31 May 2009

Two 'fer

It's been a Seattle kind of day. At least the kind I remember from when I was last there which might have been 21 years ago. It's just perfect. Very breezy. The slightest coolness to the air. Bright blue sky. No humidity. Upper 70's. What do you say, my WA friends? Am I describing your kind of weather? I just wish we had The Mountain here.

It was one of those, what do I do with my day, kind of days. I spent too much time on the computer in the morning. As usual. Then I went outside and picked the weeds that grow in every crack between my driveway/sidewalk and sidewalk/curb. Not great for the nails but not the kind of job you can do with gloves on. I picked yet another 3' lily stalk that someone chewed off at the base. Said hi to my neighbor who wasn't overly friendly. I wonder why? :) I downloaded a few CD's of my next book club book onto my computer then onto my iPhone. 'The Book Thief' Then I went to the pool. What a perfect day for the pool. I listened to at least 1 1/2 CD's of my book. I would have rather been listening to music and reading my Wired magazine. I was brave and got in the cool water of the pool and swam 5 laps. I swam nice and slow, since I'm basically starting from scratch. I had a few sips of the iced caramel latte I got from Baskin Robbins since that was all that was in the cup after I spilled it. Bummer. I hung out for a few hours. It really was heavenly.

I came home to find my neighbor working on his garage doors. They look worse then ever. I'm going to check to see if he's around. I want to take a pic. BRB. Nope. He's still working. I do feel bad for him, but...

Emily worked today and is at a friend's tie-dying shirts. That left me on my own for dinner. I grilled potatoes and steak and made fresh broccoli. I'm on my second Coronita. I'm good at entertaining myself.

I'm going to try some ads on my site. I've never wanted to do it, and I'm not really sure if they actually generate any money, but hopefully I'll be paying for private school and any extra income will be a good thing. Let me know if you ever see anything bothersome or offensive, OK?

Thanks for stopping by. I'm off to check your blogs now.

Happy Sunday!

Good morning. Is the sun shining in your part of the world? I woke to thunder. And pouring rain. Now the sun is shining. Hello world. Thank you for this day.

My Saturday was typical. Work. Good work. Then Borders. Good drink. I read Us and People instead of PC World. Ask me anything about Jon and Kate. Or not. My friend Kit called asking what I was doing. I didn't have any plans, and we talked about the possibility of going to Annapolis. It was a gorgeous day and one to spend outside. Then she called to see if I wanted to go to the restaurant OYA in DC with her family and I said YES! I love DC, but don't know my way around, and Kit's worked there for most of her career. There were 10 of us for dinner. It was perfect! I had a cold pea soup to start, scallops, pad thai noodles and hen-of-woods mushrooms with truffle jus for my entree and banana bread pudding topped with rum raisin ice cream, caramel sauce and coconut with a slice of caramelized banana on the side to top out the meal. Delish. Kit, her neice Kelly and I spent the next few hours walking the Penn Quarter part of DC. It was lively and exciting and I'm ready to go back. I'm not saying I don't enjoy my nights at Starbucks, but...




I surprised my neighbor last night. I'm sure he doesn't read my blog so I'll write about it. I live on a nice cul de sac. Everyone keeps up with their yards and homes. Except for one of my next-door-neighbors. He's an engineer. No offense to engineers, but anyone I know who knows one says they have certain known traits. My neighbor starts a million new projects and never finishes one of them. He'll start mowing his lawn, then spend the rest of the day digging rocks out of his yard. When he moved in about 5 years ago, he was required to change the color of his deck to match his fence. He was given money by the sellers to take care of this. It's still not done. For years he had plastic sheeting over his deck rails to cover the ongoing project with water-filled gallon jugs to anchor the plastic. That's gone, but the fence and deck are still two different colors. His house needs power-washing bad. He has a rotting bay window. Wood from his fence in his back yard that has to go. Two garage doors that need painting. How do I know all this? The covenants committee sent me the letter with all of his violations by mistake. As soon as the weather started getting nice, he started working on the garage doors. I should say that every owner on my cul de sac has replaced the original cheap wood/particle board garage doors with really nice vinyl ones. Except him. The single engineer with no wife or kids and a really good job. He used a power washer to start, and it peeled away all the paint from around the square panes of the doors, and the wood above and below the top and bottom of the doors. He's placed cardboard on the driveway just below the doors. And it's stayed that way for almost 4 weeks. From talking to the neighbors, I learned he's gotten an extension till September or October to remedy his violations. Boy is this getting long. Anyway...we were talking yesterday after he showed me the duck egg he found in his yard (MY duck egg!). I asked, nicely, when he was going to start working on his garage doors again. He asked, "Why? Is it bothering you?" I'm sure he didn't expect my reply. I said, yes, it is. He thought I was kidding. I said, "Look around. Eveyone keeps up with their homes and yards. We have a nice cul de sac. Look at your garage doors. They're an eyesore that all of your neighbors have to look at every day." He didn't seem offended, but like I said, surprised. I don't think there were any hard feelings. Like I said, I spoke nicely. Will he work on this project or start another that he won't finish? I'm betting on the latter. PS. I got an extension on my violation too. I have exposed dirt under my deck that faces out to woods. Go figure.

