2.27.2008

Weight Watchers Week 44

Today's weight: 202.0 pounds
Change from last week: +1.0 pounds
Change from start of Weight Watchers: -29.4 pounds
Change from beginning of 2008: -5.8 pounds
Amount from Goal: 7.0 pounds

2.26.2008

3:45 A.M.

That is the time that Emma decided to wake up this morning. Often we can get her to go back to sleep when she wakes up this early. All we need to do is to hold her for between five and fifteen minutes. Well, that did not work this morning. After drinking eight ounces of formula, all she wanted to do was to crawl around and play with her toys. She whined, cried, and struggled with me as I tried to hold her, so I let her down to play. Once she went back to sleep around 5:40, I went back to bed for about forty minutes before getting up to get ready for work. Well, it's time for me to wake her up now so I get get her to daycare and get myself to work.

2.25.2008

More Snow?

It looks like we are in store for more snowfall today in eastern Iowa. At this point, with the excessive amount of snow we have already received this winter I say, "Bring it on!" Another four to seven inches of snow isn't going to kill us, hopefully anyway. Besides, I need to use up the gas in the snowblower somehow!

2.24.2008

Pet-Supply Shopping

This afternoon, Mel, Emma, and I went out shopping for some items for the cat. We got him a water fountain water bowl to encourage him to drink more water. The vet suggested that it would be good for him, and it could reduce urinary tract infections in the cat. Besides buying things for the cat, we also looked at some aquariums and aquarium supplies. We didn't buy anything in that department today though. Emma really seemed to enjoy shopping at PetSmart as shown below.

2.20.2008

Lunar Eclipse


This morning, while watching the news, I learned that the last total lunar eclipse until the year 2010 would be taking place tonight and that it would be visible in North America. So after putting Emma to bed, I went out in the cold to view the moon as it passed into the shadow of the Earth. I had never actually viewed a lunar eclipse before, not to my recollection anyway.

Weight Watchers Week 43

Today's weight: 201.0 pounds
Change from last week: -0.2 pounds
Change from start of Weight Watchers: -30.4 pounds
Change from beginning of 2008: -6.8 pounds
Amount from Goal: 6.0 pounds

2.19.2008

Bad Roads?

I stayed home from work yesterday to work from home because of the poor road conditions were reported to be poor. I had hoped the roads would be better this morning, but the condition of I-380 between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City was still being reported as being poor, with travel not advised. However, I decided that I really needed to go to the office this morning, so at 7:00, I set out on my way.

My drive through town was just fine, although the condition of the roads wasn't all that good. The interstate was in pretty good condition until I got south of Highway 30. At that point, travel speeds were reduced to between five and ten miles per hour. By the time I passed the exit for the Eastern Iowa Airport, some fifteen minutes later, I was ready to turn around and head back home. However, when I reached the next exit speeds were increasing to around forty miles per hour, so I proceeded to the office in Iowa City.

I managed to get to work in a total of about seventy minutes, about twenty minutes longer than usual. Being in the office, it was easier to get work done, especially since I had to print several hundred test items to look at. I did still leave the office early this afternoon so I would be assured of getting home in time to pick Emma up from daycare.

2.18.2008

Washington's Birthday

Happy Washington's Birthday everyone! Yes, I called today Washington's Birthday and not President's Day as all of my calendars call it. However, the federal holiday that is the third Monday in February is officially designated as Washington's Birthday. Regardless of what it is called, I will be spending the holiday at home, not because it is a holiday, but because the most recent road condition report from the Iowa State Patrol recommends against travel on Interstate 380 between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

2.17.2008

Stuck At Home

Mel had to brave the elements to get to work today during the mid-February snowstorm we had today, but Emma and I had nowhere to go, so we stayed home all day. Fortunately we went grocery shopping yesterday in anticipation of this storm, otherwise we would have had to venture out in the icky weather conditions we are experiencing. I had been hoping to get out to join my friend Bill for lunch today, but the ice and snow put an end to those plans even before they were finalized.

As it is, Emma and I have had a pretty good day so far, although she did wake up around 5:20 this morning! She did take a nap for a couple hours this morning which allowed me to take a shower and check my email. We played with her toys and chased each other around the house for a while this morning. The only times she really got cranky was when she was hungry. She has been napping for the past two and a half hours this afternoon, so she will probably be waking up any time now. Fortunately Mel is getting off from work in about 10 minutes, but it will definitely take her longer than usual to get home.

