My Crazy Life!

Friday in NYC

2010-02-17T06:00:00.001-06:00

Friday was our last day and our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:30 pm. We packed up most of our stuff before we left in the morning. We rode the subway uptown to Barney Greengrass for Lox and Bagels. We had bagels smeared with cream cheese, loaded with salmon, topped with a slice of white onion and tomato served with a dill pickle….for breakfast. Very quaint little restaurant with very crowded tables. On weekends, they accept cash only. Exceptionally nice wait staff.

Following breakfast, we ventured back to the Brooklyn Bridge. My camera battery had died on our trip the previous day so we went back to get pictures.

As we found throughout the week, most things take much more time than we expected. We were hustling to get back to the hotel to get checked out in time. We checked out, stored our bags and went a couple of blocks up to Ray’s Pizza for our final NYC meal. The pizza slices were huge, and tasted great.

We returned to the hotel, retrieved our luggage and caught a cab by about 2:00 pm. We were worried that we might encounter Labor Day traffic either in the city, or at the airport or both. We arrived at the airport by about 2:30 and placed our names on the standby list for the 3:30 flight from LGA to DFW. When the standby list first posted, we were number 14 and 15. We figured…no way are we going to make it on this flight. But luck was on our side and we made the earlier flight.

We arrived back home totally exhausted, but had an amazing week. It was a perfect celebration of David’s 49th birthday. I warned him not to expect this to be outdone for 50!

Thursday in NYC

2010-02-16T06:00:00.003-06:00

Thursday morning we opted to travel south to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Wall Street, Ground Zero and into Brooklyn to walk across the bridge looking toward Manhattan. Our original plan was that we would see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and be in Brooklyn for lunch. NOT!.

The Statue of Liberty is definitely amazing. One thing we learned that we did not previously know is that Lady Liberty is positioned in a forward motion. Her left foot is stepping forward while the right foot is slightly raised as she is proceeding forward. We have always thought she was standing straight.
Ellis Island was very interesting. We could have easily spent several hours at Ellis Island and would plan to do so if/when we visit again. The tour actually walks you through the various rooms as if you were an immigrant who had just arrived at Ellis Island. Realizing that we were well past lunch time, we grabbed a chicken sandwich at the Ellis Island café.
Once we were back in Manhattan, we ventured to Ground Zero. It was not as overwhelming as I expected. At this point, it is primarily a large construction site. We did walk through the small museum which was very touching. We left Manhattan and took the subway into Brooklyn, and walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge. There are two paths…one for walkers, and one for bikes. Word to the wise….don’t walk on the bike path. They move very fast and are not very friendly if you get in their way.
Back in Manhattan, we encountered an artist using spray paint and putty knives to paint panoramic views of the city. When he was ready to dry the paint, he would light the surface with a disposable lighter to dry the paint. He used small caps, plates, etc to make arcs, moons, etc in the paintings. Simply fascinating. We probably should have bought one of his paintings.
We passed back through Grand Central and purchased a triple decker club sandwich from Junior’s, then went into the grocery/deli market and got smoked pasta salad and cole slaw which we took back to our room for dinner. We had anticipated hitting Times Square at night on Thursday evening but after almost 11 hours on our feet, the room and TV seemed like a better option!

Wednesday in NYC

2010-02-15T06:00:00.007-06:00

Ok friends...I know I started this and then never got back to completing the blog of our trip...but here goes. Better late than never!

Wednesday morning we got a much later start and ventured to the TCKTS booth to see if we could grab some discount Broadway tickets. The line at the booth was about like the line for a Six Flags ride on a very busy day. Ultimately, we decided that we probably would just not see a Broadway play this trip. We ventured north to the highly recommended Gray’s Papaya hot dog stand. Supposedly the best hot dog and recession lunch deal in the city. We got two hot dogs with seasoned kraut and onions plus a beverage for $4.45. David had a coke, and I got the recommended Pina Colada. It was awesome. After we finished lunch, I went back and got another drink….which costs $2.45! But it was worth it.

Not that I needed it, mind you! We walked through Central Park and encountered a 3 piece band, The Dirty Urchins. They were actually pretty good, and we bought one of their CDs. We figured we were going to drop some $$ in the guitar case anyway, and we just as well get the CD. We haven’t listened to it yet, but we expect it to be entertaining. (Actually, we have listened by now and it's pretty good....a very unique group!)

We ventured on through Central Park and found our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You could quite literally spend a full day or more, but after a few hours, we had seen a sufficient amount of artwork . As we left the Met, we realized we were about 30 blocks from our hotel and there were really no subway lines back to our hotel. A long walk back and we had just enough time to freshen up before we went to Frankie and Johnnie’s Steakhouse. It was restaurant week which means they offer a prix fixe menu. The steaks were very good, but I would not recommend this particular restaurant as the service was definitely substandard if you ordered from the restaurant week menu. There was a vast difference in the attentiveness of the wait staff at our table vs. the tables around us. Following dinner, we rode the subway back to Central Park and enjoyed a 45 minute carriage ride through the park. Jimbo was our guide horse.

Best Attic Find

2010-02-14T08:54:00.004-06:00

A sweet friend of mine has offered to help us get rid of some excess clutter. We have already cleaned out the garage attic, but decided to tackle the house attic as well before the big sale/donate process. So, a couple of weekends ago, we cleared everything out of the attic. We virtually filled our 500 +/- SF gameroom with boxes from the attic...most of which had been there since we moved in back in 2002. Last Sunday, I decided to get serious about getting through all the boxes. My office is also in the gameroom and shall we say it was a bit claustrophobic. We knew we would find some great memories, some "why did we save this" and many other "treasures."
David and I are notorious for boxing clothes into Rubbermaid tubs and piling them in the attic thinking we will wear them again in the future...when we are smaller, when it is colder, etc. Yet, our closets always seem to be full to the max! So, I decided to really clean out the clothes boxes and just get rid of most of it.
Back when I worked full time in a professional office, I had a red wool knit suit that had a very long jacket and long pleated skirt. I wore this suit frequently in the winter. I found it in one of the attic clothes boxes. And thought to myself...."it was beginning to get some moth holes, and was a bit snug the last time I wore it (prior to 2002) and further, it probably just isn't in style anymore", so I put it in the "donate"pile.

In order to provide the background, when David and I married on 6/4/1983, my Mom gave us a small cartoon style ceramic elephant that was in a velour pouch which she had made and embroidered on the front, "My love for you is bigger than an elephant." For years we played the game in which we hid the elephant for each other never telling each other when we had found it and re-hidden it. Several years ago, probably about the time we moved, we realized that neither of us had seen "the elephant" for quite some time. Since we never told each other when we found the elephant, we had no idea who had hidden it last. We really thought that it had been lost at some point when something was thrown away or donated with the elephant inside a pocket, etc.

