Naps Are Good

Today I took a nap. Not just any nap but a long, no limit, luxuriant nap. My body has been asking for a nap all week. Would I give it to it? No. Every day I found one excuse after another or one distraction after another not to have the nap. And yet, I knew that I really needed a nap.

Now I know that there is a lot of research out there that proves that naps are good for you and that people would be a lot healthier if they took a daily nap. Then why is it that we (well, maybe not all of us so I should amend that to “I”) fight having them. Are we that busy? Do we feel guilty? If I look at my own “non nap” motivators I see a combination of guilt (over not being more productive) and guilt (over taking time when I could be getting things done) … even though when I am tired and need a nap I am WAY less productive than I could be if I did take a nap (??). I know all these things and yet I still fight the nap taking.

Not today though. Today I embraced the nap concept wholeheartedly and it was GOOD. I don’t know that I am more productive for having taken the nap today but my body is certainly happier. Now I just hope that I can sleep tonight.

The picture of the day is in honour of the fact that I finally cleaned my living room carpet. Before Christmas I had ordered a Dirt Devil carpet cleaner on eBay. It was defective. With all the Christmas comings and goings I didn’t get around to ordering another carpet cleaner until a few weeks ago. It is with great fanfare that I offer you this picture of my new (now used) carpet cleaner.

I hope that you have had a terrific day!

Ella

PS There is a note going around Facebook encouraging people to write 25 Random Things about themselves. I was going to add them to my About Me Section but they have a 1200 word limit. I will add them here instead.

1. I won Miss Grey Cup at my University one year (the prize was dinner for 2 at a local restaurant).


2. I would love to be really, really, really rich.


3. I came to the realization that I am surprisingly (at least I was surprised) uncoordinated when I joined a Step Class at the Gym. This realization was confirmed as fact when I got my Wii.



4. My first pet was a turtle named Leslie. She was a painted turtle that I caught myself. I used to feed her hamburger and lettuce from my hand and let her wander around on the living room rug. Our landlord gave me a companion turtle (named Boo Boo) that he purchased at a store. Boo Boo had a disease and killed them both. I still think of them once in a while.


5. I knew that I would marry my husband on our first date.


6. I can’t imagine living life without having a pet.


7. I get really sad when I think that people aren’t happy with their lives … and don’t know that they can change that.


8. My cat Sasha counts herself as the bodyguard for my dog … or maybe she thinks that it is her dog. She will attack any dog that she thinks is threatening her dog (whether they are or not). For about 3 weeks after one of these attacks she has “blood lust” and will attack any “strange” dog in her vicinity. Our neighbours with dogs all know this about her and keep well away.


9. I wish that my dad was alive to see how I grew up, what we have done with our lives, and see his grandkids. I miss him still even though it has been 23 years since he died.


10. I wish that I could have a better relationship with my mother. We are so different. I know that our relationship is a disappointment to her. As a mother myself I would be disappointed in her place too.


11. My memory is piss poor. Almost on par with my coordination.


12. I am thankful that I have a bad sense of smell. It helps when you have an old dog. I do have very good hearing though.


13. I am proud of my accomplishments and the person that I am.


14. In another life I would have been an actress.


15. I don’t hate getting old and yet I do. I wish that we had more than one life because I have enough on my life’s To Do list for at least 10 lives.


16. I have always secretly (and not so secretly) wished that I was a witch like Samantha (Bewitched).


17. My oldest possession is my Dive card.


18. I like activities with a purpose.


19. I used to love smoking and was never ashamed of it. I would smoke again if they found out that it wasn’t a health risk.


20. An every man for themselves attitude really bothers me. I believe that a culture with this attitude is callous and mean. While I am neither a communist nor a socialist I believe that some of their tenets are sound.


21. I think that my husband is terrific! (Despite this photo and probably partially because of it)


22. Now that I am no longer working as a systems analyst / computer geek I have become somewhat of a Luddite (or at least my husband tells me).


23. I wish that I had a best friend that lived close to me. I really miss that.


24. I love my cottage.


25. I am really happy with the kind of adults my kids are turning into. They make me proud.

Is It Our Duty To Hire?

There is a concept that I have been thinking about lately partly based on a comment in a book that I read and partly triggered by my trip to Japan. I am still working it all out but I think that it is important and may help make a real difference so please indulge my ramblings as I try to talk it through.

I don’t know if any of you are familiar with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. This series is mostly for young adults but enjoyed by “old” adults also. It is kind of like Friends meets Botswana meets Detecting. But the kind of detecting is whether or not the contestant in a beauty contest has a good character or whether a brother’s wife has good character or which one of the three suitors that a woman beauty shop owner has is trying to marry her for her money (i.e. which one has good character). So I think that you get the idea. The series is all about “good character”. In each story, just as in each episode of friends, nothing much happens and yet the “story” moves forward.

In one of the books the main character Mma Ramotswe discusses the practice in traditional Botswana society of hiring help – kitchen help, a maid, gardener, etc. – and I am not talking about only the “rich” people doing it but anybody who has more than 2 beans to rub together. In the book she (the character) talks about how it is a person’s duty to hire someone and give someone a job. Now, in the story, Mma Ramotswe is barely making ends meet. She owns her detective agency but she hardly makes an income at all, drives an ooooold white van, is foster mother to 2 children, but she has a full time maid plus full time help in her agency. She talks about how by giving a job to someone else you allow them to feed their family and they may even hire someone so that they can feed their family and so on down the line. This is a truly different way than we think in the “West”.

Now Mma Ramotswe could probably buy herself a newer car, or some new dresses, or some new furniture with the money that she pays her maid / housekeeper. She might put some money in her savings account and build up a tidy nest egg with the money that she pays her employee (that she really doesn’t need as business isn’t that great). Yet she knows that by hiring her housekeeper and her agency employee that she is helping them feed their families. That she is making a difference to a host of other people. You might argue that by buying the goods to enhance her life she is helping the store keeper and the manufacturers and the shareholders. Is this better? Is it the same? You could then argue that she is ultimately still doing this because her housekeeper and agency employee will spend their income on food and other goods. The more I think about it the more I think that this is a way of thinking that we should examine a bit more. What if each one of us hired someone to help us? Could we give up one of our vacations to hire some help? Do we really need that new TV, iPod, iPhone, car? How much would we gain by freeing up the time that we spent on the things that we hired the person to do? What if we didn’t feel that we had to “do it all”? What if we could turn that around and say “I don’t have to do this because I will actually be helping someone if I hire them to do it”? Can we change our cultural patterns and social psychological norms to make this change? What would / could a “hiring” revolution do to our economy? To our unemployment levels?

More questions in a minute – back to Japan for a sec. In Japan, in the stores and in the restaurants and in the gas stations, in fact, in any business there are WAY, WAY more people working in them than you would EVER see here at home. You might have 4 store clerks working in a 10’ x 10’ shop. They are all pleasant and never pushy. They greet you when you walk in the door and they are all attentive just in case you might want help. They aren’t like those sales people here on commission that only are nice to you because you might buy something. They don't crowd or pester you making you feel alternately like a shoplifter and prey. They aren't there because a psychological study about shoplifting said that there is a 35% (or something like that) reduction on shoplifting if you are greeted when entering a store. They are just there to help ... if you need it. Even the briefest questioning look on your face or gesture and someone is by your side helping you. Nice. Try that in Walmart or even Macy’s. And you get the feeling that they want to help you. There are enough employees that when you check out they ask if the item is a gift and will individually wrap every one even if they only cost $1 each. They treat the dollar purchases as well as they treat the $500 purchases. You feel special walking out the door (part of that is also the greeting both in and out of the store by all the employees). Could they do that if they had 1 employee working in the store as we often see here? What gets sacrificed in customer service so that the bottom line can be a bit higher and prices can be a bit lower? How much would you pay extra so that each purchasing experience was a joy? Even when I shopped at the 100 Yen Store (equivalent of the Dollar Store I felt like a million bucks (small pun but it amused me). I didn’t feel just a little dirty like I do if I go into a Dollar Store here.

And getting gas is also a joy (funny me again!). You drive up to the pump directed by 2, 3, or 4 gas jockeys. They fill up your tank and wash your windows. They are smiling and polite and quick. They don’t make it seem like it is a chore to fill up your car, that it is a chore to wash your windows, they make it feel like it is the best part of their day. Is it? Probably not but they have such a great customer service ethic that they wouldn’t let you see that it wasn’t. I also don’t get the feeling that they feel that their job in a “lower” class job. Maybe I’m wrong. When did it get in our minds as a culture that if you weren’t working in an office, if you didn’t have a degree, if you weren’t a “professional” that you were somehow lower on the scale than the rest of them. We are a nation built on manual laborers. How have we gotten to the point that manual laborers are frowned on, that they are jobs only good for immigrants, students, parolees, and trailer trash? (I am talking about perception here not reality) I think that we need to re-examine ourselves a bit here. Now, in the west we have self serve which we have pretty well all gotten used to. Is this better? How have we helped our society by eliminating the gas jockeys? Sure the gas station gets a few more bucks added to its bottom line but the customers don’t have “service” and there are a few more people in the unemployment line (and who pays for that?).

