National Strawberry Ice Cream Day

This fact has nothing to do with anything but I needed a title.   So there.

TinkerSon2 started a new job yesterday.   He has had a perfectly good job for the past 5 years, but wasn't making any money.    I refrained from point out that years ago I suggest being a mechanic wasn't the route to take, but you can't tell your kids anythihng, you can only support and love them.   Both of which we did.  He is still a mechanic, but now he will be traveling from job to job, taking the route from a guy who is retiring as soon as TS2 is up to speed and gets to meet some of the clients.    The company gives each mechanic their own truck and gas card.    You don't get tools however until you pass the 30 day mark.    So they put him in a brand spankin new truck yesterday, with just 98 miles on it.   On the way home, he realized there is no safety inspection sticker on the window.   oops.   Next week they put him up in a hotel for 3 days while he gets some specialized training.   Yesterday he was at the main headquarters for some hands on "lets see what the kid knows" kind of training.   He said that the technicians told him a sledge hammer and a piece of long pipe will be his friends in this job.     If I didn't understand his job, I'd think he was suppose to be ready to rumble every day.

TinkerSon1 had his wisdom teeth finally pulled yesterday.    He has put this appointment off three times in the past two months.   But it HAD to be done by the end of next week so he finally sucked it up and went to his appointment.    His roommate called early afternoon to say the job was done, boy was fine, sleeping it off.   Silly thing, we all told him it wouldn't be bad because all those teeth were showing, and really were unnecessary and just needed out.    His brother told him it only took 10 minutes (because that is how long it took for his, but then he had two done at a time, not all 4)   His sister the hygenist said it is easy and you'll be fine.    I even offered to come stay with him for a few days, and I think if he wasn't worried about the backlash from the guys for having "mommy come" that he would have taken me up on that offer.  

TinkerDaughter moved home temporarily last night.   She has two roommates.   One just came down with what looks like the flu.   We are going with since the guy is rarely there, and the last time she actually saw him was last Tuesday, that she won't get it - I'm even more hopeful that she isn't carrying those germs here.    Every year, the news says worst flu season ever!    Do they forget that they said that the year before?   

I have stars on my chart.    Not a lot, because of course I didn't start this new reward system until last week, and I've tried to add a new task every week, so I'm up to two.  ha!    But this is how you start new habits and my first week I focused on remembering to take my vitamins every day.  

Changing Habits

I’m not going to go on a diet this year.   At.  All.  I am, however, going to be sure that I eat better and exercise more.    Those are easy.    I have already gotten past the “must eat chocolate” phase of life.   Especially in the afternoon.    I finally realized that my candy in the afternoon want was merely a habit and half the time, I wasn’t even hungry.    My headbrain just said “it’s 2:00, go get candy”.     I think that was mostly a work habit because the office was closed for almost two weeks and the entire time I was home, with a dish of chocolate in the dining room I  rarely  indulged .

Good Thing #1  -  beat candy habit!  

This by no means is any statement that I’ve given up candy and chocolate, it just means that I will no longer mindlessly eat it.     A few years ago I broke the ice cream after dinner habit.   Hmmm, I seem to have survived, it helped keep the weight down and now when I have ice cream I truly enjoy it.

If Not Now Then When?

That was the question posed to me this afternoon by TinkerHusband about my itunes and ipod.   I have a love/hate relationship with that little piece of equipment.   Last spring, when the taxes were done but not yet printed out, my computer died.    Not an "oh, it has a problem so lets do a backup and fix it now" dead but a "You ain't getting diddly squat off me baby" dead.

April 10th.    Got the taxes re-done and turned in on time, then got a new computer.    I know how to do what I know how to do on a computer.    And if I can get someone else to set things up for me, then I will because I always forget the steps and get frustrated and just walk away.    I have written instructions on how to use Flicker.   When they changed it, I about cried trying to re-write my instructions.    I never got itunes put back on the computer.  My ipod wasn't up to date and the one time I sat down to get it done, the computer and itunes weren't speaking.   

Today after 55 minutes, I have itunes back on my computer and my ipod is up to date.    Yay Me!
No, I don't have an ipad, I don't use my phone for music, although TinkerSon2 says that I have pandora on it and would like it if I would only give it a try.    It is on the "list".

