An Odd Day

After a busy weekend, I decided to take it somewhat easy today.

I slept in a bit, but I still managed to get up earlier than I did on any day last week.

In the morning I normally like to do my devotion, exercise a bit, and take a shower.  But I did none of those things this morning.  I talked on the phone with a few friends instead.

After lunch -- make that "after forgetting all about lunch" -- I went to the pharmacy and the credit union.

When I got home (still forgetting about lunch), I worked on some church treasurer stuff.  Today is the final day of our church's fiscal year, so I wanted to finalize a few things.

I was just finishing up my church project when Lew got home from work.

Realizing that I had forgotten lunch, I did eat dinner with Lew.  (I had been wondering why I was so hungry!)

And now, I think I am going to do my devotion, exercise a bit, and take a shower.

A very odd, but strangely satisfying, day.  :)

A Long, But Very Good Day: The Sequel

Another full day of food and people, people, food and people, and food.

I met a great group of ladies at Tim Horton's this morning.  (I had a hot chocolate drink and a muffin.)

Then we had a wonderful church service.  (There was no food, but lots of people!)

Lew and I ate lunch out with some friends.  We went to Ken's Place, which is the seafood place diagonally across the street from our house.  Our friends all had seafood.  Lew had a hamburger.  I had a grilled cheese sandwich.  (Lew and I are both Maine natives but don't like seafood.  Please don't ask me to explain that, because I can't.)

We got home in time to watch the Red Sox lose.  (They had just won six games in a row, so I can't complain.)

I had a whoopie pie and a can of Moxie for supper.

Now I am going to put on my jammies and collapse, exhausted, onto my bed.

G'nite!

A Long, But Very Good Day

This has been the busiest Saturday that I've had in a while.

It centered around food and people, food and people, and food and people.

Even though it's only about 9:00 p.m.,  I am pretty pooped.  So for those of you wanting wonderful words of wisdom on Mainely Tracy tonight, I am truly sorry.... This is all I've got.

G'nite!

A Time to Learn

As my birthday sneaks up on me -- my last one in my 40s, by the way -- I feel like I should challenge myself to learn something new. (Please refrain from the "old dog, new tricks" jokes!)

I'm pretty sure that I won't choose to learn another language. Nor will I attempt to learn something physically dangerous like sky-diving.

So what should I tackle?

Over the next few days I am going to make a list of the possibilities and narrow it down to three or four. Then I will let my readers vote.

Coming soon to a blog near you: The "What Should Tracy Learn?" poll.

Be ready!

(Postscript: I'm a little nervous about letting others decide this, so I'll have to come up with some really good options!)

Book It

For many months I was making piles of books that I wanted to read. (By "books" I mean the kind made out of paper.) I also have many, many unread books on my Kindle.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to store my piles of books in a large plastic bin. I set each book on its side so that I could see the title at a glance. This seemed to work well until I filled the bottom of the bin and saw that I still had a bunch of books left to store. Fortunately, I happened to have a second plastic bin. I barely had enough space for the remaining books. Barely.

So, when am I going to get all of these books read?

My goal is to read two books per week. (See "my weekly book challenge" blog.) There are very few weeks in which I meet my goal. But I do average at least one book per week.

Until just a couple hours ago, I had three books going at the same time: two novels and one non-fiction. Usually I don't read two novels simultaneously, and I think that is a good practice to keep! I didn't really confuse the two stories, but I can see where it could be a problem if they were of similar genres.

A blogger friend has been doing an interesting series of posts. She decided to read a book for every letter of the alphabet. That is, the title of the book started with the particular letter. (And, no, she didn't use the "'A' is for Alibi" series by Sue Grafton!)

I think I may do this myself, using a combination of the books in my bins and the books on my Kindle. I have plenty to choose from!

Dad 94: The Rain In Maine

(Oh, no!  Last time I mentioned a winning streak, the Sox started losing.  Oh, well.  Maybe Dad will have better luck.  Enjoy his post!  --  Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the rain-soaked, soggy Northeast.  We received over four inches of rain on Monday and drying out is underway as the sun is shining brightly today.

As I write this we are still chasing off the "bad birds" (crows, seagulls) as they try to steal the nuts we feed our squirrel buddies.  The only way to describe these feathered beasts is "thieves."  Pure and simple!

