Yeah, the dogs let me sleep in until 7am this morning! I got up and we did our typical morning routine of going outside, then breakfast for the dogs. I had a bowl of cereal for an early breakfast and some coffee while getting ready for basketball. I spent some of the morning just hanging with the pups and playing outside. At 8:30am, I headed over to the gym to play ball. I had a great time and played some decent basketball. Jeff came as well and we had a really good turnout. At one point we had 15 people which allowed us to do multiple 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 games. Finally at 11:30 am, I took off for home.
When I got home, the dogs and I had about a 10 minute play time outside. We came in and I crashed on the couch to take a nap. I woke up around 3pm, it was much needed. Next I played with the dogs outside again, came in and took a shower. I did a little playing around on the internet and then watched some Netflix movies. I have to admit, it was a pretty lazy sunday for me, but I was just too tired to do much. The dogs and I made multiple trips outside to play ball, but not for too long. I fed the pups at 6pm, them made myself a pizza for dinner.
For the rest of the night, I watched TV, and when I say I watched TV, I mean I started watching a program and kept falling asleep midway. I last took the dogs out at 8pm, then fell asleep on the couch again, finally getting up at 11pm and making my way tot he bed.
Monday, January 31, 2011
1/29/11
Saturday morning! Surely the dogs would let me sleep in... wrong. Up at 6am with the dogs. First we went outside as usual, then back in and I fed them breakfast. Next I crashed on the couch with some coffee, this is how I skip blogging in the mornings. I tried to get some rest on the couch and maybe a nap. However, Reece kept growling at people and dogs walking by, so my attempt to get more sleep was a failure.
The dogs and I went out multiple times throughout the day. I took out the roof rake and continued to chip away at the caked on snow on the solar panels. At least I am making progress. I also shoveled the paths in the backyard so I could get to the woodshed and the other shed. I did a load of laundry, hung it up to dry. Next I ventured out to the mall, I didn't really have much to buy but I wanted to get out of the house. First I went to Kohl's, looking for a pair of jean I bought almost 2 years ago. After being overwhelmed, I called off the rest of my shopping.
I got back to the house and played some more with the dogs in the backyard. I also tried another time to get more snow off the solar panels. I came in and got to video chat with Cheryl for about 30 minutes. This was cool because we haven't done the video thing in a couple months.
I was suppose to go head up to Aaron's house in Maine today because he was having a birthday party for his wife, turning 30. I didn't make it up, I was just too tired, plus I had basketball early the next morning. The rest of the night I hung out with the dogs, I had Kim Lai Chinese food for dinner. Though Kim Lai doesn't have the quantity of Xin Ping, the food tastes much better.
The dogs and I went out multiple times throughout the day. I took out the roof rake and continued to chip away at the caked on snow on the solar panels. At least I am making progress. I also shoveled the paths in the backyard so I could get to the woodshed and the other shed. I did a load of laundry, hung it up to dry. Next I ventured out to the mall, I didn't really have much to buy but I wanted to get out of the house. First I went to Kohl's, looking for a pair of jean I bought almost 2 years ago. After being overwhelmed, I called off the rest of my shopping.
I got back to the house and played some more with the dogs in the backyard. I also tried another time to get more snow off the solar panels. I came in and got to video chat with Cheryl for about 30 minutes. This was cool because we haven't done the video thing in a couple months.
I was suppose to go head up to Aaron's house in Maine today because he was having a birthday party for his wife, turning 30. I didn't make it up, I was just too tired, plus I had basketball early the next morning. The rest of the night I hung out with the dogs, I had Kim Lai Chinese food for dinner. Though Kim Lai doesn't have the quantity of Xin Ping, the food tastes much better.
1/28/11
Last day of the work week. I wanted to sleep in after getting home so late, but the pups don't let that happen. I got up and we did our normal routine. I had some coffee while catching up on blogging. Then I went out and shoveled the driveway from the snow that was gone. Next I played with the pups in the yard a bit and then got ready for work. I got to work on time and had a pastry for breakfast.
I caught up on a few things that I missed while being out of the office. Nothing too exciting to talk about with regard to work. Had a few minutes to catch up with Dennis and Aaron. At lunch I went home and played with the pups outside. They really enjoyed getting out and running around. I don't think Liz, the dogsitter, comes over at lunch to let them out. It's fine because she spends a lot of time playing with them before and after work. Being that it was 3 days ago, I can't remember what I had for lunch, but I think it was just a bowl of cereal. Next I headed back to work.
The afternoon was much of the same, nothing to exciting to write about. At 5pm, I went home and took the pups out in the backyard for some play time. I brought them in and fed them dinner and kept the fire going. The rest of the night, I can't really remember. I believe I had another bowl of cereal for dinner and I took the dogs outside at least two more times before we went to bed.
I caught up on a few things that I missed while being out of the office. Nothing too exciting to talk about with regard to work. Had a few minutes to catch up with Dennis and Aaron. At lunch I went home and played with the pups outside. They really enjoyed getting out and running around. I don't think Liz, the dogsitter, comes over at lunch to let them out. It's fine because she spends a lot of time playing with them before and after work. Being that it was 3 days ago, I can't remember what I had for lunch, but I think it was just a bowl of cereal. Next I headed back to work.
The afternoon was much of the same, nothing to exciting to write about. At 5pm, I went home and took the pups out in the backyard for some play time. I brought them in and fed them dinner and kept the fire going. The rest of the night, I can't really remember. I believe I had another bowl of cereal for dinner and I took the dogs outside at least two more times before we went to bed.
Friday, January 28, 2011
1/27/11
Woke up in the hotel. Went down and met up with Peter and Kevin in the lobby restaurant for some breakfast. First hotel I have been to in awhile that didn't have at least a free continental breakfast. All food cost something. Philly ended up with 15" of snow over the night, though it was crystal clear skies this morning. After breakfast, we headed back up to our rooms. I began working on an addendum to my specifications and answering some emails I had put to the side.
At 11am, we shoveled the cars out of the snow and headed for the airport. We turned in the rental cars and got through security. As we got through, we got notice that our flight was now delayed until 4pm. We did a little work in the terminal, then went to an airport restaurant for lunch. I had two soft tacos with chicken. Pretty good, but expensive. When we walked out of the restaurant, the board now showed our flight canceled.
I called Southwest and found out that the next two flights to Manchester (a 3:15pm delayed till 6pm and an 8pm flight) were all booked. We could do standby, but there was already a list. The next flight to Manchester with seats was the 7:50am tomorrow. I found a flight going to Boston that still had seats, so I booked us all on that flight, which was already delayed until 6:05pm. As we wandered the terminal, we ran into two other CHI employees, Joe and Carl. They too were stuck trying to get home.
Finally our plane arrived at 6:10pm, it was de-planed and reloaded fairly quickly. However, for some reason we sat on the Tarmac for another hour. Finally we took off for Boston at 7:30pm. The flight was fine, nothing too exciting... except for the guy sitting next to Peter kept tearing paper... reminded my of the movie (I know it was a book first) 'The Langalears' by Stephen King. Then the guy was telling us a story of his previous flight having a bird go into the engine, talking about a burning flesh smell. This guy was creeping me out pretty good.
We landed in Boston without much trouble, then looked for the Flightline van to take us to Manchester. I contemplated taking the C&J back to Portsmouth and finding a way to get my car another time, but jumped in the van with Peter and Kevin anyway. It was another 1hour ride to Manchester. As soon as I got there, I ditched Peter and Kevin. They had to go find their bags that they checked, good luck. I got our of the garage and headed home.
I got home around 11:15pm. I took the dogs outside for a potty break and then we all went to bed. The end to a long day.
At 11am, we shoveled the cars out of the snow and headed for the airport. We turned in the rental cars and got through security. As we got through, we got notice that our flight was now delayed until 4pm. We did a little work in the terminal, then went to an airport restaurant for lunch. I had two soft tacos with chicken. Pretty good, but expensive. When we walked out of the restaurant, the board now showed our flight canceled.
I called Southwest and found out that the next two flights to Manchester (a 3:15pm delayed till 6pm and an 8pm flight) were all booked. We could do standby, but there was already a list. The next flight to Manchester with seats was the 7:50am tomorrow. I found a flight going to Boston that still had seats, so I booked us all on that flight, which was already delayed until 6:05pm. As we wandered the terminal, we ran into two other CHI employees, Joe and Carl. They too were stuck trying to get home.
Finally our plane arrived at 6:10pm, it was de-planed and reloaded fairly quickly. However, for some reason we sat on the Tarmac for another hour. Finally we took off for Boston at 7:30pm. The flight was fine, nothing too exciting... except for the guy sitting next to Peter kept tearing paper... reminded my of the movie (I know it was a book first) 'The Langalears' by Stephen King. Then the guy was telling us a story of his previous flight having a bird go into the engine, talking about a burning flesh smell. This guy was creeping me out pretty good.
We landed in Boston without much trouble, then looked for the Flightline van to take us to Manchester. I contemplated taking the C&J back to Portsmouth and finding a way to get my car another time, but jumped in the van with Peter and Kevin anyway. It was another 1hour ride to Manchester. As soon as I got there, I ditched Peter and Kevin. They had to go find their bags that they checked, good luck. I got our of the garage and headed home.
I got home around 11:15pm. I took the dogs outside for a potty break and then we all went to bed. The end to a long day.
1/26/11
Woke up at the hotel, went downstairs for the breakfast. I had scrambled eggs and some pastries. After breakfast, we headed to the job site. Throughout the morning I met with surveyors and geotechnical engineers in preparation of the project starting this spring. The weather was due to get lousy, be we kept my 1pm pre-bid meeting on schedule.
At lunch we ran out the Wawa... a gas station super center in NJ. It was packed so we got some pre-made cold sandwiches to go. Made it back to the site just before the pre-bid meeting. The meeting was with 5 potential contractors. Everything went pretty well and smooth. After the meeting was over, I received a text that our 8pm flight out of philly was canceled. I arranged to get on the 7:50am flight tomorrow morning.
At 5:30pm, we left the site to get as close to philly as possible and get a hotel room. We made it to within 15 miles, goo thing too because the snow storm was starting to get pretty hairy. We stayed at a Holiday Inn and had dinner in the lobby bar/restaurant. I had a philly chicken cheese-steak. It was really good. Just as we were going to head back to our rooms, I got another text that the 7:50am flight was canceled. I managed to get us re-booked on the next flight, a 1:40pm to Manchester. Since we no longer had to get up early, we had another round of drinks. At around 11pm, I went to bed.
At lunch we ran out the Wawa... a gas station super center in NJ. It was packed so we got some pre-made cold sandwiches to go. Made it back to the site just before the pre-bid meeting. The meeting was with 5 potential contractors. Everything went pretty well and smooth. After the meeting was over, I received a text that our 8pm flight out of philly was canceled. I arranged to get on the 7:50am flight tomorrow morning.
At 5:30pm, we left the site to get as close to philly as possible and get a hotel room. We made it to within 15 miles, goo thing too because the snow storm was starting to get pretty hairy. We stayed at a Holiday Inn and had dinner in the lobby bar/restaurant. I had a philly chicken cheese-steak. It was really good. Just as we were going to head back to our rooms, I got another text that the 7:50am flight was canceled. I managed to get us re-booked on the next flight, a 1:40pm to Manchester. Since we no longer had to get up early, we had another round of drinks. At around 11pm, I went to bed.
1/25/11
A typical morning with the dogs. Nothing too exciting. We went outside first thing, then back in and the dogs had breakfast. I sat at the computer with some coffee blogging. Afterwards, I got dressed for work and the dogs and I went in the backyard to play ball. Because Chance has had problems on the walks, I decided to just play with them in the yard. We came in and I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. At 7:45, off to work. I worked the morning in the office. At lunch I stopped off at the grocery store to pick up some food, then went home.
I played with the dogs a few times in the backyard, made myself a quick bite to eat, then cleaned up the house for the dogsitter. At 1:30pm, I got in the car and headed to Manchester to catch my flight to Philly. Everything went pretty smoothly through security and I had enough time to have a Quiznos sub for lunch. The flight was interesting. It was a small plane 2 seats on each side, holding maybe 50 people. It was interesting how they made 2 people siting in the front move to the back, "in order to get the weight right'. I have to say, I was concerned that the fluctuation of 300lb would mess up the plane. I also thought it was interesting, sitting next to the guy pushing 300lbs making the statement "I think they are making these seats smaller". Really?? Too bad as Americans, we don't see the obvious about ourselves.
Landed in Philly, stopped off at an ATM and picked up my rental car. Drove out of Philly in rush-hour traffic towards Atlantic City, NJ. Met up with a couple co-workers at the hotel around 6:45pm and we headed out for some dinner. I did take a picture of the bathroom at the hotel room, first time I've seen a wall mounted bottle opener in a hotel... classy. We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I had a sampler of sorts. It was a dish with a small chicken Parmesan and a small lasagna and some mashed potatoes. It was pretty good. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. I stayed up and watched some of the State of the Union address... Come on Obama, I'm tired of hear "we have to do this" and it doesn't get done. Time to come up with solutions, not just statements. Finally went to bed around 10pm.
