Oye it Exploded!

A previous entry caused my blog to explode! I wanted to change it to something more fancy, but the fancier templates ALL won't let you have links on the side. I have to have links. It's the only way I find things. This is temporary...and still trying to move the e-mail  part to the right. It's being a pain. All in time. At least there is some order there.

Good news on the walking front. I start the actual dieting part tomorrow. But somehow, duck and all I lost three pounds last week. I think just cause I got off my butt and walked daily. Wish me luck.

Duck Remorse

Had a fabulous birthday dinner for hubby and hubby's father's wife (I know mom-in-law cooking for divorced husbands and wife, strange but it works somehow) at mother-in-laws. One a little early and one a little late.

Had some awesome stuffed duck. Duck is one of those wonderful treats one can just eat and eat. Very rich meat and the skin, you just have to eat it.  If that wasn't enough there was soup, cucumber salad (I'm not a fan of the cuc's but they love it), rice, potato mush (that's how I know to explain it-looks gross, tastes yummy), meat cakes (spices hamburgers is the closest thing I can explain as-tastes yummy) and of course the birthday cake. Was belching duck allll night. 

Walked an hour last night to try to make up for some of it. 10,100 steps total for the day, I figured I walked off the cake.

These shoes are made for walkin'

Today is the first day of walking my average steps from last week plus 2,000. I averaged a little more than 6,000 steps last week per day. So now I need to walk a little more than 8,000 steps for the next week. I'm doing OK today. Just decided at least once a day I will go upstairs and take a walk on the balcony. Warm up, see some nice views and get some walking. We'll see how this goes. This is a challenge for me because when I get busy at work I tend to forget to get up and walk so I will have to be very conscious of this.

I have to admit I really like that that Step Diet book says. To me it makes sense. It is about lifestyle changes and that's what I want for sure. I know I don't want to go through losing weight and then gain it back. I have done that way too many times.

I think by writing about this here I am making myself a little more accountable. I bought hubby a pedometer last night so I am hoping that we can motivate each other. One of the interesting facts I read in the book was that most people who successfully lose weight and keep it off for more than six years did it with support from others.

 

Wow.

We got a new Bloomberg computer at work. It has this awesome dual flat screen monitors. They are sweet. After sitting in front of them...all other monitors seem inadequate.  They are beautiful.

Wanna Take a Dip?

And you thought the pond was gone? 
 
It has been pretty rainy here in Central Florida since Friday night. I know we have gotten more than 6 or 7 inches here. The picture is the hole that we had in our front yard from the pond liner we took out. We were planning on filling the sucker last weekend and into early this week. Since it has been raining off and on since, mostly on, it has been impossible to do so. Hubby took this photo this morning. The hole was once again a pond. We are hoping for some sun so we can fill er' up and mow the law. We have a small jungle out back happening.

Ok, He Partied too Much!

CNN.com - Cheesy, nude Monn arrested - Jul 20, 2004

Story of the Day

From the Associated Press:  

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The party's over for four inmates accused of going on a beer run after the jail's doors were accidentally left unlocked.   The men were charged Monday with escape and bringing alcohol into a jail. 

The breakout occurred Thursday night after cellblock doors at the Hawkins County Jail were left unlocked and a faulty control panel failed to alert jailers, Sheriff Warren Rimer said. 

Two of the inmates walked out through a fire exit, leaving the door propped open with a Bible, and made a hole in the exercise yard fence. They walked to a market, bought some beer and returned to the jail to share it with other prisoners. When the booze ran out, the other two inmates made another beer run to a different store.

Authorities believe the inmates bought more than two cases of beer in all.   "I guess they thought if they came back they wouldn't be charged with escape," Rimer said, "but they were wrong."   The store visits did not raise alarm because the inmates were wearing street clothes borrowed from other prisoners. The crowded jail does not have enough orange jumpsuits to go around.  

Have to love this story. They came back!

 

 

Olympics, Just the Way They Were..

Was reading this great article from the Associated Press about the ancient Olympics today. Talked about these olive-oiled up athletes who were like rock stars when they won. Here's some excerpts:

"The setting for the earliest Olympic Games some 3,000 years ago was both a sanctuary of soaring marble temples and a foul, drunken shantytown plagued by water shortages, campfire smoke and sewage. The athletes, glistening from olive oil, (yummy!) competed naked. Gymnasiums were restricted to keep the sex trade from overrunning events on the field.  
 
