Happy Valentine's Day!

Photo Credit-Matthew Lane of Zazen Photo. Model is Eric Packham.
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HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!
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Irony- I haven't been back to the YMCA since my victory over Tread-Climber girl. BUT every day my co-workers are asking me for updates. They said I'm anti-climatic and have "let them down" because they look forward to the stories.
hmm.
well on the upside I HAVE been working out. I was just a little bit hungover from Wine Club so Thursday AM I did Yoga and guzzled a huge bottle of water. Thursday PM I walked my dog for 2.5 miles. Friday AM (today) I did a different Yoga DVD until my legs wobbled, and if I have time tonight I'll do the 2.5 mile walk again. I can work out without having to see Tread-climber girl every day. But maybe it makes for more interesting Blog entries if I DO. LOL.

Happy Birthday Sara!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Sara. She also has a blog on blogger.

Victorious!

Today is just a DAMN good day!
1) Yesterday was my beloved Aunt Julie's Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE JULES! And I get to see her next week!
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2) Zazen Photo's first newsletter went out. If you didn't get the email, click HERE to sign up for the mailing list.
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3) Today's can of Dole Tropical Fruit has more red papaya than anything else, my FAVE!
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4) I'm having a good hair day.
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5) It's Antoinette's Birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTOINETTE!!!
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6) Age of Aquarius Party photos - check out Matt on the floor. he was feeling Goo-ood!
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7) Tonight is Wine Club - I'm hosting and we're doing "Organic RED wines with No Sulfites Added" - mmm delish!
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8)And (as my facebook status so aptly puts it) - Abbie is secretly and wickedly pleased about getting to the Arc-Trainer machine at 5:30am BEFORE tread-climber girl tried to hog it. har har har.
Let me explain #8.
This week, I've been to the YMCA every morning without fail. I was a little late on Monday and Tuesday, so Tread-Climber girl was already there hogging her favorite machine BOTH days and for 45mins on Tuesday (beeotch). So, I did weights on Monday, and Bike on Tuesday. BUT TODAY I get there a full 10 mins early. I mean the doors had not even OPENED yet, as I was parking my car. But she was there, in line, at the door, and as I crossed the parking lot to the entrance, they let her in. "NOOOOO!" I thought. "NOOOO she's going to beat me to the machine." I tried to remain calm, and told myself - "so what? let's just get one of the other machines instead. You are stronger than her. Your weakness is not that stupid Tread-Climber thing." and so, I rather apathetically watched her beat me down the stairs, beat me to the Tread-Climber machine (and she fiddled with it for a long time, even crawling on her knees to the front of the machine near the wall. I assumed she was plugging it in?), and I absent-mindedly put my waterbottle into the cup holder on the Arc-Trainer, and then went to put my jacket in the cubby-storage unit. As I walked back to the Arc-Trainer, WHAM I almost ran into her. She had been over near my Arc-Trainer machine but had seen my water bottle (holding my place). I guess the tread-climber wasn't working and she was trying for her 2nd favorite machine now? I wasn't sure, but I just climbed up on there and started doing my 30 mins of cardio. And I thought quietly to myself "30 minutes, and that was the rules. not 45 mins Missie!" There are only 2 Arc Trainer machines at the YMCA with arm-movement. The other 3 have the part where your feet/legs swing but the arm-part is stationary. The machine I was on was the "total body" arc trainer. Hmmm . . . I was on one, and another older lady was on the other one. incidently, there were 2 other available Arc-Trainers (minus the arm movement).
As I started my workout, I couldn't help but notice that Tread-Climber girl was hovering around the area. Even though the Arc-Trainers are in a DIFFERENT ROOM than her Tread-Climber. She wanted my machine BAD. I could taste it.
Why couldn't she use one of the 10 available treadmills, or upright bikes, or encumbent bikes, or stair climber machines, or the other Arc Trainers? There were A LOT of other options. No, she wanted her Tread-climber or the Total Body Arc-Trainer and that was it. Spoiled little thing isn't she? I tried to be gracious, and not smirk to myself, but I was secretly pleased.
Then I watched as she wrote her name on the marker board on the waiting list. Karen. Hmm, so my nemesis has a name now. Damn.
I finished my 30 minutes. The most self-satisfying 30 mins of cardio yet. And then I politely got off the machine, cleaned it, and went home to shower in my new master bathroom.
I AM stronger than she is. I'm versatile. I can work out on ANY cardio machine. I do not restrict myself to just the Tread-Climber or Arc-Trainer. And I'm going to have a more-rounded workout week for it too. har har har.

Photo credit goes to Ebay - Cybex Arc Trainer and Bowflex Treadclimber TC6000* btw, the one at my YMCA is NOT a bowflex, but heck if I can remember what it is.

Cry me a shower

Click for Before and After Photos

The Master Bath is finished. The bill has been paid. I'm now officially broke. Lessons learned? I do better with managing the project if I have time to plan. This "involuntary remodel" was forced upon us due to the leak and impending roommate. So, I did not have the adequate time to plan and figure out how to cut costs. Thus, this project got a little out of my control and I'm not too happy with the final figure. The total cost of the tile alone was 3 times what I had estimated when we first measured. I'm still fuzzy on how that happened, but he had receipts to prove it. However, Tile Guy did a GREAT job, we are happy with the results, and Matt LOVES the new shower door. So, ok we had to fork over some extra cash, the end result is worth it right? right? I'm waiting for this to sink into my disbelieving head.
Things I wish I had done earlier on:
-Measured for the difference in the vanity height.
-price-checked cabinetry for the vanity with Ikea. I did check Home Depot/Lowes, but I forgot about Ikea. damn.
-price-checked the granite versus Corian, etc.
-asked the workers to just un-hinge and remove the door to the bathroom so it wouldn't have been scratched up so damn much.
-perhaps I should have just bought the tile myself up front instead of letting them do it?
-I wish we could have kept the old shower door - just in case, we maybe could have used it instead of spending money for a new one?
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ok enough analyzing. it's all done as my hubby says. I have to just let it go and live with it. I do have a new bathroom to enjoy after all.
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counting down the days to the "Age of Aquarius" party.

