Weather Man Tells Truth

He was telling the truth. I know this because at 730am I shoveled the driveway, an inch and a half of light fluffy snow. And, even at 20* outside temperature I didn't feel a bit chilled as I enjoyed the peace that transcended through the neighborhood at that hour on this Saturday.

Where Have You Been?

Where have I been?...I know you are wondering.

Maybe I have been here all along but you didn't notice me because
A) I have lost nearly ten pounds
B) colored my hair Nice and Easy 119 (a brown tone)
C)I use invisible ink to blog
D) all of the above

Maybe you are wondering what triggered my sudden blogging this Friday night after the long hiatus
A) a mucho margarita at El Agave
B) a grande margarita at El Agave
C) a adjetivo margarita at El Agave
D) all of the above

Really friends, I think I have had writers block. Believing for myself that my life is so mundane that no one would really care to hear about...the people I have been people watching at the gym while on my quest to be skinny again. Like, man in shorts with a belt. Who in the world comes to the gym wearing pleated pin stripe shorts with a leather belt accessorized with a cell phone holder and some other electronic device holder? Can you really lift weights effectively dressed like that? No one except that creepy man, and when I say creepy I mean only CREEPY can work out dressed like that. One can just tell, no sense with female intuition that a dude in a gym wearing such an outfit barely exercising is bound to be a five o'clock news headline. Then there is tin foil woman. She wears this silver foil like suit to increase her sweating in order to expedite her weight loss. I have been missing her lately so she either is off her regular routine workout schedule or she sweated to death. There is barefoot man. He likes to hit the tread mill shoeless as if he is a Kenyan marathon Olympic hopeful. My all time favorite is the senior citizens--God love'm-- they hit the exercise bikes wearing blue jeans and wool plaid shirts. Not sure if they intended to chop wood and lost there way only ending up in a gym. There's the old woman who comes to work out in her sweat pants, turtle neck and monogrammed sweat shirt. I swear to you I am going to put my Red Cross CPR card to work when she drops from being over heated. My fave is the old dudes who somehow believe they are Jack Lalanne in there tight sweats and tank tops, tucked in. The tattoos flowering there forearms tell the tale of there veteran status.

Sunday I like to do Jesus and workout. Church first then to the gym. Actually this becomes a family affair, all us Avery's jazzed on Jesus pumping iron. I think people find it odd that I have a full face of make-up on at 930am, but I find it odder to see a woman wearing washed out black denim--accessorized with my favorite, a belt-- lifting weights before hitting the elliptical.

So you have been wondering where I have been and what brought me back to the blogosphere? The answers to the questions are: D) all of the above

In the mean time, till I blog again, I think I will watch out the window to see if the weather man is telling the truth. Will snow really fall from the sky here in Saint Louis.

Chore: Untrimming, Say it isn't so

Before we could even get around to undecking the halls there was something we had all been waiting to do...or should I say see.

Up in the Air.

Debbie, my sister-in-law, and Dan, her hubby were in the movie Up in the Air. It was one of King Ralph's official responsibilities to watch over the interviewing process of all the extras for this film--that was partially filmed here in St. Louis--so he got them an in. We had tried to see the movie on our annual family Christmas movie outing but it was sold out all day and night on the 26th. We ended up splitting our group that day-- half saw Avatar half saw Sherlock Holmes. Finally last night we all went and saw Up in the Air. For a millisecond we saw Dan, twice, blurred, on the big screen in the Omaha airport scene. No Debbie. Thanks to Dan's breif moment on the big screen when he gets his star on the Walk of Fame he can have both the radio and the movie emblem on his star. As for the movie...loved it. That George Clooney is so easy on the eyes. The ending was not what I had expected and I liked that for a change. We continued the days fun with food, spirited beverages and games. Seriously, we should have played Tripoly for money instead of just using the chips. I would have owned Vegas.

Today King Ralph, D and I went to church for a most beautiful Epiphany service. While M could not be roosted from her bed and Princess A laid in bed with what we thought was yet another case of strep throat, which it isn't so we are waiting for the cultures to come back and cross our fingers it isn't mono again. (We should have gone to some place other than Walgreens for the test.)

Then it was time to undeck the halls. I usually wait to the day of Epiphany but who wants to mess with the disassembling of all those decorations after a day at work? Not me! So I undecked today; the fireplace mantel--no more garnish of pine garland, holly springs, pine cones and gold swirlies. No more stockings embellishing the fireplace accessories. No more lighted pine garland capping the crown molding of the kitchen cabinets. Good-bye pine garland swirling on the post downstairs. Toot-a-loo gold glittery snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Gone are the Christmas trees adorned with ornaments that trigger warm and fond memories. So long Santa figurines.

The two weeks of no school and work has been sweet. We feasted on fabulous foods. Watched enough Redboxes to support Hollywood. I even talked the whole darn family into playing non-stop rounds of Racko. (I bet King Ralph wishes he wouldn't have got me the game for Christmas now.) Relaxing, chillaxing, vegging...those days and late nights must end now.

Oh Christmas parting ways is such sweet sorrow...but we will meet again...sooner than we think.