That Time Again

I guess its time to write again.  It was very relaxing and I miss it.  I will make some time this week while K is away.

Gym Excuses

Last week, I went three times for exactly 40 minutes each time.  5 minutes to stretch & warm up, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, and 5 minutes to stretch & warm down.  Sunday.  Tuesday.  Thursday.  Not a day more and not a second more of exercise.  It may not be the best of routines, but it is a start. 

This morning was the start of the new week.  I went to the gym before work.  I have decided that going first thing in the morning, before work, is the way to go.  I can go, workout, and go home to shower and get ready for work.  This is perfect for me because there is virtually no excuse in this scenario.  Of course, I am the Queen of making excuses so as to avoid exercise and eating healthy.  If I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t be overweight and so desperate to shed some poundage.   

Here are a few of my favorites…and these are ONLY the ones that I have used to avoid going to the gym after work:

• The “I Can’t Shower At The Gym” excuse:  (This is a great excuse as it can be both a before-work and an after-work excuse!)  I can’t go to the gym because I have to go to work after [am excuse]/ I have to run an errand after [pm excuse] and I can’t shower at the gym.  I caught athlete’s foot from the gym shower once and it impossible to get rid of so I just cant do it!
• The “I Can’t Get Ready At The Gym” excuse:  (This is a variation on the first, but different enough that it warrants it’s own excuse line!)  I can’t go to the gym before work because I would have to shower there [see excuse #1] and get ready for work there.  This means that I would have to prepare my work clothes and bring them with me and I just can’t tell what I will feel like wearing after I am done working out.  Plus, I cant do my makeup there because the lights are all wrong.  Plus, I cant blow dry my hair there because there are only two blow-dryers and there is always someone using them. 
• The “It’s Too Late” excuse:  Oh, its 6pm and I am just leaving work now.  By the time I get to the gym, it will be 6:30, then change & find an empty machine, 7:00, then work-out for 30 minutes and go home and shower, it will be 8:00 before I am able to start making dinner and that is just too late because we wont be eating until 9:00pm!
• The “I’m Too Tired/It Was a Long Day” excuse:  I’m too tired; my day was emotionally and physically exhausting.  After such a long day, I really deserve to go home and relax!
• The “Poor Dog” excuse:  I’ve got to get right home.  The poor dog has been locked up for too long so I must get home to let her out!
• The “Bad Weather” excuse: (A combination of the Its Too Late & Poor Dog excuses, with a twist) It’s raining out and it will take way too long to get to the gym.  The people here in CA just don’t know how to drive in the rain, so it will take twice as long and then I will get home way too late and the poor dog will be stuck for way too long!
• The “No Clothes” excuse:  (This excuse covers a multitude of items because there are soooo many things to forget!)  I can’t go to the gym tonight because I forgot my workout clothes/sports bra/sneakers/socks/hair elastic/etc. at home and I obviously can’t workout without it/them!
• The “My Night to Cook” excuse:  (This is a great one because although it is similar to the It’s Too Late excuse, it shifts the blame to another.)  I can’t go to the gym tonight because it is my night to cook and even if I leave work right on time, I just cant get to the gym, home, shower, and start dinner before K gets home.  And, it’s just unfair to him to make him wait for dinner on a night that I am cooking!

Need I go on?  In case anyone ever needs some excuse to avoid the gym or any other fitness related activity, I have many more in my arsenal. 

Therefore, as you can see, going first thing in the morning, and coming home to get ready, seems to be the only way that I can make it work for me.  Even though it is hideous to have to get up at the crack of dawn, there are is really no excuses.  Well, there is the “I Stayed up Too Late” excuse.  But, that is really avoidable…and, it is only ONE!   

So, my morning routine has turned into this: Wake at 5:45 to get to the gym for 6am to workout for 40 minutes and be home by 7am (by which time K has left for the day) to shower and get ready for work, leaving the house by 8…to be at work by 8:20…for my 8:30 start.   

Of course, I could adjust my entire schedule so as to wake a more reasonable, 6 or 6:15am, take a slightly shorter time getting ready, and slide into my office a little closer to 8:45, however, for now, I must keep it as is…so I can continue to make the point to my employees that an 8:30am start time means that we START working at 8:30.  Not, pull into the parking garage at 8:30, then run and get a cup of coffee at the shop below the office, then continue the run to our office kitchen to make yourself a bowl of cereal, finally settling into your desk and turning on your computer after 9am!!!)  Phew, what a freakin’ bitch I am. But, I have to say, my personal promptness has had positive side effects with these guys so I will continue for as long as I can stand it.

