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.

My gadget world is complete:)

I have a company provided Blackberry. It has been pretty simple to stay with it rather than fork out for the coolio iPhone. I like this phone. I can use it internationally, it's set up with not only my work email but personal too. The one thing that drove me completely nuts was that my desk phone at work would email me my voice mail (cool huh?) Which was great if my laptop was hooked up, but more often than not I got the VM on my blackberry. Standing here in line with adelayed flight I obviously got an upgrade. I can now listen to said emailed VM.

I am a happy bunny.

Off to England....

I'm off tonight, Trev leaves on Saturday. It's funny how we both end up with a business trip on EXACTLY the same week. Mine's been planned for months, Trev was asked to go a week or so back. So, we're meeting up in London on Sunday evening for dinner then he's off to wherever (I think Amsterdam, but not sure) and I'm staying put until Friday. On Friday I'm heading back home and spend time with the fam. I'm glad I'm leaving tonight, it means I arrive tomorrow (flipping jetlag is crap!) and then have most of the weekend with the fam too. Because I'm only there a couple of days I've not contacted everyone....I just won't have the time. Mum's having surgery the second weekend I'm there so will definitely not have time. I'm so happy I was back two months ago as that leaves me free of guilt. Hopefully with this new job I'll have more opportunity to travel which will be very cool.

I'm still mad about the credit card, as they've now taken the account off line and i can't see what we owe, when it should be paid or anything. Very very annoying. Good job we have other cards as a back up. I do like the fraud protection though - as soon as we started using the other card (which we'd not used in a year or more) i got a phone call asking me if it was legit. That was cool.

I never got to lose the 20lb before I went to England, but I am at 16.2lb - that's not bad, right? I'm just hoping that I can keep that off...and if I lose, then even more brilliant. I've set a pact with a colleague that we're going to exercise each morning for at least 20 minutes - we'll see how that goes. Hopefully we're not out too late the previous nights so we'll actually be able to achieve this. Hope so. I will certainly exercise on the Sunday evening when I arrive - as there'll be no excuses.

It's funny, I never thought I'd ever say this, but I miss that feeling of elation after a workout class - it always feels good when you're at the end. can't say I'm too happy in the "during" phase...but it's all for a good cause. I have great blood pressure, my back and shoulders don't hurt any more, low cholesterol so it's worthwhile. I just wish, and I really mean this, that I could motivate myself without the need to organize around classes. Why can't I use an ellyptical machine and bust my own ass and break a sweat....I've tried, really I have, and I just can't. It's boring - even with the built in TV or my ipod.

That reminds me....must charge up my ipods before I leave.

Now.....have to write my shopping list for the supermarket in England:)

Aaaaahhhhh S**t

I had a really good day today (see previous post) - and while I was watching mind numbing TV I thought it'd be good to pay bills, check bank balances etc. Imagine my pissed-off-ed-ness when I log into my online bank to find 2 transactions in the past 2 days on the credit card, totalling more than $1000 WHICH ARE NOT MINE.

20mins on the phone with 3 different people my account is now closed, so the little asshole that used my card can't any more. Now I have to wait for a letter, sign it, return it and then I get the money back.

How crap is that?

My new Williamsburg

Living in Iowa for 7 years I have lots of memories - on the shopping front at least trips to Williamsburg, IA were always looked forward to. It's an outlet mall with loads of name brands selling stuff cheaper than the regular malls. When we moved to St Louis one of my biggest complaint was that was not a decent outlet mall.

After starting our MLK day off today well by going to the gym and meeting Billy, I found my new Williamsburg. It's a 45 minute drive away and is full of lots of designer places. I did deliberately miss Armani and Chanel as I don't want to visit in case I like it:) I did pop into Kate Spade, Eddie Bauer, Williams Sonoma, Le Creuset, Jones New York.

The intent of the trip was to buy new dinnerware and silverware (for the British amongst you, crockery and cutlery) - we had looked on Williams Sonoma website and our neighbour said that if you drove to the outlet shop it's 1/3rd of the price. That's all I needed to hear. So.....we now have some nice new plates, dishes and cutlery. It's so nice to use new stuff.

Other than that we didn't buy too much at all - returned stuff at Eddie Bauer and bought a couple of bits and pieces. We were pretty good at holding back the credit card.

Anyway, very happy that when people visit we now have a true outlet mall to visit.

To make u shop

Someone sent me this in email and I had to share. Be patient, once the website has loaded and watch.

HEMA is a Dutch department store. The first store opened on November 4, 1926, in Amsterdam . Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands . HEMA also has stores in Belgium , Luxemburg, and Germany . In June of this year, HEMA was sold to British investment company Lion Capital. Take a look at HEMA's product page (click below). You can't order anything, and it's in Dutch, but just wait a couple of seconds after it loads and watch what happens.

http://producten.hema.nl

Coupons

We are all interested in saving money, right? Here's an article about the best website that have coupons.
http://biz.yahoo.com/cbsm/080114/66b62497cd1c4076a2b105ecebb3831d.html?.v=1&.pf=banking-budgeting

Tracking progress

I have a new way to track my health kick progress. I'm still doing the diet and doing well - at 16lb gone it seems to be going ok. One side effect of doing this for several months is that when I want to cheat on the odd occasion I now get terrible gut rot. Now, this is good when you want to eat bad food, but I had sushi on Thursday and man, I felt terrible all day. Last night we ate at a south American restaurant near where we live and the same thing happened.

So, I've decided, using my new heart rate monitor that I'm going to record the calories I burnt. With the theory that each pound of weight is the equivalent to 3500 calories I should be able to tell when my weight will drop.

Monday - double spin 1417 calories
Tuesday - strength plus spin 1782 calories
Thursday - strength plus spin 2003 calories
Saturday - Bodypump class 550 calories

Total - 5752 calories = 1.6lb

New table

The table arrived this morning. Check it out! It was far far bigger than I thought it was going to be so it has to reside by the elevator. Now all we have to do is find some nice folding chairs and we'll be set.

One thing getting this table has done has demonstrated how crappy our bookcases are. Good job that the builder is going to replace them with some great cupboards and shelves. Very excited about that. When we get the floors redone we'll have them toned down a little and then it'll look all spiffy.

Yeah for remodelling - such fun!

