You'll Be a Song I'll Sing

I've worked out two days in a row.  I feel like I should work out today but I'm not sure I want to! LOL  I alternate between the cardio and the strength training so I'm not using the same muscles.  Sammy likes to lie under the guest bed or lie on the end of the yoga mat. 

There's nothing "good" at the movies.  I have a few things waiting for me at the library but they were closed Sunday and Monday for the holiday.  I can pick up my stuff today.  :)

Found my NaNo2008 and read the first few chapters yesterday.

I did my first yoga workout in a long time yesterday evening.  Today I notice my back is a little straighter when I walk.  :)

Guillaume Depardieu died.  Hubby sent me an email that I read shortly before I left work yesterday.  It makes me so sad.

We'd seen him last in Rivette's Don't Touch The Axe.  I'd joked Depardieu did such a good job he was going to be typecast.  Honestly... with the prosthetic leg he could claim he was born to portray any French injured war hero on screen.  His life was tempestuous but it seemed like things were coming together. 

I have a touch of melancholy right now.  I'm overwhelmed with my writing assignments/exercises for the writing conference, putting together instructions for my mom while we're on vacation, and putting out of my mind the things that need to get done before winter sets in (cleaning the gutters, lawn aeration - though probably too late for that, cleaning out garage, weatherizing lawn furniture to name a few).  Tomorrow I have a weigh-in and I barely did any exercise this week.

I've been feeling guilty about not exercising or anythin this week.  Tonight I took Sammy for his short to the corner to pee walk and then brought him inside for his dinner.  But around 7:3pm we went for a .7 mile walk.

I have to remind myself that exercise is good.  I walked 1.5 miles at lunch today which was into Goodale Park and back.  It really kicked my butt.  I had sweat rolling down my face.

A few weeks ago I won Heroes Season 2 on DVD.  This week I won two copies of a big coffee table book.  Maybe I should play the lottery.

Found out someone I knew in EQ passed away last week which was surprising.

I've managed to knock down a few more movies off my viewing list. Alpha Dog was first. The DVD didn't want to work but it was on one of the HD channels so I DVR'd it. It was odd that the parental roles were so small. Some were protrayed as caring and others were really selfish. It's a bit surprising that with all those kids knowing what had happened that no one spoke up.

One movie I had no interest in seeing initially was The Kite Runner. The book was so good I didn't feel the need to see the movie. But my sister-in-law's mom insisted that it was good. She was right! I saw it yesterday. I am pretty sure the ending in America was tacked on for the movie. It was a little cheesy but it worked since it brought some of the earlier ideas full circle.

The security alarm is all fixed.

Five minutes before I walked out the door for work this morning, Sammy ran downstairs and returned promptly. The good news is that he had diarrhea on his towel by the front door (easily cleanable) but the bad news is that he also had it in five areas of the tv room. The only room in the house with carpet!

I went for a 1 mile walk the other day with Sammy. It wore him out.

Most of the interesting things that happened to me on Friday were at work. I've placed the events behind the cuts.

( Thermostat Wars )

( The Walk )

( Visitors )

Once I was at home I made arrangements to see my parents on Sunday afternoon. I'm bringing Sammy and a pizza from Mama Mimi's.

I had dinner with my next door neighbors. I really got to indulge while I was there. Appetizers (shrimp cocktail and smoked salmon with crackers), mashed taters, green beans, grilled marlin, grilled zucchini and grilled garlic bread. The dessert tray was a mixture of a dark chocolate thingie, tiramisu, and key lime pie. I came home with extras about 3.5 hours later. And I brought home the mail too. For some reason the post office delivered all of our mail to them.

It really began raining hard during the two minute walk home. I couldn't find my umbrella anywhere in the house so I took Sammy out without it. I got soaked!

So... every time we start getting along with Sammy or have a good time something happens. Like around Christmas he was groomed, allowed on the bed, and we'd play with him. Not long after we'd take him out he'd pee somewhere in the house. He had a slight UTI which he quickly got over and only had minimal accidents in the house - all our fault.

Yesterday we found out during a nap that he likes to sleep under the covers. Not just under the covers. I'm talking all the way down the bottom of the bed, under the covers, by our feet and isn't completely happy until he's panting from all the trapped body heat because it's so hot. Very cute. We go about our business, make dinner, take him out, watch tv, take him out again and so on. At 2am I smell dog urine in the bedroom and I can't find it. Finally I decide to lift the bed covers. The pool of urine was larger than him and had gone through the blanket, the sheets, the mattress pad cover and onto the mattress. I was so furious. Except for the blanket it is all only a few months old.

