(Almost) Happy New Year!

2013 is mostly behind us now. Looking back over the year, a lot has happened... 

One evening in January I came home from work to find the front door open and our apartment ransacked. Ray was out of town for work, so I had to keep it together for a while on my own. To say that affected me would be an understatement. The reason we live in the house we do is because it has an alarm. I'm pretty sure that will be a requirement going forward. 

In February we spent time in Helen, Georgia with family celebrating a birthday. It was a fabulous time and I hope that we're all able to get together again. It's so rare that a group of family members get along so well. 

On March 22^nd, Ray, the kitties and I arrived in Delaware to report to our new positions, for me a promotion and for Ray a return to Walmart. I told you guys he'd be back. He really does bleed blue. 

We've traveled to Philly, Baltimore and D.C. on numerous occasions; the majority of them involving either the Astros or Braves. We actually spent a few days in D.C. to celebrate Ray's 43rd birthday. It was a fun trip.

Claudia came to visit for a week. We made our way to the beach, where the air temperature was in the 90's and the water temperature felt like -2! We went to the batting cages, bowling, watched some movies, ate ice cream and hopped over to D.C., where I lost the keys to the car and we had to wait for someone to help us. Good grief.

While there were a lot of good things that happened in 2013, I don’t feel that it was a purposeful year. I think we floated through the year without any real goals for ourselves. Yeah, we spent time working out shooting for healthier versions of ourselves, but that’s about it. I am typically a very organized person. When things are not in their place, when I’m at the store without a list, when I don’t have a plan, anxiety takes over and I become inefficient, ineffective and grumpy.

So, Ray and I decided to make a plan for the year. We have a plan for our finances. We know what we want to save for and how much we want to have saved by the end of the year and we have a plan to get there. We’re working on a plan for our time off this year. We have Claudia’s graduation (Oh my goodness!) to attend, we have a trip to Arizona that is in the works and we’re still working out how to get back to the Atlanta area for a visit. These are just a few of the big items we’re planning out.

I have 22 books on my To Read list. I read 17 in 2013 and am currently reading 2. We’ll see if I finish those before the new year begins. J There are movies I want to watch and TV shows I want to see. There are restaurants I want us to eat at and places I want us to be tourists in this year.

I have weight to be lost. I lost 13 lbs in 2011, 32 in 2012 and 25 in 2013. That’s 60 lbs! It’s a LOT slower than I had planned, but it’s staying off, so I’m happy with the results. This year I’m looking to lose 30 more pounds. This will mean more regular visits to the gym, a few less splurges and I know I need a goal to push me and keep me accountable. That goal is to run a 5k in late March/early April. I don’t know if Ray is running with me or not. Maybe if we can find a 5k that takes place during the week…

I haven’t decided on a race yet and it’ll depend on my marathon running co-worker’s schedule. He’s running a half and full marathon with his wife this year. I think they’re crazy, but I love listening to him tell me about their training. I also enjoy writing disparaging things on his RunKeeper updates on Facebook! Mmm, cookies! J

Speaking of cookies, I have recipes everywhere. They’re printed out, in books, stuffed in drawers, saved to my tablet, phone and laptop and online in MULTIPLE places! I want, no, I NEED these organized! I just haven’t figured out how I want to do that just yet. Do I want them on cards? Do I want them in the cloud? How about Pinterest? And what about format? Should they all be the same or does it matter? Oh, and nutritional information must be included!

Are you getting a better picture of how my head works? Scary, isn’t it?

I have pictures that haven’t been hung on the walls yet. Ray’s man cave needs to be finished. My bedframe needs to be repaired from the move. We want to spruce up the car: paint and detail it. Oh, it’s about time to start planning the container garden again!

Is anyone else feeling like a nap? Zzzzz…

I write all of these things because they are on my mind. We’ve spent hours talking about them together and I’ve spent even more hours thinking on them myself. I want 2014 to be a little less chaotic, to be a bit more structured, for us to be more prepared, so that we’re able to have more fun and less stress in our lives.

So with all of that said, here’s to the new year that is upon us. May we live each day purposefully.

For sanity’s sake Ray, pick your comic books up off the floor! No, they don’t belong on top of the box, put them back inside the box. No, not like that, they are in alphabetical order. What do you mean “they were”?!?