OK. It looks beautiful outside. I've got to get out there. Even if it's just to lay on the hammock.

Happy Sunday.

28 May 2009

A hope and a dream

So Emily works at Rita's, the custard/ice place, and she works with a couple of girls that go to private school. One recent day Emily came home and said she wanted to go to private school too. Her main reason? She wants to be at a school where teachers care. Where the teachers don't have to follow the No Child Left Behind program and have the ability to teach till the kids learn, not just move on to the tests. She feels the teachers in her school have given up because so many of the kids are bad. Our neighborhood was redistricted to her current high school when Emily was ready to be a freshman. When I found out, the first thing I did was speak to a Realtor about moving. What I found out was that I couldn't afford a decent townhouse in a good neighborhood in a good school district. Then I checked into private schools. There was no way I could afford one, and Emily's father was against it for many reasons. Finally, Emily said she wanted to go to the local high school because it was where all of her friends would be. It's where she's been for the past 2 years. Today we had an appointment with THE most awesome private school. It's everything and more that a parent could wish for their child. Emily has a friend who attends the school, and they've been hearing about her for weeks. The field hockey coach wants her badly. The director of upper school admissions spent about 2 hours with us. When we sat down after the long tour that included meeting many of the teachers, I had tears in my eyes. It looks like Emily will be accepted with no problem. It looks like we'll be offered a 50% financial scholarship. It looks like we will get an additional $3000 off. It looks like this could be a reality. Did I mention the school hours are 9-5? School ends at 3:30 but all kids are involved in something after school, whether it's arts, sports, clubs, etc... I've probably gone on too much, especially since it's not a sure thing, but I'm just too excited not to talk about it. (A hummingbird just came to the feeder. A good luck sign?) I'll keep you posted. This could be so positively influential in Emily's life.

I thought this was a great picture of Emily and her dad on my deck before leaving for the school. The picture with me in it was terribly unflattering. I don't show those :)

27 May 2009

Crustybeef

A lot of you know Elizabeth from Crustybeef. She had surgery, came home, took care of sick Ben, then had to be admitted to the hospital with colitis. Things have been hard for her. Her kids miss her terribly. Yesterday her brother Jimmy was in a terrible traffic accident and was brought to the same hospital with a brain injury. He's had surgery, and is in a drug-induced coma. Please keep Elizabeth and her brother and family in your prayers. She's been updating regularly on Facebook, so if you're her friend there, you can stay in touch that way. I've spoken to her on the phone a few times, and she's holding up, but very, very frightened. She'll be released from the hospital today, but because her brother has pneumonia and she has a virus, she won't be able to see him. Her plan is to go home and try to get some rest, then spend as much time at the hospital as possible. Her MIL is flying in tomorrow to take care of the kids and home. Whew. Prayers, friends.

26 May 2009

Tuesday catch-up

I hate when I don't have enough time to do the things I want. I thought I'd have more time this morning but it just slipped away. Life has a way of doing that.

I sat outside Starbucks on Saturday night. It was perfect! I went to the nearby Walmart afterward, where they were in the midst of a major remodel. The electronics department looked just like Best Buy! Classy. A zillion hi-def TV's, cameras, laptops, mp3 players, etc. The isles in the store were wide. In short, it was impressive. I stayed till about 11 PM. My big Saturday night out.

