I need a break from all the bleeping beeping!

So this is my on-call month at work. Yes you read that right - MONTH. Don't get me started. In addition to the various electronic devices I carry around with me regularly, for this month I get to carry around the handy-dandy team pager. Yes you read that right again. They still use pagers here. Anyway... It went off in the middle of the night last night and it took me a solid minute or two to figure out what the heck was making that beeping noise. That's when I came to the conclusion that if it takes that long to figure out what is going off, I just may have one too many electronic devices.

Over the weekend I heard yet another beep in the middle of the night and thought it was my cell phone receiving a text message. Nope - it turns out that we had lost power sometime in the night (thank you blinking clocks) and I discovered our cordless phone beeps when it gets powered on.

But none of that has helped me to figure out what beeped in the middle of the night last week. It was loud enough to wake me out of a deep sleep, but after checking the cell phone, iPod Touch, J's cell phone and everything else that was plugged in the kitchen to charge, I still can't figure out what made that noise. One of the laptops perhaps? I don't believe I've ever heard the Wii make noise before. I know the cat's homing devices make a noise when the battery runs low but I don't think this was the same beep. After searching the whole house I ended up convincing myself that maybe it was in my dream.

I think I need a vacation. These beeps are driving me insane!

It's called testing folks...

This was interesting - MSNBC article - Apple ‘stunned’ to find flaw in iPhone 4

So either no one at Apple tested the signal strength bars or Apple wants you to think you're getting great service even if you aren't. Hmmm... Makes you wonder if AT&T was in on that little scheme...

But seriously, the company is "stunned" to find out that their signal bar formula is wrong?! Don't get me wrong, I think Apple has some really great products out there, but do they really have such a big ego that they think their products are completely issue-free?? Stunned? Please!

I myself have been salivating over the iPhone since its inception (even though I love my Touch) but I refuse to switch my provider to AT&T. I heart my Verizon discounted-thru-hubby's-work family plan. And being the developer that I am, I refuse to buy anything that's newly released. Best to wait and let the other poor saps figure out the kinks. By then, maybe Apple will have worked out a deal with Verizon for the rest of us who refuse to become a slave to AT&T.

Several recaps...

Wow - it's been over a month since I last posted. Not a good track record for keeping loyal readers, I'll give you that. Let's see if I can give a bit of a recap - Mother's Day in NYC was awesome. No we did not get a chance to venture into Tiffany's but I did get a bunch of beads for my Pandora bracelet and enjoyed a yummy latte in Bryant Park with my favorite man. Doesn't get much better than that.

In other news, the back deck/gazebo is coming along nicely. We are currently in a holding pattern waiting for the roofing shingles to get delivered and we still need to decide what to purchase for deck boards. This has become the never-ending project, but it has to get done eventually, right? Preferably this year so we can at least USE it before winter arrives...again...

In exercise news, I have totally fallen off the workout bandwagon. I have no idea how it happened - it just did. I now get weekly calls from the fitness center asking where I am. But to be honest, I was doing a bit of outside jogging back in May but of course that doesn't count as far as the fitness center goes. Whatever. They're still getting their monthly dues so they can't be that upset. Of course this doesn't bode well for my "get fit" regime that I started BEFORE New Years. Neither does the fact that I had 2 tubs of cookie dough in my freezer from one of B's fundraisers, one of which has since been opened for baking... But I have every intention of getting back on that bandwagon, especially now that we have decided which dress we will be wearing for my best friend's wedding next year. It's gorgeous and elegant and a bit form fitting around the waist and hips. And I vow not to have to by any of that spanx stuff to fit in it. That's motivation right there I tell ya!

Most recently I have been having a hard time dealing with the fact that the school year is pretty much over. Where the heck did that year go?? Yesterday was B's graduation from the Academy that he's been attending since he was 4. Yes, he's been going there for 3 years and has attended every single program they offer - Nursery School, Pre-Kindergarten, Junior Kindergarten (his second year was a mix of these 2 classes) and most recently Kindergarten Enrichment to supplement the public school half day Kindergarten. Three years and over $30K in tuition (yes I just did the math - that's more than J and I paid for college - combined!) but in truth it was the best money ever spent. That school is simply fabulous and B has loved every minute of it. He has even admitted recently that he has more fun and does more stuff at the Academy than he does at the public school. I figured that would be the case. But alas, his tenure there has come to an end and I think it was more emotional for me than it was for him. At the graduation I saw several of the parents that we've met and kept in touch with over the years. It's like we all suddenly realized that this was our kid's last hurrah at this school, but thankfully most of these kids live in town so they will be seeing each other as they continue on in school. But then they presented gifts to the teachers and the teachers cried. Then several parents were presented with gifts from the teachers and the parents cried. It was quite the ceremony and I was thoroughly unprepared for the emotional-ness of it all. But now we're looking ahead to next year and all the challenges that first grade brings. I think B is ready for it. It's going to be another story for me though.