This past weekend saw our favorite baseball team totally fall apart.  It was a tragic sight for all of us Red Sox fans.  The last two nights have put us in a better mood as the winning streak reaches "2".  Wow!  Hard to believe!  We'll see what happens tonight.  Tonight will find us using the remote as we tune into game seven of the Boston Bruins series.  The defending Stanley Cup champions have a fight on their hands.  Go Bruins!

Talked to sister Jean yesterday (her "xyokz" birthday).  Progress is going well and we have a dinner date in Indy for May 17.  Jean's choice will be utilized.  I think I can guess where we'll go!  Looking forward to it!  Please keep Jean in your thoughts and prayers.  Thanks!

Picked up Zack, Deb, and Josh for Josh's baseball game yesterday.  However, before we arrived at the field, we were told by Glen that the game was called because the field was too wet.  Not surprised as four inches of rain must be allowed to drain and dry.  Hopefully tomorrow's game will go on as planned, if it doesn't rain.  Keeping my fingers crossed!  Spring baseball in Maine!  Not a certainty!

Did pick up my John Deere Saturday and did a real fast lawn mowing.  Glad I did as it will grow exceptionally fast after the monsoon.  It certainly has greened up in the last couple days.  Has spring really arrived?

I have an important announcement to make today.  For all of you that are in the area, our garage refrigerator is fully stocked.  The freezer has ice cream varieties and the fridge section has an ample choice of drinks.  Feel free if you are in the area to indulge in the goodies.

And with that I close this weekly post.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

A New (and Very Cool) Toy

My birthday present arrived today!

I had been talking about getting some sort of tablet. Lew said if I got one, it would have to be an iPad. That happens to be way above my price range. I mentioned a couple less expensive models, but he didn't think they were worth it.

So... onto Plan B. Which turned out to be better than Plan A!

I have an iPhone, which I love. The advantage of the iPhone is that I am already paying for Internet access. With an iPad or other tablet, I would have Internet access only with a WiFi. (I would NOT be willing to pay for an additional network data plan.) So, basically my iPhone is a small version of an iPad.

My only issue with my iPhone is that I can't do a lot of typing on it. Not fast typing anyway!

So I began to look into whether there are external keyboards for iPhones.

And, what do you know?!

I typed this post on my iPhone with my new Verbatim Bluetooth Keyboard!

Very, very, very cool.

(Postscript: I want to send a "Happy Birthday" shout out to my Aunt Jean!)

(Post-postscript:  When I posted this from my iPhone, it took out all my paragraph spacing.  I used my laptop to insert the spacing.  So, I still have a few more things to figure out.  Still... very, very, very cool.)

Thoughts on Today

It was a rainy day.
And it was Monday.
And I was down.

I felt like I was catching a cold.  Mom suggested that it could be allergies.  I drank some of my Gypsy Cold Care tea anyway.  I even added some honey.

Lew told me to "take it easy, baby."  I was happy to oblige.  I stayed in my jammies and bathrobe all morning.  I finally got dressed around 12:30 p.m.

Lest one think I was totally unproductive today, I did take care of about five things that were on my to-do list.

I had left-over taco fixings for my dinner.  And Lew presented me with a wonderful dessert of strawberry shortcake.

Now for a quiet evening of reading and perhaps a TV program or two.  Maybe we'll watch part of the Red Sox game... maybe.

Tomorrow is a brand new day.  :)

Photos... by Eli

I went to visit Great-Grammy Verlie on Thursday.
The sun was very bright coming in her window.
I love looking at light!

Grampa and Tia were at Great-Grammy's, too.
Grampa and I played with Mommy's pizza box.
Grampa also had fun with my rattle!  :)

I have been VERY social this week.
Today we went to visit Grampa and Tia.
Mommy needed someone to hold me while she fed me.
Grampa volunteered right away!



Oops!  Sorry about your hand, Grampa!





Are YOU looking at ME?!



Grrrrrrrrrr.....

My mother, Lew, and I are planning on watching the movie "The Help" after the Yankees - Red Sox game is over.

The Red Sox were ahead 9-0 at one point.  The Yankees are now ahead 10-9.

I'm going to see if Lew and Mom want to start the movie early.

I hate baseball.

