Oh Canada!

J. and the kids are heading to Montana and Canada for a week in June. It's something J. has wanted to do for a long time. He has a cousin who lives in Montana - she is such a wonderful lady and she and J. are pretty close....considering they live many, many miles apart....

J. was considering driving - but the 'boys' weren't too keen on a 'road trip' of that length. That would require close to two weeks off to make it 'worth it' in terms of time in Montana and then time in Canada. Airfare was reasonably priced and they won't need a car thanks to his cousin. It will be a reasonably 'low budget' journey but at the same time, a trip to remember. We may postpone the cabinet re-do in the kitchen - which is totally fine 'cuz we're having a hard time finding someone to do something to the pantry that's reasonably priced - and that's OK. Memories worth making are worth the price.

I have imposed a 'no time off' rule this summer because of our system conversion - so there will be no trip(s) for me this summer. I am sad about missing what will undoubtedly be a wonderful trip but also grateful for a week of relative quiet. Me and work are long-time good friends and there's plenty of that to go around - most especially in the early weeks of June when I am building a budget, etc. So it's all good. I am happy as punch for them to be able to make the trip and OK with time alone. Thought about taking Chloe to the kennel for the week - but she's been so sick, I don't want to risk that she flares up again and they won't notice. It's like your kids - no one knows 'normal' for your kids better than you - and I notice her subtle behavior changes pretty quickly. So Chloe, Klink and I will hunker down - we'll eat a lot of (healthy) takeout and plow through mountains of work. I get so much done around the house when no one is here - so I'm looking forward to a productive week at home and at work...

Having Chloe at home will be the perfect reason to force myself to take a mid-day break and come home to give her a potty break and some play time. And I am far more disciplined about working at home when there's no one around...

It's been a busy week (as usual). It's just after 5AM and I am heading up to shower shortly. Long, long days ahead...

I am listening to Birdy on my iPhone. Love her album - and love how branching out away from 'main-stream' radio has uncovered such amazing talent and songs that I would never hear on the radio. I love the internet!

Chloe was up very early this morning and starving! Good sign! Her morning routine includes having pills cut in half or quarters to give her (one of them must taste like a dog treat 'cuz she eats it out of our hand). The teeny, tiny quarter of a Pepcid we hide in her food. She's done all of her morning 'stuff' and is curled up going back to sleep.

Wishing I could do the same....and in 16 hours or so, I will be....

PS - Blogger has changed things up again and frankly it sucks. I have to use html to get the posts to format correctly - and I know html is not rocket science but it's frustrating....

Wine, Food, Fun

We had a great time at the Visattui Lobsterfest last night. Minutes after 7PM, they carry in huge HUGE strained pots and literally pour them on our tables. It's 'family style' with a twist - no plates, no utensils (except the 'nutcracker' tool to get the shells off). Plenty of napkins, lemons, mayonnaise, spices, etc. You dig in with your hands and plow through! Spicy sausages, potatoes, artichokes, corn on the cob, onions....all piled high with the lobsters. Loafs of bread, too! Of course, plenty of wine, too. The employees wander the tables and pour whatever you'd like, as often as you'd like. There was great music and tons of fun. We sat with some very nice people who live in Livermore. It was a great time - then out to the courtyard for strawberry shortcake and more wine. It was so much fun. J. and I sat outside enjoying the coolness (it was 90 degrees when we got to the winery so the cool evening air and slight breeze was very welcome.

One of my favorite parts of the getaway was the drive - we went north on I-5 then took Highway 12 over - through the Delta. The people we talked to from Livermore said they had really bad traffic - we avoided all that by going the back way - which for us is much easier. It's such a beautiful drive - farms, little towns, draw bridges, marinas....it's really pretty. And you are forced to just take your time - it's 2 lanes most of the way so you can't pass. Just keep moving at whatever pace there is. It was tranquil and a nice break...

We are determined to get away more often - we had a wonderful time! H. did a fantastic job of house-sitting. He took great care of Chloe.

