Trees

There was a tree across the driveway this morning when I went to work. It hadn't fallen down completely so I had to drive underneath the tree while the tree top rested on the phone company's line. It was still there tonight when I came home even though Mom tried her best to call the phone company. You can't get anyone to answer the phone there apparently. All mom ever got was the automated attendant. I emailed her and asked for an update since I hadn't heard anything since about 2pm, but I haven't gotten an update yet. Maybe she's still on hold with the phone company.

I got the book "How to Housetrain Your Dog in 7 Days" yesterday in the mail. I haven't read all of it yet, but I'm hoping to get to it soon.

I made toll house pan cookies tonight. I've been wanting them for a while.

I watched American Idol last night. It was an auditions show. Some people love to laugh at the bad performers, and there are times when they do something funny. But for the most part, for me, I just close my eyes and feel bad for them. Many of them are very sincere about their efforts and it is just rude to laugh at them. I think I'm going to watch it again tonight. I think it's another audition show.

Remembering the Maine with every Cell Phone

3 Percent Fee On Cell Phones Started 107 Years Ago

Call To Repeal Tax Under Way

UPDATED: 11:53 am EST January 17,2006 COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There is a call to repeal a cell phone tax most people probably don't even know they are paying, NewsChannel5 partner ONN reported. Anybody who has ever tried to decipher a cell phone bill knows how tough it can be. One of the charges is a 3 percent fee on every cell phone bill in America. The origin of the tax predates the invention of the cellular phone by nearly a century.Annie Brinkman and her friend, Stacey Lemle, don't know it, but every time they use their cell phones, they are supporting the war effort -- the Spanish-American War.The 1898 war involved Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders.The fee began as a luxury tax on phones at the turn of the 19th Century. And we're all still paying for it today. Phone bills don’t specify that the tax originates from the Spanish-American War. It is labeled as the federal excise tax, which amounts to 3 percent of every monthly bill."When you say it's a federal excise tax, you know, most of the time, oh it's the federal excise tax," said Laura Merritt of Verizon Wireless. "And that's just understood that it's a tax you pay. Where exactly those funds go is something that's a mystery to all of us."It's not such a mystery anymore. And now, at least three federal courts have ruled the tax illegal. Many cell phone companies support a repeal of that tax. But they say they are caught in the middle."We're required to continue collecting that tax from our customers until the IRS tells us to stop doing that," said Merritt.Some lawmakers are demanding cell phone companies stop collecting the tax and refund three years worth of fees.But for now, every time you make a cell phone call, you'll continue to pay for a war fought more than 107 years ago.According to the Web site www.mywireless.org, you can ask the IRS for a refund of up to three years of past taxes. You can also contact members of Congress to ask them to repeal the tax altogether.Copyright 2006 by NewsNet5. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I just found out that The Young Riders, a tv show I used to watch as a kid, is being released on DVD! Yay!!! The msrp is about $60.00 though. Hopefully it will be discounted a lot.

I Found a New Blog

Check out Pupparazzi! It's a cute blog about puppies and dogs!!! I've added it to the blogs of note section in the sidebar.

New Channel

Dish Network gave me a new channel! It's the Fine Living Channel and so far I like it. There are a lot of travel shows on there. I like travel shows. It's too bad the Travel Channel would prefer to show poker than places people can travel to.

New Blog

I discovered today that Kari at My Piece of the Net reads my blog and has me linked on hers. So, I thought I would return the favor. I have added her to the blogs of note section. Check her out.

I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 2 pounds in the last three days. I did it by changing my diet slightly. I read in woman's world magazine that by increasing your protein and calcium, you can lose up to 5 pounds in three days. That's not news to anyone, but I'm always inspired by testimonials. So, for Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday, I increased my protein by eating scrambled egg beaters and increased my calcium by taking supplements. Saturday, I ate the turkey meatloaf and took the calcium supplements. You really should eat foods high in calcium, not take supplements, but I can't eat yogurt and cottage cheese. And notice I increased protein by eating healthy protein, not by gnawing on a pepperoni stick all day like the people at work who try Atkins every other week and fail every time.

