SW Suz

How Lady Jane Grey Saved the Day

2011-05-01T18:35:00.002-07:00

I forget if I mentioned it here (and I'm too lazy to read through old posts) but I had been looking forward to the Royal Wedding since Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement! I haven't taken much time off in the past several months but as soon as they set the date I made sure to get that day off. It's been on the calendar for MONTHS! I had the whole day planned, up early for a breakfast of tea and gluten-free scones while I watched the wedding live. Give myself a pedicure using the "No More Waity Katie" nail polish I'd PREORDERED. Perhaps some champagne as I spent the day watching the coverage and recaps on tv and the internet.

So of course events conspired to force me to work on our very special day:( We have canceled cable many months ago so I had no DVR to record the festivities, however when my parents found out about my foiled wedding day plans they offered to record it for me. This was a small consolation, but at least I wouldn't miss everything.

What I didn't expect was to be awakened at 1:30 AM by Lady Jane Grey herself! Well, my cat Lady Jane, not the actual ghost of the brief and ill-fated monarch of England. She gently pawed and licked my face until I got up, groaning at the time. Until I realized this meant I could hook the laptop up to the TV and watch the wedding live! Huzzah!

And that's exactly what I did. I got to watch the arrivals at Westminster Abbey, all the crazy hats, see Kate's wedding dress for the first time with the rest of the world, watch the exchange of vows, and follow along with everyone else who was up at that ungodly hour (at least on the west coast) on twitter. Of course I still had to get ready and go to work for a full day, packed with meetings no less, but I've still got many hours of DVR'ed recordings to look forward to and I've promised myself to take a belated day off and have a proper celebration while I devour hours of wedding coverage!

Simplifying my Life

2011-04-30T19:55:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I just get overwhelmed with so much STUFF. Literally and figuratively.
The past few months I've really tried to start culling the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. It's so easy to add new blogs to Google Reader that I never stopped to think about the fact I was adding STRESS to my life because there were so many posts I couldn't keep up! It's so easy to star things "for later" that I've got years of archives that are too huge to be at all manageable (or even relevant, says the starred 20% off code for Bobbi Brown from 2008). All those magazines I've held on for inspiration? Maybe if I was trying to inspire myself to Hoarders-esque tendencies. And the mental junk - how many past hurts and snubs I still allow in my brain to this day? The worst part - I let failed relationships with former friends or family members affect the good relationships I do have.

So 2011 is the year I start clearing out the cobwebs. I've been working to edit the blogs I follow so that it's not overwhelming and I can actually comment once in awhile! My husband and I have been cleaning out old "stuff" and donating, trashing, shredding, or systematically ripping out pages and archiving them in plastic sleeves. We spend a few hours each weekend working cleaning out new areas and making sure we keep up with what we've already done and slowing but surely things are coming together.

Mentally, I realized a few weeks ago that I've really held myself distant from those that I consider close friends and confidants. Not because of anything they did, but because of things others have done hurt me in the past. This isn't fair to those that I DO trust or to myself, because when I've really needed help or someone to talk to...I felt that I had no one to turn to. Luckily, I had a good old fashioned breakdown and had a series of therapeutic email exchanges with my brother (always my voice of reason) which has resulted in the much needed advice and help. More importantly, I realized what I was doing to myself.

And so I've made the conscious effort to start reaching out again. I can't change things that happened in the past or prevent someone from choosing to stop being my friend or talking behind my back - but I can stop myself from letting what's really such a small part of my life affect anything else.

So that is my Spring Awakening. That, and some flowers I planted that I hope don't die (part of "Yard Renovations 2011"). So far things have survived and I hope to post some pictures soon!

Yelp!

2011-04-17T19:59:00.002-07:00

I've used yelp.com, or the associated iPhone app, to find many a restaurant (especially while traveling). However it's only been in the past few months I've started adding my own reviews. And then this past week, I noticed there was an official yelp event going on in Tucson that included a reception at one of my favorite new Tucson restaurants followed by a show at the Arizona Theater Company. All complimentary! This immediately appealed to the penny-pincher in me, as well as the opportunity to meet some new local folks and check out a venue I haven't been to in Tucson.

So I RSVP'ed and showed up at Janos Downtown Kitchen and Cocktails last Thursday with my husband. The event was organized really well, and we enjoyed a variety of appetizers from the menu along with a few "Cuban Sunset" cocktails. The cocktails, while not complimentary, were specially priced and so delicious I'll be back to enjoy them again soon! I never would have thought I'd enjoy habanero infused anything, much less a drink! I also never thought I'd try, much less enjoy, lamb tongue tacos but much to my surprise they were delicious.

We actually walked over to the ATC, it's just a few blocks away and we'd left the car there when we came downtown. The show we saw, The Mystery of Irma Vep, was great. I was so surprised at the quality of the sets and the performance, and we both laughed out loud throughout the performance. I have to say, when the "Friday Song" was included in one scene I nearly lost it! We've bookmarked the site and will be watching for upcoming shows to see on our own from now on!

And even better, we've learned how much fun these yelp events are and are now on the lookout for more opportunities to join in the fun! We met some great people and had a great night out.
Do you yelp?

Buy These Tanks NOW!

2011-04-14T20:21:00.002-07:00

A few weekends ago I had to stop by the Tucson Mall to replace my eyeliner - an eyeliner which is deserving of its own post extolling its virtues! While there I cruised through the H&M which opened a few months ago because I like clothes and I also like saving money. I don't know about you, but one article of clothing I wear year round are tank tops. In the winter under cardigans and sweaters (it does get cold here!) and throughout the rest of the year under lighter tops or on their own for weekends digger in the garden or hiking. It's hard to find a decent tank that isn't too short, too low cut, too loose or too tight. I feel like Goldilocks and the 3,000 tank tops! And if you find one that fits all the above criteria, it either has spaghetti straps (so not wearable on its own at least for me) or is $50!

So all that is to say, when I saw a display of tank tops for $5 and change I tried one on to see if it fit.

It met ALL the criteria, it's longer, fitted but not tight, has wider straps, and isn't low cut! It also comes in great basics (black, white, and two shades of gray) as well as some fun stripes. I bought 6 to get me through the summer. And I recommend you visit your local H&M and stock up too!

*I can't find the tanks pictured online or I'd share a pic!

This Post is Not Intended To Be A Factual Statement

2011-04-12T20:03:00.003-07:00

I awoke this morning the way I usually do, leaping out of bed before the alarm even went off! #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement

OK, if I'm being FACTUAL I was catching up on tweets between snoozes 2 & 3, begrudgingly becoming more coherent as the minutes ticked by. When what to my wandering eye should appear but a series of HILARIOUS tweets from the always funny, @StephenAtHome. These contained a series of facts about Arizona Congressman John Kyl, all with the hashtag #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement. This was in response to a statement from Congressman Kyl's office, when confronted with the disparity between a figure he stated regarding the percentage of resources spent on abortions performed at Planned Parenthood (90%) and the actual figure (3%). Apparently, the use of this figure was not intended to be a "factual statement", and a twitter hashtag was born.

I think that anyone, no matter what your political leanings or personal beliefs may be, can get a kick out of some of these. I've listed some of my favorites below, which represent 90% of the tweets Stephen Colbert has published in the past 24 hours #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement,

The secret to Jon Kyl's success can be found on page 53 of the Necronomicon.

Every halloween Jon Kyl dresses up as a sexy Mitch Daniels.

Along a certain stretch of Mexican highway, Jon Kyl is known as El Autoestopisto Blanco Borracho.

Jon Kyl destroyed love in 1973. All feelings since then have been but a shadow of the original concept.

Jon Kyl can, and will, deny that you're a jolly good fellow.

Jon Kyl was sent from the future to kill Sarah Conner.

Jon Kyl is an accomplished nude hula dancer. He is not welcome in Hawaii.

Jon Kyl sponsored S.410, which would ban happiness.

Once a year, Jon Kyl retreats to the Arizona Desert and deposits 2 million egg sacs under the sand.

Jon Kyl = ax2 + bx + c

Carly Simon wrote that song about Jon Kyl.

Jon Kyl has a $1000-a-day Lik-M-Aid habit.

Jon Kyl assassinated Archduke Ferdinand.

Jon Kyl was the CEO of Enron when they took all those people's pension money.

And now I know what to say the next time I make a mistake or misspeak at work..."that wasn't intended to be a factual statement."

The CD in The Economist?!?!

2011-04-03T19:36:00.003-07:00

If you asked me to list things I would never expect to read in The Economist, near the top would be ANYTHING about the commerce in the Seattle neighborhood I lived in a few years ago. You see, I rented an apartment in a very nice high-rise that was built in a 'transitioning' area (i.e. don't walk outside alone at night!) in the Central District (CD). Just a few blocks east took you to Madison Park, home of muti-million lake front homes AND Tom Skerritt, and a few blocks north took you into a neighborhood of McMansions. Walking west took you through Capital Hill and then downtown, extremely convenient for hoofing it to happy hours and concerts.

However directly across from my apartment were the holdouts of the old neighborhood. The renamed "Chocolate City" (now closed) which was both a store and bar, as well as the busiest crack corner in town. And across the street in another direction was De Charlene's Beauty Parlor. I could see De Charlene's from my 6th story balcony and I have to say that no hair salon I ever went to was open as late as this one. Or had limos waiting in the vacant lot next door at all hours of the night. Obviously De Charlene's advertisements for weaves was just a front for a prostitution ring.
So imagine my surprise when my husband found her quoted in THE ECONOMIST.

“My clientele has all moved away,” says Charlene Williams, owner of De Charlene’s Beauty & Boutique in Seattle’s Central District. Her neighbourhood was 79% black when she set up shop in 1968. It was 58% black as recently as 1990. Now it is 21% black. Ms Williams once had 13 hairdressers on her payroll; now she employs none. The young Ray Charles once performed in black-owned nightclubs in the Central District. Those clubs are gone, as are the restaurants where Ms Williams used to buy pork-chop sandwiches and peach pie. Eateries now offer crepes, wood-fired artisan bagels and north-west fusion cuisine.

I can't help but wonder if there isn't a need for hairdressers on the payroll if the business is a front for seedier occupations?

Fun, Fun, Fun, Fun, Fun...

2011-04-02T19:07:00.003-07:00

This past Friday was not fun, fun, fun, fun, fun for me. I woke up in excruciating pain, having slept awkwardly I suppose. This made for constant back pain a day and I pretty much came home from work and went to bed. No partyin', partyin' for me. I think I had made myself more susceptible to tweaking my back with the recent increase in weights for my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workouts.

I managed to rally a bit today, thanks to some Ibuprofen and the liberal application of ice. Good thing too, as I had to supervise the construction of a raised vegetable bed. My Dad came over around 9 with his tools to help us assemble some pieces of wood into an actual completed product. I need to stain it and fill with 32 cubic feet of dirt and then I'll post pics! It was actually pretty easy (as reported by the laborers) so we're going to do a few more next weekend. Those will be even easier as now we know Home Depot will cut the pieces to size eliminating about half the time this takes! I'm looking forward to growing some veggies in our own backyard, and Bill's already inquired about composting but we're taking it one project at a time. Also on deck are some climbing vines for the back wall, replacing some plants out front that were killed in our cold snap, various flowers, and possibly a tree. I've become emboldened after keeping my four Ikea plants alive for the past 6 months!

Tonight will be another early night as I take care of my elderly back, and tomorrow we're going to check out the 4th Avenue Street Fair with some friends. This is my favorite time of year, the nights aren't so cold and so much is going on around town. Though it's a little hotter than usual (95 degrees the past several days!) at least it's a dry heat!

I'll leave you all with this video from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, featuring Stephen Colbert and Tayor Hicks covering "Friday". I don't want this weekend to end!

T. Roosevelt is a BAMF

2011-03-22T19:10:00.005-07:00

To balance out the math nerdiness of the previous post, I now present you with some sample "Museum" Ads created for a portfolio - the series is entitled "Historically Hardcore" and you can read more about it on the creator's website

Apparently a student in one of my husband's classes showed these to him, and thanks to reddit they're all over the interwebs.

Happy Pi Day!

2011-03-14T03:14:00.003-07:00

Wish the math-nerd in your life a Happy Pi Day today! To celebrate I thought I'd share some math humor with you. I usually restrict these types of nerdy topics to work, but you just gotta let loose sometimes right? I've interspersed these comics with some math-related tales from my school days of yore. It's possible that this post will only be humorous to me:)

In High School Calculus class a friend of mine spent a semester working on memorizing the digits of pi. As he memorized them we'd stick up index cards around the perimeter of the room marking his progress. Every Friday he'd recite and we'd verify his progress, cheering him along. I still easily remember the first 5 digits of pi myself! Who says math isn't useful.

My grad school program was heavy on the math, and one class was called "econometrics". For almost a year a friend of mine thought I just had a weird speech impediment that prevented me from properly saying "economics."

In Grad school a friend of mine had a "math show" that played on the campus channel once a week. After our evening class he'd go off to do his live show and the rest of us would gather at my apartment where we'd watch his show and call in trying to get him to do our econometrics homework. Every tuesday night was 'math show party night' - I should re-institute that tradition.

In HS, we had a powder puff game between the Senior and Junior girls each year during spirit week. My jersey number was pi/2 and she was pi^2. Hey, we got extra credit in Calc!

*For extra pi-nerdiness, this post was scheduled to post at 3:14 AM on 3/14. Had Blogger allowed me to post on exact seconds it would have been 3:14:15...:)

Catching My Breath

2011-03-13T20:54:00.002-07:00

Here is a travel tip for you - don't fly cross country and back in two days and then resume work immediately. Going to DC on Tuesday and returning Wed night after a full day of meetings was exhausting enough, but to get up on Thursday and go into the office at 8 AM? That just wasn't fair! I was so tired all day I couldn't remember if I was coming or going! However it was a great trip, I got to meet the Freckled Citizen in person and enjoy some delicious margaritas and Mexican food. My husband gave me a hard time about traveling all that way for a tamale but he'll just have to try it for himself. Also - someone needs to bring salt foam margaritas to Tucson immediately. I'm going to do some research (i.e. google) and see if I can come up with it on my own. It will be my spring project.

I really enjoy going to DC, the city has so much energy and it is so nice to be able to walk places and take the metro! After my happy hour with Maggie I headed back to the hotel to meet up with my work group and we walked over to Georgetown for a late dinner at Mie N Yu. I limited myself to a small lamb kabob appetizer and enjoyed the conversation. The next day brought more metro rides, long walks with our carry-on suitcases between offices, and finally the trip back to Regan National. It was just too quick!

I've been catching up on work and sleep since then and after a hectic weekend filled with music, movies, and local festivals I'm off again tomorrow to Orlando. This trip is a full week and I'll be training at the most magical place on earth, Disney World! It's actually put on by Disney and part of our homework is to visit the parks after class gets out each evening...that's some homework I don't mind doing!

I am looking forward to spending some time at home, I've been on the road a few times a month since the beginning of the calendar year and it's so hard to keep up with everything. April will be busy with some local meetings and projects, but at least I don't have to pack all my toiletries in a quart sized ziplock bag and sleep in hotel beds!

48 Hour Trip

2011-03-07T19:11:00.002-07:00

Actually a little less than 48 hours...Between 5 AM Tuesday morning and 10 PM Wednesday night I will:

Fly to Washington, DC
Meet up with the lovely Maggie (assuming no travel delays)!
See some fantastic colleagues from the research office I consult with in FL
Go to a big time presentation at our headquarters
Take many metro rides
Fly home to Tucson

It will be a quick trip, mostly due to the fact that there isn't a hotel room to be had Wed night so I'm flying back right after our meetings rather than the next morning. I'm excited to get back to our nation's capital, I used to go there all the time for training and meetings the first two years of my career when I was but a wee intern living in Vermont. Those flights were a lot shorter than the cross-country exodus I'll be making tomorrow.

Alarm is set for 2:30 AM! See you in two days!

Before/After: Brass Antelope Bookends

2011-03-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

I actually don't have a "before" picture because I thought I could capture the pic on ebay and didn't take one at home...so you'll have to use your imagination for this before/after!

I had spied some brass antelope bookends on etsy that were featured in one of the online decorating magazines and had fallen in love. What I didn't love was the price of $118 dollars. YIKES! So I took to ebay to find something similar. If you search for "Brass Bookends" you'll find a lot of potential treasures, including several brass antelopes that looked identical to the etsy offering (minus the pricetag). They're all the same size/weight and looked to be the same casting so I started perusing the ebay antelopes to see how low I could go.

One listing showed the same bookends however they were attached to wooden pieces. They were pretty dingy, and I was not a fan of the wood, but the price of 9 dollars was right so I bid on them. I halfway expected to lose them at the last minute but a day later the auction ended and I was still the highest bidder! They arrived about a week later, and upon inspection I found that I could unscrew the wooden pieces and free the brass antelopes. Then I had to clean them... I used some copper cleaner I bought at Williams Sonoma for our All Clad cookware and the difference was amazing - they look every bit as lovely as the $118 version on etsy!

Next up are a trio of little brass owls I scored for 7 bucks - they just arrived and are waiting to be polished! I'm getting addicted to ebay these days!

And here is a "Before" pic of the owls - learned my lesson this time! Though they aren't nearly as dingy as the antelopes were when they arrived.

Presenting the Lady Jane Grey

2011-03-06T15:40:00.005-07:00

I hadn't mentioned we'd gotten a kitten, had I? We'd talked about adopting a cat since we hadn't had luck with a canine companion for Belle and one weekend we went around town visiting shelters to see if we could find "the one". We ended up finding a sweet little gray tabby at the Pima County Animal Control shelter and decided to adopt her on the spot! She came home the next day after being spayed and has been living with us for a few weeks now.

We decided on the name "Jane Grey" for a few reasons..one being that she's a gray cat (I was informed that technically she is a "blue tabby"). We brainstormed names while driving home that Sunday from the shelter and since hubs is a history teacher and we're both big fans of the Tudors series we quickly thought of the poor, unfortunate "Jane Grey" - thankfully this little Jane has a happier ending to her story!

She's a small girl, about 5 lbs and unlikely to get much bigger. She's the perfect size for the basket from New Mexico, though she'll sleep anywhere. We've found that she is starting to mimic the dog in her behavior...sleeping in the tiny kitten bed we originally bought for her kitty carrier and never expected her to use it at home! They sleep together in our bed during the day and both beg for belly rubs when we get home!

