McCall Winter Carnival

Last year, we went to the McCall Winter Carnival on the 2nd weekend of the festival, so this year we figured we would go when all the action was. We took off work and school on Friday, packed up all the electronics, people and dogs and were headed north by 11:30am. On the way, we stopped at McDonalds and had lunch. Normally, we NEVER eat fast food, but we were on vacation and needed a quick bite. When we got to Cascade we turned off and drove all through Tamarack, a beautiful resort and dreamed of buying a second home or property.

We arrived at the AmericInn just around check in time and right before cookies were served! We love this hotel because they are dog friendly and have a nice indoor pool and hot tub that Aaron and I use when we're not out around town. We unpacked, then went to Chapala's for dinner, then watched the Children's Parade and a spectacular fireworks show for the opening ceremonies. It was cold out, but we all had pretty good clothing, so we were mostly warm. After the fireworks, we headed back to the hotel where Aaron and I promplty put our swimsuits and headed to the pool and hot tub for a relaxing soak.

Saturday morning we all slept late and rush to catch breakfast at the hotel and then we got bundled up to head out for the parade. We found a parking spot pretty easily and walked the couple of blocks to Main street and got a great spot to watch the parade. It was terrific! The dogs got a little cold sitting in their stroller, so Dave and I held them and they kept us toasty. Aaron was running around catching candy and watching the parade up close and had fun also. After the parade, we walked around town a bit and then got some great noodles at the festival. Aaron and I shared some funnel cakes (our favorite fair/festival ritual) and we walked out on the frozen lake and let the girls run off leash. We walked around a few hours and then headed back to the hotel for a few hours of rest before our big prime rib dinner at the Mill.

Sunday morning we got up and this time took our time at the wonderful breakfast at the hotel, got packed up and then went to the craft festival. We also drove around town and looked at some of the sculptures we missed the day before when we were on foot. We headed south on a side road and admired more of the subdivisions and homes.

When we got home, we quickly unpacked and settled into our jammies to watch the Super Bowl. It was a great weekend!! Full picture album here.

Trip to CA

Both Dave and I are from the Bay Area and most of our family is still down there. I love to visit at least once a year so that Aaron can see his family and we can also see all the wonderful things that the beautiful state has to offer. On Friday, August 8th we set out towards Folsom, CA to attend my 20 year high school reunion. The drive was uneventful and the MDX was full of gadgets and while Dave was driving, Aaron and I had plenty of electronics to keep us busy. I mostly watched videos on my ipod touch while Aaron played the PS2 and did some web surfing on the laptop. Dave was stuck listening to music on the 80 gig video ipod.

We arrived in Folsom and got checked into the Lake Natoma Inn, showered and headed to the Happy Hour event at Yagers. There I saw classmates that I've known since the 3rd grade but most that I haven't talked to in 20 years. It was a lot of fun!

Saturday we checked out of the hotel and headed to Dave's Mom's house in Saratoga, CA. We relaxed most of the weekend outside on the patio and Aaron played in the pool. Monday, Dave's Mom and I headed to the gym and then went out shopping. She took me to Nordstrom Rack and then a wonderful shoe haven called DSW. I loved both and bought a few things for great prices.

On Tuesday, we headed to San Francisco and spent a wonderful day in the city. I had purchased CityPass tickets for all of us ahead of time so we had a bunch to do! We took the CalTrain to SF and then rode a bus to the piers. We had lunch at Fog Harbor and walked around the various shops. We then took a cruise over to Alcatraz and visited the famous "Rock". After that, we caught a bus and raced over to the Exploratorium which closed shortly after we arrived. We then headed to Ghiradelli Square and had huge sundae's and milkshakes. We then headed back towards the wharf Dave got some crab sandwiches along the seafood row. Aaron found the Musee Mecanique and we spent some time there. We missed the Boudin sourdough tour, but we had done that before. As it started to cool and then sun went down and the tourists started to leave we headed to the aquarium which was open later than any of the other places we visited and was indoors. When we finished the aquarium, we caught a bus back to the CalTrain station and then headed back south. We arrived back at 10:30p making for a long day in the city, but it sure was a lot of fun!

