Orlando, FL

Today we had leftover pizza for breakfast. After eating this we dressed to go grocery shopping.

We went to BJ's Warehouse and spent $219.00 on assorted bulk items. Then we drove across the street to Super Target where we purchased another $176.00 in grocery items. We got a large number of non-food items too. This is probably one reason the totals were so high.

When we came home it took three trips to carry all of our loot upstairs. Then it all had to be put away. After this we sat down to a small lunch.

In the afternoon we took a nap. When I got up I loaded some charcoal into the grill and fired it up. Bob made a salad while I watered our plants - we even have a mango tree sprouting! Once the coals were all grey with orange red underneath, I put four steaks out to grill. The coals were much hotter this time and we got some nicely done steaks.

It began to rain while we were grilling. It rained off and on as we ate. Later, it looked like the rain was done and we harnessed Buddy for his walk. When we got down to Pine Street we found it raining again.

We just rained until it lightened up and then we took a brisk walk. I encouraged Buddy to "hurry up, get busy!" because I could see more rain coming!

Now we have to get ready for another work week. A short week, yes, but still, back to the grindstone.

Feeding Seagulls

Bob feeds sea gulls stale bread from the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry on Friday, May 28, 2010.

Orlando, FL

On Saturday morning we got up around 6:00 AM and we had breakfast cereal. Mom was busily getting baked beans into the oven, macaroni salad started, and meat for the barbecue grill.

Marrissia and Kevin showed up around 11:30 with their dog, Rosco. He is a young dog with a lot of spirit, but unfortunately, he is also a large labrador retriever.

At noon, an old friend of the family, Nanna Summers arrived. We sat around telling stories and enjoying ourselves until the food was ready. Then we all made our way to the dining table. We had hamburgers and hot dogs, macaroni salad, baked beans, apple salad, and for dessert there was strawberry shortcake and orange rum cake. We ate until we were stuffed.

It was nice to see Nanna again. I haven't seen her in a long time - since before Becky and Bill moved out to Hampstead.

All afternoon we sat in the living room and talked about the good old days and all of our relatives. Bob kept nodding off and eventually went upstairs to nap. I printed out the boarding passes for Allegiant Flight 792 non-stop service from Wilmington (ILM) to Orlando-Sanford International (OSI).

I was still pretty full from lunch and did not need a dinner.

It was around 9:30 when I went to bed. I hate that inflatable mattress they have. It does not stay inflated. By morning you are almost sitting up in the bed and your neck and back hurt.

At 6:00, I was up and frying scrambled eggs for Bob and me. We had toast with coconut spread on it, and cottage cheese with our breakfast. After this I read for a little while, then I dressed for my flight and packed my carry-on bag.

We all left at 10:30 to get something to eat for lunch and then drop Bob and me off at the airport. They brought Pat along too. Becky and Bill argued about where we would go to eat, and Pat made fun of their arguing. I just couldn't wait to get back home!

It was decided (I don't know how) that we would eat lunch at Taco Bell. Once we got out lunch, we piled back into the Lincoln and drove to the air terminal where Bob and I were dropped off at the curb. We stepped inside and walked right to the TSA checkpoint. We passed through here and into the departures area.

We found a seat and continued to read. I went up to the vendor in the terminal and found a Piggly Wiggly t-shirt for Bobby, and I got a pack of gum. We continued reading - I read the book about Free, and Bob was reading his Accounting text book.

Flights to Charlotte, New York, and Atlanta departed, and finally at 1:30 they began boarding Flight 792. This boarding was just as confused and lengthy as the boarding on our outbound segment. They really need to work on this. We walked outside and up the roll-up ramp to the plane. We took the same seats that we used on the flight up - 29A and 29C. I took the window seat again.

The flight back was 1 hour and 5 minutes long. As we came over the shore we could look down and see Daytona Beach and the speedway in minature from the height. A few minutes later we were on the ground in Sanford.

We walked right out and to the parking lot to get the Xterra. We paid $40 for parking, and then headed down the highway to pick-up Buddy at the kennel.

It only took us about 40 minutes to drive down to the kennel, and while the attendant noted that we were early, she let us in and settled the payment for his kenneling - $97! Then she went to get him and bring him out to us.

I could tell that he spent quite a bit of time in the yard - his feet are all breaking out. We are going to have to use his medicine soon. We got a tank of gas and then drove home. I ordered a pizza for dinner while we started laundry and unpacked.

After I was unpacked I took the dog's collar off and herded him to the bath tub. He needed a bath badly, and he got one. Man! The filth that came off of that dog! Now he smells like baby shampoo!

I balanced my checkbook and sat down to pay my bills. Tomorrow we will go grocery shopping and have a small cookout for Memorial Day. I will be able to go back to work rested.

Wilmington, NC

We got up around 6:30 AM and started to load the car up to get ready for our mini-vacation. We drove out to Hiawassee Road and had cheesesteak omelets for breakfast at Waffle House, then we drove to Hiawassee Veterinary Clinic to board Buddy in the kennel. They let us inspect the kennel area so that Bob could see what it was like, and then we left.

