Squeaky wheel gets the grease April 22, 2009

I told myself to remember this blog title while at the gym, and now I can’t remember why!  Um, I’ll think on that for a minute.

Today was another rather meh day.  The weather was colder (suck!), everything was fine, and here I am at 11:30 trying to remember my non-descript day.

Breakfast was probably the most perfect oatmeal I’ve had in awhile.  I added soy protein powder to the regular mix of steel cut oats, peanut butter, almond milk, water, cinnamon, and raisins.  Creamy, but not gooey!

Chris had lunch with a colleague, so I ate on my own around 1.  Half a sando (whole wheat, peppered turkey, romaine), and the fave carrot.

The afternoon was rather non descript, but for visiting the new condo where my mom is moving this summer.  It is in a pretty place by an old quarry that was filled in with water, thus creating a small lake.  She has a nice view of it, and the area is nice, too.  I’m jealous!

For Earth Day my office buildings had a battery collection drive, and I stopped by to speak with the property manager about being a Master Recycler and hoping to help make the office buildings greener.  She was excited and I hope to speak with her soon about some of my ideas.

After getting back to work I ate my apple from yesterday, but forgot to take a pic.

Dinner was a run to Si Senor, but it wasn’t quite as good as usual.  They got Chris’ burger order wrong (brought him a chicken burger instead of beef, and with different toppings), but he was nice and said he’d eat it.  He should have been the squeaky wheel and insisted on the Mexican Deluxe Cheeseburger he ordered, but he didn’t and ended up not being as satisfied.  My tortilla soup was good, but I prefer the version I get at Fajitas b/c it isn’t as salty, and has shredded chicken rather than grilled breast.  The chips were really good tonight, though!

On the way home I almost forgot to pick up Lily at my mom’s!!!  :shocked:  How could I forget my little girl?! 

Tonight I did workout # 2 and 45 minutes on the stair mill.  There were a couple of times I felt like speaking up and being a squeaky wheel here, but I pussied out and remained silent: 1) some chick sitting in the locker room picking at her feet for at least an hour, and leaving all the, um, results on the floor.  Gag!  Clean that up, bitch! 2) Some weird guy kept going in and out of the pool area over and over and over, acting rather weird.  I almost said something to a staff person, but the dude seemed harmless enough.  Here’s where I thought of the title of this post, but still can’t remember if all of the reasons mentioned herein are why it came to mind.  Oh well…

Once home I desired some of my fave granola, and even though I’ve been avoiding sugar at night (except on nights where I drink too much wine!) I said WTF, I want it and I deserve it.  So, my snack was 1/2 cup pumpkin flax plus granola with 1/2 a banana.  Mmmm!

Well, that’s all, folks. Not a very exciting day, but hopefully you found some bits of it entertaining 😉

Variety hour April 21, 2009

In this wonderful post, you will find such varied fun topics as: workouts, calves, thong underwear, gum spitting, and random men directing traffic.  Now doesn’t that sound like a fun-filled read??!!  It was quite a random day, and hopefully I’ll amuse you with some of my Deep Thoughts rather than bore you to death with the usual eats.

The morning started with a wind blown drive into the office while soaking up the sun 🙂  Yee-haw!  Next up, a really normal breakfast of steel cut oats with raisins, PB, cinnamon, almond milk, and water. 

Walking into work I was thinking about my calves, and the fact that I’m actually getting some definition.  No, nothing ripped or “muscular” exactly, but way better than the soft mush they once were.  I caught my reflection in a glass door last night and commented to myself that they are shaped differently than before.  All that time on the stair mill must be paying off!

During one of my mid-morning trips to the loo, I saw a nice looking young lady but noticed she had panty lines!  Oh, poor thing…  Thong underwear are a miracle, and they’ve come a long way since the 80’s high waisted, hip-cutting nightmares of our childhood lore.  I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I quite prefer a thong to bikinis, and I especially love a brand called Steve that I buy at the Nordstrom Rack.  They are soft, comfy, don’t ride up, don’t dig in, and easy to care for.  And, hey, they cost less than bikinis or briefs!  Less material=lower price=less consumption.  Hell yes, I’ll whip out the “green” argument here 😉 

Check out the Wikipedia article on thongs.  I had no idea that something called a C-string existed!  It’s basically strapless underwear!!!

I hope like hell this picture turns out–quite a great result of Googling “80’s thong underwear picture.”  Hehe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this epiphany and kidding myself about working for awhile Chris and I ate lunch.  Today’s sandwich was nearly the same as like the last two weeks, but for one ingredient swap out.  Whole wheat bread butt, peppered turkey, romaine, orange bell pepp, avocado, Nature’s Seasons.  With a carrot on the side.

I chowed down on these after lunch in an effort to eat something sweeter, but I had heartburn all afternoon.  WTF??  I never get heartburn, and in my case I’m not sure if it is from a lack of acid, or too much of it. 

