Now before y'all start thinking I'm a lush...I drink socially, although every now and then a cold beer fits the occasion, or a glass of wine with a nice dinner. And I admit, there have been times that I have driven when I shouldn't have, back in the day. Thank God, I made it home safely. Now, I have a drink, like last night, ONLY when I have a designated driver!

When the kids were small, and in my previous life, I'd make a pot of coffee, and bake or sew. I loved to bake for the kids' lunches. Carlos loved taking homemade cookies or brownies with his lunch. Carlos brown bagged his lunch all through grade school. He was a very picky eater, and the only way I knew he would eat lunch is to make sure I packed exactly what he liked. He used to tell me that the kids would want to trade his cookies and brownies for Twinkies and such! Sometime he would trade because, well, he had more of the good stuff at home, and when it ran out, Mom would make more. Nowadays, I don't bake very often. Both Glena and I don't really care for sweets too often, and Glen has his stash of Nutter Butters if the sweet tooth calls!

Anywho, where was I going with this? Oh yeah...when I cook I like to have a beer or a glass of wine...dunno, just because. Tomorrow, we're all getting together here for Chris' birthday. My oldest turns 31 on 10/16, and he wanted chocolate cake. I suppose I could have made the cake from a box, but I do enjoy baking so I made it from scratch. Popped open a cold one (or two), and baked away. He also wanted these bread thingies we make, don't have a name for them, but you cut the top off of a bollillo (sp?) bread (its a roll), hollow the inside, and fill it with a mixture of ham, cheese and green chili; wrap it in aluminum foil, bake it until the cheese melts. Its kind of a hot pocket, but without the preservatives! Labor intensive, but thats what Chris wanted. Carlos turns 28 on 11/16...and he wants the same thing!! Probably a different flavor of cake.

Anyway, I used to drink coffee when I baked, now I drink beer, turn on some tunes, and enjoy the process.

Glen was gone most of the day. He went to Phoenix with his boss to look at some computer software. The guy who wrote all of their programs is leaving next week, and they need to have a back up plan. Its a pricey conversion, and a new process to learn, but they've been doing things the same as they did 20 years ago. Time to upgrade.

It was a really nice day today, mid 80's. Right now, its about lower 70's...love it! Talk soon...

Mexican food and software...numb :)

I can always count on you guys to answer the tough questions...ok, well, any question! Thanks for the help!

Glen and I went to dinner, small mexican food place in Oracle Junction, Lupe's. Can't get more mexican than that! They have great food, and very reasonable prices! I love their margaritas...let me tell you, they are powerful! I can only have one, because it only takes one to make my face numb! When I start touching my face to see if its still there...Glen knows he has to drive! The place is usually very busy on Friday nights, tonight...notsomuch! I think everyone is feeling the pinch. We've actually gone out to dinner the last 3 Fridays in a row (thank you, Glen), which is a rarity for us, but a nice change!

Glen is going to Phoenix with his boss tomorrow to look at some software programs. The guy who does their CAD drawing, and who actually wrote all their programs, has given his notice. Only 1 week and they're on their own! I have tons to do tomorrow...and right now, I can't feel my face...

Talk soon...

Fuzzy letters...

This is probably a dorky question, but why, when I post a comment, on some blogs, I have to enter the fuzzy letters, and on others I don't? Help is appreciated.

Clean bill...

I had a physical today, probably the first in 4-5 years, blood work, the whole deal. Guess what?? I'm healthy!! Well, except for a few glitches, like high cholesterol, which I'm taking meds for. High blood pressure, meds. GERD, you guessed it -- meds! What I should say is that I am as healthy as I can be considering my age and heredity. I've tried controlling the HBP and cholesterol with diet, but it wasn't working as quickly as my doc would have liked, and he attributes the condition(s) more to genetics than my lifestyle. Diabetes also runs rampant in my family, and while I can put off meds for now by maintaining my weight, regular exercise, diet, etc., I have some good med-free years ahead of me. He also suggested some chondroitin for my arthritic (or soon to be) knees. I've noticed when I haven't worked out, that is when my knees start to tighten up...a sure sign that I must keep moving! I had a bone density test a couple of months ago, and he says my bones are at about age 35, and I'm 50! That is surely a good sign. So while I'm not 100% healthy, I am as good as I'm gonna be! Perhaps I should drink to that...

Work has been kind of slow lately due to poor house counts. Some departments have been asked to cut their already slashed budgets, and they have even started sending hourly people home, voluntary, of course, at least for now. Most of you know I work at an upscale health resort/spa, very expensive. The company won't compromise the guest experience, but what about the people that make the place run? We have families and obligations too! I hope business picks up soon or at the least, maintains.

Talk soon...

A lil of this and that...

Watched a little bit of the debate, and I had to stop watching. If each candidate would just answer the darn question, and stop attacking the others' record, votes, etc., and answer for themselves what they would do in response, maybe I could stomach it. Truly, I am an undecided voter. We received our mail-in ballots about a week ago, and we usually schedule a time to fill them out together. This year, I've been putting it off...because I just don't know. I mean, is this all we have? Is this all America has to offer?

