Well, then. This is FOR YOU. To have ;)

New chapter / page / etc - or... my experiences in the new adventures of staying up late and getting up early, who needs sleep phase

2010-10-29T08:29:00.008-04:00

Today is the last day of my maternity leave. Yes, that's right! It's been a long time.

My life has changed so much in the last year. Well, I can't say that it hasn't been changing all of my life - but with everything else that I've experienced this has been the most life changing event. This trumps my getting married, even.

On August 25, 2010, the most wonderful thing happened. Mike and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. And, you know - people used to say that having a child is like nothing else in the world - that you love them more than anything else. It's true! On her first day in the world I realized that I loved her already. I loved her so much that I can't even explain it. I felt (and feel) like every moment that passes is one that we'll never get back with our daughter - what a strange word that is - my daughter. I have a daughter! She is amazing and she has changed my life forever.

When I was pregnant, I wasn't so sure that I was going to like this having a baby thing. I mean, would I like taking care of a baby more than going to the gym, taking classes, working on computers, and walking the dog? How about my freedom to take off for a weekend on a moments notice? I do think that I'll miss some of the freedom. But, it's so worth it. Will I enjoy spending every moment I can with my daughter? Absolutely. Now I have someone to share the things I love with (in addition to my husband, of course) - haha. And, she's not like the dog, you can bring her in the store with you - she can travel too!

I decided to take a few minutes today and blog - mostly because my husband commented on one of my posts a couple weeks ago reminding me that I have a blog and because I guess it is a way to document how I'm feeling now and also because I could be cleaning the house, which I never can seem to do these days.

The last day of maternity leave... the last full day by myself with my little girl - who is currently napping by the way. She usually takes a good nap in the morning, even though her waking time varies. Tomorrow my in-laws are coming to visit and my mother-in-law will be staying with us for a week to take care of the baby while we are at work. This will help me to establish a routine with the baby for the following week when she will be going to daycare. I visited daycare the other day and am happy that she is going to a place where she can learn and socialize but I'm also sad that I'm going to miss all of that time with her. In a way, I think having the time away from the baby will make me a better mom though... by this I mean - sometimes, after taking care of her all day long - not to sound like a bad mom, or at least I hope I don't - I am playing with her, figuring out what she needs, making sure she is fed, worrying about her and sometimes, after a while - I do love taking care of her - but I don't feel like playing or talking in a fun voice when she is ready to play late at night. Sometimes, I am ready to relax and am so tired but she wants to play and I try - but I'm probably not as fun of a mommy as I could be. So, I think going back to work will help us get in routine and help me be more fun when I am with her... and maybe stop me from laying down next to the crib in her nursery as a break from exhaustion, or maybe cause me to do that more often - who knows.

No sleep, haha - I had plenty of preparation for this from when I was on call! At least the person who I need to help is not in India.

Anyway, I'll leave this blog post by saying - I'm looking forward to enjoying my daughter. It's also true about what they say about time - it goes by so quickly, like my maternity leave has. I can't believe she is 9 weeks old.

And, speaking of her - she is starting to wake up... and I need to get on with cleaning as we have company coming!

Relaxing day

2009-03-07T19:54:00.002-05:00

So, a lot has been going on lately so I decided not to do anything too much today - just whatever came up but no plans. I had a couple options - a group of friends were going to Ithaca to see a band and another group was going to see the movie "Watchmen" but I decided to stay around home and go out shopping by myself as I have not done that in a while.
This morning I got up at 8, fed Sam and ate last night's left over dessert (I had a Pampered Chef party last night which might be why I decided that I wanted some down time today) and watched "Good Morning America". I never watch TV. Today I did.

Then, sometime before 9 and while listening to the weatherman say that it was going to be beautiful in the morning and not so beautiful in the afternoon (we had a high of 50 today - woo hoo! Muddy mud everywhere) I took Samuel for a run around the neighborhood which was wonderful. We enjoyed what sunshine there was and then came inside for breakfast.

I hung around with Mike and did some browsing on the internet.
I went shopping around 4pm and got back a while ago. What a crazy place Marshalls is on a Saturday - so many people.

Well, Mike just called and wants me to go over and play some card games with friends. Should be a good time although all of this "relaxing" has made me very tired!

More cold

2009-01-15T21:29:00.004-05:00

After yoga tonight I took Samuel around the block. That is as far as we could go, however. It's 3 degrees here so Samuel started lifting his feet and looking at them. He was trying to explain that his feet were freezing with his facial expressions and then he realized - my ears are freezing too! So he shook his head vigourously.
I said, "Come on Sammy - let's go!" and he and I ran a 1/4 block until we were almost home. I guess his threshold is the same as mine - I don't like going out when it's less than 15-20 degrees.
Tomorrow's Friday thank goodness. It's been a fairy busy week at work - just a lot going on not anything in particular. People are getting together at a friend's house to watch that movie "Wally". I watched it a couple weeks ago when I decided to make pizza and invited my mom and brother over for the experiment. Turned out pretty good actually and I think I'm making pizza again this weekend. I don't know if I'm going to watch the movie or not but it was really a good movie. "Eva!" "Wally!"
We've been thinking about buying a new house recently as this one is kind of small and if kids are in our future we may need more room. Plus - it has a couple quirks (as any house does I know). For example, it's cold because it's not well insulated and the windows are old and the basement occasionally has water issues. We've done a lot to it though - like painting the outside and having some people install a new roof with plywood and everything. Do you know we can't into our attic here? That's so strange - there is this space above us that we'll never look at. Well, I guess the roofers took a look up there. I wonder if they found any insulation.
Anyway - so, since we've been thinking about getting a new house I signed us up for this mailing list where they send e-mails based on your requirements and you look at them and then if you want to go see them then you call up the realtor and say, "I want to view x house". We haven't decided what ones we want to look at yet but I'm getting ready! Oh yea.
You know how you have all of these things that are not fixed but you really should fix them but, eh - they really don't matter because it's just for looks? Well, we had our toilet upstairs leak (I know, gross, but it wasn't what you are thinking - kind of clean water leaking from a seal and wrecking the ceiling below) anyway - so one night I'm in my office and I hear this "drip, drip" - the paint on the ceiling was holding I don't know - like 2 liters of water. I yelled up the stairs to Mike - and we ended up draining the water into a bucket and ripping the paint off of the ceiling because it was now loose from being full of water. It was like that for a year or so - and since I'm thinking about how we are going to have to sell our house I decided to patch it up and fix it.
I used putty to clean it up a bit before the holidays and last night I used primer to assure no staining and painted the spot with celing paint.
That was a pretty large story for a small point - right?
Ugh, that's all for now. More blogging soon.
Onward.

Freezing Rain and Snow and other Randedomness

2009-01-07T21:46:00.005-05:00

Samuel and I just returned from our nightly adventure through the neighborhood. Tonight we had the chance to ski and slide through the streets. It rained all day today - freezing rain and just wet rain all which turns into slush when snowed upon. I do like it when the weather changes - also, I like it when the scenery changes for our walks.

All through December houses in our neighborhood were decorated with lights and yard ornaments. One yard "blow up" contraption actually sang to us. It was the Christmas band. Mike commented that it must have been driving the neighbors nuts - though, I don't think anyone would have heard it with the windows closed. Only crazy kooks like me who walk around at night to exercise and deengergize their animals. There was another house that we dubbed the "North Pole" as it had so many decorations throughout the yard. You could see it from the main road and it was at the end of one of the horseshoes that make up our neighborhood. And then there was the house with the horribly bold blue lights.

Anyway, now everyone has taken down the decorations and everyone's yards are covered in snow with an ice coating. The whole road is slippery so if you run and stop fast with your feet like a skateboarder you skid across the slush. There is a tree about every three houses on the curb. Old Christmas trees now forgotten. However, Samuel thinks that they are a thing of interest! Not for peeing like you are thinking though. He never picked that habit up. I'm glad about that. Sniffing discarding Christmas trees is a luxury in the dog world.

So, I was supposed to go to the Linux Meetup group tonight. I decided that I was going to go after I heard the weather forecast this morning. It probably would have been fine driving home but I just did not feel like driving through it tonight.

I'm studying for a Linux certification - probably RHCT if I can find out a place where you can take the test locally. From just looking quick on RedHat's site the closest location to take the test is in NY. I'm probably going to call them to see if there is a site closer.
I guess the RHCT test is pretty hard and most people fail it the first time. I would be very disappointed to travel to another city and fail the test. I would prefer to take one of the workshops first or at least take an example test so I know what I'm getting myself into. I've been studying a little for the test but the material is kind of dry especially since most of it is review. I wouldn't mind doing the training a different way - like "hey, setup this server" and use the following commands. I like figuring things out.

We never did go X-Country skiing on Dec. 27 by the way. Didn't want to drive out somewhere far and discover that the trails were closed. I did go snowshoeing last Friday night by moonlight to some old WW2 bunkers and co-hosted a group of snowshoers on Sunday with some people who just wanted to try it out at Beaver Lake. Fun winter times.

So, what's next?

Thoughts

2008-12-27T09:22:00.002-05:00

Mike and I were planning on going to Highland Forest today to go Cross Country Skiiing. Well, it decided to get extremely warm - a balmy 36 degrees - so, it's raining. Not exactly good for skiing across snow. We might be able to slide down in the slush or something.

We'll see - I'm going to check a few sites online. Sometimes we can travel up north a bit and it will be perfect. I actually do not mind it being a little warmer - I won't go out if it is below 15 degrees.

I have raynaud's, a condition where the blood vessels in my hands and feet constrict not allowing blood to the fingers and toes. I have to be really careful making sure that I have hand warmers and toe warmers available during all winter activities - or fall or spring or cold night activities for that matter. Heck - sometimes I even have a problem inside my house when walking on the cold floor or opening the refridgerator. What a pain it is really...

Anyway - yea, were planning to do some outdoor activity. Should be fun.

Sameul is sitting next to me right now and I can tell that he wants to play with his tough toy frisbee because he is using it for a pillow. A minute ago he was pushing it into my lap as to say "Will you throw this please?" or "Just try and get this toy from me" - I threw it to him a couple of times.

I'm listening to pandora right now. You ever do that? It's streaming so not good to do at work necessarily but it's pretty cool for home. So - go to the site - make your own radio based on an artist that you like. I typed in "Moby" - now I'm listening to "Moby radio". Basically you get to hear a lot of different music in the same genre.

Last night Mike and I went to Santangelo's on Old Liverpool road. I was so full afterwards. Good Italian food.

