Latke Fest 2009

I couldn't find my recipe, so I hunted on line until I found one that resembled what I could remember of the recipe I got from my mom.  Mom always pulverized the potatoes, though, and I know from my sister-in-law that true latkes are grated.  I used my food processor anyway, but I used the grater disk instead of the whip it to $&*% blade.  They turned out perfect, if I may say so myself, albeit a little late for the holiday.

Home at Last

When I got to Long Beach airport, it was very crowded, but I was in plenty of time to catch my flight.  Little did I know how true that was!  My flight took off an hour and a half late, after two gate changes.  I was worried about making my connection in Las Vegas, but first they told us that because so many folks on the flight were making the same connection, they would hold the flight, then later they told us the New York flight would be using the same plane.  Whew!

Then even better, when we landed in Vegas, they told us not to deplane.  All I had to do was slide my luggage to the other side of the overhead, and pop into the seat right behind mine!  It sure took a lot of anxiety out of changing flights!



As we waited in Long Beach, Dumble was intermittently whining (very quietly) - he wanted off my lap to make friends with people he saw.  There was this guy a couple seats away from me who kept muttering about how I should shut him up and why couldn't I keep him quiet.  He was the first person we ever met while travelling who wasn't charmed by Dumbledore - go figure.  I doubt anyone further away from me than he was could even hear him.  The folks right by me liked him though; they both talked to him, and one let him lick his fingers.

There was another dog on the flight to Vegas, and before we took off he started barking.  Of course, Dumble couldn't let that pass without comment so he started barking too.  And he would settle down, then the other dog would start in again, and so would Dumble.  I could picture that going on the whole flight!  But they both quieted before we took off.

Blair was in baggage claim when we got off the flight, and he had my big down coat for me.  Before we headed to the car, I took Dumble to the doggy rest area at the Jet Blue terminal.  The had a little fenced in area with benches for the people, and clean up stations, but the best part was the two fire hydrants.  What a riot.

We made it home hours before the snow hit.  Blair thinks we got 6 or 7 inches.  Before it started, he went to the supermarket and got the fixings for latkes (a little late for Hannukkah, but what the hey).   We'll decorate our tree this afternoon (the one my Jewish husband selected) with Christmas and Hannukkah decorations and have latkes for dinner.  'Cause that's how we roll here in the Satter house.

Busy Busy

I had a wonderful time at the bead show on Saturday.  I took two classes (and was the only student in each).  In the first, I made the lovely beaded beads in the first picture.  The second was on stringing.  First I learned to string pearls (with the knots between).


Then I crocheted silk thread with crystals and lastly learned to make links with the crystals and silver wire.

I was enchanted by the jewelry in the booth that sold these acrylic flowers and leaves.  It looked like fairy jewelry.  I had to get some so I could try it for myself.

The last photo shows the kits I bought from the lady who taught my first class.  All her stuff was sooo gorgeous, I couldn't resist!

The next day, I made earrings from a kit that used crystals to mimic christmas lights.  I used my new link-making skills and my loops and wire wrapping were much improved from the day before.  I'll be sure to post a photo of my new holiday earrings.

Tonight I packed, because tomorrow night I'm headed home for a whole week+ for the holiday.  We'll celebrate Blair's birthday a little late, the last day of Hannukkah, and then Christmas!  Mom (and hopefully my sister and aunt) and I will bake the Christmas cookie dough we made before Thanksgiving and froze.  And I'm looking forward to a friend's annual Christmas Eve fete.  And Alex will be down from Massachussetts.  I also have a batch of doctor appointments.  Fun!

Bead Envy

I takes about 40 minutes or so to get home, and I call the guys on my cell phone (hands free of course), it's about 8 their time when I get out, so it's a good time to call.  They've had their dinner, and sometimes Dan is done with his homework.  We catch up and chat and they keep me company on my drive.  And I'm very happy that I'll be home for a long visit starting next week.

Dumble is getting along well with my aunt and her doggy.  He defers to the other dog, and has charmed my aunt completely.  He's such a sweetheart - we got really lucky with him.

I went to a bead show today.  I went to work an hour early (left home around 6:30) so I could leave work at 4.  With the drive and dinner I had a bit over 2 hours to walk the show tonight and register for the classes I want to take tomorrow.  I didn't manage to see all the booths yet!  The array of beads and crystals is overwhelming.  There are these opaque crystals in black and red that look like sparkly velvet if you can imagine such a thing. 

I bought a couple of extra kits from one of the ladies I'm taking a class with tomorrow.  They were too yummy to pass up!  I'm doing her beaded bead.  I'm also taking advanced stringing with this lady .  I'm very excited.

My aunt is very crafty, and the thing I most looked forward to when I realized I could stay with her was crafting together.  She's into beading too and makes these amazing little purses.  (and makes amazing lace).  We were showing each other our treasures (I have a half finished necklace I have to work on before I get to my new kits) this evening.  I was so pumped from my trip to the show that I can't get settled down to go to bed.

Tomorrow morning early, Dumble gets to meet my Aunt's groomer, then I'll head back over to the show for the day.  Happy, happy!

Good Lord It Comes In a Shoe Box!

That's what I said when the waiter brought the cake to the table!  My Aunt and I had dinner at the Claim Jumper and were taking our dessert to go.  I had seen the cake, and knew how large it was, but I was still stunned when I saw the box!

It was astoundingly good and took us days to eat.

I"ve been here a week now, settling in at work and at my Aunt's.  The doggies are getting along well, and Dumble is taking it all in stride.  I'm getting over the cold I picked up on the road, and unfortunately seem to have passed on to my Aunt.  Still a bit time-zone lagged. 

When the morning is clear, like it was today, there are spectacular mountains in the distance to look at while I drive to work, and if I get out of work before sundown, I drive home into the sunset.  Very pretty.  It's easy to get turned around - I don't think Blair is getting his GPS back any time soon.

I'm going to a bad show this weekend and taking a couple of classes - that will be fun.  And next Friday, I'm headed home for Christmas for the week.  I'm not sure when I'll be home next, because of how long the flight is, it's not convenient just for a long weekend.  Thank goodness for the internet and unlimited cell phone minutes!

Orange County, CA

For most of the trip, I've been following the path of the old Rt 66.  So when I hit Barstow, the line "Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino" kept running through my head.  It was there that I hit the first real traffic since I left the environs of New York City.  There was some construction and at one point it went from four lanes of traffic down to one.  When I finally reached the outskirts of LA, there was heavy traffic but it was moving pretty well.  This meant that I arrive at my Aunt's about 3:30.  I couldn't beleive it.

I emptied my car (good car, nice car... I kinda wish there was a treat I could give it!) brought my clothing upstairs and some other stuff, but the craft supplies are taking up space in the living room until the weekend.  I've had a shower and my clothes and other stuff are all ready for tomorrow, and once again Dumble is resting on my calves as I type on the laptop.  He was so relaxed and comfortable in the car the last couple of days, that when I reached over to pet him, he rolled over so I could rub his belly.  I doubt he would have done that if he was at all unhappy.

Flagstaff, AZ

I'm watching the miles left to go on the GPS, and I'm getting closer and closer to Flagstaff, and I don't see any lights.  So I'm starting to panic that my GPS is about to strand me out in the middle of nowhere.  Then it gets under 10 miles and suddenly there are lights - I think the town was hiding in a dip, plus it felt like I drove around a mountain before I got to my exit, so maybe most of the place was hiding behind the mountain.

I spent the day listening to a audiobook my dad lent me.  Wowie it's great!  I can't tell how far into it I am, so I'm starting to worry that I will arrive at my aunt's tomorrow before it's done, and I will be unable to get out of the car and unload because I will be listening to the end of the story.

Dumble was really feisty tonight, growling and even barken when I tried to brush him, so instead I threw the rubber chicken and he gleefully chased it, gulumphing back over to me so I could throw it again.  He had a lot of energy to burn off and we played for a long time.  Now he's passed out on the bed down by my feet.

