Okay, this picture has absolutely no relevance whatsoever except that it tickled me and made me chortle and giggle sitting all by myself at the computer realizing how strange it might appear to someone walking by my office…like “What is that old bag guffawing about?” But I don’t care. I am enjoying my capacity for eccentricity enormously. Someone told me the other day that I looked just like Lauren Bacall. It was obviously an old person, not unlike myself, although perhaps just a smidgeon older, even, but it was pleasant to hear nonetheless. Lauren Bacall as an old lady, maybe, but what do I care? Good bones is all it takes, and being smart enough to cut out the freaking Boston Creme doughnuts before it’s too late. And they were just ONE of my obsessions after I quite smoking. Now, the thought of that cloying, greasy doughnut filled with too-sweet custardy stuff that coats your tongue and makes your teeth feel greasy and slimy makes me want to retch, and I’m serious. I think one way to eat healthier is to think about all the really negative things about the foods that made you fat in the first place. Last night I made some baked sweet potatoes for supper. I have learned to enjoy mine with a few sprays of pretend (o-calorie) butter stuff, and even that’s not really neccessary since I can’t detect  much buttery flavor anyway, but that’s not my point…my point is that DH refuses to use the pretend butter spray, so I buy the light whipped REAL butter for him, which he uses quite generously on things like baked sweet potatoes, and when I saw his sweet potato last night swimming in melted butter, it actually made me say to myself, “Ack, yuck, and bleeechhh…” which is quite amazing to me, to be perfectly honest. One of my favorite above all favorite things to eat has always been lobster meat dipped in nice, salty melted butter….practically an eat-all-you-want item if you’re on Atkins, but definitely a no-go for this healthy, high fiber, low-calorie, low fat, lotsa fruit & veggie lifestyle that I have more recently adapted. Now what will I do about lobster??? In fact, I hear there’s an overabundance of it this year, so it’s actually going to be cheaper than usual! Why couldn’t that have happened when I was slurping it down, drenched in butter, and not caring a fig for the fat or calories? (Oh, sorry to use figs in such a disdainful way, Annie-G, it was unintentional, I assure you). Well, life tends to be like that. It’s like the way when you have loads of vacation time to use up, you don’t have any money to go anywhere (my kid’s college years) and when you have the money, you don’t have the time.  I’ve been really distracted at work lately. I finished a big program proposal and then breathed a sigh of relief and enterd into a period of non-productivity. Like finding the picture on the ‘net that I posted at the top of this blog. Such a waste of time, right? But not if it amused me (and it still does) and lifted my spirits a bit. After all, if THAT isn’t a productive use of your time, what is?

My week has been a little discombubulated, frankly, because my typical pattern is to go to work, go home (a good hour & half commute each way on a GOOD day), get home, decompress, ride my bike for a half hour or 45 minutes or NOT, come back, put some supper in the oven (simple stuff, usually, like baked chicken, baked potato, sweet potato or brown rice, and a green veggie), chat with DH (he’s home by then), maybe talk for a bit with one of the kiddos if they call) and then sit in the tub for a while and go to bed, but on Wednesday night, my middle daughter got an award and I had to attend the event from 5:00 to 8:00 (if anyone is interested, here’s the link. It’s an absolutely awful picture of her; she’s so much prettier than that AND she forgot to say anything about her educational credentials, but what are you gonna do? <shrug> http://wbjournal.com/j/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2318&Itemid=139  I am a very proud mama. My kiddos are all so accomplished.

ANYWAY, going out on a weekday evening…for an old byrd like me….was a little disorienting, although I enjoyed it immensely. But I was tired yesterday, and am tired again today. SO glad the weekend is upon us! I’ll get in a little more bike riding than usual, do my grocery shopping, and get the house cleaned up a bit. Nothing planned with anyone, but we (DH & I) might take in a movie over at Clark University - they have a very neat film series that we discovered recently. And one or more of the kiddos may stop in (I always cook extra on Sundays) and then one more week before my sis arrives for her visit, up from NC for ten days, which I am taking off from work. We were both raised down around Newport, RI, and plan to go down & get us some ocean air and maybe visit with a few old decrepit relatives if they’re still breathing. Sis is dying for fried clams, and I suppose I can indulge in some lobster minus the buttah.

I think I’ve lost some more (weight) although I refuse to weigh myself. I absolutely hate the scale! But my clothes are bagging more, and I’m beginning to worry a bit about my winter wardrobe, as I was at least 30 pounds heavier last winter. May have to buy a LOT of new stuff. What a shame, eh? (LOL).

Okay, enough of my blather.

Where are you, Soclose? And don’t get lost in Asia, Annie-G!

TTFN,

E!