Zumba, Olive Garden, Fireworks!

Okay, this was definitely a great day! Another great day I must say! :) Today I started the day with taking my dog for his favorite ride thru the Dunkin Donuts drive thru, he loves that even though he doesn't get anything out of it for munchies, but it's still an adventure for him. I'm gonna have to change my diet there soon, I going to go with the Oatmeal more often, I like their Oatmeal and compared to everything else they have there, it's probably one of the most healthiest food they sell. Actually, now that my curiosity is peaked, let take a looksey....according to their website Dunkin Donuts
One Dunkin Donuts Blueberry Muffin - 460 Calories and 130 Calories From Fat
Original Oatmeal with dried Fruit Topping - 270 Calories and 35 Calories From Fat
let's go with a classic just for comparison sake - One Jelly Donut - 270 Calories and 130 Calories From Fat
So, now that that's out of the way.......let's take a peek at my favorite Yogurt (since Dunkin Donuts doesn't sell Yogurt which they should, we will have to go to the grocery market to get this, but grocery markets don't have drive thru which is inconvenient for the "doggie ride"), but we will put in my favorite Yogurt right here anyways: Yoplait Strawberry  Orginial Yogurt which is my favorite. This is picture is pulled from their website.

So, that is that.....let's move on with my day.......

I also started my day with an hour of Zumba!! :) I love Zumba and I should do more of it. I found a great place with the nicest teachers locally, it's called Vive La Dance. This studio does it ALL, from Zumba to TRX, they have a very flexible schedule. So I'm going to try the TRX this weekend coming up.

Then moving on with my day today. I did have to go do some work today for a few hours and that was pretty uneventful. Then I caught up with some friends after work and then watched the fireworks here. I'm not really a fan of the whole noise and lights of fireworks, so I usually just watch them and let my mind drift off into some direction aimlessly until the fireworks are done. Then I went online tonight and played a friendly, free game of online poker. And out of 188 players, I finished 38th. Oh, well, I'll try again next time.

New Tire With Jake

Lately I've been having a hard time with one of my tires staying inflated. So today, I had enough and bought a new tire.......I don't mind buying a new tire, it's the waiting around for hours on end in the tire shop waiting room that drives me nuts. Today wasn't too bad, I think I waited a little over an hour. I realize I should of done this repair at the beginning of the month to avoid all those "end of the month" people who want to get their inspection sticker. Let's take you thru the pictures :)

This tire has been testing my patience!

Come on Jake.......let's get a new tire!

We wait......

Hum-dum-hum.....waiting....

We been doing some more waiting..... (but we did get a chance to walk around outside)

Will this ever end.....

So, that was my day today. Tonight I didn't do much. I ran down to play Monday night poker which I like (it's free) and now we are just watching Monday night football on TV. Hope you had a more exciting and less expensive day than I did LOL! Have a good nite.

Another Uneventful Week

Well, everything here has been quiet this week......well, quiet except for Jake's little bell. We've been working to try to have him hit the little bell when he wants a snack......he's a smart cookie so I have to watch him like a hawk because I'll put the treat under the bell but he will try to distract me on something else and then he will run over and claw at the bell overturning the bell to get the treat so he doesn't have to ring the bell (hello run on sentence.....I'm not fixing it, you are on your own lol!). So anyways, I'm trying to stop him from overturning the bell and to just tap the top of it for the "bing" noise to get the treat. He's almost got it, but not yet. I see sometimes when he gets frustrated he will do another trick, like roll over, to get the treat........like I said, we still need some work on the bell......but, that's okay, I have all this time off just for him :) My sentence structure is awful tonight, but I'm moving on, you can figure out what I'm saying I'm sure. :)

I haven't really spent any money this week or done anything exciting. I know I've got to get back on the fitness wagon again and start going back to the gym. I like going there and I have some unplayed podcasts on my Blackberry I want to listen to......oh, and don't forget my Dr. Oz on TV that I like to watch while getting some miles behind me on the treadmill.......so I will go to the gym tomorrow morning (well, morning for me is like 9:30 and Dr. Oz starts at 10am), so everything works out perfectly.

