Linked 2013 - Me...

Before I attempt to say a few things about me, I would like to thank those of you that left condolences on my last post, they meant the world to me, and those of you that did not leave a comment, thank you too, I know who you are :-)  and if you haven't read it and you want a good cry...

This is a difficult post to write, I rarely ever talk about myself. I've heard that everyone likes to talk about themselves, but in my case, that would be wrong.

This is my second attempt at this post, so, here goes nothin'..

I was born April 18, 1956 in Minneapolis, MN, so yeah, that makes me old enough to be your mother!
eatyourvegetables brushyourteethbeforebed sayyourprayers
I'm an introvert - big time
I sang in my highschool choir and now sing in my church choir
I listen to music in my car, but I rarely listen to it at home
I hum the same tune Every time I start working, or cleaning, or gardening...it.is.so.very.very.annoying, and I can't stop, I don't even know what I'm humming.
These things make me giddy with excitement:
     Universal Studios
     The air show we saw in Chicago, three years 

     The hospital helicopter taking off or landing
     When rescue vehicles sound their sirens during our city parade
     Fireworks
I love jeans and sweatshirt weather
My signature style is a tank top under a short thin sweater with jeans or pants
I love flip flops
The house I live in used to be my grandparent's house. We remodeled it with a family room, second floor and a three season porch
I have lots of flowers to take care of
I am Mom to Kira, Andrew and Ethan
I am wife to David

I have one grandpup, one grandkitty, and a grandsnake
My first tattoo was done when I was 49
My kids think it's cool that I'm not computer illiterate
I love to draw animal portraits in graphite and flowers in colored pencil
Obsessed is probably an understatement when it comes to my camera(phone) and my Canon 7D *sigh
I look at things differently since Instagram :-)
Fibromyalgia has been my constant companion since 2002...what a stupid thing, no one knows how or why one gets it, but I constantly hurt in specific places
I try very hard to eat gluten free because I've read that it could help with the pain, and it really does
I also try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and ready made dinners
Aspartame will never again touch my lips, or chocolate
I love frozen coffee drinks, especially Dunn Bros. non-fat pumpkin icecremas
I am obsessed with eventually making a tasty, crisp gluten free pizza crust
The last time I had my hair highlighted was December 2011, my gray hair is actually coming in white, I like white
My eyesight is horrible, I've worn glasses since 5th grade and my eyes are too dry to wear contacts anymore - damn
I love action movies with lots of explosions
I would love to be a special effects person, or a set designer or an architect
I would Not be a medical lab tech if I had my life to live over, not a bad job, just not what I'm interested in
I used to smoke
One of my ears is double pierced
I had braces
I get monthly massages
I had a drug during labor with Kira that pretty much knocked me out, I hated it
My other two were natural, no drugs or epidurals or anything else
I could be the woman that goes off on her own, squats behind a rock and has her baby
At my hospital, they use both versed and fentanyl for a Colonoscopy, I found out the hard way that fentanyl makes me throw up
I was given an anti nausea medication during my eye surgery after I told them the versed and fentanyl they were going to use makes me sick
I've had a sleep study
I've had eight cats and eight dogs, two of the cats I still have
I'm not sure how long I'll last without a dog
I love soaking in my claw foot tub
I love a good thunderstorm
If we ever move, it will be to the country with open rolling hills where I can see beautiful sunrises, sunsets and watch thunderstorms roll in

I don't have a dishwasher

I try to go for a daily walk

When a greeting card makes me cry, I know it's the one to buy

I can't watch those ASPCA comercials, even with the sound muted

I cry watching the St. Jude Hospital show

I like dark colors, Kira calls them my comfort colors

I'm not a girly girl, nor have I ever been
 

 Age is just a number...I do not feel my age (I may look it, but I don't feel it)













I've Linked up with the following talented ladies for a monthly post...
click on their name and see who they are.


Amanda  Carla  Hanne  Heather  Rhonda  Jenn  Tracey  Rachel and Tracy


 








peace, love and happiness to all

Gluten free...

About six weeks ago, I decided to stop eating anything with wheat for awhile, to see if the Fibromyalgia pain I have would be lessened. I've read a lot of articles and Googled Fibromyalgia with wheat, parvovirus, etc. to see what other people have to say about it and what works for them.
I don't take any drugs for it, but I do take a lot of supplements that really do work. I've thought many times that  they weren't working, so I stopped taking them, only to be in more pain until I started taking them again. It took me awhile to realize that I was feeling better because the supplements were working, not because I just didn't need them anymore.
I've read articles stating that gluten can cause muscle pain in some people, so I figured I would give it a try for awhile, because what do I have to lose, pain? that would be great!
I had already given up all artificial sweeteners, I don't drink soda, I rarely eat cookies, if I had any cake, it was without the frosting, any large amount of sugar makes me cranky and I simply can not eat chocolate! I turn into a raving bi__h...honestly, ask my family...they WILL tell you. Going gluten free was actually very easy. I don't miss it at all, and I haven't substituted gluten free breads, cookies, or pasta yet. I wanted to get the urge to eat bread and crackers out of my system before I started substituting with gluten free kinds.
I did buy a gluten free pizza crust a couple of weeks ago that was tasty, and I had this evening to myself, so I though I would try another one.

