Food Donation Bag

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm going to write a short post this morning before going to catch up on work. And, I'm going to spend 15 minutes (it'll probably end up being less) clearing out my pantry. Time to take action on the commitment to eating healthier.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: What went?

• miso soup (high sodium)
• Frango (partially hydrogenated soybean oil)
• microwave popcorn (partially hydrogenated soybean oil)
• Fritos
• Keebler Fudge Shoppe 100 calorie packs
• Florida treats (free from hotel room)
• marzipan (impulse purchase in Turkey)
• shortbread (impulse purchase in Scotland)
• caramel sauce (impulse purchase at Whole Foods)
• Nurungii Ramen (impulse purchase at H-Mart)
• Nutella (expired)

What's left?

• Smart Bran organic cereal
• rye crackers (Ry Krisp and Ryvita)
• premium chocolates
• Arrowhead Mills organic pancake mix
• almonds
• oats
• extra jam for Mr. mouse

PPS: I feel so much better now.

10.30.07: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 119

I overate my points again this week, and I was afraid to face the scale. With travel, I can't weigh myself daily, so there's more of a surprise element on weigh in day. My guess is I'm not going to get much pity for my up a pound, down a pound perturbations especially since I ate 24 points + 35 flex + 14 extra last week.

I did do a better job last week of not eating the snacky, munchie, junky candy. In fact, I battled it out with myself yesterday when the mini Snickers bars were sitting in the middle of the table. Where'd the extra points come from? I know exactly where my extra points came from this week. I was craving bread. I ate 19 points of bread and butter compliments of the bread baskets at all of the restaurants we've been to.

My goal for this week? Avoid the Halloween candy. Count every bite, lick and taste. Be aware of the bread basket. And, last but not least, stay within my 24 point allotment. It's for a lifetime.


Cheers!
mouse

HTML Code for Tables

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm going to need this for my budget post, so I'm playing around with it now.

Description	Amount
Train Pass	$XX.XX
Lunches at Work	$XX.XX
Snacks, Coffee, Soda, etc.	$XX.XX
Dinners with Friends	$XX.XX
Total	$XX.XX

Cheers!
mouse

PS: Not crazy about the amount of space above the table. But, it'll do for now.

Action Item #8: Budget

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm out of obvious things to do. And, I want to keep on track to complete twelve things this year. Originally, I was going to focus on only electricity consumption changes for 2007, but, then, I decided I'm okay with letting gas, gasoline, water, and consumables into the picture.

My next action item is - I'm putting myself on a budget. This, by definition, reduces how much stuff I buy. Less stuff means less stuff needs to be manufactured. Less stuff needs to be transported. And, less stuff needs to be recycled or disposed of. It's not good for the economy, but it is good for the environment. And, by being on a budget, I can afford a new car next year! I want a hybrid. Mr. mouse wants a diesel. Either way, we'll go from our two cars down to one car. And, that one car will have a smaller carbon footprint than either of our current cars.

My budget? It's $500 a month ($100 a week plus $100 flex for the month). Some families live on less than that for the whole family. Still, it will reduce our expenditures. It'll include clothing, shoes, haircuts, gas, lunch at work (if I don't brown bag it), dinner out (if I go out with friends), my Weight Watchers subscription, my gym membership and any miscellaneous purchases I make. It won't include utilities, travel, groceries, or Mr. mouse's purchases. Those will be another action item. This, right now, is about me.

This week will be $100. Then, next week, I'll kick off the new month. I decided to go with fiscal weeks and months (4-4-5) with my week starting on Monday to keep it easier to track. The 5 week months I won't have a flex. I'll have to budget more carefully those months.

2007 Action Plan

1. 07.20: I pledge to make a difference.
2. 07.20: I will track my electrical consumption.
3. 07.20: I will keep the house at 78°+ for the summer.
4. 08.16: I will unplug the blow dryer.
5. 09.01: I will try compact fluorescent light bulbs.
6. 09.02: I will replace the dishwasher.
7. 10.11: I will keep the house at 54°/76° for the winter.
8. 10.29: I will start a budget, reducing my purchases.
9. 
   
10. 
    
11. 
    
12. 
    

Cheers!
mouse

10.29.07: Little Cuba

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a quiet weekend in Miami with one of my childhood friends. She and her husband have two kids now. The older boy is turning four next spring and the younger boy is about 18 months old. It was a ton of fun playing with the older one. He's at an age when he wants to interact with people. The younger one is cute, but he's not really into strangers. He's kinda shy.

I flew down on Friday evening (didn't get as much done on the plane this time) and Mr. mouse flew down on Saturday afternoon. We spent the whole weekend at their house playing with the kids with the exception of Saturday night. Their friend offered to babysit, so we went out for a super nice dinner together. Okay, this will be my week of catching up on food posts. I promise. I think. Unless something more important comes up.

We flew back yesterday afternoon, drove home, and tried Puerto Rican food for dinner. Mr. mouse watched Game Four of the World Series while I snuggled on the couch. And, now, it's Monday morning.


Cheers!
mouse

Free Pre-Natal Counseling

Dear Friends and Family,

I called one of my best friends today. She's my roommate from college. And, she's an ob/gyn. We had been playing phone tag for a couple of weeks now. It's funny, I was afraid she was going to be busy when I called. And, she didn't call today because she assumed I was at work.

She offered me a free pre-natal counseling session, which I obviously took her up on. Basically, she thinks I'm in great health. Her biggest piece of advice is that I should relax and have fun with all of this - that stress wreaks havoc on it all.

