Oh, the weather outside is …

fucking cold.

Yesterday looked marginally promising for an outdoor walk with my husband. We waited until about 1:30, thinking that would be when the daytime temperature was the highest. And it was … but 28° really isn't very warm.

We walked 4.6 miles along the Greenbrier River, the edges of which were frozen solid. It was cold. Really, really cold. I was so cold my back ached from shivering and we (he's 74, I'm 66) managed about a 20-minute pace for the entire trek.

I was still cold when I went to bed last night.

I'm sure I've been colder, but I can't remember when. Seriously.

We're under a winter weather advisory here in southern West Virginia today and tomorrow. Doesn't look like the snow will start falling until I have to be in a meeting this evening. Two meetings, actually.

Plenty of time to get a walk in during the day.

On the treadmill.

Don't forget: Bundle up and be kind!

See that?

Look! Over there! To the right!

There's a little bloggy badge that says "Featured on BlogHer." Meaning they highlighted one of my posts!

It was yesterday's, of course. Because if it had been an earlier one you would have heard about it by now. They edited it and added links to the offending comments, if you want to pop over and read it again. Heh.

And if you're a new reader who clicked through from BlogHer, welcome. Glad to have you.

Moving ON …

Last week I calculated that I had to walk/run 4.63 miles per day for the rest of the year to make the 1500-mile goal. Today it's down to 4.59. Last week's mileage was good at 30 miles, but the previous week's 44 was super! And look at the difference it made in what I have to accomplish.

Yes, I'm a little obsessed (and worried) about making that goal. WHAT WAS I THINKING?

The recently started Whole 30 is going well. I'm not missing almond-flour baked things nearly as much as I thought I might. I'm also not dropping any pounds, which is kind of surprising, but not alarming. It will happen when it happens, I'm quite confident of that.

The best part of eating this way is having enough energy to mow the entire three acres of grass in one session and having enough extra energy to walk five miles when I was finished. And that was after walking 1.4 miles in the morning (in those dirty boots) to read the electric meter at the water pump. (Yes, we're going through this again.)

Anyhoo … I don't have much more to report today. It's raining and supposed to get colder. Thanks, Obama Winter! Spring was great while it lasted.

Who knew?

Both my father and my grandmother on my mother's side loved growing things. I have, at various times in my life, thrown some seeds in a patch of dirt and then forgot all about them, only to watch the weeds take over.

(And there was that time when the seeds really were weed. But that was long ago and far away. Another universe, possibly. Certainly another lifetime. Heh.)

But gardening has grown on me, both the food kind and the flower kind. Never have I looked forward to gardening season as much as I have this year. Who knew, indeed? The winter was far too long and dreary.

It's such a joy to look across the front yard and see bright yellow daffodils. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday afternoon cleaning out the asparagus bed and working on the perennials in the front yard. I dumped seven loads of dead leaves at the edge of the yard, available if I need them but I probably won't.

The two big differences between this year's gardening season and last year's are these:

• I'm not working at my part-time job this year, thus opening up several hours a week where I can concentrate on the yard and garden, and
• I have less pain, more energy and weigh a lot less this year, making it so much easier to move and bend and tote and haul.

And that, my friends, is more incentive for me to stick with the paleo/primal plan.

Plus I'll be making and canning my own organic, delicious SALSA in three or four months! (I eat salsa a lot.) I'm cutting the size of the garden in half this year, and concentrating on tomatoes, peppers and onions, with some Italian green beans, okra, and kale. But it's mostly going to be a salsa garden.

I haven't begun cleaning up the herb bed, which was completely neglected last year. I'm hoping the cilantro will reseed itself. But if it doesn't, I'm prepared with several packets of new seeds.

'Cause you can't make salsa without cilantro.

Last gasp blast of winter

I am so completely and utterly sick of winter. I guess I've complained about it too much, because Mother Nature is playing one last (I hope!) cruel trick on us here in southern WV. March may still go out like a lamb, since temperatures are supposed to be much more moderate tomorrow, but on the penultimate day? Not so much:

I'm leaving in a couple of hours, heading north for a most-of-the-day meeting. North is the best place to head to get out of potential snow. It doesn't usually work that way, but today … And my biggest dilemma, of course, is what to wear. I'm thinking black jeans, boots, long-sleeved t-shirt, jean jacket and scarf. You know … something springy! That should cover all the weather bases.

