Friday, November 20, 2009

writing

I need to post on here more often. Yep. Humm.... well ive been working on a novel for National Novel Writing Month. http://www.nanowrimo.org/ Im at slightly more than 30,000 words and only a few thousand behind my target for this far into the month. Im hoping the book will end up at about 100K but thats gonna take some serious effort. I know that most people tend to write way too much and then go and delete all the extra crap in their revision. Me I tend to have my characters walking and talking on an empty stage, no scene description, no environment, and minimal characterization at least on the first time through. I mostly focus on dialogue and getting the characters where they need to be at a given time in the story and seeing what happens next. For me the first re-write is adding in a lot of that detail that I skipped the first time because I tend to write fast. Its at least the second or third re-write before i start taking stuff out. So for right now im just focused on getting words down on the paper, getting the word count up to some semblance of something and exploring my outline enough to know what needs to be added in the next draft. Dont mistake me, the prose is terrible, I realize this. but im having fun and thats what counts right?
in other news my first race (5K) is this sunday evening. Im getting nervous, kinda worried im gonna be the last one across the finnish line and everyone will be laughing cause i have to stop running and walk so much. Im pretty sure thats not how it will really go.. but there's that little voice in the back of my head already laughing at me. Oh well. wish me luck.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

tthoughts on running

some thoughts on running (heaving yourself down the sidewalk while gasping for air and promising yourself you will never do this again.... at least until tommorow)

1) If you know its gonna be a hot day (80-90+) and you are awake early in the morning... go running then.. right then.. not later.. not a lil after noon when its offically baking outside with no breeze. Cause that would be silly. And Painful. and boy did it suck

2) light weight socks are a must... big thick padded suckers while adding a nice layer of cushion will feel like your feet are on fire and transmitting that heat to the rest of your body while you drag your 500 pound shoes just another few steps

3) dont significantly up your running time on said hot day when you've been training on days in the 60's up to this point. you will regret this.. trust me

4) but if you do all these silly things, and still manage to finish your run without dying, you are allowed to feel proud of yourself while at the same time admitting it was mostly pure stubborness and stupidity that got you into said situation

so... started at 10 min walking, 2 min run then 2 min walk X 3, then 10 min walk
then upped it to 8 min walking, 3 min run, 2 min walk X2 then 4 min run, then 7ish min walk
then today upped it again to 7 min walk, 4 min run then 2 min walk X 3, then 7 min walk.
ill do the new workout a few times till it feels comfortable.. cause today wasnt

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Of goals and other things....

So fall is officially here in Florida. This means we had two whole days where they high didn't reach the 70's. I think tommorow its gonna be back into the actual 70's and low eighties by the weekend. However this is still considered Fall in Florida. This is why you should move here. I have terrible problems with seasonal affective disorder (get gloomy in the fall and winter) when I live up north. Down here I can still feel the seasonal shift but its not anywhere near as pronounced as up north. So for many people Fall is a time to shift life indoors and start all those projects they put off over the summer. I have 2 projects that are lurking in the wings. Both have been fliting around the edges of my life for years, picked up and dropped periodically as life gets in the way of the best of intentions. So here's to yet more good intentions. We shall see how successful I am this go around.
The first project im working on is running. Or maybe that should be Running or even RUNNING!!!! As in im going to torture myself for fun and profit... oh wait.. theres no profit (in a financial sense) and at least at the beginning there is likely to be little fun as well. So running. I need to get into some sort of habit of exercise. My joints and muscles start to hurt if i stop exercising for about 2 weeks. I get grumpy(er) as well when Im not getting any exercise. So.. ive toyed with running over the years. It hurts like the dickens when i start... then about when i kind of/almost/sort of start to enjoy myself I find some reason or life finds some reason for me to quit. I have several family members that run. My parents both have gotten pretty serious about running over the last several years. I have siblings that are in dramatically better shape than I and im jealous. Especially of their ability to climb stairs without huffing and puffing. But there's almost no stairs in Florida so why should i worry right? Er... right.. Running is good for you. If you take it slow enough it shouldnt hurt. Serious runners can eat (almost) anything they want. I should do this cause im not getting any younger and now (or last year or the year before) would be a good time to start. So im starting. Ive had minor luck conning people around me into joining me. My goal for right now is to be able to run for 30 minutes straight by mid december (two months). However Im going to be on a cruise in mid december so im hoping to push it slightly and be able to run 30 min by thanksgiving weekend. To this end I think Im going to sign up for a 5K race that weekend. It may be the slowest 5K in history... but the goal is finishing, not running fast so it might even be an achieveable goal.
The second project invloves a more under the radar hobby of mine. Writing. Im going to try (again) to participate in National Novel Writing Month.. which is when hundreds of thousands of people all over the world each try to write 50,000 words in the month of November. The goal is not quality, its quantity and being able to say i finished. Editing comes later for some, but since its impossible to edit a blank page, first comes the writing. No im not likely to show anyone the results, and yes i acknowledge it will most likely be complete crap... but it will be 50,000 words of my very own, written in a month. Wish me luck.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

