Lord, do I miss that city on the bay....

Lovely weekend in San Francisco (Eddie Izzard: SanFrancisco SanFrancisco San Francisco....no NOT SanFran....no) with eBoy. Took a *bit* of a break from 100doh (what?), but didn't lose our minds. Went to see John Oliver at Cobb's, and he now takes his rightful place in the pantheon of My Favorite Comedians. Good lord, TDS doesn't do him justice. Also had dinner in North Beach with some fabulous friends of ours (the sort of folks that you can just talk to for hours, and then afterwards go home and look up some of the words and topics they brought up and for which you had to fake a thorough understanding). Afterwards, we ran through the pouring rain across Washington Square, kissing in the doorway of St. Peter n'Paul's (a Joe-Marilyn moment that I couldn't resist), and ducking into Moose's for a nightcap and a bit of dessert. Love, American style!

Also went for another kick ass run through the presidio and upto the GG bridge, and back along the bay, and around the Palace of Fine Arts. I like to call it The Tourist's Five Miler. Oh, did I tell you that I signed up for this? I'm very excited....

And now it's back to work (and my increasingly tiresome clients - more on that later - did I mention that one of them called me drunk at 2:30 in the morning and wanted to take me out to breakfast?) and working out and not eating/drinking anything sinful or fun (and soon no breathing and no talking). Aruba can't get here fast enough. It's what we call An Island in the meth-recovery business. Oh, and the A-Chex have decided to call it quits permanently. At least, that's what mrs. A-Chex informed me on Friday night over tears and a bottle of blueberry vodka (ew) that she was guzzling, and again when she showed up in hysterics on my doorstep at 11 last night. ugh, it's so ugly. I hate it when my friends get divorced (and why is it that the couples that SHOULD get divorced, never do?).

okay, off to the showers with me.

Well, I'm off....

We're headed to San Francisco for what looks to be Noah's flood. Hurray that I have a five and a half mile run planned for Sunday. That should be delightful. And then apparently I shall be coming home to snow in a couple days. Also delightful, and fun to drive in too!

Tough week at work. I'm ready for the break. Have a good one.

I know we've done this before....

But when Tel asks you to do something, you just do it.

4 jobs I had in my life:
1. Ice cream scooper at Baskin Robbins. Would you like a spoon with your half gallon of jamocha fudge?

2. Ice cream scooper at Swenson’s in Westwood – I worked there for 2 whole hours and then walked out because the manager would only let me wear an extra-small uniform. Ahem.

3. General production/administration slave for a company that made snowboarding and surfing videos. This was the worst, most abusive job I ever had and I was there for over two years. The head of the company once threw his cup – the actual cup and its contents – of coffee at me, and shit like that happened every day. I left the day I found out that he’d beaten up the receptionist.

4. Waitress, food prep, pizza cook, dishwasher, grill cook at the pizza/burger joint on my college campus. We would add psychedelic mushrooms to our friends’ mushroom pizzas. Needless to say, this job could be a lot of fun.

4 movies I would watch over and over:
1. Halloween
2. Moonstruck
3. Ghostbusters
4. Jaws

4 places I have lived:
1. Waterville, Maine
2. Alameda, California
3. Beaverton, Oregon
4. McLean, Virginia

4 TV shows that I watch:
1. Daily Show
2. The Biggest Loser
3. Smart Travels with Rudy Maxa
4. 30 Rock

4 places I have been:
1. Bath
2. Rhodes
3. Sydney
4. Tijuana

4 people who email me (regularly):
1. MaMer
2. eBoy
3. Tel
4. Ctrl freak

4 of my favorite foods:
1. Goat cheese
2. Sushi
3. Beef Carpaccio
4. Foie gras

4 places I would rather be right now:
1. Mandalay Bay Spa
2. Back in bed
3. Aruba
4. Any place sunny & warm.

4 Things I am looking forward to this (2008) year:
1. Getting into a doctoral program (cross your fingers)
2. Going to Aruba and getting married
3. Going to Vegas for my bachelorette weekend
4. Tearing out the butterfly bush in the back yard, trimming up the lilacs, and then repositioning the raised beds to create a vegetable garden in the back corner, and then setting up a new perennial bed that stretches along the fence, and then over by the pear tree, putting down some pavers for another sunny spot in the garden to set up chairs and a table, and then putting in some spruces in the other corner to create some height back there, and ripping out those old shrubs so that a path can be laid down that winds around the perennial beds. It’s going to be awesome.

In which I am kind of apologizing for blanket statements previously made but not really.

