Another cold morning in the house, but I spent extra time snuggling with the dogs to make up for it.We did our morning routine, including putting in a load of laundry. After blogging, I took a shower and we headed out for our morning walk. It was still pretty cold (27F), but as the sun came up it seemed much warmer. Since Reece is now on her gentle lead, the walks are much nicer. I really wish she was a better walker without it though. We got home and I put the clothes upstairs in the loft to dry, then I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I really wish Cheryl could experience a winter in the house, the timber frame is still cracking, some are making a lot of noise. Next it was off to work.
Nothing too glamorous to talk about work related. I had a few minutes to see how Dennis' holiday weekend went. He brought in mini waffle toast things that were fantastic. The rest of the day was work as usual. At lunch I went home and made myself a tuna melt. I played with the dogs in the backyard for almost 30 minutes. We took a few minutes to sit and relax, plenty of pets to go around. Back to work, and afternoon meetings. I won't bore anyone with this, but at least I am progressing in my workload.
After work I went home to the dogs. I started a fire in the woodstove (57F inside) and we went out to play ball. 10 minutes later we were inside, dogs eating their dinner. I got some things together for tonight's bball game, it's a late one (9pm start). I took the pups outside again for some more ball, then we all got in the car and headed to the grocery store for some food for the week. We got home and I put away all the groceries, then the dogs and I went for our evening walk, we did the 1.0mile loop. It's funny, sometimes I dread taking the dogs for a walk, it is so hard to get all dressed for the cold, get the dogs together and get out the door. But then there is a point on the walk where I really enjoy being outside with the dogs, it's really great... until those squirrels start playing mind games with Reece.
After the walk, I got dressed for basketball and headed downtown to pick up Seth to carpool. When we got to the gym, to our surprise we had made the playoffs. We are 2-3, and we made the playoffs despite the outcome of this last game? And no, not all teams made the playoffs. We were down 2 guys, so we only had 1 sub for the entire game. The team we played kept up with us for most of the first half, we were only up by 6 or 8 points, but we blew it open in the second half, winning 96-62. Sam was unstoppable down low. The strategy was interesting for defending Sam, they sent their smallest guy (5'-5" 100lbs) to defend out biggest guy (6'-1" 190lbs), didn't work well for the other team.
Anyway, headed back to Portsmouth, I dropped of Seth at his place and went home. I took the dogs in the backyard for one last 'outside'. I had a bowl of cereal for dinner and watched a little TV before getting to bed at 11pm.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
11/28/10
One last day off before going back to work. I got an extra 30 minutes of sleep in before being woken up by Reece. We went downstairs, checked the temp in the house... 56F. Coldest morning so far, only 25F outside. I let the dogs out while I made a fire in the wood stove. Had some coffee while downloading pictures from yesterday's trip and blogging. I played around on the internet for a bit, then the dogs and I headed out for our morning walk.
We did the 1.5 mile loop, both dogs did their business before the dumpster, extra good day! The dogs were very good on the walk, but with the cold weather, other dog owners stop taking their animals outside. When we got back to the house, Ghandi and Michael were out front. We stopped and chatted a bit, Chance danced around Ghandi a few times while I had Reece sitting.
We went inside and I made myself breakfast, pancakes, toast and a single egg. Nothing like a hot breakfast to warm you up. Afterwards I played a little more online before going outside with the dogs in the backyard. I decided to do a little more raking of leaves. Since it was a beautifully sunny day, I warmed up really quick. I spent an hour or so getting more leaves into my composting areas. Next we came in and I messaged Alexis and Jeff about going to the gym to shoot some hoops. Then I decided to take a nap.
Around 1pm, I got up from my nap and Cheryl called. As I talked to here for 15 minutes, I got ready to head to the gym to shoot around. I was going to meet Alexis there and possibly Jeff too. Alexis and I shot around for almost 2 hours, it was fun being able to talk with Lex too. To finish off the shoot around, we played around the world followed by horse. At 3:30pm, I left the gym and headed over to Seth's church.
I have been promising Seth that I would come by and visit during a mass at his church for months now. His church meets right downtown Portsmouth at 4pm on Sunday's. I thought I was going to be late, but ended up being early. I got to see most of the guys on the basketball team. It was a lot of singing and not much preaching, which I liked. Seth's church does a great job at keeping things personal and close knit.
I got home around 6pm, the fire in the wood stove was out and I didn't have it in me to start it again. I fed the dogs then took them in the backyard to play ball for 20 minutes. Then we came in, I made a pizza for dinner and watched some football while eating. After the 4pm games were over, I headed out with the pups on our evening walk, the 1.0mile loop. Nothing exciting happened on the walk, and the dogs were really good. We got home and I got into my pajamas, laid on the couch to watch the sunday night football game. Woke up after the game was over and headed to bed.
We did the 1.5 mile loop, both dogs did their business before the dumpster, extra good day! The dogs were very good on the walk, but with the cold weather, other dog owners stop taking their animals outside. When we got back to the house, Ghandi and Michael were out front. We stopped and chatted a bit, Chance danced around Ghandi a few times while I had Reece sitting.
We went inside and I made myself breakfast, pancakes, toast and a single egg. Nothing like a hot breakfast to warm you up. Afterwards I played a little more online before going outside with the dogs in the backyard. I decided to do a little more raking of leaves. Since it was a beautifully sunny day, I warmed up really quick. I spent an hour or so getting more leaves into my composting areas. Next we came in and I messaged Alexis and Jeff about going to the gym to shoot some hoops. Then I decided to take a nap.
Around 1pm, I got up from my nap and Cheryl called. As I talked to here for 15 minutes, I got ready to head to the gym to shoot around. I was going to meet Alexis there and possibly Jeff too. Alexis and I shot around for almost 2 hours, it was fun being able to talk with Lex too. To finish off the shoot around, we played around the world followed by horse. At 3:30pm, I left the gym and headed over to Seth's church.
I have been promising Seth that I would come by and visit during a mass at his church for months now. His church meets right downtown Portsmouth at 4pm on Sunday's. I thought I was going to be late, but ended up being early. I got to see most of the guys on the basketball team. It was a lot of singing and not much preaching, which I liked. Seth's church does a great job at keeping things personal and close knit.
I got home around 6pm, the fire in the wood stove was out and I didn't have it in me to start it again. I fed the dogs then took them in the backyard to play ball for 20 minutes. Then we came in, I made a pizza for dinner and watched some football while eating. After the 4pm games were over, I headed out with the pups on our evening walk, the 1.0mile loop. Nothing exciting happened on the walk, and the dogs were really good. We got home and I got into my pajamas, laid on the couch to watch the sunday night football game. Woke up after the game was over and headed to bed.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
11/27/10
A beautiful Saturday morning. I can't believe the dogs let me sleep in until 7:30am, I feel like half the day is over. We got up and mulled around the house, then I made the decision to head up to the cabin in Maine for the day. So I got a bunch of stuff ready for the trip and loaded the car. The pups and I went for our morning walk, then back to the house for some breakfast. I had a bowl of cereal and some coffee, then we were off (9:15am).
We arrived at the cabin at 11:50am. The pups and I walked around a bit, it was difficult because of all the thickets and small trees. Plus is was prime hunting season up there, so I wanted to be sure the dogs wouldn't slip their collars. Eventually I put them back in the car and I wandered around the property. I tried to get in the cabin, but the front porch had partially collapsed and the refrigerator that was on the porch was now in front of the door. I could get the fridge up, but not stay on its own. The last thing I wanted to do was get into the cabin and the fridge fall and lock me in.
While walking around, I
noticed that the neighbor (we only have one there) was at his cabin. He invited me in for a few minutes. We talked a bit about our families and how much they enjoy being at their cabin. They let me know that there is a big porcupine problem and that most of them are living under my cabin. Apparently they are ruthless. He has had to put sheet metal over any wood within 3' of the ground or the porcupines tare it up. So I stayed for about 30 minutes, took some pictures of the place and headed back to NH.
noticed that the neighbor (we only have one there) was at his cabin. He invited me in for a few minutes. We talked a bit about our families and how much they enjoy being at their cabin. They let me know that there is a big porcupine problem and that most of them are living under my cabin. Apparently they are ruthless. He has had to put sheet metal over any wood within 3' of the ground or the porcupines tare it up. So I stayed for about 30 minutes, took some pictures of the place and headed back to NH.
On the way back, I stopped off at the Wire Bridge with the dogs to play a bit and take some more pictures. I have to admit, this is the best part of the property in Maine. The cabin is about a mile away from the bridge, which has some picnic area and is just a great place to hang out. The dogs enjoyed it, then it was back in the car for the ride home. The last stop on the ride home was eating a late lunch at Arby's, a tradition when making the trek to the cabin. I had a roast beef sandwich, curly fries and a jamocha shake, yum.
We made it home around 4:15pm. Hung around the house for a bit. I noticed that EMS was having an additional 10% off until 6pm on the Osprey pack I wanted. Long story short, online said they didn't have the color & size I wanted, but the store down the road did. So I made the trip out to the store to get the pack. When I got back, I fed the dogs and then instant messaged Cheryl for about 10 minutes. At 6:45pm, the dogs and I went for our evening walk. Ah, the first snow sticking on the ground for the year, and my first slip on ice, fantastic.
The walk went pretty well, the dogs were good. There was one moment when I wasn't paying attention and someone was coming out of their house with their dog. Chance ran right up to the other dog, I was able to hold Reece back. I was surprised, neither of my dogs were really that worked up. Maybe they were as surprised as I was. When we got back from the walk, I made a bowl of cereal for me and put on a movie. Reece spent the whole movie snuggled with me on the couch, so cute. After the movie, it was time for bed.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
11/26/10
Friday, but not a pastry day. I have the day off, so I plan on spending it with the dogs. I got out of bed an hour later than usual. The dogs and I continued on with out morning routine. I really didn't feel like spending much time on the blog so I kept it short. I made pancakes for breakfast and tried to delay our morning walk as long as possible because of the 35F with rain out. Finally around 8:30am, we went for our walk. We only went 0.6 miles because I didn't want to be out any longer.
When we got back, I started a fire in the wood stove and played online for a bit. I was looking at some of the online sales that places were having, nothing too interesting. I did realize that I used the last coffee filter this morning, so I know I'm going to have to venture out to the store. At around 11am, the rain stopped and I decided to take the pups with me to EMS. I bought a pair of rain pants originally $30, marked down to $20, then another 20% off, woohoo. Next, for fun, we wanted to see some crazies. First we drove past the Chirstmas Tree Shoppe, then past the entrance to the malls. I'm willing to bet the roads are more dangerous than the crazy shoppers in the stores.
Got home around noon, did some more internet window shopping. Took the pups in the backyard while I cleaned out the car and started to get it ready for some road trips. Then we came in and I watched a movie with the dogs sitting with me on the couch. I had half an apple crisp pie for lunch. In fairness, it was a small pie. Did some more looking around online for deals (haven't actually bought anything yet). At this time, I fed the dogs their dinner and we went out to play a little ball in the backyard. Then I packed them into the car and we headed over to Target. Target was actually running at just above normal people, but they had a boat load of checkouts open. I usually wait longer in lines there throughout the year. I got some coffee filter, some snacks for next friday. By the way, I'm hosting a poker night next friday at my house, so I'm trying to get prepared early.
When I got home, I video chatted with Cheryl from the deep south. She is enjoying a rare 2 day weekend. After we chatted, I took the dogs out for their evening walk, the 1.0mile loop. This was the first time in a few months that I used the gentle lead on Reece. She had been pulling hard as of late, so I decided to try this out again. It was great, she was a little angel on the leash.
When we got home, I made some buffalo 'chicken' nuggets with ranch dressing for dinner. I popped in another movie and I was in for the night. Reece and I snuggled on the couch while Chance napped on the bed. At around 11pm, Reece and I transitioned to the bed.
When we got back, I started a fire in the wood stove and played online for a bit. I was looking at some of the online sales that places were having, nothing too interesting. I did realize that I used the last coffee filter this morning, so I know I'm going to have to venture out to the store. At around 11am, the rain stopped and I decided to take the pups with me to EMS. I bought a pair of rain pants originally $30, marked down to $20, then another 20% off, woohoo. Next, for fun, we wanted to see some crazies. First we drove past the Chirstmas Tree Shoppe, then past the entrance to the malls. I'm willing to bet the roads are more dangerous than the crazy shoppers in the stores.
Got home around noon, did some more internet window shopping. Took the pups in the backyard while I cleaned out the car and started to get it ready for some road trips. Then we came in and I watched a movie with the dogs sitting with me on the couch. I had half an apple crisp pie for lunch. In fairness, it was a small pie. Did some more looking around online for deals (haven't actually bought anything yet). At this time, I fed the dogs their dinner and we went out to play a little ball in the backyard. Then I packed them into the car and we headed over to Target. Target was actually running at just above normal people, but they had a boat load of checkouts open. I usually wait longer in lines there throughout the year. I got some coffee filter, some snacks for next friday. By the way, I'm hosting a poker night next friday at my house, so I'm trying to get prepared early.
When I got home, I video chatted with Cheryl from the deep south. She is enjoying a rare 2 day weekend. After we chatted, I took the dogs out for their evening walk, the 1.0mile loop. This was the first time in a few months that I used the gentle lead on Reece. She had been pulling hard as of late, so I decided to try this out again. It was great, she was a little angel on the leash.
When we got home, I made some buffalo 'chicken' nuggets with ranch dressing for dinner. I popped in another movie and I was in for the night. Reece and I snuggled on the couch while Chance napped on the bed. At around 11pm, Reece and I transitioned to the bed.
Friday, November 26, 2010
11/25/10
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am going to take a break from the long blog today. There were two events of note today:
1. I played flag football up in Barrington first thing in the morning. I knew 5 of the people, but made friends with another 25 or so. We had 4 teams of 6. I played well in the first game, had 3 touchdowns. We lost the championship game by a touchdown by the other team with 7 seconds left to play. It was so much fun, all the new people I got to meet were great, and Frank & Sarah did such a great job organizing and making it fun for everyone... I had a blast.
2. I went over to Susan's father's house in Hampton for Thanksgiving. I got to meet up with old friends and make some new ones too. We watched the Pats game, then ate during halftime. Everyone that made the food and organized the get-together were great. I can't thank Susan, Bill, Lauren and Mackenzie enough, I had a great time.
1. I played flag football up in Barrington first thing in the morning. I knew 5 of the people, but made friends with another 25 or so. We had 4 teams of 6. I played well in the first game, had 3 touchdowns. We lost the championship game by a touchdown by the other team with 7 seconds left to play. It was so much fun, all the new people I got to meet were great, and Frank & Sarah did such a great job organizing and making it fun for everyone... I had a blast.
2. I went over to Susan's father's house in Hampton for Thanksgiving. I got to meet up with old friends and make some new ones too. We watched the Pats game, then ate during halftime. Everyone that made the food and organized the get-together were great. I can't thank Susan, Bill, Lauren and Mackenzie enough, I had a great time.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
11/24/10
A wednesday that feels like a friday! The pups woke me up as usual, with kisses and barking. We got up and continued on with our morning routine. It seems this may be the last semi warm morning for a bit, it was 44F out as I let the dogs out. Then I brought them in for breakfast. Next I made some coffee and blogged for 20 minutes. Then I sat with the pups and made them do stupid dog tricks for a few minutes.
Although it was warm out, it was quite windy, that made the morning walk so interesting. Chance was chasing flying leaves like he was on acid. You could see he was having fun, but at the same time it was tormenting him, "why are all these flying leaves attacking me? I must get them all". We did the 1.5 mile loop and still got back to the house earlier than usual. I had a bowl of cereal and then got ready for work.
Work was somewhat of a ghost town, very few people in the office. Too bad I had meetings scheduled for 1:30pm, 3:00pm and 4:00pm, so much for getting out a little early. At lunch I went home to play ball with the dogs in the backyard. I made a ham & cheese sandwich that I enjoyed on the back porch while the dogs stared at me. After 30 minutes of ball, I headed back to work. Besides the many meetings I was in, I didn't get much else done at work, though I did send out my PE application.
