31 march 2012 (sa)

2131 / 57 deg f / cloudy

i was sure i was awake at about 6:30 and that elizabeth was downstairs and that the washing machine was running. woke up at 7:30 to find that i must have been dreaming earlier. odd. it seemed very real.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
vanilla chai
coffee
iced tea

made a grocery list in the morning. went to wegmans at about 10:30. not too busy yet at that time.

watched part of spinal tap before doing dishes and other chores

lunch

sandwich
carrots
iced tea

did laundry. paid bills. balanced checkbook in the afternoon.

snack

yogurt

got very hungry at about 6:30.

dinner

leftovers from friday
rolls with butter (2)
iced tea

snack

orange (half)

very sleepy. going to bed early.

30 march 2012 (f)

1256 / 50 deg f / overcast

28th anniversary. we got married on a friday and the weather was very similar to today. hard to believe that was 28 years ago. wish we could go to the magic pan for dinner.

woke up at 5:30 with the alarm. hit snooze instead of off when i got up so the alarm was going off when i got out of the shower and i had to run across the room to cut it off. i kept thinking of

carol todd: "you got the floor wet!"
victoria grant: "bitch, bitch, bitch!"

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
banana
c boost
coffee
iced tea

i did the cat dishes and fed karma and gave her a shot in the morning. i was running ahead of schedule until i realized that i was late. got to the vre with a few minutes to spare.

train was pretty empty. nice thing on a friday.

i stopped at trader joe's on the way from the metro looking for tylenol. bad headache. they don't sell meds. i got an orange juice and went to work.

snack

oj

lunch

bacon cheeseburger
fries
dr. pepper

quite good but too much food!

written on 31 march

left work at about 5:00. busy on the metro. fairly quite on the vre.

met elizabeth at bertucci's after work to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

dinner

pasta alfredo with asparagus
chicken parmesan
pasta and sausage
roasted veggies
salad
cheese cake
coffee
iced tea

tons of food. brought about half of it home. very good.

we haven't been out to dinner twice in one week in many years. it was a little overwhelming. 

29 march 2012 (th)

2248 / temp unknown / etc.

slept pretty well last night. felt more rested in the am.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
c boost
iced tea

left a little early for the vre to see if it made a difference. not really.

missed the stop at foggy bottom. had to get off at faragut and go back. only put me about 6 minutes behind.

starving when i got to work.

snack

sandwich
iced tea
coffee

ate my lunch sandwich at about 10:00

busy with schematron all day. learned a bit about xpath in oxygen. pretty helpful.

hungry again at about 1:00. had chimi beef, rice, green beans at the cafeteria.

went for a walk into georgetown with jerry. nice day for it. hip and left leg got a bit sore, though.

metro didn't seem very crowded on the way home but then the train got totally packed at rosslyn.

stopped at h-t on the way home for a few items. bought some lotto tickets at the time.

dinner

veg. burger
fries
coke

watched another dangerous davis episode.

snack

york peppermint ice cream sandwich (2)

really good. 

28 march 2012

written on 29 march

rough day on wednesday. very tired. don't remember much.

pizza for lunch at work. had meetings from nine to 11 and then from about 12:30 to about 2 or 2:15.

fairly busy day otherwise.

stopped at the bank and to get gas on the way home. over $60 for a tank of gas. shocking.

quesadillas, refried beans for dinner. with a small salad. pretty good.

watched dangerous davies on dvd and to bed early

27 march 2012 (tu)

1227 / 45 deg f / clear

woke up with a very sore hip. must have slept in a funny position.

up at 5:40.

today is elizabeth's birthday!

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
c boost
coffee
iced tea

dragged a bit all morning. left the house 5 minutes late and arrived at broad run more than 10 minutes late. encountered a lot more traffic and school buses!

managed to catch the normal train. got to work a little before 9:00.

lunch

bowl of soup
banana
water

microwave soup. not bad. also not good.

written on 28 march

snack

small salad
chips

from the cafeteria downstairs

went home at about 5:00. metro not quite as full as usual.

elizabeth decided to go to ruby's for her birthday dinner.

dinner

asian salmon
green beans
salad bar
blondie
ice cream
iced tea

very good

dropped off a book at the library on the way home. home at about 9:30.

dishes, etc. when i got home. went to bed late.

