Love in Black and White TOM and I went Christmas shopping yesterday and we were able to get most of it finished. At least everything that needs to go to MN. We are traveling for the holiday along with millions of other Americans. I can only hope that we survive the trip. I do have one son that I still have to shop for. He is 23 years old and whenever we ask him what he wants he has no answer. I can always buy him clothes, but he never seems to wear them. I can’t figure out his style. He did admit that he would like a nice leather jacket...if he can pick it out. At least that is something. I am also working on a trapeze photo collage. I am using b/w photos of my parents, grandparents, and in-laws, as well as my brother and me and TOM. I am including them here for your viewing pleasure…if I can keep the wireless connection open long enough to get the photos uploaded…. Wish me luck ! This is a photo of TOM and me on our happy day. My dad doesn't look to happy. Neither do I for that matter, but that was 30 ago and we are still togther. TOM's mother tried to talk him into leaving the morning of the wedding...she told him he had plenty of time to leave...now that's a mother-in-law for you : ) This is a photo of my Mom on her wedding day. For the ife of me, I cannot find the photo of her and Dad together. I am sure that thru the process of scanning and archiving all of the family photos I will find it. I can then put it in it's rightful place in the collage. This is my Mom's parents. I love this photo. They divorced when I was a child, but it is nice to see them at a time when they were happy together. My grandmother is still alive and kicking...and pretty active too. My grandfather died when I was 12. This is a photo of my Dad's parents on their 45th wedding anniversary. My Grandma had cancer, and they didn't think she would make to the 50th anniversary, so they had the party early. By the way, she did make to her 50th wedding anniversary and we had another big blow out for them...: ) This is a photo of my brother and his wife. They have been together for about 15 years now and have two great boys. We plan to spend a lot of time with them this holilday season. And last, but not least, this is my in-laws. As you can see, they had a simple, civil ceremony. They are both gone now and greatly missed. Although, I never forgave her for trying to talk TOM into leaving on our wedding day : )

It's Beginning to Feel alot Like Christmas... I haven’t been here for a few days. I have been busy scanning photographs. I am sure that my husband thinks that I am crazy. Trying to decide what to do for Christmas gifts this year, I don’t want to spend too much money. I will probably give money to the boys…make it easy on myself. I did talk TOM into going shopping tomorrow. It should be an interesting day . . . There was an article about snowflakes in the one of my magazines. I didn’t realize that you could photograph snowflakes (with the right equipment of course). Check it out if you have time, the flakes are really quite beautiful, www.snowcrystals.com. These are a few of my favorites.

I Love My IPOD... I finally ordered an IPOD a week ago. I decided to get the Nano...I hope 2 gigs is enough. Anyway, I ordered it online for the same price as wally world, but my name is engraved on it and I did not have to pay shipping. I know I should have waited till my bday. TOM would have purchased it for me, but I did not feel like waiting. Anyway, it arrived within 2 days and every day a load one of my cds to the computer to add to the library. I am still trying to figure out how to keep some tracks from loading to the POD, because they are not my favorites. I don't necessarily want the entire album. I will figure it out. Only 2 days til Thanksgiving. We are going to have the requisite turkey and mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, rolls, mincemeat and pumpkin pies, and watergate salad (only with french vanilla pudding mix). Wally world was out of pistacio pudding mix. I will just add some green food color...the boys will never know the difference : ) I hope not anyway...later.

"The Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd "Something struck me then: I'd never done any of those things my mother had done. Never danced on a beach. Never made a bonfire. Never waded into the ocean at night with laughing women and tied my life to theirs."

My Life Today I slept good last night. I ate fajitas and refried beans for lunch today with the data migration team. They are more fun than the A&C team. I ate oriental grilled chicken and fried rice for dinner by myself. I bought a Seacret From the Dead Sea hand care kit at the mall. I bought a box of artificial snow for TOM. He will really get a kick out of this. My son broke up with his girlfriend of five years. Work is good. I drove to the mall by myself. The first time in three days I have been alone. Except for when I am in my room. I did not overeat today. I have been eating too much the last couple of days. My sister in law is tired. I got a new toothbrush. I watched Dog the Bounty Hunter. I called TOM three times today :-) I called my son to let him know I am there for him.

