Almost Spring!

I was creating a calendar for work and just noticed that it is almost Spring! 20 days until this long, cold, snowy winter is over. I know we get nasty weather in March but just the thought of Spring being on the way cheers me up immensely.

So why the fridge you ask?  I cleaned out mine yesterday and threw out about $100 worth of old food. This is getting ridiculous.  I buy food with all of the best intentions. I am going to make dinner, I am going take my lunch to work every day instead of buying the gross stuff that passes for food in the cafeteria, I am going to master a great low-fat recipe for my favorite scones dammit!!   For the 27 years I was married I cooked at least 4 or 5 times a week.  For the 1 1/2 years I have been not married I have cooked, MAYBE, once a week. I like to cook. I love to bake so what the hell is going on? 

I think part of my issue is I don't eat much processed foods. I don't buy canned anything nor do I buy much frozen food. After Bob had his heart surgery we completely re-vamped how we ate and now I see salt in everything. The other bigger problem is cooking for one seems like such a waste of food. I steam corn and eat a serving and waste the rest. I make a pot of stew and end up freezing most of it or giving it away though my mom is eating better and my freezer is getting full! The last issue is I go to the gym twice a week after work and it is easier to pick up a salad on my way home.  So what is the solution?  How can I eat healthy and now waste so much food? I don't have a clue but I am open to suggestions.

Enjoy your weekend and stay warm. Spring will be here soon, really!

Great week!

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends and family. Not my favorite holiday (that would be July 4) but I wanted to share, again, my favorite poem.

“This paper boat”

Carefully placed upon the future,

it tips from the breeze and skims away,

frail thing of words, this

Valentine,

so far to sail. And if you find it

caught in the reeds, its message blurred,

the thought that you are holding it

a moment is enough for me.

 

- Ted Kooser, 13th Poet Laureate of the United States

In the top 10 of my favorite days of the year is Puczki Day which is tomorrow!! YAY! I have to limit myself to one but oooh do I savor that one!

The rest of my news for this week is my brother, sis-in-law and their kids are coming for a visit from Seattle and I  haven't seen them since November. We Skype and chat on the phone but I really need to gets some hugs in.



Have a great week!

Big doings..

Hi all! I haven't posted in a while because I am actively trying not to be busy so I haven't had anything to talk about... a first for me! I fill up my weekends with errands and appointments and outings and then I don't get anything done at home so I am trying  very hard not to fill up my weekends.

As many of you know, I have plantars fasciitis and have had it for over 4 years. I have had injections and therapy and inserts and exercises and shoes shoes shoes and nothing has worked. Today my podiatrist told me he thinks surgery is my last best option.  It is an outpatient procedure and I won't bore you with the details but it means being out of work for a week, having an attractive boot for 3 weeks and then some kind of soft shoe. My doctor says 8 out of 10 of his patients have the fasciitis go away and the other 2 have some relief. I really don't want to do this but my pain is not getting any better. I may schedule this for April or May and you know me, I will make sure everyone knows!

The other item on my agenda has been cleaning out my basement, hence the staying home thingie. I have done some work but not as much as I hoped.  I am 97% sure I am selling my house around June or July. I am waiting to hear exactly when the end date on the braces is (I am on the 7th of 18 sets)before I decide when to move because...drum roll please... I am 95% sure I am moving to Dallas. I have a few things to work out but it looks like this may be the time to go. I used to pick up and move very easily but now that I am on my own it sort of sucks to even thing about but my new motto is "If not now, when?"

 I read this very interesting article by life coach Martha Beck. Below is a portion;

"You can gain more clarity by getting into the habit of imagining the choices you'd make if you had no fear—of failing, of losing, of being alone, of disapproval. Take a minute now to practice: What clothes would you wear tomorrow if everyone were sure to approve? What music would you listen to today if nobody else were around—not even in your mind? What books, movies, or food would you enjoy if no one ever judged you?
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Leaps-of-Faith-Living-Without-Fear-Martha-Beck#ixzz2JgB0N3dK    I am going to Dallas in April to visit and look around a bit so I guess we shall see....
I don't have any other news this week. I know, I know you are all surprised!

Back to work!

While I don't want to go back to work this week, I am ready! I have soup in the freezer, a cake in the oven and a roast ready to go in after it. I cleaned out my pantry, closets and most of my home office. I started my 2013 budget and hopefully I will hit my savings goal this year.

