Caffeinated brilliance

Oops, the day is a good portion over and I’m only just now getting a chance to blog.  I’ve been in front of the computer for almost an hour, but have been pretty much busy job hunting, organising estimates to have the gardens returned to their former glory post Winter snows and rains, and trying to find a place to have my lawnmower, blower and line cutter serviced, post move from Australia.  They all worked perfectly before I left, but to ship them here they had to be drained of all fuels and oils, cleaned and then prepared for transit.  Short story.  They’re clean, but they don’t work.  So a service is called for, of course it being Spring and all, everyone is either booked out for up to a month, or “I’m sorry Sir, we don’t service that brand of (insert item here), it’ll cost you more for us to order parts, and take longer for us to do so.  D’oh!

All that aside, it’s been pretty productive so far.  I slept like a baby, woke up and made my breakfast shake with a new twist, it occurred to me last night that I’m allowed coffee, so why not put it in my morning breakfast shake.  So now I have real decent coffee (plunger aka French press), and I get it in my protein shake, so I’m all set to go, and have a nice old spring in my step, a bit of Zoom Zoom even.

Dropped Mark at work, wound down the car windows and cranked up the stereo volume.  You can’t do that while Mark’s in the car, his grandmother ears are too delicate.  Not mine though, I just wait till he’s got the door open, squarely plant my foot in his back, kick him out of the car, close the door, and accelerate away while increasing the volume so that I can sing and bop along as I drive, and with the better weather…  Well that’s just more of an invitation to turn it up even louder and share my music selections with the world.  Everyone else does it, so why not me.  At least I have taste. 😉  Well I think so.  *laugh*

Today’s selections were decidedly Australian with Rogue Traders, Delta Goodrem, Shannon Noll and some good old Divinyls.  Love it!

2 hours of cardio at the gym; 60 minutes biking, 10 minutes stepper, 35 minutes elliptical and 15 minutes treadmill later, and a very sweaty me staggered out of the gym, grabbing a protein shake on the way, jumped into the car, repeated the earlier process of winding down the windows, plugging in the iPod and cranking up the music, and headed off into the sunshine.  Lovely!

I’ve also had an idea for something a little bit fun as well, could be a new blog, could be a business, could be all of the above, but if I work it properly, I could be able to turn something quite lucrative out of it.  Can anyone say “air time”?  I’m not going to discount the possibility, it’s certainly there.  But we’ll see.  I’ve a bit of investigating to do yet, so keep watching.

That’s it for now though, I originally imagined that this posting would be a short one, but as always, whenever I think that, it takes on a life of it’s own.  So I’ll end it now with a big sunny “HOOROO” to you all.

Hooroo!

Spring has sprung…

For real this time, or at least if only for today.  The weather has improved again, with today’s scorching top of 18.5C (65.F), people have their windows and sun rooves open, or roof off if they can, and are all getting about in minimal clothing, and yet despite my wearing shorts, I was still wearing a hooded jacket…  and you don’t think I didn’t get some strange looks leaving the gym.  *laugh*

It’s cold I tell you, well not cold, but not hot enough to be half naked and gallivanting around all over town.  I certainly am enjoying this change in the weather though.  Anything over and above the sub-freezing temperatures we had a few short months ago is a huge improvement.

Gym was good again this morning, I’m now incorporating the stair machine as part of my mornings cardio, it’s a little tedious as far as repetition.  I mean, really, there’s nothing more exciting than climbing neverending stairs that go nowhere…  But, there is one perk, I have an improved vantage point as I’m a lot higher off the ground, so the search for eye candy isn’t hampered by gym equipment.  There really is always a silver lining, you just have to look for it.

