laura705

Yay for Friday!  The boss is still out of the office, and the new admin called in sick today.  Oh, boss just sent me an email asking if she was really sick.  Uh, dunno.  Forwarded her the phonemail.  It would be a great day to be at home – rainy and dreary.  I once again hit the snooze button 3 times and slept in 30 min.  I actually ironed the top I’m wearing today, but that put me behind schedule.  Bf dropped me at the train, where I realized my bike was still sitting.  Hope it stops raining by the time I get off the train tonight.

Yesterday I left work about 45 min. early to catch a train near bf’s mum’s place.  Bf met me and we had dinner with her and that was about it.  We got home fairly early and watched a couple episodes of the Dead Zone on dvd.  BTW, I was checking out the Halloween decorations at the dollar store last weekend and they had all the usual Styrofoam tombstones, but also signs – one of which said “DEAD ZONE”.  I might buy it. 

Not much else to report about yesterday.  Food went okay yesterday, but I really didn’t eat enough during the day and was hungry.  But that worked out okay because I ate a big meal at dinner and it worked out, based on my best attempt at estimating the calories.  No exercise though. 

I had one short meeting today.  Tonight we have nothing planned, except we’ll finally use the chicken breasts in some sort of recipe for dinner.  I hope they took a long time to thaw in the fridge because it’s been a few days now…

Weekend:  Tomorrow I have a hair appointment.  I considered canceling my haircut and just do the color this time.  The last 2 haircuts, I told my stylist I wanted to grow out my shorter layers so they would be long enough to stay in a ponytail, but she failed to do that – and it even seemed that she cut it shorter the last time!  But I never phoned to cancel the cut.  So I guess I’ll still get a cut, but I’m going to expressly forbid her from even trimming off a smidge of the short layers!

We also have our annual hayride/bonfire Saturday night.  Now it’s just a bonfire - hayrides having been discontinued when the forest preserve trails could no longer be used.  Who wants to ride around on paved roads in a hay wagon with pickup trucks riding in front and behind, blinkers flashing so drivers don’t crash into you?  As always, I have mixed feelings about this event because it’s so darn far away – long drive (over 50 miles!), late night, etc.  Yesterday bf and I tossed around the idea of just finding a hotel near there to stay afterwards and driving home the next day.  He researched hotels and found out that even though we thought we were out in the middle of nowhere – semi-rural -, we’re really not far from some unsavory areas and wouldn’t want to stay anywhere around there.  So we’ll just drive home, as usual.  I’m usually the designated driver, oh joy. 

That’s about it for weekend plans.  Need to spend time this weekend getting the house in shape for bf’s mother’s dogsitting stint for us next week.  Housecleaning. Ugh. 

Have a good weekend everyone!

Not real thrilled about the day.  It started off alright, but now I’m just blah.  My right contact lens is bugging me, the weather is dreary, and I’m not getting enough done at work.  Even though I’ve had this sick day idea lingering in my head for a couple weeks now, I’m feeling perfectly fine, so I better keep my nose to the grindstone.  

Yesterday was alright.  Food was okay, even when bf picked up fried shrimp for dinner.  I still came within my calorie budget.  No pre-bedtime dessert though.  Boo.  My calorie budget is not 1200, and at this moment, it seems ridiculously low, but I won’t rule out someday trying to eat under 1500 calories per day.  I do, however, think I’ll need to learn to love cabbage and all those other high volume, low calorie veggies, because those low calorie ranges don’t leave a lot of wiggle room for much of anything other than the lightest of foods.  Some people have distorted body images, I have distorted calorie levels, or whatever you’d call that. 

For exercise, I walked the dog (as the weather gets brisker, so do the walks!) and did a BE workout.  Just one - I was tired.  I did the BE show I just recorded on the DVR, so I worked out upstairs for a change.  I just put a covered basket on the LR hearth that has two extra sets of hand weights (3’s and 5’s) for which I have duplicates of in the basement.  Want to do some exercise while watching tv.  Doggie would just love for me to give him endless belly rubs, but I do need the exercise. 

