Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

I got an email this afternoon that I WISH was an April Fool’s joke.  Unfortunately, it was all too real.  Our darling friend, Andrew had suffered a heart attack while he and his wife, Susan, were driving back from a visit with her sister in South Carolina.  Andrew was driving, and Susan was in the car with her sister, who was driving back to NY with them to visit her daughter, who is expecting a baby soon.

Susan had tried to call me, but I always keep my phone turned off while I'm at work.  When I got her email, I quickly called her and she told me what happened.

They left her sister's house very early in the morning.  Andrew thought he had really bad heartburn, but then it got so bad that Susan took over driving and he went to sit in the back seat.  After a while he felt even worse, so they took him to a hospital, which turned out to be a small division of a larger cardiac hospital, so he was transferred to another hospital nearby and got excellent care.  That was really lucky.  Not only was the hospital very close by, but it was a cardiac care hospital!

Andrew's condition was very serious and it could have been really bad, but everything seemed to work out well and he is recovering in the hospital.  We were so upset to hear that this happened, but are also so relieved to know he will make a full recovery, although he is going to have to make some changes to his diet, exercise routine, and lifestyle, in general.

I like to think that things like this are a “wake up call” and we’re lucky to have the chance to make those changes.  Andrew is such a wonderful man – so funny, so smart, so sweet, such a good friend, husband, father, son.  Everyone who knows him, loves him.  He’s just that kind of guy.  I am so grateful that he’s okay and we all know that things could have turned out very differently.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, as he works towards his recovery, and returns to good health.

Other than that shocker, things at work were pretty good today.  My boss was back from NY, but didn’t really keep me very busy, so I got to work on my “special project” and I’m hoping to complete it by Friday, before I leave for vacation.

The girls in the office were curious to see my crafts, so I was going to bring my work for the girls to see on Friday. Now, my boss has to go to Milwaukee tomorrow, so I’m driving to work (and will pick up my co-worker for a change, instead of her always driving).  I will set up my stuff in the back of the car and the girls will come down at lunchtime to see my work.  They’re all very curious.  I doubt if anyone will buy anything, but that’s not really the point.  I’m just glad they want to see the other side of Peppy, what I am passionate about, what makes me happy!

When I got home tonight I just changed and then got in the car to drive to my last acupuncture appointment.  I feel bad, because I think it’s helping (although not dramatically) and I really like Carl, because he is so gentle and positive, but I’m sure my new coverage will not include acupuncture, so I won’t be coming back for more.

After my appointment I ran across the street for gelato.  Eric really enjoys it, and he looks forward to my appointments, because he knows I’m coming home with a treat!  I got his usual – Chocolate Hazelnut – but instead of getting the Espresso Bean I usually get, I got Tiramisu.  It’s yummy! 

Seth, the adorable young man who works there actually came by the craft show on Sunday.  We were each surprised to see the other.  When he came to my booth, he looked at me and I looked at him and said, “You’re…” and he finished “the gelato guy!”  It was so cute!  I saw him again tonight and we both agreed that the craft show was a huge success with really fun merchandise and lots of great entertainment.

When I got home, we each had a NUTRISYSTEM entrée and then watched AMERICAN IDOL, then HELL’S KITCHEN (which premiered tonight – we LOVE that show), and then I watched the DANCING WITH THE STARS elimination show, which Eric isn’t interested in watching.  He doesn’t watch the AMERICAN IDOL or DWTS elimination shows – I just tell him who got kicked off.  He says they drag it out too long, which is true, but they usually have some great entertainment, too, so it’s worth it!

I’m really looking forward to work tomorrow, because I will get to “show off” a little, which should be really fun!

I drove in today, because I brought some of my craft stuff to show the girls at work.  I called my friend Susan as soon as I got to work to find out how Andrew was doing.  He was doing great and after only three days in the hospital they were releasing him, because they knew he was going back to Susan’s sister in South Carolina, and not going all the way back to NY.  They are going to stay with her sister for a few days and then figure out if he should fly back or drive back to NY.  He’s doing much better and we are all very relieved.

Get Well Soon, Andrew.  We love you and miss you!

So, my boss was in until noon and we really bonded this morning.  We had discussed his recent trip to NY and he had gone to see Patti LuPone in GYPSY on Broadway.  We talked about what a powerhouse performer she was and I told him I had seen her several times in concert, but had never seen her in a show.  We talked about Gypsy and how many different superstars have played the part of Rose – starting with Ethel Merman, Rosalind Russell in the movie, Angela Landsbury, Tyne Daly, Linda Lavin (whom I saw in the late 80s), Bette Midler (in the made-for-TV movie), Bernadette Peters (just a few years ago) and now Patti.  It’s a role most divas would die for.  Me, I’d much rather play Gypsy Rose Lee!

So, I brought in Patti LuPone’s CD, MATTERS OF THE HEART, which I only have because my dear departed friend, Dick Gallagher, was the musical director, arranger, conductor and pianist for the concert and the CD.  I love to listen to it, not because of Patti so much, but because I get to hear Dick play the piano again, which is always a delight.  I wanted my boss to hear the CD, since he’s such a big fan of Patti’s and he never heard her sing any of these songs.

He brought in his IPOD and played first Angela Landsbury and then Ethel Merman singing EVERYTHING’S COMING UP ROSES from Gypsy.  They’re both fabulous, but I can just picture Patti doing it.  I’m sure she brings the house down every single night.  If there’s one thing she is, it’s a powerful performer.

The minute my boss left I went down to the car, drove it over to the back of our building, unpacked my jewelry mosaics and decoupaged items and set them up.  It actually looked so cute in the back of the PT, and the sunshine made everything really sparkle!

Three or four girls came down to see, and then a few other people just happened to walk outside and came over out of curiosity.  Everyone was very complimentary and liked everything a lot.  They were intrigued by the decoupage, because some of the girls said they had tried it, but it didn’t look like that!  I told them there are a few techniques you have to learn, but it is really easy.  I told them I used to teach classes and I would love to teach them.  They got SO excited, and I promised them that I would teach them, whether I came back to work after vacation or not!

After a while downstairs a security guard came by in a little cart.  He must have been alerted to my presence, because he said you’re not allowed to sell without a vendor’s license.  I told him I wasn’t selling and that I worked for Brandes.  He apologized and left, but it was almost time to go back to work anyway, so  I packed everything up and drove the car back to the lot where I’m allowed to park all day.

I went back to my desk and worked on expense reports for a while, then started back on my special project.  I was so tired and my eyes were closing.  The work is pretty redundant and boring, so it was no wonder.  I had to keep stopping and doing something else, because my eyes were crossing!

I drove my co-worker home and then came home myself.  I was so tired that I fell asleep watching Dr. Phil.  Eric woke me at 7:30pm.  I made us NUTRISYSTEM pizzas and Eric and I worked together to make him chicken cutlets.  I made the marinade and he cut the cutlets into thin slices.  We added mushrooms and he cooked it in the oven for 15 minutes.  Easy and fast!  Now, he’ll have chicken to eat for the next few days.  We’re trying to eat everything in the fridge since we’ll be gone for 2 weeks!

I watched THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES.  That show is so inspiring and I feel VERY guilty sitting in bed eating gelato while they’re running a triathlon in Sydney, Australia!  These people have changed their lives so dramatically and I can’t even lose 10 pounds!  By the way, I was down to a new low on Saturday – 123.4.  Same weight on Sunday, but then I was up to 124.8 on Monday and 125 yesterday and today.  I seem to lose a little, gain a little, lose a little, gain a little.  Very frustrating.

I don’t know WHAT I’m going to do all day tomorrow.  Maybe I’ll do more reorganizing of drawers in one of the guy’s offices.  He had me organize two drawers and I really just separated everything into piles and put them into hanging folders, but I could go back and really go through everything more efficiently and get rid of the outdated documents and alphabetize everything for easy access.  It’s more fun than the “special project!”

Eric and I are still trying to get our medical benefits, since Eric was dropped by his union since he didn’t put in enough hours in 2007.  We got 3 or 4 calls from AETNA (they’re really persistent) wanting to know all our medical histories.  Eric has to call our doctor in NY to get blood pressure readings and cholesterol levels.  They really make you jump through hoops.  I just hope we get accepted!

Today Eric tried to get all the issues resolved with AETNA.  They told him they needed his blood pressure and cholesterol readings, but the doctor’s office wouldn’t give the information over the phone.  He had to pay $45 to have the records mailed to us.  Since we’re going away on Monday, he told AETNA that we wouldn’t have the information for two weeks, so they’re putting our application “on hold.”   Nice!

The frustrating thing is that Eric’s blood pressure and cholesterol was never really high – at least not high enough to warrant medication.  We never should have been honest enough to tell them it read high at all.  That’s what you get for being honest!

Anyway, I had a SUPER boring day at work today.  I didn’t have anything to do except work on my “special project” and it’s such boring, repetitious work that my eyes start to cross after a while and I just can’t work on it anymore.  It's really just data entry, and I've got 700 lines filled in my Excel spreadsheet, so you have an idea of how much work I've put in.  If I had something else to do, I could do that for a while and then go back to it, but I really don’t!

At lunch I went downstairs and walked outside for a few minutes and got a decaf latte.  I really wanted the caffeine, but I resisted, because I think that may have contributed to my tiredness in the last few days.  I had some caffeine earlier in the week and my body really reacts to it.  I’m better off without it!  Just going outside into the afternoon sunshine, with a nice breeze blowing made me feel great.  The weather in San Diego just can't be beat.  Every day here is really a joy.

Finally, after what seemed like a week, it was 5:00pm.  I was so happy to get out of there!  When I got home, I made us edamame and relaxed for a while.  Then, I watched CELEBRITY APPRENTICE, because I had never seen the season finale.  I’m disappointed that Piers Morgan won, instead of Trace Atkins, but he DID raise a lot more money.  He’s just such an obnoxious guy and Trace is such a gentleman.  You want to see the nice guy win, but that doesn’t always happen!

Tomorrow is my last day before vacation.  Wheeee!  I’m very excited.  I spoke to my Mom and Dad today and they’re so happy we’re coming!

My boss will be back from Milwaukee in the afternoon, so I’ll get to talk to him before I leave.  I’m hoping to return to the company when we get back, but I’m still not sure what will happen.  It would make life easier if I could just go back there, because I’m comfortable there, even if it’s pretty boring.  If they don’t need me back, then the agency will have to find me another job.  It might be more exciting, but the unknown is always a little scary!

So, good news – I was down to 123 lbs. this morning.  I couldn’t believe it.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.  I really seem to fluctuate a lot, but that’s a new all-time low.  I don’t even think I weighed 123 when I left NY last August.  I think the last time I weighed myself in NY at the doctor’s office I weighed 124.  So, I’m getting there!  Slowly but surely I’m getting there!

It’s going to be VERY hard to be good when we’re on vacation.  That’s how I got in trouble in the first place!  I just have to be very disciplined, because it would really be a shame to gain 5 pounds in two weeks and have to do this all over again!

I spoke to Andrew today and I am very happy to report that he sounded great!  He described the procedures he had gone through and it didn’t sound like ANY fun at ALL, but he’s a brave boy and came through with flying colors!  Now, he’s at his sister-in-law’s with Susan, and they’ll just relax and take it easy for a few days.  He may feel okay, but he’s really been through a lot and he needs to rest and recuperate!  We’re thinking of you, Andrew!  We love you!

So, this morning I weighed 124.6.  I gained a pound and a half in 24 hours.  And I was really good with my diet yesterday!  I had NUTRISYSTEM oatmeal for breakfast, which is really filling.  I had a nice salad for lunch – but I have to admit I DID put some blue cheese in there and regular salad dressing (not fat free) from the salad bar at work.  I had a decaf latte in the afternoon – and I didn’t tell her to use non-fat milk.  When I got home my only snack was one piece of cheese and some edamame and then I just had another salad for dinner!  I had my same small portion of gelato that I’ve had every night this week, so where did I go wrong?  Could regular salad dressing and a little milk have really made me gain a pound and a half?  I give up (not really, I’m just being dramatic)!

I got to work and started right in on my special project.  I focused on it and got a lot done by lunch time.  Eric called me a few times.  First of all, I forgot to pay the rent!  After six months, you’d think I’d be in the habit, but I forget every single month!  If we didn’t have it in by 3:00pm today they would charge us $25, so it’s a lucky thing Eric saw the manager and he called me to find out where I keep the checkbook!

Then, he called me again, because – for some reason – the doctor’s office figured out that they could give him his 3 blood pressure readings, but still wouldn’t give him the cholesterol readings, so we STILL have to wait the 2 weeks, even though they have part of the information, because they don’t have ALL the information.  I told Eric to just lie and say he got the cholesterol information and just make up three numbers, but he was afraid.  I think he thought he’d get arrested if they discovered he was lying.  Anyway, we will have to wait until the end of April to get our benefits.

My boss got back from Milwaukee at 2:00pm, but was so busy we hardly spoke at all.  Earlier in the week, I had done a big project for someone in Dallas who was going to Beijing on Monday for a meeting.  I got together all the materials for this big meeting, but gave the documents to his assistant (a guy) to ship to Beijing.  I told him I didn’t want to be responsible for that part of the project, because I’ve had trouble shipping things to Milwaukee, and didn’t even want to deal with Beijing!

So, the guy calls me from Dallas today to say that the package is stuck in Customs in Beijing, because the mail people put a value of $5 on it, so they won’t release it until the duty is paid.  Can you believe it?  So, he tried to find out if there was any way we could get a package delivered tomorrow to Dallas, so he could take it with him, but there was no way – it was just too late in the day.

So, we figured out that if we emailed the documents to a KINKOS in Dallas, they could make all the copies for him and then he could take it with him.  So, I coordinated all the documents into two emails and sent them off.  What a nightmare!

After that was taken care of I went back to my project and actually finished!  I couldn’t believe it.  The guy who gave me the project was so grateful, and so appreciative.  He made me feel great! 

One of the girls missed my little “art show in the back of the car” on Wednesday, so I promised her I would bring a few pieces in to the office to show her, which I did today.  She said she would swing by my cubicle, so I set it all up and when she saw it she said I had to bring the pieces over to another desk, to show some of the other guys and girls.  They really loved my work and were so complimentary of all my pieces.  I only brought jewelry mosaics in, not decoupage, and I explained to them how I saved all the broken jewelry and loved giving something a new lease on life.

It made me feel great that they liked my work, and then we started talking about how it was my last day, because I was going on vacation and might not be back.  They said they loved me and I fit in perfectly with the group and they wished I was coming on staff.  I explained to them that I worked for an accounting firm for 20 years and wasn’t going to start working for an investment company.  It just wasn’t my style, even though I loved the atmosphere and found the group to be super nice, supportive and friendly.  They said they liked me because I talked back to Cliff – and here I thought I’d been VERY tame, nice and held my tongue!  I guess they’ve never seen the Wrath of Peppy, so they have no idea how I can be!

My boss left at 4:00pm and after I finished my project I basically played around on the computer until it was time to go home.  I almost started to cry when I said goodbye to my friend and co-worker, who drove me to work every day for the past 10 weeks.  We really became friendly and I enjoyed traveling to and from work with her every day.  I don’t know if we’ll ever become REAL friends, but she is a very sweet, hard-working girl and I think she’s wonderful.  And I have to mention that she offered to drive us to the airport, but I told her our flight was taking off at 6:00am on Monday!!!  We’re taking the same shuttle we took last time, which worked out great.

When I got home I decided I should do 2 loads of laundry, because the machines are always so crowded over the weekend.  I watched DR. PHIL and then started two loads.  Just as I thought, the laundry room was empty!  When I finished the laundry, I unpacked all my merchandise and repacked a box to bring to Gili Anna tomorrow in La Jolla.  I had emailed her to ask if she was still interested in taking my jewelry mosaics and she was very enthusiastic.  She’s such a doll and has been so supportive.  I can’t wait to show her my new stuff!

After I finished all that, I started packing for the trip.  I filled up all my 3 oz. bottles and put them in my 1 qt. clear plastic bags.  It really makes me crazy the way you have to do all this, but what can you do?  Rules are rules and this is the world we live in now.

Tomorrow I will go to Gili Anna, hit the post office, Starbucks (I’m sure) and go to UPS to ship my key frame to my friend, Katie, who fell in love with it just by seeing the pictures on my CRAFTS BLOG and decided she had to have it!

By the way, if you haven’t checked out my CRAFTS BLOG lately, I posted the pictures from Saturday’s CRAFTABOUT in South Park.  I haven’t had a chance to do the Sunday SPRING LINE-UP in North Park, but I hope to do so before we leave for Florida on Monday!

It doesn’t matter that I ran errands all day long, I’m on vacation!  I am excited about being off from work (after just 10 weeks of working), I’m excited about seeing my parents in Florida, and I’m excited about checking out Asheville and Charlotte! 

I was up at 8:00am.  Eric still has a headache, so I quietly watched TV, worked on the computer and had breakfast.  I left the house at noon and had a lot of errands to run. 

First, I hit CITIBANK to deposit my check.  Then I went to UPS to mail the Key Frame that Katie purchased.  Word of advice re: UPS:  Pack and box anything you’re going to ship yourself, because they charge an arm and a leg (over $3 for a box and over $2 for Styrofoam popcorn!).  Anyway, at least Katie will get it safe and sound!