We took the 408 east to I-4, and I-4 east to the 417. We parked the car in the Economy Parking and went in to the terminal building at Orlando-Sanford International airport. We had to wait downstairs in the lounge from 9:30 until 10:00 when the security checkpoint opened up and let us in. Flight 791 departed at 12:00 PM.

After browsing the bookstore and other stores in the airside, we went to the gate and sat down. I got a book about the economics of offering stuff for free, and I read the first 20 pages waiting for the plane to board.

This flight to Wilmington would last one hour and five minutes. We sat in 29A and 29B. Our seats were on the left side and for some reason there was a lot more legroom in the left rows than in the right rows. The right side was three abreast seating.

As we passed over Charleston, SC, I pointed out the Charleston Airport/Air Force Base, and then I pointed out the Goose Creek Weapons Station. A few minutes later we were passing Myrtle Beach and starting our descent into ILM.

We flew right over the downtown and the Battleship North Carolina passed quickly by on the left. The pilot set the plane down hard on the runway, and we were there!

After we walked out to the street, we waited for Becky and Bill. They drove past us a couple of times because they were expecting us to be on the right, but we had crossed the street and we were waiting on the left!

They took us to Carolina BBQ for a big buffet lunch, then we drove out to Hampstead to their house. It was nice to get up here so fast and not be tired when we got here. We just visited with Mom, Bill, and Grandma Pat for the rest of the day.

Becky and Bill put us in the bedroom over the garage. They inflated that air mattress that I do not care for - it won't stay inflated, and let us sleep up there.

I got up around 6:30 AM and started to make bacon and eggs for us for breakfast. I sent Bob out to get the newspaper, and he came back to me to report that Becky was already up, in the office, and tending to her Farmville crops.

Around 9:00 Becky, Bill, Bob,and I went out in the Lincoln and drove down to Orton Plantation to walk through the gardens. We did this for a couple of hours, then drove down to Southport to get on the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry.

The ferry ride was nice and breezy. Bob and I went to the back of the boat to feed seagulls some stale and moldy bread and buns.

On the Fort Fisher side we briefly stopped at the beach and then headed up to Monkey Junction for an Italian lunch, and then we headed home. I tried (kinda unsuccessfully) to show Mom how to set her TomTom GPS unit.

Tomorrow Marrissia and Kevin will come over, and we are going to grill hamburgers and hotdogs. Then I will print out our boarding passes for our flight back to Orlando on Sunday afternoon.

Orlando, FL

It was another good day. I think the main reason it seemed good is because today was my "Friday". Tomorrow I am taking a couple of days vacation next to a long holiday weekend.

Bob is in his Accounting class this evening. So it's just Buddy and me here tonight. I have finished packing and I soaked all of our outdoor plants really good.

We start our mini-vacation tomorrow!

Orlando, FL

This morning I was walking Buddy east on Pine Street. As were crossing Eola Drive I looked down at the curb inlet to the storm drain and saw a small face looking back at me!! A raccoon dropped down into the drain and ran down the pipe!

I arrived at FER right at 8:00 AM. Fay did not come in for another 6 minutes. Yeah, she beat me yesterday, but even a blind sow finds an acorn sometimes.

Orders from Restaurant Equipment World began coming in today for their 1500 Headcount Dining Facility in Dubai. Orders worth more than $100k have been processed and forwarded to the factories.

During lunch I went to Exxon-Mobil to fill the gas tank on the truck. Then I picked up a salad at Chik-Fil-A. It was raining up a storm on Kirkman Road, but when I got back to the office it was hot and bone dry. It didn't rain at the office at all. There is a chance of showers again tomorrow.

This evening, when I got home, we started to pack our bags of the flight to N.C. and back. I even have a bag of food and my dirty work shirt packed for Buddy. Tomorrow evening I will soak all of our plants really good, and then I will sit down here at the computer and do the 24-hour check-in with Allegiant.

After walking Buddy, we sat down to a dinner of leftover salad. Now it's time to sleep - tomorrow is my Friday!

Orlando, FL

Up at 5:30 AM and was not as sore as I thought I would be.

Took my vitamins, put a lunch together for Bob. Then started frying ground Italian sausage and then poured stirred eggs on top of it. That was a tasty and filling breakfast!

After walking the dog I got my shower and dressed for work. As I was headed out I noticed that Bob left his Blackberry on the dining table. I put it by the door and then sent Chandra, the EMS admin assistant, an email asking her to let Bob know I put the phone on the table by the door.

Fay beat me to work this morning, but I am sure she wasn't there long before me.

Craig came in. He said that NRA was well-attended, but also stressed that it was a smaller show than in years past.

Something interesting I ran across online: The Swinger - a Python routine that converts MP3 files to a "swing" sound by stretching taking each beat and time-stretching the first half of each beat while time-shrinking the second half. Give the sample tracks a quick listen!