If I want to get a doctor's appointment, I can, but it's not a prerequisite. And, if I want to see an ob/gyn, I can, but it's not a prerequisite either. The vitamins I'm taking now sound fine to her. And, once we're pregnant, we can switch to a pre-natal formulation. I should continue taking my fish oil, but cut it down to one per day vs. two. And, I need to make sure I'm getting my calcium and my iron - Tums and dark leafy green vegetables, yeah! I don't have to worry about gestational diabetes for the first trimester. After that, I need to watch my carbohydrates. And, a bunch of other stuff.

I feel a lot better now. But, I'm still ticked off at Mr. mouse. We'll see where we land on all this. For now, it's still a maybe. I'd give it a one in five chance, if I were a betting man.


Cheers!
mouse

Six Opportunities and No Longer Counting

Dear Friends and Family,

Although it's not officially the end of the calendar month, I've taken the first steps towards baby insanity by switching from what the calendar tells me to what my hormones tell me. And, based upon my calculations, we've passed the window of opportunity for this calendar month, even if there are technically five more days in October.

We haven't made a lot of progress on this front. Mr. mouse is concerned about day care and getting the baby room ready. Step #1 on my list is getting a general appointment for me and picking an ob/gyn. Uh, can you be on more opposite ends of the spectrum?

Well, the ugly, can't resolve it's head monster has reared it's oh so ugly head again. (Please keep in mind, these posts will tend to coincide with the monthly hormonal roller coaster, since by definition post-ovulation and pre-menstrual are really one and the same thing...) I ask Mr. mouse some leading question. He answers it to get me off his back. I build up hope for awhile which sustains me. He relishes in conflict avoidance. We make no progress. When hope dies, I corner him with another question and the cycle repeats itself. Until, some pre-defined end date that neither of us control. And, then hope dies in me on the relationship as a whole. Some months or years later, we mend it, and get back to normal. Only, it's never quite fully normal for me. Because the next time it comes up, I'm plagued with more doubts and I spiral quicker to an ugly, ugly place.

It happened when we first got married and I wanted him to take the summer off. It happened two winters ago when we struggled with if we would ever live together. And, it happened again (to a minor degree) last winter when I wanted him to take a week's vacation while I was between jobs. And, folks, it's happening again now.

Last month, it was about the cholesterol screen. This month, I asked him, do you think by my next ovulation (i.e. Nov) we'll be trying? And, he thought about it, and said, yes. Whoopee! Wow, how a single word in a certain tone is enough to sustain a girl. Now, it's almost a month gone by. Um, okay. Really? Cause that's not far away anymore. I'm beginning to feel duped again.

And, we spoke briefly this morning. I think he was 85% asleep because he's sleeping on the couch and I'm fuming at the computer. He wants to know why I can't just begin knocking stuff off the list. Why can't I set up the doctor's appointment? Why can't I pick the ob/gyn? And, I told him this can't just be about me. There's enough I'll need to do that he can't do. Just can't. This shouldn't be a shocker. I gotta believe, it'll be me doing 99.99% of the stuff that needs to be done no matter what he wants, in the whole pregnancy process. He's gotta be willing to do some of it. This is not a solitary endeavor here. He's the one who thought this was all a great idea. And, now, I'm the one that needs to be the taskmaster? No. It's not going to work that way.

So, this isn't really about baby anymore. This is about how we communicate. And, who pushes us as a couple to get anything done. And, about understanding and being able to prioritize between important and urgent. And, work-life balance. And, so many more issues.

Maybe, baby was a bad idea. Maybe, it's not something he really wanted after all. That's okay. I can come around to that again. I've bounced back from harder. I am resilient. As of this moment, consider this topic closed unless you hear otherwise. It was an interesting two month journey, but Pandora needs to stuff all the monsters back in the box. It isn't working out the way I thought it would. And, there's no point forcing it.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: No longer fuming. Now, just inexplicably sad.

Action Item #7C: Winter Thermostat Setting

Dear Friends and Family,

Still tweaking. 76° is a little decadent in the morning. And, there is the business of getting out of bed in heavy jammies and then getting too hot at 76°. Here's the next iteration:

• 58° -> 60° (sleep)
• 68° -> 76° -> 74° (morning)
• 58° -> 54° (daytime)
• 68° -> 70° -> 72° (evening)

Minor tweaks, really.

2007 Action Plan

1. 07.20: I pledge to make a difference.
2. 07.20: I will track my electrical consumption.
3. 07.20: I will keep the house at 78°+ for the summer.
4. 08.16: I will unplug the blow dryer.
5. 09.01: I will try compact fluorescent light bulbs.
6. 09.02: I will replace the dishwasher.
7. 10.11: I will keep the house at 54°/76° for the winter.
8. 
   
9. 
   
10. 
    
11. 
    
12. 
    

Cheers!
mouse

Exhausted mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

I took a quick two day business trip. We got back around eight last night. Mr. mouse picked me up from the airport. We went out to dinner, got home and promptly fell asleep. I ate WAY too much food over the past 48 hours and feel like I need to step back and detox - and, I need more sleep.

I think, for however long it takes for my body to catch up with me, I'll eat simple, natural foods in moderate proportions. I'll go light on the meat and dairy and eggs, and go heavy on the fruits and veggies and water. Hopefully, I feel better soon. I needed to get the munchie, snackie, junkie stuff out of my diet anyway. I've been trying to eat through the pantry since I don't want things to go to waste. Perhaps the better answer is to throw it away and not let me body go to waste.

