Friday, July 31, 2009

Done!

Well, the major hair pulling at work is done. I got everyone to a place where they could submit yesterday. Some things still need resolution, but at least reports are in. I didn't like all the answers I got and some things were totally out of my control, but... that's life. (One answer a customer got from the people running the submission software, not the agency itself, made me ask "What size orange jumpsuit do you want?" Needless to say, we didn't follow that advice.)
Boo is doing better. He's almost back to happy boy. He still has a bit of a cough and is feeling a bit off. He's still not eating much though. It might have been teeth coming in, but I'm not sure. He's up to a total of 6 teeth up top and 2 cute little lonely ones on the bottom. I wish I knew what was bugging him though. Oh well, as Gak reminded me yet again yesterday, he'll eat when he's hungry.
Speaking of Boo eating, he's almost all weaned. He doesn't have a preference for bottle or cup... well, maybe slightly more for cup than bottle. I've stopped pumping (yay!) and yesterday, even though I was home in the morning, he only nursed at night. And well, I'm not so sure it was nurse as suckle but not drink. I've been more or less following the thought of "don't offer, don't refuse", except at bedtime. I still offer then. Maybe in a week or so I won't even do that. It's been about a 1-2 month process so far. Other than me not pumping at work, there really hasn't been a whole lot of "this is how it's going to be" decisions going on. Supply was getting lower and the boy didn't seem to care what kind of milk he got. Actually, now he seems to prefer regular milk. I'll miss it, but hey that's life. I sure don't miss the pumping at work.

Ok, that was probably TMI. Sorry about that guys. That's what I get for blogging first thing in the morning.

Anyhow, I worked from home yesterday morning because Gak had a doctor's appointment around noon. He wanted me to go along with him. I'm glad. You see, he was going to talk to our doctor about a demon that he's been fighting for quite some time now. He had it under control, but in the last 3 months or so, it's gotten a bit out of control. That demon is none other than Depression. Which means there's only so much I can do to help. I hate feeling that powerless. And I'm sure it's even worse for him. I am glad to say that I'm not familiar with that particular demon on a first name basis myself, but I've seen it attack several of my friends. It's never pretty and there's only so much anyone can do to help. Well, all I can do is be there for him and be his rock to cling to. And make sure he gets the help he not only needs, but wants. (That's the key... wanting the help.)
I know things have been rough for him for a while. I've seen it in small shifts in his behaviors and attitudes. Recent events sure haven't helped him any. I just hope I can make the road a little smoother for him. I can't travel it, but I can at least call in the pavers to help with some of the potholes so he doesn't have to hit every single one of them.

Anyhow, it's getting on towards my time to leave for work. One last day this week and then free for the weekend. We don't have anything planned that I know of, but I think I said that last weekend too. We will see.

Peace to all and may your journeys be as enjoyable as possible.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Getting Better

I'm so glad this reporting month is almost over. It's been a bear. I still have a mountain of work ahead of me in the next 3 days, but it's not insurmountable.

Yesterday, according to Gak, it was like a switch went off in Boo around 9am. All of a sudden he became smiling boy again. He wasn't 100% back to normal, but overall he and GrammaSue had a good day. He still wasn't eating much and being a real snot and throwing what he didn't want onto the floor. It's one thing when he puts it over the side. We used to let him do that with the Bumbo because it was just landing on the table. But when he actively throws it, that's not acceptable. Unfortunately, there's only so much reasoning you can do with an almost 14-month old. Oh well. Maybe he'll eat today.
Boo definitely seems to understand conversation and the flow of things. His "talk" definitely has flow to it and a conversational tone. I just wish I understood what he was trying to tell us! He's so cute and funny though. I really do love him to bits even if some days he's not my favorite person. That's allowed, I'm sure there will be days he "hates" me too. (Actually, I think that was Sunday, especially when I kept going after him with a tissue.)

Mom and I have successfully (for now) foiled the boy from getting into the cabinets in the living room. We managed to install the latches with only one that I had to re drill the holes for because I placed it too low on the door. Oh well. We'll see how long it takes him to figure this new adventure out. I think I placed the one a little far in so it opens a little further than I like. Luckily he can really only get at big stuff from that side and won't be able to do too much damage... I hope.... I'm sure this will keep him frustrated and occupied for about a week or two.

