Mario DS Cover

Someone special is turning seven this week. SEVEN!

Lately his passions have included Mario Brothers and Transformers. I can't crochet a Bumblebee or Megatron, but after perusing Etsy one day I found something that I COULD crochet: a Mario Nintendo DS (like a Game Boy for us olds) cover.

My version isn't as great as the Etsy one, but I was able to use salvaged yarn from Gran. Mine looks wonky because the blue thread is thinner than the red. I'm hoping that his DS fits (otherwise I'll have to try again -- it isn't a project that takes very long to put together). The wonky buttons and velcro look like a crazy aunt made it -- TRUE! There's one pocket in the back for a DS game or two.

I really hope a certain seven year old likes it! AMLBO!!!

 Edit: Update! He likes it! He really likes it!

Blog Improvements

Somehow I stumbled onto Momcomm -- a great blog with tips on improving your blog, including advice on affiliate marketing (i.e. getting paid whenever someone buys a product after clicking a link on your site).

My favorite feature on her site is the weekly Blog Critiques -- there's always a lot to learn by reading her advice to other bloggers. And I've found some interesting new blogs to peruse at the same time. I don't think I've put much, if any, of her advice to work on my blog, mostly due to lack of interest in writing blog posts made me think why bother making the blog better? Content is king!

But one thing I am going to try is affiliate marketing to promote the DIY Blog Critique e-book that Momcomm has produced. I bought the e-book myself and am reading through it, possibly to improve my own blog in some ways. If you're a blogger you might consider purchasing it too. If you do, let me know what you think.

Parking Perilous

The university parking situation is ridiculous in and of itself (too many cars, not enough spots, lax monitoring, etc.). But the parking department has made it worse by not having its act together as this semester starts. We're finishing the first week of classes, our permits from last year have been expired since Aug. 14, and the department has NO NEW permits yet to distribute. I was able to get a temporary pass (because someone in my office is a nervous nelly and didn't want to take the chance at getting a ticket), although the university did send out an email (which I only saw b/c of good old Shawn) about no tickets being issued to legally parked cars in the student lots until after Labor Day. That means presumably they'll get the passes in next week/before the labor day holiday. My temporary pass is good until December, so I can wait until the traffic thins out to get my real pass. The department also tells its callers to "check our website for updates," and their site hasn't been updated in ages. Even if it has, none of the information is about parking permits -- not even the content of the mass email about no tickets until after Labor Day. Seems pretty typical for this ... place.

Most of my coworkers pay $250 per year to have a parking spot closer to our building. I've just been parking in the free student lot that's across the street. Probably a 5 minute walk if I'm doing it leisurely. I was joking with one of my coworkers that Shawn didn't want me to get the closer-in pass because I need the exercise. The coworker was appalled, even though I was laughing. It's true I need the exercise (and a lot more than that), but that's not the real reason I don't spring for the pass. It's really me being cheap -- why pay for something that I can have for free? It is a little more frustrating to find a spot during really busy times (say if you need to leave for lunch and come back after). But it is what it is. I wish my employer just paid for it (especially because our rent in this building is so low), but they do not.

One thing that could sway me to pay for the closer spot is the fact that sometimes when crossing the road to the other parking lot cars nearly mow me down. It has been worse this week since school is back in session. Pedestrians have the right of way, and I'm even in a cross walk. There's something so unnerving about a car speeding behind you or in front of you when you're halfway through the walk. I really think cars should wait until you're completely across before proceeding into the crosswalk, at least at breakneck speeds. What if I suddenly turned around or tripped forward? I shudder to think about the near misses I've had, and the obnoxious teenagers speeding by on their cell phones, oblivious, just as they are when they're the pedestrians and walk out in the crosswalk without looking. It's a wonder there aren't more accidents, especially on this particular road at the edge of campus. I would think a few days of regular monitoring and tickets for speeders could help things -- but obviously the parking/police department at this university has better things to do than assure my safe crossing...

