So we've had another great week on Body for Life. I am going to try and get up half an hour early every morning and go swimming. I'm feeling the need for some exercise in my life.
Stefan and I stumbled across a local coffee shop in Colonial Heights called Castaways. They offer free Internet access to their customers, so they should be able to withstand the Starbucks that is being built a few blocks from them. It was pretty cool, and it will offer Stefan a place to go to write where he'll be more surrounded by people who aren't hairy and growling or barking all the time.
It was a great weekend for the pool. Lots of sunshine and heat. This summer has been unusually humid and cloudy and not so warm. We went to a party Saturday night. I met up with someone from my former life at the party and it went well. I might rediscover some old friends. Divorce does funny things. Lines are drawn and loyalties with friends get split.
Sam and Dave are getting married in a couple of weeks. Congratulations! We have plans with them next weekend - their last weekend as a single couple. Hopefully the weather will hold.
I went through the phone book to find things to do around here. We missed the Watermelon festival last weekend. I wasn't aware of it being last weekend. I'm trying to find us things to do, so we can ingratiate ourselves into our new community. Petersburg is heavy into the civil war. Lots of museums and re-enactments, which I suppose is great for all those civil war buffs. Richmond definitely has more to offer as far as diversified activities, but it's a long drive.
I suppose no news like this is good news!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Why the IRS is a Dirty Word
Taxes! That single word may have sent a shiver up your spine, or caused you to groan. It seems the government is always out to take all of your hard-earned money. You’re half-way right. But it’s not the government who wants your money. It’s the IRS.
You see, the IRS has found a multitude of ways to take your money, without you even realizing it. It has even convinced businesses and banks to push their schemes on an un-assuming
Who wants to pay more taxes? Everyone hates paying taxes. So, when something is being advertised as tax-free, people get way too excited. This is how the IRS sets the trap and then they sit back, crack their knuckles, and watch with excitement as millions of people take the bait.
How do they do it? You ask. It’s simple enough, really. The IRS lures folks in by offering tax-free retirement investments.
The IRS came up with several retirement savings accounts under the guise that they are helping Americans save for their Golden Years. There are 401(k)s and IRAs. I am sure there are more, but these serve as examples. They are pushed in nearly every company, and every financial magazine and bank across
What is a 401(k)? This is a nifty little option available to most employees of major companies. You invest money into your 401(k) and if you’re lucky, your employer will match your investments. These investments are tax-free or tax-deferred. Either way, the IRS takes your money, and invests it into different funds, in the hopes of making money supposedly on your behalf. When you reach a certain age, you are then entitled to your investment and the earnings on your investment – get this – tax-free or tax-deferred. However, if you withdraw that money before retirement age, guess what? You pay a penalty. That’s right. You pay money to the IRS if you choose to access your hard-earned money before the IRS wants you to. Even worse, if the IRS does a poor job investing your money, you may actually LOSE what you’ve paid in.
Okay, so that kind of sucks. Well, then, how about an IRA? An IRA is an Individual Retirement Account. This is a great option if you want to give your money to the IRS, but your company doesn’t offer a 401(k). Basically, an IRA works like this: you put your money in, and when the IRS decides you are old enough, you get your money back. Again, the amount you get back depends on if the IRS did a good job and made lots of interest off your money, and like the 401(k), the IRA is riddled with many rules and stipulations, and heavy penalty fees if you decide you need your money back before you are old enough to retire.
Now, it is hard enough to commit your hard-earned money to a Certificate of Deposit or a government bond. Your money is locked up tight for a period as little as one year. If you withdraw early, you subsequently pay a penalty. However, you are guaranteed to get your money back, plus a little bit of interest, but geez, there’s always some emergency that might come up that will keep you from investing your money here. You never know when you may need that money.
Take that idea a step further. Lock your money up until you hit age 65. Tell me you’ll never need to tap that resource. It’s near impossible. So you tap your 401(k) or your IRA. Whammo! You took the bait out of the trap the IRS has set. You’ll pay penalties and even possibly taxes, all because you needed a little bit of money early. The penalty you pay may even be more than any earnings on your money. And to make things worse, you may even have to pay back the money you borrowed from yourself at a time and amount that is not comfortable for you.
