Happy Holidays

Since we are traveling, our posting might be limited. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Finally, recarpeted basement!

Cookies Galore

Kelly baked some amazing cookies this weekend! The prettiest weren't actually cookies but chocolate dipped pretzels. YUMMMMMMM! Thanks for the treats, Kelly.

Good Day

We had a really good 24 hours. Last night, Troy and I hung out with some friends and asked loaded questions. It's a good and quick way to learn how others think! We started our Saturday by sleeping in until mid-morning. Around noon, our doorbell rang and our kindergarten neighbor boy dressed as mini-Santa and his dad presented us with freshly baked holiday cookies. Yummy! Then we worked around the house some before meeting Steve and Charlene at a local pottery show. After that we went over to Raleigh. While Steve walked two pugs, Charlene, Youngin and I walked over to Third Place Coffee. We enjoyed some good coffee and conversation, and Steve joined in after his dog walks. Then we browsed around NoFo (an old Piggly Wiggly building) a little before heading home. On the way home we stopped for a $5.99 cheese pizza at a local pizza shop. We came home and ate the pizza while watching an Oregon PBS travel show. Finally, we cleaned out the basement because we are having new carpet installed on Monday. Now we can relax a bit before bedtime.

365 days

Hard to believe but true.... one year ago we were en route to Argentina, eagerly anticipating an unknown adventure while attempting sleep in a 1.5 x 3 foot space, otherwise known as a seat.

We are better people because of experiencing and exploring that beautiful country.

HaPpY bIrThDaY, TROY!

Ukulele Boy

Yeah, posting more viral videos isn't too creative, but this is cute.

More uplifting

Thanks to Cat for the tip.... and turn up your volume.

Atrocious spelling

Not trying to start the week out with negative sentiments, but this past week I've been appalled at the horrific spelling abilities of a few teenagers I know. One girl showed me her food diary which listed "yogart" "mosarela cheez" "pretcils" etc. Also, I've been reading some comments to newspaper articles online and the majority of people who wrote something can't spell, punctuate or use grammar properly. im not perfek, eyethur, butt shirley peoples dont gradyooate without sum basic nowlege of Inglish??!!

More soup

To round out the week, Korean rice and eggroll soup and tonight jambalaya for our party. Still need to run to the store for the rest of the ingredients. It's not really authentic without shrimp but some are allergic so might have to leave it out.

GULP!

Time to unravel! the sweater I've been knitting on and off for 2 years now was starting to take shape. The back is about 2/3 complete and I had cast on more stitches for the sleeves a couple weeks ago. But now, after knitting 10 rows, I noticed that one sleeve is shorter by 5-6 stitches (i.e. 1.5 inches). ARGH! At least I didn't knit the entire back before noticing.

Soup's on

So far this week, cioppino and chicken tortilla. Jambalaya at the end of the week.

Feel bad for the rest of our family snowed-in and enduring cold temps. Move south, y'all!

Yes, I bribe kids

As I walked in, the 4 year old girl sat in the chair with her legs swinging and arms crossed huffily. Her lip stuck out a mile and she glared at me. She couldn't hold back a second longer and blurted out in her most threatening voice "don't give my mommy a shot."

I had to smother my smile and turned to look at Mom. She was laughing, though obviously proud of her little girl sticking up for her. Cute! Little firecracker chose a truck sticker for her efforts at good behavior for the rest of the visit.

I'm worried.

I found out tonight Youngin likes five guys.

The kitchen reaction

So, we've been noticing a small trend in our little observational study. It seems that those who have been to our house prior to the kitchen remodel have much greater appreciation for the improvement than those who hadn't (like our neighbors a while ago).
This difference was highlighted again tonight as we had two couples over, one had been to our house before, and the other for the first time. You guessed it, those who saw the previous wall-papered, carpeted, brown cabinet-filled kitchen were amazed at the transformation.
The lesson here is that we need to hang up before and after posters on the wall.

Snow or Sun?

One thing to not miss about Chicago is snow. Today's weather forecast there called for snow, highs in the 30s. WE, on the other hand, spent a sunny day at the beach, with the temperatures kissing 70. We also finally found the cafe that everyone at work raves about. It was yummy!

Dwayne Potts in the Akron Beacon Journal

Dwayne Potts of Akron (top) stretches with his 3-year-old son, Ben (bottom) while 5-year-old Will loosens up in preparation to participate in Gennesaret Inc.'s 18th annual Home Run for the Homeless. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

I saw Dwayne and the boys as I was flipping through the "Photos of the Week" Section online! It's Photo #26 of 41.

