Productivity is my middle name

It rained all night last night.  A welcome change, and really soothing to fall asleep to (several times, since I woke up a few times last night).  We woke up at 7 this morning to find it still pouring, so running was out of the question.  We found ourselves breakfasted and in the basement before 9am, and we spent a good hour making some donation and trash decisions.  We’re not done getting rid of the crap in the basement, not by a long shot, but we made a sizable dent.  (That looks weird.  Sizable.  Sizeable?  Still weird.)  Around 10:30, I went to Costco for Roxy’s medicine and then to Target (yeah, I know – again), and I was supposed to be home before noon so we could leave at noon to meet Erik and Margaret for lunch and a movie.  Well, you know how Target is.  I got sucked in, and it was almost noon when I got in the car to come home and get John.  So we were late.  I hate being late, but this time I can’t blame anyone by myself (sorry again, guys!).  It didn’t help that I got off the toll road going the wrong way on 7 and had to turn around and THEN wade through the normal traffic in the area.  Lunch (at Maggiano’s) was good, but it was more about catching up with E&M, who we hadn’t seen since mid-May, and that was much-needed and much fun.  After the movie (Knight and Day – the first half was funny and pretty entertaining.  The second half was okay, but less fun.), I bought a new wallet (a nice red, big, adult-type wallet to replace my falling-apart, overstuffed, tiny little wallet that gets lost in my purse and was meant to only hold the bare necessities but got drafted into full-time use because I don’t know why), and we came home, checked on the dogs (they’re fine), and did geeky website things together (I updated my Pages section.  See?).  Tomorrow might not be so productive, but you never know.

Not creative enough to figure this out

I need a new 0-calorie drink for work.  A hot drink.  My office is freezing, and I’m already wearing a sweater.  I spend all day drinking water, but water is cold.  I’m trying not to let myself get hot chocolate or coffee or tea (I add way too much milk and sugar to coffee (and tea) to make it drinkable, and I don’t need the calories from either drink), but I don’t really see any other options.  It looks like I either need to learn to drink my coffee (or tea) black (gross – makes me shudder just thinking about it) or I need to start heating up my water.  And that’s just weird.  So maybe I’ll just suffer.

Success! Kinda

I made crepes for dinner, filled with mushrooms, spinach, mozzarella, garlic, and garlic mayo.  I say it was only kinda successful because they looked awful.  The crepes I bought were a little too thin, so they didn’t fold well.  The first one turned out more like sauteed mushrooms and spinach with bits of crepe throughout.  The third one looked pretty good.  They tasted fantastic.  I think next time I’ll use tortillas and call them quesadillas.  Screw crepes.  Unless they’re filled with strawberries, like the crepes I didn’t use for dinner will be very soon.

(My spellcheck has issues.  It’s okay with crepes and mayo (and spellcheck!), but not quesadillas.  What’s up with that?)

Breakfast for dinner

It’s a topsy-turvy day, with eggs on toast and cantaloupe for dinner, and I’m not going back to my hair stylist again.  Her prices went up, she didn’t do exactly what I wanted her to do with my hair (it looks fine, but it’s not what I asked for), and ohmygod she talks and talks and talks and talks and talks.  I can’t take the pressure.  And she’s a little heavy on the “God has blessed you” and “you should thank God” for me.  She’s welcome to think that and say that to whoever she wants, but you’d think that in a small business like that, you might hesitate before assuming everyone shares your views on religion.

But that’s not what I came here to talk about.  I came here to talk about eggs.  The most perfect way to eat an egg (other than hard-boiled and chopped into bits with celery, mayo, and tuna on toast) is fried over easy on lightly buttered toast.  With another piece of toast to get all the extra yolk that ends up on the plate no matter how careful I am.  All the egg needs for seasoning is pepper.  Love it.

I could have been happy with biscuits and gravy for dinner, too, but we didn’t have any in the house.  And that’s a little harder to fit into my eat-healthy plan than eggs.  Sometime this week, I plan to try to recreate the most delicious crepes ever.  Salmon one night, and stir fry another…I’ve got the week all planned out.

Thanks, Internet, for helping me think!