I'm a Traveling (Wo)Man Back in B'ham again. We went to 'Brio Tuscan Grille' for dinner. The food was pretty good. I had italian salad and balsalmic marinated chicken with vegetables. I also ordered dessert...to go. The Apple Crisp, although they don't give ice cream on the to go orders. Melted ice cream would have better than no ice cream...see previous post if you don't know what I mean. I have a feeling that it would have been better with ice cream, even if it was melted. TOM did a small project for me today. He added a sliding pull out shelf to the computer cabinet. It turned out pretty good. It will make it much easier when scanning the multitude of family photos that I am archiving. TOM did a previous upgrade to the cabinet. He dropped down the front of the drawer to make a handy dandy desk top. This was a cabinet that came from my grandmother. It was not very attractive and I hadn't used it in a long time. It has been in the garage. Anyway, after the remodel last year we have room in the house for it and I needed something to store all of my electronic gadgets. A computer desk that looks like furniture. It needs a paint job now, but I will have to do that myself, TOM doesn't want to paint it. This is a photo of my grandparents, Beatrice and Thomas Barth, on their 50th wedding anniversary. I choose not to tell you how many years ago this photo was taken, except that I was still single. And that's all I going to say about that. Anyway, here I am in my hotel room. I have made the requisite phone call to TOM to let him know that I arrived safely. He was in bed, preparing to go to sleep. He's an early to bed kind of guy. And of course, because I was otherwise engaged, I missed the first half of the Amazing Race. It's usually pushed back because of a football game or some other sporting event on the tube, but today it starts on time. Figures. Anyway, I got to watch the second half.

I Scream, You Scream... We all scream for ICE CREAM! Every day is a good day if you have ice cream. My favorite ice cream flavors are: White Chocolate Raspberry (Brewsters) White Turtle (Brewsters) Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Blue Bell) Vanilla Bean (Blue Bell) Tin Roof (Blue Bell) more to come.

Photo Archiving I have begun the long and arduous task of scanning all of my assorted family photos and documents. I am going to try to scan for an hour each day, then name the photo, and place in the right folder. Then the photo can be placed in the appropriate storage box. It is going to take quite a long time. But if I do it in bits and pieces so I don't get burned out I will get it done. Once all the photos are scanned, I am going to buy an external hard drive for storage. That way, if there is ever a fire, all I have to grab is the drive. Having all the photos scanned will also make it easier to create the photo cd's for my boys. I have so many projects these days, the TOM will soon begin to believe that he is single again. I have tried to get him involved in the scanning, but he is really not interested. Well, that's it for today. I have to watch "Dancing with the Stars".

America... ...the band not the country. On Friday nite, TOM and I went to the show. I must admit that it was pretty good. I bought the tickets for TOM because he really likes this type of music…the type that I usually have little time for. Anyway, I tried to take some photos, but of course it was too dark in the theatre and we were too far back for the flash to do any good. We had good seats, but not good enough. Of course, that did not stop other attendees from flashing the band thru the entire show. Don’t these people realize that the flash on your pocket digital camera is not worth a damn if you are farther then 15 feet (or less) from you subject. Anyway, there was so much flashing going on that I am surprised that the rest of us didn’t have a seizure. The show was good, I wish I had the set list. They played two or three songs from the new album as well as their old favorites: Sister Golden Hair, Horse with No Name, Lonely People, and Ventura Highway just to name a few.

Procrastination...Or Is It Exhaustion? I have been neglecting my blog responsibilities lately. But I have been so busy at work that the last thing I want to do when I get home is work on the computer. I am actively pursuing new job opportunities at work. I have identifed a number of positions in which interest me and have been working on my resume. I would like to continue in the temporary position that I am in right now, but there are no positions available. So I will be applying for a training, project analyst, and business analyst position. I want to continue to travel, so the training positon might be the best opportunity for that. We have finalized our plans for the Xmas holidays. We will be flying north on the morning of Dec 23 and return home on Dec 29. It is only a week, but I think that is enough. As it is, I may have to stay at my bro's house, because my grandma (bumble bee below) has moved in with my parents for the winter. I hate to be away from my boy's for Xmas, but we will celebrate early. They will be working anyway on Xmas Eve. I told them that they can spend the day together on Christmas. Anyway, the airline reservations are made and the car is confirmed. Now I just have to get shopping. Alot of small, easy to carry gifts...or maybe we will have to head right to the Mall of America to do our shopping before we head to the house. Sounds like a good idea, but in reality it is probably not. Can you imagine the number of people shopping??? We would probably have to park in Wisconsin.

Traveling Can be Expensive...

... and not just for the company. We finished our session early today so I had some time to burn. I went back to Wheeler Wildlife Refuge to see if I could get some more shots.