26 march 2012 (m)

1238 / temp unknown / sunny

i slept about ten minutes late this morning. felt like i was running behind from the time i got up until i got to the office.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

carried a lot of extra stuff this morning. backpack felt 10 pounds heavier. much colder and windy when i was walking into work today.

got to the office just before 9:00. my office mate, violaine, is celebrating the completion of a difficult project. she brought in pastries from a patisserie nearby. wonderful stuff.

snack

mini chocolate croissants (3)
raisin bread (2 slices)

great raisin bread

called iris in the late morning. everything's going ok.

lunch

roast beef sandwich
bolthouse beverage
water

2222 / 50 deg f / fair

snack

yogurt
iced tea

worked until about 4:55. metro was not so crowded going home. actually got a seat on the vre.

cool and windy on the way home.

arrived at broad run at about 6:45. went to the post office at gainesville and weighed the package.

dinner

scrambled eggs
bacon
english muffin
coke

watched antiques roadshow and a program about swords and sword fighting.

snack

reese's peanut butter egg.

not feeling well in the evening. very tired. feel like i'm catching a cold.

25 march 2012 (su)

2304 / 64 deg f / cloudy

woke up at about 7:30 this morning. sinus headache over night and in the morning.

breakfast

bagel w/ cream cheese
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

watched cbs sunday morning and did dishes in the am.

worked on two or three books for aa late afternoon.

went to manassas mall looking for some work trousers in the afternoon.

lunch

general tso's
orange chicken
lo mein
dr. pepper

from stir fry 88 at manassas mall. just terrible! the lo mein was more like spaghetti. i couldn't tell the difference between the general tso and orange chicken. cheap but not worth even the low price. but the dr. pepper was good.

looked for pants at jcp. no luck. no selection. thought i might try one or two pairs couldn't even get a dressing room. went to sears. less luck.

sat in the car listening to crime and punishment waiting for e. she called and said she would be a while so i went to casual male. actually found a few pairs and a belt there. finally.

snack

caramel hi-rise
caramel
water

at caribou. we had a coupon for bogo but they didn't give us anything off and didn't bother to mention that the coupon wasn't accepted. what the f!

got home around 5:00.

worked on another book.

dinner

spaghetti w/ meatballs
salad
iced tea

quite good.

we watched the blind side again. very formulaic but enjoyable.

snack

orange (half)

putting some new music on the ipod shuffle before going to bed. 

24 march 2012 (sa)

2311/  61 deg f / cloudy

slept in this morning. very tired. woke up at about 5:00. went back to sleep thinking i'd get up around 6:30 or 7:00. woke up at about 8:15. i haven't slept that late in ages.

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

did some chores in the morning and answered some email.

went to warrenton in the early afternoon. stopped at the jewelry store to have three watches looked at.

lunch

chipotle chicken panini
bagel w/ cream cheese
apple
dr. pepper

at panera. everything bagel. very good. the panini was ok but not great. very crowded at the store.

went to staples to pick up a big envelope to mail the papers to mommy.

picked up the watches at the jeweler. not a bad deal. three watches back in working order for $40. i have two more to take there next month.

i was planning to mail the package to mommy but forgot that the p.o. closes at noon on saturday. so much for that plan. dropped a card in the mail and went to the library.

checked out a nick hornby book, this is spinal tap, and casino royale on talking book. almost done with crime and punishment. need something lighter after that.

stopped at safeway on the way home for a few items. got back home around 3:30.

watched a little bit of louisville game. didn't really care who won.

did some work on the computer.

went to wegmans at about 5:30. not too crowded. saw maggie, the sisters, clayton, carrie and a few other pals. heard that the new scheduling program is causing a lot of problems.

dinner

salad
fresh bread w/ butter (3 slices)
iced tea

from the salad bar at wegmans. very good. i think we were both in the mood for salad.

we found two episodes of st:tng on bbc america. the series that spock was in. pretty good episodes.

watched the end of syracuse/osu. an absolute war.

23 march 2012 (f)

2207 / 73 deg f / fair

up at 5:30 this morning. definitely dragging!

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
banana
coffee
oj
iced tea

vre was pretty empty today. kind of nice. metro was way less crowded in the morning going in.

got to work just before 9:00.

snack

pear

weekly conference call at noon. i think i followed about half of the conversation.

went to lunch a little late

lunch

gyro
fries
v8 juice

at the cafeteria on the second floor. pretty good and prices are fairly low.

snack

chips

commute home went very smoothly. metro was less crowded but still couldn't get a seat until braddock road. vre was just about empty.

dinner

roast beef w/ mushrooms and swiss
curly fries
jr. ham and cheese
milk shake

from arby's

good but very salty.

watched a funny, creepy episode of hamish macbeth

22 march 2012 (th)

1213 / 64 deg f /cloudy

almost went back to sleep when the alarm went off at 5:45. did force myself to get up. must have just hit rem sleep or something.

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

fed karma but elizabeth came down in time to give her her shot.

left for vre on time. morning commute went ok. train and metro seemed less crowded on thursday.

took the shuffle today rather than the old ipod. i'll think i'll try to update the itunes on the weekend so i can get different music on this machine.

lunch

ham and turkey sandwich
pickles
olives
carrots
bolthouse fruit drink

we were out of sliced cheese at home. sandwich without cheese just doesn't taste as good.

