Somnolent

I'm sure it's not a terribly original feeling, but I am very tired today. I don't know why... It could be the cold and dreary weather, could be the last vestiges of my cold, could be stress, could be a combination of all those things. At any rate, I am tired and I can't wait to walk out of my office this afternoon and point my car toward the grocery store, then home.

I am going to make chili tonight. Does anyone else out there plan their menu based on what the weather is like? I'm guessing someone does. For the obvious reasons, when the weather takes a turn for the cold and darkish, I like to make chili for supper. While I have experimented with a variety of different kinds of chili, in a pinch, I always rely on my mom's old stand-by recipe, with just a few modifications. Here's what you need: a can of Joan of Arc chili beans (yes, they should be Joan of Arc. A lot of the other brands add sugar or high fructose corn syrup), a can of dark red kidney beans, a can of tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, a packet of Boca or Morningstar Farm veggie crumbles, chili powder, and cumin. You dump all those things (after rinsing the kidney beans - but do NOT rinse the chili beans) into a big pan and cook it up. That's it! It's super easy and delicious. Of course, if you are not a vegetarian you can use hamburger instead of veggie crumbles. I like to put shredded cheese and tortilla chips on mine.

So, anyway, chili is yummy and I'm going to make some. The only real question left plaguing me today is whether or not I should go to the gym. Of course, I'm feeling lazy, cold, and tired which means that I don't WANT to go. But I haven't been in quite awhile (stomach flu will do that to you) and I'm sure I'd feel better if I went. It's a major conundrum. I wish I just felt normal again so that the prospect of doing regular things didn't seem quite so daunting. I long for the days that I used to wake up full of energy and feeling fine - ready and excited to start the day! Lately it's been waking up cranky and tired, cursing the day and wanting to go back to sleep. I think that some warm, sunny days would really help. It's hard to get motivated about being up and about when the day is so cloudy it still looks like night behind your curtains.

But I shouldn't sound so down... Not all in my life is sad and tragic. In all honesty, most in my life is not even remotely sad and tragic. It's just easy to get into one of those moods where you dwell on the less-than-awesome, even if the less-than-awesome is still pretty alright. One really bright spot in my day today is that there is a brand new episode of NCIS on tonight for the first time since before Xmas!! I love NCIS. If I could only watch five shows, NCIS would be one of those five. Fortunately, I don't have that terrible problem. If I could only watch five TV shows my life really would be sad and tragic!!

Speaking of no media, this morning Diane Sawyer was interviewing Rosie O'Donnell. Apparently, Rosie has instituted a no media rule in there house. They (meaning the parents and kids) are not allowed to watch TV. I am of two minds about this. First, I am hoping that when Mark and I finally do have kids, that I am able to keep them from watching TV until they are 2 years old (I read somewhere that kids shouldn't watch TV before then, it's not an arbitrary choice). On the other hand, I don't think I could just not watch it! I will have to TiVo all my shows and watch them while the children are sleeping or otherwise occupied. Is this sad? I used to think so, but I really don't have many vices. I don't smoke, don't drink to excess, and I've pretty much conquered my addiction to shopping. In the scheme of things, how harmful is TV - especially to someone who studies media effects and understands the ramifications of regular television viewing?

Oh, one last note about TV. My prediction for tonight's Dancing with the Stars results show... Adam Carolla will be going home. I was thinking it would be either him or Marissa, but Marissa did well last night so, unless the legions of Jimmy Kimmel fans out there were glued to their phones/computers, I'm not optimistic about his chances. Yes, he is a great character and I think people like to watch him... But can that save him for another week? We'll see. I have been shocked and surprised by Dancing before (Hello, Sabrina!?!) Personally, I'm pulling for Shannon Elizabeth. It's about time another woman won the disco ball trophy. I like Kristi Y as well, but there's a big part of me that needs to cheer for the underdog (I think it's that same masochistic part of my that cheers for the Vikings every fall).