Random notes a rainy afternoon

1. I need to remember that eating eating meals composed primarily of white bread for both breakfast and lunch is the best way to spend my afternoon feeling like crap. Ugh. I had a bagel for breakfast and a too-big sandwich for lunch and now I feel all fuzzy-headed. All the caffeine in the world can't help when I feel like this, either. I brought my breakfast and lunch from home every other day this week and felt MUCH better than I do today! I must remember this when I am seduced by the ease of a great big sandwich from the cute bakery down the street!


2. I also need to remember that I MUST stop for candy on my way home from work today. Someone who lives just a few blocks from me told me that she gave out thousands of pieces of candy last Halloween. That's a freakin' lot of sugar. (Though perhaps the rain we're having this afternoon will scare some ghosties and ghouls into staying home!). Also, do you think the neighborhood kids would be mad if I handed out valentines-themed candy for Halloween? It's on sale CHEAP at Grocery Outlet right now! :-)

3. I can feel the annual winter mood creep coming on lately. At this point in my life, I like to think of myself as a pretty happy person. However, winters are still pretty tough on me. As soon as the days start to get late-fall short, I feel myself getting more and more blue. And now the rain has started, which means days that are both short AND grey. It's not depression, exactly, but it IS a lot harder to be in a cheerful mood. And, boy, does it get difficult to motivate myself to do anything, including going to the gym (the one thing that really HELPS with the creeping blues!). Last night, I sat on my couch for pretty much the whole night, thinking about going out to the gym, the fabric store, anywhere but then doing nothing at all.

4. One thing that has also kept me cheerful the past couple of days is baked eggs for dinner. I slice up some zucchini and drop it into the bottom of some ramekins. Then, I saute a handful of sliced leeks with a touch of butter, flour and milk and pour it over the top of the zukes. Add a handful of cooked wheatberries and crack an egg into each ramekin. Top with a sprinkle of shredded sharp cheddar and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or so. YUM! Perfect with a big green salad on the side. Or a baked sweet potato, which is what I had last night.

Tonight, my downstairs neighbor is having a Halloween party, which I will probably go to, though I have no costume. I figure I might as well go, since it's not like I'll be able to sleep, anyway, as long as the party is going on. And I made a very YUMMY pumpkin gingerbread pineapple upside down cake to take.