Category Archives: Uncategorized

New post at Table 110

http://table110.com/2011/01/29/5-slightly-embarrassing-confessions-from-a-music-junkie/

 

Remember to update your bookmarks/subscriptions.  This blog is continuing at the new URL: http://www.table110.com


New Post at www.table110.com

A post in honor of my little sister’s birthday:

Christmas Eve: A Tale of Two Injuries


Want to get healthy and feel great? Take the 28 Day Challenge!

http://table110.com/2011/01/26/challenge-28-days-to-a-healthier-life/


7 Easy Steps to Gain 20 Pounds – at www.table110.com

New post at Table 110  http://table110.com/2011/01/26/7-easy-steps-to-gain-20-pounds/

This blog has moved to http://www.table110.com  All past and future content is available at the new URL.


New Post on www.table110.com

Life on an Air Mattress: Three Lessons I’ll Never Forget


Yankee in Texas has moved to table110.com

You can read all past and future posts at http://table110.com/

After all, I’m no longer a Yankee in Texas.  I’m back at home where I belong.


Snow.

Late last week our apartment complex hung up signs in the lobby, the elevator, the garage, the trash room, and about a hundred other locations warning us that our cars needed to be moved to a different parking lot prior to 10:00am on Monday, January 10th because they were plowing our lot.  

Having just spent 20 months in Texas, I’m now aware that not everyone understands what I’m talking about.  You see, when you live in Minnesota, huge amounts of snow accumulate in parking lots.  While the friendly snow plow driver folks will plow around your cars on a regular basis, intensive, large-scale snow removal projects are necessary from time to time.  It’s kind of like Spring cleaning for the parking lot.  Only it happens more often than just once a year.  And it happens in the Winter, not the Spring.   Anyhow…

I normally think very little about this process.  In fact it usually doesn’t even impact me since my car and I are at work when it occurs.  But having been freshly transplanted in the snowy metropolis of the Twin Cities and without a job yet, I had to pay lots of attention this time.

In the days leading up to this massive snow removal event I made several mental notes to move my car out of the lot.  I was reminded about the upcoming car moving deadline each time I rode the elevator, every time I put a garbage bag down the trash chute, and on about 27 additional occasions.   

When I woke up this morning I was ready to conquer the world.  I had an actual task on my agenda and I was going to get it done!  It was going to be an amazing show of responsibility, one which would certainly boost my dwindling self-esteem for at least a couple of hours.

I set forth with the energy and excitement of a team of sled dogs.  I woke up when my alarm went off, spent some of my Twitter time looking up a map of the apartment complex, figured out where I should park my car, and devised a route to walk back to my building so I would have to spend the shortest possible amount of time walking outside in the cold.  My plan was to go and execute the plan at exactly 9:45am.

Sometime between my extensive planning/over-analysis of the task ahead of me and the actual execution of said plan I heard a loud noise outside.  It sounded like a giant refrigerator was being dragged down an alley.  Or maybe like a robot ice skating on sheet metal.  I pulled aside a vertical blind and saw it: the parking lot was already being plowed.

What the??!!  I had time left!  In fact, I had over an hour!  This was not the way I expected it to happen at all.  I had carefully crafted a detailed plan to complete the car moving activity.

I sat watching disappointedly while the plow removed snow from our parking lot even though my car and another lonely sedan still occupied the space.  Then I thought really hard about what was going on.  I decided that the snow plow person  probably wanted to get a jump start on the day and was completing some preliminary plowing so that when everyone moved their cars he/she would have less to do.

As 9:30 rolled around I realized that the snow removal appeared to be done.  The plow had driven off and not returned for several minutes.  I had 15 minutes to think about whether or not I should still execute my flawless plan for car moving.  

On one hand, the plow driver might be coming back for a more thorough de-snowing session.  And my roommate was going to come home after work and see what an epic failure in was for not being able to accomplish the simple task of moving my car on time.  And I had spent several minutes painstakingly constructing the most perfect car moving plan ever.  On the other hand, it seemed stupid to go out into the cold if no additional plowing was going to occur.

With a flourish of responsibility and powerful ability to complete a task, I put on my hat and coat, demanded that the dogs “Stay!!”, and walk confidently down the hall to complete my one and only assignment for the day.  As I boarded the elevator I double-checked the sign.  I had read it correctly: the deadline for car moving was 10am today.

I marched out to my car, made note of several other cars still in the lot, sighed, and moved my vehicle to the spot I had so carefully planned earlier in the morning.  I followed the perfect route to the closest door of my building and thought about how utterly STUPID this whole exercise was.

Now I’m back in my apartment peering out the window from time to time.  I’ll let you know when the plow driver returns to take car of the small mound of snow where my car used to be parked.

Oh, and P.S., it just started snowing.     


My New Blog

Please visit and subscribe to my new blog Foodie Slimdown. We’ll talk about:
*delicious low-cal recipes
*tricks for enhancing the flavors in your healthy food
*great cookbooks for healthy eating
*giraffes (yes you read that right. Giraffes. Now hop on over to the blog to see what I’m talking about)

When you visit, make sure to click on the link (right-hand side of the page) to become an official follower.

See you at Foodie Slimdown!


Back to Minnesota

Well here we are so soon after it began.  Exactly one year ago I was helping my friend move from Minneapolis to Dallas.  It was -17 f and I swore I would never move again in a Minnesota winter. HA.  My move-back-to-Minneapolis date is December 27th.  I’m leaving with mixed feelings.  I hate that I’m leaving my Dad and stepmom.  I hate that I’m leaving this weather (it’s December and I have the air conditioning on…).  I’m moving to a place so cold that you can throw boiling water in the air and it will evaporate before it hits the ground.  I’m moving to a place so snowy that the snow recently caused the Metrodome roof to collapse.  I’m also moving to the place where all my friends live.  And my Mom and sister will be a 4 hour drive from me.

I will keep blogging, but it will all look different.  I will no longer be a Yankee in Texas, so the title of this blog will likely change.  I’ll also be branching out.  My new blog foodieslimdown.blogspot.com just launched yesterday and will be updated at least 5 times a week.  Check it out and become an official follower.   Please stay in touch everyone!  Love you all!


is "feminism" to blame? (via Just Sayin')

I read this post and was really disappointed not to be surprised by any of it. We have got to work together to change views on women in the workplace. Check it out:

is "feminism" to blame? In a comment after my recent post "Functional Illiteracy" a woman proposed that feminism was to blame for the decline in the literacy of our children. Her argument is that if mom isn't at home when the kids get home from school, full of energy and ready to help them with their homework while providing a plate of warm cookies and a nice pot of stew bubbling on the stove, then all is lost. (She also bemoaned the fact that all those women working on … Read More

via Just Sayin'