Left work early yesterday to go to therapy.

Left therapy early yesterday to go get my hair cut and colored. Or colored and cut, as the case may be.

It looks cute in this picture, no so this morning.

My question of the day: Why is it, no matter how hard you try, you absolutely cannot get your hair to ever look as good the next day as it did when you left the salon the day before? It's just not fair! Sigh.

Ate dinner with E at Tinga, a fresh Mex restaurant on Bellevue Avenue in Montclair. Yum! I had a bar-sized Tinga burrito with grilled chicken. Bar-sized meant it was made with an 8" tortilla, rather than a 12" tortilla. It was so stuffed with rice and beans and chicken that all I can say is it's a good thing I didn't get the normal burrito! It was a lot of food! It came with a salad (some romaine and chopped fresh tomatoes with honey mustand dressing) and you get some chips and salsa to munch on while you're waiting for your food. Mmm, good! The salsa was very yummy - a little tangy, but not so hot you couldn't eat it...

Therapy went well yesterday. I told the therapist that my good left knee was hurting after Monday's session. He adapted the exercises to be more muscle building/strengthening than impact-oriented (read: no treadmill). I thought I liked the original therapist a lot, but I liked yesterday's better! He listened, and paid more attention to me than she did... I have a new one tonight; we'll see what happens...

I'm so sad.

At the lake there are four very tame ducks that we've been feeding for months now. They were bought as pets for some local kids last Easter, we found out, but they got too big and the kids let them free in the lake at Christmas-time. Christmas-time? In the cold?

They are so tame that they take bread from my hand, they float up to the docks and call me. Quack! Quack! Quack! And I answer them, "Quack! Quack! Quack!" I look and sound like an idiot but they're so pretty... Two of them are white, and two of them are a gorgeous brown. We just determined within the last month or so that there are two males and two females.

The white female has been missing for a few days now, since Monday. DH didn't see her since we fed them on Sunday. He took a walk around our neighbors' properties, looking for her, but until today, she was MIA.

He found her today, sitting out of the water on R's dock, with one leg so badly hurt that you can't tell if it's been hurt in a boat propellor or chomped on by a snapping turtle. We assume it's not the turtle 'cause of how it's dislocated; it's pulled out behind her, all cut and bloodied.

DH thinks she's going to die. The triplets (cousins to the ones who let them go free) put some bread near her so she had food to eat. DH said he picked her up and held her and petted her; she's immobile and lets you pet her now. He's afraid she's going to die soon.

This makes me sad. They are so tame that they float right up to the boats that are moored out in the lake, begging for food. Perhaps someone wasn't as careful as they should be and started their engine while they were too close... I'm sure it was an accident, whatever happened, but now I'm not happy.

Took Mom up to see the house. When you drive down the street and come around the bend, where you can see the neighbor's house - all of a sudden, our house is towering over hers! It's even higher than the other neighbor's house! I'll have to take a picture of it from this angle when I get my camera back from Best Buy...

Talked with G today - she didn't get the Special Ed job she applied for but she seems to be okay with it. M is apparently really p-o'd about it but G says it might be a blessing in disguise. The program is so messed up that 8-4/12 months a year might easily be 6-8/15 months a year! G is a workaholic, and this might kill her! M told DH that it's probably better for G to stay in the school system where she is 'cause she can retire in a couple of years; with this new job she'd probably work it for longer. The money was great, much better than what she's making now, but with $$ comes work...

We're going to try to get together for dinner next Monday or Tuesday. She apologized profusely for not calling and keeping in touch (her mom was in the hospital for a while; she's out and better now), but really wants to go out soon...

So much of my writing recently has been construction-oriented that you'd almost think there was nothing else going on in my life. Wait a minute. Nothing else IS going on in my life! But I'm going to write about non-construction stuff today.

A sad story...

My sister's cat, George, died last week. When I called P to tell her how sorry I was and how much I loved her, she said something so poignant that I haven't been able to get it out of my head (and I'm paraphrasing): "I heard somewhere that although you might have lots of pets in your life, that there's always going to be one who's your soul mate, and George was mine."

I didn't know George well, but I loved him - he was (I think) a Russian Blue and he was absolutely gorgeous. His sister-of-the-heart, Camille (another of P's cats who died several years ago) had stunning markings; she was gorgeous. But George? I loved the way he looked. I'm not a cat person, but I could have truly enjoyed being owned by George. I don't know what it is I liked so much about him - I only "met" him a few times. There was something about him, though, something that I really liked. I feel so bad for P - it's not easy to lose someone you love, especially someone with whom you've spent almost every day of the past 15 years or more...

I asked P to send me a picture or two of George, or of George and Camille. I like what I can create on a scrapbook page, even though I'd never describe myself as artistic, and I offered to make a page for George that I could frame (or she could frame) for her wall.

He will be missed.

On to other topics...

I went to Best Buy yesterday to drop off my camera for repair. The little door that holds the batteries in broke when I dropped the camera. Yes, the damage was my fault. But I paid for an extended warranty and by God, I will try to get it fixed without having to pay for it! I picked up my nephew (he jumped at the chance to go to BB) and we went.

Now I didn't go in cold-turkey. I called first. I sat on hold for 2o minutes, only to hang up, sit on hold for another 10 minutes, then talk to someone not from the Repair Center, and finally got in touch with Customer Service. CS told me that it's okay if I don't have my receipt; I'm registered online so they can look me up with my phone number. She told me to come in and go to the camera department.

So in we went, right to the camera department. She sent me to Customer Service. There was one line, roped off and marked with a sign that read "Returns and Exchanges." There were two other registers marked "In Store Pick Up" and "Customer Service," and there were lines of people in front of each.

So I got on line in front of the Customer Service sign, behind two Spanish guys who had an HP printer in an unopened box. There was a woman talking to the clerk in front of them. CS finished with the woman, then the two men approached the girl. They spoke briefly, then the guys picked up their box and went their merry way.

AND THE WOMAN ON LINE IN THE "RETURNS AND EXCHANGES" LINE CUT IN FRONT OF ME.

Okay. That set me off, I admit. So I walked up behind this woman who made a return and waited my turn there so no one else from the Returns and Exchanges line could cut in front of me.

They sent me to stand on line at the Geek Squad counter, after pulling my extended warranty number up on the computer, asking me if I had any other Canon camera under warranty with them "'cause the numbers don't match." No. And I don't have any other camera under warrantly with them either, thank you very much.

So I stood on line. Four registers opened, people at each, with one guy standing at the counter with no one helping him. Some guy walked in carrying a PC and he proceeded to walk up to the counter in front of me. When the Geek finished helping the person in front of me, he started to wait on this guy instead of asking "Who's next?"

My head exploded.

I threw my hands in the air and started huffing and puffing. "Oh, were you next?"

Duh... Yes.

The guy with the PC apologized and nicely chatted with me while the Geek took his sweet time taking my info. I felt bad and apologized for overreacting, but I was on my 2nd or 3rd line and had been waiting... He was very nice and we talked for a few moments, while the Geek confirmed what, when, where, why and how...

So again, sorry, mister, for being such a bee-atch.

Photos, Part Deux!!
Looking upstairs from the dining-room-to-be, I will be picking out a chandelier to hang in the staircase, rather than just some wall sconces - I think it will look nice leaving that light on upstairs when we're out...
This is some of the piping Plumber J installed last week. It reminds me of that screensaver...
Here's the road leading to our house. It almost looks sort of funny without lumber and trucks filling the space...
Here are our newly installed French doors, between what is now the living room and what will be the dining room (our current bedroom).
The same doors, looking from the bedroom/dining room into the living room...

