7-1-10 Thursday (Day Of Reductions)

For those of you on Facebook who have seen this info already – so what.  For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, I present you with another 5 pounds of weight loss.  What excites me so much is that I weighed myself Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (making this on Friday, not like a time travel thing silly) to see if my weight would vary much.  I’m happy to say the 5 pounds seems to have stuck wonderfully!  This milestone is so incredible to me because I stopped journaling (couldn’t keep up) in DC.

Above: 40 days = 15 pounds!

Once I recalculated my points target, it reduced it to 28 points.  What a surprise.  That’s OK though.  No problem.  I will comply.  I did get the whole losing weight too fast warning again.  Hmph.

I hit job hunting hard today.  I applied for several jobs.  Naturally I prefer some positions over others but while the descriptions aren’t 100% interesting, hopefully the job itself is.  Does that make sense?

I did have to stop by the RV for a couple things.  It looked all lonely in the storage lot.  I had to go to Walmart again.  When I went yesterday I totally forgot about picking up my prescription.  I hate when that happens.

Yesterday morning I had a doctor’s appointment to retest my cholesterol.  Today their office called with good news.  Finally the numbers were pretty good.  Liver function good.  Overall 137 (<200 good), Triglycerides = 100 (<150 good), LDL = 93 (<160 good) and HDL 24 (>40 good).  So most of it was good.

 

 

We had lunch at a whore house in the neighborhood of bath houses.  Our pets cuddle.  Jim rescues an animal.  We walk almost 2 miles.  See what I’m rambling on about here.

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6-21-10 Monday (Lion Poop)

We were on the road almost 9 hours today.  Some of that time included pee-pee breaks, walking the dog, beverage refills and lunch.  I love traveling via RV.  We just pull over and everything is on board. 

So now, I blog to you from a Walmart in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  We arrived, popped dinner in the oven, did some grocery shopping, ate dinner and went to bed, all in the Walmart parking lot.

Above: Now that’s a cat litter scoop!  Perhaps the locals own tigers?

 

 

10 Points left over!  For dinner, Jim and I both had a Morningstar Farms veggie lasagna that was pretty good.  We accompanied it with broccoli cheese bites by Veggie Patch. 

That’s all I have for right now.  Tomorrow morning we depart for DC!

Last year was mostly about food.  I wouldn’t even bother clicking here.

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11-20-09 Friday (Toilet Confessions)

OK, so I have a confession.  Since we’ve moved from Indian Creek RV Resort, we’ve stopped working out.  We held off on signing up with Planet Fitness for a couple of reasons.  One being we thought we had some good job leads and that we’d be outta here already.  Here being the RV park, the city of Fort Myers or the state of Florida, whichever.  The second reason, the expense.  Jim found an online deal for $25 signup, $20 a month for he and a guest (me), and a cancel fee of like $50.  Much better than the no commitment deal we checked into the other day.  The online deal seems worth it.  Isn’t good health always worth it?  The funny thing about all of this is he was able to do this online.  Almost lazily we signed up.  Ironic really.

I asked Jim what he wanted for lunch today.  His reply?  “Something lo-cal, delicious, and free.”  We didn’t get all of those but we did have a nice lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.

All day I’ve been hit with waves of nausea here and there.  I’ll be fine, then not, then fine again. 

Jim and I enjoy Yoplait Delights.  They’re a 100 calories, and very yummy.  There’s several flavors, our favorite is Chocolate Raspberry.

I had a bunch of print at home $1 off coupons that expire today so we took a trip to Walmart to stock up on a bunch of them.

We stopped into the gym, and got a tour of the facilities.  Later when we got home, Jim asked if I wanted to go work out.  Having waves of nausea steered me toward no.

Later on, I took a late afternoon nap hoping to feel better.  It was hard to sleep, and an hour later I didn’t feel any better so I laid on the couch and watched TV.  Jim started dinner.  I wasn’t hungry.

It was strange.  I felt like I had to throw up.  Yes, here it goes.  Jim followed me around asking what was wrong, what I needed.  I started moaning.  I took my clothes off and laid on the bed thinking I’d just go to bed.  How could I?  I feel like I’m going to be ill.  I put lounge wear on.  The hot pink number with the feath – never mind.  I paced around the RV – which doesn’t take long.  I ran to the toilet.  Nothing.  I moaned some more.  Funny part… if there is one… I started to cry.  Tears.  Jim asked, “What’s wrong?”  I answered with a mumbled “I don’t know” and then threw up.  Jim held my hair stood by to offer tissues and water.  He stood as far away as possible – it was cute.  I’m amazed that I could feel icky all day and not throw up until the evening.  Wasn’t I just sick Sunday?  Ugh.

