Step Away From the Cake

I'm sure you can figure out why if you work at it :) Today was good. I got up and did my strength training and then did my intervals. Since I slept in yesterday I had a workout to make up. I'm trying to figure out when I can get my swimming in. I'm really having trouble when I can swim. I don't have access to a pool right now, maybe it's time to go back to the Y. The ocean is right here but there are not a lot of places where I can safely swim early in the morning. So it's a tough one. I could get up early and go to Waikiki and swim on Sunday mornings but I'd rather not. Maybe I could go to Kailua and swim..... Hmmm , this will take some thinking. Then I worked for Nutro . That's all I did today. But it was a nice day. Tonight Hubby has gone to a friends to watch the fight, so I have a night alone - woo hoo !!!! I guess I'm going to get something to eat and curl up and watch tv for a while. Nice and relaxing, yes!!!

If you look on hubby's left shoulder you will see a bird bending down getting her head scratched. Now look under the table. There's a dog lying there. Rocco is not interested in Xena at all. He, who seems to think he's a great birddog , couldn't care less that there is a bird on daddy's shoulder. Rocco is doing pretty well after his rounds of cancer. He has some new lumps coming up, I watch his body closely, but at this point we've decided there will be no more surgery. If he gets another tumor we are going to let nature take it's course. He's 12 years old and I can't be having surgery on him every few months. He's too old and wouldn't stand it. But for now he's doing good and that's what's important. Nala on the other hand, I don't know. I've increased her shots to once a week and she gets Rimadyl about twice a week. She seems to be hanging in there. Last week she woke up in the middle of the night, two nights...

Okay, here goes nothing. I've started a new blog. I've jumped in and gotten my own domain name and started up a blog. There are few entries there and there will be more daily. As you all know I'm doing this paid blogging gig. Well, it's working out well. I'm making pretty good money for not a whole lot of work. But, as I said in the last post, I've become obsessed with money, I want to make more. By having my own domain name and not being associated with blogger, I'll be eligible for more offers. But I need to build up my rankings. So I'm asking all who read this to please go there but more important, to link there from your blog. I will most likely be keeping this blog and using that one as my main money making blog. But please, I need links. Please link to my new blog: www.flosplaceonline.com . Thank you. I will be repeating this plea so be prepared :) Maybe I'll get some business cards printed with nothing but the url and jus...

I've become a little obsessed with money lately. I've taken on a 2 nd job and am blogging for money. There is a reason behind it, I want to get these freaking taxes out of the way, so yeah, I'm a little obsessed . The other day in the mail I got an envelope from an address that I didn't recognize. It was not a business mailing so I was curious and opened it. Inside was a letter showing how I could make thousands and thousands of dollars for very little money. As I read further I learned I was supposed to mail an amount of money ($1 or $5, I can't remember which) to 6 people on a list included with the letter. Then I was to replace one name with mine and mail this letter off. The letter told me I could just mail it to people I know (yeah, right) or I could purchase mailing lists . For which they provided a list of companies that sell mailing lists. I found this letter fascinating and wondered how many people do it. Obviously some do since I received it. A...

Yeah!!! I'm not feeling so hot today. My stomach is a little upset. Last night was our Nutro meeting. They always feed us well and last night was no exception. But, I've been in one of my moods where food is bleah ! Nothing appeals to me, nothing seems appetizing. When I'm in these moods (and they happen from time to time), I eat only to stay alive and I could really eat cardboard for all the enjoyment I get from it. So last nights dinner was really wasted on me. It was chicken and scallops - I adore scallops!!! There was also salad and dessert. I ate it without really enjoying it. This morning though I feel like a have a bit of a hangover (there was no alcohol at all). I feel groggy and draggy and my stomach is a little upset. So this got me to thinking; could a hangover be from a break in your normal routine and not necessarily from alcohol? For the past month (at least) I have not been out to dinner and I have not been out during the week in much longer!! ...

The Lion King is coming here to Hawaii. The folks here are acting like this is the first Broadway show we've ever gotten here. It's not. The other day Hubby expressed a desire to see the show. Since I'm not totally against the idea I decided to look into tickets. Oh. My. God. What a colossal hassle. I could not even pull the listing up on Ticketmaster. I had to go through the venue's website and look at each individual performance to see of there were any tickets available. Most shows were sold out be I had to look at each show - ugh!!!! What a waste of time. You mean they can't just look through all the performances to see which ones has tickets available???? I had a friend tell me they were trying to get Dave Matthews Band Tickets and came across Premium Seats U.S.A. This looks like a much better way to look for tickets. They list the dates with the shows and you just click to see what's available. How much easier is that?? Unfortunately , it ...

