Things I Am Loving Right Now

By cliopatra

May

28

Drop Dead Diva Logo
Image via Wikipedia

I know I haven’t been posting much lately (that was made glaringly apparent the other day when I tried to post and found out my domain registration expired – whoops!). To get back into the swing I will tell you what I am adoring at this moment:

1. Drop Dead Diva. This Lifetime network show started last year and I meant to watch it but forgot to, and by the time I remembered about it, it was too late in the season to catch the first few episodes. (This was before I discovered SideReel).

The second season starts June 6, so the first season from beginning to end is available On Demand and on Hulu. I’ve watched the first two episodes On Demand while I’m doing FreeStep on the Wii Fit, and I’m really enjoying the show. Which brings me to…

2. SideReel. Because of the crappy DVR we had (from Comcast, which is something I Do Not Love), any shows broadcast on CBS HD were getting mangled. Very frustrating. We love Big Bang Theory, and were unable to watch it for several weeks because the DVR would screw it up.

Guess what? Big Bang Theory is one of a handful of shows that CBS does NOT allow you to watch full episodes of on their website. Boo! Why? (Which also means you can’t catch them on Hulu, either.) This was very frustrating until I discovered SideReel, which is a site that will link you to a million billion shows (full episodes!) online. That means even though I’ve disconnected my HBO, I will still be able to watch True Blood when the new season starts! Woot!

Did I mention it’s free? And shows are typically provided without commercial interruption.

3. Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake. This is a very ugly looking frozen meal that is completely vegan. Kashi meals were on sale the other day and I grabbed one of these because I love plantains (a major component of this meal) and I was intrigued by a frozen meal with pumpkin seeds on it!

I fell in love with this creamy mixture of spicy and sweet right away. Before the sale ended I snagged 8 of them for my freezer. Guess what I will be eating while hubby is out of town next week? The carbs are kind of high (58 grams per serving – thankfully I am not on a low carb diet!) but the calories and sodium are in the “good” range for a meal. Yum yum!

4. The 4-Hour Workweek. This book is so interesting! I bought the Kindle version (there is also an MP3 audio version) and I read it on my lunch hours. It talks about lifestyle design and it really makes a lot of sense. I am intrigued and I can’t wait to finish the whole thing so I can formulate some real opinions on it. If it works, I’m in!

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Still Alive

By cliopatra

May

3

Hey there… just a quick update to let you know I’m still alive.  Here’s life as I know it at the moment:

1.  Still using SparkPeople – down 23 lbs since January 25.  Some days it’s easy, some days it’s hard, but every day it’s worth it.

2.  Tried yoga for the first time last night.  It was Leslie Sansone – You Can Do Yoga, a very good place to begin since my only other yoga anything was Wii Fit
yoga, which I have a tough time with. Trying to keep that little dot within the circle stresses me out.

3.  Still loving my Kindle.  I read a little something on it every single day.  In fact, for my birthday all I got was Amazon giftcards. I haven’t used them all up yet because I’m trying to be conscious of my purchases – what do I want to keep forever?

4.  Speaking of birthdays, I had one last week.  I turned 38, and I’m telling you, I don’t know how it will beat 37, but it had better try.  I love getting older, I really do.  I love looking back on my life and seeing how I’ve grown and changed.  I like myself a little more every day.  That may sound strange, but I am more awesome than even *I* realized.

5.  I’m contemplating what to do with my life next.  My job is rapidly approaching a dead end.  Actually, I think I am at a dead end, I’m just keeping my eyes shut tight so I don’t notice just yet.  I’m gearing up to take a huge leap of faith very soon.  Probably before the end of the year.

Lots of irons in the fire, plus plates in the air and all that.  Still tweeting, etc.  Say hi!

What’s Working For Me

By cliopatra

Feb

4

Sparkler

Image by Tom Olliver via Flickr

These days I’m not just looking better, I’m *feeling* better.  And vice versa.

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting on my couch on a Sunday night feeling gross and useless and ashamed of myself.

Gained 4 lbs over the holidays that I really truly did not need.  Broken out from PMS.  Dove stopped making my facial cleanser so I bought Olay and had an eczema flare-up.

