03/01 Picnic basket to Ellie and Jim. I got my car back! It cost $150 more to have the rental car for five days than it would have cost to keep it for a week. Go figure.
03/02 Avery and I went to the Minnesota Children’s Museum. Her two favorite things were a pretend fish tank with three switches she could move to turn lights off and on and the pretend ice fishing. Yes, ice fishing! The MN Children’s Museum is a place we will visit again. It was very clean and there is so much to do there.
03/03 Avery stayed overnight last night. While she slept well, she surely wasn’t herself today. We had to be out of the house by 7 am when the Cleaning Crew shows up, so we went to the Original Pancake House in Wayzata. She lay in my arms like a rag doll and I spooned scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes into her mouth, though her eyes were half closed. She slept most of the day, though she did perk up a bit around dinner time. I think she’s cutting some more teeth.
03/04 115 minutes, 5.75 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=132 and “The Butterfly Effect” on the treadmill this morning. Car wash, finally. Office.
03/05 Last night as we were getting ready for bed, Blondie was missing. We combed the neighborhood, flashlights in hand. No Blondie. While Blondie has a microchip for identification, she was without a collar as she lost that some time last week. We finally resigned ourselves to going to leaving the lights on, door open and going to bed. As we were checking the lights in the kitchen, in strolls Blondie. Blondie is now sporting a collar as well as a miniature cow bell. On my way to the office today I will stop and by her a reflective collar. While I don’t really believe she ever left the yard, Jim and I combed the entire 2-1/2 acres several times and I don’t know how we could have missed her. 116 minutes, 6 miles, 3.10 mph, HR=120 and “50 First Dates” on the treadmill this morning. Office, again. Blondie is now wearing a GlobalPetFinder GPS unit on a reflective/fluorescent green collar. Of course she hasn’t left the house since I put it on.
03/06 What a messed up morning! Good thing the afternoon went better. The plan was to go to the Como Zoo tomorrow, but the weather forecast is rain all day. I haven’t been to the Mall of America in years, but I just can’t get excited about that. Just as I’m rounding up dogs for the night, I hear my cell phone tell me I have a text message. Yup, Blondie has left the yard. But, I’ve got her mapped! I’ll bet she makes that same circle every night. She’s getting a new Invisible Fence battery as soon as she gets back in tonight. I think I’ll snug that collar up a bit as well.
03/07 Too nasty to be outside anywhere. We stopped at the Hennepin County Service Center to get the Wagon’s new tabs, brushing up on the 2006 Minnesota boating regulations while we waited our turn. Picked up the mail at the Post Office. Stopped to visit my Grandma Lucy, but she wasn’t home and neither were Ellie and Jim. Got a bit of laundry done.
03/08 Another Old Box died at the office yesterday and my last Spare Box went into service. I’ve taken the opportunity to order myself a new Desktop machine and my current HP will become the new spare.
03/09 Today we went to the Como Park Zoo. What a beautiful place! We spent a lot of time in the flower gardens; it was warm and sunny, no one else was there so I could let Avery crawl around. While most of the outside exhibits are still closed for the winter, it was nice to be outside.
03/10 Breakfast in Wayzata. Avery’s other Grandma has been out of town for two weeks and she was in desperate need of a baby fix so Avery and I stopped at her house for a while this morning. As we left, the sun came out so we headed to the Minnesota Zoo. The place was a zoo! Very crowded, inside anyway, so we enjoyed the outside trails. Not a problem, since being outside on paved trails was the entire point of going there.
03/11 100 minutes, 5.0 miles, 3.0 mph, HR=123 and “Secret Window” on the treadmill this morning. I met with a Personal Shopper at Marshall Field’s regarding dresses for the upcoming weddings. The woman’s name is vaguely familiar, I think I know her from somewhere, though I can’t figure out where.
03/12 97 minutes, 5.0 miles, 3.1 mph, HR=122 and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” on the treadmill this morning. Lindsay Lohan has lost a lot of weight since she made that movie. Must work this afternoon.
03/13 Wet, sloppy snow. They must have put the snowplow trucks away already, as they’ve not been out plowing.
03/14 We have a date for completion of our Florida Windows!
03/15 86 minutes, 5.0 miles, 3.49 mph, HR=123 and “Teacher’s Pet” on the treadmill this morning. Shoveled the front sidewalk. I’m awaiting delivery of a TechnoGym CardioWave. This morning’s ad from Neiman Marcus contains the perfect dress for Tony and Ashley’s wedding. Unfortunately, it only comes in a color I can’t wear – rust. I’m going to print a copy for my Personal Shopper at Marshall Field’s in hopes she can find the dress, or one very similar, in another color. Failing that, I’ll hire a dressmaker to copy it. Picnic basket to Ellie and Jim.
03/16 What is it about used dryer sheets that Coco finds so enticing?
03/19 71 minutes, 8.0 miles, 6.76 mph, HR=146, Level 2 and “13 Going On 30” on the Wave this morning. I’m a bit befuddled as to the speed thing, no way could I manage 6.76 mph on the treadmill and it didn’t seem to be that much more effort. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I don’t very often “get” the Dilbert cartoon, perhaps because I’ve never worked in the corporate environment, but I very much enjoy Scott Adams’ Dilbert Blog. Click here to read an entry that I found amusing this week. This afternoon we went to Gale Woods Farm, we were both underdressed for the wind, so we watched the fat (pregnant?) sheep for a bit, met a friendly cat and went to Baker Park where the trail was more protected. While I’m in a sharing mood, click here to see another site I find intriguing.