Rubber Stamping

My love of all things stationery has manifested itself in moving announcements this week. I took that house sketch, made the door red (like it actually is) with layers in Gimp and added some red text on the grass with our new address. (Only thing I would change about the "design" is to not center the text ... I don't like centered text, but for some reason I put it on this -- BOTHER.)

I used the same fonts as on our wedding materials. I ordered the flat cards from VistaPrint, which came with white envelopes. I worried I ordered too many (60), but actually that has turned out to be the exact right number. VP tossed in 30 extra flat cards so I could even send some extras if I wanted/found more addresses of people who might like to be pen pals.

For the return address I re-purchased the rubber stamp I had when we lived in 8G in NYC: Paperwink's Flapper stamp. I like our NYC one as a souvenir of our time there. So in preparing the moving announcements to be sent it was so satisfying to ink up my new stamp and press the design onto each envelope (after I sealed them with a wet washcloth instead of licking -- can't help but think of Susan from Seinfeld when I do a big mail batch like this).

I think the ink-stamp-dry process was bringing out my latent librarian genes. Do librarians these days even need to use rubber stamps anymore, now that everything is digitized? Whatever the case, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad to have added to my stationery arsenal.

Travel Perspective

I love Back to School time -- mostly the new supplies for super cheap and the promise of cooler weather to come. Give me some new No. 2 pencils and a stack of notebook paper, and I will feel very happy. But BTS isn't all roses.

This week school started and the students are back ... with their cars. One of my FB friends, who happens to be a relative and live in Stillwater, wrote about students returning: "Like my Mom would say, 'I think they all bring 2 cars with them: 1 to drive and 1 to park!'" It definitely feels like it here in this college town.

Shawn and I only have the one car, but we both work on campus so carpooling is fine for now. Our usual 5-8 minute commute was more like 20 yesterday. (And I know some people would be thrilled with a 20 minute commute, so it's all relative.) Today we did a little better, partly because Tuesday classes start later and partly because we took a different route.

It reminds me of this blog post I read recently that had an image on it, and no matter what I try I can't find it (It was something I read via my Google Recommended Items, which don't seem to be searchable). I can find versions of it but not the image I remember. Anyway, the image was something like: You are not stuck in traffic. You ARE traffic.

So all the time I sit in traffic on Highland trying to get home I try to remind myself that I am part of the reason why things are backed up. It doesn't always work.

House Beautiful

Shawn and I have made amazing progress on getting the house this weekend. We have a few finishing touches -- big and small (couch anyone?! and new drapes for the living room, etc.), but all our boxes are unpacked.

The linen closet is full of clean and fresh sheets and towels. We have empty space still in the closets, and I have a full empty drawer in my new-old-dresser that my parents brought. Am going to do my best to NOT fill it up. We'll see how successful I can be at that.

One year ago I started my job. It took several months to feel comfortable doing what I was doing -- not that I was unable to do anything but more about not being able to stay busy. I still have periods of inactivity, but I definitely feel more confident and stable. Not 100% sure that I made the "right" decision between the job choices a year ago, but it is what it is. And I make more at this job than the other one offered SO it allowed us to get the house faster ... and might make it possible to get a second car that we're starting to want.

Speaking of, I'll have to leave soon to pick up Shawn from the office. After all the house work yesterday he certainly needed a break (and probably some last minute class prep -- school starts tomorrow). He's such a great worker and provider.

525,600 Minutes

How do you measure, measure a year?

It has been one year since we rolled out of NYC to start our new life. In that time many things have changed, and we've both settled into our jobs (Shawn more than me). Now we are homeowners.

We've spent the weekend shopping, unpacking and cleaning. Shawn climbed on the roofs of the out buildings to clear off some leaves and trim some trees. I cleaned kitchen cabinets, put contact paper in as many of them as I could stand, and unloaded our dishes and dry goods. We're exhausted, but making real progress.

