This Is Not The Way.
Sorry Doc. I guess I will have to start that diet next week. I haven’t had those delicious breakfast burritos in soooo long. With that spicy good Hot Picante sauce that the McDonald’s Corporation is being super stingy about handing out with their breakfast foods. Signs everywhere restricting the “sauces per order per item”. It’s so stupid. And even when you ask for more packets, AND are willing to pay for the extra sauces, they act like it’s a huge inconvenience, or that you are committing a crime against the purity of their food preparation. Where are these sauce packets that it takes so long, and three different people, to get? Are they stashed away in a secured vault with a time lock or some kind of multiple employee fingerprint/eyeball unlocking mechanism? Seriously they aren’t that good. This is the truth: Sometimes, even when I really really want McDonald’s, or the kids do, I’ll just skip it because I know what a pain in the ass it will be to get what I actually want. Plus the two stores closest to my house are terrible with service, speed, and getting the orders right. Even with the nuggets, the sauce is wrong or missing altogether, more times than not. Doesn’t McDonald’s have enough money without over doing the sauce thing? Its a sauce conspiracy! But I don’t want to have a whole post complaining. I mean, I did get it today. Spent my money. And ate all of it. And tonight the Charmin Corporation will be thanking me for using lots of their fine product. Gross Point Ending. Play on words. Later.
On the way to dinner last night we ran into the CIRCUS! Seriously.
We received the free tickets. We knew it was coming. We forgot all about it. Boom. Big Tent. Calliope music. Small ponies. Dancing horses. And elephants!
Oh yeah! Three, huge, giant elephants wearing colorful vests waiting in the parking lot for their turn in the big top. A tent the size of a football field in the Steger, K-Mart parking lot! Come one. Come all. My kids were P.O.’d that we didn’t go. Next year for sure. Here’s the pictures to prove it.
So basically we couldn’t park anywhere near the area. We ended up going to McDonald’s. They were very nice and friendly. They had a really cool mural on the wall of the Chicago skyline. Of course I took the pics to share.
Ugh! I did it again! And now I’m going to suck you in too…
More pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie taking their kids to McDonald’s. Again! Can you believe it?? They are just like us regular people. They probably have someone who cooks for them, but they’re driving home, the kids are whining about being hungry, and everyone pretty much loves McDonald’s. So fast. So convenient. So tasty. Relatively cheap. It’s America, you know??
And once again, I looked at all the pictures. You can barely see in, the kids are kind of shadowy in the back. Pathetic. I just love to waste time when I can. This was on a different site though. PopSugar. Click the link and you can go there too!
I only took one picture from the site. I think you can get the idea without me having to post everything. I didn’t see a credit for the pics anywhere, but visit the site in case you want to know!
Riding in the Rain
So the BF has mapped out a very long 15 mile + trail for us to bike ride on. He has the bike rack on the back of the car. The bikes are ready, with proper tire air and water bottle holders secured. His mileage counter/techy gadget is calibrated and standing by. We are wearing our finest bicycle shorts/racing peddle shoes/tight, wicking t-shirts/fast helmet/goggle combos; aka Lance Armstrong and Co. (Just kidding about the clothes–we live in the suburbs. Of Chicago. We could get our asses kicked riding around town looking like space alien freaks.)
As you may recall, and I see that I typed it last night, I was going running today. 4 miles plus. Which I may do after this “bike ride” the BF wants to do. Our only problem here at the moment is the giant mass of thunderstorms and rain clouds moving across the area this very minute. I have a few choices here.
Just go ride the bikes. It’s chilly and rainy but at least I’ll be moving(??).
Then go run on the trail, after. 3.6 miles will seem so easy then.
Go to the gym. Indoors. Always temperature and weather controlled. (Poop)
Or…STOP eating.
But, since I already devoured 4, yes (shame) four, McDonald’s Breakfast Burrito’s with Hot Picante, while watching Grease 2 (double shame) this morning, it’s probably too late for that option.
My favorite alternative option, since it feels kind of like New Orleans out there; breezy, rainy, Southern tropical; I say we make Hurricanes and sit out on the veranda and drink all day. (We don’t actually have a veranda, but we do have a patio with some very nice plastic Adirondack chairs and a backyard full of grass to look at.) It’s close enough.
And I can’t seem to waste any more time with this post, as I’ve run out of things to embarass myself with. I will be back, much later, with my regular schedule of things you don’t care about.
I have to go lose some calories and be a part of society now.
One more celebrity bit from the internet and I’m done
Why am I looking at 30 pictures of this vehicle?? All pretty much the same. In various stages of food-order/pick-up. Sitting in a McDonald’s Drive Thru?? Oh yeah, because these are pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie taking their kids to McDonald’s using the drive thru! Just like a billion other people in the world. I feel sad for myself that I wasted 10 minutes looking at every one. Celebrities are just so interesting, even when their not. Nice vehicle though.