I stopped at STARBUCKS for my Mocha Light Frappuccino, then went to RITE AID and purchased small size toothpaste, mouth wash, shaving cream and moisturizer, and also purchased 4 more little bottles so I can put more liquids, creams and gels in them for our trip.

Then, I drove to La Jolla to visit Gili at GILI ANNA’S on Prospect Street.  As usual, her shop looked gorgeous and she was delightful!  She’s so beautiful, so sweet, so supportive of my work.  She was thrilled that I brought her eight pieces to sell, including the bejeweled tissue box, the 50s cigarette case, the 50s purse, and 5 mirrors.

Finally, I headed home.  I called Eric a few times, to see if he wanted me to bring anything special home, but he didn’t answer the phone.  Not a good sign.  When I got home, I found him still in bed and the place smelled of Ben Gay.  He said his neck was hurting him (like the last few times he had a stiff neck and a bad headache) and his headache was still bad.   I wish I knew what this was all about, but I’m still pretty sure it’s stress.  I just hope he’s feeling better by Monday morning, because it will be horrible to fly in that condition.

I made myself a NUTRISYSTEM lunch (Vegetarian Chili) and watched TV in the living room while I worked on the computer.  I wanted to finish my CRAFTS BLOG with all the pictures I took last Sunday at the SPRING LINE-UP.  It took me over two hours to write it all, attach all the links and upload all the pictures.  So, check it out: www.peppysdream.com/craftsblog

After I finished working on the computer, I was exhausted.  So, I did what I do best: I took a nap!  I swear, if there were talent contests, or Olympic events featuring napping, I’d win in a second.  I’m REALLY good at it!  It was about 5:30pm and I fell asleep in less than 10 minutes.  At some point Eric got up and went into the living room to watch TV (for the first time all day).  His neck was killing him.  This is something relatively new – the headache/neckache combination.  He used to get the headache/stomachache, and he’d throw up all day, so this is much preferable, but still not great.

I woke up at 7:30pm and came out to the living room.  He was lying on the floor, wrapped in a pink blanket, watching AMC.  They’re having a tribute to CHARLES BRONSON and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN was on with one of my all-time favorite actors – Yul Brynner.  That boy just does it for me.  It doesn’t matter whether he’s wearing Capri pants in THE KING AND I or jeans and a black shirt in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.  He’s a HUNK!

I made Eric an organic tomato bisque soup (and by made I mean I took off the metal lid, put the plastic lid on top and microwaved for 2 minutes, then put some crackers on a plate with the bowl and handed it to him).

I decided on NUTRISYSTEM ravioli (2 large ones in tomato sauce).  I watched an episode of PSYCH while Eric went back and forth between THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and Keanu Reeves in CONSTANTINE.  Neither is really my speed.  Then, I watched HGTV design shows.  They’re always fun!

I put sunscreen and my hair products into appropriately sized containers and I think I’m finally ready to pack tomorrow.  Our clothes are all clean, I’ve got all the sundries, and I just have to figure out how much to take.  I’m pretty sure it’s going to be cold in Asheville and Charlotte, so we’ve got to bring layers.  We were in South Carolina in December and it was pretty darn warm out, so I’m hoping that North Carolina in April will be about the same.  60s-70s during the day; 40s-50s at night.  No coats necessary, but layers – definitely!

I pulled clothes out of drawers and the closet and put it all on top of the suitcase.  Tomorrow I will figure out exactly what to take and pack it all up.  We have to be at the airport VERY early, because our flight leaves at 6:30am.  Between the stop in Atlanta and the 3-hour difference, we get to West Palm Beach at 4:30pm!  It’s an all-day trip!  I have to call the shuttle company to schedule our pick-up.  We’ll probably get picked up at 5:00am, so it’s pretty much a 12-hour trip to go across the country.  Pretty crazy, eh?  If only we could have flown non-stop, but those flights just don’t exist from San Diego to West Palm Beach!

Tomorrow is all about packing and making sure we have everything we need for the trip, leaving the apartment clean and in order, and getting to bed early for our early wake-up on Monday morning!

I woke up at 9:00am and got busy on the computer posting my blog from yesterday, because I was unable to access the website last night.  It was just one of those things – it wouldn’t let me on!  I watched TV out here, reserved the shuttle to pick us up at 4:30am (I know, an ungodly hour!) had NUTRISYSTEM oatmeal for breakfast and watched some AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL. 

At 10:30am I woke Eric up.  He still has a stiff neck and a little bit of a headache, but he was definitely better than the last few days.  We had a long talk.  We talked about going to North Carolina and what our expectations are, what we’re hoping to find there, what we want to achieve while we’re there.  Eric knows how important this trip is.  We have a lot riding on it.  I’m just glad we’ll get to relax a few days with my parents, before we head there.  I really miss my Mom a lot.

I pulled together all the outfits I wanted to pack, I’m just bringing a few pairs of earrings and one bracelet, 2 pair of shoes (plus the pair I’m wearing) and just one purse.  I'm bringing a lot of comfy clothes -- a few pairs of pants, one skirt and one dress.  I'm also bringing a bunch of NUTRISYSTEM breakfasts and snacks, so we can try to eat sensibly at least part of the time.  I’m REALLY afraid I can gain a lot of weight in just one week and waste all the NUTRISYSTEM food I’ve eaten over the past 12 weeks!

Unfortunately, I’m already in “vacation mode.”  I had packed everything, cleaned everything, got everything ready in the apartment, paid all the bills, etc.  I was watching TV in the bedroom, because Eric was watching a basketball game out here, and I was BORED!  I kept coming out to the living room and Eric kept saying, “What’s the matter!”  I didn’t really know, until I said, “I’ve got ants in my pants!”  I felt very hyper (more than usual) and wanted to DO something.  I was all ready for the trip, and couldn’t sit still!

It was a gorgeous day (as usual), so Eric said, “Jump in the shower and I’ll take you out to dinner.”  I was happy he wanted to do ANYTHING, since he pretty much hasn’t left the house in the last 3 days, so I jumped in the shower, got dressed and we left the house at 6:00pm and headed for HILLCREST.

We went to TASTE OF THAI a restaurant we had tried when we first got here months ago.  They have delicious food.  The place was packed – we were lucky to get a table!  I had scallops with cabbage and spinach in a peanut sauce and Eric had duck with vegetables in a sweet and spicy sauce.  Their sauces are really great!

We stopped for gelato on the way home and brought it back to the apartment.  I’m sure the scale will tell the whole story tomorrow!

When we got home we had our gelato and then watched TV.  I really want to try to get to bed early, because it’s not going to be ANY fun at ALL getting up at 3:30am, getting picked up at 4:30am, and taking off at 6:30am.  My next blog entry will be from Delray Beach, Florida!

Eric is so funny.  I woke up before the alarm went off this morning, but I purposely didn’t look at the clock.  I didn’t know if it was an hour before I had to get up or 10 minutes, but I wanted to enjoy my rest and hoped to fall back to sleep until I heard the alarm.  All of a sudden Eric said, “We have four minutes,” meaning it was 3:26am, because the alarm was going off at 3:30am.  So, he ruined my last four minutes in bed, because now all I could do was lay there and wait for the alarm!  When it did (four minutes later), I got out of bed and started getting ready.

As soon as I got out of the shower, Eric was right behind me.  We were all packed, so we just did little stuff like take out the garbage and pack my laptop, and the shuttle called us at 4:20am to say they were outside.

We got to the airport in 10 minutes and got our e-tickets in 5 minutes.  There was no line at security and we were settled at the gate by 5:00am.  I went to STARBUCKS.  We also stopped at a store and Eric bought a paperback and I bought GLAMOUR magazine.  We boarded and took off on time and I slept the entire flight.  Eric read his book.  There were three seats in our row and Eric was stuck by the window and I was in the middle.  I think he was very uncomfortable, because there isn’t much legroom, and the flight was over 4 hours.

We arrived in Atlanta at 1:30pm and had a long walk to the terminal for our fight to West Palm Beach at 2:38pm.  I had my pink suitcase on wheels, so I was fine, but Eric has a big duffle bag filled with all his clothes and his bicycle stuff and it’s pretty heavy and he insists on carrying my laptop, too, so he was really struggling.  We got to the gate and had some time to spare, so Eric sat with all our stuff and I got us both lunch.  He just wanted some French fries (but they were REALLY good French fries)  and I got a tuna sandwich.

We boarded and took off on time again – very lucky for us!  Again, I slept almost the entire flight and Eric read his book.  This time we were in the airplane's center three-seat section and I was in the middle and Eric was on an aisle, so he had more room.

We landed in West Palm, called my parents, stopped at STARBUCKS again and waited outside on a bench for my parents to arrive.  When they picked us up at 5:00pm, I was so happy to see them both.  They look great!  We told them how exhausting it was running from terminal to terminal all day in both airports and we wanted to try to find a luggage caddy, so that his big duffel bag could be on wheels, too.  My parents took us to WAL-MART, which I HATE (I think WAL-MART is going to cause the demise of America as we know it, but that’s a whole other blog).  Anyway, we went inside and – sure enough – they had one.  So, we got it!

Then, we headed to FISHERMAN’S CATCH for a delicious seafood dinner.  My Mom, Dad and I all had the tilapia; Eric had the rainbow trout.  It was all really fresh and beautifully prepared.  My parents go there once a week usually Friday nights, before synagogue), so they’re treated like royalty, which is really nice.  This restaurant gives you fresh-baked bread (I didn't have any), soup or salad (I had salad with house vinaigrette), and you get coffee and dessert.  Mom, Eric and I all had chocolate cake (a little square, which wasn't that great, but -- hey -- I ate it anyway!) and my Dad had vanilla ice cream.

Our waiter had a very strong New York accent.  He looked like an Brooklyn born Italian guy from the Mob.  I asked him “Where are you from?”  He said, “Da same place as you!”  We all laughed.  It’s true – everywhere I go people either ask me if I’m from New York or tell me I must be from New York.  I never realized how strong my New York accent was, but I can’t fool anybody out here!

After dinner we came home.  We unpacked a little, made up the beds, relaxed with my parents and watched DANCING WITH THE STARS.  It’s funny, because to us it’s really three hours earlier, but I’m so exhausted from this long day that I feel like it’s three hours LATER!  I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight!

Tomorrow my Mom is going to take me for a manicure/pedicure (wheeee!) and then we may go to the movies tomorrow night while my Dad is bowling.  It’s so great to be here with them and wonderful to see them both looking so well and feeling so good.  I’m going to enjoy every minute!

Last night we all went into our own beds at 11:30pm.  Eric wanted to watch LENO and I love Monday nights, because he has HEADLINES, which are so funny.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep my eyes open!  I slept like a log and we all slept late.  Eric and I didn’t get out of bed until 10:00am!  My parents were already up and eating breakfast.  We brought out our NUTRISYSTEM granola and they gave us some fruit and chocolate soy milk to have with our cereal.

Here's Papa!  He'll be 80 in June and I think he looks fantastic!  He still bowls once a week and plays tennis three times a week.  I wanted to take a picture of my mother, too, but she begged me not to, and since I hate to have my picture taken, I respected her wishes!

After breakfast we all sat around and talked, then we watched THE VIEW.  It was an entire show of HOT TOPICS, which they usually just have in the first 10 minutes.  That’s my favorite part of the show, so it was really great.  They talked about everything from politics to Dancing With The Stars.

At noon I jumped in the shower and got dressed so my Mom could take me for a manicure/pedicure, which I really needed.  While I was getting pampered, Eric was doing a tune-up on my Dad's bicycle.  Eric said the best thing to do with that bike is put a chain on it and use it as an anchor, but my Dad insists it's good enough for him, so Eric tried to fix it up as best he could with limited resources.  My Dad was thrilled!

My Mom took me to a nail salon right near the house and she sat and kept me company.  I tried to convince her to do it, too, but she says her hands are in water all day long, so her manicures never last. 

Here are some beautiful yellow roses that grow right outside the door of my parents' apartment.  My Dad loves his garden and cultivates lots of beautiful flowers.  He always had a green thumb!

When we were done, we went to PUBLIX – the local supermarket – for a few salad fixings and then went home to make lunch.  My parents often go to a great Italian restaurant called FRATELLI’S and my Dad always takes home a pizza and puts it in the freezer, so he has a slice whenever he feels like it. 

My Mom made us a delicious salad and we each had a slice of pizza.  After that, my Dad read his newspaper (something he does every single day – from cover to cover), I watched DR. PHIL and Eric read his book.  My mom took a nap and we all soon followed!   My Dad woke up at 5:00pm to go bowling, and Eric and Mom woke up soon after and talked in the living room.  I didn’t wake up until 6:00pm.

I showed my Mom some pictures of our house on Leggett Place.  Cynthia had sent me so many pictures of all the renovations they did and I showed some to my Dad last night.  He told my Mom she had to see, so I showed them to her.  They were really impressed with all the changes and improvements they made.  The house really looks perfect now!

For dinner my Mom made a delicious vegetable soup with all fresh veggies, more salad and eggplant parmigiana, which they buy frozen at BJ's.  Eric and I used to occasionally buy that in NY and it's really delicious!

Here's the view out the livingroom window of my parents' place.  The pink flowers seem to be peeking in the window!

After dinner we just relaxed and watch AMERICAN IDOL, HELL’S KITCHEN and BOSTON LEGAL.  Eric was reading his book in-between, even during commercials.  He’s hooked on this book called HEART-SHAPED BOX.  It’s some kind of ghost story.

My parents would run around with us, taking us to shows, movies, or wherever we wanted to go, but I always prefer to just relax and hang around when I’m here.  I hate making them run around.   Also, my Dad was going bowling tonight, so in order for us to use the car he'd have to arrange a ride with someone, so I didn't want to bother him to do that. 

I know they’re more comfortable just entertaining us at home and we don’t mind at all.  It’s not like we’re big social butterflies at home, or always running and doing.  I really enjoy just being at home, talking, making meals together, watching TV, and taking naps!  I’m sure we’ll do a lot more running around when we get to NC, so I’m taking full advantage right now!

We both slept late again today.  My Dad was off playing tennis by 8:00am and my Mom was up, had breakfast and was reading when I emerged from the bedroom at 10:30am.  Eric was still sleeping.  I know he didn’t sleep well last night, because I heard him tossing and turning and I know his back is really bothering him.

When he got up he and I had breakfast – we ate some of my Dad’s high-fiber cereal with some pear and chocolate soy milk.  Then, he went out to work on my Dad’s bicycle again.  He told my Dad that he could make it ride MUCH better if he could go to a bicycle shop and buy a part, so my Dad took him for a ride.  Eric just wants my Dad to have as easy a ride as possible.

While they went to get the parts, my Mom took a nap.  I think she was up early and she wasn’t feeling well today, so I just watched TV in the bedroom and worked on the computer, answering emails.

Mom was very shy this trip, choosing not to be in any pictures, but she sure can take a great shot!

When they got back, Eric fixed the bike for Dad and then we had a lunch of salad and gefilte fish!  Yum!  Then Eric read his book and I took a nap for about 45 minutes.  We left the house at 4:30pm, got to Sunrise about 5:15pm, stopped at STARBUCKS and then went to Ellen’s.  We hung out with Rich and Ellen for a while and then drove them to THE OUTBACK to meet up with everybody else.  My nephew, Scott, was there with his wife, Jaime, their children, Kyle (5) and Rian (1), and their friend, Adam.  Michelle came with her boyfriend, Justin, whom we met for the first time.  He was SO handsome, sweet and such a gentleman.  He and Eric really hit it off, because he rides a motorcycle and is in construction (he’s a project manager), so of course they had a lot to talk about.

My gorgeous niece, Michelle, and her handsome boyfriend, Justin.  Aren't they the cutest couple?

We ordered lots of appetizers – mushrooms, a bloomin’ onion, and wings, and I had tilapia with asparagus for dinner.  Everyone enjoyed their food, but I ate much too much.  Then, after we were all stuffed, they brought out a delicious cake, which Jaime had brought.  It was our brother-in-law, Rich’s birthday, and Justin’s, and Adam’s – all in the last week!  The cake was decadently delicious – chocolate and white cake with chocolate icing.  Yummy!  I brought home a big piece for my parents, which they will enjoy tomorrow after we leave!

Scott, Jaime and Kyle.  He's full of personality that little guy!

Eric's sister, Ellen and her husband, Rich -- one of the three birthday boys!

We dropped of Ellen and Rich and stood outside their house talking for a long while.  They are so sweet and were all so appreciative that we drove down to see them.  They were all going to drive up to see us, but when my parents said they didn’t feel well enough to go out to dinner with us we decided to drive down to them, which made it MUCH easier for all of them, since they have to go to work tomorrow!  We get along so great with Ellen and Rich and always have a lot of fun with them.  It’s too bad we’re always so far away.  If we are lucky enough to fall in love with North Carolina it will be great to be only a hop, skip and a jump from Florida!

Here's Rian, elegantly drinking through a straw.  Delicious!

How big is Rian?  SO big!  (This is the one-armed version!)

It's too bad the eyes all came out red on these blue-eyed beauties.  Kyle looks SO handsome!

