Just Another Sunday

Not much out of the usual today. Dad liked his birthday present. He was really happy about the Listen Up device. And I tried it and it does seem to amplify sound. Now if only dad will wear it. He's got hearing aids he won't wear.

I've been off the diet again today. And I haven't worked out. And I took a nap. Tomorrow I'm back on everything.

I watched the Top Gear marathon on BBC America today. If you can call 4 episodes a marathon, which BBC America does. I like that show. I don't know anything about cars, but the guys who host the show are very entertaining. My favorite is Richard Hammond. But he needs to eat a few good meals.

Shopping and Washing

I went shopping this morning, like I do on most Saturdays. At walmart I bought some remnant fabric. Usually, this fabric is priced around a dollar or less. Well, I got charged $79.00 for a piece of remnant fabric. It should have been $0.79. All of the employees had a good laugh at that mis-priced item. I bought dad a birthday present. I'm going to give it to him tomorrow. It probably won't work, but he's been talking about getting it for a while - it's the As Seen On TV product the "Listen Up" device that is supposed to amplify sounds so people can hear them. Walmart had some mouse pads on clearance so I got one - it's a palm tree-island-ocean picture.

As for the washing - I cleaned part of the family room carpet again this morning. I didn't get all of it, but I think I'm done. I just want the part of the carpet that I would lay on if I'm in there watching TV to be clean and that part is. I also started handwashing the shirts I wear to work but there's some deodorant on them and just plain handwashing doesn't seem to get it off. So, I looked up some advice on the web and I found plenty. I'm trying white vinegar first. Hopefully leaving that on as a pre-treater will work. Then I washed Winnie and PJ. Yes, they got baths. PJ did not like getting hers. But Winnie suffered through hers.

Steffi is up and around, alert and seemingly not in pain, but I think she's having either strokes or seizures. At times she will shake like she's really cold and then it stops. And I think twice, she's fallen down. I hesitate to call them strokes since most strokes, I think, have debilitating effects. And Steffi doesn't seem to be diminished in capacity from having these episodes.

And I think I'm going to make some biscuits for Dad for his birthday. Yes, I'm saying it's for dad but I'll eat some of them. And yes, that will mean going off the diet.

Somewhat busy day

I cleaned the carpet in the family room this morning. Not too well apparently because it's streaky. I'm going to have to go over it again. And it was really cold out there. I don't heat that room in the winter time. I have been cold most of the day. I turned the heat up to get my bath and I was warm when I worked out.

This morning I brushed Winnie really good on one side. She was laying on my lap while I was watching some show about christopher columbus and people trying to find what used to be a fort.

Steffi is still not well. This evening she was headed to the door when I asked if she needed to go out. Fritz got all excited and jumped right on her and rolled her over. He never looks where he's jumping, he looks at the person who's going to let him outside. I'm sure having a 40 pound dog jump on her didn't make Steffi feel any better.

I started a new story to write today. I'm not getting very far. It's more difficult typing it on the laptop rather than writing it out by hand and then typing it on the pc.

I'm still off

I have today and tomorrow off from work. Yay for me. Dad and I are still trying to get the carpet cleaning machine working right. I don't think it's spouting out the soap. Whatever it is doing, it's cleaning the carpet.

I've been on my diet since Friday and I've been working out too. This is a major accomplishment for me since I find it very hard to stick to the diet when I'm home. I also recorded a self hypnosis message for weight loss and I've been playing it at night before bed. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Steffi's been feeling bad lately. I think she's nearing her end. But it's not a solid every minute of the day and night kind of thing. Today when Dad was here, she was laying in her bed, hardly moving. But tonight at 4pm, she went outside and darn near scampered all over the yard. She's eating (If I cut up her food into small pieces) and drinking (not very often but a couple of times a day). I gave her a half of an aspirin this morning and another one this evening. I think that might be helping her too.

Update on the Carpet Machine

It will now work, but it won't use the soap. It just shoots out water. Still, I'm sucking up some dirt with it so it's not completely useless.