Oh - and thank goodness the holidays are almost over.. there is always a couple of weeks before Christmas where I am always thinking about the proper thing to do in regards to gifts. I want to make sure that everyone is happy but then eventually I realize that the whole worry process is silly because most of my family would be happy no matter what I get them. I give that advice to other people. My brother called me at work on Christmas Eve - "What would mom like better - silver or gold jewelry?" - I told him either way would probably be fine but that I know she wears a gold ring but I had gotten her a silver necklace. He ended up getting her a watch that had both gold and silver on it. That works.

Brrrr - it's freezing in here. I bet it's 70 according to the thermostat though. It seems like this house is just cold sometimes.

Anyway - I hope that everyone had a really good holiday. I'm looking forward to New Years.

Thank you to the Anonymous Snowboarder for blogging inspiration - however, who are you?

Wondering

2008-12-02T19:33:00.002-05:00

So, it's that time of year again when things get really stressful for most everyone I think. And, it's not just the Christmas holiday that is the problem. It's like everything must be done by the end of December. Well, OK, so we'll have to really celebrate New Years this year.
Hope everyone's holidays are good.

Jingle Bell Run

2007-11-12T23:25:00.001-05:00

Next weekend I am going to run the race for Arthritis - the Jingle Bell Run!
http://jinglebellrunsyracuse2007.kintera.org/mgbleser
I can't wait. I guess it's really fun and some people that I work with are going so I am really looking forward to running.

Anyone else running?

Looking to winter for activity

2007-11-11T13:52:00.001-05:00

So, it's November. Winter is definetely on it's way and last week we had our first snowfall. Nevermind that the week before it was comfortable to be outside in shorts.
Mike and I just finished raking and blowing leaves out to the road for pickup. I think we have the most leaves on our block. We have several trees and basically the whole front of our yard is covered with piles of leaves to be picked up. I love fall.
Earlier in the season Mike and I went apple picking at Beak and Skiff and pumpkin picking just down the road from there. I forget the name of the place that we get pumpkins from but basically you go out in the field and pick any pumpkin - no matter the size - for 2 dollars. It's a lot of fun and I enjoy going every year if we can.
Another couple that we are friends with came over after we went apple picking with apples they had picked and I showed my friend how to make apple pie. We ate apple pie and ice cream and played Rumikub.

In a couple weeks it will be Thanksgiving.

Well, I finished my java class and now I'm looking at perhaps getting certified in Linux but I am not sure which certification would be most beneficial. I am not in a hurry but I think maybe this January or February I will be studying again. How fun, right?

So, last week Mike got into a car accident and everyone was fine but Mike's car is damaged in a way where it is probably more cost efficient to buy a new one than to fix the old one given the amount of damage and the age of the car. We looked yesterday all afternoon at different types of cars and will probably go out again tomorrow night.
Who knew this would happen but, I am actually thinking of changing my car again too just because the one that I have is not gas efficient at all and I have not used the space in it like I thought I might. We used it once to bring back a patio furniture set from Home Depot but other than that it pretty much sits empty. It would be cost efficient for me to do a trade in now because the trade in value is not much less than I actually paid for the car. So, I would get a car with a new warranty and not really lose anything... I think my warranty is over soon. I just have to make sure that a smaller car will have all of the features that I want for carrying gear and that kind of stuff. The car I'm looking at is the Suzuki SX4 - and I might get manual shift.

Ugh. Well, here's to life... I'm thinking about making pumpkin pie and looking forward to x-country season. Anyone doing the jingle bell run?

Just real quick

2007-08-14T22:56:00.000-04:00

Update, huh? Ok - well, Jamaica was amazing. Just think about a group of 12 friends all going to the same place on vacation. We had an amazing time just relaxing, being crazy, being adventurous and exploring Jamaica and learning more about it's people.

We did so many things while we were there - it was action packed!
Big Events:
Bicycle down blue mountain - learning about how coffee beans are harvested and roasted and drinking blue mountain coffee. Breakfast and lunch viewing the mountain - (lunch of veggie bites) and bicycling down part way in a mountain thunderstorm - it was AMAZING.

Dolphin Cove - saw, touched and kissed a real dolphin - which I thought was not as pleasant as it was made out to be. If I had a choice to kiss a dolphin or not in the future I'd probably not do it - it was an interesting experience to say the least... held parrots and a huge iguana (awesome) - swam and held stingrays. Saw some sharks - not the kind you'd imagine - they were less fierce but I can't recall what type they were. The Dolphin Cove employees were showing off the sharks and some people swam with them. I'll post pictures - probably to MySpace at some point...

The wedding was just as I never imagined it to be. It was actually quite calm and pleasant - I will elaborate more on this later because I know that my family is waiting to hear all about it at our party this weekend and I do not want to spoil the surprise!

Right now we are just getting ready for the party next weekend and keeping busy like always. I just started a new java course and Mike has been working on editing a lot of the photos from Jamaica. And of course, work always takes a bit of time...

2007-07-10T21:39:00.001-04:00

Wow, so I wonder if anyone still reads this blog or not - probably not since I have not posted in ages!

While passing by the other screen I skimmed a little of what I wrote before and I am happy to tell you that the painting is complete! Mike and I could not be happier about that. It did take a while - but in the end the house ended up looking really nice. Now we just have to clean throughout the next month in preparation for our family wedding party in August.

Other thoughts on my mind right now:
Leaving for Jamaica soon
Getting married next week on Thursday
Preparing for getting married next week on Thursday
Finishing work projects before leaving work this Thursday
What will I wear for the corporate party on Saturday night?

So, this is the plan - I leave work on Thursday. I may go shopping with the girls at the Waterloo outlets on Friday during the day but I am not sure - when we go it ends up being an all day event! Thursday night is part one of my Corporate Event. Saturday AM - sleep in hopefully - finish packing. Go to picnic, bring some kind of dessert - this time it may be store bought - I don't think I can make something homemade this week, even though I would typically want to!
We go to the hotel - drop our stuff and attend Corporate Event part two - crash at hotel - drive home in AM?? My dad will pick us up or we will drive to his house Sunday AM.

Arrive at Airport - leave early AM Sunday.

Arrive Jamaica Sunday --- and now this is how I would like to play out the trip but who knows -
Check out resort and have fun Sunday night.
Monday - Play games, kayak, explore the resort some more and eat some really good food - make reservations at Japanese Restaurant for as many times as possible during the week
Tuesday - Hike Blue Mountain and see Cuba from the summit - view Rainforest creatures
Wednesday - Recover from previous day - eat food
Thursday - Salon in AM, Married in Afternoon, Dinner and Dancing at night

The rest of the week does not really matter to me - dancing and drinking would be good. :)

I can't wait to go, but at the same time feel I will never be ready!

A lot to ponder

2007-05-20T23:04:00.001-04:00

Agenda: Paint House, print wedding party invitations, plan for travel and attending our friend's wedding

So, this weekend we really got started on painting our house. It was a tan color before we started and I guess the people who lived here before painted the house like 4 years ago and with cedar shakes you have to plan to paint about every 4 years. With painting we've found that the house has been several colors - including blue and a light maroon.
I was kind of excited about painting the house in the beginning. I have to admit though that after a couple of set backs I was getting a little frustrated.
We actually picked up the paint last weekend and Mike powerwashed the back of the house so we could get started during the week. Everything was fine until I started painting the house and it ended up being an almost pink color... You know the kind of color that you would see a lot of houses painted in the warmer states - like California and Arizona. It was like a peachy tan and Mike was really not happy with it at all - at that point I really wanted to keep painting so we could get it done, but deep down I think that I was agreeing with him because the color was a bit much and I think that our friends may have been impressed when they came to visit :)

So, back to Home Depot last week and we had them remix the paint - the paint is very expensive because it is the exterior paint that already has the primer mixed in. The idea is that we will only have to paint the house with one coat, rather than using a primer and then a color afterwards.

We're now painting the house kind of a mocha color.

So after remixing the paint, we started painting again and it just seemed like it took forever to really cover up the pink color and get the paint in all of the cedar shake grooves. Oh well. Once we got past that part it seemed to go faster. It will be done, eventually, just have to keep at it and keep the painting house spirit up with our custom house color ways!

Right now we have the entire back lower half complete - I'd say we're about about 1/5 of the way done.

And of course, lately I've been thinking more and more about our trip to Jamaica and getting married. It's on my mind quite a bit because I know that even though it doesn't seem like much will change - I know it will some... For instance, tonight I was writing out my bills and I wrote my name out as the return sender on an envelope - it is going to be so different signing a different name. I don't think I ever imagined that I'd really change my name, or even thought of it... Really, can you imagine? The only name you've ever written and then it changes. I'll get used to it and have no problem - it's just interesting!
I've still been doing a lot of wedding preparation too - whenever I get thinking about it. I still have to order some supplies for the wedding party when we get back like favors and supplies for the centerpieces. And this week I plan on printing out the invitations and sending them out, so when that's done everything else that happens doesn't really matter all that much - as long as people come that means it's a party of sorts, right?

The first couple weeks of June are going to be crazy for me - we are going out of town for Mike's friend Stumpy's wedding the first weekend - 1st, 2nd - on the 3rd I leave for 4 day work travel returning on Thursday night - Friday I go to work and then run the Corporate Challenge after which should be fun. I should do okay running too - I've been practicing running at least 2 times a week - 3 if I'm doing good and I'm still going to Bridal Boot Camp on Thursdays. My goal with that is to run the whole 5k without stopping. I've run 4 miles 2x in the past month - something I haven't been able to do since High School. I was pretty proud and kind of feeling like death after the 4 mile run last week. It wasn't as bad as the one time I felt like I might puke though! Sounds like fun to all of you who wouldn't dream of running. Yea, in a way I don't blame you. So after the race - we'll be off again to Mike's parents. So I pretty much will be away and busy for the first couple weeks of June. And you know - this whole summer will probably be busy and fly by. I would have it no other way.

Anyone know where I can buy some affordable reliable disposable cameras?

Cheers!

Columbia College Graduation

2007-04-29T22:07:00.001-04:00

Today I attended my college graduation and received my Bachelors in Computer Information Science. Yay! I'm finished!! (for now anyway)
My Grandpa and Grandma, Michael, and Mike all attended the graduation. I was amazed at how many people graduated in my class.
It was very exciting walking across the stage. I didn't realize how good it would feel to go to the graduation and accept the honor of receiving the degree and shake the hands of the college faculty.
Thank you to those who supported me in achieving this goal.

Last Paper of Degree and Lentil Bake!

2007-02-25T21:42:00.000-05:00

I just finished my last paper that I will need to complete for my degree! Next week is my last week of this class and I will be finished with school.
*Waves Hands In Air*

Yay!

