Still

I'm sick AGAIN. The bad cold is back. This is getting ridiculous.

Nut

Not sure why I haven't talked about the trip to the Nutritionist last week. I guess that it's because I've been really busy and it wasn't as traumatic as I had expected.

It turns out that I'm not as inept as I had expected. I'm not eating the wrong things at all, but I am eating them at the wrong times and with not enough frequency. I need to eat 5-6 small meals or snacks every day. And, I need to stick to as low residue of a diet as I can. The funny thing about that is a low-res diet rules out so many things that are considered healthier... like whole grain bread and broccoli. But, I've always had problems with things like that. So be it.

The most important thing, besides giving my body lots and lots of wonderful nutrients, is to get my metabolism fired up.

I've been working hard to drink lots and lots of water and to bring nutritious snacks with me wherever I go. I've also been putting snacks in tiny snack bags so that I don't eat tons of stuff all at once. We'll see what happens.

In the Company of Women

I went to Chicago this weekend for a sorority reunion. It had been 15 years since I had seen most of the people that came, and it was a wonderful evening. Two of them told me that they came because I was planning on being there, and I was welcomed with open arms by so many.

It was most interesting to me that we all fell into our old patterns. The same people hung around together, and certain people didn't socialize at all, and others made sure to talk to everyone. One woman summed it up perfectly when she said that the first thing that she saw was one certain person sitting at the bar just like old times. And, as expected there was a certain amount of snottiness from others.

Just about everyone was immediately recognizable. Some gained weight, some had lost weight, and some appeared to have bad work done. Most had shiny diamonds on their left hands, and everyone had pictures to show. Thankfully, no one had enormous hair.

I was really quite nervous about going. But, I felt so loved and missed and I was shocked by how much I loved and missed some of them.

And so, I have come home.

Five for Friday

I'm a little early, but I did forget last week. Oops.

Things that make me happy:

1. Yankee Candles.
2. Carrots.
   
3. Feeling helpful.
4. Fully stocked, and freshly cleaned out, freezers.
5. Twitchy cat tails.
   

Things that make me less than happy:

1. Horrific gas and electricity bills.
2. Sinus headaches. I never really had one until we moved to Tennessee, and now they're common. And, they make me throw up.
   
3. My noisy washing machine.
4. Having to clean my own house. It. Never. Ends.
5. The news. For all intents and purposes, I've stopped watching. I read headlines on the major papers and that's it.
   

Cooking Made Easy

A few months ago, D asked if she could borrow one of my freezer-friendly cookbooks. I'm a big proponent of making extra food so that I can freeze some of it. I like to cook, but my energy is rather limited and I don't want to spend a lot of time messing with it. I suggested that we take a Supper Thyme approach to it and work together on making meals. She loved the idea.

I've done both Supper Thyme and Super Suppers in the past, and they're great. It's wonderful not to have to do any prep work or clean up, and each month there are at least 12 recipes that you can choose from. The problem is that it's pretty expensive. For just 6 meals, or 12 if you divide them in half, it can cost over $125. Convenience and variety is great, but right now, money talks.

So, we got together with K and M to talk it out. We set a menu, created a shopping list, and put it all out on Google Documents. We raided our pantries to see what we already had on hand and didn't need to purchase. We looked for sales and hit Costco and Kroger. Yesterday, D, K, and I got together at K's house to prepare 5 meals in freezer ready packages. It took us just over 3 hours to get everything done. The amazing part is that it cost us less than $50 each... which translates into 12 meals for H and I.

We set the menu for next month, and I worked today to get the menu and shopping list posted so that everyone could access it. K and D have memberships to Costco, and D's husband works at Kroger. This way, with a month in advance, we can look for great sales and stock our freezers. This time was a little chaotic for everyone, and M wasn't even able to make the food prep, but that is to be expected for the first time. But, we learned a lot and it will get better in time.

The other lovely part is that we have a box of supplies that we can reuse (such as spices and big Ziploc baggies). That will certainly save money in the long run.

D also mentioned that they are interested in planting a communal garden. We'd all pitch in for seeds and plants, we'd all take care of it, and we'd all share in the harvest. Woo hoo!

Please

Pray for Kari and her little Ike-a-saurus. Things are scary again.

Pure Romance

Homemade Veal Parmigiana. China and silver. Nice wine in crystal glasses. Candles giving off a warm glow. Just the two of us in the dining room celebrating Valentine's Day.

All this splendor accompanied by the smell of singed cat hair.

Dietary Dilemmas Update

So, I got brave and called my GI's office today for a referral to a nutritionist. C, the nurse that I always talk to and just adore, gave me a number for a dietary clinic at Vanderbilt. I called during lunch and got an appointment for 8:30 on Monday. Monday! Holy smokes! I really need to do it before I chicken out.

I'm not sure what I'm so afraid of. I need the guidance and it will only be good for me. And, since Dr. L's nurse recommended them, I'm sure that they'll be fabulous. Help is good.

