Pissed Off- part 1

Let me apologize right up front.  I'm sorry that I haven't been writing much on this blog and when I finally return today, it's an angry post.  But....that's where I am right now:  pissed off.

If one more person at work tells me they can't help with a project or special assignment because they are busy or have a lot going on right now, I am going to blow my fucking stack.  I'm not talking about my immediate team here; my immediate team is great.  Dedicated, hard-working people, always willing to help.  I'm talking about others, outside of my immediate team.  We have convened a group to work on a big project.  This is my summation:

1.  Committees suck. 
2.  Committee work sucks. 
3.  Committees impede progress. 
4.  Two common responses when members are asked to help. One response is silence.  No offer to help at all or even get involved (note that these will be the first people to bitch about the outcome/final product).  The second response is to say something along the lines of, "Gee, I'd really like to help, but I'm so busy right now."  Or, "I can't help; I have a lot going on right now."

News flash.

We are ALL busy at work.
We ALL have a lot going on.
SOMEONE has to do it.

To tell me that you are too busy to help is really saying to me:  "Other people aren't as busy as I am, so all you not-as-busy people whose work is less important than mine can deal with this project."

To all these people:  f**k you.

Getting Back to Blogging

I knew it had been a while since I had written on this blog, but didn't realize the last post was in September--5 months ago.  Part of the reason for my absence from blogging had to do with the fact that my computer was a dinosaur.  Old.  Slow.  Cranky.  And generally uncooperative.  We had a few things in common. 

Yesterday, totally sober, I purchased a new computer for myself.  A fancy Toshiba all-in-one job with Windows 8.  I might write more about Windows 8 later, but for now I will make this comment:  the jury is out on whether or not you can teach an old dog new tricks.

I'm not much of a tech person, but I am very excited about this new machine.  I am confident it will serve me better in myriad ways, including getting me back to blogging.  So watch out...more to come....

Eldorado

I am trying to lose weight, but in my efforts to do that I am not willing to give up all the things I enjoy....like going out to eat.  Scott and I are eating out less frequently and I am being more mindful of my diet in general, but we still go out periodically.  The Friday before last, we decided to finally go to the Eldorado Grill-- which we have been meaning to do for quite some time.

Cute place on Willy Street.  It's 1 of several establishments that share a building so you go into a common entry way and then enter the restaurant.  It's smaller than we expected, but cozy and charming and comfortable.  I wish we had gotten better pictures of the inside.

We started off with margaritas.  They were good, but I need to remember that I really don't love margaritas all that much. 

For dinner, I ordered the special and Scott had some kind of seafood enchiladas.  The food was so good, it makes you want to put the "f" word right in the middle of another word.  Like, the food was outfuckingstanding.

The language may be crude, but the food was awesome.  Scott's enchiladas...

My fish special....would make a "something to write home about" topic....



Mine came with 2 sides.  I got mashed potatoes and collard greens.  Those greens.  Oh my.  Those greens.  So, so good.  I would go back again just for those.   Incredible flavor.  Almost tasted like they had been grilled.  Mmmmm.

We shared a piece of melt-in-your-mouth flan for dessert.

We were impressed with the Eldorado.  It exceeded our expectations and is now on the list of places where we would take company when they come to town.  That's a high compliment.  Loved it.

It's Been 6 Weeks

Actually, it's been 7.  I told myself if I hadn't started losing some weight by the 6 week mark since I started my Fit Bit exercise regimen, I was going to give up and just accept my fatness.  In 7 weeks, I've lost 7 pounds.  My goal is 1 pound a week, so I have achieved that.  Although truth be told, I had hoped for a little more rapid loss than that in the beginning.  It's better than gaining 7 pounds, that's for damn sure. 

At this rate though, it will take me a little over a year to achieve my goal.  I need to lose 63 pounds from where I started.  As of today, I have 56 pounds to go.  That's a mighty long way, but at least now it's 50-something to lose instead of 60-something to lose.  (Hey-I'll slice and dice it any way I can to feel a little progress.)

So, I'm going to keep plugging away at it.  I have achieved, and usually exceeded, my goals every day for 7 weeks:  minimum of 10,000 steps/day, minimum of 5 miles/day and minimum of 30 very active minutes/day.  I've pushed through a bad cold and 2 menstrual cycles to achieve the daily goals.     

I got my 250 mile badge this past Thursday.

I'm going to keep going.  One step at a time. 

Fit Bit Continued

I have learned a few things about my Fit Bit since I last wrote on this blog. 


#1- I learned that you get initially seduced by e-mail updates and badges but if you want to continue receiving them, you have to sign up.  As with most things that require you to sign up, there is a fee. 

#2- Scott has been very encouraging and as part of that he paid the $49.99 annual fee for me to sign up for the Fit Bit dashboard.  It's actually pretty cool.  Lots of information available. Formats, like bar and line graphs, that are easy to understand.  You can track your own progress as well as see where you stand in relation to others in the general population.

#3- I earned my 50 mile badge.  The next mileage badge isn't until 250 miles.  That's a mighty long way.  So far I have gone 164.54 miles.