If you add a little Tyvek to the second floor, this is pretty much what the house looks like right now.
They had to extend the chimney and the two fireplace liners above the new second floor. We were really tempted to start the fire the other day (it was 51 degrees in the morning! After 97+ days, that felt really cold! BUT we didn't - I don't know if we have to get an inspection on the chimney...)
Here's a shot of our newly installed stairs - the lake is at your back, and at the top of the staircase there's a landing and you turn 180 degrees. When you enter the sitting room on the 2nd floor, you're facing the lake, with a view to die for! Also, you can see that 2"x4" supporting the landing - picture a wall alongside the stairs where it's started to get framed out, making a right angle to the 2"x4", then another right angle to the front of the house. The left window will remain visible, but there will be a door there to enter the lower staircase, to access the basement. Those stairs will go from front to back, into the basement, coming out facing the walk out door to the lake.
From the sitting room, this is one side of our double-sided-fireplace-to-be; the other side will be in our bedroom.
Here are our new sliding glass doors and windows in the living room, with all the grids finally installed!

Since I can't figure out how to add more than 5 pictures at a time (I don't think I can), I'm making two separate entries this morning, to catch you all up to date on the construction.

We have stairs.

Some stairs. Stairs from the first floor to the new second floor.

We don't have stairs from the first floor to the basement. Which means, gentle reader, that we have to go outside, down the rather steep hill, around to the back of the house, to the basement walk out door, and into the basement to get the extra staples DH needs for the stapler. Then we have to reverse the trip, climb up the rather steep hill and back inside the house.

Only to find out that there are two sizes of staples down there, and of course, I brought the wrong ones upstairs. Why? Because DH didn't tell me there were two different sizes of staples, and he was even wrong about where in the basement they were, but I managed to located them. [For the record, the second set wasn't anywhere near the first. For an uber-organized male, that was a big oops!]

Oh. Sorry. I didn't bring them "upstairs." BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE STAIRS THERE.

Now, going upstairs to the addition is a pleasure. Those stairs are wide, oak and beautiful. I love climbing upstairs, even to do work. I have to pick out a bannister and a newel post. And a chandelier. For the stair landing. It will hand in front of a window in the hallway and will look ever-so-nice at night...

This whole downstairs thing? The stairs they made to go from the first floor to the basement didn't fit. They "missed" the fact that our foundation wall has both 8" and 12" cinder blocks, and they change from 8" to 12" right in the middle of the staircase! I think we're going to put a ladder down into the hole in the floor that currently leads into our basement. Sigh. More ladders.

I absolutely promise to get pictures posted this week, no matter what.

Stairs.

I can't even guess at how many times I've moaned and groaned about having to climb up a flight of stairs. But as is true about other things, we really take stairs for granted.

As you know, if you're either (a) a reader of this blog, or (b) anyone who knows me or my husband personally, we're under construction at the lake house. It took only three days for the framers to put a second floor on our home.

Now, keep in mind that I'm not a fan of ranch-style homes. I grew up in a colonial style house, with living quarters on the first floor, and bedrooms/bathrooms on the second. That's my idea of a home. You shouldn't, IMHO, be able to just sort of roll out of bed into the kitchen. You should be able to go to sleep while your housemates (be they family or husband) have company downstairs and not worry about someone hearing you brush your teeth or go potty. It's sort of like separation of "life" and "home," or "day" and "night."

Well, we have a second floor at the lake now. It's not livable, but we can work up there. The only thing is:

I have to climb a ladder to get there.

Now, I know, dear readers, that you're thinking, "So what? It's a ladder. Climb it already and stop whining."

However, (1) I'm not a fan of heights, no matter how low they might be, and when I climb a ladder, I'm almost always climbing to a spot higher than where I start, and eventually I have to climb back down from a spot higher than I'm heading toward, and (2) my legs are too long to climb a ladder.

Yea, sure, go ahead and laugh. But I'm serious. When I try to climb a ladder (and despite my professed fear of heights, I do, to help DH do his work!), my knees hit the rungs or the sides of the ladder and it's very awkward. Can I clamber up said ladder with my legs spread wide and pointed outward? Sure. I look stupid and I'm unsteady, but it can be done.

I don't do it.

I take one rung at a time, one leg at a time (always the right one). And it takes a lot longer than a flight of stairs would.

The point of all of this?

They're delivering our stairs today and they're installing them tomorrow!!!

Life is good.

I started physical therapy yesterday. It was a piece of cake: a few leg lifts (2 different kinds), tightening my quads (2 different exercises), some icing (cool down) and electrotherapy. Then Lorraine, my therapist, enlightened me: "Of course today was easy. It's like fishing. We reel you in with an easy day, then put the screws to you next time!" Basically, it gets me back in the door at least once...

I understand I will be adding in some bike work, some treadmill time, and some weight exercises into my routine. In addition, she's assigned me some homework:

1. Hip/knee Strengthening: Hip Adduction - Isometric - With ball or folded pillow between knees, squeeze knees together. Hold 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.
2. Hip/knee Strengthening: Straight Leg Raise (Phase I) - Tighten muscles on front of right thigh, then lift leg to height of left knee, keeping knee locked. Repeat 20 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.
3. Hip/knee: Straight Leg Raise with External Leg Rotation - Lie on back with right leg straight, opposite leg bent. Rotate straight leg out and lift to height of left knee. Repeat 20 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.
4. Hip/knee Quad Set: Slight Flexion - Tense muscles on top of right thigh. Hold 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.

Of course, I have to do it for both legs, not just the right one. I'd look pretty darned funny if only one leg was developed/strengthened...

Tonight is Scrapping Game Night. Should be fun!

The plumber has begun. He thinks he'll be back even next week, too. We're hiring someone to insulate. The chimney should be done today. The sider will come next week, perhaps. It's getting there, it really is. In a couple of weeks, you won't know that we don't have walls inside, that it's not livable inside - the outside will look like a new house!!! I can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!! Today is mom's b'day - I hope it's one of the best ones yet! Jack and I are taking her out to dinner, and we're supposed to have cake at my house, but the heat and humidity might put the kibosh on that... Maybe we'll do that another evening... Mom will talk to C and let me know later today.

So the plumber came on Sunday to look at the work that has to be done. While we are putting a tub in the new bathroom, no one will ever use it - we're shower folk. But I really wish I could put a real tub in the space, not one of those hotel tubs that are only 14" deep... But because of the space restrictions and the places where the beams/floor joists are located, we're sort of stuck when it comes to running the drains and water pipes. So I suppose I'll have to decorate the bathroom with a full shower curtain, rather than just frame it, so you can't see the mini tub we're being forced to put in... Of course, if we wanted to delay the bathroom work until they ordered another tub, we could do that, but really, according to DH that's "NOT AN OPTION." Now, he really didn't say that, but I know that if I even mention delaying the work, his head will really and truly explode on his shoulders and I'll have to clean up all that gray matter. We have to have it done before the end of August 'cause he goes back to school and no one will be there to have the work done unless I take off and if I take more days off now I won't be able to take days off when we want/need them in November for Teachers' Conference or in December for my birthday or Christmas or even for Christmas shopping...

I visited one of my favorite blogs the other day: http://phopecj.blogspot.com/
I hope Miss Hope doesn't mind if I cut and paste the pertinent info here - to those of you who say the media isn't biased: WHY HAVE WE NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS HERE IN NJ? [Note from my mom: It was mentioned on whatever TV station she was watching, but no follow up story, and they don't know why these guys had the stuff they had in their car and there was no mention of the Naval base or the jail...]

