Suddenly Shrunk?

So I am making pasta salad for a large gathering tomorrow. Large as in 50-60 people. I bought three boxes of the old trusted "Suddenly salad" because it never let me down in the past. I boil the water in a big pot, rip open the bag and stare at pasta in disbelief. They shrunk the shells. Not just shrunk them, but made them so tiny that if hamster was eating them it would look proportional to the size of that hamster (best analogy I could come up with). My optimistic husband suggested that maybe they will increase in size once they are cooked. They didn't. It looks like pasta salad for babies because it is so tiny. I know that economy is tough and many products are getting shrunk but still get sold for the same price. But shrinking something in half is insulting. Betty Crocker, you suck.
Sincerely,
Peanut

It had to be done

Today was the day that I took down our Christmas tree. Our awesome skinny slight tilt to the left perfect for apartment tree. Last year we kept it up till March (we are classy like that). We put it up very early this year: October 31 as an early birthday gift for me. It was so rainy and dreary and I really wanted something cheerful and sparkly. Christmas tree always lifts my spirits. But it was time to find something else (didn't want to wear that sparkly feeling out). I lovingly wrapped the glass pickle that was the first ornament to break my "we will only have elegant ornaments" tradition. My favorite foods are either pickled or dipped in ranch. Then went the hermit crab wrapped in christmas lights. We bought it in St.Augustine making the sales lady's day since we also bought pirate crab standing on a treasure chest waving a sword. He does all that with a seagull on his head. To finish the trio we got a shrimp sitting on an anchor waving his whiskers somewhat tipsy like. I was sad to wrap a pair of starfish wearing matching snorkeling outfits. I will put up the pictures so I can look at them through the year and smile.
My lovely pickle (I believe it's from Target)

Hermit crab:

Shrimp:


Thank you, Melis, for advice on how to work around putting in pictures!
Peanut

That Dam Bridge

Big Dam Bridge that is. I am back to walking it. I came to realize that I didn't like what I was seeing in the mirror. I can't wear my favorite pair of jeans because when I put it on I look like a tube of toothpaste half way squeezed out. Not pretty. So this morning I got on the scale and couldn't believe the number that I saw. I know how that number came to be: I love food. I especially love food dipped in ranch dressing. So pounds crept on. Being tall helps because the weight just spreads itself and before you know it you are standing on the scale ready to burst into tears. But instead of having a pity party this time I went to the bridge. It helped me loose weight before and it will help me now. If I walk across and back it's 1.6 miles. So that's what I did this morning. It was a start. I wanted to do another "lap" but I felt like I was about to throw up and my shoe was giving me a blister.
So, I am going to declare this first morning a success.

And until I learn how to put caption under the picture in smaller font telling where I got it, I'll just have to tell it after the fact. This one came from bridge's website.

Proverbs 31 woman, laundry and inner beauty

Tonight we studied about inner beauty and what it means to be a Christian woman with quiet and gentle spirit. Proverbs 31 was always used as an example of what a Christian woman should be like. I don't know about others but I always feel inadequate after reading it. The standards are so high and it is so easy to get bogged down in all the things that I fail at. How do I become that woman? How can I do everything with a smile on my face and happy spirit? Housework is not my strongest point, there is always something that needs to be cleaned, picked up, or ironed. Part of it is pure lazyness. I just don't feel like doing it. Did Proverbs 31 woman ever feel like that? I wish the Bible would tell how she got over that and worked through that. Did she ever feel so tired that she simply didn't care that there are dirty dishes and laundry overflowing? How do you stop feeling like a failure in almost everything you do because you don't feel like you measure up?

Where is Friday when you need it?

Here is what I feel like this morning.

I was so afraid of oversleeping this morning that I woke up nearly every hour. That's a recipe for a restful sleep. Not.

It's raining again and as much as I love the sound of it, all that humidity is creating a little critter problem trying to get into our home. Thus an hour spent this morning researching the internet on how to get rid of them without fuming the whole family in the process.

Today will be long but I know one thing for sure: God will see me through all of it. He is the only constant in my equation of life.

Here we go

I am following so many blogs that I decided to start my own. Not a clue what to write about. I could talk all day about Zeus, my adorable shih tzu and I am sure the world is just dying to hear about it. I could write about how patient my husband is when dishes are left in the sink, laundry piles up and the ironing pile seems to grow on its own. Domestic goddess I am not. I will be talking a lot about my love of books and everything that I am currently reading but that will have to wait because I really do need to tackle the dishes.