Holding Pattern

After a bit of a sitting on the edge of our seat day on Friday my uncle has continued to take us on a bit of a roller coaster ride. The surgeons were talking intervention on Friday as his temperature was going up and no one could figure out why. Everyone was too afraid to intervene and put off doing anything once again but then miraculously his fever came down and he seemed to have make an improvement. Then...today...the fever is back. Who knows why? they don't but there will be yet another meeting on Tuesday to talk over with the whole team (he has quite the team working on his various body parts) how to proceed. My guess is that we will leave with yet another consensus that more time needs to be given for his cyst to mature (I know I am being waffly here..you know one of those situations where you don't want to say too much in a public forum but enough to let you know what is going on here).

My food is messed up..I had one meal today and two coffees plus some candy and a couple of cookies. Not good..nothing to be proud of. and likely to cause a weight loss tomorrow (wrong feedback for not doing what I know is good for me). I ate better on Saturday but still not what I should be doing and I know it. I was really not in a good frame of mind today. I did not haul myself out of bed until almost noon and then it messed the rest of the day up. The dark and rainy weather is not helping my attitude or mood for sure. The scale was a touch down but not yet on the low of 161.

Tomorrow is Halloween. Grace is excited and is either dressing up in her pioneer costume or as a peacock. She went to a harvest party today in the pioneer outfit. She is prepared for either costume as Cinda gave her the peacock gear and with black stretch pants and a turquoise fleece I found tonight and the pioneer outfit is from her Oregon trail reenactment from last spring.

bleck...just feeling blecky ..not up not down...just can't be bothered to feel anything. Not sure what is going on but obviously worth working on. It if funny isn't it that although I love being thinner now...I like the ease in which I can find and wear clothes but getting this control over the body part of my life has really not solved all of my moods. I intellectually knew that the one thing was not the root of all problems...but somehow down deep I think I deluded myself into thinking it would.

xxxooo

BYOC..Its Friday

1. When did you begin blogging? Do you plan to do it a long time or do you think you’ll stop after a while?

I began blogging almost four years ago (I cannot believe it has been that long!). It is funny really. I have never been a journal keeper or consistent at anything really. This blog has become quite the marker in my life. In a way it matches my weightloss...finally stuck both out for the long term. Do you think the theme about most things is slow and steady? :) I have sort of taken that on as my motto in life these days.

2. What do you enjoy more - blogging yourself or reading other’s blogs?

I like both. Somedays I just cannot wait to get some profound thing down that has been rolling in my head or some event that has occurred and I start drafting the blog post even before I am near a computer. At other times I read a blog post that touches me, makes me feel close to another blogger, sympathize with their words or even be inspired by a break through or struggle. I also LOVE reading the comments people post..both to others and to my own posts. Sometimes the real gem is in a comment.

3. What’s the biggest thing blogging has taught you? Biggest surprise about blogging?

hmm I agree with Read...that you can connect with other people that you have never met. Even more odd I sometimes wonder if I connect more with them on the computer than in real life. I am sorta shy really and my experience at boobs was a tad overwhelming...but that brings us to number 4.

Also-read number 1. That whole long term thing is pretty powerful in my head :)

4. Have you met any other bloggers in real life – solely because of your blog or theirs?

I have met several both at BOOBS and when they came to Portland or I travelled to other places. I find that the one on one meetings are the most fun (but that might be my nerdy inability to handle socializing in crowds well). see above.

5. Does your blog have a general theme as in one topic or do you cover everything and anything?

I focus on my lapband but of course weightloss is not a single item issue so everything creeps in. I keep some stuff to myself if I am concerned it will hurt anyone I care about. See below for more on that topic :)

I have another blog-We did it-I am lame at staying on top of it. For some reason weight-loss has been a topic I can stick with better. I am planning on opening a knitting store so my brain is working on yet another blog/webpage to accompany that adventure.

6. Are you public or anonymous? Whichever you are – do you ever wish you were the other?

I am public, open and at times I wish I was anonymous. I do keep stuff back because I know 'people; who know me read this. Of course if you don't have something nice to say about someone you might as well keep it to yourself right? I wish I could keep this motto better in my off-blog life :)

7. What’s your best blogging advice for a new blogger?

Keep at it. Be yourself and be honest that is what we really want to hear about and what we will connect with. It is also what you need to do so that you can use this as a record for your life. Don't worry about how many people follow you or don't. there are plenty who are lurking and think of this blog for yourself. A place to get your thoughts and feelings out and keep a record. I cannot tell you the number of times I have gone back and discovered a pattern to my behavior that needed changing or just recognizing so I didn't feel so bad about it. THis blog has done wonders to help me examine myself..warts and all.