This week we'll get a furniture delivery and have a place to eat! We'll also get a new bed so that we have extra sleeping capacity. A coworker was getting rid of a twin bed that his son had grown out of, so we have that too. With the new bed we'll be able to comfortably sleep three extra, and with the air mattress two more than that. Eventually we'll get a couch that will provide a sleep solution should we be overrun with multiple family members and/or friends all at once. I'm thinking Mardi Gras time!

During the shopping excursion yesterday I found something I had lost. Something I lost one year ago, and which bugged me so much. I had thought it had fallen and been left in the U-Haul. I'd thought about calling to see if they had lost and found. I'd googled replacements and thought about how I might make my own. I put my hand into the umbrella pocket of my Franco Sarto purse yesterday to grab my phone and lo and behold -- the missing key chain was there! It never held our Southgate keys (reminder I need to write a review of that place ... good grief), but skipped from NYC apartment to BR house. I'm really excited to have it back and smile every time I look at my keys and see the sweet face of a certain baby Owen.

What's the longest you've gone between losing something and finding it?

We All Love Lucy

It's the 100th anniversary of Lucille Ball's birthday. Google has transformed its doodle into a 50s style TV that plays a clip before going to a search results page for her name. (Click around the dial to see them all.)

I first remember watching Lucy with my Grandma Jane. Oh how I laughed. Favorites include Vita-meata-vegi-men, the Chocolate Factory, and the one where Ricky sings "we're having a baby, my baby and me."

I watched some while living in NYC, which gave the show a similar "I know where that is" vibe that I got when re-watching Seinfeld.

Watch some Lucy (CBS has episodes online), eat some chocolate, get into some crazy antics, fake cry to get your husband's attention and keep on loving Lucy.

What's your favorite episode?

House Sketch

I want to turn this into "We've Moved" cards (I did this with a Gimp plug in). In an ideal world I'd do letterpress, but mama needs some new furniture more than super luxe cards. Plus who has the time? So I'm thinking maybe just cheapie photo prints and then I can write on the back? I should probably incorporate the new address into the print -- maybe on the grass or something (which when this picture was taken was just mowed by Shawn). Hrm...

A Dog and His Crown

Rascal with an inflatable crown from Mardi Gras 2011

Beth sent me this photo a couple weeks ago. I wanted to post it and laugh at the dumb dog. The story of how he came to our family is silly, and I'm not sure that I haven't written about it already. I couldn't find anything though.

About 7 years ago I was working at OSU, living in an apartment and having a pretty good time. I had just been unceremoniously dumped so was highly emotional (i.e. prone to giving into something like accepting a dog). But this dog was never supposed to be mine.

Across the busy road from our offices lived a guy named Sexy Chocolate. Seriously that's how he identified himself on his voice mail. He owned this puppy, Rascal, who jumped and escaped and loved to run in the road. After rescuing him several times from traffic, my coworkers decided that he had to be saved and that it would be easy to give him a new home (with Sexy Chocolate's permission, of course). Somehow I ended up being that home temporarily, despite the fact that I couldn't have pets in my apartment and didn't really need the hassle. (Although Rascal was pretty cute ... I'm not sure I have a digital photo of his puppy-dom ... if so, not on this computer.)

While Rascal lived with me, during the day he stayed in the bathroom, and I would come home at lunch to let him out. At night I'd make him sleep on a towel on the carpeted floor by my bed, but somehow he'd always end up in the bed with me. Meaning I never got deep sleep because I was constantly putting him back on the floor -- or imaging him jumping up on me.

After everyone who said they'd love to have the dog ignoring me I decided to drive the beast three hours to I-town. He puked on the way and hated riding in the car, but I had leather seats that were easy to clean and we made it.

Now he lives with my parents, and while he's never been a "good" dog he and my dad are good buddies. I'm sure his life is better in Indiahoma than it ever would have been with Sexy Chocolate, although he did end up getting hit by a car -- he survived.

Vancouver Timeline

So I did a picture post, how about a quick bulleted list post of the things I did while I was in Vancouver? (Confession: every afternoon I took a rest/nap in the hotel ... I had to ask housekeeping to make up the room earlier so I wouldn't be disturbed ... talk about high maintenance!)

