1) Make two doc appointments: one for the eyes and one for the neglected thyroid. About the eyes: I think I haven’t had an eye appointment in 2 or 3 years. About the thyroid: I feel fine..light-years from how I felt on the levothyroxine last summer. But the worry of something being wrong is still in the back of my head. Could I feel even better than what I consider fine? I’m skipping my primary physician for this and going to a local doc that was recommended by two completely different people. I’d like to schedule both appointments for one day and just take off of work.

2) Wash, dry, fold AND PUT AWAY 2 loads of laundry.

3) Take two 20 minute walks.

4) Read up on data integrity. It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with databases. Time to brush up again.

5) Eat a salad every day. Not for the nutritional benefits, but to fill up on stuff other than Entenmann’s.

6) Figure out how much it would cost me to package and ship a pair of earrings to someone here in the US. This is the next step of my loooooong trek toward opening an Etsy shop. Pricing is my downfall. I never kept track of how much my beads and wire cost so it’s hard to approximate how much I should charge for things. But envelopes & shipping are pretty concrete costs.

What’s on your list?

1. What are your movie-snacking habits and preferences?
Buttered popcorn, water and Sno-caps. Gotta have the Sno-caps. But much to my dismay, our local movie house doesn’t sell them anymore.

2. What are your late-night snacking habits and preferences?
Heh. The thyroid issues have made put the kibosh on late night snacks. I’m usually fast asleep before late night. But back in the day (and hopefully again real soon*) I was a Pocky girl.

3. What are your sports-watching snacking habits and preferences?
I don’t snack when I watch sports, unless I’m physically AT the event. Then it’s popcorn and peanuts. MAYBE cotton candy.

4. What are your lonely, rainy afternoon snacking habits and preferences?
I’m never lonely anymore. But if it’s blue and rainy I like either pizza rolls or crab rangoon. (drooooooool)

5. What’s your favorite carnival/fair snack?
Kettle Corn and fresh-squeezed lemonade! A sweet & light combo for a (hopefully) sunny and warm day at the fair. I don’t go for the deep-fried-stuff much anymore because it’s so heavy. And I don’t remember Kettle Korn existing when I was a kid so it’s a special treat now.

I think I’m a popcorn girl.

So I was SUPER on track with this diet until Easter, then I spun out on Cadbury Mini Eggs and that turned into pizza and bar food. Somehow.

Anyway, I went up to 164 lbs and have been back on plan this week. It shows…I lost 2 lbs and am back to 162.0 – which is the lowest yet for this attempt – 18.4 lbs.

Phase 2 starts today. I don’t think I’ll get the full 40 off by the wedding, but 30-35 would be spiffy.

I did order my bridesmaid dress finally. It’ll be coming in a size 10, which is not the 12 or 14 I could be wearing, and not the 8 I wanted to order. I’ll cope. It’s this one, but in black, and with a decently sized rack under it. It’ll be very pretty!!

Anything else going on? Not much. I’m feeling human again after being sick last week. My stomach’s a bit upset from something. I used to have a cast-iron stomach. Now, not so much.

Tonight’s “Cruise Night” in Collingswood so we’ll head out to see the old cars after work. I know nothing about classic cars but I love looking at them and listening to the bands. Plus, sitting on a stoop with a great guy and a slice of pizza on a gorgeous spring night? Bliss.

Finally, if you’re the prayerful type…WM really needs a teaching job. Unemployment’s a demoralizing drag. So if you’re in NJ and need a fresh and passionate history teacher on your staff, holler! If not, please pray that a great teaching job will be offered to him.

Darn, my desk is junky.

If you HATE needles giving blood has to be the biggest way to get over it. (or pass out and die, whichever) First there’s the painful finger-pricky thing to test your iron. Then there are the tubes and bags and tape and you get to lie down for 20+ minute WITH IT ALL IN YOU. And watch other people get stuck the same way.

