Hey! 2006-ers!!

It's a new year in SEVEN HOURS (Mountain Standard Time at the time of this post)!! While it is true this whole time system we live by was created by man and people around the world celebrate the coming of a new year at all different times based on their location/cultural/religious beliefs and much of it is arbitrary, I can't help but feel as though we're on the brink of something new and exciting. It just feels that way to me. This has been a hard year for many people (it always is), but hopefully that can change as we work through the problems and get to yet another age of stability (yes, it will happen dammit). So I wish you the very best, be safe this evening, watch out for each other, and THANK YOU to EVERYONE who has stopped by this teeny tiny corner of the Internet to leave their thoughts and pithy comments.

YEARNY NEW HAP EVERYBODY!!

See Ree Owl

So I'm having some Cheerios and it reminded me of something. You know how some people don't like to drink the milk? Well, I've read that the vitamins and minerals the cereal "has" are sprayed on in the last step of processing so if you don't drink the milk you're basically eating a bowl of sugar and flour.

(I just tried to find a source for that info and I won't even tell you what strange-ass results "drinking milk" came up with. Ew. If you can find a good source for the info I just pontificated PLEASE send it to me.)

You can buy a whole grain cereal (such as Cheerios which is what I am enjoying right now) but you still have to drink the milk. Granted most cereal is so processed that it doesn't really matter if there are whole grains in it or not. It's just another quick and easy way to become diabetic is all...



I guess it goes back to that ol' problem of how food can kill you. All food. Any food. Give it enough time and someone will come up with a way it can kill you.



It's too much to worry about. There are so many things to freak over I'm just not going to CARE. No more! I'm free!!

I'm just going to sit here with my vision-degenerating CRT monitor (see the glasses?), my carpal tunnel keyboard setup, my back wrenching chair and enjoy this bowl of diabetes.

After I stretch.

And go to the gym.

And take a multivitamin.

Have a nice day.

Chrizzle Mizzle

I saw this while driving around Christmas Day. HAHAHAH!!

C'est Officiel!!!

YES!! YES YES YES YES YES!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!!!

That is all. :-D

Greetings!

MERRY HAPPY!!

Hello everyone. Did you have a nice holiday? I did.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my parents and their friends. We laughed and drank wine and had delicious gourmet snackables and all was lovely. A really good friend from the past ended up being in town and came by to say hi! That was awesome (Hi Brice!) and we hope to see him again. Presents were opened on Christmas Eve (heh heh) and I got NOT ONLY a book AND DVD of cool sushi recipes, but a HOT AIR POPCORN POPPER TOO. WHOOHOO!! Also a Sudoku book, various gift cards, bath products, hats, a really cool hand crank radio which can work without 'lecktersitey (sweeet), a gym membership, my National Geographic renewal (ongoing since 1996) and a bunch of other neato stuff.

THANKS FOR MY ROCKIN' PRESENTS EVERYBODY!!

I took these pictures TODAY for your holiday enjoyment. They're hot and fresh out of the...uhh...memory card?

Enjoy.







Now I'm going to make popcorn. Yes. Mmm. Yes. Hot air.

Bliggity Bling Blog

Holiday Greetings.

To you.

Yo.

Recent events brought this story of mine back to mind. Most of you know this story, but some of you haven't had the pleasure...and I have an update of sorts to add to it. Here is "Part Deux" of "The Story Nobody Should Tell At A Party."

-WARNING...EXTREMELY GROSS POST FOLLOWING WITH REFERENCES TO DOODY-

Once upon a time (5 years ago), in a land far, far away (the Science Building), I went to the restroom before my geography class (which I never finished). After completing the necessary procedures, I stood up and something caught my eye. Looking down, I noticed, quite shockingly, that "it" was BRIGHT GREEN. This wasn't your regular green either. It looked as though I had just eaten about 9 highlighters.

BRIGHT GREEN.

Afterwards I kept trying to think of how it happened. What was strange was that I felt nothing. I wasn't sick, my stomach wasn't upset, I didn't even have gas (I told you this post was gross)! It made no sense. I felt fine. Completely fine. Fine and dandy. So what was going on?

I needed a scapegoat. The day before I had gorged on sushi and ingested a bunch of seaweed. This was as likely as anything so I accepted that and moved on.

Until last week.

I haven't had sushi in awhile and IT CAME BACK. Try to imagine this if you will (just shut up and do it. It's funny). You're "Taking Care of Business" feeling just fine and dandy, you stand up and BLAMMO!! Green doody!! What the hell?! Is there some weird thing in my colon that colors it green? Did I swallow a crayon? WHY IS IT GREEN??!!

