January 15, 2009 – Write From Karen

At the Moment …

January 15, 2009 Karen

I really enjoy reading blog entries that simply list everyday, mundane tasks. There is something comforting in knowing that not everyone is writing a thought-provoking, deeply insightful blog post.

Because writing those kinds of posts leave me brain dead.

For days.

So, I’d like to write more spur-of-the-moment posts about what I’m doing, right now. And what my plans are for the rest of the day.

Because this is a journal after all – so, it’s time to journal.

It’s cold here. Though we’re not nearly as cold as our neighbors up north. Our current temperature is nine degrees, though it “feels” like -6 degrees. Temperatures are supposed to plummet to zero tonight and then back up to 28 degrees tomorrow. Heat wave!

I’m not complaining though, having bitter cold temperatures is MUCH BETTER than having bitter cold temperatures and being buried under five inches of ice and without power (like when that happened this time two years ago).

I have the thermostat set to 68 degrees. This is our normal setting, actually. It is programmed to drop to 65 degrees after 10:00 in the evening so if I stay up and read (like I did last night), I have to snuggle under a blanket to keep warm.

My body is currently swallowed by sweats and I have space heaters going in two rooms – the room my PC is in (i.e. my office, but it’s actually the family room) and my husband’s office because that’s where the kids games are and where they will be spending the majority of their time after school today.

I would like to build a fire, but I feel guilty. It seems so selfish to build, and enjoy, a fire when my guys aren’t here to enjoy it with me. Here I am, cozy at home while they are working hard at work and school. So, I will wait to build a fire tomorrow when the kids are home (they’re out due to some sort of professional development day).

I just fixed myself some pancakes. I exist on dry pancakes throughout most of the week – that usually ends up being both my breakfast and lunch. Though I did dip them in syrup today and now I have a stomach ache – or it might be because I drank orange juice. I don’t know, I’ve pretty much given up trying to figure out what does, or does not, give me digestive problems.

I just downloaded a Flash ticker program and I’m experimenting with that. If I’m successful, you’ll likely see an example of it on the photo contest post. Which, by the way, I only have seven people entered at this point. Do you not WANT to win a $25 gift certificate to a store of your choice?

I will be making my way to Wal-Mart soon. We’re out of bread. Well actually, we’re not out, but we discovered this morning that the 1/4 loaf we had was moldy so no grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids’ lunches today. I also need to pick up a 2 GB SD card and a 2 GB Compact Flash card so I can put our pictures on them and use them in our new digital photo frame. We figured out last night that 4 GB was just too big and the frame froze up on us. We looked up the website and read the FAQ – apparently, this has happened with a lot of folks.

I’m a bit worried about the kids. They don’t wear coats to school because 1. they lose them, 2. they don’t want to keep track of them and 3. they are inside most of the day and think it’s pointless to take them. So, I will worry about them standing outside in negative degree wind chill and waiting for me. I hope traffic is relatively light so I can get to them in a timely manner.

That’s it. That’s my day. How is your day going? Are you staying warm?

karen1

Project 365

Project 365: January 15th

January 15, 2009January 14, 2009 Karen

And here we go, another week of random photos. If you want to keep track of my photos, you can subscribe to the Project 365 RSS feed.

1. My guys around the dinner table. We eat dinner together every night. It’s very rare that we load up the TV trays and eat in front of the TV. We’re eating on paper plates because our good plates are in the dish washer and I’m too lazy to wash them for this meal. We had fried chicken, peas and mashed potatoes that night. The fried chicken was REALLY fried because pink chicken scares the crap out of me so I overcook it every time.

2. This is the project MK was building. It’s a Bioncle and it’s a cross between a space ship and a weapon. Don’t look at me like that, it’s a guy thing. *shrug* He collects them and this project took him all day to build. He was quite proud of himself for sticking with it and not giving up.

3. My walking shoes. If you look closely, you can see the tread is gone; it’s about time for another pair of shoes. The tread is virtually non-existent on the left shoe and just worn down on the right shoe. Apparently, I walk heavier on my left foot. That’s weird.

4. This photo album is so old that the pages are starting to crumble. I’m working on scanning all of these photos and putting them on an SD card so my parents will have a more permanent record of them. They can also look at them in their new digital picture frame. Look closely – that baby? Is me. *smile*

5. My husband, doing our taxes. See his concentration face? Isn’t it cute?

6. GD at his computer. His facial expression kills me. It’s a cross between irritation and amusement. I think he reserves this face just for me. And only me. *sigh*

7. Me. I’m on my way to run some errands. The weather was sunny and upper 20’s that day so I was freezing. It was also windy, hence the “why bother to fix my hair” hairdo. I went to the bank, Wal-Mart (to buy more Aleve and a posterboard for GD), Blockbuster and Harter House to buy some stew meat.

My life is so exciting, yes?