Rituals

Last night at our ERUUF Covenant Group meeting, we had an interesting discussion about rituals. I've missed some of the Christian church rituals I grew up with since attending ERUUF, but I've come to realize that rituals and traditions can take time to sink in and become part of me.

George and I used to have some rituals: listening to "A Prairie Home Companion" on NPR, watching "M*A*S*H" together on Saturday mornings and "ER" on Thursday nights. As he pointed out in last night's group discussion, we don't have those rituals anymore as life has gotten busier. I hope we can find some new rituals in time.

Weekend

George and I had a busy, but fun weekend. Saturday and Sunday we looked at some apartment complexes together, which was fun for both of us. We're both looking to move in June/July. Saturday night and Sunday morning we attended ERUUF events that made us feel like we got our culture for the weekend! One was an event called Cafe ERUUF, at which members volunteer (ahead of time) to share a talent with the audience. Acts ranged from singing to piano and guitar playing to storytelling and poetry reading. It was delightful, and I wish we'd been attending those all along. (Cafe ERUUF happens every couple of months or so.) Sunday after church one of the ministers showed pictures of her recent visit to the Republic of Georgia. It was fascinating to hear her stories!

New car

I picked up a "new" car Friday night at the local Honda dealership, another 2001 Honda Accord LX, like the picture. It feels like home, being back in another '01 Accord, same trim level, too! It does have side impact air bags and alloy wheels, which my other '01 Accord didn't have, but otherwise, it's pretty much the same car., just a different color and a few more miles. It seems to have been well maintained, for which I'm thankful!

R.I.P.

I went by the body shop to clear out my totaled car yesterday. It was a relief to get my belongings (nothing valuable, but still...), but sad too. It served me well, and I was looking forward to driving the car for a long time.

I got the check from the insurance company today, and it looks like I'll have another Accord this evening. I drove another 2001 model at the local Honda dealership last night, and it felt like home.

Car Update

I found out yesterday that my car is totaled. I'm a little sad, but also a little relieved, since I'll be able to get a new car faster than my old car could've been fixed. I'm still waiting to hear back from the insurance company about how much I'll get for my car. Hopefully I'll get word today and be able to start car shopping tonight after work. I'd like to get another Accord, or something similar.

Another book I'm reading

In addition to the personal finance book, Start Late, Finish, Rich, mentioned in an earlier post, I'm also reading a fiction book, The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde. It's a delightful book--a combination of mystery, sci fi/fantasy, and history. The protagonist in this first book of the series (set in England) is named Thursday Next, a Special Operative in literary detection. Other character names in the book are similarly querky. :) I look forward to finishing this book and continuing the series.

Catching up on the holidays

I realized after my New Year's Resolutions post that I hadn't updated here on holiday goings on.

As I mentioned earlier, I stayed here in Durham for Christmas to stick with the Rice Diet. On December 23, I was in a car accident! Eventhough no one was hurt, my car was badly damaged, as was my ego. (The wreck was my fault.) My Accord is at the body shop, and as of Friday afternoon, they were still working on an estimate. They're closed on Saturdays, and of course yesterday was New Year's Day. I'm hoping to hear something soon, today or tomorrow.

On Christmas Eve morning, George went with me to Duke Chapel. It was beautifully decorated, and I really enjoyed the service. That evening, George and I attended two services at our church, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The earlier one, billed as a family service, was based loosely on Chris Van Allsburg's book, The Polar Express. The later service was more of a carol-singing service, with "Silent Night" by candlelight at the end. It was great for my spirits. Christmas Day morning, we went to St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Durham for the Holy Eucharist. It was a small turnout, but it felt good to go and have communion and reconnect on that level. It made me miss the rituals in the Christian church, and has me wondering how I can find a balance. I do enjoy going to Eno River UUF a lot.

George went with me to the Rice House for lunch on Monday. It was nice to have him to eat Christmas lunch with, eventhough the lunch was unusual by most Christmas meal standards, and I missed the rest of my family.

George is Jewish, by the way, so he was a great sport with all the church services. He considers himself a Unitarian-Universalist now, so he took it all in stride.

