Out and About

Just wanted to let everyone know that I was around, just not really around this week. We rented a house on a lake about an hour from here and we are spending a lot of time up there this week and there is no Internet (if you can believe that...haha). Anyhow, I'll check in when I am in town but other than that, you are on your own...play nice and I'll see if I can check in again on Friday when I bring the cat in for a shave and a hair cut....

Wait'em Out

Yesterday I walked a few miles with one of my friends like I do many times a week. My girlfriend had to leave early and I wanted to get some more steps in.

I started to just walk around the hockey rink there so I could be on level ground and get some sun as well. I did four sets of lunges (10 on each leg) while I was walking.

I eventually got up to 11000 steps and headed home. This morning my pedometer from yesterday says I walked over 20,000 steps during the entire day, and I can already feel the pain (good pain) in my legs from those lunges. I might not be able to move tomorrow...haha.

I also got a bit too much sun because my shoulders are kind of red but at least it is evening out the weird tan I got from sitting near the pool at my friend M's house in AZ.

Now I have to run because I have a gazillion things to do and procrastinating has not gotten any of them accomplished....I might be forced to post a "to do" list and we all don't want that...

Mishka's Reading Update

Updated my reading blog today, Mishka's Reading. Check it out if you have time and want a suggestion. I hope to get at least one more book in before the month ends but this is what I have done so far.

Back In The Land Of The Living

Okay, I am home. Whew...

The trip was fine, actually better than fine. After the headache I have dealt with recently with the airline, I was very nicely surprised how well things went on the flight. I was convinced I was going to be tagged for random security checks at every stop as some sort of retaliation for dealing with a customer service issue, but thankfully I was not.

So here is the story and my observations...

Thursday I left in the late afternoon. Didn't have to deal with much traffic to the airport, dropped off the truck in longterm parking and made my way to the terminal via the shuttle. Once I arrived, I checked my one bag and found out that our flight was delayed by 1/2 hour. I was told I would make the connection in DFW as long as the plane took off on the new scheduled time. We arrived with 20 minutes until my flight but fortunately, I only had to move down a few gates and not to another terminal so I made it in the nick of time. I was convinced my bag would not but I had at least a shirt and underwear in my carryon so I was okay in that regard for one day. I landed in PHX on time and met up with my friend M and her daughter outside of the security area. We made our way down to baggage and my bag did appear on the carousel so we were set. We went back to their house after some Mexican food and then did the usual hang around for the evening. Their daughter L is growing like a weed and so smart. They have two puppies and a kitty (who was recently shaved) so I was able to get my animal fix. I might get Chase shaved, I think it will be cooler for her on the trip across and for the flight to Japan.

Friday, (being on a different timezone bodywise), I woke up earlier than normal and we started our day. We had a 5 1/2 hour drive ahead of us to get to California and our reunion weekend. M and her husband were both in my class at Redlands so it was cool for us to travel together. We got some visiting in before seeing everyone else. The drive was good, no hangups and we went straight to M's parent's house in Riverside. We dropped off the munchkin and visited a bit before heading back to Redlands for the first of several get togethers over the weekend. We were a bit late getting there. Another sorority sister MD and one of our favorite guy friends from school were already there. We chatted things up and waited on the others (who never came). We did see a few people from school and allocated each other points if we could remember names (we weren't wearing name tags for this event). It is amazing how fast you forget names. We left the pizzaria after a while and had a drink at a martini bar before calling it a night. It was great to see MB and LM there, they looked great and happy and that is all that any of us can ask for, right?

Saturday we had two events....a lunch/BBQ and then an after dinner thing. Lots more people were at the BBQ than we encountered the night before and it was nice to see everyone. The kids were able to play in the bouncy house and the parents were able to take a break and relax. The food was what I expected for 20 bucks from our school's food service but the drinks were limited. We talked and reminisced and took plenty of pictures (any of you reading this need to email me your pictures). I managed to get over to the bookstore so I could get a few souvenirs since the online store sucks. After walking around a bit, we headed back to the parent's house for showers and some rest. We managed to get a bit of food in us so we wouldn't be starving that night since we were only promised heavy appetizers in the food department. The evening shindig was set near some of the newer buildings on campus and the area was interesting. The propane heaters (it was a bit chilling in So Cal in the evening) weren't working but the company was good and we all toughed it out. Most of the people we were able to see at the BBQ came back to the after dinner shindig and we had a chance to talk more and take more pictures. Some of us went out to a local bar to hang out some more when the campus thing closed down and that was fun. There were lots of current students there and it made all of us feel very old...haha. Around 1am we called it a night and headed back to the parent's.

Sunday, we slept in a bit and then started to pack up for the trip back. I was able to fix a few things on the parent's computer to offset my cost of room and board...haha. I was glad to help and it is always satisfying to me to be able to fix some one's computer so I had fun with it. We were on the road around 11am and got back to the Phoenix area in the late afternoon. We did dinner at Subway, hung out some more and then hit the hay early. M's husband D, had to work in the morning so I said goodnight to him before bed and M and I were able to hang out for a while the next day. My flight wasn't until the afternoon so it was nice to not be too rushed. We did some work around the yard in the morning and then sat near the pool for a bit (my upper back and the tops of my feet are a bit red today from it). Eventually we had to get going because we had to stop to pick up one of their dogs that had been kennelled and she had to get back in time to pick up L from school.

