Easy Come, Easy Go...

I've had Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody as an earworm now for over a week. And I'm blaming the TV for putting it there in the first place.

Last weekend I was surfing around the channels searching for something to distract me for an hour or so... something that didn't suck and something I hadn't already seen. Two (2!!) channels had thier version of "fill in the words karaoke" programs playing against each other. Now I won't go into the logic of this programming... there simply cannot be a large enough audience for this kind of thing that the two shows need to a head-to-head sing-off. Yet, last weekend that is what they presented us.

However, to compound the silliness of this exercise.. both programs had contestants singing along to the aforementioned Bohemian Rhapsody at the same time!! Same concept, same time, same song! ( Please let the writer's strike end soon, so some semblance or original thought can return to television.)

This double-dose of Queen excellence was too much for my feeble brain, and the song embedded itself deep into my brain like a virus.

At first, I was Ok with it. I kind of like having an earworm for a while, it's comforting. But how many times can I be washing dishing and singing: Mama, just killed a man... before it just starts to get creepy??

I tried the old standby: Sultans of Swing. I've had the guitar riffs from this song stuck in head for months before. Didn't take.

I tried newer songs: Rihanna Umbrella, Ingrid Michaelson's The Way I Am. They "freshened the palate" for a minute or two. "cause I-I-I-I love the way you call me baby...."

Quiet. Peace. I would believe that this time I had finally evicted the worm from my head.

Take a deep contented breath and smile.

"Easy come, easy go... Little high, little low..."

Oh Damn.



I also blog at: A Stitch In Time throughout the week and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Color them Golden and Bright: 50 Things I Love

It's a damp day, so foggy that I've almost lost my neighbor's house. I look outside and feel wrapped in a soft quiet gray blanket. It's almost nice.

And I have a cold.

With so much of the day colored soft and fuzzy, I thought I'd try to shine a bright light in my world. A list of things I love, in no particular order. Color them Golden and Bright:

• Laughing
• A face that lights up, happy to see me
• Mangoes
• Baseball
• A bath so hot that my hair sweats.
• The dogs' excitement at the idea of food
• Thick, pliable yet smooth hand-made paper
• Ripe fresh-picked tomatoes
• Pomegranates
• Passionate conversations
• Spell-check
• Free and easy hugs
• Any Thai food
• The steady rhythm of a good walk
• Coffee
• Secrets shared
• A soft breeze blowing on my face.
• Ocean waves
• Crispy
• Joss Whedon's Firefly series
  
• The weight of a quilt over me on a cool night.
• Polar Fleece
• Bench Presses
  
• Appreciation expressed
• A dog's head resting on my ankles
• The search for a special item
  
• Tivo
  
• Pecan pie
• Strawberry pie
• Pumpkin pie
• Positive support
• Toasted sesame oil
• Someone else combing/brushing my hair (especially when it was long)
• Giving shoulder/neck massages
• Singing
• Cotton dried in the sun
• The "thunk" of a ball hitting the sweet spot
  
• Vanilla
• The women at BlogHer
• Very rare beef
• Sunshine
• Jeans warm from the dryer
• Remote control
• Life told in stories
• Photos of the universe
• The perfect drive: fast and slightly curvy
  
• Swinging on a swing
• Military drill teams
• Fireworks
• Lemons
  

I also blog at: A Stitch In Time throughout the week and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tale of the Scale: 12/23

I said before Thanksgiving that the holiday season isn't about stressing over every morsel that I eat and fussing about the needle's position on the scale. When I am home, I usually eat as I have been (every 3 hours, whole grains, lots of veggies and fruit, lots of water, little protein). When I'm out, I eat what seems reasonable. And, darn, I seem to have eaten almost 1/2 a batch of Russian Tea Cakes that I baked! Eating like a lot of other folks at the holidays.

And the weight it is staying the same.

That must be a good thing, right?

I changed my membership at the gym, and got 5 training sessions as part of the deal. So I know that after 1/6 I will be working again with my favorite trainer. Good thing. I'm working on a list a surprisingly long list of things he still has to teach me!

In the meantime, I've gotten some of my gym mojo back. Two really strong workouts this week so far. Christmas Day I'm planning on taking the dogs for a long hike in the park before heading home to veg out in front of the TV set and roast us a duck for supper.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.. filled with good things to eat and drink, friends and family to share it with and plans for a better tomorrow.






I also blog at: A Stitch In Time throughout the week and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

OK, I Am a Native Ohioan...

OK, I am a native Ohioan... and I found most of this way too true!

Jeff Foxworthy on Ohio:

You might be from Ohio if:

You think all Pro football teams are supposed to wear orange!

You know all the 4 seasons: winter, still winter, almost winter and construction.

You live less than 30 miles from some college or university. (Did when I lived in Ohio. Actually, do here, too.)