Well, okay, okay, - I was not saying that ALL sahm's only talk about their children and boob surgery. Just the ones I know up here. And they're crazy. Like...crazy crazy. I know a few sahm's (who, ahem, read this blog) who are FULL of interests and activities and don't start drinking at 2:00 in the afternoon. But you guys have ALWAYS been interesting and funny and I can't imagine that having kids changes that.

I don't know what it is with these women up here, but they were probably boring in high school and college too**. Now they've got too much money, and too much time. Plus, the suburb in which they live (way up in the hills - remember, eBoy and I live down in the ghetto) (MaMer: oh you do not!) is *really* remote. There just ain't shit out there besides their big new mansions, their 3 car garages, and their wine cellars. I don't know - maybe one on one, these ladies are fascinating and opinionated and knowledgeable (let's be real here, it's not like I'm up here day after day writing about the nuances in Clinton's policy towards the Gaza strip versus Obama's) - but you get 20 of them in a room together, serve a couple of cosmopolitans, and it's like an episode of Sex in the Suburbs: The Preschool Years. I mean, half of these women actually drifted away from a presentation on SEX TOYS and huddled over in a corner where they could continue their conversation about the crazy things that little Madison and Hunter did next.

But no, it ain't all moms. Plus, you know, you carry something for nine months and then it's totally dependent on you, and it's changing every day, getting bigger and mouthier, sure it's going to be one of the more engaging things in your life. I get it. It's about focus. Like how I won't shut up about how much I eat and/or work off what I eat. Maybe I'll just start spending time on this blog practicing my new signature. Sometimes I'll hyphenate my last name. Sometimes I will spell out the hyphen.

Sigh.

Did I tell you what cute cute thing my cat did last night?

** of course this it totally subjective; I am not saying that in comparison, I must be FASCINATING and always have been. But come on.

Disgust.....

Meanwhile Britney, Amy, and Lindsay just keep going and going like some out of control junkie energizer bunny.

Why is it only the talented ones that die?


**************************

I have the same dream almost every night. In it, an old friend and I become friends again. It's the same dream over and over, just different scenarios - but it's always about the moment we meet again. And then, after I wake up, I have a moment of sadness, realizing it hasn't actually happened. Oh well. But she'd be happy to know that in my dreams, her hair always looks very nice.

In which I rock the Beav...

Went for a five mile run around my neighborhood today. Lungs: Strong. Legs: Strong. Knee: no whining whatsoever.

Felt AWESOME. Didn't have to stop, didn't have to walk. I am very very happy about this.

So that's an 8K. My goal for next Sunday long run is to do it again, after that the next goal will be 10K. My other goal for this week is to add in more yoga - going for at least 15-30 minutes each day, either as a wake up or wind-down. I'll let you know. I'm reviewing my yoga dvds right now. They're all filmed in Maui, so I get a little bitter watching them.

yay! Sex toys for everyone!

OMG the scarlet girl party was so much fun. And I was sober for the whole thing. And I bought 100 dollars worth of products. And YES I charged it all to the house account.


Mrs. A-Chex was kind enough to provide me a bottle of Simply Limeade (my go-to drink now), and by serving it up in a martini glass, garnished with a bit of serrano chile and a squeeze of lime, it was easy enough to enjoy a "cocktail" like everyone else. Of course, I had several re-fills and I'm sure all the little mothers were thinking I drink like a fish. Whatever. I swear to you, these women talk about nothing NOTHING NOTHING but their children. Some of the women couldn't even manage to sit through the Scarlet Girl presentation and had to form a chant circle on the other side of room where they could excitedly discuss the happenings of their toddlers. Excuse me? But I'm trying to hear about the big black vibrating dildo with the thumb-controls. Shut. Up.

Sheesh.


***********************

Oh yes, 100Doh is going extremely well. I'm down 8 pounds.

It's cold and gray, but I'm okay!

The squirrels are running amuck in the garden today. There are about 6 that live in my neighbor's huge locust tree. They scamper about between the different nests and along the fence and down into our garden. The dog is going crazy at the windows because the squirrels have taken over the garden and she is impotent, stuck inside, not allowed to show them who is boss of the yard.

I spent all day once last fall watching one squirrel move her nest from the locust tree down into one of our other neighbor's cypress trees. Out of her nest, up the trunk, over the limbs stretching over the fence and down into the other tree where I couldn't really see her, but the branches would rustle around. Back and forth, up and again, back and forth all day. I realized that she was moving her stuff down into her winter home; guess it's bit more cozy in those evergreen branches. It was so entertaining.

***************************************
The personal training and 100Doh is going quite well. I have begun to see muscles in my shoulders, and this makes me happy. I am strong like bull.

