Buggin' Out For The Weekend

This will be my last post until next week as John and I are leaving for New Hampshire tomorrow morning. Can't wait to see our friends! Should be fun and interesting especially as the AL East is coming down to the wire. They're big Sox fans and John is a big Yankee fan. I, of course, will be rooting for the Yanks because I simply cannot root for the Sox. It's sacrilegious.

Dropped Cami and Bar Bar off at day-care this morning. Couldn't get them into the play room fast enough. They were wound a little too tightly for my liking. Campbell simply can't sit still when she's hyped up. It's like he little paws have to keep moving. Barrett is a little better, as once you get her attention by a bop on the nose she'll just sit down and keep still. I can just picture them running circles around the day-care providers right now. Heh. Better them than me.

A big What The Hell? to the nimrods at the bagel shop. Located right off Route 10, the bagel place is very busy with morning commuters. The name of the game is "get in and get out." Most of the guys there are really good about keeping the line moving and working quickly to get your bagel, get your money, and get you on your way. However, this morning, I placed my order and watched it sit on the counter as the bagel boy and his buddy proceeded to have a personal conversation. The minutes ticked away and I grew rather irritated. Knock, knock! Um, hello? I'm the customer!! Needless to say, when Brainless Bagel Boy finally got on board and handed me my bagel, I snatched it away from him in disgust. Number 1, don't leave your customers waiting. Number 2, don't ever withhold my morning bagel from me. I mean, What The Hell?

Got my new sneaks from zappos last night. Believe it or not, I did not tear into the box and try them on. I was a little out of sorts last night and just needed some peace and quiet. I watched LOST, which was a huge disappointment as they simply retold last weeks episode and then turned in. I hope I'm not coming down with anything, as I'm still not feeling quite right this morning. Maybe another Dew will perk me up. Maybe another little shopping spree at Zappos will perk me up. Maybe I'll shop and sip my Dew at the same time. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Tuesday Blues

Tuesday has has never been the best day for me. Most people complain about Mondays, but I happen to like Mondays. The are usually the fastest day of the week for me, but then Tuesday hits and the world seems to stop. They just drag on and on. So today I'm suffering from Tuesdayitis. Of course, I did not help myself by staying up so late last night. Since we're leaving for New Hampshire Friday morning, I needed to get my laundry done and clean up the house. Gretch is being a peach by sitting the Girls for us, so I wanted to do some extra special clean up.

We're going to NH to visit friends we met while in St. Thomas last year. Chris and Joyce Rowe and their son Kevin and his wife Sandy were staying at Crystal Cove on Sapphire Beach. We met them at our bar and became instant friends. After the Sunday Beach Party at Sapphire (and after quite a few drinks) Joyce insisted we stop by their place and have dinner with them. Kevin grilled some steaks and Joyce had fresh peas from her garden and sweet potatoes. It was one of the nicest meals I had ever had. They just invited us in to their home and their hearts. Fabulous people. We socialized quite a bit with them during our stay and are looking forward to seeing them again this weekend. Luckily, we were all able to get the same weeks in ST, so we will be seeing them in February as well.

The other big event of the weekend is the battle for the AL East between the Yankees and Bosox. Since my Mets spit the bit in the NL Wildcard race, I've turned my attention to the Yankees. Looks like it's going to come down to this weekend in Boston to see who wins the pennant. Exciting stuff. Yankees are a half game up, but Boston plays a double-header today, so we'll see where the dust settles tonight.

So far I've been handling the change of seasons fairly well. Granted, it's only been five days, but still. And, well, maybe the shoe shopping at zappos has helped. : ) New kicks can cure any ills. Got some new sneaks for my early morning walks. As much as I hate getting up early, I am enjoying the walking. It's a nice, quiet, peaceful time. Gives me a few minutes to get my head straight first thing in the morning.

Dad's birthday dinner was great in terms of the company, but I'm still kicking myself for overcooking the beef. Ugh. I had everything under control, a thermometer in the tenderloin, a timer for the lobster tails, Mom manning the veggies on the grill and I still managed the mangle the beef. Mom, Dad, and John all raved about the dinner, but let's face it: I was there, too. The beef was horrible. We ended up having a great time, as usual. Mom and I polished off a couple bottles of wine and Dad and John were able to see some of the golf that was on. It was fairly warm, so we ate outside on the deck. The Girls were pretty well behaved. That's always a bonus.

Back to work time.

End Of The Week

Thankfully, it's Friday night and I'm at home after another brutal day at work. I think I'm losing patience with my job. Note to self: Do some deep thinking about future in current position.