On New Year's Eve, we went to Mike and Suttee's house again to play cards. It was a lot of fun to catch up with everyone. Suttee and Mike hadn't seen me since the hospital, and everyone else I hadn't seen since at least last New Year's Eve! They ordered pizza from Papa John's, but I ate my Rice Diet supper before we left and took a raw veggie tray with me.

Yesterday, on New Year's Day, we went to an open house thrown by George's uncle and aunt, Howard and Nettie, and some long-time friends of theirs in Raleigh. It was good to see George's family there and meet some new people. I nearly wiped out the raw vegetable tray there!

New Year's Resolutions

I'm working on my list on New Year's Resolutions, and the big one this year (aside from continuing on the Rice Diet) will be to improve my finances. This is a big stepping stone to other goals in my life, like moving to a better apartment and eventually owning a home, being able to travel more, and being prepared for a wonderful retirement!

To help me along, I've picked up thhe book, Start Late, Finish Rich, by David Bach, again. I started it a year ago, and got just a few pages into it. With everything going on this year, I'm probably not in much better financial shape than I was a year ago, because I haven't given it much attention. I've been coasting along, by and large, just taking care of basics and not thinking much about the future, financially. I did increase my automatic contribution to my retirement account earlier in 2006, but otherwise I just let it sit. Am I investing wisely for retirement? How much do I want to save for my first home? What's my credit score? Lots of things to decide. I'll start my balancing my checkbook today and work on a gameplan!

Christmas

Talked with Mom last night, and we decided it would probably be best if I stayed here for Christmas, since it would be such a long drive for such a short visit. I'm still on the Rice Diet, so I'll have Christmas dinner at the Rice House. I'm glad to be staying the course on my diet, but a little sad about not seeing Mom and Dad for Christmas. I will spend more time with George, who has agreed to join me for the Rice House Christmas dinner and church festivities.

Update

I ran in the Reindeer Romp 5K in Cary, NC, yesterday. Although I didn't improve my time like I'd hoped, I finished in about 52 minutes, not bad for me. It was a fun race, and my buddy Stephanie ran with me, which made it even more fun! It was a beautiful morning, to boot.

My niece, Laura, found out on Thursday that she got into Duke! I'm so excited for her! Looking forward to seeing her more, too.

Fun weekend

George and I had a wonderful day on Saturday, celebrating my birthday a little late. We started out at Doc Green's, a gourmet salad restaurant near Southpoint Mall, for lunch. After some window shopping at Lane Bryant and Omega Sports, I went to a nearby nail salon for a manicure and pedicure while George went next door to get his hair cut. George came back to visit with me while my nails were being done, and surprised me by paying for my spa-like treatment! Later, we went over to Southpoint Mall and had dinner at Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill, where I had a yummy salmon dish cooked to order (the Rice Diet way). Afterward, we went to see the movie, "The Holiday," which was right cute!

It was a movie weekend, as we went to see the Borat movie Friday night. It was hilarious in spots, just crude in others! I'm glad we went to see it, though, as I'd been curious about it.

Yesterday, we joined George's brother and sister-in-law, as well as his mother, at the North Carolina Museum of Art, to celebrate my birthday too. :) We went to see the Monet in Normandy exhibit, which was wonderful! Afterward, I'd missed the lunch hours at the Rice House, so George's mom took us to lunch at the Applebee's in Raleigh, where I was able to get a salmon dish cooked to order again. I've come to love salmon!

Another 5K

I've signed up for another 5K road race, this one in Cary on December 16. It's called the New Balance Reindeer Romp, proceed of which will go to Girls on the Run of the Triangle. Since I'm up to 75 minutes on the elliptical, I'm hoping my endurance is better, and I know I'm a little lighter. I'm excited at the possiblity of improving my time.

Last weekend

George and I spent some extra time at our church, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (which we call ERUUF for short), last weekend, as our new lead minister was installed. It was interesting to be a part of the celebration, which included a number of guest speakers. I was especially impressed by one lady in particular, Ginnie Courter, who is the current moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association. She was very well spoken, energetic, funny, and sharp. I would love to have someone like her for a mentor.