I found this in the freezer section of Cub Foods and it is very good. All pizza crusts are different, in taste, texture, thickness, some are good and some are not so good. I really like this one, and I can not tell that there is no gluten in it. It tastes like a homemade pizza crust.

I used a light Alfredo sauce, some shredded chicken from last nights dinner, torn, fresh spinach leaves, bacon bits and lots of mozzarella cheese...it was so good. (sorry, my photo makes it look a little questionable)

Then, I made the mistake of buying a bag of cookies...that was stupid, I was doing just fine Not eating any.

I love spicy ginger cookies and these are scrumptious, crispy, spicy, sweet. 

Warning...donotbuythem, they are addicting!

I found several gluten free blogs and I think I may be brave enough now to try some of the recipes,

thank goodness I have a husband that will eat anything. The thing is though, without gluten, I have lost

five pounds, I don't have tummy bloat (well, not as bad) and I don't retain as much fluid anymore, and

I really do have more energy. Who would have thought, huh?

Oh, yeah...my pain?? I still have pain, but at least now someone can touch me without causing me more pain, I can poke my thighs and there is no pain, I can squeeze my arms and there is just a little pain and my cat can stand on my legs and I don't wince.

This week was National Laboratory Week, and of course there was a lot of food. I was so good! 

I am happy :-)

03.16.12...

 March 16 - me

I find it extremely difficult to take a photo of myself, because...I can't stand the way I look.
My teeth aren't white, I have jowls, my neck is wobbly and wrinkled, I have hardly any eyelashes or
eyebrows. tsk I should be happy and thankful that I am alive, and healthy, and I am very thankful, but
I wish I looked like I used to, or someone else, or that I could manipulate my face like I can in photographs. Yikes! That might get a bit strange, if people's faces started to morph into something else while they were
talking to you.
Anyhoo, I just couldn't get excited enough to try real hard, so I took these with my phone, futzed around a bit and this is what I got! I like the one in the lower right corner best, because it is the darkest and much of
me is in shadow!!!   :-)

No words needed...

Headache...

Ever been afraid to go to sleep because you know the headache you woke up with, that almost went away in the late afternoon, will probably come back as soon as you lay your head on the pillow?

Some of me...

I'm taking a great risk and joining a self portrait project with a whole bunch of women over here.
Like a lot of women, I do not like having my picture taken, never have, but hopefully, I won't hate it forever. Now that I'm "OLD", everything has changed on my body. My skin is dry, and saggy, I have jowls and my neck is wrinkly. My face is getting that soft, fuzzy look that older women have. It's frightening...I do not feel my age at all, I feel so much younger. I was talking with my mother-in-law a few years ago, when she was a young 92 yrs old and she was complaining about the wrinkles on her face. I thought she was being crazy, because geez, she was 92 for gosh sake, she deserves to have wrinkles. I asked how old she felt and she replied she felt 30 yrs old. Wow! I'm starting to see what she means.
Hopefully this project will help me feel better about myself, or take some needed steps to accomplish that. I believe it will help me see myself as others do. I do believe it will be an eye opening project, and I have to admit that I an looking forward to it.

I took a bunch of photos of myself, looked them over and found a few a liked. This is the one I liked best.

This is just straight out of the camera, I didn't do anything to it, I tried, but I liked it better this way. After looking at all the photos from other women posted on flickr, I now have a whole bunch of new ideas for future photo sessions.

Missing Mom...

Ever since we got back from our week in Florida, Annie has been hanging around me more than usual.
I believe one of two things:
1. My sister (who Annie stayed with while we were gone) and my mother spoiled her by paying too much attention to her.
2. She missed me and is afraid I'll leave again if she turns her back.

Well, she may have missed me, but I actually think she got spoiled...my sister is real good at spoiling. Annie got a treat each time she came in from being outside, (not necessary, she comes very well), she went through a whole large container of yogurt (if she only got a large spoonful each meal, there would have been some left), and they just plain baby her.

So now, she won't leave me alone...and she stares at me...it's a strange feeling when she just stares at me.