Winnie and PJ had a good birthday at Grandma's and Grandpa's house today. They didn't like the whole wheat doggie treats I made for them. I don't blame them. I tried that whole wheat flour in biscuits and they sucked. So, I guess the birds outside will be getting some doggie treats later. Grandma and Grandpa got Winnie and PJ a couple of stuffed squeaky toys. And the puppies got to explore the basement. PJ liked it so much we had to chase her to catch her to bring her back upstairs.

Not A Happy Girl

My $160 carpet cleaning machine broke today. I have used it to clean one and a half rooms and a hallway. I am not happy. Dad took it apart but couldn't see where anything was broken. There might be a chance that it might still work for the attachments. If it does work for the attachments then I'll just get on my hands and knees and clean the carpet that way. If I can't get any of it to work, I guess I'll buy another machine. Probably won't be a Bissell as that's the one I've got now. I don't plan to take it to someone to fix or ship it off for repairs. That would probably cost me almost as much as the machine.

In the Dark

This morning I was awakened by the wrong sound. My back-up alarm clock. It should only go off when the electric's off. And guess what, the electric was off this morning. Once I managed to get the alarm turned off, I looked out my window to see lights all around the area. I thought, "Darn. It's just me. Now I have to call the power company." So, I got up and managed to make my way to the living room where I found a flashlight. I dug out my cell phone, an electric bill with my account number on it and checked the phone book to make sure I had the right number to report an outage and called the power company. After about 5 minutes of automated 'service' and elevator music, I talked to a live person who said I first had to flip all the breakers inside the house and then flip the ones below the meter. I could find the ones in the house, but I looked at the meter and had no idea where those breakers were. I called mom and dad at about 5:20am and left a 'please help me' message and lucky for me, Mom was on her way to the bathroom and heard me on the phone. So, Dad came up around 6am. I was outside with my flashlight helping Fritz and Steffi see while they were out doing their business when he arrived. He checked the breakers too and showed me where the ones on the meter were and then I called the power company back and told them that it didn't work. They said they would send someone out to fix it. I had to leave dad with the dogs and I took all my stuff to Mom and Dad's house so I could get ready for work. The puppies were very happy to see their grandpa. I think he fed them some treats and catfood. I showed him what dogfood to feed them, but they are picky eaters and with their excitement added to it, I'm not surprised that they didn't eat much. My electric came back on just before 8:30am.

This wasn't the way to start a day. I had a not so good day at work today. I kept getting interrupted by people and couldn't get anything done. Oddly enough, these same people complain that they get interrupted a lot and can't get anything done. You'd think they would have some consideration seeing as how it happens to them.

I was very tired today. So tired that I didn't have the energy to stick to the diet or do any exercise.

I have to remember to buy a phone with a cord on it so I can use it to call the power company the next time I don't have power. My cordless phone doesn't work. And I have to remember that this Sunday is Winnie and PJ's birthday party at their grandparents' house. Luckily, Mom has been reminding me when I talk to her.

I'm reading a new book today. I bought a Tom Clancy-ish book at walmart this morning. I say "ish" because it says "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" as written by some other guy. It's a more interesting read than the Bourne Identity, but still not as good as the Alex Rider books.

Too Many Words

I finally got tired of reading the Bourne Identity. I kept thinking that since Jason Bourne is a tragic character, and since there are sequels, then Marie must surely die. Well, I tried my best to read the book through to the end, but I couldn't. There were too many words and not all of them very interesting. So, I skipped to the last chapter or so. Marie doesn't die.

Two More Books Read

I read two more Alex Rider books today: Earth Strike and Scorpia. I had one issue with Scorpia: Bridge Day takes place in West Virginia and the book said it was in Virginia. But the stories were very good. I liked how Yassen wouldn't kill Alex. I have just one more of these to read and then I'll have to wait until the next one comes out in paperback, which I think will be soon.

I guess tomorrow I'll go back to reading the Bourne Identity. I have a feeling I'll be reading that book for the next week.

