Miles to Go Still

I promise today is not about the presidential candidates. It's all about me. I have been going to the YMCA now for about 6 weeks and I am proud to report that to date I have gained 15 pounds!!!!! In only six weeks!! WHAAAAAT? I gained?? Oh, I know why--it is all the muscle I have developed. They do say that muscle weighs more than fat. That must be it-especially all the muscle that I gained AROUND MY WAIST!!!!!!!!!!
Here is my problem--when I didn't work out at all, I lost 30 lbs. and kept it off for almost a year. Ever since I started working out--oh well, you know. What happened to sweat equity. You should see the sweat I generate!! I walk on the treadmill at an incline of 7(I don't know what that means but it sure sounds impressive doesn't it?); I ride the bike at a resistance of 5(still don't know what that means either) and I am still fat--fatter than I've been in a while!
30 minutes, 4 days a week and yoga once a week... see why I am a little frustrated.
I don't wear any kind of fancy clothing and I hook up to the televisions so the time goes a little faster(except at Yoga) and still NOTHING!!!
It might have something to do with the food I've been eating but it couldn't possibly be that little bit of candy or apple pie I've let myself have, could it?? Are all the pleasures of life out of my grasp now? I don't eat a whole bag of candy or chips or soda with sugar. I only drink 2 glasses of wine and hardly ever more than that.
So do you think I'm giving up?? No, not me. I will continue to torture myself on that darn treadmill and the bike so at least I will be a bit healthy. I will try to give up the candy and the other treats but never permanently. I may be a little bit fat for the rest of my life but I won't be the only one, that's for sure!!

Miles to Go

Is the presidential campaign over yet?? It isn't?? Have these guys been campaigning for 2 or 3 years or is it just me?? Even Brian Williams is counting down the days. I think he was on 38 on Friday. He's kinda the "advent" calendar--make that the event calendar for NBC. I'm not sure if he is sad or glad that the days are diminishing...he's so professional!
Both candidates are getting on my nerves because they never say anything new. They never tell me what they'll do for me and my loved ones and neighbors. All they do is cat fight about old age and inexperience. I don't know about you but I get it already!
Didn't you think John McCain was going to call Obama a whippersnapper ???? It is so obvious the disdain he has for that young man. He was so angry I bet he ground his teeth down to nothing during the debate.
Governor Palin has faded a bit into the background as all good VPs seem to do. Although there is that marathon interview with Katie Couric going on and some farmer sculpted her face into his corn field(but you have to be airborne to notice that).... oh, and Tina Fey can't stop doing the impression of her. Can't wait to see Joe Biden take a bite out of her at their debate!! Personally I think she'll go for the same tactic as her running mate and just smile and grind her teeth. I'm hoping he doesn't call her a whippersnapper either. I don't know much about him but he seems to have a more folksy approach than recent Democrats so maybe he's ok. The VP doesn't do that much(or so it seems) but I hope he is a good guy and has ideas that mesh with my needs.
He seems to have had a rough personal life but he has been in politics a long time and has a sterling reputation as a statesman. He may have even been to Russia.

Random Thoughts

The whole debate left me cold. Neither candidate made any new points and I thought they both seemed extremely uncomfortable. And for once, John McCain didn't tick me off. Jim Lehrer did!! What do you think he was trying to prove? Don't tell me tell him...please, what is he , in the seventh grade?? I am no closer to admiring either candidate nor any angrier than I was in the beginning. I just felt the whole thing was uncomfortable and nobody ever said how this economy would effect their presidency.
Then I got an email about a bailout I could live with. The author(don't know who it was) suggested that every American over 18 be given 400,000 dollars and pay 30% tax on it. That way people could pay for their homes and have money left over to spend. The government would get a portion of the funds, the banks would be back in business, people could invest and pay off their debts. And it would cost less than the bailout the government is proposing. Now why isn't this guy running for President?? We could probably just have an acclimation vote--no ballots necessary!!
I know they say that money is the root of all evil but I think it is the mismanagement of money that is the real sin.
In a completely different vein, a new bakery opened up by us and it only has cupcakes(oh, a few other items but not many). I know cupcakes are very popular right now but I think for $2.25 each that they should be at least a tad larger than the ones I can make at home for $2.40 for 36 of them!! We went in to look today and I was not impressed. I didn't buy anything as I am planning on making an apple pie for dinner tonight but I'm not sure I ever will...might just work on my frosting skills and try to find the perfect recipe.
I got my first 2009 calendar from a charity this week and I can't believe how this year has flown. Why do these charities and Realtors insist on sending calendars?? I always end up with more than I could ever use and throw some away. Another waste of paper!!
We went for a healthy walk this morning as soon as we got up and then went to the Farmer's market for our weekly supply of corn, tomatoes, and homemade bread. I am feeling smugly healthy and I am embracing that feeling as yesterday I put on a pair of pants and could hardly zip them up!! Time to get back to work on the CheapO diet. Maybe be the time I really need that 2009 calendar I could be a little thinner!

