London Calling

The 2 little stars

AB FAB!


So I know not everyone is a sports fan or a tv fan or an Olympics fan so you may not have seen anything to do with the opening ceremonies from London on Friday. I would encourage you to look at some of the clips on the internet though. I'm an anglophile. I like all things to do with Great Britain, literature, music, comedy, history, the royals. I've followed some British blogs for years. Oh yeah, I like some of the food and drink. But sticky toffee pudding is not on my menu.

With Fish and Chips and hard apple cider , my husband and I watched the opening ceremonies. I truly enjoyed it. I don't remember going "Oh wow" like I did with Bejing, but it was entertaining. Dry humor throughout.

If you've heard anything about it , it would be about a scene with James Bond and The Queen. Yes, Yes mighty amusing. It was the Queen's corgis that stole that part of the show to me. They were her real pups and they had more enthusiasm and charm in that little segment than the royals showed in the whole hours-long ceremony. I guess they are used to going all out to try to get a smile or a treat from her Majesty. Little Stars.

Little tidbits:
I think some of the music and dancing sequences were over the top, and I have nothing else to say. That whole Frankie and June segment......hmmm...I'm impressed by their enthusiasm and spirit?

I know the Us teams outfits were made in China , but I liked them. they reminded me of the styles from the 20's and 30's and made me think of The Great Gatsby.

MR BEAN! loved it.

I did actually say at one time "Where's Bridget Jones and Mr Darcy?" At least Hugh Grant made an appearance.

***********

As far as watching the games, I always say I'm more of a winter Olympics fan, but I'll definitely watch it off and on . I watched some of the bike racing this morning. I like seeing the English countryside and the villages. I love the horsey events, swimming, diving, and gymnastics. I usually cry when they show the personal stories of the athletes.

And while watching the whole thing, I remembered being a kid and watching the Olympics in my little home town . I remembered having a dream that I would get to go to an Olympics some day. And, I did. I attended some of the events in Atlanta in 1996.

As a hospital nurse, it was hard to get off work for the days of the Olympics, but I managed to see some of the Equestrian and Gymnastics events and attend a concert in the Olympic park. Prior to the games you would go out to a restaurant or bar and have whole teams from small countries you'd never heard of hanging out and that was exciting.

Anyone watching?

Ok, Off to Yoga now.

Meditation With Dog

Lillie

Quality time comes in unexpected places. I had to work late and missed water aerobics, so I improvised a little work out. I've been working 10 + hr days again with almost no breaks. And deep down for some reason I didn't want to deal with the trouble of going to the gym's pool / changing / chlorine itchy skin etc.

I opted to use my Elliptical-damn, that thing on level 1 feels like level 8 at the gym. Then I walked around the block in a soup of southern humidity.

I "cooled down" stepping in place to Coldplay in the living room in the air conditioning. My husband commented how red purple my face was . " I'M COOLING DOWN"

Then a little yoga time . I'm stiff. I put the yoga mat on the floor in front of a box fan that is Lillie-my oldest dog's private personal fan-she has hot flashes too. A vanilla candle lit and New age music on the television's music stations. The mood is peaceful. I go through some Pilates and yoga poses , a decent plank , and stretch out and relax.

Lillie sits next to me, anxiously licking me all over trying to make it all better. I radiate love and peace to her since she has been panting all afternoon and freaking out over noises. She's about 12 and her vision and hearing are not what they used to be and I think it raises her anxiety level. When the yoga is over I don't want to get up yet, so I sit in front of the fan and Lillie joins me.

Then.....quiet. Wind. Music. Candle glow. Vanilla. Dog and woman were still. Heads down. Peace. Breath. Flowing. Stillness. Meditation.

Try it

Itchin bitchin and more important things

My cat has a new place of obsession where he lies nearly 24/7 for days in a row. Last week it was on top of my printer in my work office. Since Thursday, in my bedroom on top of mini chest of drawer on top of a big chest of drawer. ITch Itch sneeze sneeze hack yack. Response : Hello antihistamine.

My cat also has fleas again (2 weeks after a bath and Frontline Plus and flea fogging half the house and vacuuming the whole place again). I suited up in a sweat shirt and garden gloves to give him a bath again. My husband suggested gtting rid of the cat. But he's my swwwweeeeeeeeeeeeettt kitty witty

It's a thought.

**************more************

I've figured out that my thumb soreness is from doing Yoga twice a week consistently for the last several months. An exercise injury ! it just seems better than thinking it was arthritis.

*******

The reality is that none of this matters. Not much that I focus on day to day really matters when something like the events in Colorado happens. I am shaken by the events in Colorado. I have mixed reactions. Things get shaken up. Working on settling down.

Living For.....................