Anyhow, Bitchy Ali or not, I went to the gym morning…Karl did not go to work (he has the day off today for Martin Luther King Day) so, while I have been annoyed in the past that he is still sleeping while I awake and hustle off to the gym, it was extra annoying to have to come home knowing full well that he was still asleep in bed.  Of course, instead of allowing myself to fully engulf myself in my new routine [a nice soothing steamy shower with the clock-radio blasting over the sound of the gushing water so I can hear the weather, music, and other miscellaneous updates], I had to be quiet and respectful of the fact that he was sleeping.  All the while, I was secretly bitter that I was awake and going to work.   

Oh well, it’s the end of the day now and I have to say that there was not too much work to be had in my office today.  Both of my grunts were off today, with their children who had off from school today for MLK Day.  This was annoying to me at first, but with the day as quiet as it was, it was great! 

back to the gym…

So today K and I hit the gym.  We have had a gym membership for ever…but neither of us has gone in a VERY long time.  I think that it has been about a year and a half since I last went.  So, it has been a long time coming (the return to the gym).  I guess we finally came to the point where we both decided that we are both too overweight and unfit.  Neither of us can take it anymore! 

 Also, my acupuncturist has been suggesting some “activity” for a while.  “Just a little more activity than you are used to,” he said, “it will be very effective.”  I have been using the excuse of the bad winter weather…and the fact that it is too dark before & after work.  The TCM belief is that infertility is caused by ”patterns of disharmony,” (which are different for everyone) and are conditions that affect the kidney, liver, spleen, uterus, and others.  Of course, the treatments are different, but the goal of TCM is all the same, to restore the body’s natural balance.  Apparently, a balanced spleen likes activity.  Yet another good reason to get my butt moving.    

It felt good to go.  I was proud that I finally got off my big butt, drove to the gym, and huffed it out on the elliptical.  Even if it was only for 35 minutes!  It was a good place to start back.  I plan to go each morning before work…so that if I have to work late in the evening, it’s no excuse. 

My body is sore now.  The muscles in my legs, back and arms are burning…but I still feel good. 

Now, the thing to do is to keep it up.  Of course, I need to eat well too.  That’s my next project.  Although, we did pretty well today.  A bagel for breakfast and a salad bar for lunch…no dinner yet, but that should come soon.

So, here we go!  One day at a time, right? 

 Happy 2008!

My Uterus Hates Me

No kidding. How is it possible that I have two 35 day cycles in a row, followed by a 25 day cycle? That is unacceptable. How the hell am I to know when I am supposed to lure K into “babydance” action? And, to make matters worse, I can’t even turn an OPK (ovulation test) positive. I don’t know if I am peeing at the wrong time or what my deal is.

I had acupuncture today and complained to my acupuncturist about this whole thing. He was super supportive and gave me some ideas – foods to eat, foods to avoid, and he also suggested some light exersize.

Exersize.
That bitch.
I hate her…

Oh, by the way, I am going to gracefully ignore the fact that I haven’t posted in a month.

Flex

So, at some point last year during K’s open enrollment for his health benefits, we decided to sign up for his Flex Plan.  Even though I work in the health benefits industry, we had not done this before because K was hesitant about it.  Of course, I understand the hesitation.  In case you are unaware, the premise behind the Flex account is that you are able to put pre-tax funds aside for qualified medical expenses, however, the account is use-it-or-loose-it.  The money goes to the employer if we don’t spend it all. 

At the time we decided to enroll, we had just completed an unsuccessful IVF and an failed attempt at a FET.  Even though we were both exhausted with the process, we both fully believed that we were going to have some kind of major medical expenses relating to fertility in 2007.  Here we are, today, November 11, 2007, and we have only used about 1/8 of the funds we have set aside. 

We decided that we needed to find a way to use the funds.  So, we started running through the list of things that we could spend the money on.  And in the process, we realized that it has been three years since we visited the eye doctor.  So, yesterday, we spent the better part of our saturday at the optomotrist’s office & then LensCrafters.  We came home with oodles of glasses.  While I don’t have any major problems with being able to see, my vision is getting worse with sitting in front of the computer longer and longer.  So, I got computer glasses as well as distance glasses (for tv & movies & long drives).  The distance ones are because of my astigmatism (which they just diagnosed yesterday).

K got a new pair too.  Plus, we both got sunglasses as well.  So, that’s 4 pairs of glasses & one set of lenses (replaced into my old reading frames).  And we have now spent half of our flex money.  Two months to go.

