I would like to tell you all the my energy levels have returned to normal today! I am so excited after feeling so lethargic the last three days. I don't like it when I feel so un-energetic. I want to do things and have fun every day. I am glad to have ME back.
I went on a 20 mile bicycle ride yesterday and Ems mentioned that she missed my enthusiasm. I missed it to. However, I find it astounding that I was able to go on a long ride feeling that way. Secondly, I am no longer having any side effects from such a long ride. My legs and butt were fine after the ride. I even went grocery shopping afterwords. I think that I need to add some challenge to these rides. Perhaps go faster? Or add some sprints or intervals? Ems did comment that my average speed has increased from 8.5 to 10 mph.
I had my 45 minute personal training session tonight. I think that I am beginning to really like it. I wish I could afford two sessions per week. I don't know how I am going to add it to my budget after my flex spending money runs out. I did 45 "big girl" push ups tonight. I was leaning on a bench that was about a foot from the floor, but I was not on my knees and I could push myself up and down. I was very excited at this progress.
I have relatives coming into town on Wednesday evening and I am sad that I am not going to have any bike riding time this weekend. So I have decided that I need to add some in on Saturday or Sunday. If any of my friends have time on Saturday or Sunday let me know because I think I will need the stress relief.
Concentration
I am not sure if any of you have noticed but I am easily distracted. I will be talking to you and all of a sudden my mind will wonder off in a different direction. While I am at work I often try to think of way too many things at one time. I think that I have made some strives to solve this problem. I think that using my energy for biking and exercising has allowed me a bit more focus. I feel that I have been less distracted by outside influences. What do you think? Have you noticed a change in this area?
June 29, 2009
June 28, 2009
Bloomington Fun
I took a trip to Bloomington on Saturday with four of my friends. It was fun to spend so much time with them and talk. Nicole planned the entire trip from where we were going to eat lunch and dinner to our visit to Oliver winery.
These are just some fun snippets of our day.
I was in control of the car music the entire day! I loved playing things that I liked for my friends. However, I am not convinced that all of my friends liked my choices. There was an incident with one of them putting on their own earphones on the way home.
I used Saturday as my diet cheat day and it was glorious. It included a hero sandwich from a Greek restaurant, multiple wine tastings, local grape pop from the winery, a steak and potato dinner and half a piece of chocolate cake. I was in food heaven all day. I am back on track today and am at 2075 calories for the day. BTW...this week I will just send one email with my weeks progress.
We were on the grounds of the winery in these photo.
While we were at the winery I encouraged everyone to stand on top of a picnic table for a photo opp. Ems thought we all should be in Charlies Angles poses. It was a good time, but it took a bit of time to set up and the patience of the stranger taking the photo.
Emily having fun in the backseat of the car.
There were some very angry Geese on the winery grounds that were intent on attacking us. Thankfully, I made it past them safely.
There was a car tour of the IU campus and it was beautiful. The campus itself looked very different than the campus that I grew up next to in Ohio (BGSU).
My dinner tasted magnificent but there was some confusion on my check. I ordered the $14.95 steak medallions and when I received my bill I was charged for the $28.95 steak meal. I guess the server was confused as to what I was ordering. I don't know why she was confused as I was very precise and clear as to my order. I convinced her to reduce my bill but she only ended up giving me a 20% discount. It was way more than I intended to spend for dinner.
We were walking down the street shopping in the afternoon. I am not sure why I appeared to be crying.
We visited an antique store and Ems tried on this Mink Stole. It fit her perfectly.
We had a great time on our trip and I am looking forward to more this summer.
June 25, 2009
June 24, 2009
Daily Calories
Total Daily Calories 1450
I am not done eating yet. I am going to get some sort of snack that involves peanut butter in a few minutes. It was a good day but I am tired. I went to a Burn and Firm class after work and only put in about a 60% to 70% effort.
Ok...I am going to try to think of something else to write about soon. I realize that I am stuck in a rut.
I am not done eating yet. I am going to get some sort of snack that involves peanut butter in a few minutes. It was a good day but I am tired. I went to a Burn and Firm class after work and only put in about a 60% to 70% effort.
Ok...I am going to try to think of something else to write about soon. I realize that I am stuck in a rut.
June 23, 2009
Daily Calories
Total Calories 1855
A few weeks ago I went to the doctor for an annual check up and she drew blood for a variety of tests. I got a call from the nurse last week saying some things that I already knew. My good cholesterol was a bit low and my bad cholesterol was a big high. No need to worry, but I need to keep an eye on it. She also suggested that I start taking fish oil pills. I still need to buy some but I have been procrastinating.
The other thing that she checked was my sugar levels. My first test came in a bit high at 118. She said that amount could be considered pre-diabetes. She wanted to recheck my level so I went into the doctors office on Monday morning for a repeat test. It came back fine and there was nothing to worry about.
But, the thing is my dad developed Type II diabetes in his 40's and I feel that I am right on track to follow in his footsteps. It always seems to be something I would want to ovoid and not know the answer to. I guess the doctor is on alert and will be checking me on a yearly basis. As much as I would like to blame this on genetics I would have to blame myself and my poor eating habits. Perhaps the blood draw was good on Monday due to my new found interest in healthy eating. I hope it is working.
A few weeks ago I went to the doctor for an annual check up and she drew blood for a variety of tests. I got a call from the nurse last week saying some things that I already knew. My good cholesterol was a bit low and my bad cholesterol was a big high. No need to worry, but I need to keep an eye on it. She also suggested that I start taking fish oil pills. I still need to buy some but I have been procrastinating.
The other thing that she checked was my sugar levels. My first test came in a bit high at 118. She said that amount could be considered pre-diabetes. She wanted to recheck my level so I went into the doctors office on Monday morning for a repeat test. It came back fine and there was nothing to worry about.
But, the thing is my dad developed Type II diabetes in his 40's and I feel that I am right on track to follow in his footsteps. It always seems to be something I would want to ovoid and not know the answer to. I guess the doctor is on alert and will be checking me on a yearly basis. As much as I would like to blame this on genetics I would have to blame myself and my poor eating habits. Perhaps the blood draw was good on Monday due to my new found interest in healthy eating. I hope it is working.
June 22, 2009
Daily Calories
Today's Total is 1895
I faced couple challenges today. I had a sausage Mcmuffin no egg from McDonald's for breakfast and a slice of Pizza from Sam's club for dinner. I did have plenty of fruits and vegetables with my lunch and snacks.
