Monday, December 28, 2009

Happy after-holidays to the Cilley peoples!

Quick check in from Cilleyland since da work crazy is not yet over.  Did I post about how a Christmas wish came true and I get to buy myself some of the items on my "when I have the money I need to replace this" list?  I think I did.  If I didn't, there you go!  Anyhow, to date I have gotten:  a new cell phone and a new laptop.  I haven't had a chance to even plug in the laptop yet; switching over will be a project for the coming weekend (for which I shouldn't have to work a day!).  However, the phone is up and going and it is fabulous.  Much too much phone for me -- I was looking at the level of phones between the basic call/not really any text model (what I was replacing, I'm trying to join the 21st century) and the smartphones and had picked out the LG env Touch.  When the salesguy went to do the paperwork, we learned that I was on such a basic plan now that to upgrade to a data (aka, texting) plan it would be cheaper per month for me to go to a smartphone and only a few dollars more for the phone itself.  Et voila, I am now the proud owner of a Droid HTC Eris. 

The Droid is pretty nifty.  I'm sure it will be even niftier once I figure out how to do certain things like, um, answer the phone.  Okay, I can kind of do that.  I can also read and send email and browse the web.  Starts to make me wonder why I got a new laptop when I can do everything through my phone, but I guess I'd rather not go blind reading the tiny phone screen.  The thing I find the coolest about my new phone is that after years and years and years, I am FINALLY able to have the ringtone I want:  the theme song to Simon & Simon.   I still have the theme song to Magnum PI on there as a backup, and the Pink Panther theme as the backup to the backup.  It only took me about an hour to figure out how to get the songs on to the phone; after that, it was a snap to select it as the ringtone. 

The laptop has 500 gigs of space.  500!  Holy frijoles!!  My old one, that I bought in December 2003, has only 40 gigs.  I probably won't fill up 500 gigs in my natural lifetime.  I'll probably end up willing it to one of my nieces or my godson.  And they'll probably scoff, saying "Only 500 gigs, Aunt CilleyGirl?  Hah!  What a dinosaur!  The new laptops have a trillion gig hard drives and they're invisible!" 

I'm still looking at printers (I want one to print photos -- if anyone has a recommendation for a good printer under $300 US, let me know).  I'm also looking at mattresses; if anyone got a great mattress for under $750 US, let me know that too.  Or if you have a favorite mattress shop (one in the PacNW, that is). 

My diet hasn't gone completely to hell in a handbasket the past week.  More like to purgatory in a purse.  Right now in our office kitchen we have pastries, bagels, carrot cake, smoked salmon (I think, someone might have eaten this yesterday), and three different kinds of cheese, plus my boss's son is out right now bringing back Mexican food for everyone for lunch.  I've had a quarter of a small sticky bun, half of an asiago bagel with salmon and dill cheese spread, and I ordered the lime chicken enchiladas.  Pretty sure I'm burning off calories at a phenomenal rate due to the level of stress, though.

My break time is over, back to the chaos!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Friday, December 25, 2009

Guess where I am?? Can you guess? Can you????

Although maybe you should guess where I'm not:  I. Am. Not. At. Work.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

Twenty-five days of work in a row is draining.  It was nice to get up this morning and know I didn't have to be clock watching so that I could make it into the office early enough in the day.  I didn't even take a shower until nearly 4:00 p.m., and it was also nice knowing I could get right back into my sweats and not have to put on a bra (among other clothes) and head out to the office.

Sigh.  It's the little pleasures in life.  Because I do have to go back in tomorrow through New Year's Eve.  Again, though, little pleasures:  This year, we can't work until midnight on New Year's Eve because all of the post offices will be closed by then.  Although that means I'll be working like a monkey on crack between now and then, I may get to go home at a decent hour on New Year's Eve.  In time to go home, pass out, and not go back into work for three whole days. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas.  CBS and I got up at 10:30 a.m. and decided to stay up.  I had them fed and watered and the first load of laundry in the wash and opened all my presents by ten after eleven.  It was a good Christmas here at the Cilleyhouse. 

I even got a Christmas wish.  The main reason we got up at 10:30 a.m. and didn't sleep until at least noon, as per the original plan, was that my back was sore.  For about the first 20 minutes I was up this morning, I had to keep sitting back down because of my back.  The last time, I sat down and said "I'm too old for this."  Then I immediately shook my head and said, "No, I'm too young for this."  I looked at the unopened presents I had just moved to the coffee table and said, "It would be nice if one of you would let me buy a new mattress."  Because that's why I think my back has been giving me fits for the past several months; I need a new mattress.  My box spring is one I bought in 1995.  I have no idea how old the mattress is.  When I was living with my ex-boyfriend, he had a nicer mattress so we put his mattress on my box spring.  When we split up, it was easier for him to take my mattress and his box spring from the storage unit and we just never swapped back.  I do know it has to be more than six years old.

But back to my Christmas wish:  One of the presents will enable me to buy a new mattress set.  And enable me to replace my old laptop that has been limping along for at least a year and a cell phone (my old one won't hold a charge anymore) and maybe a printer (so I can finally print photos) and to put aside some money for Eugene and have a little bit left over.  It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders this morning. 

I can't let go of all of it quite yet; I still need to get through December at work.  But I feel like 2010 will be the turning point for me.  I'm glad for the new friends I've made, in life and in cyberspace, and that you'll be coming along with me on my journey.

Happy holidays!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Horoscopes can be so spooky.

Case in point  -- Here is mine (Scorpio) for today:
Your health and well-being should be your top priority, especially with all this holiday indulgence going on. This is the time to get back into a regular exercise routine, watch what you eat, make sure you schedule and keep routine appointments and take your vitamins. It might seem like a lot of work, but aren't you worth it? You might need some extra motivation, so don't hesitate to ask someone close.
Cue the Twilight Zone theme!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
coming to you dead from Day 25 of the Work Death March -- *and* I may be coming in on Christmas Day

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

OMG -- It's the Twelfth Day of Christmas!! Run!!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas
We all sigh with relief:
Because this song is over
And if it wasn’t
If I kept on singing
Singing singing singing
You would all go crazy
You’d beat me with sticks
And various farm implements
And FIVE ONION RINGS (still yuck!)
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Urp.

Thank you and good night!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Wow, do I need a nap (with some lords -- hot hot lords!)

On the eleventh day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Eleven hotcakes piping
Ten lords, a-happy
Nine loaves of bread
Eight milks a-shaken
Seven swans a-sautéed
Six geese a-baked
FIVE ONION RINGS (yuck!)
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Monday, December 21, 2009

A not-so-random sampling of all the CilleyGirl's emotions as of right this second



I'm sleepy....



Chocolate croissant?  Where??



The after-croissant nap.



Stressed?  Me??  No, why do you ask?




Seriously, why do you ask?



Can you toss a chocolate croissant in there?  Please??



I wish I were in Tahiti.
(no bunnies were harmed in the making of this photo)

Croissantly yours,
the CilleyGirl

Chow chow chow!

Do they still do that for the Meow Mix commercials?

And what an unusual way to start a post that talks about food. 

I weighed myself this morning.  I will not tell you what I weighed because (1) it wasn't an official weigh-in day and (2) the number went up.  Bah.  (But it is close to that TOM so it was to be expected; yes, all I want for Christmas are some light flow days, some light flow days, some light flow days...)   Anyhow.  I've been pretty good in sticking to a decent calorie intake number but let's just say the quality of those calories has gone steadily downhill.  After lumbering off the scale, I decided that I would work on eating better today. 

And then I came in to the office to something a lot like this:



Yes, a dozen assorted pastries.  Brought in, of course, by the size-four person in my office.  The one where I was looking at her blazer the other day thinking about how I could maybe fit one boob in there and that would be it.   I immediately went to her office to ask if she was responsible for the evil.  I told her it would have to be on a day where I'd just vowed to eat healthy for the day, made all the more tempting by the chocolate croissants (a huge weakness for me).  She laughed in that way that size-four people do and told me I could chose not to eat it, that it was all just a matter of willpower. 