A new record

OK, my heart rate monitor watch is my new baby. It's given me a new target to beat the "calories burnt" each time I hit the gym ( I know, I'm a nerd!!). Anyway today was 10mins on the stair machine, an hour training w/Billy and then a spin class. 1400 ish was my record before - tonight we have a grand total of 1782 calories burnt.

Just think about how many chocolates that is.....

A landmark

I hit 15lb lost. Well, 15.2lb to be precise - one has to be precise when we're talking weightloss as every ounce counts. Anyone who's watched their weight knows that. I'm back on the straight and narrow - especially with exercise. My 2008 exercise schedule is:

Monday - Spin class x 2 (1400 calories burnt)
Tuesday - 1 hour with trainer, 1 spin class
Wednesday - Spin if I feel like it, usually will take a day off
Thursday - 1 hour with trainer, 1 spin class
Friday - off
Saturday - Spin class plus Bodypump (strength training class) (1400 calories burnt)
Sunday - Yoga (if i can be bothered)

I'm bummed there are no pilates or ab type classes that i can take. That said, Billy makes damn sure he kicks my ass in that department so I think we're good.

The cool thing is the heart rate monitor. To think that doing the 2 spin classes last night I burnt 1417 calories in less than 2 hours is awesome. That is a full day of food.....mind you, with that you'd think I'd be dropping the weight, but oh no it's not happening that way. Tonight I get to find out how many calories I burn when I train with Billy and then do a spin class.

On Friday I'm doing Saints and Spinners at Grand Central so we'll see how I feel after that.

I'm in England for 2 weeks shortly and I'm determined I will fit in 20mins cardio exercise in the gym each morning I'm at the hotel. while it's not a lot, it's something to remind me to keep up with the diet.

I've stopped writing about my eating because, quite frankly, it was boring me to pieces so i'm sure it'll bore any reader too.

In this day and age....

My gym is a constant source of humor. It could have its own reality TV show. One of the biggest things that is a source of discussion and also blogging on a local website is that the gym itself does not have a website worth anything.

You may say that it's not a big thing. However, when you want to know if a class is canceled, or what the latest schedule is wouldn't it be easier to go to http://www.skyclubfitness.com/ and look it up? After the drama of Billy nearly leaving last week, I was not best pleased when I turned up for a class at 10am (Bodypump - strength training) to find that the instructor was "late". By late, I really mean "didn't freaking turn up at all". I was not a happy camper. I did manage 20 mins cardio on the stairmaster, but I do get bored when there's not someone there checking I'm doing something.

Anyway, while getting a massage from Wesley on Saturday (who now works at the same gym in the spa) he said that they've put the schedule online. Now....wouldn't you think they would have told people? You can check the website out above....but it's really just a front page with a bunch of PR from when they were building the place. In the past week they've added little buttons at the top - and there's one that says "class schedule". I'm soooooo happy about this. They have even changed the mission of the gym at the bottom, giving the new President's name. For a stickler like me though....you'd have thought the statement would have been gramatically correct with apostrophes in all the right places? Spot the error.... what wallies.

To digress, not sure I told you about my latest gadget. I bought a heart rate monitor to use when I'm in class. It tells you how many calories you're burning. The best one last week was ¾ of the Bodypump class (hadn't figured out how to turn it on!) and then a spin class. I burt 1336 calories. Does that sound a lot? I'm now totally addicted. My 20 min cardio session burt about 320. See? I'm now even more of a nerd than I was before.

Two sad things. Firstly, my friend BJ's Dad is very unwell and has been in the hospital. All the family have traveled to see him in the past week and he's being moved to a care facility. My heart is with her and her family - she's well supported but I feel lost being so far away. Second, another friend Sharon who I met at the gym had some really sad news over the holidays. Her 17 year old son was killed when he fell off a roof. I was wondering how she was doing as I hadn't heard from her...I saw her at the gym and she told me. My heart goes out to both of them.

On a brighter note, I'm off to the UK in less than 2 weeks then I'm skiing when I get back. For Trev's birthday I think we're going to go back to Iowa for the weekend so it's going to be a busy 2 months.

Have a great week!

A nostalgic moment

Ever wondered where Trev and I first "got it onnnnnnn"? Check out this link

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/bars/pub-22813561-details/Princess+Louise/pubReview.do?reviewId=23431143

The Princess Louise pub in London was the location. I'm saving your eyes from reading the minutia details of that day all those years ago, but it's nice to know the pub is still in existance.

Ok, nostalgia over.

That was the week that was

Phew! It flew by so fast my feet didn't touch the ground. I can't believe that in 2 weeks I'll be in England again, albeit for a business trip. What a crazy world. Between trying to keep up with my fitness routine, not eat crap, the building work at home and loads of other stuff my feet haven't touched the ground.

So, here are some of the stories and dramas of the week. Monday was boring...

Tuesday - the lady who cleans our house (I know, I know, I'm spoilt....blame Mum for that - she taught me that it's better to have someone clean the house and one less dinner out than not - it gives you more quality time!) only speaks portugese. She has a tiny amount of English and it's very hard to converse with her. So, I thought it'd be cool if I used a website (http://www.freetranslation.com/) to write her a note in portugese so I could talk to her properly. Well that went fine, I translated my message, wrote it out. Funniest thing.....I then got a screed of a letter back - all in flipping portugese. No blinking idea what it says. I thought the easiest would be to type in her writing into the same website - but oh no....it's that scrawley kind of writing that you can't really read. Hahahahahahahaha. So now I'm tracking down someone at work who speaks portugese.

Wednesday - remember our neighbours are staying with us right now so Wednesday night Jackie and I meet up for dinner in the city and a few drinks. I'm an old fart, I admit it. I only drink more than one on a weekend - I have to get up early and I don't like the headaches. Well...we finished dinner at my favourite sushi restaurant in the city (Aoki) and then I took her on the bus to where we live. Got off the bus and headed into a bar for a drink (it was probably 9pm by this time) - well, not quite sure what happened but she got quite drunk. showed her home, and then she ran up the stairs to our neighbour and had him come down for a drink. It was hysterically funny, although in my mind more like a Saturday night than a Wednesday one.

