44 Days.....then what?

The countdown is on! 44 days until I finish my Master's. Then what???

• Evenings free
• Weekends free of studying
• Time to volunteer - I would like it to involve senior citizens - any ideas?
• More time to exercise/ get healthy
• Reading for pleasure
• TV/Movie watching without guilt
• Dinner with friends

One thing I know for sure....2 Bachelor's degrees and 1 Master's degree is enough for me. No PhD in my future! I used to wonder about "career students" and then I became one. "sigh" The next class I take will be for pure enjoyment...maybe piano lessons or a language class.

Maybe I'll also come up with a theme for Debbie's Discourse. It's been a struggle lately. It's become a dog discourse and while the dogs are cute and all. There is only so much to say about them.

If I'm not back on for the next 44 days or so, you'll know why. If perhaps I do post something before then...you'll know I'm procrastinating!

Kaia - Menace, Wonder Dog, or Both?

I know, it's been awhile. Keeping pretty busy these days with work and school. Soon to be done with school though - December graduate!

Today was entertaining enough to warrant a post though and a more recent photo of the new family member - Kaia.

I get a call about 10:30 this morning at work that Steve has been locked out of the house and is at the neighbors calling me - no phone, keys, etc. So, I hop in the car to drive back home - 28 miles one way to get him back in the house. The entire way I'm trying to understand how this could have happened. You have to have a key to lock the house!

Enter...wonder dog Kaia! While Steve went out to feed the other dogs, he left her inside. This drives her crazy and she starts barking and jumping like a mad woman trying to get out into the garage. This time she managed to jump up high enough and hit the lock...locking Steve out and her inside.

The above picture was taken last week. She's laying on our floor and looks up to get her picture taken. This describes her 4.5 month puppy personality to a tee! Menacing...but cute!

Good thing she is so darn cute.....

Hanging Out

Sometimes You're the Sniffer, Sometimes You're the Sniffee

Voted Cutest Puppy at the Farmer's Market

We took Kaia (7.5 week old puppy below) on her first social outing this morning - and we deemed it a success.

We started out at a local coffee shop where she caught the attention of a 7 year old lab as well as some Saturday morning latte drinkers.

Then we headed to the vet for her well-check puppy exam. She got a good report, so we are off to a good start.

We then decided to take her to our local farmer's market. We've gone on many a Saturday and watched dog after dog checking out people, produce, etc. Why not take her? We carried her for the most part. We were the hit of the farmer's market. We had a lot of people asking to pet her, checking out what kind of puppy she was, asking her age, etc. One couple stopped and said they had voted her "cutest puppy there today". We had several little girls stop and play with her and she got very comfy on some laps.

I knew she'd be a hit!

Smells Like New Puppy

Summer

I think everyone has fond memories of summer. Lightning bugs, flashlight tag, afternoons at the pool, homemade ice cream. As kids summer means no school, sleeping in, being free to do what you want.

Summer as a 30-something working gal/ student? Work, work, and more work. Throw in studying and taking a class like Financial Accounting and it's not much of a summer break. Thankfully I work for a company that takes advantage of the summer by offering 1/2 day Fridays for longer work days the rest of the week. That does help!

I'm not saying I don't take a bit of a break in the summer. I do try to catch a movie or two, read some light summer reading, and get outside when I can.

This afternoon was one of those days. I saw The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock - very cute. Then we took a couple of the dogs to the dog park this evening and enjoyed the nice summer evening. When I got home I went and watered my tomato plants - hoping for more than the 5 that are currently on the plants. We're facing a bit of a drought in our neck of the woods.

There are also the occasional trips in the summer. For the 4th I was in Kentucky for the annual baseball game with the family. That was a lot of fun and it was nice to get away. This year also brings my high school reunion. I won't say how many years, suffice it to say...too many. I'm also looking forward to a visit by my parents, sister, and niece.

So, summer is not all bad as an adult. No evening games of flashlight tag though. I also have stopped catching lightning bugs.

Hope you are having a great summer.

Friday Night Shake Up

Typically on a Friday we will head out for some grub somewhere in the 10 mile vicinity which is near our house. I had my crabby pants on and whined about doing something different this time. I suggested several restaurants that are more within the 15-20 mile radius. Of course my restaurant ideas were not well received, but....the idea of "eating outside of the box" did.