We cleaned Target out

For real.  We went this afternoon, and now there’s nothing left.  It’s all at our house.  Such a dangerous place for us to go.  “I need new running shorts.”  “Me, too, except I need running shirts.”  “Okay, let’s go to Target.”  “Hey, light bulbs!”  “That reminds me; we need a new lamp.”  “Weren’t we talking about getting an everyday tablecloth?”  “Hangers!  We’re out of hangers with clips!”  We managed NOT to buy a new vacuum cleaner, even though we need one.  We’ll give Target a chance to recover and restock and then we’ll be back for that.

After Target, I dropped John off at home and went to Wegman’s, where I bought out the produce section.  Oh!  Then I sliced my first whole cantaloupe.    I’m very proud of myself.  And I ate two slices immediately.  I think that’s all I’ll be eating for the next two days ’cause this cantaloupe is that fresh.  I need to learn more about picking them out.  But it’s so good!

So much for doing nothing

Our do-nothing weekend was surprisingly productive.  We made it to the book sale and bought a ton of books, went to Home Depot on the way home, and then spent maybe half an hour re-potting my herbs, planting seeds in the little face pots, and hanging flowers from the front porch.  While we were out front, our neighbor came rushing over and gave us a pound cake!  We couldn’t imagine what for, but then she apologized for being so late with it and said it’s a thank you present for helping her husband and daughter shovel out the driveway and sidewalk last February.  I’d completely forgotten about that, at least partly because I didn’t help.  That was all John.  Such a good neighbor.  And SUCH a good pound cake.

Today, we slept in again (sleeping in is a beautiful thing) and then totally cleaned up our super messy bedroom.  Everything is put away, we got rid of some things, we dusted everywhere, and vacuumed the whole room, including under the bed.  I haven’t attacked my closet yet, but that’s coming soon.  And it’s not that scary.

Pound cake isn’t scary, either.  I want some.

Craving healthy food

I don’t make smart food choices when I’m traveling.  See yesterday’s post for exhibit A.  I bought a custard-filled muffin and a cookie.  And that was not an isolated incident.  Now that I’m home (Ahem.  I’m home now.), with access to a fridge and cabinets and a Wegman’s, all I want to eat is fruit.  And vegetables.  Salads and turkey sandwiches.  This used to happen to me in the Navy, too, when I got back from being at sea for a stretch.  Fresh food disappeared fast, and we didn’t get supplies all that often.  I’d come home craving leafy green stuff.  SO not normal for me.  But it’ll be great if I can keep it up.

Keeping myself up today is something else.  I’m not nearly as tired as I was the last time I had to get up at 3:30 for a 6am flight (and I’m pretty sure that’s due to getting close to seven hours of sleep last night), but I can feel sleepiness rolling in.  I don’t think I have more than two hours left before I’m unconscious.  Hopefully John will get home before then.  Both so I can see him and so we can eat.  I’m hungry and I’m pretty sure I missed lunch today.  I had breakfast in Chicago while waiting for my connection (bagel, banana, iced vanilla chai – best drink ever), and that’s the last thing I remember eating.  8-ish.  I’m gonna have an apple while I wait.

I missed my window

For real.  It was sunny all day long (I was able to run outside this morning), but I spent some time working in my hotel room after I got back from work today, and now that I’m ready to go out and explore, it’s raining again.  Like pouring down rain.  Lots of water is falling from the sky, really fast.  So I’ve given up and ordered food to be delivered.  It’s my last night, but I’m doing a repeat of my trip home from North Carolina and getting up at 3:30 in the morning so I can make it to the airport on time for my stupidly early flight home.  So I’m okay with staying in.

I did get to see a little bit of Duluth.  I found a jogging path that goes right along the lake, and I ran across Duluth’s aerial lift bridge (while it was down, of course).