Thursday - this is when ALL the drama began. My usual readers know that I'm hooked on fitness, having a trainer, spinning etc etc. Billy texts me around 9.30am that he got fired. Aaaaaaggggghhhhhh - my whole day was shot. Our gym is "drama central" - and the only reason I stay there is for 1) Billy the trainer and 2) Carla the spin instructor. I spent the majority of my day trying to figure out what happened - he said he got fired, when I called the gym they said he quit. Calling the gym was not good. I asked to speak with the manager - apparently a new guy called Gareth is the manager. I explained that I'd just spent a crap load of money on 50 training sessions and that with the best trainer gone that I wanted my money back please. I explained that Billy was the only sane thing in the gym in the times of the management issues last year etc etc. I think the guy had zero experience. His first words were "we want to keep you what can I do?". My response was "get Billy back". He said that he'd arrange for another trainer - hmmmmm he obviously doesn't understand the relationship thingy. Idiot. anyway then another manager called me and I explained again. The weird thing was they kept saying he quit and that his behaviours were not OK - when I talked wiht Billy he said he'd be "indefinitely suspended" - now, I'm not sure what you read into that but I know that if my boss told me that it's the equivalent of being fired. My world was at an end on Thursday night. I missed my training session but did go to the spin class. I asked Carla where else she taught on the basis that if I can get a different gym then all would be fabulous once more. Drama was over by Friday - Billy talked with the head manager dude who fired the other new manager and hired him back. All is well at the ranch.

Friday - nothing happened - had a few beers with our neighbours.

Saturday - had a 10am class booked at the flipping gym. Once again the instructor doesn't turn up.

Today I'm off for a massage in 30 mins - I can't wait. Hope you didn't get too bored reading.

Trip to St Louis

So here are some pics from our trip. We spent last weekend in St Louis visiting friends. Paul and BJ moved from Cedar Rapids to St Louis last year - had a great time staying with them. The pic of Paul and Trev is great - they were testing a new bottle of Scotch:) There's also a pic of us at dinner with both Paul and BJ at one of my favourite restaurants in St Louis, J Bucks. Then the last pic of of girls' night L-R Caroline, Debbie, BJ, Amanda, me, Nikki. That was at PF Changs. I have to tell you this trip was a gastronomic session from the moment I arrived to the moment I left. The weather was awesome too - 75 degrees. Amazing eh? The other amazing thing was that my weight is the same as before the holidays....getting back down to some serious dieting now though! Happy New Year!

Yeeeeehhhhhaaaaaa

Ok, so it's the holiday season. I've been trying to diet (I did lose weight, but not much at all) but only some of the time. We're in St Louis this week visiting friends and it's been even more difficult to diet.

Imagine my surprise when we're in the shopping mall and nip into Eddie Bauer. Now, my jeans/work pants are a little on the large side right now, but the plan was to keep it that way for at least a few more weeks. Well, couldn't resist the "big sale" signs. Tried on a new pair of jeans - 2 SIZES SMALLER.

My weekend is set.

For those big butts, the EB Shaped Fit is awesome.....the waist is one size smaller that the hips so it fits better.

I'll post a pic soon enough - got a new hair cut last week also - now a chin length bob....looks awesome!

Only in England

One thing that really irritates me about travelling to England is that the airports have different rules about what you can carry on the plane as hand luggage. The plan was for 2008 to relax the rules and make it like every other country. Yeah....well - check out the link below. Can you believe different airports and airlines have different rules?

I'm traveling to Gatwick via Continental in a few weeks.....only 1 bag for Gatwick....but no idea what the rules are for the airline. Oh well. Stupido.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=506199&in_page_id=1770

New Table

OK, so we had a big dining room table and chairs that we'd bought when we had the condo in St Louis. It was nice, but took up so much room. I'm going to sell them so they're all dismantled in the hallway. It's replaced by a modern gateleg table (see pic). All I need now is some "nice" folding or stackable chairs. I don't want the crappy chairs, but may end up with that. Have to say though for the 3 times a year we eat food at the table this is a great compromise.

It was the easiest purchase at a store. Found it online but couldn't order it...stupid or what, drove to the Staten Island store (about 15miles), walked it and said "I want to buy a table that I saw online"....which was met with "that's great, would you like to look around the showroom"..."no thank you, just the table please". The lady showed us the wood the table would be made from and then promptly ordered it.

A perfect way to order stuff. Even Trev was impressed!

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a good new year. We went out to The Melting Pot with our neighbours Nick and Jackie. Here's a pic of us at the dessert course....yummy - chocolate!

So we did "The Big Night Out" at the restaurant. You start with cheese fondue with veggies, apple and bread to dip in. You then break for a quick salad then it's onto the meat and fish with more veggies that you cook in broth. Yum-oh. Finishing with a chocolate is perfect.

Eating update

So, it's the end of the holidays. I made it. And I managed to lose just over a pound since Thanksgiving. It's not quite what I'd hoped for - but I didn't gain and I've eaten and drunk anything I've wanted. I've followed the protein/carb rules about 75% of the time, which isn't bad.

Last night I blew my diet - went to the Melting Pot (fondue restaurant) with our neighbours. Today I've been good (more or less).

Tomorrow we start in earnest. I leave for England on the 24th and I'd like to be at 20lb lost before I leave. I will continue to work out, the plan being:

Mon - spin
Tue - training with Billy, spin
Weds - spin (or a day off)
Thu - training with Billy, spin
Fri - day off
Sat - spin, Bodypump class (strength training)
Sun - yoga

There are no pilates classes or Bodyflow classes that I can make, but I figure if I can 3-4 spin classes a week then I'll be doing myself good. We'll see how it goes.

A look back at 2007

Another year is over. Here's a list of achievements, what I learnt, what i screwed up, what I didn't do etc etc etc


- I looked back over my blog for the past year and I had 2 resolutions. 1 was to start up my MBA again, and the other was to "get a body I'm proud of". Well I have one thing to say - hahahahahahahahahahahhaahahah!

- On the MBA, didn't do a stitch. Should really contact the school and grovel my ass off again. Hopefully with my new job I'll be able to concentrate on it this year.

- On the body...yeah well. On the plus side I'm fitter than I was, and I concentrate on fitness rather than the physical side. That said, I'm disappointed I'm not further along on this. Things are progressing and hopefully this time next year it'll be a better story.