I have signed up for the Portland Shamrock run 15K. This is quite an undertaking considering that my knee still pipes up at around 4 miles. My trainer determined (just from listening to me on the treadmill) that I really favor my right leg when I run. She could tell, not even facing the machine, when I landed on my right leg. Apparently my running pattern sounds something like clop-POUND, clop-POUND, clop-POUND, and this has a lot to do with my knee issues. I'd never heard it or noticed it because I have head phones on, and just because it's a habit I've probably had for 20 years or so. So hopefully working on this will help alleviate knee problems, plus a whole hell of a lot of core conditioning. I am strong like bull, but squishy like old potato.

Some of my friends have begun to protest the 100Doh no alcohol restriction. Mrs. A-Chex threatened to "break up" with me. She's having a party this weekend. The invitation reads as:

I'm hosting a martini party this Saturday for some gal pals at A's pre-school. They are a fun group of girls but I want to include you guys as well. I'm having a special Scarlet Girl presentation as a surprise to them so I thought you gals may be interested too. We will have appetizers and martinis flowing and get to see the latest in sex toys, including the Orgasm Express for the woman on the go!

There is something so sad and suburban, Desperate meets Stepford Housewives about this. I am ALWAYS the odd duck out at these sort of events due to my lack of spawn. Inevitably I get to hear some sort of disparaging yet pitying remark about how someday I'll find true happiness once something pushes its way out of my vagina.

I find that I have VERY little in common with my SAHM peers, who spend a great deal of time talking about a) their kids, b) their upcoming plastic surgery, and c) their wanting to get a tattoo. Whenever we go out, they get too drunk and spend too much time flirting with the 23 year old bartenders. The idea of sitting through this, sans martini, is a bit ...overwhelming. And now one of the mothers has decided that she wants to bring her 18 year old daughter to this event. I know. Hello healthy boundaries? Anyone?

Sigh.

********************

Sad state of the media: I was watching the TV at the gym (without sound) and I couldn't tell if it the sign behind the anchor said ET or FT, and the headline read: Banks in Recovery (or something), and I had no idea if it was about Tyra or, you know, the actual US economy.

Tired and gray....

tired of this oregon weather. tired of being cold. (note: it is no longer cold in my house - which I only have my father to thank. At least I am no longer contemplating moving out thanks to his assistance). Just tired of everything right now. Maybe a little seasonal affective disorder, maybe a little sick of arguing with eBoy over something that happened two months ago. By the way, least helpful phrase in the english language? Get over it.

the only response to that, really, is bite me.

I need someplace sunny and warm. The only thing I can think of that will cost me less than $400 is a tanning bed. And they'll only let me hang out in there for 6 minutes. Bleah.

It's foggy and cold today. I'm going to spend a little time reading the paper, listening to chopin, and then I'm cleaning the house from top to bottom. It's my old reliable standby cure for stress and depression. Wish me luck.

Chugging along....

Here I am, up at 6:00am on a Friday morning, getting ready to go to WW, then my trainers! 10 days through DoH! We even met friends out at a bar and then went out to dinner the other night! (He had iced tea, I had lemonade. I had grilled fish for dinner, he had, ahem a pasta with heavy cream sauce; the boy simply wouldn't know low fat if it bit him on the ass. But I try not to pressure him too much - he's trying).

In other news, I got my app for the PsyD program in. I should find out right before we leave for Aruba if I got in or not. Nice.

Cause to lose all my senses is Just So. Typically. Me.

Britney, before you go, there's something I want you to have""Oh, it's beautiful, but wait a minute, isn't this...?""Yeah, yes it is.

Aww, you shouldn’t have.

I can't *believe* that took me a week to think of.

Woot! First week of 100 Doh!

We have successfully completed the first week of 100 DoH - without a single misstep! (um, well, someone had a screwdriver and a scone - not together - when he was in Vegas this weekend. But considering that he was in Vegas, I think it shows remarkable restraint and fortitude).

I am feeling very pleased so far. That Damn Dress (TM) will be ready for fittings in February, and I feel like I am On Track.

Although I had a dream last night that I was massively, waddle-y pregnant. hmm......

Here's what's going on.

Next week I will submit, yet again, my application for a doctoral program in clinical psychology. I have the grades, i have the recommendations (in fact, one of my recommendaturs (what?) left a five minute voicemail for me today, extolling my virtues and how well suited he feels I am to advanced study in psychology. Yea yea, nice to hear, but you're singing to the choir, Pops. Put it in the letter), now all I have to do is not fall over my own words and then - presuming I get an interview - *not* fall over my own personality. These things - mostly my personality - have doomed me before.