The more I look at this concept of it being our duty to hire someone combined with the “evidence” as seen in the customer service culture of Japan the more I think that this could be a concept that could save us. That sounds bold but I really mean it. The west has gotten very greedy, very “me” oriented, very each-man-for-himself focused and I think that it hurts us all. It hurts as a nation, it hurts the economy; it hurts as a culture. Adopting this “duty” could be a step in creating a kinder and gentler world; to creating a kinder and gentler people. It would take us away from focusing on me to focusing on we (sorry for sounding so cliche). Not only that I think that it could save us in terms of our economy. It would help blur some of the lines between rich and poor. It would help us by keeping people working instead of getting into trouble or being on welfare.

So please, throw away your thoughts about having to be superwoman or superman by handling it all yourself. Decide that you will probably be freed up to either earn more income or spend more time with your family or friends or on your own recreations if you had help doing some of the more menial chores or even the chores that you don’t like to do. Think about what you could do with an extra 2 – 3 hours per week or perhaps more. Decide to hire someone – do it for you and do it for them!

I know that I have rambled on a bit and I may edit this post once I solidify my ideas. In the meanwhile, thank you for indulging me. I hope to read your comments about my theory (and believe me I KNOW that there are holes, counter arguments, etc out there).

Have a terrific day!

Ella



PS I worked out with Little John yesterday and my strength class today and my muscles are screaming. I am okay if I bend at the waist to pick something up on the floor but God help me if I try to bend my legs!! In honor of my inner thighs I present the picture of the day.

Everyone Loves Babar … Especially Pedro!

We have a little friend who visits when his mama goes out of town. Let’s call him Pedro (name changed to protect the guilty). We love having Pedro visit and I think that Pedro loves visiting us too but I suspect that we aren’t the reason that he loves to visit … that would be because of Babar (name not changed). Now, when we first invited Pedro to stay with us we never suspected that he had a thing for stuffed elephants. I mean who would? To look at him you would never assume that he had “that” kind of wild side. I discovered it the first time that he came to visit. I am not sure why Babar was on my office floor. I am not sure why I had to walk in when I did. Unfortunately, I can never take back what I saw. Poor Babar. Poor me. Without getting graphic and / or giving you nightmares I will just say that Babar gets a good ½ hour workout every morning. You machine Pedro!

In honor of Pedro’s visit I give you the picture of the day …

Channeling Thelma and Louise

I had a strange dream last night. Sort of an Ella and Pumpkin channel Thelma and Louise. I don’t often remember my dreams the next day but this one stuck with me. The main question that came out of the dream is: If you drive away when you have been pulled over (while the police are walking up to your car) and then drive around the corner (you have time because there would be a little lag time before they could get into their vehicle) and then get out of the car and walk away could you still be charged with driving without a license? Charged with car theft? I know I know … they have cameras in the police cars but how reliable are they? Did they get a good look at me? These are just some of the silly things that I think of at 5am.

I went to Step class for the first time since before leaving for Japan. I felt really bad for the girl behind me. It was her first class, it was a tough routine, and she was behind me. God help her if she even tried to follow a thing that I was doing! I did warn her though. It was a fairly difficult routine (even some of the long-timers thought so) (And, no comments from the peanut gallery - it makes me feel better thinking this is the reason that I suck so badly) and I didn’t get half of it! I am counting on my Wii Basic Step (claims to improve rhythm) to make me the queen of the Step Class! I think that this Mii looks amazingly determined. I wonder whether I look that determined when I do my steps?

At Christmas I bought these very cute “Ugly” dolls. By now you know that I LOVE cute! I don’t know what I am going to do with it yet but right now it is enjoying living on my desk. Any ideas?

And now I have a “date” with my in box.

Have a wonderful day!

Ella

PS. My sister-in-law asked for this recipe. It is a terrific energy pick-me-up. I haven't done the calorie count but it might be hefty. It might be hefty but it is natural and is a great power boost.

Power Spheres yields 15 spheres

¾ cup dried Apricots
¾ cup dried Apple
4 brown rice cakes
1 cup unsweetened coconut
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup rolled oats
1 ¼ cups fruit sweetener (this can be adjusted to taste)
½ cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup sesame seeds (for coating the spheres)

1. In a food processor, pulse the apricots, apples (you can substitute other dried fruits), and rice cakes to a fine texture. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
2. Next, pulse the coconut, seeds, and oats to roughly combine. Add to the fruit mixture along with the fruit sweetener and peanut butter.
3. Mix everything together until well combined (you may have to adjust the ingredients to make them come together.
4. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.
5. Roll the dough into approximately 2 oz balls. Roll the balls in toasted sesame seeds to coat, pressing them in slightly.
6. Serve, or wrap in plastic and refrigerate.

From Rebar Cookbook

No rest for the Wicked, Weary … or the Jet Lagged?

I feel like a bag o’ rats! I was happily working away on the computer last night and looked up … it was 1:30am! I wasn’t even tired. Well, I can tell you, by 4:30am I was tired but I still wasn’t asleep!!! It was sometime after that that I finally did fall asleep. When I woke up at 9:30am I felt like crap. And, even though I was “awake” I wasn’t really. I dragged myself to the gym to “play” with Little John. I asked him to take it easy on me and, thankfully, he did. I meant to stick around and work out a bit more but once I got to the change room (small pit stop) I lost all motivation. I think that it was the sitting down.

I would love to tell you that my motivation returned and I swept through my to do list like wildfire but I didn’t. I putzed around and did get some stuff done but it wasn’t up to my usual. Lately it does seem like usual though and it bugs me a little bit. I am going to have to do some thinking about it.

I think that my picture of the day brightens it up a bit. My old ironing board cover was shot. It looked like it had been through the mill. I looked in the stores for a new cover but they were so boring. If you have to iron then it's best to try to make it fun don’t you think? I love the Internet and I love eBay. After all, they brought me this ironing board cover. I decided to celebrate Fun in Ironing with this picture.



Have a terrific day!

Helene

Home Again Home Again Jiggity-Jog

It was a loooong flight back home. 14 hours on an airplane is about my limit. Well, I guess I could do more if I had to but I am glad that I didn’t have to. I am glad to be back home again as much as I loved being with Prince Charming!

So far today I have been fairly slug-like. I woke up a little too late to get to Step Class and so I Wiied for an hour (up almost a pound! Boooo!). Since then I have been doing paperwork and basically moving very slowly. It is hard for me to even get the energy to make my To Do list! Akkk! I MUST get my act together!!! That statement makes me think of when we were young and did “I must, I must, I must increase my bust!” exercises (they didn’t help)

I am starting a Project 365-esque photo of the day. My new cute pink camera arrived while I was in Japan. Thinking about what the first photo should be I initially took pictures of the dog poop that was all over a green lawn-like rug that I put down in my office (apparantly when I was away the dogs decided that the upstairs "lawn" was a perfect place for a mid-afternoon (only guessing here) poo. While the poo pictures did turn out just great, on reflection, I decided not to inflict either a close-up poo shot or a multi-poo plus rug shot. You are welcome (anticipating your thanks for this consideration). I decided that you might as well see my cute pink camera as it will be recording the year. All of these mental gymnastics went on yesterday so this is actually yesterday's shot. Do you think that I should do a two photo day tomorrow to "catch up" or just stay one day behind as this blog is usually one day behind? Hmmm ... something to think about (regular Tony Robbins line).

And so what will I do today? I will use this blog to force me to put a few things on my list.

• RPM Week
• Create this week’s menu
• Cheques to the Knave
• Mail Abu’s letters
• Email Alice
• Review Contractor Bid and respond
• P365 Photo of the Day
• Water plants
• Laundry
• Client Cordy call
• Grocery shop
• Wii another hour (Strength exercises)

That seems like enough for now.

Have a terrific day!

Ella

PS I will try to be more witty and urbane tomorrow

35 Million is A LOT!

Did you know that there are about 35 million people living in Tokyo? Me neither (If you said No). I think that we saw most of them today as we were walking around the Shibuya district. I have included a picture here (not taken by me) to give you an idea of what it’s like.