Work just sucked today.  I was not motivated to get much done, and I kept getting distracted and just wanting to go home.  It is too easy to put energy into my new office layout/furniture/etc, but I best keep working so I actually have some business to do in that damn office!

Later I finally ate the Kashi TLC multigrain crackers I’d packed like 3 weeks ago.  I’ve noticed that if I don’t have a mid-afternoon snack I seem prone to getting really hungry and snacky right before dinner, and overeating at dinner potentially. 

Somewhere along the way this afternoon I had a few ounces of a Rockstar because my ass was dragging so badly.  I promise that’s not pee in the bottom of my cup!

On the drive home Chris was bitching about how hungry he was (but not me!) when we encountered a mess of traffic in Sellwood.  Eventually we got to a point where some random, drunk dude was directing traffic and holding shit up.  Turns out he wasn’t the cause of the traffic, but he certainly wasn’t helping it.  Gotta love the randomness!

For dinner we went to Fajitas and sat outside with Lily.  I had the small tortilla soup, chips, salsa, and lots of water.  I certainly did not want to drink much and repeat my Friday weight-dropping experience, so I just had a few sips.

After dinner I headed to the gym for Workout #1 and 45 minutes of cardio, which was good!  I’m feeling stronger already on some exercises, but I still feel like a pussy on preacher curls. Check out the link above for details of my workouts and eats.  Let me know what else I can tell you about ’em!

On my way out of the gym I noticed there’s quite a collection of gum developing on the parking garage stairs.  Ew!  Why does everyone have to spit out there gum right there when there’s a trash can on the 2nd floor, like 10 feet away?  I admit I used to get a kick out of a great gum-spit now and again, but it usually involved opening the car window all the way and pa-toooeying the gum out the window onto the road with all my might. 

Now it’s around 11:15, and I’m feeling a twinge of hunger.  Last night I never did eat since I was heading to bed, and tonight I think it will be the same.  Oh, gotta prep the oats!

Ciao!

Little Bunny Foo Foo April 18, 2009

I saw a bunny while at the gym today!  And, no, it wasn’t pumping iron 😉  Off to the west side of the gym there’s a small greenspace, and it was there grazing in the grass.  How cute!  I enjoyed watching it while I did my hack squats.

Let’s head back to Friday for a recap of eats and such….

Yeah, I’m not sure about this 7-grain cereal thing.  I wish it were heartier, with more substantially sized grains and more fiber.  The taste is a little different, too…more cardboard-y?  I can’t quite put my finger on it.  Any thoughts? 

This was the 7-grain cereal with PB, apple, cinnamon, soy protein powder, and water.

Thankfully my first appointment went just fine, and I came out of it smiling and feeling positive.  I was also feeling skinny b/c my pants were loose and my client commented that I look great and like I’ve lost a lot of weight 🙂

Next up was prepping for my 1pm appointment, which I also had been dreading.  I chowed down on my lunch around noon:  whole wheat bread, peppered turkey, pickle, romaine; and the faithful carrot.  My brother commented on how my carrots look rather raggedy, and rightfully so.  They’re unpeeled, and I often cut them with too small of a knife, leading to semi-mangled, uneven sticks.  Whatevs, they still taste the same, right?!

My second meeting went okay, too, I emerged still feeling positive. Phew!  I feared something would happen that would ruin my Friday and lead me into the weekend in a shitty mood.  Not so!  I was quite famished, though, and proceeded to eat my apple and yogurt.

I was still feeling hungry after this (which didn’t make sense since I’d just had a few hundred calories), and a little funky.  As I reached for my crackers it dawned on me I was probably feeling overly hungry from allergies.  That funky symptom is not one of my favorites. So, instead of eating more I drank some water, took an allergy pill, and moved on.  Worked like a charm.

Chris and I visited Fajitas for dinner, and even though I knew I’d be working out later I drank a bit of a Cazuela.  My dinner was a small bowl of tortilla soup, followed by a Tequila Popper (surprise from our waiter 🙂 ), and part of a La Casa.  So good!

 

The shot glass is from the Tequila Popper…no evidence left 😉

Instead of letting all of this settle more I went to the gym sooner than later, and I paid the price.  I broke a sweat on my first exercise (chest press), which isn’t normal, and I ended up being a little clutzy.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t drunk or anything.  I was, however, a little full and feeling tired from the booze. 

While setting up the lat pulldown Hammer Strength machine I dropped a 25 pound barbell on my right foot.  Holy shit, that hurt.  I cursed and laughed to myself, and proceeded to get along with my reps while trying to ignore my aching foot and act cool.  “Did I break it?  Do I need to go to urgent care?  Can I finish my workout or do cardio?”  Luckily the pain didn’t remain too intense, and walking on it didn’t hurt, so I moved on and finished my workout.  After which I proceeded to drag my shin across the corner of a machine’s footrest.  Okay, time to get the eff out of there, I said–no cardio or I may end up falling off the machine and not living to tell about it.

