well, this diet is going great so far! approx 2 kgs lost and my hunger pangs are pratically gone! having more selection for my allowable snacks helps too.
i've tried 3 meals from the cookbook so far and they are SOOO delicious, even if i am getting a bit tired of steamed veges.
meals so far:
fri - schnitzel and garden salad w/dressing
sat - cheesy mince bake w/ steamed veges (broccoli, carrot, celery, zucchini, eggplant)
sun - thai red curry w/steamed veges (as above)
mon - beef stroganoff w/ you guessed it, steamed veges.
tonight's dinner will be grilled salmon on garden salad, though we have 3 nights worth of cheesy mince bake frozen leftovers waiting for us. such a yummy recipe i can't believe its good for me, especially with that much cheese!
snacks so far:
2 sticks of celery with peanut butter (i can't believe i'm allowed it either! yummo!)
diced 1/2 apple and 1/2 orange w/unsweetened natural yoghurt
small handful of mixed nuts and seeds
80g tuna on garden salad (i'd never tried tuna before, YUMMO!)
blueberries w/yoghurt
the shakes are really yummy too, although my week's supply runs out on thursday. hope i can afford some more!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
song fu; round 2
it's that time again! so i loaded every song onto poddina, my cute little pink 3rd gen nano and got to some serious laundry-folding, a common passtime for a mummy. as i went, i rated the songs as i am wont to do and decided to share my thoughts so far (in random order, thank ipod!) with star ratings!*
this round the contestents had to write a song with only 10 unique words.
song fu page at quickstopentertainment.com
audiomohel - greasy bacon *****
much better than last time's entry, i quite enjoyed this song, especially how they saved a whole word til right at the end! not my absolute favourite but definately above the first cull cutoff mark
hank green - i know *****
so i'd already heard this song due to it being posted on youtube and several song fu competitors tweeting the link in fear of the thousands of hank green fans crushing them. its a fun little ditty and reminds me a lot of an argument. by the end i don't know what i know anymore except that i had fun listening!
insane ian - consortium of comprehention *****
while i'm pretty sure that's not how you spell comprehension, i definately had a good laugh listening to this one. i like how the song changes in the middle too! good fun and of a nice quality.
edric haleen - mad-libs *****
i've always wanted to like edric's songs, there's just such enthusiasm in his voice, and i really feel like this is the song i've been waiting for from him! (i did quite enjoy his first entry in the previous song fu competition too!) as an english geek this one really strikes a chord for me, if you will pardon the unintentional pun. i love the idea, and while the initial introduction did shock me a bit (too many words!) i really enjoyed the song and just know i'm gonna be singing "name, adjective name, pronoun adjective name" in my head over and over for days! well done! very clever solution to a tricky challenge
jeff macdougall - free love *****
so i'm a bit biased towards jeff after the first song fu competition where he took on the mighty jonathan coulton and won so many hearts on the joco forums, quite a feat considering the fierce loyalty JoCo's fans have for him! jeff's awe and humility in being up against joco in the final round was very touching. since i follow him on twitter AND on facebook, you might accuse me of just voting for him out of loyalty, but i do always try and remain neutral when it comes to voting on this competition. this song is so sweet (typical of jeff's songs - not a bad thing!) and tells a wee tale of a romance which is amazing considering it only uses 10 words! well written and well executed, this is a great response to the challenge. on to round 3 for you jeff!
(p.s. i haven't submitted my votes at this point, haven't done the first cull even, just getting some thoughts down!)
molly lewis - peep fight *****
while we don't have peeps in nz, i've heard molly tweet about them before and recall googling them. i know this song isn't going down well with her fans on youtube, but you have to admire that she is trying a new genre, producing all the music on ukeleles and isn't taking it too seriously. also i love the concept, which seems to be an actual easter tradition for molly. i love the lines "put toothpicks in the peeps! put the peeps in the microwave! put the peeps in the stomach!" and the video on youtube is definately worth a watch! really makes it even more fun!