Well, just thought I'd let you know that we have a happier boy who slept through the night (wish I had!). I'd better wrap this up and get my butt out the door if I want to get in early enough to make it worth while...

Peace to all and may your days be filled with smiles.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

One Cranky Boy

I must apologize for being a bad blogger ratling. I haven't really updated in almost a week.
The only excuse I have is that work has left me too drained.
Why am I writing this at 11:00 at night? Shouldn't I be in bed.
Yes, yes I should be.
But, my son, love of my life, isn't letting me.
I have so many good things to say... like the fact that my friend from Jr/Sr high Cybele found me earlier this week. She'd been looking for me for quite some time, but since my name changed when I got married, I've been hard to track down. She finally tracked down my parents at their shop. We've had a few email conversations. She's back in country (she's done all kinds of really cool things since we last talked) and is moving down to the DC area. Unfortunately, she's leaving in the morning and we didn't get a chance to catch up face to face yet. Hopefully after she settles in a bit, we'll make a day trip down.

Back to why I'm writing at 11pm instead of blissfully sleeping.
My boy has had one of the worst days in his little life. And I can't figure out why.
He hasn't slept well in a few nights and was a bit cranky at school the last few days. Saturday was mostly a good day. (I had some adventures, but I guess that'll have to wait....) But this morning he just wasn't eating much and sounding very rough.
Well, all hell broke loose after his 1:00 nap. He woke up on the far side of the wrong side of the crib. He was OK for a little bit, but then just melted down into a screaming puddle. And I mean screaming at the top of his lungs puddle. That was eventually solved by a 2 hour car ride. The afternoon was OK then for a bit, but then he randomly decided to melt into screaming fits in the middle of playing with blocks. We'd been building and knocking down towers for a bit, but suddenly after knocking one down, he dissolves into screams. None of the blocks hit him.... nothing was different about that tower than the previous 5...
I then put him in the stroller to walk to the park. He was quiet boy in his stroller, but we didn't get to swing because the thunder started right as we got there. He went down for another nap and woke up almost normal an hour or so later. He didn't want to eat all day. He didn't want to play, be held, drink, nurse, and barely wanted anything to do with Trey.
We went for another walk after dinner, with Chris and Dianne this time, and he was good then. (I had dosed him with a half dose of Benedryl, since his doctor had suggested it one time when his cough was pretty bad before. I have no idea if I mentioned this earlier in the post, but he's had a rattly, icky cough all day, but no fever or any other indication he's not well other than his general piss poor attitude.) He played quietly and a little sullenly for about a half hour after we got home, then he melted again. He went to bed with a bit of fuss (and no nursing) and was asleep by 8.
Then, at about 10 he woke... and 10:15, and 10:30... then at 10:45 and 10:50. Nothing worked. I put him down at 10:55 and told him, tough, you'll have to scream for 5 minutes. (I did intend on going back in, but I started this post...) It is now 11:15 and I think he just fell asleep again. Nope, there go the fusses. He's soooo tired. Well, I'm about to go plop him in the car seat and drive halfway across creation again I think.
Gods above I love my boy, but right about now.... I'm not too fond of him.

Peace to all and may someone I know be getting sleep tonight!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Puzzles and Games

Yesterday was two very different days.
The work day was very rough. The evening was a lot of fun.
I knew work was going to be a tough haul when I get in at 7 (my normal start time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and it took me an hour to get connected to the network because they had to reboot some servers and I had to reboot about 4 or 5 times. Also, I've been working with a very nice customer on a very tricky problem because there just aren't that many sites like his. And I can't figure out what's wrong. And there's all kinds of pressure from above to get this right because they're parent company has threatened to go with other software. And did I mention I can't figure out where things are wrong?
Oh, and they're adding a new door to the outside world in the break room (so no one will have to walk through the shop when they come in or leave) and that means I can't refill my water, use the fridge or anything? Nothing major, just very annoying. Especially since the estimated downtime will be about 2 weeks. Ugh.