So that was neat.  I guess.  I’m sorry.  I have NO enthusiasm for this town and I’m going to stop apologizing for it.  I don’t have to like every place I go.  I do feel like I did my part in supporting local businesses, though.  Today, anyway.  I had breakfast at the New London Cafe, which was adorably cute.  (Yes, you read that right.  It wasn’t just adorable, not just cute, but adorably cute.)  I wish I’d been able to get there for lunch, but I didn’t have enough time.  I liked them so much that I just went to their website and sent them a message.  ‘Cause I’m nice like that.  On my way home from work, I stopped at this used bookstore I’d been driving by every day.  I tried to resist, but I failed.  And come on – how could I not check it out?  It’s a pretty good little store with crazy-low prices, made even lower by the girl who rang me up.  According to the signs, I should have been paying between $1 and $2 for each of the two books I was buying, but she said she’s allowed to do her own pricing and she was WAY too excited about that.  She was clearly still in high school, very young, and she’s working there for free, and then she only charged me $1.08.  For both books.  She said it was accurate, so I didn’t complain.  And then she said I had to go this bakery just down the street ’cause at the end of the day, they sell cookies and muffins and things at a major discount.  She didn’t have to tell me twice.  They had a poppy seed muffin, which is good enough for me, but it was filled with custard, and that makes it heavenly.  🙂  So I got one (and a cookie) for the jaw-droppingly low price of 93 cents.  How do these places stay in business?  Does it cost that little to live here?  My breakfast (two eggs over easy on toast) was only $3.03.  I think I may have overstated when I said I supported local businesses today.

What a coincidence

As I waited at the stoplight at Bellevue and Memorial on my way home from work today, I heard someone call my name.  I looked over and, oddly enough, it was the guy from last night (the one who wouldn’t stop talking) in the car in the next lane over.  I know Newport’s a small town, but what are the odds?  Which is pretty much what we talked about for the 30 seconds before the light changed, through our open windows.

When I got back to the inn, I changed clothes and came downstairs to head out for dinner.  I’d planned to wander a little and then eat a light dinner and come back early so I could get a normal night’s sleep.  (Last night was not normal, and not long enough.)  I ducked into the parlor to grab a cookie (they set out tea and they have the BEST cookies), and I met two women who had just checked in.  We chatted a little, then a little more, and before I knew it, it had been an hour.  I decided not to keep them any longer, since I knew they wanted to head out for dinner, and they invited me along, so we continued chatting for the next three hours.  They’re staying in one of the other houses here, so I’ll probably see them again.  Hope I do.  I liked them.  🙂

(We had dinner at Puerini’s, and I had garlic sauteed with garlic, shallots, garlic, butter, garlic, herbs, and garlic in a white wine sauce.  With clams.  And garlic.  That’s how it feels (and tastes) now, anyway.  But it was good.)

The guessing game continues

My run was too short this morning (I needed to make sure I’d have plenty of time to find the place I’m working at this week), but it was really nice.  Right around 60 degrees and overcast, with a breeze, so it was nice and cool, and I headed to the Cliff Walk to run.  Until I got there, I hadn’t noticed the ocean sounds, and then all of a sudden, I was looking down at a beach (waves and sand and everything!) and I could hear the surf hitting the rocks at the base of the cliff.  SO pleasant.  So it was a nice run.

On my way back from work, I drove in the way we used to come in, came down Broadway and around Washington Square, and then across Division Street to see our old apartment.  Looks exactly the same, even after nine years.  It could use a coat of paint, but I think it needed that when we lived there.  I climbed the stairs to my room (did I mention I’m on the 3rd floor of a bed and breakfast?), changed clothes, and went out for a walk.  I found myself on Spring Street (the wine store is still there, but I couldn’t find the breakfast place) and I got stopped by some guy on the sidewalk who asked me about my shirt.  I really need to stop wearing this one in public.  It says “Ask me about sustainability” across the front.  People do.  But this guy wouldn’t stop talking.  Forty-five minutes later, I continued my walk.  I ended up at The Black Pearl (the tavern side) for dinner, where I had one of the most delicious dishes I have ever eaten.  Scallops with bacon, mushrooms, and cream.  I don’t ever need to eat again.  I’m full up.  No more food needed.  After that, I was really glad I was walking.  And going uphill.  Exercise is good.  And when I made it to the top of the hill, my shirt (the “ask me about” part, anyway) prompted a couple to ask me for directions to The Red Parrot.  It was nice to be able to help them out.   (It helps that it’s kinda hard to miss AND I had just walked past it.)

Anyway, I’m back in my room and I want to go to bed.  The biggest decision I have to make is where I’m going to run tomorrow.

Where am I?

Oh the bun-anity!