Do you miss Chicago?

That's probably the second most question I am asked, the first one being "Your name is what again?"

Yes, I miss Chicago sometimes: its beautiful, enjoyable, summertime lakefront, all the fun festivals, all the umpteen thousand varieties of food including deep dish pizza, the hustle and bustle of Michigan Ave, the squarely laid-out roads, the pleasant surprise of glorious flower bouquets in planters along the sidewalks, etc.

Most especially, being a shoe girl, I miss Nordstrom Rack. What better fortune do I have than being the exact size of Nordstrom's sample shoes (6)??!! Seriously! Since moving, I've had some luck at other shoe warehouses, but no one beats the Nordstrom shoe selection. BUT, great news! There's one coming!!!!! And the next time you see me, check out my shoes.... you'll find the right one slightly more scuffed/faded/misshapen than the left. Now you know the rest of the story.

Did you really mean that?

Seen: Target Sunday ad "Extra in-store deals -- not found in your print ad" (uh, that's what I'm looking at right now)

Seen: Old Navy Sunday ad "100% real faux-fur" (uh, ok, I'm not fluent in French, but seriously...)

Zuppa toscana

Touring Italy via food.

Legal Beagle

Here is a definition found within the NC Statutes:

"(3) Entity. – A person that is not a human being."

Anyone else confused?

Pieduckin

Ok, technically no duck nor chicken, but you get it: the combo of Charlene's yummy pumpkin pie and a cream cheese walnut spice cake. Char whipped up a fabulous thanksgiving meal, sans turkey since we all were in favor of pork and sauerkraut. (Yep, we live in the pork capital). Add the mashed potatoes, buttered carrots, and voila.... a feast.

Thanksgiving Article

I doubt too many of our readers are enthralled with the Cleveland sports scene, so I'm mostly posting this one for posterity.

As a kid (pre-internet, mind you) I looked forward all week to reading Hal Lebovitz in the Sunday edition of the Mansfield News Journal. A lot of times, my dad and I would drive down to Mifflin and pick up the paper before Sunday dinner, which was always fun. Anyway, Hal managed to fit a lot of information about all the Cleveland sports teams into one article. He was not sensational; he just presented interesting information. And if he predicted something would happen (i.e. a trade, manager change) it usually did.

Terry Pluto is a writer in a similar mold. Terry tends to use metaphors a bit more than Hal, but he seems to have solid sources and well-reasoned opinions. I will admit that Aaron, Nate, and I did make fun of Terry's comparisons from time to time. (Such as the time he referred to Jim Thome's legs as oak tree trunks.) But overall, I still look forward to Terry's articles just like I used to look forward to Hal's. If you read his latest article, you can see why he relates so well to the average I-never-even-played-varsity sportsfan.

Here is Terry's thanksgiving article. He also writes a faith article twice a month in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

freak ail

Actually, that should be free kale. Random savings. Local wholesome food store. Price rings up incorrectly. Assistant wanders off to check price. Returns to confirm incorrect price. Cashier says it's free. Uh, ok. Extra special zuppa toscana since it has a tail (er, tale).

Someday I may be old and cranky too

Dr. Blunt sees the world through his jade(d) colored glasses. Dr. Blunt is angry. Dr. Blunt lashes out at unsuspecting woman. Dr. Blunt refuses help. Dr. Blunt needs to retire. The End.

Troy's Poster at the Symposium

For details on the poster, please follow this link. The symposium was quite interesting, and filled beyond capacity. The best part was the free snacklicious snickers.

A surprise bloom

I had almost given up on my bougainvilla as it had not bloomed in nearly a year but this week, it is putting on a pretty show.

Mystery Cartoon

What is happening with Betty Blonde?! It's a new look, a new font! Theories abound.

It looks like Kelly's taking a break while in Mexico and we're getting a chance to see Christians graphic novel...

More abundant food

We enjoyed our annual Thanksgiving feast at work today. Everyone brought a dish and I learned that I work with some really fine cooks. Much to be thankful for, even food-wise.

Seen today on a message board: "Please take my advice since I don't want it."

Abundant food

We weren't scheduled to have lunch brought in today (yes, shhh, we still let drug reps bribe us with food) but just before noon, one called and asked if they could bring us some. Uh, sure. Apparently they had scheduled with a different office that was already booked so we ended up with the loot. The other office must have fifty employees or something crazy because they brought enough Mexican food to feed the neighborhood, like 7 huge containers of shredded cheese, etc. We divvied up the leftovers, giving most to our medical student. Yeah, we'll listen to your schpiel for a few minutes in exchange for lunch. Wonder why you pay $8 a pill?