BF phoned this morning to tell me his mother invited us to dinner tonight, since bf was going to be over there anyway to do a few chores for her.  I’ll meet him at the train station near her place.  We’re having pork tenderloins, which she breads and fries.  They’re tasty, but I just had fried food for dinner yesterday, so I was sort of hoping to eat better tonight.  I’ll just have to control portions.  One good thing is that dessert is homemade applesauce. 

Had my flu shot today and I have to say I didn’t even feel the stick of the needle, but now the muscle hurts.  Oh well, I’ll get over it. 

Everything was quiet at work yesterday until mid-afternoon when the boss phoned with a rush information request.  Some running around and phone calls to get the info needed, but I did it and she was happy.  Muscle soreness had set in by the afternoon from my BE workouts the night before and I got that fatigued feeling I get.  I considered skipping the movie, but decided I didn’t want to.

When I left work I was pleasantly surprised that it warmed up a little bit and the sky had also cleared.  Nice.

Dinner was soup, and I went to the movie with just water.  No snacks at the movie, smuggled or purchased.  The movie, “The Informant!” was good.  I thought it interesting that they made the movie, which was about a whistle blower to a global price fixing scheme, more of a comedy as opposed to a straight drama.  I don’t know if the book upon which the movie was based was written that way, but it was interesting.  The main character was really out there, so I think it worked the way they did it.

It was a chilly start to the day today, but sunny at least.  I wore my light, unlined jacket, but also wore a scarf.  It really got windy last night and I noted a lot of tree limbs on the ground as I cycled to the train this morning.  A house right across the street had a really big piece of tree on the ground and I’m wondering if the remainder of the tree is safe to remain standing.  Its trunk sort of branches into two main trunks about 6 feet off the ground and I think that makes it weaker and more subject to splitting apart.  (A neighbor down the street had a tree like that removed last year.)  I’m also wondering if bf and I need to get our butts in gear and clear the garage so we can once again park the car in there – not just to keep it from getting cold this winter, but to protect it from falling tree limbs!

Not much else to report.  TOM came visiting yesterday.  Food was alright yesterday.  Today snacks are a granola bar and an apple.  Not sure what I’ll get for lunch.  Not a turkey sandwich, I know that much.

Tonight I’ll probably take doggy for a walk and then exercise at home.  Oh, I recorded Body Electric yesterday, and when I checked to see what show # it was, it turned out to be one of the two shows I needed!  Out of 26 shows in the series!  Okay, that was neat, except I still have to wait about 3 weeks for the other show I still need, presuming they air them in order and don’t skip days for whatever reason.  Tawnya – BE isn’t cardio – it’s strength workouts, often using hand weights. 

I took some chicken from the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw on Monday, so I want to use it for dinner tonight.  Maybe something from that Rachel Ray cookbook. 

Okay, nothing else for now, so I’ll publish.

Another gloomy start to the day.  It wasn’t raining when I cycled to the train this morning, but it’s going to, and there were drops on my walk from the train to the office.  Ugh.  I like the crisp sunny fall days, not the dreary ones. 

Yesterday was alright.  I overdid it on snacks though.   Exercise was two Body Electric workouts in the basement.  I realized that the show I have recorded as show #1907 is really #1905, which I saw I’d already noted on a little slip of paper where I’ve been noting on what date I do which show.  I also had already noted a while back that show #1916 didn’t copy onto the dvd correctly and won’t play.  They’re still airing that same series of BE shows on my local PBS station, so I’m going to DVR BE until I get shows 1907 and 1916 and then I’ll get those on a dvd so my 1900 series is complete.  I just wish that the 2000 series would start being broadcast. 

Bf and I also took doggy for a walk before I did my BE workouts.  At one point doggy took off after a squirrel.  That took me by surprise, but I still held onto the leash handle as he yanked me forward.  But then the squirrel ran off, not away from us but toward us.  That freaked me out and I shrieked when I saw the squirrel racing towards me, LOL.  Of course he wasn’t really going towards me so much as he was going away from doggy, and so bf had to give me grief over my reaction.  Oh well.  You can understand that can’t you? 

