A view from the middle . . .

jumping to conclusions . . .

2010-03-07T01:24:00.001-08:00

The only exercise I've been able to get since my surgery has been an unfortunate bit of jumping to conclusions.
let me explain.
when I started my blog I had a few faithful readers and comment leavers (as Ash says, blogments). I'm not certain who still reads of those few, I know my Mom is there, and so is my daughter but those two aside, I'm not sure who actually looks at this digital diary.

Several posts ago I started getting comments in some sort of Asian language. Of course, I'm unfamiliar with any such language so I couldn't guess if they were Chinese, Japanese, Korean or any other language which uses characters. Without investigation i simply deleted these comments- ASSUMING that they were some sort of commercial for male enhancement or Viagra. Tonight I got another of these comments on my previous post. again, I deleted it as soon as I saw it. I had just completed this permanent action when Kyle got home and cleverly tried to translate the text online. We aren't entirely sure what the text said, but it was something supportive and kind. I immediately felt like a huge schmuck.

In my mind I am picturing a very kind man or woman, patiently reading through my ridiculous rants and verbiage, writing what likely were thoughtful remarks only to have them immediately removed by a suspicious "conclusion jumper"

please, whoever you are, accept my genuine apology and profound THANK YOU for hanging in there.

post surgical notes

2010-03-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

typing is a bit of a chore so I know you will forgive the brevity of this entry.

two notes from yesterday:
prior to the procedure the anesthesiologist comes in and asks me all the normal questions. He was standing there apprising me and asks me "do you think you can walk up two flights of stairs without becoming short of breath?". Now, I'm certain this is a normal question, but for some reason, it quite pissed me off. When i told the story at dinner last night the boys wondered if I replied with a "yes, can you?" or a "I swam 2 miles last night and ran 6 on Sunday" . . . but, no- I was nice and just said, yes. The thing is, you don't want to antagonize the man responsible for your comfort during surgery.

on the other hand, a sweet comment. During recovery the nurse said "do you have little ones to take care of at home?" what? and she repeated her question. I laughed and said, have you checked my age? my youngest is 20. She smiled and said "you don't look your age"

she, made my day.

two days in a row!

2010-02-24T15:50:00.000-08:00

I haven't much to say, but wanted to stay on a roll.

I'm slowly but surely cleaning up the old blog- I removed that years old picture of myself in front of the white house- my hair was a hideous chlorine infused blond and i was also a good 30 pounds heavier than the new, improved, dark haired me!

Next will be to clean up the side panel, including the what I'm reading section.

I just finished Ken Follet's book (as you know) and have moved on to yet another plague inspired book- more on that later!

back to work! I just wanted to be sure to put fingers to keyboard in this venue today!

Viva Las Vegas

2010-02-23T18:37:00.000-08:00

Some people come for the shows, others for the food, some to gamble, go to a spa or a combination of all. I come to relax and do very little. I packed my 1000 plus page book having read about 400 pages before the trip. I also packed my new green polka dot bikini, and of course my work out clothes.

Our room was a magnificent suite- it contained a bar, a living room, a dining area, a bedroom and a bathroom which was bigger than a NYC apartment.

Shortly after arrival I whipped out my book and set to work. It was slightly sunny, but certainly not bikini weather. Off to the pool, bundled in some towels I started digesting my cheery book (kidding) set in the late middle ages. The book, Ken Follets follow up to his masterpiece "Pillars of the Earth", is an equally engaging story. I found myself reading whenever possible and nearly finished the book before our trip to the airport this afternoon.

Located in the Mirage is the studio of Kim Vo- master hair colorist. I wonder how much it would cost to have my hair colored there? Definitely I had grey peaking out at the top, temples and framing the face. Well, I didn't need to ask because- ta-da- yes- I packed a box of my go to "medium brown" by Revlon- 10 minutes later my hair was restored to it's look of 20 years ago, and for a lot less money. I wondered what the housekeepers thought when they cleaned the bathroom and saw my discarded box of hair coloring? The probably shook their heads and thought "trailer trash"

And so yesterday was spent working out- eating out- and of course, reading.

Today we had lovely sun and so on went the polka dot bikini- A couple of hours outside got me close to the end of the book and a little color obtained on my winter white skin.

As I write this we are stuck in the Las Vegas airport due to weather delays at home.

I don't care- it gives me a little longer to finish my book, catch up on emails and savor the memories of a wonderful get away!

Goals and resolutions . . .

2010-01-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

well, I haven't made many resolutions for the new year.
Yes- finally make goal weight- MY GOD when will that happen? I take two steps forward and three back! I've considered changing my goal so many times and then Kyle calming said . . . "do you expect the finish line to change in a marathon?" . . . arghhhhhhhh I hate common sense.

New goals for 2010 . . .
A combined swimming/running total of 1000 miles . . . is it extreme? maybe.
doable? perhaps?
is my my goal? HELL YES
wish me luck and stay tuned!

Barbie, meet Fred

2010-01-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

I've been a bad blogger. My new friend facebook takes all my free internet time. I apologize to all four of my readers and hope that I can return to this format a bit more often.
That said, this is what is on my mind.
I have hideous feet.
Not only are they not a pleasure to look at (whose feet are) but they cause pain and difficulty to get around on. I joked recently (on facebook) that if Barbie married Fred and had children, they would have my feet. Look at poor Barbies tootsies. She has a front and a back and no arch that touches the ground- I have the SAME foot- although mine aren't plastic. Next, let's look at Fred. He is happy because he doesn't have to go shopping to try to find shoes to stuff those fat little sausages into . . . arghhh....

Well, the problem isn't so much with daily wear shoes. You sit and get off your feet often enough that pain isn't an issue. The problem has developed as I'm training for this 1/2 marathon in February. As my mileage increases, so does my pain. Almost 2 weeks ago I went to a local merchant who, after careful consideration, decided my best bet was the Asics cumulus 8 Wide. It of course, needed to be special ordered. So- I left the store fully expecting my special order to arrive in about 10 days. On the expected day I strode into the store to find out the shoe hadn't even been ordered yet "so sorry" . . . ARGHHHHH. A couple of phone calls later I located a store with the shoe in stock and to top it off, I had a 10% coupon for that day!

Today was my first day in this shoe "perfect for my foot" (according to the dude who never ordered the damn thing). My run today was 9 miles. At the 6 mile marker I had to sit, remove my shoe, massage my toes and convince myself to finish. I did, but man I was hurting. I returned the shoe- worried they wouldn't take it back. Not only did they take it back, but a lovely young man spent a ton of time helping me find a solution to my problem. And the verdict? A mans shoe, wider throughout and that sort of prehistoric fit I needed.

I'm not entirely sure that this is the solution- I'll know more after my next run.
If so- I'm going to need a bedazzler though so I can make these butch things a bit more feminine!

By the way, Sportsbasement ROCKS!

Turkey Trotting

2009-11-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving morning I had signed Randy, Kyle, Amy and myself up to do the 34th Annual "Turkey Trot" in Walnut Creek. Having a planned event to train for is motivational- even though this is a far cry from the 1/2 marathon distance I am ultimately aiming for. Regardless I thought it would be fun to do and collecting another race tee shirt is always fun. The plan was to get up and out of here by about 7:20, pick up Amy and get to Walnut Creek well ahead of the 8:15 start time. Randy woke up, as usual, long before the alarm clock and was off to get his daily Starbucks fix. When the alarm went off I jumped up, dressed and then went to wake Kyle. Randy still wasn't home from Starbucks which is only about 2 1/2 miles away from the house. The time was drawing nearer that we were supposed to already to at Amy's to pick her up . . . still no Randy. Within a few minutes he came through the door and quickly dressed for the race. As we were leaving to go to Amy's he tried to explain why he was late. It seems a pack (herd, gaggle?) of turkey's was on Stone Valley Road. They are not daunted by traffic and were remaining in the road. One turkey actually had the audacity to engage Randy in a game of Chicken- the turkey flew out of the way as Randy got close enough to hit him. Randy's story was funny but Kyle wasn't particularly amused as his girlfriend was the person made waiting by our lateness. As we traveled down Stone Valley towards Amy's that same gang (or club) of turkeys was still impeding traffic. Now even Kyle had to smile- my goodness this is a stupid bird. And by the way, they don't trot, they slowly saunter out of the traffic lanes, but do so in a single file procession. . . maddening.

We made it to the race in plenty of time and all beat our previous 5K times. I finally conquered the 30 minute race time coming in below. Turkey's aside, it was a fantastic morning. I felt even less pity for the bird on our table that evening . . .

this may give you a chuckle

2009-11-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

to my faithful readers . . . (all four of you)
I have so much to catch you up on, but will start with a short story about what happened to me this morning.

I have resumed my "running" career. Running may be overstating it by quite a lot. Jogging or bouncy walking is probably more accurate. I'm horrifically slow, but can only get better, right? To assist me in this quest I've found all kinds of technological wonders. It started with my new pink Ironman watch. The watch syncs up with my Ipod which I can control through the watch- Brilliant! Passersby likely think I'm quite fixated on my times when in reality I'm searching for songs or adjusting volume! My next find came from a recommendation of one of the MD's at work. This is a Nike-ipod gizmo which was supposed to work as a pedometer- you can sync it online and keep a record of your runs. And then finally Ashley told me about a free ap on my iPhone "mapyourrun" which I tried out concurrently today with the nike-ipod thing. To make a long story short, I hadn't calibrated the Nike-ipod thing properly so that was a bust, but the iPhone ap was brilliant. At the conclusion of the run, but before I was home (I walk a bit to cool down) I removed my headset to unhook everything. Just as I removed my head set I heard what sounded like an older woman crying "help me". Yikkes, where was that coming from? I quickly stuffed everything into my pocket and traced the sounds of the cries "help me, help me" she continued to cry. I ran through a bit of private property, quite nervous about what awaited me . . . I got to the back of the property to find the old lady there, standing and chewing grass.
It was a Nanny Goat bleating out "help me"

She had the last laugh- I felt rather ridiculous- I retraced my steps thankful that my neighbor wasn't home to observe me crashing through his property. I'm wondering what she was thinking . . .

apologies and more to come. . .

2009-09-30T22:19:00.001-07:00

my goodness my blogging license should be revoked, I've been so "absent" these past 6 months or more.
I finished my triathlon on Saturday with a respectable, yet not too impressive time. Kyle was there and took no less than 80 pictures of me! Tomorrow he promises to download software onto my computer which will allow conversion of these gems to jpeg which is a much more publishing friendly extension.
till then I'll give you a little narrative.

Friday night after work I had a quick bite (Randy was in Tahoe so it was a night alone) and then decided to get totally organized. Kyle had lifted my bike into the Expedition the night before so all I had to do was collect all my other gear. Swim cap and goggles, bike shoes, helmet, teeshirt and number, sunglasses and running shoes- hat if I could find one to fit my enormous head. It took a little time but before long all was collected and bagged along with towels, a footwash basin, water etc. In my nervous nellie phase I put the key in the ignition to "make sure" the car would start . . . don't you know, it didn't! SWEAR WORD.

Picture this now- Randy is in Tahoe, Kyle is out and what am I to do? I have a portable charger for just this occasion. Hooked it up (using a flash light because by now it is totally dark) and , drum roll please, this is dead too! Now, do I try to jump the Exped using my little Miata and possibly draining that battery? HELL NO.
Instead I move everything over to the Miata. How does my bike fit? Top down and crammed into the seat with the wheel sticking up in the back, that's how.

Off to bed . . . lots of very bad dreams about how the race will go.

Up and at em (sort of) at 5:45 am. (prime sleeping time) and on the road by 6:00am. Kristi and I arrive within moments of each other and we are off to find a perfect staging area. Time evaporates and before we know it, it's time to line up to begin the swim wave. I stick to the front/center of the pack knowing I can stay ahead of the crew behind me. Into the water (murky,dirty and full of fowl feces) we run and off we go. Now, swimming SHOULD be my strongest leg- for the first time ever I have a mild panic attack. I can't breathe, there are people ALL AROUND me, oh dear. I sprint out a little, flip on my back and swim 90% of the event on my back! Despite my unorthodox approach my swim time is slightly faster than last year. Out of the pond, a quick shoe and shirt application and off we go on the bike segment.

Oops . . . I forgot to make sure the bike was in the lowest gear before I took off. The bike portion begins with freakin hill that I cant get up. I'm starting to get nervous when Kyle runs up and helps me gear down. Okay, I wasted a couple of minutes there. The first 1/3 of the ride was uneventful- then my chain came off. Calmly I stop, fix and restart. About the 2/3 mark it happens again. DAMN I'm losing time on the bike instead of gaining as I had hoped! Back to the park, sneakers on- off to the run.

I ran the WHOLE run this time, excepting two hills I walked up, each about 25 yards. So, why is my run time SLOWER than last year? My guess is that I didn't complete the whole run last year as one loop was totally new to me this year! Regardless I only added about one minute (which isn't bad as I also added about .25-.50 miles!

My overall time was 45 seconds faster than last year.
Next year, I'm going to make that even better . . . just wish I didn't have to wait until next September to give this a go again!

pictures will follow, just wanted you to know how it went!

Julia Child . . . rockstar!

2009-09-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

My book club recently decided to read two books. First, Julia Child's own book "My Life in France" which chronicles Julia's time, post world war 2, in France and Germany. Secondly we read "Julie and Julia" a book by Julie Powell written to describe her journey cooking her way through Julia's first cook book, "Mastering the Art of French cooking".
After we finished both books we went on a field trip to see the new movie Julia and Julie . . . Meryl Streep does a dead on Julia Child by the way.