With apologies

to our readers in Southern California, Texas, Argentina and other warm places who are accustomed to balmy climes in the "winter" months, it is still odd to me to hear Christmas carols in the stores when the thermometer reads 70 and the sun shines brightly. "Jingle all the way" and tank tops somehow clash in my head.

Official North Carolinians

Other than our drivers licenses, we could be identified as Carolinians by our enjoyment of eastern-style pulled pork. For the first time tonight, I tried to make it at home, and it passed the hubby test!

Ahhh, bliss!

What a fabulous weekend so far! Lazed about all morning yesterday, still in my bathrobe... a fantastic indulgence. I once knew a lady who was perpetually looking for the perfect robe; she wanted one that was warm and cozy for winter but also would allow her to bake and lounge all morning if she wanted. Her husband tried buying her several different kinds for different occasions but none fit the bill. Too long, too short, too thin, too thick, too clingy, too loose, too fleecy, and definitely needed a zipper. Wonder if she's found the right one?! I'm totally understanding her now.

Marijuana

Sorry about the hiatus in posting, but I developed a dull, heavy, and annoying headache like the ones I got several years ago. Probably caused by lack of sleep; finally caught up and felt good yesterday.

Also, for the first time in my life, I prescribed marijuana yesterday (not for myself although it might have blasted the headache). It's a rare person who needs to gain weight but hopefully this treatment will help her. No, it's not in our backyard. No, I can't give you an rx; see your own doc. Yes, it comes in pill form which takes the allure away. Yes, it should be legal.

Driver's Ed

Talking with Kelly about her driver's ed class has me reminiscing about high school! I took my driver's ed the summer before my 16th birthday, and actually got my license on my birthday. I rode my bike to class every morning, sat in lecture for an hour or two, then two of us hopped into a car with the instructor for the practical half of driving. One of my friend's dad owned the local Ford dealership that allowed the high school to use? borrow? buy? the driver's ed cars. I don't think that dealership exists anymore, and I've since lost contact with Shelley. The greatest part about obtaining my license was not having to ride the school bus one mile, but instead driving my parents blue Chevy Impala station wagon every day. Yep, I was a cool junior with a parking sticker!
Later that year, my cousin Tim taught me how to drive stick shift in his new car. I drove around the block with him and remember the car dying about 80 times, as I tried to coordinate the clutch and gear. The worst was stopping on a hill and rolling backward with a car approaching from behind. I thought we were dead, but somehow the car sputtered and we lurched forward enough to progress onward. If you ever wondered why Tim has lost his hair, it's my driving.

Mondayne? NOT!

No, today has not been mundane. Mondays are rarely mundane, since patients have had 1.5 days to snag a fever, sprain an ankle, cough up phlegm and swell with allergies. This Monday carried the additional benefit of a Duke medical student at my side. She's quite pleasant have around, and I've dusted off my teaching hat for a nice change of pace.
After work, we whirled down to Angier for a study and raced back home, just in time to empty the dishwasher, think about tomorrow's meals and breathe for a minute. Whew!

Uh-muh-nah, uh-muh-nah

It has been a topsy turvy day, starting with accompanying an older lady to the ER, ending with unexpected company. Fortunately everyone's fine and happy. As Pa Ingalls always said, "all's well that end's well."

Saturday fast food tour

So, after running early this morning in the frosty air, we decided to walk to the Evil McEmpire for breakfast as it is located in front of our neighborhood Ace hardware which was also on our list of stops. After bumping into a friend there, and a quick chow down, we walked over to Ace and happened to find the store was on sale 20%. By that time, we got a call to meet some other friends, so we ran home to shower and change, finally ending up at Taco Bell. We might have to bat for 3 fast food meals in a day. A record for me, definitely NOT a record for Troy.

Company

We enjoyed having some friends over last night for dinner. Since they seem to like different types of ethnic foods, we decided to try more authentic Korean food that ordinarily might be less appealing to non-Koreans. They were brave and even ate the spicier dishes without difficulty.

Fingertip towels and iceberg lettuce

My favorite part of last evening's dinner meeting at the finest hotel in the Triangle area was checking out the ladies' room: tastefully appointed wall coverings, with elegant chairs to rest weary legs, individual stalls closed by slatted doors, and actual fingertip towels (i.e. not paper) to dry one's hands. The air of sophistication floats in the hotel as staff simply glide around, earnestly attentive to everyone's needs.

