Bill~I just heard about your earthquake this morning. Yes, small by our standards, but big enough for it to be felt quite easily. Was there any damage? Do they think it was caused by fracking?
Michele~my Mom always thought I'd have a career of a caterer. I love to cook and fix food for a crowd. I don't get to do it often, though. Sunday dinners are nice as I get to do it somewhat for my in-laws, but it just isn't the same.
Dagmar~I tried again yesterday and failed. Cully was eating and allowing me to pet him all over. I scruffed him and got him half-way into the kennel and then he became quite slippery and he got away from me. I ordered a trap from Amazon yesterday. It'll be here tomorrow and we'll see how that works. If possible, I'll set it up and not arm it to get him used to it--like I did with the kennel which he now sleeps in (even with the door on it). I would like to get a good picture of him. He's really a pretty cat. His face is pure tabby but his body is ticked with a black stripe down his back. His ears are tufted (which will be sad when the vet tips one of them).
I'm laughing at the meme that came out of last night's debate: binders full of women. There have been some pretty funny discussions about it on Facebook.
Another fairly busy week here between extra work commitments and rehearsals, same story as always. Today I have some time to regroup for the rest of the week. I let the stress get to me Monday when I had planned on starting the week fresh at the gym after not making it there for a full week, and then I had to work late and couldn't go. Yesterday I made up for it by doing an hour on the stairmaster and then taking a 5 mile wog with the dog. Part of me worries about these longer exercise jags that have started to follow a several day absence/reduced amount of exercise. Why? I guess I'm worried I'm getting compulsive, that it "sounds" strange. But really I'm not forcing anything. I'm not punishing myself. It just feels really good to do it after a few days when I can't. So, I'll go with it for now.
Allison, I love Dagmar's advice. Trying to train my dog I read a lot of the dog whisperer's advice about how you need to be firm and calm, animals sense your emotions. I started giving the dog firm, confident commands. She still doesn't listen that well. It spilled over into other areas of my life. I started giving my BF firm, confident commands. He obeys. Good luck trapping your kitty.
Bargoo, how great you got just the haircut you wanted! Love it when that happens.
Bill, earthquake, scary! I have enough trouble with the house shaking during hurricane force winds.
Did I tell you guys that I'm an aunt again? My niece Eleanor ("Nora") was born two weeks ago. My DS and her DH were worried about how their 2-year-old daughter would react, but she is enamored. I probably won't get to meet her until Christmas, which I'm sort of sad about. I know I've said it before, though I like where I live, I wish I was closer to my family, too.
Allison, I love Dagmar's advice. Trying to train my dog I read a lot of the dog whisperer's advice about how you need to be firm and calm, animals sense your emotions. I started giving the dog firm, confident commands. She still doesn't listen that well. It spilled over into other areas of my life. I started giving my BF firm, confident commands. He obeys. Good luck trapping your kitty.
I've always been firm with my commands to dogs. "Sit!" or "Drop IT!" and it usually gets done. My DH tends to be more lenient with "sit?" or "drop it?" They just look at him like "what do you mean?"
So 6 months ago today I was still in surgery having my excess skin removed. In some ways it feels like forever ago and in some ways it feels like I just had it done!
I just finished doing a DVD that my s-i-l bought me for my b-day and I haven't had a chance to try. It's a Cathe Friedrich. I guess she is well known but I had never heard of her! The DVD was CrossFire and it was pretty intense, cardio and body weight training wise. Felt good.
DH and I are throwing caution to the wind and are going to have the kitchen done. We are saving a little money by taking down the cabinets and demolishing down to the studs ourselves and I will paint after the contractor installs the drywall. It's a LOT of money, but I hope it will be worth it.
I am nervous that we won't have a kitchen to cook in for 2 weeks! I certainly don't want to eat out every night!!
Jen, when we had our kitchen remodeled, I set up a toaster oven, microwave (both purchased on Craigslist for $10 and resold for $10 after the remodel) and crockpot in the dining room, which is where I put the refrigerator. My DH washed dishes in the bathroom. During the 3 weeks it took to remodel the kitchen, we ate out once. Managed to maintain my weight loss also so it was a win-win. Sadly, though, we had to move soon after unexpectedly so I could only enjoy my kitchen for a few months. Good luck with the remodel--it will be worth it.
LOL. I was standing on the beach for our "earthquake" last year. One of the dogwalkers very excitedly entered the off leash area and asked if we had felt the earthquake? Huh? Not even a small vibration. She had just come from a client's house 4 blocks away where books had been falling off the shelf.
Boy this house ownership/sale thing is huge. I know most of you have done this (some of you several times) but this is my first time selling a house and I'm finding out a whole bunch of stuff I didn't know.
Like how I'd better talk to an accountant now, rather than pay a bunch of tax next income tax time. Somehow, since I was "given" the house I didn't regard its sale as "income". Whoops!