Okay. Off to have some tea and, hopefully, on a path to a better mouse.


Cheers!
mouse

Action Item #7B: Winter Thermostat Setting

Dear Friends and Family,

Yeah! We finally get to turn on the heat today. Actually, I turned it on last night before going to bed. I knew it wouldn't drop low enough to activate. And, I wanted to wake up to warm. The heat feels amazing!

I've changed my thermostat settings from the original plan:

• 58° -> 60° (sleep)
• 68° -> 76° (morning)
• 58° -> 54° (daytime)
• 68° -> 70° (evening)

I was absolutely miserable at the lower temps. And, that's not sustainable. The weighted average thermostat setting is the same as before, but since the morning will turn on earlier in the season and the drop is in the daytime, it technically will use more energy than my original plan. I'll see how this week goes. If it feels decadent, I'll drop it more.

2007 Action Plan

1. 07.20: I pledge to make a difference.
2. 07.20: I will track my electrical consumption.
3. 07.20: I will keep the house at 78°+ for the summer.
4. 08.16: I will unplug the blow dryer.
5. 09.01: I will try compact fluorescent light bulbs.
6. 09.02: I will replace the dishwasher.
7. 10.11: I will keep the house at 54°/76° for the winter.
8. 
   
9. 
   
10. 
    
11. 
    
12. 
    

Cheers!
mouse

10.23.07: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 118

Down from last week. Looking at my chart, I think I'm beginning to understand and, more importantly, accept the random variation.

I way overate while in Boston and ended the week at 24 + flex + 14 over. It's not a big deal, but I am going to review the week to see where 14 points could have come out. Need to keep learning. It's for a lifetime.

Okay. So, what do we have here, boys and girls:

• 5 points: 5 mini Twix bars
• 1 point: extra congee
• 2 points: egg custard tart
• 2 points: fried bread in congee
• 1 point: 2 french fries
• 2 points: calamari
• 1 point: 2 Dunkin Donuts munchkins
• 1 point: airplane pretzels

What does that add up to? I'm afraid to do the math. 15 points. That's what I needed to learn. I could have stayed in my points range easily if I hadn't gone all munchie snacky all week. This week will be better, hopefully.


Cheers!
mouse

10.22.07: Beantown

Dear Friends and Family,

We went to Boston for the weekend. Our neighbors from the mouse house had a long weekend and were out there as well. We flew in Friday night and landed close to midnight. After getting our bags and our rental car, we headed to a friend's place to drop off some deep dish pizza and apple soda. (He stored the pizza in his fridge over the weekend for us.) I was starving, so we went to The International House of Pancakes before checking into our hotel.

Saturday morning, we headed into Boston and met up with the neighbors and my friend for dim sum. It was a first time for everyone. The barbecue pork was a big hit as usual. For me, it was a chance to do dim sum sans pork. Dim sum was tough to do without eating pork. The two toughest for me were the turnip cakes which have chunks of pork in them (I was able to pick out the pork) and the congee which has shreds of pork in it (I was able to pick out about 50% of the pork). To be honest, not eating pork makes dim sum easier, points wise. It's always a points buster and by limiting the number of dishes, it makes it a lot more doable. Anyway, I've got a ton to write about, so moving on...

We headed to Harvard to walk the campus. And, afterwards, we sat on the banks of the river to catch an afternoon snack, some rays and the Head of the Charles. The weather was sunny and warm all weekend. Next, we went for some of Mr. mouse's favorite ice cream. Then, we headed to MIT to walk the campus there. And, last but not least, we drove through the Back Bay area before heading to dinner on the North End. Dinner was at a tiny restaurant that Mr. mouse found online. Next, we headed out for cannolis to bring back to our hotel room for dessert. The neighbors came over and we enjoyed a glass of wine before turning in for the night.

Sunday morning, the Dad had to head out to the airport early. But, the Mom and Daughter met up with Mr. mouse and me for breakfast. We went to a bakery that one of Mr. mouse's friend's friend started up. It was the cutest place. I'll have to do a slew of food reviews later this week. We dropped off the Mom and Daughter at the airport. We picked up the pizza. We headed out to see one of Mr. mouse's friends who lives in the suburbs of Boston.

They have two children. The older of the two was born when Mr. mouse and I got married. And, she's grown a ton since then. She's the cutest button ever. And, she's amazingly articulate for her age. She's at a fun age. And, she has a younger brother. He's four years younger. He's a little shy when he first sees you, but once he opens up, he's crawling all over you. We played with them for the afternoon. And, fortunately, our flight was delayed by an hour, so we had some extra time with them before heading to the airport.

Flew home. Head a humongous fight with Mr. mouse over the stupidest of topics. Made up. Ate desert. And, turned in for the night.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: I forgot how much work you get done when traveling. The flights are an excellent time to catch up on stuff.

Rainy Day Fund

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm meeting with my financial planner this morning so money is on my mind. If nothing else, he keeps us honest about staying on top of it. In addition to retirement savings, I'm a firm believer in keeping three piles of money in semi-liquid funds.

Pile #1: Taxes. We don't escrow which means we do our own property taxes. Every month, the bank automatically takes a certain amount of money and puts it into a separate account so that when Mr. Tax Man comes knocking, we're ready. Last year we paid it out of our daily use money because we hadn't built up the transfer process yet. Now, we're all set up and should be ready to go come tax time.

