Friday, May 30, 2008

SIGG Water Bottles

Dear Friends and Family,

Remember back in February when I made a note to self to buy stock in SIGG? Of course not. Well, just to prove my point, here's the link. When I purchased my bottles, there were about six or seven pages of bottles. And, I picked four. And, in April it was down to three pages and I picked (but didn't order) two more bottles. I was trying to coordinate with a friend and by the time she went to look, it was down to two pages of really lame bottles. And, we passed on ordering.

Fortunately, I found my two bottles while in Austin and bought them there. And, now, when you go to the website, it all makes sense.

Our Swiss factory is working around the clock to produce and ship more bottles to us, but the demand has currently and for the near future - exceeded the supply.


Score: 1 for mouse. I love it when I'm right.


Cheers!
mouse

Thursday, May 29, 2008

March Baby Posts

Dear Friends and Family,

Believe it or not, another month has flown by. And, with the last week of the month comes another release of baby posts. For those of you following the thread - they're all located under the category label baby... maybe, on the right.


Cheers!
mouse

05.29.08: Not Pregnant

Dear Friends and Family,

Another month. Another non-post.

Mr. mouse and I got up together this morning to take the test and according to the window:

Not Pregnant

Guess I can have a glass of wine with dinner. Although, chances are, I'll wait until I'm "sure" before having the wine. We have a doctor's appointment scheduled for June 20th. Guess we'll learn more then.


Cheers!
mouse

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

05.28.08: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 123

Actually, today's number is higher, but Tuesday's my official weigh in and yesterday I had 12 oz of high sodium soup. So, today's number doesn't "count," except to keep me from being totally surprised next Tuesday. The only reason I didn't write about it yesterday was the backlog from the long weekend.

Down one pound. Yes! Slow and steady.

I can't complain, being I got to eat 38 activity points last week. Count 'em and weep. 38. That's like two extra days worth of food. Guess running and biking give you a lot of leeway in eating.

Hopefully, I have more good news to report next Tuesday.


Cheers!
mouse

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

05.27.08: Me Time

Dear Friends and Family,

After much deliberation, we decided to spend the long weekend in town. It'd give us a chance to work out, eat well, clean house, save money and catch up on sleep. After two weekends on the road, all things I desperately needed.

Mr. mouse signed us up for a 5K next weekend. My second 5K attempt. The first was last summer, with colleagues from old work. And, sad as it was, I couldn't complete it - heart rate of a runner, lung capacity of a couch potato. This year, figured some "training" was in order if I wasn't going to feel like a complete loser. Thursday night, we did 2K. Friday afternoon, I did 3K. Saturday afternoon, we did 4K. And, yesterday, we did 5K. Figure we'll go out one more day this week. And, knock on wood, be in decent shape for Sunday.

Friday, our team made the collective decision to work from home and to take the afternoon off. I met Mr. mouse for lunch and walked home from his office. Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on TiVO and did an hour of yoga to stretch out some sore limbs. We made pasta with sausage for dinner and the rest of the night escapes my memory. Oh. We went to pick up mail and order my bridesmaid's dress.

Saturday, we spent the morning cleaning up house - a couple rooms down, still more to go. Did our run mid-afternoon. We had an early dinner of ham fried rice and chicken tortilla soup. Mr mouse spent the evening running errands while I curled up on the couch to polish off The Omnivore's Dilemma. Then, we opened up the Scrabble board. Mr. mouse trounced me. I should have swapped out some tiles or tried kwyjibo.

Sunday, we walked up to a local bakery to pick up some bread for breakfast. They do good bread. I'm hooked. Then, we biked over to the bar for breakfast II and the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix. I'm loving the Sunday morning at the bar watching the race ritual. It's a bar, but it's effectively a restaurant for Sunday mornings - people bring their kids, everyone's watching the race and the food is good, too. We went for a longer bike ride after the race along the lake. Got home. Showered. And, Mr. mouse watched the Indy 500 while I napped on the couch. We ventured out for dinner. We went to Spring, and as usual, they treated us royally.

Which brings us sadly to Monday. We slept in on Monday. Mr. mouse went out for some last minute groceries to make food to bring over to B and Chef M's for dinner. We made peppermint ice cream "drowned" in coconut milk with mango (inspired by our dessert at Spring) and a wilted green salad with beans, tomatoes, roasted corn and roasted red peppers. We did our jog. Showered. And headed over to their house with our fingers crossed for good weather. Fortunately, it was perfect out and we feasted on stuffed dates and foie gras stuffed hamburgers with beet salad, potato salad and our salad before turning our attention to dessert. B's parents were in town and we met a friend of B's. She has the most interesting stories. And, as usual, as fulfilling as the food was, the conversation was even more so.

