Ramblings

1. Today is the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death. Hard to believe it has been 10 years already. I remember the day she died. I was shocked to hear she had died. I knew she had been in a car accident, but that she was actually dead was so unbelievable. I went to London about a month after her death. People were still leaving flowers at Kensington Palace. She was such an amazing woman, but I don't really know what made her so. I guess just surviving being a member of the royal family. I remember waking at about 3:00 am California time to watch her marry Prince Charles. My mom and I watched the whole thing live on TV. It was like watching a fairy tale come true, then years later, seeing that fairy tales are fiction.

2. Leona Helmsley left $12 million dollars to her dog. I'm not saying that the pooch doesn't deserved to be taken care of for the rest of its life. I'm just saying that I would have happily been her companion (heck, I would have licked her face) for $12 million.

3. I just heard Britney Spears' comeback single on Perez Hilton. It is definitely club music. Not bad, but very heavy techno. It makes me wonder what her voice really sounds like. I probably don't want to know. My favorite comment was "No amount of synthesizers can hide the crazy." Priceless.

4. It is almost Labor Day weekend. We have no plans, and that it fine by me. I have 3 movies from Netflix and beer in the fridge. I really need to clean the house, so I hope to at least get that done. We will probably watch the Dawgs play tomorrow, too. Go DAWGS!!

5. Ten wrestlers have been suspended from the WWE due to possible steriod use. I am shocked and appalled - only 10?

6. Last night, I found out that, if an effort to scare away the cat next door, my dog has ripped a hole in the mattress in our guest room. She has jumped and clawed the corner so badly that the edge has ripped open and foam is coming out. I wanted to kill her. Bright side - I guess I get to re do the guest room. Can you say new mattress and bedspread? Maybe they will match the new curtains I need to get for the dining room. It's lucky I love that dog so much.

Movin' Out

I am convinced that there is nothing worse than moving. Our office is getting ready to move to a new location in 1 week. The place is a total disaster. Folks are packing up, sorting through their stuff, and re-organizing. I have unpacked and re-packed several file boxes, and have spent about 3 hours standing in front of the shredder. I know that we will be in a much better place in a week, but the getting there just stinks.

I am flashing back to last summer when I helped my dad move. It was just horrible. We procrastinated, then at the last minute, had to make the tough decisions about what stays and what gos. The worst part for me was that his house was the storage place for all of my childhood things. We all knew he was going to move for at least six months, but we could never bring ourselves to get ready. So, when I did go through things, I had my step mother there saying things like "What do you really need that for?" I got so tired of her asking questions and giving me that look, that I just started throwing away everything. Later, I went with tears in my eyes to the local Goodwill to see if I could find the nightlight that used to shine in my bedroom when I was a kid. My dad asked me about it before he put it in the box - he was so surprised I would let it go. I was so tired of dealing with stuff - I told him to just take it away. Even more than one year later, I still think about that light and it makes me cry. I really hate moving.

My honey's ankle

My honey went to the orthopaedist this morning to have someone look at his ankle. I'm so glad he got an appointment. It has been 9 days since he tripped in that hole while running. His ankle has been bothering him this whole time. We were going to exercise Saturday morning - I was going to run while Bill biked. He made it about 100 yards out of our driveway when he turned around. I think it was then when the downward pressure of pedaling was painful that he knew he needed to see someone.

The good news is that there are no broken bones or anything else too serious. He has a brace to wear and exercises to do at home. He can still work out, but no running for 6 weeks. He is so bummed. I think I would be, too. I can't imagine not running for six whole weeks. At least it is not a major injury. He will run again. Sadly, he will miss our 5K in 2 weeks. Anyone want to run with me?

One of the Best Weekends Ever!!

Hubby and I went to Fearrington Village this weekend to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. It was probably one of the best weekends we have ever had.



Fearrington Village is a 5 star Bed and Breakfast Inn with a world class restaurant. We drove down Saturday (it is under an hour from home) and shopped in the little village stores. We were able to get to our room at about 3. We had one of the best suites in the place (if you visit their website, it is the fuchsia suite that is featured on the homepage). It was probably the nicest place I have ever stayed. We enjoyed an English tea Saturday afternoon at the restaurant, which was the original farm house from 1927. I had an in-room massage, and Bill went to one of the two available pools for a swim. We went to dinner at about 8:00 pm, and again were treated to wonderful service and amazing food. My dessert was called Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate. There were small portions of 6 different chocolate treats in my plate - a deep, dark chocolate cake, an orange chocolate meringue in a shell, white chocolate ice cream on a shortbread cookie, triple chocolate mousse cake, hot lava chocolate cake, and fried chocolate. Needless to say, when they brought us truffles as a special anniversary gift, we requested a to go box!! When we arrived back to our room, the bed had been turned down and port and more truffles were left for us. We slept very well!!