Tomorrow is the last day of my journey.  Fewer miles than the other days (less than 500 versus nearly 600 each day for the rest of the trip), and google maps gives a time estimate of from 7 1/4 to 9 1/2 hours depending on traffic.  Both my Dad and Aunt think I'll be going against the traffic when I arrive, so maybe I'll be lucky.  Although I won't feel lucky if the story's not over!

Amarillo, TX

What a difference a good night's sleep makes.  Today was easy-peasy!  I need to resist the pull to power through with as few stops as possible, perversely the trip seems to go faster when I stop more often!  Of course, downing lots of diet coke means more potty breaks.  My hotel is two doors down from a Denny's so I left Dumble in the room and had dinner.  I came back and he insisted on another walkies (he stared meaningfully at the dresser where I stashed his leash (out of sight, but he obviously knew it was there) and then actually barked at me (which he hardly ever does), so we went back out.)  Funny dog.  He's on my calves as I type on the laptop, chewing on his lamby.

I've been chatting with Blair as I drive and he's been following me on google maps as we chat.  He was "with" me as I got off the highway in a small town in Oklahoma and tried to find the Sonic that was supposed to be there somewhere according to a sign on the exit ramp.  As I exited, I had to pay a toll, and the toll booth attendant admired Dumble and asked if he could have a treat - he loved it!  (The lady at the Burger King drive-thru this morning offered him some bacon, but we declined).  It turned out the Sonic was just off the main drag on a side street and I missed it the first pass through town.  I'm exclaiming to Blair on the speaker phone "There's no more town!"  A nice man on a motor cycle at a gas station pointed me in the right direction.

Dumble was a comfy as can be in his car seat.  He spent most of the day curled up, uninterested in the scenery.  He perks up when I leave the highway, then settles back down if I get out of the car.  When I use the keyless entry, his head pops up because he knows I'm coming.  Tonight after I checked into the hotel, I  came back out of the lobby and he was watching the door for me.  A man unloading his car asked if he was mine and commented on how patiently Dumble was waiting for me to come back.  He's such a mellow fellow.

Lebanon, MO

After an interminable day, filled with much diet coke and many bathroom stops, I arrived at my hotel.  It's a dinky Best Western, with a restaurant that's closed.  Thankfully, the nearby Domino's delivers.  I had the pasta bowl and it was delicious.

It was pretty darn cool seeing the St Louis arch from the highway as crossed the river and into MO.  Other than that the scenery was the same mile after mile after mile.  There are kids in the room next door and they are pretty rambunctious.  But it's only 7, so hopefully they'll settle down soon.  Since the hotel is pretty empty, I'm not sure why they have us next to each other.  I'm trying to scrounge up the energy to take a shower since it's still pretty early to go to bed.

Dumble is lying on my calves and he looks really comfortable.  (another reason not to get up and shower right this minute.)  I've been stuffy all afternoon; I really hope it's allergies and not that I'm catching a cold.  On the bright side, that thing I tried with my Ipod last night worked and I spent the entire day listening to Pride and Prejudice (and it's not finished yet!).  But it's been hard to resist speaking with a British accent when I've interacted with people!

Tossing and Turning

Another crummy night's sleep.  It felt like I had to turn over every half hour from 11 til 2:30 (and I wasn't falling asleep in between) and here I am awake at 5AM.  Blech.  At least Dumble's been quiet.  I'm going to go through a lot of diet coke today!

Family Portrait

One of the many benefits of being married to Blair Satter is his wonderful family.  And one of the many benefits of his wonderful family is having our family pictures taken by his Dad (a professional photographer).  Since Alex was able to come down for Thanksgiving, we stole away from my parents' long enough to have a photos taken of the four of us (it's been a couple of years.)  As usual, there are so many great shots, that it's hard to choose!

I found a suggestion here and I have high hopes that Jane Austen will be audible tomorrow!

One Day Down - Four to Go

I am comfortably ensconced in a DoubleTree in outside of Columbus, OH, with a lovely Salad Caprese settling nicely in my tummy.  It was a very long day with stops in NJ for gas (a good 30 cents cheaper per gallon than home), PA for Chili's (at, I swear, the same Chili's I got lunch from on the way to MN) and later for more gas, and in OH for Dairy Queen.  Note to self, finger food is good for eating while driving, spoon food not so much.  It's a good thing I had lots of napkins. 

Dumble had short walkies each time we stopped.  I offered him water each time, but he wasn't interested.  As soon as I put the dish down in the hotel he drank.  Go figure.  He's such good company, napping most of the day in his car seat.  (He has one of these.)  He sits in the passenger seat in easy reach for ear scritching and back rubbing, and where he can look at me if he's wondering what's going on (he can tell when I disengage the cruise control or slow down). 

It was warm in the car when the sun was shining, and I ran the fan with no noticable cooling.  After a couple of hours, I finally thought to check if the car was on recirc - duh.  He did not like it when I opened his window a little to let some air in, the sound of the air rushing in scared him a bit.  I'm glad I got that figured out.  (I'm also really glad I got the a/c fixed, Dad was saying it should be quite warm when I hit Arizona.)

I tried to listen to an audiobook of Pride and Prejudice on my Ipod through the car radio, but even with the volume all the way up on the radio, I had trouble hearing it.  I'm bummed.  I need to poke around with google to see if there's anything I can do.

I listened to the "Traffic Report" on the XM Highway.  That's alway fun, but I hardly ever catch it since they stopped playing it on Wednesday afternoons.  Then I listened to all the Sugarland music on my Ipod, followed by The Pulse (XM 26) and Laugh USA (XM 131?).  Oh and a little Holly (a Christmas music station on XM).  I don't think I could bear the driving without the XM and the Ipod!

I had nice chats with my sweeties, my Dad and my Auntie via my bluetooth headset - also a great way to kill some miles painlessly.

Some cool town names - Blairstown, PA, and DuBois, PA (hi, sis!)

I'm for bed - I hope I sleep better than last night!

Whoo Hoo!

 I have once again rejoined the ranks of the gainfully employed.  I've got a 4-6 month gig in southern California.  I'll be leaving right after Thanksgiving.  It's such a relief.

New Bead Projects

Black and gold caterpillar bracelet (kit here).

Earrings for a friend

Daniel's Stewie pumpkin on Halloween evening

Halloween Funny

Last night the kid says "I'm going to my happy place" and sticks his head into his bag of Halloween candy.

New Hobby

 


I took a couple of beading classes in MN and fell in love.  It's easy to do in front of the TV (unlike scrapbooking, I need lots of space while I'm working), and the results are gorgeous.  Plus I love jewelry that coordinates with my outfits.

Small Domesticities

Yesterday, we finally got around to folding our way down Mount Laundry.  There was a pair of shorts in there as well as several sets of summer-weight pajamas. 

While we folded, Blair and I watched The Holiday on Tivo.  It was a very sweet romantic comedy and we enjoyed it very much.  The laundry was completely folded in time to watch the last half hour our so without our hands full.  Daniel came home from school towards the end and we all watched the last bit together, then put the clothes away.  Maybe it was the after-effects of watching the last scene, in which a family happily celebrated the new year, but I had a smile on my face the whole time we changed the sheets (so much easier to put the clean sheets right on the bed rather than fiddling with folding them up, don't you agree?) and put the rest of the laundry away.

Here's a photo of Daniel's finished pumpkin.  He worked on it for a couple of days after the party - very dedicated to getting it just right.

Fall Fun

The garage is still set up, so we ran the tag sale again this week.  Friday was an ideal fall day for a tag sale, cool, but clear and nice, and although Saturday was dreary and rainy, plenty of folks stopped by.  It's funny how you can have plenty of traffic and sell plenty of stuff, and yet, the garage doesn't look cleared out at all.

We sold the kitchen cabinets, so that cleared out some space in the garage - and the living room.  I think we'll have space to have a Christmas tree this year - yippee!  We'll put the files we need to keep into the basement, and we'll actually have a living room again after nearly a year.

