Busy Month

Well, it's certainly been a busy month so far....

My parents arrived for their winter stay the first weekend in December. They'll stay up until we go on the cruise in February for our wedding.

Of course, like everyone else I've been busy with Christmas shopping and prep. I've also been working on the wedding plans. Today was the deadline for all details to be spelled out with the cruise line, so I'm glad that's pretty much set.

Gary and I have also started looking at houses a little bit. We'd probably like to buy sometime next year, so we decided to start to get an idea of what's out there. That's been fun and exciting.

I'm on vacation this week, so it's been nice to catch up on my to do list.

Winter is Here

It has dropped 20 degrees in an hour and a half... when I left work it was 65 degrees and now it's 45. Thank you Mr. North Wind!!

It's supposed to be below freezing for the next four nights and we are supposed to get sleet and freezing rain tomorrow. Yuck!

Big Bonus Points for Gary

Monday was a big day - the 2nd anniversary of our first date.

I *completely* forgot. I forgot soooo much, that even when I received a voicemail that 1-800-flowers was trying to find me for a delivery, that I thought "Oh how nice, Gary sent me flowers out of the blue". To make matters worse, I didn't receive the message until right before I was leaving work so I wasn't able to return the call and get the delivery. Instead, I called Gary to tell him I was on my way home and I asked him, "Did you send me something today?". He said yes and I explained what happened. It *still* didn't dawn on me why he sent the flowers and he didn't say (assuming I knew). So then I asked him what we should do for dinner and suggested a couple things we could cook.

He says, "Well, I was thinking maybe we'd go out, it is a special day".
Rachelle says, "Huh? *pause*... Ooohhhhhh!!!!!!" Yeah, finally dawned on me.

Of course had I actually received the delivery, I would have been saved since it had a "Happy Anniversary" balloon. Argh - bummer. :-)

I told him I was all set to celebrate February 8th and therefore didn't even think about *this* anniversary. :-)

So... big bonus points for Gary. I, on the other hand, am in the dog house - ha ha.

Happy Thanksgiving

What a beautiful Thanksgiving today. It was in the 70's and sunny.... very nice.

Gary and I celebrated on our own this year. My parents are normally here before Thanksgiving, but this year they had a bit of a delay. Dad was recently scheduled for sugery to get his teeth implants... right before the surgery, his doctor had to have a triple bypass... obviously, his surgery was postponed. Now, although his doctor is not fully back to work, he is going to do Dad's surgery. Therefore, they are going to get that taken care of before coming down to Dallas. It will work out fine since they are planning on staying here until we leave for the cruise/wedding in Feb anyway... so they'll still be here for a couple months like they normally are.

Roberta went to celebrate with Dave's family. Gary and I had a nice Thanksgiving on our own. We bought a Tyson "oven-ready" turkey breast (which was very good) and had all the fixin's. Yummy.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Holidays Coming

FYI.... I decided to put all the wedding stuff on a new blog:

http://stthomaswedding.blogspot.com

In other news, I can't believe it's so close to Thanksgiving already. We have our potluck at work this Thursday. Mom and Dad plan to be here next Wednesay (day before Thanksgiving). They are planning to stay until we leave for the cruise/wedding. They're staying with Roberta this year.

I was doing some shopping this weekend and it did put me in the mood for Christmas shopping. I also scheduled an appointment for engagement photos for this coming weekend, so we can send them with Christmas cards. I was surprised when I figured out that I'll barely get them back in time to do that.

I'm also excited to put my Christmas tree up this year because I bought new ornaments in the after Christmas sales last year. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

I have a feeling time is just going to fly by until our wedding.

Wedding Update

Gosh, my to do list has been growing, but I've gotten some things accomplished as well.

We got our airfare booked. We're planning on staying in FL after the cruise and going to Disney World. Should be a nice trip.

I also found and bought my dress. Yay!

We've gotten several people booked and ready to go. Guest count is currently 8 (for 10 people total).

We unfortunately ran into a little trouble with travel plans... found out the Superbowl is in Miami on the day we depart. This makes it nearly impossible for guests who want to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, to find a hotel room without paying an arm and a leg. :-(

I'm already annoyed with the wedding coordinators and the process has just begun, so wish me luck.