Now, I'm off to Wegmans to get ingredients for a Lentil Bake that my friend and I are going to try out of the Vegetarian cookbook that my dad got me for my birthday.

Can't wait for sleep tonight though, I have to say - it's been a long weekend because I had to go into work today and yesterday.

Cheerio.

Didn't want to go out - good thing for SUVs

2007-02-16T22:10:00.000-05:00

So, I kind of got stuck in my driveway today. I woke up and went straight outside to shovel to make sure we could get out this morning. I did a good enough job and went back inside to take a shower and make an english muffin and head out to work. It snowed again last night - right now our banks are almost as tall as we are! Valentines day was the worst day for snow. Mike stayed home and worked from here (with the flaky wireless) while I went into work because I had a doctor's appointment anyway and there is no work from home where I work.
Days like Wednesday make me wish I could work from home like I used to be able to! Oh well.
So, after I get all showered and have my english muffin in hand - Mike is shoveling the driveway again. I didn't realize that in the time that I had been in the house the plow had gone by and filled up the end of the driveway again and I got stuck in the bank on the side trying to miss his car on the way out.
It was really no big deal - 4 wheel drive is a wonderful thing and thank goodness because I would not have wanted to drive most of this week with the Cougar.

Mike gave me a CD for Valentines day called Hello Goodbye - it has some pretty cool songs on it including one that I was singing all day when we were skiing last weekend - sneaky sneaky! "I like where you are... here". It's kind of like a techno / pop / grungy... uhhh, who knows. Fun song though and awfully addictive.

Hmmm, tomorrow we are going to Winterfest to celebrate all of the snow that we've been getting lately. I think they have some kind of ticket where you can go to different pubs in Armory to taste food and drinks. I like the idea, but I'm probably going to wear a wool sweater. Hehe - we are going to celebrate.

Did I mention that Mike is almost as crazy as I am and I like him for that... he likes to go out and do fun things like go for a walk on the balmy night we had last night. By the time we walked two blocks the front of my legs were almost completely frozen, but the rest of me was warm. Thank goodness for wool sweaters.

I hope to go skiing on Sunday again - and now we have lots of snow to break our fall. It's not often that people appreciate winter and I like to do that often, even though I get frustrated when I shovel the snow and have to drive carefully. The snow banks are big enough now though that it's less dangerous (I guess - as long as there are no other cars in the way) - atleast you'll run into a bank before going into a ditch.

Now is the time of huge icicles and a ton of snow falling off of your roof. I wish it was Christmas time (without the stress of buying presents).
Maybe we should have a snow party.

Bye!

New Version of Blogger and hopefully other randomness

2007-02-11T21:39:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I think you guys probably want a useful post and not the nonsense that I posted yesterday!
Well, what happened is - there is a new version of blogger, hooked in with my google account. Fine and dandy, right? Ok, one userid - I can handle this. Well, the blog post that I am typing right now is in this little editor in the browser which does not support a simple ctrl-c - which I use in every other application to copy... no can do with this. So, that's why you did not get an incredibly long blog post last night - sorry about that, you'll have to read this one instead :)

Ok, so I just finished my class work for week 5 of my final class. Pretty excited about that - but not so sure about it at the same time. I'm already thinking of what other activities I will be doing after I don't have to do coursework at least one week night and part of the day on one of the weekend days. To tell you the truth - it really hasn't been that awful, considering. I mean, the reason that you take classes at an adult education college is because you do work a full time job and they realize you have other obligations. Who knows, maybe I'll go for my masters degree next.

Insert thoughts from yesterday here which have been removed - exact "on a roll moment" cannot be recreated.

Sigh - well, it's almost time to watch Lost - Mike is playing Zelda on the Wii. I'm still thinking about reception site possibilities, which I've found are nearly impossible to investigate on the weekend, because every place I've called - the person who normally books the banquets is enjoying the weekend at the same time that I am.
It's been interesting trying to find a place to book the event because it is so different than the average wedding reception. Mike and I chose to have a very small party with just our immediate family because many of our friends are going with us to Jamaica and we will be having the party a month after the actual wedding.

Anyway... finally got to go xcountry skiing at Highland Forest this weekend! It was beautiful out.
No Hockey Game in Oswego for us yesterday though. It's been very snowy up there lately and they've been in a state of emergency much throughout last week. When Mike checked it out yeterday they said that there the roads were very difficult to travel, if not impossible. It was kind of disappointing because Mike was really looking forward to seeing the new rink that they have up there and we always have a good time when we go up. Oh well, there's always next time.

I'm still bummed about losing my blog from yesterday, because the presentation of my stories yesterday was so much cooler! I'll blog again soon.

Cheers.

Random Thoughts

2007-02-10T22:27:00.000-05:00

WELL, I did type something here - a long message about my thoughts today, but Ctrl-C to save just incase my internet connection was not strong enough to post this message just typed a C.
Wonderful - I'm not typing it again because the moment is gone.
Have a nice night.

Last Class, Dog & Fun.

2007-01-30T22:34:00.000-05:00

So, I'm taking the last class to complete my degree! How exciting, right? It's Decision Management - something I admit that I should be studying sometimes! It takes me a long time to make important decisions.
Well, I talked to Mike and we've been talking about getting a dog after I get out of school, though I'm not sure if we are going to do it until we get back from Jamaica, just because it might be tough to find a sitter. I'm kind of excited about looking for a dog so I can have someone (besides Mike of course) who will always want to go tromping around with me!
At the same time I am also concerned about getting a dog because I don't know how CooCoo is going to react - well, I kind of do know how she is going to react, but it won't be much different than she acts now. I would hope that she and a new dog would get along!
This weekend I took her to Pierre's House of Grooming again to get her hair trimmed because when we went on our trip over Christmas I wasn't here to brush her like every other day so she got all matted. She seems much happier now and has been coming out to visit a lot more often. While I was out there I went snowshoeing for the first time this year! Yay!! There is something amazing about going out to snowshoe and ski in the winter time - it feels so good to go outside!!

Ok, so can you believe that a couple weeks ago Mike and I found a place to go snow tubing right in our neighborhood? I got him a snow tube for Christmas. We had so much fun throwing ourselves down hills that night. I ran into a fence one time though and that kind of smarted a bit!!

Ohhhh man. It's been so long since I've blogged that I could probably go on for a while. It's been kind of strange not really having access to a computer this winter just because it is so cold in my office that I do not want to spend an extended period of time in there. I'm actually using Mike's computer right now.

I guess I'll save it for another time - I wonder if anyone really reads my blog anyway - especially since I haven't been posting as often!

Hope you are all having a good winter.

Holidays are over now but the excitement is not...

2007-01-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

So, all of the obligations that I had at the end of December have been met and it was all worth it because now is a time when I can relax a bit.
Christmas was really good - but for us it isn't over yet. This weekend Mike and I will go over to my mom's house to celebrate Christmas with her and my brother. Sometime soon I will go visit my grandparents in Rome as well. It was too crazy to have four Christmas parties before going to Jamaica - I could only fit so much!

We had two parties here at the house - one for my dad and stepmother and siblings and one for Mike's parents and sister. It was great having everyone over for the holidays and it was unique because it was the first Christmas that the dinner was hosted at my house. We opened presents and played games. Visiting with family around the holidays is a lot of fun - but I am sorry that there wasn't any snow even though everyone else was grateful for that. How can we be in the true Christmas spirit without any snow? No skiing opportunities? Oh well. We did take Mike's family to Lights on the Lake which made for a nice Christmas experience. I enjoyed having the time to spend with our families.

Right after our guests went home we finished packing for Jamaica and went on our way. It was truly an awesome country. The culture is very different from ours. I was expecting some of the behavior, but some of it I was not! I accomplished my goal of going off the resort. Michelle, Mike and I went on a shopping trip in Montego Bay where we were able to interact with the locals in their setting. They are very dependent on tourists there and the locals think that every American is very rich. In a sense, we are rich in their country. It seems like you can get more for less money there. When we were there the conversion rate was 66 Jamaican dollars per 1 American dollar. I converted a dollar just so I have a 50 dollar bill from Jamaica. You wouldn't believe the weather there too - it was amazing. I wore a swimsuit everyday and did not even need to wear a fleece to cover up.
In Jamaica we went snorkeling, went sea kayaking, swam in the sea, went on water slides, played volleyball everyday, had quite a few tropical drinks, ate expensive dinners and as much dessert and breakfast as we wanted to. It was the longest vacation I've ever been on in my adult life and it was truly fabulous.
And... if visiting paradise wasn't enough... I didn't know this ahead of time but Mike intended to propose to me while we were in Jamaica. On New Years Eve morning he and I got up early enough to watch the sunrise. It was my goal to see the sunrise at least one day while we were there. We walked to a remote gazebo that we found two days earlier while exploring. Just as the sun came up Mike asked me to be his wife.

I have a fiance!

Hope all is well with all of you. Things are great here.

Christmas makes normal people crazy - or is it Walmart?

2006-12-09T19:34:00.000-05:00

So, today my main goal is to make significant progress on these article reviews that I have to do for school. I went to the library to get away from home where all of my stuff is because I get very distracted while I am there. When the library closed I decided to return this pair of pants that I purchased on Thanksgiving night at Walmart and then head over to Panera Bread (where I am now).
First, I'm parking my car in the parking lot - avoiding all of the crazy pedestrians crossing from the store to the parking lot. Now this is the store in Cicero - did you ever realize that there were quite so many people in Cicero? Walmart is like the gathering place I think. I didn't know about this, but I don't think I want to go back there for a very long time - at least until after the holiday. Anyway, so I park my car, I drop my keys when I get out onto the pavement. They are covered in MUSTARD of all things. Totally disgusting. Who dropped mustard?
So, then I grab my things from my car and I am about to walk into the store when this excited woman in a minivan speeds into the parking spot next to mine. She went into the spot so quickly that she didn't get it right, but that didn't stop her from just as quickly readjusting her car and nearly hitting mine! I couldn't help but look at her in amazement. She proceeded to run into the store. Imagine - she was wearing a pooh bear sweatshirt.
Anyway, so avoiding getting hit by cars, I double check to make sure my car is locked. There are people running every which way.
I go into Walmart with my return to the Customer Service location. I cannot imagine what this will be like after Christmas because right now the line is outside of the designated waiting area. There is a man apologizing again and again about his complaining while he continues to complain about his newly purchased billboard set. "There are scratches on it obviously", he states. "I'm sorry, but it is my first pool table. I simply cannot have scratches on it. Sorry, but I cannot have scratches on it. If this one is like that, they all must be." An associate walks by me apologizing to me for the wait. I am not angry, so I tell her the wait is fine.

Christmas makes people crazy - I don't wish to join the madness so I'm going to Jamaica! :)

It was the busiest of times, or was that last week?