Here are the three birthday boys (plus Kyle!) with their delicious cake!

We were home by 10:30pm, filled up the tank for my Dad, and came home.  Eric jumped in the shower and I showed my Mom all the pictures I took and then started blogging.  Tomorrow we will get up at 7:30am, my Dad will drive us to the airport at 8:30am and our flight takes off at 10:40am.  I hope we have as smooth a trip as we did getting here!

I tell you they take ALL the fun out of flying, but let me start at the beginning.

We woke up at 7:30am got ready, said our goodbyes, and my Dad drove us to the airport at 8:30am.  We were there by 9:00am.  There was a line at security, so by the time we got through and got to the gate it was after 9:30am.  We had STARBUCKS (I had a skinny mocha latte with a NUTRISYSTEM breakfast bar and Eric had tea and a blueberry muffin).  I bought PEOPLE and ENTERTAINMENT magazines, so I’d have something to read on the flight, if I wasn’t sleeping.  Our flight left at 10:40am on time, but – unfortunately – it didn’t all go smoothly.

When we left San Diego and went through Atlanta, I had my pink suitcase on wheels, my matching pink carryon, and my pocketbook, which is a small black leather bag – nothing like a big tote or anything.  Eric carried his big duffel bag, my laptop and his little bicycling backpack.  Two times we brought it all on the plane – no problem.  We’d put the two big pieces in the overhead, and put the laptop and the small pink carryon under the seats in front of us.  Now, Eric had his big duffel bag on wheels, which made it so much easier, but they had to complicate things!

For this flight, we were in the first row – lots of legroom, but no seat in front of you to put your stuff under.  The woman at the gate decided we had too much stuff.  She said, “You have three pieces each and you’re only allowed two.”  I said, I only have two bags and my POCKETBOOK.  I can put my pocketbook in my suitcase.”  She wouldn’t let me.  We said we’d put it all in the overhead bin, and she said “There’s no overhead bin for the first row.”  Now, that’s a big lie.  There’s technically not an overhead bin by the first row, but there are overhead bins throughout the plane and we have as much right as anyone else to use them!  She was making it seem like we were discriminated against because we had the first row!

So, Eric checked his big duffel bag and the cart it rolled in on.  When I got on board, I sat down right in the front, because we were in the first row.  As more people boarded, I kept seeing women carrying THREE bags.  So, of course – me with my big mouth – I said, “SHE’S carrying three bags!”  So the flight attendant (a really cute woman) said, “Ma’am I have to ask you to keep it down.”  I was SO mad I was seething.  I saw at LEAST four other women carrying three bags – some much bigger than the three I had!  I kept pointing it out to Eric and the flight attendant, until Eric started telling me to “shut up” because he was afraid we would be put off the plane and she told me if she had to warn me one more time she would get the captain.

I asked her if she didn’t understand that I was so mad that we had flown twice and had no problem and now the woman at the gate made us check a bag and then I see that other people were allowed to come on with three bags.  She said she saw and didn’t understand why I was “singled out.”  I told her I wanted HER name, because I wanted to write a letter to DELTA and I wanted to say that SHE witnessed at least 3-4 other people come on board carrying the prohibited three bags.

This positively ruined the flight for me.  I was also mad at Eric, because instead of saying “Peppy, I understand.  You’re right, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”  He just kept telling me to shut up!  I felt like no one understood how I felt and I felt it wasn’t fair for me to have to check a bag and no one else!  I wouldn’t have minded if I didn’t see so many other people do what I already did twice, but wasn’t allowed to do a third time!

Anyway, when we got to Atlanta, I was NOT in a good mood.  We had a fast lunch at a seafood place (I had lobster bisque, and it was really good, but I was SO mad I really couldn’t enjoy it!).   We had a four hour layover, but we just sat around and Eric tried to get me into a better mood.

By the time we got on the next flight to Asheville I was feeling better.  This flight was a REALLY small plane and all the bags had to go in the cargo area.  I knew our bags were on the plane, but I was REALLY worried about Eric’s bag finding it’s way from West Palm to Atlanta to Asheville.  The flight was very short – less than an hour – and it was a small prop plane, so Eric was pretty nervous.  He looked out the window most of the flight, while I slept.  I’m really good at sleeping on planes!

I have to admit, we were very lucky because – again – both flights took off without a hitch – no cancellations – no delays, but it would have been a LOT nicer if I hadn’t had that incident in West Palm Beach.

When we got to Asheville we deplaned (don’t you love that word?  Why don’t you debus or decar?) and it was gorgeous outside – sunny, warm and slightly breezy.  No jackets required!  I was so happy.  I really didn’t know what to expect, but it was in the mid 70s!  The Asheville airport is very small, so the ENTERPRISE car rental desk was about 20 feet from the baggage claim.  I got the car, while Eric waited for (and found) his duffel bag and luggage cart.

Our car is a black NISSAN ALTIMA – which is really nice.  There is no key for the ignition, just a keyless entry system and a button on the dash you push to start the car.  Very futuristic!

We drove about 12 miles to our cheap motel (ECONO LODGE) and checked in.  It’s recently been remodeled, had great reviews online, and didn’t cost much, so we decided to stay here for tonight and tomorrow night.  Saturday morning we’re driving to Charlotte, and we’ll stay in a nicer hotel Saturday night.

We showered and changed and drove about 5 miles into downtown Asheville.  It’s adorable!  There were blocks and blocks and blocks of cute boutiques, art galleries and restaurants – no chains, all individually-owned crafty, artsy stores.  We found a spot right away and walked around a lot, trying to find the perfect place to eat dinner.

We finally settled on CHORIZO LATIN FARE (the best Latin cuisine from Spain to Argentina!), because the food the people were eating while sitting at the outdoor café looked SO delicious!  There was also Cuban, Italian, Thai, Japanese (sushi!) and lots of bar & grills. 

This adorable chandelier hung in CHORIZO.  I loved it!

We looked at the entire menu, but decided (as we often do) to just order a bunch of appetizers (or tapas as it is called here).  We started with tableside guacamole with corn and flour tortilla chips, Tostadas – corn tortillas stacked with portabellas, grilled vegetables, goat cheese and salsa fresca.  Then, we had a Volcano – crab meat stuffed potato dough, fried and served with an avocado sauce and a seaweed salsa.

I cannot tell you how delicious everything was!  There was a couple sitting nearby who was talking about taking home their leftovers and we started talking about leftover and ended up talking to them for about a half hour!  They live in Colorado, but have a place in Hilton Head.  They were just visiting Asheville and thought it so strange that we came all this way for Eric to mountain bike.  They said he should try Colorado and Eric said, “I did!”  Then, they said, “What about Utah?”  Eric said, “Been there, done that.”  Then they said, “No wonder you’re here – you’ve been everyplace else.”  I said, “You have NO idea!”

After dinner we walked around the corner to a fudge/ice cream/candy store called KILWIN’S.  I thought it was a family-owned place, because it really looked like it had been there for years, but it turns out that it’s only been open a week and it’s a franchise!  Eric got a bear claw (which was huge cashews in caramel with chocolate on top), and we both got some ice cream (I got cappuccino chip and Eric got blueberry and something called Asheville mud).  We decided to take it all to go and eat it back in the room.  It was yummy and the perfect end to a great evening out!

There were lots of interesting sculptures and statues we saw while walking around the downtown area.

This giant iron stood outside the FLATIRON BUILDING in downtown Asheville.  I thought we had the only one in New York!

Hey!  They're REALLY Copycats!

Eric and I weren't really sure what this thing was supposed to be, but it was interesting!

These three larger-than-life size gals were out on the town in downtown Asheville!

No town is complete without a crazy wig store!

Now, Eric’s watching TV in our king-size bed and I’m sitting at a table blogging.  The room is really nice.  They give you a microwave and a small fridge, which is great because we stopped at a local supermarket – INGLES – to get some drinks for Eric’s ride tomorrow and now they’ll be cold!  Also, we brought NUTRISYSTEM oatmeal for breakfast and it’s best in the microwave, so now we can have breakfast here before we head out!

We’re going to be up and out early, because we have to drive bout 40 minutes to the place where Eric’s renting the bike and they open at 10:00am.  I’ll drop Eric off to ride and then I’ll see what I can find around there.

So far, downtown Asheville did not disappoint – and all the stores were closed by the time we got there, so I’d love to go back during the day and really check them all out!  We also passed an entire block of warehouse-size antique stores, so I'll be sure to drop by there, too!

I have SO much to talk about.  We were all over the place today – Pisgah National Forest (in Brevard), Barnardsville, downtown Asheville, and outer Asheville, where our motel is located. 

We woke up at 8:00am, left the motel at 9:00am and headed 42 miles to Sycamore Cycles in Brevard, which is right down the block from Pisgah National Forest.  Eric rented his bicycle, bought a Western North Carolina mountain biking book and a map and I dropped him off at the Ranger Station at 11:00am.

I decided to drive to HENDERSONVILLE, because it was the next town over.  Unfortunately, I drove over 10 miles down a road and there was nothing – I mean nothing. 

I loved driving our rental -- the Nissan Altima!

I eventually turned around and came back, because I had seen a little coffee shop across from the bike shop and I was sure I could plug in my computer there.  I figured I’d have a latte, read my emails, and hang out until 2:00pm, when I was supposed to go get Eric.

The place, called INDIE COFFEE HOUSE, was SO cute!  The minute I walked in I absolutely LOVED it.  There were little seating areas – a gorgeous chartreuse couch with two chairs across a coffee table, a seating area with a rocking chair, a 50s rattan chair and some other funky vintage chairs.  There were 50s and 60s hanging lamps, 70s owl pictures, a series of three adorable cat pictures and a big painting of the comedy and tragedy masks.

After a few minutes I noticed a theme – there was a lot of Indie movie memorabilia, including pictures of film reels on the counter in front, posters of Indie movies, and you could even rent Indie movies for $2.  I ordered a skim mocha latte and told them how much I loved the décor, since I was really into vintage.  I asked them how long they had been open and they said, “Since Monday!”  I couldn’t believe it!  They are the second business I was in in two days that opened this week!

I went and got my laptop and settled in at a table in front, so I could look outside while I worked.  I answered emails, made a few phone calls and read some YAHOO news.

I started talking to Keith, one of the owners and I told him that I’m an Indie Artist and that I now live in San Diego, after moving from New York.  Turns out this guy and I had something in common!  He collects vintage costume jewelry!  He and his wife are really into theatre and movie-making and just completed an Indie film called HOUSE OF POETS, which you can read about by clicking on the link.

Here's the new owner, Keith Bramen.  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of his adorable wife, Amy!

They were the cutest couple and I thought it was so great that they make movies together, and just invested everything they had to open this great coffee shop in Brevard.  I gave them my business card and showed them my website.  I told Keith he should make some jewelry boards to hold his great collection of vintage pins.  His wife, Amy, was also interested in my crafts.  I really enjoyed talking with them and stayed there until 1:00pm.

I had noticed a nail salon right down the block and, even though I just got a manicure in Delray Beach on Tuesday, my nails were all chipped.  They were a mess, so I decided to get a fast manicure before I picked up Eric.  I was done just at 2:00pm and went to pick him up.  He had a good ride and even met up with a couple of locals for a while, before they parted ways.  He said it was a great place with lots of trails, but he just did a half loop that took him just under three hours.  He was excited to ride again in an environment that really makes him happy – even though the trees are just starting to bloom.

After I picked Eric up we headed back to Asheville, but we were both starving, as all we had for breakfast was NUTRISYSTEM oatmeal at 9:00am.  By the time we got back to Asheville, it was 3:00pm.  We stopped at SUBWAYS, got a foot-long tuna sandwich, and brought it back to the room.  We ate quickly and then Eric showered and dressed so we could go meet my sister, Audrey’s friend, Judy, who lives in Barnardsville, right outside Asheville.

We got there around 4:30pm.  She lives in a huge house, which she had built 2 years ago.  It sits on top of a big hill and has a view of the mountains, the road below, local farms, and other beautiful vistas.  When we walked inside, I was amazed at the beauty of the architecture, the décor, the artwork, and the views out the huge windows.

We sat in her living room, looking out on her porch and the mountains beyond.  She has bird feeders on the porch and Eric and I were amazed to see the reddest cardinal we’ve ever seen, along with finches, and other small birds.  Judy served us cheese and crackers and offered us wine or other drinks, but we just had sparkling water.

We talked for a while and then I asked for a tour.  The house is so magnificent.  She has decorated it in a style that’s so perfect for Asheville, with lots of original art, tons of books, a baby grand, and antique furniture.   Every room was beautiful.

Three views from Judy's porch:

As we approached the road to Judy's house, we noticed a big house up on a hill.  Eric said, "Maybe that's her house!"  I said, "I sure hope so!"  Of course, it was!

Judy filled us in on a lot of information regarding life in Asheville, including the job market (not so great), the rents (pretty cheap), and the crafts and culture (tons of each).  It seems like a great place to live, but my problem is that as soon as you leave the actual town of Asheville, it gets pretty countrified pretty fast.  It just isn’t the type of place I could live, unless we were very close to the city.

We left Judy’s a little after 6:30pm and headed back to the hotel.  I changed my clothes and then we went back downtown to go to a restaurant that Judy had recommended, which is on Patton Avenue.  SUGO serves Italian cuisine and has a very modern décor with dark red walls and original acrylic paintings by JONAS GERARD all over.  His abstract expressionist paintings have a “mesmerizing explosion of color, contrast and movement.”

We decided to have a drink – a Cosmo for me; a White Russian for Eric.  They brought us each a small brushetta with olives, tomatoes and mozzarella on a crust of bread.  We shared one appetizer – Crispy Fried Goat Cheese Truffles served on strawberry and spinach salad with and roasted pumpkin seeds.  Fantastic! 

Eric ordered the Local Trout, which was a whole fish that was stuffed with herbs and came with greens and fava beans.  I had the grilled North Carolina Striped Bass, which came on a lemon risotto (heavenly!).  They were both delicious, but Eric’s fish had tons of little bones, which made eating it a chore.

We were stuffed, so we didn’t order dessert there and instead walked around a while and decided to go back to Kilwin’s for a little more ice cream (can you ever get enough ice cream?).  We were so lucky, because it was supposed to rain all day, but it never did.  It must have poured while we were eating, because when we came out the streets were soaked.  We walked a few blocks to the Ice Cream shop and they were very happy to see us again!

I got the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Eric got the Rocky Road.  We brought it back to the room and enjoyed it while we watched some comedians on COMEDY CENTRAL.

We were going to leave very early for CHARLOTTE tomorrow morning, so Eric could ride and I could take a yoga class, but luck is not with us, because it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday.  Eric feels it is a waste to keep the rental bike for three days, if he’s not going to be riding, so he wants to return the bike tomorrow and in order to do that we have to stay here until they open at 10:00am.

We will still go to Charlotte, because we really want to meet with Steffie and Dave and we really want to see Charlotte, but it’s VERY disappointing that Eric won’t get to ride for the next three days.  I know the mountain biking here is great and he knows it’s much better than San Diego, but we still wanted him to experience it and enjoy himself for a few days.  It looks like he might only get to ride again on Tuesday, if it stops raining.

Tonight, Eric and I discussed moving.  He always starts to vacillate when we go away.  Last time, when we were in South Carolina, he said, “We can’t move here.  Let’s just go back to San Diego.  I’ll be fine.  I’ll just adjust.”  I believed him, but it never happened.  Now, he’s saying, “Maybe we should move to Northern California,” but I don’t think that’s the answer.  I think moving back to the East Coast, so we’re a lot closer to my parents, is a good thing, and I know Eric will get to enjoy the change of seasons, which he says means a lot to him.

It’s very confusing, and it’s stressful not knowing what the future holds, but we just have to hang in there.  I told him we still have to see Charlotte and at least we’ll be hanging out with a couple who moved there specifically so they could mountain bike all year long.  After all, her email address is DIRT PRINCESS, so you know they’re really into it!

Charlotte is a really big city, which I didn’t realize.  It’s the 17th largest city in the country, so it’s not like anyplace in South Carolina, or even Asheville.  It’s very metropolitan and cosmopolitan, which means a lot to me.  I just have to see if it has other things to offer besides mountain biking and business!

We were awakened last night very abruptly by VERY loud thunder.  I realized I haven’t heard thunder in a LONG time.  You don’t hear thunder in San Diego.  Did you know that?  I think that’s a pretty interesting fact!

So, after the loud cracks of thunder, and the rain, I realized Eric was definitely not going mountain biking today.  Not only would it have been VERY muddy, but they close the trails after it rains, so that you don’t harm the terrain of the trails with your tires through the mud.

Eric thought it was a waste to drag the bike all around when he probably wouldn’t get to ride, and we knew he could always rent a bike in Charlotte on Monday, so we made the trip back to Brevard to return the bicycle.  The shop didn’t open until 10:00am, so I had to miss Steffie’s yoga class in Charlotte this morning.

We went back to the INDIE COFFEE HOUSE I discovered yesterday while Eric was riding.  I wanted Eric to meet Keith and Amy and experience their wonderful new business.  We had a fast breakfast there.  I had a skinny mocha latte and my NUTRISYSTEM bar and Eric had a cinnamon bun and a hot tea.  Then, we hit the road. 