When I eat dinner, when I watch television, when I'm in the bathroom and most of the time I was reading my book, there was her head, peering at me. She is so intense! Sometimes I really wish they could talk.

Universal Studios...

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can hardly stand it, I am officially On Vacation! 

I have 11 glorious day off work. 

Sunday, Southwest Airlines will fly us to Orlando, and on Saturday, it will bring us back home.

Kira and Andy are meeting us down there for a few days and we are going to

 Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. 

Just like the Chicago Airshow, 

Universal Studios just does not get old for me. 

I revert to a child in both places and that is just fine with me.

Universal Studios...Here we come!

49 degrees...

What a gorgeous day. January 10, 2012 and it is 49 degrees at 5:30 pm. Too strange! 

Tonight the temperature is supposed to drop and we have a chance of some snow, 

then by Thursday the high will be 18 degrees. 

I wonder what Spring will be like? 

This seems to be a favorite tree and branch for this eagle, I've seen him twice in the last three days.

The Magnolia bush that was allowed to stay when the Mississippi Trail was put in, is loaded with buds. 

I can't wait to see all the flowers in the Spring, unless the weather stays strange and 

Mother Nature feels cranky.

I promised Annie a walk yesterday, then got busy with something so I made sure we went today. 

I even have proof!!

Winter?...

Does anyone have snow this year???

I'm reading blogs from all over the place and it seems that we're all having the same weather.
I hear people at work comment that they are happy the season has been so mild. They are happy they have no snow to shovel. They are happy they don't have to bundle up like the abominable snowman.

Well, I'm not happy about it at all. I like winter!

Sure, it's nice to take a walk on dry pavement, and not have to worry about making Annie wear her booties (which she hates). It's nice to be able to get in my car in the morning and drive to work without the worry of getting stuck in the snow, or sliding off the road into a curb or pole, or getting rear-ended because someone needs new tires. It's nice to not have a backache from shoveling the deck, and patio, and sidewalk, and driveway (because we don't have a snow blower...which is my fault...I just don't want one).
What isn't nice about this mild winter is the fact that we are not getting any moisture. We walk by the Mississippi River, and this spring, the water was so high, the big concrete dock by 694 was nearly under water.
Now we can see sandbars, or maybe they are islands, that I don't remember ever seeing  before. David said he remembers them, but...I don't always believe him...he likes to take the opposite view of whatever I am talking about.
Ducks, several kinds, geese and our resident pair of eagles are congregating in the open water. A couple of days after our New Year's Eve snowfall, ice chunks were floating down the river, but the next day they were gone. Last evening, the water was perfectly still, odd for a river of its magnitude, but never the less, it was still. I would have been able to get a great eagle picture if I would have had my camera with me, and if I would have had the lens that Kate http://chroniclesofacountrygirl.blogspot.com has. He or she, how does one tell the sex of an eagle, was sitting on his favorite branch, just looking around. I'm assuming the other one was hunting for dinner, or maybe she just needed some time alone. ha! We are able to get quite close to him...maybe I should just start bringing my camera with me, hmm, what a concept!!

I love mild winter nights when it's snowing huge flakes. It's so quiet, and still, no wind to whip those flakes around, so they just slowly drift down into piles. I love going for walks in the winter, my boots crunching the hardened snow, not having to worry about slipping on ice. I love having blizzards, as long as I get to stay home and don't have to get up to go to work the next day. Those days are perfect days to have a fire in the stove, curl up in the chair with Oliver, or even Little-Bit if he's feeling in the mood, with a cup of coffee and a good book. I love hearing the snowplows go by. I love hearing the neighbor day-care kids playing outside, trying to wade through the snow with their snowsuits and boots and little short legs. I even love like shoveling the driveway. Actually, I really do like shoveling the driveway, it's the deck that I can't stand shoveling, because the shovel always hits the screws that are sticking up from the wood. Those screws ruin the edge of the shovel and jar my arms when I run into them.

It is only January 7 today and we have a good three months of winter left, and we all know how much snow can accumulate in three months. I want a chance to wear my new winter (snow) boots and I want to go snowshoeing. I have been saying for the past three years, that we are going to go up north in January or February and go snowshoeing. We were going to get snowshoes for each other for Christmas this year but decided to wait for a sale, since there wasn't any snow at the time. Now...we might not get a chance to go at all. But, we might be able to get a deal on those snowshoes in preparation for next winter (which is really only a few months away).

Remembering my word...

I picked my word to center myself with and I've already forgotten to use it.