Dietary Dilemmas

I really need to clean up my act.

Let me clarify. It's not that what I eat is all that terrible. But, I eat the wrong things for my body.

Red meat causes my body to freak out. I'll spare you the gory details, but I can't handle it. Even simple hamburgers just about kill me. And, I don't process raw vegetables that well either. So much for green, leafy salads every day.

I need to eat more protein, because that makes me feel the best. J's Tortilla Soup recipe is cheap, damn good, and makes me feel wonderful because it's full of meat and beans. Peanut butter also works. Cheese is great. Carbs, on the other hand, make me feel incredibly sluggish but that's what I tend to eat because they don't cause any other problems.

I should ask D about her nutritionist. D is incredibly healthy and must be horrified by what she sees here. It's not as much about losing weight as it is about not feeling horrendous any more.

Too Fracking Cool

Radiohead with the USC Marching Band on the Grammys. I don't normally watch the Grammys, but H put them on just in time to catch this. If D wasn't sleeping I would have blasted the roof off the house.

Oh, and to see Gwyneth the Disco Ball. Meh.

Subversive Thought of the Day

I HATED E.T. Yes, I'm shouting, because I always have to justify this. I hated it when I saw it in the theater when I was a kid, and I hated it more when I saw it on DVD as an adult. Hate.

Yes, I do have a heart and I do like sentimental things. But this is just freaking stupid.

Five for Friday

Things that make me happy:

1. Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup.
2. 60 degree days in February, and getting off of work at 3.
3. Yummy leftovers for lunch.
4. Having (mostly) wonderful neighbors.
5. Curling up on the couch with a cat and a good book.
   

Things that make me less than happy:

1. Psycho cats.
2. Perpetual exhaustion.
   
3. Gross smells in the refrigerator.
4. Local Nashville news. All channels are disgraceful.
5. Poky underwire bras.
   

Cat Chaos

A friend of mine from work is staying with us for a little while because she has gone through some pretty heavy stuff in the last week or so. Mom left yesterday, and last night I ran around to make sure that D's room and bathroom were all set.

We (okay, I) had the brilliant idea to shut the girls in our room overnight so that D wouldn't have to worry about them lurking around. I put the litter box in our bathtub, showed them both where it was, and shut the door.

Normally, we leave our bedroom door open so that they have the run of the house. The litter box is kept in the laundry room next door. I put the litter box in the bathtub because I am sick to death of stepping on it in my bare feet, because both beasts track it all over everywhere.

Now, it's no secret that cats are nocturnal animals. Ours lurk all over the house during the night. They also chase each other up and down the hall and stairs. Why on earth would I take that into account when I shut them up in our room with us attempting to sleep?

I was awakened at about 2:45 am to the sound of hissing, which is normal, and them jumping up and down off the bed, which is also normal. What was not normal, however, was the wet spot right next to my head. Turns out that someone had an accident. Right. Next. To. My. Head. If she was trying to prove a point, it worked. I went into the front bedroom to get the comforter, put the cat-pee-covered comforter on the floor in the front room, and tried to lay down again. Sure enough, the sheet was wet as well. K, being all excited at that point, sunk her teeth into H's toe, which elicited a scream from him. H got up to go to the bathroom (in the appropriate place, mind you) and I changed the sheets quickly. At that point, the little monsters were really freaking out. I left the door open so that they could escape, and they both ran down the stairs immediately.

With new sheets and H back in bed, he went to sleep after a lengthy sneezing fit. I lay there worried that D was awakened by the 20 minutes of chaos. She was, of course, but only heard the sneezing fit.

Welcome to our home, D! The room is comfortable, but the cats are badly behaved and you never know what you'll hear in the middle of the night!

You Know That the Economy is Bad When...

Publishers' Weekly Online has a special section that lists email addresses for everyone that has been laid off.

Is it Time?

Mom and I had a talk about wrinkles today. I'm seriously considering buying some really expensive wrinkle cream that she swears by. She also thinks that I should start fending it all off now before I turn 62 and am wrinkly and puffy. But, she's not really wrinkly or puffy!

Not sure why this is freaking me out, but it's consistent with my angst over being 40 in 18 months.

But, who's counting?

Six for Sunday

Things that make me happy:

1. Freshly brewed coffee.
2. Snuggling in bed with H and both cats on a chilly night.
   
3. Spending an evening with Mom getting ready for a party.
4. Getting together with women that I haven't seen in 15 years.
   
5. Not having to vacuum or clean bathrooms because H did it.
   
6. Feeling useful.
   

Things that make me less than happy:

1. Cardboard paper cuts.
   
2. Working efficiently when other people are standing around.
   
3. Money.
4. Big dust rats under the furniture.
5. Dropping bottles of wine at the store. Two in the last week!
6. Friends getting mugged at gunpoint right outside their apartments.