jolly good fun

on Sunday, we had been at my in-laws' house for the weekend, so we had a three hour drive back to our house. after that, my husband went directly to ultimate frisbee practice and a meeting, and i was stuck at home. no way i was doing clean up right away!
so i went for a run in the mild 32 degrees-F weather. it was beautiful! I took some pictures and really enjoyed running for a bit.

since it was perfect snowman weather, i made one. here he is:


it was also a great day for sunsets and snowy landscapes:



and i have much for which to be thankful.

have i mentioned that i love chocolate? I'm actually slightly allergic to it - it makes me sneeze - but i loooove it. i'm enjoying brownies right now - that's one of today's blessings. i'm really glad for those little extras. it makes the coming home from work routine so much more relaxing!

work today was relatively busy, which was actually nice. i enjoyed having things to do. i'm so exhausted when i come home, though. i don't know how working moms do this! i really hope i can stay home with my children when they come along. i also didn't know how exhausting an 8 hour work day is, even with an hour lunch. my lunch today was eaten up by trying to survive the freezing wind and rain as i mailed a package at the post office and got lost on my way back to the office. my intuitive directional skills came in handy, though, and i actually arrived back within 10 minutes of the end of my lunch. whew. embarassment avoided this time - i'll have to get directions next time. the one way streets here really throw me off sometimes!
there's this one street that's actually split - it runs on either side of a creek, and the lanes are tiny and poorly paved. and wouldn't you know - i ended up on that road. in the rain. yuck!

i'm extra thankful for my new parka on a day like today. it was a great deal, and i'm really happy with it. it's not my favorite colors, but it looks cute with my pink scarf, so i guess it's okay. the coat is a dusty olive color, with minty accent panels and a feminine shape...and it repels water really well, and is lined with super soft fleece. i felt blessed.

my dear husband is gone again tonight - he decided to be in the pit band for a musical, and tonight is the night they go through the entire production with the cast for the first time. i won't even see him... :o( he slept in today, so i just kissed him goodbye as i was leaving for work. i miss him. it's lonely in our little apartment without anyone else here!

i've been thankful for the extra time i have in the mornings. i can fit in relaxed devotions, a cup of tea, and still do my hair, and even makeup, if i wanted to. i would really like to be going for a run in the mornings, but it has been too dark to be safe. we live in an area that has relatively low visibility on the roads, and i just wouldn't be comfortable with running in the early light or the twilight. i've been going for brisk walks on my breaks at work, but i'm not sure how i'm going to keep it up when the weather gets as bad as it was today. i'm hoping to find a way to exercise inside (without paying for a gym membership). ah, the dilemmas of a desk job.

on a pleasant note, i'm almost finished with a baby blanket i'm knitting for a friend of mine - her baby boy is due in january. the blanket is light blue and white striped, knit in a chunky homespun style yarn. it's coming together quickly! i love to see progress.

decorating is an art

today while i was out running, i found these bright orange berries on a bush that looked otherwise dead. they're probably poisonous, but my curiosity got the better of me, and so i plucked a stem and continued to run with them in hand. it looked rather funny, by the way! imagine this: i'm wearing a pair of gray Nike capris, running shoes, a bright neon yellow athletic shirt, and here are these orange berries on a stick bouncing around as i run. not only that, but my hair is disheveled because it's morning, and there's only so much i can do to make my ponytail look somewhat decent. at any rate, i arrived home and put them in some water in a spice jar, and they're now decorating my table.

after, of course, a brief photo shoot. :o) i was pleased to find that the orange of the berries is actually a little redder and brighter than the orange of my little pumpkin, and the dark stems in the glass make a nice contrast. i like how it's a bit Asian-inspired, with its sculptural, spare look. these would make great little favors for a fall wedding! wouldn't that be cool? or for a Thanksgiving dinner...

i really think that decorating is an art. it's sometimes hard to find the right color combinations, or the right size item - the best container, the most interesting cloth that won't detract from what's on it. and not only that, but to arrange the materials in an attractive way, so that nothing overpowers anything else except for good reason. i think i did a good job today.

on the orange theme, i reheated some amazing butternut squash soup for lunch. i need to try to make this - what i had came from a lovely company called V8. someday i'll package my food and sell it for a ridiculous price just because i added eight vegetables to a product that should only contain one. i had a coupon for this soup, by the way, that made it about 40% off the original price. hooray, bargains.