- I took up spinning. Something I thought was always reserved for the weirdass megafit peeps - I keep up with the best of them. I've also signed up for my first sporting charity event in a few weeks - spinning in Grand Central Station. Wish me luck.

- I was promoted at work and got 2 payrises this year.

- While we're finding it difficult with Trev traveling so much we're surviving just fine.

- Now we're in NY we get lots more visitors....that's really cool.

- I turned 40. Ouch. Luckily i still feel 20 so that's good

- I made more friends - and not from work. I actively tried different things - and now have people to hang out with

- I like being in NY as I get to visit England more often. A record 4 visits in 2007 - that's the most since 1997. I like that - I get to see Mum, Dad, Tim and loads of friends, not to mention eat really bad English food that I can't get at home. It's been nice dropping in more often.

I miss my friends in other cities....Penny - luckily we IM and exchange blogs but I miss hanging out. I'm going to get my ass to Iowa just so we can spend time together (you're not allowed to be sick this time though....only joking!!)



My 2008 resolutions

- Keep up with getting fit...I like hanging out with a trainer and going to classes

- MBA - enough said

- Lose weight - I'm doing OK, have found a diet that's working and combined with exercise will be successful

- Spend more quality time with Trev....goes without saying I know

- Keep up the number of visits to England

- Go visit my friends in other cities



Let's see how I do:) Happy New Year to you all!

A theraputic morning

Not really sure why, but I definitely find having a good old clearout very theraputic. I'm working this week - I like it this time of year. Most people are out so it's deathly quiet - I get time to think and get ready for the year ahead. I've always been like that - maybe I think it's a waste of vacation time when I can so much more done when I'm here.

for my new job, I elected to move from my lovely big desk to a smaller one. This of course, means a clearout. Just finished. Yeah!

Now off to a leisurely lunch with my successor. Yeah!

Christmas Pics

We had a great time, enjoy the pics! We did so much in a week. Lunch and Perilla (the first Top Chef's restaurant) and also Becco (owned by the lady who does Lydia's Italy on PBS), a visit to the ESPN Zone, to the theater, Times Square, etc etc etc. Enjoy!

12-20-07 Christmas with PJ and Rach

Happy Christmas

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a good holiday. Peter, Rach and Mike came into town last week so we've been having a week long vacation. We've eaten in some fantastic restaurants and done lots of things. The pics above are:

#1 - in the ESPN Zone on Friday evening before the theater (Rach, Mike, Trev and Peter)

#2 - The Lovegroves in Times Square (Carrieanne we missed you)

#3 - lunch at Becco. If you've seen "Lydia's Italy" on PBS then this is her restaurant.

#4 - breakfast Christmas Day.

We all got some lovely presents. Trev bought me a weekend away ski-ing - the first time he's ever booked a holiday for me. Lovely. Now I will say I'm having trouble with the bill - 3 days away and he's paying more than a week in Jamaica. But hey - I shouldn't complain. Oh yeah, and a side note - I'm now officially at 14lb lost. Can you imagine finding that out on Christmas Day. This diet is FANTASTIC.

Hope everyone had a great day. God bless to you all.

Feeling patriotic

I may have lived in the US for over 11 years, but I'm still very English at heart. The Queen has come into the 21st century:)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUKL2339445720071223

Sunday already

Time is flying by - can't really believe it. Had a great time with the kids here (missing you Carrieanne...with you it'd be perfect!) and I'm getting quiet time on Sunday morning. I can't believe how much everyone sleeps. It's 10.09am and it's silence. Thank goodness for my ipod. Listening to the Ordinary Boys right now....then I'm going to settle down to watch the 7th Episode of Life on Mars.

We've taken lots of pics, seen a show on Broadway, eaten dim sum in Chinatown, had the house in a complete tip (which I finally broke down and tidied up last night, very theraputic), took Mike to the airport last night then Rach and I hit the mall. I know....5pm on the Saturday before Christmas. Madness. Complete chaos. We went to Ann Taylor primarily - got a good wrap and a pair of cargo pants. Then when I got home it was even better - they had 40% of all sweaters and then on the corporate discount site I belong too they had 20% off and free shipping. So....instead of a bill of $466 it was $185. So psyched about that. Have nice new clothes to start of my nice new job next year.

I've had a cold the past few days - big white dots on the back of the throat. Have been fighting it with drugs and seem to be doing OK. I did actually rest from exercise so I think it'll be OK. Won't need a doctor. Phew.

Peter is cooking Christmas dinner. I'm going to go shopping shortly - as everyone's sleeping. I"m going nuts here in the quiet. I'm an early bird. By now I've usually watched 3 TV programs, done laundry and tidied up. Oh well, more time to shop online for me.

I'm actually working this week, rather than taking time off. It will give me time to clear out my old job and start my new one fresh. Very excited about that. My replacement has been announced and he's around next week too so i feel i can do a real proper handover. I'm feeling quite melancholy about leaving the team, but also quite excited about the next chapter in my career.

OK, off to watch TV.

Did it again

OK, I'm a gym junkie. I admit it. I had an appointment with Billy last night, and because my best spin class instructor was also teaching last night I did the spin class right after. No rest either. That's 2 days back to back of back to back classes. i think that's an achievement! And best of all? I don't hurt anywhere.....well, other than being slightly "aware" of my knee. I think this gives me carte blanche to eat whatever I want over Christmas.

Peter, Rachel and Mike arrived last night - it's fun having them here. We're out in Manhattan tonight, then Friday we're off to the theater and then we're going to Perilla - the restaurant owned by the first Top Chef. We should have a ball....

I only have 3 performance reviews left. I can't believe I'm done 10 days ahead of schedule. It's mine today - wish me luck!

Abandonment and Achievement

Weird title eh? Well, you get a few days behind without blogging and then you have so many things that have happened....and well, then you forget, then you get intimidated about all the things you didn't write about....well and blah blah blah. You get the picture.

So, first work. I'm nearly done with all the performance reviews. I have 3 today, 3 on Thursday and then I'm done. that then leaves me 10 days to get my plan ready for my new job that starts Jan 1. Can't flipping wait. While I'm kinda feeling nostalgic about the guys....my forte is definitely is not line management. Next year will be fun (I hope!!).

