We're going skiing next weekend!

Like, real skiing. See, I've only ever been skiing before in North Carolina and Tennessee.

This all started when, on Monday, Greg asked if I wanted to go up to North Carolina to go skiing on Sunday, since neither of us are all about the Super Bowl. But Greg knows I've wanted to try cross country skiing for a long time (downhill is just too fast for me. Even in North Carolina/Tennessee, I stick to the little hills.), so we started looking into a longer weekend. Well, the closest place to go cross country skiing is 8-10 hr drive from here. At that point, it's a day to drive up, a day to try cross country, a day to try downhill, and a day to drive back. Plus 3 nights in a hotel. Oh, and the cross country tracks are currently closed.

So Greg said, "Let's go to Vermont."

And then he found us plane tickets for next weekend that will cost about the same as 3 nights in a hotel would have cost us. I don't know how we found tickets so reasonably priced, less than 2 weeks in advance. Plus, we get to stay with Greg's parents!

I'm very excited! :)

Driving Me Crazy

Sorry for the bad pun, but driving anywhere lately seems to just be getting worse and worse. It's to the point where I don't like to drive anymore. At least once a day, I see a situation where multiple people could be seriously injured. I feel like I'm taking my life in my own hands anytime I have to go anywhere any more.

Yesterday, we picked my car up from the shop after work. I was driving home, and as you come into town, you're on a road with a speed limit of 45mph, with 2 lanes in both directions and a wide center turning lane. I was in the right lane, and there was a good bit of traffic. We were probably close to, or a little below the speed limit. Well, someone in the left lane, while parallel to me, decides that they really have to stop at the gas station that we are currently next to (on the right). So, of course, it's his God-given right to get to that gas station, even if it means making a right hand turn from the left lane and cutting off the guy behind me. Seriously. Do people really not think, "You know what, this may not be safe. It might be safer for me to stop at another gas station less than 1/4 mile down the road. And, maybe next time, I'll think about getting in the right lane a little sooner."

Today, on the way to work, as you come out of our neighborhood, you turn onto a side street where the speed limit is 25 mph. It's one lane in either direction, with no line down the middle or anything. I can't count how many times cars have passed me on this road, even when I'm already over the speed limit. It happened again this morning, when we were already more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Seriously. So - what? You get to the traffic light ten seconds sooner? (Of course, this car was making a right turn and didn't actually stop at the red light.) Could you not leave 10 seconds sooner?

Last week, on the way to work, we saw a horrible accident at this intersection that we drive through absolutely every morning. Since they built a new school back there a couple of years ago, traffic has increased significantly. And apparently so has people's impatience, because people run those lights all the time. The two roads that intersect are one lane in either direction, and the speed limit on both is 45 mph. Now, we didn't actually see the accident, but I'd almost guarantee that one of them ran the light. And someone wasn't wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car, and died.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming to be a great driver. And I'm certainly not always as cautious as I should be. But, for heaven's sake, I stop for people in parking lots. Do people not realize that pedestrians always have the right of way?

Light Green (as in, we're getting there)

First of all, yay for Obama!

I've been in pursuit of reusable grocery bags since the beginning of the year. I was originally looking for some that didn't have a big brand stamped on the side of them. Whole Foods had some nice ones that looked pretty tough. And Target had some, but they were tiny! I finally bought 2 of these at the store today. I was originally afraid they were small, but the bottom is actually quite wide, and they hold lots. I'll try and get some more next week.




We also picked up some of the new Clorox Green Works cleaners while at the store today. Partly because a friend of mine helped develop them. ;)

A pretty quiet weekend here. I started an online Photoshop class last week, which I'm really excited about ... but haven't really started yet. I was hoping to get to it this weekend, but didn't. Ran some errands, got Greg's cell phone swapped out for the one he really wanted (but was out of stock last time) at Costco. Got a 2nd cat carrier. We looked at Panera's menu online before heading there for dinner last night. I think that's a big step. :) Greg and I also got another jog in together this afternoon. In all, it was a monkey socks sort of day.

Monkeys make me smile.