Pile #2: Just in Case Fund. I like to keep one year's worth of spending money in a semi-liquid account. It means, if either Mr. mouse or I get laid off, we have a cushion to live off of before we need to dip into savings. Actually, I'm pretty conservative. If one of us gets laid off, we can live off of the other income - it just means we stop saving aggressively for retirement until we're both gainfully employed again. It's only if we both get laid off simultaneously that we'd need to draw from the Just in Case Fund.

Pile #3: Rainy Day/Shiny Bauble Fund. This one covers two completely different scenarios. It's money set aside for car repairs and furnace repairs and stuff. But, can also be used for vacations and toys and stuff. Either way, it's cash on hand for unplanned, larger ticket item purchases.

Mr. mouse and I have been using the year to rebuild our reserves after we spent it on mouse house repairs and renegotiating our mortgage. Currently, the tax pile is in place; the other two are works in progress. We've got about 56.25% of our just in case pile saved. That still equates to six months, so it's within the realm of decent. I hope to save the rest of it my end of year. It's aggressive. We'll see. And, the rainy day/shiny bauble pile hasn't been established yet. That's my 2008 goal.

Happy Friday, everyone.


Cheers!
mouse

Catching Up on Smaller Threads

Dear Friends and Family,

There's a lot of snippets today.

1. It's fall. The leaves have all been changing this week. I'm stunned at how quickly 2007 has gone. There's four more weeks until Thanksgiving. Wow! It'll be 2008 before you know it. I love this time of year when the season's change. I think that was the hardest part about living in Texas, not having the seasons.
2. Friend. She came out to interview almost a month ago. It's been a slow process to say the least. I've got my fingers quadruple crossed that we sort this out in the next couple of weeks. It's bordering on ridiculous.
3. I had coffee yesterday with a friend at work. We had the funniest thing happen awhile back with our first day shirts. Yesterday, I was running late to our meeting. I was walking down some circular stairs and I saw him waiting by the coffee shop. But, I was four flights up. I called out his name. He didn't hear me. I walked down a flight and called out his name again. He looked around, but didn't see me. I walked down another flight of stairs and called out his name again, but not as loudly, since I didn't want everyone around us to think I was a crazy person. He looks around, but I don't think he heard me on a conscious level. He starts walking away. I look for an interception point. It's either one level up or one level down. Both seem too far. I make a split decision to run for it on the lower level. He makes a happen chance decision to turn down a later corridor. The two combined meant I was able to catch up to him and meet him for our meeting. We both had a another great laugh. Those little things totally make my day.
4. I had dinner last night with a girlfriend from work. She reminds me of Frenchie - someone I love on a personal level, but someone who has a totally different work style. Isn't it funny how that happens? I still miss Frenchie. We went to Sushi Station and gorged on sushi while chatting about work and life. Then, she dropped me off at the bus station.
5. Mr. mouse and I went to the gym last night. I need to work out more often. I hope to get a lot of walking in this weekend.

Cheers!
mouse

Uncle Julio's Hacienda

Dear Friends and Family,

As usual, I'm behind on my food posts. My favorite fajitas down in Texas was Pappasitos. And, there had been rumors that they were opening up location in the Chicagoland area. In trying to divine the location, I came across several threads about Uncle Julio's. Of course, I was skeptical.

We went. And, it's, at least in my mind, almost the same restaurant as Pappasitos. Whichever one opened first should sue the copy-cat. It's that similar. We tried our usual the first time we went - tamales with meat sauce and beef fajitas. The chips are warm and thin. The salsa tangy and runny. Both just the way we like it. The tamales are fluffy. And, the meat sauce... I could eat it like chili with a spoon. The fajitas and tortillas don't disappoint either. The beef is tender with a very nice char. The onions, jalapeño, pico de gallo and guacamole allow you to personalize each and every bite. I want to go back, just writing about it. Alas, it's a points hog, so it'll have to be an occasional treat for us.

Overall rating: 8/10

Uncle Julio's Hacienda
855 West North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622 map it
(312) 266-4222
http://www.unclejulios.com


Cheers!
mouse

Baking for Work

Dear Friends and Family,

Now that our group is large enough, we have monthly breakfast get togethers to celebrate birthdays. I've got treat duty for October and I'm bring three loaves of breakfast bread. Last night, I made pumpkin bread and banana bread. And, this morning I made coffee cake.

I think I'll slice off a piece of each loaf for Mr. mouse. I never cook for him. This way, he gets to share in the bounty.


Cheers!
mouse

10.16.07: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 119

Phew! I'm glad I didn't make any changes to the food routine last week. I would have been sweating the weight gain if I had. I guess that's what maintenance is about - up some weeks, down others. I'll do 24 + flex again this week and see if anything changes. If I'm up 2 weeks in a row, I'll scale back to 22 + flex. I guess.


Cheers!
mouse

10.15.07: Weekend at Home

Dear Friends and Family,

Boy, did the weekend fly.

We had dinner at home on Friday night - bison steaks, brown rice, grilled zucchini and caramelized onions. Mr. mouse listened to the baseball game on the radio before we both turned in for the night. It was super cold and I was tempted to turn on the heat, but we didn't. We made it through. Eight more days to go. Fortunately, some clouds moved in and it's supposed to stay warmer until 10/22. And, I can do one more cold day. Oct 23rd. I can make it.

Saturday morning we got up super late. And, we ran errands all day. We dropped off some clothes at a consignment shop. We went to the book store and picked up two books. And, we went to the grocery store to pick up supplies for a potluck we were going to Saturday night.

