I celebrated being back in America for 2 years yesterday with three good friends and a HUGE ice cream sundae. I am still feeling ill and my sciatic nerve pain is probably the worst it's been today - moving an air conditioner downstairs was, while very bad-arse feeling, probably not smart given my injury which has been annoying for almost three months now.
I have felt quite down in the dumps all week and TOM was a week and a half early this month. My cold, which remained a fever and a sniffle from Friday until yesterday, is finally moving to my throat just in time for my vacation week next week. Thanks, body.
Sorry for being a grump - I just feel like this today. Not at all in the mood to play music for 2 hours past my bedtime tonight at my "band" 's first paid live show.
Krampus, that is the cutest kitten photo. How old is it? I admit to thinking "oh my god, it's microwaveable" (yeah, I know, I am sick...but the paper plate made me think it, I swear).
Binging like that the other night had the predictable effect of "scaring me straight" now, and I'm back on plan. I swear I will finally get on the scale tomorrow morning (first time in a week), no matter what. And I am promising myself that I won't overreact no matter what it says. I'm in this for the long haul, and wherever my weight is tomorrow, I have the power to change it (both down and up).
On the lighter side, I'm reading a book called "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. Have any of you read it? It's about a chef's career in the restaurant business. EWW. The details are enough to make me eat at home for a while.
I swear I will finally get on the scale tomorrow morning (first time in a week), no matter what. And I am promising myself that I won't overreact no matter what it says. I'm in this for the long haul, and wherever my weight is tomorrow, I have the power to change it (both down and up).
Hi Andrea, I'm a long time member and Living Maintenance lurker (and on rare occasions, poster), as well a 4+ year maintainer and recovering bulimic. Every once in a while I have my own lapse, usually when super stressed out... and (I'm sure you know how this goes) the worse I make myself feel about it, the more likely that the next binge isn't too far off... The last time it happened I shrugged my shoulders and went on with life... and it's gotten a little easier.
It sounds like you have a pretty good attitude, I like what you said about being in it for the long haul!
To those who mentioned the diatomaceous earth, what does it do? I've read about it, but not much. I'm miffed with these cutworms. They don't seem to be following the normal pattern. They didn't come in when the plant was small, but showed up and mowed the top off a healthy, tall plant and are now poking into the fruit here and there. Meh.
Shannon - diatomaceous earth is apparently a naturally occuring substance that is DEADLY to insects and slugs but completely harmless to birds and mammals. I guess it sucks the moisture from the exoskelton? A lot of people use it in their gardens and it is a staple to most farmers. Apparently some farmers feed it to their livestock to prevent or eliminate parasites (I even saw that some PEOPLE drink it for the same reason).
In our chicken coop we use it to kill all the bugs that hang around and it also has the effect of drying things up and eliminating smells - a good thing around a lot of chicken poop LOL! I have also heard that some people use it on their dogs and cats to kill fleas.
I guess there is a form of this that is used in swimming pools and is NOT safe to ingest, so you want to make sure you get "food grade".
No more grumpus today - it's Friiiiiiiday and our show went very well last night. Sure the sound and mic-ing was FUBAR and no one could hear my violin playing, but I felt very confident anyway and people appeared to be impressed that I flipped tables and carried a heavy amplifier around like it was made of styrofoam. Predictably my weight is down a bit after one day of "not eating nearly a pint of ice cream" and it's vacaaaaaaaation after today is over.
Also Dayquil has euphoriant qualities for me. I don't even need to abuse it to feel awesome.
HAHAHAHAHAHA Andrea I just googled that photo, no idea how old it is! Glad you feel back on plan though being scared is not always a fun motive.
Andrea I saw Anthony Bourdain on CNN with his TV show and loved him! He's one of the "bad boys" of NYC from the punk days. The show (which has 2 names - ) is about him travelling to all sorts of exotic places and eating and cooking with the locals. He did a bit of a re-creation of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" by chugging up the Congo, went to Iceland and got lost in a whiteout, and saw the whole process for growing and harvesting the beans we get chocolate from (cacao?).
Considering how much and how he eats (and how much alcohol he consumes) and his age I am envious of him!
I am measuring up the bathroom @ the new house and going shopping for fixtures this afternoon. DH keeps thinking I am excited about all of this shopping. NOT! I much prefer to do everything online from my house, dressed in my jammies, with a big at hand.
But it must be done and I'm the only one available. DH is priming walls and directing the flooring removal and sub floor replacement.
Good thing we have a 3-day weekend (civic holiday on Monday) so I can catch up and then move forward.
But I AM excited about getting the new bathroom. I'll have to take pics of the old - purple porcelain and pink and yellow paisley tile - for a giggle.
Gonna go stretch now - 2 weeks of no yoga has left me tight and creaky.
Posting from my book club's weekend trip to Mobile, Alabama. This city has some neat things but I don't know if I'll feel the need to come again. The downtown has a lot of cute shops that are all closed on the weekend, and feels strangely empty. We're near the convention center so perhaps when there is no convention, everything's slow. A lot of the buildings remind me of New Orleans. Lots of wrought iron, huge live oaks, intricate moldings etc. We left Friday morning and I worked 12 hours Thursday trying to get things wrapped at work, struggled to get laundry done and packing was stressful bc I was so tired. Typical summer, rushed me. I don't like it. I'm ready for fall.
Saef, if you want to get out at all, maybe the am before your meetings would be best! I agree w Jay, FL is a hot muggy mess right now. Bring sunblock & hat if you plan to go outside. And water. Most species of sea turtles do hatch out under cover of night to avoid predators, but birds, raccoons, ants, ghost crabs will all eat them on the way to the water. I have huge coyote predationproblems on my beach. They cause me a lot of frustration.
Andrea, my book club read KC and it was a pick by my friend who owns a restaurant. There are some gross things in there but I did enjoy the book. I've had many friends who worked in food and try to keep good faith about how kitchens are run. Like Dagmar I marvel at his trim figure with the amount he eats, drinks, and smokes. In KC he fully admits to doing a lot of drugs in his past. But we all know skinny doesn't equate healthy.
Dagmar, enjoy your stretching. It always feels so goooood.
Krampus, glad your show went well. What type of music does your band play? Cute kitten!
That trip sounds neat Megan! What a fun book club! Had you read a book about Mobile?
I just returned from an awkward (for me) social event. I never realize how shy I am and how much I lean on dh in these events until he isn't there. It was actually a birthday party for a one year old! But the family is quite wealthy and I don't know them well or their guests. My dd works for them which is why I was invited. The party started at 3:00. I got there about 3:15 and almost no one was there yet. By 4:00, I was ready to go and some guests had just arrived! I tried to make small talk and finally begged off at 5:30. Dd is still there as she has to stay and help clean up. I feel like such a loser that I couldn't wait to get home, put on my pjs and curl up on the couch! It was catered and Italian but I did quite well and I left before cake so that was a win I guess.
) is about him travelling to all sorts of exotic places and eating and cooking with the locals. He did a bit of a re-creation of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" by chugging up the Congo, went to Iceland and got lost in a whiteout, and saw the whole process for growing and harvesting the beans we get chocolate from (cacao?).
at hand. 
about getting the new bathroom. I'll have to take pics of the old - purple porcelain and pink and yellow paisley tile - for a giggle.