My neighborhood was Grand Central Station for bunnies this morning.  I’d forgotten about that aspect of spring, so when I took the dogs for a run this morning (for the first time in more than two months, I think), I wasn’t prepared for their reaction.  Nearly got my arms yanked off.  Over and over and over again.

I am looking forward to tomorrow.  Very much.  I asked for the day off a couple of weeks ago, just because (and also because I thought I’d need the escape since I was convinced I would be less than a month from unemployment by this week), and earlier this week I thought about not taking the day off and just going to work anyway, but then my boss reminded me that this was meant to be an easy week for us trainers (to give us a break from all the stressful traveling) and I don’t have anything to do, so why not take it?  I saw her point.  So now I have plans for tomorrow.  Plans to run, to get a mani/pedi, to get my very first ever massage, and to buy a new suitcase.  Almost in that order.  I need a new suitcase…do I?  Well, yeah, I do.  The one I’ve been using (big, rectangular, purple, on wheels) is coming apart at the seams.  I have another rolling bag, but it’s more of a rolling duffel and I have to travel with some stuff for work that wouldn’t fit very well in that.  I could borrow John’s (and I will if I don’t find something pretty easily tomorrow), but eventually, I’ll need one of my own.  I’m putting too much thought into this.

Hamburgers tonight!

It’s finally over

Okay, we finished Lost.  The whole thing was worth it for Sun/Jin and Sawyer/Juliet.  I cried at both.  We also saw the new Robin Hood movie today (stupid, but fun).  And we started catching up on Glee.  Lots of TV today.  But that’s not all we did.  We mowed, weeded, mulched, and pruned, and after that, we went to Borders.  Busy day.

I gave the dogs a little bit of leftover turkey from my sandwich (Wegman’s sub – SO good), and they’re drooling at (and on) my heels now.  They’re not letting me out of their sight in case I have more goodies in my pockets.  Smart dogs.

I filed it under D. For donut.

I bought a donut today.  The woman asked me if I wanted a receipt.  I said yes, and I think you know why.

I’m in the airport now, waiting for the plane to arrive.  It’s a day early (me going home, not the plane – I’m sure the plane will be right on time (Okay, no, it won’t, but it won’t be a day early.)), and because it’s work-related, I don’t think it’s a good idea if I go into why I get to go home early.  But it’s not bad news or anything.  So, you know, nothing to worry about.

I had the BEST airport food when I got here.  I know, crazy, right?  Well, it’s not really airport food any more than any other restaurant in an airport is airport food, but still.  UFood Grill.  I’ve never heard of it, but there’s one near my gate and I got my lunch there.  It was GOOD.  (I just checked locations and they do seem to be mostly located in airports, so I guess I was right to characterize it as airport food.)  I had the Chopstick Chicken Bowl, which is chicken, broccoli, and carrots in a teriyaki thai chili sauce, all over steamed brown rice.  Spicy.  And good.  And healthy!  (Not greasy, for real.  I watched them make it.)  What a surprise.

I’ll be home in less than three hours, and I get to stay home for a whole week.  More than that!  Yay!

A few links to keep you entertained while I fly home:

The dishwasher was cold.  She cracks me up.

Jess found a baby chicken cam (similar to the puppy cam from a few years ago).  Go!  Look!  Melt into a puddle from all the cutesy cuteness!  (And while you’re there, steal her recipes for homemade strawberry ice cream and arugula pesto.)

More from Sunday

Some other things that happened on my one day off in Boston:

  1. I took the T from my hotel to the stop nearest the aquarium (which also happens to be the stop I’m using to get to work all week) so I could a) check it out for work so there wouldn’t be any surprises Monday morning, and b) get there faster.  The aquarium stop is the State Street stop, and at the stop right before it, this young guy, reeking of alcohol, got on and sat down next to me, ranting about how the cops should just leave him alone, you know?  Why are they hassling him?  I didn’t mention that it might have something to do with him being stinking drunk before 10am on a Sunday morning.  At least he wasn’t a mean drunk.  I could afford to be nice about it; I was getting off the train in about 30 seconds.
  2. I got off the T at State Street, grabbed a bagel from Dunkin Donuts, and ate my breakfast in front of a fountain between Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall and the wharf area.  It was one of those fountains that kids like to play in (I know, that’s all of them, give me a minute), the ones with water shooting up from holes in the ground at unexpected times, with no curb or lip to keep people out.