Invoice - Bob's Food Pickup/Delivery Service

2011-02-24T19:40:00.002-07:00

I bring my lunch to work most days, it's usually leftovers. And usually delicious, as were today's leftovers of szechuan orange beef kabobs. However I happened to wander into an Accounting office today during a debate about picking up some food from Buffalo Wild Wings and I couldn't resist. What follows is the entirely true (with name modifications of course) email string attempting to collect funds for said wings.

From: Bob
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:10 PM
To: Joe, Dan, John, Suzie
Subject: Invoice - Bob's Food Pickup/Delivery Service

Invoice Date: 2/24/11
Due Date: 2/23/11
Discount: Not Available

Below is a breakdown of who owes what (highlighted in red)... I accept cash or check (unfortunately I am unable to accept CC; perhaps in the future).
Cost before tax Cost Plus Weighted Tax
Joe 20.87 22.77
Suzie 4.99 5.44
Dan 8.49 9.26
John 7.59 8.28
Bob 15.18 16.56
Sub-Total 57.12
Tax 5.19
Total: 62.31 62.31

From: Bob
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:16 PM
To: Joe, Suzie
CC: Dan, John
Subject: RE Invoice - Bob's Food Pickup/Delivery Service
A receiving report has been run and this is now on my aged payable listing :)

From: Suzie
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:17 PM
To: Joe, Bob
CC: Dan, John
Subject: RE Invoice - Bob's Food Pickup/Delivery Service
I'll have to return this invoice as it does not have a valid obligation number, sorry!

From: Bob
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:20 PM
To: Joe, Suzie
CC: Dan, John
Subject: RE Invoice - Bob's Food Pickup/Delivery Service
Sorry about that...The PO # is 123-PAYMEPLEASE. Don't forget! I am considered a small business and fall under the prompt payment act!

From: Dan
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:22 PM
To: Bob, Joe, Suzie
CC: John
Subject: RE Invoice - Bob's Food Pickup/Delivery Service
Have you been vendorized and registered in the CCR? If not our organization cannot do business with you.

....and the end. This actually went on for a few more emails and we finally remitted payment to "Bob". For my finance friends, how many accounting-related jokes did you spy in that electronic exchange? I was laughing so hard I spit Coke Zero all over my keyboard and will be billing Bob's Food Pickup/Delivery Service for damages. :)

A Difficult Month

2011-01-29T20:54:00.002-07:00

It probably goes without saying that the past month has been difficult for me and all Tucsonans. It's hard to put those feelings into words, so for the past weeks I've remained silent here on my little piece of the internet.

I thought, at times, about how I'd address the shooting that occurred in Tucson. I'm certainly not as eloquent as many people who have written and spoken since that time. So I'll just tell you a little bit about how my day went and how this has impacted my own life, without worrying too much about how well I'm writing it. So let's begin...

The day prior, Friday, I spent in an all day Management retreat followed by a late dinner downtown with my husband and good friends. We stayed out later than us old folks usually do which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My husband and I had a long list of errands to run the next day and had planned to eat lunch while we were out before going to the UofA basketball game. We planned to eat lunch at Wildflower (using a Fox restaurants gift card from my husband's parents) which is at the corner of Oracle and Ina. The Corner. However a late night meant a late start for the day so I was in the shower when the shooting happened. My mom actually called as I was drying my hair, to ask what I was doing. She had been concerned when I didn't answer the house phone - I just hadn't gotten to it in time...so when she called my cell her first question was "Where are you? Gabby Giffords has been shot."

That was...not what I was expecting to hear. It didn't make sense for a minute. My husband returned home from walking the dog and we turned on the news. And the computer, and our iPhones trying to find out what happened, who was hurt. I texted friends and coworkers on that side of town (it's the Northwest side) to make sure they were OK. I found out on Twitter she had died, the news confirmed it, then we found out those reports were wrong and she was in surgery. But others had died...so many others injured.

The basketball game was moved to Sunday, we stayed on the couch all day watching the news as more reports came in. Some hopeful - Gabby had made it out of surgery. Some devastating - a 9 year old had died. The first responders saved so many though, and it was somewhat surreal to hear the words "incident command system" spoken during news reports - when we practice these drills at my hospital I always joked my job was to go to a conference room and wear my green vest and authorize payments. Now, it's not a joke...the community had a real emergency and while our hospital was not activated, it could have been. I'm thankful it wasn't - that would have meant more injuries, maybe more casualties.

I spent the following week in Amarillo, TX at training, keeping up with the news via my iPhone and discussing the event with my coworkers that were there with me. The President came to Tucson and I was able to watch the end of his live speech after returning from The Big Texan where I ate too much steak (yet not the 72 oz challenge). I watched it all the way through twice on PBS afterward. My husband had tried to attend but the line had already exceeded capacity by the time he got out of work.

And now here we are, the Safeway has reopened and we've been by that area many times running errands. In my mind it feels like there is a neon sign at that location, but it looks like any other intersection, shopping center. It could be yours.

And that to me is the scariest part, this could have happened to any community.

President Obama Says it Better than I Can

2011-01-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year's Eve!

2010-12-31T03:47:00.000-07:00

I am still recovering from the zombie death virus that struck me down the FIRST DAY of my only full week off of 2010. I guess that is nature's way of telling me to work more? Anyway, I hope you and yours had a happy holiday, I spent Christmas Eve at the CVS Minute Clinic acquiring antibiotics but other than that and leaving my husband alone in Tucson, I had a wonderful visit with my brother in Houston.

I'm trying to get back in the swing of things here, and decided to copy everyone else and do the year end meme that's floating around the blogosphere. Enjoy!

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

One activity I did, and hope never to repeat, is wait frantically in a hospital waiting room while my Mom underwent somewhat emergency surgery. That pretty much set the tone of 2010 (luckily it had a happy ending).
Oh, I also went indoor rock climbing. January 2010 was full of firsts!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Well, upon reflection of the resolutions set forth in my Resolution Post I didn't do so poorly. Let's recap...1) Be More Organized - I think I've made great strides with this resolution, at home and at work. With paper and electronic clutter. Let's check it off! 2) Run 400 Miles - HA HA HA HA...I think I ran 4. In my defense I spent a chunk of the year in physical therapy. And the rest of the time watching very important reality tv shows on my DVR. They're not going to watch themselves! 3) Spend Less - well, this was accomplished out of necessity. Still, a win is a win, right? 4) Pay Down Debt - well, we're not quite halfway there. However I am proud of the fact that we've made a sizable dent in revolving debt AND refrained from utilizing credit cards during hubs unemployment. So I categorize this as a win. 5) One Grocery Trip a Week - HA. Failed that one. 6) Spend More Time With Friends - this we were better about as the year wore on. We've spent several weekends at least meeting up for a movie and have ventured out of our hermitage more weekends than not. WIN! 7) See More Movies - done and done! We've been to the movies so much more than previous years and I've even seen a few films I regretted paying admission for! A far cry from the previous year where I missed seeing the Harry Potter film! 8) Home Improvements - I spent 3 days painting the dining room. I'm counting that as an accomplishment! 9) Belle Time - well, hubs has been very diligent about walking the dog once or twice a day. Can I get half credit? 10) Continue to improve my health - I count this as a win, spent some quality time in physical therapy and am now under treatment for PCOS.

Out of 10 resolutions, I count 7.5 as done. A solid C average, passing but I think I can do better in 2011!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Seems like everyone around me gave birth! Just kidding, a lot of friends and family are currently expecting and my pal HilStreet gave birth in November.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully, no.

5. What countries did you visit?

Does South Tucson count? No? No foreign trips for us, and actually no personal travel outside a very short trip to Houston for Christmas for me. Most of my travel was work-related this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you didn’t have in 2010?

Nothing for me, but I'd like for my husband to have a permanent full time teaching position!

7. What dates from 2010 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

To be honest, I don't recall the exact dates, but I distinctly remember the days I spent waiting for my Mom to get out of surgery (her carotid endarectomy and later her bypass) and the day Bill was laid off. I also recall the day I got the phone call from my Dr. regarding PCOS (on the roof at work) with amazing clarity.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

Hmmm...this is tough. I have to be honest, 2010 isn't full of fond memories so things like "achievements" aren't at the forefront of my mind. I did achieve some successes at work and got my best performance review ever, and I also painted an entire room on my own. Those were two big achievements!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Being selfish about the hardship of having a spouse out of work - I wasn't always as supportive as I could be regarding that. I also continued to let family members get to me...I've been working on realizing that no matter what I do, some folks will never care or be supportive. Yet I still continue to be disappointed. When will I learn!?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing new - however I did get some diagnoses and get treated for issues that have been going on for quite some time. I had several months of physical therapy for neck/back pain and was diagnosed with PCOS near the end of the year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Well, there wasn't a whole lot of shopping this year and the thing I'm most excited about hasn't arrived yet. My brother introduced me to Quo Vadis planners and I've ordered a pair for us. I was also proud of the Christmas gifts we did this year on a limited budget (details to come)!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Well, let's keep in mind that my husband has been dealing with a wife who went off birth control way back in March and has had subsequent wacky hormone levels that were only identified in Nov. And all this during his own trials and tribulations of unemployment! My brother gets an honorable mention for always knowing the right thing to say.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

A local school district comes to mind...

14. Where did most your money go?

The mortgage, without a doubt. We would have liked to save more, however I am satisfied with our fiscal performance in the face of an unexpectedly reduced cash inflow.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Honestly? This year finally ending. It wasn't a great year and I'm delighted to see it go and look forward to good things in 2011. I'm an eternal optimist.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Lady Gaga - between Glee and dancing to it on Dance Central (via Kinect) that will make me think of this year!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

a) Well, when compared directly to this time last year sadder (but maybe more hopeful about the future?)

b) About the same.

c) HA, poorer for sure!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

I think I did a good job being more active this past year, I do wish I'd done more around the house and spent more time with my parents.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Spending unnecessarily - it just stressed me out. I also wish I'd spent less time worrying about what family members were saying behind my back and being upset about lack of support from key areas of our life...I can't change people, just how I react to them.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

I was in Houston visiting my brother, unfortunately work and funds prevented my husband from going and this was perhaps a mistake. I felt guilty, he felt lonely, and that overshadowed most of the weekend.

21. Did you fall in love with 2010?

Yes. With Sheldon Cooper.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Oh, so many... I love TV. We never missed How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, The Soup, The Office, 30 Rock, assorted reality tv shows...I think a shorter list would include my least favorite tv programs.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I wouldn't say hate, perhaps disappointed...but I don't think there is anyone new to add to the list. However this is an unbloggable topic so I can't get into details.

24. What was the best book you read?

I read a lot of books this year, the Kindle makes it easy (too easy!) to download books. The ones that stick out are the Hunger Games trilogy. Those were the only books I insisted on sending to a friend! I'm also enjoying At Home, by Bill Bryson (big fan of his) which I'm reading right now, and was a fan of the Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy (must read for Victorian era enthusiasts), Never Let Me Go, and Hex Hall...among many others. I need to do a post dedicated entirely to my kindle habit I believe.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Nothing much new this year, the older I get the less time and patience I have for discovering new music and I stick mainly to top 40 and old favorites!

26. What did you want and get?

I've always wanted a snuggie and it was everything I dreamed!

27. What did you want and not get?

An iPad, of course! Maybe in 2011 (hint hint)!

28. What was your favorite film of 2010?

Well, so far I'd go with Harry Potter...however I'm planning on seeing Black Swan tomorrow and I hear excellent things about that.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 32 and I did the same thing I've done for the past several years...nothing. It's the busiest time at work and I don't think I've actually celebrated a birthday in 8 years now.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

My husband getting a new job? Getting a new job myself? I think the underlying theme would be feeling more secure.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2010?

Business. Black. Grey. Occasionally jewel tones. For 2011 I'm looking to incorporate my snuggie into casual Fridays though.

32. What kept you sane?

My brother, my dog, chocolate, salt and vinegar potato chips, friends (both "in real life" and "in blog life").

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

HA HA HA...would anyone like to discuss the current state of our appropriation structure and the fact it hasn't changed since the 1920's when budgets were, for all intents and purposes, invented and the fact that there haven't been many changes to that law since? No? I was also mightily irritate by the sudden awareness of continuing resolutions, like they just happened THIS YEAR when it's not even all that late (seriously, I've had a full year CR in the past and the usual date for a final budget is about April) and they occur each and every year. This is a topic near and dear to my heart!

34. Who did you miss?

Same folks I always do, my brother, my extended family in Chicago, friends in OK and WA.

35. Who was the best new person you met?

Well, we never did get to meet face to face but I've gotten to know TUWABVB this year! Missed her when I was in Austin last summer:( I've gotten to know a lot of fantastic ladies via twitter and blogs over the past few years and for that I'm truly grateful.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

Life moves on. Some people you can always count on. And if your friends (or family) aren't there for you at your worst, they don't deserve you at your best.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I will survive!

Gray Skies Are Going To Clear Up...

2010-12-20T09:50:00.002-07:00

Well, with 350 days of sunshine, that's pretty much a given in Tucson.
However they are metaphorically clearing up, as this morning Bill received a job offer for the AP US History Teacher position he interviewed for on Friday! He obviously accepted:)

We're toasting with various cough medicine remedies and hot tea as I have come down with his cold just as his is waning. Despite the coughing, I'm still wearing a Happy Face and sending plenty of smiley emoticons into the twitter/facebook/blogger universe in celebration!

Man, how would we have shared this news before cell phones and the internet?

Teenage Wasteland...

2010-12-19T21:20:00.002-07:00

As someone who checks her twitter stream almost immediately upon waking each morning, this blog, Tweetage Wasteland, really hits home. While the internet has enhanced my life in many ways, connecting me to friends from the past, family across the continent, and new friends I would have never met...some days it does seem like it controls my life!

It's interesting to reflect on life before the internet. I may be showing my age, but I didn't have an email account until I first went to college. We used to check our email on DOS-like computers in labs scattered around campus. Cell phones weren't in popular use so we'd leave messages on voice mail, call Mr. Moviephone for movie-times, and catch up up with each other over Panera Bread Co. rather than Facebook walls.

What's your favorite pre-Internet memory?

Why My Brother Is My Best Friend

2010-12-15T21:38:00.003-07:00

The people that attended my wedding were lucky enough to hear the most TOUCHING speech ever given at a wedding (in my unbiased opinion) which was also the only time, during the entire day, that I cried.

Here is proof.

I can tell you the exact moment this happened...somewhere in between talking about how he knew Bill would fit in just fine with our family because upon his first visit to my parent's house he selected a particularly nerdy sci-fi book from the shelf and officially welcoming Bill to our clan, my brother discussed a little bit about our own relationship. How I'd always been older despite his best efforts at aging each year. How we'd grown up moving from town to town. And how, despite the difficulty in moving each year, in starting new schools, in making new friends...he always knew he was doing so with his best friend. And that's when I started crying, both then and now as I remember his words.

I tell you this, so that maybe you can understand how close we are and how no matter how far apart we've lived over the years, we are still best friends. We don't always talk on the phone as often as we'd like (what with jobs and a strict tv schedule and all) but I don't think a week goes by that we don't email, text, or communicate in some other fashion. Tonight was a good old fashioned phone call, and during it I recapped some of the info I'd gotten from the Drs. I'd emailed him a summary but we hadn't had a chance to discuss yet...he reminded me about how he'd told me about all the other people at his work with fertility drug induced twins (there are a LOT) which helps keep things in perspective. And when I started to go down the "pitiful me" rabbit hole about all the pregnancies and babies that were popping up all over facebook he stopped me with one sentence, "Those people all went to Windsor."

And I LAUGHED. Even though it's not true and I have beautiful friends with gorgeous babies (and truthfully I was just having a pity-me moment). But that's just what I needed...to be reminded of the HS we went to, which was out in the sticks and where most of our graduating classes were knocked up within months of graduation day. If they waited that long. We made some good friends in high school, but if there is a better representation of the following quote from Tommy Boy then I haven't found it yet.

Tommy: You know a lot of people go to college for seven years.
Richard: I know, they're called doctors.

Disclaimer: Pregnant and Mommy friends - please don't stop posting facebook photos, I love seeing them! And don't worry about upsetting your non-pregnant friends, I hear this type of thing is perfectly normal and now each time I get in a slump I will remember my brother's words, smile, and go back to liking your photos.

Tech Support

2010-12-14T20:12:00.002-07:00

Did you know that Gilt will be selling a Volkswagen Jetta on their site each day for the next three days? Well, tomorrow it's only available via the Gilt iPhone app, but all in all three cars will be sold at the low, low price of $5,995. And because my Dad enjoys saving money and buying cars (two hobbies that seem mutually exclusive) he decided he needed three shots at snagging one of these cars.

Now, my Mom is pretty computer savvy..for a Mom. I mean, she does shop on Gilt and One King's Lane as well as more traditional e-retailers. She'll reliably respond to email within 2-3 weeks (which is still faster than friends I've had in the past!) And my brother and I got her an iPod Touch a few years ago for her to use at the gym and it's sat safely in my parents office since that time.

Until TONIGHT.

My Mom called around 6 PM to have me help her install the Gilt app on her phone, and after explaining the VW Jetta sale I understood the sudden interest in this previously abandoned piece of technology. I was initially excited that after describing the "App Store" app she successfully located it, and from there it was just a few clicks (no, click the magnifying glass...no at the bottom, yes THERE) OK several clicks before we found the desired app and were on our way to downloading it. But something had gone terribly wrong! The iPod was frozen! A quick reboot later and we were on our way.

But success was not yet ours, the Gilt app required the updated operating system. So I walked my Mom through hooking the iPod touch up to the computer and negotiating through iTunes to find and install the new OS. I had her call me back when it completed...and so one hour later we were back on the phone with our goal in sight! She navigated through the app store, found the Gilt app, went to download it, REMEMBERED her password, and...OH NO! Her credit card info was out of date. Because, as you may remember, she hadn't used her iPod since we purchased it for her years ago.

So then we attempted to update that piece of the puzzle. After a few frustrating minutes for both of us, I finally thought to have her go back to the computer so she didn't have to fuss with the touch keyboard. We successfully updated her profile and credit card info, went back to the iPod, and DOWNLOADED THE APP. Then choirs sang.

