Finster Finds

I love this time of the day (night?). The kids are in bed and it is quiet and I can do what I want. Mark is out working a BINGO for the Rotary Club so I really should be reading those scripts or something, but I am net-surfing and blog-reading and just enjoying the fact that Gibby isn't pressing the keys as I try to type or that Ollie isn't bugging me to get off the computer. I should write some on my 3 scripts, but I don't feel like it. I think I may watch a movie.

Still moving in the right direction. I was down another 0.4 lbs this week for a grand total of 13.2 lbs (the fish in the picture weighs 13.2 lbs, in case you were wondering). I had expected to stay the same so the drop was a pleasant surprise. Good meeting. Still fighting the need to feed the false hunger. I am hoping with the advent of Spring and warmer weather I can move myself out of the house and away from the cupboards. I also have projects ahead that will help to keep me busy. Working on getting the scripts read for the Walterdale Board Meeting this Sunday. I have 2 down and 2 to go. I don't really want to read the panto because the type is so small and the copy quality is bad. I will struggle through to see how it goes. Can't tell you more than this because the season is not set and we have to approve it first!

I went to see The Overcoat at the Citadel today with my Mom and AM. I had heard a lot of good things about it so I was really looking forward to it, but I was a little underwhelmed by it. It was done really well, and it was a really cool concept (no talking) but to me was not much more than a ballet. Like I said, it was really well done, but.... hmmm... Okay, maybe if I sort out what I didn't like: The first act was too long and too repetitive. With a show like this everyone was really focused in the audience. We didn't need to see "the man" get bullied twice at the office to get the idea. Several other bits were too long and needed a good editing. AM postulated that perhaps it was to accommodate the music since it was apparently a specific choice. I didn't like that "the man" doesn't get the overcoat until so late in the show. It makes its appearance in the last moment of Act I. Although the making of the coat was one of the coolest sectio...

Tonight I heard my play (Pieces) with the full cast for the first time. Ahhhh. It was such a joy. The cast is so perfect. May 21st is almost too far away for me because I want to see it up on stage in front of an audience.

Well, this afternoon I had a Pampered Chef party. It turned out well and I think everyone had a good time. I bought more than I planned to, but they get you with the "half price items". I could have easily have bought more, so that's okay. I had 6 guests. I invited about 35 - 40 people and I had 9 "yeses", but 3 cancelled this morning. That's where the "anxiety" in the title comes from. I don't know if I will host another such party. I think it gets a little demoralizing when only 6 people come out of a list of 35. My ego can't handle it. To be fair, many people did respond with regrets due to absolutely legitimate conflicts and I know that some people may have been put off by the "buying" aspect of the party so that may be a reason why they didn't want to come. I have certainly been hesitant in the past when I have been invited to "shopping parties" (Party-Lite, Epicure, etc...). So it is funny how I felt ...

I finally cracked the 10lb point! Yay! Down 3 lbs this week for a grand total of 12.8 lbs. Yay! Yay! Yay! Valuable reading this week was the "Thinking Like a Thin Person" from this month's Oprah Magazine. It made me think about the whole "being hungry" thing. I realized that I am not often really hungry, but I eat to avoid ever becoming hungry and I misinterpret the signals I get from my body. I reinterpret boredom, stress, nervousness, tiredness, etc... as hunger --> when they are NOT hunger. So I don't really think about what hunger actually feels like. So last night, when I was on the couch watching my C.S.I. and Grey's Anatomy, I ignored the calls to the cupboard because I wasn't REALLY hungry. How could I be? I had just eaten. Then this morning I actually felt hungry when I woke up. It actually ached in my tummy. Oh! So that is what hunger feels like! And you know what? Not eating last night didn't kill me.

Well, it could have been worse. Less than $1000 of cash and merchandise as far as we can figure out. Weird thing is my dad came into the store about 2-3 minutes after the guy left. He even gave a statement to the police because he and a couple of bystanders saw which way the guy went. They just didn't know at the time that he had just robbed the store. The police were hoping to get the dogs to track the guy, because he took off across a field. They'd have to act pretty fast. Mark had a long day at the store. He went in and let Esther go home and then he stayed until 9:30 or so figuring out the inventory and the amount of cash missing. I guess we are going to invest in security cameras and possibly a silent alarm. Considering how covered up this guy was, the cameras might not have been useful, but they might have deterred him. Who knows?

