Archive for 'Just…..Me'
Spring in Air
Posted on 24. Feb, 2009 by Deb.
Long ago, I learned that it was better to take my cues as to the season from Mother Nature instead of the calendar. The earth has “broken the back” of winter when Greta, my almost 9-year old Bouvier begins sleeping on tile instead of carpet. There are the first flowers of spring, the daffodils, which I have seen at kid’s school. But the truest indicator is when I see the first robin. This morning, I saw not only the first beautiful red-breasted robin, but an entire flock of robins. Ah….knowing that Spring is around the corner really makes my heart joyous. Fall is my favorite season, but I love Spring as well. All that promise of newness and rebirth.
This week, I have chosen to take some of my workout outside. Most of what I need to do these days is stretching (which I am doing at home) and getting some cardio into my day. I’ve discovered that Miss Greta is aging and out of shape, so taking her with me is good for both of us. There are several really nice parks with walking paths to choose from in the immediate area. I really love the park we went to this morning. When I was a kid, it was a pecan orchard. Many of the old trees are still there, but there is also a small pond and the walking paths are wide. There are also paths that veer into the wooded area, under a bridge, and over to the neighborhood in which my parents reside. My parents still live in the same house that we moved to when I was six.
There is something comforting walking the woods that I ran in as a child.
But I digress. I’m thankful that Spring is in the air. I’m looking forward to some warmth and new growth. And though a part of me has kind of settled in and is nesting in my home, my gypsy side is looking forward to getting out and into the world. I travel into DC on Friday. I have meetings scheduled on Friday afternoon as well as plans for Saturday to visit the Lincoln Exhibit at the American History Museum as well as tickets to see “The Heavens are Hung in Black” at the Ford Theatre. Sunday is reserved to go to early morning Mass and have brunch with the Sunday Washington Post! I am also contemplating an invitation to go to Kansas next week. Do a little bit of work, do a lot of networking and visiting with old clients who are really friends as well. I typically fly for business travel, but since it would give me an opportunity to take my golf clubs… I am contemplating making the 5 hour drive instead.
I can’t believe it’s already time for lunch. Happy Fat Tuesday, folks. Hope you are having a lovely day.
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For the Love of My Crockpot
Posted on 20. Feb, 2009 by Deb.
One of the best creations in kitchen appliances has to be The Crock pot. On days that are busy or nights that I have school, if it weren’t for my crock pot, I think we’d wind up eating sandwiches or frozen dinners. This week, we’ve had Garlic Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Modified Swiss Steak, Turkey Chili with 3-Beans, and Chicken Soup. When I first started cooking on my own, I thought it was for beans, soup, and roasts. Through experimentation, I learned that I can cook just about anything in there. It’s a good way to economize, too, in that you can cook less expensive cuts of meat because the crock pot is great at tenderizing.
For those of you who don’t use your crock pot often, maybe it’s because you don’t know how to use it, are looking for recipes or ideas. Let me offer up a few tips that will make you love your crock pot as much as I do.
Spray the crock with cooking spray. In the last year, I have exclusively used olive oil spray. Stock your pantry with staples such as canned tomatoes, cream soups, and broth. Raw vegetables cook slower than meat, so you need to put things like carrots and potatoes on the bottom with meat on top. Any kind of meat can be cooked in the crock pot, roasts, steaks, chicken breasts, meatloaf, etc.
Here is where the economy comes in shop the meat that has been marked down and stock up on canned goods, like the tomatoes and broths when they are on sale. When it comes to tomatoes, I am loving the tomatoes with garlic and olive oil (amazing with beef!) I haven’t been buying a lot of creamed soups lately, but there are low-fat, low sodium varieties of cream of chicken, cream of mushroom and cream of celery.
Throw any veggies and then the meat in the crock pot. If you are “roasting” meat, add some broth in the bottom of the crock. Add spices and put your crock pot on low and cook around 8 hours. If you are cooking lunch for the weekend, 4 hours on high works as well. If anyone wants specific recipes, just holler at me. I love to share, but don’t wish to bore you to tears 
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Customer Service and Boobs (or how I spent my afternoon)
Posted on 11. Feb, 2009 by Deb.