I keep writing blog posts and not posting them. I'm just not ready to lock down a reveal of any information or lack of information in regards to my food plan. Other than: It's safe, it's good, and I'm not having obsessive food craziness and/ or binges. When I am following a food plan well I'm ready to see 10 lbs drop like that -- snaps fingers! After two weeks I expect happy scale time. Rarely happens. Faith and patience.

The highlight of my week is some new music I downloaded(rented) to my Mp3 player that I love. New music, YEAH! (The Temper Trap, Robyn, The Pierces, Civil Wars, Keane, Paul Oakenfield, Jack White, and other weird electronica/dub step) Yeah! Music feeds my soul which is good since food craziness/binges do not. I want to go exercise so I can rock out to my new tunes. I've been known to forget when I'm at the gym and have actually sung with my ear buds on.

The next highlight was being at Yoga class and seeing two teenage boys behind me who were struggling at their first Yoga class, ever. Afterward, I asked one of them what he thought . He thought it was HARD!.."Well , it can be , but this was an easy class, seriously" I replied. I did an inner high Five.

No new Pjs to report. No Mr. Darcy sightings. Living for bed time and the weekend.

Today

No body told me about this movie...loved it until about the last 10 minutes.


Early morning dog walk, yoga, zumba, frozen yogurt on a patio, effing sad! Hbo movie "One Day"..sorting the mail and if I'm really good a trip to Wally world later. This is what I do in my time off. But it is my time.

Fifty Shades of Red.... by P.J. Geek

from google search

Color me blushing, I finally jumped on the Fifty Shades of Grey bandwagon. And WHY is the more shocking part. I'm still shaking my head.

I usually, joyfully, avoid falling in line with the masses when it comes to reading the fictional series books that are SO popular and seem to spawn racey fan fiction and blockbuster Hollywood films. I'm talking about the Twilight Series (I loved the first one and couldn't get through the second and just skipped the rest), and I never made it through one of the Harry Potters. I do admit to reading the Hunger Games trilogy, twice, though only after all of the books had been published and before the movie came out.

But these days you can't read a magazine or see any media, for that matter, and miss the Fifty Shades of Grey quips and movie talk. I read a synopsis and thought "Meh". A coworker crowed about finishing the trilogy and I was frankly uncomfortable because we were instant messaging at work at the time. (I'm thinking Ryan Gosling as Christian Grey in the film?)

from somewhere on google


But it was the little ol' church ladies at my church discussing it in the bathroom while I quietly and secretly hid in my stall that shocked me the most (that was a whole other story). Women I've known for years who I've cried and laughed and prayed with were talking about the books. I mean ladies in their eighties sharing where the good discount prices were (Sams) and who was just starting the trilogy and who just finished. How they just Loved those books. "Oh book one isn't that racey, but it really ! get's going in book two!"

My jaw hit the floor. What? I mean , WHAT!?! These are Great Grandma's for Craps sake! The prayer team!

That did it. I marched home and fired up my Kindle, ordered that bad boy, and started reading.

I'm hooked, Darn it. I'm most intrigued by the email chatter between the two characters. And good grief there's more orgasms in one week than many marriages see in a short lifetime. I actually skipped over some of the porn love scenes to read the email chatter.

I have to wonder when the character Ana listens to Snow Patrol on her Ipod or Christian plays the Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire in his Audi if the senior ladies can keep up. Ok, much less that the ladies and all the other lil ol ladies are actually reading the porn love scenes.

God bless every one of them. God bless the author and the publisher too. Sex on Fire , indeed.

Raspberry beret

from google..cool raspberry photo


I have fond memories of the first time I saw the Prince video for Raspberry Beret. It was 1985 and I was a young 21 years old. I was staying at a Days Inn in Macon, Georgia for a couple of days to take the Nursing state boards test for my Rn license. It was 5 am and I couldn't sleep because it was the second day of tests and (OMG! there were no maternity questions on the first day of the exam, so I was cramming). I'd just gotten up to take a shower and turned on MTV ( yep this was when they actually showed videos). Suddenly I'm dancing around in my pink pjs (coinkydink) and I'm feeling good and I remember thinking "I must remember that this was the first time I saw this video". Because it was so fun and I needed to lighten up -even though my whole career was sitting on this one test. And, I passed the state boards and became an RN.

So sometimes when I eat raspberries I take that little trip down memory lane. It was a raspberry kind of day.

Breakfast -raspberries, Morning star maple flavored sausage, almond butter, mixed Berry scone.
Lunch: 2 pieces of thin crust veggie pizza and a salad of arugala/ spinach/raspberries/shaved parmesan/walnuts/basalmic vingegar.
Snack: cottage cheese with raspberries, strawberries, kashi warm cinnamon cereal, cinnamon and a little sugar free maple syrup.
dinner--only raspberry-free meal of the day
dessert-50 calories Vitamuffin chocolate thingee heated, a few spoons of toasted coconut/vanilla yogurt, and Raspberries.