So, the adventures of small business owning continue... I thought the most challenging thing was going to be figuring out how to use the accounting program, but no, we were robbed today. Apparently a well-covered up guy with a gun came in and robbed the store this morning. Luckily no one was hurt and he didn't get a lot of stuff (only a couple hundred in cash and some narcotics). I am not sure how much exactly, but it is stressful none the less. The store is in a nice little neighborhood, two doors down from a fire hall and half a block from a K-9 school. I am waiting to hear the full report from Mark. It really bothers me, not only because of the violation in general, but also because we are truly "small business owners". We cannot afford to lose even a small amount of inventory and income. It hits us so much harder than a bigger business. This is our entire livelihood and it makes us so much more aware of the risks of failure. Of course, being small we cannot afford som...

You ever have one of those weeks? One of those weeks where everything is just piled on top of each other. You get through one event just to have the next one roll up? I like those weeks, don't get me wrong. I like having things to do and people to see. BUT. But after those weeks are done I feel sooooo tired. I just woke from an almost 2 hour nap and I wish it had been twice as long. Here's how spacey I am at the end of this week. Last night I went to see Chicago at Eastglen High School. It was really good . Before I went I was feeling a little out of it. We had some last minute company to our house Thurs-Sat so I spent 2 nights up talking late and that was in addition to all the "stuff" I had to do. So I contemplated not going to the play. I am glad that Mark "made" me (he said I should because I missed the last one and felt bad about it and who cares if I was going alone). Anyhow, watched the show, had fun, got up to leave, went to the lobby,...

Yes, it is Friday again. I am down another 0.2 lbs for a total of 9.8 lbs. I am glad that I lost, but reaching that 10 lb mark seems so challenging. I am doing everything right and I have to remember that the last time I did WW I was also nursing Oliver so the pounds dropped off faster. There was a little more happening. I shall keep pushing forward and working hard. It will pay off. Besides, even if the numbers on the scale aren't moving drastically, the way I feel has changed. I am retiring my "big jeans" and I look forward to moving down from my others (which are starting to feel looser).

On Tuesday night, at the McDougall Church, the choir I sing with (Chanteuses) sang. We sang 5 pieces and I think it went well. It was nice to see all the work come to a performance. I do get a little stressed with this group. However, it is nice to do the work and hear the results. I loved doing Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen) and Fair Phyllis. The five pieces challenged me in different ways and I am learning that in a group like this I really have to work on NOT singing too loudly. The blend is so important. Singing Soprano 1 and doing it softly is a challenge for me. I am also used to being one of the "power" voices, so it is a new skill for me to find the right place to set my volume at. It is a real "team" kind of thing. I am going to try to figure out how to post the recordings so that you can have a listen (I may have to consult some of my "blogger friends").

Tonight I started my Playwrighting Lab (with Marty Chan from the APN ). It was primarily a "getting to know you" type of thing. There are 10 of us and Marty, but one woman didn't show up. It is really great to meet other playwrights and talk about playwrighting and I hope we will talk about producing plays once they are written. We also got our assignments. I have bought a bit of time because my project is primarily conceptual right now. I have about 2 months to get a first draft put together. The cool thing is I had to tell the group what I was writing about so I had to articulate it, aloud, so they could hear me, and this made me think about the script much more concretely than I have been. I have been having trouble writing what I want to write, but when i spoke about it, it pushed me somehow. So I came home and wrote about 5 pages. That was good. And I worked on the outline. I am using the "get the crap out" method and I will take out stuff lat...

I went to Magnolia's Blog and she had this cool-o personality profile so I did one. I have no idea how to post it the way she did, but I will list the web address below if you want to check it out. It should tell you something about me (?). http://friends.imagini.net/vdna.php?responseUID=129417-4473&srv=iwebhd3 Treadmill was successful yesterday --> got 44.5 minutes and 2.6 miles done before Gibson's diaper forced a retreat to the upstairs. I will try to time it so next time he is not likely to foul up the air. Feel good today. We have soccer at 1:00 p.m. at the YMCA. I like soccer because I chat with 2 other moms and one lives right around the corner. I am going to suggest a "play-date" over Spring Break or maybe on the next P.D. Day. The best thing is that I like her and Oliver and her son are glued at the hip at soccer. I can't tell you how many times I like the Mom and the kids don't really connect, or the kids like each other but I don...