Today we spent the afternoon at the home of some dear friends for their traditional pumpkin carving party.  It was perfect weather to have the party outdoors, where spilt pumpkin guts are no problem at all!  There was a lot of terrific food (loved the mummy finger hot dogs), delicious desserts, jello shots and Godiva chocolate liqueur.  Towards evening, the kids were gathering leaves into piles for jumping while the adults sat around a roaring fire enjoying each others' company.

Daniel decided to carve the Family Guy's Stewie on his pumpkin.  It's almost 8 and he's still working on it.  He was working very carefully on it for hours at the party - first poking holes around the outline, then carving out a few of the details, and now he's painstakingly scraping away at the skin of the pumpkin for Stewie's face and other details.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Tag Sale Redux

Since the garage is still all set up, we're continuing the tag sale this coming weekend (we decided to pass on having a tag sale during the nor-easter last weekend, just call us wimps!)

Lots of great scrapbooking supplies are still left, books, Disney videos, Easton Press books, Danbury MInt collectibles.

Favorite Tag Sale Customers

Friday was slow with the bad weather, but things picked up on Saturday. It's amazing though, how you can a have a good sale and bring in a nice piece of change, but still have a garage full of unsold items!

On Saturday morning we had a couple stop by who became our favorite customers. They were very nicely dressed, the wife in an elegant ivory skirt, blouse and jacket, husband in an ivory dress shirt with a tie. It turned out they were visiting from North Carolina and were on their way to a wedding, but had to stop when they saw our sale. The wife is a painter, so she was interested in the craft supplies. They were in a hurry to get to the ceremony, so they couldn't stay long. But they came back by on their way to the reception. Now that's a pair of dedicated tag salers!

Things I Never Thought I'd Say...

"Oh look, the sister is passing out knives for the kids to play with"

Daniel went to his first meeting of the Society of Young Magicians yesterday. A magician named Tony Clark did some tricks and showed the kids how to do them. Dan was very quiet but said later that he'd had a good time and was glad we'd signed him up. It seems like a cool group, they have a lending library of books and videos, and he was talking with some of the kids during the snack break.

One of the tricks Tony showed them was how to "swallow" a knife. So during the break, a nun (the meeting was held at Villa Maria) was handing out plastic knives so the kids could try the trick for themselves.

Afterwards, we met Blair's family for lunch with his aunt and her granddaughter's soon to be in-laws at V a restaurant in Westport. I had some really yummy butternut squash ravioli. Oh, man it was delicious and the company was lovely.

A Busy Few Weeks

My project on Minnesota finished up a few weeks ago, and life's been a blur ever since. Blair flew out on Monday, September 21, and he was supposed to change planes in Atlanta - yup, during the torrential rains that were causing all the trouble. He managed to switch to a direct flight (for no extra charge!) and ended up getting to Minneapolis earlier than he would have.

We packed up all my stuff on Tuesday (I couldn't have done it without him) and on Wednesday got a hitch for the van, rented a trailer and met up with some movers to get us loaded up. Bright and early Thursday morning we hit the road. We decided to take 3 days to make the trip (I only took 2 on the way out) because we weren't sure how fast we'd be able to drive with the trailer. It's amazing how much slower you appear to be driving when you can see so much further ahead.

As we tooled down the arrow straight highway in Wisconsin, I mentioned to Blair that I'd always wanted to see Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright house built over a waterfall, but wasn't sure where it was. That night in our hotel in Elkart, Indiana, I googled it and was thrilled to find it was in Western Pennsylvania, an easy detour from our planned route. We made new hotel reservations, and bought tickets (have I ever mentioned how much I love the Internet?)

Unfortunately, I bought our tickets for the wrong day. Fortunately, they got us onto a tour anyway, despite being overrun with Australian dignitaries from the summit. The tour was definitely worth the detour, and the house was as all-out cool as I'd expected.

As we drove home, we called Daniel as we crossed each state line. Sometimes, we left goofy voicemails, and sometimes we had a nice chat. We had Dumbledore's car seat bungeed just behind and right between our seats and he seemed very comfortable there. We were glad it was cool and rainy during our tour, since we had no qualms about leaving him in the car. During the last day, I took the strap that hooks his harness to his seat, and hooked it to my seatbelt, so he could sit on my lap. He's an awfully good cuddler.

The only traffic during the whole trip was getting from New Jersey to the Bronx on Rt 95 (and the GW Bridge), and we arrive home around 10pm on Saturday. Daniel had been staying with my folks, and my dad dropped him off that afternoon to wait for us, so our boy was there when we walked in!

Dumble has been unsettled by this, from the time we started packing, he got very clingy and doesn't like to let me out of his site. If I go to my bedroom for a moment, he has to follow me to make sure I don't start packing again. And I'm not sure he can tell the difference between packing and unpacking.

I'm so very glad to be home with my guys. Next step is to update the old resume and dive into another job search. Hopefully, the next is a bit closer to home!

Input?

I'm thinking about taking some classes to boost my resume (graduate certificates at SHU).

I'm having trouble making up my mind between .NET Technology:

Dynamic Web Page Development
Windows Interface Design
Web Design with JavaScript
Web Programming with ASP

and Web Development:

Windows Interface Design
Database Design
Web Programming with ASP.NET

plus one of
Advanced ASP.NET
C#

There's also Interactive Multimedia:

Web Design with JavaScript
Fundamentals of Interactive Multimedia

plus 2 of
Dynamic Web Page Development
Windows Interface Design (VB.NET)
Advanced Scripting with Interactive Media
Multimedia Authoring and Scripting (Authorware)

Any thoughts/recommendations?

Remembering 9-11

I was in the operations center at Nasdaq (where they run the hardware that the market runs on). I had a software release that was going live that day, so I got there at 8am. There was a large TV in there that always had the news running in the morning, it was a way to see if perhaps it was going to be a heavy trading day because of world events.

When they reported the first plane, our comments were on the line of "how do you not miss something that big?" As 9:30 approached (that's the time the US markets open), the NYSE and the Nasdaq decided to postpone the open until 10:30. Then before 10:30, they decided not to open. That must have been before the NYSE was evacuated and also before they realized how many communication lines would be interrupted by the attacks. (All markets were eventually closed for the entire week as firms scrambled to set up alternate trading sites and arrange new communication lines.)

I spent most of the morning following my VP around to various meetings (standing along the wall with other Leads, in order to answer questions about my system.) I was numb, focusing on work, so much so that when I saw a co-worker crying, I wasn't sure why. I asked if she was OK and she gave me a strange look, I guess she wondered why I was calm. It really didn't hit me until a few days later, like a ton of bricks. Her way was probably better.

Then they decided to evacuate everyone. In the confusion my purse ended up with someone who had already left, and I didn't have my car keys. (The purse had been in my desk in another building and I asked a friend to get it for me.) A co-worker gave me a ride home (it took an hour to get out of the industrial park because everyone in the place was leaving.) We met up with the gal who had my purse and my co-worker took me home.

In the course of the morning, the schools were closed and I had some trouble getting through on my cell phone, but I was able to talk to his aftercare provider to make sure that she'd watch for the bus at the right time. I left Daniel there, because I was going to have to go back to work at some point and didn't know when Blair would be home. That was hard because I wanted to hug my boy very much.

I was waiting in my driveway for my ride when Blair and Daniel drove up. I held onto Daniel for a long time. Then my colleague arrived. A couple of years later, I asked Daniel what he remembered about the day the bad things happened. And he said, "the day the man came and took you away?" It's funny the spin they put on things. I explained that the man had just been giving me a ride to work. But in the intensity of that day, I hadn't thought to reassure him why I was leaving in a strange car with a strange man.