Believe..I need to believe that this pup will be okay in his new home. That his new brother will accept him and not dominate him. I need to believe that he will learn, he is so very smart, that he will thrive, that he will continue to be a very nice, loving little pup. I need to believe that his new brother will have a little surgery done so he too can be a happy, calm, loving dog. I need to believe in my son and his girlfriend, that they actually know what they are doing and will be able to handle any problems that may arise. I need to believe that I can keep my nose out of their lives and let them live them as they see fit. Oh my, it is soooo very hard to be a mom to adult children. I still want to tell them what to do and how to do it. I try to keep it down to suggestions, many, many suggestions. 

We got to know this little guy while he stayed with us for a few days. It was a little touch and go the first day, but we quickly got used to each other. With my daughter's training tips, we found out just how smart he is. He is a quick learner, he loves to play catch, he got used to our cats, and stopped pulling Annie's neck fur. We were working on the word 'leave it', and another day or two would be all he needs, but he won't be learning that from us now, he'll have to learn that from his dad. I believe I'll wait until my son has his next couple of days off before I go see him. 

Maybe we can all go for a walk.

Kilo could wear his new jacket!

Believe...

This is my word for 2012, Believe.
Some of the bloggers I follow, choose a new word every year to center their lives around. They write inspiring posts, including fabulous photos. I can neither write anything inspiring, witty, or even well, and my talent does not include photography. I believe I can work a little harder during this fresh New Year of 2012, by putting more effort into writing (although, I believe ya either got it or ya don't) and hopefully with lots more practice, I'll be able to SEE better photos before I take them.

I'm fairly new to blogging, and I
believe that pretty much everyone has used my word before, and why not, I believe it's a powerful word.

I can honestly say that I believe  Anything is possible.

Just for starters...I am going to believe in myself this year. Ooh, scary!

Sugar...

I made eight different kinds of cookies for Christmas this year. I even made brownies and chocolate crinkles, without so much as one taste of that wonderful, chocolatey goodness. The cookie making went very well, and I didn't feel at all stressed. I figure it went so well because I wasn't eating any chocolate.
Unfortunately, my poor husband, (and me) found out that I should probably stay away from sugar too. It's not remotely as bad as chocolate, but it isn't a good feeling. It makes me want to eat a handful of raw green beans.

Hackers...

Can someone please tell me why certain people think they have the right to interfere in other peoples lives??? The daughter of a friend of mine just recently had the back window of her car smashed with a piece of concrete. Three boys, 13 to 17 decided it would be fun to cause some damage. They probably got a real rush from the sound of breaking glass, not for a second realizing that they were causing even greater damage to the lives of the owners of those cars. Time, money, disruption of their daily routine, the fear that it may happen again. I actually can see what would make a person Want to throw a piece of concrete through a car window…I think that would probably be pretty cool. BUT…there is a difference between wanting to throw that concrete and actually deciding to throw that concrete. I can think of all sorts of things that would be fun, or exciting or very, very interesting to do, but I understand the difference between right and wrong, and I just wouldn’t, couldn’t follow through. Another friend has had their home broken into at least four times, it may even be more. They have a security system, they have dogs, they leave lights on, lock their doors and windows, they do everything right, yet they are still vandalized. Someone knows them, knows how they live, what cars they drive, the tricks they use to stay safe, but they are not safe, because yet again, Someone thinks they deserve what is not theirs. My car was rear ended by a young driver, talking on his cell phone, driving without insurance. Now I am $500.00 poorer because he broke the law and drove without insurance. I suppose I could have decided against getting it fixed, the damage was minimal and if it had been my old car, I would have ignored it, but it was a brand new car, so I coughed up the money. I haven’t investigated to see what, if anything, happened to him, if he got a ticket, or lost his license. I’m hoping he lost his license, otherwise what is the incentive to have insurance?? Why should I pay my monthly premiums isfnothing is going to happen to me when I decide to drive carelessly?! Lastly…email hackers! This is at least the fourth time I have been hacked. What gives people the right to think this is Okay???? It’s not okay. It’s disruptive, it’s harmful, it’s annoying and it makes me MAD! My sister calls and leaves menasty messages whenever she stupidly opens up an email that looks like it came from me. I’ve told her numerous times that I do not send emails and IF I need to, I will make sure the comment is obvious that it is from me. I’ve learned that lesson, and I don’t open anything that seems the least bit hinky. So, I am very sorry to anyone who was the unfortunate receiver of my latest hack. I have changed my passwords once again.

Chicago 2011…

Crossing the street to work today, I realized that it’s been less than a week since we were in Chicago, but it seems like much longer. Why does that happen? As soon as I get back into my usual routine, I seem to forget all about the fun I just had, it almost seems as if it were a dream. It wasn’t a dream though and we had FUN!