That's all for now.

We're Booked!

I'm happy to say that after much research our wedding and cruise are officially booked! Yay!!

We'll be getting married in St. Thomas on 2/8/07. Now we are moving on to plan details and I get to find a dress. I've already been out to a few stores. I'm taking my sis with me on Saturday to get another opinion. We did find her a dress already (I think). We have to order it online, so assuming it fits when it arrives and she likes it, we'll be good.

Oh and I guess we need some airfare to get to Fort Lauderdale... details. :-)

Duck Scam

Duck Scam
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

They're gettin' organized...

Wedding Website

I created a wedding website for us. I'll keep adding more details to it. I kind of did the easy stuff first. :-)

US Population Hits 300 Million

I thought this was a funny part in the article on the event:

"When the U.S. population officially hit 200 million in 1967, President Johnson held a news conference at the Commerce Department to hail America's past and to talk about the challenges ahead. Life magazine dispatched a cadre of photographers to find a baby born at the exact moment, anointing a boy born in Atlanta as the 200 millionth American.

This year, there's a good chance the 300 millionth American has already walked across the border from Mexico."

I've had a good week...

I guess I haven't announced it here yet, but I'm sure I've talked to everyone who reads this. Gary and I got engaged last Saturday (the 7th). We went to San Antonio for the weekend and he proposed after dinner Saturday night on the River Walk. Yay! I'm so happy and excited. :-)

We've begun researching ideas for what to do for a wedding and it seems that we will probably do a cruise / destination wedding.

We had a busy weekend this weekend as well. Friday night we made a quick appearance at Main Event for an outing with Gary's work team. Then we went down to the Sons of Hermann Hall to see Guy Forsyth. He was very good and it was an interesting place (a music venue since 1911). We met Liz and Daniel there and we haven't seen them in quite awhile so it was nice to see them.

Saturday evening we went to see the Blue Man Group at the American Airlines center. That was pretty cool also. It was definitely different from anything I've seen in person. It was more of a concert than I expected, however the show is called "How to be a Megastar", so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised.

And that was my good week. :-)

In Other News...

Just a few tidbits of my life lately:

- I got an MP3 player and I had no idea what I was missing. Gary described it best when making fun of me... saying that I would be like "Oh, I like that song.... Ohhhh, I like that song too". It's true. :-)

- Gary and I did a record 3 laps around white rock lake on our bikes this past weekend. It's 27 miles and although we have gone that far before, we've only done it at bike rallies where there are lots of rest stops and refreshments to keep us going. We did stop between each lap for a Clif bar but, Gary's convinced that a banana sure would have made that last lap easier.

- Work is getting a little less stressful again, however I doubt it will last. I've been training someone to take over part of my duties, but she just got moved. She's being replaced, but I will basically need to start training over with the new person.

- I've been checking out several new shows and really like Six Degrees and Studio 60. I still have my old standbys... and then I'm really liking Nip/Tuck which I started watching on DVD (just finished season 1).

- I do do more than watch tv though. I've been continuing to work out and I can actually say that it may actually be getting easier. I do a lot of step classes and I think I am finally ready to graduate to using 1 "riser". Woohoo.

- Gary is also on quite a winning steak with games lately... Trivial Pursuit (not a surprise, it's really not my thing) and Crazy Rummy. For the next Trivial Pursuit game I believe we agreed on a new rule to make it a little more even: I get two chances/questions every time I land on the opporutnity for a pie. :-) Believe me... it's fair.

And that's my update.

Skunks Again

Would you believe the skunks are still living around our office building??

My boss saw one today when he went out to lunch. I guess we all need to be careful walking out to our cars. They seem to be living in the bushes right near the door, since that is where they've been spotted. Yikes. Wish me luck. LOL.

Skunks

So... I'm walking into work today and suddenly a black and white critter strolls across the sidewalk in front of me. I don't believe I've ever seen a skunk that closely before. I backed away slowly and walked around to a different door. Aren't skunks night creatures? It seems I've heard if you see one during the day, that's a bad thing.

I certainly didn't want to take any chances. I'll be really cautious leaving tonight. Yikes.