The Gilt app was still downloading (yes, with the little blue bar underneath it Suzie) when we finally hung up so I'm going to call in the AM to ensure it's working and she has her Gilt profile saved. And if needed, stop by the retirement community before work to check it myself. But I think she's set to make an attempt for the Jetta tomorrow at 10 AM LOCAL TIME. Can you believe after all of that she almost forgot the Noon sale was east coast time?

I have to say, this is the longest we've talked on the phone in....forever. Who says technology doesn't bring families closer?

Ovary Update

2010-12-13T18:44:00.002-07:00

First off, how nice are all of YOU?! In the time since I updated on the state of my ovaries (more stagnant than a lame duck Congress) I've received so many good wishes in the form of comments, emails, facebook messages, tweets, ... you get the picture. While it was hard to share something so personal it has helped IMMENSELY to get that off my chest and talk about it. Even if that talking involves typing away on my computer! I was actually able to catch up with a friend in person last week and talk not only in person, but compare notes on our similar situations. It was such a relief, because up until that post the only people I felt I had anything in common with were posting on those pregnancy "TTC" (trying to conceive for the lay person) internet boards and used a lot of phrases like "baby dust" and "DPO". I mean, BABY DUST? We're not fairies, folks.

Mentally I'm feeling a lot better and have even taken to making ovary jokes around the homestead. None are funny so I'll spare you. I did go to my specialist appointment today, armed with my lab results and radiology report and based on that and my history with her she agreed it was a pretty strong case for PCOS. She didn't want to start me immediately on Clomid (her claim was that ye olde ovaries are just fine and I didn't want a "litter"), and rather wrote a prescription for Metformin which is actually a drug for insulin resistance. She mentioned that this can commonly get all those pesky hormones back on track and playing nicely again, as well as treat the insulin-related side-effects of PCOS. So that's where we'll start with this official "fertility treatment" journey. She also gave me a recommendation for a Fertility Endocrinologist as the next step, if needed. I went ahead and called his office today, figuring it couldn't hurt to start down that path since it's not all baby dust and roses over here. First of all, this won't be covered by insurance (boo hiss!) but I decided to have an initial appointment to find out options for pregnancy as well as general health. It may be that I have to periodically visit a regular endocrinologist to ensure my hormones stay level. Second of all, the next possible appointment is NEXT FEBRUARY so I went ahead and booked it. I figure that gives us a few months on my new drug and that I'd be getting antsy to get stuck with needles by then anyway. I better check his cancellation policy, just in case. Don't want to get stuck with a bill if we don't need it!

So at this point you will only be subjected to updates if: (1) I have a strong reaction to Metformin and need to whine about that online or (2) this is actually successful and we can share the good news! Until next February that is, in which I test the waters of an actual fertility specialist and the indignities that are sure to accompany that visit.

Is Christmas Ruined?

2010-12-12T08:32:00.001-07:00

For some Tulsans, it just may be...a friend shared this with me recently and it's too funny not to post here. As a former resident of Tulsa I can safely say that changing the name of the parade has no impact on the spirit of the holidays for me!

Check out the click from Jon Stewart here:
Tulsa Holiday Parade

I hope that clip adds some humor to your Monday morning!

Weekend Recap

2010-12-05T20:23:00.002-07:00

I wanted to check in before I head to Dallas tomorrow, and thank many of you who have sent such kind thoughts regarding this. You have no idea how much that meant to me. I'm so excited for all the people in my life that are expecting (and there are quite a few!) and while this is a difficult hurdle for hubs and I that doesn't decrease the joy I have for any little bundles of joys my friends and family are expecting.

This was a short weekend for me since I went into the office on Saturday from about 8-3. I had a lot of projects to work on and since I'm out of town all week I wanted to get caught up before I got ANOTHER week behind. Does anyone else feel like they get punished for taking time off or traveling for work? It takes me twice as long to catch up as the time I am gone! Tomorrow I head to Dallas, TX for a training conference. I'm excited for the classes I signed up for as well as catching up with some of my intern friends of yore. A group of us started together about 8 years ago at various locations and came together for classes over a two year internship...and now we're training our own interns and catching up at meetings and conferences one or two times a year! It makes me feel so...adult. I'll also get to catch up with a college friend and watch my Alma mater, the mighty Golden Hurricane, take on Oklahoma State with the Dallas alumni club.

We're getting into the local basketball scene and saw the UofA Cats take on OU today (and win!) and we had so much fun we bought a mini-pack of tix to the next four home games! That's our Christmas present to ourselves and will give us some fun dates over the next several weeks. Tonight we're just catching up on the DVR and I'm packing for Dallas. I actually have two trips to Texas this month since I'll head down to Houston to spend Christmas weekend with my brother. It's going to be a busy month and I feel like I have something scheduled almost every weekend...just the way I like it.

Congrats to the Sun Devils!

2010-12-03T00:10:00.004-07:00

Who have superior kicking ability:) Tonight we went to the Territorial Cup between ASU and UofA with our friends that are ASU alumni. The game started off slow...really, really slow. ASU scored the lone field goal to get on the board and we felt like we were watching a series of bloopers more than anything else. However something must have happened during half time, because both teams came back and actually began moving the ball and, more importantly, SCORING POINTS.

The game came down to double overtime and the terrible kicking ended up deciding the fate of the game in ASU's favor. We're disappointed the hometown team didn't win, but glad for our Sun Devil friends (including Miss E and Kristabella!)

A point of clarification on my support of the Cats. Growing up we moved around a LOT, and each place we moved my Dad would always root for the home team. So over the years I've lived in many places (NYC, NY; San Juan, Puerto Rico; South Orange, NJ; Tulsa, OK; Denver, CO; Coatesville, PA; St. Louis, MO; Tulsa again; Norwich, VT; Seattle, WA; and now Tucson)....so I've rooted for a lot of teams over the years! I've adopted my Dad's attitude of 'root, root, rooting for the home team' and since we're now in Tucson we are now Cats fans! Though I do support all Arizona teams;)

Not the Phone Call I Wanted

2010-12-01T18:10:00.002-07:00

Disclaimer: This post is a downer. Just want to give you a head's up and allow you the opportunity to skip the rest of this entry.

This has not been a good week. I mean, we've had our share of bad days, bad weeks, and disappointing news over the past few years. And something better is always around the corner, I know this. So I know we just have to sit tight and get through this. Still, it's hard. Well, enough with the the ambiguous intro - let's dive into the specific reasons for life's suckiness.

First off, you may recall Bill was laid off from his teaching job in May. That sucked, but we were sure it was just temporary. It wasn't...but then remember in late September when Bill was offered a job teaching at a new school? That was when he got in the car accident en route to the interview, ring a bell now? Then we found out funding was tight so they couldn't bring him on until the new semester. Not the greatest news but understandable. Well, we found out yesterday that funding is just so tight that they have rescinded the job offer and won't be bringing him on. At All. He had been calling and leaving messages for several days, interested in when he was to come in and sign his contract and wanting to sit in on a few classes to see where the kids were. The principal finally returned his call yesterday to let him know the job is no more, they aren't going to bring anyone on mid-year and are going to re-announce the job in April with a start date of next Fall...he has to reapply to be considered.

At this news I said some very bad words I won't repeat here. The news is disappointing, yes, but I am SO TIRED of the way this district handles its employees. It's infuriating, and I'm sure the administration didn't JUST FIND OUT about the budget issues. So now we're back to square negative infinity with the job search while Bill continues working part time at Best Buy.

I received another disturbing call yesterday which will require some background info. Earlier this year, in about April (it was shortly before our anniversary) we had some long talks about babies and starting a family. It wasn't the first time this had come up and it had always been in the 'pending category', but we decided to move it up to the 'current project' category. So I stopped taking my birth control and scheduled a checkup with my Primary Care doc, as well as ceasing all other drugs and topical (yet effective) acne meds. I didn't share on the blog, but I did discuss with a few close friends, my brother, and my parents. While I would have loved to wait and surprise my parents I needed some advice on what to do if I was knocked up at the time I was offered the job in Temple and whether I would need to disclose any upcoming maternity leave needs to a new boss. Obviously I was getting ahead of myself on both counts as I neither got the job nor the baby.

I waited until after the end of fiscal year, the holiday my year revolves around, before getting a little concerned about how long this whole baby project was taking. September also marked by 32nd birthday and I wasn't getting any younger. So that was the month I began the whole charting activity. Every morning I woke up promptly at 5 AM and took my temperature and plotted it on the graph. Days wore on and I became convinced September had been my lucky month! However the home tests didn't confirm my suspicions so I went in for a much more accurate blood test. Which was also...negative. Last week I had an appointment with my Primary Care doc to discuss and thanks to my elderly status and diligent graphing she ordered a series of blood tests as well as an ultrasound. The worst part of that whole experience was the requirement to drink 40 oz of water 1 1/2 hours before the test and resist the urge to use the bathroom until afterward. I mean, given that situation you'd think they'd have some sort of express check in line you could use rather than having to wait behind the guy with some very lengthy questions about his insurance coverage!

Well, all that background is to let you know that yesterday I received a voice mail from my actual Doctor telling me to call her back because she had the results of my tests and scans and needed to discuss them with me. You guys, the Doctor never makes you call back if it's good news...heck, my Doctor doesn't even call it's always a nurse. So I called back and left a message...and then called again 4 hours later. Then I called again this morning because at this point I was convinced that the news was so dire she was avoiding talking to me. She finally called midday today, and told me the news as I stood on the roof of one of our buildings at work. No, this was not a melodramatic reaction to bad news - I happened to have at a meeting which requires you to go across the roof to get to the office (it's an old building). She told me that the scans and tests indicate I have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which makes it harder to get pregnant since essentially the eggs never leave the nest, as it were. The nest being the ovary.

So now I'm waiting to see my regular lady-doctor, armed with all my diagnostic information. The likely outcome, according to both my Primary Care doc and Dr. WebMD, is some sort of prescription. Probably for clomid and maybe something else. I don't intend for this to become an infertility blog, but since this is something that's going on in my life I wanted to share it. Depending on how long and complex this process gets - I may start another site and document the ongoing state of my ovaries over there.

So now I'm just waiting and trying to keep positive that things will work out, hopefully sooner rather than later. Because really? I've had enough bad news this week to fulfill this year's quota.

Happy Slapsgiving!

2010-11-25T20:49:00.003-07:00

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day, whether you celebrated with turkey or by slapping someone right in the face! I did neither - turkey allergy you see. But my Mom's turkey smelled wonderful and she made some chicken for me so I could enjoy some poultry in the food free-for-all. Not that I really would have gone hungry with everything else we had. We had Turkey, chicken, two types of stuffing (gluten-free and glutenous), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin bread pudding. And I am STUFFED. We did try to offset the indulgence with a post-feast walk around their neighborhood. We went to the dog park where Belle met a new friend, Coffee. I think this is the most relaxed she's ever been at a dog park, she's either getting more comfortable or that tryptophan is powerful stuff.

I am so thankful for so many things, and despite some of the hard times this year it has been so much easier to deal with thanks to good friends and family. Whether those friends are those that I know 'in person' or those of you that I know primarily via our blogs or twitter. I hope everyone had a great day filled with food and family and that you get to sleep it all off tomorrow! I generally work the day after Thanksgiving since so many people are out of the office, it's probably my single most productive day of the year! Is anyone braving the crowds to score Black Friday deals? According to my husband people were already lining up on WEDNESDAY, so if you're reading this at home you're already behind!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

2010-11-22T08:15:00.002-07:00

I found this recipe online and printed it off, and forgot where I found it! I'll try to find the original source soon, but I wanted to post the recipe since I have had such great success with it and so many others have requested it! I originally tried it because Bill loves pumpkin flavored anything, and I used to hate pumpkin. Though this might be because the traditional pumpkin food - pumpkin pie- usually contains two of my worst food allergies, gluten and eggs. This is an allergy friendly pumpkin bread that we BOTH love. I've also used the recipe to make cupcakes with a maple cream cheese frosting, also a winner. I've posted both recipes below for you to try!

Pumpkin Bread/Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine in a large bowl (I use my mixer bowl):
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup grade B maple syrup*
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs (I use an egg replacer since I'm allergic)

Whisk together in a separate bowl:
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill all purpose mix)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (this is generally found in organic aisle or gluten free section of store)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and stir until smooth. I run my mixer on the low speed with the paddle attachment and just add it in until it's all combined.

For bread: Grease an 8.5 inch loaf pan. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour. Test with a toothpick.

For cupcakes: Put cupcake liners in a cupcake/muffin pan. Fill about 3/4 full - this will make about 12-14. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon Natural Maple Flavor
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter on low to medium speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

For you cupcakes - once they have cooled (at least 20-30 minutes), frost with the maple frosting. I also chopped up a toffee chocolate bar and sprinkled on top.

*You can really use any maple syrup, but I recommend Vermont Green Mountain Sugar House for all your maple syrup needs. I've been ordering an annual supply of Grade B (for cooking) and Grade A Light-Fancy (for pancakes, etc) since I moved away from this Maple Syrup Mecca.

A Walk in the Woods

2010-11-21T20:01:00.003-07:00

I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend! We had a busy weekend hanging out with friends and family. I have a standing date with my Mom every Saturday morning for Zumba in Green Valley. Then later in the day Bill and I met up with friends for Mexican food and Harry Potter. If you're a fan of the books and/or movies, you have to check out the newest chapter! I thought it was really well done, and we're going to try and re-read the books and watch all the movies before part 2 of the Deathly Hallows next summer. This is my favorite time of the year for movies, there are so many good ones coming out we're sure to be busy at the movie theater every weekend!

Sunday morning we slept in...until my Mom called to see if we wanted to go hiking down in Tubac, AZ. She and my Dad have been wanting to walk the Anza Trail from the Tubac Presidio down to the Tumacacori Mission. We packed up Belle and headed down south, the trail is 5 miles long so we left one car at the mission and drove up to Tubac to start the hike. None of us were up for a 10 mile round trip hike! The trail itself is pretty easy, it goes through the woods (not something you see a lot in Southern Arizona) and crosses a small river twice. You have to keep a sharp eye out for trail markers but other than that it's a great walk and we're planning to explore more of the Anza trail. Once we finished our hike we walked around Tubac for a bit and ate a late lunch before heading home.

Now we're working on laundry and other chores we avoided today! This week will be busy with a short work week and massive food preparation - we're having a Thanksgiving feast at work on Tuesday (somehow the gluten free girl got assigned dressing) and then Thanksgiving dinner at my parents on Thursday. We're also looking forward to Jim Gaffigan in Phoenix next weekend! What are your Thanksgiving plans?

The Greatest Work Key Fob Ever!

2010-11-19T22:01:00.004-07:00

I've been sitting on this post for almost a month, you see I didn't want to spoil the surprise for a friend and her birthday wasn't until Nov 14th! I would have posted then but I was out of town learning about resource allocation methods. However, now I am finally able to share the best work key fob ever! Two 30-somethings agree on this statement!

I originally saw this in one of the online home decor mags (maybe Rue?) and bookmarked the etsy seller immediately. You see, I have some problems with my work keys. First, I have a lot of work keys (my office, various secure filing cabinets, backup keys to other offices and filing cabinets of other important files) so I keep those keys on a separate key ring. I'm always searching for the keys in the depths of my beloved giant purses. Second, I always lock my office when I'm not there because 2 months into my job it was burglarized and my wallet was stolen. Now I never leave it unsecured and I'm stuck carrying around all my very important keys. So when I checked out this key fob and saw how inexpensive it was I decided to order one! I went for the sassy leopard print that was originally shown in the magazine, even though I usually stick with safe blacks and grays. I also have a friend that is a huge fan of leopard, and since she had a birthday coming up I decided to order her a sassy leopard key fob as well. Even though I was unsure of her work-key situation, I figured I could risk the $5 bucks. And this is coming from a pretty risk-adverse person.

Well, the risk paid off! I have LOVED this, you can wear it on your wrist so now I can carry a variety of pens rather than my keys with me wherever I go! And the larger size makes it easier to find in my purse. AND my friend loves hers for exactly the same reasons! It is seriously a must if you are the owner of several work-related keys.

So if you are a victim of excessive work keys, or have a loved one that is, I highly recommend this item. It comes in a variety of fun prints and is well made, and the etsy seller shipped it quickly. I think it would make a great stocking stuffer!

Spaaaahhhhh Day

2010-11-12T07:41:00.003-07:00

I took advantage of a day off this week (Veterans Day) and booked a facial at Bliss. I had purchased a discounted gift certificate a few months ago on Gilt and had been waiting for a chance to use it. I originally intended a post-Fiscal Year destress visit but October was so hectic it didn't work out. However the timing ended up being perfect since I've been working 12 hour days for two weeks while my boss vacations in Hawaii.

I've also been weaning myself off some of my harsher topical acne medications and while my skin hasn't been terrible, I've had more breakouts and blackheads than usual. I'm sure the recent stress in my life hasn't helped either! My coupon was for the triple oxygen treatment and I ended up adding on the "breakout busting" mask. My skin already feels less congested and looks so much clearer. My esthetician, Jeni, did an awesome job and I'd recommend visiting her for all your facial needs if you're in Scottsdale. She also recommended their new mask, glamglow, so I'll be checking that out over the next few weeks.

If you're not a member of Gilt Group you need to check it out! It's perfect for holiday shopping (or a little something for yourself)! Join here!

Happy Veterans Day

2010-11-11T18:57:00.004-07:00

A heartfelt thanks to any Veterans out there! Earlier this week we received patches to hand out to our Veteran employees and out of 24 folks in our department, 16 had served. That's a lot of dedication in our little department!

To commemorate this Veterans Day I thought I'd share the new VA Blog, VAntage Point, with you. Check it out, whether you're a Veteran or not!

OOOOWWWW!!!

2010-11-03T18:56:00.003-07:00

That yell you heard about 7:30 AM Pacific Time was the sound of my fingers getting slammed in the car door by my husband. Which incidentally makes driving to work very difficult.

I spent most of the day typing one-handed and sitting in meetings with an ice pack. Three fingers on my left hand still throb and are swollen but I've regained the use of it (mostly). At least, as one of my employees mentioned, it wasn't my "signing hand".

Twittering, Facebook, and blogging are going to be light for a few days.

Hallowaaaahhhhhhh

2010-10-26T19:21:00.002-07:00

This is a post born of frustration. You see, Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. Part of what I look forward to is our Annual Halloween Costume Contest at work. Our department has participated and won the group contest for several years running now. We began planning two weeks ago and had narrowed down the ideas to the top 3, then the staff had voted for their favorite.