Oh, and in case you were curious, I didn't have the winning powerball ticket. I don't think I got one number in my five plays. I never get a number on that stupid lottery. Not even one out of the six.

A Mystery of Life

If my vacuum cleaner is 12 amps and my carpet cleaning machine is 12 amps, then why is it the vacuum cleaner can't pick up dirt but the carpet cleaning machine can suck the very carpet up off the floor and into the machine???

Working Out

I've worked out today. 15 whole minutes on the trampoline and some pilates too. And I've stuck to the diet so far today.

It's been a nice, quiet day today. Not much on tv. I'm watching a show on the Bermuda Triangle that I've seen before. Top Gear comes on in a few minutes and maybe I haven't seen that one yet.

I've cooked a turkey for Steffi. After I bag it up, I'm going ot weigh it to see how much turkey I get out of a frozen turkey breast. If the cost is the same if I buy sliced turkey breast, then I'll start doing that. Same price and no work involved. Can't beat that.

I've been reading the Bourne Identity at work. I can see why it was made into a movie. Someone obviously thought, "I could skip a whole bunch of reading if this was a movie. There are a lot of words in this book."

I might watch Doctor Who and Torchwood tonight. They keep showing the commercials on tv. It's like subliminal messaging - show the commercials so many times and people will be subconsciously programmed to watch the shows.

I also bought a Powerball ticket this morning. Well, five of them, just all on one piece of paper. It was the amount of money I had left out of a $20 that I had taken out to use to pay for gas. I could have put more gas in the car, but the pump stopped right on $15 even so I thought that was some kind of sign. It's probably a sign that I will lose $5.00 on the lottery.

Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

Have I told you about my mini-trampoline? After thinking about it for a couple of weeks, I decided to buy one this weekend. I had heard on a tv show that 5 minutes of trampoline jumping equals 15 minutes of walking and that seems like a really quick way to get a workout in. So, I bought one. And I've been using it since about Sunday. I didn't use it today because it's a little hard on my feet (weird, isn't it?) But the trampoline, combined with my diet, and I've lost 1.4 pounds since yesterday. Who knows what I weighed on Sunday when I started the diet and exercise. I'm hoping to stay on track and lose some more weight. Tonight, even after dealing with the annoying worker (see prev. post), I pretty much stuck to my diet. I bought a turkey sandwich at Krogers for supper. And I think it has so many calories that I will have to skip the pop-tart tonight, but the sandwich isn't an unhealthy choice, and the calorie count for the whole day should be within a good range for me 1200-1400 calories. Still acceptable for the diet. And the trampoline seems to be doing good things for my body shape. I will have to keep you all updated on how the trampoline workouts go.

I also bought the book The Bourne Identity today. I've been in a mood to read spy thrillers (thanks to the Alex Rider series) and I've been meaning to read the Bourne books and then watch the movies so I bought the book tonight when I got the sandwich. I haven't started reading it yet. I'll probably start it tomorrow. It's a big paperback with very small print. This might take me more than a couple of hours to read.

This week, I've been reading the Nero Wolfe books. I haven't wanted to bring Alex Rider to work with me and the Wolfe books are detective books, kind of like spy thrillers but not.

Work Update

Well, the project has been killed so I no longer have that to make work nasty. But now I have an annoying worker aggravating me in her 'i'm so much better than you' way. I refrain from calling her a co-worker, because I would prefer to think of co-workers as those people who are in the same office as me. This worker is in a different office. I think she has personal issues with her job and she's taking them out on me. So, now I have even more fighting to do at work because this worker has the power to affect my evaluation so I have to spend more time fighting with her than actually doing my work just so I can protect my evaluation. I, of course, can't affect her evaluation because her boss won't listen to me or my boss and doesn't care. It just sucks.

So, in order to find some stress management, I am looking at news stories and finding some where there are people worse off than me. I found one this morning on BBC World News. The story about the French prosecutor who wants to try people whom he feels may be responsible for the crash of the Concorde a few years ago - a crash in which over 100 people died. Two of the people the prosecutor recommended trying are maintenance people allegedly responsible for installing a strip of metal on another plane - the stip of metal reportedly fell off on the runway and punctured one of the tires on the Concorde.