Last night was the first night we were tempted to turn on the A/C. But, we held out. And, this morning it's much cooler. We'll see how far into summer we can make it before caving. Oh, one more note, with rising gas prices and food prices and everything prices, we're sadly on a budget. Fortunately, I should be able put all of the good lessons I learned over the winter to good use. And, we'll have to make a conscious effort to eat out less. My guess is once or twice a week vs. three or four times a week. It'll be good for us.


Cheers!
mouse

Friday, May 23, 2008

Happy Cholesterol Numbers

Dear Friends and Family,

We had health screenings offered at work this week and I decided to take them up on the opportunity to get my blood work done to see where my cholesterol and glucose numbers were. Glucose hasn't been (knock on wood) an issue, so it was the cholesterol info I really wanted.

My total cholesterol hasn't been the issue. It was the mix between LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol) that's been issue. The LDL was a smidge over where I wanted it to be and the HDL was WAY under where I wanted it to be.

This time, the HDL went up 22% and is in the desirable range. And, the LDL went down 4% and is also in the desirable range. What's even more encouraging is the fact that the last three tests have all been trending in the right direction. I wonder when it'll top/bottom out? Well, until it does, I'm happy to report that I'm happy with where it's at right now.

Happy Friday!


Cheers!
mouse

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Omnivore's Dilemma

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm halfway through The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. And, I can't put it down.

It affirms so much of what I've been thinking about and struggling with in regards to trying to eat healthier. So far, I've covered the corn trail and the big organic trail. I just started on the little organic trail and I think the last section of the book is the home trail.

The book mirrors my own learning process about food and my food choices from cutting out processed foods to adding more organic foods to joining a community supported agriculture (CSA) group to now growing three planters worth of stuff on our roof. (Which by the way has been a real slow go of it with the cold spring we've had.)

I've got more reading time this morning. Yeah.


Cheers!
mouse

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

PS: Comments Make Me Happy

Dear Friends and Family,

Not to sound like I'm panhandling for comments, because I'm not. But, I got two yesterday. And, I love reading them. They keep me connected with my friends. And, that's all it takes to justify a post in my little things category.


Cheers!
mouse

Thinking Ahead to January

Dear Friends and Family,

It's May, and I'm already thinking ahead to next January. Because, I was appalled at the level of trash you can generate when you have 70 of your closest friends over to party. Granted, a lot of it is recyclable (e.g. beer bottles), but a lot of it also got thrown in the trash.

I'd been scanning the aisles and the web for affordable, dishwasher safe bowls/plates and cups. And, we found a bunch at Target (of course) for $0.33 a bowl and $0.25 a cup. And, we bought out the store by work, and one of my friends from work bought out her store. And, we bought out the store in Detroit. And, the store by home. And, then, realized we had too many. So, we returned a couple of cups.

So, for our Chinese New Year party next January, we'll have 240 shiny, new, reusable bowls and cups. We've toyed with two different options - letting them become full of graffiti with people decorating on top of decorating each year until each bowl/cup is a unique work of art -OR- tagging each bowl/cup with a phrase so people could remember theirs. We could do compliments (e.g. charming) on the bowls and locations (e.g. London) on the cups. Both options have their appeal. Fortunately, we have months to decide.


Cheers!
mouse

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

05.20.08: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 124

Still not where I want to be, but progress from last week. I'm down 0.5 lbs and a loss is a loss is a loss. Here's to a continued downward trend!


Cheers!
mouse

Monday, May 19, 2008

05.19.08: Austin Bound

Dear Friends and Family,

We flew down to Austin, Texas for the weekend to attend a friend's graduation. He's off for the summer and then off to college. Wow. The years go quickly. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend as much time with him and the family as we usually do since we stayed at a hotel this time. We didn't want to be in their hair with family over and everything.

Saturday morning, we drove down to Lockhart to visit one corner of the famed barbecue triangle. We tried Smitty's Market, Black's Barbecue, and Kreuz Market. Had some combination of beef brisket, beef shoulder, prime rib, pork ribs and pit ham at each of the places. Smitty's has, by far, the best atmosphere. And, the best brisket and pork ribs (not that anyone in Texas cares about pork ribs, let's be honest). I liked the shoulder and prime rib at Kreuz, so we went back to Smitty's to pick some of their's up before heading back to the hotel (it wasn't ready when we were there the first time).

