Thursday 13 #2

I've been looking forward to this post since last week.

1. One month from today I'll be 44 1/2. We celebrate half-birthdays at our house, nothing fancy and no presents--but we note the day.
2. One month from yesterday, Emerson will be 11 1/2. He made a comment this past year that our next double-number birthdays will be when he's 22 and I'm...he paused to count and I jumped in...older! We both wish the next 11 years would take their time--no rush. [Self- photo of Emerson through his plasma globe.]

3. We are having beautiful snow flurries. On Monday we had our first Snow, rather, Ice Day.

4. Jack, our oldest Border Collie, is beginning to heal. He had disappeared, then reappeared injured from a fight with who-knows-what. A trip to the Vet occurred on Ice Day.

5. Here's a picture of my driveway this morning from my upstairs office window. It melted some yesterday, but the driveway is still so icy that my husband barely got the van up the hill last night on the second attempt. He was just several feet from the top when the van began to slide. I yelled for Spencer to run up the hill to help push and just as Spencer had made it there, Scott was able to get the van to the top--with wheels furiously spinning. This driveway/hill/luge run is always a source for two or three heart-pounding experiences every winter.

6. Last weekend we watched the Saints and the Patriots lose, despite how vigorously we rooted for them. I was decked out in the Pat's red and blue, complete with red metallic beads and red & white dangly 70's hoop earrings dug out of an old jewelry box. I forgot I had them--a relic from another life. Now that they've been found, I'll have to wear them once in a while. Sorry, no picture of me in my supportive spouse role.

7. Scott made the best guacamole for the football games, we wonder how much avocados will cost in a few weeks. Because of the freeze in California, I bought no less than 24# of oranges this week. I was hoping they'd last but since we have a large supply, everyone is eating extra and they are going quicker than expected. We use two oranges in our fruit smoothie for breakfast.

8. Our smoothie recipe: One banana, one apple, two oranges, sm. handful of frozen fruit (we use our own blueberries), 2 scoops of whey protein powder, 8 oz. of liquid (2 oz pure cranberry juice and 6 oz. water), 2 T of org. flax oil and/or 2 T ground gold flax seed. Blend well, serves two. Delicious and nutritious!

9. And the winner is...the 79th Academy Awards will be presented a month from today on February 25th. My husband and I love to watch good movies; back in the year we dated (okay, it was only four months), in the year we lived together (while engaged) and in the year we were married and immediately pregnant, we saw every movie nominated for Best Picture in a theatre. Many years later we think we've done well if we've seen one nominated movie in a theatre. We didn't do so hot this year, we've seen one nominated movie and we rented it last week. Little Miss Sunshine was poignant in moments and laugh out loud funny. This is my favorite movie for actors, story, cinema photography and music. What's yours?

10. I went to Target this past week after taking our client to his appointment. I love Target; having spent my high school and college years in Minnesota where Target originated, I had my first Target card at age 18. This year I've vowed to not put a dime on the card, I will buy only what we need and write a check. I did this for the second time this year on Tuesday.

11. That brings me to a word that makes most people cringe: budget. I am a self-professed Budget Queen. A former mortgage broker, I have drawn countless budgets for others as well as myself. 2007 is the year of the Strict Budget at my house. We are on a mission to pay off our consumer debt accumulated from a home addition (04) and three not-so-good business years (04-06) which followed three great years. Almost through the first month and making progress. One month closer to being debt-free (not including mortgage loans). Are you on a budget? Working to be debt-free?

12. For a few years, I've collected miniature chairs, or as my family calls them, "Little People Chairs." They make me smile. My husband says we have more chairs for little people than we do for regular people. This red one sits on the windowsill in my office.

13. My husband just called, we were talking about what to have for dinner. We are on the Fat Flush Plan until Super Bowl Sunday, it's a nutritional lifestyle more than it is a diet. My husband lost 50# during the first half of 2005 on this plan and has kept most of it off. When his jeans get tight or we've been particularly decadent, we get back on the plan for a week or two.

My last Thursday 13 post. The Thursday 13 site.