8. Does anyone in your real life read your blog/know its address? Do you wish they would or wouldn’t?

Goodness yes. I have friends in my neighborhood, extended family members, colleagues...it is sometimes pretty creepy to think about. My husband reads it sometimes even. Everyone has been very supportive and nice about the blog. Again this knowledge sometimes causes me to keep things back but hey...I don't need to say everything do I? :)

9. Do you enjoy blogging or do you view it as a chore? How often do you blog?

I do enjoy it. If it were a chore I wouldn't do it. I blog sometimes a few times a week, sometimes every day and other times with week gaps. I have actually increased the regularity over time because I have figured out that the venting and looking back is so beneficial. I do tend to blog more when stuff is happening around here either with my band, eating or life events. I will let days go by when things are boring or too busy to take a moment to stop and type an entry.

xxxooo

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...

The good: I walked into my uncle's hospital room at 9pm and he said hello and was awake and perky. He still cannot talk very well with his breathing tube in but he communicated quite well with his face, eyes, hands and even attempted to note. It was great to seem him doing so well. There is one more week before they can really intervene but we will know more about the plan on Friday.

I did very poorly on my first math exam. The teacher said that my running out of time was no big deal and that it would all even out in the end. He then handed me the exam and it was horrible! I made a bunch of stupid mistakes, was just plain wrong on one of the problems and didn't finish two of them. each missed question dropped my test score by another grade....blech. Apparently I need to re-new my focus on that aspect of things.

Well the tightness of last week has transformed into an empty tummy. Today I was starving! I could eat anything that moves! My tummy is growling right now but of course I am scared to eat anything because it is bed time....going to go to bed to survive it I guess.

xxxooo

My Coffee is Ruined!!

Remember when I said in my last post that the coffee in New York was not as good as it is in Portland...I came home and had a hot cup of peppermint mocha (cause Autumn is really here and it was fecking cold). Note the use of that non-dirty word my Irish pals taught me....anyway....my cup of coffee was just as sharp as it was in New York. I think they have changed to a Winter blend and I for one don't like it. I might...get ready to hold onto something or sit down now....have to start making my coffee at HOME!!!


I will let you know how long I last and if, when i buckle tomorrow, it is still bad enough to put such crazy thoughts into my head.

The rest of the day was as usual my normal crazy whirlwind kind. I drove Grace to school, then went to the jeweler to get my newly resized wedding and anniversary rings back. I am now settled at a size 5 ring (I do love this yes I do). I also picked up some toys for my uncle to fiddle with in his hospital bed.

I then went down to school to take the test I skipped on Thursday. I thought I was doing very well but they stopped me 2 questions before I was done. I am not very happy about it and find it hard to believe that the instructor stopped my classmates on Thursday. I will talk to him after class tomorrow night. I studied my backside off and still didn't feel very comfortable going into the test. I will need to work harder I guess.

After the test I ran up to the hospital and with a mask on for germ protection visited my uncle. My aunt washed his new toys (a rubics cube, a koosh ball that lights up and an expando tube thing that makes noises but takes a little bit of muscle to pull open and push closed). Apparently providing small toys to patients in ICU helps them focus better and recover. He did seem to like the ball and made motions as if he were about to throw it. He did a bunch of passing it back and forth and when the nurse told him he should squeeze it to strengthen his hands he did. He also winked at me and mouthed a few cuss words at one point.

My uncle had to go in for some tests so I took my aunt out on a few errands, lunch and a quick stop at one of my favorite knitting shops.

I then headed home arriving just after she did and managed to spend the rest of the evening until just now (10pm), cleaning up the various messes the two of them made while I was gone, having a little hair coloring session with Cinda (we both used henna and I did not get any hives!!!). Prepping dinner for tomorrow, making Grace's lunch for school and finally cooking up a batch of cinnamon spice pumpkin seeds. I also organized Grace's notebook (her old system was just not working). Does anyone have any hints on how to get your 10 year old more organized???