    Every picture of this fountain turned out like this. They're all shots of water splashing around and they kinda miss the point. Sorry.

    These two had the same morning I had: breakfast while watching the fountain and then the aquarium. I wonder if they followed me to Harvard?


  3. After the aquarium, I headed back to the State Street T stop so I could go to Harvard, but I couldn’t find it (the T stop, not Harvard).  I remembered leaving the station and being on State Street, but I didn’t look behind me that morning.  I circled the Old State House once, and headed back down the street about a block, scanning both sides for the orange and blue stripes indicating the station, and didn’t see anything.  I walked up to a street vendor outside the Old State House, finally ready to look (more) like a tourist and ask for help.  I was just about to open my mouth when I looked over his shoulder and saw the station.  IN the Old State House.  (Under it, technically.)  With entrances on both sides, even, so I walked right by it (TWICE) when I circled the building.  I’m an idiot.  Blind, too.
  4. So I managed to get myself to Harvard (good thing the stop opens right across the street from it, ’cause I didn’t have a map) around 2 or 2:30, and from the looks of things, graduation was that morning.  As in, just ended an hour or two before.  Hahvahd Yahd was still blanketed with folding chairs, and there were crews starting to break down all the tents.  And hey, it really is covered in ivy!

    Ivy League. Who knew?

  5. I hadn’t had lunch yet, so while I wandered around the outskirts of the university, I was keeping my eyes open for something local, maybe off the beaten path, ideally not crowded, and I found it in Arrow Street Crepes.  Check out that menu.  I had the BEST lunch.  I ordered the Earth Day crepe: roasted mushrooms, spinach, melted mozzarella, garlic butter, and parmesan, sauteed, melted together, and wrapped in a crepe.  It was the most perfect thing I have ever tasted.  (That didn’t include chocolate and strawberries.  And they do that in a crepe, too!)  SO so good, and we HAVE to do that at home.  The restaurant is a tiny little place on the first floor (up a couple of steps) of what used to be a house.  Basically just a kitchen and a sunroom with room for maybe 5 small tables.  Super cute and super good.
  6. Some more fish pictures for you.

    A depressed-looking lionfish. I heard a kid trying to identify it for his friend: "That's a catfish. No, a tiger fish." Close, but not quite. Maybe that's why the lionfish is sad.

    What's the name of the other fish in the tank with Nemo? Gill? You know, the one with Willem Dafoe's voice (unless it's Denis Leary...). Anyway, I think this is the fish.

    It's looking at me....

    Look, it's Dory! Honestly, I must have been looking at the Finding Nemo tank.

    Scariest damn thing I've ever seen. No idea what it is (some kind of eel maybe?), but it poked its head out and kept opening and closing its mouth. Creepy.

    Up close and personal. Cliche? Yes. Evil with dead eyes? Yes. Too close for me? Yes.

    This one's for you, Dad. Herring!

    And this one reminded me of Roxy. 🙂

    More pictures (not as many fish, I promise) and a few more bits about Sunday tomorrow.

Me on a plane

It’s ten to three.  We pulled away from the gate on time, did some taxi-ing (how do you spell that?  Taxying?  Taxing?  Taxiing?), and then came to a standstill on the tarmac with a message from the pilot.  “Something something something from Atlanta, 30 minutes before we can take off, approximate time of take-off 16 after the hour, blah blah ten-minute warning to turn electronics back off.”  So…why did we pull away from the gate?  Why board at all?  Maybe so those of us who are sleepy can nap uninterrupted, as both of my seatmates are doing right now.  (One is snoring.  Lightly, but still.)  I’m on the window this time, exit row again, next to two seemingly ordinary people.  We’ll see how it goes.  And Mom, I don’t ALWAYS have stories to tell about my flight.  On my way home from Atlanta two days ago, my seatmate was a woman visting her daughter in Leesburg.  She was a bit of a talker, but perfectly nice.  It wasn’t her fault that I wasn’t in the mood to chat.  (Maybe if she’d been a hot ex-Marine I’d have changed my mind about that.  🙂 )

I finished my Dresden Files book while waiting to board.  I have another one with me, but I’m going to try a new mystery writer first.  New to me.  Has anyone heard of Lawrence Block?  I read about his books somewhere (almost everything I buy comes from a recommendation now), but I can’t remember where.  So far so good.  The book is called “The Burglar in the Library”, the main character owns a used bookstore, and he’s heading to an English-style bed and breakfast to look for a possibly non-existent rare book.  Just my cup of tea.