Uh huh.

So, after I hid her lifeless body (which first I pumped full of salt water so that it is now at least a size 16), I ditched my plans for oatmeal and had a chocolate croissant and a small part of an apple pastry.  About 260 calories more than I would normally have for a weekday breakfast.  I'm proud to say I also ditched the plans I had made for lunch when only oatmeal was involved, whereby I was going to have Subway for lunch.  By lunchtime I had a headache and a growly stomach (I'm sure from the carb/sugar overload) and I just didn't want to (1) wait through driving to Subway and ordering lunch and then driving back to work or (b) eat all those calories.  Instead I had a frozen lunch thingy and some grapes, for a total of 441 calories.  Now I'm only a smidge over where I would be in a normal, healthy calorie day. 

Which brings me to my grocery list.  I also had good healthy food intentions yesterday when I went grocery shopping.  As I mentioned previously, I've been eating too much sodium recently, due in large part to the frozen lunch thingies.   I decided to go back to sandwiches for lunch.  I bought 100% whole wheat bread that is 45 calories a slice.  (Here's hoping it tastes good too!)  I bought sun-dried tomato deli turkey and swiss cheese.  I bought some pickles.  My sandwiches are topped off by a honey mustard-light mayo mixture that I put together.  I've tried to go all-mustard on sandwiches but have found that it is worth the 30-50 calories of the mayo to me to add a little bit more -- I guess moisture is the best way to describe it.  Plus people need some fats in their diet.  Lunches for the rest of the week will be turkey with swiss, some carrots with a dab of lowfat yogurt-based ranch dressing, and grapes.  I always pronounce that as "grepes", with a short "e" just like how I enjoy pronouncing crepes in the same way to annoy people. 

Back to the grocery list.  To recap, last night it was all about healthy food, healthy food, healthy food.  Good job me.  This morning I realized that I hadn't gotten anything for Christmas day to eat.  You know what I will be eating for Christmas day?  Eggs benedict a la CilleyGirl.  I plan to get up some time after noon and then around 2:00 p.m. I will make eggs benedict.  I will eat it.  That will be all I eat that day, because after you have a big eggs benedict you're just not hungry before it would be time to go to bed.  So now my grocery list reads like this:

- milk
- hollandaise
- canadian bacon
- english muffins
- fake cheese slices (this is what makes it a la Cilley Girl)
- hashbrowns
- orange juice
- chili garlic sauce

The chili garlic sauce is actually for the scallops and soba noodles I'm making for dinner tonight.  If chinese food doesn't some how magically leap into my shopping cart instead.

I'm starting to understand why January 1 is such a popular day to start eating healthy.  I really suck at it on a fairly regular basis.

Hey, but no chocolate or cakes or cookies or ice cream or anything like that on this list!  Hmmm....

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

May the lords be with you... and you ... and you... busy busy lords!

On the tenth day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Ten lords! Woo hoo! That’s what I’m talkin' about baybee!
Hot, hot lor-- Sorry. I’m okay now.
But I’m sticking with the lords.
Nine loaves of bread
Eight milks a-shaken
Seven swans a-sautéed
Six geese a-baked
FIVE ONION RINGS (yuck)!
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Hey laaaaaddiieesssssss! It's day nine!

On the ninth day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Nine ladies… wait, I don’t swing that way.
Ahem.
ponder ponder ponder -- I've got it!
Nine loaves of bread
Eight milks a-shaken
Seven swans a-sautéed
Six geese a-baked
FIVE ONION RINGS (yuck!)
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

A verbose CilleyGirl

Apparently I'm awfully chatty today...  Could be the warning signs of psychosis, you never know.

I read a post today over at The Lipstick Chronicles about the Magic Browser.  Similar to the Ouija board or a Magic 8 Ball, you open your browser and you ask it a question and see what pops up.  I thought that was cute.  Then I wrote my last post and started thinking about singledom and I decided to ask my own Magic Browser:

Will I meet someone in 2010?

I decided not to be specific about gender.  I'm all about riding the train to Mantown, but I was curious to see if the Magic Browser would pick up on how I really meant that question without specifically wording it that way. 

The first thing that came up was, "Tell your child you met someone" on AskMen.com.  I'm interpreting that as, if I meet a man in 2010 he's going to have a child.  Odds are that will be the case since I would expect a potential mate to be in his late 30s or in his 40s and hence he will not be a virgin.  So far, so good.

The second thing that came up was, "You'll never meet someone:  Five warning signs you should know" on ezinearticles.com.  I laughed.  I dutifully read the warning signs and I have none of them.  For me, that translates into being ready for a relationship.  I consider that good too.

The third thing, and this was a little spooky, was, "2010 horoscope for Scorpios" on Bukisa.com.  That's spooky because I don't believe I've told my Magic Browser when my birthday is (I am a Scorpio).  It talks about wanting to reorganize certain areas of my life (which I do and plan to be doing in 2010).  Towards the very end of the article, it says -- and I quote -- "As it is you could meet someone backstage that lights up your life, especially if you're single and looking."  Alrighty then. 

The next few are some more horoscope based links, meeting someone at a social networking shindig, dating rules to meet someone new (that's actually a pretty good article), whether the 2010 Volkswagen Golf will be diesel's big winner (umm, am I going to meet someone who drives a Golf?), and -- the scariest of them all -- a link to a January 2010 birth club.  Ack!  Apparently my pregnancy is now at 33 weeks.  Sheesh, no wonder I can't lose this gut!  *snerk*

So, ask your own question of your Magic Browser and let me know what you find out!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

What year is it?

I'm feeling a bit like Rip Van Winkle today.  It's day 20 of the Work Death March -- the only reason I am looking forward to Christmas at this point is that I won't have to work that day -- and I am TIRED.  Last night as I headed up to bed (I think around 9:30/10 PM) I decided I'd either sleep in or go for a run, depending on what my body told me it needed.  Apparently it needed sleep; I slept for at least 14 hours.  I could have slept more but I had to come in to work so I got up and off I went.  After changing out my car's headlight and stopping by Starbucks for a mocha and some coffee cake.

I can't wait until this month is over.  I've already booked myself a four day weekend out of the office in January.  It will be the weekend my marathon training officially commences.  Which reminds me, the other day I was putting on my calendar the date of the Gazelle's next brew crew review.  Because it's a Friday happy hour thing and I work until at least 5:30 p.m. I need to leave work early to make it there.  I also realized that that Saturday would be my first 2010 race so I also put that on the calendar.  Then I realized that the next day, January 10th, would begin official marathon training.  And then I realized (aren't I am amazingly linear storyteller??) that in my training world Sunday is a rest day.  So, long story short (too late!) my first day of official marathon training is.... a rest day.  Hmm, I don't think I can manage that!  It's too hard!

That was when I decided to take the Friday and Monday off for that weekend, so that for certain I will run on Monday as scheduled, without the extra added pressure of having to get up at 5:00 a.m. to do it.  Then I can spend a leisurely time at the gym, maybe setting up a weights program if I haven't already (because that will be on the schedule for Tuesdays during training), using the steam room, etc.  Maybe I'll even get a massage that day!

I'm supposed to be going to my boss's Christmas party tonight.  Their personal one, not an office one (that one I bullied them into pushing off until January).  I'm thinking I'll beg off.  It's not the decisions about what to eat or how much to drink, although all of that is fabulous and might be a concern any other time.  It's that I won't know a damn person there except for the people I work with and their families.  So I end up with a plate in the corner trying not to look like I'm standing alone in a corner with aching feet counting the minutes until I can leave.   I'm practically hyperventilating at the prospect.  This is when I really dislike being single.  

