Woke up about an hour ago, had a bowl of creamy mushroom soup and went outside to start shoveling. The snow had turned to sleet by the time I got out there. A good 5 inches of the mix, mostly loose snow, was on the ground.

I got some pictures of one of the dark-eyed juncos that have been hanging around yesterday, but the sun had went down too far to get good exposures. I'm going to try again Monday. Without my birding camera, I have to be sneaky to get close enough for a good shot. Sneaky in this case means feeding them on fenceless fenceposts near the window.

For breakfast I had creamy parmesan noodles, for lunch I had eggs and hashbrowns, for my healthy snack I had a mandarin and a sugar-free popsicle. I got in well over an hour of exercise walking from my place to merryperseis's place and back.

I would have made, except that my dinner wasn't exactly reasonable. I went to Rudy's with purpleglitter, zarthon, and Jeff. I ended up eating chili con queso, a jalapeño poppers, and a bean & cheese burrito. The popper and burrito would have been fine &ndash but the chips and chili con queso were not only too much, it's hard not to categorize them as junk food.

From the The Universal Household Assistant or What Every One Should Know (1884):

Household Hints. — Do not deposit wood ashes in a wooden vessel or upon a wooden floor.    Never use a light in examining a gas-meter.    Never take a light into a closet.    Never read in bed by candle or lamp light.    Never put kindling wood on top of the stove to dry.    Never leave clothes near a grate or fire-place to dry.    Be careful in making fire with shavings, and never user any kind of oil to kindle a fire.    Keep all lights as far from curtains as possible.    Always fill and trim your lamps by daylight, and never near a fire.    Good nice pie-crust can be made by always observing the following rule. One-quarter of a cup of shortening to every cup of flour used; to be mixed as dry as possible with cold water, and mixed only with a knife.    Take sweet butter only for baking purposes, and never fail to thoroughly beat together your butter and sugar, if you would be sure of good results in cake baking.    Have metal or earthen vessels for matches, and keep them out of reach of children. Wax matches are not safe.    Ground mustard mixing with a little water is an excellent agent for cleansing the hands after handling odorous substances.    Cut hot bread or cake with a hot knife, and it will not be clammy.    Salt extracts the juices of meat in cooking. Steaks ought therefore not be salted until they have been broiled.    In boiling dumplings of any kind, put them in the water one at a time. If they are put in together they will mix with each other.    Do not cut lamp-wicks, but trim them by wiping off with a scrap of paper.    Never boil vegetables with soup stock, for if you do it will certainly become sour in a short time.    Boil your cream for coffee, and see if the coffee will not taste better, as well as keep hot longer.    Pin-cushion covers made of cheese cloth embroidered and trimmed with lace, wear well and keep their looks.    Some one says that leaves of parsley, eaten with a little vinegar, will destroy the odor of breath tainted by onions.    Hot liquid lye is recommended for removing obstructions in waste pipes. Or let the potash dissolve over night in the pipes.    To wipe dust from papered walls, take a clean, soft piece of flannel. Of course it must not be damp, but the dry flannel will remove the dust.    Varnish the soles of your shoes, and it will render them impervious to dampness, and will also make them last longer. This is a good plan.    Clean the mica in stove doors with vinegar. Take clinkers out of stoves by putting a few oyster shells into the grate, when they will become loosened, and may be removed without injuring the lining.    Save the droppings from spermaceti candles, tie them in a cloth, and keep to smooth rough flat-irons.    Never starch napkins.    An old black bunting or cashmere dress may be made to serve a further period of usefulness by being made into a petticoat.    Between two evils choose neither.    Writing a will does not shorten life, and yet many men fear it will.    Save old suspender rings, and sew them on the corners of kitchen holders to hang them by. It will be easy then to flip them on to a nail, and they will not be so likely to get lost.    Powdered borax with a little sugar, blown into the cracks and crevices with a small bellows, will drive away house-ants.    Have a high stool in the kitchen to sit on when tired, to continue your work if necessary. Perched on its top you can wash dishes or iron with ease. A low stool placed on a wooden chair forms a substitute, but a poor one. A soft sheep-skin mat is restful to stand upon.    There is nothing better for cleaning brass or copper than coal ashes. They are also good to scour knives and forks with. For tin, whiting or fine sand is best.    To cleanse jars or jugs or any earthen vessel slaked lime is good, or warmed lye.    To keep a stove smooth, take a coarse and pretty large piece of flannel, roll it hard, and dip it in fine sand. Proceed to rub your stove whenever you are through cooking. Almost any stove will look better for being done the same way occasionally. Boiled starch is also very good to keep a stove looking well; put it on where it will not burn off — around the back and sides where it doesn't get very hot.

