I'm looking to put internet in the townhouse and I am not wanting to put in cable internet because it's just so damn expensive.  So I am calling on you all to advise on how I should tackle this.   I am currently thinking of using Clearwire, but have heard mixed reviews about it.  So here are my questions.

What do you currently use and would you recommend it to me?
Is it affordable?
Have you used Clearwire?
If so, how was your coverage?

Thanks for the help!

So PISSED right now!

I was washing my car today, a shock...I know, it was so dirty!  And I discovered some things that I am FUMING about!  Now let me preface this by saying that I subconsciously don't wash my car often because I always find new scratches or dents that other kind and observant drivers on the road inflict on me.  So I'm always bummed when I wash my car because it's just sucky finding all these on my good little car.

Now you see where I'm going with this...I'm washing my car and I've found no less than six little rock gashes in my hood that have scraped off the paint and are now RUSTING!!!!  Can you believe this crap?  I can and can't at the same time.  Subaru's paint is notoriously thin, so it's not a huge surprise.  But DAMN IT!  Now I'm on the look out for an auto detailing place that is good and inexpensive to patch up my hood before the rust starts to spread...then I'm really in trouble!

Any suggestions?

Of sorts...

I got a promotion!

I'm now the Senior Vessel Manager of my office.  I'm basically the managers right hand person.  I'll be involved in more integral stuff at work and getting to know the vendors and principals really well.  I've been doing most of the work this position does already, but now I have the title to back it up.  It's nice to be recognized for all of your hard work, effort and pride that you put into your job.

I'm happy, but also a bit worried about what the future has in store with this new responsibility.  I'm not going to be doing a lot of agent work anymore, which makes me sad because the best part of my job is working with the vessels and crew.  I'm going to be removed from it and I don't know how I feel about it right now.  The jury is still out on that one.

Anyway.  Just thought I would share that information with all of you.

Also, I'm going to Disneyland in 4 days!!!!  WOOHOO!  I can't wait, I'm so excited.  I haven't been there in a few years and I'm excited to be going back.  I'm going to be there for 4 days and having a good time with some good friends!  YAY!  Not to mention having a scandalous time, as it is my sister's bachelorette party!  HEHEHEH....

with this face!





She is such a cutie!




Her first bath!




She's just got a great personality.



Her name is Ally and she is 11 weeks old.  She's the cutest.  And she's ours.

I found out today that I get up to 24 chiropractic visits a year and 12 of those can be supplemented with acupuncture. Anybody know a good chiro that I can go to?

So...I fell off the wagon, weeks ago! I stopped running all together and I'm paying for it big time! I tried my first running day two days ago and I could barely get through it. I couldn't believe how tough it was! I literally couldn't finish the running and I couldn't walk as fast as I could before. What was wrong with me?
So I tried it again today and it was better, but still not as good as before. I had a tough time getting through my last two jogging sequences. But I pushed myself through it, really focused and got through it. Now, I'm just exhausted and my poor calves are pissed at me.

Why is it tougher to run now? Is it because of the change of season? I've noticed that my moods are different and I'm now wanting to be more sedentary, which I despise. This time of year seems to be the worst for me. The days seem shorter because of less daylight time and I seem to be more lethargic. Which is terrible really because this is when we consume the most calories out of the whole year. Sick, huh? I just notice that I'm more likely to hang around the house and watch a movie, than I am to go out and meet up with friends and that's terrible of me. I need more energy and yet I don't feel like working out and working out gives you more energy. Man, what a vicious cycle!

I also can't stand that I seem to be more hungry and no reason for it. Like today, I had a great salad for lunch and was nice and full. Not more than an hour later, I was hungry again. WTF? I'm eating healthier and yet I seem to get hungrier more often, I'm so tired of it. What's the worst part is that the food that is readily available is so preservative and calorie laden that it makes me nauseas. We have the holidays to thank for that one! Mental note: store up on veggies for the office!

Sorry for the rant, I guess I'm just blowing off some holiday steam!

So yesterday was a lazy day. Mo and I got up and had breakfast. I had purchased a panetonne(sp?) in North Beach on Tuesday and we decided to cut a little bit and make some french toast. We also had some really good omelettes! YUM! We just hung out around the house and talked, just a real leisurely morning.

After breakfast we got dressed and went to Half Moon Bay. The drive was much quicker than I remember! We got there and stopped by this taco grill that apparently had great tacos and polenta fries. So we stopped there for lunch and I had a mahi mahi taco...so yummy! They didn't offer the polenta fries anymore :( so we had their sweet potato fries instead. Good, but not my favorite.