We had to go back to work so the systems could be shut down in an orderly way, because one part of the system was still waiting for market open. Although in a legal sense the markets were closed for the rest of the week, as far as the computers were concerned they were running normally. We did this so that disrupted firms could test their backup systems, new comm lines and the like. We just never sent the transactions to clearing. We also worked with the customers all weekend so that everything was ready when the markets opened the following Monday.

I used to work in the north tower of the Trade Center. Fresh out of school I got a job doing documentation for the state of NY. Since the state owned the building, they used it for offices until better paying tenants moved in. I used to shop in the mall in the basement. The food court was near the PATH train station. The employee cafeteria was only two floors up from us, but because it was on a different bank of elevators, to get there you had to go down to the lobby and back up. From our offices, we had a stunning view uptown that included the Empire State Building. This was back in the early 80's, so it was before the earlier bombing as well.

Afterward, the depression I'd been living with forever and hadn't really noticed or acknowledged, became much worse. The thought of raising my children in a world where this could happen, where it had happened, was overwhelming. But it pushed me to finally do something about it, to admit to myself, to my husband and to my doctor that I was struggling, and to get help.

It also pushed me to sign up for group voice lessons at Adult Ed and eventually for private lessons for a year. It also led to my bosses noticing the way I handled myself in a crisis, and the way I handled my team, and they ended up asking if I'd thought about going into management. That led me to going for my MBA. I know I wouldn't have gone back to school before I started taking anti-depressants. I'm doing a lot of things I never would have considered before then. I think the whole thing made me braver about putting myself out there and doing things I was afraid to do, like taking voice lessons.

"What if it turns out I'm kidding myself when I think I can sing, and I really suck." "What if my scrapbook pages are mediocre and I'm being a big ass when I think I'm an artist?" We've all got the Impostor Police lurking around the corners in the back of our minds, whispering that the rest of the world's going to find out that we're big fat fakes. But you know what? We can sing, and we are artists, and we're good at our jobs and we deserve the compliments others give us.

Why Do They Call It Labor Day...

... if we don't do any work? :-)

Wednesday afternoon, I left work a little early, went to the apartment and grabbed my luggage, picked Dumble up at the groomer (boy, do I love the soft fluffy hair on the top of a freshly bathed Yorkie's head, just like baby's hair!) and headed to the airport. Just enough time in O'Hare to pick up a Cinnabon and bagel to go, before heading to the other gate - where they were already boarding! Blair picked me up at LaGuardia and we got home after 1AM. Good thing they changed my appointment the next morning from 11am to 9am (NOT).

We were in downtown New Haven and Blair wanted to stop by Gateway to return his textbook (having scored an earlier version way cheaper on line), and I convinced him to try to find our way there rather than get on the highway. We ended up in West Haven - so much for following my nose! After that we pottered around the Trumbull mall for a bit and had lunch at Johnny Rockets - love the music, love the half fries/half onion rings! Quiet afternoon and evening at home.

On Friday, we exchanged the cable box for a new one, and then headed west on 84 to route 7. It's been a while since we've been antiquing and we had fun meandering down 7, stopping where ever it struck our fancies. We had lunch at a place called the Little Pub, it was quite busy, and the fries were great!

Dan's been grumbling about the new dress code at his school, so he was excited for his first "casual Friday," where he could finally wear his traditional first day of school shirt (the one that says "Warning! I'm not paying attention.") He feels it's only fair to let the teachers know right out of the box what they are in for. Friday was also our last Ice Cream Social at 6 to 6. He's been going there since he was 4 - sniff, sniff.

Dan has been talking about "needing" skinny jeans like his friends, so we told him to find out where they got them, and to let us know. So on Saturday, we hit a store in the mall called Zumiez, where he got a blue pair and a black pair. The blue jeans were a youth 24, but the black pair was a men's 26 - yikes!

Skinny jeans are a good look for him, it's the first time in eons he's had pants that both fit at the waist and are long enough (usually the long enough jeans are way too large in the waist). The 26s were a little bunchy around the ankles, but for some reason made his legs look even skinnier. I know how it feels not to have the right clothes and it made him so happy to have them. That night we had dinner out with my in-laws, it was good to see them.

On Sunday, there was a BBQ at my mom's (but poor mom had to work, so everyone was there but her!) Yummy Ballpark dog, homemade potato salad, cole slaw and mom's Texas Barbecue Sauce, baked beans, and some sinful desserts Dad got at Costco. One was a cabernet pear tart, with marzipan, one was a cake that was more like a huge, thick chocolate chip cookie, and the other was a mudpie cake that was like fudge with marshmallows and nuts on top. I had to have some of each.

I gave my sister her wedding album and she loved it. She and her hubby had hit the Elephant's Trunk earlier, and she got me 4 Trek plates that she got there way cheap for my birthday. We brought Dumbledore with us and he loved seeing all the family and playing roomba while we ate. We hung around back at home for a bit, I packed, and then we went back over to see my mom when she got home from work.

On Monday, we left for the airport at 11 for a 2pm flight, because we were worried about traffic. The guys tried to get gate passes, but the ticket agent wouldn't go for it. As always, it sucked leaving them, and I'm here in MN now until Thanksgiving.

My Day

I woke up thinking today would suck big rocks, but it was pretty ok.

It didn't start out so great, I'm looking all over for my copic markers. I'm pretty sure I brought them, and the place isn't that big - so where are they? Blair can't find them at home either, but I'll look next week.

I got my oil changed and the guy recognized me (or more likely my car - after all how many vans does he see with CT plates and a license plate holder from Haleakala Motors on Maui?)

Thence to Target for some essentials (TP, paper towels, ligthbulbs - such an exciting day so far huh?) and a floor lamp. It's so dark in my living room at night. I got one of those guys with five shades on flexible arms, so I can point them all around and really brighten up the place.

Next stop was the Rochester Scrapbooking Co, where I got some really cool glitter paper. It gorgeous!

Next up was Petco, Dumble is running low on kibble and treats (this day just keeps getting more and more exciting!) I also found him a little rubber chicken, it's not exactly like the dead duck he had at momento (it disappeared shortly before we closed), but it's pretty close.

I stopped in a nearby Hallmark to ogle the Vera Bradley bags. Then I wandered around Hobby Lobby (I've never been in one before.) It was OK, but there was nothing I wanted to buy.

I had dinner at Whiskey Creek (bacon cheeseburger, fries and a decadent desert involving some kind of chocolate cake/brownie thing with ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream.) It was yummy, but if the burger was medium, I'm 17. (BTW, I'm 48 but I don't look a day over 47.) As I ate my dessert, I said "Happy Birthday to me."

I came home to a very happy doggy, and we had a nice long walkies. It was a lovely evening for it, cool and breezy, very pleasant, and it did good things for my mood, and Dumble was happy to, but not has happy as he was to get the rubber chicken when we got home.

I watched some TV with my guys, and now my day is done.

There was a one-legged man with a cardboard sign at a stoplight this afternoon. My window was rolled down and he asked if I was having a good day. I wasn't at the time, but compared to his, I wasn't going to say no. He asked if I could spare some change and I gave him a dollar. In a gentle voice, he thanked me and wished me a good day. It made me want to cry. But I'm still not sure if I was crying for him or me. Certainly being 2000 miles from my family sucks, but I have a job, and me and my guys have all our limbs. I suppose I'm entitled to the occasional pity party, but then I need to get over myself.

I got email and facebook birthday greetings from all over the country, and even from a couple others, and they really brightened my day. At the speed of light, love comes to me from my dear March moms, my friends and my family. Thank you all.

Sad and Bewildered

I had a very close friend, we were a matched set, with so many things in common, similar backgrounds, tastes, sense of humor. We'd been through a lot together, so I was caught completely flat-footed when, like a light switch turning off, my friend, who'd been as dear to me as a sister, was no longer my friend.

I've tried to find out why this happened, but my emails went unanswered. I'm so hurt, so confused, so sad. I don't know what I did to bring this on. And I'm having trouble letting go. So many times, I think of her, things happening that she'd appreciate, memories of time we spent together. And each time I think of her, I wonder why.