Since that day I found two things that have helped me tremendously:

1.  Cetaphil Antibacterial Gentle Cleansing Bar.  I’ve always trusted Cetaphil when things got ugly, but I’ve never used the bar.  This bar took care of the breakout AND the flare up, and while my skin is not completely perfect again, it feels softer and smoother than it has felt in a really long time.

2.  SparkPeople.  I’ve been a member of this website in the past, but I really didn’t GET IT.  It’s completely free.  You can track food, you can track exercise, there are tons of helpful tips, a very active community, but I just wasn’t using it the way I should have.

I started tracking on Monday, January 25, and I’ve lost 5 lbs since then.  The community is awesome, the tips and information are top-notch, and I feel so much better about myself since I joined.

I also picked up a copy of The Spark: The 28-Day Breakthrough Plan for Losing Weight, Getting Fit, and Transforming Your Life by SparkPeople founder Chris Downie. I downloaded the e-book to my Blackberry and have been reading it in my downtime. Very inspirational.

Nowadays I am keeping track of everything I eat, taking the stairs as much as I can, and being an inspiration to the people I work with.  Me!  A fitness inspiration.  Who would have thought?

These are the things that are working for me these days.  What’s working for you?

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High Time

By cliopatra

Jan

26

After experiencing a few weeks of what I think was probably mild depression (due to weather, skin, work and internal chemical issues), I’m guessing what I’m experiencing right now is mildly manic.  I say mildly because my house is still a wreck, and if I was truly manic you could use the inside of the toilet as a soup tureen.  Just sayin’.

It’s smart girl month, I guess.

I just survived the insanity that is the WritersWeekly.com 24-Hour Short Story Contest.  That thing stresses me out like crazy, and I actually admitted defeat with 3 hours left, before being hit with an awesome story idea that I am just thrilled about.

And here is the smart girl schedule for the rest of the week:

Tonight – Finish article 1 of 2 for I’ve Tried That.

Tuesday night – Jeopardy! Online Test.  This will be my second time taking it.  The first time was completely overwhelming.

Thursday night – Dinner on the boss.  My department finished 2008 at #1 in the country, so that’s  pretty awesome and deserves an expensive steak, don’t you think?

Saturday afternoon – Bikers vs. Brainers, a Mensa event, at Barnes & Noble in Coconut Pointe (Estero) at 2 p.m (Jan 31).  It’s trivia like you’ve never seen it before.  If you’re in the area, come down and check it out.

Sunday morning – Meeting a friend for breakfast to check out the novel she just started.

Sunday afternoon – Judging the 2009 Mensa Scholarship contest (reading 35 essays – good times, good times).

I feel good, happy, capable.  It’s going to be a fun week!

* * *

In case you can’t make it to the Bikers vs. Brainers event in Estero, there are 2 more scheduled:

Saturday, February 28 @ 1 p.m. – Books-A-Million, Strada at Mercato, Naples

Saturday, March 28 @ 1 p.m. – Barnes & Noble, US 41 & Daniels Parkway, Ft. Myers

Stopwatch! CHANGE!

By cliopatra

Dec

28

I have decided to bite the bullet and attempt to participate in NaBloPoMo for January 2009.  The topic is CHANGE, which I think I can probably deal with.  

2009 is going to be a year of big change in my life.  There are ideas and implementations and all sorts of stuff going on behind the scenes.

In other news, have you ever just needed a stopwatch or timer?  I needed one today and couldn’t find my digital kitchen timer, so I did a Google search and voila!  Online Stopwatch.

Set the time to count up or down, and if your sound is on it will even alert you when time is up (or down, whatever).  I’ve been using it for lots of fun stuff today:

  • The breadmaker said I needed to scrape the dough after 4 minutes of mixing (which is why I found this doohickey in the first place).
  • I turned on the dryer for 50 minutes and then set the timer for 50 minutes because Lord knows I NEVER hear the dryer buzzer going off and the clothes get all wrinkly…
  • 15 minutes cleaning with FlyLady!

