Friday 15 January 2010

Stressing My Way to a Slimmer Me

I am SO busy this week my stomach is churning slightly. I have also lost a couple of pounds, which makes me think I need a little crisis in my life once in a while to keep the belly flab at bay. Not anything serious you understand, but enough to make me eat less. (I've never quite understood the idea of eating when you're stressed - it's the last thing I'd feel like doing.)

A brief run-down of what's going on:

- The Queenager will be taking her first ACT exam in April. In the US, high schoolers take either ACTs or SATs (or both) as part of the college entrance rigmarole. The school doesn't really help and if you miss the application deadlines, well, it's tough titties really. (Excuse the French but I'm stressed.) Apart from having a small learning disability, she also suffers from occassional migraines which affect her vision and make her dizzy. Because of these things, we can apply for "accommodations" such as extra time, a quiet room to take the test, a computer (it takes her a little longer than average to hand write thing), etc. And of course, nothing's straight forward. Let's just say it took the school longer than it should have to find her initial LD diagnosis of 2001. And of course, the neurologist who needs to write the migraine part of the letter is out of the office till next Tuesday. No matter. I am now on a first name basis with his nurse and since I was nice as ninepence to her, she assures me it will be the first thing they discuss on Tuesday morning. I won't have to spend any more time on the phone. We'll see....

- I am now officially the President of the Board of a charitable organization. This is fantastic news (the charitable status part) not just because it took a year to get, but it now means I can apply to the huge foundations for money for my little school in Ghana. It also means that I have to send out tax letters to everyone who donated in 2009, re-design the web site, plan this year's fund-raising activities, find an inexpensive place to get t-shirts printed, put together a presentation-style document to thank the law firm who did the pro bono work, and have a board meeting before the month is out. No problem......

- I have been commissioned to interview an author in about a week's time (ooh, get me), which of course means I have to read the book. I was planning to buy this book (a secret) anyway so that's no hardship, but reading it while you have potential questions whizzing around your brain is a little more challenging. (Can you tell I haven't done this before?) I also have to get the Queenager to find the tape-recoding device I bought her. She says it's in her room......

- The man-child seems to have outgrown all his clothes - again. He has a special party on Saturday night and nothing to wear that doesn't come with rips and stains. We tried to find some semi-formal trousers at a nearby shop last night but they didn't have his size in the ones we liked, so it's straight out when he gets home from school this afternoon. Have you shopped with a teenage boy? In one respect it's great - he just tries on whatever I hand him, but his idea of what's "fine" isn't quite compatible with mine.

Recipe update - I am, as I type, also cooking this week's recipe, Taco Soup. This isn't technically something I haven't tried before, I just wanted to ease myself into actually following a recipe. And the kids (who have had it once before) love it. 

But guess what? Amateur that I am, I can't cook and type at the same time (even though it's only in a pot on the stove). It's gone and stuck to the bottom hasn't it?

.

20 comments:

  1. I feel quite dizzy reading it all! No wonder your stress levels are so high. Hope you manage to make some time for yourself too x

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  2. I always find worry to be the best diet - I guess it's the silver lining! Taco soup sounds intriguing....

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  3. you may not eat but I bet the pinot is out and going strong.............

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  4. Ouch. My shoulders are cramped up my ears now. Can't you cancel a thing? Or two? Or at least get the B&C to rub your feet and run you a hot bath...

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  5. I can't believe I used to live like this all the time.
    Jo - alas, I have to be up quite early tomorrow morning to move boxes of rummage/jumble to a storage unit, so no hangovers allowed!

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  6. I thought a taco was a kind of wrap thing? So the soup is... bits of tortilla floating in some stock? Mmmm, sounds appetising!

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  7. I am sure it will all go fine. Particularly the interview of the secret author. (-;

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  8. Oh have I got the stress diet for you ! I lost twenty kilos in one summer on this one and will gladly send you the cause (masses of mad pilgrims) via the Italian postal donkey.

    All you have to do is persuade a neighbour to go a bit guru and declare his tap water to be miraculous, the pilgrims I'm lending you (too late now, no getting to look a gift Italian postal donkey in the mouth) will then make enough fuss, noise and traffic to attract the less serious media ..Bob's your uncle, they'll multiply and provide all the stress a girl could need , with a tried and tested weight loss guarantee !!

    For Free, (but with a no sending the goods back clause).

    How could you refuse ?

    Please don't.

    Seriously, I'll have no boobs left at this rate.

    I feel it's only fair to share this wonderful, appetite murdering, slimming method around.

    Sarah, now quite thin, in Italy, in a place that aquired extra added pilgrims and a fake miricle water site.

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  9. I was under the impression the children were at private school - if they are, you're not getting your money's worth if they don't help with things like ACT registration and accommodations!

    I thought agreeing to be Secretary and Treasurer of a non-profit would be easy - but I have to deal with annual reports and tax returns :-( I'm still glad I'm not president though!

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  10. Good luck getting through it all. Something about taco soup doesn't sound right!

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  11. And here I am moaning about how busy I am -- you are one busy lady! Good luck with the diet ;)

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  12. hmm, if you don't know how to gain weight when you are stressed then you might be doing something wrong.
    i find it's quite simple.
    need any tips just let me know.

    but
    good luck with all of it. it made me want to go and look for chocolate just READING about all you have to do.
    no need to thank me.
    i'm here for you.
    :-)

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  13. Is that the secret? Let me go find myself something to stress over then!! LOL

    Good luck with it all!

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  14. For the T-Shirts I recommend customink (the site is customink.com I think). I am not affiliated with them, but we ordered printed shirts for a Girls Science Day University event on a tight budget from there. Their website allows easy design, and they were always helpful and punctual in delivery.

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  15. Mona - thanks muchly. I will look into that.

    Almost - yes they are, and the school does put in the applications but only when you tell them to. They also don't help kids decide which exams to do. For someone like me (not educated here) it's all a bit of a learning curve.

    Sarah - pilgims? Agh - sounds horrendous. Anyone needing to lose a few pounds should come and visit you.

    The Taco Soup is a bit like a runnier chilli and you make it with Taco seasoning (hence the name I assume), pinto beans sweet corn. Very good.

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  16. I'm exhausted just reading that. Do you think I've lost any weight in sympathy? No, probably not.

    Possible shortcut - Can you get the book on audio and listen to it while you do the other stuff?

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  17. Oh! I think this might be my first time on your blog but I giggled my head off when i read "queenager". Brilliant!

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  18. oh and while you arewandering around, tie a brush to your backside and then you could sweep up at the same time...LOL

    You are a woman you can do miracles!!

    Gill in Canada

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  19. I'm laughing at 'queenager' too. Though still not sure about 'chili soup'. Still have quite got my head around refried beans, the mush that tastes of nada that I discovered during my Connecticut au pair jaunt one summer. I can't eat when stressed either. Apart from ice cream.

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  20. taco soup always sticks to the bottom - it's too creamy/cheesy not to!

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