How I felt on the Schuykill Expressway this morning.......

 

 

For those of you not familiar with the Philly area, the Schuykill is pronounced "Skoookle"...emphasis on the ooooooooo

 

 

The cats have the right idea.....

 

 

Another thought....remember Knut the baby polar bear rejected by his mother?  It seems that Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears aren't the only child stars with serious problems:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=544849&in_page_id=1811&ito=1490

 

 

 

It's seems all that limelight has turned the poor creature into an "animal psychopath".  Think Cirque Lodge has any room??

 

Come to think of it, during my sit on the "Skoookle";, I sorta felt like the Knut on the right

Belated Flower Show Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, Philadelphia held its annual flower show.  I hadn't been in many years and when the opportunity to join a couple of friends to see it arose, I jumped at the chance.  The theme this year was New Orleans.  Not a lot of commentary, just some lovely photos.  Enjoy.....

The Entry to the Show...

I love orchids....

 

The French Quarter

My friends:

 

What I WISH my backyard looked like:

 

A beautiful night!

Update

Made a salad with tuna, tomatoes, celery and zucchini in a balsamic vinaigrette - yum.   Made hummus with too much garlic...not yum.  Poor Shari (my trainer), she's gonna earn every cent of her fee. I brushed my teeth and gargled twice and still need to chew mints like crazy.

Random thoughts.....

I worked at home today. Which means that I:

1. Read emails and answered the important ones - while in my pajamas and my fluffy slippers (yes, I admit it, I have them and I LOVE THEM).

2. Read blogs - mixed the work related ones with the fun ones so that I didn't feel TOO guilty.

3. Kept the volume on the laptop up so that I could hear mail come in while I put up my new lamps in the living room, separated which vases I want to put out for recycling.....Let me explain.  My mom turned 80 a couple of weeks back (one of the reasons for absence of blogging) and we received enough flowers to make the house look like a funeral parlor - in fact at one point, Mom did turn to me and ask if she'd died and no one let her in on the joke...cleaned out a cupboard.

4. Took notes in preparation for an interview with a journalist tomorrow regarding one of our products.

5. Played with the cat.

6. Prepped Mom for dialysis.  Which means slathering Lidocaine on her arm and wrapping it in Saran wrap. I kid you not. It makes it less painful when they insert the needles to run the blood through the machine.  It's amazing how child-like the elderly can become.  My mom has suddenly forgotten how to open a tube, make a phone call, or throw anything away. I'm sure it hasn't been sudden, but it's just become so apparent.  I have teenagers, I'm finally at the point where I don't have to be on them every moment, and now I have to be constantly aware for my parent.  I really understand what they mean by sandwich generation. 

7.  Told my son to turn the volume on the music down about six times, but realized it was drowning out the growling and sing song act he does when he's playing video games.  I had hoped it would lessen as he got older, but it hasn't.

8. It's noon and I still have on my fluffy slippers.  At least I put on yoga pants - it's progress.

Recovery Day......

Because I was instructed (yeah, right!) to take it easy...and because I couldn't put off completing a couple presentations for work any longer, I spent a loverly day on the couch, happily building PowerPoints while watching Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai.  Am I the only geek for those big 50's/60's epic flicks? 

Torture

I had to go to DC Thursday - to Crystal City actually, to meet with our sales director. I took the train from 30th St to Union Station, carried my laptop tote and handbag and was bundled up like Nanook of the North as it was really blustery and cold.  I took the Metro and walked to the office and when the day was through, walked back and reversed the route back to the train.  Wore nice, comfy ballet flats, so no problem, right?

Well, while I'm no stranger to commuting, it was a pain this time - it's about a 15 minute walk to the Metro every bloody escalator was shut down (there are a few sets of stairs involved if you don't want to walk outside.  I realized that my laptop bag was really poorly suited to power walking while climbing the  third set of stairs and man, ballet slippers offer NO support. 

 

By Friday night I was limping - my hip and my back were at war with the rest of me.  When I went into the trainer's this morning - it was obvious that working out was not really possible, so the trainer decided to use acupressure to release my poor aching muscles.  Long story short I was so jacked up, that the least pressure point touched was enough to make me elevate off the table.   The blood was rushing to and from every extremity; when they had me sit up, the muscles in my face were twitching like Humphrey Bogart

It's mean when your trainer laughs at you (It's okay - I really didn't mind - really I didn't)

I have one thing to say, I don't care how much it hurts - comfortable shoes are NOT in my future.

Sorry for the Delay in Posting

I could make up all sorts of reasons, such as:

1. I have all of these great pictures, but can't find the thingy that connects my camera to my laptop (true - my house is always in some sort of chaotic upheaval)
2. My trainer beat me up (again true - it sucks being 45 and realizing that sitting on your ass for a year eating and drinking like you're Bacchus actually does widen the load - A LOT)
3. I've been working my tail off at the stuff that actually brings in a paycheck (also true - I work at Overreactions R US)
4. The meds hadn't kicked in (true - I'm just now starting to not lie on my back staring at the ceiling for three hours at a stretch)
5. I'm lazy (most true)

No New Year's resolutions for me - the longest I've ever kept one was 3 1/2 hours. Still, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. I had my measurements taken at the gym last night and almost cried when I saw how my body had changed.

I signed a letter of commitment with my trainer to do three days of cardio a week (not hard because I meet with her twice a week and I can't leave until I've done the deed), watch what I put in my mouth - and what comes out of my mouth (ok, my kids made me promise to that one).  I will be stopping at Staples on the way home tonight to pick up one of those USB cables.

 

I also picked up one of the coolest gizmos to support me in becoming the svelte me that I used to be: 

 

A Salton food scale that tells you the number of calories of each thing you weigh - it also tells you the carbs, fat and protein grams in each portion.  For me, it provides a sobering look at just how many calories are in what I'm preparing.  I've already decided that changing what I eat won't work - I'm a foodie and a wino at heart, but it will help me make some choices to either eat less of it or shift to a healthier way of preparing it.  If it could only scream "NO! DO NOT SNEAK THAT FRENCH FRY" as I raise my hand to my mouth, it would be perfect.

 

It is definitely an attitude adjustment and not the first time I've had to make this - after my kids were born, I gained a large amount of weight and through Weight Watchers and living at the gym, I lost it and looked great. I kept it off for 10 years, but injuries and one family crisis after another pushed me off track. Now, 10 years later, it's much harder to get back on. I have no illusions of being the workout goddess I used to be (we're talking 20 BMI for god's sake), but I want to be healthy again.  I just want have energy again.

 

Wish me luck everyone.