One less mess

A weight has been lifted from my shoulders. My only bad conscience. The basement. Since I moved in 4,5 years ago, it's been a mess. Shelves, stuff, bags, books and unidentified objects all over the place. Now most of them are gone. What a relief!

Turns out three of my shelves are gonna fit perfectly into one of my friends new apartment, and the bar counter that was specially made for one of my previous apartments will be a great addition to another friends flat.

End of May the shelves will be gone, then I shall hoover the place. Then distribute the remaining shelves around the walls, place all the stuff I still need to keep properly and enjoy a clean basement.

Seriously, how many people have a clean cellar?

Fatsuit

When a friend of mine had half of his lung removed, he was put on a program to train his ability to breath properly with exercise. He was told to put weights on his feet when walking to make it more difficult and make his lungs expand. Or so I guess. Actually he didn't tell me why, but that's what I think.

Made me think. This exercise I'm now doing seems to get me nowhere. I am 0.5 kg away from my goal-weight, and there I've been since I bought the mini scale. A whole week! Yeah, yeah, I did have a three course meal the other day, and I did buy sweets at Ikea, but still.

Was thinking to buy a fatsuit. I'm a fan of the Biggest Loser show and there the contestants always have to put on the weight they lost further on in the program and walk with it, and "omg, I cannot believe I had all this weight on before, and this is really embarrassing, and omg once again I cannot bear it" and so on.

It's just I don't know where to find it. In a fetish store? Ugh. Cannot bear the thought of walking in there. Doubt they have it in the sports shops.

The thing is with a fatsuit that it distributes fat all over the body, and therefore resembles what you had before. Plus it makes you sweat more and lose more calories.

Ideas, anyone?

Pizza and girls talk

Had some friends over for dinner tonight. They are a bit strange, they do not eat meat. No bacon, no chicken, no big-ass cow, nothing that taste nice. So I decided to take the approach of "make your own darn pizza". And I ignored the talk of tofu, bulgur and whatsit.

I provided the dough, rolled out into my version of "round", and chopped a lot of various veggies. Then they had to make their own pizza. Kinda like fondue or raclette or tablegrill. Excellent. Nobody can complain.

And of course I had hidden a proper pizza slice in the fridge, covered with fatty bacon, chili and loadsa other good stuff. For me.

I think we were all happy to indulge, and as usual, girls (ok, women then) talk is always enjoyable.

Live longer with alcohol

I really like those oldies in the home. Today was very quiet with few customers, so I went for a ciggie and found two of the old ladies sitting outdoors enjoying the sun. One of them remarked that she was considering starting smoking. She thought it must be good, since so many people do it. Ha, clever woman.

Another guy who usually orders wine wanted a rum punch today. That's some powder mixed with water and is alcohol free. I was surprised. Until I saw him digging out a pocket flask, topping his drink off. The guy is 98 and drinks alcohol with every meal!

That is very good news.

I'm considering false teeth

Second visit to the dentist today. If possible, even more unpleasant than last time.

He gave me an anaesthetic shot, less than last time, and I figured this'll be a breeze in comparison. Not. Drilling straight into the nerve again, and I had another near-pass-out-experience. Another couple of shots, and I was good to go, but it was strange to feel lame all the way from my left eye down to the cheek bone.

He started out with taking an x-ray, after the treatment another one, then came back shaking his head muttering "nicht gut". Oh dear. So he had to re-do whatever it was he was doing before once again. After like 75 minutes I was done.

His face lit up, and he said "now the root canal is fixed" (in German naturally). I'm not sure whether he's extremely qualified and take such pride in his work so that he won't leave it until it's perfect, or whether he's incompetent and therefore had to redo it. And in that chair it's difficult to ask that question.

Especially since I have to go back on Monday to finalize the treatment with a filling. At least that's what I think he said.

But the pain is gone (unless I bite really hard, which I shouldn't do just yet, but is difficult not to) and I have googled that it can be normal to need three treatments. Fingers crossed. Next week it should all be over (and the nurse promised me that the next treatment won't be painful).

The smallest scale in the world

Went to Ikea today with the aim to, among other tidbits, buy a scale. A scale is scary to me, since I always think it's gonna show too much and kg's you don't wanna admit to. It was decades ago I stood on one.