We got to our hotel on Friday about 14:00 and were able to check in right away. I like to feel as if the hotel room is my home, so I unpack my bags and make use of the dresser and closet, then I arrange all my bathroom supplies neatly on the counter, stow my bags away and subtly urge David to do the same. The first thing he did was try out the single serve coffee maker. Priorities! We looked through the visitor information and saw there was an outdoor concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park at 18:30. We walked by a concert the year before that was packed solid, so we thought we had better get there early and get a decent place to park ourselves. I was starving, as usual, and I wasn’t about to wait until after the concert, and we didn’t feel we had enough time to find a restaurant, order, eat and get there early. We ended up getting delicious sandwiches from a little shop on some street that I can not remember. Once at the park, we chose a grassy spot to lay our blanket (we were prepared) and chowed down. David got us each a glass of wine, it was okay, then decided he had enough time to find a store a buy a bottle, which was way better than okay, so much better that I ended up drinking over 1/2 the bottle myself. Yikes! (that was Okay too!)

The concert was the Verdi Requiem, which I thought we had sung in church, but I was mistaken, it just had some of the same lyrics. They did a beautiful job, the soloists, the choir, the orchestra…the Pavilion has wonderful acoustics. It was a beautiful night and a great, fun, relaxing way to spend our first night in Chicago.

 

 

I decided on Chicago because I knew the 53rd Air and Water Show was being held this weekend. I’ve seen it with Kira by accident, then with David on purpose two years ago, and I’m like a child in a toy store when I hear those jets fly overhead. I get giddy and giggly and break out in a huge smile. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see an airshow up close, I highly suggest you do. There is nothing like it! It runs every year, both Saturday and Sunday and you can be sure it’s going to rain one of them. This year it rained Saturday, so we decided to go the Adler Planetarium. We both gave that a thumbs down. It was expensive, boring, and each different show of stars was an additional cost. We got two general admissions, one star show and spent $46.00. Way too much for what we saw. The sky cleared while we were in the planetarium, so the Thunderbirds, not wanting to disappoint people, did their part of the show, which ended up being longer than the next day. We were happy we got to see both days. 

We were trying to decided what to do that night, David wanted to go to a Jazz place and I wanted to go to Howl at the Moon. We passed by the Jazz place and looked at the menu and entertainment, then we passed by Howl at the Moon, walked in, looked at their menu, got our hands stamped so we could get in without paying a cover, walked back to the hotel, cleaned up and walked back to Howl at the Moon.

We ordered exceptionally good nachos, beer and Long Island Iced Tea. David had the beer. I had two Long Island Iced Teas. Normally one just about does me in, so these must have been pretty weak!! This place has two pianos, a drum set and guitars. They take requests, we sing along and the more people drink, the more fun it is. Chicago was having quite a few weddings coming up, there was one bachelor party and at least ten bachelorette parties. There was even a Mom’s night out group of eight wild Mom’s. I will definitely go back next time I’m in Chicago.

 

We got an early start on Sunday, because I wanted a good seat. We sat on a ledge, on our blanket, right by the boardwalk, (concrete walk actually). We were smart enough to bring along sunscreen, but not smart enough to use it properly. Did you know that you have to cover your skin with the spray on kind??? Just a quick spray doesn’t cover everything. I ended up with a blotchy leg, and because I didn’t use enough on my upper chest and shoulders and none on my face, I was a crispy critter. Never even crossed my mind to put any on my face, because I had my visor on. One would think I would have already learned these things at my age. hahaha

There were an assortment of planes and lots of parachuters, both the Army and the Navy. They were jumping from 10,500 feet because it was a nice, calm day, and we could barely see them at first. They would group together in twos and sometimes threes, with colored smoke trails, sailing in loops and tight circles. Once closer to land, they would split up and some would make really fast landings while others would take their time. One man was out over the water when he jumped, his chute opened, then kind of folded up, opened again, then folded and he started falling in circles. Next we knew, he let his chute go and he was falling like a stone. We were all staring with our mouths hanging open, gasping, thinking that we were going to see something very awful happen before our eyes, when he pulled his second chute. Oh my, what a relief that was for us. We were thinking that he did this on purpose to show what can happen if your chute folds, but after talking to a co-worker who knows jumpers and planes, he said that they don’t let their chute go just for show, he was really in danger and it’s a good thing his second chute worked.

 

    

    

There was a man and his son of about 15 yrs. sitting next to me and he was interested, but mostly bored though the show until the Thunderbirds made their first pass. When you hear that booming sound, it is such a rush. He was smiling ear to ear. Pictures just don’t do justice and I decided I didn’t want to lug around my big camera so these are not the greatest pictures, but they are a memory.