After work I headed home and played with the pups in the backyard. I started a fire in the wood stove, then brought the pups in for their dinner. We went back out to play a little more and I stopped over to my neighbor's house to drop off some wine for letting me use is lawn equipment all summer. Paul has a very large lawn that he fertilizes and feeds as is recommended. I have a small patch of lawn, they don't sell fertilizer is such small quantities. So, Paul lends me his spreader and whatever remaining fertilizer he has, plus he reminds me when to do it. After that, the dogs and I came inside where I made my dinner.
Next I quickly ran over to Hannaford because I was out of milk, plus I wanted to subject myself to a frenzy that could be comparable to a 'Black Friday' sale event. I wanted to get more chocolate pudding, but it was in the baking goods aisle... Looked like a death trap to head down that aisle. I got home in one piece and I made ziti with the rest of my sausage sauce from last night. I backed it with my last two pieces of cheese, it was pretty good if I say so myself.
After dinner, the dogs and I went out for our evening walk. Just as we were going out the door, Reece saw that terrier she hates, it set her off. W probably only walked 0.4miles but Reece was uncontrollable, so as soon as they did their business, it was back to the house. We settled in, I popped in a movie that I just got from Netflix. By the way, when I came back from the grocery store, the Netflix movie I got in the mail today was on the floor, envelope gone, DVD by the sink. I had to call up Netflix to get the address to send it back to because 'my dog at the envelope'.
After the movie, I watched one TV show and then it was off to bed.
Although it was warm out, it was quite windy, that made the morning walk so interesting. Chance was chasing flying leaves like he was on acid. You could see he was having fun, but at the same time it was tormenting him, "why are all these flying leaves attacking me? I must get them all". We did the 1.5 mile loop and still got back to the house earlier than usual. I had a bowl of cereal and then got ready for work.
Work was somewhat of a ghost town, very few people in the office. Too bad I had meetings scheduled for 1:30pm, 3:00pm and 4:00pm, so much for getting out a little early. At lunch I went home to play ball with the dogs in the backyard. I made a ham & cheese sandwich that I enjoyed on the back porch while the dogs stared at me. After 30 minutes of ball, I headed back to work. Besides the many meetings I was in, I didn't get much else done at work, though I did send out my PE application.
After work I headed home and played with the pups in the backyard. I started a fire in the wood stove, then brought the pups in for their dinner. We went back out to play a little more and I stopped over to my neighbor's house to drop off some wine for letting me use is lawn equipment all summer. Paul has a very large lawn that he fertilizes and feeds as is recommended. I have a small patch of lawn, they don't sell fertilizer is such small quantities. So, Paul lends me his spreader and whatever remaining fertilizer he has, plus he reminds me when to do it. After that, the dogs and I came inside where I made my dinner.
Next I quickly ran over to Hannaford because I was out of milk, plus I wanted to subject myself to a frenzy that could be comparable to a 'Black Friday' sale event. I wanted to get more chocolate pudding, but it was in the baking goods aisle... Looked like a death trap to head down that aisle. I got home in one piece and I made ziti with the rest of my sausage sauce from last night. I backed it with my last two pieces of cheese, it was pretty good if I say so myself.
After dinner, the dogs and I went out for our evening walk. Just as we were going out the door, Reece saw that terrier she hates, it set her off. W probably only walked 0.4miles but Reece was uncontrollable, so as soon as they did their business, it was back to the house. We settled in, I popped in a movie that I just got from Netflix. By the way, when I came back from the grocery store, the Netflix movie I got in the mail today was on the floor, envelope gone, DVD by the sink. I had to call up Netflix to get the address to send it back to because 'my dog at the envelope'.
After the movie, I watched one TV show and then it was off to bed.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
11/23/10
Another morning, same routine. Woke up with the dogs, headed outside first thing. Next it was time to feed the dogs breakfast while I had some coffee and blogged. Between 6:30 and 6:45am, I sat with the dogs on the couch for some pets. Since we got out the door a little early, we went on our 1.5 mile loop to enjoy the morning air. We still got back to the house earlier than usual, so I got to clean up a few things. I then had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, got ready for work and headed out the door.
Work was pretty dull today, the office was close to being empty. Without much work to do, I decided to get all the documentation I needed together, and fill out the application for the Mass. PE license. I am amazed at how long this takes to organize all the documents they want. I currently have my credentials stored at a nation wide database for professional engineers. Most states only require that you send them verification of your credentials through this agency, not Mass. I have to send them examples of my work ever since I graduated college, the packet will be quite think.
At lunch I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard while having a ham and cheese sandwich. Nothing too exciting going on at the house either. We played ball for 20 - 30 minutes and came in for some water. I sat on the couch with the pups for belly rubs before heading back to work. The rest of the day at work was the same, at around 4:30pm I finally finished the application with all the supporting documents, hopefully I will send it out tomorrow.
At 5pm, I headed home. I let the dogs outside while I started a fire in the stove. We were playing ball for a bit and Cheryl called on the phone. We got to talk a bit while I played ball and then while I brought the pups in for their dinner. We talked for 20 - 30 minutes. Next I started making my dinner, I made a sausage pasta sauce with the left over chicken sausage from last night and cooked up some pasta. I have enough sauce for two servings, good for tomorrow! Afterwords I tried making some chocolate pudding... something was weird. It was like there wasn't enough powder mix in the package or something. The pudding never solidified, bummer.
Next we went out for our evening walk, a 1 mile loop. The pups were great on the walk and nothing too exciting happened. When we got back, we went upstairs and watched some TV on the couch. I had one beer and fell asleep within a few minutes. Woke up, turned off the TV and went to bed.
Work was pretty dull today, the office was close to being empty. Without much work to do, I decided to get all the documentation I needed together, and fill out the application for the Mass. PE license. I am amazed at how long this takes to organize all the documents they want. I currently have my credentials stored at a nation wide database for professional engineers. Most states only require that you send them verification of your credentials through this agency, not Mass. I have to send them examples of my work ever since I graduated college, the packet will be quite think.
At lunch I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard while having a ham and cheese sandwich. Nothing too exciting going on at the house either. We played ball for 20 - 30 minutes and came in for some water. I sat on the couch with the pups for belly rubs before heading back to work. The rest of the day at work was the same, at around 4:30pm I finally finished the application with all the supporting documents, hopefully I will send it out tomorrow.
At 5pm, I headed home. I let the dogs outside while I started a fire in the stove. We were playing ball for a bit and Cheryl called on the phone. We got to talk a bit while I played ball and then while I brought the pups in for their dinner. We talked for 20 - 30 minutes. Next I started making my dinner, I made a sausage pasta sauce with the left over chicken sausage from last night and cooked up some pasta. I have enough sauce for two servings, good for tomorrow! Afterwords I tried making some chocolate pudding... something was weird. It was like there wasn't enough powder mix in the package or something. The pudding never solidified, bummer.
Next we went out for our evening walk, a 1 mile loop. The pups were great on the walk and nothing too exciting happened. When we got back, we went upstairs and watched some TV on the couch. I had one beer and fell asleep within a few minutes. Woke up, turned off the TV and went to bed.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
11/22/10
Start of the work week, good thing the week will only be 3 days long. Reece and Chance woke me up this morning with plenty of kisses. We got up and went outside, then I fed the dogs their breakfast. I had a cup of coffee while blogging. I took down the laundry that had been hanging in the loft to dry, gave them about 15 minutes in the dryer to take out any dog hair and the stiffness of hang drying.
Next we went for the morning 1 mile walk. I was a little late getting out of the house, so I ran into a lot of kids trying to get to school on time. Normally I'm at the end of my walk when the kids are making their way to school. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then cleaned up the house a bit, making sure there was nothing that Chance could get ahold of, then I was off to work.
Nothing too exciting to report at work. I was a little lite on my workload, so I started putting together all the documentation I need to get my PE license in Massachusetts. At lunch time, Aaron and I went over to The Pizza Factory for some subs. I had a steak bomb, I haven't had one of those in probably 9 months, it was glorious. Next we went over to the liquor store, Aaron was stocking up on cheap NH liquor (Aaron lives in Maine, don't hold that against him) for Thanksgiving. Then we went to my bank to deposit a check. Funny story about the check, it was a check for Cheryl dated 5/25/10 that I found this weekend. Apparently back in May, I had grabbed the mail one day and stuffed it in a bag, the bag eventually made it into my closet for the past 6 months. I also found my checkbook in the bag too! Hopefully the check will clear, it had 'Void after 180 days', I think I made it at 178 days.
Nothing much different going on the second half of the day. Still going through my last 3 years worth of work to compile to required paperwork for the MA PE. Aaron offered up some tea for me in the afternoon, very tasty, with a touch of honey. After work I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard. I started up a fire in the wood stove. Then the dogs came in for dinner, but then right back outside for some ball. I got to talk to Michael next door for a few minutes, he recently had some tattoos re-worked. Next I made up some chicken sausages on the grill for dinner. I only had 1 hot dog bun, so sad. I ate two sausages, and put the other two in the fridge for later this week. I checked a few things out online that Cheryl wanted me to look at, then it was time for our evening walk.
The dogs and I did the 1 mile loop, it was weird because the temperature is increasing and at 7:30pm was warmer than around 2pm today. The walk was pretty uneventful, good dogs. When we got back, we sat down to watch a few TV shows, then off to bed.
Next we went for the morning 1 mile walk. I was a little late getting out of the house, so I ran into a lot of kids trying to get to school on time. Normally I'm at the end of my walk when the kids are making their way to school. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then cleaned up the house a bit, making sure there was nothing that Chance could get ahold of, then I was off to work.
Nothing too exciting to report at work. I was a little lite on my workload, so I started putting together all the documentation I need to get my PE license in Massachusetts. At lunch time, Aaron and I went over to The Pizza Factory for some subs. I had a steak bomb, I haven't had one of those in probably 9 months, it was glorious. Next we went over to the liquor store, Aaron was stocking up on cheap NH liquor (Aaron lives in Maine, don't hold that against him) for Thanksgiving. Then we went to my bank to deposit a check. Funny story about the check, it was a check for Cheryl dated 5/25/10 that I found this weekend. Apparently back in May, I had grabbed the mail one day and stuffed it in a bag, the bag eventually made it into my closet for the past 6 months. I also found my checkbook in the bag too! Hopefully the check will clear, it had 'Void after 180 days', I think I made it at 178 days.
Nothing much different going on the second half of the day. Still going through my last 3 years worth of work to compile to required paperwork for the MA PE. Aaron offered up some tea for me in the afternoon, very tasty, with a touch of honey. After work I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard. I started up a fire in the wood stove. Then the dogs came in for dinner, but then right back outside for some ball. I got to talk to Michael next door for a few minutes, he recently had some tattoos re-worked. Next I made up some chicken sausages on the grill for dinner. I only had 1 hot dog bun, so sad. I ate two sausages, and put the other two in the fridge for later this week. I checked a few things out online that Cheryl wanted me to look at, then it was time for our evening walk.
The dogs and I did the 1 mile loop, it was weird because the temperature is increasing and at 7:30pm was warmer than around 2pm today. The walk was pretty uneventful, good dogs. When we got back, we sat down to watch a few TV shows, then off to bed.
Monday, November 22, 2010
11/21/10
Sunday morning, the pups let me sleep in until 6:30am! Then it was time for the morning routine. I took the pups outside, then back in for their breakfast. I had some coffee and blogged a bit. Then I ate my breakfast (cereal). This is a little out of order because I wanted to get something to eat, yet have enough time to digest before basketball today. Next we went out on a 1.5 mile walk. As usual, there weren't too many people out, plus it was quite chilly (30F). Just as we got to the end of the walk, we ran into Rob (a project manager I work with) and his dog William. I think we were equally as happy about the freezing weather. We chatted for a minute or so, then headed home.
When we got home, I started to get ready for basketball. It have been 7 weeks or so since I joined the team on the regular sunday morning games. Today it was indoors at Spinnaker point, I am thinking about getting a membership there. It's only available to Portsmouth residence, it's like $168/yr and since it costs $5 to play each sunday, i think it will be worth it. Anyway, at 8:30am I headed over. I was the first one there so I stretched for quite a bit before anyone else arrived. We grabbed another guy from the gym so that we had enough to play 4 on 4.
Within the first few minutes, Tyler rolled his ankle pretty bad. He was out for the rest of the games. We then played three games of 3 on 3. I have to admit, it was one of my better days of basketball. It's amazing how much better I do when I get the confidence. We finished up around 10:20pm, a couple of the guys had to help Tyler to the car, he couldn't put any weight on this ankle at all. I don't know what is better, a sprain or a break. Sprains seem to linger on for awhile. Anyway, I hope it isn't anything too serious and he recovers well.
After basketball, I came home, took a shower and started my day of work. Not really, I didn't want to work too hard. I started a fire in the stove, high temperature today will be 35F. I threw a load of laundry in, them put up a clothes line upstairs in the loft area. Then I got working on our Solstice card, I spent about an hour in photoshop making one. Cheryl called and we got to talk for about 20 minutes on video chat. After our chat, I went back to designing our card. Next I took the pups outside and we played ball for almost 30 minutes before Chance headed for the door.
We came in and I decided to watch a little football. I made up some cheesey nachos and caught the end of the Jet - Texans game. Then it was back outside for some more ball. I think Chance thought I was only going out for a few minutes because he kept going back to the door to go in. We played for another 20 minutes or so. I wanted to get play time in before darkness set in. We went back in, I fed the dogs and then it was time to watch the Pats-Colts game. It was a pretty good game for 3 quarters when the score was 31-14. Then it looked like the Pats defense just imploded on the passing game. Thank god for that last second interception, or else I think the Pats would have lost.
By the way, I read an interesting article on the true meaning of 'Blue Moon'. Apparently in the early 80's some one wrongly quoted the Maine Farmer's Almanac from 1937, stating that a Blue Moon is the second full moon of a month. This was incorrect, the true definition from the 1937 Almanac is that some years there will be 13 full moons, so one season will see 4 full moons instead of 3. The 3rd full moon in a season with 4 full moons will be known as the blue moon. That is why some claim that today's full moon is actually a blue moon. Learn something new everyday.
After the Pats game, I took the dogs out for their evening 1 mile walk. It was 31F out, time to break out the mittens. Not much going on in the neighborhood, the walk was pretty uneventful. When we got back, I played on the internet a bit while watching the Sunday night football game. At half time I turned everything off and headed to bed.
When we got home, I started to get ready for basketball. It have been 7 weeks or so since I joined the team on the regular sunday morning games. Today it was indoors at Spinnaker point, I am thinking about getting a membership there. It's only available to Portsmouth residence, it's like $168/yr and since it costs $5 to play each sunday, i think it will be worth it. Anyway, at 8:30am I headed over. I was the first one there so I stretched for quite a bit before anyone else arrived. We grabbed another guy from the gym so that we had enough to play 4 on 4.
Within the first few minutes, Tyler rolled his ankle pretty bad. He was out for the rest of the games. We then played three games of 3 on 3. I have to admit, it was one of my better days of basketball. It's amazing how much better I do when I get the confidence. We finished up around 10:20pm, a couple of the guys had to help Tyler to the car, he couldn't put any weight on this ankle at all. I don't know what is better, a sprain or a break. Sprains seem to linger on for awhile. Anyway, I hope it isn't anything too serious and he recovers well.
After basketball, I came home, took a shower and started my day of work. Not really, I didn't want to work too hard. I started a fire in the stove, high temperature today will be 35F. I threw a load of laundry in, them put up a clothes line upstairs in the loft area. Then I got working on our Solstice card, I spent about an hour in photoshop making one. Cheryl called and we got to talk for about 20 minutes on video chat. After our chat, I went back to designing our card. Next I took the pups outside and we played ball for almost 30 minutes before Chance headed for the door.