Speaking of Christmas, I have another story to share.  I mentioned previously about how Christmas was never a huge deal in my family.  And I'm okay with that and so is my mom.  She and I have a special relationship all year long and it doesn't have to be a particular day for us to have that kind of Christmas spirit thing going on.  Anyhow, I was entering a contest today at a website that asked, "What is your favorite holiday movie?"  And I had to put down two answers.  Because my sentimental favorite, the one that won't freak out the norms, is Love Actually.  There is a fantastic cast and the stories are amazing and woven together so perfectly, it's really what the holidays are all about.  But my traditional Christmas favorite is Lethal Weapon. 

See, my stepdad came to us when I was about eight years old.  And he was never into Christmas.  He did the present thing and all, but then we all went our separate ways in the house for the rest of the day until time to eat dinner, etc.  What he would do was watch movies.  Not Christmas movies.  Shoot 'em up movies.  War movies.  Just anything action.  I don't like war movies, but I do like action films.  But every year he got a little bit more grumpy about Christmas.  He'd just get into this foul mood and the movies got worse and worse until one year -- I was around 13 -- he was watching Chuck Norris films all day.  And there's one where the bad guys hang Chuck upside down by his feet and put a sack over his head, into which they put a live rat.  So Chuck jerks and squirms and the bad guys laugh their evil laughs as blood squirts from the inside of the bag and then Chuck and the bag arestill.  The bad guys laugh some more and pull the bag off Chuck's head.... to find that the rat has not killed Chuck as they intended but rather Chuck has BITTEN THE HEAD OFF THE RAT. 

And I, who is watching this from the landing above, just start laughing.  Probably with a touch of hysteria, but I'm laughing.  And he's all, what?  And I'm laughing, saying "Merry Christmas!  Merry freakin' Christmas!"  And still, he's all, what?  I'm up there, "Because nothing says Christmas like biting the head off a live rat!"  He's still puzzled, so my mom is pointing out to him that he's in a bad mood and it's kind of bringing us down, and finally he goes, "But I'm not in a bad mood."  So I start laughing again.  He, rather sheepishly, acknowledged that perhaps Chuck Norris is a little bit dark and so he switches movies to something more peppy with Schwarzenegger.   So that became tradition in our house to watch action movies, but cheerful action movies.  No biting the heads off of rats.  We try to emphasize the ones with a Christmas theme:  the Lethal Weapons, the Die Hards. 

Anyone else have a family tradition that might seem unusual to outsiders?

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

All the boys in the yard...

On the eighth day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Eight milks a-shaken
Seven swans a-sautéed
Six geese a-baked
FIVE ONION RINGS (yuck!)
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Friday, December 18, 2009

The Christmas buffet continues with fried chicken!

On the seventh day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Seven swans a-sautéed
Six geese a-baked
FIVE ONION RINGS (yuck!)
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Hmmmm

I've been feeling kind of blah as December wears on.  It's not because it's tis the season.  Working here the past six Decembers, on top of how I grew up, as I've said before Christmas just doesn't have that much oomph for me anymore (and I'm okay with that).  It's not even really because of this truly insane December I am having as a consequence of my work (today is day 18 without a break -- gack!). 

It's because almost every blog I discover these days has a wonderful recital about how the author has lost 80 or so pounds in the past year.

And then I think back to my past year. 

Where I haven't lost a freakin thing, pound-wise. 

(As a side note, I just remembered to put the lunch I didn't eat in the freezer.  Here's what's in our office freezer:  two frozen lunches, coffee, and a bottle of vodka.  That pretty much sums it up around here.)

Now for most of these folks I haven't gone back to learn just what they did to lose this weight.  They could have cut calories or started to exercise or some combination of those.  All of them seemed to have worked hard to get where they are.  Which is what makes me kind of blah.  I didn't change my already pretty sensible eating habits (ham and fish stick incidents aside, those really are rare), I just added exercise to my sedantary life.  And I know I lost inches -- I wish I'd taken my measurements back in January though -- and I did go down a size.  My face looks thinner, although I do still have that angora bunny thing if I tuck my chin in just right.  But the scale hasn't budged, or if it did it budged in the wrong damn direction.

But I also know that I haven't tried all that hard either.

I was spotty about my training.  I've said before that I lean more towards the idea that I wasn't eating enough when I was exercising (considering I basically never exercised in years prior to this), but I just wasn't willing to cut 300 or 400 calories a day for a month or so to see what would happen.  I'm still having a hard time with that idea.

What if I do cut my calories and I'm starving and I still don't lose weight?  Do I cut more?  Add more? 

I'm so afraid of failing that it's nearly impossible for me to even get started.

Blah.

Okay, enough of the whiney stuff.  Let's talk about racing!  All the racing I'm going to be doing in 2010, all the mileage my tootsies will be racking up.  I've had to laugh (at myself, natch) lately with everyone talking about the miles they've run in 2009 and what their mileage goals are for 2010.  A common mileage goal is 1,000 miles.  At first I thought, yikes!  Then as I read on I thought, that doesn't sound too bad.  I wonder how much I've done this year?  Surely 1,000 miles would be doable based on what I've done this year, right?

*snerk*

I went back and looked at my iPod miles.  Now, I only got my Nike+ thing around June so I was logging miles for around five months before that, plus there were those couple of weeks where the sensor wasn't working and it didn't log that mileage at all.  I figure for the weeks it stopped working I ran about 15 miles.  Estimating on the low side, because I was lazy at the time, I'd say I ran about 80 miles before I got the Nike+.  Grand total for my running year?  That would be a whopping 261 miles.  Wow, my ass is truly lazy.

I've been pondering my 2010 goals, running and otherwise, and I think I will set a goal of running at least 576.2 miles next year.  That would equate to a little more than double what I did this year, 550 miles, plus my marathon in May.  Doable, I think.  I will revisit this goal in June to see if I can up that number.

I was making a list last night of 2010 runs I want to do.  I think I mentioned previously that I spent at least $600 in race fees alone this year.  I wanted to do less races this year and focus more on actual training, so I wanted to pick my favorites.  Guess how many that came out to?  See for yourself:

- Resolution Run 5K:  Already signed up for this through NW Running League.
- Fanconi Anemia 5K or 8K:  my first race ever, so I'd like to run it again in 2010.
- Shamrock Run.
- Race for the Roses:  Just a great race overall.
- Run for the Cheetah:  At the zoo, probably the best organized race I did all year, and it benefits the cheetah.
- Lake Oswego Lake Run:  Nice course, great cotton t-shirt.
- 10 Cane Rum Run:  For the rum.
- Mt. Tabor Doggie Challenge
- Lacamas Lake
- Crawfish Crawl
- Turkey Trot
- Run Like Hell
- and don't forget, the Eugene Marathon.

Added to that are a few other races that get me points with NW Running League:  Spring Burst 5K, Earth Day Advantage 5K, Friar Trot 5K, and the CATnip Friday 5K.  I'm also thinking about the Foot Traffic Flat in July, that or the Ridgefield 4th of July 5K which I ran this year and really enjoyed with the small town atmosphere.

I think I have a sickness.  But I really love the race atmosphere.  I love the shirts and the schwag.  It gives me a concrete goal that gets me out there to run.

Mostly it's a sickness.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

And on the sixth day, she had poultry.

On the sixth day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Six geese a-baked
FIVE ONION RINGS (yuck!)
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

You've been waiting for it.... here it is... the fifth day of Christmas!

On the fifth day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
FIVE ONION RINGS (yuck!)
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

It's the Ho Hos that will get you every time.

I managed to limit my last pig massacre to a fairly reasonable 956 calories for dinner.  I say fairly reasonable because I do tend to split my calories pretty evenly between breakfast and lunch combined and then dinner.  (As I work on my dietary habits in the upcoming year, that may need to change; I'd like to have lunch be the bigger calorie meal.)  Added to my 965 for breakfast and lunch brought me to 1921 calories for the day.  Yippee!  I thought.  Then I remembered:  the Ho Hos.  At the HO HO 5K on Sunday, I picked up two Ho Hos.  Last night I saw them sitting on my kitchen table and I decided to eat them.  Two Ho Hos = 250 calories, putting me 171 calories over my unofficial calorie target of 2000 calories (although still under my 2500 calorie target for December). 

