Weekend Reflections

Well it’s been another good… and of course busy week. Last Sunday was Father’s Day. I was blessed with a wonderful father who puts up with my whining, and who along with my mom always gets to see my worst side. We have had a lot of great memories over the years and I am very lucky to have a father who loves me so much… despite all of my faults. My parents were in the town where I live on Sunday and so we went to church and then out to lunch. Mom left to go back home Sunday afternoon and Dad stayed until Monday.

On Monday, it was a typical work day and then my dad and I headed back to my hometown. On Tuesday, I was back in Selma for Week #3 of my work in Selma. On Tuesday evening we also went out for my mom’s birthday. Her birthday wasn't until Thursday but since I was in town we celebrated on Tuesday night. We went to a great local seafood place and ate some awesome shrimp.

I mentioned that I have a wonderful dad… well I also have a wonderful mom. I know we may all but heads from time to time, but I love them both so much and I am very lucky to have them as a continuing part of my life. For my mom’s birthday, my brother and I went together and got her a Scooba. Like the Roomba, it is a floor cleaning robot… but this one mops for you. She was very excited about her gift.

Thursday I finished Week #3 in Selma (halfway… yea!!) and headed back to the town where I live. I left Brun at my parent’s house and even though I miss him a lot, I know he is having a great time hanging out in the country with their dogs.

Thursday night I tried to catch up a little around the house and then Friday it was back to work. I made an eye appointment for Friday afternoon because (a) I am out of contacts and (b) by making an appointment on Friday afternoon I forced myself to leave work early. The eye appointment went fine and then I came home, took a nap and hung out at home Friday night.

Saturday I didn't set the alarm and since Brun wasn't home I got to sleep as late as I wanted. I still got up by 9 or so but it was nice to be able to sleep in. Saturday was filled with laundry and cleaning and errand running.

This week I am very thankful for my wonderful parents who love me, put up with me and are two of my best friends. I am also thankful that I am halfway done with my trips to Selma. Finally, I am thankful that Brun can hang out with his grandparents and “cousin dogs” while I am busy traveling for work.

I hope you all had wonderful weeks! For more Weekend Reflections, be sure to visit Judi.

Photo Hunters: Shiny

This is a picture I took two summers ago at the Oshkosh EAA AirVenture event in Wisconsin. I have no idea who's plane this is... I just thought it was a cool shot.

For one week each summer, this airport that most of you have probably never heard of in Central Wisconsin becomes the world's busiest airport. There are hundreds of thousands of people there and thousands and thousands of small airplanes that people fly in to the event.

My dad and I went in 2005 and 2006. Unfortunately, my work schedule will not allow me to go this year but there's always next year.

For more photo hunters participants, click here.

Brun and the Roomba

So I mentioned last week that I wasn't sure how Brun would react to the Roomba. I ran it over the weekend and it all seemed to go fairly well. I didn't get any pictures but he watched it very closely as it moved across the room. He didn't hide on the other side of the house but he wasn't quite sure what to think about it. Hopefully he will get more comfortable with it as I continue to use it.

I am on the road again until Thursday but I am sure that I will get a chance to try it out again when I get home.

Weekend Reflections

Well it's been another busy week on the road.

Last Sunday was a good day. Our small group at church had a bible class after church Sunday night at one of the member's homes. It was a good class... very thought provoking.

Monday was a typical Monday in the office trying to get ready to be on the road for most of the week. Monday night I headed for my hometown in preparation for my three days in Selma (Tuesday through Thursday). Brun had stayed with my parents last weekend so I was very happy to see him when I got to their house.

Tuesday was Day 1 in Selma... nothing too exciting there. Wednesday morning I had a meeting back in my hometown so I was a bit delayed getting to Selma. That was okay with me that meant that I didn't have to stand outside all Wednesday morning. Thursday finished up Week 2 in Selma (1/3 complete) and I headed back to the town where I live with Brun in tow.

