Winter Blues

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry. I haven't been very entertaining this past week. I think my energy level drops a bit in winter. And, my level of optimism is challenged by my lack of sunlight. Only 22 more days and then the days will start getting longer again. That'll be so good. I have to remind myself. I missed this when we lived down South.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: Yesterday morning was brutally cold. Thirteen degrees without the wind chill. We were huddled for warmth on the bus platform.

11.30.07: We're "Not"

Dear Friends and Family,

Well. I started yesterday, confirming what the pregnancy test told us yesterday morning. Not this time. Better luck next time.


Cheers!
mouse

Investigating Afternoon Snack Ideas

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Thursday. One more day until the weekend.

We had our monthly birthday celebration at work yesterday. And, my cube is the defacto cube for set up. I love this. We had quite the spread - bananas, oranges, pumpkin muffins, corn muffins, danishes, bear claws, fruit pastries, oh my. My banana was excellent. And, I was extremely proud of myself for being able to resist the commercial baked goods since that's on my "not food" list this week.

But, by mid afternoon, it was a struggle. I was hungry. And, I wanted a snack. I resisted. I took the late bus home. I was starving. It was cold. I was tired. I caved. I called Mr. mouse. We met halfway to go for Korean food. The soon tofu restaurant was closed. We drove around some more. We went for black bean noodles at a Chinese Korean restaurant. We left full of carbohydrates and apparently sodium.

This morning, I'm feeling a little abused. Between the extra calories and the extra salt, I'm feeling a little lethargic. Lots of tea and water today to flush out the system. And, next time, hopefully, I'll be smart enough to grab a granola bar in the afternoon. Eight hours is a long stretch between lunch and dinner. I might have to be more purposeful about an afternoon 3PM snack.


Cheers!
mouse

11.29.07: Our First Pregnancy Test

Dear Friends and Family,

We took our first pregnancy test together this morning. And, it came out negative. Before I go into how that all made me feel, let me say, wow, these tests have come a long way since the comical ones I remember growing up. First of all, you can take the test the day of your missed period. There's no waiting a week or more before taking the test. And, the display is a digital display. There's no trying to interpret whether you're seeing one line or two. Mr. mouse and I went through a series of ovulation tests a couple of years ago (we had a failure mode that we needed to risk assess) and let me tell you, your mind plays tricks with you in interpreting those lines.

Okay. How do I feel about the negative result? I was a little disappointed. But, also realistically, I was little relieved. If it was that easy to get pregnant, I'd be a little blown away. Also, I'm managing my expectation around the false negative. If I don't "start" by the weekend, we'll be repeating the test on Monday morning.


Cheers!
mouse

End of Month Wish List Splurge

Dear Friends and Family,

Since starting the budget I've also compiled a wish list. It's a running list on my budget spreadsheet of stuff I (at some point) wanted to buy. It's funny looking at it. Some stuff isn't as interesting now as it was even a couple of weeks ago.

Assuming I don't have any unplanned expenditures over the next couple of days, I'll have $40 at the end of the week that I can use towards buying something. I wonder what I should get. Time to do a little online shopping.


Cheers!
mouse

Homemade Bread

Dear Friends and Family,

I tried a new recipe over the weekend, and I found a new love. Homemade bread. It's super simple. It's surprisingly delicious. And, since I know all of the ingredients, I get to count it in the food column of my weekly tracking.

Original article: The Secret of Great Bread
The Follow-On article: No Kneading, but Some Fine Tuning

The hardest part is heating the water to the right temperature. My yeast instructions said 110°-115°. I used a thermometer. That, and, don't try to do a million and one errands at the same time (we did the tailor, the consignment shop, the optometrist, and the salon). Instead, use it as an opportunity to enjoy the time at home and the aroma of freshly baked bread.

I'll be making a second loaf as soon as we finish this loaf. It comes out to 32 points per loaf - about two to three points a slice, about the same as standard bread - so no points savings. But, it's a lot cheaper than buying bread. It's under $2 a loaf for bread. Yum!


Cheers!
mouse

11.27.07: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 118

Yeah! I'm feeling like I'm back in control of my eating! I think the weekend eating was really messing me up. Guess five weekends of fun and games adds up for anyone. Last week, I ate 22 points + 5 flex. There were a couple of times I was hungry. But, overall, it worked out well. I'll try 22 + flex again this week. It'll be tough with the upcoming weekend, but certainly can't hurt trying.