 

After the show, we slowly shuffled through a mob of people and walked all the way back to our hotel. The buses were packed like sardines, so it was just easier to walk. We showered the grime off, marveling at our sunburn and stupidity, got dressed and took the bus to Second City. Home of famous comedians like, Dan Aykroyd, Jim and John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Alan Arkin, Catheine O’Hara, John Candy, Eugene Levy and many, many more. We saw Sky’s the Limit (weather permitting) Hysterical! I’ve been wanting to go for years and I will make that a for sure stop next time I’m in Chicago.

 

The only other place I really wanted to see, was the Brookfield Zoo. We’ve been to the Lincoln Park Zoo several times, and because Kira is a zookeeper, I wanted to see what the Brookfield Zoo was like, just in case she sees an opening there. They happen to pay much better than other zoos (they’re Union), and while it is a good distance from the part of Chicago we love, it’s close enough. It’s and old zoo with newer parts. I’m so partial to the Minnesota Zoo and Como Zoo that I have a hard time being objective at other zoos I visit. I tend to compare them…tsk. It was nice though and I think she would be happy there.

New Phone…

Finally, I am moving into the world of smartphone technology. I grew up with rotary phones, black & white T.V., room size computers (for business only), stingray bikes with sissy bars and banana seats and no central air-conditioning. Young people these days don’t think twice about paying for cells phones and internet service, flat screen televisions and cable. I try to look for the very best deal I can possibly find for anything I want to buy because, I’ll admit it, I am cheap!

Within the last couple of years I started a Facebook Profile and now, darn it, I’m hooked. tsk, oh well, what can I say?! Everyone around me takes photos with their smartphones and uploads them to Facebook. They Google, they Blog, they listen to music, they send email, they play games, they watch Netflix. Well, I can only see something cool for so long before I want it too.

I seem to be easily influenced I guess, because lately I have been doing a little searching for smartphones. I was bound and determined to get an iPhone because I’ve been watching Andy with his and it just looks so cool, and I have an iPod and already know how to use it. Then I got to thinking, what would I do with my iPod??

Ethan’s phone completely died a couple months ago and he couldn’t get another like it without having to pay for it, so he was using my old phone which was about 3 years old. He really wanted this indestructible phone, so when he got some money for graduation, he immediately stopped in to Verizon and bought his phone. Kira has been talking about a new phone for months also because hers just turns off for no reason. She also wanted an iPhone…really bad. I figure if both of them are getting smartphones and they are on my Family Plan, well, I guess I should too.

Because I’ve purchased phones through Wirefly before, they send me emails every now and then. I just happened to get an email last Friday, and I spent some time looking at the different phones they were offering through Verizon for FREE!!! I liked the DROID Incredible 2 by HTC the best, so I forwarded the email to Kira for her to look at also. She was having a difficult time thinking about a phone other than the iPhone, but when she realized it would be FREE instead of $299, she stopped in to the Verizon store, played with a few phones, and became a convert. She agreed the DROID Incredible 2 by HTC would be an agreeable alternative.

I ordered them online and it all seemed to go smoothly, but then, like everything else in my life, there were snags. My phone # was not listed as primary on my Verizon account and instead of the phones being free, they would now be close to $200 each! I was able to stop in to the Verizon store and talk to a real live person and get this snag changed, (after having a little stress induced crying jag).  My phone # is now primary and our phones should be here by the middle of next week. Kira will still have to wait a bit longer than that, because I will have to resend it to her new apartment in Phoenix.  Nothing is simple when you are cheap! hahaha

Here’s a photo of the DROID Incredible 2 by HTC

Threes…

I have this belief that things happen in threes, especially bad things, you know, a co-worker’s parent dies, a day or two later you hear of another parent’s death and you get real nervous thinking…who’s next?? I tend to not notice when ‘good’ things happen, I’m just so grateful. I think I’ll need to pay closer attention to see if the same pattern applies.

Well, right now I’m waiting for the third thing to happen and I really hope it isn’t too bad.

First off, a friend got a new position at work (which is a ‘good’ thing, for her), the bad part of this is, I knew absolutely nothing about the opening! I was even on vacation at the time. I don’t even know who else, if anyone, applied. This new position has a direct impact on my work, as it is taking a big part of it away from me. I think it would have been nice if someone would have informed me that there was a new position available so I could have made the decision on my own, if I wanted to apply or not. Anyway, it just shows how policy has changed through the years, positions no longer need to be posted in the department. I guess we are supposed to magically Know when there is a new position posted on the Intranet. Hmmm, if we are supposed to be happy with our job, why would we be looking on the Intranet for a new one, during the work day?! I’m a big girl, I will be Okay.

