Oops

Did I really stop posting on Nov. 29? Oops. My bad.

Let's see...where to start.

I'm working a lot. I'll have a super overtime check rolling in right after Christmas, which I guess is nice.

I'm excited that I get to see Erin and Sarah next Friday. It's also a good time to hit up Gboro to visit my family, since our schedules won't let us do both sides of the family this year for Christmas.

My brother called today to tell me that my mom's mom isn't doing too well in the nursing home. I'm not really upset, I just hope if it is her time that it isn't painful. Brad has never met her, and I don't think I've seen her in years.

As for the washing machine, it's still on the fritz. Apparently they make detergent especially for front loading washers because they are "high efficiency." The detergent we have says it is for HE washers, but it isn't. The repair guy ordered some part related to the drain, and said we had to get new soap. That means we're scrimping by on the clothes we have, and hoping Queen will let us wash the essentials when we come down for Christmas. If it's not fixed soon we may have to find a laundromat. I really thought those days were behind us. It's good to know the repair was needed because I bought the wrong soap, and that our washer wasn't just a dud. I really love that washer.

It's getting really close to the New Years, and since I don't do resolutions I figure I'll just tell you all what my pet projects are for life improvement.

The first is to cut out the cancers. Those would be the things, the places and the people that do nothing but suck life away. Instead of feeling guilty for cutting communication short, or not visiting those people/places/things in my life that do not enrich my life in any way, I'm going to leave them in my past. Most of the cancers drag me down, and life is too short to allow that sort of nonsense. So HAI-YA! (That's the karate chop noise).

The second pet project is to be healthy. I started this one last year and made drastic improvements for the wedding. Now it's just for overall wellness. For those of you who have never visited www.calorie-count.com, it is a great tool for keeping track of what you're doing (and whether it's good or bad). It has food and activity logs, and tracks weight (for those using it for that purpose). It even has grades for foods. For instance, the rice I had with dinner last night was an A-, but the crunch bar I had for dessert was a C.

I've sort of taken up "running." I know there are several ex-marathoner readers, so I use "running" loosely. By running, I mean trying to keep my joints from getting old and rheumatoidy by doing high impact exercises. So instead of the ellyptical at the gym, I am now using the treadmill. Very high speed walking uphill for 30 minutes, with 2 minute running intervals every 10 minutes. It's cool for me because the Hickory gym we use is full of old people walking, so I can feel like a buff kid when I work out.

I'm hoping to increase my "running" to where I can get up to a mile of just running (no walking). A girl can dream, can't she? I couldn't do that even when I played soccer seven days a week in high school. I convinced myself I just wasn't cut out for running long distances. Maybe I just wasn't motivated (and I think not eating in high school may have had something to do with it too).

I'm off to work, one of seven straight this week. The copy desk has a hard time covering shifts for those who take time off for Christmas, and this year I am bearing the brunt. They bore the brunt for our honeymoon in September, so I'm not complaining much.

If I forget to post again, have a very Merry Christmas!