I planned to go to bed early and then I decided to update my iPod.  When I launched iTunes it told me there was a new version, so I went ahead and installed that and it took a while, so I didn’t get to bed as early as I intended.  When I was in bed reading, I felt my lungs were congested and I was coughing.  I slept on my side and had no problems sleeping though.  

Nothing much else to report.  Quiet here - boss is out.  I brought another turkey sandwich for lunch, and a granola bar, laughing cow wedge, and some multigrain crackers for snacks.  I just ate a boiled egg I’d brought yesterday, and still have an apple from yesterday.  That’s too many snacks, so I’ll probably save the granola bar for tomorrow.  I’m not wearing a pedometer today.  I still haven’t replaced the battery on my “good” one, and the freebie one drives me nuts because it rattles too much, it keeps coming off my waistband, and I don’t think it’s accurate.  I’m definitely going to buy one of those quiet ones. 

Tonight I’m going to the movies w/ the gals.  We’re seeing “The Informant!” with Matt Damon. 

Somehow this has taken forever to finish today, so I’ll get this published and be done with it. 

Very chilly today.  Glad the wind isn’t blowing hard.  I was running late this morning - not unusual for a Monday - so I had bf drop me at the train.  But I did make a turkey sandwich for lunch. 

Friday afternoon it was raining enough that I didn’t want to ride my bike home, so I walked home from the train.  Oops, the bike is still at the train station.  If it’s not raining when I get off the train tonight, I’ll ride it home.   Anyway, I walked home because I couldn’t phone bf because my cell battery was dead.  Duh.  When I got home, he was just leaving to go to his sister’s to help her with some computer issue.  He said he’d be gone a couple hours and we could do dinner afterwards.    I decided to clean the kitchen - unloaded the dishwasher, re-loaded it, hand washed some big pans and baking sheets.  Then I vacuumed and washed the floor.  By then it was about 8 pm.  No bf.  No call.  Finally, sometime after 8:30 I heated some soup for dinner.  Of course then bf phones. 

I got to bed at a reasonable hour, but woke up around 5:30.  Grrr.  I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I got up and puttered around a bit reading, watching tv, sorted some paperwork.  Considered exercising, but I didn’t. I showered and went to meet my friend for breakfast.  Afterwards went to buy gas and go to the dollar store.    BF asked me last minute if I wanted to go to an auto auction in the far west burbs that afternoon.  Uh, no thanks.  He waited to hear if one of his friends could make it (who in turn was waiting around for the heating guy to come), and he hung around for quite a while and then ended up not going.  In the meantime, I was sort of sticking around anticipating him needing the car.  I took doggy for a walk by the creek.  He was full of energy, so that was a good brisk walk.  Finally, I told bf I was going to the library.  I picked up a couple novels, two slow cooker cookbooks, and Rachel Ray’s first cookbook.  I really like one of the slow cooker books, as well as RR’s book.  I’m definitely going to try some recipes from both.  I might end up buying those two books. 

I watched some tv, leafed through the cookbooks, and napped on the sofa late afternoon into the evening.  Pizza for dinner.  Then I couldn’t sleep.  It didn’t feel like I napped very soundly, but I must have because I didn’t get to sleep until very late.  Then bf, who’d stayed up even later, woke me up making noise.  He was totally on my sh*t list all weekend. 

Up early again on Sunday.  Groan.  I read my book and the newspaper.  I got it into my head that I wanted to make brownies, so I made a batch.  Tried using a muffin tin and it totally didn’t work - despite greasing and flouring, they stuck and I had to dig them out.  They taste fine, but look pretty sorry.  Won’t try that again.  I took doggy for a walk, watched some of the football game.  Did a load of laundry.  We had a late lunch at Red Robin at the mall, checked some mall stores for shoes (didn’t buy any), went grocery shopping.  Dinner was half a sandwich.  Went to bed early. 