Once when I traveled overseas on a trip that I was really nervous about, David found a picture of an elephant on the internet, printed it and put it in my computer bag. It definitely conveyed the thought, but not the same as "the elephant."

Now back to the donate pile. Every since we realized the elephant has been "missing", we never donate anything without checking through all pockets, cubby holes, etc. And as I was folding my red suit, the pocket felt "full." I dug in and guess what......I FOUND THE ELEPHANT! We were both so excited and I had to immediately call my Mom and let her know.

Obviously David was the last one to hide it, so the elephant has once again been placed in a special place waiting for David to find it and be reminded of my love for him!

Tuesday in NYC

2009-09-09T05:00:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday morning, we awoke early to go to the Today show. It was recommended that we arrive by 6:00. It was about 6:10 am when we got to the Today show plaza, and there was no one there. We initially thought….”Wow, no one else is here.” When I inquired of the security guard if we were in the right place, he instructed us to go down the sidewalk and around the side of the building to line up. When we rounded the corner, we found a line of about 50 people who had arrived before us. At about 6:30, they began letting the crowd through the security checkpoint. I had bought a spring loaded curtain rod to run through the top of our sign to make it easier to hold. The security guard confiscated it and threw it away! But no biggie, we would do just fine without it. We were not real close to the area that the Today show anchors would be broadcasting from, but held out hope that we would make it on the show. During one of the breaks, the film crew came outside and initially set up a demonstration by the “balloon guy” across the plaza from us. But then it appeared as though he saw our sign, and moved the balloon guy to right in front of us. He gave David a top hat he had made from red balloons. David being as he is proudly wore the hat for the entire show! We did make it on TV and both sets of our parents recorded it for us.
After the show, we returned to the hotel and had breakfast. We then returned to 30 Rockefeller Plaza and went on the NBC Studio Tour. We saw the MSNBC news room, the desk that Brian Williams broadcasts from each evening, the Sunday Night Football stage, and the SNL stage. Near the end of our tour, the guides asked for 2 volunteers. No one else jumped on the opportunity, so David and I volunteered. On the last stop of the tour, David portrayed a news anchor reading from a teleprompter and I got to be the “weather girl.” Believe me it is harder than it looks to read from the teleprompter while trying to point to the correct places on the map (presented from a screen behind you) at the same time!
After we finished the NBC tour, we ventured to Grand Central station where we had lunch at Junior’s. We both had an awesome 10 oz. hamburger. It was simply not possible for me to eat all of mine, but it was delicious. It was served with slaw, dill pickle, steak fries and onion rings. We left from Grand Central Station to find the stadium complex for the US Open via subway. We just wanted to be sure we knew where we were going and how to get back to the hotel via subway late at night.
We returned to the hotel and had to move rooms. Our first room did not have internet access, and the air conditioner was very noisy. Once we were in our new room, we had very little time until we needed to head to the tennis tournament. We went to the same subway station we arrived in on our trip from the tennis complex to our hotel. Got on the train and rode a couple of stops until we figured out we were headed downtown instead of uptown to Queens. We got off the subway and began trying to figure out where we needed to go. Unfortunately, we were in the ‘hood and felt very uncomfortable. We walked very briskly for a few blocks until we located another subway station. At that point, we realized you have to be careful to follow the subway signs to enter the terminal headed the right direction. So, one forfeited subway fare, and a very uncomfortable walk, but all was well.
Our seats for the tennis tournament were awesome. I had purchased them through Tickets Now which is a Ticketmaster site which allows season/other ticketholders to sell tickets they will not use. We were on the LOGE level, Section 196 – center court of Arthur Ashe stadium. We were in a “box” of 6 seats. The 4 other people in our box were two couples who were there more for social hour than to watch tennis, as were the guys sitting behind us. Somewhat annoying, but tolerable. A family of 6 people was sitting across the aisle from David. It appeared to be Mom, Dad, 2 early 20s girls, one mid to late 20s guy, and a teenage boy. David began to realize that the teenage boy was repeating virtually everything the announcer said. Then we realized that with each swing of the racquet by the players, he was imitating the swing alternating left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand. As we began to watch and listen to this young man a little closer, we surmised that he was probably autistic…possibly a savant. He seemed very knowledgeable about tennis. The first match was Maria Sharapova (she won US Open in 2006) and Tsvetana Pironkova, an unseeded player. It was a good match, but Sharapova pulled it out.
We ventured to the concession stand between the women’s and men’s matches for hot dogs and a soda. Believe it or not, the stand was out of foot long hot dogs, and the pretzels were cold. This was well over an hour into the evening events, and they were totally unprepared! The men’s match was Andy Murray (won US Open last year) and Ernests Gulbis. Another good match and Andy Murray won. The young man across the aisle apparently really liked to say “Gulbis” because he repeated it very often. It was somewhat fascinating watching his enthusiasm for the game. After the match, we rode the subway, with thousands of our new closest friends, back to the hotel. We were exhausted.
Little known facts from the US Open. Backpacks are not allowed. Only single compartment bags with dimensions of 12” X 12” X 16” are smaller are permissible. All others must be checked in large trailer lockers outside the gates. The towels used by the women are red while the men have blue towels (over their seats). The men obviously sweat more than the women as the ball boys/girls also keep white towels available to the men at all times. For this particular tournament, Chase logos are placed on the edge of the net. Between the women’s and men’s matches, the Chase logos are removed and replaced with Lexus logos. As the sun sets on Arthur Ashe stadium, it gets chilly!

Monday in NYC

2009-09-08T05:00:00.001-05:00

We departed Monday morning and arrived NYC shortly after lunch. We caught a taxi to the hotel and were able to check into our room upon arrival. We asked the representative at the “theatre tickets” counter for a lunch recommendation and headed to the Stage Deli a couple of blocks north of our hotel. We shared a Tiger Woods Reuben and an order of homemade onion rings. The sandwich was huge and all was very delicious. Our waitress, Barb, was very friendly and we had great service. She was an older lady, and had raccoon eyes, but she was absolutely delightful. We went back to the hotel and tried to determine what we should do first. We opted to take a walk through the city and go to the Empire State Building. We rode the elevator to the 86th floor observation deck and listened to the audio tour. The tour positioned us at 8 points around the top of the building and described the various sites and “areas” of Manhattan. It was a great way to start our trip as we gained a general understanding of where all the sites were, and the areas referred to as Upper Westside, Upper Eastside, Queens, Brooklyn, etc. We were able to see the East River and the Hudson River where Captain Sullenberger landed the US Airways plane in January. It was fascinating to see in real life. We ventured back to the hotel and opted for fast food for dinner.