We went to a new restaurant in a nearby suburb called The Mediterranean Cruise Cafe. I will have to admit I went thinking it was going to be a hole in the wall little restaurant where it would be difficult to find anything but lamb on the menu. Much to my surprise it was a huge new restaurant...just opened a week ago.

We were quickly seated and started perusing the pretty extensive menu. Yes they had a lot of gyros but they had other items as well. We ordered drinks...Greek Wine for me, some sort of martini for the mister. We shared pita bread and tasty hummus. We then had our Greek salad with lots of feta cheese. Very tasty. Our entrees arrived and were enough to feed 2-3 people each. Leftovers for lunch! I had chicken and some other sort of meat kabobs over rice. The other meat was good and I am hopeful it was not lamb. The hubby had gyros which he thoroughly enjoyed. We topped it off with a small piece of baklava each. I had walnut and he had pistachio. I think each of us would say ours was the best.

The restaurant also had live entertainment...a belly dancer. She was pretty good. The cutest part was when a little girl near the dance floor went on stage with her and danced too. The crowd seemed pretty engaged in the entire process.

We then walked around the downtown area for a bit taking in the nice summer evening while watching the storm clouds role over the metropolis. No rain...just dark puffy clouds.

All in all a nice change of pace for a Friday night.

Barking at the Balloon

Nice summer evening. Dogs start going nuts with the barking. The hubby goes outside and then comes back in to tell me that I have to come see something. I come out to the following picture:

Truffle Burgers and more

We are grilling out burgers tonight since we finally have no snow, the grass is even starting to green and the temperature has been over 60 for highs for the last several days. We're doing the truffle oil burgers that we did a month or so ago and that made me think of my long lost blog. So, it's been a month since I've written anything and what a month it has been!

Steve has had the misfortune of having an issue with the gallbladder that resulted in 2 ER trips in the same evening, followed by a weekend hospital stay, vicodin, percocet, and surgery to remove a "very impressive/inflamed gallbladder". He had quite a number of stones that were causing him tremendous amounts of pain. It's been about 9 days since the surgery and I'd say all in all he's recovering quite well. It's been 3 weeks since the onset of the gallbladder attack and we are having the first weekend since then when we've been able to get out and about without issue.

This is the second year of signing up for the health care spending account at work. You know the one, you sign up for a set amount and hope you guess right or you end up having to buy glasses at the end of the year so you don't lose your funds. Last year we budgeted right...12 months of expenses used up the entire amount. So, let's do it again this year. Well, 4 months of expenses....used up the entire amount. I guess at least I don't have to buy glasses or ten bottles of Ibuprofen in December.

That's all for now....burgers are done!

Spring = Sake and Sumo

Today was a rambling adventure through the cities. We visited a coffee shop, a hardware store, lunch at a great Vietnamese restaurant. We then headed to a local neighborhood and visited a stationary store and found a very cool independent bookstore. Turns out it's owned by Garrison Keillor...yes Dad, we will take you there when you come to visit.

We stopped by a couple of art galleries. Visited an old record store - Electric Fetus - vinyl and cd's. From there we headed to a woodworker's store and then stopped at Moto-I.

Moto-I is a local sake brewery and restaurant. I am not as big a fan of sake, so I had a great beer - Lift Bridge Farm Girl from a Stillwater brewery. Steve had the sake. They had several TVs on - Japanese TV, TV Food Network, and of course the NCAA tourney.

Japanese TV became very interesting when the Sumo wrestling started. It was quite interesting to actually watch the matches. The wrestler's legs are actually quite muscular. One of the workers was very in to Sumo and was explaining the rules and her knowledge while we watched.

Quite the Saturday - Sumo and Sake.

We walked around the area a bit and visited a few independent stores and then headed home. All in all a great first full day of spring!

Truffle Oil.....Is it the answer to everything?

Someone in our house is a bit obsessed with all things truffle. And not the chocolate kind...although I would bet if there were any in the house they would be found and eaten.

We're talking the other truffles. According to wikipedia, "...a fungal fruiting body that develops underground and relies on mycophagy for spore dispersal." Usually found near trees. There are hundreds of species. Edible truffles are used in French and Italian cooking. In Europe, truffle hogs are used to sniff out the truffles. Dogs are beginning to be used in hunting for truffles as well. The advantage of the canine hunter is that they can be trained not to eat them when they find them. Guess pigs can't be trained...but they do have an innate ability to sniff out truffles.