In the morning, we went to breakfast, and Bill had some of the best pancakes I had ever tasted while I had smoked salmon and hash browns which was also wonderful. We walked around the property to see the special belted cows and goats (they are black with white "belts" around the middle just like an Oreo). Not to worry, the cows are for decoration only, not to sources of Bill's beef tenderloin! We went for a swim, and didn't leave until noon when we were forced to check out. The front desk even gave us a goodie bag with a copy of the book featuring the Fearrington as a World's Best and a stuffed belted cow. The place was absolutely top notch, the best of the best. If you have any special occasion to be in this area, definitely check out Fearrington Village.



Bill did such a wonderful job for our anniversary - I really have to step it up for his b-day next month!! What a wonderful husband I have!

Fathers and Daughters and Politics

I guess there are things that fathers like to believe about their daughters, and mine is no different. Fathers like to believe that their daughters are virgins until they get married (not quite), never done drugs (that's true), and follow in their political footsteps (no way).

Somehow, my father always seems shocked to find out that I am a registered Democrat. I guess I grew up in a household of the GOP, but much like religion, we never really discussed it. I'm not surprised by my own democratic leanings - I have pretty much sided with them since college. It should be of no surprise that I am starting to get very interested in the 2008 elections.

I have no idea who our Democratic candidate will be. Will Hillary make history for all women? Will Barack become the first African American nominee? Will John continue to have great hair? At this point, I don't know. Recent years seem to indicated that the candidate leading at this point in the race (Hillary) is usually not the person to win the nomination. Candidates are one screaming "Yeah!" from losing all momentum. Whoever it will be, I'm sure I will be voting Democrat in November '08. With the mess left behind by Bush, Dad may even vote with me.

Marbury: 'Dogfighting is a sport'

Needless to say, when I saw this headline from the AP in my sports section this morning, I was pretty miffed. How could anyone claim dogfighting is a sport?

Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks defended Michael Vick in his dogfighting case. Of course, if you read the article, the quote was taken just a little bit out of context. Marbury actually said, "You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport." Still, who the heck is Marbury talking to? Members of the Coalition for Dog Massacre? Sport Watchers for Canine Blood?

I'm sorry, but watching two dogs fight to the death is not a sport. It is mean, sadistic, and cruel. There is no way around it. Training animals to go after one another and teaching them to be aggressive is wrong. It is sick and perverted. It has absolutely nothing to do with sportsmanship. I, for one, hope that Mr. Vick has many years in prison to think about what he has done. And if he has to fight to the death with a fellow inmate named Chainsaw in the prison yard, that's fine by me. After all, it's just a sport.

Funny Pages

I was reading the comics this morning and came across a funny strip. It was called Cave Man Blog. It had 2 cavemen speaking to one another and said something like "At first I wrote about my inventions, then my thoughts, now I write about what I had for dinner." So true!

So, with that in mind...

Last night for dinner I made a quick taco soup recipe that I got from Michelle H.'s blog (see link for Shooting the Breeze on the right). It was absolutely delicious and so easy! It is really more like a chili than a soup, and definitely tastes better on day 2 (as I had it for lunch today). We had is with a little bit of cheddar cheese, some fat free sour cream, and tortilla chips crumbled on top. So yummy and low in WW points, too!! It was perfect to have during our thunderstorm. We had this freak thunderstorm last night that gave us gentle rain here, but did some pretty big damage East of us. My colleague read to me comments from people who were at the Def Leppard show last night. It had to be canceled due to the storm. The wind did a lot of damage to the amphitheater. I hope that all will be well in September when we go to see Breaking Benjamin.

Anyway, check out the tasty recipe. It's worth the click!

A New Look

As we near the fall season, I thought I would try out a new look for my blog. I was getting a little tired of those dots. I mean, they are nice, but really not me. I am more of an Earth tone type person. I like browns, reds, oranges, purples, and creams. I guess I am just a warm colors person. It comes out in my wardrobe and my home.

*********Being a girl with the definite ability to change her mind quickly, I totally revised the blog again on 8/23/07. I decided to go with a red and black theme since red is my favorite color and they are the colors of two of my favorite teams - The Craolina Hurricanes and the Georgia Bulldogs. I have also figured out how to post pictures, add links, and design a poll. I have had the best time customizing my blog. Thanks for reading with me!*********

So, tell me - what do you think of my new look?

I'm OK/He's Not So Good

I received correspondence re my mammogram on the 10th. It turns out all is well - no signs of anything suspicious. I wasn't expecting anything to be wrong, but it is always nice to have that letter to confirm. It certainly made me breathe a sigh of relief.

Poor Bill is injured. We went for our runs yesterday morning. I was running along and saw him walking toward me. I figured his legs were sore, but it was worse than that. He had stepped in a hole while jogging on the grass and hurt his left ankle. He hobbled home and put some ice on it. We went ahead to visit his parents for the day, but it was still bothering him. He iced and elevated it again when we got home. He says it feels better today, but it really hurt going down the stairs at work. I hope he did not do any serious injury to himself. He is bummed, but really glad it did not happen before or during the triathlon. He is going to stay off it as much as possible, so we will see what happens in a few days. I'll keep you posted!