I played with the dogs a few times in the backyard, made myself a quick bite to eat, then cleaned up the house for the dogsitter. At 1:30pm, I got in the car and headed to Manchester to catch my flight to Philly. Everything went pretty smoothly through security and I had enough time to have a Quiznos sub for lunch. The flight was interesting. It was a small plane 2 seats on each side, holding maybe 50 people. It was interesting how they made 2 people siting in the front move to the back, "in order to get the weight right'. I have to say, I was concerned that the fluctuation of 300lb would mess up the plane. I also thought it was interesting, sitting next to the guy pushing 300lbs making the statement "I think they are making these seats smaller". Really?? Too bad as Americans, we don't see the obvious about ourselves.
Landed in Philly, stopped off at an ATM and picked up my rental car. Drove out of Philly in rush-hour traffic towards Atlantic City, NJ. Met up with a couple co-workers at the hotel around 6:45pm and we headed out for some dinner. I did take a picture of the bathroom at the hotel room, first time I've seen a wall mounted bottle opener in a hotel... classy. We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. I had a sampler of sorts. It was a dish with a small chicken Parmesan and a small lasagna and some mashed potatoes. It was pretty good. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. I stayed up and watched some of the State of the Union address... Come on Obama, I'm tired of hear "we have to do this" and it doesn't get done. Time to come up with solutions, not just statements. Finally went to bed around 10pm.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
1/24/11
Start to a new week, can't wait for what the day will bring. The dogs and I got up and went outside... -11F on the temp readout! It actually wasn't all that cold, but the dogs didn't want to go out more than a few minutes. We came back in and I fed them breakfast, made some coffee and blogged. Nothing too interesting today, same old. Next I took a shower and got cleaned up for work. At 7am, the dogs and I ventured out for a 'walk'. It turned into Reece walking besides me, and Chance being carried. I think from now on, I will leave Chance home for the walks.
After the walk, I had a a bowl of cereal and headed out to work. Work was the same as last week, nothing too exciting to talk about. I had a project meeting at 10am, then I went down to Lynn, MA for a site visit with a co-worker at 11am. We met a contractor on-site to give us a price to install siding and roofing on the structure I designed. It was just as cold there (5F) as Portsmouth, but with a fantastic sea breeze. We got back to P-town at 3pm and I headed home for lunch. I played with the dogs a few minutes, then had a PB&J sandwich. For all those really dedicated followers of mine, you will note that PB&J was my lunch of choice last year, but this is my first one this year (great trivia question that may show up on Jeopardy).
After lunch I went back to work for the remaining 2 hours. I wasn't able to get everything done that I wanted before leaving at 5:30pm. When I got home, I played with the pups for 10 minutes outside, then brought them in for dinner. While they ate, I vacuumed the house and picked up a few things. At 6:45pm, I drove into downtown to meet up with a few friends at The Brewery. It was a lot of fun, 7 guys showed up and we just chatted for a bit. Seth put out a challenge to try the volcano sauce chicken tenders. I stayed out of this one and let the others sweet it out. I ended up having a espresso chocolate pie for dinner, it was fantastic.
At 9pm, we all headed out. I got home and took the dogs out again and stoked the fire for what is to be another cold night. I did a load of laundry and watched a little TV before heading to bed at around 11pm.
After the walk, I had a a bowl of cereal and headed out to work. Work was the same as last week, nothing too exciting to talk about. I had a project meeting at 10am, then I went down to Lynn, MA for a site visit with a co-worker at 11am. We met a contractor on-site to give us a price to install siding and roofing on the structure I designed. It was just as cold there (5F) as Portsmouth, but with a fantastic sea breeze. We got back to P-town at 3pm and I headed home for lunch. I played with the dogs a few minutes, then had a PB&J sandwich. For all those really dedicated followers of mine, you will note that PB&J was my lunch of choice last year, but this is my first one this year (great trivia question that may show up on Jeopardy).
After lunch I went back to work for the remaining 2 hours. I wasn't able to get everything done that I wanted before leaving at 5:30pm. When I got home, I played with the pups for 10 minutes outside, then brought them in for dinner. While they ate, I vacuumed the house and picked up a few things. At 6:45pm, I drove into downtown to meet up with a few friends at The Brewery. It was a lot of fun, 7 guys showed up and we just chatted for a bit. Seth put out a challenge to try the volcano sauce chicken tenders. I stayed out of this one and let the others sweet it out. I ended up having a espresso chocolate pie for dinner, it was fantastic.
At 9pm, we all headed out. I got home and took the dogs out again and stoked the fire for what is to be another cold night. I did a load of laundry and watched a little TV before heading to bed at around 11pm.
Monday, January 24, 2011
1/23/11
Got up early today (well kinda early), the dogs let me sleep in until 7am. We got up and went outside for a few minutes, a little chilly start to the morning. Then we came in and I fed the pups their breakfast. I had some coffee and a bowl of cereal, then surfed the web for a bit. Speaking of the internet, social media is always talking about phases that age you... if you say 'surfing the web', do the young kids say that these days? I'm assuming that phase makes it clear I'm in my 30's. Anyway, after eating my cereal, I got ready for basketball. Looks like we are going to have a big turnout today, there were a lot of confirmation emails.
I took the pups for a quick walk to the Middle St. Market (0.6miles) before basketball. The dogs were good and ready to get back in, still a bit chilly. At 9am, I went to play some basketball. We had 10 people show, we usually have a tough time getting 6, so we had enough for 5-on-5 going full court. The first game, I actually played really well. I had a few steals off my friend Seth, which amazed me because Seth is such a great ball handler. I also had a few good shots and rebounds down low. The second game I played OK, but really wasn't a factor. At the start of the 3rd game I had my ankle stepped on and rolled pretty hard. I went straight for the floor. After a few minutes I made my way over to the sideline to sit out the rest of the game. My friend 'Tank' had rebounded a bal and started run with it, pushing off on my ankle. I was able to match the treads on his sneakers to the marks on my ankle.
After sitting out 30 minutes, I tried to run on the ankle. I was OK running straight, but couldn't take a turn at all. So I jumped back in for some more basketball. I was pretty much useless, but at least got in some more playing time. Afterwards, I headed home to take a nap with the dogs. I crashed on the couch for some time, watching TV and taking naps. I finally got up around 2:30pm and took the pups out for some ball in the backyard. I made some snacks and went back up to watch some football on TV at 3pm.
After the first football game, I fed the dogs dinner, then took them out for some ball in the backyard. When we came back in, I made a pizza for my dinner and headed up to watch the second football game of the day. At half-time, I took the pups out for a walk. We didn't quite make it to the Middle St. Market before Chance started limping. After he did his duty, I carried him the rest of the way home. It sure is tough carrying a 50lb dog while still having another dog on a leash, with a bad ankle in 6" of snow (the sidewalks still aren't clear from the last snow storm). We made it back and I parked my butt on the couch again to finish watching the game. I must have fallen asleep with a few minutes to go, because I woke up up to the news. I turned off the TV and went to bed at 11pm.
I took the pups for a quick walk to the Middle St. Market (0.6miles) before basketball. The dogs were good and ready to get back in, still a bit chilly. At 9am, I went to play some basketball. We had 10 people show, we usually have a tough time getting 6, so we had enough for 5-on-5 going full court. The first game, I actually played really well. I had a few steals off my friend Seth, which amazed me because Seth is such a great ball handler. I also had a few good shots and rebounds down low. The second game I played OK, but really wasn't a factor. At the start of the 3rd game I had my ankle stepped on and rolled pretty hard. I went straight for the floor. After a few minutes I made my way over to the sideline to sit out the rest of the game. My friend 'Tank' had rebounded a bal and started run with it, pushing off on my ankle. I was able to match the treads on his sneakers to the marks on my ankle.
After sitting out 30 minutes, I tried to run on the ankle. I was OK running straight, but couldn't take a turn at all. So I jumped back in for some more basketball. I was pretty much useless, but at least got in some more playing time. Afterwards, I headed home to take a nap with the dogs. I crashed on the couch for some time, watching TV and taking naps. I finally got up around 2:30pm and took the pups out for some ball in the backyard. I made some snacks and went back up to watch some football on TV at 3pm.
After the first football game, I fed the dogs dinner, then took them out for some ball in the backyard. When we came back in, I made a pizza for my dinner and headed up to watch the second football game of the day. At half-time, I took the pups out for a walk. We didn't quite make it to the Middle St. Market before Chance started limping. After he did his duty, I carried him the rest of the way home. It sure is tough carrying a 50lb dog while still having another dog on a leash, with a bad ankle in 6" of snow (the sidewalks still aren't clear from the last snow storm). We made it back and I parked my butt on the couch again to finish watching the game. I must have fallen asleep with a few minutes to go, because I woke up up to the news. I turned off the TV and went to bed at 11pm.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
1/22/11
Got up early this morning, planning to get a lot done. We did our normal routine, then I started modifying one of the roof rakes. I took apart the squeegee, then attached it to the cutting edge of the roof rake (hopefully safe for the solar panels). I also had 32' of poles to reach high up on the panels. So, what I thought would take 10 minutes, took about an hour to get the first layer of snow off the roof. I came in to take a break and eat some cereal and have some coffee. The goal is to let the sun heat up the panels a little bit, then try it again.
So, for the next four hours I alternated taking the pups out in the yard and raking the snow off the solar panels. After my arms were plenty tired, I was done. I came in and played on the internet for a bit, eating a bag of those pretzel M&M's. After all that, I went down to get a haircut for tonight's company party. Next I watched a little TV and took a beauty nap. When I got up, I took a shower and got prepped for the party tonight.
I walked the pups just before heading out at 7pm. I met up with Dennis just before the party, I am taking Dennis' fiance, Christine's 20-year old daughter as my date for party. It is always fun to see people's faces when they see me with some one other than Cheryl, I'm sure it will start rumors at work. The party was pretty good, this is the first time that I had 4 people my own age that I could have conversations with. For dinner, I had some portabella mushrooms, stuffed ravioli, rice and mashed potatoes. After the owner's speeches, it was time to leave. I got home around midnight, took out the pups and went to bed.
So, for the next four hours I alternated taking the pups out in the yard and raking the snow off the solar panels. After my arms were plenty tired, I was done. I came in and played on the internet for a bit, eating a bag of those pretzel M&M's. After all that, I went down to get a haircut for tonight's company party. Next I watched a little TV and took a beauty nap. When I got up, I took a shower and got prepped for the party tonight.
I walked the pups just before heading out at 7pm. I met up with Dennis just before the party, I am taking Dennis' fiance, Christine's 20-year old daughter as my date for party. It is always fun to see people's faces when they see me with some one other than Cheryl, I'm sure it will start rumors at work. The party was pretty good, this is the first time that I had 4 people my own age that I could have conversations with. For dinner, I had some portabella mushrooms, stuffed ravioli, rice and mashed potatoes. After the owner's speeches, it was time to leave. I got home around midnight, took out the pups and went to bed.
1/21/11
Another friday, more snow. So since I am way behind on my blog, I'll make this quick. We did our regular morning routine, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Off to work in the snow. Work was the same as usual. For lunch, Dennis, Carl H and I went out to Hebert's. I had a open faced turkey sandwich. The rest of the day, I continued to complete tasks. After work, I went home to play with the pups.
I got to play in the backyard for 15 minutes, then brought the pups inside to eat dinner. Then I went outside and began shoveling the snow... again. We got between 6 and 8" of really light fluffy stuff. This is the type of winter that makes you ponder a snow blower. For the rest of the night, I took the pups out multiple time to play ball, then for a short 0.6 mile walk. At 8pm, I went out to Lowes and Home Depot to purchase two roof rakes and a giant sqeegee. Stopped into Target for some milk and food. For dinner I had a bowl of cereal while watching TV. I final got to bed around 10pm.
I got to play in the backyard for 15 minutes, then brought the pups inside to eat dinner. Then I went outside and began shoveling the snow... again. We got between 6 and 8" of really light fluffy stuff. This is the type of winter that makes you ponder a snow blower. For the rest of the night, I took the pups out multiple time to play ball, then for a short 0.6 mile walk. At 8pm, I went out to Lowes and Home Depot to purchase two roof rakes and a giant sqeegee. Stopped into Target for some milk and food. For dinner I had a bowl of cereal while watching TV. I final got to bed around 10pm.
Friday, January 21, 2011
1/20/11
Another day, the same routine. Up by 5:50am, coffee being made, stoke the fire, take the pups outside, feed the pups breakfast, check the electric meter, then relax with some coffee while blogging. After checking a few things on the internet, I took a shower and got cleaned up for work. At 6:55am, the dogs and I were out the door for our morning walk. We did our typical down and back to Middle St. Market (0.6miles), nothing too spectacular happened and the walk was pretty enjoyable. When we got home, I made a bowl of cereal for breakfast, finished getting cleaned up, then off to work.
Just another day at work, Dennis was out for the day, which usually makes for a non interesting day. Dennis really makes work enjoyable with his fast wit and humor. For the most part, I was able to get quite a few things done. Unfortunately, it seemed that as I was completing tasks, even more piled on top. At lunch I went home to the pups and played ball in the yard. We played for 15 minutes, then we came in and I had a Amy's 'chicken' pot pie wrap. It was pretty good, but the dough was pretty soft, I like the dough to be crusty on a pot pie. The afternoon at work was similar to the morning, I continued working on my assignments, finally making some headway.