The movie (and books) made me desperately want to do some Julia Child style cooking. (Butter and Cream heavy). Yesterday I did just that. Julia's chicken with mushroom cream sauce. All I can say it yummmmmmm. Mind you, as a weight watcher member I had to significantly decrease my portion of sauce, but what I had . . . OH MY GOODNESS.

Our dinner was this: Chicken with mushroom cream sauce over roasted red potatoes. Grilled beets and asparagus, fresh chopped tomatoes/onions/garlic in an olive oil vinaigrette over baby greens. Julia invented the entree' I made up the rest.
I'm getting hungry just typing this!

I ordered the book today, (Mastering the art of french cooking) and look forward to adapting recipes in the future to make them a little "skinnier". Next on my list of must makes, Beef Bourguignon

till then, bon appetite'

the fifteen minute rule . . .

2009-08-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know exactly how or when it happened but I've had this fifteen minute window of time engrained into my psyche. I was raised in a home where being fifteen minutes early for an appointment or meeting meant you were on time.
I consequently passed this on to my kids.
I can honestly say, we are very seldom late for anything.
I am a precision German instrument in that respect.
I can quite accurately gauge how long it will take me to reach my destination and, with my fifteen minute cushion, tardiness is seldom an issue.
Why doesn't the rest of the population run like this?
My first appointment today- VERY LATE.
Second- SAME
so, what does this do to the rest of the day?
How do I face the patient who actually runs on time but has to wait due to the inconsiderate behavior of those who came before?
Moral of this rant . . . If you are waiting in the lobby for an appointment, frustrated that your MD or whatever is running late- it may not be their fault, but the accumulated fault of those who came before you and gummed up the day!
If you run on time- ALWAYS make your appointment FIRST thing in the morning, or FIRST after return from lunch.

Whispering, a learned skill . . .

2009-08-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Randy and I had a quick getaway to Reno.
The drive was pleasant, the weather lovely.
Randy had a great time playing in the casino and I caught up on reading, movie watching and working out in the gym.
We had tickets to the new stadium where the AAA Diamondback team plays in Reno.
Included in our package was seating and food in a giant luxury box.
As we stood in line getting ready to enter the stadium a pair of local ladies stood behind us.
Lady one kept pointing at me (mind you I was about 2' away from her) and saying (loudly) "that is the kind of hair cut I want, sort of short, but not diky". She repeated this several times, each time with the "dike" reference.
I was patient for a bit, and then thought I would have a bit of fun with her.
I turned around, smiled sweetly and said, "thank you for complimenting my hair, but you should know, I am a dike"
I thought she was going to die on the spot
Her friend kept saying "oh my God, oh my God, oh my God"
It was terribly fun.
After about 20 seconds I told her to relax, I wasn't a "dike" but she should watch the volume a bit. My phone rang and I started a conversation with Ashley- Randy called Kyle and we passed the next few minutes engaged in our separate phone conversations.
As I hung up I heard her again, "now, see that lady over there, I thought she was a guy- that is diky hair"
Clearly, this lady had not learned her lesson.
I turned around, looked her in the eye and told her "she can hear you".
Lady number two went back to the "OHMYGOD" refrain.

The funny part of this whole story . . . I wish I had a picture of this woman who so desperately didn't want to look like a "dike"
overweight, no makeup or styled hair, mans flannel shirt, shabby jeans and old tennis shoes.
I think the ship had already sailed . . . she looked the part already.

Lost . . . and found

2009-07-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

as with many good intentions . . .my ability to "keep up" with my blog has been dismal.
I think about this daily- I have brilliant ideas to share (okay, maybe not brilliant, but ideas to be sure) but then the day concludes and still no post.

I can't nag Ashley about her lack of posting if I'm also negligent, can I? and, let's face it, we would MUCH rather be hearing from Ashley than me!

so this will be short- but sweet.

I've lost (to date) 24#
I've found the ability to wear my wedding ring.

I've lost my insecurity in my workout 2 piece
I've found (besides a great belly tan) more confidence.

I've lost (or rather put aside) some Capri pants that fall off when I wear them.
I've found my clavicle. (collar bone which was hidden by a bit of FAT)

I could go on, but you get the picture.

I still have a ways to go- but I'm firmly on the right track.

Now, i can badger Ashley without guilt.

I've "found" the ability to badger.

Love my Czech friend . . .

2009-06-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

do you remember quite a while ago when I mentioned that my lovely Czech friend was the one who told me "you have a beautiful color . . ." in reference to my unwanted tan?
Well, today she struck again.

In mid April I finally decided to join weight watchers. I'm not sure what my final motivation was, and it really doesn't matter . . . regardless, I've been faithful and thus far have lost 21.8 pounds. I still have a bit to go, but so far, so good. My blood pressure is fantastic, lipid levels fantastic, glucose great . . . HEALTHY!

In the past several weeks I've heard many different things. First it was, "did you get a new haircut?" second "you look so tan" third, and this the most ridiculous "you look taller". But today, my lovely friend Helena (of you have beautiful color fame) said to me . . ."you look fantastic, you have lost weight" I could have kissed her.

It hasn't been hard. No sacrifices at all. Healthy eating and healthy results.
I really don't want to become one of those "come to Jesus" ladies extolling the value of weight watchers but . . . I'm off all prescriptive meds now and I'm feeling healthy. Appearance isn't a goal, it's a side affect.

Wednesday, what's on my mind

2009-05-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of things on my mind this evening and I'll start with the easiest. Do you remember just a bit ago my complaining about having "pediatric illnesses"? Well, again, I've been struck with the problems of a typical two year old. Over the weekend, while Travis was home, I started feeling quite punk. My head hurt- my ear hurt- I was nauseated and dizzy. When I swam I was shaky and tired. Yesterday I felt so crummy I didn't even go out for my regular swim . . . that was when Randy knew for sure something was wrong. (that, and I looked like shit) Regardless- I went to work today feeling crummy. I went downstairs to visit with my friend Marcie- to commiserate with her after yesterday's supreme court decision (her marriage stands) anyhow . . . during our visit she commented that with all due respect, "you look terrible" I told her my pain problems and she looked into my ear- Yupp, as expected. Left ear is infected with a ruptured ear drum. So upstairs I run to make an appointment to be seen by a "grown up" MD. I made an appointment and then found my manager to explain the situation. "you can leave early, but why no have one of our pedi's examine and treat you?" Since I didn't want to get Marcie in trouble I agreed to her plan and the chief of the department examined me- Yupp same as before. Now I have one week of oral antibiotics to take, and a nice ear drop that numbs the pain- Tomorrow I'm hoping to feel much better.

In the meantime, I have something to keep me feeling a bit better.
Remember before I told you about my Czech friends who comment on my "beautiful coloring" and now whenever someone tells me "you are really tan" in that snarky tone I substitute (in my mind) "you have beautiful coloring"? I have a new such thing going on.
THREE time today I got complements on my new hair cut and or hair style. THREE times, three different people. Strange, because I haven't done a single thing different with my hair.
Here is the rub. I've been diligently "working the program" of weight watchers for the past 7 weeks. So far I've lost 14 pounds (one stone in the British measurement system) and not one SINGLE person has noticed. I've been around people who haven't noticed, but don't see me frequently- and, I have to say, it's been a little discouraging. Well today I realized, they don't know what is different, it MUST be my hair. Finally, to one of my work friends I said, "nope, my hair is exactly the same, there is just a little less of me" She looked at me and then said "okay, yes, that's it"

At the pool one of my friends Carl says, "I like your hair, it's different, isn't it?"
to him I replied "Carl, when do you see my hair? it's always in a cap!" He said, "I don't know, your hair just looks different"

I didn't tell him what was really going on.

so, from now on- you say "you are so tan" I hear "You have beautiful coloring"
you say, "Did you do something new with your hair?" I hear, "Damn you look fine with that weight loss"

so, one stone down- two more to drop

Lesson learned last year

2009-05-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

If you remember the tale of last years triathlon you will recall the enormous transition times I endured trying to get the appropriate gear on for each leg of the race.

I went totally old school- one piece bathing suit for the swim, donning a tank top and bike shorts for the cycling and then just changing into sneakers for the run. Of course fretting about going to the bathroom between legs didn't help either.

This year I decided I was going to shave at least 5 minutes off of last years time in transition only. I'm also hoping to shave another 5 minutes off in the course of the three events. Step one, which I have easy control over, change my "outfit" for the day.

Consequently I ordered (and have received) a "tri suit" this one piece wonder will take me from swim to run with no changing. My only obligation will be to change into appropriate footwear. This year I'll forgo all the bathroom fussing as well.

so, in anticipation of "tri season" I'm beginning my cross training in June determined to be more succesful this year. Anyone out there care to join me?

Happy Birthday Travis!

2009-05-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

Happy 22nd Birthday Travis!

After a weekend of record breaking heat yesterday we had clouds and a couple of raindrops. I said to Randy, "the weather was exactly like this 22 years ago when I had Travis!"

Wow, that time has flown.

In less than a month Travis will graduate from UCSB.

With boundless pride, admiration and love- Happy Birthday Travis!

Watch out world- here he comes.

been gone, haven't forgotten

2009-05-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

where exactly does time go?
I have every intention of updating this thing on a regular basis but the day slip away and no update!
Currently I have nothing important on my mind . . . so, this is a quick hello and a promise for more than monthly updates in the future.

scouts honor.

some observations

2009-04-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm a little mad with myself that I don't have the cord to my phone to upload pictures.

I haven't commented on my recent trip to NYC and had a couple of cute shots to share, oh well.

This was my first visit to Ashley's new apartment. The observation here: If you watch any TV set in NYC you are bound to believe that everyone has spacious apartments. Seinfeld, Will and Grace, Mad about You, How I met your Mother, scenes from CSI NY or any other show would lead you to believe that living space in the city is relatively the same as here in California. NOT!

Ashley has a darling new apartment, in a fantastic location but her bedroom is roughly the size of Randy's truck (maybe a teeny tiny bit bigger). The living room/kitchen combined are about the size of my bathroom (granted I have a huge bathroom). We take big space for granted here, the average New Yorker does not.

The other observation: in NY a scarf is not a accessory, it is a necessity. Living in California I'm always amused by coats and scarves. It really isn't that cold here. I packed two coats and two scarves for the trip. Glad I did, it is cold there . . and when the wind kicked up YIKKES.

My daughter loves her new city, and I love my daughter.

I will enjoy visiting her as much as time permits, but I know that I could not be an Urban dweller at this point in my life.

Big spaces and the ability to drive wherever I want, buy enough groceries for a few days and DRIVE them home, now that's what I'm all about!

Fantastic!

2009-04-17T21:08:00.001-07:00

I'm so cross at myself for not posting this a couple days back when I first heard it . . . better late than never.

go to this you-tube link for a treat.

Lesson: NEVER judge a book by it's cover.

It's all in the presentation

2009-04-15T23:01:00.001-07:00

You've heard this before right?
For good food to be considered great, it's in the presentation.
A great screenplay is only as good as it's presented.
A compliment, is only that when presented correctly.

As you may or may not know I ABHOR being called tan. To my ears this translates to "oh dear, you should take better care of your skin" or " you will look old before your time" etc. I know people don't all mean that, but it's the hanging pause . . . "you are soooooo tan..........." how do you respond to that?

This evening, after my swim, I was headed to the comfort of the hot hot shower. My pool friend Helena, a lovely Czech woman said to me, "you have the most beautiful beautiful skin color"

It was all in the presentation.
A compliment which I received, and didn't doubt.
I will continue to use my 70 sunscreen, but the next time someone gives me the "you are soooo tan . . . . " I will instead hear, " you have the most beautiful beautiful skin color"

A fond farewell

2009-03-24T11:13:00.001-07:00

It will be a long time before I will be able to look at this, or any other picture of Murray without spontaneously breaking into tears.

Last Wednesday we had to say goodbye to our dear Murray. He has been slowing down recently, but heck at over 10 1/2 years old- that is allowed. Randy commented on Tuesday night that he would walk Murray on Wednesday when he got home from work. He attempted that walk but found him too weak to even return home and subsequently took him to the vet. I just "knew" that there would be something wrong. I called Kyle at school who left his class and met Randy at the vet. I left work early and drove as quickly as I could to the vet. When I entered the room about 45 minutes later the vet had made her diagnosis and recommendations. It appears that Murray had one or several tumors in his abdomen. Of particular concern was one in his liver, wrapping around organs and compressing the bowels. He was uncomfortable and we knew what we had to do. The cancer was inoperable and the most humane thing to do was to let him go. Fortunately we were with him, hugged him, reassured him and loved him as he passed.

I don't know what your belief system is, and I don't really care. I am sure Murray is in heaven now, chasing squirrels and waiting for the rest of us to join him.

I love you Murray.

The best dog . . . ever.

Second post of the day

2009-03-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

De Quervain's tenosynovitis. Can you say this? It's my latest "issue" Also known as "washerwoman sprain" (clearly not me) or "Mother's wrist" which new mom's get from the repetitive motion of picking up a baby (who's weight increases daily).

from the Mayo clinic website:
In de Quervain's tenosynovitis, the sheath of the tendons on the thumb side of your wrist becomes inflamed or swollen, restricting the tendons' movement. The result with de Quervain's tenosynovitis is discomfort and pain every time you turn your wrist, grasp anything or make a fist.
Treatment for de Quervain's tenosynovitis may range from immobilizing your wrist and taking medications to surgery in more serious cases. If you start treatment early on, your symptoms of de Quervain's tenosynovitis should generally improve within four to six weeks.

