Writer’s Block: In The Money

Posted on August 1, 2007 by thathobbitlady

If you won $100 this afternoon, what would you do with it?

I guess LJ posts a question on a daily basis, in case you don’t know what to write about. Okay, I’ll take the bait. If I won $100 this afternoon (or, tomorrow afternoon, as the case might be) I would go right down to Publix and order the wedding cake that Russ and I saw online just now and we both said, almost in unison, “Ohh! That one’s nice!”

I have no idea how much a wedding cake might cost, but I feel pretty certain that with the topper and the flowers (both which cost extra, according to the Publix Bakery website) we’re getting close to $100, if not already over it.

Anyway, it occurred to me that when people come in and see this beautiful, professional looking cake, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind they are at a wedding (even tho it will only be at Russ’ parents’ house.) My dress is not likely to be spectacular, and the food will just be trays from the deli (not a fancy sit-down affair with placecards and waiters), but I think a cake like this could really lend a great deal of class to the proceedings.

And, btw, if there was any money LEFT after ordering this cake, I would use it to take me and Russ out to eat at Subway. 🙂

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BACK TO THE EGG

Posted on August 1, 2007 by thathobbitlady

191

This is good, because it is less than yesterday. Now the trick will be to see if I can keep moving in the same direction. I went to the doctor on Monday for a persistent sinus condition, and got two meds, that have side effects of headache, which I had all day yesterday, so I didn’t really get any exercise done, tho I am hoping to do better today.

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BACK TO THE EGG

Posted on July 31, 2007 by thathobbitlady

192.4

It’s been a little topsy-turvy. I haven’t been feeling well, and thus haven’t been eating well, and of course that makes me feel worse. But today I jump right back into it.

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BACK TO THE EGG

Posted on July 29, 2007 by thathobbitlady

Well, I said a while back that I would start using this journal as a place to keep track of my weight and health, but I’ve felt too busy to do so, but now I have a moment, so here we go.

Yes, once upon a time (about two years ago, I think), I had lost about 34 pounds, and had gotten down to a low weight of 170. That felt good! I still had a ways to go, even at 170, but believe me, losing 34 pounds makes a BIG difference in how you feel.

Then, Hurricane Wilma hit, and I stopped using the gym, and life got a bit crazy for a while, and then I met Russ, and my priorities shifted, and slowly but surely most of the weight I had lost crept back on.

So here’s the bottom line: I had gotten back up to 196. Now, today, this morning, I am back down to 191.4. I say “.4” because I have a digital scale that tells you your weight to the 10th of a pound, so that’s how I’m keeping track. And sometimes, it can be very encouraging. Like yesterday morning, I was 191.6, and this morning I’m 191.4, so even tho I am still 191 (on a regular scale), I have the psychological advantage of being able to say, “YES! I lost weight. Only 2/10ths of a pound, but I LOST.”

So this is the current state of affairs. Also, I have officially joined the “big gym” on campus, and hope to be going quite often. It’s so much nicer than the little gym where I had been going. The big gym doesn’t smell, the air is fresh, the equipment is new, and the locker room has both a steamroom and a sauna! So I’m really looking forward to making this place part of my daily routine.

Anyway, I’m now about 20 pounds away from the low weight I had achieved, two years ago. It’s such a drag that I have to do this all over again, but I like to think of it this way: at least I’m not starting at the 204 pounds I was originally. So I am already 15 pounds ahead of the game.

Trying to keep a positive attitude on all this. It goes on slow, it comes off slow. That’s okay with me. As long as I’m headed in the right direction.

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GOD BLESS AMERICA

Posted on July 22, 2007 by thathobbitlady

Here’s a recent picture of me, when Russ and I went into Birmingham for a day. This is outside a fast food restaurant called Whataburger, which actually had great food, but I was most impressed by the sign on the window, and asked Russ to take a picture of me with it.

Around here, everyone is so open about God and religion. Nobody looks at you funny if you talk about going to church, or say “God bless you” for more than a sneeze. Some restaurants aren’t even open on Sunday, and Little League doesn’t play or practice on Wednesday evenings, cos of course Wednesday evenings are church time, everywhere you go!