And the Darwin Award goes to . . .

With all the Shower drama and my sister's hospitalization drama, I forgot to mention a few hilarities that happened over the weekend.
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So you know how we have a roommate now? Well, it had been less than one week since he started parking in the driveway in his RED car, and on Thursday morning last week I was backing out of the garage, humming a tune, and apparently stuck in my own bubble world, because BAM I backed right into the RED car.
I didn't look in the rear-view mirror (or if I did I wasn't really thinking about what I saw) I guess.
What made it even more hilarious, was that the car alarm started going off. Matt ran outside and turned it off, but the whole time this was happening (right below the roommate's bedroom windows), he never woke up. I seriously wonder if he'd ever notice if we hadn't confessed. He sleeps like the dead. Well that's a good thing though. I'm a pretty noisy morning person.
I felt terrible, but on the upside, the scratch already buffs out of my car's bumper when I rub it with my coat sleeve. His car may need some work, but it's only the plastic bumper not the light or the metal frame of the car. We are okay.
After I started driving to work, I started cracking up. I was positively giddy, it was SO funny to me. I mean what an idiot I am, but I kept laughing.
I called roomie later that day to apologize and HE started laughing. He said "just don't do it again ok?" - yeah I will do my best.
after which I promptly made myself a sign in BIG ORANGE LETTERS saying "DON'T HIT HIS CAR" and hung it right infront of my car in the garage.
I haven't hit his car again. Yet.
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Shower updates:
Rather than move the outlet and the mirror, I finally came up with the bright idea to ask Tile Guy if we could just get a 2.5inch granite backsplash INSTEAD of the standard 4 inches. YAY! now no need to repaint (well if you can live with the wall scratches and grout stains). I can deal for a bit.
Oh yeah, the Master Bath is DONE! The sink faucet was installed yesterday finally. I moved my pretty towels and wall hangings back in. BUT we haven't paid the guy yet (he is still compiling receipts). I'm dreading the final total. But on the upside, I could use my own shower, sink, and even TOILET this morning! woo hoo! nothing like christening a pristine new white extended bowl toilet. right?
I'll let you know if I have any money left after I get the bill. HA!
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I watched the Superbowl at an Australian guy's house. His name is Dave Chappell. But no it's pronounced Chapel, like "going to the chapel." He is a right funny dude. We had a good time. He was a friend of the roommate's girlfriend's best friend's boyfriend. Like always, Matt and I showed up ON TIME, but we were the first guests to arrive. So we were like "Are you Dave" and "thanks for inviting us" etc. can you say Awkward? Thankfully I have no fear of such social situations, so we were fast friends in no time. Everyone else showed up after I'd already downed 1 glass of wine. HA! Oh yes, I made an exception that I could drink on weekends and when I was uber-stressed out (ie: during Jamie's debacle), so I guess I sort of lost my resolution to not drink until Saturday. Sigh. At least I stuck to a limit of 1 glass of wine per evening per location?
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In my old age, I've discovered something. I'm a super-beeotch during my PMS week. I'm still a residual super-beeotch the week of, but I'm absolutely happy/giddy and everything is hilarious to me the week after. WTF? hormones are grand aren't they? I'm going to keep an eye on myself next month to see if this holds true. I know the beeotch part does. Matt lets me know. he's super nice about how he lets me know, but he tells me. What a great hubby!

Photo Credit

Jamie finally found out what was "REALLY" going on. This hospital is a crock - St. Petersburg General Hospital - NEVER GO THERE!
Anyway, when she was admitted Saturday night, they did a CT Scan and ultrasound, etc. They saw the fluid sac, ran some bloodwork, etc. Then they put her in a room and put her on Demoral and the anti-nausea drug, and then were pumping her with Antibiotics every 6 hrs.
Whenever she would see one of the doctors (they would come in and out) they kept giving her a different story, but always about the sac of fluid being the issue.
Finally, the doc they "assigned" to her shows up on Monday and he tells her she can go home Tuesday. She's like can you PLEASE tell me what is wrong with me?
He was very upset when he learned that the other doctors and nurses never told her. She has ECOLI and a UTI. That was it. Thus the antibiotics. The sac is there yes, but it small and not an issue. Same thing with the cysts. He says the cysts are normal, etc.
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She gets out today, they are going to prescribe her some pain meds and antibiotics and if she doesn't feel better in a week she's supposed to go back to get checked out.
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I guess the big confusion was that whenever you check into this particular hospital, they assign you a Primary Care Physician, and the one she was assigned was on vacation all weekend and didn't know to see her until Monday. In the meantime the other people would come in and see her chart and I guess they were ad-libbing what they thought the issue was. Bunch a crap. That hospital just might get a nasty letter from me.

Pray for Jamie

My sister Jamie is in the Hospital. Two nights now. They don't know exactly what to do for her. Seems there is some sort of fluid sac or abscess near her right Appendix/Ovary area causing severe pain and cramping. She is on pain meds and other drugs right now to alleviate the discomfort, but they are still trying to diagnose what it is and how to fix it. She may need surgery.
She's seen 3 nurses and 2 doctors today and waiting on an OB/GYN to show up and take a look.
I sent flowers and prayed my butt off.
What else can I do?