From personal experience I can tell you that it also interferes with sleep.
I haven't had an uninterrupted night of sleep since Saturday when this flared.
Today I was fitted with a large splint, and a smaller wrist splint. So NYC here I come, splints and all.

Looks like my knitting will have to wait for now!

The perfect color

2009-03-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had my hair cut.

Oh yes, big news (not)

what is funny was my hairdressers comment.

She said to me, "I know I don't color your hair, but I LOVE the color and highlights, how do you do it" She went on to say that in this current economy her clients are electing to do home color and save a few dollars. If I could possibly share my secrets, she would gladly pass them on.

well, here it is. Be sure to follow exactly or I cannot guarantee the results.

PLUS

So, what you have here. Use "perfect 10" by Revlon- I favor light brown. Swim in a public swim pool, you may use a cap. Be sure to apply the latter 5-6 times per week.

It will work. You should have a nice light brown color which is insanely shiny like Barbie hair. If all fails, contact Mattel to see if they have some spare hair for you.

ringtones

2009-03-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

What did we do before technology?
As you know (if you have been reading) I have a new I-Phone.
With all me previous phones I have had the kids make me ringtones which I assign to different callers. Randy has the theme from Sanford and Son, Ashley a Cake song called Opera Singer etc.
It's so helpful when you can hear who is calling, run in a sprint if its family and let the phone mail deal with strangers!
Well, the i-phone only lets you have personal ringtones if you use their music. HUH?
So, last night I started a new project.
I found a resource on you-tube and using both of my computer screens put the video on one and worked the other to create new ringtones.
Now the dilemma is what song to assign to who?
Randy is still Sanford and Sons.
Ashley is now Frank Sinatra "New York, New York"
Ingrid is Lady Marmalade "hey sister, soul sister"
Oma and Opa have John Mayer's "Daughters"
and now I'm open for suggestions for other songs. If you suspect you are in my address book- please suggest your own ringtone!

good Karma

2009-03-03T00:36:00.000-08:00

From Sanfords lips to God's ears.
I had called the pool twice . . . no bag.
I despaired, but finally gave in and ordered a new swimp3 and new fins . . . my swim essentials.
I went off to the pool in a foul mood.
The swim was cold and rainy . . . I was still grouchy.
I came in from my shower and noticed a bag hanging on a hook behind another woman midway through dressing.
"is that your bag?" I asked
"no" . . . quickly I grabbed it and ta-da , my bag was found.
"that's amazing" commented the woman. I told her I would be most amazed if all contents were intact.
They were.
she commented on my good Karma and wondered if I had given a parking spot to someone.
Now I see what my reward is for letting people ahead of me in the grocery line.
This is far better payback than I could have imagined!

sad . . .

2009-03-02T16:02:00.000-08:00

second post of the day, yippee- but kind of a whining one.
Yesterday I had a wonderful swim. As I said before I'm trying to make up for some lost time and have been hitting it as hard as possible whenever I manage to make it to the pool. Yesterday I put in 4200 yards- no slouch swim to be sure. I must have been exceptionally tired when I left the locker room after my shower because I left my mesh bag behind which contains my goggles, fins and paddles, gloves and beloved Finis swimp3 player which allows me to swim and listen to music during those long swims.

The problem was discovered when at lunch time today I went out to the car to find and recharge my swimp3 player. I quickly placed a phone call to the pool, not yet too nervous as I was one of the last to leave yesterday and it was only 11:30 am this morning. The desk clerk looked but found nothing.

My heart just sunk to my stomach.
I can't swim without my cap or goggles.
I don't really want to swim without my music
My shoulder requires I use the fins as part of my workout.

Insert a long string of epithets here.

Randy, always rational reminds me this isn't a huge issue. "just replace everything"
Oh, I will . . .
and this time I'm going to bedazzle the SHIT out of everything.
I find it hard to believe anyone is going to want to swim with fins or goggles with all kinds of bling on them.

I'm doing it. Imagine this hello kitty bedazzled all over my swim stuff.

something tells me my bag would still be in the locker room.

a different kind of love

2009-03-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

I would like to put politics aside and wonder aloud, just what is gained by breaking up these families?

bubbles . . .

2009-02-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Two posts in one day!
I went to the pool today trying desperately to get my February numbers up.
If you know me well, you know I'm not the neatest person around. The past couple of days, apres' swim I haven't hung my suit to dry and have accumulated a pile of wet suits in the trunk. So, since I was in a big hurry I pulled my old pink suit out of dry dock to give it a spin.
oh dear.
I noticed after turns that as I came up my suit would fill with air. Mind you this is a super baggy, stretched suit . . .not a good look. Then, when I made a turn the air would squeeze out and make sort of a big "fart" noise. OMG, I was laughing, and trying not to choke on water.
I kept going though- as if nothing was amiss.
The swim went something like this. Stroke, stroke, stroke, turn (fill with air) swim swim swim, turn- (big fart noise) followed by (fill with air).
I swam 2300 yards before I could take it no more. When I got out of the pool the bottom hung down about 8 inches- it looked like I was wearing a big diaper in my suit.
I showered and intended to dump the suit then and there but held on to it, just in case some very large person ever wants to swim in our pool and doesn't have their own suit- I've got them covered . . . literally.

Ash Wednesday

2009-02-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

Ash Wednesday, in the Western Church, the first day of Lent, being the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their lives. the practice, which dates from the early Middle Ages, is common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Episcopalians, and many Lutherans; it was also adopted by some Methodists and Presbyterians in the 1990's.

I remember so vividly, when the children were young, Ashley observing a woman with Ashes on her forehead on Ash Wednesday. Insistently, Ashley turns to me and in a VERY LOUD preschooler whisper says, "Mommy, that lady has dirt on her face". My face of course turned red as I tried to explain Ash Wednesday to my then four year old. Those days are past but each year Ash Wednesday is a visual reminder of lent. In many countries, the last day before Lent (called Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Carnival or Fasching) has become a last fling before the solemnity of Lent. For centuries it was customary to fast by abstaining from meat during Lent, which is why some people call the festival Carnival, which is Latin for farewell to meat.

From Wikipedia: Lent, in some, is the forty-day long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where according to the Bible he endured temptation by Satan.

Many modern Protestants (of which I am one) consider the observation of Lent to be a choice, rather than an obligation. they may decide to give up a favorite food or drink (e.g. chocolate or alcohol) or activity (e.g., going to the movies, playing video games, etc.) for Lent, or they may instead take on a Lenten discipline such as devotions, volunteering or charity work.

So, as I drove to work today I thought about what I would "give up" for Lent. Following a news story about alcohol consumption and a subsequent increase in breast cancer risk (Even as little as one drink per day!) the choice was easy. for the next 40 plus days, I'm alcohol free. I joked with Randy about this, had I known I was going to make this commitment, I would have partied up on Fat Tuesday! Randy thought he might give up working in the vineyard for Lent- I needed to gently remind him it was not giving up a chore or something you find difficult in the first place, rather something you find pleasure in or enjoy. He is still thinking about what that might be .

So, let's see how it goes. Is it too early to be planning Easter dinner . . . and the appropriate wine to go with it?

love and appreciation

2009-02-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

After a weekend away from home I returned Sunday night wondering just exactly what I was going to find (having left two "bachelors" alone for the weekend.) When I had parked the Expedition outside I was immediately greeted by Murray and Tucker (no, these aren't the two bachelors, rather happy, exuberant dogs.) I walked inside, wondering what kind of disarray I might find. The family room was tidy, the kitchen was clean and the counter was filled with items already packaged for Ebay. "There you are" was Randy's comment as he came around the corner, a wide smile on his face which lite his eyes. A big hug and kiss followed by "I missed you". You know you can feel when someone is genuine . . . he really was happy to see me, and he really did miss me. The most telling thing here . . . all the wrapped and ready packages on the counter. That is typically "my" job for Ebay and represented hours of work- he had done that for me to save me that work on Sunday evening.
Heart squeeze.

We had a quiet dinner, followed by an evening of Oscar watching while I made the labels for all those packages Randy had done. Kyle was out, not expected home for a couple of hours. Later I called Kyle, wondering when I might see him, he thought they would leave and be home in an hour or so. Well, that hour came and went but I couldn't wait up any longer and took my book off to bed with me. Much later, while I was sleeping, Kyle came in said good night and gently kissed me on the cheek. I actually incorporated this into and dream and it wasn't until yesterday that I asked him about it. "did you kiss me on the cheek last night?" "yes", he replied . . ."I didn't want to scare you, or make you mad by waking you, but I missed you"

As if being loved and missed could ever make a Mom mad.

fusion . . .

2009-02-23T13:26:00.001-08:00

Everyone, at one time in their life, should have a job that makes them appreciate what they do later in life. My such job was between my Junior and Senior year of college. I worked on an assembly line making pet feeders, and packaging supplies for pets. The job was HORRIBLE. We started early in the morning (6:30am) and worked very hard. The ladies on the line were all "career" workers- this was just a pit stop for me, but for them, this was it. If you remember the early episodes of the Roseanne show (when George Clooney was on) she worked on an assembly line, mine was quite similar.

So, where am I going with this particular wander down memory lane? Over the weekend I went to visit Travis in Santa Barbara. Austin's (Travis' roommate) father owns a company which produces energy drinks. Austin and Travis have been "contracted" to package these drinks for display and sale. I spent four hours "working the line" with them. We assembled display boxes and packaged product. Austin packaged for shipment. It was "sort of" like working on the line- only when I worked at the pet supply place I wasn't able to sit, sip a lovely IPA or watch movies.

These kids don't know how good they've got it!

"I do" believe in marriage equality

2009-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

I have just a minute. I'm sitting in the Las Vegas airport- my plane should have taken off 15 minutes ago, it just arrived from SFO so I have a bit of time before I get to board. But, I just have a minute.
Travis was in Sacramento today lobbying for the NO on 8 campaign.
The group prevailed and the item has been sent to the California courts to decide.
Travis and John (another Soc major) are planning to write a blog entry and publish it here- keep your eyes open! The kids were quite excited about their foray into politics- I am anxiously waiting to read their account as well.

i phone . . .

2009-02-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

Do you, or someone you know have an Iphone?
I just got one and though I do love it, it is a bit overwhelming. I sent Travis a message asking what are the “must have” apps. For those of you who may not know, apps are applications you can download onto your phone. Some are free, some cost anywhere from .99 to 4.99. I’ve decided that I’m only going to download the free ones, unless something comes along which is too good to miss.
I’ve downloaded a couple so far. A flashlight and a fitness calculator. The level looks interesting but given my lifestyle I’m unsure when/if I will require a level. The nice thing is, if I ever do, the app is there and can be downloaded in minutes. You can download a bill/tip calculator but I really don’t go out enough to justify that- besides which figuring a tip isn’t all that complicated. I guarantee you, if you can think of it, there is an app for it- I just need to sort out which are important and which I don’t need.
Suggestions?

Randy and Linda's Suite life

2009-02-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to bed early in anticipation of our early flight to Las Vegas today. Who knew that the winds were going to wake us up frequently during the night? I heard the sheet metal we use during wine making, I’m not quite sure what happened to it, but it sounded like it was crashing about outside. I dreamed periodically that the fences went down and I was worried about the dogs. We woke to moderate rain and winds which still were incredible. The fences were intact and the dogs happy in their respective houses. The storm did slow our progress across the bridge, but we got to the airport in plenty of time to get our flight. A quick coffee for me and mocha for Randy and before you knew it, we were sitting in the airplane. Our flight was uneventful- I watched “America’s top model” and Randy played mah-jong. Once at the airport I fired up my new phone and checked email. What was interesting, when reading the guide it said I could use the phone in flight in “airplane mode” I was too nervous to try it, but according the the guide, it is perfectly okay to use the Internet option- you just cant talk . . . hummmmm
We took the LONGEST shuttle from the airport to the Mirage, but it was interesting to see sites we have never seen before. Once at the Mirage we tried to check in, but of course we were hours early and took care of the business end- and had to wait for the room to be available.
Randy knows that I am not a gambler- we come to Las Vegas with the full understanding that he plays and I hang out at the pool knitting and reading (I’m such an old lady). Well, the weather here certainly isn’t conducive to pool time but I thought- no worries I can hang in the room. I brought a couple of movies to watch through the computer and my knitting and reading. The one exception to my no gambling rule- BINGO! The old used to have a bingo place, but that has been torn down. Randy did some investigating online and found a casino- off the strip- which offers bingo. GREAT! So, we had a quick lunch at Carnagie Deli and then were off to the bingo place. I ultimately did a goggle pedometer to figure out how far our walk was, and when I named it I called it Las Vegas goose chase. The title probably gives away what happened, we were unable to “get there from here” on foot. 4.2 miles later, we were back at the hotel and ready to check in. By this time, walking in Ughs my feet were barking! We got up to our room and must say . . . AMAZING!
Things you get in a suite, you don’t get in a regular room. Slipper and robes, A full bar (alcohol you pay for of course), cosmetics above and beyond the standard room and four full rooms of elegance. The toilet area also had a bidet, wonder if we will give that a ride?
This, is why I don’t fuss about Randy’s playing. With luck we come home without losing too much and they offer us this “sweet” deal again!

identity crisis

2009-02-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

When I'm at work many times I deal with people misunderstanding who I am.
Usually it is due to a language barrier, many of my ESL patients assume I'm a Doctor and insist on calling me "Doctor". It occasionally happens with even my very educated English speaking clients. I gently try to correct the impression, but generally this is jammed into their brain and they won't let it go. This particular mistake is slightly uncomfortable, but not as annoying as the folks who totally change my title.
For clarification. I'm an RN, a IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant)
at work we just shorten it to LC or lactation consultant.

