Thanksgiving in a can

It's only me and mom for Thanksgiving. We haven't had company since Jan and the girls moved away. We don't have any family to go to, nor really any friends, not that she would go anywhere even if we were invited. So we make Thanksgiving dinner as easy as possible. A turkey, Stove Top stuffing (because she thinks stuffing in the bird will kill us), canned asparagus, canned cranberry sauce, canned gravy, and a turnip (for her). I stuff an apple in the turkey. I don't know if that makes a change in the taste or anything, but they (whoever "they" are) say you should put something in the cavity. I think most people use lemons. The whole stuffing issue is actually a good thing for me, because I eat one helping of the Stove Top and that's it. If it was "real" stuffing, in the bird, I would eat tons of it. I even make the Stove Top with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light. The only thing I may overindulge in is the turkey itself, and since I seldom eat enough protein, I don't have a problem with that.

Thanksgiving is mom's birthday, too. I got her a German Shepherd Rescue calendar and a pair of earrings she wanted. I ordered a couple of other things, but they didn't arrive in time. Oh well, I will save them for Christmas.

It is so freakin' cold outside...like 18 degrees cold. And it's not even the end of November! I. am. not. liking. this. at. all. My lips are so chapped, not even multiple application of Carmex are helping. I am on vacation, or "staycation" according to the Urban Dictionary. Right now it's me, two cats, my laptop and my bed. All is good. Tomorrow I have to take my mother to the doctor. Tuesday I have to bring my car in for service. Wednesday I have to take my mother to the doctor. Thursday I will be slaving over Thanksgiving dinner. (Okay, I exaggerate.) At least it will be warm by the stove. I also hope to get a haircut somewhere in between. I guess vegging out yesterday and today are the extent of the relaxation I am going to get.

I'm watching "My Fair Wedding" on We. The bride is from Long Island. I'm wondering if I sound like her.

I am so sick of trying to find decent clothes. I had to return half the stuff I ordered because it was either stupid looking or just didn't fit right. Why do designers (and I use the term loosely) think fat women want to wear bizarrely cut clothing. One shirt was longer on the sides than the front or back. The sides were literally down to my ankles. Who the heck would wear that? It's not like I'm a midget or anything, but you'd have to be 7 feet tall for that to hang right. It didn't look like that in the catalog picture, that's for sure. They also assume all fat women have huge breasts. I don't. I don't even fill out a C-cup. Everything is huge on the top but fits on the bottom. UGH. Don't even get me started on pants.

Quote for the day:
"People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. "
~Author Unknown

Yippee!

Yay, I got my comments back!

Endorphins make the world go 'round

Exercising "with" Richard was fun! I'm so glad I did it. (I did get to show off! LOL) It proves to me that I am able to exercise, so I am definitely going to start working out again. I did have to sit a few times, but not for any longer than 2 minutes. I was actually shocked that I was able to do as much as I was. Shocked but very happy. Also, when I was done my knee didn't hurt and it wasn't stiff. It's worth exercising just to not have pain in my knee for a few hours.
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I got gas for $2.17 yesterday, and today it's down to $2.13. It's amazing that gas is now half what it was just a few months ago.
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I told my boss that I really wouldn't be able to move out of my office by tomorrow because I had too much work to do before my vacation. She said, "You have to. I have to get N in here." That is so ridiculous. N's replacement won't even be hired until January. So now I have to go in early tomorrow to finish up the bare minimum of what I need to do so that the data sheets don't get more screwed up. I also have no where to move since no one has relocated in the other office. I'm so glad I'm on vacation next week, because I have pretty much had it. No wonder V (my predecessor) was so miserable.
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I always think of all this interesting stuff to post on my blog throughout the day, then I forget about it by the time I get home. Sigh....
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Quote of the day:
One of the saddest things is that the thing a man can do for eight hours a day, day after day, is work. You can’t eat for eight hours a day, nor drink for eight hours a day, nor make love for eight hours a day. All you can do for eight hours is work.
–William Faulkner (1897-1962)

WTF?

Alright, why the heck do I not have any comment link? I must have done something wrong. Not that I am expecting an avalanche of comments, but I'd like it to be a possibility....

Sweatin' with Dicky!

I found out today that this week's special exercise session for our fitness program at work is participating in a Richard Simmons video on big screen TV. Somehow I doubt it will have the same impact as exercising with him in person! I hope it's one of the earlier videos, the ones I have done 10,000 times before so I can totally show off.

I need to get a new camera. I keep saying that, but now that I have this blog, I would like to post some pictures (if I can ever figure out how to do it).

Work is getting ridiculous. I have a sh*tload of stuff to catch up on before I take off next week, and now B me to take on another time consuming task. She really has no idea how much extra work I already do.

Quote of the day:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that the maximum safe load capacity on my butt is two persons at a time, unless I install handrails or safety straps. Since you have arrived sixth in line to RIDE MY ASS today, please take a number and WAIT YOUR TURN!

This is an experiment.

It didn't work! I'll have to try this when I am more awake.