At 5:30pm, I headed home to let the pups out. We played ball for 10 minutes, then I brought them in for dinner. Cheryl called and we talked on the phone for only 10 minutes. Since nothing too exciting had happened to either of us in the last 24 hours, it was a short conversation. I took the pups outside for another 10 minutes of ball, then we went on an early evening walk. For this walk, we made the loop on Union St. (0.8 mile). The problem with the loops are that they go down Lincoln Ave, which has no sidewalks shoveled so you have to walk in the street. The dogs were good, and Chance didn't get too limpy.
After the walk, I took off for the library. The guys who built my house, Little Green Homes, were giving a seminar on green building. So, from 7-9pm, I was at the library, got to see how Chris was doing. Glad to hear his business is doing so well, and is gearing up for a busy spring. When I got home, I had a bowl of cereal for dinner, and let the dogs out for one last 'outside'. Then I sat in bed for 20 minutes playing Jewels on my cell phone before falling asleep.
Just another day at work, Dennis was out for the day, which usually makes for a non interesting day. Dennis really makes work enjoyable with his fast wit and humor. For the most part, I was able to get quite a few things done. Unfortunately, it seemed that as I was completing tasks, even more piled on top. At lunch I went home to the pups and played ball in the yard. We played for 15 minutes, then we came in and I had a Amy's 'chicken' pot pie wrap. It was pretty good, but the dough was pretty soft, I like the dough to be crusty on a pot pie. The afternoon at work was similar to the morning, I continued working on my assignments, finally making some headway.
At 5:30pm, I headed home to let the pups out. We played ball for 10 minutes, then I brought them in for dinner. Cheryl called and we talked on the phone for only 10 minutes. Since nothing too exciting had happened to either of us in the last 24 hours, it was a short conversation. I took the pups outside for another 10 minutes of ball, then we went on an early evening walk. For this walk, we made the loop on Union St. (0.8 mile). The problem with the loops are that they go down Lincoln Ave, which has no sidewalks shoveled so you have to walk in the street. The dogs were good, and Chance didn't get too limpy.
After the walk, I took off for the library. The guys who built my house, Little Green Homes, were giving a seminar on green building. So, from 7-9pm, I was at the library, got to see how Chris was doing. Glad to hear his business is doing so well, and is gearing up for a busy spring. When I got home, I had a bowl of cereal for dinner, and let the dogs out for one last 'outside'. Then I sat in bed for 20 minutes playing Jewels on my cell phone before falling asleep.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
1/19/11
Mid-week, yahoo! Woke up this morning much like how I wake up every morning... kisses from Reece. I got out of bed, took the pups out, then fed them breakfast. I checked the meter, stoked the fire and had some coffee while blogging. The rest of the morning I played around on the computer, then took the pups for our morning walk. I thought today was suppose to be better weather, but it is still raining. At least this should help get snow off the solar panels. The walk went fine, the sidewalks were now pools of water with no place to escape. The dogs were great on the walk, we did only 0.6 miles. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and got ready for work.
I got into work a little before 8am, got settled in and began work. Nothing exciting going on. Well, actually, plenty of things are going on, but I won't go into details. For the most part of the morning I just kept chugging away at closing out tasks. At lunch I went home to be with the pups. We went outside and played ball for almost 20 minutes. We came in and I made myself a double cheese 'burger' and had some fruit snacks. I spent some time playing in the house with the dogs, then headed back to work. The afternoon at work was very stressful until 3pm. At 3 I had my 2 hour long weekly North Carolina meeting that lasted the rest of the day.
After work I went home and played ball with the dogs in the backyard. After the first round of playing, I brought them in for dinner. I talked with Cheryl on the phone for 10 minutes, we don't seem to have much to talk about these days... what will we talk about when she is back living here??? Afterwards, I took the pups out again to play more ball in the yard. We came in again and I fixed myself a nice bowl of cereal for dinner. I sat and watched some TV until 7:30pm. Then we went out for our evening walk. The weather was much the same, a little drizzly rain. The dogs were good, nothing exciting going on on the streets of Portsmouth.
When we got back, I watched a couple more episodes of The IT Crowd on Netflix, then went to bed around 9:30pm.
I got into work a little before 8am, got settled in and began work. Nothing exciting going on. Well, actually, plenty of things are going on, but I won't go into details. For the most part of the morning I just kept chugging away at closing out tasks. At lunch I went home to be with the pups. We went outside and played ball for almost 20 minutes. We came in and I made myself a double cheese 'burger' and had some fruit snacks. I spent some time playing in the house with the dogs, then headed back to work. The afternoon at work was very stressful until 3pm. At 3 I had my 2 hour long weekly North Carolina meeting that lasted the rest of the day.
After work I went home and played ball with the dogs in the backyard. After the first round of playing, I brought them in for dinner. I talked with Cheryl on the phone for 10 minutes, we don't seem to have much to talk about these days... what will we talk about when she is back living here??? Afterwards, I took the pups out again to play more ball in the yard. We came in again and I fixed myself a nice bowl of cereal for dinner. I sat and watched some TV until 7:30pm. Then we went out for our evening walk. The weather was much the same, a little drizzly rain. The dogs were good, nothing exciting going on on the streets of Portsmouth.
When we got back, I watched a couple more episodes of The IT Crowd on Netflix, then went to bed around 9:30pm.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
1/18/11
Just another day, woke up (always a good thing) and took the dogs out for their morning 'outside'. Brought them in and gave them breakfast, then a nice cup of coffee while blogging. Today's forecast is for a snow in the morning, switching to freezing rain in the afternoon. Already have a ton of snow, don't know where I'm going to put another 6" of wet stuff. Anyway, continued on with my typical morning, getting all cleaned up for work, then heading out on the morning walk with the dogs. As usual, the walk was short, we went to the Naber Market and back. By the way, the Naber market is now the Middle Street Market, with new super bright sign and longer hours. The old Naber Market closed everyday at 6pm, which I thought was tough hours for a corner convenient store. Getting off subject here, the dogs were good on the walk, when we got home I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and got ready for work. I headed out the door a few minutes early because the snow had already started to come down at a good clip.
I got to work and began working on my tasks. Not a lot to mention here. Very typical, non exciting day. At lunch I went home, stoked the fire and played ball with the dogs in the backyard. We played for 15 minutes, then came in and I made myself lunch. I had a 'chik'-which with cheese and BBQ sauce. I made sure the pups were ok, then left to get back to work. In a moment of weakness, there was a Lunch & Learn going on that I didn't attend, but there was leftover pizza, so I grabbed a couple slices. After chowing down those, I felt like crap, I didn't need it. The rest of the day I think I made great progress to getting my assigned tasks completed. The last bit of business for the day was to purchase plane tickets for next wednesday's meeting I have in south Jersey. I was only planning on going one day (all I have dogsitting for), last minute before hitting the purchase button, by boss sends out an email saying he wants to stay 2 days. I will have to talk to him in the morning about this.
As I left work, and walked to the car, the parking lot was shear ice... I could have skated on it. With hearing sirens in the background, I knew I needed to take it slow on the roads. It took awhile, but I got home safe and sound... crap, as I am writing this on wednesday morning, I realize I forgot to send Cheryl a text message I made it home fine... sorry hun. When I got home, I let the pups out and played ball a little in the rain. I brought them in and gave them dinner. For 20 minutes I started shoveling the wet snow in the driveway. Then I alternated playing ball with the dogs and shoveling until 7pm. At 7pm, I made a bowl of cereal for dinner and watched some TV. At 8pm, I took the pups for their evening walk, in the freezing rain. Remember this day Cheryl, the next day you are home and it is freezing rain, you can walk the dogs on your own, it's a blast. We did the 0.6 mile down and back.
For the rest of the night, Reece and I watched TV on the couch while Chance slept on the couch downstairs. All night I could hear the snow finally coming off the roof in big avalanche sounding smashes. I finally got to bed around 11pm.
I got to work and began working on my tasks. Not a lot to mention here. Very typical, non exciting day. At lunch I went home, stoked the fire and played ball with the dogs in the backyard. We played for 15 minutes, then came in and I made myself lunch. I had a 'chik'-which with cheese and BBQ sauce. I made sure the pups were ok, then left to get back to work. In a moment of weakness, there was a Lunch & Learn going on that I didn't attend, but there was leftover pizza, so I grabbed a couple slices. After chowing down those, I felt like crap, I didn't need it. The rest of the day I think I made great progress to getting my assigned tasks completed. The last bit of business for the day was to purchase plane tickets for next wednesday's meeting I have in south Jersey. I was only planning on going one day (all I have dogsitting for), last minute before hitting the purchase button, by boss sends out an email saying he wants to stay 2 days. I will have to talk to him in the morning about this.
As I left work, and walked to the car, the parking lot was shear ice... I could have skated on it. With hearing sirens in the background, I knew I needed to take it slow on the roads. It took awhile, but I got home safe and sound... crap, as I am writing this on wednesday morning, I realize I forgot to send Cheryl a text message I made it home fine... sorry hun. When I got home, I let the pups out and played ball a little in the rain. I brought them in and gave them dinner. For 20 minutes I started shoveling the wet snow in the driveway. Then I alternated playing ball with the dogs and shoveling until 7pm. At 7pm, I made a bowl of cereal for dinner and watched some TV. At 8pm, I took the pups for their evening walk, in the freezing rain. Remember this day Cheryl, the next day you are home and it is freezing rain, you can walk the dogs on your own, it's a blast. We did the 0.6 mile down and back.
For the rest of the night, Reece and I watched TV on the couch while Chance slept on the couch downstairs. All night I could hear the snow finally coming off the roof in big avalanche sounding smashes. I finally got to bed around 11pm.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
1/17/11
A fantastic monday morning. As usual, I got up at 5:50am with the dogs. Only today for some reason my back really hurt all night and I had a very tough time sleeping. My back is usually sore in the morning, but this was pretty extreme. Seems it is telling me to get back to my back exercises. Well, after that revelation, I took the pups outside, then back in for their breakfast. I caught up on two days of blogging while having a cup of coffee. I was a little late finishing my blog, so right after I took the dogs for their morning walk. We walked to the Naber Market and back. Not a whole lot to talk about, it was pretty darn cold (6F) for the walk, but only 0.6 miles, it went pretty quick.
When we got home, I had a bowl of cereal then cleaned up for work. I was out the door at 7:45am. Work was the same, trying to get all the red tasks off my dry erase board. I write down tasks in red that need the first attention... my entire board is red. I should put something easy like, 'Come into work' as a task, then I can check it off every morning. The morning at work was pretty typical and nothing too exciting to write about. At lunch I went home to play ball with the dogs. We were only out for 10 minutes before Chance started his frozen paw routine. In his defense, at noon it was still only 11F out. We came in, I made a grilled 'chicken' and provolone sandwich for lunch. I spent some more time playing stupid dog tricks with the pups inside too.
After lunch I headed back to work. The afternoon was a little more challenging than the morning, but went by fast. At 5pm, I went home. I let the dogs out, stoked up the fire (been going constant for 6 days now), then played some ball. I brought the pups in around 5:20pm and settled in waiting for Cheryl's call. Cheryl and I talked for 20 minutes on the phone, I put her on speaker phone for the pups to hear her voice. After our conversation, I took the pups out to play again, only for 10 minutes. Then I grabbed a bowl of cereal for dinner and headed up to watch some TV. I continued to watch episodes of that british show The IT Crowd, pretty funny.
At 7:30pm, I took the pups for the evening walk. We did the down and back to Naber Market, again, nothing too exciting. It kinda sucks that the dogs walks have been cut back from 1.5 miles, to 1.0 miles, and now down to 0.6 miles. I feel bad, but Chance needs to put his big boy pants on and deal with cold paws. When we got back, Reece and I got on the couch and watched some TV together (who needs a wife?). At around 11pm, I turned off the TV and went to bed.
When we got home, I had a bowl of cereal then cleaned up for work. I was out the door at 7:45am. Work was the same, trying to get all the red tasks off my dry erase board. I write down tasks in red that need the first attention... my entire board is red. I should put something easy like, 'Come into work' as a task, then I can check it off every morning. The morning at work was pretty typical and nothing too exciting to write about. At lunch I went home to play ball with the dogs. We were only out for 10 minutes before Chance started his frozen paw routine. In his defense, at noon it was still only 11F out. We came in, I made a grilled 'chicken' and provolone sandwich for lunch. I spent some more time playing stupid dog tricks with the pups inside too.
After lunch I headed back to work. The afternoon was a little more challenging than the morning, but went by fast. At 5pm, I went home. I let the dogs out, stoked up the fire (been going constant for 6 days now), then played some ball. I brought the pups in around 5:20pm and settled in waiting for Cheryl's call. Cheryl and I talked for 20 minutes on the phone, I put her on speaker phone for the pups to hear her voice. After our conversation, I took the pups out to play again, only for 10 minutes. Then I grabbed a bowl of cereal for dinner and headed up to watch some TV. I continued to watch episodes of that british show The IT Crowd, pretty funny.