Okay, confession time.......I've been lazy about my blog updates because......because.....well, because......of Poker......I said it, Poker! I know, I know, but the (free) poker site I'm playing on is very addicting and social, and some of you know how I am when it comes to being social. I'm no good at poker and I have alot to learn and I'll never become a millionaire off poker, but that's why my blog updates have been so sporadic. What I have to do is get out of the house more with Jake and the camera......so tomorrow I'll take my camera and go snap some shots at something....not sure what yet, but I'm sure Jake can help me.

So unfortunately, I don't have much of an update, but I'm still here. Have a good night, I'll be back! :) And if you are keeping track, this is my 86th blog posting.....

Okay, you all with me still....LOL!

Hello! This is my 81st blog posting.....I'm doing pretty good but fell off the bloggie wagon for a few days there......I'm ok, I'm back, I didn't get hurt :) I gonna post some pictures on here I got off the internet, hope I don't get in trouble.....save bail money for me in case :)

I don't have any original pictures......well, I haven't taken any pictures at all last week or this past weekend.....haven't really been doing much. The "Superbowl of Horse Racing" is done for another year, but I don't talk about that sport on this blog. Let's talk poker! :)

Okay, I've been playing poker online alot lately, and I think as much as I've been playing online, it has hurt my performance in my live poker league. Why?? Hmmmmm, well, the live poker league tonight (I know, I'm home early) was a real eye opener for me. I actually saw real holes in my game I need to work on......let's list them out here:

First off, I have to learn not to be a "follower". I crashed big time tonight at poker because I shouldn't be afraid of, or "forget" to, or dismiss the fact that re-raising can work in my favor. Got to find that creative side inside me to read the hesitation in others and re-raise when I smell fear in the ones that stay in to play the hand out. For example tonight, one person bet 3,000 chips and I called him on it after following his lead thru out the hand. He said "If you would of re-raised me to 5,000 I would of folded and you would of won." With this statement he showed me his hand and it would of been true. *slaps forehead* Okay, add re-raising to list of ammunition to use to win, but use wisely. *check* got it! :)

Second off, I have to learn the language. Ugh. They can't just stay with the solid formal terms of a winning hand. You know, the typical, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, etc........ohhhh, noooooo, they have to confuse me and say things like "I bet you have a Boat in your hand". A what??? What the heck is a "Boat"?? I've never heard of a "Boat" in poker before!!! Yeah, yeah, before you start laughing too, we all start as a bottom feeder. LOL! (Note to self: A "Boat" is another name for a "Full House" in poker) Geez!

Third off, I tried a new playing technique tonight which I was curious if it worked, and it didn't. But maybe it was because I had crappy cards all night (I mean, it can't be totally my fault!). Well, since poker blinds go up so fast (every, say, between 12 and 15 minutes), I tried to play aggressively up front on the smaller blinds to collect what I needed to survive thru the bigger blinds late in the game. I don't think this technique should be used on every poker session, but I think that type of "play" holds more of a 10% luck rate. So, from this I can tell I need to find more patience to hold out on playing aggressively and play more confident on the solid hands I'm dealt. Case Closed! Ugh.

So, moving on. What else have I been doing? Going to the gym, I do between 2 and 3 miles on the treadmill while watching their TV or listening to my PodCasts on my Blackberry. That seems to zip time along nicely as it helps me get thru my gym sessions like it's not a chore. My walking group is coming to and end this week.....I haven't been going since it's been too cold in the morning for my liking, but the walking group is having a little banquet on Nov 15th for lunch, so that should be fun to go to and say bye to everyone until the spring time walking group resumes.... :)

Jake has been doing good. Very playful and feeling great! I'm attending a "Tweetup" in Boston this weekend on his behalf. Yes, he has his own twitter account and his own friends. It's funny how people can get along so easily with each other thru their pets. This "Tweetup" will be awesome as I've only meet two people I yap with on Twitter in my life. So this "Tweetup" should really fill my list of meeting Twitter Peeps! I think there is like 9 or 10 of us going now, and I'm trying to talk someone else (you know who you are lol) into going so we can meet for the first time and say Hi and put a face with a Twitter name. I can be such a social butterfly.....I love it! :)