My biggest challenge today included my old "Candy Bar Club". For a time period of about a month, three of my co-workers and I created a Candy Bar Club. This involved buying four candy bars and then handing them out to the other members and yourself. This usually occurred three times a week. I was basically eating three King Size candy bars a week for an afternoon snack. Much to the chagrin of my club mates, I quite two weeks ago. Two of the members are trying to keep it alive and the person who sits next to me brought in six candy bars today and left them lying on her desk out in the open.
This included a Hershey bar with nuts, a Kit Kat, and Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. Have I ever mentioned that these are my three favorite candy bars? It was killing me all day to have to walk by them. But, I said no as I know I had a fast food breakfast and there was pizza on the horizon for dinner. I was doing good until I went back to my desk at 4:15 and the Hershey bar had jumped to my desk. I practically yelled, "Who the Fu*k put this Hershey bar on my desk!" I was very upset as I didn't want it in my vicinity. I did put it back, but it was sending me over the edge.
I had my second personal training session today with Hadley and she was great. My legs are still aching!
I faced couple challenges today. I had a sausage Mcmuffin no egg from McDonald's for breakfast and a slice of Pizza from Sam's club for dinner. I did have plenty of fruits and vegetables with my lunch and snacks.
My biggest challenge today included my old "Candy Bar Club". For a time period of about a month, three of my co-workers and I created a Candy Bar Club. This involved buying four candy bars and then handing them out to the other members and yourself. This usually occurred three times a week. I was basically eating three King Size candy bars a week for an afternoon snack. Much to the chagrin of my club mates, I quite two weeks ago. Two of the members are trying to keep it alive and the person who sits next to me brought in six candy bars today and left them lying on her desk out in the open.
This included a Hershey bar with nuts, a Kit Kat, and Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. Have I ever mentioned that these are my three favorite candy bars? It was killing me all day to have to walk by them. But, I said no as I know I had a fast food breakfast and there was pizza on the horizon for dinner. I was doing good until I went back to my desk at 4:15 and the Hershey bar had jumped to my desk. I practically yelled, "Who the Fu*k put this Hershey bar on my desk!" I was very upset as I didn't want it in my vicinity. I did put it back, but it was sending me over the edge.
I had my second personal training session today with Hadley and she was great. My legs are still aching!
June 21, 2009
Daily Calories
I am currently at 1720 calories for the day. I am going to have another small snack in a bit and that should take me up to about 1900. I did it again! I stayed inside of my daily calories and I even turned down an offer to eat at Texas Roadhouse. You know I really wanted to eat there, but I would have totally blown my day. The rolls alone would have killed me. I want to save my cheat day for next Saturday when we are going to Bloomington for the day. I am sure there will be wine and a scrumptious place to eat.
After biking today for 2 hours I decided to go to my brothers house to wash his car for fathers day. When I got there he didn't want me to touch his precious BMW under the guise that he washed it on Saturday. So I washed Tracy's car instead and as soon as I began my arms were killing me. I guess this is the result of the horrendous car waxing I did on Saturday. It was all I could do to finish the task and I think I was moving like a snail.
Next weeks extra activity involves balls. I guess I will have to encourage the children to play soccer with me a couple times. I am sure Taylor, Paige and Sarah will be up to the challenge.
On an odd side note I got sunburned in the funniest place today. I forgot to put my watch on today and that little 1/2 inch spot on my left wrist is bright red. I found it vaguely amusing.
After biking today for 2 hours I decided to go to my brothers house to wash his car for fathers day. When I got there he didn't want me to touch his precious BMW under the guise that he washed it on Saturday. So I washed Tracy's car instead and as soon as I began my arms were killing me. I guess this is the result of the horrendous car waxing I did on Saturday. It was all I could do to finish the task and I think I was moving like a snail.
Next weeks extra activity involves balls. I guess I will have to encourage the children to play soccer with me a couple times. I am sure Taylor, Paige and Sarah will be up to the challenge.
On an odd side note I got sunburned in the funniest place today. I forgot to put my watch on today and that little 1/2 inch spot on my left wrist is bright red. I found it vaguely amusing.
June 20, 2009
Wax On....Wax Off
Nutrition Counseling
I had my second nutrition counseling session with M today. I met her a Marsh and she took me grocery shopping. I thought I could benefit from this. I hoped it would help me make good choices at the store. As much as I like M, I don't think that I found this service useful. 95% of the things that we went over I already know. I am not trying to be a know it all or anything, but I guess I just need to put what I know into practice.
She did bring me some good recipes and I picked a couple to use as meals for next week. She helped me pick the best options for that food choice. At the end of our meeting I asked her about the payment and she said that I could call the gym with my credit card number. I had assumed that this service was $55 because that is the one hour rate. I was mistaken. It was $79. I about had a heart attack on the phone. That was almost how much I spent on my weekly groceries. I really don't think that I want to pay for this service anymore.
Things that M tried to teach me at the store:
1. Buy as many fruits and vegetables that I can eat.
2. Shop in the perimeter of the store and stay away from the interior boxed foods.
3. Buy low fat cheese not the fat free variety because it sucks.
4. Don't buy ice cream as it appears that I am unable to control myself around it.
5. Oatmeal with frozen blueberries is one of the best things that I can eat for breakfast.
6. Clean and prep the vegetables when I come home so I will be more likely to eat them.
This is about it. I bought lots of good groceries and have a plan for the week. BTW...I made these terrific turkey feta meatballs for dinner and they were divine. I cooked them and they tasted good...it was a miracle. I also made some sweet potato baked french fries. Dinner was good after my crazy afternoon.
Let me explain. I mowed and trimmed the lawn this afternoon for about an hour. It was blasted hot outside and I had to come inside and collapse on the couch to recover. About an hour into Sense and Sensibility (I LOVE this movie...the end makes me cry every time) I got my energy back and went outside to wash and then gasp...gasp...gasp...wax my car. I now know I have gone insane. What ever possessed me to wax my car? I don't mind washing the car, I have done it before and it isn't that much work. But wax it? That is hard! My arms were killing me. I am not kidding. About an hour into the project I started to drink some water and my arm was shaking at the effort to hold up the water bottle. As if! I NEVER want to do it again. I would rather do so many other horrible things than wax my car. But, I had to finish. I couldn't just stop waxing halfway through right? This tortuous task took me 2.5 hours to complete and I was excited to collapse on the couch again.
As I was doing these things I was thinking to myself that I just didn't do enough today. Why would I have that thought? Isn't all that outside side work plus a grocery store trip plus general house cleaning and multiple loads of laundry enough? I guess my brain thought I could do more. My brain is crazy!
Food Today
I am at 1608 calories so far today, I have about 300-400 calories left for another snack. I think that I did really well today.
BTW...thanks for all of the supportive emails...keep them coming.
