Recently in Self Improvement Category

A month since my last post! I'm just not feeling bloggy. Here's an update:

My son is married! Greg and Lauren tied the knot in a simple ceremony on August 8. I flew in Thursday evening and flew back Friday evening after a nice lunch for just the 3 of us after the ceremony. They took off for the weekend on a short honeymoon to the wine country about an hour away from where they live. Then, on Monday, Greg started his new job as an attorney working for a mid-sized litigation firm. Whew - big changes!

My new shoes: The brown Ros Rhommerson Cynthia shoes I wore at my son's marriage ceremony are comfortable - as long as I don't walk in them. Ack!

The muscles in my feet, ankles, knees, and lower back just weren't up to walking in 2 1/2 inch heels! Now, the black Hugh Puppies Sara shoes with a 1 1/4 inch heel don't hurt me nearly as much!

I don't think the problem with the brown shoes is the shoes - as I said, they're comfortable. I do think the problem is that I'm so used to wearing fully-padded New Balance walking shoes with basically no heal height, that the muscles needed to walk in 2 1/2 inch heels just aren't up to snuff! Because of that, I haven't yet worn the black shoes with 2 1/2 inch heels!

Our home: We're having 5 of the windows in our house replaced on Tuesday - livingroom, kitchen (front window), craft room, bathroom, and TV room - by American Vision Windows.

After that's done, we're thinking about hiring a painter to finish painting the outside trim (a project started last summer but not finished) and paint the house (we're still not happy with the medium grey colored stucco). I'm now thinking a creamy light yellow which will work fine with the white trim.

Bryan brought a girl for dinner! My stepson brought his latest girlfriend Brit to our house for dinner last night - something neither Bill nor I can remember him ever doing before!

Together, Bill and I have joked that, since Billy got married on 7/7/2007 and Greg got married on 8/8/2008 that Bryan may get married on 9/9/2009.

In fun, we mentioned that to Bryan several weeks ago and he responded that maybe 12/12/2012 would be the date he gets married! Of course, there's no rush for him to get married! I just thought it interesting that he brought Brit over for dinner.

Crocheting: No crocheting in the past 4 weeks or so. Just not into it right now.

Quilting / sewing: I bought storage containers and many more fat quarters at JoAnn Fabrics (I couldn't resist the 99¢ sale!) to add to my fabric collection. The weather has been hot so it's taken some effort to get around to washing and ironing all the new fabric - but I just finished this afternoon.

NASCAR: Kyle Busch won his 18th race of the year last night! As I type this, he's working on his 9th Cup series win! Tony Stewart hasn't (yet!) won a race, but at this moment he's one of the 12 drivers qualifying to be in the Chase for the Cup and he still has a chance to win this year's championship!

I don't have much I can wear for a wedding. Even the light blue pants, white top, and matching floral lightweight overshirt I bought for my stepson's wedding last year in Maui didn't seem to be appropriate for my son's wedding at the courthouse.

So I tortured myself last Friday shopping for 5 hours at a local mall. I got there too early for Macy's to be open, so I spent 30 minutes in Mervyns (found nothing, not even a bra that fit), then went to Macy's (one pant suit I liked but the zipper was broken and I thought I'd be too hot wearing it - and it was difficult to find a blouse/top to wear with it), then JC Penney (nothing), and finally ended up at Sears.

I'm short and too big for most regular sizes and too small for most Women's sizes. Also, the "popular styles" (big prints in loud colors, baby doll tops, low-waisted pants) just aren't for me. So, finding clothes is difficult.

I ended up leaving Sears with a pair of chocolate brown slacks and a coordinating 2-piece top set with a brown background and small floral print pattern in pinks and creams. Not what I had in mind when I started the day (light colors, possibly lacy top), but it works for me and I can wear it to work and other events that come up. The top is a little too big and I may look into getting it altered when I have more time after the wedding.