Truffles are often high priced and because they have a strong taste they are often used sparingly in cooking. Truffle oil on the other hand is cheaper to use and produces the flavor and aroma of truffles. Although in researching this on wikipedia I found that truffle oil is typically just olive oil with a synthetic agent that smells like truffles.

Hmmm...anyway, the truffle oil brings me back to the point of this post. We recently visited a Food and Wine Expo in the cities and came away with our very own bottle of truffle oil. I'm not the huge fan of the truffle experience like some people are. But today we mixed it in our hamburgers before grilling them outside. I must say the burger was one of the best hamburgers I've had in quite some time. Nice flavor and such a moist burger. We even brushed them on the hamburger buns and grilled those too. I have to say I may be a fan. Now I don't know if it is the answer to everything or that I need EVERYTHING to taste like truffles, but I can see the value in it occasionally.

Now....if only we had the chocolate truffle variety around this house!

Deja Vu 2009

We have gotten probably about 6-8 inches of snow today. I left work early and had the oddest deja vu sensation as I slowly traversed home through the piles of snow. It took me a good 1.5 hours to drive home. Thankfully I left early.

So, back to the deja vu. 2 years ago, we had a similar snowstorm on a Thursday just like today. It was also the end of February/beginning of March. Same type of snow, same long drive home. That day we ended up with 13 inches of snow and work actually closed on that Friday. I doubt we'll have that happen again, but who knows...it is still snowing. Anyway, I decided to take advantage of my "snow day" and start by shoveling snow. Well, most of you know the end of that story...a slip on a patch of ice, snap, crackle, pop, ambulance ride, lots of vicodin, crutches, surgery, plate and screws in the ankle, 4 weeks off of work and lots of sympathy.

I think I'm better prepared this time. I don't shovel, I have boots that fit, and I look at the ground when I walk. Still it's hard not to think about it when the weather and dates are all setting up to be quite similar.

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I fell. My ankle is drastically improved. It still gets sore and looks terrible with the scars and such. But, I'm able to play squash at the gym without too much trouble. I never would have thought that I'd ever get back to normal, but all in all I have.

Valentine's Recap

We are not known for going all out on any holiday, let alone Valentine’s Day. I’ve gotten some great gifts over the year around the holiday, but never on it. A dozen roses here and there, a pair of earrings, but again…not on the actual day.

This year we ended up having quite the Valentine’s Day. One of our current favorite restaurants, Café Levain, was offering a prix fixe menu on Valentine’s evening paired with a wine flight for a nice, economic stimulus friendly, price. So, we made reservations for 6:30 and headed out. We arrived at the restaurant and I knew we were in for a good night when I heard a live clarinetist playing the background music. As a clarinetist myself, I have no clue how he was able to play the entire time we were dining let alone if he played all evening. It was quite a nice touch and really added to my dining experience.

We had a great dinner complete with a Beet Salad for the first course. My meal followed next with Seared Dayboat Scallops with Parsnip-Potato “Risotto,” Parsnip Puree, Celery Leave - Herb Salad, Brown Butter, and Vanilla. The main course was a Grilled Rib of Beef with Roasted Polenta. The finishing touch was a Valrhona Chocolate Torte with a small scoop of White Chocolate Ice Cream. It was SOOOOO good.

From here we moved on to a Coffee/Wine Bar to listen to Machinery Hill. We know a member of the band and we’ve become quite the “groupies”. It’s an interesting musical genre – kind of Celtic, folksy, all wrapped up in one. On Saturday there was a large crowd gathered to relax, hang out and enjoy some music. Of note were the aged hippies that started dancing to the music. One guy looked exactly like Frasier Crane – only about 30 years older.

We ended the night when the band took their first break so we could go let the dogs out. It was a memorable Valentine’s Day….even with the wine flight!

Random Thoughts

A posting is in order if for no other reason than to move the Nexus down the page. While I’m thrilled at having a working loo once again, it’s time to move on.

Just some random thoughts on a Friday…

Why is it that with a history degree I actually tend to dismiss reading historical fiction? You would think that I would love it, but alas…I really don’t. However, if anyone has a book title that is a must read that is historical fiction, pass it along. I might reconsider.

How come in the fall an air temperature of 32 feels downright cold and in February it feels like shorts weather? I do know the answer to this one, but it still is rather perplexing from a strictly 32 degree temperature reading.

