Two Smokin' Hot Bods

Val and I keep saying that if we could combine her dedication to exercise with my (mostly good) eating habits we could have two smokin' hot bods. Well, I have been awfully lazy the last two months. With three months until our beach vacation Val and I are a little more motivated. I am going on a very strict no C diet for the next two weeks. I'm going to try not to eat any corn at all. I have also set up a very ambitious work out plan for myself. My goal is to lose at least ten pounds in the next three months. I'm hoping to jump start by doing really well in March.

I found myself doing leg lifts and leg swings last week when I was waiting for a patient's radiology test to be completed (it takes over an hour). So, today I did that old Cindy Crawford work out that I've been doing for the last ten years. It felt good to do those leg swings and leg lifts. It just felt good to be moving again. Tonight is a last hurrah. I'm having seven layer lemon cake and I'm not going to feel bad about it.

Still Adjusting

Ross and I have been living together for 10 years, but we are still adjusting. This is the first time we've ever both been working full time at the same time--and living together. Now that I've been going into work earlier, we are trying to work out the morning routine. The after work routine is pretty easy. We eat dinner and veg on the couch for a few hours before going to bed. I haven't worked out in weeks. Just the thought of getting up even earlier to work out makes me tired. I'm still trying to find the best time to leave commute-wise. The morning stuff will work itself out. What I really need to do is shake up our after work routine and actually work out. I can feel all my muscles contracting and I feel like I'm curling up like a flower petal or leaf in the sun.

Workin' The System

We made it to the library today for the first time in a long time. It has been closed due to snow for the last week or so. We returned some books that were due today and I wanted to recheck one of the books. When we went to check out the woman at the front desk said that one of the dvds that we had just checked out was on hold so we probably wouldn't be able to recheck it. Odd, if it was on hold then why were we able to check it out? Then when it came to rechecking my book the lady said I couldn't recheck it because I'd already rechecked it once online. Then she asked if I wanted to keep it. What? She told me it was due today. She told me I wasn't allowed to recheck it. Why would I want to keep it? I'd incur 25 cents a day in fines! After repeatedly saying that I didn't want to keep the book or write down the page number I was on, I was able to convince the lady that I was just going to leave the book.

On the way out of the library Ross and I were lamenting the dumb library policy of not being able to recheck a book twice, but we could check out a book that someone had on hold. I was a little bummed because I only had like 20 pages left in the book. Then I suddenly had this idea. What if they have another copy of the book? Our library has multiple copies of almost every book. We marched back into the library and quickly looked up the book (cause they were about to close). The online card catalog is terrible. We looked up the book by the title and it didn't show up at all. We had to look up the book online and then search by the author's name. Our library has three copies. I went and found a copy on the shelf and checked it out at the nifty self check out. I was so pleased with myself. I found a way around their dumb policy and now I can finish the book.

New Favorite Socks

During the first snowstorm back in December I bought some great knee high socks. I chose them because they are soft, striped, brown, and cashmere (well, at least partly). The colors really reminded me of my old favorite socks. Those socks have since been retired, but I haven't been able to bring myself to throw them out. The dark brown spots and light green spots are where the socks are threadbare.

Corn: It's not for Eatin'

Concern? Yeah, I'm concerned.

I have a thing about corn (most of you already know that). I don't think people should eat corn. I don't think most white people, excuse me Ross, honkies have the genes or enzymes or whatever to properly process corn. Indians (of the American variety) ate corn and were just fine. I'm sure that is because after eating it for thousands of years they were able to process it. I'm also sure it was nothing like the corn we eat today.

Corn doesn't agree with me. It sets off my ulcerative colitis BIG TIME. I guess my honky genes are dominant over my Indian genes. I still eat corn anyway, I just try not to have too much, and I avoid it when I'm sick.

Do you know how hard it is to avoid corn? (I know one of you does.) I swear, it is a conspiracy. Corn is in everything! I avoid HFCS (which is everywhere) because I think it is a little bit evil. (Can things be a little bit evil? Or is it like pregnant--you either are or you aren't?) Okay, check this out: Honey Bunches of Oats--first ingredient is corn! Oats is the fourth ingredient. Vanilla Honey Bunches of Oats--first ingredient is wheat, oats is third, corn is seventh. They should really just call them Honey Bunches of Corn. Even regular Cheerios has corn. Corn is everywhere.

There are so many uses for corn, and ones like herbicide, plastics, and foam make me think that maybe we shouldn't be eating the stuff. You'll never be able to convince me otherwise. I don't care what Dr. Oz says--everyone should drink at least 64 ounces of water each day and everyone should avoid corn.