This is how the IRS tricks you into willingly giving them money. If it’s advertised as tax-free, you can be guaranteed there are heavy penalties and mind-bending rules to make up for it.
Even though individual investing is discouraged at every turn (mostly because earnings are taxed), I would personally prefer to invest my money myself, and manage it and grow it myself, and (gasp!), pay taxes on the earnings. You don’t hear Donald Trump or Warren Buffet whining about paying taxes on their earnings. Why? Because the bottom line is, you will never pay more taxes than what you have earned. Period. If you invest on your own, you will pay taxes on your earnings, but not so much taxes that you will not make any money at all. You will still come out ahead, and odds are, you’ll make a ton more money simply because you’re putting your retirement solely in your own hands, which will force you to become a prudent spender and a wise investor. Plus, if you have an emergency, you can access your money with no penalty. You don’t need to put yourself in a bind if you can’t pay yourself back right away, either.
Anytime something is being advertised as “tax-free,” you can bet that the IRS is behind it. And that, my friends, is why the IRS is a dirty word.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Review of the Tempur-Pedic Mattress
We've had our Tempur-Pedic mattress for several months now, so I figure it's time for a review of it. I had heard stories from my chiropractor that the Tempur-Pedics are comfortable for a short while, and then they don't feel so great, namely because it's so comfortable, you tend to not move in your sleep, and then your blood pools.
I have not found this to be the case.
We bought the CelebrityBed, which, at the time, was the most expensive bed Tempur-Pedic offered. Recently, Tempur-Pedic came out with the GrandBed, which tops the CelebrityBed, but I can't imagine how they improved on perfection.
We didn't intend to buy the Rolls Royce of beds, but a streak of fortune came our way. After Stefan's house sold, we'd planned on getting a Tempur-Pedic, and we figured we'd get the DeluxeBed. It was within our budget. When we went shopping, however, we came across a mom-and-pop store that was selling their floor-model CelebrityBed for cheaper than the cost of a DeluxeBed. SOLD!
For the first couple of weeks, the bed felt awkward. It wasn't bouncy or springy, or even all that soft feeling. We wondered if we'd made a mistake. Then we got used to it, and now it is oh, so comfortable. In fact, if this bed has a vice, it would be that it is, in fact, too comfortable. I had to move the alarm clock to the other side of the room. Otherwise, hitting snooze five times in a row was in the realm of possibility. And on weekends, we snooze and snooze and snooze without the alarm waaaay later than we intend. What we believe is causing this problem is that Stefan is a litle radiator, and this bed craves heat. When it gets warm, it gets all nice and soft, like a piece of caramel. Stefan produces enough heat to raise the temperature of the bed to a nice, embryonic state, and therefore, sleep is the natural result. We haven't tested this theory yet, but we will - soon. Once we convince ourselves that it is a real problem!
It is especially great for anyone who suffers from back problems. There is no uncomfortable position when sleeping on this bed, as it truly does balance out the body. I remember lying in bed, and then quickly getting up to see if I was even making a dent on the cushion. There was a dent, of course, but when lying on it, you feel as if you weigh nothing at all. And it's all true about movement displacement. There is none. We tested this by taking flying leaps onto the bed while the other person lay still. No movement was transferred. We did other things to test it, but I can't mention them here. Let me just say if you're worried about that, don't be - the bed passed with flying colors.
Finding sheets to fit the mattress is a bit of a challenge. While it claims to be able to take 14" deep fitted sheets, it doesn't really. The corner pops off on my side of the bed. I think it's the way I roll; the sheet clings to the mattress and gets dislodged when I roll over. It never happens on Stefan's side. The best-fitting sheets are the ones that are 18" deep, and when shopping at Wal-mart, this greatly limits our options.
That's all I can think of for bad things about the bed. The good far outweighs any negatives, so if you are thinking of taking the plunge and splurging on a new bed, I would highly recommend the Tempur-Pedic.
