Shook it like a polaroid picture

Yesterday at work the biggest truck rolled by and shook the office hard. But geez, it was taking forever to pass the building. Maybe it's lots of trucks. Or maybe it's some construction they're doing. With about 30 jackhammers. On our building. Because I could feel the ground shifting and walls swaying.

And then I thought, hmm, maybe this is an earthquake. There was a meeting going on in the room next to me and frankly, I didn't hear them miss a beat. Non-native Californian that I am, I pretty much did all the incorrect things, from standing by my glass window peering out to entertaining the thought of just bolting out of building, every-man-for-himself-style.

Finally someone shouted, okay everyone! Under a doorframe! Which was met by inaction and a chorus of responses...well actually that's not what you're supposed...I heard you go under a desk...isn't there a new procedure?...golden triangle of life...did the lunch lady already swing by?

Bottom line, everyone was fine, though apparently it was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit So Cal in over a decade and rated 5.4 on the Richter scale. Hopefully we're good for another decade...

Week 9 - made it to 10 even

When I weighed myself on Friday I was 155.5. That's ten pounds down from my starting point of 165.5 nine weeks ago. Man, these 10 pounds have made a significant difference. Clothes are fitting better, I'm starting to see more of my waist, and the fanny-pack-shaped flesh hanging over my underwear is starting to diminish.

I'm a little nervous about weighing in this week due to a couple of social gatherings this weekend where I overdid it on the cheese, butter, and oreos. Plus there's a pizza party for tonight's last softball game. I'm already about dozen points over my allotted extra 35 points I'm allowed in a week. On the plus side, I've been motivated to keep up with the exercising with the pounds I've lost and the help of some friends who are helping me get to the gym after work. Unfortunately, I'm not sure it's going to save me from the extra consumption this week. Another plus--I learned how to make 2 point cupcakes--cake mix (without pudding in the mix) and a can diet soda (to replace the eggs, oil, water)!

I'm going to try to remain positive of reaching my goal of 140, my weight just a couple of years ago. We'll see how long it takes me...

when the cat's away - Klee Irwin enters

When the cat's away, this mouse was planning to play. While my old man and my girl were still in Nebraska (I came back first on Monday--straight to work), I had plans. My list included organizing the place, getting some crafty projects down, cleaning so I could relax over the weekend, maybe even catching some arthouse/foreign film on my own.

Instead I came home and ate dinner in front of the tv while I caught up on some of my DVRed shows (wait, that was kind of on my list--check! Nice). I also managed to pass out on the couch while watching said shows only to wake up sweating to paid programming.

Do you know this man? Would you perceive him as an expert on bowel movements and overall health? Would you take it to heart when he is, in essence, claiming if you don't poop out watermelons or pinch loaves as big as Wonder Wheat 4-6 times a day, you need to be concerned? Would you suddenly realize that non-production of forearm-sized poop ore is the reason you suffer from bad sinuses, allergies, rashes, acne, weight gain, fatigue, stiff joints, depression, headaches, frequent colds, bad memory, lack of focus or "just don't feel perfect"? Hey, bummed that your pet died? Take a big dump, sad clown!

This man is Klee Irwin, creator of Dual Action Cleanse. I don't know if it's waking up with a sense of "where am I?! where am I?!" at 4am, but facing this infomercial in a half-conscious state has left me in semi-traumatized--sort of like accidentally seeing your friend's dad naked or when you help clean up someone else's vomit.

I don't like to judge a person's appearance on stuff they can't control, e.g., height, but I can't help but notice the styling options he, indeed, chose to take. Now I'm no professional art director, but perhaps I'd suggest he lighten up on the Magic Tan or return Peter Wentz's eye crayon after the first 2 coats. Plus, there's a 15-year-old who wants his facial hair back--he's gotta cruise the junior high parking lot for prom dates at 2:30. Also, less vaseline in that thin hair-would probably help him appear, uh...less oily, literally and figuratively. And finally, I would suggest a classic suit jacket to give his soft shoulders some authority, considering he's not a doctor or scientist.

Anyhoo, I probably don't need to mention that Klee Irwin is full of sh!t, figuratively, (because I'm sure he'd claim that he literally isn't) as products like these have been deemed unnecessary or worse, unhealthy. But I'm sure he's making pooptastic amounts of money and we'll be seeing more of Klee Irwin. Apparently he's previously created a product called "Steel Libido" and is set to roll out the new improved version, "Libido-Max". Ick, ick, ick.

Please don't let me wake up to that infomercial.

Bridge to Terabithia

I happened to catch Bridge to Terabithia on cable recently. I had resisted seeing it in the theaters with my girl when it came out because I had read the book as a kid and the only thing I remembered was that the girl dies. Yes, the girl dies!

(9 year old me + summer reading list that included BtT) = (BtT=Death)

Sorry if I'm wrecking it for some of you but Paul had caught it on cable earlier--uh...why didn't you tell me the girl dies? I really was not in the mood for that. He had that dejected face of a kid who misheard and thought he was going to "Disney" but his mom said "dentist". So I think I'm doing some of you folks a favor, i.e., it's kind of a downer, people!

When I saw all the commercials, they made BtT look like new chapter in the Chronicles of Narnia. I totally didn't remember any of that. All that I remembered is that the girl dies in the end.

