New day, I got a new attitude.

I woke up bright and early after a good night's sleep. Showered and got all ready so that when I brought Emily to field hockey practice I could hit the road. First stop was to Sam's Club to have some digital pictures printed and pick up bird seed. Next was to a new Panera's (Hi Rich, wish you were here). That's where I am and I'm HAPPY!! This is such a vibrant place with a feel-good atmosphere. As I look around I see: families, a father, son and grandchild, a mother wearing her baby in a sling with her mother, seniors with books, people like me with laptops, women sitting together, men sitting together. Great music emitting from the speakers. I'm sitting at a table next to a wall of windows. The sun is shining. What's not to be happy about? I had a cinnamon crunch bagel with hazelnut cream cheese. My first cup of coffee was dark and hearty, my second decaf. I have 45 minutes till I pick up Emily, and I just might stay here the whole time.

So did I sound all smarty with my technology jargon yesterday? Well, if I had Andrew around to guide me, I'd be able to do the things I want. I'm having a hard time figuring out how to use my portable hard drive, and something so easy as a flash drive just isn't working for me. I'd really like to just follow the directions and have things work for me the first time instead of turning into a big production. I'd like to be able to do things without help. Like the monitor problem last night. Emily and I just couldn't figure out how to get the stand on. My neighbor Kelly did it in about 5 seconds, as I knew she would, but we had to wait a half hour till she had the time. She was installing new wood blinds in her daughter's room. When I saw the blinds, I wanted them too. Only problem? I wouldn't have the faintest idea of how to do it, nor would I have the tools. Kelly is the one who fixed my outside air conditioner unit, put all new parts in my toilets, worked on my garage door, etc., etc. I'm thankful for every thing she's done for me. It may sound sexist, but she's 'my man'.

Well, I'm all over the place with this post. I still have more to write, but it's time to get Emily. BTW, here's a little background on her field hockey: she's never played before, and didn't want to go out for the team in August. This week she found out that there weren't enough players and if more didn't join in, they'd have to drop the sport. She got a physical on Friday, and she and her friend Morgan joined the team today. I wonder how she'll feel after a 3 hour practice? Fall rec softball started on Saturday. Up till last spring she'd never played a team sport (unless you count what she did when she was 5), now she's playing two. I think it's fantastic.

Later!