Random Wednesday

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A few random thoughts I've been wanting to share with you...

  • I am learning to knit!  Over the Christmas holidays I just got it in my head that I had to learn to knit.  Thankfully we were with Kevin's mom who is an expert knitter and she graciously indulged my high maintenance personality and taught me the basic steps.  I am not planning to make elaborate things like sweaters or hats or even blankets/afghans... I just want something to do with my hands and the ability to say that I know how to knit.  I'm planning on making lots of scarves.  Presently I'm making one for Claire and will simply keep on knitting my 20-stitch width of scarf until the skein of yarn is gone.  We'll see how far it gets me.
  • I am having such an incredible amount of fun with my ice cream maker.  I made cookies and cream ice cream yesterday and am loving it!  Cookies and cream (well, maybe Mint Cookies and cream) is my favorite kind of ice cream.  And thankfully they have a local version of Oreos here, so for just pennies a dish I can make what I consider to be a delightful after-dinner treat.  I made it with 1/2% milk, so that reduces the calories a bit.  I think a 1/2 cup serving has about 175 calories... which is an amount I can live with.  YUM.  I love my ice cream maker!
  • One of the most amazing new additions to my life is the lunchtime salad!  Yes, that's right, I live in South Asia and would you believe that I can actually get two kinds of lettuce now that are clean and edible and safe for my locally-adjusted body to eat?  So I can actually have a salad with 'mixed greens'!  It is totally mind-blowing to me to think that I'm eating lettuce here.  My favorite way to eat it is with grilled chicken rubbed with taco seasoning and then a 'dressing' of homemade pico de gallo salsa over the whole thing.  It is healthy and tasty and just absolutely makes my day when I get to eat it.  Add to it a slice of whole grain bread from Q-Mart's bakery and the entire lunch experience is elevated to divine.
  • Speaking of food (as I always am!), I am working my way through my latest diet/healthy eating book: You On a Diet.  It really is a great book and I'm enjoying trying to apply its principles which go right along with my Bob Greene book... no wonder since all three of these authors are Oprah's diet and exercise gurus.  The only downside, though, is that the book is very medically technical... something I definitely am not.  Therefore, there are times when my eyes tend to gloss over the pages and I find myself reading and re-reading as I try to concentrate and actually assimilate what I see.  I'm getting to the 'good' part now, though, where they are going to give their practical steps of advice.  One thing I am definitely going to apply out of this book is adding a strength training regimen to my week.  They say only 30 minutes per week are required... and I think that's something I can do.  I could probably do 30 minutes a day, actually, if it's just sit-ups, push-ups and crunches.  I can do that while waiting to put Claire to bed.  Anyway, we'll see how it turns out.
  • Would you believe that my email is still under control?  Yes, that's right it's been three whole days now.  I am astounded.  I still would like to be able to get to bed a little earlier, but for now I will take the great joy that comes with less than one screen of emails and the satisfying sense of accomplishment that comes with going to bed knowing that I am not buried under a mountainous mass of unanswered communication and pending work assignments.  I have to teach in the afternoons for the next two days, however, so that may likely cut into my work-at-home time, thereby sending my emails into a tailspin... but we'll hope that does not happen.  When my work is under control, my life is a lot happier and I get to spend a lot more time with the kids.
  • Which brings me to my next and final point for today... I had a truly wonderful time with Clark and Claire this evening.  Although getting them to settle down for dinner was a bit of a challenge, once they were eating, they both ate their dinner nicely and quickly, ate some fruit for dessert, and then retreated to their bedroom where they played with the train set for a good 45 minutes while I sat on Clark's bed and observed.  They played together so nicely.  I am thrilled that they like to spend time together and are truly each other's best friends.  I don't know how long that will last, so I am trying to enjoy every moment of it and savor the smile that crosses my face when the engage each other in adult-type conversation and share their toys in such a friendly and loving way.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
~lk

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