The loot

So - I got a ring and two handbags. I tried taking pictures with my camera, but it was hard to get it to focus in nicely. The ring is not nearly as large as it looks. It's kind of delicate and I'm going to need to have it sized - but it's pretty and the kind of thing I have wanted. And - it makes me feel a little better.

I'll be buying rings

nuff said

Retail Therapy

I believe in retail therapy. It works. When you're feeling down and out - don't just put on your Sunday shoes (Hello Dolly fans will get that) go out and buy NEW Sunday shoes! So - I have resolved that when I get THE CALL (see past posts re: professional association) today, if the news is not good, well then, there's nothing to do but engage in some retail therapy. I did this for the first time when a boyfriend broke up with me. I went out and bought 3 new suits. I looked good in them. So good, that I figure when said ex-boyfriend saw me in one of them, he would slap his head, say "what was I thinking dumping her" to which I would reply "F&*@ You Mike!" And walk away happy and proud. It really did help me feel better about myself. I have since been a firm believer in retail therapy. So - I've picked out what I'm going to get and how much I can spend if I need to indulge. I am planning on a cocktail ring of some sort - likely with small diamonds and in white gold, platinum not being in the budget. I also plan to look at a high end handbag in some bright summer color if the budget allows. Of course, if the call has good news - I still plan to spend money as I will need to get a couple of really good suits to wear as I travel the country making speeches to the state associations. So - check back later this afternoon to see if it's rings or suits.

Photographic Evidence

Boomer's stuffed dog has lasted about 3 weeks now! Amazing! Don't believe me - here's the photographic evidence.

Next up - our gardens. This summer, I'm taking on the west side of the house. The previous owners had neglected all of the gardens. I think this one had it worst. So - here are some before pictures and some progress pictures. I plan to plant one or two more shrubs and maybe throw in some cuttings of the existing bushes to see if they'll root and fill it in more. Otherwise, I'll get more new shrubbs. We still have to cut down a couple of the ones that are there now and that were never trimmed and shaped so that they would be attractive. We also have some stumps that need to be pulled out - but we're making progressive - here's this photographic evidence.

Monday's the day - and other thoughts

Monday I will get the call. The Executive Director just let the candidates know that the meeting is on Monday and to be available for the call. So - cross your fingers for me.

This week has turned into my Medical Week. I'm in the midst of a root canal. I had a mole on my face removed last week - stitches out yesterday. I had two more moles removed yesterday. Yesterday's moles were thankfully on my back - so I was prone for the removal. I was sitting up for the one on my face - but when I announced "I feel woozy" they got me prone fast - beyond prone actually so that my head was the lowest point. How fun was that. They got some sugar in me via apple juice. Now that I'm doing WW again - I went home and dutifully calculated how many points in the apple juice!

The weight loss efforts are going pretty well. I'm down under 150 as of this morning. God willing - and will power permitting - I'll never go back over it. It's been harder to lose as I've gotten older, but I know it's possible for me to stay in a healthy range and I intend to do my best to do it. Now if I can only get A to get on the band wagon. I need him healthy so that he is around for a good long time.

The weight loss effort is not just diet. I've been trying to get out there and exercise as well. I take walks daily if I can - sometimes multiple walks if the weather is good because that gets the Boom Doggie exercise too. I'm also trying to do some weight training at least 2 days per week. Being thin isn't the only thing - it's being toned. I really want to get my arms toned. They are larger than the average woman's to begin with, so they really need to be toned. The back is key too - as I have a large one. Someone asked me a couple of months ago if I was a swimmer - because of my broad back. I never thought about it - but could the years that I was swimming competitively have done that? I tend to think not, since I was young - I quit when I was 13 - but maybe. I think it's more likely genetics. Of course, the stomach is key too. I like pilates movements for keeping my core toned.

So - that's pretty much it for now. I plan to post some new garden pictures soon. I'm working on the west side of the house this summer. In fact, I intend to get out there tonight after work and do some major weed pulling. I want to pull a couple of the bushes, try to root some new forsythia with shoots from the bushes we have and then maybe plant a rhododendron as well. I'm going for yellow, pink and purple and low maintenance!

