It's gonna snow ....again....

Ok - I must admit some of the luster of 3-7 inches of new snow has worn off. That is what they are predicting for us, starting between 1:00-4:00AM and continuing on thru rush hour. The drive in won't be too fun as people in CT get totally freaked out about driving in the white stuff. As a matter of fact - someone was practicing this morning and had a big nasty wreck off the Argonne Bridge in Middletown - on the side of the bridge I was trying to cross over to. So - traffic was backed up for about 1/2 an hour. I was all zen about it - I had my knitting so I just sat there and knitted and waited and knitted. At least I got to work and I wasn't part of the wreck. I'm sure the snow part will be pretty - but then they are predicting possible freezing rain or sleet for the drive home - that will be really fun. This is the part about winter that isn't so fun - being on the road with people who get freaked out about being on the road or drive way too fast and think they will be fine because they drive 4 wheel drive. Speaking of which - Hubby almost went off the driveway coming home from the gym this morning because he was a) driving too fast and b) he didn't have his 4 wd vehicle in low. But I got to tell him what to do and he really listened, unlike this time and yes I was smug and believe I said "I told you not to drive fast down this driveway". I earned it - I grew up driving in the snow - he grew up in Florida.

This week's Ten on Tuesday is my Ten Favorite Articles of Clothing You Own. I hate to shop for clothes but - in no particular order:

1. My leather jacket - I do like this. It is big and roomy, a man's jacket & I heart it.

2. Jeans - I own one pair I really like and a couple of others I'll wear but don't love.

3. Sweat pants - have always loved them and have a nice collection from when I worked from home.

4. Sweat shirts - I like to buy them when we travel. When i was on the road for work in South Carolina I bought Hubby one from the University of South Carolina - their mascot is the Gamecock and the shirts has COCKS across the front. I loved it - he won't wear it.

5. A long sleeved Miami Dolphins t-shirt - a new fav I bought at Thanksgiving. I plan on wearing it this Sunday to Training Buddy's Super Bowl bash.

6. A teal & orange tie dye Dan Marino #13 t-shirt - it was Hubby's but I snagged it from him.

7. Hiking socks - heart the thick, wooly ones. I started knitting a pair about 5 years ago and have one almost done.

8. My Birks - shoes count for me because I love love love me the Birks.

9. A silk teal/blue jacket - it's pretty cool for work clothes but I don't wear it much because it's dry clean only & I hate taking clothes to the dry cleaner.

10. Flannel jammies - oh so comfy and warm - I have several pair.

What??? We actually have DSL?????

I was so wrong - we CAN get DSL and am I ever one happy chick! The nice man from AT&T was here about 10:00am , right after we opened the bottle of champagne so we could have mimosas and he went right to work. About 30 minutes later, we had DSL! As soon as I went to my Bloglines page Hubby said " Uhh, guess I'll see you later tonight..." Wow - I can't believe it. And instead of paying $80 a month for notsowildaboutblue, we are only paying around $30 for much faster, more reliable DSL.

And the repair guy didn't get stuck because Hubby worked about 2 hours yesterday & another hour today sanding the driveway - here is a photo of just the beginning of the climb up the hill - he did an awesome job! And you'll notice a slight "ghost vision" of me in the photo as I took this from inside and you can see my reflection - too cold to go outside and not as good of view.

Ok - so watch out Facebook - here I come! Oh forgot - Training Buddy & I ran 10 miles yesterday. It went great but the last 2 miles coming back were very cold & windy. I'm sore today (thus the mimosas) but am happy to have that run over. Less than a month before the half marathon!

I just want to bang on the drum all day....

I am so happy it's Friday, for no particular reason other than I love the weekends - but who doesn't. Work is keeping me busy - yea I have been able to get up the driveway every morning - yea - I have 2 Christmas presents knitted already - yea and I'm running 9.5 miles tomorrow - Ok - not so yea. But I think it will be our last serious long run until the half marathon and Dolan, I am not ignoring your amazing, great idea to run a half in NYC at the end of April. I think I'll have to answer that question on Feb 23 - the day after the Hyannis half mari.





The AT&T repair guy is coming out Sunday to see if we should be able to get DSL - my vote is he will say , sorry you guys can't get it and then proceed to get stuck going up the driveway leaving. I'll let you know what happens - have a great weekend!