Snow Day Photos

What, Me, Obessed? No!

I consider myself a chaholic. I love tea. I was telling Ross that I saw a mug with Chinese characters on it and I thought it would be great to have a cup that says wuh ai cha and a plate that says wuh ai dan gao. I looked at him and asked Tiffany style, "You make for me?" He ignored me.

This week one of the doctors was talking with the secretary, Amy, about getting an electric tea kettle so we can start having tea at work. I told them I have a tea kettle in my basement office. Really, I do. Amy ordered a tea kettle for the upstairs office area (the exact same one I have in the basement!). I'm all excited that someone else is also into tea. We should have tea parties at work. That's started me back on my quest for tea accoutrements. I search for "noritake tea set" on ebay almost every day (along with a very intricate saved search for a jade bangle). I started looking at tea trios and found the one pictured above (Noritake of course) that I really like. Man, tea trios can be more expense than full tea sets!

Since the conversation with my coworkers about tea parties, I have bought a strainer so that I can brew loose leaf tea, and not just tea bags. I bought a little dish to put the strainer onto (of course!). I also bought ayurvedic tea, green jasmine tea, and Scottish biscuits to take to work. I'm going to take a tea set that my mom bought me into work. I just need to get a small strainer for the pot and some small white plates for tea biscuits.

If the roads have been plowed I'm going to Ten Ren tomorrow to buy some more Dong Ding Oolong Cha. I'm almost out, so I'll buy a big tin for home and a smaller tin for work. I'll also stop by the Asian market for some veggies and see if they have any other tea gadgets I can't live without. Then we'll go to The Luster's for the game.

I really think the world would be a better place if we all stopped in the afternoon and had tea and a snack. Oooh....and a nap. Oh yes, if only the whole world had snap time.

Snow Day So Far

When I got out of bed at 7 am the snow was so deep I couldn't see the curbs. I got back into bed, put a pillow over my head to drown out the sound of any snow shoveling, and went back to sleep. When I finally got up Ross had made cappuccinos and we had yellow cake cookies to go with them. We watched a couple episodes of the Emperor's New School (Kuzco) on Netflix and then Bailey curled up kind of half-on half-off of Ross's leg while we looked at bad tattoos online.

It is almost noon and I'm still in my jammies. Ross is playing PS2 and Bailey is curled up between us on the couch. It is still snowing. I'm pretty sure the rest of the day will consist of eating, wii, and watching dvds or movies on Netflix. I might put on my wellies and some ski pants and venture outside to take some photos. I should have done that this morning when it was still pristine.

I Said, Give Me a (Spice-eh) Break!

Well, so much for the spice-eh break. I got home kinda late last night and was super hungry and craving honky Chinese. We decided to try out a new place and it turned out to be pretty good. The General Tso's chicken was more like chile and rice wine chicken, but it was still good. I liked the fact that it actually had flavor and (pica) spice. Ross had garlic beef, and that had a little kick to it too. Well, it wasn't Ross's belly that complained, but his nose. At the end of dinner he started having a nosebleed. Too much fire. It was his second nose bleed of the day. Okay, okay, I get it. Ross is a fire and has had too much. I'll try and give him more of a break.

Give Me a (Spice-eh) Break!

I made super spice-eh beef vindaloo for dinner on Monday night. I didn't think I was heavy-handed with the chili powder, but the stuff was pica! We had it for dinner Monday and Tuesday and I had it for lunch today. I was going to make a casserole with spicy sausage tonight, but decided to make waffle-uh instead. I'm sure my tummy is thankful for the break.

Fear v The Space Heater

Bailey used to get nervous when she was in the bathroom and I would close the doors. She immediately wanted out. She used to sit by the door and when I got into the shower then maybe she would sit in front of the space heater.

Bailey doesn't seem be afraid of getting a bath anymore. Now she chills out and sits in front of the heater. She even opens the door if she's outside and comes into the bathroom to stare into the heater. Fear v The Space Heater: The Space Heater won.

Foreshadowing?

Well, it turns out that there are some rules at work about my piercing. I heard (thirdhand) that someone in the clinic saw my piercing and made a complaint to the head of my department. Kind of odd, seeing as I was only in clinic for a few minutes last week and was wearing a sweater with a high neckline. I went to the top to clarify the rules, and it seems that I have to cover it while in clinic. Seeing as I'm not there very often, it isn't a big deal. A big bandaid on my neck says more about my employer than it does about me. I looked at my ID badge today and my piercing is visible in my photo. They aren't going to make me cover that up in clinic are they? Haha.