Snowed In

I had a very good day being snowed in. I loved eating and drinking while watching movies all day. I do love a day spent on the couch - and a get so few of them.

This morning I made snow ice cream for breakfast. I do love any kind of ice cream for breakfast. That's actually my favorite time of day to eat ice cream. I don't know why, but I do know I love it.

M had never heard of snow ice cream. Now it didn't snow all that often in my hometown, but when it did, Mama made snow ice cream. It was divine. And the best part is that it was just as good today as it was then. Just gather up about a gallon of clean snow. Mix it with a cup of milk, a cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. This morning I decided to make it richer so I used a 1/2 cup cream and a 1/2 milk - I guess that's homemade half and half. It was a big bowl of delight.

Then I decided that I needed to get a bag of Heath bits out of my pantry so I made peanut butter cookie with Heath bar bits. They were so good. While I did enjoy quite a few, M ate nearly all of them. He does love a peanut butter cookie, you know.

After that, I decided to have orange lunch so I made sweet potato casserole and fried salmon patties. Weird, but YUM!

Did I mention the pitcher of Bloody Marys? Another big yum - and was most likely a contributing factor to the idea of an orange lunch.

We watched Jackie Brown and Aliens - two of M's favorites. I enjoy them as well. He slept through my pick: Serenity. I'm not surprised as I didn't think he'd like it, but I can't complain because I nearly always fall asleep in a movie. I just have the hardest time staying awake. Any time I get comfortable, I seem to fall asleep.

Now I think I'll climb in bed and read a trashy novel. Life doesn't get much better.

You Get What You Need

I've been engrossed in quite the pity party. I actually cried this weekend because I'll never make it to the last 5 states that I need to visit to hit all 50. Then I cried in yoga because I couldn't hold the tree pose. To make matters worse, the new girls in class could hold the pose. I felt as if my inability to hold tree was a reflection of each and every one of my personal failures. I decided while lying in savasana that I would just go home and spend the afternoon crying. Yes, that's how crazy I have been.

Upon leaving yoga, I needed to get some cash to repay a debt. Instead of going to the bank's drive through, I decided to go to the ATM in the grocery. There I ran into a former student who had just gotten a job there. She told me her sob story - how she is a recovering addict who is trying to remain clean and sober. She keeps being tested by ending up in situations where everyone around her is either drunk or high. In addition, she's lost her car. Truly, she's in a bad place, but she was happy because she had a new job.

It was then that I realize that I was just indulging myself. It was time to get moving and put the past behind me. Of course, I'll probably have more spells like this one, but it was a good reminder that there's always someone facing a trial more difficult. While many have easier lives, many also have more difficult ones. And I really have very little to complain about.

The Witching Hour

It's 3:25 a.m., and I can't sleep. I have at least one sleepless night per year - and I hate it. How do people live with insomnia, I ask.

While lying (I have so much trouble with that verb!) in bed, I tried to think of a funny - or at least pithy - post. I haven't posted so much lately because I just don't have anything funny to report. I can usually make something more humorous than it actually was in happening with the retelling, but these days I just don't have any source material. I can't decide if that's because there's nothing funny going on or if I am suffering from SAD or if I am just depressed. I suppose any and all could be true.

I have even talked to my dad and stepmother this week. Neither provided any material - and that's unusual. Dad did mention that the Council, which celebrates every holiday, skipped MLK Day and served breakfast and lunch. That was big and important news to him, but that was about all he had.

I've thought about writing a past funny story, but nothing springs to mind. I've thought about compiling some of my past writings, but, again, I got nothing. So, my friends, until inspiration strikes the pickings may be slim!

Happy MLK

Many years ago, DJ dubbed this day "Martin Luther the King" Day. Many I know call it "Robert E Lee's Birthday." Whatever you call it, I usually call it a day off. Not this year. For the first time in my life, I have to work on the third Monday in January. I never realized just how much federal holidays meant to me until I didn't get them any more.

Back on Veterans' Day, I sure did miss my day off. I know I'll be missing it again on Presidents' Day. How spoiled am I that I miss having extra days off work. Have I ever celebrated even one of these days? Nope. I just enjoyed the luxury of not going to work.

Sadly, that's not my life any more. I no longer get paid time off work. I'm here 40 hours a week pretty much every week of the year. Paid vacation is a thing of the past - and along with it my fun travels. Is it difficult? Oh, yes. I loved traveling. I loved time off. Vacations were the best. But, now I have work.

Granted it's not much like work, but I have to be present to be paid, and I need to be paid, so here I am feeling sorry for myself that I am trapped at work on a day when most Americans are out enjoying the day. I'm grateful to have a job for sure, but I sure would like some time off.

Mikey's Margs

The most lethal thing on the planet is not a nuclear weapon. Nope, it's Mikey's margs. I swear he puts something in them besides tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. I don't know what it is, but nothing else has the power to knock me out like these margaritas. They kick some serious butt.