Kind of Random

I met an old friend from work at the grocery store today. When we first worked together she was married. Then she got divorced and ended up with another woman. They had commitment ceremony. We had a shower for them at work (I made an awesome card, if I do say so myself!). Eventually they split and she ended up marrying a man and having a son. The reason I bring this up is because seeing her made me think about Proposition 8. I don't live in Cali, so I could not vote on this issue. I have to admit I am pretty ignorant about politics. I try to keep up on things, but it bores me. However, I don't understand how same-sex couples can be given the right to marry, and then someone decides to put it on a ballot so people can vote to take it back.
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Wish I'd Said That:
H always had super-long luxurious curly strawberry blond hair. The other day she showed up at my building with a bob. After everyone had commented on how nice it looked, D, another colleague, walked into the lobby and said,"Oh, H, did you get your hair cut?" Our secretary, C, turned around and said, "Nope, she just washed it and it shrunk."

As Bill Engvall says, "Here's your sign."
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I am so wishy-washy. I have a hard time making decisions about anything. So how can I expect to make a decision about gastric bypass. One day I'm all gung ho about going for it. Might as well, I'm never going to do this on my own, blah, blah, blah. Yet in the back of my mind is the thinking that if I have the surgery I will forever feel like a failure. I feel like if I don't do it the "right" way, the healthy way, I will regret it for the rest of my life.
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Quote of the day:
Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.
Arnold H. Glasgow

2-Trying to get a "real life."

My life is boring. I get up, go to work, come home, go to sleep. Oh, and I eat, of course. I have never been married, nor have I ever had a child. I still hold out hope of finding someone to spend the rest of my life with, but my biological clock has probably ticked it's last tock. I haven't had a significant relationship in forever. I briefly got involved in the "fat and gaining" culture, but it was just too bizarre for me. I would talk to guys and they would ask me if I was willing to gain more weight (I wasn't fat enough for them!?!?!?!). I told them if I gained any more weight I wouldn't be able to walk--why would I want to do that? Like I said, bizarre... I gave up on that scene very quickly.

So another goal for me to work on is finding myself a man. I stumped on this one right now, because, since I find myself repulsive, why would anyone want to be with me?

My job? I guess it's a good job. I help people. I work with mentally retarded adults. I was a teacher at a Day Treatment program for 17 years, and now I work as a QMRP at our agency's nursing home. (That basically means I am in charge of making all the i's are dotted and all the t's are crossed and everything in all of our paperwork agrees.) I miss working with the "guys" one on one, but I was really burnt out and also permanently damaged my neck and shoulders from lifting and transferring people for 20 years. I guess this is my career. Oh well, no Oscar for me!
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I ended up not going to Zumba tonight. Partly because I wasn't feeling well. I've been fighting some kind of upper respiratory thing for a week. And, I admit, because I was scared to let people see me trying to do it.

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Foot in mouth disease:

My soon-to-be-ex-office is being painted. The current paint job has a nice forest green on the bottom and a sickly yellow-green on the top. I asked the secretary who picked the current color, "because I really hate it." She replied, "I did." Anybody got some ketchup for my big fat foot?

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Random Thoughts

Is there any difference (besides price) between the Arm and Hammer Cat Litter Deodorizer and plain baking powder?

When did sweatshirts become hoodies?
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Quote of the day:

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

1-Adventures in Weight Loss

I am 46 years old. I weigh approximately 450 pounds. I'm putting it out here because, until now the only people to know my real weight are me and Richard. Over the past 13 years or so I have lost and regained hundreds of pounds. When I was younger, it was so much easier. Now I have abused my body so badly that I have a hard time just getting around. Walking for more than 5 minutes is agony. I try to shop mainly in stores that have shopping carts so I have something to lean on. In the spring, I was ready to have gastric bypass surgery. My insurance company insists on jumping through hoops, so I started jumping, but I found it impossible to take it all seriously. I have lost not one pound even though I am supposed to be on a doctor-supervised diet. My diabetes is getting worse--the doctor wants me to start taking insulin, which freaks me out. I have high blood pressure. My knees seem to be disintegrating.

I do not want this blog to only be about my weight, but it's not like that can be ignored-it is the biggest part of the problem I face right now. I need a total life makeover.

In the past, I have always started a "lifestyle change" with exercise. I was easily able to jump back into exercising an hour a day. Now it is so hard. Just getting started is agony. But I am trying to get started. I went to a yoga class last night, but I could not get on the floor. Luckily, from my experiences with Richard I am able to modify exercises to my abilities. I was able to do most of the exercises, with the exception of a few poses that I could not figure out how to modify, standing or sitting. Tomorrow I am planning to go to a Zumba class. It sounds like fun, but I hope I am not humiliated. The yoga class was done in the dark, and I was behind everyone, so I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing me. I'm sure Zumba will be done with the lights on.

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Quote of the day:
Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork. ~English Proverb

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My cousin Danny was killed in Vietnam. I was too young to remember him.

I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free,
and I won't forget the ones who died,
who gave that right to me.

Thank you to all our veterans.

My first time

Wow, my first post. I'm not really sure what I am doing here. I want to use this blog for so many things. First of all, my adventures in weight loss. Second, trying to get a "real life." Third, the random things that go through my head. Fourth, some place to go when I just want to say, "Are you freakin' kidding me???"

Today I went to my first ever yoga class. Because my body is in such bad shape I can't get down on the floor, so I did as much as I could standing up or sitting. I thought I was going to hate it. I only went because my company makes us do a bunch of things to keep our health insurance premiums down. But I liked it! I really liked it. I think I will go again, of my own free will!

Let's see, what else? Oh, I am sure I will be posting obnoxiously about animals. I have 2 dogs and 5 cats. I love all animals and wish I could save them all.

I really want to keep this blog going. I don't want it to be yet another thing I let fall by the wayside.

Be back soon!