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April Challenge and Various Musings/Updates

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I have decided that (amongst other things) April is SALAD A DAY month. I do love eating salads, but am not always organized enough (read: too darn lazy) to prepare them for my meals. Above, behold my ginormous Tupperware bowl (a popcorn bowl, courtesy of Blockbuster Video many, many years ago) which holds enough salad for JD and I for at least 3 days. I want to make it a habit to eat more veggies and SAD is a good habit to start.

So far so good with the SAD challenge….well, except for the day we dropped into Burger King with our coupon for Whopper combos (2 can dine for $8.99!) and they were OUT of salads. That day the salad was of the fried potato variety…sigh. (And it was actually kinda tasty….I am not a fan of french frys or usually even potatoes….but I did enjoy these as they were not too salty and I was HUNGRY.)

Here’s my backup plan for this challenge – formerly known as a Green Monster, I now re-christen you: SALAD IN A GLASS:

This particular SIAG was comprised of about:

4 cups spinach, steamed to a little pile of concentrated leafy green goodness

1 cup skim milk

1 cup frozen raspberries

1 scoop Whey Gourmet protein powder (vanilla, of course!)

So delicious. So guilt-free. So all about cramming in that much fruit and veggies before noon!

Picture a Day Update

During my recent bout with the respiratory virus from hell, I was less diligent about hauling the camera out every day. Though I did take snaps on most days, I am now so far behind on posting them on this blog I am going to start over – tomorrow….yep, not even gonna try to get caught up. Forward, onward, never look back…rah rah…and all that (said with a plummy British accent). Because it’s my blog and I can.

Menopause on Pause?

My little seconds-long (minute-pause?) tropical moments, which have been on hiatus for several months, seem to have returned over the past week. Is it possible for this to happen? Menopause to go in and out of remittance? Or is something else going on? I guess there is nothing to do but wait and see what my body decides to do next.

Good Health……

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…never truly appreciated until it’s gone. Above is a pic of the day from I can’t remember when anymore….sigh. I suppose I could look it up on the JPEG but who really cares at this point? Not I, said the little red-nosed hen.
One should get these drops not only for the unusual flavour (chocolate mint cough candies…yum!) but because the little penguin on each wrapper urges you to GET WELL SOON! Makes one smile even when feeling poorly.
Chocolate mint – such a refreshing change of pace from my drug of choice, hot lemony Neo Citran (which I will be happy to never have to drink again anytime soon…let me tell you!)
Today is the first day in about 10 that I feel I am really, actually on the mend.

Weekend Update… a week and a half late

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(Due to technical difficulties (blogger’s malfunctioning respiratory and immune systems), this post has been unavoidably delayed, till now.)

Mar 15 POD – dollar store trip results in Golden Buddha head on a stick – for $2! Love me my Dollarama.

A fabulous week, weather-wise in my part of the world. We are experiencing that extremely rare animal – the Early Spring!

You may or may not notice that there were no pictures of the day for last weekend – Mar 13 and Mar 14. This is due mainly to the photographer being extremely ticked by last weekend’s weather, which was cold, windy, snowy, blowy, rainy, dreary and all around depression-inducing.
So nice to have that followed up by an unseasonably warm and sunny week!

However, the weather gods have appeared to have smited me for not appreciating last weekend’s display of their power as I have come down with the first bad cold I’ve had in…oh…at least 2 years.

Mar 17 POD – St. Patrick’s Day Green Milk (made by washing out my Green Monster blender container with moo)

Urge to Purge

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(Mar 18th PODs – too much stuff!)

One of the best things to come out of the awful year of ending my marriage and starting a new, single life was the freedom I felt at the new lack of “stuff” in my possession. I had almost no furniture, no knick knacks, almost no kitchen stuff…it was scary and glorious at the same time.

 

I remember having to flip pancakes for the kids with a paint scraper (dug out of my new tool box) in those early days of starting over.

 

Our living room consisted of 2 folding lawn chairs, and we watched our 13″ TV on an old futon. We had a bed and a dresser and a desk each. For the first month, we didn’t even have a microwave, till my mom bought us one. I knew exactly what I had and exactly where everything was.
Now, 10 years later, I have TOO MUCH STUFF in a TOO SMALL HOUSE and I long for the psychic space that lack of ownership affords. Less is truly more.

 

I have been wanting to get rid of stuff for a long time now, and have made half-hearted attempts. It isn’t easy….JD and I are planning to consolidate to one place (his) at around this time next year, so a smart woman would be going through her stuff sooner rather than later.
I want to be that smart woman, I really do! So, to that end, I will begin this weekend. I am taking part in Caitlin’s Three Bags Full challenge.

 

And here is the beginning: my dressers and pitiful excuse for a clothes closet (see above), set in the eaves of my storey and a half little house, and expanded into my bedroom with JD’s gift of a clothing rack. Thanks, I think? (Way to be an enabler there, hubby-to-be!)
I’m not sure how I collected so many clothes. I seem to wear only the same few things over and over and over. A fashionista I am not.
I think my challenge will be to have ONLY three bags full!

Alice Rediscovers Her Mojo And So May We All

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March 7 POD

 

“Johnny Depp: making crazy look hot since….whenever!”
Thanks Caitlin, for that great quote. Khizzie, my belly dance instructor agrees with you. Johnny (and Orlando Bloom) have provided inspiration for many of her classes as she makes us pretend we are mermaids bringing golden coins on our hips to Captain Jack Sparrow’s pirate ship. A bit of a Pirates of the Caribbean fetish goin’ on with Khizmet, to be sure. A whole lotta fun, but you probably had to be there…
I think he’s been making crazy look hot ever since Edward Scissorhands, but I might have missed a character or two before then.