Lesson from this news story: My life could be worse, I could have been the one who let this metal strip fall off and puncture the Concorde's tire. My job and anything this annoying worker could do is nothing compared to how these maintenance men are feeling right now.

Another Day of .....

Vacuuming. I vacuumed the living room and family room this morning in preparation of carpet cleaning later on this month. I'll vacuum again next weekend and probably right before I clean the carpet. I want to suck up as much dirt and dog hair as I can before I clean the carpet.

I also did my laundry this morning, washed my dishes, jumped on my trampoline. Since I had to wait for the snow to melt before taking the puppies to see their grandparents, I did my work this morning rather than in the afternoon.

I brushed Winnie quite a bit this morning and she still sheds. I even give her a skin and coat treat hoping it would keep her from shedding, but I think that just makes her grow more new hair.

Last night I stayed up late and watched Torchwood on BBC America. I'm not a huge fan of the show but this episode had a particularly curious commercial featuring Martha Jones from Doctor Who.

The sun came out today and it's been a beautiful day. Especially with the snow melting. It's always good when the snow melts and I can drive to and from the house.

Snowed In

Well, I'm getting snowed in today. At least I was able to get to the store this morning and get back before the sleet turned to snow. I slid a little going down my driveway this morning and then once turning through an intersection in town. But other than that, I didn't have any driving problems this morning. I don't think the puppies will be able to visit their grandparents tomorrow though. Unless I do some shoveling later today, which I might. It's good exercise and there's no reason why I shouldn't. It's supposed to warm up tomorrow so much of it should melt anyway.

At the store, I bought cleaning solution for my new steamcleaner - it cost about $20.00. For that much money, my carpets better smell and look great. I also bought something unusual - a mini-trampoline. I watch this show on BBC America called You Are What You Eat and the woman who hosts the show told this lady that 5 minutes of trampoline jumping equals 15 minutes of walking. So, I thought if I could jump for 10 minutes and get a half an hour of walking done that would be great. I put the trampoline together this morning and tried it out. One minute and I was breathing somewhat heavily and I could feel it in my legs so I think this might be a good exercise tool to use. And I can put it right in front of the tv, unlike my treadmill.

I also got a small bottle of zinc supplements. I'm feeling very tired lately so I thought it might be a zinc problem. I don't think I'll do what the bottle says and take one tablet daily. One tablet has 333% of the daily recommended allowance and I think that might be too much considering I already take a multi-vitamin. So, I'll probably just take one tablet every two or three days or cut them in half or something. If this doesn't give me more energy, I'll try iron next. Romaine lettuce is about as dark-leafy as I get in terms of eating vegetables, but maybe I can sneak a little baby spinach in there somewhere.

I was very good when it came to buying food today. I only bought slimfast bars. No junkfood, no candy. There wasn't anything I wanted. I was tempted to get a pizza but even that wasn't a 'gotta have it' idea so I left it behind at the store.

I finished up the homemade chocolate fudge easter egg I bought from a co-worker. Now I'm sick - LOL. But the egg is gone. I made some biscuits this morning to eat during the day today. I can snack on them all day, eat some tomorrow if there are any left and even give some to the dogs. PJ didn't eat any dog food this morning, just treats.

I tried to lay down for a nap after I got back from the store this morning, but I couldn't turn off my brain and sleep. So, I got back up. Hopefully, I can get a nap sometime today.

Work's Being Nasty Lately

Because I am stupid enough to do my job well, I got assigned to a project. No one wants to take responsibility for the project, so that means I have no one to defend me if someone objects to what I do on this project. I'm hung out to dry. The workplace's training unit won't answer questions. So, I have no help when I need it. It's taken three times the energy of a normal work day to deal with all of the aspects of this project, on top of doing my other regular duties, which weren't reduced at all when I got stuck on this project, and this project's been going on since December. I'm disgusted with the whole mess. Luckily, the project is supposed to be coming to an end soon. I try to remind myself that anything that goes on at work isn't as bad as what other people have to deal with. You know, President Bush decided to go to war with Iraq and I'm sure he never thought about the number of casualties there would be. He has to deal with that. All I deal with is money.