We came in and I decided to watch a little football. I made up some cheesey nachos and caught the end of the Jet - Texans game. Then it was back outside for some more ball. I think Chance thought I was only going out for a few minutes because he kept going back to the door to go in. We played for another 20 minutes or so. I wanted to get play time in before darkness set in. We went back in, I fed the dogs and then it was time to watch the Pats-Colts game. It was a pretty good game for 3 quarters when the score was 31-14. Then it looked like the Pats defense just imploded on the passing game. Thank god for that last second interception, or else I think the Pats would have lost.
By the way, I read an interesting article on the true meaning of 'Blue Moon'. Apparently in the early 80's some one wrongly quoted the Maine Farmer's Almanac from 1937, stating that a Blue Moon is the second full moon of a month. This was incorrect, the true definition from the 1937 Almanac is that some years there will be 13 full moons, so one season will see 4 full moons instead of 3. The 3rd full moon in a season with 4 full moons will be known as the blue moon. That is why some claim that today's full moon is actually a blue moon. Learn something new everyday.
After the Pats game, I took the dogs out for their evening 1 mile walk. It was 31F out, time to break out the mittens. Not much going on in the neighborhood, the walk was pretty uneventful. When we got back, I played on the internet a bit while watching the Sunday night football game. At half time I turned everything off and headed to bed.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
11/20/10
What a wonderful saturday morning. The dogs woke me up nice and early to get outside. Next, they had breakfast while I blogged with some coffee. We wnt out for a 1.5mile morning walk. It was a bit chilly (33F). When we got back, I made a egg, 'sausage' and cheese scramble. Next, it was time to get to work!
First on the agenda was to construct a seat extended for the new vehicle for the dogs. This took me all of 30 minutes with some spare material down in the basement. Now the dogs can ride in the back with a little more room. Chance can now come up to the front for his patented 'hook' belly rubs.
Next, raking leaves in the backyard. I don't intend to rake all he leaves in the backyard because the wood chips make it near impossible. But, there are deep piles of leaves (about 12" thick) that I keep losing tennis balls and other toys in. I built two leaf cages to store the leaves and let them decompose. I really hate the idea of bagging leaves and putting them on the curb, the bags take longer to decompose than the leafs, plus it would hav
e been a lot of bags. I used some left over fencing for the cages, I think next year I will use chicken wire instead. These serve the purpose this year.
e been a lot of bags. I used some left over fencing for the cages, I think next year I will use chicken wire instead. These serve the purpose this year.Next, I went over to Lowe's (with the pups enjoying their new spread in the back of the car) to get some shelving brackets. I bought 2 and went home to make a shelf to go over the toilet upstairs. I don't know if I would have done this in the past, but with Chance eating the toilet paper rolls on a daily basis (no matter where I put it), this seemed like an ok idea. Don't worry Cheryl, if you don't like it we can come up with something else. So, while cutting the wood to size in the basement, I set off all the fire alarms in the house, awesome. If those alarms don't wake you up, the shreaking from the two dogs will. I ran them outside so that they would stop.
By this time it was 4pm. So I made myself some nachos while playing around on the internet. Then I made a trip to Target to get some blank cards, cereal and milk. When we got back, I fed the dogs their dinner and headed upstairs to relax and watch a movie. At around 8pm the movie was over, so the dogs and I went out for a 1 mile walk. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal and laid on the couch with Reece to watch some more TV. Went to bed around 10pm.
By this time it was 4pm. So I made myself some nachos while playing around on the internet. Then I made a trip to Target to get some blank cards, cereal and milk. When we got back, I fed the dogs their dinner and headed upstairs to relax and watch a movie. At around 8pm the movie was over, so the dogs and I went out for a 1 mile walk. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal and laid on the couch with Reece to watch some more TV. Went to bed around 10pm.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
11/19/10
Friday, finally here. We got up and went outside followed by breakfast for the dogs. I sat down with some coffee and blogged about the previous two days. Next I got dressed and we went on a morning walk, we did the 1 mile loop. It wasn't too cold this morning, which is what I am dreading as winter approaches. When we got back, I read through a blog entry Cheryl had sent me about this person's dog, it was really long and absolutely hilarious. Then it was off to work.
At work, pastry day yet again has been relegated to Dunkin Donuts. I had a coffee cake muffin followed by a donut. Work was the same as always. When lunch came around, I was lured by Dennis to get something at McD's. Since the McRib is back for a limited time, I figured I would try it out. So I had the McRib (which is essentially hot dogs ingredients in the form of ribs, smothered with BBQ sauce) and one McDouble. As this is my recovery week from the 1/2 marathon, it will be my last hoorah of eating like crap. Speaking of crap... McD's does serve a purpose, just like the White Castle sliders.
I went home after the lunch and played with the dogs in the backyard for about 15 minutes. Then it was back to work. The remainder of the day was just like any other day. At 5pm, I was out the door and headed home to the pups. I started a fire in the wood stove, then we played ball outside, then came in for some dinner, then back outside for some more ball. I went through some paperwork for about 30 minutes, then it was back outside for some more ball. At 7:15pm, we went for our evening walk. We did the modified 1 mile loop, just a slightly different route. The pups were good on the walk and nothing too exciting happened.
When we got home, I made some Morningstar buffalo chicken tenders and cottage cheese for dinner. I ate upstairs while watching TV. Friday really is the worst day for TV shows. I ended up watching channel 11 documentary on the 2003 & 2004 Red Sox, followed by a documentary on steroid use in baseball. With nothing else on, I went to bed.
At work, pastry day yet again has been relegated to Dunkin Donuts. I had a coffee cake muffin followed by a donut. Work was the same as always. When lunch came around, I was lured by Dennis to get something at McD's. Since the McRib is back for a limited time, I figured I would try it out. So I had the McRib (which is essentially hot dogs ingredients in the form of ribs, smothered with BBQ sauce) and one McDouble. As this is my recovery week from the 1/2 marathon, it will be my last hoorah of eating like crap. Speaking of crap... McD's does serve a purpose, just like the White Castle sliders.
I went home after the lunch and played with the dogs in the backyard for about 15 minutes. Then it was back to work. The remainder of the day was just like any other day. At 5pm, I was out the door and headed home to the pups. I started a fire in the wood stove, then we played ball outside, then came in for some dinner, then back outside for some more ball. I went through some paperwork for about 30 minutes, then it was back outside for some more ball. At 7:15pm, we went for our evening walk. We did the modified 1 mile loop, just a slightly different route. The pups were good on the walk and nothing too exciting happened.
When we got home, I made some Morningstar buffalo chicken tenders and cottage cheese for dinner. I ate upstairs while watching TV. Friday really is the worst day for TV shows. I ended up watching channel 11 documentary on the 2003 & 2004 Red Sox, followed by a documentary on steroid use in baseball. With nothing else on, I went to bed.
Friday, November 19, 2010
11/18/10
Reece's special day... last day at daycare for a bit. We got up a little early, I made coffee, let the dogs out and then back in for breakfast. I put a load of laundry in, it is the first sunny day in two weeks (not counting last saturday), so I'm excited to get some laundry on the clothes line. I put the trash and recycling out and loaded the pups into the car. Off to Barrington.
I dropped Reece off, she was so happy. Chance and I got some male bonding time on the car ride back to Portsmouth. Once we got back to the house, I put the laundry out on the line and then took Chance for a walk. We did the 1 mile loop, such an extra special boy when Reece is not around. We got back to the house and I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, took a shower and headed off to work. Nothing of notable excitement happened at work, so I will skip that.
At lunch I went home and took Chance for a walk downtown. Note to self, Chance does not like the dish drying rack on the counter, he prefers it to be on the floor. Chance got to see some construction equipment in front of the State Street Salon. They are making a last ditch effort to get State St. paved before winter. We ran into Seth in Market Square and talked with him a bit. He is really happy working for his church and creating websites on the side. We finished our walk and made it back to the house. I made a ham & cheese sandwich for lunch and headed out the door to get back to work.
I ate my sandwich on the ride to work. The rest of the day at work was uneventful. After work I gave Ed a lift home. Ed's a pretty cool guy. Cheryl, Ed's son works at Smuttynose, thought I would pass that along. I always dreamed of having a wife work at a beer brewery... sample testing all the time. Anyway, got home, took down the laundry off the line and then loaded Chance into the car to head to Barrington. The traffic on the general Sullivan bridge was actually pretty light, so we breezed through. I went in to daycare and grabbed Reece. She got one last jolly ball time in in the back pens. Joanne was very sad to see Reece leave for the last time. I may bring Reece back in January, the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's is such a pain to get past the malls.
On the way home, Cheryl called so I got to talk to her a bit. Reece fell asleep on the front seat, snoring away... adorable. We made it home around 6:30pm, I brought the pups in for some dinner, then I heated up the rest of my leftover steak, added cottage cheese and apple sauce and had dinner myself. Next I took the pups out for our evening walk, the 1 mile loop past the scary funeral home. Nothing too exciting happened on this walk either. Made it home just before 8pm. Grabbed a bowl of chocolate pudding and watched The Community, 30 Rock and The Office before falling asleep. Crawled into bed around 9:30pm, ready for a good night's sleep.
I dropped Reece off, she was so happy. Chance and I got some male bonding time on the car ride back to Portsmouth. Once we got back to the house, I put the laundry out on the line and then took Chance for a walk. We did the 1 mile loop, such an extra special boy when Reece is not around. We got back to the house and I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, took a shower and headed off to work. Nothing of notable excitement happened at work, so I will skip that.
At lunch I went home and took Chance for a walk downtown. Note to self, Chance does not like the dish drying rack on the counter, he prefers it to be on the floor. Chance got to see some construction equipment in front of the State Street Salon. They are making a last ditch effort to get State St. paved before winter. We ran into Seth in Market Square and talked with him a bit. He is really happy working for his church and creating websites on the side. We finished our walk and made it back to the house. I made a ham & cheese sandwich for lunch and headed out the door to get back to work.
I ate my sandwich on the ride to work. The rest of the day at work was uneventful. After work I gave Ed a lift home. Ed's a pretty cool guy. Cheryl, Ed's son works at Smuttynose, thought I would pass that along. I always dreamed of having a wife work at a beer brewery... sample testing all the time. Anyway, got home, took down the laundry off the line and then loaded Chance into the car to head to Barrington. The traffic on the general Sullivan bridge was actually pretty light, so we breezed through. I went in to daycare and grabbed Reece. She got one last jolly ball time in in the back pens. Joanne was very sad to see Reece leave for the last time. I may bring Reece back in January, the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's is such a pain to get past the malls.
On the way home, Cheryl called so I got to talk to her a bit. Reece fell asleep on the front seat, snoring away... adorable. We made it home around 6:30pm, I brought the pups in for some dinner, then I heated up the rest of my leftover steak, added cottage cheese and apple sauce and had dinner myself. Next I took the pups out for our evening walk, the 1 mile loop past the scary funeral home. Nothing too exciting happened on this walk either. Made it home just before 8pm. Grabbed a bowl of chocolate pudding and watched The Community, 30 Rock and The Office before falling asleep. Crawled into bed around 9:30pm, ready for a good night's sleep.
11/17/10
Wednesday morning, this one will be short because I am working off of two days memory. As usual, I got up in the morning with the dogs and did our typical morning routine. After blogging, I get dressed for the day and put on my bright yellow rain coat for the morning walk. We had quite a bit of rain overnight, and it is suppose to stop some time this morning.
I cut the walk to 0.8 miles, it was kinda miserable out. My rain jacket needs a chin strap, for most of the walk I had to hold the hood from flying around because of the wind. Once I got back to the house, I changed clothes, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then headed off to work. Work was the same as usual, pretty busy. I got some calculations back from a local structural engineer for one of my projects. I reviewed the calcs and I think it is way over designed, so I took some time to run my own calculations.
At lunch I went home and played with the pups in the yard. The rain had let up long enough to get 20 minutes of play time in. I had a ham, turkey and cheese sandwich with some fruit snacks for lunch. I went to my bank to deposit my refund check for the furniture that took 8 months to get. Then I headed back to work. The rest of the afternoon was the same, pretty busy. I had a weekly N.C. project meeting that lasted 2 hours. Then it was time to go home.
At home, I played with the dogs in the backyard, fed them dinner then played around on the internet a bit. Next i ran over to the store to pick up some items for dinner. I took out a steak from the freezer (took out of the freezer two days ago) and cooked it up on the grille. Had it with some cottage cheese and apple sauce, yum. Next the dogs and I went out on our evening walk. We went for the 1 mile loop and everything went well.
When we got home, I put in the latest Netfix movie and watched for a while. I had a bowl of chocolate pudding and whip cream for desert. I feel asleep during the movie, not interesting enough to re-watch it. I went to bed around 10:30pm.
I cut the walk to 0.8 miles, it was kinda miserable out. My rain jacket needs a chin strap, for most of the walk I had to hold the hood from flying around because of the wind. Once I got back to the house, I changed clothes, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then headed off to work. Work was the same as usual, pretty busy. I got some calculations back from a local structural engineer for one of my projects. I reviewed the calcs and I think it is way over designed, so I took some time to run my own calculations.
At lunch I went home and played with the pups in the yard. The rain had let up long enough to get 20 minutes of play time in. I had a ham, turkey and cheese sandwich with some fruit snacks for lunch. I went to my bank to deposit my refund check for the furniture that took 8 months to get. Then I headed back to work. The rest of the afternoon was the same, pretty busy. I had a weekly N.C. project meeting that lasted 2 hours. Then it was time to go home.
At home, I played with the dogs in the backyard, fed them dinner then played around on the internet a bit. Next i ran over to the store to pick up some items for dinner. I took out a steak from the freezer (took out of the freezer two days ago) and cooked it up on the grille. Had it with some cottage cheese and apple sauce, yum. Next the dogs and I went out on our evening walk. We went for the 1 mile loop and everything went well.
When we got home, I put in the latest Netfix movie and watched for a while. I had a bowl of chocolate pudding and whip cream for desert. I feel asleep during the movie, not interesting enough to re-watch it. I went to bed around 10:30pm.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
11/16/10
Got up this morning and did the regular morning routine. Had the dogs outside, then back in for some breakfast. I had some coffee and OJ while blogging. My days have become very routine, especially in the mornings. I think Chance really enjoys having such a rigorous schedule, gives him something to look forward to.
Afterwards, I took a shower and shaved my beard. It feels good to have an upper lip again. I may re-grow it later in the winter, but I don't think it really looked good on me. Anyway, got dressed and headed out for our morning walk. We did the 1 mile loop, I was running a bit behind. It was a very good walk, made me realize how much I enjoy our morning walks. When we got home, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast then headed to work.
I originally had the day off today, but decided to go in for a few hours in the morning to get some things done. At around 10:15am, I left for home, I played with the dogs in the backyard for 30 minutes, then made myself a ham, turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch. I headed off to Raymond High School. A friend of mine was doing an Energy Star inspection for the high school and asked if I wanted to tag along to see how it was done. We went through the entire school, taking air and light samples and then going through all the rooms where there was mechanical and electrical systems.
Interesting observation... the original school was built in 1988 with an addition in 1998. The addition from '98 had the worst air quality in the school. I am told this is not uncommon. Same thing goes for schools that were constructed in the 20's, with a 60's and 80's addition, the latest addition typically has the worst air quality.
We finished up in about 2 and a half hours, then I headed back to work. I worked on a few hanging items that I had left, some I was able to close out, others will have to wait for another day. As I was leaving Aaron said he and a friend were going over to the Pressroom for drinks and asked if I wanted to go. So I went home and played with the dogs for 20 minutes and fed them dinner. I went over to the Pressroom, they were having a live jazz band playing.
Strike one for the Pressroom, it was the one time in like a year that they were changing out their tap equipment, no beer on tap. There were two signs in the bar for Smithwick's, but they don't serve Smithwick's. Aaron and I ordered Sierra Nevada pale ale, we got the last two in the place. It was an all around unlucky beer night for us. I had a honey mustard chicken wrap for dinner with some sweet potato fries, yum. We had a good time just chatting, nothing ground breaking... we didn't figure out cold fusion on the back of a napkin or anything. Aaron's friend Jeff lives up in Maine, but is staying in Portsmouth for a week for work.
