Hot and Cold

Last weekend we "decorated" the newly planted tree in the front yard. I even put some flowers around it. Hopefully they make it through the freezing mornings we've had.

Though Spring has sprung, it's really been a variety of weather these days. We had some warm days, followed by wind and then freezing nights again. I hate this time of year because no matter how you're dressed if it's windy, you're going to freeze and be miserable. I'm typically on the cool side so I like to dress warm but then if I go out and do any walking during the day, I roast and sweat. Oh well.

Saturday I went to the Fun Match at Ann Morrison Park and met Heather who showed both Tootsie Pop (Chloe's sister) and Tico. The weather started out nice, but as the clouds built up and the wind picked up it definitely cooled down. By the time we left, I was glad I was headed back indoors.

Saturday night Dave's friend Rick got married. It was a nice, simple ceremony and there were some of Dave's work friends there so I mostly visited with their wives. It was nice to get out and dress up, though I didn't wear anything fancy because the party was originally suppose to be outside I was (again) afraid of being cold.

Sunday I really just lounged around and even took a long nap. I spent a good part of the day up in the guest room with the computer, the Tivo, a stack of magazines and my heater blanket. I sewed up some of the girls' toys that had been ripped open and also straightened up the desk a bit more.

The last few weeks, I've really been struggling with depression and missing Aaron. It seems to get harder as time goes on and not easier like I thought it would. Combine that with being crazy busy and stressed at work and trying to workout and diet to lose weight for summer clothes and it's just overwhelming. The first phase in the work changes will happen on the 28th. We will be changing from GroupWise to Outlook for our email. This is going to be a MAJOR change for people and I'm really nervous about how it's going to go. Also at the end of the month, my gym that I've come to enjoy so much is closing. The owner has it for sale, but I doubt that someone would buy it and keep it open for business in such short time. I've been walking the dogs in addition to biking to the gym and working out so I'll just have to start taking longer walks. I've looked into joining the YMCA and may do that just so I have somewhere to go for Yoga/Pillates. I do enjoy that.

I really thought that once Aaron got his computer that I took him over Spring Break, I would hear from him more. I've emailed him more and still never hear from him. He calls when something isn't working right or he has question. I sent him money to get new pants since he apparently ripped his new pair that I bought him last month. I also sent him money for Easter since I had no idea what to get him or send him. I talked to him yesterday and it seems as though the one unsecured access point he was using at the apartment complex him and his Dad live in got locked down so now he has no internet :( I reminded him that his Dad said he would get him internet if he had a computer, so we'll see what happens next.

With the whole Twitter / Jaiku debacle (Leo leaving Twitter) I'm glad to see most like me, have stayed with Twitter and just signed up for Jaiku and put the feed in. I think that's an excellent solution. Twitter is fun, I enjoy seeing what others are up to, especially the ones I listen to their podcasts.

Spring Cleaning

Almost another month has flown by. After our trips, having company and both of us working a ton, we've started Spring Cleaning. This is mostly finishing moving in for me, but Dave is working on the yard and outside. After two weeks, it looks really nice. I finally got the linens put away this weekend and boy am I glad to have that done! I literally had 6 yard size trash bags full of linens to incorporate back into Dave's already full linen closet. It was all in there before, so I knew it was possible, but it was definitely like building the Flintstones closet.

I've still been going to the gym 4 times a week and have even been riding my bike to and from (1 mile each direction). I don't think I've lost any weight, but my clothes are fitting better. I didn't walk the dogs this past week because Madison has been over and a few days it was windy and I just didn't feel like it. So, I need to get back into that this week.

Another project I did this week was to swap out the "storage" pc to a faster one. The storage PC has all my music and audio books and I also sync it to the video ipod so it has my video podcast subscriptions. The old storage PC is going to become a true network storage for our home network and I'm going to try to use FreeNAS that I heard about on Dl.TV. Yes, all this because I watched a video podcast on home storage and thought it would be cool.

I've only talked to Aaron a few times when he's needed tech support on either using the Slingbox remotely or having me give his Dad the password to the ComputerTime program running on his PC.

Jeff was on spring break this past week and has recently gotten a job at Albertson's as a courtesy clerk. He seems to like it ok and I think at his age, it's definitely a good idea to work and if he's ever going to drive, he'll want the money.

As far as websites and podcasts, nothing really new, still Twittering and Folding and keeping up with all my favorite shows. I did sign up for Virb from Cali's recommendation and have been looking for old friends on MySpace.

Whirlwind March

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. But then I think about how much stuff has been going on and I'm not surprised. I think I last wrote when I was in Ketchum and that started the craziness.

