Spreading the Joy

The young couple who danced down the aisle at their wedding and into viral video history has decided to redirect that attention towards something worthwhile. They are asking everyone who celebrated their joy with them to make a donation to the Sheila Wellstone Institute, an organization working to end domestic violence against women and children.

I thought that was a wonderful idea. If you'd like to contribute too, you can do so here:

Jill and Kevin's Wedding

Pay it forward!

Office Klutz

My office is pretty comfortable. It's so comfy that sometimes I prop my feet up on my desk, especially when on the phone. I often wave my wand while in this position, pontificating on important work related topics.

Or when discussing Harry Potter with my co-workers.

It was while in this relaxed posture that I fell out of my chair today. In one swift movement, my chair dumped me on the floor, toppled over and pinned me to the desk. It was an awkward position and I had to be rescued by a co-worker who is not only half my age but also half my size.

I might have been able to rescue myself had I been able to reach my wand. I must remember to stash one under my desk for the next emergency.

I have a couple of spares.

Summer Reading

When I arrived home from work yesterday, I found this waiting for me on the front porch:

I thought it must be something I pre-ordered on Amazon, so I grabbed the package and ran upstairs. Christmas in July! What book had I ordered? I couldn't remember.

Hmm. These didn't look familiar. I checked the address label to see if the box belonged to a neighbor.

Nope. My name and address. I checked the packing slip. Again, my name and address. I guess Amazon got an order mixed up. And then I noticed a sentence in the middle of the slip:



I think that you will like these books. I did!! I read these while I was still in college, and nothing nasty happens in them. From: J

It really was Christmas in July!

J is one of my oldest friends. She and I get together every two years with three other friends from high school for what we call a Wild Woman Weekend. The last WWW was in April 2008. We spent an afternoon at a day spa and the rest of that weekend laughing, drinking wine and catching up. (Note to self: Time to start planning WWW 2010.)

J called me this past weekend. Seems she had finally found time to catch up on my blog. J is a voracious reader, and although she told me she had some book recommendations, discovering her suggestions sitting on my porch was a very unexpected surprise!

Thank you, sweetie! They look really good and I plan to start reading the first volume this week.

Weigh Day Update: I lost 1 lb this week, so the scale is moving in the right direction again! I now weigh 177.2 lbs - that's 25.4 lbs less than when I started in January. Yay!

Dillypoo's Kitchen

I love to cook. I love to cook big. Thanksgiving dinner big. I also love to collect cookbooks. I especially love to collect regional cookbooks and those published by small town clubs, like the 1962 Firemen's Wives Association or the Waco Ladies Forum from 1957.

Those recipes are wonderful and they usually involve bacon grease and frying.

Those were the days!

Unfortunately, Dillypoo doesn't always have time to cook. In the summer it's too hot to be in the kitchen and in the fall my job keeps me busy 70 hours a week. But cooking is the best way to control my diet.

So what's a Dillypoo to do? Come up with a plan, that's what.

I've discovered some easy, tasty kitchen short cuts to keep me and The Professor from dining in the drive-thru lane and thus keeping our diet healthy and on the right track.

My weekly grocery list always includes at least three lean meats, fresh or frozen vegetables and a variety of fresh fruit. I've found that if you pick one of these:

And season it with any one of these:

And then pair it with one or two of these:

Then you can have a healthy, tasty dinner on the table in under 20 minutes. Especially if you use one of these:

I'm also a big fan of these:

They can be ready in 10 minutes and are pretty hearty, especially if you add an extra bag of steamed veggies. You just have to look at the label before dropping them into the grocery cart. Some of them are pretty hefty in fat and calories.

Of course, nothing can replace the taste of a meal that's been lovingly prepared for hours from family recipes or gourmet cookbooks. But if you're like me and time is sometimes at a premium, it's nice to know that a good dinner can be put together in about the same amount of time it takes for the pizza guy to show up at your door.

And that's all I have to say about that. (Name that movie.)

Ode to Joy

If you haven't seen this on the TeeVee or internet in the past 24-hours, then the power is out at your house. And even if you have seen it, watch again! It's just that much fun.



Congratulations to the newly wed couple! I wish them a long, happy life together that's as joyful as their wedding.

Perspective

My senses have finally recovered from Tuesday night's methane assault and I've had extra time to put this week's weight gain into perspective.