BUGS!!!


One of the very few reasons not to like florida... BUGS!! (yes they deserve the caps) We have big bugs, little bugs, flying bugs, not flying bugs... and more bugs... Honestly tho.. most places have a shit load of bugs.. we just dont have a winter where we can pretend they dont exist and forget the ants at the picnic, the mosquitos at the ball game, the flys in the kitchen and all that stuff that goes along with warm weather. So ive been trying to grow tomatos for some time now.. with little luck. Here in florida the tomato plants seem to get every disease you can imagine... and every parasite you can think of. So i decided to try the topsy turvy (upside down tomato plant grower-thing a ma bob). Overall its worked pretty damn well. My tomatos have been less than stellar because if it doesnt bark at me to tell me to feed it i kinda forget it exists once in a while... The upside (or upside-down-side) of the inverted growing style is that the vast majority of the insects that attack the tomatos come from the soil.. so since the plants arent really in the soil.. it works great.. also cuts down on soil born fungus and virus's since youre using potting soil. However.. today i went to water my tomatos.. and ACK! BUGS!!... freaking 4-5 inch long (kinda pretty) green stripy catpillers were going to town on my vines... bastards.. went inside to ask the internet what on earth these monsters were... and bingo... Tomato Hornworm

all i can say is please get the bloody hell off my tomato plants... and dont come back!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

new car and other things








So i bought a new car a week ago today. Ive never had a new car before and its kinda cool. Its also terrifying. I find myself wanting to be 'that guy' who parks his car at the way back of the lot so nothing scratches the new car. I dont want anyone to eat in said car. I dont want tree branches to touch the paint job. Im even cringing when i put my dogs in the car (ack how in the hell did i turn into this person that i made fun of for so long). Its kinda humbling. I too am that twit that we all secretly laugh at for being so fussy over a CAR, a vehical for getting us from one place to the other, for moving crap hither and yon. For taking you and all your buddies hither and yon and hopefully back again. Or moving you, your surfboard, your beach umbrella, a cooler and about 3 cubic feet of sand yon and hither and all over the place. And yet, i dont want your dirty shoes or my furry (beloved) dirtballs or your stinky fast food anywhere near my new baby. Im hoping this feeling wears off soon or I may have to go mud bogging just to force myself to get over it. And i dont want mud and such all over my shiny new hamster mobile. (look up the kia soul commercial on you tube).
I do have to say the car rocks. Its black and red inside, black on the outside (i know i know, black in florida is about as stupid as wearing a bikini in alaska in january.) It was the only one they had and i got a pretty good deal if i do say so myself. I wanted a slightly less spiffy model. but of course the only one on the lot when my beetle decided to go into death throes was the all tricked out, every option, super spiffy version. So basically i sat there and kept saying 'no, this isnt what i want' until they lowered the price to where it was the same price as the lower end version. So it ended up being what i wanted. I will say i was very impressed with the local Kia dealer. No heavy pressure, no strong arm techniques, no arguing with me. I said what i wanted and they did it. Took a lot of the stress out of buying a car. It wasnt anywhere near as bad as I was expecting based on previous experiences and friends and familys tales of car buying disasters. There was one minor blip on the radar screen. 3 days after I drove off the lot with said spiffy-mobile the check engine light came on. I of course assumed the worst, that i had bought a lemon that would be no end of trouble, that the dealer would tell me to stick it in my ear, that the end of the world had in fact arrived (im not dramatic... i swear). So Jeff in all his totally awesomeness took me to work yesterday and then drove the car to the dealer and had it checked out. The dealer of course got him right in... hooked it up to the machine... and (drumroll please.... )i hadnt tightened the gas cap enough. Thats right. It was MY FAULT. oops.