Lots of patients call me the "lactationer" okay, I'll let that one go.
I've heard "La' tishner" or "Lactator" (sadly, that stopped some 18 years ago)
but today was the best yet. A lady called and sweetly asked, "are you the lactose consultant?"
I didn't have the heart to tell her that no, I did not consult on milk sugar issues.

knit, purl, unravel.

2009-02-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well . . what's new?
I finally made it back to the pool for an evening swim this past Monday.
It had been months since I had gone to the pool with the regularity of the past. I barely kept up with my mileage goals in December by having incredibly long swims whenever I could make it but to go more frequently, and for an hour swim at a time is much more comfortable. I finished 2008 with just over 330 miles. 2009 Started with a disappointing January total so my work is cut out for me! Now, I hope I don't talk myself out of going this evening when the temperature is sure to be less than two days ago.

I am enjoying the new found energy that regular exercise provides and have applied that towards knitting in the evening. I'm more than 1/2 done with the leg warmers I designed for Ashley, designed and finished two hats for Kyle, made some slippers for Ashley and now am embarking on a sweater/shrug for myself. This is my next project, only I'm not making it in purple, and I promise not to wear this skirt.

The reason I mention this to you related to a conversation I had with Ashley yesterday. Sunday she went to a "stitch and bitch" session in New York. While there she started work on a hat. I taught her how to make hats with a circular needle when she was in college and this was the project she was rediscovering. Yesterday she said her hat had an odd bump (forgot her exact word) and what should she do. Ultimately I encouraged her to start over. Best to complete a project you are proud of, not one with some strange affectation. I told her I can find tons of little issues with nearly every project I make, but one that changes the entire look, probably best to start over. I have restarted this sweater 3 times. I am hoping that this third start is the charm and it will soon begin to take shape and resemble in some fashion the model sweater.

Knitting is much like life. You learn from the little mistakes and sometimes come to love them- it's those big errors it would be best to completely remove and start over from.

a new nest

2009-01-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

Travis has moved!
He was initially so very excited to move into the house he started the school year in but within a short period of time it became pretty clear that this wasn't the ideal situation. Last year he lived with 10 folks, a majority of them being super slobs- Travis found himself doing a majority of the cleaning. This year there are 6 others (I think) who have taken cleaning to a new level. Travis is very neat. He was frustrated when one of the housemates tried to make a chore chart. The same house mate would leave sticky notes reminding him to do certain things. "PLEASE!" It's one thing to communicate, it is quite another to be passive aggressive with your communication. As Travis said, "I'm not 5 years old, just talk to me"
On top of that the personalities in the house were "interesting". There were the passive aggressive folks, the queen bee, the tattle tale folks, and let us not forget the most effeminate gossipy girlie boy who thinks he is fooling people that he isn't gay. Let me just put it out there Daniel- if people believe you are straight, they have issues.
so, Travis and his friend Austin (who lived in the same house with Travis last year) have found a one bedroom to move into. The move saves me $$ each month. Travis is thrilled because Austin stays at his girlfriends most nights giving Travis an apartment to himself most of the time! Brilliant! Let's just hope that relationship stays stable over the next 5 months!

I'm looking forward to visiting soon- I think it looks great!

It just occurs to me that the former roommates probably were not too happy to see the television go!

technology, gone wrong . . .

2009-01-29T08:42:00.000-08:00

I felt like I was living in a bad sitcom last night.
From the beginning. Tuesday morning, while working quietly on the computer (like this) the house alarm went off for no apparent reason. This alarm is a fire alarm, and burglar alarm. Since the burglar portion was unarmed I worried for a minute about fire and then once the worry was gone, set to disarm the alarm as quickly as possible. When Randy got home from work I explained what happened and suggested we have a company do a once through on the system to avoid this false alarms in the future. Yesterday when Randy came home early from being out the alarm was blaring, both inside and out. Luckily we had just discussed the alarm and I had reminded him of the code to silence it. After silencing it he decided it would be best to disarm them completely by pulling the electrical. (until they can be "fixed") When I got home it was evident that the battery was waning as there was just faint lights on the keypads.

I was happily sitting and knitting when Kyle came out and said to me "the alarm in your room is going off". Huh? Randy was in there asleep, how could he possible sleep through this? I got a flashlight and sure enough there was that very high piercing noise coming from the wall. I tried to disarm using the usual code but nothing . . . and Randy slept on. Meanwhile the two keypads in the living room and family room started alarming. I silenced those and returned to the bedroom- still unable to silence it. and, Randy slept on. I grabbed some bubble wrap and tape hoping to at least dampen the noise. No, this didn't work either, the alarm continued, and Randy slept on. Since he was not affected (he is wearing ear plugs) I decided to give it a few minutes. Sure enough- the other two started in with their portion of the song, once silenced I returned to the bedroom to FINALLY stop that alarm.

About 1 1/2 hours later I was finally ready for bed. While reading the alarm in the living room started. I got up, silenced it and returned to bed. 1/2 hour later it did it again. 15 minutes later, again. 15 minutes again. And, you guessed it, Randy slept on. Okay, I needed to get some of those ear plugs. It's after midnight, close to 1:00 am and I still haven't slept. I find earplugs in Randy's overnight bag and put them in. The only problem was the ringing in my ears from hearing that alarm. Within a few minutes I was asleep. I woke a few times to remove the plug and listen for the alarm. . . nothing. I will admit it wasn't the most restful night, but those ear plugs do work!

And now we "get" to spend money to have someone fix the system . . . oh yippee so much for technology.

Very disturbing

2009-01-28T09:50:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen it yet, please take the time to see "Slumdog Millionaire"
It is a wonderful story, brilliantly told and haunting with it's images of the slums of Bombay.

Filmed on location in Mumbai you fall in love with the children who bring this story to life. Imagine my dismay, disgust and horror when I read an article today which reveals how little the child actors who brought this to life were paid! click here to read the article

Meanwhile this film is expected to continue winning awards bringing more revenue to the producers. I am hoping this story goes viral and they are shamed into providing much more compensation for these children and their families . . .shame on them!

instant society, part deux

2009-01-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

Remember Monday when I ended my post by saying that I was going to order a new bathing suit?
Well, I did- I ordered a new suit, new goggles and a new mesh bag for equipment. The order went in sometime late in the afternoon.
Yesterday I was suffering from a hideous cold (still am, thanks for asking) and knew I was sidelined for the day. I decided that I should check to see when I could expect my new swim stuff. Couple of mouse clicks later and I read to my astonishment "delivered"

I didn't pay for expedited shipping.
My stuff arrived to my house 18 hours after I ordered it.
a shout out to swimoutlet.com

unfortunately, due to this cold I haven't been able to use the new stuff- maybe tomorrow!

Instant society . . .

2009-01-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

Are you as amazed as I am at how quickly we can do things now?
Constantly I am awed by the amount of information I can quickly access using my computer.
I remember being in school and having to write a paper. This took hours of research time at the library, writing a draft report and then typing the paper along with footnotes. The worst part was laying out the darn thing and then finding you didn't have room at the bottom of the page for the footnotes. Don't even get me started about typing errors! Kids these days have it pretty good. Between Google, Ask, and all other possible references online it's amazing HOW FAST information is available.
Not only information but shopping is incredible.

Case in point:
Remember in my previous post I told you about Ashley's ice encounter?
Tuesday night, while watching TV I fired up the laptop and found several options for Ashley to chose from for sturdy, good traction, cold weather boots. The next day she called me (with her cell phone from NYC- no charge for distance . . . do you remember 'long distance?') and had chosen a pair. While on the phone I clicked my mouse a few times and ta-da boots to be shipped directly to her within the next couple of days.

I can't even imagine how long this would have taken when I was Ashley's age. Think about it. We would have had to scour catalogues, called back and forth (long distance $$) and then finally found the appropriate boot.

I love this instant gratification! I'm going to order a new bathing suit now . . .

Housekeeping

2009-01-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

Just a small note, but I've cleaned up the blog a bit. Gone is the countdown clock for George Bush- new movies for 2009 added and my recent reads also updated.
I'm hoping to be better at keeping current- goodness knows I have lots on my mind to blather about, just finding the time and energy to write it is the issue!

be sure to read the latest installment (below)
cheers!

It's a new day . . .

2009-01-21T16:30:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you will all remember, many years from today, where you were when our 44th President took the oath of office. I was standing in Civic Center, San Francisco with 2 of my dear friends and 6000 relative strangers. Watching this event in a crowd was an unparalleled experience. In the hour prior to the actual start of ceremony we watched CBS's "pre game" coverage on the jumbo tron. As the crowd and others were panned you could hear our crowd cheer or jeer depending upon who was being shown on the screen. How liberating it was to stand with like minded people and boo without remorse Dick Cheney in his wheelchair. . . or GW (who brought the house down with his amount of boos). Equally impressive were the cheers. Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi sent the crowd into frenzy but when Barack Obama was shown- it was like being at a Stones concert. The picture, though poor quality, was taken from the KGO website- (they were co-sponsors of the event)

The only damper on my day was the gnawing in my stomach worrying about Ashley. Monday, while making her way home from a day of fun and frolic with friends, she took a nasty spill on ice and hurt her elbow and knocked her head on the concrete. Immediately she called Kyle (I was already in bed) and then some very kind strangers took care of her for a couple of hours before she got herself home. Once home she called again and this time Kyle came to wake me to talk to Ashley- "she hit her head" he says. Ashley sounded terrible, tired and probably worried- I instructed her to set her alarm for 3 hours later and have her roommate wake her if possible. The next morning at 5:00 am (our time) I called her to see how the night went. Brooke had woken her, she felt okay but a little nauseated. 1/2 hour later she calls me to say that while riding the bus to work she felt worse. A little later than this I called her and found she was in a cab and on the way to the MD. I also heard her have the cabbie stop so she could vomit on the road- Now, I started worrying. To make matters even worse- I had left my cellphone in my car and had to use my friend Fiona's. A bit later Randy called to tell me that yes, she had a concussion and they were having her go to the hospital for a CT scan. Knot in stomach now the size of George Bushes head.

After the end of the inaugural ceremony we walked and found a charming little cafe'. During this time Randy called me again to reassure me that the CT scan was negative and that Ashley was on her way home to rest.

24 hours later I am ebullient about the inauguration, and my daughters return to "normalcy" She goes back to work tomorrow and President Obama also will have to buckle down to some serious work. I'm looking for some really good shoes or boots with fantastic gripping ability for Ashley- I should also send our new President some thigh high waders to get through all the crap left behind by the previous administration!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

As you know I'm a terminal Pollyanna, it's easier to look at the bright side of things than to focus on the dark. But, realistically speaking, 2008 was a little bumpy.
The economy is in the tank. (avoid looking at your retirement statements, it will make you cry)
Unemployment is soaring (including a small stay there by Ashley) The dollar's value is roughly that of a small pebble.
Wars continue. Crime is rising, corruption is rampant. Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson are box office bombs.

on the upside:
I mastered my flip turn!
We are healthy, Ashley is employed again, the boys are thriving in college, we have a new President elect, Brad Pitt rocks.
oh, and the whole family is together for a few more days . . . all is right in my world.

So, sweep up those pine needles, eat your black eyed peas, give thanks for your health and hold your family close- 2009 will be fantastic! trust me . . . have I ever steered you wrong?

New sight

2008-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

I was bored this evening and don't even know how I made my way to this website but . . .
check it out.
If you like cats, you'll love this.
It's called "stuff on my cat"
http://www.stuffonmycat.com/

Fun stuff!

from the absurd to the more absurd.
did you read the news today about the family that just had their 18th child?
well yes, It's the Duggar family of Arkansas. And here is something unexpected (not)
All 18 of their children have names with the same first letter. (J)
sorry to be judgmental here but I find that particular naming pattern odd.
and, how the hell do you come up with 18 good ones?
p.s., they want more children . . . .

Shhhhhhhhh

2008-12-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

I think I'm probably the only person walking the planet who hadn't heard of the new literary sensation "The Secret" If you, like me, don't know what the "Secret" is all about, here is a snippet from Publishers Weekly to sum it up

Supporters will hail this New Age self-help book on the law of attraction as a groundbreaking and life-changing work, finding validation in its thesis that one's positive thoughts are powerful magnets that attract wealth, health, happiness...

That is probably over simplistic, and since I haven't read the secret, I have no idea what the entire thesis is. But here is the thing. Remember yesterdays post? I was lamenting the fact that I just haven't been "feeling" the Holiday's yet. Last night I was talking with Ashley on the phone and she had just read a bit from the Secret and had purposefully applied the principles of positive thought etc. Immediately she noticed a change in the attitudes of people around her- friends and strangers. I realized that this was what we had always taught our kids but somehow I had lost that myself in the recent past. I was succumbing to outside pressure to have everything done just so by date certain. When you do that you lose the important aspect of enjoying the journey!

I awoke this morning to a whole different set of goals.
I'm back to basics. If the house is decorated for Christmas, great. If the family is participating to achieve that, excellent. I will enjoy my time with my family and not stress about external "stuff".
These are not the principles of the Secret, but they work for me. Somehow I had just lost site of them. That is my secret

tis the season?

2008-12-17T15:26:00.001-08:00

Okay, maybe I'm not quite that bad but . . . I just haven't gotten into the spirit yet.

When Randy's work party occurred in November it was one of those incredibe unseasonably warm days . . .kind of hard to think of the Holiday's when the thermometer was at 70 that day.

