Got Pigeon?

Why I am awake at 3:00 in the morning is beyond me.  When my alarm goes off at 6:00 I am going to be hating life.  I am already dreading work today.  I have to go to work for a couple of hours and then go to San Diego to my main office for a training.  Then back to work and leave at 3:40 for weigh-in and group.  I already know it's going to be a very non-productive day.

My weekend...not sure what to say about that.  I didn't make it to Las Vegas as originally planned.  Will wait and go in August for the big birthday party.  Speaking of which, I am very nervous about pulling this thing off successfully.  The concept is good - that is, go to Vegas, eat dinner, and sing happy birthday.  If only it were that easy.  First off, who do I invite?  Then there is the issue of accommodations.  And then the restaurant.  The restaurant depends on how many are coming and how many mouths I can afford to feed.  Even the cake is hard to figure out.  Here's my issue...whip cream frosting or not?  Vegas, middle of August, at least 110 degrees...I don't know!  Here's what I am working with...my father-in-law's casino host at Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa (Tony the Weasel) has agreed to this deal: immediate family members will get 5 nights free.  My friends can have 3 nights free.  Anything beyond the 3 nights is $80.00 a night but could be less depending on casino play time.  That's not a problem - who wants to be in Vegas more than 3 nights?  Now we may have some family coming from New York for the dinner.  I have decided to move the dinner from Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill to PF Changs.  PF Changs on the strip @ Planet Hollywood or PF Changs in Henderson down the street from Green Valley Ranch?  Most people obviously want to be on the strip on a Saturday night.  But its a 20 minute drive from the hotel.  My tentative plan so far is to book out 14 rooms at Green Valley, reserve the private room at PF Changs @ Planet Hollywood, and get the cake that does not have whip cream!  What drama.  I just want to pull this off without a hitch.  I have been screwed over by Tony the Weasel before (*see below) and I'm not sure if I trust him.  I wish someone would tell me what to do.  My other option is to book a 2 hour party at Chuck E Cheese and give everyone tokens to play skee ball.  Kidding!  But that sure does sound less complicated!  However, I like a challenge and I like to plan parties so I'm in good company with myself.

Tonight I have a 1 hour massage scheduled after my weigh-in and group.  I kind of had a tough weekend so I am happy to be doing something for myself.

60 Challenge...


60 Challenge Day #23
"A picture of your favorite place to eat"
The Old Spaghetti Factory

*Why I don't trust Tony the Weasel... Weekend in Las Vegas with the in-laws 2008.  Going to stay at the Flamingo on the strip - all expenses paid.  In-laws have already arrived the day before.  We get to the Flamingo and go to the VIP lounge to check in to our room.  Walk in the door and I am handed a glass of champagne.  I make myself comfy on a plush couch and wait for Luigi to check us in.  About 20 minutes later he says to me "put the champagne down we have to go".  Not a fan of champagne so that was no problem.  I was just holding it because it was handed to me.  He had "the look".  That is not good.  Come to find out there was some mix up.  There is not a room for us thanks to Tony the Weasel.  So Tony the Weasel calls a casino host that he knows next door and gets us a room.  I wonder "what hotel is next door?"  Imperial Palace - how charming!  NOT!  So we drag our suitcases over there and check in with "Barbara".  No champagne at this one.  We get in the room and I was scared.  Very, very scared.  It was one of those places where you really feel that you should examine the sheets.  You have to wonder about a room that has a pigeon walking around in it.  Yep, the tiny little balcony with the beautiful pool view is a haven for dirty pigeons!  Bird poop everywhere.  Get out, pigeon!  So I go take a look at the beautiful pool...oh, do you mean the pool with the empty beer bottles floating in it?  OMG!  Wow, what a weekend.  I did my my best to stay clear of that room as much as I could.  The sheets were passable.  The carpet not so much.  I wore shoes the whole time except when I got into bed.  I even wore flip flops in the shower.  And no, I did not take advantage of the beautiful resort pool.  And pigeon on a rotisserie is pretty darn good! ♥

"Stuff"