NYC...The Surprise!

2009-09-07T16:05:00.010-05:00

In November 2008, David’s grandmother, Virginia Mason Pointelin, left this earthly life. Several years prior to her death, she had asked David’s mother to set aside a certain amount of money for each of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. At her memorial service, David received an envelope with this gift of cash. At that time, we decided that we would use Grandma ‘Ginia’s gift to fulfill our dream to see New York City.

I had been considering planning a trip to New York for David’s birthday. However, once I began investigating the cost, I talked with David and we decided it was just going to cost a bit more than we wanted to spend right now. Also, David had just changed jobs within Alcon and didn’t really feel it was right to ask for time off work soon after his transfer.

Shortly after that discussion, two of our dear friends, Kim and Anthony Brandon were killed very tragically in a car accident. They left behind 3 young daughters. Alicia and Shelby had just graduated from high school, and Vanessa had just recently gotten married. This was a tremendous wake up call for all of us, and I decided it was time to “Carpe Diem” and try to surprise David with a trip to New York for his birthday.

My brother, Shaylor, works in the Alcon group which David had just transferred to. I asked Shaylor if he could check with David’s boss to determine if it would be okay for him to have a couple of days off work. David’s new schedule is Friday through Monday, four days 10 hours each. I asked if he could possibly have a Monday and Friday, either or both, off work. Shaylor followed through with David’s boss noting that this would be a surprise and the days off were approved.

One thing that we have always desired to do is to travel the Grand Slam Tennis series. David’s birthday was on a Tuesday and the US Open first round games were in progress during our stay in NY City. I purchased airfare and tennis tickets and made a hotel reservation. Both of the boys knew, as well as mine and David’s parents but we tried our absolute best to keep it a secret from him.

Given that we would be in New York on David’s birthday, I made a canvas sign for him that read, “I’m celebrating my 49^th birthday TODAY”. The TODAY show logo was on the bottom of the sign.

We were flying out on Monday morning. Given that B&Z are in school in Stephenville, I suggested that we meet the boys and David’s parents for dinner after he got off work on Sunday afternoon to celebrate his birthday and then we would have dinner for the 2 of us on his actual birthday.

As soon as he left for work on Sunday morning, I began checking off the tasks to be completed for the day. Packing for both of us was the biggest challenge…but I just threw in everything I could until I reached the luggage weight limit. I made a hotel reservation for us to stay near the airport on Sunday night to make our Monday morning drive a bit easier. I checked us into the hotel (to get rid of our luggage from my car), took a cake to David’s parent’s house and then picked him up from work.

David was all set to go to dinner once we met up with the boys and his parents. But I knew that we had to let the cat out of the bag. So, I suggested we open gifts first. He opened a couple of things and then I gave him the box with the card, the NYC guide books and maps, and the sign for the Today show.

He was totally shocked. He understood that we were going to NY, but figured it would be in a few days. Then I shared with him that he would not be going back to work before our trip and that we were flying out on Monday morning. We enjoyed dinner with the family at New York Joe’s, returned to Margie and Gary’s for cake and then made our way to the airport hotel. He did have an opportunity to review what I had packed for him, and the only thing I really missed was that I got the wrong pair of dress shoes. Still wearable, but not as comfortable as his preferred pair.

Stay tuned for a day by day summary of our trip.....

Birthday card from Dad and Mom

2009-03-01T17:25:00.002-06:00

A few weeks back, I posted the verse from my card from David. This is the verse from the card my parents gave me, and yes, my Daddy very frequently is the one to pick out the cards.

A Daughter Is a Precious Gift

When a daughter is born, she fills your life with so much happiness-
It starts when you first hold her close with pride and tenderness.
And as she grows, your loving feelings grow and deepen, too-
You take such joy in what she says and all she learns to do.
Then through the years, the special times and sharing play a part
In all the happy memories you treasure in your heart.
Thoughts of you bring pleasant memories of you as a little girl
and feelings of pride in the woman you've become.
Your birthday is another reminder of what a wonderful daughter you are.....
how much you have always meant,
how much you always will.

Love Dad and Mom

Our cabinet drawer nightmare!

2009-02-09T06:00:00.001-06:00

Warning - this is a long one....

My youngest brother is very handy with woodwork, furniture building and cabinetry. He has built us brand new cabinet doors for our kitchen, den and bathrooms and had planned to make the drawers as well. He did an excellent job. But as sometimes happens, life interfered and has made it very difficult for him to get into his wood shop.

So in mid-December, I contacted a local cabinet shop. The sales rep (a friend and co-worker of our neighbor) came out and measured and returned on 12/31/08 to give us the bid. We negotiated a few items, agreed to the final deal, and wrote a check for 50% of the total which the cabinet shop cashed the very same day.

In mid-January, the sales rep called me because the cabinet shop could find no record of us having made the "materials" deposit. I confirmed that I had written the check and where/when it had been deposited which I pulled from my online bank statement.

By the end of January, we still had no drawers (20 drawers, 5 fake drawer fronts and one 30X30 cabinet) and no promise of when they would be ready. I began calling the sales rep, aka Chris, and pushing to get the drawers finished. We cannot complete all of the painting in the kitchen, den, and bathrooms until we have the drawers. Finally I received a call that they had finished the drawers but there was a problem. They had not cut the drawer fronts wide enough to router the "finger pulls" that I had requested. They wanted me to either agree to only router the bottoms where if the cabinet showed, it would be on the bottom, or switch to putting hardware on them.

Now remember, we are talking 25 units for just the drawers. If we have to add hardware then we would probably also add hardware to the doors (count them 31...I think) and are you with me here....cha ching! I agreed to try the bottom cut finger pulls but argued that I had ordered drawers from a professional cabinet shop, they had measured, and the finger pulls were ordered from the very beginning. This was really NOT my problem. After a few hours, Chris called to report they would be making new fronts.

Finally last week Chris calls me to tell me they are ready. I picked them up on Thursday and knew instantly that something didn't look correct on 8 of the drawers which are all the same size. We had actually provided one of the actual drawers for this particular size which they had in the shop but they had obviously not measured it or compared to their finised product. But I agreed to bring them home and see if "they would do."

I bring them home, and David helps unload. We slide the first of the questionable 8 drawers in, and it is too narrow. Doesn't even touch the bottom cabinet support and floats in the drawer frame. So, first 8 are wrong.