I realized just a few minutes go that I haven't posted in a bit, but then I don't have much excitement going at the moment. No one has called me a murderer in a grocery store in months. Miss V and I haven't walked in ages - much less trespassed. It's a slow winter.

Oh, well, I guess it could be worse - oh, wait - it has been worse! These days I work for sane people and actually have the chance to help people. How great is that? After working for someone who should be committed to an insane asylum, this is definitely a good thing.

When a Door Opens

Last night I heard my favorite crazy story of the week. A couple of my acquaintances own a couple of towns homes that they lease. Now, they've done lots of work on these homes and lease them at a premium, so they generally get a higher class of tenant.

The other day one of the owners, let's call him Jim, was checking property and noticed that the tenant's car was gone, but his door was open. Of course, Jim was concerned so he called the renter, we'll call him Jack, to let him know that someone had broken into his home.

Imagine Jim's surprise to learn that Jack was not alarmed. It seems that Jack had lost his key "the other night" when he was out with the boys and needed to get into his house. Did he think of calling his landlord for another key? Nope. How about calling a locksmith? Nope. Our buddy, Jack, kicked in the door, destroying not only the door, but also the frame and the doorknob!

Now, surprisingly, I actually know others who have kicked in doors of their own homes to either get in a room or in the house, but I've never known anyone who left the door unrepaired for a long period of time. As it turns out "the other night" was actually about 3 weeks prior. Jack had been living with a broken door in hopes that someone would enter and steal his TV. It seems that Jack longed for a new TV and was just hoping that someone would take the one in the house so he could make a claim on his insurance.

While I love this story for so many reasons, my favorite part is when Jack called the landlords to complain because a mouse entered the house via the broken door. I guess he didn't realize that rodents can use the same entry points as humans!

And, yes, Jack paid for the damages.

Monday Again

Ugh. It's Monday. Groan. At least it's in the 40s today - a heatwave for sure.

This weekend I was worthless. I watched bad movies and read trashy books. Fun, sure, but now I am paying for it - or to be more accurate, everyone around me is paying. I'm foul as foul can be. I knew that I needed to walk or run or do yoga or really do just about anything other than sit on my behind. Did I? Of course not. Oh, no, I was too lazy to do anything constructive.

Back to my mood. I'm so foul today that Girlfriend is calling me by my evil twin's name. Yes, the Evil Twin has taken over. Nothing makes me happy - not even temperature about freezing and sunshine. Oh, no.

A co-worker brought a terrific lunch for a group of us including stuffed roast and pasta with vodka sauce. It was wonderful, but did it make me happy? Not really. Seriously, I am so foul that I'm not sure winning the lottery could make me happy.

I'll be exercising tonight. . .

Bad Movies

There's nothing like a good bad movie. Yes, a movie can be so bad that it's actually good. This weekend was so cold that staying inside and watching movies seemed like a really good idea. Yesterday we saw Malice. Nicole Kidman, Alec Baldwin, and Bill Pullman. While you don't need anything more, I do think having Anne Bancroft chew the scenery probably put this one over the top. My favorite quote comes from her, "When you drink like this, you don't remember names." Too true.

How could any thing top Malice I wondered. Today I found out. We actually watched Mega Shark v. Giant Octopus. Seriously, that's the name of a Debbie, excuse me, Deborah Gibson - Lorenzo Lamas movie. Google the trailer if you don't believe it. It was fantastic in its badness. Wow!

We also watched a Garth Brooks DVD, a Bonnie Raitt concert, Wanda Sykes stand up, some Sex in the City, and probably more that I have already forgotten. After all when you drink like I do, you can't remember all the things you watch.

A Perfect Mind

So when did I become a math genius? And how sad is it that I am the math expert? Really? Oh, so I managed to make mostly As in math, but I made lots of Bs, too. I'm no math expert anywhere in the world - except here.

Here I appear to be a math genius. Here it seems as if it is unheard of to solve for x, to know when to multiply or divide, how to add or subtract fractions, or even how to multiply or divide. All I know is that I like being the math genius that I always dreamed of being.

Yep, how crazy is that. I always wanted to be a math genius. Now I am. Who says dreams don't come true?

Buttocks as a Weapon of Destruction

This is my favorite headline of the week - "Midwest City man uses buttocks to smash ex's TV." HOW GREAT IS THAT? You can't make stuff like this up. I love it so much!

When Crazy Texts

So yesterday I got a text that read, "Happy New Year! Sure do miss your crazy ass!" How sweet was that? Seems Mr. T. was bored at work and wanted a texting buddy. While he didn't have any news to offer, he was entertaining for a bit.

We discussed former co-workers and their proclivities including one who loves to visit Long John Silver's and then toss her fish & chips. Why do people do that? I can't imagine how that seems like a good idea. Of course, I do plenty of things that seem like a good idea that usually don't turn out to be.