• Saturday 7/16 we arrived and it was late. Checked into the swank hotel, showered off the airplane funk and conked out. We had free sit-down full service breakfast every morning so didn't have to worry about that!
  
• Sunday 7/17 Shawn had to practice his talk so I walked around a bit on my own. Shops don't open up until 10 or later, so all I did was get a Tim Horton's latte and drink it on Granville St. Tim Horton's in NYC near my church on 86th and Park makes a MUCH better latte -- i.e. it's not a 7-11 style stick-the-cup-under-the-machine-and-hit-a-button as it was in Canada, rather in NYC they steam the milk and add it to the coffee. When Shawn was sufficiently rehearsed we walked north to the water, looked around, had lunch and then he checked into the conference. Dinner was a laugh because everything was closed on Sunday evenings. I think we ended up with kind of fast food pizza by the slice ... made me miss Mercado's even more.
  
• Monday 7/18 Shawn is at his conference and giving his talk. I get up and around then take a public bus to Granville Island. Everything in Vancouver is expensive, even the public transit (and when my comparison is NYC, you know that's saying something). But I made it to the "island" that's really not. I did some shopping, had lunch, looked at the views of downtown, and toured the public market, wishing our hotel room had a fridge! Met back up with Shawn and had dinner with his NYC office mate. Was fun to catch up with her.
  
• Tuesday 7/19 I was intrigued by all the signs on the Sky Train for Metropolis mall (450 stores!), and when I was at the Kid's Market on Granville Island I found a brochure that offered tourists a $10 gift card, free return transit and a free tote bag (something I was lamenting not having brought despite owning roughly 500 yet not willing to shell out $10 CAN for one). This time I took the Sky Train (subway) and did a little shopping. I had lunch at the food court, watched a lot of people, got myself a souvenir -- a Danier leather wallet -- and read a book I had downloaded to my Kindle (The Help). Shawn and I had dinner with a group of his cohorts at a pub-style place.
  
• Wednesday 7/20 About mid-morning I met up with my friend who also happens to be a mathematician attending the conference, and we went shopping at the Pacific Centre underground shopping mall that was right near our hotels. We browsed but didn't buy, had lunch and mostly had a good time catching up. (She and her husband moved from Baton Rouge about a week or so before the trip, but we still had plenty to catch up on!) I was wearing terribly uncomfortable shoes, so I went back to the hotel thinking I would change them and go do something else later in the afternoon ... uh, nap time came instead! Shawn and I had dinner at a local pizzeria and got a discount because they were crowded and we waited patiently. Manners pay off I guess.
  
• Thursday 7/21 I decided I had better play the true tourist and get on a tour bus to really see what the city had to offer. I looked online and got a second day for free (great thing about the hotel -- fast internet and free worldwide calling). I got to see Stanley Park on one loop and the city on the other loop. It was too expensive ($38 CAN), but kept me occupied and got me where I wanted to go. After I did the complete tour I had lunch and then took one of the buses to Robson Street, very chic, for shopping. I didn't buy anything other than a bottle of water and a cupcake from a Cupcake Girls shop (a show I learned about by watching Canadian TV during my rests ... although looks like I can catch it on WE stateside), but I got to people watch and get two free drinks -- a Coke Zero and Vitamin Water. One good thing about cities: lots of people all together means marketing promos/freebies. Shawn and I had a quick dinner and then went to a public math lecture at the conference. It was pretty funny, although all I had to contribute was critique of the guy's PowerPoint. I mean, he's this high dollar academic and he uses COMIC SANS in his presentation? GAG. :)
  
• Friday 7/22 Beth's birthday! I did the bus tours again (I know a lot of facts about Vancouver now!), and this time I got off in Stanley Park at Prospect Point and looked at the Lions Gate Bridge for a while. When I was back at Canada Place I went to Gas Town, which is a little shopping district by the water. I got some souvenirs and ate lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory (marketing paid off on me once again because the ads for this place were everywhere). One of my favorite things about being in Vancouver was eating outside in July. And the weather was always so comfortable (and even when it's raining most tables/patios are covered) that we ate outside quite a lot. After the conference ended Shawn and I went on a harbour dinner cruise. It was expensive but very fun and relaxing -- good buffet dinner (although I'm surprised I didn't fall with my full plate of food because we had to walk down stairs on a moving boat while carrying it) and stunning views of the city and the sunset over the mountains. Lots of smooches too!
  