I have not found this to be the case.
We bought the CelebrityBed, which, at the time, was the most expensive bed Tempur-Pedic offered. Recently, Tempur-Pedic came out with the GrandBed, which tops the CelebrityBed, but I can't imagine how they improved on perfection.
We didn't intend to buy the Rolls Royce of beds, but a streak of fortune came our way. After Stefan's house sold, we'd planned on getting a Tempur-Pedic, and we figured we'd get the DeluxeBed. It was within our budget. When we went shopping, however, we came across a mom-and-pop store that was selling their floor-model CelebrityBed for cheaper than the cost of a DeluxeBed. SOLD!
For the first couple of weeks, the bed felt awkward. It wasn't bouncy or springy, or even all that soft feeling. We wondered if we'd made a mistake. Then we got used to it, and now it is oh, so comfortable. In fact, if this bed has a vice, it would be that it is, in fact, too comfortable. I had to move the alarm clock to the other side of the room. Otherwise, hitting snooze five times in a row was in the realm of possibility. And on weekends, we snooze and snooze and snooze without the alarm waaaay later than we intend. What we believe is causing this problem is that Stefan is a litle radiator, and this bed craves heat. When it gets warm, it gets all nice and soft, like a piece of caramel. Stefan produces enough heat to raise the temperature of the bed to a nice, embryonic state, and therefore, sleep is the natural result. We haven't tested this theory yet, but we will - soon. Once we convince ourselves that it is a real problem!
It is especially great for anyone who suffers from back problems. There is no uncomfortable position when sleeping on this bed, as it truly does balance out the body. I remember lying in bed, and then quickly getting up to see if I was even making a dent on the cushion. There was a dent, of course, but when lying on it, you feel as if you weigh nothing at all. And it's all true about movement displacement. There is none. We tested this by taking flying leaps onto the bed while the other person lay still. No movement was transferred. We did other things to test it, but I can't mention them here. Let me just say if you're worried about that, don't be - the bed passed with flying colors.
Finding sheets to fit the mattress is a bit of a challenge. While it claims to be able to take 14" deep fitted sheets, it doesn't really. The corner pops off on my side of the bed. I think it's the way I roll; the sheet clings to the mattress and gets dislodged when I roll over. It never happens on Stefan's side. The best-fitting sheets are the ones that are 18" deep, and when shopping at Wal-mart, this greatly limits our options.
That's all I can think of for bad things about the bed. The good far outweighs any negatives, so if you are thinking of taking the plunge and splurging on a new bed, I would highly recommend the Tempur-Pedic.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
The Time-Money Balance
This is something I jotted down yesterday afternoon at work. These are the musings that go on in my brain sometimes....
Time and money are very similar. We all wish we had more. We struggle to manage them, and try to make the most of what we do have.
But the one big difference between time and money is that there is a limited supply of time. You cannot borrow time. You cannot make more time than what you are given, and the amount you are given is unknown. No matter how hard you work, you will never make more time.
Yet, time is married to money. The better we manage one, the more likely we are to better manage the other. The more time we have, the more chances we have to make more money. Since time is a finite thing, we must remember that if we spend all our time earning money, we will find we have run out of time. And what is time without money? It is a prison sentence! What is money without time? A bitter irony!
The invention of money was the greatest, most life-changing, most dramatic invention ever known to mankind. Money assigned value to a great many things. Money spawned every invention ever since the invention of money. Money bought us the illusion of more time.
The time-money balance is the greatest challenge we face. We are born, not having any money, but plenty of time to grow up and develop a desire for money. We work so that we have money, and so that we have time to enjoy life. But if we enjoy our money too much now, with little thought of the future, we will find ourselves near the end of life, with more time than money. Old age is the worst time to worry about money - we have time left, but not enough time to make more money.
The key is to find a way to balance time and money so that neither overwhelms the other. Without this balance, time and money become a curse.
Time and money are very similar. We all wish we had more. We struggle to manage them, and try to make the most of what we do have.