Prince Charming and I had a very relaxing day. We fiddle-farted around the hotel for a LONG time, went to lunch, and then moseyed up to the Shibuya district (we went by Metro and walked back), and are now relaxing once again before dinner. Tough life!! I am “resting up” for tomorrow’s long plane ride. Feel sorry for me as I will have to be at the airport almost 7 hours before my flight (Prince Charming leaves much earlier).

This trip has been fun but I am looking forward to getting back to little Jack, good ol’ Logan … and, of course, my Wii.

Have a terrific day!

Ella

There's No Business Like Snow Business!

I SAW SNOW MONKEYS!!!! We arrived at our Ryokan just before 3pm and were out the door on our way to the Monkey Park at just past 3pm. It is about a 2km walk to the Monkey Park along a path through the woods from the parking area. I was racing as we thought that the park closed at 4pm. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we finally saw the entrance and paid our money. We were in! Immediately we saw our first monkey and then our next and our next. They were everywhere! And soooooo cute!!! We took about 100 pictures within the first 5 minutes. Monkeys in the snow, monkeys on the path, monkeys on the railing, monkeys in a tree, monkeys eating, monkeys … well, you get the idea. And then, we came across the monkey “hot tub”. It was just like being in a National Geographic special (even with the other people there). It really was wonderful. There was such a delight to seeing them soaking in the hot water, steam rising, grooming each other, and generally looking cute. We were also there for feeding time which was also wonderful. I have included a few of the better pictures so that you can enjoy them also.

After we came back from the Monkey Park we indulged in a little hot spring soaking ourselves. The baths are segregated which is nice because I didn’t really feel like sitting around naked with a bunch of strange Japanese men. After our skin turned appropriately red we rejoined in our room to go to dinner. Our Ryokan provided a private multi-course dinner for us which was lovely and while "traditional" it wasn't too too Japanese at the same time (read pickled fish stuff). Dress for dinner and ryokan-wandering was a Yukata which is a kind of Japanese cotton housedress (kind of like an informal Kimono). Our room was typically old-style Japanese with rice mats on the floor and really no furniture at all. Our beds were thick mats laid out on the rice mats. It was Spartan but nice. Breakfast this morning was also typically Japanese and not exactly to my taste. I love Japanese food but my tum isn’t really ready for pickled vegetables, mushroom soup, and dried fish in the morning :)

Prince Charming has always wanted to see the Sea of Japan so off we went. He splashed his hands about in the Sea and pronounced it good.
We are now ensconced in the Grand Hyatt Tokyo in the Rappongi District. It is definitely GRAND.

I hope that you are having as terrific day as I am!

Ella

Haven’t You Always Wanted a Monkey?

Today we are going to see the “Snow Monkeys” and I am excited. Prince Charming had all of these romantic plans made for us at this super shi-shi hot springs Ryokan north of Nikko and then I found out that there were monkeys near Nagano …

You have to understand how much I love monkeys. I really love them. I would own one if I could (although I understand that they are fond of poo-throwing which I don’t think that I would like). Every trip that I have been on to Japan has been with the hope of seeing monkeys but never have. I always thought that the “Snow Monkeys” (I put them in quotes because all the web sites that talk about them use quotation marks) lived up in the northern islands (somewhere “up there”). Never did I imagine that they were a mere few hours away from Tokyo!! Oh joy! Oh bliss! The potential to see the monkeys! We were initially going to stick to the romantic plan and just add on the additional 4+ hours of driving but, being the Prince he is, Prince Charming convinced me that we could easily have monkeys AND romance at a hot springs Ryokan near the monkeys. And so, it’s off to see the monkeys, the wonderful monkeys of Yudanka (no WAY that I could find an Oz rhymer for this one – let me know if you come up with one). I will report back tomorrow!!

Last night we had another adventure in restaurant land. The food was terrific with not a rectum in site although, technically, it was on the menu. Really, there must be something big lost in translation when 3 out of 4 restaurants offer it on the menu! We ended up having some wonderful sashimi and I would love to be able to tell you the story but without big hand gestures, squishy facial movements, and a bunch of charades I think that it would be impossible. This was definitely a visual event. Use your imagination and make it funny and you are probably close.

Have a terrific day!

Ella

PS Japan is terrific for those of us watching our calories. You don’t have to worry about portion size, they don’t really do sweets unless it is some sweetened bean paste thing, and the rice that you eat usually keeps you full until the next meal so not a lot of snacking is involved. I think that my belly looks smaller. The real test will be when I go home in a few days and step on the scale.

Lazy Day!

I’m feeling pretty lazy today. It is almost noon and I have been fiddle-farting around on the computer, idly watching inaugural coverage on CNN, and staring out the window to see if it looks any warmer outside (it doesn’t). Lazy, lazy day! Soon though the maid will come to clean up the room and I will be a good excuse to get off my ass and do something.

Later that same day …

Well, the cleaning lady came much sooner than I expected and so out I went. I had been thinking about renting a bike and exploring the more than 48 km of bike and walking trails in Tsukuba. Instead I decided to walk to a bakery that one of our friends here recommended. I always like having a destination so that it feels like my walk has a purpose. I also picked up a few items at the 100 Yen store (requested after my last post) and my Starbucks of the day.

Last night we went to a “Chabu Chabu” dinner. The closest thing that I can equate it to is a Mongolian Hot Pot. It was terrific and the broth at the end made me wonder how I could make it at home.

The new Moon Rover took part in the Inaugural Parade. Our favorite Scottish lad (and brand new US citizen) took part in the parade. We are so proud of the astronauts and support staff that participated. What a historic day!

Here are some YouTube links from the parade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c2jN0k0k68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RPWmk-vb9w (start about 1/2 way through)

I loved the delighted look on President Obama and Mrs. Obama's face with the Moon Rover. Bodes well for future funding I hope.

Tomorrow we are off to a Ryokan near the Yunishigawa Hot Springs. We are looking forward to relaxing and spending time together. Our crossword puzzle book awaits. I hope to see some monkeys.

Have a terrific day!

Ella

Flower Elephants and Pork Rectums

Last night we went to a restaurant that offered pork rectum on the menu. I didn’t choose it. Our other choices were pork gristle, pork diaphragm, pork esophagus, pork gullet (does a pig have a gullet), and other “tasty” pork bits. Do you think that there is a restaurant hierarchy out there where Restaurant A gets the pork tenderloin and Restaurant B gets the rectum? Did this restaurant actually choose to purchase rectum? You can’t imagine that they did. And yet the restaurant was fairly full. Hmmm … I want to reiterate that I DID NOT eat pork rectum!

Yesterday I spent a perfectly lovely day puttering and shopping. I spent about 2 hours in the 100 Yen store alone. It was wonderful. I purchased these terrific “save the environment” bags because they say it all:


Sweet my Life it is!

I bought some fun exercise journals too. I use journals for all sorts of things. I use them to write down random thoughts, which books I am going to order from the library, travel planning, to dos, Tim Gunn’s wardrobe must haves, etc. Naturally, it is way, way better / nicer to write down these things in journals that make you smile. Here are a few of cover shots of the journals that I bought yesterday:

I also purchased some bath salts with sayings like “Humanity is fighting against tired” and hanging car fragrance things that offer “Put Yellow Mushroom on West Direction when you want to be cheerful and rich people”.

I will be smiling for months!!!

Today I am going to wander around Tsukuba and see what I can see. The weather is decent and I have my fill of journals and Sweet My Life bags. (If you want me to pick you up any of these fun items please let me know).

I hope that we get to go to Restaurant A tonight although, now that I think about it, Restaurant B is pretty good for my “diet”.

Have a good one!

Ella

PS I have had a heck of a time with this post. I wrote an amazingly witty and urbane post that I completely lost somehow (fiddling with formatting). You should have read it! Amazing! Best post that I ever wrote. I have also had a heck of a time with the pictures (I don’t like this new version of Word) and I need to know more about HTML. Akkk!

I'm Not Unbalanced Just Uncoordinated!

I just love Japan. Every time I visit here my delight in the country is reinforced. I love cleanliness. I love the food but most of all I love the cuteness. The people are small and cute. They dress cutely. Their haircuts are cute. Many of the girls walk pigeon-toed in cute shoes /boots (cute because they are size 2 or 3 or some other silly and completely non-American adult number) and wear bum-skimming cheerleader-type skirts. Most of them are thin so they can pull off this look and still look cute. A lot of the girls have squeaky little voices – cute. They greet you as you walk into the store and hail you out of the store. They have stores full of cute things. As I love cute things it is paradise. I am off shopping today. I will report on the cute things that I buy tomorrow.