With the 2004 Summer Games set to begin in Athens on Aug. 13, archaeologists and scholars are demythologizing and viewing the original Olympics as they really happened.   Contrary to the modern stereotype, the games weren't tightly scripted Homeric epics in which warriors dropped their weapons every four years to honor the twin virtues of amateur sport and brotherhood."

 and

"The ancient games were held in a remote valley. Forty-thousand spectators crowded a hillside above a sacred precinct containing some of the greatest temples in the empire. Sport, they believed, was a high tribute to the gods, who favored the athletes who won.   Before the games, athletes pledged their piety as they were paraded past a row of statues of gods and former champions that were paid for from the fines of disgraced cheaters. At the feet of a 40-foot statue of Zeus - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - they sacrificed oxen and boar and roasted hunks of the flesh in a sacred flame."

"A few events have persisted over the millennia, like the discus, javelin, running, wrestling and boxing - although the ancient versions often had different rules. Other events vanished with the empire, like the full-armored sprint and the pankration - which resembled a bar fight that allowed finger-breaking and genital punching." Now that would be interesting.

and finally...

"These champions were the Michael Jordans of their day, showered with fame and prizes, including huge annual stipends and prized commodities like the best olive oil, free meals and theater seats, hometown parades, statues and sex partners.   The shamed losers, according to the poet Pindar, would "slink through the back alleys to their mothers."

Now those would be some interesting events to attend. I am ready for the Summer games to start. I always have enjoyed watching the Olympics and I think it is cool that it is in the birth place again, well, if they actually finish everything and the lights don't go out.

 

 

 

Friday..friday!

My brain is feeling a little frazzeled today. I just noticed that that Blogger made some pretty cool changes.
Now I can

• change fonts,
•  colors,
•  sizes
• upload photos directly instead of through
• and easily make lists and bullet points . 

Pretty cool. This little thing is getting better and better!

So what started off as frazzled brain post has become a happy Sarah.

 

Walkin' in Tampa Bay...

Wearing a pedometer for the first time today. I picked up a copy of the Step Diet last week and am reading my way through it. It says to wear the thing for a week and average it to see on the average how much you walk. 10,000 steps is supposed to be in the weight loss range. I know I am no where near that being I am pretty sedentary at work. I looked earlier today and was up to just under 3,000. Not too good. But they said try not continue your normal schedule so not to skew the results. From the average you add 2,000 steps and slowly work your way up. This makes sense to me. The little pedometer doesn't lie. In my head I may believe I walk a lot more..

Am trying to do something more. It is a little bothersome and it rattles slightly...but I have to give it a try.

Three Years and Counting

Sarah and Laszlo July 14, 2001 

Today is my three year wedding anniversary. We have been an item since 1992, but made it official three years ago today. And yes, it is also Bastille Day!

In honor I am wearing the necklace and earrings from that day. That way, anytime I want, I can have a little extra reminder of that day.

No sloppy romantic stuff to say. Just something sweet and short. I am lucky to have the hubby I do and look forward to enjoying the years to come.

Not Right..

I am just not quite right today. My mind isn't working the way it should and I was never able to get that rhythm going. I am just off somehow. That and my tummy is a little upset. But I am happy it is almost time to go home.

Got a new reporter today. He's from Deluth. I wonder what he thinks about the Florida summer? But come December he will love it here I guarantee it. He might have to invest in some more shorts though.

A House Isn't a Home Without a Tree

Hubby and Tree 

This is hubby with the lovely live oak tree we received for a wedding anniversary present from my parents. We had just finished planting it. Somehow my parents got that home in my dad's Avalon. Could you see that going down the road sticking out the back? I wish I could have had a photo of that one! We came home from work and there it was...I like it!

I am on a quest to find more plants/trees too. Found a local women who is a master gardner with the county extension office who is willing to splint plants with me. How cool is that? And a friend has a tree the city is about to chop down to make room for a sidewalk...we think we'll try to dig that sucker up too. I don't know much about plants and gardening..but I'm learning.