Halloween 2007

I am a halloween scrooge.  K was working late on the big night, so I came home to spend the evening with my doggie.  The evening consisted of four action items:

• Come home
• Lock door
• Turn out all the lights
• Duck all kids looking in the windows
• Turn on the TV
• Turn on my computer
• Crash on the couch

No halloween candy.  No trick-or-treating.  No kids at my door.  It was a huge relief.

Earlier in the evening, I took Macy to the vet.  The pumpkin splint came off and the stitches came out but a new bandage went on the foot to cover over the toe.  Apparently, there is a small spot left where three flaps of skin come together…it is the last spot that isn’t completely healed.  The vet was happy enough with the healing process and I am relieved.

The highlight of my day was my acupuncture.  I went in the middle of the day and it was beautifully soothing.  Monday and Tuesday were absolutely crazy at work so my stress levels were all maxed out when I arrived into B’s office on Wednesday.  He is great at getting me to take a couple of deep breaths and calm myself.  Once I lay back and B begins to insert the needles, I feel like I am almost in a trance of relaxation.  This time, I was so relaxed that I fell asleep…and awoke to a big honking snort of a snore that came out of my mouth!  Mortifying.

I have to say, even if I don’t get pregnant from the acupuncture, it is worth every visit!

Earthquake!

Last night, at 8:04pm, we had an earthquake.

This was my first real earthquake since we moved to Cali 7 years ago.  Actually, come to think of it, it was 7 years ago this month.  Maybe this was an anniversary present…

We had no damage.  Some around the area had minor damage.  But, I don’t think that there are any major problems. 

It scared the shit out of me though.  K was at work and I was here with Macy & the cats.  When it started, I froze and ran to the wrong spot in the house.  I need to brush up on my earthquake skills and my earthquake preparedness.  My co-worker sent me the link to QuakeKare.  I will have to check it out properly.  They even have pet kits!

 S0, after I got my brain around what had happened and after I was finally able to speak to K, we decided it was best to notify all the east-coasters in our life that we were okay.  We fully expected to have our big honkin earthquake all over the news in the morning and we didn’t want to start getting calls at 5am!  So I sent out this email: 

K and I wanted to let everyone know that we are all okay here.  Not sure who has heard what…but we just had an earthquake centered only a couple of miles away from our home.

It was the biggest one we have felt here since we moved in 2000 and definitely gave me a fright…and still has Macy panting and pacing around the place.  It was like riding a wave – no kidding!

But all is okay and as far as I can see, we have no damage.  Only our picture frames are askew…Luckily for us…hopefully the same for others….sounds that way so far… 

Here is the link for the USGS site with the information on it:

http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Quakes/nc40204628.html

A moderate earthquake occurred at 8:04:54 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, October 30, 2007.
The magnitude 5.6 event occurred 8 km (5 miles) NNE of Alum Rock, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 9 km ( 6 miles).

It has been about 20 years since a quake of this size occurred on the Calaveras Fault (where this happened)…

All our love,

A&K

Come to find out, it wasn’t even in the news outside of the bay area!  Go figure.  Apparently, news doesn’t rate if there aren’t any deaths or atrocities.

Photos & Macy Updates

So, yesterday was supposed to be the BIG DAY.  We had the appointment, after work, to remove the bandage and also the sutures from Macy’s foot.  K left work a little early and picked Macy up.  I met them both at the vet’s for the joyful occasion.  I was planning a party in my head for when we got home…something along the line of doggie bones hidden thru the house.

Macy’s nurse came and got her, bringing her in back.  And, about 15 minutes later, the vet came out to tell us that Macy’s foot had not yet healed as much as she would want.  The pad of her foot is continuing to separate from the toe area along the line where the incision is.  Apparently this, again, was caused by her putting too much pressure on her foot.  She explained that each time a dog puts pressure on her foot, the pad expands…thats it’s job.  So, when this happens on Macy, it pulls against her stitches.  The vet decided that she needed to re-bandage and put a splint on to prevent Macy from putting the pressure on the pad of her foot.

 10 minutes later, out comes Macy with her new splinted bandage.  Very cute – they did an orange bandage with a black pumpkin:

Here she is sportin’ the new diggs:

We have been feeling bad about the e-collar (cone) because she is desperate to lick the cooch.  Every day she struggles to get to it.  Last night, she even took to licking the plastic which was overlaying the cooch area…it was so sad to see.  So, today, we decided to take off the e-collar for the day while we spent the day with her.  With no exaggeration what-so-ever, this is how she spent the entire day today:

Sorry for the gross shot, but neither K nor I could get over how long one dog could lick for!

CoWorker Grumblings

I am tired of work.  Actually, I love what I do, but it has become too much of a burden.  I work in a company that is so concerned about the price of shares that I can’t hire another team-member because it’s not in the budget…even though there is enough work for another full-time person.