And on the rare occasion I hear Prince singing that song, I still dance.

Mr Darcy Comes To Atlanta and I don't have time to look for him and other random stuff

.

honestly ...a church has this sign up. ha!

Elizabeth Bennett's version

So, I'm just lost in my little PJ world.

Colin Firth -THE Mr Darcy-is currently filming a movie in Atlanta with Reese Witherspoon. I just heard about it yesterday , but apparently they've been here for a while. They are filming in wayyy North suburbs of Atlanta. The Walking Dead films wayyy South of Atlanta. The Vampire Diaries films maybe a half hour from my house which is on the east side of town, but I don't watch that show.

We have other movies and tv shows going on --Celebs abound in Atlanta ( Kevin Bacon, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Owen Wilson, Stephen Moyer from True Blood.....and more I guess) They hang out in town and at the fancier restaurants. No Chili's or Chick Fil A for these guys. I was downtown on Monday for the Coldplay concert and had no sightings. (other than Coldplay which was a great!!! concert and free since I won the tickets. )

" Ok, tv/movie people....come to my neck of the woods , so I can see ya. "

"I just don't have time working 50 hrs a week and on my 2 days off to enjoy driving around and looking for you or your filming sets though I would truly love to do that. I'm cool I wont bother you . I just want to see the hoopla"

Bridget Jones' version



But nooooo. The Pj geek is busy. Currently battling World War 3. of the FLEAS and that is involving a lot of work on my behalf. I bathed my cat yesterday and remained scratch-free--wearing a sweat shirt and gardening gloves. The dogs went to the vet for a total spa day- read flee treatment/anal gland / nail treatment day. Today is Frontline Plus for everyone!

Did I mention my husband was layed off from work this week? That is one of the things that pushed me towards following a more controlled eating plan , otherwise I stress eat, comfort eat, and would generally enjoy eating whatever in sympathy with my husband who has his own food issues. I also have to hold my tongue on my own anxieties and worries and feelings about this because it would stress him out more. Whew! this is tough. 15 years with this company and he was just a number like everyone else.

Ok that's me today . I'm watching the Tour de France as I blog--guys in tight biking clothes. In France. Oui!

Later, headed to Yoga and maybe a little bit of Zumba and a car wash. Even later, more laundry and anti-flea techniques and cooking up veggies bought at the farmers market before my meals are delivered on Monday. Maybe a rom-com "You've Got Mail" for the 48th time or Bridget Jones perhaps? Holding on. Just the way I am.

From Not Knowing To Knowing

Sometimes I have to admit I don't know what I'm doing. Then I kind of think back to what worked in the past. What do I want? What do I need? What do I NOT want? And maybe I don't have all the answers, but I'm heading in a better direction.

I'm restarting a local food delivery service that I've used in the past and that I had most of my weightloss with . This works for me. It has time and time again. Right now the focus isn't on weight loss , although that would be most excellent. No, right now I just want to be on track with a plan, any plan, good and nutritious food, and making food just be food. Not comfort, or feeling good, or what do I have a taste for today. Though that may describe a healthy relationship with food, I'm off base right now and am willing to surrender control.

One week at a time and see how it goes.

I Don't Know...................she whines

Gives me the illusion of cool when it's 105 friggin degrees outside

Long time, no posts usually can mean "Life is Good!" or " Whoops, things have been out of control"...How about all of the above. I just don't know what to do though....

Don't know what to do , how to do it, or what the heck? don't know what I want or how I want it or anything else. (Other than I want it from the ice cream aisle.)
Things at the PJ haven have hit the fan this week, so it would be nice to know.

Mostly I'm referring to I don't know what to do about eating and the concept of dieting etc etc. I think I've read too many blogs and opinions and have become confused. This was where I was last summer too. The direction (I. E.) I went in last summer resulted in a weight gain . Gaining any more weight scares the hell out of me. I can't gain any more weight.

No , I can easily gain more weight. I really don't want to. Yet, I still ate Lasagna and garlic rolls tonight. And maybe some sugar free ice cream with some not sugar free stuff on top.

I do know I am somewhat fascinated by the whole Tomkat divorce thing and reading about this Sea Org thing in Scientology. crazy ass celebrities. I do know I need to sleep more. I do like my sample sized Dove Green tea / Cucumber deoderant, so I think I'm switching brands. I know I'm so glad I don't have to work July 4.

I do know that I've been eating crap for the last couple of days, but I danced my arse off at the Coldplay concert that I won tickets for. It's possible it was a calories in / calories out kind of day. Yesterday, maybe. Today, not so much.


I do know I think about all of this too much, and I don't know how to NOT think about it. Maybe I need to be deprogrammed.

I do know I'm kidding myself if I think I can have anything from this section of the grocerystore in my house. I use the soap treatment when the truth finally sinks in...as in destroy with lemon fresh JOY