And So It Begins

Life is about to go from crazy to crazier. We got back from a long weekend getaway this afternoon with just enough time to unpack, do laundry, and repack. Tomorrow starts our week-long work conference in lovely Hartford . . . immediately followed by two more weeks of travel to Europe. My head is spinning from the list of things I need to do before that trip.

And speaking of spinning heads, this weekend we went up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire for a little hiking and a lot of dancing. It was another ballroom event and you would think by all these dance events we attend that we would know how to dance by now. Sadly, we are still struggling. But this weekend has, once again, helped motivate us to be more diligent about practicing. As always, it was so inspiring to watch the folks that know what they are doing gliding across the floor. And talk about even further inspiration . . . I danced the Tango with a 89 year old man. Can you imagine? And he was good! Dancing seems to be the Fountain of Youth (along side yoga, that is). I think a combination of dancing and yoga is the secret to a long and healthy life. That alone has us more committed.

To see more pictures from the weekend, please click here.

Busy, Busy, Crazy, Crazy

That about sums up my life right now. I can't even believe all the stuff I got going on and I marvel at how I've spent the last several years of my life saying, "As soon as we get through _____ our lives will slow down." It seems as though as soon as we fill in that blank something new takes it place. I swear we will never catch up to our lives nor slow down.

Karlo's new job has him literally working around the clock and all the time he spends in front of his computer just frees me up for more time in front of mine. It's sick how much time we spend staring at a computer screen. I just finished building a big web site for a freelance client. I ran away from this job for several months and then finally agreed to do it . . . it the middle of the summer and under a time crunch. Stupid decision #1. After doing all that work it warmed me up for wanting to build a web site (or two) for myself. So I've been feverishly working on those (more to follow) and then made the stupidest decision of all. I volunteered to be the new webmaster for an art association that I'm a member of. What the heck was I thinking? Now they hound me every day and I don't even have time to read the emails, let alone do the work.

And speaking of work (my real job), that is crazy too. Next week is our annual conference, which means this is the crunch time preparing for it. And all I can do is think about packing, packing and more packing. You should see my bedroom. I have a pile of clothes that I need to pack for our upcoming weekend getaway this weekend, another pile of clothes for the conference next week, followed by yet another pile of clothes for our vacation. Each one of these trips is stacked immediately upon the other. Not even sure there's time to do laundry in between. I have To Do lists longer than my legs. Once again, I'm looking forward to a long flight to just sit still and do NOTHING!

Doggie Mayhem

This weekend went to the dogs. In addition to our own two hounds, we had Molly visiting for the weekend . . . and we had another special visitor. It's not everyday you get to 'test drive' the dog of your dreams. Remember last week when I explained how I spotted a unique dog and fell in love with him instantly? Well, that very dog came over for a visit. I thought I was the one that was going to be the one most excited to see him, but it was the rest of the pack that had all the fun . . .

What a handsome devil.

Molly was too cute. Had no trouble keeping up with the big dogs.

Peanut finally got a chance to show off her speed and agility.

This picture is perfect because it gives a size reference for the Doodleman. Bentley seemed to like him too, which is rare for him to like other males. Simon is just too darn irresistible.

I think Peanut fell in love too. She was on him like glue. What a cute couple.

But he's a lady's man and shared his time with the other hottie too.

Let's just say all the dogs slept very good Saturday night!

Sock Season Has Arrived

You know it's the end of summer when you're forced to wear socks to work for the first time. I must have stood in my closet for five minutes this morning debating what shoes to wear before I finally broke down and reached for a pair of socks and my leather clogs. This was the first non-sandal day in months and I can't tell if I'm depressed or excited. One thing is for sure, I just want the change to happen. I decided that I'm really bad at dressing during the Spring and Fall and I think it's the shoes that get me the most. It's so hard to leave the house in sandals when it's 40 degrees out - no matter how warm it's going to get later in the day. I find it very challenging to dress during these transition times. I'm good at Summer and Winter, when it's consistently warm or consistently cold. So now that I broke out my socks, bring it on. Let the cold come. It's time to do the closet switcher-roo, and once I do that, I crave my tall leather boots and turtlenecks.