Tomorrow will be exciting because I will be having a late lunch with a friend. Yes, one of those friends I yap with and check in with everyday via email and text messaging, but we only see each other once a month to pig out at a restaurant. I love that! Take my car, take my phone, but never take my social time with friends away from me :) Okay, seriously, take my car, but leave the Blackberry! :)

Have a good night! :)

Meandering Thru The Week

Wow, it's Wednesday already. We still have snow on the ground, but it has been plowed up in piles, trees are still being cleaned up, and I hear homes are getting power back slowly but surely. So I'm hoping that was the start and end of snow storms. The temperature has been cold in the morning and cold in the late afternoon, but I've been getting Jake out of the house during the peak sunny hours of the day. He doesn't have to touch snow, so he's happy. I got so much feed back from my last bloggie about Jake's "broken foot" game.....I know for sure, I made many readers laugh and that is why I do this blog to explain to you that as much as what I try to get done, there's always a kink in my day that makes everyone laugh.

Oh, speaking of that little pup, today I got Jake's AKC Canine Good Citizen tag in the mail. Little silver tag that has his name on the back of it with my name and phone number. So, let's see now, this over-protective owner (that's me LOL!) has her phone number (my cell phone number) on him three times.......yes, yes, I know, overkill. He's got four tags, one from the Vet office for his shots, one from the town hall for his license, one I got personalized at PetCo with my name and phone number, and this one I got in the mail that has my name and number. Don't forget the micro-chip in his shoulder that has moved 11 millimeters, this is why I heard they don't do chip implants in shoulders anymore, they insert the chips closer to the neck so they don't move around as much.

Okay, moving on.....I've been playing online (for free) on a new poker tournament. Well, my performance on these new online poker tournaments aren't too bad for a newbie (I've been playing poker for 4 months now).....out of 230 players, I came in 80th........I can't complain.

Some times you have nice people at the table and some people just want to make a statement. Like Charlie (just a guy at the table, never met him before, never will meet him ever) who hooked me into a game to the end and I swear I had him, but his moves were more confident than mine. Well, at the last betting round he "bet matched" everything in my bank LESS a dollar.....leaving me with $1 if I lost. You know those people who aren't just satisfied taking down other players and moving on.......these new breeds cut into you bank up to the last dollar just make a confident statement and I get to stay seated at the table with a flip chip dollar. I called him "Mean" He said "Who me?" I said "Look at what you did to me!!!" My volume on this laptop is on total mute and I can still hear him laughing inside my head. Those are little things that happens that makes playing poker so much fun because now it's my turn for retaliation, and may the best poker player win! :) See ya Saturday night right here Charlie who ever you are!!!!

Okay, I'm off to check on Jake and tickle him a tad to see if he's really sleeping or if he's bored. Poor little snooki pooki, he's so cute. I'll be back tomorrow.......and I hope with some pictures! :) Have a good night! :) I didn't re-read this bloggie, so you are on your own LOL!!! Have a good night :)

Hello! A few recent updates...... :)

Hi! Well, I've been slacking off the blog postings and it's time to get back on the wagon again......it seems to me that I haven't been doing much, but actually I've been doing quiet a bit......

Let's see here....just going to throw some stuff out to you and if I repeat myself.....well, that's just me being me..... :)

I'm not too happy with any of the RSS readers I have tried......the problem with the blog readers I try out is that it does not allow me to leave a comment on the blog I'm reading......I want to get into the habit of leaving more comments on blogs that I read......not just read a blog and leave......some people create and update blogs to create a community of interaction, as for me, I just don't advertise this blog.....I just use this blog to mark where I've been, what I've done, and where the heck I'm going next......

My poker league has definitely caught my attention and I've increased my league attendance from just Mondays to Mondays and Thursdays.....I like that......they have two poker league sessions every Mondays and Thursdays but I only sign up for one session at 7pm....and coming in 12th place each week right now takes about an hour and 15 minutes so I'm home by 8:30 with is perfect for me. The second session which is optional for me to sign up is at 9:30pm on Mondays and Thursdays, but that's way too late for my liking, I don't care how much I like poker, that's way too late.......I like being in my jammies and comfy on the sofa by 9pm tops! (yeah, guess how old this old gal is.....no late night heavy partying for this old lady LOL!!!!!)

