The best dinner salad EVER

Yesterday was a busy, busy day. I walked in the morning while it was still warmish, even thought it was spitting rain. The freezing rain, sleet and snow came later, as I was driving to and from the hairdresser's.

I got a call a couple miles into the walk from our Amish neighbor, Simon, who said he had visitors from Pennsylvania – the family I stayed with when I drove Simon and his wife there in 2012! So I kept walking another half-mile and stopped to visit for a bit.

That put me a bit off schedule, but I made it work. Got home and showered, then headed back out to pick up a few groceries and mail the Easter cards before my hair appointment.

In order to make it work, I had to skip a proper lunch and just grabbed a banana on my way out the door. Not a good plan, but I had no choice. And you know what? I haven't died of hunger yet!

What to have for dinner though?

Torn lettuce drizzled with a little olive oil, topped with black
olives, pico de gallo, sliced chicken tenders wrapped in bacon
and freshly ground pink sea salt. The best salad in a long time.

I'd fixed a large pan of my favorite seasoned chicken tenders wrapped in bacon the night before, and there were several pieces left over. So I made some pico de gallo with some need-to-use-or-throw-away tomatoes, peppers and cilantro, threw it on a bowl of torn lettuce and topped it with sliced leftover chicken tenders.

Oh. My. YUM!

We watched it snow as we ate our summer salads, but it didn't matter. The sun is back out today and even though it's going to be chilly, I think (hope!) that was winter's last last gasp.

I may have hoped that before.

And I tried to get a selfie of the new haircut but they all looked horrible and self-conscious, so it'll have to wait. I asked for a little bit of an Ellen look and she nailed it! I really like it – never could have pulled it off 50 pounds ago, though. Thanks, paleo!

A bit overwhelmed today

Too much to do and too little time to do it. And I hate to say it, but the thing that's going to get left out is the daily walk. I'd probably make time for it if it were a bit warmer, but it's not, and it's not going to be, and, well, you both know how I feel about the elliptical! Heh. I've walked 30 miles so far this month, so even at the end of today, if I don't walk, I will have averaged five miles/day for the month. I'd kinda like to keep the streak going, though.

We'll see.

I have to put together a portfolio to present to a group this afternoon. I should have worked on it yesterday, of course, but I walked and cooked and internetted (that's a word, right?) until the day got away from me.

I have to make or, more likely, buy and mail Valentines for the grandchildren. All year long I pin ideas for handmade Valentines and every February I end up buying cards and mailing them at the last minute. It's not like I don't know Valentine's Day is coming. It happens every year on the same day.

To be fair, I had some ideas ready to go this morning but my printer died. I might be able to print them from the old printer, and since I have to use that computer for some of the portfolio pieces I'll give it a try. I've ordered a replacement printer, one that supports AirPrint, which will come in very handy when I want to print something from my phone or tablet. The death of the old one was anticipated and maybe even celebrated, since it moved from useful to obsolete so quickly.

And I need to figure out something to throw into the slow cooker for dinner, since the afternoon meeting begins at 4 – about the time I usually start cooking.

Prioritizing:

1. Slow cooker
2. Portfolio
3. Valentines

Not much on that list in the way of self-care but OH WELL. Some days are kinder than others.

This is not one of them.

Yesterday was …

jam-packed with excitement.

Mostly it was WVFDW stuff, awaiting news of a big economic boost for West Virginia. We thought the announcement was happening at 10 a.m., but it ended up being pushed back to early afternoon. I was able to make some noise about it before I went for a walk with LYNNE!

My husband is my usual and customary walking partner, but it's always a treat when Lynne can get away. We talk non-stop, something that just doesn't happen with that man I live with. Heh.

I learned yesterday that a family friend will most likely be having surgery early next week, which is a huge relief, as the surgery will be life-saving and is absolutely necessary.

I began the day, as I always do, by stepping on the scale. I was shocked – SHOCKED! – to see this:

Quelle surprise!

Only 10 pounds to go. (Oh, and I bought yet another pair of new jeans, this time purple corduroy, in a size EIGHT! Woo hoo!)

This morning's number was a little higher than yesterday's, but yesterday's gave me a huge burst of confidence that maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to hit that eventual goal of minus-65. Maybe not this year, but soon.

And now you know what the terrible-awful number was last Christmas.

I also did a bit of computer maintenance yesterday and got a message that my hard drive could not be repaired. Hmmm. Everything's working fine except Time Machine (Apple's back-up utility), so I was skeptical. I did a couple magic tricks, ran the verification utility again and it said my hard drive was fine.

