Barking Mad

Alive and . . .Happy in 2012!

Standing at Land's End on Bailey Island, Harpswell, Maine - trying to keep from being blown into the Atlantic ocean and freezing to death!   Not the best family-self-portrait ever taken, but I think I'll stick with it!

It's been two weeks since I last posted anything to the blog.   Despite stating I was going to post during each and every day of December, I might not have done that, but I did manage to celebrate  every single day during the month of December in the spirit of the "31 Days of Giving" (the loss of a close friendship notwithstanding - which sucked, to be honest, but I'm beginning to see that this happened in order to open my eyes to other things I've been ignorant of for a while.), December was such an incredible month for not only me, personally, but for our entire family!  I'm so glad I challenged myself to be more giving.  I'm hoping that this is a habit that sticks with me for the rest of my life!    Even if you think it's the smallest thing that you do for another, it might just end up being the very thing that means the most to them!

Tomorrow I'm going to photo-bomb you all with a look back at the end of our 2011 - which included an impromptu trip to Boston to celebrate Gaby's 6th (I can hardly believe she is SIX already!), and then back home to Maine to spend a few days soaking up the sea air, time with friends, and just being together as a family.     We were going to make a quick trip home to deal with some business with the house up there, but Gareth received a generous end-of-the-year bonus at work, so we decided to make a real holiday of it!   

In addition to being able to take Gaby to American Girl to celebrate her birthday, we were able to make a huge dent in some of our bills which might allow us to back-out of our bankruptcy if we can get Bank of America to not try and obtain a deficiency judgement against us.   However, we don't know what's going on with that whole foreclosure mess, so in the end, it might be a moot point.  I can't say too much about our particular case at this point, but we do know that we were dealt with fraudulently and while we're not sure how many years it might take to sort this entire mess out, we're hopeful that when all is said and done, we can avoid bankruptcy.  

It may come to pass that we aren't able to, and we'll deal with that.  But for now?  Gareth's bonus helped us get a head start on paying off an awful lot of medical bills and other things that we fell behind on as a result of trying to pay a mortgage in Maine and rent here in New York.  I was hesitant to say anything about it at all because so many people are struggling right now, however, when I thought about it, I decided that sharing about our blessings was the right thing to do rather than have a bunch of people think we were off gallivanting around while we were in the midst of a bankruptcy.    I'm sure there are still going to be people that feel we shouldn't have set one foot outside of New York while we still have any sort of debt hanging over our head.   You're entitled to your opinion just as we're entitled to live our lives the way we see fit.

On that note, we'd like to continue paying it forward and I'm going to hold another VISA gift card giveaway in the next two weeks.   I'm not sure what day I'm going to kick it off but it will definitely be in the next couple of weeks!

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Being that Gaby reads almost everything she can get her hands on with the exception of anything on the computer, I can go ahead and let the cat out of the bag, out here!

I decided about a month ago to get a refund on my airline ticket going to the UK to visit Meg and baby Kennedy.  Now wait a minute!  Don't make that face!   Then I went and got Meg and Kennedy an airline ticket to come here to New York!   Meg will be here February 1st through the 10th!  

Meg and I decided that we wanted to plan a huge surprise for Gaby!  She doesn't know a single thing about it.   She was a bit out-of-sorts because she wouldn't be able to go see her big sister and brand new niece until - well we don't really know when.   Gaby misses Meg tremendously.  There are always several tears shed when we end a Skype session.  

We haven't said a single thing to Gaby about Meg coming home!   And we're not going to either.  Meg wants to arrange to surprise Gaby at school.  She's going to go in, in full uniform (for those who don't know, Meg is in the United States Air Force and stationed in the UK - her her husband is currently deployed in the middle east), and I'm going to stand there and snuggle Kennedy while Meg surprises her little sister.    I have huge tears in my eyes just thinking about it. 

And would you just look at how big Kennedy is getting?  

I'm not sure I could have handled any more time not seeing Meg or being able to shower this gorgeous little granddaughter of mine with love!    Now all I have to figure out how to do is get to Seattle to Aiden, my grandson, who turned 1 on December 18th!

