Today I have a new fitness goal, to see if I can walk up the 5 flight of steps on the inside of the building without huffing and puffing at the top...with a secondary goal of not having legs that feel like concrete as well.
I swear I thought I had climbed Everest this morning and was looking for a sherpa with an oxygen tank by the time I got to the top. No sherpa, no oxygen mask, not even a friendly St Bernard with a wee barrel of brandy, so I just hauled ass to the office and collapsed in my chair to type this post.
I know for sure that I lost the use of my legs the moment I set foot on this soil, and have sat in a car for the last 5 months. I don't even have the weather to blame anymore, it's a gloriously sunny day today and birdies were singing outside the bedroom window before.
M pointed out a robin red breast on Sunday. It's breast was the darker orange shade of red so they shall be robin rust breasts from now on.
anyhoo, time to get to the gym we have joined tonight and get that aerobic fitness level up, so I can take on the great stair challenge everyday. I have a vague recollection Allison induced me to sign up for a volleyball team made up from the tech team soon as well...eeek.
There's a step class at 5:30 and yoga at 6.30 and a whole slew of machine exercises they gave me the other day...if I can just remember what to do on each machine I should be home and hosed. Sooooo looking forward to it.
Ciao for now
March 30, 2005
March 29, 2005
I'll have a nice cup of tea please
I like a nice cup of tea or 'cup of taaaay' as people think i say it. I've always liked it, ever since i was a nipper...in our house no ill short of death couldn't be cured with a nice cup of tea and then if someone died, that's what you've have to recover from it.
Growing up we had two sorts of tea, our tea and Thompsett Tea. Mum was English, but had acclimatized or was strange enough not to really like very strong tea, so we tended to have weak (relatively) milky tea. No sugar of course cos that would rot your teeth...and then you'd have to go to the murder house (school dental clinic)...but that's a whole nother blog!
Tompsett tea was what you drank when you went to stay at Auntie Yvonne's place. Strong enough to stand the spoon up in apparently...and they were allowed sugar in their tea too, the lucky sods. Being a curious kid, I once tried to pour enough sugar in to work out how much you needed to stand the spoon up and got smacked for it too i think. When going to the Tompsetts, you always had a cup of tea when you got there after the long (3 to 4 hour) car ride with your sloooow driving mother and tea with every meal and in-between if needed....she was my mothers sister after all. Tea cooled you down if it was hot (and we're not talking fancy iced stuff here) and warmed you up if you were cold. Forever more Thompsett Tea is what our family calls very strong tea. From the industrial stuff they give you in motorway cafes to accidentally leaving the bag in too long in your own cup, anything a darker brown than milk chocolate is Tompsett tea.
Now whenever I make it back to NZ one of the first things I do is go visit the Tompsetts 'Tea rooms' as we jokingly call them and have a cup of tea with Yvonne and Allen. Whenever my baby brother and i or my cousin Geoff (who's a Tompsett of course) get together one of us will suggest putting the jug on (electric kettle to those you non Kiwi) for a cup of tea, to which the other will reply...'ohhh, that would be nice, nothing like a nice cup of tea' Tea ( and bad puns) may well be one of the few things that actually binds our loose knit family together. We all drank it at Nana's and we all have it in a cupboard at home. We've might have strayed into herbal tea territory, but will always drink the real thing as comfort and companionship. Bell if you're in NZ and Tetleys if you are in the UK
I was quite surprised to find the MIL didn't own a jug and quietly horrified to find she made it in the microwave (sorry MIL, it still doesn't taste the same) I do quite like iced tea when made from real tea without heaps of artificial flavors and Snapple is not too bad at a pinch. Green tea or jasmine tea is great with Japanese and Chinese food but when you really need it, you can't beat a nice cup of tea.
In the global scale of things I guess I'm not a big tea drinker...don't usually have it in the morning (that's what a coffee kickstart is for) and not late at night (I'm either partaking in 'adult beverages' or attacking my hoarded stash of imported Milo...but I do like a nice cup of tea in the afternoon. I'm not sure what they put in the tea-bags here in the office...think it might be the leftovers from what they put in tea bags for the rest of the world. It's dusty and anaemic and I have to put 2 bags in at once to get to normal strength. I think I'm pretty safe from Tompsetts tea at work.
Girls - Don't forget to bring those Tetley tea bags over next week, I really miss the good stuff !
Growing up we had two sorts of tea, our tea and Thompsett Tea. Mum was English, but had acclimatized or was strange enough not to really like very strong tea, so we tended to have weak (relatively) milky tea. No sugar of course cos that would rot your teeth...and then you'd have to go to the murder house (school dental clinic)...but that's a whole nother blog!