Rachelle & Roberta

Rachelle & Roberta 2006
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

Roberta and I went to a wedding this summer and her boss took this photo. He just sent it to her and I thought I would share. Tomorrow is her last day at her current job so I guess he's wrapping up loose ends. Of course, if we had known there would be pictures, maybe we would have coordinated and not both worn floral prints that clash. lol.

Visiting ND

I'm visiting "home" this week. It's been very relaxing. We haven't done much of anything except shopping. :-)

I'm enjoying the weather, but I see it has gotten cooler in Dallas as well. We're headed to the lake today to see my aunt and uncle. We waited until the coldest day of the week to venture out to the lake, as seems to be tradition (at least for the past couple of years). I'm in jeans and a sweatshirt - I'm set. It's supposed to be a high of 75 today and it's been very windy. The wind has died down here in Fargo, but I suspect it will be windier at the lake.

I managed to help my dad with some computer stuff this week, and it's worth mentioning since I'm by no means a computer expert. It wasn't without troubles, I did manage to delete an entire folder, but hey... I got it back. I'm happy everything is working. :-)

The diet on the other hand... not going so well. I've managed to gain 4 lbs this week, but who can blame me when there are caramel rolls (homemade) and birthday cake to tempt me. lol.

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday so we'll go out for dinner for that. (Yes, we got the birthday cake early so we actually had a chance to have some of it before we leave on Sunday... bad, bad, bad).

I miss my sweetie and my kitties though. Gary didn't come along this year. Roberta, her cat and I made the trip. Quincy is no replacement for my kitties since he is such a brat he usually won't let me touch him.

It's been a nice week though. A lot of times when we come home there are other guests around also, so it's been a rare treat to actually sleep in "my" room all week. The weather has been nice and we've been able to have the windows open every night too. I really need a break from work, so it's been great. It will of course be hard to go back though. :-)

I'm Back

Yep, I know it's been a long while since I've written anything here. I've been super busy at work. We recently re-organized and although I have the same boss, everyone above him changed for several layers up. We've been swamped getting things in order for the way those upper levels want it. I've been putting in some long evenings and weekends. Whoa is me.

We are also no longer in the Finance department, so I quickly dumped the idea of a second Masters degree in Finance. No more school and I'm happy to have my free time back. The short bit I did was very time consuming. Oh, and maybe the best part of quitting that is not having to deal with the tuition reimbursement people.

Anyway, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In the re-organization, I managed to gain a counterpart for my position to take half of it *and* I gained an employee. So I now have one direct report, which is great. Unfortunately I have to share the person with two other managers, i.e. she reports to me but has to support three managers. At least I basically get to dictate what she will and will not be taking on as part of her job functions.

Things are looking up.

Kittenwar

This is a cute website that Gary found.

It randomly puts up two kitten photos up against one another and you are supposed to pick the cutest. Gary and I immediately sifted through our kitten pictures and...

Abby's results were very good



Molly's results were not very good at all



We *couldn't* have that, so I had to try again, with much better results - Happy Dance, I have a cute kitty too.




My conclusion is that you just have to show a little belly to get some cuteness points. :-)

(We don't have kitty pictures of Isabel, but I'm sure she would kick butt too).

Kitten Wars

I put a baby picture of my cat, Abby, up on KittenWar.com.
As I write this, she's been in 699 battles and is totally kicking ass!

.

Another Cycling Photo

Gary and Rachelle at Mesquite Ride
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

Here's another picture from a recent ride. This was at the end of the Mesquite Ride last weekend.

On a Brighter Note

Gary and I did a bike rally this weekend. We went 32 miles and I believe that is probably a record or very close to it for us. It was tough, but we weren’t hurting too badly at the end. The worst part was the heat. It was a hot, sunny morning with no clouds whatsoever and very few sections of shade.

The ride was good. Nice route, good rest stops and support. They had one of the most organized starts I’ve ever been a part of. We also picked up our packets in advance for this ride (we normally have to register when we get there). That was very convenient and I’ll definitely try to do that in the future.

