It's About Time

Yea, It's Been Awhile

Sat, 28 Jun 08 20:44:00 UT

I've had a number of health problems crop up that pretty much tanked the exercise thing for now. We need to know what's causing the problem before I can do too much more.

Food wise, we are still eating fairly healthier. We've been trying to figure out how to bring the price of food down now that the gas crises is hitting everything, including the grocery store. One place we did discover was a local International Farmer's Market. The Prices are outstanding! Reposted from my LJ:

We picked up:
Â» A pound of scallops for about $5
Â» Strawberries, BIG strawberries, for $1.99 a container (compared to $2.50 at grocery store)
Â» Asparagus for $2.00 (and a nice sized bunch too)
Â» 2 Large bunches of green onions for 67Â¢
Â» A large bunch of grapes for $1.82
Â» 4 Nectarines for $1.11, 5 plums for 58Â¢, and 3 kiwis for $1.
Â» The meat prices were incredible!

They also had:
Â» WHOLE watermelons for $1.99 (we passed because we would end up wasting most of it)
Â» Mirin for $3.97 a bottle...a LARGE bottle. My 10 oz bottle cost me $8; a 5 oz bottle at another store cost me $6 0r $7 or so. (We didn't buy since I still have one whole bottle and a small part of a second bottle left.)

Hub was initially not too sure about going here, but now that he sees we can get fresh produce and some good meat prices, he's more of a convert. We haven't been able top go back again recently because of car tag issues, but definitely plan to when that's taken care of.

I've also changed my sleep cycle to something I'm more sync with. It doesn't work too well when I have to be up early for doctor appointments and whatnot, but it does make me much more productive in other areas of my life.

Hopefully we'll get the health stuff all figured out and I can resume my health blogging. I don't post my bentos as much these days, but I'll try to make sure I post them every now and then. :)

The Water Did It

Fri, 28 Mar 08 10:19:00 UT

My exercise lately: hauling water a la Little House on the Prairie

My food: cheap, non-bento, non-healthy.

In a week and a half, we should get our tax return and can get some of this mess turned around. Till then, our water is cut off, the cable is cut off, and the food is as cheap as we can get it (and we all know cheap food ain't necessarily healthy food). A lot of $1 TV dinners going to be eaten over the next week or so.

*sighs*

Um, Yea.

Thu, 20 Mar 08 10:39:00 UT

I know, I know, I haven't been posting. Guess I haven't been seeing the point of it much lately.

*shrug*

My new baby bento box finally arrived! That SAL takes forever! Almost 6 weeks to get the box, so I may not be buying from Jbox again.

It's the perfect size for what I needed. And there's sparklies on the flowers. It came with a bento band, and the box itself is quite sturdy. Much more than I expected. I'm very pleased. :)

I also have a new Hello Kitty box, but it didn't come out very well in the pictures. :( I picked up the mini-bento to go with it since the HK box is actually larger than my usual sidecar and I wanted to balance that out with a smaller 2 tier. Even though the new 2 tier can be a challenge to pack, it's definitely what I needed to balance out the size of the HK box.

Lunch today:

HK Box: Leftover Chicken Stir Fry & Rice from last night's dinner (hub is such a wonderful cook!)
Bottom Tier: 1/2 a Banana (still in peel); Orange Slices
Top Tier: Carrot & Celery Sticks; Brownie
Not Shown: Ranch Dressing for Veggies, an extra Orange Slice

I am so very much looking forward to lunch today. ;)

As for exercise, so far only once this week. I ended up going to bed and sleeping for 5 hours yesterday after the kids were off to school.

Weather: Sunny
Mood: Eh.

Moving Along

Tue, 11 Mar 08 12:42:00 UT

Finally trying to get back on track here. I can't believe it's the middle of March already! I have 2 1/2 months to get things together before the kids are out of school for the summer and it gets too hot and humid and...yea, lots of interruptions and obstacles to overcome. It would be nice to have most of this be a habit before then because obstacles are always so much easier to overcome if there's a habit in place.

Accomplishments
Actually managed one session of stretch. I was really surprised that it went as well as it did, considering how long the sick has kept me away. My muscles were tight, but not badly so and the workout, such as it was, wasn't painful--I even felt like I could probably do more (though I did resist). It was nice to get the little energy boost from what I managed today (which wasn't much).

Dinner Yesterday
Teriyaki Chicken
Rice
Mixed Veggies

Breakfast
Cream of Wheat

Lunch Today
Ham Sandwich
Green Beans
Mini-Veggie Quiche
Grapes
String Cheese

No picture today because it was a really boring lunch and I didn't even bother to both the sandwich since I decide to make it when I was going to eat. We're getting thin on food, so I don't know if I'll be doing many bentos for a bit.

Weather: cloudy
Mood: tired but okay--focused on work, which is good.

Quiet Weekend, New Week

Mon, 10 Mar 08 12:15:00 UT

The weekend was pretty quiet, if productive for me on the writing front. There wasn't anything on TV, hub worked Saturday, kids were pretty settled, so I really had no obstacles to getting stuff done except my own motivation--which was pretty high, thank goodness.

