Quiz of the day

So I got home pretty late from work tonight because my boss has abandoned me for two weeks for a vacation Italy to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary. Hardly a reason to leave me alone in the crazy clinic so soon! I'm NOT happy about it at all and think that the "crazies" and the "worried wells" with laundry lists of problems are going to send me off the deep end. ANYHOOO.....called the husband at about 6:30 and he was still at work......shit...that means the DOG and the CAT were home alone FOR A VERY LONG TIME. Good thing I got the package from Jeffers with dog toys and treats yesterday so Maggs had lots of new things to play with. We find that during the course of the day she moves all her toys from the family room into the bedroom. The ratty old squirrel toy was up ON the bed tonight. No real destruction in the house....she just tore up an old sock. No big deal. C got home first and apparently had a time with the dog and cat. The cat snuck out (remember she's an INDOOR cat with no front claws and she is grey) while the dog was jumping around crazy-excited because he was home. I had to go out when I got home and find the cat. NOW FOR THE QUIZ!!!! I brought out the cat treats and the flashlight in order to find her. Why do cats eyes glow so much when I the flashlight shines in their eyes (therefore making it easier for me to find her in the dark)? It is one of my favorite words!!!

This was Sunday's lunch for the Husband. "Damn good lunch", he says.  

Cute picture of my friend Liz's dogs Jake and Bailey. I love how their tails wag together. They are outside the guestroom window. Wanting to come in!!!! 

Office space

Here is a picture of The Husband's office. You can't quite appreciate the enormous computer screen from this picture....but it is enormous. Notice only one coffee mug. Must be early in the semester! Ha!  

Weekend update

I'm so happy that it's finally cool and cloudy! I can't believe that I couldn't wait for it to cool down. I guess a whole summer of 90 degree days and a September full of 80 degree days has cured me of the need for sun every day. I think it is going to rain today. Good! Perhaps it's also because I often feel a bit cruddy these days and when the weather joins me in "cruddiness" it makes me feel better! Let's see....went to our neighbor's yesterday for a birthday party for her 90 year-old mother! Lots of family and friends were there....including the couple that used to own our house. They built it and raised three kids here. Obviously they are very proud of this house. We learned a few more tidbits of the history behind it...like how the fireplace in the family room is built like some down in Virginia (I think?) with two extra rows of bricks to keep the witches (!) away! And how some of his students stole a graveyard ornament and gave it to him (! Claims they couldn't find the grave it belonged to)....

Also, of course, watched some of the ND game and saw them sloppily beat Washington.

I take my National Boards this week. Wish me luck. Haven't been too good at studying but I figure that going to work each day is like studying. Dr. J is going to be out of town this week....ugh...I'm a bit nervous about that!!! OK---off to swim at the pool. My goal is to start exercising more now! especially since I"m retired from Ultimate!

Random tidbits

Out walking the dog in The Res last night (the small woods across the street from our house). I take two laps through and it only takes about 20-25 min. I've been craving a nice hour long walk in a fall woods lately. I asked a friend at work the other day about suggestions of where to go around here. Her response: "Go to Michigan".

During my walk I had an overwhelming craving (nostalgia?) for eating fresh peaches and real cream with sugar sprinkled on top. I remember eating this when I was a kid up at the cabin during August. Sitting at the kitchen table,probably in my swim suit with a towel wrapped around my waist and my hair still wet from a swim, reading Archie comics, and eating out of one of those little old white bowls.....Man...that was the life!

I think I'm starting to understand.........

First ND home game was this weekend and C and I didn't quite know what to expect. We got there at about 11:30 because we weren't sure how parking would be. A quick $10 down and we got a spot in a yard near campus. A yard a bit closer to the field was getting $30! The whole campus was full of students, families, alumni, and lots of energy. Everyone was wearing their ND gear. Barbeque stands all over--many done by student groups to raise money. We picked the Environmental Group stand because they had veggie burgers (a very good one!) versus the Ballroom Dancing club (nothing veggie). The game didn't start until 2:30, so we had more than enough time to walk around and experience the traditions. The Marching Band put on a concert and I decided that Marching Bands are kind of fun---if you were part of the percussion section. Something about the drums! Finally it was time to find our way to our seats. We are behind one of the endzones. Not great, but not too bad. The worst thing was that the seats are just thin wooden slabs and people are packed in like sardines. This stadium was made when the average American adult was about 50 lbs smaller than they are now! It was pretty warm, too, so the first half was a bit uncomfortable. C went and got more water and and an lemon icy for us to share during half and the sun wasn't so warm in the 2nd half. The whole 2nd half was so tense that I didn't notice how packed in we were. It was an exhausting experience....final score 44-41 bad guys! Overtime, too! C and I finally made it home by 8:30 and the only thing that sounded good for dinner for both of us was Mac and Cheese (this trend of mine is a bit disturbing). We were both asleep by about 9:45pm!!! Wow! Now I understand why this is such a big deal to ND students, alumni, etc. I now appreciate it, too. Living in SB/Mish where there really is NOT MUCH GOING ON and then 6 weekends of the year 80,000+ people descend onto the town for a weekend is pretty exciting. Anyone want to come down for the next home game???? 

