Heather's Small Space

WTF? And garden update

2011-05-07T15:45:00.005-04:00

First, the WTF? So... there I was driving to work yesterday morning, minding my own business, but running a little bit late. Traffic ahead of me came to a stop, and so did I. Unfortunately the guy behind me? Not so much! That'll teach me... I was rear-ended on the Long Island Expressway. I'll be okay (loads of soft tissue damage and accompanying soreness, but nothing major), but the sheriff thinks my car is likely to be a total write off. Poor car :( OTOH, cars can be replaced, and I'm a lot harder to do that with!

So, that kind of put a bit of a dent in my plans for today. I had planned to get the garden fully planted. But Brian came to my rescue and helped with most of it, and there are lots of photos below! Hopefully there will be some good eats here this year!

I recently bought an eye-fi card for my camera, and hope it will make posting photos a lot easier. For now I've started a picasa account (username heather.eberhardt) to which I can auto-upload photos. If I've done things right, the title of this post should take you there!

When it rains, it pours!

2011-04-28T21:05:00.001-04:00

This time, in a good way!

Brian has been looking for work for quite a while. He's not happy where he's working, and wants to change it. But it's a VERY tough job market out there. So he'd pretty much let it sit on the back burner for the last couple of months.

So now, while NOT actively pursuing the hunt, he has two interviews next week. One of which is actually the third, and final interview for a great paying job, but NOT very close to home. The second is not as nice a job in case of career or pay, but much closer to home. And they pay is still more than he's making now.

So keep your fingers crossed for him please and think good thoughts!

Post Training "Rest"

2011-04-23T12:56:00.002-04:00

So Brian has decided he's going to run a half marathon, and do it as a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Foundation as a fundraiser in honour of his grandpa. He'll be running it in January with friends at Walt Disney World. In the meantime, he has some training to do. This is him just now on the couch after his first 8 mile training run. EIGHT miles. Phew! But the part that made me grin the most was the random shirt he grabbed without looking to put on. It's one of the ones I've made for our Disney trips.

Another Fabulous Weekend

2011-04-18T11:13:00.004-04:00

We had another crazy busy weekend, but it was worth every minute of it. We went upstate for our friends Johnny and Alisen's wedding at Mohonk Mountain House in the Catskills. It was a lovely wedding, and the venue was INCREDIBLE. The road up to the resort was certainly fairly white-knuckle inducing! We drove up to the area Friday night with Saul, Carrie and Yvie, as Saul's parents had generously allowed us to stay with them Friday night. The rooms at Mohonk were $570/night!!!! We had a lot of fun, Johnny and Alisen are firmly married, but we decided to leave in time to get down the mountain while there was still light.

Because neither of us are in any shape to dance, we didn't stay for the full reception after the wedding. :( But to make up for it, back on Long Island, we had friends waiting to go out to dinner! We met up with Tina and Neal, who were here for I-Con, and a bunch of their friends. Dinner itself was a total bust (food barely so-so and service horrible), but the conversation, and new friends Keith and Wrenn more than made up for it!

Sunday had been scheduled for a bunch of housework, but Tina, Neal, Keith and Wrenn managed to convince us to go out for linner with them before they left. I finally ate at the diner that other friends have been looking at holding DinerCon at, and now I totally understand why! It would be a perfect venue! Much hilarity ensued, Brian still can't get over the fact that something he said was live-tweeted, photos were taken* and everyone managed to still get on the road at a decently early hour.

Today is Brian's un-birthday, and he's celebrating it by having a job interview this afternoon. He's not positive he wants the job, but it's still an interview, and worth doing even if he doesn't want it. The experience never hurts!

*And none by me. I had none of my usual cameras with me as it turned out, no camera, no cell-phone, no iPod! Strange!

Tonight's Grateful Moment

2011-04-03T21:07:00.003-04:00

We went home to Canada for the weekend for friends' wedding. I'm so very glad we did, and the ceremony was lovely. We try to break the drive up into two parts each way, so after Kim's baby shower this afternoon we headed out. A little later on the road than we wanted, but not too bad. It was dinner time when we got to Buffalo. We strongly, strongly considered pushing on for Syracuse, but in the end decided to go for the early to bed, early to rise option. And for that, I am very grateful. The rain that was forecast to begin late tonight arrived early.
It has already turned to SNOW.
We would have still been on the road, and stuck with the crappy weather and trying to drive through snow to make it, late at night, to a hotel in Syracuse.
Yaaaay for deciding to go to bed early.
Which I am NOW going to go do.
Travel safe everyone.

Brian and Patches

2011-03-27T16:42:00.002-04:00

Yesterday evening we arrived at our friends' house just as Laura was coming in from a trail ride. I'm still too gimpy, but she talked Brian into having a quick ride on Patches. And he had so much fun that he's over there again this afternoon riding. Yay!

Apparently this whole healthy eating thing might have stuck...

2011-03-09T21:47:00.002-05:00

I cooked bacon tonight for the first time in literally years. YEARS. I know it's bad for you, and know it's high in fat, but every now and then, a little well cooked bacon as garnish is heaven. Heaven in each crunchy little bite. So I bought a package at the grocery store on a whim. Tonight I set out to cook the whole package planning to freeze it once cooked and use as needed.

I am so completely and utterly revolted by the amount of fat in the pan after cooking 10 slices, I can't eat ANY of it. None. Not a chance. Not one bite. I don't think I'll be having any of it any time soon, either. I packed up the rest of it and stuck it in the freezer rather than finish cooking it. I just couldn't do it. Maybe I'll pull it out in another 5 years or so...

This sign outside a local church says it all...

2011-01-28T18:50:00.003-05:00

We have already had twice the normal total snowfall for a full winter. It's not yet quite the end of January. There are two months still to come this winter. We got more today, with more coming tomorrow. The banks at the edge of the driveway are taller than I am. And February is usually the snowiest month here...

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently my new iPod also has a sense of humour

2011-01-15T12:32:00.001-05:00

When I pulled into work on Friday morning (last day before vacation, and I knew it was already looking to be a 10 hr day minimum), the song that started, literally as I turned into the parking lot, was "Hard Knock Life" from Annie

Hey Mom! And you too Becca!

2011-01-14T19:57:00.002-05:00

I can honestly say I've had enough snow. That's our second storm with over 20 inches. In just over two weeks... The snow bank at the end of the driveway is taller than Brian. I took the photo on my way out to work this morning, so it's had two days of melt time as well... And work did NOT call a snow day. Delayed opening though, so I can't complain all that badly. And just in time for these, which I finished making last night. :)

I have not laughed this hard in a LONG time!

2011-01-03T22:14:00.001-05:00

Birthday Report

2010-12-28T19:20:00.001-05:00

For my birthday this year we had long planned to take the day off work and go into the city to see the King Tut exhibit. The delivery for the new bed (go Black Friday specials, wohoo!) was scheduled for the next day, however, and I couldn't really justify two days off that week since we were pretty busy. But the next weekend, we took the Sunday and went in. Our friend Randi came and joined us, and we had a really nice day.

There were no cameras allowed in the exhibit itself, unsurprisingly. This is the big mural out front.

Afterwards we went to linner/lupper at Bubba Gump's, one of our favourite restaurants. We hit the absolute sweet spot between lunch and dinner crowds. It was quiet, calm, and the service was excellent as usual.

Given all the walking, Brian was in a fair bit of pain by then. So Randi got treated to her own personal Adventures of Vicoden Man! :P

The next two photos are of each end of Times' Square. I'm sorry Bonnie, no matter how much you'd like to live vicariously through me, I WILL NOT go there for New Years. Nope, nut-uh, not happening. These are the closest you can get! :) Sometimes I still have to pinch myself and remember how amazing our life is when we can just "pop in to" places like this for an afternoon.

And a final reminder of why Becky is my best friend...

Okay, so I'll admit it, I'm cheating. I wrote all three of these on Boxing Day and just set them to post in sequence. :) I had the time while Brian was watching Jonas Hex, which I had seen earlier in the day.

Trip Home

2010-12-27T19:13:00.003-05:00

Since I had the card reader out, I figured I should grab some other photos to post. These are from our trip home in October. They're just of my family, I had a fresh card in the camera from David and Brenda's wedding. And it ATE the photos. That'll teach me to try to be good and make sure I had lots of space. I was SOOOOOO mad. But Brian's mom sent us one of the ones of the full family (including us) with our Christmas present and it turned out wonderfully. I'll have to scan it at some point and post it.

Le Chateau Des Eberhardt est pret pour les reservations!

2010-12-26T18:52:00.003-05:00

I finally have the downstairs bedroom set up as a guest room. I love the concept of having my own craft room/library, but the truth is, I rarely used it as such. I'd grab what supplies I need and bring them out to the living room to actually *do* whatever craft I was feeling like. And given the "delightfulness" of my crappy sleep habits, we were strongly considering putting a bed downstairs for me.

But book early, we're already filling up. No, seriously, April is already completely booked up for us!

And what's with all the bright white out that window you may be asking yourself? It's slightly late, but I'm getting a white Christmas after all. Better late than never! They're currently forecasting 15-20 inches (38-50cm) of snow by the time it ends tomorrow! Good thing I got myself that present two posts down, isn't it? And I liked mom's comment about it being a necessity and made Brian buy me another Christmas gift. Good thinking mom! Below are the photos from the snow in the last post, and I'll post photos of this snow from tomorrow. Ish.

Real Snow!!

2010-12-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

We had a bunch of flakes last night while I was running errands after
physiotherapy, and that's all that was forecast, but hey, it was snow,
and I was happy. Hell, it was 55F/13C on Sunday, so at least it was
starting to feel like December with the flakes. So imagine my thrill
when I got up this morning and discovered about half an inch of the
fabulous white stuff. Photos will come once I get home tonight and
can download them.

What? Yes, I took photos, so Pssssbt!

I'm a very naughty girl

2010-12-11T14:04:00.002-05:00

I just bought my own Christmas present, AGAIN. Brian's going to be mad at me for it because I have a bad habit of doing that. And in this case, I don't really care, because it's as much for me as it is for him! Click the title if you want to know what I got!

It's official

2010-12-06T13:29:00.001-05:00

We had snow today! Just a slight flurry, not even a bare dusting, but
it counts. I saw snow!

Never mind the fact that it still caused multiple car accidents on
this morning's commute.
Really folks? It's not like we never get snow here. You shouldn't be
losing it over that.

Discussions with Vicoden Man

2010-11-10T16:50:00.002-05:00

So Brian was given Vicoden for his hand. And he can only take it while home and not going to drive. It usually makes him pretty sleepy*, but also leads some interesting conversations. *After taking this mornings at about 5:30am when I got up for work, he proceeded to continue to sleep until after noon.

