Thursday Afternoon and life is just beautiful…
It really is.
The temp is 62°. The sun is shining. I ran a quick 4 miles earlier, outside at the Forest Preserve, listening to my Warrior Music List (Warrior Dash training) and just feeling happy. Only people that live in climates that go from cold to hot and back again can really understand the joy you feel when the weather breaks. And lucky for us it happens really often in Springtime in this part of the country! It was 35° steady a week ago. It was rainy and 40 degrees just 2 days ago. Then it was clear and 45 degrees just yesterday. Today, sunny and 60. Tomorrow is supposed to be 70+!! Next week? Who knows? Probably back in the 40’s. Then back in the 70’s. It is a constant rollercoaster of bad/good weather. And you can count yourself extra lucky if you don’t catch pneumonia by summer! That’s when it will be 90 and everyone is begging for the cold again. So unsatisfied we are.
But, back to the happy. I ran, and I’m done for the day, thank goodness. Now I can concentrate on dinner. Still off the strict-diet wagon, but not all that bad. Luckily my scale ran out of batteries and I don’t know what the damage really is. I still fit in my small jeans so I guess that’s ok. Kids are still gone, but they have a good daddy so I know they’re happy. And the weather in Kentucky is mostly nice all the time!
Went to the old job yesterday to see the people before they have to leave the premises. Kind of sad really. Took the train to the city. Chicago. Over an hour–don’t miss that. Walked another 20 minutes to the Merchandise Mart–housing the company–it was a bit chilly and windy as it always is–didn’t really miss that either.
I actually thought I would take some pictures, because I never do. I just slogged off every day back and forth barely even looking around ya know? Just avoiding the homeless and trying not to get in the middle of any altercations they would be having amongst themselves. Funny story once: a man and woman were fighting over a rolled up umbrella. On the corner of a busy street at 8 in the morning. It wasn’t even raining. And there wasn’t anything else around. No other people, none of their stuff…it’s like they were just walking along together when they decided to start fighting over that umbrella. Just both of them holding onto it, pulling it back and forth between them, both shouting, “Call the Po-lice! Call the Po-lice!” Cross the street, don’t look back.
Anyway, I pull out the camera. It wasn’t really sunny yet, so that’s always better I think for pictures, when, “Crack!” I drop the damn camera right onto the ground. Lens first. Broken. Just like that. Had it for almost 2 years—so that’s pretty good actually. I fiddle around with it on the sidewalk and manage to get the zoom lens things out and back in, although not as easy and neat like BEFORE it was broke. It keeps turning off. I finally get it to come on, open and even take 3 pictures, but now I feel bad and kind of sad that I broke it, so I just put it away. I didn’t even tell the boyfriend until much later, like much later…after 8 pm and vodka…no, he was fine. It was his present and all–just a point and shoot–not anything REALLY fancy, but now I have to get him a new one. I’ll post the picture I took and you can see. It still works. I figure I can use it or the kids can. Now we don’t have to worry about them breaking it. Ha! Thank you, ME.
Anyway, really off track here…all my old friends seem ok. Sad but surviving. Everybody has the summer off so that’s kind of a good thing! And we can all find jobs together! School is an option being thrown around alot. I highly recommend it. Never too late! So I hung out all day, picked up some cd’s and a mini-chattering-teeth wind up toy and called it a day.
I’ll go back with the kids so we can say goodbye proper. I’ve been bringing them since they were in carriers and they’ll want to see the place and the people they know, one more time before everyone scatters. It really is like a second family (19 years put in for me) and I’m not very sentimental. But it felt like a funeral.
After that, I phoned my lawyer friend and walked over to her offices. Swanky. First time in all the time we’ve been downtown together. That’s funny isn’t it? Then we hustled it to the train—Pit-Stop for StarBux(downtown Starbux)–and rode home.
Went to Portillo’s with the BF, picked up 2½ Men/Season 2 and some chocolate cake and made it a night. Got up this morning to the sing-song call of the cardinals, drank coffee, paid bills and did dishes and laundry until it was time to run. You know the rest. Happy.
FYI: My Warrior Music List Part 1 Part 2 really does rock. I highly recommend it. (Check it out in my Music Lists) I used it today–shuffled up–and it worked great!. I could have run for another ½ mile–ha. I been slacking off on the lists. I’ll get back into it. Got some new music to peruse so we’ll see what I can come up with.
Anyway, wherever you are, enjoy the evening. Hope the weather is fine for whatever you want to do.
It’s almost the weekend! Cheers!