Anyhow, let's tackle abandonment. So, last Friday night our gym had their holiday party. I promised Billy (my trainer) and Wesley (my massage therapist) that I'd bring jello shots. Now I'm not one for the boring old vodka shots (as those of you who know me well know), I'm for the more ingeneous ones. So I had 3 tubs - ie Traffic Lights. Usually it takes 3 days to make, but as I only promised it the day before I ended up with the 3 tubs - visualize that usually the colours are one on top of the other. So, first we had lime jello and tequila, next cointreau/grand marnier and orange jello and then last we had strawberry jello with Pimms and Creme de Cassis. Needless to say they went down a storm. Back to abandonment. I had a great time, and I thought Trev did too. We were milling around, seeing each other occasionally. Anyway, having spent time with some friends it was about 1.30am and I looked for Trev to see if he wanted to leave. Couldn't find him. He wasn't at the party, I had a few guys look in the men's room, couldn't find him. Started to worry. Worried a bit more. I couldn't call him coz he's left his cell at home. Only when after 20mins of looking that I realized he wasn't there. Worried a bit more. So, decided relunctantly to go home. A friend of mine gave me a ride....and in the car I listened to my voicemail. And I quote my voicemail...."I couldn't find you so I came home. See you later". Hmmmmmmmppppppfffffffff. Not a happy bunny.

He's never done that before. Luckily I wasn't somewhere unsafe but even so. MY HUSBAND ABANDONED ME. I can't believe it....even now it makes me mad. He says he wasn't mad, just tired and wanted to sleep. when I got home he said he was going to "come back for me". Yeah.....right. That's what it looked like when I arrived. Not. Anyway, we got over it, had a row, made up, slept. I never usually drink more than a couple when I'm with him for this reason - I need a straight head to listen to him as he always gets upset and melancholy when he drinks. Better than last year I guess when he got drunk and asked for a divorce.

Onto achievement. After the weekend of complete overindulgence on the food side I did something I've never done before. I took 2 spin classes back to back. And survived. In fact, I thought I'd be a wreck and completely knackered by the experience. Not at all. I certainly feel that it was my pennance for eating so badly over the weekend. Tonight I see Billy and that'll put me back on the straight and narrow.

Peter, Rachel and Mike (Rach's boyfriend) come into town today for the holidays. Can't wait - we'll have a blast. We'll miss Carrieanne....but we'll head to Iowa early in the new year to see her too. Watch this space for our antics this week. I'm determined to keep up my gym regimen, just to work off all the extra food we're bound to be eating....hahahaha

More later....

My Amazon Hell...

I'm an Amazon addict. I think I'm their best customer....or that's how it feels most of the time anyway. I like the return policy, I like the speed at which they send stuff etc etc. Until today.

I put together an order for Christmas at 11am this morning....and left it at the "place order" page. I then got distracted and went to a meeting. When I came back I clicked the "place order" button. Got a message saying "there's nothing in your cart". "Oh well!" thinks me, and promptly reorders everything.

An hour later I check my email. Turns out I've then got 2 orders. Hmmmprf. I think that because I only ordered it an hour ago I can go online and cancel the order. I've done that before so no biggie here.

Anyway, turns out I couldn't. So.....I call them up. I have the number.....but I bet ya can't find it on the website. So.... I ask if I can cancel an order. Can you imagine the reaction when they said no? The reason being is that it's already been sent to shipping so they can't reverse it. Best they can do is ask me to refuse the order when it's delivered. Or....I can return the items. In the mean time I've been charged twice - so I won't get my money back either.

Not a happy bunny. But in the spirit of the holiday I'll let sleeping dogs lie!

Gotta love eBay

I know I've said it before....and I'll say it again. I love eBay. I love the fact that I update my iPod and camera at least once a year....and it costs about $50. I'm still floored by the fact that people on eBay buy stuff that's not the latest and greatest for only $50ish below the price of the newer model. Weird.

I love the fact I get these awards at work...I convert them into cool things like iPods and then sell it less than a year later for almost retail value. It's sooooo cool.

I should look around at home and see what else I can get rid of.

Oh my!

So, I was watching tonight one of my fave TV shows - Tim Gunn's Guide to Style on the Bravo Channel. I just have to say that they had a lady called Karen Vito tonight. She was 41, dressed like she was 20 and the show was to show her the error of her ways. Now, I'm first to say that she looked pretty damn good for someon in their 40s....she was thin, long hair etc etc. But I have to tell you for someone a year older than me......she had so many lines, crinkles and wrinkles. Ewwww

Obviously not being one for the sun it's to my advantage. Tonight when I was getting ready to go out I looked and looked and while I have some lines....nothing like hers. Not sure whether I'm bothered....but man, I thought she looked like she was 55.

Maya Angelou's Best Poem Ever

I sent this via email to loads of people, but I thought it was so cool I posted here too.

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...

enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a youth she's content to leave behind....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE....
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

SEND THIS TO 3 WOMEN....
You will have good luck for an entire day..

SEND THIS TO 6 WOMEN....
you will have good luck for all of the year or if nothing else...
you know that you are truly loved and thought of by the friend,
who sent this to you...
and that she only wishes the best for you and your life...

St Trinians

They're back! So cool. Check out the link - new movie starts next week (in the UK at least).
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=500192&in_page_id=1773

So, for the uneducated St Trinians movies were made in the 1950s and were about naughty school girls in a private boarding school who ran rings round the staff. The head teacher was a bloke dressed as a woman (Alistair Sim) and the policewoman who always was at the school was Joyce Grenfell. You then had the gardner who was always necking with the girls.....anyhow brilliant movies.

Will be interesting to see the 21st century version!

On the food front, doing great. Lowest weight ever - now lost 12.8lb so we're doing good. In this holiday season, that's pretty cool. I seem to have 2 parties a week this year so it's a real challenge. I'm just working out like crazy and seeing how it is....

My knee

I've hurt my knee. It sucks. It's not excruciating....but it's nagging. All the time. I've actually had to cut back on working out so I don't do any more damage. It's horrible. I think I did it in the gym last Thursday - I was running late and had a spin class to attend so Billy and I decided to start strength training with no warm up. I didn't think anything of it, but I do remember when lunging saying "oooh, my knee hurts....that's not normal" and carried right along. I rested all weekend. After spin on Monday it was niggling but yesterday when I was with Billy it was hurting. I've now got an appointment set up with Wesley, the massage therapist to see i can fix it that way. Hopefully it's nothing. Between Carrieanne and Mum I don't relish having knee issues at all.