anyway car is all better and i feel a little sillier but overall life is good. So im off to go spend my day off tooling around town in my hamster mobile.. Wish me luck, and no more warning lights :)



Sunday, September 20, 2009

i should post something. It should be terribly interesting and witty and ... you get the idea. However I really don't have that much to report. Jeff and I are about to take the dogs down to Cocoa village for some espresso and rambling about. We are pet sitting a small and adorable kitty cat for a client of mine and even Jeff (notoriously anti-cat) seems to like her. He said something like "this would be a great cat for some friends of ours to have, so we could go visit her and play with her." I thought it was cute especially since he said it with her upside down on his lap purring her little heart out with him rubbing her belly. The birds are working on some new phrases but they aren't clear enough to translate yet. Its a lot like having a two year old... they speak but sometimes you have to know what it is that they are trying to say to understand it. It does make me more aware of how i pronounce things because they are mostly mimicking me. My favorite lately was when one bird (Juju) said 'how are you?' and then the second bird (Pulo) replied 'I'm good, how are you?'. They are often better than TV. Jeff and I are still... still... still... working on the house. Its a lot like those games you played as a kid where it was a bunch of tiles in a square and you had to move one tile so you could move the next tile so you could eventually make the picture. Thats what my house is like at the moment. A work in progress..
time to head out.. more later

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

running

trying this running thing again/more/still etc. Mapped out a 3.1 mile route from my house and back. made it in 45 minutes... not gonna break any speed records but i did it. Kate (the poodle) thought it was a good time even if i did have to walk here and there. i even did a few pushups and dips when i got back home.. now im TIRED.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The 5 day weekend was nice. Jes and Elliot were in town and we managed to hit the beach, the zoo, cocoa village and several other spots. The weather was typical for florida for this time of year. The family is rolling on without Ruger as difficult as it is. It was the right decision at the right time, but I still wish it could have been different. In family additions, a client came in today with a Veiled Chameleon that she found walking down a major road in town. She's a cat person, so she brought it to the only reptile person she knows (me). So shes gonna put up some signs and see if anyone claims him. Otherwise he may be moving in at least temporarily. I spent the evening converting a rabbit cage to a chameleon cage (think soft screen and zip ties). He and his 12 crickets (ick) are now happily hanging out on the porch in their freshly misted pothos plant (probably toxic). He's huge, about the length of my arm from fingertip to elbow if you include almost all of his tail, one of the biggest ones ive ever seen. He needs a name, and no its not gonna be Karma.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Sleep Well Old Friend


Hello all, it is with a sad heart that I have to report that we had Ruger put to sleep yesterday evening. As many of you know, he was one of the greatest German Shepherd's ever. Kind and sweet and friendly unlike so many of his breed. He was that once in a lifetime dog for me and i wish everyone could expreience the kind of bond that I shared with him. He had been sick for some time. I relaized last night that it had been 4 years since he had been diagnosed with kidney cysts that should have killed him in 6 months. I got a lot more time than I was expecting, but it was still hard to see him go. He will be missed.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

better

i feel a little better. im trying to make a few changes to see if it will help my overall mood/stress level. I went back to the gym today as the first step. I always feel better when im getting regular exercise and lately i really like running, treadmill or outdoors. 35 min total, 2.5 miles. Im pleased even tho its damn slow by most peoples standards. Im going to make a major push to start going to the gym before work. If i would just get up when jeff gets up instead of laying in bed and pretending to sleep for 40 more minutes.. i would really have enough time to go to the gym, shower there and make it to work on time. im gonna also try for a more regular bed time, and less of this staying up to midnight just to read a book ive already read before. Maybe less computer time right before bed ( 'they' say that it can make it harder to fall asleep.) We'll see. hopefully it will help and ill be sleeping more soon and therefor much happier. wish me luck