I know I have to give up on trying to find what went wrong. Continuing to email with no response would be stalker-like, but knowing and feeling are two separate things. How do I get my heart in line with my logical mind? How do I let go of the emptiness, the hurt? Maybe if I could get angry, but there's only sadness and bewilderment.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Do you have any advice?

Busy Guys!

Monday, they rented Segways and toodled around Rochester along the river paths. Then Blair revisited the local barbershop chorus.

Tuesday, they took a bus tour to the Mississippi River and Wisconsin. They had lunch in a town called Alta, and a town with only 352 residents (that's smaller than my high school graduating class!). They saw Lake Pepin, Lark Toys, and locks on the river, and visited an eagle sanctuary.

Wednesday, they took the self guided audio art tour of the clinic and saw the art that wasn't covered on the guided tour. Thursday was rainy and they went bowling again and Blair won two out of three games, then Daniel had lunch and kicked his tushie in the third game!

Friday, they went up to St Paul and visited the science museum including the Titanic exhibit. At the beginning, they give you a passport with a passenger's name on it and at the end, you see if you survived or not. Dan was John Astor, and Blair was someone from Norway (I'm assuming he was in steerage!). Neither of them made it though.

Last night, Dan and I had a disagreement, and when we apologized, I said that I didn't want to fight on their last night, and next thing I know, we're both crying and I'm saying to Blair, "He's my baby, and you're taking him away." It hurt so bad, and I hadn't wanted to lose it in front of Dan and upset him, but I couldn't help myself. We promised to video chat this afternoon when they get home. I tried all week not to think about them going away, because when I do, it hurts so much.

This morning early, they set off for home. Their plane left on time and they called from Chicago. They sounded fine.

Sometimes Airport Trouble is a Good Thing

There was bad weather in Chicago today, and Daniel and Blair's plane was going to be delayed so much that they would have missed their connection at O'Hare to LaGuardia. So they changed their tickets and aren't going home until next Saturday! I'm a happy girl!

Friday, they went to the Spam museum and enjoyed themselves. Saturday, we visited an antique show and a county fair in Zumbrota. The capper of the day was the "demo" or demolition derby. I've never seen anything like it, but we had a blast! At first it was just funny - mud flying and cars crashing into each other - but it was pretty impressive too, we couldn't believe the amount of damage some of the cars could take and still keep going. What a riot!

Fun In Minnesota

Saturday, we visited the Mall of America, a little shopping (Dan got some magic tricks, Blair got some souveniers, I got some clothing and had fun in Brighton), a little eating (Tony Roma's for lunch and Coldstone for "dinner") and a little fun (a hall of mirrors and mini golf). The drive home was miserable, since the van my folks lent to me has no AC and it was warm and very humid.

On Sunday, we visited Heritage House and Dairy Queen. In the evening, we picked up dinner at Roscoe's (drive up BBQ), and listened to a free concert with the Smitherines.

Monday, they went bowling. That evening we picked up some groceries at Target and had dinner at Applebee's. Afterwards, Blair visited the local barbershop chorus, the Rochester Music Men and had fun!

On Tuesday, Dan and Blair went to Niagara Cave in Iowa, where they got soaked sluicing for minerals outside in a downpour. Later, it cleared up, and we went to a Honkers baseball game. Lots of fun food there, hot dogs, potato bites, mini donuts and funnel cake fries. The team won their playoff game. They also won last night, so tomorrow they have a game against another team, and we're planning to go.

Wednesday, they guys went to the Quarry Hill Nature Center followed by go-carting at Skyline Raceway. We had dinner at Dos Amigos.

Today, they hung out in the apartment until after lunchtime. Then they met me at the clinic and we took a tour of some of the amazing art they have here. They came back again (with the dog) at the end of the day and we visited the street fair they have every Thursday.

It's been lovely having the guys here, but I know I'll fall apart when they leave.

County Fair

Last Saturday, Dan and I went to the Olmstead County Fair (right here in Rochester). We had a total blast. Dan got his (actually my) money's worth out of his ride bracelet - he rode the bumper cars at least 7 times. While we were waiting to buy pizza a nice lady who was leaving gave us three tickets, which was exactly how many we needed so that I could ride the Ferris wheel with him!

Dan had pizza for lunch and dinner. We tried fried cheese curds (I was proud of Dan for giving them a shot), he didn't like them, I thought they were OK, but wouldn't go out of my way to have them again (very heavy grease taste/smell) and we gave the leftovers to a couple of teenage boys. The famous mini donuts were a hit, however. We loved them. Last of all we had a spaghetti sundae. What a whimsical and yummy treat.

We walked through the craft hall and looked at cows and horses. Whenever we were eating, there was a band playing in one of the halls. We heard three very different groups. There was a little shopping too. There was a magician demonstrating some products, and he and Dan got to talking about tricks. He showed us how to do a couple of things and I bought him two trick decks of cards. Dan impressed the guy with his magical knowledge and he talked to Dan magician to magician - it was pretty cool.

Dan did pretty good with the midway games. His fantastic aim won him a small Stewie (from the Family Guy, one of his favorite shows - he quotes it constantly) that he was thrilled to get. We also spent a good deal of time (and money!) at the Sweeper booth. But we got a great deal of entertainment waiting for the pesky Garfield keychain to drop. Dan tried different strategies of aim and timing to maximize his winnings, and a nice man (whose family saves their loose change all year round so they can try to win the biggest prize in the booth) gave him a cup of tokens when we ran out. His prizes from that booth were some pop caps, a switchblade comb and (the perennial favorite) a whoopie cushion.

Daniel enjoyed his last two camps, and honed his public bus riding skills with two new routes. And last night he got a great big surprise when he rode with me to pick up a package at the FedEx office at the airport - the package was his Daddy! And Daniel was completely surprised. We all had lunch together when Daniel was done with College for Kids and then they did some supermarket shopping and went bowling afterwards. We were going to go to a ballgame tonight, but it's cold and drizzly so we're going to stay in and order pizza instead.

Blair got info from the tourism board and has lots of fun things he wants to do with Dan (like the Spam museum). And tomorrow we'll hit the Mall of America.

The dog was besides himself to see Blair, and spent a lot of time physically attached to Blair yesterday evening. I'm so thrilled to have my family together.

Dan's Programming Class

Today was the first day of Daniel's computer game programming class. The school is very close to my office, so he walked over to join me when he was done. He came out of it bubbly and excited, and really enjoyed himself. He said that today they designed some games, and I talked to him briefly about the software development cycle (since I was debugging a program at the time). I can't believe how it warmed my heart that he thought programming was cool. Now I get why some parents are so hot to have their kids take over the family business!

We had a very lazy weekend, capped with hanging out at a playground last evening in listening range of a free concert by Jamey Johnson. It was a lovely evening for a walk, and for listening to great music. This evening was cool, so we took a long walk to the park, and Dan played on the playground, while I read a book in the shade. He's such good company, and I'm enjoying him immensely.

Lightbulb Moments

Tuesday afternoon, Dan rode the city bus from camp and met me at work. Then we headed back to the apartment via the Mayo employee shuttle. We ended up fairly far back, and as we rode home I explained to him how people get off the bus here. Buses empty from the front to the back, and people don't even stand up until it's their turn. Very different from the east coast, where it's every man for himself. After that we chatted at how nice everyone seems here.

"That's so..." he trailed off.
"Civilized?" I asked.
"Yeah! It's nice"

By then we were almost to the front door, and Daniel pulled his keys out of his pocket. Unfortunately, the lanyard dragged out his cash. Dollar bills sailed into the street, and Daniel wailed. There was a car coming down the street, and the driver stopped right there and got out to help Dan collect the money in the street, while I got the bills on the sidewalk. Between the three of us, we managed to gather it all. We thanked the young man profusely, and as we checked our mail, I said, "See what I mean, they're really nice here."