My sister-in-law has found some websites that help you find your Disney character. I did one quiz and came up with Gaston for me. I didn’t like that website very much!! I found another few and Prince Charming and I attempted to find out who we were. Prince Charming came up as Li Shang from Mulan and he does embody all the terrific characteristics of that character. I came up with Belle, Ariel, and Cinderella (I can live with that). As Prince Charming had already dubbed me Ella I will stay with her. Plus I think that I feel like Cinderella far more than the other two young ladies. Naturally, if I am Ella I must have my Prince Charming. And so, Prince Charming he stays.

My sister-in-law came up with Megara from Mulan. She had a number of “evil” choices. I want to know why I didn’t get some evil choices. Sometimes the evil characters are so much more interesting. I think that Megara is a terrific choice for her. Here is Megara’s description:
Megara is a heroine with attitude, Megara is always quick with a wisecrack. Although she begins her career as an assistant to Hades, she quickly falls for the hunky Hercules and refuses to sell him out to her evil boss. To save her new love, Megara must undo the deception she started. She is tough, witty, and resourceful.

I am going to send out an appeal for my friends and family to do the quiz and come up with their character. Or they can just pick their favorite. To find your own character go to the following websites:
Which Disney Character are You?: http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=BrandosQuiz1
What Disney Female are You?: http://www.selectsmart.com/plus/select.php?url=Disney
There is also the quiz that categorized me as Gaston and Prince Charming as the White Rabbit at: http://www.youthink.com/quiz.cfm?action=go_detail&sub_action=take&obj_id=2492 (the answers are all male characters)

I had a lot of time on the airplane to think about my Wii. Hey, it was a long flight!!! (1 movie, 5 TV shows, 2 ½ books, multiple naps, and lots of time to think). I came up with a kind of sad / glad realization. I don’t think that I am unbalanced (as all the “Balance” exercises imply) I think that I am just amazingly uncoordinated. Here is my “proof” – let me know what you think. I did all of the Yoga exercises and scored either 3 or 4 stars (out of 4) and got tons of praise from the trainer for my good balance. I got praised in some of the strength exercises for my balance and strength. Then I did the “Balance” exercises and my poor little Mii hangs her head down almost every time. The verdict – Unbalanced. The difference between the Yoga “balance” poses and the Balance “balance” exercises is that in the Yoga poses you just have to do the pose and stay with your center of gravity concentrated in a yellow circle. This I can do creating tight little scribble circles of balance. In the Balance exercises you have to do things like Soccer ball headers (avoid the shoes and Pandas); Ski a slalom course; play a tilt-the-ball-in-the-hole game; Float Down the river in a bubble, etc. These all involve movement and coordination. Now, if you have seen me in step class or watched me trying to do even the Wii Basic step you would realize that I am not one of the most coordinated people around. It is something that I have come to peace with. In light of this revelation I am going to take heart in every little improvement in scores that I get and know that I might be finding my own personal Alzheimer’s cure with my Wii - Just one more reason to keep playing.

Have a wonderful day!

Ella

Names Changed To Protect The Guilty

A few friends and family have pointed out to me that the Internet might not be the safest place to telegraph all of our names and details. On one hand I doubt that there will be enough people besides friends and family (and I don’t even know if they will) that will read this blog that I would ever have to worry. On the other hand this blog may become amazingly popular that a gazillion people will read it every day. There will be a few obsessed fans that decide to learn all about us. Blogs will be started about our family and maps printed to our home. Our dog will be kidnapped and held ransom and Prince Charming will apply for a job and be turned down because of some embarrassing tidbit from my blog. In light of this possibility I have changed the names in the blog to protect the guilty and innocent alike. For those of you that actually read this blog please send me your preference for your alias otherwise you will have to put up with what I come up with myself.

I am now going to admit something. Drum roll! My Wii Mii is tired. Her legs hurt, even her shoulders hurt! I don’t think I could Wii again today. I did every Yoga pose, every Aerobics exercise, every Strength exercise, and every Balance exercise. Do you think that might be why I am sore? Just when I thought that I was getting to the end I would earn enough Piggy Bank minutes to get a new exercise. Instead of being excited I just groaned. Good thing that I am leaving for Japan in the morning! My Mii needs a rest.

So I am off to Japan this morning. Sayonara,

Ella

PS I wrote this post before departing for Japan but didn’t get a chance to post it. Sorry that I’m late. I’ll write more tomorrow when I am less brain dead.

Neener Neener Sister-in-Law

So my sister-in-law made me the subject of her blog yesterday taunting me about my Wii age and generally mocking me (not that I didn't deserve it). I can take the licks especially because (drum roll) my Wii age is now 50! Still not under my actual age but if I can take 5 years off every day I will be a ... wait, I might be a pimply teen in just a few days - that won't be good! In that case perhaps I had better cut down on the Wii play and spend more time on my actual life. Hey, I just realized that I am like a virtual Benjamin Button. Not having seen the movie I am not sure whether that is good or bad but I know that Brad Pitt ain't bad so I think that can keep the metaphor? Analogy? straight comparison? I always hesitate what to call that. I could always look it up I guess. (I looked it up - it's analogy).

Today is filled with To Dos surrounding my trip to Japan tomorrow morning. With all the Wiiing I haven't given it much thought. I guess that it is about time to start.

I really like Japan. I like the order and the politeness. I like that the whole country runs on the "Quality" principle (at least from my tourist point of view it does). For some reason even driving on the other side of the road is easier in Japan than it is in England.

I am looking forward to going to the 100 Yen store and supplementing my supply of nylon shopping bags with funny English phrases on them and the notebooks that have cute bears on thecover with captions like "Spring is for Picnic" and "You should surely to be happy". On each page is written "Happiness is sent to you". When I can get happiness sent to me for 100 yen I am indeed happy!

I am looking forward to Sushi galore. I am looking forward to feeling tall. I am looking forward to exploring. And most of all I am looking forward to seeing Prince Charming :) The only thing that I will be sad about is leaving my Wii (huge grin at sister-in-law - you have time to get one and practice before I get back).

So off I go! My To Do list awaits ...

Have a Happiness Day!

Ella

Weeeee Fit

My Wii arrived today! I returned home after exercising, running around, lunch with Pongo and the like and was just sitting down to write my blog when lo and behold I spied a big box on the porch. "What could that be?" I thought. "Could it be my Wii?" and yes, it was.

Since then Pongo and I have been playing almost non-stop!

I set up the Wii Fit portion and had my initial body test - Wii age? 55!!! 55??? What the hell???? 55 - I poo on 55!! Naturally, this has provided me A LOT of incentive to play these Wii Balance, Yoga, Cardio, whatever games until I can prove to this machine that I am NOT 55!!!! Can you tell that I was pleased by my score?

In the Balance games if you get an "Unbalanced" score your player hangs its head dejectedly. Mine's head seems constantly down by its knees and it isn't doing yoga. Who knew that I was so unbalanced (I imagine that Prince Charming and the kids might be smirking right now)? Luckily, I am a competitive little sucker even against a machine and so I think that I will be getting my money's worth out of this toy.

I didn't even print out my To Do list today. And now that I have the Wii .....

Have a terrific day!

Ella

Bad TV and Me

Did you know that there is a show on TV called "Rock of Love Bus"? It is some aging rock star called Bret Michaels (I have no idea who he is) that wears way too much pancake makeup and a silly bandana across his forehead. He is "looking for love and perhaps the next Ms. Michaels" (there has never been a first Ms. Michaels) on his tour bus full of skanks. It is too much. Here are a group of at least a dozen diseasy (small pun there)-looking women who, in the episode that I saw, had to dress up in porn star, lingerie-like wedding garb and give him some Bret-"like" wedding vows which for these women included what they would do with him on their "wedding night" (I don't think that some of them were legal in all states). The reception for the "winners" (re skankiest vows and sluttiest clothing) involved each bride giving Bret a lap dance. As you can imagine there is a lot of "bleeping" on the show as these jealous (dare I call them) ladies cat fight and bicker over who loves Bret more (I think that they have talked to him about 10 minutes total) and who is a bigger ho. Oh my God!!! To think of what I have been missing while To Doing in the land of the healthy!

Speaking of healthy - I am still not though yesterday's viewing entertainment certainly helped me on the road to recovery. I did my Pilates class in the morning, stopped at CVS for more cold meds, did some cardio and then worked out with trainer Little John. He really is terrific ... and sadistic in a very cute way. I was so hungry that I grabbed some grocery store sushi and ate it in the car. A few more errands and then, home. By the time that I got home I was so beat that I barely made it into bed. All thoughts of my To Do list were banished. I awoke 3 hours later groggy and unmotivated ... the couch and TV called.