I think all who know him will agree he's had many odd conversations all on his own, drug free. This one was priceless:

Brian goes upstairs to work on laundry, and about 10 minutes later I realize I haven't heard anything...

H: "Brian, whatcha doing?"
B: "The bed got me"

All normal so far, that's a phrase we use to say we're just flaking out upstairs in the quiet for a little while.

10 more minutes pass and I go upstairs to see what he wants to do for dinner.
He has gotten undressed and fully tucked himself into bed.
Teddy bear and all.

H: "Really, the *bed* got *you*? It doesn't look that way to me..."
B: "My clothes conspired with the bed"

Brian's Newest Fashion Accessory

2010-11-06T15:57:00.002-04:00

Is it wrong of me to laugh at him as he tries to tie his shoes? It was sporkworthy stupidity that caused it. And who knew? Brian-the-lefty apparently punches with his right.

My most adorable hour spend hand sewing EVER.

2010-10-24T20:54:00.000-04:00

So, this happened, then that did, then the world turned upside down...

2010-08-18T20:52:00.003-04:00

Or "Why I won't write any more final exams."

This latest course finishes the certificate, and I am REALLY wondering if the universe is threatening Brian to get me to just stop there and not get the full Master's. I don't know if I dare take any more, the next one might kill him.

First Final Exam: (December) Brian gets Bronchitis that week. Acts like a typical man. Doesn't take enough care of himself or time off work. Spends New Year's Eve coughing so hard he tore the cartilage in his lungs. Spending New Year's Day waiting to been seen by the doctor (who is wonderful, and was actually open!!!) followed by waiting for x-rays was not how I planned to start 2010.

Second Final Exam: (May) The day of my final, Brian has training at work. Calls me mid-afternoon, sounding odd. I finally get him to tell me what's going on. He got fired. From the job he loves, caring for people in group homes. Because he varyingly (depending on who was telling him what he'd done wrong and why he was being fired) both doesn't follow the rules enough, and is inflexible when dealing with the rules. He reports and documents found meds as per the rules. WRONG! He switches up breakfasts during the same week at the request of a client. WRONG!

Third Final Exam: (August) I had my final on Monday morning last week, and Brian knew it had to be turned in by noon. Which is why he waited until noon to call and tell me he'd been in a car accident at 5am on his way into work, and was in the ER. And he refused to tell the hospital my number so they could call me. I truly love that man, but sometimes I want to smack him upside the head. Just not right now. It's too tender.

Long story short (like I'm capable of that, ha!) he'll be okay in the long term. He was rear-ended when he was already stopped. The other driver got out, and asked if Brian was okay. When Brian said no, and he thought he should call for an ambulance, the driver who hit him said "Oh shit!" and booked it out of there. Brian didn't get the plates. The police were called (thankfully there was a witness) and reports taken, but we don't have much hope they'll actually catch the guy. Brian spent two very scary days in hospital, but is home and resting more or less comfortably. We've a lot of follow-up doctor visits to come, some PT, and it'll be a while before he's back at work again. But he will be fine in the medium-long term, and that's what matters most!

Just how good at customer service is my husband?

2010-07-21T17:56:00.003-04:00

He had a regular customer come into the restaurant today who is so unimpressed they haven't promoted him* that she gave him her business card and told him to get her a resume...

:) :) :)

I've always said he loves helping people no matter what he's doing!

(*Their name badges have their titles on them, not that he was bitching to a customer about it. Though I've had a few private bitches to myself about it...)

This is why I now get up at 5:30am...

2010-07-07T07:44:00.001-04:00

For all I am *so* not a morning person, I set a new best time into
work this morning. 25 minutes door to door. If I left at 8am, it
would take over an hour. I may hate the early mornings, and loathe
going to bed so early, but I'll take it to reclaim over an hour from
every day.

So it's been a while...

2010-06-29T22:09:00.001-04:00

School ate my life, and I haven't really been doing much worth writing about. I have, however, been taking photos, and to that end, I've finally gotten around to starting to setup photo galleries. If you're interested, they can be found here, or by clicking on the title of this post. I hope eventually to get them captioned as needed, at the very least, but figure something is better than nothing!

Thankful Thursday (on Friday!)

2010-03-19T14:31:00.001-04:00

First off, I'm thankful that my new boss is awesome. I'm getting
sick, and felt worse than death warmed over yesterday afternoon. So
he sent me home early and I crawled directly into bed once I got
there! As soon as I shut my eyes, I could see the auras starting for
a migrane, but I was thankfully already home and in bed in the dark.
Brian woke me up about 6:30 so I could eat some dinner, and the sleep
and darkness averted the migrane. I'm still sick as a dog, but it
could have been a whole lot worse.

I'm thankful I don't get migranes like my mom and Marie do. I
generally (last year excepted) get them very rarely, and if I catch
the auras starting up and can get somewhere pitch black quickly
enough, I can usually head them off. I'm very lucky that I'm not
exceedingly sensitive to noise with one, but I am *INCREDIBLY*
sensitive to light/motion when I have one. Unfortunately now that
we're no longer 10 mins from work, it's a little harder to duck home
and get rid of one. And they're becoming a LOT more frequent. I wish
I could figure out what's triggering them. I'm 99% sure it's not food
caused the last two times. I do know sharp cheese is a trigger for me
(Booo! I *love* sharp cheddar!) but I've been very carefully steering
clear of it for a while. And yesterday I had none at all, nor was
anything else I ate either a)unusual, or b)a common trigger.

I'm thankful that Costco has their fabulous bulbs again this spring.
18 day lilies for $13? Yes please! And at that price I can pick up
some for to make a friend's day who needed it.

I'm thankful that Brian has yet another job interview, again in his
old field, and that this one is closer to home. He's liking the new
job, but the 30+ mile commute on Long Island sucks. Hard.

I'm very, very thankful that Pat could come pick up Laura and I last
Saturday night. We had quite an adventure, and I've a post brewing on
that (it's ~80% typed). For now the summary is LIRR and NJTransit
FAIL!

I'm thankful that Tom thought of me when he had some YA books returned
to him from his neice. I'm thoroughly enjoying them, and loving the
"brainfluff" aspects of reading YA stuff at bedtime. It helps slow
down my ever spinning brain so sometimes it'll let me sleep!

Stitching Update

2010-03-08T21:13:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of writing my exam this morning, I earned some stitching time tonight. This is Jen and Joe's Te Amo after another 5 hours work. I love how quickly this is stitching up!

Thankful Thursday

2010-03-05T08:05:00.001-05:00

I want to start this feature up once again. I often think we're so
rushed we don't take time to enjoy what we do have. So I'm going to
try, but not try to make myself come up with 7 things every Thursday.

I'm thanful for Spring Break. Not because I get one, Hah! But because
it means I get an extra week to study/prepare for my midterm exam.
And before the take home midterm is due. Yes, that's right, both a
take home and a regular written exam in one course. Oh fun!

I'm thankful for executive travel. Apparently that's how we got the
snow day last week... The normal exec's who *don't* call them were
away.

I'm thankful that both of my icky-nasty-scary medical tests are done,
and that the results are negative for the worst one. (Still have to
wait a week for the other...)

WOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

2010-03-03T12:45:00.001-05:00

For obvious reasons I can't identify which, but we've apparently sold
the product that has my most hated, abhored and despised test method.
I shall never have to do ******* again! Wohooooooooo!

Just for mom!

2010-02-28T15:44:00.002-05:00

I'm taking some time out from studying this afternoon to watch the CAN-US hockey final, and wanted to post to show mom what Brian's wearing in honour of it! I figure I've gotten 14 lectures summarized so far, I've earned a little stitching time!

My First American Snowman!

2010-02-26T18:11:00.002-05:00

I took a break from studying to have a little fun on my snow day.

I am stunned...

2010-02-26T08:42:00.002-05:00

This is the view out our back patio door. We've had more snow than I was expecting, but it's still not that much. Remember those chair tops from prior snow photos? You can pretty much still see all of the chairs themselves.
So why am I shocked?

FOREST IS CLOSED FOR THE DAY.

For the first time in company history, we get a snow day! Wohoo!!!

Now... to study...
Which seems somehow wrong for the thing I'm most looking forward to doing on my first snow day in 17ish years...

Stitching Update

2010-02-20T12:29:00.004-05:00

So, last weekend, for the first time all term, I got totally caught up on my course for school. The university had some "technical difficulties" which meant those of us taking it on line had to wait a week before our first lectures were posted. And there's homework due 3x/week for this course, so I've been playing catch up for weeks. But... since I did get totally caught up by Sunday, Monday was stitching time!
I can't show one of the things I finished for a couple of weeks yet until I know it's been received and opened, but I can show you what I got done on my project for me: Teresa Wentzler's The Unicorn:

That's after 10 hours of stitching time, and it still doesn't look like much, but this is what it should look like when it's done! (With the usual provisos that the photos on the website never look close to as good as they do in person, of course!) I've seen it done, once, and it was just as stunning as I'd always imagined.

OMG, it's Snowmageddon!

2010-02-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

They're forecasting anywhere from 4-18 inches of snow and you'd think
the world was ending. It's hilarious. I'll freely admit that
tomorrow's forecast sounds nasty. Full on blizzard even. Maybe.
They also forecast over a foot of snow for us last Saturday. We got
nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. So I'm betting I'll be going to work
tomorrow, whether I want to or not.

No wonder I always feel so rushed...

2010-01-21T10:36:00.001-05:00

Would someone please remind me to slow down? Here's this week's
schedule, on top of the 50+ hr week at work...

Monday night: babysit 3 year old for friends (Keira's awesome and we
love her to death, and she thinks we're waaaay more fun than daddy!)
Tuesday night: 3 hours of homework and lectures
Wednesday night: dinner and Crackasonne with Carrie and Saul, and most
importantly, we finally got to meet Yvie!
Thursday night: 4+ hrs of lectures and homework (tonight)
Friday night: Dinner with the J gang et al
Saturday morning: lectures and homework
Saturday afternoon: run D&D game (um, I haven't found any prep. time
in this schedule yet...)
Saturday evening: dinner and games with Pat and Laura
Sunday morning: housework and any remaining homework
Sunday afternoon/evening: Randi and John (hopefully) finally manage to
get out here with all of us happy, healthy and safe!

Phew!

Some quick photos

2010-01-09T14:35:00.004-05:00

I've spent a fair bit of time the last two weeks getting the downstairs bedroom setup as a study/library/craft room. And now, at last, I have a dedicated stitching space, complete with a new stitching chair! :) I have to get another footstool, and given how long I've been looking for one I like, I think I may end up making them myself. But I'll wait until it's warm enough to use the garage to do that!

I decided to let myself do some stitching for myself, mixed in with all the obligation stitching. I've joined a TW stitchalong and decided to start The Unicorn. Below is a photo of it after 5 hours of work. It's a few of the flagstones of the path, and it doesn't look like much, but I'm pleased with the progress.