The reason is that I am now very close to my ideal weight, and I wanna know where I am, and then keep track of it.

But isn't it typical? Ikea were out of scales! How is that possible? I dunno anytime before I've been there and they've run out of an item. On the other hand, it's very seldom I go there with a list of specific items.

Anyway, I also needed soil to plant flowers and my newly purchased tomato plant in, so we went to Coop. Turned out Coop sell scales too. Surprising.

Very much surprising too when they brought the only one they had left. It was tiny.

I know, I have only 37 in shoe size but still. My friend stood on it, and couldn't keep it steady. Numbers kept on going up and down. We were surprised that it showed about 149, since he's very skinny.

After a brief search I found a button on the back switching between kg's and lbs. Who wants to buy a scale showing pounds in Switzerland?

And no, I still haven't been on it. If it's good news you'll hear about it. Otherwise we shall never speak of it again.

Eggs

I had an egg discussion (!) with a friend the other week, and she has ordered eggs from a farm where the chicken roam more or less free since 20 years, and was very happy with the products, so I decided to do the same. Clarification: she has been a customer since 20 years, and I assume the chicken has roamed outdoors since then too.

Today I got my first delivery of 10 fresh eggs, directly into my postal box outside the house. How convenient is not that? And it's only marginally more expensive than buying in a shop plus I always carry my shopping from the store, balancing the eggs on top in the bag, less convenient.

Now I'm looking forward to taste them, and look into other products they offer.

Onion hacker

Who would have thought that I was ever considering the purchase of an onion hacker? But I am. To be honest I didn't even know such a thing existed until recently.

Turns out that two different kinds are on offer in Migros. One plastic for 13 francs in white, and one for 18 francs in stainless steel. Am going for the second one. It probably won't go in the dishwasher but what the heck (hack). Hacking onions is not a fav, and whatever tool can help me in my cooking is welcome.

How I have changed. Earlier in life my money would've been thrown to more service-like things like restaurants, taxis and drinks, but now, just look at me. Trying to live a healthy life and buying thingies like onion hackers.

I really don't know whether I should be ashamed or proud.

25 baby

25 push-ups without involving any knee-standing! Hard to believe. If I don't watch out I'll be looking like a body-builder soon :). Yeah right, not gonna happen, but I'm proud of myself.

It's amazing what three months can do if you put your mind to it.

Cat found

Found! I finally fell asleep last night, and dreamt about my cat jumping up on the roof. Which is impossible.

I then woke up really early today, having a hunch and voila, there she was sitting outside my bedroom balcony door. How she knew how to find it, I have no clue. She has never been outdoors before.

But she's unharmed, and behaving like normal. And no, I won't restrict their balcony visits.

Let's just hope that they both have learned their lesson. And I'm so happy to have both my cats at home again.

Missing cat

After the ordeal today, I felt a bit weak and decided to go to bed early and have some rest. After brushing my teeth I went to check on the cats as usual and could only find one. One? Then I did a search in all the places they like to hide. Twice. No success.

So I realized that she had perhaps jumped/fallen off the balcony. The other one. So went outside, and called her. No reply. Fortunately my neighbours downstairs were still awake, so rang their door. Searched their terrace and the surroundings, without result.

Sent an email to all the neighbours to keep a look-out. Called a friend who didn't answer. Just wanted to talk to somebody, but at this hour it's difficult. I don't want to disturb people.

At the same time, I'm extremely worried. I go out on the balcony every 5 minutes to see if she's there. I go outside the house to try and find her.

At this moment I don't know what to do. Is she hurt? Is she hiding 'cause of fear? Why doesn't she come when I call her?

Agony.

Sweating

Finally I had to cave in and go to the dentist. He started to test exactly where the pain was by shooting beams of cold into various places, asking if I felt that. To the first one I nodded, to the second one I shook my head, and to the third...I nearly passed out from the pain! Fucketyfuck, cannot remember having such pain ever before!

My body went stiff like a board and I sweated all over the place.

Then started nearly an hour of terror, and even though he gave me an anaesthetic shot, I could still feel it while drilling. I believe he gave me more anaesthetics, but it took a looooong time before I was pain free.