I don't think I got the urine smell out of the blanket. I tried to wash the mattress pad but it's too large for our washing machine; the tub wouldn't move and the fan belt was starting to burn up. There is a laundry mat down the street where I could hope their washing machine is big enough and spend a few hours there cleaning it or I could go to Kohl's and just buy a new one. It's $150 and I got it on sale for $75. I really don't want to spend money that's not necessary since I have that tax bill to pay. Early this morning was one time I wish Sammy had never entered our life.

On the plus side, I got to work out for 30 minutes this afternoon in the extra bedroom. Hubby hooked up the DVD player so I can do my DVD workouts.

I had some unexpected exercise this past week. After proving I could fall asleep in a lawn chair in front of the Wexner Center when it was 90+ degrees outside we made it to the parking garage only to find that the elevator was out of order. I had my purse and a lawn chair slung over my shoulder. It was about the fourth flight that I started to not do so good. When we got to the sixth and final floor I thought I was going to pass out.

Then on Monday we had two fire drills. Two! We barely had time to walk up the stairs and sit down when the alarm went off the second time.

The second plumber to look at the water from the roof is supposed to show up at 8am on Friday.

One show I've really enjoyed watching is Flight of the Conchords. I was surprised to find out the show was picked up for another season. :) Thinking about it, I think it has a lot to do with the musical numbers. They are often an homage to a genre or the music of a specific person. The lyrics seem like they are more stream of consciousness than set lyrics though I know that's not the case. But the stream of consciousness makes the lyrics downright silly at times.

I was a walking fool yesterday. Mostly by necessity until the evening.

The city is working on an overpass which is above the lot I normally park in. The cafe by the Wonder Bread factory has graciously let us use their parking. So 20-minutes to walk to work (after a 10-minute drive).

The lunch lady didn't have change so I couldn't buy lunch with a $10. I walked to the food court at the Convention Center. I'd heard the food court was at the very end but really... it's at the very end! I think the last time I ate there was for a comics convention many many years ago. After lunch I had to walk back. Then I after work I had to walk to the car.

I had a super fun evening of walking at Easton, eating at Bon Vie and watching a movie. It was an action packed night. I could easily get used to this new work schedule.

Yesterday we went to a cookout. We were only there for a few hours but it was fun. The host had smoked turkey and pork. I had two sandwiches, some potato thing, and three chocolate chip cookies. We knew a majority of the people. The nice thing about this group of people is while we're all around the same age we're at different stages of our lives so conversation isn't centered on only one thing. We've got new parents, never parents, trying to be parents and old-time parents. Kids, music and movies aren't the focal point but certainly get discussed.

Today we saw Inland Empire. For a while I tried to folllow along with it. Then I just decided to go along with it and make a game of finding the similarities between it and Twin Peaks.

Though it was unintentional, we spent Earth Day walking everywhere. We walked to a restaurant for breakfast, to the grocery store, the hardware store, a bookstore (though it was closed), the movie theater, and the ice cream shop.

No yoga tonight. Only two of us could make it. Next week I won't get to go because I'll be picking hubby up from the airport.

The vet called yesterday to say Zilla's blood levels looked good but the liver enzymes were elevated. This afternoon he called to say he got the rest of the results. The lymph node aspiration indicates lymphoma so he thinks Zilla has lymphoma in the liver. From what I read over the weekend, dogs live 1-2 months after diagnosis with no treatment. A large percentage (about 90%) live 6-12 months longer with treatment. Twenty percent of those dogs live another 2 years or longer.

Zilla's first appointment with a specialist is tomorrow at 2pm.

It's strange. During the last scare I didn't think he had cancer but this time I just knew it.

An email came that said my EverQuest account was reactivated for 30 days. It was tempting. So very tempting. But I pointed out to the hubby that he can burn all those DVDs for his friends because I uninstalled most of the game. I still have some screenshots but I kept the music and the voice sound files.

Tonight the quest for the PS3 60Gig ended. It's installed on the tv downstairs. Now I'm supposed to install a wireless network so it can get updates (and it would be convenient for the laptop). It's one of those weekend projects I'm not sure I want to mess with just before leaving for vacation. Cause you know it will take a few days to figure out what router to get, will it work with our cable modem or should I just call our ISP and ask for a wireless cable modem on top of putting it through the paces to make sure it all works okay. Plus I want to see how much is left in the bank account after the holiday.

We still have to buy our plane tickets for the wedding trip in February.

Several hours this evening was spent playing Resistance: Fall of Man in a cooperative game which was fun. We played the deathmatch version but I've never really gone in for those so I didn't find it as enjoyable. I was worried I'd have a difficult time with the controllers for the PS3 but so far I've done okay. Only once or twice I've spun myself in circles looking at the sky or the ground.

Skipped yoga last night because I thought we were almost done with work but it kept dragging out and dragging out. (I did a little at home on Saturday night.) Boss is trying to get us out of the office by noon on Friday. Either we're kicking butt at the moment or an avalanche is going to hit us on Thursday afternoon. I hope it's the former because after Friday I don't go back to work until 1/2/07!

