Good News Friday
I’m still on the wagon, watching what I eat and trying to make better choices when I can and writing it all down. There’s still chocolate in my life, it’s just tightly portion controlled now. =P And it’s working, my weight is slowly creeping back down, another 1.6 pounds this week (which is good, considering I spent a three day weekend at faire eating whatever was available for food).
My house is still decently tidy from this summer’s de-cluttering efforts and hosting sewing circles. And I managed to get in a couple of 20/10s of housework this week, which helps with maintaining the somewhat more neat status quo. After seeing the cat-hair dust bunnies at John’s house the other weekend, it made me realize that almost none of my friends are anywhere near the housecleaning standards that my mother drummed into my head. So all my self-flagellation over my horrible housework? Wasted time trying to live up to a standard that my generation seems to have completely abandoned.
I was reasonably sociable this week. After spending the summer being pretty much a hermit, this is a nice change of pace.
Tuesday allgudallthetim called to let me know her computer had died and to ask me to let online folks know so they wouldn’t worry. We had a good chat and got caught up on all the gossip. I almost never use my phone these days. It seems like every time it rings it’s either “Windows Computer Support” or someone offering me "assistance" with my credit card debt. *eyeroll* So it was a rare treat to answer the phone and have an actual friend on the other side of the line.
I ran out for lunch yesterday with guy_todd and fionaniconnor at the Maul food court. We had a good gab, but wow did we cover the spectrum. Angela had to put her dog Magnus down recently, so there were tears while we talked about that (and other recent losses, including another friend’s dog and the death of the ex-wife of another friend). But then I told a horrible joke that I’d heard this weekend about Stickney furniture, and we were all laughing until we were crying. We are all going to hell. Then there were other horrible, tasteless, but very funny jokes and stories shared. We probably scared the neighbors we were laughing so hard. Tears and laughter.
Then it was back home for dishwashing and sewing. I made pretty good progress on both fronts.
Then in the evening I called allgudallthetim to plan our annual Walter’s Birthday party celebration. It’s been 10 years since we lost him, and we’re still meeting to toast his memory on the weekend closest to his birthday. We got caught up on what’s going on, since she’s offline until she gets a new computer. Oh, and Mike, I told her about your offer of crash space if she comes down to visit CTRF. She said that’s something to think about.
But wait, there’s more! I pulled Meryl’s invitation to her monthly ladies luncheon out of the mail this week, and needed to RSVP to that. So then I called up Meryl and sadly had to decline (I’ve got faire every weekend this month). But we got caught up on the gossip. And Meryl and her daughter may come down to faire closing weekend. If not, we may get together during the week for a road trip once faire is done. So potential future socializing! Yay!
Linkies!
Cheap flights (music video)
You Get Two Questions or “How to make conversation with strangers without being annoying.”
This is what true bravery looks like. The story behind the white guy on the podium in that iconic Black Power photo from the 1968 Olympics.
School discipline with compassion
“When students understand they’re not responsible for the family they were born into, but they are responsible for who they will become as adults, and when they can see the power in that, it’s just amazing what happens,”
My house is still decently tidy from this summer’s de-cluttering efforts and hosting sewing circles. And I managed to get in a couple of 20/10s of housework this week, which helps with maintaining the somewhat more neat status quo. After seeing the cat-hair dust bunnies at John’s house the other weekend, it made me realize that almost none of my friends are anywhere near the housecleaning standards that my mother drummed into my head. So all my self-flagellation over my horrible housework? Wasted time trying to live up to a standard that my generation seems to have completely abandoned.
I was reasonably sociable this week. After spending the summer being pretty much a hermit, this is a nice change of pace.
Tuesday allgudallthetim called to let me know her computer had died and to ask me to let online folks know so they wouldn’t worry. We had a good chat and got caught up on all the gossip. I almost never use my phone these days. It seems like every time it rings it’s either “Windows Computer Support” or someone offering me "assistance" with my credit card debt. *eyeroll* So it was a rare treat to answer the phone and have an actual friend on the other side of the line.
I ran out for lunch yesterday with guy_todd and fionaniconnor at the Maul food court. We had a good gab, but wow did we cover the spectrum. Angela had to put her dog Magnus down recently, so there were tears while we talked about that (and other recent losses, including another friend’s dog and the death of the ex-wife of another friend). But then I told a horrible joke that I’d heard this weekend about Stickney furniture, and we were all laughing until we were crying. We are all going to hell. Then there were other horrible, tasteless, but very funny jokes and stories shared. We probably scared the neighbors we were laughing so hard. Tears and laughter.
Then it was back home for dishwashing and sewing. I made pretty good progress on both fronts.
Then in the evening I called allgudallthetim to plan our annual Walter’s Birthday party celebration. It’s been 10 years since we lost him, and we’re still meeting to toast his memory on the weekend closest to his birthday. We got caught up on what’s going on, since she’s offline until she gets a new computer. Oh, and Mike, I told her about your offer of crash space if she comes down to visit CTRF. She said that’s something to think about.
But wait, there’s more! I pulled Meryl’s invitation to her monthly ladies luncheon out of the mail this week, and needed to RSVP to that. So then I called up Meryl and sadly had to decline (I’ve got faire every weekend this month). But we got caught up on the gossip. And Meryl and her daughter may come down to faire closing weekend. If not, we may get together during the week for a road trip once faire is done. So potential future socializing! Yay!
Linkies!
Cheap flights (music video)
You Get Two Questions or “How to make conversation with strangers without being annoying.”
This is what true bravery looks like. The story behind the white guy on the podium in that iconic Black Power photo from the 1968 Olympics.
School discipline with compassion
“When students understand they’re not responsible for the family they were born into, but they are responsible for who they will become as adults, and when they can see the power in that, it’s just amazing what happens,”