I worked out this morning and so far my leg is holding up just fine. I might be able to get back on the treadmill later on today.

And I made another diet switch. I've been eating a lot of popcorn lately and I know the body doesn't digest it well. I know this because the doctor told my dad to stop eating so much of it due to a medical problem he's dealing with. So, I decided to try apples instead of popcorn. The apple tasted fine last night, but peeling the apple is how I fell victim to the instrument of death - aka the vegetable peeler.

Well, my leg stopped hurting and I did more pilates today. Didn't get back on the treadmill though.

Instrument of Death

The second time I picked up my vegetable peeler and I get cut by it for the second time. I'm thinking of throwing it away. And someone should sue the manufacturer for making them so sharp.

I worked out this morning. Now my leg's killing me. I did some pilates today which usually helps my leg, but it didn't this time. I went to bed for a while after lunch but Steffi got me up. She doesn't like it when I'm separated from her. I'm hoping to do some more pilates later. I don't think I'll be doing the treadmill again today.

New Recipe

I found a recipe for Turkey Meatloaf in a magazine the other day. It has 25 grams of protein per serving and only 1 gram of fat. So, I thought I would try it. The ground turkey breast I needed was $3.99 a pound and I needed two pounds of it. I also used egg beaters instead of egg whites like the recipe called for. I couldn't see buying whole eggs and throwing away all those yolks. I made the meatloaf today and it smelled like regular meatloaf when it was baking. How was it to taste? It tasted ok. I should have mixed all the ingredients up a little better before I baked it, but that wasn't the fault of the recipe. Bottom line - for about $15.00 I now have 8 meals - less than $2.00 per meal. Not so bad.

Here's the recipe:

2 pounds ground turkey breast
1 cup chopped onions
4 egg whites
1 cup chunky salsa
1/2 cup uncooked oats
1 package Knorr vegetable soup mix
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything except the ketchup in a bowl. Place mixture in a meat loaf pan and cover with ketchup. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Serve. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrients per serving:
calories 122
Fat 1 gram
Carbs 3 grams
Protein 25 grams.

What did I change in this recipe? Egg beaters instead of egg whites (the equivalent of two eggs). Dried chopped onions instead of one cup fresh. No vegetable soup mix ( I added steak seasoning instead and would have added beef boullion powder if I had it). Added Italian seasoning, celery flakes and mustard. And I didn't cover it when I baked it.

Well, I have worked out every day this week. I may take tomorrow morning off from the treadmill. Golf is on tonight and I might stay up late.

We may be getting some snow on Saturday, so I think I'll go to the store tomorrow night after work. The dogs won't like it since that means even longer for them to wait to go outside, but it can't be helped.

The Hunt is On

I have set the mouse trap for the mouse. I got D-Con no see mouse traps at Walmart this morning. I set one and if I'm successful with that, I might set the other one.

I ate a ton of pepperoni rolls tonight. Bad, bad me. But I froze the rest of them so I'm back on the diet tomorrow.

I finally got around to logging my exercise stats onto my spreadsheet. I'm doing better this month at working out than I did last month. I worked out twice today. I don't think I'll be working out tomorrow. I'll be staying up a little later tonight to watch the rest of the golf tournament on tv so I'll sleep in a little tomorrow.

Squeak, Squeak

I have a mouse in the house. Or maybe several. I don't know. I haven't seen the mouse, but I have seen the remains of my high-heat spatula, which apparently, must be very tasty to a mouse. I plan to go to Walmart tomorrow and get the best, no-smell, no let's look at the dead mouse, mouse trap money can buy me that Walmart sells. I have been hearing the pattering of feet on the porch, but I figured it was a cat on the roof. It sounded too loud to be a mouse. So, maybe there's a herd of mice running a marathon somewhere in the house. No matter. Once I get the traps, they will be gone.