Now, shoes are another matter altogether. Because I have lower back issues and I work at a college where the style is causal, I wear New Balance walking shoes all the time - even to work. For the wedding in Maui last year, I was able to get away with a pair of white Keds (because Hawaii is casual). Neither will work with the brown pants for my son's wedding. And none of the cheap pump-style shoes I still have in my closet from 10+ years ago are the right color - and, of course, none of them are comfortable.

Lately, I've been considering looking into buying dress shoes that actually fit my feet and are comfortable, so I can wear something besides New Balance walking shoes for those occasional meetings with administrative personnel at work and when Bill and I go out to "dress up" dinner places once or twice year.

So, I did a Google search for "women's wide width dress shoes", selected the first hit for Zappos.com since I've heard of them before. Zappos has a very nice search engine! You can search by type of shoe (dress, causual, etc.), by size, by color, by width, by heel height, and by price. Shipping to you and return shipping are free!

Last Friday night, I ordered 2 styles of brown shoes in what I hoped would be a size that fit me (the same size as my New Balance shoes - which was all I could start with since I haven't bought dress shoes in many years). They arrived Monday - quick! A little too long and a bit too tight. So, on Tuesday I ordered a smaller, wider pair of one of the brown shoe styles and 2 different styles of black shoes in the New Balance shoe size. Those 3 arrived today - and they all fit! So, the first 2 pair will be returned.

Now, I have 3 pairs of nice looking dress shoes! One in brown (Ros Rhommerson Cynthia), two in black (Hush Puppies Sara, Ros Rhommerson Ritz). I'm kinda excited by the shoes!

And, I am very excited that my son is getting married!

Well, let's see, the past 2 weeks have been a bit eventful!

My son is getting married! Yup, I'm gonna have another daughter(-in-law)! Whoop!

Last year, my stepson Billy got married on July 7, 2007 (777 or 7-7-07 or 07-07-07 or 070707) - a popular day to get married last year!

Greg proposed on July 19 in a field while they were picking raspberries and, practical people that they are, they decided to skip a big wedding ceremony (and all that goes with it) and get married right away - on Friday, August 8, 2008 (888 or 8-8-08 or 08-08-08 or 080808). Eight to the Chinese culture is a very lucky number. Neither of them is Chinese, but I'm sure their marriage will by a good one! Lauren and Greg make a great couple!

Greg asked his current boss, a judge, to marry them. The simple ceremony will be at the courthouse.

Parties (more formally known as wedding receptions) will be held at family homes in Oregon and California for family and friends local to those areas. We haven't set a date yet, but at our house, the party will be a small affair with close family and a few close neighbors.

Then, on Monday after the wedding, Greg starts his new job as an attorney for a mid-sized litigation firm. How cool is that?! Married and a new job all in the same 4 days!

On the home front: The new refrigerator fit perfectly! Whoop! We love the clear shelves and drawers - and can now see what's inside the drawers and we can stop forgetting what's in the them!

Bill and I are heading to the lake tomorrow! A whole day off together!

On the crochet front: Two more lap blankets are done (no photos for posting yet) and one more started.

On the quilting front: Yes, I said "quilting"! I began piecing blocks together on July 12 and have finished 4 since then! Also no photos yet.

22 years ago right after we met, Bill took me to New Hogan's Lake in Calaveras County to go jet skiing. He got hooked on jet skiing a few years earlier and had bought 2 used ones. Wow! They were great fun!

We were very frequent Hogan's visitors for quite a few years, until we got busy, the kids got older, the jet skis wore out, and we sold them (the jet skis, not the kids!).

We still go to Hogan's on occasion to spend a day together in the hot sun and the cool fresh water - which is what we did yesterday! We definitely didn't go last year, and I'm pretty sure we didn't go the year before either.

We were curious to see just how low the water level was since there is a drought here in California this year. One website says the water level is at 43% of capacity. As you can see, the water is low - but it isn't as low as it was for 1-2 years in the 1990s! Then, we drove quite a ways down to reach water and lots of thick mud.

