Functional Strength and Foster Frustration

Like most people, I hit the gym for a number of reasons- to stay healthy, to look good nekkid, to check out the eye-candy Adonises, hopefully to make a few friends, the adrenaline rush... all that good stuff. But also for something most women overlook and undervalue- FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH. I don't need no damn man :P  When I bought my piano (I think 40kilos and a very bulky box), I got that shit up the stairs sans men. Screw you salesman that laughed at me when I said I would manage. And when I come home to 85lbs (and no, that's not an exaggeration- I have the FedEx email to prove it) of rabbit food and hay, I can haul that shit up my itty bitty, narrow, windy, north end staircase myself too, mother fucker! (envision Samuel L. Jackson saying that one).  Seriously though, it's really really freaking useful to be able to do this stuff yourself. I can't tell you how many times in my life, whether at work inspecting or loading up my car or carrying huge loads of laundry, that I'm reminded how convenient it is not to be a dainty little flower who is afraid to pick up anything heavier than her handbag. Blech. But I digress again.... so anyways.....

I think the boys are set on food for a bit!

Are they grateful for my unexpected exercise? NO WAY. What do I get but foster troublemakers making more work for me! Toby hasn't been the best with her litter box habits lately, but has greatly improved since I added a second litter box. Great news right?  WRONG. Now instead of her just tossing her food bowl around, she's decided she can toss the litter boxes too!!!  Guess she's built some of that functional strength herself, much to my shagrin. Today, she decided to do this:

Toby the Troublemaker - Trying to look so innocent!

Does it stop there? Of course not! Amy, my newest foster, decided that she would join in on the fun too. Unlike her bitchy neighbor (I say that lovingly Toby.... sort of), I try to give her a break. She's only been here since Sunday and is still settling in to a totally new place.  She was abandoned on the side of the road in a cage with 5 other buns and no food or water. I can't imagine she trusts people too much. But appearently she also doesn't trust shelving!?!?!?! She decided that she was going to somehow manage to flip hers over, pull off the carpet, pull off the waterproofer and tip the plywood off the supports.  I have a hard time removing this cause it's such a tight fit! Not tight enough for Amy.  She may be a really pretty snowshoe bun, but she ain't so innocent either.

So it appears I'm in for some interesting adventures with these fosters. They better watch out... I still need a present for Grandpa and you know how much he loves hasenpfeffer!!!!

A North End Christmas

It's Begining to Look a lot like Christmas! Yes it is! I think I'm officially in the mood.  It started ::hangs head in shame:: in mid November. I was doing a bunch of night work in Providence which means driving home at like 4am exhausted, attempting to stay on the road. My salvation? 105.7 FM all Christmas music all the time! So my nights were me, half asleep, mumbling "Rudolph the Redness Reindeer" trying not to drive off the road. And as much as I really dislike her, who can't love this:

 I got the xmas shopping done mostly! I have a santa pub crawl, an ugly sweater party, some regular annual holiday parties and a ladie's tea party!  So lots of holiday fun!

Pretty ugly, eh?

My roomie bought a wreath for the door. I've started to get xmas cards in the mail. And on my way home from the gym tonight, I finally found someone selling mini trees! So I picked up our tree and got stared at blatantly as I walked it home. Put up the lights, put up the ornaments, plugged her in and Voila!

Christmas Tree Success!

So that's my christmas update! And for the GRAND FINALE, "A Christmas Story", reenacted by bunnies in 30 seconds or less, for those that haven't had the pleasure of Angry Alien Productions yet.

Where did that post go?

Some of you might have noticed a slightly different layout. My original intention with my blog was to keep this fairly light hearted, maybe some funny pictures or stories, but nothing super bloggy. Problem is, I can get super bloggy sometimes, and not always about stuff I want everyone to know. So I decided to create a parallel blog of sorts where I can link to my posts there, maybe summarize them, but keep it set to private. In the coming days I'll be working out the kinks of making sure everyone is invited to that one. So please bear with me as I make this change.

I think it's a really good thing that makes me just a bit more comfortable keeping this section totally public. And dont worry, if you're a random reader that I don't know that has somehow stumbled across my blog and feel this crazy connection, I'm totally open to giving you access to both sites so please let me know!! I'd really love people in similar situations to mine to be able to read and relate!

Disclaimer: If you're not on the "cool list", please dont be offended. Obviously there are some things everyone prefers to keep a bit more personal for a variety of reasons :)

DIFO FRIENDS: I don't know most of your emails to invite you, so somehow get those to me and I'll set you up!

A Weekend Foodie Update

So time for a foodie update! Ya know, since this is kinda a fitness/nutrition blog and all... thought it might be appropriate.  First stop, holiday party.  And guess what...?

Excellent news on that front!  I neither got sexually harassed (though I did have to watch him be a creeper with his Dolly Parton lookalike gf) nor had to deal wtih the ex. DOUBLE WIN. On the food side, I was a big tempted, I can't lie.  Beforehand I had decided that I didn't want to overdo it. This wasn't a worthy occasion (no offense to my wonderful co-workers, but there are so many damn parties coming up- gotta pick and choose).  But man is it HARD when you're there and the waitress are running around with delish looking apps and there's an open bar.  I almost gave in, but got my resolve under control. My night consisted of diet coke, 2 stuffed mushrooms, 1 mini-beef wellington and a crapton of raw veg and cheese. So overall a very successful night foodwise :) And of course dancing like a maniac is always fun.  We certainly know how to start the party. I love me my C&C Music Factory and dancing like a fool.

And today again was an excellent day.  Woke up, had a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and sauted swiss chard. Yum Yum Yum. Went to church and then went out for the christmas shopping trip.  That was very successful on many fronts. I think I'm mostly done with the must-dos, so that's a HUGE relief.  And I got to visit my favorite fast food joint, B. Good. Here's the half attacked snapshot of my lunch:

Why do I love this place so much? Because you can sub your bun for fresh veggies!!! It's really an awesome, good meal that I can feel good about and enjoy. No guilt whatsoever.  So I got a westside turkey burger. It's an awesome combination of cilantro, salsa and avocado. So some great lean protein and healthy fats. How can you not love it? Oh and I think the cashier was kinda eyeing me, which is always fun.

The Giants finally won, I have some new trashy VH1 to watch and I got a lot done this weekend. Sounds like a winner of a weekend to me!

teeeeheeeeee. some motivation :)

Woah dude has it been a crazy two weeks.  WTF. I had thanksgiving food stress, got sexually harassed (yes, literally), found out my ex's father is having brain surgery, actually spoke with the ex for the first time in weeks, and am going to a party where both the ex and harasser might be there.  FML. I have a million reasons to be stressed right now. And one big one not to.

A CRUSH!!!

A crush, a crush, a wonderful crush.  It's amazing how much relief one of those can bring to life.  Is anything realistically going to happen? Nah - doubtfully.  But a girl can daydream, no? And reviving an oldie, well that's the bestest.

I suddenly have a newfound sense of motivation but there are a TON of temptations in the weeks to come.  I'm thinking I might go on what some friends and I call a "no-booze-cruise" for a bit.  It's really just so bad for you when you're trying to lose weight, and I'm seeing at least 6 or 7 opportunities for heavy boozing in the next few weeks. I do have some good excuses not to, so I think I might cash in on those. 

I'm ready to make some more damn progress motherfucker!! So you better watch out :)

Progress, I swear!!!

Progress, I swear!

Welcome to stigma central.

Welcome to Stigma Central.