On Wednesday, we headed north again, but only to Belmont where my Nanney (maternal grandmother) lives. I had finally completed her digital scrapbook after 3 years of collecting photos, scanning them and then compiling a 100 page book spanning almost 100 years. It includes her and my grandfather's acestors, their 3 children (my mom), 7 grandchildren (me), 4 great grand children (Aaron) and 1 great-great grand baby born last year. It was a beautiful work of art and I was very proud to present it to her. We headed to lunch at Mimi's and then talked and visited for a few hours. That night, we met up with one of Dave's friends, his girlfriend and her son and went to a wonderful italian place on Santana Row called Maggiano's. Huge portions, great service and spectacular food!

Thursday we headed to Apple headquarters where we visited the Company store. I heard about it from Cali Lewis of GeekBrief.TV but never realized it was literally 3 miles from where I've visited my MIL many times! Aaron and I were in heaven and bought some goodies and took pics. We then headed over Highway 17 and into Santa Cruz to visit my step-sister and Dad. My sister and her boyfriend live in a beautiful home in Aptos where they have 3 doggies, wonderful decks and great food, music and conversation. My Dad happens to be working in the area so he joined us. Him and Aaron always have great conversations about gadgets and electronics. Aaron even brought his scooter charger to have Grandpa see if he could fix. If only we had brought the volt meter!

Friday we packed up and headed towards home. We stopped in Pleasanton to visit my Aunt and Uncle and visited with them a bit before they headed out to play some golf. We then drove to Reno, where we ate at the Peppermill buffet and then spent the night.

Saturday we drove home, picked up the dogs and spent the night outside on our patio since our hardwood floors had been refinished while we were gone. The smell was horrible (it even killed all my fish) and we decided not to take any chances on us or the dogs having any ill effects from breathing the fumes. Sunday we unpacked and then Monday headed back to work. I loved our vacation, but it went by SOOO fast!! It always reminds me what a beautiful place CA is and how I love to visit, but am definitely happier in Idaho.

Full album of the pictures here.

Oregon Coast

2 weeks ago, Dave and I dropped off the dogs at the Pet Lodge and headed West to the Oregon Coast. This was our 4th trip over there since 2001 when we went there on our first trip together. This was our first time driving and I hope we never fly again as driving is definitely my preferred method of travel. I love having my stuff with me and having the MDX's navigation was helpful and roomy interior was great. We got over 20 mpg which is good considering the "X" only has 2000 miles on it and is a full size SUV.

Anyway, we set out first thing in the morning from Boise and arrived at the Starfish Manor in Lincoln City in the afternoon. We toured our beautiful room which was very similar to the one we had at the Nelscott Manor last September for our wedding/honeymoon and decided to go to the Chinook Winds casino. We had terrific service as most people were at the casino portion and the restaurant we went to was in the hotel. Dave had the Captain's Platter which was a huge seafood plate of all kinds of wonderful things. I had crab cakes for the first time and they were marvelous.

The next day we drove north and stopped in Pacific City for breakfast at the Pelican Pub. There I had the best stuffed french toast and we shared beer sausage gravy and potatoes. On the beach where the restaurant is, cars can actually park and launch boats. It was quite strange to see cars and trucks driving along the beach. The beach was in front of Haystack rock which was also a beautiful site.

From Pacific City we drove further north all the way to Nehalam where there was a craft festival going on. I have to admit I was somewhat embarrassed after Dave drove as far as he did when there were only a few booths of stuff. I did buy some great home made cards and we did have a delicious strawberry shake at a local place so we counted the trip a success. We had also never driven farther north than Tillamook so all that was unchartered territory for us. We heard Canon Beach was nice, but after being in the car for 2 days we decided we'd had enough of driving. We also stopped at a winery outside of Tillamook but it was somewhat crowded and the person serving wasn't very personable, we had 2 samples, checked the interesting decorations of the place and continued our trip.

Saturday night we drove south from Lincoln City to Depoe Bay where we had dinner at a place we'd never been called Tidal Raves. Dave had the special which was a freshly caught sturgeon topped with crab. I had a wonderful crab alfredo. The view was beautiful and the service was great.

