Entry for December 30, 2005

Entry for December 30, 2005

|12/30/2005 09:26 am

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Yeah - another 3 day weekend - and we get to just hang around the house - no traveling!
Sunday, we are having our Wentz Family Holiday Get-together. Brunch at a local restaurant. We started this tradition a couple of years ago - MY IDEA - it just makes it much easier on everyone and NO PRESENTS (except for Parker). It got to the point where we were just exchanging gift cards and money - that's no fun - no thought really put into the gift (that's how I feel anyway).
I also have to work a little on Sunday - just a walkthrough of the airport to check on the tenants and make sure everyone is open. That'll only take about an hour or 2. Not bad.
Back to work - tons to do.

Entry for December 25, 2005

Entry for December 25, 2005 

• |12/25/2005 09:44 am
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Merry Christmas!
We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner last night and opened presents.
Today - spending the day at the nursing home with Aunt Helen and having our new tradition of Chinese at lunchtime. We started that when she went into the nursing home.
The weather had been great - we were worried about the weather and taking Helen out of the nursing home. No rain, no snow - so it was a little easier to get her in and out. I could tell she was a little worried about being out - She keep saying - "I'm more trouble than I'm worth". I kept telling her that it wasn't a problem.
Well - the wireless connection at the hotel is working this time - we couldn't get it to work yesterday. Dan's all exciting because he can check his fanasty football scores.

Entry for December 23, 2005

Entry for December 23, 2005

• |12/23/2005 08:36 am
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Heading up to Hornell today. Looks like the weather will be good for the drive, but once we get there - SNOW! Oh well.
No crazy running out the door today - decided to kind of take our time and get on the road at 10 a.m. the latest.
TSO was great last night - wasn't as cozy as last year, due to the fact that it was in an arena twice the size as last year and it was sold out. Still - a great show.
Merry Christmas to everyone reading this - hopefully I'll be able to post this weekend, but we'll see how the internet connection is!

Entry for December 20, 2005

Entry for December 20, 2005

• |12/20/2005 09:19 pm
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YIKES! Has it already been 5 days since my last entry?
Let's see, what's been going on -
I finished wrapping all my gifts. I JUST finished Aunt Helen's scrapbook - I only did half of the book and figured I can keep adding pages to it. Sunday, I went to my first pro football game.
Dan was excited about the football game since it was Dallas. They lost, but he still had fun.
Yesterday evening & tonight, trying to get ready for the rest of the week, since tomorrow is shelter, Thursday is TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra) and Friday is off to NY.
I can't wait for TSO (www.trans-siberian.com). It was AWESOME last year and this year my friend, Suzanne is going with us. She's never been and is my "concert buddy". Back in the old days when we used to go to at least one concert a week - and during the weekdays too!

Entry for December 15, 2005

Entry for December 15, 2005

• |12/15/2005 10:29 am
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I volunteered at the Holiday Coalition again last night. The shelter was short volunteers at the Coalition, so asked me to go back. I was scheduled to be a "cat cuddler" at the shelter. It was slower than Monday night, BUT boy did they go through some food since Monday! One of the organizers said that they had about 300 families come through during the day since they were probably going to be closed Thursday due to weather.
Good thing they planned that because we are supposed to get a snow, then sleet, then rain storm today. Schools are closed. It's 10:30 a.m. and nothing is happening yet.
I was supposed to go to a blood drive today and then scrapbook meeting, but the scrapbook meeting was cancelled and I'll probably skip the blood drive and try next month.
I hate this weather - I get anxious with the bad weather and I'm not home! Yes, I grew up in NY and was always able to handle driving in the snow, but people just don't know how to drive around here in bad weather - plus there's ALOT more cars around here than in Hornell!
Oh well - maybe we can head out early today (RIGHT!). I've got the Jeep, so I should be fine.

Entry for December 13, 2005

Entry for December 13, 2005

• |12/13/2005 02:51 pm
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Last night, I volunteered for the pet pantry, manned by the animal shelter, at the Holiday Coalition, which is a food & gift bank for low income families in Loudoun County.
What an operation - so much goes into it. This is the first year that they had a pet pantry and it looks like it will be a success. We had about 15 people (out of about 25-30 people that visited the service) stop at the pet pantry. Also got to help hand out groceries.

