Will they like it?

I went out last night with Sarah for our monthly "girl's night" and, as we were walking over to Pacific Catch, we stopped at Osso & Co., my neighborhood dog boutique. Luckily, they do carry some cat items as well (this may be a dog eat dog world, but cats rule). Got to chatting with the owner - super nice guy - and he showed me a new cat toy he was carrying. So I got it. Check it out -- and check out the video they have there, too! We'll see how the girls like it. I hooked it up this a.m., but my batteries are kinda weak so it doesn't have much umpf. I'll get some fresh ones today and try it out when I get home. What they did see if it they seemed to like. While I was getting ready to head down to Slacker's, they played with and were quite fascinated. Katja seemed determined to figure out how it worked, which totally made me laugh. I'll try to get some pics up of the girls playing with the thing.

I should be...

...doing something. But I'm not. I'm sitting on my couch, watching t.v., and basically being lazy. I thought about vacuuming. About finishing the battery replacement on the lifecycle. About going to store to get groceries so I might cook something nice. Thought about it all, but still I sit here. So I am compromising by updating my blog.

My vacation, though short, was nice. The house in Cazadero was perfect. My only complaint was hard beds. Everything else was just right. I'd stay there again in a heart beat.

MH and EI were there for the first weekend and we took some nice day trips. Our first day we checked out the kick-ass bakery in Cazadero - Raymond's Bakery. Yum, yum, and yum. There isn't much in Cazadero except the bakery and a general store, but it's a beautiful place situated along Austin Creek. I learned it gets the 2nd most rain in the state, though I was told not because it rains more days but that when it rains the rain is heavier - which is just fine by me. After checking out what Cazadero has to offer we ended driving out to the coast via Fort Ross Road. We also did a day trip out to Bodega Bay and Duncan Mills.

Then Lucy came over for a night and we went out to Bodega Bay for some clam chowder. We took Coleman Valley Road from Occidental out to the ocean. This is a great country road that first goes through the wooded hills of west Sonoma County and then winds through the open hills to the coast.

I ended my holiday by going out to Hop Kiln Vineyard on Westside Road, via Sweetwater Springs Road. This drive wasn't as beautiful as Coleman Valley Road, but it was still nice - 10 miles of a 1 lane winding road, ending up pretty much exactly at Hop Kiln. I tasted several of their wines, had a nice chat with one of the ladies doing the pouring, and then road out to Windsor for a walk around. Nice town. I would have hung out on the green, but there wasn't much tree coverage, so I ended up heading back to Cazadero. In hindsight, I should have gone into Healdsburg.

Below, some pics for your viewing pleasure... :-)

This is Cazadero Heaven. Beautiful little 4 room house in the woods, surrounded by redwoods. 2 bedrooms, living room with a beautiful stone fireplace (now with a wood-burning stove), comfy couch and recliner and TV/Stereo set up (we were even able to plugin my iPod. Bathroom was a tad small (tiny shower), but the water was nice and hot. Front and back porches and a hot tub up a few steps from the backdoor. Neighbors were nearby, so the place wasn't completely secluded, but the trees provide a lot of privacy.

The boys chilling out. Though the hammock was in the front of the house, above the road, the trees and quite were more than enough to provide a relaxing environment, as is clearly obvious.

Edwin on the beach. Our first day we drove from Cazadero out to the beach via Fort Ross Road and went out to a beach just north (can't remember the name of the State Park). It was a very windy and cool day, so I ended up letting the guys go down to the beach while I went and sat on some fallen logs in the woods and read for a while.

Sweetwater Springs Road. Simply beautiful.

I had a few days at home before going back to work. Ugh, work. Need I say more?

I am already planning my next chance to get away, if only for a few days. But when? When?

Oh, a Holiday!

Finally on a little holiday! Rented a little place up in Cazadero. It's super cute and cozy. Just two bedrooms with an okay sized kitchen and living room. So far it seems to meet my requirements. Wish I could get a fire started, though. Flute is open, but still smoking up the house. I'll wait for the troops to arrive (MH & EI). Went out to the hot tub for a nice little soak. Now I'm ready for bed, but it's only 8:50 and the guys aren't here yet. So, I'm cooking up some dinner so it will be ready when they arrive.

I plan to spend most of the week relaxing: a.k.a. going to the beach, crafting, reading, perhaps playing some WoW, chilling in the hot tub and sleeping late. I'm working on two scarves at the moment, as well as a cross-stitch project. I recently purchased a light with attached magnifying glass to help with the crafting. It is supposed to help reduce eye strain.

In terms of reading, I've got a bunch of books: the Already Dead books by Charlie Huston; Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk; and a few others. Plenty to keep me occupied.

Already miss the kitties. In fact, the one thing that would make this place perfect is if I could have had my girls with me. Sigh. but they are in good hands, so I know they will be fine.

Will post some holiday pics once I have some.

Performance is the thang...

Today I had my first performance appraisal with my new boss, our VPIT (pronounced vip-it). Went just dandy and was productive. Now onto building my PMO.

Dinner with LK tonight. This was the highlight of the week. Haven't seen her in ages and miss her mucho. She made me smile. We had a nice dinner at Osteria, which is a nice, basic Italian place not far from work.