Now, to report on my "food" consumption.

FOOD

chocolate pecan tart, brown rice, candied sweet potatoes, canola oil, corn, cranberry orange relish, egg whites, French fries, turkey gravy, homemade apple pie, homemade bread, homemade cranberry muffins, homemade pumpkin muffins, lettuce, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, olive oil, pasta, pico de gallo, tomatoes, turkey, turkey soup

BORDERLINE

bran cereal, chocolate, lactose free milk

NOT FOOD

chicken sausage*, chicken stock, frozen yogurt*, garden burger, green bean casserole, Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dog*, Italian bread, kaiser roll, kettle corn, Lay's baked potato chips, Lean Cuisine, mandoo*, oatmeal raisin cookie, Pillsbury reduced fat crescent rolls, stuffing, Subway turkey sandwich, turkey sandwich, viactiv calcium chew*

List length a little shorter. Week two of no diet soda. A little easier to do. One more container of frozen yogurt left in the freezer and I think that was the last of the chicken sausage. (I marked our freezer food with asterisks. It's stuff I'll be working through slowly.) What's my focus for the upcoming week? Hmmm... to remove commercial sweet baked goods from the list for the week. No more cookies at work.


Cheers!
mouse

11.26.07: My First Conversation with Small

Dear Friends and Family,

This marks the first of several entries I will be writing over the next weeks/months that I won't be publishing until I can.

Today, in yoga class, I spoke to Small, directly, for the first time. I told her something like, "Small, it's your first yoga class." I think. I'm not sure, truth be told. I'm pretty sure, but not 100% sure. It's a pity I don't remember exactly. But, I'm 90% certain it's what I told her.

Which brings me to the next point I want to cover: I think I am. I'm supposed to "start" sometime between Wed and Fri with Thurs the most likely start of my next cycle. But, I haven't had any of the symptoms typically associated with PMS. Instead, I've had more frequent urination and sheer exhaustion, both potential signs of being pregnant.

The whole thing has me a little panicky, if you want me to be honest. I'm not sure I'm ready. I'm not sure I'll be any good at it. I'm not sure if we were too rash in deciding this was a good idea. But, at this point, there's little I can do besides take my daily vitamins and wait and see.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: Cable modem was down last night, so I had to start this post in notepad and upload it Tue morning. I was irrationally annoyed about it all.

11.26.07: Thanksgiving Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

There's nothing more exhausting than trying to get an exhausted, cranky, over-extended person to stop doing what they're doing and to go to sleep. But, more on that later.

Just in case you thought we'd spend the entire weekend doing nothing (which would have been absolute bliss for me) - we got our butts in gear on Saturday. Oh, and don't ask what we did Friday, because I already can't remember. Saturday, we slept in. Then, after breakfast, we went to the tailor to drop off some pants to be hemmed. We went to the consignment shop to drop off some dresses, skirts and coats to be, hopefully, sold. We came home to knead some bread. We went to get our eyes examined (my prescription is one notch down now, yeah!). We baked bread. We went to the salon to get our eyebrows shaped. We ate dinner. We napped. We took a cab out to see a friend play at a bar. We hung out until midnight. We took a cab home. Mr. mouse broke a lamp shade in our bedroom trying to readjust the lamp after four beers. We cleaned up. We slept.

Sunday, we ate breakfast. Then, we drove up to the tree farm. We picked a lovely blue spruce with unbelievably prickly needles. We had it shaken and packed and loaded into the car. We drove it home. We set it up. We decorated. Mr. mouse broke an ornament. Maybe we should rename him Mr. butterfingers? We cleaned up. We finished decorating. We slept.

And, now, it's Monday. And, I can't believe the weekend went as quickly as it did. Hopefully, I can stay on top of my sleep this week and not run a big old sleep deficit. And, I'm counting down the days until the weekend when we get to see more friends. It's the most wonderful time of the year.


Cheers!
mouse

Day of Rest

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday was the most perfect Thanksgiving. We slept in (which was amazing). We woke up to the sun instead of the alarm clock. We made our Thanksgiving feast which was ready by around two o'clock. We ate. We watched a little TV. We napped. We had pie and soup. We played a rousing game of Scrabble. We turned in early. We slept for almost twelve more hours. Yes!