I've decided I'm just not going to worry about it until either the whites of my eyes turn green or I die. I don't really have the desire to give it more attention than that so there you go. I don't feel sick so I must not be sick, right? Right?? RIGHT??!!

That's right.

NOTE: I am not one of those weird people who check out their doody. That's how bright it was.

Updater's Digest

Here's what I've been doing since the last update:

---BEGIN---

Saturday

Went to boss' house and made delightful holiday cookies.



Sunday

Exercised with dad and dinked around the apartment.

Monday

Worked, then went to boss #2's house with boss #1 to make a 30 Minute Fudge Wreath, White Chocolate Peanut Fudge, Bourbon Balls (HOT DAMN!) and a real, non-edible wreath to go on the ENORMOUS empty spot in the alcove above her television.

Tuesday

Came to work and had oatmeal.

---END---

That's it! Hope you enjoyed it!

Dehydration II: Hangover Junction

Wow. That was a lot of wine.

I just wanted you to know I like Rice Krispies.



That is all.

Vino/Wine/Vin

Hi.

I just drank a bottle of wine. I feel SO GOOD right now you don't even know. Oh yeah. Wine. Mmm.

So my friend is going to call me in a few while she walks to her car. I hope I don't say anything stupid. Granted I say stupid things all the time but I don't want to say anything especially stupid right now as I have had a ton of wine. The chances are increased somewhat.

I'll be fine.

There's another bottle in the fridge...hmm...

Here's a picture of the gift box I got from (one of my) boss(es) today. Thanks boss! It's awesome!

(Note: The chocolate popcorn has been half eaten and now thrown out because I just can't handle the temptation).



I NEED MORE WINE!!

Dehydration: A Celebration

Good Evening.

I *think* I might know why I was so dizzy. It could have been one of two things.

1. I took too much ibuprofen for my back the day prior

or

2. I was really, REALLY dehydrated.

Number one sounds plausible because it's a side effect of too much ibuprofen, and number two does as well because I worked out harder than usual, didn't drink a bunch of water, then went home and had salt (damn you baby gherkins and your tastiness!). Plus I've been drinking tons of water and feel much better since yesterday. I've worked out twice since DizzySpell 2005 (two days ago) and I feel pretty good if I may say so meself. I'm glad I exercised anyway...the previous moi would have forgone exercise and stayed in bed, not setting foot in a gym for at least another three months. Not now! It's validating too because I feel okay!

So whatever it was it's over now and I don't give a hoot.

A couple days ago (in a dizzy stupor) I decided to lower my thermostat a few degrees (from 70 to 67) because it was toasty in here and it saves on the gas bill. Clearly this wasn't a good idea. You see, my apartment was built in the 1960's or something and was not made to provide...shall we say..."ample" protection from the elements. Basically I can feel a (frostbitening) draft even with the windows closed (is that a word?). So the thermo must be raised. Stat. (I AM SO COLD RIGHT NOW. HOLY POOP I AM SO COLD.)

There. It kicked on with that "Fwoosh!" sound it makes that is oh so dear to my heart. For those of you who know, I have issues with this furnace (see link) but I don't care right now because I'm COLD!

That is all. Here's a picture of a picture of my friend looking at my frog Rutherford on top of the furnace.



Also...I just took this quiz and it was right on. Weird.

Pjamms took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Seeks freedom from problems and a secure state of ..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Buh bye!

Frippity Frappr

THANK YOU to everyone who has added themselves to my Frappr Map. You are TOO funny. Click the link of you want to add yourself (and haven't yet). This is so cool!

So this morning I woke up dizzy. I mean DIZZY. I got up and went to get a drink of water. On the way to the bathroom I had to stop and put my head against the wall because the room seemed to be spinning. Wildly.

I have this medication I'm taking with that as a side-effect but I've been taking it for weeks now with no problem. I thought it might be dehydration so I drank 20 oz. of water over the course of today and didn't feel better until just now...but I'm still dizzy. Could it be that the dehydration was that severe? It just doesn't make sense. I fill up my bottle with water at my desk every day and I've started exercising, true, but I used to exercise even harder and felt nothing...and that was only a year ago!

So basically I dunno what's wrong but I'm feeling better which is a relief. Has anyone else had this weird mishap with physics? Anyone? Maybe it's something I'm not thinking of.

On a positive note, I discovered baby (or "Midget") dill pickles yesterday. OH MY GOD they are so good! Little, crunchy, herby, crunchy, juicy littleYUM. YUM YUM YUM.

(Yes, I am aware these have existed for decades. I don't get around to the pickle aisle very often, okay?)

Now every sandwich I have (sliced turkey with cucumbers and spinach) is accompanied by these tasty little "Cocktail Weenies of the Vegetable Kingdom" and I couldn't be happier. Plus, the ones I have are made in Milwaukee! You know it's good when it's from the Midwest! Mmm.