The theme for the potluck was Japanese food. We brought three types of grilled rice balls stuffed with salmon, Korean beef, and carrots. And, we brought one of the hits of the night - Japanese brown curry. We made it with chicken, potatoes, carrots and onions. I saved two servings for myself. I love Japanese brown curry. I'm glad Mr. mouse thought to make it. I didn't think others would like it. But, one of the guys asked if he could take the leftovers, so I'm assuming people liked it. We met a bunch of new people. I can't wait for the next one. I think it's a recurring thing - the next one is Greek food. I'm thinking dolmades, maybe skordalia. We'll see.

Sunday morning we got up super late again. I spent Sunday morning trying to sort through all of the pre-natal vitamin requirements in the two books and on WebMd vs. my Canyon Ranch multi-vitamins. According to WebMD, I'm good. According to one book I need more iron. And, according to the other book, I need a million and one supplements. I have to say I was thoroughly confused and feeling 100% inadequate to the task by the time I was done reading. So much for research.

We sorted through more clothes and dropped off seven bags at a donation point. And, one bag at Plato's Closet. We went to Ann Taylor Loft for a pair of pants, a sweater and two tank tops. Then, we went to Bloomingdale's for slacks for Mr. mouse. They've gone seriously upscale with their assortment - $150+ slacks for men. We went to Macy's next. And, found some that work for everyday wear. We went out for dinner to Brasserie Jo. And, when we got home, we fell asleep on the couch. And, that was the weekend.


Cheers!
mouse

Cold Mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

It's cold in here. I'm still holding out on the turning on the heat front. We pulled out the winter comforter last night and piled it on top of our summer comforter. And, I've been wearing socks in the house. And, Mr. mouse has been grumbling that I've turned into a nut job. But, technically, it's not even cold yet. The EPA recommends settings of 68° to 74° in the winter, going as low as 50° when the building isn't occupied. I'm going to try for 58° when we're not here and/or we're asleep and 68° for the rest of the time. We'll see. I think this will be the hardest adjustment yet. For now, I'll just huddle in my blanket as I blog and have my morning tea. Fortunately, it'll start getting warmer today through Oct 23rd when I can turn on the heat.

It's worth it. Global warming is a problem. I can do this.


Cheers!
mouse

Update from Tuesday Night

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse and I spoke a little yesterday afternoon about our break down Tuesday night. We agreed to go book shopping this weekend. And, yesterday, in the mail, was a corrected insurance bill for Mr. mouse's doctor's appointment. So, we can schedule mine now. Yeah!

Just a word of warning, I can see this category being filled with ups and downs. But, I guess that's just a precursor to the ups and downs of being a parent.


Cheers!
mouse

Electricity Tracking, Still Not Happy

Dear Friends and Family,

Got the electricity bill last night. I was so jazzed to compare it to last year's bill. And, alas, I'm up.

• Last year Sept, we consumed 457 kWh. This Sept, we used 643 kWh. We're up 41%. Double ouch!
• In Aug, we spent 975 kWh. So, we're down, as expected, M-O-M by about 34%.
• And, at last report out, we had been trending +41% YTD and with Sept's addition we're still trending +41%.

The bar was set pretty low for Sept, so we didn't do too bad. I might need to reset my expectations. Two people living here is going to be higher usage than one. But, once we hit Jan, there's no more excuses.


Cheers!
mouse

Action Item #7: Winter Thermostat Setting

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow, they weather can turn on a dime here! Sunday it was a blistering 88° and Tuesday morning it was 56°. Last night, waiting for Mr. mouse to pick me up, it was a brisk 53°. I promised myself I wouldn't turn on the heat until October 23rd, so I have another 12 more days to go before the changeover. I'm wearing socks and a long sleeve shirt at home, something I never do.

And, when I do make the switch from A/C to heat, I have some aggressive settings for the thermostat. The house will be set at 58° for when we're asleep and when we're at work. And, it'll be set at 68° for when we're up in the morning and when we're up in the evening. That's 10°-20° cooler than the 78° I enjoy. This one, I'm not sure I can maintain. But, I'm willing to give it a try.

2007 Action Plan

1. 07.20: I pledge to make a difference.
2. 07.20: I will track my electrical consumption.
3. 07.20: I will keep the house at 78°+ for the summer.
4. 08.16: I will unplug the blow dryer.
5. 09.01: I will try compact fluorescent light bulbs.
6. 09.02: I will replace the dishwasher.
7. 10.11: I will keep the house at 58°/68° for the winter.

Cheers!
mouse

Seven Opportunities and Counting

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse and I are wrestling with a problem that surfaces every so often. And, we haven't found a good way around it. And, every time it surfaces, it's a doozie. I like to talk through stuff. The more I talk, the better I understand the plan and can manage my expectations. This is how I am. Mr. mouse likes to work through things on his own. The more I bring up the topic, the more he feels like he's being painted into a corner. This is how he is. You can see how this can turn ugly if it's something big. And, this is a big one. It's discussions about Small.

What's the crazy tango we've been dancing the last couple of months? He's always wanted a child. I've never been sold on the idea. I decided I'd be willing to take a leap of faith and go down this journey with him. He doesn't want to because he doesn't feel like it's genuine on my part. I gave him a list of stuff that's important for us to tackle. He's been dawdling on the list because he's feeling stress. I'm out in left field trying to figure out where his head is at. He's avoiding it all and focusing on work. I try to force the conversation. He retreats. I give up and decide I don't care. He gives tiny snippets that reignite my hope. I guess. He doesn't tell me. I guess wrong. He doesn't tell me.