The morning really flew by for us. During lunch I went to KFC to get the Double Down sandwich, a side salad, and a Diet Pepsi. The grilled DD has 460 calories, but only 3 grams of carbohydrate. The salad has 3 grams and the dressing I used on the salad had 2 grams. So, the entire meal had 8 grams of carbohydrate.

The Grilled Double Down Sandwich was tasty, but with no bun, it was kinda wet on the outside, and the hot gooey cheese squeezing out made it very messy. Also, the 1430 mg of Sodium makes this sandwich a salt mine! It's nice for an occasional low-carb treat, but not a good idea for a daily meal.

My afternoon also seemed to breeze right by. When it came time to go, a big black cloud appeared over the office and started to rain! Fay was still working on a quote and said, "You don't have to wait for me!!" I mumbled to myself, "Good, because I wasn't going to!", and I left to start my trip home.

The rain turned into a sprinkle a half mile down the road, and then died out completely. I got home around 5:40 PM and lit the grill up.

We had a bag of self-lighting charcoal from last year and I lit that up in the new grill. For awhile I smelled something like burning tires, but realized that this was the first time the grill had gotten hot - the paint was cooking off.

Soon the coals were good and hot and I brought out the flank steaks that had been marinating all day in the fridge. These slowly cooked for about an hour. We brought our crispy-juicy steaks inside and paired them up with some Steamfresh veggies and had a delicious dinner.

After dinner we took Buddy for his evening walk, picked up a copy of the Orlando Weekly Annual Manual, checked the mail, and came back upstairs.

I washed my goatee off and dried it. Then I got the sheets out of the dryer and we made the bed. With that done, I got my Just For Men hair color out and went to the shower to color my goatee and sideburns. I think it would bother Mom to see me with a lot of gray.

Now I am getting this journal caught up and checking email. It is already time for bed! What a fast Monday!

Weekend

A Productive Weekend.

After walking Buddy in the morning we had scrambled eggs and turkey sausage links. I made buttered cinnamon toast for Bob, and I had a cup of yogurt with my meal. I brewed a pot of coffee from the shade grown beans we bought in Costa Rica.

I loaded all of the dishes into the dish washer, and got that started. Then I did two loads of laundry.

Next I went to the office and shutdown my computer. I took it off of the bottom of the table, and opened the case up. I used compressed air to blow dust out of the inside of the cabinet, and then installed the pci serial i/o card. I put the case back together, strapped the cabinet back to the hanger, and hung it back up under the table. I connected all of the cables and started it back up.

To test the serial connection, I got the Shifter Board that I soldered together from a kit, and connected it to the male end of the cable.

After a brief (and fumbling) effort at configuring the port to COM1 and setting the transmission speed, I connected the TX and RX lines together and opened HyperTerminal and started typing. As I typed, the yellow LED flashed on and off signifying data coming down the TX line, the red RX LED never lit up, but the characters I typed were echoed back to the screen. I don't know why the red LED wouldn't light -- maybe I installed it backward, maybe it was defective, I don't know. To be sure, I separated the TX and RX lines and typed, but the characters did not echo to the terminal window. Good.

Next test involved powering a uMega FPU chip and connecting the TX and RX lines to the serial in and serial out pins on the chip. With that done, I was able to successfully transmit functions to the FPU flash memory, read the functions back in the IDE, and erase the functions.

I wired a DS1620 digital thermometer chip to the Basic Stamp and entered a test program to use the FPU to convert the raw temperatures into precision Celsius and Fahrenheit temps by converting them using floating-point math. It worked! Now I am able to continue exploring the FPU.

For lunch we had leftover chicken with salad and some cottage cheese.

My salsa garden kit has done exceptionally well, and it is time to transplant the tomatoes and peppers. We don't really have a yard here, so we decided to plant them in boxes on the balcony and as the tomatoes grow, we will tie them to the banister with cloth strips.

Bob went out to get his haircut, and on his way back he stopped at K-mart and got two long planting boxes and a new toy tug-of-war toy for Buddy.

For dinner I made Easy White Chili with chicken, onions, chicken broth, peppers, cumin, ground cloves, and other secret ingredients. Definitely a recipe for the book.

For the rest of the evening I messed around with the Basic Stamp while Bobby worked on some sort of sheet for the ambulances at work. We went to bed shortly after 9:00 PM and set the alarm for 6:00.

We were right up when the alarm went off. I grabbed my bag of work clothes, some dirty old tennis shoes, and began packing Buddy's stuff too. We took five packs of Pringles chips for Louise, and we headed out to Daytona Beach to take care of the house and visit Louise.

Stopped at the Shell station on Par to fill the tank and then headed up I-4.

It was already getting hot when we got there. We took our stuff inside, I turned the water on at the street, filled the dog's bowl, changed clothes, and started the mower. I mow the backyard with the push mower and Bob mows the front on the riding mower. Bob ran the grass whip after mowing and I watered the bedding plants thoroughly.