As the ballroom doors opened and we were invited in for dinner, before us on beautiful dinnerware was a wedge of iceberg with a round of bacon. Iceberg! The disdained, most-discriminated-against vegetable in recent years for nutritional value equivalent to cardboard, has certainly made its vengeful return to the plates of the upper crust. I had heard rumors, seen menus with iceberg salad, but was doubtful of such a possibility. But it IS true, iceberg is back!

H1N1

Someone called it H3N3 because it was 3 times more severe than he had expected. Clever, and probably true. We've been seeing 3-5 cases daily, and some have been very ill. Today the last of our meager vaccine supply ran dry, leaving many kids unprotected and their parents disappointed. Even the regular flu vaccine has been scarce. Hopefully it won't be a terrible winter.

Thisclose

After working for several weeks on our office's application to become a nationally recognized medical home, we sat down for a few hours today to review the application, upload all our documentation, and finally maneuver the unwieldly web-based program. Just as we clicked the submit button, yet another pop-up requested more information. ARGH! For the umpteenth attempt at reaching a warm body (attached to an actual functioning brain), our efforts were stymied and we have to wait until someone calls or emails us back. Good thing we are slightly ahead of deadline!

Do you EVER REALLY...

... know what another person is going through at a particular moment?
... know how that person thinks about himself and others?
... know how to measure maturity? (What makes you mature?)
... learn everything about life, much less about a subject? (What defines an expert?)
... efficiently manage time?
... LOVE to do something you're not good at?
... have the opportunity to travel, see, smell, hold, hear, play, do, check-off a life's dream to-do list?

Just some musings from today.

Surf and Turf

Traditionally, I've not been a web surfer. It's not because I don't want to, but more because time never seems to come find me. But lately, I've bumped into a couple of sarcastically humorous sites (one blog written by a grumpy doctor, another showcasing the gorgeous people who hang out at walmart) which are amazing time sinks. I won't post actual links since we are attempting to keep our blog G-rated but it won't take you long to find those sites if you search certain words.

The turf part (for you astute readers who have been anxiously waiting to figure out what the title means) is running this morning in the drizzling rain with Steve and Charlene. It's a fit punishment for not getting out to run much this past month.

A day of baking, cooking, shopping and cleaning for moi; hubby and buddies are hanging out at the house with their project.

Enjoy a ghoulish day.

New oven adventures

Despite the careful wrapping of sweet potatoes, some sticky syrup fell onto the oven. Why not try the self-clean function at this opportunity? So far, so good... though it certainly smells "hot" in the kitchen.

Happy Birth-day

Here's a shout-out to the birthday girl... Hope you had a fabulous day, Lora! We love you!

And, congratulations to Ann and Chris on your new baby boy! Happy to hear Rylan is healthy, and all are doing well. Thanks for the pix.

Terrific Tuesday

I met some VERY interesting people today! Wish I could give details but prudence requires that I not share that information via this public forum. Needless to say, the day flew by quickly, despite sniffling my nose contantly. Yes, I was that annoying person who really should have stayed home.

Dinner update: caprese salad for appetizer, lemon pepper flounder, broccoli and baked sweet potato. I decided to try the delay time bake on the oven and it works well!

Weekend Blur

Sometimes the weekends fly by so quickly! We enjoyed a gourmet meal of cornish hens, roasted potatos, sauteed green beans and salad, topped off with a fruit parfait for dessert. Compliments to G'pa Milo for a beautiful dinner! Of course we found the company just as exciting.

Troy worked on his research projects and homework diligently all weekend, putting in nearly 12 hours on Saturday and another 8 on Sunday at school.

This weekend, I worked, hit the gym, caught up on a million chores (though there are still some remaining) and started a new knitting project (yes, 2 other projects are needing to be completed) but ahhhh, the thrill of something new! Thankfully a few of my knitting buddies understand this illness.

Tonight I found a 2 mile scenic path around a lake in Apex to run... just the right length to burn off stress but not too overwhelming. After a dinner of beef fajitas, I was glad I had run a little earlier.

Plodders Unite!

This NY Times article was disheartening for a newbie runner like me. I've not even completed a full marathon, so why not discourage the idea even more?! Evidently I would fit into the "plodder" category (extrapolating my average mile time which no doubt would increase significantly past the 3 mile mark!) Apparently, some marathoners disdain the slow lane. Errrr, it takes effort for me to get to that point!

Mo' rockin'

This week's experiment is "Chicken Butternut Tagine" a deep-spiced Moroccan dish with chicken, butternut, olives and raisins from the latest Cooking Light magazine. I opted for serving it over basmati rice instead of couscous since that was on hand. The mix of salt and sweet with the curry-type flavors warms the tongue with a pop at the end. This one passed the hubby taste test!