The site I got these from is:
Socialite Life if you want to see more celebrity stuff.
Picture credits go to: Flynet
And now for a little break.
It is Tuesday at 11 am. I am home from school and my second test. Nervous, sweaty, fear does not describe my total feelings, but it’s a start. It is really hot again today. Summer did come in with its usual vengeance. Sudden and swift. The first day of 90 degrees actually started during the night. Yes, it got hotter as the night progressed. It makes no sense. I think about it, but I have to stop. How can the temperature rise despite the setting sun and darkness, when theoretically it should get cooler. I know it’s a weather question and I am going to be a nurse, so, who cares? I will when I’m working emergency and it’s 100 degrees and everyone is over heated and ticked off and people start doing crazy things that end them up in the ER for me to work on. And I say, “How can it get hotter???” I’ll be praying for bad weather. It keeps people indoors and off the streets!
Anytesting…Second one was today. I literally studied most of the day Saturday, some Sunday, and hours more on Monday. In the day and the night. I can’t imagine when I have to do paperwork and skills. I’ll be sticking everyone I see with needles and taking their blood pressures and trying to give them enemas. I kid.
Unofficially, I missed zero questions on this test. All correct. That is good news. Without details, know that it is essential to miss as few as possible to achieve passing, for one, and higher scores, in the A and B range, for another. But I was sweating. You only have so much time, and I try not to second guess myself, and I studied for, like, 15 hours! Pressure.
(Personal revelation to follow, if you care.) I’ve always been strong with the book skills and pretty good with the hands-on. But I still get too nervous. I have a CPR class to take in the next few weeks and I want to go in strong. I know the whole thing has changed again since I did it last, but it still makes me jittery. I’m not sure if there is any breathing now, or if it’s just compression. I stink at the breaths. Luckily, for someone out there; experience-only-unlucky for me; I’ve never had to do it on a real person and when I was EMT (many many many years ago—very briefly) we used a bag. No mouth contact. Anyway, I’ve only used lifesaving once on a baby, choking. And that was just taps on the back. That’s a good thing. With more experience comes more ease of care. So we’ll find out.
Anyway, there’s a few more weeks left of school for the summer and one Final Test. Yikes.
As celebration I got McDonald’s–yay! I haven’t eaten those delicious burrito’s in WEEKS! For shame! I should have celebrated by running a fast four miles. Oh well. Don’t want to get heatstroke. And, I had to wait for my humiliation! It’s those hash browns. They take forever. But, it cost less than 5 bucks so, fair trade for my fat butt.
Next up are the butterflies. I have pics from the party. You didn’t think I forgot did you? I really have been focusing on school. I love it. And I want to do good. Stay tuned!
Final Training Day
Sorry I haven’t posted anything for awhile, but I have been in intensive training mode since yesterday after my mom left my house. It’s Thursday night and let me re-cap my pre-race week:
Ran Tuesday afternoon: 3.6 miles.
Ok. That’s it. I ate like crap Tuesday night. I ate crap Wednesday. (It was pouring anyway, and I planned to skip the run so as not to fatigue myself or cause undo injury–fancy race talk). I even had Starbuck’s with my mom in sympathy for her ailments. (But, I did have it skinny with no whip–wimpy–I hate it when the healthy habit follows you around even when you don’t want it to)
Since the BF went out with friends and work people, I took the kids to McDonald’s, on the condition, by Stevie, that since Mason got to pick Wednesday, she could pick Thursday, which she picked Friday’s. And that worked out well for all of us and it makes a nice string-together sentence. Poetic. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday….
So you see the schedule I set for myself. Rigorous. So McD’s (dinner) is Big Mac, Fries, Sprite with a few nuggets for good measure. Then the Blues Brothers movie. Two hours of digestion. Then on to my playlists. I was working for you behind the scenes, as they say.
Thursday AM and I had every intention of getting up and exercising with my main girl Jillian Michaels. Don’t be fooled by the “beginning” aspect to this tape I have, my arms are getting rounder and cut and I do this workout much less than I want to. But the BF doesn’t have to go in to work until later today, so everybody sleeps until the last possible moment.
I did walk the kids to school—so I got that. However, I think I might have canceled that out, plus some, when I got in the car back home and drove to McDonald’s (again–but breakfast–notice the distinction) for some of those delicious Burrito’s for myself and a Sausage McMuffin sammy for the BF. Every good deed ya know??