I really wanted to wear a skirt today, though. Grrr.

April 7. That's Day One of the next strict Whole 30, although I'm following the plan pretty well right now. Gingerzingi completed one a couple weeks ago and is finding it difficult to get back on it without a little slip-up here and there. I feel the same way. It's time to buckle down, so we're doing it together. Anyone else want to jump in? No rules, we're not doing anything formal or reporting to each other. Just the idea that someone else is out there, though, being virtually supportive, is very motivating.

At least for me.

Gotta get going … a three-hour drive, four- to five-hour meeting and three-hour return trip awaits. Now that I think about it, it's a great day to be sitting on my ass all day. If I were home I'd just be bitching about the weather preventing me from walking. Instead I'm watching the snow and listening to the wind and feeling more than a little grateful that I have plans for the day.

And I hope you do, as well.

Just like starting over

Okay this morning's weigh-in did not go well. At all. But rather than cry over spilt coconut milk, I'd rather learn from my mistakes and move the hell on.

I now need to lose 19.5 pounds – arghhhh! – to reach the magic BMI. That's seven pounds more than the lowest weight I was able to get to last year. If I'm to accomplish this goal in the next 61 days (which would be on my birthday), I need to buckle down.

There aren't many minefields on my calendar for the next couple months. A banquet April 4 and another one later in May are really the only events at which I won't have any choice about the food.

I'm going to pretend that 20 pounds have crept up on me over this horrid, brutal winter, rather than seven. Spring truly is in the offing – even though the roads this morning are snow-covered black ice – and soonsoonsoon I'll be able to get a long walk in every day. Food choices have been all over the map, but there's absolutely no reason not to get back on the Whole 30 horse for a couple of months.

The combination of clean eating and increased activity worked for me beginning last April. No reason history can't or won't repeat itself. I've been far too liberal with all four paleo forbidden fruits. I'm not just seeing those results on the scale, I'm feeling the telltale achy joints.

But … my jeans still fit. My wedding ring is still loose. I don't look like I've gained seven pounds and I don't look like I need to lose 20. And there's the dilemma. For all those who say BMI isn't accurate or doesn't matter, I say – for me – it has to. Otherwise I'm pretty comfortable right where I am, and right where I am is 20 pounds too much.

Pretending that I've always been at a normal BMI and, over the course of three months, have seen an increase is a head game I'm willing to play. My hope is that once I get there I'll feel and look SO terrific that staying there will be more important than eating birthday cake.

And anyway, my birthday falls during strawberry season, not cake season. Heh.

I wanted to stab my eyes out

I woke up yesterday to the ol' wintry mix again, and thought, "noNoNO!" We knew it was coming, of course. The radar map was the same every time I looked at it Sunday – a huge pink-and-blue wall of ice and snow heading our way. Combined with sub-freezing temperatures, it was a bad day for taking a walk, but a good one for ass-sitting. AND KNITTING! I completed, beginning Sunday evening, three fingerless mitts, and the fourth one is about a third of the way done.

And I think we may have watched eight or nine or even 10 episodes of the second season of House of Cards. If HoC is your only exposure to how government works, it's no wonder a lot of people say they're not interested in politics.

I got a four-miler in Sunday morning. It began raining when I was a quarter mile from home, on the way back. Eating has been good and clean for three days now. I think I'm back on track.

The new refrigerator is scheduled for delivery between 2:15 and 4:15 this afternoon. Perhaps I'll cook enough for dinner that we'll have LEFTOVERS. Because now I'll have a place to keep them. Although, realistically, it won't be cooled down and ready to freeze things until tomorrow, I would imagine. But the light really is at the end of the tunnel for this ordeal.

And maybe the light is at the end of the tunnel for our weather woes, as well. Mostly sunny and highs in the 40s and 50s for the next five days (including today, but right now it's only NINE!). More wintry mix moves in after that, but it looks like it may only be during the overnight period, as high temperatures during the day are still going to be quite moderate.

I'll be so glad when there's no more bad weather to write about.

I'm sure you will be, as well.

If ...

you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life,
what would it be….and why?

On this morning after the Jordan Davis trial ended with a hung jury on the count of murder, I'm tempted to listen to rap or hip-hop music – LOUD – for the rest of my life.

I can't do that. I'm a fan, but I'm not A FAN, if you know what I mean. I like old-school hip-hop – Ton Loc, Outkast, DJ Jazzy Jeff. Although … Pharrell.