We got our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving as is our tradition. This year we had one heck of a time finding one we all liked. We brought it home, stuck it in water outside and it cooled it's heals there until just last Saturday. Now it's in the house, but still unadorned. Christmas decorations are in the house, tucked safely in their boxes! Randy managed to hang Christmas lights up outside this weekend, just ahead of that COLD storm.

I did get the cards in the mail- more than 100 thank you very much.
I've finished all the gift shopping excepting a couple of little items.
Now I have to make the house feel "Christmasy" Maybe tonight? tomorrow? the weekend?

boys are funny . . .

2008-12-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

No matter how old they are, what kind of shape they are in, they simply CANNOT let a girl win.

case in point:

I was swimming today. In the lane to my left a man who appeared to be somewhere in his forties was swimming. I didn't notice him until I took a break after my first mile. As I stood at the wall and sipped water I casually took inventory of the other swimmers in the pool. 2 lanes to my left was the infamous "big bird" a man who simply cannot swim, lies on his back and makes flying motions. He kicks up a furious wake which disables breathing on that side when you swim beside him. To my right was a very old gentleman- a daily swimmer with a killer tan and a pretty good stroke. And to my left, a man who I graded a mid level swimmer. Quick assessment: jammer bathing suit (not the confidence of a speedo, yet more confident than a board short) and oversized dorky goggles (spouse probably purchased them on sale at Big-5) . I noticed too he was swimming with GIANT hand paddles for pulling and had a pull bouy between his legs. I kept taking inventory of other swimmers and then took off for my next set.

I swam up, but remained behind my neighbor to the left. He was pulling as would be expected. Since I've perfected the flip turn I can overtake a person doing open turns pretty easily- I did.
I then had to laugh as I felt splashing and wild swimming to my right (( had turned now remember) Mr. Jammer/big goggle had probably noticed my big pink suit, realized it was a girl and decided that there was NO WAY a girl was beating him back to the other wall. Big paddles on, pull bouy on, he kicked like a mad man to pass me. "go for it dude" was all I could think and at the wall, passed him again- Oh yikkes, he did not like that. Even more splashing as he fought to overtake me. This continued at each way for about 100 yards at which point he stopped at the wall panting. Lesson learned, slow and steady always wins the race. I kept up, unabated for another 1000 yards . . . poor poor competitive man.

(haha)

Thanksgiving eve

2008-11-26T23:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving eve.
I had to fore go my swim tonight as I had far too much to do to prepare for tomorrow.
For starters, it took 1 1/2 hours go get home from work.
Then, after throwing dinner a the boys, (literally) I made that last (hopefully) trip to Safeway followed by an evening of baking and meal prep.
It's now 11:45 pm and I've finished what I'm going to accomplish tonight.
The sauce for the yams is AMAZING, the pumpkin pies and eggnog cheesecake look to be pretty freakin good.

If all else fails . . . we have a cellar full of wine with which to fool our guests.

bon apetite'
Happy Thanksgiving.

Take a moment to be grateful. Despite temporary setbacks and difficult moments . . . .we are pretty lucky.

Current events and politics

2008-11-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

I promise, this is the last time I'm going to discuss politics . . . (haha, did you actually believe that?)

First I wanted to tell you about the Comcast forums and proudly announce I think I have conquered my addiction to them. During the campaign it was fun, profoundly addictive, but fun.
Post campaign it was pretty nice with most folks putting aside partisan politics and deciding to accept the decisions made (except a few poor souls who thought the election was stolen). A week after the election the forum that I frequented was closed and so I wandered over to the "News and current event" section. I was so disturbed to see the number of anti gay threads, folks gloating over the passage of prop 8. Well, you know me, I'm never one to back away from a fight. I discovered quite quickly that homophobs are not going to change their minds, reasonable arguments elude them. These threads were full of bible references (funny how you can pick and chose those) and the authors of the posts became quite nasty.
I suddenly had an epiphany. I am probably arguing with people like Fred Phelps, that crazy guy that goes to funerals of gay people to put up his disgusting signs and protest. Or, maybe I'm trying to reason with some guy who lives in his Moms basement. Clearly, neither is about to change their mind and once I put this into perspective I felt fine walking away from the whole thing. I actually got a very nice note from another person who said she/he enjoyed my posts, my empathy to the gay community and my reasonablness. This same person was also going to walk away from the forums as they were too hateful to participate in. So, until the next election cycle, I'm done!

Now, I have an idea . . .
It seems to me that both the Republican party and Domestic car companies are having a hard time these days. Two suggestions for both. Rebranding, without significant change, isn't going to work. Change must come from the top down. Get rid of the "old way" of doing things, look at your business model (or platform) and decide if it is current. Look at the needs of the majority, not just a small population and align your goals with theirs. Sounds simple to me.
It would be nice to see the domestic car market thrive again, and people working in this industry- perhaps we could even bring Flint Michigan back to it's former glory? As for the Republicans, unless they change soon (and I don't mean to make Sarah Palin their new spokesmodel) they can be sure that they won't have power for a very very long time.

still falling behind

2008-11-20T22:27:00.001-08:00

I have great intentions, I really do.
If you could get into my head you would know I'm full of great ideas and plans, it's the damn execution of those that gets in my way.

I have a lot to talk about, but it's a work night and I'm terribly behind in the sleep department.
I was just preparing to head into bed when I took one last look at online sources. Though I'm slowly weaning myself from the forums on comcast (more on that later), I still must look at Huffingtonpost.com and Politico.com before I can call the day done.

In my foray into Huffington I looked at Entertainment news. Two of my favorite shows are being cancelled! Ely Stone and Pushing Daisies are going away! I'm a little bit verklempt right now.
I know the pictures I chose are not terribly reflective of the shows, but in my current state of sleepiness, it's about the best I could muster! I love watching Ely Stone on Tuesdays, one because I think the premise is wonderful and I enjoy the musical interludes- two because Ashley always calls around 10:10-10:20 as she is headed home from Herald night. . . who will keep me company until Ashley calls if Ely is gone?
Pushing Daisies is a show that Kyle and I discovered last year. It's fun, whimsical and looks visually like a Tim Burton production. I think Kyle has a little crush on Kristin Chenowith. I'm safe saying this as I am relatively certain he NEVER reads my blog- if he does- so be it, if I was a guy I'd probably enjoy looking at her too.

so, this is my Thursday night despair.

At least I still have Top Chef to look forward to . . . . .

tomorrow I'll further update you and tell you about my dark adventures into the comcast forums . . . .

modern life . . .

2008-11-07T13:06:00.001-08:00

About 2-3 weeks ago my washing machine started misbehaving.
I don't know why, but when the boys would use it, it would overflow. This happened 3-4 times in the past several weeks. Unfortunately, not only is it a pain in the neck, it has caused some damage to the laundry room floor.
As I said, this seemed only to happen to Travis or Kyle.
The machine has a particular thing it does only to me . . it stalls. Midway through the wash it stops, hums and discontinues the cycle. It could quite literally take days to complete one load- waiting to restart and keeping fingers crossed it would finish a cycle once restarted.
I called my favorite repair man last week and he thought he could fix the overflow, but the stalling . . he wasn't too sure. I was looking at about $300 just to fix one problem, who knew if he could trouble shoot the second.
what to do? Should I get a washboard and tub and go to it the old fashioned way? should I go to the river and wash with stone? (no close river so that is out)
On my way home from my hair appointment I decided to stop in to Western Appliance- I found what I hope to be my next favorite appliance! Disregard the image of the dryer (my Kitchenaid is still nicely functional)
This thing spins so hard it woke Randy up last night, he thought there was a helicopter in the laundry room. Okay, it appears I need to figure out all the best settings yet!
Looking forward to washing washing washing this weekend!

I'm Back!

2008-11-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

It's over! My self imposed exhile from blogging and into the dark world of politics has finally ended. I can stop looking at Realclearpolitics.com, Politico.com, Huffingtonpost.com and fivethirtyeight.com every 15 minutes. I WILL stop looking at the forum on Comcast, and I will stop trying to change the minds of deeply entrenched wingnuts on the same forum.
I am free at last!

Last night was beautiful. At 8:00 pacific standard time, when the networks all called the election Randy, Kyle and I enjoyed a glass of champagne, a toast to the future and the incredible video from Chicago.
John McCains concession speech was sincere and clear, Barack's acceptance speech was inspiring.

And now, we move forward.

As an aside, if she were still alive, Betsy would be celebrating her 38th birthday today.
Betsy was our poodle mix dog when we were growing up- one of the BEST dogs ever.
Happy Birthday Betsy- say "woof" to Akita for us, will you?

Looks like Fox news, but it's not!

2008-10-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

this is fun, get ready for a giggle, or two.

John McCain Accidentally Left On Campaign Bus Overnight

McCain's voice mail to Sarah Palin

2008-10-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

Listen to this and get ready to laugh!

of course, it's a joke, but it' fun!

Les Misbarack

2008-09-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Good stuff!

Woo-hoo!!

2008-09-27T15:29:00.001-07:00

See Jane tri was today. . . .
I started getting particularly anxious yesterday afternoon- what had I thought signing up for this? Geez I wish I would have signed up with someone, sometimes a buddy is what it takes to get you inspired and keep you going.
Thank goodness I had Randy in my corner.
We got up and left the house while it was still dark outside. The park opened at 6:00 in Pleasanton, but since I was in the final wave I didn't think we needed to be there too early. I thought leaving at 6:00 was fine.
Off to the Starbucks for Randy's daily drink (and a grande iced Americano for me) and then off to the park. Finding parking wasn't hard although already about 75% of the spots were taken. As I stood in line to get my race packet Randy found a staging area to claim and hung up my bike. Kudos to him here as the area he chose was PERFECT.
After retrieving my check in packet I looked at the wave schedule and found that I was in the FIRST wave, not the last. Evidently they want the old ladies to go first so we don't hold the whole event up!
A few trips to the potty (nervous) and then down to the beach to wait to start this thing. As I looked at my fellow competitors I was amazed at the high tech gear they were wearing. Lots of tri suits (one piece short sleeve with shorts that are padded for cycling) . . . some wet suits and various combinations. I was one of only a few in just a bathing suit, cap, goggle and nervous smile. When chatting with some sweet 20 somethings earlier they asked what I was wearing, I told them I was doing this "old school", no tech gear. They both laughed and said I would be fine. Later I told them that this was my first . . . they were incredibly sweet and supportive.
Before I knew it the bullhorn sounded and off we were. MUCKY!! and a little SMELLY! slowly walked into the water and then started swimming. Wow, lots of arms and legs everywhere. It was quite easy to get disoriented. I found myself having to heads up breaststroke the first 100 yards about 1/2 the time just to see where I was going. Occasionally I got to break away and start free styling but would occasionally swim up on what felt like a seal or a whale- these were women in wet suits! The second and third quarter I back stroked- I was able to move away from people and relax a little, a started to go slightly off course, but corrected it pretty well. The final 1/4 was confusion again but before I knew it- I was walking up the beach and to the transition area.
The problem with not wearing the technical gear- I had to put clothes on for the bike ride and lost a great deal of time doing that. Minutes later I was on the bike, going up the hill, safely clicked in and off on what I hoped would be a good ride. I still am a nervous rider (from being hit by a car) but this ride was incredibly well marked and we had police at all intersections. Now I hit my "stride" I was passing people! I wasn't being passed! I probably rode a little harder than I should have, but . . . I felt good! Randy was standing up on the road as I entered the park- what a boost to see a smiling familiar face! Naturally, just as I was watching me, I got passed. But, in my defense, they were 20 somethings. This I know as we had to mark our legs with our age.
Now, back to staging and prepare for running.
This transition didn't take me as long and off to the run.
The temperature is starting to climb and immediately I start getting hot. Man, I'm having a hard time keeping my breathing steady. What is with my legs? Have they ever met my body? I'm feeling a bit awkward and uncomfortable, man my legs feel like to bricks! Oh, looks like I may have pushed the biking farther than was smart!
I probably walked 1/3 of the "run" portion BUT, was only passed by a few other 50 somethings (quite a few were ahead of me, some behind) I was passed by loads of 20's though. They started 10 minutes after us so between the swim and bike it didn't take them long to overtake me!
It felt like 10 miles, not three but soon it was over and the finish line was near.
Now, I wanted to stop and walk SO BAD! There was only about 500 meters to go and I was dying! Fortunately there were heaps of people cheering so it was impossible to stop.
Before I knew it I was crossing that line and hearing the beep beep of my electronic ankle band.
And there smiling at me were Randy and Kyle. I nearly cried I was so happy to see their smiling faces, I'm so pleased that they look so proud.
I did it! It's done!
No recriminations for the walking- I'll just do better next time!
And I will do this again . . . because I can!

vacation feet

2008-09-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

Before I left for vacation I wanted badly to get a pedicure. Between work/the condo/wine work/ and other life issues I wasn't able to even cobble out the necessary hour to have that done. With steady hands, my strongest glasses and strange body contortions I was able to paint a reasonable facsimile myself. I arrived with lovely wine colored toes.

I completely underestimated the damage sand would do to my paint job. Within days the edges of the work were destroyed. I had packed my polish, should I try to fix this mess? Heck no, found some remover and am enjoying natural looking feet.
The sand is also working wonders on my toe ring, it hasn't looked this brilliant since I put it on 3 years ago when vacationing here with the whole family.

vacation!

2008-09-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to be able to post pictures more regularly, but it isn't easy as I don't have a card reader in this computer.
We are having a wonderful time. Relaxing, exercising some, drinking some, enjoying our friends.
Life is good, I'm particularly happy to be away during this election time . . it's too anxiety provoking for me!
more later!
xoxo

pictures, as promised!