Entry for December 12, 2005

Entry for December 12, 2005 

• |12/12/2005 12:01 pm
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Good weekend -
Wrapped the family presents Friday night, Saturday went to Parker's birthday party, Sunday - went to the firehouse for all you can eat breakfast. The firehouse used to have breakfast every month, but cancelled it due to lack of volunteers, but had it this month for the holidays. Had a great time - my friend, Suzanne, came with her niece Megan (about 2 years old). Megan was great the whole time and warmed right up to me - she was still a little unsure about Dan. It's ALWAYS that way with kids and Dan - they just don't know what to think of him. If only they realized he's a big kid himself!
Started to get ready to work on my Aunt Helen's scrapbook for Christmas - Yes, I know - I've got about 2 weeks to do it. Luckily, it's a small one!

Entry for December 09, 2005

Entry for December 09, 2005

|12/09/2005 09:34 am

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I started to wrap the Christmas gifts last night.
I got through Parker's presents (Dan's nephew) and did all of Dan's. I've got a lot more wrapping to do!
Tomorrow, we head out to Parker's birthday party (family only), so I needed to get his presents wrapped.
Hear from the vet regarding Babe's blood test - good news - her thyroid levels are the same, so we are going to try the food to see if she can gain some weight. She'll be happy about that - no additional pills, YET more food!

Entry for December 07, 2005

Entry for December 07, 2005

• |12/07/2005 09:31 am
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So - last night, I spend about an hour and a half on the computer trying to get the virus off of it. I think I was able to get it off. Dan is going to work on the computer today and double check everything.
Let me just say this - it happened when Dan was on the computer. BUT it was an EASY mistake - this "trojan" comes up on your computer like a Microsoft windows update.
Oh well - I have my stuff backed up!

Entry for December 06, 2005

Entry for December 06, 2005 

• |12/06/2005 09:24 am
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Boy the week went by fast!
This weekend, Dan went Christmas shopping and Sunday, he put up the tree. I'm just not into decorating for the holidays anymore - I know, that's bad. By this time, I just start to feel like it's more work to do!
Bunny Story -
Dan said that he took the garbage out Sunday night and on the way back into the house, one of the bunnies was out and basically chased him into the house. When he described it to me, I realized that the bunny was just getting into place to receive carrots. Boy, they LOVE those carrots!
Babe Story -
Babe had a doctor's appointment last night - she lost a pound . The vet (who is also a friend) took some blood and will be checking her thyroid. Maybe time to up the meds. We're going to change her to a high calorie food also, so maybe that will help. Will have the results of the blood test on Thursday. Yes, I'm worried for my baby.
Will the problems (at work) never stop coming in? Anyway, so Dan's at home playing on the computer and he calls me to let me know he thinks we have a virus on our computer. GREAT! This sucks - I'm ALWAYS careful about what I download or click on. He said that from what he can find, it something that actually automatically starts. We'll see what happens when I get home - He needs to go to work, so tonight I'll have on my computer geek hat and try to fix it!

Entry for November 28, 2005

Entry for November 28, 2005

• |11/28/2005 02:09 pm
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Back to work - fun - no major developments in a week - that's good.
The trip to Grandma's was fine. No big events on the drive to and from. Had A LOT of snow - I think they ended up with about a foot (too much). Dan was busy shoveling everyday.
Thanksgiving was celebrated on Friday. It was nice to see Dan's family - it's been awhile. Pictures will be posted later. Dan's cousin's girls warmed right up to him.
On the way to Ohio, we stopped in Frederick, MD to drop off coats to Hot 99.5's coat drive and got to meet Teapot Tim (www.hot995.com) and got a picture with him. Needless to say, Dan sped there so we could get there in time!
We went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Got to see Rick Springfield's pants from the 80's and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation outfit. The rotating exhibit was The Who's Tommy. Neither one of us has seen this, so now we need to. There was a portion of Pink Floyd's The Wall - need to see that movie also.
After visiting the Hall of Fame, went to Chipotle! YUMMY! I keep telling Dan we need to visit all the Chipotles!
***** (added June 4, 2006)
Forgot to mention about the thunder that we heard during the night once while in Ohio. What the heck?
Thursday morning about 4 AM I woke up to THUNDER! WHAT THE HECK???? When we went to bed it was SNOWING! I said to Dan – is the snow gone? Thinking that maybe it all melted and it was raining – he looked out the window – NOPE. Talk about confused!
Anyway Dan said that the news had said that there might be lightening and thunder. I had to look it up this weather rarity! I NEVER heard of that before!


