I came home yesterday after work, 3:30ish to find a man, vacuuming my living room. I looked at him, he was surprised to see me because he didn't hear me over the vacuum, and I shouted "What are you doing in my house and who are you?". In broken English he said "I Patrick - Rosy" and pointed upstairs. Rosy, my house cleaner's brother is visiting from Bolivia, but I was still livid. She's supposed to be done and out by noon and here it was, afterwork for me with my downstairs torn up and she's scrubbing out the shower stall upstairs.
I went upstairs and yelled to her "Rosy why are you still here" and to try to cover over my anger she said "Hello, Missy Joanna" and I shouted again (A little louder) "Why are you still here????" She mumbled something about Claudia's (her daughter) dentist and shopping and running out of time and I said to her "You didn't tell me about this" and she said "I'm sorry I never do this again" (which she's promised many times before). I don't like coming home from a day at the office, tired and wanting to sit, and finding my house all torn up and no place to sit and relax.
I was so very upset I was afraid I'd blow it with my big mouth, so I quickly changed clothes, grabbed my swim suit and went to the Rec Center. I swam for 30 minutes, did 11 laps, which is more than on Sunday, but at least I did it. I'm not sure this is the way to get my exercise in, but it sure beats not going at all.
I got home an hour later and they were gone - the house clean.
I say no more.....
God bless you all
Friday, July 28, 2006
Sunday, July 23, 2006
* * * * * - I give myself 5 stars
Yes, I get 5 stars for today.
Why, you ask? Because I did 2, count them - 2 things that I said I would. ::From she who seldoms finishes something she starts ::
I went to Centreville Presbyterian Church this morning. It was different, but nice and I'll go again. One visit can not tell me if I like this church or not. The Associate Pastor was a bit of a rambler and I drifted a few times, but I caught the gist of what he was saying. Beautiful new church and this service featured contemporary music. The group was good, on key but not polished. They get 5 stars for showing up. Next week I'll go to the traditional service.
Then I came home, did NOT sit down, changed clothes and went to the Rec Center. I swam 9 laps; it took me 20 minutes but I just couldn't squeeze out that 10th lap. The pool is very nice, big and clean. There weren't too many people there at 11:00AM but there were kids who thought they'd try out the big pool and were splashing and jumping and making a ruckus so the life guards threw them out to the dismay of their parents. Good to see the staff sticks to the rules.
I didn't want to overdo because it has been quite awhile since I have been in the water. It did some leg and lower back exercises in the water but only 10 sets of each. I feel tired and hungry so I'm going to get a bite but I was so excited I had to post this before the thrill went away.
God bless you all.
Why, you ask? Because I did 2, count them - 2 things that I said I would. ::From she who seldoms finishes something she starts ::
I went to Centreville Presbyterian Church this morning. It was different, but nice and I'll go again. One visit can not tell me if I like this church or not. The Associate Pastor was a bit of a rambler and I drifted a few times, but I caught the gist of what he was saying. Beautiful new church and this service featured contemporary music. The group was good, on key but not polished. They get 5 stars for showing up. Next week I'll go to the traditional service.
Then I came home, did NOT sit down, changed clothes and went to the Rec Center. I swam 9 laps; it took me 20 minutes but I just couldn't squeeze out that 10th lap. The pool is very nice, big and clean. There weren't too many people there at 11:00AM but there were kids who thought they'd try out the big pool and were splashing and jumping and making a ruckus so the life guards threw them out to the dismay of their parents. Good to see the staff sticks to the rules.
I didn't want to overdo because it has been quite awhile since I have been in the water. It did some leg and lower back exercises in the water but only 10 sets of each. I feel tired and hungry so I'm going to get a bite but I was so excited I had to post this before the thrill went away.
God bless you all.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Motivation
Since I started on the Spark People program, I've been very pleased with the eating plan, the exercises they suggest and most of all, the support received from the message boards. I've joined a "community team" for 60+ women wanting to lost at least 50 lbs. I don't need the 50 lb weight loss, but I do need women in my more-or-less age group.
I have been thinking about getting more exercise but with my dicey back, I just can't do a lot of walking. During Marina's visit I just about expired from all of the walking, even in the mall where it was cool.
Today I took a quantem leap and visited our county community recreation center and was astounded. Not even 3 miles from home, and maybe 4 minutes away, is the facility. Just a little over a year old it has a fitness center with all the types of exercise machinery needed. Treadmills, exercycles, weight training, etc. And best of all, two very large pools. One is for play, with two huge water slides, one covered and going outside the building and coming back in. The other is for lap swimming and water exercise classes. I stopped at the front desk and talked to two young volunteers and was pleased with their friendliness and eagerness to answer questions. One took me for a mini tour and explained some of the procedures. The other one then wrote down times of two of the classes. One deep water exercises and one water aerobics. I left very impressed and was deep in thought over it all.
