joyville

So, one of my molars lost its filling yesterday. The filling was over half the tooth and now the tooth isn't sound enough to refill, crown, or truly repair in any way, shape, or form. I'm having it pulled on Friday and getting the spot prepped for an implant.

Joy.

This isn't a quick fix, but it will be a long term fix. My weekend plans will now revolve around pain meds, movies, reading, soft foods, and more pain meds.

Ugh.

Enjoy the weekend? lol

out of the routine

The hubby, for some reason, woke at 4:00 a.m. and beat me out of bed! Nice to have the papers in, the coffee brewed, and the dog fed. But, my quiet morning routine is a bust today. He's even whistling and singing.....oh my.

That's it. Happy Hump Day!

short stories

For some reason, when I see a short story collection on the shelf (real or virtual) I hesitate to borrow or buy it. I like novels. Always have. But, when I had the chance to borrow Neil Gaiman's "Trigger Warning," I took it. I'm so very glad I did. I'm only about half way through the stories, but I've been so thoroughly entertained by the stories and as always, wonderfully in awe of his writing.

This was another title on the list I found that I can't seem to locate now. Blerg.

In other news, I'm 7th in line for the new Karen Marie Moning title. That should give me time to finish the Gaiman book as well as the other two I have on hold.

And, Nerissa awaits as well. One of these days my TBR pile will be manageable. Happy Tuesday.

my second 3 day weekend

With the holiday last Monday for MLK and the bit of snow we received on Friday, I wound up with a 3 day work week! Yes, we had Friday off. The projected 4-6 inches did not fall in Memphis. In fact, the streets stayed clear. A bit of freezing on some overpasses, but nothing that caused any wrecks. The grass did get covered, sort of, but our snow was very disappointing. The meteorologists had, what they call, a busted forecast. I guess a big patch of very dry air descended and basically zapped the snow making potential of the front for us.

The Memphis weather dome held strong. Boooooo. I really wanted some real snow. I sort of felt a bit jealous seeing the photos of the east coast. Sort of. I only wanted the snow for a few days, then winter can go away.

Picky. I know.

February is usually the month we get some winter weather and we have had decent snowfalls during that month. So, hope springs eternal.

Lisa, back when we lived in South Bend, IN. we rarely had snow days. They too, like your neck of the woods, were very equipped for snow. But, when the lake effect snow machine kicked in and the winds whipped those flakes around, the drifting would be quite impressive. That would cancel activities for the kids, but I think I only recall a few times that business shut down. That would have been the Blizzards of 78-79-80. Those monster storms dropped feet of snow. I remember my Dad opening our garage and a wall of snow greeted us.

Happy Monday!

snow day?

And just like that, it is Thursday. With Thursday comes quite a bit of excitement since it appears our weather may actually produce snow tonight and into tomorrow. Will we have a snow day on Friday? I'd bet the boy will. Heck, they may even cancel school Thursday night in anticipation of the white stuff falling. For me, well, who knows. If it is snowing hard at 6 a.m., chances are good.

The most recent models show we could have snow until sometime in the afternoon on Friday!

The boy has to work tonight, and my guess is the local Kroger will sell out of milk and bread. Need to mention to him that he will be kept busy with the local folks stockpiling like we will get 2-3 feet of the stuff instead of 2-5 inches!!

Enjoy the weekend, and here's to the possibility of a snow day tomorrow. Cheers!

oh my

It's cold. It's raining. Oh my. I guess they have closed a portion of the bypass out our way due to ice. I hate ice. I'd rather have feet of snow.

The good news is that the radar I looked at showed that we truly are just getting rain and the ice is staying north of us. The other good news is that it is 35 at 4:25, so we should be okay. It is only going to get warmer from here on out.

I tried a new recipe yesterday. Tasty, but not exactly what I was hoping for. Maybe I needed to use more cheese. It was a tamale pie casserole. Hubby and the boy both enjoyed it, and it did the trick on a cold January night. Tonight will feature stew!

Soooo nice that today is Wednesday. Got to love a short week.

brrrr

It is a whopping 21 outside. Brrrr. The boy mentioned the "s" word last night. Well, my favorite weather site ( he is a FedEx meteorologist) said that we have a slim chance on Friday. It is quite dry here and you need some precip to make the fluffy, white stuff.