B. had a great triathlon with one minor glitch - because of the bad storms we had a week or so ago, the swim component was cancelled - instead they ran a mile, then biked, then ran 5K. He was actually a 'podium finisher' - third place in his age group! (Admittedly, it was a very small class - but still, it's only his second ever tri. He really did great). Also, considering that he was using a mountain bike - with heavy duty shocks - so every 'pump' he did resulted in part of his effort being wasted by the shocks absorbing the 'downward' motion. Especially hard when a good chunk of the ride was a huge, huge hill. He said another racer complimented him on how well he did 'especially with the bike you had. Impressive'. He got a medal, a big special bottle of ale and a 'podium finisher' glass to go with it.

We are all glad to be home in one place, though heading into Monday dampens the mood. We splurged and had In & Out for dinner....we were going to make spaghetti but B. said 'today is the only day I will allow myself to splurge and eat that stuff - so could we please'? So we did. I've eaten so 'badly' this weekend (compared to my usual) I figured 'what the heck', too. Tomorrow, it's bag to salads, soy yogurt, nuts and lean protein. It was fun to splurge!!

We bought huge bags of navel oranges on the way home today from people selling them along the side of the road. I'm making fresh squeezed OJ and it's phenomenally delicious!

Dreading the week more than I can say....but it will be OK. I know I'll get through it.

Weekend Bye-Bye

The weekend flew by as quickly as the preceding 7 days - Spring Break 2012 is now a memory.

Taxes are filed - payments will be debited today. B. is in debt to us even more $ - after 'fixing' some issues on his State return, it turned out he owed the State close to $500 - and that's in addition to the $400 he owed the Feds. I couldn't bring myself to mention it to him when he came home for dinner. His shift ended at midnight last night so we'll have to break the news to him sometime today. Great....looking forward to that (not).

I was up early this morning and am ready to head on in. Making a stop at Starbucks 'cuz it's a Monday after 10 days off and that deserves something more than a McDonald's $1 iced tea.

I have two evening commitments this week also - both social so should be fun though as always, social evening things are hard for me to muster the motivation to do. But do them I shall!

Looking forward to our winery dinner this weekend. B. said 'hey, how come you aren't taking me?' Guess now that's he's legal, we could have - but he has a triathlon this weekend in San Jose so he won't be home Saturday evening either. H. will be home alone. There have been discussions about that fact - what company is allowed? etc. He stuck close to home on Saturday when we went to Mamma Mia (which was awesome, by the way!) to care for Chloe - but I don't expect him to be home 24/7 next weekend. We won't be leaving for Napa until mid-day Saturday and returning before noon on Sunday so it's not like we're gone for days. 24 hours or so, give or take a little shopping time on either side of that.

Accomplished grocery shopping and J. helped with Petsmart and gassing up my car yesterday. So we're set for the week. Have meals planned for the week as well so we should be in good shape.

Off to a busy day....hard to put on makeup - a sure sign that work is looming.

Chloe Update

Another $600 later - three medications, more subdermal fluids to keep her hydrated. She had a fever this time, too. They ran blood work and took more xrays. We will get more info tomorrow. For now, they continue to think it's pancreatitis and perhaps the antibiotics that we finished a couple days ago fell short of clearing it up entirely. She just ate a little food and seems more 'chipper' than she has in a couple days - so we'll see. There are always a lot of terrible things it 'could be' but hopefully isn't. They did give her pain medication this time because she is clearly in pain - and also an anti-inflammatory to see if that helps settle things down. We really like the doctor and the office staff - and as expensive as it's been, we remind ourselves that it would likely be 20-25% more than that at the 'old' vet. And they don't give my silver-haired fox of a husband a 10% senior discount. I've never been more grateful for our age difference.

And no matter how bad she's feeling, if she looks at me or J., she wags her tail. We are her peeps - and with us, she is OK. No matter how terrible she looks or feels, she always has a tail wag for us. This vet's staff (like the old vet's) complimented her on how cute she is and how well she did. And out and about, in a room with total strangers, she never barked once! In our house - when the cleaning crew is here, for example - she's a barking lunatic. I guess in our home, she feels compelled to protect us....

