The Pillow Book of Miss Particular

(a blog post written in the style of The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. A wonderful, inspiring, must-read.)

Irritating Things:

People who barge into the elevator without waiting for the persons inside to step out.
Someone microwaving onions at ten-thirty in the morning.
Women you've only just met, who call you "hon".

Amusing yet Annoying Things:

Women trying to walk in heels two sizes too big.
Women who dress in men's clothes and with a man's haircut, and yet talk stridently about "women's rights".
Jack Layton.

Rare and Lovely Things:

A robin sitting on the roof of my car this morning.  He stayed there until I began to pull away.
The first daffodil in my garden, a splash of sunshine yellow, like the frill of a summer dress, peeking out from the tight green sheaf.

The Daily Snark

Things Not To Do On Public Transit:

1. Clip your fingernails.
2. Slather cream all over your hands.
3. Hum.
4. Whistle.
5. Mutter verses from a religious text.
6. Reveal the final score of last night's hockey game.
7. Talk loudly about a sensitive business transaction.
8. Adjust your thong.
9. Eat spaghetti.
10. Change your pants.


Inspired by my twice-daily train commute.  Believe it or not, I've witnessed every one of the above.

Progress Report

Just got back from gym.  A little irritated that I've still only lost 2 pounds.  Today I made it to 20 minutes continuous 2-minute walk, 2-minute run sessions.  I was pretty pleased with myself because that pushed me over the one mile mark!

I'm trying to drink more water during the day, as I know I don't drink enough.  I was somewhat surprised to find that the traditional "8 ounces" that you're supposed to drink six of in the course of one day, is only equivalent to one standard cup measure, that is, 250 ml.  That's like, a tiny amount!  For some reason I always thought 8 ounces was one of those tall beer glasses?  Anyway I was quite relieved, because I think I could actually manage 6 x 250 ml a day.

But why have I only lost 2 pounds??!!  Surely it should be at least 5 by now?  Of course it doesn't help that my beloved husband surprises me after dinner with Haagen-Daz caramel chocolate ice-cream. 

WANT.

Courtesy of Mr. Particular:  I WANT THIS.

Yes, I am insane.

Just scrubbed my bathtub until it shone.  Now I'm sitting down with a nice cup of green tea and an organic peanut butter sandwich, so why don't I tell you about my day?

This morning I got up at 3 am and drove 5 hours to see a man about a house.  We stood around complaining about lawyers for an hour, then I drove 5 hours home.  Now, what's the best thing to do when you've just spent 10 hours driving?  Scrub the bathroom, of course!  Seriously, by the time I got home I was so hyper, I spent from 4 pm to 7:45 pm doing housework.  The end result of this effort, quite apart from (obviously) a nice clean house, is that I feel all tingly, not to mention my fingernails are really clean.

Now, it seems to me that if married folks spent more time doing housework than they do galivanting, marriages would last longer.  (Kindly note that I said folks, not women.  So you feminist types can just hold your wad there, sistah.)

Stand by your arteries

Sometimes I wonder about the state of humanity.  In an idle moment at the office, I did a search for leek soup.  This one caught my eye because it was titled Low Carb Cauliflower Leek Soup.  The intro suggests that this is "great for those watching their carbs or calories."  All was well until I reached the second ingredient: "three tablespoons butter."  Uh, that's about 300 calories right there.  The last ingredient is "1 cup heavy cream (optional)".  Heck, I'm sure relieved it's optional because that's gonna run you about 800 calories, Bubba. 

There's one commenter who says "I love this soup and have it for lunch nearly every day."  You might want to get your cholesterol checked, lady.  It may well be low carb, but there's one thing this soup is not, and that's low calorie. 

I'll have a side of angioplasty please ...

Gripe of the Day

People who stop dead at the top (or bottom) of the escalator and proceed to stand and chat.