Just had to share a "d'oh" moment with you all. I finally decided to unfold the Gazelle and start to burn a calorie or two. Since I perspire when I exercise, I didn't have my glasses on. Anyway, I was pretty impressed with the way the calories burnt were piling up, busy calculating that at the rate I was going I could have two short sessions a day and burn off 2 lbs a week without much effort at all. Wow! In six months, back to normal weight, without cutting my intake! I was quite dizzy with enthusiasm. Just in time, a glimmer of common sense wormed its way in. Hmmm. Is life ever that easy? Answer: a resounding no. Once I put the glasses back on - and turned on a bright light to compensate for the scratchy old lenses - I realized that my wonderful 500 calories in 10 minutes were in fact 50.0, and it would actually take me 60 months at two sessions a day. Oh well, 30 min a day is still 150 cal gone, and if I do it every day, it's a good start. And I must say I feel quite energized. Maybe if I can just keep the oomph going, I'll find whatever it takes to get back to spinning and walking and cutting the sweets and....
Happy, I love the hair! I,d love to have either stick straight or curly hair. Instead it's got just enough wave to have bumps and wings in all the wrong places. Actually, I decided today to put in a shampoo-in burgundy rinse today. The hair looks much the same, maybe a little less grey showing, but my kitchen counter and dishcloth now have some interesting burgundy stains. I expect an interesting impact on my pillow case tonight too. Thank heavens for Mr Clean eraser sponges - took most of the colour out of the white counter. One of the great inventions of the century, and if they're bad for the environment I really, really don't want to know.
Shad, it's just as well you'll be eating fish and such healthy foods at Happy's, because you really must try some poutine while you're up here. It's your basic cholesterol/fat bomb, a fine Canadian delicacy. I drove from the Grand Canyon to Phoenix via Oak Canyon and Sedona many years ago, and it was absolutely stunning. And if you haven't been to the Grand Canyon, it is probably the most stupendous sight I've ever seen, just unbelievable.
Howdy to Mel, Holly, Ceejay, Meadow, Painter, Madcat, and anyone I've missed.
Yes sir ma'am. Three months to get in shape - will try very hard to get some of the old form back.There may even be some good old weight watchers in my future. I'm contemplating trying out a dinner service - they deliver a batch of 9 frozen main course portions for a largish chunk of money. It's not lo-cal, but there is variety, it's heat and eat, and the portions are big enough to leave me full. The idea is that if I have a good meal ready to go I'll be satisfied and won't want to munch the night away. We'll see. I'll always wonder why inertia and chocolate are so much more addictive than exercise and veg, even tho the latter feel so good when you do them. By the way, there's some terrific day hiking around here if your schedule (and mine) allow for Ottawa fun. As for the poutine, I think that one came up on another thread, and it's an experience you really shouldn't miss. Let's say, if I lose 20 lbs by then we'll split one to celebrate? (Motivation, don't ya know.)
This week I had a call from my ex's former boss (and sort of friend) about a business related thing. It was a bit of a shock to realize that almost 4 years after the fact my 'recovery' from depression is a bit of a house of cards - talking to him just brought all the bad feelings back to the surface. In any case, I'll just keep acting like everything's okay, cause sometimes that works, but it was a pretty disappointing setback. (Not a call for sympathy - just a bit of a surprise I felt the need to get off my chest. Maybe the hidden depression is the real reason for the inertia and overeating? But enough whining - wrong thread for this stuff.)
Shad, great minds must think alike - just before I read your post I too was thinking it was time for the Malvinas.
In March the Worldly chicks will move house - lets see if I can find a list of M countries
aaah yes here we go:
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
There are tons of them. Monaco sounds rich and famous
Malta might be nice this time of year. Our IT man was telling me yesterday that Fawlty Towers lives there!