Tuesday in the city…
It’s raining. It started early Monday morning. All day. All night. Grey and cool. The kids are on Spring Break and gone. They are in Kentucky with their dad. I dropped them off Sunday night and they left Monday morning. Boyfriend and I stayed in all day, just watching tv and playing computer games. We watched the “greatest film of all time”, Citizen Kane. I had seen it in high school for some class that I can’t remember. All the cinematic shadowing and camera angles. The ceilings. Rosebud. The boyfriend never saw it. I did not give away the end. I won’t here either if you never saw it. You should though. See it. At least once. It was interesting. Looked better than I remember. Longer too. It was grainy so many years ago. I figured it must have been on projector when I saw it. Like reel to reel…How the hell old am I anyway??
Anyhow, the day was good. Our new thing is Two and a Half Men. The TV show. We get the DVD’s and watch them all the way thru until we are caught up or done with all the seasons. (We did it with King of Queens. Very funny. We watched all 9 seasons over the span of a few weeks. It’s nice to have something that you know will make you laugh no matter what. Feels good at the end of a crappy day. Or any kind of day really. Drama is highly overrated. I try to avoid them if I can. Makes the boyfriend mad, but hey, I like to laugh not cry.) I had never watched the show (2 ½ Men), but it is really really funny. The kid is so good. I can’t believe what they get away with on this show. Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer play good brothers. Duckie Forever! (on a side note…my girl had seen Pretty In Pink for the first time a few months ago and she was SO mad that Duckie didn’t end up with Andie—she didn’t like Blane…funny huh? she was so disappointed at the prom ending–gave that one away—sorry!) It’s always nice to have a really good warmup for the week without my kids. I miss them and it’s hard to switch from mom to girlfriend. But the transition was successful and here I am typing about it when I should be doing something productive.
The boyfriend is at work and I should go about trying to earn some money. Also I am supposed to go into the city today…or tomorrow…most likely tomorrow…we’ll see. Going to take the train and I haven’t taken it in about a year now. Don’t miss it. The reason is the company I worked for is shutting down and I want to see my old friends before they are scattered all over the state. It’s been a long, slow slide into the abyss, and I just want to offer some support. www.ripjwt.com if you are interested.
Next up is diet and exercise. Obviously I am one of those people that fall off the wagon for any little reason. Like a long weekend or holiday or laziness or a cold….which I have. Leftover from the children. My head was stuffed and cruddy on Sunday. My throat was sore and scratchy on Monday. And my chest is burning a little with congestion today. I would usually go to the gym or outside and run it off but I don’t want to do that in the 40° rain or on the treadmill where other people might see and hear me coughing and hacking. So, I will sit here and drink hot bevs for right now and wait for it to go away. I tried some cold meds but they didn’t really seem to help. That’s ok. Thanks.
So if I can’t exercise you think I might show a little restraint on the food part. Well, I don’t really want to eat but if I do…it won’t be healthy. Yogurt just doesn’t sound good when you feel bad ya know? Ice Cream does though! Weird isn’t it? Same family, but so different. A nice piece of fruit or a warm toasted slice of thick bread with butter? Gatorade/7-up or hot coffee/tea? Hard boiled egg or chocolate cake? (Remember…it’s also raining here) Nothing goes better with overcast days than bad food, good books, warm blankets and hot drinks.
Which leads me to my next thought. Hard boiled eggs. They are so hard to do just right. Boiled properly to get the shell off easily. Next post is going to be a tip about that. I should send out a poll. Greatest movie ever made and how to make perfect boiled eggs. That goes together. This is some higher level thinking all over these pages.
Cue the music and we’ll call it a day!
Good Morning Weekenders!
For some of you, the weekend started early…and I thought I’d send a post about my coffee paraphernalia. It occurred to me last night after reading some other websites, that maybe I should devote my time to something more worthwhile than posts about the useless things that go on in my life. Who really cares? I don’t know, maybe something will evolve from this and it will be beneficial to someone other than myself. (At least it’s not a bunch of pictures of me, taking pictures of me, in various bathrooms and types of clothing. Haha ) But until that time…here are my three great loves. Coffee, my coffee maker and my coffee holder. (This is just as terrible–an excuse to post a picture of my coffee mug–shameless self-promotion of a different sort anyway, I guess…)
The coffee is cheap, because I used to get really good stuff from work, and I tried to continue to spend the big bucks for small bags after I left but I realized that I’m not really particular on the brand, and I could get more for less. Does drinking just anything resembling coffee make me a lover or just an addict?
