Happiness is....

....a short work week....fried raviolis
....days getting longer
....a silly, cuddly puppy dog
....3 short work weeks in a row
....a successful first attempt at making a rum cake - I see more of those in my future

Happiness is....

 Today - some of my favorite things....

• My husband's smile.  I remember the first time he smiled at me and I realized that smile was for ME. 
• My husband's hugs.  There is no place better than in his arms.
• My dog's soft coat and wagging tail and big brown eyes. 
• Rachmaninoff & Tchaikovsky
• Bruce Springsteen's version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Jon Bon Jovi's version of Baby Please Come Home
• Jon Bon Jovi in concert. 
• New England in the fall
• sitting on my porch on a nice summer morning, reading the paper, drinking coffee
• football
• Some smells - cinnamon, vanilla, pine trees
• Roses
• Freshly cut grass
• Slipping into a bed made with freshly laundered sheets
• the sound of the ocean
• Mint chocolate chip ice cream
• filet mignon
• butter cream frosting
• Marching bands
• Pretty, soft yarn
• Turning pretty soft yarn into something someone will enjoy
• a good book
• chocolate, preferably dark, never white
• the smell of coffee

Heading the wrong way

My scale is still being a little wonky, but there was no hiding from the fact that I gained this week.  Of course, I had Chinese again last night, so I think the gain is not really as bad as it looks, but I'm up almost a pound - or a whole pound, depending on which reading you believe and depending on how much water retention I have from dinner last night.  So, besides last night's Chinese food, why the gain?  Total lack of control this week.  There was a Christmas breakfast at work and I enjoyed the goodies.  Then there were the platters of cookies and boxes of candy that were dropped off that I enjoyed.  I didn't drink enough water.  And I didn't track my points.  I didn't eat much fruit either, instead snacking on weight watchers snacks which though low in points, still add up.  Now, this week is Christmas.  I expect that to be my only challenge this week.  There shouldn't be a lot of goodies at work.  We may have dinner with friends on Thursday, which could prove to be a challenge, but I think is manageable.  Truth is - it's all manageable, if I want to manage it.  I can eat what I want as long as I keep the portion sizes within reason.  I will be glad when this week is over though.  Sticking to the plan will be a lot easier after the holiday season is done.

Mondays and other things that annoy me

Mondays are just so harsh.  A week starting on Tuesday would be so much nicer.  Mondays just annoy me, unless I have it off.

People who are constantly happy, cheerful and chipper annoy me.  I once had a dental hygienist who was cheery at 7 am.  I couldn't take it.  Those kind of people just annoy me.  I think it's because the cheeriness is fake.  Maybe they really are that freaking happy all the time, but I'm not convinced.  It's the phoniness I hate, not the happiness.  If it was genuine happiness, I would be okay with it, but let's face it, we all have our bitch moments, don't try to pretend otherwise.

Singers who do the vibrato thing on almost every note annoy me.  Josh Groban, I'm talking to you.   His version of O Holy Night is lovely, but his version of I'll be Home for Christmas sounds like it was recorded while he was driving down a cobblestone road. 

Drivers who get in the left lane then fail to drive at the going rate annoy me.  I notice that most of them are New Yorkers.  If you see a driver with plates from another state doing it, odds are they are a native New Yorker.  See, I'm from Connecticut.  We drive fast.  At least down in southern CT that is. 

Smarmy quotes as part of your e-mail signature annoy me.  Or uplifting quotes.  Or "empowering" or "motivational" quotes.  BARF!  In addition to being annoying, unless you are a motivational speaker, I think it's a bit unprofessional as well.  Just your name please. 

The blatantly pious annoy me.  Yeah Tim Tebow, I mean you.  I have no doubt he believes as deeply as he states - but does he really need to be in your face with it?  He reminds me of the parable about the two men praying in the church - one saying basically "look at me God, I tithe, I fast, I'm not like those other guys" and the other one saying "please be merciful to me, I'm a sinner".  I would much rather hang out with the second guy, thank you very much. 

The Giants playing like crap yesterday really, really annoys me.  It's been a tale of two teams this season.  You have the team that beat the Patriots and the Cowboys, then the team that lost to the Redskins and the Eagles.  I'm thinking that the Colts and the Vikings are wishing the Giants were on their schedules this year!  Now, we have to beat the Jets and the Cowboys to make the playoffs.  Well - if the same Jets that played yesterday show up next week, we might have a chance.  I really, really, really don't want it to be the Jets who end our playoff hopes.  Now that would be REALLY annoying!

Later this week - a few of my favorite things.

Happiness is....

....happy holiday memories.  As I was heading home the other night, I heard the Muppets version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" on the radio.  It reminded me of my college days when we came up with "The Twelve Days of College."  I went to women's college, run by nuns.  Some nuns lived in the dorms.  Freshman year, my dorm mates and I sometimes ran afoul of one of the nuns on our floor.  And so, one December night, we made up a song about Sr Alma and the things she had said to us.  Thus was born "The Twelve Days of College."  I can't remember them all now - but they included...