At around 7:15pm, I headed home. I grabbed the dogs and we went out for our evening walk. Not very eventful, just a regular night's walk. We got home and I put on my pajamas, definitely will have a fire tomorrow, its only 60F in the house today. I sat down to watch NCIS... fell asleep within the first 5 minutes, woke up for the 11pm news. Turned the TV off and went to bed.
Afterwards, I took a shower and shaved my beard. It feels good to have an upper lip again. I may re-grow it later in the winter, but I don't think it really looked good on me. Anyway, got dressed and headed out for our morning walk. We did the 1 mile loop, I was running a bit behind. It was a very good walk, made me realize how much I enjoy our morning walks. When we got home, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast then headed to work.
I originally had the day off today, but decided to go in for a few hours in the morning to get some things done. At around 10:15am, I left for home, I played with the dogs in the backyard for 30 minutes, then made myself a ham, turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch. I headed off to Raymond High School. A friend of mine was doing an Energy Star inspection for the high school and asked if I wanted to tag along to see how it was done. We went through the entire school, taking air and light samples and then going through all the rooms where there was mechanical and electrical systems.
Interesting observation... the original school was built in 1988 with an addition in 1998. The addition from '98 had the worst air quality in the school. I am told this is not uncommon. Same thing goes for schools that were constructed in the 20's, with a 60's and 80's addition, the latest addition typically has the worst air quality.
We finished up in about 2 and a half hours, then I headed back to work. I worked on a few hanging items that I had left, some I was able to close out, others will have to wait for another day. As I was leaving Aaron said he and a friend were going over to the Pressroom for drinks and asked if I wanted to go. So I went home and played with the dogs for 20 minutes and fed them dinner. I went over to the Pressroom, they were having a live jazz band playing.
Strike one for the Pressroom, it was the one time in like a year that they were changing out their tap equipment, no beer on tap. There were two signs in the bar for Smithwick's, but they don't serve Smithwick's. Aaron and I ordered Sierra Nevada pale ale, we got the last two in the place. It was an all around unlucky beer night for us. I had a honey mustard chicken wrap for dinner with some sweet potato fries, yum. We had a good time just chatting, nothing ground breaking... we didn't figure out cold fusion on the back of a napkin or anything. Aaron's friend Jeff lives up in Maine, but is staying in Portsmouth for a week for work.
At around 7:15pm, I headed home. I grabbed the dogs and we went out for our evening walk. Not very eventful, just a regular night's walk. We got home and I put on my pajamas, definitely will have a fire tomorrow, its only 60F in the house today. I sat down to watch NCIS... fell asleep within the first 5 minutes, woke up for the 11pm news. Turned the TV off and went to bed.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
11/15/10
Another monday, how I love the start of the week. I got up with the dogs and we went outside in the backyard for a few minutes, then back in for their breakfast. I had coffee while blogging about yesterday. As a little change of pace, I had some orange juice before the coffee. Next I went upstairs and got dressed to take the dogs out for our morning walk. I noticed the sun isn't up anymore as we head out the door for the walks anymore. We did the 1.5 mile loop. The most exciting thing that happened was that both the dogs went #2 before the dumpster! I guess only Cheryl and I know how great that is.
When we got back, I got ready for work, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and headed out the door. I was able to get a few things done in the first hour at work, then I headed down to Lynn, MA to a jobsite. I dropped off some concrete test molds and inspected the reinforcing steel prior to today's pour. I thought the pour was going to be earlier in the morning, but it was changed to noon. After 45 minutes on-site, I left to get back up to the office.
I got back to Portsmouth a little after noon, so I went for a hair cut... long overdue. Then I went home to grab some lunch and hang out with the dogs. I warmed up the last of the leftover pizza while playing ball in the backyard. Once the pizza was done, I sat on the back porch with the pups while eating. Once I was done, round 2 of ball. After 20 minutes, we all came inside and then I took off for work.
The rest of the afternoon at work was pretty much the same, meetings here and there. After work I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard, then brought them in for dinner. While they ate dinner, I tried to man handle the futon. I washed the cover yesterday and now I'm trying to get it back on. It was a tiring process, but now its back. Then Cheryl called (no video chat) on the phone, we talked for 20 minutes or so. She is doing well and made fun of the tinker toy bunk beds. I guess it is very important to use the cardboard that they came in as a structural member.
After the phone call, the dogs and I went out for our walk. A 1 mile loop and back in time to get ready for basketball. I left the dogs at the house this time because I get a full walk in before. The team we were playing only had 3 people show up, so we agreed to play them 3-on-3. That may have been a mistake. The other team was great at 3-on-3. It was also nice playing with them because they were nice guys, no temper tantrums, no fists thrown this game. Ultimately we lost, it may mean the end of our chances to make the playoffs.
There was no beers afterwards, so I went straight home. I took the pups outside one last time and settled in on the couch for a little TV. I finally got into bed around 11:30pm.
When we got back, I got ready for work, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and headed out the door. I was able to get a few things done in the first hour at work, then I headed down to Lynn, MA to a jobsite. I dropped off some concrete test molds and inspected the reinforcing steel prior to today's pour. I thought the pour was going to be earlier in the morning, but it was changed to noon. After 45 minutes on-site, I left to get back up to the office.
I got back to Portsmouth a little after noon, so I went for a hair cut... long overdue. Then I went home to grab some lunch and hang out with the dogs. I warmed up the last of the leftover pizza while playing ball in the backyard. Once the pizza was done, I sat on the back porch with the pups while eating. Once I was done, round 2 of ball. After 20 minutes, we all came inside and then I took off for work.
The rest of the afternoon at work was pretty much the same, meetings here and there. After work I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard, then brought them in for dinner. While they ate dinner, I tried to man handle the futon. I washed the cover yesterday and now I'm trying to get it back on. It was a tiring process, but now its back. Then Cheryl called (no video chat) on the phone, we talked for 20 minutes or so. She is doing well and made fun of the tinker toy bunk beds. I guess it is very important to use the cardboard that they came in as a structural member.
After the phone call, the dogs and I went out for our walk. A 1 mile loop and back in time to get ready for basketball. I left the dogs at the house this time because I get a full walk in before. The team we were playing only had 3 people show up, so we agreed to play them 3-on-3. That may have been a mistake. The other team was great at 3-on-3. It was also nice playing with them because they were nice guys, no temper tantrums, no fists thrown this game. Ultimately we lost, it may mean the end of our chances to make the playoffs.
There was no beers afterwards, so I went straight home. I took the pups outside one last time and settled in on the couch for a little TV. I finally got into bed around 11:30pm.
Monday, November 15, 2010
11/14/10
Started this morning like a weekday morning. I set me alarm, got up with the dogs, went outside and then fed them breakfast. I had coffee and blogged about yesterday. Next I took the pups out on a morning walk. I wanted to keep it short because I already saw people walking to the race. The pups were very good on the walk, since no one else was out it was very quiet too. When we got home, I had a yogurt for breakfast followed by some more coffee.
I got all my gear together and started my walk over to the High School for the start of the race. There wasn't much going on for pre-race activities, so I just found a quiet corner and listened to my mp3 player for a bit. I went outside and did some warm ups, it was a bit chilly (45F) but at least the sun was coming out. Right at 8:30am the race started. I won't give turn by turn descriptions. I hit mile 10 at 1:09:55, less than a 7:00 pace! That is where I hit the wall. My goal for finishing below 1:35 was not going to happen. I had a hard time even trotting. It took my 34 minutes to do the last 3.1 miles. I finished in 1:44:13. As Cheryl says, respectable, but I really wanted to do better. It goes to show, you don't train right, you won't get the results you want.
Oh well, at least the food afterwards was fantastic. They had pizza, pumpkin pie, cake, cornbread, brownies. It was really great. I was also surprised, there were so many people on the course cheering on, it was great. I didn't get a chance to meet up with anyone I knew afterwards, I just headed home to get some sleep. I passed the basketball court just in time to see the guys packing up and leaving. I think next week will be indoors.
I got home and made a b-line for the couch upstairs. I put on the TV and fell asleep with little Reece at my feet. I woke up around 1pm, just as football was starting. I took the pups outside for some play time in the yard, we came in and I finally took a shower. My hips are killing me, I think I need them replaced. Afterwards, I watched a little more football. At halftime, I went outside with the dogs again to play ball. I went over to Philbrook's Fresh Market to see about the Ian's buffalo chicken nuggets, but they didn't even check for me. They said they are having trouble getting anything from Ian's, they may stop selling all Ian's products. I was tempted to just do my grocery shopping there, but the prices are completely outragous. I can get Stoneyfield 1/2 gallon of milk at Hannaford for $3.59, at Philbrook's, $4.59. They are about 30% more expensive than Hannaford for the same product. So I went over to Hannaford, got milk, eggs, yogurt, bread and beer. I shed a tear for the beer. No more Octoberfest, Winter Ale is now here.
I gave Shannon and Jeff a call to see what they were up to, they were hanging around the house and said I could come by. I grabbed the plastic containers I had borrowed a while back (actually one was a new container I bought because Chance chewed the original one) and headed over to their house. I picked up the coffee that I got from the co-op. I got to spend some fun time with little Oskar running around on the floor. He is such a cute little guy. We went out to get some burger's from Rocky's for dinner. I had the Batman (burger with bacon, onion rings, bbq sauce), it was pretty good. We brought the burgers back to their house and sat and talked for a bit. It was good to get out of the house and see Jeff, Shannon and Oskar and Miles too.
I went home and feed the pups a late dinner, then we went out for a walk. The evening temp was actually fairly warm, it was nice to not have to wear gloves. When we got back, I gave the dogs a treat that Jeff and Shannon sent me home with. I then got into my pajamas and headed for the couch again to watch the Pats game. I made it through half time, and at some point it was 17-3 Pats, so I went to bed.
I got all my gear together and started my walk over to the High School for the start of the race. There wasn't much going on for pre-race activities, so I just found a quiet corner and listened to my mp3 player for a bit. I went outside and did some warm ups, it was a bit chilly (45F) but at least the sun was coming out. Right at 8:30am the race started. I won't give turn by turn descriptions. I hit mile 10 at 1:09:55, less than a 7:00 pace! That is where I hit the wall. My goal for finishing below 1:35 was not going to happen. I had a hard time even trotting. It took my 34 minutes to do the last 3.1 miles. I finished in 1:44:13. As Cheryl says, respectable, but I really wanted to do better. It goes to show, you don't train right, you won't get the results you want.
Oh well, at least the food afterwards was fantastic. They had pizza, pumpkin pie, cake, cornbread, brownies. It was really great. I was also surprised, there were so many people on the course cheering on, it was great. I didn't get a chance to meet up with anyone I knew afterwards, I just headed home to get some sleep. I passed the basketball court just in time to see the guys packing up and leaving. I think next week will be indoors.
I got home and made a b-line for the couch upstairs. I put on the TV and fell asleep with little Reece at my feet. I woke up around 1pm, just as football was starting. I took the pups outside for some play time in the yard, we came in and I finally took a shower. My hips are killing me, I think I need them replaced. Afterwards, I watched a little more football. At halftime, I went outside with the dogs again to play ball. I went over to Philbrook's Fresh Market to see about the Ian's buffalo chicken nuggets, but they didn't even check for me. They said they are having trouble getting anything from Ian's, they may stop selling all Ian's products. I was tempted to just do my grocery shopping there, but the prices are completely outragous. I can get Stoneyfield 1/2 gallon of milk at Hannaford for $3.59, at Philbrook's, $4.59. They are about 30% more expensive than Hannaford for the same product. So I went over to Hannaford, got milk, eggs, yogurt, bread and beer. I shed a tear for the beer. No more Octoberfest, Winter Ale is now here.
I gave Shannon and Jeff a call to see what they were up to, they were hanging around the house and said I could come by. I grabbed the plastic containers I had borrowed a while back (actually one was a new container I bought because Chance chewed the original one) and headed over to their house. I picked up the coffee that I got from the co-op. I got to spend some fun time with little Oskar running around on the floor. He is such a cute little guy. We went out to get some burger's from Rocky's for dinner. I had the Batman (burger with bacon, onion rings, bbq sauce), it was pretty good. We brought the burgers back to their house and sat and talked for a bit. It was good to get out of the house and see Jeff, Shannon and Oskar and Miles too.
I went home and feed the pups a late dinner, then we went out for a walk. The evening temp was actually fairly warm, it was nice to not have to wear gloves. When we got back, I gave the dogs a treat that Jeff and Shannon sent me home with. I then got into my pajamas and headed for the couch again to watch the Pats game. I made it through half time, and at some point it was 17-3 Pats, so I went to bed.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
11/13/10
Today I am going to get a lot done. My first weekend day at home in 3 weeks! I got to sleep in an extra 30 minutes, thanks to the dogs. I took them outside for a few minutes, then fed them breakfast while I blogged with some coffee. I then took some time to surf the internet, not sure what for, but I wanted to waste some time. I started a fire in the wood stove, just to bring the temp up a bit. I made myself a cheese and sausage omelet for breakfast, the sausage was the Morningstar 'meat'.
The dogs and I went for a nice 1.5mile walk. Not much to report about the walk, it was a bit cold for what is suppose to be a beautiful day. We got home and I hung up the laundry on the clothes line, then started to work. I raked the front lawn, including along the curb line to get all the leaves and crud off the street. I filled 7 bags of leaves, but that also includes raking the area just behind the fence where I have my grilles. That area get a boat load of leaves, Chance was sure to help when I raked that area.
ext I took the new generator of the the box, read through the directions, and got it read to use. I started it up to give it a test run, started great and is very quiet. Next I went down in the basement to move some things around. Because Cheryl is so great, she put everything in containers in the basement, and put them up 2" or so off the floor on pieces of rigid insulation. I just need to move them all around a bit to make sure moisture doesn't stay under them. I got to move a few around, but didn't want to put to much work on my back today.
Next I carried the ottoman from the loft into the car. We are finally getting the ottoman we ordered on May17th!! I got the pups back in the house, and I took off for the furniture store. It was a pretty easy transfer of ottomans, and I picked up a check for $100 for my troubles. Brought the ottoman back to the house, but stopped off at Lowe's first. I was a bit confused with the generator, they didn't send it with engine oil in the engine, but had oil in a separate container within the packaging. I emptied all the oil into the oil cap, but it didn't fill to the required depth. Why would they provide oil if it wasn't enough? So I wanted to get more, just in case. I also picked up a new outlet to replace the GFCI in the basement.
When I got home, I put the ottoman upstairs right away. Then I heated up 2 slices of pizza for lunch and sat out on the back porch with the dogs. Next I walked into town to go to Runner's Alley to pick up my race packet for tomorrow. I said hi to Liz (my dog sitter) who also works at Runner's Alley. It was pretty packed there, so I just said hi and wished her luck for tomorrow's race too. Walked back to the house and let the pups in the backyard again. I pulled some tools out and decided to change out the two gate latches that are like a chinese torture trick to get the gates to open. Within 30 minutes, I had the first one in, it only took me 10 minutes on the second one. The latches are so nice, super easy to use.
Next I went back down to the basement to work on the outlet. This took much longer than I thought. I was hoping to just change it out, but because it was a GFCI, the outlet next to it ran through the GFCI, not pigtailed. So I went searching for some spare 20amp wire to make a pigtail. Once I found that, realized I had no wire ties. So in the end, I just hooked up the one outlet and left the second one blank until I get some wire ties. I consider this project 50% complete.
I realize I missed a call from Kristen, she left me a voicemail about going out riding the motorcycles. As I have already forgot to state, it is sunny at 64F today... if you are not outside, shame on you. I tried calling Kristen back, but she must have already gone out. Instead, Cheryl called and we video chatted for about 30 minutes. I was able to take the computer outside and show her the new gate latches.