The coffee maker is cheap too because we make SO much coffee that the machines keep breaking.
The coffee holder/travel cup is the one I have had for an unknown number of years. I got it at my job a long time ago. (I worked in catering for an ad agency and people were always leaving their mugs and containers behind after they left. I would collect them, save them for a bit to see if they would be claimed, and then eventually keep what was useful and throw out the rest. This is how I got the above travel cup) And it is the best travel mug in the world! Seriously. It holds the warmth for hours and hours. Literally. It can sit in the car, in winter, for the whole day, and still be warm enough to drink without making that cold-coffee face. My boyfriend has spent many dollars and hours trying to find a cup equal in heat retention, with no luck thus far. It’s not even that extraordinary a cup. It says Starbucks on the black rubber band around it, and it seems to be made of stainless steel. The top screws on with a rubber gasket around the rim. Sometimes it seals so well I can’t get the top off until it cools down. And sometimes not even then. It’s obviously some kind of first edition Starbucks travel mug, because I’ve never seen another like it in any of the stores I have visited in the last few years. It is probably made of some kind of dangerous super-conducting metal that is actually killing me very slowly and painlessly.
I feel too attached to this cup–so much so that my boyfriend will not take it with him on trips for fear of losing it and suffering my wrath. Pathetic. For me. I have always wondered what I would do if I ever did lose it. My kids can’t remember a time when I didn’t have it. (Before they were born) And I always imagined that if the suspense of when I would eventually lose it became too unbearable, I would simply chuck it into the Chicago River, aka Harold and Maude, and get on with my life. Forever knowing it was stuck in the mud at the bottom of the Big Cruddy.
But that will not be happening. My children have decided that when I die, my ashes will be stored in this coffee cup. It’s been common knowledge for quite some time, that I will be cremated and they are ok with that. We’ve talked about it, not to scare them, but just in a real life kind of way and the problem wasn’t with the cremation, but what to do after. The cup was the solution. On our last road trip to Florida, they decided, together, that this is what to do with the ashes. That may be a little creepy I guess, but I was kind of proud that they came up with a solution that they can feel good about. Forward thinking you know? And I really like it. It’s fitting. It probably wouldn’t burn with me…so…next best thing! Don’t judge. What do you talk about on a really long drive?
That’s kind of getting off subject here, but it does offer one more reason to stay slim throughout my life: Keep to the program. Have to fit in the cup! It’s not that big ya know!
Today is out though for exercise. (And the food plan too, for that matter) I am heading out to babysit for my sissy so she and the hubby and my BF and son can go to a baseball game tonight. Have fun with that. Me and Stevie will see you on TV. Inside the warm house eating cheap, bad food. Tomorrow and Sunday probably aren’t good either–kids have double bowling, a birthday party, and of course Easter. We celebrate by way of going to my mother’s and eating Deviled eggs (ironic!), cold ham, potato salad and Lamb cake. Don’t be jealous.
Wrapping up…have a great weekend, religious and otherwise.
And for my sis…2 more days to chocolate…GO SOX!
Warrior Dash and all that…
Taking a break from my busy schedule here…no training today. Tired. (yes) Lazy? (little bit) No motivation today. Spent a good portion of my morning (and some afternoon yesterday) attempting to achieve motivation by way of inspirational movies and whatnot. Downloaded Tomb Raider movies…(Angelina)…Wanted (Angelina)…Mr & Mrs Smith (Ang…you get the picture)…onto my portable system for the necessary kick butt, jump kick, kick start….whatever… to better “dashability”. It’s lame and rather sad, I won’t deny it to anyone. I shouldn’t even admit to how MUCH time I have actually devoted to this endeavor. But there it is. I like Angelina, in a tough cool chick way. I know that the stunts are rigged and it’s script and acting and special effects. But I don’t care. It makes me feel like I can be a tough cool chick too. And I can’t just remember the feeling. I have to see it. So if I am on the treadmill watching Lara Croft fighting off giant stone statues that have come to life, or jumping off cliffs and sustaining nothing more than a cut on her arm, and it helps me go a little faster a little longer, then so what?
Added a Fight List here…get inspired!
The problem was the transfer from movie to computer to player. The words kept showing up on the player screen for 2 movies but not the other 2. Even though all the movies in the computer file had no words showing. Very frustrating. And somewhat distracting to the picture. It’s just one of the many anal (possibly OCD) characteristics I possess, that allows me to waste inordinate amounts of time on very trivial things. Problem admitted. Treatment in progress. So here is me all morning: Delete. Download. Sync. Play. Delete again. Re-download. Sync. Play. Wipe them all out. Download again. Transfer files again. Sync. Play. And on like that for some hours.