On Sunday, we went for the 3rd time to our favorite spot for brunch, Fathom's restuarant at the Spanish Head Inn. In 2001, we stayed at the Spanish Head Inn and went to brunch there and had a wonderful time. We spent hours talking and drinking mimosas after we finished eating. This time wasn't perfect as there were several small children that disrupted the environment, but the view and food was good. Dave emailed them later and they did send us a gift certificate for a free brunch for our next visit and we will be sure and go back. We then headed to the Factory Outlets and did some shopping. For dinner, we headed south again to Gracie's Sea Hag in Depoe Bay where Dave had a full crab and I had fish n chips.

Monday we decided to go to the Wild Flower Grill as it was recommended in the "journal" that was in our room. It was a terrific find. It was maybe once a house on the side of Highway 101 and overlooks somewhat of a swamp with berries growing that has been converted into a wonderful breakfast spot. They had homemade bread for toast and the slices were huge. Dave had an omelet and I had pancakes with marion berries and homemade cream.

We then drove south to Newport and walked around the various shops and watched a fishing boat prepare crab for the people who had gone out that morning. We went to eat at a local place where Dave again had a whole crab and I had a cup of chowder. For dinner, we went to J's Fish and Chips a wonderful little place in Lincoln City where the chef brought us some chowder that he had made up in the back. Dave happily "tasted" it and loved it. So the guy sent a big container home with us for later which made Dave very happy.

On Tuesday, we packed up and drove home. We got behind a truck painting lines on the road which was going very slow so we didn't stop at the Spirit Mountain Casino buffet on the way out of town like I wanted to, but we did stop and eat in Tualatin at Rose's where I again had fish and chips and Dave had some kind of weird sandwich with meat and egg salad.

It was a wonderfully relaxing trip, I got a lot of reading done and I took a nice hot bath in the big jetted tub that overlooks the beach each night. I also read the great Chesapeake Bay trilogy by Nora Roberts given to me by my Mother in Law. I just found out there is a 4th book so I'm trying to find it.

On the trip, for the first time in my life, I ate seafood. And liked it. Yesterday was my birthday and Dave took me out for fish and chips at a great place called Fresh Off The Hook here in Boise. We also went out for a nice dinner at the Cottonwood Grille with his sister and her boyfriend Saturday night. Then we went to a new comedy club (since the Funny Bone is gone) and had a great night out. In 2 weeks, we are headed to the Bay Area where I plan on seeking out more delicious seafood! I love summer!!

The full album of pictures of our Oregon Coast trip are here.

Gadgets I Can't Live Without

Inspired by Philoking's post on Gadgets He Can't Live Without, here are my favorite gadgets:

Blackberry Pearl 8100 - Since this delivers my work email and it is my telephone, I never leave home without the Blackberry. Purchased when it first came out, the Pearl has great typing using SureType, email, web access, my calendar and contacts. With EDGE, I can browse the internet but it's not very speedy. The 8120 is out, but my plan isn't ready for an upgrade yet. I have added a 1 gig MicroSD card for picture and MP3 storage but since I mostly listen to podcasts on my Ipods (see below), I actually don't use it for a music player. The camera is only 1 megapixel, so I only use it in a picture taking emergency. It is a great device and I can hardly wait to get the 8120 which has wi-fi for making phone calls when out of service areas (my parents live where there is no T-Mobile), the SD card is on the side and the camera has been upgraded to a 2 megapixel model.

Ipod - I use the term loosely, as I have 5 ipods. I have an old 512 shuffle that is supposedly Dave's but I manage it for him. When I recently got a newer 1 gig shuffle, I said that was his, but I still use that one also. The 512 is on the treadmill for works and the 1 gig shuffle I use at night for listening to hypnosis audio books. I mostly use the 32 gig Ipod Touch as it does video and audio. It also has wi-fi which is handy except there doesn't seem to be wi-fi when I'm not at home or work and in both of those places, I typically don't need it because I have PC's. I also have a 4 gig Nano that I use when I don't need video or want something small and lightweight that I don't have to worry about breaking if I'm biking or working out. It also has GREAT battery life which the Ipod touch does NOT. I have a 5G video that I used to carry with me everywhere but the Ipod Touch has kind of replaced it because of the bigger video screen. So the 5G is now my "car" ipod since I have the Denison Ice ipod integration in my Honda Accord. I basically don't go anywhere without at least 1 Ipod and I'm almost always wearing or listening to one.