It was about 160 miles to Charlotte from where we were and it took us 2 ½  hours.   We checked into the COURTYARD MARRIOTT and were very happy with our lovely room.  This is DEFINITELY a step up from the ECONO LODGE, which was clean, but very motel-like.  This is more like it!

We relaxed, Eric took a nap, and I worked on the computer and then spoke to our friend, Susan.  Andrew was back in the hospital in NY with more chest pains.  Our poor, darling Andrew!  Fortunately, they resolved the problem and he’s back home again, resting comfortably.  ANDREW!!!!!  WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

We showered, dressed and left to go to Steffie and Dave’s apartment less than a mile away.  They live in the cutest apartment complex and their apartment looked really cute, although I couldn’t stay, because they have a cat!

Steffie's aunt and uncle are Ted and Elaine, whom we have been friends with for years.  Ted and his partner, Ricky, are good friends of ours whom we met through cabaret in New York.  Elaine, Ted's sister, is the great girl we set up with our friend, Brian.  They got married in '05.  So, we knew Steffie would be great, because her aunt and uncle are fabulous!

They drove us around the neighborhood of MATTHEWS, where our hotel is and where they live, and showed us all the highlights.  It’s a cute suburb of Charlotte and there’s an express bus and a regular bus that takes you downtown.  Good to know!

This is FREEDOM PARK, which is right in the neighborhood where Steffie and Dave live.  It's a great place to ride your bicycle, see a free concert, or just have a picnic!

Here are Steffie and Dave -- the best tour guides in Charlotte!

Then, we drove into the city and they showed us all the sights from the car.  After that, we parked and walked around a lot.  Steffie explained to us that Charlotte is a very interesting city because, years ago, they razed the entire city and rebuilt it from scratch.  That kind of bothered me, because of course I love historical buildings and anything old – including architecture.  At the same time, it means that everything is very shiny, new and clean looking and they’re still building!  We noticed a lot of skyscrapers going up, which gave Eric some hope that there might be more work here than there is in San Diego, where nothing seems to be going up at all.

We walked down TRYON STREET, which is a major street in downtown Charlotte.  We passed their big theatre, where AVENUE Q and WICKED will be playing, lots of bars, clubs, restaurants and office buildings.  It’s a really clean, pretty city, with lots of “pocket parks” where you can sit, eat your lunch, relax with a coffee, read, talk on the phone, etc.

We asked them to pick out a great restaurant and told them we love seafood, so Dave took us to McCORMICK & SCHMICK’S Seafood Restaurant.  It has the look of a steakhouse – all wood, glass and big booths, but had the nicest seafood menu I’ve ever seen!

Here's a little of the decor in the restaurant:

They have what they call the "Fresh List" where you will find the freshest seafood available from Alaska halibut to New Zealand grouper -- a selection of more than 30 seafood varieties in fresh that day. Their wait staff is renowned for their encyclopedic seafood knowledge.

We started by sharing a bowl of steamed clams in a garlic broth.  Steffie and I both chose the Broiled Seafood Platter with Salmon, Crab Cake, Shrimp, Oysters, and Scallops, along with rice and asparagus.  I loved it, because it was a little taste of everything and it was delicious!

Eric had Dungeness Crab, which was in a spicy red sauce.  He wore a bib and it was very messy, breaking up all the crab legs, but he really enjoyed it!  Dave had the trout, which was a beautiful piece of fish. 

There was so much on the menu I could have chosen, but I really think I chose the best thing on the menu, because I got to taste 5 different fish!

We shared a piece of Key Lime Pie, fresh fruit, and a piece of Chocolate Cake for dessert.

Then, we left the restaurant and walked around some more.  Dave and Eric were talking non-stop.  I knew they’d have a lot in common, but they really seemed to hit it off.

Steffie brought us to her favorite place in the city -- a park devoted to literature, which had great sculpture, whimsical fountains, and beautiful poetry.

Steffie and I have a lot in common, too.  She is a yoga instructor, and I told her how much I love yoga, and how I’ve missed it since I left NY.  The good news is, I found out she has a stretching class from 1:30pm – 3:30pm tomorrow, so I’ll be taking that class!  The studio where she works, YOGA SOUTH offers all kinds of yoga classes, including the Restorative Yoga class I'll be taking tomorrow.  I can tell just from spending a few hours with her that Steffie is going to be a fabulous instructor.  She's very sweet, smart, funny, and is also absolutely gorgeous!  She and Dave make an adorable couple!

She and Dave met in Michigan (where he grew up) and moved to Connecticut after they were married, but Dave hated it there, so they moved to Charlotte last year.  She knows that Eric and I moved to San Diego and that Eric hates it, so that’s why we’re here – seeing if Asheville or Charlotte would be a good place for us.

The thing I liked right away about Charlotte, is that Matthews – a suburb about 25 minutes from the city – is a lot like Clairemont, or even Whitestone.  There’s nothing thrilling about it, but it’s a nice place to live and is very close to everything you’d like to see or do. 

The city was gorgeous, with lots to offer, especially tons of jobs.  The bad news is that Charlotte is a huge financial center, so most of the jobs are for banks, accounting firms (PricewaterhouseCoopers has an office here) and investment firms.  That is not what I’d like for a job, but of course I could deal with a lot if I have an easy commute and it doesn’t get too cold.

Steffie also hates the cold and said it never really gets cold here, and – if it does – it doesn’t stay cold.  She said that two times it snowed about a ½ inch and it was melted by 5:00pm.  That’s my kind of town!

Once you left the city of Asheville, you were pretty much in the country.  That happens outside the suburbs of Charlotte, but at least there are plenty of suburbs.  Steffie gave us quite an education tonight, explaining about all the different neighborhoods and what each has to offer.  She said that there are definitely some neighborhoods you want to avoid, and others that might be too expensive for us to afford, but there are a lot that are very reasonable and are great neighborhoods to live in.

They have a local bike shop, called BICYCLES EAST, that they both really love, where they know the names of their customers – kind of like the bike shop Eric had in NY.  Everything around here is closed on Sunday (kind of disappointing – but that’s the south for you), so we’re going to check everything out on Monday.

Tomorrow we will sleep in and then I’ll take Steffie’s class while Eric does laundry.  There’s actually washers and dryers here in the hotel!

It was so wonderful to get to spend some time with Steffie and Dave.  They explained to Eric that there are 5 great mountain bike trails within 20 minutes of Matthews and there is great riding all over Charlotte.  Eric was relieved to hear that and said he liked the city very much.  I think he’s happy, because he can see that Charlotte is much more in line with where I’d like to live, and if they have great mountain biking and I can get a great job, then we’d be set.

We have a lot of looking around and researching to do in the next few days, but I already see that this is a place I could live, while Asheville is not.  I loved the downtown area, but there is nothing much to offer outside that.  Steffie said there are tons of yoga studios, and there are lots of Starbucks, and that pretty much says it all!

I can’t wait to see more tomorrow!

Today is 250 days since we left New York, so this is my 250th blog entry! 

Last night, we didn’t go to bed till very late – at least very late for us.  We didn’t get home until after midnight (we were out six hours with Steffie and Dave!), and then we stayed up watching TV and I was blogging until almost 2:00am.  So, it was no surprise that we slept until 11:00am this morning.

We gathered all the dirty clothes we had, because Eric wanted to do laundry while I took Steffie’s 2-hour Restorative Yoga class.   There's a laundry in the hotel, but they were re-doing the floor, so he had to go to a laundromat.   He dropped me off at 1:30pm.  The class was really great.  I hadn’t taken yoga since we left NY, so I was pretty stiff, but the class was all about staying in a position for 5-15 minutes, using blocks, blankets, small pillows and even lavender-scented eye pillows to relax and restore you.  It was fantastic!

As we were leaving the beautiful complex where the yoga studio is located, I saw this image and immediately recognized it.  I took it as a good sign!

Eric was waiting outside at 3:30pm and we were both starving, so we went nearby to a PANERA BREAD for soup and sandwich.  I got a ½ veggie sandwich and tomato soup and Eric got a ½ chicken salad sandwich with broccoli cheddar soup.  Delicious and also very restorative!!

After that, we decided to drive to South End, a neighborhood Steffie had recommended to us as a possible place to live.  It’s very close to the city – in fact, we had to drive through part of the city in order to get there.  It seems to be the decorating  section of the city, because there were tons of marble, granite, kitchen, floral, fabric, interior design, rug and other businesses for either building or decorating your home.

We drove through the industrial section and then found the residential neighborhood, which was very nice.  They seem to be building a lot of new condos, or apartment buildings, but we didn’t see a lot of apartments.  It’s hard to know where to drive, because the area is pretty big, and I’m sure we didn’t see it all.

On the way back we discussed what we had seen, and how we felt about Charlotte.  We’ve heard that there’s a lot of crime here, and they seem to be very easy on criminals – releasing them again, and again, and again – for years, so that they are career criminals.  We read an article about a guy who has been arrested 40 times!  In NY he’d be put away for good, but here they just keep letting him back on the street.

We read that there are car jackings, home robberies, muggings – all the things you’d expect to find in a big city, which Charlotte is – but it’s so unexpected when the city looks so clean, pristine and beautiful!  That’s one thing that bothered us both a lot.  Eric watched a lot of news in San Diego and always pointed out every crime, making it seem like the most crime-ridden place in the country, which of course it’s not.  I know there’s probably no big city in the country where there’s no crime, but it’s scary to think about.  Part of the problem is that when they built all the new buildings a lot of people were displaced – people who didn’t find a great place to live or work, so they turned to crime.  It’s not right, but it’s certainly understandable.  Too many people are holding the good-paying jobs and living in the nice neighborhoods and there are lots of people who can’t afford the nice neighborhoods and aren’t qualified for the high-paying jobs.  There are only so many low-paying jobs, so people turn to crime.

Meanwhile, I thought that being in North Carolina was going to make a big change in Eric, but it really hasn’t at all.  Some of my friends have warned me that it’s not San Diego that is depressing Eric.  They say Eric is just depressed.  I wanted to believe that it was the bad mountain biking that was depressing him, even though he hated EVERYTHING about San Diego – and California, in general.  His hatred of San Diego didn’t make sense, but I believed that getting him out of that environment and into an environment he claims to love would make him happy.

I was hoping my friends were wrong – that being surrounded by beautiful trees, forests, greenery and blooming spring flowers would make him happier, but it really hasn’t.  Even when he rode his bike in Brevard (outside Asheville), it didn’t really make him happy.

I don’t know why I expected him to snap out of his depression because he changed his environment, but it’s probably because HE kept saying all he needed was to get out of SD.  I believed that the minute he saw the forest he’d be skipping happily around Charlotte.  Am I the eternal optimist or what?

I’m hanging in there, and hoping we will be able to work together to figure out what to do.  I’m not going to say I don’t want to give up sometimes, because I feel like I’ve done everything I can think of to help him, but I won’t give up on him, or us.  I’ll keep working to figure out what will make us both happy.  I do have to tell you that it’s the love and support of my friends and family that has helped me hang in there.  I just want you all to know that.

Anyway, by the time we got back from South End it was after 6:00pm.  We both took a fast nap and then we ordered in from an Italian restaurant and both ate too much.  We shared an eggplant parmigiana, which came with garlic knots, spaghetti and a Caesar salad.

After dinner Eric said, “I really do like this place.  I think we could be happy here.”  That meant a lot to me, because he doesn’t express himself very much and – when he does – it’s usually something negative.  That really brings me down, so I was really glad he said that.   It gives me hope!

We are going to a nearby place tomorrow, so Eric can rent a mountain bike and have a ride in Charlotte.  The place is called U.S. National Whitewater Center, where they have rock climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, and white water rafting.  This place is having the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Whitewater Slalom in 2 weeks.  They rent bikes for 2 hours, and the woman said there are lots of things to do and see, so I will go with him and wait while he rides.  Maybe there’ll be a place for me to plug in the computer!  Otherwise, I’ll go rock climbing (yeah, right!).

We stayed up late again last night, even though we wanted to get up by 9:00am.  Didn’t work out that way!  Eric finally got up around 10:00am and looked out the window.  He thought it had rained the night before, so he said we should just go back to bed.  I got out of bed, looked out the window and saw the tiniest puddle in the world, and the cars looked dry, so I knew it hadn’t rained much, if at all.  I decided to call the U.S. NATIONAL WHITEWATER CENTER, where Eric was going to ride today.  They confirmed that the trails were open, so we got up, took showers, got dressed and left the hotel around 11:00am.

The center is less than a half hour away.  They provide rafting on the world’s largest man-made whitewater river, along with kayaking the only class III-IV rapids in a metropolitan area.  You can also do flatwater kayaking along the banks of the scenic Catawba River.  You can mountain bike, trail run, hike or climb on one of the largest outdoor climbing structures in the U.S.  They are an official Olympic Training Site and host to many National and International Competitions.  All this just 15 minutes from Uptown Charlotte!

We parked the car, Eric rented a front suspension bike and was off on the trails by noon.  I went into the restaurant, explained that my husband was mountain biking and it was too cold for me to hang outside.  They were so friendly and helpful.  I plugged in my laptop at a table right by a window, and made a few calls.  As I spoke to our friends, Geri and Larry for about an hour, I got to watch people rushing by in whitewater rafts or kayaks. 

I also spoke to my sister-in-law, Ellen and answered some emails.  By the time I hung up with Ellen, Eric was back.  It had started to rain, but he had ridden for an hour and a half and said it was enough for him.  He said it was a great, well-maintained trail, but it didn’t provide the technical tricks he so enjoys, but he did say it was a great workout and that if he did that ride every day he’d be back in shape in no time!

We stayed for lunch in the restaurant.  They had the nicest menu.  I had a veggie burger.  It wasn’t HOUSTON’S, but it was good.  We both had roasted red pepper soup, which was delicious.  Eric had a salad with chicken and apples in it.  He said it was really good.

After lunch we drove back toward the hotel, but we drove around MATTHEWS a little more, before going back to our room.  It really is a nice town, in a great city, but we decided we really have a LOT of thinking to do and we need to take our time.  Eric and I talked a lot after we got back to the room and then we took a nap before meeting Steffie and Dave for Sushi.  We had a delicious dinner with edamame, seaweed salad, and 4 different rolls.  Eric and Dave could talk forever – they have so much in common and are very much alike.

Steffie and I also talked nonstop.  She is a lovely, sweet, gorgeous girl with a wonderful outlook on life and a very positive approach.  Her lifestyle is very natural, down-to-earth and well-balanced, especially since she teaches yoga for a living!

Eric and I were both very impressed with them and think they’d be great friends to have here, if we ever moved to Charlotte.

When we got back to the hotel Eric watched TV while I worked on the computer.  Tomorrow morning we will check out at 11:00am and drive around Charlotte some more, stopping by BICYCLES EAST, which is the local bike shop that Dave and Steffie use for all their bicycling needs.

We will drive back to Asheville in the afternoon, but will probably just stay in a cheap motel near the airport overnight, so that we don’t have far to go in the morning.  We’ll return the car, get on our flight to Atlanta, and be home in San Diego for dinner!

We woke up just in time to shower, dress, pack and check out of the COURTYARD MARRIOTT.  This hotel was SO nice.  They had the BEST free coffee in the lobby (24 hours a day -- we were both drinking a lot of it the past 3 days), the room was fabulous and the bed was really comfy!

This building was the town post office, built in 1939.  We loved the giant bicycle.  I tried to get Eric to pose like he was trying to get on it, but he wouldn't do it.  Wouldn't that have been funny?

We ate NUTRISYSTEM muffins for breakfast (with their fabulous coffee) and then drove around MATTHEWS a little.  We went to BICYCLES EAST, the bike shop in town.  It’s a really cute shop that is in the building that used to be the Matthews Post Office, which was built in 1939!  Eric spoke to Bill for quite some time and Bill showed Eric lots of great trails on the computer. 

A close-up of the giant bicycle! 

After that we went over to an antique shop I had noticed nearby.  It was a small antique mall, meaning that different people have sections of the shop where their merchandise is for sale and one person runs the shop, selling for all the other people.  The prices ranged from really reasonable to slightly overpriced, but I was pretty impressed with the quality of merchandise and there were a few pieces I’d love to own!

I left without buying anything and then Eric and I drove around Matthews a little more, going far out enough to pass cows and horses.  That’s the thing I like about Charlotte – there’s a great city, really nice suburbs, and within 20 minutes you can be feeding horses carrots!  Of course, we didn’t have any carrots this trip, so we just kept driving!

We went back to town and had lunch at a cute restaurant right down the block from BICYCLES EAST.  SANTÉ has a lovely menu.

We started with Avocado Egg Rolls with Roasted Corn Relish and Cilantro Aioli, which were really different and quite tasty.

I had the Vegetable Quesadilla with Caramelized Onions, Roasted Red Peppers, Black Beans, Cheddar Cheese, Chef's Fresh Salsa and Guacamole.  Yummy! 

Eric had the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Sandwich with lettuce, tomato and Remouladé sauce.  Everything was really delicious and Eric took ½ sandwich and I put one wedge of quesadilla to have as a snack later on (which was as soon as we got to our motel!).