I have to confess, I have not been eating close to my desired "losing weight" plan lately. Every day I plan to change that, and every day I fail, and as a consequence I'm too chicken to step on the scale. Long-term goals are just not in the cards for me right now, it seems, so I'm going for day-to-day. Today I will not eat any sweets or junk food. Not only do they not help my stress, or make me feel better, they are bad for my already high cholesterol levels! Yes.
I made Barbara's recipe for Moroccan Chickpea Chili with Chicken (page 3 of the "Our Favorite Recipes" sticky) a few days ago and I give it 2 thumbs up! I've been paging through the thread to look for some cooking inspiration. This is yummy, fast, and full of veggies. It's definitely going into the rotation. I have been loving baked kale chips lately, though since I make big batches so I'll have leftovers, the texture changes a bit and it's more like a roasted kale salad by the time I get to it for lunches. I can never quite get the kale totally dehydrated without burning it. What healthy foods have you been eating lately? My usual rotation has gotten pretty stale and I'm looking for ideas.
Jen, I like Sheila's ideas to eat OP during your remodel. Once when my stove/oven was broken and my landlord took over a month to replace it, a friend loaned me an electric plug-in two-burner unit. That and the microwave were lifesavers as we also didn't want to eat out constantly. How about a toaster oven? Perhaps a tupperware tote would be helpful to set up a dish "sink" in the bathroom tub, or as much as I hate them, paper plates and plastic forks. I'm sure you'll love your new kitchen when it's done!
Dagmar, GL with the house sale. I don't know anything about that either.
Sheila and Megan, thanks for the ideas! I think we will be able to set our microwave up in the dining room and I don't have a toaster oven, but I do have a slow cooker, so that would probably fit and I could cook a couple of slow cooker meals - maybe even a double batch so we can have leftovers as the fridge can be pushed into an adjacent bathroom.
I also realized that we can use our grill! Geez - given all that I have NO excuse for not eating right!!
On another note, I've noticed that since I made the promises last week to be good to myself and try to have a little more fun that DH and I are getting along better. So must be that my attitude and behavior is reflecting the changes I am trying to make!
Couple victories, couple setbacks - and stinkin' busy!
Shower walls were supposed to be installed Tuesday - they were on their way in with the big back panel, and I said, "Hold on - why are they smooth?" Right color, right gloss - wrong texture. An error had been made with the order (not mine), but lesson learned AGAIN - always get a written copy of the final order, and get both parties to initial and date that it is correct. 2 1/2 weeks to reorder. Deeeeep breaths. I'm laying the floor tomorrow and I sincerely hope that goes off without a hitch. Each step gets us just a little further. It's possible that the electrician might be in tomorrow as well, and that would be a major upper.
I'm more or less struggling with everything BUT food these days. There's annual evaluations at work, special projects with end of month deadlines, the house re-siding due to start in a few weeks, concert season ramping up for both of DS13's choirs, getting him registered for high school, soccer, an overdue essay (mine), a faucet I still haven't replaced yet, DS13's laptop "slam" -his ditzy parents lost the administrator password ... and oh yeah, I still have not set foot in the pool. It's that grim state where the only possibility is to just forge ahead, mindlessly knocking items off the list because there's no time to do the forecasting/planning. It's only a matter of time before something BIG falls through the cracks.
I'm done whining. I think if I can just make it to the middle of November ... I'll save a couple of vacation days and just not get out of bed.
Becky - I think you are doing a great job with all the balls that you have in the air right now. Hopefully nothing big will fall through the cracks on you.
Dagmar - yes, proceeds from the sale of a house are income. I think that if you turn those proceeds into a new house purchase within a certain number of months you don't pay taxes on it, at least down here. Not sure about the details though.
Jen - you will absolutely be able to eat well during the kitchen remodel, you will just have to be creative. LOL
Megan - I have had to go day to day for a while now, and am just now getting back into a long term planning place. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other every day and eventually the planning will come back, I promise. I've become fond of my crock pot - I've been making stews with quinoa as the base lately. Whatever meat I have in the house, most often frozen chicken breasts, chop up whatever veggies I have, add some chicken broth and some rotel tomatoes and some hot peppers and spices and I'm all good. I'm going to try one with butternut squash, sweet potato and quinoa this weekend I think.
to everyone else.
Hi Sheila, good to see you! I think about you every college football season when I see a shot of the big, blue field.
Bill congrats on seeing the Dalai Lama. I had the incredible good fortune to have him stare right into me for several seconds at a press conference, incredible presence. I hope Maine rebuilds soon, that looked devastating.
Well, my weight began to creep up a bit so I dieted for four days and now I am the lightest I have been in my 29 years of marriage, about 35 1/2 pounds down! I guess maintenance is not autopilot; I started to see weight creep, dieted, got back to my goal and then beyond, and now I'm on track again.
Good luck trapping your kitty.
to everyone else. 