I did not do my math work so will have to do it in the morning nor did I sit down or take a nap..or any of the things I wished I could do earlier today :(....I guess I will have to be satisfied with productive.

My band behaved herself today: breakfast hot peppermint mocha, Snack: A wee little candy bar, lunch: 1 cup of vegetable split pea soup and four bites of Marion-berry pie. Dinner: two small pieces of naan bread Pizza with spinach and eqqplant. Dessert: one garlic cheese curd and 1 cup of orange juice.

I managed all of my pills plus some sudafed and tylenol. I felt much better today and even better this evening. No upset tummy or too tight band at all.

xxxooo

Mystery Solved

I had a second disaster day needing to run to bathrooms with colleagues ( I love making friends with nurses as they are so cool with something so small as a little throwing up). These women were also VERY interested and nice when I told them I had a band. I have just spent the last four days at a Grounded Theory research conference. Grounded Theory is a theoretical research method where you take a bunch of data (from interviews or any other place) and use it to figure out and document a groups main concern and then document a theory about how the group works to resolve the main concern. The conference is filled with people who study any kind of subject (nurses, psychologists, business people, educators, etc.). We just like using the method of data analysis. The people I do this research method with are the best...and the kinds of professionals I dreamed working with when I was a lowly grad student planning a career in academia. This dream was not realized in my field as I have found for the most part the colleagues I have ended up with (not all but many) have been very difficult to work with and the hyper competition, control and ego has been disappointing.

So I have 'retired' but these fine students and colleagues make me regret giving up higher ed altogether. I am scheming about ways to have my perfect working and business life..Oh no don't you worry the knitting store is still a go but I don't want to walk away from all these wonderful researchy people either.

Back to the band-So two of the worse tight days I have had in ages were Thursday and Saturday. I was truly thinking Sturday about how quickly I could get a little unfill and viola the problem became apparent. I have picked up some bug and am coughing with a stuffy nose. the flu/cold thing washed over me last night while in the coolest bar in the west village. The west village was a LOVELY place to visit and I definitely want to go back during my next New York Visit. I am taking it easy and only have liquids and medication today (tylenol and sudafed).

If the last few days continue in any way next week I am for sure going in for a little unfill.

The list follows of all the fun stuff I did and saw in New York-

1. found out one of my colleagues reads this blog (kind of embarrassing but cool at the same time).
2. Met with 20 of the smartest student theorists I know.
3. Met with four of the greatest experiences grounded theorists I know.
4. Walked in Central park
5. Had drinks, coffee and then lunch in the trump tower.
6. visited Tiffanys for the first time and bought a ring to treat myself, a necklace that matches for David to give me for Christmas, and Grace her first tiny little piece of nice jewelry.
7. Sat in a cool lounge bar in the West Village.
8. Hung out with three gals from Ireland and one from Australia who were so smart and fun. The Irish girls taught me that 'whats the crack' just means whats going on, 'Feck off' is not a dirty word and 'hurling' is a good thing in Ireland :)
9. Saw a film being shot on the south end of Central Park.
10. had warm Bailey's (very tummy soothing and tasty).
11. Saw a really cool and inexpensive hotel in the West village called the Jane-I will stay there sometime. It has shared bathrooms but they were immaculate (believe me I am picky).
12. Had a great hotel in Secaucus this time and rode the bus in to the port authority and out again by myself...was a bit scary at first but was also quite fun.
13. Found the New Yorkers are quite friendly and nice. Even bus drivers (i think friendlier than they are in Portland).
14. Starbucks coffee and service are much tastier and efficient in Portland.
15. I still LOVE walking neghborhoods in New york. The upper East side is excellent as is Hells Kitchen and the West Village.
16. There is still so much yet to be seen..I don't think I will ever get tired of that lovely town.

xxxooo

Why Do I Never Learn?

Of course the tights have hit again and my brain has seemingly gone as well. I have been fairly careful. I had a bit of indigestion last night (a gift following an 8pm ice cream cone before I got back to my hotel). I was awake until 2am burping it and woke up off an on all night going back and forth in my head between the tummy troubles and phantom bed bugs that I imagined in the bed. I swear sometimes my imagination is just ridiculous. At one point I nearly jumped out of my skin when I thought I felt a soft warm lump move under the sheets (it was a lumpy sheet...nothing moving).

