hairball

Maybe I have a hairball?

Anyhow, back to the hospital for the third time this week to see if someone can figure out what’s wrong with me. That’s their job, right?

blog addict? moi?

12 Step Recovery Program For Blogging Addicts

1. I will have a cup of coffee or tea in the morning and read my PAPER newspaper like I used to, before the blog.
2. I will eat breakfast with a knife and fork and not with one hand typing.
3. I will get dressed before noon.
4. I will make an attempt to clean the house, wash clothes, and plan dinner before even thinking of the blog.
5. I will sit down and write a letter to those unfortunate few friends and family that are internet-deprived.
6. I will call someone on the phone who I cannot contact via the internet and resist the urge to ask them what they think I should blog about next.
7. I will read a book… if I still remember how.
8. I will listen to those around me about their needs and stop telling them to turn the TV down so I can hear my lastfm music.
9. I will not be tempted during TV commercials to check for email or to check my blog stats.
10. I will try and get out of the house at least once a week and socialize with people who do not blog, if it is necessary or not.
11. I will remember that my bank is not forgiving if I forget to balance my checkbook because I was too busy blogging for adsense pennies.
12. Last, but not least, I will remember that I must go to bed sometime… and that the blog will always be there tomorrow!

Hey, I’m already doing 3 (well, usually), 7 (a little every day!), 8 (what’s lastfm?), 10 (the ‘ladies’ are making sure of that) & 11 (got nothing to balance), so that means I’m okay … doesn’t it?

How about you?

~ swiped from timethief long after I should have been in bed ~

my second wordpress anniversary!

Gosh, seems like it was just a year ago that I was doing this.

In many ways this second year of casa az was even better than the first. I’ve met even more wonderful people, including two that are threatening planning to visit this summer - nursemyra and daisyfae (eep! Sevilla will never be the same!). I also had a recent visit from hmh and her husband, as well as from my dear friends Sara & Steve who were here last autumn (met on h2g2 but they also show up here from time to time).

So far I’ve been keeping up with the blog 365 challenge, though now that my real life is picking up I don’t know if I’ll manage the whole year. But I’ve actually been enjoying it because it makes me think about my day and then come up with something that happened, or something I came across, that I’d like to share or make a note of here.

Well, just to say that I’m very happy to still be here with you all.

Because it really is you guys that make this all worthwhile.

plan of action

Started working on a biz plan today. . .

Well, a couple of them in fact. All tied up with and thanks to a couple of wonderful women I’ve met at different AWC meet ups. Sort of a follow-up (addition to?) my global brainstorming session post from last January.

Anyhow, I’ve found what looks like a good biz plan template online and took the first baby steps this week to start making it more than just something that makes my eyes glaze over by page 3. This means it involves having another real person in the room with me and going through it all together. Bouncing ideas off each other to our mutual benefit. Stuff like that. It’s all looking very positive.

Now I just have to get over feeling so scared.

pale blue dot

An eloquent reminder of the folly of our self-importance.

Taken from a reading given by Carl Sagan in 1996.

young @ heart

First seen over at daisyfae’s - these guys are just too good not to share.

Young @ Heart Chorus

the daily plate

I found a link to The Daily Plate over at Wandering Coyote’s yesterday and then spent most of the morning setting it up and getting all obsessive about it (I love setting up new pages, blogs, websites,etc).

The Daily Plate is an online destination focused on all things food. Our mission is to help you eat smarter by allowing you to get quick and easy access to comprehensive nutritional information on the food that you eat. You can search for food items, view healthy alternatives and track what you eat on a daily basis.

Although I have avoided the “C-word” for years I’m beginning to realise and accept that, as I am now a woman of a certain age, in order to lose weight in a healthy way it isn’t going to be a spontaneous thing that just happens without a lot of work on my part. And so I am reacquainting myself with “Cals” and seeing what options are available to me.

The only thing I don’t understand is the amount of Cals burned per activity listed on the site - it seems very high to me. I thought the same thing about a similar online tool that daisyfae is using. Unless it is added to whatever one would be burning anyhow just from being alive. And for some reason one hour of pilates uses more Cals than an hour of yoga, which I don’t think is actually the case. But what the hell - it’s a fun guideline thingy that will help give me a better idea of what I eat and how that works with the amount of activity I do every day.

It even looks like it’s going to be fun!

are you happy?

Well, are you? If so, how do you know? What makes you happy?

I came across this list of questions about happiness on an h2g2 ‘talking point’ and thought they would make for a good starting place to discuss some thoughts and ideas about what happiness and being happy means to us.

1. Are you basically a happy person?
2. Can you learn happiness? Is it a skill?
3. Are some people just born under a dark cloud?
4. For the terminally miserable, is happiness just a phase that some people are going through?
5. Can a dyed-in-the-wool unhappy chappy suddenly wake up one morning to find that they’ve turned happy?
6. Are ‘things’ underrated? Can material stuff bring long-lasting happiness?
7. Is good health the secret of all happiness?
8. Is loneliness the root of all unhappiness?
9. Is being happy actually a bit boring and overrated?

Feel free to deviate from the questions and/or add some of your own…

vitamins may shorten life?

Vitamins May Shorten Your Life

Research has suggested certain vitamin supplements do not extend life and could even lead to a premature death.

But the Health Supplements Information Service, which is funded by the association which represents those who sell supplements, said many people were simply not able to get everything they needed from their diet.

“For the millions who are not able to do that, vitamins can be a useful supplement and they should not stop taking them,” said spokeswoman Pamela Mason.

Not able to get everything they need from their diet? Yet they can afford expensive supplements? Yeah right.

I’ve always thought that taking vitamin supplements were a waste of money, not to mention the false sense of security it gives people who can’t be bothered to eat properly, as apparently your body just pisses away most of them. It’s interesting to read here that some may also have an adverse effect on your health.

What do you think?

counting my blessings

It started off as a nice day yesterday …