We all went to pick her up after dinner at The Squeeze Inn - H.'s first visit there. I had tacos and they were DELICIOUS!

I'm thinking it's going to be two days of lots of coffee, etc. - between stuff for work, stuff here at home and our lunch and show tomorrow, it will be a jammed weekend. Trying not to panic about 'work'. But I am....

The boys are heading out to some party - rare that they are both attending the same event. Storms are still in the area - did you see the Yahoo pic of the lightening strikes on the Bay Bridge yesterday? Incredible! I always caution the boys (over, and over, and over) about being careful - designated drivers, call us if you need to, etc. - and tonight I added 'and if there's lightening, get inside'. The party is outside - not sure how that will work if it's storming. But I'm too rational of a mom...They humor me as they usually do - though I know they are rolling their eyes in their minds.

I found a new group courtesy of dooce.com - Of Monsters and Men - their album is a toe-tapping, sing along, brilliant mixture of sounds and words that I love. I love every single song - and that's a very rare thing. One of their songs played in the car as we went to dinner and B. said 'hey, I hear this song on the radio'...so glad they are getting airplay - they are from Iceland! Great tunes. Check them out!

I also have the album by Birdy - and love it, too.....mostly covers but I do think she has her own 'style' that comes through. Enjoying it very much and also listening to it over and over and over...as I always do when I love it. I even created a 'New' list on my iPhone so that I can just listen to the newest things that I've found...eventually, they will be replaced with others but for now, the things I've recently discovered are a favorite playlist. Again, thanks to the Internet 'cuz there are so many amazing groups out there that I might never know about without it!

OK - must get to work on taxes. Ugh. But they have to be done, don't they?

Lazy Friday

Last official weekday of the break...and that sucks as end of breaks always do. I did work yesterday and felt 'good' (relatively speaking) as I made voluminous lists and took the time to sort through the muddled thoughts in my head and put them on paper. Half the battle is prioritizing - knowing what must be done and in what order to accomplish things in their rightful time. I often realize that I don't take enough time to simply 'plan'...those quiet moments of writing down everything quickly and furiously and then chunking big projects into smaller, manageable tasks with priorities assigned. So having done that, I still feel overwhelmed and swamped - but in a more organized fashion! and for me, in particular, that's saying something.

We are taking Chloe back to the vet at 12:15 today. She was incredibly chipper and so much better for a couple days - but last night, she tossed her dinner and was clearly not well. This morning, she is heaving though managing to keep the food down. I'm worried about her - and she's worried about herself. Just like a 'kid', you can just tell that she's 'off'...her droopy ears and sad eyes make her look pitiful. So we'll go back and likely spend a fortune yet again for additional tests.

We had sunshine about an hour ago but a new storm has moved in and there are rain drops being blown into the window. It's been wild and crazy weather out our way - and the bay area as well. Glad that other than the vet and a hair cut this afternoon, I have no reason to be out in this bad weather.

I am heading into the kitchen for a major clean up and possibly baking some chocolate chip cookies - using almond meal, whole wheat flour, applesauce and vegan chocolate chips (no dairy). I think if I don't tell the boys what's in them, they will eat them enthusiastically. And then I might make some ginger cookies using the same method - I found crystallized ginger chips at Whole Foods and they are delicious! Can't wait to enjoy them in a cookie.

Tomorrow, J. and I head to Modesto for Mamma Mia and lunch. This weekend we absolutely, positively finalize our taxes and get those off the list of stuff to do. B.'s are quite complicated which stresses me out - and he has to pay (since I forgot he sold stock and owes capital gains on that) and of course, is a little short in cash at the moment so we have to cover his amount due for him. Oh well. Can't be helped.

J. is planning a trip to Montana and Canada with the boys in early summer....from the sounds of it, he is having to do a fair amount of convincing the kids to join him. It's complicated....schedules and vacations and other hurdles. I wish I could go - but summer's suck for me...and this one will be the longest since I took this job. A finance system conversion is no easy thing and I have warned the folks I live with that after this lovely Spring Break, it's all work, all the time from here on out....hoping for a week or two off in October, if I'm lucky. Long haul approaching. Duck and cover.