At 7:30pm, I took the pups for the evening walk. We did the down and back to Naber Market, again, nothing too exciting. It kinda sucks that the dogs walks have been cut back from 1.5 miles, to 1.0 miles, and now down to 0.6 miles. I feel bad, but Chance needs to put his big boy pants on and deal with cold paws. When we got back, Reece and I got on the couch and watched some TV together (who needs a wife?). At around 11pm, I turned off the TV and went to bed.
Monday, January 17, 2011
1/16/11
Happy Birthday Mackenzie!
This will be quick because I am running short on time. Got up early and did my typical morning routine. I had a banana for breakfast to keep it light. At 8:30am, I headed over to the gym to play some pickup basketball. None of the guys on the team showed up, so Jeff and I shot around for a while, then played some one-on-one until 11:30am. We headed back to the house, I let the pups out to play in the yard. Around 12:30pm, Shannon came by with Oskar and we all went downtown to eat lunch at Flatbread.
I had a great time catching up with Shannon and Jeff, Oskar was too cute watching everything going on at the restaurant. We sat close to the wood stove, so Oskar was watching the guys put in the pizzas all the time. I had their meat special pizza, it was great. Afterwards I went back home and Jeff and Shannon took off.
I pretty much crashed on the couch and watched TV for the rest of the night. I was tired from basketball, so I fell asleep a few times during the early football game. Once I thought it was over, I watched a few TV shows that Shannon recommended on Netflix. I got to watch the first 3 episodes of this British show called The IT Crowd, it was pretty good. After that I watched the Pats game, or what is called a game, but the Pats forgot to show up for. A miserable loss, oh well. I took the pups out after the game for a nice evening walk. Nothing too exciting. I made it back in time to watch animation domination. Finally went to bed around 10pm.
This will be quick because I am running short on time. Got up early and did my typical morning routine. I had a banana for breakfast to keep it light. At 8:30am, I headed over to the gym to play some pickup basketball. None of the guys on the team showed up, so Jeff and I shot around for a while, then played some one-on-one until 11:30am. We headed back to the house, I let the pups out to play in the yard. Around 12:30pm, Shannon came by with Oskar and we all went downtown to eat lunch at Flatbread.
I had a great time catching up with Shannon and Jeff, Oskar was too cute watching everything going on at the restaurant. We sat close to the wood stove, so Oskar was watching the guys put in the pizzas all the time. I had their meat special pizza, it was great. Afterwards I went back home and Jeff and Shannon took off.
I pretty much crashed on the couch and watched TV for the rest of the night. I was tired from basketball, so I fell asleep a few times during the early football game. Once I thought it was over, I watched a few TV shows that Shannon recommended on Netflix. I got to watch the first 3 episodes of this British show called The IT Crowd, it was pretty good. After that I watched the Pats game, or what is called a game, but the Pats forgot to show up for. A miserable loss, oh well. I took the pups out after the game for a nice evening walk. Nothing too exciting. I made it back in time to watch animation domination. Finally went to bed around 10pm.
1/15/11
Saturday, still got up at the same time to let the dogs out in the morning. It sure will be good when Cheryl gets back, she can let the pups out in the morning on the weekends and I will get to sleep in. After taking out the pups, I brought them in for their breakfast. I mulled around the house a bit before making my breakfast. I put in a load of laundry, made sure the fire in the wood stove was going, went through some recyclables, then made breakfast. I had french toast with morning 'sausage'. After I was stuffed with that great meal, I got dressed and took the dogs out for a walk.
The sidewalks still weren't clear, starting to get ridiculous. We did our walk to the Naber Market and back (0.6miles). Nothing too exciting going on, a bit too cold for most people to come out (7F). When we got back to the house, I did some vacuuming until the battery was drained, plugged it in to recharge. I spent a lot of time on the internet, I am contemplating starting my own LLC business for residential building consulting and solar evaluations. I don't think there is a huge demand right now, but something I could do on the side.
For most of the day I relaxed and played ball with the dogs outside. It was a nice sunny day, and I am really hoping the snow falls off the solar panels. At around 1pm, I decided to check out Lowes and Home Depot for what they have for snow rakes. They pretty much had the same thing, but they were only 16' long. I think it will take a longer pole to reach my panels. Plus, each rake was $40, tough to justify the cost. So, I walked out without buying anything.
When I got home, I did another load of laundry and decided to walk the dogs before heading to Hampton. To my surprise, the sidewalks were finally cleared! It was the first time since tuesday that we got to use the sidewalks. The pups and I still only wen to the Naber Market and back (0.6 miles) because of the salt irritating Chance's paws. When we got home, I hung up the laundry and fed the dogs an early dinner. I tried picking up a few things that I thought were easy Chance targets.
Next I headed down to Hampton to have dinner with Mackenzie, Dan, Dad, Emerson, and Cailan for Mackenzies birthday tomorrow. We met at their house, then headed over to the Galley Hatch at 5:45pm. We had a good time, enjoyed the company and the food. I had a three cheese ravioli and a peanut butter dessert. Afterwards, we went back to Mac's house, talked for a bit, then I headed home. On my way home, I stopped for gas. It was the first fill up in the new car (16 days!), only problem is I couldn't figure out how to open the gas door. It didn't have a lip on it to just pull it open, and I couldn't find a pull inside the car. Since I don't have the manual in the car, I was starting to get pissy. Finally I pushed on the gas door and it popped open. WTF, really, what a stupid design.
I have only a few complaints about Honda, #1 the daytime running lights... ok, so when you get into the car and turn it on, your daytime running light come on, but so do all the dash lights. The problem with this, if you get into the car at night. You think your headlight and taillights are on because the dash is all illuminated, but no, they are not on, you are driving without you typical lights on (just the low daytime lights). In the Toyota's, you never shut off the lights, you keep them in the on position when you turn off the car, and they turn off. Not in a Honda, you have to manually turn off the lights each time you get out of the car, or risk draining the battery. Honda... please change this and you will be the perfect car maker!
Sorry about that, thought I would use that opportunity to complain about a good car. Finally gassed up and made it home. I took the pups for a late evening walk on the sidewalks, then sat on the couch to watch some TV. I went to bed around 10pm.
The sidewalks still weren't clear, starting to get ridiculous. We did our walk to the Naber Market and back (0.6miles). Nothing too exciting going on, a bit too cold for most people to come out (7F). When we got back to the house, I did some vacuuming until the battery was drained, plugged it in to recharge. I spent a lot of time on the internet, I am contemplating starting my own LLC business for residential building consulting and solar evaluations. I don't think there is a huge demand right now, but something I could do on the side.
For most of the day I relaxed and played ball with the dogs outside. It was a nice sunny day, and I am really hoping the snow falls off the solar panels. At around 1pm, I decided to check out Lowes and Home Depot for what they have for snow rakes. They pretty much had the same thing, but they were only 16' long. I think it will take a longer pole to reach my panels. Plus, each rake was $40, tough to justify the cost. So, I walked out without buying anything.
When I got home, I did another load of laundry and decided to walk the dogs before heading to Hampton. To my surprise, the sidewalks were finally cleared! It was the first time since tuesday that we got to use the sidewalks. The pups and I still only wen to the Naber Market and back (0.6 miles) because of the salt irritating Chance's paws. When we got home, I hung up the laundry and fed the dogs an early dinner. I tried picking up a few things that I thought were easy Chance targets.
Next I headed down to Hampton to have dinner with Mackenzie, Dan, Dad, Emerson, and Cailan for Mackenzies birthday tomorrow. We met at their house, then headed over to the Galley Hatch at 5:45pm. We had a good time, enjoyed the company and the food. I had a three cheese ravioli and a peanut butter dessert. Afterwards, we went back to Mac's house, talked for a bit, then I headed home. On my way home, I stopped for gas. It was the first fill up in the new car (16 days!), only problem is I couldn't figure out how to open the gas door. It didn't have a lip on it to just pull it open, and I couldn't find a pull inside the car. Since I don't have the manual in the car, I was starting to get pissy. Finally I pushed on the gas door and it popped open. WTF, really, what a stupid design.
I have only a few complaints about Honda, #1 the daytime running lights... ok, so when you get into the car and turn it on, your daytime running light come on, but so do all the dash lights. The problem with this, if you get into the car at night. You think your headlight and taillights are on because the dash is all illuminated, but no, they are not on, you are driving without you typical lights on (just the low daytime lights). In the Toyota's, you never shut off the lights, you keep them in the on position when you turn off the car, and they turn off. Not in a Honda, you have to manually turn off the lights each time you get out of the car, or risk draining the battery. Honda... please change this and you will be the perfect car maker!
Sorry about that, thought I would use that opportunity to complain about a good car. Finally gassed up and made it home. I took the pups for a late evening walk on the sidewalks, then sat on the couch to watch some TV. I went to bed around 10pm.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
1/14/11
Friday means pastry day! This morning the pups and I got up as usual, went right outside for a few minutes and back in where I fed them breakfast. I sat down with some coffee and wrote in the blog. Afterwards, I got dressed for outside and took the pups for our morning walk. The city still hasn't cleared the sidewalks on Middle St. One side has 6-8" of snow, the other hasn't been touched and has 16". Anyway, we went to the Naber Market and back (0.6 miles). The dogs were good and we didn't run into any other dogs or kids. We got home and I got cleaned up for work.
I made it to work by 8am, we had a staff meeting to start the day and plenty of pastries to go around. Beyond the meeting, nothing too exciting happened during the morning hours. At lunch, Dennis and I went over to 99 Restaurant for some food. We got to chat a bit, then head back to work. The afternoon was pretty much the same at the morning. I had a deadline to get a bid package out for a South Jersey project by the end of the day. Right after lunch, we received mark-ups from the client that they sent in snail mail. No prior mention that they had changes to the package that they had since 11/24/10. Frustrating, but I was able to make all the changes and still get the package out at 4:30pm. At that point, I shut down mentally. At 5pm, I headed home.
I made it home and took the dogs outside for some ball. We played for 15 minutes, then headed in to feed them dinner. I got the house cleaned up a bit and ready for the night. I made myself some mac & cheese for dinner. Then the dogs and I played a bit outside again. I pretty much stop and go back indoors when Chance lays down in the snow because his paws are frozen. When he walks on the wood floor in the house, he sounds like a tap dancer because the snow gets jammed between his toes and freezes into ice balls. Poor boy.
Anyway, for most of the night I lounged around the house, not much going on. I had forgot to call Netflix today to get their address, will have to wait until tomorrow. I took the pups out for an evening walk, covering the same section of semi-cleared sidewalk as we have for the past 3 days. Nothing too exciting to report. When we got back, I sat down in front of the TV and relaxed. Contemplating how to get the snow off the solar panels... so far we have lost 3 days of production. At around 11pm, I went to bed.
I made it to work by 8am, we had a staff meeting to start the day and plenty of pastries to go around. Beyond the meeting, nothing too exciting happened during the morning hours. At lunch, Dennis and I went over to 99 Restaurant for some food. We got to chat a bit, then head back to work. The afternoon was pretty much the same at the morning. I had a deadline to get a bid package out for a South Jersey project by the end of the day. Right after lunch, we received mark-ups from the client that they sent in snail mail. No prior mention that they had changes to the package that they had since 11/24/10. Frustrating, but I was able to make all the changes and still get the package out at 4:30pm. At that point, I shut down mentally. At 5pm, I headed home.
I made it home and took the dogs outside for some ball. We played for 15 minutes, then headed in to feed them dinner. I got the house cleaned up a bit and ready for the night. I made myself some mac & cheese for dinner. Then the dogs and I played a bit outside again. I pretty much stop and go back indoors when Chance lays down in the snow because his paws are frozen. When he walks on the wood floor in the house, he sounds like a tap dancer because the snow gets jammed between his toes and freezes into ice balls. Poor boy.
Anyway, for most of the night I lounged around the house, not much going on. I had forgot to call Netflix today to get their address, will have to wait until tomorrow. I took the pups out for an evening walk, covering the same section of semi-cleared sidewalk as we have for the past 3 days. Nothing too exciting to report. When we got back, I sat down in front of the TV and relaxed. Contemplating how to get the snow off the solar panels... so far we have lost 3 days of production. At around 11pm, I went to bed.
Friday, January 14, 2011
1/13/11
The morning after the snow storm. I got up with the pups as usual and we did our morning routine of going outside, then back in for their breakfast, I had coffee and blogged. Before taking the pups for their walk, I went out and finished shoveling the driveway. I still had 1/4 of the driveway at the 18" depth, plus a dusting over the entire driveway. After I was done, the pups and I went for a walk. Only one sidewalk is 'plowed', still 6" of snow on it though. We made it to the Naber Market and back (0.6 miles). As we got close to the house, Chance started his limping from the salt in his paws. Looks like for a little bit, we are going to keep the walks short.