paul and storm - boolean love song *****
before i dropped out to be a mommy, i was a programming student, so i totally LOVE the lyrics to this song! also as an ex-WoW player who spends FAR too much time on the internet (still) boolean operators form a big part of my vocab. the husband (programming graduate and software tester by trade) and i even find ourselves saying them in regular speech (i.e. "cheese + crackers != meal")
i might even type the lyrics of this up in pseudocode someday. as always, paul & storm nail the challenge perfectly and churn out a new favourite for the ipod. <3 <3 <3 getting a definate 3-4 new (and free!) songs from p&s is what makes song fu like christmas to me. even if the other 2 masters hadn't dropped out, this would be a sure fire winner, love the ending too! tres rofl!
hallelujah ape - why? *****
all i can say is this reminds me strongly of a bill bailey joke about kinder surprises. if you know what i'm talking about, then we should be friends! but i have a dishwasher, and i hate washing dishes so much i will use any other utensil/cutlery/implement that i can before i will wash a teaspoon. no teaspoons? use a dessert spoon. too big? plastic spoon. doesn't require the liquid holding ability of a teaspoon? use a fork. you see where i'm going with this?
jutze shult - god of bingo *****
another joco forum regular, jutze can't have found this challenge quite as tricky as other competitors (think "what's the baby using?" :P ) i definately liked this song better than his last entry. good work jutze! :)
joe "covenant" lamb - i wish i could tell you *****
this competition seems to be overrun with joco forumites (we are a musical bunch it seems!) which is definately not a bad thing! this song features backing vocals by yet another joco forumite, if my tweet-detective skills aren't totally out of whack, and i completely forget that this song had to have only 10 unique words. its so simple and bitter-sweet that few words are all it needs. lovely!
gosh it's going to be hard picking only 5!
mike lombardo - sandwich girl (lunchtime lovestory) *****
wow, love songs definately seem to be a recurring theme in this round. a cute boppy little pop song like the last challenge, this song certainly stands out for me. love the "make me sandwich" line! very caveman, which i like! only negative, its too short! i'd like it to go on longer!
crabbydad - machine *****
very much in the vein of his last entry (which was my all-time favourite, tied with molly's) this song seems to have even LESS than 10 words in it though i haven't counted. i do like it nonetheless! the computer voice is cool and though i loved his daughter singing on the last track, it is nice to see something a bit different. wonder why he doesn't sing himself though? hmmm!
that's all i got so far. bbl after the cull...baby permitting. if i didn't write about your song, or you feel bummed about the rating i gave you, i'm ever so sorry, i tried to be positive and nice about them all, and just because i skipped yours does not mean i hated it, i have washing to fold before bubba wakes! sorry!
----------
* When I was little I had a book-cassette copy of the Ugly Duckling, and at the end of the story was a song entitled "If ya can't say something nice, ssssh! Say nothing!" So I will endeavour to stick to this good and wholesome rule.
this round the contestents had to write a song with only 10 unique words.
song fu page at quickstopentertainment.com
audiomohel - greasy bacon *****
much better than last time's entry, i quite enjoyed this song, especially how they saved a whole word til right at the end! not my absolute favourite but definately above the first cull cutoff mark
hank green - i know *****
so i'd already heard this song due to it being posted on youtube and several song fu competitors tweeting the link in fear of the thousands of hank green fans crushing them. its a fun little ditty and reminds me a lot of an argument. by the end i don't know what i know anymore except that i had fun listening!
insane ian - consortium of comprehention *****
while i'm pretty sure that's not how you spell comprehension, i definately had a good laugh listening to this one. i like how the song changes in the middle too! good fun and of a nice quality.
edric haleen - mad-libs *****
i've always wanted to like edric's songs, there's just such enthusiasm in his voice, and i really feel like this is the song i've been waiting for from him! (i did quite enjoy his first entry in the previous song fu competition too!) as an english geek this one really strikes a chord for me, if you will pardon the unintentional pun. i love the idea, and while the initial introduction did shock me a bit (too many words!) i really enjoyed the song and just know i'm gonna be singing "name, adjective name, pronoun adjective name" in my head over and over for days! well done! very clever solution to a tricky challenge
jeff macdougall - free love *****
so i'm a bit biased towards jeff after the first song fu competition where he took on the mighty jonathan coulton and won so many hearts on the joco forums, quite a feat considering the fierce loyalty JoCo's fans have for him! jeff's awe and humility in being up against joco in the final round was very touching. since i follow him on twitter AND on facebook, you might accuse me of just voting for him out of loyalty, but i do always try and remain neutral when it comes to voting on this competition. this song is so sweet (typical of jeff's songs - not a bad thing!) and tells a wee tale of a romance which is amazing considering it only uses 10 words! well written and well executed, this is a great response to the challenge. on to round 3 for you jeff!