Next up is Jen and Joe's wedding gift. Given that they're approaching their third wedding anniversary, I need to get cracking. In my defense though, I only got my hands on the pattern last fall. It's Arelate Studios' Te Amo, and Jen had planned on stitching it herself for their wedding. I'm starting in on it once I hit post. It's a quick, fun stitch, and doesn't need nearly the level of light and comfort of the TW. I expect it'll grow much quicker than The Unicorn! :)

And finally, a photo of our stockings from Christmas morning. We don't tend to do a lot of gifts for each other anymore, but I always look forward to seeing what Brian's come up with for my stocking. Mine's the bear one on the left (hanging on my dresser so it's there when I wake up in the morning), and Brians' are the two on the right. I stitched the farthest right one for him a few years ago and still love how it turned out.

Happy New Years Everyone

2010-01-06T20:59:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update, I've lots more to type, but I'm going to bed soon. We're surviving but have been pretty sick over the holidays. Brian's got a very bad case of bronchitis, and went back to work too soon. Now he's off again, for at least 2 more weeks this time. He was coughing so hard New Years Eve that he tore the cartilage in his ribs! So, not good, but we're both starting to get better, and he's definitely getting much better.

As a result of being sick, and not taking any time off work, none of my holiday projects got done. But I did try to flake out, and I needed that. My next course starts this week, and it looks like we're going to have a great professor. At the very least we've had as much communication from him already as we did for the whole term last term!

I'm making a serious effort to manage my time better and get more organized. I *have* the time to do everything I want to do, it's just a matter of using my time effectively and not wasting it. A big part of this is making sure I get to bed on time and making the time to go early enough to read a half hour once there. I need that wind down time. Wish me luck!

Oh, and to publicly acknowledge, my weight on New Years Day was 205. I'm down 25 lbs from the point where I decided to fix it, and I'm pleased. I've a ways to go, but I'm getting there. That deserves a full post on its own, but who knows when I'll get to it! :)

Photos!

2009-12-20T08:07:00.003-05:00

Was it wrong of us to laugh at poor Percy trying to see out the patio doors or at least figure out what was going on?

Out the same patio doors. The brown bits to the bottom right are the tops of our chairs, folded up and leaning against the table for the winter

Brian wanted to make sure I knew which spot I parked my car in 'cause he wasn't sure he'd be able to tell from a quick look out the front window.

This window is the opposite side of the house to the patio door. And the drifts come up all the way to the sill!

And last, but not least, don't you like my fabulous wrapping job on this present yesterday?

And as of noon today

2009-12-19T12:06:00.001-05:00

The flurries have finally started!
Better late than never.
Wohooooooooooo!

It's kind of fun to do the impossible
- Walt Disney

WOHOOOOOOO!!!!

2009-12-18T18:43:00.001-05:00

I know most of my friends just shake their heads and say I'm nuts, but
I am so thrilled. They're forecasting up to 18 inches of snow this
weekend! I don't expect we'll actually get that much, but I'll post
photos if we do, and I am thrilled!

A Long Delayed Update

2009-12-10T12:19:00.001-05:00

So, have we been busy? Yes. Abnormally so, even for us? Yes. Is this
truly something you didn't expect from me? No.

Going back to school is a great thing (I think) but it certainly has
cut down on the amount of time I have for hobbies, one of which is
updating this blog. I've found I'm spending ~8 hrs/week on the school
stuff just to keep up with lectures. That doesn't include time
reading the textbook, or working on assignments. Speaking of which, I
turned in all three of my term papers yesterday. Yes, you read that
righ, three term papers for one course. All due within a week of the
final. Which I'm taking Monday. Wish me luck. I know I'm better
prepared for it than I was for the midterm, but there is an incredible
amount of detail to be absorbed. In just this half term, we covered
40 techniques. All of which I need to understand how they work, what
they measure, in what range etc. I see a stack of cuecards coming.
Actually, I've started on them, which is how I know there are 40 of
them! The hard part is figuring out what needs the rote
memorization... Remind me again why I wanted to go back to school?

So, with that time sink, there went most of my crafting time. I have
one stitching project going, which is a Christmas gift, and so should
be posted soon, except it's been stashed somewhere from our madcap
trip home*. I'm really hoping I haven't left it at my MIL's house
because if I did, it certainly won't be done! I haven't been taking
time to stitch so I could get school stuff done. I've been so slack
on birthday cards this year it's disgusting. Maybe during term break
(three whole weeks off!) I'll premake a bunch of them. And my Google
Reader is just informing me I have >1000 things awaiting me... I'm
afraid to know how many more!

*Madcap trip home. So, my plan for Thanksgiving weekend was to have 4
days to study, write my term papers, and finish the stitchy gift.
Brian would be working a lot of it and I'd have the place to myself.
Except they've just changed his boss at Gamestop (another long story
there, grrrrrrrr) and Brian wasn't scheduled at all. So suddenly we
had a 4 day weekend, haven't been home since a weekend trip in April,
and wouldn't be able to go home over Christmas. Hrm… Well, I'd have
24ish hours in the car to study… and if I can buy my birthday present
early** I can use it to listen to lectures while driving, adding in
extra review… But we certainly hadn't budgeted for a trip home, and
hotels at home are EXPENSIVE if we want to stay somewhere you don't
have to worry about catching something from the sheets… Enter Mikey,
best friend from highschool and his awesome wife Jan, who out of the
blue offered for us to stay with them and their daughters at their new
house. A trip home, no hotel costs, fabulous downtime with Mikey,
Jan, ,L and M (as opposed to normal quick trips home where we don't
have time to visit with friends) and I was sold. As expected, it was
mostly a mad rush, but we had a great time and are very glad we went.
I even took part of a morning and got one of the three papers half
written at Mike's table. Mean Brian wouldn't let me go to Costco for
the chocolate run until I had. Grr. Not that it surprises me, but
Brian was astounded Mike's daughter L remembered Brian from the last
time we saw them. At Disneyworld two years ago when she was 3. It's
amazing watching them grow up. We were supposed to meet up with them
at WDW again this year, but then had to change the dates of the trip
so we missed them, and we were not happy about that aspect! When I'm
not posting by email, I have photos of all the neices and nephews to
share since we got to see all of them. Brenden seems like he's
finally recovering more fully from his case of H1N1. Fingers crossed.

**Yes, I chose my own birthday present. And bought it, opened it and
started using it before my birthday. Live with it mom! :P We'd
bought an iPod Touch before our last trip to Disney for Brian to use
on the plane. He's so terrified of flying it's nuts, and anything
that distracts is good. But we were already having to haul my
gigantic laptop (silly Florida schools go back in August. AUGUST!)
and didn't want to carry a dvd player along as well. Yes, we could
have used the laptop, but the battery isn't *that* great, even if it
does weigh a ton. Besides, the Touch has games, movies, music,
internet (wifi) and fun! Not to mention a great app with all the
Disney restaurants with menus and meal plan options in it. But then
we started feeling guilty about the cost. And were glad we bought it
from Costco since they (as expected) released new versions the week
after we got back. We returned the original one. And I've missed it
ever since. My lectures this term are all provided online, and
conveniently come in a format designed specifically for iPods. And my
slides are all .pdf's, which can also be accessed on the touch. So I
bought myself a shiny new 8GB iPod Touch for my birthday. I used my
$20 in GC's I'd saved, and a 10% off coupon I'd earned to make it even
more reasonable. Go me! I'd have liked the larger size, but we don't
really need it. As it stands right now, I've got half my term's
lecture videos, all the slides, an 800 page textbook, far too many
games, 1 movie, and ~650 songs on it. So Brian got to listen to all
17 hours of lecture from this half term during the drive to Canada and
back. His main comment: How do I keep the alphabet soup straight? :)

--
It's kind of fun to do the impossible
- Walt Disney

Favourite Ever Lecture Quote:

2009-11-18T21:58:00.001-05:00

"So you need a nuclear reactor, and not everyone wants to have a
nuclear reactor in their lab..."

On this Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T06:47:00.002-05:00

Thank you, to all those who have served.
Thank you, to all those who do serve.
And to paraphrase our good friend Thorin, a marine, remember:
"Plan A is to come home safe. There is no Plan B."

By 10:30 this morning...

2009-11-08T11:12:00.001-05:00

(And with some help from Brian) I had:
Done 5 loads of laundry
Done 2 loads of the dishwasher
Scrubbed 1 shower, 2 toilets, and 3 sinks
Vaccuumed the house
Cleared the countertops
Put away *all* the loose junk everywhere in the living spaces
Moved a bookcase upstairs to my study nook (and packed up the random
junk that had been living on it)
Prep'ed the backyard for winter (including pulling all the dead plants
for compost and moving all the pots)
Fixed the garage and gotten it back organized
... and finally went and had a shower.

The rest of the day is mine to enjoy! I forsee a visit from a good
friend, movies and stitching...

WTF??

2009-09-28T17:49:00.002-04:00

Pardon me for a minute here while I deal with some WTF issues...

I have gout!
In my foot!
And it hurts like hell, and I'm used to living with daily pain...

WTF?

I'm in my mid-30's and eat meat ~3-4 times/week. I get enough exercise, and for the last 6 months have been consistently getting at least/if not more than my recommended water intake. I have none of the standard risks. It can't be diet induced. I do need to lose weight, but not that much, and I'm working on that one. So WTF? body? I get down to only one thing to deal with and you feel unloved, so you throw something new at me?

Thankful Thursday

2009-09-24T18:07:00.001-04:00

I am thankful that we have Brian's brother James staying with us.
Reconnecting with family is always worthwhile.

I am thankful that James was awesome and grabbed us some Timmy's from
Penn Station on his way through!

I am thankful the Dr. could fit me in to see about my foot. Verdict
is still out on cause though.

I am thankful for the warm weather that means Brian and James will be
BBQing tonight. Yumm, steak!

I am thankful for extended fall hours at the library that mean easier
access to books for me!

I am thankful that today is Make-A-Wish day at Cold Stone Creamery.
Free ice cream *AND* fundraising for Make-A-Wish, what could be
better?

I am thankful that I am swamped at work. Job security is a comforting thing!

It's kind of fun to do the impossible
- Walt Disney

Thankful Thursday

2009-09-17T11:53:00.003-04:00

Today I'm thankful for warm fleece blankets and a purring cat as I keep my butt on the couch.

I'm thankful I still have sick days to take this year.

I'm thankful for 14 brain cell killing hours of recorded soap opera to keep by brain semi-occupied today.

I'm thankful this week's homework assignment for my course is optional.

I'm thankful that U of Fl is offering this Master's degree.

I'm thankful that we're going to be buying a chest freezer and I can plan regular meals again and won't have to stop at the grocery store 2-3 times/week.