We changed and headed out to graduation. First was a mass followed by the ceremony. The graduating class was tiny so all of the graduates had a chance to get up and speak. And then, the parents had a chance to get up and speak. I couldn't help but shed a couple of tears listening to them talk. Raising kids is definitely something that combines big highs and big lows.

We had cake and a chance to catch up for a couple of minutes with the family before rushing off to dinner with one of my friends from old work and his wife and their precious daughter. She's so cute. And, after dinner, we bolted downtown to go see the bats and then walked South Congress and then went to Book People before finally heading to Amy's Ice Cream. It's what Mr. mouse calls fun. And, I call Death March.

Sunday, we were going to head to brunch, but then, when checking the spam box of our email, Mr. mouse saw a reply from a friend to another brunch. And, just like that, we were overbooked. So, we dashed over to our neighbors' house to spend a little quality time with them before dashing back to the hotel to pack and then dashing over to meet our other friends for lunch.

We got to talking about a trip we took to Panama together in 2001 and think we may go on the road again this year. All four of us are dying to do the polar bear expedition. Oh my god, it would be so cool.

Flew back. Unpacked. Cleaned. And, it was time for bed.


Cheers!
mouse

05.19.08: LH Surge

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, the test read positive on Saturday for the LH surge which is used to predict ovulation. The only thing I can say is our math has been all wrong. If the ovulation kit is right, our "peak days" are days 18 and 19 when we assumed they were between 12 and 16 with 13 and 14 being the most likely peak days. In other words, zero overlap between the two.

Sigh. We'll see what May brings.


Cheers!
mouse

Friday, May 16, 2008

Frugal Mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

My cube mate said the nicest thing to me yesterday. He said, for your affluence level you're one of the most frugal couples I know. I think he meant income level, since we are not by any stretch of our imaginations affluent.

He meant it as a compliment. And, it totally made my day. Essentially, he was saying we have our heads screwed on right - little things that make me happy.


Cheers!
mouse

05.16.08: No LH Surge Yet

Dear Friends and Family,

We're either doing the test all wrong, or we've been totally off in all of the math for the past six months. By my original math, I would have assumed I had ovulated two days ago. According to our interpretation of the tests, ovulation comes soon after the LH surge. This means we were off by at least two days, probably more, in doing our math.

Great. Live and learn.


Cheers!
mouse

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Electricity Tracking: May 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

electricity usage: 360

Woot! Last month, we used 425 kWh of electricity which was 25 kWh below our first goal of 450. I wanted to wait a second month to see if it was a fluke or it was sustainable. And, wow, yes, it was. I guess unplugging the old refrigerator on Earth Day was well worth it. I can't imagine plugging it back in now.

Goal #2 would have been 405. Goal #3 would have been 365. Goal #4 (the current goal) is 329 kWh per month. I'll keep you posted on the progress.


Cheers!
mouse

05.15.08: No LH Surge Yet

Dear Friends and Family,

I guess we keep testing in the morning. What else can you do?


Cheers!
mouse

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

05.14.08: PS: No LH Surge Yet

Dear Friends and Family,

Adding to the feeling out of sorts piece, took our ovulation test again this morning. Hmm... Maybe Mr. mouse wants to sleep in and now has an added incentive to let me sleep in because it means more sleep for him...

Well, we took the test. And, still no double line. We may have been mis-guesstimating timing all this time. We'll see what the rest of this month brings.


Cheers!
mouse

Out of Sorts

Dear Friends and Family,

Feeling out of sorts this morning. I knew I was tired, and Mr. mouse made the executive decision to let me sleep in. (He's been my alarm clock lately.) Well, we've had this issue before. I don't like it when he makes that call for me.

He essentially woke me just in time to get ready for work robbing me of my two hours of morning mouse time. Now, I know he thinks the sleep is refreshing. For me, the mouse time is equally refreshing in a completely different way.

Okay. Focus on what I can control. Time to start setting my own alarm clock. This is obviously too open to failure.


Cheers!
mouse

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

05.13.08: Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 124.5

Sadly, I've come to accept the fact that I need to get back on the measuring and weighing and journaling band wagon. More than anything, this time I need to learn social eating and eating out and snacking and well by the looks of it maybe a little bit of everything. This will be good. It always is.


