Well, Hello There!

Hi folks - was just making a few entries online and thought I would pop over here and leave a tidbit. I'm not blogging on a regular basis at all and I miss it in some ways. I think most of all I miss the freedom it gave me to say what I wanted to say. But nothing is really anonymous out here on the web, so I really couldn't say anything I wanted to say.

I'm still going through some sort of mid life crisis. Not knowing what I want to do or where I want to go ... I have wonderful people in my life and I'm afraid I'm not appreciating them as much as I should. I reconnected with high school classmates over the summer and it's been great catching up with them via email and Facebook and such.

I guess I just need to sort out what's going on in my life. When I'm not so scattered, maybe I can come back and give you the attention you deserve. Until then, be well.

Soon

My new laptop has arrived! I need to get it (and my new wireless router) set up and soon I will be blogging from the comfort of my couch. Ah, the good old days.

That's how it all started, you know. Sitting on the sofa, wirelessly connected to the internet. Nearly four years ago.

Yeah, this blog has been suffering. Look at that goddam tagline - I've had it up there all year! Give me some suggestions, folks. What should I list as my new tagline in 2008?

In other news ...

... I took on a new temporary roommate. It's not nearly as much fun as when Phil was here. We're both being quiet and respectful of each other, but I don't want to be quiet and respectful in my house. I want to do whatever the bleep I want to do. I need to tell myself that it is a means to an end. Her rent is helping pay for the new laptop. And it's only temporary. But still. She can't leave soon enough.

... my friend's daughter is out of the hospital! She still has a long, difficult road to recovery, but she's out and she was able to celebrate Christmas at home. Yippee!

... I had a two hour lunch with a friend on Monday. Her family stories make my life look a piece of cake. It's all about perspective.

... I am one of two people in the office this week. And I honestly did put in a long, full day of work.

... Did I tell you the high blood pressure was back? Yeah. Genetics is kicking my ass.

So Much To Say ...

... so little time.

Not sure I've ever gone this long without posting. It seems I'm going every single day. To the gym on Monday. To yoga on Tuesday. Committee meetings on Wednesday. To the gym on Thursday. To happy hour on Friday. To holiday parties on Saturday. Is it any wonder?

First things first - I'm getting a new computer! I cannot wait to have a new wireless laptop. Trust me, my posting will increase significantly once I can blog from the sofa in front of the television. That's how this whole thing started!

Next - my friend's daughter is recovering from her head injury. She was moved to a rehabilitation hospital on November 15 and she's now learning how to walk (on the treadmill for 10 minutes the other day before she got tired), how to talk (she still searches for words), how to eat (solid food for the first time in over a month), etc. It was very frustrating at first, but now each day there is more and more positive news.

Okay, that's going to have to do it as it is 8:59 p.m. and I'm going to go watch The Biggest Loser. Ta-ta for now!

Whirlwind

First of all, thanks to Sue and Deb for guest posting for me.

I love, love, LOVED Sue's speculations, and it's been far too long since I've seen Brian's backside. The truth of the matter is, I did go on an exciting trip to get a boob job (I worked hard for the money to pay for it) and I was thinking of new blog posts.

Anybody want to guess where I went?

Lost In Space

I created a post earlier tonight, but so far it hasn't appeared. Hmmm. Lots of stuff running through my mind earlier. Now, not so much.

It's been an exhausting two weeks. After the accident, I rented a car to drive home to visit my family. I was annoyed that the car didn't have cruise control, but pleased when I realized it got 40 mpg. I put over 600 miles on that baby, so I was thankful for small favors. Had a nice time with my family. Spent some quality time with the new niece. Helped my mom put together a new swing for the pool area. Came back and started shoveling mulch.

Things are taking a turn for the better. Something's got to give, and I think the walls are starting to crumble. The Man and I agreed that our motto would be "2007 is Gonna Rock" and we're just waiting for the party to get started!

20/20 Vision

I can't focus.

I know there are craploads of things I could/should be doing. But I start one thing and run into problems and suddenly everything devolves and I find myself just going in circles.

Tonight it was the damn camera. I just can't seem to get the computer to recognize the camera. Plug and play my ass. I've gone 'round and 'round with this thing oh so many times before. And why is it that the stupid camera and scanner wizard doesn't have Canon listed anywhere? Agfa, yes. Lexmark, even, sure. But not a Canon camera anywhere from which to choose.

Not that it matters. The computer can't see that the camera is connected anyway.

Heavy sigh.

I've started reading a local political blog and I'm enjoying it, but it also repeatedly reminds me of why I loathe politics. Just a bunch of crooks and cowards anonymously slinging mud. And then you get the smart ass 'expert' who goes ahead and proclaims that s/he can identify an anonymous comment by tracing the IP address - "I have done it before for a client attacked in a similar fashion." And, of course, the expert makes this claim anonymously.

I just shouldn't even go there.

After wondering aloud where all the bugs were, I now am scratching constantly. Noseeums. I thought it was just a colloquialism until I looked it up. On my forearm, my knees, and now the top of my foot.

