Something Funny About Gas

A funny thing happened while I was paying bills yesterday.

Maybe it wasn’t particularly funny but I did laugh while making out my check to the gas company.

I know, with the continually rising price of natural gas, you’d think there would be very little reason to laugh at the February bill for heat and hot water.

But, you see, now that I own a house, I’m actually paying close to half of what I paid in my last apartment for gas.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved my apartment. It was the upper level of this 90-year-oldhouse downtown. It had all this character and beautiful woodwork and original windows — and no insulation to speak of.

As a result, while most everyone else is bemoaning their ever-increasing gas bill, I’m doing okay.

Hey there, stalker

Do you ever have the feeling you’re being followed?

I do.

Recently I’ve been followed almost everywhere I go. In the car, the store, at home.

I can't seem to escape it.

I’m being followed by a song.

It's “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White Ts. It’s a nice song. There’s nothing in particular about it that speaks to me aside from being a sweet gesture from a guy apparently involved in a long-distance relationship. It’s one of those songs I can't help but sing along to so I’m not really minding that it follows wherever I go...but it’s still a mite peculiar. I’m not the type to easily brush off coincidences so I'm sure there’s some meaning for the song to be so insistent on my hearing it lately. I’ve just yet to find it.

Wookit the Wabbit

[I fully expect and accept the teasing that will ensue as a result of this post]

With Easter on the way, I took one of my rabbits to a friend’s house this weekend to take some photos of her daughter with an adorably fluffy and holiday appropriate bunny rabbit.

I must say that, for his first photo shoot, Slim Jim was remarkably well behaved and, more importantly, so photogenic I just can’t stand it. As a result, I’ve posted his best-looking shots for the world to see.

http://web.mac.com/msjlross/iWeb/Site/SlimJim.html

If all goes well, he may be joined by Teyla (my other rabbit) for a session of photographic mayhem with another friend’s three daughters. Depending on how that goes I’m sure you’ll read all about it.

Winter Blahs

I know everyone’s complaining about the weather here in mid-Michigan and how they’re sick of the snow and the cold, the gloom and the blah. As someone who, personally, loves winter and all it has to offer (warm sweaters, pure blankets of fluffy whiteness, slippery sidewalk challenges and drifts that are so much fun to plow through in my beloved Taurus) I hate to join the “I hate winter” bandwagon but even I have to admit I could use a change of scenery.

I’m not necessarily blaming winter for my current case of the blahs. For one thing, that’s unfair to Mother Nature and she deserves nothing but the utmost respect. For another, as stated above, I love winter. And, not to compound all the whining I’ve previously posted, this winter’s been a bit draining with the sinus infections and multiple injuries to my back (tumbling down the stairs aggravated by long and kind of stressful hours at my desk coupled with early morning shoveling sessions and additional falls from the slippery sidewalk challenges also mentioned above) and craziness. I’d had every intention of starting this year off on the right foot by working out regularly and making healthy food decisions but that’s been very difficult with not being well enough to work out and craving comfort foods. The lack of inactivity and intake of not-entirely-healthful sustenance have me feeling down about the previous progress I’d made and frustration because, as of right now, I’m still not quite up to snuff to resume my regular workout. In fact, I think I overdid the mad dancing that occurred in my kitchen this evening and am feeling my back protest to the hip shaking and bouncing about. (spoil sport.)

Now that the evenings are “longer,” maybe I can start walking on a regular basis — despite the cold — and regain some of those healthful tendencies I’d worked to establish before. Maybe the walking will help to relieve some of the stress which will take some of the abuse off my back which will then make me able to resume my Pilates and weight-lifting routines. Then, after the walking and the Pilates and the weights, I can work my way up to running on a regular basis. And, with this, maybe I’ll get back into the habit of more fruits and vegetables and fewer refined and processed treats. And then maybe, just maybe, I’ll kick those last couple pounds to my goal weight and maybe, on top of all that, reduce the number of meds I’m on for pain and the like.

Sounds nice, huh? Now if I just take all those “maybe”s and turn them into proper forms of “will” we’ll be in business.