For breakfast yesterday I had cream of mushroom soup; for lunch I had spaghetti o's topped with monterey jack; for dinner I had ricotta and spinach stuffed ravioli in tomatoe sauce with parmesan and green and blacks olives; for my first healthy snack I had a clementine, for my second health snack I had dried blueberries.

I didn't get in my exercise quota and I had a white chocolate Lindt ball. Mmm... it was good, but definitely not on the plan.

For breakfast yesterday I had pizza; for lunch I had pakora kadhi on forbidden black rice; for dinner I had flat bread pizza with mushrooms at the Flat Bread Café in Bedford. I didn't have a healthy snack, nor did I get any exercise. However, I did have some banana bread with ice cream. So, there!

We did not venture out for most of my visit, however Friday we did go down to the capital. My sister (ellynx) gave me and Maddie a staff-led tour of the capital building. While we were were still limited to the public areas of the building, we didn't have to tag along with a tour group and were free to go at our own pace. A few of the statues in the statue gallery of the capital building surprised me, I was not expecting to see Robert E. Lee or Brigham Young.

After seeing the capital building, Christian picked us up and we all had tea at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City. I felt a little less Jack Dawson than I have in such settings in the past. The cakes, sandwiches and scones were delightful and the tea was great. Christian complained that the service was sub-par, however I did not notice that myself as I have no real idea of what par at the Ritz Carlton is. I enjoyed it nonetheless, and am glad I got to experience it.

After tea, we went back to the house where later in the evening Maddie made me a wonderful ice cream soup. It's been a long time since I've had ice cream soup, and I must say Maddie's was excellent.

Yesterday for breakfast I had a packet of Good vermicelli, for lunch I had sushi, for dinner I had enchiladas verdes, for my healthy snack I had cantaloupe. I surrounding dinner I had chili con queso and fried ice cream, which is outside the project. I did get in my exercise though, in the form of a three hour walk in the morning and two 15 minute walks later in the day.

This has been my 15^th attempt at Project Three Meals, and I'm really starting to grow tired of it. Burnt out. I can't say that I won't try to start it up again, but there have been numerous suggestions by numerous people online and off about what might be wrong with the project concept. Perhaps I will tweak it, perhaps I'll modify it into another project, perhaps I just won't.

Where I am going is not so much determined by what my body eats, but instead by what my mind eats. I need to worry about the former less and the latter more.

Not even close yesterday. I had cheese-stuffed ravioli with tomatoe sauce and parmesan cheese for breakfast, hot and spicy scrambled tofu with baby corn drenched in soy sauce for lunch, half an egg salad sub for dinner, and a pickle for my healthy snack. However, I had an additional pickle, some cheese crackers, a bowl of ice cream, and no exercise. I can do better. I will do better.

For breakfast yesterday I had spaghetti with tomatoe sauce, mushrooms, and parmesan cheese; for lunch I had spaghetti o's, for dinner I had paneer makhani with rice, for my health snack I had a pickle. I didn't repeat Wednesday's success because i had a bowl of ice cream and didn't get any exercise.

Didn't do so well again at Project Three Meals today, but i keep going. I had pizza for breakfast, For lunch I had gluten, mushrooms, and baby corn marinated in soy sauce then stir fried. For my healthy snack I had a pickle. zarthon took purpleglitter and me out to Rudy's for dinner where I had chili con queso, enchiladas verdes, and fried ice cream. I also had a cry baby italian ice from the Ice Stand by Spy Pond.

I didn't get any exercise of note in. Exercise has proved to be a difficult issue because I've been having more issues with dizziness or whatever the hell these spells are where I get twitchy and have difficulty walking. They got better for a while, but seem to be waxing again. Nothing near what they were at their peak last winter and it's not really a good excuse for not getting my exercise in, but it is a mental deterrent to doing so. I need to just fucking go out and take my walks.