Update

It's been a while since I've posted. You can blame the Golf Channel for that. I watch it all the time now that I have it on the satellite dish. It's on now and I'm learning so much about some glove you wear to keep your golf swing in check. Not that I play golf or anything, but I've waited over ten years for access to the golf channel and now that I have it, I'm watching it. LOL!

Anyway, I've been working out and I got back on my diet Monday. I worked out every day except Friday. Friday I went off the diet to eat peanut butter fudge and chocolate cake. The cake didn't have frosting though. This is leftover stuff from Christmas that I froze. I still have some in the freezer and eventually I will get it all eaten.

We've been really blessed so far this winter season with virtually no accumulating snow (knock on wood). Hopefully the rest of the winter will be mild.

I finally found a way to make those fake 'egg product' egg beater things edible as scrambled eggs. I added milk, salt, bacon bits and cheese to them and scrambled them in a little butter. Definitely an improvement. And I don't think I added enough stuff to hurt my diet. Especially since I worked out twice today. And no I still haven't added all my stats to my spreadsheet, and as you can see I haven't posted any here. I might do that again, or I might not. I don't know.

AVG Anti-virus program

I downloaded this program today. It took half a day to get it done. I even had time for a nap while it was downloading. Unfortunately, after it was done, it screwed up my email. I couldn't use outlook or incredimail. So, I uninstalled AVG. Now I have email. Conclusion: AVG sucks. Good thing it's free. Except for my wasted time, that is.

Today

Today I got back on the diet and exercise program. I worked out and cooked some chicken to eat this week for dinner. I did a lot of other things too. I cleaned the dining room carpet. I hand washed a couple of shirts. I did a load of regular laundry. I took Mom and Dad's share of the cake up to their house. They weren't home.

I have to get all my stuff together for work since I have to go back tomorrow.

The weather people are saying we might get some snow by Thursday. So, I made a grocery list and I guess I'll be going to the store before then.

I downloaded the AVG free anti-virus program from the internet today. Afterward, my computer wouldn't connect to my ISP's email. I don't know if it's because of the AVG thing or something else. I'll give it until tomorrow evening and if I'm still having trouble with the email, then the AVG program is history.

New Year

Today I did a lot of cleaning. I read on the internet that Borax, a laundry detergent, is a superkiller of fleas and flea eggs. So, I got some the other day and sprinkled it into the carpets today. I didn't do the whole house, which is a big no-no of flea treatment, but I did the parts of the house where the dogs are likely to spend a lot of time. I washed their bedding. I put flea drops on the dogs. There aren't too many fleas around this time of year, but I figured I should get an early start on the war.

I also cooked a turkey breast for the dogs, took down the Christmas decorations and did some time on the treadmill. I read on the internet that an overused potty area will contribute to giving dogs worms, and since my dogs seem to have more than their share of that problem, I went out today and raked an area of the lawn to try to make it cleaner.

I baked a cake the other day to try to use some eggs. I had to get them used before they went bad. I plan to give some of the cake to mom and dad but they never get the cake when they are here. They are going to have to start remembering to get the food when they come up. I made french toast and scrambled eggs today to finish up the eggs.

I didn't really make any new year's resolutions. They never seem to work for me. But I do have plans.

After Christmas Sale

I went to Walmart this morning for the After Christmas sale. There weren't too many people there at 9am when I was there. I got some Christmas stuff 50% off. I got a 4ft white tree with mulit-colored lights, a 32 in. fiber optic tree, a small tree with holly, some wrapping paper, some garland and ornaments, a wreath for my mom. I also got a dvd rack that I have to put together, a remote control caddie that was 50% off, clockworks so I could fix my pig clock, two 5 pound dumb bells, change wrappers (I have a bunch of change that needs wrapped up) and a shopping card to buy things from walmart.com. Unfortunately, their online shopping card program is apparently broken - I've tried twice to make a purchase. Walmart people aren't too competent.

I tried to put the dvd rack together, but I need another pair of hands. So, I emailed Mom and I think Dad's going to stop by and help me put it together.

I think I saved about $41.00 or so by getting stuff 50% off. That's pretty good.