Long day...

It has been a very long day in the car on the way to Colorado. Started with fog and rain in Chicago, then turned into very dense fog where you couldn't see the car in front of you, then some freezing rain, and to top it all off spending over a hour parked on I-80 somewhere in Iowa. Fun times....I'm so ready to call it quits for the night and get a good nights sleep before getting in the car for the last few hours tomorrow.

Good night all!

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Maybe an "oops!" moment??

See, told you I may surprise you with new posts... I ran across this news, and had a few comments...

So I could be completely wrong, but I'm guessing that Lance's initial reaction to the news that his girlfriend of about 6 months is now pregnant may have been: "oops, that wasn't supposed to happen!" I can't imagine that they planned this because the baby is going to be born right in the middle of race season, right before the Tour, and that's a lot of additional stress. I know the news is saying that it's a "hopeful" thing for testicular cancer survivors because it means they can have kids after treatment (Lance's other kids came from sprem he froze before treatment), and that piece of it is great. Lance is also saying that he and the girlfriend are "thrilled" and I really hope that they are. But you still have to wonder what that initial reaction was.....

Never ending...

Snow Snow Snow Snow Snow.....that's all we get here lately. It really is getting to be never ending. The good news though is that it's also never ending in Colorado, Breckenridge has received 2ft of new snow this week! I'm very excited to get out there and play in the snow that actually serves a purpose, instead of all the pointless snow we have around here that just makes it really hard to drive around since apparently all of the cities and towns have cut their plowing and salting budgets. Just in time for the snowiest winter ever.... Perfect.

I do feel bad for all of the people who are getting stranded in airports. I have a friend that was supposed to be flying into Chicago last night and landing around 6pm, last I heard, his flight was supposed to get in at 4am this morning....I'm still not sure if he's actually made it home for Christmas with his family yet.

In other news...the Illinois basketball team is off to a great start this year! Go Illini!! 11-1 so far, with a very convincing win over Missouri last night in the Braggin' Rights game, 75-59. My only complaint is that they changed their jerseys and don't have their names on the backs so I'm having trouble keeping up with all of the new guys. Guess I will need to make myself some flashcards so I can memorize all of their numbers. :)

Oh yes, and it's Christmas Eve!! I'm currently sitting at work, very very bored, and listening to the sounds of construction going on right behind me. Who wouldn't want to spend a lovely, snowy, wintery day sitting at a desk with nothing to do and listening to the sounds of sawing and drilling and hammering....good times I tell you.

Have a Happy Holidays everyone! I'm assuming there won't be a lot of blogging between now and January 3rd. But you never know, I could just surprise you! :)

Holy Freezing Weather, Batman!

IT IS SO COLD OUT!!! There really isn't a way to describe what it feels like to walk outside when it's -5 degrees with -25 degree windchills. It's just miserable, and no person should be made to suffer through this. And, no, I don't want to hear about how you Austinites are cold as well since it's only 30 degrees...boo hoo.

The good news is that things are looking good for the upcoming Breckenridge trip. In one week I will be on the snowy slopes getting some high quality snow boarding with some high quality family friends. And these weather reports make it look even better. The first one is for this week while I'm not there, and next to it is the one for next week when I will be there.

Does it get any better?? :)

I'm back....

I'm not even going to try and make up a good reason why I haven't blogged in such a long time. Although I do think having to take care of my dog recovering from surgery with a few complications should buy me some leniency. But anyway.....on to today's post.

There has been an abundance of snow here in Illinois! It seems to be never ending. The 4-wheel drive on my new car has definitely been coming in handy. I've also discovered a new work-out plan purely focused around my commute to and from work. So let me introduce you to the Stupidly Snowy Illinois work-out:

Morning:
Step 1: Shovel a ridiculous amount of snow off of your driveway....try not to curse the snow plow man when you get to the large mound of really heavy snow piled up at the end
Step 2: Keep your heart rate up as you keep a tight grip on the steering wheel and try to avoid sliding into an intersection, other car, light post, stop sign, etc....
Step 3: Finish it all with a nice long walk into the office since you have to park at the back of the parking lot since apparenly everyone else at work finds a way to magically get to work early....stupid over-achievers....

Evening:
Step 1: Remeber that the car is parked in the very back of the parking lot and start the long walk out there...
Step 2: Shiver uncontrollably as you try to scrape off the layer of snow/ice that has been permafrosted to your car
Step 3: Spend a wonderfully exciting 2.5 hours in the car for the drive home. Try to avoid boredom by calling everyone you know (that's what Bluetooth was invented for), dancing to your favorite songs, shaking your fists at the morons who apparently forgot what this strange white stuff is...
Step 4: When you finally get home, realize that you need to shovel the driveway again so that you won't have to do it in the mornings.....or, more accurately, so you will only need to shovel half as much in the morning....

Repeat every day for best results....

Have I ever mentioned how much I would love to move back to Texas???

Ginger update

Hooray Ginger is out of suirgery and all went well! She is currently
recovering from the anesthesia and I will be able to pick her up after
work today. That time can not come fast enough!

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Can't concentrate...

Ginger has been dropped off at the vet for her surgery and I am a
nervous wreck. I can't concentrate on anything. And the fact that I
drank a really big coffee this morning since I didn't sleep much last
night isn't helping me settle down at all. So I'll just be sitting
here trying to get some work done and waiting anxiously for the call
from the vet that the surgery is over and everything is fine.

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Run Santa Run!

So I thought I would share a picture of the race that ran right by my house this weekend. If you've ever wondered what it would look like if a couple hundred Santas got together and went for a run then I am here to answer your question.The picture unfortunately doesn't do it justice, as there were many many more Santas, but as they were all of differeing running abilities they were fairly spread out by the time they reached my house at the halfway point.