• Don't mess around with me (First day of college)
• Girls in bed by eleven
• Lights out at seven
• Don't you ever sleep
• There are no ghosts (a reference to an old college myth)
• When do you work
• I need my rest
• None of you made the Dean's list (my personal favorite)

After freshman year, our relationship with Sr Alma improved.  We grew up, she mellowed a bit.  It actually got so good that junior year, when most students would move out to one of the other dorms, a large group of us decided to stay in our dorm, on Sr Alma's floor.  When my father died junior year, she was one of the people to whom I turned for comfort.  She had lost her father a couple of years before and understood what I was going through.

We had a lot of traditions at our college that revolved around the Christmas holiday.  One was the Christmas Dinner.  The Seniors' Little Sister Class, the Sophomores, would plan the menu and the entertainment for the dinner and they served the Seniors at the dinner.  It's important to note that this was a small school, with one dining room, where we all ate together, nuns included.  So at the dinner my senior year, our old 3rd floor of Fontbonne group (we did all move out Senior year to one of the other buildings) got together and helped provide some of the entertainment.  We got up there and sang "The Twelve Days of College" for our old friend Sr Alma.  She loved it.  She laughed and nodded, recalling the things she had said back then.  Happy memories!

I'm calling it even

My scale was being a little odd this morning.  I usually weigh myself a couple of times to be sure I've got a good reading.  Today didn't go so well with that.  I had anything from 147.4 to 148.6.  It was moving a lot while I stood on it and the final readings were varying.  It may be time for a new scale.  At the very least a new battery, since it really didn't want to turn on!  So - why would I have stayed stable or maybe gained or maybe lost just a little?  Well, virtually no exercise for one.  I've been dealing with a sinus issue all week and except for a lot of walking Saturday, I got no exercise.  Saturday was the Christmas party at the firehouse, so I definitely ate things that I shouldn't have, but I did plan for that.  I didn't eat as much fruit this week and I feel like I didn't drink as much water.  I've found over the years that I do better with weight loss when I drink enough water.  Another factor - Chinese food for dinner last night.  I tend to retain water after eating Chinese.  I may weigh myself again tomorrow morning just to see what happens.  This week's goal will be to drink plenty of water.  I will have a challenge Friday night, as we are going to a Christmas party and I expect to drink my points.  I'll be happy to stay stable this week all things considered.

Happiness is....

....finding out just how good the dealership you got your car from is.  Yesterday, my driver side windshield wiper started acting funny while on the highway, not making good contact, looking wobbly, then at about 70 mph, it flew off.  If you imagine I was a little freaked out, you are right.  I got myself to work - wasn't far.  When the rain stopped, I hightailed it on over to the dealership.  They were shocked - no way that should have happened with a factory installed wiper.  My salesman happened to be in the service bay when I pulled in.  He took a picture of the wiper stem.  When I asked the service guy about whether or not it was under any warranty, he said no, but Joe (salesman) took care of it.  Now, I may not go back there for my next car if I'm ready to get my dream car (Mercedes Benz) when this lease is up, but if it's not going to be the Benz, you can get I'm going back to there and you can bet I'll buy from Joe.  I know a windshield wiper is not much - but it's just the way they took care of me from the day I walked in to buy the car.  I suppose they do have 3 years in which to screw up and lose my future business, but for now, I'm very happy.

Didn't expect that! In a good way!

I'm down 1.4 pounds this week!  Yay for me!  That puts me at 147.8.  I was concerned because I was not very active this week.  Work interfered as did being a bit under the weather.  I've been pretty good about staying close to my daily points value most days, maybe a point over or so, with only one day where I really dug into those bonus points.  So, this is good.  I will have one big challenge this coming week, with the firehouse Christmas Party on Saturday.  No booze, but sweets and other fattening foods.  I'm going to try to stay reasonable with what I eat on Saturday - not denying myself, yet not indulging myself either.  Again, I will try to be more active, but I fear this little sinus thing I have going on may hinder that.  I would like to get to 147, but I think that's a big nut, so I'll be happy with a half pound loss this week.

A Creature of Habit

That's me.  I'm a creature of habit.  I have routines.  I'm comfortable with my routines.  I don't like people messing with my routines.  It's things like the order in which I get ready for work in the morning, parking in a certain spot, taking a certain route. Unfortunately, I'm sometimes disproportionately upset over forced changes to my routine when compared to the actual incident.  Probably the worst is when someone parks in my favorite spot at work.  If I'm in the right state, that can just throw my whole day off.  So, why is this now a topic of my blog?  Well, I have a regular routine related to annual event that is upcoming and now I found out that I won't be able to follow my regular routine.  The event can be a difficult one for me, but I stick it out because there are people I see at it that I love and enjoy being with and I don't get to see them often enough.  Following my typical routine allows me time alone to prepare, to decompress in advance, to get to a low-level, stable state.  It helps put me in a place where I can handle the difficult part to the event.  Being with people I enjoy provides the rest of the balance I need.  I had already found out some time ago that my getting to be with the people I enjoy to hang with will be impaired or restricted.  Now, I have found out that I will not be able to follow my typical routine to prepare, to decompress and have that calmness I need going in.  I'm afraid I'll be keyed up from the start, anticipating bad things (because I have a tendency to borrow trouble), I'll be on edge working hard to hide my discomfort and it will end up being a miserable time for me.  I'm feeling a little trapped already and I'm afraid it will get worse.  I feel like there's nothing I can do about it without being seen as an unreasonable, selfish, cold, crazy bitch.  I need to find something that will help me deal with it.