On Friday I was back in the office trying to catch up from being gone. Friday afternoon my parents came into town for the weekend. Even though I had seen them for most of the week I am always happy to see them. Friday night we went out to Logan's with Leslie, ToolMan and CRB. Friday night I had to give Brun a bath. He has a lot of fun at my parents house but he comes back FILTHY! I should have washed him on Thursday but I was too tired to worry about it.

Saturday was my "catch up" day. I took Brun to the vet to have his nails cut. That sounds rather girly but he spends enough time inside that I take him to the vet to have them trimmed fairly regularly. After that I started running errands including purchasing a Father's Day card and present and looking for a new purse. Leslie met me at one of the malls and that is when we found our FitFlops.

I spent most of the afternoon running errands and then came home for a late afternoon nap. I must have been pretty tired because when my parents called at 8:15 to see what I wanted to eat for dinner they woke me up and I wasn't sure if it was morning or night. :-) They brought home some dinner and we watched some TV. Saturday and Sunday was the 24 Hours of LeMans Sports Car race so I stayed up way too late last night watching that.

So I guess my week was pretty boring. I am thankful for the fact that I have completed two weeks in Selma (only four more to go). I am thankful that I am able to squeeze in a much needed nap from time to time. I am thankful for my parents who let me stay with them when I am on the road for work, who take care of my dog while I am traveling and who still take care of me.

I hope everyone had a great week! Be sure to visit Judi for more Weekend Reflections.

FitFlops!!!

So today Leslie and I were out shopping at our local mall. We wandered in Bath and Body Works looking for this bag that we thought they might have on sale. As we walked towards the back of the store I might have screamed (or at least gasped) when I saw these!

In my Photo Hunters from last week I mentioned these shoes but at the time I didn't think that any store in my area carried them. I was totally shocked when they actually had them and they actually had them in my size!!

Of course Leslie and I had to buy them. They were only $40... $5 less than most places online. It is more than I usually spend on flip flops but if it's foot wear and a work out all in one you can't beat that. :-) Check out their website if you want to read more about them.

I plan on wearing them this week while I am teaching class so hopefully I will have nice, skinny legs in one week or less. :-)

Photo Hunters: Hair

Brun's hair has made quite the evolution over his one and a half years of life. Here is his hair on the day I brought him home:

Here is his hair at one year:
Here is his hair today (and no his eyes don't really look like that):

His hair today doesn't look all that different from his hair at one year old but it does have more light colored, softer hair in it. For more Photo Hunters participants, visit TN Chick.

Time Travel Tuesday: Vacation Memories

Over at Annie's site we are traveling back to our favorite vacation memories. A lot of others seem to be traveling back to several vacations so I thought I would do the same. Unfortunately I am traveling again this week and so I do not have access to any pictures from any of these vacations. So imagine with me if you can...

*When we were younger my family used to go camping at the beach over Columbus Day weekend. We didn't camp ON the beach but we would camp at the state park near the beach. I still love camping and so I remember that being a lot of fun. The weather in October was cool and I much prefer going to the beach that time of year. We didn't really "rough it" too much... I remember one time taking a lamp, TV and Nintendo. :-)

*When I was growing up my dad had a trip in Washington DC every January. My mom, brother and I went with him twice on these trips and to this day Washington DC is still one of my favorite cities to visit. There is so much to see with all of the museums and historical locations.

*My first plane trip was to New York City the summer of 1996 after my Junior year in high school. I went with a bunch of people from school to see plays and tour all the typical New York sites. We even went to appear on the Today Show. That year we got to see Beauty and the Beast and Moon Over Buffalo (with Carol Burnett). I went back to NYC the next year on the same trip. That year my whole family went and we saw my all time favorite musical Jekyll & Hyde. I know we saw two other shows but at the moment I can't remember what they were.

*Probably my most memorable and favorite vacation was our family trip to Australia in the Spring of 2005. We spent a week in Brisbane where my brother's girlfriend was studying abroad for the semester. During that week we toured a rain forest, visited the Steve Irwin zoo and snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef. During the second week of our trip we flew to Sydney. It is an amazing city with so much to see and do.