Plans for the weekend? Not much yet. I have to start getting ready for my vacation! Woo Hoo! I need yarn for my knitting project or I need materials for my needlepoint project. I need to decide. I've got a bunch of books, but I may pick up a couple more on the way. Can't wait.

Let there be Heat!

How many people does it take to light my pilot? In this case...

#1: Me, failure
#2: Me and Neighbor, failure
#3: Me and Edwin, failure
#4: Me and Bill, SUCCESSS!!!

Beth hums, "Ya got'ta have frien-ends, la la la la la la la la, friennnnn-ends, frendsa, frendsa frendsa!"

Bill does has tenacity, I'll give him that. But don't kid yourself that it took him, like, 5 minutes... nope. Effort was required... And we learned in the process that my apt. heater is about 27 years old and parts are no longer available from the manufacturer. I'm glad Bill managed to get it lit. It get's cold here sometimes and my hands need to be warm to play WoW. Cold paws and WoW make for some serious misery.

Sunday Chillin...

Beautiful Sunday morning. Chillin on the couch, watching "Fight Club", updating the MacBook, drinking hot chocolate and curled under my blanket. I was freezing last night because the crazy wind that was blowing through SF blew out my pilot light. You'd think I'd be able to figure out how to light the thing again. Problem is, I can't figure out where the darn pilot is to light. I get the instructions. I even vacuumed all the dust and kitty fur out of the way. Yet I am at a loss. I may have to call in the troops.

I'm back from the SGHE Summit! Woo Hoo. That was a long week away. 50/50 ROI on that conference. I hope my colleagues had a better return on their time.

Just finished reading the second book in the vampire romance series, which started with "Twilight", written by Stephanie Meyer. Sure, it's for young teens. Sure, it features a 17 year old girl falling in love with a 17 year old (relatively speaking) vampire. Sure, along with the good, loving vampires there are werewolves and evil vampires. But what can I say? It's fun reading. Like eating a pint of Ben & Jerry's. And yes, I'm going to keep reading them. It's kinda like the twisted period I went through reading that horribly written Left Behind series. I can say, without a doubt, that Stephanie Meyer is a MUCH better writter then the, uh, people who wrote Left Behind. There is only a little bit of irony is comparing a vampire series to a religious end-of-the-world-rapture-antichrist-is-here series. I will say that had the Left Behind series ended with the fourth, or even the fifth book, I might have finished, but it just goes on and on and really, even I, with my fascination on how religion pervades our society, can only take so much of the crappy writing and endless story line. I guess they'll keep writing them until the Rapture actually comes. I think R. Laurence Moore needs to update "Selling God."

But I digress...

In just a little while I go on vacation! Cazadero Heaven here I come. I really, really hope the place is nice and comfortable. And of course there will be wine.

And today, a little paw action! Here Keiko extends her back leg and spreads her little toes wide. Look at that cute little pink kitty paw pads? This paw action should be exposed on CuteOverload. The horror. The horror.

Hard not to be a little motivated...

I tend to be skeptical about what you can get from a keynote speaker at a conference. I think I liked the keynote at SunGard Summit 2006, but I've forgotten who gave it and what it was about. I have been at SunGard Summit 2008 since Friday, the start of the executive portion. I've listened to 3 "keynotes" so far; 2 for the executive summit and 1 for the general summit. Both of the executive keynotes were interesting, though BJ Fogg's presentation on the Psychology of Facebook stands out. BJ is an excellent speaker and by the end of the presentation I was ready to sign up for a Facebook account (haven't yet, but give me a chance). And I came to understand the fascination with Facebook and similar technologies a bit better, including some of the pros and cons. He's also committed to the idea of peace in 30 years, a goal I'm more than happy to work towards. As long as we imagine peace is possible, peace is possible.

The keynote speaker for the general Summit, though, was exceptional. The speaker: Erik Weihenmayer. His accomplishment: the first blind man to climb the Seven Summits.

Now, I haven't climbed any mountain of any size since I climbed Mt. Washington in my early teens with my older brother -- a feat I accomplished after much moaning and complaining as we approached the final leg of the climb. Yes, I was almost there and thought it would just be better to go back down. Luckily for me my older brother managed to find in himself the capability to motivate me through something other than brute force (as my older brother he was, by definition, a bully). I'm glad he succeeded because even now I can remember how I felt when I reached the top. Exhausted but exhilarated -- a natural high, as you will.

Listening to Erik and hearing about his accomplishments reminded me of how I felt when I reached the top of Mt. Washington. And it reminded me of many other times I've felt that exhausted but exhilarated feeling, whether from doing something that was a physical challenge, or an emotional one, or a mental one, or even just getting through a tough day. Sometimes we get through it alone, sometimes we get through it only because of the help we get from others. Either way, we get through it... and move on... and we keep moving on. That's why I found him motivating.

He made a comment something along the lines of when people take on and succeed at a challenge they thought they couldn't possibly achieve they open the door for the next and harder challenge. They very thought of all the challenges ahead of me is both exhausting and exhilarating.