Tompsett tea was what you drank when you went to stay at Auntie Yvonne's place. Strong enough to stand the spoon up in apparently...and they were allowed sugar in their tea too, the lucky sods. Being a curious kid, I once tried to pour enough sugar in to work out how much you needed to stand the spoon up and got smacked for it too i think. When going to the Tompsetts, you always had a cup of tea when you got there after the long (3 to 4 hour) car ride with your sloooow driving mother and tea with every meal and in-between if needed....she was my mothers sister after all. Tea cooled you down if it was hot (and we're not talking fancy iced stuff here) and warmed you up if you were cold. Forever more Thompsett Tea is what our family calls very strong tea. From the industrial stuff they give you in motorway cafes to accidentally leaving the bag in too long in your own cup, anything a darker brown than milk chocolate is Tompsett tea.
Now whenever I make it back to NZ one of the first things I do is go visit the Tompsetts 'Tea rooms' as we jokingly call them and have a cup of tea with Yvonne and Allen. Whenever my baby brother and i or my cousin Geoff (who's a Tompsett of course) get together one of us will suggest putting the jug on (electric kettle to those you non Kiwi) for a cup of tea, to which the other will reply...'ohhh, that would be nice, nothing like a nice cup of tea' Tea ( and bad puns) may well be one of the few things that actually binds our loose knit family together. We all drank it at Nana's and we all have it in a cupboard at home. We've might have strayed into herbal tea territory, but will always drink the real thing as comfort and companionship. Bell if you're in NZ and Tetleys if you are in the UK
I was quite surprised to find the MIL didn't own a jug and quietly horrified to find she made it in the microwave (sorry MIL, it still doesn't taste the same) I do quite like iced tea when made from real tea without heaps of artificial flavors and Snapple is not too bad at a pinch. Green tea or jasmine tea is great with Japanese and Chinese food but when you really need it, you can't beat a nice cup of tea.
In the global scale of things I guess I'm not a big tea drinker...don't usually have it in the morning (that's what a coffee kickstart is for) and not late at night (I'm either partaking in 'adult beverages' or attacking my hoarded stash of imported Milo...but I do like a nice cup of tea in the afternoon. I'm not sure what they put in the tea-bags here in the office...think it might be the leftovers from what they put in tea bags for the rest of the world. It's dusty and anaemic and I have to put 2 bags in at once to get to normal strength. I think I'm pretty safe from Tompsetts tea at work.
Girls - Don't forget to bring those Tetley tea bags over next week, I really miss the good stuff !
March 27, 2005
Dylan at easter
eastercat
Originally uploaded by zela.
well not really, M gave me this card for easter and I'm still laughing. It's just the espression on the cats face...and the fact that he looks a lot like Dylan, Vanessa's cat (who's having a long holiday at her parents place at the moment)
We've had anice quiet Easter today, though I'm still in shock for the first time in my entire life I haven't had Friday and Monday off as a public holiday. After church went to have brunch at The Cuneo Museum, not really having any idea what kind of museum it was. Very surprised to find an Italianate villa in the middle of the burbs.
Now it's Sunday afternoon and we're in domestic mode so I'd better get off the PC and back to the putting away stuff...sigh
thought you'd all love the cat :>)
March 25, 2005
if I was an obsolete skill I'd be Latin apparently!
You are 'Latin'. Even among obsolete skills, the
tongue of the ancient Romans is a real
anachronism. With its profusion of different
cases and conjugations, Latin is more than a
language; it is a whole different way of
thinking about things.
You are very classy, meaning that you value the
classics. You value old things, good things
which have stood the test of time. You value
things which have been proven worthy and
valuable, even if no one else these days sees
them that way. Your life is touched by a
certain 'pietas', or piety; perhaps you are
even a Stoic. Nonetheless, you have a certain
fascination with the grotesque and the profane.
Also, the modern world rejects you like a bad
transplant. Your problem is that Latin has
been obsolete for a long time.
What obsolete skill are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
so it's good Friday and it snowing again
Don't think it will stick (she says optimistically) and we're supposed to get rain as well (oh joy) and it's good Friday...and to make it worse, USians don't get this as a public holiday (or Easter Monday) unless you work for the NYSE.
Never like to say happy Easter...technically (thinking back to all those years of Sunday school) it's not really a celebration until Monday when the stone gets rolled and way and Jesus lives. Don't seem right to be saying happy in the context of a man getting killed, even it is was for a good reason(sins)
anyway..we just get the weekend off, so to speak, and haven't really got much planned. I'm hiving off to the city to get my hair cut, gotta look good when I see the girls in New York in a couple of week(can'twaitcan'twait)and then we're booked to go to brunch after church at the Cuneo Museum. Not sure what brunch at a museum will involve? Dinosaur eggs and woolly mammoth steaks perhaps.