A watched pot...

never boils and a watched phone never rings. You know when "the call" is going to come? Monday, while I'm in the dentist's chair getting a root canal or Tuesday when I'm in a meeting or at the dermatologist's office getting a mole removed. This is just slow torture. That's what it is.

Has Boomer turned over a new leaf?

I may be jinxing things - but - Boomer has a stuffed toy that has lasted 8 days with only minor injuries. He has not ripped it apart and pulled the stuffing out. Usually, the first innards appear within the first half hour. We keep saying "gentle" whenever he picks the toy up - so maybe that's it. It also could be that his previous toy-destruction was part of the dominance issues. So, maybe our having taken control of that issue has also resulted in a kinder gentler Boomer when it comes to stuffed animals. Or - maybe it's because the new stuffed animal is a dog and he relates to it. Maybe I will come home from work today and regret having written this post! :)

Out to Sea

Out to sea - yes that's where my cell phone is headed. I was walking the dog and, as is our habit, we stopped at an intersection to look both ways before crossing. Just then, my cell phone popped off. I had it on a holster clipped onto my sweat pants. The whole thing - holster and all came off. Would not have been so bad, but I stopped right over a storm sewer - the kind that is cut into the sidewalk. So - my cell phone hit the pavement and then slid right down into the drain. I couldn't believe it. I got down on the pavement looked in - could not see a thing. We'll have to cancel it and get a new one. I suppose I could ask them to just reactivate my old one. Dang! I liked that phone. It had bluetooth capabilities. It had a camera. It cost a couple hundred dollars. Dang!

Stealing a meme again

One of the blogs I read regularly often has memes on it. I've stolen at least one before. I'm doing it again today. I stole it from http://anniesplace.wordpress.com/. She has very cool pictures on her blog too.

1.ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT? On my left leg - I have a long scar I got when I was eight. My mom had called me for dinner and I was running down the hill, heading home. I cut through someone else's yard. They had a young tree that they had supported with wires tied to stakes in the ground. I ran right into one of the wires and sliced my leg right open. It makes me a little queasy even now to think about it.
2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM? Aside from the green paint? We have one painting that I purchased out on Cape Cod some time ago.
3. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN? 3:13 am
4. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? chocolate.
5. WHAT DO YOU MISS? My dad. Always.
6. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? My engagement ring and wedding band. I know that's two - but they are equally important.
7 . HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5′ 6″
8. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DAY? Sometimes, not usually though.
9. WHAT’S YOUR WORST FEAR? Seeing the FDNY Chief's car pull up in front of my house.
10. WHAT KIND OF HAIR COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX? Brown
11. WHAT ABOUT EYE COLOR? Brown again
12. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK? Coffee please.
13. FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING? Cheese and sausage…best if its Dijulio's sausage
14. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? hot fudge sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream
15. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME? Red I guess
16. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH? Only the Pepperidge Farm variety.
17. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED? The first? Well - one of the first that I really remember as being special was my banana seat bike when I was ten - I really wanted that.
18. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH? no
19. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND? Ann Taylor and/or Ann Taylor Loft.
20. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU WANT? jaguar.
21. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING? yes
22. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA? Multiple times
23. YOUR WEAKNESSES? chocolate
24. MET ANYONE FAMOUS? Yes, mostly the politician or athlete type - but I knew Meg Ryan before she was famous (and before she was Meg Ryan).
25. FIRST JOB? deli clerk
26. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL? yeah.
27. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE HAS A SOUL MATE? Yes.
28. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED THIS OUT? working
29. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY? Nothing major - only outpatient type stuff.
30. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST? These days it's my hair.
31. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY? A nice dinner out and to go to a Yankees game.
32. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT? Right now - I would be over the moon with one.
33. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No
34. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST TURN OFF OF THE OPPOSITE SEX? Bad grooming.
35. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU MISS ABOUT GRADE SCHOOL? Recess!
36. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE? L'oreal for highlighted hair.
37 . DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes. I have been told I have very nice handwriting.
38. ANY BAD HABITS? I procrastinate.
39. ARE YOU A JEALOUS PERSON? Yes, to a certain extent.
40. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would indeed.
41. DO YOU AGREE WITH FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS? No. I don't think you can divorce emotion from sex like that.
42. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER? I throw things - non-breakable things.
43. WHAT’S YOUR MAIN GOAL IN LIFE? To have a long, healthy, happy life with my husband.
44. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD? my bike
45. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE? No idea - and I never transferred all my numbers over from my old phone.
46. WERE YOU A FAN OF BARNEY AS A LITTLE KID? Well - I was well into adulthood by the time Barney came around.
47. MASHED POTATOES OR MACARONI AND CHEESE? oooh - Mashed Potatoes
48. DO YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOES? Yes
49. DO YOU HAVE A COMPUTER IN YOUR ROOM? No. It's in the Office/Guest Room.
50. PLANS FOR TONIGHT? Watch TV, hang out with husband and dog
51. WHAT’S THE FASTEST YOU’VE EVER GONE IN A CAR? When I was driving, I think 85. I have a feeling that I have gone faster as a sleeping passenger.
52. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO? nothing at the moment.
53. Last thing you drank? Water
54. REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT? Democrat
55. DO YOU HAVE A LOW SELF ESTEEM OR A HIGH SELF ESTEEM? Depends on the day.
56. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? - I just finished a Mary Higgins Clark book, not sure what to start next. I am still slogging through biographies of Dwight Eisenhower and Churchill too.

