Yesterday I received an email from HR congratulating me on 10 years of service to Hennepin County! My actual anniversary is December 20, so it will be official in just a few weeks. As a 10-year veteran I'm invited to choose from an array of gifts ranging from jewelry to sportswear to gadgets, etc. The selection is different depending on how many years you're at (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35), so 10 is nothing super spectacular, but decent. I haven't yet decided what I'm going to choose.

Despite a stressful year with budget woes and being painfully short-staffed, I'm happy. And pleased to be recognized. December also means it's stability pay (read: bonus) time!

Have you heard of this stellar endeavor?

About six months ago I received a flier in the mail inviting me to register my bi-weekly recycling with a site called RecycleBank. It turns out that my waste service provider has upgraded its trucks to weigh my recycling as it's being dumped into the truck, and for every so many pounds of recycling, I earn points. Accumulated points are then redeemable on the RecycleBank website for coupons good for free or discounted products of all kinds (very often environmentally friendly or organic).

One cute feature of the site is that it keeps a cumulative total of your recycling presented in several ways. My total recycling since May currently weighs as much as a newborn orca whale, and I have saved 2.24 trees and 149.63 gallons of oil.

This is a great program, and I love being rewarded for something I would be doing even without this kind of incentive. Whenever I redeem the coupons at the grocery store, the employees always comment on how cool it is too. Today we came home with a free box of Seventh Generation baby wipes and a free bottle of Seventh Generation all-purpose cleanser.

If your curbside recycling service doesn't participate in this program, you can make an inquiry on the left-hand side of this page.

What the heck am I doing awake for no reason at 7:00am on Saturday morning? I am not turning into a morning person. I'm not.

For fun I made pumpkin pie today, and BOY was it delicious! It was a new recipe, one which actually called for softened ice cream as part of the batter, and I was curious how it'd turn out. It was just a tiny bit more custardy than traditional pumpkin pie. This is the recipe I used -- recommended!

I'm going to take the extra pie to work tomorrow since Dad said he's already planning to make one for TG.

I am unexpectedly enthralled by watching my own undulating belly, mesmerized by the seemingly alien creature writhing inside.

I would love a big, fat, greasy, juicy hamburger about now. I haven't been to Lion's Tap since last May!