I haven't blogged yet today, how odd. It's not like I don't have anything to say, I always have something to say. Actually it's just that I've been distracted. I'm going to get my own domain and move my blog there but it's hard to choose which one, how do I want to do it, blah, blah, blah. I bore myself sometimes. On to better topics..... My back is totally painless, you have no idea how awesome that is. So I wanted to set my goals for May but I keep getting distracted. I really have too much going on right now. I'm going to take the rest of this week to get things sorted out. I have to get a couple of things finished so they are off my mind. I think that will be the rest of this week. Then, over the weekend I will lay out the goals for May and my game plan for Tinman training. That's all I have to say right now. I'm too much in my own head and need a break.

and I didn't even mention it. Me!!!! The queen of fresh starts, clean slates, new beginnings!!! What happened??? Anyway, yesterday was the first of May, a new month, a new start. April turned out to be a raging success after a really rocky start. In April I worked out 21 out of 30 days. Considering I missed the entire first week, that totally rocks!!! I have lofty goals for May. April really got me motivated again. I'm not sure if it's me, or the fact that it's getting lighter earlier, or that spring is in the air, or that race season has begun, but I'm inspired. Over the last couple of weeks I've read Comm and Benny's declaration of intent for various things, mostly Ironman related. I'm not up to Ironman level yet, but my self imposed moratorium on tris has to end. I had originally decided to take this year off tris , work on running, and focus on the marathon. Well guess what??? I'm dying to do a tri . I've decided to do th...

this is the funniest thing. Last night I left a comment over at Commodore about Fe-Lady. He had said that it took him a while to realize Fe meant iron. I commented that even though I'm a chemist and caught the Fe reference right away, when I think of it in my mind I say Fey- Lady. Well that must have stuck in my head because I dreamed about her last night. Apparently we were training for a tri inside a hospital building. We were running around patients and doctors, through the rooms and up and down the corridors. She would get all pissed off at me because when we came to the corner of a room I would do a walking flip off the wall, you know, walk up the wall half way then flip over and come down (right, like I can do that!!). Anyway, she would yell at me because she would have to slow down so I could do my flip. I woke up laughing. That was one of the funniest dreams I've had in a long time. And yes, I called her Fey-Lady!!

I just read a post that freaked me out. I've just started reading her blog through PayPerPost .com and had no idea what was going on. Okay, let's be honest, I had no idea this was going on at all. I knew of people being harassed through their blogs and getting nasty comments and stuff, but this??? I had no clue. It really kind of freaked me out. I do think Kat is right though, do not back down. Do not let him intimidate you. Bullying and harassment are usually done by weak, ineffectual people who feel they have no control in their own life and so try to make others feel bad. Generally, I you defend yourself they will back down. But it is freaky to think about. Okay, on to more important things. I'm really getting the itch to enter a race. I've started thinking about it over the weekend and the idea is growing and growing and growing...... The racing itch is on me. The Tinman triathlon is July 29 th . That's exactly 12 weeks away. I could be ready i...

Your Political Profile: Overall: 70% Conservative, 30% Liberal Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal How Liberal Or Conservative Are You? Even I have a little liberal in me. Oh, the humanity!!!!

I've heard for years that the best place to put your money is in gold . I don't personally own any, but it sure would be nice. Do you realize man has been fascinated with gold since ancient times?? Ancient Egyptians prized and valued gold, as did the Romans and Greeks. It's amazing stuff and it retains it's worth. The dollar has decreased in value and that's why things seem more expensive. For example, a loaf of bread used to cost say 50 cents. Now it costs $2.50. Well the amount of gold that it took to make 50 cents years ago is the same amount that would make $2.50 now. So see, the value of the item didn't really change only the amount of dollars it takes to buy it. So gold has always been a good investment. It holds it's value and will always be valuable. Edited: I stand corrected. Apparently the term "U.S. Dollar" has a legal definition (see the comments). So to avoid further confusion, the term "dollar" as used in this po...

My very first job was a key punch operator in an environmental health company. I could go on and on about computers and key punch and all that stuff, but I'll save that for another post. This was the 70's, I think they had the first Earth Day in Palo Alto where I worked. The company was very cutting edge. They were getting into a field that was largely untapped. Their specialty was coming into factories and testing workers hearing. They contended that being around the noise all the time was affecting their hearing. At that point in time that was not a clearly established relationship. Some of the testing they did helped establish the noise regulations that exist today. I only wish I could remember the name of the company. Nowadays Environmental Health and Safety ( EHS ) is a huge business that's growing all the time. I think EHS is important. Businesses not only have to be aware of not only the health of their workers but the health of the environment they in...