As I was watching it, more of the story came back to me and truth be told, it's a good story. And the movie is well done. I thought all the actors were great especially Josh Hutcherson as the protagonist, Jess Aarons. The fantasy stuff falls short partly because they're a bit cheesy, but mostly because the more interesting scenes of the movies are the parts grounded in reality--family life, school bullies. Watching BtT reminded me what a moving coming-of-age story it is. Even the unexpected gravity of the girl's death at the end is done well (and off-screen, BTW) and enriches the boy's journey.

On the whole I give it a B+. Even knowing about the girl, I was sucked into the story. I suggest watching BtT as a movie, as a coming-of-age story come to life, not as children's entertainment. I guess Disney deserves some kudos for having the stones to produce a movie with an unconventional, un-Disney ending.

Week 8 - down 1.5

Hooray for me. At my week 8 weigh-in I was down 1.5 to 156.5. Which was my weight at week 5, only to go up to 158 for the week 6 & 7. Those weeks were disappointing but like I said, it was to be expected as I had gone way over my alloted points those weeks.

Week 9 isn't looking so promising as I went to Paul's family reunion in Nebraska over the weekend. When it comes to parties there, everything earns the title of "salad" by adding 2 cups of mayo to it, whether it's carrots, macaroni, or marshmallows. The rest of the food included fried chicken, roast beef, green bean casserole, baked beans, cole slaw, Texas toast, and mashed pototes. Believe me, it was one delicious looking buffet, just not so point-friendly. I'd like to think I ate the lightest by eating mostly mashed potatoes and beans. But then I ate a healthy serving of potato salad which turned out to be dip.

I'm trying to do a little damage control the second half of the week and at least exercise the remaining days and tightly manage what I eat. We'll see when I weigh in on Friday...

don't know how long I can keep this up

So I came up with a great idea. The two positive things of following the Weight Watchers program is that it has made me drink water and eat lots of vegetables. I've always known drinking 6 glasses of water and eating 5 servings of vegetables/fruit are good things to do and I feel healthier after including them in my day. But these are two things that definitely don't come naturally to me. I treat these like a quota I have to meet. If I didn't have the WW food log to check off that I've consumed the water and greens, it sho 'nuff wouldn't be done.

Because I pretty much dread getting in the water and vegetables, I try to slam down at least 2-3 glasses of water first thing in the morning to help get it over with. I know, I know, I'm supposed to drink the water throughout the day, but that doesn't naturally happen, and this really helps me meet my quota.

So I came up with the great idea to slam down the vegetables first thing in the morning. So for the past three mornings I have steamed up a pot of broccoli and eaten it for breakfast. This wasn't so hard for me since I'm not one of those people who can only eat "breakfast food" for breakfast and "dinner food" for dinner. For me, I could eat spaghetti for breakfast and Lucky Charms for dinner.

The two positives are one--getting the vegetable quota over with first thing in the day and two--I feel ridiculously full and don't feel the desire to eat for hours. And that sort of rolls into the negatives--I feel almost uncomfortably full--the way that consuming a pot of broccoli would probably do for most people, if you catch my drift. My gut feels huge as it's processing all this greenery. And well, you kind of spend the morning keeping your fingers crossed that you'll have some desired "alone" time to manage the natural consequences caused by consuming such massive amounts of fiber at once.

The main problem I've run into is that after 3 straight days of this, I'm getting kind of sick of it. I couldn't even finish it yesterday morning. Plus my old man complains of the distinctive smell of cooking broccoli hitting him first thing in the morning.

sigh. Back to the drawing board to refine my great idea.

FreeCycle - inaugural loot

I joined my local FreeCycle group. Yes, it's one of those groups where folks offer up stuff for free with a goal of reusing and repurposing stuff rather than buying new and thus, keeping stuff out of landfills. Personally, I'd love to see some of stuff the girl has outgrown (and are still in good condition) go to good use. Like the 3 seasons of t-ball and softball stuff I shelled out new money for only to watch my girl squat on the infield and draw circles in the sand or pick dandelions in the outfield. I'm also looking to get the girl a bike--at this point I've figured out she needs activities where she's somewhat engaged a hundred percent of the time.

I haven't gotten the gumption to put up an Offer or Wanted post yet, but I've been checking out the other Offers. There's definitely stuff I expected to see like a tricycle, toddler swimming pools, bookshelves, entertainment centers, and couches. And the good stuff goes fast--so far I've gone for a gas grill, a foodsaver, and two bottles of Andy Warhol cologne, but I was too slow.

What surprised me was some of the specific stuff folks have Offered: a 5 oz. bottle of Worcestershire sauce, ironing board cover, hair dryer diffuser, an open can of baking powder, a Eurythmics CD, cookie tins, Hawaii Islands Entertainment coupon book, a used maternity bra, hangers, wool cap for a child, fax machine that "needs work", and a plastic Looney Tunes figurine display (no figurines, just the display). Some of this stuff (I'm looking at you, open can of baking powder) doesn't seem worth the gas driving to pick it up. And some of the stuff is so crazy specific like that Hawaii Islands Entertainment coupon book. But what do I know? Most of the above stuff was Taken.

Including that broken fax machine.

Anyhoo, I picked up my first freecycle loot--it took about 5 e-mails and 20 minutes of driving to pick them up:

Worth it? If you don't think so, throw a little mojo my way for a kid's bike or gas grill, would ya?