I went to Panera's with my friend Sarah on Sunday morning. Usually I'm with Kit. Emily used to be Sarah's mother's helper and we've always really enjoyed each other but never take the time to socialize. We brought our laptops, had breakfast, and it was fun. She was really curious to check out the duck nest, even though I told her the eggs were buried and you couldn't see them. She wanted to poke around, and I said OK. Well, much to our surprise, there were no eggs there. Not a trace. Not a speck of a broken shell. Nothing. A real mystery. Any guesses? I know there were at least 5 eggs if not more, and there were no signs of any disturbances to the nest. The eggs weren't there long enough to hatch. I'm baffled.

I went to my brother and SIL's for a party on Sunday afternoon. My niece Heather turned 20. It was mostly family with some friends. The weather was great, the get-together was casual, and I stayed late. A good time was had by all. Happy Birthday Heather!


Emily and I went to my parent's neighborhood pool yesterday. It's the same one I spent every summer at, and still go to as often as I can over the summer. It really was a great day. Big clouds, some sun, not too hot. I swam 4 laps, which really is a big deal since I stopped swimming because of my shoulder. My shoulder feels fine today. Yes! I'm going to take it really slow and hope I can get back into it. We left just as the storm clouds were gathering. The rain started just as we pulled into our street. We had one of the most violent thunderstorms I can remember. Then it rained all night. My new rain gauge showed 4 3/4" of rain. It's finally stopped.

My new washing machine was delivered at 8:45 last night. Finally. It will take some getting used to using a front loader, but I did my first wash this morning. It took 55 minutes; a long time. I didn't realize the timing for a front loader was so much longer till after I started talking to people about it. I'll get used to it, and maybe learn how to shorten the loads. It also seems there's more maintenance, like wiping the door seal, the door glass and the inner drum/door seal after each use. Then you have to clean the pump filter twice a month. I think I'll put up a little white board in the room to keep up with it.

The biggest news is that my nephew Aaron and his wife Rachel had their first baby, Liam Andrew, on Saturday. My sister Ilene is a grandmother for the first time, my parents are now great-grandparents, and I'm a great aunt. My sister was able to fly to WI the day after and she'll be there for 10 days. The kids are moving to GA in June and we'll get to see them on our way back from vacation. This picture was taken when Liam was about 3 hours old.



Just about time for work. Wish I had another hour. Oh well, that's OK. Have a great Tuesday.

25 May 2009

Why am I here?

It's been a great weekend. Long. Lots to do. I'm tired...too tired to post. Thought I'd say a quick hello. Saying prayers for Elizabeth (Crustybeef) tonight. I'll catch up with you tomorrow.

21 May 2009

Have I said that life is good?

Ahhh, what a nice day. I'm sitting out on my deck in the shade with a delightful breeze blowing and the chimes singing away. The sky is a brilliant blue and the trees are every shade of green. Life is good.

The morning started out with my thinking the house had been egged. There were globs of yucky yellowish-greenish stuff on my front window screen and window and on the siding above it. It wasn't egg. It was poop. I'm thinking it came from this brat:


This picture doesn't do it justice because you can't see what the window looks like. I used the jet spray on the hose and a towel and got it all off. How could she have gotten it there? The roof overhangs the house by a few feet. It will remain a mystery.


Here's what the nest looks like now with all the eggs buried and covered with duck down.


I went to the ENT for the worrisome throat issues I've been having that I didn't write about. All is well. I need to double-up on my reflux meds. Here's a pic of the instrument he uses to examine your throat and other stuff on the way down your esophagus. The doctor came into the room just as I was about to take this shot. I was a little embarrassed but asked if he minded and he said go right ahead. It looks pretty scary, but you just say Ahhh, and it slides right down and you truly don't feel a thing. Plus he said it doesn't go all the way down. I really like this doctor and like that I have insurance that I don't need referrals for. I thanked him for all the time he took with me.



I dropped my MRI film at the orthopedist whose office is in the same building as my ENT. Apparently the results he was faxed were inconclusive and they needed to see the film. So, still no word on that.

Karen (Happyone) met me at my house. Her birthday is at the end of the month, and I wanted to celebrate it with her and give her my gift. I knew that she collected Russian nesting dolls, and had seen one on The Pioneer Woman's blog from the store Anthropologie that is actually porcelain measuring cups when opened. I was as excited to give the gift to her as she was to receive it.

We went to Pachanga Grill and sat outside for lunch, then went here and there. It was great to spend the day with her.

I took Emily to work and have been getting my Vitamin K our here on the deck for the past few hours. Like I said, I'm in the shade now, and I wish I didn't have to get up and make dinner and pick Emily up, but that's life, and it's good. Especially since I know that after dinner I'll be sitting out on the porch enjoying that view with my laptop on my.....lap.