I admit I was a bit bummed about gaining .6 pounds, especially since I managed to lose weight while on vacation. Why did I gain? I didn't eat to excess. Yes, I had movie popcorn twice and no, I didn't walk as much as I have been, but I don't consider either of those factors extreme variants from routine.

What really got to me wasn't the amount I gained but the fact that I gained at all. Real life means I'm not always going to have time to exercise and how am I supposed to maintain a healthy weight (once I get there) if I can't have movie popcorn once in a while? Total deprivation of favorite treats will lead to fits of self pity that can induce feeding tantrums that can spiral me right back to the big girl's clothing department.

I cannot live life without the occasional bag of movie popcorn. I already gave up the big tub for small bags!

I could accept a little gain if I'd hoovered my way through a box of Twinkies or scarfed down a giant bag of Doritos. But this was an insult to my new way of being.

And then I remembered that I ate lunch out on Weigh Day, something I usually don't do. I had sushi that day (a pretty healthy choice for lunch all things considered). And I had a lot of sushi. Which means my tummy was full when I weighed. Eight pieces of nigiri and two California rolls full. Could fish and rice have tipped the scales (pardon the pun) out of my favor?

It's possible. The thought made me feel a little better. Maybe the scales were weighing my lunch, not me.

Then I found a photographic reality check, which really made me start feeling better.

This is Dillypoo in January:

Double chin and cherry cheeks - two of the reasons I joined Club WW. By Easter I was down 14 pounds and looked like this:

I still have jowls and cleavage. Compare that Dillypoo to Road Trip Dillypoo:

My face is definitely showing a slimmer me and I'm going to have to go bra shopping soon. Good-bye cleavage, hello waist!

And the best morale booster of all: Today I wore size 12 pants to work! That's two sizes smaller than what I was wearing in January.

So take that Mr. Scale! Dillypoo is back on track, eating healthy, writing it down and rising early to walk on my treadmill. And next Weigh Day I'll eat lunch at my desk where I won't be tempted to chow down on too much restaurant goodness.

A Delicate Situation

It's Weigh Day and I'm sitting at the computer pondering the best way to blog about my .6 pound gain this week when something foul accosts my nostrils. Sniffing around I realize that Frida is lying beside me and, sorry, but there is no delicate way to put this:


Frida has gas. Fruit farts to be exact. I saw The Professor feed her some banana earlier.

The Professor has no qualms about sharing his dinner and snacks with the dog. Frida has no qualms about wolfing down whatever he is offering.

Leftover meat loaf? Gone.

Extra potatoes on the plate? Done.

A little bit of yogurt in the cup? Slurp!

Frida will eat vegetables, cheese, cookies, popsicles and anything else The Professor can't finish. She's snagged cakes cooling in the kitchen and grabbed sandwiches out of my hand. She gobbled up a chicken carcass once while we were eating in another room.

I don't share my people food with the dog, but she's an eternal optimist, always gazing longingly at my plate just in case I change my mind.

Sharing some food with Frida is probably OK (I try to keep pastries and chicken bones out of reach). Rice and vegetables and lean meats are probably better for her than dry dog food.

But fruit? Am I the only one who remembers the mango scene in Marley and Me?

What was The Professor thinking?

24 Hour Fitness

The new, active Dillypoo is slowly building a gym from donated and found parts. Our new neighbors had a yard sale on Saturday and I bought this for $5:

It's a Dual Motion Nordic Rider by Nordic Track and it's supposed to give me an easy, all over work out on my legs and arms. I can't find a manual but I think I've figured it out. I push with my legs and pull with my arms. So far, I can do 1.5 minutes without stopping.

1.5 minutes sounds so much better than 90 seconds (Dillypoo is still working on her stamina).

Before I handed over my five bucks, I had to get The Professor's blessing. You see, the old, sedentary Dillypoo used to own one of these:

It lived in our house for about 15 years, holding laundry and collecting dust. Every year, The Professor would ask if we could get rid of it and every year I would say "not yet."

Until last fall. I finally sent my old clothes rack to the Goodwill. Two months later I decided to get healthy.

Timing is everything.

So when I spotted the Dual Motion Nordic Rider by Nordic Track at my new neighbor's yard sale on Saturday, I had to convince The Professor that I would really use it.

Dillypoo: "Can I have it? Pleeeeeeeese?"

The Professor: "No."