It was overcast and breezy Tuesday evening, so it was perfect for a long "walkies" with Dumbledore. The three of us walked south along the river, crossing to the park. I showed Daniel a very nice looking public pool and we stopped for a little while so he could climb on the playground structures. In all, I think we were out for about 2 hours.

While we walked, we chatted. He told me about his day packing food to be sent to Africa to feed hungry people. He also told me things he had learned from a young lady he rode the bus downtown with (her mom also works at the clinic). She told him how to make a whistle with a blade of crabgrass, and that the library was a short walk from our place and he should check it out.

Daniel made a remark about how automobile tires sometimes seem to spin backwards on TV. We talked about revolutions per second and the refresh rates of video screens (or the frame rate of film), going at it from a few different angles. About 5 minutes into the discussion, Daniel suddenly went "Ohhh - I get it". It was fun watching the bulb light up over his head - he was so excited. (There's a word for the effect, but I couldn't remember what it's called. Anyone?)

Next up he made a comment about being confused by the numbered streets, given that several streets have the same or similar names. So then we talked about Broadway and Center Street and how the street (and avenue) numbers radiate out from there. I told him that if you could look at two consecutive street (or avenue) signs, you would know where you were and how to get where you are going. There was another "aha" moment. (It's so much fun when you witness one - and I got two in one day!)

After that he was comparing his experience in Rochester to being in Witness Protection (we watch In Plain Sight), a fresh start where "no one knows I'm not cool in Connecticut!" He exclaimed this triumphantly with his fists in the air. I'm really glad he's having a good time here.

Back and Forth

Last Thursday night, Dumbledore and I headed east for the July 4th weekend. The nice surprise for me was that Alex came down from Massachussetts, so I got to have lunch at Chili's with all my guys! The weekend was filled with visits with family and packing up Daniel for his fun-filled summer in Minnesota.

We started with a large pile of what Daniel thought was neccessary, and with judicious pruning and smart packing, we managed to get into two duffles (along with my things). Flying home was mostly problem free, but boos and hisses to American for posting the wrong gate number on the monitors for a while and not making any announcements at the "wrong" gate until the final boarding call. But the three of us got home safe and sound, and made a quick trip to the market for food for Daniel.

He had his first day of camp yesterday, and likes his "team leader" and the rest of his team. He enjoyed the activities but not the lunch, and had a good time. He had no problem catching a city bus and called me from his new cell phone when he got downtown (the good news is that every bus in Rochester ends up by the Clinic.) I met him in the plaza and brought him up to my office.

Today, he'll be making his way to my office by himself. He doesn't seem to have been nervous about the bus trip (he's hardly ever taken public transportation before - let alone by himself) and seems to have been fine with being dumped in a strange place with a bunch of people he's never met before. I'm so proud of the way he adapted!

We took a little walk with Dumble last night and I pointed out some things. I showed him where he should be able to get off the bus near our apartment if he doesn't want to meet me at work (and he's on a particular bus).

Of course, it's been great having him here. Dumble is enjoying having another playmate, and I'm just tickled to have his company. He's such a nice guy and I've missed him terribly.

Clear Album

Last weekend I camped out at the Rochester Scrapbooking Company from Friday after work until Sunday afternoon. I did a little work on my sister's wedding album, but I'm not going to post pix of that until after I give it to her. :-)

This is hybrid project, combining digital and traditional scrapbooking. I'd wanted to do a theme album of songs that have meaning to me for a long time, and when I saw a funky, grungy, collage-y clear album in Somerset Memories magazine, I knew what my project had to be.

I combined 4x6 digital collages with a Clear Scraps 8x8 tabbed acrylic album, supplemented with cut down sheets of Hambly clear acrylic, a cut down piece of Prima embossed chipboard, and the contents of a Bo Bunny Clearly Mixed Up acrylic album. It's decorated with ribbon from May Arts, Maya Road and American Crafts; Stazon ink in various colors; Hambly transparencies; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist; Tim Holtz alcohol ink; a Krylon silver leafing pen; chipboard shapes from Tattered Angels and Rusty Pickle; crystals from Prima, Glitz and Basic Grey; flowers from Heidi Swapp, Prima and Creative Impressions; felt, die cut black plastic and journalling spots from Maya Road; and lace paper from KI.

The lyrics for the songs were found on the internet (just google what you can remember of the lyrics, title and or artist and the word "lyrics" and you can find any song.)




The front cover digital collage contains a Be Mine paper from Retrodiva Designs, overlaid twice with a musical notes overlay from (I think) Scrap Girls called Holiday Lights, and the font is Bleeding Cowboys - one of my favorites.






The first layout shows a photo of Alex's room after he moved out. The song is "Ready, Set, Don't Go" by Billy Ray Cyrus. It was originally written completely from the point of view of the parent (as opposed to the duet version performed with his daughter Miley) and that's the version of the lyrics that I used here.

The journalling says "This song became popular as Alex prepared to move out. It always made me want to cry." You can see that I spritzed the back of the cover collage with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. The two photos show the layout with the intervening Bo Bunny page flipped in either direction. The Bo Bunny albums holes didn't line up with the Clear Scraps album, so I used my Cropodile to punch new holes. The original holes have ribbon tied in them, to make them look like they are there on purpose. I painted behind the title to make it pop, and I used a Crafters Workshop template with an American Crafts Slick Writer pen to make the dragonfly's trail.




The next song is "Home" by Daughtry. If you look carefully, you can see the shiny underside of the previous page's dragonfly. The lacy border is from Prima. The collage shows Dumbledore, his new carrier, the logos for the airline and Minneapolis airport, some NY clip art from Tim Holtz and a photo of the highway outside LaGuardia airport in NY. Most of the song titles are printed on transparency paper, so I edged this one in brown Stazon to make it stand out.

The journalling says "Every time I thought about my upcoming trip home, I was reminded of this song. It kept me company through the days, then hours, then minutes until I saw my guys again."






Next up is "Just Might (Make Me Believe)" by Sugarland. There's another Bo Bunny page in here, and I used the silver leafing pen with a Crafters Workshop template for the doodling. The flower is three Heidi Swapps (in red, pink and white), layered with a Creative Impressions flower, a Prima flower, a large We R Memory Keepers silver eyelet and (I'm not sure who made it) a glittered brad. I decorated the flower with Stickles. The chipboard heart was painted, stamped on and covered with Glossy Accents. The ribbon covers where I smushed the glue before it dried.

The journalling says "When I had to close the store, I felt lost and afraid. I felt like a failure. But your love and support give me hope for the future. You believe in me - so I believe in myself." The photo is our engagement photo; after all these years, it's still my favorite one of us.








"It Won't Be Like This For Long" by Darius Rucker is another one that makes me misty. I used baby and recent photos of my boys. Notice the back side of the KI paper from the previous page and the ribbon at the top that wrapped around the font and back of the page. I'm not sure who made the bird paper, but the bird is a good symbol for my babies' leaving the nest as they grow. I backed the title with a ribbon.




"From the Moment You Were Mine" is a song by Beth Nielsen Chapman. I discovered her years ago when a song of hers was used on ER (Sand and Water). This one has always spoken to me:

I used to dream somebody's arms were around me,
Wake up all alone and feel so empty,
No, I never knew dreamed how real love could be,
'Til the moment you were mine

The photo of the three of us is printed on a transparency, the title is a Basic Grey sticker set, and I brushed paint on the embossed chipboard to bring out the details. The lyric were printed on a transparency and adhered with brads. (I loooove the Cropodile).





"Then" by Brad Paisley is a fairly recent song. I heard it on the way to the scrapbook store last weekend and realized it had to be in my album. It's all about how love grows over time. This wedding photo of Blair getting birdseed out of my hair after the wedding is one of my favorites. The swirly frame behind our picture is printed on a transparency. And the debossing on the back of the Prima cardstock is emphasized with pink and white paint. You can see the back of the jewels from the next page on the right hand side.