I had my second nutrition counseling session with M today. I met her a Marsh and she took me grocery shopping. I thought I could benefit from this. I hoped it would help me make good choices at the store. As much as I like M, I don't think that I found this service useful. 95% of the things that we went over I already know. I am not trying to be a know it all or anything, but I guess I just need to put what I know into practice.
She did bring me some good recipes and I picked a couple to use as meals for next week. She helped me pick the best options for that food choice. At the end of our meeting I asked her about the payment and she said that I could call the gym with my credit card number. I had assumed that this service was $55 because that is the one hour rate. I was mistaken. It was $79. I about had a heart attack on the phone. That was almost how much I spent on my weekly groceries. I really don't think that I want to pay for this service anymore.
Things that M tried to teach me at the store:
1. Buy as many fruits and vegetables that I can eat.
2. Shop in the perimeter of the store and stay away from the interior boxed foods.
3. Buy low fat cheese not the fat free variety because it sucks.
4. Don't buy ice cream as it appears that I am unable to control myself around it.
5. Oatmeal with frozen blueberries is one of the best things that I can eat for breakfast.
6. Clean and prep the vegetables when I come home so I will be more likely to eat them.
This is about it. I bought lots of good groceries and have a plan for the week. BTW...I made these terrific turkey feta meatballs for dinner and they were divine. I cooked them and they tasted good...it was a miracle. I also made some sweet potato baked french fries. Dinner was good after my crazy afternoon.
Let me explain. I mowed and trimmed the lawn this afternoon for about an hour. It was blasted hot outside and I had to come inside and collapse on the couch to recover. About an hour into Sense and Sensibility (I LOVE this movie...the end makes me cry every time) I got my energy back and went outside to wash and then gasp...gasp...gasp...wax my car. I now know I have gone insane. What ever possessed me to wax my car? I don't mind washing the car, I have done it before and it isn't that much work. But wax it? That is hard! My arms were killing me. I am not kidding. About an hour into the project I started to drink some water and my arm was shaking at the effort to hold up the water bottle. As if! I NEVER want to do it again. I would rather do so many other horrible things than wax my car. But, I had to finish. I couldn't just stop waxing halfway through right? This tortuous task took me 2.5 hours to complete and I was excited to collapse on the couch again.
As I was doing these things I was thinking to myself that I just didn't do enough today. Why would I have that thought? Isn't all that outside side work plus a grocery store trip plus general house cleaning and multiple loads of laundry enough? I guess my brain thought I could do more. My brain is crazy!
Food Today
I am at 1608 calories so far today, I have about 300-400 calories left for another snack. I think that I did really well today.
BTW...thanks for all of the supportive emails...keep them coming.
Daily Calories
I was able to stay within my calories today.
Total - 1908
I prepared a pasta dish for dinner that was about 700 calories and not very good. I will eat the leftovers but I don't think that I will make this again. I went out to lunch today and went to the Ale Emporium. I ordered their Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwich and switched out the fries for a salad. I ate about 1/4 of the bun so I estimated that the pork was about 450 calories, the bun 100 calories and the salad with a light vinaigrette was about 50 calories. I did break a M rule because it was fried. I didn't even think about that when I ordered it.
I feel like it was a pretty good day.
Total - 1908
I prepared a pasta dish for dinner that was about 700 calories and not very good. I will eat the leftovers but I don't think that I will make this again. I went out to lunch today and went to the Ale Emporium. I ordered their Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwich and switched out the fries for a salad. I ate about 1/4 of the bun so I estimated that the pork was about 450 calories, the bun 100 calories and the salad with a light vinaigrette was about 50 calories. I did break a M rule because it was fried. I didn't even think about that when I ordered it.
I feel like it was a pretty good day.
June 19, 2009
Nutrition Counseling
I had my first appointment with Mandy on Tuesday evening after a grueling Push It class with her. I was excited about this visit because I had anticipated it for a month. We had a good honest talk and I tried to fill her in on all of my bad food habits. These are some of the things she gave me advice on.
1. No more eating in bed. (ohhhh...I really like doing this)
2. No more eating in front of the TV. (This is going to be difficult)
3. Drink a minimum of 80 oz a day of water. (I can handle it)
4. Fried foods are forbidden.
5. Limit of two diet Cokes per day. (Ya...I don't have to give them up completely)
6. Must eat breakfast every day. (I always do)
7. Eat at least every 4 hours.
8. Eat a protein source with every meal. (New to me)
9. Keep a food journal. (A necessary evil)
10. Minimize eating out.
She gave me a goal to loose 8lbs by July 16th and put me on a 2000 calorie a day diet. OK...nothing here was a revelation, except maybe eating a protein with every meal. This visit cost me $55 and I had original signed up for a six meeting package for $219. However, because of difficulties with my flexible spending account I couldn't prepay for this service. So upon my first visit I decided to pay for the service as I use them.
The thing is I am not sure I need it. My good friend Nicole hinted this to me but I didn't listen to her. I talked with her for a couple of hours a few weeks ago and she told me most of these things already. I am a smart girl and I already know most of these things. I just need to put them in practice. The first step is the food journal. I started keeping one a week ago on a website but I have since found that it is much more difficult than keeping an old school paper journal. Me and old school technology this is quite a contradiction.
I was scheduled to have a home visit from M to view my pantry and fridge and help me get rid of the wrong foods. I decided to cancel this service because I don't think that this is my problem area. To be honest I don't buy that many groceries so there isn't that much to look at. My problem with food doesn't have anything to do with what is at my home and in my pantry. It has to do with my large quantity of eating out and consequently what I am choosing to eat when I am at the restaurants. Perhaps if one of my sensible eating friends wants to come and view my pantry I wouldn't turn them down.
I told M in my email that I might like to add a couple half hour visits and I think that I would like to talk to her more about eating out. Of course I still think I know what do do here. I know how to look up nutritional information online I just have to consciously make these decisions.
Her email back to me was fairly scathing. I don't think that she thinks that I am making the right decision. But it is my money. She also recommend an hour grocery store visit. I think that this might be a good idea. I could use more ideas in this category. I just want to feel that I am getting something out of the money expenditure.
I was thinking I could utilize my online friends to help me be accountable on the eating front. I would post my daily calorie intake and perhaps that will help me be able to stay within it so I don't embarrass myself.
Today emotional eating reared it's ugly head. I had a visit to the dentist today and after I was done I stopped by CVS and bought some comfort foods. I got a 2L of diet Coke, a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup and a pint of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. I ate the Recces on the way home and I then ate the pint of ice cream for dinner at 9pm after my nap. Isn't it interesting how I can rationalize behavior as I am doing it. "I don't feel good...my mouth hurts...I deserve to eat ice cream for dinner"
This is how I have done this week:
Wednesday (06/17) 2372
Areas of Improvement:
9 Oreo Cookies
480 calories
Thursday (06/18) 2848
Areas of Improvement:
Pint of Ice Cream for dinner
1000 calories
I have only eaten one meal out this week. I went out to lunch on Monday. That is incredibly good for me. I plan on going out to lunch tomorrow and I will make good choices.