We sat in silence when the story turned to two guys who were taken into custody for allegedly having bomb fixin's in their vehicle. Location of this incident? The local anchor stated it was Charleston, South Carolina. The banner on the bottom stated Goose Creek, South Carolina. A standard roadblock interceded and stopped these fellows. Now, here comes the good part. I'm not going to tell you any classified information. That's probably because I don't know a lick of it to begin with. But, do you pay attention? I mean, REALLY pay attention? Because if you did, you would know that we have the Navy Nuclear Power Training Command in Goose Creek, South Carolina. I know this because my husband was an instructor there for three and a half years. This is where we have a few thousand kids that are fresh out of boot camp. They are cramming so much knowledge into their young brains in a short amount of time so they can go out in the fleet and protect our country. I've had the honor of being on this base and, believe me..it's loaded with our smartest and brightest. It holds our hope for a generation that will love this country and continue to protect it and serve it well. I will give you the link of the article that I found online so that you may gleam more information. Plus, it'll save me alot of typing.http://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/0807/444994.htmlHow about that? Are you surprised? Truly? This worries me. Of course, it worries me. I wouldn't have taken the time to write about it if it didn't. Let's just talk hypothetically now. Let's just say these boys were seriously thinking of doing harm. (Remember, it's supposed to innocent until proven guilty here in American...so for now...we'll just do some "suppose this or that" talk). Let's just say they managed some how to get on base. Let's just say they even managed to get as far as the school where our young men and women are sleeping in barracks....or even the building where they attend school. Let's just say they blast this rolling bomb of a vehicle and take out the school.Have you any idea what this could do to our Navy? Any idea at all? It could have the potential to severely damage an entire generation of sailors. I can't even fathom what the repercussions could be in the long run. But, I'll be more than happy to let you stew on it for a few.Because I have another concern I need to address.Again, I'm not giving out any classified information. My husband doesn't tell me stuff and I don't ask. I respect his job and duties and would never in my life ask him to betray an oath that he has taken. So, do you know what else is at our Goose Creek, South Carolina Naval Training Command? A brig. That's a jail. And it's a jail that holds some of the worst bad guys that threaten our country. Take for instance:http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/06/10/dirty.bomb.suspect/If you hung with the article long enough, you would have seen where Mr. Muhajir is being held. Yeah, scary, isn't it? It's enough to make a person wonder. Were Two Bomb Suspects harboring thoughts of taking out some of our kids? Or were they thinking about breaking out this Muhajir character..or even taking him out so he can't rat on anyone? Will we ever know?Now comes the good part. This is where I once again spout my love for this country because I am getting ready to state some of my very own personal opinions.All you tree hugging jerks who keep talking out of your butt about stopping this war and cutting funding?Shut up.When you know every single little detail and get a full complete picture of what's going on? THEN, open your mouth to speak and just shut up again. You don't know it all. You seriously don't. The media will only show what is guaranteed to boost ratings and if that's something that slants against our troops and defense plans, what do they care? Anything to stir up controversy and keep viewers tuned in to their stations. Let the people do their jobs. Let them keep us safe. Let them keep OUR CHILDREN safe. Let them work to keep our country a "free" country for future generations. I'm all for everyone having an opinion. Unless it's a stupid one and I've heard too many stupid ones on this subject to last me a lifetime. If we are to survive in any capacity, we must remain diligent. We have no choice. We have to have surprise roadblocks. We have to have someone standing watch at all times. I welcome any and all comments and arguments. For or against. I reserve the right to delete stupid stuff. Cause I'm crazy like that. I love living here in the U.S.A.

My french doors are installed! DH came home last night (to see me!) and said that he can't wait for me to get there today and see what he did... Pictures to come next week! He says it looks great!

And all the window grids are in in our new living room, and the new window with the missing balance - fixed! (It's so nice to be married to a handy man!!)

The humidity here in NJ is getting unbearable. The few days in the year when we suffer this way really get to me. Thank goodness (drumroll, please!) I'll have central air in the lake house by the time I begin to suffer from menopause and hot flashes! I don't think I could tolerate it any other way! Of course, if I'm still working when I start suffering that way, I might have to relocate and commute from the lake house...

I got a call from my dr the other day - my fibroid tumors appear to be the same. One view showed a slight increase (less than a quarter of an inch) but he seemed to feel it might be the view only, not an actual size change. I'm still totally symptom-free, so we're not going to do anything about them. I asked about the pill; yes, I'm staying on it for a while longer. He said I would see a difference in my period if I started menopause, even though I am on the pill, so unless I want to practice safe sex some other way, I should stay on it for now. I'll continue to check in with him every six months.

I'm training up to the lake today. It's 1-1/2 hours, one way. Once in a while, it's not bad. I get a bit of reading done (I tried some writing but that's not happening - a laptop would work; the train wouldn't affect my typing like it affects my handwriting...) and of course, some people-watching...

Sometimes I hear stories about other people's families, and I'm so grateful for my own. Even with all our foibles and quirks and pesky pet peeves - we are so very normal! I have a friend whose family is, well, to put it nicely, nuts. And they make her so darn miserable that it's even hard, sometimes, to hear her tell her stories! I know, I know, I'm only hearing her side of the story - and I tell her that - but even when I try to look at it from "their" side - no way. They're nuts. For instance... she just called me, en route to work. She was in the shower this morning, washing her hair, sort of prepared for her dad to yell at her to get out of the shower, that she's taking too long, like he's done in the past for no good reason.

He did. Yell at her to get out of the shower. "RIGHT NOW! WHERE ARE YOU? WHY AREN'T YOU OUT HERE YET? I NEED YOU OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

When she got out of the shower (after shouting back that she just had to rinse the conditioner out of her hair - how long could that take? 30, 40 seconds? Her hair is barely shoulder length and it's very thin, from medication she's taking), she pulled a towel around herself and opened the door to see what was so urgent.

"WHAT ARE YOU IN A TOWEL FOR? WHAT DO I NEED YOU IN TOWEL FOR? I CALLED YOU BECAUSE I NEEDED YOU. I DON'T NEED YOU IN A TOWEL!"

Now, I'm no psychiatrist/psychologist - he's certifiable. He's also 70. I wonder if he's having moments of senility or dementia. Or if he's just nuts. Yeah, he's just nuts.

P.S. My friend went back into her room to dress and by the time she came downstairs, fifteen minutes later, he was in the car, leaving for Home Depot, never having spoken with her again.

Minneapolis Bridge Tragedy

Last night, at 6:05pm (local time), a major bridge on I-35 collapsed in Minneapolis. So far, 9 people are confirmed dead, over 60 injured, 10 critically, and 20 are missing. My heart bleeds for those families. The pictures are horrific. There was no warning. There was some work being done on the bridge, general maintenance and repair, apparently, and there is no evidence yet that it contributed to the collapse. It was a HUGE section of bridge that fell; I don't know yet how much initially fell and how much was pulled down because of the failure of that first part. A school bus was caught on the end of the bridge and didn't fall into the Mississippi River; the children exited from a rear door since the front door was jammed against the side of the bridge.

I remember years ago Eric G. told me that he was afraid of bridges, that every time he drove across one, he all but prayed, even though he wasn't a particularly religious person. "I hate them!" he said. I can remember being mildly amused: how could this big truck driver be afraid of bridges!?!

Today, as I was driving to work, I had to cross over and under several bridges on Route 3 East. Most of them are concrete bridges, built sometime in the late 40s and 50s. One of them, the Berry Creek Bridge, in the Meadowlands, is a big structure. That one makes me nervous; you can't see anything above or below you, or immediately over the sides...

I hope for the best in Minneapolis.

[Note: As of today, 5 are confirmed dead, not 9. That's 5 too many.]

Boy, do I have my neighbors fooled! S seems to think I'm talented, in an artistic sort of way. She asked me to help her create some sort of scrappy centerpieces for A's bar mitzvah. Ultimately she decided to just fill a bunch of picture frames with photos of A and his brothers and cousins and friends. We spent an evening last week doing it and another evening last night. Had a great time. Thanks for including me, S!