Consequently I am so far behind for the week that I am in "Do Your Best Mode". I have a client in a few minutes and after that I will have another nap which doesn't help cross things off the list. On a happy note, I have been eating pretty well these past few days but haven't seen any nudge on the scale yet.

For today:

• Copy key to BA House and tag
• Email CS re cooking classes
• Do 1 German lesson
• Update blog
• Install basement door knobs
• Step / Abs class
• Enter Items in food journal
• Read Brian Tracy newsletter
• Coaching client
• Do any other things on each days' list that I have the energy to do
• NAP

Have a terrific day!

Ella

Starting with a Fizzle

I am dragging around this morning. My cold is kicking my butt (I realize that I had the flu before and now I have a cold) and I have Pilates today followed by a trainer session (with some cardio in between). My To Do list it reads like the cleaning of the Aegean stables. I don't feel like doing ANY of it. I just feel like laying on the couch under a blankie with the fireplace on and watching bad TV. It is a pity party moment for sure!!

To further the pity party moment I overate yesterday big time at dinner. I made this Cooking Lite breaded chicken recipe that I ate perhaps 3 portions of. Thank goodness it was Cooking "Lite". I also ate popcorn yesterday - full butter - full bag! It was GREAT! Until I had to record it in my food journal that is.

I did most of my To Do list yesterday and have added the things that I missed on to today's list. I didn't finish the door knobs because the existing ones had some screws rusted into place. I oiled them and then had Pongo give them a try and he managed to get them off. Yea Manpower)

I will keep poking at my To Do list today until I finally decide that the couch is too appealing. I am not going to push it today as I am leaving on Saturday for Japan and want to make sure that I am better by then.

• Telephone Mulan
• Copy BA's house key and tag both copies
• Do 1 German Lesson
• Update my blog
• Investigate Tilt Shift Photography
• Investigate iPod to Computer transfer
• Email ELH re Prince Charming's 50th
• Decide on a stock to buy
• Take box of books to 1/2 Price Books
• Filing - 15 minutes
• Look for receipt for garage door opener
• Set up automatic backup for desktop to portable HD
• Complete transfer of My Document files to HD
• Reorganize portable HD
• Email CS re cooking lessons
• Pilates class
• Little John trainer class
• Enter items in food journal
• Grocery shopping
• Install bike lights
• Go to home depot
• Plant basil plants
• Tell contractor about basement doors
• Email JC re decorating appt
• Intall basement door knobs
• Read Brian Tracy newsletter
• Complete coaching model

And we shall see what actually gets done!! Off to Pilates!

Ella

Dream a Little Dream of Me?

Have you ever had a dream and woke up mad at the person that you were dreaming about? I had just one of those dreams last night. Prince Charming is VERY lucky that he wasn't here otherwise ... (fill in violent action here). I dreamt that he told me that he had fallen for someone but didn't want to hurt the other person that he was in love with. I was very sympathetic and comforted him. It was only later that my brain said "HEY!!! The other person that he was in love with???". I spent from about 4am until 5am coming up with an ironclad post-nup. Wait until I see him next week!!!

My cold seems to be trying to come back!?! After feeling pretty darned good for at least 1/2 of Saturday and all yesterday this morning I woke up achy and with the sniffles. I will have to keep an eye on it. It did give me an excuse not to do the strength class today which I only feel slightly guilty about. I did a bunch of errands and came home and did an ICA class so that made me feel better about missing it. Besides, I felt like a bag o' rats after the step and abs class so I probably made the right decision.

Today is another busy day and I feel great about it! I have accomplished more in the past 2 days than I did for the past 2 weeks! Well, maybe a slight exaggeration but I have accomplished a lot. I managed to do everything on yesterday's list except getting the office ready to start working on the Mosaic and the optional filing. I have a class later this afternoon so I will do some filing then.

I am a little sad because I just called about my KitchenAid mixer. In June I bought a Commercial KitchenAid mixer for at the cottage. I had to haul it there and then haul it over to the island. When I tried to use it it was extremely underpowered and wouldn't get past about 2 in speed. I was soooooo disappointed. I didn't do anything about it during the summer (Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!) figuring that I would deal with it when I got back. Instead we had Ike arrive and all thoughts of the mixer went out of my head. Then came Christmas prep and the like and it wasn't until this week that I thought about calling for warranty work. I didn't realize when I bought it, but the cheaper price should have been a clue, but it is a refurbished model. And, refurbished models only have a 6 month (Argggggg) warranty. The closest repair place is in Dallas (4 hours away!). I am now going to try to find somewhere in Ontario to get it fixed and haul it back to the cottage this summer. Bummer! Bummer! Bummer! It does make me realize how important my "Protect our Money" goal is. If I had purchased the Square Trade Warranty for this item (I thought about it and then rejected it) I wouldn't be in this mess right now. It also teaches me that I have to deal with these things RIGHT away. Lesson learned!!!!!

So what's on my plate today?

• Telephone Elastigirl
• Send Birthday greetings to people with birthdays this week
• Send Hercules his RAM
• Give the dogs their Sentinel
• Set up a grooming appointment for Jack
• Telephone Mom
• Package up Mom's shirt for mailing
• Package up a book for Ariel
• Send Hervules a birthday card (I don't know how long it will take to get to China)
• Do a German lesson
• Update my blog
• Clean up my inbox - 15 mins
• Call KitchenAid re warranty (you can tell that I have already done this!)
• Email Alice about the elevation certificate for the house (I need it for insurance)
• Hang the curtain in the "Wine Cellar" (it is actually the elevator shaft storage area but Wine Cellar sounds so much better)
• Install new door knobs on the basement doors
• Filing - 30 minutes (not optional today)
• Step / Abs class
• Enter items in food journal
• Grocery shopping
• Take back slips to Sears
• Bid on a Wii and Wii Fit on eBay
• Read the Brian Tracy newsletter
• Coaching call
• ICA class
• Work on my coaching model - 30 minutes
• WHEW!!!

I realized yesterday that being super busy keeps my mind off of food / snacks! I was so focused on getting my To Dos done that I didn't really have time to wonder what tasty treat I was missing. That and eating good and balanced meals during the day helped also. I look forward to having the same magic today :)

Have a good one and I will talk to you tomorrow!

Ella

PS Remind me to tell you about Project 365.

Busy Busy Busy!

Whew! I just got finished RPMing my week. RPM is the Tony Robbins' way of scheduling your goals and To Dos (you can learn all about it in his Time of Your Life program) and I use a modified "Helene" version to create my lists for the week.

I guess that I should explain a little bit - and remember, this is the Helene Modified System - for any of you Tony Robbins purists out there. Every day when I think of something that I need to do I write it on a piece of paper or in my To Do book ... and then I forget about it. I work only from my current To Do list for the day and only will add to it if an appointment or emergency comes up. At the end / beginning of the week I take all of the written notes and add them to my electronic Running To Do list. I then print out that list (which includes specific daily, monthly, quarterly, yearly and misc recurring to dos) and my 2009 Goals list. From there I go to my daily templates and plan out my week. Each day's template already has many recurring items on it and I add from my Running To Do list and my overall Goals list. I try not to overload any one day because I want to "win" for my day but I also want to be productive. I know that it sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it is only once per week and then my week is set. I don't have to ever wonder what I should be doing on any given day and I can relax without guilt when I have the list completed each day. And, if I don't get everything done for that day I can evaluate whether to add it to another day in the week or to wait for another week. When I was doing this early last year I made leaps and bounds through my goals. This year, and with this blog's help, I plan to keep it up all year.

Today's list was extra long because there is a lot of pre-week planning to do and it is the first time in a long time that I have RPMed.

Here is my To Do list for the day:

• Copy CDs to iTunes
• Get Andrew's room ready
• Create my blog entry - include What Am I Grateful for and What Were Some Magic Moments
• RPM my week
• Menu Plan for the week
• Do the dishes
• Work out at 24H (prior to picking up Andrew)
• Andrew pickup - Hobby 5:05pm
• ICA Schedule
• Send Card to Prince Charming - Russia
• Review who has a birthday coming up this week
• Telephone Edna
• Look up Project 365
• Investools - log in and research - 15 mins
• Library books - pickup & drop off
• Set up office to work on Mosaic
• Call Trainer Little John re Tuesday training appt
• Read the Brian Tracy newsletter
• Petco - buy Jack new collar, new lead, and Logan dry food
• Filing - 30 mins (optional)

I feel soooo efficient just looking at the list. In order to actually be efficient I am going to get at it but not before I answer my two questions. I have decided that there are 4 questions that I want to answer each week and where better to answer them but in this blog. The two Sunday questions are "What am I grateful for this week?" and "What were some magic moments this week?". (Magic moments are things or thoughts or images from the week that make you smile). So here goes:

What am I grateful for this week?

