It's Sunday night, around 9:00 PM, and I'm using my laptop to make an entry. I haven't had enough time to write in my journal the past couple days, but did want to catch up on the latest happenings.

DH has been off all weekend through New Year's Day, so things have been somewhat hectic. Not that we have a lot of social activities, but we do enjoy rides in the country or doing stuff around the house. Saturday we went to the liquor store in a nearby city (our county is dry, believe it or not!) and bought some lite beer and wine. I like wine occasionally, particularly if I can't get to sleep or a lite beer while I watch TV. We then drove to another city, where we shopped at a very peculiar little store called "Good Stuff Cheap"....and it had a wide variety of odds and ins. I got a small computerized odometer for my bike, so I can figure out how many miles I'm biking. And several assorted bargains, including some gold lightswitch covers for 50 cents that would have cost a great deal more in regular stores. I love to browse in offbeat stores, even flea markets; I'm always in search of a bargain and believe in the old adage, "A penny saved is a penny earned!"

Anyhow, we didn't get home till dark and decided to eat out, but I DID NOT binge, kept it a very moderate meal. I'm still determined to lose down to 100 lbs, but it may take some time. DH is going away on business in mid-January for a week, and I may fast some of that time, which should greatly speed up the process.

(I'm halfway watching TV, and DH is flipping through the stations [never give a man the remote control!] and he stopped on MTV where a guy was getting his butt pierced. Seriously, the guy got his asscheeks pierced right in the crack, and a metal peice put in to hold the crack together. Not only did that look verrrrrrry painful, you have to wonder how he's going to take a crap? Then he decided he didn't want it done, so they took the metal piece out and left an open wound, OUCH! What will kids do NEXT? Glad I don't have any, because one thing I would NOT allow is piercing of any kind. The most disgusting thing I can think of is tongue piercing, totally gross!)

I've read several news articles lately, particularly a weird one from Wired Magazine about couples whose babies are stillborn and they put up photos of the dead babies online at websites. This sickened me so much I couldn't even go look at it, but needless to say, I have to wonder WHAT these people are thinking? It's supposed to be about bereavement and emotional healing, and a tribute...but WHY put these sick pictures online? I DO support their right to do this, but find it morbidly aberrant behavior. Who can explain human behavior when it comes to offspring? While some will beat and kill their LIVE children, others apparently can't even let go of dead stillborn babies. Is this not more of our mad, mad world?

I have also been working on the three stories for updating my webzine. I am doing a lot of the work at night on the laptop, and then will only have to upload it to the site. I have been getting exceptionally excellent submissions since my webzine was listed in a print writer's market book, and am excited about the three I'm posting this time. One is a satire and very funny; one is about turning a feral cat into a tame pet; and the other one is about a blind woman who can communicate with dolphins. All are very good.

I didn't go on the bike ride today, since I take Sundays off. I may go tomorrow, if I can find the time. I always miss it though, and feel guilty if I don't get that exercise or use the ski machine.

My five cats are inside, several romping through the house, and two on either side of me as I type on the laptop. I enjoy having them inside at night, but they usually prefer their sunporch during the day, lying in the sun, sleeping.

I may not make another entry in this journal till after New Year's...which DH and I will spend alone. But I will try to write about my reflections of the past year soon. I DO have one resolution, and that is to write in this journal almost daily. The modem on this laptop has never worked, so I use it only for writing and then save to a floppy disk, and later transfer to my computer or online, which I will do in the morning.

Yesterday as we drove home it was around sunset, and the region was very flat, so we got breath-taking views of the horizon. The sky was perfectly clear and there were beautiful shades of violet and lavender as darkness fell, with a very early full moon rising and being highlighted by the setting sun. It was an amazing sight, incredibly beautiful...and I couldn't help but think how stupendously glorious the earth is, how diversely beautiful and rich with grand and ever-changing vistas. And yet we humans are slowly destroying nature's glory...for even as I gazed at the skyline, it was dotted with billboards and snarled with power lines.