Mouse's Zen Moment

Dear Friends and Family,

You are going to get tired of me writing about food. But, it's what's on my mind, so it's what I will write about.

Tonight, I was starving as I headed home. I was strongly tempted to drive straight to la Golden Arches for some delicioso fast food. But, I came home instead. I thought about what I would order from McDonald's. I realized I was craving protein.

Now, normally, I would have done the thinking and then eaten my pre-planned dinner anyway. And, been starving in three hours.

Instead, I scrapped my original dinner plans, and ate a good sized portion of roast chicken, with some bread and gravy. I feel much better now. It might be the way to go from now on. There's a night or two every week when I am just famished. I've decided not to fight it, and just eat a little extra on those days. It's been working so far, so I can't complain.

Where is all of this headed? It's a zen philosophy I've been practicing. Moderation. So, eating an entire bag of chips is not moderation. But, neither is fighting heart and soul to not eat a single chip. A German friend of mine helped me put it in perspective. Here's his chocolate cake example.

You like chocolate cake. You see chocolate cake. You have four options:

1. smile and continue on with your day (don't have the cake)
2. have a piece of cake, enjoy it
3. have a piece of cake, be wracked with guilt
4. don't have the cake, but agonize over it the rest of the day

So, responses are in order from best to worst. The best option is obviously #1. But, say today is not the day you'll be able to smile and continue on with your day. Then, the next best option is #2. Have a SMALL piece of the cake and continue on with your day. The worst two options are to fight it tooth and nail. Either way, that's not moderation. BTW, neither is eating the entire cake.

Okay, so I get how this applies to dinner. Tonight, instead of fighting 22 pts, I ate 27. There's 35 flex each week just for these situations, so no biggie. But, think of this on a grander scale. I think it all ties back to the "Big Day".

I had four options, in no particular order, since I'm not that organized:

1. quit and enjoy the summer
2. don't quit and enjoy the summer
3. don't quit and feel like my boss had me boxed into a corner and won
4. quit and feel like I had won by deciding not to play

Well, #3 and #4 definitely don't count as moderation. What are we in kindergarten? Who cares who wins? So, thinking about #1 and #2... #1 felt like the right answer for the longest time. And, maybe it was the right answer. But, on the day, it didn't feel right. I wasn't capable of #1. I was in #4 mode. So, I decided to cross out option #1, #3 and #4. Effectively, all that left was #2. So, that's why last Monday wasn't the "Big Day".

Now, if I can figure out a path to option #1, I will take option #1. But, I decided option #4 was as much a loss for me as option #3. Perhaps my discovery for this summer will be how to get to #1. But, for now, I'll settle for #2 - the other path of moderation.


Cheers!
mouse

New Foods for Mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

I had a craving for french fries, so I went to the supermarket and purchased some oven bake fries. I bought Alexia Olive Oil and Sea Salt Oven Fries. They were surprisingly good and didn't kill my "point allowance" for the day. Only 2 pts a serving. In fact, I had an excellent dinner of roast beef sandwich, chicken soup, fries, strawberries and almonds. Very satisfying.

Overall, I've been very satisfied with the Weight Watchers experience. It's not too difficult to follow. Mr. mouse and I have begun eating separate meals. I eat what my guidelines allow and he eats what he's in the mood for. It felt weird at first, but once you get used to eating different foods, it's not so bad. After all, when you go out to eat, you're eating different foods, unless you're in Japan, in which case you're eating the exact same dish, but that's an entirely different story altogether...

Need to get motivated to do more work. Tempted to sit back and read. Hmm... Maybe I should back and relax. It'll be my special treat for making my mini-goal today. Okay. Done. Relax tonight, work tomorrow.


Cheers!
mouse

90% Mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

As some of you know, I started Weight Watchers this past winter. Today is a very happy day for me, after 14 weeks of keeping track of every single thing I eat, I hit my 10% goal.

That means, today, there's 10% less mouse today than there was 14 weeks ago! Yeah!


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse's Freebie Day

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Monday, Memorial Day, and I've been trying to get my butt in gear all day. You'd think with an extra day, you'd get 50% more done, but somehow the math doesn't work that way.

