Morning, all. Hope everyone is doing well.

I am feeling better. I can finally breath through my nose. Of course, it has settled in my chest, so I rattle when I breath and cough a lot. I really hate being sick!!!

Red - How's it going? Any more weird dreams? I can't believe you could remember all that detail after taking nyquil. I don't like that stuff. It always makes me feel really weird. I never go into a deep sleep and when I wake up I am all disoriented and tingly. It is like my body knows it is a false sleep and fights it.

How was the visit to the vet? Did you get there on time with your cat? In the snow?

Stormy - Thanks for the well wishes. And, no, I can't do anything. I think that is why this is so frustrating. I was so gung-ho and ready to move forward and blam! I get held up! And, of course, I had to have the stuff that made me either extremely hungry to a point where I couldn't get full or so sick that just the thought of food made me quesy! I couldn't win for losing! The good news is the scale hasn't moved, so maybe I did okay. The only bad thing is I can't exercise and I am the type of person that won't lose if I don't move. Oh, well...

How are you liking the boot camp dvds? I asked my brother and he likes them. I couldn't help but laugh at him, though, because they are kinda kicking his butt!! He said Billy Blanks goes too fast....I think he is just getting old and is outta shape!

Good luck on your oral exams!

Doinmybest - How are you? Congrats on the 500 words! Do you write, then take a break, then read over and fix, then write some more? Is your novel a stand alone or a series? I am a big reader! It is what I do all the time! I ready pretty much anything, but my favorite genres are sci-fantasy and mystery/crime.

NBK - How's the recovery? Did they ask you if you wanted to keep it? When I had my wisdom teeth removed, they asked me if I wanted to have them? What??? What in the world would I do with teeth? I told them no thanks! They said that some people actually wanted them and were pretty adamant about getting them...man, I guess it takes all kinds, huh...


Crime Girl - Hope you are enjoying your spring break!

Okay. Time to go do some work. Will try to check back in later. We are having phone line problems and the phone company won't believe us when we tell them that the error is on their side. So, we can't download our data through the phone line, which is really fast. We have to do it the "long way" through the docks, which takes at least 15 to 20 mins per salesman. It is really frustrating!!

Tootles.

Good morning! Well last night I did the lower leg boot camp and this morning I did the cardio boot camp. The lower leg one was okay, however it is basically the same moves as the old Tae Bo tapes except resistance tubing is added. I did like the cardio boot camp. There was a lot of old stuff on it. but there was also a lot more push ups, squats, squat thrusts, etc. I liked the second half of the DVD better than the first half. So overall I give it a B. I think that it is actually somewhat slower than the old Tae Bo tapes, but this is probably b/c of the added resistance bands. I will try the other one later on this week.

I hope everyone has a great day today. Remember to live it like it is your last!

Tuesday is "why I want to lose" day. Hmm...This is one of the hardest battles people face. It's constant, it's a struggle. I want to lose those 18 pounds to know I am a fighter than wins...And to feel good.

Oh yeah, One other reason. NEW CLOTHES!!!! I love clothes. Maybe I'll go hit my favorite thrift shops today. I have a hankering for a suede mini skirt...Maybe I'll find one.

SIGH. I am feeling inadequate today. Amazing...Yesterday I was HIGH because I'd done all the things on my list yesterday.

But this mornign I heard from a friend..He's a writer too. I asked him when he writes, and stuff. He told me he writes from 1000 to 5000 WORDS A DAY. Boy, I feel inadequate. I cannot imagine writing 5 thousand words a day.

Hey Red, I know you write for a magazine. Do you know anything about getting an agent for a book? I'd love to get any advice you could give about it. I'm starting to network and get some leads.

Glad you are feeling better, Shan.

Stormy, thanks for the report back on the tae bo boot camp.

Enjoy your spring, CG!

Oh yeah, the scale is reactive positively to my discipline. Yay! I WILL lose this week. Just have to keep on keeping on.

Hi, doinmybest. How's things!