18 May 2009

This and that, again

I think the funk I was in has lifted. Good thing. Maybe it's the season and all the work I have to keep me busy. Don't know. Don't care. Busy is good.

I ordered an LG front loader from Best Buy today. I was there yesterday and a couple were getting that one. They did all the research and said it was top rated. I studied up on it and went back today to place the order. It was on sale for $509, which is better than most but more than a top loader. It's an energy star one so I'll get $50 from BGE. I think it uses 15 gallons of water instead of 45. My friend Karen just messaged me that she read that front loaders beat up your clothes. Great! I'll have worn out clothes and use the savings on the water and energy to buy new ones.

I've planted every single thing and finished all the mulching. Well, except for the two tomato plants for the deck. I mowed too. Whew. I should just do the tomatoes but don't have it in me tonight.

I made shrimp, potato and green beans for dinner. I decided to sit outside for a while instead of cleaning up. I have on a fleece jacket and a fleece blanket to cover my shorts. It's chilly! I saw the hummingbird for the first time while out here. The porch, my laptop and the hummingbirds. A fine after-dinner way to spend my time.

I went with my dad to the AT&T store to pick out new phones for my parents. I'm still not used to this role-reversal. I did all the talking. The salesman was very hunky. I had a hard time paying attention! My parents both had old Razor phones and the new ones should be much easier with the bigger keys. My mom called me just a while ago and said she wants her old one back. She just doesn't know how to use the new one. I showed her the basic stuff, but she wanted to lay down, so she missed out. She'll learn.

Wine in the Woods was fun yesterday, but it was cold. I left early to go to Sears and Best Buy, then pick up Emily from work. It was a good Sunday. This, Monday eve, is my Sunday night. Back to work tomorrow.

The duck has been laying on her eggs every time I've peeked. Just saying.

OK...ramble over. Time to go inside and clean up. There's not much to do. That's a good thing. Wait, the hummer is back. I have to stay now.

So, I called the imaging center today to give them the correct fax number to send my MRI results. I hear back from the orthopedic office that they got my mammogram results. I asked if they looked OK, LOL. Then I called the imaging center again. So, I should hear the results tomorrow. Yes, I have the results in the envelope but I'm still not looking.

Before I go I want to wish C.A. a very happy birthday. I hope this is the start of a great year for you.

Later!

17 May 2009

A little this and that

How is it that I burn slivered almonds more than 50% of the time instead of toasting them?

Luckily my house didn't burn down yesterday when the belt broke on the washing machine and the motor kept going. Poor Emily was home alone but called 911 when she walked into a laundry room full of smoke. Now I have to figure out what kind of washing machine to buy.


It's a pretty nasty day. Cloudy and cool. It rained but I think that's over. I'm so glad I got all my plants in yesterday. I'm going to an event in Columbia called Wine in the Woods with some work peeps. I just made Fumi Salad to bring. Yum. So, it should be a fun day. I can't drink too much because of driving. You pay an entry fee and get a glass and tickets for X amount of wine. Not sure cause I've never attended. I'm glad I have something to do today that's outdoors and different. There's lots of craft tents (the ex's wife has a booth there; I'll say hi), food, live music, etc. Too bad the weather isn't cooperating.

I already did the coffee shop. Time to shower and get ready for the rest of the day.

Enjoy your Sunday!

14 May 2009

Don't call me lazy, and other stuff

Today I felt like my old self. Non-stop and happy. I breezed through the mammogram. Went to Sam's club to get pictures printed. Went to Walmart for another 10 bags of mulch and Preen and Weed n' Feed. Went back to Sam's to pick up the pics. Drove to Emily's school to bring her something she forgot. Planted all my annuals in the big garden. Picked Emily up from school, brought her home to change and eat, and drove her to work. Then I came home and started working on my side garden. Raked the soil, shoveled out the extra, graded it. Put down 7 bags of mulch. Planted annuals in one area of it. Whew. I still have more buying and planting to do but I'm so happy I got so much accomplished today. I just got in the house and have 30 minutes till I pick Emily up from work. I'm pretty exhausted and starving (I had a slice of pizza sometime today. That's it). I have a rib-eye steak ready to pan fry. I don't remember the last time I bought a steak. The potatoes are poked and ready for the microwave. The broccoli is in a dish and also ready for the microwave. Butter and sour cream on the counter. Will I be able to wait? Emily gets one free thing when she gets off of work. Frozen custard before dinner, what a concept. I always tell her she has to be hungry for dinner. Then again, I might be eating alone.