We went to the Parade of Homes on Sunday. They were neat to see. Some stuff was so extraordinarily over the top… it was just ridiculous. One house had a garage with a lift to work on your car... and the whole garage was visible via a window from the gameroom on the second story. A few of the houses had 2-story media rooms. Some were well done, some were not very functional. It was interesting though. There did seem to be a trend to have the media room located off of the main living area versus normally seeing it upstairs off of a gameroom. There were a lot more interesting things that we saw also. It was fun. It’s time to win the lotto! :-)

Infuriating

I am so steaming mad right now, I thought this may be a good outlet to vent. :-)

The last time I was to the dentist, I made an appointment for 6 months in advance for my next appointment. I’m sure this is pretty standard practice with dentists. Today, I discovered that my dentist appointment that is scheduled for next month is scheduled for a day that I will be in Rhode Island. So, I called to re-schedule. I say “I’d like to reschedule an appointment I have next month since I will be out of town”. She says, “Would you like me to put you on the list?”. I say, “What is the list?” First gripe… do you think maybe she should explain what the list is rather than just asking if I’d like to be put on it???

Well, guess what? No appointments are available until January, so “the list” is their cancellation list. They will call me if they have a cancellation and I can come in. Initially I said, OK fine.

After thinking about that idea I was concerned that them calling me at the last minute because they have a cancellation is not likely to work with all the conference calls and meetings at work. What are the chances they will call when I have nothing scheduled??

So I called back and asked more questions. “Does this mean that you may call me last minute to come in?” She says, “Well yes but we always allow time for you to get here”. What???!! Sounds last minute to me. I explained that with my work schedule, that is not likely to work. Asked again if there was nothing else she could do. Nope.

Then, I asked “If I were a new patient and I called and said I’d like to come in, you would tell me ‘Sure, in January’?” She said they don’t do cleaning on first visits so that’s not a problem.

Ughhh…..

I left this dentist once before for this very reason. (The first time was because I had to go to court for work… I thought that was a pretty legitimate reason to reschedule and surely they could do something, but nope. I was mad then too so I went to a different dentist).

However, I like this dentist because it's so convenient to work, etc so I went back. And the reason I asked that last question was when I did go back they were able to get me in within a week!!

I guess I’ll see how the list thing works out and find another dentist if I have to. I did certainly tell her how disappointed I was with their system. :-(

Good Weekend

We had a fun weekend. We went on the Mesquite Rotary Ride Saturday morning. It was only 20 miles… and it’s so good to be able to say *only* in front of *20 miles*. I guess we’re getting better.

The route was good and the support was wonderful. Afterwards, lunch was being catered by Outback Steakhouse, although that sounds much better than it actually was (chicken sandwich and chips). Next week we’ll attempt 32 miles. That will be more challenging.

Saturday night we went to The Improv to see Christopher Titus. We’ve seen him before there and I thought he was great and I used to watch his TV show on Fox a few years back. This time was good also. There was some material I recognized from before but some new stuff also. He did mention he’s getting a new TV show and doing a movie, so that’s cool. I’ll be interested to check them out.

Sunday I spent cleaning in preparation for school starting this week and hence the reduction in free time… certainly cleaning won’t be a high priority following the reduction. :-)

Rachelle at the Cross Timbers Classic

Rachelle_CTC_May 2006
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

Here's a picture of me at the Cross Timbers Classic. This was at the end of the 30 mile ride.

And Here's Gary

Gary_CTC_May 2006
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

I'm so sore...

I can't figure out if it's the Afro-Latin dancing I did yesterday or the tennis I played last night. Probably a combination.

Yep - I did a workout that I recorded off of Fit TV that was in the style of Afro-Latin dance. I think my neck is sore from that... recall what I'm sure you have seen on TV at some point... the African dance, throw your head around, kind of dance. Are you picturing me doing this now? LOL. It was fun.

I played tennis with my sis last night and according to my heart rate monitor, burned 800 calories. Woo hoo... except it probably didn't make up for the Red Lobster dinner we had beforehand :-(

Tonight it's another new adventure in exercise. I'm going to do a Hip Hop class at my gym. I wonder where I'll be sore tomorrow.

Weekend Bike Tour

Gary and I did the Cross Timbers Class Bike Tour this weekend in Flower Mound. It was nice since it was very close to home. The ride was 30 miles, which was a lot for our second tour this season. It was tough, but do-able. There were some hills that were a struggle, but we did all right.