When we got back, I took a shower, got dressed, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and headed off the work. Nothing too exciting happened at work today. Mostly just kept on completing tasks as best I can. At lunch I went home and let the pups out in the backyard. I added wood to the fire (now going for 3 days straight), then went in the backyard with the dogs to shovel a path to the wood pile. After re-loading with firewood, the dogs and I played ball for 15 minutes, then headed in. I made a 'chicken' patty sandwich and grabbed some snacks and headed back to work. The rest of the afternoon I was in meetings and didn't get a whole lot done.
I got home around 5:30pm and played with the dogs in the backyard for 15 minutes before letting them in and feeding them dinner. I kept the fire going and tried to clean a few things up. I think Chance has a new fixation on red paper. This is the 3rd time in a month that he has eaten the Netflix envelope. I will have to call again and get the address to ship the DVD to. I also washed out the container that I put the dogs food in. It has been accumulating the powdery crap that sits at the bottom of the food bags for a bit. I started grinding some coffee up, and Cheryl called. We talked for 20 minutes or so.
I finished grinding coffee, made myself some dinner (a tuna melt), then took the pups for an evening walk. We made it to the Naber Market again. Chance is now pooping in the yard, but Reece refuses. It's fine with me because that just means that I have to pick up one on the walk. Chance is good, he picks the same place in the yard to go, so I can shovel it once a week instead of bagging it. When we got back, I put in my Netflx movie and watched TV until 10pm. Then I went to bed.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
1/12/11
The snow started in the wee hours of the morning. When the pups and I got up and went outside at 6am, there was already 4" on the ground. We came in and the pups had their breakfast. It was a good surprise to see that there were still embers left in the wood stove from last night, so I was able to keep a fire going by adding a couple small pieces of wood. Next I blogged a bit while having coffee.
I decided to take a few minutes and shovel a little of the driveway. I know we were going to get more snow, but I figured it would help. After 10 minutes, I came in and grabbed the dogs for our morning walk. We walked in some pretty deep snow drifts. We only went 0.6 miles, though it was quite the workout. When we got home, I had a bowl of cereal and then got dressed for work. I went out and cleaned off the car and made sure I could get out the driveway. By this time, a total of 6" had fallen and my street wasn't touched by plows yet.
I got to work a little late, mostly because of the slow driving. The roads were like a ghost town, but leave it to my company to require our attendance. If we don't make it in during a blizzard, we have to use a vacation day. Pay no attention to the fact that we can all do our work from home. Anyway, only a few people made it in to work. I did what I could, as usual. At lunch I went home (crawling on the streets) so that I could get the inevitable snow mound at the street carved out. I parked on the street for 30 minutes. In that time I was able to cut a slot for my car to get in the driveway. The snow mound from the plow was 5' tall and 8' deep. I only cut through a 6' section, the rest will have to wait. I took the pups out in the backyard. They love the snow. Reece looked like a bunny, hopping in the snow that was now 4" higher than her belly. Chance loved it too, trying to find his ball in the snow was hilarious. After 10 minutes of playing, I brought the pups inside and grabbed some food to eat at work. I has a couple fruit snacks, a banana, an orange and some pretzels.
When I got back to the office we were doing musical chairs with our cars for the plow guy to do the lot. Beyond that, nothing too exciting happened. At around 3pm the snow began to stop and by 5pm you could see bare asphalt on the streets. Every intersection still had mounds of slushy crap, but much better than the morning or lunch commute. Although, the 40mph gusting winds are doing a great job relocating all the plowed snow back into the streets.
When I got home, the city plow had been by again, with even more snow mounded up. I left the car in the road for 10 minutes while I re-carved out my slot. I got the car in and went in to greet the pups. I let them in the backyard to play around without me for a bit. I went back out front and began to take down the snow. It was really cool, my neighbor Pat came over at one point and helped shovel my driveway. We talked for a bit too, I'm really lucky to have such great neighbors. For the rest of the night I would go back and forth, play with the pups, shovel, feed the pups, shovel some more, interact with the pups inside, back outside to shovel more.
At 7pm, I took the dogs for our evening walk. We did pretty well, we went 0.6 miles. Most of the sidewalks hadn't been plowed yet, I kinda figured that would be the case. We did some walking in the streets, and that is when the salt started hurting the pups paws. We made it back ok, but I got to figure out something for these walks. Reece will wear boots, Chance won't. If they would just poop in the yard, but they are to yuppy to poop where they play.
Anyway, I watched a little TV before heading to bed. I will get pictures of the snow storm up on tomorrow's blog.
I decided to take a few minutes and shovel a little of the driveway. I know we were going to get more snow, but I figured it would help. After 10 minutes, I came in and grabbed the dogs for our morning walk. We walked in some pretty deep snow drifts. We only went 0.6 miles, though it was quite the workout. When we got home, I had a bowl of cereal and then got dressed for work. I went out and cleaned off the car and made sure I could get out the driveway. By this time, a total of 6" had fallen and my street wasn't touched by plows yet.
I got to work a little late, mostly because of the slow driving. The roads were like a ghost town, but leave it to my company to require our attendance. If we don't make it in during a blizzard, we have to use a vacation day. Pay no attention to the fact that we can all do our work from home. Anyway, only a few people made it in to work. I did what I could, as usual. At lunch I went home (crawling on the streets) so that I could get the inevitable snow mound at the street carved out. I parked on the street for 30 minutes. In that time I was able to cut a slot for my car to get in the driveway. The snow mound from the plow was 5' tall and 8' deep. I only cut through a 6' section, the rest will have to wait. I took the pups out in the backyard. They love the snow. Reece looked like a bunny, hopping in the snow that was now 4" higher than her belly. Chance loved it too, trying to find his ball in the snow was hilarious. After 10 minutes of playing, I brought the pups inside and grabbed some food to eat at work. I has a couple fruit snacks, a banana, an orange and some pretzels.
When I got back to the office we were doing musical chairs with our cars for the plow guy to do the lot. Beyond that, nothing too exciting happened. At around 3pm the snow began to stop and by 5pm you could see bare asphalt on the streets. Every intersection still had mounds of slushy crap, but much better than the morning or lunch commute. Although, the 40mph gusting winds are doing a great job relocating all the plowed snow back into the streets.
When I got home, the city plow had been by again, with even more snow mounded up. I left the car in the road for 10 minutes while I re-carved out my slot. I got the car in and went in to greet the pups. I let them in the backyard to play around without me for a bit. I went back out front and began to take down the snow. It was really cool, my neighbor Pat came over at one point and helped shovel my driveway. We talked for a bit too, I'm really lucky to have such great neighbors. For the rest of the night I would go back and forth, play with the pups, shovel, feed the pups, shovel some more, interact with the pups inside, back outside to shovel more.
At 7pm, I took the dogs for our evening walk. We did pretty well, we went 0.6 miles. Most of the sidewalks hadn't been plowed yet, I kinda figured that would be the case. We did some walking in the streets, and that is when the salt started hurting the pups paws. We made it back ok, but I got to figure out something for these walks. Reece will wear boots, Chance won't. If they would just poop in the yard, but they are to yuppy to poop where they play.
Anyway, I watched a little TV before heading to bed. I will get pictures of the snow storm up on tomorrow's blog.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
1/11/11
Another typical morning here at the Chance and Reece household. We all got up and headed outside for a few minutes, then back in for their breakfast. I had coffee while blogging on the internet. Next I took a shower and got cleaned up for the day. We went out for our 1.0 mile morning walk. We went out a little late, so there were plenty of kids, and other dogs, on the streets walking around too. Nothing too exciting happened and we made it back to the house. I made myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast, brushed my teeth and then headed off to work.
Nothing too exciting happened today at work. At lunch I headed home to play ball with the pups in the backyard. They got about 15 minutes of play time when I brought them in. Since we are expected to get close to 16" of snow tomorrow, and my fridge was empty, I was planning on going to the grocery store tonight. But then I figured so would everyone else in Portsmouth. So during lunch I went over to the store and did my grocery shopping. It was a little packed, but not nearly as bad as it will be tonight. After I dropped off my groceries, I brought a banana, orange and an Amy's organic burrito to work with me for lunch.
The rest of the day at work was 'challenging'. It's days like this that really get me down and frustrated at work, but I am now trying to look at it in a new light. I try to keep positive and work through tough times, today was probably the toughest. I can always look forward to tomorrow as a potential better day. I headed home a little after 5pm and took my dogs outside to play ball. After 10 minutes, I brought them in to feed them dinner. I took them back out for another 15 minute play session, then Cheryl called and we came in to settle down a bit.
Cheryl and I got to talk for 25 minutes or so. Work is slowing down for her as scientists leave for the season. She is ready to be back in NH (with the dogs anyway). After our phone call, I took the pups out for their evening walk, we did a 0.6 mile down and back on Middle St. Nothing exciting happened and the pups were good. We made it back in time for me to make dinner, a double cheese 'burger', and then watched a new episode of NCIS and NCIA-LA. The pups and I went to bed around 10:15pm.
Nothing too exciting happened today at work. At lunch I headed home to play ball with the pups in the backyard. They got about 15 minutes of play time when I brought them in. Since we are expected to get close to 16" of snow tomorrow, and my fridge was empty, I was planning on going to the grocery store tonight. But then I figured so would everyone else in Portsmouth. So during lunch I went over to the store and did my grocery shopping. It was a little packed, but not nearly as bad as it will be tonight. After I dropped off my groceries, I brought a banana, orange and an Amy's organic burrito to work with me for lunch.
The rest of the day at work was 'challenging'. It's days like this that really get me down and frustrated at work, but I am now trying to look at it in a new light. I try to keep positive and work through tough times, today was probably the toughest. I can always look forward to tomorrow as a potential better day. I headed home a little after 5pm and took my dogs outside to play ball. After 10 minutes, I brought them in to feed them dinner. I took them back out for another 15 minute play session, then Cheryl called and we came in to settle down a bit.
Cheryl and I got to talk for 25 minutes or so. Work is slowing down for her as scientists leave for the season. She is ready to be back in NH (with the dogs anyway). After our phone call, I took the pups out for their evening walk, we did a 0.6 mile down and back on Middle St. Nothing exciting happened and the pups were good. We made it back in time for me to make dinner, a double cheese 'burger', and then watched a new episode of NCIS and NCIA-LA. The pups and I went to bed around 10:15pm.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
1/10/11
Here starts another work week. This morning I got up with the dogs as usual and we went outside for a couple minutes, then we came in and I fed them breakfast. I sat down in front of the computer with some coffee and blogged about what I did over the weekend. After my blogging time, I went up and took a shower and got ready for the day. Next the pups and I went out for our morning walk, we did our 1.0 mile loop. We must have been a little early, or all the kids were late getting to school because we didn't pass any kids until right at the end of the walk. This is a good thing, I really can't stand a certain group of boys.
When we got home, I made myself a cheese and green pepper omelet for breakfast, with some OJ. Once I finished that off, I brushed my teeth and picked up some things in the house to make it Reece and Chance proof for the day. Next I was out the door headed for work. Work was the same, nothing too exciting to talk about. At lunch I went home and took the pups outside to play ball. We played for 15 or 20 minutes, then came in and the dogs watched as I made myself lunch. I had a double 'chicken' sandwich with provolone cheese and BBQ sauce. After lunch, I headed back to work, the afternoon was pretty much the same.
At 5pm, Aaron and I were going to go to The Brewery to get something to drink. I stopped off at the house to turn the outside lights on, quickly let the dogs in the backyard for a few minutes, feed the pups and turn the heat on. Then Aaron came by and picked me up and we headed downtown. We had a good time talking about non-work stuff. This is good because for some reason, I always steer the conversation back to work related topics. I suppose since the only things I do right now is work and play with my dogs, my life is pretty boring. About 45 minutes later, Carl Hoge stopped in for a couple beers too. So we continued our conversations for a bit. At 7pm, Aaron took off to go home. Then at 7:30pm Carl and I left, Carl gave me a lift home.
I grabbed the dogs and we headed out for our evening walk. This walk was interesting because I had 4 beers, and if you ask Cheryl, that is 2-1/2 beers over my limit. The walk went well and I didn't hurt myself, so that's good. When we got home, I watched a little TV, mostly re-runs again. At 9pm I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up around 1:30am and jumped into bed.
When we got home, I made myself a cheese and green pepper omelet for breakfast, with some OJ. Once I finished that off, I brushed my teeth and picked up some things in the house to make it Reece and Chance proof for the day. Next I was out the door headed for work. Work was the same, nothing too exciting to talk about. At lunch I went home and took the pups outside to play ball. We played for 15 or 20 minutes, then came in and the dogs watched as I made myself lunch. I had a double 'chicken' sandwich with provolone cheese and BBQ sauce. After lunch, I headed back to work, the afternoon was pretty much the same.
At 5pm, Aaron and I were going to go to The Brewery to get something to drink. I stopped off at the house to turn the outside lights on, quickly let the dogs in the backyard for a few minutes, feed the pups and turn the heat on. Then Aaron came by and picked me up and we headed downtown. We had a good time talking about non-work stuff. This is good because for some reason, I always steer the conversation back to work related topics. I suppose since the only things I do right now is work and play with my dogs, my life is pretty boring. About 45 minutes later, Carl Hoge stopped in for a couple beers too. So we continued our conversations for a bit. At 7pm, Aaron took off to go home. Then at 7:30pm Carl and I left, Carl gave me a lift home.