Thankfully my foot didn’t swell, nor does it even look bruised (yet).  How’d I manage that?  Pure luck, fo’ sho.  No more drinking and working out!

I was in a rather snacky mood when I got home, so I had some granola with almond milk, and then some Genisoy Sweet Crisps after that.  I think I missed a pic of the granola…

Have you seen “Mistresses” on BBC America?  Pretty good writing if you ask me, with some twists, turns and pure, unbridled adultery, jealousy, and reality.  :shocked:

Saturday

Because I had to wake up early all week, I wanted to sleep in and wake up without an alarm.  This meant skipping pilates, which I could handle since I figured I’d go workout later instead.  I did end up waking up early enough to go, but because of lunch plans I still opted to stay home and chillax.

Breakfast was a bowl of granola with almond milk, and coffee with Silk vanilla creamer.  I’m really happy to have found the creamer, and even though it has sugar in it I still feel soooooooo much better drinking it instead of Coffeemate, powdered crap, or even real 1/2 & 1/2 or cream. 

That’s real sunshine, folks!  Although it was a bit chilly and overcast, the sun popped out and shined in on me as I ate.

Around 11 I headed to Bob’s Red Mill for an early lunch with Andrea.  Bob’s was packed!!!   We each ordered breakfast for lunch 🙂  I had dollar pancakes with one egg, and a fruit cup on the side.  Such cute little cakes!  I smeared some marionberry jam on a few and really liked that flavor combo.

Andrea and I had some good laughs while catching up 🙂  Loved it!  I like being social and realize it seems to have gone by the wayside lately.  Here’s where I get back on the bandwagon of scheduling things in advance and actually getting out at least once a month…   OH, and I gotta mention this–when I first walked up to Andrea she was amazed at how I’ve slimmed down:)  Yeah!  Girl, I wish I could pay you the million bucks that made me feel like!  😉 Thank you!

At noon I had to head out to North Clackamas Park for the Earth Day community event going on.  I was volunteering as a Master Recycler at a table showcasing hazardous household materials, how to avoid them, and alternatives.  Sounds grand, but it was really just a table with brochures.  We were outside, though, and there were some neat things other tables had like a bird quiz, native planting guides, conservation information, and other things to keep us busy.  I took the bird quiz and ended up winning a great photo of a hummingbird mother feeding her baby!  I also won a raffle drawing and got a bee box.  How cool!  I was thinking of buying a bee box a month ago and never got around to it; glad I didn’t!

Toward the end of the event someone brought out fresh baked pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  I knew once I saw them that I had to have at least one–they are one of my favorite cookies since they’re so moist, and more like little cakes than cookies.  I had two and loved every bite.

The sun was out more by the time I left the park, and I rocked the drive home with the sunroof open.  It has been forever since I was able to do that!

Although I wanted to take advantage of the sunny day by going for a ride in the convertible with Chris, I opted to hit the gym for weights and cardio.  I had a great workout and will guiltily admit that I took the Real Simple magazine I read while on the stair mill.  It’s the March issue, and it has lots of great ideas about cooking, good buys, and getting rid of clutter/junk.  I figured if someone left it behind (as all magazines that are at 24 Hr; they’re not club subscriptions), and it was a month or two old, hopefully I wouldn’t be generating bad karma by taking it home.  Maybe I can leave a magazine next time I go to even things out 🙂

I was famished like the second I stepped off the mill, so I didn’t even bother to shower before Chris and I visited Fajitas for a second night of Mexican indulgence.  We sat outside with Lily and had a gay old time.  I wasn’t quite ready to order when Pedro came outside, so in haste I opted for the chicken flautitas.  (Read–fried flour tortillas stuffed with chicken and cheese, served with sour cream and guac.)

This plate of food disappeared almost too easily, as I ate nearly the whole thing! Yikes!  It was too much and I knew it, but I had trouble saying no and did it anyway.  I also had part of a Cazuela and half of my La Casa. 

Just before we left a lady pulled up in her truck, got out smoking, and dropped her cigarette right outside the restaurant door in the barkdust.  I noticed it while going inside to pay the bill and couldn’t help taking a picture of the fire waiting to happen.  I stomped it out, too, of course.  No way I could let it smolder and potentially burn down my favorite restaurant!

All this writing and thinking about food is making me hungry.  To eat or not to eat, that is the question?  My choices are somewhat slim, but I could go for an apple, Genisoy crisps, chocolate, granola, crackers, or yogurt.  What shall the winner be??  Or will I abstain since it’s already after 10pm??  Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Ciao 😉