My blog friend Stu on the royal wedding: "Some of you might be moderately surprised to learn that I'm rather looking forward to tomorrow and that with the usual caveats about how badly Diana was treated and Prince Philip, I'm quite the monarchist."

Interesting to read, since here in America the political and historical perspectives are not really first and foremost in our minds.

Says Ricky Martin: "Someone said that in this life you have to write a book, plant a tree and have a child."

I'm considering how big of an accomplishment it is to finish a book. I suppose it depends on the book. The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Baines Johnson, Volume 1 would probably rank in the middle range, and the most points would be for Russian novels.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is probably on the lower end of accomplishments as far as books go, though it is long-ish, so points for that, right? I thoroughly enjoyed the last book in this series, even though I thought things ended a bit too nicely, especially compared to the second book. I finished it sad there will be no new adventures with Lisbeth Salander.

Well, off to find a new book to read so I can brag about finishing it later.

Healthy Bite, part 2

Since I didn't pack a lunch I made a return trip to Healthy Bite. This time the special was a cup of tortilla soup, half salad and tea. Tortilla soup surprisingly spicy and had cheese cubes that didn't melt, half salad had spinach, cranberries, almonds and a bit too much feta cheese. Tea good as usual.

The alarm that didn't ring

I woke up at 5:55 a.m. today and had to be at work at 6:30. I don't know why the alarm didn't go off. I am almost 100 percent sure I set it before I went to bed. I checked right now and it was indeed set to 5 a.m. Did I turn it off while I was sleeping? Anyway, I was suprisingly less panicked than I expected. I had already taken a shower the night before. I just didn't do some of the things I usually do before work, like eat breakfast, make a lunch, read the paper, and put on make-up. I was 7 minutes late to work, whereas I'd usually get there 5 minutes early. I woke up late and it wasn't the end of the world. Imagine that.

Poem presented at church this morning. Reminds me a bit of the Serenity Prayer.

The weekend

- FYI, $10 buys you a giant blue coconut margarita at Coconut's bar.

- That men are from Mars, women are from Venus thing may really be true.

- I'm trying to pace myself with the Easter candy. I have eaten about three chocolate eggs today plus jelly beans.

- I only got whacked on the head with a cascaron once today.

Soul Surfer

I teared up twice watching "Soul Surfer" yesterday. Maybe it was just my mood, or maybe it has something to do with getting older. I never used to cry in movies unless it was really, really sad.

And here's a rose

Easter egg

Mom found a bird egg in one of her flower pots today:

Here's a close up:

So I'd expect Barbara Walters to be in London to cover the royal wedding, but Brian Williams and Diane Sawyer, too? Is it *really* that big of a deal?

Clear plastic bottles

Speaking of softball, I was in the park on Saturday and was absolutely disgusted with the metal trash can filled nearly to the brim with empty plastic bottles. Now I'm thinking hard about every plastic bottle I use, even if I put it in the recycle bin. You see, I have this habit of bringing a disposable plastic bottle of water to work with me. If I could just get rid of that habit, that's 248 less bottles to recycle or trash. Imagine 10 people kicking the water bottle habit. 2480 fewer bottles per year. Etc., etc.

Feeling overwhelmed. Again. Softball is turning into a big time commitment. Over two hours of playing time, on top of that an hour of drive time today. I suppose I knew this going into it. Plus we lost again. I wish there was an ounce of encouragement somewhere in there.

There are just not enough hours in the day. There are books I am just dying to read, but the chores can only be put off so long. And gotta spend some time with friends so as not to be a social outcast, right? Plus the usual 40 hours of servitude. I want to write my long pontificating blog posts and come to some conclusions about my current situation. But there is no time to reflect. *long tired sigh*

Softball

So my latest adventure is that I joined the work-sponsored softball team. As you may recall, I said I needed a new project after I dropped out of guitar class.

You might say I was deprived as a child because I never played team sports. I played sports in PE, which was lame, but I never played on an actual team.

This is my first time to wear a jersey with my name on it, to sit in a dugout, to do team practices. Last Sunday I got my first hit and made it to first base! But I also got whacked in the knee with a softball during practice, resulting in a large purple bruise, and strained my muscle sprinting to first base, making it painful to walk for a couple of days. Ouch. We also lost both of our first games, double ouch.

We'll see how this adventure goes.

Mountain view

The Big Picture puts the spotlight on Mexico's drug war. Stunningly sad and sobering, even for a person who is at this point fairly desensitized to these kinds of images. Don't click on the graphic content links if you don't want to see dead bodies.

Read this column during my lunch hour. Educational and touching at the same time:

Rosemary, or Rosmarinus officinalis, is a fascinating plant, and its praises have been written of since the dawn of time. In Latin, rosemary translates to "dew of the sea" -- "ros," meaning dew and "marinus," meaning sea. In parts of the world with little rain, all the plant needed to survive was humidity from the ocean, which explains its popularity throughout history in Mediterranean, Italian and Greek cultures. It is said that Aphrodite rose naked from the sea with blooming branches of rosemary wrapped around her body.

Coca-Cola the way it is meant to be enjoyed

Somewhere

Enjoyed this movie even though, really, Sofia Coppola, must there be another another trip abroad where the characters are mystified by the language and culture? And another scene where the audience can't make out the profound words of one character to another? Run out of ideas much?

The Pretender

Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender.
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the Pretender

Sing it, Jackson Browne. Love this song.

Friday night notes

- Friday night. I'm munching on a chocolate bar, forget calorie counting. Who knew Target made such good chocolate?

- I think a present for a one-year-old's birthday party is still basically for the parent. A one-year-old is NOT going to read the card. Still must get a cute card, though.

- I'm feeling very old lately. It's like I never feel rested. Last Sunday I took a two-hour nap. I slept just under eight hours last night and still feel wiped out right now. Early to bed, early to rise makes a woman...tired.

- I wonder if I am losing the ability to see myself with any degree of objectivity. Maybe I need to be a little more judgmental about myself. Not as in harder on myself, but as in trying to be fair and look at both the things I'm doing well at and the things I'm not doing so well at.