Monday, August 31, 2009

sigh

feeling mopey, and feeling like im spending too much time feeling mopey. I feel like people are gonna get sick of mopey kelly real quick. Im not looking for sympathy/attention (i dont think), just not thrilled with various aspects of the world and for some reason its been bugging me more lately. I just cant seem to let shit slide lately.. i carry the worlds problems around in my head. I should not be up late at night worrying over the state of the national health care system.. but I am and it feels kinda silly in the light of day. Im stressed over money (who isnt?) Im stressed over my job for a multitude of reasons that I am not going to go into here. Im stressed over my dog getting closer and closer to dying (i guess the same could be said for every living thing on the planet). Im stressed over not practicing my music enough (read ever), about if i should spend the money on violin lessons when i dont even practice the whistle very much, about jeff's family, about my family, about global warming, and the total lack of world peace. Tell me how to get all these worries to shut the hell up and let me sleep. I run thru imaginary conversations with my worries in my head night after night and i cant seem to get them to go away. I guess this is the definition of anxiety, but dammit i live a pretty charmed life... why the hell am i sitting up at 3am wondering if Obama is gonna get the health care system fixed or if a co-worker's family member will ever apologize to her for what she said last weekend... etc.. I would really really like an off button or at least a pause button for the 'voices/worries' in my head. And now im worried that too many people are gonna read this if i post it to facebook, which is kinda the point of blogging. sigh. im a goof. i get this. just not sure how to fix the situation so i can go back to appreciating all the great shit in my life.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

go go gadget garage sale... doing pretty darn well financially so far. Wish us luck tommorow. more stuff to sell

Saturday, August 22, 2009

busy day

Worked this morning. Then went with Jean over to a the house of a friend of hers. A group had gathered to scrapbook. These people were serious about their scrapbooking. Lots more loot and paper, and pens, and stuff with extra stuff and more stuff than I have in my scrapbooking collection. Made me feel like I could go out and buy more scrapbooking stuff of my very own without feeling the least bit guilty. Neato. I even finished a whole page. Go me.
Then i came home and jeff and I worked on the house. We are still trying to sort through all his things that he brought down from Gloucester. On the upside its forcing me to go through everything, on the downside my house is bursting at the seams with yet more stuff. But we are hoping to do a garage sale next weekend to try to unload some of this loot. Feel free to come on buy and take our stuff off of our hands. Or bring your own to sell.
In other news Jes got a tattoo. You should wander over to her blog to see pics. Its pretty cool. http://fulcrummonkey.blogspot.com/ My thoughts are with her, but it seems like shes doing pretty well all things considered. And she's headed down this way in a few weeks.. Im very excited.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

twitter

i did it.. i joined twitter. First a blackberry and now twitter... what is the world comming to. In other news we had a rockin session at the pub tonight. Not many patrons but the musicians had a great time.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

home again home again

Jeff is due back tonight around midnight. Its kinda sad/cute but the last 5 days is the longest we have been apart since we started dating. (A year on august 17th) I am very much looking forward to having him home again. Im sure the dogs are a bit confused as well. I will confess that I have been letting (read not kicking them off) ruger(german shepherd) and sometimes kate (poodle) sleep on the bed while jeff was gone. its too wierd having the whole bed to myself. I have to admit im feeling kinda guilty writing this post. We are fast approaching the one year anniversy of the death of one of my closest friends husband. He was 35 and he had a massive heart attack that killed him on the spot. Jeff will be home (knock on wood) in a few hours and her husband never got to come home again. Makes me appreciate what I have so very much more.

Monday, August 10, 2009

running

went running tonight for the first time in several weeks.. thats right... running, in florida, in august. yep im crazy. mental note: running on a full stomach is a totally dumb idea. (especially in florida...in august..)

if it helps it sounded like a good idea at the time...

Thursday, July 23, 2009

new post

No posts here for a while. Guess I should do something about that. Today was productive. I had the day off from work which means its time to tackle all the tasks that have built up over the last month since I had a thursday off to myself. I started off with grand plans of acomplishing everything and needless to say didnt quite make it that far. However I still got a reasonable amount done. Ive done a few loads of laundry, a load of dishes, made leek n potato soup with saussage and cheese (enough to last a week), made a from scratch peach pie, and payed bills. I think that should count as good enough. But i still plan on hitting the gym and then jeff and i have a dance lesson tonight. So a busy day but with all that done, i feel less stressed so am happy. The dogs have decided its too hot out to stay outside so they are collapsed on the tile floor. Even ruger gave up on following me around the house today and just decided to stay sedentary. He did manage to position himself to be able to take advantage of the piece of cheese i dropped tho. Smart dog. So the soup is cooking in the hot pot, the pie is in the oven, the dishwasher and clothes washer are running in the background and im sitting her playing on the computer. Jeff and were talking to some of his family last night and they were discussing which tv shows they liked. We said we didnt really watch tv except the occasional movie and they decided we were wierd. It occured to me later that I dont really have time to watch tv. I guess most of the hours i would spend in front of the tv are used on the computer or reading a book, but overall I just feel too busy with other stuff to want to turn on the tv. I tend to buy the series I like on dvd and watch and re-watch em, but I also re-read books. Wierd? probably. But i seem to have converted Jeff to my wierdness. Go me.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

