Excellent day, yesterday!
I've been going to the gym on a regular basis in the morning and eating consciously. Not actually cutting back too much on calories, though. I'm taking it easy....
The extra furniture that I requested were delivered: extra sofa, loveseat chairs tables mirrors, etc. The house is already furnished but I can always use some more furniture. Daughter likes sleeping in queen size beds, so they also brought one for her and exchanged it with the twin size that she was sleeping on. They helped me with moving some heavy furniture, for which I was very grateful. The dining room just didn't look right... but now it's fixed. I requested an old work table for painting on, and they actually had it - yay! Now, I nly need the TV stands and a couple of extra occasional chairs for the library. And also, I need my sea shipment because the walls are all empty and my closet is nearly empty, haha. Anyway, that should take another few weeks...
No time for painting, yesterday, with all the furniture moving business... I will try doing it today!
I hope everyone is doing well! Cheers to all!
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
Hello all! Pretty darn good day, yesterday: gym and conscious eating. I even had a dessert after dinner, but I was still ok. First day of school for daughter went well. She rides the bus that leaves from the entrance of our building, so it's very easy for us all. I went to the market to buy apples for her to take to school: too expensive, they cost about 4 dollars each! Food is so expensive in this country, especially with the weak dollar! It seems worse than in Geneva. I miss the cheap fruits and veggies in the US where I bought things without having to think twice! Good thing we have access to the comissary for the other stuff like canned and bottled things...
Today's plan: painting, gym and conscious eating.
Stay well everyone!
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
Keep up the good work!
I went to the gym yesterday morning and did 30 min of eliptical (the eliptical here is different from the one in anytime fitness in vienna. Here I work my feet, as well, due to the way it moves.) I also did 30 min of weights, which was nice. I also had a chance to catch up with tv news while exercising. Our tvs are not here yet, and they'll take about a month to arrive. I also ate consciously all day. Except for in the evening when hubby brought home some home made cookies. Our ambassador's wife sent us a welcome package of homemade choco chip cookies which were too awesome. I had two.
I went to "tokyu hands" and did some "emergency" shopping for art supplies. Mineral spirits and lindseed oil for my oil painting. I have plans to paint in our garden, today. We'll see. First, I have to buy some insect repelent if I want to stay outdoors. My daughter go several dozen mosquito bites when she went to the pool the other day.
I hope you are all having great week.
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
It was fun going to Yokosuka for grocery shopping at the us naval base. Although we are not with the armed forces we can use the commissary, so we will try to go there for groceries once a month. We can get all american products at lower prices, which is wonderful. The only drawback is that it takes about 1 hr (each way) to get there and tolls for the highways cost about 50 dollars for the round trip. But, then, everything costs a lot of money around here. The scenic views along the way is really something wonderful! I bought a new weber gas grill and lots of groceries at US prices, so all is well. We also went to Chili's, our American sponsor's favorite restaurant, who drove us there and back. I chose the grilled salmon, rice and veggies dish, so all was well.
I was so tired last night that I was dizzy when I went to bed, which worried me a little. This morning I woke up totally well, so all is ok.
I plan to go to the gym this afternoon and eat consciously during the day.
Cheers to all!
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
Today, there is a celebration going on in our community, it's called friendship day: we open the doors of our residential compound for the locals to come in and celebrate the friendship between our country and our hosting country. Lots of food stands, live music and shows (clowns, sesame street characters)on the main stage outdoors, just outside of my building, and in the community hall. I went down to watch people, meet new folks and to eat a couple of things but got too tired because of the heat and came in after one hour or so. From my window on the 10th floor, I can see sesame street characters (cookie monster, elmo, etc) being escorted to the back rooms, through the gardens, after their show. They need their brake, too. I'm still jet lagged, so I decided I won't be dancing in the sun, like the others.
I've hired a housekeeper starting next week: she's the same one who helped me for 5 years with nanny and housekeeping duties when my daughter was little. Now that daughter is big, she'll help me with housekeeping and parties. Yay for not having to do house chores anymore!
Yesterday, I went to the gym and ate very consciously all day long. I feel that my efforts are paying off because I feel my jeans fitting better today. I feel I can do this!
I hope you are having a great weekend!