Next I watched some TV online, then took the pups out for our evening walk, a 1mile loop. Again, not a lot of excitement on this walk. I got home and made some pasta and cheese sauce for my carbo loading. I ate upstairs while watching some more TV. At 9pm, I turned off the TV, put away my dishes and went to bed.
The dogs and I went for a nice 1.5mile walk. Not much to report about the walk, it was a bit cold for what is suppose to be a beautiful day. We got home and I hung up the laundry on the clothes line, then started to work. I raked the front lawn, including along the curb line to get all the leaves and crud off the street. I filled 7 bags of leaves, but that also includes raking the area just behind the fence where I have my grilles. That area get a boat load of leaves, Chance was sure to help when I raked that area.
ext I took the new generator of the the box, read through the directions, and got it read to use. I started it up to give it a test run, started great and is very quiet. Next I went down in the basement to move some things around. Because Cheryl is so great, she put everything in containers in the basement, and put them up 2" or so off the floor on pieces of rigid insulation. I just need to move them all around a bit to make sure moisture doesn't stay under them. I got to move a few around, but didn't want to put to much work on my back today.
Next I carried the ottoman from the loft into the car. We are finally getting the ottoman we ordered on May17th!! I got the pups back in the house, and I took off for the furniture store. It was a pretty easy transfer of ottomans, and I picked up a check for $100 for my troubles. Brought the ottoman back to the house, but stopped off at Lowe's first. I was a bit confused with the generator, they didn't send it with engine oil in the engine, but had oil in a separate container within the packaging. I emptied all the oil into the oil cap, but it didn't fill to the required depth. Why would they provide oil if it wasn't enough? So I wanted to get more, just in case. I also picked up a new outlet to replace the GFCI in the basement.
When I got home, I put the ottoman upstairs right away. Then I heated up 2 slices of pizza for lunch and sat out on the back porch with the dogs. Next I walked into town to go to Runner's Alley to pick up my race packet for tomorrow. I said hi to Liz (my dog sitter) who also works at Runner's Alley. It was pretty packed there, so I just said hi and wished her luck for tomorrow's race too. Walked back to the house and let the pups in the backyard again. I pulled some tools out and decided to change out the two gate latches that are like a chinese torture trick to get the gates to open. Within 30 minutes, I had the first one in, it only took me 10 minutes on the second one. The latches are so nice, super easy to use.
Next I went back down to the basement to work on the outlet. This took much longer than I thought. I was hoping to just change it out, but because it was a GFCI, the outlet next to it ran through the GFCI, not pigtailed. So I went searching for some spare 20amp wire to make a pigtail. Once I found that, realized I had no wire ties. So in the end, I just hooked up the one outlet and left the second one blank until I get some wire ties. I consider this project 50% complete.
I realize I missed a call from Kristen, she left me a voicemail about going out riding the motorcycles. As I have already forgot to state, it is sunny at 64F today... if you are not outside, shame on you. I tried calling Kristen back, but she must have already gone out. Instead, Cheryl called and we video chatted for about 30 minutes. I was able to take the computer outside and show her the new gate latches.
Next I watched some TV online, then took the pups out for our evening walk, a 1mile loop. Again, not a lot of excitement on this walk. I got home and made some pasta and cheese sauce for my carbo loading. I ate upstairs while watching some more TV. At 9pm, I turned off the TV, put away my dishes and went to bed.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
11/12/10
Friday morning, means breakfast at work! Got up, put in 2 loads of laundry during my morning routine. Had the pups out, fed them breakfast and had a cup of coffee while I tried to blog. Unfortunately, the internet wasn't working. I decided to do a power cycle on the modem and router (in the basement). As I slid the pocket door open to the basement, it rubbed on the door frame. Red lights went off in my head. The only time this happens... is when the basement is flooded. Sure enough, as I turned the corner, I saw 2" of standing water at the base of the stairs.
The culprit was the same as the last time, the damn GFCI outlet the sump is plugged into tripped. I hit the reset button and the sump came back on. That's it! That stupid outlet is getting replaced with a regular outlet. While the pump was now work, there wasn't much I could do until the water was almost out.
I went back upstairs and hung out the laundry on the line. Next we went for our morning walk, we only did the 1mile loop because I was running a little late. When we got back, I swept as much water to the sump pit as possible. By now, I have a pretty good idea where all the low spots are in the basement floor.
I went off to work. We had a staff meeting in the morning that consisted of a review of our health insurance, the 401k program and our regular staff meeting all roiled into one. We had breakfast sandwiches provided, plus Paul T. bought a shit ton of donuts on his way in. After 10 minutes into the health insurance meeting, I wanted out! Health insurance is going up, being where I work, all the blame (and many side conversations that extended the meeting) was on Obama. Man, this it tiring to hear. Let me get this straight, our insurance has been going up annually 11% for the past 3 years, and this year all the blame is on Obamacare? People, start thinking for yourselves and not what Fox News tells you. Do you think the insurance company is in the business of saving lives, or making money? After the 10th comment about how the democrats are doing nothing but taxing us with all these new rules, I got up and left. If you complain about taxes here in NH, try moving somewhere with less taxes. Oh yeah, say hi to Sarah Palin while there because the only state with less taxes than NH... Alaska, dress warm.
Anyway, I got back to my work instead of listening to everyone bitch about Obama. Sorry, but the choices I make in my life have more barring on my life than all the politicians. I rushed through getting work done before lunch time. By this time, I needed a break. I went home and went for a nice 3 mile run to clear my head. This is the last run I will do before sunday's half marathon. I got home and played with the dogs in the backyard while cooling off. It was such a beautiful day, I didn't want to go back to work. Sunny and 62F... perfect. On the way back to work, I got to use my sunroof for the first time it was so nice.
There was a lunch & learn at work, so when I got back, there were 8 pizzas still not touched. I grabbed a couple slices and headed back to my cube. The rest of the day was the same, getting work completed before the weekend. At 4:40pm, I went downstairs and noticed there were still 5 full pizzas sitting in the kitchen. I grabbed a whole pizza when Paul T. came in and said 'you can't do that". I did not realize Paul is now the pizza police too. Let me get this straight, 20 minutes until the office closes, there a 5 pizzas that have been sitting there since lunch... what will happen to them if I don't take 1? It will get thrown out. I wasn't taking them all. By the way, as I left as one of the last, there were still 2 pizzas still sitting there that hadn't claimed.
I got home and started a fire in the wood stove. Took the pups outside while I took the laundry off the line and into the dryer. I came back out and played ball in the dark for 10 minutes. We went in and I fed them dinner while I went into the basement to start round 2 of cleanup. I shop vac'd the floor and got almost all the water out. I then reset the internet a forth time, and finally I had it back. I instant messaged Cheryl for a few minutes, then brought the dogs back out for some more play time.
At 7pm, I took the dogs out for our evening walk (1 mile loop). Nothing too exciting happened. I heated up 3 slices of pizza for dinner and had a beer. I watched the rest of the Netflix movie that I started on wednesday, then a little TV. Finally made it to bed around 10pm. Pardon my ranting today, I had a rough day and needed to vent a bit. Have a great weekend everyone!
The culprit was the same as the last time, the damn GFCI outlet the sump is plugged into tripped. I hit the reset button and the sump came back on. That's it! That stupid outlet is getting replaced with a regular outlet. While the pump was now work, there wasn't much I could do until the water was almost out.
I went back upstairs and hung out the laundry on the line. Next we went for our morning walk, we only did the 1mile loop because I was running a little late. When we got back, I swept as much water to the sump pit as possible. By now, I have a pretty good idea where all the low spots are in the basement floor.
I went off to work. We had a staff meeting in the morning that consisted of a review of our health insurance, the 401k program and our regular staff meeting all roiled into one. We had breakfast sandwiches provided, plus Paul T. bought a shit ton of donuts on his way in. After 10 minutes into the health insurance meeting, I wanted out! Health insurance is going up, being where I work, all the blame (and many side conversations that extended the meeting) was on Obama. Man, this it tiring to hear. Let me get this straight, our insurance has been going up annually 11% for the past 3 years, and this year all the blame is on Obamacare? People, start thinking for yourselves and not what Fox News tells you. Do you think the insurance company is in the business of saving lives, or making money? After the 10th comment about how the democrats are doing nothing but taxing us with all these new rules, I got up and left. If you complain about taxes here in NH, try moving somewhere with less taxes. Oh yeah, say hi to Sarah Palin while there because the only state with less taxes than NH... Alaska, dress warm.
Anyway, I got back to my work instead of listening to everyone bitch about Obama. Sorry, but the choices I make in my life have more barring on my life than all the politicians. I rushed through getting work done before lunch time. By this time, I needed a break. I went home and went for a nice 3 mile run to clear my head. This is the last run I will do before sunday's half marathon. I got home and played with the dogs in the backyard while cooling off. It was such a beautiful day, I didn't want to go back to work. Sunny and 62F... perfect. On the way back to work, I got to use my sunroof for the first time it was so nice.
There was a lunch & learn at work, so when I got back, there were 8 pizzas still not touched. I grabbed a couple slices and headed back to my cube. The rest of the day was the same, getting work completed before the weekend. At 4:40pm, I went downstairs and noticed there were still 5 full pizzas sitting in the kitchen. I grabbed a whole pizza when Paul T. came in and said 'you can't do that". I did not realize Paul is now the pizza police too. Let me get this straight, 20 minutes until the office closes, there a 5 pizzas that have been sitting there since lunch... what will happen to them if I don't take 1? It will get thrown out. I wasn't taking them all. By the way, as I left as one of the last, there were still 2 pizzas still sitting there that hadn't claimed.
I got home and started a fire in the wood stove. Took the pups outside while I took the laundry off the line and into the dryer. I came back out and played ball in the dark for 10 minutes. We went in and I fed them dinner while I went into the basement to start round 2 of cleanup. I shop vac'd the floor and got almost all the water out. I then reset the internet a forth time, and finally I had it back. I instant messaged Cheryl for a few minutes, then brought the dogs back out for some more play time.
At 7pm, I took the dogs out for our evening walk (1 mile loop). Nothing too exciting happened. I heated up 3 slices of pizza for dinner and had a beer. I watched the rest of the Netflix movie that I started on wednesday, then a little TV. Finally made it to bed around 10pm. Pardon my ranting today, I had a rough day and needed to vent a bit. Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, November 12, 2010
11/11/10
Thursday morning, got up a little early, today is suppose to be the first day of sun for the past week and a half! I threw in a load of laundry, got the pups outside and made some coffee. By 6:05 we were out the door to get Reece to daycare. The trip to daycare was as usual, early. We made it to Barrington by 6:30am, I dropped Reece off, then it was man time in the car with me and Chance. Chance is such a lover when Reece isn’t around. We enjoyed the car ride, then when we got home, we went straight for a walk. We did the 1mile loop, stopping multiple times for pets and kisses.
After the walk, I got ready for work and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I put one of the bar stools on the chairs that are on the dining room table, this should keep Chance off. I hung up the laundry outside, hopefully this weekend I will set up something inside for drying laundry. Then it was off to work.
Work was typical today, stayed in the office and did a lot of phone calls and paperwork to keep projects going. I also had my fair share of meeting to go to throughout the day. At lunch I went home to see Chance. He must really not like the dish drying rack, it was in the hallway when I got home. I kinda figured something might go down today, so at least I emptied it before leaving this morning. I put on my running clothes and grabbed Chance and we went for a 2.5 mile run around Portsmouth. I think he like these runs, I know I do because it is a great motivator to get out and run.
Afterwards, I took a shower, made a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich for lunch and then I was off to work again. Nothing too exciting happened during the afternoon, except Aaron doing his best unibomber costume. At the end of the day, I went home. I took the laundry off the line and into the dryer, Paul stopped by for a few minutes to talk about his plow guy, then Chance and were off to get Reece. I forgot that today was a holiday that people actually had off until I breezed over the general Sullivan bridge without touching my brakes.
More to come on this entry... It's friday morning and my internet doesn't work and I have 2" of water in the basement... I will complete this blog entry when I have some time.
I picked up Reece from daycare, had a chat with Joanne and then headed home. I fed the pups dinner, let them outside for a little play time then back into the house. I left the dogs home while I went out for some shopping. First I went to Pet Quarters and got more dog food, and for the first time in my life, bought poop bags. Up until now, I have been using plastic newspaper bags, we had a carton of these that we got from Kim... well, by next week they will be gone. Next I went into Kohl's to look at some pants (didn't buy anything), went into Dick's to look around (didn't buy anything), went to Old Navy to see what the latest fashions are (didn't buy anything). I went home with my dog food and poop bags.
Got home and took the dogs out for our evening walk. Nothing exciting happened. Got back to the house, made a bowl of cereal for dinner and watched some TV. I fell asleep around 9pm, woke up and went to bed around 10pm.
After the walk, I got ready for work and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I put one of the bar stools on the chairs that are on the dining room table, this should keep Chance off. I hung up the laundry outside, hopefully this weekend I will set up something inside for drying laundry. Then it was off to work.
Work was typical today, stayed in the office and did a lot of phone calls and paperwork to keep projects going. I also had my fair share of meeting to go to throughout the day. At lunch I went home to see Chance. He must really not like the dish drying rack, it was in the hallway when I got home. I kinda figured something might go down today, so at least I emptied it before leaving this morning. I put on my running clothes and grabbed Chance and we went for a 2.5 mile run around Portsmouth. I think he like these runs, I know I do because it is a great motivator to get out and run.
Afterwards, I took a shower, made a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich for lunch and then I was off to work again. Nothing too exciting happened during the afternoon, except Aaron doing his best unibomber costume. At the end of the day, I went home. I took the laundry off the line and into the dryer, Paul stopped by for a few minutes to talk about his plow guy, then Chance and were off to get Reece. I forgot that today was a holiday that people actually had off until I breezed over the general Sullivan bridge without touching my brakes.
More to come on this entry... It's friday morning and my internet doesn't work and I have 2" of water in the basement... I will complete this blog entry when I have some time.
I picked up Reece from daycare, had a chat with Joanne and then headed home. I fed the pups dinner, let them outside for a little play time then back into the house. I left the dogs home while I went out for some shopping. First I went to Pet Quarters and got more dog food, and for the first time in my life, bought poop bags. Up until now, I have been using plastic newspaper bags, we had a carton of these that we got from Kim... well, by next week they will be gone. Next I went into Kohl's to look at some pants (didn't buy anything), went into Dick's to look around (didn't buy anything), went to Old Navy to see what the latest fashions are (didn't buy anything). I went home with my dog food and poop bags.
Got home and took the dogs out for our evening walk. Nothing exciting happened. Got back to the house, made a bowl of cereal for dinner and watched some TV. I fell asleep around 9pm, woke up and went to bed around 10pm.
11/10/10
Wednesday morning, got up and did our typical routine. I let the dogs out, made them breakfast, had some coffee while blogging about yesterday. Afterwards I got ready for the day and we went on our morning walk. Nothing too interesting on the morning walk, the dogs were good, we did the 1.5 mile loop because we got out the door on time. When we got home, I finished getting ready for work, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and was off.
Work was interesting this morning, I got to go to a site in Lynn, MA. I’ve been there multiple times, and we just started another project there this week. That’s right, we are weeks away from the heating season and we are installing new equipment. We have a 6 week window to install, our original schedule for construction was 2-3 months. The reason I went down is because we took some equipment off a foundation and we planned to re-use the foundation. Unfortunately, it was not in the best of condition.
I went to the site to evaluate the foundation and formulate a plan to move forward. We were on-site for a few hours, we came up with a good plan, but it will push the schedule back a week. It’s the right thing to do though, I don’t want to give the client a product just to make the schedule that will eventually have problems with.
John Foster and I got back up to the office around 1pm. I went home to let the dogs out and make a ham, turkey & cheese sandwich. The dogs got about 20 minutes of play time outside before I had to head back to the office. The rest of the day at work was pretty typical, lots of paperwork and putting out fires.
