Rotsa Ruck!

Stopped at China Town in Zeeland on our way home last night for Chinese. Trev had Thai Pad, I had the chicken and vegetables with flied lice, and Tyler had Moo Shoo Beef. Forgot about our fortune crookies though until this morning. So, better late than never~ here's our fortune crookie wisdom for today:

Trevor~Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is.

Lana~If you do more than what you get paid for, then, in time, you will get paid more than what you do.

Tyler~We all have more in common than it seems.

Bathroom Crooners

Those of you who know me by now, know I'm obsessed with Youtube! These two girls are all over the place on Youtube and the other day while I was working out at Family Fitness, I saw these beauties on the Ellen show. They both work at a Chinese Restaurant and started out practicing their singing in the bathroom because they liked the acoustic in there. The girls call themselves Rin on the Rox. It's a play on combining their names. They are fantastic~take a listen! Wish I sounded so good in the bathroom...or anywhere for that matter!

Dear Doggie Diary~

Gunther here. It's 6:00 am. Surely it's not too much to ask to stay in bed this morning. I'm all comfy cozy with my dog-Patches-and just because my mom is a little on the chubby side, why do I have to go for a walk in this freezing cold weather? I know us dogs are supposed to LOVE going for walks but bUcK-it just pisses me off! Which is why I piddle on everything that protrudes 1/2 an inch or more along the route! You'd think she'd get the hint! Get discouraged! Go home! But NO! Doesn't she see all the dirty looks I turn around and give her? Doesn't she get it when I lay down and refuse to move any further? I poop five times in a row while crossing State street, always in the middle of the road, in the crosswalk, during the morning rush, so she has to dig plastic bags and papertowels out of her pockets and pick up what I'm puttin' down! In front of a whole line of traffic! I hold up the line of traffic! I stop traffic with my pooping! What's wrong with that woman? Why doesn't she get the hint? You'd think some concerned citizen, passerby type would report her for animal cruelty! Whew! Thank God that ordeal is over for today! Finally, she's in the shower getting ready for work. I can just lay here and read the paper~

8:00 AM. Here it comes, the "be nice to the kitties today" speech. Ho-hum! Fine. I'll act like I like those cats...but as soon as you shut that door, Mom, it's open season. Kitty tag! Head for higher ground all you feline types! Run, kitties, run! While mom is away, the doggies will play!

9:00 Kitty chasing arobics over for today. I'm worn out. Think I'll have some kibbles and water. Then settle in with my dog, Patches, for a little "cat nap"-that is, my nap after chasing the cats!

10:30 Time to bark at the UPS guy. It's not what Brown can do for me...it's what I can do for Brown-like scare the Brown out of him! Hey, dude, see the hair standing up on the back of my neck? Buddy, I mean business! That was exhausting. Nap again!

1 PM:

Me thinks me hears a mouse farting in yonder field. Time to bark! And bark! And bark! Gosh, I love the sound of my own powerful voice!  Time to drag my butt on the carpet. Okay-now to go through the trash...hope there's something yummy in there or at least a bunch of paper to tear up!

2:30 Up in the bay window. The daily stakeout. Bark at the neighbor kid getting off the bus. Bark at the runners. Bark at the mail carrier. Oh, yippeee~tomorrow is garbage day! The trash guy is my favorite!

3:30 Oh, good, mom's home! Great, we're going to the dog park! Lots of behinds to sniff there!

I sure hope mom doesn't try to get me to do all these obstacle course things and fetch a ball. Too much work. I'll just play dumb. It is kinda funny watching her try to get me to do it though...all the baby talk and dog treats! Humans sure act dorky! I don't think I'll ever get her trained!

5:00 PM-Hey, let's head home. It's dinner time. I've got a powerful appetite worked up from my hectic schedule!

Oh, good, Trevor's home. Maybe he'll take me hunting...or just pet me. That works. Thanks!

Hey, maybe lets do a little Guitar Hero...

9:00 PM-Mom's getting her jammies on. Time to study. Hope she pops some popcorn. I could use a snack. Oh, great, schoolbooks all over the bed. She sure goes to school a lot! We should put that on her tombstone. Doesn't seem to be getting any smarter though...Does a good job with the food, water and treats. That's a point in her favor!