Today I had a miserable headache and felt really, really horrible. I thought it was due to a sugar overload since yesterday I ate a bag of reese's peanut butter eggs and a home made peanut butter egg that I bought from a lady at work selling them for a local private school. But as the day progressed I started thinking it might just be my usual Thursday headache. I suffered with it for most of the day since I thought it was sugar-related but I eventually did take some tylenol. By the time I got home, it was a dull ache and not the pulsing, sharp pain I had experienced for most of the day.

I was talking to mom tonight and realized that I'm going to be really tired this weekend. The clocks get set up one hour for daylight savings time and since I'm tired anyway even though I go to bed at 9pm every night, I figure I'll be really tired this weekend when I lose that hour. I'll really need a nap this weekend.

I'm going to buy a steam cleaner probably tomorrow night. I checked them out again at walmart the other day and realized that I can't put one of those in the cart and do my regular shopping at the same time. All the groceries won't fit. So, I think I'm going to buy the machine tomorrow night after work and then do my regular shopping on Saturday morning. I'm trying to decide if I should just use carpet cleaner alone or if I should put some of this pet stain enzyme solution in it. You know, like Nature's Miracle. I do know that for the next few weekends, I will be vacuuming my house to get the carpet ready for the cleaning. I can vacuum every day for a week and still suck up a canister full of dog hair. The carpet cleaning will take place toward the end of the month. Actually, Easter weekend. I am planning to take some time off from work to do the cleaning. And to celebrate Winnie and PJ's birthdays.

I haven't read any further in the Alex Rider series. I haven't wanted to read the books at work because I can't read them straight through. I only have a couple of 15 minute breaks and a half an hour for lunch to do any reading. Hopefully, I can read another one of the Alex Rider books this weekend.

Again, sounding like a broken record, I have been eating very bad foods and need to get back on the diet. But since I'm now on the 8am to 4pm schedule, maybe I can get some energy from the fact that I'm home sooner and that the weather is turning nicer and do a little bit of exercise. I think I might finally be done with peanut butter cups for a while so hopefully no more cravings for them.

There is this new show on BBC America that I like to watch. It's called You Are What You Eat. And if you can get past the gross part where the nutritionist woman talks to people about their poo, it's an informative, positive show about weightloss and healthy eating. Since I get off from work at 4pm, I can get home in time to watch about one and a half episodes.

I don't think we're going to have too much of a winter from now on. There might be some sleet and snow this weekend, but there shouldn't be much if any accumulation and what we do get will melt off in no time. I'm glad we're leaving winter behind. That's one thing that won't be stressing me out and exhausting me - worrying about not being able to get to and from my house when it snows.

I think I might go to Walmart tomorrow morning before work to shop. Not necessarily to buy since I have limited funds until I go to the bank tomorrow night after work, but I can look around. I need some recreation after all the nasty work stuff going on.

While I've been typing this, Steffi has been under the desk, digging around in a blanket she has under there. I warned her two or three times to stay away from my computer cords and even pulled the blanket away from them. Well, she kept wallowing that blanket and eventually, she dragged off the big black box that's attached to a cord that plugs in to the laptop. And while I was under the desk, trying to get that thing back up on to the desk where I had it, Winnie just had to bark in my ears. With the headache I've had today, that wasn't the most pleasant of experiences.

Well, I need to wash the dogs' water dishes and get ready for bed. One more yucky day at work and I can be home for a couple of days.

Depressing

I checked out one blog tonight and read that some lying little neighbor girl had kicked the star of the blog, a dog. I think the dog's owner should have told the little girl that the police had cameras on that street and that her parents were going to be arrested for her abusing the dog. Maybe it would have terrorized the little liar.

Then I checked out another blog and the first sentence on that blog was about the blogger's mother having cancer.

