There is still ice and snow here. Most of the roads are open and the schools are back in session. In North Alabama, schools are out until Tuesday. I'm supposed to go to my mother's house tomorrow evening. Hopefully, I can get there. Tomorrow is the first day this week that the temperatures are supposed to be above freezing. Hopefully the ice and snow will melt enough for me to get there. She told me that she wants to go to a restaurant to eat dinner. She said that she has lived on grilled cheese sandwiches and soup all week.

I recorded and watched Downton Abbey that was on Masterpiece Theatre Sunday night. It was so good. I can't wait to watch this Sunday's episode. I like programs like that, but sometimes I have trouble getting into it at first. I was able to follow along from the very beginning. If you missed it, you can still catch it on pbs.org.

I hope everyone has a good Friday.

I'm sure that you probably saw on the news about our winter storm. I went over to BFF MAB's house to stay during the storm. Every time that we have an ice storm, my neighborhood loses power. About five minutes before I got to MAB's house, it started snowing, so I thought. When I got out of the car, I realized that it was not snow, but ice. We could hear the ice hitting the house all night long. We woke up to ice everywhere. Queenie called me and told me that we didn't have to go to work at our regular time, but that they will re-evaluate at 11:00. At 11:00, they decided to stay closed. We did not have to report to work until 10:00 this morning. I'm back at home tonight. Fortunately, we never lost power. On my way home from work this afternoon, I noticed a lot of wet spots on the roads. With temperatures around 20 tonight, I'm sure the wet spots will become ice spots. My mother got about a foot of snow. The temperatures are not supposed to reach above freezing until Friday. My sister is a school teacher and does not have to go back to school until Friday.

While at MAB's house, we watched movies. We watched Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and Now Voyager. We were able to catch up reading and rest. Monday night, we watched the Auburn-Oregon football game. I guess I don't have to tell you how that turned out. (WAR EAGLE!!)

Tonight, I have been catching up on the shows that I recorded while I was away. I watch Desperate Housewives, Greek and Hawaii Five-0, but MAB doesn't.

I hope everyone has a good Wednesday.

WAR EAGLE!!!

Like everyone else, I am outraged at the attack in Arizona. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I heard an interview with the nine year old's mother. I almost lost it. It was so sad. I don't understand how someone can have so much anger to kill innocent people. My hat is off to the men who were able to tackle the shooter so that he was unable to shoot more people.

Right now, I am doing a few chores. The weatherman is calling for 3-7 inches of snow and 1-2 inches of ice. The snow is not so bad, it is the ice. I have to go across two mountains and numerous bridges to get to work. Plus, there is the possibility of power outages. I think I am going to go over to stay with BFF MAB. She had underground utilities, gas fireplace and gas stove. Even if we lose power, we can stay a little warm and we can cook.

I hope everyone has a good Sunday.

I am so glad that it is Friday. I was at work by myself today. My coworker went home sick. There's a nasty virus going around and I don't want it. One of my distant cousins got a virus and then all of his organs shut down. He passed away on Wednesday. He was only 47 and a super nice guy. Every time I think about it, I say a little prayer for his family.


Today I was sitting at my desk reading something on the computer. I heard the elevator stop and the doors open. I looked up and in walked my two former bosses. I was so excited to see them. I was touched that they stopped by to see me. They were visiting someone in the building and stopped by on their way out. I would love to go work for one of them, but I know it is not meant to be at this time. Maybe things will work out in the future.


After work, I went out to the new outlets right outside of town. I wanted to check out Talbot's, Brooks Brothers, Cosmetic Company and RL/Polo. I didn't make it to RL/Polo. At Talbot's, I bought a black watch plaid 3/4 sleeve blouse. I can't wait to be able to wear it with my Austin Reed black skirt. I don't know whether to wear pearls or a gold necklace. I also bought a light gray turtleneck. Can't go wrong with that. Brooks Brothers looked picked over. I didn't see anything that struck my fancy. Same for Cosmetic Company.


After I left the outlets, I went to The Fresh Market to get some Gouda cheese. The lady in the deli was nice enough to slice it for me. I then went to Publix. I think everyone in town was in Publix. The weatherman has announced that we will be getting snow and ice beginning Sunday evening. That means that everyone heads to the store to get milk and bread. I've often wondered, who drinks that much milk and eats that much bread? That's the last thing that I want when I'm snowed in. I always buy the artisan breads. All that was left was a loaf of cranberry walnut. I snatched it. The man in the bakery was wrapping Italian bread and rye bread. I was lucky to get a loaf of Italian bread. There was only one jar of creamy peanut butter left on the shelf. I guess everyone had the same idea.


When I got home, I ate and then did a few chores. I have more to do tomorrow. I want to get done early so that I can go to lunch with BFF MAB. I also want to go by Publix to pick up some things that I forgot to get or that my Publix was out of. Maybe it won't be as crowded. You never know.


I hope everyone has a great Saturday.

I've been having trouble with my "goals" for 2011. I don't make resolutions, I make goals. I decided today that I am going to take it one month at a time. I'm going to make goals for that month. I may continue certain goals from month to month. I think that will be a good thing for me to do.

This month, I am working on my weight. I'm going to eat healthy and exercise. I'm also going to play with some of the programs on my computer and experiment. You never know, I may be able to be more organized and save money.

I have been keeping up with dressing better. I've been wearing my nice skirts and nice sweaters. I am going to reserve Fridays for casual wear.

I hope everyone has a good Thursday.

I don't know about you, but I am glad that the holidays are over. Even though I enjoyed the holidays, it's time to get back to a normal lifestyle. I usually don't make resolutions. I have goals. One of my goals for the year are to get back to my normal weight. My foot is probably about 90% normal now. I'm hoping to start an exercise program in the next couple of weeks. Today, I started back on my healthy eating program. Believe it or not, it was easy. My main goal is to return to "ME". I feel like since I broke my foot 14 months ago that I have just let myself go.

Friday night when I got to my mother's house, she was finishing up a great meal. She served pork chops, mashed potatoes, pinto beans, crowder peas, slaw, cornbread and rolls. My sister, brother-in-law and their two children joined us. After they left, it started pouring down rain and rained until about 10:00 am New Years Day. Normally Bo wakes us up at 6:30 for his morning walk. He never woke us up. We slept in until 7:30. My mother got dressed to take him outside and he wouldn't go out. She pulled on his leash and he just stayed put. She finally took him out the front door where there is more of an eave and he did his thing out there. He does not like to get wet. We watched the Tournament of Roses Parade. After the parade, my mother watched the Capital One Bowl while I read. Saturday night, we watched the Hot in Cleveland marathon on TVLand. We laughed out loud for 3 hours.

Today was a regular day at work. After work, I came home and made a big pot of vegetable soup. I haven't eaten vegetable soup in a few weeks. It tasted so good.

I forgot that GREEK was starting a new season tonight. I missed the first 15 minutes. I think it will be easy to catch up. After it goes off, I will watch Hawaii Five-O. I recorded Masterpiece Theatre last night, but I am afraid to watch it. A co-worker told me it was sad. I don't do sad.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday. Good luck with the resolutions.