Getting Together

Tonight, we are having friends over for pizza and Mah Jongg. I will be late to the festivities, as I am doing a play right now. However, my part is over pretty early on, so I will be home by 9:15. So we decided to go ahead and have them over, especially because I won't have another free evening (besides Mondays) for the next few months.

I don't get together with my friends often enough, and I wish I did! I have a million reasons: my house isn't clean, my house isn't big enough, our 'stuff' isn't fancy enough, the food isn't fancy enough, blah blah blah. I should just bless and release all of that nonsense, and make more good memories with my friends!

So, if we are friends, consider yourself invited over! If you have kids, bring 'em along, and our kids can play while we chat or play a board game, or eat pizza, or whatever. If you don't have kids, just remember that I do, and prepare yourself for lots of rowdy fun, or come over later, after they are in bed.

Let's get together!

Great site

I am a book lover! What's the fancy word for that, bibliophile? Anyhoo, that is me! And I don't have near enough time to read everything I want, if I plan to get any sleep, so there are stacks of books near my bed...my To Be Read pile. I love the library, but I invariably get a book, then don't get a chance to start it, or finish it, before it is due. Or I forget to take it back in time and rack up late fees. Which brings me to one of my favorite websites, and I wanted to make sure you know about it!

Paperbackswap is a great way to get those books I am dying to read, and not spend loads of money. All I have to do is list books I am willing to part with, then I look for books I want. I build up credits when people want my books, and I can then use those credits to get books for myself (or my boys!). All I have to pay is the postage it costs to mail the books I have listed to people who have requested them. I love it! According to Paperbackswap's tally, I have saved $167 on books!

So if you love to read like I do, are short on reading time, don't want to spend tons of money, and have some books you are willing to part with, then check out Paperbackswap. You will love it!

Announcing....

I am getting back to exercising! I went this morning for my first workout in forever, and made it through! I did the modified, beginner style, since it has been at least a year (more) since I did anything like that. And I only had to stop and rest once, when I got really lightheaded. Guess my heart isn't used to pumping that much blood!  I am doing this with a friend, at her house, and we have a standing appointment Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. So if I don't show up, I am letting her down as well as myself. Besides, I know she will shame me and ride me mercilessly if I don't show! LOL

I have announced this here and also on Facebook, so now I have to do it. Too many people know about it! All my friends out there, I need you to keep me honest.  And I need to remember that this is not just about losing weight and looking better but, more importantly, about being healthier and stronger and feeling better!

But it was his job!

I happened to be in NYC on the subway with my brother when the US Airways plane went into the Hudson. What a freaky accident! And while I agree that while it might have seemed an amazing thing the pilot did, it was no "miracle on the Hudson." It was his job. He was excellent at his job that day. He deserves large kudos and congratulations, slaps on the back, all that, but I don't feel it was an incredible miracle sent from God. If you want to look at it that way, then who sent the poor geese? 

My husband is a pilot, and a good one, and I know that they are trained diligently and extensively for just this sort of situation. Pilots are trained to be level-headed and clear-thinking in just such an emergency. The US Airways pilot definitely deserves credit for remaining just that way, and being able to do his job.

Don't you wish the people running the drive-through window at McDonald's were so dedicated to their jobs?! Sorry, poor customer service and rude people running those windows are my pet peeve.

Kudos, Captain.

Where were you when...?

There are a number of events that make people ask, "Where were you when...?" I know where I was when Challenger exploded, when 9/11 happened, when Elvis Presley died (yes, I was young, but my Mom was a huge fan, so it trickled down to me!), and when OJ was found "not guilty." And now I will know where I was on January 20, 2009, the day our 43rd president, Barack Obama, was inaugurated. I am staying home today and watching it all on television, or listening to it on the radio.

Just a tidbit. Many people think he will be our 44th president. It is just semantics, but technically, he will be the 43rd person to be president. We have had 43 presidencies, so this will be the 44th presidency, but Grover Cleveland was elected president twice, in nonconsecutive terms. That means that today marks 44 inaugurations, but only 43 different presidents. But I will still refer to him as the 44th president, as that is the majority thought. Just had to share that!

Today is an historical day! This election, no matter the outcome, was going to be history-making. But I feel like there is an electricity in the air that I haven't felt in a long time. I pray that this will be a good thing for our country, our people, and our world.