LAST PUSH
Everything is in countdown mode now. In two weeks I will be aboard a direct flight from Chicago, USA to Auckland, NZ. And my last and final and biggest and bestest assignment for my certificate in teaching English as a Second Language is due on the 13th. So you see? I am hauling arse! If you will excuse the expression.
Speaking of arses. I pulled out my good summer jeans for packing and decided to try them on first. HORRORS! They no longer fit. How is it that I have put on so much weight this winter?
The weight is not the problem – I still look the same – but I HATE tight uncomfortable clothing and with the new retirement budget I am not spending money on a new set of clothes just because I have been careless with food. 
The body craves more calories in the winter!
But – there you are – I am back on the colorful diet wagon. I have two weeks to get comfortable again. Sigh.
We are still in the cycle of raining then freezing then raining then warming up. Today will be 50 again ( I am so glad I no longer have honey bees – this weather would wreak havoc with the poor wee things).
It was raining cats and dogs in the night. A curious expression though we all know exactly what it means. There is talk of this expression being linked to 16th century poetry. But the one Dad learned is the one I like the best. He studied Latin as a boy:
- “Cats and dogs” may come from the Greek expression cata doxa, which means “contrary to experience or belief.” If it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually or unbelievably hard.
And so it was. Language is so subjective.
I drove the big truck around the corn field yesterday to feed Del’s mob over the fence into Pat’s Paddock. This was before last nights rain and the ground was very wet and spongy even then.
No more doing that until it freezes again.
After chores this morning I am going to try and finish the first copy of my last assignment. I need it to be done soon because there is mucking out to be done especially in the sleeping pen where the Six were locked in over the worst of the polar vortex storm, that desperately needs cleaning out while it is all thawed. So it will be four hours writing the four hours shoveling today.
Clean dry straw is like Christmas for animals.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Celi
31 Comments on “LAST PUSH”
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I still have the weight I put on in Germany last May. I feel fine with it, but my wardrobe offers little to accommodate the extra pounds. I know in spring and summer I’ll lose it this year. Last year the weather and dry conditions didn’t allow for my usual work… and I was more reckless with my diet (traveling to visit family who eat differently than we do did not help at all!). Stress has been our enemy this year… but FD and I are determined that will change this year!!
Sometimes the streams in life converge at once into a big river that feels overwhelming. Keep breathing and your head above the water line. 🙂
Good luck with the assignment.
Hope the warmth returns properly soon. Laura
I’m amazed that you stand still enough to put on any weight, but perhaps the snow had you indoors for longer than normal.
Raining cats and dogs sounds like a it should come from a 5th C BC Greek comedy (but doesn’t). I can imagine dead cats and dogs being washed down the Fleet River (which became an open sewer from Hampstead Heath, down through Kentish Town, Camden and Kings Cross), in a storm, to the River Thames. They would have been joined by blood and other waste products from Smithfield Market on the way.
What a delightful image .
I am blaming the study. Sitting at my desk for hours at a time!
That’ll do it!
I never weigh myself—just know to cut down when my jeans feel tight! I feel for you…
Same. I don’t even own scales. Every time I give blood they ask me how much I weigh and I tell them I have no idea / it creates great consternation
Thank goodness the certificate work comes before the grand New Zealand trip which will be wonderfully happy and relaxing. A reward for such intense work.
Ah, “cata doxa” makes so much sense, thank you (and your Dad: ) for another question answered!: )
Stuck in the same cycles as you. Eaves are dripping and it appears the sheets of ice are letting go. Hoping it will soften enough to be able to crush/break it up with the tractor’s chained wheels before the next round of freezing drizzle/rain arrives… *sigh* totally HATE this shite weather:/ Lucky, lucky you with New Zealand in your future: )
👍, plus first bump. (Same for your upbeat energy, Miss C)
Perhaps it’s the fact that muscles weigh more than fat? Take care and have a lovely day!
Oh and that instagram video of Jude is priceless!
Aye, muscle is five times as dense as fat!
You don’t make it easy on yourself!
Love the ‘cata doxa’ factoid. I’m needing to get my traveling jeans out and try them on…and pray. xx
What is your colourful diet? Yes always put on weight in winter too.
A minute on the lips – a lifetime on the hips!
Coleslaw and fruit salad. But especially coleslaw.
If I have some in the fridge at all times I am good to go,
And where’s the protein to feed those “dragging hay and water muscles”?? And fat that’s necessary for nerve and brain tissue? What’s worth more, your health or a pair of jeans? Winter’s not the time for your “colourful diet”:/
Those last couple of kilos are sneaky… winter there, holidays here… Since I first ever read your mention of it, I keep the makings of coleslaw to hand, easy, versatile, delicious, healthy regardless of the meal or season.
So delighted the Dreamliner now does the Auckland > Chicago route direct ! Sydney > Chicago direct was also on the cards awhile back but has not happened: I always tell my ‘there’ friends that will be the time I’ll buy a ticket !! As far as tight jeans go Milady: you may not have gained any weight . . . . body shape does change as the years progress, I’m afraid 🙂 ! Success with the assignment . . .
Just looked up your flight – Lordie: only 16 hours southbound and one hour less coming home! Probably the fastest one-stop for us too via Auckland !! And it only began the service in December . . . have always hated flying so that would be a dream 🙂 !!!
Goodness the human body is crazy. I would have thought all the work you did while it was so cold would burn all your stored energy and your pants would be too big.
A visit to summer and family after you finish your class sounds perfect. 🙂
Finding that favourite and formerly well-fitting clothes just don’t fit any more really is a drama. It’s not just inconvenient, it makes you look at yourself differently, especially if it’s not accompanied by a weight change. After chemotherapy I complained to my doctor that I couldn’t get back my original body shape. He told me that it had put me through menopause (no really? Like I hadn’t noticed!) and that a change of body shape was a natural part of this change. While many women don’t accept this, he said, I had to consider it as a reverse of the puberty process, which itself brought a change of body shape. I have tried all sorts of things, but I have never been able to recover my waist. No bum, no waist, and now, no ankles. Perhaps I’ll try coleslaw and fruit salad…. And I have absolute confidence in your ability to juggle mucking out, doing your assignment and flinging things into a suitcase whilst you munch your coleslaw.
Curious world. My old pants fit perfectly now, just under my belly. And they let my legs breathe, unlike the tight lower legs guy-style I see on TV. (Love the lounge visits!) As for teaching credentials, you already have them. We are learning a unique world of expressive language here, poetic too, if you ask me.
A non-stop flight sounds wonderful and goood luck with the snug fitting pants. Many of us can relate! We just do what we gotta do! I was so disappointed to read a week or so ago that Aunty Del had become a little grumpy. She is my fav.
Congratulations on getting your ESL certificate. I enjoyed teaching ESL decades ago. The challenge of teaching science and math to children who don’t share a common language proved to be a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I am continually amazed how much you do. Safe journey to NZ !
I loathe clothing that is tight … I’m heading off to Aussie and need to get my bag packed! How exciting for you to be coming home Celi. What a summer we have been having 🙂
I recently discovered that German has its own word for the extra pounds we often gain during the winter: “winterspeck” (it translates as “winter bacon”). Isn’t that fabulous?!
Congratulations on the ESL certificate! 🙂 Are you planning to teach it independently or in a school/college? Just asking as I’m always interested in people’s experiences of teaching ESL. It’s something I often think about doing!