Bipolar weather, Football addiction, and Test taking strategies

This week's weather alternates between cold and hot in a matter of hours. A new word for this mixed up season needs to be coined, such as "sautumn" or "fummer" or "sall" or something. Plus, my wardrobe is all over the place. Do these weird outfits (summer light dress, winter weight sweater and open-toed shoes) make sense anywhere but in NC in October?

We also been following stellar football teams such as the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears this season. The good thing about rooting for the underdog is the thrill of an occasional first down, much less a win. If you don't expect anything, then you'll never be disappointed!

Some people are excellent strategists and buzz through standardized tests, knowing exactly the answer the test-writers are seeking. The rest of us poor test takers bumble through each question, reading every detail and wasting time trying to understand the question, let alone the answer options. We've been in test taking mode these past couple of months, and finally gathering the little pearls on mastering the questions quickly.

This ain't sashimi, folks!

For Troy & those blessed with that kind of brain

Troy might be influencing me more than I realize, since this cooking for engineers website is quite interesting for me to read. (You can only imagine the analysis that goes into every little detail.... and who in world knows what "orthogonal" thought means??!!)

Food adventures and misadventures

One of the highlights of fall is all the yummy produce. We've eaten some juicy and sweet clementines, apples, butternut squash, etc recently.

I've been trying to become friends with my oven, especially the convection part. My previous attempt at homemade pizza using the convection function was disappointing because despite par-baking the crust, it wasn't fully baked, and then the cheese on top was nearly burnt but underneath, the cheese was yet gooey. So, tonight I tried again using the regular bake function and the pizza turned out better. Perhaps pizza is not amenable to convection.

While the pizza stone was preheating (Cooks Illustrated suggests an hour) I baked a cake which came out looking good, but we haven't tasted it yet.

Last week, I baked oatmeal raisin cookies with convection and they turned out ok. Supposedly, convection baking requires less cooking time but that batch of cookies needed about the same as normal baking. The oven also has a convection roast function but that seems almost contradictory as roasts require long, slow cooking to tenderize the meat. There's definitely a learning curve with this convection business.

My new favorite thing

Thanks to our moms, I recently got this 5.5 qt Le Creuset french oven which I've been watching for almost two years now. It's fantastic for soups (latest one being mashed potato soup), stews, roasts, etc. since it easily transfers from stovetop to oven and vice versa. Thanks to all my sisters-in-law, I also have lots of new recipes to try out. Fortunately Troy is willing to be adventurous.

On the pier at Alligator Park

"Noculars" at the Alligator Park, while wearing crocs

As we were standing on the pier, a rambunctious little boy careened onto the wooden planks in his spiderman plastic bike, jumped off, climbed the railing and almost dumped over into the water, where the alligator was floating, as his mom was trying to catch up. She thanked us profusely for hanging onto her kid. Soon after that, she dug through her big purse, found some cheerios and threw them into the lake. What is the proper thing to say in that situation????Notice the turtle hitching a ride on the gator's back. This creature didn't look too friendly. Later the same day, we learned about a golfer who had his arm bitten off by one.



Minzie loves Uncle Troy and his "noculars." He tied the neck strap so it would hang around her neck better. "Look at me, I'm like him." Minzie demonstated to me how noculars work in the photo above. She saw white birds, black birds and pumpkins with her noculars during the weekend. And yes, that's her friend Dora on her feet.

Toss them shoes!

Please look at this bird...

In an effort to distract from my alabaster legs (not easily accomplished), I am posting some good photos of a Clapper Rail. I spotted this life bird this morning along the boardwalk to the beach and Youngin took the photos. I had never seen one of these before, though I have heard them several times on the coast.

Guess whose legs?

Thanks, Hyesoo, for an excellent shot!

Fun, sun and happiness

Ahhh... it's been sunny and warm! We jumped into the ocean, and enjoyed the perfect waves. We found a neat little seafood stand, cooked up some fresh scallops and extra-large shrimp.

The best part of today are two cute, inquisitive, beach-loving girls who give out fabulous hugs.

Hilton Head Island

We are headed for a long weekend of family fun. We're meeting my parents, Younguk, and his female troop in SC. Can't wait to see the girls.... I'm guessing they've changed a lot in a few months. Plus, conversations with 3 year old girls are always interesting!

Walkers

All of the sudden on the bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, streams of people were walking past our house. Took us awhile, but we figured out that it was for the Crop Hunger Walk. Not really sure what that is about, but sure drew a crowd. Nice to see!

And for all the font gurus out there...

Here.