Church Search

We've been here 6 or so months now and haven't made a real effort to find a church home yet. Both of us working weekends has really hindered the search, but we've been here before and know better.  Wednesday's are still an option, so that's what we're focusing on in our search.

A quick visit to Google with the search of "churches near me" doesn't really yield a large result list. While looking at the statements of faith on some of the church websites, there would be a point where I'd stop reading and say to myself, nope, this church isn't for us.

After a while of this, I started hearing the below Ron White bit in my head...

"I was sitting on a bean bag chair, naked, eating Cheetos the other day when Robert Tilton came on TV. He's a televangelist out of Dallas. He looked at me and said, "Are you lonely?" Yeah. "Have you spent half your life in bars pursuing sins of the flesh?" This guy's good! "Are you sitting in a bean bag chair, naked, eating Cheetos?"... Yes, sir! "Do you have the urge to get up and send me a thousand dollars?" Ha, ha close! I thought he was talking about me there for a second!"

Okay, so it's not the churchiest bit, but it's where my head went with it.

We did find a couple of places to visit. We'll let you know how it turns out. In the meantime, where's my Cheetos?

+5 lbs

It's been a month since I last used the My Fitness Pal app. I'm not exactly sure why I stopped recording my meals. I had been so exacting in ensuing that every morsel of food that passed my lips was recorded. I've been using the app for over a year to track my calories and exercise and then a month ago I stopped. With that I also stopped weighing myself and recording my weight weekly. I had been diligent to do this on a weekly basis for over a year and I don't know why I stopped. Maybe I needed a break...a breather...pizza and ice cream?

I stepped on the scale Tuesday morning for the first time in a month and was not happy with what I saw. When I tapped the scale to signal it to record the weigh-in, it did what it always does - it told me the difference from the last weight recorded - +5 lbs. No. Unacceptable. Not happening.
Ray and I went to the gym this morning. 30 minutes on the treadmill and I worked on my legs. Tomorrow will be 30 minutes on the treadmill and I'll work on my arms\back. I have recorded my exercise and food into the app and will continue to do so going forward.

I am a creature of habit, schedules and structure. Looks like that applies to my weight loss\improved health goal too. I have a goal and a solid plan to reach it. No excuses and no turning back.

No more +5 lbs.

Oops!

Hi there.

It's almost been a year since I posted last. A lot has happened since then. Friendships have ended and began. Weight had been gained and lost... emphasis on the lost. Eb made her yearly journey to visit and we cooked together! Real food like chicken, butternut squash and quiche. A true first! We spent time in the mountains of Georgia with family. Baseball games have been watched in many cities. I've gotten on a plane and in the air 7 times! Can you believe it?  Our apartment was broken into. Jobs have been changed...again.  We've moved states...again. Claudia is a senior in high school! WHAT?!?

I'm going to do a better job of keeping this thing up. Mostly so I stop getting fb messages telling me to post something.  :o)

Hope everyone has been doing well!

For Me

There has been a lot going on in my little life the past couple of months. It hasn't been anything bad, just a lot of little things piling up. Finally, a few weeks ago, I decided to do something for me. I've been following a few folks on Twitter and a couple of blogs that cover all things nails. Yeah, that's right, I said nails. I know, it's not my norm, but I've recently determined that my norm is boring. It's funny that spending time reading and looking at the different swatches of colors and designs, I'm so very intrigued. One of the positives that has come from my taking better care of myself health-wise is that my nails are growing like crazy and I've been cutting them back at least weekly. I decided to stop cutting them so often and allow them to grow out a bit and go get them done.

So here's a couple of pictures of my nails from the past few weeks. Oh, and yes, I am well aware that my feet aren't attractive...Deal with it!  :o) 

My Take on Items Predicted to be an Artifact Soon

So I read an article off msn listing different things that in the next 10 years will no longer be around. Some of them I agree with, some I don’t and others I’m still amazed they exist today.