2008-09-14T18:32:00.001-07:00

This is the "interior" of the cluster of buildings. The accommodations are very nice.
I need to find a nice calm ocean place to swim, for now a little swim in the pool worked for today. Randy ran this morning, I slept- maybe tomorrow!

Aloha!

2008-09-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

We have arrived!
My intention was to update daily with pictures without checking first to see if this computer has a card reader slot . . .it does not. Dave has suggested that they may be able to upload and email me pictures to post, we may try that.

Let me go back a couple of days and help explain why I've been so absent lately.

The rental property we are buying has been all time consuming. I won't go into detail but suffice to say that "gutting" a property and then restoring it for rental takes a little time. Then there were last minute loan kerfuffles which caused a small ulcer to develop (kidding). Between Bruce and our property manager John, I have left California with full confidence that things will be fine.

Thursday I happened to get on the computer to just check the status of flights.
My return flight was there (as changed a few weeks back) but, the departing flight was absent. In my hand I held my confirmation papers and called United. I called them and the clerk denied that I had a reservation. We "discussed" this for a few minutes and then I asked to talk to someone else. It took about 20 minutes but ultimately they "found" a flight for me. We actually left earlier than previously booked which made Randy happy and since it was a last minute flight I upgraded us to the bigger seats so that we could sit together. Well spent $100 total as we were comfortable on our way here. We arrived yesterday afternoon- hit the market and then found our way to the Whitmers.

The condo where Dave and Loie have their time share is gorgeous. I'll post pictures just as soon as possible.

I did take a short ocean swim yesterday. I underestimated how disorienting the waves would be. I'm not too worried about the swim portion of the tri but am determined not to let my swim fitness suffer too much. It's already the middle of the month and due to all the extraneous demands lately I've only logged two days worth of mileage swimming!

more later- aloha!

Vote!

2008-09-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

I know I've been terrible at keeping this up to date and vow to turn things around.
I'll make every effort while on vacation to check in periodically and keep you all current!
Things have been exceptionally crazy in Harrellville. Randy and I are preparing for vacation, the rental condo we are buying closes imminently, we've gutted the place and need to make it inhabitable ASAP, the landscaping is going great (but was on hold due to gophers), the grapes are ready and the Merlot has been picked. These are a few reasons for my absence.

In a day or two I'll start catching up but until then, enjoy this.

Biathlete?

2008-08-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

I know I'm getting ready for a triathlon but haven't managed to experience more than two of the events on the same day during "training". Mind you training has largely subsisted of me swimming, and not fast I may add. Time at the pool for me is part visiting, part meditation, mindless laps as I listen to my swimp3 player (best invention EVER) which all combines to an hour (or more) of a fantastic recuperative experience.

Thanks in part to my two live in coaches (Randy and Kyle) I've been getting my butt away from the pool and starting to focus on the other events- which has totally messed with my swim mileage- but has made getting ready for the triathlon much more real. Running is steadily improving. Today Randy and I went out together and ran the first 1.52 miles and then did the return walking. Tuesday he and I took the bikes to Bollinger Canyon where we set off for a ride. Now, remember please how "warm" it was last week. We parked the truck, took out the bikes, fussed with the seat, lost (temporarily) the tool box key and then were off. I was so very nervous. The ride I discovered was ALL uphill to start. Between the heat, the hill, and my anxiety I realized that I probably hadn't thoroughly considered what I had signed up for. MY GOODNESS, the riding was hard. I complained to Randy and wondered what had become to the woman who had previously ridden 100 miles one day and then went out for another ride the second day? I was panting, sweating, white knuckle gripping the handles. Finally I said to Randy, ENOUGH. I wanted to cry- I probably had only gone a mile or so. Around we turned and started back. He was right, the ride back was entirely downhill. The sweat dried, the legs relaxed, I got going a bit faster than was comfortable. . . it was magnificent. By this point the endorphins had come in to wipe out the memory of the beginning.

After we drove the truck up to see how far we had ridden, actually we had gone 2.7 miles uphill and were within about 1/2 mile of the end of the road. A goal for another day.
Today I got a proper bottle holder for my bike and sunglasses to wear while riding.
Tomorrow we set off again.

with the help of my coaches and best supporters . . . I may actually be able to finish this thing!

Three things

2008-08-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

A few things happened today:

I managed to run a but farther than in the past (1 1/2 miles) followed by a 1 1/2 milk walk

I got back on my bike (5 1/2 miles)

My youngest turned 19.

The final is obviously the most important.

Happy Birthday Kyle, you made the Harrell Family complete and we love you!

not a morning person . . .

2008-08-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

Recently we purchased a nifty new alarm clock. It projects the time onto the ceiling, which is prefect for those of us with poor vision! Travis liked it so much that he took the first one I purchased causing me to have to get another- Kyle has his eye on this one but, I digress.

This morning the alarm went off for Randy who mistakenly hit the snooze button when he got up and prepared for work. Ten minutes later it went off again and I groaned thinking it was for me. It took me a bit to realize what had happened and then I saw clearly, getting up at 5:00 to go to Masters swim practice is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. I am much too much of an evening person- I can't force myself to sleep before 11-12!

Randy and I had a good laugh about this today. He is a morning person- glowing and ready to go at 5:00 am . . . that's when I get my best sleep! I'm a night owl- I can stay up, fully locked and loaded until 1:00 am, no problem. Why change now? This marriage has gone well for 28 years, I think we have a good thing going!

Clean and sober for one day now. . . .

2008-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

What? It's true, "My name is Linda and I'm a comcast forum-aholic. But, this time I'm kicking the habit.
What is the forum? It's a place where comcast subscribers "meet" to discuss topics of the day. I initially got involved with a relatively innocuous post. Some lady was complaining about Dara Tores being too old to compete in the Olympics. Well, I simply could not let that particular ignorance go by and I schooled her properly. But listen now, this was my gateway posting, it led to a deep a dark addiction. I entered the political sphere.
I argued with right wing boobs until my fingers were raw. I posted retorts full of factual back up, citations and links . . .but still the idiots refuse to listen.
I was thinking about the specific writers who would always read the same thread as me, but were diametrically opposed to my views . . . ."allym" , "Linda K", "jodie from nh", "Bubbah", "patriotguy" etc.

I think I had my epiphany yesterday when some jerk replied, "well whinefamily . . . " Oh yes siree, that was so clever on his part (not) He had taken winefamily and made his little joke, trying to make me look like the jerk. (which is something lots of these guys do) At this point I thought- why am I bothering? who am I even arguing with? I figure (based on spelling and writing abilities) that this isn't the cream of the conservative crop. Probably quite a few unemployed folks who spend their day online, creating a life there. So, I'm done. I haven't returned since yesterday morning and though I'm tempted to see what they are chatting about today, or if anyone has replied to any of my comments, I stay away.

you don't think it's possible do you? there is a fellow who calls himself "deciderguy" . . . . just a thought

I brought this on myself . . .

2008-08-18T21:14:00.001-07:00

I feel like this, but acted like this . . . . a bit of a disconnect!

Here is what happened: Every now and again I have a little back "twinge" It lasts for several days and then it's but a memory for the next few months until it inexplicably returns. Last Wednesday I started to have such a twinge. Thursday I went to the pool and thought a nice, slow, stretching swim would help with the pain. Slow was the key word here and in about 1/2 hour I felt much better. At that point I was stopped on the wall and having a sip of water and noticed a camera man and some other folks on the other side of the pool, set up just outside my lane. What? I wondered what they were filming and truly prayed I wasn't in the shot but given the angle, I thought there was no way I wasn't. The man in the adjacent lane agreed and added they were from Channel 5 news. "Great" I groaned, "now I'm going to be self conscious about my swim" "Lucky you" was his reply . . . arghhhhhhhhhh
So I set off on my next set, this one with fins to give me "super power". When I made my turn I decided I needed to act like a "real" swimmer and did some underwater dolphin kicks. Geez, I felt like a super hero flying across the pool. The set went exceptionally well and I imagined myself looking much like all the Olympic athletes I'd been admiring for nearly a week. I forgot about my 50 year old body crammed into my pink suit and swam visualizing a cross between Natalie Coughlin, Michael Phelps and Dara Tores. I was magnificent, my flip turns were stunning, my underwater dolphin kicks amazing.

Now, I'm sure you are wondering, was I on the news? Nope, but my friend Michelle who does a violent flip turn that splashes the deck was, well not her so much as the tsunami she created on her turn. So I have no film evidence of my amazing turns and kicks. But, the day it to be remembered for sure. Those dolphin kicks played havoc on my back and I've been paying since. Ashley reminded me I am not a competitive swimmer and such kicks are unnecessary. I agreed and am a bit embarrassed about my attempts at notoriety. Clearly the story of the day was not "Amazing 50 year old women, in pink suits, imagining they are Olympic swimmers" . . . film at 11.

my family tree . . .

2008-08-08T10:09:00.001-07:00

Thank goodness for personalized ringtones, and for the fact that I always leave my cell phone on.
How many times have you misplaced your cell phone? With luck it isn't on silent and you can simply dial it up and follow the sound. The other day my phone slipped out of my pocket when coming home from SFO after fetching Kyle. We were in Kyle's car. The next day, while sitting in my car before leaving for work I did a quick inventory of things needed and realized I didn't have my phone. Where was it? A quick round of the house revealed no phone, peering through all crevasses of the car also yielded no cell phone. Ah-ha, I'll call it and follow the noise.
Walking throught the house, no noise.
In the garage and my car, no noise.
Out to the drivewasy I could faintly hear the ringtone assigned to the house phone. It's a little song which in assending scale sings "You are, you are, you are my family tree."
Thank you Ashley for creating this ringtone for me, without it my phone will likely still be hiding under the seat in Kyle's car and I'd still be wondering if I've lost my mind.

1, 2,,,,,,,,,,,,3

2008-08-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

I got an email yesterday from my Mom with this very subject line. In the text section all she wrote was "I don't know, do you care to tell us? Rather cryptic right?
So, I return email with a query, "what?"

It turns out Mom and Dad went to the Napa fair and discovered that our wine entered had scored a first and second place. Our label- designed by Ashley from an oil painting she did for us Christmas 2006 won 3rd place . . . . YIPEEEE

a broken thermostat?

2008-07-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

Heating and cooling . . it's amazing how temperature control can affect our lives!
Just recently we replaced our entire heating and cooling system in the house. Naturally, since it's been replaced, we haven't had to use it but are waiting in happy anticipation of our next heat wave. Along with the new system came snazzy new thermostats- I haven't had time yet to figure out the bells and whistles, but I will eventually.

Our nearly new refrigerator is having problems with temperature control. It cools too much, freezing parts of the unit and impeding flow of water through the chilled dispenser. I did my own "repair" the other day by blow drying the water line but today it's frozen again. Looks like it's time for the refrigerator repair guy to come back.

On the other end of the temperature spectrum, my own thermostat is keeping my body VERY warm at times (aka, hot flashes) These are neither pleasant, comfortable or amusing AND I don't think there is a repair available.

An amazing relationship

2008-07-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not as much of a "Youtube" watcher as others in my family but this one is not to be missed.

Christian the Lion was purchased from Harrods department store in London by two gentlemen who lived in London and worked in a furniture shop. (Remember, this was 1969 and selling exotic animals was "okay". ) The two kept Christian until he became too large to stay in the city- at that point they flew with him to Nairobi Kenya where they gave him to George Adamson at the Kenya Hora Reserve for the purpose of reintroduction to the wild. One year later the two went back to see him and were cautioned by George that he had reintegrated successfully and may not recognize them

It is truly astonishing and heartwarming. The bonds of a wonderful relationship are amazing.

silly law? . . . , yupp, I think so!

2008-07-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

As of July 1st in California we can no longer talk on our cell phones, while driving, unless we are "hands free". So, just over halfway through the month I'm thinking about how this law has affected me.

Earlier in the year I purchased a bluetooth accessory for my phone in anticipation of this law. It worked "okay" and I kept it ready for the July 1st date. I lost it. So, July one rolls around I am I bereft of headset. Quickly I order a new one from EBAY. The new one is literally the size of my thumb. It arrives, I try to sync it with my phone and it doesn't work Quick communication with seller and he sends a new one, but in the meantime, I need something to work hands free. I find an old fashioned "dongle" cable to use. It is passable, I can hear the caller and they can "kind of " hear me. I use this.

The replacement bluetooth arrives. I follow instructions carefully and sync it. When I'm on the phone with my friend she tells me it sounds like I'm in a fish bowl. Crap, this is supposed to have the newest noise cancelling technology. Back to the dongle I go. Driving in my little car it's supremely evident that no sort of hands free is going to do the trick. It's now occurred to me, I need one of those headsets that pilots use- this will allow me to speak, and hear without all the ambient noise bothering everyone.

Today, as I was driving home from Napa my phone rang. Quickly I try to reach for the dongle, put it in my ear, turn on the phone, AND most importantly- keep from swerving around on the road. This new law makes us safer? I don't think so.

And, the most ridiculous part of the new law? People are allowed to text and work online (on their phones) while they drive. I was with a friend the other day who, put on her reading glasses to text her son, while driving . . . this is safe? don't think so.

Substitute a vowel please . . .

