Ok...I lied.

But just a little. And only because I screwed up some code on my new page.

When I added my "Subscribe" button to the NEW page, I used the OLD code...so those who MEANT to subscribe to my new blog I inadvertently sent to this one. I've corrected this now, so head over to www.lillysnotepad.com and re-subscribe. Then you will get all the news that's not fit to print.

Sorry and thanks!

Now, really...I'm done here. I think. Unless I find more mistakes.

And we're moving!

This will be my last new post over here as I'm mostly set up at my new home. I'm still tweaking backgrounds and the looks of the place and getting some older stuff moved over, but if you head over to lillysnotepad.com you can check out where I will be setting up shop!

Catch ya on the flip side!

**And I won't be taking this blog down...just not adding to it. I'm hoping to move a lot of my posts over, but the originals will stay put.

Just a heads up...

I'm working on a change over to Wordpress. It's going to include a change of name, too--but also looking into buying my own domain. Working out the details now. More info to come when it's finalized. I hope you will come with me as I look toward the future and growing this blog to something great. Or at least mediocre. :o)

Best. Confidante. Ever. -or- How scooters changed my life.

People tell me secrets. Two people, in fact. Oddly enough, these two people don't know each other, and have the same secret. And both told me. But I'm not telling you what they are. You can't make me.

Anyway, since I can't tell what these secrets are, how about some reflections of life from my perspective? I still don't have much going on, so I've gotta find something to fill the void here.

I moved to GA in 2005. I just up and left all of my friends and most of my family for a few reasons. 1) I always, ALWAYS wanted to own a house, and in the DC area (where I was living), that wasn't going to happen for a very LONG time. Think about it...it was nearly the height of the housing bubble. Prices were ridiculous. Even the apartment I shared with a friend was over-priced. We were about 1 hour south of DC, in a litte town named Waldorf...and compared to Lexington Park, where I had been the year before, Waldorf was the "big city." We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment and paid $1100 a month. Anyway...other reasons for moving: 2) my mom had been sick for awhile, and I wanted to move closer to help them out with errands and repairs and stuff. 3) I wanted a career change. One that didn't include nights and weekends and holidays, but did include a fixed schedule every week. And maybe even a desk. Because in the optical field, those are all hard to come by. But because of #1, #3 was impossible if I stayed. I knew that a change in career would most likely mean a big pay cut...and I just couldn't afford that where I was.

So I told everyone I was moving...and shocked them all, because I really didn't talk to anyone about it before I made the decision, so it kinda came out of the blue. I did ask my mom if it was ok, since, you know, I was moving in with her and all.

When I got here, I had of course told all my friends the usual "end of high school" line: Oh, I'll come back to visit! And you can totally come visit me and we can go to a Falcons game!

And we talked. For about a week. Then we drifted apart. I'm now Facebook friends with a couple of them, but really, we don't talk much. And I doubt they think twice about me 99% of the time. I don't think I even have cell phone numbers any more.

Of course, when I moved here, I only knew my mom and stepmom. I met the now-DH about 2 weeks after I moved here. But neither of us really had many local friends. I have lots of great internet friends, some that I have met in real life, but not too many that lived close.

So for about 3 years, DH and I relied on each other for entertainment. And sometimes his sister (who is the same age that I am) and her DH. But that was about it for socializing.

Then, we got scooters. And we joined riding groups. And started to make friends with other scooterists...and motorcyclists that aren't too snobby to hang with the scooterists. Then, DH started talking to some of his high school friends. In most cases, I'm against this. Seriously, I avoided adding my high school to my profile for the longest time because really, how many people really want to talk to people they went to high school with? I don't go to reunions because there were very few I wanted to talk to when I HAD to...so now that it's optional? Yeah, I'll pass.

Anyway. He started talking to some of his high school friends. Then we hung out with a few. Some were fun. Some were fun to make fun of. So we started hanging out with the fun ones even more. Then...the Disney trip. Where we hung out with another group that happened to be there. And we had a BLAST with them. So we've been hanging out with them now, too.