Sorry you are feeling inadequate today! Don't worry so much about your writing. It will come to you as it does. I think you are doing a great job. As for your friend, maybe he writes differently than you do. Some people have to write everything down, then go back and organize it and proof it. That is how I have always done any kind of writing...wirte it out, put it down, come back to it later and finish/tweak it. Maybe your friend is like that! So keep your chin up!!


Keep up the positive attitude!!

Good morning people. Glad to see a bit of action around here, but still, where is Crime Girl and grasshopper. Have we lost them? And kjk? I'm figuring we lost Jacque. Oh well, glad to have NBK back and shan and doin are new regulars.

stormy -- you are one of the old crowd, welcome back from school. Wow! 156. Awesome. It's no wonder. You have been so good with your exercise. Exercise to me has become a thing of the past. I guess I'm just too depressed these days though I do feel inklings of wanting to work out. I'm just overwhelmed and too low and discouraged about life right now. I have no one but myself to give me a pat on the back (not here around me as opposed to you all), really and it's what I need, because although I'm floundering badly on the outside I think that I have a lot of accomplishments that are just not getting the recognition because the overall picture is still so dismal. It's like I'm treading water and that's certainly better than drowning! but I'm not swimming in to shore, I'm not getting out of this ocean of struggle, but ****, I AM treading and that's not the bad word many make it out to be. It is a lifesaver. You have always been inspiring to me for some reason stormy. I don't know what it is, maybe you just have the right mix of sugar and spurs that gets me going. Ha! speaking of which, my horse is just too adorable. I always give her a chunk of brown sugar after I get off and pick her hooves, then another chunk when we're back at the washrack. She expects two chunks and will often tell me I've forgotten the second one (which I often do) by pawing with her front hoof and nuzzling me. Yesterday, someone had left two cubes of white sugar at the washrack and a friend gave them to Heidi. I, without really thinking about it, figured that was her sugar and didn't give her the second chunk of brown sugar that I had. But she was having none of it. Pawing, looking perturbed, "the white stuff was extra! where is my second bit of the yummy brown stuff!" Well, stormy, good luck on your oral exams next week. I hate oral exams. Feel like you're being questioned by the cops or something, well, in a way, you are, the school police!

doinmybest -- You are doing your best, aren't you. Good for you for reaching all your goals. I hate lists but I think it may be what I need because it allows me to look back and say, "yes, I DID accomplish something today." I always am so hard on myself. I never see what I DO do. I always just see what I haven't done. I don't know what to say about your writing. The number of words is really not important. It's the quality of the words. I love reading about writing, writing and reading and I was just reading Stephen King's "On Writing" again. He talks about word counts and points out how some of the best writers could barely write much in a sitting, while others just went on and on. According to him, it's the discipline of sitting down and at least saying you will write, of making it a ritual, as it is a craft and a practice. So, doin, I wouldn't worry about the number at all. I would work on polishing, on editing, on making your story interesting. Actually, I think the idea of writing a novel, let alone having it be interesting to get published is overwhelming. My roots are in newspaper work, then magazine articles, then essays. I work at a newspaper and a publishing house now. I used to work at a publishing house some years ago too. But, we did mostly nonfiction books. I think it would be very hard to assess and then edit a novel. I certainly don't feel qualified to do that, simply, I suppose, because I do not have the experience with writing fiction myself. I have only done nonfiction. I am only now starting to warm to the idea of fiction but to actually write something interesting, hmm, don't know there. I see novel writing as working up from smaller things, learning the craft on a small scale. My essays were the closest I came to fiction. In fact, really, unless you are told it isn't fiction, you could well think anything is, right? Maybe I just fear the idea of fiction and should just jump in. But for now, I can't imagine just jumping in a churning out a novel that wasn't pure drivel. But then again, I guess some people do. I hope you are one of them! As for agents, I think you are probably jumping the gun. An agent will just bring your manuscript to the attention of more publishers, but you can do that too and at much less cost! Having an agent doesn't make your work any better or make you look any better to a publisher. They will still just be looking at your manuscript and that has to sell itself. If you are totally new to the game I would suggest working with an editor who could get your manuscript in better shape. And this is not to say that your manuscript is in bad shape as I haven't even seen it. It's just that ALL manuscripts can be polished, reworked etc. A friend of mine walked through Japan and wrote a book. I read it for her and gave suggestions, but again, that was nonfiction. She has a small publishers, who is more like pay for publish and hasn't gotten anywhere on it due to lack of funds but my friend in the meantime tells me she has worked and reworked and really improved the book. Tell me doin, what sort of writing experience do you have as far as being published goes, short stories, essays, anything?

