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.

Vacation in AZ

Over the long Memorial Day weekend Dave and I traveled to Tucson, AZ where we vacationed for 6 days with his Dad and Barbara. They live in Green Valley, which is about a half hour drive south from Tucson and only about 20 miles north of the Mexico border. I had no idea what the town was like and had printed off some information on area shopping off the internet. I was a bit disappointed to see how dinky the town was and in fact the advertised "mall" was just a shopping strip. It's a retirement community town and VERY quiet. We relaxed, read a lot, ate, sat in the sun and did some site-seeing. We arrived on Thursday morning and Barbara took us to Trader Joe's which I absolutely love, especially since we don't have any in Idaho. We filled up on groceries and then headed to a wonderful bakery where we had delicious sandwiches for lunch.

Dave and his Dad played golf twice and even took me out to the driving range (which is in their back yard!) for a lesson. I was also able to get 2 massages while I was there and attend 1 yoga class. Dave even read 2 books and I read 3. It was great. We visited Rex Ranch for a wonderful dinner where we had to drive the car through a river. It was a very cool place with great scenery. Barbara and I drove into Tubac one day and did some shopping. Mike is a recent member to the Elk's club so on our last night there we attended a buffet dinner with a "spanish" theme with some of the ladies from the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun. Mike and Barbara's house is a really nice dual master suite home perfect for vacationing. They even rent it during the summer. I helped Barbara update the webpage, so I was able to get a tiny "online" fix during the week.

We learned during our trip to OR that Dave's Dad makes a great latte. As soon as you get up in the morning, he makes it to order. Ahhhh. Another favorite thing of mine when visiting them is their dog Jazz and cat Gigi. Jazz has a lot of character and I always enjoy taking him for walks. With their great location on the golf course, we walked along the greens every night and saw lots of bunnies, birds and other animals. We even had a scare where Jazz got into some rat "cakes" that had been left out and then moved by the creatures in the night. Luckily we were able to get most of it out of his both before too much was ingested to make him sick. The vet said those things are really powerful and can easily kill even large dogs like Jazz.

I did manage to eat pretty well while on vacation and after many days of being in skimpy summer clothes and sunbathing I came home and decided to get back to good eating and trying to exercise. This week I've walked the dogs 4 times and have ate really well. I still need to start getting up early and doing some Yoga or something but I've just been really tired this week. Maybe this weekend I can get started. I am taking golf lessons for the next 3 weeks, so I hope to get out a practice and I think that counts towards exercise also ;)

The dogs stayed with Heather and Randy and of course had a wonderful time there. They always come home obedient and well groomed, which of course, neither lasts long at our house.

Matt is home from school for the summer and is working full time which is great. Jeff is working but apparently doesn't like the job and will either be soon quitting for the summer or looking for something else. Last weekend we attended Kim's graduation party and it's hard to imagine in 2 years Jeff will be graduating and only 3 years after that it will be Aaron's turn. Aaron finished school yesterday and we are still in talks about where he will live for next year. He makes a good point that the schools are better here. For now, he will spend the next 2 months at his Dad's and then the month of August with us. After that, who knows. Hopefully, we will be able to take a nice long vacation visiting family and friends in CA in August.

Work is crazy busy. We are gearing up for everyone to be reimaged during a 2 week changeover to new document management system. It's going to be crazy. PC's and laptops everywhere and users complaining about every icon in a different place. I'm trying to stay calm and realize there is only so much I can do and it will be what it is regardless of my stress level.

The day before we left on vacation I went to my laptop in the morning to sync my ipod as I always do (to get a refill of podcasts for the day) only to find my Itunes library was wiped out. Gone. Nothing there. I had a backup from a few months ago, but what a mess putting all that back together. While I was on vacation the podcasts really built up and I made a decision to really wack down what I was subscribed to so I'm just now getting caught up on my "favs" and am now on the long list of 2nd priority podcasts I listen to and I imagine I will need to do some pruning there also.

Mother's Day!

The last few weeks have been really hectic. This weekend was Mother's Day and on Saturday, Dave's Mom flew in from the Bay Area for a month long visit. Then she's staying into June for Kim's graduation from Eagle High School. We all got together over at Michele's & Martin's house on Sunday for Mother's Day brunch. It was a beautiful day so we were able to sit outside and visit.

The last time Myrna was in town she used my fleece blanket to cover herself while on the couch and so I had the idea to make her one to use in Idaho when she comes to visit all her kids. So, on Friday, Deanna and I went to Hancocks over the lunch hour and I found some nice orange baseball print fleece for one side and some dark colored Aztec kind of print for the other side. I washed it, sewed 2 sides together and then cut fringe at each end and tied off the other 2 sides. She liked it so much, she even said she would take it home. I also gave her that and a TSA lock that I found online that is great for frequent travelers.