Yesterday, John and I went to Erik’s place to help him celebrate getting his Masters degree in International Commerce and Policy.  (Erik, did I get it right?)

Hey, ten-minute warning.  I’ll finish that later.

Much later:

I’m in my hotel room after a trip to a nail salon (yay for pretty toes) and a trip to Kroger for breakfast and lunch supplies for the week.  Food and relaxing are at the top of my list for right now, so, um, bye.

A book I can’t recommend and a cheesecake I can

I finally finished The Impossible Bird a couple of days ago.  What a weird-ass book.  I can’t even describe it.  There are these two guys, brothers, who are dead (the book says so in the beginning), but they’re still acting like they’re alive, and there’s something to do with aliens that are hummingbirds, or they’re using the hummingbirds, and they (the brothers) have to kill each other, but they’re already dead, and they have to come to terms with…something…it was seriously weird, and I don’t really know what it was about.  But it’s over, and I moved on to the next book in the Dresden Files series.

I had this delicious shrimp etouffee at Copeland’s of New Orleans for dinner tonight.  And then, because I couldn’t resist, I got the cheesecake napoleon (cheesecake with layers of pudding cake on either side) with bananas foster as a topping to go.  It looks and smells like the best thing ever, but I haven’t tried it yet.  Typing is keeping me away from it and I’m starting to think that’s not the best arrangement.  Which means typing will have to go.  It’s calling my name!

Updated: Who cares about cheesecake?  Not me.  It’s the pudding cake drenched in whatever bananas foster is made of that I can’t get enough of.  SO good.  And SO not good for me.

The A/C is still alive

We turned the A/C off while we were away ’cause it was making some not-good rattling noises Friday afternoon.  And then we had 80-degree weather all weekend, so we came home to a stuffy house.  Turned the A/C back on, and voila! (or “wa-la!”, as Mindy used to say), cold air!  We’ve been home for almost two hours, and so far, no rattling.  Maybe it fixed itself while we were gone.

I’ve got a couple of random pictures of the UPitt campus from Saturday’s graduation ceremony.  Saturday was a beautiful day, all warm and sunny.  We woke up to pouring rain this morning, and after dropping Emily, Tom, and Molly at the building for the big university commencement, John and I hit the road for home.  It’s an easy four-hour drive (easier on a Sunday afternoon, in daylight, when we’ve only been up for four hours, not fourteen), and we stopped at Wegman’s on the way home so I wouldn’t have to go back out for groceries.  We ate lunch around 2:30, so we’re having tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella for dinner.  Light, fresh, easy.

Emily in her cute wrap dress and new pearls. Oh yeah, there's a sign behind her. We'd hate to forget where we were...

Emily in her gown and hood, while we tried to figure out how she was supposed to wear the damn thing.

The diplodocus (Elmer) outside the Carnegie Music Hall, our meetup spot after graduation.

The Cathedral of Learning (real name of the building)

Some church through the trees. Pretty.

I liked Pittsburgh.  We saw some really nice neighborhoods, some cute shopping districts, and I’m sure there are other places around the city we would enjoy hanging out in.  I’m not sure when the next opportunity will arise, though, since Emily will be moving away this summer to start her new job in New Hampshire?  Philadelphia?  Probably not North Carolina, but she’s got interested parties in all three places.  Good for her.

Power of suggestion?

