Death to a Snail

It was 8:30 at night and time for the dog to go out. I leashed her up since she really shouldn't be let out on her own due to her age and ailments. It was dark and I was carrying a flashlight, and we were in the driveway. All of a sudden, I heard a crunch under my boots and I had to turn around and shine the light on whatever it was that made the noise.

I was saddened to see a crushed snail shell. I've loved seeing the snails on the deck rail and on the stone walls on my property over the years. To think that I killed one has really upset me.

I decided to leave it where it was. Maybe it could manage to save itself, I hoped.

In the morning, I will go see if it's still there. If it's gone, it either managed to move on or got eaten by a bird.

Good luck, Snaily (which is what I call the snails, thanks to my oldest child). I'm sorry I didn't see you and save you myself.

Happy New Year's Eve

Here we are on New Year's Eve, and I think this might be the first year that I don't stay up till midnight with the kids. I'm tired. I work a 9 - 5 job, which actually ends up to be 6:30 - 3:30, so I'm tired.  There are 2.5 hours left until midnight, but the kids are watching some movie that I don't care about,  and hubby is asleep. This is not turning out like I'd hoped.

Just a second ago, my youngest son asked if he and his brother could have sparkling cider, and I said that they could at midnight, but I didn't know if I'd be up till then because their movie was boring to me and their dad was asleep. He seemed to be fine with that, but truly, I want to go to sleep.

Does anyone else feel this way? Is it just me?  Am I getting old?  Am I showing my age?  I don't feel old. I work. I'm a mom and wife. I care for a geriatric and ill dog. I'm tired. I am not Wonder Woman, sorry to say.

We'll see if I can hang in there till midnight. If I can convince them to watch the Twilight Zone marathon, we'll be in better shape.

Different Dinners

Tonight we decided to eat out of the freezer, to some extent. My husband pulled a 12-pack of English muffins out of the freezer because they were in the way of something needing to go in, and when I saw them on the counter, I said that it would be fun to make mini pizzas out of them. That's what we did.

I should have taken pictures of the preparation, but it was so simple. He placed 12 halves on a foil-lined cookie sheet, then spread leftover homemade spaghetti sauce on top. After that, he placed salami (we often have small packages of salami in the fridge) over the sauce. The topping should have been mozzarella cheese, but after searching several times, neither of us could find any, so hubby opted for a bit of shredded cheddar, followed by shredded parmesan.

Quite the yummy meal! We're all full. And guess what? Tomorrow night I'll use the rest of the English muffins for tuna melts. YUM!

Chocolatey Goodness

It's time for holiday baking!  Any ideas what this is for?

Realization

A little while ago, I realized that the reason I have trouble staying on the South Beach Diet that worked so well several years ago was that when I was on it before, I was working in an office; now I work from home where the food possibilities are endless.

When I had to commute to work, I brought my lunch and snacks and stuck to them. Now that my office is in my house, all I have to do is venture into the kitchen to see what there is. My willpower is not so good at times.

What options do I have now? Well, a friend of mine is going to try a specific diet where you eat "their" food during the day but eat a sensible dinner. I can handle that. In fact, I'm going to give it a whirl. I'll try it for a while and see how it goes, and then I'll tell you what it is.

Fingers crossed that it works!

Wheeeeeeee!

Okay, so I have been in school for a year, and I have gained a lot of weight. I am embarrassed and ashamed, but I am at the point to do something about it once and for all.

I am going to try a new program (to me) and will post how things go.

Interested?

Thank God It's Friday! Really!

I will be the first to say that I am glad it's Friday and that a long weekend is ahead of me.  However, after the way today went, I don't see how Saturday will be much different except that it won't be a workday.

Today was a bit annoying in that I worked eight hours and then started on my schoolwork, all while my teen son spent six hours on his smartphone (texting and eating up shared data); my young son used a computer for a summer assignment and then played on it; and my ill husband watched t.v. because he really couldn't do much else.  I spent the day in my office, closed off from everyone except my dog (who sleeps in my office), typing away and editing documents and then writing an analysis of a news article for school.  All day at a computer.  My eyes are dry, my rear is sore, and I would really rather be anywhere but here!