RallyKiller in the Carolinas

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Back in college there was a night when a group of us went out to the bars and--on the way home--the boys in the group were trying to convince my friend Trisha and I to hit another bar. Trisha demurred, saying she had an exam the next day. "Don't be a rally killer!" was the chant and the name stuck. For the next three years, fun girl though she is, Trisha was known in our group as RK, or Rallykiller.

RK came to North Carolina this weekend, bringing her son Max with her. To our delight, after 20 years of friendship, we finally managed on this trip to get some decent photos of the two of us together. For twenty years, one or the other of us have looked so heinous in joint photos that the other has been forbidden to use it. But now that we're old and wrinkled, the camera is our friend. Go figure.

Some pictures from this weekend. Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Miss you already, RK!!!

 

     Opening NIght at GSO Grasshoppers GameStill trying to teach me to cook...

 Caught in the rain at Hanging Park!

We're tired of hiking! Bring the limo around

 

Tales of a Recycling Loser

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So it's near the end of yoga class today and the talk turns to recycling. One woman states that for her family of 5 (including 3 teenagers), they produce about 2 large bags of garbage per month. I couldn't help myself. "Per month?" I blurted out. "Between Blair and I we produce 2 bags a week!"

Slowly heads turned my way as mouths fell open in horror. "What on earth are you throwing away?" asked someone.

I racked my brain. Just what was all that stuff in our kitchen trash can? Kitty poo wrapped in plastic bags. Used tissues. Some styrofoam packing from a new skillet we just bought. And paper towels.

"Paper towels?" asked everyone aghast. "You still use paper towels?"

At this point it was too late to lie. "Um, yes?" I said. "I clean countertops with them."

I may have committed a social faux paus from which I will never recover. Or not. The group was actually very kind and opened my eyes to the fact that I am missing a ton of recycling opportunities. Toilet paper rolls and tissue boxes? No more throwing away for me. Now they will get mashed in with the cereal and frozen food cartons in the recycling bin under our sink. I will begin to wean myself off paper towels and start using cloth rags to clean the counters. (Although this led to discussion about is it cheaper to wash and clean the rags or use paper towels. No one knew.) I may not go so far as to scrub the peanut butter jar out but then again, I might.

It's really going to be a matter of paying attention. The women admitted it can be a bit time consuming to try and wash and recycle everything that can be recycled, but I also think I could do a whole lot better without too much added effort on my part. I've been working out so I ought to be able to handle carrying that empty cardboard toilet paper roll to the recycling bin.

Does anyone have any recycling tips? Anything not obvious I maybe could be recycling?

The Wine Fairy Was Here

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Imagine opening your door and finding a bottle of merlot and fresh-baked lemon-poppyseed friendship bread (not necessarily meant to be consumed together) on your doorstep. That was how I kicked off my day. A woman in my local yoga class makes her own wine and yesterday said she had a bottle to give me. As I have a friend coming in from out of town this week, I responded that her timing couldn't be better. Alas, our schedules did not synch up and it didn't look like we'd run into each other again for a week or two. 

So what a lovely surprise to find that while I was huffing it out this AM on the treadmill, the wine fairy paid a visit to my front porch, leaving two bottles of merlot and, as mentioned, fresh-baked bread which I am seriously considering passing off as my own effort. (I have no shame.) 

I whine a lot about living out in the boondocks, but it's for reasons like this that I love my cozy little hometown. 

And if I'm a very good girl, perhaps the gourmet cheese and cracker fairy will make a deposit.

Cheers, 

Dena

Need Me? I'll Be In A Meeting

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I went on a purge last year where I backed off, backed away, and backed down from a majority of professional and personal commitments. At the time, I had the distinct feeling my life ran me versus the other way around. 

Backing off helped and I feel my time is more my own. Life, however, is creeping back in. This is not necessarily unwelcome. But looking at the ol' calendar I'm realizing I need to be careful or I'll again quickly be overwhelmed. So far, I have the following weekly and monthly commitments:

Monthly

Weekly

  •  Monday - Hill runs
  • Tuesday- Trainer
  • Thursday - Trail Run
  • Saturday - Long Run
  • Yoga - 2x
  • Allergy shot

Looking at it now, the schedule doesn't seem so bad. And after all, all the weekly commitments are "fun" stuff I do for personal enhancement. But when I add in drive time to each event plus client meetings and "life" appointments (hair cut, vet, occasional coffee or lunch with friends) I feel like I'm grasping at spare moments to do actual work. Plus, the meetings are just the start. Then there's the work to be done as a result of meeting.

Blair and I have decided to start reserving as much of Sundays as possible for our time together. Hate to have to schedule "us" time but I'd rather schedule and have it versus leaving it to chance. 

How's everyone else faring? Finding decent work/life balance or is the scale stacked against you?