I sometimes feel lost at sea.  So many changes are afloat… I drift between the soothing surf that laps at life’s shore and those tumultuous, violent waves that crash upon my world.  It’s been interesting to say the least.   I’m seeing changes everywhere.  It’s exciting, thrilling, and sometimes overwhelming.   Still, I’m happy and that’s what matters.

Change of Direction:
I’m seriously thinking about Las Vegas.  I need the Vegas sunshine on my face and since I’ve got a week off, it’s tempting.  Sami doesn’t want to go anywhere but Seattle, so it’ll likely be a fight.  We could stop in Bridgeport on Wednesday for the Fourth of July.  Ever year, the quiet eastern Sierra town comes alive with parades and old fashioned patriotic fanfare.   Best of all, it’s all situated just north of my beloved Mono Lake.  It’d be cool to be part of it- even if I have to go alone.

Change in Formula:
I made my first full low sodium dinner: pasta with meatballs and sauce tonight and WOWZERS, was it good!  I found a wonderful pasta sauce at Safeway.  It was on sale for $5.99.   The regular price is $7.99, which seems crazy.   But it was wicked tasty and fully organic with only 100 mg sodium (and 40 calories) per serving.   I’m going back tomorrow and am planning on buying all they have on the shelf as I think it might have been on ‘clearance’. 

As for the meatballs, I used a very small amount of extra lean (7%) ground beef, Mrs. Dash Tomato, Basil, and Garlic seasoning, Morton’s Salt Substitute, about two tablespoons dried chives, two tablespoons shredded parmesan, and a tablespoon dried chopped garlic.  They were heavenly!   I’m really smitten with Mrs. Dash.    Even if I didn’t have to worry about my sodium intake, I think I’d use this stuff on everything.

I made a great salad of baby greens, grape tomatoes, and Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan salad dressing.  It’s not a low or reduced sodium dressing, but it doesn’t matter.   It takes only the tiniest bit to add so much flavor to those greens.  By far, this is my favorite salad dressing.

Dinner was finished with a half of a sourdough roll.  mmmm. sourdough.

Change of Pace:
I’ve been slacking off a bit on my walking these past two days.  Tomorrow AM, I must get up early and walk.   If I have to, I’ll go to the office and use the treadmill there.   I can shower afterward and go straight to work.  If the weather is nice, I’d like to go walk the track.   I could even head up to the Lewisburg Saddle and hit a hiking trail just around dawn.  No matter what I choose, I cannot let myself become accustomed to being lazy- especially after that incredible dinner.

Change of Tune:
Since iMeem has reset many of their tracks to 30 second samples (in response to a suit filed by Warner Music Group), I’m going to have to find another way to share playlists on my site.   I really enjoyed iMeem while it lasted, but I understand the reasons for it coming to an end.   I’m not sure if I’ll continue posting weekly playlists here.  I haven’t been too good about it in the last month, but I need to make a decision pretty soon.

There’s no telling what tomorrow holds…
 

I visited the doctor’s office again today, this time for a long overdue blood workup.   My vampire doctor seems to think that since I had my last blood work in 2005, it’s time to do it again.   So reluctantly, I trudged in this morning at 8:30AM and met my fate.   After the draw, I got to weigh in.  Since last week, I have lost eight pounds!   I’m thrilled beyond words and desperate to get out and buy new clothes since my old ones are already getting loose.  I’ve got a long row to hoe, but this is encouraging.   I wish I’d weighed in when I started this ‘healthy’ thing.   I’d love to know how far I’ve come overall.

I need to be getting ready for our journey this weekend.   I want so badly to go south.  I need the desert.   But hopefully, the weather in Seattle will be sunny and warm.   Since we’re broke, we’ll be spending a lot of time walking around, looking at old buildings and gardens and the like.   It’ll be good exercise and honestly, it’ll be very nice to be in the elements.   It won’t smell the same as my desert, but it’ll be sweet in it’s own way.

Tomorrow, I have a ton of things that I need to catch up on at work.  Meanwhile, Sami’s boyfriend plans on coming up to Corvallis for the day.  She’ll be out running around (in the rain, if the forecast holds).  I guess I don’t envy her that.  I do wish I could stay home and work on housework while she’s away, though.

And since I don’t have anything inspiring to write and have been reduced to babbling about my own life, I’ll share a story that I heard about on Court TV:  
Three families from the Pacific Northwest have been terrorized by a stalker who appears to know everything that the families are doing, even in the assumed privacy of their own homes.   The creep responsible has even found a way to control their cell phones- even though they’ve changed their numbers, changed phones, and even turn their phones off on a regular basis.  This is truly creepy.  Check it out for yourself…

I’d better get back to chores.   It seems to be a never ending battle.

For the last month or so, I’ve pretty much been feeling sorry for myself. Financial woes and health concerns have occupied my thoughts.   Overall, I’ve been quite an unpleasant person to be around.  Tonight it ends.     You see…  This evening, a good friend put it in all perspective. She reminded me that the things going on in my life are bearable and that there are many other people out in the big blue world that are enduring so much more.  My problems are mostly transient and not really worth the mental energy I’ve put into them.

So tonight, my thoughts are with my beloved Lake Tahoe and it’s citizens.  I ache for those who have lost their homes and property.  I fear for the creatures who call the woods around ‘Beautiful Blue’ their home.  And I hope that when the smoke clears, those affected can say, as I have this evening…  “Well, it could have been worse.”

I miss it so much right now.