I guess I've missed a few days!! How can more than 2 weeks have passed by so quickly?

Since I was here last, the dance team had a competition at Stayton. We won our division and were 5th overall. The coaches were slightly disappointed in the scores. We are still number one in the state though in our division.

My financial situation totally sucks. :( I need a miracle, a job and/or a sugar daddy!

Went for a quick walk this afternoon. Just one lap around the loop. When I got to the creek, I noticed that Harry, The Blue Heron had returned. This is the first time this spring that I have seen him or her.

Note to self. Walk early, otherwise risk being run down my members of the Wildcat track team on training runs!

Feburary arrives with the sun!

The weather dudes say it's going to be spring like for awhile. Huzzah!!

Last day of January already

1/12 of 2012 is already gone. The years seem to go by so quickly now. Soon it will be JR's 25th birthday at the end of February.

Rainy Sunday

Jessica and I had a fun time on our quick trip to the dance competition to check out some of the teams in our division. Then we went out to a late lunch. I made her 2 quarts of Cure All Chicken Soup. Which is a good thing, since apparently we are both sick again. I foresee that I will be making more soup this week.

Friday

The weekend is almost here. Jessica is coming over then we are going to watch a dance competition. I am supposed to make her some Chicken Cure All Soup.

Sunday and the rain has begun already

I was so hopeful that I would get up early and get outside before it really started storming.....but I think the rain was on to my plan!

Slighty sunny Saturday

Got outside for my walk and this was one time procrastination paid off...the sun was out for the whole time. Awesome since it appears that it is going to rain for the next 40 days and nights. My walk took longer than usual because I had to figure out way to circumnavigate all the humongous puddles.

Second big storm arrives

Rainy and windy. Much of the area is already flooded from the melting snow and heavy rains from the first big storm of the season. I need to get out for a walk....but it is so nasty out there!

How did I miss almost a week of blogging? Where did the days go?

Where did the time go? Let's see if I can account for those missing days.
Saturday: Dance team competition day. Very tired when I got home.
Sunday: Worked on writing a press release for the dancers. Went to Costco. Made soup. Visited briefly with Jessica, who was disappointed that her soup was not ready for her to take home. Worry about the forecast for snow and ice. So far it's been OK. Worry about Jessica driving to her place. The hills are steep and it is near an area notorious for getting snow.
Monday: MLK Day. Updated the dance team FaceBook pages. Revised the article and sent it to Jessica for input. Ate soup. Emailed article to the school for their website.
Tuesday: Worry about the forecast for snow and ice again. The weather gurus think this may be the worst day so far. So far it's been OK. Forward brief version of the dance article to the local paper. Hopefully they will have room for it.
Wednesday: Finished the last of the Chicken Soup originally made for Jessica. Realize I will need to be making a triple batch for her this weekend.
Thursday: Ate the bean soup languishing in the refrigerator. Make mental note to freeze it if I do not finish it all. Google the dance team to see if the articles & pictures have been published. They have. Looks good on the school website. I am shocked to see that the local paper has used the long version of the article. Of course they re-wrote and edited it somewhat. Sports editor needs to earn his keep. However, I do not really care for his edits, nor for the tone the article now has. Without the back story, it makes us sound arrogant. Grrrr. I wish they had just published the results and the picture. I am glad that even though the work is 90% my words and my photo, that I am not given a by-line or photo credit. I can live with this. I have credit on the school page.

I also watched way too much TV. I was not very productive. I did not walk. Not even once. After it stopped snowing, it started raining. Raining in biblical amounts. We might need an ark. It's flooding everywhere. One of my cousins posted YouTube video of the rising river near my mother's place. She said they were fine, but cut off until the water goes down. It is good she lives on a hill. But the farm land is flooded. I am worried for the farmer who rents the farm land. I hope he does not suffer too much damage. We all want our organic produce.

...and that's what you missed on Licorne's Lament!

Dance team Saturday!