I stayed up longer watching TV, and a little after 10pm, a way of exhaustion took control.  Off to bed I went.

11-16-09 Monday (McBowel)

12 hours of sleep later… I awoke with a killer headache.   My eyes felt like pins were stabbing at them.   I was grateful that it was barely light outside because I had to walk the dog.  I think the sun light would have added more trauma to the headache. 

I popped some Advil, drank some coffee, played some Facebook Scrabble and my headache was much better but still evident.  Jim awoke.  We took showers and went to McDonald’s for breakfast.  I ordered the #12.  Bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel.  I love this.  It makes me happy.  Except for today.  She rang up the #13, steak on a bagel.  I brought it back up.  They apologized.  They exchanged it.  I didn’t care about the 40 cents I overpaid for the incorrect sandwich.  I just wanted my food.  I thought of it as comfort food.  The bagel wasn’t toasted enough. The cheese never melted. The whole sandwich never reached proper temperature.  They rushed it to make me happy.  Ironic.  I was very unhappy.  I ate it.  I was unsatisfied.  Why am I writing like this?  Anyway, I felt a lot better after I ate and had some OJ.  Oh, and just so you know, the hashbrown sucked too.  It was overly greasy.  I always expect it to be greasy.  I just wasn’t expecting the contents of a turkey fryer to be in my hashbrown.  It’s a wonder I didn’t shit myself right there.  It was definitely worth withholding a fart to be on the safe side.

Speaking of bodily fluids, functions, and other taboo topics – while at McDonald’s we sat next to 6 (half of 12!) seniors.  They were discussing pills and doctors.  This old lady adds “blah blah my bowels blah blah”.  Nice.  The look on Jim’s face – you would have thought the woman exposed her bowels.  Luckily the conversation switched to what fruits and vegetables are on sale.

Later, we went to Sam’s and then Walmart for some weekly menu items.

Above: Sure, the mentally handicapped should be permitted to use it too.

Why yes, that was Jim zooming by at 2.1 MPH.  He decided to be a good Samaritan it would be cool to ride this thing back to the store.  The batteries were very weak. The nice lady at the door seemed appreciative but offered no reward.  Not even a lollipop.  Next time we’ll bring one in and knock her over with it.

Hours later, we picked up Grandma and headed to Pincher’s Crab Shack in Bonita Springs to celebrate Terry’s (Jim’s dad) birthday.

Above: That’s some sort of seat cushion to be used while hunting.  With it around his neck, it looks like a man purse.  How purdy.

While at Walmart today I picked up some gel window clings.  The cats were going nuts over them for the first 1/2 hour.  I’m not sure what the hell they thought they were but luckily they were between the screen and glass.

That’s Clea by the way.  Jag had his go at the untouchable window clings prior to me getting the camera.  Pets can be so amusing.

11-4-09 Wednesday (Viva Viagra)

Jim had a phone interview with Wells Fargo today. The position is for a Mortgage Underwriter in Las Vegas. We love Vegas. The glitz, the glimmer, the weather and the proximity to other cool destinations are all part of the awesomeness. Being such a cool destination almost always ensures visits from friends and family. We’re trying not to get as excited as we were during my whole almost-a-parts-and-service-director position. We may possibly know the outcome by the middle of next week.
We went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Heavenly. It’s an equal to Whataburger. I wonder which they have in Vegas?
Viva Las Vegas haunts me. Worse is that Viagra commercial that uses the tune and says “Viva Viagra!” Go ahead – click – watch the commercial – no one is looking.

We went to Walmart. When we unloaded the cart we found we hadn’t paid for some stew seasoning. We didn’t go back into the store. It was under 50 cents. We got home, unbagged and found a toilet paper roller. We didn’t get charged for it. It was probably in the bag and the cashier never put anything else with it. It was then our turn and she thought it was empty. Some poor guy is having to hold his toilet paper roll in one hand and wipe with the other. Poor guy. Oh, the point of the story. Karma. We went back to Walmart, gave them the ass wipe holder and purchased the stew seasoning. Is that strange? The service desk woman thanked us.