I mentioned last night that I felt vaguely anxious about today.  I didn’t have any reason to be worried, and there was nothing about today that was any different than any of the last two Mondays.  Maybe I shouldn’t have talked about it, ’cause this morning was weird. I didn’t have any trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and I got close to seven hours, I think.  Not too bad.  I needed to leave a little early to fill up the car, but that wasn’t a problem, and I didn’t eat as much breakfast as usual.  Maybe a third of my tea, and just a small bowl of cereal instead of my usual piece of toast with peanut butter (out of peanut butter).  I had a hard time staying alert on the drive, so I resorted to yelling at myself and making loud noises.  Strange, I know, but effective.  You’re not going to fall asleep at the wheel mid-yell.  I was starving after I set up for the morning, so I went to the coffee place in the food court and got a small chai latte and a bagel.  I had time to eat the whole bagel before class, but I only drank maybe a third (probably less) of the chai.  I’m mentioning this in such detail to point out that I don’t think I was either over-caffeinated or under-nourished when I started class.

Anyway.

In the minutes before class and up to about mid-morning (so…more than two hours, closer to three), my heart was not exactly racing, but beating faster than normal, my hands were shaking, and I had to fight to keep my voice from sounding scared.  I have NO IDEA what was going on.  I’m fine now, and I was fine by lunch, but what?  What was that?  I didn’t even feel particularly anxious while all that was going on.  I had all the physical symptoms of anxiety without any of the unease.

I mentioned it to John when he called me on his way from work, and he thought maybe it was lack of sleep catching up with me.  Could be.  Whatever it was, I’ve resolved not to worry about it unless it happens again.

Tonight, ravioli with Wegman’s delicious vodka blush sauce (the one in the bag.  John’s mom is totally right.  The one in the bag is SO much better than the one in the jar.).

I have priorities, really I do

And they don’t include working after I get home on a Friday evening for several hours.  But I promised myself I wasn’t going to talk about that.  Instead, I’ll mention that Roxy got so excited about the pieces of lamb fat she was going to get that she repeatedly walked herself into the narrow dead end between the arm of the couch and the wall.  Head first.  She doesn’t like to back up, so she’d stand there, tongue out, tail wagging, with her nose just barely over the arm, until I nudged her backwards with my hand on her chest.  Like three times.

John is in the office pretending he’s Brian May, and I’m pretending I have time to check some of my favorite sites before my eyes close.  We don’t have any plans this weekend (other than the usual light house cleaning, lawn mowing, grocery shopping, and something (I know there was something else I wanted to do, but did I write it down?  Say it with me.  No!)), so I hope to run and relax.  And relaxing had better include catching up with my favorite online people.  Also my new favorites, thanks to a recent thread at the Dooce Community and, of course, Spoke’s Blog Love series (first day here).

Before I go to bed, this is for Mom, Sandwich Stealer (not that one), Jess, and other people I could name but will not.  Today.  Just you wait.

I think the point of mentioning my priorities in the title was so I could say I still have mine, and I think they’re in the right order, but I need to work a lot harder at figuring out how to make them happen every day.  Or most days.  I feel a bit overwhelmed, and not by anything bad, but by not being able to make time for all those little things I like to do.  But I will.  I will figure it out.

Short Saturday post

This is getting to be a habit.  The short posts on Saturdays, I mean.  We had a nice leisurely morning.  I ran six miles (takes me forever to do that) while John mowed the lawn.  I got back in time to help him pull up dandelions in the front yard.  Ate a quick breakfast, took a quick shower, and then we went to DC to pick up his race packet and have lunch.  DC was mobbed, of course, since it’s the weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival, but we got a good parking space on the south side of the Mall, right at 12th St.  And then realized we had to walk to 4th and F to pick up the race packet.  Not the best planning.  Had lunch at Elephant and Castle (mobbed for lunch even though it was 2:30), and then headed home.  It was much later than we planned, but I guess that’s how it goes.  I went to Costco to pick up Roxy’s medicine and then bought new shoes from the Naturalizer outlet nearby.  I might still check out Nordstrom’s tomorrow since they carry Dansko and Sofft.  The Clarks outlet was disappointing.

A recap of my day is not the most exciting reading, but it’s all I can think of at the moment.  I’m tired and we’re getting up at 5:20 tomorrow morning.  I’m going to bed.

Oh, the cherry blossoms are all gone.  Not out here (there are lots of cherry trees still blooming around here), but in DC, they’re all green now.  I’m sure that’s a huge disappointment to the thousands of tourists in town this weekend.  It was a beautiful day, though, and DC looks great in spring.  The sky was almost a September blue.