The boys are up so now the joy of cleaning the kitchen and baking is postponed. No way I'm going to do that with Family Guy gracing the TV. J. says 'put your ear phones in and your iPhone in your pocket and listen away while you clean' - but it's not the same thing.....even with two new, awesome albums to keep me toe-tapping, humming happy, there's no joy in cleaning with trash TV and two adult men lingering around. B. is cooking breakfast...and our next step in his culinary evolution is to learn that 'cleaning up' after yourself is not just tossing everything into the sink. Pans, dishes, etc. - no rinsing - just tossed and left for the 'maids'. I have been harping on 'behold the power of water' lately - and urging them to load the dishwasher as well as they both unload. We'll see.

Post Counter

I added them up and we're at 951. 952 with this one....

Maybe it's counting 'drafts'...I have some out there that will likely never see the light of day....so it's not really 1,000 yet.

Soon, though....

Dinner was chicken breasts dipped in almond meal and garlic sauteed in olive oil. Whole wheat pasta with pesto to accompany. And tomatoes for those of us in the house who eat tomatoes. Delicious.

The crazy lightening I saw on the way home from Pleasanton was over Lathrop - and there was a funnel cloud there as well. There are heavy storm and/or tornado warnings in the Visalia area - totally CRAZY weather here.

So far the only sign we have is the satellite dish acting up now and then. Not a good thing on Survivor night.

1001!!!

Hey, that last post was my 1,000!! Hard to believe! Here's to the next 1,000 -

Today is my sister's birthday. I looked for the reminder on Facebook and found none - so I sent her a message because everyone deserves a day full of birthday greetings on Facebook. It's a neat thing to see people celebrating. The first person to send her greetings after she updated her profile with the month/day was a former co-worker of mine from my corporate days. She's never met my sister but they are fast friends via Farmville! Fun....

I had lunch with another former corporate life friend who's now also working in education. We got to compare notes on the intricacies of a union work environment. Until you are in one, there is no describing it - and I say that without any intention of an ounce of judgment. It's just different. And 'government' jobs get a bad reputation but there are plenty of people who work harder in their 'state funded' jobs than most people in the corporate world ever will. I am so happy for her - that she's working full time doing something she really loves vs. toiling away in a dead-end job she didn't like but stayed in because it paid the bills. That's the best thing about the type of work I do - it is very rewarding. And I would much rather toil this hard for an entity that doesn't have a handful of people getting very wealthy off the prodigious efforts of others.

My friend has had quite a year and getting caught up sort of took my breath away. We are both feeling blessed that we have that kind of friendship - the kind that just picks up where we last left off - breathless gasps and holy crap's included....

After lunch, I ventured up the freeway a bit to Whole Foods. Thought of not going because I knew that if I went, I would spend money on things I didn't know I needed or wanted until I saw them. I made it out for just slightly over $25 - and was excited to find soy cheese, soy cream cheese and soy sour cream. I miss cheese and dairy and these options were worth trying. They aren't worth driving 40 miles for too often but once in awhile would be nice. The shopping center was absolutely jammed with cars - and a new Home Goods opened up there, too....had to park very far away, which in hindsight made not buying a ton easier.

Tomorrow is a work day...can't be helped. I am not setting an alarm but will likely wake up early anyway (have been) and just won't go back to sleep (also have been).

There are big rain clouds just east - saw lightening on the way home. There was also some rain - it's strange to be rained on one minute, then not, then again - like the clouds are just in certain places. When they unleash, though, it's a doozy. Good for the newly planted garden.

I caught up on Revenge - watched 16 episodes! Thank goodness for very few commercials and my ability to multi-task! Can't wait for a week from tonight when the next new episode is on! I am hooked!

Time for dinner making. Pesto chicken and whole wheat pasta. And a big salad!