A neighbor was outside in his yard for most of the day. He came over and talked and talked. I asked some questions about my deck, my garage door, my roof, etc. It's hard having a home and not knowing when things need to get done. I had two wheels off the track of my garage door. I knew about one, but not the other. He fixed them. Yeah!

I went to check on the eggs this morning and at first I thought they were gone because all I saw was brown. Then I realized it was a brown duck sitting on her eggs. Later I went to look again but I frightened her and she ran away. When I looked she had laid another egg. Later in the day I looked and she's covering the eggs with stuff so I can no longer tell how many are in there.


Well, we just finished dinner. It was disappointing. Emily doesn't like her steak with any red and it was definitely overcooked. Plus, I put Worcester sauce in the baggie with the raw steak and I didn't like the taste. The potato and brocolli were good but now I have that yucky feeling you get when you're not used to meat. Plus I want ice cream and don't/won't have any.

Here's pictures of what I still have to do in my garden:

This needs mulch and lots of lantana


This needs the old mulch gone, new put in and lots of white impatiens


You can see where the new mulch ends and where it still needs to be put down


So, I still have a lot of work to do, but the biggest part is done

When I was at the imaging center for my mammogram I stopped by the film area to see if I could get a copy of my knee MRI. She asked if I wanted the results too, and I said yes. Then I called my orthopedic office and left a message that I picked up my film and results in case I needed a second opinion, and could they call. The doctor's assistant called back and said, where did you have the MRI done? And you said you have the results? She was clueless. I'm not sure I like this office. She said she'd look to see if the results were faxed and told me she'd call tomorrow afternoon. I have no intention of looking at the images or results. If it's bad I'd just freak myself out, and I'm not a doctor. Now if I were Soul....

Anyway, I'm sitting out on my porch. I was away from the computer all day. It's good to be back in my favorite place doing one of my favorite things. I hoped to see the momma duck come back or a hummingbird at the feeder before I went inside, but it's getting dark and a little cold so I think I'm calling it a day.

Adios!

13 May 2009

Just a tiny one

Is it OK to write blog posts when you're behind on reading them? It's always been a dilemma for me.

I had to drive Emily to school this morning and decided to get ready early so I could drive out to Panera's before work. Ahhh. I forgot how much I enjoy the early mornings here. I only wish I could have included a latte into the mix, but not on a workday. I got a granola parfait. It said low-fat organic yogurt. After I ate it I read the nutrition label. 310 calories and 12g fat. It was not worth the calories or fat. I should write into FML. Bummer.

The sun is shining and I'm in a happy mood. Top of the day to you!

11 May 2009

My day (original, huh?)

Much to my surprise, this is what I saw yesterday when I opened my front door.


This is what I found today when I was staking my yarrow.


Why, in the middle of two yarrow plants in the middle of my garden did a duck decide to hollow out a spot and lay eggs? Doesn't momma duck know I have a whole lot of planting to do? Doesn't she know I don't want her walking on my tender annuals? Couldn't she find a pond or something? I mean, I did enjoy seeing her on my walkway. It was novel. I've had a groundhog that has made for some gardening hell. I'm constantly pushing down mole tunnels. But ducks?

I was able to get a same-day appointment for a MRI of my knee today. It's been flaring up, so it was perfect timing. I'd like to know what's going on so I can do something about it. I hope it doesn't take long for the results, and that the remedy isn't painful. It was relaxing to lay there, even with the pounding beat.

I got my big garden mulched today. It took 19 bags. I did it carefully so as not to hurt the knee and wore my brace. I had no energy to do any planting, even though I really want it done. There's always Thursday. I love the look of new mulch. Here's a few pics.

My favorite rusty yard ornament. I hope he never disintegrates.


Shades of green and textures


Soon to be ablaze in color.


I made plans to meet Kit at her place in Sherwood Forest. One of my favorite places to be. I arrived early so I could hang out on the porch and read. It was covered in pollen. I had to sweep and wipe down the furniture, but it was worth the work. Kit came after work and we picked up a sandwich from the general store and ate on the porch while we talked.

View from the porch. We could see the Severn River between the trees.



Time for bed. It was a long and good day.

10 May 2009

Was it good for you?