Morocco - plenty of shopping there
Malaysia - sounds okay
If we go to Mexico we could always hook up at a lo-tech spa called Rio Caliente, about an hour from Guadalajara. Vegetarian food - we'll lose weight as breakfast is the only really good meal in my books. There's various levels of hiking, yoga, soaking in the pools full of hot water from the hot springs, various touchy-feely programs (what colour is your shakra???), massage and other "treatments", day trips to Guadalajara (shoe and craft shopping! real food!), trips to Tequila (free samples...). I'll try to figure out how to put in a link to their site - when I find it.
Or we could be lazy and just pretend to move by saying we're now in the Malvianas. But we'll all have to switch to Spanish.
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Loved your story about misreading the calorie burner on the Gazelle Carla! That's a classic Especially the part about - hey this won't be so bad after all
When I was at the salon today I had my glasses off. Which left me in a very vunerable position. I could blurringly see that I had a different, darker color on my head but that was about it. The other stylists were walking by and commenting and one said - does she not like it since I was so quiet. M laughed and said - she can't see it but I'm sure once she puts her glasses on, she'll LOVE it!
Shad, I probably should not say this but I would like to try those Jaffa things I heard so much about. Hopefully it's a tiny packet that won't take up much more than a pair of socks worth of space in the luggage. I can't get addicted to them because I won't be getting any more of them - tho after tasting I might not share And you can leave the stick bugs at home thank you.
Rio Caliente was really hard to find - it's at www.riocaliente.com. Just checking the site makes me want to go back and soak in that water for an hour or three. They claim there's natural lithium in the water which gets everyone all blissful. And there's nothing like sitting on a toilet filled with hot water - an odd, rather pleasant sensation.
I finally got out into the yard to do some garden repair. DH was the amazing miracle worker with the bulb-planter digger thing. A couple of dozen holes, into which summer bulbs went. I hope to have glads, tuberoses, and some others whose names i don't remember just now. Tomorrow I'll take photos of the packaging and post those. After we get more humus, mulch and fertilizer. The dandelions are coming up ALL by themselves without help from me... so there might be some broadleaf weed killer in my future, too.
When lounging at Borders I took a long look at Dr. Gott's diet: No sugar and no flour. Anybody had any luck with that? If I remember right he said that most Amer'cans have 43 (or maybe 430) tsps of sugar in their diet PER DAY due to added sugar and wheat in processed foods. He said it was equivalent to 675 empty calories per day. I found out that even Dannon Activia has sugar in it. D*rn! The sugar and corn syrup lobby must have paid the DFA a ton of cash.
Mel: THANKS big time for the birthday list! Happy almost birthday! You are such a dear being darling to all of us, and to your neighbor. One of my favorite quotes, paraphrased, no doubt, is from Anne Morrow Lindberg. She said something like: You can't repay friendship in kind to the one from whom you received it, you can only give it to someone else. Sort of like Pay It Forward. You've done it for lots of us, I'm sure. YGG!!
Happy: Way cool. Can you send me your photographer? Lovely lovely lovely. Jeez… now I see you confessed to the faux photo. Some of us were gullible… or at least harbored doubts.
Shad: Hope the SAP stuff went well. So while I'm in the wee hours of Sunday, you are busily in the middle of MONDAY? Or am I more mixed up about the dateline than I realize? My kids have been to Carlsbad, but I haven't. They liked them, I think, except wished they didn't have such a professorial dad and step mom. (I'm flightier and more "fun.") If you get to New Mexico/Santa Fe, I do recommend the Anasazi Indian sites, especially the cliff dwellings at Bandolier national park. It's fairly high altitude and kind of a hike. I don't think I could do it in my present condition… I'm sure you could, though.
I'm partial to Madagascar because of the multiplicity of weird animals they have there. (Especially ringtailed lemurs). Would also be happy to visit Mexico (I have a friend whose family has a large apartment near the beach in Puerto Vallarta) and Morrocco. Of course a stay at Fawlty Towers would be hilarious…
Holly: Glad you've got water… (does hydro mean electric, too?) Sorry your FIL was looking peaked. I bought another new book… The Art of Aging. I hope it makes ME less peaked now.
