Hello, hello.

So much time has passed--so little to report.

I'd like to add a bit of drama--Louie Louie doesn't seem to have liked my last couple of projects for him and is requesting advance access to the next account (a new one, signed up yesterday) before it goes live, so he can check it first.

Although I'm a touch bitter about people who demand a week's worth of work in 48 hours, then carp about the quality of the product--or who provide vague instructions and are subsequently surprised not to get what they pictured--I'm not feeling crabby today, so we'll let it pass. (Also, I just received the check for last month's work for him and am reminded of why I do this.)

I'll also pass on whining about getting yet another client who wants to "help."

It's what I call Edit Syndrome. When faced with a blank page (or empty account), no one is willing to commit to--or even has a clue about--what they want. Once someone else creates a draft, suddenly everyone's an expert in what it should have said or how it should have been done and they're all eager to edit to show off what they know.

Bah.

It snowed last night, but didn't amount to much. An inch or less. The roads were a bit icy this morning (or, so those who have to commute on them have told me) but the sun is shining and it's all warm and beautiful out there today.

I've been spending what seems to be a ridiculous amount of money recently--90% of it at the grocery store. Stepping onto the scales reveals that yes, I did put on a holiday half-pound or pound, but not more than that, so it wasn't some kind of junk food binge.

I suspect it's the diet. Eating "healthy" food is much more expensive than eating junk. You often see bags of potato chips on sale BOGO (Buy One, Get One free) but you don't see bunches of celery or bags of oranges on sale that way. Produce only goes on sale when it's at the overripe "eat it today or throw it away" stage.

Fresh fruit--I've been on a watermelon kick but it's out of season now and getting pricey. Have to stop indulging in that.

Partly I've been stocking up on ingredients (if freezable) for new recipes I'm pretending I'm going to try. (My leisure reading, when I'm on a diet, is often cookbooks. I search for appetizers or healthy food combinations that have reasonable nutrition stats per portion.) (Also, I find cooking very entertaining. I'm not good at it, but I find it entertaining.)

I tried a new recipe this weekend--a shrimp-based appetizer, that turned out to be quite delicious. Shrimp, cucumber, avocado, red onion, tomato (the recipe called for red bell peppers, but I loathe those, so I added tomato for color instead), green onion, cilantro, jalapenos. Sounds like it would bite back, but the 'bitey' ingredients were used in very small quantities so it turned out very flavorful instead.

I've been eating that and RAT sandwiches alternately for the last 48 hours. (Leftover ingredients--Red onion, Avocado, Tomato. Put 'em together on a crusty roll with a tiny smidgeon of cilantro paste and some black pepper and chow down.)

I like a nice veggie sandwich although I find them challenging. Because so many veggies have high moisture content, they're slippery. I do hate a sandwich that, when you bite it, half the ingredients slide out the other side. Maybe I should buy some of those "pocket" rolls with no open end for things to escape from?

I didn't really have anything to say today. You know that's true when I'm talking about sandwiches.