Martina McBride's "I Just Call You Mine" speaks to how lucky I feel to have Blair in my life. I used the May Arts vine ribbon as a place for a Daddy bird and Baby bird to hang out together. Maggie took this photo of them doing a crossword together at the store.







Using Photoshop I eliminated the background from this photo and gave it an artsy painted effect. You can still see the vine from the previous page, but I added more birds, because the heads were cut off of the ones on the other side. "Longer" by Dan Folgelberg is another long-time favorite that speaks to me about love - especially my love for Blair.







Our first song was to "I See Your Smile" by Gloria Estefan. It became "our song" after we heard it several times one Saturday when we were dating. The Bo Bunny page is stamped with a Close To My Heart stamps set using Stazon ink. I slipped a piece of white cardstcok behind it so you can see the detail.

I used a "notecard" effect on this photo after editing out a distracting background

















The last time I was home, the three of us sang along when "1, 2, 3, 4" by the Plain White T's came on the radio. The photo wasn't the right proportions to crop to 4x6 so I stretched one edge. I grunged it with a digital overlay to hide the stretch. I applies "lumos" action to the photo of my guys on a tandem bike to give it a grungy, vintage look. That's the back of a Fancy Pants glittered transparency on the next page that you can see through the page.






Last up is "Proud of the House We Built" by Brooks and Dunn. The house photo was taken after our remodeling was complete, and the photos on the Bo Bunny page show Daniel helping his Dad put furniture together.




For the back cover I Glimmer Misted the back of the previous page's collage, and decorated it with a digital corner flourish printed on a transparency. The backs of the previous pages jewels add to the design. I distressed the edges of all the transparent pages in the book with black Stazon to give the pages definition.

Terminator Movie

I went to see the new Terminator movie last Friday, and it was fantastic. Another non-stop nail biter that also manages to address the question of what makes us human.

(minor spoilage ahead for Terminator Salvation, the New Star Trek movie, and somewhat more for the finale of TV’s Sarah Connor Chronicle)

But, as I say to Daniel whenever we get into questions of cause and effect in sci-fi movies and shows, “I hate friggin’ time travel.”

It makes use of the same alternate/branching realities idea as the Trek movie, in that in this version of the Terminator multiverse, the events of the various movies seem to have happened (although only events in the first movie are directly referenced), but events from the TV show have not (as evidenced by the fact that his father is younger than he is, in the conclusion of SCC, he was in the future, a teenager, and no one knew who he was.) But it would have been hard to tell this particular story (he’s looking for his father so he can send him to the past) with a teenaged Connor, even ignoring the fact that they met at the end of the series.

I’ve never been a fan of the infinite alternate realities version of time travel, because if every possibility exists, there is no point to traveling to the past to “set right what once went wrong.” But it bothered me less than the similar plot point in the Trek movie, I suppose because the Sarah Connor series already had gotten me used to rewriting the Terminator timeline when it basically wiped out the plot of the third movie in the first episode, and the fact that the date of Judgment Day changed as people from the future kept going back in time. In Star Trek, though, any time they traveled to the past in the television shows, it turned out that whatever they did in the past had already happened in the existing timeline (like the ep where they accidentally traveled back to the 60’s and had to put the pilot back because a descendant of his would be among the first to go to Mars.) Previously in the Trek universe whenever an evildoer tried to alter the past to his advantage, it turned out that, like Oedipus’ father, he was the engineer of his own demise, rather than preventing it (although you can make that point with the first Terminator movie – if the machines hadn’t tried to kill Sarah, her son would never have been born.)

I hate friggin’ time travel. ;-)

Good Hair Day

I twisted my hair into ringlets today. I like the way it looks!

Last Weekend

It was a hard trip. Blair misses me more than he had previously let on. The three of us had a little cry together yesterday as we waited for our food in Chili's.

The rest of the trip was nice. A family party at my Mom's Saturday evening. A party at my sister's on Sunday. Hot dogs, burgers, Mom's baked beans and Texas BBQ sauce (closer to chili), and a huge yummy sheet cake from Costco with mousse filling, chocolate icing and huge chocolate frosting roses. It's hard going back to healthy eating today (I'm starving!). Lots of TV with my guys yesterday, just lounging on the couch enjoying being together.

Last Minute Weekend Plans!

Whoo hoo! I'm flying east on Friday for the long weekend. I got a pretty good price to fly from Rochester (saving me the $200 for the airport van, not to mention the time), and adding Dumbledore to an American flight is cheaper than Northwest. The best part - we're not going to tell Daniel. Blair's going to tell him they're picking up my brother instead.

My New Haircut

I had a very exciting day today. I had my hair colored, highlighted (caramel and blonde)and cut (not too much off the length, but new layers, and the bangs were thinned). I'm very pleased with the results. After she finished with the cut, she asked if I was interested in having my brows waxed. Since I'd just been thinking about doing it, it was serendipitous. So I walked out of the salon feeling very glamorous and ready for spring.

After lunch, I went clothes shopping at Kohl's' and J. Jill (my favorite store). At J. Jill everything that was on sale had an additional markdown, so I got some very good deals and I'm very excited about my new look for spring and summer.

Tomorrow, I'll putter around the apartment and work some more on my scrapbooking project. (Last weekend, I spent both days at the local scrapbook store working on an acrylic album combining song lyrics I like with little digital collages.)

Trek Review

(first some spoiler free comments) I just got back from seeing the new Star Trek movie, and it was a fantastic movie. Exciting, funny, lots of wanton destruction (always one of my favorite things). The actors (especially Zachary Quinto as Spock) did a good job of channeling the original characters without doing impressions. It even felt like Trek.

(spoilers ahead)

But
the time travel/interference with the past that starts the plot in motions has the effect of erasing the last 40+ years of established "history". Towards the end I was waiting for someone to go forward in time to set everything right, and then slowly realized they weren't going to. And while I really enjoyed the movie, I wish they'd found a way to make it without mucking about with the previously established timeline.

Planning for Summer

I recently firmed up Daniel's plans for the summer. He's not big into the whole summer camp thing anymore, but Blair and I don't like the idea of him home alone every day playing video games, so I hit on the idea of finding him activities in here in Minnesota. We cobbled together some different programs we're all excited about and the best part is that my boy will be spending 5 weeks out here with me!

He's doing something calls Summer of Service which combines community service type stuff with regular camp stuff, at 200 bucks for two weeks including lunch, it's a steal. He's also doing a one week sports camp, a one week course at the University of MN on game programming, and a one week class in sports statistics (two of his favorite things in one class!). Each of these activities is near a bus stop, and all the buses in town eventually end up right by the clinic, so when he's done before I've finished work, he can get to me.

I'll probably go home to CT for some doctor's appointments the weekend before and take him back with me. Then I'm hoping Blair can take a little vacation time to come out here at the end and do touristy things with Daniel while I work, and they can go home together.

Tonight I'm going to see the new Star Trek movie (I'm hopeful and afraid). And I'm planning to scrapbook this weekend. I have this idea for a scrapbook/art project doing digital collages with lyrics from some of my favorite songs. It will be an ongoing project and I'm pretty sure I want to use an acrylic album as a start.

The Tulips are Blooming

There are tulips blooming in the Annenburg Plaza and they are lovely.

Once again, I have given up on Low Carb. It was way to easy to justify slipping off for a special occasions, which came more and more often. At least I wasn't gaining, but I wasn't losing either. I heard a blurb for Seattle Sutton on NPR one morning. I liked the idea of complete meals being delivered, that I'd get variety without having to buy a lot of groceries, that it would be controlled portions (and calories), and that it would cost about what I'd already been spending in the employee cafeteria and in restaurants, so I decided to give it a shot.