After lunch we went to the beach in San Gregorio. It was quiet and beautiful! I was so happy just walking down the beach and letting the water wash over my feet. It was a bit chilly and very windy, but I didn't care, it was so relaxing. Mo and I sat down on the beach and played with the sand for a couple of hours, just talking and having fun. We stayed until the sunset (SO PRETTY!) and then headed back to the car. Of course we hit traffic on our way back home because it was 5pm-ish and the freeways were packed!

We headed to Trader Joes to pick up dinner. We decided to have a picnic dinner and rent a season of Sex and the City. We just hung out and watched some funny TV.

It was such a good day and very relaxing. Something I needed. Nothing too pressing and no where that I HAD to be. Just having a good time being spontaneous.

So yesterday, Tuesday, Mo and I had the day together because she is off work.
We got ready and went to Berkeley, it was nice just driving around and seeing what has changed, if anything. We went to lunch at Raleigh's, it was GOOD! I had a grilled steak flatbread sandwich and shared some cajun fries with Mo. It was good stuff and SO FILLING! We then went to a cool t-shirt store on Telegraph and just walked around.
We then headed out to San Francisco. I wanted to go to North Beach to get some good italian stuff and have a cannolli! So we went to Molinari's, a great italian deli, and got some awesome bread and salami. Then we went to Stella's bakery to get a cannolli, but they were out. Feeling defeated I went to find one before I decided to give up. We went to Caffe Greco and they had cannolli's! YAY! So I decided to get a cannolli and cap. But then I saw they had gelato, and I hadn't had gelato before, so I tried it. And then bought it. So Mo and I shared a cannolli and gelato, SO GOOD! It was so incredibly sinful and so wonderful.
After that we drove down to the Wharf and went to Boudin's. I got some bread and clam chowder to take home with me. YUM! We then walked down the main street along the wharf. Walked by the Cannery and hung out by the historical park right in front of Ghiradelli Square. The fog had come in so we decided to hang out by the beach right there and watch the sky turn dark (the sun had set) and watch the fog roll in. As we stood there talking and hanging out we listened to the chorus of fog horns coming from the Bay. The one for each bridge, the horn for Alcatraz, and any ships that may be in the waterway. It was so peaceful listening to the fog horns and watching the daylight slip away.
We went to Ghiradelli Square and walked around a bit. We found Cellar 360 where they had some wine tasting going on. So Mo and I hung out and did her first wine tasting. It was some good wine and a cool experience for both Mo and I. My sister also called me while we were there and told us some VERY EXCITING news!!!! YAY! I am SO EXCITED! I can't wait!
We then killed some time in the chocolate store and tried some samples(yummy!). Then we headed back across the Bay.

It was SUCH an enjoyable day. It was SO nice and a good time.

So I haven't updated in a couple of days, so here goes!

Monday was a pretty laid back day. I was going to spend time with my family and just hang out, but I really didn't feel like being around people. I was feeling a bit bah humbug. So I went to World's Fare Donuts and got some yummy donuts(naturally), there are no equal donuts in Seattle or the surrounding areas. They are the best and I'm glad they are all the way down here, because I would get them more often!
Then I decided to take a trip to Pleasanton and go to Stoneridge because the Bath and Body Works Flagship store was there and there is something I've been looking for for months and I wanted to see if it was there.

AND IT WAS!!!!

I got four (4!) cocoa body butters, almost cleaning them out! I got one MONTHS ago and it's almost out. So I went to get more and was told that they are being discontinued! OH NO! So I went to the BBW at Stoneridge in hopes they had it. And I was so happy to find them, but when these are gone, I'll have to find something else. BOO!
Then after that I drove around a bit and ended up at 88 Chinese for lunch. Chicken and green beans is my FAVORITE there. SO GOOD! Then I drove to the San Leandro Marina and hung out. Watching the planes come and go from the Oakland Airport and listening to music. Just relaxing.
I then drove to Jack London Square to visit my favorite liquor store, BevMo! I spent a good hour there looking through the many different bottles of wine, champagne and alcohol. I left empty-handed. ALTHOUGH! I did find a couple bottles of champagne that I had gotten in Paris! I was so surprised to see it here and pretty reasonably priced for something that was imported from France!
After I left Bevmo, I went to Costco and inspected what they have there. Because yes, Costco in CA sells gallon jugs of alcohol, sweet. So I looked at what Costco had and just walked through seeing what is available. I spent about an hour there as well. I then went back to Mo's house and hung out. We then went to a good taqueria for dinner and I had a burrito that was awesome and WAY to big to finish in one sitting, so I saved half and brought it home. After dinner Mo and I went to Target and got some goodies for stocking stuffers, then went home.