running

So I went running tonight. Had a rough day at work and needed to do something that didnt involve sitting on my ass and feeling sorry for myself. So i took my sorry self to the gym. I managed to run for 30 minutes without walking. This may not sound like much to some of you- but for me its a major acomplishment. I think ive only done that one other time since my high school/early college days when I was actually in shape. It wasn't even as painful as I usually associate with running. I could breath and my legs didnt feel like they were gonna fall off.. and once i cooled down afterwards I felt great. Wierd... to go running and not feel like im gonna puke up a lung. Kinda cool. Maybe theres something to this running shit after all.
not much else going on in other news. Work progresses on the sailboat. The critters are still all alive and kicking and Jeff and I are doing well. At the moment Jeff is redecorating the living room again... (this means mostly just moving furniture into new and interesting locations) Hes having fun... im not gonna stop him.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

crackberry

so i have officially joined the crackberry nation. Jeff got a new phone from work so I inherited his old (two months old) blackberry. Its friggin addictive. And to top it all off.. he chose a rockin color (dark red). So thats my new toy/addiction. But.. before you giggle too much... my mother actually had one long before i did.. so its not like im jumping on this bandwagon too soon or anything

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

home again home again

So Jeff and I just got back from a trip up to Rockport/Gloucester (gloster or glostah if youre a local). Its his old stomping grounds and where he grew up. Its slightly north-ish of boston on an island that is still mostly ruled by the fishing industry.. it seems to be divided between fishing, artists and tourists. After 5 days there the overwhelming word i come up with to describe it is cute. Old victorian/colonial houses in various stages of repair and all decked out comprrise the vast majority of the landscape. And oh yeah... they have hills there. This is not, I realize, major news to most of you. But for those of us that live in Florida.. a hill is something to write home about. They have lots of them... very up and down.. lots of geography. Kinda cool. I took lots of pictures which will be uploaded soon (yeah yeah i know you've heard it before but i mean it this time). Nothing like a vacation to re-ignite the interest in photography. I still need to post the Key West pics as well. While we were up there we went thru Jeff's storage locker. I think mostly because people warned me up one side and down the other.. i wasnt too blown away at the amount of clothes Jeff has... now the numer of shoes and belts is another matter all together. Lets just say i have a long way to go on my shoe collection before he can say a word. (and i just cant see myself ever needing that many belts.) So other than the weather (very fall like and rainy) I really really liked the Gloucester area... now i just need to hit the lottery so we can snow bird it. In other news we had a bad scare with Ruger when we got back to town. He seems to have pulled through it so we're keeping our fingers crossed for a little more time. We are 3.5 years out on a diagnosis that was supposed to limit to him to a few months.. so at this point every day is a bonus.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

up north

Jeff and I arrived safe and sound in Gloucester/Rockport. All is good... yeah for vacation. Now if we could just find some sunshine... we tried to bring it with us... i promise.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

its officially summer

Even I will admit its now stupid hot down here in Florida. However if you sit in the shade and theres a decent breeze going its really not too bad. Just dont stand out in the sun for more than 30 seconds or so or you begin melting... literally.. I think im now about 3 inches shorter than I was a week ago.
In other news the dance lessons are going really well. Our dance studio has a dance every friday night and last night was our first one. It was a lot of fun. I made it about 3 steps inside the door before I was asked to dance.. Jeff didnt even get to set our stuff down before I was whisked away. He also got snapped up in about 30 seconds. We danced the rhumba, swing, foxtrot, cha cha, and tango and maybe some others.. i dont remember them all. Oh yeah.. the waltz too. It was fun dancing with all sorts of people but finally being able to dance with Jeff without feeling like we stepping all over each other was wonderful. We still have a long ways to go.. but as one of the instructors put it last night.. these skills will last a lifetime.. once we learn to dance together.. its not like its there is an expiration date on these skills.
Jeff and I just went to the gym to get some exercise.. the dancing is fun but we're not good enough to really get our heart rates up much yet to call it exercise. Ive been running at the gym lately and am finally getting to the point where I dont feel like im gonna die the whole time. its almost (gasp) fun. almost.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

