Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sicilian Kiss = equal parts Southern Comfort and Amaretto -> good painkiller

Breakfast: Yoghurt
Lunch: Tim Horton's Chili w/ Trail Mix Cookie
Dinner: Beef stroganoff with basmati rice, green salad
Snacks: Apple with Saint Andre triple cream cheese, mini-cuke and yoghurt cup
Liquids: 2x 500ml herbal tea,
Treats: TBA
Exercise: TBA

I know, I know. I was on a roll there. But trust me, ladies and gentlemen, Friday's post wouldn't have been worth reading, and it's been busy busy since. Friday I dropped Banner off at his new foster home/maybe forever home. I had his new foster mummy walk him around the house, where he studiously ignored the cats, was gentle with the kids, and seemed quite taken with the girl greyhound there. Then I brought his bed, food, and bag 'o' stuff in. And as I put my shoes back on, he stood next to his new foster mummy, head down, not even looking at me. Guilt-tripped by a dog. I gave him a kiss and left, then came home and poured myself 3 oz of alcohol to soothe my aching ankle and aching heart. Friday's post would have been about how hard it is to foster a dog, especially a dog that fits in. I know we don't have room for a second, and I know that Banner, with being cat/kid/small animal/bird-safe, would have been wasted at our house, but that doesn't make it any easier. Even knowing that because he is that kind of dog means he won't be in foster care for very long doesn't make it any easier. He came to us underfed and attention starved. I feel so strongly that he deserves a home, and I really, really hope that this either works out, or he gets one quickly.

After that was a day of cleaning, a day at the Pet Expo, a 9 hour day working from home, and then returning to work. Once I rescue pictures from the camera, Priest will talk about his shift at the Pet Expo. I took the car in middayish on Monday, because without power steering, I wasn't enthused about driving it during rush hour on Tuesday. It turns out they booked me in for Wednesday. I told them I needed the car back by Friday. I got a shuttle ride home, and an hour later he called me to say it was done. ... A-R-G-H. Why bother making appointments, then? The problem was the clamp that held a hose on to the power steering module. The clamp was not strong enough to hold it on. They replaced it with a stronger clamp. It makes me laugh every time I think about it.

Yesterday, I took the spindles to knitting and got some help tying on the leaders. Those who know a bit about spinning, the first thing they said was, "Does your dad take orders?" Then I tried it with non-crap fibre, and it turns out I can actually spin, kinda! I'm going to bring the big one down to Calgary tomorrow and show Dad how it works (which is like a dream). Noro Kureyon scarf should be done tonight and I should be able to wear it unblocked to Calgary, and then the focus will be on Priest's sweater, because darn it the weather isn't cold enough for his winter jacket, and too cold to really go nekkid (Nekkid hound! Shocking!). Then I just need to tidy and clean the guestroom so I can wash and block the mmmmMalabrigo Thunderstorm and the Noro Scarf. I want to frog the two snoods I made for Priest before I discovered the concept of tension and redo them, or recycle the yarn for something else since they don't quite work for him anyway. And I learned today that a friend of mine desperately needs a big, comfy shawl, even if she doesn't know it yet, so I need to figure that out too. I'm thinking this one, since it's easy lace and done in aran/worsted weight yarn, in a soft yellow or green.

I'm also thinking to add writing exercises to my weekly routine. Once the library is tidied, I should have a nice spot to do it in as well. I know this will be very welcome by, oh, just about everyone, so stay tuned.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Breakfast: Pineapple, banana, berry soymilk shake
Lunch: Salad
Dinner: Meatloaf with steamed veggies and red potatoes
Snacks: Anjou pear, deli turkey with swiss cheese, yoghurt
Liquids: 500ml herbal tea, 500ml water
Treats: None
Exercise: Driving my car home

I have a leak in my power steering fluid, and the dealership can't get me in until Tuesday. So my vehicle will sit at home with manual steering until Tuesday. Yay.

Banner will be off to his new foster/maybe forever home sometime this weekend. I'm happy for him, but I will miss his goofiness.

My project for the weekend is to try out the spindles Dad made for me. It'll have to be Saturday, because we're scheduled for a shift at the Pet Expo on Sunday.

Alas, there's Friday first. Friday...

Zzzz...