1. Oh, I am so happy it's Friday!


2. For the most part I like changes, big and little.


3. During a sad movie or while watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition, I always cry.


4. Running 9.5 miles; are you kidding me???


5. Right now I'd like to be home with the kitties, by the fire, with a nice glass of wine watching Hubby cook me a wonderful dinner and then watching him do the dishes.


6. I guess my computer, is my favorite gadget.


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing a little but having a pretty full schedule, tomorrow my plans include running 9.5 miles & eating breakfast with training buddy that will feature BACON, then going to a symphony concert and out to dinner in New Haven Saturday night and Sunday, I want to sleep in as always and maybe read one of the ten million library books I have or quilt or knit!

Thanks, Princess and Mr & Mrs Training Buddy for my great catnip cigar!

- Nelson

I missed Ten on Tuesday

AT & T is coming out for a visit on Sunday so maybe, just maybe we'll get Internet then. Or not, the odds are about even for yes or no.
I did see a lot of the Inauguration events and they took my breath away. I loved the President's speech - a nice mix of tough love and reality without being mean. I do have have hope for the good ol' USA but agree it will take all of us to push & pull progress along. I know my brother feels different but until we agree to discuss politics (which we have agreed is probably not a good idea) or he comments on my blog - I get to write whatever I want.
I have a training tonight at a local hospice unit. I'm going to be a volunteer - something i have wanted to do for awhile. I have so many things to be thankful for - I feel the need to give back.
For all of my loyal readers who like to cook - please go check out Lydia's blog The Perfect Pantry. She writes beautifully about food and recipes and all things cooking. While you are there, go vote for her as the top food blog (she gives you the how to's on her latest post). I love reading her blog and if you are a foodie or a want to be foodie - you really have to go check it out.
Ok - off to a quick dinner, then my first training.

Oh what a beautiful morning.....

It has been well established on this blog that I heart snow and last night we got about 8 inches of the stuff. What was really fun about that was, because we watched zippo local news yesterday, we woke up this morning totally shocked that it snowed at all. It snowed a little bit off and on yesterday and we knew that was going to happen but still. This is what the driveway looked like today, on my way to work.

And another awesome ever so awesome surprise awaited me thanks to Shana at So Not Zen. We didn't have the effortless hook-up of DSL over the weekend as promised by AT&T ( I could have told them it wasn't going to be easy, they are sending someone out to the house to check it out - ha! See driveway picture above, this should be interesting) so I did not have Internet access all weekend. On Friday, Shana awarded me this :

And to quote The Barefoot Contessa - How cool is that????? Really - I let out a little scream because this my very first blog award - thanks Shana for totally making my day! And I don't even care about the grammar but someone I'm going to award it to will. So now the hard part - I need to pass it on to 10 people. And then they pass it on to 10 people. When you pass it on you need to: post it to your blog and link to me, then link to the 10 blogs you're sending it to, then comment on those 10 blogs to let them know you did it. I don't read a lot of blogs but I will go ahead, at the risk of rejection, pass it on to the following blogs that I do read. These are some smart, talented, funny women and I do enjoy reading their blogs so go check them out! And Shana - if I could I'd include you on this list - thanks again!

June

Maryse

Carole

Steph

Floribunda

Frankie

DPUTiger

Chris

Tosca (her Mom helps her blog I suspect)

Melissa

It's Tuesday !

Short post - Ten Things I'm Good At. Those of you who know me, please feel free to comment. In no particular order....

1. Throwing a party - I think I throw a pretty fun party. I usually have a level of detail so people notice (like I clean my house) but try not to be stuffy.

2. Trivial Pursuit - I know a little bit about alot of things, for instance I know the Budweiser label by heart "This is the famous Budweiser beer...." Learned it in high school - good ol' Montana education system.

3. Buying gifts - I think for the most part I am damn good at buying other people gifts. I'm sure some of you may have felt I missed the mark a time or two.

4. Convincing people to run a marathon - Ok - I have downgraded to a half marathon but I have convinced more than one of you out there to run 26.2 miles. ( I couldn't find another logo so even though I didn't run it in 2001 I did run the first one & 2 more after that).

5. Traveling - I'll pretty much go anywhere & do just about anything on the road. Although I am gun shy from Third World countries after India, but that's another post.