*Another favorite vacation is the yearly trip that my dad and I take to Road Atlanta for the American LeMans sports car race in September or October. We camp out for a week and have a great time. I usually come back more relaxed and rested after that trip than anything else I do all year. We started this in 2001 and we try to get over there every fall.

Well thanks for indulging in my trip down memory lane to some of my favorite vacation spots. There are so many more great trips that I could talk about but for now I will spare you. :-)

For more vacation memories, be sure to visit Annie's site.

Roomba's First Run

This is my new "friend" the Roomba Discovery. If you remember my Weekend Reflection post from a couple of weeks ago, I bought him on in the most recent Woot Off. Given how much I have been gone from home, I finally got the chance to run him last Saturday. I thought I should be home the first time it ran just to see how it worked. It was actually faster and quieter than I thought it would be.

It ran into no major problems and it returned to it's base to charge itself when it was full or when the battery was low... whichever came first. It doesn't have a terribly large bin for the stuff it picks up but I was still thoroughly impressed! So impressed that I did not feel compelled to run my Dyson to pick up any remaining dirt when it finished its run. I am not a big fan of cleaning but vacuuming is one task that I don't hate.

However, I don't have time to vacuum as often as I would like and I think that the Roomba is going to be the perfect solution! All I have to do is hit one button and it will run while I am out and about. It even gets under things like the Love Seat that I can't easily get under with the Dyson.

I left it running Sunday morning while I was at church and it got caught on a bad spot on the carpet. That wasn't the Roomba's fault and it just waited for me to come home and attend to it. I tried again Sunday night while I was at church and it ran with no trouble. It was safely resting on it's base waiting for it's next adventure.

I love gadgets so this one is right up my alley. It helps keep the house cleaner and it requires little work on my part. It's really cute too. :-) It plays a little song when it starts and it has a little rotating brush that helps it to know when it has run into a wall or a piece of furniture. Now I just have to come up with a name for it... any ideas?

I'm also not sure how Brun is going to react to it. He is terrified of the Dyson and goes to the opposite side of the house and hides. This one can "chase" him around the house so my guess is that he will hate it. I may have to limit its run to times when Brun is outside. I'll report on that next time I run it when he is around.

Weekend Reflections

Well it has been another busy week (I feel like I say that every week). Last Sunday my parents were in town and so it was good to have them here. We went to church and I napped all afternoon. I try not to nap all afternoon on Sunday's but some days it just works out that way. Then after my nap it was back to church. We had singing last Sunday night. I love to sing and so I enjoyed that.

On Monday it was a fairly typical day at work filled with lots of meetings (as most Monday's usually are) and preparing for the rest of the week. On Monday night it was off to my hometown with Brun in tow.

On Tuesday my summer of travel for work really got kicked off. I have been dreading it but the sooner it starts the sooner it will be over... right? On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week I had to work in Selma, Alabama. During those three days I am helping to train and deploy law enforcement officers on a computer program. It's a cool computer program but working with them for three days straight and spending time outside for half a day on Wednesday and half a day on Thursday in the near 100 degree heat is completely exhausting work. This was week one... I have five more weeks of it. So from now until mid July (except for the week of the fourth of July) I will be spending more time in Selma than in my office.

The good part of my time in Selma is that I do get to spend time with my parents in my hometown. I have opted to stay with them since they live close enough to Selma that I would rather drive back and forth every day as opposed to stay in a hotel. If you remember, I HATE hotels.

On Tuesday night I went to Amberly's with my mom and dad to "help" with the sewing project. I don't really know how to sew so I was much more useful playing with Amberly's girls than trying to help with the sewing. And I honestly probably enjoyed hanging out with them as opposed to trying to be useful on the sewing front. :-)

Thursday night I came back to the town where I live and accomplished absolutely nothing. I was so exhausted that I just sat/layed on my couch and watched TV. On Friday I went back to the office and tried to catch up from being out of the office for three days. I had to stay until 7 pm trying to get stuff done.