Dusty is napping on the floor in here with both of us right now, apparently worn out from her swim a little while ago. Now, when we first got them, we tried to give these cats baths exactly twice. The scratches were enough to keep us from trying again. Lefty has been known to only drink from the water bowl by dipping her paw in and then licking the water off. Dusty has caught on to this, and we catch her doing it occasionally, too. But nothing would have suggested to me that she'd be living it up by being up to her armpits in a sink full of water. They both LOVE the sink. Only the one in a certain bathroom, though -- it's not all sinks. A surefire way to get them to stop what they are doing is to start running the water in the bathroom sink - they come running. Tonight, Greg filled the sink for them, and Dusty wades right in with her front two paws. (Lefty just watched.) She was pulling at the water, like trying to scoop it. I just couldn't believe she'd like the water that much. But she was in there for a good 10 minutes or so, splashing and scooping at the water. Crazy cat.

One a day - Week 3

Jan 15: Sunrise. "Yeah, who am I kidding? It wasn't quite sunrise. But an early morning walk on the beach nonetheless. We *so* needed this weekend in Myrtle Beach, to relax and get to swim in the ocean at least once this year. I swear, if we could figure out a way, we'd live at the beach all year long."


Jan 16: "Dusty, ~6 months"


Jan 17: Christmas in the City. "Actually, it was just before Thanksgiving, but New York was already totally decked out for Christmas. What a great way to kick off the season!"


Jan 18: Beach Feet. "On our last day in Myrtle Beach, we didn't get to go swimming. But our feet did."


Jan 19: French. The scan came out a bit funny - that flowered paper actually has a light blue background, but my scanner seems to have a really hard time with light blue. "I don't speak French at all. No, seriously. Not a word of it. So, spending two weeks in a small town in the middle of France by myself was a bit of an adventure. I got lost a lot, had to buy cold medicine, and ripped the mirror off of a rental car (on my birthday). But it was also the first time in a long time that I felt independent."


Jan 20: South paw. "When she wants to be pet, she'll stand in front of you, between you and whatever you were trying to do. Love to nap on Greg's lap. Loves to climb up on window ledges. Pretends to be hungry for whatever you are eating. Keeps her sister company."


Jan 21: Merry and Bright. Not sure this one is done yet. It's not making me happy.

Weeks into 2008: 4. Visits to the dentist: 4.

Ok, last week was just a quick recheck on the wisdom teeth, and today was just a cleaning. But I can help but hope that this trend doesn't continue any further into the year...

Not much else going on, which is nice. I'm scrapbooking, and reading Harry Potter #3. No big plans for the weekend, other than getting out to vote, and running a few errands.

One other note about Weight Watchers -- we're doing the online version. I don't think I'm ready for the touchy-feeliness of groups and meetings and such. Plus, anything with the word "online" in it is immediately more attractive to Greg. :) He has already searched all over the web to find the formulas used to calculate how many points food has, how many points you should be eating, etc.

On Weight Watchers...

I fought it for a long time. I told myself that I didn't want to be told by someone else what to do. And the last time I lost a bunch of weight, I did it myself. But that was before I was married, before we had the house. Now, I need any help I can get. So we signed up about two weeks ago or so.

I'm really glad that Greg is doing this with me, because it can really be a drag. But we are making some progress, for sure. My problem was never that I ate too much fast food, or that I ate junk. I did some of that, but my real problem was just the quantity. I'm finally forcing myself to measure and control portions. I have been snacking less, and snacking on fruit instead of carbs.

One thing about Weight Watchers is that nothing is completely off limits, it's just a matter of finding out nutritional info, and allowing for it. Any diet with Caramel Machiattos in the plan should be workable. We're having a hard time right now trying to find nutritional info at some of our favorite restaurants, which is frustrating. We've been eating at home a lot.

We have been back to the gym regularly, too. Right now, we're going 3 times during the week, and then we're trying to jog together once over the weekend. I'm back and forth between the ellipticals (lower impact) and jogging (earns more points!) during the week, and I got a 3 mile jog in today!

So, we're getting there.