And I realized...I missed having friends. And binge drinking was over rated, but drinking buddies are fun. As are Bailey's milkshakes.

A whole lot of nuttin'

Probably a short post today. Really, I have an urge to write, but I haven't felt very witty the last few days. Besides, all I've been doing in hocking fundraisers and talking about weight loss. Pretty soon, you would think this blog actually had a purpose or something.

Anyway.

Thursday is the anniversary of when we closed on our house. I really can't believe it's been a year already. We haven't done, like, ANYTHING that was on our list. Other than paint. But when your walls are 2 tone because they only painted halfway with a "matching color" that didn't...well, OCD kicks in and you get that shit done ASAP in any room you spend any amount of time in. But we still have bleached carpet, the deck is still in need of replacement and expansion, and we have a dining room table, but no chairs. Things that have been done: we have hosted lots of friends...and discovered the comfortable limit is 10 people. We can fit 15, but really, 10 is best. We have also managed to fit 4 regular scooters, one vintage Vespa with a sidecar, a Durango and a PT Cruiser in the garage. How? Evidently, DH is awesome at Tetris. seriously...I have no idea how he got that to work. We also have 2 shelving units and firewood stored in there. Not much walking room, though...

We don't know how we are celebrating yet. Probably not doing much of anything. I mean, it's a Thursday. I like to be in bed by 9 10 PM. We have to be somewhat coherent the next day for work.

Oh! Speaking of work...things move at the speed of a drunk snail with a bum tail around this place. A promotion I started hearing rumbles of last JULY is one step closer to being mine. Ok, half a step. On Friday-ish, we will be a full step closer. The person that is currently 1 step ahead of me was recommended for the position 2 steps ahead of me. Now we just have to hope they give back-fill permissions again. My "inside contact" has said that she is pushing to just do an internal promotion instead of a full hire...but, sadly, it's not really up to her how it would go down...but it's highly likely she would be the head of the search committee, so either way, *if* they open the position, and don't write the announcement so I'm not eligible, I should be a given. Lots of if's...but it's plausible. *Maybe* by this July, I will be in a higher position. Maybe. Which is nice, since there are no raises around here for at least 2 years otherwise. Stupid recession.

Guess that means I need to look like I'm working. Adios!

I almost forgot...

For your viewing pleasure, a picture of the DH and I in Animal Kingdom...complete with fashionable tummy pack for the 3 Day!

I need a swift kick in the ass

Really, I do. I've got so much going on, and yet nothing is really happening with any of it. So if you kick me, can you at least pick a direction for me to go in?

First: The Oz fundraiser has to be postponed. And moved. There was a fire in the building it shares, and since that building was around 100 years old, and no sprinklers...well, they aren't sure it can be fixed. It's a really sad time in Fairburn. Oz does have another location in East Point, which isn't too far away, but I'm going to wait until probably May so the weather is warmer for a scooter ride up there. If we have to go farther, might as well make the journey more fun!

We just got home from Disney, also! We had a great time (as usual) and met up with some of DH's friends who were also there on vacation. I wore my pedometer 2 of the 3 days we spent in the parks. We did almost 8 miles our 2nd day (Epcot) and 6 miles the 3rd day (no parks...just Downtown Disney and a tour of Animal Kingdom Lodge and their timeshare resort). The first day, when I didn't wear it, DH and I hit Animal Kingdom right when it opened. We rode Expedition Everest, then went over to Dino Land and did a few rides there, and then rode Everest again before hitting the road to Magic Kingdom where we met up with the other group...and spent most of the day there. We ended the day heading back to Epcot for dinner in France! If I had to guess, I would say we hit at least 8 miles...and I would probably say 10. When we go to Epcot, we valet the car at Boardwalk, then go in the International Gateway entrance, which is a half mile each way by itself.