I spent my morning on the golf course and have some thoughts about my play (as always) some thoughts on “golf etiquette” and some thoughts on being a woman playing golf when 98% of the other players are men. But that will wait til later.
Instead, I wanted to talk about Boobs. Not that I don’t think about my own boobs when I play golf because that is a difference in a woman’s swing and a man’s swing: keeping my arms straight as I swing. There is golf talk on that subject. But my afternoon was spent in the attempt to buy bras for my oldest daughter. And Close Encounters of the Customer Service Kind.
Let me start by saying that all of the females who are related to me by blood are above average in the upper portions. Blessed, some would say, cursed my youngest would say. I won’t embarrass them by posting their bra-size here, but just know that the girls are both larger than DD. They get it naturally. Even when I am thinner, I am top heavy. The last bra I purchased was a 36G which is what started me on this thought of customer service last week when I made my purchase, and brought to the forefront when I took the oldest shopping today.
I have two places I prefer to go when I go bra shopping. Nordstroms is the first choice and Neiman Marcus is the second choice.
Believe me when I say that it has taken me a long time to come to terms with the need to shop at what is considered a high-end retail store for a piece of clothing that is mostly seen by me, myself and I. I am the consummate bargain shopper and though I love nice things, I prefer to pay as little as possible for said things. I believe that women should wear beautiful lingerie. It’s an indulgence that is for yourself, and especially moms tend to indulge on everyone but themselves. But stores like Target have beautiful things – in a C or D Cup. When you are larger than a D, it is very hard to find something that fits, let alone something that is attractive. No teenager wants to wear a bra that looks like a Grandma bra. Even more embarrassing is having you MOTHER in the dressing room looking at your boobs (that you are not yet comfortable having because of their proportion in comparison to your peers).
Nordstroms and Neimans still has something that most stores have not had in years: Customer Service. Yes, I know, a rare concept in retail today. But the people that work at these places actually want to HELP the customers. And on top of helping customers, they know all about the products in their area – be it shoes, or cosmetics, or bras.
When you walk into the store, you are greeted and you are asked if you are finding what you need. When you walk into the lingerie department, especially with a teenager in tow, you and the teenager are treated with kid gloves. Every time you buy bras, it’s a good idea to be fitted again. I lost a mere 10 lbs and I changed from a 38FF to a 36G. You are whisked into the dressing room, and the teenager is measured. The sales person asks you what type of bra you are looking for (smooth cup, lacey, black, white, fun colored, etc).
Then the sales person allows you to stay in the dressing room while she digs through all the sizes until she pulls items for you to try on. She then looks at each one you try on, adjusts straps, checks the fit. If it fits, she tells you. If it doesn’t fit, she tells you and searches for something that does. Sometimes, you find something you love. Sometimes, you are unable to find something you can live with. No matter what, the sales person stays upbeat and kind. When you leave, she gives you her card to call in case you need something. When you are larger than average, finding a bra that fits, that looks attractive, that is comfortable and makes you feel attractive is exhausting. Digging through stacks of bras ranging from a 32A to a 44H is daunting. For a store to have a sales person that knows how all the different brands fit as well as how to properly fit you, will dig through the volume of bras in the store and bring them to you so that you don’t have to re-dress every time what you have picked doesn’t work? It’s a true God-send.
And when one of the kids is in tears because she is so much larger than her peers, these wonderful saleswomen are able to find words that sooth. Now THAT, is priceless. It’s priceless.
My ex-husband complained when I told him the youngest and I were going to Nordstroms this fall so I could buy her some new bras. He told me she didn’t need anything from a Hoity Toity store. But how the hell else am I going to get a 13-year-old properly fit when she is larger than a DD and has a band size less than a 36? Should I force her into bras that don’t really fit her? Or can I take her to a place where they will help us? I chose to do what was less traumatic for a stressful situation.
I bought my last bra at Neiman Marcus. I happened to be in the store when the rep from Fantasie was there. I tried on every single bra they carried that was available in my size. Today, we bought the oldest bras at Nordstroms. We got fabulous customer service.
And left with bras that really fit.
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Yeah, On That Creativity Thing
Posted on 03. Feb, 2009 by Deb.