If I had to pick just one song, it would be the old Johnny Mercer tune "I Remember You." It's been covered by Ella and Frank Ifield and Tony Bennett and Slim Whitman and Art Garfunkel and, and, and. It's a beautiful song and I never get tired of listening to it.

Now as both of you know, I"m a Bob Dylan fan through and through. And while Bob didn't cover the Mercer tune, he did come up with his own lyrics and music using the same title. And it happens to be from one of my two favorite albums, both of which were rather obscure releases from the '80s. Dylan's "I Remember You" is from Empire Burlesque. My other fave CD is called Knocked Out Loaded.

If I were picking a favorite Dylan tune to listen to for the rest of my life, it would most definitely be "Forever Young." If you're new here, you might not know my maiden name is Young. The last time I was single I vowed that if I ever married I'd keep my maiden name the rest of my life.

Obviously when I took my vows I'd changed my mind. Heh.

I love that song not just because he wrote it for me (he DID! Totally!), but for the incredibly warm and inspiring lyrics. 

              May your heart always be joyful
              May your song always be sung
              May you stay forever young.

I've been feeling pretty low this past few days weeks months winter. I've had some good days, but mostly I've been grey and blue and dull and cold and blah. Our electricity went out last night – the icing on the cake, if you will – right about the time I was turning the oven on to warm up left over meat loaf for dinner.

So my husband and I ate cold meat loaf and homemade applesauce, after which we retired to the TV room with oil lamps, the better to read and knit by. That's the smallest room in the house and we were surprised at how much warmth two little oil lamps could produce. The lights came back on about four hours later; we really didn't suffer at all. And I finished the neverending socks!

During that time we listened to music from my iPod, which I keep docked on a charger/speaker that will play for a couple of hours without external power. And I started feeling …

better.

Amazingly, surprisingly, astonishingly better. It wasn't a particular genre or artist; I had the iPod on shuffle. But the nicest tunes popped up – Simon and Garfunkel, Mariah Carey, Dylan – of course, since there are more songs on the device by Dylan than by any other artist. Soothing and restful and pleasant tunes. The last song we listened to, as the lights came on, was "Church in the Wildwood" by The Gaithers, which happened to be the song my dad came out of a coma singing along with back in 2008. It also was my husband's grandfather's favorite song.

I felt like the universe knew what I needed to hear.

And since the weather forecast is for a warming trend, maybe the universe knows what I need in that department, as well.


I hope your Sunday is soothing and restful and pleasant. Selfishly, I hope mine is, as well.

At least we didn't get any ice

Sometimes you have to reeeeeeeeallllllly stretch to find something for which to be grateful.

Took this when I got up, about 6:45 a.m.

As both of you know, I'm pretty darned sick of winter. Our winter storm warning doesn't expire until this evening. The snow began to fall shortly after 3 yesterday afternoon and it's still snowing. We have nearly a foot of it right now. I'm going to have to exchange the plastic ruler for a yardstick soon.

But. I'd sure hate to be in Georgia or the Carolinas today.

Our electricity is still on. The heat pump is pumping, the water is running, THE COFFEE IS DONE!

And I have everything I need to make this. Heh.

The walking streak ended yesterday, after just 13 days. I simply couldn't force myself to walk outdoors when it was only 20° and I also couldn't force myself onto the treadmill or the elliptical. I'll be shoveling (and shoveling and shoveling) today, but there's not much point in starting that job until the snow moves on. 

Jen left a most sympathetic comment yesterday, and I do appreciate it. She's had to deal with a lot more snow than I have this winter. And we are of like minds: Enough, already! I am completely unmotivated to move my ass when it's this cold. I enjoyed walking one snowy day last month, but it would be pretty close to impossible to walk outside for pleasure today.

None of my grandchildren …

have school today.

Which would be no big deal if they all lived in the same place. But their homes stretch from the Nashville, TN, metropolitan area to the Triangle in NC. We are all (including southern West Virginia) enjoying(?!?!?) yet another Winter Storm Warning or Watch or Advisory or Special Weather Statement.

Yesterday was lovely but cold. Lovely enough that the sun lured us outdoors for a walk. Cold enough that we made it a minimum-distance trek on Indian Creek. But: Four more miles added to this month's total; I'm up to 52 for the month now. I need to average 4.3 miles per day, every day, for the rest of the year, to hit 1500 miles.

