My Flog for January 31 + My "Double Dare Me"

Here we are at the end of another month, and that means a new number tomorrow morning. I don't think I'm going to be very proud of the new number (it may actually be an old number), but that's okay. I've had a couple of months of  what I would call 'normal eating' and haven't ballooned into the balloon I was last June.

But just so it doesn't happen again (a lousy new number, I mean) I am going to make a desperate commitment:

If I don't lose at least 5 pounds in February, I am going to take a pic of me in a bathing suit and post it on my Flog. Now, believe me, no one would want to see that, any more than I would want to do it. But I am true to my promises - so here I promise. God help me. If however, I lose 30 pounds in February, I will post the pic on my Flog, my Face Book page, to everyone in my email address book, and on every telephone pole between here and the Skytrain station. How about that!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - half a Veggie Sandwich (multi grain bread), Hot Chocolate, Wafer Bar
• Dinner - Ham and Cheese Sandwich, on multi grain, of course, Apple Juice, Pudding
• Snacks - Yogurt, Muffin, Apple, Orange, Sparkling Orange Flavoured Water, half a donut

I walked home from work this evening - well, at least from the Sky Train station, and as it was very cold and drizzle rainy I had to stop in at the Tim Hortons on the way to get coffee to keep my hands warm. (That's probably why I'm not feeling too sleepy right now, come to think of it.) Anyway, I bought six donuts to take home so everyone could have a treat. Chris didn't like the one I gave him, so I finished it and gave him another - and Poppy, he and Lizzie ate the rest of them. Sorry, Steve and Nikkie. (I hid the empty box....)

I so wanted a McDonald's Sausage and Egg McMuffin this morning when I got to Steveston. It was raining, I was so so tired and sleepy, and I was shivering with cold. I forced myself not to walk to the corner, though. I realize I really crave that kind of stuff when I'm cold and tired, and that's just about every morning when I go to work. I'm hoping things will change when the spring and summer come.

My Flog for January 30

I really have to control my food more. After today. I did the Real Age Test yesterday, and am actually younger than my physical age - not by much, but it's a start. I don't however feel younger, and I'm sure I don't look younger - but there it was, in black and white. 1 1/2 years younger.

But in doing the test, I realized I'm not eating really well, as far as servings of fruit, veggies, whole grain, fish, beans - you name it. I think if I did eat everything I'm supposed to eat every day I would put on more weight. I can't imagine 5 servings of whole grain bread on a daily basis, along with everything else one is supposed to eat. I did a bit better today though, if one ignores the extras.

• Breakfast - Whole Grain Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Half a bowl of Beef and Barley Soup, half a Ham, Swiss and Veggie Sandwich on Whole Grain Bread, and Hot Chocolate
• Dinner - BBQed in the oven Chicken Leg and A&W Fries
• Snacks - Oh my, a lot of snacks. Scone, Orange, Apple, Pudding, and a Caramel Wafer Bar

Whole Grains: 4, if you include the barley in the soup

Fruits/Veggie - 4, if you include the veggies in the soup - 5 if you also include the fries

Proteins - 4, if you include the beef in the soup

Dairy - 3, if you include the yogurt I haven't eaten yet but probably will before I go to bed

...and  I went upstairs to get my Centrum, and ended up forgetting to get it. So I'll have to remember to do that now.

My Flog for January 29 +I Guess I'm Just A Dumb Infidel, Bring On The Ham

Regarding Howard's Jigg's Dinners. Twice I bought veggies (carrots and turnip) to make Pea Soup, and twice he made Jigg's Dinners on Sundays. So I'm still left with a huge bag of yellow peas, even though this time around he made a peas pudding. That's the thing about buying in bulk - by the time you figure out to close the funnel, the bag is almost overflowing, so you end up getting enough stuff to last for years. Except of course, if it's Bridge Mixture or Chocolate Covered Anythings - then you almost have to shake the whole damn aisle to get any to drop.

However. Not only did he use the ... my... veggies, this time he also finished off the Salt Beef, and since I have no handy dandy ham bone in the freezer, my Pea Soup will once again be put on hold. I think I heard somewhere you  can buy ham bones at butcher shops, so even though I knew it was futile, I did try the butcher shop near my favourite Surrey market and my favourite Surrey bakery. The reason I knew it was futile was because there was Punjabi writing on the wall (and we should always read the writing on the wall), and there were two East Indian butchers (?) behind the counter. 

I'm pretty sure they don't eat pig at all, but then again, if they want my money, they may sell pig products. What do I know? That was my reasoning. 

But they don't sell any pig stuff. I guess I should be glad I got out of there alive. They do sell goats, which will eat anything in creation and then some - ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x76tT_oCeIand )- and they do sell lamb, poor little fluffy lambs that prance in pretty pastures - but not pig.

So no Pea Soup in the near future.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Half a Veggie Sandwich and a Hot Chocolate from Steveston Coffee Co, and a Banana
• Dinner - Left over Jigg's Dinner veggies, and left over Meatloaf - not bad at all
• Snacks - Pudding, Apple

Now, in response to Josephine's question "How many miles do you walk in a week?"  I don't know. It seems no matter where I want to go in Surrey, it is one and a half miles there and one and a half miles back. Any farther than that and I go on bus. Some weeks I go somewhere that is one a half miles there and one and a half miles back three times, some weeks no times at all. Three days I commute to Steveston by bus and sky train, so that makes 5 commutes (as Howard usually gives me a ride to work on Sunday mornings, just to make sure I go to work and aren't around to bug him, I think, as in "Can we go to Walmart?" or "Can you build me a shelf?" or "When are you going to fix the insert whatever is broken here?" However, the other 5 commutes means not much walking, but it does involve either going up or going down hundreds of stairs (at least it seems like hundreds, maybe it's only tens.)

So to answer Josephine's question: "I really don't know."

My Flog for January 28

Today wasn't as exciting as yesterday, as all I bought today was a cabbage and a pack of muffins. Walked 3 miles though, to Walmart and back, with Howard. He actually bought the cabbage, and he paid for the muffins, but I was the one who picked them up.

Feeling cold and shivery today, and really tired, so I do believe I'm coming down with a bug. Which is why I'm taking this yucky feeling body to bed. Tomorrow it's back to my 3-day work week, and already I wish it were over. However, Tuesday is payday, so I have to feel better by then.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Rest of the Omelette from yesterday - not the greatest, but it's gone anyway
• Dinner - Jigg's Dinner, and this time with Peas Pudding - and I must say it was really really good, thank you Howard for cooking it, and Steve for cleaning up after - at least he'd better have cleaned up after, since I'm heading off to bed after this
• Snacks - Pudding, Flakey Snack (burp)

By the way, Howard got the cedar today for his new canoe, so he'll have something to keep him busy for the rest of the winter.....  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylr6wpY7hco .....and spring and summer too!