1. No more eating in bed. (ohhhh...I really like doing this)
2. No more eating in front of the TV. (This is going to be difficult)
3. Drink a minimum of 80 oz a day of water. (I can handle it)
4. Fried foods are forbidden.
5. Limit of two diet Cokes per day. (Ya...I don't have to give them up completely)
6. Must eat breakfast every day. (I always do)
7. Eat at least every 4 hours.
8. Eat a protein source with every meal. (New to me)
9. Keep a food journal. (A necessary evil)
10. Minimize eating out.
She gave me a goal to loose 8lbs by July 16th and put me on a 2000 calorie a day diet. OK...nothing here was a revelation, except maybe eating a protein with every meal. This visit cost me $55 and I had original signed up for a six meeting package for $219. However, because of difficulties with my flexible spending account I couldn't prepay for this service. So upon my first visit I decided to pay for the service as I use them.
The thing is I am not sure I need it. My good friend Nicole hinted this to me but I didn't listen to her. I talked with her for a couple of hours a few weeks ago and she told me most of these things already. I am a smart girl and I already know most of these things. I just need to put them in practice. The first step is the food journal. I started keeping one a week ago on a website but I have since found that it is much more difficult than keeping an old school paper journal. Me and old school technology this is quite a contradiction.
I was scheduled to have a home visit from M to view my pantry and fridge and help me get rid of the wrong foods. I decided to cancel this service because I don't think that this is my problem area. To be honest I don't buy that many groceries so there isn't that much to look at. My problem with food doesn't have anything to do with what is at my home and in my pantry. It has to do with my large quantity of eating out and consequently what I am choosing to eat when I am at the restaurants. Perhaps if one of my sensible eating friends wants to come and view my pantry I wouldn't turn them down.
I told M in my email that I might like to add a couple half hour visits and I think that I would like to talk to her more about eating out. Of course I still think I know what do do here. I know how to look up nutritional information online I just have to consciously make these decisions.
Her email back to me was fairly scathing. I don't think that she thinks that I am making the right decision. But it is my money. She also recommend an hour grocery store visit. I think that this might be a good idea. I could use more ideas in this category. I just want to feel that I am getting something out of the money expenditure.
I was thinking I could utilize my online friends to help me be accountable on the eating front. I would post my daily calorie intake and perhaps that will help me be able to stay within it so I don't embarrass myself.
Today emotional eating reared it's ugly head. I had a visit to the dentist today and after I was done I stopped by CVS and bought some comfort foods. I got a 2L of diet Coke, a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup and a pint of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. I ate the Recces on the way home and I then ate the pint of ice cream for dinner at 9pm after my nap. Isn't it interesting how I can rationalize behavior as I am doing it. "I don't feel good...my mouth hurts...I deserve to eat ice cream for dinner"
This is how I have done this week:
Wednesday (06/17) 2372
Areas of Improvement:
9 Oreo Cookies
480 calories
Thursday (06/18) 2848
Areas of Improvement:
Pint of Ice Cream for dinner
1000 calories
I have only eaten one meal out this week. I went out to lunch on Monday. That is incredibly good for me. I plan on going out to lunch tomorrow and I will make good choices.
June 18, 2009
The Dentist is my Favorite Person (Sarcasm)
Today was my favorite day of the year. I got to visit Doctor C., she is my dentist. In January when I had the first of my bi-yearly cleanings I got this news from my dentist. Basically, I needed three or four new crowns in my mouth. She wanted me to do the work right away but I hesitated because I knew I didn't have the money for that amount of extensive work.
After some thought I decided to wait until May when I could renew my flexible spending benefits at work. I decided to flex $3700. This amount seamed astronomical for me because most people who flex this amount have families or medical problems or have to pay for child care. It is just me! I knew that I didn't want to charge this expense so it appeared to be the best long term solution.
I was originally going to go in today and get all four teeth worked on. But, I had some second thoughts. I was worried that in addition to the crowns I would also need some root canals. This always happens to me. The dentist says that I only need crowns and then BAM, I have tooth pain and they need to remove the nerves and root. When I arrived there this afternoon I changed my treatment plan and requested that they only work on the two worst teeth to ensure I had enough money to cover any unexpected root canals.
This was a good decision. The dentist decided to work on tooth #12 and #13 (I go so often that I have now picked up on the lingo). These are the two teeth on the top left side of my mouth in front of my molars. She starts by giving my the shot with the exceptionally long steel needle. I grimace but take the pain as I know if will wade quickly. Doctor C. then states that she thinks she needs to give me a shot in the roof of my mouth. She said that she knows that I don't like it, but I will probably need it as she will be drilling close to the gums. I blurt out "What if I start to cry?". I don't know why that came out of my mouth except that I have horrible memories of this particular mouth shot. I told her to do it because I knew that it was the smartest move, but I was scared.
She prepped the needle and it looked like small metal clamps the stick into my gums. It was horrible but not as horrible as my previous memory of it. I didn't actually cry but there were a couple tears that squeezed out of the corners of my eyes. It was over quickly and my mouth became numb.
The dentist began working on my teeth and I sat there trying to be relaxed, but clenching the arms of the chair with my hands. I often use self talk techniques during this process in order to relax. I was envisioning a relaxing bike ride with my friends. I am not sure if it really helps but it does let my mind focus on something else.
About fifteen minutes after she began drilling she stops and tells me that I need a root canal on both of these teeth. Wow, I must have had a premonition because I sure called that.
The end result today was that I had two root canals and crown preps. I was in the office for three hours and I was exhausted when I was done. I have been going to this particular dentist for the last four years and I feel that this is the best relationship with a dentist that I have ever had. Ok...I haven't had very many but still. I was impressed today that she remember my phobia of the roof mouth needle. I was also impressed that she remembered how much I don't like the plastic sheet they put in your mouth to isolate the tooth during the procedure. I often find it difficult to breathe and I get a bit claustrophobic during the process. I liked that she talked me through it and tried to make me as comfortable as possible. Could there be more stuff in my mouth at once? A plastic sheet, metal clamps, a rubber thing to hold my mouth open, a cotton thing in my cheek, a drill, and two hands. I don't think that my mouth is that big.
Your mouth starts out with 32 teeth. I now have 9 crowns and 6 root canals. So the percentage of crowns to actual teeth is 28.1% and the percentage of root canals are 18.7%. I wonder how close to 100% I will get. I guess that is called dentures.
