Un-Fazed: Moving Beyond Phase 2

[bethy]

Aw, come on Chris! You KNOW the whole town knows you're from NYC and liable to ANYTHING.

[Chris55]

Yep, us NYers. We actually lock our doors. And we are occasionally known to carry umbrellas. And we talk funny!

So of course, DH tells me his e-mail says the dryer part isn't coming until Monday. So I drag two wet loads to the laundromat early this morning. Haven't been in there in a while, but it's very nice. Clean, a wide screen TV, and the dryers are only $1. Not bad. Toss the stuff in, come home for breakfast (it's 2 blocks away), go back to pick up the clothes/towels. A couple of hours later the mail comes, and guess what's in a box crammed in the mailbox? Big box with a little tiny part that they could have put in a regular envelope and it would have been here days ago. So my hero husband fixed the dryer and I did 3 more loads this afternoon. We're all caught up now except for sheets. I'm very suspicious about the 2 boys. Don't think they ever wash their sheets. Not sure if I want to know but I don't recall either of them washing them in ages.

Should have gone for a swim today, but I didn't. Maybe tomorrow. Spent a lot of time with laundry and hemming the $7 pants I got for DS at the LLBean outlet on Friday. Puttered in the garden, grilled some yummy chicken for dinner. We're running low on Klondikes. Could become an emergency situation tomorrow.

B: eggs/english muffin
S: nuts
L: chili w/lf cheese, sour cream
S: whole grain crackers
D: chicken/white rice/stir fried veggies/light beer/klondike

[bethy]

You DO tawk funny.
Boys are just...funky. Sometimes I wash S's sheets twice.
I was digging through the freezer, looking for parsley, and the Klondikes are still there.
I just need to reforget that.

[Chris55]

Went to the ocean today, walked a couple of laps along the water (it's a very short beach), then sat and read and ate my snacks/lunch. The water was warm, but I didn't swim because it was windy as hell and I couldn't even take my shirt off!! Got back to town and it's 5-10 degrees hotter and no wind. Maybe the lake would have been a better choice. But I had my ocean therapy - just can't beat sitting by the water listening to the waves crashing.

Food is mixed. Packed good stuff, but came home and snacked anyway!
B: ham and eggs
L: veggies & hummus, turkey/cheese rollups
D: will be london broil, veggies, veggies, veggies. Wine or light beer.
Snacks: nuts, peach, triscuits, granola bar probably a few other things - it's still early!!

[Beaching It]

ahhhhh the ocean. LOVE the ocean. Wish I lived close to the ocean. We are going to the ocean in August to B.C. for 2 weeks. LOVE it!!!! Glad to hear you are running out of Klondikes! My big mistake last week was buying the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches for a 'treat'. Ate one every night after dinner and now wishing I still had them.... but didn't buy anymore today at the store.

Hope you're doing well Chris.

[Chris55]

I don't think I could ever live far from the ocean. It's in my blood. I grew up in NYC, but in Queens where there are ocean beaches you can get to pretty easily, and then all the huge long sandy LI beaches. My dad worked nights but used to drive us to the beach early in the morning a few times a week, we'd go home in time for him to shower and eat and go off to work. He didn't like the beach but he was a saint and did it for us.

Just sitting and listening to the surf is therapeutic for me. Unfortunately none of the men in my house like it much unless they're on rocks under a tree - something about sand that bothers them! That's part of why I miss my daughter so much, she was my beach buddy! She booked her tickets this morning, returning from Australia for a visit in late October through the holidays.

Am on my second glass of wine. Trying to stay away from those frozen treats!!

[bethy]

Yay! daughter
I need daughters and beaches too, Chris, or I just don't feel normal.
WHAT a sweet dad. It was my grandfather who kept my feet wet, river or beach at least twice a week and all of July. I thought it was a law. It makes me very antsy not to be by the ocean in July.

[Chris55]

Ate way too much today for no reason other than stress.

Walk buddy wanted to walk this morning. 69% humidity. I had just gotten out of the shower and felt nice and clean and sweat-free, so I said no. Did major grocery haul - 2 stores in under 45 minutes. Even with waiting for the idiots at Hannaford to actually cut the sirloin tips that were on sale. This is the place that wouldn't hire my kid but they don't bother actually opening the butcher dept until 8:30. No fish either, and they had hake on sale

Went for a swim at the lake, then floated in my noodle chair for a while, then sat on the deck reading. If I'm going to be unemployed, I can at least enjoy the sunshine! Also made a small lasagna for the boys, eggplant parm for me, and baked a couple of loaves of zucchini bread for the boys for breakfast.