STOP THE MADNESS!!!

I'm so frustrated. And, one of the reasons I'm frustrated is we've been down this path before on other topics. This is a nut we can't seem to crack. And, he knows it. And, I know it. And, we still can't solve for it.

I told him the only thing I want out of this whole damn fiasco is that I'd like Small to be born in the Year of the Mouse. That means we need to be on this path by April 21st at the latest. Seven more ovulation cycles and we've done diddly squat about making any progress towards this goal. This is the hill I'm going to die on. If I can't have this, I'm not going to do this. I don't think I'm being unreasonable. If I feel like we've made a decent attempt at this and time just ran out on us then I might be willing to give on it. But, if I feel like we pissed the time away, then no. Then, I'm done. And, with seven cycles left to go, I'm feeling an incredible sense of pressure on this whole thing.

The worst part of all of this is that sometimes I do give up. I decide I don't care. And, then he says something that totally gets me caring again. Like, when I mentioned that they were doing cholesterol screenings at work. I was at a point of whatever on this whole Baby thing. And, I wanted to go in to get my numbers. And, we were weighing dinner options. And, Mr. mouse said, don't worry. I'll be scheduling your annual check up soon anyway. And, you can get your cholesterol measured then. Well, I've wanted to get my annual check up since August. And, there's been some billing snafu with the insurance company that Mr. mouse needs to sort through from his annual check up before I go in for mine. And, guess what, doctor's appointment is #1 on my list of stuff that needs to get done. So, here I am thinking, oh, okay, we're making progress on the list. Is the billing thing sorted out? Who knows. Is my appointment scheduled? Nope. Any signs of progress? I'd only know if we actually could have adult conversations about the damn topic. And, to top it all off, I skipped on the cholesterol test because of his reply.

In summary, here we are. Seven opportunities to go and counting. Frankly, unless we make amazing progress on the list in the next week or two, it's really six and counting. I hope he's happy with how this is all playing out. Because it's oh so much fun wrap your mind into a pretzel and to convince yourself you actually want a child to then have your spouse who's always said he's wanted a child deny you a child.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: If you're wondering what's on the crazy list, here it is. It might be TMI, but I've decided I'm not going to censor my blog. If I can't write about it, it stops being my journal.

1. doctor's appointment: annual check up
2. pick an ob/gyn, schedule appointment
3. new vitamin routine/prenatals
4. buy books, read up on what to expect
5. regular sex life, not this 1-2 times a month thing
6. normal work life, manage working late communications
7. exercise routine, I own this one
8. Weight Watchers maintenance, I own this one
9. low refined sugar diet
10. conceive by 4/21/08

Edy's Limited Edition Apple Pie Ice Cream

Dear Friends and Family,


Three posts in one day? I haven't written a food post in so long. And, this was so good. I'm not sure it's necessarily good for you. It's got the usual suspects of not quite natural ingredients, but I wanted to try it. And, it was worth it. Fortunately, it's limited edition, so it'll be a one carton thing.

It's pretty straight forward. It's vanilla ice cream with apple pie pieces mixed in. It's 3 Weight Watchers points per serving. But a serving and a half is only four. Definitely worth the extra point to get the extra half serving.


Cheers!
mouse

Can't Find My Car

Dear Friends and Family,

Ready for a good laugh?

Okay.

It finally happened.

I couldn't find my car last night. I knew which lot I had parked it in. But, it had been almost two weeks since I last drove it. And, I thought I had an idea of the general location. Not quite. It took me a couple of rounds to find it. I think it's a sign that I need to switch to public transportation full time. I think I will once yoga ends in the end of October. Just in time for the next round of Doomsday scenarios on the train.


Cheers!
mouse

10.09.07: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 117

When I reached goal, I thought it was going to be a constant struggle with the scale. I was so used to 18 points, I was petrified of adding additional points to the plan. Now that I'm entering week 12 of maintenance, I realize it's a much trickier balancing game.

Today I weighed in at 116.5. Last week, I ate 24 a day + 35 flex + my activity. At this point, technically, I'm supposed to add 2 more points to the daily routine and up it to 26. Frankly, I'm not sure I want to. I'm full at 24. I graze constantly at work on granola bars and chocolate. I eat three square meals a day. I have dessert a couple of times a week. And, we eat out a couple of times during the week. In short, I'm not feeling deprived and I'm not sure I'm the Queen of Good Decisions as far as what I use my extra points for. It's like giving Republicans money... maybe some point restraint isn't a bad thing.

I guess what I'm getting at is even if I weighed in low this week, I'm not going to add the points in. I'll eat 24 a day + 35 flex + my activity this week and see how it plays out. Maybe next week I'll be mentally ready to add more points.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: I totally forgot to write about my 1 pack. It's been slowly emerging as the belly fat disappears. Yeah, mouse!

10.08.07: The Dark Side of Hammock Time

Dear Friends and Family,

We've been having an absolutely gorgeous Indian summer this fall. And, I've been almost religious about taking advantage of it whenever possible. My hammock and I have become best friends. I traded more hammock time on Friday afternoon for work time on Friday night. It was worth it, especially since my 2007 hammock days must be drawing to a sad, sad end.