Laptop - If I were traveling, I would definitely take my laptop though now that I have the Ipod touch which does Google Reader, Twitter, Gmail and Facebook I may not need it. Though, if I needed to access my home or work PC the only way to do it would be through my laptop or using someone else's PC. I'm sure I will continue to travel with it. I would also need it to offload pictures from my camera SD card (though I have 2 and have never filled them both except when we got married). I currently have a 3 year old HP 15" laptop that I have upgraded the RAM and hard drive. We also use the HP laptop for our podcast and it works great when traveling.

Camera - My blackberry has a built it camera, but like I mentioned before it is only a 1 megapixel so it's not very good for pictures. I am a picture taking fool and also the dedicated family scrapbooker so I am always taking pictures at gatherings. I currently have an HP Photosmart R927 which I like a lot. It does take video and I wish it were better quality, but it has everything I need in a cheap point and shoot.

Car - I have a 2005 Honda Accord EX with V6, leather interior, sunroof, spoiler and bra that I couldn't get far without. I do ride the bus to and from work, but the Honda is a GREAT car that gets about 25 mpg in the city and up to 35ish on long trips. I bought it brand new and am about a week away from making the last payment!!

I also occasionally use my son's PSP and have a ton of other gadgets, but these are my favs!!

Places I'd Like to Visit

I've been thinking I'd like to blog more. I'm not sure why, but since I spend most of my free time reading other people's blogs and other various feeds in my Google Reader, maybe I have something interesting to share. I do have a great interest in a bunch of different areas and a lot of people think I know some stuff, so why not blog more?

So I was watching something on TV last night and they were talking about a destination and I was like "Wow, I want to go there!" and then I realized there a few places I want to visit, so maybe I should write them down. So why not blog them?

So, here's my list. What's your list?

Hawaii - I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, I don't even know why. I think there is some dream of beaches and beauty and I know I want to visit somewhere where there is clear water, so maybe that is the attraction. My hope is that if I visit some place with beautiful clear waters, my fear of swimming in deep or open water will subside. I would also like to try snorkeling, again, I don't like water or being under water, but something about clear water interests me because I am ok in swimming pools (but there's nothing to look at!) Years ago I had a saltwater aquarium and I just think it would be so cool to see these fish in the wild. I don't think they live in Hawaii, so that may need to be a different destination.

Grand Canyon - This isn't even that far from where I live (Boise, Idaho) and since I grew up in CA, I can't believe I've never been, but I haven't. I saw that glass walkway thing on the internet when it was finished and don't think I would like that because I am afraid of heights, but maybe a hike down it or a flight over it would be fun. I think Hoover dam is near there, I'd like to see that too as I've only seen in on TV. I also think Aaron should visit the Grand Canyon.

New York - I'd love to someday visit New York, but I know I'd be afraid. Recently a girl at work visited there with some of her girlfriends and they did a lot of fun stuff. My Uncle and his family also visited there and I just love looking at their pictures and the fun they had. A lot of TV shows I watch are filmed there so maybe that is part of my fascination.

Palm Springs - This is what caused me to write this post, I just remembered. I called my grandmother yesterday and she was telling me how she visited there on the way to Tucson, AZ for spring break (yes, my grandmother had a better spring break than I). Dave's sister and husband have mentioned it as a nice place to visit also. If it's very hot, I'd have to go in late Spring or early Fall so I didn't roast. Not sure what I'd do there, I guess just lay out in the sun.

I guess that's about it. Kind of a boring list.

McCall Winter Carnival

Dave, Aaron and I (plus 2 Havanese) headed to McCall for the 2nd weekend of the annual Winter Carnival in McCall, Idaho. Full pictures here. Since Dave and I met, we have spent president's day weekend in McCall with all the kids. We used to ski but as the kids grew and their interest waned, we stopped going. Last year, Dave and I (plus doggies) drove up for the day on the actual carnival weekend. We stopped for breakfast in Cascade which took 2 hours and caused us to get behind a huge accident that had happened right in town as the parade was starting. Needless to say, we missed the parade, but walked around town with the girls in their stroller and had a nice day anyway. This year we decided to stay over, and to go the next weekend so there would be less people. Well, I didn't realize that they had moved the harmonica festival to McCall and on that weekend, so it was still crowded but not nearly as bad as it was the weekend before.