After some thought I decided to wait until May when I could renew my flexible spending benefits at work. I decided to flex $3700. This amount seamed astronomical for me because most people who flex this amount have families or medical problems or have to pay for child care. It is just me! I knew that I didn't want to charge this expense so it appeared to be the best long term solution.
I was originally going to go in today and get all four teeth worked on. But, I had some second thoughts. I was worried that in addition to the crowns I would also need some root canals. This always happens to me. The dentist says that I only need crowns and then BAM, I have tooth pain and they need to remove the nerves and root. When I arrived there this afternoon I changed my treatment plan and requested that they only work on the two worst teeth to ensure I had enough money to cover any unexpected root canals.
This was a good decision. The dentist decided to work on tooth #12 and #13 (I go so often that I have now picked up on the lingo). These are the two teeth on the top left side of my mouth in front of my molars. She starts by giving my the shot with the exceptionally long steel needle. I grimace but take the pain as I know if will wade quickly. Doctor C. then states that she thinks she needs to give me a shot in the roof of my mouth. She said that she knows that I don't like it, but I will probably need it as she will be drilling close to the gums. I blurt out "What if I start to cry?". I don't know why that came out of my mouth except that I have horrible memories of this particular mouth shot. I told her to do it because I knew that it was the smartest move, but I was scared.
She prepped the needle and it looked like small metal clamps the stick into my gums. It was horrible but not as horrible as my previous memory of it. I didn't actually cry but there were a couple tears that squeezed out of the corners of my eyes. It was over quickly and my mouth became numb.
The dentist began working on my teeth and I sat there trying to be relaxed, but clenching the arms of the chair with my hands. I often use self talk techniques during this process in order to relax. I was envisioning a relaxing bike ride with my friends. I am not sure if it really helps but it does let my mind focus on something else.
About fifteen minutes after she began drilling she stops and tells me that I need a root canal on both of these teeth. Wow, I must have had a premonition because I sure called that.
The end result today was that I had two root canals and crown preps. I was in the office for three hours and I was exhausted when I was done. I have been going to this particular dentist for the last four years and I feel that this is the best relationship with a dentist that I have ever had. Ok...I haven't had very many but still. I was impressed today that she remember my phobia of the roof mouth needle. I was also impressed that she remembered how much I don't like the plastic sheet they put in your mouth to isolate the tooth during the procedure. I often find it difficult to breathe and I get a bit claustrophobic during the process. I liked that she talked me through it and tried to make me as comfortable as possible. Could there be more stuff in my mouth at once? A plastic sheet, metal clamps, a rubber thing to hold my mouth open, a cotton thing in my cheek, a drill, and two hands. I don't think that my mouth is that big.
Your mouth starts out with 32 teeth. I now have 9 crowns and 6 root canals. So the percentage of crowns to actual teeth is 28.1% and the percentage of root canals are 18.7%. I wonder how close to 100% I will get. I guess that is called dentures.
June 15, 2009
Exercise Overload
I went a bit overboard on the exercise today. Let me start by saying that my sleep is all Fuc*ed up! I didn't go to bed on Sunday night until 3:30am. That is way too late for me. I worked all day and I was actually productive. Imagine that!
I then attended my first personal training class with Hadley. She was great and worked me very hard. She had me doing what seamed like an endless set of lunges. I think that they are evil. I felt good after our 45 minute session and then drove to meet ems and zlionsfan for a short bike ride. I think that short is a relative term. I traveled 15.3 miles and rode for 1:45 minutes. This was not short considering I had already had a hard workout for 45 minutes. But, I did have some fun with my friends. I was dragging a bit for the last two miles and zlionsfan had to push me along.
I traveled the shortest distance of my friends. I think that zlionsfan traveled over 40 miles. Isn't that incredible. I don't think he meant to but it just happened. We had some conversation tonight that involved me getting a new bike (I am seriously lusting after a new one with gears but it isn't in my budget) to make these long distances easier. We even talked about eventually riding a 100 mile marathon in a day. Doesn't that seem impossible...But I now know that it isn't. It would just take some training to work up to that level. Perhaps I need to increase my average speed above 8.5 mph.
Thanks for hanging in there for my biking obsession and consequent blogs relating to the topic.
Stats:
Distance: 15.3
Odometer: 164
Average Speed: 8.7
Max Speed: 13
Time: 1:45
I then attended my first personal training class with Hadley. She was great and worked me very hard. She had me doing what seamed like an endless set of lunges. I think that they are evil. I felt good after our 45 minute session and then drove to meet ems and zlionsfan for a short bike ride. I think that short is a relative term. I traveled 15.3 miles and rode for 1:45 minutes. This was not short considering I had already had a hard workout for 45 minutes. But, I did have some fun with my friends. I was dragging a bit for the last two miles and zlionsfan had to push me along.
I traveled the shortest distance of my friends. I think that zlionsfan traveled over 40 miles. Isn't that incredible. I don't think he meant to but it just happened. We had some conversation tonight that involved me getting a new bike (I am seriously lusting after a new one with gears but it isn't in my budget) to make these long distances easier. We even talked about eventually riding a 100 mile marathon in a day. Doesn't that seem impossible...But I now know that it isn't. It would just take some training to work up to that level. Perhaps I need to increase my average speed above 8.5 mph.
Thanks for hanging in there for my biking obsession and consequent blogs relating to the topic.
Stats:
Distance: 15.3
Odometer: 164
Average Speed: 8.7
Max Speed: 13
Time: 1:45
Happy Anniversary to Me
Guess what? June 15 is my one year blogging anniversary. I made it! When I started I wasn't sure I was going to keep this interest. I am surprised and impressed that I have followed through with the hobby and I think my writing skills have increased over the last year.
I find it very freeing to be so open with my friends and family in this forum. Some have said (my brother in particular) that I share too much and that I should be worried that I am being judged. I feel that he was the one judging at that moment, but more importantly I don't care. I feel as I have been much more introspective this past year. I am trying to look at what is inside of me to help me become a happier and more fulfilled person. It you would have asked me two years ago if I would try online dating I would have said you were crazy. I would have thought you were insane if you said not only was i utilizing an online dating service, but I was also sharing my experiences with friends and family. I don't think I used to be this open. BTW...nothing interesting going on there.
The secondary part of being so open is it has allowed me to become less judgemental of others. I think I used to have a hard time with this and I often felt if people were not like me they were wrong. How deluded I was! I am not saying that I am still not judgemental on occasion but I do think I have made giant strides forward.
So Happy Anniversary to me and I look forward to another year entertaining you with my stories.