#3- It will be 4 weeks Monday since I started.  I have met my goals every single day.  Minimum of 10,000 steps and 5 miles per day.  Also minimum of 30 very active minutes per day and 50 ounces of water daily.  After 4 weeks at that pace, you would think I would have lost some weight.  Yeah, not really.  Maybe 2 pounds.  I told Scott that I am going to give it 6 weeks.  If I haven't lost some weight by the 6 week mark, I'm giving up and just accepting my fatness. 

But, for now I gotta go...I've still got a half mile to walk to get to 5 miles for the day. 

Fit Bit

I'm not one for gadgets.  I do just about the minimum to get by with technology of all types.  My work cell phone hasn't synced to my e-mail for months because I don't know how to re-set it.  I can't even watch a movie in my own home because I can't work the combination of the TV, the PSP that plays the movies and the surround sound system.  If I really want to watch a movie, I'd better hope Scott is home to get it going for me.  I'm not proud of this.  It's just the way it is.  Patience is a virtue.  I didn't get that one.  I have neither the patience for  nor the interest in trying to figure out how gadgets work.

There is always an exception, right?  I found mine.  I first learned of it last December when I was reading a magazine in a hair salon.  I saw a blurb about something called a Fit Bit Zip.  I don't recall the details of the blurb, but it piqued my interest enough that I wrote it down on a piece of paper and stuck it in my wallet.  I have come across that piece of paper (I made some other notes on it as well) several times over the past 8 months.  Finally, 2 weeks ago when I was piddling around on a quiet Sunday morning (kind of like now), I Googled the Fit Bit Zip.  Interesting.  And I seriously need to lose some weight.  And it's only 60 bucks. 

Ordering on-line was an option, but some local retailers carry it also- including Best Buy.  Scott and I had some errands to run anyways, so I added Best Buy to the list and stopped in to buy my Fit Bit Zip.  It is about the cutest little thing.  I believe it comes in 4 colors, including black- which would typically be my go-to choice.  But, I decided to step out of my usual and I got the Fit Bit Zip in this color.  Would this be considered chartreuse?  (And why can't I move the image up closer to this text?  See-- I'm making my own point about how technologically behind I am.  I can barely manipulate this blog.)

image from mashable.com

I totally dig this little gadget and I even know how to work it!  It tracks steps per day, distance and calories burned.  It also has a clock and a little smiley face when it is "resting".  Two things that I love most about it:

1. It wirelessly syncs to my iPhone.  The app on the iPhone shows the steps, distance, calories burned, very active minutes, water consumed and weight.  I think you can set it up to track other things, but this is good enough for me.  On the iPhone, it will sync to show you where you are in terms of meeting your goals at that very minute and displays your progress on bar graphs.  It does a bunch of other neat stuff too.  Too much to get into here.

2.  When you reach certain milestones, you get "badges" sent to you via e-mail.  So far, I have earned my 5000 steps/day badge, my 10,000 steps per day badge, my 15,000 steps per day badge and my 50 mile badge.  I had a deficit of praise as a child.  As an adult I recognize this because any little bit of praise I get just puffs me up-- including a computer generated "badge" from Fit Bit.  (Hey- it doesn't take much when you lived a childhood devoid of praise or affirmation.) 

3.  OK- so there are 3 things I love most about it and not 2 like I wrote above.  The third thing that I really love about this gadget is that you get an e-mail with your progress report every week. 

The Fit Bit is great for me because I am highly competitive, even with myself.  It has been supremely motivating for me to have something tangible/visible showing my fitness progress each day.  When you achieve your daily goals, the categories on the iPhone app turn green to show that the goal was met.  Highly competitive me has to have green on everything.  And I have since the day I started almost 2 weeks ago. 

I love this little thing.  It has given me a much needed push.  Now let's hope I can keep it up..... 

Questions, Round 2: Who Knew....?

After I got done paying $100.00 for shampoo and conditioner (see previous post), I met up with Scott at this place in Chicago.

I had a beer to try to sooth the pain of my ridiculous expenditure.  After the edge softened, what to do next?  Spend more money, of course.  Alcohol and spending money-- great coping mechanisms.  Anyhow, after we left Miller's Pub, Scott was excited to show me that in Chicago they have an entire Carhartt store.  Scott does love him some Carhartt's. 

Two points I should make:
1.  The day we were in Chicago was Scott's birthday.
2.  I have a hat fetish.

I went into the Carhartt store with the intention of letting Scott pick something out as part of his birthday special treatment.  There is actually lots of cool stuff in the Carhartt store, including stuff for women.  Who knew?  

If my waist line was smaller, I would totally wear both of those outfits.  And the bags?  Loved the bags.  Who knew Carhartt had such cute bags for women?

And, who knew Carhartt has such cute women's hats???  I had to have both of these. And it wasn't even my birthday.  And I had just spent $100 on shampoo and conditioner.

 Here is the inside of the purple one.  Striped.

Those were just too cute to leave in the store.  Although now that I think about it, I bought hats that will cover up the hair that I will be washing with $100 worth of product.  If I'm going to wear hats anyways, I could probably just wash my hair with dish soap.