11:40 Hurry up Jay Leno. I want to hit the rack! I'll wait until mom starts snoring like a freight train and then I'll hop up there and sleep on the pillow next to her. I sure hope mom never gets married again. I like my little spot on the bed. Some guy comes along I'll just have to bite him! Oh, well, I'll think about it tomorrow...time to count sheep~yawn.

Goodnight, Dear Doggie Diary~See you in the morning light!

~Gunther

A Pound of cure: The lowdown on liquids

Tonight at weight loss church we discussed the role of liquids in the diet. I think we all had a pretty clear grasp of that concept on Super Bowl Sunday! The new momentum plan, however, differs from the former guidelines in that research has found 6-8 oz. glasses of any/all liquids is what our bodies require to carry out daily function and processing needed for life. It is no longer required to be just water...however, water continues to be the beverage of choice, for so many reasons, including the fact that there are no calories or points in water. This is not the case with some of the liquids we listed and found the points values for. Some of the examples:
Cappuccinos and lattes can have anywhere from 1-8 points depending on the type of milk used, the syrups used, if they are sugar-free and/or fat free, etc.
Light beers are 2 points and regular beer is 3. One ounce of hard liquor for most drinks is 3 points-THEN add the points for the mixer on top of that!
Diet soft drinks are generally 0 points or 1 at most but the "real" thing can run you 3 or more points for basically no food value!
Milk is 2 points for non-fat(8oz), 3 for 2%, and 4 points for whole milk.
We even found out that coffee-normally 0 points-actually has .5 points for a cup. So if you are a person who drinks a lot of coffee(like me), you might be racking up some unaccounted for points there...hmmm, naw! Denial sets in. The list went on and on but you can think of beverages on your own and look them up in a WW book or calorie counter. You may be surprised!
We debunked the old notion that water fills you up and makes you eat less and feel fuller-false! If you drink water with your meal, however, it will have that effect and we discussed the fact that many times we eat something when actually we are thirsty instead of hungry. We also talked about the benefits of water. Water helps us flush waste products from our bodies, gives us fluid for bodily functions such as digestion and sweating, helps with the complexion, helps with constipation(TMI?), is good for metabolizing vitamins and minerals within the body, helps regulate temperature and keeps our blood volume stable. I am very close to my 10% goal but still fighting my way through this plateau. I lost .4 lbs this week. Still a loss I tell myself! Next week the booklet we get at WW is all about plateaus. More on that then. I also get 4 sessions with a trainer included in my gym membership at Family Fitness. I'm having my initial consultation on Saturday so I'm hoping for some practical suggestions to get moving again. This coming week is the first week in a long time when I haven't had some big eating "event" so maybe I can get ahead...stay tuned!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

I could really care less what the verdict is today. I am living in a state of resignation regarding all things meterological! I don't think the Groundhog deal means anything. But the chubby little guy is endearing nonetheless~look at that face!

SUPER Bowl Par-Tay!!

Thanks again to Scott Arndt for hosting one of the best Super Bowl parties I've ever been to!Scott, I love your house! It is the perfect place for entertaining. We all felt very comfortable. The hospitality was wonderful. Such a great turnout and the food was fab on both floors~plus, the company was the best! Bruce Springsteen was in fine form at half-time and the last 15 minutes of the game were heart-stopping!! Barack Obama and Matt Lauer had some pretty tough competition for an audience tonight!I especially liked the way people were lobbing mini-footballs and imitation "rocks" at each other...although, it got a little intense there at the end. O, well, good fun and good times!

Finally, Facebook!

OK~I did it...you can now find me on Facebook. I am using my complete name to avoid confusion with the other Lana Bakers(Scary!). Look me up under Lana Mae Baker.

Also,I signed up for Yahoo!IM: my yahoo account is baker.lana@yahoo.com-let's chat!

I'm sure there will be more to come. Trevor, God bless his little heart, was the first to friend me. Tyler says he will, too. Trev let me go through his friend list and invite people from his group. I thought that was a big compliment. So, little by little I am going through the list of who I know and asking to be their friend. I hope people say yes. I just hate rejection!Look for interesting Facebook stories in the future. My sons both assure me that there are people out there looking for me. Looking or lurking? We shall see...