Which sounds rather daunting when it's 20° and we're expecting another half a foot of snow.

Winter doesn't last forever, though.

It only seems like it.

Last night was my volunteer gig at the prison. Take a guess as to what the best part of prison is … if you picked the inmates, you would be right. The women who come to our Tuesday evening meeting are thoughtful, determined, empathetic, helpful and unfailingly positive. I have NO ROOM to complain about anything when I compare my tidy little life to the complicated challenges they face.

We were discussing how everything happens for a reason, and that you often don't know the reason until much, much later. Sometimes years later. And I said I still wasn't sure that my co-volunteer's house fire had to fall into that category. But her attitude has been incredible. For instance, she said she was concerned about her houseplants not surviving this winter weather, since she kept her house cool. Along comes a house fire … problem solved!

We were all rather tearful when she said her music group surprised her with the gift of a new viola. And bow. And chin rest. And case.

And the lesson here is to accept gifts graciously, and friendship warmly, and circumstances with humor and grace. We continually learn what we need to know to move forward in our lives. If we're open to the lesson.

So what's my lesson about gaining two more pounds? (I'm now up FIVE from mid-January.) I can only think it has something to do with dark chocolate. And bad weather. Heh.

C'mon, Spring! I'm ready!

WE GOT OUT!

Not only did my husband and I make it to town yesterday so I could register as a candidate, but we went on to a nearby CITY and had a late LUNCH in a RESTAURANT.

(Thanks for your good wishes about my filing, here and on Facebook and Instagram. I appreciate it!)

We found a Chinese buffet right after Christmas that has an amazing selection of paleo-friendly food. Lots of steamed vegetable choices, non-sugary chicken entrées, plenty of fresh fruit. My husband is a big eater and loves buffets. I've learned, over the years, to realize it's not necessary to eat my money's worth. (That was a hard one to learn!) So we're both happy … and I didn't have to cook dinner (I can always fend for myself without cooking) because he truly eats a whole days' worth of food – and maintains his weight.

Mostly because he maintains his workout schedule. Heh.

One of my flight instructors used exercise as a way to eat whatever he wanted. He was a runner, was skinny as a rail and ate like a PIG. I guess I just don't love exercise that much. I'd rather eat and exercise moderately than be a fitness bulimic.

But I digress.

I'm glad we went yesterday. Neither of us have ventured too far from home for about a week now and it was nice to get away. I was supposed to go to a WV Federation of Democratic Women board meeting today – about a three-hour drive, one way – but it was canceled because the entire state is under yet another winter storm warning. Four more inches of snow is on the way. SO THEY SAY.

The wind is fierce right now, although the temperature is, surprisingly, not that low at 21° F. And the snow is coming down sideways.

We might make it to the post office later today, but I don't think we're going to get much further than that.

We'll continue working on the decluttering/organizing project we started this month, and I'll cook something yummy for dinner and it's a great day to knit. Other than that – time to hunker down. Again.

It's winter. And it's snowing.

The sky! It's falling!

Because that's what it does in winter.

This is going to be an all-day event, with a predicted snowfall of four to eight inches. Four is as bad as eight if you're driving in it, I suppose.

I'm not going anywhere.

I got my car inspected and a new battery installed yesterday, and walked to Tiny Kroger while the work was being done. (After walking four miles earlier with my husband. PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK HERE!) The grocery was jam-packed with folks buying milk, bread, eggs and peanut butter. Because the snowpocalypse! It's happening!

I bought bananas and cereal (for the husband), and said to the manager on my way out, "You must love winter weather forecasts!" He's such a nice guy. He said, "I don't, but I'm sure the company does!"

Because he has to drive on these mountain roads, too.

So. There will be shoveling today for intentional activity, instead of walking. Or maybe in addition. I haven't walked in the snow in a long, long time, and if I bundle up, it could be a very peaceful, meditative addition to my day.

It really is kinda pretty.

March 7 - Fear

I fear the sun is never going to shine again. SO TIRED OF WINTER!

A first

Well, maybe not. But a first in a long, long time.

Last night we watched Argo on pay-per-view. AND I DID NOT KNIT!

That's right, folks, I finished the Irresponsible Tam a few days ago. (One of the most unflattering hats I've ever made, sorry to say. I tossed it.) And there's nothing easy on my needles at the moment, and easy knitting is required for television watching. So I simply turned out the lamp and we pretended we were in a theatre.