Here's the problem with going to bed @ 7:30pm...you are up @ 3:00am!  Here I am, wide awake.  But what can one expect when they go to bed while the sun is still up?
Yesterday was the first day of my mini vacation.  My Vegas trip just didn't work out.  So I am home.  I think that is now called a "Staycation"?  Whatever.  Roxie got groomed yesterday which was the most important item on my agenda.  She was one woolly, stinky girl!  Now she practically has no hair and smells like the Bath and Body Works store.  $40.00 well spent.  I asked for a shorter cut but she came home buzzed.  She is super cute though.  Picture?  Well of course I have a picture!  I took it while driving down the freeway.  Ok, that was TMI.

You can probably tell by the picture that she has a big tumor on her chest.  I hate it that she is getting older.  She has 3 of them and we have had one of the biopsied at the vet.  They are benign fatty tumors so I am not going to put her through the stress and pain of having them removed unless I can tell they are bothering her.  She is such a good girl and I feel so fortunate to have her in my life.
My parents go to the gym every day.  They belong to a group called "Silver Sneakers".  It's a nation-wide program for older people who want to stay in shape and get good exercise.  They go to the gym about 4 times a week for 1 or 2 classes.  Since I was off work yesterday I told them I would go to their gym to meet their friends and see what they do at their classes.  I also said I would join them for a class.  First off, I arrived and they were all sitting around eating.  It was their last Friday of the month "social".  First time I had ever walked into a gym and saw a table of food.  Nice!  After their social they were going to do a class.  My dad said he would go get me a chair and the equipment I would need.  A chair?  I asked what the chair was for and was told that most of the class is done sitting down.  Can you say "piece of cake"?!  I was thinking I was all that and this was going to the be easiest hour of my life.  Fast forward to now...  I can't begin to tell you how sore I am!  That class kicked my butt!  I definitely had to eat my words on that one.  What a great work out.  I wish I could quit work so I can go hang out with the old folks.  What a great program!  You just never know until you try something for yourself.  I have a new-found appreciation of "Silver Sneakers" for sure.
Mom called yesterday and wanted to discuss what I would like from Verna's house...items that belonged to my grandmother that my grandfather kept when he sold their house and married Verna and moved into her house.  She said she wants me to be sure and have whatever I want.  That's nice and all but I tried to tell her in the nicest way as possible that I really don't want anything.  I already have my grandma's china and I have some pictures and a lot of memories.  I don't need "stuff".  But Mom likes "stuff" and thinks I should too.  I finally agreed to take a couple of things although I can change my mind once I see it.  We are going to the house in San Diego on Monday to pick up our inheritance "stuff".  I hate this.  [[[[pl[plhuafsd (that was compliments of Zoe walking across the keyboard just now!).
♥

Orange

I am really tired but still feel like writing a little bit.  I am on some heavy duty pain medication which actually is not helping at all so I guess there is little reason to take it.  I have had a flare-up of Diverticulitis.  Hurts like heck on my left side.  I am on antibiotics to keep my colon from getting infected and thus, painful to the point of unbearable.  It's gotten that bad before and I don't want to go back there!  It's not a fun disease to have but I would rather have this then many of the other diseases out there - a lot of which are fatal.  I consider myself very fortunate.  I always try to look at a situation and say "it could be worse".

Other than being sick it was a fairly good week.  Just long.  I went to a Partylite party after work tonight.  They have such pretty things but kind of expensive.  I did find a really cute candle holder - clear with orange in it.  Perfect for my orange bathroom!  I LOVE orange lately.  I used to really enjoy my orange bathroom until Zoe moved in.  She has taken over the bathroom which means the orange rug got taken off the floor and the white shower curtain is no longer accessible to little paws with claws.  So its still a cute bathroom but it has been cat-ified. Roxie got to go to the party with me.  She loves to go to people's houses so she was in party heaven.  She had a fun time.  There were 3 kids there and she loves kids so that was extra fun for her.  I really appreciate when people let her go into their house.  She always behaves herself and it makes her feel so important.  I understand that not all people like dogs, esp in a house.  My step-sister is one.  She has this idea in her head that dogs are very dirty.  So she is miserable when she visits mom and dad's house.  This is no lie...she wears DOUBLE socks on her feet to protect herself from dog germs!  And of course she is horrified that the dogs are allowed on the furniture.  I love her face when one of our dogs jumps up next to her on the couch.  Priceless!  Yeah, I get enjoyment out of seeing her suffer - it's fun!