A Very Happy Birthday to You

They say it's your birthday.
Happy Birthday to you!

Are you one?
Are you two?
Are you three?
Are you four?
Are you five?

...I'll be typing for the rest of the day at this rate,
so I'll skip down a bit....

Are you ninety-nine?
Are you one hundred?

That's a "Yes" -- ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD!!!

Happy 100th, Fenway Park!  :)

(Postscript:  It's too bad the Red Sox lost on your big day.  Party poopers.)

If He Can Do It...

I have a routine doctor appointment tomorrow morning, and I just know they are going to make me step on the scale.  I will step on it backwards and beg to remain ignorant.

As I was contemplating all of this earlier today, I asked myself, "Why do you eat and exercise so that you can try to look like a 22-year-old super model?"

There are a couple things wrong with my question.  First of all, I really don't follow a strict diet and exercise regimen.  So saying that I'm trying to look like a 22-year-old super model is a bit of an exaggeration.  (Okay, a major exaggeration.)  Secondly, I have never looked like a 22-year-old super model  -- even when I was 22 -- so the question is absurd right from the get-go.

After going through all of this thinking, I reminded myself that in less than two weeks -- two weeks! -- I will be celebrating my 49th birthday.  So what should I expect of myself, really?  Maybe I can relax a bit when it comes to exercising.

Then I read about Jamie Moyer.  Have you heard of him?  He's a 49-year-old baseball player who just set a Major League Baseball record on Tuesday by becoming the oldest pitcher to ever win a game.

And with that news, I headed for the elliptical machine.

Dad 93: Leaves Receive the Heave

(My guess is Zack.  Enjoy Dad's post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the Northeast.  The weather has been summer-like for the past few days.  Need rain as it is very dry.  The experts tell us that we will receive showers on Saturday followed by a steady rain on Sunday.  Hope they are correct.  I have used the good weather wisely.  Pretty much ready for the season.  All systems go.

I spent this morning crawling around under the deck blowing out a bunch of dried leaves.  Don't have a blower so used a shop vac as a blower.  Was successful but there has to be a better way.  After lying on the ground, I find it difficult to hop up to a standing position.  Not as easy to do as it was 50 years ago.  Did I just say that?  Really, 50 years ago!  Another spring ritual completed.

Motor home is ready for the road, but I doubt that it travels too far with the current gas prices.  Will serve as Kaelen's home as she returns for her 4th summer of employment at the Clambake (a restaurant down the road from us).  Kaelen will return with us from Eureka, Illinois following her sister Kelsey's graduation on May 20, 2012.  They will both attend Eureka College in the fall.  Kaelen will be a senior while Kelsey will be a freshman.  Study!  Study!  Study!  My words of encouragement.

Talked to sister Jean yesterday and was encouraged by our conversation.  She seems to be progressing quite well.  She has received many prayers and we request they continue.  They are being answered.  Thanks to you all.

As I sit here writing this my thoughts turn to Chicago.  Why, you ask?  Well, I received a message via Facebook from Illinois that the Reeds and the Henry family (minus Joe) are traveling by train to Chicago.  They will spend the night there, returning to Eureka tomorrow.  The Reeds traveled to Eureka, Illinois last week as they drove through the night to arrive in Eureka Friday morning.  From my understanding, they have been busy and are enjoying the visit.  It was interesting to see a photo of our four grandchildren!  Size-wise, the younger grandsons have passed their older cousins.  I wonder who ate the most at the Burger Barge.  My guess is....  No comment!

The lawn needs mowing but my tractor is being serviced.  Hope to get it back soon.  In the meantime, I'll sit here and watch our squirrels eat the walnuts we feed them.  And chase off the crows and seagulls.  Bad birds!  Might have to get the BB gun out!

Enough for now!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

I Go On a Date!

I had an errand to take care of tonight, so I called Lew early this afternoon to see if he would accompany me.

I said, "We could make a date out of it!"

After he got home from work, we took a few minutes to contemplate our options.  We decided to eat dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.  We like the food.  Plus we had a gift card.  :)

Lew ordered the pulled pork meal, and I got a half-slab of ribs.  We both ate approximately 274 rolls each.  Those rolls are so yummy... although my estimate of 274 might be a little high....