Having two weeks off gave me time to visit family, read and de-stress. I have a few big projects coming up that are due in February and March so I needed this time to get back on track. What I didn't do was work out. I gave myself the time to just be. When I don't go to the gym I feel very guilty and it adds to my stress so at the beginning of my vacation I decided I am not going to go to the gym if I don't feel like it, and I wasn't going to worry about it.  I met my trainer once last week but haven't done anything else. The funny thing is that by taking the time off I am ready to go back. I feel more motivated then I did before the holidays. I hope this break help to keep me moving forward. 

Next up; the basement from hell!  I can't figure out how but I think the junk down there multiplies when I am not home.  I really can't have ALL of THAT? 

Fat lip and broken nails

Looks like I was in a fight...with my braces!! I gave myself a fat lip this week and it still hurts.  Invisalign braces are like a clear plastic mouth guard but very tight.  The set I have for this 2-week period is super tight on top and I can't get the damn thing off to eat.  I broke most of my nails trying and the other day when I was prying them off I whacked myself, hard, in the lip! Six more months...I keep telling myself....6 more months! 

This isn't the best picture but I am holding my 5-day old great niece, Madelyn Marie! I now have 5 great nieces and 3 great nephews. There is another on the way this summer. They are between and 9 years and 1 week old and all cute as buttons!

Well, I am all ready for Christmas. I don't have a lot to do and I am not really feeling the spirit yet this year. I put a few lights outside and barely decorated the inside of the house. Go me!  I am going to have to find some kind of meaningfulness (is that a word Jim?) to the holidays because I don't like this bah humbug feeling.  I do volunteer on Christmas morning but it's the few weeks leading up to the holidays that I don't like. Maybe by next year this will change.

I wish all of my friends and family much love, a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous 2013!

What I am up to...

It's that time of year again, Cookie Exchange!  I have to make 5 dozen cookies tomorrow and wrap them in 1/2 dozen packages.   I will take them to a very nice luncheon and exchange them with 10 other cookie makers and come home with 10 - 1/2 dozen different types of cookies. It's a lot of fun and I only have to make one type of cookie.

Sooo... last night was my first date in oh, 30 years!  It was a dud. He was a nice man but we had no connection at all!  Honestly, it wasn't worth the time I spent on my make-up and now I can scratch it off my to-do list.  I kept thinking, how long before I can go home and put on my pj's and paint my nails? I don't think this is going to be very fun but I am convinced there is cowboy out there for me someplace. I will have to kiss a lot of frogs and all that....

Tonight is my work Christmas party. A bunch of doctors standing around talking about their recent cases and a bunch of support staff checking the clock to see if they can leave yet.  It's an interesting dynamic where I work. We have two clinics and the staff in each clinic never work with each other, only the doctors. They don't really know each other.  Then there is me, the only clerical support for the entire department. I am kind of the odd man out.  Oh well, we have good food and plenty of alcohol!

 If you didn't know already from Facebook, I have a new tattoo. I will post a pic after it heals. I had a tattoo on my ankle that I never liked and I wanted a new one to honor the Bobster so I have a champagne bottle with grapes around it covering the old tattoo. It's FREAKING big. Actually way bigger than I thought but I like it and it's a great conversation starter! :D

Have safe weekend and get out there and support our economy like I am by Christmas shopping!

Getting my feet wet.

Ten Things You Shouldn't Say on a Date.


1. You're wearing that?

2. Something smells funny.

3. Where's the Tylenol?

4. And to think, I first wanted to date your brother.

5. I have a confession to make…

6. My dad has a suit just like that.

7. That man is hot. Look at him.

8. My ex, may he rot in hell forever…

9. You're going to order that? Seriously?

10. You're how old?”

― Gena Showalter, Animal Instincts


A friend of a friend asked me out for coffee. When I consider the fact that I haven't dated in over 30 years I get a bit shaky!  Dating at 50 something is going to be a lot different than 20 something. I am no longer that tall skinny girl with the long blonde hair. I don't even remember what my natural hair color looks like! Plus there is the fun of wrinkles and age spots and balding and that's just the men!  I was discussing all of this with my cousin and she and I agree, looking around at men our age it seems like they are all OLD and of course we are not!  Wish me luck. I think it's gonna be a bumpy ride!