Dillypoo: "I promise I'll use it. If I don't then we can take it to the Goodwill right away."

The Professor: "We just got rid of the exercise bike."

Dillypoo: "This isn't an exercise bike! It's a recumbent thingy! Ruby uses something like it and I was looking at them on the internet. They cost a lot more than $5."

I think my use of the term "recumbent thingy" impressed The Professor because he begrudgingly agreed to help haul it from the new neighbor's yard onto our front porch. I carried it upstairs, though (The Professor's back is bothering him again).

So now I have two genuine pieces of exercise equipment and I'm actually using them both.

Who am I and what have I done with myself?

Rain Dance

This is what a Texas summer storm looks like as it grows:

And this is what a storm looks like as it rolls into town:

The air was electric with storms today. You could hear, feel and smell them. They built up randomly, popping up all around me but none ever materialized over me. I was hoping for rain, but today wasn't my day.

Maybe tomorrow.

Perfect Cuppa Tea

I like tea. I like tea a specific way. The Dillypoo way. This is my recipe for the perfect cuppa tea:

• a mug filled to within a half inch from the rim with hot water (it'll taste better in your favorite mug but any clean one will do)
• one English Breakfast tea bag (Irish Breakfast or English Teatime are OK substitutes, just don't try this with Earl Grey)
• one spoonful of honey (from local honey bees if it's available)
• twoish spoonfuls of vanilla flavored creamer (the "ish" means let the creamer flow over each spoonful)

It's best to drink this strong, so let the bag steep until it's cool enough to drink.

My tea smells like a cookie and will soothe a scratchy throat or an achy heart and it's the best way to start a morning.

If I see you're sad or having a bad day or you're not feeling well, I will make you this tea and you will feel better.

Promise.

Half Blood Prince and the Princess of Darkness

Before leaving for the movie theater last night, Nephew No. 2 and his sister, the Princess of Darkness, adorned themselves with some Harry Potter tattoos that I brought over.

The Princess is not yet old enough to read the Harry Potter books, but she wants to. Maybe she can come to the midnight release of the next and final installment of the series, Part One of which opens November 2010.

Maybe.

Nephew No. 2 started reading the books last summer. He's currently reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. By taking him to the movie last night, I technically spoiled him for the next two books. But it was his decision.

He has a lot of questions. Did Dumbledore make a Horcrux? Is Snape really evil? Will Harry go back to Hogwarts during his seventh year?

I remember when I had those same questions. I remember when nobody knew the answers.

That was a fun and special time. BDH - Before Deathly Hallows.

Has it really been two years since the last book was published?

It's a Very Good Day

Today is a good day for two reasons:

1. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince opens at midnight and I have tickets!

2. Today is Weigh Day and I managed to lose 1.4 pounds during our road trip! That means Dillypoo has now lost 25 pounds since January!

I guess my plan to eat normally during the day, enjoy one meal out per day and take walks in pretty places worked. I also hiked in Mammoth Cave national park, went spelunking in the caves and rode a bicycle built for two with The Professor.

I'd make this celebratory blog a little longer but I have to go pick up Nephew No. 2. He's my date for tonight's movie.

Accio popcorn!

Keeping Cool

Ugh.

It's hard to believe that just nine days ago I had to borrow a jacket from my mother-in-law to watch fireworks in the park. Vacation is over, folks!

I complain about the heat a lot (in case you haven't noticed). I don't mind crazy weather in general - storms, hail, cold - but I HATE heat. That's because keeping cool when it's 104 degrees out and you have no central air conditioning is serious business. I should know. This is my life.

The secret to staying cool: Fans. Lots of them. I have fans on the ceiling and fans on the floor. Fans at my desk and fans in the kitchen. I even have a folding fan in my purse (although that's more to calm raging hot flashes, but that's another blog).

This blue little darling is one of my favorites. I have another one just like it at my office (although that one is also more to calm raging hot flashes since my office is sufficiently air conditioned). This is another favorite:

I have this one tethered to an extension cord so I can position it just about anywhere. It's very useful for directing cooler air from the air conditioned bedroom across the hall into the un-air conditioned bathroom.

This bad boy has a remote control and has saved my new treadmill routine. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'd get up and walk in the morning without it.

Other secrets to surviving Texas summers: popsicles, ice makers, small refrigerators dedicated to cold drinks (not beer, folks) and movie theaters.

