Author Archives: Pauline

Nothing Much & 1yr at the Gym

As of today, we have belonged to the gym for a year.  We have been pretty good at going M-F, other then normal traveling, sickness, holidays and life stuff.

I’m pretty happy with how far we have come, just stuck at plateau right now and it is driving me nuts.  Sometimes I wish I had a trainer again, but I love not having to be on a “schedule” and the trainer I want is no longer working there fully time when I would want my sessions.

I’m lost 37# since we started.   I just have about 8-10 more pounds to go and I’ll be close to what I was in ’92.  I had gained a bunch of weight due to treatments that I was receiving for my plantar fasciitis (cortisone shots…didn’t know the side effects) and then surgery for both my feet in ’07.  I’ve always been a curvy girl, but this was way too much,  I worry about my future health and how can I handle camping and hiking with being out of shape.  So we joined a gym and we have done pretty good.

What kills us, is our eating.  We grew up on midwestern eating….lots of potatoes, corn, breads and meat…..way too many carbs….and fancy food, is well….just too fancy.  We are basic people when it comes to what we eat.  So it is tough to find new healthy things for us to eat, that we like.

The last 2 months, I haven’t been going on my walks on the weekends.  I normally do that on days that we don’t go to the gym.  I think that I’m waiting for the buds and leafs to come out.  I love to take pictures when I’m on my walks.  I had full plans to go for a walk today, I was looking forward to it because it was so beautiful yesterday, but it has been windy as hell and I just didn’t feel like dealing with it.  So I was totally disappointed.

So I really didn’t do crap today……lol  I did get out to the bank and get disappointing drinks from ‘bucks.  Fingers crossed that it doesn’t happen tomorrow…..I really wanted that drink.  I did get some reading in and vegged in front of the tv.  Don’t do that very often.

Watching Letters from Iwo Jima right now.  Really need to make a to do list for tomorrow and this week, to help keep my focus.  That is the hardest part of working from home….focus.

Drew The Vampire

Drew The Vampire

Drew is so damn cute.  He will sleep for hours when held like a baby, lays his head back, his freaky long fangs makes him look like he is grinning….and his legs go up….such a silly kitty.  And yes, that is a Purdue kitty collar on him.  I could’t find a gold colored one that wasn’t girly…yuck.

Each of our cats get their own color.  The late Randi was black, the late Aurora was green, Alexis is pink, Reggie is blue, Drew is gold and Sukura is purple.

Sakura & Reggie

Sakura & Reggie

We love seeing our babies cuddle together.  Reggie is more tolerant then we thought he would be with the kittens and lets them lean against him.  Sakura has such a pretty 2-tone coat and her belly has gotten big, she is not as long as Drew so it shows on her more.

Tweets for Feb 20th

08:29 I’m out of bed, but I don’t think I’m awake yet….heading to the gym in a few. Can’t wait for tomorrow, get to sleep in & take a break.

12:18 Got an ok workout in, not my best, but maintained it. Spending way too much time on the phone for something that I shouldn’t have to. =(

13:24 Finally got some lunch in, I was starving. I have to leave here in the next few minutes for some errands.

13:34 Very interesting : www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/20/spy.slaves/index.html

16:29 Home and trying to focus, not succeeding at that very well…..lol

18:35 Got a good meal in, got a Boston Legal on dvd, and getting ready to do some actual work for the day.

21:41 Time for Sarah Connor Chronicles & Battlestar off of our drv….and Bill Mahr is back tonight!!

Tweets for Feb 19th

14:53 It is really hard to correct a cat for shredding toilet paper when it is so damn funny, they are so cute & you feel bad for it .

21:34 New blog post: Discussing Race Relationships

Discussing Race Relationships

Eric Holder is correct.  America is full of cowards when it comes honestly dealing with the issues of race.  We put our heads in the sand.  You know all these people who say that we don’t need to discuss it and need to move past it….most of them are (ding-ding) white.

Of course, they don’t see it.  They don’t get pulled over just because they are white, they don’t have to worry about whether they are going to get shot at because they are black, that some people will cross the street to avoid a black male, they don’t have most of their history ignored …..and don’t get me started on what we as a country have done to the Native Americans….some won’t even use the $20 bill due to Andrew Jackson being on it and what he did to them.

We may work together, but our social circles in America normally don’t mix when it comes to race.  I don’t think it is thought out that way, it just happens.  And we as a country are cowards on asking why and trying to actually understand where the other person is coming from.
You know my biggest surprise when I moved to Indiana….that I ended up in a school without a person of color until about year after I been there.  I was like where the hell is everyone? It had everything to do with just how areas self-segregate.  I ended up there because we needed to help out family, but I wasn’t happy about the lack of cultural mix.

That isn’t what I grew up with, I grew up with faces of color and accents.  I loved it when we visited South Beach in Florida and Curaco because you heard a bunch of different accents and languages when you are there.  I missed having that on a regular basis.
With all the issues that military faces (and yes there are racist there) you still have a more cultural mix and better chance of socialization and learning from each other.  In fact a few years ago, they came out with a study that the best integrated communities were the ones of military retirees around military posts.  That is what I really missed when my dad retired and we moved to be closer to family.

I’ve never felt comfortable in all white sittings.  I think that is why I took so many African American classes in college.  Hell, if I had paid attention I could’ve gotten a minor in it….doh  I love learning about other cultures, I think it is also because I want to understand our race relationships.  If you learn about our racial history you get a better understanding when you meet people, you know where they are coming from even if you fully can’t understand it unless you’ve been there.

Tweets for Feb 18th

08:35 This sucks, garbage mean @ 0630, phone spam @0717 & recyclables @ 0740…talk about screwing up your morning sleep. =(

13:39 It was rough on the treadmill today, but I made it through it. Trying to get my brain focused on what I need to get done.

21:22 We are is just waiting for 30 of LOST to go by so we can watch it by DVR without all the crappy commercials