Here's my take:

1. Tanning Beds – They say the beds won’t be around because of all the bad things caused by spending time in them. Really? You think that’s going to stop folks from their winter tans?
2.  Newspapers – I can’t tell you the last time I read one. The nostalgia that is embodied by the smell of newsprint is heartwarming, but unnecessary.
3.  Magazines – There’s an app for that.
4. Keyboards – Nope. Dead wrong on this one. Keyboards are here to stay. We’re more than a few generations from this one disappearing. You heard it here first.
5. Landlines – What about DSL? Isn’t that through landlines? I really don’t think the phone companies will give up that easily. For goodness sakes, they’re still printing the yellow pages!
6. Flip phones – Two words: Burn Phone. I watch a lot of TV and all burn phones are flip phones. They’ll still be around, but be one of those items that when folks see you with one, you’re going to have to walk away quickly before the cops are called to check out a “questionable character” in the vicinity.
7. Marijuana Bans – Nah. What would our government spend all that money on without pot being the bad guy? (FYI – I’m not an advocate of pot being legalized.)
8. Yellow Pages – I can’t believe these are still being printed and delivered. There was one on my door step last week. STOP IT!
9. Cash – Will it be gone because the greenback is really just a great blend of cotton and not worth anything on the market? Probably. Stop printing money! You’re killing it!
10. Cameras – Disagree 100%. Yes, folks are using their cell phones for pictures, but the pros are not. If you want a real quality picture, you need a camera, not a multitasker.
11. Pretending to eat corn on the cob like a typewriter. Instead we’ll pretend to eat it like a 3D printer – Nah. People still say they eat it like a typewriter even though they could say a dot matrix printer or an office jet. Typewriter is here to stay…for a little while longer at least.
12. Voicemail – Nope. People still have answering machines. Voicemail will stay around too.
13. Watches – They’ll still be around. It’s an accessory and interchangeable. You can still get pocket watches. The watch is here to stay.
14. Nail Polish – They say we’ll be peeling our manicures on and off. I hope they’re right, but I’m not seeing it.
15.  facebook – I use facebook daily, but I still hope this is true.
16. Car Keys – I can see this one. Lots of cars already don’t have keys.
17. Checkbooks – I know I have one somewhere around here, but I’m not sure the last time I used it. Debit card to the rescue!
18. Office Buildings/Office Culture – The article says people will be telecommuting. I need to get an office job…STAT!
19. Redbox Kiosks – I’m good with that.
20. Non eBooks – Ugh, so torn. I love my nook and kindle apps and I enjoy my actual nook, but sometimes the desire to hold a book is overwhelming for me. It’s similar to the newspaper bit above, but such a stronger feeling. It’s almost a need to have a physical book every once in a while, with its paper pages and the smell of the ink. I think folks will hang onto their actual books longer than their newspapers and magazines.
21. Same-Sex Marriage Bans – Have you visited the south? How about the Midwest. You might want to put a longer timeline on this one.
22. Plastic Cutlery – They mentioned compressed starch cutlery. I’m good with this one. Mr. Mancil, are you paying attention?
23. Styrofoam Anything – Lots of chemicals go into Styrofoam. It’s recyclable, but takes a lot of energy to do it. In the end, it’s just bad stuff. Bye bye Styrofoam.
24. Post Offices – Inefficient. Expensive. Outdated. Gone in 10 years? Probably not.
25. Chalkboards – People still use these? Oh my goodness…ACHOO! Get a dry erase board or a computer/projector combo.
26. Neckties – I don’t think so. Bow ties are still around...and are cool. :-) Have you been inside a bank lately?

Those are my opinions. What are yours? Or, do you have an item you'd like to add to the list?

"Imagine the Worst Literary Product Possible"

The New Yorker's Questioningly graphic

This is the task set to the readers of The New Yorker on June 29th, 2012. They want "the most inappropriate commercial item based on a famous book or author" their readers can dream. Is there a prize? Of course! The winner will have their product made with a 3-D printer. Sweet!  

For your reading pleasure, here's a list of people's ideas that have caught my eye thus far:

Silence of the Lambs Skin Lotion
Kafka's Roach Killer
Lady Macbeth Hand Soap
Winston Smith Journals
Agamemnon Welcome Mats
Ophelia's Waterproof Mascara
Clockwork Orange Eye Drops
Flaubert's Carrot
Series 451 Incinerators
King Lear's Estate Planning Service
Antigone Family Restaurant
Ulysses' Navigation Systems


I'm sure there will be more since the contest runs through Monday, but these were enough for me to get a good laugh.

Oh, the line in the article describing what they were looking for in ideas that made me laugh was "...the less comfortable, the better." Wow! Gotta appreciate folks willing to put themselves out there. 


Hope you got a chuckle.