Mother's day weekend...NYC style

Mother's day is going to be a little different this year. We're heading down to NYC this weekend to see one of my favorite comedians here:


And instead of a hotel, we will be making use of my new membership at the Cornell Club (guess that master's degree is finally paying off - thanks RPI!) and staying in one of their guestrooms here:


Hmmm... maybe I can entice dear hubby to take a side-trip here:


Ya know...being mother's day and all...

Happy Mother's Day to all moms and moms-to-be!

The perks of outlet shopping

Wow - It's been almost a month since I last posted and since then a few things have happened. Nothing major though - just a few things here and there. First of all - our radio-active cat Hailie is well on the mend from her hyperthyroidism. Her fur seems to be making a healthy comeback and she's no longer eating us out of house and home. It's been a month since her treatment so she's completely safe to be around and we no longer have to reduce the amount of time we spend around her. That's a plus cause I think she was a bit depressed that we couldn't allow her to sit in our laps for hours at a time.

Other reportable news is my old (well not really "old" as it was barely 10 years old) clothes washer decided to kit the bucket. So we went out and got a new, bigger and more efficient Electrolux washer. Yeah, I had no idea that Electrolux made anything other than vacuum cleaners. But this thing is fantastic. It fits our queen/king comforters with ease and B really likes the blue-tinted LEDs that light up the controls. Not to mention the window in the front so you can actually see it working - which is something that my old washer didn't have.

And now after a fun-filled excursion to Maine this past weekend to meet up with a friend (not to mention over-spend at the outlets) I have yet another addition to my schnazzy laundry room - a brand new utility sink/cabinet! It's so sparkly white I think it's going to take me a long time before I actually use it. After showing it to me last night, my fantastic hubby confided to me that he had been planning to surprise me with a utility sink for quite a while but he never had a chance cause I was always home on the weekends. Well geez - I think I need to go away on weekend shopping trips more often!

The Gamma Girl

Hailie came back home this past Friday to very happy parents and a very miserable brother. Miserable because I think he was getting used to being the only cat. So for the first few days she was home he did nothing but hiss at her. Or maybe it was because she came back home smelling like a veterinary hospital. In any event, she seems thrilled to be back.

In anticipation of her arrival, I spent Thursday night cleaning out her litter box and replacing our current litter with a new corn-derived litter given to us by the vet hospital. Since her poop and pee will be radioactive for the next two weeks, we are required to flush all litter box contents down the toilet. That's all fine until we decided to let her run outside for a bit over the weekend. After spending almost 4 days in a kennel, how could I deny her some fresh air and a little time out in the sun? It wasn't until after the weekend that I discovered that she hadn't used her litter box at all. I wonder if she's retaliating because it's the same litter she had in the hospital? Could a cat develop a hate association with litter? No clue. But all I know is somewhere out in our yard we have a superfund site developing. How nice.

Turning a black cat green...

Since this blog has been dedicated to our two black cats, it only makes sense that I keep my faithful readers updated with their goings-on. Especially when one of them is about to turn green. And by green, I don't mean environmentally friendly. Or in anticipation of St. Patty's day tomorrow. Nope. This type of green reminds me of when I used to work at a large jet engine manufacturer and had to drive by several strange-looking ponds on my way to the parking lot. The water in those ponds looked like something from another planet. It was opaque with not a trace of algae to be seen. The pond itself was so green, I'd classify it as day-glo. Lord only knows what was in that water, but we used to joke that it was some sort of radioactive pit. And hence my connection between that green pond and my green cat. Ok, let me clarify that her fur color won't really be changing to a shade of day-glo green, but as of noon today she will become radioactive in an attempt to cure her feline hyperthyroidism. After a grueling 45 minute drive that included her not only peeing but also pooping in my car (yeah, THAT was a fun ride) we arrived this morning at the only veterinary hospital in the state that specializes in radioactive iodine therapy. And there she must remain, for the next 72 hours before we can bring our radioactive feline back home. Followed by two weeks of care and caution in order to keep ourselves from being exposed to the radiation. So things are going to be interesting here for a little while once she comes back, but it'll be worth it. This procedure has a 99% success rate which is why we decided to bite this very expensive bullet and get her treated. She'll be 10 years old this summer, but she's worth every penny. So even if she comes home glowing, I'll be very happy to have my little girl back.