I ran the vacuum cleaner inside the house and picked up alot of dirt, and the baking soda we sprinkled on the carpet the last time we were there.

Now it was close to 11:00, so we went to Lowe's to get mulch for the flower beds, a bag of fertilizer for the lawn, some cow manure and pea gravel for our plant boxes at home, a small charcoal grill for our balcony, and a book about raising chickens.

After this we went to Wal*Mart to get a filter for the vacuum cleaner in the house, and two packs of Marlboro Lights for Louise. While we were there we picked out a new outfit for Bob to wear on the plane on Thursday.

We stopped at Dustin's Barbecue for lunch. Here we had the all-you-can-eat salad bar. I had a serving of pulled pork and Bobby had sliced turkey. We had some nice salads.

On the way back to the house we stopped at Publix and got two jugs of bleach and a case of Fresca to drink.

Bob carefully put the mulch into the flower beds and then he got the broadcast fertilizer spreader out and scattered the entire bag of nitrogen and iron enriched fertilizer all of the front lawn. This formula does not require watering or rain. Hopefully we will see a difference when we return.

While Bob worked in the front, I hooked the hose reel up to the bib on the patio, filled a spray bottle with bleach, and began squirting bleach up onto the mildewed underside of the aluminum awning. I got a broom to scrub it, but I noticed that the bleach turned yellow, and then dark orange/red!! As I scrubbed, I noticed the paint coming off of the aluminum!

I rinsed it off and the water falling onto me was very warm! That awning was hot!

Next I hosed the entire patio off. It was filthy! It took awhile to get all of the water and filth sprayed out the door. All of the water wanted to pool in the low spot opposite the door, but I eventually got it all out! I took the hose around to the front and we bleached some mold off of the garage door and hosed it all off clean.

Now I was filthy. I went in, stripped, tossed the work shirt and shorts into the dryer, and then got into the shower. We have to shower in cold water here, but the tap water is getting warmer this time of year. It wasn't too bad. Besides, air temps were in the high 80's and very humid.

I put my dry clothes back on and then we left Buddy in the house while we went to visit Louise. We stopped at Dairy Queen to get a sundae for her.

She was napping when we got to Oaktree. We woke her up and took her outside to eat her ice cream. Then we wanted a cigarette. She smoked two and then announced that she was going to give up cigarettes because they make her cough and feel bad.

She also announced that she has a "boyfriend" and his name is "Joe". I told her that I heard a rumor that the staff caught them necking! She laughed. She said he wants to marry her. Problem is, he isn't divorced from his wife yet! I told her she needed to knock off the kissing because if his family comes in to visit, they will be very upset.

We stayed with Louise for about an hour, then we had to go because we had chores at home to do. We drove back to the house, packed our stuff up, loaded the car, loaded Buddy and hit the road. I drove. I drive a little faster than Bob.

When we got home at 6:00 PM, we carried as much upstairs as we could, then I went back down with the folding cart and rolled the manure and gravel upstairs and out to the balcony. After putting my clothes away, I started potting the salsa garden plants.

I poured gravel into the bottom of each box so that they would drain well. Then I shoveled three inches of manure on top of that. I broke the little tomato plants apart and put them in the soil about 8 or 9 inches apart. I planted the pepper plants in between the tomatoes. The cilantro I just picked and told Bob to chop up for use tomorrow morning.

We watered the transplants, and then got the vacuum out on the balcony to clean up spilled soil and other debris. After this Bob had leftover white chili for dinner, and then we got our Sunday house cleaning started. I ran the vacuum and cleaned the tables, while Bob cleaned the kitchen and bath floors with the Swiffer.

With the house cleaning done, I opened the box containing our new charcoal grill. I started to assemble this right on the living room floor. It took about 30 minutes. Tomorrow evening we will fire it up for the first time and grill some nice flank steaks on it.

Now I am getting the blog caught up - because we did so much this weekend, it's taking me awhile to get it all into writing. I still need to get a shower, and after that I am going to sleep.

I have a feeling that I am going to sleep very well tonight!

Orlando, FL

This morning we both had left over "skillet pizza" for breakfast.

My drive to work was very hot and humid. There was sweat all over my head despite the fact that the cab windows were down and there was a (humid) breeze in the truck. Things were cooler and dryer at the office.

During lunch today I went to Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ and got pulled pork and chicken. While I was there the USPS letter carrier came. Fay had to get up and walk to the door for her because she was delivering a box from Amazon.com for me and it would not fit through the mail slot!

The Amazon.com delivery was my new serial I/O card for the computer and the book This Time It's Different - 800 Years Of Financial Folly. Tomorrow morning I will shut the computer down, take it off of the table, open the case, snap the card in, and fire it all back up. I will be able to start programming functions into the uMega FPU soon.

For dinner we had Cajun Chicken Breast and a salad. It was very good. I really like that recipe, and if we made a Blurb.com cookbook, that will be one of the recipes included.