Finally. Success. All 4 movies. Flawless playback. No words. But now I’m too tired and itchy feeling to go to the gym. PLUS—I was up most of the night with my son. He has a chest cold. He gets them almost every spring. He takes Zyrtec and a nosespray, for allergies that the doc says cause all the mess in his head which trickles down into his chest and sits there until he starts weezing and complaining of chest pain. The meds work. It’s been 2 years since his last chest x-rays. That’s how we measure success. No x-rays for Mason! That’s probably good for alot of stuff. No x-rays. Hehe…anyway, the meds work, but you miss one day and the weather shifts, like it does constantly here, and POOF!, he’s sick. So 2 a.m. we are up using his nebulizer—alleviate the tightness first and then load him up with the cold medicine. Breather again at 4 a.m. and again at 6. He just has to get the gunk out of his chest and he’ll be fine. This one isn’t too bad. We caught it quick. But it still doesn’t change the fact that we were up all night. He went to school because he didn’t want to miss basketball. First practice game! And the last one before Spring Break. He should be fine but he will be tired. That’s not too bad either. Get him fed and in bed. Nice night for me! Oh wait. I still have that other one…haha. (just a joke–calm down) In case anyone is interested, she’s fine.
Being up though did give me the time I needed to re-download all 4 movies onto the computer without having to waste any “day” time. Mason inhaled medicine and I switched out movies. It used to be me just sitting there next to him until he was done trying not to fall asleep, so this is a big improvement!
I am still on the Warrior Path. I should be able to get outside tomorrow and run around and I can probably lift some weights this afternoon, so it won’t be a total loss. And I am mostly sticking to the eating plan. (I have to admit that I suffer terrible around certain times of the month and it’s hard to stay true to yogurt, beans, brown rice and hard boiled eggs.) So it is still Extreme Fat Smash for a few more days. And we will probably keep to it another 3 weeks. It works. Really keeps you clean. Food wise.
My music is solid for now. Inspirational enough and all that. Hopefully you liked the warrior list. I am always open for some new music that will keep me running. So feel free to send a comment and suggestions. The music for today is a little different. Since I was feeling kind of punchy and dazy, and I heard The Safety Dance on the radio, it made me start thinking about songs that are just goofy. Like, they have goofy lyrics or silly words, or are just kind of random. The list below is what I came up with. You never really think about these songs, but when you hear them on the radio, probably driving in your car, you get all happy, and find yourself singing along, loudly; desperately wanting to change the station, but somehow never doing it. And before you realize it, the song is over and you just belted your way back down memory lane in your motor vehicle time machine. Hopefully you are alone—or even better—not alone—and you just had a duet, quartet, trip-let concert in your car, aka Tommy Boy Style, you know what I’m talking about…Don’t you remember you told me about the baby? Baby baby baby baby baby…FUN!
So. Everyone grab a kid–hopefully yours if you got ’em–and get silly! Incidentally, these songs are pretty good for dancing too! The goofier the better! See if you agree with me. And if not. Let me know! Hit me with something even sillier. It’s exercise! Pop, Lock & Drop It to the: “Songs That Are Silly“ List. Bee. Low.
I Am The Warrior….
Well, I am the warrior…and heart to heart you win…if you survive…the warrior…o yeah…well, I’m not the warrior just yet, but I’m hoping to be!
Next up on the crazy workout athletic ridiculous endeavor front: The Warrior Dash. Some kind of nutty 6K + Obstacle Course Race for the insane.
It’s held here in Chicago–Joliet to be exact–in the middle of July–nice and hot–and you basically get to run around outside over hills and cars and fire(!), and through swamp and mud and tunnels and logs and who knows what else! WarriorDash.com. Fun stuff (it looks like). I got my sissy to sign up AND her husband. This is what we’re doing for HER birthday! Trying to get the boyfriend to go to… C’mon baby…
This is just in time too! Thanks to the wonderful ebb and flow of new type management in old places…one of the athletic events we participate in every year—GO Vertical! Chicago—has been canceled. It is THE tallest stairclimb, 103 floors inside the Sears Tower, benefiting the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. The management team for the Sears Tower, has decided that this year they will not have it. Doesn’t fit into the schedule I guess of changing the name and painting the building silver. I know I’m not the only one who feels sad about it. But what can we do? Anyhoo–on to bigger and better right?