• Saturday 7/23 Grouse Mountain, which I already wrote about. After we got back we picked up our luggage from the first hotel and made the move to the second hotel (Shawn booked so far in advance and through the conference company that there were issues with extending the stay, so he found an alternate hotel for our last two nights). It was a schlep, but we did it with all our luggage and made it to the hotel in one piece. This was a little less swank but it was bigger and still clean and comfortable. It was a "suite" in that there was a kitchenette and a couch area. There was a balcony with a view from the 16th floor and again super fast internet, so we were able to Skype with Shawn's parents, which was pretty fun. We had dinner in the "new" neighborhood -- at an Irish pub that didn't serve fish & chips. Whoever heard of that?
  
• Sunday 7/24 After a free hotel buffet breakfast we took the public bus to Stanley Park and went to the Vancouver Aquarium. It's pretty expensive, but we got to see beluga whales, dolphins, jelly fish, many many fish and frogs, and a 4D experience movie (which my favorite tour bus driver told me not to miss). As the day wore on it got more and more crowded with children (assuming many were local because their passes are cheaper). We stayed until we had seen enough then strolled in the park a bit (it is a HUGE park though) and took the bus back to the hotel. Had another lie in, then ate our last dinner at a really cool choose-your-own-pasta place (pick noodle type, sauce, toppings). Seemed like the kind of thing that would be a hit in a college town like Baton Rouge (and I think we have enough fro-yo shops). We also got gelato and saw a movie being filmed in Yaletown, although unlike NYC they don't list what the film is on the no parking notices on the street and we didn't see anyone famous so who knows. Then back to the hotel to pack up and prepare for the 12 hour journey home.

Overall a really good time and quite restful. I didn't check work email once, and I don't think I missed much of anything as I'm caught back up for the most part. I think I was missed at least a little, which is always nice. Things are picking back up on the work front, which I like, but it does entail a couple trips to New Orleans in the near future. I am not looking forward to that at all.

Got to hit the sack and really should have put off typing this post until I'm more rested. Maybe the blogger bug has re-bitten me?!

Vancouver: Favorite Pics

Canada Place!

At the conference center/overlooking the water

Absolute favorite -- on our harbour dinner cruise at sunset

Also on the dinner cruise -- cool breeze in our faces

Snow in July on top of Grouse Mountain

My favorite ... everything!

Review: Grouse Mountain

This is my Travel Advisor review, plus some pictures. More about the Vancouver trip soon... (I had grand plans to pre-blog while I was away, but I basically carted my computer to Canada for random email and blog reading. D'oh.)

Still not sure if it was worth the money to go to Grouse Mountain ($40 CAN per person), although I'm glad to say I've done it so probably was. It certainly was a hassle to get there and back to downtown.

We bought our tickets at Canada Place to ride the free shuttle to the base of the mountain. The girl manning the queue -- I believe her name was "Bran" -- was very chatty and told us to walk around but be back 10 minutes before the next bus arrived. When we did, she said "where are your numbers?" and "has your receipt been stamped?" She was the only one who would have done that, and we didn't know that needed to happen. So we didn't make that bus, shortening our time on the mountain by about an hour (time we spent waiting around Canada Place). When we made the next bus there were additional issues -- at the hotel stops "Bran" hadn't held enough seats open so people who had been waiting there weren't able to make the bus. If catching the shuttle at Canada Place, be very specific and ask questions about what it takes to get on the bus -- don't just get on line and assume that's enough. Get the plastic number! And I guess you can only hope for no screw ups if you're picking up the shuttle at a hotel.