After I came back from Ketchum I left for Nevada on Friday, March 9th to pick up Aaron. The weather was good and I made good time to Sparks. Aaron and I unloaded the car with all the stuff I brought him and then went on to my Dad's in Georgetown, CA. There we met up with my 2 step-sisters Rayleen and Alecia. Alecia's daughter Neira was cuter than I could have ever imaged. She's almost 3 and super smart. Her and Aaron seemed to get along well. I was proud of Aaron for how he was with her. We spent 2 nights there and then went onto Sacramento. We went by Alecia's place and then while Rayleen went home, Aaron and I went to see Jen. This is my friend since the 3rd grade and she grew up in Garden Valley and went through the same schools as I. We used to get kicked out of everything we did together because we could never stop laughing. It was great to see her and her cute apartment. She is blond and cute as a button and looks like Sarah Jessica Parker who I am a big fan of. I unfortunately did not get to meet her daughter as she was with her Dad. From the pictures, she's a mini-me of Jen.

In Sacramento, we also saw my friend Tricia who I met when she was pregnant with her son Sean, who just turned 15. She is a great woman who is done an excellent job at being a single mother. We spent the night with them and then went onto Auburn. After we got checked into a hotel, we took a drive up to ForestHill across the big scary bridge I don't think I've ever been on, but you see each time you go through the canyon from Auburn to Mom / Dad's in Georgetown/Garden Valley. We stopped at Lake Clementine and looked at the dam close up.

The next morning, I drove Aaron back home and we did some shopping in Sparks. We got him a bike for his Dad's, a desk for his computer, some food and his birthday present which was a hydro rocket. His 12th birthday is tomorrow and I am very sad that I won't be spending it with him. Even though I saw him and bought him presents and sent him a card this week, it's just not the same as being around him for the day and celebrating.

I ended up coming back a day early sine we didn't go to the Bay Area, I didn't want to pay for another night's hotel so I just came home. Aaron was happy because he got to spend a day at home with his computer, scooter and new bike before him and his Dad left for their trip to AZ to see his other grandparents.

When I got back, Dave was still gone on his trip to WI for management training for his new job. He was supposed to be home the next night, but ended up getting stuck in Chicago due to flight delays. I spent 3 nights at home without him and missed him terribly. When you're away from home, it's a lot easier to be without the people you usually see. Heather watched the girls while we were both gone and when I picked them up, we had a nice visit. Dave got home Friday and the next day his Mom came to visit. She flew home Tuesday so this weekend we are looking forward to sleeping in and finally having some down time and relaxing. I still have a lot of unpacking and organizing to do, but I've realized it's not going anywhere and if it's been boxed up this long and I haven't needed it, it's probably not the end of the world if I don't get to every last box anytime soon. I would like to get the garage organized enough so Dave can park inside again, but it is nice having the extra room all to myself :)

Happy Valentines!

A good friend of mine is going through a breakup with a man she's been involved with for over 3 years. It's such a difficult thing, I think it gets harder as you get older to move on to something new and let go of the old. But sometimes it is for the best and must be done.

For new sites this week, MightyFoodBlog.com is a food blog that looks interesting and Wellsphere.com is a social networking site of the health/fitness variety with a local emphasis on SF.

A new blackberry was released yesterday, the 8800. I've got the 8100 which is the Pearl. The 8700 is nice, it's a bit bigger and what I recommend for people who want a full keyboard. The pearl is nice and small, but a lot of people don't like the tiny keyboard and SureType typing. Once you use it a while I think it's very intuitive.

I've been listening to Trucker Tom and his adventures in Vista and am considering buying a copy for the old hard drive for my laptop. It would be fun to try. When I swapped out the hard drive it took 6 hours to reinstall windows and set up everything the way I had it. Not bad considering how much stuff I have and use, but that was ideal and had lots of prep and planning behind it. So not sure I want to invest that amount of time into it at this point.

With the return of 24, we've been enjoying pretty exciting TV. It's also fun to see our Chloe's namesake back on the screen saving Jack time after time. This season's addition of her ex-husband has been interesting.

I can hardly wait for my trip to NV to get Aaron and take him to CA for half of his Spring Break. We will see my Dad and Mom and then head to Sacramento and then possibly the Bay Area. Not sure how far we will go because we only have from Friday to Wednesday. So, looking forward to that!

Yesterday at the gym, they did my 1 month measurements and weigh in. I'm down 2.6 lbs and 10.5 inches. However, my body fat increased. I don't think that's right because I've been eating salad and veggie stir fry everyday and haven't even so much as had a fry or chip since January 2nd. Oh well, maybe next month it will be even better.