Which reminds me: Here is your Disney Tip of the Trip! If you are staying off property and have a car, you actually have a few options. You could 1) Park at Downtown Disney for free, then take the internal buses to one of the resorts, then to the parks. If you pick the right resort and park combination, you could switch to the monorail instead of a bus. But this takes a fair amount of time waiting on buses. Option 2) Since parking at the park itself is $14, and you still have to walk or shuttle from BFE, we prefer to valet. As I said, for Epcot, it's at Boardwalk. You can also get to Hollywood Studios via walking path or boat from Epcot...we didn't make it there this trip, though. At Magic Kingdom, we valet at the Contemporary, then take the monorail over. And valet is $12, plus we usually tip another $2...plus, once you pay at one location, you can then use the others for free on the same day. As DVC members and annual passholders, parking in the park is actually free for us, but we MUCH prefer the convenience of someone else remembering where we parked after a long day.

So anyway...after all that walking, I had one small blister on the inside edge of my heel on the first day. Had this been an actual training walk, I would have taken the time to stop and put some moleskin on it, but I didn't want to hold everyone else up. Instead, I switched to my FitFlops for day 2 to give it some time, then the 3rd day I was back in my 3 Day sneakers and it was fine. Not bad for an unofficial start to my training! Oh...and I used my "tummy pack" as I call it about half the time (the other half, I call it a butt bag, even though I wear it front ways). I'm sure a few of the group that was with us were horrified that I was wearing it, but I wanted to try it out, and they were nice enough not to comment. :o) I figured out that I can loop my fleece over the straps and it's pretty secure...but when I did fleece AND long sleeved tee (the weather was a little funky...I layered), it got a little bulky and heavy. I'm also thinking the 16oz bottles MAY be a little small, but that could just be because DH was using one and I was using the other...and we didn't refill as often as we should have. I think at a minimum, I'd like to get a straw top for at least ONE bottle to make life easier. The pack did start to weigh on my lower back, and got a bit on the warm side, but not as bad as when I had the backpack water thing...plus my water stayed colder. Overall, I'm much happier with this choice, even if I look stupid anywhere other than with other 3 Day walkers. :o)

Right before we left, I got the EA Active game for the Wii. I tried it out just to see and was DYING the next day! I could barely walk my legs hurt so much! But pushing through while we were there was a good thing, and last night I started one of the features of the game: a 30 Day Challenge! I'm going to do this first one on low intensity, and plan to do the whole challenge 3 times: low, medium and high intensity. I'm feeling MUCH better today than I was when I first did it...no soreness at all, really. I'm *almost* tempted to skip the low intensity and just go to medium. Almost. But not quite. I'm gonna give it a few more days before I get really ambitious.

Finally, the Insider Pages fundraiser just has 3 more days left! It's FREE to sign up! All you have to do is review places you go. When you click on "Write a Review" and it takes you to the page with the text box, right above the main review box it will tell you how much that particular review will be worth. With a lot of help, I'm sitting at $101.00 right now! My goal was $100, so I'm really happy with it...but even a few extra dollars will help out...so head over there and write a few sentences about your doctors, your favorite hole-in-the-wall bar or restaurant, and your mechanic and tax prep service!

That's all she wrote, folks. Get over there and do some of your own writing!

Flops and Fabulous

I'm sad to say that my Super Bowl Grid was a fantastic flop. I managed to sell 5 boxes. Out of 100. And 3 of those were for a check I was given prior that had been made out to me, so I just assigned boxes to the person...they never knew. *sigh* But, that's the way things go. What is a fantastic idea for one walker may not work for others. I know many people that had huge success with this...I just wasn't one of them this time around.

My Insider Pages fundraiser started on the 4th and goes until the 25th. To join that (it's free...just costs you a few minutes of your time for each review), go to http://www.insiderpages.com/fundraisers/Susan-G-Komen-3-Day-for-the-Cure-L-Winfrey-1002. Surprisingly, THIS has been a fabulous success as far as I'm concerned! In 5 days, I have about $85 in donations! I will have a few more to write when we go to Disney this weekend, and I plan to try a few more places between now and the end of it.