2006-11-07T22:39:00.000-05:00

Just got home from class a little while ago - learning about bonds and preferred stock. No more than a bit of knowledge and luck.
The other class I found out that I have to do a lot of work for but there is no direction as of yet. Need to make some decisions about that one (whether to wing it, or spend a ton of time figuring out what the teacher means by researching psychology first). What company should I write a 20 page paper about? Ideas please!

Oh my gosh - I'm ready for bed - I'm exhausted!

Things that happened today:
Watch out squirrel.. you are going to... umm ... phew thank goodness you got away!
Candy corn, not very good, yet, wonderfully addictive.
I won SSO tickets for this Saturday - that rules!
Brrrrrrrr, this office is freezing.

Todaloo!

Thanks for the kick Beezle :)

2006-11-03T18:32:00.000-05:00

Hi, I'm here, really I am!
Been really busy lately - I have to tell you that the amount of hobbies that I have lately has gone past the normal level. This means that I have to maybe put some hobbies on hold while I work on getting tired of other ones... or something like that.
Yes! I've still been scrapbooking, fun stuff - should really upload some new album pages so there is a digital version.
Been working on the house still improving it by painting and we had some water in the basement which was not a happy time. This weekend we turn off the outside water and do any extra insulating - like putting some plastic on the windows where it seems like it would be a good idea.
The new job has been very time consuming. I've been working out at the gym and anywhere else I can whenever I have time. It's really awesome because a lot of people run at lunchtime where I work so it gets me motivated to do the same! Yesterday I ran two miles on my lunch break and did yoga after work. What a great time. I love these challenges!

Besides that I am taking two classes right now - one is Business Finance which is turning out to be really cool. We are learning about stocks, bonds, loans, cds - how not to get ripped off... ummm, things like that.. and financial statement stuff, like assets and depreciation. I find it interesting. Can't know too much about it - it always makes me think that I really should be investing my money in stocks or something but it is the risk that scares me.

AND, so the other class is my final CISS class which I am not really sure about yet because I actually haven't gone to class lately. The instructor changed the class night because it was inconvienient for someone else in the class. Unfortunately, he changed it to the night that I already had a class scheduled! Unlucky me, I have to do the work all by myself at home *smile* oh what a shame.
Hopefully my grade doesn't suffer as a result.

Oh, and I'm taking a cake decorating class with my mother. Couldn't resist after Pepino's wife made so many cool cakes for us to eat!

Ok, time to go. I'm going to go eat some peanuts.
I can't wait till the big VACATION! Cheerio.

Rusted Root / Darien Lake

2006-09-09T15:34:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we went to a Rusted Root concert and Darien Lake in Buffalo despite the nonstop rain forecast. It ended up being a really great time! The concert got moved inside a nice theater that reminded me of the Landmark (news to us thanks to Radio station 103.3) and we ended up seeing a bonus band called Vox. They really had some personality on stage!
Rusted Root called in a good crowd and played a lot of different instruments. I had no idea there were two women in the band :)
We stayed in a cabin that night rather than a tent - for only 11 dollars difference - *what a deal* (anything to keep from staying in tents in a rain storm) - had an awesome breakfast the next day at a hometown diner and went off to Darien Lake where we rode all of the coasters, got soaked by the rain in our clothes, and then went on the water rides anyway (even though we didn't plan to, but we were wet anyway).

It was a rocking good time - we decided to head home on Sunday evening even though we already had a campsite reserved, kind of water logged.

What a good way to send the summer on it's way.

I'm Learning to Scrapbook

2006-09-09T15:22:00.004-04:00

My newest addiction is scrapbooking. Here are my first two pages, digitalized! NYC in pictures, woo hoo :)

They are in!

2006-08-26T19:36:00.000-04:00

The new owners are moving in! I had to drive by today to see if it was really happening.
It has been so long since I thought the people were buying my house, but it wasn't official.
Now it is!!!

*dancing around office*

Signing Closing Paperwork - Yes, it's scheduled folks!

2006-08-24T15:06:00.000-04:00

"Tomorrow 2pm - fabulous. Good, good, good. Yes, let's sign all of the paperwork."

Sign here, sign here, sign here. You have a smoke detector in the house? "Yes." Sign here. You are done. What is your profession anyway, are you an engineer? "Yes." Ok, goodbye. What specifically? "Computers." Ah, one of those types. Goodbye. Call me on Monday. Goodbye.

Let's Vote

2006-08-22T16:32:00.000-04:00

Who thinks that Mr. + Mrs. Will YouBuyMyHouseAlready will actually close on my house tomorrow?

It's been a very long time. Tomorrow is supposed to be the final and very last day that this could happen.

If it happens, I will clap :)

NYC Trip Report - Ending & Busy News

2006-08-21T09:22:00.000-04:00

So, I guess I never finished my report on NYC - kept meaning to, but there are just so many things going on that I haven't continued...

Real quick - after New Jersey we got on a train to Long Island where we visited my girlfriend's Aunt - had breakfast and went to Jones Beach. I swam in the ocean and was almost taken away by the undertow, but my wounds have healed. We visited her grandparents who were very friendly - we had some fruit salad there. Then, we got back on the plane and came back to Syracuse while watching Bill Cosby on the in-flight TV screen.

Memories... lalalala - still haven't scrapped the trip yet, but will do that soon. Maybe this week.

So, things have been really busy lately, big events being that I found another job and put in my resignation, hopefully closing on my old house this week, and I am working on the new house.

We are going to have a garden next year!

Should be an interesting week - lots of changes. Life is good.

NYC Trip Report - Part 2

2006-08-08T23:37:00.000-04:00

Ok, so continuing on...

--- Ground Zero
They are rebuilding. I stood inside of the new subway station and I have a picture. Very saddening to see parts of what used to be something huge.
I got this postcard with a title that says, "This is 2010". They have plans to make new transportation and Freedom Tower. The buildings compared to the other ones next to it I was told are 1/3 of the size (please correct me if I am wrong). I can't even imagine the destruction that New York City saw on that day.

--- Central Park
Zoos, water, ice cream. Trees. A clock chiming. I guess they have winter carriage rides in the winter. Can you imagine - horses, hot chocolate, snow. Sounds like it would be an amazing time.

--- 5th Ave
Tiffany's, Street Vendors, expensive clothing, LV purses. There was this ring in Tiffany's that I would have to save my entire life to buy. Money, money. Guess the people from Wall Street shop on 5th ave. Noone else would be able to afford it. I guess if you were in a movie...

speaking of which - my girlfriend and I were walking down the street and this little latin man asked us if we wanted to be in a dance movie as extras! How funny is that. He thought that he was in his dance class. :)

--- NJ - the official Campmor store. Yes - the one that I buy all of my cross country ski gear from. It was pretty cool. Can you believe that one minute you are in New York City and the next minute you can be on a train to New Jersey? It's true. People commute every day to New York for work.

BREAK....

To the Dark Side...

2006-08-07T23:55:00.000-04:00

So, I never thought I'd do this, but I actually went to the store tonight with a girlfriend of mine and bought a very good scrapbook. That's right - I've converted to the dark side (non-digital madness).

Now for the reasons - well, with the recent trip to NYC and the new house I realized just how much this might help me to organize my stuff while at the same time help me remember an event. When I went to NYC I brought back a lot of menus and tickets - postcards for the new Ground Zero, that type of thing.

Now, in my filing cabinet that I have in my office, I have a bunch of things in a folder called "Miscellaneous" but it ends up being just a bunch of scraps, kind of like the abundance of school work that I still have to go through someday :)

So, anyway, I bought this scrap book and some really cute stickers (ooo!) - so far I've decided that I'm going to scrap "New House" and "NYC Trip" so it's pretty exciting. I get to organize my scraps.

The trouble ends up being having the time for ANOTHER hobby. I just don't have enough time for everything that I'd like to do.

How long have I been trying to watch that movie now? ;)

Never a dull moment I guess - especially lately, I tell ya.

Anyway, so I know you've been ever so patiently waiting to hear about the NYC trip. My girlfriend and I covered many many city blocks in New York.
It's funny because I'm tempted to do the list again, just too much stuff happened there. Ok, here goes:

--- Airplane - did not get delayed by airplane, did get delayed by my girlfriend talking to the pilot and giving us the opportunity to sit in the pilot seat!

--- Stayed at the New Yorker hotel where the rooms where very nice, the food was excellent (we ate an entire loaf of italian bread and two plates of vodka sauce pasta between the two of us - nono, not over a day - in one sitting)

--- Subway Riding adventures which took us to the Hot Buttered Rum concert (well kind of took us - we ran many city blocks to make the concert on time - not something I'd like to try 2x but interesting nonetheless), Times Square, 5th Avenue, Central Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street (men in suits!) - I don't think I can think of anything else right now... hmm... well...

--- Hot Buttered Rum
Concert - many smelly, sweaty folks on a boat that almost got torn apart by a huge lightning storm - power went out on the boat and we couldn't dock the boat, so the band played without electricity. We almost did not come back from NY!
(Saw Statue of Liberty - AMAZING)

....
Part 2 tomorrow guys - that's not all, still have to tell you about the trip to NJ, it's getting late. Just realized I need to be sleeping.
More soon!!

Mozilla

2006-07-28T09:33:00.000-04:00

Another update for Mozilla Firefox - 1.5.0.5 - go to "Help" and check for your updates. Stop Firefox from being a little piggy. :)

Updates soon - I've yet to tell you about NYC & the official move! (You know the biggest Uhaul there is - I was the truck driver! Don't go around me motorcyclist!)

Class Tonight

2006-07-10T18:13:00.000-04:00

Because we missed class two weeks ago, the instructor is combining the Midterm with the Final!! One less assignment!

Unfortunately, we get the final next week.

Changing my world...

2006-07-10T16:10:00.000-04:00

I am enjoying this change - moving into the new house, getting things organized.
I was so tired last night from doing a lot of work over the weekend.

It's really great feeling that I'm making the new house as nice as I can and having Mike there with me with the same interest in mind.
We moved a lot of stuff in this weekend, did some cleaning, fixing & painting. Doesn't sound like a lot when I talk about it, but it was a lot of moving things around and packing / unpacking.
By the end of a day doing that I get tired out!

I do have to say though, no matter, it is SO GREAT.