Saturday morning we got up early. We spent the morning getting the house ready for our marathoner guests. Fred, his girlfriend, and another couple we met in Montreal (Fred's girlfriend's friend and her husband) were all flying in on Saturday. I found about 15 minutes to spend on the hammock on Saturday morning, but, frankly, it was almost too hot to be pleasant. I felt myself burning, which given my tan foundation says something about the weather.

We went to the airport to pick up Fred and Gen. Mr. mouse headed home. And, we headed downtown to pick up bibs and to drive the course. Wow. 26.2 miles is not trivial. I'm 100% sure I'd need some very serious training to even consider it. And, even then, I'm not sure I could play the mental games needed to get through it. We had a big ole pasta dinner Saturday night. We made signs and put together a plan with our cheering points on them. And everyone turned in early. That is, everyone, but Mr. mouse.

Mr. mouse made, in my opinion, a very bad judgment call to stay up until 1AM, head out to the bar, and watch the Chinese Grand Prix, until 3AM. I told him I wasn't going. And, that I would be watching the race next Sunday at the bar. But, he decided to go and watch it live. I don't know why.



Sunday morning - race day. We all got up at 5:30 to see our runners off. Mr. mouse gets up as well. He wants to change the plan and rent bikes. He's been big on the bike thing all night Saturday, so I acquiesce to his bent. We rent online. He drops the runners off at the park while we all have breakfast. And, I can tell he's tired. He's getting all testy with me and accusing me of getting excited - all signs he's tired and not processing info well. Whatever. We leave for the race. It's already 75+ degrees out.



We combo bike/cab over to the bike rental shop. They're not open. We're guessing they're on fall hours and will be opening at 9. We head over to mile marker 4-ish to cheer on our girls. I'm already feeling overheated. The same sun that makes for glorious hammock time makes for killer race condition. We see them. They're hanging tough. We head back over to the bike rental shop. No freaking sign of the guy. The concession stand guy says the bike guy doesn't show until 10-ish. Well, that's not going to work. Two of us head over to mile marker 10-ish. And, two head down to Navy Pier to pick up these damn bikes. They make it back in time. We almost miss the girls (they're in a zone and we're looking as hard as we can to see them) but get them replenished on water.



Here's where Mr. mouse's judgment isn't doing well. I know this is the tightest part of "our" race to get to the next meet up point. Mr. mouse is feeling great now that we're armed with bikes. And, he's feeling tired. In his mind, there's plenty of time now. And, he's slowing down. It's hot out. We begin to worry about our runners. We dork around in getting our bikes unlocked and getting going. We make it to the half way point. It's a sea of people. We think we've missed our runners. We can't be sure. They were with the 4:00 pace setter at the first point. They were closer to 4:15 at the second point. It's impossible to gauge where they are. It's impossible to see them. It's impossible for them to see us. It's brutally hot. The sun is shining mercilessly. It's not going to be pretty. Runners are walking.

We race ahead to mile marker 16-ish. We're 99% certain we're ahead of the girls. We set up base camp. The plan it to meet up with them and go the rest of the course with them. The 4:00 pace setter went by ~5 minutes ago. We should be in good shape. The runners have stretched out by this point. They're aren't a lot of cheerers. We should be able to see our girls in the race. We wait. And wait. And wait. And, there's no sign of them. Now, we're in between a rock and a hard place. There's no way they could have beat us to that point. There's no way they haven't made it to this point yet. There's no way they could have passed without us seeing them. Um... Okay. Now what? We split. Two go way ahead to try to find them again. Two of us wait. The weather is playing mind games with us. If it had been a brisk fall day, we would have been 99% certain they would have kept pace. And, wouldn't have waited as long as we did. But, with the heat, you can't be sure. They slowed the one time we saw them. They might have slowed more. Turns out they ran right past us without us seeing them. The best laid plans...

The two of us waiting decide to leapfrog the first two. We make it to a half mile before the finish. We find out they've called off the marathon due to record breaking temperatures. We glad they did. The runners really looked wicked tired when we saw them at the 16 mile point and the hardest part is yet to come. The first pair find the girls. We bike back to meet them. The two guys join the pair to walk to the finish. They had, very smartly, started walking with a couple of miles to go. Mr. mouse and I lock up our bikes and meet them at the finish line.



There's a long and convoluted process getting bikes returned, bikes home, people home. I won't go into the details here, but suffice it to say, we got it all in place by around 4:30. Mr. mouse grilled up a bison steak for all of us to nibble on. Then, we headed out for dinner. We gorged at Adobo Grill on a bunch of dishes and some margaritas before high tailing it over to Coco Rouge to pick up some chocolates for dessert. We all passed out pretty early.

Next year, we can prep better. Rent bikes the day before. Dress our runners in some high visibility clothing. And, use technology to make it easier - real time, personal tracking GPS! I can see Fred buying one. He's a gadget guy. And, it makes find them trivial. Or at least a ton easier than it is right now.

Before I close out on the weekend - my middle school friend wrote. She is in St. Paul. I'm so looking forward to seeing her the next time we're out there. Yeah! And, in sister news. The drama begins again. This time it might be serious. It's tough to gauge. She found out she has a ginormous cyst in her ovary. And, she's hesitant to get it removed. Somehow, now, she states children are very important to her. I think this is more a function of her current boyfriend and the irreversibility of getting an ovary removed, but who knows. Whatever. I'd slice it out without a second thought. I'm on this roller coaster yet again. Lord, help me.