Anyway, now this entire activity has been canceled. Why? Because one person made a decision on their own without checking with the rest of the group, and then created an entirely too dramatic scene when we tried to suggest a way to incorporate that decision (sorry I have to be vague). And seriously, they had such an over-reaction, to a situation THEY caused, it ceased to be fun. So we've canceled the group entry. It wasn't fun anymore, and a lot of us were participating to support the staff and it was like we couldn't win no matter what we did.

Anyway, I'm now in a crabby mood for the rest of the week and don't even have this fun event to look forward to on Friday.

Homecoming Weekend!

2010-10-24T19:00:00.004-07:00

It's the end of another weekend, which I think most will agree was too short! Bill was able to get Saturday off so we spent a productive morning at the mall picking up a few items for our Halloween costumes and I found some new jeans on sale at Banana Republic. That made up for the harrowing visit to Forever 21. We're pretty much set with our costumes now and I'll unveil those next weekend!

Saturday afternoon we went down to the UofA to grab some dinner and a few beers (hard cider for me) before the game. This was the first Cats game we've been to and the area around the University was crowded and festive with red and navy! There were a few pockets of purple (for the Huskies - the opponent) which reminded me of Seattle. We had great seats for the game, and after a worrisome start - turning over the ball for an early UW touchdown - UofA came back to win it! We left about halfway through the last quarter, convinced the Cats could maintain their 30 point lead.

Today has been a relaxing day finishing up a few things around the house and running errands. I finished the touchup painting in the dining room so I'll be able to move the furniture back in this week from the living room where it's been for the last TWO WEEKS. I'll also be able to post some before/after pics of the winning gray color! I had to venture to Michael's to pick up some items for the Halloween Pumpkin decorating contest we're running in our department this week. Between that and the costume contest at the hospital it will be a festive week! The staff voted on a few costume ideas including: Snow White and the 7 Dorks, Hell's Accountants, Accounting Beauty Pageant, Robin Hood - Accountants in Tights. I'll reveal the winner on Friday! Finance has historically dominated the group contest category and I have no doubt we'll win again this year.

Next weekend will bring more Halloween festivities, we're road tripping up to Tempe with some friends for the ASU game on Saturday and we'll be heading to the Scottsdale Block Party that evening. I'm so excited to share our costumes with everyone! Are you dressing up next weekend?

Home Improvements

2010-10-18T19:19:00.002-07:00

I spent my Columbus Day weekend (yes, a 3 day weekend) painting the dining room. Literally, this was a three day project and those were a LONG three days. On Saturday I moved the furniture out, moved all the dishes and knick knacks, and cleaned from top to bottom. Sunday I spent taping...which took HOURS longer than I anticipated. I used Frog Tape (it's green painters tape) and when all is said and done I loved it. It went on well and when I took it down a few days later there wasn't pulling or bleeding. Anyway, back to Saturday...after taping and a quick trip to Ace I primed the walls. I'm not sure I needed to but since I painted swatches on the wall I wanted to make sure they were covered up.

Monday I got up early to start putting the actual color on the walls! I wanted to do two coats and managed to get it all done in one day. Which I accomplished! I didn't go to bed until about Midnight but I got it done! I still need to touch up some drips on the trip (and ceiling), move everything into the room and I can call this project complete. This was the first time I painted a room and I was nervous about screwing it up, but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! And I think I got all my exercise in for a month in that weekend!

I'll post pictures as soon as I move everything back into the room!

Happy (Belated) New Fiscal Year!

2010-10-06T20:28:00.002-07:00

Whoa, it's already a week into October? Where has the time gone? As you know September is my 'crazy' month at work and between that and about a million things going wrong at home I haven't had time to sit down and blog. So here are some bullets to catch up on the past few weeks and hopefully I can resume more regular writing soon!

I turned 32! It was a good birthday (I only worked ONE day that weekend)!
I've started going to Zumba on Saturdays with my Mom.
Bill got a job interview with a middle school - YAY!
Bill was run off the road en route to that interview.
I picked him up from the scene of the accident (after the tow truck came), and drove him to the interview. (He was fine by the way)
Then we went to my parent's house to borrow my Dad's old truck.
Bill got the job offer the next day!
We found out later that he wouldn't actually start teaching until January, 2011.
We researched cars and bought a new Subaru Outback last weekend!
After 6 months car payment-free, we'll start a new payment plan next month.
My dog turned 3 years old!
The fiscal year ended! Does your favorite government agency have it's actual appropriated budget or is it operating under a Continuing Resolution?
I've chosen the perfect shade of gray for the dining room and have actually purchased paint and supplies!

So it's been a roller coaster of a few weeks. Some highs and some lows, but in the end I think we're coming out ahead. In the next few weeks we have some UofA games to look forward to, some home decorating projects I'll try to document, and the weather is FINALLY starting to cool off. Happy Fiscal Year 2011 everyone!

A Day in My Life

2010-09-14T21:00:00.003-07:00

I've been enjoying the 'day in a life' posts a lot of bloggers have done and since I'm tired and can't be bothered uploading pictures or posting original content I shall do the same. Maybe it will explain my chronic exhaustion!

Anyway, below isn't a typical "day in my life" except for the month of September. The joyous month where I suffer from the End of Fiscal Year Virus and generally have a lot of projects due.

4:45 - Alarm goes off and coffee starts brewing downstairs. I hit snooze.
4:50 - I go ahead and get up and turn off the snooze and back up alarms (set for 5 and 5:10)
4:50-5:10 - I shower and put in my 'eyes' (contacts)
5:10 - Time for some coffee (Decaf Starbucks Espresso with Peppermint Mocha creamer), green juice (juiced from Kale, Celery, ginger, and a peach Sunday night) and my morning berry smoothie. I also catch up on twitter and facebook while I drink my breakfast
5:45-6:45 Dry and straighten my hair, makeup, get dressed, make my lunch and leave for work
7:30 - Arrive at work! Catch up on east coast emails and send out the daily update to my staff (absences, reminders, quote of the day)
8:00-10:00 - Today I had a two hour Covey Webinar. Our organization has recently contracted with Franklin Covey to provide face to face and web based training. It's pretty good!
10:00-11:00 - Emailing back and forth with DC about my project and follow up projects - STRESS!
11:00-12:30 - I heat up lunch (leftover chicken tikka masala) and dial into the national CFO call. Today gets extended pass the usual 1 hour.
12:30-2:30 - Preparing for our monthly staff meeting, paperwork, other misc tasks.
2:30-4:00 - Meeting with the other managers in our department and our Education liaison to plan for the FY 2011 Retreat we're putting on in October.
4:00-4:30 - Scheduling interviews for an open position next week and official end of the day.
4:30-7:30 - Continuing to work on my project, it's due tomorrow! Finally finish and wrap up a few other things. Time to head home.
8:15 - HOME! Change into PJ's, let the dog out, and eat some leftover jambalaya for dinner.
8:30-9:15 - Prepare coffee for the AM, catch up on blogs, twitter, and Facebook, write this post!
9:30 - BEDTIME!

The days are packed right now and it's really tough to be planning these kickoff events and developmental activities when we're in the final crunch for the fiscal year! The end is in sight though...just about two more weeks to go!

San Diego Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-12T18:32:00.010-07:00

I've obviously been back from San Diego for a week now, but I'm just now getting caught up with work and laundry and blogging! I drove out there Saturday morning with my parents and after checking into our hotel we headed right to Mission Beach.

Following a late afternoon walk along the beach, we headed downtown to check out the Tall Ships festival and grab some dinner. Then it was off to bed for an early wake up call. Sunday brought a full day at the San Diego Zoo! My mom had done a lot of research ahead of time so she had us on the bus tour first thing so we could get the lay of the land and preview the areas we wanted to explore further. Following the tour we took the "skyfari" across to the Polar Bears and spent the next 6 hours walking from animal to animal. I'm not sure which was my favorite, the baby Panda was cute but so were the dozen or so snoozing koala bears. I liked them all!

After leaving the zoo we headed for La Jolla to eat dinner at Georges at the Cove. Our view included frolicking seals and a gorgeous Pacific Ocean sunset. This place also has excellent raspberry mojitos!
Sunday was our last morning in San Diego so we drove down to Coronado to check out the Hotel del Coronado and have one last walk on the beach. Despite the short visit this was a relaxing trip and just what I needed going into my most stressful month of work! Next time I hope I can head back for a longer trip!

I Love Lamp

2010-09-04T07:59:00.002-07:00

I also love San Diego, where I'm headed for the holiday weekend!
I'm visiting with my parents while Bill stays home in Tucson (BOO!) and will spend the next few days on the beach, at the zoo, and enjoying the cool 70 degree temps. That's winter weather for this desert gal!

See ya Tuesday!

Just Call Me "Bleeding Gums Murphy"

2010-09-03T19:23:00.002-07:00

Because I went to the dentist today after canceling my last appointment and HOO BOY was that a mistake. Canceling that is, not going in today. I have been religious about going for a cleaning every six months for the past several years, but before you give me a "Flosser of the Year" award, please understand this fanatical dedication to dental hygiene came after a piece of my tooth LITERALLY fell out of my mouth. On my birthday no less.

It's actually kind of a funny story...about 5 or 6 years ago, when I still lived in Seattle, I was getting ready for my birthday party which my fantastic friend Weslie had planned. As I finished brushing and flossing my teeth I noticed the floss kept tugging on something. Thinking it was an errant popcorn kernel I kept at it until LO, A PIECE OF TOOTH came out of my mouth. As it was the weekend there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it, so I put the tooth particle in some milk, finished getting ready, and headed to Weslie's house for some food and Mike's Hard Lemonade. The party, which moved to a fun bowling place in Capital Hill, was fantastic and distracted me from the fact my teeth were literally falling out of my mouth.

Monday came, along with a frantic search of BCBS dental providers and I blindly chose an office near my apartment. Despite being told the tooth particle couldn't be saved I brought it with me to my appointment. Where I learned I had such extensive tooth decay (something to do with 8+ years of no dentist visits) that it had eaten through part of my tooth. And, by the way, I had a crapload of cavities! I did luck out with a fantastic, and very nice dentist who laid out a plan to fix me up and did so without any pain. Over the next several months I went in and had each quadrant of my mouth repaired, he was even able to fix my original broken tooth with just a filling as opposed to the much more expensive cap. We finally got my teeth back from the clutches of evil tarter and ever since then I have religiously gone to my 6 month cleaning...if only to avoid the indignity of having another tooth (or tooth particle) fall out of my mouth again.

Anyway, back to today's visit. I had to cancel my Dec 2009 appointment due to a scheduling conflict and never got around to making a new one. Until now, over 8 months later. I was convinced I was going to need a root canal or at least a filling, but it turned out everything was fine. Though my gums are a little tender from the vigorous stabbing of the dental hygienist. Turns out it's a lot harder to move a year of tarter than six months!

Sonoma Gluten Free Wraps

2010-08-26T03:05:00.000-07:00

One thing I've missed since eliminating gluten from my diet is any type of sandwich. Most gluten free breads aren't that great, and once I discovered I was also allergic to eggs most of those g-free breads were off the table anyway! Corn tortillas have been a lifesaver, but they're too small to make any kind of wrap.

Then I discovered Sonoma Gluten Free wraps at Whole Foods about 3 weeks ago and my life changed! They are safe for me to eat, taste good, and are large enough for traditional wrap fillings. It's been a great alternative on busy nights and for a quick lunch, I just grill some chicken and roll it up with some lettuce and Caesar dressing and I'm good to go! If you need to avoid gluten I highly recommend these!

New Name, New URL

2010-08-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that since I found out I didn't get the TX job I'm moving forward with my blog overhaul. I had registered the url swsuz.com earlier this year but delayed using it since if I moved to TX the new bloggy name wouldn't really be accurate!

For now you'll notice the blog's title has changed, and if you want you can redirect your reader to swsuz.com (though the blogger address will auto-forward as well).

Next up a proper template overhaul! Any recs?

Mockingjay

2010-08-25T13:55:00.005-07:00

I've been anticipating the release of the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy since my friend Weslie sent me Hunger Games and Girl on Fire to read. I'm an admitted fan of the Young Adult section, but these books are so well written and have such a good story that I think almost anyone would enjoy them! My Mom actually borrowed the books while she was recovering from her surgery earlier this year and she's been on pins and needles with me waiting for Mockingjay to be released!

I was so excited about this, I even took a day off work so that I would have plenty of time to dedicate to this tome! I also knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate on budgets and training plans when the fate of Panem was hanging in the balance! Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to reading so that I can speed this book on it's way to Green Valley, AZ!

iPhone App Review: Hipstamatic

2010-08-22T18:54:00.004-07:00

I'm not sure why I'm just now getting around to reviewing some of my favorite apps, I've had an iPhone for over a year now! Anyway, perhaps this will be a new series in which I share the glories of apps that I've downloaded (usually based on other review blogs). Who knows!?

I'll kick off the reviews with the Hipstamatic app which I just downloaded today. I'd heard about this app, as well as several other camera apps, but I was general overwhelmed by all the choices so I had stuck with the regular camera that came with the iPhone. Finally, after seeing a lot of friends on facebook upload pics taken with this app, I became intrigued enough to invest the $1.99 in this app.

So far I haven't purchased any of the add-on packages but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. It's a lot of fun AND the pics look purposely out of focus or murky, rather than the general crappy quality of iPhone pictures. Below are two pictures I took, using the same "lens" but with different "film" options.

Belle - with "John" lens, "Ina's 1969" film, Standard flash

Morning Coffee - with "John" lens, "Kodot Verichrome" film, Standard flash

In addition you can upload your pics to Flickr or Facebook directly from the app, and the pictures also save to your regular iPhone photo app. All in all it's fun, easy to use, and not much money!

Presentation Software

2010-08-22T08:09:00.005-07:00

Does anyone else get excited by the advances in pie charts?

The comic is from Rosscott, Inc - and has been featured in the "Friday Funnies" email I send to my staff each week. Right now if I were to present a pie chart on the content of the "Friday Funnies" it would be about 98% Dilbert, but this site is becoming a bigger slice of the pie every week.

Trysting with Trust

2010-08-17T19:22:00.003-07:00

I've been attending the 7 Habits of Effective Managers training the past two days and it has been excellent. We've had a great instructor and the course is really interactive. There's a lot of discussion and even better, games. One of the games we played was where everyone had to write as many synonyms as they could think of in 60 seconds to the word the instructor wrote on the board. During the first round, the word was revealed, I wrinkled my forehead, and only got about 3 words. Meanwhile everyone else had filled up a sheet of paper! I wasn't as concerned about my apparent lack of vocabulary as I was about everyone knowing so many synonyms of the word "tryst."

Only....the word that had been written was TRUST.

In my defense, the "u" had a tail on it that could easily be confused with a "y".

What would have been funnier is if we hadn't discovered my little error before reading our lists aloud. My first synonym with "TRUST"? Cheating!

Our instructor can't wait to tell his future classes about this, and I can retire happy knowing I'm now part of the "7 Habits" training!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER!

2010-08-12T18:23:00.003-07:00

Today my brother turns 28! He's getting so old, when did this happen?
Most importantly this marks the 4 week countdown to my own birthday:)

But seriously, I am so lucky to have a little brother who has been my oldest and closest friend throughout most of my life. As he said during his speech at my wedding (incidentally that was the ONLY time I cried) - we had to deal with moving around a lot when we were kids, but it was always OK because wherever we went we had our best friend.

Happy Birthday Best (and oldest) Friend! I am lucky to have such a fantastic little brother!

Inception

2010-08-08T19:24:00.004-07:00

We just saw Inception today, and it was AWESOME.

And I think I agree, Saito IS the biggest badass in the film.

End of Fiscal Year Virus!

2010-08-06T18:28:00.003-07:00

It seems the End of Fiscal Year Virus season begins earlier each year.
The federal government fiscal year closes September 30th, thus September is never a good month. However the closing activities have been moving steadily into August over the past few years and we're already experiencing symptoms!

Given the early onset of the virus, I was compelled to send out our annual warning and post signs around our department today to warn visitors. By September we may be under quarantine.

Don't worry, you are only susceptible to this strain if you work in Finance for the federal government. While it isn't contagious, it can be dangerous to those who interact with End of Fiscal Year Virus victims without taking the proper precautions. Proceed with caution.

Hi I'm Larry, Welcome to My Horror Story

2010-08-03T19:27:00.004-07:00

A few weeks ago I headed to Austin with some other Finance people to attend a 5 day Certified Government Financial Manager course. It was about as exciting as you can imagine. No wait, imagine yourself in an uncomfortable chair for 8 hours a day, in a conference room in a run down hotel, suffering from periodic evacuations (FIRE DRILL) and failures in air conditioning, listening to an old man read from an ACCOUNTING TEXT BOOK with the sweet sound of crickets providing ambient noise.

Now you can imagine just how interesting it was. I'm surprised now one died of boredom, we had some close calls but it turned out they were just asleep. It's not like I expected it to be a super fascinating seminar but really, reading from an accounting text book? That's not even trying. Though parents, keep that in mind for fussy babies. It works like a charm! When we weren't being read to, our instructor was going on in excruciating detail about the state and city governments he had worked for in that past. Specifically Upper Arlington, OH. I never want to hear about Upper Arlington or what stupid depreciation accounts are affected by it's landfill (incidentally the landfill is under a golf course) again. Ever. Even though I just wrote about it here on my own personal blog.

We did manage to escape the hotel of horrors occasionally and caught the free shuttle downtown for dinner most evenings. The shuttle stopped running around 8 so we usually had to split a cab back to our lovely hotel off the I-35 on ramp. And this is where things get weird. Tuesday evening three of us are returning from dinner and I'm on the phone getting the gossip on how they've shut down development on our new financial system (AHHHHHH!!!!) and I hear in the background the following, "Hi I'm Larry, welcome to my cab." When I get off the phone, Larry politely introduced himself again and proceeded to tell us all kinds of weird stories during our drive back to the hotel. Like where to get drinks after 2 AM...which wasn't helpful since we are a bunch of accounting nerds heading home while it's still light out, but thanks for the tip.

Thursday night we all went to the Alamo Drafthouse for The Goonies Quote-Along. Highly recommended if you're ever in Austin! We moseyed around after the movie and 3 us decided it was late and time to go home. We head down the street looking for a cab, and I commented "How weird would it be if we got Larry again?"