The Ho Hos will get you every time.

Since it is now mid-December I decided to see where I am for the month.  Remember that my December goals didn't officially start until December 7, although I kept track regardless except for one day where I didn't log in dinner (I probably went out for sushi with friends that night). 

I've actually done pretty well, calorie-wise.  My calorie target in the food diary is still set at 2000 calories a day.  On average, I consumed 2,096 calories.  I'm guessing the day I ate only 374 calories because I had a killer migraine might have skewed things just a teeny bit.  For fat grams, target is 65 and averge is 84.  It's the fast food, I'm certain.  Ditto with the sodium:  target is 2400 mg and my average is 4799 mg.  Yikes!  I'm good on cholesterol; target is 300 g, I'm at 265.  I'm low on carbs (300 target versus 218 actual) and corresponding too high on protein (target 50 g versus 89 g actual).  Sugar are high, fiber is a little low but not too bad.

My calorie distribution was 46% carbs, 21% protein and 33% fat.  I need to work on that as well; I've started reading a book put out by Runner's World on performance nutrition that I will discuss later (once I've, you know, read it).  Their suggested distibution for runners is 50% carbs, 25% protein and 25% fat.  Clearly I need to declare a moratorium on the fast food; I think I've eaten it three times in the past 16 days.  Plus there were some fish stick incidents, which naturally involve tartar sauce.  Evil, evil tartar sauce.  It practically squirts itself down my throat, you know.

I did put away the pig as I said I would.  Tonight should be a nice romaine salad with shrimp, avocado, and a lite honey dijon vinaigrette.  I like extra avocado -- I'll use about five cups of romaine so I usually add a whole avocado in there, luckily that's the heart healthy kind of fat -- so I probably won't have a bagel with my salad like I might otherwise do.  Thursday and Friday will probably find me finishing off the last of the turkey burgers and tots.  Those tots are scarily addictive.  I need to not buy them any more.  Funny how I have none of the same feelings about, say, chocolate or any other sweet.  I've got triple chocolate ice cream in my freezer that I bought about two months ago.  I think I had it maybe twice right after that and then haven't touched it since.  But I don't want that.  I want tots, or fish sticks, or ham.  I wonder where that puts me on the scale (heh) of "diet types." 

Okay, back to earning a living!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Is ham really from the devil?

Who is it that can't eat pork pursuant to their religious beliefs; muslims?  I think it's muslims.  Maybe they know something we don't.  Maybe they know that ham is.... evil.  Cute little porking evil. 

As you may have guessed, I ate a lot of ham for dinner last night.  Much too much ham.  I was afraid to weigh exactly how much ham I had last night, but going by the palm of hand/deck of cards = a 3 oz serving guideline, it was a lot of ham.  I'm guessing 15 oz of ham was had.  I am ashamed as only a person full of pig can be. 

The ham is so evil, it corrupted the mashed potatos and gravy and baked beans.  Bastard ham!  When all was said and done, I had the ham, an entire box of mashed potatos (I believe that counts as eight servings), a half-cup of gravy (that was okay, only maybe 50 calories), and a cup of baked beans (big bastard calorie-full baked beans).  My food diary and I figure it was 1,690 calories worth. 

What the hell was I thinking?

Because, I will own to it, I was thinking.  I was thinking when I dished up the first plate that I had too much ham on it.  I could live with the mash and gravy and beans, but less ham was needed.  Yet I didn't put any back.  And then, after all of that was gone, well.   You know how one magnet will dance and jerk and shake as it is pulled towards another magnet?  That would be me, looking at my empty plate and thinking about more ham in the fridge and the rest of the mashed potatos on the stove.  And like a pig-addicted moron, I filled my plate again.  And ate it all.  Dumb dumb dumb!!!

I wish I could have phoned somebody.  In those minutes -- and it took a good ten minutes before I was sucked back towards the magnetic pig -- I needed to call someone and have them talk me down off the pig.  Unfortunately, I can't call my mom at the moment, and my friend S had a concert so I knew she couldn't answer her phone.  That was it for peoples I could have called who could have gotten me to leave the swine alone.  I'm not saying all this to whine (or oink) and be all, poor me, nobody to call; I have another reason for telling you all of this.  I'm actually not into the group weight loss thing on a concrete basis.  I'm content to do it on my own.  It's just those moments that are few and far between when I do need somebody else's help and last night that happened to coincide with no one available to call. 

Anyhow, it was just one night.  I'm thinking about that pig right now.  And I'm a little bit hungry.  I'm also thinking about a conversation I had recently with my friend S about how convenience food is engineered to be eaten in mass quantities.  I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist.  The example she gave me was Panda Express.  First the factory breads and deep fries these meat nuggets.  Then they're shipped to the franchises where they are rebreaded and refried and then glopped into a sugary sauce.  There's millions of dollars of research going into the designing of this food so that we will eat it.  Willpower has nothing to do with it.  No wonder we as a country can't help ourselves. 

Since my work crazyness started in force, I've been eating a lot of convenience foods.  During the same period of time, my appetite has started to go haywire.  I know that the amount of sodium I've consumed in the past two weeks alone is more than twice the recommended daily allowance.  Know what I've been eating for lunch those past two weeks?  Frozen lunches.  (I defrosted and cooked them first, in case you were wondering.  Thank you, please tip your waitress!)  My fat consumption is a little higher than it has been too.  I may not be the brightest bulb on the tree right now, but I'm starting to think there's a pattern here.

I've decided to put away the pig.  I'm going to freeze the pig.  I may even break the pig down into smaller batches (it's in a gallon ziploc right now) so that when I defrost the pig at a later date I won't be tempted to eat like, well, a pig.  I will be making split pea soup, probably in January, with the ham bone (which actually has lots of meat left on it just for that purpose) but otherwise if I am true to my usual self, I will probably end up tossing out most of the pig in about six months when I'm going through the freezer and realize it just doesn't look all that appetizing in its pigscle form.  I'll have a last pig hurrah tonight for dinner and put some aside for scrambled eggs this weekend, but then the pig will make like Walt Disney to wait for another day.  Hopefully when they cure this pig addiction of mine. 




Cheers,
the CilleyPigGirl

Day four of da Christmas song that never ends

On the fourth day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Four smelly cheeses
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

 
Christmas cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Monday, December 14, 2009

The long-awaited third day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Three french toast
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.

Christmas cheers,
the CilleyGirl
(the song starts to pick up after tomorrow, I promise)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Tip for Everyone: Don't swallow boiling liquids.

This was the lesson I apparently needed to learn this morning.  After the HO HO 5K, they had split pea soup (yum!) and hot cider.  The first cup of cider I had must have been sitting out in the cold for a few minutes; it was warm but not scalding.  Not so the second cup.  I burnt my tongue and then, like a dumbass, instead of spitting it out I swallowed the boiling liquid.  I can't emphasize how much I don't recommend it.  Now I have not only a burnt tongue but a sore throat (much different than a "sick" sore throat, it's kind of weird) to boot. 

Sadly, no PR for me this morning; I finished at 0:42:05. The Cook Park Curse struck again; this is my third race in Cook Park and for each one I've just been off my game.  Not helping things were a mishmash of things.  First, it was freaking cold!  The race had a 10:00 a.m. start time, thankfully, because there was black ice everywhere when I first arrived.  Then the large parking lot was closed so people who didn't arrive early (like me) had to park on the side of the road heading out of the partk.  Then, they had ONE toilet open for all of the race participants; after 25 minutes standing in line for that and then another 15 waiting for the race to start (10 minute late start due to the toity situation), when we finally got started I realized my legs and feet were completely numb from the cold. My hips warmed up pretty quick but it took the entire first mile until I could feel even part of my feet and I was almost to two miles before I could feel my toes again. And the cold also triggered my asthma issues, so I walked a lot but when I was running I was about more than a minute faster than my normal mile pace.  And then in the third mile, once I could feel all of my body parts and was thinking I could run at a nice steady pace, my stomach decided it would be a good time to have problems of its own.  I spent mile three wondering if I would be tossing my cookies.  I didn't, but I was very happy there was a line of one at the toity after the race.