I really didn't need to see anything depressing when I'm faced with the unsavory task of going back to work tomorrow. I will need to find something cheerful to read before I go to bed.

As for today, it was nice and sunny and warm outside. I went out and did some yardwork. I'm hoping to get back on the diet tomorrow. Yes, that is a broken record you hear skipping along in the background. I seem to say that a lot about the diet thing.

I read another of the Alex Rider books this weekend. They are really very good. I should get the author's other books that aren't part of the series. I'm sure they are just as entertaining.

After this month, I'm going to have to try to save more money. Hopefully, my electric bill will be much less once it warms up and I will try to cut out unnecessary spending (i.e fabric buying). This month, I plan to buy a steam cleaner to clean my carpets. And I need to renew my virus software and buy some stamps before the price goes up in May. And of course, it costs a fortune to buy a gallon of gas. The puppies are pretty expensive too. Their treats make up about half of my grocery list every week and since they are picky about their dog food, I have to constantly buy new kinds to see if they will eat it. And their puppy pads aren't the cheapest things either. But they are family and deserve to be pampered with treats and toys. At least I don't make them wear shoes.

Happy It's the Weekend

I am very, very happy that this is the weekend. I have been very tired lately. So tired that I decided to eat salads for supper to see if the change in diet would help. And I started eating some nuts since they have some vitamins and minerals in them. I've switched my work hours so I can get home a half hour earlier so maybe I will be able to do some workouts of some kind in the evenings. I'm hoping this is just a diet and exercise problem and not the nasty flu that's been going around at work. Apparently, if you catch that flu, you keep it for about three weeks. It's a good thing I have an OCD thing about hand washing and that I take 1000 mg of Vitamin C every day. Sure, some doctors claim vitamin C doesn't help with colds and flus, but I'm not listening to them. And work has been exhausting too. Not the part where I do my job, but the part where I have to fight with other people who don't want to do theirs so they make excuses and try to screw up to try to get out of doing their jobs. I may have to take a sick day soon if this keeps up. I'm not looking to take any vacation days until the end of the month and I don't think I can last that long.

I now have all of the paperback editions of the Alex Rider series. Waiting for the latest book to come out in paperback. I can't wait to see where this all leads. I did read the last few pages of the next book I have to read and found out how it ends.

I bought a shower curtain at walmart this morning. It was on clearance and it's a picture of fish and dolphins swimming underwater. I'm hoping to somehow hang it up on my bathroom wall so I can have something pretty to look at when I'm taking a bath.

I've been watching BBC World news lately. It seems like no matter how horrible the news is, those british accents make it sound better than it is.

I also got the new Diana Palmer romance novel the other day in the mail. I really wish she would stop writing these 'tragic' characters. It seems like lately all of her main characters have suffered tragedies and all of their relatives die and some of their relatives were mean and nasty. It gets depressing and sometimes so depressing that the happy ending doesn't compensate. It's a good thing I read mostly dialogue. I can skip a lot of the narration about the characters' hard lives. I can't skip the narration in the Alex Rider books because Alex is often on his own and doesn't have an opportunity to describe the action to another character with dialogue.

PJ has become a picky eater. I give her a choice of three kinds of dog food now and she may eat a few pieces if I'm lucky. She would rather have doggie treats or some of my biscuits so she doesn't want to eat the dog food.

If someone was to take a look at my living room closet, he or she would think I was a very weird person. I have several, and I mean a lot of, packages of puppy pads in there. I have to buy a lot. Walmart is selling quilted ones and they are wonderful, but I don't know how long walmart will sell quilted ones. So, I have to buy as many packages as I can in case walmart stops selling them. They stopped selling the 72 count packs. They were cheaper and 1 sqare inch bigger than the Hartz brand that they are currently selling.

Sometime this month I plan to buy a steam cleaner and clean my carpets. The cleaning will probably happen when I take those vacation days at the end of the month.

I bought these felt easter baskets today that are in the shape of bunny rabbits. They come with magic markers and you can color the bunnies however you want. I plan to turn them into little outfits for Winnie and PJ.