Summer....here it comes

It was HOT this weekend. It felt more like August than the second day of May. I hope this isn't indicative of things to come, because really, I am NOT ready for the eastern NC swelter-fest. I was counting on at least another month of reprieve. Maybe it was just a heat wave that will burn itself out soon...? Please? We had to do some yard work yesterday, so I really got the feel of the temp. Plus, its really dry around here right now. After this long wet winter, I wasn't sure our yard would ever dry out again, but it has....and we need some rain now. I think we have some in the forecast for the next couple of afternoons, so maybe it won't turn into a total drought.

After a morning of cutting grass (yesterday), I took a break and went out to lunch with Stephen and Hannia. We tried this Thai place. And by "we tried", I mean me, because they had been there before. I tried the beef/mango curry on Stephen's advice, and OMG, it was delicious. Hot and spicy, but soooo good. All of their dishes come with a hotness number. Like you can order from a 1 all the way to 20. I am so wimpy that I asked for a 1. Stephen and Hannia asked for 3. And still...mine was really hot to me. I went through a whole lot of iced tea with it, but I enjoyed it. It was cooked in coconut milk, and the sauce was so rich and creamy, and the mango flavor was perfect with it. I can't even begin to imagine what a 20 would be like? I wonder if anybody actually orders that? But I cooled my taste buds down with some of their homemade coconut ice cream for dessert. It was a nice change from yard work for sure.

And now the new work week begins all over again. I hope its a good one for everybody!

I can't believe it

I didn't know it was possible, but I think that I am actually getting tired of strawberries. We've had plain strawberries, strawberry shortcake, strawberries in whipped cream, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry smoothies, and strawberries in a white chocolate pudding. I have finally come to the end of the ones that we had, and I might take a little strawberry break for a while. I know they only come around once a year, but isn't there too much of a good thing? We haven't even gone out to pick them yet, and don't know if I will. My favorite grocery store keeps having these really nice ones in huge containers that are buy one get one free. Or sometimes, buy one get 2 free. Seriously. It must have been a bumper crop of strawberries this year.

I am looking forward to other summer vegetables though. Really good tomatoes, and cucumbers. And melons. I LOVE melons of all kinds. Its a shame that I don't have a garden. I am completely enthralled with the idea of a garden, but seriously? With the work that I do the very last thing that I want/need is to have to be outside in the heat doing more work. Just cutting this enormous yard is enough to keep me and my husband overwhelmed. I guess I will just have to make trips to the Farmer's market. And making my customers happy.....several of my customers have promised me veggie's from their gardens...LOL.

I have planted a half dozen little pots of herbs that are growing in my kitchen window. They are looking good so far. I especially want my basil and cilantro to make it. Cilantro is one of those things that I love, especially in guacamole, but you can only buy it in these big bunches and I never need that much. If I could just go pick off a few pieces of it whenever I need it, that would be fabulous. Send some happy thoughts to my little window herb garden. I really want it to thrive.

Wishing

I really wish there was something new and exciting to report, but there's just not. I have been working, and then trying to recuperate and recover from working, so there isn't a whole lot of free time for fun or excitement. But let's see....maybe I can live vicariously through my kids...LOL. They seem to have a lot more going on than I do.

Erica just got back from a trip to Nashville, where she ran a half marathon with her friend Tara. They just got back last night, and I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet. Oh yeah...I did have a little bit of fun, because I had my Girl's Night Out dinner last night. That always cheers me up, but it also meant I missed the "I made it home safely" call. She called her Dad instead, but he let me know that she was back. Anyway, I know she is tired and still has a trip to San Diego coming up soon. Yikes. She really spent most of April traveling. And that can be exhausting even when you are having fun. Maybe even MORE tiring when you are having fun. Haha

Stephen just passed his CAD this past Monday. He had to defend his paper to a committee, and answer all kinds of questions, etc. etc. I knew he was going to be fine, but somehow I got nervous for him and couldn't relax until he gave me that call Monday around lunchtime. I just wanted it to be official....and now it is. I am very proud of him. And for those of you asking where he is going to be next school year??? We don't know, he doesn't know....Nobody knows. Schools have cut a lot of their funding due to the bad economy. If he doesn't get funding (meaning a paid position teaching or in research) while he works on that PhD....then...? I mean you are talking about moving to a place where neither of them have any kind of jobs yet.
Not even job ideas.....so....? They are waiting on Purdue's answer as to whether they can offer funding. And if the answer is yes....I am relatively certain they will be in Indiana by the end of summer. If the answer is no.....who knows. They may end up wherever job offers take them. Or they may seek other sources of funding.
There are just way too many options to even make an educated guess as to where they will go. So....? I promise I will pass news along just as soon as I hear anything.
Stephen and I talk pretty frequently and he keeps me updated on the progress or lack thereof. LOL.