7:30am came way to quickly given my poor sleeping and I hopped on the New Jersey to New York City bus...a quick 15 minutes and I was in and walking up to the conference hotel (yes with a coffee stop). The walk took longer this morning than the bus ride.

I had my coffee and took my pills with no problem. I had a fiber bar (one of the lovely and delicious freebies stockpiled from BOOBS). I will give you a full name and review tomorrow when I dig the wrapper out of the depths of my purse. I went to lunch at a nearby deli and shared a rueben with a colleague (it was a stupid beast of thing and way to big for any human to consume..even two of us). I went for a walk around Central Park and then back for a second coffee and more conferencing...Note..all food items were fine even the somewhat fatty corned beef.

So dinner..yeah well dinner was not so good. Only one of the 4 women I was dining with knew that I had a band. Before we were done..well they all knew (I figured it was better than saying I had food poisoning). Anyway...I had a vodka and orange juice chased by three mozzarella cheese sticks. I picked carefully thinking these would be a safe-ish choice. yeah..not so much. I wasn't sure before we left the restaurant but you know..a good walk usually does the trick. Well...no not this time. I had to stop in a planter while my colleagues walked on and then again at a bar (thankfully I made it in and down the stairs in time). I felt better and we went to see Pricilla Queen of the Desert on Broadway and I did OK but by the time we got out of the show my tummy was complaining again (a bit odd now cause usually it is on with the stuck thing or off...not some wait and see place). I ended up ducking into another bar on my way (thankfully alone this time) to the bus station to go back out to my hotel. Finally I purged whatever it was offending my poor tummy or stoma and although I feel a bit acidy now I am doing ok (at 1:30 am this time).

So..What is the deal with that? I keep trying to be grateful for the episodic crisis stuck episodes but there are times..like this one...when the embarrassment is a bit high. I know that this band keeps me from gaining weight. I know that if I loosened it I would likely gain at least 5 pounds. I know that most of the time I am just fine. It is just at these slap me up on the side of the face times that I question my restriction.

It is worth it. I did tell the women I was with about the band (and I always tell people who ask point blank). They were curious and nice about it all (they were all in medical related professions which helped).

Embarrassing to say the least however.

Oh did I say yet how much I love New York City? I do...stuck episodes and all.

xxxooo

New York Bound

I am off to New York for the rest of the week. If anyone is up for a lunch or dinner I can be reached at tina@deadhat.com (or my cell from the boobs list). if you want me to call just email me your number.

If anyone wants to do a swanky tasting menu at some cool place I am game, drinks..I am game, yarn stores..I am game.

Just contact me.

xxxooo

Monday: Getting Stuff Done

At Barnes and Noble I picked up one of those self-help books I have always turned a sour face towards. it is called: Getting Things Done. Before I lost the weight I felt like I got more done than I do now. I think it is because I have so much more energy now that I have too many possibilities that I just ignored before. Well I have never been one to shirk on opportunities (unless they involved dirt or exercise before band). Well now even those options (except the sleeping in the dirt kind) are no longer off the table.

Anyway...I think I need some help on how to organize myself so I can get more out of my time spent. I know productive people and I don't feel like I am one of them. I am only in the first chapter but the book has already offered up something that is good. The author says that if we don't write down what we need to get done (and he says like specific stuff) our short term memory will keep chewing on it until we do. All of the brain chewing and thinking is a waste of time that could be better spent actually getting some of the tasks done. I believe that I am totally guilty of this and sat right down last night and made a short list of 'stuff' that needs doing. I just picked one task (finishing up the job quit). I have two bucket items to complete and I will complete them today.

:) Coffee time.
xxxooo

Skilled Shopping

David and I were blessed with a free Saturday. Grace left to stay the night at a friends and David and I debated staying home and getting some work accomplished...but quickly rejected that idea to go out and about Portland and shop.

When David and I were dating 11 long years ago we did a lot of shopping. We went to book stores, to technology stores, to furniture stores. We sometimes bought but at that time we mostly just looked and dreamed. We dreamed about a library, a house, and a life together.