It was the first trip for the new Acura MDX that Dave bought last Fall. Aaron was excited and of course immediately hooked up the PS2 and wireless headphones and started gaming. I had my ipod and was listening to podcasts as I read RSS feeds from offline google reader. Poor Dave was left to listen to XM all alone on the wonderful 10 speaker dolby surround system.

The drive up was a bit slow since the roads were snow covered, but not bad at all. We all got off work and school early and headed out about 2pm. We arrived in McCall after about 4:30p and stayed at the AmericInn which was excellent. They had an indoor hot tub and pool and a great breakfast each morning. They of course allowed dogs and I always enjoy staying with other dog people as they are usually friendly.

Friday night, I had made reservations for The Mill which is Dave and Aaron's favorite place to get prime rib. Dave had the "enormous" size which was something like 44 oz and Aaron had the "medium" which was still a huge 36 oz. They both did really well and managed to eat almost all of it. I was stuffed with my measly 12 oz New York steak.

Saturday it was snowing, but fairly nice out as we headed into town to look at the sculptures and go to a little Craft festival. We even rode the bus into town so we could leave the MDX safe in the hotel parking lot. We took pictures of most of the sculptures and even found Aaron a new pair of snow pants in the local thrift store since we found out after we arrived that he didn't have his anymore. He was also fascinated by the huge icicles hanging around various buildings. He had some fun with those. We came back to the hotel in the afternoon and Aaron and I headed to the pool. Aaron met some kids his age and had a great time playing pool games. I sat with my laptop and ipod and was of course happy to have time to do that. The girls were really well behaved and did well in the crates in the hotel while we were out and of course enjoyed the longs walks in the deep snow. There was a storage facility near the hotel that I walked them around and I let them off leash a few times and they ran crazy.

Saturday night we headed out to Mexican. We decided to walk since it was close by and it was a nice evening. It was snowing pretty heavily by dark and on the way back from dinner, we saw the fireworks that launched over the lake. I had never seen fireworks in the snow before, it was pretty cool.

Sunday we had breakfast and then headed home as it was Superbowl Sunday and Dave wanted to see the game. We unpacked and had a nice relaxing, quiet, Superbowl in our jammies and ordered chinese food for dinner.

2007: The Year in Review

As I begin the new year I tend to look back and review what happened this year. I started out this year living apart from Dave and Aaron living with his Dad in Reno until the end of July. I was very happy to move back in with Dave in March after our few months apart. Dave even re-proposed and gave me my ring back after I moved back in and we recommitted ourselves to each other.

Dave and I visited his Dad and step-Mom in Yachats, OR at the beginning of February for a wonderful long weekend of relaxation and eating great food. We also made a day trip drive up to McCall for the Winter Carnival. We took the dogs and had a fun day despite a long delay at breakfast and an even longer delay because of a traffic accident that caused us to miss the parade.

At the beginning of March I took a few days and went to Sun Valley with Chloe to swap out some computers for work at our Ketchum office. A few weeks later, I went to see Aaron and spend some time with family. I picked Aaron up in NV and then we went onto my Dad's where my 2 step-sisters met us. We had a nice long weekend there and then went on to Sacramento for a few days. I ended up returning Aaron a day early and heading home from that trip and wondering how things were going to go in the future with Aaron as he actually seemed worse.

Shortly after that, Aaron started talking about wanting to come home. I told him he had made a 6 months commitment to his Dad's and he needed to stay. This was probably the best decision I made. By the end of his 7 month stay, he was very appreciative to come home and has been on good behavior for the most part since. He is also off his medication, something we had been wanting to move towards but I was not brave enough to do it during the school year, so I was glad he did it at his Dad's. Aaron will be 13 in March and I think we are only beginning the challenges we will have with him during his teen years. But, I am hopeful that he will continue to do well, being respectful, minding adults and doing well in school. My goal is to remain patient, consistent and strong.