The first half of my weekend is almost over. It's been a good one. No drama. Who could ask for more?

Emily gave me an Italian Heather bush for Mother's Day. It's very unique-looking. Full of pink blossoms. I'll be planting it tomorrow along with the annuals and new butterfly bush. I put down some mulch yesterday and hope to get that finished up tomorrow too. It's supposed to be cloudy with occasional showers. I have the gear :)

We met at my parent's house for breakfast this morning. Pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage and fresh fruit. There were eight of us. It was perfect. Short and sweet.

Emily worked, and I went to my neighbor's for a Mother's Day dinner party. It was great. She's happiest when she has a crowd, and always collects an interesting group of 'strays'.

Finishing up laundry then off to bed. Hope your weekend was equally good. No, hope it was even better.

Tomorrow I'll meet my friend Kit at Sherwood Forest. Happy me. The porch will be unlocked, so I can get there anytime. I love that place.

Happy Mother's Day

Had I known Justin was going to be on SNL, I wouldn't have missed it. Check out this video. I love it!

Happy Day

Hope everyone finds something to be happy about today. Thought it would be a perfect time to say how much my blogger friends mean to me. Thanks for including me in your lives.

07 May 2009

Thursday stuff

So...the service guy was a girl. With tools and all. I have my new thermostat. I should be fine in the service department for a while.

As you probably know, we've been rained upon. The deck is getting green. The grass is sky high. Everything is lush and tropical. It's been cool but we're in for warmer weather, finally. The rain might stop one of these days. Today I told myself I was getting into the garden no matter what if it wasn't raining. So, I donned the bottom half of this outfit:


Cute, huh? Years ago I was invited to go on a canoeing weekend. I almost drowned on a canoeing weekend and was really nervous, but this time I was going with someone who knew what he was doing. They were calling for rain and he said I should have 'rain gear'. What the heck is rain gear? I went to Walmart or K-Mart and saw these rain outfits. I couldn't imagine this was what he meant. Who would wear that?. I figured rain gear just meant a rain coat and I bought the yellow kind. Lo and behold, it poured the entire trip and guess who was the only one without the proper rain gear? Yup, me. I had on my raincoat and shorts and froze and was soaked. Everyone else had rain pants. We canoed through a full day of rain. We slept in tents that leaked. The second day was canceled. At some point I was back in the store and thought it might be a good idea to buy that set of rain gear. It came in very handy today. The rubberized pants with the snap bottoms weren't fashionable, but boy were they fun. I could sit in the mud of my garden. I had mounds of dirt everywhere from trenching the garden before all the rain, and the mounds needed to be spread out, by hand. Plus I had lots of weeds and pear seedlings to get out. Plus the rain exposed lots of rocks. I was just fine with my rubber pants on. I had on a not-so-fashionable 'fanny pack' strapped around my waist to hold my tunes. Unfortunatley I'm a bit confused by iTunes and most of my music was missing. I love Alison Krauss but was looking for something more lively. Still, it was therapeutic. Eventually I heard thunder, then the skies opened up and I hung out in the garage and watched the rain.


The rain ended and I eyed my mulch, but knew the rain wasn't really over.


I went out and did some weeding in another part of the garden, but then it just got to raining too hard and I gave it up. It was time to get Emily from school and take her to work anyway. I changed my clothes :)

The sun came out in full force then. The streets that weren't flooded dried. I dropped Emily off then went to cut my mom's hair. She didn't look in the mirror, but when she does she'll see I got a little carried away. She won't be needing a haircut for a while. She'll find a nice way to tell me it's short. She wanted to watch Oprah when I was done, so I was outta there.

Next stop, Caribou Coffee. It was cloudy by then but comfortable so I got an outside table. Unfortunately there's Titan Cigar next door, and smokers were enjoying the pleasure of legal outdoor smoking. I had to choose between the stinky cigar smoke and being outdoors, or the clean air of the shop. I chose outdoors. They left after a while. It felt so good to be outside after all the rain we've had.

I picked up Emily from work and we got Chinese carry-out. I just ate a small amount. I'm still 'being good'. I'm hungry too.

Oh, and it's raining again!

So, I signed up for plentyoffish.com, but I don't think it's going to be my 'thing'. What I might be interested in is this site meetingup.com. Check it out. It seems like a place not for dating, but for meeting people with common interests. There's groups for every kind of interest. I need to spend more time checking it out, but I liked what I saw. So, that's where I'm at on that. Nowhere, really.