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

We actually skipped one cab because it was a blue van and according to Kyle, "weird". Which left us open to hop in the next Yellow Taxi that came along which was our old friend Larry! He even stopped mid-"Welcome to my cab" exclaiming "HEY! I know you guys!" He then proceeded to tell us more weird stories and ended our ride telling us about how he went on his first date the night before. He then clarified it with 'the first date with this girl' - since he's been on dates before.

We were just happy to get home in one piece.

If I don't have anything nice to say....

2010-08-02T17:29:00.002-07:00

...then I don't blog about it. I didn't realize that 6 weeks had passed since I posted. I have been busy with things like work and travel but the real reason is the job I had applied to was weighing on my shoulders. And nothing has been resolved with Bill's layoff...turns out history teacher jobs are few and far between.

And I wish this post was an update to say I'M BACK! All is well. But unfortunately I found out today I didn't get the job in Temple. I interviewed for it just about 2 months ago, and I actually don't have an official rejection letter, despite the fact their HR told me letters were going out TWO WEEKS AGO. And their department website hadn't been updated...but on a hunch I looked up my main competition's outlook profile today and lo and behold she has a new title. THE TITLE I WANTED.

It's not the end of the world really, I do like my job and my boss and am lucky to work here. I'd LOVE to live closer to my brother and my parents would love it if we moved to Texas, but I'm happy in Arizona too and I'm sure my parents will stay here for quite a few years. I think it's been emotionally draining because I just didn't KNOW and I had to find out in a round-about stalkerish way.

In other news - Bill did land a part time job recently but we have a sliver of hope he'll get hired back to the school that laid him off. Of course we won't know for three weeks...and he's got multiple applications out for other schools as well as other full time jobs. We hope to hear some good news soon so we can put this whole summer of (job) discontent behind us.

On a lighter note, to celebrate our staying in Arizona I've purchased tickets to see Jim Gaffigan when he's in Phoenix this November. We're trying to turn lemons into hot pockets here!

Now with 100% Less Rabies!

2010-06-15T18:42:00.004-07:00

What a difference a few hours makes. My last post was written while Bill took himself to the ER after getting bit by a stray we took in from the neighborhood. He was actually only gone 2 hours total (including drive time) and had his wound cleaned and received antibiotics to fight infection. However the ER doc didn't feel the rabies vaccine was necessary...which I COMPLETELY disagreed with. As I told Bill, it's fine and all that it's "probably" not a rabid animal but we don't KNOW. And the side effect if it is rabid, and he did exhibit symptoms, is death. I'm not comfortable with those odds especially when the vaccine is available, only requires 4 doses, and less painful than it used to be.

So first thing this morning Bill made an appointment with our Primary Care doc to ask for the rabies vaccine. However between the time I left for work and his appointment at 11 AM I was contacted by someone at the organization that had handled this dog's adoption. She saw the post on Craigslist and emailed me, eventually passing along both her info and the owner's info. Bill actually made the calls and we have a very relieved neighbor who will be getting her dog back later tonight. Furthermore the adoption organization confirmed that "Monster" (her name) is up to date on her shots and had received the rabies shot while in a shelter. I will probably still insist on them faxing a copy of the shot record tomorrow because I am not truly comfortable until I have the paperwork in my hands, but it's such a relief to know that this is a pet that's been vaccinated and we don't have to worry about rabies anymore.

Bill has kept the dogs apart today, Monster has slept in the spare crate we keep in the downstairs bedroom and she's is only out and about when Belle is confined in our bedroom upstairs. She is a friendly girl, and while I could do without late evening visits to the ER and nightmares about rabies I'm glad we can return her to her home.

PS Thanks to my friend Weslie who suggested posting on Craigslist! She rescued and returned a lost pug to its home just a few weeks ago!

OMG RABIES

2010-06-14T21:20:00.002-07:00

So if you follow me on twitter, or are a facebook friend, you're aware that Bill and Belle brought home a friend during their walk this evening. A little brown and white friend without a collar. It was too late to take her to the Humane Shelter or our vet so we brought her into the house for the evening. She and Belle sniffed each other, there was some growling so we ran them outside separately. Later Bill walked her again since she was a bit spastic and when she came home we monitored a second meeting of the dogs.

Which went horribly wrong.

The dog latched on to what looked like Belle's entire left ear and would not let go, she was growling viciously and Bill finally got her off Belle and I ran our dog upstairs to survey the damage. AMAZINGLY I can't find a mark on her, no puncture, no scratch, just some slobber...it appears the dog actually had a mouthful of fur and Belle is just find. Though we're certainly going to run her to the Vet tomorrow JUST TO MAKE SURE ZOMG MY BABY. Bill was not so lucky, he has a small puncture wound on his thumb. And the fact is this is a stray animal and we know nothing about her or her vaccination history. So right now the dog is in the spare kennel, Belle and I are upstairs, and Bill is on his way to the emergency room to get the wound properly cleaned and find out the procedure on strange animal bites. The positive fact is that we still have her and what I've read on the dozen or so websites I've googled thus far is that generally the animal is observed for 10 days to see if it shows signs of rabies. If so the rabies medication is started on the human...so Bill isn't necessarily started his anti-rabies meds tonight but it is an unfortunately possible scenario.

I guess the important thing is prompt attention, which we're doing. And the animal is here for observation. We'll find out tomorrow where exactly it will go - whether it's Human Society, our local Vet, or some other organization and we'll cross our fingers and say our prayers Bill won't need more than this late night visit before all is said and done. We will certainly think twice before bringing any animal, especially a strange one, into our home again.

An Odyssey of Humor

2010-06-13T19:34:00.004-07:00

This weekend was pretty low key, which I needed after the whirlwind of the previous weekend what with finding an interview outfit, flying to Texas, and interviewing for a job I really really want. So I've spent a lot of the past few days sleeping. However I did venture out of the house to see the movie "Get Him to the Greek" with my husband and some friends. All I can say is that we found it HILARIOUS and if you like movies like Superbad or The Hangover you'll enjoy this! However, I uh, wouldn't recommend seeing with your parents. Not really "family friendly" if you get my drift.

We continued the Grecian theme with dinner at a Greek restaurant afterward, the Arizona chain "My Big Fat Greek Restaurant". Cheesy name, yes, but delicious food. It was the first time Bill had really had Greek food and he loved it! Next time we're in Chicago I'll need to take him to Greek Town for an authentic experience.

So all in all a relaxing, low-key weekend. I slept, Bill watched a lot of soccer, we laughed and ate good food. Now I feel rested and ready for another week and work where I'll hopefully get some more news on Texas!

*Do you like what I did with the title there? Homer's Odyssey - Greece - the movie..?

24 Hours in Texas

2010-06-08T19:18:00.002-07:00

So I'm back from Texas! I left early Sunday to fly into Austin and drive up to Temple. I wanted to get a feel for the town to see if it's a place where I'd like to move. That is really important because I don't want to be in the business of moving every few years...been there and done that! Other than the humidity it seems like a really nice place, it is smaller than Tucson but it has a beautiful lake. The drive up from Austin wasn't bad and it's a short drive from visiting my brother in Houston.

I woke up Monday morning to 94% humidity...say what?!? Luckily I found out later it isn't usually this high but if I do get the job and move to central Texas it's a fact of life we'll need to adjust to humidity after living out in the desert for four years. I spent the morning in a series of 30 minute interviews with the executive staff and I feel really good about all my conversations. It seems like a lot of what they'd like to do is stuff that we've been doing here in Tucson (plus for me!) I had a short break before the panel interview and that one was more intense - it was with a lot of the service chiefs I'd potentially work with who had real concerns and wanted to know how I would help them if I got the job. However I felt like this went well too and they seemed really interested in things I've done in Tucson and Seattle.

The panel also let me know about taking the toll road back to Austin which was much faster! I probably negated the time saved driving down when I missed the exit from 71 and drove all over the place getting back to the airport! Oh well, I'd booked a late flight so still had plenty of time to hang out before flying back home to Tucson.

So now I wait again...wait to hear if they contact my references and then wait to find out if it was all enough!

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

2010-06-04T03:42:00.003-07:00

Last week I spent 3 days in Tempe, AZ for training in project management at ASU...I had written 3 blog posts and scheduled them to post during my absence but either Blogger or I screwed up and posted all at once Monday night before I left. OOPS! Ah well...I actually decided to take the Memorial Day weekend "off" from computers for the most part, after 3 days of heavy duty classwork I needed a break! However this was one of my best trips, I didn't have to spend the entire day traveling, Tempe was great as far as location, the class at ASU was really great, and I got to have dinner with my friend Miss E! So two thumbs up for Tempe!

We had a relaxing and plan-free 3 day weekend and actually got quite a bit done. We've cleaned out a lot of clutter and gotten rid of some unwanted furniture, which then entailed moving other furniture around (Thanks Bill!). We took the dog on a hike in the mountains, did a TON of cooking, and I went back to work on Tuesday feeling caught up on chores at home and really relaxed.

This week has been busy since my return to work entailed catching up on all that I had missed last week, including the standard 100-150 emails a day that I receive. Bill has been busy at home getting his paperwork lined up and working on job applications - there are a few jobs around in his area (history/social studies) so we're hopeful. Also on the job front, I received an email today congratulating me on making it to the face-to-face round of interviews in Texas and that my interview will be Monday! Somehow I got all the arrangements taken care of and will be on a plane to Austin early Sunday...this will give me the afternoon to check out the town myself before my THREE HOURS OF INTERVIEWS on Monday. Yes, THREE HOURS. That's a bit intimidating and probably the reason I'm up at 3:30 AM today thinking about my long-term goals. Unfortunately the timing was off on being able to meet up with my brother, he and his wife are in Dallas for the weekend at a wedding and despite checking out almost every major airport within 3 hours of Temple I wasn't able to get there in time to meet them for lunch on Sunday before they travel back to Houston.

Ah well, if this interview goes well and we move to central Texas he will probably see me more often than he'd really care to! Wish me luck!

Bill's Last Day

2010-05-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Bill's last day of teaching is this Wed, and what we didn't expect at all is that this would be his last day at this school period. Yes, he was one of the teachers who was permanently laid off despite the passage of the 1 cent sales tax.

We're not sure what will happen but something better is just around the corner.

Weekend Update

2010-05-23T16:19:00.001-07:00

I've had a productive few days this weekend! Saturday morning I woke up early to go to my parent's house to visit the retirement community gym with my Dad. They have a lot of specialized equipment (the arm cycle, for example) that I use at my Physical Therapy gym so it's been a good way to do my exercises during the rest of the week. I'm actually going to take a 2 week break from physical therapy so this should keep things in check. My shoulder/neck pain has actually been decreasing and it seems like mobility is increasing so this has been really positive!

After the gym and a visit at their house, I headed home to work on some of the reading for a Project Management class I'm attending this week for work. I spent about 8 hours reading the only textbook modules, going through MS Project software tutorials, and starting on the case studies for this 3 day class. I head to Tempe Tuesday night after work and I'll be in class at ASU Wed-Fri. Wonder if I should really channel the college days and wear pj pants to class?

After an exhausting day studying I headed to bed early because we were getting up early to hike with friends on Sunday. We met about 9 AM and headed to Saguaro Park West where we did a 3.5 mile hike up a mountain. Belle EXCELLED at the mountain climbing part, I think she's part goat. She even hauled most of our water in her Ruffwear Pack. She and Charlie - the other dog - got along and she let him have some of the dog treats she was carrying in her pack. We grabbed lunch after the hike at Barrio Brewing and Belle, usually shy and leery of strangers, was Miss Popularity out on the patio. She was visiting with our neighboring tables and even accepted pets and compliments from passers-by. I think we make this part of our hiking ritual so she becomes more comfortable being out and about.

All in all a fun and productive weekend!

Happy Belated 1st Anniversary Self!

2010-05-23T16:10:00.004-07:00

And, well, Bill too I suppose. We celebrated our first year of marriage last weekend (May 16th) with dinner at the Starr Pass Golf Club restaurant where we held our reception. The restaurant has recently evolved from the Catalina Steakhouse to the Catalina BBQ Company, a fact we discovered when we took some out of town friends there earlier this month. And I must say, the BBQ is DELICIOUS. I had my new favorite, Brisket burnt ends, and Bill had his "usual" of the spare ribs. They also procure their beef from a free range ranch in CA which made me feel better about eating the food. Dinner was delicious, and we even got a free dessert since they recognized us from our reception last year!

Following dinner we went to the Carrie Underwood concert in downtown Tucson. Despite this being a last minute decision we had great seats! We missed the first opener, but caught most of Craig Morgan's set (awesome!) Carrie Underwood was wonderful, as expected. All in all it was a wonderful celebration! The next day my parents called to wish us a happy anniversary, and we've been receiving fun gifts from friends and family all month!

Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on some of the post-wedding "to do" list during year 2. I still need to order pictures and put together the scrapbook (now to include our first anniversary "paper" gift of concert tickets).

Man or Machine?

2010-05-12T16:46:00.003-07:00

This title sounds like it's a review of Iron Man 2 (which it's not)...but if you're thinking of seeing it GO! It was awesome! I saw it last Friday with Bill, some work friends, and a bunch of accountants that were in town for a meeting. Which is ironic because the "Man or Machine" I refer to IS accountants!

What am I talking about? I don't know I haven't blogged in forever and I'm a little rusty. However we had two very successful weeks of training, one week of productive work group meetings, and my office currently looks like an episode of Hoarders so instead of coming up with new content I'm going to post from an email I sent my staff today. No, it's not a reminder on the overtime policy and procedures...you see starting a little over a year ago I began to send a quote of the day. This has evolved to include "Friday Funnies" (excuses for Suzie to send Dilbert cartoons related to Finance) and recently someone came up with an idea to have a periodic email about the origins of various financial terms. So I just started "Wordsmith Wednesdays" last month and plan to do this one or two times a month...on Wednesdays obviously because I like alliteration.

Today's "Wordsmith Wednesday" was "Accountant: Man or Machine":

Would it surprise you to learn our Accountant friends are more closely
related to computers than we previously thought? It's true! The
etymological history of the word "Accountant" and "Computer" is tied to
the same Latin root Computare. This means the same things as the
English verb compute: to determine by mathematical means. Putare means
to reckon, and com is an intensifying prefix. An intensifying prefix
heightens or stresses, but does not change the meaning of the word it
modifies.

The use of computer to refer to a person who does mathematical
calculations dates to at least 1646. The verb form to compute dates
from about the same time, with the first recorded usage in 1631.

The word "Accountant" did not directly descend from Latin, but from the
French word Compter (from the Latin Computare). The word was formerly
written in English as "Accomptant", but in the process of time the word,
which was always pronounced by dropping the "p", become gradually
changed in both pronunciation and spelling to its present form.

The French word Compter also leads us to a related word, comptroller.
The term comptroller evolved in the 15th century through a blend of
Middle English contreroller (someone who checks a copy of a scroll, from
the French contreroule "counter-roll, scroll copy") and the French
compte ("an account"). This created a title for a compteroller who
specializes in checking financial ledgers. This etymology explains why
the name is pronounced identically to "controller" despite the unique
speller. However, comptroller is often pronounced phonetically in
modern times.

Our Accountant Friends have come far since the days of paper scrolls!

Turning Point

2010-04-28T18:51:00.003-07:00

It seems that whenever things get really bad, I find what I really need. Though I'm down about the way several people make me feel and it's sort of come to a head recently I've also found some tools that I think can help me. The first is a book I started hearing about on other blogs and throughout the twitterverse in the past few weeks, "So, Long Insecurity" by Beth Moore. Yesterday after my cathartic blogging I downloaded a sample of her book to the kindle to check it out. As soon as I got to the following quote I pulled the trigger and purchased it.

"Are we honestly going to insist on drawing our security from people - men or women - who are oblivious to the inordinate amount of weight we give to their estimation of us?"

That really spoke to me. I don't think that most people realize how hurt I've felt by the things they've done (or not done) and while I rationally realize that, I still used that as a barometer of my own self worth. I've only read the first chapter, and I don't plan on rushing through this book like I would for one of my "young adult fiction" purchases. I'm going to try and read a chapter a night, and I'm finally utilizing the highlight and notes feature on the kindle! I'll see how it goes and post some of the parts I find meaningful here.

The other thing that came into my life when I really needed it was a lady I really admire. You may have caught over twitter that we've been putting on an Accountant training conference the past two weeks at work. One of our two trainers is a really amazing women who has overcome so much and has such a great attitude. She has been through breast cancer, then lung cancer, and now has five tumors in her brain. But she's not letting that rule her life and despite being told she only had 6 months to live when the brain tumors were first found she has lived far beyond that and her last scan in January showed that they had actually shrunk! I feel truly lucky to have had a chance to get to know her over the past several days and I've learned so much more than fixed assets and general ledger accounts.

It's just a few steps, but hopefully it's in the right direction.

Feeling Unwanted

2010-04-27T17:49:00.002-07:00

Popping in for just a second during a few crazy weeks at work...right now the usual is 12 hour days due to the training conference I'm putting on here in Tucson for our entire network of Accountants, on top of my regular job, on top of my boss being on vacation.

Anyway, I was really disappointed about some info I found out today and I thought it might make me feel better to write about it rather than mope at home stuffing my face with rolo candies. Wait, too late...I'll pay for that later with a stomach ache. Anyway, I heard from my Dad that he and my Mom are going to a Mother's Day brunch at their retirement community. This was the first I'd heard so I jokingly asked if "kids were invited"...only to find out we're not. Seriously, you had to buy tickets and no one thought to ask if I might like to celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom. I would have PAID for my own ticket even! At this point we will probably just go over for dinner at their house later in the day, after they're done with their REAL celebration.

And this is just another thing that really makes me feel bad. Sometimes I just feel like people in my life don't want me around. I've had friends who went months without responding to an email or phone call (usually the excuse being they were "busy), I've gone out of my way to organize special events for others such as bachelorette parties and birthday parties but when it came to my wedding I had no bachelorette party or wedding shower. No one has ever thrown me a birthday party - last year I cooked dinner for my own birthday at my house.

I apologize for the pity party but I think these feelings have been building up for years and with the upcoming Mother's Day snub it's the last straw. I'm not sure what the answer will be but I think the first thing I had to do was finally acknowledge these feelings, admit how much they hurt, and start trying to move on.