After dinner we took Buddy for his walk. When we got home Bob held him down and held his mouth open while I brushed his teeth. He hates that.

Orlando, FL

Ugghh... what a long and hectic day! It started out very hot and humid, and then just seemed to get warmer. We had another busy day on the phones.

William spent the day with Craig calling on dealers. He is very enthused about his move now!

Bob has Accounting for Managers class this evening, so he will not be home until around 10:00 PM. I guess it's a loooong day for him too!

For dinner I made some low-carb "cheese crackers" a bowl of guacamole, and low-carb skillet pizza. It was an adequate dinner. The crackers were very good!

In a few minutes I am going to hop into the shower and clean the oil and dirt off of me, then I will lay down and finish reading my book.

Low-Carb Skillet Pizza

LOW-CARB SKILLET PIZZA
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Garlic powder
Italian seasonings
10 slices pepperoni, about 1/2 ounce
Other toppings of your choice such as sausage, mushrooms, peppers, etc. *

In a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, spread the cheese to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with your seasonings. When the cheese starts bubbling all over, add the toppings. Amy says not to overload the pizza or you'll have trouble later. Once the edges of the cheese start to brown, start gradually prying them up with a spatula. Once the edges are completely browned, and you can get your spatula under the whole thing, slide the pizza out of the pan and onto a plate. Let it stand a minute to allow the cheese to cool slightly and firm up. Cut with a pizza cutter or kitchen scissors into quarters. You should be able to pick this up with your hands to eat it.

Makes 1 serving
Do not freeze

* You will need to pre-cook your mushrooms and peppers before adding them to the pizza

Per Serving with pepperoni: 230 Calories; 16g Fat; 18g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

Orlando, FL

Another bombshell was dropped on FER today. Nick Baranet was invited to return to the USAF in a training capacity, and he's decided to take the offer. His mother is all upset, and it casts one more change into the mix for our territory.

Today I "Googled" my name to see just how much would show up on a search. I was surprised at how well concealed some of the things were like my Facebook.com page, this blog, and my Flickr.com page, but comments made in Flickr turned up, and a few other things showed up that were a surprise - like this small article in the Wilmington Star News from June 1987.

William Trabazo spent more time with Craig today visiting dealers. He is supposed to go to Restaurant Equipment World tomorrow, and then he is doing a blast chiller demo for Whole Foods Market on Friday morning. Fay has asked him to come help with the phones on Thursday and Friday of next week while I am out.

The USPS letter carrier delivered my new serial cable today. Now I just need the low-profile serial adapter card to install in the PC and we will be programming functions into the Micromega FPU v 3.1 math coprocessor!

This evening we had cold cuts for dinner. We were both too tired to make anything. After dinner I diced up a few yellow and red sweet peppers and put them into a ziploc bag for freezing. Diced up peppers like this are convenient to add to recipes.

Orlando, FL

Today was a good day!

It started at 5:30 when I got up. Bob had to get up and get moving because he had a staff meeting at 6:30. I made his lunch and packed it, then made eggs and sausage for breakfast.

After this it was time to get Buddy out the door and see Bob off to work.

The weather was clear and very warm today. Very warm.

I had a salad from Chik-Fil-A today for lunch. In the afternoon William came up from Hollywood. He will be visiting dealers with Craig tomorrow.

This evening the radio weatherman said there was a chance of thunderstorms, but it was so hot and hardly any clouds, so what he said was hardly believable.

When I got home Bob had pork chops in the oven and cauliflower in the steamer. We had a nice dinner and then got Buddy harnessed up for his evening walk. We took him for a mile walk around Lake Eola.

Now it has clouded up very dark and there is a tornado watch until 8:45 PM! That's okay, I will be headed to the bed to lay down and read and then sleep soon.

Orlando, FL

Last night thunderstorms rolled in. We got some much needed rain and some fireworks! I think it rained off and on all night long.

This morning it was lightly raining when I got up at 5:30 AM.

I packed Bob's lunch of leftover fish and green beans with Oreo cookies, crackers, fruit cocktail, bottled water, and a piece of cheese.

We had the last two pieces of breakfast lasagna for breakfast with some bacon.

I took Buddy out for his morning walk while Bob was shaving and brushing teeth. By the time we got back, Bob was gone to work, and it was time for me to shower, shave, and dress for work.

The drive to work was stormy. It rained all the way there, hard at times.

The morning was quite stormy indeed. I had to deal with voices from hell on the telephone and even had to raise my voice to them! I could hear Fay down the hall, "Vince, keep calm! Don't lose your temper!!" Everything was still under control. We had a conference call with Denise up at Delfield and Denise laid it out for the dealer. She told him exactly what she would need to get their order shipping today.

That first call was a real stomach acid churner.

The rest of the day was okay. The skies cleared up a little in the middle of the day, but then the storms returned in the afternoon. We had some powerful storms in the afternoon with lots of lightning and thunder. One bolt struck just across the highway from our office and I heard Fay squeal down the hall in fright! haha!!