Today we relived a bit of our dating days and skipped and dipped about town. We started our afternoon hopping down to the hospital to visit my uncle and take my aunt out to lunch and a twirl around an antique mall (she has been at the hospital and still has a long haul ahead of her as does my uncle). It was a totally cool antique mall and I got some great ideas for my future knitting shop. The three of us had lunch at the antique store deli.

We took my aunt back up to the hospital and took off for a look around Fry's (Davids idea of computer geek heaven). I do protest but always find lots of interesting stuff to look at. Today we found a USB car power splitter (so both David and I can charge our phones at the same time or charge and listen to music at the same time). I also got an external DVD player to hook onto my laptop and David got a new computer keyboard. We also picked up a couple of books on R (stats software).

We then went to Crate and Barrel (My top shopping choice). We had a look around and dreamed about what kinds of furniture might or might not fit in our house that seems to be never or ever?? closing. We then walked around the rest of the mall and looked at clothes, cookware, the Apple store, Saks etc.

We had dinner at a bar (had good food but most importantly..no kids allowed :))...The bar had lovely Tapas. David had three and I had one and a nice Vodka and orange juice.

On our way home we stopped off at Barnes and Noble and did a bit more dreaming among the books. I looked at the small business section and the knitting section (of course) and David looked around the cookbooks.

We came home for a walk around the neighborhood and stopped off to peek in the windows of our 'house in waiting' to do some final dreaming about furniture and shop fittings placement.

Tonight we have had a sit around with a little Words among friend back and forth play on our laptops and I watched a couple of episodes of my new favorite series life unexpected (a netflix series find). I don't know what this says about my taste in TV as I have watched all of season one and didn't really pick up on the geared for teenage viewers thing. Sure...it is about a teenager but I am much more interested in the sappy interchange with the parents and the unconventional dysfunctional family stuff. I guess I just like TV fluff? :) Anyway..I think it is really good.

All in all...today was a great day.

The Day was OK

I finally moved. I coffeed, I walked. I did a bit of work, prepped dinner and put it in the oven (I have to brush up on my stay at home domestic Goddess skills). I then went down to see my aunt and uncle at the hospital.

The highlight (Ok the fact that it is done not the actual doing part). is that I moved out of my office. My aunt rode down with me and we packed up everything and shoved it into my car. I did my usual Thursday night grandson daycare duties and took my aunt tot he grocery store, and then back to my math class. After class finished (8:30 pm) I went back to my office and cleaned off my computer and packed up what little stuff remained. Tomorrow I can drop off a few books to another colleague's place and turn in my keys...I feel cleansed :)


xxxooo

Must Move

I am having trouble getting out of bed. I just bet I had this problem last year. Have I said that I hate rainy weather yet? There is no light coming in my room in the mornings so as far as I am concerned no reason to wake up right? I guess it is time for another coffee and walk eh?

xxxooo

Tuesday Toes-day

I don't really have a huge amount to say today. i stayed home this morning (kind of my first real day of unemployment). I went back to bed after Grace and David left. Got up at 9am (yes i appreciated the decadence). I then went for a walk to get my coffee and then walked and took my pills until it was all gone.

I have been kind of sluggish and depress-y again but Cinda (nursing student daughter) suggested I get out and go for a walk even though the weather has turned cruddy again. Sooo..I took her advice and it really helped my day. I came home and did an hour super clean session before my first two students came for a math tutoring session.

I then had some lunch, did my math homework for my class and hit the road to get stuff for my aunt and go see my uncle at the hospital. My aunt had a window leak (it has been pouring buckets here). I went to the motor home supply store and got her some caulk and stopped at the hardware store for a caulk gun. I also picked up some sticky weather stripping in case the caulk didnt work. I also dug out a battery so she could get her radio working. After a gas-up and a double drive through for coffee (they messed up my first order!!!).

I drove down to the hospital and saw my uncle (he is much the same today but waking up a bit more). He is not happy about being on the ventilator and gets very agitated whenever he wakes up. This is a good sign but of course difficult to watch him struggle. I played the man and wrangled the caulk gun to seal my aunts motor-home window. It is quite fun to sometimes do all those things I usually pass off to David or some-other man to fix for me. The whole time I had visions of my uncle chewing me out because it is not a perfect seal by any means. It is however funny how I felt close to him in a sense in helping my aunt fix (no matter how crudely) her place to stay while he is trying to get better.

