The big game

Tonight is the BCS championship game. Everyone have big plans? Our plan isn't big, it's just a plan. We'll watch the game (I believe we're both pulling for LSU) and have fondue. I'll make a beer-cheese fondue with veggie dippers, then for dessert, I'll melt some chocolate in my new "Chocolate Pro" and we'll have fruit dipped in chocolate. Yum!

I don't know the official high temperature here today, but our thermometer read 66° at one point. Wow!

I have a journaling prompt topic for today. "Spend a few minutes thinking about  yourself in the past. What parts of your personality have you lost? What have you gained since then?"

The first thing that springs to mind is socializing. At my first job, they called me the Social Director. I was always the one getting people to go out for a drink after work. A bunch of us went every week, but I'd usually go out more often than that with friends. I was much the same way at my job in Indianapolis, and I'd often go to concerts with friends, or out to eat, that sort of thing. At my current job, we all joke about how I never go out when a group is going! It's so true, and I'm the first to admit it. It's not that I don't like my coworkers--I happen to like them very much. When we do go to things, like some of Ken's work functions, I always have fun and enjoy talking to people. It just seems that these days I have more things at home that make me happy--including a great husband--and I don't feel the need to constantly be away from home. It seems that for many years I was looking for satisfaction elsewhere, rather than focusing on where I should be finding that satisfaction.

I used to be a terrible flirt. I don't know if it's a matter of getting older, but I don't feel I need to prove anything these days, and I've also come to realize that it's disrespectful to your spouse to be that flirtatious, even if you have no ulterior motives.

I feel much more content than I used to, and I enjoy tranquility more. I used to need constant input, mostly music. I still love my music, but there are many days off that I don't even turn on the TV until late afternoon. I've found that living out in the country has made me appreciate the quiet times more--you can't hear the outside sounds when you're blasting the stereo, and the outside sounds are very calming, and sometimes very interesting!

I think I'm less stubborn than I used to be, although some might disagree with that. I used to do what I wanted, when I wanted, and really didn't listen to any advice that anyone gave me. I think I'm more willing to listen to the voice of experience now than I used to be.

I used to love living in the city. Now I reserve that for visits, and I enjoy our rural life. I can't imagine living in an apartment ever again, or in a subdivision.

That's all that I can think of at the moment. I think the main thing is that I now have a feeling of contentment, and I'm very happy with my life. Ken and Nutwood have worked wonders on me!

                                 

Balmy Junction

This is unbelievable. It's reading 62.9° here at Nutwood! I ran some errands this morning, and I wore a sweatshirt, with a jacket, of course. I mean, it's January in northern Indiana, right? I had to take my jacket off because I got too warm! We set a record high yesterday, and I'm sure we will today, too.

When I got home, there were a bunch of turkeys in the yard. I started counting, but I lost count because they were milling around so much, but there were at least 40. Glad to see they're banding together and still hanging out at our place.

With all the melted snow, I'm sure the wildlife are happy. There is plenty to find when the snow isn't covering the ground, and our back pond is extremely full, so there's plenty of water for them, too.

This was a news story online this morning:

MANCHESTER, N.H. (Jan. 6) - Two days before New Hampshire's Democratic primary, Sen. Barack Obama has opened a double-digit lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton in that state, a new CNN-WMUR poll found Sunday.

Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois who won last week's Iowa caucuses, led the New York senator and former first lady 39 percent to 29 percent in a poll conducted Saturday and Sunday -- a sharp change from a poll out Saturday that showed the Democratic front-runners tied at 33 percent. "The Iowa caucus results have convinced growing numbers of Granite State voters that Obama can really go all the way," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. "In December, 45 percent thought Clinton had the best chance of beating the GOP nominee. But in Saturday's poll, Clinton and Obama were tied on that measure, and now Obama has a 42 percent to 31 percent edge over Clinton on electability."

And CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said the poll "strongly suggests an Obama surge in New Hampshire."

This is getting fun!

I scored big at Target today. Besides the usual stock-up stuff, I got three cute little tank tops for this summer, and a long-sleeved T-shirt for layering this winter--each of them under $2! I really don't mind being a shrimp. I may have to hem almost every pair of pants I buy, but I can also shop in the kids' section. <grin>

Oh, that wascally weathuh!