I felt that burst of warmth that flows through the veins after the yoga class yesterday. I think it's the best $5 I've spent in a long time. One of the fundamentals is to keep breathing. I kept forgetting. My shoulders hunched up as a result and have been sore since late afternoon. Most of the evening my abs have been killing me. I think I have to do some of my Biggest Loser DVD tomorrow.

The teacher told us the Sanskrit name of the yoga but I can't remember it. Basically you're constanting moving. I can't do the downward dog because my feet want to stand on tip toe instead of setting my heels on the ground. Everyone agreed the last ten minutes was the best part - we just laid there. haha!

I'm going to take a warm bubble bath now.

I haven't gone swimsuit shopping in years. Yesterday I went shopping for some workout clothes since I'm starting a 4-week power yoga class tonight. I think the manufacturers have the clothes sized two sizes smaller than they say they are. Normally I'll wear a XL for my top. I couldn't even get the bra tank tops in XL at Kohl's past my shoulders. At Target I at least found things that fit. I can wear them when I grow another four to six inches. The lighting in the dressing room combined with a pair of shorts was just hideous. In all I found a pair of shorts (more comfortable for working out than my regular shorts but skintight) and a short sleeve top. The clothes cost less than the sticky mat I bought. Even though I could wear the shorts with the shirt I bought or a big t-shirt, the sight in the dressing room just put me off wearing shorts for a long time.

I'm saving the shorts for when I work out with Bob.

So if any females want to make themselves feel bad about the way they look, try on some workout clothes.

Slept in late, read some Calvin and Hobbes, took Zilla for a long morning walk, and got to admire some of the pumpkin carving handiwork of the neighborhood.

During the normal course of the day I walked 1.77 miles. I gained a few pounds during my vacation but I've lost them again. I haven't really stepped up my activity. I think it's from the large amount of water I've been drinking. I purchased the blue water bottle from FlyLady and I love it with one exception. It would be nice if it fit in the cup holder of my car. When it starts rolling around on the passenger seat or the floorboard I worry about water spilling out (even though it hasn't happened).

This year we are celebrating Christmas a little early (November 19th) with my great-nieces and great-nephews. We originally agreed on this because my husband and I were supposed to be in Ecuador for the holiday. After our plans changed, my mother still wanted to go ahead with it. There are now four of them and so far only one "bad apple". By that, I mean jealous, selfish and doesn't like to share. By, that might be different when the teenage years hit, huh? Just about the only time she sees them they are all together so she doesn't get to know them individually and that many kids between the ages of 1 and 7 really frazzle her nerves. My mother is a quiet woman but likes to feel like someone is around. She was a stay at home mom and often kept the television running so she'd have company. I sometimes find myself doing that too when my husband is gone but I try my best to turn it off if I'm not going to be watching it. During the last two months I've picked up a few things for two of them but I really don't think they're all that great so I'm trying to come up with ideas. From FlyLady's page I got a great gift idea for my mother and my sister-in-law. Love jars. Each one will be filled with 52 happy memories or reasons why they are loved.

Work went well. Our temp's last day is tomorrow and the full-time person starts on Monday. Twice this week I've left at 6pm.

I haven't wanted to get up in the mornings - I think I'm trying to pack too much into my day by staying up too late (like right now). I want to stop at Tim Horton's on the way to work tomorrow.

Oh, and I noticed yesterday while I was looking for inexpensive gas... the old Tim Horton's on King that's been turned into a Thai restaurant called Thai Thai was packed. Granted, it was the dinner hour but I can't remember the last time I saw 11 cars in the parking lot (they have about 15 parking spaces).

I was pointed to Miss Snark's Blog because she's doing her crapometer for query letters and first pages of novels. It's been rather interesting reading.

Last night we watched Girl 6 which I enjoyed. I was a little confused at first by the main character wearing so many wigs and having so many jobs. It made me think the movie was going to be about three different girls. The soundtrack was awesome, even if Prince didn't add any new songs.

Yesterday was Andre Agassi's last professional game and I feel like I let him down because I didn't watch it. Hell, I didn't even know it would be his last one. I was interested in tennis in high school and college in no small part to him. I mean come on... the jean shorts, the long hair, the little dangly earring and those dark brown eyes? He was a hottie. When Andre first cut off all his hair into the little fuzz cut, my husband did the same thing not long afterward. It remains a good look for my main squeeze.