Criminy... someone should put me in blog-jail!

So apparently I totally forgot I had turned on comment moderation. Here I thought - geeze, no one appears to be commenting on my posts anymore, only to find out I had several MONTHS worth of comments waiting to be published. I must be the worst blog maintainer in the world. So a very big apology to all of my faithful commenters (who really have been commenting all this time!) I have officially published all of them.

And turned off comment moderation cause apparently, it works a little too well!

Where are you spring?

Sorry blog-land. You have been neglected. Hey at least I'm honest. So far I've managed to rack up a total of 2 posts since the start of the year. Compared to my bloggy-friends who seem to write almost everyday, I'm very far behind. And I really have no excuses. My scrapbooking, photo-albuming, and book-writing have suffered just as much, so don't feel bad blogland cause you're not alone. What I have been doing since the beginning of February is taking care of a sick kid, going away on vacation, getting sick while on vacation and being sick again. Actually I think I caught whatever B had before we went away on vacation and getting something else immediately afterward while I was already down for the count. I don't know. What I do know is it's been 2 weeks and I still feel like junk. Given all that, I also haven't been to the gym in a while. I think I'm going to attempt a toning class tonight. I need to ease back into it (and all the other things I've been neglecting lately.)

I think this entire household has a bad case of cabin fever. We're so ready for spring. But today's snowfall isn't helping matters one bit.

One scary-lookin' groundhog

I was thoroughly not surprised to hear the verdict this morning from our state's own resident groundhog. That's right, forget Punxsutawney Phil, we've got our own Chuckles to make the prediction for this state. And guess what? There'll be 6 more weeks of winter for us. Yip-freakin'-ee.

After reading a local news article, though, I'm a bit concerned with Chuckles' prediction abilities:

Chuckles has had a bit of a troubled past, the Courant reports. She had been hit by a car and had a head injury, leaving her with permanent neurological damage, museum director Bob Eckert told the paper.

"Her balance might be a little off and she stares at you weird," Animal Curator Sarah Wilby told the Courant, "but her vision hasn't been affected."

So there you have it. A groundhog who suffered from head trauma and has neurological issues is responsible for predicting our state's weather for the next 6 weeks. Sound a bit odd to you? Forget odd, I think the rodent might even be possessed. Either that or she does not care much for photographers.


"Mwahaha... it'll be 6 more weeks of bitter cold for you, my pretty..."

Happy New Year! (yes I know I'm 12 days late...)

So it's already 12 days into the new year and I'm finally getting around to posting my first post of 2010. Apparently keeping the blog up-to-date was not one of my new years resolutions. Which is why I never make new years resolutions. It's just another task on my chore list that I can never keep on top of so why should I deliberately set myself up for failure??

On the plus side I have been keeping up my latest endeavor - going to the gym! That's right folks, I finally caved and bought a gym membership, but not before getting to try out the equipment and the classes for free for the month of December! How can you beat that?! (And no this is not a new year's resolution. Since I decided to join back in December, it doesn't count!) I got hooked on zumba, became tangled like a pretzel in yoga and started feeling stronger after toning. And that's just a very small sample of the classes this place offers. So far I've been making it 2-3 times a week, which, for the die-hard fitness fanatics, is not a good track record. But coming from someone who has resisted getting a membership for years (cause I live in the hills and jogging around our neighborhood is a better workout than any treadmill could ever offer) I feel as though that's a major accomplishment. So now I'm hooked on cardio and the weight machines and if I have time I try to squeeze a class in there as well. And I think it's paying off! I have more energy, feel stronger already and (this is the best part) have been sickness free since I caught the flu back in November. That alone is definitely worth the $30 spent per month. By now I have usually endured at least one cold between the holidays and would battle at least another one or two before the warmer temps kick in. Here's hoping I remain sickness-free for the rest of this horribly cold and snow-deprived winter!