I took this picture on New Year's Day, after a heavy snowfall. We ended up getting a few more inches, so we were pretty well socked in with snow for a few days, as recently as Thursday.

Three days after that, and some 50 degrees, here's almost the same shot today:

Amazing. When I drove to work this morning, it was very foggy (due to the warm air on the snow), with less than a quarter mile visibility. It was foggy tonight, too, when I drove home. It's supposed to get close to 60° tomorrow, and they're forecasting an actual thunderstorm! I told 'em at work today that I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for a tornado. It's just crazy.

I'm happy to have the next two days off, and I should be able to completely shake off this cold. I felt a lot better today (I got lots of sleep last night), and I feel like I'm beating it. This is a new experience for me. In the past, a head cold has always gone into my chest and given me bronchitis, and that would usually last for a month. I think this is the first cold I've had since I quit smoking over a year and a half ago, and I really cannot believe the difference it makes. My healthy (well...healthiER) little lungs are not laboring like they used to, and I can almost hear them calling out, "Thank you for not smoking!" Seriously, this is great. I can't believe the difference.

 

 

"I feel wefweshed"

A while back, we came across "Blazing Saddles" and watched it again. When I woke up from my nap this evening, my first thought was "I feel wefweshed," one of Lili von Shtupp's lines.

             "Would you like another schnitzengruben?"

I had read that the character was based on Marlene Dietrich, and while watching the western channel in Springfield, we watched "Destry Rides Again," with Jimmy Stewart and Marlene. In every scene with Marlene, all I could see and hear was Madeline Kahn as Lili von Shtupp! "A wed wose...how womantic."

Tags: Blazing Saddles, Lili von Shtupp, Madeline Kahn, Marlene Dietrich

"The Beguiled"

I may have written about this movie before, but I'm pretty sure I haven't. I thought of it again, because when we were in Springfield, we saw previews for it on TV. Ken's step dad loves Westerns, whether movies or TV shows, so we watch some of both while we're there. They're very entertaining, but then, I've always loved Westerns, too. ("The Long Riders," "Silverado," "Tombstone," "Purgatory"...I could go on.)

Probably my favorite Clint Eastwood movie (and one of my favorite movies of all-time) is "The Beguiled," which is not really a Western. (Ken's mom and step dad knew of the movie, and apparently have watched it before.) It was released in 1971, but I recall seeing it on late night TV sometime in the mid-70's. I would say that it's as much of a horror movie as it is anything. It's sick and twisted in a lot of ways, and it's one of the rare movies in which Clint is actually a bad guy. He's a Union soldier that is wounded in the South, and he's found by a group of girls that attend a Southern girls' school in the area. They take him in and nurse him back to health. "Mr. McBee" is Clint in his young, very handsome prime, and almost all the girls are charmed by him: young Amy, who loves him in a brotherly way; Edwina, the shy and repressed teacher; Martha, the older headmistress who still has a fire burning; and nubile Carol, who is a first-rate tease. As you can imagine, things go horribly wrong. Did I mention that Amy picks mushrooms in the woods, and Mr. McBee loves them? Mm-hmm.

It's some good stuff. If you ever get a chance, watch it, especially the uncut version that didn't air on TV. I didn't see the unedited version until many years after I saw the edited one, and the cut scenes add a whole 'nother level to the complexity and twistedness of the relationships in the movie.

Tags: The Beguiled, Clint Eastwood

My brain hurts

Not so much my brain as my head.  I don't feel awful, but getting up at 5 AM when you have a cold just isn't fun. Fortunately, our workload wasn't heavy, and I got out on time. I stopped by the store on my way home to pick up a few things, including some cold medicine (Alka Seltzer Plus is my particular poison). I did manage to go all day without taking any medicine, so that was good. I just keep telling myself, "One more day, then you have two days off...." Some might wonder why I don't call in sick. Well, for one thing, I'm not THAT bad off--it's just a cold virus. Also, our staff is already lowered on the weekends, and the joke around the lab is that you don't call in sick on the weekend--you call in dead. People do occasionally call in, but it's an unspoken agreement among all of us that we will do our best to be there for each other on the weekends. So I can suck it up and be there when I'm not 100%.

