Can you get any more random?

I'm feeling a little scattered these days. So much to do, and where does my time go? I'm not sure, but I don't seem to have the necessary skills to string a coherent thought together. So...no matter. I'll do it randomly. It seems to be an ongoing theme in my life.

* SHOES: I LOVE me some shoes. I love shopping for them. I love looking at them to see whats new, whats hot, and whats "I gotta have it!". Shoes are (or can be) art. Wearable art that is good for the soul. But sometimes even the wonderful things in life can go awry. Behold, the ugliest shoes I have ever laid my eyes on:



Apparently, several models quit the Spring/Summer 2010 runway show over these Alexander McQueen atrocities. Can you blame them? These heels (besides being heinously ugly) are over 10 inches tall! I know the phrase "Beauty before Comfort", but this is taking that just a little too far!!!!

* Our DO-OVER Christmas vacation: We are thinking San Juan, Puerto Rico. All of us (well, Hannia wasn't with us then) fell in love with that city in the brief few hours we had there on the 2005 Christmas Cruise. Its got beautiful beaches, the historic old city, and metropolitan shopping/dining/museums all in one beautiful area. We are probably going to rent a car for the week, because there are also some very interesting eco-tours through the Rainforest an hour or so inland. No, Hannia, NO SPELUNKING! LOL. But there are some waterfall climbs that claim to be safe and easy enough even for beginners. I just need to find out if our Garmin will work in Puerto Rico. No dates are set in stone, but we are thinking sometime in March/April.
Also? We are going to HAVE to go to the Barrachino restaurant there, as it claims to be the birthplace of the PINA COLADA!!!





* The General Scoop:

-I'm keeping up with my New Year's Resolution Gym Schedule, so far. Its not easy, its not all that fun, but I am slogging through. I dread it beforehand, and then feel good and like I accomplished something afterwards.

-My job? Sucks worse than ever. Management changes, downturn in the economy changes, overall general retardedness...we are working harder, and suffering more than ever. I have to force my brain to think beyond it and try to feel grateful that I have a job. It may be a soul sucking, back breaking, mind numbing job, but I get a pay check. When all else fails, I try to imagine the thrill of retiring one day in the far future just to keep me going.

-I feel a sense of loss and sadness that Health Care Reform may be set back by the Mass. election. Its not just loss, but a sinking feeling of hopelessness. We were charged over $7,000 for Bruce's 12 hours in the ER over Christmas. The only serious procedure he received was a quick CT scan. And those charges don't cover the Dr. who read the scan results, or the after-care. We have insurance. Too many people do not. I can't imagine....

-I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Our Girls

So these are our girls:



Up until a year ago we were steadfast "dog people". Cats were never considered, as Bruce and I had this idea that they were aloof and somewhat unfriendly. And then Bruce found Vixen (the black one). She was only a few weeks old, starving and abandoned. Somehow she fit right in to the family and we all fell in love. So we adopted Omen (the tabby) so Vixen could have a playmate. Both kitties are around a year old, and thankfully they seem to like each other.

Today, we bought the kitties this:



It was an instant hit. They spent quite a bit of time exploring this new piece of cat furniture:



Of course, there had to be a game of let's try to kill each other:



And we finally moved it into a corner, because we sensed our ceiling fan was in imminent danger:



And right now, both kitties are curled up on their new toy sound asleep because they totally wore themselves out. But they have known pure unadulterated joy today. And that made it all worth it. Not just the expense, but the whole scary trip to PetSmart in our decrepit 26 year old Dodge Ram truck. Only for those cats would I risk a trip into town in that truck. At least Bruce drove it....LOL.

Let's have a do-over

We are attempting to plan another trip as our do-over vacation after the Christmas fiasco. I don't say fiasco to make Bruce feel bad. He keeps apologizing for "ruining" Christmas. He was sick. We are all thankful he didn't get that sick in a foreign country. We made the best of it, and everything was ok.