I am thankful that there are still people in this world who take photos like this, after he comes back from the ISS. The world needs that kind of whimsy.

Disney Trip Report: Day 1

2009-09-16T10:14:00.001-04:00

I don't promise to get all of them done, let alone done in this
detail, but here's a start!

Day 1

Woke up at 3:30am and couldn't get back to sleep. Alarm was set for
4:15 anyways to get hubby up and moving, so I just got up and futzed
around on the computer for a while. Posted on FB that I was up,
excited and ready to go. Had a good friend who works nights respond
with a WTF? What are you up for at this time of night and why are you
so happy about it? *GRIN*

Getting to the airport was quick, easy and painless. Checkin was the
same. Had a quick laugh when I saw security unpacking the bag we'd
checked that was full of very squished pillows. I hope they had fun
stuffing them back in! We had boarding passes A60 and B1 so we
settled in for the wait, and I finally had a little breakfast there.
I was a little nervous leaving Brian behind as I boarded (I'd been
assigned the A60 pass) and hoped he'd make it okay having to talk
himself onto the plane without my "helping hand" behind his back
pushing him onwards. Got on the plane and was astounded to find the
exit row still unoccupied. SCORE! Waited through family boarding,
and then Brian came through like a champ. He was also thrilled with
the seats. We knew it was a full flight, so he opted for the middle
seat and I took the window. The flight was generically boring,
except for getting to fly alongside the tropical storm. That was neat
to look at but even as far off as we were it did cause some
turbulence. Brian looked a little green but did okay. He declared he
preferred that to flying over the hurricane last year! We landed 35
minutes early in Orlando! Off the plane and on the DME bus before we
even were supposed to land!

We'd done the online advance checkin, so once the DME bus got to the
hotel I left Brian to grab our carryon bags from the bottom of the bus
and I hotfooted it to the check-in lines. I managed to be first off
our bus into the line and was happy later when I saw the 30+ people
behind me just for online check-in by the time I was called. Our
package was ready for pickup, they'd honoured our request for a top
floor 50's room, and though there was a slight mixup over the fridge,
it was easily and quickly sorted out. Best part was our room was
already ready for us. I wouldn't have to haul the giant laptop bag to
the park and stash my laptop in a hot locker all day. Wohoo! We
found our room and wow had we lucked out. One room closer to the
front and we'd have been in the "preferred" (and thus more expensive)
rooms. Colour me happy! Ditched our stuff, applied an extra coat of
sunscreen and we were off to the Magic Kingdom!

Arrived at the gates to the Magic Kingdom at 10:45am! Plan at first
was to just hit our favourites, adjusting depending on lines. Hopped
the steam train over to Frontierland. Wait for Splash Mountain was 20
mins, so we grabbed FP's for BTMRR and headed to get wet. After
getting mildly splashed (but the wait was longer than we wanted to go
around again) we headed for PotC, over to Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip
and off on a Jungle Cruise. Our FP's were now ready, so off to BTMRR
grabbing FP's for Splash Mountain on the way. By now it was ~1pm and
we were getting hungry, and I think this was the day we tried Pecos
Bill's. I wish I'd realized when ordering that we could "make our
own" taco salads, I'd have ordered that! I had a burger which was
only so-so, Brian had the pulled pork and enjoyed it. After sitting
down to eat lunch, the early morning hit us both and we crashed. So
back to the room for us and a no guilt nap (for Brian at least) in the
AC.

We were back up and running by about 4:30 and headed back to the MK.
Used the earlier FP's for Splash Mountain to get wet then headed for
the Haunted Mansion, grabbing BTMRR FP's for later.

We were hungry for dinner, so off to Cosmic Rays for Chicken and Ribs,
our favourite meal in the MK. Discover that TTC was still down for
repairs despite being supposed to reopen today. Oh well, we've
another 10 days left! During dinner, the skies opened up and it
poured as only South Florida can. Except that unlike in past years,
it kept pouring! Did some shopping in the stores around Cosmic Rays
and rode Buzz Lightyear. My blaster was broken, but Brian's score was
respectable. After about 90 mins of pouring down rain we decided to
just head back early and call it a night. We had plenty more time to
do it all and see it all. I worked VERY hard this trip to overcome my
Type A go-go-go personality and slow down and take things as they
come. Off to the hotel by bus, during which, of course, it stopped
raining. So a quick dip in the pool (in which I actually got *cold*)
and off to bed.

Phew!

2009-09-15T20:12:00.003-04:00

I know I chose this, and I know it's the right decision. But man doing schoolwork every evening after a full day of work is taking it out of me. Especially when combined with my attempts to be good and develop some sort of exercise routine. I'm going to try talking to my boss and see if I can change my hours slightly away from the "company norm". There are others who do so, even more extremely than I want to, so I'm hopeful. But I know there have been others in our area who have abused it in the past so it may not fly. But yesterday I got home early, spent my half hour on the treadmill and completed 2 lectures before dinner. It felt sooo good! And then there's days like today where my insomnia had acted up last night so I didn't get to sleep until 4am. So I was late into work, late home from work, and here it is 8:15 and I've only just finished dinner. (Yummy, yummy dinner that Brian BBQ'd again...) And dessert is chocolate ice cream and homemade chocolate chip cookies* once I've written the first page of this week's homework assignment... And ONLY once that first page is written. Then it's another 50ish pages of reading and off to bed.

*Yes, I'm still on a diet, yes I'm losing weight/inches, yes this is not the best choice. But it'll be a small quantity of ice cream, 2 small cookies (I made them deliberately so) and is coming out of my "bonus" points for the week. I've (almost) earned it!

Thankful Thursday

2009-09-10T21:44:00.000-04:00

I'm thankful that I'm well employed and was able to take a great
vacation this year.

I'm thankful my husband enjoys Walt Disney World as much as I do.

I'm thankful my cat still loves me dearly and wants snuggles.

I'm thankful for more fresh tomatoes from my garden.

I'm thankful Brian is getting a promotion at work.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

2009-09-10T18:05:00.001-04:00

I'm going the fundraising walk again this year and would love if anyone out there could support me. It's an important cause that everyone has been touched by.

The American Cancer Society:

Shared via AddThis

Thankful Thursday

2009-08-27T14:15:00.001-04:00

I am thankful that in 38 hours, my vacation starts, baring any delays
from possible hurricane Danny. Or, look at it another way, noon
tomorrow vacation starts!

I am thankful that my not-quite boss is very understanding when other
sections of the company screw up my timing/sample planning.

I am VERY thankful the safety committee meeting for this afternoon is
cancelled. I might finish everything up before I go away!

I am thankful that Percy is still being a complete snugglebug. It's
different behaviour for him, which concerns me a little bit, but I'll
take the snuggles for now.

I'm thankful for Michelle who is willing to stop by while we're away
and spoil Percy rotten. We may get told to just leave again by him
when we get home...

I'm thankful for cooler weather that means we've been able to sit at
home in the evenings the last two nights with all the windows open
enjoying the breezes.

I'm absurdly thankful for the great writing in Leverage that has Brian
and I having to pause it so we can finish laughing before continuing.
Deep laughs like that do wonders for a person.

It's Official!

2009-08-21T18:17:00.001-04:00

I'm a student again. I'm registered (phew!) for my class that starts Monday morning, and I've paid my tuition (whimper!). I'm excited about it but a little nervous about finding the time to balance everything without short changing Brian.

Thankful Thursday

2009-08-20T17:34:00.001-04:00

I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn new techniques at work, even
when it means 13 hour days now and then.

I'm thankful that the registrar at U of Fl is being very helpful with
all the problems occurring with my attempts to register for my course
this fall. You know, the one that starts Monday...

I'm thankful that Percy still wants loads of snuggles. Until Brian
gets home, of course! :)

I'm thankful Brian doesn't start at 5:30am every day.

I'm thankful for the yummy cherry tomatoes from the garden.

I'm very thankful that the *cough actual, not at top of blog*
countdown to Disneyworld is in single digits!

Thankful Thursday

2009-08-13T20:27:00.001-04:00

I'm thankful for a job that I love, even if it does sometimes require
12 hour days.

I'm thankful for my husband, who is willing to spoil me rotten after a
rough day.

I'm thankful that the heat has broken so we can make yummy, yummy spice cake.

I'm thankful for the purring cat that's demanding my attention.

I'm thankful my vacation starts in 2 more weeks.

Traffic!

2009-08-06T09:09:00.001-04:00

Last night on the way home there was a rather large accident on one of
the main roads (Rt. 25 for locals) involving downed wires. Brian and
I encountered it shortly after it had occurred. All we could see was
about a dozen emergency vehicles spread over about a half mile of
road. While crawling through an improvised local laneway detour I
heard what is possibly the scariest traffic report I've ever heard,
even after living in NJ/NY for almost 10 years. The radio traffic
reports were advising people to turn around, go back to Rt 347 and
take it south to Portion Rd to go around.

For those local to me, you'll understand the full horror of this. For
those of you not on Long Island, think of the worst, most congested
road in your area and make it twice as bad. Then double that. If you
take 347 during regular rush hours (3:30pm-7pm), expect a travel speed
of roughly 6 miles/hour. On a normal night… For those of you in NJ,
it's worse than Route 1. By a fair margin. And they were advising
people who have finally, blissfully gotten off Rt 347 to get right
back on and go back ~ 3 miles. I think if I'd been crawling on 347
and heard that I'd have just pulled in some place and gone for dinner.
Though as it turns out, that wouldn't have helped much. The accident
and repairs were serious enough that they still hadn't reopened Rt. 25
this morning when I left for work.

On the flip side of that, however, was my drive into work today. I've
started getting up really early so I can miss most of the traffic.
Given that Rt. 25 was still closed this morning, I expected my normal
route to have more traffic than normal. So I left ~15 minutes early.
Apparently, no-one else had that idea. I'm bombing down the leftmost
lane on the Long Island Expressway (another road deservedly notorious
for its traffic nightmares) in fairly light traffic and realize that
I'm just not keeping up with the cars in my lane. And I *think* I'm
going fast enough that I shouldn't be acting like a cork in the left
lane. (Cork, as in bottleneck, as in everyone is pulling into the
middle lane to blow past me…) I look down at my speedometer to double
check and discover that I'm doing 80mph. And being left behind like
I'm standing still. On the LIE. Which is a 55mph highway…

August Update (almost on the 1st!)