A good day. Uneventful day, but good.

So I made the long trek yesterday from Seattle to San Leandro. It wasn't too bad, except my butt kept falling asleep! I left my house at 7:30am and got to my friends place around 8:30pm. I put the tunes on and just drove. I have a ton of CD's with me and my iPOD so I'm totally set! (BTW-Christie, LOVE the drive CD, you are awesome!) I stopped only three times for gas and coffee. I actually made it 389mi on one tank of gas! It was so cool, but I was paranoid because I was in the middle of the farm land in California, not the best place to run out of gas!

It was strange coming down from Oregon, how long it took to get through CA, it was longer than I expected and it was completely in the dark. (Stoopid daylight savings!) But once I crossed through Vallejo and started making my way towards Berkeley and eventually San Leandro I felt good. I had considered stopping and turning back around a few times during my trip. What would I have to gain by driving all this way other than more milage on my car and a butt cramp? However, as I was driving through Berkeley and passing the Bay Bridge on my right with the city of San Francisco glittering in the distance, I felt calm. I wouldn't say relieved, but comfortable, the surroundings and sights and smells brought back memories. Even the way the air was feeling, it just felt comfortable and it immediately put me at ease. I realized that this is exactly where I need to be right now.

I got to my friend Mo's (Hi MO!) and was welcomed by her and her mom. Mo was making dinner (I could smell it outside and it smelled FABULOUS!) and her mom was setting up the downstairs room that I'm staying in. We had the stir-fry beef and zucchini for dinner with strawberry cake for dessert. Then as Mo and I were talking and doing some catching up, her mom started up the karaoke. Mind you, the karaoke is set up in the room I'm sleeping in, so we all gather and sing a few tunes. Too much fun!

Today on my agenda is to drop by my aunt's place and see if they are there. I know today is a holiday, but I know that not everyone has it off, so we will see if anyone is home. But basically I'm going to spend the day on my own, just checking everything out and having some alone time.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday, Mo has off! YAY! So we are going to hang out and go places. We talked about going to the city for at least half a day and going to Berkeley for at least half. Then going down the coast to Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz on the other day. Hopefully the weather stays mild so that we can enjoy these days with no rain!

I'll keep you posted on my progress through the week. I may stay here until Friday, then head back north, or I might head south to LA and kick it with some work buddies. Not sure, everything is up in the air. But it's kinda fun not having things all planned out, no stress about having to get to places by a certain time. I like it.

So today marks the first day of my vacation. I'm off for 2 1/2 weeks and I feel weird. I spend approximately 7 months out of the year running around frantic and busy as hell with work. Then just as the season ends we are "encouraged" to take time off. Since we don't have time most of the rest of the year, during the fall/winter time is the only time we can take vacation and relax. So now, I have to relax. It's kinda tough.

I don't know what to do with my days, I am SO used to structure and schedules. Knowing exactly what is going on when and having my week (basically) planned out for me with spontaneous little things going on as well. Now, I'm forcing myself to be COMPLETELY spontaneous and it's a bit uncomfortable. I'm going to be leaving for my roadtrip this weekend. I have no plans or schedule as to what I am going to do, but I know that I am leaving this weekend.

I also seem to be psyching myself out of going. I keep thinking that maybe I should just stay in town and not go anywhere. But then I would just be this bump on a log and not do anything for the whole vacation. The thought of wasting my vacation is just motivation enough to want to get in my car and drive. I need the open road, to listen to my music, stop and take pictures of scenery that I usually just drive by. To surround myself with family and friends, good food and familiar places. I don't just want this, I need this, for me. I can't remember the last time I said I needed anything, but I know deep down this trip is something I need.

So I ran today and finished my first week of the program. It was an interesting run, I couldn't find music that was consistent enough to keep my mood up and changing songs constantly throws me off. But the 25 minutes went by really quickly! I was surprised when I was already at the 17 minute mark...I couldn't believe that I had only 8 more minutes to go. I also upped my speed to 2.9 for walking and 3.5 for jogging. The increased speed didn't really seem to affect me at all, so it was nice that I could push myself a bit more and not have it be too tough.

YAY! I'm feeling accomplished in this program. I'm still toying with the idea of doing the Jingle Bell Run, however I'm not sure if I'm going to be ready by then. I don't want to get ahead in the program to train myself for the run, but it would be cool to strive for this goal.

