Ohio Vacation & Updates

After being home for a week, I figured it was about time to go ahead and update the blog. About a week or so after our last post, Paul and I went on the road for a trip to Ohio. We drove this time. Paul's parents gave him their 12' Boat (ask him if you want more details) so we took the Silverado to pick it up. The nice thing is the ability to avoid airport chaos...and more importantly, it allowed us to take Clouie with us! She did very well on the drive. On the way to Ohio we were fairly good about using her harness which kept her more in the back seat. But we would unhook her for a couple hours at a time so she could curl up in the passenger's lap and/or look out the front window to find "big dogs" (aka cows, horses, etc). She was even really good in the hotels, which was a great improvement over the last time we took her anywhere. I give part of the credit to reading up on the Dog Whisperer site on how to introduce her to a hotel room. We made sure to enter the room first, and didn't make a big deal out of anything. She sniffed around a bit, but seemed more content to cuddle up on the extra bed, chew a rawhide, and relax. As is always the case, she got  little more upset when Paul left the room, but I usually got her to relax but just having her lay back down on the bed (no coddling like normal). 

Ohio was a great time as always. We pulled into Paul's parents house Saturday evening, and had mine come over for some grilled food. After being in a car for 2.5 days, Paul and I didn't feel like going out to a restaurant. The steaks and such were great, and of course we loved seeing our parents! It was nice to be in town for Easter Sunday, though again - Paul and I could convince ourselves to get out of bed to go to a church service. We were still on mountain time, and 8am eastern time for church just didn't happen for us. I feel bad about that, but not much to do about it now. Easter dinner and such at my folk's house was great...especially since my sister's crew came over. It feels like it's been forever since I've seen my nieces...they have grown like weeds.  Paul worked on the boat Monday & Tuesday and I believe him and his Dad finished it up Wednesday morning. I had a lunch date with my Dad at our favorite place...Carsonies...a small italian place that he only goes to when I'm in town (or so he claims). Tuesday I had a small procedure done, so I rested much of the morning. But I did go out to Bob Evan's with my folks for a late breakfast (early lunch for me... can't get enough of their Turkey Bacon Melts!). I felt better by the afternoon, so Paul and I and some of our family members went out shopping. We bought a good amount of stuff. Wednesday was my niece's 2nd birthday party...she was adorable. Thursday we went out to dinner with some high school friends that we haven't seen in years. Friday we left to come back here. We pulled back into Riverton Sunday afternoon. We were hoping to get back Saturday night, but the roads weren't cooperating, and we had a little trouble with the boat once we crossed into Wyoming. Sunday morning I woke up with a little bug, but thankfully its symptoms ceased after the early morning hours, so the 5 hour drive back to Riverton wasn't too bad. 

We brought back a ton of stuff since we had the truck. Included in this list are my alto and soprano saxophones, and a bunch of yearbooks and such. So next on my list is to get some reeds and gear for those to play with them a bit. I've barely touched the instruments since high school...so it'll take me a bit to remember things. 

I continue to work on my books and such for LEAD in June. I'm a little over halfway through the Courage book. It's interesting and has a lot of good information. I might flip through it again before June. I've read it in chunks and I think I would get more out of it if I were to read it through more solidly like I did The Servant. But for now, I just want to get through it once. 

So baseball season is back upon us...my favorite sport. My Mets have been holding their own...though they haven't demonstrated the "force to be reckoned with" attitude that the projections were trying to bestow upon them pre-season. I blame the Sports Illustrated curse...I wish they wouldn't have published that they thought the Mets would go really far this year. They're 8 and 10 as of this note, having dropped a game to the Nationals (who were 3 and 13 coming into the game) this afternoon. We still need some adjustments to our starting pitchers (the relievers seem to be performing fairly well) and it would be really nice to see some run support when Johan takes the ball. And of course there's the Murphy, Church, Sheffield fiasco which I won't go into here. 

Overall Paul and I are doing well. Work goes well...play time goes well...animals are well and happy... and as much as we miss our families already, it's nice to be home. We hope everyone is doing well. Paul's R/C stuff starts up soon...so expect more posts to his R/C blog  as the weeks go on. It's linked on the right side somewhere. :)  We hope things go well for you too. Take care, folks!

Not too much to report...

Well, there's not a whole lot going on with us these days. I just got done with a string of 7 evening shifts, and am now in the middle of a 3-day, much needed break. It was a fairly stressful string due to winter storms. There were a couple instances where it all worked out where we wanted, but there were, and continue to be, a few places that we struggle with. This time of year is rough for forecasting sometimes. I know it frustrates a lot of our public, but rest assured that we actually are doing the best job we can. :)

I did just finish a book for my LEAD class this morning. I started it last evening when I went to Paul's flying event at the middle school. After 7 evening shifts, there was no way I was going to hang out alone in the house. Let me just say how impressed I was/am with that book. It gave me a lot to think about. I keep hoping this is reflective of the type of course I'm going to in June. I continue to look forward to that event. I'm nervous about it, but excited. Anyhow, the book was The Servant...and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something to read that is leadership-oriented. 

Let's see... on the lighter side of things, I activated my Twitter account the other night. I find it interesting, and amusing at the number of celebrity's that are actively utilizing the program. And animals! Including ours. Yep...yesterday I set up an account for our beagle Clouie... she can be found @clouiethebeagle ... today I set her up so she's following some other dogs. It just amuses the heck out of me. 

I'm sure Paul has some more updates, but I'll let him post his thoughts. Between work and sleep, there's not much interesting for me to talk about...outside of that book. Anyhow, I should go get ready and get some lunch made for Paul and I. Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Cheese sandwiches...can't wait!!!