Sooooo, I stopped at Target and will wonders never cease!!! They were having a close out on swim wear. (I haven't had a decent bathing suit in 20 years) So I found the only one piece suit in my size and made a $25 commitment.
Tomorrow my intention is to visit Centreville Presbyterian, afterwards stopping for a few groceries and before my couch can grab hold, I'd like to get to the pool by noon. I hope to spend a little time just warming up and swimming a little bit. Maybe 30 minutes in all. I don't want to join a class stiff as a board so I think if I like the whole idea of it, I'll swim again once during the week and do a 'drop by' in the aerobics class on Thursday.
Now I keep reminding myself that I'm famous for not finishing things that I start. But Dr. Eisenbaum has been such a jerk about me getting exercise, to shut him up I'll try it. My dear friend David also feels the low impact exercise will benefit my back and hip and I think it will help my arthritis.
Let's see how it goes.
No!! No pictures of me in the new suit. I don't want to see any comments like "Moby Dick is visiting" or "Beached whale!!"
I blame Spark People and David for getting me motivated. Thanks guys.
Gob bless you all.
I have been thinking about getting more exercise but with my dicey back, I just can't do a lot of walking. During Marina's visit I just about expired from all of the walking, even in the mall where it was cool.
Today I took a quantem leap and visited our county community recreation center and was astounded. Not even 3 miles from home, and maybe 4 minutes away, is the facility. Just a little over a year old it has a fitness center with all the types of exercise machinery needed. Treadmills, exercycles, weight training, etc. And best of all, two very large pools. One is for play, with two huge water slides, one covered and going outside the building and coming back in. The other is for lap swimming and water exercise classes. I stopped at the front desk and talked to two young volunteers and was pleased with their friendliness and eagerness to answer questions. One took me for a mini tour and explained some of the procedures. The other one then wrote down times of two of the classes. One deep water exercises and one water aerobics. I left very impressed and was deep in thought over it all.
Sooooo, I stopped at Target and will wonders never cease!!! They were having a close out on swim wear. (I haven't had a decent bathing suit in 20 years) So I found the only one piece suit in my size and made a $25 commitment.
Tomorrow my intention is to visit Centreville Presbyterian, afterwards stopping for a few groceries and before my couch can grab hold, I'd like to get to the pool by noon. I hope to spend a little time just warming up and swimming a little bit. Maybe 30 minutes in all. I don't want to join a class stiff as a board so I think if I like the whole idea of it, I'll swim again once during the week and do a 'drop by' in the aerobics class on Thursday.
Now I keep reminding myself that I'm famous for not finishing things that I start. But Dr. Eisenbaum has been such a jerk about me getting exercise, to shut him up I'll try it. My dear friend David also feels the low impact exercise will benefit my back and hip and I think it will help my arthritis.
Let's see how it goes.
No!! No pictures of me in the new suit. I don't want to see any comments like "Moby Dick is visiting" or "Beached whale!!"
I blame Spark People and David for getting me motivated. Thanks guys.
Gob bless you all.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Mini-Vacation
Well, the house is empty and very quiet. Marina, my dear Russian friend who was my translator on my last trip has left to continue her East Coast visit. It was so good to see her and even more of a kick to have her stay with me. I wish we had a few more days to show her more of our area, but it wasn't to be.
She arrived on Tuesday and we had dinner with BJ. Wednesday two of the mission team members took her into Washington to see the sights. I stayed at the office. It was too hot for me. They started out at the Capital and walked to the Lincoln Memorial and back. She was eager to press on while the two 'natives' were wilting in the near 100 degree heat. They did manage to coax her into the Museum of Natural History for a brief, cool respite. She loved the Hope Diamond. Way to go!! What girl wouldn't. That evening we were supposed to have a little gathering for supper at a local eatery and EVERYBODY crapped out. Those who had been with her all day, wilted and faded away. I wound up taking her to our local Chinese restaurant and then early to sleep.
Yesterday I took her to the Manassas Battlefield where we walked the fields. It was too hot to walk the entire course, be we did walk to the old house to see the graveyard and then to Stonewall Jackson's statue. A few moments back at the pavilion restored our strength and we went on for lunch at another team member's home. Marina had been Liz's translator on the spring trip and they established a great friendship. I'm not surprised - she's a terrific gal. Liz fixed us a lovely lunch and I backed away so they could spend a little time together. Then we went off to visit the closest Mall. We shopped for an hour or so and came home to get refreshed and off to a cookout where most of the team members were able to see her and talk to. It was a great time and Marina was awed that so many people had come out just to see her. I was proud of the group for their attention to her.
