5 surprising things I did (or didn't) do today

1. I didn't read the day away. (This has been known to happen. Frequently.)
   
   
2. I did wash all the dirty dishes in my kitchen including the ones I had to wash by hand. (This is a most dreaded chore. I have a sinkful of pots & pans drying and my second load of dishes waiting to be run in the dishwasher. Dreaded chore.)
   
   
3. I did buy an mp3 player with my Christmas money. (I really wasn't planning on doing this today. Didn't I just mention that this was on my wishlist recently?)
   
   
4. I did clean three rooms of my house and bake bread. (I'm finishing the bread up right now. Yummy.)
   
   
5. I didn't step one foot out the door. (Some days it is nice to hibernate a little bit.)
   

Cravings

I am craving enchiladas. Seems appropriate for Super Bowl weekend.

Tomorrow, I think, I will make some and also some homemade bread.

That is after I sleep in a little bit! :-)

Tick, tock

I'm thinking it was not a good idea to put the spring countdown on in the sidebar. Everyday I look at it and everyday I think, "Hmm, I that should really be going down faster."

I know.

It's only going to go down by one day at a time. I think it should have a super power. Or at least let me feel a little warmer.

One thing I do like about this frigorific weather . . . toasty blankets when I go to bed. I don't have an electric blanket so I pop my blankets in the dryer for a couple minutes. Just long enough to get cozy.

Hmm . . . I think need to go start my dryer . . .

Mmm . . .

I have been thinking about technology a lot lately. When I was a kid we had a Texas Instruments computer that connected to a television. We used it for games mostly. I think in sixth grade the students who finished their work were allowed to use the computer to play Oregon Trail -- loaded from an actual floppy, floppy disk.

My typing class was taught on typewriters -- granted they were electric but still.

I didn't have e-mail until college. A cell phone a year or two after I graduated from college. I rarely send text messages. I don't have a mp3 player (although this is on my wishlist).

It seems to me that kids with cell phones get younger and younger. And I'm sure a lot of preschoolers know as much or more than I do about computers.

It is mind-boggling to me what the next technological step might be . . .

Wastin' time

You would think, coming off a weekend where I did absolutely nothing, that I would get something done today!

Nope.

Not one thing.

Well, I did empty my dishwasher, but I don't think that should count because that is just something I needed to do. So I could eat. Off a clean plate.

I did take these pictures.

During the time in between doing nothing and not doing anything. ::sigh & head shake::

She is trying to ignore me as I make every possible noise (short of screaming) to get her to look at me:



She decided enough was enough:



Is it just me or is does it look like she is judging my idleness??

Variety is the spice of life

My job is so diverse.

Today for instance:

• two gentlemen carrying on a conversation in Russian
  
  
• a political discussion of world politics from the past 100 years
  

• a question concerning a court case heard 50 years ago
  
  

And those were just the major topics of the day.

Mystery!

I'm just realizing I should probably put away my Christmas decorations. That will be a project for this weekend.

When I do I won't have to solve another Case of the Wandering Wiseman:



I'm thinking it has something to do with this one:

A little weary

I have been tending toward pandiculation today. I have been working extra hours this week -- covering for a vacationing co-worker. I caught myself mid-yawn several times today.

I work an extra hour tomorrow and then have Awana tomorrow night. Then I work a long day on Thursday.

I am looking forward to the weekend -- I have Friday through Sunday off.

I think it is time for bed. My eyes are watering and I can barely see.

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word of the week: pandiculation

Uh, Oh, Spaghetti-os

I went and did it. I caved and now I'm paying for it.

I started watching Friday Night Lights. ::shaking head:: I shouldn't have done it because now I am addicted and I don't think I can stop.

Watching that is.

I have watched 5 episodes in the last three days. Not good.

Not good at all.

The show on the other had is wonderful . . . ::sigh::

___

BTW: I am starting at the beginning so NO SPOILERS! I'm seriously a serial person. Everything in its order. :-)
___

FNL and Facebook . . . two habits that could become detrimental to my mental state.

I better watch myself.

5 healthy foods I have been snacking on this week

1. Homemade wheat bread
   
   
2. Homemade granola with yogurt
   
   
3. Green salad with basalmic vinegrette
   
   
4. Celery
   
   
5. Dark chocolate (good for you in small doses!)
   

I survived! Only 12 hours to go . . .

And then it warms up to 20 above! :-)

You know, I think the human race would either be much more silent or much more intelligent if we didn't have the weather to discuss and critique.

Listen to this, O Job, stand and consider the wonders of God. Do you know how God establishes them, and makes the lightning of His cloud to shine? Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds, the wonders of one perfect in knowledge, you whose garments are hot, when the land is still because of the south wind? (Job 37:14-17)

My toes are cold

Brr. . . talk about frigorific. My toes have been cold all evening . . . and I have socks on. I think I will have to pull out my woolies. Mmmm . . . just thinking about it is warming them up.