I heard on the news this morning that they have managed to get soft tissue like stuff with possible cells from a t-rex somewhere, so maybe Jurassic park is just around the corner afterall.
that might be the next cool pet. Move over labradoodles, cockapoos and schnoodles...I want a dinosaur!
Never like to say happy Easter...technically (thinking back to all those years of Sunday school) it's not really a celebration until Monday when the stone gets rolled and way and Jesus lives. Don't seem right to be saying happy in the context of a man getting killed, even it is was for a good reason(sins)
anyway..we just get the weekend off, so to speak, and haven't really got much planned. I'm hiving off to the city to get my hair cut, gotta look good when I see the girls in New York in a couple of week(can'twaitcan'twait)and then we're booked to go to brunch after church at the Cuneo Museum. Not sure what brunch at a museum will involve? Dinosaur eggs and woolly mammoth steaks perhaps.
I heard on the news this morning that they have managed to get soft tissue like stuff with possible cells from a t-rex somewhere, so maybe Jurassic park is just around the corner afterall.
that might be the next cool pet. Move over labradoodles, cockapoos and schnoodles...I want a dinosaur!
March 23, 2005
snow!
snow!
Originally uploaded by zela.
It's snowing again today, seems to be sticking to the grass, had about 1 inch i think?
Not quite as mush as in the picture, that was from the big on at the start of the year (I've been saving this pic to sen d to my sister in sunny NZ)
Think we had a couple of feet (we all have a couple of feet but you know!) and then the snow plow came along and smushed it all up against the tree outside the front of the house.
Note my winter 'duvet' aka a lovely feather coat the MIL gave me. Might have to drag it out today again as I've got to load some chair to squeeeeeeze into the storage area, before M gets back. They are his favourite leather chairs and pretty nice, but wrong colour (black)and there is no room in the inn...no matter how many times he moves them around the living room.
He sounded really tired on the phone last night...although he did try and convince me that the offices were awful, the weather was bad and the people unfriendly in our texas office...in a vain attempt to convince me that we shouldn't have moved to there in stead of chicago when we had the oppotunity.
Think the picture says it all matey!
March 22, 2005
been a few days
and you should all be tired of the house pictures by now. Not really been up to much, the realtor came round to look at our house before taking us to see more (one possible - others no) and pronounced it all good.
Though we have to clean the front, which we knew, just waiting for a nice day (might be a while)
M is off in sunny Houston today and tomorrow for work of course...there better be a bit of sunshine leaking out of his suitcase when he gets back.
Finally went to get the health assessment done at the gym and found out I have relatively high cholesterol...so lets do a tally
I'm 37
I need 2 root canals, one to be replaced by a crown and the other by a titanium post and fake tooth once the artificial bone has grown in
I have bursitis in my hip, currently treated by cortisone injection and exercises
I wear orthotics in my shoes, glasses on my head and drink aloe vera juice for IBS
How the hell am I going to make it past 40!
oh well, just reminded myself why i have to get serious about exercise again...sigh
need that flexibility to get me past 50
and on that cheery note: back to work.
Though we have to clean the front, which we knew, just waiting for a nice day (might be a while)
M is off in sunny Houston today and tomorrow for work of course...there better be a bit of sunshine leaking out of his suitcase when he gets back.
Finally went to get the health assessment done at the gym and found out I have relatively high cholesterol...so lets do a tally
I'm 37
I need 2 root canals, one to be replaced by a crown and the other by a titanium post and fake tooth once the artificial bone has grown in
I have bursitis in my hip, currently treated by cortisone injection and exercises
I wear orthotics in my shoes, glasses on my head and drink aloe vera juice for IBS
How the hell am I going to make it past 40!
oh well, just reminded myself why i have to get serious about exercise again...sigh
need that flexibility to get me past 50
and on that cheery note: back to work.
March 16, 2005
Guest Room
Guest Room
Originally uploaded by zela.
The flash has bleached the soft green cover to blue...but I'm sitting on the brown chair typing away!
well i would be if i wasn't taking the photo
Guest Bath
Guest Bath
Originally uploaded by zela.
Lovely shot of the guest bath with its little bit of bright orange to cheer us up...no ones said the words 'Hari Krishna'yet, but I'm waiting
Big Bedroom
Big Bedroom
Originally uploaded by zela.
hmmmnnn duvet doesn't look so shiny in real life...gotta work on the flash technique
Big Bedroom
Big Bedroom
Originally uploaded by zela.
hmmmnnn duvet doesn't look so shiny in real life...gotta work on the flash technique
Hallway to bedrooms
Hallway to bedrooms
Originally uploaded by zela.
note pile of stuff STILL to go into storage!
and we still haven't hung up the mongolian ger cloth yet
Dehumidifer
Dehumidifer
Originally uploaded by zela.
sorry, Dining area. French doors obscured by badly pulled curtains lead out to little balcony.
