Aaaaannnnd, it's 20* again.

That's okay, though. It's sunny, and we're supposed to be warmer this week.


- Alex and Emma had safe travel here and back, and we had a good visit. They got here about noon Thursday, and of course Eric had to work Friday, so we found our way out to Lake Michigan and the Navy Pier. Turns out, Emma has a cousin who lives here, so they got together for a little while at the bar next door. Emma was pretty overwhelmed by the city since she has lived her whole life on a farm in southern Illinois, but she seemed to have fun.
-  Had my appointment with the trainer at the gym, and as expected, she kicked my butt. She made some suggestions to tweak my diet--all totally do-able things, like eating all my carbs during the day and none for dinner so while I'm sleeping, my body burns fat instead of carbs.
- It took some effort and thought, but I got more protein and less carbs last week, at least on the days I tracked. I didn't when the kids were here. Protein shakes are my new friend.
- I got new stories from Jeff. Some of them I'd seen in other places, but he hasn't performed any of them for a long time, so they'll be more or less new material for Tartan Day. That's good, and not so good because it means I have a lot of work to do in the next couple weeks. It's like studying for an exam you have to take over and over again. The saving grace is that they're photocopies, so I can highlight them. I'm a visual learner, so that will make it easier.
- We found a camcorder on sale at Best Buy yesterday, so Stephen, I'm a step closer to having videos for you. Only one step, mind you.
- I didn't get words every day, but the days I worked were good. Well, decent. I'll have rewriting to do. Some of the conversations I wrote were pretty inane, but I think I got the gist down.
- Believe it or not, I really have nothing to complain about this week. I guess I must be getting used to living here. I will say I'm SO looking forward to warmer weather. It hit 80* in St. Louis last week. All my friends were Facebooking about it. Today I want to get on Facebook and yell, "HA!!!!!" because the forecast was for nasty weather today--ice, snow, sleet. I won't, though. This time. It's nice to feel hopeful again.

This week:
- Work on new stories.
- Write.
- Figure out bard skirt pattern. I'm using instructions for a basic A-line from Pinterest. I have a feeling it's not going to be as easy as they make it out to be!
- Remind Eric to order his Campbell Ancient kilt.
- Gym: 4 times, including the next session with the trainer.