busy days

So things continue to go well down here in Florida. The dance lessons are still loads of fun. We have decided that the Tango is wicked fun and we also like the cha cha and some of the other latin dances. I highly recomend dance lessons if you've ever been thinking about it and couldnt make up your mind. Other than that we are still (and will be for a long time) working on the sailboat. We are trying to get the electrical system up and running, right now that involves hauling the batteries off the boat and charging them up... then taking them back to the boat and hooking things up and seeing what works. Wish us luck. This will most likely eventually involve a trip up the mast to work on the light at the very top.. fun fun for those of us that are scared of heights.
Jeff and I are off to boston at the end of next week. Ive never really been before and am looking forward to the trip. I have a feeling its gonna be on the hectic side, but most likely fun too. Otherwise not much new down here..

Thursday, June 11, 2009

busy day

So i got up this morning, got some errands done, then came back home and mowed the lawn (front and back) the grass is really doing well right now thanks to the daily monsoons.. so its super thick.. took more than an hour and usually it takes about 20 minutes. Guess its the time of year where we get to mow every 4 days... tell me again why you think i need to fertilize my lawn - cause i think youre crazy. Then I did a couple of loads of laundry and washed some dishes. Go me. Then jeff came home from work and we went out to the sailboat to get started on the huge list of projects. The seats in the cockpit are wood and after years out in the sun and rain and such they have rotted to the point of no longer being weight bearing. (kinda squishy in fact) So Jeff got some spiffy plywood and started the project of replacing them while I worked on setting the solar panel back up (its been disconnected for maybe 2 years?) so that we will have power again on the boat. I only lost one nut and one wrench overboard. I actually went into the water after the wrench. Too bad the bottom of the marina is about 12 inches of goo (yes it was gross) instead of a nice solid sandy bottom.. so no luck on finding the wrench. Oh well. Jeff was kind enough not to laugh at me too much. I did also figure out that the barnacles that are coating the bottom of the boat will come off pretty easily. I guess thats the point of the super expensive bottom paint used on these boats. So I scrubbed a maybe 2 foot square area... which now sticks out like a sore thumb. But assuming the solar panel spends the next day or two charging the batteries and once the seats are done.. we will be a huge step closer to actually being able to use the boat. Now all i need is a motor. Anyone got a line on a cheap 10 (or so) hp extra long shaft (25 inches i think) outboard for cheap?

Monday, June 8, 2009

dance lessons

We went for our first official dance lesson tonight. (not inculding the first little intro thing we did the other night). We took a class on the Cha Cha and then worked on the Rumba, and the salsa and a lil on the merengue (sp?).. twas very cool. jeff even had fun.. anyway its late and im heading to bed...

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Boat Moved

The sailboat is in its new location. We made it to the marina with only minor adventures. A big thanks goes out to Tony and Diane for the help in moving the boat... couldn't have done it without you. And tommrow night is the first ballroom dance lesson... exciting exciting..

moving the sailboat

we're moving the sailboat today...wish us luck... and a minimum of adventures.. moving the sailboat moving the sailboat... its only been 2 years of waiting for this... can you tell im excited ?

Thursday, June 4, 2009

sailboats and other things

So jeff and I checked out the marina today.. and unless something unexpected pops up.. its a go. Its a lot cheaper than anywhere else we looked and it seems to be much more of a 'working man's ' marina and less of an exclusive yacht club... nothing agianst the fancy yacht clubs... but thats so not where i am in life right now. We went to the Moose lodge for dinner (jeff and i joined a few weeks back) Its cheap food and drinks..and another social outlet that doesnt involve people from work (our previous entire social scene). No other major announcements today... other than i really shouldnt be allowed in book stores... 'cause i dont just come home with one book... not even close. Oh well, I knew we needed something to fill up all these new book shelves that we have.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

