Ya gotta have friends.

Tonight, I thought I'd be tricky and alter the blogger code to include a counter.

I went and investigated counters, found one I like (even reflects my musical wonts) and 'installed' it.

Well, it was a DISASTER!

The code broke, and it all came out gobbledygook. This wasn't good. I ended up having to totally re-publish, including completely wiping the whole code and starting again.

After last week driving myself nuts getting my links up and running, I lost them, in addition to not having the counter working.

What to do?

Well, I needed the links code, I didn't want to have to rewrite it all. So, I called on my friend Ruby, coz I know she has my blog open all the time, and chances are she hadn't refreshed in a while. I was right, it was open, and unrefreshed, so a simple View>pagesource and voilois, the code was winging it's way in an email to me!

This made it easy to re-tamper with the code and replace the links. I took this opportunity to be brave (again with Ruby egging me on) and installed the ticker. So all's good.

I believe she's forbidden me from further tampering with the code. hehe.

I received the best email from her yesterday, I'll share it:

True Friendship

Are you tired of those sissy-ass "friendship" poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship:

1. When you are sad -- I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you finally got laid.

4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every chance I get.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.

7. When you are sick -- Stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.

9. This is my oath..... I pledge it to the end. "Why?" you may ask; "because you are my friend".

Send this to 10 of your closest friends, then get depressed because you can only think of 4.

Remember........A good friend will help you move.....a REALLY good friend will help you move a body.......let me know if you ever need me to bring a shovel.

Friendship is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.


Now, whilst this is the truest poem I've read in ages (I recall actually doing a couple of those with Ruby, esp #1, just after my divorce), I thought the last bit was funny.

The bit that says "you can only think of 4".

For about 10 years now, I've had 4 "best girl-friends", I call them the Fab 4. They haven't always been the same 4 people, either, but it seems to me when one 'leaves' a new one arrives.

Ruby has been one of them for um, around 7 years now. Fran's been there for over 10 years, I met Marg when our kids were in Kinder, so that'd be about 9 years ago now, and the 'newcomer' is Wendy, who I met when I moved to Brisbane about 4 years ago.

Seems 4 is the right number for me. It's not a considered decision, it just seems to happen that way.

Must say, I miss Ruby, Fran and Marg heaps, now we live in separate states. I miss Marg the most coz I talk to her least. It's not considered, it just seems to happen that way.

Must fix that.

HUZZAH TO THE FAB 4. Without you ALL I'd go nutser than I already am.

Tea for two,

I've been thinking the last day or two, If I could eat anything I want, what would it be.

Would it be a hamburger?
Would it be a bag of Red Rock Sea Salt flavoured chips?
Would it be a bag of chocolate bullets?
Would it be Fish and Chips and a Spring Roll?
Would it be a big bag of Darrel Lea Soft Liquorice?

Then I thought, whilst I'd LOVE any one of those, the thing I miss most on this programme is a cup of tea.

Nothing else, just a hot cup of English Breakfast Tea.

That's the only thing that's making this a little difficult, if not for the tea, it'd be a breeze.

Someone make me a cuppa. Please.

One for the pot.

When you're making a pot of tea, you put in scoops of loose tea, one per cup, and one for the pot.

That's sorta been my motto when cooking.

When I'm preparing, I always allowed a little extra for 'cooking down' or 'sticking to the pot'.

This last couple of weeks, I've really been lamenting the little bit that gets stuck. I'll get over it.

It does 'hurt' when you only get one egg, and it seems like a quarter of it stays in the pot. I've stopped having brekkie egg because of it.

Speaking of brekkie, this morning's was not bad, 4 small mushrooms, grilled with garlic flakes and all spice on top, topped with cottage cheese, on Paradise Light Crackers. Yummy. But I worry that I've wasted two of my crackers. This means no morning tea, or no crackers with supper. Hmmm... I think I'll have to think it out again.

Today I'm going to take Sue's advice. I'm going to roam through the online recipes on the Cohen website and see what I find. There's gotta be something more interesting hidden there.

Stupid advertising. Cohen ppl take note.

Ya know, I've been thinking...

The Cohen's advertising says "Weight loss and wellness through nutrition".

Yeah, OK, that's right, but...

It doesn't emote. It doesn't MOVE me to WANT to do the programme.

What it needs to say is this:

LOSE WEIGHT FAST
SITTING ON YOUR ARSE.

Nothing more, nothing less.

It'll have 'em flocking to it.

Everyone starting on a weight loss programme is terrified that they're going to be made to run up and down stairs carrying a medicine ball. Or worse.

I've tried gym. Got a letter in the mail today from the gym I have a membership at (you can stop laughing now) saying 'gee, you haven't been for a while'. Um yeah, no, I haven't, coz I'm fat and lazy and I don't get any help there.

The Cohen programme needs to make more mileage out of the fact that there's no additional exercise required over the 'incidental' exercise we get every day anyway. They go on about tailoring the programme, and blood tests and other scientificmumbo, but nothing about not jogging.

With all the knowledge they have of the overweight psyche I'd have thought they'd have played this one up more.