Long day of competition at Thurston High School today. The Charisma dancers made an awesome debut for season 2012. "Ghost of a Girl" won their division and the Most Entertaining Routine Award out of all the teams at the competition. Another trophy for the trophy case and a giant box of chocolates for the team. Even better, were the scores. The 75.81 was their best ever for a January competition. They were 15 points over the second place team from Sweet Home. The most exciting news was just how close the scores were between the Charisma and the 9-time defending champions from the 4A classification. 2.19 points! That's never happened before. It was an awesome start to the season so far.

TGI Friday! But so much to do this weekend!

Got to get the tires on the minivan rotated before I go road tripping on Saturday! It is a dance team weekend-first competition of the season for Jessica's team. While Jess is busy with other dance team activities on Sunday and Monday, I am making three Crockpots full of soup for her to freeze and take home. She has an extremely busy winter term in medical school and needs to have quick meals at the ready.

Been busy. Wrote a press release for the dance team and updated the facebook page. Still need to be working on the dance team websites.

Need to go grocery shopping and do a little house work. Walking, too, of course, since today may be the last dry (although cold) day for awhile.

Cold and frosty today!

It's in the 30's, but it looks like the sun might come out. The wind has finally stopped howling.

I had a lovely walk this late afternoon. It was chilly and breezy but the sun was shining down so it was reasonably pleasant as long as I had on my hat, gloves and coat! The days are getting longer now. It's still light out at about 5. Yeah for longer days!

Wednesday, Hump Day already

Since I drank a cup of Sleepytime tea last night and fell asleep early, I apparently got enough sleep last night since I awoke before the 6:00AM alarm went off. It's supposed to be clear and cold today. Low 40's and sunny is the forecast. I need to try and do a double lap around MG Loop today, then write an article for the dance team, catch up some chores, and maybe get to the market at some point. The refrigerator is pretty empty with the exception of an apple and half a head of cabbage along with the usual random condiments and pitchers of ice tea. The freezer and pantry are in better shape. The freezer has lots of homemade soup and stock, some seafood, a steak, veggies & fruit and two kinds of homemade pesto. The pantry has pasta, beans, and various canned goods. I need to use up the canned stuff and switch to jars to avoid BPA. I have ham stock in the refrigerator so a Crockpot full of bean soup is in my future.

Brr it was cold and windy outside on my walk this afternoon. It barely made it into the 40s and it's already cooled down into the 30s! Going to be a cold one tonight, especially with the way the wind is blowing. There is even a slight chance of snow for Monday. I hope we don't get any.

Oops! Forgotten Tuesday!

I forgot to write yesterday! I fell asleep then it was too late. Yesterday was a beautiful day. I went for my walk in the winter sunshine although it was pretty cold out and breezy. I went one lap around the MG loop because my heel was sore from doing a double lap the day before.

Had a nice dinner of leftovers. Pasta with veggies and chicken with Alfredo Sauce. Then for dessert, I finished the last piece of Christmas mince pie with hard sauce. Yum. Goodbye mince pie until next year.

I need to write a piece for the dance team about their upcoming season and the Thurston competition on Saturday.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

...always get me down. Although today it was a foggy and chilly Monday. A good day for making soup. Which I did. Or at least, started. I had a ham bone cooking merrily away in the Crockpot with my last two sad little carrots, a pair of onions and the last of the celery along with some garlic and rosemary. It smells divine. I will use the broth as a base to make either Bean Soup or possible Potato soup...but I would have to go to the market to acquire some potatoes if I decide to go that route.

It was in the 30's most of the day due to the dense, damp fog. I can see the outline of the sun when I went out for my walk and I think the tempreture finally made it to the low 40's. Since I didn't walk on the weekend, I did two laps of Mentor Graphics loop today...a bit over 3 miles. It took more than a lap to get feeling a bit warmed up. My heels are sore. I suppose it means that it is time for some new walking shoes. I decided to try and get my lap time down below 40 by the end of the month and to get my weight down into the 30's. That would be about 7 pounds. Both should be doable I think.

Jessica is sick. But the dance costumes are here and she likes them. The first competition of the season is Saturday. Everyone is excited to start the season and to "Defend the 'ship!"

This cold that I got right after Thanksgiving is still hanging around. I just can't seem to shake it off entirely. So many people say the same thing. This cold is a lingerer!