I wish I’d gotten more done, but I was feeling tired all weekend.  Still, I need to make lists of what I need to do so I get more accomplished on the weekends.  First on the list should be to remind bf of what he needs to do.  Sigh.

Finished the one meeting I had scheduled for today.  Lunch from home.  Boss has been holed up in her office and, starting tomorrow, is out of the office for the rest of the week.  Yes!  Tonight I’ll exercise.  I’ll either take the yoga class or do weights at the gym.  Or I’ll stay home and exercise in the basement.  Speaking of the basement, the foundation wall with the seepage was finally re-repaired on Thursday, and we had enough rain Thursday and Friday to confirm that the repair appears to have taken care of the seepage - no water!  Now bf can put the piece of paneling back in place and we can clean that area.  We have a loveseat, tv, stereo, fireplace, and piano in that part of the basement (the “wreck” room), so I’d like to get it clean enough to actually use again. 

Okay, rambled on enough.  Time to publish. 

Yay, Friday.  I once again considered staying home, but it seemed easier to come to work than to come up with an excuse not to.  Not to mention the guilt.  And I should be very thankful that I’m NOT sick, that I’m very rarely sick, that I’m able to work, and that I have a good job to go to.  And nothing pressing today, but still plenty to do.

Last night was alright.  It was raining pretty good when I left work yesterday and my coat and backpack and purse and extra tote bag (bought a couple boxes of Puffs on sale at Walgreens) were all damp by the time I got to the station (in spite of the umbrella).  It was only sprinkling lightly when I got off the train, so I wiped off my bike seat and cycled home. 

I did another load of laundry last night and did one BE workout.  Worked the rotator cuffs, abs, inner thighs, and something else I don’t recall.  I was dragging, so I didn’t do a 2nd BE. 

Dinner was a pork chop grilled on the George F grill and some garlic/herb noodles (mix).  Watched an episode from a Dead Zone dvd, and went to bed before 10 pm. 

Nothing going on today as far as meetings.  Heard Chicago was out of the running for the 2016 Olympics.  Worse yet, we were the first to be eliminated.  It would have been exciting, but also very risky financially.  And there are a ton of issues out there that need to be addressed, Olympics or not - crime, public transportation, etc.  Tokyo’s out too, so it’s down to Rio and Madrid.  Update - just heard Rio got it.  That’ll be interesting.

This weekend.  Only plans are breakfast w/ a former co-worker Sat. morning.  Need to do some housework, so I guess the sucky weather forecast won’t matter.  Still haven’t taken any of the new bathroom stuff out of the bags and put it out or away.  Will exercise this weekend, but maybe at home vs. at the gym.  Received another (did I already mention this?) renewal notice from the gym, and it’s a decent deal, so I’m pretty sure I’m going to renew.  But given my reluctance to go back to the gym (skipped the yoga/pilates class yesterday because it was raining, for Pete’s sake) makes me wonder if I should bother.  Tonight would be a good night to cuddle up on the sofa and watch some more Dead Zone, or those National Parks PBS documentaries I’ve been recording all week. 

Okay, need to hit the restroom and get some lunch.  Soup sounds good today, since it’s chilly out there.  Have a good rest of Friday and weekend everyone!

Wow, October already.  I have to print the October calendar page for my cube.

Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant near the offce.  Ate a lot of chips/salsa, but only ate half the torta I ordered, and a couple bites of rice and beans off bf’s plate.  After that we walked over to the theater.  Jersey Boys was fantastic!  It ended around 10 pm, then we hustled it back to the office, picked up our stuff and cabbed it to the station in time for the 10:30 train. Train made nearly every stop, but we got finally got home just before 11:30, with bf riding my bike home while I took the car.  Stayed up for a bit after that, so it was a late night.  I’ll probably be hitting a wall later on today.  I really wanted to stay home today, but I have to finish my quarterly work and then have a meeting this afternoon. 

Tonight there’s a yoga & pilates class at the gym.  I may go to that class and then bf and I can grill the pork chops we’ve had sitting in the fridge.

That’s about it for today.