"Bran" was at the base of the mountain when we got off the sky ride, so I'm not sure if she did so poorly she was moved to somewhere with less chance for screwing up. But you still need to get plastic numbers to get on the shuttle returning. The park/mountain stays open until 10, but the last bus runs at 5, and if there are more people than can fit, you're SOL. There is public transportation, but that tacks on an additional $5 for each person and additional uncertainty as far as finding the stops, making the transfer to the Seabus, etc. They did say the boat ride across the inlet is nice, so maybe worth it.

The pictures on all the brochures show a semi-full gondola ride up the mountain. Perhaps because it was such a beautiful day (and a Saturday), we did not experience that and on the way up had no view at all, other than the other people around us complaining about no view. We were really packed in like sardines. I think each tram can hold 100 people plus the "driver," probably just there to try to quell a riot and explain the swaying that happens when the tram goes over the towers.

On the mountain itself we had a good time. Ate some too expensive food, saw snow in July and had really great views (although very few unobstructed by people, structures, etc.). There are two grizzlies who live there, a lumberjack show (v. corny but fun), a birds show and my favorite -- the chair lift to the peak of the mountain. It was scary but provided better views. And if you're a skier it probably wouldn't be any big deal at all.

Feet on a chair lift (as opposed to on a beach)

It was crowded and loads of kids, but that surely had to do with the weather and the summer Saturday. We had to wait for about 20 minutes to catch the tram going down the mountain. Because of the timing of the shuttle bus (and worrying we wouldn't be able to get back without additional hassle) we didn't end up seeing the movies or doing the eco-walk with a ranger. You can also walk/run up the mountain, which might save some money. But I'm not entirely sure/that was never clear. Be prepared for some hiking and walking around -- wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen.

Other things we didn't do because they cost extra were the wind turbine and the zip line. The "Eye of the Wind" takes you up even higher on the peak for better views and costs something like $20 per person. The zip line costs something like $120 and we heard from others who did it that it was too expensive and went too fast (i.e. not long duration) for what it cost. They also offer helicopter rides and tandem para-sailing, but I'm not sure how much those cost -- guessing a lot, like everything else.

Definitely something to do while in Vancouver, but not something we'll be doing twice.

View from chair lift going down the mountain

She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah)

Listening to some Beatles before bed. We still don' have Internet hooked up at the house BUT I've been able to connect to a rogue linksys router, presumably belonging to a neighbor. Not good enough to work from home or anything, but certainly doable for a quick blog post.

I got a university ID today. I'm not a university employee, but I work on campus. When I started I asked about getting an ID and was told no. A new guy started and asked and voila, request granted. Whatever works. Now I can use the library and maybe some other perks. We'll see how it goes.

In the course of acquiring the ID a colleague and I walked to the student union ... the thunder started. Of course I didn't carry my purse (it was late afternoon and I was tired), so I didn't have my umbrella. Yep, we got soaking wet walking back. Ugh. I guess the exercise was good? I went home soon after that since it was 4:30 and I'd been at work well over 8 hours.

It was still raining, and I have to cross a street to get to my car. There are cross walks, and cars are supposed to stop for pedestrians. I was very visible with my umbrella and not being what anyone would call small. Not one but TWO vehicles -- huge Louisiana trucks -- gunned it while I stood at the walk trying to get across. It was a miracle anyone actually stopped for me -- a soaking wet person carrying two bags and looking like fright. I guess all I can say is that I survived and hope that I'm a better motorist than that when I'm on the other side of the wheel. I'm certainly not a fan of LA drivers, and I know insurance companies aren't either based on the rates in these parts.

Have you ever played chicken with a car as a pedestrian?

Another Moment of Genius

In continuing news on the brain drain, when packing my coffee maker I somehow managed to leave coffee IN THE CARAFE! Granted it's a stainless thermal carafe, but still. It's been so long since I've made coffee that it was extra gross. Shawn managed to clean it up before I got home and it didn't do any real damage other than ruining a box. But COME ON!