And yes, I punted. I'm only applying to the local PsyD program. Yeah yeah, there's a thousand reasons not to go there. And there are a thousand reasons to choose to go there. We can't always choose to go into the Best Program. Sometimes we have to go into the Best Program for Us at this Moment. Hopefully I can just minimize the negatives and build on the positives.

Um, well, hopefully I can fucking get in.

4 days down. 96 to go.

The first few days of 100Doh have gone exceedingly well - um except for the fact that it now seems a day of vomiting/dizziness is the new way I experience PMS, wtf? more on that later.

HOWEVER.

The last few days have been good. Eating very healthy. It's tough a little since i don't really have the time to cook as much as I'd like. But, for work meals, I switched over to Kashi's frozen dinners. I'm really trying to get away from ingredient lists that have lots of weird chemicals or preservatives in them. Kashi has an excellent reputation, the food is good, and so I feel okay about eating it during 100Doh. I'm staying away from Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones - they're just too processed and they're not "healthy," they're just portion-controlled.

Today was a good day. I had an awesome workout with my trainer. She commented that I'm definitely getting stronger (woot!) and that she could now she definition in my triceps - that's right, my swing-low sweet-schoolteacher arms are finally starting to tone up! Holy moly.

WW meeting was good too. I lost five pounds over the last week. Of course, I had put on 4 the week before. Whatev.

OMFG Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee are sofuckingpissed at Britney Spears for stealing their news cycle.

1st day down. 99 to go.

So...what did we eat on the first day of 100 DoH?


Breakfast
- coffee (considered giving it up, but let's be real here)
- scrambled egg beaters in a high-fiber, whole-wheat wrap with jarred roasted red peppers, spinach, and feta (they're serving something like this at Starbucks right now for 5 points. This had 2.5 points. It was okay; I like Starbucks' better, but this was clearly lower in calories and fat and didn't cost three dollars each).

Snack: banana

Lunch: whole wheat wrap with turkey, roasted red peppers, and laughing cow cheese wedge.

Snack: Reduced fat wheat thins (we won't stick with these because they have high fructose corn syrup, and so we'll be switching to reduced fat triscuits, since mamma ain't giving up her beloved cheese n'crackers) with a laughing cow light cheese wedge (have I mentioned how much I love these at less than one point each?). This little snack is usually served with a glass of wine. Tonight it came with a glass of Light Cranberry drink (um, Ocean Spray I think).

Here's a bit of a motivator with the whole cutting out alcohol thing: alcohol is an appetite STIMULANT. I do *not* need anything stimulating my appetite. Nuff said.

Dinner: (the goal here was to show eBoy that healthy eating doesn't have to mean lettuce and flax seed for the next 100 days. Last night he asked, I can have beer, right? Um, no. Wait, what??? Somehow the boy didn't connect giving up alcohol with giving up beer. I think he thought he was just giving up Scotch for a 100 days. whoopsie!)

- turkey burger made with 99% lean ground turkey breast
- whole wheat buns
- caramelized red onions
- spicy baked steak fries
- salad

Dessert: sugar free fudgsicle.

Late night: passionfruit and mango tea.

All day: water water water water.

*****************

So....not too bad. I didn't try to count points, but I probably came in around 22. And I'm not starvin' marvin' tonight. And we had a grand time watching The Biggest Loser season premiere.

so, day one, not too bad. Maybe we can do it again tomorrow. Will be a little more difficult since I'll be at work. But I made extra turkey burger patties and a pot of my vegetable n'black bean chili and dished out out into four tupperware containers. So we have things to eat. We just have to stick with it.

Hurray!

2008 in the hizzous.

Nothing like calling back to a 1998 trend for a title. (insert wazzup reference here)

Well, Happy New Year everyone. Ready for 100 Days of Health? (or, its more apt title, 100 Days of Hell, thank you LCB).

And yes indeedy, we had one hell of a New Year's Eve. (Actually, I had one HELL of a December and my blouse, ahem, was a little tight last night. Oh well.) As all things in my life, the evening revolved around food. We started at Wildwood with prosecco and oysters on the half shell. Then moved onto Lucy's Table (still my favorite restaurant in Portland) for supper, which consisted of a foie gras starter, a couple of rare rib-eye steaks dressed up all fancy in ways I can no longer remember, a 2004 Merryvale Cab, and for dessert, a selection of goat cheeses.

I know.

And now we sit, enjoying the Rose Parade (brought to you in HIGH DEFINITION, which Al Roker and this unknown blond woman can't seem to stop pushing. Best line so far: The high definition really makes an impact here because all the flowers are organic. What??), eBoy playing with his new Crackberry, and me with a stack of WW/healthy cookbooks (including a brand new one from my AuntBev - Woot!) to plan out our first week of health hell.