shanberg -- hi there. Glad to hear you are feeling better. Has your sense of taste come back yet? I assume it was gone. I hate that, don't you?! Weird dreams? You bet, I have them constantly, no kidding. And Nyquil is probably not a factor. In fact I haven't had Nyquil the past few nights and yet last night the dreams were, though not weirder, extremely vivid and emotional. I wake up feeling emotionally drained often because I have such a vivid dream life. I think I should get into fiction. I could give you some doozies probably. One reason I never got into much of the hallucinogenics when I was younger. I figured I had enough going on in my head. Don't worry. I don't hear voices telling me to take people out or anything. I WISH I heard voices telling me to stop eating! Yes, I got all the cats to the vet and I am giving the one her medicine. She is a fighter and impossible to get pills into but this new vet was so good. Instead of just telling me I HAD to learn how to do it, she put her thinking cap on and came up with a way of getting the medicine in. She crushed the pills for me and I mix the powder in a tuna-flavored diet supplement paste and smear that on the cat's face and paws and she licks it all off. Just to show how she refuses to eat anything you give her, the other cats are going crazy to get some of this yummy paste and the one who needs the medicine won't touch it, which is why I have to smear it on her!

HI all

I am mad busy at work today! Hope you are all doing well. I saw someone mention a lateral thigh trainer?? That's a kiwi invention! he he.. the machine was developed by a NZ'er..pay back for all the ab lounge/ab rocker infomercials we get. ANyway I'll catch up proper tomorrow I hope. being back at work has completely wiped me out. I had to go home earlier.. slowly but surely..

- i would have liked to see my appendix, but they mashed it beyond recognition when they biopsied it.. so it would not have made a good coffee table decoration! he he
ciao
Tiffany

Oh, gross me out NBK! Mashed appendi!

Says the lady who smears tuna paste on her cat!!!

You know, by golly NBK, you may be on to something there! :idea: I'll bet my little carnivore has been turning up her nose at what I've had to offer because it just wasn't her taste. She'd probably much prefer some juicy innards!! :rofl:

on a more serious note. . .
 

Morning all! How is everyone!!

Okay..I am going to need a lot of help and encouragement over the next two months. For Christmas, my brother gave me a coupon for a trip to Six Flags. We will be going sometime in May. I really, really need to drop some weight before then. The last time I went, I fit into all the cars and stuff, but some were a tight squeeze. Several years ago, we went to Carowins for the fourth. I wasn't able to ride one of the rides b/c the bar that comes down over your chest wouldn't lock. They liked to have broke a rib trying to get the thing locked. I think it was mostly due to the fact that I have very large breasts. Anyway, I don't want that to happen again. It was very embarassing and almost ruined my trip! So, I am back 100% on the diet wagon and ready to go! I am feeling better-not totally perfect, but a lot better.

Red - Glad you got your cats to the vet! Hang in there with the stubborn one! I didn't lose my sense of taste, though. I did have that overlying sickly taste in my mouth, though. Hate that!!

And don't stress over the treading water. Sometimes, you have to tread a little to recoup and get a little strength for the rest of the journey. Just keep paddling toward the shore and you will get there eventually!! And you do have plenty of accomplishments to be proud of! You struggle through your daily life and still remain the same person you are. That, in its self, is a huge success. Most people would just give in to the pressures and go with the flow! You move at your own pace and tune. Plus, it's hard to exercise when you are sick! Now that you are feeling better, it should get easier to head on back to the gym! You were doing so well, I know you can do it again! If nothing else, pick your cats up and dance around your apartment. Nothing like encouraging the goofy lady with all the cats stereotype!!