So, switching gears. We are finishing up with EFS. Week 3 Day 1. Back to the grind. Exercise and all that. Eating lean. Need to get stronger and faster for July. I’m not really sure how to train for this…outside to start and with running for sure. After that, I’m going to do some weights, crawl around stuff at local parks and not worry too much. Kids will have a blast “helping”, at least. It should be fun and I probably won’t win anyway. Not really a hardcore athlete so to speak… I like to stay in shape and exercise in new and unusual ways. And if you can get a little dirty, drink beer at the end and get a cool t-shirt and viking warrior helmet?? furry even??—well I’m all for it!
Of course, I’m going to need a playlist. Music for the Viking, Soldier, Gladiator, Spartan, Ninja, Samurai, Zulu fighting types…
Plain and simple. (I’m actually going to need ALOT of playlists, but this will be a start) Can’t listen to music on the course anyway–not going thru mud and gunk…ooh…so excited!
FYI Update: Kitchen Nook is awesome. I love it. Kids are sitting at it doing homework as I type. Floor is superclean. Hands and knees people. Took 4 hours. You could literally eat off the thing. That doesn’t say much about my normal cleaning skills I know, considering my kitchen is obviously small enough that a regular kitchen table and chairs is too much to have. But in my defense I did do the utility room too and wash all the throwrugs and kind of help with the construction. AND, I went and picked up dinner. In a rainstorm. On foot. Uphill. Both ways. Haha. Old joke. But it was raining and storming pretty good in prep for the nasty wet sleet snow attack we did get a few hours later.
All jokes aside. The boyfriend is 99 % responsible for my new kitchen set being put together and usable. Thank you honey!
And as for the food part, we worked out in the a.m. Me for an hour and him for over 2! We earned the one meal we ate! So quit it!
Music is below! (Songs with the literal “warrior” spirit and songs that just make you want to keep going. Started small–grew big. So I split it into 2 parts. Keep moving on.)
I am the GumBall Lady.
Gumballs, JellyBeans, DoubleBubble Bubble Gum and StarBurst too. I am the queen of the Jar! Pay me your quarter and take your guess. It’s all fund raising at the school. It’s what I have been doing for the past 2 days. Guess how many of the above are in the jar, win the jar. Or at least the candy in the jar. I’m totally pushing my kids for the JellyBeans (StarBurst kind–much yummier than regular) or the actual StarBurst Candy. The office didn’t tell me the real number and I don’t want to know. I don’t want to subconciously influence anyone. I want the candy but not bad enough to cheat! I suppose I could just start eating it right out of the jar. Kidding. It’s not on the EFS anyway.
Last day of the week. Weigh in is Sat. morning for those of us in the house. Me and boyfriend. Did we or didn’t we? Last night? Pizza I mean—or whatever the BF chose. The answer is…..Yes! Yes to everything. Weighed it. Ate it. Pizza. Pop. Pie. (Leftover from the party) And now…to the gym.
Either way exercise must be exercised. Babysitting for niece and nephew and can’t go out anyhow for weekend. We will stay home and eat healthy and construct my brand new Kitchen Nook! Out with that crappy table and chairs. In with the corner seat, table and bench. I know it sounds kind of lame, but I am SO excited for this!! I have wanted one of these things since I moved into this house 10 years ago. The kitchen is so small and the nooks look awesome in them. Fit perfectly. Why not sooner? Who knows? No money. No time. Other things seemed more important. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter now because by Sunday morning I’ll be eating breakfast at my new table. No more living-room-coffee-table meals for us!!! And it wasn’t even very expensive. You can buy them for over a thousand. I got mine for 400 or so. And it’s not cheap looking. It’s amazing how different the same thing can be. At any rate, it came in 3 boxes and the last one arrived yesterday afternoon! I will now be removing the old table and chairs from my kitchen, washing the floors–hands and knees people–one chance–and waiting for BF to get home and start the put-it-together-party!
Music List. Got to have one. I’m thinking candy. Furniture is not fun. I know there are ALOT of songs about candy. Sugar snacks and heart attacks (that’s another list). We’ll try to keep it mostly PG–you know how these rock and rollers can be…but it ain’t happening. These musicians like to get low down with the love and lollipop talk. I tried to label the songs by what I think, but it’s all subjective. Get ready and get your hands sticky with all this candy.
Please find below: The “GumBall Lady“ List. Sweet.
Happy Birthday to My Boyfriend!!