It was one of those moments when you just stick your fingers in your ears and go la-la-la-la-la. Which verification result is correct? I might do it again today and go for two out of three.

At any rate, all of that busy-ness accounted for my lack of a wordy post yesterday. But captioned photos count for NaBloPoMo, right? Right.

NaBloPoMo (which is short for National Blog Posting Month) has been really good for me. Writing daily (or nearly so) for more than two years has been good discipline and good therapy. I'm fortunate to have the time. And even thought the "Mo" in NaBloPoMo stands for month, it's an ongoing event, happening every month, with different themes (which I customarily ignore). But November is the big month.

Finally, this morning, this happened at the Healthcare Marketplace website:

I happened to see a random tweet suggesting that if you clear your browser cache and cookies you'll be able to create a new healthcare.gov account. I had to create a new gmail address, as well, but by golly IT WORKED!

I've now been notified that I'm not eligible and need to apply for Medicaid. After I'm denied (which I will be), I can go back to healthcare.gov and choose a plan. Plugging numbers into the subsidy calculator, I stand to save about $700 annually.

Color me HAPPY!

Yesterday's news

Well, what a fun day we had yesterday. Natalie Tennant's announcement that she's running for U.S. Senate went smoothly at Tamarack in Beckley, and from what I've been able to see of the other two locations she attracted lots of supporters in Charleston and Morgantown as well.

See me back there on the right? Oh, and the front-and-center lady in red is Natalie.

My husband and I were part of the crowd on the stage behind her as she made her speech. Pretty exciting! I don't think I've ever been on television before, but I made the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. local news and my husband also said I was in a teaser shot at 10 p.m.

I, of course, was sound asleep by then. Heh.

I'd intended to wake up early and walk on the treadmill before we left for Beckley, but that didn't happen. In another lifetime I would have blown it off: too busy, not enough time, too tired, blah, blah, blah. Instead, I

• attended the Tennant for Senate event
• stopped to fill the tank in the car
• dropped a package off at the UPS store
• stopped at a craft store for spray glitter (wait'll you see what I'm doing with that!)
• went to my county Democratic women's club meeting
• picked up a couple things at the store afterward
• drove home and then 
• walked five miles.

Because working that walk into the day has truly become a priority. (And also? It was a glorious day, perfect for walking.) I stuck some chicken and sweet potatoes in the oven when I got home, showered and dressed to go to the prison meeting, ate dinner and whoosh – left for Alderson before 6 p.m.

Today is going to be busy, as well, but in a different way. My phone died at lunch yesterday. The battery icon indicated it was full, but when I plugged it into the car charger it was at ZERO percent. Second time in a week that's happened, so there's something wrong with either the phone or the battery.

U.S. Cellular replaces batteries at no charge, so that's on today's agenda. And since I have to drive an hour to get the phone store, I might as well pick up what I'll need for this weekend's out-of-towner. I'd planned to stop someplace on my way to the convention Thursday afternoon, but I might as well get everything done today.

I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow. Time flies when you're being a good Democrat having fun!

Busy day today

I conserved a lot of personal energy yesterday by doing next to nothing. I haven't been sleeping well the past few days, and so when I wasn't doing what was absolutely necessary – making coffee, fixing dinner, opening the mail – I was, um, napping.

Sometimes you need a Nothing Day.

I'm paying for it today, though. I could have made the grandkids' Christmas cards yesterday. I could have finished knitting a little last-minute gift. Instead I played endless games of smartphone solitaire and I slept.

Today I need to pick up an Amish neighbor at 10:30 to take her to a doctor's appointment. I'm then going to have new tires put on my car. (Merry Christmas!) And I have a walking date at 2 p.m.

I tried to walk late yesterday afternoon, figuring I'd have enough time for two miles before starting the spaghetti sauce. Here's my Skimble report:

It was SO cold and SO windy that we (my husband was with me) gave up before we got to the end of the driveway!

Today should be nice, and then we're in for some kind of winter weather event, according to the multiple alerts I've gotten on my phone. I hope to be well south of it before it hits, as I'm headed out tomorrow to visit family a couple states south. Not sure if I'll be able to keep up with the daily posts or not, but I'll sure try.

'Cause I know both of you are on the edges of your chairs waiting for my updates every morning. Heh.

Thanks for your comments the past few days. I appreciate it more than you know. I hope our collective outrage and our calls to our Congressmen and Senators will bring about effective change in America's gun laws. The problem is huge and will never fully prevent future tragedies. But if we don't try, we will always have blood on our hands.