vacation

vacation doesn't always mean going somewhere far away or exotic. sometimes it means, "i'm not working today, but i'm still getting paid!"

that's the kind of vacation i had recently. but still, the vacation mentality is still there. i can do X because i'm on vacation !

so, what did i do on vacation?

i had my FIRST ever WHOPPER. yes. i'd never had a whopper before. and now i have. and now i never will ever again. it was nothing special. now, maybe, next time, i will have one of their thick burgers.


and, i went shopping (speed shopping) down at the "yellow stores" in gaffney, sc. my favorite store there is the eddie bauer outlet. LOVE IT.

i found this really great bag, which i immediately moved into.


it's kinda like a small messenger bag. i love bags i can swing across my chest so i can be hands-free. the bag was reduced 70% so i got it for $6. i also got a pair of "aubergine" corduroy jeans. they're very much out of season, but this weekend was "out of season" too. it was cold. i hadn't packed any proper pants for my visit, and $12 purple pants were the perfect solution.

and cookies. i like baking, but can't really eat an entire cake by myself, nor a batch of cookies, and the kids do like homemade cookies. this time, i enlisted one to help. and he was a fantastic helper.


lastly, mom and i always laugh about her mother's house, and all the "interesting" things in it. this is mom's view from the kitchen sink.


i had a great visit. slept like a babe, and accomplished next to nothing. all in all, a very good "vacation".

have you had your FREAK OUT today ?!

i did. i thought i put this around my neck today. i meant to. but, instead, i put an old necklace into a box, and then laid the new one on it in the suitcase too. neck bare. brain forgotten.


and then the freak out commences ... where is it?! did i drop it?! follows all foot steps within the last 200+ miles. no necklace. calls mom. freaked out. "MOM!~ I LOST MY NEW NECKLACE !!!".

and while talking to her, i retraced my "home miles" and found it, outside the box, inside the suitcase. necklace on neck right now.

pretty necklace i'm not worth of ... by fossil (love fossil !!!).

aaaa-chooooo !

spring indeed

so, for awhile there, i thought i'd killed my shamrock. i put it outside when i knew we wouldn't have any more freezing temperatures. but, apparently, the cold, in general, is enough to tell this plant, "hey, it's cold, you shouldn't be growing now !" so, ... it died back.

and i was sad.

and then, it came back !

and now my shamrock is growing like mad everyday. i think it grows an inch each day. today was a special treat, as it just popped with little flowers ....

spring

spring means allergies. spring means, the yellow haze. and it also means change. more changes than i can document, not care to.

first of all, my truck is covered in pollen. one of my neighbors was "concerned" about this phenonema, and i assured her it was "like the flu" ... comes on strong, but will depart quickly. though, now i'm not so sure, because we have these two giagantic pecan trees that will spit out the pollen, and then their stupid curly things.

regardless ...

tonight is the PERFECT night. it's not too hot. it's warm, but with a cool breeze. the doors and windows are open. the air is moving. sometimes, here, the air is stagnant. not tonight.

and i'm enjoying it.


and ...



and i got new phone, and service, this past weekend. and there's a learning curve. it's awful, but necessary.

i am learning ... delaying calls, cutting some off, and dropping altogether. such is modern life.

but, it's all good.

especially the weather. yes, the weather! i am loving it. i love these inbetween seasons where the weather is a bit here & there ... and i need neither heat nor a.c.

cooking

i actually followed a recipe today. i do that sometimes. usually with baking, as no one should ever guess how much flour, yeast, or baking powder one should use in a recipe.

i made a slimmed down version of chicken pot pie. the recipe is in the ww weekly january 10-16 mini-magazine. they call it "old-fashioned chicken pot pie". i call it yummy!


this is suppose to be 6 servings (in a 9.5" pie dish). i'm not quite sure how one serves something that's not "firm" though ....

in my grocery shopping today, i also bought some brussel sprouts and garlic. i think i might be roasting these tomorrow night.

today i also cooked a big batch of chicken (i used half for the pot pie). and i picked up some beautiful asparagus at the whole foods.

i wish this weekend had just one more day.

lifetime

i have been too busy to post here on a regular basis, ... i've been busy with work, and then trying to fit in the essentials of sleep, grocery shopping, food prep, cooking, laundry, paying bills, movie watching, knitting, and such. and, of course, always trying to do what's best for me.

and it's paid off. i've knitted a lot, have lots of new socks to prove it. my clothes are clean though not in drawers or on hangers (blame the knitting and sleep). and, i have maintained my weight loss for 6 weeks and got lifetime.

you'd think, "oh, you're home! easy-peasy going forward" but no, ... it's still a "job". but, i am way better off than i was this time last year ((and i can wear all my OLD stuff again!!! (24 pounds later)).

what's old is new again .....

ouch

my right pinkie finger HURTS. yesterday, i sliced off a wee chunk with the microplane grater. today, i burned it on some hot olive oil. whimper ....

not quite caught up with

some people use the new year to take down all their christmas stuff. not me. i'm using it to relax and catch up.

i have crocheted some more snowflakes, but haven't yet blocked them. i thought my previous pictures were kind of ugly, so i took some new ones ...




christmas was the whirlwind it always is. i still have some other pictures to share, but that will be on another day.


stuart had a wee christmas stocking (and all my pictures of that were out of focus). in his stocking he had a bicho. a wee felted bicho. he likes it lots. he takes it everywhere!

he's also sitting in a yarn bowl. actually, it's not a 'genuine' yarn bowl. but, it's a bowl for yarn, and santa found it from a local potter. i have been using it too. one can never have too many bowls.

i was just thinking, by 8:30pm wednesday night, i will have already worked a minimum of 36 hours for the week. it makes me tired just thinking about it.

on the brighter side, this glass was for my birthday. at first, i thought it was kinda tacky. but now, i really like it. by the way, it's 5 o'clock.