Today is the day! It’s official. For the next 5 months I am only 3 years older than my BF! Then it’s back to the gap! 4 years! No big deal now…but that would have been an entire high school term back in the day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
So anyhoo, he leaves for work as usual and none of us get up. And when he says goodbye to me, I don’t remember that it’s the birthday. Finally, as I am getting ready to make lunches and I go into the kitchen I see lottery tix on the table…and THEN I remember! Duh. Nice girlfriend. (On a happy note-he got a whole bunch of lottery tix at his party and he won $77 and a free ticket. The $75 I didn’t see, but there are 3 scratch offs waiting for later! He’s a lucky duck. Haha)
I call on the phone and wish him a happy birthday. Say I’m sorry I didn’t remember earlier. Stevie is yelling her happy birthdays in the background. Mason, however, says that he doesn’t have to say anything because he sent his message “telegraphically”. Please check the word of the day for clarification. But it was pretty funny!
So we next have to decide if we should totally go off the EFS for b-day dinner, or just stick to the plan…ugh…weigh in is technically Sat. AM for us and Friday AM for the kids–they go to their dads this weekend so we have to bump it a day (we have them on a super modified plan–just to keep any chunk from accumulating on their little growing bodies and get them in the habit of healthy eating for life). I can think of excuses all day. So I spent a moment and came up with something pretty reasonable sounding. I am weighing us after school today, and if we are the same or below our last weekend weight…dinner is ON! If not, stick to the lean times. It’s fair. We work hard all week. We are pretty careful not to overdo it. So one dinner won’t break the bank! The BF gets to pick the food-pizza-so I hope we all do well-pizza- and are able to slip in one bad meal-pizza-and just work a little harder-pizza-tomorrow! I don’t know what he’ll choose-pizza-and I hate to influence-pizza-his decision. Whatever you want baby!
(Pizza.)
So, I have to go volunteer at the school for lunch time, but I want to get in a music list. In honor of the boyfriend and my brilliant son, I am creating the birthday-telegraphic-telepathic-ESP-reading your mind-playlist. Have fun with it! Just close your eyes, think music, birthday, ESP…. there. You have it?? It’s good isn’t it??!!
And for those of you who are unable to read my mind and hear the music thru un-earthly channels, I’ve written it down, just below!
Keep in “mind“, however, GREAT liberties were taken with this list. Unfortunately there just aren’t enough songs about actual ESP and Mind Reading. Maybe I am wrong, and if you know of some, please let me know. But I kind of veered off into the “in my head” category and more general “mind” songs. I even found a few “voices in my head“. It does border on the crazy a bit, but it’s my list. So, BROADLY enjoy:
The “SOS-ESP-B-DAY” List. Music for the psychic! (And those schooled in Morse code! (among other things)Love it!)
Tuesday EFS Off The Wagon…or something like that
This is Day 7 of the second week, but not really. Since we fell off the wagon for the weeekend, not completely, but we WERE hanging over the side dragging the ground pretty good; we decided to extend week 2 thru Friday. Thereby starting Week 3 on Saturday and bringing us in line with the BFL system we had begun previous to this Extreme Fat Smash idea. Now that that’s all straight…
The point for today is to say, I exercised and followed the diet up until 1 pm or so when I decided to partake of some fabulous beer cheese dip left over from the party on Sunday. OK. It wasn’t really left over. It never got put out. Silly Me.
My brother-in-law makes THE best Beer-Cheese Dip in the WHOLE world. I don’t know exactly what it is and I don’t know what’s in it. But I do know that you eat it with pretzels and it is awesome! Some people will tell you that it’s good with other crunchy things like Triscuits, Pita Chips, or Melba type cracker things. But they would be WRONG. Pretzels are the only way to go. Now, he had some at his Crawfish Boil the day before, and I begged him to bring some to my party the next day. He doesn’t make it all the time so it’s like a big thing for me when he does. In the spirit of brotherly love, he packed some up, WITH pretzels, and drove an hour to our house to have it for the b-day party. It was even still cold! Then I slyly put it in the fridge and there it sat until everyone left. But he saw thru my deception. He noticed and commented on how tricky that was and how he kind of wanted some…OMG! I totally forgot! I meant to put it out but there was so much confusion when everyone got here and I had all this other stuff…and then when I remembered it was too late…blah blah blah….Yeah Right! He wasn’t buying it. But he was kind and let me keep it anyway. I did give back the pretzels though.