I grabbed the dogs and we headed out for our evening walk. This walk was interesting because I had 4 beers, and if you ask Cheryl, that is 2-1/2 beers over my limit. The walk went well and I didn't hurt myself, so that's good. When we got home, I watched a little TV, mostly re-runs again. At 9pm I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up around 1:30am and jumped into bed.
Monday, January 10, 2011
1/9/11
Sunday morning, the weather forecasters said I would wake up to 3-6" of snow on the ground, I am so excited. As I peer out the window, I could still see the grass through the dusting of snow that fell overnight, what a let down. I got up with the dogs early again, when will I ever be able to sleep in? I had the pups outside for a few minutes, then back in for their breakfast. I got in front of the computer with some coffee, but not to blog. I was checking out some financial stuff before I made the final commitment to get tickets to New Zealand. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then got dressed to take the dogs for their morning walk.
We did the 1.0 mile loop, nothing special and nothing too exciting. When we got back, I quickly grabbed a shovel and scraped the dusting of snow off the driveway. I know it would probably have melted by the end of the day, but it is one of those things for me to see get cleaned off. Next I came inside and got my gear together for basketball. It is the first sunday in 3 weeks that we were playing, so I am pretty pumped. I had a great time at basketball, played 5 or 6 games of 3-on-3. Hoping for more of a turn out, but at least I got my exercise in early in the day.
When I got home, I took a quick shower, had the dogs outside for ball for 10 minutes. Then I headed to Hampton to the cemetery. It was 5 years ago today that my mother lost her battle with cancer. I can't believe its been that long, seems like yesterday. I had a few word with her, then headed back home. I decided to drive up along the beaches on my way home.
When I got home, I grabbed the dogs and we went for a afternoon walk. It was beautiful out, crystal clear skies. A bit windy, but we decided to go for a long walk. We walked downtown to see what was going on in Market Square. The only problem was, in Market Square, they put sooooo much salt on the sidewalks, it was like walking on gravel. I tried to keep the dogs off it, but sure enough, Chance started trying to walk around on 3 legs, keeping one in the air like he was taking a continuous piss.
I moved us to some side streets that didn't have so much salt and we continued home, we did a total of 2.25miles on this walk. When we got home, I got on the computer and finally purchased my plane tickets to see Cheryl in New Zealand. I am going to try Virgin Australia this time, I hear good things about Virgin airlines, and they were the least expensive too. After that was taken care of, I sat in front of the TV to watch some more playoff football. I didn't really have a lunch, I just snacked on carrots and humus while watching TV.
After the first game, I took the pups outside and played ball for a bit, then fed them their dinner. Next I watched the late afternoon (4pm) game. I got a chance to talk to Cheryl for 10 minutes or so while watching TV. She is doing well, having a good time. She is starting to lose some of her friends now that the end of the season is nearing. Each day people will be leaving and not coming back, it makes for a tough time always saying good-bye to people.
After the game, I took the dogs for our evening 1.0 mile walk. Nothing too exciting happened, and the dogs were very good. I put in a pizza for dinner and settled in to watch the Simpson and the Family Guy. At around 9:30pm I fell asleep on the couch, waking up around midnight, I transitioned to the bed.
We did the 1.0 mile loop, nothing special and nothing too exciting. When we got back, I quickly grabbed a shovel and scraped the dusting of snow off the driveway. I know it would probably have melted by the end of the day, but it is one of those things for me to see get cleaned off. Next I came inside and got my gear together for basketball. It is the first sunday in 3 weeks that we were playing, so I am pretty pumped. I had a great time at basketball, played 5 or 6 games of 3-on-3. Hoping for more of a turn out, but at least I got my exercise in early in the day.
When I got home, I took a quick shower, had the dogs outside for ball for 10 minutes. Then I headed to Hampton to the cemetery. It was 5 years ago today that my mother lost her battle with cancer. I can't believe its been that long, seems like yesterday. I had a few word with her, then headed back home. I decided to drive up along the beaches on my way home.
When I got home, I grabbed the dogs and we went for a afternoon walk. It was beautiful out, crystal clear skies. A bit windy, but we decided to go for a long walk. We walked downtown to see what was going on in Market Square. The only problem was, in Market Square, they put sooooo much salt on the sidewalks, it was like walking on gravel. I tried to keep the dogs off it, but sure enough, Chance started trying to walk around on 3 legs, keeping one in the air like he was taking a continuous piss.
I moved us to some side streets that didn't have so much salt and we continued home, we did a total of 2.25miles on this walk. When we got home, I got on the computer and finally purchased my plane tickets to see Cheryl in New Zealand. I am going to try Virgin Australia this time, I hear good things about Virgin airlines, and they were the least expensive too. After that was taken care of, I sat in front of the TV to watch some more playoff football. I didn't really have a lunch, I just snacked on carrots and humus while watching TV.
After the first game, I took the pups outside and played ball for a bit, then fed them their dinner. Next I watched the late afternoon (4pm) game. I got a chance to talk to Cheryl for 10 minutes or so while watching TV. She is doing well, having a good time. She is starting to lose some of her friends now that the end of the season is nearing. Each day people will be leaving and not coming back, it makes for a tough time always saying good-bye to people.
After the game, I took the dogs for our evening 1.0 mile walk. Nothing too exciting happened, and the dogs were very good. I put in a pizza for dinner and settled in to watch the Simpson and the Family Guy. At around 9:30pm I fell asleep on the couch, waking up around midnight, I transitioned to the bed.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
1/8/11
Saturday morning and I got up earlier than the weekday to take the pups outside, then fed them breakfast. I watched a little TV in the morning, then started cleaning the house. It was overdue, so I took all the comforters and large blankets to the laundry mat for a wash. I always recommend spending at least one day a year at the laundry mat for some fun. At around 1pm, the dogs and I went out for another walk, then played a little ball in the backyard.
I really can't remember what I did for the rest of the day, but around 4pm I started watching the football playoffs on TV. I watched both games, taking breaks to play with the dogs in the yard and to get munchies. At 5:30pm, I fed the dogs their dinner. At 8pm, I took the dogs out for our evening walk, a 1.0 mile loop.
For my dinner, I had an Amy's microwavable dinner - chili, rice and cornbread. It was pretty good, as microwavable dinners go anyway. I watched TV until around 10pm, then headed for bed.
I really can't remember what I did for the rest of the day, but around 4pm I started watching the football playoffs on TV. I watched both games, taking breaks to play with the dogs in the yard and to get munchies. At 5:30pm, I fed the dogs their dinner. At 8pm, I took the dogs out for our evening walk, a 1.0 mile loop.
For my dinner, I had an Amy's microwavable dinner - chili, rice and cornbread. It was pretty good, as microwavable dinners go anyway. I watched TV until around 10pm, then headed for bed.
1/7/11
Pastry day again, another week down. Got up with the dogs and did our normal morning routine. After taking them outside, and feeding them, I sat with some coffee an blogged a bit. The rest of the morning was very typical too, got dressed and went for a 1.0 mile walk with the dogs. Next I was off to work.
I did help myself to a pastry (or two). Work was pretty much the same as always. Not much to talk about and I will keep it short because I am a couple days behind on writing my blog. At lunch I went home to play with the pups. I had a cup of yogurt and a banana for lunch. The rest of the afternoon at work was the same as the rest of the week.
At 5pm I went home and played ball with the dogs in the backyard, started a fire in the wood stove and then fed the pups dinner. We alternated going out and playing and coming back in to warm up. The evening was pretty boring, I watched a little of my latest Netflix movie. I heated up the last of the pot pie Mackenzie and Dan made for me. At around 10pm, I fell asleep on the couch.
I did help myself to a pastry (or two). Work was pretty much the same as always. Not much to talk about and I will keep it short because I am a couple days behind on writing my blog. At lunch I went home to play with the pups. I had a cup of yogurt and a banana for lunch. The rest of the afternoon at work was the same as the rest of the week.
At 5pm I went home and played ball with the dogs in the backyard, started a fire in the wood stove and then fed the pups dinner. We alternated going out and playing and coming back in to warm up. The evening was pretty boring, I watched a little of my latest Netflix movie. I heated up the last of the pot pie Mackenzie and Dan made for me. At around 10pm, I fell asleep on the couch.
Friday, January 7, 2011
1/6/11
Another morning, same routine. Up with the dogs at 5:45am, outside for a few minutes, then back in for their breakfast. I sat in front of the computer with a cup of coffee to blog about the previous day. I found out today that Cheryl's official date off the ice is February 23rd. Now all I got to do is figure out how to get down there for cheap. Anyway, after blogging, I got cleaned up and ready to go out in public. I took the dogs for our 1.0 mile loop, which was enjoyable. Nothing interesting to report. When we got back, I got ready for work. I skipped breakfast because I was still full from the large amounts of food I consumed yesterday.
This morning for work I was heading down to Lawrence, MA to review a bridge crossing project I started in the spring of 2008, my first couple of months with the company. This project still hadn't started and has now spanned into a 4th calendar year pay cycle. Not much has changed, but the same questions and concerns that were voiced two and a half years ago keep coming up. I spent almost half the day there, then headed back to Portsmouth, getting to the office at 11am. I was able to get some office work done before lunch.
At lunch I headed home and let the dogs out in the yard to play. We played ball for 20 minutes and headed inside. I heated up my left over Tony Saprano wrap from lunch yesterday. I sat with the dogs on the couch for 10 minutes or so, giving them belly rubs. I let them know that Cheryl was going to be home some day soon. Next I headed back to the office and continued with other project works. I had a scheduled project meeting for 2pm, apparently everyone except me know the project was canceled... awkward. Nothing else very exciting to report about work.
I got home a little after 5pm and started a fire in the wood stove. I took the dogs outside to play ball for 10 minutes, then brought them in and fed them dinner. Then I started looking at plane tickets to New Zealand. I tried calling United reservations, what a disappointment. The entire thing is automated... 'Say what city you are departing from, say what date', 'You want to depart from Austin, is that correct?' NO! you stupid machine... BOSTON, arghhhhh! Almost 2 hours on the phone. Even finally getting to a person was worthless. How frustrating, I will attempt this again tomorrow.
I got to talk to Cheryl for 5 minutes, she was very tired and needed a nap. Since she reads my blog, I didn't have much to talk to her about anyway. After getting off the phone, I took the dogs outside to play ball for another 15 minutes. Reece started letting go of her ball and letting me throw it, instead of her typical running after Chance who is running after his ball that I throw. Next we came inside and I heated up another quarter of the pot pie Mackenzie and Dan made for me earlier in the week (only 1 quarter left). Then I got all bundled up and we headed out for our evening walk. We did the 1.0 mile loop again and everything went fine.
When we got back, I settled on the couch to watch some TV. More disappointment, though it has been advertised all week that there was going to be a new Community, it was a repeat. Well, at least I could watch The Big Bang Theory. A couple more TV shows, and then it was off to bed around 10pm.
This morning for work I was heading down to Lawrence, MA to review a bridge crossing project I started in the spring of 2008, my first couple of months with the company. This project still hadn't started and has now spanned into a 4th calendar year pay cycle. Not much has changed, but the same questions and concerns that were voiced two and a half years ago keep coming up. I spent almost half the day there, then headed back to Portsmouth, getting to the office at 11am. I was able to get some office work done before lunch.
At lunch I headed home and let the dogs out in the yard to play. We played ball for 20 minutes and headed inside. I heated up my left over Tony Saprano wrap from lunch yesterday. I sat with the dogs on the couch for 10 minutes or so, giving them belly rubs. I let them know that Cheryl was going to be home some day soon. Next I headed back to the office and continued with other project works. I had a scheduled project meeting for 2pm, apparently everyone except me know the project was canceled... awkward. Nothing else very exciting to report about work.
I got home a little after 5pm and started a fire in the wood stove. I took the dogs outside to play ball for 10 minutes, then brought them in and fed them dinner. Then I started looking at plane tickets to New Zealand. I tried calling United reservations, what a disappointment. The entire thing is automated... 'Say what city you are departing from, say what date', 'You want to depart from Austin, is that correct?' NO! you stupid machine... BOSTON, arghhhhh! Almost 2 hours on the phone. Even finally getting to a person was worthless. How frustrating, I will attempt this again tomorrow.
I got to talk to Cheryl for 5 minutes, she was very tired and needed a nap. Since she reads my blog, I didn't have much to talk to her about anyway. After getting off the phone, I took the dogs outside to play ball for another 15 minutes. Reece started letting go of her ball and letting me throw it, instead of her typical running after Chance who is running after his ball that I throw. Next we came inside and I heated up another quarter of the pot pie Mackenzie and Dan made for me earlier in the week (only 1 quarter left). Then I got all bundled up and we headed out for our evening walk. We did the 1.0 mile loop again and everything went fine.