Some like it hot, I don't

OK, I'm ready for this whole summer thing to be over already. I am so tired of this near 100 degree heat. It is so horrible to go out for a run at 6:00 am, and to already feel like you are in a sauna. It makes getting through the rest of the day that much more miserable. I have now started to take showers at the coldest setting possible. Yes, I actually have been enjoying ice cold showers this summer - I find them to be quite refreshing of late.

This past Saturday, Bill and I went to a drive-in for classic cars at a place called Grill 57. We had not been to one in about a year, so it seemed like it would be a fun thing to do. Well, it would have been fun if the temperature was less than 90 degrees. Our Camaro does not have air conditioning and the grill is about a 40 minute drive from our place. When we got there, I was already too hot to walk around and admire the great cars. I was so hot that I had to seek shelter in the only place nearby - Wal-Mart. Yes, I was in a Wal-Mart. I had forgotten hope depressing Wal-Mart is. At least it was cool. After cooling, I was able to go back and admire the great cars, and it did turn out to be a fun trip. Bill and I both know now that we need to take 2 cars to these things. Our 67 Camaro and one with air.

No More Fight!

I was thinking the other day about one of the best things about being married is having a partner.

We have been having an ongoing problem with our mortgage company regarding our need for flood insurance. Our home is in a flood plain (we knew that) which was recently reclassified to require flood insurance. After a nasty note from our mortgage company, we started shopping around for the extremely expensive insurance. I found a good rate through the company that does our auto policy. Knowing that it would be a huge amount of money, I called the mortgage company to see exactly when the policy needed to be in place. I was told 45 days from the last correspondence, plus an additional 45 days after that period. Well, we were on our way to Boston for vacation, so I decided to hold off the purchase until we came home. I even left a note on my calendar to call the insurance company. A day before I was to make the call, the mortgage company sent a note saying that since we had not procured the flood insurance, we were automatically having the insurance added to our mortgage at their rate - about 3 times the rate I had. Well, I called to buy my insurance, then found out that they could no longer waive the 30 day waiting period since I now had "forced placed" insurance. Anyway, Bill and I were both furious and decided to fight the mortgage company.

Let me tell you, it is a pain in the you-know-where to try to fight those people. First, you get the automated answering service, then you get a person who does not want to help you and tries to send you to someone else. You get the wrong fax number to send your complaint letter, then no one follows up with you. I had decided I would never win, so I gave up. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who is more than willing to fight injustice. He took up the fight this week, and I really think something might get accomplished. I am glad he is my partner because I have no more fight in me.

Visiting the Big Boss

On Saturday, Bill, Jon, and I visited Big Boss Brewery for their free brewery tour. Well, yes, there was a tour, but the real reason for visiting was the two free beers we were able to consume! Big Boss likes to make big beers with higher alcohol content. I tried a Hell's Belle Belgium White. Let me say, by the end of the tour, the buzz was definitely going strong!! Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon!!

Photo of Bill and Susan taken by Jon Odgers

Bill's First Tri

I am so proud of my husband!!

Yesterday, Bill participated in his first ever triathlon - The UNC Wellness Super Sprint. He swam 250 yards, then biked 14K, and followed it up with a 5K run. He did a great job coming in 173 out of 236 - swim: 6:10, bike: 34:23, run: 28:21, overall: 1:12:49. I was lucky to be able to get there in time to see him before his swim, and cheer for him during the bike and run. I also got a few good pics. Bill trained hard for this event, and did so well. I know it won't be the last time I am cheering him on at a triathlon. Great job, baby!!

It's a Baseline

So, I haven't had much to say in the past 8 days - sue me! (not really, please, I spent all of my money at Nordstrom). I have a topic now.

I had My First Ever Mammogram this morning (I'm not kidding - that's what they called it in my confirmation letter. Not exactly like My First Baby Doll!) It is definitely an experience. My girlfriend at work sent me a comic strip about a week ago showing a woman whose boobs were shaped like boxes with the caption "She just got a Mammogram." I didn't get it then, but I get it now!! There is nothing quite like standing topless in front of a big X-Ray machine. Luckily, my technician was very good. She explained everything very well and had quite gentle hands.

What a weird thing, though. It's like you have your boob positioned on a shelf, then the upper shelf comes down and it squeezes your boob in the machine. You have to be still and hold your breath while they take the picture. Thank goodness there were only 4 shots. Oh well, I needed it done and I'm glad I did it. I am also glad I don't have to do it every month!

What did people do before Ipods?

I was running this morning when I pondered this very question. Would I have been able to make it up the hill if Disturbed wasn't screaming in my ear? Would I have been able to continue without Breaking Benjamin, Cher, or Audioslave? I like listening to music as I run. It does get me moving and keep my going. It also sometimes becomes "white noise" - I don't focus on the sound per se, but it does free up my mind for other thoughts.

What did those folks in the 70's do when running became such a trend? Listen to the birds chirp and the wind blow in the trees? No nature for me - I have a couple of hours worth of my favorite music on a machine the size of a binder clip. I love technology!