In fact, here they are! Being enjoyed by me! Notice how the jar is half-eaten.





I'm gonna go have some right now...

Exercise and Mappercize

Hi there.

I exercised with my dad again today and it went really well. My back was stiff and it loosened up after a bit which was a relief. We've gone every day this week except Saturday, and plan to do that regularly. Sun/Tue/Thu will be cardio and resistance and Mon/Wed/Fri will be a quick cardio. I met with a trainer to get sorted out and started up again and I really like the routine he made for me. It feels SO GOOD to be exercising again! Never underestimate the power of a workout partner. If any of you have stopped exercising, I highly recommend finding one. There's a good chance you know someone who goes a lot. That makes the difference in my book.

[END PREACHY SECTION]

So I was visiting my friend Michele and she posted her Frappr Map and I thought "Hey! Why not?" So, if you would like, add yourself to mine! You can add a photo and a comment and all kinds of crazy crap! Woo!

No time for time to be time.

Hello,

The other day I found a notice on my front door that the complex was getting new managers. This made me a little sad as the current managers (husband and wife) are really, really kind and help me out very quickly with maintenance issues and such. I'm sure the new people are nice too, but I still will miss the old ones.

As I left for the gym (which is going well by the way) I noticed the wife standing in the lobby. I had an appointment with a trainer and didn't have time to say much. We just quickly chatted about where they're going and that's about it. Apparently she got a new job in the main office and they're moving out to the suburbs. As I thanked her for being a good manager and ran to my car to avoid being late, it dawned on me that our relationship had always been that way - squeezed inbetween other stuff.

When I came to look at this place it was about 30 minutes before work so we had to be quick about it. I basically ran in, looked at it, got the info and ran out. Whenever I called them it was to ask about a package or request something get fixed while I was running out the door to school or work. When one of them was walking around the complex, it was at a time when nothing more than "Hi!" could be said as we both had to be somewhere very soon.

I know they were just the managers of the building, but it seemed like they could have been really interesting. They were Latin American and had a little boy. When the wife spoke Spanish to her son, it reminded me of my grandma. There's a good chance we could have swapped recipes or something. Both the husband and the wife were very friendly and seemed to enjoy talking to people.

In life there are people you never get to know for whatever reason. That's fine and all, but I still wonder what could have been...

Here's a picture. You know I can't resist.

Eksahseyez

Hello.

Last night was the first night I exercized in a long, long time. It felt so good. Actually, the cardio part felt good, but the ab crunch part caused my stomach to ball itself up into a tight little knot (OW). But it was nice anyhow.

My dad got me a membership at his health club and we're going to go together. That's a good idea because he is very committed to exercise and will motivate me to go when I don't want to. That was the best part of having someone go with me last winter. I will NOT go if I'm alone. That's just the way it is. With the membership comes a session with a trainer who can help you get everything situated. I loved having a trainer at 24 Hour Fitness and if it hadn't been so DAMN far away I would have kept it up - it goes back to that whole "Another Person" theory I have. Knowing someone was waiting for me made it so much easier.

So I'll keep you posted on all that good stuff. Hopefully I'll get into shape and go...run...something or...ahh...walk? Stuff?

Well whatever but the point is I'm EXERCISING AGAIN! WOO!!

This is a picture of me around this time last year. I WILL look like this (or better) again. Yes I will!



Except maybe without the crack-induced smile. That's just weird. :-P

Smello.

I was talking to Sally on the phone last night and she was very sleepy. I have a feeling this might be due to the fact I am very boring or maybe she was just really tired. In any case, I told her I was going to let her go because she was tired. This is how the conversation went:

Me: Sally I'm going to let you go now because it sounds like you need some sleep.

Sally: No.

Me: What?

Sally: I'm not going to do that.

Me: You're not going to hang up?

Sally: No.

Me: Why?

Sally: Because if I do that you...just...disappeeeeeeaaaaaar...

Me: What?!

I've heard people liken sleeping and being drowsy to being drunk. By that I mean inner thoughts you normally keep to yourself are shared out in the open due to a lack of consciousness and inhibition. So this leads me to wonder what she meant by that. Is she aware of my power to become invisible? I've kept it a secret all these years and I can't imagine how she caught on! Hopefully that isn't the case. Well, if she IS aware of it, I'll just have to scan her brain and erase that knowledge like I did when she found out my secret recipe for Honey Cinnamon Chicken.

NOTE: This was a joke (the phone conversation was real however). I do not possess the ability to become invisible, unless the Throxonites are aligned with my galaxical coordinates. At that point I have no choice and must cover the house in tinfoil.