My Babies

These are my beautiful babies, Ned (the fawn-colored chihuahua) and Charlotte "Chuck" (the tiny black/multi colored chi).

Ned at 8 weeks old.

Chuck at approximately 4 weeks.

My little "Gremlin" after I brought her home at 6 weeks old. :)

Which Disney Princess Are You?

You are Belle!

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Spare Change for the Antichrist?

Yes, someone actually asked me that on the street today. It's always interesting walking downtown. You never know what souls will pass you on the way. On the way to work I got Mr. Mohawk Punk asking me for my spare change. On the way from work I passed some angry guy who was yelling to himself about f&*king this and f&*king that. I'm not sure what he was so upset about, but he was walking toward the auto shop, so if you ask me, that would explain a lot.

I am always tempted to carry a bunch of spare change with me and feed the expired meters of people parked downtown. Is that wrong? I've heard it's illegal, but I haven't read that ordinance yet, so what do I know? I just feel bad when I see the little pink slips on people's windshields.

Today is June 5, so that means only 15 more days until the new Stephanie Plum book comes out. YAY!!!!! I've been listening to High Five in my car and today when I left the Maverick store with three candy bars (they were on sale!), I heard the part where Steph goes out late at night and ends up with a bag of candy bars from 7-11. Holy coinkydink! Or not. For some reason I always crave sweets when I read/listen to Plum novels. Go figure.

Okay, now I'm just rambling. It's 95 outside today and I'm finally in where it's air conditioned, so I suppose I'm just killing time trying to cool off. But, alas, my meter has run and I must go. Until next time ...

Second Low Carb Thought of the Day

Okay, here's an observation.

I used to think that feeling "full" when you eat had to do with the volume of food you take in. Boy was I wrong!

I'm a big fan of McDonald's breakfast. I know it's naughty, but everyone has to be a little naughty sometimes, don't you think? Anyway, I used to be able to eat TWO sausage egg biscuits for breakfast.

The other morning about 6:00 a.m. I went to the drive-thru and ordered my usual 2 sandwiches, thinking I'd just use the biscuit to keep my hands from getting greasy while I ate the protein-rich foods inside, then throw the biscuits away. I ate the sausage and egg from the first sandwich that way, and then started in on the second one. After about two bites, I was so full I couldn't eat any more! I wrapped it up to eat later, but I didn't get hungry until about 1:00 p.m. By then I was in the mood for something different, which turned out to be a spinach salad with turkey, boiled eggs and gorgonzola!

I'm convinced now that it's protein, and not volume, that keeps our tummies full.

Is Winter Over Yet?

It's the eve of Groundhog Day, and I was just thinking how great February and March snowstorms can be. As you can see, the snow might collect on the grass, but doesn't stick to the roads or sidewalks too much. As I type this, the weather outside is a balmy 41 degrees.

I keep threatening to move to Washington state to escape the Utah winters. I say that I'll move to a city where they don't even own snow removal equipment! But some winter mornings are just so beautiful, I can't help but feel grateful and happy.

Low Carb Thought of the Day
Now that I have started on my low-carb diet (again!) and switched to sugar-free chai (4 net carbs per serving -- gotta have my chai!!), I thought I would document the progress of my journey. Because I don't have a scale that works properly, I have no idea what my starting weight is. Suffice it to say, it's TOO MUCH. But after a week of eating this way, my clothes are already looser, so I am happy.

Today's thought concerns a conversation (not quite an argument) I had with someone recently who knows I am changing my eating habits and was trying to convince me that there are no "bad" foods. While I do agree that carbohydrates themselves are not categorically bad, I have to disagree with the premise of no bad foods. Many truly bad foods are basically processed compounds of stuff that is made palatable but offer little nutritional value. They get their UPC bar code and are sold to an unwary public.

Anyway, categorically bad foods aside, my feeling on carbohydrates is that excessive amounts of them are bad for particular people based on some type of medical condition. That condition could be diabetes, insulin resistance (which can lead to diabetes), and obesity. So because at least one of those applies to me, I choose to restrict my intake of carbohydrates to those that are coupled with nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Whew! Enough venting.

How's this for starters?

Yes, that's me happily accepting a smooch from the wonderful and amazing Cary Grant. (Yeah, right.)

Okay, so now I have jumped on the blogging bandwagon. I am excited to have a creative writing outlet beyond all the fun stuff I get to write about in law school like Community Property Issues in Estate Planning, Clemency for the Wrongfully Convicted, blah blah blah.

Don't get me wrong, I find those topics interesting, but sometimes I just want to be free of the law library and writing the stuff of true creativity! That being said, I do not plan to devote this blog to any topic in particular, but I may ramble on about specific topics from time to time. Hopefully some of it will be entertaining to more than just me and my family!

So, today's topic is: Favorite Sources of Caffeine. Okay, admit it, you can't get through a regular work/school day without some sort of morning pick-me-up! I'm no different. The scent of Irish Spring and the effects of frigid shower water only last so long. We gotta have some artificial stimulants coursing through our veins, right? So, because Old Man Winter finally decided to bestow my fine city with some bristly morning weather, I have turned to my loyal friend, Big Train Green Tea Chai. OOOhhh, it's so wonderful! Creamy, spicy, hot and sweet. Nothin' like it!

'Til next time ...