2008-07-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the "fine" folks from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka Kansas? They travel far and wide to protest at the funerals for Gay soldiers and other Gay citizens. Typically they hold crude, homemade signs which say "God hates fags".
Well, today I stumbled upon a website which I think they need to visit. It seems that God hates FIGS! (click on that for the link) Poor ignorant souls, a simple vowel change, and then they have it right. All the documentation they need, right there in the bible (several times)
Where will they take their protests? The largest producer of figs in the world is Turkey . . . I think that is an excellent destination for these folks. . . .

long time, sorry

2008-07-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

I think maybe the heat had something to do with my inertia.
Perhaps it was also the fact that I've been rather boring lately as well.
Same old thing, get up, whine about the heat, swim, whine about the heat, go to bed where I sleep poorly, wake and repeat.

As of today my year to date swim mileage is 204.19.
The annual goal of 300 is within my sites.
I've been struggling with a sore shoulder lately, so I'm trying to take it easy.
It would be easier if I could cross train and run more but the heat has made that impossible for me. (see paragraph one)

This week, weather permitting, I'll get back into my sneakers and put down some mileage. My goal is to get prepared to cycle as well. wish me luck with that one!

enjoy your week, it should be cooler!

Happy Birthday Marcel!

2008-07-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Ashley's love is now ONE YEAR OLD!
Happy Birthday Marcel. . . . wishing I had a cute picture to insert here!
In honor of Marcel (and all adopted animals) please make an effort to visit this link on a daily basis to help out other animals who haven't had the fortune yet to be adopted into such a loving home!

Speaking of cats . . . Bella has been hunting again.

Last week, digging around for a sweatshirt to put on in the morning (definitely last week when the temps weren't always so high) I picked up my favorite fleece to find a very large alligator lizard residing in it. (thank goodness I found it before putting it on . . .ewwwwwwwwwwww)
anyhow, I took it to the front porch and coaxed it out. Days later we found another one, this without his tail (she like removing them) trying to move around the dining room. Randy cornered him and put him out.
This morning I found a very large alligator lizard tail, but no lizard . . . where, pray tell, is the rest of him? Bella isn't saying. Bella did however have a good time hunting mosquitoes this evening- she will keep us safe from West Nile virus- thanks B

news you can use, to amuse . . .

2008-07-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know if this was widely reported, it should have been simply for the humor factor.

Do you remember Larry Criag? He is that "wide standing" Senator (R-Idaho) who plead guilty to inappropriate conduct in the men's room . . then later it was revealed it wasn't his first trip down naughty lane. What about David Viterr (R-Louisiana) who was identified as a client of "D.C. Madam" Debroah Jeanne Pallfrey's DC prostitution service in July of 2007.

These two "upstanding" pillars of the community have teamed together with others to co-sponsor a federal Marriage amendment. A man who pleaded guilty to lewd conduct in propositioning an undercover police officer for anonymous sex in a bathroom, and a man who allegedly has a diaper fetish exerting their moral authority over the rest of us. The actual wording of the amendment and the status of Vitter and Craig as co-sponsors can be seen here.
I didn't want you to think I was making this whole, absurd event up!

I'm so sick of this kind of politics. But, when two idiots like this are behind the amendment it becomes even more disgusting. Grow up already. Allowing gay marriage isn't going to undermine society . . . it isn't going to lead to moral decay (which evidently already exists in some homes) . . . all it will do is let others enjoy the same rights granted by law that straight married people already enjoy. And I guarantee you that there is an abundant amount of gay couples much happier and secure in their relationships than these two legislators. Shame on them, and on the people who line up behind them and cheer on these close minded, hateful amendments.

run? jog? bouncy walk?

2008-06-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not entirely sure how you could classify my dryland exercise adventure today. It certainly wasn't a run . . . maybe more of a jog, with a bit of a bouncy walk thrown in.

But, I did it! As you know I made a deal with myself that I was going to enter AND COMPLETE the "See Jane Tri" ladies only triathlon this fall. So, time to step up, lace up the sneakers, hit the track and see how it goes. Not too bad actually. I dug out some running garb, loaded up my little ipod with Dave Matthews music and drove over to the Monte Vista track. I know, a little counter intuitive, driving to the running spot. My idea was that the track would give me measurable "milestones" so that I could track my progress. Small problem, the MV track is closed until late July. Where now? Not SRV, chances are the Hoots would have a game there and I certainly didn't want to run into them. . .ah-ha Las Lomas in Walnut Creek- also close to Trader Joes for a dinner ingredient pick up. Although the pool at Las Lomas was full of young men playing water polo, the track was empty. Before I left for this adventure I did some reading online and decided that a slow and steady approach was going to be the best. 20 minutes of "movement" was all I was expecting of myself, broken into alternate walk/jog. So lap one, walk (sort of speedy) lap two jog . . . hmmm surprisingly not difficult. Let me say here, I could have maintained this pace and done lap three jog too, but decided to stick to the original plan and avoid "injury". Lap four jog. . . small arm pump, I've completed a mile! lap five walk, lap six jog. I could keep going, but have hit my 20 minute mark.

Kinda fun. I'm sure I'll feel something in my back or hips later but for now, I'm rather pleased.
This afternoon I'll hit the pool for the first time since the biopsy- if it stings (the incision) I'm outta there, but I'm hoping for a nice, long, stretching swim.

So, I'm officially entered. I'm starting my training. I'm going to do this thing! See Linda swim, cycle and run (or jog, or bouncy walk)

A beautiful word . . .

2008-06-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

It's like a game show from the 60's. Put the two pictures together to sound out the most wonderful word to hear today.

Two days ago, after a follow up digital mammogram, I had a breast biopsy done. To preface this let me tell you what the radiologist said when she read the second mammogram, "I'm not 100% sure it's cancer" . . . hummmm, not the most reassuring thing to hear. Anyhow, I kept a very positive attitude- at the very least I realized that we found the little bugger very early and treatment, should it be necessary, would be simple. After we finished the biopsy on Tuesday she told me she would call in 4-5 business days to let me know results. Here, two days later, she calls with the GREAT news and the only caveat is that I need to go back in 6 months.

The past 2 weeks have been excellent in terms of giving perspective. Life is short- make the most of the time you have, and take good care of yourself. So, the moment the doctor gives permission (this weekend) I'm back in the pool AND am starting training in earnest for the "See Jane Tri" a ladies only triathlon which benefits breast cancer research. Randy and I have had time to make promises to keep care of ourselves, and each other. I hope you all will do the same.

To the ladies out there, be sure to keep current on your mammograms!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

2008-06-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

As I finally have time to sit and write this today Ashley who is on East coast time has already moved onto June 20th.
Twenty four years ago today (the 19th) our lives changed forever.
I remember just before she was born I had a sudden panic and was worried I was under qualified to be a parent (I was) and would never be able to rise to the task.
I think we did okay.
This gorgeous (and smart) baby is now in an "off off" Broadway play, she is totally self sufficient and "living the dream" in NYC.
With good intentions and lots of love, things turned out well.
Live your life as you started it- loud and in control, causing all those around you to fall in love with this magical person.
Happy Birthday Ashley Anne Harrell!

what happens in Vegas . . . comes home in Travis' pocket

2008-06-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

To celebrate his 21st birthday, as Ashley had enjoyed before, Travis experienced the Mom and Dad trip to Las Vegas. June in Las Vegas is a very warm affair. Temperatures were over 100 degrees all three days we were there but that didn't stop the intrepid Harrell's from walking the length of the strip from the Wynn to Mandalay Bay. We enjoyed a wonderful show, hung out at the pool, ate and drank plenty and of course, did a little lever pulling (gambling ala' slot machine).

The agreement was this, Travis was given $100 to do with as he pleased. He started slowly and enjoyed his time at the nickel slots never losing too much. Monday after walking to Paris for breakfast we decided to head down to the Wynn and work our way back to our hotel (MGM). Once in the Treasure Island Randy spotted his favorite "wheel of fortune" machines. Travis sat down and after a slow start had a very lucky streak. We had quite a system, my job was to count winnings so that he always quit ahead. His job was to be loving to the machine which seemed to love him back. Over $200 later (in the black) we walked back to our hotel. Monday night after a walk in the opposite direction and Travis having a ride on the roller coaster at NY NY we spied some "lucky" $1 machines- these would come to bless us this morning. After a late breakfast today I stood guard at the machine Travis chose as he and Randy got ready to come in for the kill. Randy gave Travis $30 in coin which he promptly turned into about $150. All in all the kid went home with about $400 in his pocket he didn't have when we landed in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.

Sunday we also went to the newest Cirque de Soleil which is based on Beatles music- VERY GOOD. Perfect for a huge Beatles fan (Randy) and someone who loves all music (Travis)

A wonderful trip, excellent memories, and Randy made money too- no wonder we are all smiling!

A moment of pride. . .

2008-06-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

As parents most of us can reflect on times when we stood particularly proud and often that involved something our kids did. It starts with small things like actually making it to the toilet on time and grows over time to include athletic, academic and social accomplishments.

Today I had a moment of extreme pride and it was my Mom who inspired it.

You may remember a bit ago when I "revealed" that I had been born Republican and chose to become a Democrat? My parents were both Republicans when they first arrived here as their close circle included all or mostly Republicans. That same circle remains even though some have probably changed their views (or maybe not, who knows). Today my Mom got an email which was one of those stereotypical bashing emails about Obama. She said that deleting it didn't give the satisfaction she needed so she REPLIED ALL and said "Folks, this is hate mail"

Right now I'm standing an applauding this 76 year old woman who simply had enough. A brave step and one that makes me want to stand next to her, hold my head up high, and thank her for saying "enough is enough" Way to go Mom!

looking for something to do this weekend?

2008-06-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

do you already have plans for next weekend?
if not, please check out the link below . . .
http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/may08/peace29may08.htm
Previews start Thursday the 12th and opening night is June 20th.
more than anything I wish I could see this!

sunday . . . updates

2008-06-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

This will be boring.
As of today, my annual swim mileage is 172.68 miles. Given the date, it appears that the original goal of 300 miles should be fairly easily achieved. Now I also have breathing room for some anticipated absences from the pool. This coming week I'll miss 4 swims, it will make June light, but I have to look at the end game and not worry about small setbacks.
Sunday we take Travis to Las Vegas for his "21 year old celebration"
We have show tickets in hand and between that and some time to read and relax, I'm a happy gal.
I'll leave the gambling to Randy and Travis! wish them luck!

Fahrvergnügen

2008-06-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

Remember the ads from the 80's or 90's which had this little phrase in it?
Do we know what it means?
I have an idea, now in 2008 when gas is over $4.00 per gallon farvegnugen means "you get more than 14 mpg (like in your Ford F150)
it also means "when you move away to college, your mom gets to drive something with working air conditioning"
Frustrated by fuel costs we elected to invest in a commuter car for Kyle. Now he gets to ride with leather, heated seats. Working air con, a 6CD changer, power front seats (adjustable for individual drivers), a moon roof, and every other goodie a good German car could provide. Am I jealous? hell yes. Am I bitter, well . . . maybe just a bit!

a happy dance!

2008-06-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

I know this looks like it's probably McCain supporters, but it was the best I could come up with this late at night, and after a long day.

Yahoo, the primary season is finally over. Conventional wisdom says that Hillary will finally "suspend" her campaign on Friday and we can then begin to coalesce the message of the Democratic party and get to the business of winning the White House in November.

It's going to be an exciting election year. California is also going to have it's share of interesting propositions to consider. I feel like I'm back in the 60's and we will be fighting for peace and civil rights. Now, that's a fight I can get ready for!

Sunday morning pundits

2008-06-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

I love watching political TV. Most evenings, when making dinner I first spend a little time with Keith Olbermann on Countdown and then Dan Abrams on Verdict. I love both these shows as they have a pretty even panel representing all sides. On the weekend you can watch a little George Stephanopolis, (I meant a small amount, although he is little). Tim Russert, Face the Nation, just about anything you want. Today my friend Fiona sent me this clip as a forward from her brother in Tennessee. Do you suppose these are the new FOX news hosts? Please watch it- VERY GOOD!

flavorful memories

2008-05-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

You know how certain music can just transport you back to a specific memory? Smell can also do the same and I have discovered so can taste.
Recently Randy loaned a bunch of his fishing equipment to a local private High School who used it to decorate for a retirement dinner. After the dinner they returned the items along with a lovely thank you and a small canister of butter mints. Mindlessly I opened one of the mints and was immediately transported back some 45 years to my Great Aunt and Uncle's home on Sproul avenue in Napa. Near the door, in a small cut crystal dish Tante Hilde (Aunt) always had butter mints. Mind you, hers were the bigger "bonus" size ones. Heavenly! We were allowed one after dinner and just maybe another when we left. The other fabulous thing about this house was the built in raised fish pond in the back. So, whenever I eat a butter mint, I'm there, smaller than I am now and looking into that fish pond.
When I was first married I tried to get use out of some of my small crystal dishes by copying Tante Hilde and putting butter mints into them. Since there were no small children visiting, and Randy doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, you can imagine where all the mints went. I learned quickly that this wasn't a good idea. This has been re proven recently as I have eaten nearly every mint in the canister while Kyle and Randy avoid them. It's been worth it though, time travel is cool.

stay in your own lane!

2008-05-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

This could be a traffic complaint as easily as what I'm actually fussing about.
People who, in the swimming pool, have their hands and feet drift over to your lane and cause bodily harm.
Today I was having a lovely swim. The sun was shining, I had a good warm up and was now in the midst of my one mile, uninterrupted swim. Suddenly I feel a scratch on my leg, followed by another from my waist to my thigh. The man in the lane adjacent, feet and hands akimbo, had managed to sneak his appendages under the lane line to "molest me" ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH
I sort of stopped, stunned- looked and him and he progressed without even a pause. What did he think he had hit? It's not as if it was an open water swim and it may have been a buoy, or a boat, or a fish . . .
I recover, and finish my swim BUT, not before the creep next door does it again.
and, I have the scratches to prove it.