Looks like these file piles are going to live to see another day. I'll be lucky if I can just find those retirement account papers I need for tomorrow. Tried to rollover three accounts into two and ended up with one big mess. They've been mucking around with it for a month now. What do you think my chances are of them compensating me for putting the funds in a money market account for the past 30 days instead of investing it appropriately in the carefully selected funds I told them to roll it into?

Yeah, I thought so.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

I couldn't think of a title for what is sure to be a rambling post but then I remembered it's my nephew's birthday, so good enough.

Traveled to visit my family this past weekend (part of the reason for the slew of vanity plates) and met my niece. She was born on April 28. What a little peanut! I know, everyone thinks their child/niece/nephew is the cutest ever, but she really is! It was great to see my brother with his daughter and to watch my parents with their granddaughter. I spent some time holding her too. Just holding her and watching her breathe. Watching the funny facial expressions while she sleeps. I'm sure if I was responsible for her 24/7 that would eventually wear off ...

It's a busy week for me. Pilates on Monday. Yoga on Tuesday. Pilates on Wednesday. Community walk-a-thon on Thursday. Girls Night Out on Friday. I won't get to see The Man again until Saturday. I'm beginning to drag a little. I am just not as young and energetic as I used to be.

So at the risk of putting too much personal information up here, I had my second mammogram on Friday. All clear so I don't need to have my boobs squished for another two years. I also ended up having a thyroid scan and bloodwork done. All functioning normally although the nodule on the right side now seems to have morphed into two separate nodes, but as long as I don't have any problems swallowing or breathing and the thing doesn't double in size and grow out the side of my neck, I'm fine.

That's all I got. What's new with you?

Suddenly, Spring

So the Nor'easter has passed and suddenly it's Spring.

I still have a waist high pile of snow on the north side of the house, hidden by the overhang of the porch, but it is melting more and more rapidly. The forecast is for high 60s and into the 70s over the weekend and into Monday, so it's bound to disappear quickly.

I heard the birds singing when I woke up this morning. I really hadn't heard them before this. Patty and I had lunch and walked through the park and we bumped into Amy. It was so nice being out and about.

Tomorrow I'm volunteering on a house rehab project, so I hustled to do as much yard work as I could after work tonight. I won't get a chance tomorrow, and right after the project I'll be headed up to the mountains to spend the night with The Man. I'm taking my bike and we're going to go for a ride on Sunday. It will feel good to be out stretching our legs.

I'm waiting for the second load of laundry to finish in the washer so I can throw it in the dryer. I'm going to need the jeans for tomorrow. I was hoping to get to bed a bit earlier, but oh well. Kind of a slow, boring end to an event filled week.

The tragedy at Virginia Tech has been on my mind all week. I didn't hear about it until about 8:00 on Monday night and I was just stunned. It's all so senseless. I was wondering when we would hear from the shooter's family, and I see that they did finally issue a statement through a representative earlier today. I feel for them. It wasn't anything they did or didn't do. He was just a horribly sick young man.

My mother called last night to say that some sort of threat had been called into her school, and they were going to be in total lockdown today. She was pretty sure it was a prank, and sure enough, it was. Classes were held and no one was hurt. I don't know how many parents kept their kids home, but that was just what the prankster wanted. I believe in taking precautions, but you can't always protect yourself. When these things happen, they happen. When your time is up, it's up.

So live life to the fullest, close your eyes and breathe. Lift your face to the sun and smile. Sounds like a plan to me!

Loose Ends

Trying to tie up some loose ends this weekend.

* Sent job posting to Greg
* Emailed John to say hello
* Paid my phone bill which somehow I neglected to pay last month
* Picked up a new supply of aspirin for my once a day heart healthy routine
* Finished putting together a birthday basket for The Man
* Pulled two garbage cans from out back and picked up the large sticks in the yard
* Made carrot raisin salad for tomorrow's easter brunch
* Taxes ... ugh.
* Laundry
* Dishes

The crocus' are blooming and the daylilies and tulips are coming up even though the ground is still frozen. Or at least refrozen. It got cold again and I actually had to wear my winter coat to work yesterday.

Today is The Man's birthday and we're going out with the gang tonight. So I guess I'd better get a move on and hop in the shower so I'm ready when he gets here. Later!

Inspiration

I hesitated doing this because I loved seeing that last post so much that I didn't want to displace it. I get a kick out of coming home, checking my bloglines and seeing that somehow a new post has mysteriously been placed on my blog! Maybe I should get me some more guest bloggers.

By the way ... the iPod? Haven't touched it since that last post.

Oh - hang on a minute. I forgot that my dinner was in the toaster oven and I need to go check on it.

Okay. I'm back. I changed the batteries in my smoke detector and I didn't want to burn the dinner and have the smoke detector go off. I'm shoveling food in my mouth because I have to be at a meeting in half an hour. I'm sure there will be some food at the meeting, but I don't want to count on it, and chances are it will just be nibblies. I'm missing out on dinner with The Man for this meeting, so it had better be good, dammit.