However, Friday night and Saturday were just for me. I cooked dinner Friday night and tried to catch up a little bit around the house. Saturday I worked on a number of different projects (including cleaning my messy house), watched a lot of racing, wore my pajamas all day and honestly never left the house. It was wonderful. :-)

So this week I am thankful that one week of my travel to Selma (16.67%) is over. I am thankful that my house is relatively clean and will hopefully stay that way while I am out of town this week. I am thankful that I had Friday night and Saturday to "catch up" on sleep and on projects for me.

I hope everyone had a great week. For more Weekend Reflections participants, visit Judi at Mommy of Two.

Photo Hunters: Shoes

I hate shoes... possibly because I wear a size 10.5 and have a lot of trouble finding shoes. But given that I still have to wear shoes (most days) these are my favorite shoes. If I could wear flip flops every day, all year long I would be just fine with that.

I just read about these shoes this morning... I think I might have to order me some. :-)

For more photo hunters, go here.

Wordless Wednesday: Silly Glasses

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom or the Wordless Wednesday hub.

Weekend Reflections

Well it's been another busy week. Sunday was a good day filled with church and lots of race watching. I was very happy with the outcome of the IRL and NASCAR race so it was a nice day.

Monday was a holiday for most of this country but for some reason the institution where I work does not recognize it has a holiday. I find that very tacky and really quite disrespectful. A number of people from my office did take off but those of us who were in the office were probably not as productive as we should be... we were all a bit miffed at the fact that we were working on Memorial Day.

Tuesday was another work day but I don't remember anything all that spectacular or memorable. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at midnight the fun began... it was time for another Woot Off!!! Some of you might remember me talking about the Woot monkeys I got at the last Woot Off. The Woot off started at midnight and when they start you have no idea how long it is going to last... they last at least 24 hours and can go for 72 hours. Well this one turned into a 72 hour marathon and I spent way way WAY too much time constantly watching Woot. I did buy a few very exciting things but given the amount of time that I wasted watching Woot I really did not buy that much.

I did buy a roomba for floor vacumming. It was a great deal and it actually arrived yesterday. I haven't used it yet but I hope to use it later tonight. I also got an emergency car kit with things like jumper cables, flashlight, air compressor, etc. It was $13 and places like Kohl's have them for about $60... so I thought that was a good deal. I also kind of accidentally ordered a portable heater for my car. I didn't know it was for your car and I had to jump on the offer before they ran out... but I'm not quite sure what I will do with that. It was only like $8. I also bought a DVD player that you can mount under your counter or use as a portable DVD player. I probably really didn't need that but it was a great deal and I wanted it... so I bought it. When the Woot Off FINALLY ended on Friday night they didn't have Woot monkeys... this time they had a Woot T-shirt. So I of course had to get one of those.

The Woot Off was fun but the novelty wore off sometime in Day 2 and I was glad to see it end. I stayed up way too late every night watching for what the new item was going to be. I was happy with the stuff that I was able to buy for a good price but there were several other things I would have liked to have gotten that they didn't have... oh well.

Saturday was a busy, busy day. I got up early to run some errands and to finish monogramming some towels for a Wedding Shower present. Around 10:30 (after I finished the present and got it wrapped) I made it to the Wedding Shower. The towels were a big hit so that was nice. After the shower I went to work for a little while to finish some stuff up that I didn't finish during the week due to my excessive Woot watching :-). Then I met my parents for lunch and headed over to the house where my brother lives to help do things around the house.

We are still working on trying to get it ready to sell but we hopefully helped with the curb appeal yesterday. I pulled vines and weeds that were the size of small trees for several hours. Some of the vines were evil with extremely painful thorns. I was not dressed appropriately (I was wearing shorts and a tank top) so I look like I got in a fight with a pack of cats... my legs and arms are all scratched up. But, the two areas we worked on looked SO much better after we finished with them... so it was worth it. We pulled enough out that we made a pile on the street that was as big as my SUV!!!

So this week I am thankful for the Woot off and the cool new things I was able to purchase... I am thankful that the Woot off is over... I am thankful that we were able to make some progress at my brother's house yesterday and I am thankful that I did not have to travel this week.

I hope everyone else had a great week! For more Weekend Reflections, visit Judi at Mommy of Two.