Freeport Getaway

In honor of our anniversary Karlo and I took a little weekend get-away to Freeport, Maine. This was our first pleasure visit to Maine since losing our love for the great state. We used to travel to Maine quite often and savored every minute of it . . . until we became property owners and landlords. Then just hearing the word Maine, or god-forbid seeing the 207 area code on my phone, would send chills down my spine. I decided that I need to get over this aversion to the state that I once loved so much. And it didn’t take me long at all to fall back in love.

We spent two nights in Freeport. Freeport was usually our midway resting point so having it as our final destination was a nice treat. The 3.5 hours seemed so short! We stayed right down the road from downtown Freeport, where all the glorious outlet stores are, including LLBean’s flagship store. God I love Freeport.

After making our Plan B biking route (that didn’t include a ferry ride), we had to move on to Plan C due to the weather. Saturday was looking less than stellar and I didn’t want to get caught in any rain. So we took a nice hike along the shore in the morning and then spent the next several hours shopping. I can’t believe how patient Karlo was. I think he also had fun hunting for new clothes for himself. We both bought lots of new goodies and shopped until hunger finally forced us to quit. After a late lunch we walked around a big art show and I had a ball looking at all the photography. Since we were all shopped out and looking for something more to do we pre-rode our intended bike route and I’m so glad we did. We drove from LLBean to Lands End, which was the very end of the longest peninsula on Casco Bay. Although the scenery was beautiful, the roads were not good for biking. I was happy to have driven it in a car instead because I had my ‘real’ camera with me. We ended up making a completely new biking route for the next day . . . and it was awesome.

We headed out on our bikes first thing Sunday morning. The sun was shining and I was actually too hot. Who would have dreamed that I should have packed a short sleeve bike shirt? Oh well, a good problem to have. Our ride was perfect. We took a leisurely drive home and stopped at the old seaport town in Portland for some strolling of the cobblestone streets and lunch on the pier. This sounds a little better than it was because I was wearing my brand new Privo shoes and they hurt so bad I couldn’t enjoy the strolling and actually had to give up and let Karlo bring the car around. I’m so mad at those shoes I’m writing a nasty letter to Privo. But I did love Portland and never expected the city to be so nice. I’m completely rethinking our retirement as I simply cannot stand it if our future doesn’t include Maine.

Please click here if you would like to see more photos from our trip.

Celebrating 7 Years

I still can’t believe Karlo and I have been married for seven years. Where does the time go? Yesterday was our special day and we took a long weekend to celebrate it. I’m going to document the weekend in reverse order, saving our Maine getaway for tomorrow.

We have been keeping a tradition of a wine themed anniversary since our first year. We either buy a bottle of local wine from wherever we happen to be (typically we are away on our anniversary) and drink it the following year, or we visit a local vineyard for wine tasting and a picnic. It’s by far the most romantic thing we do so it always feels like a special occasion.

This year was turning out to be a bust because our anniversary fell on a Monday and apparently no vineyards are open for tastings on Mondays. Ooops. But we didn’t let that blow our plans. We found a little vineyard not too far from us in MA and although we didn’t get the chance to taste the wines, we bought a bottle of something that I knew I would like (plum wine) and walked around the farm. We also got some other yummy picnic supplies and decided to have our romantic picnic in our own backyard (with our pups). It was so nice. This was the first time we just laid in the yard and relaxed. I felt no guilt over not being productive and just had a lazy afternoon rest. Well, it sure did help that one glass of that plum wine nearly knocked me out. No wonder I was so ‘relaxed.’

More pictures of our day can be found here.

Plan B

Karlo and I are headed to Maine for the weekend to celebrate our 7th year anniversary. I still don’t know where the past 7 years went and I can’t believe how quickly time is passing. Because we have a tradition of always going away for our special day, I booked us a room in Freeport for two nights and planned a terrific bike ride for Saturday. I was upset at the thought of bad weather on Saturday so I changed our plans to shop on Saturday and bike on Sunday. But now it looks like I have to move to plan B, or at this point maybe I should call it Plan C. Our ride was to be a 50-mile loop that included a 2 hour ferry ride. We were going to pedal down to Portland and take a ferry up to Bailey Island where we would make our way through Freeport and back to wherever it was we were going to start from. Well, imagine our surprise had we gotten to the ferry in Portland only to find out that the ferries are no longer running. Labor Day was their last sailing. Just a slight planning miscalculation on my part. Thank God I took a closer look at the paperwork this morning. I’m going to have to scramble to find a new ride, but that is still better than what could have happened. Ooops.