I’m sure you could find other fun and useful ideas for it.  Enjoy!

I’m off to fold clothes now!

Kodak to the Rescue

By cliopatra

Oct

28

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOVE my Kodak EasyShare 5100 All-In-One Printer. LOVE IT.

I haven’t used it lately, but the other day I needed to print something out, and I noticed that the ink cartridges were really low. I stopped by Sam’s a few days later and bought ink cartridges (a 3 pack – 2 black and 1 color – was $29.00).

When I installed the new cartridges, the color worked like a champ, but the black did not. I thought maybe it was the cartridge, so I opened the other black cartridge and installed it, but no dice. I tried recalibrating, then went to the Kodak website to see what they suggested.

The website troubleshooting led me through the steps to fix the problem, but they were unsuccessful. After the last step the website informed me that they believed the printhead was the problem.

The website asked for the product code on the inside of the printer (very easy to locate and read) and told me that the printer was still under warranty (!!!) and if I would just provide them with my mailing address they would ship me out a printhead within 2-5 days.

That was Sunday. The printhead arrived today. Included in the box was the printhead, a black ink cartridge, a color ink cartridge, and a sample pack of Kodak glossy 4×6 photo paper. All for free!

Installation was a snap and my printer is back up and printing like a champ.

I am almost as in love with Kodak as I am with Google.

Things I Am Loving Right Now

By cliopatra

Sep

21

I have been trying to drink more water lately.  I keep hearing about these Sigg aluminum bottles, but I haven’t really wanted to spend the money on them.  They are upwards of $15 per bottle, and while I like the wide range of designs I just couldn’t do it.

Last weekend I went shopping with a girlfriend.  We were up at Gulf Coast Town Center, and we went to Marshall’s and then Ross.  In Ross I found Oggi aluminum water bottles, a Sigg look-alike, for $5.99 each. (Use that link to view them, but do yourself a favor and don’t buy them online.)

They look like the above, and include the keychain/caribiner clip.  I ended up taking those off and hooking them to my keychain, just in case.  The bottles look great and work as they should – they hold liquid and keep it cool.

I’ve been drinking more water because of them.  Granted, I still put some sort of sugar free flavoring in it, but I am still being properly hydrated.

The only cons are: (1) aluminum dents – I dropped the red bottle from about 3 feet up and it’s got a ding in it  (2) the keychain/caribiner clip is annoying – just remove it – the bottle lid has a nice hold in it that fits easily over your finger  (3) the thermos style lid is more unwieldy than a screw top bottle  (4) it’s hard to see when the bottle is getting full/empty  (5) that sucker gets cold and slippery!

That being said, they keep beverages cold, the look nice (when undented) and it’s keeping more plastic bottles out of landfills.

I will probably invest in a Sigg bottle at some point.  They have a large selection at the newly opened Whole Foods Market in my area, including the insulated ones that keep hot stuff hot.

Stuff I’m Loving Now

By cliopatra

Aug

31

I have oily skin.  Thankfully, I’ve finally grown out of the breakouts phase, for the most part (turns out my dermatologist was right!), and now I worry about actually looking my age.

I love Olay’s products, particularly the Total Effects line.  It is pricier than anything I usually buy, but I think it’s worth every penny.  The lotions feel good, they don’t make me break out, and they smell good.  That little bottle also goes a long way.  The only time I’ve ever been disappointed was when I accidentally picked up the unscented version instead of the regular.  I love that luxurious scent.

Since my skin is so clear compared to high school and I live in Florida now, I don’t want to cover it up with foundation.  I usually use Cover Girl CG Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer.  I’ve used it for a couple of years and it works ok – evens out my skin tone and covers imperfections, plus SPF 15.  I’ve tried other tinted moisturizers and not been as happy with them.

I got really excited when I saw an ad for Olay Total Effects Plus Touch of Foundation in a magazine.  I immediately went out and bought some since I am a freak like that.  I have not been disappointed.

There is only one color, which the labels says matches most skin tones.  It definitely works on my fair skin.  It gives more coverage than tinted moisturizer, but feels light.  It smells good, too!