Friday night we begin transferring the rail hardware from the existing drawers to the new ones. The first two for the kitchen are too wide and won't fit into the cabinet frame. Now we are 10 of the 25 that are not usable. A third one for the kitchen has a knot hole on the very front that has spider legs. They tried to fill and sand (all of these are paint grade) but it still has raised edges. Now we are to 11 of 25 that are not good.

Luckily, all of the bathroom and my vanity drawers fit...that's a total of 8. I grab the fake drawer fronts to check the size and realize one of the fronts for the kitchen has a crack in the wood grain that is at least 1/4" thick. Now we are at 12 of 25 that are not useable.

Saturday morning, Chris was supposed to be here to check out the situation and help us correct the problems. He called and said he would be a couple of hours due to an emergency at his house. Two hours later I called him. He was back home after purchasing a new washer and once it was installed, he would be headed to my house. (Could a new washer purchase have waited until after he came here?) An hour and a half later, he calls to report he can't get here until Monday. I agree to change my plans for Monday.

In the meantime, I transfer all of the stuff from the old drawers into the new ones. When I finish one drawer from the master bath (only because it is off of the master bedroom and not due to it's tiny size), and shut the drawer, the drawer front literally falls off and hits me on the top of the foot. I'm extremely frustrated at this point and that's the nice version!

I go about my business and return to my bedroom vanity a bit later to realize that another front has fallen off. So, are you with me....that's now 14 of 25 that are messed up! Almost 60% and we only wonder how long until more of the fronts take a hike!.

A home builder friend dropped by and I invited him in for his thoughts. Not good. So my plan at this point is that Chris has until noon Monday to be at my home and propose a reasonable solution. Otherwise, all of the new drawers, fake fronts and one cabinet will be making a return trip to the cabinet shop where I will request that they keep their product and issue an immediate refund. If they don't agree to that, I plan to give them until Friday noon to fix them "right!" Otherwise, this could get really ugly really soon.

Know any good cabinet shops?

I'm a Believer..,.....

2009-02-08T22:52:00.003-06:00

I virtually never write a blog about products that I love although there are many. Have you ever tried purple "Fabuloso" as an all purpose cleaner. Diluted in warm water and used with a microfiber cloth cleans almost anything.

But this week, we may have found a life changing product.

Throughout our marriage of over 25 years, David has snored. He had severe allergies that went largely untreated as a child and he sleeps with his mouth open. Snores like a freight train although he states that he stayed awake all night one night and never did snore....ugh! I was told him that if a barking dog (a serious pet peeve of his) had kept him awake in the night as often as his snoring had awakened me, the dog would have met a fatal demise.

Over the years he has had at least 3 medical procedures in attempts to reduce his snoring. A couple of these, the doctor was able to get paid through insurance. After a while when he began snoring again, he underwent a sleep study to be sure he did not have sleep apnea. The report...."You could be the poster child for perfect sleep." Then I had a sleep study to rule out that I had sleep issues that were causing me to be super sensitive to nighttime noises.

Last year, bless his heart, he had injections in the roof of his mouth that initially made his mouth swell like crazy for a few days. The intent was that the uvula (flap in the back of the throat) would develop scar tissue and become less flexible and unable to vibrate. Now that we have determined he is the perfect sleeper, no insurance to help on this procedure, but how much is your wife's sleep worth? After a couple of weeks of misery, I noticed a decent improvement for a few months. However, over time, the snoring resumed. It was becoming problematic over the summer and by year end, I rarely made it past 3 hours in our bed before I found myself on the sofa. Frequently on weekends, he would take the sofa.

We had seen the TV advertisement for Pure Sleep. Two easy payments of $29.95 plus shipping with a 30 day money back guarantee. Our initial thought....can a mouthpiece fitted at home after boiling in a pot of water solve all snoring problems?" Probably not. So we continued to think about it but not to push the "buy now" button. But we reached the point a couple of weeks ago to say..."Why not try it?" So I pushed the button.

The package arrived last Tuesday. He followed the instructions to fit the mouthpiece and so far we have seen 100% improvement. Every night since he started using it, I have heard the alarm go off while still sleeping beside my DH.

The jury is still out on long term correction, but for now I'M A BELIEVER!

Birthday Card from my DH

2009-02-08T21:43:00.001-06:00

I've already posted this on Facebook, so if you see me there, you can skip this post!

This is the verse from the card my fantastic husband gave me for my birthday today.

My Wife

"It's just another day," you say.
"It's no big deal," you say.
But to me, the anniversary
of the day YOU came into existence
is about the biggest deal there is.
Until you came along,
I never thought it was possible
that one single person
could so totally steal my heart away.
But that's what you've done.
One look at you, and all I want to do
is be near you, touch you, hear your voice,
and hold you so close that it's impossible
to tell where you end and I begin.
I think you're incredible,
and what I want, more than anything,
is to try to make you as happy
as you've made me - if that's possible.
In a way, I feel guilty....I mean,
here it is your birthday,
and yet I'm the one
who gets to enjoy the gift....
the gift of you and your love.
Happy Birthday.

Love you,
David

I had a very nice birthday. We went to our favorite Waco steakhouse (Diamond Back's) on Saturday night with Shaylor and Jeanne and they treated. It was great food, and awesome company. Thank you Shaylor and Jeanne. Mom made me my favorite cake - a coffee cake with broiled cocunut/pecan icing....yum. I had it for breakfast today. It's okay to do that on your birthday, right?

Then we met our long time friends, the Brandon family, for lunch in Cleburne today. Kim and Alicia made me an incredible cake that Shelby decorated beautifully with pink icing and white fondant. It was fabulous. We stayed and visited so long that David finally said..."We either need to leave, or order dinner." Then I realized it was 4:30! Unfortunately, Brandon was running fever (there is a cold bug running through the dorm) and was not able to join us.

I had a great birthday and am thankful for my great family and friends...especially my dear husband.

I think it is a God thing.....

2009-01-28T17:06:00.003-06:00

Tonight a few of my friends are coming over for a much needed Ladies Night Out. I am planning to fix caramel apple dip for dessert and have been searching for my mini-crockpots for over 1/2 the day. For those of you that don't know me well, it absolutely drives me crazy to not be able to find something that I know I have. I can dig up receipts from 6 years ago, tell you how many pizzas we ordered for the boys 17th birthday party, owner manuals for most things we own, pictures from 15 years ago, etc.

I remember pulling my mini-crockpots out of the attic a few months ago. I have 2. I have looked all the "normal" places that I would store something that I don't use often and just can't find them. One place that we stick stuff sometimes is the heater closet. It has our furnace unit, our water heater and extra storage space. So, that's where the high chair, inside step ladders, broom, industrial size bottle of liquid bath soap, furnace filters, etc....that kind of stuff gets put.