Mizz J and I went to see Alice in Wonderland on Sunday, after treating ourselves to a mani/pedi at the mall. Why is it so hard to find a salon that can consistently do a great job? Last time I went to this place the pedicure was pretty good. Still good this time, but the manicure was dodgy…mostly because the manicurist was rushing to be done with me so she could do a pedicure on a walk-in. And we had booked appointments! Argh. I’m going to stick to pedis from now on. I can do a better manicure and polish on myself.

Anyway, the movie was mostly fantastic. Way better than Avatar. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are a match made in Heaven, once again. The actress who played Alice, Mia Wasikowska, was quite wonderful, I thought. Mizz J especially liked the fact that Alice was such a strong female character…she didn’t start out that way, but became so as the movie progressed. Yes, a pretty decent young female role model for Mizz J, who is in the process of discovering herself and the world!

 The Futtenwacken dance scene – what was up with that? It didn’t seem to fit into the movie at all. Like it was forced in by some Disney exec for a product tie-in or something or to appeal to some demographic. Music and dance style did not jibe with the time period of the movie. Imagine Micheal Jackson dropped into 19th century England. Just weird.
But overall, a highly enjoyable movie.

 

 

Edward Gets Confused

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Feb 9th Pic of the Day – Our newish car (bought Nov 09)
JD and I are fans and consumers of Toyota products. We recently traded in our beloved 2006 Matrix and bought our second Toyota, a 2010 Prius. I secretly (well, guess the cat is out of the bag now) refer to the car as Edward….because the Blizzard White paint job is pearlescent and sparkles in the light. Thanks to Mizz J for introducing me to the Twilight series et al, and that reference!
And now Edward is going to be recalled because of a braking problem. We hadn’t experienced it until just this weekend, when JD was braking and went over a bump. Ooops, Edward got confused apparently and the braking just cut out. Thankfully we were going quite slow anyways and there was no one ahead of us.
I do hope Toyota learns from this experience and comes back stronger and more quality-focused than ever. We do think they make excellent cars (well, excellent for our needs…reasonably priced, durable, reliable) and I personally love our dealership – which has besides exemplary customer service, a cafe and quiet room with internet….you really don’t mind waiting for the car to be worked on. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the complimentary car wash, so Edward can continue to be sparkly!

Feb 10 POD – Maple Quinoa Cereal
I recently made this recipe, from OhSheGlows, a wonderful website with many great recipes. Vegan baker Angela comes up with cool ways to eat healthy.
I’ve gotten a lot of great ideas from her site, including the whole Green Monster smoothie crush I’m currently experiencing!
The cereal was easy to make, quite crunchy and nicely sweetened with maple syrup and spiced with cinnamon.
It did keep me full longer than a regular bowl of flakes, no doubt due to the high protein content of the quinoa.

Cowl of Kindness Started, New Mascara!

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Feb 7th Pic o’ de Day
This is how far I’ve gotten so far on the yarn I was winding up in the kitchen a couple of weeks ago. The pattern is called “Cowl of Kindness”, from Knitting Philistine’s blog. At the rate I am knitting this, I will be wearing it next winter. Sigh.

Above are 2 pics of yours truly (Feb 8th) modelling my new purchase of Lash Blast mascara in Black Cabernet. A fashion photographer I am not. It was not easy (nor obviously too successful) shooting myself in the face, by myself, but I am so pleased with this product that I had to try. The pics don’t do the mascara (or myself) any favours, but believe me, this stuff is AWESOME. Cover Girl has done it right. Cheap, readily available, easy to put on and take off, and makes each eyelash do the work of a dozen, WITHOUT clumping. What’s not to love?

Health Update

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Feb 5th Picture of the Day – finds from Costco
I’ve been feeling a lot better lately. My TSH levels have dropped again, to more normal levels. So it appears the thyroid might be OK after all. So what IS/WAS going on with me then?

My theory now, is that I burned the candle at both ends for too long in November and December and then paid the price. Stress, people, is what did me in. All work, no exercise and too much restaurant food makes Mizz D is a dull gal indeed!

I’ve been wearing my pedometer religiously since I got it. I even forgot to take it off my PJs last night and wore it to bed…oh, for crying out loud! How silly is that? I guess I know for sure now that I don’t sleep walk, thanks to the zero steps reading this a.m. (Pedometer automatically resets to zero at midnight every night.)

I figured out what the aerobic steps are: anytime you walk more than 10 minutes straight, the pedometer calls that “aerobic”.

So, now when walking Mizz Lucy I keep moving, pacing back and forth, when she stops to check her “pee-mail” so I don’t lose those valuable aerobic minutes being logged. Valuable why? Just for the mental boost it gives me, to read those aerobic minutes logged at the end of the day and know that I was walking with purpose and energy instead of just accumulating steps shuffling around at work or in the kitchen.

So I look kinda strange, but Mizz L doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, I am sure if you asked her she would say the pedometer is the greatest thing ever as it makes her mistress take her for more frequent and longer walks! And now that is it staying light out longer (Feb 6th POD, taken at 6 pm), walking the pooch is much more enjoyable too.

Catch Up, Yet Again

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My oh my, where does the time go?

In my own defense, I have been rather busy – working, wedding planning (OMG – about time!), and helping my mom and stepdad with their move to the house from the condo.

It has been a tough move for them (she’s 74, he’s 80) but they are settled in now and hopefully can rest a bit. My painting clothes came home on the 30th (POD) which means the kitchen, computer room and bathroom are DONE! You may not be able to see from the photo, but we painted the kitchen and bath a lovely creamy shade (dripping down the B in CIBC) called “Fuzzy Mitten”.
Remind me someday to show you the pic of the peeling paint in my own bathroom at home. Sigh.