It lasts forever.  I know this because with the old tinted moisturizer, not much came off on my cleansing towelette at night.  I definitely see more of this product when I cleanse.

I can tell a different in my naked skin after using it.  I’m smoother and softer.  And when I use the product, I feel polished and glowy.  Highly recommended.

Purchased at: Walgreens

Price:  $19.99

Things I Am Loving Right Now

By cliopatra

May

9

This is not a paid post. I use and love all of these things:

1. GreenPanTM. I can’t remember where I first heard about GreenPanTM. I do know I was told they can only be found on HSN, but I hate to pay full price for anything, so I went to eBay. I bought the 6 piece set pictured at left for about half of what they were going for on HSN.

GreenPanTM contains ThermolonTM technology. The nonstick coating does not contain any Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), nor is it manufactured with Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA). It was developed to be the last cookware you’ll have to buy and it won’t break down or wear over time.

I can tell you that the set is beautiful and looks much sturdier and permanent than any other nonstick cookware I have purchased. I made scrambled eggs (with bacon and cheese) in the small fry pan – with NO butter or oil – and the pan performed beautifully. Cleanup was just a quick swipe with a paper towel.

One of the great things about the pans (besides no nasty chemicals leaching into your food) is the metal handles – these are oven safe (up to 400 degrees, I think, but check with the manufacturer instructions). All of my other nonstick cookware has plastic handles!

They are so awesome, I just bought another set. This one includes a 5 qt dutch oven and a saucepan. I’m pretty jazzed about using those.

2. Orange Guard Pest Control Spray. We live in the sticks in Florida, so there are bugs bugs everywhere. Particularly ants. We tried a brand name spray that was clear and supposed to odorless, but it made us both cough.

I heard about this while I was up late one night in a hotel room in either Orlando or Daytona Beach.  It was advertised to be safe for humans and pets.  You can use it around food and in areas where food is prepared.  AND it doesn’t smell bad.

I checked the website and found that it was only sold at a few boutique garden centers.  I hit them all and didn’t find it.  I gave up for a few weeks and then checked the site again and found out they carry it at Ace Hardware.  It’s a bit pricier than other sprays ($9.99 a bottle where I purchased it) but it does what it claims to do.

The smell is great, it works really well, and no one coughs or complains about it.  My only complaint about it is that it is sticky.  The directions say to spray the area and then wipe up the excess after a few minutes, which I don’t always (ok maybe never) do.  So I end up with dead bugs stuck to the floor and walls.  But in the end?  It’s pretty great.  Works and smells like I cleaned!

3.  Yo-Plus Yogurt.  I used to eat Activia, and the only reason I tried Yo-Plus is because I had $1.00 off coupons and a rebate form (so I’ll be making money on this deal).  The reason I keep eating it is because it tastes terrific and fills me up until lunchtime.  The pomegranate-blackberry is my favorite.

It sells for $1.98 at the Wal-Mart here, so with the coupon it’s 98 cents for some super yummy yogurt.  And all that digestive stuff I suppose is good for you?

That’s all for this edition.  See you next time!

Identity Crisis

By cliopatra

May

2

I biked another 2 miles tonight. It wasn’t as hard as I remember from the other day.

I’ve been introspective lately about this blog, my blogging. I set this space up because I had the domain and the brother to make it happen, and so here it is.

I get paid for some things I write here, but that’s not what it’s all about. My original blog is still around, and that has always been personal. I want to be personal here, too (and eventually do away with that other blog).

The thing is, I’m not sure what my hook is. I read a lot of other blogs, and those people are generally pretty certain of who they are and what they are writing about. Me? Not so much. For instance:

  • I’m not a mommyblogger. I don’t have children and may not ever (not my decision, and certainly not a final decision).
  • I’m not a single in the city blogger. I’m married, very happily, and wouldn’t go back to the single life for any sum of money.
  • I’m not a sports blogger. Did I mention that I’ve bicycled 4 miles in the last 3 days? That’s 4 miles more than in the last 20+ years combined.
  • I’m not a vocation blogger. I am an insurance agent and I’m pretty sure insurance agents are the only people who find insurance agents interesting.
  • I’m not a gossip blogger. I’m getting to the point where I don’t know who half the people Perez Hilton mentions even are.