And, the added bonus? When I stepped on the scale this morning, I was below my 118 goal weight. More data to support my sleep/weight theory. The other theory I've been working on is that weight loss/maintenance is related to stress. Not just mental stress (aka work) but physical stress (aka cold house). Not too much opportunity to test that one yet. We'll have to see. For now, I'm just happy to be at goal again. Official weigh in on Tuesday.


Cheers!
mouse

Thanksgiving Menu

Dear Friends and Family,

If you were coming over our house for Thanksgiving dinner, this is what you'd be having tonight.

• roast turkey - two small vs one large
• mouse's homemade turkey gravy
• mom's sausage bread stuffing
• Joy of Cooking's homemade cranberry relish
• mashed potatoes
• Mr. mouse's maple sweet potatoes
• classic green bean casserole
• yellow corn
• Pillsbury crescent rolls
• Mr. mouse's apple pie
• fresh whipped cream
• random ice cream

Oh, and pumpkin muffins for breakfast. I passed on the pumpkin pie, figuring I could get a little bit of pumpkin love for breakfast for the week with the mini muffins I baked instead.

And, sadly, we bid a fond adieu to our Thanksgiving ham. Since I've been skipping on the pork since Turkey, I didn't have a huge need for it. And, Mr. mouse didn't want to get it on his own.

Gobble, gobble! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.


Cheers!
mouse

Thanksgiving 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another year, another Thanksgiving post. Another opportunity to take a couple of minutes and reflect upon the year and realize I have a lot to be thankful for.

What am I thankful for? (in no particular order)

I am thankful for the health and happiness of my friends and family, for Mr. mouse and the usually wonderful relationship we have, for my health and wellness, for balance and moderation, for a job I enjoy and that allows me to save for my retirement, for a house that is a home (even if the roof leaks), for food, for warmth, for the beauty in the little things, for my new found awareness about the environment, for reaching my goal weight, for being together with Mr. mouse, for all the friends we got to see, for the new friends I've made, for my new mortgage payment, for getting to see Turkey, for being a witness at my friend's wedding, for getting to see my grandfather, for being able to share the beauty of Korea with my neighbors, for my blog which allows me to capture all of it down, and last, but not least, for the down time to relax and recharge and find myself.

Hope you have a good day today as well.


Cheers!
mouse

Clouds Debugging

Dear Friends and Family,

I didn't realize when I made the change to cloud labels that something broke on Explorer. Well, it's visible now. I just need to make formatting changes.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: The issue was using hexadecimal color codes vs. RGB.

Roof Leaking

Dear Friends and Family,

It's started up again. The roof. It's coming in in two spots - both repeat offenders. It's at the top of the stairs. And, it's along the wall that leads to the first floor. We now know - it's definitely temperature related. Great. Our bedroom door sticks during the summer. And is fine in the winter. Maybe that's a clue to when the roof could be vulnerable. Hmmm... Time to look at getting an estimate on a new door to the roof.


Cheers!
mouse

I Wonder if "I am"

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm learning that part of the trials and tribulations of "trying" is not "knowing."

Of course, I have been noticing changes. Are they all "in my head?" Or are they just signs that I'm "in tune with my body?" It's like the question, how many licks to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?

I'm been feeling thirsty, more thirsty than usual. Is it my body building up fluids? Or is it me eating a ton of salty foods? I've been feeling exhausted. Is it excess hormones? Or excess work? My abdomen feels different. Is it more physiological changes? Or is it crunches? And, I've been more apt to queasiness in the morning. Is it the usual morning queasiness that I've had all summer? Or is it morning sickness? And, I'm up two pounds. Is it baby weight? Or food weight?

Well, theoretically, towards the latter half of next week, we'll be able to use data to triangulate around all of this. I guess there's nothing I can do besides just "wait and see."


Cheers!
mouse

11.20.07: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 119

Better... Better... I decided to re-adjust my goal weight from 120 to 118. Don't ask me why. It just feels right. Now, before you worry, I won't be writing in 4 more months to say I re-adjusted my goal weight to 116. That's just signs of goal creep. But, honestly, I like 118. My body feels good. It's where I've been maintaining until the last four weeks of over-indulgence. It'll make it an even 70 pounds lost. And, it'll make 120 my trigger to get my act together. All logical, rational reasons. Ultimately, it comes down to it feeling right.