2.14.2008

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day. I certainly did. Because Mel had the day off from work due to her working this upcoming weekend, I took a vacation day. Since we were able to take Emma to daycare, we had the day to spend together without having to worry about her. Mel got me some really good presents for Valentine's Day. One of the presents was something I expected, a bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans. I just love those. She also got me a RAGBRAI XXXVI cycling jersey. It won't ship until May, so I won't receive it until then. She also got me a stuffed pink and red dragon from Hallmark named Bernice. It sings and flaps its wings as it plays music. It is really cute!

After dropping the VUE off at the Saturn dealership late this morning to have a squeeking problem diagnosed and repaired, the two of us went to Olive Garden for lunch. Following lunch, we went to the Wehrenberg Galaxy 16 Cine to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I really enjoyed the movie, but I did have one question about the plot. If you don't want the plot spoiled, you should not read the remainder of this paragraph. Anyway, I was wondering why the President wouldn't have just said that he and Gates were exploring the passageway from the beginning, instead of waiting until the end of the movie, when Gates had already been arrested fr kidnapping him. I suppose it wouldn't have had the same dramatic tension if he had.

After the movie, we went back to the Saturn dealership to pick up the VUE. It had its front strut upper bearing replaced. I have no idea what exactly that means, and I'm just reading it from the service invoice, but it was covered by warranty, so the repair cost us nothing. That's one good thing about having purchased a brand new vehicle.

2.13.2008

Weight Watchers Week 42

The pattern continues...

Today's weight: 201.2 pounds
Change from last week: +1.2 pounds
Change from start of Weight Watchers: -30.2 pounds
Change from beginning of 2008: -6.6 pounds
Amount from Goal: 6.2 pounds

2.12.2008

Frustration

I have been a bit frustrated with my job lately. It's not that it is too challenging, although it can be challenging at times. The problem I have been having at work lately is that I haven't really been all that busy. I am ahead of schedule on the main project I work on. Because of that, I have volunteered to help out on another project, but the work on that project isn't steady. I have also taken on a couple other tasks when they are available. Now my problem is that I have absolutely no tasks to complete tomorrow! I usually work from home on Wednesdays, so tomorrow morning I will be emailing several of my coworkers, begging them to send me some work to do. Hopefully they will have something for me to work on.

2.06.2008

Weight Watchers Week 41

With this morning's weigh-in, I have noticed a pattern in my weight loss. I have had a weight loss in excess of two pounds. That is then followed by a weight gain, but a gain of less than the previous week's loss. This pattern has repeated for a few weeks now.

Today's weight: 200.0 pounds
Change from last week: -3.2 pounds
Change from start of Weight Watchers: -31.4pounds
Change from beginning of 2008: -7.8 pounds
Amount from Goal: 5.0 pounds

2.04.2008

Super Bowl XLII Ads

We watched the Super Bowl last night, and while the game was good, I really tuned in to watch the ads. Personally, I could not care less about the game itself, although the end was pretty exciting. Anyway, here are a some of the commercials that appeared during Super Bowl XLII that I especially enjoyed.

Bud Light Ability to Fly

E*TRADE Banking Baby

Coca-Cola It's Mine

Bud Light Jackie Moon

2.03.2008

Fun Weekend

I had a pretty good time this weekend. Friday night I met a couple of friends at Fat Wally's in downtown Cedar Rapids for some darts and pool. We had a fun time catching up with each other. After we were through with the pool and darts, one of the friends who I had met there and I went to the Starlight Room so he could have is dinner. I had some snack foods while we talked.

Then last night, Mel, Emma, and I went to Waterloo where we dropped Emma off at my mother's house. My mom watched Emma while Mel and I met up with Mel's cousin for dinner for his birthday. We went to Bourbon Street in Cedar Falls. They have some terriffic food! We both had the steak and shrimp, and I have to say that the shrimp we had was probably the best shrimp I have had in a very long time! It was so succulent! The steak was really good too.

Today, Mel had planned on meeting a couple of her friends for brunch today, but her friends were both sick, so instead, Mel, Emma, and I went out for brunch at Perkins. With all of this eating out, one might think that I have spoiled any weight loss I may have had this week, but this morning my weight was actually down from my last weigh in. So I think I may still have some weight loss for the week.