WTF??

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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!)

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

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

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!

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!

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

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...

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

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?