Heatwave

Since living here in Florida almost a whole year now, we’ve only experienced one season: summer. It’s January 8, and it feels like the middle of August. Ugh. We did have a few days in November and December when it got down into the 50’s and even 40’s, but they’re nowhere to be found. The weather forecast keeps calling for high 70’s and 80’s. I know my friends up in the Northeast are rolling their eyes as they read this. I mean, come on you’re complaining that it’s 75 while we’re here freezing our tushes off?! Yes, yes I am. It’s no fun when your office feels like a freaking sauna every day, and all your makeup has run off your face by lunch time.

Anyway, we had a nice low-key sort of weekend. It was good to relax and have some down time before my evil alarm clock went off at 6 am this morning. Ziggy said it well: Mondays truly are the potholes on the road of life. We slept in on Saturday and then went to the Laundromat because our stupid dryer stopped working. That horrible buzzing noise it was making since the week before Christmas led to the inevitable. It crapped out an hour before we were supposed to meet up with Jeff & Liz for dinner on our way to the airport two Fridays ago.

So, Gregg ran over to the Laundromat to dry our clothes while I finished getting the house ready for my in-laws’ visit. He figured out what caused the dryer to stop working and ordered the part the next day, which was only about $50, but wouldn’t arrive at our house until early this week. I did a load of absolute must-haves on Thursday night to tie us over and Gregg dried them in the economy sized dryer at church while he was at rehearsal. Then we spent a few hours at the Laundromat on Saturday, grabbed a pizza for lunch at Little Caesar’s in the same shopping plaza and got everything washed, dried and folded for… $20! What a rip-off. But it had to be done, because we're at the mercy of this part getting here.

After coming home, we put our clothes away and I sat down on the couch & promptly fell asleep. A few hours later, I got a sudden burst of energy and started putting the Christmas decorations and presents away. It felt good to have the house back in order. We heated up leftovers for dinner and ate in front of the tv, calling it a night by 10:00. Yup, what a wild and crazy Saturday.

Yesterday was the usual: Sunday school, church, then lunch at home. I checked my email and perused my favorite blogs in the afternoon. I also resurrected a concept that helped me many a night answer the age old question, “what’s for dinner?” Gregg and I both realized that I was falling into a rut, sometimes completely forgetting to take anything out of the freezer the night before. Something needed to drastically change. So I went online to a few favorite recipe sites and copied & pasted a variety of dishes whose ingredients I had in the house, and made out a menu for the week. Tonight I’m trying something called Baked Spaghetti.

Things at work have settled down somewhat. I still have a few more reports to do and stuff to file with the IRS yet. Tomorrow night, we are resuming our small group meetings after a three week hiatus. I’m looking forward to getting together with everyone again, and delving into another thought-provoking study. Although, there is one down-side to having SG on Tuesday nights: we’ll miss the new season of American Idol! Oh well, I’m sure I can find a blank videotape somewhere. :)