800!

I just noticed the counter has hit 800! Thank you all for visiting!

Review: Juvenile felis catus

While domestic cats are a common feature of many computing environments, IT review sites have proven oddly unwilling to investigate this popular computer room accessory.

http://www.dansdata.com/kitten.htm

Great article on kittens as computer sofware accessories. :)

I'm scaring myself!

I just keep losing weight this week and I'm scaring myself! I was down to 145 yesterday, and 144.4 today. I keep expecting to bounce back up but I just keep going down! I know it will stop soon and I'll start bouncing around again, but man, my body has just kicked into gear the last couple weeks and decided to lose more weight!

Here's my new ticker:

testing post by e-mail feature

I'm testing the post by e-mail feature this blog has to see if it's as easy as it looks. :)

[Edit: Woohoo! It works!]

The Whoosh Fairy

The Whoosy fairy came for a visit both before and after TOM this month! I was down to 145.6 this morning! I know I'll bounce up a little when the water whoosh is done, but I never bounce up very far. I think I am permanently out of the 150s! :) Here's my new ticker.

She can't die...

She just can't. I'm not ready to deal with this. My Dad is supposed to go first, but now my friend has cancer and the most serious depressive episode ever and even she doesn't think she will make it.

I can't deal with this, God, I just can't. I've never grown so close to someone who didn't know you and I am afraid for her, and for how I will deal with knowing. Oh, Father, why? [weeps]

What I'm Reading

Inspired by what I saw in the blog Erud-awakening I thought I'd put a section in here about what I'm reading. These books may be of interest to more than just me.

Of course, the Bible tops the list. ;) This year I'm trying to read the whole thing in a year, and I link to the program I'm using. After that I list whatever other book I'm working on. Due to the Bible reading this year, other books have been getting finished very slowly. Even the latest Left Behind book, usually a very quick read, took much longer than usual.

Anyway, the new section is just beneath "How this blog got its name," and just above "Recent posts." Check out the reading program I'm using this year, and check out my current book - it's always a good one.

After this book I plan to re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in preparation for the movie coming out in December, then go on to another one of Krakauer's books, Into the Wild.

How American Are You?

You Are 69% American

Most times you are proud to be an American. Though sometimes the good ole US of A makes you cringe Still, you know there's no place better suited to be your home. You love your freedom and no one's going to take it away from you!

How American Are You?

69?!? I'm a lousy 69% American?!?

The Fatman Walking

Found this cool site about a very unusual guy.

WWW.TheFATMANWALKING.com
Walking across America to lose weight and regain my
life!

When will I ever learn?

Ug. Not doing so well today. They had no lite beer at the pub Brad and I had dinner at, so I had to get the regular, which is pretty high in carbs. I should have stopped at one. Two beers combined with what I drank at home was way too much, and I woke up feeling blecky this morning. I did drink some water before bed as I know that helps stave off hangovers.

Nevertheless, I got up and went to the gym and did an hour of cardio, then made my way to work. I'm drinking an energy drink now and trying to drink more in general to cleanse my system.

Yesterday's dinner (besides the beer) was fine. I had the steak and had extra veggies instead of mashed potatoes. The rest of the day really SUCKED food wise and I was a bad bad girl. There was nothing I could eat at the church pot luck. Jane didn't bring her salad, and everything else was a carbfest. I ate the sandwich I brought for myself, then went home and proceeded to eat awful. One of these days I will learn that I can safely keep low carb ice cream in the house, but I can not safely keep low carb ice cream bars in the house. I won't tell you how many I ate, but it was over half the box. :( Add to that the Kahlua, sugar free candy, etc. It was horrible. I am up over 2 pounds this morning. I hate myself when I do this.

I'm back on track today, and trying to keep my carbs low to compensate for the last two days. I did an hour of cardio this morning - 30 minutes on the treadclimber, and 30 on the stationary bike, and I did light arm weights while I pedaled the bike.

O'Reilly on Terrorism

On Thursday night Bill O'Reilly nailed down my problem with Spain in all this, and one reason I have so little compassion for Spain's 9/11. He said there were three reactions countries can have toward terrorism.