Key Events since my last post (list - not necessarily in order):
Garage sale - sold a bunch of stuff
Went to Mike's parents house
Visited Lake George with Mike's family and had an excellent dinner at Simple Simon's. Then, we played minature golf!
4th of July party on the 2nd of July at Mike's grandmother's house - volleyball & swimming - aka a little piece of heaven!
Lake George cliff jumping again with friends (I know that it's crazy and dangerous - shouldn't have done it - chest hurt for 3 days afterwards)
Lake George tubing with friends & my girlfriends UNCLE Tom! So much fun :)
Work, Work.
Bank inspector came to inspect my house - haven't heard from him yet
Took the rest of unwanted stuff to the salvation army
Packing
Took pretty much everything off of the walls at the old house
Closed on the new house!! -- Yes! --
Moved some stuff to the house
Looked around - ooooo ahhhhhh ;)
Mike & I had our first dinner in the house - BBQ & Wine.
Chose paint colors & retrieved paint (discovered Sears Hardware store)
Moved more stuff & showed Dad the house
Painted room upstairs
Mike put together our new and slightly too large Corner Entertainment stand - anyone looking for one? It's real wood!

I'm officially staying at the new house now, still working on things, next weekend we will move all of the big furniture.

So many exciting things going on. Can you believe that I'm going to NYC on Wednesday until Friday???

I can't.

Very busy time, but as they say at McDonald's:
I'm Llllllloving it!

I hear FIREWORKS

2006-06-30T21:56:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July holiday everyone!

I hear fireworks from my neighborhood but cannot see them from my yard.

One thing that I've been thinking about this evening is that you really make your own reality. Your thoughts produce actions which affect other people and things which will ultimately come back and affect you.
If you choose to perceive things in a positive way, things will be positive for you. Same goes for negative thoughts.

You can see the reactions of people to events and the stories they tell - it is definetely their perception that matters...

HELLO - My Name is Miranda Sue

2006-06-27T21:21:00.000-04:00

My friend from high school had a baby yesterday at around 5:30 in the afternoon!!
I went to see the happy family tonight - the baby is so cute!

NYC

2006-06-27T10:51:00.000-04:00

I'm going to NYC in July!!!

July 12 - 14

Plans:
See Hot Buttered Rum boys
See Statue of Liberty
Visit Ground Zero
Jones Beach

This trip is going to be so much fun!

July 2006 - busy busy busy!

School Work

2006-06-23T21:07:00.000-04:00

Ok, now I have a serious question for you - I started going through some of the papers that I've saved from college - you know assignments that I worked on - papers I've written, etc.
I've saved a lot of stuff and some of it, if not all of it, needs to go.

Has anyone saved their schoolwork or has everyone burned theirs? I have stuff from as long ago as 1996 (need just one of those RPG flowcharts!)

Is it worth the time going through this stuff, you think? The only time I go through it is when I am trying to clean my shelf...

Times Change...

2006-06-23T19:50:00.000-04:00

Last night I started going through my stuff to see what there is that I can get rid of - I think I am having a garage sale tomorrow.

First, I started going through my computer stuff - I just don't think I need it all - at the same time I hate to see the stuff go. I like to save stuff - useful stuff, or stuff that could be useful - and I tend to save it even more if it has value - I mean, for example, I had an extra old computer that I put together just incase someone needed one. It wouldn't do much more than let you browse the web, but hey - useful, right?
When I moved here I gave away computers that I was able to put together from old stuff. I have a really old single picture scanner that someone gave me - just some useful and not so useful stuff - the thing is that there is newer stuff that I probably would rather use (faster, etc) and the truth is I probably will never use this stuff again anyway.

So, now it's time to move on to the rest of the house.

I took pictures of everything tonight and it's oddly saddening to me. I'm very excited to move, but I'm going to miss this place for sure. I worked really hard on this house and I am realizing that I made it home over the last couple of years.
Hopefully the pictures will help me remember the wonderful, tough, and some times fun & crazy! times I've had here with friends and family.

I'm going to take a break in a bit...

Ok, you are not allowed to laugh

2006-06-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

This is a modified picture of a rose that I have growing out in my yard. I'll have to post the real pictures up somewhere where you can view them all, but I decided to play a little bit with Photoshop tonight :)

Roses are beautiful!

Good news - Glenn deserves a present

2006-06-21T15:03:00.000-04:00

So, this morning things were still not resolved with the furnace - the furnace man and inspector were still on the outs and were supposed to talk. I received a call from Glenn this morning - he said that sometimes the sensors are inaccurate and he was sticking to his guns. He told me again that it didn't need to be replaced and that it was fine / safe everything. Well, I said, I might still have to replace it. I don't know these guys are saying there is an issue and if it is a health concern it needs to be fixed. I might be calling you back for an estimate.

So, in frustration I went online to verify how accurate these gas testers are - they are very prone to errors, pretty much everything that Glenn had told me just the day before was printed there in black and white.

Thank goodness for blogs - this one guy was saying that he called his gas service company to come look at his furnace and test it. *Ding!* Well, I thought I'd give it a shot - I called up National Grid. Hello, I was wondering if you can test for dangerous gas coming out of the furnace and if there will be a charge. No charge - we'll be there this morning. NYMO tested the furnace - reported no problem and gave me a note.

The people have just ok'd the order today, as is... wonderful!

Just so I feel better though - wouldn't want to harm anyone and even though they tested it 2x - I'm leaving both carbon monoxide detectors and putting new batteries in.

What a relief. Let's finalize this folks!

Update on Furnace

2006-06-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

So, this morning Glenn, my furnace repairman, stops by and I have him take a look at the furnace. He says this kind of stuff happens all of the time and the home inspectors sometimes just guess and the furnace does not really need replacement, but it is the easiest to report.
Anyway, so I asked him for a note to give to my realtor and the inspector, which he graciously gave me - he is really a great guy, doesn't unnecessarily charge me, which some furnace repairmen are famous for...

Unfortuantely I'm still in a limbo state with this issue because the inspector is not backing down (which I don't blame him, btw - if fumes are getting into the house that would be bad - Glenn did say though that if they were it would have been VERY noticeable and I never smelled anything) - anway, so I hope those two talk sometime soon and can have a look at it together.

I just want to know at this point whether it needs to be replaced or not.

On another note - better one actually - my roses are in full bloom, BEAUTIFUL, especially after the rain. You should see them, maybe I'll take some photos - they are truly incredible. They smell nice and it's a wonder how something so beautiful can grow right in my yard.

House Inspection; Evil Furnace and Inspiration

2006-06-19T22:21:00.000-04:00

So, the good news is I have some potential home buyers - we have signed the contract and I was very excited and happy until - the house inspector claims now that I have a cracked heat exchanger which will cause me to have to replace the furnace entirely.

I'm not really worried about this - it's just going to take some time and money to replace it and it may delay things a bit. Things could be worse.

Now that I know we are moving in July I cannot wait - I don't want delays!!

So, I called Glenn, my furnace repairman today and I hope that he calls me back again soon (he called me once, but I was in class just about to do a presentation and could not leave to answer the call). Oh well. He's very good and will let me know if I have to replace the whole furnace. If I do I am going to try to negotiate to get the new buyers to pay for half - what a deal! I mean, really, I thought about replacing the furnace because I knew it was old and they have more efficient models out there, but Glenn reassured me that I shouldn't waste money on it - no need. Guess I'll find out the details soon.

So, in other events - this class is actually pretty interesting - one thing about it though is that I'm forced to do presentations every week, which is typically difficult for me (frozen deer syndrome) - but it's not that bad in this class because I pretty much know everyone from previous classes and have so many other things on my mind right now that presentations are the last thing I'm going to worry my head about.

Funny thing about this class though is that I am taking it with an instructor who used to work with another instructor of mine, Larry Page, at Central Tech. I actually did a presentation for this instructor to his high school students when he was at Central Tech and I worked downtown.
Small world I guess. I would love to be involved when they build out / get the funding for the new Central Technical School downtown. To help benefit the education of the kids that go there... the classes benefit the kids so much. Knowing that there is a possibility that I could eventually make a difference inspires me.

Nice out & OCRRA - incase you are interested ;)

2006-06-14T09:24:00.000-04:00

It is so nice out today! I want to go rollerblading at the parkway.

Oh, and incase you are wondering:
Hazardous Waste Collection (to get rid of paint and stuff) is at the Ley Creek Transfer Station on Saturday, July 15th, 2006 - incase anyone is interested in that. It's only for cans with paint in them though, empty cans you dispose of in the trash.

I bet you were just wondering about that, now, weren't YOU?

Crash

2006-06-13T23:22:00.000-04:00

So, I have some news - it's for certain now...

I broke my cappuccino maker.

It was just the carafe portion, but I am upset because I love that cappuccino maker. It may be my favorite appliance. I watched the glass break all around me. Why did I have to drop that! Oh well, I can still make cappuccino I think, just have to get some other pot for the espresso to go into. Ugh - you win some and you lose some.

Anyway, the reason that I was moving the cappuccino maker around in the first place is because I am reorganizing my stuff to make my house more attractive to possible buyers. Yes, that's right folks, I'm selling my house and moving. My boyfriend and I are moving to the Bayberry Community neighborhood in Liverpool, NY.

I'm very excited!!! So tired right now though, I have just spent all evening cleaning this place up to sell. There is a lockbox on my door now and people will be coming tomorrow to have a look around. Right now there are 6 different realtors that have appointments with their clients to look at my house over the course of this week.

I really cannot wait to move now! It's very exciting I have a downstairs office right off a patio that has a stained glass window in the corner. The kitchen has all brand new cupboards! I have to get used to using an electric stove and oven. We have a back deck where we can have people over for barbeques! I cannot wait for that - it is going to be a lot of fun.

Oh, and the new house is right near my gym - may be a better reason for me to go there more often right ;) - rock on. I also cannot wait to explore the neighborhood over there. It's interesting because all of the streets are named after fruits, trees, and birds!

Anyway, I am definetely ready for bed after painting and cleaning for the majority of the evening. I'll talk to you all soon!

E-mail Use

2006-06-08T11:13:00.000-04:00

It is just amazing to me how many people still do not use e-mail in other fields of work!

666 - Omen Movie opens today

2006-06-06T15:39:00.000-04:00

Who wants to see this movie? I heard that it's supposed to be really scary.

I don't know why I insist on seeing these movies - we watched Silent Hill when it first came out (it's at the Hollywood Theater in Mattydale now, for anyone who wants to see it for a dollar fifty :)). It was pretty scary (definetely some parts of it like the nurses and that guy in the bathroom stall, holy crud!) but it was not a movie that lasts a long time - it lasted a few days with me. The Grudge stuck with me for a while and the Ring too (pictures of a girl). I think it is the things that I would not be able to control that bother me the most.
In each of these movies you have to be proactive in putting yourself in a situation in which you will be affected by the terror - Silent Hill you have to drive there, and well, the Grudge kind of follows you, but you have to have a relationship with the family... hmm, is that right? now that I think about that? anyway, the Ring - you had to watch a movie (remember *7 days*).