Oh yes, and for all of you Texans reading this....that white stuff you see, that's snow! And it means it's really cold!

Another Ginger update...

So here's the new update on Ginger. Unfortunately the tests were not a waste of money, as they discovered that she has 2 very large stones in her bladder. So Ginger will be going in for surgery on Wednesday. It was quite a shock to me and I'm pretty nervous about it, but hopefully it will go well and she will be a much happier dog afterwards. She probably has had these in her and has been in pain because of them for a long time judging by the size of them.

So please think happy thoughts for Ginger on Wednesday, it will be a rough day for her. And I'm sure she won't be very happy about having her belly shaved when there is a ton of snow outside and having to wear the giant cone. Poor girl....

Stupid cold and gym rats...

It is absolutely stupid cold here this week. And yes, I believe that is a technical weather term….stupid cold. What else do you call it when it is 7 degrees outside when you leave for work?? Brrr….

In other news, I finally got back into the gym last night to do some lifting. I have been on a bit of a break from it (yes I know I’m a slacker) but it felt good to get back to it last night. I was careful not to overdo it as I often do, and as a result I have the perfect amount of soreness today. Not the “oh my gosh, I can barely walk” soreness that I usually get after taking a break. Just the good soreness that let’s you know you got a good workout in – I love that!

There are always things that amaze me at the gym. Well maybe amaze isn’t the right word, let’s say confuse, shock, make me wonder, annoy etc… Here are a few of those things: (and I had to throw in the "gym rat" :) )

1. The amount of people who apparently have never heard of deodorant. I think that one is pretty self explanatory
2. The guys that apparently make going to the gym their event for the evening. You know the kind I’m talking about. The guys who will lift something heavy a couple of times, then stand around for 15 minutes, talk to some people about how much weight they just lifted, then maybe go check out the muscles in the mirror. This trend seems to even be spreading to some of the girls now. There was one girl that sat on one machine and did maybe 2 sets in the time that it took me to do almost a whole circuit – approx. 15 minutes. I have to say that I really don’t understand this behavior, as when I go to the gym I’m there to get my work out in and get out. I don’t want to be there for 3 hours!
3. Ok guys, it’s great that you can lift really heavy stuff but don’t leave all of that weight on the machines! I know you like to show off, but when other people want to use the machine we don’t want to pull off the ridiculous number of 45lb plates you put on there. Please don’t try to keep the girls out of “your area” by leaving heavy weight stacked all over the place. Some of us aren’t intimidated or impressed by that behavior, it just makes us dislike you for your rude behavior. And remember, some girls go to the gym to actually work out, not just to look pretty and bounce around on the elliptical a little to get your attention.
4. LEAVE THE PHONE AT HOME! If you can’t manage to be away from your phone for the time it takes you to complete a work out then you’ve got some problems. And if you can talk on the phone while working out then you probably aren’t working hard enough. I saw a girl last night that was on her phone for at least 20 minutes while trying to lift weights, it was ridiculous.

Ok, enough about the wonders and oddities of people at the gym. I just had to get that out there though. :) What good is a blog if you can’t rant about things every once in a while??

Ginger update....

So Ginger and I had a very long evening at the vet's office last night, 2 hours to be exact. We closed the place down. Unfortunately in all that time, the vet isn't quite sure what's wrong. She definitely has a bad infection, but due to the fact that that she has had about 4 or 5 of these in the time that I've owned her and she gave a pretty alarming sample, it's time to get to the root of what's causing it. So what started as putting her on some antibiotics, has now turned into Ginger going in on Saturday for radiographs and blood work. Poor Girl. So she now has her own health insurance to help with the rising costs. The vet also kept reminding me that Ginger is a "senior citizen pet" and I need to be prepared for changes in her health. Thanks a lot vet...way to scare the crap out of me! Ginger is also now on a diet. Yes, she was starting to get a little chunky and the vet didn't think it was as cute as I did. Extra weight is not a good look for "senior citizen pets". So now instead of actual treats when she comes inside, she gets green beans. Plain old green beans. So far she actually likes them, so we'll see how long she puts up with it.

I can't say that all of this is coming at a good time, since I just bought a car and Christmas is coming up. But when it comes to my pets I can't say no to making sure they are healthy. So here's hoping that all of the tests come back negative and I spent all the money for nothing.

Nevermind...

So I thought I had the blackberry all figured out, but it turns out I
was wrong and its not quite there yet. Bummer.

In other news... Sadly my poor Ginger dog is sick. Poor girl. So I'll
be taking her to the vet tonight instead of computrainer class. Need
to get her on some medicine so she's not in pain anymore. But the good
news is that I have to leave work early to get to the vet on time! :)

Oh yes, and a stupid bird found my new car today... 3 times! Stupid bird

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I did it!

I thought I would share the exciting news that I have finally set up
my blackberry the way I want it (I think). It required a lot of time
and some round about methods but I got there. See, engineers really
can find solutions to any problems! :)

And yes, it' STILL snowing...

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Dec. 1 = Winter...

Well, I guess it's officially winter here in cold Illinois. We got 4-6 inches of snow last night, and when I woke up (to the sound of snow plows roaming the streets) it was still coming down. Unfortunately the new car doesn't fit in the garage yet (I need to get a washer and dryer out and then it will) so the poor thing looked like this when I was ready to leave for work.

So I took the time to clean her off, (this was not nice, light, fluffy snow - it required some scraping) and then decided the driveway could wait. And I have to say that during the drive in to work I was very glad to have the 4 wheel drive. The roads were a mess.

Apparently the people I work with don't understand how snowy mornings (especially snowy Monday mornings) are supposed to work though. I thought I was doing really well because I made it in at 8:00, but I was the last one to get here. I want to know how the guys from the city managed to make it in early!!