Next is my goals for the month chart.    I can probably get that done by tomorrow night, and I've already got gold stars on the shopping list.

Gold Stars beat technology any day of the week

National Oatmeal Month

Yummy.

For most.  M boss always calls it gruel and makes a face.     Usually I have a cup of oatmeal every morning at work, I add flax meal and some dried cherries or cranberries to it.    Today I added 1/2 an apple and cinnamon instead.   

"They" say you should start every day off with a good breakfast.   "They" also say that it is easier to control your weight if you have the same things to eat.    In that light, I have been having oatmeal for breakfast Monday - Friday for the past 4 months.     Time to ramp it up a bit.    I promised my doctor I'd schedule a physical next month since it has been 4 years, and I want to be sure that all my stats are in excellent shape.

I know one thing for sure, months will turn into years and before I know it, five years will have gone by and I don’t want to look back and ask what happened.

Before I turned 50 I made plans.   I got my first physical since my last pregnancy (and it’s bad enough that I’m admitting I’m over 50, let’s not discuss how long ago it was).    I knew that I was going to be healthy and that I would eat right, exercise.    Nope.  Well the physical was okay, there were some things to watch but no suggestions to do better and I haven’t done much on my own.

I  know that I want to be the 85 year old grandma who can join the Peace Corps and go  to China, or South America or anywhere, and volunteer my time and skill for a year if I want.   My age would not be a detriment.   I want to be the fun grandma who gets down on the floor and plays with the kids.  

 I’ve now thought about the past few years that I’ve “piddled away” and that is going to change.    I have plans.   I have goals.
 If  I don't do it now, then when?  

Accomplishment

Happy New Year to All!    The first day of the new year went very well.   I did a little bit of a few things, and not a lot of others.   I wonder if it is true that what you do on the first day of the new year is what you will continue to do throughout the year.   I'll have to try and remember to go back to this list and check it out in a few months.

TinkerSon arrived about midnight he was out with friends and not having a good time, so wisely called his dad to come get him.    I like that my kids know that whenthey are out and shouldn't drive, they feel free to call home for a ride.   Of course, we make them come to OUR home because if you're hauling my ass out of bed in the middle of the night, you don't get to sleep in your own bed, you can sleep in your own old room/guest/storage room.    Or the sofa.  Or once, the bathroom floor.  And I did toss a few towels in the door for you.   I was up early, got the kitchen straightened, knitted, and then we started cleaning the basement.    In less than two hours we had three bags at the curb for trash day, we had taken three loads of items to my truck - they will be dropped off at goodwill this morning, and had consolidated and otherwise straightened the area.   I have a plan for the room, I can't believe how happy I was to walk into the room last night, see what still needed to be done and smiled anyway because it isn't a deep pit of junk anymore.    

Of course, TinkerSon is bringing home his giant tool box in a week to store it, but there you go.    The flip side of that is that he is doing so because he starts a new job in two weeks.    A job with enough hours in the week that he will actually make money.  He won't know how to behave.   He has to go to the company headquarters for three weeks of training.    Their offices are about 60 miles from home.   It is such a nice company that they are having someone pick him up on his first day of work, take him to the company office and then they are giving him a company car to commute in for those three weeks of training.   WIth a company gas card.   Wow.    He will get a permanent company car when they cut him loose so he was prepared for that.   Now he is extra excited that he won't be driving his gas guzzler truck for three weeks. 

Today is my last day off from work.  I have several things planned, nothing earth shattering, but minor stuff, like visiting goodwill.  I'll also grab some paint samples because I've got a room or two to paint in the next 30 days hahahahahaha.    

Happy 2013!

Today I give up all thoughts of coulda/shoulda/woulda items I’ve been lugging around.    Can’t go back and fix what I didn’t get done, or did that I should not have done.    Revisiting those items does no good and is counterproductive to the  feel good feeling I am promoting  in 2013. 

I joined a new Ravelry group this week.   It isn't as if I'm not a member of enough groups already.    The goal is to make a christmas give a month for the year.   I can totally do that.    Maybe.    We shall see.    I started January's project and will post when I'm done.   

Fingers crossed!