I left around 6:00 PM after getting a last-minute quote ready for Darden. It had the intended effect, Bob Chuhak wrote back a nice note saying that he appreciated the thoughtful and professional quotation.

On the way home I saw the 6:00 PM UPS DC-10 approaching OIA. Those DC-10's have a high angle of attack as they come in. FedEx operates a DC-10 for cargo as well. It comes in around 5:30 PM each day.

Bob prepared Savory Chicken Saute from chicken breast that I left in the sink to thaw this morning. We had lima beans and green beans with the chicken too.

After walking the dog we stopped at Publix to get more cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and blue cheese. We checked the mail on the way up and then I made some black cherry Jello with cream cheese whipped into it. I added shreded coconut to this. I poured it into goblets and set in the fridge to chill.

Next I used a little egg white powder, Splenda sweetener, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream to beat some low-carb whipped topping for the dessert tomorrow. I whipped as much air into it as it would hold, poured it into a plastic container, and set it in the freezer to set up.

Right now the skies have cleared up, but we have a chance of rain for the next two days.

Weekend

After walking Buddy on Saturday morning, Bob and I went to Fairbanks Restaurant in Winter Park for breakfast. We had eggs. Bob ate the biscuits, but we got the potatoes 'to go' in a foam clamshell. We figured Buddy would eat those.

We drove downtown Winter Park, parked the car, and went to the farmers market. We did not stay long because we forgot to bring cash with us.

After this we got onto I-4 and drove out to Sand Lake Road and went to the new Wal*Mart on Turkey Lake Road. Here we exchanged a pair of slacks for work, got a new toy for Buddy, and bought a few grocery items.

We returned home after this and had leftover steak, cottage cheese, and strawberry gelatin-mixed-with-cream cheese dessert for our lunch.

Buddy was not to happy about the new toy we picked up for him. It is a rubber pig that oinks when you squeeze it, and it squeals if you squeeze it really hard. He actually seems really freaked out by it.

After taking Buddy for his evening walk. We had a dinner of tomato, onion, and cucumber salad with green beans and cottage cheese.

We stayed up until 9:30, then went to bed and watched the TV. Bob had downloaded Sherlock Holmes using BitTorrent on Friday when he was home from work and he burned this to a DVD. We watched that and enjoyed it.

This morning we made a breakfast lasagna with ground beef, onions, canned tomato paste, canned mushrooms, canned olives, mozzarella cheese and beaten eggs. We baked this for an hour at 350°. It was (and always is) tasty!

We got in to the Xterra and drove up to Sanford to scope-out the Orlando-Sanford International Airport there. I wanted to know exactly where it was and where we would be parking before we go up there in less than two weeks to fly to Wilmington.

We took a long and scenic drive back. Stopped at Petco to get a large rawhide bone for Buddy to chew on (they help keep his teeth clean), and we stepped next door and browsed Barnes & Noble. Incredibly, we did not buy anything in the bookstore. Bob opted to check the prices of the books we were interested in on Amazon.com instead.

Buddy started to chew on his new rawhide bone as soon as we got it home. He was busily chewing while we sat down to eat our lunch of leftover breakfast lasagna, gelatin mold, and cottage cheese.

After about two hours, Buddy had one of the knots completely chewed off of the bone and was tearing it up!

In the afternoon we layed down to read and then take a nap. I woke around 6:00 PM to the sound of thunder. I jumped up, harnessed Buddy for his walk, and Bob got up to start dinner.

We took a three-block walk, but it started to rain and we hurried back home.

Dinner was microwaved grilled tilapia fillets with steamed green beans and more jello mold.

After dinner we cleaned the kitchen up, vacuumed, cleaned the glass tables, and got everything ready for another week of work. Ugghh.

Two Chuck's

Breakfast today was scrambled eggs and cheese over fried ground turkey. Yum! Filling too!

Bob stayed home today because he had to go to the social security office to get his mother's pay started back up. He did not know how long it would take, so he took the whole day.

At work today I found a message in FB from Chuck Upchurch. I have not talked to Chuck in years! Chuck is working at FSU in Tallahassee as professor of British History. He is married to a lawyer named Fred, and they are raising two boys! It is really amazing how the computer technology lets people stay connected!

Chuck recently completed a book about sex between men in 19th century Britain and it's available on Amazon.com. I never would have thought when I knew him back at NHHS!

The next friend request that popped up really brought a big smile to my face. This was a request from Chuck Keller. Chuck and I met on a weekend in Goldsboro, NC where all of the young people "cruise" up and down the main street. We both rode motorcycles back then. Chuck was in the USAF and transferred to Germany about the same time I joined the USN. Around 1998-1999 I lost track of Chuck.

Chuck is living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife, Beth, and he works as a dental supplies rep. Somehow, I think our paths will cross again someday.

Work was easy enough today. FER-Orlando only processed about $223k in orders, and I was sure this was the week Hollywood would beat us, but they only brought in $125k.

