7 posts tagged “travel”

Survival...

Jun 27, 2008
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So, I have survived my crazy week of travel with our new team member. She, by the way, is fabulous and I can't express how much I enjoyed having some company on the trip. Getting home last night was...a nightmare really. Bad weather all over the place made for lots of late flights and cancellations. I finally crawled into the house here around 12:45am.

Today has been full of work stuff - wrapping up things from this week, conference calls, scheduling for July, etc. But, for the most part, I am done now and must move on to the insane amount of housework that has to be completed before 8pm tomorrow!

Laundry: I have to get the guest bedding and towels washed! All other laundry can then be done as time permits...but those first two are a must!

Cleaning: Vacuuming the entire place will happen this evening. There is dog and cat hair in and on and around everything. I will also try to get all the dog bedding washed before tomorrow evening so that it doesn't smell so stale in here. It doesn't stink, but it all could use some refreshing. And the bathrooms...they both need to be scrubbed. Top to bottom. Inside and out. I should probably do a quick scrub of the kitchen floor too while I have the supplies out.

Organizing: My office and bedroom look like a bomb went off. I need to get things put away. Granted, Dad probably won't be hanging out in my bedroom, but the office? For sure!

The car will go to the wash/detail place tomorrow morning to get cleaned and I will do a quick grocery shopping trip on my way home.

Then, to the airport. Dad gets in sometime around 8:00pm tomorrow evening. Hopefully, he will have an uneventful trip. Traveling these days is crappy as it is...weather doesn't need to compound the crappiness.

Totally unrelated - I got the shoes that I ordered from Simple Shoes. They are adorable, turquoise canvas style shoes. I am going to wear them around the house later today to see how they feel...but just from opening the box, I love the way they look!

Marly's ear is markedly better. She missed her ear drops last night due to my late night arrival home and my being too tired to wrestle with her, but this morning she let me do them and was such a good dog about it. I think she is realizing that the drops are making the itching and soreness go away. The report is that they were good girls at the kennel...however, I think the ladies there just love Sadie more than anything and would say anything to get her there more often. Even up to and including the fact that they charge for Marly at the 30-60 pound dog price. Ha! Both pups seem contentedly tired today which is nice since I have so much to do and don't have enough time to take them to the park today (besides which the weather isn't cooperating for that either).

Oh yeah, Neil put up some old photos of Marly...I already forget how tiny she was when she came to live here! She will be 11 months old tomorrow.

What?!?

Apr 30, 2008
3 comments

I am still in small town, nowhere PA. This morning what to my wondering eye did appear? Snow! (There may as well have been reindeer too with as shocked as I was.) Tomorrow it is supposed to be 65 here. Go figure.

I finally get to go home tomorrow - everyone here has been really nice and accommodating of my extra time spent in their branch today. But, I can't wait to get out of here and sleep in my own bed. My back and arms are killing me from the weed-eating this past weekend and I haven't been sleeping at all in the hotel.

I miss my dogs!

And my cats!

(Oh yeah, I miss my guy too...) ;-)

In other news - apparently I am only about 2 miles (as the crow flies) from the crash site of Flight 93. I am not going to go, but it was interesting to hear some first-hand accounts of what the folks here saw and heard.

OK...I am off to goof-off for a bit before I try to get some sleep. Tomorrow morning is semi-early. I have a 2 hour drive back to the airport.

Pennsylvania

Apr 29, 2008
1 comment

I am back in PA. This time in the Western part of the state...a couple hours outside of Pittsburgh. It is amazing to me how dilapidated this entire area is.

I understand Pittsburgh can be a great city with some fabulous museums, sports, art, etc...but so much of it has been let go. I know the economy here is rough - has been - since the decline of the American steel industry. But still, it is an entirely different perspective to witness it first hand.

There has also been a strange little cold front that is blowing through (same with back home too)...temps dropped over 10 degrees from this past weekend and are then expected to rise almost that much with this upcoming weekend. The overnight low tonight is supposed to get down to freezing here. Strange. Good thing I remembered to bring my jacket!

Apparently this evening Neil bought each of the dogs a hickory smoked beef thigh bone. This is after they got to go to the park again today and chase squirrels. *laugh* According to Neil, Beth got to witness just how fast Sadie can be. She doesn't show it much these days with as stiff as she is getting, but for a squirrel? Oh heck yeah! Tomorrow there are a couple trips to the dog park planned...I am jealous. I want to go too!

Sadie bone

Now it is time for me to finish up the work I was doing this evening and maybe read a bit before I head to bed. Unfortunately, traveling out of this place doesn't work well so I am stuck here until Thursday. *sigh* Too bad I wasn't thinking at 4am on Monday while I was packing and didn't also throw in some project stuff I am working on. I am sure I will come up with something to fill my time.