2009-08-03T11:15:00.001-04:00

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Fall of Atlantis (three books in one combined volume)
2 more "Bones" mysteries

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
Royal Pains (cute but forgettable)
Warehouse 13 (see above…)
Zombie Strippers (you don't want to know)

What special days did I celebrate and how?
None particularly, but our anniversary is coming up this week.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Lots more birthday cards/calls.
Baby card for Ciara.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
Same lingering sinus infection from last update. I'm going back to
the Dr. on the 5th again about it. I do not want to still have it
when we head to Disney. Ruptured eardrums are no fun.
Brian got his custom orthotics from the podiatrist, so he's getting
adjusted to them.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Loads of card/games with the Henagans.
Made reverse/resist dyed shirts for Disney.
Finished Fantasy Triptych!

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
New citrus marinade for chicken on the bbq. Yum.
Grilled Mahi-Mahi in my ongoing attempt to work more seafood into our
diet. Not so yum…

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
See next question down…

What were this month's disappointments?
Brian's DM being a complete jerk about vacation time. He's had the
same week booked off for Disney since April 1st. We leave Sept. 19th.
The new restaurant is now scheduled to open Sept. 15th. Guess who
just had his vacation time effectively cancelled? So we've had to
rebook the trip and are now going earlier. But we had less than 3
days to replan everything or be charged change fees. Thankfully, we
pressed DM for an answer so we could avoid them. Once I actually
remember to do so from home (no access from work) I'll update the
ticker above to show the correct date.

What were my accomplishments this month?
Rebooking our entire Disney trip on no notice and managing to even get
most of our dining reservations that we'd had with the original trip.
Having FANTASTIC Disney customer service even allow us to keep the
free dining on the trip even though that promotion is now over. That
phone call deserves it's own blog post! And, because of the change in
airfare over the long weekend, it was actually cheaper to stay two
more nights than to come back after 9 days like originally planned.
And since it incorporates the long weekend, I *just* have enough days
off to do it. I'd been saving one in reserve for unplanned
emergencies.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
Not that comes to mind immediately…

What made me smile this month?
Fresh peas from the garden.
Realizing that because of the rebooking, I'd be at my Happiest Place
on Earth in exactly a month. (Can you tell I've been living for this
vacation?)
Surpassing the 10 pound mark on my weight loss goals.
Holding Ciara and managing both to get her to burp (twice!) and have
her fall asleep in my arms.

He he he

2009-07-27T18:55:00.004-04:00

I just made a Disney reservation specialist think I was completely insane. COMPLETELY. The hardest dining reservation to get at any time of year, let alone during Free Dining is Le Cellier. And I just called to cancel not one, but two Le Cellier reservations. TWO! She made me confirm repeatedly that yes, this was what I wanted to do. Yes, I knew how hard they were to get. Yes, I wanted to cancel them. And yes, I was me. (But in my defense, the reason I was calling to cancel them was because I'd finally gotten a dinner reservation for one of the days I actually wanted, so it's not like we won't be eating there at all.)

The bounty of my BBQ floweth over

2009-07-22T18:50:00.003-04:00

Tonight I called Brian as I was ready to leave work to request he BBQ something for dinner. I wasn't feeling picky, so long as there was a source of protein, I'd be happy. This is the fabulous dinner he BBQ'd for me. :) Yum!

Steak, shrimp, corn on the cob and mushrooms. Dessert (?) was a full bowl of sugar snap peas from my garden.

Wahoooooo!

2009-07-19T14:27:00.004-04:00

First up: "The Aftermath"

And now: "The Payoff"

Teresa Wentzler's Fantasy Triptych
Completed July 19, 2009

How to completely make a bad weekend better!

2009-07-10T17:51:00.002-04:00

We were supposed to be going up to NH to stay with friends for the weekend. Unfortunately, I'm still pretty sick, and Brian got sick yesterday. So we've had to cancel. While a quiet weekend at home is what we need, it's not what we'd looked forward to for weeks. I wasn't exactly happy about giving it up. But it needed to be done. And then, this afternoon, I get this from my friend Helen. Suddenly a $19 train fare into the city doesn't sound too bad... (Oh, and we had already planned our Timmy stops in CT on the way to NH.)

Not-So Monthly Update

2009-07-08T09:43:00.001-04:00

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

Many, I've actually been on a reading binge lately. I went back through some old favourites and have started getting into some of the "Bones" mystery novels. It's been ages since I've done a real mystery run so it seems to be time again. Nothing fabulous enough to recommend, but nothing horrid.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

Loads of catch-up stuff. Our DVR actually showed as only having two things left on it as of Monday night. (And those two are old F1 races I won't delete as they relax me and help me sleep when the insomnia is getting really bad. Something soothing in the sound of those engines!) We haven't watched any "recent" movies in a while. A few are coming out that I'd like to see, but nothing I'm dying to.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

Vin's birthday BBQ was a blast. We've missed the last two years for one reason and another so it was really nice to get to go this year.

Ciara Mary Rose was born on June 30^th, happy, healthy and loved.

Canada Day and July 4^th! (I love getting to celebrate both and so close together.) Fairly typical stuff was planned, but most didn't happen*. Had a blast at the Toronto/Yankee game on July 3^rd though.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

I haven't given it yet, but I have a special card for CMR. I also made a card and castle cake for Vin's birthday BBQ. Several other birthday cards, though not nearly all. Do you know I have 28 friend and family birthdays between June 6^th and July 15^th?

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

*I got sick on July 2^nd with a severe (of course!) ear infection which progressed to throat, sinuses and lungs. I'm still not well, but am back at work. Yick! I'll survive, but I'm just praying that I don't rupture the eardrum again. Once/year is plenty, thanks.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

Vin's birthday BBQ, several evenings of good food and cards/games/wii with the Henagans and the Toronto/Yankee game with Brian. (Wow, this sounds repetitive!) We also finally managed to co-ordinate schedules to meet up with Jess and Jay to congratulate them on getting engaged.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

Ummm… none? I'm pretty boring actually. And I'm skipping a new restaurant today with work due to my food allergies. I'm okay with it though, it's just my life as normal. :) I did venture outside my comfort zone though for Brian's request to try new places at Disney this year. I got almost all the reservations I wanted, and only one of them is a repeat from prior trips! On top of the Food and Wine Festival, we're going to be "eating our way around the world" restaurants at Epcot. We've reservations for 4 of them!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

A new laptop! I'm going back to school and needed something newer than my 5.5 year old mac laptop to handle all the streaming video etc. Poor thing has had (and will continue to have) a great life, but it just can't handle the video stuff anymore. And since the course is delivered online…

What were this month's disappointments?

Being sick when we had a big weekend planned! Why is it that whenever I get time off work I get sick? My strawberry crop has been ruined by the weather. I *may* get two strawberries out of the whole patch. OTOH, at least I'm not a commercial strawberry farmer. Official numbers for the region are in, and they lost over 70% of the crop this year.

Not getting to go see CMR when she was born because of being sick.

What were my accomplishments this month?

Finalized plans to go back to school and figured out how we're going to pay for it all. Not easy, but I've got it figured out for the next year of classes at least.

Getting the garage cleaned out to the point where we could park a car in it. And realizing that it's really not worth the trade off. And putting a bunch of stuff back into the garage again… :)

Anything else noteworthy to record?

Brian now has two restaurants trying to steal him away from his current one. The one closer to home may actually manage to, we'll see. I think he should, he's just not sure.

What made me smile this month?

Seeing my peas finally bloom. On July 3^rd! I'm just hoping we get to actually eat them this year…

Hearing Ciara was born healthy and happy.

Getting time to stitch and read.

A Sad Day for me...

2009-07-04T12:43:00.001-04:00

I'm going back to school this fall (no, that's not the sad part). I need a new laptop to be able to handle everything I'll need to do while we're traveling, which we'll be doing several times during my course. I *love* my macs. We've been a mac only household for several years now. But I just can't justify the cost for a new mac laptop over a PC. Money is tight to be able to go back to school and keep our vacation plans. And I am NOT giving up Disney if there's any way to save it. So the sad day has come, and I've just bought a new PC laptop. :( And between holiday weekend sales and corporate discount through work, I'm getting a steal on the system. As in a $1200 laptop for $600... So I'll get to deal with the joy that is Vista sometime later this month for the first time. I would like to have held out until Windows 7 comes out in October, but Disney is in September. Though at least I did get a free upgrade to Windows 7 once it comes out. Wish us luck!

Reason # 52234 why my new dentist is awesome

2009-07-02T21:16:00.001-04:00

Brian had dental surgery this morning. And the dentist himself just called us, at home, at 9:15pm to see how Brian was doing. Checked on his pain level to see if he needed to have a prescription called in. Make sure the bleeding had (finally!) stopped. How awesome is that?

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T07:05:00.000-04:00

Wow, is that what I think it is?

2009-06-26T18:48:00.001-04:00

Yup! 3/4 inch hail bouncing off everything in sight.

I really do love thunderstorms, but I'm less thrilled with ones that risk property damage... Then again, with the storms this morning, we had 3 power outages at work before I finished my half day! And the afternoon was gloriously sunny, and for the first time in the month of June, we broke 80F/27C.

Of course, today was also the day I was baking for the fundraiser we are helping out with on Sunday. 6 dozen cookies baked and the central air gets my seal of approval.

Who says inanimate objects don't have a sense of humour?

2009-06-25T20:03:00.001-04:00

Today at work was rough. Extra rough. I've just gotten in the door after a 13+ hr day, and my samples still aren't running. I'm learning a new instrument technique at work. It's not working. And the person with 10+ years experience with it can't figure out why either. No idea. We've just spent quite a lot of time trying... So you get the idea. The sort of day you just want to forget.

Anywho, I get on the highway and have my iPod on random shuffle. I was skipping a fair number of songs 'cause I was looking for something with a nice beat to sing along with. Last three songs before I turn into my driveway?

She works hard for the money
Under pressure
9 to 5

Who says inanimate objects have no sense of humour?

My smile for today

2009-06-24T07:53:00.001-04:00

While on hold trying to change some of my dining plans for Walt Disney World in September, I was treated to the full soundtrack for Splash Mountain. It just kept making me grin!

(And who says technology is the best? The online reservation system was down, which is why I ended up calling them, and got the unexpected surprise!)

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T08:00:00.001-04:00

To all the dads out there, I hope you have a great day!

Checking in

2009-06-18T11:22:00.001-04:00

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the planet. We're still alive and kicking. Our health is overall good, and we're both still employed.

I've just not particularly been in the blogging mood, and I need to get back to it.

We've been up to loads, and I keep thinking I need to post about X,Y,Z and all the other things, but then I feel guilty for not posting about A,B and C. So I'm just going to give up and start from here...

Weight loss is going well, I'm down 8 lbs.

Summer isn't really summer yet. We've not broken 80F/26C yet this month. And it's rained every day but one.* So much for global warming! :) They've also changed how our summer hours work at work, and they're not nearly as useful/worthwhile to me any more. I now work an extra hour Mon-Thurs and only work a half day Friday. By the time I'm done running errands on the way home, I'm still stuck in Friday afternoon traffic! (*For reference, by mid June in an average year we'd have had 4 days with temps above 95F/35C, and we've already received double the monthly average rainfall.)