Saturday and Sunday you procrastinate, since you know you have Monday. Then, Monday ends up a fluke, so in the end you get maybe 75% of your stuff done vs. 150%. Now how is that efficient?

We're off to a barbecue at six, so I really need to get motivated. Like now. Um, in a little bit, okay?

So far, we've finished paint touch up, organized the living room, removed all of the stereo components, and are now in the process of packing stuff up.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Goes Out to the Ballgame

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse and I went to a baseball game tonight. We had a great time! What's not to love about kettle corn, hot dogs, beer and soda? And, the home team won, to boot!

Yeah!


Cheers!
mouse

Long Weekend Plans

Dear Friends and Family,

It's the Friday before a long weekend!

And, unfortunately, we don't have plans. Or we do, but unlike the millions of Americans kicking off the summer, Mr. mouse and I will be working on the house. This all-consuming, never-ending house. It'd better be worth it. Although, I'm not sure it can be. How do you measure a year's worth of your free time?

Well, we'll be boxing up stuff and moving around furniture and coming up with a punch list of stuff that still needs to be done. The pressure's on, since most of June and early July is already committed to other "stuff". We need to get this done.

Mr. mouse seems to work best under deadlines and pressure. So, I guess it's my job to try and instill one, so we can #$%@! be done with this already.

Uh, is someone feeling hormonal today? Sorry.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Grows a Wart

Dear Friends and Family,

I had a mole on my arm removed last week. I was really concerned about it, since it looked just like another mole I had had removed a couple of years ago. The other mole was bad news, so I was really worried about this one.

Good news! It was merely a mole. Not even. It was a wart.

I'm still glad it's gone.


Cheers!
mouse

Cogs in Wheels

Dear Friends and Family,

An article, The Rise of Crowdsourcing, was quoted in a meeting I was in yesterday. It helped gel an idea that I have encountered several times now.

How do you get the masses to do the work? What obvious business models are waiting to be invented?

I still think free-bay will replace eBay one day. But, what does that mean? Things to ponder.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Watches TV

Dear Friends and Family,

Monday night was the series finale of the TV show Alias. My friend got me hooked on Alias years back, but I stopped following it when the TiVo had to choose between it and Survivor. The people dynamics on Survivor fascinate the organizational behavior major in me, and the trade-off was easy once they killed off Michael Vartan's character. Fortunately for me, when they brought the show back on the air (post Violet's birth and Jennifer Garner's maternity leave), they brought the show back on Wednesday, so I figured I might as well watch.

Well, this post is about the interesting change I've seen in my TV watching behavior since early May. ABC started offering episodes of Alias online, free of charge, with "limited" commercials. On average, it's three 30-second spots brought to your by one sponsor. I've seen Ford, Tylenol, Zyrtec, Suave, Jennifer Aniston's movie - The Break Up and a couple of others. So, it's interesting, much more brand impression than "normal" TV would leave me with.

The quality of the stream is iffy at night. With cable broadband, if my neighbor starts hitting the pipe hard, I get some buffering. It's happened once or twice, but not enough to be a nuisance.

So, just so you understand the trade-off... Both are on my time, since both TiVo and ABC queue the show. I hit the play button and watch, pause, etc. But, TiVo is hooked up to a TV screen and surround sound. ABC.com is hooked up to a computer screen and computer speakers. No one's questioning the sight and sound trade-off here. Clearly the Home Theater set-up should win. TiVo has no commercials, ABC.com has three. TiVo doesn't need buffering. ABC.com did on a couple of occasions. So, the clear winner should be TiVo, right? So, tell me, why have I been watching online and not on TV?!?!

Hmm...

Okay, before I sign-off, one of the Ford commercials was really cool. They have a site for Warriors in Pink. I commend them for doing something so different. It makes me think more of them as a brand.

Oh, and one other site, then I'm done. Promise. Mr. mouse found it. I'll watch it from time to time. Woot's Beta Wine Site.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse's Secret Identity Revealed

Dear Friends and Family,

The funniest thing JUST happened. I was with a co-worker and she was reading my blog. She had NO idea it was me.

Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm rolling on the floor laughing!


Double Cheers!
mouse

Mouse's "Big" Day

Dear Friends and Family,

Today was supposed to be "the big day". In the end, it was more than "a little day", but not quite the big day it originally was supposed to be.