I find it very freeing to be so open with my friends and family in this forum. Some have said (my brother in particular) that I share too much and that I should be worried that I am being judged. I feel that he was the one judging at that moment, but more importantly I don't care. I feel as I have been much more introspective this past year. I am trying to look at what is inside of me to help me become a happier and more fulfilled person. It you would have asked me two years ago if I would try online dating I would have said you were crazy. I would have thought you were insane if you said not only was i utilizing an online dating service, but I was also sharing my experiences with friends and family. I don't think I used to be this open. BTW...nothing interesting going on there.
The secondary part of being so open is it has allowed me to become less judgemental of others. I think I used to have a hard time with this and I often felt if people were not like me they were wrong. How deluded I was! I am not saying that I am still not judgemental on occasion but I do think I have made giant strides forward.
So Happy Anniversary to me and I look forward to another year entertaining you with my stories.
Drug Addiction
No, not me...Silly. I was thinking about my mom. Ok...I think that my brother Lou is probably not going to like this post....so stop reading it!
Let me start at the beginning. Last week I was listening to the new Eminem album Relapse (BTW...I love it), specifically the song "My Mom". Part of the chorus is "My mom loved Valium and lots of drugs" and it made me think of my mom in a different light. I began to think that she may have been a drug addict. I don't mean this in the way that she smoked crack and pot all of the time. She was more interested in the legal prescription version. Just like Eminem's mom she loved her Valium and she referred to this as her nerve pill. Ok...I don't actually know if it was Valium that she took, but it was that type of pill.
I have so many memories of hearing her say, "I need my nerve pill" in reference to any type of upsetting situation. Most of the time this revolved around dealing with us children, I probably (probably is a mild word) wasn't the easiest child. I am fairly sure I had an enormous amount of attitude and typical junior high girl behavior. This occurred as far back as I remember.
Secondary to the nerve pill she took lithium and this completely zoned her out. Lithium is used for Bipolar Disorder and it is supposed to level your moods. It just made her a zombie without any readable feelings. I remember so many holidays were she wasn't at all engaged with people because she took a combination of these pills so she could distance herself from people. It is interesting to me that I could be so different from her in this respect. I love being around people and it energizes me to spend most of my free time around my friends. I think that she liked being around her friends but she just couldn't deal with being around the family. Ok...maybe we are the same as my family often stresses me out.
It is interesting to me that I have never thought about this before. I was always aware of her problems and my friend AL was always impressed with my ability to accept my flawed parent as an adult. I guess she meant that I was able to recognize the faults and I had learned to deal with them. I don't have any proof, but as an adult I always guessed that she didn't take the medication as prescribed.
In addition to manic depression she was also an alcoholic and loved the cigarettes. To this day I still cannot understand how I managed to become an adult without any of these problems. However, I am addicted to the food, but I would take that addiction over the others. How did I stop the cycle? What about me was different? I haven't figured out how to answer these questions but I am grateful that I am different and I am working on my addiction.
Let me start at the beginning. Last week I was listening to the new Eminem album Relapse (BTW...I love it), specifically the song "My Mom". Part of the chorus is "My mom loved Valium and lots of drugs" and it made me think of my mom in a different light. I began to think that she may have been a drug addict. I don't mean this in the way that she smoked crack and pot all of the time. She was more interested in the legal prescription version. Just like Eminem's mom she loved her Valium and she referred to this as her nerve pill. Ok...I don't actually know if it was Valium that she took, but it was that type of pill.
I have so many memories of hearing her say, "I need my nerve pill" in reference to any type of upsetting situation. Most of the time this revolved around dealing with us children, I probably (probably is a mild word) wasn't the easiest child. I am fairly sure I had an enormous amount of attitude and typical junior high girl behavior. This occurred as far back as I remember.
Secondary to the nerve pill she took lithium and this completely zoned her out. Lithium is used for Bipolar Disorder and it is supposed to level your moods. It just made her a zombie without any readable feelings. I remember so many holidays were she wasn't at all engaged with people because she took a combination of these pills so she could distance herself from people. It is interesting to me that I could be so different from her in this respect. I love being around people and it energizes me to spend most of my free time around my friends. I think that she liked being around her friends but she just couldn't deal with being around the family. Ok...maybe we are the same as my family often stresses me out.
It is interesting to me that I have never thought about this before. I was always aware of her problems and my friend AL was always impressed with my ability to accept my flawed parent as an adult. I guess she meant that I was able to recognize the faults and I had learned to deal with them. I don't have any proof, but as an adult I always guessed that she didn't take the medication as prescribed.
In addition to manic depression she was also an alcoholic and loved the cigarettes. To this day I still cannot understand how I managed to become an adult without any of these problems. However, I am addicted to the food, but I would take that addiction over the others. How did I stop the cycle? What about me was different? I haven't figured out how to answer these questions but I am grateful that I am different and I am working on my addiction.
June 7, 2009
Europe 2009 - Wednesday May 6th 2009
We got up early to take the Eurostar train to Paris on Wednesday morning. We had assigned seats on the train and they were set up like airplane seats and fairly comfortable. I think the train ride was a couple hours long and everyone except for me and Marcus took the opportunity to take a nap. I decided to talk to Marcus and hold my book in my lap the entire train ride. I had the illusion that I was going to read but I much preferred a conversation over a solitary activity. Marcus is moving to Paris this summer for a job and we spent a long time talking about how that would work. I then spent some time fantasizing about how great it would be to get a job that paid for international travel. Perhaps one day it will come true.
After we collected our luggage and grabbed a quick lunch (a hard....a very hard...baguette sandwich with Salami and butter with a Coke) in the train station we got on our bus for a quick tour of Paris. They drove us up the Champs-Élysées and pointed out all of the expensive shops and stopped for some photo opportunities at the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.
While we were at the Eiffel Tower several street Gypsies came up to us and tried to sell us trinkets. I was standing next to Steve and he told them firmly to go away. The gypsy took offence and they had a bit of an altercation on the street. There was yelling and male aggression. There was no punches but I felt like it came close. I walked away as I don't like to see people in these tense situations and it made me uncomfortable.
We got back on the bus and the tour guide drove us all over the city. They were just giving us a general orientation so we could choose where to go on our free time. The tour ended with the bus dropping us off at our hotel, The All Seasons. This was my favorite hotel of the entire trip. It was very modern, bright and aesthetically pleasing. The best part was that the beds were very soft and comfortable.
This was Gretchen's bed and mine was right next to hers, literally toughing it. It was just really a king size bed split in half with a small partition dividing the upper 1/3 of the bed. Don't you love the colors.
Look at this...the bathroom sink has some character.
This is the shower area. There was no curtain just this orange plastic partition covering the first half of the tub. I was amazed to find that very little water escaped the tub area.