On the eating front, we're doing good. Yesterday wasnt' bad at all.

8.15am snack - small cup cereal and milk
9.45am breakfast - omelette
1.30pm lunch - noodles and potatoes, an orange
6.30pm dinner - meat bolognaise sauce and cheese
8.15pm snack - Cadbury's flake

Lost another half pound yesterday so must be doing something right.

Back on the straight and narrow

A mindset change is all it took. I'm so amazed that the moment I get a post-it note and start writing out a) what I'm going to eat and then b) what I do eat that I become much healthier. Surprising, eh?

Yesterday's eating
8.30am snack - grapefruit
10.30am breakfast - omelette and some nuts
1.15pm lunch - mashed potato and peas
6.00pm snack - banana and blueberry smoothie, yogurt
8.15pm dinner - salmon and stirfry veggies

Gym - 10mins stairmaster, 45 min spin class

I didn't workout over the weekend at all. I think I pulled a muscle in my knee so wanted to rest (my excuse and I'm staying with it).

Work is good. I'm mad as my boss advertised my current role and it's one level higher than I am now...I'm mad because she didn't tell me. While I may have made the decision i did anyway to do my new job, it would have been nicer to have been told.

Trev's off to Hong Kong tomorrow so he's planning for that. He'll be knackered as he's only just over the UK jet lag from the past 2 weeks.

I have to put the tree up and get cards sent out this weekend....so yeah! I get to do that on my own. How sad is that?

Procrastination

I read Jenness' blog on procrastination the other day and was giggling as I have that problem too. As you know, I have a large team right now and it's performance review time. As any good manager, I've got it set up like a military operation - 3 or 4 reviews a day, up to the 17th Dec. You'd think as I sit here that I'd be Ok with only writing 3 a day. Flipping 'eck, I tell ya I have found so many things to do today rather than write 3 reviews.

1) check work email
2) check home email, and again, and again
3) do dishes
4) watch Torchwood and Dr Who
5) make a cup of tea
6) talk with Rach (she's here for the weekend)
7) check work email
8) shop on Amazon for Christmas prezzies....not to buy anything, just ideas
9) wonder why Amazon is recommending I buy the iTouch....
10) check out spec and cost of iTouch and wonder if I should spend my award money on one
11) wonder why the iTouch doesn't have 40gb drive rather than the crabby 16gb it comes with
12) move cushions around
13) have a relaxing bath, with oils, do a facemask etc and then turn on the jacuzzi
14) check work email again
15) respond to a few work emails that could have waited
16) check into the review website and complain about how crap it is

Anyway....you get the idea. I have done 2 of the 4 I wanted. The other 2 I don't need to do. It can wait.

I'm off to shop Amazon some more......

Oh yeah, and I'm posting food again....clearly I can't lose weight if I'm not writing it down. Consider it therapy.

Regrouping

OK, it was a tough week. I got back from England, had the holiday party where I totally over indulged, was out Friday night with Rach til very late....and still trying to get in the groove for Christmas shopping. I woke up this morning feeling like I'm succumbing to the cold that everyone has.

Eating has been awful - while I've maintained my weight and not put any on, I haven't actually lost any. I think it's because I keep cheating in really small ways (eat steak, hav ea mouthful of rice, eat too much chocolate etc) so I need to get that back on track. It's the client holiday party this week and I think that I'm going to miss it....I just don't think I can stomach another night of socializing. What an old fart I am.

Here's joke from my friend Nikki (thought it was hilarious):

"I took my dad to the mall the other day to buy some new shoes. We decided to grab a bite at the food court when I noticed he was watching a teenager sitting next to him. The teenager had spiked hair in all different colors: green, red, orange, and blue. My dad kept staring at him. The teenager would look and find him staring every time. When the teenager had enough, he sarcastically asked, 'What's the matter old man, never done anything wild in your life?' Knowing my Dad, I quickly swallowed my food so that I would not choke on his response; knowing he would have a good one. And in classic style he did not bat an eye in his response, 'Got drunk once and had sex with a peacock. I was just wondering if you were my son. '"

Got my job

Got my job - yippee!! An OK payrise, no more people working for me and a promotion. How cool is that? Start date Jan 1st.

I'm sooooooo happy!

Boobs

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=497224&in_page_id=1879

I can honestly say that I don't think my boobs have this appeal.......

I'm back

Did you miss me? Did you wonder where on earth I'd gone? Well.... I went to England for a week. As it was a surprise for my parents I couldn't blog that I was going. needless to say I got really worried about eating crap and not exercising. I had lost 12lb, now it's only 10lb. Not so bad considering I spent 9 days eating all the stuff I can't get at home and hardly any exercise.

Had a great time catching up with family and friends. Didn't get to see everyone but did have a lot of fun with those I did see. Thankfully I didn't get sick either - and given the number of sick people I was with that is an out and out miracle.

On the eating front I didn't do too badly. I kept to the diet on the whole although there were a few meals I just blew it (like at my favourite Thai I ate noodles with my chicken....how could I not?) but there were others where I could be choosy. Tim even tried to start dieting with me....so we'll see.

I had every intention of blogging while I was away, but it just didn't seem to work out that way. Too busy doing not a lot.

I was really good when I got home - same day, straight to a spin class and then with the trainer yesterday. It's always good to get back to it. While I never feel the urge to exercise when in England I always feel like a million dollars when I get back into it. Maybe it's good to give the ol' body a rest once in a while.

So, I'm going back to trying to post daily. Penny, you need to get into the habit too. I just figured out how to email blog posts so hopefully I'll be able to blog from my Blackberry.....now there is dedication, right??

Oh C'mon

Now people....it's the holiday season. Regardless of your faith, we're all used to seeing Father Christmas in stores, right?

How silly does it get?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071115/wl_asia_afp/lifestyleaustraliachristmasoffbeat

Positive thinking

I've been pondering this for some time. Did I teach myself to think positive in any situation or is it part of my make-up?

I'm thinking primarily about work, of course. When things don't go well or as I wanted I think about what I could have done differently to influence a different outcome. While I might think others didn't behave appropriately or unhelpful I do naturally turn back to myself and wonder what I could have done.