• I am grateful that my cold / flu didn't take too strong a hold and that I am better after just a few days.
• I am grateful that when I made the decision to get a Wii Console and Wii Fit that I could do so even in these bad economic times.
• I am grateful that I have a terrific husband that I love and that loves me too.
• I am grateful that I have a wonderful support system.
• I am grateful that I have reconnected with my sister-in-law.
• I am grateful that Logan is still hanging in there despite the bad fall that he took at Christmas.
• I am grateful that the weather has been pretty good this week.
• I am grateful that my house is getting more and more organized.
• I am grateful.

What are some magic moments from this week?

• When my sister-in-law told me that she had been losing 1 lb per week.
• When the girl from step class told me that she could really tell that I had been losing weight.
• When I came into the house after walking the dogs and noticed how beautifully clean and organized the storage area was.
• When I went to make the bed in the Sweet and thought about how happy I was with what we had created.

And with that I'm off ...

Have a wonderful day!

Ella

Cold 2 Ella 1/2

My cold/flu is still winning although DayQuil is allowing me to delude myself that I might just be gaining ground. I am so glad that I decided to take it easy yesterday as I think that this might also have helped. Plus, I got all my goals work done and so I feel much better about that.

This year I decided that I was going to take my coaching and cooking businesses completely out of my 2009 goals. I want to give myself time and space to work on me, this house (Ike & builder recovery), the cottage (my "baby"), and the various traveling that I will be doing. It was really when I wrote down my travel schedule that I started thinking about my business building and how it would fit in. Every time I thought about it I felt pressure and a little panic. I finally decided that I didn't have to worry about it and that the skills required to be a coach and a chef didn't go away. As soon as I gave myself permission not to work on my businesses I felt much better and ... immediately got a new coaching client and a new job teaching cooking. Funny how the universe works!

Prince Charming leaves tomorrow for Japan and whereever else so today we have a lot of "what needs to be done that I don't want to lift, haul, etc. while he is away so I need him to do it before he leaves" jobs. A lot of that list centers around the storage area downstairs. This area used to be so organized before me piled it high (again) with stuff that used to be in the Sweet (the room that we built that we now call the "Sweeeeeet") or outside on the patio or that we just got lazy about putting in their designated places. It kind of looks like an oversized junk drawer. Today I also want to reorganize my cottage-bound boxes stored there.

Other than that I am going to rest, rest, and rest once again.

Oh, before I forget, I am going to get a Wii Console and Wii Fit. Pumpkin convinced me that I would really enjoy it. Her roommate got one for Christmas and they have been "playing" it ever since. It sounds like it makes fitness fun which is something that I crave. It also sounds competitive which I think that I will respond well to. I am hoping to convince my sister-in-law to get one also so that we can "compete" against each other. I think our natures are such that that kind of competition would spur us on ... in a good way, of course!

Doing my food journal I realized that I added 440 calories yesterday with the juice that I drank!! Even though it is 100% juice with no sugar added it packs a lot of calories. I was trying to drink lots of fluids for my cold and the juice helped me do this (I wouldn't have drunk as much water although I did drink 2 bottles). Unfortunately, it also helped bring my calorie count for the day up to 1899!! A 699 calorie deficit as I did NO exercise yesterday!!!!! Ackkkkk!!! I can hear Prince Charming (in my head) saying "Lighten up Francis" :) It is good to have that mental check but I can tell you I won't be sucking back the juice today!

Have a terrific day!!

Ella

Cold 1 Ella 0

My cold / flu didn't seem to understand that it was to have been vanquished! I am sicker than ever and will put myself back to bed as soon as I have written my blog entry. Between the rest and the chicken soup I will be back to normal in no time (I hope).

Despite being sick and tired yesterday I still managed to get almost all of my To Dos done (just the 1 hour Storage organizing left to do). Today though I am going to take it easy and do mostly sit on the couch with a laptop things:

• Create my RPM daily templates. I realized that I am far more effective if I have a strong and busy structure. These daily templates will help speed up my weekly planning.
• Transfer my written running To Do list to my existing RPM running To Do list.
• Type up my 2009 goals and print.
• Order Soldier donations boxes from post office. Our good friends Beauty and Beast decided to donate Soldier Boxes this year instead of getting each other Christmas presents. How nice and terrific of them! Although Christmas is past I am sure that some soldiers out there would still appreciate a package.
• Rest, rest, rest and get better.

Before I sign off for the day I want to reiterate how important I am finding the calorie counter. It is amazing how little food can add up! It is also answering soooo many questions about why I can maintain my weight but not necessarily lose it. And the thing is ... I eat pretty darned good! For instance, here is what I ate yesterday:

• My typical oatmeal breakfast which consists of oatmeal, raisins, blueberries, raspberries, ground flax seed, ground almonds, yogurt, and a little milk (349 calories)
• My non-fat latte (200 calories)
• Bean & Vegetable Quesadilla with 1/2 avocado (390 calories)
• Shrimp Gumbo (300 calories)
• Snacks consisting of 1 apple, 2 oz peanuts, and 1/2 cup cherries (434 calories)

That sounds pretty good doesn't it. Pretty healthy, not going overboard. Well, I think that it is. But it adds up to 1673 calories!! Which wouldn't be too bad except that I can only have 1200 calories (without exercising) without gaining weight. Which gives me a deficit of 473 calories. Yesterday I worked out to the tune of 488 calories. Which means that I contributed to my weight loss a measley 15 calories (out of 3500)!!! Heck, if I am off just a bit on my portion size that 15 calories could be gone in a biteful! And, each day is about the same. Today I am not working out at all so I will have to be extra vigilent.

So what am I going to do about this so that I can lose the 10 lbs that I would like to? Here are some of the strategies that I am going to try for the next week or so:

• Cut out raisins from my oatmeal. The raisins are contributing 74 calories. I don't think that I will miss these (and, in fact, this morning I really didn't)
• If I am going to eat nuts I will choose to eat only 1 oz. which should cut about 150 calories.
• Be careful of the avocado. While I only had 1/2 an avocado yesterday the day before I had 1 1/2 which adds up big time.
• Ensure that I exercise for at least 500 calories per day (not including today when I am kicking this cold). I will do this by wearing my heart monitor every time that I exercise to get a true count of my calories.
• Track my calories during the day to know where I am at at all times.
• Keep tweeking :)

On a happier note: I did get another compliment at the gym yesterday. Another one of the gals in my class mentioned that I looked like was really slimming down. I will take comfort in the fact that even though my scale isn't showing changes my body must be.

Have a good one!

Ella

P.S. I just came across this and had to share it:

"You are the only problem you will ever have and you are the only solution." Bob Proctor

Vanquishing My Cold

Last night I started to come down with a cold :( I had been so active and efficient all day long and when I finally called it quits my body decided to let me in on the secret ... "You are getting sick" (said in a kind of gloom and doom voice in my head). I immediately took the osci..cilli..something homeopathic medicine that I take that helps me when I have a cold or flu and began mentally letting my body know that being sick is unacceptable. Today I am still sick but I think that I can lick this thing or at least not suffer from some full-blown cold or flu. To that end I have purchased all that I need to make a chicken soup. I am still going to make my Shrimp Gumbo (from the menu) but as an evening "snack" I will have some good chicken soup available.

Oh a happier note, I am soooo pleased with the My Calorie Counter journal feature on the Everyday Health site (http://my-calorie-counter.everydayhealth.com/Journal.asp). Now that I am over my initial psych crap about scarcity I am really interested in making sure that my calories are less than my outlay (for that is the only way to actually lose weight - right?). Keeping the journal and also knowing that I had to show it to trainer Little John kept me from eating at least one snack yesterday ... maybe even two. Between that, this blog, and my sister-in-law I can't help but keep on track!!

I am so pleased that my pantry, Tupperware, and book cupboards are back in their usual organized way. It makes me ridiculously happy when things are orderly like they "should" be. I started working on my office yesterday (it will take some work) and I finished organizing the freezer. The world seems right once more :)

I love keeping track of my To Dos here for the "world" to see. It definitely keeps me motivated. So here we go for today:

• Mail Perdita's mom her shirt back
• Make roasted chicken soup
• Rough draft 2009 goals
• Meet with contractor 1pm
• Spend at least 1 hour organizing downstairs storage area
• Iron "sweet" bedding and make bed
• Min 45 minute walk with Jack

Wish me luck with my cold!