At the end of May, Dave and I traveled to AZ to stay again with his Dad and step-mom this time at their home in Green Valley, AZ. We had another nice, long weekend of relaxing, sun and good eats. On June 1st, Dave and I celebrated being together for 6 years. Shortly after that, we decided to get married before Fall and begin planning the Oregon Coast wedding for Labor Day weekend.

At the end of June, my good friend Wendy got married and I flew up to Seattle to join her and her son Kyler on their special day. I have know them for almost 10 years now and it was great to meet her husband and catch up with her Dad.

July was VERY busy at work as we completed a huge project that required all the computers to be reimaged and everyone trained on a new system in a 2 week span. This was why Aaron stayed another month at his Dad's. I was very happy for the project to be completed and for him to be home by the end of July (also my birthday).

In August, Dave took Matt and a truck full of stuff up to Moscow for his Junior year at U of I. Since he moved out of the dorms and into an apartment, he was finally able to take some furniture and more kitchen stuff. Aaron and I took our annual trip to CA to visit family and had a nice time catching up with family and friends.

In September, Dave and I traveled to Lincoln City where we got married at the Yachats Light House on September 1st. We had a wonderful, romantic, long weekend of beautiful weather and great food on the coast. Then it was back to school for everyone and the beginning of Fall.

At the beginning of October, I reduced my work week to 30 hours, so working 6 hours a day so that I could be home after school with Aaron. This has been a great change for the house but the lesser paycheck is taking some getting used to. The extra 2 hours a day allows me to get more done and definitely be more relaxed before the dinner/evening rush. Also in October Aaron and I made a quick trip to CA to attend my great-Uncle's funeral.

In November, I tackled the downstairs bathroom, removing wallpaper, texturing and painting. It was a big project for such a little room. Our Thanksgiving was nice, Matt was down from school and joined us at my friend Heather's for a wonderful meal. December was busy and full of the holidays with decorating, gift buying and lots of cooking.

Aaron is visiting his Dad for 2 weeks in Sparks, NV as Dave and I are headed on a 6 day cruise to Mexico with his 3 sisters and their spouses and his Mom and step-Dad next week. I can hardly wait!!

In February, we are taking the new MDX to McCall for a weekend to enjoy the Winter Carnival. We also hope to visit the Oregon coast in the summer or early Fall to celebrate our 1 year anniversary.

All in all, 2007 was a year of change, growth and acceptance. I am looking forward to the new growth and knowledge 2008 will bring.

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day, so happy Father's Day to Dave, My Dad and all the other Dad's out there! Since we are all going to PF Changs for lunch today, I actually made Dave a Father's Day breakfast yesterday. Recently on America's Test Kitchen they made this wonderful "family" omelet which is what I made for Dave and I yesterday. It was delicious! The key to making it great was to cook all the ingredients (I used tomatoes, broccoli-slaw, bacon and a red pepper) first to get all the liquid out. Then after the eggs have set up, add the ingredients, top with cheese, lower the heat and cover. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the ingredients were integrated into the omelet wonderfully. We also went to dinner out at the Caldwell Elks Club as a Middleton High School fund raiser for a fire they experienced earlier this year. My friend Michelle's daughters go there and Traci was selling tickets so I bought them for us and Heather and Randy. Heather was out of town at a dog show and I'm not sure why Michelle and Gregg weren't there, but it was fun to go out and have dinner for a good cause. Tammy was there working so there was at least one familiar face. After dinner, we came home and watched Comic Relief 2006 and Dane Cook's Viscous Circle that we had on the Tivo.

Last week I finally braved the bus for the first time. I live close enough (5 minutes) to a stop and with the price of gas, my driving record (4 tickets/3 years) and trying to save on the environment I finally gave it a try. It was kinda fun and I hope to ride on any day that I don't need my car for other things. I got to work in only about 10 minutes longer and I was able to watch my video podcasts so that was cool.

Things are really gearing up at work for the reimaging and changeover next month and I'm doing everything I can to be prepared and organized so things go smoothly. I can just hardly wait until it's over. As a bonus, as soon as it is, Aaron will be flying home and spending the month of August with us. I'm also hoping we will take a 2 week trip to CA to visit friends and family and maybe spend another day in the city like we have 2 times before. Dave may even fly down to his Mom's and meet us there for a long weekend.