When I stopped at the store, I saw something interesting. When I was loading my stuff into my trunk, there was a car right behind me, waiting for a parking spot right up by the store. The person stuck behind this lady honked once, but the first lady didn't move. By the time I finished and returned my cart, there were 3 cars lined up behind this broad. I mouthed to her "You have three cars behind you." She just held her hands up, like "Oh well, what can you do?" I'll tell you what you can do. Stop being so rude by holding up people behind you, move your car and find another parking spot, and walk a few extra feet--THAT'S what you can do! 

I really don't understand why people are so rude, not to mention lazy. How hard is it to walk from a more distant parking space? And we wonder why we have a problem in our country with obesity. According to The Obesity Society's Obesity Statistics, July 8, 2007, American obesity rates lead the world with 64% of adults being overweight and almost a quarter being obese.

But that's about as fired up as I can get today. I think I'll take a nap.

 

Caucuses (Cauci?)

It was fun to listen to NPR today and hear the analysis of last evening's caucus results. I think my favorite quote was the panelist who said that she expected Obama to "clip" Clinton, but "he ended up clobbering her." I was a bit surprised that it was a relatively big win for Obama--I thought the top three would be a little closer. I'm glad he won. It should make things a lot more interesting. One of the things I got for Ken for Christmas was Obama's first book, Dreams From My Father, in which he writes about his background and upbringing. It was amazing today to hear several people call in and say that they are Republicans who will vote for Obama. Ken and I don't agree with many of Obama's fiscal ideas, but I definitely find him inspiring, and I believe his message of change and inclusiveness (whether it's political parties, race, gender, religion...what have you) is resonating with quite a few people. I loved what he said about how we're not red states, we're not blue states, we're the United States. Very nice.

Good win for Huckabee, too. Even if you don't care for the guy (and I have my reservations about him), I think it says something for those who don't have the big bucks. Watch out for McCain in New Hampshire, though....

I think the most exciting thing is how many people turned out in Iowa, and how engaged people are with this election. Regardless of how you feel or how you vote, having an informed and engaged public is a very good thing, and it's great to see. Read, learn, study, and vote!

My buddy Greg and I had a good laugh today. He came up to me and said he had this image of Hillary sitting in a darkened room, Bill easing open the door and asking, "You okay, Honey?" and Hillary shouting "SHUT UP!" and Bill ducking back out. I just died laughing, and said I was thinking along the same lines, but mine was more Wizard of Oz-ish, with Hillary saying, "I hate you, Iowa! And your little dog, too!" We really got into it, and Greg said maybe you'd see a spider crawl across her face...I asked him to do the horror movie sound, that one that goes "sh-sh-sh-sh-ha-ha-ha-ha"...he mimicked her trashing the room, throwing things against the walls...we had quite a good time with it!

I finished the book I was reading, The Wheel of Darkness--what a great read! I think I actually gasped when I read the ending. Apparently we are not done with Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene. I can hardly wait for the next one. I've started the next book in our book club, which should be a fairly quick read: The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain. I just started it today, but read several chapters at lunch. I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far--published in 1934, it has that dark, film noir quality, and I can just hear the narrator intoning, "When she walked into the room, I could tell that she was the kind of woman who...." That sort of thing. I like it!

Somewhere between here and Missouri and back, I managed to catch a cold. My stepfather-in-law seemed to be coming down with a cold while we were there, but I could just as easily have caught it on the plane. Ken and I were kind of laughing (in a horrified way) about how it makes us cringe when anyone coughs or sneezes on a plane. I can just picture those little rhinoviruses circulating throughout the plane, landing all over things, waiting for me to touch them...ugh! I usually try to not take cold medicine and just let it runs its course, but I took some DayQuil when I got home from work, just so I could have a few blessed hours without a runny nose. I have to work this weekend, so I might have to take some while I'm at work, too. If I can make it through the weekend, I've got Monday and Tuesday off, so then I can recuperate.

Tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain