Brrr

It's so cold I can hardly function. I don't understand why it won't snow if it's going to be so cold. This morning I had to come in early for a meeting at the building at the other end of our short block. It was so close I HAD to park at our office and walk over -- there was no justifying driving there. To endure the walk I counted my steps (130). On the way back I focused on eating three mini-ham biscuits I'd snagged. I wish our office had a fireplace.

Back in the day I used to get all pumped up for running in the cold. Especially if it snowed -- I loved bundling up and running in the snow. I think it made me feel strong or something. Clearly I have evolved into a wimp, because I have skipped outdoor runs for the treadmill for about two weeks now, with the exception of last week's run with Kate. I'm even considering bailing on the Turkey Trot this weekend, but I'm sure I won't. Since our company's one of the sponsors we'll have a booth there, and I'd much rather be running in the freezing cold than manning a booth and making small talk with randoms in the freezing cold.

Yesterday I cleaned out my Rolodex for the first time ever. There were 46 outdated or otherwise useless business cards. Some were so old and random: one from the sketchy apartment complex where I lived right before we were married (where a baby was found dead last week). One from the jeweler who years ago resized my engagement ring so it wouldn't slip off into a drain. One from a forgotten interior designer-turned-flooring saleswoman-turned-gospel singer we once knew (who turned out to be a little cuckoo).

A few days ago Granny called me to ask if I'd like some turkey. Apparently, she'd been forced to cook the Thanksgiving turkey because she'd gotten it home from the grocery store just to realize there was no room for it in the freezer. This is classic Granny -- I love it. Of course I said yes and I went over and we chatted for a while and the whole time I was thinking I'd love to dig into that turkey (and stuffing) right then and there. When I left I drove back to the office and Matt and Stephen and I devoured every bit of it. With our fingers. Delicious. It's not just anybody who can cook a juicy turkey.

I may have mentioned this before but Amanda does all these mystery shops where, say, McDonald's will pay her to eat there and evaluate the food, overall experience, etc. Whenever she gets a lunch assignment I go with her. I'm so interested in this. She looks so sweet and innocent but she's covertly working her stopwatch and noting names of negligent cashiers.

Last week we went to Sonic for a mystery shop and the service was so good, way better than anything I've ever experienced at Sonic, that I have to wonder whether they were expecting us. They responded in seven seconds to our pushing the button to order, they repeated our orders back to us, the food was out right away, and a waitress came by with a tray of condiments -- which apparently they're supposed to do but I had never seen. Today we're going to Panera, yum.

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Riley picture of the day