On the upside though, I had a very nice evening over at Bob and Linda's. Mom, Boo, Mel and I all headed over there shortly after I got off work. We had a very nice dinner and some nice conversation. After dinner, Boo was quite happy to play by himself on the floor (there were all kinds of things to explore...) and the rest of us played two games of Rummikub. I hadn't played in ages, but I remembered fairly quick. Mel was a pretty quick study too. I won the first round and mom won the second.
It felt right. Here it was, a nice summer evening and we were with family and friends playing games out on the porch. (Actually, their "porch" has been turned into a very nice, very large sun room... perfect for gatherings.) In some ways it was a bitter-sweet moment. So many memories of my Gram (and even Mum Mum) were made on the porch playing games. It was wonderful to remember, but sad because she wasn't there to play with us.
She's been on my mind a lot lately. When I first got home yesterday Mom asked me where a recipe was. I told her it was probably on the table. But I got out the box from Gram. Gram hated to cook, but she loved collecting recipes. I inherited a whole box full for my wedding present. Mind you, this is just one card box full out of at least 3 or 4 that she had. She only ever made a handful of things from any of the recipes. Some of them are just scary. Anyhow; Mel, Mom and I had a good time laughing over some of them while I was looking for one of the recipes. (I couldn't find that card, but it was in the family cookbook that was put together for our wedding.)
So, yeah, Gram's been on my mind a lot. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I have been talking to Dorothy (Bobbie's daughter) about using the beach house at the end of September. Maybe it's because of all the tough things I've had to fight through with work and such lately. Maybe because it's summer and that's when we got to spend the most time together and were able to have the most fun.
I don't know, but I do know that I miss her horribly. Every day.

Anyhow, it's almost 7 and I'd better get my butt in gear if I want to make it to work by 8 like I'm supposed to. Here's hoping the network works and I can finally figure out what the heck is wrong at the site.

Peace to all and may your work days go easy and your evenings be full of laughter.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Mel-volus weekend

(Yes, I know the title is silly... what do you expect?)
Anyhow, this has been a very nice weekend. Even though Mel was here, it was fairly low-key. Gak worked Saturday and I did laundry, pretty much normal routine around here. After work Gak and I did a quick tour of the Q-mart and picked up some new comics and a "fat pack" from the Magic 2010 core set that came out. Mostly I figured we were eventually going to pick up 8 or so boosters between us and it had a nice rules insert and card list. Joan was running late (and this is new how?) so Mel didn't get dropped off until around 5:30 or so.
Ant wanted to make sure to show me some things in City of Heroes. (In case I didn't mention it earlier in the week, Gak and I are going through a 2-week trial.) I'm still not sold on the game. I like the concept a lot, the "classes" seem pretty cool, but the controls, quite frankly, are driving me up a stinking wall. A very tall wall. They are almost completely backwards from what I'm used to in EQII. I'm just not sure I can get over it.
Anyhow, back to the weekend. The four of us go out for a pizza. Actually, three of us had pizza and a boy had a grilled cheese. (Just like his Momma, grilled cheese is one of those things that about 95% of the time you'll know he'll eat.) After that it was bedtime for the boy and Gak and I showed off EQII to Mel.
This morning Mel had a nice bit of a lie in (at least to us she slept in... I, however, didn't sleep well at all last night, so was out of bed by 6.) We had a late breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon. Everyone thought it was quite yummy. After that Boo and Mel played with blocks, stacking and unstacking. Mel did most of the stacking and Boo the unstacking.
While Boo took his "morning" nap (he went down around 10:30 or 11) we played around on EQII a bit and Mel read a bit. She's like me in that respect... you've got to use a crowbar to get her nose out of a book some times. Not that I'm complaining, not enough people (younger than oh... 50) like to read. The only times I'll complain is when food is on the table of if homework isn't done yet. You've got to put the book down long enough to be part of the meal. Then you can feel free to dive right back in. Unfortunately, trying to get me to do my "real" homework instead of reading whatever book had my interest at the moment was a loosing battle.
Again, enough of the side track... back to the main story. (Yes, I'm having focus issues this evening..) Anyhow... Mel agreed to watch Boo for us so Gak and I could actually go to the movies. We actually went and saw Harry Potter this afternoon. It was perfect timing, we were leaving for the movies right when Boo wanted to go down for his afternoon nap. Gak and I enjoyed the movie very much. Knowing the story didn't make parts of it any easier. Several things were cut out that possibly needed to be left in. Some things were put in, that may or may not really affect the story too much. No, it wasn't letter perfect to the book, but no movie from a book ever is, even the wonderful Lord of the Rings trilogy.
After the movies we came home, picked up the kids and had dinner at Red Robin. It was enjoyed by everyone. Boo at most of his hamburger and a couple of fries. He also drank about half of his watered down lemonade. After dinner it was a quick trip to the grocery store and bedtime for a boy.
So, while overall we didn't do a whole lot, it was still a good weekend. Mel goes to her grandmother's tomorrow at some point, either before or after dinner. She'll decide tomorrow. GrammaSue, Boo and I are having dinner over at the Duck's, Mel is welcome to join us, but it's her choice.