Then we stopped at the home of some friends to complete my errand.  We stayed and visited a bit.  We all laughed too much, but that's what happens when you're with friends.

Just got home a few minutes ago, and we're both pretty pooped.  We're not used to dating on Tuesdays, I guess!

Jinxed on Patriot's (Patriots?) Day

Today is Patriot's Day in Maine and Massachusetts.  The Red Sox always play a home game on Patriot's Day.  Today's game had a start time of 11:00 a.m.

As I said yesterday, I am not superstitious. But did my post put undue pressure on the Red Sox to keep up their winning streak?

Perhaps so.

The game is over and they lost, 1-0.  They didn't even score.  Not one stinkin' run.

I will now change the subject....

I just read online that today is officially Patriot's Day in Maine, but Patriots' Day in Massachusetts.  (Note the difference in where the apostrophe is placed.)

The holiday schedule on the State of Maine website lists it as Patriots Day -- no apostrophe.  Some local newspapers also omit the apostrophe.

This is all just too confusing!

The Streak Goes On

I am obligated to mention that the Red Sox have extended their winning streak to three games.  They won earlier today, 6-4, and have improved their overall record to 4-5.

My obligation arises from the fact that I have commented on this streak each day so far.  Therefore, I must keep it up in the off-chance that a member of the Red Sox is a regular reader of Mainely Tracy....  I am not superstitious, but I know that baseball players are.

Just doing my part.

Winning Streaks

The Red Sox won again today, so their winning streak is now two games in a row.  I'm especially glad that they won today, because Matt and Emily were at the game.  :)

The weather was beautiful, so Lew and I went for a walk this afternoon.  On the walk home, we played The Motorcycle Game -- the first of the season.

Lew guessed four, and I went with lower.  We saw three....  I win!  :)

Current records:
Red Sox, 3-5 (winning streak: 2)
Tracy, 1-0 (winning streak: 1)
Lew, 0-1  (winning streak: 0)

(Postscript:  I have won the season opener of The Motorcycle Game three years in a row.  Not that I'm bragging or anything....)

Some Great Things I Did Today

I fell back asleep after Lew left for work this morning.  When I woke up, I grabbed my cell phone in a panic.  It was 8:23 a.m. and I was supposed to meet Ellen at 8:30 a.m. for our Friday walk date.  I sent her a text:  "Are we walking!" (and yes, I did use an exclamation point instead of a question mark).  She responded with "I forgot it was Friday!"  (Ha ha!  We are quite the pair.)  We changed our meeting time to 9:00 and all was well.

A couple hours later, I was standing at the end of the car-wash building watching two young men towel down my newly-washed vehicle.  When I first drove up, I asked the attendant if he thought it was "time."  He looked the car over and said, "Nah, you're good."  He was good-naturedly lying, of course.  I told him about my once-a-year ritual of getting my car washed -- whether it needs it or not.

I was home in time to watch the pre-game ceremony for the Red Sox home opener.  (I always get a little teary-eyed when I see some of the former players.)  The Sox actually pulled out a win, 12-2, so they have improved their record to 2-5.  Let's keep this new winning streak going, boys!

After Lew got home from work, we leaped into his car and drove down to Old Orchard Beach....  Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, we made our first "Pie and Fry" run of the season tonight!  And it was delicious.  To complete the evening, we drove to the Dairy Corner for ice cream.  (We have our weekly weigh-in tomorrow morning, so we have impeccable timing.)

Today was a really great day.  :)

My iTunes Project

In the summer of 2009 I decided to import all of my CD's into iTunes.

Every. Single. One.

A couple weeks ago I asked my father for his CD's so that I could import those as well.  That way every CD in the house would be on my iTunes.

I just finished this project last night.

The "Music" menu on iTunes now gives me the following statistics:
9355 items, 22.1 days, 51.26 GB

My iPod storage is 120 GB, so I have plenty of room to synchronize all of the items to it.

However, it will take me over three weeks to listen to everything.  I better get busy!  :)

Dad 92: Waiting On Spring

(Dad wrote this before the Red Sox game today.  They have since LOST, so they are now 1-5.  Heavy sigh....  Oh, and the lawn does look... um... beautiful.  But please, no pink flamingos!  Enjoy Dad's post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the cloudy (no, the sun just came out) Northeast.  One moment it is cloudy, the next sunny.  That is our weather now and supposedly for the next few days.  Spring doesn't seem to blossom as expected.  We'll wait.  It will arrive within the next few months, if we are lucky.  I'm patient!  Not too patient, though!  Please, Spring, HURRY!!!  I want to finish my projects.  I want to be ready for summer if it arrives.  It will!  It always has!  One other request: Temperature, please rise.  Thanks!!

