7 Quick Takes (Vol 11)

Make sure that you go over to Conversion Diary to check out all the weekly updates. I love this thing!

-1-

I don't care what Punxsatawny Phil says, it smells like Spring out there. It sounds like Spring out there too. The birds are singing and the snow is melting. Of course, we can always get more snow. In fact, I would think that there is 100% chance that we will. But it still smells like Spring.
OK, so I actually wrote this first entry on Wednesday and then on Thursday......we had large amounts of snow.

-2-

Do not do things in a hurry. Repeat after me, do not do things in a hurry. Remember that Deb! When I do things in a hurry I screw them up and sometimes in a big way. Must remember not to do things in a hurry. If I write it 100 times on the blackboard (if I had one that is) would that help?

-3-

I scrapbook. Have I mentioned that before? I might have. I am soooooooooo behind on the albums that I want to do. So far behind that it sometimes seems that I will never catch up and I am a fast and efficient scrapper when I get going. But, next weekend I actually have two days of scrapping with friends. I can hardly wait. Of course, that means that I have a ton of preliminary work to do because I have to have everything ready to go. There is no way that I could gather up all the scrapbooking materials and transport them to the place where I will be staying. I mean, I have an entire area that is only scrapbooking if you get my drift. That is what comes from being a former scrapbooking consultant for a major player in the industry. I have A LOT of materials. Really I shouldn't have to buy any more materials ever again. But we know that I won't be able to resist. Sigh. So, today I will be scrapping. Fun.

-4-

I have been in a "trying new recipes" mode for a while now. Not sure when it started but I am hoping that it stays around. When the girls were younger there wasn't too much experimentation going on. We stuck to the tried and true (and cheap to produce) recipes in my recipe box. You know, the standard casseroles and chicken dishes, endless hamburger dishes and things like that. My girls are not picky eaters for the most part, they all have things that they aren't fond of but there aren't too many things they won't consume. However, introducing too many new and innovative things always brought a chorus of cries of "What is THIS do we have to eat it I am sure that I don't like it can I have something else!" (the run on sentence was just the way they said it). But now, 2/3 of the girls are out of the house so I can give free reign to my inner chef. Sometimes the recipes don't turn out as well as I thought they would but I still try. Now all those years of watching PBS cooking shows is paying off.

-5-

On the food vein, I am trying to make wiser choices about food these days. That sounds like I eat a lot of junk food and I don't. I do most of our cooking from scratch. I don't drink any pop (except my once a month SMALL coke from McDonalds). I eat fruits and veggies. I don't consume a vast amount of sugary things, well except for the M&M's that come from the never ending supply on my desk. I am a model (cough, cough) of good eating. But you see, I love bread and butter. I love it like nothing else. I would eat it all day long if I could....but I can't. That is just the way it is and it is so unfair

About a year ago, when the doctor said, "Decrease/eliminate the caffeine or expect to stroke out" I realized that I just wanted to be healthier in general. I had already started to work out on a regular basis but still needed to make some food eating changes. The thought/drive to be healthier has only become more urgent for me because I believe that in the coming years, if our President and the idiots in Washington manage to shove Nationalized Health Care down our throats, it will be harder for those who are in poor health going into "older adult stage" to get treatments. I want to enter those years in the best health that I can. So that means that I get to have oatmeal with raisins this morning for breakfast rather than the Wolferman's English Muffin with butter AND peanut butter on it. Thank goodness I love oatmeal and yes, I am making it from scratch. But I really want that English Muffin.

-6-

Do you sometimes obsessively check your blog to see if anyone has looked at it or commented on a particular post? I finally added a counter just so that I could see what kind of minimal, and I do mean minimal, daily traffic that I get. I was ridiculous at first, checking all the time. It seemed like forever, well it was forever, before someone actually commented on anything that I wrote. I mean, there are people like Dooce who get HUNDREDS of comments when she puts up a post. I can't even imagine having that many people read my blog on any given day.

-7-

I am not particularly good a goal setting. I am not sure why that is because I am an organized and motivated individual but goals are just beyond me at times. However, I have set myself one goal this year and that is to read through the Bible. Nothing like being ambitious right. I am using this particular plan. Where I found it I cannot remember but I think it was from a blog that I found through Conversion Diary. Of course, I am already a week behind in the schedule but that really doesn't matter. I am just reading, not reading with a commentary in hand (like I usually do) or any other interpretive materials. I am just reading and referencing in the Bible alone....and it is great. I know that my day goes better when I have consistently had my time with the Lord first. Amazing isn't it. Now, I haven't gotten to Leviticus yet so I may be dragging through that part but I will persevere....I hope.

See you next week.