Now, when the kids were playing water polo we expected some injuries and abrasions, but, lap swimming . . . come on. Randy seems to think he was some sort of creep out for cheap thrills.
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

ignorance and corporate compliance. . .

2008-05-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know what is more disturbing, the fact that some idiot on FOX news complained about Rachel Ray's scarf in an online ad, or Dunkin Donuts succumbing to pressure to remove the ad.

Here is the story- in the ad Rachel appears as in the picture to the right. Michelle Malkin (a Fox news commentator) thought that this was a kiffihey, a middle eastern garment "popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage taking videos". What Ms Malkin fails to take note of is that such a garment is a "normal" and expected dress of the region. Much as we would never consider leaving the house without shoes on, men in this region would not leave the house without their kiffihey. They serve multiple purposes, to protect against sand and wind, heat and in the bad weather, cold. To assume that it is a symbol of terrorism is a giant leap, and quite naive.

To make matters worse, Dunkin donuts succumbed to the pressure of this person and pulled the ad. No wonder we are confused about all things middle eastern- we are so easily frightened of things we don't know.

If we were to apply her logic to terrorism then perhaps we should avoid images of men dressed in whatever Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nicols were wearing when they carried out the Oaklahoma City bombing. This two are home grown terrorists who carried out their attack in pants and tee shirts- do those images conjure up terrorism to you?
didn't think so.

Don't be afraid of what you don't know.

2008-05-26T15:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday evening I was driving to an errand and decided that it was a good time to listen to some "conservative" radio and see just what those folks were jabbering about. (I listen, so you don't have to). What immediately struck me was both the callers and host referring to Barack Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama". Hmmmm curious. What is the point of including his middle name? I'm pretty sure were seldom refer to Hillary Clinton as Hillary Diane Clinton and when was the last time you heard John Sidney McCain?

So I'm thinking that the main reason to focus on the Hussein name is to frighten people. I know that sounds so nefarious but there is a certain segment of the population who will hear the name and consequently attribute a negative connotation and then by extension feel negatively toward the name holder.

I've done a little research and found that HUSSEIN (hu-SAYN) means good boy, good looking boy, or handsome depending upon the reference. The origin is Arabic and it is a fairly common name in Arabic and African usage.

Maybe Mr Obama should consider a substitute more palatable to the double digit IQ's who fall victim to this "fear mongering" I've drafted a list of similar meaning names and their origins.
Alan: Celtic- handsome and cheerful
Beau: French- handsome
Cavan: Celtic- handsome
Kenneth: Celtic- handsome
Kyle: Celtic- handsome, near the chapel.

I think I found a winner in the midst. Not only is Kyle my sons name (so I naturally favor it) but the "near the chapel" part of the meaning can help dispel those fears of Mr. Obama being a Muslim. It's a win-win!
okay, now I'll pull my tongue out of my cheek. They can call him anything they want, just so long as after November it's Mr. President.

this, that and names

2008-05-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

Remember a bit ago when I talked about giving people at the pool names?
Looks like I'm not the only one who does it (at the pool)
Today I was swimming and was sharing a lane with a very nice man who introduced himself as Carl. When I responded with my name he said "I always call you Ironwoman" He wondered if I had a name for him. "No, just nice guy" which he always is. This little conversation made me feel like a strong super hero- I was going to have a fantastic swim.

As Carl finished his workout I was about to embark on my "long" swim of the day. The distance on this swim always varies, but the premise is the same- don't stop and see if you can beat previous times. Off I went and had hoped to accomplish 1600 meters without a single stop.

I was off to a good start. The first 10 laps flew by- but, suddenly I felt a presence of something LARGE in my lane. On the next pass by I realized I had been joined by another woman. No problem, I'll stick to my side and hopefully she will do the same. 20 laps were done and my time was pretty good as I sneaked a look at the clock during a breath. Before I knew it I was coming up on 30 and was starting to celebrate thinking just 2 more and I've done a mile! As I approached the wall for my turn I noticed some bodies in the lane. I had to quickly pull up and stop and when I did it caused an enormous cramp in my right calf which prevented me from even moving. In front of me was a man (missing at least 1/2 his teeth) and his small son. Clearly they didn't understand the concept of lap swimming and had abandoned the rec lane in favor of the more open lap lanes. Finally they moved away, but my leg was still too sore to swim anymore- no worries I had already done 1.9 miles- i just really wanted that last 2 timed!

oh well . . . no whining- Ironwoman can't be a sissy for crying out loud.

and by the way, year to date mileage is: 156.25- unless something happens I should easily achieve the set goal of 300 miles.

enjoy your holiday tomorrow- we are going to have a hike, hopefully the leg cramps are gone by then!

i wear a lapel pin ,. . . therefore I support the troops

2008-05-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

Given that Monday is Memorial Day, a semi patriotic post seemed important.
And, another opportunity to complain about John McCain.
Did you read the news about the roll call vote on the "New GI bill"?
Well, both Hillary and Obama stopped their campaigning long enough to return to the hill for the vote, Mr. McCain, not so much . . . he missed the vote.
The $165 billion measure passed by a 70-to-26 vote, after the majority Democrats stripped the legislation of language from the House version of the bill that would have mandated troop withdrawals from Iraq, And while the bill was drafted by two prominent Vietnam veterans in the Senate -- Democrat Jim Webb and Republican Chuck Hagel -- the currently best-known Vietnam vet on the Hill is siding with the president. "I take a back seat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans," John McCain said yesterday on a California campaign stop, then one begs the questions . . . why vote against them?

You can look at the entire roll call at: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_cal
l_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00137#position
and before you think I'm ENTIRELY partisan. . remember the bill was co-sponsored by a Republican and many R's voted for it . (all the ney's were R's too)

So, to be truly patriotic it takes much more than a lapel pin.
Let's really support the brave military personnel, both while they are in the field, and once they return. Physically, emotionally and in all possible ways.
"Hoo-haa" (army )

and in other political (shameful) news . . .

2008-05-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

George Bush has angered US war veterans by declaring that out of solidarity with those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq he decided to make his own sacrifice: giving up golf.
In an interview with the Politico website, the president said he made the decision because of the war. "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

I don't have much to say about this, as the entire thought process he has is stupefying. But, from farther on in the article I read Friedman, who is vice chairman of the US veterans' organisation VoteVets, added: "It shows how disconnected he is from everyday Americans, especially those who are serving in Iraq."

Now, whereas I am pleased to see that John McCain realizes that there is some environmental issues to deal with I am dismayed that his history doesn't reflect his sudden conversion to environmentalist.

McCain Scores a ZERO on the Environment
Arizona Senator Skipped Every Crucial Vote in 2007
Washington, D.C.--In the 2007 National Environmental Scorecard released today by the League of Conservation Voters, John McCain receives a score of ZERO. McCain was the only member of Congress to skip every single crucial environmental vote scored by the organization, posting a score lower than Members of Congress who were out for much of the year due to serious illnesses--and even lower than some who died during the term. By contrast, the average Member of Congress scored a 53 in 2007. McCain posts a lifetime score of only 24.

Oh Dear, do you think he has adjusted his stump speech in order to curry favor?

Have you heard some of the possible running mates for Senator McCain? Yesterday I heard the Mike Huckabee was on the short list. YIKKES! Think about this. If Senator McCain wins, and Huckabee is the VP, Huckabee is literally a very weak heartbeat away from being President. This is the man (who I admit is sweet and charming) wants to toss the constitution in favor of the bible.

In doing a little bit of research on West Virginia I saw some statistics that aren't necessarily widely reported, but do explain what happened on Tuesday. 94.9% of the residents are white.

25% of people over 25 DO NOT have a high school education. 14.8% of the population over 25 has a college degree. Yupp, that's Hillary's demographic.

Oh, and by the way, did you realize that John Edwards won 7% of the vote in West Virginia. Now you can argue that people made that as a protest vote, or it is totally conceivable that without cable news and Internet they didn't realize he wasn't in the race any longer.

A stunning picture of Hillary!

2008-05-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe I'm being a little mean, but come on already.
The math doesn't work, party insiders are starting to agree, it's time for the lady in the pantsuit to give it up already.

NOW

French actor found?

2008-05-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Gérard Depardieu, remember him?
How about the movie "Greencard" from 1990?

You can also go to IMDB and see what this french man has done.
Why am I fascinated with him?
You remember me talking about the guy at the pool who Kyle and I call Tsunami?
The dude who lays on his back, kicks his feet, and waves his arms like a big bird? He creates such big waves swimming next to him is hazardous as you can barely get a breath before the giant swell hits you in the face.

Last night I realized, when Tsunami Sam arrived, he looks EXACTLY like Gérard Depardieu.

weird . . . . .

a quick getaway, birthdays and mother's day . . .

2008-05-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

When Ashley moved off to Santa Barbara it seemed very far away initially. Soon however, the distance seemed smaller as we made many trips south to see her in various productions and for other events. Now, with Travis there as a Junior I feel like I can do the drive in my sleep. This weekend Randy and I set off at 7:00 am Saturday, arrived in time for lunch with Travis followed by a whirlwind of activities. We took a trip to the Santa Barbara zoo . . . which is a little ironic as Travis had a trip to the zoo (Oakland) for his 2nd birthday so an early celebration of his 21st at the zoo seemed quite appropriate. At the trip 19 years ago Randy and Travis were covered in Llama spit when they got a little too close at the petting zoo.

There were no Llama's at the Santa Barbara Zoo but I thought this picture, with the giraffe's in the background was a pretty good substitute. After the zoo and a great walk on the beach we had a small rest before we headed off for a great dinner. After dinner it was movie time as we enjoyed "Ironman" . . . (great action figure movie)

Sunday of course was Mother's Day. We enjoyed a great breakfast and then headed off for a quick grocery shop and then the drive home. Once home I was treated to Kyle BBQing dinner and then collapsed into bed.

I'm already looking forward to my next trip to Santa Barbara in June helping Travis settle into his new apartment.

And this is Travis doing his best George Bush impersonation, enjoy!

words to live by . . .

2008-05-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

Given the serious post from earlier today I thought a light hearted post was important.

Born in the year of the dog I thought it important to consider learning from the dog's perspective.

so, I'm going to consider living more more in the way of a dog.

If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away.

Republican by birth, Democrat by choice. . .

2008-05-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

When my parents emigrated to the United States in the mid-fifties my Dad was sponsored by his Uncle, a very staunch Republican party member. Naturally, Dad took advice from his Uncle and other close family members and this likely influenced his decision when he chose his political affiliation. The 50's was the time in the Republican party of Dwight D. Eisenhower and an entirely different party thesis than exists now. Eisenhower was president 1953-1961 and saw some wonderful advancements in the country during the time, including the birth of the Peace Corps in 1961.

The next decade saw the turn of the party as Reverend Jerry Falwell found the "Moral Majority" and the Christan "right" began their slow and methodical overtake of the party. Ronald Regan, probably one of the most beloved Republican Presidents, inherited one of the worst economic times in history as Jimmy Carter encountered a recession during his term. Reagan also suffered a recession during his term (July 1981-November 1982), as well as beginning the ridiculous "war on drugs" which lead to overcrowding in prisons with 1/5 young black men incarcerated for various drug offenses. The first Bush also enjoyed one of the worst economic times with a recession in 1990. Things turned around in 1997 when American reported a robust economy which created the longest prosperity in US history. In 1999 the budget went into surplus. (sorry elephants, this was during the Clinton years) I don't need to tell you that those conditions no longer exist- we are definitely in a much different place now.

Sometimes I hate the divisiveness of politics. Occasionally I wished there were no party definitions, we just voted for who was best. I don't necessarily follow the "party line" but have found as I re-registered as a Democrat quite a while ago, my ideology is more in sync with today's Democratic party- which looks much like the Republican party of long ago.

So, I'm a donkey- I'll stay a donkey.
and, yeah for yesterday! Hillary, please pack up your game pieces and go home . . . please!

just reporting the facts . . . .

2008-05-05T23:21:00.000-07:00

Did you miss this in the news?
ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Speaking at her Louisville, KY campaign headquarters, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., told a crowd of supporters Thursday that she is pulling for the filly, Eight Bells, for the upcoming Kentucky Derby.
In selecting Eight Bells, Clinton picked the only girl horse in the race. Perhaps the most fitting move for the woman vying to be the nation's first woman elected president.
Clinton in full Derby enthusiasm even tried on a traditional derby hat while greeting well-wishers. WATCH VIDEO HERE.
Sen. Clinton repeated her desire for the filly to be victorious – saying to a crowd in Jeffersonville, Indiana saying she was sending in her daughter to place her bets. "I hope that everybody will go to the derby on Saturday and place just a little money on the filly for me. I wont be able to be there this year – my daughter is going to be there and so she has strict instructions to bet on Eight Bells."

well, sadly we know how this turns out.
Eight Bells came in SECOND and had to be euthanized track side.
She was beaten by . . . .
Big Brown.
hmmmmm. . . ironic? karma?

Also, just to remind you at home. Hillary often compares herself to Rocky Balboa.
someone needs to point out to the Senator that in Rocky 1, Rocky Balboa lost his fight . . . to Apollo Creed, (and just to keep the record super straight, he is a black man)
just sayin . . . .

keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow. Go Barack- let's put this thing away! It has been entertaining, but I'm no longer amused. We need to get busy defeating Grumpy McCain