I had a meeting with the new boss. And, he really helped me put all the baggage of old boss behind and start with a clean slate. I'm not sure where this will all lead, but I hold out faith that it'll end better than it would have today.

The analogy I'll use is... And, I'm not sure I've got the right to use this analogy, since I've never been in prison... But, here goes nothing...

Say you're a prisoner, and they came to tell you you're free to leave - the door is open, whenever you want to go, it's your choice. There's a lot of excitement with being able to leave, but there's some comfort in your cell and your routine. If you don't remember life before prison, you might be perfectly content not leaving at first. In fact, you might even be a little scared of the world out there.

Okay, so the analogy isn't perfect. But, that's how I felt this morning.

Well, I'll still celebrate the small victories in life, like how much I appreciate new boss' words today. I think I can learn a lot from him.

Today is a brand new day in mouse's life.


Cheers!
mouse

Lazy Sunday Afternoon, Not!

Dear Friends and Family,

In the spirit of accomplishing something this weekend, we borrowed a Little Giant knock-off ladder from a friend and painted our atrium. It's got 12 foot ceilings, so we couldn't manage with just our 6 foot ladder.

The paints drying now, and once it's done we'll take advantage of the ladder and swap out the light fixture in the entry area as well. And, while we're at it, swap out the hallway light. Why not? There's still like four hours left to the weekend.

No rest for the weary.


Cheers!
mouse

Fretful Start to a Peaceful Sunday

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm up. I can't sleep.

Racked by nightmares and excess energy, I'm up.

So, I'm not fighting it.

Time to make the morning tea and start my day.

Yoga is probably not a bad thing to contemplate right about now.


Cheers!
mouse

Quiet Saturday Morning

Dear Friends and Family,

It's a quiet Saturday morning in suburbia.

Mr. mouse is sleeping. The sprinklers are going. And, I am enjoying my morning tea. My girlfriend and I have a trip planned to the Windy City this summer, so I bought a book on things to do. I think I'll use this morning to plan out some walking tours.


Cheers!
mouse

Happy Friday, Everyone

Dear Friends and Family,

It's almost the weekend and I can't wait.

Mr. mouse and I don't have definitive plans for a change, which is nice. We're cleaning up and organizing all of the little piles of stuff we have. Then, if we get ambitious, we might decide to paint some more. By 2043, we should have the entire place done... just in time to start again.

Here's to an uneventful and quick Friday.


Cheers!
mouse

A New Spring in Mouse's Step

Dear Friends and Family,

I feel so much better now that the mole is off of my arm and in a jar en route to a biopsy. Keep your fingers crossed.

My dermatologist also removed a corn? callus? from my foot and that felt amazing. He told me which it was, but I've already forgotten. He pared it down with a small knife. I literally feel a new bounce in my step when I walk now. How awesome is that? He told be to continue shaving away at the dead skin cells so they don't build up again. I'm like a new person!

Now that The Mole is behind me, I'm toying with going to the endocrinologist - get the old thyroid a check-up. I've been feeling a little hyper lately, but I'm not sure if it's stress at work, a seasonal thing or something more serious. I'll give it a week or two and see how I feel then. If I still feel off kilter, I might have to go in.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Discovers Monk-e-mail

Dear Friends and Family,

One of my close friends came over last night. We worked on her resume. And while we were chatting, she showed me one of the funniest sites. I'm sure it's been around forever, but it was new for me and so much fun. Monk-e-mail or "monkey mail" can be found at careerbuilder.com. I've added the hyperlink for practice.

I'm off from work today. I'm going into the dermatologist to get my mole removed. Gross, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Here's to hoping the biopsy comes back with normal results.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Reads a Blog

Dear Friends and Family,

This morning, I want to experiment with adding links to other websites on my blog. What better way than to tell you about a couple of blogs I read every morning?

For the latest in celebrity gossip, which unfortunately, I can't resist, I follow trent.blogspot.com (aka Pink is the New Blog). For snippets of office humor, there's www.overheardintheoffice.com which updates hourly if you are so inclined. And, for food recommendations I go to The Blissful Glutton.