Man, Oh Man IV

The weather here has been perfect as one could wish for--every day. Men have been outside cutting the grass. It is about 72 degrees or so and What's this?? Cutting Grass Guy has no shirt on!!?!?!?!??! I am not talking about a buff and beautiful young man, nosiree. I am talking over 50, beer gut swaying, kinda hairy totally unattractive shirtless guy. As I told my sister, MY EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Which brings me to the new Verizon ad where the father in a jumpsuit and NO SHIRT AND BEER BELLY picks his kid up from school. Now is it just me...I don't remember anybody in any club I was ever in dressed like that--even skinny. What are these people thinking?? Now that mother is no better but at least her flab is mostly covered up.
Which brings me to President Bush(speaking of covering up Yuk-yuk). Did you see him on television last night? The poor thing has such a row of wrinkles between his eyes it looks like he grew a unibrow! I hardly heard what he said because I couldn't take my eyes off of it! I wanted to laugh but I felt sorry for him too( I know I know). Maybe he should see someone about a little Botox.
Which brings me to Bill Gates. He was interviewed on the NBC news last night and you will be relieved to know that he is not worried about the present economic crisis. Oh, really?? You are just one of the richest men in the world, your job is not in jeopardy and neither is your pension. You have plenty of money for gasoline and groceries and all the other things your family needs so why in the he** would you be worried?? I guess it was supposed to make us mere mortals feel better about the whole thing if Bill Gates wasn't worried but it did nothing for me. Oh yeah, and for a guy with so much money why does he look like a 85 year old man already??
Which brings me to the Brian and Joe telethon. If you aren't local, they are a disc jockey team that raises money for Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. A wonderful cause and I am all for raising money any way they can. But something Joe said just cracked me up and gave me the laugh of the day. He said that when someone cuts him off on the freeway, he just thinks "Oh, maybe they're on their way to Rainbow." And then he doesn't get so mad. Now , come on, Joe, you expect us to believe that ?????????? Give me a break.

Going Nuts

No, not me..I mean all the squirrels and chipmunks. And I don't mean collecting nuts either. What is it with Fall and those little rodents anyway? I just saw a chipmunk in the middle of the street -looked like it was just waiting to get run over. It was just standing there like it had nothing better to do. I have seen more run over squirrels in the last few days than I have in the whole summer. I really think they go a little crazy and forget how to cross the street. It must be in the frenzy to collect enough nuts--but all the nuts in the world don't do you any good if you're dead. I just want to shake the poor little things(although if a squirrel or chipmunk ever got so close that I could touch it I would be totally freaked out).
Anyway, I am on the look out for them because I don't want to run over any more squirrels...one was enough. I really do slow down for them. I am so fanatical about it that one time I slowed down and came to an almost dead stop for a chipmunk that turned out to be some brown leaves!! Well, it was windy and it was kind of moving...could've happened to anyone.
Do you ever wonder what squirrels are thinking?? I bet it's all about the nuts. I bet they are obsessed like someone on one of those crazy fad diets where all you do is think about food.
And what do they think when they are in the middle of the road like that? When they freeze?
"Should I go back or shouldn't I ? Should I or shouldn't I? I really need more nuts! Should I or shouldn't I?" Now imagine that in your best Alvin the chipmunk voice and real fast and a lot of heavy breathing and you'll have an idea of how I think a squirrel thinks.
No wonder they never say it's a squirrel's life!