It’s nice. Of course, my favorite sign was the billboard we saw yesterday on our way back from Montgomery: Go to Church, or the Devil Will Get You! There was even a cartoon of a red horned devil with a pitchfork. I wish I’d had my camera for that one! 🙂

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Posted on July 21, 2007 by thathobbitlady

How many times have I come here and said I’m going to start up this LJ again, only to do it for a few days, then quit? Well, here I am again, making the same vow…but maybe this time it will stick.

I had to come in here a few days ago to look something up, and as I was looking at my entries, I grew very nostalgic for the time when thathobbitlady was a big part of me life. Which is kind of silly, actually, because my life now is actually so much better than it was back then. So I’m not saying, “Oh, I wish I was back there,” I’m only saying, “Hey, that was a good time.”

But this is a good time too, the best time, and I want to be able to share this time as well, with anyone who might care to look and listen. But first, a word of housekeeping…

BACK TO THE EGG

I’ve been keeping another LJ which was specifically a means of recording my weight loss efforts. It’s been a big help to me, since I’ve been rather faithful about recording my weight and my efforts there, almost every day. I think what I’d like to do at this point is to incorporate that journal into this one.

So yes, there will be entries here which deal specifically with weight loss, eating well, exercise, etc. The name of my LJ has been “Back to the Egg,” and the icon was of a pysanki egg, and I will keep that title and that icon on all entries that have to do with weight loss. So if you are interested, you can read those entries, and if not, you will easily be able to skip them. If anyone is reading, and would like to leave a word of encouragement, or share ideas on weight loss, it would be most appreciated!

In the meantime, tho, I would like to begin with this thought. Today Russ and I took a “day trip” to Montgomery, which is about 100 miles away. It’s a beautiful ride, through green hills, lots of trees, some small towns. We didn’t really do much there except go to the Mall. HAHA! We drove one hundred miles to go to a mall. This was really a time when the journey was much more significant than the destination.

Well, expect for one thing. There is, in fact, in this mall in Montgomery, a Hot Topic store!!! There is not a Hot Topic in Tuscaloosa, and I have missed being able to go in there. So I went in, and spent about an hour looking around (Russ is so patient with me!) and I actually ended up getting something for both Mary and Joey. So kids, get ready! I won’t tell you what I got you, but I think you will like your gifts.

Anyway, this was something a little different, and it was fun. Russ is such a good traveler. We spent a lot of our time LISTENING to the first two episodes of Buffy, which he has on disc. It was actually a lot more rewarding than I originally thought it would be. Well, probably because we are both totally familiar with the episodes, we could already SEE the action in our minds. The revelation was that we found ourselves hearing things in this episode we had never before been aware of. Funny voice inflections, sound effects, the music, etc. What an eye-opener! (Pun intended).

Okay, enough for now. Hope to come back here soon.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT PURSES

Posted on June 20, 2007 by thathobbitlady

For some time now I have been laboring under the supposition that the most desirable quality in a purse/bag/pocketbook/etc., was that it should be small and light. I guess this has something to do with my addiction to de-junking and simplification. Less is more, is it not?

Well, usually….but yesterday, I had an epiphany when it comes to purses. Less is not always more! You see, I have been moving into smaller and smaller purses, but as I have done so, there are so many useful things I’ve had to leave behind.

Case in point: I am always on the lookout for the perfect daybook, something into which I can put all the information I need to have at hand at any given moment. Calendar, address book, to-do lists, etc. I have such a book, and it even contains a front pocket in which to keep stamps, envelopes and stickers, for any impromptu correspondence. But I had decided that I could not actually carry this around in my purse, because it was too bulky and too heavy, and thus I have been leaving it behind, and very often feeling completely at a loss.

Likewise, I tend to be quite an avid coupon clipper/user. But the smaller purse I have been using will not accommodate my coupon envelope, and so whenever I go into a store or a restaurant, I am always exclaiming, “Oh! I have a coupon for that! Only, I don’t have it with me.” Well, what good is that?