I’ve been giving blood for about 9 years now.

So today I sauntered into my local LabCorp for round 2 of Thyroid-related blood tests and I didn’t even flinch.

That wee cotton ball, that white wad of courage means “Hey, World! I got stuck today and I didn’t think twice about it!”

Sometimes I’m think I’m a Rock Star. Then I start to cry because I have to rip that tape off and…ow!!!!

***
Weight: 163. I stopped trying for a few weeks, and it shows. The weight’s been hovering between 162/163 since Easter. I’m back on track today though. I’m so close to getting under 160, but unfortunately I’m CONTENT with how I am now. That’s never a good thing. Maybe I need to try a swimsuit on.

Dream: I had a dream that I was on Dancing with the Stars and was paired with Maksim. We were dancing a Latin hip-shaking dance (I think a samba) and I got to grab his ass.

It was a fine ass. It was a good dream.

Today I weighed in at 162.4 lbs, down 1.8 lbs. That erases the Easter gain PLUS some. This brings me to an even 18 lbs total, which is equivalent to three 6-lb tubs of Crisco. Ewwwwww!

I’m averaging 1.2 lbs lost per week which is supposed to be ideal. At this rate, I’ll be in my mid 140s by John & Kristen’s wedding. Which is what I wanted.

18 pounds!

I’m pleased if not completely happy. Why am I not happy? Because I love food. I love to eat. I love to eat out. My weekly indulgence is eating at Sonic on Saturdays. Burger. Medium Tots. Diet Soda. I hear Sonic has great slushy drinks and milkshakes, but I dare not try. Why bother?

The novelty of eating better has worn off. I will always always always pick the candy bar over the apple or the cheesesteak over the grilled chicken salad with low-fat dressing on the side. I miss junk food, but I’m not disciplined enough to stop at one serving. So I don’t eat it. I miss my Friday night wine, but at one perfectly proportioned serving, I’d be wasting money on stale wine each week. So I don’t drink wine.

And yes, the above is me being all poor-me and pissy about things, but what good is a blog if it’s all shiny-happy all the time, hm?

*Since I lost all my weight the last time. Ha. I R yo-yo.

***
Happy Tax day, by the way. I lose 34% of my weekly income to taxes. Next year it’ll be higher. And before you tell me it goes toward good things and I should suck it up and other countries have it worse, tell me you decided to forgo the house/child/travel/medical deductions & exemptions so that the country could be a better place.

You go places, right? When you get someplace cool (or boring) you can “check in” via your cell phone or laptop. You can set up Foursquare to then send out a Twitter or a Facebook status update. The more places you check in, the more badges (little icons) you earn. If you check in at a spot more than anyone else, you become “Mayor” of the area.

You can also use Foursquare to leave tips for other visitors. Like “sit by the window to see the lake!” or “snippy cashiers.”

I had a lot of fun with Foursquare.

Had. Past tense.

One day, after we had gone with Kristen to look at wedding gowns (four months away!) we stopped at Starbucks. I pulled out my phone and checked in. No problem.

About 10 minutes later, the Barista came out and asked if there was a “Kim” here. My stomach fell. She said I had an important phone call at the desk. I walked up with her and took the phone.

Guy: Is this Kimberly?
Me: Yes.

At this point, I knew this wasn’t an important phone call. How? My important phone call people have my cell phone number.

Guy: This is xxx, can you pick me up a frapp?
Me: What?
Guy: It’s me, xxx, I play WoW can you get me a frapp?
Me: I do not know you. Goodbye.

After assuring Mom & Kristen (and various people in Starbucks) that nothing was wrong and that it was a prank call, I explained what Foursquare was. And the more I explained, the dumber I felt.

If you’re on Foursquare too, do this exercise. Look at yourself in the mirror and explain what you do on Foursquare. Pay special attention to the part where you say you voluntarily let the entire Internet know where you are.