Cheers!
mouse

05.13.08: Ovulation Kits R Us

Dear Friends and Family,

In a strange, parallel universe there are two people leading completely normal lives. And, in this universe, Mr. mouse and I get up together, now, in the morning, to pee in a cup and check hormone levels to predict ovulation. So far, nothing. I have to say, there is a nice sense of control that comes with knowing more data. Whether or not it's a false sense of control is a totally different question altogether.

Well, we'll see what May brings.


Cheers!
mouse

Monday, May 12, 2008

05.12.08: Weekend Blur

Dear Friends and Family,

Careful, because if you blink you may miss the weekend and find yourself rubbing your eyes and wondering how it's late Monday morning.

Friday, we met up with a friend and her two kids for lunch in Northville, MI where I found THE cutest Little Miss Detroit shirt that I wore for the rest of the weekend. Then, we were headed to meet another friend at the book store. And, we had a fight. And, Mr. mouse drove off without me. Yes, he actually drove off with me standing on the curb. Not to be outdone, I walked off. And, it was a good hour and half before tempers cooled and we reconnected by phone.

Saturday, we went to the dentist. Then, we drove down to meet another friend and his adorable twins at their house (garage sale in progress) before driving up to meet the rest of our friends for dinner - four couples and a bunch of older kids. Life is good once the kids can entertain themselves.

Sunday, home for the Cubs game. Flight was canceled due to mechanicals. Debated driving and buying a last minute ticket on Southwest Airlines. Fortunately, everything worked out and we made it home in time to see the Cubs take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. And, contrary to popular belief, it is possible for the Cubs to win a game. And, did they ever - coming from behind to score late in the game. It was cold. It was wet. It was an excellent way to spend Sunday.

And, now, it's Monday. And, it's time to get ready for work.


Cheers!
mouse

Friday, May 09, 2008

Working from "Home" Today

Dear Friends and Family,

In the Motor City to see friends and get our teeth cleaned. Have a couple of conference calls this morning and then we're off for the weekend.

See you Monday.


Cheers!
mouse

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Dinner with Friends

Dear Friends and Family,

We had flash storms last night where the rain was coming down in sheets over a tiny patch of space. Unfortunately for us, timing wise, it started right when B and I left work and followed us to Mr. mouse's office and from there to the restaurant where B's sister, B's sister's friend and B's husband, Chef M, were meeting up with us for dinner.

On the docket? Korean food. B's sister's friend doesn't eat beef, so we ordered a seafood pancake and vegetarian noodles for appetizers. Then, we grilled chicken and pork. And, we finished off with individual dishes. Chef M and I had the spicy short rib soup. B and her sister's friend had the bibimbap. B's sister had the grilled mackerel. And, Mr. mouse had soup - the one we had for breakfast every morning with my grandfather. It was so cozy. And, there's nothing like a smörgåsbord of deliciousness to make everyone happy.


Cheers!
mouse

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Financial Planning and Analysis

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse and I spent a lot of time last night talking about our investment/retirement portfolio.
  1. He moved some more money into natural resources and wanted to talk about additional options to move yet more money. I wasn't sure about the approach. It's important for me that we stay diversified, and not have all of our eggs in the $120/barrel oil basket.
  2. Mr. mouse feels like we're too heavily weighted in large cap US equities which have, over the past ten years, not shown any real returns. And, he'd like to balance our portfolio lighter in them. Surprisingly, he's a fan of my low risk, normally low return, fixed income funds.
  3. We decided to move some of the large cap equities into other natural resource funds. Some tied to minerals, some tied to food. We already have stakes in water and in oil. I guess we believe this is all about supply and demand of building blocks. I spoke in January about investing in wheat and corn and beef. And, hindsight being 20/20, I think that's salt in the wound for Mr. mouse. (They're up a lot this year.)
We'll see how the rest of 2008 plays out.


Cheers!
mouse

05.07.08: Another Month, Another Try

Dear Friends and Family,

It's May. And, we're still trying. Guess it's not nearly as easy nor as straightforward for some couples as it is for others. That's okay. I think I would have freaked if it happened the first go around. But, honestly, I'm at the other end of the spectrum now. I've been thinking, what if it doesn't happen. Am I okay with that? Will life be different for Mr. mouse and me? And if so, in a way that we can adjust to? Or in a way that is difficult to accept?

I've asked Mr. mouse to set up an appointment with the doctor in June. If we are, we'll need to chat. And, if we're not, then it'll be the six month point, and we'll need to chat.


Cheers!
mouse

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

05.06.08: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 122.5 (still)

It finally spring. And, I am beginning to get motivated to get my sh!t together. My plants have all sprouted, including the basil and cilantro I have growing inside. The days are getting longer. The weather's getting warmer. And, I'm running out of excuses.