Added a pic of The Girls after they took a swim at "our" doggy beach in Manasquan. This is the boat launch that is two lagoons over from our house. Convenient to get to, and as I said in an earlier post, calm water for my new water babies (or "baby" as Barrett is the only one who liked the water).

John is out getting some dinner and I am having a quiet evening at home. I need to map out my next couple of days I have a few things to get accomplished around the house, as well as dinner plans with friends tomorrow night, and Mom & Dad coming over on Sunday. Today is Dad's birthday, so we're going to celebrate that and their anniversary (Sept. 1st) on Sunday. Think I'm going to do a little surf and turf action. Need to come up with some side dishes, so that will be my next Friday night chore.

Love Friday nights. They are definitely a "come down" night for me. I very rarely go out on Fridays as I use the time to wind down from the week and plan my weekends. Saturday is a bigger social night for us. Luckily, John understands my need for some alone time and leaves me be. Sometimes I'll start some cleaning or organizing projects and I'll work on them until the wee hours of the morning. I'm an absolute night owl. Love the quiet and the creative buzz I get at night. I can get a ton accomplished. I'll start cleaning and John will joke that I'm "nesting." I get a great deal of satisfaction out of cleaning my home and having things neat and orderly. Or, it could just be that I'm manic and experiencing an "episode." ; )


Tonight's "What The Hell?" is brought to you by Overzealous Emailers Anonymous. I thoroughly enjoyed getting an email from someone I don't know, but who seems to know (based on the addresses in the email) my father and my uncle. Not really sure what his intentions are/were, but starting out a chain email by calling people "effing racists" is so not cool. I mean, what the hell? I don't even know this guy.

Ready to take a Fall

Oh joyous day. Not. Today is the first day of Autumn (well, it will be at 6 pm this evening) and, as usual, I'm thrilled. I absolutely abhor the beginning of fall. Hate it. I find nothing even remotely pleasant about the end of summer. I dread the end of daylight savings. My mood becomes as dark as the shrinking days. I went out for my morning walk and smelled that horrible "autumn air" smell. The temp was a crisp 54 degrees. Ugh. Someone shoot me now. I may even have to turn to fleece in the morning. Horrors. And the moment I'm forced to wear closed-toe shoes will be the moment my soul is stripped of all happiness. My pigs need to be free; pedicured a bright summer shade and dressed up in strappy sandals. Alas, it is not to be for much longer.

On to a happier topic (which would be just about anything at this point)......I dropped The Girls off at day-care this morning and they bounded up the stairs to go play with their friends. Cami ran into the play room and immediately flipped onto her back when one dog approached. She's such a submissive little thing. I can just hear her crying out, "DON'T EAT ME!" as she lay there with the other dogs coming over to say hello via their sniffers. Barrett, exhausted from the jaunt up the stairs, settled in for a little rest upon her arrival. They're such opposite little girls. Cami is so high-strung and nervous and Barrett is so laid back. I just love them both to pieces.

I'm going to be introducing a new aspect to my blog called, "What The Hell?" This is a take on my friend, Dana's "Who Does That?" which I really enjoy reading on her blog. Hopefully Dana won't mind my copying her great idea.

My first entry is a rather tempered version, as it really requires something other than "What The Hell?" WTF? is much more like it. However, I'll try to keep it clean. It's my honor to bestow the first Deb's Dish "What The Hell?" upon the NJDOT. That's right, the omnipresent New Jersey Department of Transportation. Just wanted to give them a little shout out and say thank you for for finally getting the 7 year nightmare known as New Road completed just in time for the schools to open and the influx of traffic. Then I'd like to thank them for closing the new lanes 3 days later and setting up our beloved orange and white barrels and herding us like cattle into two lanes without any kind of warning of a lane shift. We've had a wonderful time playing bumper cars the last two weeks. What the hell???

Wired

Well, my daily morning walk lasted all of 2 days. I completely overslept this morning and failed to get out early enough to get a walk in. Ugh. Not too good on my part, huh? I stayed up to watch Nip/Tuck which was over at 11:30 pm last night and that, added to the other nights of not enough rest, really did me in. Of course, I was then tired all day today and reached for a Dew at 2 pm. I kicked in about 20 minutes ago. So I'm high as a kite, yet I need some sleep. I hate these viscious cycles. I'm going to try to read a bit and hopefully I'll wind down.