Anyhow, that's about where things are at. I don't want to go to work in the morning, but that's only because it's getting to be the end of reporting month and our service ticket number is still going up instead of coming back down. None of us are very happy about that thought. If anything, this one is tougher than April and that was when everyone had to switch to the new format. Of course, now you're dealing with 2 quarters of data and totals and all that fun stuff. It hasn't made for a pleasant month at any rate. I'll probably be bringing the computer home a couple of evenings this week and putting in an hour or two at home. Sounds like fun, right?
I'm off to do a few things before bed. I've got to be out the door by 6:30 since it's a Monday. I hope everyone else had a good weekend too.

Peace to all and may your weekends be good and family time fun.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Almost Random....

This is going to be one very random post. I'm tired, a bit cranky and have many things running through my head that just don't connect to each other very well.
First things first... the Durango turned 100,000 miles this morning on the way to work. This is the second time I've done that. The first time Dad was very mad at me. You see, it was his Honda that I was driving in high school. I had made it home with about 5 miles to spare, but, unfortunately, Jon stayed late at work and needed me to pick him up. I can point to exactly where we were when the car turned. I can't with the truck... I was too engrossed in the radio and paying attention to where I was going. The picture is from when I got to work. (If you're a total geek, you could say that there are only 35 miles on the truck... and yes... I am that geek.)
Anyhow, that's probably the most random bit of the post. Work's been a bear this week. Not only is it reporting month, and not only were all our contractually committed reports due by yesterday, but we were without phones from about 10:30 Tuesday morning until about 9:00 this morning. That's probably what has me both tired and cranky.
Oh, I just figured out how to get to the next thing I wanted to say...
Remember about a month or so ago I said we'd gotten below a certain number of open cases? Well, the business manager promised us a celebration for it. We finally went last night. Yes, I know, in the middle of reporting month when we've got some of the worst numbers in months. Don't you like the irony? I do.
Anyhow, we went to a place called the William Penn Inn. It's a very nice place that lots of groups use for banquets and the like as well as a very nice restaurant and it is even still an Inn. Well, it was a little odd for me to be there. You see, the last time I was there I was about 17 or 18 and was there for some Girl Scout function or another. I felt like I was wearing the totally wrong outfit and kept waiting for Eunice to come over tsk-ing at me and attempting to straighten my tie (I never could get that silly thing to behave...). Anyhow, it was a very good evening.
Oh... another built in segue!
Speaking of Girl Scouts, Kat and I are thinking of going to the GS of Eastern PA (GSEPA) alumnae weekend next month. For $50 we get to go spend two nights at Tweedale with a bunch of other women and sing songs, make s'mores and do all kinds of fun things. They don't have a schedule together yet, but hey, it's camp... it'll be fun. (Just no "Johnny Appleseed" grace... I don't need to get wet... other than in the pool. Anyhow, we're just in the "hey let's go" stage, we haven't actually done anything about it yet. I'll keep you posted.

I have no way to get to this next set of thoughts that keep bumping around in my head. You see, Gak and I got some sad news over the weekend. His best friend from college, a guy who I hung out with as well the semester I was there, isn't doing so well. He's been living with diabetes for years. He seemed to have it under control. Well, sometime back in January he lost his sight from it. And he's in kidney failure. I can't begin to tell you how much this bites. He's not even 40 yet (I don't think... like Gak, he was in the Navy before going to school...) He's got a young son (under 10 at any rate...) who is autistic. I don't know if his wife is working now or what, I never actually met her. He was working as a chemist, but I'm guessing without his sight he isn't able to. (There are tons of things you can do blind... but being an experimental chemist wouldn't be one of the easiest.... or most fulfilling to have someone else be your eyes for you if you've been doing it yourself for so long.) I keep thinking of the look he would give me whenever we were working on O-chem homework. (I was taking 2nd semester O-chem and he was in 1st semester.) That look where I knew what I'd just said probably sounded like the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. And about 99% of the time I deserved it. Just having him around to bounce stuff off of though really helped me finally nail that course. (That and the fact that it was a lot easier than the course I'd been taking at my school... ACS accredited vs. not ACS accredited...)
Anyhow, that's obviously been on my mind a lot. I've wished he lived closer for a long time now, and now wonder if we'll ever get to see him again. He usually made it down to Ada from Kansas the last several times we've been out west.
Bah, this is a depressing train of thought and I want off.
On to happier things... I'll just let that simmer in the back of my brain for now.
This weekend looks like it should be fun. I'm still very excited about Mel coming to visit for the weekend. It's not like she lives that far away, but it's far enough that it's hard to call up Joan and say "hey, do you and the kids want to go out for pizza tonight?" I have no idea what we're doing, but I'm sure we'll have fun.
I think I'm going to wrap this post up here.