Moi? Mean?

I've been told I've been mean writing about Randy, the co-worker who sits next to me at work. See, I'm not trying to be mean. Just explaining a situation and a guy who offers something different to talk about. Heck, he makes fun of himself too for being disorganized and how he constantly looses things. It's kinda funny actually because I have gotten to kinda like the guy. He cracks me up at times and I admire that he doesn't sit around at home but likes to travel a lot and has seen more of Florida in the past 3 months than I have in years.

So tell me. Am I really being mean? Should talk of the Randimonium cease? Although I was reminded this morning that my motto is "If you don't like it, get your own blog."

Quote of the Day

"If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job."
- Malcolm Forbes

Oh Malcolm, this is soooo true.

Our hair's better than your hair?

Ok, this is just silly.

CNN.com - Our hair's better than your hair - Jul 8, 2004

Why did they even go there?

Politics Please

Ok, so I try to stay out of politics here. I am so sick of hearing from all of them frankly. They all lie and say what they think you want to hear so they will elect you. Most are rich, old white men who have very little to do with what I believe. So I stay away, until now.

I've added a cool new blog under But Seriously... It's called WatchBlog. What's different is that it doesn't just concentrate on one side or the other. It is split three-ways. To your left (how appropriate) is the democrats, the middle the Independents and on the right all about Republicans. A variety of topics are covered. And it's actually kinda of funny at times.

Back to the Grind

Almost forgot how lovely having two days in a row off was. I was telling hubby that I actually felt refreshed last night and I didn't fear falling asleep at the desk at work. Wonderful. The bummer? I don't know when the next day I will get off. There's no holidays till September and it's on a Monday so it's a single day. Although a friends wedding is that Saturday afternoon and I will not be working that day. So I have to look forward to right now is lots of work Monday-Friday and hot weekends. Kinda depressing really. I guess I have to get sick to get a day off now.

It's 4:20 and I Wanna Go Home

Man, it's the afternoon before a holiday weekend that I actually get some of it off and I don't want to be here anymore. It's hard to concentrate on work when all you want to do is play, and the guy next to you is mumbling on about whatever and stuffing his mouth with food as usual. Well...at least it's not that long left.

I'm ready. Are you?

Reason to Love/Hate the Commute

While crossing the Howard Franklin Bridge the other day I was thinking how it's not that bad of a drive, really. I get home in the same time as many who drive to Brandon, North Tampa, even Plant City sometimes. I mean, I get to look out my window and see a body of water (this picture can't do it justice).


Could Be Worse Eh? 

But then I realize, there's still traffic. And on this day lots of it.

Traffic! 

Have You Met My Good Friend Stanley?

Ok, so I wasn’t feeling too hot last night so I didn’t get around to putting these babies up. Yeah, I know I’m behind the Daily Dave and Side Salad, but here we go. We’ll Call this…Sarah’s Quest for the Cup!


Quest for the Cup 
This is some of the line waiting to meet Stanley. But hey…is there a better way to spend a half an hour of your workday?


Daal, Dave and Britt 
These are the guys and baby elephant I endured the line with. Well, it was mainly enduring the sickening sweetness of the two lovebirds. And Daal getting sooo excited at the thought of finding peanuts in the Stanley Cup that he almost jumped for joy out of Dave’s hands.


Daal climbs Stanley 
Here’s Britt helping Daal climb Mt. Stanley. The excitement is high here!


I love that guy! 
Here I am from farther away me with Stanley. It was hard not to kiss him.

And FINALLY!


Say Hello To My Little Friend...Stanley! 

Happy Birthday to Youuu!!!

A VERY happy birthday to friend and co-worker Dave Simanoff! He turns, well I know it's not nice to reveal older folks ages, so I won't. There is yummy cake in his future today as well as some really bad singing from our staff.

Other famous people's birthdays:

Princess Diana, Twyla Tharp (choreographer) and Carl Lewis (famous athlete).

Famous things that happened on July 1, besides Dave being born, which is huge to begin with:

1863: The Battle of Gettysburg started, which was the turning point of the Civil War.

1963: Post office first started using 5-digit zip codes.

1997: After 156 years of British control, Hong Kong was returned to China.