And speaking of sisters...my sister, Judy, is going through a difficult time right now.  She is feeling lonely and sad since Doris died.  I get that but I have a very hard time mustering up a whole lot of sympathy for her.  I do feel bad and I'm sure it is hard to lose your mom.  But I kind of get the idea that she wants me to feel some guilt and feel sorry for her.  But I don't.  She told me that Mother's Day was very hard.  I'm sorry but that was not my problem to fix.  I feel that if she had not treated me like crap for a long time that I would have more heart toward her.  But there have been many, many times when she just blew me off and now when she is in need, she cannot expect me to be at her side all the time.  She kind of brought this on herself.  She was the one who chose to distance our relationship.  Now she is alone and I think she is regretting that move.  I am nice to her and am willing to see her now and again but I don't trust her.  She hurt me too many times.  I'm worth more than that. 

Congratulations to my friend, Lon, who closed today on his new home (in Waterford WI)!  It's a cute place - wish I had a picture to post.  I have seen a lot of pics from the realtor site but I can't access them now since it is no longer for sale.  It's got a pretty yard and is real nice inside.  I'm happy for him and hope he enjoys it.

60 Challenge for today...

60 Challenge Day #21
"A Picture of the Last Movie You Saw in the Theater"
SOMETHING BORROWED

"New" Clothes

Day 91...I'm tired of this yet still motivated to keep going.  I am my worst enemy.  What is hard for people to understand is how a person can lose over 60 pounds and go down 2 sizes in clothes and have many, many people say how great they look and how strong they are...yet they want to sabotage themselves.  Yes, that is me.  There are times even after all this progress that I want to say "screw it".  I found out today that I am not the only one who gets those feelings.  It's all part of the process and unfortunately how a mindset or even a thought can have so much power over oneself.  I'm not giving up but there are times when it seems overwhelming.  Scary actually.  Believe it or not, its hard to shed the cocoon and put yourself out there in what seems like a "display".  Layers are often comfort.  A way to disengage.  And being overweight is often a safety net...no one expects too much from a really fat person.  So an overweight person actually goes through much more than just a body transformation when they lose some weight.  They also go through a character and mind transformation.  The mind change being much more frightening than the physical change.  Just my thoughts for tonight...

Loss today: 3.7 pounds Total lost: 64.4 pounds (yeah, I'm smiling!)

I got some really great clothes from a friend in group tonight.  TONS of clothes!  3 huge bags!  I fit into most everything I have tried on thus far.  She has some really great pants.  The cropped ones are perfect for me.  The regular ones...about 5 inches too long!  She is tall and of course, I am a shorty.  So I had better learn how to hem them or call my mom.  Yes, it is true.  I do not "hem".  I do not even do buttons.  I also don't iron.  Much to my mother's horror, I didn't turn out to be a very handy type person.  I don't have a single thread, needle, yarn, or iron skill in me.  Hate it!  Yes, I can cook.  Yes, I can bake.  That's where the Suzy Homemaker's story ends.  Oh, I can also clean although if you were to offer me a housekeeper, I would jump at the chance!  But alas, my budget only allows for me to dust, mop, and vacuum.  That dang glass slipper will NEVER fit my foot!  But back to topic...SO nice of Kathy to give me those clothes.  I am so grateful.

Zoe just pulled the tablecloth off of the dining room table, including everything on there.  I didn't see it, but I just heard it and I don't even need to question what that noise was.  She's killing me!  I was telling someone the other day that 46 is way too old to have a child.  Even 36 is too old (my opinion).  But I am also finding out that 46 is too old to have a kitten!  Bless her little heart.  I had better go assess the damage...♥