Hurts so Good

I changed workout routines this afternoon, and I can tell. I can feel my arms (by which I mean they're making their presence known), and my legs were sore enough to give me a little bit of trouble getting up the stairs when I returned home.

Of course, I could be complaining about that, but I prefer to take it as a reminder that I have all of my faculties and I am healthy. I have a handicapped friend who has spent most of his life using crutches, so I thank God that I'm blessed with "normal" abilities. (My friend, on the other hand, has superhuman upper body strength to make up for his suboptimal legs, and one handshake from him will have you quivering on your knees, red-faced, and gasping for mercy.)

My electric toothbrush is on its last legs. The battery is wearing down so much that it is good for only two or three uses between charges. I need to find its box, so I can determine if the battery is replaceable. (I think there might be a spare toothbrush in there, too -- bonus!) On the brighter side, I still have all my teeth, with only a few cavities. I think I might be fighting a receding gumline (first the hair, then the gums, what next?), but I could always be worse off, having lost my teeth in a severe accident or something.

I think my teakettle is leaking. There's water on top of my stove, but I haven't used it since fixing instant oatmeal this morning. I suppose that I could have spilled some, but I think I would have remembered doing so, especially that much water. Maybe there's some weird sort of condensation action happening.

I'm not sure what's going on with my telephone, either. When I tried to log on earlier, it sounded as if I already was connected, rather than a dial tone. However, I still couldn't use my phone when I had the computer shut off. At that point, I worried that I'd have to call the phone company (using my cell phone) and have them come out to look at the lines again (but I don't think I ever told you about the first time). I checked with a neighbor, and his phone sounded the same -- until he realized that he was logged on, and he got a normal dial tone after disconnecting. The only other neighbor home and awake uses a cell phone, so she couldn't help me determine if the problem was solely mine. Our seasonal neighbors moved in today, so I baked some muffins (almond poppy seed) tonight, and I'll drop by tomorrow to welcome them -- and, oh, by the way, they wouldn't happen to have had their phone line connected, would they? My mom phoned me at work early this morning, and she mentioned that she had tried me at home but hung up when she got my answering machine, and there was a prerecorded telemarketer on the machine this afternoon, so I know that the problem suddenly arose sometime today. (How's that for a comma splice, Betty?) Then, a friend phoned me tonight, so the phone worked again, but we kept hearing clicks, and twice I heard a rapidly dialed number. (Oh, please tell me that my line hasn't been crossed with that automated telemarketer!) Well, if you're reading this post, I, at the very least, have effective phone service -- for the time being.

I think I'll just go to bed and "count my blessings instead of sheep. / Then I'll fall asleep, counting my blessings." (How about that -- two song quotes in one post.)