The Ruminator posted tonight about the “blogging lite” exercise of late he has been involved in. And I full understand many of the things he talked about and it fishtails in some ways with a conversation I had with Melissa today (brainstorming during pedicures is the best). Work overtaking so much of your brain, especially if it is involved with writing, often means less personal writing when you do sit down, because, do you really want to see words, let alone sentences? During this last project, I even cut back on one of my all-time favorite pastimes, and that is reading. I read so much during the day, between emails and reviewing pieces of the document, that I didn’t want to read much more beyond my personal email, favorite blogs and Twitter. And that, when you look at it, isn’t about the words but about the people.
But the other comment he made about being at a “way-station” hit as well. I didn’t lock-stock-and-barrel relocate, but I have literally lived out of suitcases from May2006 until recently, although the heaviest periods of travel were this past year. Not being “settled” is sometimes counteractive to a creative soul. I’ve also wondered about age and it’s contributing factor. And the fact that while I can get the ideas into my head, getting it out onto paper – whether journal or virtual, seems more difficult as it is hard to focus.
These past few weeks, I have written more than I have the previous few months. I’m not just writing here and at All Things Girl, I’m hammering away again on short stories, doodling with some poetry, and doing some free writing that will only make it to my paper journal as it was not for the consumption of an audience, but simply for me. I think the last time I did any writing just for myself, to be honest, was after gong to the Pentagon Memorial. I’m also dreaming more, especially the last week. Dreams that I am remembering, though I haven’t been disciplined enough to write my dreams down, at least in my paper journal, like I should. In the past, my dreams have always been good at guiding me and my muses.
Melissa, she mentioned maybe it was because I was settled in one place for so long. I don’t know. She might be right. I’m just happy to have it back. I have to travel the next two days, so we will see. I used to be very productive on flights and most of my 2006 columns as well as a chunk of work on a novel too place during my sequestered time. We will see that as well since the flight time is about three hours.
Creativity for many can be fickle. It can also be all consuming. And it’s tempermental, much like the people who posess it. I know when I get into a writing groove, I get frustrated at any interruption, be it a text message, the dog, or other such truly non-threatening thing. And on days were I am struggling to hang onto it, every possible distraction is almost welcome, as if to save me from my own muse.
I like reading, by the way, what friends are thinking on creativity. It allows me some perspective into how mine behaves as I see how theirs behaves. And it makes me realize that I am not alone.
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Base Camp One
Posted on 01. Feb, 2009 by Deb.
The gym used to be all about lifting weights. I did cardio, which I’m not a fan of, and rewarded myself with weights. Especially my favorite things: leg press and skull crushers. After being fussed at my a couple of massage therapists about inflexibility in my joints, and then after my “fit test” where I scored “poor” on flexibility, I have been doing workouts with the trainer that are different from any other workouts I have done in the last ten years.
I am shocked, however, that just stretching, doing light cardio and focused lifting that insists upon stability is effective. Effective in that I am losing weight, I am gaining flexibility, my core is growing stronger and my stability (when doing isolated exercises) is growing. It’s why I knew I needed some professional help to get me started – and keep me motivated.
The word of the day, today, seemed to be “isometric“.
But damn, it’s hard, to feel like I am starting back at the beginning. Base Camp One.
In Other News:
The Jan/Feb 2009 Mid-Issue Update of All Things Girl is now live. Some really fabulous stuff. Part Two of our interview with Laura Bell Bundy, Man of the Moment Ben Bailey, some really fabulous short stories and poetry, as well as the introduction of a new columnist and other goodies.
While you are there, be sure and check out my contribution to the Arts Section, which is, frankly, an image I cannot get out of my head: the sheer volume of homeless in DC. He lived outside the Navy Memorial Metro Stop, below $2,000 a month condos steps away from one of my favorite DC spots for dining….
On a more upbeat note, do check out my column, What’s In Your Heart.
Happy Super Bowl Sunday. Hope your week is wonderful!
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On Work and Passion
Posted on 30. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
Just because I bypassed the word “passion” as one of my words for 2009, doesn’t mean that I have allowed it to slip by me. In fact, the reason that I did pass it by was because I felt as if I had already embraced it well and it had become a part of my being, and therefore wasn’t needed as a focus. It oozes out around me at times, the pure joy I get from things like golf, which I have talked about a lot lately, and to be honest, my work.