This morning I took her to the church, where the next leg of her journey will begin. A gentleman who works for Children's Hope Chest is taking her to Virginia Beach for the weekend at his home. He and his wife are new parents to a baby boy and Marina will enjoy seeing the baby. Then Monday, she is off to Colorado Springs again until late August when she'll return to Russia to begin studies at the University in early September.
It was a gift to us all to have her here with us.
Here is a picture of the two of us before she left.
So now I spend the rest of the day remembering her and those wonderful kids we've learned to love in our orphanage.
God bless you all.
She arrived on Tuesday and we had dinner with BJ. Wednesday two of the mission team members took her into Washington to see the sights. I stayed at the office. It was too hot for me. They started out at the Capital and walked to the Lincoln Memorial and back. She was eager to press on while the two 'natives' were wilting in the near 100 degree heat. They did manage to coax her into the Museum of Natural History for a brief, cool respite. She loved the Hope Diamond. Way to go!! What girl wouldn't. That evening we were supposed to have a little gathering for supper at a local eatery and EVERYBODY crapped out. Those who had been with her all day, wilted and faded away. I wound up taking her to our local Chinese restaurant and then early to sleep.
Yesterday I took her to the Manassas Battlefield where we walked the fields. It was too hot to walk the entire course, be we did walk to the old house to see the graveyard and then to Stonewall Jackson's statue. A few moments back at the pavilion restored our strength and we went on for lunch at another team member's home. Marina had been Liz's translator on the spring trip and they established a great friendship. I'm not surprised - she's a terrific gal. Liz fixed us a lovely lunch and I backed away so they could spend a little time together. Then we went off to visit the closest Mall. We shopped for an hour or so and came home to get refreshed and off to a cookout where most of the team members were able to see her and talk to. It was a great time and Marina was awed that so many people had come out just to see her. I was proud of the group for their attention to her.
This morning I took her to the church, where the next leg of her journey will begin. A gentleman who works for Children's Hope Chest is taking her to Virginia Beach for the weekend at his home. He and his wife are new parents to a baby boy and Marina will enjoy seeing the baby. Then Monday, she is off to Colorado Springs again until late August when she'll return to Russia to begin studies at the University in early September.
It was a gift to us all to have her here with us.
Here is a picture of the two of us before she left.
So now I spend the rest of the day remembering her and those wonderful kids we've learned to love in our orphanage.
God bless you all.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
HOT - HOT - HOT
What more can I say? It's July!!
It's been a busy week once again, but I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel. My luck, it probably is a train. Didn't work any OT this week. Although I like regaining my weekends, I can honestly say I'll miss the extra cash. I haven't seen my actual wage since I received my salary increase after my one year review. I've been stacking OT hours. This week I will have one or two but can't work as much as I'd like to.
Marina will be here on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I'll put her in the care and custody of two mission team members to be taken her into town and to see all the sights, something I'm not interested in doing. 90 degrees in mid-July is NOT my idea of when to visit Washington,DC. Two members graciously volunteered to do it and I accepted. One other member has a friend in the Secret Service who may be able to get tickets for the White House tour, so that would be great for her. I'm really looking forward to her visit.
The house is in good shape. Yesterday I got her room ready for her, but not without incident. I had just finished stripping down the bed and putting fresh linens on it when I decided to lower the blinds completely. I usually leave them raised about 18 inches because the cats like to sit on the windowsills and rule their kingdom. One tug on the cord and the whole thing came crashing down. I tried to put them back but I'd get one side up and the other would pop out. I became very frustrated and let them sit for an hour or so. I even emailed my dear friend asking him if he would help me on Monday when he stops by. After thinking about it, I decided to try again. That's when I saw a little piece of metal on the floor. It was part of the bracket on one end of the blind and when I put it in the right place, it held the blind in place. Of course, having a chair to stand on helped a lot. And standing in the middle of the window where I could reach to both sides. So now I'm ready for Marina.
Today I have an errand or two along with a hair appointment, so it will be a fun day.
Nothing other than that is new, but I feel I'm in a good place.
God bless you all
It's been a busy week once again, but I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel. My luck, it probably is a train. Didn't work any OT this week. Although I like regaining my weekends, I can honestly say I'll miss the extra cash. I haven't seen my actual wage since I received my salary increase after my one year review. I've been stacking OT hours. This week I will have one or two but can't work as much as I'd like to.
