Monday, December 10, 2007

Bunch o' random thoughts...

Yesterday, December 9th, it was about 72 degrees when I woke up in the morning. By early afternoon, the mercury was climbing well into the 80’s. And all I could think was, “ah, I can practically feel the icy whoosh of Arctic air, heralding the arrival of Christmas day… dashing through the snow, indeed.” Okay, so I’ve been a bit cynical about the warm weather lately. (And I have stubbornly refused to wear short-sleeved shirts, even when the weather calls for them. But I don’t care. I want to wear some of my long-sleeved shirts once in a while. I like the change of pace…) Anyway, later in the afternoon, a cold front suddenly came through, dropping the temperature from 80-something to 60-something in the span of two hours. By the time we went out for dinner in the evening, the temperature was swiftly tumbling through the 50’s, making me realize the folly of walking out my door with nothing but a light cardigan sweater to ward off the chill. I think it eventually settled in around 40 last night, and this morning it’s a lovely, December-appropriate 45. But this is Texas, so who knows how long it’ll last… I must appreciate the chilly weather while I have the chance…

So I met up with my friend Cindy on Saturday at Barnes and Noble. We were talking about how people tend to gain weight around the holidays – in fact, I’d just heard somewhere that the average person gains seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. (Nope. Not gonna happen this year. Not if I have anything to say about it.) Needless to say, we both approached the bookstore Starbucks with caution – just a small mocha for Cindy, and a medium cappuccino for me (and quite a “dry” cappuccino, at that. Meaning it was about two thirds foam and one third coffee…). At one point during our conversation, Cindy mentioned how she’s realized how difficult it is to eat even the smallest amount of chocolate every day and NOT gain weight. And I totally understood – “I don’t even keep that stuff in the house,” I said. And that’s when we realized that we’re both in need of a twelve-step program. Chocoholics Anonymous. The way we talk about it, you’d think that the very presence of our beloved processed cocoa beans incites mindless binges… mindless binges which result in passing out on the floor, chocolate smeared on hands and happy faces… Darn it – why don’t I have any chocolate in the house right now??

So mom and dad are now officially owners of a nice new house. They started moving stuff into it a couple days ago – I think it’s going to be really nice once they’re all settled in. Provided the cats don’t destroy it. Up until now, Kiko and Ozzie have been sequestered from Dusty, and vice versa. Ozzie gets along with everyone, but Kiko doesn’t seem to get along with anyone but Ozzie. But in the NEW house, mom is intending to just throw all the cats in at once and hope for the best. Perhaps the shock of a sudden new location will make Kiko forget about her animosity towards Dusty, and the two will form some sort of alliance – like a “where the heck are we?” alliance. Ozzie, of course, won’t really care…

We went out to eat last night at one of the final new restaurants to open its doors in the Domain shopping center. It’s called North – mostly Italian food. And after our dinner last night, I think it’s safe to say we’ll be back again. The food was soooooooo good. I had a pasta dish with wild mushrooms, spinach, pine nuts, and a parmesan cream sauce (did I mention that I refuse to gain weight over the holidays this year??). And of course we had to try dessert – Rick and dad both ordered gelato, which the waiter said would be two scoops of ice cream. It ended up being at least three… possibly four… it was enough ice cream for everyone to share. I ordered a chocolate hazelnut cake, which was very good, but probably left in the oven just a tad too long. It would’ve been perfect had it been taken out a couple minutes sooner. But that was a minor issue, and it certainly isn’t going to prevent me from going back to North some time soon and once again ordering food that will NOT make me gain weight…

All this talk of food is making me hungry... time for lunch…

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