Anyway, we have two more days of this conference then I have a four day meeting with two of my national work groups next week...then I can finally sleep. I haven't heard anything about the Temple, TX job yet except that a selection committee was just assembled last week so hopefully I'll her SOMETHING soon. I could use some good news, and maybe a fresh start.

A Conversation With My Brother

2010-04-10T08:39:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, as the day was winding down, I checked in with my brother over gchat to see how his Friday was going. I was a little surprised to see he was already on his way home at a decent hour! And before I chastised him for texting whilst driving he explained he was using an app that allowed him to talk into his phone which translated it to text. To quote him, 'technology is blowing my mind!'

What blew MY mind was the hilarious translation the phone came up with...it wasn't as noticeable at first. See if you can tell where the conversation below gets hijacked by the droid:

Bro: I am speaking into this, and it is typing what i'm saying into the text.
Me: OH WOW!

Bro: It technology is blowing my mind!
Me: what would be REALLY AWESOME is if, by the tone and excitement in your voice, it capatalized words
[as you can tell, I'm clearly a fan of showing emotion through the use of caps]
Bro: I know lol cats
[new slang?]
Bro: Lol cat food spoke to beat all caps.
[lol cat food is what?]
Bro: Typing now. That was way off.
[Don't worry, he was also stopped. Safety first!]
Me: cat food?

Bro: lol cats was supposed to be "all caps," but that was lost in translation

Clearly one of two things happened here. Either the voice-to-text app still has some flaws and is hilariously mistaking "all caps" with "lolcats" OR lolcats have infiltrated our electronic devices and are poised to take over the world.

We Interrupt Crappy Internet Service for a Very Important Cause

2010-04-05T18:23:00.002-07:00

Seriously, it takes MINUTES to log in to gmail and it's a crapshoot if the internet times out. Right now I'm racing the clock to get this posted before it goes out again and I have to perform the ritual of rebooting the modem and laptop to try and get the tenuous connection working again.

I actually wrote down the Cox Cable customer service number at work today, but now the game is on and I know it can't be fixed over the phone. Last time some guy had to come out and fix some receiver, or something. So waiting another day doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

But on to the Very Important Cause! Our pal Hilstreet is participating in her first cycling event in Austin and she needs your support! She and her team are raising money to provide services to AIDS victims by participating in the Hill Country Ride for AIDS. You can read about her participation here, or if you're working on a crappy internet connection that might go at any moment and want to go right to the donation site click here.

Now I'm going to cross my fingers, turn 4 times counter clockwise, and wish upon a star before hitting "publish". Hopefully our internet tubes are unclogged soon and I can get back to regular posting because guys, I went to the RENAISSANCE FAIRE.

"I'm So Excited, I'm So Excited, I'm So Scared"

2010-03-31T07:20:00.001-07:00

Hopefully some of you are "Saved By the Bell Fans", otherwise the title to this post does not make sense. If you need a refresher on Jessie Spano's downward spiral into caffeine abuse, check out this youtube video.

I bring this up, not because it's easily one of the most memorable Saved By the Bell" episodes ever, but because I recently came across this etsy creation:

I did what anyone would do if they came across such genius, I emailed it to friends and posted it on every social network I could find immediately! In return I was gifted with this awesome infographic related to Jessie's caffeine consumption over the course of this episode.

Anyone else have "I'm So Scared" related paraphernalia to share?

Vindication!

2010-03-30T19:08:00.002-07:00

I've maintained that Battlefield Earth is the worst movie ever for YEARS.
I guess the 3 hours that I will never get back* is worth a tiny bit more since it was truly a historic moment in horrible film history.

In other news - our wireless was out all last week which was a pain since I didn't have time to deal with it between working on the job app and working late most days last week. It magically started working this weekend so at least I didn't have to spend 12 hours on the phone with Cox. Small victories.

My mom's surgery is tomorrow so we'll be spending the day at the hospital waiting nervously. The bypass in her leg is supposed to take about 1-1 1/2 hours, but the last surgery took about an hour longer than expected so hopefully we're not as nervous this time around.

*It's my brother's fault - I would never have picked this out myself! Next on my movie list is Hot Tub Time Machine.

Hello Mr. Shirtless Man

2010-03-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Weslie for the following Ben Folds does chatroulette video:

Imposing the Hatch Act

2010-03-22T18:15:00.001-07:00

I'm not going to comment on any of the recent politics except to say that I'm appalled at some of the name calling going on around the interwebs. This isn't exclusive to the Healthcare debate or conservatives either (though they are the recent examples). I've seen ugly things said and posted by those who would call themselves liberal in the past too. It seems like equal opportunity slander is the rule of the day.

So here's the deal - in THIS part of the blogosphere we will abide by the Hatch Act. I have to follow it at work anyways:) I don't want to hear anyone calling people socialists or commies, nor do I want to hear about close minded crumbums.

This isn't to say I dislike political debate, but I can certainly do without the 6th grade name calling. Debating the actual topics, exchanging ideas, and trying to understand actual political processes and legislation is all A-OK. I'm so fired up you may find a "how to research and read" legislation post soon and perhaps an intro into "how the Congressional Budget Office" works. I know you're all up to date on appropriations from the last time I lectured!

So treat each other with respect and refrain from posting something about the stupidity of people who don't agree with your personal views.

That's What She Said

2010-03-21T21:38:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I couldn't resist:
The Large WHAT Collider?

Deep in the heart of Texas

2010-03-21T21:23:00.002-07:00

So...how was your weekend? Mine was fine, thanks for asking. I spent the weekend working on a job application in between getting my hair cut (WHOA SPLIT ENDS) and heading to a spring training game with some work peeps. Yes, you heard me. A job application. And your powers of deduction might lead you to link the title of this post to the potential locale of said job. Specifically, in Temple, TX.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love my job, and my boss, and my staff, and my parents live 28 minutes away and I really never thought I'd leave Tucson. Especially since I'd lose a boatload on my house (DARN YOU ECONOMY, but thanks for the low buying price!). However, this position met some very specific criteria for me which was: Had to be near family (my brother lives in Houston), had to come with a guarantee on the real estate end (this has that option), and has to be some place I'd like to live in work. Temple wasn't ever on my radar but when the announcement arrived in my inbox I checked it out and was intrigued. The announcement came last Wed, by Friday I was talking to my boss who is being super helpful by helping me get more information despite the fact I could potentially leave. Friday night Bill and I discussed the possibility over gluten free pizza and he was excited as I was about the opportunity.

The pros are it's more 'in between' my parent's home in Tucson and his parent's in Oklahoma City - about 1 day's drive from each. It's 3 hours from Houston and my brother, it's about an hour from Austin and the Alamo Drafthouse along with some bloggers/tweet-friends I have, and it's a fairly temperate location. It's also closer to college friends back in Oklahoma who I see too rarely nowadays:( Oh, and if my Dad were here he'd remind me there's a lake where he can keep his boat. The cons are we'd be father from my parents, they change the time twice a year, and we'd miss our friends in Tucson and Phoenix. Also I'm comfortable here and after 3 years of hard work I feel like it's finally paying off.

But I'm going to go for it. I told my boss I may not even get an interview, which he scoffed at, but I'm going to put together the best packet I can. Hopefully I do get a call and a chance to be considered...besides the pros lifestyle-wise this would be a promotion for me which is exciting. And a bit terrifying.

So wish me luck! I'll keep you updated as I find out more regarding interviews and such!

Cake + Graphs = THE GREATEST THING EVER

2010-03-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I don't think I've let on how much I like graphs.
I like them a LOT. It's because I'm a math nerd and since I don't talk about work much on my blog you guys get to miss all the 'ZOMG I made the BEST graph today' type chatter my husband can be subjected to during our drive home. I'm pretty sure he just tunes me out.

Anyway, that is a lengthy introduction to the funniest thing I've seen on the interwebs in a while.

Cake Versus Pie: A Scientific Approach

Some GOOD news

2010-03-18T18:03:00.002-07:00

This has been a week of Dr.'s appointments!
I had an appointment with my neurologist yesterday and while I arrived with a bad attitude due to the excessive delay with my Physical Therapy consult, and then had to wait in the exam room for 35 minutes, I actually left in a better mood! They're trying a different med that is less sedating so I'm going to switch to that this weekend and hopefully the physical therapy will start soon (man STILL trying to set that up, phone tag much)? However the good news was in talking to the Head Headache guy and finding out they use two different categories of "cervical dystonia" - so while I do have some sort of nerve issue going on that will be treated with the same types of meds, and eventually botox if needed, it's not going to develop into a constant tremor. I don't have to worry about becoming disabled and not being able to work, and the treatment might break the cycle long enough to go into remission so that would be the BEST possible scenario. In the meantime I'm concentrating on the good things like finally having a Dr. who a.) believes me and b.) is treating me. I am also lucky to have an understanding boss who isn't making a big deal out of all these appointments and will allow some flexibility in my schedule so I don't have to take so much leave for the upcoming physical therapy appointments, assuming I ever get ahold of the office to schedule them.

In other Dr. news my Mom met with her vascular surgeon today and they will be doing the surgery in about a week. He'll use a synthetic material for this bypass, apparently the expectation is that this will last approximately 5 years and she'll need another surgery at that point. In the meantime she'll see him every 3 months for a year, and then twice a year. So not the greatest news but it has to be done, it will fix the problem and prevent further problems, and she has a great surgeon who will keep an eye on her. I think the silver lining in all this, besides finding these problems before it became a matter of life and death, is my parents are really starting to plan all the things they want to do and are working on planning a trip to Europe. They want to do this while they ARE still healthy and can walk around, and now my Mom won't have leg pain after a quarter mile. Plus she'll be able to shop for hours now!

So things are being dealt with, which is all we can do...and everything will improve soon. Thank you for letting me vent in the previous post. I think letting all that out helped me mentally move on...I can just dump it in a blog post and feel like someone is "listening".

Wacky formatting

2010-03-16T19:20:00.002-07:00

I don't know why posts have been formatted so weirdly lately...I spent a few hours trying to fix, but gave up. And I've been working on converting to wordpress so I don't want to invest a LOT of time in fixing blogger. Hopefully I can get everything updated into wordpress soon - trying to move all my archives before I unveil my new spot on the interwebs!

Another Setback

2010-03-16T18:39:00.003-07:00

This just isn't our year, health wise. On Monday my Mom had another appointment with her vascular surgeon where they did a procedure to investigate the blockages in her leg arteries and would have put stents in... except the blockage is to much to fix with a stent and she'll require more surgery. My parents are meeting with the surgeon on Thursday to go over what needs to be done and she'll head back into the hospital later this month for a bypass operation.

Hopefully THEN she'll be all fixed up.

In my own health news, I've been adjusting to knowing I have a real diagnosis of cervical dystonia. And that this will be something I have to deal with for the rest of my life. It's scary sometimes, and I've felt a lot of anger that it took so long to be accurately diagnosed. So many doctors told me it was stress, or that it was in my head and I needed to try yoga, massages, etc. I wasted so much money on chiropractors and acupuncturists...and for most of my life my parents didn't even believe me (this started my sophomore year of high school). So I feel some anger because what if they had believed me? Maybe I would have sought a diagnosis before the point of daily, excruciating pain.

It's also been lonely because after I sent the information to my family and some friends...there was no response. I feel like I asked for help, asked for support and in return I was just ignored. Or maybe people still don't believe it's a real disorder.

Anyway, I head back to the neurologist tomorrow for a follow up. I FINALLY heard back about the physical therapy...and after a month of not returning my calls the office told me I didn't need preauthoriation for PT (which I had told them) and it was up to me to find a place and book treatment. It's looking like I won't get into the medical center near my house for another 3-4 weeks so hopefully I can start some other therapies (like Botox injections) before then.

Sorry for the depressing nature of this post...I usually try to stay positive on my blog because who wants to hear all about my troubles? But maybe it's something I need to get out somewhere and now I can move on to happier stuff. Like being so busy I can't even eat lunch at work!

I should probably update this thing huh?

2010-03-12T21:29:00.002-07:00

Ugh - just popping in to say that for the first time in almost a month (or maybe a month?) I'm not working this weekend. AND I went home every night this past week ON TIME. I can't say how much a full night's rest and looking forward to some free time for two entire days restores you.

Get this, I even took this afternoon off! To go see a MOVIE! Yes, I've finally seen Avatar which came out 3 months ago and I'm officially the last person to probably see it but wow that was pretty awesome huh?

In other news Bill bought me Final Fantasy XIII this past week so you know how I'll be spending all that free time:) I've actually set a 9 PM curfew for myself because otherwise I'd keep playing 'just to the end of this part' until 3 AM or later. This series was our FAVORITE as kids and we've been playing since the original Final Fantasy. I remember one time, right after we'd gotten FF VI or VII we had a series of snow days which allowed us to sit in the game room for days (we may have slept in sleeping bags on the floor) playing the game. However now I have to go to work and we don't get many snow days in Arizona, hence the curfew.

I'm feeling a lot more energetic lately, maybe it's the increase in sleep or my headache treatments are starting to work but this afternoon after seeing Avatar I had the energy to walk my dog for the first time in months. Bill has pretty much taken care of all the dog walking duties while I lay on the couch in an exhausted heap after work so things are looking up! Plans for this weekend include more dog walks (I have to make up for lost time), seeing Alice in Wonderland tomorrow, a few minor work things I can do at home, and some much needed cleaning around the house. What are your plans, other this "springing forward" I hear so much about? Guess AZ will be switching back to Pacific time next week.

Confirmed as a Friend!

2010-02-22T17:14:00.004-07:00

How about a 2nd post on golf, that's 2 in a row!
However I have big news, Ol' Crazy Pants and I are OFFICIALLY friends now. Facebook says so.

In other news, another day of rain here in AZ. Which wouldn't be so bad except I had to trek across campus this afternoon to go to a meeting for my boss. When I arrived at my destination, soaked despite my umbrella, I found out it was canceled. DOH!

Fore!

2010-02-21T16:12:00.003-07:00

This weekend Bill and I had tickets to the Accenture Match Play golf tournament. We went on Saturday for the semi-finals and as this was the first time either of us had been to a golf tournament we didn't know what to expect, except for terrible traffic. We got up early on Saturday to head up to Marana, AZ and were surprised to find that traffic wasn't so bad! We were able to park in a lot they had set up and take the shuttle up to the Ritz Dove Mountain course. We followed the group from the bus to the 9th hole where the first pair of the day had just arrived. After watching them play and noting the AWESOME pants of one of the golfers we decided this would be pair we followed through the rest of the course.

Come on, check these pants out. Tell me you wouldn't make the same decision. Magenta tartan!

Anyway, we stayed with the owner of the pants, Ian Poulter, and the other golfer Thongchai Jaidee. It turns out we picked the closest matchup of the day as the winner came down to the 18th hole and it would have been tied if Jaidee's final putt hadn't stopped on the very edge of the hole. Most surprisingly, we were on the edge of our seats! Well, if we'd been sitting. Turns out golf is pretty entertaining to watch live. No one is more surprised than I am.

We would have watched more golf except rainclouds had moved in mid-morning and it started drizzling around the final 3 holes. We hung around for a while to see if it would clear but it only started raining harder. At that point we made the decision to head back to the buses to go get some lunch and see if the rain cleared later so we could watch ole Crazy Pants (Poulter) play again in the afternoon. Here we made a mistake of blindly following a couple of folks heading down a path....at one point we turned around to find a couple guys behind us to see if they knew where the buses were. Turns out they were following us, and no one knew where we were! We trekked on and finally caught sight of the buses, having to travel "overland" through some desert brush to make it to the lot. However the detour turned out good because we collected a few practice balls as souvenirs!

We met some friends that lived near the course for lunch at a place called "Boston's" which had awesome gluten free pizza. After lunch the rain was still coming down so we headed home, disappointed we couldn't watch more golf. However I've been checking updates online and it turns out our pick, ol Crazy Pants, won the whole thing! I've even started following his twitter stream...who am I?

So how was your weekend?

Maybe it will magically turn to wine?

2010-02-17T19:52:00.002-07:00

It's Ash Wednesday, and once again Bill and I are embarking on 40 days of sacrificing something we hold near and dear. Each year we try to give up something that will be noticeable - it's difficult to reflect on the meaning of this time if you never notice the sacrifice! Last year we did chocolate, dear sweet chocolate...yuuummmmm. It was hard, especially when there's a well stocked candy jar at work.

This year we decided our Lenten sacrifice would be essentially all drinks. No coffee, no wine, no beer, no soda, no hot chocolate... you get the picture. We will be limiting ourselves to water (and no flavored water, that's cheating!) I think this will prove to make us think about Lent every single day, especially at 2 PM when Bill usually buys a soda at work. However, I am looking forward to simplifying at least one small part of my life and I think drinking just water for the next 40 days will cure some of the addictions we have to caffeine and other unnatural substances.

Are you giving anything up during Lent? I know a lot of folks participate in this ritual regardless of their personal faith and it's always interesting to see what others give up!

Finally Some Answers

2010-02-16T19:39:00.006-07:00

I've been dealing with a severe headache the past two weeks which has decreased my already low energy and made looking at a computer screen a painful event. I've had bad headaches off and on, and have documented my neck and back pain here on the blog as I've tried various methods to relieve the pain - acupuncture and chiropractic medicine specifically. However the pain has continued and when the headache hit two weeks ago I decided it was time to find a specialist. I did some research and got some advice from co-workers (one of the benefits of working in healthcare) and found out that our local university has a headache clinic they run through the neurology clinic at the University hospital. I went there today and met with a Resident - her Attending was the head of the headache clinic - and came out with an actual diagnosis and treatment plan.

I was terrified that my combination of symptoms were pointing to something life-changing like MS or brain tumor. WebMD symptom checker is the worst thing in the world to use when you're feeling sick. While I don't have either of these issues I did find out my nerves are not behaving correctly and this will probably be something I need to address throughout my life. Essentially, the nerves are signaling the muscles in my neck and upper back (right side only) to be constantly tense. This is exhausting for both the actual muscle contraction and the associated pain which is constant. The head guy had me move my arms in a few ways that apparently demonstrated my right scapula doesn't move like it should so part of the treatment plan will involve physical therapy 3 times a week to build up my strength, work through the muscle tissue, and increase my mobility.

Because the pain is originating in my neck these muscle contractions are also affecting nerves in my head leading to the headaches. I've been prescribed a low dose pill to help prevent the headaches and the physical therapy should help too. I head back in month to see how this is doing and will probably start receiving botox injections in my neck and back at that time. These are done in order to force the muscles to relax which will also help the physical therapy do it's work.

