"Changes in attitudes"

I think about paris when Im high on red wine
I wish I could jump on a plane
So many nights I just dream of the ocean
God I wish I was sailin again
Oh, yesterdays over my shoulder
So I can't look back for too long
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just can't go wrong

With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of my running and all of my cunning
If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane
If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane
If we weren't all crazy we would go insane


All hail Jimmy Buffett..........

There have been some changes in attitudes around here, and so much of these lyrics strike home.

After a health scare – which, thank Deity, turned out just to be a scare – I have decided it is time to make a few changes.  After all, I am now 59 years old and it occurs to me that I really am no longer young and that I have less time ahead of me than I have behind me. I want to use that time to my advantage, and enjoy it!

So what will I do to change?

1)Set priorities. What do I want to do? Work myself to death? Worry myself to death? Fat chance! More like:  enjoy! relax! Do what I want to do and enjoy doing, rather than what I feel I must do. Of course there are still obligations that must be filled, and they will be, but isn't it better to do it with a light heart than a grudging one?

2)Stop obsessing over work. Cyclingnews survives without me!  I don't get paid to work 24/7, so I don't need to worry about every story out there getting covered, or be hurt when someone complains about the site – or even worry that they don't miss me when I'm not around! Yes, it is my job and I take it seriously, but not all THAT seriously!

3)Cut back on my professional  obligations. This is the tough one that has yet to be answered. Lots of possibilities, but no definite decision.  Yet.

4)Hobbies!  I love to bake and cook.  So do it!  Don't sit there every evening and think, darn, I didn't bake anything today.  Do it instead.  This morning I was up early, the guys were gone by 7 am. and CN work didn't start until 10.  Three whole hours that could go to waste – so I baked chocolate chip cookies and re-discovered the joys of eating a cookie fresh out of the oven.......

5)Turn the computer off?  Don't know what else to do, then just mindlessly surf the net, and check the emails every few minutes “just in case.”  What a waste of time and mental energy! Where's that self-control?

6)Take care of the house.  I hate to clean house, let's be frank.  But it has to be done. Doesn't mean I have to scour things from top to bottom every day, but a few minutes here, a few minutes there, and things will get done.  And there must be some way of making it fun, but I am still waiting to discover that secret!

7)Take care of me and us.  We brag about never going to the doctor, and while it is true we have few health problems, we have also ignore all the routine check-ups.  I spent a lot time this morning setting up appointments and still need to make more. I want to make sure that Norbert and I spend as many years together as possible!

8)To quote another song, “You've got to move it , move it!” Exercise has always been my biggest failure.  I am definitely more sloth-like than anything else – ironic for a sports journalist, yes?   I am not sure how I want to tackle this, although weather permitting I will try and start walking every day. Perhaps we will invest in a stationary bike or something. We do have bikes and could give them the once-over.  The problem right now is that the weather is not at all inviting to go out in, so need to find some kind of indoor solution.  I will look for some sort of exercise class, too.

Whew, that's enough. This has given me a lot to think about, as well, and I hope to refine these points to my own satisfaction to make them as concrete as possible.  Don't just think good deeds, do them, right?

And above all, stay relaxed and light-hearted.  As Jimmy says,
“If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane
If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane
If we weren't all crazy we would go insane”

Susan

Another "Feed the Freezer" day

I was finally getting tired of chicken, and fortunately ground meat was on sale.  You can buy ground beef, ground pork and mixed -- we use the latter.

Having decided on my recipes, I made lists and went shopping.

And this too:

Plus:

Ok, so the strawberries were just because they were on sale and a strawberry shortcake is always good, right?

First thing I did was not meat-related.  I made a double batch of baked rice, which is basically throwing rice and onion soup (or your choice of other seasonings) in the oven for an hour.

I then made double batches of: sauce for penne bolognese casserole, spaghetti bolognese sauce, and Texas hash.

That's how they looked cooling, and this is how they looked packaged up for the freezer:

That was the morning's work.  Took a break and ate lunch and then got back to work.  First up were the two Mexican lasagnes.

And they too got wrapped up for the freezer.

I wanted to make two regular lasagnes, but I was running low on meat by this point, and we looooove our lasagne, so I made one big one:

All the lasagnes will get a grated cheese topping before they get baked and eaten.

Finally, we had to eat that day too, so I tried out a recipe for Taco soup.  Turned out more like Taco stew, think I will add more liquids next time.  Norbert absolutely loved it, so there will definitely be a next time.

And finally, a non-cooking photo, just because we have the cutest Kitty in the whole wide world:

See her hiding in there?

Susan