Luckily if I had scalded my throat shut or, you know, exploded, there was at least one doctor in the race.  Mine.  I saw her before the race and after, but didn't make the connection (and I wasn't wearing my contacts so everyone looked fuzzy from farther than two feet away); she came up to me at the end and said "I know I know you..."  I recognized her voice before I realized who she was; she doesn't seem as tall as she is (at least 5'10") when I'm laying naked on an exam table with my feet in stirrups.  It was fun to see her there -- and not just because I was dressed -- and get to meet her family and all that.  I really like my doctor a lot.  Also nice to have a doctor who really is interested in health and losing weight (she'd been heavier for a few years), not just paying lip service.  

One last thing on the race; they were supposed to raffle off prizes but apparently the organizer either (a) lost the box that he was supposed to be drawing from for the raffle, or (b) lost the box that held the raffle prizes.  I wasn't clear on what exactly happened but it was one of the two.  We did all get an evergreen seedling so I'm going to pick up some soil and a pot and see if I can't keep it alive until spring, at which point I'll move it outside before it gets too large to set off my allergies.  Maybe by next Christmas I will have a real tree on my deck that I can decorate.  That would be pretty cool.

I didn't get to post anything yesterday (did I?) because I am about two notches away from brain death.  Today is day 14 of No Days Off December.  The teeny hangover* I had yesterday didn't help matters much.  Neither did shopping at the mall.  Thankfully I only had to walk about 100 feet into the mall to get to the store I wanted.  But now I have all the 2010 calendars that I need (not necessarily want, however; I'm a calendar junkie).  Got presents wrapped up (heh) for two coworkers, my friend S, my mom, and my stepdad.  Still have my boss to shop for and then I have an idea of something for my dad and my grandma; on the latter two, if it doesn't work out they won't mind not getting anything. 

Well, me and my sore throat are off to do some more punching of the time clock.  I'll be posting the third day of Christmas tomorrow so stay tuned for that!  Oh, and I almost forgot; I have one new follower (hi there!) for whom I will do an official welcome once I get time to go see who it is (I only saw the count when I logged in).  That brings you cilley people up to ten.  Wow!  Thanks everybody!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

*This wasn't so much from drinking beer as it was from drinking beer without any corresponding water intake.  I'd been going at a state of partial dessication for a few days and the alcohol sucked all of the remaining water right out of me. 

Friday, December 11, 2009

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!

Every year for the past four years or so, my boss gets each of us a nice Christmas wreath and buys a big-ass tree for the office.  We're talking big-ass:  At least ten feet tall.  The Christmas tree people bring it in to our office and instantly the whole thing smells wonderfully like pine.

And I start to sniffle through my enjoyment.  Because I?  Am allergic to evergreen.  Good thing I live in the Pacific Northwest, eh?  Although I'm also allergic to dust, grass, hay, mold, mildew, and cats, with many variations upon the theme therein.  Nowhere is really safe for me.  Thankfully I don't really have to handle the tree, because not only do my nasal passages dislike evergreen, I break out into a rash when I touch the things.  When I was a kid in Seattle, we lived three doors down from a church that had a whole ton of juniper tams in the front.  The church was the perfect place for rollerskating.  One day, we realized that if you skated really fast across the landing you could then hurl yourself into the tams and they would bounce you gently back onto your skated feet.  It was great fun for several hours for us.  Then I went home and noticed (well, probably my mother noticed) that both forearms were bright red and splotchy.  And itchy and hot.  It lasted for days.  I'm sure my mom was something like, "that's what you get for jumping into trees."  So evergreen trees went on my young list of crap to avoid rubbing against.  Right up there with fancy soaps; I washed my face with some soaps I got as a present and my cheeks turned bright red, splotchy, itchy and hot for several days.  I looked like Faye Dunaway in Chinatown

In other Christmas and even running news, it's not too late to sign up for the HO HO 5K going on in Tigard on Sunday.  Check my earlier posts for the link.  This race has the extra added bonus of you being able to kick my ass (figuratively speaking, because I'm a big moose and I could just sit on you) as I'm very, very slow.  And I haven't run in a few weeks.  However, except for the tree smell, I do feel better today than I have in weeks.  That's what happens when your geriatric setter isn't waking you up six times in the night to take her pee butt outside.  She still woke me up ten minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off (how do they just know?), but instead of passing back out I lay in bed realizing that for the first time in a bit I felt like running.  Unfortunately, she didn't wake me up early enough to actually go for a run.  I could've run to the track and back, but it was like ten degrees out and I didn't feel quite that peppy.  But enough to where I feel like if I can get an extra hour or two of sleep over the weekend that I'll be pretty good for Sunday's race.

Hmm, I think that's all I've got for today.  Soon I'm off for brews and crews!  Yay!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

The Twelve Diets of Christmas: The second day

On the second day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
Two turtle soups
And a partridge with some pears, please.


Christmas cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Caution: Actual running content involved!

Are you as shocked as I am?

First off, the Eugene Marathon will be increasing its prices beginning January 2nd so this is an excellent time to make that big New Year resolution to run a marathon.  Or, if you're not as crazy as some of us (ahem), there is also a half marathon and a 5K that same day plus a really cheap run for the kiddies.  The Eugene Marathon peoples have also just announced their first Women's Half Marathon for Labor Day weekend.  I am strongly considering signing up (got to work out the dog issue first), so if anyone else is interested please let me know.  I'd be up for going in on a hotel room in Eugene the night before the race with some Cilleyland running chiquitas (there's a mental image -- I'm picturing bananas running dressed up like Carmen Miranda). 

Also don't forget about the NW Running League and its Resolution Run 5K on January 9th.  Signing up for the Resolution Run (only $25) also gets you membership in the NW Running League where you can win actual cash and prizes for doing what you already do:  run!  And I, the CilleyGirl, would also get cash if you would like to join and put me down as a referral.  If you do, e-mail me at cilleygirl@comcast.net and I'll let you know my real, honest to goodness name. 

Another group I've been considering is the Oregon Road Runners Club.  I'm a little fuzzy on how a lot of this works (NW Running League is the first group I've joined since I started running, I'm kinda shy.  Well, a lot shy.  Really.), but I know they contribute to the Oregon Food Bank and one of my favorite places on earth, the Oregon Zoo -- they put on the Turkey Trot I just did.  You get discounts on races, some are even free, there's discounts on merchandise, both ORRC's own merchandise and others, plus discounts on services like chiropractic.  And if any CilleyGirl readers belong and would get cash and prizes if I put you down as a referral, just let me know and I can do that!

Let's see, what else?  Oh yes -- I won a giveaway today!!!  It's the first running giveaway I've ever won, and the second thing I've won since I started running (I won some notecards in a raffle at one of the Resolution to Run runs).  Big thanks to the Gazelle on Crack!   I will actually get to meet La Gazelle tomorrow night at one of her brew crews; I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm planning to wear my HO HO 5K shirt for it so that I can be easily spotted.  So if you're down at Max's Fanno Creek tavern tomorrow evening around happy hour and you see me, come on over and say hi and I'll blush and mumble and play with my drink and have a hard time making eye contact.  But I'll be with other people who are hopefully more socially adept.