My Flog for January 27 + Finally Found Some Words - Some People May Think Too Many

What I bought out of Howard's first Pension Cheque (it was obviously not enough, but that's okay, he....I mean we...will get another one next month:

1. One pair of jeans. Now here's a few gems of advice. First, always try on jeans before you buy them, especially if they are on the clearance rack with a Final Sale ticket attached. Second, don't assume that because they are the right size, they will look good on you. There is a reason they were hanging in a store called SIRENS and not a store called OVER THE HILL. I honestly didn't know they made hip-huggers any more, and I really didn't realize my hips had sunk along with my butt, until I tried on these jeans and found the hip pockets behind my knees. But very pretty pockets they are, with denim bows on them. 
2. One shirt from same store, shades of grey with wide stripes, and looks better. Will definitely wear it.
3. One pair of cute little flat shoes (Nikkie doesn't agree with me, but she was trying on thingies with 6" heels.)
4. 2 packs of Tums

We are actually lucky we made it to the mall in the first place, as we were just walking along talking and didn't realize we were walking across an intersection where we had a red light, until a car came to a stop about 2 feet in front of us. Oops. Last time I depend on Nikkie to take me anywhere. 

It was quite the walk to the mall, over a mile and a half, then we spent 3 hours there walking around. Because we were afraid we'd be late picking up Chris from school (and because my feet, hips, knees, toes etc were sore and tired) we hitched a ride on a bus. However, because we had spent the time in the mall, and not at the grocery store, I knew I needed to go to Walmart for some stuff to complete dinner, and when I phoned Howard to ask him if we could go there after work, he figured I should walk up and meet him there so he wouldn't have to drive home first to pick me up. So I did. And then after dinner, I realized, that even though we had been to Zellers, and Shopper's, and were just across the street from PriceSmart and down the street from Safeway, and then I had been to Walmart, I had still forgotten to buy cat food. So off to the corner store for us again, and even though it is a corner store, it ain't on any of our corners. But now I'm home - and the only place I'm walking now is to my bed.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Cheese and Veggie Omelette, Hash Browns, Toast and Coffee at Knight & Day restaurant - only ate half, there's half in the fridge but not sure if it's still edible or not. Why would it leak over the bottom of the bag on the way home, I wonder? If I knew it was going to be a leaky omelette, I don't think I would have ordered it.
• Dinner - Beef Stew, Mashed Potatoes, and Broccoli - so so so good - Red Potatoes with the skins left on, boiled and mashed with butter and milk - is there any thing better? (unless of course we are talking about ....
• Snacks - half a 3 Muskateers bar - I guess that would be a 1 1/2 Muskateers bar, but what is really confusing is there were two pieces in the wrapping. So one piece would be half a bar, but half of 3 is not half, it is one and a half, so I'm not really sure what I had. Whatever I had, Nikkie had the same. Diet Pepsi, pudding.

Well, Steve just came back from Long and McQuade with a guitar toy that has the walls vibrating. Must go and give him a good clout in the lug (if you listen to JRFM, you'll know that means a whack in the ear.) I love my boys, but they have been known to be a tad noisy at times.

My Flog for January 26 + Where Are All The Words When You Need Them?

Day Off #2 - up before Breakfast (5:10AM), then Sanctuary, knitting, computering, reading, houseworking, napping, oh wow, what a busy (and yes, I know, boring) day. Just had dinner, and am going to settle down and watch American Idol, but not in bed. Last night, I went to bed at 8PM to watch it, and fell asleep before it was over one hour later.

I can't believe there are only 5 days left in January. I can't believe Howard got his first Canada Pension cheque today. I can't believe I've spent the past two months eating everything in sight and haven't gained back the 20 pounds I lost.

I do believe I'll stop worrying over what to write, and close 'er up for the night. Maybe tomorrow will prove to be more exciting!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Cheerios w/Milk
• Dinner - Meat Loaf, Fried Rice, 2 slices of Home Made Bread (one with butter, one with butter and Strawberry Jam - yum yum,)
• Snacks - Muffin, Cookie, Diet Pepsi, Mini Marshmallows

My Flog for January 25

Today, I knitted, computered, cooked, baked, tidied, laundried, swept, and I don't remember what else. Now it's time to sit, tap, maybe watch a bit of TV later on, and knit a bit more. Radio on now, someone tucked in bed already warming the sheets - lucky me.

We had an early dinner, as Steve is off to start the second half of his Residential Landscaping course. Guess I should have taken a snapshot of him walking out the door. One does tend to get a bit lazy as one ages.

Talking about aging, Howard is looking forward t his first Canada Pension cheque, which he's supposed to receive before the end of the month. I don't know why he's so excited about it, I already know what I'm going to buy. Silly man. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee, at 5:30AM. Yes, even on my day offs, I still get up way before morning and have breakfast. The only difference, is that I feel really hungry by the time I get the kids' breakfast - and always feel like eating again. But I don't. Even though I made them French Toast for their breakfast - I just made a plan for lunch ...
• Lunch - Pancakes. Two little ones. Lizzie ate three, so you know they were only little. Cranberry Juice.
• Dinner - Ribs in BBQ Sauce, Fried Rice w/ veggies, Coleslaw. I may have overcooked the ribs, but no one complained, not even the one who usually can find  something wrong with everything. So they must have been really good. He even put a container of them away for for his lunch tomorrow. Also, I mustn't forget - I baked a dessert - Peach Cobbler. And I ate some of it too. Yum. With Dream Whip (that Edible Oil product that's been in the cupboard for years - it probably made at least two moves with us.)
• Snacks - Diet Pepsi, 3 Cookies

My Flog for January 24

I am so thankful for Tuesday evening, being home after a long day at work, and having four whole days in front of me. I'm sure I'll keep busy with stuff I want to do, and stuff I got to do. The commute home tonight was long and cold - it seemed the bus, then the skytrain was late, and I was shivering with cold by the time I got to Surrey. But that's all over for another more than half a week. Yes!

I finally finished reading Stephen King's latest - 11/22/63. I told Steve that now I could go finish the book I had started before I started to read the book I had just finished - I don't know why he got confused. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Veggie Salad and Yogurt from Subway
• Dinner - Pork Chop, Oven Fries and Coleslaw - thanks to Howard for doing the pork and chips, and Steve for doing the coleslaw. I'm hoping they'll have a Food Network show in the future
• Snacks - Cinnamon Bun, Hot Chocolate, 1 cookie, and a Baileys w/Milk 

After buying the Cinnamon Bun, I realized why I haven't had one in ages. I ate about half of it, and garbaged the rest. One thing that I have done over the past few months, is change my tastes. Things that used to be so yummy, now are way too sweet. They say if you eat something you don't like every day for two weeks, you will grow to like it - and I guess the reverse is true. However, I am pleased to say, I can still enjoy chocolate, thank Heavens.