This is the lobby area.
That is Naph acting all sorrowful in the lobby. Don't you love the chairs.
This is the ceiling in the lobby.
After we got settled into our rooms, Gretchen, Naph, Rogers, Jason, Marcus and I headed out to find dinner and to visit the Louvre Museum. We ended up picking up various items from street vendors. I stopped by a bakery and started my meal with a scrumptious strawberry tart and then I went next door for a mixed salad and coke. I love having dessert before my meal.
After our food we got on the tube and headed over to the Louvre museum. Yes, THE museum from The Da Vinci Code. I had visited it once when I was in there in 2000, but I was excited to see it again. Before we even entered the museum we had some fun on the grounds. We took some very funny photos. I kind of think that the time we spent there was way more fun than the time in the museum. Part of that has to do with the pain in my ankle increasing as the end of the day nears. It is about 7:30pm when we arrived at the museum.
OK, I don't know what we were doing in this photo. But it appears that Jason and Naph are about to become engaged. The background is the museum building.
The famous Louvre pyramid.
We decided to create our own pyramid to have in front of the actual pyramid. Yes, Gretchen is feeling me up. I was told later that I had my left arm in the wrong place, I guess it should have been on my hip. I am not properly schooled on pyramid making techniques. Of course Rogers was worse. When we asked him to get down and be on the bottom of the pyramid he got on his knees facing the wrong direction. We eventually got him fixed. I was very impressed that the boys were so willing to participate in our silliness. 
The two photographers are tired after our fun.
When we finally entered the museum it was set to close in an hour so we had to strategically decide what to see and do it very quickly. We headed up to see the Mona Lisa and a few other things and we got lost a few times. We even ran into other people from our group. By the middle of the museum my ankle was just totally wore out. I decided to leave my group and head back to the hotel by myself. I was glad I did as I was no longer feeling fun and I just wanted to put my leg up and ice my ankle.
I arrived back at the hotel without incident and conned the bartender out of some ice and went to my room to relax. Everyone else went back to see the Eiffel Tower lighted up at night. I don't feel that I missed much as Gretchen brought me back photos.
I felt like I had a very good first day in Paris.
Europe 2009 - Tuesday May 5th 2009
This day was a blur for me. I think that the pain in my ankle was catching up with me and I couldn't locate any photos taken this day.
This was our business visit day. We visited the Bank of England. We went through their museum and were shown a film on how inflation works. This topic was very interesting to me but I think that I zoned out during the film and I had a hard time engaging.
After the visit our bus took us to the Harrods area of London and we had an hour for lunch. We wondered around for a bit but it was hard to find a place that we all agreed on for lunch. We ended up eating in a big shop that had several different small shops. I think I had a salad and a some sort of weird local pop.
After lunch we wondered down the street and found a local coffee shop. We sat in there until it was time to meet the bus. While we were there Gretchen made friends with this old local man who ended up giving her several small gifts. These gifts included a rose, perfume samples and lotion. It was funny.
Our next stop was a business visit to a brewery. I was in excruciating pain so I decided to stay on the bus and rest. I tried to read but I ended up lying on the back seat and taking a short nap. The bus driver wondered on and off of the bus during this two hours and we had some dialog. He showed me how the bus company tracks his driving with this little card that he inputs into the bus and it tracks his time and speed. He also told me a bit of his dissatisfaction with working and his company. I guess work dissatisfaction transcends the world.
After the tour we went back to the hotel and Naph and I decided to eat dinner in the pub. There was a football (soccer) game on TV and the pub was packed and noisy. Every now and then a big cheer would go through the room.
I felt that it was a wasted day for me as I was unable to concentrate all day.
This photo was from Monday but I just found it on Gretchen's Facebook page.
June 6, 2009
More Biking Fun
Today I accomplished one of my summer goals. I biked thirty miles with three of my friends (we missed you Ems). Doesn't that sound crazy and impossible! We did virtually little training to accomplish this goal. Basically, it was just me saying last weekend that we should do bike a marathon and we did it. Up until this point my maximum distance was 16 to 17 miles total distance.
We met at the Greenway at 146th Street in Carmel and we biked to the end of the Monon at 10th Street. Everything below Broadripple was boring and uninteresting. We got to see several abandoned warehouses and the back end of the Indiana State Fairgrounds. We even passed a police officer twice as we were riding.
We finished the day at Bub's restaurant for a diet Coke, burger and fries. It was exactly what my body wanted. This was an excellent way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
Stats:
Time: 3:12 actual riding time
Distance: 30 Miles
Odometer: 136 Miles
Average Speed: 9.3 mph
Max Speed: 19.6 mph
We met at the Greenway at 146th Street in Carmel and we biked to the end of the Monon at 10th Street. Everything below Broadripple was boring and uninteresting. We got to see several abandoned warehouses and the back end of the Indiana State Fairgrounds. We even passed a police officer twice as we were riding.
We finished the day at Bub's restaurant for a diet Coke, burger and fries. It was exactly what my body wanted. This was an excellent way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
Stats:
Time: 3:12 actual riding time
Distance: 30 Miles
Odometer: 136 Miles
Average Speed: 9.3 mph
Max Speed: 19.6 mph
June 1, 2009
Europe 2009 - Monday May 4th 2009
Monday, May 4th 2009
My second day in London started off on a very good note. Naph, Gretchen and I decided to go for a morning walk in this little park that was a block from the hotel. We all got dressed in our athletic gear and headed off to the park. Gretchen is super athletic so she wanted to go for a run, while she was running, Naph and I took a leisurely stroll through the park. We had great conversation and he would occasionally walk and do leg squats while we were talking. Gretchen lapped us several times and we eventually gave up and sat on a park bench engrossed our conversation while Gretchen finished her workout. I am not sure if this was considered "encouragement" or not.
After we had breakfast and got dressed for the day we headed off to the British Museum for a quick hour visit.
We were able to see some of their highlights and the most notable was the Rosetta Stone. 
I kept us on a strict time line and after our hour we started walking towards the tube. We all were in need of a beverage and snack so so we stopped in this quaint little coffee shop. 
When we finished we again headed toward the nearest tube and then splat.I had fallen down on the cobblestone sidewalk. I let out a huge scream and I found myself lying on my right arm with my left ankle in extreme pain. Gretchen and Naph immediately came to my aid and started probing my ankle to determine if it was broken. I sat on the sidewalk for a few moments stunned that this had happened to me. I got up and was happy to discover that I could still walk. We hobbled forward and I tried to decide if I should go back to the hotel or continue on our day. With encouragement from my friends and Motrin I decided to say FU to the pain and we continued our journey.