We don't have the jet skis anymore, but Bill took one of his two kayaks for his entertainment. I, the less energetic one, read a book, watched Bill kayak, watched the group of jet skiers who also had a water ski boat next to us (Bill figured there was about $100,000 worth of toys in the cove!), and enjoyed the fresh air. Thank goodness for the cool water - it was hot hot hot!

Today is the first of 11 3-day weekends for the summer. I attacked my long-time running list of Things To Do - and had a peaceful day organizing and relaxing!

1. Air in tires and tires rotated at Big O Tires (finally! was on the list for a few months)
2. Clean my car windows inside to remove the blurry film of gunk that accumulates over time (finally! was on the list for a few weeks)
3. Remove the torn car seat cover from the passenger side seat (I had already removed the driver's side seat cover years ago) (finally! been meaning to remove it for months)
4. Remove every piece of clothing from my closet that doesn't fit, that has a stain, that is so outdated that I wouldn't wear it even if I could fit into it
5. Sort through all of the extra hangers I've accumulated over the years; determine which type and color of hangers to keep; in my closet, replace hangers in colors I don't like with colors I do like; group similar types and colors of hangers together and put in a box for donation
6. Remove a bunch of buttons from my jewelry box (new clothes sometimes come with extra buttons and they end up in my jewelry box)
7. Organize my sewing box while putting the buttons away and looking for a particular button
8. Sew that button on a blouse so I can wear it again
9. Watch a sappy movie while cuddling with Cleo and cry at the end
10. Finally get around to putting clothes to be donated in bags - 8 plastic food-shopping bags!
11. Go to local donation place with clothes and extra hangers, discover they had already closed, come back home, and put the to-be-donated stuff in my craft room for my next weekday day off next Friday

And, now, Round Table pizza for dinner while watching the NASCAR truck race! Go Kyle Busch!

Another month since I posted… still not much going on. Bah.

Crochet: 4 completed lap blankets for donation, as well as a round "color wheel"-style lap blanket just big enough to cover my knees (which sometimes ache from being cold when I'm otherwise comfortable or even warm!). I made the color wheel-style blanket just to see how it could be done - and then I quickly got bored with it.

Gardening: Lots of plants moved or pulled out or planted in both the front and back gardens. Photos were taken before tearing down the vines and after, but I'm too lazy right now to fix 'em up for the blog and post 'em. The gardens have lots of color and are semi-full (some brown spots where soil shows through!) and will be very full as the weeks go by!

Bay Area weather: Too freakin' hot last week, especially Thursday through Saturday. I melted several times. Gardening in the heat is best done after a thorough soaking with water from the hose from hat-covered head to shoe-covered toes - I high recommend it! Sunscreen too, of course.

New stove/range: The very old 40-inch stove with 2 not-working burners and 1 not-working smaller oven was finally replaced. After a third burner decided to stop working, Bill was left with 1 burner and just couldn't seem to get the hang of cooking with only one. We talked about getting the stove repaired but discovered it would cost almost as much as getting a new stove. So, we got a new stove! It's another white 40-inch stove with 4 burners and 2 ovens (one small, one regular-sized) - a Frigidaire 40-inch Freestanding Electric Range with Self-Cleaning Primary Oven (FEF450BW).

Our now grown children will be surprised that the stove was finally replaced! For a very long time, there were only 2 working burners! I have photos of the old stove and will get photos of the new one soon(ish).

Greg's visit in late March: My son's visit with me in late March - and Bill's visit at the same time with his son in Maui - were great! Greg and I did a Lost: Season 2 marathon during his visit! We also went to SFMOMA in San Francisco one afternoon and walked around Yerba Buena Gardens across the street. I have photos to show, but I'm too lazy right now get them posted!

Bill did get stuck in Maui when Aloha Airlines went bankrupt and stopped flying planes, but I was able to do magical things via the Web that he couldn't do via the phone or in person! I got him a flight home the same day he was supposed to return home! Whoop!