So, let's see... The second one, which started with www was automatically hyperlinked. The first which is a blogger sites didn't... Where's the integration within the site??? Okay, let's try the link button - hmm... Seems simple enough. Let me try that on the titled one as well...

Here goes nothing. Let's publish the post and see what happens.


Cheers!
mouse


PS: It worked, but the links are only highlighted. I think I'll be old fashioned and try to underline them... Seems to involve adding old-fashioned html tags in the raw file... If it doesn't work, I'll fiddle with it more tomorrow.

PPS: Couldn't resist trying again. Tried adding TARGET="_blank" to the tag. For example: less than symbol a href http://www.nytimes.com TARGET="_blank" greater than symbol. Let's see if it works.

Mouse Morning

Dear Friends and Family,

Today was a typical morning, but I wanted to share it with you.

I got up. I made my morning tea and had it while reading the news online. Then, I made breakfast... This morning I had an omelette, which is not typical. Normally, I have some combination of toast and cheese or toast and nutella or cereal. But, in an effort to increase my protein intake, I made an omelette. One egg + one egg white worked for me. Then, I packed my lunch (sandwich, fruit, vegetables, nuts and a diet soda).

Now, I've off to shower and get ready for work. Gotta fly!


Cheers!
mouse

Scotts Turf Builder with Plus 2 Weed Control Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Monday!

Just wanted to give you an update on the lawn. It's been a week since we applied the Scotts Turf Builder with Plus 2 Weed Control to our lawn. The dandelions are history - mostly. Yeah!

The lawn still looks like it needs fertilizer. We decided to give in a week and try a second application to see if it gets the rest of the weeds. Normally, we wouldn't re-apply, but since it rained the day after application, we're convinced a fair bit of it washed off.


Cheers!
mouse

Happy Mother's Day, Everyone!

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Mother's Day!

I called Mom this morning, but she was at church celebrating with her church group. So, I have to call back later tonight.

I have a 1:1 with new boss on Monday. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's a good thing. He'll have more time to devote to people management since he travels a lot less than my old boss.

Yesterday, Mr. mouse and I painted the living room and dining room. It was a LOT of work since we used two different colors. But, it came out looking great! It's such an improvement over faded, flat apartment white. I can't believe we didn't do it earlier. Oh well.

Today, we're going shopping for window treatments -AND- we'll finish a lot of the odds and ends in the kitchen. I also need to remember to call Mom tonight. I wanted to take Mr. mouse out to celebrate his promotion, but we were too tired last night. I'm afraid it'll be a mob scene tonight, but we might attempt a late dinner.

Gotta go move furniture.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse's New Boss

Dear Friends and Family,

Today my boss announced that we all have a new boss. No, he's not leaving. But he is handing over the bulk of the people management responsibility to one of the directors on our team. Today was my last 1:1 with my current boss. Next week we all transition to the new boss.

Will keep you posted.


Cheers!
mouse

Mr. mouse Gets Promoted

Dear Friends and Family,

This has been a quiet week for me, but a very busy and exciting week for Mr. mouse.

On Tuesday, his boss told him that he's be chosen for a promotion. He was so excited he couldn't sleep Tuesday night. They were supposed to have announced it to the team yesterday, but I'm not sure if they did because I fell asleep before he got home.

I am so excited for him. He works hard and to see it rewarded is so fulfilling. I find it so fulfilling given that I have been at the same company for four years now, and would be kidding myself if I thought there was a promotion in sight. I am so happy for him!

Tonight I am going to a wine and cheese presentation for a couple of hours with a friend.


Cheers!
mouse

Quiet Tuesday

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry for the delay in posting.

Saturday, Mr. mouse and I went to his reunion. It was great catching up with old friends and walking through the old building on campus. But, even better, it was rejuvenating - to remember all of the thoughts and dreams I had in school on what I wanted to accomplish in life. I think it was even more fun than going to my own reunion will be since there's no pressure of jonesing the classmates.

Sunday, we came home to finish up on the kitchen re-model. We added the side island with its butcher block top. It looks great. And, we finished the transition strips on the flooring. The kitchen is fully functional so it's tough to be motivated to finish the details. And, the bang-for-the-buck is minimal. What's left? Paint touch up, baseboards, and a trim piece on one cabinet. Oh, and window treatments. It'll be done this weekend, for sure.