At 5pm, I went home to the pups. I started a fire and we played outside for a bit in the dark. I am wearing my headlamp in the yard now to find Chances ball after he stops it. Next I brought the pups in for some dinner. After checking some stuff out online, we all went back out for another round of ball. When we came in, we called up Cheryl on video chat and talked for a bit. Cheryl is still having a ball down there in the frozen land, so happy for her. Cheryl got to tell the pups it was time for our walk.
Our walk was pretty typical, only that I found a quarter in the grass. I mean, this is pretty amazing considering I didn’t have any light to see it. Yes, this was probably the highlight of my week. Quarter is going straight into my Roth retirement fund! The dogs were great on the walk, we did another 1.5 mile loop. When we got home, I made some chicken nuggets for dinner and headed up to watch some TV. I watched a few episodes of shows I missed previously in the week online, then switched over to watch my latest Netflix movie. I didn’t make it through the movie, feel asleep on the couch. Woke up around 10:30pm and crawled into bed with the dogs.
Work was interesting this morning, I got to go to a site in Lynn, MA. I’ve been there multiple times, and we just started another project there this week. That’s right, we are weeks away from the heating season and we are installing new equipment. We have a 6 week window to install, our original schedule for construction was 2-3 months. The reason I went down is because we took some equipment off a foundation and we planned to re-use the foundation. Unfortunately, it was not in the best of condition.
I went to the site to evaluate the foundation and formulate a plan to move forward. We were on-site for a few hours, we came up with a good plan, but it will push the schedule back a week. It’s the right thing to do though, I don’t want to give the client a product just to make the schedule that will eventually have problems with.
John Foster and I got back up to the office around 1pm. I went home to let the dogs out and make a ham, turkey & cheese sandwich. The dogs got about 20 minutes of play time outside before I had to head back to the office. The rest of the day at work was pretty typical, lots of paperwork and putting out fires.
At 5pm, I went home to the pups. I started a fire and we played outside for a bit in the dark. I am wearing my headlamp in the yard now to find Chances ball after he stops it. Next I brought the pups in for some dinner. After checking some stuff out online, we all went back out for another round of ball. When we came in, we called up Cheryl on video chat and talked for a bit. Cheryl is still having a ball down there in the frozen land, so happy for her. Cheryl got to tell the pups it was time for our walk.
Our walk was pretty typical, only that I found a quarter in the grass. I mean, this is pretty amazing considering I didn’t have any light to see it. Yes, this was probably the highlight of my week. Quarter is going straight into my Roth retirement fund! The dogs were great on the walk, we did another 1.5 mile loop. When we got home, I made some chicken nuggets for dinner and headed up to watch some TV. I watched a few episodes of shows I missed previously in the week online, then switched over to watch my latest Netflix movie. I didn’t make it through the movie, feel asleep on the couch. Woke up around 10:30pm and crawled into bed with the dogs.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
11/9/10
The morning routine again. Up with the dogs, some outside time, back in for dog's breakfast while I blog with some coffee. I got cleaned up for work, then we went out on our morning walk. We did the 1.5 mile loop, luckily the rain had stopped but it was still pretty overcast. The dogs were good, and nothing too eventful happened. When we got back to the house, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, grabbed some more coffee and was off to work.
Work is pretty much the same. At 10am, Carl Hoge and I drove up to Eliot, ME to watch a gas line tap and some construction of a pig launcher. A pig is a devise that get put in a gas main that can clean the inside of the pipe and also inspect welds and other parameters of the interior of the pipe. It was interesting to see the construction plans for the launcher, they were the design of my friend Josh, who left the company I work for about a year ago. Carl and I watched for about an hour and a half. All that was going on was drilling into an existing pipeline. You can't see the drill and it take almost an hour for the drill to finish. I had a clif bar and some fruit snacks for lunch. At around 12:30pm, we headed back to the office.
I didn't have a lot going on for the rest of the day, so I did a bit of internet research. At the end of the day, I went home to the pups. When I got home, I let the dogs outside while I started a fire in the woodstove. Then we played ball for 10 minutes, came in and I fed them dinner. I went through some mail, made sure the fire was going ok, then we went back outside for some more ball. We came in and I tried to clean up the house a bit. I talked to Cheryl for a minute or so, but no video chat. Cheryl helped me find the electric timer switch. I put this on one of the lamps to come on at 4:30pm so the dogs don't have to be in a dark house, plus it gives me some light to come home to.
By the way, Chance has a new perch that he likes to sit on. Apparently the chairs on the dining room table are not enough anymore. He now sits on top of the chairs that are on top of the table... just enough room under the hanging light fixture. I guess I will have to come up with a way to stop this behavior.
Next I put the pups in the car and we were off to Lowes. While I was at Lowes last time, I noticed they had the small generator I was looking at last year. Only problem was, I looked for generators last year when everyone needed a generator, so they never had them in stock. So after consulting Cheryl on the purchase, I picked up the generator. It is small, 2000watts and quiet. Weighs only 45lbs. When we got back to the house, I heated up my leftover Xing Ping from monday's lunch. When I was done, I had the hiccups pretty bad. I hate the hiccups.
The dogs and I went out for our evening walk, this time we did a 1 mile loop. The dogs were extra good and we had a very good walk. We came home, I checked a few things out on the internet and then turned to the couch and watched NCIS. I began watching NCIS LA, but fell asleep in the first 15 minutes. I woke up to see Michael J. Fox guest star on The Good Wife, but headed to bed after 5 minutes of that show.
Work is pretty much the same. At 10am, Carl Hoge and I drove up to Eliot, ME to watch a gas line tap and some construction of a pig launcher. A pig is a devise that get put in a gas main that can clean the inside of the pipe and also inspect welds and other parameters of the interior of the pipe. It was interesting to see the construction plans for the launcher, they were the design of my friend Josh, who left the company I work for about a year ago. Carl and I watched for about an hour and a half. All that was going on was drilling into an existing pipeline. You can't see the drill and it take almost an hour for the drill to finish. I had a clif bar and some fruit snacks for lunch. At around 12:30pm, we headed back to the office.
I didn't have a lot going on for the rest of the day, so I did a bit of internet research. At the end of the day, I went home to the pups. When I got home, I let the dogs outside while I started a fire in the woodstove. Then we played ball for 10 minutes, came in and I fed them dinner. I went through some mail, made sure the fire was going ok, then we went back outside for some more ball. We came in and I tried to clean up the house a bit. I talked to Cheryl for a minute or so, but no video chat. Cheryl helped me find the electric timer switch. I put this on one of the lamps to come on at 4:30pm so the dogs don't have to be in a dark house, plus it gives me some light to come home to.
By the way, Chance has a new perch that he likes to sit on. Apparently the chairs on the dining room table are not enough anymore. He now sits on top of the chairs that are on top of the table... just enough room under the hanging light fixture. I guess I will have to come up with a way to stop this behavior.
Next I put the pups in the car and we were off to Lowes. While I was at Lowes last time, I noticed they had the small generator I was looking at last year. Only problem was, I looked for generators last year when everyone needed a generator, so they never had them in stock. So after consulting Cheryl on the purchase, I picked up the generator. It is small, 2000watts and quiet. Weighs only 45lbs. When we got back to the house, I heated up my leftover Xing Ping from monday's lunch. When I was done, I had the hiccups pretty bad. I hate the hiccups.
The dogs and I went out for our evening walk, this time we did a 1 mile loop. The dogs were extra good and we had a very good walk. We came home, I checked a few things out on the internet and then turned to the couch and watched NCIS. I began watching NCIS LA, but fell asleep in the first 15 minutes. I woke up to see Michael J. Fox guest star on The Good Wife, but headed to bed after 5 minutes of that show.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
11/8/10
A great monday morning, got to sleep in, or what seemed like sleeping in because of daylight savings time. I got up and did my typical morning routine with the dogs, outside, fed the dogs breakfast, had some coffee and wrote in my blog. Because of the time change, I was actually early to get out the door for our walk, so today I did the 1.5 mile loop. Nothing too interesting happened on the walk. It was kinda drizzly, and very windy, which really makes it tough to walk.
When we got home, I dried down the pups as much a possible, I don't really like the house smelling like wet dogs. I made myself a bowl of cereal and checked a few things out online. Afterwards, I got ready for work and headed out the door. Work was the same as last week, nothing too exciting. At 10am, Aaron and I sat in on an interview for a new mechanical engineer that one of the owners would like to hire to improve the CAD department. Although I think it is a fantastic idea, I don't see the other owners letting it happen.
The call was made early today to get some Xing Ping for lunch. Kevin offered to head up the order and go pick it up too, so I was totally in. I got my standard honey chicken, fried rice and boneless spare ribs. I ate about half and then went home to be with the pups. I feel so bad, the dogs get so little daylight outside now, I don't want to deprive them of getting out at lunch. After about 15-20 minutes of outside time, I headed back to work.
The rest of the day was the same. It's too bad I can't say, 'today I did something totally amazing', I just don't think that will happen at this job. After work I headed home and played with the pups in the backyard in darkness. I think we need some flood lights out back, just for some night ball toss. I have such a hard time finding Chance's ball sometimes. We came in and the dogs at dinner while if played on the computer a bit. We played a little ball toss inside for 10 minutes, then went out on a semi-early dog walk. We did the full 1.5 mile loop again, but this time went by the construction on Lincoln St. Wow, it really appears that after 2 months they haven't got anything done. They are still on the same block they started on.
When we got home, I get my basketball stuff together, changed and headed up to Eliot for our pickup game. Things were tough right from the start, there were a lot of elbows flying. In the first half, one guy on the other team took a swing at Sam, followed by an elbow to his throat. From there it got uglier. At one point near the end, a guy form the other team just wiped out Nick while he was taking a shot, it was so flagrant, the other guy didn't call a foul. Finally, the guy that runs the league blew the horn and stopped the game to call the foul. It's too bad because it could have been a fun game. Ultimately we won, but it didn't feel good to play a game like that. When we were shaking hands at the end, the guy from the other team that was so heated told Sam he would wait for him outside and kill him. What??? I thought this was a Christian league. Too bad a few meatheads make this such a pain.
The team walked Sam to his truck. I don't think anything would have happened, but who knows. We all went over to the Shipyard for a drink after. I almost didn't go because this was a late game (9pm start). It was way past my bedtime during the game, I think I was asleep during a few plays. But I stopped in for a beer and we all had a good time. Left the bar, headed home and took the dogs out one list time before bed. I have a feeling tomorrow morning will come sooner than I want.
When we got home, I dried down the pups as much a possible, I don't really like the house smelling like wet dogs. I made myself a bowl of cereal and checked a few things out online. Afterwards, I got ready for work and headed out the door. Work was the same as last week, nothing too exciting. At 10am, Aaron and I sat in on an interview for a new mechanical engineer that one of the owners would like to hire to improve the CAD department. Although I think it is a fantastic idea, I don't see the other owners letting it happen.
The call was made early today to get some Xing Ping for lunch. Kevin offered to head up the order and go pick it up too, so I was totally in. I got my standard honey chicken, fried rice and boneless spare ribs. I ate about half and then went home to be with the pups. I feel so bad, the dogs get so little daylight outside now, I don't want to deprive them of getting out at lunch. After about 15-20 minutes of outside time, I headed back to work.
The rest of the day was the same. It's too bad I can't say, 'today I did something totally amazing', I just don't think that will happen at this job. After work I headed home and played with the pups in the backyard in darkness. I think we need some flood lights out back, just for some night ball toss. I have such a hard time finding Chance's ball sometimes. We came in and the dogs at dinner while if played on the computer a bit. We played a little ball toss inside for 10 minutes, then went out on a semi-early dog walk. We did the full 1.5 mile loop again, but this time went by the construction on Lincoln St. Wow, it really appears that after 2 months they haven't got anything done. They are still on the same block they started on.
When we got home, I get my basketball stuff together, changed and headed up to Eliot for our pickup game. Things were tough right from the start, there were a lot of elbows flying. In the first half, one guy on the other team took a swing at Sam, followed by an elbow to his throat. From there it got uglier. At one point near the end, a guy form the other team just wiped out Nick while he was taking a shot, it was so flagrant, the other guy didn't call a foul. Finally, the guy that runs the league blew the horn and stopped the game to call the foul. It's too bad because it could have been a fun game. Ultimately we won, but it didn't feel good to play a game like that. When we were shaking hands at the end, the guy from the other team that was so heated told Sam he would wait for him outside and kill him. What??? I thought this was a Christian league. Too bad a few meatheads make this such a pain.
The team walked Sam to his truck. I don't think anything would have happened, but who knows. We all went over to the Shipyard for a drink after. I almost didn't go because this was a late game (9pm start). It was way past my bedtime during the game, I think I was asleep during a few plays. But I stopped in for a beer and we all had a good time. Left the bar, headed home and took the dogs out one list time before bed. I have a feeling tomorrow morning will come sooner than I want.
Monday, November 8, 2010
11/7/10
Got up at Beth's place (Middle unit in the picture), took a shower and went down to have some coffee and talk a bit with Beth, Kristen and Alexis. We decided to go out for breakfast at the Hudson diner. I o
rdered a waffle with a side of bacon. As a freebie, they dropped off four cinnamon sugar donuts at the table that were very good. We chatted a bit at the table, listening to some of the locals with their NY accents, very amusing.
rdered a waffle with a side of bacon. As a freebie, they dropped off four cinnamon sugar donuts at the table that were very good. We chatted a bit at the table, listening to some of the locals with their NY accents, very amusing. On our way back to the house, we went through West Point again and Beth showed us the housing areas of people who stay on base. It was quite a difference between the low end of the pecking order and the higher-ups. We went through base, then back to the house. We packed up the car with all our overnight gear and departed around 10:15am. It was so good to see Beth in her new setting, I know Cheryl wishes she could have been there too.
I think our trip bask was a little faster than going down, I would guess that's because we were driving in day light this time. We got back to Portsmouth right at half time of the Pats game. I was greeted with so many kisses from the dogs, it was great. We went outside and played some ball in the backyard for a little bit. Then we came in, I tuned off the electric boiler and checked the meter... 100kWhr in a 48 hour time span! Argh, this is going to be tough to make up.
I went upstairs and watched the remaining half of the game, it was a tough game to watch. Afterwards I took the dogs for an early walk. I really wanted to walk them before it got dark out. There were a lot of dogs out, their owners must have thought the same thing. When we got back, I got a message from Cheryl wanting to video chat in a couple hours. Perfect, I have just enough time to go to Lowes, Target and grocery shopping. At Lowes, I bought some more starter loggs and some paper leaf bags. Then I went over to Target, decided to pick up the food staples I needed there.
When I got home, I put away everything and then played with the dogs in the yard. Next I went upstairs and went on the computer to get caught up on the last two days of blogging. As I was starting to get hungry, I set up the computer awaiting Cheryl's call while I made some buffalo chicken fingers for a snack. Cheryl called just as I finished making the nuggets and we chatted a bit.
We chatted about my poor decision to trade in the truck. I don't know, I hate branding every SUV made in the same way as a Hummer. I bought the most fuel efficient 'SUV' available, better mileage than my truck. I still sit up higher than cars (which I really want), it gives the dogs a lower jump in height and more room. If I am to be called a soccer mom for buying this vehicle, so be it. There are functionalities to these vehicles that are very appealing. By the way, I can make the argument all day long that the CR-V is no different than Subaru, Volvo awd, Audi awd vehicles, only the CR-V gets better gas mileage.
Anyway, after talking with Cheryl, I watched the next football game on TV and then watched my latest Netflix movie. I felt like I was going to bed so late, but it was only 9:30pm. I took the pups out in the yard one last time before bed.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
11/6/10
Woke up this morning at Beth's house in NY. Today we are going to check out West Point's campus, do some tailgating and watch the Army vs. Air Force football game. We sat in the kitchen to have some coffee and bagels for breakfast. 
Next, Beth brought out all the goods for the tailgating. She was so prepared for this, it was amazing. There were two coolers, one for the drinks, one for the food. Then there were multiple bins with snack, utensils, plates, etc. Lastly was the Coleman grille. After loading up the car, we were off to West Point to start the day.