I took the bus down to the university to pick up my grandson and hang out for an hour in horrific rain. We both were soaked while waking from his daycare center to some other buildings on campus. I took him out for dinner here because after we could walk to my class without going outside again. We ate and then played with the shells, glass and rocks I picked up on Lake Michigan. He has a really good time sorting them and then pretending that they are little people.

I went to my math class and learned some cool mathy stuff and the walked out into the rain again to catch the bus back up to the hospital, my uncle, aunt and the parked car. A quick 20 minute drive home and I am now sitting in my robe with my soggy feet steaming in slippers.

All in all it was a good but sorta busy day. I dropped one of those six pounds this morning.

xxxooo

Glimmers of Good News

1. I am not a particularly hard core US citizen. I do not hang flags by my front porch and I do not sing "Im Proud to be an American" for all to hear. I just have to say something about the Veterans Administration Hospital. I have been VERY impressed by the care my uncle has received during the last several weeks. The nurses not only have given him good care they have explained everything about his treatment to his family. In addition everyday teams of doctors come through and check on him. At least two doctors out of the team talk individually to us to let us know how things are going. There is a surgeon team, a renal team, and the general team who are all working together to coordinate his care. These doctors meet together and talk with the nurses taking care of him to discuss next steps, progress and concerns. In addition to all of this his family are invited to a family meeting every Monday to go over his condition and talk about decisions made and next steps.

On top of this stellar medical care the hospital staff just show they care about families. Today while my aunt and I were coming back from lunch his doctor stopped and talked to us again to update us on information that came in during the last hour. Just after that one of her old nurses from weeks ago stopped us to ask how he was doing and took extra time to ask how my aunt was doing. All in all the care that I have seen form everyone at the VA hospital has been well above the care I have ever seen at any other hospital and any care that I have received. Now I know that my uncle is very ill but man...this stuff is impressive.

(a bit of a soap box minute). The VA is supposedly the model the US would take on if we were to ever adopt any sort of socialized medicine model. If this is that model sign me up. I would jump in a heart beat.

Ok now the good news part...His condition is improving (finally). We are afraid to relax too much because things have been very up and down up until now but he had a scan that showed that the waiting is finally starting to pay off. He still has a long way to go but we are hoping that this news stays positive from here on out.

2. I am up 6 pounds. I think some of it is water and some of it is driving, not sleeping enough and overall not taking care. I might also be suffering from Chicago bloat from perhaps a drink or two, popcorn overload, and alcohol consumption. I a so grateful I was too full to eat any of the Ben and Jerry's :) Goodness knows how many additional pounds that would have added.

3. I have visions firming up about what I want to do with my life :) ...I am thinking knitting store. Have I already said this? Our new house allows commercial space in the basement. I love to knit...I am scared of the business aspects of it but I already have my creative wheels turning. I am anxious to have the stupid house finally close so I can firm up these ideas and attend to them more seriously. Best of all David likes the idea too.

xxxooo

Uncle Illness Update--and A Fun Picture

My uncle is still quite ill. He has been sedated a lot this weekend so I drove my aunt to her place (four hours each way) to pick up some more of her things, sort through her mail, and go through some things at the antique store she owns. She sold me this awesome old school telephone and my cousin took my picture with it. Coolio eh?

We went overnight with lots of calls to the hospital to check on my uncle. Cinda also went up to sit with him some while we were gone. He was mostly sleeping but woke up this evening when we stopped in to see him. He is doing better but still has a long way to go. The condition he has might take months of waiting and healing in the hospital. I love having my aunt here but wish it was under better circumstances. Think good thoughts for my uncle.

xxxooo

Chicago Photos...Finally and Backwards from Sunday-Thursday

On Sunday Lynda and I took a cab out to the University of Chicago campus to see one of Frank Lloyd Wrights designs and all of the other beautiful architecture around campus. We took an MP3 tour first and then had a wonderful guide take us around the Frank Lloyd wright house. Both were excellent tours. We have a much later Wright designed house in Oregon and it was really interesting to see one of his really early ones to compare. Lynda kindly shared this photo with me...She is good don't you think?

Another photo by Lynda. I think this is the chapel bell tower and the one above is a tower on the U of Chicago seminary.