We'll see.

So I did my second day of training and it was harder than the first day. I would say that my body was DEFINITELY protesting against me because it took until 20 minutes into the exercise for my body to get into a groove. It was weird because the first day the groove came so easily and the juices were flowing and I had great adrenaline. Today, however, it just wasn't working. But I persisted and kept going, eventually the groove came and I was feeling good.

The really telling thing about the workout was how I felt afterward. It was amazing, I was in good spirits...happy and bubbly. I had the music on in my bathroom while I was taking a shower and I was singing along (something I haven't done in a while). When I got out of the shower I was dancing to the music and just plain acting like a fool. I was giddy almost. This endorphin thing is cool!

In light of me needing to make changes in my life (ie. health and well-being) and also being so completely inspired by my friend Kelli, beingpatient, I've taken up running.

Running, you say? Aren't you the one that absolutely loathes running?

Well yes, I do, um did. I just figured that I need to make some changes and I had never really tried running and I have friends that do it. So I figured I would give it a shot. I have access to a treadmill 24 hours a day and now that work has slowed down, I have more time on my hands to devote to fitness.

At the suggestion of beingpatient, I have started using C25K.com. It's got loads of information and ways to begin your journey from beginner to experienced. I am a WAY begin beginner. I never ran unless I had to and hated every minute of it. I was inspired by the website last night and today did my first day of the 9 week training.

And I feel GREAT!

You start off slow by walking and then adding spurts of jogging into the mix. I started off at speed 2.7 for my walking and then went up to speed 3.3 for my jogging. It wasn't too tough, I didn't want to strain myself the first time out, so I didn't go too fast. By the time I got to 12 minutes (out of a 25 minute workout) I was LOVING it! I felt good and I actually *enjoyed* the jogging. When the workout came to an end I felt good enough to keep going and do it longer. However I knew that overdoing it wouldn't help in the training and that I should do exactly what is directed in order for me NOT to burn out.

So now I'm working on this and really starting to commit to a workout. It is VERY exciting and I can't wait to do my next running workout.

Thank you so much Kelli for inspiring me and introducing me to the website. I'll thank you every time I strap on my running shoes.

I have finally come to a conclusion on what I want to do with my vacation coming up next month. I have two weeks...two full blissful weeks of not having to deal with work or ships. I've had this road block of what I can do and what is financially feasible for me and I have found my answer.

ROADTRIP!

Yep, you heard me right. I am going to lube and gas up my car and hit the road. And go where you ask? Anywhere. Anywhere but here. My travels will find me going south towards California for some fun in the sun and time with my family that I haven't seen in ages! I have no plans, no schedule, other than I will be in California sometime in those two weeks.

What will I do with the rest of my time? Drive. See the sights. Sing my lungs out as I trek through the desert. Watch the waves crash onto the beach. Relax and ponder life. Basically, whatever the hell I want to do.

I'm so excited I find myself thinking about things I want to do, places I want to go and I can hardly sit still. It's the first time in a long time that I've been genuinely excited about doing something and it's so refreshing! Who knew that deciding to drive a couple thousand miles would make someone so giddy!

Just wanted to wish someone great a happy birthday!

she's gone. Today Brittany, our dog of 15 years, leaves us. I don't know what to say or what to think right now. I hate goodbyes, I couldn't even be there to say goodbye to her before she left us, I just couldn't let myself have that as the last image of her.

What do you say when you see her food and water bowl and know that it won't be used again? What do you think when you see her "Go Huskies" leash and know that you won't be taking her for another walk? What do you do with all the toys that has accumulated over the years? What will we do with her Christmas stocking?

All these questions are too painful to think about. All we have now are pictures and stories of the good times. How she would jump through open windows just so that she could be outside. How when she was a puppy she used to hop like a bunny after us in the yard. How when she was really content on a walk, she would be trotting sideways along side you with her ears back and her tongue hanging out.

All these and more I will keep in my heart forever and hope someday in the future I can play a good game of tug-a-war with my puppy.

James Hawkins Caldwell IV was born yesterday to Elizabeth and James Caldwell. He is a bit early, being born at 27 weeks, however the early prognosis seems to be good. He was crying and moving just after being born, so that is always a good sign!
I am so overjoyed for them, I know it's going to be tough to have their child in the hospital until it's at full-term, but I just can't help but be happy for them. They have a beautiful baby boy and I know they will be wonderful parents. Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.