We went to a panel discussion of 4 people on Saturday night on Unitarian Universalism Today and Tomorrow. The panel included not only the lady mentioned above, but the last lead minister of ERUUF as well. It was nice to meet him. The installation service was Sunday afternoon, followed by a reception. The food looked great, but I stuck to fresh fruit, which was tasty too.

Birthday

I had a really nice birthday, especially considering it was a Monday, and dinner was at the Rice House. I had a good visit with Mom and Dad, who brought cards and a couple of presents when they met me at the Rice House. Mom had already taken me clothes shopping a few days ago, when I got several cute items in the next size smaller!

Lisa and Craig sent a new iPod my way via Mom and Dad (who went to San Fransisco for Thanksgiving)! It's red and cute as a button! Craig and Marion loaded some songs on there already, over 1700! A lot of the music is right on, and some of it I've never heard before!

Tis the Season

I pulled down my Christmas card boxes this morning before I left for work, and put them on my breakfast table. I'm excited about doing Christmas cards this year, for some reason! I feel this need to reconnect with folks.

Meanwhile, today is my birthday. My parents are meeting me at the Rice House for dinner. I miss being taken out for my birthday, but it's not about the food, right?

Today I brought some dip and crackers (along with cute little Christmas plates) into work for everyone. Folks seem to like it. I just felt like helping folks cheer up on a cold Monday morning. Okay, so maybe a little bit of it was throwing myself a birthday party, without people knowing it's my birthday! A little strange, perhaps.

My old pal Angela called and left me a Happy Birthday message this morning! I can't wait to call her back later!

Weightloss Milestone

At check-in this morning, I lost 2.1 pounds and a total of 50.2 pounds since I started the Rice Diet! Woohoo! The past couple of weeks on the scales have been a little strange, so I'm glad to have made some good progress at last.

Cravings-Hotdogs

Recently, I saw a TV show about a hotdog restaurant (shaped like a hotdog!) in rural Colorado that has quite a reputation in the area. I think the show was on the Travel Channel, but may have been on the Food Network channel. Anyway, hotdogs are one thing I miss, being on the Rice Diet. They're meat, for starters, and the Rice Diet is a vegan diet. And then there's the sodium issue; hotdogs have lots of sodium!

The show got me thinking about some favorite hotdog places in my past. The first one that comes to mind is the Varsity in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, known for their orange drinks as well as the hotdogs! My favorites were the chili cheese dog and a frosted orange. I also remember all the TV screens, and being impressed that the employees could remember (sometimes complicated) customer orders to shout to their co-workers assembling the dogs.

The other favorite hot dog joint is a place called Yum Yum's, in the College Hill district of Greensboro, NC, near the UNC-G campus. Pretty unassuming on the outside, the hotdogs inside are good and inexpensive, and their ice cream is also yummy! (My favorite flavor was lemon custard.) I enjoyed grabbing a bite there while on campus.

Postcrossing

I checked my email today and learned that my first Postcrossing postcard sent has arrived in Germany! Pretty neat! Postcrossing is a worldwide postcard exchange coordinated on a website. It appealed to my love of travel and the penpals I used to have as a kid. Seems like a fun idea.

Back to work

I'm back at work today, with much to do! I guess that's the price I pay for being on vacation for a few days!

Thanksgiving Day was good. George joined me for lunch at the Rice House, then we went to visit his family in Cary.

Saturday, we went to the Duke-UNC football game, which Duke lost by 1 point! The final score, 45-44.

I tried some different approaches to exercise while on vacation, mostly walking in different locations. It was refreshing to get outside later in the week and get a change of scenery while exercising. I enjoyed being back in the gym this morning at my usual time, and that let me know that the change of routine was good for me.

Ahhh, Vacation

It's a great feeling to be on Day #2 of vacation at home. I'm still getting things done around the apartment, but am enjoying a different schedule. My car is fixed now (big relief), and I've done some cleaning. Tomorow I may do some shopping. Taking it easy, though. Will continue to get my exercise in, hopefully a little extra. It's such a relief to be able to take it easy for a bit.

The only downside is that George is sick. :-(