The rest stops were very nice. The volunteers at the second stop were unbelievable. They were by far the most grateful (that I've ever seen) at a rally for the riders to be participating and supporting their cause. We pay to participate and the money goes to a charity or some cause, I'm actually not sure what this one was for, but they were very appreciative.

The police support was rather spotty. There were times when they were at intersections where they probably weren't needed and other times when they weren't at major intersections (like the first time crossing main street, although they were there the second time). Overall it was pretty good support, but I was puzzled by the location choices.

It was fun and challenging and I would definitely do that ride again.

Class One: Complete... Seven More to Go

I finished my first class last week before we left for DC. Yay!

I had my final the night before we left and I was pretty confident that I did well on it. I did get an A on both the test and in the class. Double Yay!

I have a couple weeks off and then summer school. That will be more intense since it's two nights a week and only 5 weeks long. Here's hoping it's not *too* much. :-)

Trip to Washington DC

Gary and I went to DC this weekend. It was a lot of fun, but it was certainly a lot of walking. My feet seem to have recuperated though.

We left Thursday morning and headed straight to the National Zoo when we got there. They have a baby panda that was adorable. He's several months old now and weighs about 50 lbs, but still really cute. Towards the end of our day it began to rain and a lot of the animals had sought shelter. It was a nice zoo though. We stopped for Chinese on the way back to the hotel.

Friday we hit a couple of the Smithsonian museums and then we did a Segway Tour, by recommendation of Liz and Daniel. That took us by the Capitol, the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and Korean Memorial, among other things. It was a pretty cool tour. Afterwards, we got some dinner and then walked around a bit as it was getting dark. We saw the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and got closer to the Capitol.

Saturday, my feet really needed a rest, so we tried to do a little less walking... we drove to Mount Vernon. On the way back we went to Georgetown for dinner and then actually saw a movie (again resting the feet).

Sunday we explored Arlington cemetery. We bought tickets for a play for Sunday evening before we left Dallas. We made some dinner reservations nearby and then headed over to the play which was at the Warner Theater. The play turned out to be quite an experience. Among the patrons we were by far the minority - I believe I counted 5 other white folks like us. :-) It turned out to be quite a cultural experience. The audience was very boisterous. They were dancing in their seats during some of the songs and at one point the lead actress actually said, "I'm going to need you to be quiet while I'm doing my lines". That was pretty funny. The play had it's moments. There were some quite funny parts.

Finally on Monday, we went back to hit more of the Smithsonian museums. We only made it to one, but it was a good one (American History).

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun and very full. The hotel was nice and was less than a block to the subway station, so we traveled by subway most of the time. Our one experience driving was to Mount Vernon and then back through Georgetown. We soon found out why everyone told us not to try to drive in DC. :-)

Easter Weekend

Easter was pretty uneventful for us. However, we did have an unusual meal for Easter... We grilled out some Bison. Yep, bison.

We went grocery shopping at Walmart on Saturday and I told Gary he was in charge of picking out some steak for us to grill. I then went off on in my own direction. When I returned, he asked me what I really meant when I said he was in charge. I told him I trusted him to pick out a good steak. He then showed me his find... Bison.

I did have a brief feeling of that just not being "right"... especially since I went to school at NDSU and our school mascot was the Bison. But, I did agree to give it a try.

It wasn't too bad. Of course, I'm not a big steak fan, so it really tasted like any other steak to me. Maybe others would be able to tell the difference. The good news is it is really low fat. :-)

Second Test

Good news. My second test didn't turn out to badly. I actually managed to get an 85% on it, so I was pleased with that. I was even more pleased when the instructor told us that due to the low median score of 74%, the he would add 10% to all of our scores. Yay - that means a 95% and I'm still headed for an A.

Stars Game

Gary and I got to go to the Dallas Stars game this past Tuesday courtesy of someone he knows that has season tickets which they couldn't use. It was a first for both of us (a Stars game) and it was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, we did leave a little earlier with the Stars leading 3-0, and... we ended up missing some excitement. The other team scored two goals in the last 2 1/2 minutes.

