Jeweled Web

For those who want to know!

My time on e-harmony, well ... nothing much so far! Maybe some nice people, but nothing serious as of yet, or even really the potential for seriousness. I'm not giving up, but my hopes aren't set real high here.

Weight Watchers. This is going great! I've lost 14 pounds and maybe when I weigh in tomorrow, it'll be 15 pounds. That's my short-term goal. I've been on this diet for 2 1/2 months. My first goal was to lose 5 pounds a month, my current goal is to lose at least 15 before my next audition. That audition is August 1st and I'm almost there!

Yes, I had to train myself to eat breakfast, a meal I almost always used to skip. But this is the all important meal that gets my motabilism up and running and burning engery. I usually eat some plain oatmeal that I've added vanilla and cinnamon to, I don't like the pre-packaged flavored kind because it has too much layered sodium and other things. And I'm trying to reduce my bad cholesterol, so oatmeal ... check. If not oatmeal, then mini-wheat or corn flakes and yogurt. Something with water soluble fiber.

Snacks - Carrots are free! Free foods are my friend. Broccoli (which I love) is also free, but baby carrots are easier to tote to work and snack on between patients.

Lunch - Well, I try to keep it down for lunch, so I can have dessert after dinner. I can go to Taco Bell, Subway, or the local salad bar pretty easily. I also bring my own frozen meals from Lean Cuisine, their bowl meals aren't so bad for lunch. I follow this with some yogurt with live cultures (my favorite is the orange dreamsicle flavor), fat free of course. If at home, I can make a tomatoe and cucumber sandwich pretty easily. If this sounds like diet food to you, just remember these are my favorite sandwiches even when I was eating poorly (the only difference is instead of mayo, I toast my bread with some margerine I mixed with crushed garlic (garlic butter!). Hey, it's only 1 point per sandwich (if you get the right bread of course - I use Nature's Own Light Honey Wheat). I can also go to Sonic if I want ... a small fry is only 4 points! I use that as a treat when needed.

Dinner - I've been trying new things. I have a WW cookbook and have made the HOMEMADE BAKED ONION RINGS. I've got to tell you, they're crunchy and good and delicious. I've been to places with onion rings and sometimes they're not so good. These aren't as breaded, but they turn out crunchy every time. A diet with onion rings people, I'm doing just fine!

Baked corn on the cob that requires no butter since I rolled it in olive oil, lime juice, and seasoning before wrapping in foil and baking. This is the bomb.

Orzo with garlic and ginger veggies. Pasta! I missed pasta. I tried the low-carb, and I love a diet that lets me have bread, onion rings, and pasta. This is really good.

Fettucini with Walnut Sauce - okay, this was good the first day, but don't make enough for left overs, it doesn't re-heat real well. Next time I'll cut the recipe down by 2/3rds.

Red beans and rice - okay it comes from a box, but it's quick and easy and delicious and fits into my diet.

Dessert:

One small glass of wine is only 2 points. I don't want this all the time, but it's nice to know that I can. But if it comes down to it, it prefer:

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH SUNDAES! These are from Smart Ones in the frozen food aisle at Walmart. They are $1.88 for a box of two. They're small, but oh so good and only 3 points. I've also tried they're key lime pie and chocolate eclairs, but I have always been a cookie dough kinda girl ... hence the diet.

I've made a Raspberry and Pink Grape Fruit grenata. It's really, really good too. There are some cookie recipes that I want to try as well, but I'll wait until I've finished off the grenata first. The recipe makes a lot, but it's a frozen treat so it'll last.

The list goes on, but this is a mere sample.

And I've got to say ... onion rings!
Lola

Hey ya'll (and to those Yankee's needing a translation, "Hello")

Well, today I went to the doctor. My NEW doctor because my old one is no longer practicing (he works in patient care quality improvement at the hospital now).

The stirrups (yech) and a tetanus shot (every 10 years). But my arm is now sore. I had a patient who has hallucinations and a "psychosis" diagnosis. We were calmly going over some orientation questions (what's your name? where are you? what year is it?) when the air conditioner came on (hey, it's summer!). She thought the room was going to "explode" and became agitated grabbing things near her. In the midst of this she grabbed my arm and it took two people to remove her grip on my arm. She scratched me. Now, she did NOT mean too do so and even apologized (although what she apologized was for throwing her potato chips around - which never happened btw). It was still an apology. But it did make me look to see if my tetanus was up to date, which it was .... barely. Thus today's vaccination. Not that I would get tetanus from this, but you have to be careful.

Then I came home. AND MY KITTEN WAS PLAYING WITH A BOX ON MY PORCH! See, see what my Secret Pal sent me:



There's a candle, some lovely scented soap (is it home made??????), a row counter which I love and need and some wash soap for delicates. There's also jelly belly candies, and yes, the box you see in the back is already open. Hey, it's only 3 points on my weight watchers diet! And I've now lost 14 pounds ....

But the best ... oh people, the best is the YARN. My secret pal sent me my most coveted and luscious yarn ever. Bamboo. I purred. Really, I did.





I love it. This yarn is soooooooooo soft. And I adore, adore I tell you, this colorway. I don't yet know what it wants to be when it grows up, but I hope it tells me soon!

Secret Pal - I love you!

Lola

I went to Ham's with my good friends and their 10 month old baby. The waitress carded me. CARDED me. I could have hugged her. The shock on her face when she saw my date of birth was worth the statement "I didn't realize you were that OLD!".

