Throbbing

I've got a throbbing in my foot. I just noticed it. I'm sitting in front of the computer desk, leaning back in my chair, with my legs crossed atop my desk. And I see a throbbing in my foot. It's right below my ankle in what I usually think of as the 'weak' part of my foot.

I say weak because it's a place on my foot where the skin is kind of strange. It's more wrinkly than the rest of my foot-skin, like a little triangle of thin-skin, and now it's throbbing. It's maybe going one beat per second at the moment, in-out-in-out. It's kind of like the stomach part in Aliens. I can't get it to stop. I move my foot to a different angle -- no luck. I think it's odd that I just noticed it.

Snow Woe

A funny story about our snowstorm (!) earlier this week. We were closed on Tuesday, but Wednesday we opened at noon, figuring that was enough time to let employees get to work without rushing.

One of my co-workers was bitching about why they made us come in, saying it was still really dangerous and she didn't think it was safe to be out on the road. When I pointed out that she lives closer to the store than anybody else there (she's probably 1/2 a mile to 3/4 of a mile away), she started to cry and put on a show saying how her parents were almost in a bad accident during the snow a long looooonnng time ago and she just gets freaked out by winter driving. Did I stress that they were almost in an accident? Apparently their car spun around a few times but they didn't actually hit anything. What a loser.

I offered to come drive her home that evening if she needed me to, but they ended up closing 3 hours early anyway so it was a moot point.

Sissies.

Just me & my babies

Just me and the kids home today by ourselves. It's the second time we've done it, though Mandy did it for two months before going back to work. It's an incredible test of patience to be home with a 2 year old and a 2 month old, but it can be really funny too. Lexi's at an age where she's repeating a lot of what you say to her, sometimes this is not a good thing. And Noah at two months is starting to smile a lot and you can make him laugh by making funny faces.

Once we get rid of the crying fits and smelly diapers we'll be home free. I can't wait to retire.

Snow Day

Mandy woke me up this morning with the announcement that surely we would have a snow day today, since we've accumulated about 3 inches of snow overnight and it's steadily coming down. That might not be a lot of snow, but in cities like Portland and Seattle where it rarely snows, it's enough to entangle traffic and shut down the entire city.

I haven't had a good snow day in a about 3 years now. Last time was in Seattle, and I lived so close to work that I went in anyway, until they closed an hour after opening. Those of us that had made the trek in went to the bar across the street and had a few beers before returning home. Today I'll have no such luck, since the kids will be staying home with me (and Mandy as soon as she gets back home, she had to go to the store to officially 'close' the store and call people to tell them not to come in). I was thinking of taking Lexi outside to see the snow, but it hit me that she really doesn't have any snow gear and I don't think we're going to buy her boots and gloves just for one day. Who knows though, I bet we can sneak out for a few minutes of frolicking.

Woohoo!

Supersize me

Like many people, I saw Supersize me a couple years ago when it came out. I wouldn't say that it was a life-altering experience, since I never was fooled into thinking that fast food was anything other than bad for you, but for about 6 months after I saw it I didn't go to McDonalds more than a few times.

But, as is the norm, after some time you forget about all the bad stuff and slide back into old habits. I love McDonalds. It's not my favorite fast food joint, but it's cheap and easy and easy to pick up (kind of like my ex-wife ).

So one of my big new years resolutions is to start eating healthier. Notice I didn't say healthy, just healthier. And so far I've been pretty good about it. Two weeks in and I'm pretty proud.

Maybe it helps that I totally cut out smoking last year, so this doesn't seem too difficult. Plus, I figure I spent the past 20 years or so eating whatever I wanted without worrying about the consequences, so it seems like maybe having to exercise some discretion may not be the end of the world. If I drink soda, I drink diet soda. This is because I hate diet soda and I usually only drink about half a can. I've been eating smaller portions, and over the past 2 weeks I've noticed it getting easier to eat smaller amounts. I've been having little snacks more often too to help. And better portions of fruits and vegetables.

The upside: I've lost about 4 pounds in two weeks without having to exercise (ugh!). The downside: I get grumpy when I don't get enough junk food.

For now though it's been positive enough of an experience that I'll keep going for awhile and see what happens.

New Games

I bought the new Final Fantasy XII the other day and after an hour I'd say it's pretty awesome. But then today I downloaded the Vanguard beta client and been playing that the past few hours and that's decent too. Too many games, not enough time. And to illustrate that, Noah is crying in the other room so I've gotta go.