I've looked everywhere at least twice including climbing back in the attic cubby hole where the extra kitchen wares are stored. While talking to my Mom (when I called to see if maybe by some remote chance I had loaned both of them to her) I check the heater closet one more time.

And then I see it. We have propane heat and a propane hot water heater. On top of the water heater is a vent pipe that vents the water heater thru the attic to the oustide. If the water heater is not vented correctly, then it can leak CO2 back into the house. The vent pipe is totally off the top of the water heater and the vent is open into the heater closet. This just doesn't look right. I called David at work to confirm and he instructed me on how to "temporarily" put it back in place so that he can look at it when he gets home.....tomorrow evening.

And now as I sit back and think about the day, I have to wonder if there was a purpose in why I have had to look so hard for my mini-crockpots. If I had not been searching for them, I would have never seen the vent pipe disconnected from the top of the water heater. Was it a God thing?

And no, I still haven't found my mini-crockpots but will not be at all suprised to one day find them glaring at me in one of the spots I have already searched.

Recommended but not required!

2009-01-27T07:55:00.003-06:00

Brandon calls me last Friday morning to report that he is not sure he will be driving anywhere for the weekend. For the mom of a 19 yo, that brings all sorts of wonderful thoughts to mind.

As I attempt to discover the rationale for this recent decision, he proceeds to tell me that he had an accident in his racquetball class. At this point, it could be important to point out a few facts:

1. In December 2007, Brandon had shoulder surgery to correct a labrum tear.
2. In Feburay 2008, Brandon's surgeon released him from the shoulder surgery to go on the school ski trip.
3. Brandon went on the school ski tip and made 1/2 of one run on the first day until I received a call from the mountain side clinic.
4. We flew Brandon home and a week later, he had surgery and a one night stay for a seriously broken collarbone.
5. A few years back, we vacationed as a family with our friends in Alaska. We arrived Saturday, spend most of Sunday at church with our friends. On Monday, David separated his shoulder while playing racquetball with our friend. He spent the entire week in a sling. Our snow activities were halted, and he could not help at all with the luggage, etc getting the family home from Alaska!

At this point, I'm at least happy that he hasn't wrecked his car, etc, but still no clue as to why he won't be able to drive. And then he says........

"I took a racquetball square in the eye!"

Me: "I guess you weren't wearing eye protection?"
B: "It is recommended but not required. Out of all the possible places on my body I could take a hit, what are the odds that I would get hit in the eye?"
Me: "Well, now you know." (Great Mom response, huh?)

This is what he looked like:

OUCH! As it turns out, he was okay to drive over the weekend, but he has had to answer a few questions!

Suppose he has learned a lesson and will be buying some goggles.....I suspect NOT!

I'm It....from my friend Jamie's page

2009-01-18T23:53:00.002-06:00

Actually, I wasn't tagged, I saw this over on Jamie's blog when I was reading her post for Sunday.

Here goes...What was I doing 10 years ago? Seriously? I'm not sure if I remember what I was doing 10 minutes ago.....10 years ago:

Brandon and Zachary were 9. David was still attending Texas Wesleyan full time and being stay at home Dad to the boys. I was working for Texas Pacific Group in Fort Worth as controller of their Asian, Latin America and other offshore investment funds. We lived in Hurst and were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our niece. She was born in May 1999. The boys were playing soccer and we were planning a family vacation to Trail West in Buena Vista, Colorado...the best young family vacation ever.

5 things on my to-do list for today?

1)workout with Marci
2) make a diligent effort to begin excercising a minimum of 1000 calories per day
3) make a diligent effort to accurately log my food intake
4) mail a package
5) give Angel her heartworm pill

5 snacks I enjoy:

1) pb & j foldover
2) cookies
3) bananas
4) popcorn - real, not microwave
5) Mozzarella cheese sticks

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:(this is in no particular order)

1) Donate at least 10% to charity
2) Pay off all 3 guys cars and buy a new one for me.
3) Build cabins at the Ranch and a vacation location.
4) Fully fund the guys college.
5) Buy a new home.

5 bad habits:

1) Not exercising enough
2) eating (eating too much, of course, I mean...we have to eat) (I like that Rachel!)
3) not getting enough sleep
4) not callling my brothers often enough
5) overcommitting myself

5 places I've lived:

1) Haltom City, Texas
2) Hurst, Texas
3) Fort Worth, Texas
4) Burleson, Texas
5) Whitney, Texas

5 jobs I've had:

1) Wife and mom - best and most rewarding, for SURE!!
2) Cloth World
3) Checker/Cashier - Winn Dixie and Tom Thumb
4) Joint Billing Intern - Southland Royalty
5) Controller/CFO - private equity firms

Okay, that's a little about me. Forgive me but I'm not going to tag anyone. If you want to play along, feel free...and post a comment so others can see what you wrote! Please.

Picture Tag

2008-12-14T17:07:00.002-06:00

I was recently "tagged" by my friend, Jamie. The object of the picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

Here is mine!Zack (left) and Brandon (right)
May 2008

My identical twin sons graduated from high school in May 2008. We hosted a graduation party for them at a local italian restaurant and I made a cake to celebrate the occasion. The bottom of the cake was decorated with the name/logo of their high school, and then the upper portion was split into two sections and decorated with the logo/colors of their chosen universities. Each side had a graduate figurine passing from the high school section into the university section.

As it turns out, they spent one semester at different universities, and late last week, we emptied Brandon's dorm so that he can transfer to attend college with Zack beginning in January 2009. It all started about 3 weeks into the semester with "It's kind of weird not having him around," and by the end of October changed to "I miss him." So, the jury is still out on how well they will do sharing a dorm room given the last few months apart. Even though they are twins, they are still brothers......

I'm a very proud Mom!

I'm not sure how many blogger friends I have that haven't been tagged by someone else. Play along if you want and be sure to post your blog address in my comments.

My favorite Santa

2008-12-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

Many of you know that December 2006 was a very difficult holiday season for our family. My younger brother (I was 6 when he was born) was diagnosed with a relapse of lymphoma which had first been treated in the Spring/Summer of 2005.

Prior to his diagnosis, he had agreed to play Santa for his company's annual Open House. Although he was not well, he fulfilled the role and had an absolute blast. Between Christmas and New Year's, I travelled with him and his wife to MD Anderson to begin his treatment. He graciously agreed for me to be his primary caregiver which would allow his wife to be home with their children during the week. On weekends, she came to see him, and I returned home to my family. He underwent harsh chemo and suffered all of the standard side effects. In April 2007, he celebrated his new birthday when he received a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. As part of this process, he underwent another difficult round of chemo and full body radiation in order to totally destory his immune system prior to the transplant. After receving his new donor cells, his immune system was equivalent to that of a newborn baby.