If I have a project to complete I always have a "what do we need to do to get it done?" rather than a "we can't do it because...".

Is this just me? Why am I surrounded by people who bitch and complain about every little thing and never ever ever take accountability for their own actions?

I know things and people are difficult but isn't it a waste of time and a complete demotivator if all you do this think about how unfair life is or how awful the situation is? Wouldn't it be better to channel that energy into the positive?

I think so. I'm still baffled as to why I always have a positive attitude. I'm racking my brains to figure out if I learnt it somewhere, but I can't remember where.

I'm worked/am friends with lots of my readers......what do you think?

See? It works

OK, so the moment I start blogging away about what I eat I lose weight. Works for me.

It was a long day yesterday and I didn't feel I had a lot of energy. That said, I made it through the gym OK.

Food:
9am breakfast - cereal and milk
11am snack - handful of almonds
1pm lunch - turkey meatloaf and green beans
3pm snack - handful of almonds
4.30pm snack - apple, peach and blueberry smoothie
7.30pm dinner - veggies in peanut sauce, sugar free jello

Gym - 20mins stair master, 1 hour weight training with Billy.

I've now lost 12.2lb. Pretty good for 6 weeks I think. Yeah!! Let's hope through the holidays I can keep this off.

Is Target that stupid?

Ok, a quick rant here. I bought a new shower curtain a couple of months ago from Target - it was pretty boring and plain white but it did the job of hiding the liner pretty well. This past weekend I decided to wash both the liner and the curtain.

WHO THE HELL MAKES A SHOWER CURTAIN THAT IS DRY CLEAN ONLY?

Needless to say I was back at the store buying a replacement last night as it had shrunk by 30%. I didn't even look at the label - as I assumed as it was so near water every day that it'd be at home in a washing machine. How wrong I was.

Needless to say my new one I can sling in the washing machine. Rant over.

Back to food

OK, so I tried a week without posting what I ate and what happened? I snuck a chocolate bar, or some other bad for me thing. So as of today, I'm back to being honest about what I eat. I can't believe that I have to resort to a blog, but hey, if that's what it takes then that's what I'll do.

On Saturday morning the biggest sin of all - I ate a bacon and egg roll. It was cooked relatively healthy, but on this protein vs. carb diet it's completely off limits (no bread and meat together). I have to say i felt like crap so I'm back on the diet now.

Yesterday's eating
9.00am breakfast - turkey and spinach omelet
11am snack - handful of almonds
1.30pm lunch - yogurt and banana
4pm snack - more almonds
6pm snack - banana, peach, blueberry smoothie plus a Crunchie (aka chocolate bar)
8pm dinner - left over thai food (just meat and veggie, no rice)

Gym - 10min stair master, 45 min spin class

The smoothie was a really good way of getting lots of energy. I didn't feel tired at all at the gym and couldn't continued. I'm working out with Billy tonight and if I still have that energy then I'll probably stay for another spin class tonight.

On the plus side, the job thing is starting up. I'm smarting up my resume now, so hopefully this will work out.

An Ikea geek moment

So you all know I'm a geek. You also know I love Ikea. I sent our duvet (comforter) to the cleaners and it came back queen size rather than king. So, given I live 15 mins from Ikea I decided the best course of action was early in the day drag Trev along and we'd choose our new duvet. Yeah!

That was the easy part and we had a duvet chosen in a few minutes. On a side note, did you know you can buy a duvet there now for under $10 for a full, $12 for a queen and about $14 for a king. They were crap I might add....but even so...

Ok, back to the story. We still managed to drop $500....which is usual for an Ikea visit, right? Got a new rug, some cheap kitchen stuff which is always useful, our duvet, a new duvet cover, wrapping paper etc etc. So.....the coolest thing we bought were new lamps.

Now that doesn't sound geeky, does it? But it is. These lamps you plug in. Then to turn on you touch the stem, same to turn it off. That was good...right? Here's the coolest thing. To dim it, you hold on to it.... now they weren't cheap. But they are coolio.

OK I'm done - geek moment over.

Pics as promised

OK, so now I've figured out how to embed an album from Picasa photos there's no stopping me. Here are pics from The Police concert, my friend Heather's NYC Marathon and the celebration drinks the day after.

The Police



Heather's NYC Marathon



Celebration Drinks

Nick's 30th Birthday

We had a great time out with our neighbours on Friday night - it was Nick's 30th birthday. He felt so old poor boy - as I said to him, life is great the older you get.

A first

This is a work story. Part of my job, especially with so many people working for me, is to give feedback - good and bad. Usually if it's giving constructive feedback (ie criticism) I think carefully about it, the person and it ends up well. I have an individual on my team who just thinks he's "The Man"....walks around and talks to people like he's a really really bad CEO. No-one likes working with him and he just thinks he's fantastic. While he does deliver outstanding work to our clients he lets his behaviour negate all that good work. Well, this week he erupted loudly on our floor at his account manager.....needless to say this didn't go unnoticed and i've spent 3 days dealing with "he needs to be fired" to HR proceedings to counselling to dealing w/my boss.

I have never delivered feedback like I did to him. Usually when you talk to someone, ask questions they know what they've done and they can work through fixing it. This guy is something else. he got roasted by his major account manager and then called me in a room. He started blaming lots of other people....and then he aske dfor my feedback. I asked him if he wanted me to give it to him straight. He said yes. So I did. Right between the eyeballs. I have never done it quite like that before.

It was quite cathartic. Saying EXACTLY what is on your mind is I guess. I have never seen him speechless, or humbled. I'm hoping this is the start of a positive change in this individual. He has a lot to offer the company and if we can turn him around he'll be very successful. Here's hoping.

We're off out with our neighbours tonight, so headaches all around tomorrow!

Oh yeah, and I'm still at 10lb loss....so very excited. 3 people in the gym have now noticed this week, so I'm really encouraged. Yeah for a thin me:)

They're kidding, right?

OK, so I read the title and was thinking positively. I thought it sounded good "how to get healthier in the office". I'm always looking for ways to get healthy so I clicked on the link

http://food.yahoo.com/articles/eatingwell/20863/7-great-ideas-for-a-healthier-workplace

All I can say is...."oh yeah, right in the middle of Times Square, let me bring in a farmer". What planet are these people on?

