Category Archives: Pics

Nothing Much & 1yr at the Gym

As of today, we have belonged to the gym for a year.  We have been pretty good at going M-F, other then normal traveling, sickness, holidays and life stuff.

I’m pretty happy with how far we have come, just stuck at plateau right now and it is driving me nuts.  Sometimes I wish I had a trainer again, but I love not having to be on a “schedule” and the trainer I want is no longer working there fully time when I would want my sessions.

I’m lost 37# since we started.   I just have about 8-10 more pounds to go and I’ll be close to what I was in ’92.  I had gained a bunch of weight due to treatments that I was receiving for my plantar fasciitis (cortisone shots…didn’t know the side effects) and then surgery for both my feet in ’07.  I’ve always been a curvy girl, but this was way too much,  I worry about my future health and how can I handle camping and hiking with being out of shape.  So we joined a gym and we have done pretty good.

What kills us, is our eating.  We grew up on midwestern eating….lots of potatoes, corn, breads and meat…..way too many carbs….and fancy food, is well….just too fancy.  We are basic people when it comes to what we eat.  So it is tough to find new healthy things for us to eat, that we like.

The last 2 months, I haven’t been going on my walks on the weekends.  I normally do that on days that we don’t go to the gym.  I think that I’m waiting for the buds and leafs to come out.  I love to take pictures when I’m on my walks.  I had full plans to go for a walk today, I was looking forward to it because it was so beautiful yesterday, but it has been windy as hell and I just didn’t feel like dealing with it.  So I was totally disappointed.

So I really didn’t do crap today……lol  I did get out to the bank and get disappointing drinks from ‘bucks.  Fingers crossed that it doesn’t happen tomorrow…..I really wanted that drink.  I did get some reading in and vegged in front of the tv.  Don’t do that very often.

Watching Letters from Iwo Jima right now.  Really need to make a to do list for tomorrow and this week, to help keep my focus.  That is the hardest part of working from home….focus.

Drew The Vampire

Drew The Vampire

Drew is so damn cute.  He will sleep for hours when held like a baby, lays his head back, his freaky long fangs makes him look like he is grinning….and his legs go up….such a silly kitty.  And yes, that is a Purdue kitty collar on him.  I could’t find a gold colored one that wasn’t girly…yuck.

Each of our cats get their own color.  The late Randi was black, the late Aurora was green, Alexis is pink, Reggie is blue, Drew is gold and Sukura is purple.

Sakura & Reggie

Sakura & Reggie

We love seeing our babies cuddle together.  Reggie is more tolerant then we thought he would be with the kittens and lets them lean against him.  Sakura has such a pretty 2-tone coat and her belly has gotten big, she is not as long as Drew so it shows on her more.

It’s A Monday

I don’t know what to make of today.  We got ready for the gym, but Harold was feeling exhausted and the fact that we are we won’t be able to go tomorrow.  It effected our motivation…..not a good thing since it has been over a week.  I know I should’ve gone, but I just couldn’t get moving.  =(

We won’t be at the gym tomorrow, because we need to have Alexis to the a specialize vet 45min away by 08:45….and we will probably be in the tail end of the morning rush hour.  They are going to have her for 4 days using a radioactive iodine to fix her feline hyperthyroidism.  The vet has a catcam so we can watch her, I have it bookmarked.  This better work and we better get 4 more years out of her, I would be extremely upset if we don’t….she is my baby, the 1st cat that my hubby brought home to me.  I just want to be able to pick her up without feeling her bones as much as I do, seems so fragile.

After we get her back Friday, because we have to treat her waste specially and limit her contact with the other cats, we will put her in the spare room for the next 2 weeks.  =(  I feel horrible about it, but there is no way I’ll be handle what is needed to be done with the litters after 4 cats for 2 weeks.  I hope to bring her out on a leash during the day.

I did some errands this morning and then tried to focus on work, which was a pain today to do.  I wanted to get things done, but really didn’t want to spend time on the pc doing it, it made me restless.  I got most of my daily work done, but I really wanted to get the payroll prep done that I could so I don’t have to stress it that much on new years eve.  I got some of it done, but not all of it.  And I need to get all the new folders and spreadsheets ready for 2009, the normal end of the year prep….icks.   I’ll try to get most of that done tomorrow once we get back.

Since we normally don’t go out on new years eve, too many people out there drinking & driving….stresses me out, I want us to  be able to chill out and watch a movie or two.  I really don’t want to be doing payroll until the afternoon of the 1st….that is the goal, even though I will be fighting against my nature to get it done and out of the way, that is going to be tough to fight….we’ll see.