(p.s. i haven't submitted my votes at this point, haven't done the first cull even, just getting some thoughts down!)
molly lewis - peep fight *****
while we don't have peeps in nz, i've heard molly tweet about them before and recall googling them. i know this song isn't going down well with her fans on youtube, but you have to admire that she is trying a new genre, producing all the music on ukeleles and isn't taking it too seriously. also i love the concept, which seems to be an actual easter tradition for molly. i love the lines "put toothpicks in the peeps! put the peeps in the microwave! put the peeps in the stomach!" and the video on youtube is definately worth a watch! really makes it even more fun!
paul and storm - boolean love song *****
before i dropped out to be a mommy, i was a programming student, so i totally LOVE the lyrics to this song! also as an ex-WoW player who spends FAR too much time on the internet (still) boolean operators form a big part of my vocab. the husband (programming graduate and software tester by trade) and i even find ourselves saying them in regular speech (i.e. "cheese + crackers != meal")
i might even type the lyrics of this up in pseudocode someday. as always, paul & storm nail the challenge perfectly and churn out a new favourite for the ipod. <3 <3 <3 getting a definate 3-4 new (and free!) songs from p&s is what makes song fu like christmas to me. even if the other 2 masters hadn't dropped out, this would be a sure fire winner, love the ending too! tres rofl!
hallelujah ape - why? *****
all i can say is this reminds me strongly of a bill bailey joke about kinder surprises. if you know what i'm talking about, then we should be friends! but i have a dishwasher, and i hate washing dishes so much i will use any other utensil/cutlery/implement that i can before i will wash a teaspoon. no teaspoons? use a dessert spoon. too big? plastic spoon. doesn't require the liquid holding ability of a teaspoon? use a fork. you see where i'm going with this?
jutze shult - god of bingo *****
another joco forum regular, jutze can't have found this challenge quite as tricky as other competitors (think "what's the baby using?" :P ) i definately liked this song better than his last entry. good work jutze! :)
joe "covenant" lamb - i wish i could tell you *****
this competition seems to be overrun with joco forumites (we are a musical bunch it seems!) which is definately not a bad thing! this song features backing vocals by yet another joco forumite, if my tweet-detective skills aren't totally out of whack, and i completely forget that this song had to have only 10 unique words. its so simple and bitter-sweet that few words are all it needs. lovely!
gosh it's going to be hard picking only 5!
mike lombardo - sandwich girl (lunchtime lovestory) *****
wow, love songs definately seem to be a recurring theme in this round. a cute boppy little pop song like the last challenge, this song certainly stands out for me. love the "make me sandwich" line! very caveman, which i like! only negative, its too short! i'd like it to go on longer!
crabbydad - machine *****
very much in the vein of his last entry (which was my all-time favourite, tied with molly's) this song seems to have even LESS than 10 words in it though i haven't counted. i do like it nonetheless! the computer voice is cool and though i loved his daughter singing on the last track, it is nice to see something a bit different. wonder why he doesn't sing himself though? hmmm!
that's all i got so far. bbl after the cull...baby permitting. if i didn't write about your song, or you feel bummed about the rating i gave you, i'm ever so sorry, i tried to be positive and nice about them all, and just because i skipped yours does not mean i hated it, i have washing to fold before bubba wakes! sorry!
----------
* When I was little I had a book-cassette copy of the Ugly Duckling, and at the end of the story was a song entitled "If ya can't say something nice, ssssh! Say nothing!" So I will endeavour to stick to this good and wholesome rule.
