1. Bake some cranberry/sour cream muffins. (S&S snagged me by getting me to buy 2 containers of sour cream for $5.) Not sure that was a deal, but i wanted some for a beef stew i made, and now i have a bunch left, so muffins it will be.

2. Indulge myself with a little trip to the local garden center, which has a great selection of houseplants. It's a great trip to make in the dead of winter. Their greenhouse is always humid and warm and alive with all sorts of things. I want a small shade houseplant to bring to my office. I'm too far from the windows to enjoy any direct light, but there's plenty of flourescent light....

3. Read the paper. Watch my Netflix movie, LA Confidential.

I am ooh, so achey still from yesterday's yardwork. My shoulders, the backs of my legs and even my feet, wrists and arms. Amazing. Yes, Baselle, i'll be careful, but i follow the adage "use it or lose it." Maybe my age is catching up with me. I never really stop to think that maybe i can't do quite as much, or at least as much without consequences, that i used to do even 10 years ago. I'm not in bad shape, but like most people sitting 5 days a week in front of a computer does not tone muscle.

The Golden Compass wasn't that good. I guess if you were under 15 you'd like it. I figured with talent like Nicole Kidman, Kathy Lee Bates and Kristin Scott Thomas (don't know who she played), it would be pretty good. It was a fantasy adventure but it just didn't emotionally engage me.

I had to turn down two more requests for my freelance services. Kills me to do it cus i like to maintain those ties, but just aint worth bustin my butt paying 36% taxes when i'm normally in the 25% tax bracket for an extra few thousand dollars. Not when my free time is so valuable. I tend to overdo it (guess you can tell from my yardwork overkill) and don't set aside enough time for R&R.

Been thinking what to do with my vacation this year. When i'm not dating anyone, i usually end up not doing anything special and just using vacation time catching up at home or maybe visiting my dad and K. in NJ. Free time is always enjoyable, but i love getting away to someplace. Still, i worry about my cat being alone. But a night or two away, maybe to some place in the Berkshires, would be doable. I want to research whether there are any interesting spa/retreat type places that emphasize healthy food and exercise/outdoor activities.

I know my friend H. would be game, but she's not athletic and is more into yoga, which is a bit of a snooze for me. She was out of breath after walking just a short ways from the car to the movie theater last night. She has been obese the entire time I've known her and now she has type 2 diabetes, a direct result of her weight. That kind of weight problem has serious health consequences and will shorten your life, but still, she hasn't tried to lose weight that i'm aware of. Four or five years ago, i remember she actually finished at least one or two fairly long walks with me around town, an hour or so. She had some trouble doing it, but she did. Now there's no way she could do even a quarter of that.

I've tried, over the years, to get her exercising more, and she'll sometimes walk with me (very leisurely pace, level ground) but she lacks the discipline to do it on her own. She has joint problems with her hips and knees, and taking some of that weight off could only help. Still, i sense it's not a big priority for her. She just keeps going to the chiropractor.

I would be very interested in a SA get-together. I know some would prefer to save their anonymity, but wouldn't it be something completely novel and different to meet people you've been "talking" to for years but have never, ever met? It would be one of those experiences you would remember for years to come, i would think. Ima, why don't you organize something??

That locust tree i'm having cut down next weekend....i got around to measuring the depth of the cavity that's about 4 feet up from the ground, in the center of the trunk. It goes down a good 2 feet, so i guess i'm making the right decision to have it taken down. I've spent a fair amount of time feeling anxious about the whole thing, mostly worrying about the damage the tree company will do to other landscaping and my lawn and the noise and mess he'll create. But I think it's prudent, seeing as how i'll probably end up staying here in this house another 5 years, or at least as long as i'm working at the current job.

You may have noticed I upped my retirement savings goal by $300,000. I've heard it said in several different places that a husband/wife couple should count on an extra $200,000 for out of pocket medical expenses between age 65 and the end of the road. It DOESNT include long-term care insurance. It assumes you're covered by Medicare, but Medicare, is no free lunch. I haven't really paid much attention to it since it's not affecting me now. But i figured with my pre-existing condition, even tho i'm not part of a couple, i should set aside $300K for healthcare, so that's where that figure comes from.

On Friday i retook the Retirement Calculator thingy on cnn.money.com, punching in my current savings, savings rate and when i want to retire. Turns out, IF i can keep up my current savings rate ($12K into the 401k once i become eligible to join in a few months, plus another 8% in taxable savings for a total annual savings each year of 23% of income, kind of steep) i will have saved $1,295,000 by age 60, jut $5K short of my goal. Funny how closely that worked out.