1) We can take a hard line. This is what O'Reilly himself believes in, and, incidentally, what I believe in.
2) We can try to appease them. This is what Spain did by giving in to the terrorist's demands.
3) We can ignore the situation.

Britain has stood by the U.S. and has refused to pull out their troops in reaction to being attacked. They are our allay, and have been a great allay. Terrorists must be confronted.

At any rate, the recent new attempts at bombings should remind us all to continue to pray for Britain and her protection. When I pray for the U.S. now I also pray for Britain. Keep praying so that they will not be hit again. The "duds" today encourage me that my prayers have helped. Let's keep it up.

I rock!

After weighing myself this morning I donned the clothes I wore during my first intake exam and weighed again, then did the subtraction from their total and found that if I had weighed at home that first day I would have come out to about 206. So that's my new official start weight.

Was down AGAIN today, and I hit my next goal of 147! I weighed in at 146.8. Less than 7 pounds from goal! Woohoo!

TOM started and I never have new lows right before TOM, so will be interesting to see what happens.

Made a new ticker to show my new start weight.

The True Geek Test

The Poser Geek You answered 54% of the questions as a geek truly would.

As a poser geek, you're trying too damned hard. There's a strong possibility that you think you're a geek because you own your own computer, however you're truly missing the bigger picture. You aspirations of being a geek mainly come from your friends, who are probably slightly cooler. Get rid of those thick black-rimmed glasses. Being a geek isn't about style, it's about substance! So what's this all mean? It means you're probably a pretty cool person. You've probably got social graces and are well liked by many people. While not a complete conformist, you do prefer to follow along with popular culture. True geeks probably laugh at you behind your back. In a nutshell, you answered most question how you thought a geek WOULD answer, but your misconceptions deceived you. Truth is, 60% of people are geekier than you.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 22% on geekness

Link: The True Geek Test written by ambientred on Ok Cupid

Overtime...yay!

I get some overtime today. :) Jon (my boss) didn't realize that Brad (out today) was supposed to work a 12 hour shift from 7am-7pm and could I come in around 3 and work a half shift until 7? I accepted. I don't know how I will find the time to cook the meat for my lunches next week and portion it out, but I'll just have to squeeze it in somewhere. Ovetime is more important. In fact, only church takes precidence over extra time at work.

What Kind of Girl Are You?

You Are the Girl Next Door! You're caring, warm, and the girl that nice guys want to marry. Uncomplicated and simple, you've got an easy going attitude guys love. But this doesn't mean you're dull - far from it! You're a great conversationalist, and you're an expert at living the good life. What Kind of Girl Are You? Take This Quiz :-) Find the Love of Your Life (and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

PETA kills animals? Yep!

Found this article. I had no idea this was going on!

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is one of the world’s most successful and effective advocacy organizations. Dedicated to the "rights" of animals with a devotion so fierce it borders on fanaticism, PETA activists practice propaganda as an art form and are so skilled at in-your-face advocacy and agitation that executives of the world's most powerful corporations cow when the PETA activists pound on their doors.

Full story here.

Found this companion site:
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

You know, they are against pets. I'm sure they would think me horrible for 1) adopting a kitten who is an innie only, and 2) taking in a feral, feeding her, and getting her spayed. And making her a 99% indoor cat.

Sign the petition to revoke PETA's tax-exempt status!

Do a Google search for "PETA kills animals" and see what comes up. It's shocking!

I won my first Ebay auction!, take 2

I won another auction today, after winning no less than 3 in recent days, proving that you really can get what you want.

So to recap, I have now bought:
* 60 Chocolate Coconut meal bars
* 15 Pralines 'N Cream bars
* 15 Chocolate Peanut Butter bars
* an additional 50 Chocolate Peanut Butter bars.

Whew! Can't really afford all this, but it will mean I won't be buying bars for a very long time! Everything is paid for except the the last item; I'm waiting for a money transfer into PayPal from my checking account.

Not a good day...