This week, my friend Wendy emailed me and asked me if I could fly up to WA in two weeks for an "appointment". I explained to her how crazy work was and asked her what was up. Well, she's getting married of all things! Of course, I'm going to do my best to be there for her on her special day.

This last Monday I was getting ready for work and my neck suddenly seized up leaving me with limited movement and a lot of pain. I went to work, but only for a few hours. I headed straight to the chiro and then home to bed where I watched so much TV I thought my brain would fall out. I stayed home Tuesday and well and got a massage which I think definitely helped. It's a bit better each day and I am definitely committed to walking the dogs each day and doing the 15 minute yoga show in the morning. I've also changed out my desk chair at home to use the stability ball which really helps with the posture. I'm also being very conscious of how much time I spend on the PC and taking frequent breaks. It's a hassle, but I think with the damage that has already been done, I'd better get a hold on this now before anything worse happens.

About a week ago, Adam Curry on the DSC announced he had done an interview on Bloomberg TV's Night Talk show. I immediately tried to figure out what channel Bloomberg was for us with DirectTV and since I couldn't remember the name of the show, looked around until I found the show and then picked up a season pass. Well, it aired late last week and Dave and I watched it. It was great, he talked about podcasting and explained himself very well. I then emailed Adam and asked him if he wanted me to pull the video off our Tivo and upload it somewhere. He suggested Podshow and Friday night I pulled the show off the Tivo and tried to upload it. Of course, the .TY format isn't accepted on hardly anything so I wasn't surprised that it didn't like that format. I changed it to MPEG and waited 4 hours for it to upload, only to find it failed because it couldn't be converted to flash. I then asked Dave to help me edit the file so I would be working with a smaller file. We cut out the commercials and the 2nd half the show that Adam wasn't on and then I spent Saturday trying different formats and uploading again and again. I even emailed Tom Wiles of the Trucker Tom and Finding America podcast for suggestions. I finally got it converted and uploaded this morning. Check it out here.

Results

So, I am starting my 4th week of "commitments" and really expecting to see some results. So far, I've been sore, hungry, tired and have only lost 2 pounds :( I remember from doing the WW thing before that it does take a while to see results, but I was at least dropping weight each week. This time I've added the fitness component and thought for sure it would be coming off quicker. I still want to eat bad things, want to eat way more than I should and think I'm starving in the night when I get up to let the dogs out.

This weekend is the McCall Winter Carnival and we are planning on going up for the day. There's lots to see with all the ice sculptures and other things going on around town, but I just really want to take a drive and get away from the house for a day. We'll take the girls and eat out and it should be a lot of fun.

On the 31st, we leave for the Oregon Coast. I wish the trip was longer, but it's all we could both spare from work. I've been watching the weather for Newport, which is the closest large town to where we are staying. So far, it looks about as cold there as it has been here :(

I finally got a new coat, it was a present to myself for quitting smoking. My other coat was old and stank like smoke. I had ordered one from Victoria's Secret, but of course it didn't fit. I used to order from them all the time and loved their clothes. Now that I'm obese and in my 30's I guess their stuff just doesn't fit anymore. Out of $400 worth of stuff I bought (all of clearance, so that was a LOT of stuff) I was only able to keep the underwear and 2 shirts. One other shirt was ok, but the color was gross. So, the coat went back and off to Burlington Coat Factory I went this weekend. I actually got 2 coats for less than I paid for the 1 from VS. I got a nice pink wool coast for my work coat replacement and also got a very cute leather jacket. I've never had one before and this was too cute to pass up. It was also kind of a reward for my hard work so far. Hopefully I will actually accomplish something worth rewarding!

I've been keeping at my points each day, staying away from soda, caffeine and cigarettes and working out 4 times a week and taking all my supplements, so I'm doing everything I should be, just anxious for results.

I just finished reading Sharon Osbourne's autobiography Extreme and it was sure good! I've always been an Ozzy fan and sure enjoyed when the Osbourne's reality show was on and even watched Sharon's talk show when it was on, but the book was an amazing insight to her life and her story.