And that's it for tonight. Later!

Grrr

It seems like forever since I've posted, and this one won't really count. I'm so tired of this stinking weather. I'm going to put old clothes on and get dirty outside. The garden is mud, but I'm going in. I trenched the border at least a week ago and left mounds of dirt where there weren't perennials coming up. Well, I'm going to tackle those mounds even if I get rained on. It's a little warm outside and humid and I need to be out. I'm going to listen to Nickle Creek on my iPhone. And wait for a service call for my new thermostat installation.

Later I'll write about my friend Kim, about my online dating ideas, and who knows what else. Right now, I'm going out!

04 May 2009

888

That's how many posts I've published. 888. How could that be? I remember asking what I did for entertainment before I had a child. What did I do for entertainment before I got my first computer? Read, do cross-stitch, spend a lot of time obsessed by stamping (making my own cards), etc. I know I spend too much time on my computer. It's the social aspect of it that has me hooked, but that will change. Life ebbs and flows and everything changes. Change is the constant.

At the moment I'm really craving sweets. I'm trying hard to drop a few pounds, so I'm suffering for beauty. Dieting is easy if your clothes are too tight and you look at the nutrition labels. There's nothing I can eat! Actually, I think I'll take a break to make a smoothie. BRB. OK...strawberry/banana/blueberry smoothie. Sweet.

I got a front row spot in front of Macy's. Sweet. It was pouring outside. I had a 25% friends and family discount and went in search of a Fossil purse. I found one but Emily's not sure she likes it, and that matters. I'm not positive either. We'll see. I got some big hoop earrings. Emily said, those sure are big. Yup, they are. I bought valences for my bedroom that I may or may not keep. I don't have curtain rods but I'll rig something up so I can see if I like them. I went to the Apple store. It's a very cool place. Checked my mail and FB. Would have taken pictures but I don't know how to do that w/o Emily. I went to Marshall's and bought a new bathing suit. Brave, huh? Ya got to do it early while there's still a selection. I also bought some very cute Merrell sandals for work. I wanted clothes, but by then I was shopped out. Have I mentioned I'm not a shopper? I need a wardrobe makeover.

Hey, nice segue to my next topic. The big reveal. I promised pics, and here they are, in no particular order. The winner of the make-over is the woman in the belted black and white dress.























On a sadder note, a good friend of mine, also a client, just found out she has cancer. It's been on my mind 24/7. Esophageal cancer. Count your blessings, friends.

Filler stuff

Six days with no sunshine and rain predicted though the week. Enough already!

The big reveal was great! I posted pictures to Facebook but will need to take time to do it here.

I'm off to the mall. A good place to be on another rainy day.

More later!

02 May 2009

I don't have much

It's another Saturday night. Home alone. A PBS series on the history of Appalachia is playing in the background. Sound exciting? I'm about to skip ahead. This part is about ancient history and the formation of the mountains. I want to know about the people of the mountains. If I'm home alone watching TV it's got to be at least a little meaty. I'm skipping ahead.

I came straight home after work to help Emily get ready for the ROTC Military Ball she was attending with her friend Nikki. Emily was Nikki's substitute 'date.' Nikki went all out with a beautiful gown, an updo, and a mani/pedi. Emily was more low-key and wore her homecoming dress and did her own hair and nails. The girls were here and ready, along with my ex, when I got home. We drove to Nikki's house for lots of pictures. Aren't they cute?


Emily and Nikki came home early. Em said it was OK but kind of boring. Lots of speeches about joining the Army, and food that wasn't very good. She was happy to take off her dress and get back into jeans.

Tomorrow I'll be spending some time at my salon. We had a 'not so extreme make-over' contest, a winner was chosen, and tomorrow will be the 'Big Reveal'. The winner was treated to botox, derma-fillers, haircut and color, manicure and pedicure, massage and a facial. Lord and Taylor provided clothing. I think she might have had her teeth whitened. I'm sure I'm forgetting something else. I would have loved it all :) Her husband wrote a very heartwarming letter about why she deserved to win. I don't know the full story, but I do know that he has cancer. The salon will be set up with an array of flat screen monitors. Lots of print and TV coverage. A DJ. Food. Etc. I have no idea what I'll wear because my wardrobe is pretty limited and we're supposed to be a little dressy. I'll worry about that tomorrow.

I'll write about my exciting day tomorrow. Till then...