2316 / 72 deg f / thunder

i don't actually here any thunder but the weather forecast is calling for thunder.

lots of meetings today. so far cq meetings have started a tiny bit late but ended very close to scheduled time. they don't just run on and on.

snack

yogurt
coke

went up on the roof with ed today. very nice view.

left work around 5:00. subway and vre were not as crowded today. got to broadrun a little after 7:00. starving.

snack

chicken sandwich
iced tea

at chick-fil-a

changed clothes, washed up, brushed my teeth when i got home. always feel grimy!

dinner

fish filets (2)
sweet tater fries
cole slaw
iced tea

watched an episode of hamish

snack

half of a donut

21 march 2012 (w)

2315 / 64 deg f / cloudy

up at 5:30 with the alarm. remembered to shave today.

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
banana
coffee
oj
iced tea

commute went smoothly this morning. made all of the connections quite nicely. arrived at work at 8:50.

snack

orange

from the fruit guys at cq press. nice perk.

got a little more settled in today. signed a lot of the papers.

lunch

sandwich
pickles
olives
mocha
water

snack

sandwich left over from a meeting in the break room
coke

snack

clif's bar

left work at about 4:50. very crowded on the blue line. made the connections going home very well also.

stopped at h-t on the way home.

morning commute is two hours and ten minutes. afternoon is about 15 minutes longer. mostly the wait for the vre at king street. must find some way to make the commute more productive.

dinner

ham, turkey, and swiss sandwich
pickle spears
olives
carrot sticks
chips
club soda

watched a hamish mcbeth episode. i didn't remember it. alex dies in the episode. 

20 march 2012 (tu)

2303 / 63 deg f / mostly cloudy

up at 5:40 and in the shower. forgot to shave. weird.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
oj
iced tea

left for the train at 6:40

coffee

on the way to the train.

trip in went much more smoothly today. blue line train came in just as i got to the platform. arrived at the office at about 8:50.

pretty busy all day

lunch

sandwich
pickles
olives
orange
mocha cappuccino

finally got some of the forms this afternoon. fill them out tomorrow.

snack

ginger ale

left the office at about 5:00. got to the vre in time of the 5:45 train (or whatever) but mistakenly got on the fredricksburg train. got off at franconia and turned around and went back. caught the next vre.

snack

spicy chicken
iced tea

at chik-fil-a

got home around 8:10.

dinner

ham steak
squash
corn
iced tea

dessert

donut

watched the end of sense and sensibility. watched b.b.t. while doing dishes. ready for bed.

19 march 2012 (m)

2245 / 65 deg f / partly cloudy

karen's birthday!

woke up early this morning. jumped in the shower right away. cut myself shaving, of course. got blood on the first two shirts i put on. oh well.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
oj
iced tea
coffee

left the house before 7:00. arrived at the vre at about 7:10. caught the train in plenty of time. read lovejoy on the way.

train stopped about a mile from the alexandria station. signalling computer had crashed. we sat for about 20 minutes which put me behind for getting to the new office at 9:00.

called the hr guy from the train to let him know i'd be a little late. arrived at 9:20 to find that the hr guy had not arrived. called for jerry and he gave me the tour and the overview for a few hours.

hr guy never became available. i met about 10 or 12 people today.

had a conference. got set up on email. i'm the guinea pig on windows 7 at the office. it seems to work pretty well.

lunch

sandwich
mocha cappucino

snack

clif's bar
ginger ale

snack

banana

left the office around 5:10. got to the metro only to find that the trains heading to virginia were totally stopped. rode the train to l'enfant to catch the vre there. that put me about an hour behind.

snack

roast beef sandwich
iced tea

at arby's

feeling a bit woozy on the way home.

got home around 8:10

dinner

eggs (2)
bacon (4)
iced tea

snack

half a donut

did some chores in the evening. watched about half of sense and sensibility. very tired. going to bed.

18 march 2012 (su)

1733 / 75 deg f / partly cloudy

got up at a little after 7:00. sinus headache. one of my favorite things!

filed the last few folders worth of material. unbelievable amount of stuff to shred or recycle. now i have just a few misc. items to file. maybe i actually will finish today.

breakfast

scrambled eggs (2)
sausage (1 link)
bagel w/ cc
banana
oj
coffee

watched a little tv in the morning and then did dishes. lots and lots of dishes. have to get in the habit of doing them in the evening. it really would make life simpler.

we decided to get a new batch of insulin for karma. the documentation says it will last for three months of use with felines but it seems to lose effectiveness before that. we decided to combine a bunch of errands and get some items we've been needing for a while. went to warrenton to shop a little.

home depot in warrenton first. they've reorganized the store. found most of the things we were looking for especially a step ladder.

walmart after that. the store in warrenton seems like it will double in size by the time they finish. it is a real pain in the meantime. insulin goes up every time we buy it. $100 first time i bought it. $112 in December $127 today.

lunch

fish sandwich
fries
iced tea

at the wendy's in warrenton. last time it was so bad i actually called the 800 number and complained. significantly better today but still a marked level of surliness from behind the counter.

stopped at h-t for a few items. even h-t was relatively crowded today.

snack

cinnamon dolce latte
cupcake

latte from the starbucks in h-t. cupcake from hostess.

got home at about 3:30. drank the coffee. watched some basketball. quick nap.

changed the batteries in the smoke alarms after that. new step ladder worked nicely. changed a few light bulbs. put new wheels on the bed frame. it is now level.