You know what a buckeye really is, and have a recipe for candied ones. (never knew about candied buckeyes!!)

"Toward the lake" means "north" and "toward the river" means "south." (makes perfect sense to me! When I moved to the bay area, I knew where the water was, but kept thinking bay/ocean = north. I was so screwed!)

You can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, Tuscarawas,
Wapakoneta and you know which letter is doubled in Cincinnati.

"Vacation! " means spending a day at Cedar Point. (I can tell you stories!!)

You measure distance in minutes. (I really do!! Doesn't everybody?!!)

Your school classes were canceled because of cold. (several times!)

Your school classes were canceled because of heat. (not that I recall, but then I'm old! We were tougher then. Or maybe heat is a southern Ohio thing.)

You've had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day. (hey, I do that here in the bay area! Don't tell!!)

You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. For example:
"Where's my coat at?" (yep!)

You think of the major four food groups as corn, pork, beer, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows. (I thought this was folks in Illinois, but maybe it's just smaller farm communities??)

You carry jumper cables in your car. (Again, doesn't everybody??)

You know what 'pop' is.

You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. (My mother did! I'm sure my SILs did)

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow. (Amen!)

The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page but requires six pages for sports. (Again... every paper should! My hometown paper also covered sports... not just local sports!)
I also blog at: A Stitch In Time throughout the week and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tale of the Scale: Week of 12/16

Weight: the same. Inspite of 5 holiday parties last week!

Thank God I'm almost done with my self-imposed 3 months without a trainer! Although I've learned things these past weeks, I am so over it!!

What I've learned:

I can make appointments with myself and honor them. Whenever I've planned on going to the gym, I have gone. First time anxiety has completely disappeared.

I can make myself do tasks even when I don't want to, if I've written them down and committed to them. I plan a week's worth of workouts, so I'm not flailing around at the last minute searching for something to do. Even when my heart, mind and concentration isn't into it, I follow my plan. (Can we just call me a good German girl??). I wonder if I can extend this into other parts of my life?

I have assessed my workouts and increased weights when appropriate.

Now the down sides:

I don't like taking classes any more than I used to. Nope. Just not a workout class type. While this is OK, it seems that without taking classes, I won't be making/meeting a workout buddy in the gym. And a workout buddy would be so much fun!!

I have no imagination in planning my workouts. I'm basically doing what I was doing 3 months ago. And I've bored myself near to tears.

While working with Guido, we were moving toward more and more unstable exercises (working the core all the time), as I've worked by myself I've moved to more stable and safe. Again, boring!

It's harder to coordinate schedules with friends to workout together than one would expect. Minnie.. let me know when Jack (it is Jack, right?) can go into daycare, so I can call you!

This fitness thing is still not a part of my "normal" lifestyle, yet! If I did not go into a gym for 2 weeks, I could probably stop going in altogether. This shocks me every time I realize it.

While I've change the way I eat over the past year, when I get lazy and don't plan I fall back on old habits. Not a shock, I've been working on the work-out thing even longer and I just admitted that that's not ingrained yet. I feel better when I eat the way I wish to (fruit, veggie, whole grain based diet with just a little animal flesh...), but I'm not yet thinking this way. It's a whole different level of habit!

My health and fitness is still a work in progress. And I still need help along the way. I made a change in my membership at the gym, which gave me 5 sessions with a trainer. Can't wait until January to start putting them to use!

I also blog at: A Stitch In Time throughout the week and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

A Christmas Carol Mash-UP

I love this video! It's an accapella mashup of Christmas Carols and more... based upon the 12 Days of Christmas. One of my Twitter-folk posted it. Thanks David!


I also blog at: A Stitch In Time throughout the week and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Tale of the Scale: Dec. 5

This week Guido and I finally got a body fat analysis done. Yeah, I'm done with carrying for this month, but the numbers showed that I am not done forever. I've just gotten a vacation.

I've lost 30#. But I've only lost 22# of fat. And my body-fat composition is still at 34% which puts me on the borderline between healthy and unhealthy fat level. Damn, I'm frustrated. And completed confused.

I admit that I cannot figure out on my own how to change anymore. I placed responsibility for coming up with a plan squarely in Guido's lap. And I've given myself permission to consider consulting a nutritionist sometime after the first of year.

Yes, I look much better than I did a year ago. Yes, I've been successful. But, as my physician has pointed out to me: the fat that remains (it's all around my middle) is the fat that will kill me. And it's gotta go.

On a brighter note: I am getting to gym my 4 days a week, and working out for about 1.5 hours each time. So I've gotten the exercise part of this life change down pat. I wondered if I would continue this, if it IS a part of my life and will continue to be. While I have times that I think I could walk away from the gym and never miss it, those times are getting fewer and fewer.

I also blog at: A Stitch In Time throughout the week and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.