Peace to all and may the news be good, the vehicles last, and the oppertunities fun.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Busy Busy!

Well, the weekend was quite a success. Saturday I had a very tired boy in the morning, so instead of doing the laundry, we stayed home and let Poppa drive himself in and back. I think Boo went back to sleep around 8:30 (he'd gotten up around 7 originally) and didn't wake up again until 11 or 11:30! I told you I had a tired boy!
Amazingly enough, I actually took a good bit of that time to do something productive. Yes, I didn't just let the computer drag me into the depths of the Internet and let me loose myself for a couple of hours. I managed to break free and actually clean about half of our bedroom. Well, maybe not clean because things didn't get dusted or swept, but wow. I pulled an entire (kitchen sized) trash bag of trash out of there! I found a handful of socks that were trying to search for their mate on the sewing table. I even found the floor beside my bed! And there are only 2 crochet projects sitting there, looking lost and forlorn without my attention. The sewing table is all but cleared off, just a door hanging that I've been working on since last March and a pair of pants of Gak's that needs a button. (I think they've been sitting there for a year now.... eep!)
I'm quite proud of myself really. And quite dismayed. I know I'm not the neatest person on the planet, but this was horrible even for me. Ugh!
Anyhow, I did succumb to the mind-numbing powers of the Internet later that afternoon when Boo went down for his second marathon nap after lunch. Oh well, I did get something accomplished at any rate.
Saturday night was fun for everyone. Or at least I'm guessing it was fun for Boo by the amount of Kat's back yard that he accumulated on his knees and legs and feet. We left him over there around 5:30 and headed to the Tikki Bar for Norm's birthday. Several other couples were supposed to join Barb, Norm and us there. Well, everyone else was a no-show. That's OK. We had a nice chance to catch up and even though it was low-key, it was fun. When we went to pick up Boo, he was fast asleep in his pack-n-play and dirty from head to toe. I actually love to see my boy dirty. It means he was exploring the world. Kat said he was very good and even seemed to enjoy when Scott and Zoe were setting off fireworks in the back yard. I'm sure he did. He probably was trying to figure it all out and then some. He's such a curious little boy.

Sunday was going to be low key. But... since I hadn't done laundry the day before, it got added to the list of things to do. Mid-morning, shortly before Boo's nap time, I headed out to do laundry and grocery shopping while the wash was in the dryers. After lunch, we headed over to the Q-mart to do a people watching lap and then went up to BJ's. Yet again, I didn't escape without spending $200. (I only spent $206 this time...) I would have been under, except I found a set of ink for my printer for $60, and since I need ink soon and doubt I can get it any cheaper from Staples, I went ahead and picked it up. I was also going to try and get a Target trip in, but we were all tired and cranky by the end of the day and that didn't happen. Since Boo didn't really nap much in the car in the afternoon, he was down and out for the count by 6:30. (Oh, random side note... at least one molar came in within the last week or so...)

Gak and I are in the middle of a 2-week trial of City of Heroes. Joan really, really, really wants us to play. I like the concept. The game play itself seems pretty good. On the other hand, the controls stink. I hate having to use keys to navigate. I've been spoiled by the way EQII does things. You drive with the mouse, press one button to look around, press two buttons to run. You run in the direction you're looking and up and down make sense. I have yet to get the CoH controls to work well for me. We will see, but if I can't manage to get the controls under control, it may just be a deal breaker.