I walked a short trail to get some exercise after sitting all day. I got a few good shots. I haven't had a chance to look at them yet.

The trail was covered with the fern-like leaves of the cypress trees . . .


After that I headed for the mall. They actually have a pretty nice mall here. Prices were pretty good too. That's what I meant about travel being expensive. See, last week I was overdressed for the group. This week I was under dressed for the group so I thought I could find something to wear that was more appropriate.

I found a great skirt for like $12 and a pair of gauchos for $10. I found a couple of great shirts at another store. So I got some more exercise and so did my wallet. At least I will feel more comfortable in the meeting tomorrow.

My cold is almost gone. Still coughing some, but not too bad. I will be glad to get home. I just want to crawl into my bed and stay there. At least Saturday and Sunday. Read, sleep, and watch movies. Tom will be hunting, so I will have the whole house to myself.

Buzzzzzzz! We just returned from Minnesota yesterday. My husband's sister is sick and her husband was worried that she might not make it. She has been hospitalized before, but she did not want him to call anyone in the family, so he didn't. Of course, he had to go and see her. In a selfish moment, it allowed me the opportunity to go and see my mother, who was recently released from a convelesant center after breaking her arm and leg. Mom is doing well and my sister-in-law is stable. I guess that is all we can ask for. Speaking of my parents, they will use any excuse to go the the casinos on the Indian Reservation in Mille Lacs. My grandmother got sick and ended up the hospital in Aitken, MN, so of course we had to go see her. She is 87 after all. This is a photo of her 2 years ago... Anyway, we drive right by the casino on the way to and from Grandma's. I guess it is a good place to forget your troubles for a while. It was good for Tom, he tends to get melancholy in situations like this. We are home now. Well, Tom is. I am in Decatur for work. Speaking of work, I better make some preparations for tomorrow. I am supposed to lead the sessions tomorrow. Have never done it before...this should be really interesting. Stay tuned...

TGIF It's been a while since I've been here. I've been so busy at work that the last thing I wanted to do in the evening is sit in front of a pc and type. (I'm a technical writer.) However, I felt the urge to scribe this evening. I spent some time editing some of my photos...trying to decide which one to print and donate to a silent auction at work. The money we raise is donated to a scholarship fund for the children of our employees. I think this is the photo that I am going to submit. The "A" Train What do you think? I think it looks pretty cool. See the pedestrian on the right side? I didn't realize he was there until I blew it up and changed it to black and white. Now I don't consider myself a good photographer, but every once in a while I get it right. Framing will be very important. It has to be right. If it looks really good, I may have print a version for myself. This was taken on my recent trip to NY. I have always enjoyed photography. And I have had any number of cameras. I think my first was a kodak pocket instamatic. Boy, I loved that camera. I still have the photos that I took with that thing. But I don't have the camera. I think my boys got hold of it. I also have a nice canon ae1 program 35mm with several lenses, but I rarely use that anymore. We purchased in like 1978 or 79. It is a good camera and I just had it refurbished. Gosh, I guess it was three years ago, because I bought a digital for my trip to Hawaii last year. I have to admit I really like digital photography and I want to get a nikon f70 so that I can have interchangable lenses. I have a good camera now, but that is the one limitation...only one lense, no filters... I also need to get a good tripod.

