a flipping hike!

Willpower and chocolate

I'm struggling. I workout, I eat, I workout, I eat. Something has to change. I work out - a lot. You'd think you'd see some change to the waistline....but it's been static since the holidays. Part of me thinks it's because I feel entitled to eat really really bad stuff as I work out so much.

Take last night. I was in a foul mood. I'd had a really crappy day at work....the crappiest in a really long time. I had eaten Ok during the day (an omelet, pasta and sauce). I'd been out at a work do on Tuesday night so had planned on going to spin class. When I got home I really couldn't be bothered - mind you when both of my neighbours were going I dragged my sorry miserable ass to the gym and finished a spin class.

By the time I was done I was sooooooooooooooooooooo hungry - like shaky, couldn't think straight etc etc. I kept telling myself to eat a banana, some grapes etc and be healthy. And it worked - for about 2 nano seconds. I even had a bowl of cereal for dinner - Kashi cereal, so really healthy - but then it started. Found chocolate and ate it.

What a complete idiot. I feel like I'm going to have to detail my every last mouthful of food and then exercise just to lose weight. How freaking boring is that?

Maybe I'm still in my bad mood..............can you tell?

My day off

I can't say it was totally relaxing but I think I achieved quite a lot. Given that everyone else I knew (outside of work) was actually working I didn't do so badly.

First off, I attacked our mountain of paper - it's been festering for years, and nothing got chucked or filed. I now have new rules - if I can get to it online then I don't need a paper copy, if I'm never going to read it then why keep it? Seemed to work. I through two thirds of our crap away. i think I was mostly embarrassed by the state of our tax documentation. i could find paper for everything, but I now have a new project which is to print stuff off so that it looks like I know what I'm doing. I wanted to get an accountant this year and have them review everything - right now that's just not possible.

I also cooked dinner - made a kick-ass chilli, got lots of crap done and then got a massage which was awesome. I was bad and ate loads of crap chocolate, but I countered that with a spin class.

All in all, very productive.

Hail for President's Day

This weekend is awesome. I have a 3 day weekend. Yesterday I went to the gym, did a bit of housework and then we went out to the Sushi Lounge with our neighbours (the ones who are staying with us right now). We had a good night although Nick did some funny stuff. Jackie and I headed to bed around 11.30pm, very early for us but it was a good night. I don't remember Trev coming to bed at all as he was watching a movie with Nick. When we got up in the morning and came outside the vodka was finished, the tequila had taken quite a hit and there was jello (jelly for my English readers) in the sink and then lots of lemons and limes all over the place. The PS3 was also still on. At 4am there had been a big bang, we went and investigated but could find nothing.

When they got up we found that Nick had been playing the PS3 all night....by playing I mean randomly pushing buttons and pretending to play. Apparently Jackie found him at 4.30am and he could hardly walk. The bang was him falling down in the bedroom. How blinking funny. Mind you when Trev went to play the PS3, Nick had wiped out all his cars and while he could still have his points he's basically having to start at the beginning again. I'm writing this as he's playing the basic courses to get a decent car. I think it's pretty funny. Nights like that don't happen often.

I have tomorrow off. My company takes off all the financial holidays. Everyone else has to work so I've arranged my day by doing some chores, finishing off with a massage around 3pm. I think that'll be a good day.

I had a good work week last week so there's minimal for me to do before I get back to my meetings next week which I'm happy about. Things are looking pretty good right now.

We're off to Cedar Rapids in a couple of weeks for Trev's birthday which will be cool. Really looking forward to seeing everyone. We're staying in town so we'll be able to catch up with everyone. Peter's flying in, Rachel and Mike are driving down and Carrieanne's got time off work. We're really excited. I'm also going to book time at a photographer - the last time we did pics was when Rachel graduated high school in 2002. It'll be soooo cool.

Getting my hair cut again this week - I think we're going to go with a graduated bob....should look pretty cool.

OK that's it for now....back off to do nothing

I think I have OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Do I have it? I never really thought so, although now I'm wondering. A weird thing to write about, but it just struck me that I might have OCD.

Stupid things like...my mugs, glasses, plates, cutlery, cooking utensils all must be in their homes. Not just in the right drawer or cupboard, but in the right order. For example, let's take my mugs. The poor mugs can't just be on the right shelf, they have to put together in their sets with their handles all facing the same way. OCD? I think so. Next, my cutlery. Knives on the left, next big forks, then small forks, then spoons. Small teaspoons at the bottom. Ditto the OCD question.

It's the fact that I know I like it like that. It's how I respond when I open the drawer or cupboard and it's not like that.

Our neighbours have been living with us for nearly 2 months. We've actually got on really well, no major hiccups at all. We share groceries and bills and it's working out OK. Now there are times when I'd like to be on our own (TMI I know...but it was VALENTINES night last night....and it's been many years since I've had to be quiet if you know what I mean). On the whole though, it's been OK with houseguests.

So back to the OCD question. When I open the cupboard and the mugs are haphazard I get annoyed, immediately have to change it all so it's back the way I like it. Same with silverware, saucepans, cushions etc etc.

OCD? I think so.

Diagnosis over.

Note to self

You have lived in NJ/NY for 2 years, this is your third winter. GO AND BUY YOURSELF A PAIR OF FLIPPING BOOTS SO YOUR FEET DON'T GET SOAKING WET WHEN IT'S SLUSHY SNOW.

