Many things for this Monday

I have many thoughts today, so I will try to keep each one short in order to keep this from being a novella.

On my way into work this morning, driving between Helena and Great Falls, I was passed by a young lady. She wasn't speeding or anything, just going a little faster than I was. About a half mile from where she passed me, she blew out a tire. I pulled up behind her to see if she was alright, had a spare tire, whatever... since we were in an area where there is little to no cell phone coverage. As she walked back to me, I could see she was a bit shaken, and only in her young twenties. When I asked if she had a spare and a jack, she really didn't know! So I had her pop the trunk.. I saw she did have a spare AND the jack! (So many young people take them out and forget to put them back in). I handed her the lug wrench, and she just looked at it with a quizzical expression. I knew right then she had no clue how to change a tire. I personally think that should be part of the drivers exam. The Written, The Driving, The Changing of a tire. SO, I showed her how to loosen the lug nuts, position the jack and showed her how to crank it up (lovely scissor jack), I finished removing the tire (I was late for work, and I could tell she wasn't a girl who likes to ruin a good manicure) while I had her grab, position, and re-tighten the tire into place. All said, it took only about 15 or 20 minutes. The young lady thanked me over and over again, while telling me that she had no idea that changing a tire was SO EASY!

I smiled the rest of the way to work.....

Superbowl Sunday was yesterday. That is pretty much the only football game I like to watch. I was hoping the Arizona Cardinals would win, since I usually side with the underdog team. SO Close, but no cigar. Joe was happy that the Steelers took the title once again since he grew up in that part of the country.

I got a bit off track on the dieting thing, and gained one pound since mid-January (for a one month loss of only four pounds). I knew these past few weeks I wasn't sticking to eating right, with a pizza party one weekend, Superbowl treats, and eating out a few times... and yes, that lovely piece of cheesecake from the other night! It is time to get my (big) butt back in gear for February.

I did 15 loads of laundry this weekend! Washed, dried, folded, and put them all away! I think I need to stay home more often so this doesn't happen again. And to those people who really know me... yes, I even matched up the socks! LOL

I am putting five paperbacks onto http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php. If you like to read, check it out. Very cool idea.

Joe and I went out yesterday afternoon (before the big game) to the National Forest to go target shooting with Joe's new Taurus .40 s&w. My dad is an excellent marksman and has trophies to prove it. I am not! Out of 30 shots, I hit the board the target was attached to only twice. I totally missed the target!

Still no new snow. Everything is brown and dirty. We have had some pretty awesome winds though! We are talking 40-60mph, with gusts to 70mph. If this happened anywhere in the Eastern half of the US, entire cities would be shut down... emergency procedures in place...BUT, here in Montana, we just deal with it. It is just hard to drive in!!

AND-- I picked up my crochet hooks for the first time in many, many years. Here are the results: This one is a white yarn heart that really didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped, so the photo is from a bit of a distance.

This one is worked in #10 thread, and is a small doily. The hooks I used are shown, too. The white one was my grandmothers and is made of ivory. OK, I know... don't get all environmental on me! I didn't buy it, and when Grandma did (way back when) the tragedy of ivory harvesting was unknown to the public. That hook has made many, many items; and I couldn't bear to throw it away. We went to visit my parents Saturday night and I took these hearts to show mom. She thought they were nice and kept them!

So... that was my weekend! Hope yours was fun and productive as well.

Is Cheesecake with caramel sauce diet food?

Yeah, I know it isn't! But I had a weak moment. Who knew Pizza Hut now sold Cheesecake??!! By the time dessert rolled around, I was already so far off my diet, I knew THIS wouldn't do any more harm. Joe and I went for some hot wings, then ordered a personal sized pasta meal. I only ate half, saving the other half for lunch, but then the waitress tempted me,and I am a weak... very weak... soul when cheesecake is offered. I would sell secrets for this stuff! LOL

So, that meal last night most likely just tipped the scale the wrong way, but that is ok. It's not like I am going to eat like that everyday. The weekend is almost upon us and I can do an extra aerobic tape (DVD, old terms die hard) tonight and again tomorrow. Like I said in an earlier post, I am not weighing in except on the 15th and last day of the month, so come Monday I'll post a status report.

I have been having fun exploring Facebook. I have been playing a game there called Mob Wars, which at one time I had played online way before Facebook was around. Nothing like mugging someone, or breaking and entering to feel nostalgic! LOL It's all just fun and games, RELAX!

We don't have much planned for this weekend, but I have a mountain of laundry to do, change my bed linens, vacuum, and all those other weekend chores we working ladies have to do. (UGH!) There is a reason I have a magnet on my house door that reads " I don't Do Housework... I just turn off the lights!"

Some People....!!

Today is going to be a few random items that have been simmering in my brain today.

You know what really burns my butt? When you make a deal with someone and they go behind your back and don't follow through. What happened, do I hear you asking? There was a posting on Craigslist for a free couch. I went on Monday night and took a look. It was decent and I told the guy I would like to have it, but I was without a full size truck until Wednesday evening. He said that would be alright. SO, last night I called him to make arrangements on a pick up time and he told me "I had Goodwill come and take it". WHAT??!! Why did he say it was ok to wait till Wednesday if it really wasn't? If he knew it was being taken by ME on Wednesday, why did he call charity to come and get it? AARRGGGGHHH!!! Yeah, I was steamed all night over that one.

Since I was already peeved before I headed home, I was not amused by all the stupid drivers that occupy the highways with me. I really hate the drivers who refuse to dim their lights. I'm not only talking about the jerks who are coming from the other direction, but the really arrogant ones who are travelling 20 miles an hour over the speed limit (or more), weaving in and out of traffic, barrelling down on you like you are sitting still, all the while keeping their bright lights on. Then they get right on your ass-end before getting into the passing lane, jump right back in barely passed you, spraying winter road sand (pebbles) all over the windshield... usually leaving a star in the glass. Yeah... those ones! I had one do that to me last night, then he stopped at the rest area (too much beer in the bladder, maybe?)... only to do an encore performance. I called him all kinds of colorful names that I will not repeat here.

And now I will leave you on a lighter note... It is now day 15 of the new year, and the new diet. I am still doing OK. I weighed myself this morning and found I have lost a solid five pounds! I have decided to try and stay off the scale except on the 1st and the 15th of every month. I did have a small fast food burger one evening, and Joe and I had pizza on Tuesday, but all in all, we are sticking to healthier eating. Neither one of us have had soda's throughout the day, and fast food lunches have been non-existent this year. My sleep patterns have improved, my mood is better, and, yes, I do feel a little better, too. I'll keep you posted.....

Ahhhh...getting all that out of my head is SO nice!