After a stop for lunch we walked over to the Museum of Science and Industry and out to the beach on Lake Michigan. This part of town is really lovely. The lake was very ocean like. There were shells and beach glass to pick up and a lovely calm set of waves to watch. Another picture brought to you by Lynda.
Another of Lyndas photos-This one is a lovely closeup of the beach on Lake Michigan. I picked up that cool piece of beach glass and took it home with me!
I took this photo standing in front of the museum of science and facing north. We skipped the bus for a ride back into town and took a little stroll over to this part of town. It was very residential but nifty to see.
The giant mirrored Jelly bean...Oh yes and I am there in front. Justine took this picture for me.
Jen at the meet and greet on Friday Night. She is the one who made my wonderful header above :)
From Right to Left: Justine, Catherine and I at the meet and greet. I had been drinking a little and cannot remember who took this picture.
More meet and greet photos from Friday night. Again from right to left are Read,Lisa, and Lynda my roomie.
At Frontera on Thursday. I sat next to Read (you can see half of her face here), then next to her was Deb who had the ceviche (and it was delicious cause she shared). Finally that is the wonderful Jen at the end.

Final words: I have tasted most of the items from the swag bag (protein bars, Pirates booty, Jenny Craig goodies, the Mary Kay Make-up, the lovely keychain and the luxurious pashmina). I have not yet had a chance to try out the protein drink packs yet. The protein bars were all very good and I have saved their wrappers to I can get them at home. I will post the names when I do so and even take a picture or two. I plan on ordering the head bands...they look totally awesome!

I am totally bummed I did not get a chance to talk to more people. The only flaw in the entire weekend was that there was just not enough time to talk individually to so many people who I have adored and followed for both a short and long time. I came to the BOOBS weekend with fears that I would not know someone who knew me or worse yet that someone I follow like a stalker would not know who the heck I was. I really don't know if that happened because everyone was SO Friendly! and nice! There were many times when the group thing was just too overwhelming and others that were just perfect.

I LOVED the city tour and Lynda's and my nerds visit the U of Chicago time. I loved shopping with Justine and a little drunken walk with Read. I wish that I could have seen Tessie Rose sing but am glad we at least got to chit chat for a while at the bar(s). I had a great time talking to Deb about Chicago and having a too late at night breakfast with (hmm I know Read was there and Dawnya...and I think um..well I had had a few drinks and I know there were way more of us than three but please forgive me my brain lapse.

Justine: I have not eaten the Fruit and nut yet but the peanut butter cup was hijacked by Grace. I only got 2 squares. She knew better than to put one little finger on my fruit and nut. She says thanks so much for the prezzies. She LOVED the keychain and book. I am still slowly reading the mags...thanks so much for them and the wander around Chicago!

OH..and Damn you Lynda for introducing me to that popcorn. It is gone and most of it went down my throat!! How can something taste so good!!! I had an awesome time on Sunday and cannot wait to go back to Chicago to see more. I will forgive you the popcorn because you were such an awesome roomie and tour guide.

I am sure there is more to say...and I will have to do it later. I will give you all the epiphany updates tomorrow :)

xxxooo

Station Break-Drama

I am home again but stuff happened while I was in Chicago and I had to inform you of it. I quit my job. Yup..the part timer is now a no timer for the next three months. I got so angry with one of my colleagues that the final straw was drawn and I submitted a letter of resignation. The down side is I believe there will be a little bit of fall out reputation-wise in higher ed because I have already caught wind of smack talking going on. I have a few loyal people who know me and the work that I put forth.

On another note: I am not sure I want to work in higher ed anymore anyway...Update this evening. So just a quick check in my email and I already have three students who want me to tutor them. This fall will be just fine and it will give me some time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up :)

xxxooo

Bullets of Chicago and pictures

First of all I was living in the moment. This means my picture taking was crud. I met loads of people. I felt overwhelmed by the sheer crowd (I have discovered in my old age I am much more comfortable with people one on one or a few at a time. The big party atmosphere freaked me out sometimes (yes we say freaked out and cool a lot in Oregon).

Thursday: I arrived and we had dinner at Frontera (Rick Bayless a TV Mexican food chef owns it).



Linda is on the far right. Next to her is Jenn and on the left is Gilly

Ok this has taken me ages..watch this space and I will put up more...Tomorrow.

xxxooo