Secondly, my brand new car got rear ended yesterday. There doesn’t appear to be much damage, but my Focus is a light, small car and the car that hit me was a big, heavy 1998 Buick Park Avenue. The 19 year old young man was on his way to work, talking on his cell phone and not paying attention. We were on a bridge with about four cars in front of us, waiting to turn onto 94. We had just picked up our church secretary, Charlene, and were on our way to Costco to pick up a dehumidifier for church (she is a Costco member and church is also tax exempt). David has a fear of getting rear ended, so he always checks in the rearview mirror to make sure the driver sees the brakes lights and is slowing down. He noticed that the young man was on his cell phone and didn’t appear to be slowing, so he swerved into the oncoming traffic lane (thank God there were no cars turning onto the bridge at that moment) to get out of the way and the young man followed us and hit my baby! His story was, he was slowing down and when he saw David swerve, he assumed the car in front of us stopped suddenly, so he followed us so he wouldn’t hit the other car. WELL, if he had actually been slowing down, he wouldn’t have needed to worry about hitting either one of us. I’m glad that David swerved into the other lane, or we would have been slammed into the car in front of us and my baby would be broken. Char called the police and had to argue with the operator to send an officer out. Not sure why, maybe Minneapolis has so many fender benders that they don’t want to waste their time writing reports.

Third, hmmm, I wonder what that will be. Maybe church getting broken into will cover number three. Church has a security system and when the alarms are triggered, the security company calls Charlene, lucky her. The pastor of the Hmong Church that shares our building called Char to tell her a wire had been cut securing the basement courtyard door so he wasn’t able to set the alarms after their service. David was able to splint the wire, after we made the trip to Costco to get the dehumidifier for the church basement. The storm we had Friday night raised the water level enough that water was seeping in through the floor, and while the sump pump was running, a couple of lines had fallen apart and the water was just going back into the basement. Whew! Anyway, they set up the dehumidifier, David fixed the security wire and they were able to set the alarm. We went home with the understanding that Char would call the security company on Monday to check and/or replace the line David was able to fix. Char was awakened at 4:15 a.m. by the security company telling her of a break in. She told them to call the police because there was no one at church at that time of the morning. The police arrived in time to see a body running out of the social hall. A sniffer dog was brought in and able to track the scent to the home of a person of interest. This person later confessed to the break-in, don’t know why he did it. Because David had fixed the basement door security wire, the perp. couldn’t get in through that door, so he took an ax and chopped through a glass block window. Instead of using the same ax on the wooden doors, that were locked, leading to the church’s main floor, he went back outside and broke through the windows of our Pastor’s office. What a mess, what an intrusion, what an invasion. I’m amazed that a person can think that they can just take something that doesn’t belong to them, that they can break into and ruin property that isn’t theirs. So, while this doesn’t directly affect me, except that David was involved, I’m hoping this was number three, because I really don’t want any more bad things to happen.

Mosaic…

Blogspot has a new widget for blogs.

Click on Take a quick look…My boring life on one page.

It’s my blog in mosaic form and I think it’s pretty cool.

Cincinnati…

Last Saturday, after the Jethro Tull concert,

         David and I packed up my new car and drove 13 hours to visit Andy in Cincinnati. We had an easy time staying awake, because we were excited to be visiting, even though it had only been three days since he was here visiting us. The Sync in my car works pretty well once you get used to how it works. The voice that answers first is a sweet, nice voice and the voice that gives the actual directions is just a little bit stern. (I think she could take a few pointers!)

We got settled, left David sleeping on the sofa and Andy and I went grocery shopping. I always buy groceries for Kira and I wanted to buy them for Andy too. It was kind of funny trying to get him to put things in the cart. I had to ask, do you need this? do you need that? He thought the Kroger’s was expensive, but they were cheaper than Cub and he had a Kroger’s card which gave him pretty good discount on some items.

There is a hamburger place called Terry’s Surf Club that Andy takes all his visitors to. A tiny little place that makes Great burgers. We had a 45 minute wait, so we grabbed some beers and stood around outside, watching people while Andy took Fat pictures of us. Apparently this is what one looks like after consuming a burger at Terry’s Turf Club!!

     

After dinner we walked around the Fountain Plaza and had an ice cream. Hmmm, maybe I should have looked at the pictures before the icecream!! Oh, my poor, poor tummy!! 

Monday, we planned to go to the zoo, and we started out, but it began to pour and Andy was feeling crummy. We decided to go back home and let him sleep while David and I did some shopping. We soon got bored shopping and the weather had taken a turn for the wonderful, so we left Andy a note and off we went to the zoo. We are MN Zoo members, so we got 50% off reciprocity on admission…nice! We got about 1/2 way through when Andy called wondering where we were. I told him the zoo was open till 6 and he should come meet us, which he did.