Now, to report on my "food" consumption.

FOOD

apple, asian pear, avocado, banana, barbecued brisket, bison, bok choy, brown rice, butter, canola oil, challah, chestnuts, chocolate pecan tart, cole slaw, egg white, eggplant, french fries, kiwi, mixed greens, mushrooms, olive oil, pan chan, pancakes, popcorn, short rib soup, sushi, tilapia, tuna fish, white rice, whole wheat pasta, wine

BORDERLINE

bran cereal, chocolate, lactose free milk

NOT FOOD

biscotti, buffalo wings, chicken sausage, Chinese egg tart, chocolate chip cookie, corn bread, frozen yogurt, ice cream, Italian bread, Kashi granola bar, Kashi lunch, Kraft 2% cheese, Lean Cuisine, life saver, mochi, pizza, rotel, tortilla chips, Trader Joe's bread, twix candy bar, viactiv calcium chew

List length about the same as last week. Laid off the diet sodas for the week which is a good thing. Lots of random baked goods on the list. And, still some snacky stuff. This week will be an anomaly. But, I'll focus on those next week.


Cheers!
mouse

Motivated for Thanksgiving Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

This is something I'll be spending some time this weekend working on.


Cheers!
mouse

11.19.07: Friends in Town

Dear Friends and Family,

Our neighbors from the mouse house came to visit us for the weekend.

We met up Friday night at the airport and took the train to Smoque BBQ for dinner. We got a hodge podge of food; brisket, pulled pork, baby back ribs, St. Louis ribs with slaw, corn bread, fries and baked beans; for the five of us. I stuck to the brisket since they were out of chicken. Then, we came home and booted up the Wii for a night of fun and games.

Saturday morning, I got up early to do some work. We had breakfast in the house; baguette, eggs and bacon; before heading out to 2007 Chicago Toy & Game Fair. There were a bunch of cool games. My favorites were Portrayal, Nacho Loco and Last Word. I believe Nacho Loco and Last Word will be for sale at Target this holiday season. And, Portrayal is in small local shops. It was a fun way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

We headed downtown to see them "turn on the lights" on Michigan Avenue for the holiday season. Turned out to be a bust. Mobs of people, nothing to see. Fortunately, Due was on the itinerary for dinner so it wasn't a complete waste of a trip. We got home and played some more Wii.

Sunday morning, I got up early to do some more work. We headed out to Bongo Room for breakfast. I got the cornbread cranberry pancakes with the pecan maple syrup butter on the side. It was huge, so I had two pancakes which is really four pancakes and gave Mr. mouse my last pancake. We got ready, packed up the PS2 for them to take with them, and headed out to the Field Museum for the afternoon. We got there just in time for me to join a free tour of the Inside Egypt exhibit. Never one to turn down anything Egyptology related, I separated from the group for about two hours to do that. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Corner Bakery before doing the Evolving Planet exhibit. I love the museum. It's a great way to spend the afternoon.

Dinner was at New Seoul Restaurant. I keep forgetting how good their barbecued meats are. We need to go more often. Quick trip out to the airport to drop everyone off and Mr. mouse and I hit the supermarket for our Thanksgiving stuff. And, that was the weekend.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: Jello is fun.

Quick Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse and I talked yesterday morning. Things are better.


Cheers!
mouse

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow. I'm having so much fun with this. We should do this more often. Not.

We all know the fiasco that went down Wednesday night. And, there was an implied suggestion that there's always Thursday. And, guess what, no surprise, we're headed into Friday, and I'm not really sure where any of this is headed.

What it comes down to is this. I get that there's a lot of this I can't control. I get that. I get that there are large elements of surprise to all of this. And, that managing expectations is nearly impossible. What gets me totally frustrated is that to the extent that we can control this, or predict this, or set expectations, we're not doing that. I understand Mother Nature has a say in this and she won't answer my questions. But, really, why do I have to be guessing my own spouse's thoughts and actions?

I'm really glad we went down this path. I need these fun and games like I need a giant hole in my head.


Cheers!
mouse