Frustrated

Apr 27, 2008
3 comments

The weekend wasn't all bad, but I get very little of the MUCH needed yard work accomplished and that frustrates me to no end. I feel like there is never time to get everything done these days and that something important always has to give. Some folks may not consider housework or yard work important, but I take pride in my home and I want to keep it nice (which is tough enough to do with two dogs and three cats...let alone adding a job that always has me away).

We did hit up two farmer's markets on Saturday. The first was the Charlotte Tailgate which was very small, but nice. It was also their first weekend of the season, so I expect it will be larger as things get going. While we were there, there was also an art festival happening that we didn't know about, so we perused those booths too. There was some very lovely stuff, unfortunately, out of my budget right now.

After that we headed over to the Charlotte Farmer's Market. This is a permanent state run market that is open from March until October (I think)...all day Tuesday through Saturday. And I think they are also open Sundays during the peak season. I had NO idea this place was here! It was fabulous...and also very obvious that regardless of the hours, if you are going there to buy produce, go early! There was also a crafts building that we didn't go check out, and a greenery building that we did go check out. Lots of great plants (indoor, outdoor, and edible) for sale.

We picked up some numy stuff and will go back again next week when I can get some more things for myself since I will be home the following week to enjoy them! Now that I am doing this, I am going to have to work out some sort of weekly dinner plan so that I know on Saturdays what I need to grab. Mostly, I want to be sure to plan so that I don't just get stuff that looks great and then have it go bad because I wasn't around to actually eat it.

Then we took the dogs to the dog park with their new pooch pass. What a great place! Completely fenced in, poop bags stations very conveniently located throughout. Water. And at least a couple acres for them to romp in...partially shaded with trees. We will definitely be frequenting this park since it is clean and convenient.

Then I got roped into hanging out with Neil and Beth...I should have gone home and started the yard work. But, I didn't. And we had a lovely evening!

Today I got the necessary yard stuff done. Mowing and edging and some sweeping off the patio and the garage. But of course that took forever so I didn't get anything else done out there that I needed to do. Maybe next weekend.

This week I am traveling....I will be in a small PA town for a couple days. It sucks, because this is a review I could do in a day and a half if it were local, but I have to add on two more days just for traveling. Stupid.

Drought, heat, yard work...

Apr 25, 2008
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The city has let up slightly on the water restrictions. For the time being I am now allowed to water my lawn on Thursdays (even number homes Thurs...odd are some other day of the week) and I can wash my car on Fridays.

Unfortunately, the lawn watering on Thursdays is highly inconvenient since I am usually out of town or traveling and arriving home very late on Thursdays. I may try to enlist the help of my neighbors with this. And I have a confession to make...I have owned my truck for over a year now and have yet to wash it myself. Don't get me wrong...it has been washed, but always by the dealership when I take it in for the oil changes and maintenance.

This weekend will be another jam-packed one. Today is housework day. Tomorrow morning Neil and I are going to head out to the opening day of the farmer's market in Charlotte. If I remember correctly, the local market in Mount Holly here opens next weekend or the one after that - when it does, it will be much more convenient. Hopefully, they will have lots of good stuff. It is their second year here in town.

On the way home from Charlotte we will be stopping by the rockery so that I can get prices on red rock and also paving stones (with delivery). Of course, I also have more shrubbery thoughts in my head too...I would like to dig up the prickly holly that is in front of my windows and replace it with a few different shrubs that will stay smaller and will bloom (a gardenia or two and a couple camellias). But that project is going to wait until I get the hardscaping taken care of and I get one last tree planted.

Tomorrow afternoon we are planning to take the pups to the dog park that is nearby (at lunch today I am hoping to have time to get out and get the Pooch Passes for the pups so we can do this). Apparently, there is a nice little beach area there at the dog park too!

Sunday will be spent doing the yard work that I will have intended to get to Saturday evening but won't have. Mowing and edging and chopping down overgrowth on the hillside and gully out back. FUN!

Next weekend will be actual hardscaping work if I can get the items I need delivered.

Then bright and early Monday morning I fly out again. Whhheeee. I really hate the travel. I am so tired of cramming my life into three days on top of all of my daily chores because I am not home in the evenings to take care of the mundane tasks like a normal person with a normal job.

To-Do

pooch passes
vacuum
laundry
scrub bathrooms
scrub floors
mow
edge
remove overgrowth

Shopping List

flowering tree
weed-n-feed/grass seed
spreader
groceries
paving stones
red rock

Philadelphia, lifestyles, sick?, & Marly's meet-up

Apr 18, 2008
3 comments

The trip was nice...the city interesting. What a different mix of a very new downtown high-rise area surrounded by really, really old sprawling city mixed generously with old industry.

The branch was chaos. I won't even go into it here. Suffice it to say it is a good thing that I hadn't made a tight schedule for myself.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to do much sight-seeing...the evening that I planned on it happened to be the evening of the Democratic debate. That made getting anywhere nearly impossible.

