Friday Bullets

• I sat down this morning with my daily routine -- something from the Bible, something from a book of theology (usually pretty heavy stuff), prayer and again I'm sniffling and headache-y and the theology stuff just slid right off.
• I wonder how much of the sniffing and sneezing and headache-y is from the rapid and sudden shifts in temperature we've been having. It's been very cold the last few days, but hasn't seemed that cold because the air is so dry. Then it will warm up a little and the humidity will rise and it will actually seem colder. My skin is dry; the insides of my nose is dry. (Yeah, I know, complain complain.) The weather affects me sometimes so very deeply, I don't think I'm altogether aware of it. I'm sure it affects others as well.
• The girls have been dragging in the morning -- usually just a few minutes late, but earlier this week, they were 15 minutes late getting ready for school. It's gotten better -- Chaos was only about 6 minutes late this morning; Entropy about 7. It is getting better -- but we are still working on getting systems in place so that we can cope.
• I'm going to go get them the book "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens." I like Covey's take on things and I've read the first few pages of this book -- I found it amusing and entertaining. Maybe it will help ... maybe not.
• I've been looking for a book for days. I remember reading it. I remembered that the author's name began with a "Ke," that it was "The something Self." I remembered that it was a "stages of life" book, like Erik Erikson and James Fowler, with a twist of Winnicott thrown in for fun, but heck if I could remember more.... I found it! Yeah! It's Robert Kegan's book "The Evolving Self." I don't think I still have a copy -- time to look for it at a used bookstore or Amazon.
• I just took about 16 cubic feet of books off the shelves in the living room to list on Amazon. Pounds and pounds of books.
  
• I sometimes get discouraged that things don't happen fast enough -- but I realized today that I've come a long way. The shelves are getting more manageable. I don't think that I'm progressing in Karate -- but then I realized that at the beginning of the year, I did about 10 crunches in 2 minutes (pitiful, I know). I now can do 25 -- it's getting better. I believe one day I'll do the 50 crunches required. Even though I'm not losing weight at this like I would like, I am getting in better shape. My shape is still round but it's not quite as round as it was....

Update: I took the belt test tonight and I'm now a yellow belt! Woo hoo!