When I got home Bob was making pan-fried steaks with green beans. This was a good dinner. Then we took Buddy for his evening walk. When we got back home, Bob held Buddy down while I brushed his teeth.

Then we put our patio furniture back on the balcony.

TGIF! I've been waiting all week for this!

Orlando, FL

After packing Bob's lunch and pills, I made a bowl of oatmeal with chopped dates and brown sugar for him. This helps get rid of the milk that will expire on 5/14/10.

I had two eggs over easy, leftover mushrooms and onions, and a half cup of cottage cheese for my breakfast.

Today was a good day for me at work. Aside from writing two quotes and processing three orders, I did almost nothing all day. Well, not "nothing", because I browsed the Internet with my spare time.

For lunch I went to the Orlando Ale House and had a chef salad. This was a big salad that kept me fairly full all afternoon.

This evening we had braised chicken breasts with green beans and asparagus for dinner.

There was a notice on our door that the windows and ledges are not clean yet and that the cleaning company will need two more days to get the job done. Ugghh... meanwhile our patio furniture occupies our living room.

Orlando, FL

I haven't slept through the night these past two nights. I wake up around 2:00 AM and never really get back to sleep. This has left me in a fog at work all day.

Still sales are on-track for another average week. We've got $125k right now.

We had to bring our patio furniture and plants in from the balcony this evening because maintenance will be cleaning windows and pressure washing the outside of the building tomorrow. They do not clean the outside often enough.

For dinner we have braised chicken breast and mixed vegetables.

Mother's Day

Yesterday afternoon, I took one of the 3.3/5.0 volt power supply kits I got from Sparkfun.com. I fired up my soldering iron, and put it together. After using some solder wick to clean up some obvious bridges, I plugged it in, and was amazed to see it making 3.24 volts in 3.3-volt mode, and 4.92 volts in 5.0-volt mode! It worked the first time!

We were up right at 6:30 and ready to go to Daytona Beach to cut the lawn. We probably left the house at 7:00 and drove to Winter Park to get a tank of gas. Then we made a trip through the McDonald's drive-thru for our breakfast. Finally, up I-4!

The first thing we did was put Buddy in the house, pour water and food for him, and then we got to work mowing. Bob mowed the front with the riding mower and I mowed the back with the push-mower.

After this Bob edged the driveway and sidewalk and ran the grass whip.

I watered all of the plants that we put in the beds. All of the marigolds out in front along the walk died. They were getting full sun for most of the day. The plants that were farther back and along the front of the house did fine.

After showering, we left Buddy in the house and we went to Oaktree to pick-up Louise for her Mother's Day lunch. We took her to Steve's Famous Diner. She had baked ziti, Bob had eggplant parm, and I had stuffed peppers.

Louise had lemon meringue pie and coffee for dessert, and then we took her for a ride. She fell asleep in the seat during the ride.

When we got her back to Oaktree, John and Cheryl were waiting for her. They brought a big bouquet of flowers, some new pants for her, and a cheesecake! This was quite an exciting day for Louise!

After this we went back to the house to get Buddy, and close the house up. I drove back to Orlando. The weather was a little warm, but cloudless and beautiful. There was a little breeze that kept it from being hot.

We took a nap after we got home. Then we took Buddy for his walk around 6:30. On the way back we stopped at Publix and I picked up a loaf of bread, and some sliced chicken breast meat to make dinner with.

I fried up the chicken strips and put flour tortillas on plates. I got the mango salsa and shredded cheese out and made some nice fajitas for dinner. After this was done we watered our plants, including my little salsa garden which seems to be doing well.

Now the weekly cleaning is done, and I am ready to sleep again!

Buddy's Check-Up

We got up around 6:30 this morning and I made a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls. After breakfast we got Buddy harnessed up and we went to Hiawassee Veterinary Clinic for Buddy's annual check-up.

Buddy gets very excited when he goes to the vet. I guess he smells and hears the other animals when he is there. Plus, he loves it that the new poeple here pay attention to him!

I am just glad that the floors are hard ceramic tile. It makes it much easier to keep him under control.

The first thing that we did was walk him on to the floor scale to weigh him. He weighs 52.5 pounds - the exact same he weighed last year! Then we were taken to the examination room.

Dr. Jason Palm and an assistant came in with syringes and his medical record. Dr. Jason examined his ears, eyes, teeth, and skin. Then they took a syringe of blood to test for parasites. Next they inserted a lubed up rob to take a fecal sample, again to check for parasites. Next he got his 3-year rabies vaccine, his leptospirosis vaccine, and his bordatella (kennel cough) vaccines.

We discussed putting Buddy on Comfortis instead of Frontline for flea and tick control, and Jason went ahead and added that to our bill. We got a heartworm treatment refill, and we requested another 4 ounce bottle of GentaSpray for the occasional skin outbreaks.