Turns out I had a hole and needed root canal. What a horrific way to start Easter.

And next week I have to go back. Feeling very sorry for myself right now.

Freezing

When I was really young, like in my teens, I was freezing a lot. I was skinny, and lived in a really cold country. Freezing was normal.

These days, and especially since I moved into my thermo-insulated apartment, I have never been cold. Add to that, some hormone-related issues that have been circulating in my body lately, much to my annoyance, and that's given me even more heat, I had forgotten what it was to be cold.

Until today. That felt good. We walked in a park, me barefoot in sandals, as one does when it's sunny, but I didn't realize that the wind was so chilly. It was maybe 13°C and after three hours I was feeling cold. Like freezing.

It made me think how lucky I am to be able to then walk into a friends place, warm and nice, and be served a delicious dinner.

And now I'm back at home where it's also nice and warm. Lucky me!

3 years old today

I remember when I got them, 10 weeks old, and they were so tiny. Today is their birthday. 3 years old. Time flies, and we know each other well now. I know their miaows, they know my behaviour and we have a good life together. My darlings. I can't imagine a life without them.

Muscling in

In a couple of weeks I'm going to Ikea to refill the food I'm missing. And I've seen they have a scale for 29.95. I'm gonna bite the bullet and buy one. Except for doctors visits I haven't been on one since I was in my teens.

But now I really wanna know. Even though I have no clue where I started, I want to start keeping track of where I am weightwise.

And if it shows more than I think, I'm so gonna state the fact that muscle weigh more than fat!

PS. Up to eleven push-ups!

Hallelujah!

I love these kind of clips. First you think, what the heck, how boring can it be. Then he starts to sing, and you think, how is it possible that a man looking as boring as him can sing like that!

After the first verse, when he smiles, you realize that there is more to this man that you first thought! Especially when lifts his eyebrows after the second verse. Such subtle mimic.

I guess the conclusion is you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and let me tell you. This type of behviour in church makes me (almost) wanna go there.

Legs show-off

I did an impulse buy today that I may regret. I bought a carpenter-style jeans dress which is so long it almost covers my buttocks. On the other hand, I have never cared about what people think about my clothing style (probably not much), so why not?

Still have to think about whether I'd wear it outside the house...

Spring in Zürich

Balcony plants, ready to welcome summer.

Strawberries

Talking about strawberries. I bought some yesterday, and there were lots of them. My friend told me I should make marmelade or jam of the rest. So I did.

 

No way I'm telling him that the jar was a gift from a friend!

Absolut delicious

Last week it was time for the mixer to get to work again. Spring time. Strawberries. Drinks! Just fresh strawberries, crushed ice and Absolut vodka.

8 is a start...but not the end

Pat on back, I'm up to making 8 push-ups! Proper ones, not on the knees which I started with. Who knows where it can go from here?

PS. It't not me on the pic, no-way would I wear pea-green shoes!

Toilet paper

If there is one thing you (I) don't wanna run out it, apart from wine and cig obviously, it is toilet paper. Normally I am very organized, and make sure I have all the supplies I need, but today I realized I was almost completely out of toilet paper.

So I just have to hold it in tomorrow morning, run to the store and then I'm fine again.

Just thought I'd share.

Meeting the neighbours

I got a bit bored with the usual tv series I'm watching on youtube, so imagine my delight when I found one of my favs having a show on there called "Jeremy Clarkson meets the neighbours", where he travels around to other countries, finding out if our prejudices are true.

Jeremy used to (or still have?) a car show in England, and I, who judges a car by its colour, even watched that, but what makes me like him is his sense of humour. He's very funny.

Mayo vs Pinot Grigio

I was reading an article about somebody loving mayonnaise so much, that he wanted to be cremated and the ashes put into a mayo can when he dies.

That made me think.

Since I'm into cremation as well, rather than being eaten by worms and whatnot, I should probably be put into a Pinot Grigio bottle.

Just a thought.

5 kg's

Continuing on this losing weight stories, I had to laugh when a male friend of mine claimed that all women say "I just have to lose 5 kg's". He then went on to state all the women he knows repeating the same mantra "I just have to lose 5 kg's". There were a few, including  myself.