Marina will be here on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I'll put her in the care and custody of two mission team members to be taken her into town and to see all the sights, something I'm not interested in doing. 90 degrees in mid-July is NOT my idea of when to visit Washington,DC. Two members graciously volunteered to do it and I accepted. One other member has a friend in the Secret Service who may be able to get tickets for the White House tour, so that would be great for her. I'm really looking forward to her visit.
The house is in good shape. Yesterday I got her room ready for her, but not without incident. I had just finished stripping down the bed and putting fresh linens on it when I decided to lower the blinds completely. I usually leave them raised about 18 inches because the cats like to sit on the windowsills and rule their kingdom. One tug on the cord and the whole thing came crashing down. I tried to put them back but I'd get one side up and the other would pop out. I became very frustrated and let them sit for an hour or so. I even emailed my dear friend asking him if he would help me on Monday when he stops by. After thinking about it, I decided to try again. That's when I saw a little piece of metal on the floor. It was part of the bracket on one end of the blind and when I put it in the right place, it held the blind in place. Of course, having a chair to stand on helped a lot. And standing in the middle of the window where I could reach to both sides. So now I'm ready for Marina.
Today I have an errand or two along with a hair appointment, so it will be a fun day.
Nothing other than that is new, but I feel I'm in a good place.
God bless you all
Friday, July 07, 2006
A Short Week - With Two Mondays
That's right. It felt like two Mondays. ARRGGGHHH!!! :o)
This has been one crazy week. My dear friend David is on holiday with his family. I sure hope they had a good time. My guess is, they'll be coming back tomorrow. I have missed him.
Work has been very busy. We met our quota of 500 cases for June and are working on our July number of 800. I don't know about that, but the reviewers are working like beavers, putting in o'time.
Our new Admin, Amanda, is very good. She's fit in very quickly. Both Jennie and I like her and will do what we can to help her and make her feel at home. I know she has felt strange about 'replacing Beth'. She's not asked about it yet, but I'll be honest with her if she does. Several people were grumbling about management putting her in Beth's old cube. I may have sounded a little heartless, but I told them to get over it, that in honesty we are a business and they needed to do what they could to make Amanda feel welcomed.
It's been 5 days on the new Spark People plan. And believe it or not, I've lost 4 lbs. I'm sure that's the water weight and now I'll be fighting the fat, but so far so good. I really like that site.
Tomorrow I won't go to work. I need to unwind and hope I can sleep a little late. Marina is coming to visit us on the 18th and the team is acting like a Chinese fire drill trying to figure out who is doing what. I started to get aggrivated and have just backed off. She'll stay with me and I'll do what they ask me to do. Sometimes women can be a pain. :o)
I have one more thing to say
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOSIE :o)
God bless you all.
This has been one crazy week. My dear friend David is on holiday with his family. I sure hope they had a good time. My guess is, they'll be coming back tomorrow. I have missed him.
Work has been very busy. We met our quota of 500 cases for June and are working on our July number of 800. I don't know about that, but the reviewers are working like beavers, putting in o'time.
Our new Admin, Amanda, is very good. She's fit in very quickly. Both Jennie and I like her and will do what we can to help her and make her feel at home. I know she has felt strange about 'replacing Beth'. She's not asked about it yet, but I'll be honest with her if she does. Several people were grumbling about management putting her in Beth's old cube. I may have sounded a little heartless, but I told them to get over it, that in honesty we are a business and they needed to do what they could to make Amanda feel welcomed.
It's been 5 days on the new Spark People plan. And believe it or not, I've lost 4 lbs. I'm sure that's the water weight and now I'll be fighting the fat, but so far so good. I really like that site.
Tomorrow I won't go to work. I need to unwind and hope I can sleep a little late. Marina is coming to visit us on the 18th and the team is acting like a Chinese fire drill trying to figure out who is doing what. I started to get aggrivated and have just backed off. She'll stay with me and I'll do what they ask me to do. Sometimes women can be a pain. :o)
I have one more thing to say
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOSIE :o)
God bless you all.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Holiday time
The cookout was a very good time. BJ and I had a great time. There was a lot of very good food. In fact, I could use one or two of those ribs right about now. I met several new people and spent a good amount of time, just sitting outside, under the trees, enjoying the breeze, talking.
As most women do, we eventually got to the topic of weight. I had said that I quit my subscription to Weight Watchers online because 'it was time' and I didn't like paying $17.00 a month. One of the gals then told me about a free website 'sparkpeople.com'. When I got home, I took a look at it and WOW. It's everything WW.com was and more. I signed up (free of course) and have been having a blast ever since. I'm glad the cookout was BEFORE I signed up because I've put myself on a betweem 1,200/1,550 calorie eating plan for two weeks. I'd like to lose 20 pounds by November 1st and according to Sparks, it can be done. There's message boards and suggested exercises with little video snippits and some wonderful healthy recipes. We'll see what happens.