Matt also arrived back in town, down from U of I for the summer. We saw him at the brunch and then he ended up coming over yesterday to stay with us. He has a new pet, a bearded dragon he calls it, I say yucky lizard. But he says it's soft and cute and friendly, but I am reluctant to find out. Matt's girlfriend Sandy is staying home for the summer because she is working. What a bummer, but I am proud of them for making work a priority when they are not in school.

After last weekends Scrapbooking Fiesta I decided I really needed to get going on Nanney's scrapbook. I printed pictures and sorted and have emailed family members to gather what I was missing and my goal is to have it finished by her birthday in October.

My friend Heather found her dream house and made an offer last week and found out on Friday it was accepted. I am thrilled for her other than the fact it's further away from me then where she lives now.

Next week is our week long vacation to AZ to spend time with Dave's Dad and his wife. I can hardly wait! I've never been to AZ and am looking forward to relaxing in the sun, getting some reading done and trying to unplug from the laptop and blackberry. I'm sure I'll have my IPOD going, but am hoping to cut down on the screen time.

I've been talking to Aaron more and more over the past few weeks and last weekend he called me and said he had made the decision that he wants to move back with us. Since then, he's talked to his Dad and I've discussed it with Dave and I am very excited at the thought of him coming home. It's still being discussed as I think his Dad wants him to stay there, but I really believe he would be happier with us. This brings up the issue with me working full time. For a while now, I've thought if Aaron came back, that I really need to reduce my work hours. This idea couldn't come at a worse time with huge conversions going on until the end of July. Plus, without Dave and I being married, I have no health insurance for myself and Aaron unless I work full time. Hopefully God will answer my prayers and something will work out and come to light as a solution.

Rainy Weekend

The furniture that Dave and I picked out and ordered finally arrived yesterday. So we woke up and started cleaning the living room and moving everything out of the way. Part of what needed to happen was the furniture that was in our living room was being moved to the (kids) front room. We took the opportunity to finish spring cleaning and got everything all situated. The new furniture is nice, but it is different. Dave does not really like change, but I'm sure he'll come to love it. The best part is that his old, favorite couch is still in the house and he can go sit on it anytime he wants. In fact, he's been spending more time in that room anyways, listening to his "cans" plugged into the Deep Tracks channel on XM. Then, I can have the other room to myself to either listen to podcasts or watch all my TV shows that he hates. It's perfect. Since we have a Tivo in each room, everyone can have their own shows and watch them wherever they want.

Pepper and Chloe seem to like the new furniture as well. They're very happy with the new location of the old sofa since it allows them to see outside the window and bark at more stuff. Last night there were 2 cats outside and they were going crazy. I finally closed the blinds.

Jeff was up early this morning headed to some video store to get the Pokeman Diamond for his DS. He came home thrilled with his purchase and I doubt we'll see him the rest of the day.

This next week at work is going to be crazy. I start it all off on Monday by leaving early for a haircut. That should make everything else run smoothly as my hair has been driving me absolutely crazy since my bangs are so long and the rest is just overgrown and out of control.

Aaron got his internet working again and is still trying to decide on a phone upgrade. Now he wants to take bake the bike I bought him over Spring Break and get a trick bike instead of the 21 speed mountain bike he picked a month ago. I've got to dig out the receipt and see what Target's policy on such returns is. He also got suspended from school last week, for something stupid (doing something stupid, it wasn't stupid that he got suspended) and I was amazed that he wasn't in worse trouble from his Dad. He called me during the school day that he was home and apparently he had full privileges. I guess I can't expect Bob to know everything I've come to learn in 10 years of single parenting but it seems obvious if you don't punish a child, how do you expect him to be motivated to not do it again? I guess all the more reason he's with his Dad. I miss him like crazy, but I don't miss the trouble, the suspensions, the stress and the worry of the next call from the school or a distressed parent.

In addition to my usual addiction to Podcasts and now Twitter, I've added Stumbling to my list of things to occupy my time online. You install a toolbar into Firefox and when you are ready for a site (you setup categories) you click "Stumble!" and are taken to a random site that someone else has submitted. You then can give it a thumbs up or down. You can also submit sites that you find that might of interest to others. It's a lot of fun and definitely more broad than what I pick up in my Reader and I've found some really interesting stuff.

This last week Adam Curry from the Daily Source Code (on of my oldest and my favorite podcasts) was on vacation and had Mark from PCH filling in for him. It was hilarious! I don't listen to PCH because I think it's a little over the top, but the way that Mark made fun of Adam and pretending like he was tied up in the next room and he was using his laptop and interacting with his fans was priceless. Good times.

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 :)