I un-installed Foursquare from my iPhone and deleted my account that night.

I like to think I’m Internet-smart. I don’t tell you guys anything you can’t find out anyway. You know where I work, but that’s easily Googlable. Savvy locals will probably figure out where my apartment building is, but I don’t give you the actual apartment number. I don’t tell you all I’m going on vacation until I get there.

(I will tell you my weight, though…162.2 this morning, 18.2 lbs lost total, closing in on the big 2-0!)

I just feel like an idiot for thinking Foursquare was a good idea. I’m not going to tell you “omg never go on 4sq you’ll get stalked and die” because that wasn’t my story. Thank goodness.

Just be careful out there. Okay?

Related links
Stalked on Foursquare Google search
PleaseRobMe.com

This week’s Friday Five topic is one near and dear to my heart: SLEEP. I love my sleep. I am a champion sleeper. I can sleep pretty much anywhere and through anything. It’s a gift!

Away we go!

1. How many hours’ sleep do you need in order to be at your best, and what’s the minimum you can get on a regular basis and still be functional?

To be my best, I’m an 8 hour girl. Used to be 10. But in order for me to get that 8 during the week, I have to be in bed by 10:30 and I’m usually wide awake at thet time, so I usually get about 6.5 hours.

The bare minimum I can have and be functional is 4 hours. I’ll be functional, but unhappy.

2. What’s your favorite sleeping position?

On my right side, with two artfully stacked pillows. I don’t like to be flat…ideally I’d be like this __/ but I don’t have bed pillows with enough gumption to get me to that angle. I sleep better on the sofa, if you can believe that.

3. What was the cause of your most recent difficulty sleeping?

Worry.

Sunday night I worried about getting back to work after furlough. Monday afternoon I received a call about some blood work I had done – my “thyroid” is “low” (that’s all I was told) and I have a followup appointment with my doctor this coming Monday. I don’t WANT to have a bum thyroid. I don’t WANT to have to start taking medicines to regulate it. I’m AFRAID to start mucking around with my body’s basic functions. I feel FINE. I AM fine. So I’ve been worried about that.

Also, I have two teachers in my life whom I care about greatly. One can’t find a teaching job and the other might be affected by the statewide cuts to school districts. I worry about both of them. I have a huge project I’m supposed to be working on at work that I can’t find the time to work on due to other things on my task list.

I am one writhing ball of worry right now, Mister Friday Five. It is a wonder and a marvel that I can actually converse with people right now.

4. When you can’t seem to drift off to sleep right away, what are some things you do to bring about sleep?

I love visualization. I imagine floating out of my window and down the nearby major road, looking down at all the little shops. I imagine being back here. I imagine the action-movie screenplay that’s in my head that I’ll never write because I have no idea how to write a screenplay. But it’s kick-butt.

5. When did you last doze off at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate place?

Days before I quit being a manager here (still the right decision) I had to go to our corporate office for a meeting. It was 2006 and I was dealing with the separation/divorce & the impending job change. The meeting was held in a large auditorium and I dozed off in my seat. One of my manager buddies woke me up. It was VERY embarrassing!

***

Wt: 164.0. Down 16.4 pounds.

Dream: I woke up to find a coworker in bed with me. I had no idea he was there, as he snuck in after I went to sleep and nothing happened. WM was not pleased. Nor was I.

It’s time for the Friday Five and I’m not even stuck in a writer’s block. (On this blog, anyway. On the World of Warcraft blog I’m completely stuck. Maybe because I’m frustrated with it.) This week’s topic is Staples. Let’s get cracking!

1. Of all the hundreds of sizes and shapes bread seems to come in, what is your favorite?
Round loaves! One of my favorite San Francisco memories was the morning we took the bus tour to the redwood forest and wineries. While waiting for the bus to depart the station, Kristen and I ran across the street to a bakery and bought little round sourdough breads to nosh on.

