Mom's 60th

Mom's 60th birthday party looks like it was a huge success. I'll be posting pictures on my web page soon.

The Book

I know that Barb will be wondering so the fantastic book I finished read today was "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. (There's a little accent on the o in Zafon but I don't know how to do that :)

It was long but a very good read.

Solar Update

Folks, we are doing fantastic. Those little panels sit up on the roof all day and all night (although that doesn't do us much good, does it) and produce power. Quietly, cleanly, not so efficiently (but hey, who's perfect?) producing energy.

Last month we used net zero energy. This month, we produced more energy than we used. Here's the updated web page with the cost chart http://shelley.is.dreaming.org/solarpages/main.html

What a fantastic life!

Sorry. That sounds kind of self-important doesn't it?

It's just that I love this time of year in Tucson and everything seems so perfect. The flowers are blooming. It's warm enough to walk around all day in shorts. Everything smells like growth. Just perfect.

Today Brian and I went to the Pima county fair. I pet a zebra and a water buffalo. I saw a humongous cow (or steer I guess because it was a he :) that was just adorable. He let me pet him too. We saw that they had deep-fried twinkies but I still cannot get the gumption to order one. (I am curious though.)

They had this really cool display of old engines as well. Brian was fascinated. Of course, he gets that stuff. He had all kinds of questions for the guys running the display when all I saw was some wheels and pulleys and pistons and things.

We also saw a tractor pull which is neat to know about but not that fun to watch. They hook up the tractor to this long platform which increases the load for every foot that the tractor pulls it. I guess the point is to see how far your tractor can pull. Get this - there's weight classes! Isn't that funny?

On the way home, we went by this new home development that was giving $100 gift certificates to a restaurant just for showing up at the model home. It was the best deal. They gave us the gc as soon as we walked in the door and so we just slipped out 5 minutes later! I'm sure the builder wouldn't be happy about that. Anyway, they're ugly houses and a ton of money for ugly but I won't name the development in case y'all out there like them.

So I finished a fantastic book today, went to the fair, got a $100 gift certificate and my arms got a little pink. Now you see why I say it's a fantastic life...

Busy busy busy

I know, it's been a while. But I really do have a good excuse.

I was home valentine's week just long enough to put together the March edition of the neighborhood newspaper and go to Phx to see my cousin get married. Then off to WVa for lots of snow and, well, snow.

I didn't take my computer because I didn't setup any dialup service. So the day that I got sick and snowed in and had to spend 36 hours in my cabin was pretty boring.

I haven't been sick in years so this was a huge disappointment. I remember now the icky feeling of fever chills. And the effect on my sleep, precious sleep. That really sucked.

So I flew home yesterday and today Brian and I get on the plane again for Amsterdam. If there is ever a time for me to sleep on the plane, this is it!

Yesterday I ran my books back to the library and checked out a "Let's Go Amsterdam". Brian has made fun of me already for mapping out all the thai restaurants around our hotel. What can I say, big cities have good thai...

Gotta run to the airport now. Bye!

Another day in San Antonio

Last night after work Gary and I went down to a restaurant on the Riverwalk. I think that every town should have a Riverwalk in the middle of it. It is the coolest thing. It's not so much the river but the hundreds of restaurants and shops and entertainment right along it. I really like when a city has something like this to get people together and out and about. I don't really get that since I'm not an especially social person.

I guess that I'm going to go back to work for a few hours. Tomorrow I get to find the alamo, see what that's all about and then maybe I'll watch the superbowl commercials (of course with my book to read during the actual game :)

Okay, Now I'm Tired

Woke up at quarter till 4 this morning in Yakima Washington. Took a prop plane to Seattle, sat there for 2 hours, took a very crowded plane to Phoenix, sat there 2 hours. Accepted a bump off the plane to San Antonio for travel vouchers. Sat in Phoenix for another 3 hours. Just got in to the hotel.

Pretty tired but I looked out my window and can see the river belonging to the highly touted Riverwalk. Can't wait to see this place in daylight...

Hello, I'm your garden.

And a picture of your garden starting to bloom.

Shelley Come Home Soon! Sincerely, The Bike

Thought you may be missing the bike. And maybe your useless dog. I am afraid to say she seems to NOT be getting smarter as we had hoped. Still fails at getting out of the blanket in a reasonable amount of time and doesn't really do much of anything very well. Other un-smart household being must take a shower and go to work now.

Traveling

Hi everyone from Yakima, Washington.