My flight home was on time and pretty uneventful. I landed around 12:40am my time and had to get bags, get to the truck and drive an hour home. Needless to say, I slept in a bit this morning, especially since I finally managed to get on West Coast time right before leaving...haha.
We might be making our way through the Vegas area on our way to the West Coast when we move later this summer and hopefully it will work out that M and D can come up for a visit along with some other close friends we have in Tuscon. If we get to see any of them, we'll be very happy because it will probably be a while before we get back that way again.

On the home front, we had some people see the house for a second time while I was gone and they made an offer, we countered and they accepted. We'll see how it works out.

Reunion Update

Heading back to AZ today from CA...will fly home tomorrow. It was nice to see some of my sisters and friends from college even though the food wasn't all that great (same food service we had in college) and the proprane heaters didn't work. It wasn't cold, but just a bit chilly after being in AZ.

I'll post some pics if I can....of course maintaining the secret identity, later when I get home.

Reunions

Well I leave today for AZ and then on Friday my friends and I drive to So Cal for our college reunion. It is a cluster reunion with 3 classes total which is kind of nice since we all knew people from other classes.

I had all these plans to be skinnier, have whiter teeth and less wrinkles by the time this came up but now I am just not worried about it. I did put in some nice brown color to my hair this week, but that has become more of a necessity than anything else...haha.

At this point, I figure that at least 1/2 (if not more) of my class is either fatter or older looking than me and I am just not going to worry about it. It is not like I see most of these people very much and do I really care what anyone thinks that is not in my immediate life? No. Of course, the majority of my time is going to be spent with my sorority sisters and we all love each other no matter what so I am not worried about them at all. We'll have a blast regardless.

More than anything, I hope I don't spend the entire trip thinking about all the things I need to get done around the house back here. After this trip, I get home and start to get serious about organizing things for our move and shipments. But for now, I am hoping I can focus on a weekend of fun and memories with my friends before things really start to get hectic.

Reflections at Weymouth Woods Reserve

Just one of many pictures we took during Mom's visit on the East Coast.

Freedom Writers

I watched this movie tonight. Some people might say that this is not the best movie, that it was hokie or the plot or story could have been told better. It doesn't matter to me.

This was a great movie. It is a true story and it moved me. This woman affected the lives of these kids, made them feel like they were worth something. If she does nothing else in her life, she has made a mark on another life, and isn't that what it is all about?

If I can have that kind of inspiring affect on just one kid, I will feel like I have accomplished something with my life.

Mom Visit Update II

Okay,

I put my mom on the flight home this morning and it looks like it is going to be delayed and then she will be rerouted...not exactly how I wanted her to spend Mother's Day but at least she had a good time here and will get home relaxed from her visit.

Let's see where we stand on activity...

1. Ran lots of errands.
2. Had 3 more showings of house.
3. Found 2 more geocaches.
4. Went to the beach, ate, touristed around, and collected some shells.
5. Went to a work event and participated in all the fun.
6. 1 birthday party, and 1 going away party (both in the same day).
7. Found the music we were looking for.
8. Relaxed, read a lot, and generally had no defined schedule.
9. Visited several historical sites.
10. Drove all over the state and saw lots of countryside.
11. Had some loss of sleep the last day but hope it will be worth it.

Mom Visit Update

Let's see...

1. Plane was a bit late but not much.
2. Mom has a cold but is on the downside (she jokes that she will be just getting better when the plane ride back will put her down again).
3. We have found 4 geocaches so far.
4. We have checked out a cool cemetary, an awesome museum and several yummy eats, along with the usual errands.
5. We have had 3 house showings so far.
6. I have made Thai beef noodle soup and Massuman curry for her and she loved them both.
7. We have emailed family on the west coast for birthdays and Mother's Day.
8. We have done movie and music searches on the Internet.
9. We have watched one movie and have at least one more planned.

Tomorrow is the day that I do afternoons with my niece. We are also showing the house during that time so hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will spend the morning checking out some cool historical sites and perhaps some sourvenior shopping will occur and then we will spend the afternoon doing some caching with my niece. We'll probably have some tacos for dinner. Friday we are heading to the beach for the day and Saturday is already very packed...we'll see if we can fit it all in...haha.

Mom Visit

My mom is flying out from the west coast to visit me for a whole 9 days!!!! She will be here tomorrow afternoon and I can't wait to spend some quality time with her. I don't know that we have had this much time together since she visited me with my sister and B, when I lived in Japan the first time. I intend to get all of them out there again when we move there this time as well but this visit will be nice.

She hasn't seen my house out here and in a few weeks it will be a wreck as we get started on the organizing for the move. She hasn't been to the east coast either (maybe a trip to Boston once) so I am excited to take her to the ocean one day if she wants to go but mostly just hanging out doing the stuff I do. I don't know if any house showings will turn up in the middle of our visit but if so, it will give us an excuse to get out and play somewhere.

April Books

Updated Mishka's Reading with the April books...some were good and some were great....check them out when you have time.

Barely Moving

From my work outs the last three days...I can barely move my legs...but it is a good hurt so I guess I can't complain too much. Whew...at least I feel like I am making an effort.