I'm going back to school this fall. I'm excited but a bit scared. And man is it expensive here in the US. I'm going to end up paying more for one course for one semester than I did for my first full year of tuition in Canada. OUCH! And because of that, we're not doing anything splurgy that wasn't already booked and paid for before this opportunity came about.

Disney in September is still absolutely a go though! It has been fully paid off for months, and all we'll need $$ wise is just pocket money. All our travel/lodgings/food is already paid for! I think excitement about this trip is all that keeps me at work some days.

We prevailed with the IRS. Stupid #@$#%$# Scottrade had reported stuff wrongly for our 2007 taxes. And apparently we were far from the only ones. One big relief having that done. We still haven't settled with the ex-landlords. And at this point, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it. If I pursue it much further, they could come after us for the full amount of rent for the rest of the lease we cancelled. And frankly, we don't have anything close to that amount of $$ available in the 1:1million chance they win. But those who know me, know how well I do when there are strange odds about... I also won with my employer on the contract issue. Not sure I posted anything about that (and blogging about work is banned anyways), but they were trying to modify terms of something that had been in place since I joined the company. Retroactively. I don't think so...

So what's up with everyone else out there?

(Presuming anyone still reads this thing that is...)

Weightloss update: 4/15/09

2009-04-15T22:47:00.001-04:00

Food: horrible. I was going high on points before getting home, starving while sitting in traffic, so I snacked from the emergency supplies and then we ended up going out to dinner with Dina. (Which was awesome and so worth it!)

Exercise: good, 20 minutes moderate!

Today's Weight Update

2009-04-14T21:46:00.001-04:00

Feel free to skip these posts folks, I promise to put something about weight in the title. I need to post them to make myself accountable to me.

Eating: Great, within points even before exercise
Exercise: No walk due to the rain and Brian early to bed. (Starting at 5am sucks!)
25 pushups (sore after yesterday)
30 minutes yoga video

Time for an ugly reality check...

2009-04-13T20:10:00.004-04:00

I weight 230 lbs. I can't believe I let it creep back up that high. And I can't let it continue, I have to send it in the opposite direction. So I'm going to go public, and try to make myself accountable, publicly. I need to stop procrastinating because my arm chair is so comfy and the heating pad feels good on my back. I need to stop snacking from the vending machine at work. If I pack healthy snacks, I eat them. I *LIKE* healthy food. I'm just too lazy. The plan is to pay more attention to what I'm eating and why I'm eating it, to have healthier snacks on hand, and to do something in the way of exercise for a minimum of 15 minutes/day. Weigh ins will be ~ once/week as I remember to do them. I always start out strong but lose steam. If I'm doing well and manage the exercise up every day for the next two weeks, I'm going to sign up for the online Weight Watchers tools. I know I do well when I have the geekiness of tracking online each and every time I eat. I know I can do it, all I need is the motivation...

Today's Report:
Food: So-so. No snacking from the vending machine, but hotdogs for dinner. No evening snacks though!
Exercise: 50 pushups, 20 crunches and a 1 mile walk with Brian

Extermicake! Extermicake!

2009-04-13T18:12:00.001-04:00

DSCN0796
Originally uploaded by Heather Eberhardt

Brian's Unbirthday party was Saturday night, and this was his cake... :)

March Monthly Report (only a little late)

2009-04-13T14:26:00.001-04:00

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
First three Valdemar books (How did I miss these?)
Two trashies
One SF about what would happen if there were no petro based products
(title completely escaping me)

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
TV: Usual silly forensics shows, Doctor Who Easter special, Castle, Dollhouse
Movies: Monsters Vs Aliens, Coraline

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Nothing too special, but Brian's birthday is coming.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
None

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
Ear/throat/sinus infection for me as well as another migrane, and the
increase in frequency of them is starting to concern me.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Ruth and Dave came down from NH and brought 7 month old Ben for us to
ooh and ahh over. We had friends over for BBQ that turned into
lasagna because of the weather. Becca came and visited for part of
her March Break.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Rice pudding (and ICK, the texture is as bad as I was always afraid it
would be. Gag!)

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
None, we're trying to save money

What were this month's disappointments?
Traffic court (over a bad parking ticket) was pushed back into May. I
want it done with already.
Springhill Nurseries sending me three trees (which I can't plant)
instead of the 75 Stargazer Lily bulbs I'd ordered. And telling me
they couldn't send me the bulbs now but would do so spring of 2010.
No, you'll be giving me my money back, now.

What were my accomplishments this month?
Gathered all the paperwork to sue the old landlords to get our deposit back!
Brian survived his 6 weeks of hellish hours and horrid commutes
training staff for two new restaurant openings.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
Not really. I finally started stitching again a little, so I suppose
that would count.

What made me smile this month?
Baby toes! Nom nom nom nom
Becca!
Booking Disney for September

Quiet Sunday

2009-04-05T17:04:00.002-04:00

Brian has his first day off in two weeks. He's just finished his six week stint of training staff for two new restaurant openings. So we're having a quiet day and it's wonderful. We went out and dealt with some bank stuff, shopped for BBQ's (looking for recommendations on gas ones <$250) for Brian's birthday, grabbed groceries and necessities and had lunch out. We're home now and watching today's Formula One race. Taking it easy and not even making Brian get a start on his honey do list. The sun is shining and it's gorgeous out. I even let Percy go out for the first time on his new harness. He didn't fight too badly getting into the harness, but he's going to require a lot of supervision. Idiot still tried to choke himself with it.

Yesterday was spent with Michelle and Dina. Michelle is going to be moving in the next month (or so) so we finally got her to come out and see the various apartment/townhouse options in the area here. She found one that's fabulous and I expect she'll take it Monday morning. We spent hours just being girls, hanging out and gabbing. It was so much fun. Next weekend we'll have Ruth and Dave and their 7 month old Ben coming to stay with us and I'm really excited about it. We had a great time with them last year, so we're planning a BBQ again this year. (And that's why I'm looking to buy Brian's present early.)

Random Photo Explosion...

2009-03-24T19:58:00.003-04:00

This is my gateleg table out in the snow at the new place.
And this was taken before the snow finished falling...

This is a shot of the desk in my new craft room!

And since I now have a craft room, I'm actually (sometimes) making time to stitch! This is a shot of Fantasy Triptych. Colours are horribly washed out, but you get the idea... If I actually make time to stitch this weekend, I think I'll have everything done up to the bottom of the knight's feet...

A photo for Randi and certain other gamers (inside joke...).
Does that reindeer look scared to you?

As promised, this is the photo of my favourite Valentine's Day gift ever.
Even if I bought it for myself! :)
I've been doing my laundry in a laundromat since I was a teenager, so this is proving to be a huge luxury to me.

And finally, I met Bully!

Spew Warning!

2009-03-24T19:05:00.001-04:00

Isn't there supposed to be an upside to behaving like an adult?

2009-03-09T22:50:00.001-04:00

I got up early and went into work early so I could leave *on time* for
a date with hubby to go to the movies.
There was a bad crash on the LIE that closed three lanes.
I got home too late for the date...
(But in a count my blessings way, I did get home safe and sound!)

I was good and did three hours of housework this evening.
Unpacked a lot of boxes, vacuumed both floors, made a great, healthy
dinner *and* did two loads of laundry.
I wanted chocolate so I pulled open the chocolate drawer in the
fridge, and then spent 20 minutes organizing it better without
actually eating any actual chocolate (or other treats).
Then cut my leg pretty significantly while trying to load the dishwasher.
(Don't ask, just remember, I *am* that klutzy...)

We decided to do the financially responsible thing and skip several
events that have non-minor costs involved this year.
And a whole lot that do have minor costs.
I'm okay with that decision, and know it's the right one.
Even if I've just discovered that great friends we never see are going
to be at one of them.
But we're trying to do the right thing.
With all the cutting back, saving and Brian working extra hours, we've
paid off over $3000 on the credit card so far this year.
The credit card company just cut our limit by $2850
(And WTF $2850? Could it have been a more random amount?)

To end on a positive note, here are three things that make me happy:
1) Spring bulbs lead to fabulous flowers (one splurge before the
responsible gene kicked in, I've got 75 Stargazer Lily bulbs coming my
way, they shipped over the weekend! Wohoo!)
2) Reconnecting with old friends through the wonders of the internet
3) My heating pad-adapted chair. After all the bending, stretching
and reaching, little feels as good as to curl up in my chair with the
heat on!

Holy Shit!

2009-03-04T10:52:00.001-05:00

Am I ever extra glad we moved...

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-lifire0305,0,7360795.story

This is the complex we moved out of last month...

SNOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-03T20:54:00.002-05:00

Wow, did we get snow. 15 inches of it! And just Friday I'd been hearing Becca complain about all their snow and telling her she could send it my way! Needless to say, I'm happy about it. Not so happy about having to shovel the driveway myself, four times over the course of the storm, but I'll live! I've got photos but still haven't unpacked the cable to get them off the card. Rest assured, once I do, I'll be posting a ton of photos! We've had visitors at the new place already, and I need to post photos of said new place! Also, I want to show off my Valentine's gift. Favourite one ever!

Reminder to stupid children

2009-02-18T15:44:00.001-05:00

I don't care if you can't be bothered to actually work with the sash
down on the fume hood.
I get that you're tall and it irritates you.
I get that the alarm tone doesn't give you headaches like it does me.
But if you're leaving the lab, shut the fing hood already.
And when I politely remind you as safety commitee member that you
should, don't all but tell me to f myself using gestures.

Love,
Me

The right way to start the day

2009-02-13T19:19:00.001-05:00

I pulled into the parking lot at work this morning after a
particularly rough morning.
And saw the most gorgeous rainbow in the sky over the building.
It changed my whole outlook for the day in the most wonderful way.

mutter mutter, grumble, grumble

2009-01-28T09:45:00.001-05:00

Stupid drivers who don't know how to safely drive in snow.

Stupid plow drivers who only plow down the middle of two lanes of
traffic. On one of the busiest roads in the region.

Stupid car that wouldn't start after I'd cleaned it off.

Stupid Cablevision that still hasn't fixed my phone so I had to call
Hyundai on my cell.

Silly husband (silly, not stupid) who caused the problem with the car
so it wouldn't start.

Stupid me for not just staying in bed! :P

But now I'm at work, safe, sound and warm. And grateful for all three.

Squeeee!

2008-12-29T15:41:00.001-05:00

We got the new place!
Wheeeee!
Oh crap...
That means we move in ~ 3 weeks...

Something that makes me smile a LOT!