Today is SL's wedding day. She and T are getting married tonight. If we weren't working so hard on the lake house, if DH was actually going to be home tonight, I would have happily RSVPd "yes" but as it is, I'm not going. We wish them well! They're both divorced, with 4 children between them, and today they join their families forever. According to S, T's ex-wife is very nice about the whole thing, praising SL to the boys, encouraging them to like SL and feel comfortable with her. That's a nice thing.

Today is also Tenant Appreciation Day at work. Free food, fortunetellers, stilt walkers, clowns, Mr. Softee. Yay! My next door cubicle mate ought to disappear around 11:30 and I'll be we don't see her until around 2/2:30. She'll be adding yet another caricature of herself to her office space. In fact, she has no room there now; I'll bet she takes down pix of her kids just to put up another of herself...

Speaking of her, I have a great story to tell about her someday when I have time - just remind me to relate the story about her and LL Cool J - they're best friends, after all...

I haven't been in school in 26 years. (Ouch!) The feeling of passing a test never goes away, though...

WE PASSED OUR ELECTRICAL INSPECTION!!!

Hip, hip, hooray! 3 cheers! Yay!

There wasn't really any reason why we wouldn't - DH did what he was supposed to do, the right way, with Best Man L the Electrician checking on his every move. I think DH was a bit nervous since Best Man L the Electrician commented that some of the work at KD's wasn't up to his standards, and DH and KD ran all those wires... I know Best Man L the Electrician is a very picky worker - after all, he is his reputation.

DH said the inspector wasn't there 5 minutes. He came in, climbed up the ladder, looked around, told DH he passed, and left. I suppose there were a few more comments made, but that was the one we were waiting for :)

The leftover TJIs were picked up yesterday; now we just have to wait to hear from 84 Lumber how much credit we're going to get for them. They're worth about $300+, but apparently, by the time the pick up charge ($80) and the restocking charge (30%) is deducted, we're looking at around $159 + tax, IF all three beams are considered to be in resaleable condition...

Here's our schedule for the next few weeks:

• Stairs will be delivered Monday or Tuesday of next week
• Hopefully A the Framer will be able to come by the end of next week to install them, repair the fireplace framing, and correct whatever else they did wrong or didn't do at all
• Monday, August 6 - Wednesday, August 8 - chimney restoration and extension
• Some other date in August - fireplace installation
• Week of August 13 (maybe) - siding goes up on the house (we chose ivy with white trim) - I'm having a crisis with the corbels for the door - another issue, perhaps, the framer might have to handle

At this point, the house might begin to look like a home from the outside, rather than a construction site...

I know I've promised photos, and they will come - next week, I promise. After I go to Wal-Mart and have them downloaded onto a CD.

We're being inspected today. By the electrical inspector. Wish us luck.

I have some more photos, but haven't had a chance to download them yet. Will update you all as soon as I can.

Met with L the Siding Guy (no relation to Larry the Cable Guy!) and have picked out the siding. Ivy with white trim. Was leaning toward linen trim, but all the doodads were not available in linen and our windows are white so...

When I have more time, I'll write more...

Happy B'day, Coby!

Happy Birthday, Maria!!! (She's the one in the middle!)

Today Maria turns 29. She still looks so young, and someday, I promise her, she'll be happy about that. Right now? Not so much.

She's constantly asked how old she is, people assume she's very young so they don't give her the respect due a teacher who's been in the trenches for five years...

Listen up, people! My daughter is 29. She's a GREAT teacher, with an instinctive knowledge of how to reach a problem child. Her test scores were the best in her grade last year, and she had a class full of really troubled kids. She's smart, good at what she does, and should be given the respect due a 5-year teacher. Her dream has always been to teach at-risk children, and that's what she's doing. She worked in Trenton for a year and is now working in Hoboken. She's in the school that's in the projects end of town. Her kids are tough, street kids whose first goal in life is not to get an education, but to stay alive past their teen years.

29 cheers for Maria!!! Love you!

Better late than never...

HARRY RULES!

LOVED the new book. Want more. Am doomed to no more new Harry. Ever. That sucks.
I am already waiting for the next 2 movies. I want them. And I want them NOW.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE LAST ONE AND DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO SURVIVED, DON'T READ THIS PARAGRAPH: I did read a review of JK Rowling's interview with Meredith Viera - she was gonna kill off Arthur! Thank God she didn't!!! I was happy to see that Dudley turned out to be okay, as did Creatcher. Was devastated by the scene with Hedwig. And all the deaths. (I won't mention any names 'cause that would be wrong, just in case someone slips and reads this paragraph anyway...)

Happy Anniversary to us!
Happy Anniversary to us!
Happy Anniversary to u-us!
Happy Anniversary to us!

8 years.

And more than one person has commented recently that we're "just like newlyweds."

Awww.

I love you, DH. Always.

My scrapping pages...

Pepper died July 19/20, right around midnight-ish.

A black cat with a very distinct personality. Some might say she wasn't a very nice cat. But she was. She loved her family with all her tiny little heart. She was affectionate with them. They called her "Poopie." She would allow them to pet her, play with her, kiss her. She ate mini marshmallows.

She scratched my foot the one time I tried to feed her a snack, when the family was away and DH and I were taking care of her. She needed us for food, water and a clean litterbox, but she scratched my foot.

It took years, but eventually, after many, many Mondays spent around their kitchen table, Pepper would once in a while walk past my leg, rubbing against it, accidentally of course, although they all said she did it 'cause she liked me.

She became sick. Very sick. We don't know if it was a stroke or a brain tumor, but three weeks ago or so she fell. She started to walk funny, sort of loose-hipped, with a distinct lean to one side. She started to become paralyzed. Eventually she couldn't eat or drink herself; they fed her with a food syringe. They held her for hours and hours every day, never leaving her alone.

On July 16, Pepper let me pet her. I knew this wasn't a good sign. Her fur felt cool to the touch, cooler than I thought it should, although I didn't say anything. They assured me Pepper would let me pet her.

I wish she hadn't. I wish she was still here to avoid me and to scratch me. Both DH and I were devastated when Pepper's family called to tell us she was gone.

She will always be remembered.

Scrapbooking is such a big thing for me now. It's really the only part of my life where I feel creative. I never considered myself a creative person. I have no discernible artistic talent; in other words, I can't draw my way out of a paper bag! (One of my favorite phrases!)

My dad and my sister C are very artistic. Dad could draw, carve. C got a degree in fine arts from Mason Gross School of the Arts/Rutgers. Upon graduation she was invited to exhibit at a gallery, but couldn't - she became mom to my wonderful nephew J! I wish she'd take up art again so I could pick her brain on a regular basis about what I'm doing... Maybe we could "art" together...

Anyway, Mom, too, is artistic. She was a brilliant seamstress, making all our clothes when we were small. She also knits and crochets, did needlepoint when she could, and even made quilts for some spare money years ago.

Me? I'm challenged, to say the least. P? I'm not really sure. I don't think of my sister P as artistic, per se, at least not like C, but she's the first of the family to have brought color into her home by painting the walls in her home very different and strong colors (not varying shades of white, which I did for years). So that must be her artistic side coming out! She's also a crocheter - so I'll take back the comment about not being artistic - she is, too! (It's a hobby she took up in AZ, so she'll have to forgive me for forgetting about it - out of sight, out of mind!)

I guess I should admit that I can draw a mean digestive system, or heart, or lungs - got lots of A's in school for drawing in science class, but that was more copying than drawing...

I get a great deal of satisfaction in creating a scrapbook page that I like, that works, where the colors and the proportion appeal to my eye. I'll post a couple here that I'm particularly proud of but remember, before you look, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

We have part of the house.
It's big.
Bigger than I expected.
Later on I'll post more pictures, showing it sheathed and roofed.
We have a house.
Oh.My.God.





The grand reveal will come soon!!!

