Because I like to see a picture when I visit my website

November 30, 2010 at 8:33 pm (Phone Pic of the Day, Pictures) (, , , , )

We may have a problem...but it looks cool. And despite its appearance, this was not set up for a photo. It's just how we set them down and the sun was shining just right, and poof. Art!

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Final Training Day

May 14, 2009 at 11:48 pm (Day to 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!

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EFS Day 2 Week 2 (Sounds like a Star Wars Character–if you say it fast) YukYuk (that’s for you Beth)

March 26, 2009 at 2:36 pm (EFS) (, , , , , , , , , , , )

It’s Thursday. Day 2 of Week 2. Getting better. Yesterday we weighed–got the good news, 11 and 4 pounds, boyfriend and myself respectively, and then just followed the plan.  You really feel like you just want to go out for celebratory cheeseburgers or at least  breakfast burritos (so yummy at McD’s–slathered in that Hot Picante Sauce–man I love that sauce, I could just squeeze it right into my mouth from the pack), but you don’t. They put the gym RIGHT next to the McDonald’s. You could park your car by the gym, and just walk your spandex butt right over to the McD door.  I’m just saying.  It’s exercise if you walk ACROSS the parking lot.

Anyway. Yesterday was fine. Followed the diet. Mom bought me a Starbucks coffee as thank you for taking here to doc. I love the SBux. I know it’s wrong on all kinds of social, economic, global, fancy-pants-coffee-type levels, but God Help me I love it. Try to resist but can’t. When I worked in the city I would go EVERYDAY. Sometimes twice. I had to have it going home on the train. If I didn’t have time to stop myself  for fear of missing the train, I would call my friend and have her pick it up for me on her way to the train.  Luckily you can’t throw a stick in Chicago without hitting a Starbucks. They even have a little stand set up in the bathroom at the new Millenium Station. Kidding. But they should, that would save some people alot of time!

Yes. I was quite chunk-a-riffic from my habit. It’s like drugs, but in reverse. It made me happy and hyper. I ate less but I got fatter. WTF?? Oh, is it because of the whole milk? The chocolate/mocha syrup? Or all the whip cream? And my stomach started hurting. Alot and all the time. So I had to stop. It was hard. The employees at my three regular SBux shops were like family. So hard to say good-bye. Example of the withdrawl pain I suffered thru: You know how sometimes you get a receipt with an invitation to take a survey? I would get them and answer the questions and the people in the stores I was judging would know it was me saying nice things about them based on the results they got from the survey takers! Hardcore. You can’t BUY that kind of love, can you? But I have to say those employees sure knew their customers. Makes you feel so special. And that’s part of the TRAP!

Back to yesterday. Obviously Giant Mocha Coffee with Whip is NOT on the EFS plan. It’s not on anyone’s plan actually and it really shouldn’t be. But I ordered. The small (which is Tall–whatever, not even gonna start)–the small, mocha but with skim milk and NO whip cream. And I am happy to say that, if you haven’t had one in awhile, it’s just as good. Considering you forgot how it was supposed to taste in the first place. Either way. It was good and it was free. Thanks again MOM!

Now where was I? Day 2. (ohyeah I also ate Pringles–come on–4 lbs! don’t be like that. They were reduced fat. One of the few foods that actually taste BETTER in their altered form. Try it. Believe it.)

Day 2. Today. Thursday. Following plan closely. No exercise. No car to get out anywhere to exercise. It is in repair. Won’t be fixed until tomorrow sometime.  What? My LEGS are the exercise? I can’t hear you.

No exercise. Besides I had to go to the kids school to cook hot dogs and help with the special lunch they got for many various quarter ending activities and good progress and grade reports. It was fun actually. And it was three hours of non stop action. PLUS, I had to WALK to AND from the school! (No car—remember?)

It seems strange to write something about this every day, but it helps also. In the way that, when you tell someone that you are doing something—you kind of HAVE to do it. Otherwise you  look like a failure or a person who goes-back-on-their-word person. I know there is a term but I just cannot think of it or how to fit it into this sentence. So if I say it I have to do it and if I don’t do it I should feel guilty like I am letting all you people out there down. You who depend on me to help you through when you too are struggling. All 2 of you, possibly 3 by now. All 3 who are actually following the same plan sort of as I and actually doing a little better…but it’s you. And me. We’ll help each other. We will not….hey…Back At The Barnyard is on!

Working on Music List for later. Also have to come up with a long list for the CrawFish Boil. Long hours of sucking heads. (It’s a legitimate sentence. ) Requires long hours of music for the diversified audience we will be playing for. SpongeBob is next. Stay Tuned!

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