2008-12-20T16:35:00.000-05:00

2008 in Review

2008-12-17T20:39:00.003-05:00

1. Where did you begin 2008? 
At home, sound asleep, fighting con-ick.  

2. What was your status by Valentines Day? 
Same as the last 13 years. Happily married.  

3. Were you in school anytime this year? 
No. Would have liked to though.  

4. Did you have to go to the hospital?
 No, a rare year for me! I like that!  

5. Did you have any encounters with the police?
 Yes, several! They were very curious about my smart car.

  6. Where did you go on vacation? 
Disneyworld for 8 days!  

7. What did you purchase that was over £100? 
2 cars! (My smart, which I sold, and the Elantra to replace it!) Does $1300 in car maintenance on the old Elantra count?  

8. Did you know anybody who got married? 
No.

  9. Did you know anybody who passed away? 
Yes.  

10. Did you move anywhere? 
No. Soon, but not until 2009.  

11. What sporting events did you attend? 
None that come immediately to mind.

 12. What concerts/shows did you go to? 
Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie, Curtains, MacBeth (Patrick Stewart!). I'm sure I'm forgetting at least one...

13. Describe your birthday. 
Spent gaming with friends and then a quiet dinner and a movie with Brian.

  14. What is the ONE thing you thought you would not do, but did, in 2008? 
Make it to the annual microscopy conference. Finally it was approved!   For 2009 I'm hoping to buy an SEM...

15. What have been your favourite moments?
 Hanging out with friends and relaxing. Brian's birthday weekend with Ruth and Dave (and Michelle for BBQ) in particular come to mind.

  16. Any new additions to your family?
 Nope, but two new nephews late in 2007...

  17. What was your best month? 
September. And also the worst in some ways...  

18. Who has been your best drinking buddy? 
I think I'd have to drink to have a drinking buddy, wouldn't I? I'm not opposed to drinking per se, I just have a choice between alcohol and my arthritis drugs. I prefer to walk...  

19. Made new friends? 
Yes. Michelle in particular!  

20. Favourite Night out? 
MacBeth  

21. Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
 Stuck in my lab at work, I guess.  

22. Have you lost any friends this year? 
One online friend, but it was expected.   Cancer sucks!

23. Change your hairstyle? 
Nope, growing it out to donate it again next spring.

  24. Have any car accidents?
 No!!  

25. How old did you turn this year? 
34 last week!  

26. Do you have a New Years resolution?
 No, I don't generally make them.  

27. Do anything embarrassing? 
Do you really think I'd admit it here?

  28. Buy anything from eBay?
 Several things. Nothing truly fabulous, mostly things I didn't want to get ripped off for to buy locally. (Cables etc.)  

29. Get married or divorced? 
No, Brian hasn't totally lost all ability to tolerate me yet.  

30. Get hit on? 
Yes, strangely enough. Even with Brian standing beside me...  

31. Been snowboarding?
 Never.

  32. Did you get sick this year?
 Yes, a number of times. And threw my back out in March for two weeks off work. Not how I wanted to spend two weeks off...  

33. Are you happy to see 2008 go? 
Not really. It's been a pretty good year overall, even with some problems.   

34. Been naughty or nice? 
Again, do you really think I'll answer this here?  

35. What are you looking forward to most in 2009? 
Moving away from these damned squirrels!

Sexy Geek!

2008-12-16T22:01:00.001-05:00

Your result for The Are you a SEXY geek test...

The Hip Nerd

53% Sexy!

You are one of those rare geeks that has style! You march to the beat of your own drummer, You enjoy the geeky things in life, but you can mingle in any crowd. As the geek. You definitely love your sci-fi and computers, probably a bit TOO much, but you also know when to put it on the shelf. Supermodels may be out of your league, but you have enough style to date. And you can always download the supermodels later when you get home.

Take The Are you a SEXY geek test at HelloQuizzy

Funny, I expected Tosh...

2008-12-16T21:20:00.003-05:00

Which Torchwood Character Are You? Your Result: Gwen Cooper You most resemble the team's second-in-command and ex-police officer. Empathetic and stubborn, you tend to grab the bull by its horns and have difficulty admitting when you're wrong, though you always mean well. You are inconsistent in your relationships, wanting stability but also craving drama, and sometimes end up putting yourself first.
Ianto Jones
Toshiko Sato
Captain Jack Harkness
Owen Harper
Which Torchwood Character Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

A partial update

2008-12-15T18:03:00.003-05:00

Remember way back when we had that squirrel in the kitchen?

He came back in September. And brought a whole bunch of friends. They decided the attic space above our apartment would be a great place to shelter over the winter in and made themselves at home. We notified the new landlord as soon as this happened and told them it had been a problem in the past and would need to be dealt with ASAP. So about 3 weeks later they brought an exterminator in. The same initially ineffective one as last time. Who put traps out and then said they ignored the traps and there was nothing else he could do. Cue same repeat this year. And nothing further from the new landlords.

Do you have any idea how much noise a family (or whole clan from the sounds of it) of squirrels can make? Besides the requisite scratching sounds, we've discovered that apparently we're infested by clumsy squirrels who frequently drop their nuts, which then roll all across the attic floor. Surprisingly loudly. Also, apparently 3:30am is when the Squirrel Fight Club meets... At this point, neither Brian nor I are sure we've slept through the night without drugging ourself since we got back from Walt Disney World. In September. The accumulated sleep deficit is definitely affecting both of us.

So in November we sent the landlords politely asking for a written plan of how they plan on dealing with the squirrels. And they completely ignored it. Not even a phone call. No response at all.

Last Thursday they were sent (registered, signed receipt required) the notification that we intend on breaking our lease due to their lack of maintaining a habitable apartment. So now we wait (at least a little while) to see if they're going to contest it. And if not, we're out of here as of Feb. 15th. Although we don't normally celebrate it, S. Valentine's Day will be a special celebration for us this year!

So that's the short version of what's been going on lately with us. We've been getting all our ducks in a row to do this. And finding a new place to live. We've pretty much decided on where we want to go. It'll be a much longer drive for both of us, but it's worth it in trade off. Assuming we get it, it'll be a two bedroom townhouse with a garage and a back yard!

Oh My God!

2008-12-01T20:20:00.001-05:00

WANT!
Want, want, want!
WANT!!!

November Update

2008-11-30T15:38:00.002-05:00

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
  Books: The Reformer (Palm)
Stalking the Unicorn (iPod)
1635: Canon Laws (started)
Black Ice (started)
Cleared out the periodicals pile to <10 from >30!

 What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month? 
Usual network TV, nothing new to report there.
Loads of election coverage.
 New movies: Quantum of Solace (Meh at best, far from the best Bond film out there...)
Wall-E (Fun, but I don't think I'd watch it again)
88 Minutes (Fairly predictable thriller, but worth watching)   

What special days did I celebrate and how?

  Election Day! Sadly, as it turns out, I went to bed about 10 minutes before they officially projected B. Obama's win. In my defense, I'd been up half the night before. See the last question for what's been keeping me up at nights!

Thanksgiving we had Michelle over and did my version of a full Turkey Day Dinner: Ham, peas, carrots, corn, beans, scalloped cheesy potatos and jellied salad. Brian made apple pie for dessert and turned down my offer to get him a pumpkin pie.  

What gifts did I give and/or receive? 
Bought lots of Christmas gifts, but haven't given any.

 What illnesses or health concerns did I have?  
All dental, all month. Final update from the dentist now that I've had a full evaluation is that I need two more small fillings. I'm holding off on them until January when I can use the Flex Plan at work to cover my half of it... Both the dentist and I were pleased and surprised by how little else I need.   

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
For the fun stuff, read my other entries! :)   

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?  
New italian place in NYC with Neal and Tina. Three thumbs up!
Brian made a new pan-less apple pie recipe for Thanksgiving that turned out fabulous!   

What special or unusual purchases did I make?  

A new Airport Extreme. Our old router was dying the death of 5x/day resets and it was time for a new one. With the Extreme, I can print wirelessly and connect an external hard drive to automate our backups so they actually get done more frequently!
As mentioned earler, lots of presents, but I'm not telling what I bought!
Also, I bought a funky audio cable and rewired our home entertainment system. That little $15 cable has given our TV a new lease on life! While we were at Disney we were (presumably) hit by lightning. The power bar did it's job, and the only ill effect was it blew the speaker in the TV. I'm not going to complain about that! By figuring out how to rewire the sound from the cable box through the DVD player, we now have clean sound again and didn't have to buy a new TV. Man they've gotten expensive! Besides, I'd already spent any possible TV money on the dentists!

   What were this month's disappointments?  
Dealing with a very reputable website who turned out to have horrific customer (dis)service when they shipped me the wrong item instead of the 4 gifts I've ordered for neices and nephews. The right things had BETTER get here in time for me to ship them home to Canada for Christmas!  

What were my accomplishments this month?
  I hope I've overcome the worst of my dentist phobia. This new one is great, takes his time, and makes sure I'm completely frozen. Between that, and the Xanax, it's so very much better than any of my past experiences!
Oh, and I got a pretty good job review.

Anything else to share?

We're going to be moving. We're having to deal with the delightful legal system here in trying to get the court's permission to break our lease without having to pay penalties. Given that the reason we want to break the lease is the new owner's complete refusal to do anything effective about the squirrels in the roof over us, we expect to win, it's just going to take a bit more time. They've definately broken the Warrant of Habitability, so we've a solid case, and we documented all our concerns in writing with signature required and they've had 10 weeks to deal with it. So we're covered at least! We're pretty sure we know where we want to move to. It'll be a much longer drive for both of us, but it's a huge place and we're both really excited about it. Full townhouse with garage, two bedrooms and front and back yards! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for us! Now we just need permission to give our 60 day notice and we'll be getting out of here!  

Squeeeeeee!

2008-11-18T08:27:00.001-05:00

It's snowing out!

Has it really been less than a week?

2008-11-15T14:11:00.007-05:00

So, to recap the last week, it's been busier even than normal for us!

Sunday we headed into the city and went to the American Museum of Natural History to use our Space tickets we'd gotten when we signed up for our membership. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to use them, they expire Dec. 4th! Then we met up with our friends Tina and Neal for the real reason for the trip into the city: a talk and signing by Neil Gaiman! We went out to dinner first at a little italian place that turned out to be pretty good. My pasta was excellent, Tina and Neal's pizza was fantastic and we all wanted to steal some of Brian's lasagna... Then off to the talk! I've never been to something like this so I didn't really know what to expect. We had fabulous seats. Third row back and in the center, and although we bought them separately online using the "best available" option, we ended up right next to each other! The talk was awesome and very entertaining. The host (Chip Kidd) was fabulous at his job. He kept it moving and convinced Neil Gaiman to tell some absolutely fabulous stories. Then it was into the signing line. And the real flaw of the organization came through. The signing line started from the rear of the auditorium. Meaning those of us who were great fans and bought our tickets early were stuck at the end of the line. Grrr! We ended up sending Brian home early to catch an earlier train since he had to work early in the morning. But eventually we got to our turn to get things signed, and neither Tina nor I turned into babbling fangirl idiots. I consider that a success! The least said about my train ride home, the better... Overall it was a fabulous day and great experience. I'm very glad we went.

