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

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

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

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!

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.

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