The Professor and I see a lot of movies during the summer.

Speaking of movies, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince opens tomorrow night at midnight!

Accio popcorn!

Road Tripped Out

The Big Summer Road Trip is over. During the past 10 days, we visited The Professor's home town:

Where we caught up with family:

And paid our respects to loved ones departed:

We spent the Fourth of July at a small town festival:

Where we counted fire flies and watched the fireworks up close:

We went for walks in pretty places:

And spotted deer in the woods:

We made detours to a civil war museum and log cabin village:

And saw the world's oldest living sassafras tree:

We went spelunking at Mammoth Cave and the Lost River Cave:

And learned how bourbon is made:

We visited museums for vintage cars:

And old planes:

I saw a castle:

And ate my first White Castle:

And best of all, I spent the entire trip laughing and playing with my favorite guy in the whole world:

Road Tripping

The Professor and I are on vacation! Road trips are fun. They take a lot of planning. Or at least they should. I waited until Tuesday to start looking at the maps and Googling things to do between Texas and Ohio.

I didn't want to hamper our spontaneity.

I did manage to pack half the kitchen, though:

The Professor wasn't as impressed with this feat as I was:

Hey, it's hard to find one-point snacks at truck stops!

We lost the odometer on the car almost as soon as we hit the highway. The Professor tried to blame me for this since I had plugged an adapter into the power outlet to charge the GPS and phone simultaneously, but it turns out there's a problem with odometers on 2004 Elements. They can stop working suddenly, so we have no idea how far we've gone or how many miles we have to go.

And it wasn't my fault! Apology accepted, darling.

Next we met a very nice Texas Highway Patrolman about an hour east of Dallas who informed The Professor that he had exceeded the posted speed limit. I say he was nice because he let us off with a warning. Thank you Mr. Patrolman! A ticket would've put a real damper on The Professor's holiday mood.

We made it to Memphis by 3:30 the first day. If you're driving through Memphis and have a few hours for a detour, what should you do?

Graceland, of course!

Graceland has been on my List of Things To Do Before I Die forever, and I can now check that off. Graceland was not on The Professor's list, but he was game for it and I seized the moment.

The Jungle Room pretty much sums up Graceland:

Way over done but quite wonderful in a tacky sort of way. Kind of like this:

A giant Elvis PEZ. I almost bought it but was able to talk myself out of it. Good thing a diet orange Crush was the strongest thing I'd had to drink that afternoon or else Mr. Elvis PEZ would be traveling with us now.

The next day we decided to visit Lincoln's birthplace:

I love national monuments and historical sites, and this one was very nicely done. There's a cabin inside the monument at the top of those stairs that may (or may not) be the actual log cabin that Honest Abe was born in.

Afterwards, The Professor said he wanted to visit a patent museum he'd seen on the internet. So I Googled "patent museum kentucky" and found an address in Fort Knox and we headed that way.

As we got closer to Fort Knox I spotted a sign that said "Patton Museum" ahead. "How unusual!" I said to The Professor.

The Professor: "That's where we're going. The Patton Museum."

Dillypoo: "No, we're going to the Patent Museum. There must be two museums in Fort Knox."

The Professor: "I don't think so."

Dillypoo: "But I thought you wanted to visit the U.S. Patent museum."

The Professor: "No, I wanted to visit the General George S. Patton museum, but a patent museum sounds interesting."

Evidently Google accommodates and encourages this kind of confusion because I clearly searched for "patent" museum and it gave me the address for the "Patton" museum.

Two hours after looking at tanks and other big guns, we decided it was time to head towards Ohio. I called my mother-in-law and told her that according to the GPS we should be there in about two and half hours. She asked where we were and said we might be further away than we thought.

Dillypoo: "Nope. The GPS clearly says we'll be there by 5:17."

Mom (sounding doubtful): "Well, OK. I'll call Aunt and Uncle and let them know so we can go to dinner when you get here."

Dillypoo: "See you soon!"

About 20 minutes later we realized we'd crossed time zones but the GPS hadn't adjusted it's clock. Another quick call to apologize and change our ETA.

We eventually made it to Ohio and The Professor's birthplace. There's no monument here, but I'm sure I'll get to visit other sites associated with his formative years.

And hopefully I'll get some of that cherry pie I put on my Top 10 travel list.