When we got back, I settled on the couch to watch some TV. More disappointment, though it has been advertised all week that there was going to be a new Community, it was a repeat. Well, at least I could watch The Big Bang Theory. A couple more TV shows, and then it was off to bed around 10pm.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
1/5/11
Another morning, the same routine. Up with the dogs at 5:45am, immediately outside. Brought them in for their breakfast and then sat in front of the computer to bog with a cup of coffee. After burning my mouth on some hot coffee two days ago and biting the inside of my cheek pretty good yesterday, having more hot coffee is difficult. Once I finished with my blog, I took a shower and got ready for the day. Then I took the pups out on our morning walk, we did the 1.0 mile loop. As usual, no real excitement. The dogs were good and the temperature wasn't too bad (low 20's). We got back to the house, I made a 'sausage' and green pepper omelet for breakfast with some OJ. I cleaned up the kitchen then headed to work. I was delayed an extra 3 minutes from leaving because of the frost on all the windows of the car.
Work proved to be quite busy today. I had a few things drop on my desk for last minute reviews or designs. It is good when things are busy, that makes the day go by so much faster. At lunch, I took Dennis out to Wings Your Way. Dennis helped me out with getting my mail and turning my heat on in my house (I forgot to turn it on when I left) while I was in Chicago. We both had the Tony Saprano wrap, it's a must have at Wings. After lunch, I dropped him off at work and headed home to let the dogs out for a few minutes and turn the heat on in the house.
Typically now, I burn in the wood stove from 5pm until I go to sleep. This keeps the house above 60F until around lunch time the next day. Then at lunch, I turn the heat on to keep it at 60F until I get home to light the fire. It has been working out pretty well and helped keep the electric usage down to a minimum,
After lunch, the rest of the day was pretty much the same. I tried to close out some outstanding issues, I had a few meetings, then the end of the day. When I got home, I started a fire in the wood stove and let the dogs out for some play time. After 5 minutes, I brought them in to eat dinner. Then we were out for another 10 minutes of play time. Next we went on our evening walk a little early. During the walk, Cheryl called and we got to chat a bit, well, until Chance pooped anyway. It is nearly impossible to hold two dogs, pick up poop, and hold the phone at the same time. On the way back to the house, Liz, a friend who watches the dogs for us, went running by. She stopped to talk for a minute and give pets to the dogs.
After we got back to the house, I headed into downtown to have dinner with Meghan. Meghan is a friend from college who is now teaching in Cyprus. Meghan came in for a couple weeks during the holiday's and she called to see if I wanted to have dinner with her. We went to the Brewery, Meghan had the pulled pork sandwich (the best in town) and I had a heaping pile of nachos, though the flatbread of the day sounded great too. I asked if I could get a half-and-half portion of the nachos and flatbread, but no dice. Anyway, we chatted for about an hour and a half, then went on our ways.
I went back to the house and let the dogs out in the backyard for one last 'outside'. Then we settled in on the couch to watch some TV. I feel asleep on the ouch, but at some point during the night got up and moved to the bed.
Work proved to be quite busy today. I had a few things drop on my desk for last minute reviews or designs. It is good when things are busy, that makes the day go by so much faster. At lunch, I took Dennis out to Wings Your Way. Dennis helped me out with getting my mail and turning my heat on in my house (I forgot to turn it on when I left) while I was in Chicago. We both had the Tony Saprano wrap, it's a must have at Wings. After lunch, I dropped him off at work and headed home to let the dogs out for a few minutes and turn the heat on in the house.
Typically now, I burn in the wood stove from 5pm until I go to sleep. This keeps the house above 60F until around lunch time the next day. Then at lunch, I turn the heat on to keep it at 60F until I get home to light the fire. It has been working out pretty well and helped keep the electric usage down to a minimum,
After lunch, the rest of the day was pretty much the same. I tried to close out some outstanding issues, I had a few meetings, then the end of the day. When I got home, I started a fire in the wood stove and let the dogs out for some play time. After 5 minutes, I brought them in to eat dinner. Then we were out for another 10 minutes of play time. Next we went on our evening walk a little early. During the walk, Cheryl called and we got to chat a bit, well, until Chance pooped anyway. It is nearly impossible to hold two dogs, pick up poop, and hold the phone at the same time. On the way back to the house, Liz, a friend who watches the dogs for us, went running by. She stopped to talk for a minute and give pets to the dogs.
After we got back to the house, I headed into downtown to have dinner with Meghan. Meghan is a friend from college who is now teaching in Cyprus. Meghan came in for a couple weeks during the holiday's and she called to see if I wanted to have dinner with her. We went to the Brewery, Meghan had the pulled pork sandwich (the best in town) and I had a heaping pile of nachos, though the flatbread of the day sounded great too. I asked if I could get a half-and-half portion of the nachos and flatbread, but no dice. Anyway, we chatted for about an hour and a half, then went on our ways.
I went back to the house and let the dogs out in the backyard for one last 'outside'. Then we settled in on the couch to watch some TV. I feel asleep on the ouch, but at some point during the night got up and moved to the bed.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
1/4/11
This morning started like many of the others, the dogs and I back in full swing of our regular routine. I took the pups out first thing, then back in for their breakfast. I had a cup of coffee while blogging and checking things out on the internet. Next I got ready to take the pups out on our morning walk, we did the 1.0 mile loop. The dogs were good, and enjoyed the walking time. When we got home, I made a green pepper omelet for my breakfast with a glass of OJ. I got cleaned up and ready for work.
I got to work at 8am, I am caught up with all my outstanding projects so my workload was a little lite in the morning. Nothing out of the ordinary happened worth writing about. At lunch, I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard for 20 minutes. I brought in some more firewood for the stove and put out the compost stuff. I had a yogurt and banana for lunch, with some Kashi wheat crackers. The second half of the day at work went well, nothing exciting to report. I continued to work on some project work that came across my desk during the late morning. At 5pm, I left for home.
When I got home, I took the pups outside right away and we played ball for 10 minutes. I put some laundry in the dryer, washed dishes, cleaned up the island counter (sorta), and put some clothes away. I read a few emails from Cheryl, then she called around 6:30pm. We only talked for 5 minutes because she had a lot to do. We mostly talked about travel plans after she is done in February. Then I took the dogs outside to play ball some more. When we got back in, I double checked on some airline deals, hopefully will make my final plans this week.
At 7:30pm the dogs and I went out for our evening walk. We did the 1.0 mile loop. Chance was too tempted in eating snow/ice that he didn't poop. He will have to hold it all night, silly boy. I heated up another 1/4 of the pot pie that Mackenzie and Dan made for my dinner, then headed to the couch to check out NCIS... Only, the new Paula Abdul show was on instead... immediately popped in my newest Netflix movie, Grown Ups with Adam Sandler. It was pretty funny and good to see the UNH hockey jersey. I took a hit of NyQuil and headed off to bed.
I got to work at 8am, I am caught up with all my outstanding projects so my workload was a little lite in the morning. Nothing out of the ordinary happened worth writing about. At lunch, I went home and played with the dogs in the backyard for 20 minutes. I brought in some more firewood for the stove and put out the compost stuff. I had a yogurt and banana for lunch, with some Kashi wheat crackers. The second half of the day at work went well, nothing exciting to report. I continued to work on some project work that came across my desk during the late morning. At 5pm, I left for home.
When I got home, I took the pups outside right away and we played ball for 10 minutes. I put some laundry in the dryer, washed dishes, cleaned up the island counter (sorta), and put some clothes away. I read a few emails from Cheryl, then she called around 6:30pm. We only talked for 5 minutes because she had a lot to do. We mostly talked about travel plans after she is done in February. Then I took the dogs outside to play ball some more. When we got back in, I double checked on some airline deals, hopefully will make my final plans this week.
At 7:30pm the dogs and I went out for our evening walk. We did the 1.0 mile loop. Chance was too tempted in eating snow/ice that he didn't poop. He will have to hold it all night, silly boy. I heated up another 1/4 of the pot pie that Mackenzie and Dan made for my dinner, then headed to the couch to check out NCIS... Only, the new Paula Abdul show was on instead... immediately popped in my newest Netflix movie, Grown Ups with Adam Sandler. It was pretty funny and good to see the UNH hockey jersey. I took a hit of NyQuil and headed off to bed.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
1/3/11
Woke up this morning with the full out cold. Got up at the regular time to take the pups outside, then back in for their breakfast. Next I made some coffee and caught up on two days of blogs. I put in a load of laundry, took a shower and got ready for the day. The dogs and I went for our 1.0 mile loop a little later than usual. The walk went well, nothing too exciting to report. When we got back, I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, hung up the laundry on the line in the loft and got ready for work. Part of my morning routine now is to open all the window shades. It is enlightening because of the amount of light that pours into the house. At 7:50am, I headed into work.
Work was pretty much the same as I had left in almost 2 weeks ago. I didn't have a bunch of stuff piled up to do, so I was happy about that. I had a meeting in the morning and touched bases on a few other outstanding items. At lunch I went home to play ball with the dogs in the backyard. I am trying to take it easy because most of the snow has melted, but then re-froze, so I don't want the dogs cutting a paw or catching a toe on a frozen piece of jagged ice. After 20 minutes, I brought the pups inside and had a yogurt for lunch. Next I went over to City Hall and registered the new vehicle and then back to work. At work I had an additional banana for lunch.
The rest of the afternoon was pretty much normal. Nothing too exciting to discuss, though I did get caught up on how people's holiday's went. At 5pm I headed home, but stopped at the Pharmacy and grocery store first. It is now imperative that I get more cough drops and Puff's plus lotion tissues. When I got home, I started a fire in the wood stove and took the pups outside for some play time. After 20 minutes, we came in and I fed the dogs their dinner. I put a pot pie that Mackenzie made into the toaster oven to heat up for dinner. Meanwhile, Cheryl called and we chatted for 15 minutes or so. Mostly we discussed whether I was coming to New Zealand to meet up with her.
After talking with Cheryl, I grabbed some of the pot pie and crashed on the couch to watch some TV and nurse my cold. At 7:30pm, I took the dogs for our evening walk. It felt colder than normal, but I think that was a combination of my cold and that the last few days were in the 50's (or high 40's). We did out 0.7 mile walk, and all went well. The dogs were very good and nothing too exciting happened. When we got home, I went to the couch to watch TV. At 8:30pm, I took some NyQuil and was out by 9pm... sweet dreams.
Work was pretty much the same as I had left in almost 2 weeks ago. I didn't have a bunch of stuff piled up to do, so I was happy about that. I had a meeting in the morning and touched bases on a few other outstanding items. At lunch I went home to play ball with the dogs in the backyard. I am trying to take it easy because most of the snow has melted, but then re-froze, so I don't want the dogs cutting a paw or catching a toe on a frozen piece of jagged ice. After 20 minutes, I brought the pups inside and had a yogurt for lunch. Next I went over to City Hall and registered the new vehicle and then back to work. At work I had an additional banana for lunch.
The rest of the afternoon was pretty much normal. Nothing too exciting to discuss, though I did get caught up on how people's holiday's went. At 5pm I headed home, but stopped at the Pharmacy and grocery store first. It is now imperative that I get more cough drops and Puff's plus lotion tissues. When I got home, I started a fire in the wood stove and took the pups outside for some play time. After 20 minutes, we came in and I fed the dogs their dinner. I put a pot pie that Mackenzie made into the toaster oven to heat up for dinner. Meanwhile, Cheryl called and we chatted for 15 minutes or so. Mostly we discussed whether I was coming to New Zealand to meet up with her.
After talking with Cheryl, I grabbed some of the pot pie and crashed on the couch to watch some TV and nurse my cold. At 7:30pm, I took the dogs for our evening walk. It felt colder than normal, but I think that was a combination of my cold and that the last few days were in the 50's (or high 40's). We did out 0.7 mile walk, and all went well. The dogs were very good and nothing too exciting happened. When we got home, I went to the couch to watch TV. At 8:30pm, I took some NyQuil and was out by 9pm... sweet dreams.
Monday, January 3, 2011
1/2/11
Last day of my vacation, thank god. Not that I am complaining about having almost 2 weeks off, but I haven't really been motivated to do anything outside of sitting on the couch. This morning the dogs and I stuck to our morning routine, we went out in the yard first thing, then back in for their breakfast. I quickly checked some online things, had some coffee and checked the electric meter. Next I got a few things ready for the weekly Sunday morning pick-up basketball. I sent out an email to confirm others would be there (we didn't play last week because of Christmas).
Next, the dogs and I went out for our 1.5 mile loop. It is so much fun doing our long loop again, makes me miss summer so much more. The dogs and I ran into Rob (a co-worker at my company) and his dog William. Reece and Chance were pretty good. I was able to get them in a sit-stay before William came over. Though Chance broke his stay and got a little frisky with William. We chatted for a couple minutes, then on our way. When I got back to the house, I grabbed my workout bag and headed to the court to see if anyone else would come to play. I stayed in the parking lot for 30 minutes, but didn't see anyone else, so I went home without playing. It may be for the best, I started to feel a cold coming on...
When I got home, I let the dogs outside while I 'vacuumed'. I say it like that because it is the cordless vacuum that I used. It works great for picking up the dog hair off the wood floor and some of the rugs. Doesn't work on the couches very well. What took me 45-50 minutes to sweep, only took 20 minutes with the vacuum. Plus, I didn't push dust into the air. Anyway, then I did a load of laundry and started a fire in the wood stove. Today is another warm day, sunny and in the mid 40's. The dogs and I went out multiple times to play in the backyard, which is getting to be a wet mess from all the snow melting.
