5K

Just a friendly reminder that for 2008 you are allowed to put up to $5,000 into your IRA. This is an increase from 2007. So if you've got automatic investing going on- don't forget to increase your amounts (if you are able). $416 and change per month!

swim again

Yesterday was supposed to be a run/walk day on the training schedule. Instead I went swimming with one of my co-workers who is also doing the triathlon. Today another co-worker wanted to go swimming, and I brought my suit, so I'm going to go again today.

Today I want to focus on my form and technique. I'll be helping my co-worker with her technique, so hopefully I'm doing it right ;-).

And then tomorrow, I have my regular swim date with a colleague. I think I'll need to take thursday off from swimming for sure. And I may need to go buy some shampoo for swimmers...I don't want my hair getting dry and green :-)

Happy Birthday David!

Happy Birthday to David today!

Here's to having fun in the wild,
having fun with one's self and being cute and goofy,
and to having new and exciting experiences every year!
I love you sweetie!

I almost forgot....
your chocolate cake and Ellen's Eggs Mornay are waiting for you!

tree photos

Awhile back I mentioned that we were swapping our 2 Ash trees that pretty much died for other trees. We got some Arborvitae and a maple. Here are the photos of them after we planted them. Suzanne reminded me that I had not posted any pictures of the trees. I totally forgot. here they are! The house next door is now almost completely sided and all the windows and doors are installed.

update

I feel like I have no time since we adopted Sam! So sorry to have not posted in awhile. He was neutered last thursday and I think he is just about healed up. We left his e-collar off last night and I don't believe he was trying to get at his belly very much. We also distracted him with a peanut butter filled Kong toy so that probably helped. He wasn't allowed to go for walks longer than about 15 minutes, so needless to say, his energy was overwhelming during the other times. The vet gave us sedatives to help him calm down so he wouldn't injure himself/tear his stitches, but those didn't seem to kick in for about 2 hours!

We are trying to make sure he knows we are the leaders in the house. We've been watching Cesar Millan DVD's and read his books, and now I'm reading another book on dog communication called "The dog listener". The author shares some things in common with Cesar, but others she does very differently. I'm only 1/4 of the way through, so I'll let you know what I think when I'm done.

training has begun

I've decided I am going to do the Danskin triathlon again. And this time, I have gotten a few of my co-workers to train with me for it. That was one of the things I learned last year...training is much more fun when you do it with other people. That and you are more likely to do it when other people are counting on you.

So, I worked up a training schedule which began on monday. It currently has us doing 3 days of training a week, and focusing mostly on the run and the swim. I'm quite excited to have a group of people to share the Danskin experience with. I really hope that everyone will actually end up doing the triathlon.

I figure I will end up doing 4-5 days a week of training, but it will be good to have set times to workout with others. Monday we swam for 15 minutes, and tomorrow we are supposed to walk for 25 minutes or so. We are all going to be working our way up to running for 30 minutes at a time, so our plan gradually inches up the amount of running time as part of the walk/run combination.

If there is anyone who does not live in Seattle but wants to come visit and do the Danskin triathlon with us, just let me know and I'll get you started on the training plan.

snow for sam's birthday

snow's a pretty good birthday gift. Sam seems to really like it. It got so cold here tonight that it is snowing.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Today Sam turns 1!

So...when does he stop being a puppy?

lost a slipper

Actually, I didn't lose the slipper, it was half eaten by the new pooch. Okay- maybe not half eaten, but chewed up enough that I can't wear that pair anymore and had to throw them away.

I've been exhausted this week. David and I have been trying to switch off half days working at home, and I've had to get up an extra hour to hour and a half earlier to get Sam his morning walk. I generally enjoy getting out there in the morning, but this is much earlier than I am used to, and I'm still trying to get Sam into a pattern and get him used to behaving when putting on his collar and leash, so the preparation for the walk can be trying.

We also took him to the vet this week. He has an ear infection (which we suspected), and he got his rabies shot done. Now we have to schedule an appointment AS SOON AS POSSIBLE for his neutering. I really really hope that the neutering has some effect on his energy level, as they say it does in some dogs.

new pooch

We have some good news. Yesterday, David and I adopted a dog. He is a Golden Retriever and he is almost one year old. Unfortunately, he hasn't been neutered yet, so we'll have to do that soon. His old name was Macchiato, but we changed his name to Sam/Sammy. Here are a few photos of the new guy.

He is a bit more rambunctious than I was led to believe. The owner said he was starting to calm down--but if he was more energetic before, I can't even imagine it.

The owner also said she thought that he was full size, but I sort of think he may grow more. We'll need to take him to the vet so we can see how big he really is. His paws still seem to be pretty big for his body--I guess we'll have to see.


He knows sit pretty well--but that is the just about the only command he knows well. He can do lay down- but only with some coaxing.
We also found out that he is a slobber-er. He likes to hang his tongue out of his mouth quite a bit too.

reunited and it feels so good

Great, Fabulous News!