Have I mentioned how much I like what I do? It isn’t about one particular contract or overall project, it is, to be honest, the little things. I like my ability to pull things apart and help someone put them together. I love getting to know my clients on a personal level so that I know what their work personality is and what I can do to help them. I like that people bring me in on projects when things have gotten difficult or relationships fractures, because I am damn good at helping repair the fractures. And I think I am good at it because I do want to dig in, get to know the parties involved, and be honest about the situation. My job is to make things happen for someone, even if it’s because I need to tell an THE client that something they want isn’t feasible. I have discovered that honesty is a tremendous asset.
I am often hired as a sub-contractor, so my client actually has a client that I am interacting with. I consider both my client. My client and THE client. I like my relationships with both clients. I find that, even after a project is complete or in another stage where my services aren’t needed directly, I have become friends with them and miss working with them.
Today was a reminder that all the passion that I put into what I do actually makes a difference. A former client – THE client – called to catch up. Say hello, update me on the goings on in her life, and to let me know that they definitely want to work with me again. No matter what the project ends up being, I am interested. Why? Because I love what I do and what I do isn’t about the PROJECT but the people involved in the project. It’s about how I can help them with whatever pieces they have in their current puzzle. It’s about how I interact with them, and make what matters to THEM be what matters most to me when I am working with them. I love knowing that when someone thinks about an upcoming project, they think about me helping them with it because they know that I care.
And that is why I am thankful that my focus of Passion in 2008 showed me that it wasn’t needed as a focus for 2009 because it was there all along. Heart and soul with everything that I do…..
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On Hungry Days
Posted on 27. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
I don’t know if it’s the frigid cold, or the fact that I hardly ate real food yesterday, but I am having one of those hungry days today. No matter what I eat, it isn’t satisfying me – at least not for long.
Seriously.
Yesterday, I survived on mostly on meal replacements (protein bars, protein shakes) because I wasn’t that hungry, but knew my body needed food and my brain needed protein since I was going to class. I had a shake for breakfast, chili for lunch, a shake for an afternoon snack, and a protein bar at my break last night. Oh, and a glass of red wine when I got home.
But from the moment I set my feet to the floor today? I’ve been very food driven. Like a puppy is food driven.
I had an egg sandwich, chili for lunch, Kashi Go-Lean Crunch for a snack, a skim latte for a later snack, half a crab cake and some vegetables for dinner. and I am sitting here looking at this empty plate next to me wondering what I can eat that would possibly fill me up. (Don’t suggest the other half of the crab cake, that would be too rich).
Someone suggested to me that I was suppressing my sexual desire with food. I don’t know about that. Surely not, I mean, I have golf for that, right? Does anyone else have these hungry days?
Excuse me while I go see what else is in the fridge….
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Blogging and Blogging “lite”
Posted on 21. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
Sometimes, I feel like I do nothing but do “lite” blogging. It isn’t that the blogs don’t have content and aren’t interesting in some ways, at least I hope they fit that bill, but I don’t write about what’s really filling up my head.
Pretty much, I wake up happy each day. I am blessed in many ways. It isn’t about things or a specific person beyond myself – it’s purely about just being. I’m happy. There are more things I want to do some days and I get frustrated when I don’t get as much done as I’d like, but it doesn’t get done. That’s life, that’s responsibilities, etc. Some days, I do accomplish everything on my “to do” list. That are fabulous days.
It took me a long time to become satisfied with my life. Last year, one of my words was forgiveness, and the issue wasn’t that I held grudges against others, it was that I was hard on MYSELF and didn’t cut myself any slack – ever. I didn’t play the blame game or the martyr game, it was just one of those things – you beat yourself up for small mistakes, etc. We won’t talk about the big mistakes.
In embracing my main focus for 2009, which is “constructive”, I have discovered that feeling of being content with so many areas of my life. Of course, I want to lose some weight. Of course I want to advance my career. Of course I want to do a better job at networking and keeping in touch with old friends. I want MORE from myself. I think I can do more with my life. It isn’t that I am complacent, and I’m not going to be satisfied with the status quo, but I am content.
