Whatnot

and I had about 15 posts. Could have been worse.

Now that the Mucinex is out of my system, I must say, I really do feel better. I'm still fatigued and my throat is funky, but I don't feel like I have strep, a sinus infection, bronchitis or pneumonia, so that's good. I already lined up someone to work for me tomorrow, because I know that I do not have the energy to juggle 21 grade school kids. That will have to wait until Thursday.

I'm not sure when I'm going to start exercising again, but I know it's not today.

I probably should have gotten back on my food plan today, but I didn't. Tomorrow is another day, and as good of a day as any to get back on track.

I did do the two things I had on list to complete: tax documents are collected, and I found our voter's registration cards.

As I write this, I am watching mindless decorating shows and realizing that I might be a bit dehydrated, as I haven't had much to drink to day.

Off to get a tall glass of water...

Delphi:
I goof off there a couple of times a week, sometimes more, but I'm not being a pseudo-addicted Delphi fiend.

Writing:
I've been noodling in a poetry journal some evenings. I don't have any poems that I would consider anywhere near finished, and I'm still playing around with those lines I posted earlier. I haven't written any fiction in ages.

Fitness:
Rusty and I walk nearly every day. I've skipped a few Sundays, but other than that, it's a daily thing for us. Sometimes, we only have time to do the path around "the lake" (actually a run off pond), which is a mile and half, but most often we do the lake path and then loop around the neighborhood. Combined, that's probably 2 1/2 miles. I figure that I've averaging 2 miles most days. I have not been working out with weights, or practicing TKD at home. I need to add those back in. It was simply a matter of getting out of the habit.

TKD:
I've decided to put Tae Kwon Do on the shelf until Lili's volleyball season is over. I feel guilty not going, but I just haven't been able to make it work for one reason or another. If it's a decision with a time line, I can live with it, but the constant state of not meeting my own intentions has been getting me down. So I am officially pausing until mid November. Work, on the other hand, is going great. I like the kids, they like me, and it's a quick 5 hours. I'll probably start picking up some Fridays as well. Cindy, the other after school program leader is burning out a bit, so it will take some slack off of her, and will also increase my take home pay.

Household:
We replaced the washer and dryer last month, and just replaced the dishwasher (paid for with cash) today. This probably means that the fridge and oven are next, but we are hoping that they hold on until after the holidays.

Finance:
I've started going to the No More Debt forum again. While I'm not taking the Dave Ramsey plan on lock, stock, and barrel, I will be "snowballing" our debt to get it all paid off as quickly as possible, and have gotten back into the habit of budgeting. We also had some "found" money -- DH filed a claim on money that the State of Maryland had in his name (it had something to do with an escrow account), so we have an additional $400 to throw at the debt this month. Also, we just had the old 401K disbursement (it comes out as the same amount each year, so it's not considered early withdrawal). A portion of goes to DH's insurance, a portion goes to mine, and the remainder is to pay the taxes on the disbursement. However, we never need that extra to pay taxes, even with the disbursement we qualify for a tax refund each year. So the "extra" money is being popped into an ING account to pay for Christmas with cash. I'm also moving the kids' savings accounts to ING.

Movies:
I've been watching a lot of movies. Sometimes with the kids, sometimes on my own. This month I've seen: "Norbitt" (sucked royally), "The Last Mimsy" (quite liked it), "Maxed Out" (rather good documentary on credit card debt), "John Waters: This Filthy World" (loved it), "Spellbound" (documentary on the National Spelling Bee...again, quite good), "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" (runs a bit long, but still fascinating -- those executives where complete whacks), "Children of Heaven" (an Iranian film, dragged a bit at times, but interesting), "Rabbit Proof Fence" (excellent), and "The Addams Family" (Raul Julia was wonderful as Gomez). We are definitely getting our $14 worth this month. I had to return "Pollack" because it was cracked, but I just received the replacement, and the next family flick we are waiting for is "Evan Almighty".

Books:
The only book I've read so far this month is "Waiting for the Galactic Bus", by Parke Godwin. I've read it before, many moons ago. I'm not sure if I'm going to read it's follow-up, "Snake Oil Wars", or not. I guess it will depend on how hard it is to find. I still haven't finished reading "Blood and Iron" (I never get past the first couple of pages...I start reading, get interrupted, then never get back to it) or "The Chains You Refuse", both by Elizabeth Bear. I've read most of the stories in "Chains", and have definitely decided to keep it. I was considering donating them to the library, since they didn't have either, but I know that there are some stories in "Chains" that I will want to revisit. So I'm going to be selfish and keep it.

movies seen:

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
John Waters: This Filthy World


books read:
0

miles walked
6

TKD classes attended
0

weight lifted
0

rooms vaccumed
5

insurance agents called
3

insurance agents left to voice mail
4

Today was a lovely Sunday. The only thing that I wish I did, but didn't do, was spend some time outside.

This morning we had to be to the Church early, as the kids were performing the play at both services. On the assumption that we weren't the only ones who didn't manage to wake up earlier enough to have breakfast before the first service, we picked up bagels and donuts for the children's choir rehearsal before the first service. In between the first and second service, the teenage youth served a breakfast of pancakes and sausage, and most of us moms who were there for the duration nibbled on left over bagels. After the second service, we picked up a light lunch.

After lunch, I took a brief nap, and after the nap I took Jenny and Jack on a few errands. Jenny needed to pickup a styrofoam disk for a school project, and Jack wanted to pick up something from the Dollar store. After that, we picked up a loaf of French bread to go with dinner, and well as cookies for dessert.

When we returned home, I played with Rusty for a bit, and then I wrote, and caught up with some journals here. After that, I watched an episode of Voyager, while Lili used the computer for a school project.

After Voyager, it was time to cook dinner, and boss Jenny and Jack around as kitchen helpers. John came home just as we started eating, and he had flowers for Jenny (she was one of the leads in the play -- she was Mary in a musical about the Mary, Martha, and Lazarus story).

After dinner (which was quite late for us), we played the initial game (sort of like 20 questions, where someone thinks of initial of a person or character, and the rest of us have to figure out...there aren't really any rules), then had the cookies. John finished cleaning up dinner as I tucked in Jenny and Jack. Then I swept, then folded laundry, then tucked in Lili. Then I ironed a shirt for tomorrow, and watched the last recorded episode of Voyager on the DVR.

And now I'm writing this. And then I'm going to read for a half an hour, then conk out.

It's been a very pleasant Sunday. :)