The last time I had a chocolate bar, I was actually in bed having wicked heartburn and worrying it was a symptom of a heart attack. After a while I had to get up as I couldn't rest, and it eased off a lot. Then I figured, well, if it is a heart attack symptom - maybe I should eat the Aero Bar that I won on a Safeway game card - just in case I died in my sleep and never had a taste. So I did, and I didn't - I guess I should get another bar just in case -

My Flog for January 23 - Gung Hei Fat Choi

Gung Hei Fat Choi  (Gung Hei is equivalent to Congratulations or Wishing you happiness, and Fat Choi, means Sudden and huge increase on your property.) These are good greetings no matter where you are this Chinese New Year's Day! If you really want a taste of celebrations, watch the You Tube video here.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svz-n3QRymI

Now imagine being in a crowd and near the dance itself. Now be happy you have a volume control on your computer.

Here in Surrey, while we were bombarded with fireworks for a week during Dhaliwal, it is quite quiet tonight, but I bet in Richmond their are many booms and bangs and fizzles and sparkly lights in the sky. Richmond has a lot of Asians while Surrey has a lot of East Indians. Unlike back home, in Newfoundland, which has only a lot of Newfoundlanders. However, we are learning to live with many cultures, and hopefully the younger generations will learn to live peacefully together.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - 1/2 bowl of Lentil Soup, 1/2 Egg Sandwich, 1 slice Lemon Loaf, Ginger Ale
• Dinner - 2 Sausages, Potato Salad, 2 Onion Rings, and a Fortune Cookie - Steve read me my fortune - it said "Give your youngest son money to buy guitar toys." Now that was very amazing, as he really wants some guitar toys. Don't tell me this Fortune Cookie thing isn't real.
• Snacks - 3 cookies

Now I have to be brutally honest. I went to bed last night, and couldn't settle at all. To prevent me from waking Howard every five minutes with my tossing, turning, moaning and groaning, I got up and ate a pudding, a Nutrigrain bar, and two cookies. After that, I slept soundly, and hopefully, soundlessly. Since there is no place on my Flog for midnight snacking, we'll just do a temporary list and hopefully not need an extra bullet in the future.

My Flog for January 22

The freezing weather may be over, but it's still cold, with lots of wind and rain. Glad I wore a straight skirt, if I was wearing my brown one it would have been over my head on my way to the bus after work. We had a pretty good day at work, in spite of the weather, but I'm glad to be home with a belly full of dinner and a few words to share.

That's it for the words, though - American Idol is on and I'd like to knit a wee little bit before I hit the sack, which actually won't be before a second load of laundry is dried and folded. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Leftover Beef Pie (it was still okay - I hope) and Mashed Potatoes, Pudding
• Dinner - Boiled Potato, Turnip and Carrot - Howard did a Jigg's Dinner -   http://newfoundland.ws/Newfoundland_Recipes_Cookbook.asp?Recipe_ID=Jiggs_Dinner That was a change, let me tell you - not that he cooked, but that he cooked a traditional Newfoundland    meal. I guess he forgot the Peas Pudding though - either that or he couldn't find anything to cook the peas in. I won't mention it in case he gets upset. By the way, all the recipes I found on my search said to soak the salt beef overnight, and pour off the water - we never did that. Just didn't cook a lot of it, I guess. Maybe we always did it wrong, and maybe that's why we have high blood pressure now. 
• Snacks - a few Jelly Beans, a cookie, Diet Pepsi, Hot Chocolate

My Flog for January 21

Two of the most difficult things in the world are: to get the men to go to the store to get something fantastic to cook for dinner, and then to get them to cook it after they get it home. I'm just going to sit tight and see what happens - just going to sit here and tap tap tap, and see if they can figure out they should go soon, unless they want something out a can, which is a very rare thing around here - except when we have beans. 

Steve, the 2 kids and I just had a painting afternoon, and I must say, there are no Bob Rosses in our family, although there may be a young Picasso or two. I myself better stick to knitting and writing - although I was pretty good at cleaning brushes in between colours. 

•  Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Cheerios, Banana - didn't quite fill the gap, so I had a snack (see below) - I'm sure that comes as no surprise to anyone
• Dinner - Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli (veggies the second time around, who says microwave ovens aren't handy?)- they did go to the store (looks like there was a side-trip to the beer store) and Howard made enough dinner to feed a small army - I did my best.
• Snacks - Pudding, Baileys & Milk drinky-poo (because my feet would not get warm), 2 cookies (store bought ones, they don't really count - do they?)

And now it's a start to a nice Saturday evening, and it's really quiet here in our little cellar, with no TV on. Think I'll listen to some of my records until hubby comes down and disturbs the peace. Below is a picture of peace, for those of you who missed it on my Facebook page - and a great big Thank Ya to Josephine for making it available to us Photograph Thieves.

Trinity, Newfoundland - my home from 1972 - 1994

My Flog for January 20 + Here, Words, Words, Words....

8:45am - and what oh what shall I do today? I do have a request to finish a sweet little pair of gauntlet mittens for a cute little girlie who thinks 1 and 1/2 mittens aren't enough to keep her little paws warm, and I do have a snow/ice bound husband who will probably want to share my time, and I do have season 3 of Sanctuary downloaded (with foreign sub-titles, no less) - so we'll see what will fill up my day. Maybe I'll learn an unidentified foreign language.

I don't think the snow on the ground (what's left of it) will last much longer. Click the link to see why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t30cX6OGO0U

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Soup (now it`s all gone, good to the last drop - at least I hope it was good, as in not laden with invisible little bacteria), and a Cheese Sandwich
• Dinner - Home-made Meat and Veggie Pie with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

I`m really out of sorts today, and I don`t know why. Maybe tomorrow will be better. However, since I do need some words of wisdom to finish this posting, I think I`ll just steal something from once upon a time - when I had no words to tap either. Some of you may have read this before ....

There’s nothing in my empty head I think I should have stayed in bed The keyboard sits in front and thinks The stuff she’s typing really stinks There’s nothing in my empty head I think I’ll clean the fridge instead. I know I have to post some stuff But boy today it’s mighty tough Where sometimes there are tons of words There’s just some lousy lumps of turds There’s nothing in my empty head I think I’ll scrub the floor instead. I know there’s times my words just flow Like crazy weeds they grow and grow But not today, they lag behind I have a constipated mind There’s nothing in my empty head I think I’ll just crawl back in bed. Forget I even tried to start - Today I don't feel very smrt.

My Flog for January 19

Brr brrr brrrr. Another cold frosty day, so glad I don't have to go out in it. Reading, blogging, knitting, a bit of houseworking, watching Sanctuary online - these are a few of my favourite things. Nice.

Now, at 8:11pm, there's a temp of -7 and a Winter Storm Warning Advisory on the Weather Network. Let's hope nothing comes out of it. Snow's bad enough, but there's a serving of Freezing Rain in the morning, which is nasty for commuting.