Wonder what other doofenschmirtz things I'll be doing. So far I'm just trying to stay out of Shawn's way before we go back to our house. The first night's sleep there was good, although I laid awake for a while after getting up to use the loo in the night. We'll have to crank the AC a bit more, as I always sleep better when I'm cool.

Achieving Adulthood

We did it -- closed on our first house yesterday. The amount of space we have is mind boggling. We'll never be able to go back to our NYC ways of living together in less than 400 square feet of space!

Today Shawn and his amazing helpers got most of our stuff moved over (I'm writing this from the apartment and we'll take a load of foodstuffs and clothes to the house in a bit ... Internet not turned on at the house yet).

Shawn and the new fridge: Thanks Dale and Steve!

Mari and the new washer/dryer

Realizing I don't have a good picture of the front of the house. I could steal one from the real estate listing, but those were taken when the trees were bare. The trees are not bare now -- there's even one that flowers purple!

Best shot i've got for now.

We have a lot of work to do. I'm quite tired and ready to make the bed and fall asleep. More updates as we go from turning this house into our home.

Edit: Updated to thank Steve ... also, this was my 1000th post.

Brain Drain

I'm finding that I'm losing my mind, brain cell by brain cell. I find myself making a few more mistakes at work than normal -- nothing job threatening, but still annoying for this do-a-great-job-at-all-costs girl.

Last weekend I did the grocery shopping, loaded my purchases in our reusable bags except for the meat, which I always ask to be placed in plastic. I get home, bring in as much as I can and send Shawn out to get the rest. It wasn't until I tried to make dinner on Monday evening -- 24+ hours after shopping -- that I realized the meat wasn't in the fridge. I guess it sort of helps that Shawn didn't notice the meat in the trunk either (apparently I'd tucked it behind the crate we keep in the trunk), but surely I should have remembered while I was loading up the fridge. What an expensive mistake!

We use a calendar at work that's online and everyone can see each other's appointments. I was looking at this week, preparing for what I'd need to do when I noticed something on Thursday that looked unfamiliar. From 10-11:30 I had a "Hold: Personal Time." I have no idea what that could mean or when I would have put it there. Seriously NO recollection. Thursday came and went, and as far as I can tell no personal time was needed. But things are certainly feeling mushy re: my sharpness.

Although I didn't sit on the beach in Galveston last week I did take my requisite feet shot when I was on the beach on Treasure Island, Florida, a couple months ago. So here's that.

Feet on the beach in Florida -- May 2011

Nearing a G

I'm just a few posts away from my 1,000th. If I were writing as I have in the past I'd be closing in on 1,500 by now. But such is (my) life.

I traveled to Galveston for work this week -- the FOURTH time to that city (?) in less than a year of work for this company. Things could always be worse, and I made it back safe and sound enough. I didn't take a single picture -- of my feet, the beach or my feet on the beach. Has the blogger bug left me?

I've been reading a lot but not cataloging for Good Reads. Whoops. I'm also watching a lot of house hunting and renovation shows. DIY has become a new favorite channel.

Because I've been spending my evenings on HGTV/DIY and some books I've fallen behind on my DVR. I have hours and hours of USA/TNT TV shows, plus Friday Night Lights, to catch up on. I have a feeling it is a futile effort though.

First world problems for real.

Someone ...

is on his way to seeing his Auntie M!!!

Nothing like an impromptu trip to coincide w/ a work trip Shawn will be taking Sat-Sat. AMLBO and it's only a few hours until he'll be getting squeezed!!!

Three Years Down

 

Three years ago today Shawn and I got hitched. Today we'll be house hunting to celebrate (I'm so impatient ... and don't really feel like I can chronicle the journey until it's sewn up) and later maybe some chocolate cake. Nothing like a holiday though. And sad that my President's Day post is still on my blog front page by the time Memorial Day rolls around. Whoops?! I'll try to ramp up my blogging this summer... TBD