Carla: Sorry about the calculation glitches. I often get ahead of myself like that, too. With or without dim lights and near sighted ness. Bravo for getting started. It must be just as well that I've never heard of "Poutine." Will check it on google. Mistakenly tuned into PBS TV this afternoon. Although it was another #$%^'d pledge drive Lidia the Italian Cook was making gnocci… stuffed with JAM and rolled in sugar with cinnamen. I had water after that and brushed my teeth.
Don't get me started about the difficulties of fighting depression. I think our brain paths get tamped down into ruts for one thing, and it is hard to find NEW paths… (and the ruts are still just waiting to be re-activated. It takes CONSTANT vigilance to stay out of the old thinking ruts. )
I know the colors of my chakras. But they're not fully lit.I am working on brightening the yellow and the orange! Maybe they are still paisley from the 60's. OMG: RioCaliente looks gorgeous. Might have to round up a bunch of people and go to the spa. A Lithium soak sounds good.
PAINTER..I AM KIND OF EXCITED ABOUT ALL YOUR BULBS. I HAD A STEP-GGM WHO WAS A FLORIST AND PARTIAL TO BULBS AND ROSES. IRISES ABOUNDED ALSO. I MISS DIGGING IN THE DIRT!! A FRIEND JUST BOUGHT ME BOB GREENE'S "THE BEST LIFE DIET".
I THINK SHE WANTS ME TO READ IT SO SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO I'LL LOOK AT YOUR BOOK. FLOUR AND SUGAR ARE WHAT KEEP ME FAT!!!
SHAD~ I DON'T WANT ANYTHING FROM THE LAND OF OZ. JUST BRING YOURSELF!....AND WAS WONDERING....WHEN YOU COME HERE WHATCHA GONNA COOK? YOU CAN BRING THE BD CARD WITH YOU!! WE'LL CELEBRATE BOTH OF OURS TOGETHER!! SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE WEEKENDS!! MEANIES!!!!
HAPPY~ SHAD BEAT ME TO IT!!! I WAS GOING TO SAY GREAT FACE LIFT!!! SEE...GREAT MINDS DO THINK ALIKE!! I DO LOVE THE COLOR AND STYLE THOUGH AND I AM GLAD YOU'RE HAPPY WITH IT TOO. KEPT MY FINGERS CROSSED WHEN I READ YOU WERE GOING YESTERDAY. LOL I REALLY NEED A PROFESSIONAL CUT BUT I HATE WHEN THEY GET IT WRONG I WAS TELLING A FRIEND AND JEN ABOUT MOM. THEY ALMOST FAINTED. THANK GOD SHE IS A FAST THINKER. I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THAT FAST I DON'T THINK.
CARLA~I WAS READING MY NEW BOOK AND ACCORDING TO BOB GREENE, YOU ARE DOING "IT" THE RIGHT WAY. HIS FIRST IDEA IS TO GET MORE ACTIVITY INTO OUR LIVES ALONG WITH MORE SCHEDULED MEALS.AND LATER WORRY ABOUT THE CALORIES. HE'S NOT A CALORIE COUNTER TYPE OF PERSON...JUST A HEALTHY EATER GUY.
I HAD A GOOD CHUCKLE AT THE GLASSES STORY
GOOD MORNING SUNSHINES OF MY LIFE!CARLA'S STORY ABOUT THE EX'S BOSS CALLING REMINDED ME OF WHEN MY EX CALLED AFTER 20 YEARS.
IT'S FUNNY THAT YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS "OVER" AND YOUR HEART WON'T FEEL THE TUG INSIDE OF DAYS GONE BY. THAT FEELING WHEN THE BOTTOM FELL OUT OF YOUR STOMACHE AND LANDED ON THE FLOOR GET REPEATED AFTER SO LONG A TIME.
TOO BAD WE CAN'T USE THE MR. CLEAN ERASER ON OUR MINDS. I WOULDN'T CARE IF IT'S NOT BIODEGRADABLE EITHER!!