And here.

tg

Fish Fry

Ok, blog commentators, want to see how many puns we can dredge up from this story?

This is our town...

... but must reflect the other side of Cary's tracks!

Uh oh, guess whose turn?

After avoiding illness for nearly a year, I've now started feeling feverish, chilled, achy with a sore throat. The 10 hour per night sleeping marathons, accentuated by vitamin c and chicken soup, haven't deterred this virus. At least now I can commiserate with Troy!

Betty Blonde Advertising

Akron Marathon 2009

We managed to finish the marathon relay! We were one of the last relays to finish (962 of 970) but we all ran our personal best pace, so we're happy! Youngin ran 3.5 miles at a 9:30 pace and Troy ran 7.9 miles at an 8:29 pace. You can find us listed as The 5 G's team in the Relay Teams results.

Our cousins, John and Julie Mitchell ran very well, and you can find their names in the Individual marathon results. John created the design for our Team Gilmore shirts. It should be a great shirt to wear again in February for the Krispy Kreme Challenge!

Here's the Akron Beacon Journal Coverage.




The only bad part about the weekend is that Troy came down with the flu on Sunday and missed school today.

Anyone up for a weekend at Fallingwater?

They are now offering a weekend experience at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in PA. (Only $1,195)

Ok, so that may be out of the budget, but I've taken the regular tour a couple times and it really is an interesting place.

Lots of answers, even more questions

1) If the white-haired lady sitting two rows ahead of me is wildly fanning herself when the lecture hall is set at 58 degrees, how does she fare in the middle of the night?
1a) Does her husband wear a parka instead of PJs?
2) Why did the man in the row behind me, avidly reading his novel, sign up for a conference when he could be relaxing on a comfortable beach lounger getting to know James Patterson better?
3) Why are some men unable to wear anything besides a suit and tie, especially if they are in the audience and not on the podium?
4) If the very old doc (in the suit, of course) can't find his seat too well, is retirement an option yet?
5) Do unlikely couples (like the 60-some-year-old lady who wears inappropriately short and tight dresses, hanging onto her casually-garbed, much-shorter man) have better marriages?
6) How does the haven't-moved-beyond-the-hippie-era-woman knitting a complex afghan during every lecture still absorb information? (I met her after making this observation and she's very nice, btw.)
7) How many variations of Coach bags ARE there?!! I've counted about 40+ so far this week, the best one being the gold leather shopping bag style one.
8) Who decided that a canvas bag with C's printed all over is a status symbol anyway?
9) How is the lady who chronically snacks ALLLLLL day long maintain a decent weight? (Yep, just like special meeting rounds, we're fed every 2 hours and some people manage to haul in a load at every snack, making it a continuous feed.)
10) Why do intelligent people NOT know how to turn their cell phones to VIBRATE?!! Like seriously, folks, there's a ringtone going off at least every 5 minutes... and that's NO exaggeration!!

Akron Marathon Coverage

Here is some coverage in the Akron Beacon Journal:

Family Relay
Interest Running High

And, uh-oh, here's the weather forecast!

And a PBJ dependent ultra-running chef from Akron.

Fun? Run

We were invited to run at 6:30 this morning, so I joined the other 30 in the 2 mile event. The winner was a young man who has come to every session in his green military garb, and obviously looks very fit. His time was 12+ min. The beginning had an uphill which almost made me turn around but I ended up finishing in 18 min and a few. Later, at the beginning of the lecture, we heard that the course might actually be slightly less than 2 mile. POP... bursting the bubble of my best time yet.

Taking NERD to a whole new level

Youngin interacts with engineers at work occasionally. They're the ones who bring in graphs and spreadsheets tracking their health.

I bumped into this guy's website* while trying to look up a unit conversion online. He is definitely taking nerd to a new level! Anyone who does a full analytical study on the color distribution of M&M's definitely has reached nerd status.

And because we all like bacon, especially Youngin, check this out.

*Disclaimer - I only glanced at a couple pages, so I can't guarantee there is no vulgarity on this site.

People Watching Heaven

Those of you who are like me and LOVE to watch people will appreciate that this week has been a feast for my eyes. I've met some really interesting and nice people here, and some I've observed to be really interesting. The world is made up of different colors, flavors, and personalities to sprinkle on top.

By the way, the food has been excellent; a sweet way to make up for sitting on my rear for 14 hours per day.

Lancaster, PA

Thanks to everyone for birthday wishes, cards, calls, songs, videos, gifts, etc. It was a happy day overall! We spent the day at convention, which has never happened before (now I know how Younguk has felt occasionally).

This week, I am at a conference in PA. The sessions started Sunday night, and all week will be 7am-10pm. Just thinking about it makes my brain hurt, so I'm trying to pay attention to one session at a time. Thankfully coffee is plentiful.

Brunch Book

Youngin wrangled her way into opening this birthday package before her actual birthday arrived! (Ok, give her credit for waiting at least a week.) She's pretty excited about her new Brunch! cookbook signed by the author, Gale Gand!



(P.S. This is Youngin now.... thanks for the b-day gift. I love it! Can't wait to dive into those recipes!)

Suspicions

I have that sneaky feeling that someone's birthday is coming up. I just can't figure out why!

teg

Fix it day

Besides the fixing of dinner to think about, the granite people came back to fix the slight misalignment of the smallest piece of countertop to the left of the stove. The 1/4 inch gap in the front was barely noticeable at first, but became one of those things that glared at me every time I walked by. Much better now!

The range's bottom warming drawer also has been askance since delivery and the repairman came again this afternoon. He said the problem was not fixable, so now we await a replacement, likely in a couple of weeks.

More things to fix: the laundry situation, the ironing situation, the packing situation, and the what-to-feed-hubby situation....

Nonjudgemental judgement

Is there such a thing? My days are spent talking with lots of people with lots of issues. I try to assess the him or her (usually within 10-15 seconds of entering the room) in order to figure out what that person needs. Quick judgement is needful and useful but sometimes as people continue to tell me details of their issues, I have to hold back on the other kind of judgement. I want to be open to everyone to share their feelings, emotions, indiscretions, failures, and triumphs. Most people seem to be comfortable enough with me to do so.... BUT, Is it possible to help people without making judgement of their character? Is any judgement at all fair?

Dude, where's my soap?!

Here's an interesting study about hand washing!

Neighbors, Relatives and Strangers

The Greenwood Forest neighbors gathered at our house and we really enjoyed getting to know them better. Somehow we manage to talk often with people far away but don't know our immediate neighbors well enough.

Steve, Charlene and we ran at the American Tobacco Trail again this morning. We all ran a full hour, sweated some, and are happy to be done with that task.

While running today, we saw a man who was walking with a cane in his left hand, pulling his seated walker with his right, and said a hearty "good morning" to everyone who passed by. He inspired me more than those buff fitness gurus on the trail!

Run, Spot, Run

Besides the need to physically run in order to get ready for the upcoming Akron marathon at the end of the month, there are lot of little things which need tending. We enjoyed our convention last weekend, seeing old friends and meeting new. We also completed the hallway trim paint job, only a year overdue. Troy has been finishing the wood tables that he made last year. We are having our neighbors over, which means a little more cleaning than usual on my day off.

Troy is now fully entrenched in school and research, so sometimes comes up for air and food. I am preparing for a conference in 10 days, aside from trying to complete my CME reading before the end of the month. We are also looking forward to meeting my family at Hilton Head next month for a long weekend. The carpet in the basement needs to be installed but may have to wait a little bit longer than hoped.

AT LAST! Completed Kitchen Remodel

The original kitchen with the L-shaped counter and carpet

The new galley kitchen (range side)

Fridge side

"Blue in the night" granite countertop

NOT stressed enough, according to research

This story explains why I'm prone to rapid-fire mosquito bites.

Neighborhood Crime Meeting

Due to a rash of several burglaries of unlocked tool sheds last month, the Cary Police Department and Crime Stoppers called a community meeting for our area. We decided to go, expecting about 10 people, but were surprised by what we estimate to be about 100 people. And this gathering had the highest average age of any gathering we've been to since we went to the Johnny Cash impersonator concert!

Two interesting things:
First, I had heard about some burglaries and wondered why we weren't seeing more police around. It didn't dawn on me that the police were around more, but I didn't notice because I was sleeping during the hours they increased their patrols. Kind of makes sense, doesn't it?

The other is that nearly all the theft was from unlocked storage sheds in back yards or unlocked screen porches. The theory is that someone on foot went around to several storage sheds, pulled out lawnmowers, weedeaters, etc, and placed them on the curb. Then someone came along with a truck or vehicle and picked the stuff up. Nice. Too bad these guys don't apply their efficient methods to real jobs.

And just for fun - don't forget to smile the next time you're pulled over.

More 80s

Flashbacks to high school -- really freaky to see actual 15 year olds are wearing Ray-Ban Wayfar glasses to go along with side ponytails, long t-shirts over leggings and skinny jeans, accessorized by dangling bright-colored earrings. The mall was a scary place this weekend..... just waiting for the boxer shorts over thermal long underwear in the winter.