I was also diagnosed with having some slightly restricted blood flow on my right side which was causing feelings of coldness in my right hand along with numbness and tremors. This is probably just the result of a slightly off balance skeletal system which is putting more pressure on the vascular system on my right side (and not say, Parkinson's which was another WebMD misdiagnosis). This will be helped by the physical therapy and making sure my desk and chair are adjusted correctly - there doesn't seem to be any indication for further treatment.

All in all I feel much better about having some solid answers and a plan to follow. It was really interesting to be used as an instructional tool when the Attending was showing my Resident Dr. why he was doing some of the tests (these included flapping my arms) and what they meant. I felt like I learned a lot more than I normally would at an appointment! The best part is I know I can look forward to feeling better and having more energy. That hope alone makes me feel good enough to sit down and blog! And here I thought I'd be well into my 40's before I'd start getting Botox!

Quick Update

2010-02-10T18:14:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to pop in and say that my Mom is doing well. She was out of the hospital two days after surgery and has gotten better each day. I've been exhausted, my boss let me come in early to make up some of the time I took off so I was working 6 AM to 5 PM, then heading to my parent's house to spend the evening with them. I think the exhaustion caught up with me and I've spent the past two weekends sleeping and crashed on the couch.

I head to St. Petersburg, FL tomorrow for a very short trip. I have a meeting on Friday and fly back Friday evening so that will be a LONG day! However it's a three day weekend so I should have plenty of time to rest and catch up with blogs!

In other news, Tucson is having it's own "severe weather" which I put in quotes because it was just rain. Oh, and hail which had melted by the time I got home. I don't think this is going to cause any flight delays tomorrow:)

CE Day

2010-01-24T19:02:00.002-07:00

As you may remember, my Mom was diagnosed with a severely clogged carotid artery.
On Thursday she had an appointment with the new vascular surgeon and midday I received an email from my Dad that they were en route to the hospital to check her in. Apparently once the surgeon reviewed the diagnostic tests done at his office he told her she could either a.) Check immediately into the hospital or b.) go home, pack a bag, and check into the hospital. She went with option b since if my Dad was in charge of packing her things she'd end up with 80 socks and no comfy pjs.

I went over after work and found out that she'd already been seen by a cardiologist and had several other diagnostic tests done - the surgeon wanted to clear her for surgery and part of the reason for admitting her was to ensure these were done quickly. He also wanted to get her on a blood thinner since her blood only had a pinhole sized opening to get thru in her carotid artery. She was also in a hospital that had a designated stroke center - so if the worst happened and she did have a stroke before he operated she was in the best possible place to get immediate care.

When she initially checked in the procedure was scheduled for this coming Monday. We learned on Thursday that the surgeon had moved it to Sunday, and by the time he visited her on Friday he was comfortable moving it to Saturday. So I spent Thursday and Friday evening at the hospital and got there bright and early Saturday for CE (carotid endarterectomy) Day.

On CE Day they wheeled her back for pre-op around 8:30 AM and Bill, my Dad, and I settled into the waiting room to wait. The surgery was scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM and the surgeon came out to let us know everything went well at 11:30 AM. At that point she was in recovery waiting for an ICU bed and we were told it would be an hour or two before we could visit her. So we headed down to the hospital cafeteria for lunch. We resumed our post after lunch and waited (not so) patiently to be called back.

In the waiting area there were a few phones and when one rang my Dad took it upon himself to answer it. I was giving him a hard time until he revealed that the call had actually BEEN for him. They had let him know they were moving my Mom back to the ICU bed and that a nurse would be out to talk to us soon. A few minutes later the nurse appeared, let us know they were settling her in, and that the phone (previously answered by my Dad) would ring in about 20 minutes to let us know to head back and he "shouldn't be shy about answering it." We let her know that wouldn't be a problem. In fact my Dad answered 3 calls for other families while we waited but it was finally our turn to head back to the ICU.

It was a little disorienting to see my Mom at first, she looked so small and tired in the bed and had so many tubes and wires surrounding her. We sat with her for about 2 hours that afternoon and she could talk a little bit, and was really lucid for coming out of general surgery. It was obvious she was exhausted though and we wanted to let her rest so Bill and I left. The nurse established a password before we left so we could call and check on her status (which I did).

Today we went back to the hospital expecting to bring her home but found out the surgeon wanted her to stay another day. She had felt dizzy when she stood up so he thought it would be better to recover for another day. So we sat with her, watched Behind Enemy Lines, visited the hospital cafeteria for breakfast and lunch, and discussed Heidi Montag's excessive plastic surgery throughout the day. During the afternoon when one of the nurses took her temp she had a fever so now she has to do a breathing treatment every hour to fend off post-op pneumonia. They were able to move her out of the ICU into a regular bed in a private room tonight, but with the fever she will probably have to stay overnight tomorrow as well.

Tomorrow I head back to the hospital to sit with her and my Dad, and hope the fever breaks. If you follow me on twitter you're already up to speed on most of this. Between working and the hospital the past few days I've been exhausted when I get home at night so this was the first opportunity to write down what's been going on since last week. I really appreciate all the positive twitter and facebook messages I've been receiving - it means a lot, especially when I'm wondering what can possible happen next?! I hope to have better news tomorrow, but I'm relieved the surgery went well and that she has been in such good hands.

It's a Walk Off!

2010-01-20T19:51:00.002-07:00

Today was an exciting day in the Accounting department. Apparently a challenge was issued on Tuesday from a pair of ladies that walk during lunch each day to our their boss and our CFO (who also walk often). Our CFO had actually gotten the Chief of Accounting out on a walk to get him on an exercise program again to improve his health and when they departed our building they noticed the two ladies from Accounting and tried to catch up, unsuccessfully.

So the gauntlet was thrown down and today the two teams embarked on a 1 mile trek around our campus at 12:3o PM. I actually ran into the competitors en route to a 1 o'clock meeting and at that point the teams had split up and our CFO and 1 of the ladies were in the lead while the Chief of Accounting and the other lady brought up the rear. In the end a tie was declared and the side action going on in Budget (don't worry, not your tax dollars!) went back to the original betters.

Any physical feats going on in your office?

PS As a side note my Mom has an appointment with a NEW Vascular surgeon tomorrow. So I will be nervously awaiting the outcome of that all day and will update twitter accordingly. If he agrees surgery is needed it will probably be scheduled pretty quickly. But hopefully AFTER her birthday next Friday since the hospital would probably discourage the consumption cake so soon after surgery.

Climb Every Mountain

2010-01-17T20:26:00.003-07:00

Or...indoor rock wall. Last night I was feeling antsy and like I wanted to DO something over this 4 day weekend other than watch hours of TV. Maybe I'm finally ready to come out of hibernation. Anyway, I woke Bill up from a nap he was taking to see if he'd want to go to a rock climbing gym and after he grunted OK (probably just so I'd leave him alone) I did some research and made plans. There's one rock climbing gym in Tucson, Rocks and Ropes, and it's close to a brewery we like, so it was pretty easy to get Bill to go after he realized what he agreed to whilst unconscious the previous evening.

Sunday mornings are kids only, so we timed our arrival for 11 AM when the gym opened for the over-12 set. The first visit requires a standard orientation/instruction setting which is perfect since neither of us have ever climbed before. I thought the focus would be on how to climb...it's actually more on tying knots and belaying (i.e. not letting our partner fall to his death!). I actually took to the knot tying pretty well and have found a new way to nag Bill - his knots are so messy. After a 30 minute lesson and practice falling off the wall - which is more practice for the person on the ground to prevent the falling to your death - we were declared ready to climb on our own!

We took turns scaling the wall which was quite a work out and mentally challenging as you had to figure out where to put your hands and feet in order to maintain your vertical progress up the rockface. We tried a few different courses (both "easy") and I felt more confident - if tired- by the end. We've decided to go ahead and try a 1 month pass for couples since it's close to work and something we can do before heading home on weeknights. We'll probably also go on Sunday mornings as well since it's the perfect excuse to indulge in a lunch at Barrio Brewing afterward.

After we practice for a few months we may even try some of the outdoor climbing on Mount Lemmon - the gym also leads tours so we'd have some experienced climbers to ensure safety!

Heartsick

2010-01-15T13:22:00.003-07:00

Just a quick explanation for my recent absence...my Mom is sick.

She went in for a physical shortly before Christmas and there were a few issues that the primary care doctor noticed. She had a spot on her lung, her cholesterol was high, and he heard a sound in her carotid artery (it's in your neck, thanks Dr. WebMD). Further tests showed that the spot on her lung was nothing to be concerned about (YAY) but she had at least a 50% blockage in her carotid artery and would need to see a vascular surgeon.

That visit was this past week and a subsequent scan showed that the blockage was actually 90-99% and would require a carotid endarterectomy - essentially she is walking around with a 20% chance of stroke. To further complicate things (of course) my Dad asked me to check out which hospital would be better for the surgery...I work at a hospital and have access to co-workers who know these things. Luckily I had a meeting that afternoon with a lady who used to work in one of the hospitals as their legal counsel so when I arrived I explained what type of procedure my Mom was getting. The first words out of her mouth were 'just tell me it's not Dr. NAME REDACTED'...at which I checked my iPhone and noted it WAS Dr. NAME REDACTED . She explained when she had been working at this hospital, that doc had his license decredentialed for awhile, had multiple medical board actions, multiple malpractice lawsuits - she had to represent the hospital twice, and a lot of complaints from his patients. She immediately gave me 5 names of other vascular surgeons she knew that were exceptionally good and I called my Dad when the meeting was over. Now they're working on getting a 2nd visit with a new doc. I don't think I've EVER been so happy to go to my ethics meeting - this information was invaluable and most of it isn't online (at least in sites to which I have access).

Anyway, we feel better to have a solid referral now but it's still been a stressful week...and I deal with stress by hibernating. I've been asleep by 7 or 8, I wake up at 6 AM exhausted and am a zombie through the workday. I just want everything to happen already.

For YOUR information, because you may not have an opportunity to get personal recommendations from former hospital legal counsels, here are some links my co-worker told me about that can help with research. If you're in the Tucson area and want specific names just email me and I can tell you all about vascular surgeons.

AZ Medical Board (for other states - there should be something similar if you google):

http://www.azmd.gov/

Joint Commission (find out how hospitals stack up)

http://www.qualitycheck.org/consumer/searchQCR.aspx

Also - several real life people have expressed surprise that my Mom has such a severe blockage, she's so skinny, she eats healthy foods, exercises daily, doesn't drink...however she has been a life-long smoker. She quit on January 1, 2010 but those years of smoking add up and can't be "undone". So if you smoke please, PLEASE think about the long-term effects. It doesn't make sense to give yourself a stroke when you're in your 50's...plus it will stress your kids out:)

Happy Three Kings Day!

2010-01-06T18:42:00.003-07:00

Well, we usually would be taking our tree down the weekend after Three Kings Day (or The Epiphany) however we put ours up so early this year the thing dried out and shed pine needles everywhere. So this day is a bit less festive than usual. You may be wondering what the big deal is? Well, growing up my brother and I always got to move Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar around the house on an intricate path to the baby Jesus who resided in our toy wooden Farm patiently awaiting his gifts. We routed them over furniture and through bathrooms, they battled different hardships each year but they always made it. I have no idea how this "tradition" came to be, if it's something my Mom did or something we came up with on our own but the Three Wise Guys (my Dad's name for them) still make their annual trek through the house en route to the manger.

This tradition may have been inspired from when we lived in Puerto Rico. My brother wasn't born yet but there Three Kings Day is an EVENT. You can visit them and have your picture taken (with a LIVE CAMEL) not unlike Santa. And kids there leave hay out for the camels and the Kings leave gifts in return ...no not THOSE kinds of gifts! It's a shame we didn't keep that part of the tradition!

In any case, it's one of my favorite things to do during the holidays and January 6th represents the end of the season to me more than New Year's Day.

Resolutions - Everybody's Doing It

2010-01-02T22:38:00.002-07:00

Happy 2010! Did everyone have a great New Year's Eve? We actually went OUT, to an actual dinner party and I stayed up until midnight! Though we actually celebrated the magical midnight moment in the car on the way home because I didn't want to be on the road with all the revelers after midnight. Ahh 30's, responsibility is the new world order.

Anyway, as you may remember I make a list of things I want to do around my birthday (in September) which is also a poignant time of year as the end of September is the end of the fiscal year for me and kind of a bigger deal than 12/31 in my day to day life. However I thought I'd make some more generalized resolutions at the beginning of this new decade...so here we go!

10 Resolutions in '10

1. Be more organized - I've already started with the great paper purge of my office in the last week of 2009...I'm terrible with holding on to stuff I MIGHT need and I end up having so much stuff I couldn't find it if I DID need it! This applies to work and home!

2. Run 400 miles - I'm already 2.1 miles into this! Sadly my running program hit a major snag in Oct with lots of unexpected travel and flu-like illnesses. I've finally admitted I won't be able to run in the Half Marathon I signed up to do (it's in TWO WEEKS) and as much as the pinchpenny in me hates to waste the nonrefundable sign up fee it's just not in the cards.

3. Speaking of money - SPEND LESS. We started tracking our spending, down to every transaction, and we're cutting corners and trying to reduce the useless stuff we spend money on.

4. Pay Down Debt - we could potentially have almost all the revolving debt (including cars) paid off by the end of this year, however I realize things come up like dog surgeries, car repairs, etc. So I want to pay down at least half the debt and if we make it all the way BONUS!

5. One Grocery Trip a Week - this gets it's own line item because we are HORRIBLE about making multiple trips for 1 more thing, or because we don't like what we planned for dinner. You know how much this adds up to? A LOT.

6. Spend More Time With Friends - Hey a fun resolution! This past year I made a lot of new friends in real life and via blog/twitter...I even got to meet a bloggy friend in person! So I want to make an effort to keep up with all my friends, no matter what time zone they're in.

7. See More Movies - We missed so many movies last year (like HARRY POTTER OMG) and there wasn't a real reason...just got lazy and didn't want to drive to town to go to the theater! So this year I resolved not to miss out on movies just because of a little 45 minute drive.

8. Home Improvements - I've been compiling ideas and samples for awhile and in the two+ years we've lived in our house I've hung exactly 1 picture and 2 shelves. It's time to get busy with the decorating.

9. Belle Time - we want to try and walk Belle every day and make sure she's getting all the attention she needs - sometimes we get home from work and just crash out rather than walking her. Belle deserves a daily constitutional!

10. Continue to improve my health - this is a "project" that started a few years ago when I finally got a Dr. to listen to my concerns about my stomach issues. This past year I've finally found relief for my chronic neck/shoulder pain through acupuncture. So in 2010 I want to maintain my health and work on the diet/exercise part (see Resolution #2).

So those are my resolutions, so to speak! Did you make any for 2010?

Cheers to You!

2010-01-01T11:33:00.003-07:00

I hope everyone had a fun New Year's Eve! I for one, am happy to put 2009 behind me and am looking forward to a brand spanking new year. Happy 2010 to all!

*For the grammar geeks (MOM) - don't worry, the apostrophe was removed from the name prior to printing but I don't have a digital image of the final product!

Happy Birthday Weslie!

2009-12-29T18:35:00.003-07:00

I think this sentiment applies not only to Dec 25th Birthdays, but those within a week of Christmas too!

I hope you have a great year and got everything you wanted for Christmas AND your Birthday! Including seperate celebrations:)

Tales from the Retirement Community - Jingle All The Way Edition

2009-12-24T10:28:00.004-07:00

You may remember that my Dad has recently purchased a golf cart. It's the primary mode of transportation in Green Valley, AZ especially if you live in a retirement community (seriously, there are golf cart LANES and special parking places at the Safeway)!

Anyway, he had attached some jingle bells to the cart so that his daily trip to the Fitness Center was that more festive, he always made sure to hit as many bumps and cracks in the road as possible so that they would jingle more. In my head I imagine my Dad crazily swerving into car lanes so he could ring his bells. Safety first!

Of course when my brother arrived my Dad wanted to take him for a spin. They got in the golf cart and opened the garage door...then as my Dad hit the gas they scooted forward into the garbage cans! Someone had forgotten to put the cart in reverse! Later as my brother retold this tale my Dad admitted this hadn't been the first time this had happened.

Happy Christmas Eve!

The Great Dust Storm of 2009!

2009-12-23T17:14:00.002-07:00

Yesterday my brother and sister-in-law flew in from Houston, TX. They had a direct flight from Houston to Phoenix and my Dad drove up to Sky Harbor airport to pick them up. This is usually about a 2 hour trip and their arrival was around 10 AM so we expected them back in Tucson around 1 PM. They didn't arrive until almost 5 because of a gigantic dust storm that shut down I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix! Luckily their slightly late takeoff from Houston ensured they missed getting in the actual pile up the occurred or getting trapped on the section of the highway that had been closed...they were able to exit the highway around Casa Grande and take a 1 hour detour to get back to the highway south of the closure.

We're thankful they made it safe and sound, despite the delay and limited visibility!

Evil Taekwondo Monkeys

2009-12-21T18:56:00.000-07:00

I sent this link to my husband last week and of course he wanted his OWN Taekwondo monkeys - his idea is to have them ride Belle and form a cavalry unit.

A Belle Update!

2009-12-20T18:48:00.002-07:00

She's doing well, she came through surgery like a champ and after resting Friday night and Saturday she seemed back to her old self today. She ended up having surgery on both eyes - the vet checked her other eye after she worked on the one we knew had a problem and called to let us know there was some extra cartilage there as well, and she could remove for an additional $130. At this point $130 was nothing (seriously, vet surgery is EXPENSIVE) and we wouldn't want to put Belle through additional trauma so we had her go ahead and do the 2nd eye.

The technical problem Belle had is called cartilage eversion which simply means during her growth stage she grew some extra cartilage - you mostly see it in giant breed dogs. By the way, Belle is up to 111 lbs and is by no means overweight!

Here's some more info I found on a website about various eye problems with dogs:

Scrolled cartilage, or cartilage eversion

This condition is less common than ‘cherry eye’ and affects young giant breed dogs, usually during the rapid growth phase. The third eyelid has a T-shaped cartilage within it, to provide some rigidity. One small area of the T grows abnormally fast, so that the cartilage becomes bent, everted or ‘scrolled’. This results in the whole third eyelid becoming scrolled so that it appears as a pink to reddish mass in the corner of the eye. A scrolled cartilage can appear very similar to a ‘cherry eye’ and examination under general anaesthesia may be necessary to distinguish the different conditions.