And speaking of Joan... I get to have Melanie for the weekend! She's coming to stay with us Saturday through Monday. Yep, this means she gets to spend the afternoon with GrammaSue on Monday. Monday evening I'll take her over to Cheryl's house. I already told her I had an ulterior motive for having her over... I told her that one evening or afternoon I wanted her to watch Boo for a few hours so Gak and I can escape to the movies. She'd volunteered before, so it wasn't a big surprise. She doesn't care, she is very excited to spend time with me, and GrammaSue. I can clearly remember a 6-year-old Mel happily exclaiming that I'm her favorite Aunt. Well, I hate to say it, but she may just be my favorite niece. (Of course, I love all of them, but differently... and she is the oldest after all....)

Anyhow, we've been having phone issues all morning (and now afternoon) here at work. It's been nice and quiet, but a real headache in getting work done. This is the worst possible time of one of the worst possible months for this to happen. I mean, our contract reports are due tomorrow and we're dead in the middle of reporting month. AARGH.
Speaking of work though, I must get going... I've been writing for a while and I've got a meeting in 10 minutes.

Peace to all and may your phones work, your weekends rock and your friends be close.

p.s. If you haven't noticed, I put a few more pictures up on Flickr.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Friday

Well, today is Friday. The end of yet another long week in the month of July. I honestly tried to post for the last two days, but just didn't get there.
Not like I have a lot to say either. It's been one very long week of grind at work. Boo's been coughing a lot, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him much. He's almost walking, until he realizes what's going on.
Anyhow, the weekend should be fun. Gak and I are getting Kat to watch Boo tomorrow evening so we can go to the Tiki Bar with Barb and some others. That'll be fun. Wednesday we've got a service dinner, so again, Kat will be picking up the boys so I can go.
Other that that, life is just kinda here at the moment. I did get dragon pictures on Monday, but they're still on the camera.
It does appear that our plumbing problems have been fixed for the moment, but I'm giving it one more day to be sure. Then I have to scrub the ever-living daylights out of Boo's old tub. Ick!
Anyhow, gotta get moving. Gak's got to work all day and I think the boy may be waking.

Peace to all and may you have a good weekend.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Tired

Well, it was a successful holiday weekend. I enjoyed almost every minute of it.
Friday was a fun day spent with GrammaSue and PopPop. After dropping off Gak at work, Boo and I went and did laundry. Right on schedule my little boy decided it was nap time. The laundry was piled into the back of the car and we took off for GrammaSue's.
We hung out there for a little while and then went over to the Nature Center. The staff were off for the day as well. Unfortunately, this meant I didn't get to say hi to anyone, but it did mean we weren't tripping over 100 or so campers. We took an enjoyable walk around the pond instead. We didn't get to see any frogs, but we heard a couple and saw a handful of turtles. And lots and lots of lilies and duck weed. By then we were all hungry and Boo was tired again. So, we head off to get something to eat. Of course, my son falls asleep on the way over. We waited for about 10-15 minutes in the car while he took a little snooze. It was probably a good thing. He was much happier for it. He must have really played hard in the morning because he ate about 3/4 of a grilled cheese sandwich, a couple of french fries and about 1/3 of his apple juice! That's almost as much as I eat for lunch.
After lunch we went over to GrammaSue and PopPop's shop since we were almost right next door. It was very good timing again. PopPop had been arguing with his accounting software and was beyond ready to take a break. Therefore, we all piled into out cars and headed to the park near their house. PopPop finally got to push his boy on the swings. There is also a very nice play area for little kids that has this neat rubber flooring. We played hard for about half an hour or so before heading back to their house. We hung out at the house for a bit with my son entertaining everyone with his silly antics. Of course, this did involve him rasperrying while drinking out of his sippy cup... much to my dismay but my mother's glee. (Of course, she was the one wearing the apple juice by the end of it all...) We ended up calling it a day and going and picking up Gak at work.
Saturday was a very laid back day for us. We fiddled around in the morning. Then, after Boo took his first nap, we went out and did the most American thing there is... we were Consumers! Gak was looking for a case for his new iPhone. He's not 100% happy with the one he's got, but it was the best of the ones he could find.
When we got back, we were in for a bit of a surprise. The ceiling in the bathroom was dripping, like a waterfall almost. I'd seen some water on the floor previously, but I didn't think much of it. Well, this time it was raining in our apartment. From all appearances, it looks like a drain pipe upstairs is blocked/leaking and causing issues. At least I don't think it's a supply line because it's not happening all the time. I really feel for my landlady... this is the second plumbing problem in a month. But... that's the cost of owning an older building.... just like owning an older car, or an older anything really, including body.
We ended up not doing much of anything that evening. The most exciting thing we did was walk down the street to Rita's. On our way back we walked through the park and bumped into a guy Gak used to work with and chatted for a bit. It was a beautiful evening. If Boo was older, I think I would have suggested staying in the park to watch the fireworks. (It turns out it was a good thing we didn't... the display was cut short when one of the young guys working for the company got severely injured, and later died, shortly into the program.... so sad.) Boo was home and asleep a bit before 8 because he hadn't napped much and was tired. (I don't blame him, I was tired too... and crashed early.)