2326 / 64 deg f / mostly cloudy

worked on the computer and misc. tasks in the evening. started on the dreaded tax return. i think i now know the worst case.

dinner

chicken a la bear
fettucine
iced tea

pretty good.

nothing on tv except basketball. watched some. also watched a poirot episode on dvd. murder on the links. liked it better this time than when i watched it before. hastings now has a love interest.

dishes in the evening. trying to get in the habit. also made myself a lunch. see if i can keep this up.

i need to go to bed. have to get up early!

17 march 2012 (sa)

1134 / 71 deg f / fair

slept until 8:00 this morning. kind of nice.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

watched "the announcement" on espn in the morning. very interesting. if you had told me twenty some years ago that magic johnson would still be alive i would not have believed you.

still sorting papers today. lots of fun. amazing amount of junk in the file cabinet.

written on 18 march

lunch

ham, turkey, and swiss sandwich
olives
carrots
sprite

spent some time raking the leaves in the driveway. managed to remove about half of them. the real trouble is carrying the leaves all the way up the hill. pain in the neck. sore knee and hip by the end of the process.

watched a little basketball after raking

snack

coke
crackers w/ humus

sorted a few more folders in the file cabinet. hoped to finish today but will not quite manage it.

dinner

pizza (4 slices)
pasta salad
iced tea

we got the pizza from pizza hut. for a long time they did not deliver here. decided to check on-line to see if they now deliver and they do. definitely like p.h. pizza better than dominos.

we watched midnight in paris on dvd. i was expecting something like hanna. not nearly that good. very pretty. ok movie. fairly entertaining but not a smash for me.

snack

starbucks ice cream

fell asleep on the couch for a while. woke up and went around the dial. watched snl until the weekend update came on. charles barkley was the host. some ok sketches. c.b. was ok but was too obviously reading the teleprompter.

16 march 2012 (f)

0932 / 56 deg f / partly cloudy

i woke up at about 5:30. woke up again at 6:10. decided to get up.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
sausage link
coffee

stale bagel. oh well.

watched the special features on moonstruck in the early morning. have to get groceries today.

1125 / 60 deg f / cloudy

trying to sort through the mess in my office. this may take a while!

snack

carrots
ranch dressing
crackers
sprite

15 march 2012 (th)

1056 / 73 deg f / fair

got up with the alarm at 7:00. taking tino to the vet today so i have to get a few things done before hand.

fed karma and gave her her shot.

breakfast

eggs (2)
sausage (1)
toast (2)
banana
blue drink
coffee
iced tea

cleaned out the big cat carrier. tino doesn't fit in the small one.

took tino to the vet at about 9:20. actually went in to the tech ahead of time. got him up-to-date on shots. he was ok until the leukemia device scared him. after that trimming his nails was very tough. he's now walking around the house looking at everyone suspiciously.

written on 16 march 

got a lot of work done in the afternoon. also did chores. sort of alternated all day long.

lunch

ham, turkey, and swiss sandwich
cole slaw
carrots
iced tea

ordered vre tickets from commuter direct in the afternoon. odd web site. a little confusing.

we were going to go out for dinner on friday but decided to go today instead. were planning on pizza but didn't really feel like pizza hut. we ended up going to longhorn steak house in warrenton.

dinner

bread and butter
salad
bacon, cheese burger
grilled veggies
coffee
iced tea

all good. veggies were just perfect. very good burger. coffee was free.

elizabeth had a petite sirloin and i ate part of that also. very good.

watched a little basketball when we got home. elizabeth went right to bed. i went to bed at about 11:00.

14 march 2012 (w)

2353 / 53 deg f / partly cloudy

woke up at about 5:00. read a little bit and tried to go back to sleep. fell asleep for a little while but i was back up again at 5:45. decided to go with the flow.

