Busting at the seams

Well....haven't posted in awhile. About all that I have to report is that I'm feeling like the old belly is busting out. Had to change my sweater this morning to something that would better cover the expanding waistline. ugh. I suppose all the Thanksgiving food and sitting on my ass watching movies all weekend didn't help. I did see a few good movies...one of which is the new Johnny Cash movie "Walk the Line". Also watched Pirates of Carribean (didn't love it), Mean Girls (funny), and Christmas Vacation (classic). And tolerated a few episodes of SOuth Park (14 year-old boy humor)

Spent an hour at the ND gym yesterday walking the track and riding the stationary bike. I know it is a bit irrational but I kept thinking that one of the young athletic students might come up to me and say "hey, I know of some great ab workouts...do you want me to teach you some....looks like you could use it!" Ha ha....wouldn't that be funny. Weather is crap here in Indiana...but at least it didn't rain today. Maggs and I got poured on during our walk yesterday. Nothing like the smell of a wet dog to brighten your day!!!!!!!!

A book and a joke

Saw this article about a book in the NYT and I liked the joke about the Panda.

"Truss, a self-described stickler, a woman incensed by the gratuitous apostrophes in grocery-store signs that say "Apple's for Sale" or "We Have Lemon's and Lime's and Video's," had achieved the not inconsiderable feat of making punctuation hot. She turned the apostrophe into a form of mass entertainment.

"Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" went on to sell some three million copies in hardcover. It fared well even in foreign languages, including Japanese and Swedish, the go-to grammar book for those studying English as a second language. In America, the book easily held its own against "Harry Potter," diet books and the plethora of pre-election screeds, remaining on the New York Times best-seller list for 44 weeks.

The book's title, by the way, refers to a joke about a panda that walks into a cafe. He eats a sandwich, fires a pistol into the air and then leaves. On his way out, he tosses a wildlife handbook at a bewildered waiter, who understands everything when he turns to the section marked "panda" and notices a grievously misplaced comma: "Eats, shoots and leaves."

IT's WINTER!

It snowed last night and there is a nice white covering on the ground. It is cold. 25 degrees is a lot colder than the 55 degree weather we were having a week ago! Saw this article in the paper...and made me think of "you-know-who":

"How low can thermostat be safely set?" With winter looming and heating costs on the rise, many people will be keeping their homes on the chilly side this winter. It's an effective strategy; it's estimated every degree lowered on the thermostat lowers the heating bill by about 3%. But how low can you safely go? The Am. Coll. of Emergency Physicians says that 65 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night is the lower limit for most people, provided they bundle up. People taking certain meds or suffering from certain diseases may not be able to tolerate those temps, said Dr..., "The increases in heating costs can have a terrible effect on the poor and elderly", he said.

The Original Dog-Powered Scooter

Check out the dog-powered scooter! Could be the answer to the energy crisis!!!!!

FOOOOOOOODDDD!

Oh, I'm so HAPPY!! We got Thai take-out last night and it was just fabulous. I am currently eating some left-overs. There are a serious lack of ethnic restaurants in these parts and I seriously miss them. I cry when I think about the lovely fish tacos in San Diego or our favorite Chinese and Afghani restaurants in Baltimore, the Ethiopian place in DC, etc. Fortunately there are two Thai restaurants relatively close to us and they aren't bad...so not all is lost. I had cashew tofu stir fry with spicy sauce. YUM. I wonder if people could tell me about the wonderful food they've been able to eat in those REAL cities out there......

At least I've been inspired to cook more. I found a great cookbook...called Simply in Season. It is great. I like that it organizes recipes by season. Lots of good veggie and meat options.

The Old Man and the Sea

I just love this picture. It is of my dear friend Eliza's dog Sebastian (Bas). They sent me this picture to make me jealous of the fact that they still live near the ocean. Bas is getting up there in age and walks slowly and with a bit of a limp. I just wonder what he's pondering there on the beach?  

Three's a charm! or Sympathy for Chris??

This post is not for those with a weak stomach. Yesterday was certainly an interesting day. I woke with quite a headache and just not feeling good. Had to go to work. Sort of gagged before my shower...thought that was all it was going to be...but NO....I had to later RUN back into the bathroom (while Chris was showering) to REALLY barf. Yuck. A tylenol and a glass of milk later had me feeling no better. So ONE MORE TIME before work. Last night Maggs thought she should get into the act and barfed three times in the living room during the Daily Show. Chris had to clean it up. After I went to bed I heard the lovely hacking noises from dear grey cat Mao. She didn't want to be left out...so she coughed up a few hairballs or something in the living room. Chris got to clean that up, too. Poor Chris!!!

Botany Quiz

HINT: It is the only fall flowering tree/shrub that I know. It is lovely!!! Seen 11/6/05 at Pokagon State Park, Indiana: 

Can Maggie pass????

Just read in the paper about a new doggie day care in the area. Remember...this is NOT California and so doggie daycares are not on every corner. This is a new concept for this area. I had talked with someone a few months ago who told me her friend was opening this place. It sounds fun. My favorite thing about it is that the dogs will be "placed into playgroups. There will be one human supervisor per eight dogs, and this leader will play games with the pups, foster activites with toys, and offer snacks and naps to those that become tuckered out" They also have boarding...where "the pooches will be tucked into soft fleece covered beds, inside individual cabins". All this and at Indiana prices. I wonder, however, if our canine will be able to pass the evaluation. They much attend at least a 1/2 day evaluation!!! Yikes!

My Christmas spirit just fizzled

So....I was getting into the Christmas spirit early this year. I think it was because we are having our work Christmas party early (Dec 2nd or something) and we do Secret Santa gifts once a week for the three weeks prior to the party. So....I was actually looking forward to it all until yesterday. Yesterday we picked names for Secret Santa and I couldn't have picked a more difficult person. MY BOSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If any of you have heard me talk about my boss you would understand. A "do-everthing, good at everything" kind of person. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! What am I supposed to get him?????

The Morning Walk Routine

On the morning walk with Maggs. Walking over the bridge at The Res.  

This is Maggs in an outright sprint. She runs up and down the driveway after her morning walk because she's so darn excited to get back inside to her breakfast which is waiting just inside the door 

"I'm patiently waiting to get inside to MY BREAKFAST...com'on!!!!!!!!!"