{Virtual Coffee}

Well come on in, the coffee is getting cold! I'm not even getting a glass today, I'm doing the whole "pot" this morning.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you that I got a pleasant surprise on New Year's Eve - the news that I wouldn't have to drag my sorry self in to work yesterday. Yay! When I was asked/told to work on Monday the 3rd I was pretty disappointed and I let the idea ruin far too many hours in my head. In the end I had the day off so it was a prime example of worrying over something unpleasant too far in the future.

If we were meeting for coffee today we would probably say, "Happy New Year"! and laugh about how long people say that to each other throughout January. I would tell you iMan and I shared a half bottle of fine champagne on New Years Evening and I still have the bubbles to prove it.

At some point I would get quiet and admit to you that I have done almost no post-2010 reflection and almost no 2011 planning. For the first time in years, nay - decades - I have let the old year slip out and the new one in with just letting it be another day. I would tell you about the wonderful things I have been reading in blogland about other people's intentions and word of the year and goals and dreams and zippity-doo-dah. But I have not been feeling it here in my heart or in my bones and that is alright too. I have always felt that any day in the year is a good one to take up a resolution or even choose a word that will carry me though. I would tell you about one thing I did which was write down three things I am ready to let go of, then I burned the paper. I also wrote down three things I wish for myself and have hidden them around my living space to energize me. I guess that kind of counts for new year planning but it felt very un-new year like to me. I recently saw this - 101 goals in 1001 days and I'm thinking about it... I would tell you I first laughed out loud when I read under the heading "Taking Risks" that 'giving up alcohol' and 'giving up caffeine' rated equally with 'volunteer in a foreign country'. I would tell you I'm not even sure I could come up with 50 goals let alone 101 but I really am thinking about it.

And 101 goals may not fit in well with the article that resonated the most with me this past week, this one on mono-tasking by Karen Maezen Miller. Or maybe it does if I just focus on one goal at a time.

If you were at my place for coffee today you couldn't help but notice some new life in the house.

Last Friday we brought home 5 African dwarf frogs and it's now day 5 and they are still alive!

We would watch them for a while, watching us back.

We would laugh as we watched them pose and float and swim to the top of the aquarium for air.

I would tell you that what they are doing here

isn't really what it looks like (mating for these guys requires a lot more gymnastics).

If we were meeting for coffee we would probably argue a little about the weather because I have been really ecstatic over the extreme thaw we had the past week - enough thaw that I found a few worms in the driveway on Sunday

and you would chide me because it kind of ruined the kiddies sledding and outdoor skating possibilities over their holidays.

I might be able to convince you to come with me and do some bowling this afternoon. Last week we found this amazing little bowling alley that really is a piece of land that time forgot.

A grand total of 8 lanes, all duck pins, gleaming wood floors. They let us wear our socks instead of renting shoes and I couldn't believe how this place is pure vintage but original vintage, not re-done as vintage.

THREE ashtrays per seat! I tried to take some shots with my phone but all but one came out blurry. We had a whale of a time. How about it? The only update is a cappuccino machine - are you in? Or will you go over to Amy's Lucky Thirteen to see who else is hanging out for coffee?