I can do better. I will do better.

I had a bagel with cream cheese form breakfast, an egg and cheese bagel for lunch, breadsticks with mozzarella for dinner. I had no healthy snack, but I did eat ice cream and a small amount of fried potatoes. Didn't get any exercise.

Whatever.

It is awfully late in the day to be posting this, but here is yesterday's Project Three Meals. Exercise went wonderfully. Got in a good three fourths an hour wandering around looking for kyrene's party. Foodwise, well, I ate a lot and a lot of it wasn't healthy: macaroni and cheese with purpleglitter; bean and rice pilaf, cream puffs, cheese and crackers, marinated mozzarella, cheese-its, patatoe chips, triple chocolate cake, apples dipped in caramelly goodness, ricotta and spinach pierogies, ass kicking peanuts, chocolate cream pie, and other assorted foodstuffs at the party. So yeah, I guess I'll count that as a day I didn't make it.

Like yesterday, I didn't do so well today. I had a bowl of tomatoe soup with 2 wheat rolls for breakfast, a slice of pizza for lunch, a bowl of cream of vegetable soup for dinner, and olives for my healthy snack. However, I continued to eat again. I also had a plate of scrambled tofu, an additional slice of pizza, and a double scoop Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone. I guess I'll try again tomorrow, but this is getting almost embarrassing.

I almost stuck to my plan today. Had mashed potatoes for breakfast, stroganoff for lunch, an egg and cheese bagel for dinner, and wasabi peas for my healthy snack. However, I just at a bowl of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Caramel Brownie Ice Cream, which does not count as healthy and even if it did would be outside my three meal plan. Tomorrow I will improve and hopefully actually stick to the plan.

life is this
this is life
where will i go?
what am i doing here?
right now i'm sitting at a keyboard.
having listened to the preachings of rev. jeremiah weed
jeremiah weed is a pleasant fellow
he ministers in a slurred voice
his company is fine
he makes me drunk
incoming message...
...
...
comment
...
...
don't worry
i'm not going to do the three dots thing again
....
see four
.....
and five
...
shut up
anyway.
sometimes
things are different
different inside
things freeze up
it's hot in here
but it's cold too.
they might seem opposite
but can exist together.
i'm thinking of jalapeño ice cream
interesting idea
hot and cold
i wonder if it would take off
popcorn flavored jelly beans did
----
dashes
see
not dots
the world is spinning a little
but that's just old rev. weed
asking me
what's up
i don't know where i am
i don't really care
i'm somewhere
that's all that matters for the moment
it's hot in here
i open the window.
it will be cold soon
winter is coming
one of the floaters doesn't like winter
finds it triggery
i wonder what happened in the winter
i wonder why the winter is so cold
the beast comes out in the cold
the beast is protective
the beast sees the cold as something to protect against
winters long march
through my bones
----
four even
and only once
so there
-----
symmetry is overrated
i overrate it
i look at it as important
feel rebellious if i part my hair asymmetrically
fuck symmetry
-----
i hear the leaves
falling to the ground
winter is coming
coming fast
we need oil
do we have money for oil?
no.
but we need it
or we will freeze
i can keep the house heated with the gas stove and oven
but people need to cooperate
i have to stay up all night to make sure the pipes don't freeze some nights
winter is always about tending the fires
making sure everything stays warm
against the bitter cold
and here it comes
winter

zarthon took purpleglitter and me out to Rudy's for purpleglitter's birthday dinner. I got Enchiladas Verdes sans the cheese and sour cream.

After dinner, we headed down to the Diesel Café, where we all partook of caffeinated beverages.

After the Diesel, we split up. zarthon went over Stop & Shop to get Lake's cheesecake, and purpleglitter and I went back to purpleglitter's place. Back at purpleglitter's we realized that I didn't have my meds with me. So I took purpleglitter's car back to the house_of_clocks, while purpleglitter stayed at home to wait for zarthon. I was excited about getting to drive, as I don't get to do that much.

I'm now back at purpleglitter's apartment with purpleglitter and zarthon celebrating purpleglitter's birthday with Ketel One madrasses.

-----

There will be a small party celebrating purpleglitter's birthday at the house_of_clocks 10:00pm Saturday.