Major storm

It's common knowledge 'round these parts that if the weathermen start hyping up a winter storm, it probably isn't going to happen (or we'll get only a third of what they originally predicted.) So I'm going to use this as a forum to see just how accurate these guys really are. They are predicting a slow-moving storm to cross our area right around New Year's Day. That means it could dump a lot of snow. And I love snow. So here's the outlook as of this morning:



And here is their technical outlook:
As the ball drops in Times Square on New Year's Eve so will the temperatures! Weather conditions will also be on the decline. We are watching the possibility of a coastal storm developing and roaring up the coast to help us ring in 2010! The latest model runs show the storm taking a track closer to the coast. We will most likely see a scenario where snow will break out at the onset and then transition to a wintry mix inland and to all rain along the shoreline. The storm will be a slow mover. Therefore, it may mean significant precipitation throughout the area. As always, the smallest change in any storm track can have a tremendous impact on the type and amount of precipitation we see here. Stay tuned!

Brief synopsis:
They have no idea what to expect so they're keeping their outlook extremely vague. I agree with the last sentence though - Stay tuned!

Another year, another party

Well another Christmas has come and gone. In a way it was quick, in another it was probably good that it was quick. Our first Christmas without my mom around was like eating cake without any frosting. Sure it was good, but it lacked that special touch that made it awesome. In time I'm sure I'll get used to eating frosting-less cake but trust me when I say that it'll never be as good as the real thing. Despite that, we still managed to have a good time. Christmas eve was quiet but very nice, spent with dad, B and J opening up a boatload of gifts. Christmas day was roudy since everyone was at our house for dinner, but I actually enjoyed the busyness for once. Boxing day was a blast as we spent it with hostess extrordinaire SJ and her hubby J who were unfortunately in the same boat as us as they too had unexpectedly lost a loving mom very recently. I think they were just as grateful for the distraction as we were. Not to mention that they are fantastic hosts with a fantastic new house. I'm so totally jealous of their newly acquired space.

And now we are diligently preparing to continue the festivities in another 2 days as we ring in 2010. We'll be hosting about 5 families and their kids (thank god I cleaned out the basement and turned it into a play room!) In a way, I'll be glad to see 2009 over. But I really hope that 2010 turns out to be a good year, for all of us.

I heart my gadgets!

There are days when my iPod Touch really helps to concentrate. I get in a groove (musically and workingly) and before I know it, it's quittin' time. Then there are those days where I'm so busy, that my poor iPod just sits on my desk, waiting to be used, only to get shoved into my purse at the end of the day with not a single song played. I almost feel like I have to apologize to it. Seriously, I totally planned on listening to you and your wonderful songs and podcasts today, I swear! Those days are bad, but not as bad as the days when the podcast ends and minutes go by before I realize I still have the earbuds in my ear and the iPod sits completely silent and forgotten during my busyness.

On the one hand you probably think I'm lazy - like she couldn't have taken the 2 seconds to select a new podcast? On the other had, it allows me to eavesdrop on conversations since everyone around me thinks I can't hear them. Thank you iPod - you're the best!

Let it snow!

We had our first accumulating snowfall this past Saturday while we were visiting New York City. Although New York being further south than us, it only rained while we were down there but it was cold cold rain. In any event, the rain didn't seem to dampen the holiday spirit that surrounded Rockefeller Center and Radio City's Christmas Spectacular - both of which we managed to see. Our sightseeing was not limited to only the holiday attractions, however. We also managed to see Grand Central Terminal, Times Square, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Saks Fifth Avenue, the World Trade Center site with the new tower under construction, St. Paul's Chapel, Trinity Church, the New York Stock Exchange and Wall Street, and the bronze bull. All in all - it was a lot of cold, wet walking, a few subway trips for Brendan and Dad and some really good food at a French organic bistro and our favorite Italian restaurant on 44th. It was Dad's and Brendan's first time strolling in the city and I think they had a really good time.

And now this morning, we have at least another 6" of snow on the ground. It wouldn't bother me so much except that now it's sleeting, which means there will be a hard crusty layer on top of all that snow. That's good for the cats - they'll be able to walk across it without falling through. Bad for us since we'll have to shovel/snowblow even more weight. I think I might forgo my toning class tonight at the gym. I'll be getting a good upper-body workout right here at home tonight!