P has a theory. Her theory is that there is one male brain, and all men share it. If you think about it, it only makes sense. It's so rare that men do things right, sensibly, with consideration and forethought. That absolutely HAS to happen "when they have the brain." We've discussed how they pass it along amongst themselves: perhaps in the bathroom, perhaps in the locker room, perhaps via osmosis (since sometimes you can literally see more than one man have possession one right after the other).

Well, yesterday, yesterday MY HUSBAND HAD THE BRAIN.

As you know, we're under construction at the lake house. One of the jobs we hired the framers to do was install the large sliding glass door onto the deck. [Lord knows I can't help DH with that, it's just too heavy.] Yesterday my DH asked the framers, who were installing all the windows on the new 2nd floor, how much it would cost to install the 6 on the first floor that he had planned to install, and remove and close up a 7th.

$400.

And DH had them do it.

WE HAVE WINDOWS. INSTALLED. ALL IN ONE DAY. WITHOUT DH KILLING HIMSELF DOING IT ALONE.
I'm so proud!!!

Now, if only I could talk him into keeping the brain for a while...

When it rains, it pours.

Literally.

I haven't seen it, but according to DH, the rain blew in the unprotected side of the addition and leaked through the floor into my kitchen, living room, and spare room. He emptied buckets and buckets and buckets of water, then finally had to leave so that he could get home in time to see HP5 with me. He's on the way up there to see the damage...

HP5 was awesome! I saw it at 10am yesterday with Eva, and again at 7:45pm with DH. As always, my only complaint is that at 2 hours/10 minutes, they could have added another hour or two to the movie and included some of the more visual scenes that I was looking forward to seeing on the big screen, instead of in my tiny head...

Pictures of the construction tomorrow...

Don't have time to post a lengthy construction update today, but here are the highlights:

• Friday, 07/06/07 - Construction begins. They removed our roof, built the platform to support the new 2nd floor, and began adding floor joists. At some point in the afternoon, I went into the house to go the bathroom. While I was in there, doing what I had to do, DH walked into the house and shouted, "Krys! What happened? Why didn't you call me?" I quickly exited the bathroom only to see my living room ceiling fan hanging by a wire in the middle of the room! We had just put the light fixture on it two days before. We're so lucky it didn't hit the floor! (The light fixture over the kitchen sink was also hanging by a wire.)
• Saturday, 07/07/07 - We spend the day doing odd jobs around the house. We went to see Live Free and Die Hard with Bruce Willis at night. When we walked into the house, I walked right into the bedroom, with DH behind me. All of a sudden, he shouted, "Krys! What happened here?" [Are you sensing a pattern here?] I turn around and the ceiling in our spare room had fallen. We spend another hour taking pictures of the damage, questioning why it had happened, why the supports weren't sistered/strapped, practicing what DH would say to the framers on Monday.
• Sunday, 07/08/07 - I go to my cousin's for his daughter's 8th grade graduation party. I take pictures of his shed to show DH, predicting he'll comment that the addition to the house is beautiful. And I also predict he'll flip when I tell him, "That's the shed." I showed him the pix - his response was exactly as I predicted.
• Monday, 07/09/07 - The framers come early in the morning and DH confronts them about the ceiling. The reason it's not strapped there is because that's where the stairs are going and when they cut out the space for the stairs, those beams will be connected to something. We go out for literally an hour and ten minutes, to order the fireplace, and when we return, WE HAVE EXTERIOR WALLS! By the time they leave, we have all the interior walls framed out, with just some windows and the hearth to go, and a roof all framed out as well.
• Tuesday, 07/10/07 - My best friend Chris' birthday - Happy Birthday, Chris! - I haven't seen it yet, and won't 'til the end of the week, but we apparently have our decorative peaks all framed out, the roof line on the first floor framed out, and windows delivered. If they have time, they'll begin installing windows.

The roof will go on the end of this week, hopefully. We wait now for the stair guy to measure, the roof to go on, the rest of the windows to go in, the stairs to be ready and installed, and the plumbing and electric to be done. Then we side the house.

Pix to come soon...

Here's just a glimpse of what it looks like in front of our lake house. Two truckloads of lumber was literally dumped in front of our neighbor's house, and DH had to move what was moveable by hand, closer to our home. The electrical lines and cable lines were in the way, so the truck couldn't get any closer. The middle shot shows part of the 250 2x4s that DH moved by hand.

Here are some more pictures, better late than never, I always say!!!

This is our not-new-any-longer-new-used-car. We bought this '98 (?) Subaru Forest this past January and we love it! It gets great mileage, and I am learning to drive a stick shift on this car!

Here's DH tearing out the basement stairs. We have since closed up the opening on the 1st floor, so we now have an idea of the space we gained by relocating the stairs.

Here's the closed in floor and the new French doors-to-be! What used to be our bedroom will now be our dining room (and I can see scrapping events being held here - yay!). We'll be moving DH's mom's chandelier here when we relocate permanently; for now we'll most likely just put the current fan/light fixture back.



And here are my favorite pictures of all: our ducklings! Sadly, there are now only 8 left of these original 11 - this is the part of ducklings at the lake that really bothers me a LOT! We have eagles, snapping turtles, vultures, etc. It's hard to know what happened to the 3 missing ducklings...

And here are the four ducks we feed by hand! The bigger of the 2 white ones has a name: Piggy. He/she has stolen entire chunks of bread out of DH's hand, and tries to take every piece of bread from us; he/she will actually run right over the other ducks' backs to get at a snack!

Construction has been delayed.

Again.

End of bitch-fest.

Here are the Lights I Really Want to put in the two hallways, possibly 3:

We bought some Boring Temporary Fixtures, in case all the Lowe's stores we go to are sold out, like the Rutherford Lowe's was yesterday:

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

[NOTE: I GOT THE LIGHTS I WANTED. YAY! 07/25/07]

DH is not a happy camper.

The framer postponed starting to Monday, then decided to mention he planned on working a 1/2 day on Tuesday, and was off on Wednesdday (the holiday). DH was a bit annoyed ("a bit" is an understatement) but in all fairness, with the weather being as darned wet as it's been here in the NE, it can't possibly be the framer's fault his upstate NY job isn't done yet. So I calmly pointed out that while I know he wants the job started ('cause until it's started, he can't work on it or finish it!), we have to remember that if it rains (God forbid!) during our job, the guy scheduled after us is going to have to wait, too! That sort of calmed him down a bit (my job in life, as we all know!). I think he's okay. Plus, I mentioned that since it's going to be such a lovely weekend (if Bill Evans, our weatherman, is right), we can rest a bit together on the dock, have a nice lunch, then go shop for our gas fireplace, order it, look for bathroom fixtures (which, apparently, I have to have before I have a bathroom!), maybe see a movie, go for a walk, etc., etc. [He's like a kid that way - if he's busy and doesn't have time to think about things, he's okay.]

I was supposed to be off today, but with construction delayed, I'm not blowing a vacation day! I came in early, will eat lunch at my desk and leave at around 2:30, then pack up the food and take off, and surprise my DH! He's expecting me at 6-ish, or even later... I miss him a LOT!

I went to my first Scrapaholics meeting last night. It's not what it sounds like! It's just one more way to spend money on this addictive habit! Each month you get a kit and instructions to do a few different techniques. It's okay - I think I'll try it for 3 months or so, to give it a fair shake. I think what I like best is the group, the companionship - the PersonalScrapper.com kit I get mailed monthly is better quality, so far, at least. Last night we met at N's house. N & I went to high school together! When I first joined the scrapping group a couple of years ago (2 years ago July 6, to be exact!), she emailed me and asked me if was who she thought I was! Yeppers! How nice to become friends again 25+ years later!

She lives in Pompton Plains. As always I was early and since I hadn't had dinner, I decided to drive in the opposite direction from her house to find a little local pizzeria or something where I could pick up a little somethin' somethin' before I pigged out on the "Seriously Chocolate Chocolate Crumb Cake" I had brought. (I was supposed to bake the night before but I forgot!)