Wednesday was to be my second author talk/signing. Yes, two in one week! Jaime Oliver was going to be at our local Barnes and Noble! This one, sadly, wasn't nearly as good. The tickets were being handed out starting at 4pm. Brian was awesome and traded shifts to get there in time to get tickets for me and Michelle, who was going to come with me. And again, we had fabulous seats. Brian got us tickets number 4 and 5! Unfortunatley, Michelle got sick at work that afternoon and ended up going home and not coming to the signing. It sounds like it was a very nasty bug, so I'm happy she went and took care of herself. Now, where NG's signing was well organized and run, this was the opposite. Whoever does the scheduling for Jamie Oliver thought it would be no problem to get out here from Manhattan in 75 minutes during peak rush hour. Doh! He ended up arriving a little past 8, and because he was running so late, they cancelled the talk portion of the evening, and the autographs were restricted to just autographs. Not even personalized ones like we got from NG. I'm very glad we'd been to that one first so I saw how positive an experience it could be. This one would have sworn me off them otherwise.

Then last night (Friday), Brian got one of his Christmas presents early. I had to give it to him early, since it was tickets to a show, and they would have been useless if I'd waited! We went and saw the Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood show! We saw them a couple of years ago and had a fantastic time of it, so I was really pleased to see they were coming back this way and the tickets were more than affordable. Being Mr. Uncurious that he is, he's known there were tickets that were a gift for him on the bulletin board in an opened envelope for almost 2 months now and had no desire to peak at what they were! No way would I have managed that feat! The show was as phenomenal as we remembered and we both had a great time. We laughed until it hurt and then kept laughing some more! It's all improv comedy, mostly loosely based on games from shows like "Whose Line is it Anyways?". I can't recommend it highly enough!

Then this morning I went back to the dentist again. This time to get the permanent crown put in on the tooth I had the root canal done. It went really well, much better than I had any expectation of. It's never pleasant, but it didn't hurt, and now I should not have any further problems with that tooth. And the problem I'd developed with the other teeth being super sensitive to cold was caused by my "overbrushing". I've got a paste that should help, and am told to brush gentler and it will go much better. This afternoon, since I'm doing much better, we're going out to see Quantum of Solace. We both really want to go see Becky's Choir concert tonight in Mineola, but we're playing it by ear on how I'm feeling. Keep your fingers crossed!

And cue the nightmares

2008-11-15T06:05:00.004-05:00

I've had problems with nightmares for years. Never know when a random one will hit, but I know not to do things that will encourage them. Like watch scary movies. I've been teased since I was a teenager that I was such a wuss. And I never cared because the teasing was faaaaaar better than the nightmare. Interestingly, I can read things as freaky as I like and be fine. Even Brian (who loves scary movies, the more intense the better) was pretty freaked out by Neil Gaiman's Sandman and had to stop reading it at bedtime. Me, I ran through the first volume in two nights of bedtime reading and was fine.

So take tonight. I know the root of this dream, at 8:30am, I'll be back at the dentist for the crown.* And tonight I get hit with a dozy of a nightmare. Involving a freaky nasty insane dental surgeon who, amongst other horrors, cuts the tongues from siamese twin girls (about 9 years old). Then, with a proper nice announcer voice saying "meanwhile, in the next operating room over" my dentist is just getting started on me. And has a heart attack. And other surgeon comes in to take over. Thankfully, I woke up at that point. But if you think I can get back to sleep tonight, you're as insane as the freaky guy!

So I'm just going to sit here and catch up on everyone's blogs. Distract myself. And love Percy to death, since it's what he wants me to do anyways!

*And is it just me, or is 8:30am on a Saturday not an inhumane time to have to be at the dentist?

I survived!

2008-11-06T22:55:00.004-05:00

I had a root canal this morning and still made it to work by 9am. And best of all, absolutely no ouch. None. In fact, (granted probably due to the drugs) I fell asleep while they were still working on getting my jaw frozen. It's sore this evening, of course, but I'm amazed at how big an improvement this is over past experiences at the dentist. I'll be going back to him without qualm. I'm not looking forward to it at all, but I'm no longer terrified. Which is good because I go back for the crown on the 15th!

Now, if only I can get off the drugs long enough to get some stitching done! I did get Michelle's birthday card done in time for today, but still need to do several other family ones and get them in the mail.

No stitching photo updates, but lots going on

2008-11-05T10:41:00.001-05:00

Current project is a gift, so I don't want to give it away. But it's
a HAED design, and it's more than 1/4 finished! I got a lot of work
done on it over the last week or so, and the last quarter should fly
(mostly one colour). In other news, lots of medical visits. They're
looking at a new diagnosis for Brian's sleep disorder, so keep your
fingers crossed for us. I'd *LOVE* to actually have both of us able
to sleep well!

And for me, emergency dental work. Ugh. I have a pretty severe
dental phobia. Make that very severe. To the point I ignore things I
shouldn't. And put them off. But I made a promise to myself that I
was going to deal with it, and put money into our flex plan for next
year towards it. I'm going to try sedation dentistry. Go in, get
knocked out, wake up with everything done. Works for me. It's just
expensive. So the plan was January. Except I've lost a filling. And
I knew this (it was what prompted the soul searching about getting the
dental work done in the first place). But it's become
infected/inflamed/I-don't-know-what-but-it-hurts-like-hell and I had
to break down and go last night. And tomorrow before work (at the
ungodly hour of 7:30am) I have to get that filling replaced. Wish me
luck. I like this new dentist. He specializes in patients who are
terrified like me. I have to take a Xanex tomorrow morning before I
go and hope that that will help with the panic. He's promised to go
very slow, and make sure I am actually frozen before starting. Keep
your fingers crossed for me! And if this works, I might be able to
avoid the whole general anesthesia bit. And that would be a good
thing. A very good thing.

Tagged by Kay

2008-10-30T21:24:00.005-04:00

Kay tagged me a while ago, but I just haven't felt like blogging. And this one required some thought. I'm trying very hard to just survive this election. I'll be so very, very glad when it's over. And even happier in 8 years when I can finally have a say in the direction of the country I've lived in for 8 years already!

But, on to the tagging. I've done it before, but it's been a while!

Here are the rules of the game.
• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself.
• Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
• Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

1)I have 7 tattoos, and didn't know about any of them until 2 years later. And none of them are covered by clothes.*
2)I'm allergic to Portobello (and therefore Crimini) mushrooms.
3)I eat candies (like Smarties** or M&M's) in pairs of the same colour. Compulsively.
4)I get a nasty, nasty reaction to the flu immunization. But I get it every year anyways. Ouch. And can the fever please go away now?
5)I cannot simply sit and watch television or a movie. Lorna bet me once and I tried and tried, but I just couldn't do it. I *MUST* fidget. Cost me $20 because I couldn't make it through one movie. I think that's part of why I like to stitch so much. At least it's something productive!
6)I'm a giant Doctor Who fan. And Michelle's made me a scarf for my birthday. I can't wait to get it!

*Okay, I cheated and used that one again, but it's a good one!
**Smarties=chocolate candies, the Canadian/European ones, not the American ones. Although, now that I think about it, I try to eat them in pairs too.

I'm supposed to tag people, but I hate doing it. So if you'd like to, please consider yourself tagged, and leave me a comment so everyone can come read!

I'm really not one for those "you must do it" memes, but this one I support

2008-10-30T21:24:00.001-04:00

Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.

I think they know me too well...

2008-10-23T12:17:00.001-04:00

So I was a bad girl today and decided to treat myself to FatKids for
lunch. Normally I go in to order, and I know they recognize me there.
But today I was in a hurry and just did drive through. I think they
know me too well when I didn't remember to ask for the sweet and sour
sauce (which I use instead of ketchup) and I got back to work and
there it was in the bag. {hangs head} I don't go there that often,
honest! M at work thinks it's because I'm "too polite" and that makes
me memorable. I can't help it. I was raised to say please and thank
you! And it does bother me the way people here treat those in
"service positions". They may be working to serve me, but they are
still people too and deserve politeness!
{/rant off}

Not that it's all that surprising...

2008-10-21T13:40:00.001-04:00

But there is something seriously wrong in this country when it comes
to food. We had our first Weight Watchers @ Work meeting today at
lunch.* And there were actually people there who didn't know that
raisins are dried grapes...

*More on that later if I feel like ranting, and I won't be continuting
with it...

Heather's Small Space

WTF? And garden update

When it rains, it pours!

Post Training "Rest"

Another Fabulous Weekend

Tonight's Grateful Moment

Brian and Patches

Apparently this whole healthy eating thing might have stuck...

This sign outside a local church says it all...

Apparently my new iPod also has a sense of humour

Hey Mom! And you too Becca!

I have not laughed this hard in a LONG time!

Birthday Report

Trip Home

Le Chateau Des Eberhardt est pret pour les reservations!

Real Snow!!

I'm a very naughty girl

It's official

Discussions with Vicoden Man

Brian's Newest Fashion Accessory

My most adorable hour spend hand sewing EVER.

So, this happened, then that did, then the world turned upside down...

Just how good at customer service is my husband?

This is why I now get up at 5:30am...

So it's been a while...

Thankful Thursday (on Friday!)

Stitching Update

Thankful Thursday

WOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Just for mom!

My First American Snowman!

I am stunned...

Stitching Update

OMG, it's Snowmageddon!

No wonder I always feel so rushed...

Some quick photos

Happy New Years Everyone

Photos!

And as of noon today

WOHOOOOOOO!!!!

A Long Delayed Update

Favourite Ever Lecture Quote:

On this Veteran's Day

By 10:30 this morning...

WTF??

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Disney Trip Report: Day 1

Phew!

Thankful Thursday

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

Thankful Thursday

It's Official!

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Traffic!

August Update (almost on the 1st!)

He he he

The bounty of my BBQ floweth over

Wahoooooo!

How to completely make a bad weekend better!

Not-So Monthly Update

A Sad Day for me...

Reason # 52234 why my new dentist is awesome

Happy Canada Day!

Wow, is that what I think it is?

Who says inanimate objects don't have a sense of humour?

My smile for today

Happy Father's Day!

Checking in

Weightloss update: 4/15/09

Today's Weight Update

Time for an ugly reality check...

Extermicake! Extermicake!

March Monthly Report (only a *little* late)

Quiet Sunday

Random Photo Explosion...

Spew Warning!

Isn't there supposed to be an upside to behaving like an adult?

Holy Shit!

March Monthly Report (only a little late)