I have a couple of goals this week. I want to increase my workout times to an hour. I want to start working on my push-ups (I'm going to master them I swear I will). I want to work on my Core Performance, every night for 10 minutes. That's all, not hard. I did my strength training this morning and then did interval training after - that was tough. But I got my 60 minutes in. The problem you ask??? Tonight my back is really sore and I'm not sure I understand what's going on. My back has been bothering me for a couple of months now. I've put it off to inconsistency in training, a slight weight gain, and a lousy bed. It has been getting better and only bothering me once in a while. This past week it's really been bothering....... Never mind. I just realized where in the month we are and figured right out what's going on. Forget what I said. So tomorrow morning it's interval training again and then elliptical for 60 minutes. Actually, I might ...

If we had not moved to Hawaii I definitely would have ended up living in Arizona. I love the desert. I think it is one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth. The Arizona landscape is truly magnificent and breathtaking. It's the kind of place that makes you feel the presence of a God. Well, if you don't live there and find yourself traveling there, you can check out Arizona Hotels here. Their website has been renovated and it really awesome. They show things to do, places to stay, and various activities in the different areas of Arizona; Phoenix , Sedona , Flagstaff, etc. They even list the top 50 places in Arizona, some of which I've never heard of. It's a great website and a great resource if you find yourself traveling in Arizona. That is definitely one of the trips I plan on doing so I will be looking them up.

I've really been trying to eliminate sugar from my diet. It's almost impossible unless I don't eat anything but meat and veggies/fruits. Even milk has sugar in it - lactose! I have tried to eliminate all processed food but I still eat cheese, lunch meat, both technically processed. Lunch meat has sugar. I've tried all kinds and it seems they all have a little bit of sugar. So I've put my limit at 2 grams. If a serving has more then 2 grams of sugar I don't eat it. Unless of course it's like canned fruit with no added sugar, that will still have a high amount of sugar due to the fructose in the fruit. Okay, no more than 2 grams of added sugar. But I still use sweetener . Now, I've read articles that sweetener will effect your blood sugar just like sugar, worse than sugar, not at all. So I don't know. What I do know is I put 3 packets in my morning coffee and 1 packet on my cereal. Yesterday I ran out - oh horrors!!! I only had 2 packets le...

A gas tanker has an accident, bursts into flames, and causes part of the freeway in San Francisco to collapse . Well, it has to be a conspiracy. I'm sure George Bush was involved. Where was he when it happened??? What did he know and when did he know it??? I'm sure it's a conspiracy because almost the same thing happened on a larger scale in 9/11 yet Rosie is sure it was a conspiracy. She's positive that the buildings didn't come down because of fuel and fire. This is almost the same thing. Fuel, fire, metal, disaster. Luckily this time no one was hurt. Also, gasoline is lighter than jet fuel so the fact that jet fuel would drip down the building is not surprising at all. Especially when the government is behind it and planned it all :)

I did not get near as much done as I wanted to. That's pretty typical though. Hubby called around 1 p.m. and we ended up going out to lunch and drinking beer, that pretty well set the afternoon that nothing would get done. Oh well..... I did get up and exercise this morning so that was good. I've been consistently exercising 6 mornings a week for 30 to 40 minutes. That's awesome but I think I'm ready to take it up a notch. I'm going to start doing an hour in the mornings. It won't be that big a deal since I'm already up I'll just need to get moving sooner. That's really not that hard. So that's my goal for next week, 1 hour in the morning. Alwyn Cosgrove , my current guru of fat loss, has a great article on the hierarchy of Fat Loss that lays out exactly what type of exercise you should do based on the time you have. I'm going to follow that to add more work in. It will be a really good week, I can feel it :)

Like most women, my upper body is not as strong as it could be. Since I've been strength training I've been working on the upper body and it shows great improvement, but it's still not where I would like it to be. One of the things that I don't do well is a push up. I can do the girly ones, you know on your knees! But I really can't do a full one, okay, not true, I can squeak out one or two but that's all. I have never, ever done a perfect push up . So I've decided to work on my push ups. I'm going to start doing them everyday until I can do 10 full ones in a row. One of the main problems I have is with my wrists. Putting my hands flat on the floor creates great pressure in my wrists and it hurts. I've heard to do them on a dumbbell but that scares me. Well, check this out. I've found something that will help me do the perfect push up . Not only does it provide a raised handle to hold on to and a stable base, it turns as your arms woul...

do not step on the scale..... As you can see I'm trying to avoid the scale. I feel like I've lost a little more weight but I don't want to step on the scale to see it up. If I do that it will bum me out and since Sundays are not my best eating days, I want to wait till Monday to face the scale. Most of my t-shirts are men's . That's what they give out at races, that's what most stores sell, so that's mostly what I have; men's t-shirts. I purchased a junior t-shirt that's red with turtles because every Friday I wear red in support of the troops. I also have some white collared polo shirts that I have to wear when I work for Nutro that were juniors. Both these shirts were a little tight. They felt stretched across the upper back (obviously I am developing massive muscles from all my training :) And finally I have a pair of black shorts that I wear when I work Nutro that have never fit me right. The waist fits but they feel too tight around t...