Cheers!
mouse

So Glad We Talked

Dear Friends and Family,

About three weeks ago, I got an email from my last boss at old work. His colleague from business school was interested in finding out more about my department here at work. I agreed to do an informational interview with his colleague. In one of the emails, my last boss asked, if there's anything you think might be of interest to me, let me know. And, we started an email chain on that particular topic. And, we agreed to talk - Thursday night, 9PM.

Well, it's Friday. And, I'm so glad we had that conversation. I wasn't sure going into it if it would all awkward and everything. We all know the trials and tribulations of my last position at old work. And, I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring any of that baggage into new work. I wasn't sure how much of last boss' perspective on me was poisoned by crazy boss' rantings and ravings. And, I addressed this matter head on. I didn't want to risk bringing an uncertain element into a work environment that I enjoy. But, he let me know, in no uncertain terms, that he saw through crazy boss. He knew I was capable and good and smart and he knew the situation sucked and made me out to be a person I wasn't.

It was so important for me to hear that. Last boss was my boss for the six months. He was the one who convinced me not to quit the first time. And, he was the one who really went to bat for me once I left, with the credit card people over my last expense report. I always had a wistful feeling that it would have been a lot of fun to work with him in a not crazy environment. Last night's call was both the start of a new friendship and the end of a sad, awkward situation. I feel a sense of healing and closure. It was a most excellent conversation.


Cheers!
mouse

Checking Email Like a Mad mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

I got an email from an old friend yesterday. He and I met in middle school at an weekend preparatory class. We went to high school together before parting ways in college. He wrote to say that he had met up with another friend of ours from middle school and wanted to check with me before giving her my email address. Getting the go ahead from both of us, he sent us a mutual email with the other's email address.

Point #1: I am too excited for words. She was one of my best friends in grade school. We were inseparable. We were going to start a band together. We experimented with paisley together. We did so much together, I can't even begin to capture it all here.

Point #2: He mentioned he ran into her in the Twin Cities. Now, I know he lives on the East Coast. There's a chance they were both in the Twin Cities at a conference. But, I don't think so. I think she lives there now. I did a quick peek at whitepages.com and it popped an address for her in St. Paul which means, I might be able to see her this year when I visit. It almost doesn't seem possible.

I wrote her a quick email. And, now, I've been checking my email non-stop to see if she's written back. Oh, I'm too excited for words!


Cheers!
mouse

More Friends Over

Dear Friends and Family,

I haven't had a chance to write about it, but our friend, neighbor Dad from Texas is in town for a convention. He came in Monday morning and is flying out this morning. I absolutely love the collateral visits we get. I'm 110% fine with the fact that they're here for a reason and we're reason #2 or even reason #3. We see our friends more often and that's what's important to me. We had a chance to catch up last night. He's got the best stories, we could have talked all night.

I'm working from home today. Neighbor Dad and I will have a chance to go out to breakfast this morning before he has to head out to the airport. He's on Jenny Craig and I'm on Weight Watchers, so it'll be a healthy, light breakfast. I'm thinking Milk and Honey Cafe or maybe Feast.


Cheers!
mouse

Nature's Path Smart Bran Cereal

Dear Friends and Family,

I found new morning cereal that has the fiber benefits of Fiber One without the artificial sweeteners. It's got evaporated cane juice and organic barley malt extract for sweeteners and comes out to 1 point per 30 g serving. It's available at Whole Foods. I have it with a cup of skim milk for breakfast.


Cheers!
mouse

Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 118

This week I ate 24 points a day + 35 flex + 7 additional points. I like that combo. Next week I'll target 24 points a day + 35 flex and see where it all shakes out. Still liking this maintenance thing.


Cheers!
mouse

10.01.07: Weekend at Home

Dear Friends and Family,

Much as I love the travel, I have to admit, the weekends at home are nice as well.

Friday night, after dinner, we walked to the gym together. Mr. mouse signed up for a membership as well. Yeah! Then, we drove out to the bar to watch qualifying for the Japanese F1 race. We thought it was on at 11 pm, so it was a mad dash to get there. But, it was on at midnight, so we had all the time in the world. I ordered an espresso and a margherita pizza. Mr. mouse had a diet coke and the Polish plate (pierogis, polish sausage, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and a stuffed cabbage). We watched qualifying and then came home and went to sleep.

Saturday, we didn't get up until almost noon. We spent the day up in Schaumburg running errands. We returned a bunch of clothes. We picked up the rest of my fall wardrobe. It feels good to know I'm done with the mad clothes dash. Theoretically, next winter, 80% of what I own will still fit. I'll need to augment, but this 100% turn thing will be done. Now, it's time to overhaul Mr. mouse's wardrobe, his clothes are getting a little to ragged for work.

Saturday night we went back out to the bar for the race. This time, we didn't eat dinner beforehand. I had two espressos, French onion soup and a grilled chicken sandwich with grilled mushrooms and onions. Mr. mouse had the pork chops which looked just like wiener schnitzel and more diet coke. The race was run in the pouring rain. We got home around 2:30 in the morning and went straight to bed.

Sunday, I got up early. We spent the entire day cleaning and organizing. We finally decided on where to place the three rugs we got in Turkey. There's something about a house that's under control - all neat and everything. It makes me feel at peace and relaxed. I love it.

I have to admit. I'm tired this morning. With staying up late both Friday and Saturday and with waking early on Sunday and sleeping poorly last night, I'm looking forward to my nap on the bus. Speaking of which, with joining the gym here, I'm seriously considering selling the car and doing the bus thing 100% of the time. Then, I can sleep every day.


Cheers!
mouse