Another thing I want to talk about is that I went to the monthly neighborhood community meeting this past Thursday. I like this meeting alot, it brings the neighborhood together to tackle local issues and keep everyone up to date on what going on around us. So, this organization wants people to come up with our opinion on how we can make the neighborhood better. Well, we've had some, unexpected changed in our immediate neighborhood, so it has been a turn of improvements around us where we live. There has been less kids running around and traffic has died down a tad with a company going out of business next to us. But, I will brain storm and look around me and come up with some more ideas to make this neighborhood a better place. The one thing that I will bring to the table is that the speed limit signs around us are too high for drivers to pay attention to. The main street in front of our house is fine, we have a stop sign right in front of our house because we live very close to a corner intersection (you can see the intersection from our window), but the back alley (back of our house) is where the speed limit signs of 10 mph are posted on telephone poles too high up. So, I'm going to snap some pictures of that and bring it to the organization's attention. I mean, I could go to the highway department about it, but I want to talk about it at the meeting too. And I can't wait to hear other people's opinion is to improve this neighborhood.

The MYPN 1 hour class about Wordpress on Thursday was great if you don't know how to use Wordpress. It was very basic and alot of people were there (about 25 people). The instructor asked how many people has built a website on Wordpress and only about 3 or 4 people raised their hand (including me). I've seen people switch from Wordpress to BlogSpot and vice versa. Everyone has their preference and I've used both blogging platforms. In my opinion, I think BlogSpot is easier to upload pictures and Wordpress is easier to customize. So they are both different in their own ways. I may even go back to Wordpress someday, but for now, BlogSpot does the job for me to update a blog quickly and easily.

Okay, what else......I have to say that we've been getting nice weather lately. Jake has been tagging along when I go walking with my walking group on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. This coming Monday's walk will be a long walk, so I will leave Jake home and bring my headphones for the music and podcasts in my Blackberry. Jake likes to walk, but I have seen him walk so much that his muscles get so tired that his back leg gives out. So, I bring him to the shorter walks on the schedule so he doesn't push himself too much, but still gets the exercise he needs to be healthy and active.

Okay, speaking of healthy and active and exercise......I've looked online to the Dr. Oz website and saw the schedule of this week's TV programs so I can tailor my treadmill schedule to the shows that I would find more interesting. Story of my life.......LOL!

Anyways, I think I've yap enough for one posting.......don't have plans for tomorrow, but you never know......Have a good night! :)

Reporting In On My Last Three Days

Hi! It's been a couple of days since my last posting......let's see here.....first off, Jake got his AKC Canine Good Citizen certificate in the mail. So, I went to the store and bought a frame for that. Of course, when I got the certificate, it came with a brochure of all kinds of Canine Good Citizen's pet tags, leashes, etc. So, I ordered a small silver tag for his collar with his name on it.......he's doing super good.......and he deserves a trip to PetCo real soon. :)

My classes are done for this year.....they will start back up next year, so my schedule right now has opened up a tad......my walking group is still 3 times a week.....rain is coming for the next two days, so I'll end up going to the gym on the treadmill instead of walking outside. I hate wet sneakers LOL! I went to the gym this morning to watch the Dr. Oz show......I like going to the gym when there is a good TV show, it keeps me there double the time I would of stayed without a workout distractor :)

Last night's poker tournament was okay........I lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes coming in at 12th out of 30th for the second week in a row. Just can't seem to jump into that top 10 yet......but it's so much fun. I would say that out of 30 players, there are only 4 women playing (including me). I will continue my quest to gain card playing experience and, of course, feed my social interaction. :)

The Manchester Young Professionals Network has a "Power Lunch" class on Wordpress on Thursday from noon to 1. The class looks pretty basic for people who want to start a blog on Wordpress, but I still want to attend to see if there are any Wordpress advanced topics that might come up in discussion and it might lead to other networking events that I might be interested in (and it's free) :)

Other than that, it will be a quiet week and thru the rainy days ahead I will hang out with Jake and go to the gym. I'll be back to bug you again. Have a great night! :)

Quiet Day.....but did alot.....