Feeling Old Yet? 1974: Long hair 2004: Longing for hair 1974: KEG 2004: EKG 1974: Acid rock 2004: Acid reflux 1974: Moving to California because it's cool 2004: Moving to California because it's warm 1974: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor 2004: Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor 1974: Seeds and stems 2004: Roughage 1974: Hoping for a BMW 2004: Hoping for a BM 1974: The Grateful Dead 2004: Dr. Kevorkian 1974: Going to a hip, new joint 2004: Receiving a new hip joint 1974: Rolling Stones 2004: Kidney Stones 1974: Being called into the principal's office 2004: Calling the principal's office 1974: Screw the system 2004: Upgrade the system 1974: Disco 2004: Costco 1974: Parents begging you to get your hair cut 2004: Children begging you to get their heads shaved 1974: Passing the drivers' test 2004: Passing the vision test 1974: Whatever 2004: Depends Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things: *The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1990. *Their lifetime has always included AIDS. *Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic. *They have always had an answering machine. *They have always had cable. *They cannot fathom not having a remote control. *Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show. *Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave. *They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. *They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. *They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. *They never heard: "Where's the Beef?" , "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "de plane, de plane." *They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. even is. *McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers. *They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Namaste I did a few yoga poses and relaxed for about 10 minutes. It felt really good. I did not realize that I missed it so much. I used to practice on a regular basis, but the joy went out of it for me about a year ago. I was teaching four classes a week while working a full time job. To be a good yoga instructor you have to be committed, maintain a personal practice, and attend training regularly. I just couldn’t do it, so I had to give up the teaching…I was not ready to commit full time to yoga and give up the benefits to which I had become accustomed…you know a regular paycheck and benefits. Some would say that is not the true path for a guru, but you make it your own. Teaching also took away from my personal practice. Yoga is more physical than people think and I just did not have the time or the energy to practice. I need to get back to it; my personal practice. Find a good yoga instructor and take some classes. My body and mind need the peace that yoga brings. In the long run it will help with my work and personal life too. I also began to study the Yoga Sutras. I was finding my way and taking a look at my life. Maybe that is the real reason I stopped my practice. I was beginning to see who I really was and I was not meeting my expectations. I know that sounds like a lot of hoo haa, but there comes a point in your life when you have to take a good look at who you. Maybe you like yourself, but maybe you realize that you have to make some changes. I have never been a spiritual person and the Sutras began to make sense to me. They began to bring some meaning to me, of who I was, and who I could be. You are probably thinking that I am getting all introspective because I am away from home and lonely. But that is not the case. I have never minded being by myself. I always find something to do, even if sometimes the behavior was destructive. I want to improve me. Make my life better. And by making my life better, I can make it better for my family. I will have to give this some more thought. Pull out the Yoga Sutras and give them some more study. I want to continue my journey to maturity and adulthood, but I want to have a good life and have some fun along the way…

Adventures in Picture Framing I purchased a really great poster in NY to hang in the red room. Also known as the travel room. I purchased a frame (can't afford to have it professionally framed) and enlisted 'the old man', in future to be referred to as Tom, to help with the trimming and framing of the poster. Now, first you need to know that Tom draws blood during the easiest of tasks. Maybe he likes the color red. Anyway, whether he is working on the car, building a shelf, or doing yard work Tom always comes in the house bleeding. Suffice it to say, we can add framing posters to the list of dangerous things to do around the house. Luckily, Tom just changed the blade in the utility knife so it was a nice, clean cut. The cut probably needed some stitches, but being Tom he said "nah, let's just get it cleaned up and bandaged". Which is what we did. Amazingly, Tom did not get a drop of blood on the frame, poster, or in the work area. I told you, he was an expert. He did wake up with a throbbing member during the middle of the night. No, not that member. Tom elevated the finger and the pain went away. This morning we cleaned, added bacitacin and re-bandaged the wound to help with healing. Then Tom was on his way to work, planning I am sure, the stories he would tell about his newest injury and the daring adventure in which it occurred.

Day 5, September 14: Our last day in NYC. The desk clerk knocked on my door at 6:45. My business credit card was declined again. I spent the next two hours trying to get a limit increase on my card so I would not have to pay on my personal card. One of my colleagues went to the front desk to get an apple and when she returned she was locked out of her room. I convinced them to let her back in and paid for the difference in the room charges on my personal card. What a way to end our trip. It would have been worse. I was so happy to get picked up for the airport. As interesting as NYC is I was ready to go home. Breakfast: Apple from the front desk Lunch: Sausage with onions and water from a street vendor Dinner: Hamburger happy mean in Ladonia, AL with my husband at 11:00 Entertainment: Convincing the desk clerks that we were not going to run out on our bill Shopping: None

Day 4, September 13: Today was a work day and our last full day in the city. We were going to try to catch the 6:00 ferry cruise. We had to be on the subway by five. I also got the name of a sushi restaurant in the Village. We could stop and eat on the way back. The ferry was great. The weather was cooler, but not cold. The ride was about an hour and we could finally say that we made it to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. Of course, we only took photos and we never got off the boat, but that was ok by me. By this time, my blisters had blisters. It was windy enough that there were several sailboats in the harbor and river. Quite picturesque. I recommend the ferry. It is just enough to give you a view of NY from the water and get some great skyline shots. We enjoyed the trip. We headed to the subway. We had dinner plans in the Village and needed to get going. On the train, we didn’t recognize any of the street names so we got off at the first stop…in Brooklyn. We were going the wrong direction! We got back on the train, heading in the right direction. We were hungry and tired. I had the address of the restaurant and we began walking…again. I could lose a lot of weight if I lived in this city. I am not sure how far we walked, but we were unable to find Samba Sushi…We hailed a cab and headed to Times Square. We knew there was a sushi joint next to the pizza place where we ate the night before. Taxi’s are slow, but faster than walking. We finally made it to the restaurant and they actually had a table. Of course I order teriyaki chicken. I was not ready to order a complete sushi meal when I wasn’t sure if I would be able to eat it. I also ordered a Philadelphia roll. The chicken was great and the roll was too. I tried a small piece of eel, the texture was interesting, but it tasted like smoked fish. The real surprise came after the meal when my business card was declined. It was good preparation for what was to come. Breakfast: Apple Lunch: Great turkey sandwich with brie at Green Beans Dinner: Sushi, it tastes like chicken...oh, that was the chicken Shopping: 3 bars of Olive Oil facial soap from a local market Entertainment: Reaction on my face when my business credit card was declined