So, long story short, I ate some of that most delicious Beer-Cheese Dip this afternoon after my workout. My own private stock! I did the work at the gym to allow for the discrepency. And I didn’t eat alot. Just enough. Got to have some for tomorrow! Or later with Beer. Actually no, My bro-in-law also made a Louisiana Punch concoction to go with the New Orleans theme they had rolling for the Crawfish Boil so he brought that over too. Add just a bit more vodka and you got yourself a party in a glass! I throw on the beads we all got, close my eyes, and its like I’m in the Big Easy. Well, not really, but it’s the perfect segway into my Music List for the Day!
In honor of my most beloved Brother-In-Law and his Beer-Cheese Dip and my happiness over having it, I have dedicated the list to him today.
It’s all about New Orleans, Beer, Cheese and Whiskey. Please take a Drink from the “Big Easy: Beer Cheese Whiskey“ List. Right below here!
(FYI–it’s a little country music heavy–we aren’t haters but we like more variety—strangely enough alot of country music has to do with drinking and the South! How ’bout that??)
Thanks J. You Rock!
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Monday Morning. Back to the grind…
Weekend is over. It is Monday and back to the very specific and hunger inducing Extreme Fat Smash Regimen. Now, we took a few liberties with the diet this weekend…drinks and bad food Saturday(Crawfish Boil)–alot of GOOD food,(and fun) but not good for the bellyroll; then more bad food and cake for Sunday(the B-day party)–OK food–plus pizza! but again, not good for the bigger bellyroll. So if you are keeping track at home, we are on Day 6 of Week 2. Since the party times didn’t really start until afternoon/evening, we tried to stay close to the diet early and then modify a little for nighttime. AND the exercise was key. The boyfriend managed to work it in at the gym, I had to use more home-based methods, but moving is losing so we’ll see at the end of the week.
We are changing it up a bit to accommodate our Saturday Weigh Day. Used to be “free day” on BFL, but not anymore. Free Day wasn’t really working for us, as it’s hard to keep it to a day. You feel good all week, lose pounds and then go crazy eating what you think you’re missing and have to work twice as hard for the next week. So basically free day is not free anymore. We will be extending EFS until Friday, using the weeks of 1 or 2 and their first 3 days of meal plans to take us to Saturday morning–then we’ll be right on track for all the plans we follow. And NO free day. The craziest we’ll be getting for a while now is Exercise-Break-Day!! (Rest Day as it’s written in the book.) Watch out!
To sum-up the parties in case you are interested:
Saturday: The Boil was bubbling! The weather was crap, but the people were fun and the food was awesome. The music, however, was totally lacking! I spent the time making the playlist; A nice mix I felt of the old and new, but alas, I had no where to play it. The party and conversations didn’t really fit for music playing. Talk was the preferred audio. But now I have playlists forever…I can exerpt pieces of the list everyday for a month! LazyTime for me, and a list you can piece together however you like. I recommend the random playback selection. Nobody can complain then! That list will start in a few days, I have a better idea for today.
Sunday: The Birthday was bashing! Had the family: mothers, sisters, brothers and all the kiddies that come along with them. We threw in a couple of friends and partydone. I made the famous dip (Taco-my version that I feel is the BEST) but of course, I forgot to take the picture. I also made the Better-Than-Sex Cake (Or the Better-Than-SpongeBob Cake for the PG audience–sorry sis about the intro to the S-word for yours…), also my recipe–sort of. The basic idea for it can be found anywhere on the internet, but I like to alter it and add more stuff to make it MORE “Better Than–you know what”. The last one I made was 8 pounds! I weighed it. It’s rich and thick with evil sweetness. And again, I forgot to take the picture. BUT, I did take a photo of the vegetable tray. Lucky you. There was like, 5 dips that I forgot to label and then got all mixed up…it was like dip surprise! Hey its a party–you just never know what might happen! Don’t we all just sound crazy and out-of-control?!? Oh come on, what do YOU do on Sunday??
So basically, everyone eats, singing, presents, chit-chat, gossip, and goodbye. In the end my one sister (with hubby and 2 kids) stayed later, we ordered pizza, and they left. Clean up and off to bed. Exciting stuff.
And I have to add, for my kids benefit–both must be treated equally; after all the cleaning, even carpet shampooing…no one messed up the floor except my own 2 kids! On Saturday afternoon, Mason spectacularly dumped an entire cup of my coffee right off the table and onto the floor, creating a pretty splashy brown stain right where we all sit. We gave him quite a hard time, but got it cleaned almost invisibly by Sunday Party Time. Then, to be fair, Stevie decided to drop her plate-sized piece of BTS cake off the table and onto the EXACT same spot that Mason spilled the coffee, but with the added bonus of doing it in front of everybody! Now we have dark dark chocolate with syrups and whip soaking into the fibers. This floor stands no chance of staying clean past March. Pressure is off! Thanks guys! I love you!