Oh well, it was still fun. (I enjoyed cheating on the diet with some nachos loaded with cheese also). :-)

Weekend Activities

This weekend was much improved over last weekend, which I spent studying. We actually had quite a bit of fun events planned, although they didn’t all go so well.

Friday night we went to the Frisco Roughriders baseball game. Unfortunately, it was cold and really windy. The fireworks that were supposed to be after the show were cancelled due to the wind. Thankfully they did announce this early on in the game since it was one of the main draws for me. So… since we were freezing, didn’t have a finale to look forward to, and Frisco was getting their butts kicked, we didn’t stay long. Actually, I believe we left in the 3rd inning. We basically had an expensive hot dog while we huddled under a blanket - lol.

Saturday morning we intended on doing a bike rally in Plano. We got up and started getting ready at 5:45am (yikes), but after checking the weather and realizing that it was still cold and windy (wind chill in low 40’s), we went back to bed.

Finally, we did get to have some fun on Saturday afternoon – something worked out. We went to an “Easter Party” at a friend of Gary’s home in Lucas. It was fun to watch all the kids search for eggs, etc. The house was gorgeous, and I finally got to meet some of Gary’s friends from work or previous work.

Second Test...

.... Probably didn't go as well as the first. I took it last night and I knew I didn't quite "get" everything, but I was hopeful that I knew enough to plug the right data in the right formulas and end up with the right answers. Unforutnately, it didn't work out quite that well. :-(

I'm still hoping for a B, but I was really frustrated that I had to flat out *guess* on some of the multiple choice questions. Yikes. Not good.

Here's crossing my fingers and I am *really* glad it's over.

Tour Dallas

Gary and I did our first real bike ride of the season this weekend. It was the Tour Dallas and was really a good ride. It started out at American Airlines Center and "toured" around downtown Dallas - The West End, Swiss Avenue, Turtle Creek. It was cool to get to ride through town vs the normal rural routes that we do. The only draw back was that there were a *ton* of people and it was pretty tightly packed most of the time. I think we averaged about 11 mph (which is pretty slow). The number of police at intersections was amazing compared to other rides we've done. I think there were two police officers at every intersection. It misted a little bit, but not enough to be bothersome. Overall, it was a great start to the season.

A Litte Fun / A Litte Productive

That's the description of my weekend.

For fun, Gary and I had dinner with Liz, Daniel and Alan at the All Good Cafe in Deep Ellum. The Asylum Street Spankers were there. We liked the location and the Spankers were good, as always.

For productive, I got some homework done - Yay. I've been procrastinating a bit and the next test is a little over a week away. Secondly, Gary and I had some fun adjusting the sprinklers. Woohoo. Gary was even more productive and put down the fertilizer and fire ant killer. :-)

Kevin Nealon

We went to see Kevin Nealon, of SNL fame, at the Improv this weekend. It was cool to see someone that famous there. I thought he was pretty funny, but not the funniest guy I've ever seen or anything.

It was nice to see Liz and Daniel since they have been particularly busy lately. We got to catch up over dinner beforehand.

Tip for purchasing tickets for "special events"... usually tickets are first come, first seated, but in the case of special events - your table number is assigned when you purchase the tickets. Thankfully we purchased tickets at about the same time so we were at neighboring tables. :-)

New Picture of the Twins

Sammie and Jake March 2006
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

Mom (Kelly) quickly gave me a more recent photo. Aren't they cute? :-)

Trip to the Zoo

Kelly's Twins
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

My friend, Kelly, and I took her two-year-old twins to the Fort Worth zoo on Saturday afternoon. We spent all afternoon chasing them around. The day went about how I expected it to. Kelly thought they were a lot more trouble than she expected. I was probably expecting the worst since 1) she had told me she wouldn’t be able to handle them by herself and 2) she kept asking me if I was *sure* that I wanted to go. I told her she was scaring me and maybe I should rethink my offer…

Honestly, I’ve been feeling a bit anxious to get married and have kids and I really was thinking that a day at the zoo with two-year-olds would probably help me feel less so. I thought I’d be thinking “I don’t ever want kids” by the end of the day. But, they were just so gosh darn cute even when they were bad. That thought just didn’t come to pass. :-)

This is the most recent picture I have of them from Halloween last year.