Did u notice?

The weight loss ticker - I hit the 10lb mark. Yippeeeeeeee for me!

Vent

OK, so it's late. I didn't pay my car insurance - boo flipping hoo. Blinking Geico shut me out of my online account so I had to call. No biggie thought I - I'll call, give a credit card # and then we'll all be fine and dandy.

What is it with these flipping people that they think the best customer service is a voice recognition system THAT DOESN'T RECOGNIZE ANYTHING. Blinking idiots.

Now I'm mad and agitated just before trying to sleep. Perfect.

A mega update

OK ok, I've been gone. Can you believe it's Weds night already and I've not updated since last week. Catch here updates on everything from dieting to The Police concert to my friend Heather finished the NYC marathon. Isn't it amazing that when you get out of the blogging habit, a week flies by. I'm endeavouring to get back to each day again.

Dieting - I'm not doing too bad. I've lost 9.5lb since Oct 1st so I think that's not bad. I'm definitely in the groove for protein, carb, protein, carb etc. I always cheat for sushi, but then that's not bad. I really can't be arsed to keep writing what I eat - my brain never remembers anyway.

Exercise - I have a schedule, I work out a lot, I can see changes although I'm missing pilates classes. I do this usually in a week: 2 (or 3) spin classes, 2 weight training sessions, 1 hour of cardio on stair master and then maybe a class or 2. I don't think that's bad at all - and hopefully with the diet will result in a few dress sizes lost by the new year. Here's hoping.

The Police. OMG it was FANTASTIC. They were brilliant. We had awesome seats and they did a good show. I have a story about getting to Atlantic City....thanks to our GPS system. Anyhow what we didn't realize was that our GPS system in the car was set to "avoid toll roads". Now I have to say I know it's an easy drive and I also knew within about 20 minutes that it was doing something funky. When it took us off the highway and drove us to Staten Island, NY I thought it was odd....even more weird when it put us back over to NJ about 10 minutes later on to the original highway. To cut a long story short we took the scenic route....and instead of taking under 2 hours, it took 3.5. I was not too happy. The worst bit? A husband who wouldn't admit it was all weird until we finally got to AC. When I took over the driving and I got onto the "Atlantic City Expressway" (a big hint eh?) I ignored the GPS when it wanted to take me off. We were in our hotel in under 20 minutes. Sometimes it takes a woman to make it happen! Anyhow....on the way home we configured the system properly and it took under 2 hours. Good job as we had to be in NY for the marathon.

The NYC Marathon. I've never been to something like that before. Because we drove back from AC we couldn't watch from the 4 vantage points that had been agreed. So, we targeted point 4 in The Bronx. We timed it brilliantly - and I'm in such awe of these people. At that time we were at about mile 20 and they were still running. It was amazing. Then Heather ran past, stopped to say hi for a sec, swore blind she'd never do it again and ran off. We then got on the subway and hot-footed it to Central Park ready for the big finish. We only had to wait a few minutes and Heather shot past again with only 300 yards to go. While we had to shoot off before we saw her when she had got her medal (Trev was off to the airport) but it was still cool to see. One day later we were having a celebratory beer and she was talking about doing it again next year. Amazing eh?

In other news...

I'm one step closer to getting a different job. I'll probably stay in the same area, but looks like I'll have some kind of program manager role which will be great. I got the job description today so all that remains now is understand expectations and the most obvious - how much more moolah will I get. Watch this space for more info.

My boss. On the whole I like working for my boss. She's supportive, I enjoy the autonomy and I like what I do (most days). What's pissing me off right now is that she takes 3 hour lunch breaks at least 3-4 times a week. I wouldn't mind, but I don't even get out. That's what worries me about the new job - but I guess with none of the direct reports I'll have more time....right?

I do actually have pics to upload of The Police and the Marathon, but I'm having issues with blogger. The buttons aren't working. I'll post it when I get to work (as it'll probably work then).

OK that's enough rambling. I think I've done enough and now I'm off to watch telly.

How happy are you, really?

You Are Very Happy

Your life is totally together, and you enjoy every day. And you don't need a quiz to tell you that! You know how to find pleasure in the little things... And even when life isn't so great, you have a good sense of perspective.

How Happy Are You, Really?

Not bad for a Friday

Friday wasn't a bad day at all. I had lots to do at work, but managed to achieve a few things. I also met with a couple of friends for a drink and then went out for dinner with Trev. I even ate chocolate and did OK.

9am breakfast - cereal and milk
11.45 lunch - roast beef, carrots and asparagus
3pm snack - fruit rollup
4.30pm snack - popcorn and a gin and tonic
8pm dinner - sole with spinach, soda water
9.30 snack - Galaxy Minstrels (ie chocolate!!)

No gym

It was a good day. I saw the scales this morning finally go past a "zero" point so I'm really egged on now.

Yeah!

Oh yeah - celebrity sighting yesterday - John Oliver of the Daily Show jogged past me at 7.05am in Times Square.

What character are you?

A venerated sage with vast power and knowledge, you gently guide forces around you while serving as a champion of the light.

Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not - for my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, and binds us. Luminescent beings are we, not this crude matter! You must feel the Force around you, everywhere.
Yoda is a is a character in the Star Wars universe.

More Yoda information is available at the Star Wars Databank.

Feeling better

One thing I like about being more healthy is that when you get a cold you recover quite quickly. I have to say that I didn't take any cold medicine yesterday although I did take some to make sure that I slept well, and while I've gravelly today (think 1900 voice) I don't feel so bad at all. I managed double-duty at the gym yesterday and eating was good.

8.15am breakfast - ham, spinach and cheese omelette
1.30pm lunch - sushi (tuna/cucumber roll, salmon/cucumber roll), 1 fruit rollout
4.45pm snack - 2 handfuls of almonds
6.45pm snack - banana, mango & blueberry smoothie
8.00pm dinner - sugar free jello, bag of mini cheddars

Gym - 20min walk, 5 min stairmaster, 1 hour training w/Billy, 45 min spin class

Wow! Not only did I eat pretty well but I did a huge amount of exercise - and felt good! I also have now lost 9lb in just over a month - not bad eh?

We're off to see The Police in Atlantic City this weekend so really looking forward to that.