It came! It came!

The process was, of course, far more painful than expected. Primarily because we have a corner armoire cabinet entertainment center. If there is anything more difficult to deal with, I can’t say what it is.

View the insanity behind the cut. (more…)

Governor Underwood’s memorial service was yesterday. I was around for his second term, and to be honest, despite voting for him, was very unhappy with his term.

But this isn’t supposed to be negative, I was pleased to learn that both he and his wife donated their bodies to science–his donation will help the medical education of students at Marshall.

I leave you with these two articles on his memorial service:

Charleston Gazette

Huntington Herald Dispatch

(S, I’ll have you know that these things make me think of you now, as I was looking for weird euphemisms.)

So for various reasons, I am relatively careful about what I eat. Partially because of health issues in older members of my family, but more because what I eat tends to affect my mental health. So meals at regular times, try not to skip meals, and try to eat healthy meals that won’t spike my blood sugar. And as we’ve all been told a million times, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Even if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want to take the time in the morning.

Last year a discovered a recipe that’s pretty near perfect–as long as I remember to prepare it the night before. Irish oatmeal requires a relatively long cooking time–unless you soak it in milk. So some time between dinner and bed we put everything together, when we get up we put the tea kettle and the oatmeal on low, and by the time we’re dressed and together, breakfast is ready.

Irish Oatmeal – makes 2 servings
1/4 cup Irish/steel cut oats
1 tbsp wheat germ
1 tbsp chopped walnuts/pecans
1 tbsp chopped dates (when I can find them)
ground flax seed
dash kosher salt
ground cinnamon
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cup milk (I used 1%)

Put everything into a small pot and place into fridge.

In the morning, place pot (uncovered) on stove on lowest setting. Stir every time you walk by. After 15-20 minutes, it should be thickened. If not, turn the heat up, stirring more frequently, and after at boils for a minute or two, should be done.

Serve with a spoonful of brown sugar and/or maple syrup.

So what about all the other stuff besides the oats?
Wheat germ – Vitamin E and Folic Acid
Flax seed – Omega 3 fatty acids
Dates – Calcium, iron and potassium, and vitamin A, B and C + yummy
Cinnamon – Good for blood sugar levels + yummy
Walnuts – Omega 3 fatty acids + yummy

I have to admit, that is the perfect name for a phone for me.

So I got it! New phone! So excited!

Funny thing was the guy asked how long I’d had my old phone, because he’d never seen a phone look that good after two years. Which is fine, because as soon as I’m sure everything is good, I’m going to donate it. IIRC there was a group collecting phones for soldiers in Walter Reed. Hopefully I can find that.

So here’s the new phone! If the picture isn’t clear, it’s purple.

I’m holding it in my hand to give you a sense of size, however, be aware that I have small hands. If this phone were in my brother’s hands, it’d probably fit in his palm.

And here’s the slide out keyboard, which was the most comfortable of any of the keyboards I played with.

Look out Nathan! No more T9 txting! (happy dance)

I’ve already got my e-mail set up too!

And I have yet to open the manual! (HA!)

ADDENDUM the First:
Found it. Cell phones for soldiers. I’ve got extra batteries and about four chargers, since every phone I had until now used the same charger.

During my lunch walk, I came to some conclusions about fashion. At least, my opinions about fashion.

To put it plainly, I don’t get it.

Take shoes. I admit that I buy expensive shoes, but that is because I want my shoes to be comfortable, and I’m willing to pay well to make sure my feet don’t hurt. But I see no reason to wear shoes that draw attention to themselves.

Why do I want someone staring at my feet?

Same goes for clothing. I try to dress at least someone professionally for work, because I feel that if I look professional people are more willing to accept me as an expert. No, it’s not fair the world works that way, but there it is. If I am teaching, I want people to look at me as the expert in the class, and so I dress accordingly. But I do not want clothing that will draw so much attention to itself that people are looking at my clothes and not me.

I want people to look at me and to listen to what I am saying. I don’t want them staring at my shoes or at my clothing. Those things are the background and should remain in the background.

And if I’m not teaching, I want clothing that will allow me to blend into the background and remain unremarkable. Why? Because that’s how I am.

I used to dress aggressively to give off the attitude, “don’t bother me,” and although I liked that and it was effective, it’s not very helpful for getting assistance if you need it. So instead I go for wallflower. And don’t understand people whose clothing wears them, instead of vice versa.

(What prompted this? A pair of boots that looked like a cross between a moccasin, a bedroom slipper, and a dead rabbit.)