Above: This is the “Great WIC Check Take Over”. I’m sure of it. They were there forever. They had 4-5 WIC checks. Sure, keep having children and our government will keep feeding your asses. Bitter, party of one… or more.

Above: Just a WIC check sample I pulled off the Internet.

Above: What is this man carrying? Oh it’s a European carry-all. Uhhhh, it’s a friggin’ man purse. Ugh!

We went to Kmart to get our Christmas tree. I mentioned it here. Remember?

Above: It’s all set up and ready to go. It’s up early because we wanted to get a head start. We were afraid it would be difficult to assemble.

Above: Just me trying to get into the holiday spirit.

10-31-09 Saturday (Pimp That Ride)

Boo!  Happy Halloween!  Last year we were in a Salt Lake City extended stay hotel.  It was interesting to go back and read that entry.

I forgot to mention Jim did get the new part installed into the washer/dryer last yesterday.  I even managed to get 2 loads completed.  He had just moved the unit back into place and I was already stuffing clothes into it. 

We had forgotten how beautiful the oak trees are at this park.  Large oaks adorned with Spanish Moss.  It’s tranquil.  Last year’s spot had a large oak over us, this year there’s one next to us.  We liked the shade from the tree but I guess it’s safer without it looming over us.

It would appear that I had forgotten a lot in yesterday’s entry.  Another thing I forgot to mention was a change in the gym routine.  The RV park we’re in now doesn’t have a hot tub or gym.  It’s all we could find at a decent price.  We can drive over to the sister park and use their facilities.  Up the block from us is Planet Fitness.  A billboard above the place taunts us with “$10.00 a month, no commitment”.  On the way into the gym, I joked it was probably a $150 fee.  I was just joking… turns out they want a $99 fee.  Scam.  Gyms are expensive.  Being fat is expensive too.  Hmmmmm.  Well, we’ll use Indian Creek’s facilities.  When we’re working, it will be a different story.

Jim and I went to Walmart.  Shocker, right?  Here’s what happened while we were there.

A lady was inviting people to pose for a free photo.  I asked if I could use my own camera.  She agreed, and then called us dorks.  Funny.

On the way home from Walmart…

Above: Is this really the new hip thing to do?  The other day we saw an old Chevy Caprice station wagon.  Real old, white, wood grain, and big giant custom rims.  Ugh!

We were invited to hang out with Carl & Tim tonight.  We brought dinner for Iguana Mia, a local Mexican restaurant.  They have large family meals that’s good for feeding 4-6 people.  We picked up a taco making meal.  It includes all the fixings, rice, beans, chips, salsa, etc. 

Above: Tim’s dishwasher.  This is what happens when you get old.  You start saving take out containers.

Later Mike, Dave & David stopped by. 

Above: David.  He doesn’t know what he was trying to be.

   Above/Below: Mike

No one else in the group dressed up. 

10-27-09 Tuesday (Cryptic)

We spent all morning taking down the screen room, scrubbing/washing it all, drying it, folding it and putting it away.  We’ll be moving soon and it needs to come down.  We probably won’t put it back up at the other RV park because mosquito season appears to be over.

I hadn’t realized that I was being overly secretive about the possible job positions until Liz commented:

“Maybe if you would just fess up and tell us about this "everyone is connected" field, we would better understand... ;)”

My apologies.  I only need to keep it quiet as to the store names but not the positions.   Most recently, I worked at Colonial Suzuki as parts & service manager.  That’s my field.  The position was to be a parts and service director which was to be a step up for me.  The other position that I’m working on currently is for parts manager.

In this industry, it’s common for people to job hop, and know a lot of people, even at a competitor.  Gossip happens and within usually a week, it seems that the local industry knows what’s going on.  One of the positions I mentioned may be to replace someone who is not doing their job.  If they knew ahead of time, perhaps they’d sabotage.  Maybe the position is to be above someone who was “waiting” in line for a promotion.  Anyway, that’s why I can’t say.  Even with the position I didn’t get, why burn a bridge and blab about it? 