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. Or, as Emo Phillips said, "Some days it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps." Bleh. Not only did I have NO energy at the gym today, but my hunger and cravings got the best of me and I managed to injest a few thousand calories in just a few hours, including a snack pack of Oreos and a bunless cheeseburger, neither of which were on my planned menu. If I didn't know better I'd say it was PMS. Lord help me. I think I will sleep in tomorrow and see if that helps.

Bleh. Life sucks. *yawn*

I'm an aunt!

My brother, Rob, was given up for adoption many years before I was born. I found out he existed about 15 years ago and we've seen each other a few times since then. Well, now he and his wife Julie have adopted a baby, so I'm now an aunt to Jebadiah. :) Not legally of course, since Rob was adopted out, and not even by blood since their baby is adopted, but an aunt nonetheless. :) It's good to finally be an aunt. I'm certainly old enough!

I won my first Ebay auction!

I've bid on things a few times before, but never won an auction until today. :) I won 60 Chocolate Coconut Advantage bars and 15 (one box) Pralines 'N Cream Advantage bars. I use them for breakfast every morning. Because they won't arrive before I run out I bought a box of 15 from GNC today of the Cookies 'N Cream bars.

Can I make God cry?

He grieves over Israel's sins, doesn't He? I've found that His normal response to my sin is to try to gently draw me back, like a grieving parent with an errent child. He only pulls out the big guns and gets angry when the gentle approach doesn't work. And THAT ain't fun because when He gets angry, He means business, and it's not His preferred way of working.

I love the prophets because they show God heart clearer than any other literature in the Bible. And they show a God who feels, who grieves, and let's not forget that the Holy Spirit is God and can be grieved - "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God."

Death by treadmill?

I can't find any online news about this. I suspect that it was such a minor story that it didn't even ping the radar. Anyway, I talked with a woman at 24 Hour Fitness in San Leandro today and she says she was in the pool last Thursday when some guy who was trying to push himself too hard on the treadmill dropped dead. EMTs were called, but they couldn't revive him.

Don't have any more details than that.

Start slow, people! When I started at Curves I got out of breath so easily. Now I can go for ages doing tough stuff. You gotta start slow and work up. Over time your body will adapt to the excercise and you'll have to work harder to push yourself.

Weight for me

Managed to gain nearly 3 pounds since yesterday. It's gotta be related to Saturday being 1) my cheat day, and 2) having an open bar at the party at Rob's house and having 1 drink more than what I know is my limit. When will I ever learn?

Today I'm wearing a size 10 again. The 8s were way too tight. :(

Yes, there was a party at Rob's house for their new adopted baby, Jebadiah. Poor kid to saddle him with such a name!

Went to the gym today and swam for an hour, then got on the threadmill and walked at 3.5 mph for 30 minutes, so about 1.75 miles.

Britain's 9/11, take 3

Death toll is now up to 49 and expected to climb even more as there's still bodies in the subway system. God, this is just horrible. Evidently, 3 bus attacks were planned so we can be grateful that only 1 came off. Out of 700 wounded, only 60 are still in the hospital, so that's good at least.

Please continue your prayers for these people. Britain has been a friend to the U.S. through everything, and they deserve our prayers more than a lot of other countries out there.

Kyrie eleison.

Britain's 9/11, take 2

Just a quick note. I'm at work but turned on the radio and heard that the attacks came on the first full day of the G8 summit. I don't think that's coincidence. Also that the number of dead is still 37; the number of injured is roughly 700. Yikes! And some of the bomb were on timers.

Britain's 9/11

By now everyone has heard about the terrorist attacks in London Thursday morning during rush hour. Buses and trains shut down, stranding people and causing them to have to walk miles in some cases to get home. 37 confirmed dead so far, in 3 subway attacks and one bus attack. Supposedly 2 more unexploded bombs were also found.

Since this was just one day after London found out they will host the 1012 Olympics, I wonder if this had anything to do with it? For sure the G8 summit going on is one reason. At least Blair will not back out of the coilition the way Spain did. I understand why Spain backed out, but they were doing exactly what the terrorists wanted, and that just seems wrong in sooo many ways. Britain has stood behind us from the start and appears to be our biggest ally. For that reason, and the fact that we share a common language, I feel more kinship with them than with the people of Spain.