But the one big difference between time and money is that there is a limited supply of time. You cannot borrow time. You cannot make more time than what you are given, and the amount you are given is unknown. No matter how hard you work, you will never make more time.
Yet, time is married to money. The better we manage one, the more likely we are to better manage the other. The more time we have, the more chances we have to make more money. Since time is a finite thing, we must remember that if we spend all our time earning money, we will find we have run out of time. And what is time without money? It is a prison sentence! What is money without time? A bitter irony!
The invention of money was the greatest, most life-changing, most dramatic invention ever known to mankind. Money assigned value to a great many things. Money spawned every invention ever since the invention of money. Money bought us the illusion of more time.
The time-money balance is the greatest challenge we face. We are born, not having any money, but plenty of time to grow up and develop a desire for money. We work so that we have money, and so that we have time to enjoy life. But if we enjoy our money too much now, with little thought of the future, we will find ourselves near the end of life, with more time than money. Old age is the worst time to worry about money - we have time left, but not enough time to make more money.
The key is to find a way to balance time and money so that neither overwhelms the other. Without this balance, time and money become a curse.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The Story of Cubby and Perry
Perry, our 10 pound Chihuahua/Pomeranian, and Cubby, our 12-week old Husky, are best friends. The only time they are apart is when they are crated. They do everything together - play, eat, poop, sleep, hump...you get the picture.
On Sunday, three days ago, we almost lost our dear Perry (our Perry-poo, Perry-itis, Perry-meister, Little Dude - he has lots of pet names). All due to a stupid accident. Perry and Cubby were playing as usual. More like rough-housing, really. Stefan called both of them to come into the room we were sitting in. They tend to get into trouble when they aren't in sight. That's when Cubby started yelping in his scared puppy way, and from where I was sitting, it looked like Perry had grabbed onto Cubby's collar and wouldn't let go. That was not like our little Perry. He knows when to stop rough-housing, and he never plays so hard as to hurt Cubby. So we went out to see what was the matter.
What we saw and what happened next changed our lives forever. Cubby's lower jaw had gotten caught underneath Perry's collar, hence his frantic yelping. He had panicked, and was thrashing about. But even worse, Perry had somehow gotten twisted around, so his collar formed a figure-8, and he was being choked to death. I will never, ever forget my dear Perry's bulging eyes, or how his tongue was sticking out the side of his mouthwhile he rasped for air. He is so little, and Cubby, now who has 10 pounds on Perry, was too strong for our little Perry. Perry was merciless to what was happening to him. Now, Perry was wearing a quick-release collar, but as we struggled with the dogs, we could not find the latch. Things were getting really desperate. Both dogs were completely panicking, and would not stay still for a moment. Perry wet himself, and the fear stench came forth. As Stefan wrestled to turn Perry around, Perry pooped, and then I saw blood dripping onto the kitchen floor.
Stefan started screaming in a way that chilled me to the bone. "Cubby is killing Perry! He's killing Perry!" over and over again, he screamed and he tried to find that stupid collar latch. We were watching our little Perry die before our very eyes, and there was nothing we could do about it. The dogs would not calm down, and Perry was so terribly twisted that Stefan tried to flip him over, to get the figure-8 out of the collar. But Perry, in his panic, kept biting Stefan. I felt completely paralyzed and helpless. Stefan screamed for me to get a knife. I got up and went towards the kitchen counter. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. Before I got there, Stefan called out that he got Perry released. Somehow, he had managed to flip Perry, and as soon as that happened, Cubby's mouth was released under the collar and both dogs were free.
I felt like I was about to collapse. I don't think I've ever experienced that kind of adrenaline rush before, and instantly, I fell from the panic grip I had been in. All the energy drained from my body. I immediately took Perry's collar off him and in short order, we'd removed Cubby's collar and Yoda's collar.