I do, at times, become frustrated, when I have something on my mind but no one to talk to about it. I am so very thankful for my close friends, but years ago, when the issues were bedtimes and things like that, I could blog about it and get a broad range of feedback. When your kids get older, you just can’t. Their friends google you and you don’t talk about the hard parts. I know I miss out on what I know would be wonderful advice, but that is also the life we now live in. Google is a love/hate relationship.
The kid thing will eventually work out, but it’s a huge stress factor in my life at this very moment.
I recently tried a short stint on Match. I wasn’t looking for anything serious, but I was trying to expand my available network of attempting to find someone i’d be happy to go to dinner with or a movie. I had a few dates, but I also discovered that a portion of the guys I began conversing with beyond Match would google me the moment they had my name, and dig into what they thought was everything about me. A way to my heart is certainly not to ask me what led me to start Pink Nighties or to ask if I could advise them on becoming a consulting and clue them in on how I get my clients. Or to try and friend me on Facebook or MySpace before we’ve even met. Those are NETWORKING tools for me, with folks I know face to face and with folks that I come in contact with via Twitter, blogs, and All Things Girl. I did decide, by the way, to pull my profile on Match for a bit. With work and school and other things, it’s too much of a time hog.
I’m not shallow here, by any mans, but this isn’t the whole enchilada. Blogging lite isn’t all bad. It’s like Beer. If I’m going to drink beer, I like a nice Corona with a lime or an Amber Ale from a Microbrewery. But often, I get a Bud Lite or a Michelob Ultra because it’s just a little less calories. But if you think you know all about me simply because you read my blog, just know that you are missing several puzzle pieces. And gee, did I just compare myself to beer?
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Experiments
Posted on 17. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
Using the Blackberry for blog posts may or may not work. We shall see.
I am so glad that they took the fans from the house today. It was suddenly…silent. Beginning Monday, I will attempt to get things put back together. Sheet rock, painting, flooring, etc. Replacing the bookshelves is a neccesity since the contents are in laundry baskets. It is a mess in my room…and I don’t like living in disarray. I need some order in my life.
I am at the airport, heading to El Paso for a quick trip….an experiment of sorts I guess. Back home tomorrow. And with the story of Navy WWII Veteran Dave, my 52 Stories story for this week.
Follow me at Twitter to keep up . Later.
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of Long Days and Quiet Nights
Posted on 15. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I have had a bit of an adventure today in home maintenance / home repair stuff.
A couple of days ago, I got a brand new toilet in the front bathroom to deal with a minute crack in the tank which had been dripping water onto the floor. If you didn’t know, water travels on concrete slab. In this case, it traveled into the next room, my bedroom. Fortunately, I had two bookcases I had purchased at Target, which were made of particle board. It sucked up most of the water, and when we moved them today, they fell apart. The sheet rock, however, also sucked up a bit of water. enough to cause mold to form just a little…about six inches upward, and about seven feet long.
Since I have lived the bulk of the past year out of a suitcase (first Oklahoma, then DC), I have no clue how long the problem existed.
After the insurance adjuster left, and assured me that it was in no way, shape or form covered, I then received visits from a restoration company and the measuring dude from the carpet company. The restoration guys spent two or three hours at the house, cutting out sheet rock, cutting out carpet and pad, spraying a disinfectant, and then leaving behind two huge fans and a huge filter-thing. White noise is one thing, but this isn’t white noise. It’s LOUD and constant. They have to run anywhere from one to three days, until everything is completely dry. After two hours of it, I was ready to just get out of the house.
But I know that it could be worse.
After the cleanup part, then will come the rebuilding part. I will need to get sheet rock repaired and the room repainted, replace carpet, etc, etc.
Kid had already planned on spending the long weekend at a friends, and I was planning on a quick trip to El Paso on Saturday night to visit with a friend. That left, however, tonight and tomorrow night. I tried the kids rooms and the living room, but the noise was constant. And to be honest, I just didn’t feel like suffering through the noise. So, I went online to one of my favorite hotel chains and found a room for the next couple of nights. This is a chain that is very pet friendly – in that there is no charge for pets and no limit on size. The bonus of living out of suitcase is I am top tiered on all the hotel chains I frequent, and when we checked in for the smallest room, we were upgraded to a larger room.
Oh. And another thing.