There is NOTHING on Boulevard Ave. in Pompton Plains. NOTHING from Route 23 to Ryerson Road in Lincoln Park. When I told N, she laughed out loud! Apparently I should have stayed on Newark Pompton Turnpike; then I would have found the center of town. Oh well, now I know, for next time!

Well, I suppose I should actually do some work since I'm getting paid to be here... I will be incommunicado 'til I return to work next week, sometime after the holiday.

HAPPY 4TH!!!

Rain, rain, go away.
Come again another day (NOT!).

I might have started one blog entry like that before...

Rain. Lightning. Thunder. Wind. Scary. Last night DSD called me and asked me to go to B&N with her. Went to pick her up, waited about 10 minutes while she folded her last load of laundry and showed off her new bathing suits, then we went outside, got in the truck, and watched a bolt of lightning streak through the sky. We both laughed (nervously) and she said, "Wanna do this another time?"

Duh! So we will reschedule.

The 2nd lumber delivery has been postponded due to rain. Now it's coming today. DH was exhausted last night, after moving literally hundreds of pieces of lumber and plywood. Today he "only" has to move 50 more 4x8 sheets of plywood and 250 2x4s. The man is a machine! He just doesn't know when to quit.

According to Bill Evans this morning, no rain tomorrow, through Monday. I think I'll email the boss and tell him I'll do vacation tomorrow through the holiday, but that I will come in on any days it rains and postpone the vacation days... He seemed to be receptive to the last-minute nature of this summer's vacation schedule.

I'm going to do Mrs. K's cold vegetable salad for the recipe swap. I'll take a photo of it and make some wallet-sized photos, then add them to the 8x8 page. That will be look rather cool.

I'm starving. Off to get some breakfast...

I couldn't stand it anymore - I missed him too much. So Mom and I drove up to the lake to have dinner with DH. The nice thing is he missed me, too! We missed each other. A lot. He made a point of thanking me for driving up there to eat a sub at QuickChek with him. You're welcome, Hon! Thanks for eating a sub at QuickChek with me!!!

Today is the day - a load of lumber is supposed to be dropped off at the house this morning, either the first or second delivery of the day. I'm going to have to take a picture of this for sure! When I have it, it will be downloaded here for the world to see!

It was so darn hot last night. Mom lost her electricity 'til 5am this morning - apparently a cable melted. It was okay from Four Corners to my house, but the other way, via West Passaic Avenue, no lights, no electric, no AC... Police at every intersection - EXCEPT BYRD AVENUE AND WEST PASSAIC AVENUE. Where there's a traffic light. Where there have been multiple accidents. Where people speed down Byrd Avenue. Where people drive the wrong way on Byrd Avenue (a one way out to W. Passaic) just 'cause they want to. Sometimes I hate the police in that town.

I aimed two fans on me, and once I had some cold water and a WW cookies and cream ice cream bar, my body cooled down enough to fall asleep. It's supposed to be 92 degrees today, but feel like 96 to 100, and HUMID. Very humid. It's already humid. Very humid. 'Nough said.

Emailed my boss yesterday about vacation - he's okay with me taking some 1/2 day Fridays, and understands about taking time off during the construction. I'd like to be there when they demo the existing attic, and when they start building the new floor. This is supposed to be this Friday, so if the framer confirms this, I'll take Friday and Monday off. Should get some good pix.

Okay, the lumber delivery has been delayed 'til tomorrow. Which means that I'm single again tonight! But I miss DH so much that I'm going to take a drive up there tonight to have dinner with him.

It seems that our framer is going to be able to start on Thursday or Friday of this week. I kind of hope it's Friday so I can take the day off and maybe Monday, too, so I can see them begin construction... I've already warned my boss about the possible days off. I have to confirm with him tomorrow.

I'll post some pix when I have them... I'm sure it will be exciting to watch!

Guess what exciting things I did last night? I made Mrs. K's famous cold vegetable salad, started cleaning out the closet in J's room, went through some clothes and started a new donation bag for AmVets, tried on a few outfits I've been saving for when I magically become the same size I used to be twenty years ago - and I fit in them! There are two in particular; they're still a bit snug, but I can get in them and zip them up! YAY!

Tonight, if I get back early enough, I'll try to coordinate some of my scrapping supplies, and begin working on the recipe swap I'm participating in next month. It's due 07/12 so I really have to get cracking!

$11,000 worth of lumber is being dropped in front of our lake house tomorrow. I will remind my husband to take a picture of it, but I think I'd better take a drive up and do it myself... We're waiting to hear from the framer to confirm he can start this week, like he indicated last week. My DH's head will explode if he can't start until next week. We could have waited to have the lumber delivered later...

We picked out a siding for the house, too: sage green. The corners will be in the same green, I think, rather than contrasting white/cream. OH, I have to check about matching scallops...

I made some pasta with shrimp scampi for dinner last night. Yummy! DH doesn't like seafood so this was the perfect opportunity for me to eat something I like without accommodating his likes and dislikes. Maybe I'll make the tilapia this week, too...

DD didn't call DH last night or this morning. He's disappointed, but I have to be so careful how I phrase it to her, so she doesn't feel pushed or pressured... Maybe I'll just not answer when she calls; if she wants to talk to someone, she can reach him...

Today is DH's LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.
For the summer.
For July and August.
Until September.
There's a fine line between love and hate.

Now I know he's going to be REALLY busy with the addition to our house this summer, but he's still NOT WORKING. Not at a "real job." [I'm glad he doesn't read this blog!] Yes, I'm feeling sorry for myself, that I haven't won a bazillion dollars so I don't have to work at all, that I wasn't born independently wealthy and a part of the nouveau riche (believe it or not, I spelled that right without checking first!), that I have to answer to someone else to collect a paycheck (even though I really do like my boss!), etc., etc., etc.

Okay, done with that sob session.

I just found out that I got a 4.57% raise, and a $12000 bonus (before taxes)! YAY!

What will I be doing with my time this summer? DH will be staying at the lake several days a week. Now, I will miss him, yes. I will miss going to sleep with him and waking up with him. I will miss him deciding it's time to do the laundry "now" and doing it for me.

But I will enjoy my time. I will clean what I want to clean when I want to clean it. I will throw away what I want to throw away when I want to throw it away. (Are you seeing a pattern here?!) Me. Myself. I. For a change. Sounds like a plan!!!

I think I'm going to go to an all-day crop on July 14, for at least most of the day. I'll discuss with DH tonight...

Note: I had to add a new favorite blog to my list - Shauna James soon-to-be-Ahern's GlutenFreeGirl - www.GlutenFreeGirl.com. Shauna is an author that my company is publishing this fall. That's how I found her blog. She is a terrific writer, whether she's writing about her passion for food or her passion for The Chef (the love of her life). The recipes are terrific, the photos creative, and I'm hooked! I can't wait to read more!!!

I'm reading a new book: Brad Meltzer's The Book of Fate. I've just finished reading: James Patterson's The 6th Target, Dean Koontz' The Good Guy, Karen Robards' Obsession, Jeffery Deaver's The Sleeping Doll, and Janine Latus' If I Am Missing or Dead. None of these are on my reading list (P), but since I read so much anyway, I'm not too worried. I'm visiting B&N tonight; I reserved a couple of craft-room books to look at/buy. I picked up two books the other day: Heather Graham's The Dead Room and James Grippando's Lying with Strangers. Again, not on my list, but...

FYI, here's my list:
* started The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived - Allan Lazar
Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
* done The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
I Feel Bad About My Neck - Nora Ephron
Knowledge for Generations - Wiley: The Global Publishing Industry - Robert E. Wright
Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
Genius: A Mosaic of 100 Exemplary Creative Minds - Harold Bloom
Reading Like a Writer - Francine Prose
* done All the Numbers - Judy Larsen
* started The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
* done Death Connection - Charlie Price (I confess - it's a teen title recommended by Walter Meyers at the seminar I attended - Toni bought it and loaned it to me and I added it to my list after I started reading it...)