Accomplishments
I have the kids home today (teacher workday, not sick, thank God), so, no exercise. They tend to get up pretty early. I'm aiming for 2 days this week since I've been out of it for so long due to illness.

Dinner Yesterday
Scalloped Potatoes w/Ham
Green Beans
Bread & Butter

Breakfast
Cereal & Milk

Lunch Today

Sidecar: Miso Marinated Pork, Mirin Rice w/Paprika
Bottom Tier: Frozen Carrots, Broccoli, & Corn with butter to melt in microwave
Top Tier: frozen Mixed Fruit, String cheese

Still working on catching up with work, so still keeping VERY busy. ;)

Weather: Finally sunny!
Mood: Good. Focused! Which is nice. :)

Busy, Busy!

Fri, 7 Mar 08 12:07:00 UT

Work is kicking my butt. Really, really.

Accomplishments
None. But the cough is cleared up so I'm going to try to get back on track with the exercise next week.

Dinner Yesterday
Eggs
Toast
Fruit
Milk

Breakfast
Oatmeal

Lunch Today

Sidecar: Steamed Shrimp & Veggies over a bed of Mirin Rice

Top Tier: Remaining Veggies, Tartar Sauce in cup
Bottom Tier: Mixed Frozen Fruit
Lid: 2 Fried Jumbo Shrimp (in baggie), Sharp Cheddar Snack Cheese

Still busy! Need to hurry and finish lunch, then do dishes, then get back to work. *sighs*

Weather: overcast & rainy
Mood: pretty goo. no headache, motivated.

Belated Report

Wed, 5 Mar 08 09:14:00 UT

I seem to be perpetually running late and always behind these days. Yesterday, I really wanted to get some work done despite the rainy weather (and it was pretty bad rainy weather, too). I didn't have a headache, so I figured I'd get stuff done. Problem was that I was also exhausted. The damn cough/congestion thing is really wrecking havoc with my sleep. So I took a nap. It was only going to be for about an hour and a half, maybe 2. It ended up being closer to 3.

So, I didn't take a picture of my lunch (mac & cheese, a BBQ rib, celery & carrots sticks, cantaloupe & grapes, Laughing Cow cheese), but I did eat healthy. I didn't exercise.

I'm trying not to get depressed or frustrated with the exercise thing. The sick can't be helped, right? Still, I don't seem to be making much progress with it.

Maybe it should be about the food first. I seem to be doing better with that. :P

Monday...

Mon, 3 Mar 08 12:37:00 UT

What more can I say. I was going to exercise, but got behind in what I needed to do (and am still running about a half an hour late for everything, ug). My Monday setup for the week seems to overwhelm things if I'm not careful--I may end up moving a few things to the weekends to reduce that problem.

Not that I'm worried about it. Still coughing a lot. The cough getting better is happening, just R-E-A-L-L-Y slowly.

It doesn't help that we also have a demanding new kitten to distract me. Rogue is still being kept pretty much in a crate because we need to get her to the vet before she has too much exposure to the other cats, but I do let her out occasionally--catbox and roam time and all that. But I have to keep an eye on her. The boys just watch from a distance and growl occasionally, Ororo would try to tear her up. And that little bugger is fast! She was up the stairs before I knew what had happened earlier this morning--it took Logan hissing at her for me to realize she had left the kitchen!

Accomplishments
None, really.

Dinner Yesterday
Hamburger-Noodle-Cream of Mushroom Soup Mix
Orange Soda

Breakfast
Scrambled Egg
English Muffin w/Jelly
Milk

Lunch Today

Sidecar: Shrimp, Harboiled Egg, Chive Rice
Bottom Tier: Italian Mix Veggies (from frozen & w/pats of butter to melt in micro)
Top Tier: frozen Fruit Mix, String Cheese

Lots to get done, better get back to work!

Weather: Partly Cloudy
Mood: Okay--not particularly energetic/motivated, but not down either. I can work with okay. ;)

Still No Exercise

Fri, 29 Feb 08 12:23:00 UT

But feeling tons better every day. Still fighting the damn cough--it just won't go away and the cold nights are not helping.

Accomplishments
Just worky things. LOTS of worky things....

Dinner Yesterday
Pork Chop
Rice
Green Beans

Breakfast
English Muffin
Milk

Lunch Today

Sidecar: Teriyaki Chicken, Cornbread
Bottom Tier: Broccoli & Cauliflower w/butter pats to melt in the microwave (and they did!)
Top Tier: Pineapple in the red cup, Applesauce in the heart cup, String Cheese

I might actually try stretching again next week. The cough is still there, yes, but it's not so bad except at night...which could be the cold damp air kicking my asthma in gear. during the day, I generally seem fine.

And now I'm off to play with my own writing. ;)

Weather: cloudy
Mood: tired, but I woke up 3 or 4 times last night from the stupid coughing. :P

Finally Feeling Better

Thu, 28 Feb 08 13:51:00 UT

Finally doing better, thank god. All that's left is a persistent cough and all the work I'm behind on....waaaaaaaaay behind on.