Day 3, September 12: Second attempt to purchase theatre tickets; Wicked, Sweeney Tod, or Spamalot. We did not have to be to work until 2:00 so we had plenty of time. Having learned our lesson on Sunday, we headed to Times Square. We stopped at Starbucks for coffee and a roll…great breakfast. Right next door was a theatre store where you could buy souvenirs…so we did. And on to the TKTS booth…but they did not open until 2:00 today. We were not yet on city time. We had three hours before we had to be at work and we headed to the Empire State Building (ESB). We worried that the lines would be long and we would not be able to make it, but we would give it our best shot. We agreed to purchase the trip to then top…the 102nd floor. It was $14 more, but worth every penny. (Total $30). We went to 102 first. It was clear as a bell that day and we could see for miles. I told my husband that I would call him from the top and I did. It was great. We did not want to go down, we had to descend eventually. We almost had it to ourselves. Very few pay the extra money to come up. I signed the guest book “Simply amazing,” because it was. 86 was really a let down after that. It was so crowded you could not get a decent photo. You could hardly walk around the deck. I did buy a poster of the NY skyline to hang in the adventure room. It will look great when I get it framed. We checked with the concierge at the hotel for show tickets, but they were going to be very expensive. We skipped the idea of a show and went for pizza and beer. Then we spent a few hours at a local tavern and relaxed…the deep dive was more stressful than we thought it would be. What happens in NY stays in NY! Breakfast: Hot Chai Latte and Blueberry Scone, apple Lunch: A cool shower Dinner: Bella Vita for pizza and beer Entertainment: 1 Strawberry Mojito, 1 tequila on the rocks, 1 corona Shopping: 5 I {heart} NY Teddy Bears for the DS team, 1 New York Apple Bell Christmas ornament, Skyline poster from the ESB

Day 2, September 11: Today was a work day, so we did not get to do any exploring until after work. We did decide that we were going to Central Park, the Rose Center, and Serendipity 3 for dinner. We took the subway to Central Park West.We stopped at the Dakota and Strawberry Fields to pay homage to John Lennon. Of course we got the requisite photos. I sent my poem to John via a burning candle. Quite corny actually, but it made me feel good. I hope he liked it. Then we headed to the Rose Center. You know how when you look at things on the map they don’t really look that far…? When in NY the blocks are short one way and long the other way…it seems we were always walking the long way. I had a blister the size of a quarter on my heel and it was giving me a lot of trouble. But I kept moving forward. After the Rose Center, we decided it was time to eat some dinner, so we started our trek to Serendipity. Of course the walk was longer than we anticipated. We had to walk from the west side to the east side. My dogs were howling. My compadres suggested another restaurant, but I was not going to let my sore feet be the reason we did not make it to a restaurant in which they wanted to eat. Now Serendipity has been around for a long time and is famous for desserts. The rich and famous bring their children here; however on this day we saw neither the rich nor the famous. We finally got the timing right and only had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. What we did get was the best sandwich north of the Mason-Dixon line. I had A Summer Bries. Rye bread, turkey, and melted brie. I have never had brie before and I am now a fan. It is wonderful. If you have never tried you really must. There was some kind of sauce on it also, but I can’t remember. Food always tastes so good when you have earned it. But what we really came here for was the Frozen Hot Chocolate. And it really was worth every penny we paid for it. I highly recommend both the sandwich and the dessert. We decided to hail a cab back to the hotel because I refused to walk back to the subway station. It may have taken a little longer, but the price would have been about the same and I was finally sitting down. Breakfast: Green Beans, apple from the front desk Lunch: In the Office Dinner: Serendipity Dessert: Frozen Hot Chocolate Shopping: None Entertainment: Pooping the blisters on my feet