And I DID have to go out in the cold frosty evening, as I took a bag of garbage to the bin. What a beautiful night, the stars are so bright, and Orion is so clear and near. But I'd still rather be indoors, going to bed in a few minutes. Yawn.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee, 1/2 Banana
• Lunch - Soup, Roll, 1 Chocolate Chip Cookie
• Dinner - Chicken, Fries, Coleslaw
• Snacks - Pudding, 3 Baby Mandarins (Oranges, not people), Apple, and a Baileys & Milk drinky-poo

My Flog for January 18 + Hurry Up, Spring

From June 6, 2011:

I have felt hungry pretty much all the time, but I am doing what I set out to do, which was to give up my scones and muffins, gooey cookie bars and toffee candy, and other lovely things that have always found their way through my intestinal tract. I'm cutting back on junk food, in other words, and still eating stuff that I would normally eat for lunch and dinner, just not so much of it. Plus walking (hobbling?) a bit here and there. One would think that would work, wouldn't one?
I don't know why the page from June 6 of last year popped up when I opened my flog this morning - maybe to remind me of my Weight Loss Plan. Let's see what has changed.

1. I have taken up the scones and muffins and stuff again - until now, of course. 
2. I think I will use small plates for dinners again, instead of giant ones. Although I don't really eat a lo ... yes, I do.
3. I have been able to walk more, without hobbling - no cane needed since last November (I must be one of those medical miracles, as the specialist said my knee wouldn't get better, and would get worse, without the surgery - knock wood), and on my 'day-offs' I usually do quite a bit of walking, usually 3+ miles at a time. That's probably why my scales, no matter how hard they try, are not showing huge increases. 

I think I've gotten over the holiday season with not too much damage, maybe 1 1/2 pounds depending on which day I weigh in. Now, with winter set in for a few days, comfort foods are high on my list - carbs to keep me nice and warm - but in a few weeks, spring will arrive, and it will be so nice to have warmer weather and pinker trees. Just so you know what I'm looking forward to:

THIS...

...AND THIS..

...AND NOT THIS

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Turkey Soup, Pudding
• Dinner - More Soup, Fried Rice, 2 Rolls
• Snacks - Diet Pepsi, Pudding - to tell the truth, I would have eaten a lot more if there was anything else in the house - just have a craving kind of day. I think it's the freezing weather.

Even though I don't think I did much today, I guess I did enough, as I'm really tired and would go to bed if I didn't think it was a waste of time. Today I:

1. Did 3 loads of laundry, all folded and either put away or ready to be put away by a different pair of hands
2. Made bread - 3 loaves and a pan of rolls
3. Changed the bed, and that's no easy task as it's up against the wall and it's really hard to get the sheets on when you can't walk around it. Really. 
4. Walked to Walmart  to meet Howard after work - it was so cold my eyes hurt.
5. Plus the usual daily crap.

My Flog for January 17 + Winter's Here

YES! I got through my 3-day week, and now am all set for a 4-day weekend (insert sigh of relief.) Work has slowed down quite a bit, so I'm not so exhausted at the end of each day - it's either that, or the fact that I have learned to doze on the bus on the way there and on the way home, thereby catching up on a couple more hours of sleep each day. And I don't care if I snore or drool - the only thing I care about is keeping a death grip on my phone and having enough reflexes to beat the heck out of anyone who tries to pry it from my hand.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Chicken/Cheese Sandwich, Pudding
• Dinner - 2 slices of Pizza, Yogurt
• Snacks - Scone, Diet Pepsi, Hot Chocolate

I've been getting into the habit of buying a Hot Chocolate in the mornings before I go to the store, since by the time I walk the short distance from the bus to the store, I am bloody 'froze to death' - almost. It's usually either cold on the bus because the bus driver doesn't want to pay the heating bill, or hot on the bus because the driver wears shorts and short-sleeve shirts, unlike the poor commuters who are wearing whatever clothes they can find and layer at six o'clock in the morning. No matter what the temperature inside that germ-filled tin can, the cold hits you when you get off and your boots hit the snow-lined sidewalk. So a hot chocolate becomes a life-saving device - rather like a hypothermia cure, and not a calorie laden treat.

By the way, the temps are showing -9 right now, and that is the coldest we've had it since last winter. Also there is an Arctic Outflow Warning and snow in the forecast - the only thing that's keeping my spirits up (besides the bottle of Baileys in the fridge) is the fact that this weather is so temporary. In a few weeks I'll be posting pics of spring. Bet ya can't wait.

My Flog for January 16

I was on Snow Alert all day, waiting for the flakes to fall and prevent me from getting home after work. However, the weather held off, and now I expect tomorrow morning to be covered with snow and I won't get in to work. I don't know why all this stupid snow is not falling on the East Coast where it belongs. I just want to watch my daffodils grow.

I've been thinking that someday soon I'll start being more careful over what I eat again, dig into more veggies and fruit. Even though I've sorta kinda been maintaining my weight as far as the scales are concerned, this morning I felt fatter again. Of course that may have been because I wore newly washed jeans. (Must remember never to wash clothes again.)

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Chicken and Cheese Sandwich on Multi Grain bread, Pudding
• Dinner - Fried potatoes and 'baloney' and beans
• Snacks - Yogurt, Diet Pepsi, BBQ chip crumbs from the bottom of Howard's big giant chip bag (talk about hard up for something crunchy, and a few Jelly Beans

My Flog for January 15 - From Smart to Dumb in 6 Hours ( and no, I don't mean me)

Howard was really nice this morning (?) and offered me a ride to work. However, we hadn't gone far before he started regretting it, as the roads were slushy, icy and slippery. I was glad there was no reverse on the truck, and he did get me to work unscathed. We passed one accident on the way, and saw cars slippin' and slidin' (  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKxyoud_c-E ) in front of us, so I think he did really well. I was a bit nervous, I must admit. I decided to buy some lottery tickets before the next draw - a big whopping twenty million is up for grabs. I would quit work, and buy Howard 4 new snow tires and a plow for the front of the truck so he can get back and forth to work with no problems. I am kind.

Work was actually pretty good, not too bad a list and not too many customers. One guy came in and brought some cording to the  counter. He held his hands about 15 inches apart and said, "I want 9 times this."

So I measured 'this' and multiplied it by 9 (in my head, even) and went to cut it. Then he said, "Wait, I'll take 1/3 more."

I just looked at him. Marina came up, and I said to her, "He said he wants (my hands help apart) 9 times that plus 1/3 more. Help."

And he replies, "No no, I said 9 times this."

By the time he left we were all laughing like mad. Sometimes we have lots of fun.