Oh well. I guess the main idea is - I'd like to see the Omen, I think it will be a scary one (Damien is born to a woman who has no control over the situation). There are a lot of good movies coming out soon, maybe I'll get to see a couple :)

Cheerio!

I think lately I resemble this bird...

2006-06-04T20:56:00.000-04:00

Interesting

2006-05-31T13:05:00.000-04:00

So, later tonight it is possibly going to hail after being above 85 degrees all day long, isn't that interesting?

On Memorial Day we went to Green Lakes State Park to relax on the beach and ended the day with walking around the lake. There was a greyhound being walked in when we were coming out of the trail and I keep thinking of how precious that dog was. I'd really like to get a dog someday - one that I could take with me walking, even though those beaner dogs are so darn cute, they probably wouldn't make it a block.

It's been a very odd year for bugs. There are a ton of those little catepillars everywhere - at the parkway, near streams, in my grandmother's pool... not sure what is going on with that... OH, and the other day, there was this HUGE ant in my house. I don't think I've ever seen an ant of this size. I was talking with my grandmother about this ant and she mentioned carpenter ants, but I only found one, and he was in the kitchen where it's all tile. Carpenter ants like wood. Guess I'll be on the lookout for sawdust.

Nasty bugs, anyway. You should see the ones that I found near the rose bush... actually, no you shouldn't. Oh, and speaking of that... my grandfather gave me all of his rose bushes this year. So this morning, I'm trying to spray them - he gave me some stuff I'm supposed to put on there so they will not have afids (sp?) - I have no clue. Well, there is this garden sprayer and I can't get the darn thing open to put water in. I tried seriously for a half an hour this morning to break into the container and I realize that it must be childproof, but gosh - I must not be pressing the buttons hard enough and the instructions online do not describe how to open it. If anyone has a clue - it's the flowmaster garden sprayer. I'll mess around more with it - probably tonight. He says that I have to spray them right away otherwise I'll get bugs and rot or something. Oh, my dear delicate flowers :)

Anyway - have to get back to it. Have a good day.

Random

2006-05-31T00:10:00.000-04:00

Well, looking at this page, I just have to say that the Tofu Lasagna was ok. It was actually pretty good, but I have not in the mood for a lot of lasagna leftovers, so I ended up freezing the rest of it. The first piece was really good, just as good as the original - well, almost, needed more mozzarella cheese.

Anyway, so it's very hot in this room and I keep on thinking about that - I can't sleep right now because I have a lot on my mind, it's mostly good stuff though. There has been a lot of fun events lately and there is a lot of summer planning that I'm thinking about. In fact, I just booked a cruise - of sorts, like a 4 hour cruise where a band will be playing in NYC. Very exciting - that's in July. Just got the schedule today for ADK as well, so it's very exciting to see all of these possibilities and know that I've already got all of this stuff planned - like I know I will be out of town the first two weekends of July at least and one weekend in August I will be in the Adirondacks for sure, probably hiking Gothics mountain - adding another of the 46 high peaks to my "done" list. Pretty darn cool.
I do need some new hiking boots though.

Ugh. It is indeed hot and I'm rambling on and my thought process has changed about 5 times since I wrote the last sentance.
If you could take a minute to reflect on past times from a moment in the future, would you?

Taste of Syracuse is this weekend!
OK - Guess I should go get some sleep...

Tofu Spinach Lasagna

2006-05-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

Tofu Spinach Lasagna

1/2 (or less) pkg. lasagna noodles
1 26oz jar garden Spagetti sauce
1/2 package 15oz Extra Firm Tofu, mashed
1 lb. fresh spinach washed and chopped
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
Parmesan / Romano cheese

Cook noodles. Mix all ingredients except sauce, noodles & parmesann.
Layer in a square cake pan - sauce, noodles, tofu mix, sauce - end with noodles then sauce & top with parmesan.

30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I'll tell you how it tastes tomorrow! ;)

Alcohol stoves

2006-05-18T11:31:00.000-04:00

Anyone ever make the alcohol stoves for camping? I hear they are pretty easy to make & efficient to use for boiling water when you packing light.

Preparing for a baby shower & other randomness

2006-04-28T17:05:00.001-04:00

So, last night I went to Walmart to look for a gift for my friend who is having her Baby Shower this Saturday. She had one of those gift registry things at Walmart - which is great btw - it takes the guessing out of what she might need, you just go buy something on the list.
I picked out a really nice gift (won't post what it is here - I don't think she reads my blog, but who knows - isn't everyone on the internet these days?) but it's really nice (I even got it with a nice container, go figure :) - they didn't have any more at one store so I had to go to another Walmart all together. Did I mention that going into Walmart is like entering a shopping center the size of a small world?

I had to go all out of course and buy super cute wrapping paper with little hands on it and a little tag with little feet on it. She's having a baby girl!!! I attached some little crocheted sandals that I made (all of that time learning to sew with grandma did not go to waste) - I can't believe how excited I am for her. This will be the first of my girl friends who I've known, seems like forever, that will be having a child of her own!! I can't even imagine. She's really excited and happy.

The last time I saw her was her wedding day!

I have to go over to my stepmother's house tonight and give her a birthday gift also, and too - it's one of my very good friend's birthday celebrations this weekend, so it should be very full!

Oh, and totally unrelated - I don't know if I wrote it here, but last year by chance I was given the opportunity to "rent" a Jeep Wrangler for a week. It was the most awesome summer car ever and I am considering looking at some prices. Anyone know of a reason that I should not even test drive or take 2 looks at one of these cars? I am also considering some other (perhaps more practical, but does that really matter?) cars like the midsize suv type - but not jeep liberty b/c someone told me that they had really bad luck with repair costs on that. :) oh well, now that I've rambled on...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Preparing for a baby shower & other randomness

2006-04-28T17:05:00.000-04:00

:-/

2006-04-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

Just so you know - Poptarts are a good source of 7 vitamins & minerals!

The supermarket should offer Celestial Seasonings Christmas flavored teas all year long - Candy Apple flavor (Tea for kids *and used to be kids*), Sugar Plum Spice... I'm all out now!

Sample Laundry Detergent

2006-04-19T09:13:00.000-04:00

So, this morning I got up a little early and was doing some laundry. A few weeks ago, I received this laundry detergent sample in the mail - Wisk, I don't know, it's fruity smelling, kind of smells like mangos and peaches.
So, I'm washing my clothes with this sample and my entire house smells like fruit. I think I must have had the some of the same sensations that James had inside of the giant peach the smell was so intense. I'm not sure laundry is supposed to smell so much like a mango - if there were any bees around I know they would have been a bit confused...

If I choose to buy some of this detergent that I will need to stay far away from the Adirondacks in May or I will be attacked by a million little black flies in less than 1 second!

Mozilla vunerabilities - Cert.org

2006-04-18T09:47:00.000-04:00

Upgrade to Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.2, Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5.0.2, or SeaMonkey 1.0.1. According to Mozilla.org, Thunderbird 1.5.0.2 is to be released on April 18, 2006.

Another sunny morning

2006-04-18T09:16:00.000-04:00

Well, it's another sunny morning in Syracuse :) and it's supposed to be 65 today.
**It's in the 80s in Jamaica! **

Went to the gym this morning to work out for the first time in a few days - I actually went yesterday too, but didn't have a lot of time - just went swimming for like 10 minutes and then got out of the pool.
For some reason I was having trouble breathing while doing the crawl, I think I was just not getting my head up out of the water enough - don't know. I'll have to practice that.

I have class tonight and will get the results of my midterm I took last week. It's so tough to take classes when it starts to get warmer out. All I want to do in the summer is get outside! Really what I have to do though is concentrate on the work, get it done and then go out when I don't have to be thinking about it all of the time. Seriously, I only have a few classes left and then I'll be done with this program. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Maybe I'll take some light science course this summer, not the accounting crazyiness of the summer two years ago.

Last night I went over to the rescue mission trailer at Wegmans and dropped off some clothes and bags that I've been meaning to donate. Felt good to actually get that stuff out of my house!!

This weekend I am going rock climbing for the first time ever! I cannot wait! The only thing I am thinking about is that my arms are probably not very strong anymore - I mean, I really haven't been lifting anything too heavy lately. I'll probably be stuck on the wall and not able to move up any higher. - - eh, on second thought... just give me some cappuccino power and I'll be fine. Got some new flavor last night - cinnamon creme something from Price Chopper. I can't wait to try it - it smells divine. It's a lovely car air freshener.

I hope it rains tonight so I don't think about all of the things I could be doing rather than sitting in class!

Hope everyone had a good easter!
Cheerio.

Cappuccino rules

2006-04-13T09:07:00.000-04:00

I just have to say - cappuccino rules!

*from dictionary.com*
In Italian cappuccino went on to develop another sense, “espresso coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream,” so called because the color of the coffee resembled the color of the habit of a Capuchin friar. The first use of cappuccino in English is recorded in 1948.

My drink looks like a Capuchin friar outfit.

Outside

2006-04-11T09:07:00.000-04:00

Look how beautiful it is outside! I want to go to the parkway!

Airport Trip

2006-04-10T21:59:00.000-04:00

Today I was taking Mr. Furious to the airport to pick up his rental car when we stopped at a light behind this pickup truck with no tailgate on it. The license plate on this truck said "Hog Luvr" - I couldn't stop myself from laughing, there is no way I would have that on my license plate!
There are so many possibilities of what that *could* mean.
I didn't actually consider what it PROBABLY meant until Mr. Furious mentioned it :) hahaha

Disgusting!

2006-04-06T16:15:00.000-04:00

mas que mau gosto!

Internet Jokes

2006-04-05T16:47:00.000-04:00

This joke is crazy:
Lasik Surgery At Home

There is no recovery / safety steps!!! What is wrong with this picture? It's got to be an April Fools joke!

How disturbing. The guy is closing the door so he is not disturbed by the dog. Not as bad as the Klaus video though... Anyway, Oww!

Class

2006-04-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

So, I was late to class again and had to park in the lot that is really far away. I'm so jealous that everyone who gets there on time gets to park in the closer lot which is a lot warmer to walk to on nights like this! My fingers are still thawing out, literally. I always end up staying late at work on Tuesdays!

In class tonight, I worked for like 3 hours in class on a project and then when doing a final save, lost like half of it! The program was haunting me after the crash - "recover from last autosave?" - Yes, yes! of course! but no, the last autosave was not auto, it was the last manual save by me of course. Oh well. I'll have another opportunity to work on it this week I'm sure. Darn lack of virtual memory.
Drawing UML diagrams is not so bad, depending on the day!