Blog-worthy? You decide.

It was a pretty mellow weekend, to the point where I couldn't think of anything to write. I'm starting to recall it, though...

On Friday, we nearly turned the phone off after one too many political phone calls, answering machine messages, etc. I didn't vote in the Republican primary on Saturday, but will probably vote in the Democratic this weekend.

The snow never accumulated on Saturday. There was a cold rain all morning that turned to snow in the afternoon. It was just a few degrees too warm, though, so the snow just melted. So sad -- we were looking forward to more. Because it was supposed to get bad, we debated going out to dinner all day. But then Lisa called, and wanted to go to dinner. We braved the cold and wet, but it was lots of fun.

Greg and I went jogging together today, the first time we'd done that since we swore we would back in September. It was cold, but fun. Tonight will probably be the coldest night of the winter so far -- it's supposed to get down into the teens.

Grocery shopping, dinner, finale of the Amazing Race. That's about it!

One a day

I've been delinquent in posting my one-layout-a-day projects, because there was one I finished, but wasn't quite happy with. Finally got around to fixing that. So here's week 2:

Jan 8: Perfect. "A perfect day together, exploring Scotland. We saw a Highland cow, listened to bagpipe music, and saw tons of wide open countryside. We saw the top of Ben Nevis from the comfort of the van, and cruise Loch Ness with our bread and cheese picnic lunch. We even stopped for afternoon tea and shortbread in Pitlochry."


Jan 9: More Fun. "Yes, it is sad that we have to make a conscious effort to have more fun. But with both of us working full time, going to school part time, trying to keep up with going to the gym, trying to keep the house from falling apart, making sure the kittens are happy, and trying to keep up with friends and family, it's often our own sanity and our relationship that suffer neglect. It's just too easy to forget how much fun we have together, and how important it is for us to spend time together and remember how much we love each other. " "This photo was taken at Falls Park, after we went up to Victoria Valley Vineyards for a wine tasting. Neither of us cared for the wine, but we had fun. We stopped in the park before dinner at the Brick Street Cafe. photo: 9/07"


Jan 10: Fall 2007. My journaling actually slides out from behind the tree paper, using that big blue button. It says, "With Julie and Thomer's wedding in Boston, we decided to make a week of it. We stayed with your parents, and mine came up to visit. Then we drove down to Boston, and got to see Salem, Plymouth, and more of the city before the wedding. We both really miss fall in New England. Photos: 10/07."


Jan 11: Thanks. "For putting up with me. For laughing at my jokes. For going along with my crazy idea of finding the Simon Pearce gallery and glassblowing shop. Quechee, VT 10/07"


Jan 12: Monogram


Jan 13: City of Love


Jan 14: 2008 "Today is a new day. Today I choose to be happy. I choose to be healthy. I choose to reduce the chaos and reduce the stress. I choose to be positive. I choose to be a better person."

An Almost Snow Day

A photo from our (almost) snow day. Between the rain and today's temperatures, everything's pretty much melted. But now they are talking about more snow tomorrow (Saturday). (Those patio furniture covers went on on about an hour before the snow started.)


Not a whole lot else going on around here. I'd like to reiterate how glad we are to be done with school. I am hoping to go pick up the 3rd Harry Potter book from the library tomorrow, and just hang out this weekend. I've got a couple of errands to run in the morning, if the weather's not too bad.

Greg and I went to the drive thru at Starbucks in our pajamas after dinner. :)

Just a quick update...

The cats are doing much better today. Dusty is eating again, and they're both pretty much acting normal again. I'm relieved. Well, except now I'm worried about Vaccine Associated Sarcoma.

No snow day today. We went to work a little later than usual, and left a few minutes earlier. The snow stopped last night, and it had turned to rain by the morning. We got about 2 inches of snow, but the roads were just slushy this morning. (I made Greg drive.)

It's Snowing!

C'mon, snow day....

It's a Rough Kitty Life

That's usually said with sarcasm, after I accidentally wake the cowgirls from yet another nap.  But it really has been a rough 24 hrs.  They were due for their annual shots and check-up at the vet yesterday.  I volunteered to take them.  