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Knitter's crack

Breakfast: Yoghurt, fresh pineapple, slice swiss cheese
Lunch: Salad
Dinner: White bean/mushroom soup
Snacks: Banana, deli turkey with swiss cheese, tbsp peanut butter
Liquids: 500ml herbal tea, venti passion flower shaken iced tea lemonade from Starbucks (that should probably go under treat...), 250ml grapefruit juice, Apple Cinnamon Booster Juice
Treats: None
Exercise: 45 minute walk with the dogs, 45 minutes chipping at the driveway

Today the optometrist is giving me a new left lens for free since I can't see very well. Also today, I learned a new way to purl (apparently, I've been doing a Norwegian purl, which adds an extra step, whereas this new purl once I get good at it will just f-l-y). Also today, I received a package from Ireland with the most lovely Irish tweed in it, as well as a sample of knitter's crack. What, you say? Yes, I said it, knitter's crack, AKA Rowan Kidsilk Haze. I know that whatever I make is going to be just scrumptious. And it's going to be for me. I really need to write up a proper thank you email, but I just have time to post this after dishes and before bed, and the left eye is saying, "Off with the glasses and let me rest!"

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A tattoo! And I didn't mean it!

Breakfast: Pineapple berry soymilk shake
Lunch: Chicken salad with tomatoes and water chestnuts
Dinner: Chili
Snacks: Yogurt, almonds, kiwi fruit
Liquids: 2x 500ml herbal tea, 300ml soy milk
Treats: Tim Hortons yogurt and berry cup (vanilla - toooooo much sugar), piece chocolate
Exercise: 0.5 hour walk with the dogs

So I had a doctor's appointment today, and I finally caved to peer pressure and showed him the bruise I gave myself with a bench last Valentine's Day. He said that the bump was just scar tissue, because it wasn't fixed to the bone and could be moved around, and the bruise was tattooed with hemoglobin and some other hemo thing that I can't remember.

Seriously. If I was going to give myself a tattoo, I could have picked something other than a bruise, couldn't I?

Also, Captain Blood is still a great movie.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Miffed dog

Breakfast: Yoghurt
Lunch: Romano and black beans with italian dressing and tomatoes, almonds
Dinner: New Mexican Chicken Soup with cheddar cheese
Snacks: Kiwi fruit, deli turkey with swiss cheese
Liquids: 500ml herbal tea, 500ml juice, 125ml soy milk, 600ml water
Treats: None
Exercise: 0.5 hour walk with dogs, 1.25 hours chipping ice on the driveway.

Okay. I know this is very Bridget Jones' Diary. Believe me. But I also remember when I kept a daily food diary how it forced me to be honest with myself. Plus, this might help some other people find nice things to eat. So bear with me. If I don't like it, I'll stop, and you know, there's nothing saying you have to read that first bit anyway.

So Priest got miffed at me today. I was mixing up some more kibble for Banner after I'd fed the both of them. I closed the storage room door, poured the kibble into the big plastic container we have for foster food, put the lid on and shook it up. And Priest was annoyed with me for the rest of the afternoon because I didn't give him any! He's kind of forgiven me, at least enough to come meet me at the door when I came back from grocery shopping. Silly dog. :)

Horrifying discovery of the day: There's MSG in OXO bouillon powder, whichever flavour it is. Blah.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

It's a whole food revolution!

Get it? Get it? It's a whole food revolution, or it's a whole food revolution! Ha ha ha ha! Ha...

Okay, never mind.

Truth is, we have switched to a more whole food diet, and currently are avoiding wheat/rice with an increase in fruits and veggies for carbohydrates. And you know what? I'm less tired, feeling less hungry or tied to strict mealtimes, and I'm feeling good. Like, good. Good. Not great, yet, but I haven't felt good for a long time, so I'll take any improvement.

I am contemplating several things, including a redesign for the blog, and posting more. I know, shocking. As for redesign, I can't find a free XML template that I like and I am a) not a graphic designer, and b) not an XML programmer, so that leaves me limited... But I'll keep looking.

We currently have a foster dog in our midst: Banner. Banner is... well...



Yes, that is his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. Banner is a super sweet dog and I'm finding it very difficult not to bond with him. He is gentle, cat/dog/bird/kid-safe, and has so many goofy and endearing mannerisms that I just can't tell you. He and Priest get along just fine. But he'll be moving to either another foster home or a forever home at the end of the month, as we've been almost positively tagged to foster a young, skittish girl just up from the States, who needs a calm, quiet place to discover herself and her confidence.

It's spring-warm here in Edmonton, which won't last, so we'll have to get the five inches of packed snow off the driveway while we can. My hands are pretty bruised from the three hours I was at it today, but I'll be back out there again tomorrow.

I have also finished two scarves over the last little while that I need to get pictures taken of so I can post them. They are both very pretty, and I'm so pleased to be finishing things! Now, if only I could finish my afghan...

Time to rest, to be ready for ice chipping, house cleaning, and dog walking tomorrow! Toodles!

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