03/20 I can’t get used to it being light when I get to work, I keep thinking I’m late. I’m not one bit sore from my Wave workout yesterday. I guess I didn’t work hard enough.
03/21 63 minutes, 4.0 miles, 3.81 mph, HR=156 and an iPOD Nano loaded with 60’s Rock and Roll and maybe a little too much Cat Stevens. It’s no coincidence that exercise and exorcise are different by only one letter. That heart rate concerns me some. It’s time to admit all this not eating and not sleeping has not only taken a figurative toll on my heart, but takes a literal toll as well. The Pot Hole Fixers are out!
03/22 Picnic basket to Ellie and Jim. Last one. I’m actually going to miss them.
03/23 Though it wasn’t in the forecast, I had hoped we would be surprised with nice weather today and didn’t plan an indoor activity. Unfortunately, it’s barely over freezing, there’s no sign of the sun and it’s actually snowing just a little bit.
03/24 Avery stayed the night. This morning we went to Denny’s for breakfast. Then we stopped at my office and I was actually able to get a few things done. We went to visit my Dad and Gladys then came home. Still not nice enough to be outside, but Avery at least “walked” to the end of the driveway and we brought in the garbage can. That’s actually quite a ways for her (and me, oh my aching back from the bending over to hold her hands) and I had hoped it would tire her out for a nap, but no such luck. Why do babies fight sleep? After much tired eye rubbing, fussing and rocking, we both finally crashed on the lower bunk and were joined by Hanna. We slept less than an hour, but I really needed that.
03/25 105 minutes, 15.75 miles, 9 mph, HR=137 and “Mean Girls” on the Wave this morning. I just put some chocolate chip banana bread in the oven and I can’t wait to see how it comes out. Right now I’m a few cards short of a full deck and I added baking powder instead of baking soda, baking powder being still on my mind from the scones I made earlier this week. I thought about it for a minute and decided to add baking soda as well. The banana bread is flat on top, a wee bit rubbery but tasty none-the-less.
03/26 Yellow Post-It notes are blooming around the house, he’s marking what he’s taking. Coco convinced me to take her for a walk. I’m missing the first bit on my GPS, but I’ve got 71 minutes, 4.56 miles, 3.8 mph, HR=135. I feel better now. Let the spring cleaning begin! Elephant be gone: My Husband has left me. I think I’m done crying. Past denial. Can see anger peeking around the corner. Anyway. Today I bought two plants. In the picture you’ll see four. That’s because I split each one as the pots I had seemed too small. Right now I’m all about conserving resources, so I had to make do with what I have and I hope I haven’t done any damage in the splitting. I tried to be gentle. If there’s one thing I don’t have, it’s a green thumb. If there’s one thing I really need right now, it’s a green thumb. I am now solely responsible for hundreds of plants, shrubs and trees, not to mention almost two acres of grass. And there’s a wedding here in July, so the pressure is on! I was chatting with my Dear Brother today and he feels since his Wife and Girls do a fine job of maintaining their lawn, surely I can maintain mine. OK. Heck, the plantings part may be therapeutic. Though I’ve never mowed a blade of grass in my life, surely I can learn! Truth be told, I can actually get a wee bit excited at the thought of my very own lawn tractor. There is so much more at stake in the life of these plants than the $7.98 I have invested . Keeping these plants alive will go a long way towards giving me the confidence that I can maintain my own lawn. And if I can maintain my own lawn, I can afford to keep my gym membership. And this evening, that makes me just a little bit happy.
03/27 My plants weren’t wilted this morning! My summer wheels/tires are on my car. I actually completed the work I brought home from the office.
03/28 Someone had the nerve to use “my” shower at the gym this morning and I darned near scalded myself trying to use the faucet in one I was unfamiliar with. Perhaps my little plants are his Post-It notes, I must respect that. I think I’m going to come away from this experience having learned some profound things.
03/29 Blondie is missing. Again. She’s not wearing the GPS device, I took it off when I realized her Invisible Fence battery was dead and replaced it. She is wearing her ID tags this time. Surely I’ve reached my trauma quota. I checked the battery in Hanna and Coco’s collars and they’re good. I wouldn’t put it past Blondie to be smart enough to stand on the line and let the warning tone wear the battery down so she can leave. She’s always come home. I put her rug and a water dish out on the porch. Surely she’ll be home for chow at 4:00 if not sooner. Blondie is home! She’ll be wearing that GPS device (which is only good as long as the batteries) or cabled. The Invisible Fence people are going to change some settings on Blondie’s collar, let’s hope that works.
03/30 I have three Labrador Retrievers and if I don’t find this absolutely necessary, I can’t imagine anybody would. There’s nothing like a little bit of thunder to keep the dogs in the house. The Community Ed class I signed up for many months ago has been cancelled for lack of participation. Darn it anyway.
03/31 Anger. A normal part of the process. Avery has a cold and fever, so we’ll be staying home today. The Invisible Fence Technician put longer prongs on Blondie’s collar and changed the settings. He’s not hopeful it will work as Blondie’s behavior is not uncommon in old dogs. Avery lost her lunch twice today. Once when the Invisible Fence Technician arrived and again when a group from the DNR showed up. Seems I’ve got some rock/boulders on the beach that are going to have to be moved. They are going to check for a permit (they won’t find one). They wouldn’t share their recommendation verbally, I’ll get a certified letter. Great, just great. Lucky for me, Brother has use for those rocks.
