Draft 2021

Something hit me last fall. Maybe it was my 47th birthday. Maybe it was just that "tired of being tired" feeling. Whatever inspired it, in October I took my exercising to a new level. Now, for some people that means running their first marathon or increasing their workouts to an hour each, 7 days a week. But for me, that meant getting serious about exercising at least 5 times a week on my elliptical. I started out at level 1, barely able to walk 15 minutes. But over the course of the fall, I've built up to 5 days a week, 30 minutes at a time, on level 3. I usually burn 200 calories (dessert!) and walk 1.5 miles. I cannot tell you how much better I feel. Also in October, we added twice a week yoga to our routine. The girls and I faithfully attend a gentle yoga class at a local studio, with Michael joining us as he's able. Honestly, after the first class I was hooked. I cannot believe how much better I feel after a yoga class - stronger, healthier, more energetic

I made an apple pie today. As part of my New Year’s purge and perennial organization plan, I started sifting through the contents of one of my freezers. Yes, I have two freezers, a chest and an upright. After a summer of putting nothing new into the chest freezer, I think I can finally move what’s left into the upright and defrost. As I started sorting through the remaining sauces, veggies, various meat items, and the occasional “mystery” package, I came across a bag of sliced apples I froze in September of 2009. If I remember correctly, they’re not the best apples in the world, being a result of "The Great Coupon Mania Of ’09" . Back then, one could print off innumerable Target coupons, all for the same item . And print I did. Then girls and I would head out to the nearest Super Target, armed with multiple coupons for bananas, breads, and apples... you name it, we couponed it. In September, I found coupons for 1 pound of free apples. So, off we trotted to Target, coup