Mrs Weaver goes to school
A while ago in a moment of rash altruism I signed up for Junior Achievement. This notable cause teaches children of all ages how business works and offers the opportunity for business people to work in schools.
I think I did it for a few (mostly good) reasons: I loved school - it was a safe and ordered world away from the emotional chaos we called home, I like the idea of business giving something back (using my powers for good not evil) and it might stretch my boundaries a little...ohmylord, what was I thinking?
Today i discovered two things...1)I'm quite happy to stand up in front of a global CEO and his/her many minions and tell them how we're going to do something but commanding a bunch of 7 year olds is a whole new level of terror and 2)I suddenly have a completely different level of understanding and respect for I know teachers - no wonder they think they are underpaid!....Frances, Brenda, Judi, Katie, Connie and Karina, how do you do it and why don't don't you collapse in a small screaming heap at the end of each day?
These were all nice kids and pretty well behaved, but it was like taking 7 cats for a walk trying to keep their attention.
Today was only observation, I was looking and helping to get a feel for how the class works, we wrote some stuff about the local tribe in the area and did a science experiment with bubbles. In April I actually have to stand up in front of them and get them to listen to me, though I learnt two new phases today that might help 'All eyes on me' and 'sit down and put your hands on the desk' I'm thinking of testing them out next time I'm stuck in a directionless meeting that's droning on and on and on and on..
Luckily all the materials are prepared, you have to follow through on the activity book and work through the activities (2nd grade is around 'Community') so the prep part should be easy....and Mrs T has done this lots of time, so should be pretty good at not letting me get into trouble.
So how was going back to school....apart from feeling like a giant, I can tell you kids still get very excited when it's break/recess time and the little girl from Brazil can spell better than me!
The weirdest thing is being called 'Mrs Weaver'...I kept looking around for the MIL, who actually was a teacher before retiring. The school is in my neighborhood, so I'm prob going to freak out when someone calls out 'Mrs Weaver' in the supermarket! They probabley won't recognize me in my weekend slob clothes...or worse still they will...and as for the boundaries...I can feel a whole loooooooot of stretch coming up!
I think I did it for a few (mostly good) reasons: I loved school - it was a safe and ordered world away from the emotional chaos we called home, I like the idea of business giving something back (using my powers for good not evil) and it might stretch my boundaries a little...ohmylord, what was I thinking?
Today i discovered two things...1)I'm quite happy to stand up in front of a global CEO and his/her many minions and tell them how we're going to do something but commanding a bunch of 7 year olds is a whole new level of terror and 2)I suddenly have a completely different level of understanding and respect for I know teachers - no wonder they think they are underpaid!....Frances, Brenda, Judi, Katie, Connie and Karina, how do you do it and why don't don't you collapse in a small screaming heap at the end of each day?
These were all nice kids and pretty well behaved, but it was like taking 7 cats for a walk trying to keep their attention.
Today was only observation, I was looking and helping to get a feel for how the class works, we wrote some stuff about the local tribe in the area and did a science experiment with bubbles. In April I actually have to stand up in front of them and get them to listen to me, though I learnt two new phases today that might help 'All eyes on me' and 'sit down and put your hands on the desk' I'm thinking of testing them out next time I'm stuck in a directionless meeting that's droning on and on and on and on..
Luckily all the materials are prepared, you have to follow through on the activity book and work through the activities (2nd grade is around 'Community') so the prep part should be easy....and Mrs T has done this lots of time, so should be pretty good at not letting me get into trouble.
So how was going back to school....apart from feeling like a giant, I can tell you kids still get very excited when it's break/recess time and the little girl from Brazil can spell better than me!
The weirdest thing is being called 'Mrs Weaver'...I kept looking around for the MIL, who actually was a teacher before retiring. The school is in my neighborhood, so I'm prob going to freak out when someone calls out 'Mrs Weaver' in the supermarket! They probabley won't recognize me in my weekend slob clothes...or worse still they will...and as for the boundaries...I can feel a whole loooooooot of stretch coming up!
Was in the lift/elevator today
and complimented the woman traveling with me on her bright and cheery scarf...to which she responded 'you have to bring your own sunshine with you'
Nice thought I thought I'd share:>)
Nice thought I thought I'd share:>)
March 13, 2005
The worlds f@#$%&g scariest cablecar
The worlds f@#$%&g scariest cablecar
Originally uploaded by zela.
hopefully the picture says it all..two trips (so long they made us get off and get onto another one) in the middle. M's not good with heights, and neither was I at the end of this.
Christmas 020
Christmas 020
Originally uploaded by zela.
ok, maybe this will work
Hooray, finally figured out how to do this...expect some photo madness.
and by the way, those are flamigos we saw in a bird park in Malaysia.
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