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
Good morning! It's Friday and it's nice, sunny and hot out there! It reminds me that I must take a handkerchief with me today when I go out, to wipe the sweat off my brows when we walk in the city. Yesterday, I took daughter to meet her new friends at this famous meeting point, near my home http://www.gourmantic.com/2010/06/01/the-spider-at-roppongi-hills/ BTW, I have no idea whose blog this links to... must check it out. Daughter met her new friends and they went on to take the subway to her new school - everything is new and an adventure to her. She will be taking the bus to school, but she needs to learn how to take the subway, just in case. After waving her good bye, I went on to check out the old neighborhood, which has changed considerably: new buildings, restaurants, a brand new 5 star hotel (the Ritz) ! There are quite a few old establishments, too, from 10 years ago: my favorite flower shop, the coffee shop, a couple of bookstores....
I had to take a long nap in the afternoon because I'm still jet lagged. However, in the afternoon I went down to the gym and exercised for 30 min on the eliptical and did 30 min of weights. It felt very good to be back exercising two days in a roll. I haven't jumped in the pool, yet, but I did some swimming while on vacation. Daughter did swim with her new friends. Maybe, today I'll check out the pool.
Plans for today: eat healthily and get some exercise. And continue exploring the neighborhood!
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Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
Have fun exploring old and new territory. I always loved that part of living abroad.
RYC: Oh I wrote this long entry on Saturday (in green type). Essentially I want to try to drink coffee about once/week and as a "recreation" as opposed to an addiction or compulsion.
Is it possible to take Selina for a walk (on a leash)? (Though I imagine there are strict laws too.) I hope she doesn't start taking it out on your furniture.
Hello to all from Tokyo, Japan!
We moved in last Sunday night, straight from Washington DC area with a week stop/vacation in Seattle. The move is going well, it's nice to be settling down in our new home. Our new apartment is nice, sunny and large, we live on the 9th and tenth floors with beautiful urban cityscapes just outside of our windows. On mon we went on a tour of daughter's new school (fantastic school we loved it!). On tue we got our air shipment. On wed, I got the cables, etc for my internet hook up. Today, Thursday, I have the whole day free, with no scheduled appointments. Last night I and daughter hit the gym in our building (nice!) We also have an olimpic sized pool which we can use at all hours of the day and night (I've got the keys to the gym and pool, so I don't have any reason to be lazy anymore since everything in within one mnute walk from our apt.)
Eating has been just a crazy roller-coaster: during our vacation we ate at restaurants everyday and there was no way for me to watch my diet, so I must have put on several pounds. I will learn about how much I weight when I get the scale in the sea shipment, several weeks from now. Actually, I can weigh myself at the gym, but I shall wait. Meanwhile, I'll be going to the gym and pool on a regular basis...
It's nice to be recognized by so many people, even after being away for ten years! Many of the security guards are the same and many remembered me :), some even remembered my name! They are all surprised to see how tall daughter has become- they remember her as a toddler. Many at hubby's office are the same staff - it's nice to see them all, again. It's been 10 years since we left, it's nice to be back! I plan to enjoy the next 4 years fully!
BTW, the cats are also well and happy! They stayed in a kennel for 10 days while we travelled but they were able to join our plane in Seattle. We didn't see each other in Seattle because they flew as cargo, but we flew on the same plane across the Pacific.
I hope you are all doing well!
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
I'm checking out your old gym in Vienna today. Just looking for other options to what I currently have. I assume you liked it? I'll keep you posted on Vienna VA life!
Hello all!
I'm moving and it's been no fun. Lots of sorting and throwing stuff away and trips to goodwill. Wanted to donate sofa an love chair to salvation army but they are so picky - they don't want it because they have minor cat scratches. Will have to store them because I don't know what to do with them. Movers are coming tomorrow morning ... Will post again when we get settled on the other side of the planet earth. Stay well!
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
Wow--when I was able to get the "out of town" Salvation Army to bring a truck out awhile ago they took anything (even a refrigerator that worked, but they usually still require a freon tag thingie) and everything. I'd suggest finding a different charity--we have a great local Girls & Boys Club that now takes just about anything and they pick up to boot!
Hugs to you too girlie--pace yourself and I know you'll be back to it once you're settled!