He was a model patient and tried so hard to do everything he possibly could to encourage a full recovery. He would walk laps around the nurses station several times a day, even when he really did not feel like getting out of bed. I met so many caregivers that endured difficult attitudes from their patients most of which were driven by the severe illnesses, steroids, etc. My brother was super. Never once did he say a cross or inconsiderate word to me. I would never wish this experience on anyone, but am so thankful that we had this time together.

After a difficult but successful recovery from the transplant, he was dismissed from the Houston area in July 2007. He wished so badly that he would be well enough to be Santa for 2007, but seriously doubted that the doctors would allow him to be in close contact with so many young children. When the time came, he sought approval from his doctor and was pleasantly surprised when the doc said "Yes!".

I was not able to see him in this role in 2007. For Christmas last year, my mother gave him a Santa suit pattern and promised to make him a custom Santa suit in time for his 2008 appearance.

Mom worked very hard and made him a beautiful suit. I was fortunate to be able to see him this past weekend as he once again portrayed Santa. He absolutely loves it. I know I'm a bit prejudiced, but I think he is the best Santa ever!

"'Twas the Night Before Christmas"

Santa and Me

Santa and My Daddy

Santa and My Mom

Patriotic Project

2008-12-12T15:45:00.000-06:00

In the guys' Senior year, they took a Government trip to Washington, DC. Brandon came home with a parchment poster of the "Congrefs of the United States". Of course, the size was not a standard format and needed a frame that was 24" X 28". I searched high and low and could never locate a frame of this size that wasn't custom and .....yea, very pricey.

So, this nice parchment poster has been stuck in the corner waiting for its opportunity for a proper display. Finally, I hit upon a solution.

Supplies:

24 X 36 poster frame
2 spools of patriotic ribbon
2 glue sticksI glued three rows of ribbon horizontally across the top and bottom of the frame mat and one row vertically along each side. Then I placed the parchment poster over the edges of the ribbon. Here is the finished product.
Pretty decent result for less than $30 versus the cost of a custom frame!

What Have I Done?

2008-12-11T20:57:00.007-06:00

I found this while reading Cyndy's Blog, and thought I would follow suit and post mine here as well!! Mine are in GREEN.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold (Girl Scout Cookies) Camp Fire Candy
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (does introducing them to Christ count?)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Now.............................

If you get a chance ~ check out Cyndy's too, then go do your own (and link it back - if you want)!

Chalkboard Mats

2008-12-10T14:15:00.000-06:00

When the boys were babies, I purchased my first serger. Over the years, I have played with it, but never really learned to "use" it. So, over a month ago, I signed up for a "Serger Savvy" class offered by a friend of mine at her Granbury quilt shop. Following the class, I just had to do a bit of shopping in her fabric boutique. I discovered chalkboard fabric. Debbie had a project sheet detailing the instructions to make a "Chalkboard Mat".
I bought the supplies and several weeks later, finally sat down the week of Thanksgiving to make these for my youngest nieces and nephews who range in age from 2 1/2 to 9.
These mats hold several pieces of chalk and a sponge eraser. They roll into a nice bundle with a carry handle. All of the kids seemed to enjoy them!

LA trip #3 - Pistachios

2008-12-09T22:39:00.004-06:00

My flight to LA was fairly uneventful. The plane was about 60% occupied so there were plenty of empty seats, overhead storage etc.

However, the return flight from LA was a different story. It all started with the long security line. One security line serviced AA gates 40-49 (A and B) and the wait was, shall we say, lengthy. I arrived at the airport in plenty of time, but the long security line delayed my arrival at the departure gate. Passing through security, I proceeded to the gate, one last stop at the restroom and as I walked to the gate, the attendant announces "If you are holding a boarding pass for Flight XX, you need to be on the plane now."

The plane is full as are the overhead bins. I find a place for my suitcase several rows back from my seat, and slide past the aisle passenger to the window seat. It is almost time to depart from the gate, and the middle seat between us is empty. Whew, maybe this won't be so bad after all. The aisle passenger looks at me and says "Hey, looks like the seat between us will be empty."

It could not have been 2 minutes later, the stewardess walks by and eyes our empty middle seat. Next thing we know, she is back with a female passenger middle eastern dress. Full head wrap, etc and reading a book about Allah. So much for our empty middle seat. Seems there was a row in the back of the plane that all 3 seats were occupied and one had a lap child. So, I totally understand that it made sense to move one passenger to this middle seat.

We have backed away from the gate and guess what our middle seat passenger does? She digs in the seat pocket for the barf bag! I'm thinking, "Great. Now have we not only lost our empty middle seat but this is going to be a fun flight home!" I literally prayed, "Dear Lord, I know that she probably does not even believe in you, but please settle her stomach for the duration of this flight."

We continue to taxi down the tarmac and the entire time she is still reading her book. I am thinking that is a bit unusual as most people who get really motion sick will not read while the vehicle is moving. We accelerate, clear the ground, gain altitidue and the whole time, she is fine. Never grabbed the bag.....yea!

Once we have leveled, she reaches for the barf bag, leans over and grabs a huge handful of pistachios from her carry on, and proceeds to drop the empty shells into the barf bag. Never in my wildest would I have predicted this outcome! Upon telling my DH of this story, he has declared that he will never again travel without his pistachios!

LA trip #2 - Don't forget your razor!

2008-12-09T22:24:00.007-06:00

I'm in LA. Solved my blow dryer situation and am preparing to meet a gentleman for breakfast who I have never met before. We planned to have breakfast together in the hotel lobby restaurant prior to meeting all day - just the two of us.

I arrive at the restaurant entrance and two men are waiting. I ask if either of them happens to be "Bob" and one says, "Yes, that's me." I reach out to shake his hand and immediately notice that he has a piece of tissue on his face, just above his upper lip and below his nose with blood clotted on it. Obviously, he had a shaving issue that morning.

Now remember, I've never met this man in my life. Should I tell him he has tissue on his face? Surely, he must know it is there/ Did he fail to make the one last "mirror check" before leaving his room. I opt for slience on the matter and attempt to carry on normal conversation. You would not believe how difficult it is to maintain eye contact for an entire meal. Several times he rubbed his nose and I felt certain he must have felt the tissue on his face. We finish breakfast, and move to our meeting room. I had several glasses of water during breakfast so I excuse myself for a potty break.

Thankfully, upon my return, he has somehow realized he has a tissue issue and removed it!