Yes, I had a Philly cheese-steak. I have no idea if it is what a "true" cheese-steak should be, but man was it ever good! I also had some very, very decent pizza and a fabulous Greek salad.

As chaotic as the work part was, the people were all very nice. I am just really not used to the rush, rush, rush pace of life and everyone talked so FAST. Boston was the same way in some areas. The more I travel, the more I confirm that I am just not a city girl in any way shape or form. I love to visit cities, but I prefer someone else be driving and I want to go places that are not crowded.

In fact, my new goal in life is to have a small farmhouse somewhere on some acreage where the dogs can have plenty of room to run and maybe I will have a cow. Mostly I want the space and I want the quiet. I would say I want a small farm, but I don't actually want to "farm" anything...other than maybe my own veggie garden.

Of course, that all requires money and a schedule that allows me to be home to work on things in the evenings.

My trip home was atrocious...I had a three hour layover in Detroit. Not much to do in the Detroit airport...I rode the shuttle train a bit, got some dinner, read a book. Finally, I was at home and in bed around 1am. And now, today, I am feeling like I was hit by a truck (this actually started yesterday about half way home). I really hope it is just fatigue and not the flu.

******************

Tomorrow is Marly's first Labrador Retriever meet-up group thing. We are going to the Latta Plantation to hang out, introduce ourselves and hopefully find a secluded spot that the dogs can swim. We'll see. If nothing else it will be a great chance to scope out the park for another time when there will be fewer distractions for Marly. According to the map there are tons of trails and it looks like several lake access points. I have only been to the Raptor Center there...not all the way into the park itself.

La, la, la...

Jun 19, 2007
2 comments

The left thumb is healing up just fine thanks to it being a nice clean cut. The right thumb, however, it slow going and achy...and downright owie when I smash it on things. Nothing lets you know how used our digits are until you seriously injure one. At least it no longer stings when it gets wet, so showering and doing things like washing dishes is doable again.

I talked to my dad about helping to finance some of my portion of costs for my sister's wedding. He was happy to do it. I am mentally perturbed that I had to ask and yet very relieved. I am tired of blowing so much money on this thing. I am overjoyed for her and very excited about the vacation - but it won't really be a vacation...and if it were, I would never spend this much on one. At least not at this time in my life. (She chose the Hilton as our hotel for the bridal party. To my knowledge, there are only a couple places there that cost more per night.) Unfortunately, I think actual wedding gifts are going to have to wait until after the first of the year. Luckily, tradition and Ms. Manners both say that you have up to a year after the wedding to get the gift. I figure this way I can pick up whatever was missed on the registry. Right?

Heh...so now that I am relieved of the full burden of my trips and the shower and the wedding stuff what do I do? I buy myself a new camera bag. Though, I suppose technically this falls into the "things for the wedding" category since I would not be buying a new bag anytime soon if I weren't needing it for all the travel and if I hadn't been asked to help supplement photos for the wedding. I will also be photographing the shower. Oh yeah, and since I am throwing the shower am I still expected to do a shower gift too? Anyway, I will post photos of the new bag when it arrives.

Thankfully, one of my sister's friends has offered to do the planning for the bachelorette party while we are up there. This is good because I am a terrible party planner, though I have been asked to monitor the planning to ensure there are no male strip clubs or anything of the sort planned. My sister and her fiance are not into that sort of thing. The shower planning is fine because I am a decent coordinator and I have enlisted one of our good friends to help with "stuff to do"...and it will be more of just a casual pool party/BBQ (or as they say here in the South - 'cook out') than any sort of traditional bridal shower anyway. I do think some sort of ice breaker thing would be nice though, since I don't know a lot of the girls nor do our friends because they are Amy's work buddies. I am sure they are all super nice people though...my sister has awesome friends!

Speaking of bachelorette party, my sister is nuts! They are doing traditional separate parties for the bachelor and the bachelorette the night before the wedding!!! The way these two (and more importantly the way their friends) can party...there could be a lot of hung-over people the next day. Good thing the wedding isn't until later in the afternoon. The reception will be held in the lodge-style bar of our hotel. All in all I think it is going to be a fabulous affair that we will all remember for a long, long time...but I am already exhausted just thinking about it!

OMG...and it just dawned on me that I need to think of some sort of little speech to give for the toast. Maybe I can pawn all of that off onto the best man? I will be bawling my eyes out - that's what I do at weddings.

I am so excited to be going home for this visit, I can hardly contain myself. I am already working on getting things together and packed. I am going to miss the critters, but my mom, dad, and sister all have kitties and lots of our friends have dogs so I will still get some fuzzy snuggling while I am away. It will also be nice to get away from this hot, humid weather. Yesterday was 97 here...today is cloudy and only slightly cooler. Dry air and temps in the 70's will be weclome! And 4th of July should be fun. I think we are headed to one of my sister's friend's houses for a little shindig. I am sure there will be photos of that too.

Whhheee. I suppose I ought to go get some work done now.