For the next couple of days, I felt on the verge of tears as the vision of the terrible thing I had witnessed kept floating before me. I couldn't get Stefan's voice out of my head. There was such fear and panic in his voice, and it haunted me. I also focused on how close of a call this was. This could have happened when we weren't home, or when we were not close enough to get to them quick enough. Cubby could have broken Perry's neck during his thrash-about. I felt we were doing a good thing - dogs are supposed to wear collars, right? It shows they are loved and cared for if they get lost or loose, and it gives us something to hold onto and control when they get too rowdy. All those good intentions got thrown out the window. Never, will I ever collar my dogs again. I began to get an inkling of how parents must feel when they cry, "I just looked away for a minute!" No one knows when these things will happen, and no one is ever really prepared.
All is well, now. Perry lost a lot of fur around his neck, but it will grow back. He slept almost for the rest of the day, and we were relieved when he finally took a drink of water and ate some food. Cubby and Perry still play like they are best friends, and after a thorough sniff-over of the floor where the incident occurred, Perry feels at peace and is not afraid that walking over the spot will cause him further harm. They seem to have forgotten all about the incident.
Meanwhile, Stefan and I will always remember. I do not wish to remember, but I do not wish to forget, either.
On Sunday, three days ago, we almost lost our dear Perry (our Perry-poo, Perry-itis, Perry-meister, Little Dude - he has lots of pet names). All due to a stupid accident. Perry and Cubby were playing as usual. More like rough-housing, really. Stefan called both of them to come into the room we were sitting in. They tend to get into trouble when they aren't in sight. That's when Cubby started yelping in his scared puppy way, and from where I was sitting, it looked like Perry had grabbed onto Cubby's collar and wouldn't let go. That was not like our little Perry. He knows when to stop rough-housing, and he never plays so hard as to hurt Cubby. So we went out to see what was the matter.
What we saw and what happened next changed our lives forever. Cubby's lower jaw had gotten caught underneath Perry's collar, hence his frantic yelping. He had panicked, and was thrashing about. But even worse, Perry had somehow gotten twisted around, so his collar formed a figure-8, and he was being choked to death. I will never, ever forget my dear Perry's bulging eyes, or how his tongue was sticking out the side of his mouthwhile he rasped for air. He is so little, and Cubby, now who has 10 pounds on Perry, was too strong for our little Perry. Perry was merciless to what was happening to him. Now, Perry was wearing a quick-release collar, but as we struggled with the dogs, we could not find the latch. Things were getting really desperate. Both dogs were completely panicking, and would not stay still for a moment. Perry wet himself, and the fear stench came forth. As Stefan wrestled to turn Perry around, Perry pooped, and then I saw blood dripping onto the kitchen floor.
Stefan started screaming in a way that chilled me to the bone. "Cubby is killing Perry! He's killing Perry!" over and over again, he screamed and he tried to find that stupid collar latch. We were watching our little Perry die before our very eyes, and there was nothing we could do about it. The dogs would not calm down, and Perry was so terribly twisted that Stefan tried to flip him over, to get the figure-8 out of the collar. But Perry, in his panic, kept biting Stefan. I felt completely paralyzed and helpless. Stefan screamed for me to get a knife. I got up and went towards the kitchen counter. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. Before I got there, Stefan called out that he got Perry released. Somehow, he had managed to flip Perry, and as soon as that happened, Cubby's mouth was released under the collar and both dogs were free.
I felt like I was about to collapse. I don't think I've ever experienced that kind of adrenaline rush before, and instantly, I fell from the panic grip I had been in. All the energy drained from my body. I immediately took Perry's collar off him and in short order, we'd removed Cubby's collar and Yoda's collar.
For the next couple of days, I felt on the verge of tears as the vision of the terrible thing I had witnessed kept floating before me. I couldn't get Stefan's voice out of my head. There was such fear and panic in his voice, and it haunted me. I also focused on how close of a call this was. This could have happened when we weren't home, or when we were not close enough to get to them quick enough. Cubby could have broken Perry's neck during his thrash-about. I felt we were doing a good thing - dogs are supposed to wear collars, right? It shows they are loved and cared for if they get lost or loose, and it gives us something to hold onto and control when they get too rowdy. All those good intentions got thrown out the window. Never, will I ever collar my dogs again. I began to get an inkling of how parents must feel when they cry, "I just looked away for a minute!" No one knows when these things will happen, and no one is ever really prepared.