Yesterday was quite a fun day. Very long, but very relaxing as well. Andy and Zoe had already gone up to Knoebles on Saturday (or Friday?) night. Everyone else was heading up yesterday (by noon!). Well, since we weren't camping and noon is a horrible time to try and travel with Boo, we told them we were heading up in the morning when he was ready for his nap. This means we left the house shortly after 9. I decided to take the Turnpike up instead of up 78/61/54.... It takes about the same amount of time but it feels faster because you're not stuck in lights and stuff. We got up there about 11:30 or so. (Yes, I took a wrong turn that cost us about 7 or 8 miles... oops.) It was another beautiful day. The park really wasn't that crowded at all. It was much more so the last time we went. It was very nice. We got some lunch and went on a few rides with the boy. I went down the big slide with him (there's one very embarrassing photo on Flickr.....) and we took him on one of the the merry-go-rounds. I don't think he was thrilled with either and he was more than ready for the merry-go-round ride to end by the time it was over. We also went on one of the trains. About 1/3 of the way through that he was more than done and was very unhappy about being held hostage on my lap.
About then we got a message that everyone else was about a half hour out and what camp site they were going to be at. The three of us got some ice cream, picked up some stuff from the car and headed over to the campground. Boo was supposed to fall asleep in the process. He didn't. We got there right around the time that Kat, Joan and the kids got there. We had fun setting up the site. Boo got to explore his first tent. Can I tell you exactly how much I wanted to be staying there last night? It would have been a perfect night for it.... the weather was beautiful and the company would have been priceless. Andy's dad, step-mom and baby (ha... baby... she's 18 now!) sister also came out. Gak and I took the kids back down to the park for a bit while everyone else finished setting up camp and getting dinner together. Let me tell you, leaving after dinner was very tough. (I didn't even get a s'more! We weren't even to the marshmallows when I realized the time and how late it would be when we got back. *pout*)
Anyhow, I've got all kinds of great pictures over on the Flickr from the weekend. Take a look and enjoy.

On a side note.... I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but my left heel has been killing me for about a month or so. Well, it turns out that it's heel spurs. Nothing more, nothing less. My doctor said if the anti-inflamatories she gave me aren't working in a week or so to see a podiatrist. (I'll have to call and get a recommendation... I've never needed one before....)

Anyhow, my lunch break is over and I'd better get back to work.

Peace to all and may your weekends be long, the weather beautiful and fun and friends be plenty.

Friday, July 03, 2009

New Phone and Long Weekends

Well, we went and did it yesterday.
Gak and I got our new phones. I won't deny that his iPhone is very cool. I want one, but only because it's a really cool toy and is shiny and neat.... and.... Oh, wait... where was I?
Anyhow, this is a picture of my new phone. It's the LG CF360. I tried out 3 or 4 yesterday. This is the one that I'd been looking at the last time I was there. I kept handing them to Boo to see if he would/could slide them open. Well, the first one I handed him he dropped in about half a second flat. I guess he didn't like it. There was one or two that I didn't even bother to hand him. The next one he held onto for about a second, but didn't deem it worthy either. This one, however, he held onto and happily shook until I had to take it out of his hands. I think he liked it. No, he never did try and slide it open or chew on it. We'll see how boy proof it is when I leave it sitting somewhere within his grasp.
So far I'm happy with it. It fits easily in my hand, sounds good and has just enough options to make me happy. It's got the phone, the camera, it will actually send photo messages instead of blanking out on me... It's got a calendar I can use to put reminders and things on, an alarm clock and several other useful little features. It's just what I need and not too much more. I can do more with it, but it'll cost me an arm and a leg because I don't have a data plan, other than my $5/200 message adder. That thought alone will keep me in check.
I'll let you know how everything goes in a couple of weeks... if I remember. If I don't, it's because it's become a ubiquitous part of my life and I'm just not paying attention to it, and that's how a phone should be.