We found a good place to park, then we walked around campus. We checke
d out a few of the buildings, got to see Beth's office and classroom. Then we checked out some of the other touristy things on campus. Next it was back to the car to start the food and drinks. We had brats, chicken sausages, and some kick-ass cookies and brownies. We looked up in time to see paratroopers jumping out of a helicopter. We started walking over to the stadium after the game started, stopping in the gift shop for a few minutes. When we got to the stadium, we went to the opposite side called 'The Hill' and watched the game from outside. The final score, Air Force 42, Army 22.
d out a few of the buildings, got to see Beth's office and classroom. Then we checked out some of the other touristy things on campus. Next it was back to the car to start the food and drinks. We had brats, chicken sausages, and some kick-ass cookies and brownies. We looked up in time to see paratroopers jumping out of a helicopter. We started walking over to the stadium after the game started, stopping in the gift shop for a few minutes. When we got to the stadium, we went to the opposite side called 'The Hill' and watched the game from outside. The final score, Air Force 42, Army 22.
Next we walked around a bit more, heading over to the Chapel and then back to the car. We went back to the house to settle in for the rest of the afternoon. We sat in the living room and talked a bit, then played a couple games of Banana Graham, kinda like scrabble. Beth made a frozen pizza while we played, and around 9pm, we all went to bed.
11/5/10
This morning I woke up with the pups and did our regular routine. After our morning walk, I made a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Next, it was off to work. Not a whole lot of intersting things happeneing at work. I left work early in the day because I was going on a road trip to see a friend at West Point this weekend.
So, I had been keeping a secret from Cheryl for about a week now. I traded in my truck for a Honda CR-V. It is a Certif
ied 2007 used vehicle. I think I am done with trucks for a bit. I don't think I'll need a pickup for awhile, plus this vehicle gives the dogs so much more room in the back. Also, Reece has been having trouble jumping onto the truck lately and this vehicle has a nice low step-in height.
I got home a little after 1pm, and had some time to go over and register my new vehicle. Next I came home, had a ham & cheese sandwich while playing ball with the dogs in the backyard. I turned on the electric boiler so that the dogsitter will not freeze. Next I spent some time cleaning the bathrooms and the kitchen. I put clean sheets on the bed, folded some laundry and packed for my trip. Next I went out for a 3 mile run, it was so beautiful out, sunny and hovering right at 60F.
I got home, took a shower and got dressed. Next I took the dogs out for a walk, came back and fed them dinner. Kristen and Alexis came by at around 5:45pm, I loaded my stuff into their car and we were off by 6pm. We traveled for the next 4-1/2 hours and arrived at Beth's house around 10:30pm. We stayed up a bit and talked with Beth before heading to bed.
So, I had been keeping a secret from Cheryl for about a week now. I traded in my truck for a Honda CR-V. It is a Certif
ied 2007 used vehicle. I think I am done with trucks for a bit. I don't think I'll need a pickup for awhile, plus this vehicle gives the dogs so much more room in the back. Also, Reece has been having trouble jumping onto the truck lately and this vehicle has a nice low step-in height.I got home a little after 1pm, and had some time to go over and register my new vehicle. Next I came home, had a ham & cheese sandwich while playing ball with the dogs in the backyard. I turned on the electric boiler so that the dogsitter will not freeze. Next I spent some time cleaning the bathrooms and the kitchen. I put clean sheets on the bed, folded some laundry and packed for my trip. Next I went out for a 3 mile run, it was so beautiful out, sunny and hovering right at 60F.
I got home, took a shower and got dressed. Next I took the dogs out for a walk, came back and fed them dinner. Kristen and Alexis came by at around 5:45pm, I loaded my stuff into their car and we were off by 6pm. We traveled for the next 4-1/2 hours and arrived at Beth's house around 10:30pm. We stayed up a bit and talked with Beth before heading to bed.
Friday, November 5, 2010
11/4/10
Thursday morning. Got up a few snooze buttons early. Quickly made coffee, let the dogs out and got dressed. We jumped in the truck at 5 past 6am to get Reece to daycare. The ride to Barrington was good, Chance is still trying to perfect his hook move for belly rubs. When we got to daycare, all the lights were off. I stayed for 5 minutes or so, no one showed. So, the dogs and I made our trip back to Portsmouth. Poor Reece, she could see daycare, but couldn't go in.
Back at the house we went out for our walk, I'm running about 15 minutes behind schedule because of going to Barrington. It was nice to get the dogs out for a 1 mile loop before the rain starts. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal, got cleaned up and went off to work. Work is much of the same, it is good to be busy and I'm happy to help out whenever I can. Because of how busy I have been, today was the first day I got a chance to talk to Dennis to see how he is doing.
At lunch I went home and played a bit with the dogs in the yard as the rain started to come down. I had two packets of gummy snacks to tide me over until my lunch & learn this afternoon. After play time with the dogs, I went back to work. At 2pm, Aaron and I went to a lunch & learn, we ordered some chinese food. No Xing Ping this time. Xing Ping's claim to fame is quantity and a low price. We ordered from Kim Lai (by bowl-a-rama) who's claim is quality. I have to admit that the sweet & sour chicken was good, same with the fried rice... but I hate their egg roll. I wish I could substitute the boneless spare ribs for the eggroll.
After work I headed home and played with the pups in the backyard a bit, then fed them dinner. The rain really sucks, its cold and falling sideways. This is a day to remember for when Cheryl gets back. On a day like today, I'm sending Cheryl out alone with the dogs to enjoy. I tried a Chai Tea mix I bought at the grocery store the other day as an impulse buy. It was pretty good and tasty.
Next the dogs and I went out for our evening walk, a little early, but Cheryl was going to video chat a little late today. The walk was OK, the rain slowed, but the wind really picked up. There were a few deep puddles that I didn't notice until my foot was already in them. The good thing, no other dog owners out walking their dogs in this weather. When we got back, I took 5 minutes to give the pups a drying, then back into the house.
I set up the computer upstairs to prepare for Cheryl's video chat. I also took 5 minutes to write yesterday's blog. Since I didn't have much time, I kept it pretty brief. At 7:50pm, Cheryl called! We chatted for a bit... holy crap did she have a funny story, you won't believe this. So, I think I already mentioned that they messed up and overbooked the station (holds 1100 people max, booked 1250). Well, they finally got a plane in with the additional beds needed on station. They held back scientists equipment and other essential items in order to rush these beds to Antarctica. As some people were unloading the boxes, they noticed the boxes read "Beds for today's youth. Max weight 150lbs". That may not be the exact wording, but I think you get what I'm getting at. They ordered children's beds, they are only 6' long!!!!!! Cheryl started laughing, as did I, but Cheryl shouldn't laugh, she meets the criteria to get one of those crap beds.
I almost had tears in my eyes laughing so hard. If it was the same person that overbooked, then ordered children's beds, they need to be fired. Anyway, after our chat I watched some TV on the internet that I had missed on monday. Finished up around 9:30pm, went to bed.
Back at the house we went out for our walk, I'm running about 15 minutes behind schedule because of going to Barrington. It was nice to get the dogs out for a 1 mile loop before the rain starts. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal, got cleaned up and went off to work. Work is much of the same, it is good to be busy and I'm happy to help out whenever I can. Because of how busy I have been, today was the first day I got a chance to talk to Dennis to see how he is doing.
At lunch I went home and played a bit with the dogs in the yard as the rain started to come down. I had two packets of gummy snacks to tide me over until my lunch & learn this afternoon. After play time with the dogs, I went back to work. At 2pm, Aaron and I went to a lunch & learn, we ordered some chinese food. No Xing Ping this time. Xing Ping's claim to fame is quantity and a low price. We ordered from Kim Lai (by bowl-a-rama) who's claim is quality. I have to admit that the sweet & sour chicken was good, same with the fried rice... but I hate their egg roll. I wish I could substitute the boneless spare ribs for the eggroll.
After work I headed home and played with the pups in the backyard a bit, then fed them dinner. The rain really sucks, its cold and falling sideways. This is a day to remember for when Cheryl gets back. On a day like today, I'm sending Cheryl out alone with the dogs to enjoy. I tried a Chai Tea mix I bought at the grocery store the other day as an impulse buy. It was pretty good and tasty.
Next the dogs and I went out for our evening walk, a little early, but Cheryl was going to video chat a little late today. The walk was OK, the rain slowed, but the wind really picked up. There were a few deep puddles that I didn't notice until my foot was already in them. The good thing, no other dog owners out walking their dogs in this weather. When we got back, I took 5 minutes to give the pups a drying, then back into the house.
I set up the computer upstairs to prepare for Cheryl's video chat. I also took 5 minutes to write yesterday's blog. Since I didn't have much time, I kept it pretty brief. At 7:50pm, Cheryl called! We chatted for a bit... holy crap did she have a funny story, you won't believe this. So, I think I already mentioned that they messed up and overbooked the station (holds 1100 people max, booked 1250). Well, they finally got a plane in with the additional beds needed on station. They held back scientists equipment and other essential items in order to rush these beds to Antarctica. As some people were unloading the boxes, they noticed the boxes read "Beds for today's youth. Max weight 150lbs". That may not be the exact wording, but I think you get what I'm getting at. They ordered children's beds, they are only 6' long!!!!!! Cheryl started laughing, as did I, but Cheryl shouldn't laugh, she meets the criteria to get one of those crap beds.
I almost had tears in my eyes laughing so hard. If it was the same person that overbooked, then ordered children's beds, they need to be fired. Anyway, after our chat I watched some TV on the internet that I had missed on monday. Finished up around 9:30pm, went to bed.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
11/3/10
This will be a quick posting, I ran out of time to blog. I woke up and did the typical morning routine and got ready for work. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, dogs had a fun walk, nothing exciting happened.
More meetings for the Nashville project for a good portion of the day. I did have my 6-month review first thing, so I made sure I was on time to work. I won't go into details, but I am hoping what I had to say would help the company progress... only time will tell. At lunch I came home and made a ham & cheese sandwich and played with the pups in the yard.
In the afternoon, more meetings. After work I went home and played with the pups some more. Then we went out for a ride, stopped off at a couple stores to window shop. Actually, I went in, but didn't buy anything. No video chat with Cheryl tonight. We all got home around 8pm and went for our evening walk. I made a bowl of cereal for dinner, followed by chocolate pudding and whipped cream. The dogs and I watched a little TV, but wednesday TV kinda sucks. We went to bed around 9:30pm.
More meetings for the Nashville project for a good portion of the day. I did have my 6-month review first thing, so I made sure I was on time to work. I won't go into details, but I am hoping what I had to say would help the company progress... only time will tell. At lunch I came home and made a ham & cheese sandwich and played with the pups in the yard.
In the afternoon, more meetings. After work I went home and played with the pups some more. Then we went out for a ride, stopped off at a couple stores to window shop. Actually, I went in, but didn't buy anything. No video chat with Cheryl tonight. We all got home around 8pm and went for our evening walk. I made a bowl of cereal for dinner, followed by chocolate pudding and whipped cream. The dogs and I watched a little TV, but wednesday TV kinda sucks. We went to bed around 9:30pm.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
11/2/10
Election Day! Two good things happen on election day, you get to voice your opinion where it counts, and finally those TV ads will stop... but then again 2012 is right around the corner.
Got up this morning and went about my typical morning routine. The temp outside was 37F, though I thought it would be colder. Had the pups out, then back in for breakfast while I blogged sipping my cup of coffee. Next I took a shower and got ready for our walk. This morning we did a 1.5 mile loop, actually get out of the house on time. Nothing exciting happened on the walk that was notable. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and hung out 2 loads of laundry to dry. Brushed my teeth and off to work.
Work went well this morning. I jumped into the fray of the Nashville project to help out Aaron. The Nashville project is unlike any other we have have done. It breaks the mold as to how a project should be run. I could be critical of how things are going, but it is also the nature of the beast. This project is going through litigation from a previous contractor, so it makes everything more complex and difficult. Anyway, most of my day was consumed with helping out on this project.
I took a late lunch in order to miss the lunch time crowds at the polling station. I walked in, only 2 other people voting at the same time as me. I went over and registered in the City of Portsmouth (which took all of 5 minutes), then cast my ballot. I do enjoy the process of voting in New Hampshire, but I really wish they would re-consider the voting locations. All across NH, the polling stations are typically and one of the town's schools. The problem is, they hold school that day. Which means, no parking. By far, the biggest hassle with voting is parking. I know people who do not vote specifically because of parking issues. I think that's a bogus excuse, but it should be easier. I propose that schools should not be open on election days. Because today is election day, I have the right to voice my opinion, I'll get off my soap box now.
Afterwards I went home and made a PB&J sandwich for lunch and played in the backyard with the dogs for 15 minutes. Then headed back to work. The remainder of the day consisted of more work on the Nashville project as well as sprinkles of other projects. At 5pm, I left for home. I took the pups outside in the backyard, took the laundry off the line and into the dryer, and started a fire in the wood stove. I played with the dogs in the backyard, then brought them in for dinner. We mulled around the house for 45 minutes or so then headed to Target in search of some Halloween bargains.
The best they had was 30% off candy, so I did my grocery shopping there instead. I was shocked to see the Halloween section was already being over-run by Christmas decorations. We have 2 full months! Anyway, no candy for Cheryl. Headed back to the house and put the food away. I wanted to try the new Morningstar Buffalo Chicken tenders for dinner. If anyone read my blog last year, you would have heard me raving about the Ian's Buffalo Chicken Nuggets that I got from the Co-op. Unfortunately, I cannot find those anymore, so I am trying out the Morningstar to compare.
When we got home, I took the dogs out for our evening walk, just the 1 mile loop. It was actually pretty cold out (37F) for this hour. Not much happened on the walk, pretty boring. I tried to set up the video chat on my TV, but something wasn't working with the cord from the computer to the TV, so I just got to chat with Cheryl on my laptop instead. We chatted while I ate my chicken tenders. They were ok, but not as good as the Ian's. Anyway, so Cheryl and I chatted for 10 minutes or so. We are running out of things to talk about because our lives are so dull.
After we stopped chatting, I watched some TV. There was a re-run of NCIS and lots of coverage of the election results. I have to admit, I was really surprised that with the exception of Lynch winning the governor's race, NH want all republican, even all the open state house seat. And I'm talking 60-40, most were not even close. I could sense what was going to happen as a nation, so I just decided to go to bed instead of watching results come in.
Got up this morning and went about my typical morning routine. The temp outside was 37F, though I thought it would be colder. Had the pups out, then back in for breakfast while I blogged sipping my cup of coffee. Next I took a shower and got ready for our walk. This morning we did a 1.5 mile loop, actually get out of the house on time. Nothing exciting happened on the walk that was notable. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and hung out 2 loads of laundry to dry. Brushed my teeth and off to work.
Work went well this morning. I jumped into the fray of the Nashville project to help out Aaron. The Nashville project is unlike any other we have have done. It breaks the mold as to how a project should be run. I could be critical of how things are going, but it is also the nature of the beast. This project is going through litigation from a previous contractor, so it makes everything more complex and difficult. Anyway, most of my day was consumed with helping out on this project.
I took a late lunch in order to miss the lunch time crowds at the polling station. I walked in, only 2 other people voting at the same time as me. I went over and registered in the City of Portsmouth (which took all of 5 minutes), then cast my ballot. I do enjoy the process of voting in New Hampshire, but I really wish they would re-consider the voting locations. All across NH, the polling stations are typically and one of the town's schools. The problem is, they hold school that day. Which means, no parking. By far, the biggest hassle with voting is parking. I know people who do not vote specifically because of parking issues. I think that's a bogus excuse, but it should be easier. I propose that schools should not be open on election days. Because today is election day, I have the right to voice my opinion, I'll get off my soap box now.
Afterwards I went home and made a PB&J sandwich for lunch and played in the backyard with the dogs for 15 minutes. Then headed back to work. The remainder of the day consisted of more work on the Nashville project as well as sprinkles of other projects. At 5pm, I left for home. I took the pups outside in the backyard, took the laundry off the line and into the dryer, and started a fire in the wood stove. I played with the dogs in the backyard, then brought them in for dinner. We mulled around the house for 45 minutes or so then headed to Target in search of some Halloween bargains.