My New Love

To pick up where I left off yesterday, I have to document the most exciting part of my Labor Day. I fell in love . . . My heart experienced the same flutters that it did the day I walked out of the Mini dealership. (Do I get points for not comparing this to the first kiss from Karlo?)

This was one of those being in the right place at the right time stories. My cousins were heading out to take a walk to the waterfalls. We do this every year and this is the first time that I hemmed and hawed about joining them. I guess because I was wearing my motorcycle boots and being lazy, but at the last minute I decided to join them. While standing there on the rocks I happened to notice the most amazing dog in the world. I was immediately drawn to it and had to know everything about it. As it turns out the dog was a Doodleman. Actually, a Doodleman Pinsher to be exact. I’m sure you’re already guessing. It’s a new hybrid dog that crosses (of all things) a Doberman with a Poodle. How ridiculous is that? Who comes up with these things? Well, whoever it was is simply brilliant.

Karlo and I often talk about what we will do when we lose our baby Bentley. I can’t bare the thought of it, but the reality will present itself in the next few years. Karlo insists that we shouldn’t replace him, but I insist that Peanut will be a lost sole on her own. We often wonder what it would be like to have a ‘real’ dog–one that would enjoy our big yard, would like to be outside, and could keep up with us on hikes. We even thought about a Dobbie because I would like the little bit of security feeling that one would give me. But it always comes back to the shedding and my allergies. What could be better than a dog that doesn’t shed and has the temperament and smarts of a poodle and a dobbie? I can’t get Karlo to agree to a stinkin’ duck, but he’s already on board for us getting a Doddleman puppy within the next two years!

I had to document this in case Karlo doesn’t remember this whole thing. This is proof Karlo that you said we can get one . . .

Labor Day Weekend 09

I’m unprepared for my weekend report. I managed to take a few pictures of a couple of our weekend accomplishments, but don’t have the pics handy. All in all I would give the entire weekend 4 flags (out of the possible 6). I was hoping for a good mix between work and play, but as it turned out it was mostly work. I can’t completely blame the over zealous Karlo for wanting to get a jump on the interior Shack work. He was busy running the electrical wires so I can run lights and a computer out there. Then we got on a roll and finished the insulation and interior paneling. The fact of the matter was that my neck was in far too much pain (due to allergies) to go for the bike ride we had planned so this was a good use of our time. But still, I was sad to see most of the gorgeous weekend slip by without our fair share of playing.

We did manage to squeeze in one day of no work and lots of fun. Yesterday was a great day. We started off with a morning hike at one of our favorite trails. We ran into another person with 3 dogs and feared Peanut would be afraid of her two rambunctious labs, but she had a ball being one of the pack. She happily took off with them and I was so proud of her. We got back just in time to leave for our family picnic at Devil’s Hopyard. I was so excited to drive my motorcycle down there. It was my longest journey this year. Well, considering my bike was broken for most of the season, it wasn't too hard to beat my longest journey of the year. I did great and can’t believe how much I have missed my bike. It was so nice to reunite with my long lost cousins, laugh, relax and not think about all the work we still have to do at home.

The most exciting story from yesterday’s picnic will have to wait for tomorrow. Stay tuned . . .

I’m So Ashamed

So here I was, all fired up to call Charter Communications and cancel our land line. I just couldn’t wait to make the call. And you won’t believe what ended up happening.

I was ready for the sales pitch to get me to keep the phone service and I thought I was ready to handle it. I had my “I don’t need the landline no matter how much you drop the price of the service” line ready to go. But what I wasn’t ready for was the fact that the monthly total bill would be more money if I dropped it compared to if I kept it. Let me explain . . .