Hang in there Red! I know how hard it is to deal with depression. Just keep taking it one day at a time. Give Heidi some extra love (and brown sugar!! ;) )! And don't give up! You will make it...we all will. Individually, we may not be able to succeed, but together, we can do ANYTHING!!!

NBK - Thanks for the mental picture of your appendix...eeww! :lol: Hope your day at work went well! Did you start your new job at the other site? Does it seem like it will be okay for a while? What do you do exactly?

Okay, gotta get busy now. Will try to check back in later!

Bye, ladies!

Wednesday- Share a recipe day
 

Hi guys! I was pretty good yesterday. I probably should not have had the cookies AND the beer...Just the beer would have made it perfect, but I'm still please.

So, I have a recipe I'm crazy about. It's not really a recipe as in I just sort of tried to recreate somehting I had in an Amernian cafe...Here's the deal:

Take an eggplant (two if they are small)
a leek (or some green onions)
a pepper (red is prettier but green is fine)
tomato sauce
salt, spices that please you (things like basil, oregano, red pepper flakes)

I throw all that in the crock pot and let it simmer overnight. It makes a huge pot of the stuff, obviously, nice tasty kinda mushy eggplant yumminess.

I can heat it in the microwave as a saucy side dish, but I can also put it over pasta.

THe pasta, though, I've been learning to avoid. Another armenian favorite is whole grain buckwheat. You boil it like rice, but it is not the processed carbs that rice and pasta is. It has more fiber, and it's a whole grain, which i'm trying to eat more of.

The reason I have so many Armenian references is because my town of Glendale is more than half armenian. THey have the MOST amazing pastry shops (I try to avoid them), and also I can buy buckwheat.

So, that's my recipe for you all. :D

Red.. you know if my poor discarded appendix can help your cat then..... TOUGH LUCK.. sorry my body parts aren't for eating (selfish I know).. but you could, as my brother suggested I do, look for one on e-bay or the kiwi equivalent trade me ....

Alrighty so last night I crept along to the gym and snuck in.... I managed to walk pathetically slow on the treadmill for 14 minutes! on a 2 gradient. I got a bit hacked off with the pace so I increased it to where I would normally START my warm up.. but after about 4 mins I was hurting so put it back down. BUT at least I walked for that long... have an assessment tonight to get a "rehab" programme going.. maybe they'll let me do some weights..


Damn you stormy, you're kicking my *** in this weight loss thing.. and I can't plead being busy as you are busier than anyone else I know with your job and school and all the travelling you have to do.. I'm going to have to stop eating completely to catch up! he he

CG - where are you? I miss you


Shanberg - I don't start my new job until next week. But yesterday actually went well. For once my boss backed me up! I nearly fell over with suprise. I'm a process/field engineer for an oil and gas service company (we find the gas, make the well, run the well, process the gas and deliver it to the customers pipeline but we don't OWN the gas/oil). It's not really all that bad, I just get pissed off as I was promised ALOT of very different things when they recruited me for the job, to how things have turned out.. and you know, even when you know the reasons and the business needs for why things are different, it still doesn't make you that much happier at times. But at least I WILL be paid more ... yay my visa card might actually get paid off! now THAT would be wonderful.

adios
Tiff

Good morning. Still feeling rough. Voice is, testing, testing, coming out a bit better. I have a ton of work to do, big chunk came in yesterday but the money is lousy. Still, I hated to refuse so I got that to do along with three other projects. Shouldn't be riding but ****, that's the whole reason I do all the work. The horse needs exercise and so do I. If I don't get out there regularly it's kind of a losing battle. Ah, to have a simple life. . .I guess I'd be bored in no time but still it would be more relaxing.
Okay, quick read here. . .

