The Big Fat Nag Says:

Eat your vegetables !

Yeah, yeah -- you don't like squash. Okay, eat a carrot. Really ? You don't like carrots ? What about a parsnip ? No ? Asparagus ? Beets ? Green beans ?

OH, C'MON.

I will admit to thinking that greens and turnips are nasty, but -- really -- eat some veggies every day. You'll thank me someday.

NB: Deep-fried potatoes DO NOT COUNT as vegetables. Nor is ketchup. I don't care what McDonalds says.

Thoughts ?

Man Plans. . . God Laughs

Sooo. . . where to begin ?

DH and I completed our vacation to the Eastern Caribbean and returned home on the 22nd of January. He immediately went back to work on Monday and I began the task/s of restoring the house to some sort of order -- emptying suitcases, washing clothes, soothing frantic animals.

The chair for the living room was delivered on the 25th, so we now have one chair that needs another home.

Plus, his Christmas present finally arrived, so he now has a decent chair in which to work at home -- but that now means that we have two chairs to go somewhere else.

I dropped the dog off at "preschool" on Tuesday and did a bunch of errands, including rescheduling jury duty and moving his haircut up to Wednesday, so that DH didn't have to do it on the weekend. =)

I already had a trip planned out of state, leaving on 2/6, but I got a call on the 30th saying that a dear friend of mine was not doing well and that we probably needed to go ahead and make plans to go see him. That's when the storm/s shut down DFW. I got a call on Wednesday morning letting me know that he was returned to his Maker the night before.

It's times like these that I don't understand how stuff works. Since he was diagnosed last year, our paths have not crossed again. If I was in town, he was away. I think of him as one of my best friends, even tho we didn't get to see each other often and he was the closest thing I've ever had to a brother.

It just seems so strange that we place so much importance on the minor annoyances in our life, while the major stuff sometimes gets shunted aside for "another day".

I'm just sad that I don't have "another day" with Howard.

Thoughts ?

How Can It Be Friday Already ?

In less than three hours, we will be on our way to our vacation.

I left my position on Tuesday and will be fulfilling some other plans for the rest of the year.

For those of you who might be reading, the thanks for the previous four years of support still stand and I hope that the next year will be one of the most interesting and exciting. I'm so privileged to be able to share it.

I am packed and ready to go -- which may count as a minor miracle. . .

Thoughts ?

I Am Bored Tonight

And I am now looking around to see which deceased grandparent is about to put me to work doing something where I don't ever say that I am bored again.

It's weird. I should be asleep. My body is tired, but my brain won't shut off. Unfortunately, this also means that I feel the need to share this with the world, but hey. . . at least I'm keeping it clean. =P

I had strawberry French toast, buttery hash browns and two scrambled eggs for breakfast on Saturday and now, that's all I can think of. It's bizarre, but I can almost still smell the potatoes. They were delicious.

I'm also thinking of planting flowers in the next few days -- pansies, most likely, just in case we still have a freeze hiding in the weather wings. And I'll try to plant strawberries in my front porch planter as well. They didn't do well last year, but I'm hoping for better luck this time.

I have several jewelry ideas that I can't get past the brain stage -- they keep getting stuck up there and not being able to come out my fingers. I also still need one single pink briolette, but I haven't found the exact piece that I want to wire as a bail. Maybe I'll look again at Shipwreck -- I can usually find there I like. =P

If you haven't figured it out, I'm not only bored, but I'm trying to get myself back in the habit of blogging on a more regular basis. I am beginning to think that it may be the only thing that's going to keep me sane. . . or at least less crazy. =P

I am having such a hard time living in the present. I am either thinking 10-20 years in the past or I'm already planning for this summer. Why is that ? (Yeah, I think I already know. . . )

I don't think the caffeine is wearing off, but the urge to write is, so signing off for the night.

Mediocrity is my watchword. Hear me roa. . . um. . . yeah.

Thoughts ?

Because I Don't Post Enough. . . =)P

Two very fun words that I think are interesting:

Smuggle

And

Fancy

And if you are a fancy smuggler, well. . . I just may not survive.

Thoughts ?

When is Enough Actually Enough ?

The events of the last couple of weeks have gotten me thinking -- when is it time ? When is it enough ?

Those of you (all four of you, God bless ya) who read this blog regularly probably know where I'm coming from and, as such, I plan to write this as obliquely as possible and ask for your comments to remain the same.

I've always been one who was adaptable to change in limited amounts or over given stretches of time. My limits are rapidly being overrun and my patience is rapidly being depleted. No. That's a lie. My patience is gone. Gone. G.O.N.E.

I am having a Ferris Beuller's Cameron moment where he says that he will not allow someone else to dictate the events of his life. I am being held by the illusion of flexibility and the goodwill and camaraderie of my colleagues, but I am starting to look at my options very closely. I do not want to be the one to turn the lights out when the party is over, nor do I want to hold to the bird in the hand when there might be one in the bush, especially since the one in my hand is currently pecking me to the bone.

None of this makes sense on the surface -- who would give up something solid for the ethereal ? Someone who's getting the junk kicked out of them on a daily basis, that's who. Someone who is not seeing leadership. Someone who is seeing the writing on the wall.

16 weeks. My dad used to tell me that I could do nearly anything for a period of time that I set. Well, Daddy -- let's see if that's still true.

Thoughts ?

A Fork in the Road

Otherwise known as the road less taken.

I've wondered about the road less taken for a long time. I find myself wondering about jobs that I did not take and places that I did not live, schools I did not attend and what other choices I might have made.

Don't get me wrong -- I accept the choices that I've made and I don't necessarily regret any of them. I'm just wondering about what might have been. I've always heard that a re-examination of your life every ten years is appropriate, but I seem to be either late or reeeeally early this time.

I've been kicking the idea of returning to school around for quite a while and I'm starting to feel myself leaning more and more towards that fork. I just hate to have to keep starting over and always starting from scratch. Maybe another degree will be the extra "oomph" that I need in order to sell my brain and have someone appreciate the small talents that I actually possess.

I also dream about teaching. I love sharing knowledge with others, but am a little apprehensive about taking something that I love so much and possibly losing that love by having to actually do it on a daily basis.

My last dream is to be a full-time mom, but -- let's face it -- that one may be beyond me. The hands (and sands) of time wait for no man, but I had to wait a very long time for mine. Still, there are always children that need families -- all it ever takes is money, love, and time.

Back to the fork/s, I suppose.

Thoughts ?