Well, my favorite professional sports teams are keeping me busy on the tube.  The Red Sox are now underway for the 2012 season and not exactly getting the results I wanted or expected.  Hopefully their performance will improve soon.  I'll know in about one hour as they play an afternoon game in Toronto.  Go Sox!  Enough baseball for today.

The Celtics are doing better than I expected.  Just beat the LeBron James crew for the second time in 10 days.  This win came in the opponent's house.  I doubt they will continue this in the playoffs.  It is fun to watch as it happens.  We'll see tonight as they try to fire up their "old" bodies for a second night in a row.  Not good to play back-to-back at their age.  We'll watch, at least until I know the outcome.  Go Celtics!  My favorite team since the 1950s.  Oh how I recall listening on the radio for another championship as they were the greatest dynasty in pro-sports history.  Never will it be duplicated.  Never!!

The family is excited as Glen, Deb, Josh and Zack are about to make the trek to Illinois to visit the Henrys.  A lot of anticipation in the air.  I doubt Bob (Glen's dad) is too excited, as he must deal with Sadie (the big friendly dog of the Reed family).  Good luck, Bob!

The spring projects continue even though the weather is not like Spring.  Delivered my tractor to the dealer for servicing.  Hope I get it back in time to mow lawn.  Batteries are installed in motor home and Bantam.  Both vehicles are up and running.

I received a phone call from sister Jean the other day.  She continues to improve with help from daughters, Wendy and Kathy, and Gordon (Kathy's husband).  As the weeks go by, all thoughts and prayers are accepted with thanks.  Prayers do make a difference!  Even one of Jean's doctors made that comment.

Last week Tracy made a comment about what her lawn would look like and wondered if she should be concerned.  Well, several new ornaments are now on the lawn, and I would say she should be concerned.  Not even close to what her grandfather would have on the lawn, though.  (Family members should understand this comment!)

The Sox are now on.  Good bye.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Hiding His Word In My Heart

I did a little presentation in church several weeks ago about daily Bible reading and prayer.  I mentioned that I was going to try to "systematically seek to memorize Scripture" this year.  And because I said it out loud -- in front of the entire congregation -- I decided that I had better do it.

Since that day I have committed 18 verses to memory.  The idea is to review them every day at first, and then work down to once a week, once a month -- all while adding NEW verses each week.

I have a specific memory verse guide that I'm following.  (You can check it out HERE.)

I decided to use the English Standard Version of the Bible.  I take regular-sized index cards, cut them in half, and then write out the verses.  I store the cards in a little zippered case, which I can throw in my purse.

It's a lot of work, and I admit that I have faltered a bit in keeping up with the review process.  But yesterday I made a discovery that I think is going to help....

A few weeks ago I wrote about my return to ellipticalization and how I liked listening to my iPod more than watching TV.  Well, my big discovery was that my memory-verse cards fit perfectly in the little compartment on my elliptical machine!  So now I can review while exercising.  :)

Moving my weary bones while reflecting on God's Word....  Can't beat it!

What To Do?

For many reasons I have gotten out of "the swing of things" lately.

So I haven't been exercising as regularly as I should be.

I haven't been reading as much as I want to.

I've fallen way behind on my writing projects.

I haven't even finished cleaning out the filing cabinet yet -- a project I began a few weeks ago!

But today I returned to making to-do lists (daily, weekly, monthly).  And for the most part I accomplished what I set out to do today.  I tend to list more than I know is possible, but at least that makes me stay focused.

Here's hoping that I can keep it up!

HE IS RISEN!

Wishing all of my family and friends a glorious Easter.

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

He is risen indeed.

The Picture of Patience

Once again, I am shamelessly using a photo of Eli as my blog post.

But nobody minds, right?  :)

Patiently waiting for tubby to fill....

Good Friday

I love celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas-time.  But what was the ultimate reason for His birth?

We are observing it today:  the crucifixion.