First of all - down 1 lb, so no 10 lb sticker (I'm at 9.6 lbs). I resolve to drink more water and workout at least 3 times this week. Please hold me accountable! I bought an iPod. I like it, but I am not great with the whole iTunes yet. I have already figured out a few things, but I do not have any organization on the thing yet, so that will take time. I figure I could easily spend 5 hours a day downloading CDs and figuring out playlists. Good thing I only have a nano that can hold ONLY 500 songs. Ah. Mark mocks me and my new toy, but I like it.

Okay, in the latest Oprah magazine they said that Bloggin can help you lose weight. I think that refers to specifically bloggin about the whole weight loss journey. I have blogged about it in the past when I was feeling crappy about it, but I should also blog when I feel good, right? Well, I feel good today. According to my scale I am down 13 lbs from January 1st. I started the WW a little later so I am hoping to get a 10 lb star tomorrow. I was down 8.6 lbs last week (Yay!!). I also broke a bad streak of inactivity and actually got ont he treadmill last night. It felt good. I walked/ran 3.6 miles and even watched X-Weighted at the same time so I felt it was a good mix. I know that I have to watch my eating when I am stressed and when I am bored. I also have to be careful at "events centred around eating", particularly when it is stand around eating finger foods --> I tend to be almost unconscious about how much I eat. Terrible, terrible. There was a guy on X-Weighted who ...

The trouble with germs and kids is that they always seem to find each other. We are going on 4 weeks in this house where at least one or more people are sick. I was out of it for a week and a half. Oliver and Gibson have both been ill twice and Mark was sick for a few days when the rest of us were relatively healthy. Gibson now has bronchitis. Luckily he has been rejuvenated by his trip to the doctors and is very cheerful, but he has three prescriptions coming to make him better. I guess I will wash the comforters again to try and minimize the 'lingering sickness' and I will pray for good sleep. It isn't fun. This year has been worse than others. I think it is because I have one kid in school and one under 3. The germs are having a great time.

Friday night I went to see Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad at the Roxy. I went with AM and my Mom. Overall it was a good show, but there were some problems with it. The problems were primarily with the script. I think it would have been better as a one act and more interesting/realistic if the focus had not been on the "romantic relationship" of the two characters. The program talked a lot about violence in youth sport and its connection to parents encouraging it and I think that was the more interesting issue. I think it could have been explored even if the two hockey parents were friends, not necessarily lovers (were they or weren't they?). The other major problem was the ending. It felt like it just needed to end a scene earlier and the actual end was unclear. I think that was a script thing, too, but it may have been a directing thing. The actors were really good, especially "Donna", but she had the character that 'grew more' so she was given more t...

Last night I went to dinner with one of my best friends. We actually don't talk/email very much, but I used to work with her and see her every day. I love how it is with old friends. You can pick up at a moments notice and it's great. I also love that neither of us feels guilty for the lack of communication in the interim. There is no blame on either side and that is great. I think we both understand the "busy-ness" of life and just accept it. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it takes work to maintain those friendships. It would be easy to just let things slip away, but why not take the time when you can. When I moved to Edmonton from Fort McMurray the thing that stressed me the most was leaving my friends. However, I have managed to keep contact. E-mail is great for that, and people who know me know that I am not adverse to writing a snail mail and sticking a stamp on an envelope. Actually it is harder to get me on the phone because of the chaos of chi...

Okay, so the Oilers traded Ryan Smyth and everyone cares about it. Well, not everyone. I don't. I think he is probably a really nice guy and from my limited reference to the sports sections of the Edmonton Journal - he contributes to the success of the team, but really, there are more important things. It does make me think. About the whole money thing. Why do we pay our sports figures that much money? Why do we pay our top entertainers that much money? Who is really worth it? $5.4 million per year vs. $5.3 million. How can you even tell the difference between one amount and the other. Makes you think about what the teachers in Parkland are asking for. I have done that job, and I can tell you it is a lot harder and MORE IMPORTANT in the big scheme of things than playing professional hockey. The difference, I know, is that the public pays the salaries of teachers and private business pays for the hockey players. BUT REALLY, c'mon folks, what is more important? I th...