SkirtSports, who doesn't know me from Eve, is running a nifty little sale right now, with a free "catch me" and free ground shipping with a $50 purchase.  I've never tried a running skirt but it's on my list of stuff to buy to get me even broker than I am now.  They also have another giveaway which you can enter to win.  Last but not least, SkirtSports puts on the SkirtChaser 5Ks; they've selected CilleyLand as one of their race cities for 2010.  I'm looking forward to this one.  I may even wear a skirt!

One last thing:  the ambitiously aspiring Alisa is hosting a giveaway of her own.  Go visit her and let her know your favorite holiday song by December 16 for your chance to win. 

I think that's enough for now.  I must go and try to fluff up the pudding that has become my bwain.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

CilleyGirl and the Kracked Kristmas Karol Karolers Present: The Twelve Diets of Christmas

You asked for it.  Here it is.  The grand finale, the big kahuna, the I don't have a lot of time to write any more so this is all I've got, drum roll please..... 

The Twelve Diets of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas
I chose to eat:
A partridge with some pears, please.

 
Staying tuned with bated breath for the remaining eleven days, it's--
the CilleyGirl

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The days when I love being a legal professional

There are times like just a few minutes ago when I negotiated a fabulous settlement on an appeal.

Then there are times like when I read about various and sundry things.  I love being a lawyer because we get to sit around and make up crap like that. 

I had to read that article because (1) it occurred at my alma mater and (2) I went to law school with a guy who now practices in Pullman and I wanted to see if he was representing this guy.  (It wasn't.  Darn.  I could've gotten the inside scoop.)

The first thing I thought of when I read that he hit two people in two separate crosswalks was:  they'll nail you for that in Pullman.  Not the hitting the people part (although, yes they will get you for that too), but for not stopping at a crosswalk when they are pedestrians crossing.  Shortly after I graduated WSU, Washington passed a law that requires drivers in both directions to come to a complete stop when there are people in the crosswalk and you can not proceed until the pedestrian has left the crosswalk entirely.   Most people -- and the main drag through campus, Stadium Way, is at least four big lanes wide -- start up again once the pedestrian is out of their lanes of traffic.  My friends all warned me when I came to visit that I had to be certain to obey the law to the letter because the campus cops were specifically watching for violations of that particular law and ticketing accordingly.  I'm guessing it's because at Pullman you learn how to drink and drive and get away with it so they can't get you for that, they've got to fill their ticket quotas somehow. 

Okay, maybe not really, although there was many a time I should have been pulled over.  Thankfully I wasn't and more thankfully no one ever got hurt.  I did date a guy my senior year who was drinking then went driving in a big muddy field next to his apartment complex.  He rolled his little pickup truck in a complete 360 (not doing donuts like all four wheels on the ground going around in a circle, he rolled his truck like four wheels down, four wheels up, then four wheels down), wasn't hurt or anything (luckily -- and I think even the truck was okay because the ground was so wet) and was walking back down the sidewalk to his apartment when he got pulled over for DWI.  He told me about it when I saw him later that night (I had to drive, natch) and I teased him mercilessly:  you got pulled over for driving under the influence while walking?  And oh yeah, his mom and his little sister were there visiting for the weekend; his mom was not amused. 

Some days I really miss college.  But the real world is pretty good too.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Happy blergh!

Normally that would be "happy holidays!" but they're just so inconvenient for me now.  I'm not sure how sad I am about that, however.  The Lipstick Chronicles put up a great post today about Christmas.  I have to say, I think that I represent every category of Christmas people Elaine put up there.  I'm too busy to enjoy the holidays, because of my job (today is Day 10 of no days off!) since our biggest deadline of the year is December 31. 

The Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present?  Christmas has never been a big deal in my family, at least since I was eight.  Before that, my grandparents lived nearby and we would have Christmas dinner over there with actual family members, even after my dad split (they were his side of the family, at least his mom and brother).  After that, until I was in my 20s, still able to celebrate Christmas with my mom, we got up early to open presents.  Around age 16, my parents had to wake me up early to do it, but there you go.  We'd open presents and then I'd hide out in the living room (which we never used) to read whatever book I'd gotten as a present that morning.  Once my mom relocated six hours away and when my dad still lived nearby, I'd go over there for Christmas mid-day to open presents there, to watch movies with my dad and brother, and for dinner.   Now that my dad's moved away to Idaho near my grandparents (next door, actually), I orphan it with my friend S and her husband D.  I wake up when I wake up, and have often forgotten that it's actually Christmas.  I open my two presents, my six or so for the dogs (they're hip to the present thing now, it's pretty funy), then make myself a fabulous breakfast. 

I guess this also all ties into "my culture doesn't celebrate Christmas."  I'd love to do the "traditional" family Christmas thing.  I'm not churchy, but I'd go for Christmas (at least for midnight mass; I'm not getting up to go to church -- god and I have an understanding on that one).  A tree with presents given from the heart, not just to meet a quota.  Watching Christmas shows or parades or football.  With family.  That speaks to each other and doesn't hate each other and isn't cruel just for kicks.  I've heard tales of families like these.  I always hoped to marry into one, at least.

So, what does all of this have to do with weight loss and/or running?  No freaking idea.  I'll probably have ham for Christmas, unless I orphan it again at my friends and then it's probably prime rib.  Which none of the menfolk will want to carve ("We don't know how to carve a roast." whine....  Dudes, it's in your DNA, step up!) so it's up to me and S to take charge.  With big, shiny sharp knives.  Stupid menfolk, wussing out like that and then giving us knives.  Maybe I'll run on Christmas.  If it's not 25 degrees out like it is right now.  But I'll probably just sleep.  The sleep of angels.  Or of people who have worked 25 days in a row and are ready to pass out. 

I think I had a point when I started writing this but once again I lost my train.  Ah, well, here's wishing you and yours a happy blergh.  And holidays :)

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Guess what I'm having for dinner?

Well, even if you don't want to know I'm going to tell you.  Such is the power of the blog!!  Mwuhahahahahahaha!!!

Ahem.

So I'm having a turkey burger tonight with turkey bacon topped with turkey cheese on a turkey bun.  I may have made up a couple of those.  But there will be cheese and a bun.  And either BBQ sauce or ketchup/mustard/pickles.  Depends on how daring I feel.  I'm also having tots.  Tater, that is.  Swimming pools, mov--- oh, yeah, wrong association.

I dragged my sorry, exhausted carcass to the grocery store Sunday night.  By the way, why aren't grocery stores stocking more romaine hearts, hmm?  The last few weeks (I shop once a week, otherwise the fresh stuff spoils before I can eat it) by the time I made it to the store on Sunday evening the romaine hearts section looked like locusts had descended.  Now I know what you're saying:  shouldn't they be spraying for locusts?  Or maybe you're saying I should just get to the store earlier.  I'd love to.  In fact, when it's not crazy insane-o time at work I usually shop on Saturdays so that I have the option of not leaving the house ever on a Sunday.  Sunday is my day.  Except when it's crazy insane-o time at work.  Then there are locusts.

Although there were romaine hearts at New Seasons on a Sunday evening, but not at Freddy's.  I have to go by New Seasons tonight for my favorite greek yogurt, guess I should pick up some romaine while I'm there.  And then go home and let it spoil in the crisper.  Yep, that's the ticket!

Oh, back to the story.  So, when I was shopping this past Sunday evening I was racking my brain (origin of phrase?  anyone?)  because I realized that for the next couple of weeks I should get stuff that would be easy to fix, otherwise I was seeing a lot of Subway sandwiches in my near future.  The racking occurred because it's been a while since I've done the easy-to-fix stuff; I usually cook most nights and mostly from scratch.  Because I'm weird that way.  And it's typically cheaper and healthier.  The question Sunday was, what the heck do I get that isn't fish sticks?  (We wouldn't want to have another Fish Stick Incident.)

Turkey burgers were one option.  I usually make them with a whole wheat bun, two patties, a couple of strips of turkey bacon, a slice or two of swiss cheese, then condiments per my mood.  Sometimes mushrooms.  I'll usually make oven fries to go with them, and that's it.  Not exactly heavy on the fruit and veg (unless I have pickles or mushrooms), but I haven't died of scurvy yet so I think I'm okay.