The TV that was purchased last year, but lost consistent sound? But I had purchased the extended warranty plan? Well, on December 26th, Best Buy came out to look at it. A few days later, they had to come back out because internal rules had changed and an additional piece of information was needed off the board. The new sound board was finally ordered. Today they called to tell me they didn’t know when the part would be in, so they were giving me an exchange number. The upside is that I will get a replacement TV. The downside is that I have to unhook the TV and take it TO Best Buy. That is just going to have to happen next week.
I did miss my workout today. I plan to go to the hotel workout room in the morning.
tonight, I need to take advantage of the QUIET and get some rest. Greta is sacked out next to me, so it’s time to move from this sofa to the comfy looking bed. This has been a really long day.
Sweet dreams….
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Busy-ness of the Day
Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
I squeezed a whole heck of a lot of stuff into my day when I think about it. I went to the gym and did a weight workout, my stretching, and 20 minutes of cardio. I exchanged a picture frame and returned some clothes, played 11 holes of golf and attended a meeting at school with my eldest.
Why 11 holes? Well, we are expecting a cold front tonight - the coldest so far this year - so the greens had to be covered to protect them. We were playing ahead of the tarping team, which was amazing to watch. We were asked to start at the 2nd hole, and they caught up with us on the 7th, when we skipped ahead to the 10th…. We had planned to play 9 holes, but had time for a couple of bonus holes. I can tell, however, that I am not in shape for golf, as I was getting tired after about 9 holes. The funniest thing happened on 7, though, when a dog stole my ball after I teed off. He was hiding behind a bunker and appeared as I teed off. He wanted to play, and ended up getting my ball by tossing another for him to chase. We laughed so hard though we did want to continue on. I think that delay is how the tarp-team caught up with us.
Oh, and since I know you are dying to know, I wore a black and white plaid skort with a white polo. It was 50 degrees when we started, which did require a pullover, but I shed it after about 7 holes. It was 62 when I left the golf course. That seems to be about perfect for short sleeves.
The school meeting was a whole ‘nother thing. Anything to do with school is on the stressful side as we wind down to her graduation. ’nuff said.
And on that note, it’s time for some sleep. Tomorrow is another full day.
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Full Moon & Mercury in Retrograde
Posted on 11. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
Last night was the actual “full moon”, though if you gaze up into the sky tonight, the great beautiful orb in the sky is amazing…
Last night at midnight was the moment when Mercury went into Retrograde. The first of 2009. So, what exactly does it mean when Mercury is in retrograde? Well, it means that Mercury appears to be going backwards. The issue seems to be that when Mercury is in Retrograde, everything seems to go WRONG. Since Mercury is the planet representing communication and motion, when it goes retrograde, there is a sense that movement-based things, such as travel, traffic, communication, etc, are interrupted or slow down. How to thwart it (if you believe that is) – you need to be more organized. Set a second alarm, put a post-it on your backdoor to remind you of your schedule, pack your gym bag the night before….
Oh. Believe or not. Mercury Retrograde is here for three long weeks – and for the first of four visits this year.
I am not a big believer in the Retrograde issues personally, though to be on the safe side, I will go an extra step to be a bit more organized. But I do feel the effects of the moon. When the moon is full, I tend to be a bit more emotional and sensitive. I’m also a little more open hearted, vulnerable, and introspective, so if you have anything to ask me, then remember that on the next full moon 
But beware. I also tend to be very honest and straightforward.
It’s weird that the full moon has an affect at all, because overall, I am this black-and-white logical person. Then again, the older I get, the more I discover that there is more to life than logic. Logic is rewarding due to the process of a leading to be which leads to c, but I have learned that the esoteric things of the world, that can’t always be explained, are also very satisfying.
During the days before, during, and after a full moon, my dreams are always on the stronger side. Not that I always remember what happens during the dreams, as I still struggle with that, but I tend to remember the emotions of a dream. And sometimes upon waking, there is a scent from the dream, yet no details. I am the inquisitive type, I want to know the details.
Tomorrow, I have a full day, where I will attempt to begin with the gym by 6:30, go to an 8:45 doctor’s appointment (for my estrogen shot!), play 9 holes of golf with Buddy Boy, and then have dinner with a new friend. And on that note, it’s time for bed. My regular forays to the gym are encouraging me to climb into bed earlier. Besides, I love full-moon dreams. They feel and smell wonderful.