Ella

Challenges with Journaling!

Okay so yesterday I was all keen on my food journaling and thinking about menus and food. And that got me to thinking about food ALL DAY LONG!! It was like the food in the house was the last food on earth and if I didn't eat it then ... This morning while I was laying in bed I spent a bunch of time analyzing what happened, deciding whether I would admit it or not, and thinking about how to avoid this type of thing in the future as it is exactly this that sabotages me so often.

So here we go - Analysis time.

1. When I think about the fact that I need to write my food down and then I think about the fact that that probably means that I shouldn't eat certain stuff and that since it is Little John reading the list that it really has to be good stuff I immediately start to crave EVERYTHING! The adage that "energy flows where focus goes" is very true. To help avoid this "scarcity" feeling that triggers desire I must ensure that I menu plan weekly so that there is no question what I will be eating so that I can then forget about eating.
2. When I create a menu it has to be for every meal and snack of the day in order to be most effective and to ensure that I am getting the right combination of hi-low glycemic foods, the right "food pyramid" foods, enough variety to please me, enough food to fill me up but not make me fat, and have enough "fun" food included so that I don't feel panicked about never eating yummy, fun food again :)
3. Yesterday I ate breakfast but then I didn't eat again (even a snack) until almost 2pm when the contractors left. When I did I ate cauliflower with low-fat cheese on top. By 3:30pm I was hungry again probably because I hadn't eaten any carbs with it. So at 3:30om I inhaled an avocado, then some peanuts, and then some more peanuts. At about 6pm I had more cauliflower and cheese with a little salmon. Still wanting to chomp down food I ate 2 Fudgesicles (left over from the kids) and then, and this is the truly embarrassing part, even though I was full I ate the last Fudgesicle with the excuse that it was the last one and then I wouldn't be tempted any more. This could all have been solved if I had had a menu plan in place. Big lesson there. I just signed up at http://www.everydayhealth.com/ in order to use their free calorie counter. I think that this will help me also.
4. If I am going to make a success of this I have to put it out there warts and all. There is no use in me hiding my Fudgesicle eating or other "bad" things and still expect this blog to serve its purpose or for me to see any improvement. In fact, the reason that I am writing this blog is to almost force myself to take a good look at the reality of what it going on and why. So expect to see a lot of warts in this blog :)
5. I just signed up at http://www.everydayhealth.com/ in order to use their free calorie counter. I think that this will help me also as it is important to have a clear understanding of the number of calories that I am taking in especially since, without exercise, I only burn 1200 per day. Based on the food that I ate yesterday (1577 calories) I am happier than I have a right to be because I thought that it was going to be WAY worse, excited about using this new tool, and sad because I don't think that I burned an extra 377 calories at the gym yesterday (between Little John and the Elliptical trainer I don't think that I burned more than 300). This means that I had a deficit yesterday of 77 calories and that is the road to gaining rather than losing.

I have a client in a minute and I still haven't eaten yet so I am going to post this (so that I don't lose it ... I still haven't figured out how to get a post out of "draft") and then edit it later to add my To Do list and my Menu plan.

More to come ...

Bad news! I forgot to add the avocado and my calorie count jumped to 1899! That means that I have a 399 calorie deficit instead of the more reasonable 77 calorie one. I am so glad that I am using this calorie counter!!

My lunch today was really good. It was a sweet potato with avocado, green onions, and cheddar on top. Tonight, in following with my menu I am going to make Bean and Vegetable Quesadillas from the Canyon Ranch Cooking (CRC) recipe book.

And that leads into my menu for the next few days. I noticed that this blog was extra long so I am going to only include the dinner items:

• Thursday: CRC Shrimp Gumbo and salad for dinner
• Friday: CRC Chicken w/ Potatoes and Oven-roasted Vegetables
• Saturday: CRC Bulgur Lentil Salad
• Sunday: CRC Barley Risotto with Shredded Chicken

And my To Dos for today:

• Clean and organize pantry
• Organize tupperware cupboard
• Chop veggies to have available for salads
• Put away kid-left items
• Organize book cupboard
• Clear basement entry shelf

I don't know if I will get through all this but I will give it a shot!

Have a wonderful day!

Ella

A Good Day!

I just met with some contractors (post Ike) and I really liked them. They are with Sanctuary Homes which is a name that I can appreciate. They stayed for 2 1/2 hours talking to me, looking at the damage, taking measurements, etc. I think that they are pretty high end but they are willing to work with the insurance adjustors and hopefully we can get a better settlement than we were offered before (a settlement that barely covered ANYTHING).

So I feel buoyed! They had some definite thoughts about what is causing the leak in the laundry room! We have identified previously unidentified roof leaks that were caused by Ike and would have cost us a bundle. For the first time in a long while I feel hopeful where this house is concerned.

This morning I worked out with Little John the trainer from 24H Fitness. He is a young little hottie but seems to know his stuff. Most of the 50 minutes was spent evaluating my fitness. I am a little sad to report that, despite working out fairly regularly for the past two months, I have A LONG way to go! The good news is that I can only improve!! I promised Little John that I would keep a food log. I think that he was a little horrified that I had 28% body fat. My body is a little deceiving in its looks. It doesn't necessarily look like I am carrying around that much fat or that much weight and so people are often surprised when I tell them the actual numbers. I am used to it by now but he definitely was a little shocked. I have a few main food issues that I am working on that hopefully the food log will help keep in check -

1. I love sweets and am a sucker for chocolate. This is something that I have been working on for a while now. I am definitely MUCH better than I was. This holiday hasn't helped my cause but I am ready to get back on the chocolate / sweet limit bandwagon. I believe that an allowance of 100 calories per day on sweets would be reasonable.
2. Portion Control! I believe that this is an important contributor to my difficulty in losing weight. By being more aware of my portions I can reduce my calorie intake. Keeping a food log will definitely help me here.
3. I need to increase the number of fruits and vegetables consumed each day. I have not been as vigilant about this as I could have been over the holidays.
4. Menu planning is key. Before the holidays and since Fitness Ridge I had been very good about menu planning for the week and making sure that the menu was "Fitness Ridge approved". As long as I keep up with the menu planning I have a much better chance of succeeding not only with my weight loss but also with making sure that I have a healthy balanced diet.
   

My sister-in-law emailed me the other day to tell me that she has been steadily losing a pound a week for the past 5 weeks through healthy eating and exercise. This is TERRIFIC as I know that she has been struggling in the past. I think that if we keep each other accountable through our email updates we will both succeed. I am looking forward to showing off our hot bods to each other at the cottage this year :)

And how does my To Do list look today?

• Little John the trainer (9am)
• Meet with contractors (11am)
• Drop off library books
• Clear fridge
• Clear kitchen island
• Blog
• Menu planning (remainder of week)
• Christmas tree denuded
• Christmas ornaments away in boxes
• Pay Gap bill
  

I hope that you have as terrific a day as I am having!

Ella

All Things Traveling

Well the first airport run is complete. First Hercules and Pumpkin were seen safely through the check-in process and then waved through security. The lines were wonderfully short for both check-in and security. Next is the Jasmine / Aladdin run in a few hours. I feel so sorry for them because they arrive in Halifax at 2am!

The day being devoted to airport drop-offs got me thinking about my own impending travel and, as I finally have my new At-a-glance Monthly calendar (this year it was hard to find and is the only calendar that I use and have for years), I decided to see how things were shaping up for me for the next few months. This is what I have so far:

• Jan 17 - 25 Japan
• Feb 12 - 16 Dreamsicles Cruise
• Mar 28 - Apr 5 Germany
• April 23 - 29 Ontario (Pumpkin move / Albie pickup)
• May 2- May 9 Moscow (or Apr 25 - May 3)
• May 23 - 30 Moscow / Baikanour
• Jun 4 - Oct Cottage (perhaps with side trips)
• Jun 6 Hungary (Aladdin & Jasmine's wedding?)
• Sep ? Prague (may also be in Oct)

I would also like to visit with my friend and fellow coach Mary in Colorado and squeeze a trip to Fitness Ridge while the weather is still good (either after Mar or late Sep). Oh, and then there is a potential trip with my girlfriend Edna to Cuba! I love my life!!!!

This afternoon when I get back from dropping Aladdin and Jasmine off I will jump right into house reorg and tidying. I think that it will be best to work my way from the top down. It sounds sick even to me but I get excited just thinking about it!