Sunday, we went on a scavenger hunt for Scotts Turf Builder with Plus 2 Weed Control. Since it's supposed to be applied in the spring, all the home improvement stores and hardware stores were out. It's easy to spot for its telltale yellow bag. We found some at the local Wal-Mart and bought two just in case. Applied Sunday night, but it rained Monday night so who knows. Will keep you posted on the results. On a positive note, the rain means I don't need to water my small strip of sod this morning.

Monday, I went to work, came home, ate dinner and slept. No new news.


Cheers!
mouse

Weekend Updates

Dear Friends and Family,

Time to catch up.

Thursday night stamping was a lot of fun. I made 20 cards in 6 designs, but it took close to 6 hours. So, next time I think I will do the weekend option.

Friday was just another day in the office with one exception. We got our bonus! No immediate plans to spend it, but I'm sure I'll think of something.

Friday night, I flew out to see Mr. mouse. We met up for dinner. Today, I have my haircut and Mr. mouse's 10 year reunion. I love my hair cutter. He's the best. I've been going to the same person for 10 years now and can't imagine going to anyone else. So, today will be a good day.

Cheers!
mouse

Mouse Goes Stamping

Dear Friends and Family,

Last night our neighbors came over for pizza. They are the best neighbors in the world... No wait, that's not possible! Our prior neighbors were the best neighbors in the world. Maybe it's like Most Favored Nation status, more than one set of neighbors can have best neighbor status. Hmmm...

Tonight, I've been invited to a stamping party. We're going to make 20 cards for $30. Seems like a deal - cheaper than store bought and so much more personal. I've never gone before, but am excited about trying something new.

Lawn status: the sprinkler is on, the grass is green, the dandelions are in full bloom, no rain in sight.

Cheers!
mouse

Happy Hump Day

Dear Friends and Family,

Dinner last night was good. My girlfriend and I had a chance to catch up, mostly on the personal stuff that's hard to talk about with large groups. Ah...

The gas company came yesterday too. They replaced our gas line last winter. Well, yesterday, they installed new sod for us which needs to be watered daily until it grows ~5 inches. Suffice it to say, this morning was a battle with the sprinkler - getting it set up correctly, making sure I had adequate coverage, and all of the finer details that elude me. I just don't get it. Why would any sane person want a lawn and all of the requisite maintenance? Why?!?! Also, just to whine a bit more, why couldn't they install the sod on Thursday before our 4 days of solid rain? Why?!?!

BTW, our dandelions are growing in beautifully. I can't wait until Sunday, our Scotts trial.

In other late breaking news, I found out a close friend of mine is considering leaving the company. I will miss them if they do decide to leave.

Well the balance of good (wine and conversation) and bad (lawn and potentially moving friends) is what makes Wednesday that classic balance day aka hump day.

Cheers!
mouse

Old Friends, New Recipe

Dear Friends and Family,

I am so excited! One of my girlfriends is coming over for dinner tonight. And, we're having wine. Yes! (I've been really cutting back on the alcohol because it's a great source of empty calories, so this is a real treat.)

And, in the spirit of eating healthier, I've got a new recipe I'm trying. Actually, it's not a recipe, but a whole bunch of ingredients I have a craving for (zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, and sun dried tomatoes) tossed together with some olive oil on top of some pasta. Hopefully it turns out okay.

Cheers!
mouse

Mouse vs. The Dandelion

Dear Friends and Family,

After four days of solid non-stop rain, we finally had a break in the weather. I decided to attempt weeding the lawn since the ground was so soft.

1 hour and ten pounds of dandelions later... the left side of the house was done, but the right side... well... let's just say... 1) it was the second half, so I was getting de-motivated 2) the thatch is a lot thicker, I don't know why -AND- 3) there were a lot more dandelions there than met the eye. It was almost solid dandelion, only all greens, no "flowers" yet.

Our neighbor, whose lawn looks like the Augusta National Golf Club recommended Scotts Turf Builder with Plus 2 Weed Control. If it'll make my lawn look like his... I'll have to give that a try on Sunday.

Time for dinner - Chang's Mu Shu Chicken :)

Cheers.
- mouse