Manic Morning

Manic Morning

I’m a peppy person but sometimes I go into overdrive. I don’t know why. At night I take Tylenol PM for my allergies, so I should have been sluggish this morning. I got up early and went to the gym with friends. After our half hour workout we went for bagels.

When I returned home I craved something sweet. I spied the Ghirardelli brownie mix on the top of the fridge. I mixed that up but it would take forty-five minutes to bake.

I went to the back patio and did poop pick-up since tomorrow is garbage day. I noticed a plethora of weeds. It’s been so dry here they their roots haven’t been able to sink deep so I pulled those up easily.

I decided I’d better water the plants I had in containers on my front porch. They drain all over the Saltillo tile and made a mess which of course the white dogs loved to tramp in.

Twelve minutes to go before the brownies were ready I had bought some flowers at the 99 cent store. They were looking sad so I decided to repot them in a bigger pot. (Both the pots and the soil also came from my favorite place, the 99 cent store.)

After that I filled the teapot and eagerly awaited the brownies. Finally they were ready. I took them out and put the pan on the counter. It’s one of those pans with a grid so the brownies are perfectly cut. Unless you take the grid out too soon, which I did. They tasted delicious but didn’t look good enough to share with my neighbors.

I read the Sunday New York Times on the front porch, happily sipping tea, petting dogs, and eating brownies. When I’d finished with the paper, it was time to take a shower. That’s when I noticed that the dogs had sat in the potting soil that had spilled on the wet tiles. They were filthy. So I gave both dogs a bath before I took my own shower.

I got ready to go to my book club:  applying on makeup and putting some thought into my outfit and accessories. On my way over to the restaurant, I realized how much I’d done. I didn’t feel anxious or like I was speeding. I felt efficient.  Do you ever have these manic mornings?

 

Check out my book, Reinvented Lives, available on amazon.com, and my

website at www.annieweissman.net

 

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Dating and Dieting

I’ve been on the dating website Plenty of Fish (POF) for three and a half years but inactive for more than two and a half years. At The beginning of January I started to get messages from guys who wanted to meet me. I guess it’s a New Year’s resolution thing. So I responded and had a flurry of dates.

One of my resolutions, along with most people in the U. S., was to lose the thirty pounds I’ve gained in the past few years. I started on Weight Watchers. I was doing nine well.  I lost nine pounds, until I started meeting the men. The first guy I suggested meeting for coffee (tea for me) so I wouldn’t be tempted by high calorie foods. We had a lovely three hour conversation at Starbucks. There were no sparks and I outweighed him by at least forty pounds. After we’d talked for two hours, he insisted on buying me something to eat. Luckily Starbucks has the calorie count on the sign for all its goodies. I chose a bagel, the least caloric option.

The next fellow, now nicknamed The Roadie, asked to meet at The British Open, a pub. I had a Michelob Ultra, only ninety-five calories, not too bad. He announced that he liked to cook and invited me to dinner. So far he’s fixed steak with fully-loaded baked potatoes, lamb chops with garlic mashed potatoes, and Beef Bourguignon stew with crusty rolls. These are not on my eating plan.

Another fellow wanted to meet at one of my favorite restaurants, Uncle Sal’s, in Scottsdale. They serve Italian cuisine. I ordered eggplant parmesan. It looked like a large slab of lasagna, but was at least ten layers of thinly sliced (and fried) eggplant. Delicious, but no on my eating plan.

Last week I gained a pound.

I babysat for my granddaughters last night. Luckily their favorite restaurant is Sweet Tomatoes so I ate well but healthy. The seven-year old and I had a fun time painting tee-shirts with stencils for her mother, her sister, and one for her. It’s interesting that my vision of how they would turn out was nothing like the final products. She decided not to stencil her red tee-shirt but rather to put a huge “A” (her name is Abby) on the front and surround it with “v’s” for Valentine’s Day. I don’t think she’d understand my reluctance due to The Scarlet Letter.

Now it’s almost Valentine’s Day. No one will buy me presents but I’ll probably purchase the chocolates myself.  Plus I’m making Oreo truffles for friends.

I’m sabotaging myself!

Check out my book, Reinvented Lives, available on amazon.com, my

website at www.annieweissman.com