From a Toledo’s news station website (about 2 hours away from where we were) On Tuesday evening, the snow was falling hard and I thought I heard a rumble of thunder. Is that possible?
Actually thunder occurred with the burst of snow. This is a somewhat rare occurrence, but the strongest of cold fronts have the potential to produce thunder. The process is almost the same as a summertime thunderstorm. Relatively warm air is found near the surface compared to cold air at high altitudes. This leads to strong vertical motions that push air upward and downward. The movement can lead to thunder and even a rare bolt of lightning. When this happens you can bet there will be a very heavy burst of snow that may lead to extremely low visibilities. Thunderstorms that form in winter are weak and short-lived.
From The Popular Science Website
FYI: Snow, Thunder, and Lightning
Why don't snowstorms produce thunder and lightning?


Snowstorms do produce thunder and lightning — only less frequently than summertime thunderstorms. Also, snowflakes — with a larger surface than raindrops — scatter sound and light more efficiently. In addition, visibility during snowstorms is often very low, making the flashes harder to see.

The flashes, or lightning, that you see in the sky are giant atmospheric sparks caused by a sudden release of energy between separated electrical charges in the clouds. Local variations of wind speed and direction — or shear — transport charges to different areas within a cloud, until the potential grows strong enough for a discharge.

In winter, strong localized shears are uncommon and charge separation is weak. Lightning will still occur at the frontal zones, however, where cold air meets warmer air.

In the Great Lakes region, cold air from Canada meets the warmer air over the lakes and causes precipitation. "You'll get thunder snowstorms right along the south shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie," says Rick Watling, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

And although lightning is less common in winter, it is even more deadly than at any other time of the year, Watling says. That's because wintertime strikes tend to carry more current then their summertime counterparts.

Entry for November 21, 2005

Entry for November 21, 2005

• |11/21/2005 05:32 pm
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TO DO LIST:
Christmas Shopping - DONE
I was out the door by 8:15 this morning and didn't get home until 4:30 - BUT IT'S ALL DONE! Ok - I may pick up some things here and there, but the majority is DONE!
Now it's time to pack for grandma's house......
Leaving at 8 a.m. tomorrow for the 6 1/2 hour drive. Hopefully, uneventful. Supposed to have snow - GREAT! Of course, if it does snow, we can try out the 4 wheel drive on the Jeep!
Speaking of the Jeep - we washed and waxed it yesterday after the tar incident. We found a couple of places where the body shop missed, but I had some tar & bug remover. Even then, WE missed some spots! We noticed them when we were waxing.
Have a good Thanksgiving!

Entry for November 19, 2005

Entry for November 19, 2005

• |11/19/2005 11:55 am
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I've added pictures of Babe in her newest toy (taken with our new toy - the digital camera).
We bought her these canvas popup houses for her birthday in August and now we can't get her out of them!

Entry for November 17, 2005

Entry for November 17, 2005

• |11/17/2005 09:45 am
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Shelter cat update -
Katie has been adopted. Clover is still hanging out. They are both so good. I'm sure Clover will get adopted - she's pretty low maintenance - loves to play though!

Katie

Clover

Entry for November 13, 2005

Entry for November 13, 2005

|11/13/2005 04:03 pm

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YEAH! BACK HOME! All in one piece - minus the tar.
I forgot to mention one other thing that happened on Friday. We stopped at the bagel shop on the way out of town, and as we're walking out, I'm getting my keys out and Dan's like "you looking for these?" and shows me some keys. I said "no". He's like - "These aren't your keys?" I'm like "no". So he runs back into the shop and takes the keys back to the register. He had thought I had left my keys on the counter!
A good thing that happened while we were in Hornell - we bought a digital camera! As soon as I load the software, I'll post the first pictures.
As for the trip, it went well. Helen was OK yesterday, and groggy today. She said she had just woken up when we stopped by to say bye.
Another thing that's happening right now is, I'm making some money on Ebay! I had some extra CDs and listed them - so far, I'm up to almost $100! WOO HOO!

Entry for November 11, 2005

Entry for November 11, 2005

• |11/11/2005 11:24 pm
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Here we are - in Hornell - WHAT A DAY! It took us about 10 hours to get here - usually it's about 6 hours.
The drive was fine UNTIL we got to NY. We were driving through a construction zone and what happens - a dump truck driving the other way, threw tar all over the place and got all over the car - ours along with about 10 others.
It was the weirdest thing - at first it looked like smoke and then as it got closer, it looked like netting. Then it hit us - it's tar.
So, all of us stopped in the one lane road where the construction guys were and they sent us over to the construction trailer. We got there and the office took our names and numbers and said if you go over to Crane's Towing, they will get the tar off. Well, out of all of us, only two of us went over and did it (basically the people traveling). The others made appointments for next week. One guy said he was on his way to Toronto, so he would send them the bill.
Luckily, the place was only about a mile away and they got us right in. The car was done in about an hour/hour and a half and we were back on our way.
They did say that the chemical they used stripped any wax that was on the car, so we'll have to wax the car this week. We've been meaning to do it anyway.
We finally get to Hornell and TRY to check into the hotel. Well, the hotel didn't have the reservation. I did the reservation online about 2 weeks ago! Luckily, they had rooms available.
We dropped Jessica off at my brother's. It looks like Jessica and Mae have hit it off. That's good since they'll be together for the weekend!
Hopefully, things will get better. Oh yea - I'm using 24 bpm dial up for this entry. I can't connect to the free wireless high speed internet for some reason!
Just a WEIRD day!