My Darling Daughter

Today is my daughter's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is. I don't think she would like that very much. She feels she is getting old fast and I think she is younger than springtime. Suffice it to say she is in her twenties.
I remember the day she was born. I was having induced labor so I had an appointment for Monday morning, September 21st. We watched an old repeat of the Jefferson's where there son's wife was having a baby and waited and waited...they forgot all about us and our 8 am appointment so Meg didn't arrive until around noon! That was the last time anyone ever forgot my daughter!! The anesthesiologist told me she aw a boy but the doctor scoffed and said OH NO IT ISN'T and I welcomed my baby girl into this world.
She has been a joy and a pain. She has made me laugh and made me cry. She is an actress and a truth seeker. She is funny and sad. She is smart and naive. She can talk your leg off and she can be quiet and pensive. She has a gigantic, expansive love for her family members. She is a shopper and a spender and a saver. She can laugh heartily and cry until she breaks your heart. She has a ton of friends and sometimes feels lonely living far from home. She has been my best friend and my worst nightmare. (Oh honey, if you ever read this, you were only my worst nightmare a couple of times and not for long.) She could make me feel guilty and she could make me prouder than I have ever been. She has been a playmate and a nemesis to her brother and now a great friend. She thought her dad was Superman when she was growing up and now she knows he is just human but she loves him just the same. She doesn't stand for bul****it but she knows how to sling it. She understands kids and that adults are just big kids. She is responsible and silly.
In other words, she is a human being.
We are really good friends. We like to shop and we can talk on the phone for hours. We can discuss Hollywood and films and fashion. We can discuss family crises and dissect the world's problems and solve them. Mostly, we like a lot of the same things. We always seem to be dieting at the same time and working out at the same time at the gym. I send her silly emails to her workplace to share with her girlfriends there and she doesn't mind--they all like it!
Her birth solidified my place in life as a wife and mother. Her brother taught me how love could be all encompassing and she taught me that there is always room for more love to take and to give.
Happy birthday, dear one. Hope it is the best yet.

Movie Mania-Spoiler Alert

Okay. What is up with movies?? I think I told you I watched The Pursuit of Happyness(sic) and how I thought it was so depressing until right at the end. Then did I tell you I watched No Reservations? Well, it was the same darn way. The sister of the dead woman gets to raise her child, does a crappy job, is more interested in her job as a chef than anything else, a nice guy likes her but she rejects him, hooks up with him and then spoils it, the kid runs away and then there is a happy ending. HUH???? I liked the actors but not together. I was a little sorry I watched it.
Yesterday, I watched Waitress with Kerri Russell. I always liked her and I heard that it was a "cute" movie. Well, she had an unwanted pregnancy, a controlling jerk of a husband who was a borderline physical abuser, she had an affair with her married doctor and worked in an underpaid job at a diner. (although she did manage to save 1200 dollars) Then in the last few minutes there was a happy ending.
Now I don't mind when movies try to be more life-like. I think it is good that the love interest doesn't burst into song at the sight of his girl and the girl doesn't spend all her time worrying about her wardrobe. But don't make a hopeless movie suddenly turn out all sunshine and roses. It just doesn't compute. I can't justify sitting through those movies just to have a churned out happy ending.
I know that The Pursuit... was based on a real person's life but still. Would it have been so terrible if Kerri Russell just went on with her normal life feeling better about herself with her baby at her side. She had to have the "happy ending??" I don't want to spoil it anymore than I already have.
Didn't the kid whose mom died in No Reservations have every right to have some issues?? Did they have to disappear in a fleeting 5 minute wrap up?? Couldn't she have felt better not have the perfect life from then on??
Don't show me trailers that make the movie seem like a piece of fluff(nothing wrong with those kinds of movies) and then depress me until the last five minutes of the film. Is it just me? Am I getting too old and I don't appreciate this generation of films?? I sure hope not. I hope this isn't a trend either. Serious movies are fine. Silly movies are fine. Happy endings are fine. Just put them together in a palatable way...I have to admit the two last movies did make me hungry though. Just another unwanted side effect. I'm fat enough as it is!!