I found an Indian style butter chicken kit at the store and I really like it! It's not a diet type of food, but it is really tasty and great for serving for dinner for company. I made some last night and everybody agrees that this is the best of all the indian dishes I've prepared... http://www.amazon.com/Gourmantra-Butter-Chicken-Meal-14-Ounce/dp/B004H4SIBS
I picked up daughter at the airport and she was looking so tanned and happy: swimming, going to the music festival and seeing many of her old friends seemed to be the highlights of her trip. So glad she is well, back home safe and sound, and that's all that counts. She mentioned something very interesting that she noticed being back to Switzerland: her friends eat all kinds of food - they ate japanese, indian, middle eastern (lebanese), all sorts of food. Of course they like Italian, too, (pizza), but I found it interesting that they are so much more open to new tastes.
Now we have to get really busy getting rid of stuff before the movers come to pack it all up on Monday, Aug 6th. That's less than 2 weeks away. Before that, we still have company coming over for the weekend and we still want to go to the beach. I don't think we can fit in the beach, but the company is scheduled to come.
Painting watercolors again is so much fun. I had stopped painting watercolors for several months because of my oil painting efforts. I can see that I've evolved after spending some time away from it.
I'm planning to go to the gym, today. Enough of struggling nonsense!
Update on my dishwasher: the service guy came, established that it was a malfunctioning pump, didn't have the replacement part and needed to order it. Will come back to repair it next week, didn't know when. I'm so tired of washing dishes by hand! Whatever!
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
Man, its seems like you just got back to the USA and now you're leaving again! Good luck with getting rid of stuff!
RYC: I can't throw away perfectly good food either--completely against my upbringing too! I think GeeVee shared this thing with us too.
ps I'm back to my original diary:-)
I'm having a super hard time getting back to my old eating habits and calorie control. Yikes! Today, I'll do my best!
Daughter is coming home today from Switzerland. It's going to be fun to hear all the stories she will have to tell. Can't wait!
My brand new dishwasher that I bought a few months ago broke down (the water doesn't get pumped out properly) and I'm having the worst time getting it fixed. I called samsung and they sceduled me a service person who failed to show up, twice. He was supposed to fix it last thursday, didn't show up, I called and they said he'd come on saturday - no show. Today is the third time we have him/her on schedule. If they don't show up today, I'm going to get really mad because I've been washing dishes by had for two weeks, now.
I spent the whole day painting watercolors, yesterday. I think I'm going a different direction in painting style, it's exciting!
I hope you are all having a great day!
coffee30, two toasts with butter and jam 350 (argh, I already started badly today)
Progress as of today - 13.5 lbs lost so far, only 8.5 lbs to go!
LOL. I only made the brownies last week as I thought I was visiting friends. They cancelled. So they weren't supposed to be in my house at all. It's just me and hub and he doesn't like that kind of stuff anyway, so it's not in the house...usually.
Enjoy your painting and your daughter's return!
At any rate, it's a drag--hope you get it fixed. But I guess you have to have someone with enough presence of mind to want to come out. I've been lucky with plumbers and such--really lucky.
Hope you have a good afternoon!
ps I guesss Sting's next schtick will be to go the Rod Stewart route and do a standards (Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, etc) album if he hasn't already. Apparently Rod has turned his back on Rock n Roll altogether. And that's funny. A couple of years ago I was in the car and found a local station that would play standards after about 9 p.m. I've listened and been a fan for my whole life of standards and I can nearly without fail tell who the singer is. So this song came up and I thought oh, nice. A new VERY young (female I thought) singer--I wanted to know who it was. It took a couple of tries and I realized it was Rod Stewart--yikes! Funny how I thought it'd be great if it was a new young singer--Rod Stewart not so much. I love Rod Stewart's rock and roll/blues--he'd go broke if everyone were like me--he and standards just don't mix!
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You are a very busy lady these days! I hope you get a chance to paint today :)
liza36 on 08/30/2012:
Sounds like you could be a professional furniture mover with all you did. Glad the house is taking shape. Nice job on getting to the gym. It must be so convenient to have it in your own building (it is, right?).
biscottibody59 on 08/30/2012:
Good day there--keep up the good work!