The interior of the restaurant:

After lunch we headed out to Asheville, and it was a beautiful day for a drive.  Clear, sunny, a little chilly (but comfy in the NISSAN ALTIMA).  Of course, I fell asleep.  It’s almost impossible for me to stay awake for more than an hour in a car!  We even stopped along the way at a STARBUCKS (but I got a decaf skinny mocha, so it wasn’t going to keep me awake!).

When we got to the airport it was about 5:00pm.  There were a lot of hotels and motels around.  We settled on the BUDGET MOTEL, which looked clean and neat.  We checked in, and I set up my computer and read my emails.  Then, I took a nap, while Eric watched TV.  He woke me at 7:30pm and we ordered from RUBY TUESDAY’S, which was right next door.  Eric walked over to pick up the food and we had dinner while I watched THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES Season Finale.  It was very exciting and a girl won for the first time.

I had the salmon with rice pilaf and broccoli, and Eric had a chicken BLT sandwich.  We also shared an appetizer of chicken fingers (for Eric) and fries and mozzarella sticks (for both of us). 

After dinner, we continued to watch TV while we repacked all the suitcases.  We decided to pack Eric’s big bag with all our clothes and toiletries, check it at the airport, and take our chances on it actually making it back to San Diego.  We packed all his bicycle stuff and any valuables in my two pink bags, which we would carry on with my lap top.  It was just too complicated last time with the mean lady in West Palm, so we figure we’ll beat them to the punch by just checking the biggest bag and have that much less to carry around!

Eric finished his book while I watched BOSTON LEGAL and worked on the computer.  Then, we had dessert – a brownie sundae!  We’ve both gone completely to hell on this vacation.  The only good thing we did was eat our NUTRISYSTEM breakfasts every single day.  Other than that, we were pretty bad with lunch, dinner and desserts and I tell you I am VERY afraid to weigh myself when we get home.  Boo hoo.  Why am I so undisciplined?  After watching THE BIGGEST LOSER tonight, Eric and I felt ashamed of ourselves for the way we eat sometimes.

I know we don’t have 100 pounds to lose, like the people on the TV show, but think of how hard it was for them and they managed to do it and I can’t even lose 10-20 pounds!

Anyway, after we had our brownie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce on top, we were both dying of thirst and had nothing to drink, so Eric left to find a store and buy us drinks.  Turns out there was one down the block.  He got me a diet Lemon Snapple.  I used to be addicted to that drink, but haven't had one in about 6 months!  Eric got a giant bottle of water and we both drank happily!

I can't believe we're heading home tomorrow.  I don’t know what will happen when we get back to San Diego.  Eric has said that he will find a job, but I don’t know how hard he will try, or how well he will succeed.  I will support him in every way I can, but it is important for him to carry his own weight, for him to contribute, and for me to lean on him for a change, instead of him leaning on me. 

This is not something I realized by myself, but was good advice given to me by a loving friend.  Sometimes you are trying so hard to help someone, but you can actually help them too much when they need to achieve things on their own.  I think that’s the case with Eric right now.  He needs to find a job and get into a routine.  If he can create some kind of life in San Diego, then maybe we will be ready to leave there, knowing we did okay while we were there.

Our flight doesn’t leave until noon tomorrow, so we can sleep in (wheee!) and, because of the time difference, we’ll still be back in San Diego by 5:00pm!

I think we are REALLY lucky to have flown six planes in 10 days and not had one cancellation or delay.  Don’t you?

We stayed our last night in Asheville at a BUDGET MOTEL, which really lived up to its name.  I mean, there was really nothing wrong with it – there was a fridge and a microwave, a TV with a remote control and a king-size bed, but everything was just a little shabby.  The shower didn’t drain very well, so you were standing in water by the time you finished.

The towels were so small you could barely cover yourself with them (I’m BIG on HUGE bath towels, so hotel/motel towels never make it for me).

I set the alarm for 9:00am and we snoozed a few times, since we really had nothing much to do this morning.  We had repacked all the bags last night, so we just had to shower, dress, eat and return the rental car before our flight, which was at 11:55am.

We decided to eat our NUTRISYSTEM breakfast bars at the airport, so we drove to the airport (which was less than a mile from our motel), returned the rental car, checked Eric’s bag, and went to the restaurant, which consisted of a very small food court with a SUBWAY, a coffee place, and another food place that served fast food.  We just got coffee, sat down and had our bars.  Eric bought another book, since he had finished his other one yesterday.  I bought ENTERTAINMENT magazine with Tina Fey on the cover.  I love her!

We went through security, which was much easier since we put all our liquids and gels in the bag we checked.  We still had to take off our shoes, take the GPS system, camera and lap top out of their cases and take out our cell phones, too.  Eric had to completely unpack his backpack, because they are very curious about his bicycle pump, bicycle pedals, and bicycle tools.  They really look like something you’d use if you were a terrorist, I know, so it makes perfect sense that they’d need to really examine them carefully.  After they were finally done, we packed it all back up and headed to our gate.

Our flight was on a small plane, so we had to board on the runway, just like last time.  We took off on time, but since it was a jet and not a propeller plane, it was in Atlanta in 30 minutes!  Unbelievable!  It felt like we just took off when we landed!

We had lunch at CHILI’S and then took the train from Concourse C to Concourse A where our next flight took off at 2:55pm.  Again, we were very lucky it was on time.  Eric read and I slept for the first half of the flight.  Then, Eric slept a little and I read my magazine.  Then, we both rented ear phones ($2 each) and watched TV until we landed.  I watched a reality show I’ve never seen before – TOP CHEF on BRAVO.  It was pretty good!  That’s all I need – another reality show to watch.  Like PROJECT RUNWAY, HELL’S KITCHEN, AMERICAN IDOL, DANCING WITH THE STARS, GIRLICIOUS, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL and THE BIGGEST LOSER aren’t enough!

When we got to San Diego, we walked to the baggage claim.  We haven’t checked a bag in YEARS, and we were so lucky that Eric’s bag and the little cart both arrived safely.  Wheeee!  We figured if they lost our clothes it wouldn’t be a big deal, since we didn’t need it for the vacation, so we took the chance and it actually worked out!

We took the shuttle home and were in the apartment by 5:30pm.  We unpacked, organized the laundry for tomorrow (at least 4 loads) and then relaxed and watched TV.  I tried to catch up on some of the shows I’ve missed.  It was a lot of fun!

We had NUTRISYSTEM entrées for dinner and then I unpacked and set up the computer, went through my emails, and then unpacked all the receipts, maps and other memorabilia from our trip.

Oh – one thing I forgot to mention.  While we were sitting in the shuttle on the way home my phone rang.  It was ON CALL the agency I first went to last December – who didn’t get me my current job.  They wanted to know what my work status was, because they have TWO potential jobs for me!  I told them I’m not sure what my job status is, because I have to find out if they need me back at this long-term temp job I’ve been working for the past 10 weeks.  I told her I would find out tomorrow, but that I’d be willing to go on interviews on Friday either way and would then decide what I want to do.  I was SO excited, because I was a little worried about this job ending and now I figure I have a good chance to start another job right away!

Tomorrow I have a LOT of laundry to do.  I also have to pick up the mail at the post office (I asked them to hold our mail for 10 days), and I need to do food shopping, because there’s absolutely nothing in the house but our NUTRISYSTEM entrées!  Eric said he’d run all the errands with me, but I don’t know if I’ll really put him through all that!  We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.  I don’t know how or when, but my left elbow is killing me.  I can’t even lift my drink without it hurting.  My hand is finally 95% better and now my elbow really hurts.  I don’t remember banging it or anything, but Eric said maybe I slept wrong.  It even hurts as I’m typing this!  Boo hoo!

It feels really good to be home.  Eric and I are the biggest home bodies.  We were both relieved to be back in the apartment, and glad that everything was fine while we were gone.  We have a lot of thinking to do, but we’re not going to put any pressure on ourselves and I don’t even think we should discuss it for a week.  Eric did say today that he really liked Charlotte, which I was happy about, because I did, too!

I woke up early, and my nose started running.  It was running and running.  Don’t know why.  I eventually fell back to sleep and we both got out of bed at around 11:00am.  We showered, dressed, ate NUTRISYSTEM breakfasts and left to run errands.  It was really warm out today – probably around 80 degrees at the warmest point.

The first thing we did was go to the post office, so I could pick up our mail, which they were holding the whole time we were gone.  It actually worked out – no mail delivered and everything we expected to find was in there!

The only disappointment was that Eric was supposed to get some medical information from the clinic in NY where we got full physicals once a year.  When I was interviewed by AETNA for our benefits, I was honest about Eric’s occasional high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Although he was never prescribed medication for either, they wanted his readings for 3 years.  I don’t know why the clinic in NY was willing to give him his blood pressure over the phone, but said they had to mail his lipid panel results.  So, we were expecting them to be in the mail and they weren’t.

I called up to find out what the story was and the woman said she remembered Eric, but that she had spoken to her supervisor and they said they needed a check before they could mail the report.  I asked her if she called Eric to tell him that and she said, “No, my supervisor said I didn’t have to.”  Did you ever?  I was so furious I just hung up.  Eric called AETNA and told them, but they said that since so much time had passed we would have to do the application process ALL OVER AGAIN.

I told Eric I would rather just buy the COBRA medical benefits from his union, even though they cost twice as much, because we wouldn’t have to deal with any of these questions and probing and their benefits are much better anyway.  He finally agreed.  I'm not lazy, but I'm not going through all that TWICE when they might turn us down anyway!

So, tomorrow I have to call the union and see exactly what we have to do, but I'm pretty sure it's just filling out the form they sent and mailing it in with a check.  We’ll probably be set within a week.

When we got back from the post office we sat together at the table and went through all the mail.  It was mostly junk, but there were some magazines, catalogs, a “Save The Date” from my niece, Jessica, who is getting married in November, and a few checks (wheee!).

After that, Eric went to work on the RV and I started 3 loads of laundry.  Then, I walked across the street to CITIBANK to deposit the checks we had received.  Unfortunately, the bank was closed, because they were ROBBED THIS MORNING!

So, I drove to the CITIBANK in Pacific Beach, and also stopped at the used bookstore to get two more books, so I’d have something to read at work!  I told the teller at the CITIBANK that my branch was robbed and it was really scary and she assured me that it “hardly ever happens.”  Yeah, that makes me feel MUCH better – especially since we live RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!

The books I bought at the used bookstore are THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger, and THE SAMURAI’S GARDEN by Gail Tsukiyama.  If anyone’s read either of these and has a review – let me have it!

When I got back I put all the clothes into the dryer for a few minutes and then brought most of it back up to the apartment where we hung it all up on clothes lines all around the apartment.  The only stuff I let dry all the way are Eric’s socks and underwear and towels.  Everything else gets dried for a few minutes, to steam the wrinkles out, and then gets hung on the line.  It really works great and I don’t have to iron!

By the time we finished hanging up the laundry I was sweating a lot.  It gets really hot in our apartment.  We had the bedroom and bathroom windows open and the front door, too, with the ceiling fan in the dining room going, but it still gets very stuffy.  What are we going to do in July when it’s hot all day and all night?

Eric left to wash the car.  It was SO filthy from sitting on the street for 2 weeks.  I mean, really filthy with pollen and dust and dirt from being on a street that has tons of traffic all day.  I always tell him he’s crazy to wash the car so often, but the truth is – you couldn’t even tell what color it was, it was so dirty!

I was going to go food shopping, but by the time he came back from washing the car it was after 5:00pm and he had a headache.  I knew he would want to help me with all the packages, and I figured I could just wait until tomorrow to do the food shopping, so neither of us would have to go back out.

I cleaned and organized the apartment a bit, but it’s still a little disorganized, because we haven’t put everything away yet from our trip.

I caught up on more of my TV from the last 2 weeks, and I’m pretty caught up except for a few DR. PHIL’S.  Eric and I watched DON’T FORGET THE LYRICS, which we really enjoy.  Tonight was the season finale of ELI STONE, my favorite new show, which is SO great.  I’m sorry it’s over until the fall, but there’s always another great show right behind it!

By the way -- before I forget -- I'm back up to 126.2 -- which means I gained a little over 3 pounds on vacation.  Actually not as bad as I thought and I'm hoping to lose it this week!

Tomorrow I will go food shopping.  I also want to get a picture frame to make another “key frame” for my friend, Susan, who wants to give it as a gift.  That’s the only thing on the agenda, so it should be a nice, relaxing day!

It’s mid-April and it’s pretty hot.  Well, it’s not so hot outside – about 70 degrees today – but it gets SO hot in the apartment!  I don’t know if it’s the fact that we’re on the second floor and the sun beats down on the roof, or the fact that we’re a corner apartment, so the sun hits us from different directions all day.  All I know is we have to keep the windows open and the ceiling fan going all day and it’s still stuffy in here!  It doesn’t cool down until around 6:00pm.  I cannot imagine what it will be like in the dead of summer.  I know it’s not supposed to get too hot in SD, but I just can’t imagine that it’s not going to get a lot hotter than it already is!

Anyway, we woke up this morning and Eric had a bad headache.  I worked on the computer and did all the paperwork for our COBRA medical benefits.  I decided to walk over to KEILS to do our grocery shopping and asked Eric to pick me up when I was done.  I wanted to get a little exercise, and my elbow is really bothering me, so I didn’t want to have to even lift the packages from the cart to the trunk.

I did a big food shopping – stocking up on lots of fruit, veggies, and other healthy choices.  Eric picked me up and carried most of the packages up for me.  I carried what I could in my right hand.  I don’t know WHAT I did to my left elbow and it’s really disturbing, because my left hand is FINALLY better after my mid-January fall, and I was really ready to start yoga after my class with Steffie in Charlotte.  I hope my elbow will get better this week, but right now it hurts if I lift anything heavier than a glass.

Eric helped me put all the groceries away and then we relaxed for a while.  His headache only got better because he took two Excedrin Migraines, which he hates to do.  He waits as long as he can to see if it will get better on its own, but of course it never does.  He’s had more headaches lately than ever and I honestly believe it’s all stress.  He does have high blood pressure, but it has never been very bad, but I have a feeling his stress is making his blood pressure go up and the high blood pressure is giving him these headaches.  I try to make life as easy for him as possible, but of course we do fight and argue about stuff a lot lately, since we’re so unsure of our future, and I know that doesn’t help.

I try to be super supportive of him and I baby him a lot, but then I worry that I’m not doing him any favors by doing everything for him and making everything so easy on him.  I do want him to find work and I do believe he can, but he doesn’t think he is suited for anything but steam-fitting.  I remind him that he worked in a bicycle shop for years, and also did a lot of construction, including interior painting, building decks, re-doing bathrooms, kitchens, etc.  He can do anything!  He just has to believe in himself.  The problem is you can tell a person a hundred times how wonderful they are, how capable they are, and how they can achieve anything – but if they don’t think or believe it themselves, it’s hard to make it happen.

I don’t know why I have the self-confidence I have always had.  I try to figure it out and I can only think it was my mother.  My mother always encouraged us and complimented us and supported us.  She made us feel smart, beautiful and talented and would tell us all the time.  I guess she drummed it into our heads, because my sisters and I all have a lot of confidence in ourselves.  There’s no shortage of self-esteem in my family!

I also believe I’m kind of fearless.  Not that I’m not afraid of ANYTHING, because I am afraid of big hills (like those crazy streets in San Francisco), and I don’t like bugs much either.   I would never bungee jump or sky dive.  I mean I’m fearless, because I’m not afraid to fail.  I figure if you don’t try you can’t succeed, so I’d rather try and fail than not try at all.  I’m not afraid to go on a job interview, because I figure if they don’t want me it’s not an insult to me, or a reflection on my skills.  It just means that we’re not the right fit.

I always felt that way when I auditioned for parts in musicals or plays.  I know when I read a book I get an image in my mind of what the characters look like.  Sometimes, when you see a movie of a book you’ve read, it can be very disappointing if the casting is not to your satisfaction.  Well, when I went into an audition I always knew that the director had a picture in his mind of what the character was going to look like.  If I fit that picture, I had a much better chance of getting the part.  If I didn’t, I could have the best audition possible, but chances are I wouldn’t get the part, because he didn’t “see me” in that part. 

I don’t know why, but Eric doesn’t have that fearlessness inside him.  He’s fearless in so many other ways.  He rode a motorcycle with all the skills of a professional.  He is able to ride a mountain bike the same way – attempting stunts that kids half his age wouldn’t try.  He knew his capabilities and would think long and hard, figuring out what it was going to take to complete a trick before he would attempt it.  He’s fearless that way, but he doesn’t have the confidence to be rejected by a potential employer.  He doesn’t think he is good at anything but steam-fitting, so he’s afraid to try to find a different job.  There’s very little union steam-fitting in San Diego and it’s very frustrating to him.

He thinks that going back to NY and getting back with one of his old bosses is the answer, but he doesn’t remember how often he got laid off back in NY.  As much work as there is going on in NY, there are a LOT more steamfitters than there are jobs.  There always have been.  Eric was a “union man” and wasn’t willing to break union rules, so the bosses never liked him.  They like guys who are willing to cheat and break all the rules.  They’re totally corrupt and Eric would never get involved with any of that.