It's 33 degrees right now and I can't see farther than 50 feet because of the fog. Boy is this fun!

It looks like I'm going to be traveling for most of the good weather this spring. The best time to be in Tucson seems like the best times to travel for work I guess.

Christmas Presents

Now that the big event is over, I can spill the beans about what Brian and I gave for xmas presents this year. We decided to make donations to charity for everyone on our gift giving list.

Initially, I had about five different charities that we were going to donate to. I thought it would be cool if each different house that we went to had unique charities per person. It turns out that only two of our five charities had the ability to make a donation in someone else's name. Heifer International and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson made the cut. The funny part is that after we made the donation to BBBS, it turns out their gift cards weren't printable gift cards. So we ended up just writing in a card that a donation had been made.

Heifer International is not only a very cool charity but also had the coolest little cards that I could print out. They also let you print these inserts about the item that the donee was receiving (honeybees, flock of geese, trio of ducks, etc.) It was awesome. I urge you to check out their website if you don't already know about them.

Now that I know that some of the cards wouldn't come out anyway, I would make donations to my original list of charities. Here are some ideas to check out if you are in a giving mood...

First Book http://www.firstbook.org gives children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

Canine Companions for Independence http://www.caninecompanions.org enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly-trained assistance dogs.

http://www.habitat.org Everyone knows about Habitat for Humanity. They build local houses of course but did you know they build houses around the world for those that are homeless? The houses aren't free... the organization pays for the home but then the donee pays the loan with low interest rates. The interest paid on the loan then goes towards building other homes for other families.

These are just a few of the charities that I thought were interesting and worthwhile. The Motley Fool has a fundraising drive every year and they pick a couple of charities that are all well-run charities. Most of my picks are from this list. There are a lot of charities that are out there that are poorly run where only a small percentage of your donation actually makes it to the cause that you are trying to support.
Here's Motley Fool's 2004 Charity drive page:
http://www.fool.com/foolanthropy/2004/foolanthropy2004.htm?source=EDSP

2004 Tucson Marathon Relay!!

Well, we did it!
This is team "Relative Insanity" after we finished running the Tucson Marathon Relay. Of course, Brian and Steve ran so fast you have to see it to believe it.
But I have to say that Denise and I stole the show. Not being runners and never having actually entered in a competition before makes us pretty darn proud of what we did this Sunday.
As I write this my legs are questioning the intelligence of what I did. Nothing that can't be overcome with a little Ibuprofen and a few more days away from the gym...

Amsterdam plans for March 2005

Brian and I just bought tickets to Amsterdam. I've been to Europe several times now and never been to Amsterdam, which I've always wanted to see the most.
Travelocity had a pretty good deal on tickets so we just had to do it. March 9-16 will still be kind of cold but it's worth it. Amsterdam is also only a 2 or 3 hour drive from Sebastian so we can say hello to him too.
I looked a little into hotels last night. The best one so far is a boat that is docked on one of the canals. The whole boat is ours alone (it's only a 32-foot boat). I'm pretty sure that would be a uniquely Amsterdam experience!
If you have any favorite things to do in Ams. or in the surrounding areas, please add them to the comments of this posting. I will be gladly accepting ideas!

Bad Book

Last night I gave up on a book. To those of you who know me, you know that I don't give up on books. It takes a pretty bad one.
"The Ghost Writer" by John Harwood isn't poorly written. Nor does it have any glaring plot mistakes. What it is, is boring. I got to page 260 (the book is only 369 pages long) before I finally decided that Harwood wasn't going to stop drawing out long and ridiculously boring stories. His characters in the novel are completely void of personality. The characters seem to be more confused by their emotions and certain plot events than the reader is.
It got some really good reviews. Don't buy into them. More importantly, don't buy it.

A Goal

I've recently started jogging. Man, it's hard!
It started as a bet that I made with Brian. (doesn't everything?) I bet him that no matter how much I trained, I could never run farther, faster or better than I could when I started. Turns out that I was wrong (of course) and it only took me one month to get significantly better.
It's kind of fun after you get into it. Now I have signed up Brian, Brian's brother Steve and Steve's wife Denise to run the Tucson Marathon Relay with me on December 5th. So wish us well and think of us while you're sleeping in your warm cozy bed that morning.

Casi takes a tumble

At Jojo's birthday party, Casi takes a tumble ala Brian launch. Don't worry, this didn't break her spine completely.

My dog Sadie

My dog Sadie occasionally likes to dress up.