Fast forward a few hours. I realized on that morning that I had left my razor at home. No big deal as I was wearing a pant suit but I decided to get a spare razor from the front desk so that I could shave my legs the next morning. Of course, the gimme razors are pretty basic, but hey its just a single use item. No worries.....

The next morning, I shave the left leg and bam......nick myself just below the knee. So, on to the right leg and guess what? Another nick in the almost the same place. Isn't this lovely!

I'm betting Bob forgot his razor too! Moral of this story - don't leave home without your razor!

LA trip #1

2008-12-09T21:40:00.007-06:00

In mid-November, I made a two day trip to LA for business. For those of you wno know me well, you know that I NEVER leave home without my blow dryer. I even have one that I take with my to Hong Kong that is wired for their standard electrical outlets.

On this particular trip and given the airline industry's decision to charge extra for checked baggage, I decided that surely I could make it with the blow dryer that the hotel provided. I cram all of my stuff into one bag plus my computer bag and I'm off. I arrived in LA late evening before my 8:00 am meeting the next morning and began to unpack my clothese toiletries, etc.

Upon first glance in the bathroom, this is what I see:
Beautiful vanity with towels, tissue, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, etc. Do you see a blow dryer? Nope, me neither. So as mild panic begins to erupt, I grab the hotel information binder and search for information on "blow dryer", "hair dryer", "appliances" etc searching for some clue. NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. Now I'm thinnking, "Great, this is going to involve a taxi, finding a 24 hour drug store and the purchase of a blow dryer so that I can manage this mop tomorrow morning."

In a last ditch effort before heading to the hotel drive, I call the front desk and inquire. Surely they provide a blow dryer. RELIEF. They do! Want to guess where it was?

Here is the door to the area with the toilet/tub/shower......

and the blow dryer is:

hanging BEHIND the bathroom door in a nice black bag!. Is that where you would have looked?

Christmas Edition of "Get to Know Your Fellow Bloggers"

2008-12-09T07:55:00.003-06:00

OK Ladies and Gents. It is the Christmas Edition of "Get to know your fellow Bloggers". How this works...I will answer the questions and then I will "Tag" a couple of my fellow bloggers for them to answer these questions on their blog. And then they will tag someone else, and so on and so on. So here we go.

1) Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper and handmade bows!
2) Real or Artificial tree? Artificial. When the boys were younger, we would cut a real tree.
3) When do you put your tree up? Early December.
4) When do you take your tree down? Shortly after New Year.
5) Do you like eggnog? NO!
6)Favorite gift received as a child? Baton wrapped in a long, tubular box decorated like a candy cane. My brother got a BB gun the same year and Mom decorated his long rectangular box like a toy soldier!
7) Hardest person to buy for? my nephews.
8) Easiest person to buy for? Mom, Mel and Jeanne.
9) Do you have a nativity scene? Yes.
10) Mail or e-mail Christmas Cards? Mail.
11) Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The gift was fine - a new lens from my camera from David our first Christmas. He forgot to bring it to the family gathering. Rushed home to get it, and gave it to me wrapped in toilet paper...and I still married him!
12) Favorite Christmas Movie? None really.
13) When do you start shopping for Christmas? late November.
14) Do you hang mistletoe? No
15) Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My dad's fudge.
16) Lights on tree? pre-lit tree with white/multiples colors. David likes multi. I like white.
17) Favorite Christmas Song? Away in a Manger
18) Travel at Christmas or stay home? both families live within 60 miles, so only short distance travel.
19) Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Only 7.
20) Angel or Star on top of tree? Angel
21) Open the presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Christmas Eve with David's family, Christmas Day with our sons and my family.
22) Most annoying thing about this time of year?So much of the time we no longer exchange gifts but rather gift cards....why don't we just get together, sing carols, eat junk food and pass on the exchanging of $$?
23) Favorite ornament theme or color? one solid color and either gold or silver.
24) Favorite for Christmas Dinner? Ham, baked potatoes, broccoli rice casserole, huge salad, beans of some variety, pies and cookies.
26) What do you want for Christmas this year? Good health for my family and all my friends.
26) Who do you Tag to answer these on their blog? Brad

Dear Hubby update

2008-11-16T23:48:00.002-06:00

An update to the previous post:

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?

60s and 70s muscle cars, 21st century high end sports cars, and lots of garages!

11. What would he never wear?

He says he would never wear a skirt in public. Suppose he thinks I would like for him to wear one at home...go figure. But sounds like time for a dare to me. Anyone up to the challenge?

My Dear Hubby !

2008-11-14T07:53:00.007-06:00

As borrowed from my friend, Jamie. See her site here.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Survivor, House, CSI, ER, just about anything.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Blue Cheese or Ranch

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
PEANUT BUTTER although he will eat Reese's pb cups. He won't even kiss me if I've eaten PB.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order?
Margarita or Long Island Tea. At home, Crown and Coke.

5. Where did he go to high school?
Western Hills High School in Fort Worth

6. What size shoe does he wear?
Size 10 1/2, usually.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
I have no idea!

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Turkey and Swiss.

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
Sweets.....anything lemon.

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Honey Bunches of Oats, or Wheaties

11. What would he never wear?
I can't think of anything. He would probably even wear a skirt on a dare!

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Dallas Cowboys, UT Longhorns

13. Who will he vote for?
He voted McCain/Palin.

14. Who is his best friend?
Me, I guess, with the kids coming in a super close second.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Overcommit myself!

16. How many states has he lived in?
Colorado, Kansas, Japan, Texas

17. What is his heritage?
His dad has done the research, but I'm not sure!

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what would it be?
Stripe it Rich Cake with white cake and chocolate pudding, or Apricot Lemon Pound Cake.

19. Did he play sports in high school?
Not in high school, but was on the swim team in junior high.

20. What could he spend hours doing?
watching TV, hanging out with his sons!

21. What's something cool about him?
David loves me and his kids with all his heart. He gets along well with almost everyone. HIs nickname in our family is "Uncle Silly," that pretty much says it all!

There you have it, folks. Any questions?

New Name!

2008-11-06T20:24:00.002-06:00

I sent the link for my blog to my DH and my son today. After a couple of hours, I received a message from Brandon that said "You might want to consider changing the name of your blog." He very correctly pointed out that some might interpret my previous title to mean something other than I had intended. Yea, I'm nuts, never even thought about it like that. So, my blog has a new name!

Treadmill Desk

2008-11-06T03:47:00.006-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, my trainer asked me if I had seen the news report of the treadmill desk. I had heard mention of such, but not seen the report. Check out this link.