     

      

Earlier in the day, David and I had gone into the Lorikeet exhibit, where all of these beautiful, colorful birds are just flying around free. There are some Keepers in there with birdseed sticks and cups of nectar to give to visitors to feed the birds with. We just watched and took pictures.

     

Later when we went back with Andy, all visitors were gone and most of the birds were back in their cages, but the ones that were still out were quite friendly. All you had to do was put out your hand and you had a bird on you.

           

Andy got the pleasure too…

   

I don’t think he was quite as Okay with it as David was. Notice there are no pictures of me wearing a bird….uh, uh, nope, not for me.

As we were making our way to the exit, we noticed we missed the Children’s Zoo, so we wandered through there and look what was showing off.

       

We did see one more animal that wasn’t really a zoo animal, but because I love them and I think they are cute and fun to watch, I took this photo…

Andy made some wonderful chicken, mushroom, tomato pizza with a white sauce and mozzarella cheese. Yum! We watched Pulp Fiction till we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.

Tuesday David and I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum specifically to see the Circus Poster’s they had on exhibit. They were pretty cool and I found out that Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey traveled together for a few years. I never knew that. They didn’t allow any photography, so I didn’t get to take any.

 

The Amazing American Circus Poster
February 26, 2011 – July 10, 2011
Organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum and The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Strobridge Lithographing Company
Living Pair of Full Grown Hippopotomi.1882
Color Lithograph Poster
Gift of the Strobridge Lithographing Company, 1965.685:47

Organized by Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Kristin Spangenberg, The Amazing American Circus Poster features 80 circus posters created between 1878 and 1939, along with materials related to circus advertising.
Cincinnati-based Strobridge Lithographing Company, which created all the posters in this exhibition, and became the leading printer for the major circuses of this time. The posters designed and printed by Strobridge were unrivaled for their quality, and contain a detailed portrait of the American circus in its “Golden Age,” when it flourished as a vital institution for cultural entertainment in this country.
This exhibition will travel to the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.
Sponsors:
“The Amazing American Circus Poster has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Because democracy demands wisdom.”

 

Tuesday evening we had reservations at Boca, http://www.boca-restaurant.com/which is the restaurant that Andy works at. We started with an appetizer of 

SEARED DAY BOAT SCALLOP ***I had never had brussel sprouts and I don’t care if I ever have them again.
caramelized brussels sprouts, parmigiano regiano
& brown butter truffle vinaigrette

and our entrees were…

David

WOOD FIRED BRANZINO
mediterranean sea bass, grilled zucchini, zucchini mint salad & lemon oil

Janet

ROASTED FOSTER FARMS CHICKEN BREAST    
lemon arugula risotto & chicken jus

We also had some fabulous wine. Above was all we ordered, but it wasn’t all we got. We got gifted the following…I requested small portions, because I get way too full. We ended up taking 1/2 of our entrees with us and ate them on the drive back to MN.

MARSHALL ISLANDS TUNA CRUDO
compressed watermelon, avocado, jalapeño & house made ponzu

WOOD FIRED LEMONS                                       
ortiz anchovy, basil, tomato, buffalo mozzarella & grilled bread

BAVETTE CON BOTTARGA
linguini pasta, oven roasted tomatoes, cured tuna roe, chili oil,
flat leaf parsley & breadcrumbs

CAPPELLACCI DI MAIS CON TARTUFO NERO  *******My favorite!!! Geez, these little things are addictive!
sweet corn & mascarpone filled house made pasta,
summer truffle & brown butter

Then for dessert, we had an almond cake with berries and an ice cream on top. (Andy will cringe at my description, but it’s not listed on the menu and I can’t remember what all was in it….I just know it was scrumptious) and of course, coffee, wonderful coffee. It was even decaf!!

We got to see the kitchen, which is right there in the open, quite small too with five stations and up to eight people back there at all times. It must be like a ballet when they’re cooking. All I have to say is…if you are ever in Cincinnati, you Must eat at Boca!!

Wednesday we packed up and took a walk downtown, stopping for a bagel and coffee along the way. We ended up at a park in front of P&G building where Andy joined us after he woke up.

         

All of the greenery on the arbors are Trumpet Vines. Of course they weren’t in bloom, but I can just imagine what they must look like covered in orange blooms1

We had a wonderful visit! The long, long, drive home was boring and long, but we got fabulous gas millage even with the air on for 1/2 of the trip, 37.5 was the average! So, now I guess we wait until Lauren finds out where they are planning on sending her (hopefully someplace good), then we will have a new place to visit. I do miss him, but at least there are cell phones and Skype.