The dreaded workout

Okay, so it's not really that bad but today it hurt to run. I did three miles but I felt every single one of them! Maybe a little stretching and yoga tonight will help out with all that. I've been good--the Get Fit room right in our school is sooo helpful. It's a lot more difficult to duck out on your workout when you only have to walk down the hallway to get to the treadmill. But what I really needed was the push of friends who are doing the daily workout, too. With their help, I can do it (and not just sound like the little engine that could!). I'm not dropping weight or toning up like the people on The Biggest Loser but I have to keep telling myself that I'm doing it healthfully with just a pound or two a week. Yeah, I'll keep telling myself that. Maybe by next summer, when I'm finally comfortable in a bathing suit, I'll believe it!

Hey, anyone need an elliptical?

New Pile of Books

Here's what I'm planning to read next: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee, I Was Told There's Be Cake by Sloane Crosley, City Dog by Alison Pace, When Twilight Burns by Colleen Gleason, by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Upon Midnight Clear, and Armed and Glamorous by Ellen Byerrum. Where to begin?!!


I'm so excited that I have a pile of books to read. I've been at loose ends lately because there wasn't anything out there that I really wanted to read. But last week, I hit the library and found a big pile of books and ordered a couple from Amazon, too. Yeah, I went a little book crazy but at least I didn't buy everything. Thank god for the library. I don't know what I would do without it. And Amazon. I spend too much on books but it's my little indulgence. I hate to shop and don't like to go out & "party" much so I give myself permission to buy the books I want. AND it makes me happy. Isn't that reason enough?

There's Hope!

The books that I've read this week.


Okay, so to recover from my disastrous week and to bring about better karma, I had a me weekend. My house is nice and clean, my dog is nice and clean, and I'm feeling relaxed and recharged. Friday, I went out with the girls, at some yummy Bang-Bang shrimp at Bonefish (love that place), and saw The Women. It was a pretty good movie--Annette Benning was good but Meg Ryan was a little annoying! Too long hair, too permy-curly, too dingy. Really? You have to play that type of woman at your age? Can't you find something better? And, if there isn't anything more intelligent or interesting out there, go find it! I mean, these "older" actresses (and by older, Hollywood means anyone over 30!) have enough pull in Hollywood to go out, find the great scripts that have got to be out there and get the movies produced and distributed. I mean, geeze.

Saturday was kind of an icky day outside--perfect for cleaning the house (boy, that dog sheds a lot!) and reading. LOVED it! I finished a young adult book called Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr. She wrote Wicked Lovely also, which was great. I just love the fantasy genre.

Ben & Jerry's can make anything better

After one final insult this morning when there was no diet Coke left in the office vending machine this morning, the universe seems to have stopped messing with me. At least, I hope. My face, which had broken out like a teenager, is clearing up; my cold seems to be receeding; my cold sore is massive and painful but I hope it will go away soon; the library had a huge selection of great books I haven't read yet; and Ben & Jerry's has a new ice cream flavor, Cake Batter with Fudge Swirl, AND Publix had it on sale (there's nothing better than buy one, get one free!). Yeah, baby. I can now make it to the weekend. I am still holding my breath because those "bad" things come in threes and I think I only made it up to thirteen or fourteen crappy things this week--that's a couple short of another "three". Sigh. Maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket for tonight's $172 million dollar powerball.

Yeah. He looks so sweet and innocent now. You haven't seen him with a poor, little squirrel-baby dangling from his mouth.

A Totally Sucking Week

Yeah. It's been a crappy week. And it's only Tuesday. Can I just tell you how much I hate nature sometimes? Let's start with a dog story. Finn loves squirrels. Loves them. Chases them, stares up trees at them, howls his beagle-y howl at them. So, when I got home and saw a little squirrel-baby hiding by my sago palm, I knew there'd be trouble. Before going in the house, I scootched the squirrel-baby into a safer place (my neighbor's yard) and hoped that the neighborhood cats wouldn't find him. I know there are those fabulous people out there who would have taken that baby in, bottle-fed him, and hand-raised him. But I just couldn't. Mostly because Finn would eat him when I had to go to work. So, I took Finn for a walk, going around the other way, avoiding squirrel-baby's hiding spot. Finn sensed him and spent the afternoon on the porch, scenting the wind.

After dinner, I scoped out the yard & thought the coast was clear (stupid me). Finn & I took out the garbage and as we were about to go in, Finn seemed inordinately interested in the rear wheel of my car. "Oh, crap," I thought, my heart totally sinking, 'cause I knew what happened. I dragged Finny out from under the car, his tail a-wagging, a little, helpless squirrel-baby clutched in his mouth. I cursed nature as I shook him by his ruff, trying to dislodge the poor critter. Finally, Finny dropped him and poor squirrel-baby lay there, his back broken, twitching. Finn dove in again and I quickly scooped the baby up in my recycling bin. "Now what?" I thought. His back's broken, I can't just let him suffer. He's fresh meat for whatever nocturnal creature who just strolls by and he's in pain (or so I imagined--I hope to mother nature he didn't feel anything). So, yeah, I had to put him out of his misery. I won't tell you how because I don't want to relive that. It so sucked. I called my mother and cried. Poor squirrel-baby. While I'm not a big fan of squirrels, I hate suffering and would never wish it on any little critter (not even a snake). So I'm sad and mourning a little squirrel-baby tonight.