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
banana
blue juice
kefir
coffee
iced tea

watched about half of moonstruck in the morning.

worked on the computer for about 90 minutes.

jumped into the shower late for work. rushed through and made it for my last day on time.

worked from 11:30 to about 4:20. not very busy.

snack

snickers bar
oj

should have just had the oj

after work snack

bagel
iced tea

had to clean out my locker. i had more stuff than i thought. filled the box i brought completely.

kind of sad that it was my last day but kind of a relief also.

stopped to get gas after work. over $4 per gallon. jeez.

lunch

whopper
onion rings
iced tea

whopper was ok. rings were terrible.

went to caribou after that.

snack

milk chocolate mocha
donut

really didn't need the donut. very odd. felt like i should eat something.

a guy from edward jones was waiting on the porch when i got home. weird.

fed the cat. didn't feel well.

dinner

toast
iced tea

watched the end of moonstruck. good cast. pretty thin plot. mostly dialogue and good casting.

watched a murdock story about women dressing as men. ok episode. the doctor looked cute in a tux.

13 march 2012 (tu)

1927 / 79 deg f / partly cloudy

it really felt like summer today. it must have gotten around 80. very strange weather.

i went to bed very early last night so i kept waking up during the night. surprisingly, though, i did sleep until the alarm went off at 7:00.

went down and fed karma and gave her her meds. elizabeth came down around 7:30.

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
banana
blue drink from bolthouse
coffee
iced tea

got some work done online in the morning. just a tiny bit.

left for wegmans at about 11:30.

snack

bagel
mocha cappuccino

worked in the cafe from noon to 1:30. my last cafe shift. quite busy.

worked up front from 1:30 to about 5:20. slow at first then steady at the end. very sore feet by 5:00.

snack

tropicana grape juice

lunch

mix of chinese food
cheer wine

picked up a few things on the way home.

snack

coffee

got home a little after six and read emails.

2220 / 61 deg f / fair

dinner

hot dogs (2)
beans
cole slaw
iced tea

watched an episode of the murdoch mysteries. watched part of notting hill on cable. still quite warm at 10:30.

12 march 2012 (m)

0905 / 45 deg f / fair

woke up at 6:00 to go to the bathroom. didn't seem like elizabeth was up. it turned out her alarm had not gone off.

sinus head ache early in the am. went back to bed until 7:00.

elizabeth decided to work from home.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
pineapple juice
kefir
coffee
iced tea

elbow and knee are sore today. between those aches and the sinus headache, i've taken a few aspirin. sinuses are starting to feel better anyway.

i realized this morning that i sent netflix our copy of 84 charing cross road rather than returning the blue geranium. called them this morning to learn how to return the movie and get our movie back.

cable is misbehaving this morning.

glad i didn't watch all the bracket announcements and the "analysis" yesterday. uva is in as a 10 seed. florida in the first round. probably mizzou in the second. likely opponents after that would be michigan state, kentucky and then probably unc or syracuse. more like a mine field to the final four.

written on 13 march

snack

clif's bar
iced tea

i left for wegmans at about 10:45. i had my schedule mixed up with the schedule for tomorrow. thought i didn't have to be there until noon. had to scramble to leave on time.

worked in the cafe from 11:15 to 4:45.

very busy in the morning. fairly slow in the afternoon. maggie came on at 4:00. always nice to work with her.

snack

hint water

lunch

assorted chinese dishes
french fries w/ soy sauce
iced tea

the fries were excellent with soy sauce.

picked up a few items on the way home.

got home around 5:45.

i got my official offer letter today. much relieved. start on monday.

dinner

lentil soup
salad
french roll
iced tea

all very good. rolls were still warm when i bought them.

watched the murdoch identity on murdoch mysteries. they had a great time making that episode. quite a lot of fun. that show reminds me a little bit of star trek the next generation.

11 march 2012 (su)

1850 / 66 deg f / fair

spring forward day. woke up at 7:20 but it was 8:20. oy vey.

fed karmels when i get up and gave her her shot.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
sausage link
pineapple juice
coffee
iced tea

reset most of the clocks in the morning.

snack

clif's bar
club soda

on the way to work.

worked in the cafe from 11:45 to 5:00.

snack


soy milk
ruffles

liked the soy milk. didn't care for the ruffles. tasted like reconstituted potatoes. weird.

replaced by jena at 5:00.

lunch

asian tofu
egg roll
bagel
dr. pepper

had to sit for a little while after work. very stiff back. sat out side for a while and then sat inside for a short time.

snack

coffee
donut

got home around 5:45.

written on 12 march

got caught up on a few things on line when i got home. e. cooking lentil soup.

elbow was very sore in the evening. took an aleve. it helped after about 30 minutes.

dinner

veg. burger
chips

we were going to have lentil soup but it wasn't done until late. we'll have that tomorrow.

watched a current episode of the simpsons in the evening. animation style has changed a lot. i guess the episode i saw was actually a couple of years old. it was a spoof of inception.

we watched 50/50 on dvd. it is supposed to be a comedy. while it had humorous moments i think calling it a comedy is an exaggeration.