I'd gladly clean litter boxes until the end of my life to never have to go through that again.  

I brought the carrier into the house, and they were suspicious.  I got Lefty and put her in it.  She was curious, and stayed.  Then I tried to get Dusty, but she was already on to what was going on.  It was just awful.  Every time I'd get the second one and try and get her in the carrier, they'd both get out.  I was tearing around the house after them, shoving furniture out of the way.  I swear, it looked like we had been robbed.  The couches, coffee table...  And then she took off upstairs, and under the bed, where I absolutely cannot reach.  I chased her with a roll of wrapping paper, trying to prod her out.  Finally, I had to move the mattress and box spring off the frame, and then she took off again.

What was probably worse was that I was just fuming - frustrated, angry, tired. And I'm sure my yelling didn't help the situation. I didn't know what to do. I felt like I was hurting her, and she was so, so angry. Even with her scruffed, I had to fight to get her in the carrier.  I wanted to cry.

She was absolutely terrified.  By the time we got the vet, she was shaking, and Lefty was howling.  They were banging their heads on the top of the carrier the whole way there, trying to get out.  It broke my heart.  

They both got 4 shots, and were fairly well behaved at the vet -- because they were scared out of their minds.  They talked me into  a new vaccine that requires a booster in 3 weeks.  I don't think they'll have forgiven me in 3 weeks.

Neither of them were really themselves last night, between the shots and the stress.  They expressed their displeasure in several locations around the house last night.  But Dusty didn't come demanding to be pet, didn't demand to play catch with the q-tips.  Lefty is acting a little bit better today, and is eating a little.  She's closer to being back to herself.  But Dusty's still a wreck.  She's always been the jumpier one.  She seemed to be behaving a little better, but she's not eating.  I gave her a few pieces of lettuce (the only 'treat' she will eat) and she promptly threw them up.  She's just sitting around, quietly now.  Poor, poor thing.  

I've got a claw mark and bruise on the inside of my arm, and holes in my sweater, to remind me never to do this by myself again.

2008 Resolutions

1. I will lose weight.  I will lose 4 lbs per month.  I will eat less, exercise more, and not use food to relieve stress.  I will eat out less.
2. I will be more environmentally responsible.  I'll turn my computer off at night.  I'll invest in reusable grocery bags (anyone know where I can get some cute ones?).  I will take shorter showers.  I will do more laundry with cold water.  I will start bringing a mug to work for coffee.  I will work on "reducing" and "reusing."
3. I will be more thoughtful and less selfish.  I will have a positive attitude.
4. I will reduce the chaos.  I will clean up my piles around the house, and get rid of things that I do not need or use.  I will clean more regularly.
5. I will learn or try new things.  I will read more books.  I will try cross country skiing.  I will travel somewhere new.

More Questions than Answers

I don't  know why some of those photos are significantly smaller than others -- it bothers me, it really does.  But I copied all of them from Shutterfly, and some of them I don't have on disk yet (the film ones).  I'll try to get them fixed, eventually.  Because it bothers me.  Deeply.

To answer Alan (or Kim's?) question, no, I don't have a good way to upload 50 pictures, other than the 5 at a time method.  And even with that, Blogger seemed to time out.  I could only do 10-15 at a time, and then I had to wait.  So, it's been a while since I'd been meaning to post that.

And, Heather, unfortunately, none of those legs were mine...  :)

Uh, and if someone can tell me why the spacing is different between the 1st and 2nd paragraph, I'd appreciate it.  That's going to drive me mad.

2007 Highlights

A quick summary of 2007:

• I started a blog.
  
• I spent a month in Europe.
• We replaced the kitchen cabinets over the summer.
• We went to Myrtle Beach in September.
• We went to Vermont and Massachusetts in October.
• I had 2 fillings replaced, a crown, a root canal, and a wisdom tooth chip over the course of about 4 months.
• We went to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving.
• We both finished our masters' degrees in December.
• We spent a quiet, relaxing Christmas at home.

And now, a year in pictures.