And, why is it that I appear to be the only person who is interested in the bigger picture?  How is it possible that I have hired two people to work with me that I have trained and taught and spent time with, and they still can’t fully do the jobs they were hired for?  I assure you that what we do is not rocket science.  It’s mostly basic customer service.  Mostly just helping people.  Is it that hard???  I promise you that it isn’t.  All my job takes is kindness, willingness to help even the most frustrating person, organization, and (for lack of a better word) sticktoitiveness.

My co-worker C is going through a divorce.  I feel for him as I am sure that this is an unbelieveably tough time for him.  On top of this, by no choice of his own, he is also trying to prevent forclosure on his home.  (Short story, he can’t afford the payment alone, he hasn’t been able to sell, and the wife is not willing to participate and is fine with forclosure.)  So, what he decides to do…is to buy a home in another state for his mother to start a business (planning to generate himself some money).  Do you think, for one second, that someone with all of these things going on in his life has any time for a full time job???  He does not.  I would say that he is probably pulling about 60% of the 120% that I need him for right now (at our busiest time of year). 

I have already had to talk to my team about not coming in late.  And about not leaving early.  And, about notifying me now for any time off that they will need between now and the end of the year.  Honestly, if they can hang tight ’till then, they can have as flexible of a schedule as they need over the next few months.  They both know this.  How is it that C is still feeling like it’s acceptable to come to me and say, “hey, I can’t clear my head, is it okay if I work from home this afternoon?”  NO!  Its not f-ing okay.  Are you planning on answering your desk phone, from home?  I already told you that I need you every hour of every day until the holidays.  How freaking hard is that to understand? 

 The worst part about this is that I am a bit between a rock and a hard place.  When he first came to me with the news of his divorce, my boss and I told him that we would fully support him thru the process.  I can’t be that shit head that goes back on her word, right?

So, you ask, what is it that I did do?  I told him that it really wasn’t the best time for him to be leaving from work halfway thru the day and that I would really like him to stick it out.  However, if he really had to go, that he needs to do what he needs to do.  What did he do? He left!

 Do I sound like a huge bitch?  It just burns me that I am working at 200% and he shares my office so I am absolutely certian that he is working at 60% (maybe 70% on a good day)…even on days when we have full-on chaos.  I know, gripe-o-rific.

A Whole Week?

Goodness, has it been a whole week since I last posted? It seems much more recent… I will give you some high points of the week since I know you are dying to hear it all!

Friday: I took Macy to the vet’s for a bandage change. They removed the bandage and brought me back to the back where they had her laid out, relaxed on the floor. It wasn’t the most beautiful wound that I have ever seen. But at least it wasn’t a big gaping hole! The vet took a look at it and appeared less than pleased with her healing progress. It was a bit pink and was somewhat swollen. Duh! They removed two toes!!! Anway, he suggested that she was using the foot too much … more dopey drugs for Macy!

Saturday/Sunday: We accomplished a lot of little things this weekend. Somehow, we have this problem with completing our “to do” list on a weekly basis. It is because of me, I am sure. This was a good one though – we got to Trader Joe’s, Costco, did the laundry, etc.

The low point of the weekend was when Macy ripped off her bandage on Sunday (late afternoon). I went outside to call her to come in when K and I left for the store…to find her licking her foot and wagging her tail, with shreds of bandage strewn all around her in a semi circle! I couldn’t see bringing her to the emergency clinic for a re bandage when we had one scheduled in the morning, so we made do with what we had – pantyliners, cotton balls, and tape. No joke. Bring on the puppy-cone. We now have a cone-head walking around the house torturing us with constant knocking into our ankles, shins, and knees.

Monday: I brought Macy to the vet’s with her pantyliner bandage. Luckily I didn’t get laughed out of the place. The nurse was very sweet and explained that she had seen worse. The good news is, we got the big thumbs up from the vet! The bandage is to come off & stitches are to come out on FRIDAY! Personally, I feel like that is too soon, but he reminded me that skin heals quickly and I would be surprised on Friday when I saw it. So, I made the appointment for Friday & K can go! Yay!

Wednesday: Acupuncture again. This is fast becoming my favorite day of the week. This was cd13 for me and I forgot to ask B if there was anything different I/we should be doing during my “peak” time. I need to email him about my appt next week because he can’t work late on Wednesday…its Halloween! And he needs to be home to be with his kids trick-or-treating. How cute is he? Although, it does cut into my acu time…but I can share!

Okay, time to sign off and go to work. I seem to have many grumbles at the moment so you may hear from me shortly again. Cheers…