It’s beginning to look a lot like Taxmas. My favorite holiday.  We filed our income taxes and should get our moolah back around the end of the month. This is a huge relief and again, we wouldn’t have made it through this month without the help of donations. It still irks me that a utility company and landlord can’t wait 3 weeks for their money. It’s just three weeks. Come on.

I’m currently making the list of things to throw money at (the car right now is #1) and formulating a strategy to make the most of all the monies , preferably in such a way that lends to some resemblance of economic stability. I’ll let you know how that turns out. Meh.

My husband is having a hard time managing his diabetes lately. He had to go to diabetic counseling this week and lemme tell you, I am not at all pleased with anything  he came out of that appointment with. He handed me all the literature because as the person who cooks the meals, this is now my responsibility.”Give this to your wife”
I remember this well from when my Grandpa had diabetes and it fell on my Grandma to be the person in charge of his illness.  One detail diabetic counselors and doctors seem to miss here is that I can plan and cook our meals right but that doesn’t mean he’ll exercise self-control over portion sizes or follow advice on exercise or not basically sneak food when he’s not home.
Are female diabetic patients told to hand over all their dietary instructions to their husbands?

When he was diagnosed years ago, I took it upon myself to research the way he should be eating. I adjusted how we eat accordingly. When things are good financially, I’m able to buy better food. When the grocery budget is scarce, I still do ok but not great  as far as making sure it fits what he should eat. He has problems no matter how I cook because *see above last paragraph*

And also,also,also….they suggested not just specific food but products/brands that he should eat. They’re really expensive. Surprise! No, not at all a surprise. Nope.

Healthcare reform should allow food to be covered by your insurance plan, ok? Write that in the replacement.

Other than THAT, everything else is ok. I mean, I still hate winter but besides that.

A few people asked about this picture of forsythia I posted on Instagram last week. Here’s how I did it:
1. Cut forsythia branches.
2. Brought them inside and stuck them in water.

That’s it. Originally when I learned to do this eons ago, I was taught to hammer the ends of the branches before putting them in water but I really don’t know why. This is the third time I’ve “forced” them without hammering  and they’ve still bloomed fine.

I think I might go wade through the snow to get some lilac branches this weekend. The touch of Spring does help me deal with the winter blahs a little bit.

Whenever I say I “forced them to bloom” , my husband cracks a 50 Shades of Greener joke. He’s hilarious.

Oh,hey…the Song of the Day…

“Blossom” by Nick Drake. I can’t think of any other music other than Nick Drake’s that has the unique ability to fit gray, gloomy, melancholy days while also being blue mood lifting.