God is determined...

...to teach me patience. I get it. I need to learn it. I am waiting for "THE CALL" about whether or not I will get the presidency of my national professional organization. I have been expecting it to be sometime this week or next, based on when the announcement was made last year. I had kind of fixed in my head that today might be the day. It just seemed appropriate. We had a state organization meeting today - so it would have been awesome timing. I even wore my "interview suit" to the meeting. There's a member of our state organization - a really terrific woman - who is a Past President of the National Org and who has been both friend and mentor to me over the years. I was really hoping to be able to see her today and give her a thumbs up. (Or ask for a shoulder to cry on.) So - we talked today - turns out the Director of our organization is in South America visiting his child who is in school there. She gave me her estimate - based on religious holidays - as to when he would be back and when the nominating committee would therefore most likely be meeting and making the final decision. So - I wait. It is good in a way. I will now not freak each time the phone rings, checking the caller id - wondering if this is "THE CALL" or if it's just some salesman. And I will learn patience. Maybe.

Dog Gone Cute

Yeah - my dog is cute. Two things he did the other day - first he defended his house. We had friends who were parking at our house as we live near an airport and they wanted to save on parking. When they pulled in the driveway, he barked away. That's not the cute part. It was when he was done with the real barking and he did one of those kind of "mfff" barks - not a real bark kind of like "I'm still here, just don't forget it" kind of barks that I think are so cute. Then later - the real cuteness. He was so darn funny. I got on my little stair stepper that I haven't used in ages. He hears me, comes upstairs and starts barking at it. Then he walks closer, still barking and stops, then leans towards it - trying to stay a safe distance away, but leaning in as close as he can to sniff it. It was too funny. Wish I had had a camera!

Do you want your dreams to come true?

Have you ever had a dream for a long time and then when it might come true, you are not sure you want it as much anymore? Something you've longed for may finally be yours for the asking and now you're not sure about taking it? I'm dealing with that right now. I'm not sure what to do, where to go. Sometimes it's easier to deal with not being able to have what you want when you can't get it than to deal with the reality that you can have it. And it may be mine for the asking - but I don't know what the answer will be when I ask. If it's no, will the blow be more crushing or will my current ambivalence soften the blow. It's not the getting what I want part that I'm not sure about, it's what it means down the road for other plans I've been making. When it became kind of evident (or so I thought) that this dream would go unfulfilled, I started thinking about "consolation prizes" and other ways life would work and be good. Can I take on the commitment now? Can I be successful at it? Will I resent it? If I don't take it on - will I forever regret it? Different pieces of my life are close to intersecting right now. It could be awesome. It could be disastrous. And then - at the last minute - they might veer off and never meet. I feel like this is a life pop-quiz right now and what if I get it wrong?