First Exam and First Project

Yay - Got my first exam and first project back tonight in my class and got an A on both. Yay!! I really thought I was headed for a B on both, so I am very happy.

Got a new project assignment tonight, so hopefully will go as well. The first one was really a bitch. It took a lot of time. At least it ended up well. :-)

New Job Opportunity

My boss recently offered me the opportunity to make a change and do something different. It sounded like a good opportunity, so I accepted the offer. It’s a lateral move but I will no longer have direct reports. I’m basically going to help him with analysis and projects as he has been swamped and needs some assistance. I’ve only gotten a little taste of what I will be doing so far, but I’m looking forward to it. It will be nice to do something different since I’ve been doing the same thing for a couple years.

Wish me luck. Hopefully I won’t soon regret the decision.

Formal Night on Cruise

2006 01 09_19_Rachelle and Gary formal night
Originally uploaded by rkbk03.

Here's a picture of us on our cruise.

Catching Up

Abby is doing much better. She’s eating on her own and seems to have recovered.

The cruise to Hawaii was excellent. In brief, we hit Hilo where we rented a car and checked out the Volcano National Park and then Rainbow Falls. In Kona, we went on a terrific snorkeling excursion and even saw some whales on the way. In Maui, we drove the Road to Hana on the first day and then on the second day we found a beach and lounged/rented boogie boards. In Kauai, we did a kayaking/hiking excursion and got to swim and sit in a waterfall. (It was cold, but it was a fun experience). Overall, I would rate the Pride of America highly. I did give them a lengthy list of suggestions on the feedback card, but nothing really that major. It was a nice ship and the crew was really great.

I started my first class for my Finance Masters last week. It seems like it will be a good class. My first impression of the instructor was good and the syllabus didn’t look to frightening.

We had a fun weekend and saw a couple shows. Saturday we took my parents to the movie “Walk the Line”. I thought it was good. Sunday, Gary and I went to the play/musical “Sex and the Second City”. It was entertaining and funny, but I wouldn’t go so far as to rave about it.

Hmmm.... interesting

Here’s an interesting angle for an alternative to online dating… I got this in my email today:

"Are You Invited?
The Beautiful Room is Dallas’ most exclusive, social experience. The Beautiful Room Party is an event brought to you by The Beautiful Room, which will bring together Dallas’ most attractive people in one place to socialize and mingle in a unique setting on Saturday, January 21, 2006. The Beautiful Room Party is an exclusive event and is by invitation only.

To be considered for invitation, please go to: http://www.thebeautifulroom.com/qualify"

To qualify you have to submit pictures. “The qualification board is composed of three people who will base their decisions solely on the photographs you provide”.

I think I’ll submit a few really non-beautiful people for consideration just for fun. Ha ha.

Hair Debacle

Should I have realized I was in trouble when the girl doing my hair had a Mohawk? Perhaps.

I’ve had parts of my hair dyed three times in the last two days. The good news is that 1) I do now find it to be of acceptable quality to be seen and 2) I had plenty of time in the salon to finish reading Harry Potter (the 1st one), which I got for Christmas.

The bad news was 1) I wasted a total of about 5 hours in the salon and 2) she dropped a gob of dye on my book. That was bad enough but then to make it even worse, it got all over my jeans because I didn’t realize she had dropped it. :-(

Advice: 1) Don’t get your hair done by someone with a Mohawk and too many piercings to count, 2) Wear grubby clothes to the salon that you don’t care about, and 3) take a magazine rather than a book that you specifically asked your family to buy you in hardcover because you intended on keeping it long term.

Abby Update

Abby is doing better. We are “force feeding” her (with a syringe) three times a day. She’s been eating a small amount on her own. She seems to be happy and in good spirits. Gary took her to a specialist today that could run more sophisticated tests on her. His opinion is that the condition is reversible as long as we can keep her nutritional intake up.

Gary and I are headed to Hawaii on Saturday for a week, so my parents (in town anyway) will be housesitting for us and taking over cat care. We hate to leave her since this will likely stress her out, but hey… non-refundable tickets to Hawaii, ya know? :-)

Seriously, we are optimistic that she will be fine. Even if she doesn’t make progress on eating on her own, the syringe feedings should do the trick.