Our local movie place doesn't have an especially good sound system, so I'm glad it worked out that we could watch this film at home, where we could control the volume and actually hear what was going on. Lots of clandestine conversations would have been lost to both of us had we watched it at the Ritz.

You may have heard that you'll be on the edge of your seat the last 30 minutes of the film, even though you know how it ends. SO TRUE! It really was intense. Not my normal movie choice – I like comedies and romances more than thrillers – but it certainly kept me engaged. The characters were well-cast, particularly the roles played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman.

Walked outdoors yesterday afternoon, surprise, surprise. The predicted precipitation held off all day. We have powdered sugar snow on the ground now, and I don't think we'll have any significant accumulation. The weather people are absolutely intent on covering their asses this year. We've been under far too many Winter Weather Advisories that just didn't happen, sending people running to the grocery for French toast bread, milk and eggs. And beer. Heh.

Because of the cold and slippery streets, I'll be working out indoors. Not sure how I'll distract myself. I have a few things on the DVR I could watch, and more than a few books/magazines on the Nook I could read.

One thing is for sure: While I'm on that machine, I'll be wishing I was outside.

January 27 - Sun

So happy to see the sun this morning. And so happy it will be warm-ish today!

Looks like winter's finally here

I can't complain. We had the mildest January in recent memory (which isn't saying a lot, as the recent memory is the first to go as we age, I think), so having a couple day of Xtreme cold and a few potential inches of snow is, um, normal. Right now we have about an inch, and according to the radar we're looking at another three or four hours of light snow.

I feel so bad for the daffodils. They usually have to withstand a very cold night or two later in the season and they pop right back. I hope mine will, but I'm not holding my breath. They just sprouted too early.

Denise, I'm a total novice when it comes to Excel, and your tip on how to select a section of a spreadsheet is nothing short of genius! Thanks so much. I should probably read a tutorial or take a class to get the full benefit of the program, but I truly don't use it very often.

(I bought it for a part-time job that fell through. =( But I'm happy to have it to work on the garden center's website. I'll link to it when it's ready for prime-time.)

Took this picture of our
BRAND-NEW coffeemaker
last year on Feb. 13.

The grind part of our grind-and-brew coffeemaker bit the dust this morning. From what I can gather after reading online troubleshooting forums, this is pretty common after a couple years of use. It's a 12-cup Cuisinart model that was on sale at Sam's for about $50, so I'm not too disappointed. I pulled the backup Krups grinder out of the cupboard and we're good to go.

My husband drinks a lot of coffee. His coffee consumption is actually rather legendary in his extended family; one cousin says she and her mother have had entire conversations about how much coffee he drinks. We routinely brew three pots of coffee every day, and sometimes four.

I mix a bag of regular and a bag of decaffeinated beans together to reduce the total caffeine intake, but still. That's a helluva lot of coffee. (I drink three or four cups in the morning and then I'm done.) That the grinder quit so relatively soon after purchasing the unit (in two days we will have had it for a year) shouldn't be a big surprise, considering that most people make coffee once a day.

Don't they?

We have a backup coffeemaker, as well, because obviously when someone needs three pots of coffee a day, you have to be prepared. We're like Boy Scouts that way. Heh.

Fortunately we're like Boy Scouts as far as being prepared for bad weather goes, as well. Because it doesn't look like we're going to be leaving the house today. Plenty of eggs, milk, meat and vegetables. And I should probably go put another pot of coffee on.

Oh, the weather outside is …

beautiful! In an ethereal, dreamy, foggy kind of way.

Yesterday morning we woke up to low clouds and thick frost. See?

Today it's clear and crisp with frost covering everything on the northeast side of the house, but barely coating the stuff on the southwest side. Not sure how to explain that. And it's not nearly as picture-worthy as yesterday's icy morning greeting.

Looks like we're in for some cold, cold nights, with daytime highs gradually cooling as the week wears on. High today of 53° and sunny, so an outdoor walk is on the agenda. The rest of the week we descend into winter. Finally. I hope the daffs survive.

