How does that saying go…

‘Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.’

I made the teenager an after-school snack.


(Clip Art)

One of my favorites...Mexican hot chocolate and crusty bread that has been toasted in the oven...perfect for a (well-) below zero day!

The teenager also loves this snack and was waxing and waning how tasty it was, especially the crusty, oven toasted bread.

I jokingly told him…”I don’t make these snacks for you because I love you…I make them so that you’ll have nice memories,” which, in-fact, is partly true.

I do want him to have nice memories.

But I make them because I love him.

He shot back…”So that I’ll put you in a nice nursing home?!”

Yowza!

Such stingers…from one so young!

I’m glad, though, that he has such quick come-backs.

A quick wit = a quick mind.

Hurt feelings…

My news channels are MSNBC and the Weather Channel.
(I guess the first one says something about my politics…)

Occasionally I’ll watch Good Morning America or some other morning program…but usually it’s the Weather Channel.



I haven’t found a local channel (in fact, there are no local channels for Laramie) that I really like and the WC provides day long info on Laramie weather.

I’ve noticed however, and this is where the hurt feeling come in, that no one…I mean no one…ever comes to Laramie (or Wyoming) to report on the weather or to interview the locals on…”how are you coping”…no matter how fierce the weather.

I mean…Detroit gets the newscasters, as does Minnanopolis, as does Iowa City as does NY, Boston, D.C., Okalahoma, Texas, Atlanta and…

Are getting the picture?

I realize that Wyoming is the least populated state, but…

Come on WC…we’re people too!

Or…maybe Wyomingites are just too hardy a folk to be bothered with trivial questions about weather.

I’m liking that perspective...

Who knew…

We didn’t...



that we had this access panel in the ceiling of our garage.

It’s up in the ceiling of the middle bay, which hasn’t gotten much use.



Has someone been living up there?!?



Nah…we had some workers at our house this morning…more on that later.



Am I becoming camera happy?!

Saying “Unlce”…

I gave in and hired the plowing company to come shovel our driveway.



Don’t know how often the winds will blow in from the North, but that’s the side the garage is on and the drifts just pile up against the doors.

Too much for little ‘ole me to handle while the boys are at school…and by the time they come home, well, it’s too late to tackle it all.

And this is the second time it’s happened in 2 weeks…and winter just started.

So we hired the guys who have shoveled before…nice guys.

One more bill to pay…

Word for the day…

Fu•tile
Pronunciation: \ˈfyü-təl, ˈfyü-ˌtī(-ə)l\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin futilis brittle, pointless, probably from fu- (akin to fundere to pour)
Date: circa 1555
1 : serving no useful purpose : completely ineffective
2 : occupied with trifles
(Courtesy: Merriam-Webster on-line)

We are having some winter-weather today…weather that is heading your way, my peeps.

So sorry…

Earlier this afternoon the junior high was obscured by the falling snow.

Tiny light flakes…the kind that gives the air a grey and misty, swirly look and …if you don’t have to shovel…very Grandma Moses pretty.

But…I’ve been out twice this afternoon and this second time…futile.

Completely and totally ineffective against the blowing Wyoming Winds…

Drifts over a foot…where I had shoveled just an hour ago.

Drifts…filling in behind me, even before I can shovel away the snow in front of me.

Futile.

Wish I could capture it for you…but I think I need a better camera.

But…maybe you can get a glimpse from this site, WDOT Web cam

And you know what?

The locals say that the real snow fall doesn’t come until after February.

I think this will be a winter to remember…for a lot of us around the country.

I know I shouldn’t...

But I do.

Then I feel yucky...having known full well I would feel this way.

But it calls to me.

I can’t seem to help myself.

Or turn away.

Or turn a deaf ear.

Afterwards, it’s more than just yucky that I feel...it’s like my body knows better.

It knows it doesn’t want it.

And yet, I can’t seem to stay my hand.

It’s as if it has control...

of my mind

my brain (are they one and the same?)

my body.

I can’t stop thinking about it...till I have it...even if I try and hum to myself.

I know I’m the only that can stop the cycle.

The yucky feeling afterwards.

The knowledge that I shouldn’t have it.

That I should have stayed away from...

The candy bar.

The frosted cake.

The cookie.

The ice cream float.

The donut.

Sugar...my Nemesis.

It wasn’t always this way.

I’ve always had a sweet tooth.

I used to be able to eat the frosting and toss the cake.

But now...Yuck.

Eat the cake and toss the frosting.

My mind wants the sweet stuff though (oh how it craves the sweet stuff), but my body no longer likes it...

Mind...body...body...mind.

Mind over body? Nah...

What I need is "mind over mind-over-body."

Came across this phrase in this NY Times article from a while back.

It doesn't really apply, but I like the concept...push my “mind over mind-over-body” when it comes to sweets.

Mind over mind-over-body…

Maybe if I say it enough...

Nope...I’m off to have some graham crackers!!!

5… maybe 6…

That’s the amount of fat I brought back home to Laramie…"on" me.

I thought the “protective layer” of winter fat was supposed to emerge in the cold climes…not in the warm, balmy climes of Georgia.

Then again…I downed tons and tons of sashimi with a few brewskies while in Atlanta.


[Courtsey of Clip Art]

Then while in Chicago…Italian Beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs (both with fries, thank you very much); Mexican food; ham and turkey with all the trimmings; and a breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs…every-single-morning!


[Courtesy Clip Art]

I might have to try that Paleo Diet.

You know…what the caveman/hunter/gatherers ate before the agricultural boom of the Neolithic period.

I hear tell our Paleo ancestors were pretty lean and trim.

Really! I just read about this diet…in The Washington Post no less.

No grains, legumes, or starches…just meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and nuts.

Sounds a bit familiar...no?

Except for the grapefruit diet in college…remember that, girls?...I’ve never really been big on diets.

So I guess I’ll have to learn to snowshoe and cross country ski.

Hmm

Maybe I should try the diet after all…