Let's remember all the British people in our thoughts and prayers, especially for the wounded and the families of those killed.

500 hits!

I just realized this blog is at over 500 hits already! :) And that's NOT counting my hits from either work or home. I set the counter up to ignore those, so I guess Brad's hits wouldn't count either since we share our work computer.

Anyway, 500 unique hits from people other than me! Thank you all! :)

Enrolling in "Atkins University"!

After looking at these classes and debating if I should take any, I finally took the plunge and signed up today at "Atkins University" on their Web site to take the class "Atkins vs. the South Beach Diet: Understanding the Differences". I've always wondered how the plans differ. It's free and I've been signed up at the Web site for ages, so it just took a couple mouse clicks. There's also a cheapy little discussion board for students and instructors to talk. Depending on my experience with this, I'll consider other classes later.

Time to plunge in! Here we go!

And so it (doesn't) begin...

Woke up this morning to find there is no BART strike. They've reached a tentative agreement, blah blah blah. At least I can get around easier now rather than having to go all the way through Alameda to get home.

Whew!

I hope the employees got a good deal. Everyone deserves to make a living income, especially here in California where prices are so high. I rent a studio apartment for which I pay $700 a month. And trust me, in this area, that's considered a good price.

Ewww...maggots

It's July 4th and I come home to the sound of illegal fireworks all over the neighborhood. I feel like a stray firework is going to hit me and am glad to duck into the apartment. Both cats are scared by the fireworks and Abby is hiding under the bed. I pick Xena up and she licks my face a bit. She seems reassured by my presence.

They've had a tough night home alone with all the loud noices so I take out a small can of wet food to treat them. I peel back the lid and open the garbage can to toss it out. There are maggots crawling everywhere! Ewww. I feel suddenly queasy looking at all those maggots. I don't want to deal with this tonight.

I toss the top in and close the garbage can. I put the cats' food on a plate and put it on the floor. Then I get the Raid, open the can, and spray everything. The cats freak out from my spraying the Raid too close to where they're eating, so I move their plate of food into the living room. I put the Raid down, detatch the top of the garbage can, and rinse off all the dead maggots in the shower. I carefully tie the bag closed and take it downstairs, being rattled by fireworks all the way down and back. Then I rinse out the body of the garbage can in the shower, and place a clean bag inside it. I get paper towels and clean up all the dead maggots on the floor. I go back into the bathroom and find a stray maggot crawling up the outside of the tub. I get toilet paper. I can feel it "pop" as I squash it between my fingers. This is making me queasy again.

I wash two more remaining maggots in the tub down the drain, and run the water several seconds to make sure they don't crawl back UP.

The cats begin to settle down as I sit in bed, drinking my glass of wine. But I'm still rattled. I wish I had enough calories left to have another glass. My nerves are shot. This is NOT what I needed after a 12 1/2 hour shift on a holiday. :-p

Looking to lose weight?

I'm trying to promote Jeanne's forum more. If you are trying to lose weight and/or live a healthier lifestyle, please come by and join us. We have monthly weight loss challenges, and there is no condemnation, but support for your chosen path, and discussion of various eating styles.

Just click on the graphic below to visit us. Registration is free and I promise, this company won't spam you. :)

Happy July 4th!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Independance Day! :)

Canada to curb medication exports?

This is truly of interest to me and anyone else without health insurance.

Canada Is Drafting Regulations to Curb Bulk Drug Exports to U.S.

TORONTO, June 29 - The government announced Wednesday that it was drafting legislation to limit bulk exports of essential Canadian drugs in an effort to ensure that online pharmacy sales to the United States do not cause domestic shortages. But the proposal fell far short of what the online pharmacy industry feared might have forced it to leave Canada.

Full story here.

Incidentally, the picture of CanadaMeds...that's where I buy my medicine from.

Without being able to buy from Canada, I'm not sure what I'll do.

I checked the CanadaMeds Web site, but there's nothing there on it.