When I said I wanted to cancel the phone the customer service rep said, “What if I could lower your rates? Would you keep the service then?” My answer was what I had planned, “No, I simply don’t need the phone.” But then she explained this promotional package that would guarantee me $45 per month savings if I kept all three services (TV/Internet/phone). The bottom line was that I would pay $109/month (+ tax) for all three services exactly as we have now, or pay $115/month (+ tax) if I dropped the phone. Uuuugh. I was not ready for this situation. It just made no sense at all to pay MORE for LESS. So I hung up the phone shaking my head in disgust by the fact that I went from trying to cancel the service to committing to two more years with them.

Let me suggest that you call your service provider immediately and threaten to drop a service. It’s amazing how quickly you can save nearly $50/month. It just kills me that they have been happily ripping me off for two years. Take the 10 minutes out of your day and make the call. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to spend my extra $45/month . . .

So does anybody want to buy a cool little box that receives cell calls through your house phone?

Techno Geek

Karlo has given me this title a long time ago. I definitely have a fine appreciation for electronic gadgets. Despite the fact that I usually don't have much patience with them, I still love them and believe that I need most of them.

But the two that I bought this week really were necessities and I'm very excited about both of them. First of all, I'm happy to announce that our Love Shack is now livable. Sure it may not have heat, electricity, nor running water, but who really needs those things when you have WiFi? Yesterday was a very special day when I sent my first ever email from inside the Shack. I bought a little device that doubles the strength of a wireless router. It's called a Hawking Range Extender and I'll be darned, it did the trick. The install was very simple and I just plugged in this magic little box and set it in our screened porch. It sends a nice strong signal clear across the yard to the Shack. Now if we can just get the electricity there wirelessly to avoid digging a trench we will be all set.

And speaking of magic boxes, this second purchase nearly has me giddy. Tomorrow I am planning to make the long-awaited called to Charter Communications to tell them to cancel our land line. Ahhh, just the thought of that makes me smile. Why on Earth we own a land line is beyond me. Neither of us ever makes a call and we fight about who should answer in the unlikely event the phone actually rings. So why pay $40/month for this minor annoyance? I bought something called an XLink Bluetooth Cellular Gateway. What is that you ask? Well, it's a device that I never even knew existed before last week. It's the answer to my prayers and here's how it works. You can use the regular land lines in your house. All you need to do it unplug a phone from the wall and plug it into this little box. Then you set your cell phone to wirelessly communicate with the device via Bluetooth (That's the catch. Your phone must have Bluetooth capabilities, but most do. ) When your cell phone receives a call, your house phone will ring. We can hook up to three different cell phones and even change the ring tone so we would know if it was Karlo's phone ringing or mine = no more fights about who should answer. You can even pick up the house phone and make a call with it (using your cellular minutes). Goodbye $40/month phone bill . . . and hello iPhone (when and if Verizon ever offers it). Now I can have the fancy expensive phone guilt free.

PS - I will notify everyone via email when our land line is officially dead, in the unlikely event that anyone gets the urge to call it.

Karlo Gets a New Boy Toy

Karlo has been trashing our old Craftsmen lawn tractor for the past couple of years. I swear he's been running over rocks on purpose, breaking every part possible, in hopes of finally killing it off. But I'll be darned, that little tractor that could is still kicking. It's not doing a stellar job cutting the grass, but it still works. Despite that fact, we decided it might be time to upgrade to something a little better.

Can you tell what he got? It's a new Husgavarna Zero Turn. For some strange reason Karlo wants to get the task of mowing the lawn done in half the time. I'm pretty darn sure that of all Karlo's chores, mowing the grass is the most relaxing one. But yet, he needs to do it faster. So be it.

We took delivery of this baby last Thursday, but to our dismay it wouldn't start. Let's just say that Karlo did not get off to a very good start with his new toy. He was so frustrated, and has so little patience, that he was ready to give up and demand that the store comes and takes it back. Luckily I convinced him to call the service people. As it turned out there was a loose wire somewhere and now it's all fixed up. Karlo had a ball trying to figure out how to drive it last night.

Look out . . . there's a tree in front of you!!!

I have to admit, it does look like fun and I'm almost compelled to want to cut the grass myself.