Random Thoughts

• Today I picked up our mail–for some reason I am really terrible about getting the mail down here in Florida. I think it’s becuase the mail is housed in some little building kind of away from my actual apartment. Before moving to the land of massive apartment complexes, I always had to pass my mailbox on my way home. Anyway, I always get annoyed because there are these circular pavers that make a path to the mail shed from the main side walk. And the first paver is NOT equally spaced with the others. In fact, I think that they started from the mail shed side and were grooving with their placement until they came to the last paver and realized that they would need one more to keep up the spacing. They did not get the extra paver–instead the last paver is haphazardly thrown onto the ground as if it’s a testament to the shoddiness of the whole job.  This uneveness is SOOOOO annoying to me. I really think about it the whole time I am going to the mailbox and back to the apartment. I used to be one of those kids who would make games about where to step on the sidewalk, etc. Perhaps my annoyance is a remnant from those days…
• I have been working hard at actually fitting in workouts during the week and not letting my preoccupation with weeknight meals get in my way of working out after work. So far, so good, although hanging out at the gym with all the cool kids made me feel a little self-conscious in my raggedy sweat pants and oversize tees. I moved up in the world of workout clothes only to realize tonight that I still look like a tubby librarian sweating it out on the treadmill. I wonder if I will ever have that “fit” vibe that makes working out look natural. My guess is that I will have to reduce the number of times I run into the front of the treadmill if I even want to get out the gate on that goal.
• I am slowly killing the HUGE peace lily my parents sent us when my MIL passed away. This makes me feel like crap, although I rarely manage to keep a houseplant alive, so I’m not sure what I was thinking when I stuffed the lily into the car for the 8 hour drive back to Florida from Alabama. Also, lilies are lethal for cats and I have to keep the plant in a room I don’t use that often and so I am even more likely to forget about it.
• I love mystery novels, of all sub-genres, and have about 18 random titles on hold in the hopes that I will discover a new series in which to immerse myself. I just finished Death and the Lit Chick. It was enjoyable, although the ending was little more Miss Marple/Sherlock Holmes-esque for me. I don’t really love the 2 page recitation of the inspector’s brilliance that also serves to trap the killer by it’s absolute veracity despite the lack of any hard evidence. I’ve had a hard time lately finding a series that I really want to get into, so would love any suggestions! I’m open to pretty much anything, but some that I have really enjoyed are Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series, the early books in the J.P. Beaumont series by J.A. Jance (her other stuff, not so much), Ruth Rundell, the Insepctor Lynley novels by Elizabeth George, and the Merrily Watkins books by Phil Rickman. Plus a ton of others.  Do you like mysteries? Please share with me!