Sorry---more dog stuff

You have to check out Maggie on the petrefuge website. She is listed as the 2nd "success story" on the front page. Also, there are some really cute pictures on the Pets Connect website of the 7 puppies and Mom from a photo shoot they did. Also, look at the extra pictures for Billy the Basset Hound. Get a load of those ears! They really have great pictures on this website.

I really can't keep up with Hobbled Runner in blogging. Sorry.....

Guess the big news is that I quit one of my jobs so I'm down to just one job. And I didn't barf this morning! Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out the Notre Dame football game this weekend. Chris and I will be there. Somewhere behind one of the endzones.

Maggie's Adventures

MAGGIE SAYS: "LOOK WHAT I DID TO THE GARAGE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Early morning humor

The alarm clock had been set early for Friday and Saturday morning. The alarm clock is on the Husband's side of the bed and he forgot to turn it off last night. I am always quite amused by his inability to comprehend and navigate the clock radio in the wee hours of the morning (say 6 or 7 am). Inevitibly he hits the "nap" button or something and about 20 minutes later the harsh "beep, beep, beep" goes off. This morning he was making quite a racket trying to change the settings after the "music" went off for the first time and I asked what he was doing....after he said "I'm resetting it" I said "IT'S SUNDAY....we don't need to get up!" I'm glad I can find humor in all of this...more importantly I'm glad I can fall back asleep after all that commotion!

Out of Indiana!

The husband had a "new faculty" retreat Friday and Saturday up in New Buffalo, MI, a little lakeside resort town. Because I worked Friday morning (probably could have gotten out of it) and the dog, I didn't go up Friday and he came home that night. I did, however, jump at the chance to go along for the Sat. morning session. YIPEE!!!!!! a morning out of Indiana near Lake Michigan. It was only about 50 minutes away....good to know...and it was funny how the scenery suddenly seemed more lovely the minute we crossed the border. It was a much needed morning away and I even enjoyed the discussion amongst the new faculty about "Research at a Catholic University".

Another dog story

I liked this story about the Bau House Cafe in Seoul, South Korea that I heard on NPR this morning...

Me and Lance

Yeah....Lance Armstrong and I have a lot in common. We both were on sports teams named POSTAL and wore yellow jerseys. We're the same age. We know more about chemotherapy drugs than the common person (more than we both really would like to know). AND we've both picked this summer as the end of our big sporting career. He finished out with his 7th win in the Tour de France and I finished out playing with the team that won the South Bend Ultimate frisbee summer league tournament this past Saturday. UNLIKE Lance, however, I've not really been at the top of my game for the last couple years. Oh sure, I'll still play pick-up...but I don't think I want to play tournaments anymore where we play 5 games on hot and humid summer days. The legs just can't take it....because we all know I'm not 15 anymore!

An alternative news site....

Heard about this Happy News website on NPR on our drive back from Madison. Sounds like a great website to lock into your favorites and check on a daily basis. They only report happy news, or as the spokes person said...they report the more positive side of news stories. I like the article title..."one-eyed dog watches TV". I think I will go read that one now... Have a great day!

It's about time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is where my good friends Bryn and John got married this past weekend....they've only been together for 10 years. Dr. Evermore's. It is a site to be seen and surprisingly they were not the FIRST couple to get married here!!! But probably the first to do so where they gave their friends and family only 2 weeks notice! They really pulled it off, though, so may just have set a new wedding trend..... 

Google

I want to work for Google. Not only do they serve really good food for lunch, but it is free for the employees. The theory goes that if you serve good food on-site, fewer people will leave work for lunch=higher productivity. And they get to work on cool things like the moon map. How can you NOT want to work for this company?

Dog Photo

I took this picture of this little guy waiting patiently for his owner outside a coffee shop in San Diego. I think he's saying something like: "Excuse me, I could use a shot of espresso." This photo is in honor of the San Fran Dog Blog...which is totally hilarious. 

I GIVE UP!!!!!!!!

I know, I know....you are all going to fall over in your chairs when you learn that I finally caved in and turned on the air conditioner. The weather here has mostly been over 90 degrees since we moved here and I've only had the AC on 2 times previously. See...we have one of those big attic fans that makes life tolerable at night. I do really like warm humid weather and I've been away from it for three years. The poor husband has been tolerant until recently when he's been complaining that the sheets feel wet when he climbs into bed. See, we've also been getting a lot of afternoon thunderstorms. This does not make it cooler outside it just makes it sticky and damp inside. And the bath towels never dry. So, I finally caved in...not because of the heat, but because of the dampness inside. I hope this will dry things up a bit. I still only set the thermostat to 80 degrees. I'm heading out to buy a dehumidifier, too.....

Photo Fun!

Just goofing around with photos in Picasa...my new favorite photo editing program. This is a shot of my niece at her school performance in May. She's on the far right in the green shirt. They are singing....C and I listened to all of the performances in order hear her sing..the last performance of the program! I think I win some aunty points for that one!!! 

Hot weather cooking

Last night was SO humid and we had frisbee practice/pick-up. So, needless to say it was not a night for a hot dinner. So, I made this great Avocado Gazpacho. Try it out!

3 avocados---diced
2 cups peeled, seeded, and diced cucumbers
3/4 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup chopped
14.5 ounce vegetable or chicken broth
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1.5 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Throw 1/2 ingredients into blender and blend. Place in bowl. Blend rest of ingredients and serve! It is good with some crusty bread or chips!