Scenes of Snow

I think the whole country has had some snow, ice, or just a plain old blizzard in the last week.  Right now, the temperature here is climbing towards 40, and we have major fog and rain to make everything super messy.  Friday night, we're expecting temperatures to plunge to the teens, which means all the water sitting around will turn to ice, making for a delightful New Year's Eve.  Bud and I will probably stay home and safe with a movie, some champagne, and a great meal to end the year.  


Earlier this week, it was stunningly beautiful around town, so I took some photos of the trees.  They were amazing, and the steady snow on Christmas Eve was beautiful, even if it did create some extra shoveling!

Christmas Eve at 8 AM

One More Post For The Year

Image courtesy of:  http://www.averyl.com/attic"

Folks, I'm taking a well needed rest for a few days, so I can concentrate all my powers on baking cookies, sipping limoncello, and working my last two days before Christmas!

Thanks to everyone for being so welcoming in the blogging world; thanks to all of my "Caboobles", who follow, comment, and always have such entertaining blogs themselves.  You're all such dears, and I am so happy to have met you this year!  And yes, I have decided my followers are Caboobles.  See, I said boob on my blog.  He he.  

I'll be back next week, after surviving another retail Christmas and looking forward to a whole new year full of new beginnings.  I'm pretty sure I'll win the lottery in 2011, so that will probably keep me busy for a bit.  

Oh, and also, I'll miraculously drop 20 pounds, learn to cook gourmet meals,  and run a 9 minute mile.  All in the first few months of 2011.  Yep, I can do that.  And I haven't forgotten my Pom-Pom friends, either.  

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Hugs and kisses to all!

Sue

Three Days Left-Tick Tock Tick Tock

Three days left.  Three more days of "I can help the next customer!" shouted at the top of my lungs.  Three more days of people standing in line, muttering "Oh my God!  This line is so long!" and then being amazed at how fast said line moves.  People see 6 registers, and one line, and freak out.  What they don't realize is that it actually moves much faster than cruising the lanes in Target, trying to guess which line will go faster.  I always lose on that one.  I get the person in front of me who has a price check, or five million items, or writes a check painfully  slow.  


I'm a fast cashier.  I don't mess around.  I smile, say "Hi, did you find everything okay?"  And then unleash the rapid register operator.  Rung up, bagged, and payment received quickly.  This is, of course, while other booksellers are asking me questions, the phone is ringing, and it's so loud I can't even hear the customer in front of me.  I'm in the Zone!  I wish I could capture that "Zone" when I'm running.  Crap, I would be the quickest runner around! 


I have to say, people haven't been too bad this year.  Coupons and extra sales in the store have brought out the happy in people, who are thrilled to save even more.  And for those people who suck all the information out of us and then decide to "look somewhere else", well, see ya.  There is no where else in Cedar Rapids.  We're the only bookstore in town that sells new books.  Sure, go to Target, and Walmart, and even Sams, and get your basic top ten books for a bit less.  But if you want someone to give you advice, talk about books, and show you stuff you've never even though about, come to our store.  It's what we do.  And we're good at it.


Saying that, I did notice a distinct shift in shoppers yesterday around 1 pm.  The atmosphere changed to one of dogged determination and "this isn't fun" anymore.  People have run out of steam, and are staggering around, grabbing what they can.  This is the fun part of Christmas, because there's no way we can order a book/DVD/CD for a customer and get it before Christmas.  No way.  So it cuts our stress dramatically.   But customers still try!  We are on the downward slope of the mountain, and only require sugar and coffee to keep going until 6pm on Christmas Eve. 


Well, I've put off getting ready for work as long as I can.  I think I'll stop and fortify myself with carbs before I go to work, and put on my game face.  


By the way, I made homemade limoncello.  Can I say just one shot of that perks you right up?  Then it puts you to sleep.  A good way to end the day.  Recipe to follow in another post.  I also made chocolate vodka, but I haven't tried it yet--I'm afraid it will kick my tushy.

Done Shopping

I decided today, after working and watching people go nuts, that I am done Christmas shopping.  No last minute gifts, no trying to pick up a little something somewhere.  I am done.  No more.  Nada.  Zippo.  Zilch.  I just cannot face the traffic, the people (who have been nice to me, so far--except for the dude who hung up on me cause he didn't like my offer to return his product for a refund), or the thoughts of trying to coherently make a decision on what else to buy.


Bud, bless his heart, continues to tell me all he wants is me for Christmas.  Well, that's not a gift I would give anyone, so I have bought him a few things.  I was going to try and pick up a few more, but I'm shutting it down!  What a relief to know I don't have to go to any stores anymore--except for groceries.  