10 march 2012 (sa)

1734 / 52 deg f / fair

woke up at 7:00 when the alarm went off. 9:00 shift today.

breakfast

bagel w/ cream cheese
pineapple juice
sausage link
coffee
iced tea

left for work at about 8:30.

worked as a cashier from 9:00 to 4:00. lunch at about noon.

lunch

asian tofu
jalapeno/cheddar bagel
bolthouse cappu
coke

worked from about 12:20 to 3:00 when i needed a water break. dying of thirst.

finished up at about 3:55. very tired. busy day.

snack

salt and pepper squid
egg roll
slice of birthday cake
iced tea
bottle of water

very dehydrated. had to sit for about 20 minutes. watched undeclared with the sound off in the break room.

picked up a few things on the way home.

snack

coffee

got home around 5:00.

2303 / 33 deg f / fair

today is nora's birthday. happy b'day, nora!

tons of dishes to do when i got home. should never let them slide.

dinner

egg salad sandwiches (2)
iced tea

we found two episodes of st:tng on bbc america. we saw the end of the darmok episode. then we saw one of the ro laren episodes. elizabeth went to bed after that. i snoozed on the couch a little.

tomorrow we spring forward.

9 march 2012 (f)

1138 / 54 deg f / fair

it really is hard to believe it is march. the weather has been warm even for april.

woke up at 7:10. didn't sleep very well. odd dreams all night though i don't remember them.

breakfast

sausage and egg sandwich on a bagel
banana
pineapple juice
coffee
iced tea

very good breakfast.

lots of household chores to do in the morning: dishes, cat boxes, laundry, clean bathroom.

snack

humus on a roll
iced tea
special dark chocolate eggs

2317 / 46 deg f / fair

did chores until early afternoon. then went out to run errands.

bank to cash a check and exchange old checks for credits.

lunch

mushroom, cheese omelette
hash browns
bacon
toast
iced tea

at the frost diner. very good. haven't been there in ages.

walmart where i couldn't find anything. home depot.

snack

cinnamon dolce latte
pound cake

at starbucks

dropped my coffee on the way back in the house.

dinner

pizza
salad
iced tea

from tony's. e stopped to get the pizza on the way home. we'll probably skip tony's for many months now.

watched mystery, alaska on cable. pretty good. kept thinking the guy playing the hockey commentator was mike myers. turned out to be mike myers.

8 march 2012 (th)

0936 / 65 deg f / fair

it's supposed to get up to around 70 today. crazy winter.

woke up at 7:10 when the alarm went off. dreamed i was stuck in a train station in england and even though i speak the language i couldn't really understand anything. very odd.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc (half)
banana
blue juice from bolthouse
coffee
iced tea

dishes after breakfast. put them off from last night. online for a few minutes.

working at wegmans from 10:15 to 3:15. off tomorrow.

1823 / 72 deg f / fair

left the house at about 9:45 for work. forgot my cell phone.

snack

clif's bar
iced tea

worked from 10:15 to about 3:10. got out a few minutes early. it was fairly slow today. not nearly as crowded as usual.

lunch

pizza (1 slice)
jalapeno and cheddar bagel
coke

watched part of a basketball game while eating lunch. it was 73 degrees and very windy when i went home.

snack

cup of coffee

got home at about 4:00.

very steamed by at and t. i've been waiting for my employee discount to kick on my phone plan. checked the bill today and it wasn't there. called at&t and found out it had been "declined" but nobody bothered to tell me. then i found out that they had charged me $5.00 late fee because the last time i paid i paid the wrong amount. there was about $2.00 that was late. unbelievable shit. very tempted to drop them immediately.

2334 / 69 deg f / cloudy

called mommy in the evening to see if she had gotten the letter. she did and said it looked fine to her. she has sent it to the ssa. hopefully she'll get all of the info she needs.

dinner

linguine w/ tomato sauce and meatballs
salad
iced tea

quite good.

snack

banana

we watched the blue geranium on dvd. not one of my favorite miss marple stories.

7 march 2012 (w)

0903 / 51 deg f / fair

woke up at about 4:30. talked myself into going back to sleep. woke up again at 6:00. got up at 6:15 and went downstairs.

breakfast

bagel w/ butter
sausage link
banana
p.j.
coffee
iced tea

watched about the first half of the hangover at breakfast. can't believe this movie was considered to be funny. i think i got two chuckles in the first hour. filthy, little turd of a movie.

working at wegmans this afternoon.

written on 8 march

left for work a little early.

snack

bagel
mocha cappuccino

talked to bill and frank about last day at the beginning of my shift. didn't sound like a big problem.

worked from 11:30 to about 4:20. scheduled through 5:00 but it was fairly slow.

lunch

chili
shrimp purses
pot stickers
iced tea

snack

coffee
donut

got home around 5:15. very stiff back. watched the end of the hangover. it got a little better but i still don't understand why it was such a big hit. heather graham was very cute though.

dinner

hot dogs (2)
beans
cole slaw
iced tea

we watched 84 charing cross road on dvd. fell asleep on the couch. came up to bed at around midnight.

