lazy saturday

Let me preface this by saying I can count the number of lazy Saturdays I've had in the last 4 years on one hand. One was on my honeymoon. The other was this past MLK Jr weekend, when we went on vacay. I'm willing to bet that over the previous 3 years there wasn't more than 2 or 3 more. I have a long-term committed relationship with the 8:30am-3:30pm shift at work. Unless I have major plans (aka my wedding), I never have off. I think I'm emotionally attached to that shift. It's like women who don't leave men who abuse them. (Okay, perhaps not that bad). I don't really like working Saturday mornings, I don't really even need to at this point...it's just what I do. Anyway, I'm thinking about stopping that. Today was a trial run. It's been great.

We slept in (8:45 is sleeping in to me). Then a leisurely meal of chocolate chip pancakes. Then a nap (because eating can be so taxing). Then we took a nice long walk through Five Points (the area of town we live in-- nice old neighborhoods, cute shops, yummy restaurants). The weather is gorgeous today! I wore a v-neck shirt and I have a sneaking suspicion I may have gotten a little sun-- definitely a good thing. I bought a Christmas wreath at a yard sale. I almost got talked into spending $5 on an "air walker", which is this old workout machine that is really fun to play on, but would probably get used more to hang laundry than anything else. Mainly I have fond memories of playing on them with my brother and sister years and years ago when we would go to Sears with our parents. Playing on the exercise machines-- that was our idea of a good time. Flash forward 15 years and you can barely pay me to set foot in a gym. Oh the irony.

Anyway, we exercised great self-control and did not eat lunch out. We came home and I made an experimental (but delicious) pasta with whole wheat spaghetti, cucumbers, tomatos, artichokes, feta cheese, and EVOO. For those of you who aren't completely obsessed/in love with Rachael Ray, "EVOO" means extra-virgin olive oil. It's a staple. I have gotten to where I really love cooking (usually. Except for when I don't.) And I love Rach. Since we don't have cable anymore and I can't watch her talk show plus the plethora of shows on Food Network, I depend mostly on her web page and a magazine subscription to Everyday with Rachael Ray. It's a great magazine. A lot of her recipes involve way too many ingredients, but there's always some that are easy and relatively cheap. And delicious. Earlier this week I made "Quick Chicken with Gouda Gravy and Smashed Brocco-taters" and it was awesome. Although gouda cheese is a little on the pricey side, it was awesome.

Anyway...now Matt is off the phone, so I shall end this post and see where the rest of this day takes us. It's beaaauuuuutiful!!