Now, he regrets it.  He actually says he wishes he had done all the things the bosses had asked of him, because then he would have worked more and wouldn’t have gotten laid off as much.  I always told him I was proud of him for standing up for what he believed in.  His father was a union man and raised him to respect the rules and stand by them.  Why be in a union if you’re going to go behind their backs?   I always respected that about Eric and never thought it was worth it to lower your standards, forget your beliefs, and give in to corruption in order to keep a job.

I always tell Eric that I wish he could see himself the way I see him.  I wish he could see himself through my eyes, because then he would know that he was truly capable of anything.  I think he knows what he can do, he’s just afraid of trying something new.  I never realized how averse to change Eric was.  I mean, he worked so many jobs over so many years – working in every borough of New York.  I stayed with the same company for 20 years (although I did change departments, bosses and buildings a lot). 

If I had known that bringing Eric across the country and changing his life so dramatically would bring him so much stress, I never would have done it.  I just had no idea – no warning signs.  I should have noticed that he was getting a little stressed even during our RV trip across the country.  We were both gaining weight, but I took it in stride and just told myself I’d lose it when I got to San Diego (I’m still working on it!).  He let not riding a lot and gaining a little weight really get to him, and he started to get more and more stressed the closer we got to California.  The day we entered California he hated it and it only got worse as we got closer to San Diego.

He was so unhappy that I told him we should just start up the RV and keep going until we found someplace else to live, but he wanted to settle here, if only temporarily, because he thought it was the best thing to do.  After all, our stuff was in a warehouse in San Diego, and we had already been traveling for 15 weeks!   I agreed that we should get an apartment, but now I look back and wonder if it really was the best idea.  I feel really lucky that I got to spend a winter here, and I’ve had a great winter, but it’s been stressful, because Eric is so unhappy!

Well, I’ve rambled enough – back to today!  I made us a salad for lunch and then realized I had forgotten to mail the COBRA papers and another envelope, so I walked up three blocks to the closest mailbox.  I was proud of myself, because I walked to KEILS today and then walked to the mailbox, when usually I would either take the car, or leave it for Eric to drop in the box on his bicycle.

At 8:00pm I made us a delicious dinner – tuna – cooked in the oven just long enough to leave it pink inside, with MORNINGSTAR veggie bites and I also made vegetable soup, which I haven’t made in weeks.  The tuna came out perfectly and just melted in your mouth.  The soup was good, but I felt like there was something missing, although I can’t figure out what it is!  Maybe it will be better tomorrow.  You know how some things are actually better the next day!

I spoke to our friends, Susan and Andrew, for quite some time today.  I’m happy to report that Andrew’s home from his third trip to the hospital and he’s feeling much better.  We all have to keep him in our prayers, because he’s been through a lot the last few weeks and I think enough is enough!  Feel better, Andrew.  We love you!

Eric was up before me today.  I don’t think Eric has gotten out of bed before me for three or four months.  He’s gotten used to sleeping in, and usually sleeps an hour or two more than I do.  I know he hasn’t been sleeping that well at night (I toss and turn a lot, too), so I understand why he needs extra hours.

I slept until 10:00am, and when I came out of the bedroom Eric was watching basketball.  He informed me that there were games on all day, so I figured I wasn’t going to get him out for a bicycle ride (which I had considered) or even just to run some errands.

I made us each a bowl of cereal with soy milk for breakfast.  I never went to the 99 cent store yesterday to look for a photo frame for my next key project, so I decided I would do that today and also wanted to pick up peanut butter at KEILS.  That’s the only thing I forgot yesterday.  I get organic natural creamy peanut butter for me, which is just pure peanuts, and I get 0 trans fat natural chunky peanut butter for Eric, which means it has sugar, but no other ingredients except peanuts.  I don’t mind the all natural, but Eric likes his sweeter.  I only eat mine with apples, so the apples add sweetness anyway.  Eric will have peanut butter on a cracker, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I weighed two ounces more today than I did yesterday, so I decided to get some exercise by walking to the 99 cent store and KEILS, since they’re both right up the block.  I’d never usually walk to the supermarket, because it would be too much of a pain to get home (unless you have one of those grandma carts with the wheels for all your bundles – which I don’t).

So, I walked up to the 99 cent store and found a frame.  It was great, because it was gold and was pretty flat (very important to get the keys to fit right), but it was plastic, which makes it more delicate than it already is.  I really loved the frame I used last time, because it was nice and flat and was really pretty wood, but I had a problem with the first key frame, because even though I paid UPS extra to pack it for me, it still had two keys fall off when Katie received it!

I went to KEILS and picked up the two peanut butters and came back to the house.  It was much cooler out today, so there was no need to keep the windows or doors open.  When I came back in, I showed Eric the frame, but I realized a corner was cracked!  I was so mad, because now I had to go back and exchange it for another. 

I did some stuff around the house, and then made us soup for lunch.  The soup was still missing something and it finally hit me what it was.  Yesterday, Eric asked me if I used cayenne pepper or something to make it spicy and I said no, but I realized he was right!  I forgot my cans of stewed tomatoes with jalapenos!  I was so mad at myself, because I had remembered all the other ingredients – organic vegetable broth, a can of corn, a can of black beans, broccoli, celery, carrots, mushrooms, cilantro and garlic. 

I told Eric I was going to go right away and return the frame and get the tomatoes, so I could complete the soup and we could have it for lunch.  I went back out and made the same trip – 99 cent store and then across the street to KEILS.  It felt like a complete déjà vu!

I exchanged the frame, picked up the tomatoes, made us soup (delicious!) and then watched some TV.  Eric was still watching basketball.  In fact, he watched basketball until 9:30pm – about 12 hours!

Today was a real family day!  I spoke to my cousin, Karen, then my sister, Audrey, then my Mom, my sister-in-law, Ellen, my cousin, Ilene, and my sister-in-law, Susan!  My cousin, Karen, was in San Diego (from Malibu) with her family for Passover and was hoping to see us, but I told her we just got back from vacation and Eric hadn’t been feeling well the last few days, so we had decided we would definitely just hang out this weekend and not do anything.  I felt bad, because they don’t come down here often, but I knew Eric wasn’t up for a day out, and besides – he had basketball on his mind!

Everybody else just wanted to welcome us home and see how our trip went.  It’s nice to know your loved ones are thinking of you and I really appreciate all the calls!

At around 8:00pm I decided to start working on the key frame.  I think it’s pretty finished, but I always like to leave a project and go back to it, because then I can assess whether or not I think it’s REALLY finished – and it’s usually not.  I added a little extra hot glue this time, because I was hoping to make it a little sturdier, but it’s definitely very delicate and I can see if you dropped it the keys would go flying. 

My jewelry mosaics are also very delicate and a lot of time when I pack things up I’ll find a pearl or a piece of jewelry or a rhinestone in the tissue paper and can’t even figure out where it came from!  Most of my pieces are “for decorative use only” because you can’t really put a bejeweled compact in your purse with your keys, wallet, etc., because after a while all the jewels would fall off.  Anyway, it looks great and I think Susan will really be happy – at least I hope so!

My left elbow is still really hurting.  I tell Eric I have a broken elbow and he just laughs.  I am just trying to be funny, because I know it’s not REALLY broken, but it really hurts a lot when I move it a certain way and even when I lay on my left side.  It feels like it would if you banged your elbow REALLY hard, but it’s just frustrating, because I don’t remember doing that.  I’ll give it another week and see if it starts to feel better.

I’m nervous and excited about my interview on Monday.  I realized that it was 4 weeks since I had my hair done (I would have sworn it was 2, but you know how time flies).  I really should have gone today, so I called up this afternoon, but the guy won’t be working until Monday.  I made an appointment for Monday night, but it looks like I will be going to my interview looking less than my best.  I don’t mind the dark roots so much, but I’m VERY gray around the temples, which makes me look very old!  Boo hoo!  If only I had noticed on Thursday or Friday.  Me so mad!

I also need a manicure.  My nails are a mess already, but working on the key frame certainly didn’t help.  The hot glue wreaks havoc on my nails!  I will probably just do them myself tomorrow and save $10!

I also have to figure out what I’m going to wear to work on Monday, since I’ll be going to my interview in the afternoon.  I am going to dress like myself, but as professionally as possible.  I want to be myself and he’ll know exactly what he’s getting and can decide if I’m right for the company or not.  I’m not the type to put on a suit and act all “corporate” when I’m not the least bit corporate.  I want to present myself truthfully, so that if I work there they will all know what to expect.  I’ve gained a few pounds, so I know a few outfits are out already, but I still have a lot to choose from.  I want to get it all together tomorrow, so there’s no stressing on Monday morning!

This place is also about 10 miles from the house, so the commute would be about the same, but of course I’d either have to drive myself, or Eric would have to drive me and pick me up, if he needed the car.  I don’t know what will happen when Eric gets a job, but we’ll deal with that when it happens.  Maybe I can find someone to carpool with at the new company!  You know me – I’m the eternal optimist!

Boy, was I ever lazy today!  I did some work on the computer and organized my desk a little, I worked on the key frame some more (I think it’s done!) and I watched TV.  That’s my whole day!

Eric watched basketball again all day long.  I don’t know how they can have 2 or 3 games on one after the other, but he loves his basketball, so he watches them all!

We never went out at all today.  I just did stuff around the house, prepared for work tomorrow and was generally lazy!  Eric just listened to music and watched TV.

I had my homemade soup for lunch, but he was just snacking, so he didn’t want any.  I took a nice nap in the afternoon and then I made us a big salad for dinner (and made my lunch for tomorrow at the same time).  Then, we had SKINNY COW 97% fat free flying saucer ice cream desserts.  They’re really yummy!

My big accomplishment for the day was polishing my nails!  I want to look great for my first day back at work – and my big interview!   Wish me luck!

It wasn’t easy to get up this morning, but I did it!  I drove to the office, since I was leaving early to go to the interview at 3:00pm.  It was nice to see everyone, and I was pleasantly surprised by the nice welcome back I got from everyone.  My boss wasn't in today, and didn't call in, which was great!

I had a lot of emails to read through, and my boss left me a list of things to do.  All the documents they use for proposals are updated quarterly and when I first arrived we were doing all the documents as of 12/31/7.  Now, they’re doing all the documents as of 3/31/8, so it’s “that time again.”  I spent the day finding the documents on the network, printing them out and filing them, so they’re available when he needs them.  I also need to replace certain slides in PowerPoint presentations with other updated slides.  It is easy work and kept me busy all morning.

One of the people I work for (not my boss) told me he wanted to take me to lunch today with another woman I work for.  I had brought my lunch, but I figured I could eat it tomorrow, so we went to a Mexican restaurant that’s right next door to the office (the only thing besides the hotel around here – except more office buildings!).  They were so nice and asked me lots of questions about my shop, my previous life at PwC and my recent trip to NC.  I had told Bob that we are thinking about moving there and he knew that’s why we made the trip.

When we got back, I just had about an hour and a half before I left for the day.  I worked on expense reports and then left at 2:00pm.  Every day should be this fast!  It’s the first time in 10 weeks I went out to lunch (and they treated!!) and I left early, so I only worked 5 hours today!

I went to my interview and it went very well.  I’m not sure I want the job, but I decided I’m not going to worry about it until I find out if THEY want ME!

I got home earlier than I thought, so I came in and changed my clothes before heading out again to get my hair cut and colored.  John always does a wonderful job and he’s a funny guy (who talks a LOT), so it’s always interesting.  He’s traveled a LOT, and he’s had many careers.  He should write a book, because he’s had a great life!

I went to the gelato shop, since it’s on the way home, and Eric really enjoys it.  I got his favorite – Chocolate Hazelnut, and a new one for us – Pistachio.  I had a taste and it’s FABULOUS.  I’m not that much of a pistachio fan, but this is the real thing!

When I got home I made us MORNINGSTAR faux chicken cutlets and my veggie soup for dinner – totally vegetarian!

After dinner, we watched DANCING WITH THE STARS and then I watched MEDIUM.  I went to bed at 10:30pm last night, trying to get a good night’s sleep, but I didn’t fall asleep until after 11:30pm.  I just kept tossing and turning.  My elbow is still really hurting and my sister, Lenae, thinks it might be bursitis or tennis elbow!  I’ve never played tennis in my life, but apparently that doesn’t matter!

My boss was out today, but he’ll be back tomorrow and I expect it will be a busy day.  The good news – at least the day will go by quickly!  By the way, I didn’t get to read a word of my new book yet!

My boss was back and he kept me pretty darn busy all day!  I drove in with my ride this morning (who works in HR at my firm).  I asked her what the situation is with temps there and she said there might be a temp assignment in a few weeks, so if I can just stretch this job out until then, I can go from one job to another.  Unfortunately, she thinks they may hire someone internally -- and it may happen next week!

I thought about the job I interviewed for all night last night (and did not sleep very well).  I talked about it with Eric, Jimmy and the woman I ride with to work.  My problem with the job is it’s temp-to-perm, which means that they want to test the person’s skills before hiring them, but the eventual goal is to hire someone.  So, if I take the job and work there for a few months and then leave, I feel I’m really being irresponsible, because then they have to start from scratch.  I know there are a lot of people who would say, “Who cares?” or “Too bad!,” but I’m not one of them.  I’m just too nice!

Also, I have a lot going on right now.  I feel like the stress of learning a new job, added to everything else would make life extremely stressful.  Eric hasn’t been feeling great and he’s job-hunting.  If he gets a job, he’s going to need a car and if I take this job I’m going to need a car.  If I stay at this job for another week or two, even if they hire someone I can always tell the agency to get me a job downtown.  The #50 bus stops right outside my apartment and I can actually work in the CITY!  I think that would be nice for a change!  I'm sick of working in the middle of nowhere and this new job is even WORSE!

So, I decided if I heard from the agency and they wanted me for the job, I was going to turn it down.  Unfortunately, I didn’t hear from them until I turned my phone back on at 5:00pm and, when I called them back, the woman had already left for the day.  So, I’ll find out tomorrow.  I’m really hoping they DON’T want me, so I don’t have to be the “bad guy,” because of course the agency is going to be mad at me, and they don’t care one bit about the company and whether I eventually leave or not.  They just want their money!

So, I actually really worked hard today!  My boss has a big conference call on Friday and I’m preparing materials to be emailed to all the attendees.  I also worked on a big mailing to a lot of people in Canada, which is going out tomorrow.  Then, there’s the big PowerPoint presentation I’m updating with all the materials as of 3/31/8, which is due next Wednesday. 

So, I’ve got my hands full.  It’s actually fun and I love 99% of the work.  I just don’t like dealing with this guy very much.  He DID ask me about my vacation, and acted interested, but instead of listening to what I did, he told me about all the great stuff I missed in Asheville (Biltmore Estate and Penland Craft School).  I knew about both places, but we weren’t able to fit it in.  I couldn’t explain to him that it was “all about Eric” and we weren’t really on vacation, but were checking out both cities for a possible relocation.

Everyone at this office is SO DARN NICE, except him.  He’s really the only person I’ve met in 10 weeks that I don’t like!  The girls are so friendly and sweet.  Today I was asking everyone questions regarding different projects, and they all sit in cubicles in the same area, so each heard me asking the others questions.  There was just one girl I hadn’t asked anything, so I told her I was going to have to find something to ask her, so I would evenly annoy everyone!  Of course, they all said how they didn’t mind helping, and I’m not annoying, etc.  So very, very sweet.  I really like them, and would be tempted to go on staff except that the firm is BORING and the boss is MEAN.  Otherwise, I’d be VERY tempted!

Meanwhile, I found out that they’re kind of combining two positions to create one, so even if I wanted this job, I wouldn’t be qualified.  They’re adding a professional to the group and he or she will take on the few responsibilities that I’ve been fulfilling.  I knew they couldn’t hire someone to do what I do, because I don’t do anything!  I learned that Kristina used to have a lot more responsibilities, but the more important things were divided up among other people when she first left, and only the administrative stuff was left for all the temps.  So, that’s why there’s nothing to do – I wasn’t doing 100% of the job!

When I got home I was SO tired, but I was afraid if I took a nap I either wouldn’t be able to wake up, or I’d never fall back to sleep tonight.  I worked on the computer, paying bills, downloading pictures, and even submitted some resumes for Eric.  He called unemployment today and found out about a website where you can submit your resume for different jobs. 

Do you know you can’t “go down to unemployment” anymore?  There are no offices to go to.  I mean, people still work in an office, but if you want to communicate you do it online or on the phone.  You don’t visit.  They don’t hand you checks anymore – it’s on a credit card, and you don’t go to submit your unemployment papers – you do it on the phone or online.  How the world has changed since I was on unemployment for 7 weeks in 1983!  That’s the last time I collected!

In those days, you had to go down to this depressing office (in Flushing – on Main Street) and you had to wait in line and then you had to beg and plead and tell them how hard you were trying to find a job and show them your notes and shed a few tears and then they’d hand you your check.  You had to be back in two weeks to do it all over again.  They TORTURED you for your unemployment.  It’s all too easy today, and I wish I had the opportunity to do it!

I made us the last of the vegetable soup and NUTRISYSTEM pizzas for dinner.  Then, we had a little gelato while Eric watched basketball and I worked on the computer.