I have to get back to San Francisco someday. (sigh)

Anyway, whenever this miserable diet ends, I’m going to learn to make my own sourdough bread.

2. What’s your favorite thing to eat with rice?
Chicken with Garlic sauce. And heaps of potstickers.

mmmmm…

3. What are your feelings about milk?
Unless it’s chocolate-flavored or is served with Oreos, I can do without.

4. What was wrapped in the tortilla you most recently ate?
My 1-point corn tortilla contained a smattering of ground beef, a few Bacos and a splash of light ranch dressing. We were going for a ranch gordita flavor.

(noshes on a rice cake to stop the drooling)

5. How many staplers are there in your house and where are they?
We have one large Swingline stapler in the console between our two desks. We MAY have a mini Swingline (always Swingline, they don’t bind up as much) in with the rest of our office supplies.

This week I lost 2.4 lbs, bring me down to a lovely 166.4 and a grand total of FOURTEEN pounds lost!

Can I get a what-what?

(what-what!)

Thank you.

My work pants now feel like pajama pants and today I’m wearing a skirt that was too tight to wear a few months ago. So I’m pleased as punch.

Now…I need to seriously, SERIOUSLY find an exercise plan that works. I’m a sedentary girl by nature, never did sports, exhausted by gym classes and my knees aren’t great (which could be weight).

I want to try Couch-to-5K, but I’m afraid I’ll run too far away and be too exhausted to walk back. Then I’ll end up homeless in Camden. Or something.

Any suggestions?

Friday night we realized our TV is busting. It’s not bustED, but on it’s way. Any hope I had of a trip to Walt Disney World this year is fading quickly, as our tax refunds are being eaten up by having to fix things in the day-to-day life. And with John’s wedding coming up in August I just don’t think I’ll be able to get away after the middle of June.

On Saturday, Mom’s dog Chip had a seizure. Which is pretty freaky, considering he’s never had one before and he’s only 4. My little gentleman Mickey had seizures, but that was toward the end of his life when we couldn’t get his sugar levels under control any more. This is different.

She took him to the vet, but of course by the time she had the leash ready to get him to the car, the episode had passed. the vet drew blood and performed a basic physical exam. Anyway, we were supposed to go out to dinner to celebrate Mom’s birthday (again, this time with Aunt/Cousins) but the vet asked her to keep an eye on Chip for the next 24 hours. Tests should come back today, and he’s been fine since.

I spent Saturday night with Mom, beading, staring at the sleeping dog, and binging on rice cakes.

Yesterday morning WM and I went to service at St. Mary’s (I think I found a spiritual home!) and the sermon had a lot to do with introspection. During my introspection I realized: Holy crap, I’m a doormat! Worse, I’m tofu…I have very little flavor of my own and take on the flavor of what I’m near at the time.

I don’t want to be tofu. But after being tofu for 37 (!!) years, how can I change?

So yeah, it was an emo weekend and I’m glad to be back at work amongst my spreadsheets & the spreads of tempting foods our sales reps bring in that I can’t eat.

***
The snow is melting and as I was letting the dogs drag me around this morning, I discovered a heart constructed of tea candles:

Disregard the dog head.

How romantic it must have been for a young lover to peer out of the apartment window on Valentine’s evening and see a heart upon the snow. Even though it was obviously not aimed at me, that gesture made me smile. I’m glad we came across it.

***
Wt: 168.4. Yesterday was my first “bad” diet day since I started WW six weeks ago. I had pizza at lunch and quit counting for the day.

Dream: I was given a private plane of my very own! And I was so excited because as soon as I got my pilot’s license, I’d be able to zip across country to Disneyland whenever I wanted! Apparently, zipping 2.5 hours south to Walt Disney World wasn’t under consideration. However, my first flight out was delayed because Lindsay Lohan OD’d at the airport. (She was in Atlantic City this weekend. Poor NJ, we just can’t catch a break from the skanks.)