Plate (21/365)

My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, 

but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate.

~ Thornton Wilder

I picked up the plates for Cam's new (to him) Cadillac today. The car lot is quite close to us - not so close to Cam. I figured it was better to pick them up than to have them sent to the abyss that is Cam's mailbox.

Delicious (20/365)

The truth is that life is delicious, horrible, charming, frightful, sweet, bitter, and that is everything.

~ Anatole France

Mike made a late-night trip to Culver's tonight. I went with my standard - a strawberry "sundae" (vanilla frozen custard and strawberry topping).

Target (19/365)

Be sure you positively identify your target before you pull the trigger.

~ Tom Flynn

When I was hired as a seasonal employee in November, I was given a generic name tag that had my name on it - printed on a removable label.

Yesterday, I was told that I was being offered a permanent position and they gave me a permanent name tag!

Face-Plant (18/365)

face-plant
verb
1.  (intransitive) to fall onto one's face, esp when skiing or snowboarding
noun 
2.  an act or instance of falling onto one's face

I often find Scooter in this exact sleeping position - what I like to call "ass up - face-plant"

And every time I see him like this? 

I smile!

Cadillac (17/365)

Every soul deserves a shot at a Cadillac, but not everyone should be guaranteed a Cadillac.

~ Ben Stein

(Not my photo, but it is my screenshot!)

On January 7th, Cam totaled the Cavalier that had been with us for 17 years. Today, we went car shopping to attempt to replace the beloved Cavy.

I gave Cam a budget, and he fell in love with this car, and I had to do some negotiating to get it off the lot within that budget ... but it happened!

My 18-year old now drives a Cadillac *shakes my head*

Snacks (16/365)

I am essentially a middle-aged woman who likes making up weird snack combinations and galloping.

~ Miranda Hart

I bought two bags of pre-made Chex Mix a while back. *TIP* Don't ever buy pre-made Chex Mix if you actually like homemade Chex Mix. The first bag was a HUGE disappointment, so I decided to try to enhance the second bag.

Did you know that you can make Chex Mix in a slow cooker? You can!! And I did!!

Name (15/365)

I wish my name was Brian because maybe sometimes people would misspell my name and call me Brain. That's like a free compliment and you don't even gotta be smart to notice it.

~Mitch Hedberg

The name plate for my cubicle was installed today. I figure if they are announcing my space, that means they plan on keeping me, right??

Right??

Chinese (14/365)

As long as there's pasta and Chinese food in the world, I'm okay.

~Michael Chang

One of the BEST things about moving out of Podunk and into civilization is that we can now order from GrubHub, which includes a fabulous Chinese restaurant option. Even better? The Chinese restaurant included this calendar (that hangs in my kitchen) with orders placed at the beginning of the year.

And just in case you are wondering? I was born in the Year of the Dragon.

Chick-fil-A (13/365)

Don’t dismiss the importance of making fun a priority.

~Truett Cathy, Founder Of Chick-fil-A

Mike took me to lunch today - at Chick-fil-A. Not only was it a welcome surprise, but it was a fun way to spend the hour!

Stapler (12/365)

Bill Lumbergh: Milt, we're gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK? 

Milton Waddams: Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler... 

I brought my personal stuff to the new job today

My red stapler

My Post-It-Notes

It's starting to feel like I belong there now

Bird (11/365)

I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird 

and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Apparently there was a bird on our deck. I'm certain there were no worms ...

Taco (10/365)

“I had a dream about you. You owned a taco stand, and I looked like a pile of meat, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and hot sauce. I resented you, and you wanted to enslave me.
” 

~ Jarod Kintz

I've discovered evol ... specifically Korean Style Beef & Kimchi evol. street tacos. I LOVE them ... and I ate them during my meal break at Target.

Mmmmmmmmm ....

Jeans (9/365)

I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.

~ Yves Saint Laurent

My new job allows jean on Friday. No sneakers ... but JEANS!! It's been years since I could wear jeans to work 

Apartment (8/365)

I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy

if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment.

That's how I refuel.

~ Audrey Hepburn

We had snow today. This is Illinois ... we get snow ...

Based on my commute tonight (60 minutes to drive 10 miles), you'd have thought I lived in Florida

I was very happy just to get home

North (7/365)

I'm going to North Pole to help out Santa this year.

~ Jimmy Fallon

Mike and I both needed winter coats. 

I was still wearing an Eddie Bauer size XXL parka I bought 14? Maybe 15? Years ago when I lived in Minnesota. It was beyond too big, but I was making do.

Mike's winter coat? It was an Under Armour hoodie ... without the hood.

We both ordered actual winter jackets from North Face last week and they arrived today - just in time for the arrival of winter in Illinois!!

Chopped (6/365)

I love food shows: Anthony Bourdain, Iron Chef, Chopped, you name it.

~ Donnie Wahlberg

Mike took me to lunch today - the day before I start my new job. After lunch we drove by my new office. 

I'm excited ... and nervous ... and excited ...

Be Brave (5/365)

"Promise me you'll always remember: 

You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

~ Christopher Robin to Winnie the Poo

I ordered this BRAVELET before Mike and I headed out on our road trip. I really liked the look of the product, as well as the concept of the company (No, this is NOT a sponsored post - I paid full price for my BRAVELET).

I was quite excited to see it in the vacation hold mail I picked up yesterday!

To market, to market to buy a fat pig (4/365)

I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery.

When I got there, the guy was locking the front door.

I said, 'Hey, the sign says you're open 24 hours.' He said, 'Yes, but not in a row.'

~ Steven Wright

When you move any distance, there are many services you have to find again. Doctor, dentist, hair salon, and a suitable grocery store. To date, we really haven't found a grocery store that I liked as well as Woodman's (our go-to when we lived in Podunk). Today we shopped at Mariano's for the first time. I'm pretty sure we've found our new grocery store.

This makes me very happy!

Squirreling Away Pumpkin (3/365)

You can't be friends with a squirrel! 

A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.

~ Sarah Jessica Parker

It appears my neighbor downstairs has a soft spot for squirrels and put her Halloween Jack-O-Lantern out as a winter food source. I was out on the deck smoking a cigarette enjoying the fresh air and caught one munching away.

Scooter and Radar (2/365)

A man is like a cat; 

chase him and he will run - sit still and ignore him and he'll come purring at your feet.

~ Helen Rowland

Today we came back from a 7-day road trip. Due to our spontaneity, we had to leave the cats home alone (well fed and well watered). They were not happy with us when we came back ... but ignoring them for a little while brought them back around!

Fuzzy Slippers (1/365)

I saw an idea on Facebook today that I liked so much I decided that I needed to do it.

I know, I'm just as shocked as you are, but it happened. 

The idea was a Project 365 specific to things that make you happy/things you are grateful for. 

With as much negativity as I see on Facebook, some of which even I put out there, I thought this was a fabulous idea ... and I am stealing it.

Today? Fuzzy slippers make me happy. Actually, they make me happy every day!!