Tonight I have yoga. And, today, I will try to eat healthier. My work has been throwing a monkey wrench into the food habit, but I have that figured out now. With some balance and thoughtfulness, let's see if I can get back to goal weight. I know I can. I just need to be patient.


Cheers!
mouse

Monday, May 05, 2008

05.05.08: Road Kill

Dear Friends and Family,

Saturday, after talking with my sister about all her issues, I decided to unwind and go to yoga class. Now, yoga at the office gym is gentle and relaxing and stretching and good. Turns out yoga at the home gym is quite the opposite. I left feeling like a puddle. It whooped me.

I spent Saturday afternoon napping while Mr. mouse organized the basement. Saturday night, we went out for Vietnamese. Then, we played Scrabble before turning in for the night. I was fidgety, and sore. But, it was nothing compared to when I woke up Sunday morning.

My hams, my abs, my shoulders, my whole body. Ow. Ow. Ow. And, ow. I stretched a little. Mr. mouse rubbed my muscles a little. We decided to go on a bike ride. The weather was perfect and we figured it'd be a good way to get some air and some exercise at the same time. The ride out was fabulous. The ride back... Well, I learned the difference between tailwind and headwind. And, it makes a difference in effort. We stopped for pie on the way back. And, all in all, I am glad we went. Even if the second half was hard.

We spent the rest of the day lazing on the hammock and soaking in the sun. I found a picture of a kitchen that may work for us. Still need to plot it out. But, definitely has potential. Then, we made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. A little CSI: Miami, a little ice cream, a little more muscle massage with white flower oil and mint lotion. And, we turned in for the night.

I'm still sore. I still ache. Hopefully, tomorrow I'm in tip top shape. If not, I have an hour of office yoga. And, that'll work out the remaining kinks while unwinding the mind.


Cheers!
mouse

Saturday, May 03, 2008

44X

Dear Friends and Family,

Scrabble:
  • isolate
  • sainted
  • xi/ax
  • aqua
  • joe
  • zero (wasted)
Happy Saturday.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse and Mouse Sister

Dear Friends and Family,

I guess there's nothing to explain how siblings end up so different. But, here I am, realizing how different I am from my sister.

She's still struggling with endometriosis. And, in my view, if it were me, I'd be either on birth control pills (which do a decent job of relieving the symptoms) or having my ovaries removed. End of story. Nice. Simple. Done. And, if it meant no biological kids for me, and I really wanted a family, I'd adopt. And, that would be it. I guess we're just different that way.

No, instead, 12 months after her relationship with husband #1 started breaking down, she's planning wedding #2. And, she wants me to be going full bore excited planning about it. And, they're jumping full tilt into baby making mode. And, I'm just not all that enthused. I'm wondering, is this relationship for real? Maybe it's worth assessing that before introducing kids into the equation. It's not like you can make them go away if the relationship doesn't work out.

And, it makes me feel like a bad sister. Because I'm just not that into it. And, it makes me feel like a bad person. Because I feel like a complete person even if I'm not a mom.

What a wonderful way to start the weekend.


Cheers!
mouse

Friday, May 02, 2008

Vegetable Garden Update

Dear Friends and Family,

My vegetable garden is slowly coming in. Both zucchini have sprouted and grown two leaves. Five cantaloupe plants have broken through the surface and are now nice and distinct from the weeds in the container. And, the tomatoes. Well, we'll see about the tomatoes. There's something growing in the container. It's growing in a straight line. But, so far, it's not really distinguishable from the weeds that are/were growing in the cantaloupe planter. If they grow, great. If not, then two out of three ain't all that bad for a first time self confessed black thumb.

Fortunately, spring seems to have finally sprung, so I think the danger of frost is finally past. And, to make life even better, it's Friday!


Cheers!
mouse

PS: Have decided salad for either lunch or dinner until I get back to goal weight. If the scale doesn't trend in the right direction on Tuesday, I may go back to counting.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

WWABPD?

Dear Friends and Family,

In my quest to see if I can get back to goal weight without counting points, I've come up with a new mantra:

What Would A Balanced Person Do?

A balanced person would approach life in moderation. Not too much. Not too little. If the scale registered heavy, they would eat more salad and skip dessert. If the scale registered light, they may treat themselves to a little something they wouldn't normally have, but only a little. They wouldn't gorge. I'll see if it works, so far it's been useful.


Cheers!
mouse