All is well, now. Perry lost a lot of fur around his neck, but it will grow back. He slept almost for the rest of the day, and we were relieved when he finally took a drink of water and ate some food. Cubby and Perry still play like they are best friends, and after a thorough sniff-over of the floor where the incident occurred, Perry feels at peace and is not afraid that walking over the spot will cause him further harm. They seem to have forgotten all about the incident.
Meanwhile, Stefan and I will always remember. I do not wish to remember, but I do not wish to forget, either.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Vacation Week
Well, the end of vacation is near. After tomorrow, I will have to go back to work. Although it seems this week went by pretty fast, I feel refreshed and recharged and ready. It's been a busy week, too!
On Saturday, we tried to motivate ourselves to clean the rest of the house. We had been cleaning and clearing all week, trying to get the spare room looking more like a spare room, and finally putting order to Stefan's office. In the process, we discovered that the spare room gets more light than our bedroom, so we're going to change rooms - again! This will be our third bedroom move. Probably before next week is over, we will have officially set up camp in all of our bedrooms at some point.
On Sunday, we had a party/cook-out with some of our friends. It was blistering hot - like 58% humidity and a heat index of 103. Going outside would cause an instant sweat-fest. Cooking hamburgers after having a couple of margaritas is not a good idea. Unless you like them crispy and black through-and-through. But I thought I'd try anyhow, and subsequently, Stefan had to come out and turn off the grill. We have some scorch-marks on the back of the house from the flames I caused. Oops. I'm not allowed to grill anymore. Dave was a good sport and he ate one of my hamburgers anyway while Stefan grilled up a new batch.
Dave took Rhiannon in the pool for a little bit, and judging from the permanent grin on her face, she had a blast. Later, after Rhiannon had to go home, Stefan and I went in the pool. The water got up to 82 degrees - a record! and it didn't feel chilly anymore. I swam around for a bit after Stefan got out (too hard to resist swimming but the tattoo is not healed yet) while everyone sweated on the back deck and conversed. Later, after everyone left, Sam and Dave stopped back by for a bit and Stefan whipped up another batch of his margaritas.
Monday, Stefan was aching for some pedialyte. Perhaps the new margarita recipe is a little too strong? We finished cleaning up and then headed to the airport to pick up Aunt Helen, Uncle Mike and Inky. This is the first time I have encoutered the Bridge from Hell. A new bridge was built, I'll call it the Death Wish Bridge, and it has an on-ramp like a rollercoaster. And these teeny-tiny concrete guardrails with a speed limit of 60. You're so far up in the clouds, you can't even see the James River as you cross. How much to pay for this delightful thrill ride? $2.25 each way! But it was the quickest way to the airport.
Aunt Helen and Uncle Mike had a lovely visit. The dogs played and played. We talked, drank coffee, and smoked. Stefan got up with Cubby every morning (he instinctively knows when it's 7am and time to go out) and let me sleep in. What a sweetheart. We took more pictures of the dogs than of the humans, but come on, it's not everyday you get to see a 10 pound chihuahua taunting a 90 pound german shepherd. Perry would play this game where he would jump up and bite Inky's tail. This would start the game of chase, and Inky would go after Perry, while Perry bounced around like a ping-pong ball. Too funny. Cubby took a special liking to Uncle Mike, preferring to be held quietly on his lap, which is quite a feat for a 3 month old puppy.
We took Helen and Mike out to Brother's for dinner Monday night. While we didn't do a whole lot of special things, we mainly enjoyed each other's company.
Helen and Mike stayed until Thursday. When we got back from the airport, we didn't feel like doing much, so we just surfed the Internet, played computer games and watched Tivo shows. Friday finally found me beginning to relax. I don't think I know how to relax anymore. I read an entire book (The Bell Jar) and only after that, did I feel myself becoming refreshed. I generally read non-fiction, and yesterday, I just couldn't get into my next book all that well, so that's when I picked up The Bell Jar. It was perfect - just the right length for reading in a day, and entertaining enough to keep me reading.