Spaghetti with meat sauce was the other thing I thought of.  Again, turkey burger with mushrooms and a jar of Prego (it's supposed to be easy, remember, plus I like Prego) classed up with spices and some red wine.  I've developed a taste for whole wheat spaghetti noodles.  The whole thing gets a few pinches of parmesan. 

But then the siren call of the ham sounded.  And it sounded like this:  "Hey!  You!  Single person!  There's a ham over here for under $18.00!  Come and buy it... you know you want to."  And I did.  Because I love ham.  I particularly love a honey baked, spiral cut ham.  I will happily eat on it for weeks.  I'm not so big on ham sandwiches, the spirals are cut too thick for my tastes (I like shaved ham), but ham with mashed potatoes and gravy?  Or garlic mashed potatoes?  Or -- swoon, swoon -- scrambled eggs and ham?  And at the end of it all, the piece de resistance:  homemade split pea soup with ham. 

Excuse me while I mop up this drool.

Now I know that ham is not the healthiest thing out there.  Pork is good, sure, but ham has all those reputed carcinogens and gobs and gobs of sodium.  I tend to limit my hamming to the holidays:  Easter and Christmas.  (Best thing to come out of Christianity?  Ham.  And chocolate bunnies.)   One year I left my ham buying to the last minute and ended up with Hamzilla.  It was a $30.00 ham.  It was probably 20 lbs.  I have one of those apartment-size stoves and even with the rack as low as it could go the ham still touched the heating element in the top of the oven.  I nearly dropped it taking it out one time, the drippings made it so sloshy.  I would have had very happy dogs if I had.  I filled three gallon ziploc bags with ham, not including the bone that wouldn't fit in any ziploc bag I had.  I think I wrapped it in foil to put in the freezer.  When I made soup with that bone, it stuck at least three inches above the tallest (12") pot I have.  I had to keep rotating it during cooking.

I also got one of those salad kits, since they were out of romaine.  I got a thing of pre-grilled, pre-sliced chicken breast to into it.  It was all very tasty for dinner last night.  I also have scallops and shrimp (shrimp cocktail, shrimp casserole, grilled shrimp, coconut shrimp, BBQ shrimp... I watched the second half of Forrest Gump recently) in my freezer and soba noodles in my pantry.  I figure the turkey burgers will get me through the rest of the week until I have the time to cook (or heat, technically) the ham on the weekend.  Then it's pretty much a hamapalooza for the rest of December.  Or until I get sick of ham.  When that happens, maybe I'll get a turkey.  And that should get me through the first couple of weeks of January. 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

CilleyGirl Presents: Kracked Kristmas Karols, Day uh.... ??

Diet Christmas

(to the tune of "White Christmas")

I’m dreaming of a large pizza
Just like the ones I used to eat.
Where bacon glistens
and mushrooms listen
to hear if the sauce is done.

I’m dreaming of a large pizza
With every food log that I write.
May your meals be skinny and lite
And may all your weigh-ins be right.

 
Christmas cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Monday, December 7, 2009

CilleyGirl Presents: Kracked Kristmas Karols, Day 4

Little Runner Girl

(to the tune of Little Drummer Boy)

Run, they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
Good for you, you’ll see, pa rum pum pum pum
So I ran real slow, pa rum pum pum pum
Not much weight came off, you know, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum.

But I kept at it, pa rum pum pum pum
Kept at it.

And now here I are, pa rum pum pum pum
Now I run real far, pa rum pum pum pum
And I’ve gotten fast, pa rum pum pum pum
With a smaller ass, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum.

Want to run with me, pa rum pum pum pum
At Eugene?

So we train for it, pa rum pum pum pum
People think we’ve had a fit, pa rum pum pum pum
Crazy, yes are we, pa rum pum pum pum
Crazy, ha! You’ll see, pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum.

You'll be in awe of me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my bum.

Christmas cheers,
the CilleyGirl
 
P.S.  I'm taking a poll:  I can either do all twelve days of Christmas in one post, or I can be cumulative and reveal the next day each day.  Since I've only got one other one waiting in the wings so far, I think this will be the way to go.  Any objections?  Not that I really care if you do object, but 'tis the season and all that humbug.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The evolution of a bootay

I'm putting this together Sunday night for my Monday post since I doubt I will have any time whatsoever to write up anything tomorrow.  Plus I mentioned a while back I was going to post various race pics throughout the year to show how I've changed since I've started running, and all the pics are on my home laptop.  It was more than I thought it would be.  The changes, that is.  Let's see if you agree.



This is from the very first race I ran, the one that got me started on this journey:  the Fanconi Anemia 5K on February 8.  Ignore the weird, breath-y face I have; I think I'm channeling Louis Armstrong.  In this picture I weigh about what I do now, although it was mostly chub and very little muscle.  I must note, however, that I have on silk longjohns and two shirts.  But still, mostly chub.




Race for the Roses 5K in April.  That is truly not a flattering picture.  Enough said.



10 Cane Rum Run in June.  I should have left the jacket in the car.  Lots of breastage but my legs are slimming down nicely.



This was from the Lacamas Lake 4-miler in July.  Still about the same weight but it's more muscle.  This is probably my favorite racing picture.  You'll notice I've learned to wear a hat.  And usually not a fuel belt.




Ack!  Starlite Run in August.  Okay, this is truly not a flattering picture.  I should have worn a hat.  The fuel belt was necessary, though; it was in the 90s with 90+% humidity at 7:00 at night.  And this was at the end of the run.  It's not an easy course.  I'm a lovely shade of fuchsia, aren't I?  But my calves look awesome!



My second favorite racing picture, from August's Crawfish Crawl.  Also my very favorite race tee; I wear it all the time working out.  Look at those legs!  My ferret's gotten smaller, and even my face has gotten slimmer.



From October's Catalyst Challenge.  I've got the Louis Armstrong face again.  I can't explain it.  This was the race where the lady with the crutch kicked my ass. 



One last picture, from the EA Sports 5K Challenge in November where I PR'd.  Look at me smile!  It's not because I'm on my way to a PR, though.  I'm thinking "It's f*cking cold and I'm so slow but I think there are still two people behind me!  And I have pink shoes!"  My iPod wasn't working properly so I had no idea about my pace.  We were running into a strong, freezing headwind for half the race and I was walking a lot; I thought for sure it would be my worst time yet.  Looking at this picture, I realize that (1) I really enjoy running even when it doesn't seem like it's going so well and (2) I look much better in capri tights. 

Hope you've enjoyed my trip through time :)

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

CilleyGirl Presents: Kracked Kristmas Karols, Day 3

E! True Hollywood Story:  Rudolph*

You know Croissant and Brioche
And Donut and Cupcake,
Galette and Fruit Tart
And Muffin and Snowflake**.
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of them all?

Rudolph the big-assed reindeer
(reindeer)
had a very shiny taint.
(like a starfish)
And if you ever saw him,
(saw him)
Skinny you would say he ain’t.
(he’s a big’un)

All of the other reindeer
(like they should talk)
Used to laugh and call him names.
(like fat ass)
They never let that fat-ass
(told you)
Join in any reindeer games.
(like Twister)

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say:
(speaking of a fat ass)
“Rudolph if you’d lose some weight,
You wouldn’t drag down the sleigh with your big fat ass.”
(Santa actually isn’t very nice, contrary to popular belief. But he keeps the list so he doesn’t care.  He also can't rhyme.)

So Rudy flipped off Santa
(look who’s talking)
and he shouted out with glee.
(glee glee glee)
Santa, this job is sucky –
(sucky)
I’m off to Beverly!
(Hills that is. Swimming pools. Liposuction.)


*(if you don't know this tune, I can't help you)
**Snowflake was adopted. He’s very sensitive about it.