I should be just thankful that the pager did not go off during class today.

I've been going to the gym every morning on weekdays (only skipped last Friday) but I don't think I'm going tomorrow. I'll go on Thursday!

PS, on a semi-related note - learned to bake single serve microwave brownie - good & bad at the same time.

Cappuccino

2006-04-03T18:33:00.000-04:00

Peaches: 0
Spoiled Milk: 1

80s day postponed & visions of cappuccino

2006-04-03T17:04:00.000-04:00

So, I guess 80s day is postponed (because I took a very lovely, beautiful, couldn't have asked for better Friday off last week and they pushed it to another day *sorry*) - then, we were going to do it on good Friday, but Pepino is going to take that day off so we are doing it the Thursday prior (13th). I guess some people get that day off by default, not us this year, but I think we can take it as a floater or something - ANYWAY - I'm not planning on it. I do plan to participate in the 80s day though, just have to figure out what I want to do for that.

It was SO nice this weekend. Couldn't have asked for better weather nor a more wonderful time. This weekend was great - I actually unplugged over the weekend. No e-mail, no IM. It felt very good to do that. I can't wait to do that some more when I take some trips up to the Adirondack region this year. It's going to be such a good summer. I just have to plan to stay on the mountain (meaning not falling off it and getting hurt in some way) - this may mean that I will not cliff jump this year, even though I did it last year. It's crazy but it seems like I realize now what I did last summer and what a huge risk that was - jumping 50 feet from a cliff. I really want to go on vacation after this Christmas with everyone and I can't let getting hurt get in the way of my goal.

Oh my, not typical of me, right?

Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to going home and having a cappuccino! Ahhh, this is the life - keep with it and handle what comes your way (including the abundance of homework that I also have to tackle tonight!)

Nuts about being Healthy and 80s flashback

2006-03-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

This morning, and two other times this month, I was able to get up early and go to the gym. It's such a good feeling to get a good healthy start to the day.

Working out in the morning gives me a good outlook and some added energy. It seems like I get into a routine (work, home, work, work, home, sleep) - especially in the winter. It is good to break that routine.

I am really looking forward to getting outdoors this summer! Yesterday was the first day that it was warm enough to rollerblade - 1st rollerblade of 2006!! Woohoo.

Also on the front - 80s day at work. On the 31st of this month we are supposed to dress up like people did in the 80s and bring a dish to pass that typical of the type of food that was very popular in the decade. I can't even think of what I ate in the 80s. I know I had some tunafish sandwiches, mac & cheese and jello. :) Not sure what else.
Here is a link to popular food of the 80s:
80s Food
Amazing what you can find on the internet. I don't know what I am going to make yet - I do think I want to make actual food instead of a dessert this time.

This is what the "advertised plan" is - even though I didn't think the 80s were "cool" persay, but I like it when we do fun things at work so I'll play along a bit:

"Ok, folks, start looking for those Hammer pants and the legwarmers, we are going to schedule an 80’s day! I’m thinking tentatively 3/31 – Are there any customers we might scare due that day?!

80’s clothes are appropriate attire:
Links

Figure out your gig, and start looking for some food that typifies the 80s that you can bring. 80s CDs welcome, we can play them over the loudspeakers – awesome!!"

I have no clue on what I will wear for this! Ugh, I can't think of 80s clothes I'd like to wear! I never did follow the "fads" in the 80s - thank goodness.

Maybe next we'll do a 70s day, which I really could dress up for! I'd really get into wearing the flared out pants and vintage tee - Yea MAN.

2006 Race for the Cure - Syracuse Fairgrounds

2006-03-17T11:31:00.000-05:00

Every year I try to participate in the Race for the Cure. My company has a tradition of organizing a team of people - I originally got involved in organizing the team because there was one year that there was not going to be a company team and I didn't want to let that happen. Ever since, even though I am not the main person organizing the event, I've tried to get people involved every year and I am helping out with organizing this year.
It's a great event, and if you've ever attended you'll know how much this walk / run means to people.

The event is May 13th this year. I might not be able to walk the fairgrounds b/c I'll likely be on call that weekend, but I plan to go in the morning to meet everyone. If you are interested in attending with my company team please drop me a message.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 117

2006-03-17T09:01:00.000-05:00

Look for rainbows & watch out for those mischievous elves - leprechans.

Beware Leprechans: small men with magical powers, often dressed in green, who work as shoemakers and believe to know where treasure is hidden

Pi day

2006-03-14T09:23:00.000-05:00

Pepino has declared today is Pi day (3.14) and he gave us all JJ's single serve pies - mine is Berry!

Thanks Pepino!!!

My shirt smells like Maple Syrup!

2006-03-10T14:35:00.000-05:00

Don't know why that is, but hey, if anyone hears of maple syrup demos please let me know.

I'm getting excited about hiking because I just renewed my ADK membership! (and AAA; thank goodness for them)

Who's ready for some summer fun!

Sleep and BSO

2006-03-08T23:51:00.000-05:00

After pulling an all nighter, I slept till almost 7pm today! I can't remember the last time that I slept through an entire afternoon like that.
When I woke up it was like "Whoah - it's dark out already!"

So, last night I went to see the BSO show - it was at this cool portrait studio and I do have to say that their performance was stellar.
I hope to hear the infamous Colonel Klink song at the next show! I arrived a few minutes late and when they were asking for recommendations, I would have asked for this song; I don't know if I would have gotten the name right since I couldn't remember what it was.
Does anyone know if they still perform: "Glad I'm not an otter"?
I did get to hear the song which lyrics include "Bye Bye - Whatcha doin, Bye Bye". That song has been running through my mind today so much - I wish I knew the rest of the lyrics.

Missed a call on my work cell phone & received this message

2006-03-07T16:29:00.000-05:00

"Hey Dave, it's Will. Give me a call back. I wanted to talk more about that Chevy TrailBlazer we've been talking about."

Beauty Scene Outlaws Show Tonight!

2006-03-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

The Beauty Scene Outlaws will be playing in N. Syracuse tonight at approx 9pm - check their website for details!

Beauty Scene Outlaws

Encouragement - Paaahhhleeezzz.

2006-02-23T08:54:00.000-05:00

If someone is being faux, PLEASE don't encourage them! No sweeping of the details - for you!

Things I've been thinking of this week:

Everything is a matter of perception... if something is a fact or an ultimate truth, it can be perceived as a lie (fib) or exggeration and if something is not a fact, it could be perceived as such. It's all presentation and perception.
Unfortunately, perception varies by person and by time of day!

Presentation with confidence is more convincing.

It's better to drive in early morning or late night to avoid traffic.

I Love Clarity

2006-02-15T15:56:00.000-05:00

*** IMPORTANT NOTICE ***
This machine must now be rebooted in order to ensure sane operation.

Look at it snow again!

2006-02-13T09:59:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was excellent for skiing and snowshoeing and we took advantage of it!
Just a little more snow please!

Snow Snow Snow!

2006-02-07T09:09:00.000-05:00

Please comment if you've ever been to Tug Hill - from what I understand it is not far North / East of Redfield? The ski / snowshoe conditions will be much better up there than down here most times only because it's more North (I know because I used to live up there in the snow belt!)

It would be cool to go up there on a weekday when there will be less typical weekend traffic.
I found this place that rents cross country skis and has a link to Tug Hill weather / ski conditions: Osceola Tug Hill Cross Country Ski Center

Anyway - if ANYONE knows something more about places to x-country ski or snowshoe, please let me know! You'd hope one could go closer to around here, but it keeps melting away, right?

Play at Syracuse Stage

2006-02-02T15:38:00.000-05:00

Just got an e-mail about a play at Syracuse Stage - there is a new play that sounds "daring" showing now!!

Kama Sutra - not a good thing

2006-02-01T16:50:00.000-05:00

Just a friendly reminder to update your virus signatures.
There is a new worm that is scheduled to come out on Friday called the
Kama Sutra/Blackworm/MyWife. I wish I was joking - I know it sounds like whoever developed this worm is having a problem, yea?
It's ironic, but Microsoft is not going to release a cleaner for this worm until the regularly scheduled time - February 14th.
From Microsoft:
"Customers who are using the most recent and updated antivirus
software could be at a reduced risk of infection from the
Win32/Mywife.E@mm malware."

Microsoft's Advisory

Information Week

American Idol and Bread Making ways

2006-01-31T22:50:00.000-05:00

So, tonight I had to go to PetCo - I go there exclusively to buy cat litter these days - they have this great deal where you refill the same container again and again. I think it's great, less plastic to throw away - and it's cheaper!
ANYWAY, so I was out, so I decided to go to my dad's house to drop off his car charger - he let me borrow it when my car was having all this trouble with power before I replaced a bunch of stuff in it and it's kind of better now (ha) ok - well, my dad was watching American Idol. I've never seen this show before! Found out tonight that it's probably been on for 5 years :) From what I saw the show is really funny - it's basically an audition right - for singers (ooooh Kelly Clarkson) - and the judges are staring at the singer in the same room, making them seemingly as uncomfortable as possible. The girl that I saw on there - I felt sooo sorry for her. She was just standing there pouring her heart out into this song - progressively getting worse, let's face it, she was awful, but they had no remorse! They were terrible to her! I guess this is standard behavior though, from what my dad was telling me.

Oh well. :) That's TV! I swear someday I will take a day off of work and watch cable TV and relax (ok, maybe go out for a while too, but that's ok) - now that would be cool.

Tonight I also made some bread which smells really good, but I haven't tried it yet. I was making a salad last night and had bits of brocolli, onion, and tomato left over. So, I cut them all up and put them into a container, thinking that I would put them in this bread today, so I did - who knows - it may be the best bread ever, or the worst bread ever - actually, it could even be up for debate if I weren't the only one eating it! Hey, if there wasn't experimentation, we wouldn't have a lot of the things that we do now!

I'll give an update if it's fantastic.

Who would have thought to mix eggs, sugar and flour with a crushed cocoa bean to make cake? EXACTLY.

Life changes

2006-01-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine that I used to visit constantly when I was in middle school and high school - I haven't seen her in 3 years, when I attended her wedding! She is going to have a baby!

I can't believe how much things change (and how quickly they seem to). This is very exiciting!! I'm invited to a baby shower :)

To he who created cappuccino

2006-01-26T12:31:00.000-05:00

I kiss you! :) hahaha - cappuccinos are heavenly - I'm getting very good at making them in my new cappuccino maker!! Better than Dunkin' Donuts - it's true!

