I know, I know. I'm hopeless at blogging. Ironically I have been doing some posting, just not that much here. But don't be sad- you're always be my first.

Christmas was good aside from a miserable cold that hit Christmas Eve and would not let go. Wonderful to see the family and just hang out and relax. My brother and his wife have big plans to be pregnant again by next December (and keep telling everyone about it!) so that may be the last time we're all together for awhile.

Went to NYC for New Years. Had a great time with with my friends and got to see a lot while we were there. Times Square was... cold. I actually think I got frostbite because my feet have not properly recovered.

Jenny is SO grown up! She's standing now and oh so chatty and sweet (now that she's cut a few teeth). She'll be 9 months next week: crazy.

We discovered about a week and a half ago that the beloved family dog, Maggie, has a tumor. It's pressing against her lungs and heart and she has only a short time left. Her breathing is getting tougher and she has a hard time eating, though she's still in good spirits.

Maggie is a wonderful dog. She's undoubtedly one of the best behaved dogs I've ever seen and so sweet! She has a great temperament but she was also trained by my father, who did a great job working with her. She's his dog more than the rest of us and this has hit him hard. It's been very difficult to watch it all but I know Maggie's had a good life. I'll miss her; we all will.

So that's the "highlights" for now. I'll try not to let it go so long next time, or at least post my other stuff up here as well. Hope everyone is doing well, had a great holiday. Happy (quite belated) 2009!

Fall Frolicking

Well, I still feel bad about having dropped my class but there's no doubt in my mind that was the solution for me. Things have been much easier without a class to worry about, although I do still owe my professor a project from the Spring. But I am good at procrastinating and having flexibility does wonders for my mood-- so much less stress! Really makes me not want to go back to grad school, too...

The last few nights I've just been home, doing laundry and watching TV. Sure, I still work from home, check email, update Drupal etc., but it's easier now that I don't get home at 8:00pm twice a week.

Tonight I got to baby-sit my niece, Jenny, which would have been nearly impossible when taking classes. I'm not sure she had a great time but we'll give it another shot post-teething and on a night when she's in a better mood.
Tomorrow night I'm considering getting a cheap ticket to the NCSU v. Florida St. football game, blowing off work early and tailgating with friends.
Friday night is improv. Saturday, a wedding (Congrats Amy and Garrison!). Next week: meteor shower, haunted trail, pumpkin carving and Halloween Party. I love fall.

In other news, I got a Mac! Well, work got a Mac and they let me use it; I could never have afforded it myself. I am a visual person so, well... it didn't take long to impress me. I'm not saying I'm a Mac person yet (I don't want to be that) but I would say I'm a little more evenly divided on the issue. And someone asked me the other day if it was hard to go back and forth (PC desktop at work, Mac laptop) and I realized I hadn't even thought about it.

Finally, I may not be a Mac user but I do want an iPhone. That thing is hot. H-O-T. I spent last Friday night sitting on my couch, watching a 30-minute iPhone informational video. I'm dating the iPhone. Sad.

That's it for me. Enjoy the leaves and the crisp fall breezes. Go Canes!

Be mine!

Oh good it's that Hallmark-hyped holiday again. Sweet Valentine's Day, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways...

1. Months of candy and hearts to remind us the day is coming
2. The mass of crappy romantic movies on every channel for the entire week
3. The kind inquiries by friends who suddenly remember you're single
4. The rude inquiries by creepy people who suddenly remember you're single
   
5. The wondering if you'll still be single this time next year
   

I could keep going but you might think I'm bitter and depressed so I won't. Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

And tonight's low is...

Here I am, on a Sunday night, once again waiting for Progress Energy.

Before you say you're sick of reading posts about this let me assure you I am heartily sick of writing them.

I've been fighting a cold for a few days and beat it down through my Christmas party (last night, decent success thanks) but it hit me hard today. I came home from a cookie exchange and fell asleep on my couch with hopes of waking up healthy.

Instead, I woke up cold. I was very disturbed to realize that when I tried to turn on the heat, nothing was happening. I thought it was a problem with my heater, or at least the panel, so I called a heating repair company. But while waiting on an appointment I wandered into my family room and discovered all my lights were dimmed. A symptom of past problems. My TV doesn't turn on, my microwave doesn't work-- and I'm scared to push it lest I blow something up again.

My brilliant and wonderfully supportive mother suggested I call Progress Energy and as of this writing I'm still waiting to hear from them. I'm hoping I don't have to spend the night in a house with no heat. I'm also hoping it's not another open neutral situation and I don't wake up surrounded by flames. My roommate has headed for warmth at a friends so I am feeling sick, sad and not a little creeped-out. Wonder what this will cost me...

The Label for 'Sad'

I have a funeral to go to tomorrow.

A coworker of mine was diagnosed with cancer of the kidney about three months ago. Initially it looked like it would require surgery and chemo, but the prognosis was good. Sadly, a few weeks later the doctors discovered cancer in his liver, then lungs and eventually the brain. They gave him a year, but after several strokes and seizures he went downhill far faster than anyone expected. He died last Sunday, about a month after his one-year diagnosis.

Earl was not always the nicest guy; I think he sometimes just forgot what tact was. Regardless of his faults, I knew and worked with for more than six year and he will be missed. I swear I keep expecting him to walk out of the coffee shop or drop me a note about the content management system. It's hard to grasp that he was here and all of a sudden he's not.

There's that whisper of mortality in my ear...