6 march 2012 (tu)

0917 / 38 deg f / fair

woke up with the alarm at 7:00. felt pretty wide awake.

fed karma and gave her her shot. put away the dishes in the dishwasher and loaded the dirty dishes.

breakfast

eggs (2)
sausage link (1)
toast (2)
c-boost
banana
coffee
iced tea

started some laundry and came up to work on the computer.

written on 7 march

left for wegmans at about 10:40.

snack

bagel
hazelnut latte

worked in the cafe from 11:15 to 1:45.

snack

oj

worked upfront from 1:45 to 3:45. didn't feel well the whole day.

lunch

asian tofu
lo mein
iced tea

got groceries after work.

snack

coffee
donut

stopped at harris teeter on the way home to get a few items. got home around 6:00. got on line for about an hour.

dinner

fish sticks
cole slaw
mac/cheese

fish was good. slaw was good. mac/cheese was bland. they've definitely changed the recipe.

we watched secretariat on cable. diane lane, john malkovich and a bunch of other interesting folks. i couldn't figure out how they could tell the story since there was no mystery but they managed pretty well. a bit cliched but well executed.

tons of dishes after the movie. got to bed at about midnight.

5 march 2012 (m)

1137 / 37 deg f / "wintry mix"

the alarm went off at 7:00. i got up soon after and was downstairs by 7:20. elizabeth left for the vre at about that time.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
chicken sausage link
oj
coffee
iced tea

watched espn while eating breakfast.

started working on household chores after breakfast.

dishes
emptied and washed one of the cat boxes
cleaned the fronts of the cabinets
downstairs bathroom
mopping the floors downstairs
bug bombing the basement

it started snowing a little after 8:00. still snowing. doesn't seem to be sticking but it's pretty.

2228 / 37 deg f / fair

sorted through the documents in the safe deposit box and then did outside chores in the afternoon.

put documents in the new safe deposit box

dropped a form off at the fauquier courthouse

mailed a letter to mommy. long line at the post office.

lunch

burrito
soda

at chipotle. i go to chipotle thinking i'm going to enjoy the joy but recently it has been only so so. didn't really like the burrito.

looked at staples but forgot what i was looking for.

snack

cinnamon dolce latte
pound cake

from starbucks

david, who used to work at the wegmans coffee shop now works at starbucks. i was wondering what happened to him.

got home around 4:30.

did some work on the computer and called to get a quote for homeowners insurance. found out our current insurance is extremely high. partly because house values have fallen. looks like we'll save about $80 per month.

elizabeth got home while i was on the phone. neither of us was terribly hungry

dinner

bowl of soup
bagel w/ butter

watched foyle's war, eagle day. good episode.

snack

mocha cappuccino

4 march 2012 (su)

0939 / 45 deg f / fair

woke up at around 5:00 and thought i'd get up. stretched my back for about 15 minutes. rolled over and went back to sleep. alarm at 7:10. got up at about 7:15.

started feeding the cat and doing dishes. e. came down and finished with the cats while i worked on the dishes.

breakfast

two eggs (fried)
sausage
rye toast (2)
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

working on the computer until about 11:15. working in the cafe from noon to 4:00 this afternoon.

1733 / 47 deg f / cloudy

left for work about 11:25.

snack

jalapeno/cheddar bagel
vanilla chai latte

worked from noon to 4:00

snack

chocolate soy milk

pretty busy in the cafe from noon to about 2:00. slow after that.

lunch

pizza (1 slice)
summer roll
ginger ale

picked up a few things on the way home.

snack

coffee

got home around 5:00.

written on 5 march

worked on the computer from the time i got home until around 7:30.

dinner

baked potato
iced tea
snack mix

tried to watch the truth about dogs and cats. bored. watched a pbs program about the costume dramas of the bbc. fell asleep on the couch. went up to bed around 12:30.