Why is it that some days productivity comes so easily and the next it is so difficult?

How come it feels like Friday will never arrive and then on the other hand you can’t believe how quick the week went?

OK, these random thoughts are a little annoying, but I didn’t have a full-blown post in me today.

Have a good weekend!

My Hope for Today

It’s the small things in life that really can get you excited. After several weeks of not having a functional toilet in the master bathroom, behold….

The Nexus!

If everything goes as scheduled, it is my hope that this will be installed by the end of the day.

Ahh….the little things.

A Bit Warmer, but Still Winter

We have gone through a temperature swing of about 40 degrees. Sad that even with that swing it's still just around 20 degrees. It might feel downright balmy, but the wind and the snow just prevent that from occurring. We may get above freezing on Wednesday before we head back down to single digits for highs.

As much as I complain about the cold, I guess I only have myself to blame. I agreed that this would be a great place to live. Hmmm....

Bracing for the Arctic Blast

As I write this, the sun is brightly shining over the numerous inches of snow that have piled up over the last month. On first glance out the window, it actually appears to be pleasant. However, I know it is not over 0 degrees outside. Yes, while those of you readers in what I consider now the south face the possibility of negative temps – know that we’ve been living with it now for a couple of days and we’re not done.

Tonight is supposed to be the coldest temps in 10 years. If you do the math on that one, I haven’t lived here for 10 years (quite yet). So, I do not know what these temps are going to feel like. All I know is that my car registered -26 Tuesday morning. That means if that wasn’t the coldest morning then could I possibly hit -30 tomorrow morning?? And those are air temperatures. Not counting wind chills. On the weather last night the wind chills were registering around -25 or so. That’s with the new formula for figuring out wind chills. With the old formula we would have been at -40. Seriously – how did Laura Ingalls do it up here!

I do have to give the Jeep “props” for hanging in with me this week as I force it to power through the tundra to and from work. It does keep me quite toasty. However, keep in mind that I have the blower on high for the majority of my commute. And that commute has been averaging over an hour both ways. With Monday afternoon’s 2 hour drive taking the award for “crappy commute” of the week.

As I write this over my lunch hour, I have also taken a moment to explore a warm weather get away. I now see the allure of being a snowbird. Not that I’m quite old enough to be considered a snowbird, I’m ready to find a job where I can work in the sun and warmth during the winter. Of course the airfares are a little steep right now….give me another week like this and I’ll cash in all of my frequent flier miles to go anywhere that the temp is over 60.

For those of you with thinner blood that aren’t ready for the arctic blast…prepare. Wear that hat (even if hats make you look stupid), double up on socks, gloves, scarves. Whatever you do….layer, layer, layer.

Happy 2009!

I haven’t had much “blog-worthy” material lately, but my audience of 1 has commented recently that I must have given up on the blog. So….here I go.

Started a new job a few weeks ago. Nothing more humbling than going from being the “expert” in a position to being the newbie without a clue! It helps that I at least stayed within the same company, but it really feels like a different world. I think I’ll enjoy a bit of a slower pace for awhile though. My last job kept me extremely busy.

I traveled at Christmas and got to know the Detroit airport quite well. Thankfully they have a Westin hotel within the airport. That helped with the overnight wait that I had! It was actually kind of nice to be forced to do nothing but sit and watch tv. No computer, not much reading material with me. Not to mention no clothes, etc. I have learned to pack differently when having connecting flights. Always keep a change of underwear, toothbrush, and hairbrush in the carry on luggage. Of course you are told that all the time, but had I been listening???? Of course not. I now have a nice t-shirt souvenir from Detroit. And no, it isn’t a Lions t-shirt nor one of the Big 3. Although I guess that might have been a boost to the economy.

I had a great holiday all in all. Saw a lot of family. Saw “Marley & Me” – very cute, but sad. When I got back home I got involved in watching the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy with Steve. Probably a good 10-12 hours of hobbits, elves, dwarves and orks. Next up…The Godfather series.

Now it’s 2009. Crazy that the year flew by like it did. I’m off of school for a couple of weeks, so it’s a great time to get immersed in my new job. Of course I also have time for those other items I like to procrastinate with like…working out, cleaning, etc. I’ll try and balance my free time appropriately. :)

Hope you have a wonderful and peaceful 2009!