Friday, February 27, 2009
let the slimming begin!
diet diary, day 1
so yesterday i purchased a starter kit of a pharmacy diet system. i won't name names but you know the kind.
in the last 18 hours i've consumed:
3 meal replacement shakes
2 cups of tea (1 decaf, 1 regular)
60g of edam cheese (2 x 30g of an 'allowable snack')
copius amounts of water
so far so good, don't feel any hungrier than usual, though the cupboards are pretty bare of "allowable snacks" and "balanced meals."
definately have to go grocery shopping asap before i get thoroughly sick of cheese. ("surely that's not possible" i hear you cry!)
this afternoon i shall endeavour to get out for a walk and i shall be well on my way to the new slim me!
i won't bore you with details like weights or measurements too often hopefully, but i will do a weekly weigh-in to track how i'm going, which will hopefully serve not only as motivation to keep going but accountability when i slip up.
wish me lucks!
so yesterday i purchased a starter kit of a pharmacy diet system. i won't name names but you know the kind.
in the last 18 hours i've consumed:
3 meal replacement shakes
2 cups of tea (1 decaf, 1 regular)
60g of edam cheese (2 x 30g of an 'allowable snack')
copius amounts of water
so far so good, don't feel any hungrier than usual, though the cupboards are pretty bare of "allowable snacks" and "balanced meals."
definately have to go grocery shopping asap before i get thoroughly sick of cheese. ("surely that's not possible" i hear you cry!)
this afternoon i shall endeavour to get out for a walk and i shall be well on my way to the new slim me!
i won't bore you with details like weights or measurements too often hopefully, but i will do a weekly weigh-in to track how i'm going, which will hopefully serve not only as motivation to keep going but accountability when i slip up.
wish me lucks!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
nappy madness!
is it wrong to be this excited when i buy new cloth nappies? probably, and yet i feel totally unabashed to announce it to the world! i just purchased 5 new naps for my little unicorn's bot, 3 yellow and 2 blue.
this will bring us up to a grand total of 15, which hopefully should allow me to only wash every second day instead of daily, however we've been doing cloth nappies full-time for about 2 weeks now and i *still* somehow feel excited about washing them every day!
it's no doubt more to do with sleep deprivation than i care to let on...
this will bring us up to a grand total of 15, which hopefully should allow me to only wash every second day instead of daily, however we've been doing cloth nappies full-time for about 2 weeks now and i *still* somehow feel excited about washing them every day!
it's no doubt more to do with sleep deprivation than i care to let on...
Friday, February 13, 2009
song fu; thoughts so far...
i always find it time consuming to give this competition my carefully considered vote (how's that for alliteration?) due to the sheer number of challengers, however being the SAHM that i now am, i am slowly managing to whittle down the entrants.
like ore in the crucible, i subject the song fu entries to a modern-day refiners fire: the rating system on my iPod. as each song plays i use the star ratings to indicate my enjoyment of the song, then periodically remove all songs with a 2 or lower.
after culling once, i have just replayed the playlist and so far have the following thoughts regarding this round;
so i have my top three votes, and am left with 4 songs fighting it out for the last 2 votes... what to do?
http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2009/02/11/masters-of-song-fu-3-round-1-songs/
like ore in the crucible, i subject the song fu entries to a modern-day refiners fire: the rating system on my iPod. as each song plays i use the star ratings to indicate my enjoyment of the song, then periodically remove all songs with a 2 or lower.
after culling once, i have just replayed the playlist and so far have the following thoughts regarding this round;
- the entries which didn't opt for the more obvious takes on "a happy song" in terms of content didn't amuse me, however songs without the word "happy" or derivatives in the title were more successful (mostly)
- often i find with song fu, everyone is angling for a comedic song as well, often to the detriment of the songwriting quality. in this round its clear that those aiming just for pure happy hit the mark better than those attempting to be silly, funny or put a spin on the happy song idea. i'm looking at you audiomohel. personally i think avoiding the phrase "butt-rape" might have been a better idea, imho
- apparently kazoos and ukeleles really say "happy song" well
- i voted for paul & storm from the masters selection, assuming that neil innes would be winning, because i want to ensure they made it to the next round simply so i can get another song out of them only to find out they were kicking everyone else's proverbial! go P & S!
- having said that, neil's song sounds far more like a sad song to me... a nice one but a sad one nonetheless
- mostly i think molly has this one in the bag, although crabbydad's schnappi-esque entry is so gosh-darn infectious that i can't stop playing it! molly's song is a bit more clever though and i also can't get it out of my head.
- hallelujah ape's song has a strong beatles feel to it which i can't help but enjoy, but third place is going to the mike lombardo trio's sweet song: "me and caroline."