Except that we have credit on our airline tickets that we have to use by August. What to do? The kids would like to go to Europe. I would love to go to Europe, too....but Europe for 5 people is expensive. We want a nice trip, but don't want to break the bank doing it. Bruce would love to go back to Jamaica. And I am just going with the flow. I will be happy to go anywhere and do anything at any time.

Right now, its being hard just to find a time that everybody can get together. Bruce is committed to working for his sub the 2nd week of March. Stephen has a conference going on in February. Erica has a conference sometime in May. And our pet sitters take a much needed 2 week hiatus the last week of April through the first week of May. I think I am pretty open through the spring. Gah! Its all so hard. We would all welcome any ideas.

Gotta love him...

I have been working hard to make good on my intentions to be healthier this year. I have been trying to eat better. I have forced myself to visit the gym at least 5 times a week. But this takes time. And work has been crazy and uncooperative, so things get a little bit behind. Like today, we were running out of food around this house. Not just food. We could almost live without that. But I am talking coffee here. Coffee and creamer. Those are 2 things that are mandatory. Well, there are 3 things, actually. Coffee, creamer, and pet food. Everything else is trivial.

So, my husband got off work first, and made the grand gesture to do the grocery shopping. I LOVE him because that is one of those household chores that I dread. Loathe, even. I don't know why but I would prefer to scrub toilets or do mountains of laundry if it would get me out of the grocery shopping duty. He set off to shop, and I got the time to run by the gym after work. Yay! Everyone is happy, and life is good.

Until I got home and saw that he had bought....wait for it.....3 cakes!!! Not one, not 2, but 3! Seriously? His explanation was that he went to the store hungry. He picked up the first cake, and it got covered up on the bottom of the cart so that he forgot about it. And then he came to the Pepperidge Farm cakes in the freezer section and they were buy one, get one free. He couldn't resist. And there you have it. I am a woman on a quest for health, sitting here surrounded by 3 cakes.
(insert a heavy sigh of the soul right here: ).

Gym Etiquette (a few pointers for the clueless)

1. Don't put anyone's life in danger trying to get a parking space close to the front door. I mean, seriously!! You are at the gym for a reason. Walking a few extra yards won't impede your progress in your quest for health. Plus, you will not have to go to jail for vehicular manslaughter.

2. If you walk into a room filled with elliptical machines (or treadmills, or bikes or whatever), and its basically empty except for 1 lone person (like me), please don't come set up shop right next to me. Please. I am begging you. The machines are close enough together that it feels like a violation of my personal space. And while I force myself to deal with that if I have to be there at peak times, and all the machines are taken....I specifically try really hard to get there during the off hours so I don't have to deal with someone else's sweat and hot breath all over me.

3. Also related to #2 (see above)...if you are insistent upon sweating right NEXT to me, please refrain from trying to carry on a conversation. I don't know you and I am out of breath and about to die. Conversing during heavy exercise just feels wrong. I need to conserve my breath to keep living. Also? My mp3 player died about halfway through my workout, but I kept the ear buds in just so you would think I was STILL listening to music and couldn't hear you.

4. The antiseptic spray and paper towels are there for a reason. When you finish, do not forget to sanitize everything that you sweated on. Its gross anytime of the year, but right now? Its flu season and we are all doing what we can to stay well.

Not Infallible

Apparently, my new favorite e-shop ModCloth is not entirely infallible. Behold! The Van Gogh Romper:




Seriously, no one over the age of say...5...could pull that off without looking stupid. What were they thinking???

No snow

No snow for us. I imagine there were a lot of disappointed children this morning. Do you remember that feeling as a kid, going to bed hopeful that there would be snow and school would be canceled, and then waking up to....absolutely nothing. It was so devastating.

Anyway, the only plans we have going on for this weekend is to FINALLY get these Christmas decorations put away. I tend to wait until after epiphany on the 6th, but it feels like it is way past time now. Maybe its because I am thankful to put Christmas 2009 behind us.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm, wherever you are.