My job: I moved to a new office space in the same building I moved to last summer. I'm now in an office with 2 yellow walls and 2 white walls, a long window, a smaller window, a lovely 3-sided desk, and its own air conditioning unit and portable heater. It's in the "north wing" of the building (actually, the garage of the old house converted to office space). There's a great view of the Bay from the smaller window, but because I'm light sensitive, the blinds are always closed so I don't really have a view at all. But that's OK with me - I have quiet and personal space and am quite comfortable in my new office!

The college switches to a 4 10-hour day schedule for the summer starting next week. I'm using comp time and vacation time to do 4 8-hour days instead. Nice!

NASCAR: As I predicted, Kyle Busch is kicking butt this year! ! And, Tony Stewart is also doing well, although he hasn't gotten a win yet this season.

Gas prices: I saw regular unleaded gas at $4.01 and $4.03 at two different gas stations on my way home today. Yikes. When will it stop? Or, better yet, go back to normal?

I just realized I haven't posted in a month! Not much going on, I guess.

On the crochet front: There are 5 more lap blankets to photograph and post about. I'm currently working on 2 more. I've been adding to my pattern collection through regular hunts on eBay.

On the Bay Area weather front: There have been a few rainy days in the past few weeks, but mostly it's been sunny - and today is just beautiful! I still haven't gotten the gardening bug, but I expect I will with more sunny weekends.

On the home front: Cleo and Jasmine are healthy and loving. Bill and I are healthy, not-so-wealthy (but we're comfortable), and wise!

Bill has said he wants to take very other Friday off during the time the college where I work switches to 4 10-hour day work weeks this summer. Hmmm, we'll see if that really happens! The workaholic in him may not let him take 3-day weekends through the summer. He works most Saturdays now - which means 1-day weekends. What's he going to do with himself during regular 3-day weekends? Hmmm, let's see…I suppose he can start by finishing painting the trim on the house! Right now, we're probably not going to re-paint the house, since the medium grey color looks better with the white trim.

On the money front: Gas prices are going up. Food prices are going up. The stock market goes up, then down, then up, then down. Interest rates are down. My retirement account balances are down.

On the California state budget front: The state is cutting education budgets this year and next year. This "year" is a fiscal year that ends June 30, 2008. So, the budget cuts for this "year" need to be made out of the remaining 3 months or so of a budget that was prepared in fall 2006 and has been guiding the college since July 1, 2007.

And next year's budget (July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009) is also being cut, including that we won't be getting increases in funding that had been expected (well, as "expected" as you can get when you know the state is having budget problems). So that means another hiring freeze, increasing expenses (for utilities and supplies and equipment and computers and software and …) out of a budget that isn't increasing, and more cut backs and doing without at the college.

We haven't come back from the last big budget cuts several years ago. We still put off buying office supplies. We still have unfilled positions, with other people picking up those duties - which makes for very busy (and potentially burned-out) workers.

There are things we should or could be doing that we can't do because there aren't enough people, there isn't enough money for the people or supplies or equipment, there isn't enough time in the day to do what needs to be done.

Ack. Enough of that depressing talk.

On the family front: My son will be visiting for a few days next week! Whoop! And I'm taking 3 days vacation next week. I think a 2-day work week is just what I need - as long as the nice sunny springtime weather holds!

Bill is flying to Maui on Tuesday to visit his son for about a week. And, no, I don't mind him going to Hawaii without me. After our last trip to Maui in July last year for Billy's wedding, I'm all Maui-ed out and don't want to go back. Too windy, too crowded, incompetent airline staff, reserved seats that weren't reserved, too windy, too crowded. Did I mention too crowded and too windy? Oh, and incompetent airline staff and no seats reserved even though I reserved seats? Did I mention crying - not just a few tears, but real crying - in frustration and anger and flying-related stress after finally getting through security? No, I'm definitely not ready for another Maui trip.

Or any other trip requiring a airplane.

Even my December trip to Oregon to visit my son just about wore me out - 2 flight delays and a flight switch.

