Morning, everyone. I’m…

Morning, everyone. I'm up bright and early (though at a more reasonable 6 rather than yesterday's 5), and it's been slightly productive already. I told you guys that I was going to attempt to get a bit more into shape, right? Now, you have to keep in mind that all my attempts at fitness in the past have generally followed this pattern: spurt of hyper activity; missing a couple days; guilt makes me do one or two more days; distraction and/or more guilt makes me miss some more, and there goes the attempt. So don't be surprised if all mention of exercise disappears from these pages abruptly (and yes, I know, I'm making excuses before I even begin :-) So sue me). But in any cae, I started doing sit-ups at the beginning of the week, and having gone 4 days without quailing, I'm adding several more exercises today. Bicep, tricep, etc. You get the idea. General toning stuff -- I'm not out to turn my body into Linda Hamilton's (though she did look wicked, didn't she?). Anyway, wish me luck. It takes great staying power in an activity to survive for any length of time in the chaos that is my life.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I got a lot of work (schoolwork) accomplished in the morning (I get to present some of it today; slightly nervous). There are definite advantages to getting up at 5 a.m. I stopped work at about 1 or 2, and didn't feel guilty. :-) Sherman came to dinner, and I amazed him by making meatloaf that he liked. I don't understand why people have this prejudice against meatloaf -- it's great food. Serve it with some mashed potatoes and green beans, and it's a cheap, healthy meal. Very hearty and filling. And you can throw in whatever ingredients you like -- last night I used: ground turkey, bread crumbs, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, italian herbs, salt and lots of pepper. Mix it all together and mold it into a ring (cooks more thoroughly than a simple loaf), bake at 350 for 45 minutes, then pull it out, spread some good barbecue sauce on the top and stick it back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Delicious. And excellent the next day as sandwiches. The Fannie Farmer cookbook has a basic recipe and variations.

Not much to report yet today, since all I've done is gotten up and done my exercises. :-) I've been rereading the Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison -- great fun. I always wanted to be a thief when I was a kid (this was after I found out that I couldn't be an astronaut 'cause I have bad eyes). I used to plot out ways to break into banks and commit various kinds of fraud -- the underworld lost a great mind when I went into writing instead. Of course, there are certainly those who think my writing is just as criminal....:-)

I think after class, today will be a day for cleaning up accumulated clutter. I have a lot of paper to sort. :-) Anyway, best shower and get on with the day. Tak to y'all later...