Didn't anyone like the inspirational quote I put in there? I thought it was good, keep us remembering the importance of getting where we dream of being, with the life and look we want to have. Maybe you missed it. . .

Heh, just where is Crime Girl?! . . .CG, you didn't say you were going to be out of the loop for a while. Hope you're OK! grasshopper, you too, what happened?

OK, go with the people who ARE here!

shanberg -- You can do this, slimming down for a Six Flags sortie! Ah, that would have been a real downer to be squeezed into the seats. What's your goal for then? I would suggest exercising to tighten up. It does wonders and is so much more reliable than the scale. Why don't you get a tape measure out and make those numbers your goal shan. You can do this! Keep your eye on the goal. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I don't know. I am feeling a bit better, would probably feel a lot better if I could get to the gym but now I have all this really boring translation to do and editing and rewriting. It all just involves sitting in front of the computer staring at the screen. And the stupid union at the newspaper wants me to go to a meeting they called for today. My coworkers will stab me in the back (yet again) if I don't go but ****, I can't give them 5 hours of my time when I'm feeling lousy AND have all this work to do. I guess that is what "going with the flow" means, right? This is what they want me to do. They hate the idea that I do things other than go out and drink every night. They talk to me and act like they're including me in their things sometimes and then they use the information against me. I tell you, it is dangerous to be friendly with people who have no ambitions. I think it was Gloria Steinem who said, "Powerlessness corrupts absolutely." It is this sense of powerlessness, not power, that I think causes people to want to pull the rug out from people who seem to have it better, instead of getting off their sorry asses and trying to do something themselves. I mean, really, these guys at work, drink tons every single night, or at least every other night. Imagine the toll financially, let alone on the body, the mind. I think this is what I have to remember when I want to really try to get my own act together. What am I choosing when I party with them? What am I choosing when I don't? OK, an occassional night out, but is it worth it? If I want some socializing it can be with other types. Ok, enough of that, you got me going shanberg.

doinmybest -- heh, there, another beer lover, eh!? Ah, I didn't know Armenian cuisine used buckwheat. that's a big thing in Japan too, buckwheat noodles and buckwheat tea is good too. So, what did you think of my writing advice doin?

NBK -- I wasn't targeting your innards. I was thinking more of something a bit more readily available, at say, the supermarket. My mother used to always cook up liver and kidneys for our cats. They loved it. I just, as a vegetarian, find it all so gross. Having these little carnivores is an invaluable experience in coexistence of the species!

Seriously, NBK, I hope you get better quickly. That was great that you could get some walking in on the treadmill. What resolve! I am surprised though that you are hurting so much. Then again, you do have this other blood condition so maybe you mend more slowly. When I had my appendix out I was probably so liquored up every day that I didn't feel anything. Can't remember if I stopped drinking after the operation. Probably did. But before I was on a roll. It was my first time out of the States and I was living in Munich with a bunch of lushes! I had never drank in my life and here it was just one schnapps after the next, all chased down with tons of beer. What an initiation.

Glad to hear your boss backed you up. That sucks that you're going to have to travel so far to get to your new job. It's hard to believe. How many hours do you have to drive? Let's hope you can get a transfer closer soon. Any thought of moving house while you're at the new job?

Red - Just a quick post before I head out! I loved your quote. I am sorry I didn't mention it. I liked it so much I sent it to a friend who is having a rough and hectic time at the moment.

I really don't have a specific goal for my Six Flags trip. I just want to lose. I'll take all I can get. I will see if I can get to Wal-Mart and get a measure (don't have one at home). Thanks for the advice.

Sorry you have to go to a meeting when you are so swamped. We have quarterly meetings here that are required. They are very boring and last about 30 mins to an hour. Time I definately could be spending do actual work! The speakers, when we have them, are so boring it is hard to stay awake!!

Okay, all the time I have. Talk to ya soon. Hope everyone esle is doing okay and having a great and awesome day!!!