Well, today was a nice relaxing day, but I got a few little things done I had on the back burner. (And I hate putting things on the back burner because I don't know how to cook LOL!). Okay, so I opened with a joke :)

Okay, let's go thru my day today (I know, it's always about me, go figure LOL). This morning I ran some errands with Dad (my Mom worked today from 8am to 1pm Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays), we went to the bank, hardware store and Sears. Turned in $80 worth of change (that one must of been Mom's idea), hardware store to buy a new chain for our driveway so people don't walk thru our driveway to get from the main street in front of our house to the back alley as a short cut. And we went to Sears to buy a Digital Tire Gauge because most of the typical tire gauge, the simple manual ones that we have only goes to a maximum of 60 psi and our pick up 1 ton Ram, well, it just doesn't work with the little air pressure gauge......so we had to invest in a super duty Digital Tire Gauge that looks like THIS. Can't show you a picture of it yet.....still working on that temporary photo maxed out issue, but you can click the link for the same exact product. I'll pay the $5 for 20GB to add tons of more pictures more to my blog. I can't wait, but I can send you to a link of where we bought it and what it looks like.

Okay enough about that. I know i can get rambling sometimes......I watched some TV this afternoon (court shows, talk shows, etc) and at the same time (yes, I can multi-task), I downloaded a Podcast Player onto my Blackberry and uploaded.......hmmmmmm, let me count them all, hang on......okay, I downloaded 54 Podcasts uploaded onto my Blackberry to listen to. In case, for some reason, you don't know what a podcast is.......Looking all over Google-land for the best way to explain what a podcast is......I believe this would be it: An Internet's version of a radio show. All those radio talk shows you listen on the radio in your car and at the end of the radio show, you are still driving and hit the steering wheel because the podcast episode that were entertaining you came to the end of the show. I love radio shows, sometime I wish radio talk show would last forever. A good host on a podcasts will hook you into what they are saying and you just want to hang on to see what else they are going to say next. Well, a podcast is just that, a talk show stored in my Blackberry until I want to listen to it when I'm in the mood. Am I in the mood for comedy shows, listening to workout personal trainers, updates of who's entering the Breeder's Cup on November 5 at Churchill Downs, and I gonna need some confidence tips to fight my way to the top of a poker tournament.

So in the past I have tried different podcasts readers for Blackberries, but most of them are terrible because they are required to have Wi-Fi or have to plug the phone into the computer to transfer all podcasts......forget it, I knew along the way there were be an easily way to upload podcasts onto Blackberries with a App called PodTrapper......don't let it intimidate you.......it just lets you loads your favorite podcasts to listen to. There is a Podcast Catalog that comes with the App you can flip thru all kinds of different topics of podcasts.......I downloaded Poker podcasts, horse racing podcasts, and some educations podcasts I wanted to stick my big toe in to test if I'll like it or now! Anyways, moving on........

Okay, enough of that. This afternoon I met up with Toni and Mom and we had a late lunch at Longhorns restaurant (Toni had a four dollar coupon) YAY! :) I think I gained 10 pounds just from the "Peppercorn" salad dressing with my salad. You know the whole, "Noooooo, not on the side, just pour it right on top of the salad, it's all good"  Geez, really got order my meals alittle bit more responsible next time ("dressing on the side please"). I did splurge at the McDonald's for a large ice tea (extra ice) from the dollar menu! :) I saved some money there since Dunkins is $2.50 for a medium ice tea.

Today on my down time, I did some homework and I see that my next horse racing tournament is on Thursday so there wasn't anything really important I could do about that today, so I took advantage of exploring Poker websites that would at least help me get thru a few games alive.......like this blog here I've been reading tonight. The Art of Bluffing in Poker and there are a few other articles in here and many other blogs and forums I've been surfing around it, picking up hints here and there. If I came across some other pokers blogs or forums that would let the cat out of the bad on how to get the upper hand in poker, I'm reading them all :)

The Poker League I went to on Monday night is Exactly what I needed!! To play online you don't get any level of intimidation coming your way, but in person, wow, these people are aggressive players and scare me, but as the "3 Rules to Playing Better Poker" article states, you must, in all cases, "Emotion stops when cards are in the Air" I'm gong to take this little piece of article and credit it to the proper author of "Donkey of Poker" and this is what he says:

Emotion Stops When Cards are in the AirWhen you play with emotion it clutters your thought process because you’re side tracked with something else. If you can turn off that switch and just focus on the task at hand, the hand being played will allow you to play better poker.