Not quite

2006-01-23T23:14:00.000-05:00

I had more, but no. All dreadfully BORING! This may be too, but here it is :)

The short of it is - I'm really looking forward to Wednesday when I get to take CooCoo to see Pierre (a little break from the norm, no?) and to this next weekend when I will not be working and hopefully snowshoeing! I am kind of glad that it is snowing but not at the same time - it's been kind of that in between weather lately. It'll be nice if we actually get enough snow to go out and have some fun with.

Last night I discovered television - the Home and Garden network - haha - that show is great! I feel like a dork saying it, but I just love watching the new appliances that they have and how people fix up their houses. Very cool.

That's all for now - I'm exhausted - I'll write more later!

Subway

2006-01-19T14:06:00.000-05:00

I really like going to Subway - and at work we pretty much go on Thursdays every week, or so... but I think I may have to stop going there if the madness continues...
All of the women behind the counter know me as the "indecisive one" - which I normally am - I mean, they give you so many choices (bread is the easiest, wheat, of course, unless I'm feeling daring - then there is a decision, sub of the day, no (Thursday is BMT), ok, well turkey - no you had that last week, roast beef, no - too fatty, tuna - might has well have that at home another time... veggie patty, ya that's good...) Once I've decided that I certainly have to decide now whether I would like the sandwich toasted and what kind of cheese (cheese is not that bad - everyone knows the mostly good kind is provolone or american, at subway anyway - it's only at the supermarket, this option changes).
The thing is though, I've pretty much got it down at subway now, I know what I want - but they still think that I am the indecisive one - don't get me wrong - they used to give me the standard only 6 olives per sandwich and the dab of lettuce, but now - no, no, no - if I ask for double spinach, that is what I get - hot peppers, "Of course sweetheart!" I get what I ask for now - that's great right?
Eh, I guess it's fun to go there - today of course, a girl behind the counter asks Mr. Furious - "So, have you ever been to Burger King with her?" - I say, "I generally don't go to Burger King - I wouldn't know what to get" and wouldn't you know it - the woman behind me in line says "Watch it - we have choices too you know" and she opens her coat to reveal the Burger King logo - guess I have to go try it out over there sometimes. She did say it was ok for me to go to Subway most of the time though..

Not to ramble on about food again, or anything :)

G-mail Deletes!

2006-01-18T14:58:00.000-05:00

I just found out that Google is launching a change - the Delete button will be right on top of the page when you are viewing your mail, so you can easily delete the messages that you really don't want!
View Info Here

This will be great! I mean I know the whole idea of gmail is that you will not have to delete anything ever, but what if you want to - for clarity's sake? I thought this was a flaw before (nothing was ever really gone, even those spam messages asking me if I want enhancing hormones), glad they are making it easier to delete stuff :) I haven't seen the new button yet, but am waiting with anticipation.

Random thoughts & kitty hairdo

2006-01-18T13:38:00.000-05:00

Chex with cinnamon may be my new oatmeal - I've been eating oatmeal every week day for months now (I've liked it so much recently that I asked for and received oatmeal for Christmas).
Cold coffee in the afternoon is not that bad unless poured after 10am that day (I haven't tried coffee from different days - yet).
Hostess Fruit & Grain Cereal Bars are a little piece of heaven.
Sometimes things just "click".
Still, EVERYTHING that isn't a fact is a matter of perspective. In fact, facts might be as we interpret them too...

On another note:
I made an appt for the most famous Princess CooCoo at Pierres Country House of Grooming (aka Princess Hair Dressing Salon) for next Wednesday. Very exciting.
I am going to bring Pierre the picture that I took the last visit!

Empire Apple

2006-01-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

Just ate an an empire apple - I can tell that they aren't in season because it wasn't as crisp as they had been in the fall. I might be making an apple pie with this season's apples :-p

Bright Sun

2006-01-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

The sun is extra bright today (like summer) - and it is supposed to be over 40 degrees all week! Is it January?

Strange Weather and Birds

2006-01-09T23:15:00.000-05:00

It was over 40 degrees in Syracuse today and there were flocks (literally) of birds outside our office today. They were like a million tiny ornaments covering the lawn - each one searching for and eating worms!
Also, before the day was through the birds decorated my car...

Worms for PS2

2006-01-09T21:18:00.000-05:00

Has anyone ever played this game: "PS2 Worms Forts Under Siege"? Looks interesting!
I love "Worms 3D" - I wonder if this is similar.

After Holiday Notes

2006-01-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

Lets see if I'll actually be able to post this blog entry - I've blogged two other times since my last post and have lost them before I was able to post (first time my computer rebooted randomly, the second time it was due to automatic updates that I setup that will automatically reboot my computer as needed [no picking - eh who cares about data, right?]).

Anyway, I thought since it's been so long since I've blogged and I'm out of school early tonight, have my grandmother's fruit cake in front of me, and a cup of coffee I'd make a list of December - Jan (aka, holidays - 2005) things to remember, recall, some - maybe - I'll want to forget after writing:

Enjoying the first snowfall on a day off
First Beaver Lake walk of the winter - with no snowshoes (because there was not enough snow) and awesome brownies near a fire while a young woman read a Christmas story to a few small children
Worrying about Christmas presents - what to buy!
Going out to the shops at Waterloo with one of my best friends and spending all day there buying "Christmas Presents"
Buying wine afterwards at Montezuma wintery which too much of would be consumed later in the evening
Falling down my friend's stairs during the Christmas party later that evening :)
Cozily watching Christmas Story for the first time with full attention
Putting up a tree, wrapping Christmas presents, making a cake for Grandpa's birthday (I make a cake for him every year)
Having dinner at Grandma's house & blueberry pie
Guitar Hero
Cappuccinos at home - that's RIGHT!
Dinner at my house - Lasagna - baby sister running laps - living room, dining room, breakfast room, living room, dining room...while my dad, brother, boyfriend and I got dizzy watching
DDR for Christmas!
Tons of Excellent food - I sure do love those Christmas cookies
Swimming at the gym during the day over vacation!
Start of Star Wars Education - only one movie left now (haha all you guys had to wait a long time for it - I get to watch them right one after another)!
After hours at my house - yay :)
Sleeping in
Quilting with Grandma
Damaging my friends scarf and worrying about it for days until I told her about it :(
A New Years Party to die for at the Sheraton on SU hill.

This last year has been excellent. I couldn't ask for better friends and family that make it great. I can only hope that there will be many more events to post about in 2006!

Ch. N. Quotes

2006-01-01T23:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, I've been saying time and again that CN quotes are stupid - that I cannot stand them - in fact refuse to hear them because of their stupidity... Well, I just went to a site with some CN quotes and some of them ARE funny.
*sigh*
Things the internet will do to you..

From an article by Newsweek - Dance!

2005-12-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

"Take up the tango.
Staying active and learning new skills can help prevent dementia. In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that people who ballroom-dance, an activity that provides a lot of intellectual stimulation (keeping in rhythm, memorizing steps, not mashing your partners' toes), have a lower risk of dementia."

View Article here:
New Years Resolutions

Dance Again

2005-12-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

My 8 weeks of crazy class schedule are over! Maybe I'll get to go to dance classes again!
Belly Dancing, Tango - oh, the opportunities :)

Freezing in here!

2005-12-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

This time I am not just cold - I can actually see my breath.

My furnace went out last night and right now the thermostat is reading lower than 40, which is the lowest reading that it will show.

My furnance guy has half of my furnace right now - he said - "Wow, this motor probably hasn't been replaced since this furnance was installed!" I have a very old furnace - it's 25 years old.
There is this fan attached to the motor that is supposed to spin freely and it wasn't spinning at all.

Sometimes house ownership has it's inconveniences and costs!! My theory is - if you have to have the part, they can charge more for it because you HAVE to have it - they know that if I didn't fix the furnance, I'd be camping out elsewhere for the winter!

CooCoo keeping warm:

Update:
Repairman came back - the furnace is now producing heat and it is above 50 degrees in my house!

Mostly Good News

2005-12-13T22:30:00.000-05:00

Good News:
Perfect Score on 2 complicated programs that I submitted last week
Final Day of Semester
Figured out problem with my computer was the power supply (I hope) - looks good so far
Looks like I've got all my data - even though I had to reinstall - thank goodness for the flexibilty of our newer operating systems and my partitioning self - who knew I would actually care (mp3s & my programs folks) - I could go on into a story but maybe you can imagine
Got the movie "Superstar" back from my brother so I can watch it over Christmas break - shhhhhh
Almost have him convinced that I'd really like a wireless router for Christmas :) - (sha right) and I now have some ideas for him
Getting my speakers working after a bit of tweaking
Listening to awesome music that I bought while in Toronto earlier this year
Almost sleep time

Bad news:
Forgetting most of Ch11 including the Huffman tree structure - a 14 point question on the final - grrr who knew - probability is not for me - that's for you!

Oh, my machine isn't rebooting? *smiles*

2 more weeks until Christmas

2005-12-12T10:59:00.000-05:00

Hi Guys,
Can you believe that there are only 2 more work weeks until Christmas?

Including today that is only 10 more days of work until the Christmas weekend. Crazy - seems like we just finished Halloween - time has been going by so fast...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Guys!

2005-12-08T12:27:00.000-05:00

Send me some awesome dip recipes! Please - Christmas oriented might be cool, or something with real chicken in it!
I'll post the dip recipe we use, regardless. It's for a party this Friday.

Now back to madness..thanks :)
Cheerio!

Hard to ignore...

2005-12-07T13:08:00.000-05:00

Saddam's trial is hard to ignore. His face has been on the front page of MSN every day lately.

Yesterday, I took a few minutes to read the news about his trial. One thing stood out to me from what I've read collectively is that Saddam argues continually that he is being judged by American rules. This must be a hard thing for the jury to consider when reviewing the evidence.
In other countries, especially the underdeveloped, they have very different cultures, ideas, rules, and values. Some things that are shocking to us may be part of life in other country.
For this reason I can understand what Saddam must be thinking. He is probably thinking that he did what was required to stay powerful and in control in his country - to ultimately keep his country from falling apart. He put fear into the people, so they would act as he wanted.
Even so, I believe that the horror of some of the acts that Saddam and his followers have committed go beyond culture. The pain that he has caused to the people who he chose to dominate can never be taken back - especially, to the children. Why hurt the helpless?
Now that we have him here, I can't think as to what the next step should be. Guess we'll find out his fate soon enough.

Hot Tea

2005-12-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

It was 66 in class tonight, freezing - I swear I was literally thawing out when I got home. I made some Thai soup & tea though - Yummy.

Wish

2005-12-05T15:37:00.000-05:00

I wish that my cell phone would accept meeting invitations! :)
Now, that, would be cool. Hmmmm, I wonder if a text message sent to my phone can be saved as a reminder.