When I walked out this morning to get in my car, I made sure to sing, rather loudly, in case there were any critters lurking about. I must admit, just knowing that bobcat was in our yard, gives me concern. We live on 1 1/3 acre, no fence in the back or front, so the alley in the back to the street in front, is an open space. We do have desert trees, cacti (LOTS), and two other buildings on property (beside the main house). We don't have pets, but when the next door dogs bark, there is something out there, usually coyote, but we have seen javelinas too. First time ever, Glen has seen a bobcat this close, and he's lived here over 30 years! This was all desert area, and there is still a lot of undeveloped land very nearby, so there is alot of wildlife. Bobcats seem to be common as I've seen pics in the newspaper of them in people's backyards sitting on chaise lounges! Whose turf is this anyway?

Talk soon...

The bobcat...

I got home today, and nearly jumped out of my skin because a stink bug was near my back tire! Ok, not much I could do about that. Glen comes running out to greet me, as he does everyday, and says, "thats nothing, guess what was walking through the yard about 15 minutes ago?" A bobcat!! Glen ran inside and got his camera with telephoto lens and got this awesome picture! The cat was about 30-36" from ground to head, then he walked towards the neighbor's house. I've seen a grey one in the area as well, but this is a different one. What a sleek and graceful creature. It probably has big teeth too!! Yeah, so if I said I was going to spend more time outdoors...probably not or not any time soon, and not by myself!!!

The weekend was uneventful. The football game was great, we won, 48-14 or something like that. It was really windy at the game, felt like my skin was windburned. Glen only carried the chairs, I carried the jackets. 'Course they're all packed into the right pocket, so they're not too bulky to carry. We ate lunch before the game at our friend's tailgate, hamburgers, German potato salad, coleslaw, and a pasta salad tossed with balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh basil...that was so YUMMY!! And I had a beer!! I could have had another, but ya' know I had to walk up 7 ramps to get to our seats -- Glen was already carrying enough :)

It was 57F this morning...beautiful! Talk soon...

The Weekend...or the start of...

I am so glad the weekend is finally here!! It has been a long week! We are getting into the fall season, and even though in AZ we don't have "seasons", like the changing of the leaves, our weather cools down considerably (well, upper 80"s vs 100+). The nights are so nice...I've promised myself to spend more time outside in the evenings...but I have to share the space with the geckos and other buggy creatures, and turning on any lights outside only calls for flying critters. No matter! One morning last week, I was coming in from putting something in the trash can outside, when I heard something in a bucket right outside the back door. I gingerly peeked to see what it was (afraid of what I might see!), and it was a 2-3" gecko. I quickly went inside and made a mental note to tell Glen to let it out when he got home. Of course I forgot to tell him, but he saw it himself, and released it. We have several larger lizards that live in the carport, and I have to be careful not to get too close. I jumped at the sight of one that crossed my path at work, and some Facilities people were standing nearby and saw me jump...hmmm, I hate when that happens. They saw it was a tiny lizard, too.

We have a football game today, UA vs Washington at 4:30 pm. Our seats are right near one of the tunnels, and when the wind rushes through, it can get pretty breezy. Not bad when its 105F but when its cool, we'll have to take a light jacket at least. This will be Glen's first game this season as he missed the first two due to a backache. I'm glad he's going because 1) he can drive 2) he can carry the chairs 3) he can visit the concession stand to get us some treats 4) if it rains, he can hold the umbrella. Oh, and we can enjoy the game together! Sounds like a plan to me!!

We went out for dinner last night, Benihana's. Its teppan style, Japanese cuisine. We've been there once before and we were not that impressed, but decided to give it another shot. The food was much better tasting, but the way they cook the food, by the time our veggies were done, our meat and rice were cold. This particular location used to be Sakura's, similar cuisine, but I don't remember our food being cold, it was all served at pretty much the same time. The temperature in the restaurant was kind of cold too, so maybe that could have been a factor.

You see, my life is pretty boring, huh?? Talk soon...

Followers, Dashboards, Blogspot...oh my!

I am slowly but surely re-building my network of friends. While I hadn't been writing much in my own space, I've been keeping up with you! I could not imagine not knowing what is going on with each of you. Funny, how I've become so engrossed with all of YOUR happenings, that I can't wait to read what each of you has to say. If someone had told me 10 years ago that I would have true friends, whom I've never met, I would have said, "thats crazy", yet it is so true. If I haven't made it to your blog to "follow" you, don't worry, I will.

Have you noticed the different lingo here? Here, we are followers. I have to admit I didn't know what a dashboard was (other than the one in my car). There is a learning curve here, for sure. Oh well, it is our home now...and isn't home where the heart is?? From my blogspot to yours...
Hugs

Talk soon...