I’m notorious for not giving an update on something I blogged about.  Back in August, I mentioned that we had went to our storage unit and couldn’t believe we saw patient files within easy grasp of hands.  At another visit, the file situation was the same but this time I told the storage unit and asked that they called the renter.  This is a HIPAA violation and carries a hefty fine.  This past week, we once again returned to our unit but this time, the files were all gone.  While I hope the storage unit didn’t lose the business, I’m hoping that patient files, complete with date of birth and social security numbers will be private.

In other tiring news, we napped today.  Get it?  Tiring.  Nap.  {sigh}  OK, well it’s the first time in who knows how long that I initiated a nap AND took a nap.  The problem?  I never fell asleep.  After 30 minutes, I gave up.

Dinner at home, a trip to Walmart, a dip in the hot tub, and then some vegetated internet surfing before bed.

10-19-09 Monday (Generics)

Another slow day.  Went to Walmart.  Worked out.  Mike, Dave and David were in the area (at the beach metal detecting) so I invited them over for dinner.  We kept it simple and had burgers, tater tots, and baked beans.  We had a generic chocolate log cake for Dave’s birthday (on the 24th).  I make all of that sound so interesting, don’t I?  Especially with the word “generic”.   I did my best and made due with what was available.  The Publix bakery near me has the smallest bakery I’ve ever seen.  I think it’s because this area is so dead for the summer.

Here we are in October and the park has been coming to life.  The past 2 weekends, gobs of people have been arriving to their Florida winter homes.  The other clubhouses are opening and activities are buzzing.  We were told that in November this place will be really busy… we’ve seen nothing yet.

I know I shouldn’t bother posting this entry but I kind of like the journal/diary effect that it serves.  If it helps any, pretend this post was all about you.

10-16-09 Friday (Checklists)

Jim has been apartment/house hunting via the internet.  He’s excited to get out of the RV – what can I say?  We’re both anal retentive in a lot of ways and home hunting is no exception.  He’s already created a spreadsheet with a list of questions for each perspective dwelling.  Pets allowed? – pet deposit?  Cost?  - to name a few on the list.  He’s got ad numbers from Craig’s List.  He’s got realtor websites open.  He’s a whirlwind of excitement. 

Excitement is beyond words actually.  Jim had another phone interview yesterday and I have another meeting this weekend.  I’m excited too.  If I had to pick one word to describe how I feel, that would be it.  My prospects offer challenges.  My head is running wild with ideas, and solutions already.  Both positions offer challenges and are unique.  I plan to give either job 110%.  That’s how I feel right now.  I’m excited. 

Here’s some photos from the past couple of days:

Above: Dasher is funny.  Sometimes we take him for a walk but he just plops down in the grass to catch some sun.

 Above: Dasher & Clea share the booth cushion.  Where’s Jim gonna sit?

 Above: My what big…

Today, a trip to Walmart.  Years and years ago I worked at Walmart.  Store 987 to be exact – before it was rebuilt elsewhere as a superstore.  Here’s some Walmart friends who have been there a really really long time.

Above: Paula Sams – Pharmacy Guru

 Above: Carol Snyder - “Clearance Queen” as she put it.

  Above: Carol Lombardo – Pharmacy Guru.

 

Above/Below: I tried on some “hats” at the local Pep Boys parts store.  Where else would one buy a hat with hair included?  See Alix, I can have alternative hair too.

 

10-6-09 Tuesday (Micro Frogs)

We had lunch with Ed and Walter today.  Other than that, a pretty boring day.  We went to BJ’s, Publix and Walmart.  See… boring.  I did get a lot of interesting pictures today.  See what ya think. 

Above: At BJ’s an iWavecube desktop microwave.  It’s adorable.  The buttons are located on the top and even had a quick button marked “Gel pack”. 

 

Above: At BJ’s.  Color coordinated garden hose.    Available in smoke, indigo, sand, brick, etc.  Jim says, “If it blends into the house, how will you find it?”

 

Above: On a dog walk, a cool sunset.

 Above: This plant is going inside the partially open windows while the trailer owner is away for the summer.  Duh.  They’ll be surprised.

 Above: Another empty trailer.  The owner stores his Florida car here.  The car cover was dry rotted and falling off.  Recently someone duct taped it to the paint.  Ooooo, that might just hurt on removal.  Dumbass.

 Above: There’s been a lot of little frogs around.  Look how small he is!  There’s been smaller around but I had a camera with me.