So then after the BF left for work, I watched Regis and Kelly, as usual, and then 50 First Dates. I’m sorry, but I am a sucker for that movie. That KIND of movie. Funny, romantic, but not overly mushy, dramatic, unbelievable, blah blah blah. I know, but the time just ran away after that. Those movies on tv with commercials take like 3½ hours to watch. What was I supposed to do? Quit? I already committed. Love stinks.
So, I just did laundry and paid bills and goofed on the internet. Finished up another playlist—you all are so lucky. You could run for miles on what I got in the hopper. By this time, the BF was home. Short day.
So finally, one hour before the kids are due home, I got some of that… “exercise”, if I ain’t being too subtle. (That’s actually a borrowed phrase from the D-listed guy—love him!) But I did get in a workout. (Like a double work out, really, because the BF’s friend kept calling until he picked it up–start and stop–start and stop, etc…)
Kids are home now. Homework done. Off to Friday’s, as promised, on Thursday. I ordered the low-fat lettuce leaf with spritz of vinagrette and a lemon water….yeah right. I had some new Cosmo Margarita that trendy place came up with, and paid TEN dollars for it. NOT worth it! It’s basically a weak-ass Margarita with cranberry juice. They bring it out in a giant Cocktail shaker–packed with ice and pink liquid and let you pour it yourself. I got 2 “drinks” out of the Tumbler thing, into my smaller glass, HALF rimmed with salt…but whatever…Lesson learned. Stick to straight shots in the car before going inside and you’ll do a lot better.
My food was Mac N’ Cheese. Ultimate Showdown Style. I like Guy Fieri, and the whole Friday’s concept, I’m even a Give Me More Stripes member…I don’t know what I get, but I include it every time I pay, and I get e-mails every now and then. Maybe you have to go every week or something to really reap the benefits…I’ll never know. Anyway, the only reason I ordered Mac N’ Cheese is because I saw Sunny Whats-Her-Name make her best Mac n Cheese EVER on her Food Network show. So I already had that in my head when I saw it on the menu. Not great. Sunny’s looked better. Oh well, the little Spicy Pumpkin Mini Muffins were good. I shoved them in my mouth and dinner was over.
Tomorrow looks to be more of the same. I can’t run because I am chaperoning a field trip for my daughter. Eli’s Cheesecake Factory! Part of the final lesson on Economics and the Business Fair. A tour of a real, successful business! And we get lunch and cheesecake…so what am I to do? I have to go and participate. Haha.
Actually, we’ve known about this for awhile and I am glad I get to go. I was worried that with my unknown school schedule I would have to miss it, but luckily that madness starts NEXT week!! I am bursting for real!!
So back to now, it’s 10 pm. I’ll just Run Wild on Saturday–no big deal–I’ve been running enough that 3 miles is hardly a sweat-breaker. I seriously never thought I would be able to say that in my whole life. To just be fit enough to run at will. That’s a good thing because the Warrior Dash is after that, and I do have to train a teensy bit more…so more extra buffness is in my future.
I’ve given my fingers a pre-typing warm up tonight with a few games of Bejeweled. The Gem Game. I love it. I used to love it until 3 in the morning. It’s actually what I used to do all night before I started doing this.
My BF reconfigured the code on the game so that he could get 1.3 million points in Action Mode by increasing the points you get with each gem line you make. Then he changed it back and I have been struggling ever since to beat him fair and square using my advanced gemming skills. And I did it tonight! One million six hundred thousand, plus, points! HA! No cheating! Just an eye for the colors and fast reflexes. It’s good to be the Queen.I should go put those fast fingers to use somewhere else…
Maybe later. I have things to throw on the internet. Cool Words, Quotes, Picture Dictionary, another Story from my son! An action one!
But first, a playlist. I’ve had it for a bit now. I created it for my daughter and her friends. Ten years old and just learning how to navigate the phone-call-answering-machine-voice-mail-conference-call thing.
Two of Stevie’s friends called here, together, using 3-way calling, when we weren’t home, and proceeded to leave six, (6), yes, six, long-ass messages on our answering machine. Apparently calling six times in a row is the way to get someone to pick up the phone even if they’re not there. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they just hung up, but they had conversations with each other while still hooked to our phone.
I’m actually surprised the answer machine tape, recorded all of the calls. It was like 20 minutes of talking. Her two friends talked about going to the library and where they were each at, with the occasional shout out to Stevie like, “Hey girl, are you there? Pick up the phone!” Then right back to their conversation. At one point, the first girl asked the second girl how long it had been since she actually CALLED Stevie on this number. And when the second girl said a few months, the first girl was like, “OH Dang–this might not even be her number!!” But do they hang up? No! They go on to tell us what numbers they are calling from and how they can be reached for the rest of the night.