Yes, it would be ideal not to have to lug around all this junk on a constant basis. But it suddenly occurred to me that this “junk” is what makes my life not only efficient, but also interesting. It is useful to have at hand, in order to be ready at a moment’s notice for whatever might capture my fancy. Oh! Look at that! Wouldn’t that make a great photograph? Well, pull out the camera. Oops. No camera. My purse is too small, so I don’t take it with me.

Hmmm….here I am, waiting in line, I’ve got ten minutes to kill. Gee, I sure do wish I had my book with me. I could sneak in a little reading to pass the time. But alas…

I think you get the idea. While making my purse smaller, my life has also been getting smaller. And I don’t feel good about that. So, just now, I have moved back into a larger purse. And already I feel an increased sense of purpose, freedom and flexibility. Like a Boy Scout, I am prepared for anything! Well, almost anything. Should Monty Hall offer a crisp $100 bill to anyone who can produce a boiled egg, I don’t think I’ll find one in my purse (well, anyway…I hope not!) Still, all in all, this feels a lot more comfortable.

Oh! And one more thing! Part of the thinking behind the smaller purse is that it is better for your back, not to be carrying so much weight on one shoulder. I have to agree with that. I hate over the shoulder purses. Instead, I have found that the very best purses are those that are constructed along the lines of a knapsack, with straps that you can fling over both your shoulders. Not only do you evenly distribute the weight across your body, but it also leaves both hands free for other activities, whether that be picking up a crying child, carrying a bag of takeout food and a soda, or simply trying to open the car door while talking on your cell phone.

Bottom line: in life, there will be stuff. It’s unavoidable. Figure out which stuff is valuable to you, and have it on hand.

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ONE MILLIONS DOLLARS…

Posted on June 9, 2007 by thathobbitlady

I know it’s been a long, long time since I have written here, but perhaps I am not yet ready to hang up thathobbitlady. I would like to see if I can start to be more active here again, to keep up with what is going on in my life.

But before I do that, I’m going to start with a “What if…?” question that Mary posed in her LJ. It’s the age-old question: “What would you do if you had a million dollars?”

Funny she should ask, because I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately (especially every time I check the Florida Lottery website). Anyway, if it’s only one million dollars, that IS a limitation. It’s not REALLY a whole lot of money. I mean of course it IS, if you use it wisely, but not if you use it recklessly. So here’s how I would use it (wisely):

First, I would give at least 10% to charity. I don’t know exactly which charity. I would pray about it, and wherever God led me to put the money at that time, that’s where it would go. Actually, I’ve always thought it would be nice to have a fund of money available, so that whenever I saw something that tugged at my heartstrings, some worthy cause to which I wanted to contribute, it would be easy work to make a significant difference in somebody’s life.

Next, I would buy me and Russ a nice house, nothing fancy, nothing more elaborate than we are planning to buy anyway. The only advantage now is that we would be able to buy it free and clear, no mortgage.

Then, I would also buy a nice little two bedroom condo in Tuscaloosa, relatively near the college, so that if Mary or Joey decided they wanted to go to school here, they would have a place to stay (rent-free!) Also, if either of them wanted to go to school here, whatever scholarships did not cover, I would pay. Basically, I would do anything I could to persuade them to come to school here! I think it’s a good school, and they would enjoy their time in Tuscaloosa.

And if neither of them wanted to come to school in Tuscaloosa, that little condo would become the “guest house,” so that anyone who wanted to come visit me here in Alabama would have a nice, private place to stay while they are here. Y’all c’mon down! (or “up,” as the case may be.)

Now, with the rest of the money, I would pretty much invest it so that I could live off the the dividends. I would not want to HAVE to work, if at all possible. Well, maybe a fun little part-time job, just to stay busy. I would want to spend most of my time enjoying my house, enjoying my family, enjoying my town.