Old my left foot (which is actually just as old as the rest of me).

I was born in 1966. Do the math. And you begin to understand why I really liked this waitress. And no one tell me she was just looking for a good tip. Just let me savor it for a moment ....

Lola

I don't think I'm a bad customer. I tip well, I don't commmonly complain, and if there's a problem then I'm pretty patient. Well. Mary and I went to Applebee's tonight. The waitress was nice and she kept up with us pretty well. The manager came by just as we were getting our food and asked if we were doing "all right". We said yes, we were fine. Then about half-way through her salad, Mary realized that the blue cheese crumbles where missing from her salad. They had never been there. I asked if she wanted to call the waitress over and she said no, she was nearly done anyway.

When the waitress came by, I told her that Mary's salad had had no cheese. Now keep in mind this was a "bleu" salad and what makes it such is the bleu cheese! We explained we weren't really complaining, but just wanted to let the resteraunt know. Well, when she came by with our check she asked if "Mario" had been by (the manager). We said no, and she said he would be. "Mario" then came by and Mary told him about the missing cheese.

Now ... we had NOT been rude, adamant, or challenging. We were not asking for free food or anything gratis. We didn't feel this was necessary, not for a few missing cheese crumbles (although I do love bleu cheese). But he didn't let us finish, Mary was interrupted. INTERRUPTED. And we were told basically that it was too late for us to complain since we had already eaten our meal, and that we had told him that everything was "fine" when he came by earlier. And all of this was told in a condescending manner as if we should either know better or were probably idiots.

So I stopped him. I told him that we didn't want anything, and that when he'd come by the food was just being delivered and we hadn't known the dish wasn't complete yet. And that we were just informing him of our experience, not asking for anything. At this point he smiled and pretty much said "thank you" and went on his way.

All we wanted was an "We're sorry, we hope you'll join us again. Thank you for coming." That's it. Instead we were talked down to and brushed off.

Bad Applebee's manager, bad. We were not raising a fuss or asking for anything. Maybe try listening to the customer first before leaping to an erroneous conclusion and end up turning a minor glitch into an irritation.

fromage rules!
Lola

Hey ya'll. MOVIE RECOMMENDATION:

RUN, don't walk to see SAINT RALPH. That's an inside joke since it's a movie about running. And miracles. This film just ... yep, it's that good. Funny too.

Go, watch. Really.

Lola

Yes, I have been lax in keeping up with my blog lately. Sorry! What's going on in my life? Well, I'm knitting a new baby blanket for a good friend, Shelby. This is the Hoover blanket from the knitty web site. I'm double knitting and I don't know if it's working right, but it looks pretty good, although nothing like my friend Mary's. I'm going to have to show it to her to figure out what's going on. In the meantime, it looks good and I'm going to finish it as is and I'll post a picture when I can.

I have joined eharmony. Oi! I'm not sure about this .... I'm pretty set in my ways and very happy in my life right now. I don't need another person to "complete" my life. But I wouldn't mind having a partner to go dancing with or talking with, growing older together, etc. etc. I'm really not sure about this at all. Then, my friend Shannon suggested she had a great friend "perfect" for me. That never turns out well, but what if he is the right one? Oh well. Wait and see, just smile and wave y'all, just smile and wave.

In the meantime, I have more European pictures. No, no groaning please! This first one is of the gates at Buckingham Palace. The one after that is from where I poked my camera through the gates to take a picture of the palace and the palace guards.




Next come some pictures from the Tower of London. The first one is of the Tower Bridge, it's really quite impressive right up close.


Here is the infamous Traitor's Gate (once the Water Gate). Here is where Anne Boleyn entered and became hysterical, sitting upon the steps and having to be carried in to the Royal apartments. Princess Elizabeth, imprisoned by her half-sister Bloody Mary, was the only prisoner brought in through this gate who survived. She was to become Queen Elizabeth I.




I forget which tower I took this picture from, but it was dark and dreary, and I'm not even sure this was a cell.


This is the Bloody Tower (on left) and Ralegh's Walk (on right). They spell Ralegh differently, for it is Sir Walter Raleigh for whom the city just an hour from me is named. He spent 13 years imprisoned in plush settings, but he hated it despite the comforts afforded to him. This is also where the two princes were housed before being foully murdered ... by Henry VII (or his followers). I know it's generally regarded to be the fault of Richard III, but I totally disagree with that view and even wrote a paper on the subject.


This is the White Tower, and the first building of what now makes up the Tower of London. It was started during the reign of William the Conqueror. There are several towers at the "Tower".


I'm throwing this in just cuz I love it. This is a picture of the remaining Roman wall at the Tower of London. Why did the Roman's conquer so much of the world? One answer is ... concrete. I won't lecture now, but look it up, it's true. Why were the Roman's buildings so superior? They used volcanic rock to make their concrete and it was stronger and lasted longer than anything else in the region, many regions.


This is an interesting picture. I regret not getting a better picture of the tower to the far right, the one with the ecru stones. That's Beauchamp Tower and that is where Queen Anne Boleyn was housed before being beheaded, same for many others, including Lady Jane Grey who was Queen Regent for 9 days before being executed by Bloody Mary for treason. She was 17 years old I think.

But the house in the center with the blue doors was a prison for 4 days to Rudolph Hess, one time secretary to Adolph Hitler.


Next time: The British Museum!

Lola