And then, we go from smart-ass to dumb-ass. On the way home on the bus, a young Asian chick gets aboard with a huge wheeled suitcase. She pushes up the bench seat in front of the wheelchair seat, and puts her suitcase there - and sits a few rows back. So of course, we all know what happened when the bus started - the suitcase just started rolling towards its owner. At least it was well trained - for a suitcase. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - 1/2 bowl of Cabbage and Vegetable Soup from Steveston Bakery - now, I always thought Cabbage was a vegetable, but what do I know, 1/2 Egg Sandwich from the same place, and a Yogurt
• Dinner - Chicken and Mashed Potatoes and 2 Onion Rings
• Snacks - Diet Pepsi, Hot Chocolate, Muffin

My Flog for January 14 + My Thoughts Regarding Snow

Snow day. After lunch, Steve and I took the rug rats outdoors for a while, just in case this was the first and only snowfall of the year. Kids need snow to play in sometimes. And I guess grown-ups do, too. The snow was too crusty to create a snow person (just being politically correct,) but we had fun nevertheless. They thought it was really neat to clobber their daddy and nanny with snowballs. 

Chris and Lizzie loaded up - run, Daddy, run

I remember snow back home when I was young - and even not so young. Kids today would never believe how much snow we got back then, it actually did level off with the fence posts, and it actually did cause storm doors not to open, when the wind would blow a big drift of it against the door. I wouldn't think anyone born and bred here in the lower mainland of BC (or Texas) would know what a blizzard is like, with the wind blowing the snow so fierce you can't see a foot (or 25 centimetres) in front of you. I've had my share of wading knee-deep in the white stuff, and inching my way up to the old school on the hill, with no fence to hang on to, and spinning tires and skidding into ditches - oh yes, I've had my share. I'll happily put up with a little bit of fairy dust here in Surrey for now!

Yes, this is real snow, and this is my dad shovelling it - and this is our house behind it.

Nothing else exciting. A bit of housework, making dinner, a bit of knitting, and a bit of Sanctuary. Soon it will be a bit of sleep, and tomorrow morning back to work for 3 more days. Sigh. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Leftovers, Chicken and Rice
• Dinner - T'ousands of t'ings - Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Bologna, Onion Rings, French Fries - only a little bit of many things, though, it looks a lot more than it really was. Beans - a spoonful, Mashed Potatoes - a bit more than I should have, Bologna - 1/2 slice, Onion Rings - 2, French Fries - 6 or 7, and they were oven baked. Still I'm pretty full. Burp.
• Snacks - Now this is where it gets nasty. Muffin, several cookies (as opposed to a few), a few candies (not several), Diet Pepsi, and a Pudding. I don't think I'll be eating anything else tonight.

Suitable Snow Poems for Today - from Years Ago When We Had Snow....

Our world is white, a wonderland
Of laden trees and covered grass
Whoever thinks that this is fun
Can stick my shovel up their....

Can’t seem to find a rhyming word
It seems I’ve tried the whole darn spectrum
So if you still think this is fun
Your shovel can go up your ...

Oh dear the rhymes are hard today
The world is white, my mood is black
So if you laugh in far off lands
Your shovel can go up your ...

I’ve never felt such deep despair
My poems always come with ease
But here I sit in shorts and tee
Do something with your shovel – please.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Tis winter, out the window see
There’s snow on every single tree
The roofs are white, the car is too
And still it falls, it falls.

I have to go to work quite soon
I wish it were a day in June
With grass of green and skies of blue
And still it falls, it falls.

So now I have to find my boots
So nice and warm will be my foots
My hat and scarf and mittens too
Because it falls, it falls.

The reason I’m so out of sorts
They'll look so funny with my shorts
But I don’t want to catch the flu
Because it falls, it falls.
---------------------------------------------------------------

My Flog for January 13

It's Friday the Thirteenth - so far, so good. Although the night is still young.

It's been another walky day, only this time I had company, and what sweet company it was. Especially since she kept me busy with one-liners. For example, as we were walking to Da Bank, I started to cross the road, and she asked me, "Why are you crossing the road?"

Well, come on now, everyone together, all around the world: "To get to the other side, of course." I mean, come on now, Nikkie, even the chicken knew why she crossed the road.

Then, being kind and nice as well as pretty, she offered to buy me coffee at Tim Hortons, although her sugar low may have had something to do with it. So half a Long John and most of a can of pop later, she didn't want any more to drink. I asked her, "Are you done with it? Cos if you are, just throw it out." And she replied (Bless her heart), "Yeah, I'm full of it."

And I just looked at her and laughed. "I know."

Now, I'm being very brave writing this here, as she is one of my regular readers, and I do sleep in her house every night. But she was warned, this was going on my flog tonight, it's too bad for her I have nothing more exciting to write about at this moment.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Leftover Stew from last night's supper (which I always refer to here as Dinner, because we live on the West Coast now and live a bit more posh lifestyle.)
• Dinner - Chicken cooked in Home Made Barbecue Sauce with Onions and Green Peppers, Rice and Corn Bread. Damn, that Corn Bread is good. 
• Snacks - Muffin from Tim Hortons. Now, Me was considering a yummy delicious strawberry filled donut with white icing and sprinkles on top, and Myself was considering a Cranberry Blueberry Muffin, but I stepped in and ordered a Whole Grain Orange Carrot Muffin. Or was it a Whole Grain Carrot Orange Muffin? Can't remember. However we were all very pleased with that muffin, it was very good and didn't taste healthy at all, so it probably wasn't. Plus 2 cookies and a Diet Pepsi.

How the Hell Did That Get There? - It Wasn't Us - A Memory

A post in my nieces' blog reminded me of a trip to a conference in St John's with three other teachers. I should probably use pseudonyms so I'm not sued, but what the hell.

I know Pearl, grade 3 teacher and co-conspirator, would read this and remember. I would think the two high school teachers have blocked the memory, but I'm not sure how they would feel about my writing part of their memoirs, so I'll keep their names out of this.

The trip started out a bit boring, at least in the front seat of the car where the two males were sitting. Pearl and I were busy in the back seat plotting and planning. After about an hour on the road, the driver decided it was time to stop at a watering hole for a beer, but Pearl and I decided to stay in the car. See, even back then, I wasn't a beeraholic.

It seemed they were in the bar forever, and we got tired waiting, so we decided to take some action. A furtive exploration of the trunk found a pair of boy underpants in somebody's overnight bag. Now the problem was how to tie them to the radio antenna - ah, no problem at all for a young smrt mind - the string of a Tampax worked really well. Then it was just a sit and wait some more.

And it was wait, wait, wait all over again. In fact we got so bored we went in and gave them a subtle hint as to why they should leave - I can't remember what, but probably something along the lines of  ' The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.' I don't think they 'got it' right away, so we just went back to the car to wait some more.

Finally, we saw them leave the pub, strolling along like they had all the time in the world - until they realized there was a new flag flying on the vehicle. Then they moved rather smartly.

It was a really quiet trip after that - except for us two in the back seat. They didn't stop on the way home, although their (probably) used underwear would have so absolutely safe then), and I do believe it was the last trip we took together, for some unknown reason.

Frenching beds and 5 AM wakeup calls? Oh yeah, that was part of our repertoire too. But it's always nice to go one step farther - right?