On the way home BJ asked me if I was in the mood for maybe just a little shopping. (Is she nuts or what?) So we stopped by DSW and checked out the shoes. I did pickup a new pair of black flat shoes for the office, that really are desperately needed. I've got to start wearing shoes and get out of slides, because my feet won't like shoes when it gets cold.
This is being a pretty good day. I just hung out around the house yesterday. Today I went to the office at 6:00AM and stepped out at 8:30AM to have my 2 month appointment with Dr. E. I lost 3 lbs which isn't a lot, but at least I'm not up. He wants me to get to the lab to check my cholesterol again. He says if it's not down he's going to put me on meds. I don't know if I like that, but I'll have the blood drawn on Wednesday. He also wants me to monitor my BP. That's no problem. I have a machine and I put new batteries in it and it still works. I've made a chart so I can track it. I don't understand Dr. E sometimes. He sent me off to a dermatologist telling me I had skin cancer on my nose. I told him it was a wart and I'd had it for 6 years. I went anyway because the "C" word scared me. I was right. It's a wart. Today he said something strange as I left. He was a little snippy about "You better start working on losing weight, getting your cholesterol down and getting healthy". What does he think I've been doing since last October? Playing Tennis? I've made another follow up appointment for 2 months out, but after that I can't guarantee a thing. He might get fired. (I didn't know I wasn't healthy).
Anyway, tomorrow is a holiday - I don't have to go to work and I'm going to start back with my Portuguese. After Beth and Patrick went away, it was really hard to concentrate on it. We'll give it another try.
Dear reader, have a safe 4th.
God bless you all.
As most women do, we eventually got to the topic of weight. I had said that I quit my subscription to Weight Watchers online because 'it was time' and I didn't like paying $17.00 a month. One of the gals then told me about a free website 'sparkpeople.com'. When I got home, I took a look at it and WOW. It's everything WW.com was and more. I signed up (free of course) and have been having a blast ever since. I'm glad the cookout was BEFORE I signed up because I've put myself on a betweem 1,200/1,550 calorie eating plan for two weeks. I'd like to lose 20 pounds by November 1st and according to Sparks, it can be done. There's message boards and suggested exercises with little video snippits and some wonderful healthy recipes. We'll see what happens.
On the way home BJ asked me if I was in the mood for maybe just a little shopping. (Is she nuts or what?) So we stopped by DSW and checked out the shoes. I did pickup a new pair of black flat shoes for the office, that really are desperately needed. I've got to start wearing shoes and get out of slides, because my feet won't like shoes when it gets cold.
This is being a pretty good day. I just hung out around the house yesterday. Today I went to the office at 6:00AM and stepped out at 8:30AM to have my 2 month appointment with Dr. E. I lost 3 lbs which isn't a lot, but at least I'm not up. He wants me to get to the lab to check my cholesterol again. He says if it's not down he's going to put me on meds. I don't know if I like that, but I'll have the blood drawn on Wednesday. He also wants me to monitor my BP. That's no problem. I have a machine and I put new batteries in it and it still works. I've made a chart so I can track it. I don't understand Dr. E sometimes. He sent me off to a dermatologist telling me I had skin cancer on my nose. I told him it was a wart and I'd had it for 6 years. I went anyway because the "C" word scared me. I was right. It's a wart. Today he said something strange as I left. He was a little snippy about "You better start working on losing weight, getting your cholesterol down and getting healthy". What does he think I've been doing since last October? Playing Tennis? I've made another follow up appointment for 2 months out, but after that I can't guarantee a thing. He might get fired. (I didn't know I wasn't healthy).
Anyway, tomorrow is a holiday - I don't have to go to work and I'm going to start back with my Portuguese. After Beth and Patrick went away, it was really hard to concentrate on it. We'll give it another try.
Dear reader, have a safe 4th.
God bless you all.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Three Cheers For The Red, White And Blue
Look what I made!!! I know the stripes are a little uneven, but you get the drift. There wasn't enough room for all 50 'stars' so I stuck one in the corner. (It's kind of an inside joke)
It's pound cake on the bottom, with strawberry jello mixed with sliced strawberries and blueberries, topped off with a cream cheese and Cool Whip topping.
I was a lot of fun to make. I'm taking it to a cook out today to honor a dear friend's brother's visit. I'm really looking forward to it.
What's a Fourth of July holiday without a cookout??
God bless the USA
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