6. Being a friend - I think I'm a good friend. Or if not I try really hard to be.

7. Watching sports - I heart sports - almost everything but especially football.

8. Collecting fabric -I'd like to say quilting since that is what I buy the fabric for but must admit I might be better at buying the fabric - I have a lot in my stash.

9. Enjoying good coffee - I heart good coffee and am ever so happy to have three awesome, independent coffee shops within walking distance of my job.

10. Being a good kitty Mom - my cats are so spoiled.......really spoiled.

Free at last!

We have finally finished our year sentence with notsowildaboutblue. I'm guessing it may be an option for someone who lives in say, Kansas where there are no trees. But in Connect the Dots - satellite Internet sucks. It's so bad in fact, I am looking forward to getting dial up again. So a quick post during my lunch break.

Training is going good - only 44 days until the Hyannis Half Mary. We are supposed to run a ten mile long run this weekend but since they are predicting 6-10 inches of snow on Saturday, Training Buddy & I are going to opt for the treadmill. And what's better than running for 90 minutes on a treadmill?

On to the Friday Fill ins!

1. It's January; and it's cold.

2. Soup is what I crave most right now.

3. Cork and wine go together like bread and butter - I don't know.

4. Ice cream is so nourishing.

5. Let us dare to dream that we will make a change with Obama.

6. I heart my home.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading a good book - boring!, tomorrow my plans include running long and getting a hair cut and Sunday, I want to sleep in and play in the snow!

A Recipe for Success

Well, life is getting back to normal. Back to work full time, watching what we eat, not drinking and we joined a gym. WHAT ??? WE... Hubby & I joined a gym? Yes faithful readers WE did. I have been going to the little workout room at work and since Hubby couldn't join that one (doesn't work in the building) we joined a real, grown up gym. And the shocker is we actually got up at 5:45 this AM and went to the gym. Maybe this clean living is agreeing with us. Well, Ok after two days it is agreeing with us.

I have the usual resolutions, but one thing I saw on one of my favorite blogs, The Perfect Pantry

really caught my eye. This is such a great idea and really hit home for me the issue of childhood hunger. We may not have had much extra fancy stuff growing up but we always had a good meal on the table. I think instead of focusing on me me me for my resolutions I will try to add some things I will start doing, not just stop doing. Supporting my local food bank consistently seems like a good place to start.

After a whole year, well almost the whole year of following this blog A Year of Crockpotting
I am having withdrawals. I hope you are having fun visiting the Mouse, Steph! This is a very cool site and the best part is she gives the real low down or verdict on the recipes.

And since it is Tuesday, I will re-visit Ten on Tuesday this week, Ten Things I Want To Do in 2009. Per usual - in no particular order
1. Complete in a reasonable time (and not hurt myself) the Hyannis Half Marthon next month.
2. Remember my resolution to give back, I am starting training to volunteer at a local Hospice unit this month.
3. Not get sick on our trip to South America.
4. Think positive more than think negative.
5. Continue to care about what I eat, drink & exercise.
6. Never have my friends or family doubt how much I love them and how important they are in my life.
7. Finish at least 2 quilts and learn how to knit socks.
8. Make it to a couple of Red Sox games.
9. Go watch the 'Fins play somewhere fun.
10. Not slide off the driveway during our bad weather, which we happen to be having tonight. Maybe I should put that one at the top of the list?

Chris Isaaks - You're Killing Me, Please....

I so underestimated me & Training Buddy last night. We were ready to cash in the chips at 11:00pm but we made it to 12:30AM then headed for our place. Princess promptly fell asleep & it was a glass of port all around. Then 2 glasses of port, a couple of martinis and the room got hazy. Did I mention we were drinking martinis, beer, wine, prosecco, more beer before we went back to our place? It got ugly around 3:00AM so we hit the sack. I thought for sure we were so old we could never do more prosseco in the AM but I underestimated the ability of the the over 40crowd - we did just fine. And now I am sort of wide awake after Hubby went to bed, I listened to Father Figure ( George Michael), Nickle Creek, and the hot boy of them all Chris Isaaks' Please. I wish my girlfriend Ms. Nico's Mom was here - we would continue to listen to the ultimate party songs ever and feel like crap in the morning - love you girlfriend! I guess it is best I get to bed - again Happy 2009!