Now, my big stressor is trying to actually deliver the gifts I've bought before Christmas to some family and friends.  I think probably Monday night will have to be my only chance.  I really can't just drive by, toss them out the window, and wish people a Merry Christmas.  That would look a bit odd, and with the snow on the ground, they'd soon be soggy.  Plus, we're getting more snow Sunday night, Monday, and maybe Tuesday, so I have to take that into consideration, too.  


So for tonight, I am safe and snug at home, doing laundry, sipping a glass of wine, and waiting for Bud so I can fall asleep in the middle of a movie.  My Christmas lights are on, and the pine scented candle is calming me down to an acceptable level of "OM".  


 And the ho-ho's I just snarfed down didn't hurt either.  

Empty calories that fill me with bliss

A Big Fat Duh!

Computers are a wonderful instrument to communicate, shop, stalk, and order stuff from online that you're too embarrassed to buy in a store.


My computer is also a potential instrument to showcase just how much I don't know what I'm doing with my blog.  Case in point:  I discovered I was following my own blog!  How did I do that?  And more importantly, how do I fix it?  Well, after much tooling around on my dashboard, and finding the help I needed, I am pleased to say I am down one more "follower"--that would be me.  Anyone else who has left my fledgling little blog--sorry we didn't hit it off.  No hard feelings-there will be more pretty pictures on my blog follower mosaic in the future.  (I remain optimistic people will find me in 2011!)  If not, I will keep blissfully blogging about my super exciting deluxe life that keeps even me on the edge of my seat!  :>}  Will she cook?  Will she run?  Will she read?  Hang on for a wild ride!  I really am tired, can you tell?


 I think I can safely say I need to get some sleep and possibly a manual for blogging purposes.  God knows what else I've done that I don't know about.  I'm pretty sure the Little Drummer Boy video I refer to in the previous post does not take you to a porn site--I did check it out before I posted it.  But just in case, put one hand over your face before you hit "play".  Proceed cautiously to look through your fingers until you see Will Farrell looking particularly odd in his bad wig and pancake makeup.  


Good night, all!

On My Christmas Song Hit List--But Made Oh So Much Better By Will Farrell!

For years I have been forced to listen to Bing Crosby and David Bowie sing "Little Drummer Boy" while I've been working.  There aren't many Christmas songs I loathe, but this is the top of my list.  I love other versions of this song, just not this one.   Now, Will Farrell has redone the 'classic' video of Bing and David with his Talladega cohort, John C. Reilly.  I find this one much more bearable, if only because Will makes a terrible David Bowie.


Hit this link and enjoy:  Little Drummer Boy  redux.  And then watch Elf.  Love that movie!


Sorry, I haven't figured out yet how to get a video actually on my blog.  More to learn in 2011!

Me And The Treadmill--I Remembered What I Forgot!

It was an earth-shattering moment today--I'm sure you felt the earth shift just a bit around 1:30 Central Time:  I went to the gym.  I had to confess to one of the personal trainers, (Wendy) that no, I hadn't been going early in the morning, I just hadn't been going at all.  Guilt times ten!

I've realized a few things from my visit to the gym today:

1.  I am pathetically out of shape.  Really bad.

2.  I can run again!  But, referring to the above statement, I can't run very far without wimping out.  I can't believe I ever trained and ran a marathon.  It seems like eons ago.  I have much work to do!

3.  The spinning classes, as explained by Wendy, are fun and not packed with people,  so I should go. 

4.  There's a mini-YMCA that opened near my house that has super cool new bikes that have screens so you can program a bike ride on paths around the world.  Sweet!  And the handles move, so you feel like you're really riding an actual bike.  I will be checking out this new mini-Y before everyone knows about it and it gets crowded.

5.  I inexplicably crave McDonald's after working out.  Have no clue why.  Just do.

6.  I don't enjoy running on a treadmill.  It's like parsley to me:  I think if I try it enough, I'll like it.  But no, I don't.  But I'll run on the treadmill through the winter months anyway.  However, no parsley, thank you.

7.  At home, the pumpkin bread I made had a huge hole in the middle, and wasn't baked all the way through. Now I know that adding a tablespoon of baking soda, instead of a teaspoon, will result in bread with no middle.  Into the trash after a taste--will try again later this week.  It tasted really good, just looked like someone put their fist in the middle of it.

So I feel good after hitting the gym, but my performance was sub-par.  Just getting down there, and putting on my work out clothes made me feel less sluggish and happier.  Will I get down to the gym before Christmas?  Who knows.  If I plan it, I will certainly not do it.  I will be one of those people in January who make a huge effort to kick start the year by setting a new habit--and that habit will not be eating my weight in food!  Spin classes will be on my list for sure.  My only hope is that I don't fall off the bike.