Here is the obvious, can you say duh…: Many Teens Don’t Keep Virginity Pledges

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Our Holiday & My Day

Been getting things done so I can write an entry but now all I want to do is sleep and I did sleep in today….wacky.  Hopefully, going to the gym tomorrow will help fight that.  Debating on whether to walk down to our coffee shop for some caffeine.  =)

Starting on Xmas Eve, we spent the time watching movies through Xmas Day.  It was cool, but weird.  We occasionally go downstairs to watch something, but most of the time we watch things from the office while on the pc working/surfing.  We are so not use to the inactivity that way.  But it was a nice break.

We had a good Xmas, snowed in and all.   I got stuff for hiking from my hubby…which is really cool.  A day pack, water bottles with the camelbak handfree adapter, a pedometer, headlamp, socks, and a buff (head covering).  So that was really good.  I got him some xbox360 games, Purdue sweatshirt & muscle shirt, a colts hat, an authentic Reggie Wayne jersey and “Blazing Saddles” on dvd.  I made some ham, mashed potatoes, gravy & some corn for dinner.

I tried to get all my holiday music in while in the shower.  I don’t like ruining it by listening to it before Dec and after Xmas.  I have a lot of happy memories with mom blasting her records when I was a kid.  When I was twittering with a friend, I realized that part of my love for holiday music is my years of playing it in orchestra.  We had the standard show at school.  But the director that I had from 7-9th would have us go to the local malls and perform and it was fun.  Playing the violin really enforced my love of the holidays.

By ‘88, we raised enough money to rent a bus and our HS Orchestra toured from Fairbanks down to Valdez.  We would stop at the little communities along the way to play.  That tour really put into my head how elevation really effects the weather….we left Fairbanks in April, only a few snow patches on the ground, ended up driving through mountain passes with huge snow drifts and Valdez had snow up to their roof tops….major differences.

The day after, is my birthday…….I hit the horrible 35…..icks.  I don’t feel as old as I am….lol  But now for somethings I can’t say it has been 10yrs…it has been 20yrs….icks!

My hubby got me “Elizabeth”,”Elizabeth : The Golden Years”, “wall-E” and Aerosmith Guitar Hero.   That was cool.  =)  Boy, that guitar hero is hard, you have to time it just right……lol  Since we got up late….I know a bad habit this week, but it is a temp thing….we went out for lunch and then to the pet store and found a 2 level cat tree that is perfect for Reggie to use to get up on our very high bed.  BUT the wonder twins (Drew & Sakura) have really taken to it and like to sleep on it….lol  So we may have to keep looking for actual steps and put that downstairs, the things we do for those buggers.  For the evening we went over to our friend’s in PDX and then headed over to our favorite bar and had dinner.  For it being the day after Xmas, a Friday, it is the worst day of the year to have a birthday, we still had a pretty good day.  =)

Yesterday was the day for taking down the tree and working.  I was planning on taking down the tree later that evening after working, but once my day is over I want it down.  I don’t want to ruin the specialness of it and I want my living room back.  I’m glad I’m not the only one like that, my mom & my best friend are like that.   =)  We got the living room vacuumed, cleaned up and back to normal   Then I spent time getting stuff caught up work wise.

I would love to be able to put our spare room back together, but since the snow piles on the roof started melting there has been dripping water around the heat vent in the ceiling.  We think that ice or snow got stuck in an intake, because it has never happened before and we get a lot of rain and none of the other vents did that.  Well the dang thing dripped on the bed….at 1st I thought it was cat sick or something, so I washed all of the bedsheets and then saw that the mattress was wet.  =(  Since the snow melted off of the rough yesterday afternoon, it hasn’t dripped, but we are trying to wait until Monday before I put it all back together.

Our street is almost clear of snow.  It is at the very top and bottom where the plows piled it were we still have some, but not that bad.  You now can see the neighbors suv….half of it….there is still a big snow drift behind it.  Doesn’t look as if they are going to bother digging it out, but then they may not have a shovel for it.  It has been in the mid to high 40s since the 26th….thankfully.  Because they sure don’t know how to handle much snow around here……..lol….otherwise I would be really enjoying it, I did have fun being able to wear my snow boots and walking around the neighborhood, I know I’m nuts.  =)

Just finished having dinner and wanted to wrap this up.  I’m going to take some time to play my game before working on emails and such.  =)

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**Snow storm on Xmas day.

Winter Storm & Trip pt2

Well, I didn’t really get much done at Friday other then a few errands and my nails done.  I should’ve done work, but really didn’t feel like doing much.  After working so hard all week, I just hit a brick wall and needed a break.  We didn’t go to the gym, both of us were hurting from the last few days.