Play What You Can Afford to LoseBankroll management is an overlooked and under appreciated skill in playing better poker. If you’re playing with scared money, you’re playing at a level too high for you to accept the losses you will get with variance.

Review Hand History WeeklyTake a day off during the week to set aside time to review your past hands played. Playing better poker means you have to know what you are doing right and wrong. This is a great time to amend your notes on players as they might be getting better at playing poker too.

So there are interesting things on this website I might revert back to every so often. AND don't forget I have all my podcast built up on my Blackberry so now I can listen to Poker programs and Racing programs, and all sort of programs that whatever I'm in the mood for will suit me! :) I love it! But, unfortunately, it just another software that digs it's nails right into my battery and drains that suck dry......battery is dying in under 2 hours because of this stuff I've downloaded onto that I NEED!!! :)

Anyways, I've badgered you enough today, gonna go tuck Jake into bed and crash next to him. I'm going to work on ordering more pisaca photo storage tomorrow so we can get pictures back up and flying on my bloggie! :) Have a good night! :)

Walking and Poker League

Hi! I'm still enjoying this awesome weather we are having over here. But heard on the news the temperature was taking a down hill turn starting tomorrow with rain coming in on Thursday. This morning I met up with my walking group and I took Jake with me. What a trooper he is, he made it 3/4 thru the walk and I had to carry him the rest of the way! That's not bad though for his little paws to keep up like he did.......I got pictures! :)

HUH????? What is this all about?? I have no more picture storage availability left for my bloggie??? *clicking on links to see what this is all about*. Okay, Google Pisaca (photo storage website) gave me 1024MB for free, I have used 1023MB so far and can't upload any photos at all right now and if I delete pictures it will come off my blog, SO google wants $5 dollars for an additional 20GB, (that's quite a bit of open storage I think) AND it will take like 24 hours for the darn 20GB to kick in........not even a warning that I was getting near my 1024MB!!!!!! Geez, think they would of told me I was getting close to running out of storage.......guess I'm just writing the blog tonight......OH POOH!!!!

Moving on, ANYWAYS, :) I'm still in a good mood.....technology and software, it's a love/hate relationship. Okay, so where was I? This afternoon, I watched TV all afternoon comfy on the sofa with Jake recuperating (snoring) from his morning walk. So, basically it was a quiet day.

Now, tonight.....*smile* Last week I had signed up for a Poker League on Monday nights at a local bowling alley. I had no idea what this was all about, but I knew it was Free! And if it's Free, it's worth Me checking it out! :) Heehee! So, I hop down there tonight and get there before 7 and I take a looksy around and find that they have four poker tables set up with 7 or 8 players per table. After signing in with my name on the list, I get my seat assignment and we start playing. I did this for two reasons, 1) to be a decent poker player, you can't play poker online forever, and 2) I wanted to get comfortable playing cards live (I was so nervous, my poor heart beating a mile a minute and I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when I was served 8, 9 different suits and, with a whole lotta luck, got an 8 and 9 in the flop, and then an 8 on the turn, and nothing on the river........but see that!!! Loook at it! :) All that right there is called a Full House! Yippee! The guy next to me had a "PartyPoker" shirt on, probably thinking he could intimidate people flashing that little badge on the shirt around. Ha! I took him out in two games. How embarrassing is that. I didn't wear anything special, just a grey simple t-shirt, gym pants, and sneakers, you know, like a sly shy snake, the quiet one, that fits right into the casual company around them, that everyone over looks. And then from Seat 2 (that's me) my unsuspecting players get an unexpected bite with the cold cards I hold, and I scoop up all their chips with my rattle snake tail, show my fangs and dare them to do it again........shhhhhhhhh, it's always the quiet ones, as I rattle my tail right back under my seat so no one sees it. :)

Okay, well, like I said it was a great night! I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow! So check back in with me tomorrow...............have a good night! :)

Oh, I had to come back here and leave you with a link of "Glossary of Poker Terms" that you might want to glance over.....okay I'm outta here for good now LOL!