Christmas cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Ho Ho 5K

I'm all signed up for the Ho Ho 5K in Tigard next Sunday, December 13.  I love the logo on the shirts:



I also love the baby blue color.  It's not a tech tee but it is a nice grade of cotton.  It's not as weighty as the ones from the Shamrock run this year, which for me is a plus.

If you're in the Cilleyland area and going out for this run, let me know!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

Saturday, December 5, 2009

November goals recap; December goals maybe?

I'm finally getting around to recapping my November goals.  Good thing I didn't have a goal to timely recap my goals, eh?  Onward!

Goal: Keep a food diary. 

PASS!  There were times this was hard to do, but only because of the limitations of the food diary software.  I ended up having to input a lot of items, which took more time than the task in general should have.  I've switched programs now, and the new one seems to be a much better system. 
Goal: Aim for 2000 to 2100 calories a day. 

PASS!  My average calorie intake for the month of November was 2124.  My average expenditure was 2676.  Based on that, the program says I should have lost 4.4 lbs.  I didn't.  I lost 1.6 lbs.  That's okay.

Goal: No fast food drive throughs, with the exception of McDonald's breakfasts (but only on a day I have already done a run) and Taco Bell (but only on bellydance nights).

FAIL!  Bah.  Fighting flu-like symptoms, I willingly went to Burger King on November 15, although being sick I would have ordered the same had I gone inside.  I did do Taco Bell on non-dance nights, but I also didn't go to Taco Bell on three dance nights because I didn't go to class.  I also did at least one other drive-thru adventure right around the last day of November.  That involved a pre-migraine situation.  No excuses, though; it's probably a big part of why I didn't lose more weight in November.  But my clothes do fit pretty well lately. 

What's up for December?

With that pesky migraine, I've taken a few days off between monthly goals.  The stress at work is piling on, leaving me with little time to set up for good choices if that makes sense -- it's been tough to grocery shop, to prepare meals.  I also don't want to add to my stress by setting goals that I'm about 99% certain I will fail at.  So I think I'll be a bit poopy and do this for my December goals, starting on December 7:

Goal:  Keep a food diary.

Reason:  It's keeping me accountable.  I also don't beat myself up as badly when I can see exactly the extent of the damage I did, rather than figuring that I ate a billion calories and I'm a loser.  With a food diary, I can see that I only ate half a billion calories.  Depending on the day, I may or may not subsequently still feel like a loser ;)
Goal:  Consume no more than 2500 calories a day. 

Reason:  2500 is supposed to be the maintenance level, what I burn by existing.  I won't lose any weight, but I shouldn't gain any weight either.   My intent is to still aim for 2000 to 2100 calories per day, but again not put any extra stress on myself. 

Goal:  Run five times between December 7 and December 31.

Reason:  Sleep and things like bathing, laundry, etc., have been winning in the choice between that and the gym.  But I need to burn off some stress and stay in shape; real marathon training starts in just over a month.  I don't want to lose what progress I've made over the past few months.  I plan to run more than five times this month, but this is a workable goal that will still require I expend some effort to meet. 

Well, that should do it for now.  Stay tuned for more Kracked Kristmas Karols!

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

CilleyGirl Presents Kracked Kristmas Karols, Day 2.

Let It Lose*

Oh the food outside is frightful.
And the fridge is so delightful.
Since we’ve more weight to lose,
Hit the gym, cook some food, ditch the booze.

My ass shows signs of shrinking,
With my diet I won’t be dinking.
I got no time to snooze,
Hit the gym, cook some food, ditch the booze.

When I finally lose this weight!
How I’ll love going out to shop!
The clothes’ll fit right off the rack.
Them buttons, they’ll never pop!

My willpower isn’t dying,
To that weight I’m still good-bying.
Got the support of my crews.
Hit the gym, cook some food, ditch the booze.


Christmas Cheers to All, and to All a Good Fight,
the CilleyGirl

*to the tune of "Let It Snow" -- Dino style!

Friday, December 4, 2009

I was going to wait, but I couldn't!

My homage to Jillian Michaels.  To the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

Ahem.  Microphone please?

Jillian is coming to town.

You better watch it
You better not cry
You better not quit
I’m telling you why

Jillian is coming to town.

She’s making a list
And checking it quick
She’s gonna find out
Whose asses to kick

Jillian is coming to town.

She sees you when you’re eating
She knows it when you lie
She knows if you’ve been bad or good
Either way you’re going to die

Oh! You better watch it
You better not cry
You better not quit
I’m telling you why

Jillian is coming to town.
Jillian is coming… to town!

(cue the Jaws theme)

Christmas cheers!
the CilleyGirl

My last race of the year?

Check out the Ho Ho 5K Run and Walk.  It might just be a moral imperative.  I'll probably decide by Sunday if I'm going to do it, I live smack dab between Lake O and Tigard and there's a Foot Traffic in Lake O I can swing by with my donation to register.  Ooh, this is the perfect place to donate all the jackets I've put aside to take to the Goodwill -- three are nice, warmly-lined leather jackets.  I can clean out the pantry and the closet!

Okay, maybe I've decided.  *grin*  Any other Cilleyland peeps up for this?  I might have to get a Santa hat just for the occasion.  Or maybe some antlers.  I'm probably more of an antler girl...

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

I am a doofus; poo; more poo; and, well, that's all I've got. Oh wait, Zack!

I am a doofus.  Better yet, a Doofus.  For some bizarre reason, I went to Arby's last night.  It sounded like a good idea right up until I got the food into the car.  And then, it was odd, but my first thought was "ugh, that smells gross."  Which gave me pause.  A few seconds later and it did start to smell good (I was hungry) but I was still thinking about my first reaction.  Then I started to eat.  And even odder still, it didn't taste all that good.  I thought maybe the Arby's sauce and horsey sauce were old and that's what it was.  But now I'm thinking maybe it just doesn't appeal all that much to me any more.  I thought back to Recent Fast Food Meals I Have Had.  Taco Bell:  still good, two burritos = 900 calories.  McDonald's:  still good, two mcmuffs = 900 calories (hmm, a pattern here).  Burger King:  mixed feelings, burger still good (I don't remember the calories, probably around 450), chicken fries okay, regular fries not that good.  Maybe I've lost my taste for the fried stuff?  I wouldn't mind that.  I wouldn't mind that at all. 

The only thing I truly enjoyed last night was the chocolate shake.  Hey, when I go all out I go all out; 2,132 calories when all was said and done.  (cliche much, CilleyGirl?)  I think a chocolate shake and a good burger (flame broiled) would have been perfect, and seriously less calories.  Those calories would've fit into my calorie budget. 

A lot to consider.  I've done this before, actually, eaten enough of something that it made me ill and then I avoid it for a very long time thereafter.  Aversion therapy, that's what it is.  My tummy is not happy with me today.  Actually, it wasn't happy with me in the middle of the night either.  Although that would be today, wouldn't it?  Hmm, fast food causes brain damage too!  Anyhow, the irony of all this is that I feel kind of skinny today and I'm sure that's from all of the poo that has -- oh, TMI?  Sorry.  *snerk*




I should be planning to go to the gym tomorrow to continue flushing (no pun intended... sorta) all the fat and sodium I ingested last night out of my system but I have to take CBS to the vet tomorrow morning.  The county has been sending me nastygrams because she's a tad behind on her rabies vaccination.  Hey, she's 14 1/2 and I don't let her play with bats or racoons, I think she's good.  That also means I have to groom her tonight; don't want the vet thinking I never brush my dog (I don't, really, but that's the dog's choice not mine).  She (the dog) also had some poo in one of her foot pads this morning along with bark chips.  Again, stuff that makes me look like a bad dog mom. 

I thought that was all I'd have for today -- and really, isn't poo enough to get you through your morning? -- but it is my favorite godson's 13th birthday today.  Happy birthday Zack!  I can't believe he's a teenager already.  Where does the time go?  *sigh*

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl