Sandy Storm

I was watching the news last night and this morning on the edge of my seat as I have friends and family back east (PA, NY, NJ) that I have been concerned about.

Heard from my brother in New York that they are fine, just downed trees so luckily none hit the house. Electricity went out and don't think that is back up yet but millions are without power I hear. Here is one of the photos he sent. Huge trees downed!

I heard from my daughter in PA. She is fine and has power and luckily a tree missed hitting her car by I don't know, inches?  From the photos it looks like some of the smaller twigs and leaves did reach the back of her car but apparently it is fine.

One (Internet) friend had severe flooding - house, car, I am not sure if anything is salvageable or not but she lived along the jersey shore that get the worst of the storm's damage from what I've heard.  Hopefully she'll be able to recoup, rebuild or start over, at least her family is alive and well. 

Hope that all who have suffered loss and damage from this storm will recover soon!

Ties these days..

Who would have thought that it would be 36 degrees this morning in Dallas!  Luckily it is suppose to go up to the 60's today and by Tuesday the 70's. Good because I did not bring a coat.

I am watching Face the Nation and one of the speakers around the table (sorry do not know his name) is wearing an orange polka dot tie (orange with white dots). Anything goes these days as far as ties go, don't they?  Used to be that sort of tie would only be worn as a joke! Not anymore. Even the shirts are getting to be bolder, with those sort of ties that don't even match in color.

It has become a bet every evening between my husband and I , as to whether or not Brian Williams is wearing a PURPLE tie or some variation of purple. Nine times out of ten he is.  I don't know if he is instructed to do so by a wardrobe specialist so that it brings out his eyes, or if he just prefers purple. It is funny though, that is now the first thing I look for when Nightly News with Brian Williams comes on while fixing or eating dinner. Too funny!

This morning

Training is going okay. Last night a bunch of us decided to find this Texas barbecue restaurant which was tasty but filling. I knew before I even ordered take out dessert (peach cobbler) that I was going to be exercising today in the fitness room.

So this morning, bright and early I got my wake up call at 6:30am and got dressed and headed down to the 'fitness room' . I went down and set the treadmill to 40 minutes this time (to work out until 7:30am) and set it to fat burning mode.  I guessed on the speed, etc. as I do not know how to use treadmills. I was about 20 minutes into my walk and then a lady came in.

I looked over to say good morning to her but she did not look at me and proceeded to the scale. At first I was impressed thinking she wanted to see how much she weighed before working out.  Instead, after she weighed herself, she picked up her drink and promptly left the room!  Hello!  Lady!  You could have used several minutes, if not hours on the treadmill!!  Oh well, guess I was exercising alone.

I was just over 30 minutes into my walk, enjoying the Today show on the television set over on the wall which I had turned on when I arrived in the empty exercise room.  A man walked in and clearly based on his demeanor and clothing, was there to work out!  He started to do some weightlifting on the bench. At that point I had less than 5 minutes left on the treadmill. All of a sudden he walked over to the TV control and changed the channel!  It was as if I wasn't even there.  Clearly he was self absorbed because any POLITE person would have asked if I minded that he change the channel. 

I was ready to ask him if he was married (didn't see a ring) and then when he said no, ready to say something like "it shows because you didn't even ask if I minded if you changed channels, jerk!".  Instead I just let it go and watched as my heart rate went from 115 to 141 on the heart rate monitor on the treadmill.  I just shut it off then, lifted a few 10 lb weights (for arm exercise) and then left.  I was then mad at myself for not having said something to him.  If it happens to me again, I WILL say something!

Training Days

Thanks to my oldest, I got some great tips for the drive to training and got here just fine and avoided any flyovers (overpasses that go higher up than any I've experienced back east)
 :)  Of course leaving around 11:00am so that I avoid any potential traffic jams was a great idea as well.  Thankfully Monday was considered a travel day, so I could have gotten lost and ended up in another state and STILL have been here in time for Tuesday morning's meeting.

Training is for two weeks and the company I work for sprung for some very nice accommodations! I am in a suite where there is a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and even a two burner stove!  Nice, although I am not planning on cooking!  Only got through the second day of training so still have a while to go, but it is going as well as expected and the weather has been perfect. 

And I also have to thank my youngest as I am borrowing her DVD player so that I can still do my exercise CD's while away. Sitting around in training for two weeks with no exercise would lead to a flabby, lazy me!  So I am not about to let that happen.  I used the treadmill and some weights this morning too in the exercise room they have here. Not used to using a treadmill but I did walk for 30 minutes and went .85 of a mile according to the readings on the treadmill so that was okay by me.

I am with a group of 6 others and have enjoyed chatting and getting to know my fellow co-workers. Everyone is very nice and friendly. 

I was teasing my hubby about bringing our littlest furkid with me to training as this place does allow pets, but she'd be alone all day long and I wouldn't do that to her but I do see some other people with dogs (mostly outside walking them) and it does make me miss all of them. I have noticed though, that the last two mornings I woke up and did NOT have to pull any dog hair out of my mouth and I was able to turn over at night without having to be careful not to kick any dog off the bed by accident.

Note to self, microwave popcorn and coffee are not the best tasting combination.

I am off to watch some TV before turning in and looking forward to a great day tomorrow.

Getting Ready

I'm off to head to training tomorrow for my new job.  Things I did, some of which I haven't had to do in years...mix and match and gather up several days of business casual attire..I haven't worked in an office in over 7 years...
then there is shaving my legs.. check
plucking a few stray eyebrow hairs...check
shaping and filing my nails...check..
got a haircut on Friday...check

..maybe these are things that many do all the time, and yes I keep my nails trimmed, but I have to be honest, I rarely shave my legs anymore....just don't have the need.

Will also have to pack up my makeup which I'll do tomorrow before I leave, and drive over 3 hours to get there which I haven't driven more than a few miles one way in months.

But I will be fine, I'm sure.  I got some tips from my oldest as well who is familiar with the highways in that area, so I think I'm set.  I am looking forward to starting this new chapter in my career and hold positive thoughts! :)

Wish me luck!

It's October, isn't it?

I know some parts of the US are experience very cold temperatures and even snow in a few areas. But I live in Central Texas and it is 48 degrees!  What's up with that ya'll? 

Nothing should be a surprise anymore with the way the weather patterns have been in the last few years, but it still does blind side me when things like this happen. It is perhaps felt even more so because just two days ago we got upwards of 90 degrees, so this 48 degrees is really bone chilling.

That being said, I started a crock pot of Minestrone Soup with wheat noodles last night before turning in so that I can share a bowl of the hearty soup with my youngest before she heads back to college later on. She came home yesterday for a short visit and as always it is great having her here. She hasn't been home in over a month!

And this morning I made Apple Cinnamon Pancakes for breakfast. They hit the spot.

Well I turned a corner in my career and gave my notice on Friday. I was flattered that they really want me to stay and even made a change to make the job more manageable, but I have already made up my mind and accepted a new job offer. I am a person of integrity and keep my word and I am looking forward to my new work venture.

Not much else planned for today, maybe a movie or two. Definitely do not feel up to walking the dogs in this chilly weather. But my daughter and I took the two rowdiest dogs for a mile and a half walk yesterday afternoon, so that will have to do for now. Unless it really warms up before day's end ;-)