I've now been South Beaching for four weeks. My weight stayed the same this week, but the trend since January 1 has been two weeks of losses and one week of staying the same. Jen noted recently that she experiences a similar pattern. Not that I'm Jen, but it was instructive to read that and it helped me be not quite as bummed as I would have been in the past. Jen also is using a scale that tracks body fat. I have a scale that does that, but I'm not using it. Maybe it's time. (My body fat percentage was so scary-high I put the scale away and haven't looked at it in more than a year. Seriously!)

My old thinking would have had me jumping off the wagon at this point. I've been really good about this plan that promises big losses the first two weeks and a steady two-pounds-a-week after that. I can stay the same weight eating all kinds of crap. I maintained the same [too-high] weight for several months last year, eating pretty much whatever I wanted.

Rather than ditch it, I plan to stick with South Beach. Nothing about eating protein and vegetables is going to hurt me, and avoiding sugar and refined flour has already helped. I feel much better emotionally.

There's also the gym factor. I've been faithfully showing up there thrice-weekly for two weeks, spending at least half an hour on full-body weight-training and another 45 minutes watching Glee on the treadmill. I am a sweaty mess when I get done. On the days I'm not in the gym I try to walk outside or do the elliptical here at home, although I have missed either three or four days of intentional activity.

The interesting thing about skipping a day is that in the old days I could easily justify skipping another and another and then just falling back into the not-working-out habit. Now I just tell myself that because of circumstances, I need to take a day off. ONE day. Not a week.

Consistent healthful eating plus consistent workouts will theoretically yield results. There's a poster on Pinterest (naturally I can't find it now, sigh) that says (regarding weight loss) it takes 4 weeks for you to notice, 8 weeks for friends and family and 12 weeks for everyone else.

I guess I've still got time. Heh.

Sticking with it, no matter what

So, G.G. said something brilliant and worth repeating yesterday:

It’s not about how hard you can hit,

it’s about how hard you can get hit

(and keep moving forward).

Of course I had to Google to find out where the quote came from. It sounded familiar, I knew I'd heard it before, I recognized the inspirational quality of it. The older I get, the more relevant this thought, these words, are.

So who said it? Whoever wrote the script for Rocky Balboa. And that would be Sly, himself, Sylvester Stallone.

I loved the first Rocky movie, and apparently a lot of critics did, too, as it won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1976. The sequels were entertaining, but just didn't have the same inspirational quality (for me) as the first one did.

Or the last.

I was training for that very first half-marathon when Rocky Balboa was released, and I was the only person I knew who wanted to see it. So I went by myself. I don't know if watching the movie translated into stronger training sessions, but I kept a picture of Rocky on the refrigerator for about six months, from before I started training until the race was done.

I could use a little Rocky now. This is the time of year, both chronologically and mentally, when burrowing into a vat of sugar sounds like an excellent idea. Winter's still gasping its last gasp (let's hope it's the last!): weather advisories still flood the inbox, snow still coats the driveway, temperatures remain at or below freezing.

No matter how hard or how many times the weather or my mood or outside circumstances "hit" me, I've been able to keep moving. Yesterday morning was a particularly stressful one (for reasons I won't go into here), and all I had to look forward to in the afternoon was working out. It was cold – 25 degrees (which, I know, isn't cold if you're in Wisconsin or Canada or Iceland) – and my plan was to use the elliptical. I bought it just for days like yesterday.

But it wasn't windy, and I always feel better when I can walk outdoors. I bundled up and headed out for yet another five-miler. The time it took brought me up to the 60 minutes/day average (one of my goals for the month), and the effort was just what my mental state needed in order to survive the next blow.

Because there's always a next blow.

Food has been pretty good lately, and last night was exceptional. I've been hungry for quiche, so I made one with low-fat cheese, skim milk, lean ham, mushrooms and chopped beet greens. Alongside was the very last butternut from the garden. Hard to believe it lasted this long!

    

I served it "naked" – no brown sugar, no butter, no nuts, not even salt and pepper. Yum.

As for winter, I guess technically we have a few more weeks of it. Before my dad died last fall, my husband and I had planned to spend a couple months visiting him in Florida this year. Now that he's gone, neither of us feels like making the effort. (It's not that we're not worth it, it's just that we both think it would be hard to be there without him.) I'm spending a long weekend at the beach later this month, a gift from my son and his family. Late February might be the perfect time to go to the beach – I won't be required to wear a swimsuit, and I'll get lots of time outdoors.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'd be on overtime by now if I were talking to a shrink! If you made it this far, send me a bill. Heh.