Some notes to make it easier:

1) Remember, chain restaurants don't count for this fundraiser, though Insider Pages allows you to write the review.

2) Some other places are excluded as well. I've found hotels and chiropractors so far. There may be a few more.

3) First reviews are worth the most (1.50 or .50, depending on what area the place is in). Second, third and 4th are also paid reviews, but at a lower rate (.50 or .25). After the 4th review, it doesn't earn anything, but you can still write it.

4) The easiest way to see if your review counts (and how much) is when you click "Write a Review" and the text box opens where you do that, if you look just above the box it will say something to the effect of "This review is worth xxx for the Komen 3 Day for the Cure Fundraiser."

That's about all of the tips I have. Think outside of the box when reviewing, though! It's not just eateries that you can do. I've done doctors, car dealerships, and motorcycle shops! Also, don't be afraid to add a place that's not listed. It does take an extra minute or 2, but all you need is address, phone number and type of business, and then you get to write the first review!


Other fabulousness: DH and I are back in Disney from Sunday to Wednesday. This has been the shortest time between trips for us, but we will have a LOONNNGG stretch before our next trip (October...for us, 8 months *IS* long). We are trying 3 new restaurants this time: Kouzzina by Cat Cora by the Boardwalk Hotel(Greek food), Les Chefs de France in Epcot (French food, if you couldn't tell) and Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom ("Pan-Asian" food). We also splurged on a savanna view room this trip...so I will be having coffee on the private balcony and watching the giraffes and zebras eat their breakfast.

Most people in the US dread tax time. I, personally, love it. I'm not a saver by nature. And while I know it would be better for me to reduce my withholding and put that amount in a savings account to earn some interest, I also know I wouldn't do that. It would get spent. So...I leave my withholding rate high. And as such, we got enough back this year to pay off one of the bikes (we have 5 total, but only 2 have loans). Yay! We were supposed to get our Federal return last week...still no sign of it. Hoping it arrives this week.

My weight loss progress falls into neither the fabulous category, nor the flops category. I guess by default, not being a flop is fabulous, though. I've pretty well been maintaining. Not what I want to do, but man, life is just crazy lately and I don't know where time is going! I got my elliptical thing. It took a little getting used to, but I had read in the reviews that it might be tough. I was adapted in about 2 days. After about a week, I could knit while working out! DH was laughing at me. Mind you, I couldn't follow a pattern, but just a simple project I had been doing was finished in one night...and I didn't focus on my burning thighs.

I started out by getting on it when commercials would come on, and stopping when the show came back on. a 1 hour show, and I would work out about 15 minutes. This weekend, I didn't feel like that was enough...so I switched it and would get on when the show was on and take a break when the commercials were on. THAT was a workout.

Food-wise, my portions are still on the large side, but we (yes, the DH is trying to be better too!) have been doing much better with content. We have decided to make a weekly Trader Joes date, where we are getting healthier "quick" meal options that we can throw together after work. For example, we got some precooked lentils that came in a microwaveable pouch. Have you seen the Uncle Ben's Ready Rice things? Same idea, but lentils, not rice. We mixed those with some Israeli couscous, steamed up some veggies, baked some chicken and it was dinner. Prep time was about 10 minutes. Cooking time about 25 (for the chicken, mostly). very high in fiber (the lentils had 17 grams per serving!!) and protein, low in fat, and pretty filling. Needed to season the lentils and couscous more, though. Live and learn. It was edible. We also got some fully cooked then frozen brown rice, a veggie lasagna, shepherd's pie, a pork roulade and a bunch of other stuff. The plan is to find some of the things we really like that can be versatile, then stock up. Oh, and they had their own brand of the No-Pudge Brownies! I made some oatmeal raisin cookies last night (high fiber oatmeal, splenda, etc) so the brownies will be a few more days before we try them. I'll probably make a batch of both to take to Disney for the road.

I think I've rambled enough. I'm sure you have other blogs to read work to do. I'll let you get to that.