They delivered David's bag to him this afternoon at the house. Everything was still in there that was packed from Florida.

Including the Skyline! Thank you Ann for the offer to replace it if it was gone forever. That is very sweet of you, but I'm so happy that they had the chili still in the bag and it wasn't pilfered. Maybe the bag carriers don't know that it goes for $5 a can on Ebay ;-)

wow...my blog's been around for awhile

I started blogging May 26, 2005. That is 2 years and 7 months that I've been blogging. Holy cow. My how time flies.

someday when I'm super bored I'll go back and re-read all 442 entries (yea right).

lost luggage update

We have a promising lead. They think they found David's bag in Sacramento. It did have someone else's name on the white sticky tag--no wonder it went to the wrong place. We *should* have it back by the end of this week, and then we can see if all of our stuff is still in there. If one can of my Skyline Chili is missing- US Airways will hear it from me! (Just kidding).

more photos

Mom, Jazzy and Steve


Alex, Jazzy and Beki (Jazzy got tons of attention this christmas)

Mom and Steve making Goetta! The goetta was soo good. Steve and Ann brought a few pounds with them from cincy.

Grandma and some of her granddaughters (em missing)

Grandma and her children

Me and David

These photos were taken by Ann- which unfortunately means that there aren't any pictures of Ann...Hopefully when Steve downloads the photos from his camera we'll have some of Ann too.

a few christmas photos

This christmas we spent some time in Florida. Here are a few pictures from our day in Mount Dora.
Everybody is ready for some window shopping and regular shopping.


Taking a break from the shopping.


Posing...


More posing....


So happy coming out of a store.

Arriba! Ole! Grandma had fun trying on the hats at the mexican restaurant.

The town square in Mount Dora was all lit up with lights, as you can see above.

lost

US Airways lost David's bag on our trip home from Florida. We've been home now for 36 hours and we haven't heard anything from the airline, even though we've called many times and checked online. The online tool says that the bag still has not been found.

The thing is, the agent at the Orlando airport knew he put the wrong tag on David's bag, but he didn't bother to fix it. The exchange went something like this:

Agent: "Going to Seattle?" (holding 3 bag tags in his hand and looking around to see who was going to claim them. We only have 2 bags to check).
Us: raised our hands- "we are".
Agent: puts tags on the bags, puts them on the conveyor belt.
Agent: "Can I see your ID's?"
Us: Sure, here they are
Agent: Huh. that's odd. I've got an extra bag tag here. Accusingly, " you didn't tell me who you were before I put the tags on"
Me: (thinking in my head....I thought you were supposed to verify our identity before you slapped the bag tags on. Is it our job to tell you who we are without you asking? )
Agent: "Oh well, the bag will still get to Seattle." (turns his back to begin dealing with someone else).
Us: Confused...walking away...trying to feel better we reasoned that he said the bag would still get to Seattle, so we didn't need to worry about it.

US Airways apparently has the worst record for lost luggage among the national carriers. I don't doubt it given the lack of concern on their agents part.

Merry Christmas!

To those of you who celebrate-- Merry Christmas!

I hear there is lots of snow going around parts of the country-- hope those of you with snow enjoy your wonderful white christmas.

golfing for christmas?

We are thinking about going golfing. There are three 9 hole courses - I think we'll only be able to do 9 holes as we aren't really in golfing shape. It is amazing how much work golfing can be. I'm not any good, although I'd like to be better. Can't get better until you start practicing! David really wants to go golfing too. Actually- he is the impetus behind us going. Makes me think that we should try to find a nice cheap 9 hole course in Seattle and try to go more often. The problem is, it isn't usually one those thing we think about doing on the weekend (for some people it is the only thing they think about doing on the weekend), so we'll have to make a conscious effort to try and go.

never as cute on the second day

There is a sort of magic that happens at salons. They bewitch your hair to look just right and cute, and then once the clock strikes midnight the spell is over and never again will it be as cute as the day you left the salon with the new cut.

It still looks good, but I'm just not very good at fixing my hair, I guess. Maybe I can get some pointers from my fashionista sister?

haircut

I got a haircut today. It was about time. I went to a new salon that opened up in October, whose owner is a friend of one of my work colleagues. The owner cut my hair and she did a great job. The true test is the next couple of days as I figure out if I can make it look as cute as she did. I'll try to take a picture to post, or something.

Also- the shampoo was the most comfortable shampoo I've ever had at a salon- I didn't feel like my neck was being wrenched and my back didn't hurt. It was great.

The salon has a real contemporary vibe--concrete floors, italian modern furniture, and the owner designed some of the furniture pieces herself.

Did I mention that all cuts are $20? More if you want a blow-dry, but that is a fabulous price!

I know not many of my readers are in the Seattle area, but if you are- try out Ten Pachi www.tenpachi.com

ps. I was not paid for the above advertisement ;-)