#201 - What a life! - November 29, 2013

Last 24: Christmas lights are up!  Katrina headed up the interior decorations today, and I took care of the exterior.  This is our first time really decorating this house for Christmas, and it's truly lovely.  Pics in a later post.

Random list of cool things since the last post a month ago:
1) The knee seems fully recovered from the Mudder injury 6 weeks ago.  Now up to running 5 miles with no problem again.
2) Despite fears of weight gain, weight loss has continued.  Weighed in at a new 10-year low this morning at 213.  That was really excellent news.  It's only a 3 lb loss in 6 weeks, but I've been less careful with diet and haven't done much exercise.
3) Completed a cycle of reviews at work, and this time I approached them differently.  It was better to look at the opportunity as "What does this person need?" as opposed to what I was supposed to tell them.
4) Completed the first 2/3 of the deck railing rebuild.  The old one was completely rotten.  This is probably my best home improvement project to date.
5) Both of the older kids are on the honor roll.  They are excellent.
6) Aria convinced me to take her shopping for Black Friday.  So she, Christian, and I left the house at 11:40pm on Thanksgiving day to hit the mall.  We had a great time, and got some great deals.  It was really a lot of fun, so much better then doing the early morning thing.  It is interesting to see who is really willing to stay up until 3am to go shopping vs those who are willing to get up at 3am to go shopping.  It was a much younger crowd, and I think more focused on fun and less focused on deals.
7) My parents are here for a few weeks.  It's always nice when they visit.
8) Bought one of the Tough Mudder pics.  The other two are copyright by Marathon Foto.  We were up for buying the whole $90 package, but Marathon failed to bother to identify me in all but one photo.  I spent 3 hours of my own time to find the other 2 pics, and my number is plain as day on my forehead.  I know there are a few more of us out there, but if Marathon won't bother to do their part, I'm not buying more than 1.  Here they are.
9) I've been trying to finish more books than I start.  I finished Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 a few days ago, and inhaled Sanderson's Steelheart the week before that.  We resumed reading The Book Thief.  Quiet was fascinating.  Still haven't finished Ulysses, Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Swagger, but I'll get there.  I have a new love for Amazon's deal for the weak of the week, and that has also inflated my list of literature to consume.  Who can turn down a free Riki Tiki Tavi?  Or some nearly-free YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi?  Not I.
10) The outside has frozen.  Cleaning out the pool will wait until Spring.  I still have some leaf cleanup to do, tree limbs to trim, and ground cover to cut back.  And the deck of course.  But the focus is now inward, to our living space.
11) Had to make some difficult decisions at work over the last several months.  Management is a very human occupation, which I have finally learned to fully embrace.