The weight loss has slowed markedly, much to my disgust, but it’s still moving slowly.  I’ve also managed to get into a new pair of smaller jeans that I had in the wardrobe as a “goal”, which made me pretty happy, along with a t-shirt I’d bought a few months ago that was too small to wear as a t-shirt, but is now so big I can wear it over a shirt.  *laugh*   Oh well, I’m certainly not complaining.  It’s a cool t-shirt too; light grey, with “I’m kind of a big deal” written on it, in funky 60’s font.  My friends on the weekend laughed at me for wearing it, I laughed back.  I used to be a bigger deal.  Then I lost weight…  Now I’m just “kind of a big deal”.  😉

I’m still being urged to take weekly photos of the progress to show you readers, but as much fun as that sounds, I’m also liking the idea of waiting until the end and just doing a before and after.  But, then of course I also like the idea of just not showing anyone, and just surprising people in person when I finally see them again.  That’s the variation I like the best.  I did consider a compromise today.  Take a weekly photo, but photoshop it so it’s just a silhouette / shadow and post it.  But, I’m not a photoshop guru, and that means extra work.  Despite my buying a “Photoshop For Dummies” book a few weeks ago.

Besides, I have that book, and the Rosetta Stone to learn French, and I’ve not started that yet either.  I may be unemployed (much to my own disgust) still, but with all this gym work, I hardly have any time left for anything.  I’m sure you all feel sorry for me.  Not!

Well, there’s a tropical day outside to go and enjoy, so enjoy it I will.

Hooroo!

Solar powered happiness

The long weekend is over, and the week has begun, and what better way to start it than with a beautiful sunny day.  It’s the sort of day where you drive around with all the windows down, and if you have one, the sunroof open.  I do, and I did.  Music blaring.

Love it!

Today is going to be another day of chores, job hunting, and I really need to go through my email, and reply to everyone who’s mailed me.  My apologies to you all for not replying sooner, but I promise I will, soon… 😉

I’d love to stay and chat/type, but I really want to go soak up some more sun while it’s here, as I’m sure there’ll be a few days of rain and cold on the near horizon.

Cheers!

Public Holiday

It’s Memorial Day here in America, and to be honest I have no idea what it’s about, and my apologies to anyone who this may offend, but I’m not interested enough to find out either.  I’m sure it’s something significant, but since every day for me is a holiday (I’d still rather work) it just gets a little tedious when all the places I want to visit are closed.  That is, except the gym, I’ve already been there twice this morning and it’s on 11.35am as I type this.

There’s no weigh in today, as my dietician appointment has been cancelled and rescheduled because of the holiday, so I won’t know until next week what the results are.  Although the shirt I put on this morning post gym, is feeling decidedly baggy, which is good, but it’s also a shame, as it’s a favourite.  I might just have to have it tailored.

We’re both feeling better, although Mark is having a sook and is back in bed, but I’m happy to leave him there, it’s much quieter.

Not sure what we’ll do today, there’s no bowling this evening, but I suspect we’ll catch up with my friend Randy, and may go have a social bowl and catch a movie, which will be fun.

So it’s going to be a pretty cruisey day here today, which makes me pretty happy.

Hooroo! 😉

Wet behind the ears

The sun has gone and left us, and it’s grey wet and miserable outside again.  It really is nice to see so much rain after spending so much time without it, but I’d be so much happier to know it was falling where it was truly needed back in Australia, or anywhere else in the world that’s parched and crying out for the moisture.

It certainly shocked Mulder (cat), when he deigned to wake me at 4am to let him outside.  As soon as I opened the door he changed his mind because of the inclement conditions.  That was precisely when he got the second shock of his short morning, a foot gently to the behind pushing him out the door regardless of the weather.  Sorry sunshine, but if you’re going to wake me at 4am to go outside…  You’re going out.  A good 5 hours later he woke me again trying to come back in.  Not a bad effort given we’re on the second floor.
I’d heard him cry a few times, but it wasn’t until he apparently tried to climb into the dogs kennel, which at this stage had 2 unassuming sleeping dogs in it, that I finally woke up.  Not because he was attacked, our dogs know better than that, they’ve each taken him on one at a time and learnt the error of their ways, they even tried ganging up on him once, to which he responded by thoroughly beating them both up.  Now they’re a little (read: A LOT) more respectful.  In fact, his sudden appearance in their kennel, scared them both so much that it was only their shrill bark that woke me.  Sigh, so much for getting any sleep.