Anyhow, this post wasn't supposed to just be about my new phone.
Today is the beginning of a 3-day weekend for me! Yay! And Gak actually has both Saturday and Sunday off! I like that thought. Unfortunately, he has to work all day today.
Today the game plan is for me to drop Gak off and work and then for Boo and I to head off and get the laundry out of the way. Then we'll be on our way down to GrammaSue's. (I think Boo is actually saying Amma and meaning Gramma these days.... so he's up to Momma, Dadda and Amma....) I was thinking of heading over to Tyler Arboretum this afternoon, or maybe just the Nature Center. I'm not sure. It depends on Boo and the weather I'm guessing.
Tomorrow is still a bit up in the air as to what we're doing. I don't think anyone has real plans yet. Maybe I'll see if Kat/Scott/Joan etc. want to just throw some dogs or burgers on at her place and sit by the fire for the evening. Although, in order to see the fire works, all I have to do is sit in my kitchen. I'm not sure how Boo will do though... last year he was well asleep by the time of fireworks and it was pouring anyhow so there weren't really any to go see. I'm sure he'll be fine... but maybe not if we're watching from home...
Sunday will be another grand adventure. In only the way it can be with my group of friends. (So yes, that means inject a HUGE dose of chaos right about.... here.)
To make a long and confusing story a bit shorter and hopefully make a little more sense... Kat and Joan were going to take the kids camping this weekend from Saturday through Tuesday. Well, after surviving the normal chaos that surrounds all we do... it turns out that We're going up to Knoebles on Sunday and while Gak, Boo and I are going to come home Sunday evening, everyone else is going to camp overnight there. I wish we could, but there is no way I'd be able to take off Monday. (See previous post about reporting month...) Oh well. There will be other weekends this summer.

Anyhow, I'd better wrap this up. It's getting a little long winded and if you've stuck with me this long, you either really love me, or more than likely, you're really bored. *laugh*

Anyhow, peace to all and may your weekends be good and your phone work.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Brain Melt

First things first... No, I didn't get dragon pictures yesterday. Yes, Boo turned 13 months old and it was even sunny out, but I just didn't get the photos. He was a tired, cranky boy and so I put him down in his crib for a bit. He didn't actually sleep, but he was content to just lie down for a while and unwind I think.

Now, on to other things. Like my brain melting. I've been staring at numbers all day and they're all getting a little bit blurry. There were some changes made recently to the reporting software and checking software and so, that means a lot of double checking and stuff on my end. And my brain hurts. It feels like it's about to turn into a puddle at the base of my skull. I wonder if I tilt my head to the side if it'll leak out my ear. I hope not. I need it for a while yet.

Other than being very busy and hectic here at work, it is going well. I'm not sure if I said anything, but one of my buddies who was a contractor here left at the end of last week for a permanent position. He'd only been here for a short time, but he was a good guy, who seemed to be trying hard and was fun to have around. I'll miss him. It also turns out that George, the contractor who's been here for a bit over a year now and I had doing a good bit of the training is going to be the new training manager. I'm actually pretty excited about that. Less training that I'll have to do to get him up to speed and I know he's going to do a great job at it. It doesn't become truly official for another two weeks or something like that yet, but close enough. In reality it wouldn't really happen until closer to August anyhow, with it being reporting month and all. I already told him and the rest of the group I don't care if they throw out everything I did and start from scratch. In many ways the whole training program could use that. It needs a major overhaul by a fresh set of hands with lots of new ideas. I just hope that he doesn't get bogged down and his ideas squished flat.

Well, I'd better check on the evaluation I was running while typing this. Wish me luck. This is try 3 or 4 with this set of reports.
Oh, Gak and I are heading over to the AT&T store this evening. He's getting the iPhone. I still haven't made up my mind quite yet. I like the one I was playing with last time, but I'm not sure if there aren't some other features I'd like to have as well. I know I'm not getting any kind of smart phone. I so don't need the distraction. If I was still traveling all the time, that would be a totally different story. I'd pick one up in a heartbeat. It would be a bit of a life saver really. Oh well.
I'm off... my rocker maybe, but I'm off.

Peace to all and may your brain not melt.