Back from the Shore

Oy. Vacation is over already. John and I spent the past week in Manasquan on our annual Jersey Shore vacation. We always go the week after Labor Day. A very key week as the riff-raff has left town and the locals are out and about taking advantage of the wonderful shops and restaraunts in town. We had yet another fabulous week of weather....sunny everyday with temps in the high 8O's. A couple of humid days, but those were easily dealt with by sitting down by the ocean. And, I might add, I've never seen the beach looking so sweet! The water was incredibly clear; you could see your feet at 6 feet off shore. Really lovely.

It was the Girls' first trip to Manasquan. Unfortunately, poor Cami got sick Friday night and we had to delay our departure until Saturday. She was sick almost the entire week. I felt so bad for the little thing. She was not able to enjoy the beach at all. Barrett, on the other hand, took full advantage of the water. I think she may be part duck. No hesitation on her part. In she went! We didn't go to the regular Doggy Beach. John found a little area on the lagoon 2 streets over from our house where people drop their boats in the water. It was very calm and quiet, so the Girls were able to get their first taste of ocean water without the craziness of the Doggy Beach. It was better for Cam, but I don't think the Doggy Beach would have been too much for Barrett. Planet was in her own little world just hopping in and out of the water. As you can see in the picture, Barrett is looking for some action with the Kool Kong and Campbell is trying her best to tolerate the situation.

Our friend, Gretchen, spent the first couple of days with us and we did our usual Leggett's thing. Leggett's is a really cool bar on First Ave and has been a landmark in Manasquan for years. John, Gretch and I took in a few football games, had some drinks and did a lot of laughing. After Gretch left, I spent my time walking on the beach and collecting shells and sea glass. I just find the ocean so peaceful. In the immortal words of my friend, Ann, "I left my rage on the beach." I was a happy and calm camper for the week. Now I just need to hold on until February when I can leave my rage in the Caribbean!

It's back to my regular crazy life tomorrow. Hopefully things went smoothly in the office during the past week and I don't have to put out too many fires. I'm not holding my breath, though. I should probably plan on getting a decent night's sleep so I'm on my toes in the morning. Oh yeah, my goal is to get up a half hour earlier and get out for a walk each morning. Heh. I'm not holding my breath on that, either.

EDIT: Forgot to add a note about my big bad purchase while on vacation. I got a Rawlings glove leather business card holder for my desk and a matching key fob. Last year I purchased the Rawlings tote bag and just love it. I feel like I've got a baseball glove with me at all times.

And, P.S., I did make that 5:30 am wake up call for my walk. ; )

Feeling Better

I'e had to step away from things a little to get my head together. The disaster along the Gulf Coast has been weighing heavily on me, but I'm starting to feel a bit better. I exchanged e mails with Ann earlier today, and was not surprised to find that she was having the same difficulties as me. We are two peas in a pod. We shared some Bible verses that we found comforting and both of us have been praying for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. John and I discussed how we wanted to help and we came to the conclusion that we would suppport the animal rescues. So the donation goes to the AKC, as they are sending out every penny of donations to different shelters to help accomodate the displaced animals.

John and I spent the past weekend up in Boston. Our friends from St. Thomas set us up with tickets and we stayed at the Marriott Long Wharf which is right near Fanieul Hall. Great hotel and I would happily stay there again. We had a lot of fun. Boston is full of some really great people and fabulous history. I was not able to walk the Freedom Trail, but would put it at the top of my list for a return trip. Fenway was a lot of fun-the park was full and everyone was into the game.

After a short Labor Day week, John and I are heading down the shore for our annual September vacation. I've been needing this break. Can't wait to get out on the "island" (the fishing dock off the back of our deck that juts out into the lagoon) and take in some sun and some cocktails. We always get oysters and clams from Spike's in Point Pleasant and sit on the island and toss the shells into the lagoon. Good times. Gretch will be joining us for a few days, so I'm really looking forward to that. I love to spend the afternoon on the beach looking out at the water. My favorite time is late afternoon as the sun is going down and there are only a few of us holding onto the day. It's such a quiet and peaceful time. Great time for a walk along through the surf and to pick up some shells.

The Girls will be making their first trip to Manasquan and to the Doggy Beach. This ought to be fun. I hope B&C take to the water. They've really only waded into a stream, and Barrett seemed to enjoy it much more than her web-pawed sis, Campbell. Of course, anything new to Campbell is quite the source of discontent and worry. Bless her heart. If Cami could wring her little paws, she would. Barrett just hangs loose and rolls with it. What a pair. I'll be sure to posts pics of their first trip to the beach.

We'll be heading up to New Hampshire to visit some more St. Thomas friends at the end of the month. Can't wait to see the Rowe's. Fabulous people. I'll expand upon them after my return from the shore. Don't want to do a diservice to them as I'm rather tired.

Time to turn in. I'm off to bed.