As I write this, I can hear the rain splashing down. I am glad it held off until after dark...well after I returned from my walk. But I haven't taken out the trash and recycling. I think I will wait until morning to do so. It might be dry then.

I finally got around to watching the George C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol". I watch it every holiday season, but this year, I watched several other versions before Christmas and the week that followed. George's version is my favorite. I don't know why I didn't watch it sooner.

The Weekend - January 7 & 8, 2012

First Friday 2012

It's the first Friday of 2012 and the first Friday of the month. And that means that it is omelette night in my Mom's hometown. Saturday we celebrate the January birthdays of my sister, Kim, and my nephew, Dylan. Sunday my baby niece Chloe is being baptized. It's going to be a busy weekend.

The weather has changed. Today has been extremely foggy and we haven't made it out of the 30s yet. I am already missing the sunshine and the 50 degrees days we enjoyed earlier this week.

Mother Nature seems confused...

It fees like spring out there for sure. It was sunny and very warm on my walk. I should have worn a lighter jacket. The birds were singing like mad. I am sure this won't last and we will get a terrible cold snap at the most inconvenient time. But having a dry 50 degree in January sure helps one to keep their New Year's resolutions!

January 4th

Warm weather continues. Got to be sure to get a walk in before the rain returns later today. I am beginning to think that everything is in flux. Everything is so unpredictable and seems to be changing, changing changing.

I got most of the way around the loop before it started raining hard. And by most of the way, I mean I took the short-cut. LOL but I thought I heard thunder and I really, really wanted to make it home before it stormed. Still warm though. I was definitely overdressed with a polar fleece jacket over a light tee shirt.

Spring like weather today

The strange weather continues...it was about 55 degrees outside this afternoon around 3pm when I finally made it outside for my walk. It felt like Spring had arrived instead of the New Year. Remember back to our odd December weather when it was cold and dry for nearly the entire month? It was definitely colder than average then. Definitely drier as we almost set a record for the driest December ever. However, a deluge of rain on the final days of the month kept us from that dubious record. Now it is warmer than average. I wonder how this will play out?

My father is not feeling well. My sister says he has had the flu for 3 days. She is taking him to the ER since his Doctor thought he may need IV fluids. I should have went with her. I am worried now and praying all will be OK with his health. He is 85, so everything is concerning.

Rose Bowl

Going to be watching the Rose Bowl game later this afternoon. I will be cheering for the Ducks. While that seems to go a bit against the grain since I am an OSU fan, the Ducks represent all of Oregon and the PAC-12. Therefore, I have to say it...."Good Luck today U of O Ducks! Make us proud!" Besides if the loose today, that would make Coach Chip Kelly 3 and 0 in BCS bowl game appearances and I just don't think he is going to go for that!

In the meantime, I am doing the laundry (goodness how many hours is it gonna take for that mattress pad to get dry!) organizing the recycling and doing some housework. I hope to get in a walk at some point today also, hopefully before the game starts.

Doesn't it seem like we got to have two New Year's Days this year? Huzzah for 2K12!!

Update: I managed to squeeze in my walk, although I was worried. I hadn't gone more than about 10 steps before it started raining. But I persevered and it stopped. I managed to do the whole loop before kick off. Go Ducks!

I'm back! Wow it has been a very long time!

Happy New Year's Day 2012!
I slept in way too late and then I felt groggy most of the day. I went for a long walk. Weather was a balmy 50 degrees, dry and overcast. Most of the puddles had evaporated from the near record rain of a few days ago. I wrote down my Resolutions. Sadly, they are almost identical to the ones I made in previous years. I have been on a quest for the new calendars for 2012 that I purchased and then put away until I needed them. I hope they show up soon. I wonder if anyone else spent a lot of time watching the History Channel? It was Armageddon Week. Lots of interesting shows about what may or may not happen come December 21, 2012. It kind of cast a pall over welcoming in the New Year...what with the predictions of the Mayans, Nostradamus and others. Any way I hope 2012 will be wonderful for us all. Let's see if I can post on a regular basis again!