Soak

Too much. At work I try to do many, many things by myself in order for my people to focus on their primary tasks. So I run around like a crazy person all night trying to get things in order for the morning. Sometimes that involves a lot of physical work. I lift and stack wood pallets and tote around heavy freight all night long. I pull pallets that have thousands of pounds stacked on them. And last night I decided to pull a stack higher than my head of canned milk and cans of pumpkin to the receiving area. I almost made it with ease...until I had to stop short at the door to let an associate pass. With my momentum stopped it was very difficult to move forward again...even though I now had very little distance to travel. I was pulling with all my weight forward...pushing my toes to the limit of their trudge forward. And now I am paying for it. I am soar. Super soar. My mom has always lectured for us to take care of our bodies at work. We only get one you know. My exercise at the gym has helped my stamina and overall strength...I guess I just need to realize the human body does has limits and that asking others for help is not a sign of weakness. Thank goodness for Dr. Teal. His bath salt is luminous and saving. Thus I am off to a very long soak and to contemplate how smart my mom is about things...

Coat

It has been almost 10 years since my wardrobe has seen a new day-to-day winter coat. The old stand by...one I refer to as my Dead Poet Society Coat... is thread bear, missing buttons, and has a tear in the lining. It is well loved. The DPS coat was the first winter coat I purchased as an adult when I went back to college (the second time around). Until that point my polar bear blood was satisfied with jean jackets and fleece hoodies...and then I returned to academia in the snow belt and began to freeze between the months of October and May. The wind is piercing on campus. My sister and I used to bundle up in toboggans, mittens, sweaters, scarves...looking more like the school kids we once were while we trudged to university classes in the winter months. I have wanted to replace the DPS with something worthy and a bit updated in style. Who would have know I would have walked out of the Bulls Eye with a bright red hip length swing coat and a pink scarf to boot. Yep, I am crazy about the red with the pink. It makes me feel ready for the grey world that awaits outside my front door. (Note 1: My mother informed that my aunt the artist used to love to pair red and pink together when she decorated Note 2: I am ashamed to say...I had a red coat when I was in third grade that I was embarrassed to wear to school. My mom loved me in the coat believing that brunettes looks stunning in red. And of course I wanted a pink and grey puffy coat like the other girls in the class. Now, here I am with a sensible red wool coat...to make my mom proud...and to keep warm and snug all winter).

Gobble Gobble

A Thankful Turkey Day to All!

Gingerbread Man

I woke up early this morning with an urge for a coffee run. And run I did. The baristas at my favorite book store are such decadent masters of sugary goodness....and sweet to boot. Even though I ordered a regular mocha they threw the Ginger Man in out of kindness (and more likely in response to my "ooooh...he is so CUTE!"). In this picture the Gingerbread man looks to be stuck in the melting snow bank of whipped cream and chocolate shavings...is it me, or does his facial expression hint at his impending doom (see the icing tear...)? Oh, he was so scrumptious!

Fierce

Let me make one thing very clear: when it comes to music I am a fan of a man and his guitar...Johnny Cash, Tom Petty. Neil Young...and a few women like Kaki King and Sarah Harmer. So when I tell you that I am a new fan of Beyonce's album I am sure you are shocked liked me. What won me over was her little video Single Ladies---that I heard on NPR of all places. And if it is interesting enough for NPR to talk about for fifteen minutes then I just had to see the video for myself. What happened next? I have now watched the video numerous times, it is now on the i-pod for the gym, I desire tap shoes and dancing lessons and am asking Santa for a dose of talent in my stocking this holiday morning. Her voice may be kind of flat...and she is void of guitar skills...but yet she plays a part in product that I now admit I like (even the silly publicity photo above)....I want to be Fierce, too. (Note: the feminist part of my soul must be on holiday or something for this new obsession to sneak in...)

Bite

Bless him. The husband went with me to see the Monday $5 showing of Twilight. As we were waiting for the trailers to begin he was doing a testosterone head count. Out of about one hundred people there was an estimate of about 20 men who came with their dates to watch a vampire love story... I did catch the husband, at times, laughing at some of the things in the movies...and he did stay awake until the end...and even had questions about the future story line and characters. He did so well in a theater filled with teenage girls. For me it was stirring to watch a teen movie in which I now have more in common with the parental characters than with the hormonal teens hogging the screen time....must be a sign of the impending birthday...

The Borrower

We live in an old house next to the fourth oldest house in the town. Pretty cool, huh? We are only renters. I have yet to grow up and secure my own huge mortgage that will follow me to the next world. So in our rented old house there are issues that our landlord tends to ignore. One being the gutters that needed fixed over a year ago. They are hanging on by grace and overflow with water when it rains. But when it is freezing outside....the gutters create an icicle jeweled house that is just beautiful...and maybe even deadly if you happen to be passing by when they start to melt and fall...(Note: this picture is borrowed from the husband's photo folder). Thank you G!