I was able to get everything on yesterday's To Do list completed and I felt great about it. Today my To Do list is:

• Drop Pumpkin and Hercules at airport
• Get cash from bank
• Make black bean burgers for Jasmine (travel food)
• Drop Aladdin and Jasmine at airport
• Get guest room clean for Tinkerbell (arriving this afternoon)
• Kitchen island clear
• Christmas boxes up from downstairs
• Begin taking down Christmas tree

I think that will be more than enough to tackle today.

I am looking forward to working out with the 24 hour fitness trainer tomorrow. Before I left for Fitness Ridge, and in an attempt to create a winning post-visit fitness schedule (and because there was a sale on), I purchased some training sessions at 24H Fitness. I haven't used any so far because I have been doing so well with my classes 5 days of the week. This week, however, the Gilruth center is closed for renovations and so my Tuesday and Thursday is class-free. Fortuitously, a rep from 24H Fitness called me yesterday and asked if I was going to schedule some of the sessions that I had purchased. I started to say "Not now" but then I remembered the new holes in my schedule. And, in short order, the holes were filled!

And now I am off to the airport!

Have a terrific day!!!

Ella

The Last Day of Christmas Vacation

I just realized that today is the "last" day of Christmas vacation for us all. The kids go back to their various homes tomorrow (two airport runs), Prince Charming returns to work, and the official post-Christmas house cleanup and reorg begins. Isn't it funny that as much as I love having everyone here I can't help thinking about the disorganized state of my cupboards, pantry, fridge, upstairs, downstairs ... Silly!

I made pretty good headway on my list from yesterday although I am giving myself a little bit of a break while the kids are still here. Pumpkin, Hercules, and I had a fun time shopping and it took a bit longer than expected. This meant that I didn't quite get to a few of the items before we had to leave to go to hear Prince Charming at the Chelsea bar. No biggy though as there wasn't anything life or death on the list.

On a bright note, Prince Charming and I finished our crossword this morning while enjoying our coffee at Starbucks. I really enjoy this time together and the mental workout is fun too.

So, to the main To Dos for the day:

• Write Aladdin's support cheques until grad
• Get cash from the bank to give to the kids
• Type out a few vegan recipes for Jasmine
• Take Jasmine shopping - shoes and mall
• Go to Garden Ridge to get some large suitcases
• Continue with the laundry
• Iron clothes
• Transfer audiobooks for Hercules
• Joe's Crab Shack for dinner tonight

I am sure that there will be some more things thrown in there. We are still deciding whether we will go to the beach or not so that might play into my plans just a bit.

For now though I can feel good that I have completed my blog for the day!

Have a great one!

Ella

Day 2 and Still At It :)

I am so happy about how things went yesterday! I feel terrific that this blog will do exactly what I think that it will. I felt more invigorated, enthused, and encouraged than I have in a long time. Yippee!!

I do realize that I have to learn how to properly edit and this blog so that the formatting is the way that I want it. I wrote the blog entry in Word yesterday and didn't even think about the fact that the formatting would not apply. I just put this on my running long-term To Do list and I will list it here.

** Learn the best and easiest way to format my blog post

I also decided that I should add some pictures to my post here and there when I come across one that I like or that might lighten things up a little.

Last night we went to the Radio Music Theater (http://www.radiomusictheater.com/) to watch the performance of "A Fertle Christmas". This 3 person comedy troupe writes their own plays and has been performing together for almost 25 years. Their main stories surround the Fertle family that live in Dumpster, TX and are very funny.

The entire household seems to need a break today from all the travel and hubbub of the holidays. My list mostly consists of:

• Returning Hercules' shoes and getting new ones plus buying shoes for Pumpkin and seeing if there is anything that I would like :)
• Going to the mall to get Hercules some jeans (I returned the ones that we bought at A/X yesterday) and Pumpkin needs to pick up a few things for her friends back home
• Making sure everyone has suitcases
• Putting away the Christmas decorations but perhaps not taking down the tree yet
• Continuing to organize my iTunes
• Picking out and organizing photos to go on the self-laminating luggage tags that I have to make for everyone
• Laundry
• Ironing? (I may or may not get to this today)

So mostly a household chores kind of day it seems. Which is just fine by me.

One Of My Goals For The Year: Protecting our Money Better

One of my main goals / priorities for this year is to do better with our money. Not only to watch my spending but to 1) return things more 2) watch credit card balances 3) regularly review credit card charges 4) investigate how we can reduce our taxes and generally thinking about protecting our money.

To me it feels less onerus and censurous to look at it as protecting our money and I think that I will have more success looking at it this way than I have in the past. I know that it doesn't focus on accumulating more money which may be something I look at in the future again. It's just that doing that hasn't worked as well for me in the past because I will accumulate money on one hand and then let it slip through on the other. Therefore, I think that I would like to try this tack for a while instead.

Hercules just send me his blog (http://pokerinchina.blogspot.com/) and I will attempt to add it to mine as a linked blog).

Have a super terrific day!

Ella

January 2nd, 2009 - My First Day Blogging

This morning I woke up and, as usual, my brain seemed to already have been awake for a while. No ease into the day brainwise just full tilt with thoughts like:

• “What’s on the agenda today?
• Do I really have to work out? (Yes)
• What time is it?
• I wonder what the temperature is like.
• How can I improve?
• Hercules (my eldest ) wants me to start a blog with him to keep us on track …

And then I was away to the races. The blog idea took hold and, as I lay in bed, I thought of a Canadian food writer’s blog called “Dinner with Julie” (http://dinnerwithjulie.com/) (very good) where she blogged about cooking every day. Now, I know that I am “supposed” to keep a food journal so that I can stay on track with my eating, and journaling in general is a great form of meditation and self-improvement, and I know that they would both be good for me but I just haven’t found myself naturally drawn to doing them on a consistent basis. And yet, the idea appeals to me. So this morning I made a commitment to myself that I would blog every day for the coming year. It will help me connect with my eldest son, Hercules, and help us both keep on track (as long as he keeps his blog up too :)) and I am hoping that it will also help me get out of the rut that I have been in since last year.

I am a great one for tracking things. I think that it helps keep me on the straight and narrow and if I am going to be exposing myself to the world with this blog I hope that it will do an extra bang up job with just that. One of my goals this year is to continue what I started at Fitness Ridge (http://www.fitnessridge.com/) in October. I went to Fitness Ridge to jump start my weight loss and increase my fitness as only a place like that can. It was terrific and I learned a lot! Since I have been back I have been trying to keep the following schedule:

M/W/F 24 Hour Fitness Step Class / Abs Class / Strength Class (2 hours)
Tu/Th Fitness Center Cardio / Pilates Class (2 hours)

And, I am happy to report, I have been pretty darned good about sticking to this. I have also been trying to eat healthier. Unfortunately, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I haven’t been as good about this aspect and have gained 2lbs. When the kids leave on Monday though all the “junk” food is going in with Princess Charming to his office and I will get back to my healthy menu planning. And now for the starting stats:

• Height: 5’ 3”
• Age: 47
• Current Weight: 125 lbs
• Goal Weight: 112 lbs
• Waist: 27 ½” Belly: 32 ¼” Hips: 37 ½” Thighs: 22 ¼”
• Fat %: 27.5 % Water %: 52.5 % Muscle Mass %: 35.7 % Bone Mass: 3.7
  

** I need to find the booklet for my scale to tell me what the bone mass number means.

What these numbers tell me is that I still have a long way to go but that’s okay because I am working on it one day at a time.

New topic: My To Do List for the day

I am still working on how best to create my weekly / daily / yearly / monthly to dos. I really love the Tony Robbins RPM method and it works for me (when I take the time to do it) but I haven’t been able to keep up doing it lately. At least until I gear up I am going to create my To Do list when I get back home from working out. I find that when I get back home from working out / running morning errands I need a bit of a break so I use that time to putter around, look at my email, think about things, and create my to do list. This isn’t the best way and I realize that. This too will change :)

Today’s To Do list includes:

• Creating and writing the first day of this blog
• Doing the dishes (I usually leave dishes at night and do them while my oatmeal is cooking)
• Watering my orchids (I soak them once a week)
• Putting away the platters and bowls from our New Year’s Party (I took yesterday off)
• Returning library books and picking up new ones
• Grocery shopping
• Going to the Chinese Embassy to pick up my daughter’s Chinese Visa
• Returning a pair of jeans for my son at the Galleria
• Updating my iTunes with playlist from upstairs computer (I am doing a massive reorg)
• Downloading an audio book from the library to my upstairs computer
• Going to Radio Music Theatre tonight with the family

And now that I have the list and this blog is off to a good start I will get cracking on it :)

Have a wonderful day and I hope to see you again tomorrow.

Ella