I'm published!!!

Check out my first published article here!

spring

Spring is slow this year. It is below freezing still at night. I have some crocus blossoms, and the rose bush is putting out tentative tiny red new growth. Daffodils are shooting up leaves and stems. It is hard to see the signs of spring when you are distracted by the breath coming out of your mouth, fogging up the air. Yet, despite the cold, spring is coming. The advance, whether noticed or ignored, is inexorable. Life comes. Plants grow. In a world filled with destruction, we have not destroyed that.

7 Quick Birthday Takes

1) This is my 200th post!! On my 34th birthday! That's got to have some kind of significance.
2) I get to eat chocolate sheet cake tonight that I didn't bake. Yummmm.
3) I get to open presents this evening and that makes me happy.
4) If I weren't concerned about passing out, I'd spend the rest of the day in the hot tub!
5) As a good substitute, I will watch a movie and eat chocolates from Valentine's Day.
6) We got our tax refund today, because clearly the government knows that it's my birthday!
7) Apparently half my church is sick with the flu. I will be using Purell and Zicam for the next 2 weeks so that I don't get a viral birthday gift...

The Mysterious 8 Pounds

Yesterday I went to the doctor. And they weighed me. Of course, I was fully clothed, with shoes on, but still, the number seemed a bit high. Especially given that I had hardly eaten anything all day (raisins, carrots, orange, some yogurt). But I shrugged it off.

Until today. Today, after a nice big breakfast and lunch and a workout, I weighed myself. Needless to say, in the privacy of my bathroom, I was naked. And I weighed EIGHT pounds less. EIGHT! Where did those 8 pounds go? How is it possible to eat more and lose weight? I can guarantee you that my clothing and shoes do not weigh 8 pounds.

There is only 1 logical solution. The doctor's scales are off.

Goth Name

I recently did a Facebook "note." This is the new email forward. Anyway, it involves taking random facts and putting them together to form your new "names." One name is the color black plus the name of one of your pets. Naturally, I chose Duchess. So my Goth name is Black Duchess. Pretty cool, right? Well, it was really the only cool name out of the bunch. One person observed that my rock star name (Shadow Valley Estates) sounded more like a retirement home...

digesting

I'm having a lot of revelations right now. I will be sharing, but first I need to digest and incorporate...

7 quick takes

1. Yesterday I found out I was sick (non-contagious). This was after my intense workout.
2. Today I have already taken a 3 hour nap and am contemplating a second one, even though yesterday I felt vigorous and full of life. Power of suggestion, my friends, power of suggestion.
3. Dale and I will be going to a Valentine's Day party - what fun!
4. We have to bring stuff to dip into chocolate fondue. I'm thinking donut holes and marshmallows. Sure, there will be cheese and broth fondue, but who says you can't eat nothing but sugar for dinner on V-Day?
5. Well, maybe the antibiotics I'm on say I can't eat sugar. But the pain later will be SO WORTH IT.
6. I can't wait to graduate and be done with classes.
7. Unfortunately, many school projects lay between me and graduation...

heehee

Am I the only person who thinks this would be an awesome card for a gynecologist?
See the original here.

We've Created a Monster!

We used to keep our cat treats in a top drawer. Duchess, being an observant cat, soon made the connection between treats and the drawer, and began stretching herself to the utmost and placing her little claws on the drawer. Cute!
Then Duchess learned that if the drawer was just a little bit open, she could hook her claws on the top or on the handle, and then lift her back feet off the ground. Once her full weight was on the drawer, it would slide open and she could jump in and grab the bag of treats in her mouth. Still cute. We actually went so far as to open the drawer and encourage her to perform, rewarding her with treats.
And then, this weekend, we learned the consequences of our actions. Duchess finally figured out that she could perform her drawer opening trick even if the drawer was closed. Now we're in trouble!

Spring is coming!

Yes, it feels wonderful outside today! Even better, we have our first blooms! My daffodils are shooting up leaves, but the crocus are, as always, the first to bloom.

Wild Temperature Swings

It is in the 30's today, and will be in the upper 60's by Saturday. I don't like it!
However, the cold does make the hot tub more enjoyable...