And writing novels. I would have a personal office set up in my new house, where I could go every day for several hours to write. And should I publish any novels and make money from that, I would use that money to rent myself a little office somewhere in the middle of downtown, hopefully on an upper floor with a great view, where I could go every day to write more novels. And every day at lunchtime I would come down, walk around the city streets, and find a nice restaurant where I could go have a delicious and healthy salad.

So basically, when it comes right down to it, I would use that million dollars to set myself up with financial security and freedom, better access to my family, opportunities to exercise my creativity, and a really healthy and delicious salad.

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HOMESICKNESS

Posted on February 28, 2007 by thathobbitlady

It’s been almost two months now since I got to Northport, and in that time I have not yet really gotten homesick. There have been a few isolated incidents, but no overwhelming feelings. I had another incident today. So I thought this would be a good time to review what is making me homesick.

The first time I felt homesick was early on. One day when I first got here, I walked into the local Wal Mart, that is set up exactly like the Wal Mart in Margate, and I suddenly realized that no matter how much I searched the candy aisles, I would not find my sister there.

Then, some time later, I was talking to my mom one day, and she told me that next Saturday she and Terry were going to visit Aunt Claire. Sigh. Homesickness. I wished I could be going with them.

One day, shortly after I started my new job, as I was driving into work I was musing on how much more sleep I was now able to get in the morning. Here, I am leaving the house at 7:30, whereas in South Florida, I sometimes had to leave the house as early as 6am, on the days when I would drive Joey into school. I began to miss….Joey. And those days. It was not a true “homesickness,” but rather “time-sickness,” missing an earlier stage in my life.

Likewise, whenever I see a tall, lanky boy about Joey’s age, I think of him and miss him. And whenever I drive by a bookstore, I miss Mary, and the times we would sit for hours in Border’s or Atlanta Bread, snacking and typing away at our computers on our NaNo’s and other fiction.

Now, today, here is what happened. In my office, there has been a non-functioning printer sitting beside my desk. I got permission to move it out and store it in a back room. As I began to prepare it for the move, I removed an extending tray, and suddenly realized that this printer is a HP Laserjet N5, the VERY SAME printer which I had for years in my office back at my job in Coconut Creek. So I looked at this printer, and for the first time, I missed my old job.

So, that’s about it. I wonder if these incidents of homesickness are going to get more frequent and pronounced as time goes on, or less? I’ve been so very busy these past seven or eight weeks, I haven’t had time to get homesick! But now as things are beginning to calm down, as I settle into my new routine, I wonder how much I’ll miss the old routine.

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NEW JOB

Posted on February 24, 2007 by thathobbitlady

More new stuff! I got a job.

As I had hoped, I am working at the University of Alabama. Actually, I am working in an office at the Law School, which probably sounds a lot more impressive than it really is. The important thing is that after three days of work, I think I am going to like it. My co-workers are all great, and the scope of work should keep me busy, once I get going with it.

Right now it’s more a case of not knowing what I don’t know. Soon I will know what I don’t know, and then I will learn what I don’t know, and then I will know it. I don’t know if that exactly makes sense, but what I am basically saying is that it always takes a little while to get used to a new job, and after only three days, I can already begin to feel that happening, so I’m sure I’m on the right track.

Now, here is the amazing thing to me. As I said, my goal, when I first fashioned this idea in my head to leave South Florida, was to go live in a college town and work on the college campus. Meeting Russ and finding out that he lived only a few miles away from a college campus—well, how cool is that? I mean, he could have lived in Alaska, out in the middle of nowhere. But no, he happens to live about three miles from a state university campus. First step…no problem.

So, yes, college town. And then I get here, and start applying for jobs at the University, and within 30 days of filing my application on-line…BAM! I’m going into work. I just think this is so cool. I really feel that on occasion God GIVES us certain dreams because that is what He wants to do in our lives, and so He makes us WANT IT FIRST, so that when He gives it to us, we are that much more pleased with the end results. Does that makes sense?

Anyway, just spent a little time in a bookstore with Russ, reading through a writers’ magazine. Really starting to get the urge again to write. All the pieces are coming back into place. Life is good. Now if only I could stop eating all this leftover Valentine’s candy!

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