On the job front: After over 6 years at the college, I still enjoy my job. There are projects and enhancements - and a redesign - that need to happen, but I don't have the time and there doesn't seem to be money in the budget to get me a reliable, knowledgeable assistant, so those things are remaining undone. As they have for the past 3-4 years. The website design is 6 years old and needs to be changed. I'm gradually, as time permits, doing what I can behind the scenes in the XHTML markup to make it more straightforward to switch over to a new design when (if) the time comes.

I like the people. I like the higher education environment. I like the campus location, nestled in the foothills surrounded by open hillsides, trees, cows, horses, birds, and squirrels. I feel I'm appreciated, valued, and respected as a person and in my job. I'm not so keen on some things and a couple of the people can be very irritating, but the advantages and things I like far outweigh those.

On the NASCAR front: My boys Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are doing well so far! Kyle is number 1 in points! I still say he's gonna win the Cup this year.

Imagine meeting with an IT manager who actually seemed to listen. and care. and be willing to do more than just mouth words. Wonderful! Over the next few months, I hope to feel much more secure about a few web server-related issues at work. Whew.

Hubby bought himself a new toy Monday night! Today was the first day I could see it since mornings are dark and evenings are dark!

A 2008 Chevrolet Colorado LT Crew Cab in Ruby Red. With the higher gas prices and about 9 miles per gallon, random things going wrong here and there which needed fixing on his 1997 Chevrolet Silverado Z71, and a $200+ registration fee coming due, he wanted a new, more dependable truck with better gas mileage. So, here it is!

Most of the time, his toys are more expensive than mine!

His: New truck, motorcycle, table saw, etc.

Mine: Small digital cameras, sewing machine, fabric, crochet books,… - even the Dell XPS 400 desktop computer I bought in April 2006 was only $2,245.

Like The Little Engine That Could, I must say to myself "2008 will get better, 2008 will get better, 2008 will get better!"

On Sunday night, I returned from a nice Oregon visit with my son and his girlfriend (after 2 flight delays and a flight change - bah, I hate flying!). Felt a little "chesty" on Monday. And have been sick with chest and head congestion (upper respiratory infection?) since Tuesday morning - January 1, 2008! What a way to start the new year!

Laid out sick - not just sniffly sick. Chest congestion (tight tight tight), coughing (shake, rattle, and sweat from the exertion!), hot (layers off!), cold (layers on!), wheezing from the lungs (like a teapot filled with boiling water), achy congested sinuses (stuffy stuffy stuffy), runny nose (lots of trees died to provide tissue!).

By Thursday afternoon, I had totally lost my sense of smell and taste, so I've been eating paper (or what might as well be paper!) since then. I'm concentrating on eating healthy paper - err, foods - however!

Five days have past in a fog of napping (when I can get in a few minutes of sleep between coughing attacks and blowing my nose); drinking lots of hot decaf Green Tea (good for the chest and throat); watching miscellaneous shows recorded on our DVR (daytime television sucks!), such as leftover sappy Christmas movies I didn't watch before/during Christmas, Steven Seagal movies, and a bunch of Journeyman episodes.

Hubby has been shopping three times to invest in expectorants, cough suppressants, and antihistamines. Oh, and almost daily he's been bringing me a wonderfully slushy Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino (excellent medicine for the throat even when I can't taste it!). Yesterday required a trip to the store for blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries - even though I can't taste them, they feel good to eat!

Anything requiring thinking or effort has been put on hold. I managed to crochet 2 basic solid granny squares (can't think about reading a pattern!) Wednesday night last week before the head congestion got really bad. It took me about 4 hours to balance 2 checkbooks yesterday evening (lots of resting during the process), so I could pay a few bills online this morning.

I stayed home from work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. As I type this, there are lots of typos and slow, foggy thinking, so it's obvious to me now that going to work tomorrow probably isn't going to happen.

But, as I said above… "2008 will get better, 2008 will get better, 2008 will get better!"

It took 50+ minutes of sitting upright, thinking, and typing to write this entry! I'm exhausted now - time for a nap!