At 1pm, I settled in front of the TV to watch the Patriots game. They were looking like a team ready for the playoffs. At half time I made myself a 1/4lb 'burger'. The quotes indicate that it wasn't real meat. I wanted to try a different brands veggie burger. It was alright, but I still prefer the taste of Morningstar 'burgers'. The grille ran out of propane midway, so I switched out tanks and finished up. While grilling, I played with the pups in the backyard and brought some more wood in for the stove.
I watched the rest of the Pats game, then continued to watch the Indy game. At around 6:30pm, Cheryl called and we got to chat for a bit. I am so happy to listen to her talk some times, especially when I am feeling lousy with this stuffy nose and sore throat. After our chat, I continued to watch some TV, then taking the dogs out for their evening walk just before the 8pm game. The dogs were good on the walk, even while running into another dog on their walk. When we got home, I took a shot of NyQuil, and managed to watch the first quarter of the night game before heading to bed.
Next, the dogs and I went out for our 1.5 mile loop. It is so much fun doing our long loop again, makes me miss summer so much more. The dogs and I ran into Rob (a co-worker at my company) and his dog William. Reece and Chance were pretty good. I was able to get them in a sit-stay before William came over. Though Chance broke his stay and got a little frisky with William. We chatted for a couple minutes, then on our way. When I got back to the house, I grabbed my workout bag and headed to the court to see if anyone else would come to play. I stayed in the parking lot for 30 minutes, but didn't see anyone else, so I went home without playing. It may be for the best, I started to feel a cold coming on...
When I got home, I let the dogs outside while I 'vacuumed'. I say it like that because it is the cordless vacuum that I used. It works great for picking up the dog hair off the wood floor and some of the rugs. Doesn't work on the couches very well. What took me 45-50 minutes to sweep, only took 20 minutes with the vacuum. Plus, I didn't push dust into the air. Anyway, then I did a load of laundry and started a fire in the wood stove. Today is another warm day, sunny and in the mid 40's. The dogs and I went out multiple times to play in the backyard, which is getting to be a wet mess from all the snow melting.
At 1pm, I settled in front of the TV to watch the Patriots game. They were looking like a team ready for the playoffs. At half time I made myself a 1/4lb 'burger'. The quotes indicate that it wasn't real meat. I wanted to try a different brands veggie burger. It was alright, but I still prefer the taste of Morningstar 'burgers'. The grille ran out of propane midway, so I switched out tanks and finished up. While grilling, I played with the pups in the backyard and brought some more wood in for the stove.
I watched the rest of the Pats game, then continued to watch the Indy game. At around 6:30pm, Cheryl called and we got to chat for a bit. I am so happy to listen to her talk some times, especially when I am feeling lousy with this stuffy nose and sore throat. After our chat, I continued to watch some TV, then taking the dogs out for their evening walk just before the 8pm game. The dogs were good on the walk, even while running into another dog on their walk. When we got home, I took a shot of NyQuil, and managed to watch the first quarter of the night game before heading to bed.
1/1/11
Happy New Years! The pups and I got up early, as usual, and did our morning routine. The dogs went out into the backyard for a few minutes, then came in for breakfast. I played around on the internet for a bit, writing in the blog and having coffee. Next I made myself a green pepper and cheese omelet for my breakfast, with a few slices of toast and some OJ. The pups and I went on a 1.5 mile walk, our usual loop during the summer. It was fantastic out, already in the mid 40's and sunny.
For the next two hours, I cleaned up the house and put things away. At which point I became tired and decided to take a nap. I had texted Mackenzie that I would come over around 4pm to exchange gifts for the kids. I lounged on the couch for quite awhile, not realizing what time it was. Finally I fell asleep for my nap, only it lasted over 2 hours. I woke up right at 4pm. I quickly took a shower, played with the dogs in the backyard for a few minutes and gathered the gifts and headed to Hampton.
I spent a few hours with Mackenzie, Dan, Emerson and Cailan. We exchanged gifts, I spent some time with Emerson playing some of her new toys in the playroom, then we had dinner. We had chicken pot pie with cranberry sauce, yummy. At around 7pm, I headed home to the pups. When I got home, I fed them dinner and then we went out for our evening walk. We only did 0.7miles, but the pups enjoyed it anyway. When we got home, I parked my butt on the couch again, watched some TV until I fell asleep. At 11pm, I woke up and headed to bed.
For the next two hours, I cleaned up the house and put things away. At which point I became tired and decided to take a nap. I had texted Mackenzie that I would come over around 4pm to exchange gifts for the kids. I lounged on the couch for quite awhile, not realizing what time it was. Finally I fell asleep for my nap, only it lasted over 2 hours. I woke up right at 4pm. I quickly took a shower, played with the dogs in the backyard for a few minutes and gathered the gifts and headed to Hampton.
I spent a few hours with Mackenzie, Dan, Emerson and Cailan. We exchanged gifts, I spent some time with Emerson playing some of her new toys in the playroom, then we had dinner. We had chicken pot pie with cranberry sauce, yummy. At around 7pm, I headed home to the pups. When I got home, I fed them dinner and then we went out for our evening walk. We only did 0.7miles, but the pups enjoyed it anyway. When we got home, I parked my butt on the couch again, watched some TV until I fell asleep. At 11pm, I woke up and headed to bed.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
12/31/10
Last day of the year, so exciting... not really. It feels like every other day to me. This morning I got up early again, this time because Chance had a vet appointment for 8:20am. We did our typical morning routine. I had my coffee, but didn't spend time blogging. We went for our 1.0 mile loop as usual, except I forgot to separate Chance and Reece's poop for the vet, I got them all mixed up. Anyway, I got dressed and loaded Chance into the car and headed to the vet in Barrington.
Dr. Harrington was as jolly as usual and Chance really loves to visit with everyone there, especially the ladies. Chance was in all out body wiggle when greeting, he even through out a few smiles. Everything checked out on Chance fine, he even lost a couple pounds. I have been accused in the past of 'fattening' up the dogs over the winter, lets call it 'winter weight'. But I think it is actually the opposite. Chance has lost weight the last two winters, and gained weight the last two summers... All I can say is the difference, is that the summers Cheryl is around. That's right, I'm pointing a finger at Cheryl for chubbing up the dogs.
After the vet, I headed over to the Honda dealership that had my CR-V (also the dealership I bought it from 2 months ago). I spoke to the on-staff adjuster and we agreed on a payout for the damage to the CR-V and I could use it towards a new vehicle. I had spoken to Cheryl a couple times about a new car (not going to make the same mistake twice) and decided to look at the Fit and the Insight. After test driving both, I liked the Insight better. Also, because of the end of the year and this was the last 2010 model on the lot, I got $2200 off sticker price plus 0.9% financing. Together with what they gave be for the damages on the CR-V, I made out pretty well.
At 11am, I headed home in the rental CR-V to drop off Chance, grab all the stuff that went with the old CR-V and to have some breakfast - lunch. I made a grilled cheese sandwich a some veggie straws. I took the pups outside to play around for 30 minutes or so, then got a call that the paperwork was ready for me to sign on the new car. I headed back to the dealership and filled out all the paperwork and headed home around 2pm with the new car.
When I got home, I started a fire in the wood stove and then played with the dogs in the backyard. I spent some time answering emails, then went out to Target, Lowe's and finally the grocery store. When I got back, I got to talk to Cheryl on the phone and do some semi-video chatting. I could hear and see Cheryl, but my voice was all digital to her. It was about this time that there were fireworks downtown, sounded like a war going on. After talking with Cheryl, the dogs and I headed outside for our evening walk. We cut it a little short 0.7miles do to all the people out walking to Market Square.
When we got back, I turned the TV on, grabbed a beer (bad idea) and made some dinner. Midway through my second beer I fell asleep on the couch (9pm at night), I was the life of the party. Anyway, I woke up around 11pm, watched Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark for 10 minutes and went to bed.
Dr. Harrington was as jolly as usual and Chance really loves to visit with everyone there, especially the ladies. Chance was in all out body wiggle when greeting, he even through out a few smiles. Everything checked out on Chance fine, he even lost a couple pounds. I have been accused in the past of 'fattening' up the dogs over the winter, lets call it 'winter weight'. But I think it is actually the opposite. Chance has lost weight the last two winters, and gained weight the last two summers... All I can say is the difference, is that the summers Cheryl is around. That's right, I'm pointing a finger at Cheryl for chubbing up the dogs.
After the vet, I headed over to the Honda dealership that had my CR-V (also the dealership I bought it from 2 months ago). I spoke to the on-staff adjuster and we agreed on a payout for the damage to the CR-V and I could use it towards a new vehicle. I had spoken to Cheryl a couple times about a new car (not going to make the same mistake twice) and decided to look at the Fit and the Insight. After test driving both, I liked the Insight better. Also, because of the end of the year and this was the last 2010 model on the lot, I got $2200 off sticker price plus 0.9% financing. Together with what they gave be for the damages on the CR-V, I made out pretty well.
At 11am, I headed home in the rental CR-V to drop off Chance, grab all the stuff that went with the old CR-V and to have some breakfast - lunch. I made a grilled cheese sandwich a some veggie straws. I took the pups outside to play around for 30 minutes or so, then got a call that the paperwork was ready for me to sign on the new car. I headed back to the dealership and filled out all the paperwork and headed home around 2pm with the new car.
When I got home, I started a fire in the wood stove and then played with the dogs in the backyard. I spent some time answering emails, then went out to Target, Lowe's and finally the grocery store. When I got back, I got to talk to Cheryl on the phone and do some semi-video chatting. I could hear and see Cheryl, but my voice was all digital to her. It was about this time that there were fireworks downtown, sounded like a war going on. After talking with Cheryl, the dogs and I headed outside for our evening walk. We cut it a little short 0.7miles do to all the people out walking to Market Square.
When we got back, I turned the TV on, grabbed a beer (bad idea) and made some dinner. Midway through my second beer I fell asleep on the couch (9pm at night), I was the life of the party. Anyway, I woke up around 11pm, watched Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark for 10 minutes and went to bed.
12/30/10
Early morning with the pups. Actually, I got up at the same time as if I was going to work today, but instead I am heading up to Vermont to see my relatives. So, the dogs and I went out early in the backyard, then back in and they got their breakfast. I had some coffee and loaded up the rental car (they gave me a similar CR-V while mine is in flux). Tried to get caught up on the 5 days I was behind on blogs, so that took longer than I expected. Filled up my coffee mug, grabbed the dogs, and I was off to Vermont at 8am.
On the way, the dogs and I stopped multiple times. First I went driving through a Toyota dealership to look at their Tacoma's and Prius'. The second stop was a rest area on I-89 to walk the dogs. As I was getting back on the road, I saw that I only had 19 miles till empty... Quickly found a gas station with 5 miles left in the tank. At 11:30am, we made it to Nancy's house. I spent some time hanging out with Nancy and Jim, then James and Andrea came by. They wanted to have lunch with Dani in Rutland, so we headed in. I had a veggie fajita pizza which was fantastic at this place called A Crust Above. Afterwards, we dropped off Andrea at her parents house and James and I went to the 99 for some beers at the bar. We got to spend a little over an hour chatting. I am so glad he is doing well in the Air Force and look forward to him graduating in March.
Next we headed back to Nancy's, and I spent some time with Grandma. She isn't doing well, but she is also in her upper 80s. We spent an hour or so talking and next thing I knew it was after 4pm. I gathered up the pups and said my good-byes to everyone and headed back to NH. On the trip home I stopped into a Honda dealership to look at some of their cars. I made one other stop in Quechee to talk with Cheryl on the phone, feed the pups their dinner and then walk them around a bit. I finally got home around 8pm, the dogs and I did one last quick walk and then it was in for the night. I spent a few more hours looking up vehicle information online.
On the way, the dogs and I stopped multiple times. First I went driving through a Toyota dealership to look at their Tacoma's and Prius'. The second stop was a rest area on I-89 to walk the dogs. As I was getting back on the road, I saw that I only had 19 miles till empty... Quickly found a gas station with 5 miles left in the tank. At 11:30am, we made it to Nancy's house. I spent some time hanging out with Nancy and Jim, then James and Andrea came by. They wanted to have lunch with Dani in Rutland, so we headed in. I had a veggie fajita pizza which was fantastic at this place called A Crust Above. Afterwards, we dropped off Andrea at her parents house and James and I went to the 99 for some beers at the bar. We got to spend a little over an hour chatting. I am so glad he is doing well in the Air Force and look forward to him graduating in March.
Next we headed back to Nancy's, and I spent some time with Grandma. She isn't doing well, but she is also in her upper 80s. We spent an hour or so talking and next thing I knew it was after 4pm. I gathered up the pups and said my good-byes to everyone and headed back to NH. On the trip home I stopped into a Honda dealership to look at some of their cars. I made one other stop in Quechee to talk with Cheryl on the phone, feed the pups their dinner and then walk them around a bit. I finally got home around 8pm, the dogs and I did one last quick walk and then it was in for the night. I spent a few more hours looking up vehicle information online.
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