I wouldn’t mind so much as I’m generally up early anyway, but neither of us is feeling great today, we suspect some form of food poisoning, or virus that is doing the rounds.  I’d say that we were sick as dogs, but aside from their fright this morning, the dogs are healthy and bouncy as normal.  Looks like a day in bed for us today, or at least a very quiet one at the very least.  So much for our plans to go out for the weekend.  We missed the wine and cheese night last night, and looks like the fancy dress will be a no go too.  Shame.  Oh well, when the weather warms up, we might actually host one ourselves, here at our house.

Until next time, I’m going to go curl up on the couch with a blanky, and try and convince Mulder that it really IS bad etiquette to sit on your owner while you’re wet.

Hooroo!

Long Weekend

Well the weekend is here, and from what I’ve seen through the window so far, it looks like its set to be a nice day today.  Generally from what I’ve seen here, if you get one nice day, you usually get a week of crap weather afterwards.  So far we’re almost into 3 consecutive days of nice weather.  Does that mean we’ve a month of wet to deal with next?  Time will tell.

Although admittedly it was Summer when we arrived here and it was much like an Australian Spring, nice and warm, not bitter cold like the following months.

Sometime soon I’ll be heading to the gym today, although quite honestly I’m contemplating making today a gym free day and only having a 5 day gym week.  Can I live with my own guilt?  Probably!  We’ll see.

Other than that, we’ll be out most of the day trying to organise costumes for the weekends fancy dress party.  Where, despite helpful suggestions I will NOT be dressed as a trapeze artist.  I simply don’t do spandex/lycra of any kind. 😉

So that’s it, that’s todays blog posting.  Short and sweet, and ticked off the To Do list.

Cheers.

3 day long weekend

Ha!  Like it matters, every day has been a weekend / holiday for me for almost a full 12 months now.  Tedious?  You better believe it is.

I’d much rather be working, as opposed to working out.  Well that’s not entirely true, I’d much prefer to be working AND working out.  Then I’d have the best of both worlds.

Not a great deal to report at the moment.  The weather is slooooooowly warming up, although the temperatures here are still the same of those back home in Melbourne, where it’s cooling down in readiness for Winter.

We’ve got a busy weekend ahead, with a couple of social engagements to go to, one of them being a fancy dress with a Circus theme.  Can anyone say CLOWN?  I’m guessing there’s going to be dozens of them.

I have a risque idea as to what to wear, if I had more time I’d make a costume myself, but I may have to resort to whatever I can find in a costume store at the last minute.  Again…  can anyone say clown?  *laugh*

It’ll be interesting, of that much I’m sure.  I’ll attempt to take photos, but as always, I have final say over what’s shared / published to the masses, and if I don’t like it, well you’re not going to see it. 😉

Hope you’re all having great weekends yourselves or that you do when you get to it.

Cheerio.

There’s nothing like forewarning

I actually had a completely different posting idea to run with today, but there’s been a programming change.  I’ll post the otherone later on.

This post is a rushed one, not in the creation, but in the actions for the day.

Here’s the deal.  Before moving from Australia to the U.S.A. we had to have all of our pets (2 dogs and 2 cats) vaccinated against Rabies.  This is a time consuming and expensive task, as the animals all had to be vaccinated, and then 6 weeks had to pass before blood could be drawn and tested to see if they had sufficient immunity.  At the time we were also advised that this would have to be maintained if we intended bringing out pets back with us.  Intended?  Of course I intend bringing my animals back?  Mark?  Maybe not.  Animals?  Definitely!

As such, I’ve spent the last few weeks on the phone to different government organisations here trying to obtain accurate information, and sort out the required vaccinations.  Of course, people tend not to listen, and despite my speaking in an Australian accent, and stating several times that my pets are also Australian, and have been through this process before, and therefore I keep getting informed that I have to start the process all over again.  This is not the case!  Although until recently noone has agreed with me.

That is, until yesterday when I finally managed to get someone to understand that I brought my animals here originally from Australia, and that I only need to maintain testing and booster vaccinations, this person then gave me the phone number of the Seattle Port Vet who actually knew exactly what was required.  I now have all the correct facts to move forward.

Insert catch here.