Entry for November 10, 2005

Entry for November 10, 2005

• |11/10/2005 09:00 am
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Woo Hoo! Last day at work for the week! We're taking tomorrow off (yes, I do not have Veteran's Day off - Dan does) to go up to Hornell.
This will be the first time someone is going with us. My niece (Mae) and my co-worker's daughter (Jessica) have been chatting online and I invited Jessica to go to NY with us. I know they will have fun together - while Dan and I just sit and chat with Helen (and watch her fall asleep!). Oh well, Helen enjoys having us there.
I think Dan's bringing his Playstation - to keep him busy. I'm thinking of bringing my scrapbooking materials. Helen will enjoy looking at what I've done so far.
Last night was animal shelter. I did filing. Since the shelter is open only one evening a week, I have to share the "cat cuddler" duties, and said I would sign up for administrative work - which I don't mind filing now, since I don't have to do all of it at work anymore!
When I'm scheduled for admin duty, I still go in and see all of the cats and other animals. Katie & Clover (see the pictures in the album) were still there last night - not adopted yet. I spent a few minutes with each of them.

Entry for November 07, 2005

Entry for November 07, 2005

• |11/07/2005 09:13 am
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So, last night I got woken up by Dan, " Honey, I've got to go in to work" - it was 11:30 p.m.
The one good thing about this, we'll see each other tonight!

Entry for November 06, 2005

Entry for November 06, 2005

• |11/06/2005 10:05 am
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Ok - just because it's the weekend, it doesn't mean we're just sitting around.
The last two weekends have been "winterize the house" weekend. Yesterday, I cleaned windows while Dan was caulking windows - amazing that this stuff needs to be done already on a 3 year old house! Then Dan caulked the shower. He's becoming quite the handyman!
Of course our day started off with a visit to our favorite restaurant - Chipotle! That helps!
We watched "The Grudge" last night on Cinemax. The movie leaves it wide open for another one. I didn't realize this, but my homeboy, Bill Pullman, is in the movie!
Today, it's finish up laundry, get some groceries and I'm sure, watch some football (for Dan).

Entry for November 05, 2005

Entry for November 05, 2005

• |11/05/2005 09:38 am
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YEAH! IT'S THE WEEKEND!

Entry for November 03, 2005

Entry for November 03, 2005

• |11/03/2005 09:18 am
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Wednesday nights are Shelter night.
Let me just say, after a bad day at work, going up to the shelter and playing with the cats is great. It totally changes your mood. Even just going and looking at the dogs is cool.
The cats at the shelter are so loving (not that Babe isn't loving - it's just on her terms), that you want to take them home.

Entry for November 01, 2005

Entry for November 01, 2005 

• |11/01/2005 09:59 am
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How was everyone's Halloween?
Traffic was TERRIBLE going home - it took me 30 minutes to get off of the airport grounds! Usually I'm almost home by then! This is typical DC traffic on Halloween - everyone trying to get home early to take the kids out.
We had a BUNCH of trick or treaters last night -all of the candy was gone within 30 minutes AND the doorbell rang like 10 times after I turned the light off!
Dan has already decided that he's going to take Halloween off next year and also decorate the house.
Yes, I hate to cook, BUT found out that I can make good toasted pumpkin seeds! I found a recipe at Better Homes & Gardens website and made them last year and this year. Dan said that they are addicting - so obviously, they must be good. He would tell me if they were bad.

Entry for October 30, 2005

Entry for October 30, 2005 

• |10/30/2005 08:19 pm
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Getting ready for Halloween! Dan and I carved pumkins. Will post the pics when they get developed - yes - we need a digital camera!
Clocks turned back today - HATE IT! It seems like the day is never going to end today - seems like it should be time to go to bed and it was only 5:30!
Gave us time to work on the yard and get ready for the winter months. I hope that ends our yard work for the year!