3 march 2012 (sa)

1907 / 57 deg f / fair

very wet, very rainy in the morning.

had the alarm set for 8:00 but woke up around 6:30. had the outline of the letter for mommy in my head so i finally finished it. got it ready to send to her. need to get proper postage on monday.

really don't feel like doing anything today.

breakfast

egg sandwich
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

did dishes and a few other chores early. e. wanted to go shopping before getting on the computer. got dressed around 11:00 and went out.

library first. checked out moonstruck and a lovejoy book. parking lot packed when we arrived. empty when we left.

walmart to get e.'s prescription and a few other things. got a bunch of necessities there. that store is going to be gigantic when the finished. just plain annoying now.

lunch

angus burger
med. fries (split with e.)
iced tea

good burger, ok fries. terrible service.

petsmart in warrenton for karma's special food. we then went to the plow and hearth outlet nearby. kind of depressing. lots of closed stores around there.

snack

caramel high rise
french toast muffing (two thirds)

at caribou in bristow. good coffee. so so muffin.

i don't think i'm really a muffin person.

sun came out in the afternoon. also got warmer.

e. picked up her cleaning when we were at caribou and my suit was done as well. yeah.

written on 4 march

took care of a few things when we got back. took a shower. felt better.

dinner

chicken w/ veggies (stir fried)
rice
brown gravy
iced tea

pretty good.

we watched a show about the monkees on smithsonian.

snack

orange (half)

to bed early!

2 march 2012 (f)

written on 3 march 2012

lots and lots of chores to do today.

got up a little after 7:00. elizabeth left for the vre at about 7:20.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
oj
coffee
iced tea

checked email and then started on chores. tons of stuff for recycling so i started with that. it took a fairly long time.

stopped at starbucks after dropping off at recycling

snack

cinnamon dolce latte
pound cake

both good. c.d.l. has been good every time i've gotten it at starbucks.

note from j.o. that formal offer letter is forthcoming. good news but fingers crossed until the official offer is received.

took a shower and then headed out for part two of chores.

took change to tfb to get bills. over $60. feels like a windfall. dropped the dead lamp at recycling. forgot it on the first trip.

went to wells-fargo. emptied safe deposit. closed three accounts. told the lady it was no reflection on the branches but w-f corporate needs an attitude adjustment. felt quite nice to be out of w-f.

deposited w-f check at the tfb in bristow. first time in that branch. it is pretty much brand new.

lunch

moo shu chicken
egg rolls (2)
ginger roll

all good but moo shu was kind of salty.

picked up a few items at the cvs in bristow. cvs is always slow. unbelievable.

dropped off my suit at the dry cleaner. went to safeway for a few items. the safeway near sudley manor is a mess. no longer has a salad bar. crazy.

break

iced tea

from arby's

got home a little after 4:00. did dishes. fed cat. sat down for a little to watch tv. e came home around 7:00.

dinner

clam chowder
salad
iced tea

watched an episode of the last detective. fell asleep on the couch.

1 march 2012 (th)

2243 / 49 deg f / fair

st. david's day

i woke up when the alarm went off this morning. did not feel well. very tired. very sore hip. got up at 7:15 and went downstairs.

breakfast

bagel w/ cc
banana
kefir
oj
coffee
iced tea

i watched a little bit of away we go in the morning. bit of a snooze so far.

got some work done on the computer in the morning. called tfb as well.

snack

bagel
bolthouse hazelnut

at wegmans

worked in the cafe from noon to five.

snack

vernon's root beer

i saw a lady with a huge tattoo on her face at the store today. she checked out through my line.

lunch

jumbalya
asian tofu
cheer wine

message on my voice mail from linda. she said to expect good news.

fed karma when i got home. checked email. message from ronnie saying she also expected me to hear good news. message from jerry saying everything looked good. fingers crossed!

did not feel like cooking. elizabeth got catfood on the way home.

when she got in we went out. decided to eat at denny's. i felt like a burger.

dinner

patty melt
onion rings
salad
iced tea

way too much food. good patty melt. our waitress was training a new waitress.

we got home around 8:45. e. was very tired and went to bed around 9:30.

watched big bang theory (two episodes)

snack

cookies

29 february 2012 (w)

0847 / 54 deg f / rain

leap day

alarm went off at 7:00. karma came to wake me up. got up at about 7:10. elizabeth left the house at about 7:15.

breakfast

bagel w/ cream cheese
banana
oj
kefir
coffee
iced tea

i watched part of a show about building a double barreled cannon while eating breakfast. got on the computer at around 8:15.

2355 / 62 deg f / mostly cloudy

got a fairly good amount of work done in the ack emma. left for wegmans at about 11:20. wasn't feeling well at all.

snack

bagel (everything)
mocha cappuccino

worked as a cashier from noon to 5:30

break

oj

break was at 2:15. a bit too early for me. very tired by the end of the shift

lunch

shrimp purses
summer roll
pot stickers
egg roll
dr. pepper

very hungry after the shift

snack

coffee
scone

scone was ok but didn't really taste like a scone.

got groceries after work. got home around 6:30. put away groceries, fed the cat.

elizabeth got home at about 7:00.

dinner

wegmans assorted sub
iced tea

pretty good. too tired to cook.

we watched an episode of the last detective. e. went to bed after.

i watched the end of paul blart, mall cop and then part of a movie called death sentence which borrowed liberally from taxi driver. did dishes while watching the daily show.