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful spring weather we are having. I know I am. I just can't wait for the weekend to get here.

Friday

Noone else lost their job today at my office. Well, at least not as far as I know. That is good news, I suppose. For some unknown reason, I agreed to work tomorrow. I hate when I do that...LOL. But this guy who got fired? Well, that is just one more person that we will have to somehow make up for. I am still hoping that he appeals the whole ridiculous situation and will get his job back. If he even wants it. I know he has 2 kids in college, so....he probably NEEDS it whether he wants it or not. But anyway, it is supposed to rain all weekend, so at least I am not missing out on a pretty sunny Saturday. And I will get Monday off, and that is always nice. Having a week day off once in a while is a good thing because there are just so many things that need to be done on week days. Errands like going to the bank, the vet, the doctor or dentist. Even shopping is easier on a week day morning when its not so crowded. I won't mind sleeping in on Monday for sure.

I hope all of you have a nice weekend. Maybe the weather will be pretty wherever you are. And if you have the time, send some happy thoughts to my kids....Erica is in Nashville running a half-marathon tomorrow morning. And Stephen defends his paper for his Master's on Monday. Both of them will do fine, I'm sure, but happy thoughts never hurt anybody. :)

Yeah, I'm a slackard

I have been informed that I have been rather slack with the blogging lately. And its true. But in my defense things have been a little hectic trying to get back into the swing of things after vacation. And why would that be, you ask? Or maybe you don't, but I am going to still tell you...LOL. I came back to an office with ALL new management. And lots of changes, most of them of an inconvenient nature. Why do those restructuring changes that supposedly promote progress always seem so cumbersome and painful? And besides that, people are being scrutinized, audited and today? One person was fired. We were warned that it probably wouldn't be the last. We are all walking on eggshells, watching our backs, and feeling persecuted. On the other hand, its not exactly news to anybody that I really do hate that place. Have ALWAYS hated that place. If I got fired, then....I would figure something else out and go on with my life. Because its not, you know...my life. Some people act like its their lives, and our management certainly acts like it SHOULD be our lives. I was even told once that if (fill in the blank with any company name) wanted us to have a life, we would have been issued one. Yeah....whatever. I am not going to let it drive me crazy.

And about the pictures....I really wanted to post some vacation pics. But I think I told you that my new netbook doesn't have photo editing capabilities. So, I downloaded everything we took onto Bruce's laptop, which is relatively new too, since he bought it this past Dec. And guess what? He never put any kind of photo editing software on it either. LOL. So I am stuck with a bunch of pictures on his computer that I can't post until he puts Nero or Photoshop on it so I can resize them. Blogger and Facebook are really picky about the size of pictures that can be uploaded. So about those pictures....ask Bruce. The ball is in his court now. Maybe he will get around to it this weekend. Don't be too hard on him, he has pulled a muscle in his back and has been walking around looking old and crippled for a couple of days now. Its starting to get better, so we don't think its anything serious, but still, he hasn't felt that great this week.

But anyway, things are fine here. The weather has been warm and sunny. Our animals were all extremely happy to have us back home again. Life is good.

Back to Reality

We are home again, safe and sound...if maybe just a bit sad that our vacation is over. It was pretty amazing though, so at least there's that. Ocean, snorkeling, rain forest, cool old city....all of it right there. I could so live there in Luquillo. But its back to reality now, and that is going to be a cold slap in the face as we have tons of yard work pending this weekend. Spring has sprung and the grass is already growing....blah.

I have lots of pictures to post (probably on Facebook). But I haven't had the time to do it just yet. Part of the problem is that I don't have a good photo editor on this new netbook, and everything has to be resized to post. I did a few clumsy ones earlier, but it is a tedious process the way I had to do it. I don't know....I may end up downloading the pics on Bruce's laptop. I love my netbook, but it doesn't really have the processing power to edit photos. I think he has a decent photo editor on his. I can barely bring myself to sit at a desktop computer anymore. It feels wrong....archaic almost. LOL.

