Feeling under par?

Actually, the weekend proved to be pretty good. I staved off the worst of the cold with a judicious application of Nyquil and Contact (not at the same time!). Although clouds threatened our golf tournament, the skies ultimately cleared and it proved to be a lovely day. The golf was fun, too-- the format was Best Ball or Scramble, which means that all four people hit and then play the ball that ends up in the best position. Grant and Peter were mainly in charge of getting it down the fairway and up on the green. Sandra and I did an excellent job of handling some long putts. We ended up with a respectable score of 7 under and all in all, had a wonderful time.

Thanks for all the well wishes.

Still bitching, still moaning. Now with sniffles.

We are so over-booked this weekend, I don't know when I will get a chance to rest. We had our Junior A hockey team home opener this evening (they lost), tomorrow we are playing in a golf tournament (forecast cool and wet-bleah) and Sunday night we are going to see our local symphony in the brand-new absolutely gorgeous theatre my husband was instrumental in building (gala opening is next week).

So, of course, when I got home from work, I felt like crap. I slept for an hour and a half and still felt terrible. I have just finished some tea and now I am off to bed to try and shake this off.

Ain't it always the way?

I have the very best stalkers

Yes, I do.

And if you all want to come to my house real soon, we can have a party with bread and potatoes and samosas and molasses cookies and all the things that have been making me dizzy with the yum.

There will also be wine. And martinis. Many, many martinis.

So, this week was supposed to mark my return to Pilates class. I have been looking forward to it during the entire month of August. I know that if I work out, even once a week, it makes me more energetic, less achey and feeling the whole "thin" body image. But, of course, the night my class started was Meet the Teacher night and instead of working my body into the stretches my instructor makes look oh-so-easy and once there, laughing at my own ineptitude, I was giving a presentation to parents on a talking word processor they could download for their kids. The only thing that got a workout was my mouth.

Oh well, at least it wasn't eating anything at the time. Hee.

A Bit of Kvetching

This summer I decided to enjoy myself in Italy and on the boat, so I started eating (and drinking) a few of the things that were not included on South Beach. I gained about 10 lbs. For the past month or so I have been trying to drop 5 of those 10 lbs, with no success. *sigh*

It's not like I am fat or anything. I just didn't think 145 lbs was my final weight. However, although I am still eating very much in the South Beach way, I am a bit tired of denying myself of certain treats. I wanted to bring the weight back down so I could feel I have a bit more of a cushion when I treat myself.

I suspect what I really need to do is work on the body image I have inside my brain. This is the trap I hate about diets.

In other news, I bought a lovely bouquet of flowers. And my new leather car coat (bought with parental birthday funds) is smokin'!

Behold!

My birthday gift from my wonderful husband. The picture can't possibly do credit to all the lovely soft leather and shiny silver hardware, but just use your imaginations.

So...does owning my very own Roots handbag mean I am finally a real Canadian?

Today, shortly after 7 pm, I will embark on my 50th year of life.

In honour of my natal day, I thought I would borrow a meme from Mystery Mommy:

Have you ever...?
The ones that I have done are bolded.
The ones I would like to do are italicized.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten my own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than I could afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as I possibly could
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about my life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for my computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then I was actually in love with the person
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized my CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love with someone and not had my heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than six hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Received flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of my parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named my own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when I knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that I shouldn't have survived
105. Written articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of mine below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had my picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something I care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who I missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all my school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written my own computer language
141. Thought to myself that I'm living my dream
142. Had to put someone I love into hospice care
143. Built my own PC from parts
144. Sold my own artwork to someone who didn't know me
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed my hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved my head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

Tick tock

I could not get to sleep last night until nearly 5 am. Fortunately, I could stay in bed until 11 before finally dragging my sleepy ass to the shower, but this does not bode well for the re-setting of my body clock for back to school.

I remember reading years ago that as we age, we need less sleep.

Ha.

I am a 9-10 hour a night girl. Always have been. And if my age process is any sign, I will remain so until the day I die. I am also a bit of a night owl. When my body is left to its own devices (you know, during those periods of unemployment and all) it naturally sets its clock to bed at about 1 and rise about 10. Because I spend so much time on the boat during the summer, lately I am off to bed just after 11 and out of it at 8:30. Shifting to my school schedule of waking at 6:30 is a real struggle.

I just hope I can turn off my brain tonight and actually get some rest.