I wanted to show you some pictures I took of a tree in the parking lot of our apartment complex.  It hides the dumpsters (you can see one of them on the right).  It’s so big and gorgeous and it’s in full bloom right now.  I told Eric I think it’s a giant azalea, but he says I’m wrong.  Does anyone know?  It doesn’t really matter what they are, I enjoy looking at the lush pink flowers every single day.  Enjoy!

I get an email every day from Jillian Michaels, who is one of the trainers on THE BIGGEST LOSER.  I signed up for it at the BIGGEST LOSER website.  Okay, I’M a loser, but I need all the help I can get!

So, every day she has helpful hints for losing weight – like take your dog for a nice, long walk (don’t have a dog), or walk with a friend (don’t really have a friend, either).  Lots of them are about portioning food, or believing in yourself.  They’re all pretty helpful, if you can implement them!  Anyway, the other day she said that you shouldn’t weigh yourself every day, because it’s torturous to see the scale go up and down.  She said to weigh yourself once a week and – if you’re really doing your job – you should see results each and every week.

I’m wondering if that’s not a good idea, because Sunday I weighed 126.8 – pretty bad.  Yesterday, I lost a pound and was down to 125.8.  Wheee!  Today, I was back up to 126.2.  This is driving me CRAZY!  So, I decided I’m not going to weigh myself again until NEXT Wednesday and see how well I can do in a week.  The problem is, it kind of lets you off the hook, so you can cheat a little, which is what I ended up doing tonight…but let me start at the beginning!

I knew I was going to have a busy day today.  I got up after just one “snooze” (I usually snooze twice – sometimes three times).  I was ready by 7:00pm and decided to go out to wait on the street for my ride and call NY to see if they had received our COBRA payment and the benefits had kicked in yet.  No such luck, but they told me as soon as they receive it they will process it and our benefits will be back.  So, I just have to keep calling.

My boss never usually arrives until after 9:00am, so I knew I was in trouble when he said, “Good morning!” at around 8:30am.  I had left feeling miserable yesterday – blowing my nose and sneezing a lot.  I really thought I might be getting sick, but I was okay last night and fine this morning.  I know he was relieved, because he had a LOT going on today.

I really earned my keep today.  I completed three PowerPoint presentations, one of which was express mailed to 11 people in Canada, and 2 of which were emailed.  I was busy ALL day.  When I finally finished the third document and looked at the time it was 4:35.  I really had a great day.  I enjoy keeping busy, and the work was not too challenging, so it was actually fun.  I never minded the work I do and enjoy it when I finish something and do it well.

I collaborated with someone in Milwaukee, and an executive and a couple of other admin people in my office, so “it took a village” to get these three documents done.  There wasn’t one hitch and I even caught a couple of mistakes someone else made, so I was really proud of myself.  When it was time to go, I walked over to my boss’ office to say goodbye, thinking he’d probably thank me and tell me what a great job I did.

I didn’t even get a thank you.  I said, “Goodnight!” and he said, “See you tomorrow.”  That really annoyed me, but it’s just because I’m the kind of person who ALWAYS thanks people profusely and tells people how great they are and what a wonderful job they did, and I definitely like to hear it myself.  I enjoy a pat on the back – so sue me!

That’s one thing I always enjoyed about working for John at PwC, with whom I worked for 3 years.  He would always compliment me – “Fantastic!”  or “You’re the best!” and always thanked me for my hard work.  I could tell he meant it – he wasn’t being patronizing or just saying it because he knew I liked to hear it (although he did know).  He just was able to express his gratitude and it made him a wonderful person to work for, because I always felt appreciated and valued.  That’s a wonderful thing to impart to an employee, because – after all – isn’t that what we all need?  Validation and a feeling of self-worth?

I called the agency at lunch and found out that I didn’t get the job.  I was so relieved and told the girl that I didn’t really want it.  She said, “I could kind of tell when I spoke to you after the interview.”  I had just expressed to her my concern about commuting – since I wouldn’t have a ride to/from work every day and Eric needs to have a car, too.  She said they really liked me and it was a great interview, but they interviewed 5 people yesterday and there was someone else who was “a better fit.”  I was happy they really liked me, and she said she had no critique at all – so it was all good!

I had eaten a very fast lunch, because I was so busy – a pint of my vegetable soup and a tiny container of low-fat cottage cheese.  When I got home, I was exhausted and hungry.  I asked Eric to take me out to eat.  He said he had back-to-back basketball games and didn’t want to go out, so I got undressed, had a snack of hummus and snap peas, and settled in to watch TOP CHEF (my newest obsession).

At about 6:15pm, he came into the bedroom and said, “Okay.  Get dressed.  We’ll walk up the block to LA DOLCE VITA and have dinner.”  I got dressed and up the block we went.  I was a little hesitant about Italian, because it’s SO hard to be good, but I wasn’t going to argue if Eric was willing to take me out!

He ordered a chicken cutlet parmigiana dinner and I ordered a special – lobster ravioli with scallops in a pink sauce.  I immediately felt guilty, but figured if I watched my portions I’d be okay.  I had ½ a piece of bread – more to dip it into the fantastic sundried tomato dip they give you – and then we each had a tiny cup of their fabulous tomato bisque and a salad.  I kept my salad to a minimum – all veggies, a touch of blue cheese and a couple of anchovies.  I only ate 2 raviolis and a few scallops and was pretty full.  Then, my phone rang and it was my friend, Geri.  She’s visiting friends in Washington with her husband and she got a bad sore throat.  My poor darling.  I don’t know if she’s getting a chance to go online but – hope you feel better, Geri!!!

It was the perfect time for a phone call, because as I was talking Eric asked the waitress to put the rest of his dinner in a box and I pointed to mine, too.  If I had been left to my own devices, I probably could have put away another ravioli or two, but since I was satisfied, I stopped where I was.  At least I kept my portion in control, although the sauces were very fattening, I’m sure.

When we got home, Eric went back to his game and I went back to TOP CHEF.  He brought me a little gelato in our tiny gelato cups and I enjoyed that as the finale to a wonderful meal.

I felt my eyes close and ended up turning off the TV completely and taking a nap.  Eric knows when I’m sleeping, because I usually come out to the living room at almost every commercial, so he came in and found me out like a light.  He asked me when he should wake me and I said, “10:00pm.”  He woke me – I washed up and came out to blog.  If I had been all washed up and ready for bed, I probably would have slept through the night, but that’s something I just CANNOT do.  I HAVE to wash up in order to go to bed – I can’t sleep without doing that.  It’s a cardinal sin to me to sleep all night without brushing your teeth and washing your face!

I had a few minutes during the day today to read my new book – THE SAMURAI’S GARDEN – while I was waiting for documents, or in-between completed documents.  It is a beautiful story that takes place right after World War II starts.   A young man who lives in Hong Kong travels to his family’s summer home in Japan to recuperate from tuberculosis.  The people he meets and relationships he builds tell a lovely tale that has me enchanted.  I am intrigued by anything Asian, so I really enjoy the description of furnishings, gardens, clothing and food.  I can’t wait to get back to it tomorrow.  I know it won't be as busy as today, so I'll have more time to read.  I really did work hard today, but I enjoyed every minute.  I like being able to read, but I really enjoy when the day flies by -- as it did today!

Today, work was much quieter than yesterday.  I worked on a few small projects, but my boss was in conference calls and meetings most of the day, so I got to finish my book (which was so lovely).  I had a lot of printing to do, because I was supposed to update the files with the documents as of 3/31/8, but the color printer kept jamming, so I ended up asking the Fulfillment Department (we used to call it the “Copy” or “Repro” Department) to do the jobs instead.  They are SO fast and they had it done in no time!

The Tamale Man (whose name I learned today is “Roberto!”) was in the lobby today, so I bought 10 cheese and 10 chicken and brought them home to Eric.  We each had one for dinner.  Eric had his with a small salad and I had mine with my leftovers from last night.  Eric had some of my raviolis, so there really wasn’t much left, but BOY was it good (again!).

After dinner, I watched UGLY BETTY.  It’s been a LONG time, because that show ended in the fall and the new season was, of course, delayed because of the strike.  It’s so campy and fun.  I love Betty!

I can’t believe tomorrow is Friday already.  The week really flew by.  My first week back at work.  It won’t be my last, because they haven’t hired someone for my position yet, but it won’t be long, since they think they’re hiring internally.  I will probably be asked to train the new person, but this job is so easy it should only take a day – maybe two.  So, I will probably be finished at this job by early May -- Mid-May the latest -- but probably before.  I will certainly miss this group a lot.  They are all so nice to me.  It’s really amazing to find such a friendly group. 

Today one of the girls told me I was lucky to work in this department, because some of the other departments are really stuck up and no fun at all.  I told her I was surprised to hear that, because this department is SO great that I just assumed the whole office was the same.  I know the Fulfillment Department/Mail Room is just as great and fun and nice, and it seems that everyone I deal with is wonderful, so I was surprised to hear that there are some that aren’t.  Well, it’s been fun while it lasted.  I can’t believe I’ve gotten to temp here for over three months!

Eric’s been pursuing a few job leads, but nothing has happened.  I’m not really surprised, as he already tried really hard a few months ago and I was pretty sure the job situation hasn’t changed since then.  I want to encourage him to step outside his comfort zone and try something else, but he’s determined to do steam-fitting or pipe-fitting, so we’ll just have to see what happens.

I’m really looking forward to the weekend, because my cousin – Audrey – who we visited in Las Vegas in October – is coming back to San Diego for a vacation!  She was here for a few days in December (right before we left for South Carolina).  She will be visiting her friend, Bonnie, but I’m going to take her out for the day on Saturday!  We’re supposed to go to a winery, which I’ve never done in my life.  I actually have a memory of going to a winery with my parents, but I was underage, so I didn’t drink.  I’m not counting that, since I’m not sure it even happened and – even if it did – I didn’t get to taste any wine!

I had a pretty quiet day at work today.  My boss was in, but he didn’t give me much to do.  I read over 150 pages of my new book – THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE.  It’s a really interesting book, but it’s very confusing.  It’s about this guy who travels back and forth through time, but he can’t control it at all.  He never knows when or where he’s going to go and, when he does, he always appears totally naked, since you can’t take anything with you when you travel.

When he’s in his 30s and 40s, he travels back in time and meets and befriends his wife when she’s only six years old and meets with her until she’s 18, so she knows him her whole life, but he only knows her after they meet when she’s 20 and he’s 28.  Confused yet?  I have to tell you, it’s a little taxing to think so much as you’re reading something, because every chapter takes place in a different year, when he and his wife are different ages.  Even so, I am really enjoying it.

I also found out it’s being made into a movie, which will come out this year starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.  That’s the third book I’ve read recently that was made into a movie.  The other two were THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER (which was a LIFETIME movie that I missed, because we were on vacation) and THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, which will come out in 2009 starring Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Dakota Fanning.

There was some kind of National Admin Recognition thing going on at work and someone in another department on my floor ordered food.  I didn’t know what was happening, but as I walked to the kitchen to get my lunch I saw lots of people laughing and talking.  I asked what was happening and someone told me there was a luncheon for the admin staff.  The girl who told me said, “I’m sure there will be leftovers.  I’ll let you know!”  To which I replied that I had my lunch and I’m always on a diet anyway!

I wrote to the one person I knew could relate – Jimmy.  We both have temped a lot and I expressed how sad it made me feel, because when you’re a temp you’re really always on the outside, looking in.  Jimmy said that when he was on staff he ALWAYS made sure temps were included in everything.  I did the same when I was at PwC – in fact part of my job was hiring the temps, and I always built real relationships with them.

I have to say again that everyone in my department is really great – super friendly, supportive and helpful, but it just made it patently obvious that I’m not REALLY part of the group, because I ate by myself and read my book while most everyone else in the department was about 100 feet away having a great time.  It wasn’t the food I wanted, but the camaraderie!

My boss left at 3:00pm and I just read and played on the computer until 5:00pm.  I had researched a great winery to go to tomorrow, and also found out about an art fair in Little Italy, so I was very excited about my day tomorrow with Audrey.  The woman ride to work with sent me a link about a particular winery, and I had printed out all the information.  She also printed out a map for me and highlighted the route I should take!

When I got home, I told Eric that I wanted to go out and get money from Citibank and put gas in the car, so I would be all ready to go in the morning.  Unfortunately, as we approached the car, we saw that there was a piece of cardboard over the front passenger window and soon discovered that someone had broken the window.  There was glass all over the inside of the car.  We had the club on the car, so they couldn’t steal the car, and they didn’t bother to steal anything inside, or vandalize the car, but they DID attempt to use something to open the driver’s side and when they failed they just decided to break the other window.

I keep a bunch of empty KEIL’S bags on the floor of the passenger side, because I like to re-use them when I go food shopping.  Eric figured they must have thought something was in them, but discovered there wasn’t anything when they got inside.  Also, they might not have noticed the club, since it doesn’t go around the steering wheel, but goes around the brake, so maybe they broke the window and then saw that they couldn’t steal the car.

In any event, my trip tomorrow is off, because I can’t drive on the expressways or freeways with the window wide open.  If we were just driving locally, it might not be so bad, but it’s an hour’s drive, so I think it would be very uncomfortable and Eric said he doesn’t want to ruin the finish of the car by putting tape all over the inside or outside, so he just wants to bring it in and get it fixed.

I found a glass place that’s only 5 miles away and left a message tonight.  Eric asked me to set the alarm for 7:00am, because he wanted to be the first one there.  This is the type of thing where Eric takes over and I really appreciate it.  He took the car to the car wash to vacuum out all the glass and he will take it to the place tomorrow and see that it gets fixed.

I feel really bad, because I was really looking forward to spending the day with Audrey, and I’ve never been to a winery, so it was going to be a new and exciting experience.  Eric said maybe he’d be able to get the car fixed really early tomorrow morning and I can still go, but I think that’s being very optimistic (how unusual for him!!).

In any event, I feel lucky that (a) it didn’t happen while we were away for 2 weeks); (b) they didn’t vandalize or steal the car – they just broke the window; and (c) I don’t need the car for work, so if we can’t get it fixed this weekend, Eric can take it on Monday.  I always look at the bright side!

Eric was REALLY upset when it first happened, but then he calmed down and I actually think he ended up handling it better than I thought he would.  I reminded him that Audrey’s car was broken into right in front of her condo in Las Vegas.  Jimmy’s car was broken into in San Fran in his private apartment garage.  Our car was broken into once and the window was broken another time – both times right in our driveway in Whitestone!  Almost everyone you talk to will tell a story of their car being broken into, vandalized, or stolen.  It happens to everyone – across the country.  I guess Eric realizes that.  It’s just a fact of life; a sad fact, but a fact of life nonetheless.

So, I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  It’s supposed to be super hot out, too – like 95 degrees!  I was really hoping for a drive to a nice, cool winery where we could catch up, taste wine, and have a few laughs.  I’ll let you know how it all works out!

Wow!  It was hot in San Diego today – around 90 degrees!  It was pleasant outside, but it gets hot in the apartment, so I had the bedroom and bathroom windows wide open and the front door, too – with the ceiling fan going.  It helps, but it’s still hot!

Eric got up at 7:00am this morning and went to the glass place on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, about 5 miles from the apartment.  He came back around 9:00am and said they were ordering the glass and would call him to come back when it came in.  He came home, went back to sleep, and I called Audrey to tell her I couldn’t take her to the winery today.  I had left a message on her cell, but she never got it.

We made plans to go out tomorrow, so I’ll still get to see her!  I decided to run all my errands today, so I started by doing three loads of laundry.  Eric carries the load down for me, and I get it all started.  Then, I go down and throw everything from the machines into the dryer.  I take most of it out for a few minutes, after the wrinkles are steamed out, and Eric carries it all back up for me.  I leave all the linens and towels in the dryer to dry all the way and then Eric went back and picked it all up for me and I folded it and put it all away.  My elbow is really bothering me a lot, so I’ve been taking Advil to reduce inflammation and I iced it this afternoon.

Eric knows that lifting anything heavy hurts a lot, so he’s been doing all the “heavy lifting.”  When the laundry was done I cleaned up around the apartment and then I went food shopping.  I walked over to KEILS.

As I was walking through the parking lot, I saw an old lady struggling to get a case of bottled water off the bottom of the cart.  She finally got it on the ground and then the cart started to roll away and she chased after it.  While she was busy doing that, I picked up the case and put it in her trunk for her.  I could have kept walking, but I didn’t want to freak her out, so I called to her and told her I did it and then took the cart from her, since I needed one anyway.  She was very grateful and I felt like I did my good deed for the day!

Eric picked me up with the car when I was done and put the bundles in the trunk and carried them back to the house.  I put everything away and we had a snack.  I had purchased some sushi and we each had 3 pieces of a Spicy California roll.  It was actually really good!

I wanted to go to the post office to mail the key frame to Susan, but I just couldn’t get my act together early enough this morning and the post office closes at noon.  Sorry Susan!  Eric said he would mail it for me on Monday! 

For dinner I made us each MORNINGSTAR FARMS Chik Patties with cheddwar cheese on top and NUTRISYSTEM soups.  We weren’t that hungry, since we had the “sushi snack,” so it was enough.  We had a decadent dessert – Eric had bought HAGEN DAZS peanut butter and chocolate ice cream – my absolute favorite – and we had tiny gelato cups at 9:30pm.