So, things are getting back to normal again. I have finished unpacking and doing laundry (well, almost). The animals are getting back on schedule. It stresses them, all of them, to be left like that, and I hate doing it to them. But Mama needs a vacation, so....they just had to survive through a week. The cats were fine, although they have been a bit clingier than normal. Normal meaning we are ignored until feeding time. Omen has been sleeping through the night on our bed like she is determined to make sure we don't disappear again. Its the dogs that I worry about. They are getting so old and fragile. But everyone seems to be doing ok and shaking off the stress of living without us for a few days.

Also? Stephen just found out he has been accepted into George Mason University's PhD program in D.C. He still might choose Purdue (has already accepted Purdue but could technically change his mind), but the getting accepted part has made him very happy and us, very proud. It will all boil down to which school offers him the best funding, since both linguistic programs are excellent. The cost of living in D.C. is a whole lot more than Indiana, though, so there would have to be some kind of compensation to make it worth it. Its weird, knowing that he is going to be moving in a few months, but not having any real idea of where that is going to be. It will all work out though. You just gotta have faith. LOL.

San Juan

We spent Saturday touring the old historic district in San Juan. It is a beautiful city, and I fell in love with it the first time we ever saw it back in 2005. We drove in, found public parking, and took off towards the fort called "El Morro". There are 2 huge old forts in San Juan and we did Castillo de San Cristóbal last time we were here.
We were parked pretty near El Morro and someone (it was Stephen, but who is keeping score?) decided that we should walk the outer walls of the fort and enter the city from the other side. Its a beautiful view, so we all agreed and set off on what will be from henceforward known as "The Death March".





We had no idea how long of a walk it was going to be. Or that the fort blocked out the breeze for most of the walk. Or that the concrete intensified the blistering heat making every step a study in torture....noone told us any of that. And also?
Noone bothered to tell us THIS either:



Yep, thats right. We were hot, sweaty and exhausted. We were almost to the end where we should have found the entrance to the city and where we could hopefully (please God) find an air-conditioned place to sit down and have a cold drink.....and then...instead.....we had to turn around and walk the whole way back. It wasn't any cooler or more comfortable the 2nd time around either. I thought Bruce was going to have a nuclear meltdown. He was furious. And seriously, somebody could have posted a sign somewhere near the beginning of the walkway. Would that be too much to ask? Needless to say our day in San Juan didn't get off to the best start.

But it got better. The kids took off to check out a museum and Bruce and I found a shady bench to sit down and rest for a little bit and we just happened to sit down right beside this:



And while I know it doesn't look like much, it turned out to be the taping of a tv show "Royal Pains" that shows on the USA network. Pretty interesting to watch. I have never actually seen the show, so the actors were not known to me at all....but it gave us something to look at while we were recouping from the Death March.

There were a lot of other good things about that day, too. We had a delicious lunch at a little place called "El Buren" where we had tropical pizza with ham and pineapple and some special Puerto Rican white cheese that was OMG delicious. And it has forever spoiled pizza for me from anyplace else. Nothing will ever be that good again.

And there was the "Pee Nazi" that amused the hell out of us, too. Some of the public restrooms in the city are pay-toilets. Usually like .25 cents or so. But one of them was a whopping .50 cents and the old woman who manned that station? Lord help us all, she took her job very seriously. She handed out these wet baby wipes, and forced you to wipe your hands and face while waiting in line. She militantly guarded the line, too. You better NOT step out of form, or else. And then she escorted us, one by one into the bathrooms, waiting while we all did...whatever...spraying some noxious probably toxic chemical thing all around while she waited. And then, she went in to the stall and second-flushed the toilet, forced paper towels into your hand and barked orders to wash and sterilize your hands....it was an extremely weird experience. Especially since the middle sink in the bathroom was built up like a shrine with flowers and strange trinkets with this fake yellow bird sitting on top of the mound of stuff like a wedding cake ornament. We have no idea what that was all about, but it was definitely a shrine of some kind. The woman wasn't exactly "chatty" enough for us to be able to ask.....but it has given us something to laugh about ever since.