The idea was that we choose 12 titles we wouldn't necessarily "normally" read during the course of the year - books we'd always intended to read (like some classics or overly-hyped bestsellers - which doesn't always = good books, I know!) or started to read at some point in our lives but never finished (like Stephen King's Insomnia).

I stopped by my LSS (local scrapbook store, for those of you not in the know!) last night and bought a few sheets of paper. I also spent about 1/2 an hour talking to one of the owners (J) and her daughter and 2 grandchildren. I thought J & A were the owners, but apparently her daughter helps out a lot too, with reorganizing the store, putting together their monthly kits, etc.

What I really like about this store is that although they have scrapping stuff, they show other non-scrapbook-related projects all over the store: altered stuff, cards, frames, mini-books/albums, etc., etc. Just browsing you can get a lot of great ideas!

O.T. I called my niece a couple of days ago - we had such a nice conversation! Almost like humans! She didn't snap a response (much), she listened to me (mostly), she interacted with me and (drumroll, please!) she seemed interested in what I had to say. This hasn't happened in quite a while. In fact, this was so unusual I called her mom the next day to see if A had mentioned to her that we'd spoken. (Apparently it was more important to me than to A, since she didn't even mention I'd called... but that's okay!) She's been so difficult and moody and obnoxious in the past few years that I'd all but given up on speaking with her; I've been waiting for her to grow out of this phase.

Which brings me to another pet peeve of mine: the idea that I should accept her moodiness and rudeness and lack of proper behavior "because after all, she's 15. It's just a phase she's going through."

I WAS 15 ONCE. AND I WAS NOT.ALLOWED.TO.BE.RUDE.TO.MY.AUNT.OR.TO.ANY.ADULT.

Okay, I'm done.

I'm baaaack! (Shades of Jack Nicholson...)

The meetings are over. I'm back at my desk, feeling slightly overwhelmed and largely uninspired. I want to do everything I promised I'd do, but my get-up-and-go got-up-and-went. How do I find it again? I suppose I could just dive right into my To Do pile, but that would be the gutsy thing to do, and not too many people would describe me as gutsy. Lazy? Slow? Yeah. Gutsy? No.

My niece T got engaged last week! Yay! We like K. We're happy for T and K. And what a beautiful ring! It's so her! It's styled to look like an antique, and it's similar to a ring her folks got her a couple of years ago. She's very happy. We're very happy. [And please pray for their kitty Pepper who's not feeling too well these days. She was put under yesterday for a procedure and she was pacing around the house all night, along the perimeter walls, not sitting anywhere, just walking as though she was doped up or drunk as a skunk. We want her better soon!]

Our permits are approved and we just have to pay another $544 for them! DH will be boing up there next Monday to pay, unless I talk him into going up early this Friday... Maybe I can leave early... So it looks like construction will begin in early July. By the end of the summer we should have the addition on, the fireplace extended, and the house roofed and sided. From the outside it will look like a done home. We hope. On the inside, another story! We're doing quite a bit of the work ourselves so it will be slow-and-steady, with me helping where I can, and staying out of the way when I need to!

We'll hire a sheetrockers, a plumber and hopefully L the electrician will help DH out with what needs to be done, and then we have to really concentrate on getting heat in the house for the winter.

I'll post pix as they become available, for my sister P who will be following the construction from afar... Hi, P!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... two and a half days of sales meetings down, one more meeting to go. It's "Education" which is always a long one. We all have several education accounts and there are a lot of titles...

My boss announced our meetings next June will be in SF. He's already planning a side trip to Napa Valley on the Wednesday afternoon of our few days of meetings. Sounds good to me! I'll be taking a couple of extra days after the business portion of the trip to visit someone I know in the SW. I can't wait!

My other sister sent me portraits of my niece and nephew and I have to show them off here:




Aren't they so handsome and pretty (respectively)?! She is the spitting image of her mom, just change the color of her hair, skin and eyes.

Lunchtime! Gotta run!

Note (post-lunch!): Yummy - had a vegetable sandwich from the Garden of Eden, with a nice basil pesto. I love basil. Mmmm, good!

Making a brief appearance in mid-meeting-mode...

So far sales meetings have gone well. Lots of quick and efficient presentations, fewer unnecessary and boring titles, more interesting discussions and information - and we have our "new" boss WR to credit for this. Our old boss used to do the presentation himself, which personally I think made the marketing managers and publishers and editors think we didn't know what we weren't talking about! This time around, WR said we all have to speak for a minute at the beginning of each session about our key account in that subject category. We look like we know what we're doing! Which we do, but who'd have known it before?

Dinner last night at Amanda's. Yummy! I'd heard it was one of the best restaurants in Hoboken, and it was really, really good. I like the decor - it looks like you're sitting in your dining room (or someone else's, since my dining room doesn't look anything like this beautiful room!) and they lay out the tables with unmatching china for a very casual formal look. Yes, I know I said "casual formal" like they go together! They do. Just think about it. The tables were set formally, but the unmatching china made it look more homey, more casual. Sort of "casual formal." So there!

More later... just found out we're starting at 9:30, not 9:00 today. But I'm hungry! And breakfast is up there! Think I'll go chow down a little earlier, like maybe 9:15...

More when I can...

Please be patient. I will not be blogging for four days.

I have sales meetings (in-house) on Tues., Wed., and Thurs., and I'm sure Fri. will be spent catching up on the obscene amounts of work-related email that I get on a daily basis. Yes, of course, I will be trying to stay on top of things during the minimal breaks we get between meetings, but I'm quite sure that something will distract me and I will not get a chance to do 1/2 of what needs to be done, let alone what I want to get done...

This past weekend was J&K's wedding (hmmm, not mine, although the initials match!). As soon as I download the pix and can access them, I'll post my favorites here. (Count on next week, some time)

The food was wonderful, except for my entree - the chicken was too dry. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their food, so it was probably just my lucky day... There was fried calamari, shrimp risoto, shrimp in mango salsa, mini lamb chops (don't make me think about where they came from - and no, I didn't eat them), stuffed mushrooms, scallops wrapped in bacon, antipasto, a raw bar, pigs-in-a-blanket (announced as "mini franks" by one uppercrust waiter), caviar, a grill bar (grilled chicken, beef and veggies), margaritas, a martini bar (tasted my first chocolate martini), mini Beef Wellington puffs, apple fritters, pear and brie tarts (mmm, good!), and lots more - AND THIS WAS JUST AT THE COCKTAIL HOUR!

That's enough food-related stuff - EXCEPT...

For dessert, along with the required venetian table, there were mini ice cream cones (DH got me a mango one), chocolate chip cookies and Kahlua and cream shots, and my personal favorite, and what made the entire day worthwhile: Belgian waffles and ice cream. OH. MY. GOD. They were absolutely delicious. It was all I could do to limit myself to one sandwich. I wanted 12. No, 14. No, as many as I could eat before I literally exploded out of my new dress.

Later.

I've been thinking... yea, I know, haven't much used this brain in a while, but it's about time...

New Year's Day is always the day I make resolutions. I make them. Notice I didn't say I keep them.

I think it's time I make a couple more.

1. I will try to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend.
2. I will try to live a life that honors God and country.
3. I will try to be a good example.
4. I will try to keep my house cleaner and more organized.
5. I will try to stay on my WW diet a bit more closely. [I can do this. I will do this. (Yes, you've heard this before!)]
6. I will try to use the brain God gave me for the good.
7. I will try to do a better job at work, spend less time on non-work and more time on work.
8. I will try to manage my time better, which will allow me to stick to some of my other resolutions (see numbers 1 through 7).