dance lesson

So tonight was the first official dance lesson. It was fun. We signed up for the promo offer of two weeks of lessons to see if we wanna join long term. I felt like i was mostly two left feet but the dance instructor was complimentary (ummmm... if he doesnt make you feel good... youre not likely to come back.. so my guess is this is the standard line for everyone) and it was fun. So we're gonna give it another go... ill let you know how it goes. Then we went out to a local bar and listened to a friend of ours give what ammounted to a private concert. very cool...guy's name is micah reed... wish i had some magic connections to make him hit the big time cause he's that good... but its great being able to go out to a local club and see this guy on acoustic guitar who just blows your socks off every time he plays... twas cool. in other news i think my dad officially adopted jes's old truck today... with only minor issues with the lack of brakes (typical for my family.. ask jess to tell you some stories about me and my car troubles) anyway with a little luck the pickup will be heading south to a new life in the florida sun soon. tommrow jeff and i go look at a marina we may be moving the sailboat into.. should be fun. next week involves more dance lessons and other random craziness... more later.. sleep now.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009






So tonight was the band concert at the public library. Its the 3rd 2 hr session we have played in 4 days.. we were all a bit slow on the uptake tonight. So it wasnt the best performance ever...but it was fun all the same. One of the coolest moments was the shuttle landed during the performance. It was being flown piggy-back style back from california on the back of a 747. Because of logistics involved.. the 747 has to fly really slow and really low... it looked like it was barely skimming the tops of the buildings and going so slow you wondered how it was staying up in the sky. It was awesome.
We stopped the performance and all went outside to watch the shuttle fly over. Jeff took the pics...

Monday, June 1, 2009

stuff and things

So Jeff and I are going to look at a marina on thursday with the intention of pulling the sailboat in for a few months to do some major work on her. The entire electrical system needs to be replaced as well as a few other significant projects. Im hoping to post before and after pics here soon. In other news Jeff and I are going for our first ballroom dance class on wensday and he claims to be excited about it.. so im gonna go with that and see if we cant figure out a way to add this in to our weekly activies. The band (the traditional irish session group that i play with) had a very succesful gig saturday night at Nolands Pub.. jeff taped some video and again ill try to post it soon. We have another gig tommrow night. Its kinda wierd.. im being payed to be a musician... maybe i can give up this vet medicine gig yet... ;)
The critters are overall doing well. Ruger is slowly heading downhill but that is to be expected. I got 3 more years than i thought I was going to get... so I guess I'll just have to take it as it goes.

Not much else going on.. more later

Friday, May 29, 2009

its raining... again. We have officially hit the rainy season here in florida. Two weeks ago it hadn't rained in 4 months for more than 5 minutes at a go, and usually with a month or so between sprinkles. Now it is monsoon season and we are getting deluged every afternoon. The upside is that the yard and trees and such love it. The downside is that the yard loves it. We have patches of grass (two weeks with out mowing) that are approaching knee high, and since we're mostly only home in the evenings (when its raining) we dont know when we will actually get a chance to attack the lawn. it should be interesting..

Thursday, May 28, 2009

bloggin

So for years there was a steady group of us that maintained (more or less) active blogs at a lil place called bloghorn. It has long since shut down and I find I miss the activity. Jes still blogs some and it would be nice to get some of the old crowd back into blogging.
Jeff and I just went down to Key West for the holiday weekend. All I can say is its a good thing that he now has his spiffy new job here in town cause otherwise we would both be looking for work down in the Keys. Not that here in Florida isnt wonderful, it is... but the keys... wowsers. Jeff's brother and his fam just moved down there and I can solidly say im jealous. Ask me again after they get clocked by a few hurricanes, but ill bet ill still be jealous. Its that nice. We went snorkling (spelling?) twice, shopped a bunch on Duval street, hit the pubs and participated in the drunken revelry. We also went on a ghost tour which was wicked cool. Spooky stories and neato locations. We did the traditional sunset in Mallory Square. I even went running one morning (im so proud of me).
In other news Jeff and I are doing well on our plot to eat better and exercise more. Of course he's dropped a serious chunk of weight and the scale hasnt moved much for me...but its about health and not the numbers right?
The dogs and the birds (3 dogs and 4 birds) continue to do well. Ruger (the shepherd with kidney problems) continues to surprise us all and still has no idea he's sick so we're happy about that. Overall I really dont have much on the deep and meaningful side of things to say... but wanted to get back in the habit of blogging so I guess I gotta start somewhere.

Hello again

Just a quick note to say hello again. I have decided to rejoin the blogging world. More later.