Unlike other times when I tend to exaggerate on my blog, today I do not when I say that Jesus' death on the cross was the single, most crucial event in all of history.  (And it was followed by something really big, which we will celebrate on Sunday!)

So today, let's remember and give thanks for His forgiveness.

"... He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
and by His wounds we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:5, NIV)

Here We Go Again

The Red Sox just finished playing their first regular game of the 2012 season.

Detroit beat them with a walk-off win in the bottom of the 9th.

So, off to another great start.

Sigh....

Dad 91: The Return to Routine

(Should I be getting nervous about what the yard will soon look like?  Hmmmm.....  Enjoy Dad's post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the still chilly, sunny Northeast.  Expect showers later today, but then sunny weather through Easter.  He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!

Yesterday, Spouse and I watched as tornadoes went through the Dallas area.  We watched as trailers from the Schneider terminal were thrown about like toys.  A disturbing spectacular show.  Great news that no one was injured.  Amazing!

Today, I have decided to finally get back into my pre-trip routine.  Our trip to the Midwest was enjoyable and we were happy to see family members and especially fortunate to visit sister Jean as she recovers from cancer surgery.  Talked to Jean yesterday as she continues to recover at home.  It is a slow process and your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

It has been three weeks since I last performed my ritual on Lew and Tracy's elliptical machine.  I plan on getting back on the horse today and will resume my daily routine.  I have to lose the five pounds I gained on our Midwest visit.  So be it!

I am in full Spring mode now.  I must get my snow plow stored for the season.  Looks very strange still attached to the Silverado.  The motor home must be unwrapped and serviced for the season.  The trailer must be licensed and used to transport the John Deere for its spring service.  Lawn mowing is almost here as green is becoming the color of the earth.

Several more duties must be performed as I prepare for the warm season.  Our yard goodies must be brought out of hiding and strategically placed about.  I'm about to expand our front lawn vegetable garden.  Not a large plot.  Just enough for a few squash, cukes, and tomatoes.  Worked out well last year as a starter garden for our first garden in several years.  We had a large garden years ago but, as the gophers ate very well, we decided not to garden again.  The wild animals were certainly well fed.  Humans not so well fed!

The morning hours are quickly going by and I must make a trip to the grocery store, schedule an appointment to service the car after the trip, and check out the Old Orchard Beach cottage.  I must get moving or I will have to procrastinate for another day on my exercise regimen.  Sounds like a good idea.  I can't let this happen!!

Must get moving!  Soooo!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

One and Done

I stayed up late last night in order to watch the end of the Kansas vs. Kentucky game.  Because I lived in Kansas several years ago, I was rooting for Kansas to win.  But even with a "too little, too late" comeback effort, they were never really in the game.

Three of the five starters for Kentucky were freshman.  The other two were sophomores.  When I asked my father about this, he explained that Kentucky's basketball program is a "One and Done."  That is, most of those kids will not be playing in college next year... they'll be in the NBA.

So basically Kentucky's team is close to NBA-caliber.  This reminded me of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice", when the college boys on the U.S.A. hockey team beat the professional Russian team in the Olympics.  Except there was no miracle for Kansas last night.

This also explained why the guys on the Kentucky bench all looked like they could have been plucked out of a calculus class.  No basketball skills required, because they were never going to have to play.

One and done....
It just ain't fun.

The Hands That Prepare

Lew and I usually eat dinner together.  Before beginning our meal, we offer a brief prayer of thanksgiving for the food and for the hands that prepared it.

Regular readers of Mainely Tracy will know right away whose hands that prayer refers to.  But if you are unsure, please read the following post:

• Why I Shouldn't Cook

Within the past month or so, Lew has started a new post-prayer routine.  After the "amen" he holds his hand up to me, expecting me to kiss the back of it.

And I do....

Every time.    :)

Low Expectations

I am learning that if I have low expectations of something, then I usually end up enjoying it more than I thought I would.  (That kind of follows, though, right?)

For instance, our most recent Netflix video:  "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

I wasn't sure that I would like it.  I can't even remember how it ended up in our Netflix queue.  But Lew and I watched it this evening, and we both thought it was pretty good -- much better than we were expecting it to be.

I'm not sure that having low expectations is the way to live, but I think it works when it comes to movies.