I'm lucky that there's a local distributor here in Rochester, so the meals aren't being shipped from goodness knows where, and the price here is decent (apparently the different franchisees charge different prices). Out of 10 days of meals so far there was only one "loser" - a baked pasta with turkey and (a teeny bit of) mozzarella - the taste was OK but the pasta was far from al dente, so the texture wasn't great, and yesterday's kiwi was nowhere near ripe. There was a muffin that had a very "packaged" taste, like something you'd get in a convenience store, but other than that, things have been pretty tasty, and very fresh. I'm definitely eating more fruits and veggies than I'm used to, and eating things I usually don't. I'm no fan of Caesar salad, but the dressing wasn't terribly pungent, and so was palatable to me. I actually ate Brussels Sprouts and found them surpisingly unobjectionable, with a taste like slightly bitter spinach.

There was something like swedish meatballs that was delicious, and some pineapple this morning that was luscious. Breakfast has been especially tasty, but if it were up to me I'd skew it towards a bit more protein and fewer carbs to fight off the mid-morning hungrys.

I was very hungry, so I've added 200 calories a day in snacks (for a total of 1400 calories per day), and while I still get hungry between meals and in the late evening, I figure - no pain, no loss, right? I'm liking the enforced discipline of only eating what I'm given, so I can't rationalize my way into overeating.

The weather has been warmer - it's definitely Spring. Trees are starting to bud and the lawns are green. Dumble and I have really been enjoying our walks, going further than before. On Saturday, we walked for over an hour (with a break to sit on a bench and read my book for a bit.) We saw a group of teenaged couple in their Prom finery, accompanied by a scrum of paparazzi parents. They were adorable as they posed by the river in various combinations and permutations. Then Dumble and I saw a pair of bunny rabbits (complete with cotton-tails), who gazed disapprovingly at us as we walked by. Then there was a birthday party with a pinata in the park behind the Civic Center. It was a lovely day to be out. Dumble alternates between trotting along proudly, and stops to sniff along arcane paths before leaving return messages for the various dogs who've left their own.

My Weekend

Wednesday, April 15

After work, I was running laundry so I wouldn't be short on clean clothes when I got back. But when I put my clothes in the dryer, I forgot to take my keys. 45 minutes of conversation with very nice neighbors I'd never met before, my clothes were dry and folded and I was finally back in my place. I need to find a better way to make sure that I always take my keys with me. :-)

I packed (barely - there are clothes and toiletries at home, I needed underwear, dog food and something to read on the plane.)

Thursday, April 16

A friend of my brother's from CT was transferred from CT to one of the hospitals here at the clinic, and I visited her during my lunch break. Easy peasy, there was a bus from the complex I work in to her hospital. Quick stop for lunch on the way back and I was all set.

I'd worked late all week so I could leave a little early, so I left at 3:30. Took Dumble for a walk, gathered up my stuff and the van picked me up for the drive to the airport in Minneapolis. Dumble settled down pretty quickly in his new carrier.

We got there in plenty of time to get checked in, go through security, pick up some dinner in the terminal and get to the gate. Dumble wasn't entirely happy when zipped in the carrier, either on my back or on the ground. He whined and whimpered and I was nervous for the flight. But once I put the bag on its back and slid it under the seat, he curled up in a ball and was calm and quiet the whole ride.

He was good in the limo on the way home, too. And around 1AM, we were in Bridgeport and Blair and Daniel were waiting for us to take us home.

Friday, April 17

Dumbledore's groomer came early and he looks gorgeous again! He's so soft and silky when he's clean, the hair on his head is baby fine. It's such a pleasure to bury my nose in his hair!

My guys came with me to my appointment and we got that out of the way early. Next up, we went to Target to look at some jeans for me - I'd forgotten to change out of my work pants before the van came for me, so I had nothing to knock around in.

A couple of weeks ago, I attempted to approximate how much allowance we hadn't paid Daniel in the last couple of years. He's been so understanding and just plain cool about money issues that I thought he deserved a treat, and Blair agreed. After rejecting the jeans I tried on, we nonchalantly walked over to the electronics department. Dan went to play with demo systems and Blair and I checked out the Nintendo DSis. After being reassured that the regular Nintendo DS games worked in the new systems, we called Daniel over and asked him what color he wanted. He was surprised and thrilled. Later he told us that he was smiling so much his "smile bones" were hurting. Note of caution to others interested in the DSi - the carrying cases and other items manufactured by other companies to fit the DS and DS Lite don't work with the DSi (ask us how we know that.) He was the happiest boy, thanking us repeatedly and smiling constantly.

Lunch was at MacDonald's. Then a trip to the mall to J Jill for jeans (I've always been happy with the way their jeans fit me). Then home to watch some Tivo'd shows (what a concept, watching TV in the same state with the rest of the family - hey, the same room and couch!)

Next up, we visited Blair's work. He was so cute showing me and Dan off to his coworkers and the residents.

Then dinner at Olive Garden. We're used to the line on a weekend night being so long that we usually eat in the bar, but there was only a 10 minute wait, no one waiting outside, and hardly anyone waiting inside. Dan and I both took home leftovers and the three of us split a dessert.

Saturday, April 18

After lunch, Blair, Daniel, Dumbledore and I went walking (I hesitate to call it hiking) on the trail in the Pequonnock River Valley (a former railbed turned trail). It was a perfect day for a nature walk. Cool and a little breezy. Dumble was thrilled to be outside walking and greet all the people and dogs on the trail. We went down a side trail to the river and Dumble got his feet wet. Afterwards, we dropped the dog back at the house and went for ice cream. Then we went to Best Buy to return the accessories for Dan's new toy ("It's not a toy, Mom.") that didn't fit.

Alex had gotten a ride to CT with some friends, so we made arrangements for him to come by so we could all go out to dinner. Talk about achy smile bones. I was so happy to be sitting at a table with all my guys. Blair used to call Alex the James Dean of Gibson Ave because he's usually so quiet, but after a beer or two he was almost expansive. He was telling us about his job (he works as a dishwasher at an Italian restaurant in Springfield, Mass., and it sounds like he works really hard and they like and trust him. I was really proud. Dan showed off some of his magic tricks for Alex, and it was just a lovely, perfect evening.

I packed two suitcases with warm weather clothes and later that night Blair, Dan and I played a round of Wii Bowling. Sheesh, I get worse every time I play that thing, but we had fun.

Sunday, April 19

We went over to my Mom's for breakfast (she made her apricot almond loaf because she knows how much I love it.) There was also bagels, homemade coffee cake and orange cinnamon rolls. Then it was lunchtime! There were homemade potato pancakes, turkey crocquettes, spinach souffle and chicken pot pie. My brother was there with his 2 girls, my sister and her husband, her son Leigh (who used to work in the store) and his friend, my auntie and my in-laws. It was so good to see the family and the food was sooo good!

Blair and Dan drove Dumble and me to the airport and Dumble was as cool on the return trip as he'd been on the way there. I lost track of how many times I kissed my guys before I let them go. It was wonderful to spend time with all three of my men - everythign I do is because of them.

Caffeine!

Wow, I shouldn't have had a Diet Coke with my lunch today! I'm keyed up enough what with excitement about going home, plus I'm always nervous before a plane trip - and I won't relax until I'm actually on the plane.

Going Home!

I'm so excited! This afternoon, I am going home for the first time since I came to Minnesota. I got an airline approved puppy-carrier, airline tix and reservations on a shuttle the the airport in Minneapolis. I'm packed (not that I'm taking much with me, there are toiletries and clothes there, and I plan to take a suitcase full of warm weather clothes back here with me.

The less fun part is a follow-up mammogram, but there's plenty of fun scheduled too. Visits with my family and Blair's, taking Daniel out to celebrate great report cards, being on the honor roll and having teachers who raved about him at conferences last week. Both my guys have Friday off (and Blair made sure he wasn't going to have to work Saturday too.) Dan's really excited that Dumbledore can come too. I hope he travels well in the plane - he's great in the car now.

Smiles:

- I'm going home tonight!
- Warmer weather - Dumble and I have had some nice rambles down by the river the last couple of days and I've dispensed with my big down coat.
- More musical interludes on the way home from work.