So after the news, we finally got around to watching the House of Saddam.  Which was interesting but they totally sugar coated his sons and made his 1st wife and oldest daughter as victims….that was the disappointing part of it.

Saturday it has been crazy on the weather.  The interstate is closed from our exit until Hood River and it scary windy and stormy out there.    It is pretty bad out there and it is nice that we don’t have to go anywhere.  I did get some work done, but was able to take my time and do some things for myself….even baked some cookies…grin

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 Saturday…..the Beginning of the Winter Storm

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Catching a Ride……….lol

Today, we are completely snowed in.  If you’ve been watching my tweets, you’ll know that it has been pretty bad.  The interstate near us is closed, all PDX highways are requiring chains, our neighbor cross the street went from a small drift behind their SUV to it being half buried, there is a 2+ft drift in front of our gril,there is rain frozen on our windows and our local station (KATU) have been reporting heavily from our small town since we get extreme winds from the gorge.  I really feel like we are back in the middle of no where Indiana when it comes to the wind.

We get small snow drifts in corners around the front door, since they didn’t weather strip it very well at all.  That will be one the 1st things we get when we can get out of here, but for now we have towels in the cervices.  It is a day like this that I’m glad that we work from home so we don’t have to go out.  Even through my poor hubby has been bored stiff.

We moved our pcs downstairs just to get out of the office.  And it lets me both enjoy my tree and protect it at the same time….lol  I’ve been finding some work to do and am thinking of what I can do tomorrow, since we will be snow bound again and there will be no way we can get to the gym.  Hopefully the wind will let up enough that I can at least walk down the hill 2 blocks to the cafe and get out to take some pictures……but not holding my breath.

We were suppose to be back in the 40s and rain by Wednesday, but with every news cast it has been pushed back.  Now it is mid 30s Wed/Thurs and 40s maybe Sat.   If we can just get 2 days of mid to high 30s, like normal, it’ll all be gone without an issue.

Lets see, where did I leave off about my trip.

On the 8th, I drove up to Grand Rapids (5-6hr drive) to visit my  best friend/extra sister Sandi.  On the way up, I stopped to see my cousin Leslie Ann.  She is exactly 6months older then me and now has 4 sons, arranging from the age of 10-2.  We had a good visit chatting for a few hours, I don’t remember the last time I saw her, but she only had 2 sons at that time. =)

After my visit with my cousin, I finished heading up to Grand Rapids. I was up there for 2 nights and I loved visiting with Sandi and her family.  Of course, even against our plans, we ended up staying up way too late….which is bad, when she has to get up at 6am to get the kids off to school.  But we never seem to have enough time to talk and we talk about once a week for an hour or two.  What we really need to do next visit is get a portrait of us.  We haven’t done one since 2000 area.  The messed up thing is that we have been best friends since Feb ’89 yet neither of us have that many pictures of the other……totally goofy.  I do love spending “girl” time (lack of a better word) with her.  I don’t get to see her much and her life is focused on her family and kids.  So I like to get her out of the house and focus on her “time”.

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After my visit, I headed back down to my folks.  Of course, having to stop by my Fannie May in Merriville, Ind to stock up and get some treats for my family.  Damn, I would love to have a store locally instead of having to order it online all the time…..Now you know what to get me……grin

I pretty much just spent my last few days with my family, working on things and visiting.  Never got back to any work….icks.  I paid for that when I got home.  But it was worth it.  =)

resized group

When thinking about it, I don’t think I’ll be visiting in Dec again.  It is too hard with trying to get the xmas presents for everyone and balancing everything.  I just don’t know if I should visit at the beginning of Oct or Nov.   Harold is suggesting 2 smaller trips instead of one big one since he doesn’t like it when I’m gone that long…..but I don’t know if that would work with me wanting to spend time with my best friend.  Unless, I do one trip to Grand Rapids and another to Indiana…..I don’t know, PDX to Grand Rapids is pricey compared to Indy, which is dirty cheap in comparison.  It has given me something to think about.

Video Of 12 Mile Hike

I had email these out to family members, but have been meaning to post them here :

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0001.wmv

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0002.wmv

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0003.wmv

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0004.wmv

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0005.wmv

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0006.wmv

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0007.wmv

http://www.tornrose.com/Odds_n_Ends/_Family_/2008_1030_Mult_Falls_12_mile_hike/Hike/0008.wmv

We took about 2 hours of video and Harold broke it down in 15min parts.   Just click on the links and your window media will load the video.