It's the little things.

Had a win today.

For the first time I was able to walk into a room and sit in a chair with arms.

Skinny people just don't realise how big a thing this is.

It's just NOT fun to walk into a room or a restaurant or a friend's house and not be able to fit into the chairs. I got to a point where I just didn't bother trying them and asked for an office chair or armless chair to be brought out.

I still think, even so, that restaurants should have at least half their chairs without arms. Preferrably all.

It's just too embarrassing to most people to have to ask for a different chair. Think of all the money the restaurants are missing out on. Do they realise Fat people Eat too? (how do they think they got that way!!!)

Seriously, though, there's so many embarrassing things that can happen to you when you're overweight. Here are a few:

-The lift alarm goes off when you walk in and there's already a couple of people in there.
-Your bum/gut/legs/arms get stuck when you're trying to get them through a small space.
-You have to ask people to move their chairs in a restaurant, after half a dozen skinny people have walked right past it.
-People in shops look at you funny when you pick up a size 12 (my daughter is size 12), and say "That won't fit you" or "um, the larger sizes are over there", they don't take it kindly when you answer "oh, but what about when I take off my fat suit at home? I'll have nothing to wear!" .
-You won't get into the back of a small car for fear of it looking like a 'rebirth' to onlookers when you get out again.

You know, little things like that.

Little things that I hope never to be bothered by again.

Captain's log, supplemental.

Here's the conversation you don't want to hear, so if you're squeamish TURN AWAY NOW!

Poo.

That's our subject today.

It's interesting what happens to your poo on this diet. A friend told me that when they were on this diet they only poo'd twice a week, on average. Well, I've been on it 9 days, and so far, 2 poo's.

Yeah, I know, more information than you really wanted, but you WERE warned.

Now, my theory for this is that the body is using all of the food I'm giving it, and only the REAL waste is being wasted. So I guess this is good.

The biggest problem is, um, how to put this, the biggest problem is the difficulty expelling this waste. Only wish that was easier.

There endeth the lesson.

Learned something today.

If you go shopping straight after a successful weigh in, you're less tempted to buy junk.

Went for my weigh in today, have been on the programme 9 days, have lost 6.3kg.

Not too shabby.

In cooking the last week, I've noticed that I've favoured raw salady type things, because the thought of cooking in MASSIVE pots (which are the only variety I own) and cleaning them, just for 100g of veggies! So, today, while shopping, I bought myself a tiny $8 saucepan. And lashed out on Shiitake Mushrooms. Since I eat so much mushroom, I thought I'd best mix it up a little.

Came home, and cooked up my 100g stir fry. Not daunting at all in the little saucepan. Will cook more now.

Had my 110g Steak with 100g stir fried Shiitake Mushrooms, Onion, Zucchini and Wombok. It wasn't bad.

I've been missing cheese, so tomorrow, I'm going to have cheese for lunch. I can have cottage, ricotta or Mozarella. I don't really like Mozarella, so will probably have Ricotta with roast mushrooms. Must say, I wish they made a blue vein ricotta.. hehe

My kingdom for a breast.

Had a great day today at the Medieval fair, kids had a ball, they did archery, and had a fencing lesson. I bought myself a really pretty pendant.

Took my own lunch, and ate it. Was VERY tempted by the Bratwurst sausages, and the proffjertes, and the corn on a cob. Not to mention the Hot chocolate... hmmmmm. But I didn't have any.

Unfortunately, despite it being the dead middle of winter, it was about 30C today, and hot as hell in the sun. I didn't take a hat (being the middle of winter) But took water, bought more, and drank 2 cans of Sprite Zero. Still ended up with heat stroke.

Luckilly I'd had the foresight to organise the kids dinner tonght last night. So I just had to put it into the oven when we got home and they were right.

My dinner was another matter. I miscalculated the number of meals I'd need and ended up tonight with no appropriate meat. And I was starving. AND I had a splitting headache (still have). So I defrosted a pack of chicken out of the freezer. Thigh meat. There was no beef or chicken breast in the freezer and it was too late for the shops, and my headache precluded shopping anyway. So, thigh it was. (albeit trimmed to within an inch of it's life, so NO visable fat on it).

In addition to that, since I'd been walking around ALL day, and having been seriously hungry since about 3.30pm (it was 6pm for dinner) even after eating a crispbread, I weighed out my veggies. Couldn't stand the sight of lettuce, baby spinach or cabbage AGAIN. All I wanted was grilled mushroom and grilled squash. When I weighed my veg, it allowed me 2 mushrooms and half a squash. I broke. I ate an additional half a squash.

Do I feel guilty? Yeah, a little, but, since my normal headache remedy is a mars bar and a big bag of potato chips, I don't think the Squash half will be my downfall....

I have to go for my weigh in tomorrow arvo. Am a little freaked that I can't make it in the morning, but, then, I think that if I'm worrying about how much less I'd weigh at 9am than at 3pm I need to see a psych, not a dietgal.

Will check in tomorrow with the news. Good, bad, or ugly.