We decided to head off to the Knotting Hill section of London to visit a Winston Churchill museum. We got off of the tube and started wondering around looking for it. We kept consulting the map but the museum was nowhere to be seen. We ended up at another large park and we saw a cute boy playing soccer. Gretchen wanted to get a photo with a local boy, so we walked over to him and tried to make friends. He was young and very muscular. We said Hi and found out that his name was Edwardo and he was from Brazil. The local boy we approach turns out to be a tourist. Just our luck! We pose and take a couple photos of him. As we were posing with the soccer ball I grab on to his muscular arm when I almost fall over. Naph was very impressed over my groping of this boy. 
We say our goodbyes and head out to find the museum. We start to walk up and down these very lovely streets that have very nice buildings. We encounter an older local man who has lived on the street for the last thirty years and he has never heard of the Winston Churchill museum. We realize that we are going to have to give up soon. We try one more avenue. We spy a small hotel and decide to step inside see if they have any information. After a fifteen minute discussion and Internet search we left with no more answers and decided to give up. This was very difficult for me as I like to accomplish what I set out to do.
We couldn't resist taking a photo of this storefront.
It was time to eat again so we stopped by the local McDonald's and grabbed some fatty but tasty lunch. While I was waiting in line for my food a local women asks me if I know how many zeros are in one million. I am sad to say with my fancy accounting degree and MBA it took me three tries to get it right. FYI, there are six zeros.
Our next destination was to visit the inside of Westminster Abbey. We caught the next tube and headed in that direction. We arrived and wondered around for a bit and found the church at 4pm. As we got closer to the sign we realized that the church closed at 3:30pm. I was so disappointed as I really wanted to see the inside. A passerby said that we could go inside if we wanted to pray so I went up to the guard and asked him if we could go inside to pray. He told me that the next church service started at five pm. We were denied! We did feel a bit guilty trying to lie to get inside of the church as we had no intention of praying. 
We decided to give up for the day and head back to the hotel. I was in a great deal of pain and I was over it. We got back on the tube and traveled to our exit. I am sad to say we got lost on the walk back to the hotel. My ankle was throbbing but I think that we took a two mile detour. It was very annoying to get lost at that time.
We decided to give up for the day and head back to the hotel. I was in a great deal of pain and I was over it. We got back on the tube and traveled to our exit. I am sad to say we got lost on the walk back to the hotel. My ankle was throbbing but I think that we took a two mile detour. It was very annoying to get lost at that time.
When we finally arrived back we took a half hour rest period and went to dinner with some of our new traveling friends, Marcus and Jason. We ended up at a French restaurant and found many of our other traveling companions eating in the same restaurant. We had a lovely dinner and great conversations. We headed back to the hotel and ordered some drinks at the hotel bar. I thought alcohol would help dull my ankle pain. It did! But, we were soon kicked out of the bar as it was closing, so we smuggled out our glasses of beer and took them to Marcus and Jason's room to hang out for a while.
Even though I sprained my ankle and we missed out on two of our major destinations, I had a terrific day wondering about London.
Gifts
I am sick of buying gifts. I attended my nieces graduation in Wisconsin this weekend and I was in total denial of the occasion and I didn't want to purchase a gift. You see, I have eleven nieces and nephews, three in-laws, three siblings and a myriad of friends. I just don't want to spend the money anymore. I am not sure what to do to lower this cost without being considered cheap.
I would like to get them all Birthday, Christmas, Graduation and Confirmation gifts, but there are way too many children. I want to stop the madness. I wish I was more creative and I could make them things, but that is not my gift. Instead of buying them gifts on their birthdays, I can spend time with the ones that live here, but what about the ones that live out of town.
I headed out for the weekend with no gift in mind and no card. I occasionally thought about it on Saturday and Sunday morning, but I took no action to purchase a gift or get a card. Finally, after the graduation ceremony I decided to stop at a drug store to get a card and I was going to include a check for $50, but I was still feeling resentful about giving her the money. I knew it just wasn't in my budget. At the last minute I decided not to give her money but to give her a pair a diamond earrings that I have in my gift closet. I felt that this was a good resolution and I told her I would give them to her when they come for a visit over the July 4th holiday.
I found a way to resolve this gift giving occasion without spending money, but what do I do for the next birthday? Any ideas?
I would like to get them all Birthday, Christmas, Graduation and Confirmation gifts, but there are way too many children. I want to stop the madness. I wish I was more creative and I could make them things, but that is not my gift. Instead of buying them gifts on their birthdays, I can spend time with the ones that live here, but what about the ones that live out of town.
I headed out for the weekend with no gift in mind and no card. I occasionally thought about it on Saturday and Sunday morning, but I took no action to purchase a gift or get a card. Finally, after the graduation ceremony I decided to stop at a drug store to get a card and I was going to include a check for $50, but I was still feeling resentful about giving her the money. I knew it just wasn't in my budget. At the last minute I decided not to give her money but to give her a pair a diamond earrings that I have in my gift closet. I felt that this was a good resolution and I told her I would give them to her when they come for a visit over the July 4th holiday.
I found a way to resolve this gift giving occasion without spending money, but what do I do for the next birthday? Any ideas?
Chauvinism is still Alive in Wisconsin
I went on a trip to Wisconsin this weekend to see my niece graduate from high school. We stayed at a three star Marriott hotel that was very nice. The hotel staff was great for our duration and we enjoyed the hotel, until I began to check out. I had my own room and as we were leaving I went to the front desk to check out.
I walked up to the male desk clerk and told him my room number. He brought up my bill and I confirmed the extra charges from breakfast. Then my brother walked up to check out of his room. As soon as Lou walked up the desk clerk deferred all his remaining questions to Lou. He didn't look me in the face anymore, he only looked at Lou. He asked if we wanted to keep the charges on the same card and I responded yes. He asked several more questions while looking at Lou even thought I was the one answering the questions. Finally, Lou had to tell him he had his own room to check out. I think that this was ridiculous behavior. If I had stopped talking and had deferred to Lou it would have made sense that the clerk talk to him. But that wasn’t the case.
It is amazing to me that this is still happening.
I walked up to the male desk clerk and told him my room number. He brought up my bill and I confirmed the extra charges from breakfast. Then my brother walked up to check out of his room. As soon as Lou walked up the desk clerk deferred all his remaining questions to Lou. He didn't look me in the face anymore, he only looked at Lou. He asked if we wanted to keep the charges on the same card and I responded yes. He asked several more questions while looking at Lou even thought I was the one answering the questions. Finally, Lou had to tell him he had his own room to check out. I think that this was ridiculous behavior. If I had stopped talking and had deferred to Lou it would have made sense that the clerk talk to him. But that wasn’t the case.
It is amazing to me that this is still happening.
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