I have fresh bread baking in the oven. If thinking about that doesn't make me feel warmer I don't know what will. Oh wait, maybe my blanket fresh from the dryer will!

I have to think warm or I will never get through the next couple days of negative 20 to 50 degree wind chill.

On a side note:

The sister's current outdoor temp: 23 degrees (that's positive 23 degrees) or 18 degrees wind chill (again positive).

The brother's current outdoor temp: 48 degrees (not even freezing!).

I think I'm going to cry . . .

The long but not so bad day

Long:

1. The computers at work were acting up

2. I walked to work -- it was cold

3. It was one of those days were I got a lot of little things finished up but I don't feel like I accomplished much


Not so bad:

1. I barely had to shovel today!

2. The computers were an easy fix

3. I am going to bed!

Snow Day

My co-worker came back from lunch today saying she it was snowing so hard that she had trouble driving across town. That along with the weather forecast forced the decision to close the library early today. I acquiesced to this decision quite readily even though I usually don't mind the weather -- I only live six blocks from work.

It is still snowing . . . and starting to blow.

Plus it is getting colder.

When is spring again?

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Word of the week: acquiesced

5 of my all-time favorite movies . . .

1. Princess Bride -- "Inconceivable!"
   
   
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -- I really don't care for the other Indiana Jones movies although I haven't seen the most recent one . . .
   
   
3. Lord of the Rings trilogy -- the books are better (but isn't that always the way)
   
   
4. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -- a classic
   
   
5. The Goonies -- I've mentioned it before and I just have to again
   

Plans

With the frigorific* front moving in tomorrow, I am planning on cooking all of tomorrow afternoon.

I am working at the library for a few hours in the morning but then I have dedicated my afternoon to making homemade mac & cheese, potato & ham soup, and bread! Ambitious I know but I am holding myself accountable to get this done.

This will be part of my meal supply for next week and I am going to freeze some for later. I am kind of liking this meal-planning thing.

One thing I have already realized is I have to be flexible. Wednesday a project I couldn't get out of came up at work and I had to leave for lunch later than usual plus it was shortened so I had to improvise a little. But it worked and I'm good.

I think I will be eating better and healthier.

I hope.

No, I know I will -- I have celery in my fridge . . . to snack on! That is already way better than anything I have had for a long time.

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*word of the week

My favorite things

I have discovered my favorite salad dressing . . . basalmic vinegrette.

My mom had it as a salad dressing option for Christmas dinner. It was yummy.

It's a bonus that it encourages me to eat salads . . .

And I tried out this granola recipe . . . easy and delicious!

Habit forming

I am attempting to form some new and better habits.

Reaching for the celery instead of the cookie. Doing something active instead of watching a movie. And so on and so on.

I had read somewhere that it takes about a month to form a new habit. Where I read that I have no idea but I was searching some sites trying to find where I had read it and found this instead.

I found this article very informative and very encouraging. I went a little deeper and read some information about the author. And I was just plain impressed.

I have decided to go about this in a methodical manner (instead of the willy-nilly way I normally do things). Ha. We'll see how long this lasts.

My first new habit: create a meal plan and stick to it.

Yesterday I created a meal plan for today through Saturday. So far I have kept tonight's meal.

As Bob would say, "Baby step."

Well, it's winter

For some reason, it seems that as soon as the holiday season is over winter should be too.

Unfortunately that is not the case. This past weekend brought frigorific weather and freezing rain. Yesterday morning I woke to an ice skating rink rather than a driveway.

Thankfully I walk to church -- I don't think I would have made it if I had to drive. Walking posed enough of a problem as it was. I basically slid down my driveway and walked in the snowbank to the corner. I decided to take my chances walking in the street the rest of the way.

I continue to remind myself that spring is just around the corner. And I am thankful that "God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth'; and it was so.[emphasis mine] Genesis 1:14-15

In the mean time, I am glad I have a fat cat laying on my lap and keeping me warm!

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Word of the week: frigorific

5 things I am looking forward to this year!

1. Teaching my "Computers for Older Adults" class again this spring
   
   
   
2. Visiting friends
   
   
   
3. Paying off my credit card bill
   
   
   
4. Completing my new year resolutions (of course!)
   
   
   
5. All the blessings yet to be discovered

Heart and soul

The dawning of a new year . . .

Resolutions for my physical life:

• Resolutions in this area of my life seem to be the hardest of mine to keep.  However I will do my utmost to keep this one -- my goal is to participate in some form of physical exercise at least 3 times per week.

Resolutions for my spiritual life:

• Follow a Bible reading plan.  I was doing some research to prepare for this goal and there are a lot of web resources for this type of thing.  I ended up choosing a chronological plan to read the entire Bible in a year . . . a little ambitious I know but I think I am up to this endeavor.
  
  
• One other thing I would like to do is to participate in some kind of group Bible study this year.

These are my life goals this year.  I have already begun on the uncluttering and the Bible reading plan.  Nothing like jumping in with both feet.  I am already excited for the new year!