He himself is very skinny and do not want a woman who is, "I'd hate for our hip bones to rub against each other". Not entirely sure what he was referring to :).

But no complaints from me. I feel healthier, my blood pressure is back to normal, I fit into my clothes, no heartburn after eating, and I have more energy.

A win-win situation, as the business world would say.

PS. I'm still very doubtful about this bio-food. But I do look out for where the food is produced. Right now I'm buying strawberries from Spain, which is not optimal, but much better than Brazil or Israel. One step at a time.

Smaller but better

I get asked quite often how it is going with the healthier lifestyle and the weight loss. And thanks, it's going quite well.

This week I got positive reinforcement from a friend who normally wouldn't say anything, unless it's negative criticism. He saw me standing in the doorway and said "I can see it's going quite well". And I must admit, that positive confirmation from somebody who doesn't give it often, gives me a good feeling.

However, I've been struggling for a few weeks, feeling that I got to a plateau, and nothing happened. But today, I felt thinner for some reason. And mind you, I'm not a fanatic. If there is chocolate in sight...it's gone. And I eat when I'm hungry, but I have stopped eating when I'm not, and I try to eat healthier options. I cook a lot more and do most things from the beginning, like my own pizza dough and more greens in my food.

But I think the main thing in all this is that I try to change lifestyle, not the crazy-not-eating-anything-at-all-for-weeks kinda diet, but one that I feel I can live with for the rest of my life.

And funny thing is, this power-walking and stepping thingie is not a burden, but something I almost look fw to these days. It gives me energy and I feel so much better afterwards.

And even though a friend said recently that I'm fine like I am just now, I have a feeling I still need to keep going to lose another couple of kilos. Just for me, and then I have to find a scheme that makes me maintain it. It's a challenge I welcome.

PS. I'm two buttons away from the skinny jeans!

Spaghetti x 2

I had a friend over for dinner this evening. He's very easy-going with food (except for that he doesn't eat mushroom), and when I asked him if he had a food wish, he responded "just something light with a salad".

Haha.

I know him. Every time he arrives he's wolf hungry. Today he claimed to be "medium" hungry, and yet he ate two big plates of spaghetti and meatsauce.

But I like it. If people eat lots of what I cook, it's a tribute to my cooking. Or maybe he was just wolfie hungry :).

Cat tax

This morning I got a link sent to me from a friend, saying that from now on we have to pay cat tax. I'm like, isn't it typical ze Swiss? Now we have to pay for everything, and I was already formulating my defence. My cats are indoor cats, they don't catch any birds (except for the odd one that crosses over my balcony, like yesterday, when I found a pile of feathers out there) and so on.

Anyway, I was reading and reading and there was a lot of information from all sorts of organizations. And remember, this was in the morning before I had my coffeine shots.

But after a while, I realized there was too much info, and knowing my friend with two foxes behind each ear (does that work in English?), I stopped the response email I was writing in my head and realized, hey it's 1st of April!

Good for me, who wants to be seen as a dumb blonde?

PS. My Australian friend didn't think it was a joke, down under apparently you pay for having a cat. And she's not a blonde.

April weather all year around

Kids are really predictable. I was out walking today with a friend including a 2-year-old. It was everything from smiling being a charmer, which I like, to screaming ('cause he didn't get to taste the wine...I'm leaving you with that thought), to sitting down refusing to move, and walking at a snails pace (when walking at all). Which I don't like.

But it seems that I have mellowed with age. I no longer care so much. What will be will be kind of.

And as long as I don't have to take the little monster home with me, I'm happy. And it makes me happy that my friend(s) with kids are equally happy.

Isn't it great to live in a democracy where we all can choose what we want?

Disobedience

Today is Tuesday (Dienstag), it was in the afternoon and I believe this car owner has little respect for traffic signs. I really don't know why one couldn't park there, but hey, this is Switzerland and here you follow ze rules. Well, except for this one then.

Fake info

I thought this sign was really funny. Saw it outside a house with a cat sitting on the wall!

A walk in the park

Took a walk yesterday, and really, now is the most beautiful time of the year flowerwise.