Gobble gobble!

Wishing everyone out in blog-land a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sheesh CNN...

You KNOW it's a slow news day when these are at the top of the headlines listed on CNN.com:

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired

It all started near the end of October when B came down with a nasty cold. At about the same time, I wasn't feeling the best and it turns out I came down with the regular seasonal flu. (This after being told that I had been exposed to H1N1, but thankfully the swine flu test turned out negative.) Thank god for Tamiflu - that stuff works wonders! B started feeling a little better but his cold didn't completely go away. That usually means something else is brewing and sure enough - a double ear infection was next on the germ platter. After my course of Tamiflu was over, B started his course of antibiotics. Then I came down with his cold. Lovely. I think these bugs are taking turns here - virus, bacteria, virus, bacteria. I'm just hoping my home doesn't turn into a superbug factory!

After dealing with one yucky sickness or another for about 2 weeks, we enjoyed a week of rebounding energy, warmer than usual weather and the schools reopened for November. Yes, they actually closed the schools in our town due to 1/3 of the student population being absent for various ills including a few swine'y's in the mix. Now we're well into the 2nd week of November and gosh darnit, I feel a tickle in my throat again. Oh and B has been coughing his head off lately, which is usually the first sign that he's coming down with something. AGAIN. GRRRR!!!!!

Seriously I want it to be summer again. Winter hasn't even started yet and I feel like we've spent the better part of fall dealing with germs. I wish I could pick up my house and dip the whole thing into a disinfectant bath.

Happy Birthday B!

Six years ago today at 11:39 AM, I gave birth to a 4lbs, 7oz little boy six and a half weeks before my due date. Yup, it was crazy I tell you. And I was woefully unprepared! But now he's almost up to my shoulders and smart as a whip!

Happy Birthday to my (not-so-little) spud!!

On a trivial pursuit

So to end a rather long, drawn out week here at two black cats, I'm offering up a little bit of trivia to get this weekend off on the right foot.
(These are all from my handy-dandy desk calendar, so I take no credit in coming up with any of these.)

There are more than 15,000 different kinds of rice. Rice is grown on more than 10% of the earth's farmable surface and is the main food for half of the people of the world.
Wow and I thought it was all either basmati or jasmine! Oh wait, but then there's sticky rice, sushi rice, long grain, wild rice...

Halifax, Nova Scotia, has the largest number of bars per capita of anyplace in the world.
Now if this isn't a great excuse to go visit my cousin in Halifax, I don't know what is!

Pineapples do not continue to ripen after they have been picked.
So what I thought was an overripe pineapple on my counter at home is really just a rotting pineapple. Eww!

The average lead pencil can draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English word.
I want to meet the individual who drew that 35 mile long line!

The main library at Indiana University sinks more than an inch every year, because when it was built engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books.
And these people call themselves engineers?! Hey I wonder if they graduated from the same school as the engineers who decideded to build my former high school on a swamp.

To keep cool, ostriches urinate on their legs; it then evaporates like sweat.
Oh that's just nasty!

Experienced waitresses say that married men tip better than unmarried men.
Well of course they do - their wives make sure of it!

The average woman uses six pounds of lipstick in her lifetime.
Holy moly, that's a lotta lipstick!

The oldest word in the English language is town.
For some reason I'm surprised by this, but ok.

The quartz crystal in your wristwatch vibrates 32,768 times per second.
Seriously, how do they measure this stuff??

There are more barbie dolls in Italy than there are Canadians in Canada.
Are they including Ken dolls in this number as well? And do they all have the barbie corvette too?

And the last one is for all you soda drinkers...
Pepsi is commonly used by wooden boat owners to clean mold from decks. They leave it on for about thirty seconds, then it must be rinsed off so as not to cause erosion.
Good news for people who hate mold, but bad news for the teeth of those who drink this stuff on a daily basis. I have to admit though, I have an issue with that second sentence.
Erosion is the mechanical process of wearing something down so unless they are pouring Pepsi on these decks all day, every day, I doubt it would cause 'erosion'.
What they described is more of a chemical process so I'm thinking they probably meant to say corrosion. Like how Coke can corrode the rust right off a nail.
Yeah - good stuff!