I’m not overtly political, or religious, or jingoistic.

So who am I?

I’m the happily married, possibly barren woman with the boring job and the peaceful life. Middle age is bearing down on me like a runaway train and I’m confused by it because I still feel like a newly minted 21 year old.

I like to write fiction and nonfiction and I need an audience. I love being the center of attention, but only on my terms.

Maybe that’s not worth reading about. Maybe I shouldn’t be blogging at all.

All I know is that this empty box and this blinking cursor give me hope. Beyond this monitor is the whole world, and I’m just aching to touch some part of it.

So where do I go from here?

Things I’m Enjoying Today

By cliopatra

Apr

13

1.  Baseball. OK, maybe not baseball, but I’m watching the White Sox because of Irish (oddly, he is outside doing yard work while I am watching the game and keeping him apprised).  I do have a crush on Jim Thome.  He’s like a cuddly teddy bear that I want to smooch on.  This does not bother my husband.

2.  Snapea Crisps. These things are the bees knees.  I was looking for something a little cheesy and crispy as a snack and pulled some of the Caesar flavored ones from the pantry and it totally hit the spot.

3.  Blackberries. Specifically, the ones from the back yard.  They are small but yummy, and warm from the sun.

4.  Dog Whisperer. I seriously cannot get enough of this show.  I’ve watched it so much I’m starting to diagnose the problem before Cesar Millan even gets there.

5.  StumbleUpon. I have run across some really cool stuff on there today!  A highly recommended download.  It’s a great way to discover things on the net you might not otherwise go looking for.

Law Enforcement Gear

By cliopatra

Mar

30

For those in law enforcement, there are few places to go and buy the gear they might need or want for on the job. Law enforcement gear can be found on the web, specifically at lapolicegear.com.

Lapolicegear.com has everything from Blackhawk holsters to shirts, pants and hats. I checked out the closeouts page and found a great deal on a compass and a book on financial success for police officers. Check it out!

Today is NEW LAPTOP DAY

By cliopatra

Mar

29

I’m finally going to go and buy a new laptop. In the spirit of this technological advancement I’m going to talk about two Things I Love:

(1) Google

I adore Google in ways I did not know it was possible to love a virtual entity. I love gmail, I love Google Docs, I love the Calendar, I love Google Checkout, and I especially love Google Reader. There are a million other Google products and tools, and I know I’ve only scratched the surface, but everything is so useful I barely need to have a real life anymore.

(2) PayPerPost

20 posts and $147 later, I feel like I’m doing pretty well with it. Lack of significant PageRank on either site means I have to “make do” on some posts. I don’t really get the opportunities on the big money posts, but $7 (average) per post, when a post takes me about 15 minutes from start to finish is not a bad thing. That’s laptop money right there!

Things I Love

By cliopatra

Mar

23

Aside from my husband, there are few things I can’t live without. I like stuff, and I wanted to tell you about some stuff that I like:

1. Kodak EasyShare 5100 All-In-One Printer

I bought mine from Woot.com for a mere $59.99 (+ $5 shipping). I’m not sure if it’s a refurb or what, but I don’t really care. This printer kicks ass. It prints great on paper and even has a paper tray for 4×6 photo paper, and prints great photos, too. (I wish I had known about it before I dropped $70 on one of those photo printers at Christmas).
The major selling point for Kodak on this printer is that the ink is so cheap. color ink is $14.99 and black ink is $9.99. I got a package of one of each at Walmart for $23.

2. Barber Foods Creme Brie and Apple stuffed chicken breasts.

Frozen meat section of the grocery store. Yummiest thing ever. Just go. Now.

3. White vinegar.

I kept reading that it could be used in place of a rinse agent in the dishwasher, so I gave it a go. Now my dishes blind me with their sparkle.

* * *

In other news, the strawberry sprouts are perking up and we just had a nice dinner with my in-laws.

Happy Easter!