Check out my nieces' blog -

http://threeboringsisters.wordpress.com/

My Flog for January 12 + Crazy Going Slowly Am I

In defense of the first snack on the list below, I had to walk almost 2 miles to get it, and then  almost 2 miles back. It's a long way to walk with a small check for the Royal Bank and then PriceSmart, to spend that small check's worth. Tomorrow the walk will be just as long, but the check will be a lot better, as I will be able to deposit my paycheck, and that should buy more than dinner and a Mr Big Bar.

So on the way home, between walking slowly and pulling my grocery buggy, and sitting on empty bus benches, and just stopping halfway up hills, I decided that the reason I'm not eating really well lately is because I've been ignoring me, myself and I. The three of us seem to work together most of the time, but then there are times when we either just ignore or argue with each other. Much like my hubby and me, actually. Maybe it's the me part that's to blame.

Anyway, we had an internal conversation and it sort of helped. I think.

Me: (as in, Me me me me me, it's all about Me) Me wants it all. Me  wants chocolate, candy, muffins, donuts, scones with icing on top, cake, pastries, ice-cream .... bring it on!

I: I want to be healthy. Leave all that crap on the shelf and pack up the veggies and fruit, and the whole grain bread, and Becel - Walk faster - Walk more - get off the bloody comput.....(oops, my computer just about froze, I better watch what I say)

and then there's 

Myself: If Myself was more careful and read the calorie and fat content of that Mr Big Bar, Me would never had the chance to buy it. 300 calories and 14 grams of fat. So, all that walking Myself did today, about 4 miles, has gone to waist.  Myself does try to be good about what we're eating, but sometimes Me really gets in the way - and as for I - she is nothing but a pain in the butt with all her nagging.  

Now as you can all see, I have more problems than worrying about busting the arse out of my jeans when I sit. If I do indeed have 3 personalities to cope with, that would make each of us around 53 pounds. Way too small. I'm going to have another pudding - only kidding!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Turkey Soup, yes I'm still eating it and there's yet more in the freezer, but that's okay cos it's really yummy, 2 slices of bread and butter, and that was white bread, by the way - no multi-grain 
• Dinner - The Best Beef Stew in the whole world, hand-made by moi, of course, and mashed red potatoes (with some skins left on) and overcooked broccoli - yes, I overcooked it - again
• Snacks - Mr Big Bar, butterscotch pudding

My Flog for January 11 + A Happy List

Good things about today:

1. I was right about yesterday's flog - I didn't write anything happy, and gained two pounds. No matter how bad it is to gain weight, it is still nice to be right. Now that I'm writing a Happy List, I guess these two pounds will be gone by tomorrow morning! Yippee!
2. I dozed for a couple of hours. Hopefully that was enough sleep catchup so I can have a more productive day tomorrow
3. Howard got a $25 check from Vancouver Coastal Health, and we have no idea why. Must spend it tomorrow before they want it back. 
4. Watched a few episodes of my favourite new show, which I am streaming from CTV - Sanctuary. Check it out here if you haven't seen it - they have two seasons online -  http://watch.ctv.ca/#clip554741

Other than those fun things, I didn't do much. Nikkie and I walked to the corner store, which of course was a whack of fun, even though it was cold and dark. Howard thought we should have walked to the bank and deposited that check - that is more than 1 1/2 miles away. I didn't tell him what I thought about that suggestion - well, actually, I did. Now he probably won't talk to me for the rest of the night - but hey! I should have put that on my Happy List!

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Turkey Soup and Doughboys (mmmmmm - soup had been frozen, but the doughboys were fresh. Made them for my sick boy because he wanted them - (un)fortunately he didn't want all of them...ha ha ha)
• Dinner - Pizza - wasn't going to have any, ended up scarfing down 3 pieces.
• Snacks - Marshmallow Square - I think there's only one left now, which is good. (Thanks Neil for taking away most of the Christmas baking that was left, and saying it was pretty good. I have good sons), 2 Teddy Grahams, Diet Pepsi

My Flog for January 10 + I've Been Doing This All Wrong

I read somewhere this morning, probably on Yahoo news, that people who write about good things that matter to them lose more weight than people who write about just any old stuff (for example - the stuff I write.) So I guess the reason I'm not losing much weight lately is because instead of writing about all the good stuff in my life, I'm concentrating more on the 'demo ruffle yarn' and 'snoring husband pokes his elbow in my back' kind of stuff. So tonight I'll try to concentrate on the happy happy happy joy stuff, and see if makes a difference on the scale tomorrow morning.

Happy stuff. Hmmm. Oh well, maybe tomorrow night.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Sausage and Egg McMuffin, Coffee
• Dinner - 2 sausages, cheese and crackers
• Snacks - Muffin, Hot Chocolate, Grapes

My Flog for January 9 + I Really Need a Holiday

A day of stuffing yarns, digging for odd dye lots, and tidying bins. It was very disconcerting work - it seems whenever I'd lug out an armload of yarn and bring it to the appropriate spot, there would be these two gals studying the spot I needed. So I'd dump that yarn, and go get yarn for a different spot, and lo and behold - they would have changed places and decided to be where I was headed. I had three different piles of yarn waiting to be stuffed in three different spots - I'm sure these shoppers were following me around, even though they were arriving just before me. Who else would be checking out Alpaca at the front, then Cotton 8 at the back, then Bernat Mosaic in between. Too much of a coincidence, if you ask me.

Anyway, yarn still not finished, as my +8 hours of work also included customer service in the form of cashiering and doing blasted ruffle yarn demos. We've only got like 4 bloody balls of the stuff in the store, and still have to do demos. Well, probably a few more than 4, but you get the drift. Seems like there are hundreds waiting to be shipped at the end of January, and Hallelujah, the whole thing starts again.

I just need to slow down and focus. It took me a few minutes today to realize that the old lady asking for a pattern for a baby yacket was actually wanting to knit a baby jacket. Even a few years ago, I would have caught on right away. I'm just not as joung as I used to be.....

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Veggie sandwich and Pea Soup from Steveston Bakery
• Dinner - Macaroni and Cheese and Ground Beef Stir Fry from Howard's Kitchen
• Snacks - Iced Latte, Muffin/cake thingie from Walmart 

My Flog for January 8 + My Minke Summer - An Old ReRun For New Readers

I am really not doing well with my food intake lately. The most I can even hope for this month is to maintain, or at least not gain ten pounds. The bright side of this rainy dull month is that Spring is just around the corner - I hear rumours of crocuses (croci?) shooting up, and I imagine the daffodils will be not far behind. I'll try not to brag, but that will be really difficult, so you'll just have to put up with me.

