1. Our poor little uninsulated, drafty old house can only do so much in this cold, or I guess I should say our trusty furnace can only do so much in this house. Either way, I am grateful for the heat. It has climbed to 64 today and at least there is hope for more warmth. I have not put my nose outside in some time, although Leo and Ernie did deliver some food to a sick friend of a friend in Rantoul yesterday. They have good hearts.

2. The boys get irritated when I tell them how beautiful they are.

3. I do occasionally still cook things I can't eat. Last night I attempted to make chicken parmigiana for Ernie and Owen. The case of the missing mozzarella that I SWEAR we bought foiled it a bit, oh, and oops, we were out of parmesan, but the guys devoured it and said it was good. I guess it wasn't really cooking as I used frozen spinach ravioli and jarred tomato sauce (Owen is deeply devoted to Paul Newman's) but hell, that's cooking too I guess. I tossed the ravioli with some leftover kale and the tomato sauce. I pounded the gargantuan chicken breasts thin and coated them just with flour and lots of Italian seasoning before browning them. My cooking has been so simple of late that it felt nice to do it. For my dinner I just quickly sauteed some flounder filets in salt, pepper, and avocado oil, and put them over a salad of greens and avocado. It was delightful. I am a total convert to Aldi's frozen fish. I only buy the ones with the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification, but that gives me the option of salmon, tuna, flounder, and scallops, all at a relatively affordable price.

4. I've come a long way on the smoothie train. I only wish this looked as good as it tasted. Frozen organic cherries, organic greens, coconut butter, and a dash of avocado oil, as my avocados were too hard to use. Oh, and that's my messy kitchen counter, just so you know what our life is really like.

5. Cyril wouldn't start in the cold, and Leo's car is in the shop getting repaired (from when he got rear ended), so we are trying to figure out how to do everything with one car. It's surprisingly complicated.

6. Now to balance out things….a bit of bleakness.