The best they had was 30% off candy, so I did my grocery shopping there instead. I was shocked to see the Halloween section was already being over-run by Christmas decorations. We have 2 full months! Anyway, no candy for Cheryl. Headed back to the house and put the food away. I wanted to try the new Morningstar Buffalo Chicken tenders for dinner. If anyone read my blog last year, you would have heard me raving about the Ian's Buffalo Chicken Nuggets that I got from the Co-op. Unfortunately, I cannot find those anymore, so I am trying out the Morningstar to compare.
When we got home, I took the dogs out for our evening walk, just the 1 mile loop. It was actually pretty cold out (37F) for this hour. Not much happened on the walk, pretty boring. I tried to set up the video chat on my TV, but something wasn't working with the cord from the computer to the TV, so I just got to chat with Cheryl on my laptop instead. We chatted while I ate my chicken tenders. They were ok, but not as good as the Ian's. Anyway, so Cheryl and I chatted for 10 minutes or so. We are running out of things to talk about because our lives are so dull.
After we stopped chatting, I watched some TV. There was a re-run of NCIS and lots of coverage of the election results. I have to admit, I was really surprised that with the exception of Lynch winning the governor's race, NH want all republican, even all the open state house seat. And I'm talking 60-40, most were not even close. I could sense what was going to happen as a nation, so I just decided to go to bed instead of watching results come in.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
11/1/10
Early morning with the pups, at least it feels early because of the 3 days getting up in the central time zone at 7 or 8 and not having to take care of the dogs right away. Well, back to the routine today, dogs outside first thing, then fed them breakfast and checked the meter. Had a cup of coffee while blogging. I got the electric bill in the mail over the weekend, another month in the negative (only 22 kWh though).
Next the pups and I went for a morning 1 mile loop. I think the dogs get poop shy when I have sitters. I know they don't go on walks and they don't like to go in their yard, but this mornings walk, both dogs pooped 3 times! Maybe they held it in since I left. Since I got out the door early, we all got back early too. So once the washer was done, I put the clothes out on the line for the day. It is only suppose to be 50F, but lots of sun. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then got ready for work.
I was picking up where I left off last week for workload. I actually had a hard time focusing because I didn't have any large tasks to complete, but a lot of small tasks and plenty of distractions. My area was quiet again, most of the engineers around me were out of the office. At lunch I went home, made a PB&J sandwich for myself and played with the dogs int he backyard. It was a great day, full of sun and the temp wasn't too bad either. After 20 minutes of ball, we came in and I cleaned up the house a bit, really just putting things in their place. Then back to work.
The afternoon just flew by, I got pulled into a meeting to cover Aaron while he was on-site for another project. The meeting ended up being 2 hours long, hopefully productive. I left work an hour early because my basketball league game was at 6pm this week. I wanted to spend some time with the dogs in the yard before going. I got home and started a fire, it had dipped to 58F in the house. Then the dogs and I played in the backyard for 20 minutes, then I fed them while taking down the clothes off the line. Next we went out for a walk, talked to Pat our neighbor for 10 minutes. Pat just finished the steps to his raised patio this past weekend, looks great. All that is left is a railing at all the other raised areas. We completed our 1 mile loop just in time to get going to basketball.
I changed and then loaded the pups in the truck to take with. We were playing a team that had a guy that played Division 1 basketball at UNH. He must have been 6'-8" or 6'-9". Since I am considered a big guy for our team, there were a few plays that I 'tried' to play defense on him. We led at halftime by 5, but they came back and beat us by 7. It is always tough to lose, but at least these guys were nice players. This is what sportsmanship is all about, everyone played tough basketball without the whining and hacking that was typical of the first two games.
After the game, the team went to The Shipyard for some drinks and food. I had a few of the Pumpkin Ales and some chicken tenders for dinner. I'm starting to feel old, there was a lot of reminiscing of 'glory days' of basketball at high school. If you are wondering, don't worry, I only had the pups in the truck for an hour at a time. Each time I came out to take the pups for a quick walk. The temp in the truck stayed pretty constant at around 60F. We got back to the house around 8:45pm and went out for one last 'outside'. I stoked up the fire again to keep it going, adding some firewood. We sat down and watched the latest Netflix movie which finished up around 10:45pm. Then off to bed.
Next the pups and I went for a morning 1 mile loop. I think the dogs get poop shy when I have sitters. I know they don't go on walks and they don't like to go in their yard, but this mornings walk, both dogs pooped 3 times! Maybe they held it in since I left. Since I got out the door early, we all got back early too. So once the washer was done, I put the clothes out on the line for the day. It is only suppose to be 50F, but lots of sun. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then got ready for work.
I was picking up where I left off last week for workload. I actually had a hard time focusing because I didn't have any large tasks to complete, but a lot of small tasks and plenty of distractions. My area was quiet again, most of the engineers around me were out of the office. At lunch I went home, made a PB&J sandwich for myself and played with the dogs int he backyard. It was a great day, full of sun and the temp wasn't too bad either. After 20 minutes of ball, we came in and I cleaned up the house a bit, really just putting things in their place. Then back to work.
The afternoon just flew by, I got pulled into a meeting to cover Aaron while he was on-site for another project. The meeting ended up being 2 hours long, hopefully productive. I left work an hour early because my basketball league game was at 6pm this week. I wanted to spend some time with the dogs in the yard before going. I got home and started a fire, it had dipped to 58F in the house. Then the dogs and I played in the backyard for 20 minutes, then I fed them while taking down the clothes off the line. Next we went out for a walk, talked to Pat our neighbor for 10 minutes. Pat just finished the steps to his raised patio this past weekend, looks great. All that is left is a railing at all the other raised areas. We completed our 1 mile loop just in time to get going to basketball.
I changed and then loaded the pups in the truck to take with. We were playing a team that had a guy that played Division 1 basketball at UNH. He must have been 6'-8" or 6'-9". Since I am considered a big guy for our team, there were a few plays that I 'tried' to play defense on him. We led at halftime by 5, but they came back and beat us by 7. It is always tough to lose, but at least these guys were nice players. This is what sportsmanship is all about, everyone played tough basketball without the whining and hacking that was typical of the first two games.
After the game, the team went to The Shipyard for some drinks and food. I had a few of the Pumpkin Ales and some chicken tenders for dinner. I'm starting to feel old, there was a lot of reminiscing of 'glory days' of basketball at high school. If you are wondering, don't worry, I only had the pups in the truck for an hour at a time. Each time I came out to take the pups for a quick walk. The temp in the truck stayed pretty constant at around 60F. We got back to the house around 8:45pm and went out for one last 'outside'. I stoked up the fire again to keep it going, adding some firewood. We sat down and watched the latest Netflix movie which finished up around 10:45pm. Then off to bed.
Monday, November 1, 2010
10/31/10
Last morning with Vic and Tim. Unfortunately there was no coffee in the apartment, but Vic had some tea that claims to have as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. It was a bold claim, but the tea was very good either way. After a chat over tea, we all got ready for the day and headed out for some brunch. The neighborhood we were in apparently doesn't get up very early.
It was 10 am on a sunday and we were looking around for a place for food, most places open at 11am. We went to Nookies Too, same place but different location from the breakfast the other day. I ordered the same items, but almost got denied. I was told they can't do a short stack of pecan pumpkin pancakes with eggs and sausage. This is troubling to me, they had a hard time doing it because of their computer system, not because they couldn't put pancake, scrabbled eggs and sausage on the same plate. Crisis was averted when they called the other Nookies and asked how they bypassed the computer and all is well in breakfast land.
It was amazing that as we left at 11am, the place was suddenly packed, the neighborhood really doesn't wake up until 11am on sundays. Next we were off to Jim and Cece's. Jim was going through the pictures of last nights party as well as the videos of the karaoke singing. I had a few treats that were left over from last night, just because they were there... I was full from brunch, but managed to make a little more room. Vic and Tim left to go back to the apartment, I said good bye and thanked them for letting me stay at their place.
Next Jim and I went over to drop off the recycling from the party, lots of bottles and cans. Must have been a lot of parties in the neighborhood because the recycling dumpster was full. We managed to get the few boxes we had stuffed in. Back at the house we watched some of the Packers-Cowboys football game. Jamie, Boosaba and Dana were over as well, so I got to spend a little more time talking with them before heading out. Just as the Pats game came on, I had to leave for the airport. Cece and Dana drove me over, dropped me off right in front. It was so good to be in Chicago again, everyone is great and I really feel like it is a second home.
I made it through security in under 5 minutes. I tried out the new United boarding pass thing on the smartphone. No need to print anything out, the pass is on the phone and you scan it at security and while boarding. I walked around the airport a bit because of how little time it took to get through security. I sat down and wrote the other day's blog while watching the Pats game on a TV. Our flight was delayed 15 minutes because the plane was late coming in, I was sure I wouldn't make the 9:10pm bus out of Logan now.
The plane ride was ok, just an absolutely annoying man next to me though. I wonder what goes on in people's heads some time. While taxiing, he was scarfing down a salad. The flight attendant told him twice to put up his tray table... I mean, you got 2 hours in the air to eat that damn salad, why during taxiing? He also tried to switch seats with someone while taxiing. I'm sure that the whole 'no electronics during take-off' is a scam, but if the flight attendant says 3 times to you to turn off your Ipad, and cell phone, just do it man! Honestly, this guy must think he is the hottest shit on the planet to blatantly disregard people like this. Once in the air, he switched with the person he was trying to earlier. The rest of the flight was fine, quiet and relaxing.
Well, we 'made up time' during the flight and actually landed 3 minutes early. I grabbed my stuff and made it to the curb with 10 minutes to spare. The bud ride to Portsmouth was uneventful and relaxing as well. I got to the bus station at 10:30pm, and into the house at 10:40pm. I was greeted with many kisses and hugs from the pups. I had to share some of my kisses as they were coming from Cheryl. One last time outside before bed, then crashed at 11pm with an inside temperature of 60F, it will be cold tomorrow morning.
It was 10 am on a sunday and we were looking around for a place for food, most places open at 11am. We went to Nookies Too, same place but different location from the breakfast the other day. I ordered the same items, but almost got denied. I was told they can't do a short stack of pecan pumpkin pancakes with eggs and sausage. This is troubling to me, they had a hard time doing it because of their computer system, not because they couldn't put pancake, scrabbled eggs and sausage on the same plate. Crisis was averted when they called the other Nookies and asked how they bypassed the computer and all is well in breakfast land.
It was amazing that as we left at 11am, the place was suddenly packed, the neighborhood really doesn't wake up until 11am on sundays. Next we were off to Jim and Cece's. Jim was going through the pictures of last nights party as well as the videos of the karaoke singing. I had a few treats that were left over from last night, just because they were there... I was full from brunch, but managed to make a little more room. Vic and Tim left to go back to the apartment, I said good bye and thanked them for letting me stay at their place.
Next Jim and I went over to drop off the recycling from the party, lots of bottles and cans. Must have been a lot of parties in the neighborhood because the recycling dumpster was full. We managed to get the few boxes we had stuffed in. Back at the house we watched some of the Packers-Cowboys football game. Jamie, Boosaba and Dana were over as well, so I got to spend a little more time talking with them before heading out. Just as the Pats game came on, I had to leave for the airport. Cece and Dana drove me over, dropped me off right in front. It was so good to be in Chicago again, everyone is great and I really feel like it is a second home.
I made it through security in under 5 minutes. I tried out the new United boarding pass thing on the smartphone. No need to print anything out, the pass is on the phone and you scan it at security and while boarding. I walked around the airport a bit because of how little time it took to get through security. I sat down and wrote the other day's blog while watching the Pats game on a TV. Our flight was delayed 15 minutes because the plane was late coming in, I was sure I wouldn't make the 9:10pm bus out of Logan now.
The plane ride was ok, just an absolutely annoying man next to me though. I wonder what goes on in people's heads some time. While taxiing, he was scarfing down a salad. The flight attendant told him twice to put up his tray table... I mean, you got 2 hours in the air to eat that damn salad, why during taxiing? He also tried to switch seats with someone while taxiing. I'm sure that the whole 'no electronics during take-off' is a scam, but if the flight attendant says 3 times to you to turn off your Ipad, and cell phone, just do it man! Honestly, this guy must think he is the hottest shit on the planet to blatantly disregard people like this. Once in the air, he switched with the person he was trying to earlier. The rest of the flight was fine, quiet and relaxing.
Well, we 'made up time' during the flight and actually landed 3 minutes early. I grabbed my stuff and made it to the curb with 10 minutes to spare. The bud ride to Portsmouth was uneventful and relaxing as well. I got to the bus station at 10:30pm, and into the house at 10:40pm. I was greeted with many kisses and hugs from the pups. I had to share some of my kisses as they were coming from Cheryl. One last time outside before bed, then crashed at 11pm with an inside temperature of 60F, it will be cold tomorrow morning.
10/30/10
Woke up this morning at Vicki and Tim’s place. We sat around and talked for a bit, then went out to check out the Farmer’s Market. It was pretty cool to see one in downtown Chicago. The farmer’s definitely travel pretty far to bring their products to the City. I got a cup of hot apple cider while walking around. I saw two black & white border collies, too cute. Vicki shared a fantastic scone with Tim and I. When we got back to the apartment, Vicki and Tim made breakfast. We had a spinach and cheese scramble, pumpkin pancakes, and Tim made some really great breakfast sausages.
For a little while afterwards, Vicki and Tim got their costumes ready for the party tonight. I put on the ‘Buccaneer Bones’ costume that Tim wore last year (apparently so did Jamie). On our way over to Cece and Jim’s, we stopped by and picked up Irene. It took quite awhile to get to the house, but we were one of the first there anyway. Cece had the house looking amazing, it will be a great party.
People were arriving to the party from 2pm through 8pm. At around 3pm, Cheryl called on the video chat and got to see almost everyone. We chatted almost a full hour, until Cheryl left to get some food. It was too bad because Cece had so much good food within eye sight of Cheryl, but she couldn’t get any. There was too much action to describe, I think everyone had a fantastic time and the party seems to be bigger than the Christmas party. The night concluded with a chorus of singing during Karaoke time. I didn’t participate in the singing this party, which I guess people were waiting to see my singing technique reminiscent of last year’s Christmas party. I’m sure if you search YouTube, there will be plenty of blackmail material on there.
I got to taste small samples of Cece’s Shepard’s Pie, Cheeseburger pasta, and a chicken crusted casserole that was great. Topped off by plenty of chocolate chip cookies and a marshmallows at the fire in their fire pit.
Around 10pm, we headed back to the apartment, dropping Irene off on the way. By 11pm, in bed and asleep.
For a little while afterwards, Vicki and Tim got their costumes ready for the party tonight. I put on the ‘Buccaneer Bones’ costume that Tim wore last year (apparently so did Jamie). On our way over to Cece and Jim’s, we stopped by and picked up Irene. It took quite awhile to get to the house, but we were one of the first there anyway. Cece had the house looking amazing, it will be a great party.
People were arriving to the party from 2pm through 8pm. At around 3pm, Cheryl called on the video chat and got to see almost everyone. We chatted almost a full hour, until Cheryl left to get some food. It was too bad because Cece had so much good food within eye sight of Cheryl, but she couldn’t get any. There was too much action to describe, I think everyone had a fantastic time and the party seems to be bigger than the Christmas party. The night concluded with a chorus of singing during Karaoke time. I didn’t participate in the singing this party, which I guess people were waiting to see my singing technique reminiscent of last year’s Christmas party. I’m sure if you search YouTube, there will be plenty of blackmail material on there.
I got to taste small samples of Cece’s Shepard’s Pie, Cheeseburger pasta, and a chicken crusted casserole that was great. Topped off by plenty of chocolate chip cookies and a marshmallows at the fire in their fire pit.
Around 10pm, we headed back to the apartment, dropping Irene off on the way. By 11pm, in bed and asleep.
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