I've been missing writing lately, and wish I could get back into my writing mode. I'm going to post a piece I wrote a couple of years ago, and those of you who have been following both of my blogs will have read it before. If you are new to me, you may enjoy reading it though. Just scroll down.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Turkey Soup, Cupcake
• Dinner - 1 slice Hawaiian Pizza, Diet Pepsi
• Snacks - another Cupcake, 2 cookies, grapes, Hot Chocolate, Iced Mocha

My Minke Summer

In the early 80’s, we lived in Trinity, a small coastal community in Newfoundland. A few years previously, the Village Inn had been purchased by a marine biologist and turned into a successful whale watching tour business. 

The Inn, which was near our little house, became a gathering point of both locals, or as one American so lovingly called us, natives, as in “The Natives sure love baloney,” and CFAs, which was short for Come From Aways. These guests came from all corners of the world, and it was probably the first time in 500 years the town had harboured so many different accents and cultures.

Fran came as a guest in the early 1980’s, with her kind, sun-weathered face, two short Pippi Longstocking pigtails, and the desire to study the minke whale. Minkes are as hard to track as mosquitoes, as when they breach you can only see the tips of their dorsal fins. On a choppy sea, they look just like another wave, same colour, same height, and same variety. However, Fran chartered a 16’ wooden boat, christened it the SS Merry Open Bottom, and hired its owner, Ephraim, to be the skipper. She offered me a place on the crew, taking notes of sightings as she scanned the waves looking for that elusive fin. The other member of the crew was Bob from Holland, who was smart and kind, and usually remembered to put film in the camera.

If our days were sunny and calm, we would drift with the waves, playing hide and seek with the minkes. Other beauties of nature would amaze us – schools of dolphins playing alongside our little boat, puffins bobbing on the waves, or underwater masses of tiny white jellyfish, puffing and panting their way through the clear blue water. Rainy or windy days would find us high on the bluffs above rocky coves, waiting for the humpbacks to follow the schools of tiny silver fish that would become their lunch.

Now I live in a city, where the street in front of our house sometimes overflows with screeching tires, honking horns, and wailing sirens, and our neighbours cannot seem to tear themselves away from their lawnmowers and weed-whackers in the evenings. However, we can hop in our car and within ten minutes, be at a beach, breathing salt air and listening to seagulls, the realities of our new life mingling with the memories of the old.

It seems every day we live, we are making memories for the future.

My Flog for January 7

Today was a Carb Day, no doubt about it. It seems I spent all day grazing.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Turkey Soup
• Dinner - Turkey Soup and 3 Dumplings (thanks, Elaine, for that particular craving) 
• Snacks - 1 muffin, 5 cookies, 1 Diet Pepsi, a Mandarin orange, 2 slices of Apple Cinnamon Bread (I rescued that from the freezer, but unfortunately it didn't stay safe very long after it defrosted)

 It seems I got up eating and am going to bed eating, but all in all, if you subtract the carbs, I don't think I ate much at all. Although I could almost swear I ate more than that, I honestly can't think of what else there was. Maybe I'll be keeping my figure for another day.

Pouring rain all day, and lots of up and down stairs for me as the landlord and his boys ripped out the floor of the downstairs bathroom - and found a huge moldy mess underneath. Seems something was leaking for years, and after 3 repairs of the floor itself, he finally smarted up and went looking for the reason. Howard took over, and has spent all afternoon and evening, cleaning and scraping and scooping, and then replacing the floor joists and the floor. Tomorrow hopefully the plumbing will be hooked up and we'll have a brand new throne (I hope the landlord doesn't find the one I saw yesterday in a field on the way to the market), and shower stall. Hopefully all will be soon done, and we'll have a shower again. Because I don't like baths. And I just had to have one.

Howard just informed me I don't know nothing, which in fact, says I know everything. It feels good to know he thinks I'm very smart. Just because I couldn't remember what the shower enclosure was called. A Stall. Still sounds funny.

My Flog for January 6 + A Bit More Than Usual

January 6 - Old Christmas Day, and the last chance for Mummers to don their mothers` old 44 bras. I wanted everyone to go mummering to Neil and Shannon`s tonight, but Howard said no. ``Not over here. I`d just as soon take a gun into a bank.`` I replied, ``Well, that`s what I figured we`d do on Saturday.``

If you haven`t seen the Mummer`s Song and video by Simani, click the link at the end of the blog. Everyone should see it at least once, it would explain some things to you mainlanders who have no clue what mummers are.

Day off? You tell me:

1. Swept and washed the kitchen floor
2. Made soup, and not just any old soup, either. First I used about 100 lbs of veggies and a dead turkey  to make soup stock, then I made the soup. Mmmmmmmm.
3. Undecorated the tree. A lumberjack or tree specialist (or maybe even a shipwright or a landscaper) will have to put it back in its box.
4. 3 loads of laundry, washed, dried and folded
5. Walked to the bakery to get fresh bread to eat with our Soup , and got caught in a big long rain shower on the way home. So much for wearing my old sneakers (as in, I`m not wearing my boots, it`s not raining and I won`t jump in any puddles, HA HA HA),  as I brought home wet jeans and wet feet to match. I don`t think there are any soles left on my old sneakers. On my way home, I saw for myself one more way Surrey is helpful to its residents -

I mean, we often see Port-a-Potties, but here we have an open-air style toilet, with lots of wipes around if you forget to bring some with you.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Spinach Salad - The good thing about Spinach Salad, is you burn off more calories walking to Walmart to get one than the salad itself contains. Bonus.
• Dinner - Turkey Soup -Homemade turkey soup. Stock contained: a huge turkey carcass with tons of meat on the bones, over 2 pounds of carrots, a bunch of celery (minus a stick for the rats), half a pack of mushrooms, 5 1/2 onions, and 2 bunches of green onions. Then to the stock (since I remembered to put a pot under the colander when I strained it), I added all sorts of yummy veggies (turnip, known as rutabaga here on the west coast, carrots, celery, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, frozen veggie blend (corn, more carrots, lima beans, green beans), onion soup mix, and turkey. I just hope the turkey was still good to eat. Guess we`ll find out within the next 12 hours.
• Snacks - 1/2 of a Marshmallow Square - I had to test it to make sure they were still good to eat, as the kids picked green for the colour. Therefore there is no way to tell if they are mouldy or not. Being as how mould is green sometimes. They are not mouldy, by the way, and I'm surprised we (I) don't have them all gobbled up by now. I may end up just tossing them in the garbage. We'll see. Cookie. Rice Pudding. Yum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E86bcriRtW8

My Flog for January 5

Had a busy day, going through boxes of stuff (yet again, you'd think I'd get a life, wouldn't you?) Anyway, got 3 boxes for the dump, 3 boxes for Value Village - and I found some cool stuff I forgot I had. 

I guess I'm going to have to start doing some exciting things in the near future, as I get bored writing these daily flogs. You probably understand as you read them.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Ham and Cheese Sandwich with lettuce and tomato, Rice Pudding
• Dinner - Corned Beef Hash and Maple Style Beans - so utterly yummy - Howard hated it, but wanted leftovers in his lunch tomorrow. I would rather die of starvation than eat something as awful as he makes out Corned Beef Hash to be....
• Snacks - 1 cookie, 1 tsp ice-cream (the trick is to wait until one of the kids have just a tiny bit of ice-cream left, and ask "Are you all done?" They are guaranteed to say "Yes." Then you get a teaspoon of ice-cream. And a muffin.