In the meantime, I will enjoy the fact that it actually feels like winter and not spring. A week of cold weather would do us all some good and perhaps the allergies would abate and the creeping crud viruses would go away. The back and forth, up and down, temps we've had have not been helpful in the itchy eye department or the stuffy nose arena.

And, it is Tuesday! Gosh, I do love a 4 day work week.

best book list

I really wish I could remember where I found the list of the best sci-fi/fantasy books for 2015. Bookbub? Goodreads? ALA? UGH! When I found it, I went to the library's online portal and reserved every one that tweaked my fancy. From the dozen or so titles, I put holds on 5. I'm reading my second one at the moment. I have read Rachel Caine before, but she has really hit it out of the park with "Ink and Bone." What if the Great Library in Alexandria never burned? What if it became the political, social, and policing power of the world? I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be very fresh, an original concept. Seems so rare to find a plot that isn't a rehash.

At the moment I'm reading Lila Bowen's "Wake of Vultures." This was another title on the recommendation list. Good Stuff. I'm going to be very spoiled when I work my way through all of these excellent novels. Again, this novel is quite captivating, fresh, and original.

I have today off for MLK Day. After a few things around the house, I need to run over and finally purchase something to put in the hanging basket by the foyer. A soccer ball perched in the ceramic pot isn't working for me anymore and the Christmas poinsettia is long gone. After that chore is finished, I will be brewing a big pot of tea and snuggling under a quilt and reading the day away.

What fun!!

lunch

I went to the local Chamber of Commerce luncheon yesterday. The library director asked if I would attend as she had partnered with the Chamber to bring in a Teddy Roosevelt re-enactor for a series of programs, including a performance at the luncheon.

So much fun! The gentleman portraying Teddy was amazing. Educational and fun! Lots of laughter in that banquet room.

It was so nice to be able to go and just relax for a few hours in the middle of the day. I used up PTO to attend, but it was well worth it.

And, I got to talk books with the adult services librarian. An added bonus in my book.

Happy Thursday! See you next week.

blerg

I overslept. Blerg.

ROLL TIDE!

Even though I went to bed before 10:00 last night, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. I kept checking my phone, hearing my hubby yell from the family room, and thinking about the game.

LOL. Yes, the Tide rolled last night after a hard fought battle with Clemson. Our girl has the fun of enjoying a National Championship during her senior year. I've never forgotten the fun I had when IU made their run (basketball, not football) in the Big Dance and brought home the grand prize.

So, congrats to Coach Saban, the Bama Nation, and those players on this year's team and the ones who wore the crimson on previous teams. The season started off with a loss and wound up with winning it all. Well done! Rammer Jammer!

And to our girl, ROLL TIDE ROLL! xoxoxo

back to our regularly scheduled programming

And, just like that, winter break is over  for the ladies and they are back to school. It was so nice to have them home and the month was filled with family dinners, fun times, and lots of chatter. The house will seem so quiet from now on as it takes a while to adjust to this version of normal.

The temps have dropped here and it feels like winter. When it is 22 in the morning, that blast of cold air wakes you up better than coffee.

I'm reading my 3rd book for the year, Rachel Caine's "Ink and Bone." Feels like the first original YA novel I've read in a while. Of course, the whole lot of books I had on hold through the library's e-book system are now becoming available, so I need to read more quickly or release the holds I've placed. I think I have two ready for download now. Feast or famine it seems.

And here is Monday. Not quite ready, but off I go.

almost friday

Thursday is here! Yeah. A few quick updates as I'm feeling a bit fuzzy headed this morning. I think my body is trying quite hard to fight off the crud that is lingering in my house and at the office.

The coffee is tasting really good this morning.
The oven baked fajitas last night were a big hit and both girls asked how to make them.
I'm almost finished with my second book of the new year.
We're all going out Saturday for a final Christmas break dinner before the ladies head back to school.
The March magazine is finally coming together. Whew. Huge sigh of relief.
The new towels I ordered all arrived and I'm quite pleased. The big switch out will happen this weekend.