It basically ended with the first girl telling the second girl, and I quote: “Khatana, you ain’t fly.” Then crazy, crazy laughter and finally, “Stevie call me.”
CLICK.
Thank God.
So, long story short, for all Stevie’s home girls that think they are cute, this is for you:
Khatana, You Ain’t Fly!
Street Money Update!
I found a quarter! I found a quarter!
Let’s go with:
On the ground in the library parking lot while I was returning a book this morning and NOT at the McDonald’s drive-thru.
Shame shame shame….I know. I feel terrible.
I should have waited for the library to open and returned the book to the desk because I owe late fines. Bad Girl!
Click $$$$$$ for the year total so far.
And that concludes my eating for the day…
It is 9:20 AM, Central Time, US, and I am not proud to say that I just ate entirely too much food from McDonald’s because I am weak and I suck.
I have been resisting all week, trying to stay true to my new religion, Extreme Fat Smash; and my new God, Dr. Ian K. Smith. Although I could have used a little salvation at the drive thru about an hour ago.
I couldn’t get my kids to school fast enough so I could get over there. There was no Dr. Smith standing in the window of the Richton Park, McDonald’s, over by the highway, crossing his arms and shaking his head, shaming me into sulking away from the fast food and over to the gym. (I avoid the McD that is right next to the gym because, you know, the gym is right there…too much guilt if I actually see the place…)
Anyway, I ate alot, and after totaling up the calories, that’s pretty much it for me today.
So, water and coffee, maybe one of those popsicles in the plastic if I’m really dying. Otherwise, long road ahead. Except that the sound of gravel under the tires is really is my grumbling stomach. Oh boo hoo…I did it to myself. Music keeps my mind busy and my hands typing. So here is the list for the day: “Long Road Ahead“
It’s about roads and travel and highways and freeways…it came to me last night after looking for songs with “Direction“.
The ways to get there can get there own. Say that five times fast.
Raise a glass (of water) and listen up! List is below. Ha.
Safe For Now
Shew…made it. It is now 11 am. Too late to go to McDonald’s and get those delicious Sausage Breakfast Burritos, with a hash brown on the side and their so-so coffee. Extra packets of Hot Picante sauce…squeeze…bite…squeeze…bite….I know I’ve said it before, but I really love that sauce they give you with those burritos. I have been sitting here, talking myself out of driving over there for 2 hours!
Burning philosophy question of the day: Do I really “want” the burrito or do I just need something to transport the Picante sauce to my stomach? Perhaps a concrete answer can be attained…19 hours from now…whence, I will go to the McDonald’s and put it to the test. For science.
No, no, no. I had yogurt with a bit of granola and some pretzels with a Laughing Cow Cheese Triangle—actually a really product. It is one of those things that you don’t believe will actually taste good, but does. I spend money on them often. Even my kids like them. Can’t fall off the Extreme Fat Smash wagon after one day. That would be weak. The exercise part though…
What? It is rainy. Again. Cold. Again. Ridiculous. I could run around outside but I don’t want to lower my immunity defenses, and the gym is right next door to the McD’s. So you see? Nothing I can do.
After 11 now, ok, forgot. And it looks like the sun is trying to come out and harass me.
I didn’t have anything else to say at this moment, I just wanted to share my struggle with resisting McDonald’s.
And FYI for the coffee: Depends on what you like. Here’s my breakdown if it helps: Starting from BLACK. I don’t add stuff so this is pre-whatever you put in:
McDonald’s: Kind of plain, watery, with a slight cardboardy taste that they can’t seem to get rid of despite the “gourmet” label.
Dunkin’: Almost everyone’s fav. But I find it not as strong and actually pretty sweet. It has a light flavor that goes really good on the train.
Starbuck’s: Strong. Can taste groundy at times and really bitter. It prob depends on where you go, but if you want to move then this is the one for you.
7-11: Actually not bad. Nice and smooth. Not too weak or overly flavored. But they have ALOT of pots sitting on their coffee island, and it can be hard to tell which is which. I once accidentally got Irish Coffee Flavor. Smelled weird, but the taste was fine. Still, I prefer the plain.
Burger King: My favorite by far! Seriously. The BK Big Joe. It is the best of all the fast places. It has snappy adverts too. But I would go there above all the places if choice is given. Good price too. It’s strong and bold. With that “coffee” flavor that is not sweet or watery or bitter or cup tasting. It is noticeably different tasting from the others. If you have it once, you’ll want it again. And I swear, every time I have it I always say, “”Their coffee is so good. BK has the best!” But no one in my life cares anymore.
So try them and let me know what you think. Or point out someplace I didn’t put down. The above are the places that I go to. (I didn’t include Caribou because we don’t have one close enough for it to be an issue)
Have a great morning!
just shy of pretty 