I'm still fighting my cold. Hopefully, I am kicking it. So far, I'm not any worse. I don't think I'm much better, but I'm not any worse. That's good news for sure.

Now that I have descended into talking about my health, only the weather can be next. Dang, it's cold. While I don't enjoy cold weather, I don't mind so much when I can see the sun, but that does not seem like an option for the foreseeable future. Oh, well!

That's all for now. Perhaps I'll have good crazy story before long.

Thought for the Day

It's closing in on noon, and I still haven't had a clever thought so I'll just post anyway. I'm fighting a cold for all that I'm worth. Even though M denies it, I think I got it from him. I just refuse to give into the desire to crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head. Wait! Is that the cold talking - or the cold?! It's 22F (-6C), and getting colder.

Gray winter days always remind me of the quote by Camus, "In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." I just love that idea - and always find it interesting that someone who wrote what Camus wrote had such a wonderful quote.

So today, when you are freezing, pull out those photos of your summer vacations over the years - particularly the ones you took while in a warm, sunny place. Remember how good it felt. Enjoy!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

And apparently getting colder. They (that would be the bozos on TV) say that this is going to be the coldest winter on record - or at least since 2000. As long as I have electricity and gas, I'm okay with that.

To fight the doldrums, I plant paperwhites. I like to plant them at the beginning of January and watch them grow. Usually about the time they are done, it's almost time for the daffodils, my favorites! I love daffodils because they mean that winter's gone, and spring is here. I don't think it's possible to be unhappy when there are daffodils around. They are so cheery. They always make me smile.

Resolutions

So how are you doing on your resolutions? So far so good on mine. I actually went to the gym and worked out for an hour - thanks to TC! So my resolution isn't really "to get in shape" or "to lose weight." Yep, I want both of those things, but I realize that I need to exercise at least 3 times a week to feel good. After a couple of weeks lately of no exercise, I was in a pretty bad mood. Sadly, I have come to realize that exercising does actually cheer me up. Nope, I still hate it, but I can't deny it makes me feel better.

I'm also fighting a cold. There's no use denying that either. M has been sick most of the week, and I fear I might be coming down with the same thing. At the same time, I deny it. I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick.

I just finished another J. R. Ward Brotherhood novel. Those are some good trashy books. I have to give a shout to Girlfriend for recommending them to me. I do enjoy a good trashy vampire read. I think I have one or two left to read. I am going to be sad when I am done.

I managed to miss all the new movies - at least so far. I did "see" Sherlock Holmes, and by that I mean I slept through most of it. Unlike M who said, "GUY RICHIE? I hate Guy Richie. I'm going to sleep," I actually did try to stay awake, but it was no use. The movie was too boring for me. I should have known because Sherlock Holmes always bores me, but I'd hope the remake would be fun. In my opinion, it was not.

That's about all I have for today.

Happy New Year

Thank all that's holy that 2009 is behind us. Maybe it's all in the attitude, but 2009 sucked. I can't say it any plainer. Oh sure, I could come up with something positive if pressed, but for the most part, I've never been happier to see a year say good-bye.

My ringing in the new year was pretty quiet. I fell asleep before 11, but that might be because M decided to make rum & cokes with Bacardi 151. Wow, I was lit by 7, but it was nice. We watched "Sex & the City" for several hours then gave on staying awake. Before we fell asleep, however, we smudged the house by the light of the full (BLUE) moon. M kept saying our house smelled like an illegal substance, but the smudge stick was purchased at Whole Foods - I SWEAR!

The first day of the new year was uneventful. I cooked a ham and made black-eyed peas. We lazed around and watched LSU play a terrible game and eventually lose to Penn State. I think the game actually lasted 8 hours - it sure seemed like it. I took a long nap during it and still seemed to have seen the whole thing. After that we watched a couple of bad Jennifer Aniston movies (is there a good Jennifer Aniston movie?) and a couple of Die Hard movies before passing out. (By passing out, I mean M is actually ill and took some cold medicine. I just drank some whiskey.)

Today hasn't been much more productive, but I did get up at a reasonable hour - 8 a.m., and I actually went to yoga. Then I went to lunch with TC and did a bit of shopping. I bought a BEAUTIFUL coat, cream & gold, for $60. It had been $188 so I got quite a deal! We ate at Olive Garden because I won a gift certificate there, and it was a nice lunch. I also had a gift certificate for Williams Sonoma so we did a bit of shopping there.

Now I'm back home and back on the sofa. We're watching the Cotton Bowl. I should be yelling for OSU mainly because I hate Ol' Miss with the passion of a thousand burning suns, but one of my "friends" who loves OSU made fun of LSU's loss so I find myself hoping the Rebels will teach the Cowboys a lesson. Yes, I hate myself for this, but I just can't help it!

I'm good with 2010 - so far.