There was really nothing great on TV, so I watched some TOP CHEF (my new favorite reality TV show) and some AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL.  There are always episodes from past seasons that I haven’t seen.  I absolutely love that show.  It’s so disappointing that the last two weeks SNL has been repeats – repeats of very recent episodes!  Tonight’s is Chris Walken, who is one of my favorite hosts, but I just watched it a few weeks ago!

I’m glad that I will get to go out tomorrow with Audrey.  I really was looking forward to our day out and now we’ll get to do it after all!  All’s well that ends well!

I wish I could take credit for that clever title, but it’s something Audrey and I read today at the winery.  So cute!

I was so happy that we were going to be able to make our trip to the winery after all.  Eric got up at 8:00am and washed the car, because you know the car has to be sparkling clean if anyone is going to see it!  I got up at 9:00am, had a NUTRISYSTEM oatmeal for breakfast, showered and got dressed.  I stopped at STARBUCKS, because I really felt like I needed it and then I programmed Betty and got on the road to San Marcos, where Audrey’s friend, Bonnie, lives.

The ride was about a half hour and it was a little over 30 miles.  There was no traffic, so I just flew.  Bonnie lives in a beautiful neighborhood in a great Spanish-style house.  I only came into the front door, but I could see her living room, dining room and the patio beyond with a built-in pool.  It looked beautiful!

We got on the road and Audrey was the navigator (holding Betty) while I drove.  We had another 30 miles to go, and were in Temecula very quickly.  We enjoyed the ride and had a chance to catch up a little.

It took us a few trips up and down the road to find the winery we were going to, but we finally made it to MAURICE CARRIE WINERY, nestled amidst the rolling hills of beautiful Temecula Valley.  The winery was founded in 1986 and designed after a Victorian-style farmhouse.  It was right up my alley!  The 46 acres of vineyards were the first vineyards established in the region in 1968.

For $12 we got to taste five wines at Maurice Carrie and then another 5 at their sister winery up the road – La Cereza.  We also got to keep the tasting glass at each winery!

We looked around at all the giftware for sale, including beautiful glasses, stoppers, ceramics and any contraption you can think of related to keeping wine or drinking wine!  I really enjoyed the colorful displays.

After looking around, we went to the tasting bar with our “Wine Tasting Passport” and began our five tastes.  I started with a Pineapple Champagne, but Audrey didn’t want to try that, because she said she’s not big on Champagne, which I actually much prefer over wine.  It was delicious – fruity and sweet!

Next, I tried the 2007 White Zinfandel, which Audrey had tried first.  It was great!  They give you about 3-4 sips, but neither of us had a lot in our stomachs and we knew we had 5 tastings to go here, so I was taking it slow.  I gave Audrey a few of my glasses to finish off, but they also had a ceramic urn on the counter that you could pour your wine into, if you didn’t like it.  They also had a bottle of water that you could rinse your glass with, but Audrey and I didn’t really bother, since we’re not real wine tasting purists!

My third taste was a 2007 Sara Bella, which was also quite good.  Fourth was called Cody’s Crush, which was a red wine.  We didn’t like it that much and commented that we both like white or pink wines better than red.

Our last choice was a 2005 Sangiovese, which we both hated.  Too bad.  Audrey ended up trying the Pineapple Champagne, after taking a sip of mine, and that was both of our favorites!  She went and bought a tiny bottle of the Pineapple Champagne that would probably be a full glass for one or a half-glass for two.  I bought her a cute spoon rest that she said would go perfectly in her kitchen, since she has a Tuscan theme with bottles, grapes and other wine-related décor.

We were both feeling the wine – me, because I don’t drink very often at all and Audrey, because she had a LOT of wine!  She knew she wasn’t driving, so she wasn’t worried about getting a little tipsy.

Outside the first winery there were a few booths with people selling jewelry, purses, hand-knit sweaters, and glazed nuts.  Of course I bought three kinds of nuts for Eric!  He loves nuts.  I got him a sweet and spicy almond, a sweet cashew and a sweet pecan.  They were really yummy and the woman was so sweet.  She gave me samples of each, so I could see which I thought he’d like best.

We got back in the car with the two glasses we had used for tasting, the nuts, the spoon rest and Audrey’s little bottle of Champagne, and went off to the second winery, which was just about 100 yards away.

It was really hot out today – 90 degrees – but the minute you stepped into the wineries it was cool and dark and beautiful!  LA CEREZA was the second stop.  The outside of the brick building was decorated with many beautiful sun faces, which I loved.  I photographed a bunch of them while Audrey went to the ladies’ room.

We walked around again, admiring all the displays.  They had big paintings, which were so beautiful, and as we got closer we saw that they were the paintings used as the labels on the bottles!  They were all so colorful, some serious and dramatic, others whimsical – all delightful. 

La Cereza, the sister winery, is decorated as if you’ve stepped into exotic Southern Spain.  We were in their main wine tasting area, but they also have a cigar and wine bar – Hemingways!  Thank Goodness I didn’t smell any cigars today, because that would have driven me right out of the place!

Audrey and I sidled up to the tasting bar and began our second tasting.  Since Audrey had enjoyed the Pineapple Champagne so much, and Champagne is my favorite, we started with their Raspberry Champagne, which was absolutely delicious!  I love anything with Raspberries and this was no different.

Next we tried something called Peach Girls Champagne, which was even better.  Audrey was so surprised that she liked the Champagnes so much, but I explained to her that a lot of Champagnes are usually dry, which she said is why she doesn’t like it, but these are real sweet and fruity.  I love Champagne, but these were – by far – the best I had ever tasted!

Our third taste was called MIRACLES HAPPEN and was a blush wine.  Some of the proceeds from the sale of this wine go to fight breast cancer, hence the name.  Next we tried another blush, which was nice, too.

By this time, I was REALLY feeling the wine and was wondering how I was going to drive to the restaurant.  Fortunately, it was just down the block, so I figured I’d make it.  I let Audrey have my last tasting (I don’t even remember what it was).  We didn’t have any red wines at this tasting, since neither of us liked the reds at the Maurice Carrie.

I might have been feeling it, but Audrey was drunk!  She was so cute – she got the giggles and she was really enjoying herself.  I enjoyed watching her!  I guess I was drunker than I thought, because the whole time we were there I thought the second winery was LA CEZERA and I just realized – looking at the brochure – that it’s LA CEREZA.  Is not being able to read a symptom of drunkenness?

We both managed to walk to the car without falling down (whoo hoo!) and I drove very carefully to another winery – BAILY’S – that had a restaurant – CAROL’S.  They had an outdoor seating area that overlooked the vineyards, but it was just too hot.  Instead we ate inside, where we could see the vineyards through the window, but got to eat in a cool, beautiful room decorated with medieval suits of armor, faux leopard skins, and family crests.

We ordered bread, because they don’t put it on the table and we both felt we needed something to absorb all the wine!  They brought us four small crusty fresh-baked rolls – they were SO delicious!  We ordered an appetizer to share of Mushroom Drops -- Crimini mushrooms stuffed with basil and sundried tomato cream cheese, wrapped in a won ton, deep fried and served with a roasted red pepper aioli.  It was SO different and really delicious.

We decided to share the Cashew Crusted Salmon salad – Fresh Atlantic salmon crusted with cashew, oven roasted and served on mesclun with dried cranberries, almonds, feta cheese tossed with citrus rosé vinaigrette.  It’s a good thing we shared, because it was a HUGE serving.  We enjoyed every bite and had no room for dessert.  I guess the wine WAS dessert!

We got back in the car and had a nice drive back to Bonnie’s.  I dropped Audrey off a little before 4:00pm and was home before 4:30pm.  I was exhausted and really wanted a nap.  It felt like it was 100 degrees in the apartment.  Eric was watching TV in the bedroom and I took a nap while he watched basketball.

When I woke up I downloaded all the pictures.  They came out great and I really enjoyed our day out.  It was something new for me, since I had never been to a winery before, and I really recommend it as a fun way to spend an afternoon.  If you like wine – so much the better, but you don’t need to be a real connoisseur to enjoy yourself.

At 8:00pm I made us a dinner of fresh scallops and asparagus.  I cooked the asparagus first in a sauce I made of SMART BALANCE LIGHT faux butter, light mayo and wasabi mayo, which I melted together and poured over the asparagus.  After the asparagus was cooked I just added the scallops to the pan and spooned the sauce over them.  It came out great!

I spent the next few hours resizing all the photos, and blogging.  I wanted to be sure I described everything and captured the day in photos.  Today was a really fun day, which I REALLY needed.  I was glad I got to see my cousin Audrey again (third time in seven months!) and we got to go on a fun adventure in Temecula!

My server was down for the third time this month, which is why -- to some of you -- this entry is late!

 The first thing that happened this morning at work is that my computer wouldn’t go on.  This happened one time before (also on a Monday morning), so I called “Tech Support” and they said they’d send someone.  I didn’t think this was a very good way to start the day, let alone the week, so I decided to treat myself to an iced mocha from the coffee girl downstairs.

When I got back the tech guy was there.  He figured out that it wasn’t the monitor, so he took the computer and then came back and told me the hard drive had crashed and everything was lost.  Good thing I don’t keep anything on the hard drive!  I sat at another desk for a few hours, so I could send some emails for the boss, and then they brought me a new computer and I was up and running before noon.

I didn’t do anything for the rest of the day, except read almost 200 pages of my book!  I’m almost ¾ of the way done, which is very frustrating, because I’m REALLY enjoying it and don’t want it to end.

When I got home, Eric had a bad headache, which he’s had since yesterday afternoon.  I think it’s partly the heat.  It is SO damned hot here – around 90 degrees.  It’s supposed to cool down tomorrow, which should make it easier for everyone.  It’s unseasonably warm here, but I know it’s been warm in lots of places.  My sister, Audrey, told me it was 80 degrees in Albany last week.  Usually around this time of year you can expect 60 degrees in Albany.

It was also 80 degrees today in Charlotte (I keep track of the weather there now), and that’s unseasonably warm for JULY in Charlotte (as it is in SD).  Most of the time, it’s between 70-80 here – even in the dead of summer.  So, the whole country is warming up.  Just great.  Global warming at its very best.

It’s hard to do anything in this heat, so I didn’t feel like cooking or cleaning.  I sewed the sleeve of a cardigan that was ripped, so I can wear it tomorrow.  I actually put it on this morning and saw the rip, but didn’t have time to fix it.  I also need to iron a dress tonight, so I can wear it tomorrow, but the thought of plugging in the iron doesn’t thrill me.

Aren’t you glad you read my blog?  How would you know about my sewing and ironing if you didn’t check in on me everyday?  You might REALLY miss out on something important!

I DID get a bit of good news today.  Our friend, Scott, is coming to San Diego for the weekend at the end of May.  I’m SO happy.  He’s someone Eric and I really enjoy and I’m really looking forward to it.  He has business in Scottsdale, but is making the trip here for 2 days before his meeting, just to see us, which I REALLY appreciate.  It’s nice to have something to look forward to!

I can honestly say I’ve read more books in the past 12 weeks than I did in the past 7 years.  I didn’t read much at all when I owned the shop, but now I’m REALLY enjoying catching up!

Today, things were quiet at work (even though the boss was in), and I finished THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE.  It was quite good, but it was necessary to really concentrate and think a lot, because of the fact that it went back and forth in time so much.  Not an easy read, but a really enjoyable one.

I see a theme in book titles these days, since I just read THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE and also read THE SAMURAI’S GARDEN and THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER.  They all have possessive titles!  Another theme is that all the books I read are being made into movies!  THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES and THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER.

The only thing I have to read tomorrow is a book Eric read, which he said was “okay.”  It’s called VIOLETS ARE BLUE, by James Patterson.  It will have to do until I get to the library.  I found out the library is down the block from our apartment, so I’ll be going this weekend to join!  I have been wanting to go to the library for months, but I didn’t know where it was.  I finally googled it and – it’s around the corner!!!

Today was pretty slow at work, which is why I was able to finish my book.  I was helping with a big client meeting tomorrow, but someone else was doing the presentation and all I had to do was put together all the materials in the folders and collect business cards from all internal people attending.  My boss is SO weird.  I had to get business cards from 7 executives, to include in the folders.  I asked him if I should send an email, telling them I needed their business cards, and they could leave it on their desks, or with their assistants, or I could pick it up.

So, my boss says, “No, we’re very informal around here.  Just go to their offices and ask them.”  So, I say, “Well, what if they’re in a meeting, or on the phone, or not at their desk?”  So he says, “Keep trying.”  So, I spent the better part of two hours going from office to office on three different floors trying to collect the cards.  I know I don’t have much else to do, but does that IN ANY WAY seem an efficient use of time to ANYONE?  I really didn’t mind, because I got to walk around a lot and see parts of the office I never visited before, but I just thought it was a dumb idea.

Anyway, the woman I ride to work with (who is in HR) told me that they hired someone internally for my position, but they don’t know how soon she can start, because they may have to hire someone to replace her in her job and that may take time, and she will have to train someone.  She said that sometimes they’ll have someone spend ½ their day in one department and the other ½ in the new department, so that neither team is without someone.  I know they want me to train the new person in my responsibilities (which aren’t much), but I still think I’ll be out of a job within a few weeks.

I wrote to one agency today and told them to be on the lookout for a long-term temp job for me – preferably downtown.  The other agency is the one I’m currently working for and they will be notified by HR as soon as the firm knows when they won’t need me anymore.  It wouldn’t kill me to have a week or so off between jobs, but I’d much rather go from one job directly to the next. 

The best possible scenario is that they need me somewhere else at this firm, so I can keep getting a ride to work, and I don’t have to transition to a whole new firm – just a new job.

Tonight when I got home I took a nap, because I was exhausted.  I started yawning in the car on the ride home and I could feel a nap coming on.  I actually read an article online today about a study done that says how beneficial naps are, so I don’t feel too bad about it!

After I woke up, I made NUTRISYSTEM pizzas and a nice salad for us and we had dinner and watched AMERICAN IDOL and then HELL’S KITCHEN.  Then, I watched the elimination show for DANCING WITH THE STARS.  We DO love our reality TV!

It cooled down a bit today, so the apartment did not feel like the inside of an oven, which was a great relief.  Eric is still not feeling well – his third day with a headache, but the cooler weather definitely helped.   It’s supposed to be back in the 60s tomorrow, which is more typical San Diego in April/May weather.  I’m really glad about that, because it was just too darn hot the last few days!

The good news is it was MUCH cooler today – just in the mid-60s, so it was almost 30 degrees cooler than last week.  It felt SO much better!

My boss was in a meeting from 8:30am – 11:30am.  Then, he went out to lunch at noon and, when he came back, he spent the rest of the afternoon in his office with the door closed.  So, saying I didn’t have much to do today is an understatement.

I read 150 pages of VIOLETS ARE BLUE by James Patterson.  It’s actually pretty good and I saw some of the movies they made of his books and know the character, Alex Cross, so I got into it very quickly.

I can’t believe April is over already.  Time really does fly.  I notice this because the weekends come so fast!  The days just fly by and we’ve been here for six months already!

We got the electric bill and I am happy to report that our bill for gas and electric is $37.41.  Can you beat that?  The highest it ever was (in the winter when we were using the heat at night) was around $80, so it’s definitely manageable, even at its highest.  Since we don’t have a land line, our only bills are cable, gas and electric, our cell phones, and my wireless internet, which is $60 a month.  I can’t imagine paying less for electricity anywhere in the country, so everyone that says living in San Diego is so expensive just doesn’t know what they’re talking about!

So, I finally weighed myself today after a week.  I’m up to 126.4, which is 3 pounds heavier than I was a few weeks ago.  I have to admit I haven’t been cheating in the sense that I’m not eating candy bars or big bowls of spaghetti, but I have been more lenient with the amount of food I’m eating and I haven’t been having much NUTRISYSTEM food lately.  I’ve been eating lots of salads and fish, but I also bought Eric nuts at the winery (3 different varieties and they were SO good) and I had some, too.

I need to get back in the game and start concentrating on my meal plans again.  I always have a NUTRISYSTEM breakfast, but I’ve been eating salads without having a Nutrisystem entrée for lunch, and then we’ll have a NUTRISYSTEM entrée for dinner a few times a week, but also just have a salad, or fish and asparagus, etc.  We’ve also been having ice cream – the good stuff – but when I went food shopping on Saturday I bought low-fat, low-sugar fudge pops, which are allowed in the diet.  So, we’ll be eating that for dessert from now on, or fresh fruit, which I always keep around.

This tennis elbow is really bothering me and I’m going to make an appointment to see a doctor, but I don’t know what good it will really do.  They recommend icing it and taking Advil, and I’ve done that, but I guess I have to just continue and hope it feels better.  I know I can’t do yoga right now, because it REALLY hurts, and it’s so frustrating, because I was absolutely ready to start again when I got back from NC, but now I’m in too much pain.  It’s always something, isn’t it?
Well, I must close now, because I have to go see who was eliminated on AMERICAN IDOL.  You know how I love my reality TV!