- there were 2 muppet moments for me, the kazoo solo in molly's song reminded me of ma-na-ma-na near the end and storm's singing on "hippie with a djembe" had just a hint of muppet to it. not the first time that comment has been made either! i'm sure he is confident enough in his vocal abilities not to be bothered by it!
so i have my top three votes, and am left with 4 songs fighting it out for the last 2 votes... what to do?
http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2009/02/11/masters-of-song-fu-3-round-1-songs/
Thursday, February 12, 2009
masters of song fu
if you haven't yet heard of "masters of song fu", aside from clearly having been dwelling beneath some sort of sedimentary or igneous formation for the last several months, you really ought to head over to "QUICK STOP ENTERTAINMENT" and check it out.
it is essentially a battle to the death of gladiatorial proportions, through the medium of songwriting. their site will explain it better than I can, all you need to know is to visit the site, listen to the songs and then vote on who brought the most fu. this round the task was to write a happy song, and you can vote for one "master" and 5 "challengers"
gogogo!!! if nothing else, its a great place to be exposed to fresh new music by some old favs like paul & storm* as well as some people you might not have heard of...yet.
doooeeet!!!
-------
* i mean that in the fondest, non-age-related way! <3
it is essentially a battle to the death of gladiatorial proportions, through the medium of songwriting. their site will explain it better than I can, all you need to know is to visit the site, listen to the songs and then vote on who brought the most fu. this round the task was to write a happy song, and you can vote for one "master" and 5 "challengers"
gogogo!!! if nothing else, its a great place to be exposed to fresh new music by some old favs like paul & storm* as well as some people you might not have heard of...yet.
doooeeet!!!
-------
* i mean that in the fondest, non-age-related way! <3
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
you know that feeling...
that warm, fuzzy feeling when you are holding a tiny baby in your arms, and you know, deep down, you just *know* that this precious little person has totally weed on you.
this feeling is, to paraphrase YOU KNOW WHO, my past, present and future.
this feeling is, to paraphrase YOU KNOW WHO, my past, present and future.
things morgan and i like right now
- baby slings
- cloth nappies
- bunny rugs
- baby pamol
- brothers and sisters (tv series)
- soft licorice
- cuddles
- dreamy lemon yoghurt
blog manifesto
aka, the rules
i've always found that creativity blossoms best within a set of defined boundaries, such as a client brief or a technical specification. ergo, i have decided to outline some rules or guidelines for the blog.
i've always found that creativity blossoms best within a set of defined boundaries, such as a client brief or a technical specification. ergo, i have decided to outline some rules or guidelines for the blog.
- i shall not use capital letters
- posts will usually be short due to time constraints
- i will not attempt to include every little detail in the interests of accuracy, this is for my own sanity and to limit post length. in short, i will try not to ramble
- if i can blog from my cellphone, i will
- blogging will never come before my daughter, but probably will come before housework!
- i shall endeavour to post creative output as often as possible in an attempt to encourage myself towards doing more artistic stuffs
- i will endeavour to post links to other interesting stuff that i encounter out there on the webbernets
- in stark contrast to no.1, i like links to be CAPITAL LETTERS. it is a woman's perogative to not only change her mind, but contradict it at the same time, if she should so wish
getting the ball rolling...
its been on my mind lately that i might want to start a new blog.
my past blogging endeavours have fizzled out after a while because i haven't stuck at them, usually more to do with a lack of content than from a lack of dedication. who am i kidding? its also from a lack of dedication!
anyway i've finally gone ahead and started a new blog, this one centering, as everything does, around my baby daughter and our new life together. now that i'm at home with her all day, i find my mind wandering to thoughts artistic more frequently. perhaps this project might spur me on to actually turn some of these ideas into realities!
so welcome aboard, next stop, the blog manifesto!
my past blogging endeavours have fizzled out after a while because i haven't stuck at them, usually more to do with a lack of content than from a lack of dedication. who am i kidding? its also from a lack of dedication!
anyway i've finally gone ahead and started a new blog, this one centering, as everything does, around my baby daughter and our new life together. now that i'm at home with her all day, i find my mind wandering to thoughts artistic more frequently. perhaps this project might spur me on to actually turn some of these ideas into realities!
so welcome aboard, next stop, the blog manifesto!
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