Oh and my one friend–the sci-fi gal, told the family about this running log of nothing–so if you are reading—this is the big idea for the day—the music list is for you. My family. Mothers, sisters, brothers…(There weren’t any daddy’s. ODD. The only technical dad present was my sisters hubby, but I was meaning more like the dads of us adults–we love ya J! but we have to give the dad’s their own list. I’ll tack it on later. A 2-for-1 Bonus Day! Once I started compiling family songs—there’s alot—the dad’s had enough for their own. Good but kind of bad too. There are alot of ticked off rock stars who don’t like their daddys–sorry guys)
With that said, it’s all about “Family Fun“. It’s all about YOU!
Friday afternoon salad break
That’ a bad headline, but I have to hurry. I am taking advantage of the no-car thing and trying to do stuff that I SHOULD have been doing all along. Things like dusting, vacuuming, laundering, bathroom cleaning, baking, purging old papers, clothes, crap stored in drawers and on table tops, that I could have just threw out in the first place…but mostly cleaning. I am a terrible housekeeper. I dust, like, never. I have cobwebs in all the corners, and I should vacuum 5 times more than I do. I even have the very awesome Dyson Ball Vacuum. I love it. It is so easy to use and picks up so much dirt off the floor its like it’s vacuuming stuff up from UNDER the house! Maybe not, but it is fun to use.
So it’s Day 3 of Week 2/ EFS. Not doing bad, been busy so its easy to not eat. I just made a lovely veg salad with the optional hard boiled egg. It’s the non-exercise day so you have to eat leaner…but I wasn’t going to exercise anyway…isn’t that terrible? But I did walk with the kids to school (only 5/6 of the way there—I have to stop just short of the “kid group” so as not to cause death inducing embarrassment). Then I walked home.
It’s a quick little burst and then I started cleaning. This is MAJOR exercise for me. No kidding. Looks good but it gets dusty fast where I live. I have a problem with moving stuff off shelves and whatnot and using a rag and spray–I hate doing it–so I am always looking for the easiest thing possible–like a stick with fuzzy material that you run all over everything and the dirt comes off–no moving objects required. Enter the SWIFFER DUSTER. My new love. After putting it together…it’s easy, but I am just lame today and it took longer than it should have—pathetic….but after that, I just sweeped all around the house dusting and humming and generally being happy that it was going so well! I wondered if you could re-use the raggy thing on the end, and in most cases of people who dust regularly, you probably could, but not me. Straight to the garbage. It was kind of nasty. Dust is so dirty. And not in any of the good ways…but the house is clean. Bathroom is de-grossed, clothes are washed. I even used things like “Windex” and something called “Clorox”.
Well, that seems kind of boring. I had a point when I started typing this day thing, but I’ve forgotten what it was. Hmmm…..I also baked bread and a cake. I have, seriously, like 7 dips to make for Sat and Sun. In case you aren’t following along I have a Crawfish Boil on Sat to go to and a Party to throw at my house on Sunday. Hence, the clean and bake…I also have some music to come up with. I thought I could do one every day but I don’t think that is going to be possible. I am still trying to add pictures to this and get it looking…good…or at least interesting….something to get people here—where they can then drift off…anyway, I have a word of the day coming and I think I’ll just save the next music list as the crawfish list. Or maybe a cleaning the house and baking list? People do like music when they are doing things like that. I do.
Ok losing the thoughts, kids just got home and it is report card time! Mason is all A’s but one! (Excellent job but also too bad… again…(his Dad promised him a cell phone if he could pull off all A’s—so close–twice in a row now! Better luck next time! Only one more chance!) Stevie is all A’s and B’s. She don’t get nothing either! She wants Slurpee’s for a year. I’m going to miss these easy days. It’s surprising how many individual grade scores they hand out in the middle school years…I don’t remember having all of that…but maybe I missed some stuff. Mason also got a packet for next year already. He’s moving to the big school. Boo hoo. Needs a dental and physical and shots! Definitely don’t miss that…
Ok this is getting a little rambly here and its longer than a salad break, so to sum up: Clean house. Baked bread. Made cake. Mixed dips. Laundered clothes. List Music and Word Day. Done.
psst…hey…I also have a present to wrap…don’t tell the boyfriend….it’s kind of hush hush….thanks…
just shy of pretty 