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For a Food Girl…
Posted on 11. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
I’ve often joked with friends that I am like a puppy and driven by food. When I travel, my requirements are to be kept fed and then I will be happy. Coffee in the mornings and breakfast….a good dinner…lots of water to drink.
Though I love breakfast, one of the hardest things to do is get up and eat breakfast right away. Coffee is critical and thanks to the handy-dandy auto-timer on the coffee pot, I can pour myself a cup within minutes of stumbling to the kitchen. Ahhhh…there is nothing like that first sip in the morning, is there? When I was in DC for so long, that was often my indulgence: room service for 6 AM delivery of a pot of coffee.
When I began keeping a food diary again, which I will write more bout later, I realized that many times I would get up at 6 or before, but not eat until 8 or so. Trying to rev up my metabolism a bit means being a little more proactive with myself and consuming nutrients beyond those found in coffee. My new goal is to eat within fifteen minutes for pouring my first cup of coffee. I’ve done all the steps to make it easier on myself when I am home, such as making that quiche for easy grabbing or setting out a box of cereal and a bowl. Oh, that’s also the catch. To eat something really good for me, with a nice balance of Carbs and Protein, not just grabbing whatever is easiest. Like a Pop-Tart. Have you looked at the nutritional content of a Pop-Tart?? But I digress. Breakfast right away: even for a food girl, it’s sometimes a struggle.
It is, however, paying off in the big picture of things. I am feeling more energetic throughout the day since I’ve been so counsious of revving up my body by eating when I get up. I’ll let you know if it’s helping on my metabolism since I plan on braving the scales today at the gym.
And on that note, it is time to get dressed and head that way. Happy Sunday morning!
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Was Mother Nature Confused?
Posted on 03. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
Today was simply beautiful in Texas, with a high temperature around 85 today. I started my day by going to the Golf Store and going through the final steps to purchase a new set of clubs, which included hitting the 6-iron of five different sets. I ended up buying a set of Adam’s Idea Ladies sets. I refused to buy a PINK bag, by the way. That’s just stupid to have to buy pink because I am a woman. I bought the bag that was green and turquoise.
After lunch, I headed out to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls with my new clubs. I tried out the driver, a couple of the “woods” and a couple of the irons. After an hour, I headed home happy, but tired. I still am not very good, but I did enjoy being outside and bonding a little with my new clubs. Part of the bonding, though, has led to a bit of a sore back and some other overall stiffness of body. It’s the overall balance of big boobs and needing to stretch and doing activities that I haven’t done in a very long time. In part of getting back to the gym regularly, I have needed to do some focused lifting to build some the pectoral muscles. But I digress.
Dinner tonight was actually amazing, if I do say so myself. I stuffed a pork loin with a mixture of spinach and feta cheese, with a bit of fresh garlic and red bell peppers. Topping the pork loin with coarse kosher salt and fresh ground pepper gave it a great finish. We also had steamed zucchini and carrots, and spinach salads with tomatoes and cucumbers topped with balsamic vinegar.
The kids are watching Polgergeist II, but as for me, I am about to head to bed. Sweet dreams.
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Forgive me as I play…
Posted on 03. Jan, 2009 by Deb.
I purchased some themes for WordPress over at WooThemes on New Year’s Eve. Yes, I’m sure you’ve noticed the changing look of my site, so that is the reason. It was a buy 1 get 3 free sale, so I am happily playing around between two of the four themes.
This one – called “thick” is my favorite color scheme with all the pink and dark grey. I just don’t know WP well enough to DIG IN and change the coding in the templates much. I want full entries, not snippets, on the main page.
What I NEED to do is stop playing around on the computer and go outside and play. It’s sunny and 70 degrees here already – and is expected to be 80! I think Mother Nature has her calender on the wrong page, but I am not going to complain.
I need to go take a quickie shower, and then go to the golf store. I have narrowed my club choices down to three sets and am meeting my golf instructor to hit all three of them and getting them purchased. I just can’t play with these clubs that were a gift anymore. they need to be re-gripped and stuff. Then….come hell or highwater today, my ass is going to the driving range today before dark. I think that’s a great goal for a Sunny Saturay in January. Don’t you?.