This morning, I am sitting on the deck, watching the puppies play. It's Stefan's turn to sleep in. The pool is a wreck -we got some bad storms this week, and a lot of heavy branches fell down. The weather has cooled off dramatically, so I haven't felt inspired to get in and clean the pool. Oh, yeah, and I'm on vacation, anyways.
On Saturday, we tried to motivate ourselves to clean the rest of the house. We had been cleaning and clearing all week, trying to get the spare room looking more like a spare room, and finally putting order to Stefan's office. In the process, we discovered that the spare room gets more light than our bedroom, so we're going to change rooms - again! This will be our third bedroom move. Probably before next week is over, we will have officially set up camp in all of our bedrooms at some point.
On Sunday, we had a party/cook-out with some of our friends. It was blistering hot - like 58% humidity and a heat index of 103. Going outside would cause an instant sweat-fest. Cooking hamburgers after having a couple of margaritas is not a good idea. Unless you like them crispy and black through-and-through. But I thought I'd try anyhow, and subsequently, Stefan had to come out and turn off the grill. We have some scorch-marks on the back of the house from the flames I caused. Oops. I'm not allowed to grill anymore. Dave was a good sport and he ate one of my hamburgers anyway while Stefan grilled up a new batch.
Dave took Rhiannon in the pool for a little bit, and judging from the permanent grin on her face, she had a blast. Later, after Rhiannon had to go home, Stefan and I went in the pool. The water got up to 82 degrees - a record! and it didn't feel chilly anymore. I swam around for a bit after Stefan got out (too hard to resist swimming but the tattoo is not healed yet) while everyone sweated on the back deck and conversed. Later, after everyone left, Sam and Dave stopped back by for a bit and Stefan whipped up another batch of his margaritas.
Monday, Stefan was aching for some pedialyte. Perhaps the new margarita recipe is a little too strong? We finished cleaning up and then headed to the airport to pick up Aunt Helen, Uncle Mike and Inky. This is the first time I have encoutered the Bridge from Hell. A new bridge was built, I'll call it the Death Wish Bridge, and it has an on-ramp like a rollercoaster. And these teeny-tiny concrete guardrails with a speed limit of 60. You're so far up in the clouds, you can't even see the James River as you cross. How much to pay for this delightful thrill ride? $2.25 each way! But it was the quickest way to the airport.
Aunt Helen and Uncle Mike had a lovely visit. The dogs played and played. We talked, drank coffee, and smoked. Stefan got up with Cubby every morning (he instinctively knows when it's 7am and time to go out) and let me sleep in. What a sweetheart. We took more pictures of the dogs than of the humans, but come on, it's not everyday you get to see a 10 pound chihuahua taunting a 90 pound german shepherd. Perry would play this game where he would jump up and bite Inky's tail. This would start the game of chase, and Inky would go after Perry, while Perry bounced around like a ping-pong ball. Too funny. Cubby took a special liking to Uncle Mike, preferring to be held quietly on his lap, which is quite a feat for a 3 month old puppy.
We took Helen and Mike out to Brother's for dinner Monday night. While we didn't do a whole lot of special things, we mainly enjoyed each other's company.
Helen and Mike stayed until Thursday. When we got back from the airport, we didn't feel like doing much, so we just surfed the Internet, played computer games and watched Tivo shows. Friday finally found me beginning to relax. I don't think I know how to relax anymore. I read an entire book (The Bell Jar) and only after that, did I feel myself becoming refreshed. I generally read non-fiction, and yesterday, I just couldn't get into my next book all that well, so that's when I picked up The Bell Jar. It was perfect - just the right length for reading in a day, and entertaining enough to keep me reading.
This morning, I am sitting on the deck, watching the puppies play. It's Stefan's turn to sleep in. The pool is a wreck -we got some bad storms this week, and a lot of heavy branches fell down. The weather has cooled off dramatically, so I haven't felt inspired to get in and clean the pool. Oh, yeah, and I'm on vacation, anyways.
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