Progress

It's taken me hours, but my iPod is now finally up-to-date, and I managed to get some of my music files back on to the laptop. I had to find a helper application to transfer from the iPod back to the laptop. I suppose that there is a way to do it via iTunes, but I didn't have the manual and the laptop moves so slowly that I didn't want to try to access the manual online and try to run iTunes at the same time. But I do want to give the folks at SharePod a shout out, and my voluntary contribution will be forthcoming.

I haven't uploaded my contacts to the iPod yet - first I need to be sure they are up-to-date (I think I'm close) and then I need to go back and find another helper app that I used (and paid for) once upon a time, PalmPod. All this and I still don't know where the actual Palm Pilot is - I'm just using the software on my desktop.

And through it all I kept getting Norton worm warning messages that iTunes was trying to access my machine externally, even when I didn't have the program running. Evil, I tell you, pure evil. The other thing I want to do is find some sort of workout mix for my iPod. Something that will take me through a jog/walk cycle. I suppose I could try to do a mix on my own, but why reinvent the wheel? I'm sure someone has already put together a workout mix that I can download, even if it costs me a few bucks.

So while I've been messing around with the laptop, I uninstalled IE 7.0. Just didn't like the feel of it. Downloaded the latest version of Firefox and I'm good to go. It's been a productive weekend. And now I have to go home and shovel some snow.

Late To The Party

Someone was indulging in a selfless lack of self-promotion. Glad I finally caught up with you, Scooterdeb.

Empty Handed

Okay, so long time no post.

As most of you know, I am not a Georgia truck driver, and I do not purchase my liquor in southern New Jersey. Hence, I still cannot make use of my previously claimed blogspot, The Mega Millionaire. As soon as I hit the jackpot, the posting shall commence. But thanks for the love anyway. It helped me get through a frigid (single digits and below zero - in March!) week.

It was a busy week at work and it will continue to be busy for at least another month until we can fill an open position. Of course, by the time they fill that position I hope to be moving on. I did not get the job I interviewed for last month, and I subsequently received a less than stellar review at work. I have since transitioned into a new role, and I continue to pursue other opportunities that might be a better fit for my talents and skills.

Because yes, I remind myself, I do have talents and skills! Actually, I'm excited about a position I saw posted last weekend. It would be very similar to the job I left in 2005 but in a different capacity. I'm hoping they see the parallels as clearly as I do. Not being too cocky here, but I can't imagine not getting an interview for this job. I will keep you posted.

Again, thanks for the comment love.

Home Sweet Home

It's 1:09 and I still haven't changed out of my pj's. Susan says I am on vacation until 8:00 tomorrow morning, though, so it's okay.

Yes, I'm back! It only took 16 hours to get home yesterday. I should have just taken matters into my own hands before I even left on vacation. I mean, really, there were earlier flights out of Miami. And did we really have to wait 4 hours in Atlanta? No, but those were the reservations we had, and since our luggage was already scheduled to be on another plane, we couldn't change our plans. Don't get me started on the whole Transportation Security Administration thing.

Everything is just as I left it at the old homestead. Which normally would be a good thing, but I was told that there would be some work done on the house while I was gone, and it wasn't, so there's a wasted opportunity. And the new refrigerator still hasn't produced any ice cubes, so I'm going to have to get the appliance store people out here, again.

But, I got away with The Man and we had a good time despite many obstacles, so we'll just leave it at that.

How did you like my guest bloggers? Three cheers for Sally, Scooterdeb, Ed, JP and John. And Sue, too. She tried but ran into some Technorati difficulties.

Having them keep things flowing while I was gone was the good news. Now, here's even better news. Their guest blogging privileges have not expired! I'm leaving the blog open to them so they can visit any time they like. I like to shake things up every now and then. It really was great to have a different perspective here, so feel free to come back any time you want.

And now, I think a shower is in order. And then maybe some food. Anyone have any leftover turkey they want to share?

Out of Touch

I'm having a lazy sit in front of the computer and play day. I have become so disorganized and out of touch since my laptop crapped out on me last fall. I just opened my Palm files for the first time in since, I don't know when. Old addresses out of date, contacts and Christmas gifts not noted ... it's a mess. I've been limping along for about a year now, it's probably time for me to just get a new laptop.

I was also updating my Amazon store; probably should spend more time on that to upgrade and promote it as well. You know, the holidays are coming up, so if you want to do some gift giving, do it from my site! You get the convenience of shopping online and having the item delivered directly (to you or to the recipient) and I make a few cents on the transaction. What's not to love about that?

Just returned a phone call to my friend Mary. She is the reinforcement I referred to in my earlier post. Thank goodness she was able to drop everything at work and come to my rescue at work. I don't have any family in the area, and I don't know my co-workers well enough yet to feel comfortable calling on them (and even if I did know them better, I'm not sure I'd every be comfortable calling a co-worker in that instance) so it was such a relief to have someone to help me out like that. I owe her big-time.

The Teriyaki Pork Roast is smelling fantastic; time to start prepping the potatos and onions. I love cooking a big Sunday meal in the crock pot.