Spark People

No. Not these Spark People. Nor these.

This Sparkpeople.

Since my contract expired, I no longer have Weight Watchers at Work. I like Weight Watchers. It's a great program, with lots of flexibility built in for those of us who cannot have certain foods. But it costs money, so until I get a new job and have a few paychecks under my belt, Free Online Sparkpeople it is.

I've used Sparkpeople before. I like them too, quite a lot, and for many of the same reasons. There's just one little problem.

I suck at motivating myself.

I'm not a huge fan of the cheer-leading that goes on in Weight Watchers meetings. But I need it. Now, I have a Sparkpeople Buddy. She and I can keep each other motivated with our own two-person cheer-leading squad. Between this and support from my good friends over at GmrGirl Fitness and Fat Chick in Motion, I can do this thing. Without the fees.

And now... Fun With Pictures! What do these web images have to do with this post? Ten points to the first to correctly guess all three!

Saturday Silence

12: 15 PM:
Saturdays with Miz Liz are usually pretty nice and laid-back. Especially when we have nowhere in particular to go. The weather is iffy, and we both need some serious downtime in my opinion, so we're sticking around home.

So today we're watching "babywiffic" shows as she calls them, and working on potty training (she can do it, but usually does not want to). I plan to fold some laundry and roast a chicken. Maybe bake some banana bread and boil some eggs. Tidy up the house a bit. Litterbox. Sort laundry for tomorrow. Huh - more than I thought for "downtime". I guess I'll get my alone time today after hubby gets home... and I'll probably use it to take out the garbage. (mental note: Add bubble bath to safeway.com order. And shampoo. Oh... forget mental notes, that's what tabbed browsing is for, right? Okay... done!).

Most of these tasks are much easier to complete when Lizzy is not here, but that's not going to happen for a couple weeks, as our usual babysitter is out of town. Although smashing bananas is one of her favorite tasks.

1:15PM:
Groceries are ordered. Litterbox is clean. Dishwasher is running. Eggs are boiling. Chicken is thawing. Banana bread is baking. Dryer is drying. Child with banana cleaned off her hands is lying on the floor with a blankie and pillow, watching Ni Hao Kai Lan on Netflix Instant Play.

Life is good.

Game Night!

I enjoy game night. Tonight's was a little rocky; we didn't start until late and we were having trouble concentrating for reasons as varied as the players. One of my favorite players hasn't been able to be here much, she was here tonight, and I barely managed to say hello. I was feeling guilty for going nuts on the food, which didn't help my concentration any (and, you know, today being the last day of my job and all... I wanted to BSU, not really role-play a sweet, quiet character).

Got to final-blow an Illithid though. That's always nice.

In any case, we've been having trouble - all or most of us - staying on track here lately. Tonight was a little more so is all. We'll be playing next week, and the week after that is Norwescon, so all games are off (or relocated to game rooms at the con).

Of course, all this assumes I have a job with which to pay for it all. I have some nice leads, although the company discussed here is no longer one of them. I was right; I'd be a good fit for their corporate culture, but right now they need someone considerably more hardware-savvy than I. There are more jobs out there now though than there were, and some of them are looking really interesting!

A Happy Medium

No, not this Happy Medium.

Here's the thing. My work contract ends tomorrow. I'm concerned about finding a new position, and I'll miss my friends and my current job. Historically, for me this kind of stress leads to ridiculous extremes of overeating. Salt, fat, and sweets (and dairy, to which I am mildly allergic). I'm talking full-sized bags of M&Ms, entire bags of Nacho Cheese Doritos, pints of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, Hungry-Man Fried Chicken Meals and just junk. And lots of it.

And although I did gain some weight back with last month's walking pneumonia, I am unwilling to undo months of learning new habits for a snack attack.

But I want them. Badly.

So here's my compromise. I'm not eating what I had planned for dinner tonight (leftover Annie's mac-n-cheese for the kids, Costco meatballs for me and Hubby, a salad for everyone) because it's not what I want. They can have it, and I'll make it for them, but I want salt, fat, and sweets (and dairy).

I'm having a tuna sandwich (salt and fat), veggies with dip (dairy) and a 100-calorie pack of Pringles (salt and fat) for dinner. For my bedtime snack I'll have Frito-lay sunflower seeds (salt and fat), and orange, and a couple Oreo cookies (sweets). This way I satisfy my Bad Food Cravings while eating Food That Is Not So Bad.

See? A Happy Medium.

What the kids watch

Link-heavy post, beware!

So, I'm a fan of Phineas and Ferb and Teen Titans and I can deal with iCarly or Wizards of Waverly Place right along with 8yo Abby. I liked Danny Phantom pretty well, ditto the Powerpuff Girls, and I think I like Samurai Jack more than she does.

Spongebob not so much. Johnny Test and the Fairly Oddparents yuck, and OMG - the horrifyingly-bad tripe that is Fred: the Movie. That last we will not let her watch again; in spite of the iCarly kids visiting Fred on the show and therefore tacitly endorsing it, this is not a show that is appropriate for my second-grader. And I have let the folks at Nickelodeon know how I feel about that.

As for Little Lizzy's shows, well, I'm so done with Busytown Mysteries. I can get behind her love of the Backyardigans and Sid the Science Kid and Blue's Clues and the new Bubbleguppies. I can tolerate Dora (even though she has NO INSIDE VOICE), Kai-Lan and her whiny friends, and Pinky Dinky Doo. I adore the Upside Down Show (although there are only 13 episodes available and they get really old).

You'll note that I don't mention Sesame Street. Really, with the exception of the holiday specials and a couple Elmo movies, this one's mine. I love me some Count von Count and Big Bird and company.

Movies are a different story. Miss Abby is into anime these days and finding some that's appropriate is sometimes a challenge (although we have quite a collection). She's just discovered Star Wars and we intend to introduce her to Indiana Jones soon. Oh, and Ghostbusters, inappropriate language and all; she saw that last week. And of course animated movies that are for everyone.

I'm really grateful Abby's grown into "real" movies. An adult can only manage so much Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus or The Adventures of Holly Hobbie before tooth decay sets in.

Job-hunting is Funny

A Facebook friend of mine had a job listing sent to her detailing a position for a test pilot in the Midwest. Not only is she not looking for a job, she chooses not to fly even as a passenger. And she lives on the East Coast.

No, I cannot commute from the Seattle area to Richland WA for a three-month contract job at half my current pay. Not only am I looking for longer term work than a single quarter, Richland is about a four-hour drive from my place, over hill, over dale, and over a mountain pass. In good traffic.

Who do they think they're kidding when they describe the prospective employer as "a major aerospace company in Everett WA"? Do they really think that prospective employees - especially locals - don't know about whom they speak?

Same goes for "A Redmond-based software giant". Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?

These are the silver linings involved in job-hunting online - the funny little quirks in the listings. It's similar to renting a new apartment or buying a house really - you have to know the code.

Needs love =  Needs work
Quaint = Outdated
Nearby Richland = Across a Major Mountain Range

Like that.