And, that is it. It felt good to be back blogging/journaling to kick off 2016. See you Monday.

new attitude

Do you remember the song, "I've Got a New Attitude"? While browsing in Sprouts on Monday afternoon, that song was being played. It always makes me chuckle to hear the music that particular grocery store chooses to have playing in the background. I don't believe I've every heard a song in their that predates the mid 70's or is more current than the early 90's. Certain songs must improve fruit and veggie sales!

Music isn't the point of this post. New attitudes abound at work, for the moment. With the new year, new opportunities have arrived. Everyone seems to be a little more upbeat, a little more engaged, and a little more tolerant. Except for my manager. He's struggling. The mama in me wants to give him advice. He admitted he has the back to work blues. He took 2 weeks off like I did. But, after finishing his MBA last year, I really expected him to launch a more aggressive job search. He didn't. He's been in his job for over 10 years and really has no place to move inside the organization. If he wants a new job, it will be beyond our building and with a different company.

Would it be good for me if he left? I really don't know. I'm not interested in that job. I don't want the stress. But, part of what makes my job so enjoyable is working for him. Yet, a new person could bring new energy and would shake things up a bit. That could be good or bad.

Ugh. Time will tell.

mad for plaid

A story ran in yesterday's paper about plaid. Plaid is the new "shade" for designers. Hmmmm. Considering the amount of plaid shirts in my house, the pattern has always been a thing for us. I made the mistake of pinning a plaid wallpapered hallway on Pinterest. Of course, now every other pin that shows up features a plaid something. The suggestion pins can be quite humorous at times. I wonder if I pin a bare-chested man in a plaid kilt just how many others will magically appear?

I've always been quite mad for plaid. Black Watch is my long running favorite. Decades ago I had a knife pleat Black Watch plaid wool skirt. LL Bean sold this particular one, and it made that first trip to London with me. I loved that skirt. If they started selling them today, I'd buy another.

At current count, I have the following, all in Black Watch: a cashmere scarf (my splurge in London last March), a pair of flats, a long sleeve blouse, and a men's long sleeve flannel shirt.

I do think I need that skirt. Again.

the routine

I'm ready to roll, It is time to start 2016. I guess since I have been on vacation, I haven't really felt like the new year began. It all gets real today as I head back to the office after a lovely 2 week vacation.

I did not read as much as I thought I might.  We had hubby's mom arrive for a short visit, took a quick trip to Florida, did some fun things with the three kids, and took care of normal everyday things around the house. We were busy!

In other news, I am very happy to have my laptop back! And, I'm very happy the first book I read of the year was such a good one. I'm also very happy that I seem to have escaped getting the cold that the hubby had.

Back into the routine I go. The boy starts school tomorrow. The ladies leave next Sunday. Second semester is here. We have a college graduation to attend in May. Yikes!!

As Ferris says, life moves pretty fast.

first book of the new year

Just finished my first book of the new year. V.E. Schwab's "A Darker Shade of Magic" was recommended (can't remember what list included it, might have been BookBub) as one of the best fantasy/sci-fi books for 2015. It did not disappoint. Of course, the fact that the story takes place in multiple versions of London, more or less sealed the deal for me. Toss into the mix, various magics, a strong female protagonist, some derring-do action, and stir. It was a fun, quick, entertaining read. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

2016

I was rather astonished to see that my last blog post was in October. The boy and I were sharing a computer for the last part of the year and many mornings, I did not want to journey upstairs to search for it. So, out of laziness, the blogging came to a halt.

That will be rectified from here on out as he received a new laptop from Santa and I have been restored as the primary user of this machine. Yippee!!

Things I need to do now that I have my computer back: I need to read Lisa's latest book, I need to update my "books read" list, and I need to clean the junk off the computer from the boy and his games.

It is already running faster now that I have uninstalled Minecraft, Steam, and a few other programs.

2016 has arrived. I did not see the new year come in as I crashed at 10:30. I did, however, see the Tide drown the Spartans and set their sites on Clemson. What a great, fun, cool thing it would be for the daughter's senior year to include a National Championship!!

The holidays are now behind us and I am so happy that I was able to take the full two weeks off from work. I needed the break.

Speaking of breaks, I broke my goal for 2015 in regards to books read. I always set a one book a week goal, but this year I shattered that and logged in 68 titles. Good stuff. When hubby travels, I tend to read more. He traveled quite a bit in 2015.

Off we go into the New Year. Best wishes for new adventures.