By the way, I'd just like to thank Zach and Meg for making me such a young G-ma.   No really.  I'm finally coming to grips with it.   I'm no longer choking hesitating when I utter the "G" word.   Of course I've booked an appointment for my first, of what's probably going to be many many, Botox injections.  I'm looking at some collagen injections in my lips.  Possibly an eye-lid lift.   I've written to Joan Rivers and asked what she recommends.   So um, yeah...thanks you two.  Thanks a whole lot!

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2011 ended on the happiest note ever.   I've come to some realizations about happiness and my own emotional well-being . . . maybe you could even call them epiphanies.   I can't wait to share more of that with you all.   Right now though?  I need to get to bed as Gaby's first day back to school after Christmas break is tomorrow, as well as Gareth's first day back in the office after being on holiday for 11 days!   I need to get some beauty sleep so I can party get my house back in order.

Happy Happy New Year!  I hope we're all able to embrace the spirit of being genuinely happy!

 

Weight and See - Meals Snapshot for 11-16-2011

So, about this joining the Y thing?  Yeah . . . I actually went to the Y today and did something other than swim.  I went to the gym and got my butt on a treadmill, then this leg thing (I didn't call beforehand and schedule a meeting with the trainer because I was lazy and spent too much time daring myself to get the nerve up just to do something other than swim!), then worked on my arms, then rode a bike.   The rest is kind of a blur because right about then every friggin' muscle in my body seized up and cried out in sheer agony, begging for mercy to please, for the love of all that is holy, STOP IT!

I think my initial goal of 300 minutes of exercise per week may have been a bit over zealous.

I swear, a person has to be physically fit just to use the stuff in the gym.   Thank God there was a portable defibrillator and oxygen tank in the gym!

I don't know why I find it so much easier to slip quietly into the pool, but I  get ten different kinds of freaked out about people watching me use the gym equipment.  Probably because I can hide in the water and then wrap myself in a towel the minute I get out.  But the gym?  I was so uncomfortable.   I felt really ill at ease worrying if people were laughing at all my flab jiggling around and silently wondering if I was going to have a stroke?  Then I began to sweat and was praying that Secret was really holding up it's end up the bargain and was indeed strong enough for a man (despite being made for a woman!) - because I was certainly sweating like one!

I'm beginning to think it was a miracle that I was cut from The Biggest Loser at the last minute for not having a partner because I'm pretty sure I would have had some sort of major cardiac event while filming - filming during what was Jillian Michael's last season.    After beating the hell out of myself today, I don't honestly know what made me think I could have survived competing on that show.   Perhaps with world class trainers standing there and yelling at you, it gives you a hefty dose of adrenalin.  Well that and the fact that behind the scenes there are medical staff, additional trainers and physical therapists just waiting to bandage you up, wrap your ankles and monitor your every breath!   Me?  Out here in the big bad world and not on an isolated Malibu hills set?  I was lucky I was able to hobble to my car after leaving the gym.  

Every square inch of my body (and that's no small acreage!) hurts.  My hair even hurts.    300 minutes a week?  I'm going to be lucky if I can get in 300 minutes a year at the point I'm going!

I suppose I'd better stop my grumbling and get on with my meals, eh?

I learned that on the mornings I intend on going to the gym, I had either better start my steel cut oatmeal a whole lot earlier, or opt for something less time-consuming to prepare and eat. Despite it taking forever, it was really yummy!

I bulked up on breakfast on the advice of my doctor.  He said that if I can get a good breakfast in, if I'm not feeling very hungry the rest of the day, then at least I've had a good breakfast.    I got through about 3/4 of it before I cried Uncle.

Lunch was late and I basically just threw it together after coming home from the gym.   I was surprised to find that I had an appetite, but lo and behold, I did!

I grabbed the wrong Chobani yogurt at the grocery store, but seeing as how Gareth and Gaby won't touch the stuff, I went ahead and ate the 2%.  Normally I get fat-free.    Now, if you're wondering about the stuff I've put on top of the yogurt (it's underneath it too), it's a "Granola" from Bakery on Main Gourmet Naturals.  I really hesitate to call it granola because I normally associate granola as having oats in it.  This stuff has no oats at all!  It's non-GMO, gluten free, low in sodium, casein free, and while it packs a hefty 260 calories per 3/4 cup serving, it is one of the best things I have found that is filling, tastes really good, and is healthy!   It's got corn flour, brown rice flour, rice bran, raisin juice, raisins, sunflower seeds, cranberries, flax seed, coconut, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, apricots, brazil nuts, and sea salt in it.   It's really really good.  And really filling!  Hence the reason I didn't eat dinner until nearly 9PM and this post is so late going up!

Here's a close up of the "granola."

If you get a chance (and no, I'm not being paid to write this!) pick some up.  I don't think you'll regret it!

Dinner was a last-minute salad sort of thing.  I needed to use some roasted chicken we had on hand.  Sometimes I like more than just leafy salad greens in my salad and want more crunch.  So this time I opted for a salad of romaine, purple cabbage, and carrots.    As much as I enjoy the crunch, my stomach isn't down with the crunch at this point.  Back to my normal Olivias Spring Mix!

TOTAL CALORIES = 1499

I can't find my little calculator graphic which is just as well at this point as it's getting really late and I need to crawl into bed.  Or, I might just sleep in my desk chair as the thought of moving anything more than my fingers, at the moment, is painful!

Sweet dreams m'dears!

It's Been One of THOSE Weeks!

I know, you're sitting there going, "OMG, what now?"   Guess what?  I have pictures to show you exactly, "what now"!

Sunday morning I woke up and couldn't see very well out of either eye.  It was like something was in the way.  Well, that "something" was the area under my eyes and my cheeks.  My nose even ceased to exist.   Here, let me show you a picture.

Well wait a sec, let me remind you how I normally look...

There's my normal fat face, with tons of make up, next to my adorable and naturally beautiful daughter!    Notice the clear definition of a nose and two eyes, rather than two slits in my face?

Here's how I woke up on Sunday morning...

This was me Sunday night after an entire bottle of Benadryl, ice packs and Noxema...

And this was me late Monday night after yet more Benadryl, ice packs and slathering on more Nozema...

Better but not 100%

Today, all the areas that were swollen and puffy are itching like mad and are red, irritated and scaly.  Such a pretty picture isn't it?   Oh wait, there is NO picture for that image because I refuse to take one.   Just let your imagination run wild with how I've described things.

We're pretty sure it was some sort of allergic reaction that caused the swelling and subsequent yuckiness.  I deviated from a 30+ year routine of using NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING on my face except Nozema (seriously folks, I haven't let a bar of soap touch my face since I was 10, or even younger!) to wash with and baby oil or Nuetrogena make-up remover cloths on my eyes.   Saturday night I decided to use one of those make-up remover cloths all over my face and then for some stupid reason,  because those left my face feeling gross, instead of taking my big ass downstairs to scrub with Noxema, I grabbed a bottle of Sea Breeze from the upstairs bathroom and doused my face with that stuff and then rubbed it down with cotton balls.

Stop making that face at me!  I never once have claimed to be a member of MENSA.

Anyhow that's about the only thing I can think of that would have caused a reaction like this.  It's gross, painful, itchy and really unsightly.  

I braved the great outdoors today and took my 42 year old body with it's 92 year old face into the store and got something that my dermatologist recommended that I try to calm and soothe my skin, and to use from now on for removing make-up.   He also just had to remind me that I'm entering an age where my skin may start reacting differently to the products I use on it.  Gee thanks, why not kick me in the boob while you're at it? 

So I bought the cream he recommended and brought it home.  I went to look for it this evening to slather all over my face and couldn't find it.  Anywhere.   I looked everywhere and it was nowhere to be found...until I opened the fridge to grab an adult beverage that I was clearly in need of...

I swear that I did not read "Cold Cream" and think that it needed to be refrigerated.  I didn't...stop making that face at me!  Perhaps, in some super sub-conscious way, I might have.   It's probably a direct result of all the Benadryl I've been taking!   However, I do know better.  Cold cream doesn't really need to be kept in the ice-box!

But I have got to tell you, it sure as hell felt wonderful on my face.   

Maybe I'll just leave it in the fridge.