Snow Day

Yesterday I had one of those days where even though I kept checking things off the "To Do" list, the list kept growing, making me feel I was sliding backwards instead of moving forward. Not to worry. Today is a new day. A new SNOW covered day. We got about an inch last night, the first snow in what seems like years. I'm disappointed I didn't get to watch it fall, but it's supposed to snow intermittently throughout the day so there's still hope.

I'll probably be out in it. Part of today must be spent canvassing Madison merchants and asking if they'll post a flyer for our Whine & Cheese shelter fundraising event AND if they'll participate in our Februrary APSRC fundraiser. We drop off pink paper hearts to merchants and for $1, people can buy a heart and dedicate it to a pet. The merchant posts the heart in their store and we come back at the end of February and collect the money.

It's a good exercise for me because I HATE to do this sort of thing. Mingle with people? Bah!  And especially mingle with people and ask for a favor. Yuck. But it's important, so I'll do it.

That and the other 80 things on my list. It's 6:37 AM and I already feel like I'm running behind schedule. But I'm still going to take a minute to sip some coffee and stare out at the snow. Might be years before I have the chance again.

Have a great day!

Long Day

Woke up to 19 degree weather and no Internet service. Spent over an hour on the phone with Road Runner and issue still not resolved. Pipes in home frozen--showering just became optional. Got a ton of work done on my book but almost none done for clients as that work requires reliable Internet service. (I'm piggybacking on my neighbor's wi-fi right now, but service keeps going in and out.)

My take on the situation? To quote Captain Jack Sparrow, "But WHY is there no more rum?" Guess wine will have to do.

"No TV" Taking Hold

Several of you have been kind enough--or concerned enough--to inquire how our month of no TV is going. The answer is really, really well.

I should fess up and admit that our month of no TV is not quite as stringent as I made it out to be. The purpose behind unplugging the TV was to rid us of the mindless channel-flipping that permeated our evenings. We never flipped on the TV intending to watch two hours of The Food Network, but who among us can resist a National Cake Bake Off? We were weak...

So the pact we made is that while we can't watch regular TV with commericals, we are allowed to pop in a movie OR tape a show we want to see and watch it later without commercials. The surprise however, is that after we tape a show and let it sit for a couple of days, neither of us are all that interested in going back and watching it. After having the TV off for a week, we really started to enjoy it. After my Lasik surgery, I wasn't allowed to read or get on the computer for the night but I could watch TV and close my eyes on commercials, so we lifted the TV ban for the night. I watched one hour of Oprah and had a headache. Turned the TV off and haven't missed it since.

I am AMAZED at how much more focus I have, how much calmer I feel, and most of all, how much TIME I feel has been added to my day. I wasn't watching all that much TV before, but knowing I wanted to watch an 8PM show made me rush through dinner, exercise, or whatever so I could be "ready" to watch my show. It's hard to explain, but I feel like a division has been removed from my days and evenings and now there is just a smooth, continual flow of time. We're reading more, talking more, cooking together, and getting more done around the house.

Sure, there are moments where I want nothing more than to throw myself on the couch with the remote but I find if I can distract myself for 15 minutes, the urge passes. Or if the urge is really bad, I pop in a movie.

Overall though, extremely pleased with the "no TV" and plan to continue it. Thanks everyone for checking in. I think the rescue squad may now safely stand down.

Dena

"You Bought It, You Eat It"

In an attempt to actually EAT the food that we bring into the home, Blair and I are instigating the end of month You Bought It, You Eat It week. During this week, only basic grocery purchases such as fresh fruit and milk will be permitted. The rest of the week will involve cleaning out cupboards, freezer, and fridge of food that would not be out of place on the Island of Misfit Toys.

The idea is to finally eat the Indian food instant meal packages that looked so deliciously appealing in the store. To figure out just what the heck to do with the leftover yogurt, broccoli, red pepper slices, half an onion, Italian bread crumbs and feta cheese instead of asking God to please forgive me for waste as I toss them out. And maybe...just maybe to delve into the depths of the freezer that haven't seen the light of day in years.

What do YOU do with leftover kalamata olives?We're looking forward to it. Kind of a fun challenge to see what food/meal combinations we'll be able to come up with--with a LOT of help from online recipe sites. As you can see from the photos, we keep a full larder. We'll let you know what's left to work with the last week of January.

[If any of you would like to have us over for dinner, the end of any month would be a GREAT time, please and thank you.]