As many of you know, I spend hours upon hours sitting at the computer. And within the last 6 months, David and I had purchased an elliptical machine rendering our existing treadmill virtually useless. We had anticipated selling it, or even giving it away, but it is still occupying space in our gameroom.

So, last Thursday morning, I begin to ponder how I could convert my treadmill into a treadmill desk. Another Google search generates the "$49 treadmill desk."

We have book stands for the treadmill that we purchased a few years ago. I'm looking at it on the console of the treadmill thinking...."I bet my laptop would sit in the book stand." So, I set it up, plugged it in, and this is the result.Suprisingly enough, I was able to spend over an hour reading and responding to emails and other responsibilities not requiring a work surface. But now I'm thinking, how can I add a work surface?

My trainer suggested buying a piece of shelving at the hardware store to lay across the hand rails and under the edge of the console. I head to Home Depot after my workout and buy a white shelf. I set the shelf on the handrails, and it was just not very stable. A trip to the garage resulted in 2 rubber tie downs. Now I must tell you that I've had the shelf sitting on the treadmill running for a few minutes, maybe 15, when I decide that I need to add some stability.

And my calculator, pencil, erase, a few papers, etc are on the shelf. As I close the back door and walk around to the garage, I hear a crash and think to myself...."I hope the shelf did not fall off of the treadmill....." Yep, I was right. It was all in the floor when I get back from the garage.

So, moving along, now I have this.
and it works. I am finding that walking at about 1.5 mph is the right speed for me. However, for exercise, I typically walk much faster and I have found that I must work up to spending several hours on my treadmill desk. My hamstrings and lower back get really tight if I walk for much more than 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time.

Ultimately, I would like to move the treadmill down this wall such that there is wall in front of the treadmill instead of a window. Then I will mount another small shelf on the wall, and purchase a flat screen computer monitor which will be larger and easier to read than the laptop monitor. This should also enable me to move the laptop to a side table which will free up the console area and be a little less tricky to adjust the speed, etc.

For now, I am just getting used to the whole concept. It will be interesting to see if this really works for me long term both to be effecient at work and hopefully dropping some pounds.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-06T03:07:00.004-06:00

Brandon was invited to an adult Halloween party and decided on a character/costume. He found a picture and Mom exhausted her creativity to produce some resemblance of the original. A few yards of unbleaced muslin, chocolate brown washable felt and two patterns meant it was time to fire up the dust covered sewing machine. The basic robe was easily constructed following a bibilcal character pattern, but the hooded overlay was a bit more complicated. A creative modification of a hooded pancho pattern, and the overlay seemed doable.

But he needed props to make the costume complete. A trip to Wal-Mart netted a few stryofoam balls, craft sticks, gold metallic spray paint, white braid and a wicker basket. Next lesson learned by Mom......does anyone know what happens when you try to spray paint styrofoam? IT MELTS! I should have saved the finished product for a picture, but too late now.

So, second lesson learned in this endeavor after a quick Google search is how to make paper mache paste. A few cups of water and flour along with some salt and it is time to make a mess in the kitchen. The 3 remaining styrofoam balls were covered in layers of messy newspaper and allowed to dry for 24 hours. Then adorned with the craft sticks, painted gold and decorated with braid.

The finished product is Brandon's costume. Ultimately the adult party was cancelled, but he still hit the streets of Keller with his cousins ranging in age from 2 1/2 to 9. Can anyone guess what his character/costume is?Is everyone ready for the answer........? Brother Maynard and his Holy Hand Grenades from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." David was certain everyone would think something different which is probably best left unwritten here!

And for those of you wondering about Zack, he did not dress up for trick or treating with the cousins. Zack is pledging a fraternity at Tarleton. One pledge event required a costume. Of course, he forgot about the need for a costume until the very last minute. When I asked him later if he had found a costume, he replied, "Yes, but I will never be see in it ever again!" When I inquired further, seems his pledge buddies convinced him that they should all go as "Fraternity Nerds". He had black walking shorts (above the knee) and a pink and black checked polo shirt, black cardigan sweater, black dress shoes.....can you imagine how special this was? I begged him for a picture but he says none were taken. The fraternity leadership failed to see the humor. Not that Zack can tell me anything about it, but I suspect that he and his pledge buddies paid for this flash of wisdom!

2008-10-27T14:44:00.001-05:00

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My first blog!

2008-10-27T13:58:00.004-05:00

I have been considering starting a blog for some time now...but just never seemed to get around to it. So, here goes. Sometimes I will post about the random events in our lives, and at other times I may blog about crazy ideas, beliefs, etc. Please feel free to post comments. I'm always curious to read/hear another person's perspective on any given issue.

The holiday season is rapidly approaching. Before I go further, I will back up and share a life experience. Several years ago I was responsible for reviewing medical insurance plans available for employees of an international company. In the process, I had significant contact with agentleman, Jay, who worked in New York....in one of the twin towers. This particular international employee group had many unique medical issues and Jay was extremely diligent in assistance in claim resolutions, etc. He was one of those guys that always went above and beyond. I knew from experience that Jay was always in the office early. On that fateful day in 2001, I was fearful that I might never again have the opportunity to speak to Jay. And my thoughts ran endlessly about all the things I should have said to him about how much I appreciated his work ethic, his friendship, etc. I tried several times that day to reach him - email, cell phone, etc. No response. About midnight on 9/12, I received an email from Jay. He was very fortunate that he had rescheduled a postponed golf date to 9/11 and even though the weather forecast was gloomy, he took off to play golf with an insurance broker friend. When I finally had the chance to speak with Jay, I told him all those things that I should have said before but never did.

So, now my point. As the holidays approach, I challenge every reader of my blog (and please feel free to share) to take a few moments and think about the special people in your life - family, friends, business associates, etc. Think about what you would say about them if you suddenly found yourself facing life without that person. How does he/she inspire you, make you feel special, fond memories, etc. Carry a tablet with you and jot notes as you are waiting in the pick up line at school, at ball practice, doctor's appointments, wherever you happen to have a few minutes for your mind to wander.

Then prepare these thoughts into a customized letter to each individual as a fantastic present this season. Write one or several. Its up to you. Then if you don't mind, post a comment or email me about how it made you feel writing the letter and the response you received from your special person.

My sister (in-law) Jeanne did this for me a few years ago. A handwritten note thanking me for things I had done for her, many of which I did not even recall. If you know Jeanne, she is one of those people that ALWAYS has on lip gloss or lipstick. At her wedding to my brother, I apparently had a tube of lipstick ready to hand her at all times. I didn't even rememberl this, but it was special to her.

So, put thoughts to paper, and let's see what happens!