WINTER IS COMING BACK TO NJ THIS WEEK. I'LL GO TO THE MALL ON MONDAY BUT TUESDAY'S FOOD SHOP WITH TEMPS IN THE LOW 20'S AND EXCESSIVE WINDS IS NOT SOUNDING SWEET AT ALL!! THE SUN IS OUT. I SHOULD PEDAL FOR AWHILE AND WATCH THE TREES BLOW IN THE WIND.
BIRD STORY: WHEN I GOT UP THE OTHER DAY, I FOUND A TRAIL OF FEATHERS ON THE LIV ROOM FLOOR. I GOT SCARED AND THOUGHT A MOUSE MUST HAVE ATTACKED THE BIRD!! THE THOUGHT CAME FROM HEARING THE DAY BEFORE THAT THERE WAS A MOUSE LOOSE ON THE FIRST FLOOR. CALLING THE BIRD, HE DID NOT ANSWER AND I WAS TRYING NOT TO RUN HIM OVER!!!!
FINALLY I CAUGHT A MOVEMENT OUT OF THE CORNER OF MY EYE. HE HAD HOPPED ON TO A SHELF IN THE BOOKCASE AND WAS HIDING? SLEEPING? THERE. IN THE DARK HE WON'T FLY AND I GUESS HE MUST HAVE FALLEN OFF HIS STAND. HE'S BEEN VERY QUIET FOR 3 DAYS NOW
HAVE A GREAT DAY! HAPPY SUNDAY/MONDAY!!
Oh goodie. I managed to sweeze myself in before you all moved.
Allthis talk of travelling just makes me want to go. How love that you can have this special time with everyone Shad, very cool.
Mel you sound so chipper. It must be at the prospect of seeing your good friend!
Well, the weekends and the weeks are just flying past. It's march already. I can't really believe it.
Work is keeping me on my toes but I am loving it. I really feel I have this passion for women. It's what i do here, coordinate a women's centre. This Thursday is international women's day. We are having a little party at the centre to celebrate us! It should be fun. i have some little gifts for everyone who comes into the centre that day.
I also have our first staff meeting. This should be interesting. I've never run one of these before and I have heard that i could be held hostage to the volunteers demands so i will have to keep alert!
The family is doing well. DD and I did a project together yesterday, it's a history assignment on her life, it's been fun looking at the old photos and made me a little nostalgic. I remember those toddler days so well when I felt so swamped by the kids, now I miss those moments. funny...no regrets just getting used to a different stage.
ok...i better fly and organise dinner for the troupes. i think it's chowder tonight with "fresh bread!" yes you heard right.
Especially the part about - hey this won't be so bad after all 
And you can leave the stick bugs at home thank you. 
YGG!!
If you get to New Mexico/Santa Fe, I do recommend the Anasazi Indian sites, especially the cliff dwellings at Bandolier national park. It's fairly high altitude and kind of a hike. I don't think I could do it in my present condition… I'm sure you could, though.
I often get ahead of myself like that, too. With or without dim lights and near sighted ness. Bravo for getting started. It must be just as well that I've never heard of "Poutine." Will check it on google. Mistakenly tuned into PBS TV this afternoon. Although it was another #$%^'d pledge drive Lidia the Italian Cook was making gnocci… stuffed with JAM and rolled in sugar with cinnamen. 
A FRIEND JUST BOUGHT ME BOB GREENE'S "THE BEST LIFE DIET".
SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE WEEKENDS!! MEANIES!!!! 
GOOD MORNING SUNSHINES OF MY LIFE!CARLA'S STORY ABOUT THE EX'S BOSS CALLING REMINDED ME OF WHEN MY EX CALLED AFTER 20 YEARS. 
THE THOUGHT CAME FROM HEARING THE DAY BEFORE THAT THERE WAS A MOUSE LOOSE ON THE FIRST FLOOR. CALLING THE BIRD, HE DID NOT ANSWER AND I WAS TRYING NOT TO RUN HIM OVER!!!!
at the centre to celebrate us! It should be fun. i have some little gifts for everyone who comes into the centre that day. 