Hot Dog, Anyone?!

And you said you'd stop eating hot dogs after your mom told you what's in them...

What would you say after you see this?

Patience

... is not my strong suit. I understand it is a virtue, so today's experience might be helping me to cultivate that particular trait.

After diligently waiting for a return call about our countertop, finally heard today that it will not be installed until next Wednesday. I thought we had established today as THE day but alas, I will have to be more patient. Since we haven't had any real glitches in this kitchen redo, I should simply be thankful, then slowly inhale and exhale some deep cleansing breaths.

The Mailbox

For some odd reason lately, grabbing the mail out of the mailbox seems like a chore. There are days when I just leave it there, and wait another day before cleaning out the box. WHY!?! Most of the stuff is junk, and only requires mere sorting but I can't figure myself out.

Minzie, on the other hand, excitedly told me on the phone yesterday that she just got a mailbox and she was getting out her mail.

Life is wayyy better at age 3.

First Day of Kindergarten

On my run around the block this morning, I spotted a little girl in pigtails, wearing a pleated plaid skirt, standing in her yard. Her mama was trying to get her to smile for the camera, and the girl looked partly sad, partly bored and partly excited. What a photo to memorialize in the scrap book!

Exercise Night 5

Youngin and I managed to run a few times during the kitchen escapades, but not as much as we wanted. Most of our runs were of the 2 mile variety.

Last night we ran for about an hour. Youngin ran 4 miles (continuous) in about 42 minutes. I ran 5.25 in 51 minutes. We definitely missed Steve and Charlene!

Akron Relay is only about a month away!

The Hardwood Flooring Specialists

Dad's secret passion is caulk, we've learned. "Do you want me to caulk that?" "Maybe that should have caulk..."

Kitchen Improvements

The last bit of kitchen stuff

The end is nearing. The countertop people are coming today to measure for a template. Troy and Dad will work on the crown moulding tonight and hopefully have it done by tomorrow. We need to touch-up the walls with paint, put all the doors and drawers back on, refill the closet and cabinets, clean out the sunroom and move furniture back in. Hopefully the dining room table will back to its original spot by tomorrow. The marathon late-night sessions are just about over. We'll post pictures after the crown gets done.

Kitchen Renovation Progress

Our new range arrived yesterday and was installed tonight along the new hood which has 4 lights over the range. We tried out the gas cooktop for dinner and it seemed to work just fine. We heated the electric oven to 350 and it did well too.
We've almost completed the install of the cabinets. Only the bottom one by the fridge remains to be put into place, aside from the doors and hardware. The end is in sight!

Head Scratcher

Crown molding is not easy.

Kitchen Renovation: THE REFRIGERATOR FITS!

Nearly everyone who saw our renovation in progress immediately asked if the refrigerator would really fit in that opening!? As a result, I measured it about 74 times and even double checked it in the middle of the night once.

It fits.

Life is good when your fridge fits.

Health Care

When people ask, Youngin always says she doesn't have a definite answer to fix the health care system (although she thinks HSA's are a great idea). She also says the government makes a terrible insurance company. And this is generally a non-political blog.

But some of the opposition people have to the current health care plan makes me wonder if they've really thought a lot about the system we currently have.

Here are some examples of what we have with our current system:
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Rationing -
- You call an insurance company for a quote and they make you pay more because you have condition X, or are predisposed to condition X.
- You can't afford decent coverage because you don't work for mega-corporation Z, so you go without certain medications or procedures.
- Your insurance company won't cover procedure Q because they don't think it's necessary (ie, it costs them money), so you go without medications or procedures.

These things happen every day in America. They are all forms of rationing.

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Socialized Medicine -
- When someone who is penniless goes to the emergency room. Emergency room personnel effectively cannot turn them away. The hospital eats the cost of the treatment, but in reality they pass it on to everyone by charging our insurance company more, which in turn charges us more to have insurance.
- Someone really needs psychiatric help, but there's no funding to pay for it, so they end up in jail after a psychotic episode instead. Our taxes pay for this.
- What happens when someone costs the insurance company too much money? They raise premiums on all of us. Hopefully the person is able to retain their coverage.

These things happen all the time in America. They are ways of socializing health cost.

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I found these articles interesting:

- The fact checker links near the end of this article.
- Or this article about how Massachusetts' "government healthcare" is failing.

Installing Oak Flooring

Our pre-finished oak flooring is installed, thanks to Youngin's parents!

Youngin and I were able to help a little bit today.

Laundry? or Cabinets?

The cabinets have been primed, lightly sanded and are ready for final spray painting some time this week.