B: black beans, lf cheddar, egg
L: hot dog on bun, melon
D: eggplant parm, salad, wine, small slice Italian bread
Snacks: 2 servings nuts, small scoop ice cream, melon, cheddar and triscuits

I cannot believe I ate a hot dog. I was craving one, tried eating some other salty healthier stuff first, cheddar and triscuits. Finally caved and ate the darn hot dog. Very satisfying, but stupid.

[bethy]

Sometimes a girl's just gotta eat what a girl's gotta eat. Or at least that's what I'm gonna say when tomato sandwich season gets here.
I thought about you at the pool today. There was a new guy, in the deep pool, riding his noodle like a man ought to.
Until he saw *I* was also headed for the deep pool. His dignity totally kicked in. He started saying "I want to get off this thing. I don't need it."
He got off of it before the PT could get there and she made him get back on.

[Chris55]

Poor guy! Having to ride the noodle in front of you!

I hope I got the hot dog thing out of my system! I remember one WW leader telling us a story of how many calories she ate trying to avoid eating the one thing she was craving, so I figured I'd do better if I just at the darn thing. It tasted really good considering it was a nuked hot dog.

Gotta figure out today. It's muggy as hell and we're supposed to get some scattered strong storms this afternoon. I either need to stay home and clean or go out and do some recreational shopping, or just drive to Portland and go to TJoe's. For now just sipping coffee until the boys leave for work. They're enjoying their zucchini bread for breakfast. I'm back to beans and eggs.

[bethy]

I think that "what all I ate trying to avoid what I wanted" lesson is a good one.
I felt so sorry for the noodle guy and was going to tell him we ALL ride them but by the time he got back on he seemed kind of Grouchy.
I definitely need to stay home and clean, but I'll probably decide I need to go get Something Somewhere...

[Chris55]

My son helped me decide how to spend my day. He called me around 8:30 to tell me that he locked his keys in his car when he got to work and could I please bring him a spare set. He just started work at a bank in Boothbay Harbor, which is far enough away from anywhere else I was thinking of going that I decided that I might as well do the tourist thing down there before it started pouring. So I packed lunch and my art supplies and delivered his keys. Then I visited some of the tourist stores, bought some salt water taffy to mail to Australia and to give to the boys, walked a bit in town, then drove out to the rocky beach for lunch. I sat in the fog and ate, then painted a bit, the sun came out so I drove to another spot and took photos. By then the sky was darkening and I heard thunder, so headed home.

B: black beans/lf cheddar/egg
L: salad w/beef, beets, blue cheese, ranch
S: nuts, cheddar and triscuits, berries & yogurt
D: will be stir fried beef and broccoli, wine
Will try and keep the ice cream to a minimum - a reasonable goal.

[bethy]

Hey, I actually know about Boothbay Harbor! I always remember it and forget Castine b/c aunt Margaret Helen's last name was Booth. Sailboats! We DO need to find something new to eat. New and beachy. What's the deal with jicama, anyway??

[Chris55]

I only had jicama once a long time ago and evidently was not impressed enough to remember anything about it. I have had kohlrabi in my CSA share a few times and usually shred it on top of a salad so the boys don't notice it. I still have a fennel bulb in my fridge - kind of hard to disguise the taste of that. I need to shred it and eat it myself I guess. DH loves licorice, you'd think he'd like fennel - he is Italian, after all. But his mother only served vegetables out of cans. Depression baby.

This week I'm getting more beets, and lots more cilantro and basil. Time to get some nuts and make some pesto concoctions before all the herbs wilt. Probably should get some fresh mozzarella since I have beautiful tomatoes from the farmer's market and lots of basil. Definitely the season for caprese salad.

[Chris55]

Glad this day is almost over. Awoke to skyping w/DD in Australia who is melting down about visa/boyfriend/living situation issues. Stressed me out before 7am. Walked w/my buddies, so that was good. Had planned an ocean day, but it was barely mid-70's and windy as hell. Ran errands instead until after lunch, waiting for it to warm up and wind to die down. Tried napping, got aggravated instead. So much for my chipper positive attitude towards job hunting. Finally hauled myself over to the lake, got a wonderful parking spot so I could actually bring my chair, and it was still windy and choppy. Went for a swim anyway because I just knew that if I didn't, I'd feel worse. So it was a quick swim because I almost froze when I got out. Home to a beer on the deck.

Stress eating today, but I'll write it down anyway so I can look back and see why I've gained weight.
B: ham and eggs
Got dizzy bending over mid-morning. Low BS? Low PB is most likely. But was hungry, so had an english muffin, probably not the best choice.
L: eggplant parm and small piece of bread, couple of chocolate covered grahams
S: nuts, light beer
D: will be baked hake, zucchini or salad, maybe red new potatoes. Probably a Klondike or ice cream at the rate I'm going.