Point taken.

Ski-ing in Breckenridge

See our pics from our trip to Breckenridge, Colorado where we went ski-ing. Peter joined us with his friends, Jacob and Chris, we had a great time.




This makes it look really cool, right? Well I have to tell you 2 days into this trip i'd been in floods of tears twice and really really really hated it. i couldn't understand why everyone else could walk around with relative ease in these flipping awful ski-boots. I'd put my rental ski-boots on and within about 5 minutes I had a bruised feeling on my shin and my feet had gone totally numb. Not the best feeling in the world. i changed my boots 3 times, but in the end it was tolerable.

I can't say I'm a complete convert, but by day 3 I was feeling like I could do it again - as long as I bought my own boots and they fit me. Apparently I have fat calves, which I've always known. I'm back in the land of the living again. Hope you enjoy the pics.

I suck

Having got back yesterday I made a big effort and headed off to a spin class last night - was quite impressed as I felt a million times better than I had for a few days. I keep forgetting how exercise makes you feel and it's so easy for me to go back to old habits - even after 3 years of this malarky. Does anyone have bright ideas on how to change that? Maybe it's just ingrained in me....or maybe it's that I associate England and my family with being sedentary....who knows. What I do know is that I'd really like to change it so tell me if you can think of anything.

What I was upset about was the message the scales told me this morning. I'm sure that by tomorrow it'll be better, but they had crept up a few pounds. I'm hoping by eating right today and doing double duty at the gym tomorrow. My clothes still fit OK so I'm hoping it's just bloating from all the travel and we'll be back on track.

I'm a lover of sausages - and in the US you really can't get any good ones. They have too much meat in the them an dit makes them dry and inedible, in my opinion anyway. I counted last night how many I ate while I was in England - and it was between 15 and 20. For a 10 day trip that is TERRIBLE.

No wonder I'm fat.

Nice surprise

It's Sunday evening. I travel back to the US Monday morning. My family live about 2 hours away and commuting for a 10.30am flight means driving right through rush hour. To save them the trouble, I decided to book a hotel near/on the airport. As always last minute....and looking on the travel websites one that was convenient was 150 pounds ($300 ish). too much - I'm too mean for that. Checked my Hilton points which I've not used in a couple of years and found that I had 70k points. There was a night available at the hotel at the airport - promptly booked it being chuffed with myself for not spending the money.

Arriving here was such a surprise. Apparently i'm still a "gold" member so that means I have lots of priviledges. The main ones being that I get my room upgraded (it's pretty bog standard as far as I can tell), I get access to the Executive Lounge with a happy hour for 3 hours (snacks, drinks etc) and free internet. Bloody marvelous. I'm so impressed. Couple of gin and tonics, snacks, fruit....lovely jubbley.

So, what's the first thing I do when I've got so much work to do? Yep - you got it. Log into blog....

Ok, back on track:)

Mum's doing great - she stayed in a night but is home now and doing well. Even though she had a growth removed from her nose there's no bruising and she's on her feet. Watching her doing nothing is quite funny - it's almost like it's impossible. Good luck with that one Dad:)

Dieting has been awful - my hotel room has scales in it....but really really scared to stand on it. I've already got spin lined up (2 classes 6pm and 7pm) so i'll feel back in the swing of things in no time.

Differences

Ever since I moved to the US I've always been amazed at the differences between the two countries. I always thought as English was the native language of both that it would be easy to navigate - I was wrong.

I came across this article about under age drinking - this really shows the difference in the two countries. I can honestly say when I drank underage I never got rowdy or obnoxious - probably because my idea of underage drinking was sipping a bacardi and coke and being like my Dad (ie ACT LIKE A GROWNUP), rather be a complete twat. I'm guessing times have now changed.

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/newswire.php/news/pa/uknews/story0.html&template=/news/feeds/pa_story_template.html

I guess this article will stop that....it will be interesting to watch developments.

Quick week

Can't believe it's flipping Saturday again. I feel like I flew to England, saw the fam, went to work Sunday afternoon and then didn't rest again until today. Work was crazy - really really good meetings and stuff but the days went something like this. 6am alarm, get up, go to work, meetings started at 8.30am, meetings stopped at 6pm, worked through all breaks and lunches, drinks/dinner started immediately at 6pm. Got back to hotel room anywhere between 10.30pm and 1am. Crazy crazy. Had a great time but it would have been nice to have one evening where I got to choose what I was doing. Oh well, it's over now.

I do have one funny story. Tuesday night we're at a restaurant and after dinner I wanted a decaf black coffee. Simple, right? So, I ask for that. "No madam, we don't have that. You want expresso". "No", say I, "I do not want expresso, I want ordinary coffee, no milk, decaf please". Anyway, this went on for 5 minutes. In the end I ordered an americano decaf. Apparently that's not the same (?go figure?). Ohhhh, the joys of being in England:)

Mum's in surgery today having her nose sorted out. She's OK, but staying in the hospital overnight. We're off to go and see her in an hour or so (here in the UK they dictate visiting hours!!). Trev leaves for the US tomorrow and will be back in time to watch Superbowl. I leave Monday morning. Next weekend, we're off ski-ing, so I think we'll be truly knackered by the time we're done.