My Flog for January 4

Yawn, yawn - YAWN. I had to stop of at Landsdowne Mall after work today, to pick up a prescription - I wouldn't have bothered, but these pills are the ones that I need to keep me somewhat lively. Because of that, I didn't get home until after 8 o'clock, and now all I want to do is go to sleep. I don't know if my TV shows miss me as much as I miss them.

Steve picked me up at King George Sky Train Station, as usual, and as I thanked him profusely, and told him how appreciative I was for these dark, rainy night rides, he said he was sure he could come up with a suitable payment plan. Whereupon I sang him a song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaiaFEWnJXM
He didn't think the 9 month part meant a lot, as he figured there wasn't much of him for the first 4 or 5 months.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Ham and Cheese Sandwich with Lettuce on skinny bakery bread, yogurt
• Dinner - Sweet and Sour Pork and Noodles
• Snacks - a little Nanaimo Bar - I forgot they were in the fridge since before Christmas, they have set very well, I must say, a Cranberry/Pomegranate Sparkling can of something- water? pop?, and a Hot Chocolate

My Flog for January 3 + I Wonder if Coyote Ugly is Still Hiring?

On the bus ride to work this morning, I saw, out the window of course, a Restaurant (Cafe maybe) that serves an All Day Breakfast, but it  wasn't open at 7:30 in the morning - so how in heck could they serve an All Day Breakfast unless they open in time to serve breakfast? No lights, no signs of life - how were they mixing the pancake batter, and whisking the eggs, and baking the muffins for their All Day Breakfast? Huh? They should change their sign to Late Morning Breakfast. 

It was a grey rainy day, where the temps hovered around 8, but felt much colder. Still that didn't prevent lots of people from visiting us at the store, and wanting demos for our ruffle yarns. (I'm getting a bit tired of doing demos.) We also started removing Christmas, and since the manager had some stuff hanging from 10 feet ceilings, I had the fun part. Since my legs refused to climb on the last step of the ladder (my mind is willing, and very encouraging, as in "You go, girl, you can do it...") but my legs answered "The F..k I will....) Since the stuff that was hanging was almost over the counter, I used the small stepladder to climb up on the counter, and just as I was straddling the cash register and reaching way way up (think The Friendly Giant), the phone rang. Like it would. At least nobody came in to laugh at me and my little jean skirt while I finished my task.

Actually my jean skirt isn't all that little. Knee length. But when I was reaching 5 feet up - well, you get the picture....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbUJjMw6lBo&feature=fvst
(giggle giggle giggle -  I hope he doesn't use these same moves now! )

But now I'm home, despite the bus driver who told me he had trouble seeing the road because it was a rainy night. 

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Veggie Salad with Sweet Onion Dressing from Subway, Yogurt
• Dinner - Turkey, Potato Salad and Coleslaw (from Safeway,) lettuce and tomato (also from Safeway), one slice of really really nice thin-sliced bakery bread (ditto the Safeway thing)
• Snacks - Pudding, Banana, Orange

My Flog for January 2 - Two Days Gone Already And I Have Nothing Done!

What a huge (or should I say 'small?) surprise today. I hauled a pair of waaay too small jeans from a box, and thought I would keep them in the bedroom, just as an incentive for saying "No, no no" to the leftover treats, both here and the 75% ones in the stores. But I ended up trying them on - and they fit! They were tight, but eased with a little time, and, even though I was afraid I'd bust the arse out of them when I sat on the bus, they held true and got me there and back with no air-conditioning. I may even wear them to work tomorrow. Damn, I have to go to work tomorrow.

These were the way too small jeans I bought last summer at Sears, because they were already on clearance, and had a 70% OFF sale price tag. Nice Nevada jeans for under $3. Ta da!

Other than that, it was an uneventful day. Howard went back to work, and brought his aching feet home at 4pm. Tomorrow, Steve starts again, and I have 2 days to punch in before I get another few days off.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Some yucky Chow Mien I bought in a box at the Dollar Store and microwaved into a mess. It wasn't very good. (Reminder to me: Don't buy any more of it.)
• Dinner - Turkey Pot Pie and leftover veggies from last night's feast
• Snacks - some candies (they are all gone now, no more worries), 3 chocolate covered cookies (they'll soon be gone, too) and a (smallish) piece of Lime Key Pie

Didn't do much today. Tidied a bit, laundried (one load washed, dried, folded, and tucked away), bused to the Superstore, Michael's and the Dollar Store with Nikkie, made dinner, and cleaned up that. The rest of the night is to be dedicated to knitting, TV, (there's a Chopped! Marathon on Channel 52), and sleep. .

Dommie's Christmas Stocking

I forgot to post a pic of Dommie's Christmas Stocking, my donkey/reindeer cross - it turned out quite nicely, actually, even if I do say so myself!

My Flog For January 1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This morning's number didn't completely surprise me, as it's been hovering between that and a couple of numbers above for the past month, even though I've really been laying heavy on the carbs. I have a slight hope that I may have boosted my metabolism a bit, either that or it's the walking and climbing Skytrain stairs three times a week. Skytrain stairs are really really tall. However, another brand new month (in fact a whole new year of brand new months) and I am going to try to get back on track, and strive for another better brand new number on February 1.

This is a leap year, for those of you ladies who want to propose marriage to somebody. Anybody. Just remember what a friend's mother used to say - "It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as with a poor man."So, good luck with that. It's also the Chinese Year of the Dragon - and according to my Birth Year, I myself am a Dragon. Roar. I can easily identify with the good qualities of the Dragon, like stubbornness and intelligence. And anyone who thinks I am short-tempered can just say that to my face, and hopefully, can run faster than I. So there. (I know 'faster than me' sounds better, but 'faster than I' is grammatically correct, and since I am smrt I have to follow the rules.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee, 2 rashers of Bacon
• Lunch - Ham and Cheese Sandwich with pickles, Diet Pepsi
• Dinner - Right now, there's a fully fledged Turkey-With-All-The-Trimmings dinner fighting for space in my tummy - turkey, mashed potatoes, turnip, carrot, peas, cranberry sauce, dressing, cabbage, and gravy. OOOOOOF. I feel like maybe I swallowed the plate too....... And since I made a Key Lime Pie for dessert, there may be a little piece of that joining the rest before I go to bed .... so we'll just pretend I already ate it, and make it an official part of the Flog right now. 
• Snacks - Rice Pudding, some, er, several, Misty Mints and a couple, er, few, QS chocolates, which are now all gone, thank God and Howard, who did his job helping to deplete the supplies. 

A Brand New Day, A Brand New Month, A Brand New Year, A Brand New Number

158.5