There are probably more things that I will try to do, but I think I'm off to a good start. "Everyone" says you should start with one, not try to overwhelm yourself by trying to reinvent yourself. But these are all things I can do without completely becoming another person, so I'm going to try.

I could use your support.

OUCH, Part II!!!

DH had a meeting with his ENT doctor last night, to check up on the broken nose which wasn't broken... Okay, it's still not broken, but - TA DA! It's now not so crooked!

I swear, DH almost fainted! The dr walked in, examined him with the Total Recall scope (those of you who have seen the movie know what I'm talking about!), then turned to me (yes, I went in with my 56-year-old husband!) and said, "I always check with moms and wives. His nose is a bit, well, off, isn't it?" And I said yes. And he pointed to the left side of DH's nose and said, "It's pointing a little this way, right?" And I said yes again.

[WARNING: This is a rather graphic description of what happened next. If you have a weak stomach, skip to the next paragraph!] The dr walked to DH's left side, placed both his hands on DH's face with his thumbs on the left side of the nose and his fingers on the far side of DH's face, and pushed. With all his body weight. DH's hands clenched into fists, his tan disappeared for a few seconds and his whole body stiffened like a board. Later, he said he could hear it in his head like celery, or crinkling Saran Wrap [tm]. Bottom line: his nose is much straighter, almost back where it started! It still looks a bit off, but I asked if that could be swelling and the dr said for the most part it probably is. There might be a bit of crookedness left, but nothing like when he walked into the office at 5:45 last night... And great news! This should not have affected DH's sinuses in any way! He said he noticed immediately that he was breathing better and last night, he didn't snore. YAY!

Tonight Mom and I are going to get our nails done. On Monday a bit of green appeared on my right thumb - she'd better get rid of it tonight - I have a dinner on Friday night and a wedding on Saturday night... And no sparkly clear coat, I think the normal pink. I think I might go home (not) sick on Friday at around noon-ish so I can go and get my toes done. Mom needs hers done, too, so that would work...

Today I'm calling/emailing contractors to tell them we've chosed *&* Construction. They will be disappointed, I'm sure, but them's the breaks! You either pony up with a good bid or you don't! I have to tell *&* that they've been chosen, too. (Yes, I will do that first, before I burn my bridges!)

I'm mailing a package to my sister P today for her b'day. This way it will most definitely arrive before 6/22 and I don't have to feel bad that it's not there for her big day. If you're reading this, P, I'm not telling what I got you, but please don't expect the usual gemstones and money... The next few holidays are going to be light since we're spending all our $$$ on this addition. Just warning you in advance...

OUCH!!!

On Friday, DH got hit in the face with a whiffle ball bat. Until yesterday we thought he had a broken nose, but the x-rays show contusions only. It happened at work so he went to the workman's comp immedicenter. Of course, it took 2 hours and they hadn't seen him yet, so he left. Then he wouldn't let me and/or Maria drive him to Trenton. And he refused to borrow a cell phone to tell me he got down there okay, and he refused to take mine... He got down there okay, called from J's phone (HA! He HAD to borrow one anyway...), then I didn't talk to him 'til he got home on Sunday. Thank goodness he got home early, around 1:30-ish. He pulled some weeds then napped on the sofa 'til dinner. Then it was off to bed until the next day!

Last night we went to the Secaucus workman's comp center and that dr said it's not broken. Tonight he's going to see Dr. A, the one who did his nose surgery two years ago. Him I'll believe!! Let's all keep our fingers, toes and eyes crossed!

BEA was fantastic! I saw several former reps, people I haven't seen in years, even years before Sher closed down! It was really nice to be remembered, and remembered fondly. I saw MMC and LT in the Penguin booth (never got back there to see MD - sorry, MD!), DP in the Random House booth, BW in the Island Press booth, the H's at NPR, RJ at Hachette, MAR and NL in the aisle at Perseus, C and SH and MR from The News Group (we had a great lunch!).

I met Kim Peek and his dad at the National Professional Resources booth. Kim is the real "Rainman." He looks exactly the same as he did on that documentary I watched a while ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdeAq7_r63g
He is incredible. I told his father he was a blessing, that I was lucky to have had the opportunity to meet him. His dad said he felt the same way every day.

They don't know exactly why Kim's brain functions as it does. They do know that his agenisis of the corpus callosum is missing - the bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain is not there. Secondary connectors (the anterior commissure) are also missing. He was born with an overly large head (proportionally speaking). His cerebellum was also damaged. He can recite facts and figures that baffle you, just pick them out of his mind. I told him my b'day was December 18, 1960. "It was a Sunday." I'll retire "in 2025, it's a Thursday." I wasn't able to hear him speak; he was doing an autographing later in the morning, but I didn't attend. What a gift it was to be able to meet him, even if only for a moment or two... Just imagine if we all were able to have an 1/8 of his ability to remember things... The world would be a different place...

BEA tomorrow...
I will be working the opening ceremonies at the balloon drop in the Crystal Palace at the Javits Center. My company is sponsoring the balloon drop and giving stuff away (can't tell you what since I'm surprising my sisters with one each! Watch your b'day package, P!). Then I have the rest of the day to wander around the show floor, looking for reps I haven't seen in four years. Then friend E and I are leaving early and going to lunch somewhere, then I'll go home and see DH before he leaves for the weekend.

Special Olympics State Finals - here he comes! And since he won't carry a cell phone and since G isn't attending, we will be basically incommunicado for the entire weekend. I think that will be the first time we've gone so long without speaking to each other. When I travel, we talk every morning and every dinnertime, then again before I go to sleep. I will miss him a lot.

The family picnic is this weekend. I will attend (007 that I am) to see what they did and how they did it, since next year is our turn to sponsor it! (Not that we had a choice, you understand, all the Xmas parties were taken before they even opened it up for volunteers - you N family members know exactly what I mean!)

I will also shop some this weekend, mostly for work clothes that fit, and I will also CLEAN MY HOUSE. It needs it desperately. I have scrapping stuff all over, and I want to get that organized and put in one place, and I have to dust and vacuum and put things away.

And maybe I will try to scrap a little - this is a big "if" since all my scrapping supplies are topsy-turvy. Perhaps post-housecleaning....

I shouldn't be surprised that there are honest people out there, people who's primary goal in life is NOT to screw someone else, but I am. Surprised, that it.

We met with one of the framers last night, one of the two we're considering. [And the one DH is going to go with, if he has his way with anything...] Now I know that it's totally coincidental that the framer, A, is Polish. But he is. And he's not a native to this country. And the way he does business is the way everyone should do business.

According to DH, the quality of his work is outstanding. DH saw it at a house in Passaic Park that A was building. He's not afraid to travel; he's done work in Seaside Heights, upper NY State, and will most likely be doing it in H, NJ, as well. He quoted us a price in April. We've made a few changes, minor ones for sure, but still there were changes. And a perfect opportunity for him to up the price a little bit, even a couple hundred dollars. He and his partner stood there in our dining room last night and didn't raise their price, even though there were changes and adjustments to the plans. They could have taken advantage and said, "Yes, it's a small change, but instead of $8260, it's $8480." He could have made some dollars for his time stopping by the house and talking with us. But he didn't. He stood by his initial estimate. It's a small thing, but I'm amazed.

Mom came for dinner last night, in case we needed her Polish translating skills. We didn't. She liked him, too, for as much as we spoke with him. (This reminds me of the plumber we met with - I said he had "honest eyes.") These guys seem really honest and hard-working.

This other framer, the one highly recommended by our plumber J, just hasn't called me back. And we want to make a decision. I left him a message yesterday saying we were meeting with his competitor - still no return call. I guess he's a "no go." If he can't return a phone call, how can I really, deep down inside, believe he'll show up for work every day?? J said he did wonderful work and he was a stickler for perfection, but so far, I'm a bit disappointed...