Accomplishments
Because of the cough, still not exercising or anything yet--unless all the frantic typing I'm doing while editing counts. ;)

Dinner Yesterday
Braised Pork
Shrimp Scampi
Baked Potato
Italian Mixed Veggies

Yea, hub kind of spoiled me there. Not sure why. ;)

Breakfast
Pancakes...yeeeuuummmm

Lunch Today

Sidecar: Beef/Turkey Popovers, String Cheese
Top Tier: Pineapple chunks, Vanilla Yogurt in heart cup (just for eating this time)
Bottom Tier: Celery and Carrot Sticks

Yesterday I was able to be up all day, today I needed a nap. Go figure. I still feel tons better, just trying not to push. Definitely don't want to relapse into the sick again.

Weather: Sunny
Mood: Tired, but still has some sick

Limp, Limp

Mon, 25 Feb 08 10:00:00 UT

No exercise. Probably won't be exercising for the week, at least.

Last night was my first real dinner since this damn flu took over.

Lunch:

Sidecar: Paprika Rice & Ginger Pork
Top Tier: Cadbury Robin Eggs, Orange Blossom Muffin, Kiwi, String Cheese
Bottom Tier: Carrot & Celery Sticks

Weather: Sunny
Mood: Exhausted

And way behind on everything...and ready for bed again. *sighs*

Trying To Get Back

Thu, 21 Feb 08 12:08:00 UT

A week, or nearly a week, is waaaaaaay too long to be sick. I'm trying to get back on my feet now, but I suspect it will be slow, especially since I still have symptoms, just not as bad as they were--I can move around without being exhausted. I also have 2 sick kids and a sick husband now. This thing so sucks.

I'm kind of amazed at being online, but I'm sure it won't last long. And it looks like it may be at least until Monday or Tuesday before I get back on. At least I can still work, even if I can't browse or chat. which might be a good thing--I have a lot of catch up to do. Unfortunately, some of that is online stuff...which I'm going to attempt to tackle today while I still have a connection.

No exercise. Still eating very little. Which reminds...should go make that oatmeal now.

*sighs*

Sick

Sat, 16 Feb 08 20:43:00 UT

Yes, again.

The kidlet brought it home.

I hate schools.

Ooops!

Thu, 14 Feb 08 10:38:00 UT

Really, I did mean to post yesterday...just got caught up in my day.

I did exercise, even though I didn't want to. I also did more exercise last night than usual--I had to climb those stairs 3 times during the night. :P

Maybe I should consider alternating my stretch days with 2 days of climbing stairs for a few minutes. I mean, up and down and up and down again ad nausuem. *shudders* No fun that. At least I somewhat enjoy the stretch stuff. :P

I'm having a few food problems again, brought on, I think, by the sugar rush from the last 2 periods that were back to back and 2 weeks each. I'm craving and munching in the evenings like crazy again--for awhile there, a glass of milk before bed was enough. I want to go back to that. It's aggravating to fall back into old patterns that were broken for even a short time. :(

Dinner last night: Baked Salmon, Rice, Salad

Breakfast today: Scrambled Egg, Big-Ass Blueberry Muffin (too big, really--not a good idea for breakfast), Milk.

Lunch today: Teriyak Pork, Rice w/Paprika, Peaches, Cashews, Cheese, Carrot Sticks, Cauliflower, Cherry Tomato, Tea.

Weather: Sunny
Mood: tired, but I had to get up 3 or 4 times last night (and was THAT ever annoying!)

Um, yea, got to rush off and get things done! :P

Down Time

Tue, 12 Feb 08 10:06:00 UT

Got that manuscript taken care of and off to the author yesterday, which means I should have at least a few days for my own work--I just need to take advantage of them. There is some slush reading to do, and I do have apps coming in for the editing position we're opening up, but that's about it. LP is so new, no one is banging down our door to get a job with us. So hopefully I'll have a few quiet down days before the next mss. makes it back in. It'll be nice to not be backed up against a deadline for a few days. :)

Accomplishments
Not today, other than the usual stairs I do everyday.

Dinner Yesterday
Lemon chicken
Rice
Green Beans

Breakfast
Egg
English Muffin
Milk

Lunch Today
1/2 Tuna Salad Sandwich
Hardboiled Egg
Babybel Cheese
Cherry Tomato
Cauliflower & Celery Sticks w/Ranch Dressing
Pineapple
Apple in Vanilla Yogurt

I'm really upset that the cheap camera has decided to tank again. That thing eats up batteries like there's no tomorrow, but it's all we have. :(

Anyway, not sure when I'll have bento pictures again. Soon, I hope. I have a new box coming in to go with a box I picked up last week and I want to show them both off. ;)

Weather: Overcast--more storms moving in
Mood: Tired despite 7 hours of sleep, headachy from the weather, and I think I'm coming down with the mess youngest brought home from school. Meh.