When I was between my sophomore and junior years and a RA in college, my friend and I spent the summer on campus. In the dorm was a set of roommates who had been together since our freshman year. I had a crush on one and she had a crush on the other. We'd watch them play tennis from her window and we started playing with them. Since it was the summer the student population was mostly international students. It was a fantastic, magical summer. A group of us would gather in the roommates' room for movie night. One week we watched The Godfather (I and II) with a running commentary to explain the culture to the international students. A few nights later "Action Jackson" brought a Taiwanese ghost story for us. He provided his own running commentary on it for us. The classes weren't difficult. As the only two RAs, my friend and I ruled the dorms but were having such a great time because there weren't more than 15 students. That summer I turned 21 and was thrown my very own surprise party in one of the largest empty dorm rooms. Unfortunately the events that followed that night included underage drinking, someone throwing up in a sink, and a Lebanese "friend" threatening to wire a bomb to my car. I repressed the memory of that party for a long time. That summer I dated a lawyer, and my now husband who was then my friend, moved me into my new dorm room at the end of the summer. And I got to see Jim Courier and Andre Agassi do a Big Bear exhibition match.

I continued playing tennis that school year. Sometimes you have to say goodbye to people, places, and things whether or not you realize it's time. It's probably past time for me to let someone else have that tennis racket; I hung it up a long time ago.

I was told I set a record for barium drinking. Two cups in five minutes. It was a little bit sweeter and a lot less chalky and chunky than last time. As always, everyone at the health center was nice. The woman who escorted me back remembered my husband from last night. My time with the barium started at 8:22am and I left the hospital grounds at 10:30am after visiting with my mother-in-law. So this visit was a lot less time than the last. I walked a little bit to get the barium moving. Laying on the right side and thinking of yummy, delicious food are two tricks that work also. I know my gastro will want to do another colonoscopy. The radiologist doctor saw the old x-rays and was concerned at first since she knew what the stricture looked like last time. And when the barium got all over my insides everyone had a surprise. My stricture is gone. That's right... the stricture the width of a #2 pencil is gone. Gone! I still have a small area near the end of the large intestine that seems to have some scarring. Months of steriods, the right diet and the right medication does a body good, I guess. Now when my mom tries to tell me I should take probiatics I can just give her the finger instead of being polite, non-committal and nonconfrontational. I can just say, "I've done everything my gastro asked me to and I'm doing great. I don't need to monkey with it, thank you."

Hubby found out he does indeed have a kidney stone - in his kidney! It will get the sonic wave treatment and then we'll see what happens after that. The doctor thinks the recent pain was from passing another kidney stone.

Since I was home he came home for lunch. We napped most of the time he was here.

I watched Something New this afternoon. It had potential but the end just kind of wrapped itself up a bit too neatly and quickly for my tastes.

I'm on the fence about my Maryland trip now. With so much medical stuff for us both and my husband's Toronto trip I would probably feel better financially staying at home.

I spent my morning hanging out at the library and doing some writing. I picked up lunch from Chipotle and we watched a semi-final of World Series of Pop Culture. Then I vegged on some What Not to Wear (the first one was a rasta-girl grad student and the second one was a sword fighting, online-gaming financial advisor). Zilla and I took a nap and then it was time to go!

We went to my in-laws tonight. I setup their web cam (again) and got it working with Skype. My brother-in-law tried to show us his neighborhood through his apartment windows. We had dinner (steak, corn on the cob, grilled veggies, etc.) and then we used Skype again. This time we got to see ~C~'s new haircut. His dad said it wasn't any good but I thought it looked cute. ~C~ was pulling out his cheek with his finger trying to get us to laugh. My husband kept putting pictures of ~C~ and various objects in front of the web cam in an effort to entertain him. He was so little when he left that he doesn't remember us. I think I was the only one who heard my husband say, "This will be fun in about a year." My brother-in-law and sister-in-law both looked good. Right now Ecuador is an hour behind. It gets dark between 6pm and 6:30pm. My brother-in-law had to add another lamp into the room so we could see him better.

Our grandmother had a good night tonight. She even went upstairs to see ~C~ on the computer. She was anxious about the dessert. When my brother-in-law was getting ready to graduate and living at home, he said that she would eat half a cake just to not see it go to waste. The family jokes about her love of desserts; it's gotten so it's all she thinks about during meal time since she was told she's diabetic. The jokes are our way of coping with it, I guess. We played three rounds of Mexican Train and Grandma played with us while Grandpa watched Flight Plan (now I know how it ends). She kept up with her turn and remembered the rules while were playing. I guess she played it the week we had the family reunion and she couldn't remember the rules. I know she was having some bad times then.

Today I walked a pitiful .06 miles. Tomorrow should be better but with museums the pedometer isn't always accurate.

I last had my hair done at the beginning of June. It's grown out some and I've been wearing my headbands quite a bit as of late. I prefer something else because my glasses say I'm trendy but my headbands say I'm a little girl.

A new world of footwear has opened up to me. I'm not sure I want to dive in just yet, though.