As with ‘cherry eye’, there is no medical treatment to correct the abnormal cartilage and an operation is required. The operation is straightforward as the abnormal part of the cartilage is identified, dissected free and completely removed. Recurrence is highly unlikely in the same eye.

For now Belle has some antibiotics and pain pills, as well as an eye ointment we need to apply twice a day. She also has to wear the dreaded cone of shame, we leave it off most of the time but at night, outside, and when we're gone she needs to wear it to make sure she doesn't accidentally scratch her eyes. We can already see improvement despite the inflammation from the surgery and in about a month she should be fully recovered. But she only needs to wear the cone for a week so that's good news!

Prayers for Belle

2009-12-17T19:40:00.002-07:00

Belle is going to the vet tomorrow for a minor surgical procedure. She's had issues with her eyes for awhile, some red inflammation commonly referred to as "cherry eye". We talked to the vet when it first appeared and treated it topically and waited until she was full grown to make decisions about surgical intervention. This was because each eye had a separate issue that could be resolved as she grew into her size - 1 eye had a little too much tissue and that one actually is fine now. With her other eye, she has a little too much bone which causes her third eyelid to protrude just a tad, which then becomes inflamed. That one is still a problem so tomorrow she goes in to have that bone shaved (I think?) down - that should allow the eyelid and tear ducts to stay in their normal places and take care of the inflammation.

Of course I'm scared to death of taking her in for surgery and will be a neurotic mess ALL DAY at work until I hear everything went well. So I guess I'm asking you to pray for Belle's surgery to go well and for her mama to be OK while I wait for her to get fixed up! I will be sure to update tomorrow evening post-surgery to let you all know she's OK!

I Went to Sleep With Gum In My Hair...

2009-12-16T21:32:00.003-07:00

If any of you are familiar with "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day", you'll recognize that title. Which could double as the title to my memoirs. Seriously, it's been a run of bad luck and it seems to get worse every time I turn around despite the fact I haven't even said "It can't POSSIBLE get any worse". WTF universe?

And on top of the bad juju is the fact that stressful times are reflected directly on my face and tummy, as in I'm horrible broken out and until today I'd been eating my feelings. And then I split my pants and that has effectively killed my appetite for at least the remainder of 2009. Yes, you read that right, I split my pants. I could justify they were 4 year old, unlined, already fraying, but the fact remains that 1) I felt compelled to do the 'my pants are a bit tight' squat and 2) at the lowest point of the squat my pants ripped.

So it's skirts for me. And also celery and more celery.

All in all I've gone from feeling very jolly (maybe too jolly if my pants are any evidence) about the holidays to feeling like completely sitting them out. I've started to feel really taken advantage of in various aspects of my life and by various groups which is never a great feeling, I'm exhausted from work, I'm feeling down about my weight and pimples, and it seems like I just can't catch a break. I've started to embrace my grinchiness and canceled the 1.5 days of vacation I was going to take next week because I have so little vacation I don't want to waste those precious hours when I'm not even in a festive mood. So I'll be working until midday on Christmas Eve, much to my parent's disappointment. Disappointing them usually causes a lot more Catholic guilt for me but I guess things are so bad right now it's barely registering.

On top of all that, today I found out the puppy we were going to adopt did not make it...the mama had a rough delivery and most of the puppies didn't survive. This was one item I had been looking forward too - even though it wouldn't be until after the holidays we had considered future Sebastian our Christmas pup (we adopted Belle 2 years ago January) and already had bought his bed, collar, leash, etc. I was relieved Gracie, the mom, is doing OK and we have some alternatives we're pursuing so I haven't abandoned all hope yet. But it sure feels like the universe is kicking me while I'm down. I already feel another zit coming on.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2009-12-12T00:26:00.002-07:00

Sorry for the radio silence, the past week has been crazy at work, my boss and one to the other managers were on a business trip so I got to attend 3 times the meetings and 3 times the conference calls on top of the department holiday luncheon I helped plan (for 140 people) and other last minute crises.

Also, our internet at home has been REALLY SLOW. And since I was crashing by 9 PM I didn't have an opportunity to post much in the way of an update since it's impossible to get online until after 'peak hours' lately.

Anyway, I have been busy with non-work stuff like decorating the house for the holidays! We put lights up outside and no one was seriously injured! I've posted some iPhone pics on twitter and Facebook but I need to charge my regular camera battery to get a few better photos for the blog soon. We're also hosting our first annual holiday party tomorrow night! I'm so excited, we spent the evening cooking and still have a lot to do tomorrow but EVERYONE we invited has RSVP'ed yes so I'm hoping this will be a new tradition we do each year!

To get going with the holiday spirit, I'm reposting a Christmas Meme I read over at My Blonde Reality. I've just recently started reading her blog and she's hilarious (and fashionable!). I'm curious about your answers too so if you want to participate just copy the questions below and paste into your own blog (or comments here). Change the answers so they apply to you!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping, and my own paper and ribbon! We try to order items far enough in advance so we can have them delivered here for me to wrap before being shipped out - that way no generic wrapping:) I also discovered the OCD joy of using a bone folder for super crisp edges during my wedding earlier this year so I will probably break that out for the holidays!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Always real.

3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? We try to leave it up until after 3 Kings Day, or my brother's wedding in the case of 2008.

5. Do you like eggnog? Never been a fan myself.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? This is totally not PC but I remember getting a rabbit fur coat one year when I was about 7 and felt so stylish, and it was SO SOFT.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband's family - they historically have done a lot of gift cards which I try to avoid since I like shopping for the 'perfect' thing...however I don't want to disappoint them if what they really want IS a gift card!

8. Easiest person to buy for? My husband - I usually find too many things that would make great gifts!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Right now we have a small one we received from my husband's family, I want to start collecting the lladro nativity figures in a few years. I'm disappointed we don't have the 3 Kings - my brother and I always moved them on their 'journey' around the house until 3 Kings Day!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail for me! I love getting cards (or ANY non-bills) and am teaching myself calligraphy to make my own cards that more special!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? If we ever get something we don't like we go ahead and donate, but the only item I've ever remembered HATING was a pair of turquoise corduroy pants with gigantic pink roses from Laura Ashley that I received from an Aunt. We also spent that holiday at their house and I was forced to wear this abomination.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Well, anyone that knows me in real life probably knows A Christmas Story is at the top of my list! My brother and I usually watch it 5 or 6 times during the "24 Hours of A Christmas Story" on TBS. Elf is a close runner up though.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as the After Christmas sales start! I usually pick up a few things there and shop and collect ideas throughout the year. By Dec I usually know what I'm getting for everyone if it isn't sitting in the 'gift closet' yet.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so...we have donated items we wouldn't wear/use etc. I'm also bad about using gift cards I receive to purchase gifts for OTHERS.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I'm still getting used to Christmas Food with my allergies, but this is the time of year we make mashed potatoes with the heavy cream (YUM) and I recently discovered a great chocolate cake recipe I'm adapting with peppermint frosting...I'll update you after this weekend on how it turned out!

16. Lights on the tree? Yes! And I do them because I like them a particular way!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Feliz Navidad as sung by El Vez OR Come On! Let's Boogy to the Elf Dance! by Sufjan Stevens.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We've stayed home the past few years but now that my parents have moved to Southern AZ we will be spending the actual holiday with them! We had planned on visiting my husband's family but he ended up flying to DC for a week earlier this year, I have almost zero time off from a funeral a few months ago, and at the time we were planning we knew we wouldn't get to see his Dad and brother much so wanted to wait until we could spend actual time with them!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? OK I'll try...Dasher, Dancer, Comet, Cupid, Prancer, Dancer, Vixen, Rudolf...I'm missing a few I think...

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A star, it's a beaded blingy number from Pottery Barn!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We get 1 on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Morning we're allowed stockings after 5 AM but can't wake the parents until 7 when we open the rest of the presents. (Hello I'm apparently still 8 years old!)

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? This year? The hurricane force winds that messed up my luminaria! But the crowds at the mall are irritating too - I always have a few final items to get and it's sooo crowded.

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? Oh that's tough, we have a lot of sparkly stars and pretty glass ones - including a set of puppies I picked up from Sundance last year after Christmas for a song! My favorite is probably the Juliska glass ball I got for free from One Kings Lane, thanks to my Mom and brother joining and earning me credits!

24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? Last year we did a standing rib roast and it was DELICIOUS. I'm actually planning on breaking my red meat fast soon (post coming on that) so that I can eat this again for Christmas Dinner. And mashed potatoes, I love carbs and heaving cream.

25. What do you want to do for Christmas this year? Spend an extended weekend at my parents with my brother and Emily and not worry about anything!

26. Favorite Christmas tradition growing up? My brother and I staying up until the wee hours because we were too excited to sleep, and then waking before 5 AM and counting down until we could attack our stockings.

27. Favorite tradition now? Um, nothing has really changed! Though now we have added Bill and Emily to the mix:)

28. Favorite Christmas Memory? One year my brother picked out a particularly heavy gift thinking it would be AWESOME, it was a huge jar of pickles my Mom wrapped as a joke. He was soooo upset (and was only like 5 years old)! There's always a few 'duds' underneath the tree in our house!

The WW Wagon

2009-12-01T21:05:00.002-07:00

Well, I've gone and joined Weight Watchers...I'm inspired by many other bloggers who had success on this program and I really want to get the post-wedding weight gain in check before I'm back where I STARTED pre-wedding! I'd been going to boot camp but with my recent sickness (for say, all of Oct and Nov) and current schedule I can't get to the class for the next month or so. I don't plan to stop exercising COMPLETELY, I'm going to start running again. Slowly at first so I don't give myself a pseudo-asthma attack! I also have the Physique 57 DVDs which are a killer but have languished untouched for a few months now. But I think a big component will be watching the diet...with my food restrictions I tend to eat the foods I CAN eat without thinking about it - I mean I can't eat cookies or candies or BREAD right?

Apparently, WRONG. That scale kept going up, slowly but surely and while at first I blamed bloating, and weighing myself in the evening when I'm heavier, and all the other excuses the truth is I've put on about 10-12 lbs (depending on AM or PM weight) since May.

I just started the program on Sunday but it has been incredibly eye opening to realize that what I'd normally eat in a day would be WAY OVER my allotted points! Did you know a Venti Peppermint Mocha, even with skim milk and no whipped cream, is SIX POINTS? I only get 20 of those suckers a day! I'll be updating each Sunday on my point status (whether I blew it or not) and weight lost. I'll also be more vigilant about updating the blog with recipes which will now include helpful WW Point information!

Has anyone else done WW or considered it?

I'm Thankful for My List!

2009-11-29T19:23:00.002-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Did anyone else have to work on Friday? If you did, was it the slowest day on record? I think I received 10 emails all day. Keep in mind I usually average about 180-200 emails a day so the lack of traffic left quite a hole in my schedule.

Anyway, I DID enjoy the holiday - Bill and I celebrated with my parents at their house in Green Valley. My Mom roasted a chicken (I'm allergic to Turkey) and tried out the convection oven for the first time, it worked perfectly. I brought my ricer and made mashed potatoes, and we enjoyed the rest of the trimmings and THREE desserts. That's right, three. I brought some leftover gluten free cupcakes I'd made for work, my Mom made baked apples, and she had also made a pumpkin pie for my Dad (I guess I only had 2 desserts, still a lot of food!). In retrospect I should not have worn my new skinny leg jeans!

Speaking of gluten free cupcakes...I'd made these for our work get together as part of my 32 things list. So far this year I have been zipping through the list! Who knew printing it out and putting it somewhere where you can see it would improve results so much! To date I have completed the following items:
2. Make gluten free cupcakes from scratch.

8. Get new license in married name.

10. Go clubbin' in Vegas.

19. Order a pet costume for Belle

28. Wear more dresses

31. Get a pedicure

32. Get a cute accessory

The cupcakes were a hit, people at work wanted the recipe and they are not deathly allergic to wheat, eggs, soy, etc! I'll be making a cake version of this for our Christmas party in 2 weeks, as well as for Christmas itself. If you or a loved one has allergies I highly recommend trying this recipe out! The chocolate frosting was a hit as well, of course the primary ingredient is candy bars so what's not to love?

I had set myself a time limit on changing my license by booking my flight to Vegas in my married name, so 2 weeks before departure I spent all of 30 minutes at the DMV one Saturday morning completing the change. I was a little embarrassed about how easy it was and how long I'd delayed. In my defense Cox cable is demanding copies of every scrap of paperwork, notarized, in triplicate, to change my CABLE bill.

As for Vegas, we truly did go clubbin' the first night! 3 of us arrived on a Thursday night and we tried one of the dance clubs in NYNY - it was loud, people were rude, and dresses were TOO SHORT. We stayed for one drink before declaring ourselves 'too old for this' and heading to a publike locale!

Belle celebrated Halloween as a red hot chili pepper in an XXXXL costume (the largest I could find)...this costume was big enough for me to wear. I know because I tried it on. We're debating a Christmas outfit but between the stress of decorations and getting a new puppy soon we may skip the torture for this year.

As for dresses, I've been making attempts to purchase more of them (thanks Gilt Groupe) and have bought a few for work and a few 'fun ones' to wear out or to parties. I think my dress collection has tripled since this past May! It's definitely easier to throw on in the morning, and more comfortable if you're having a fat day:)

I got a pedicure AND manicure! I generally do my own nails, including for my wedding (at about midnight the night before) and I think the last time someone else physically polished my nails was about 4 or 5 years ago. I went to Bliss in Scottsdale and overall I wouldn't recommend their nail salon - it was overpriced, they kept selling their products, and they're kinda rude. I mean, if I'm shelling out 30 bucks for a manicure I'm going to do something I usually wouldn't do, i.e. dark nails, so if they keep screwing up I don't want to hear it's the color I picked. I also don't want to be told it's my cuticles fault because I don't use their cuticle cream...totally turned off by that company now. However I will make an attempt to get my nails done closer to home on a more frequent basis so that I CAN rock the dark nails every once in awhile!

As for a cute accessory, I indulged in a glittery headband from Anthropologie that I intended to wear in Vegas...I ended up not wearing it but I think I'll wear it for the upcoming holiday party we're throwing! Usually I only buy accessories for "work" so this is a bit out of my comfort zone!

All in all I've made pretty good progress! I've also been more aware of trying to get things done rather than making a list and ignoring it for a year like last time. We have a few more things lined up for the coming weeks so I can keep crossing off the activities!

Sinus Infection Gone Bad

2009-11-22T19:47:00.004-07:00

Bet you've been wondering where I've been since returning from Vegas?? Well, I've been here, but this past week was crazy with getting all the annual reviews for our Department completed so I was going into work a few hours early each day and bringing files home with me each evening. Not exactly a fun and exciting topic to blog about! I also was dealing with an irritating cold which I assumed I picked up in Vegas - I swear I get sick every time I go there. Probably because I'm really sensitive to cigarette smoke, but still it's irritating. Anyway, this added to a stressful week since I awoke each morning hardly able to breathe and just felt run down in general.

This all changed about 2:30 PM on Friday when I suddenly developed chest pains. My first thought was 'this is weird', followed quickly by 'ZOMG I AM HAVING A HEART ATTACK!'

I left my office and walked down the hall to a co-worker's office, my thought being that if I AM having a heart attack, better to do it in the presence of someone else who could dial 911 rather than in the privacy of my office which can go unvisited for hours at a time. At this point the chest pains had subsided so I mentioned it to him and the trainees, hung out for a while longer, and headed back to my office to finish up the revenue reports. However the pains continued to come back and by 4 PM I went to my boss to let him know I was going to walk over to Employee Health...when I mentioned "chest pains" he and my co-worker insisted on escorting me in case I fainted en route. We got there and found employee health closed, but another employee there freaked out upon hearing my distress, produced a wheelchair, and demanded my boss take me to our emergency room. At this point I wasn't too happy because I felt perfectly fine WALKING and I also didn't want to get stuck for hours in our emergency room so close to quitting time.

We left in the direction of the Emergency Room to appease the lady but actually headed back to our building, my boss pushing me in a wheelchair the whole way. En route I called Bill, who thoroughly freaked out upon hearing "chest pains" and "wheel chair" and let him know I'd be waiting in my chair to be picked up (we carpool most days). He was actually on the way so I didn't have to sit in the parking lot long with my attendants who refused to let me stand. When I got in the car Bill insisted on going to Urgent Care even though I was leaning towards home and we spent the next 3 hours at that place.

After 1 hour in the waiting room, we were allowed back to a room to wait another 30 minutes or so. They took my vitals and symptoms, and when the Doc came in he asked more questions and then checked me out. Turns out I had NOT been having a heart attack (which at this point would have been going on for 6 hours)! Rather I had a sinus infection that had gotten particularly nasty and caused an asthma like response in my lungs. Not actually HAVING asthma, I was not aware how asthma attacks feel. Though in retrospect it made sense since my breathing had been very shallow for several days and I'd been waking up before my alarm clock (set at 4 AM) because I could not breathe. So they gave me a breathing treatment while I was there and started me on some steroids to reduce the inflammation in my lungs. We then headed to the Pharmacy to fill my 5 prescriptions for antibiotics, steroids, nasal spray, and inhalers (another hour). Bill was nice enough to run me home so I didn't have to stand around for another hour.

After starting the meds I felt immediately better, probably because I'm getting enough oxygen again. Since I wasn't contagious from the sinus infection I went ahead and kept my acupuncture appointment on Saturday which turned out to be a good idea. She was able to do a sinus treatment as well as my regular back and TMJ treatment and that seems to clear my sinuses even more. Today I felt well enough to meet friends for lunch and an early showing of New Moon!

So long story short - I did not have a heart attack at work on Friday. My boss will be so relieved tomorrow!

PS I am being careful to rest and drink fluids, and am abstaining from exercise (running and boot camp) until next week. So while I'm glad this wasn't more serious I am certainly not pushing myself!

#stephs30th

2009-11-16T18:09:00.003-07:00

Steph has successfully turned 30! We documented the weekend pretty well on twitter and some ladies even made sure to update their facebook status updates throughout the weekend. We spent the weekend shopping, eating, seeing shows, and going out and while I'm tired from a whirlwind weekend I'm so glad we were able to get together to celebrate with Steph.

Happy Birthday Leader of the Lady Wolfpack!