The blood tests have to be performed within 12 months of each other, or the immunisation process resets, and guess what today is Dear Readers?  It’s exactly a year today that the original blood was drawn, and therefore the last possible day for the test to be performed.  Now have you ever tried organising anything at the last minute when an appointment has to be made with a third party?  *sigh*

Fortunately by this stage in the process I now have all the names of the people I need to speak with, so can cut through all the discussions with receptionists in order to locate someone with half a clue, and fortunately the one person who I’ve been speaking to has managed to pull a few strings on my behalf, to squeeze my four pets and I, into an afternoon appointment, in which they’ll all get a checkup, booster vaccination, and a blood test.  Not only does all of this have to be done for export reasons, but if they’re going to be accepted into the Boarding Kennels in a couple of weeks time, it all has to be done as well.

Nothing like a bit of notice and planning.  Oh well.  If I could drink right now, I’d down the entire bottle of Coconut Vodka in the freezer.  Since I can’t, I guess I’ll have a protein shake and pretend.

Next step, contact my group leader at the gym for 20/20 as I’m either going to be late or totally absent from this evening’s group session.  Argh!  So much for my intentions of having 100% attendance.

Hope you’re all having a great day.  I’ve a meltdown I need to go have.

Small world

I’ve heard the phrase used a “bazillion” times, and I’ve used it numerous times myself, usually when I bump into someone I either know, usually somewhere I least expect, like another State in Australia, or someone who’s from a similar area to me somewhere else in the world.

Today is no exception.  As I have a trip to Vancouver coming up on the very near horizon, I thought I’d do my usual online network thing and see if I could make some contacts in the area.  While surfing around the chat rooms, lo and behold, I see a very familiar face, one that I’ve not spoken to for a couple of years, but one that also went to the same High School as I did back in Australia.  Not only that, but he and his partner are now living not far from Vancouver in Canada.

Like I said, small world!

So, I’ve reestablished contact, and after quite some time out of touch, we’re going to make every effort to catch up in person while I’m in Canada, additionally they also travel to Seattle occasionally.  It really is amazing where you bump into people.

Other than that little nugget of surprise this morning, I was back at the gym again today, and to backtrack slightly as I’ve not kept up to date on my progress…   Last week I was given fruit back, in that I’m now allowed to include it in my diet.  You can imagine how excited I was to be able to put half a banana in my morning shake.

Last week was also the week that my energy levels plummeted, my legs started cramping, I had daily headaches, nausea, fluctuating blood sugar and reduced weight loss.  The culprit…  Not all fruit, but I have isolated it to one, and it brings me no end of pain and distress to admit it, but I can’t eat bananas.  I love bananas!  I really do.  Unfortunately they don’t love me.  They mess with my glucose and potassium levels and make me feel absolutely nauseatingly ill.
Which is something I was NEVER aware of.  Seems the diet program is working, in that by tracking what I’m eating I’m able to identify items that disagree with my metabolic chemistry.  Sadly, bananas are on top of the list so far.  A sad day, but given the options of headaches, low energy, fluctuating energy, nausea and NO WEIGHT LOSS, I’ll be giving them a wide berth.
Jamie…  I know you’ll understand my pain at being banana-free…  It’s horrible.
Although, as was pointed out to me this morning, if I REALLY want a headache and the other horrible symptoms, I can always get drunk when the program is over.  I laughed and pointed out if I was really going to mess myself up, why not do it properly and have a Banana Daquiri…

Anyway that’s the latest insight.  I’m banana free, it’s been 3 days now and my energy levels are starting to return to normal, and the cramps have gone.  Let’s hope that this week the weight loss will increase from the measly 0.6kb (1.4lbs) that I lost last week, will climb back up to where it used to be averaging at 2.1kg (4.6lbs) sans bananas.  That alone is making the grieving process that much easier.

Have an ace day!

Canada here I come

In a few weeks time I’ll be heading North over the border into Canada to renew my Visa.  A necessity if I’m going to remain legally in America, and since I don’t plan on being deported, there are no other options.

Hopefully all will go well, and there’ll be no problems with the renewal.

On the other hand though, if you’re in Vancouver, let me know, and perhaps we can catch up for a non-alcoholic beverage. 🙂

Hooroo for now.