As we were checking out, I asked the technician to check his shoulder to see if his microchip was still implanted. The scanner beeped, and when she held it up it read "AVID: 097012271", That's the number his implanted RFID chip displays. If he is lost a vet or animal shelter can see if he is chipped. If they call Avid they check their FriendChip PETtrac System and find my name and phone number associated with the tracking number.

We also made a kennel reservation for him for May 27 - 30 while we go to North Carolina to visit Becky, Bill, Pat, Marrissia, and Kevin.

The bill for today's services came to $337.79! A little more than I was expecting, but we got extra medicines this time too.

When we got home my hands were full with grocery bags from our stop at Winn-Dixie and at the storage unit. I thought Bob was leading Buddy by the leash. I heard Bob call out, "Buddy!!" and then he was gone!

As we were stepping out of the elevator car, Buddy just kept sitting. The elevator doors closed and took him on up with the car. Think fast, Bob hit both the "Up" and the "Down" buttons so that the car would stop at our floor again.

We could hear people on a floor or two above us exclaiming about the "abandoned dog" in the elevator. Soon the car came back down. There were five people and three dogs inside (including ours). One lady was holding Buddy down and they were happy to see us too - they knew he belonged with us because they had always seen him coming and going with us.

I was just happy to be reunited with my adventure-seeking hound.

TGIF !!

We found out that Bob made an 82 on his pre-algebra final. That gives him an A- for the course. That's a lot better than I thought he'd do!

Fay said that a house in her neighborhood was fire-bombed last night. She is upset because she is the president of the homeowners association, and she is trying to keep her little neighborhood from declining.

William was in Orlando again today. He spent the day with Craig visiting dealers. They paid a visit to an Edward Don sales meeting and William was kind of surprised to hear the salesmen bad-mouthing Debbie. "See? Vince and Fay weren't making shit up, were they?" He is very optimistic about calling on his "new" dealers because there is a lot of potential business there that we were not able to tap before.

During lunch today I went to Mobil and got a tank of gas in the truck, and then I went to Subway to get a foot-long BMT on herbs & cheese bread.

FER-Orlando finished the week with $289k in sales. Hollywood brought in $161k. Not a bad week, but not a great week either. Craig said that each office has to bring in $250k each week for us to meet our expenses. I know Hollywood hasn't done that in a while.

Bob made chili for dinner and was ladled it over broken up blue corn chips. It was good.

We made Buddy wait until after dinner for his walk because it was just too warm when I got home from work. He's walked and now laying down in his bed. He's going to the vet tomorrow.

Orlando, FL

I reluctantly rolled out of bed at 5:30 AM. I packed a chicken breast and ham sandwich into Bob's lunch, counted out his pills, and then made scrambled eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast.

Before taking Buddy out for his morning walk I poured a cup of Iams Weight Control for Dogs into his bowl and topped his water off.

On my way to work I stopped at Publix and got two bottles of water and a fruit salad bowl to take with me. Everything was still dry, but humid - the weatherman said it would storm this afternoon.

When I rolled up to the office I found William Trabazo already parked. I had my hands full getting out of the truck because I had my messenger bag, the bottled water, the fruit bowl, my hard drive portable back-up (because today is Thursday), and the keys to the door.

William was going to go around with Craig today and meet dealers. To my surprise Keven Hass of Gaylord hoods showed up too. He was going with Craig to visit a couple of dealers.

Craig had the plaque for Matthew Tang finished. I found it on top of the lateral file when I came in. It turned out really nice! It's going to be the nicest one he has. It is laser etched onto black marble.

There were only a couple of orders today, and I wrote two small quotes. As usual, I had to deal with people all pissed off about their equipment not working. Of course, when they wait three weeks to report it, and then bitch about it being down for three weeks, they really shouldn't say anything.

Fay went out at 10:00 to help Matthew Tang get a hood quote into AutoQuotes. She was gone about an hour. When she returned she came back with an island lunch. She brought spicy beef patties, pies, and Jamaican ginger soda. It was good, and I am just adventurous enough to try it all (after all, we did eat guinea pig in Peru).

Evelyn came in this morning and installed the second monitor on Fay's computer. Her second monitor is very large, and it is freaky to watch her move the mouse back and forth between the two screens! My computer is supposed to be next.

Sure enough, it clouded up and stormed really hard this afternoon.

Bob took his final exam for the math class this afternoon. It took him three hours, but he thinks that he did really well on it. It is a relief to have that behind us. His next class is an accounting course.

To celebrate, we ordered a large Super Supreme Stuffed Crust pizza from Pizza Hut. Yummy! Even the dog gets excited when he hears the knock at the door. He knows there are boxes with tasty stuff being delivered!

Orlando, FL

Another good day.

Bob went back to work today too. He took sunglasses with him to keep the light down until the doc figures out what medicine he'll be taking.

The phones were rather quiet today. There were only a few orders for me to process, but we still passed $200k this afternoon.

This afternoon there was a strong thunderstorm downtown, but it only sprinkled six miles away at the office. Bob said it was a downpour on his drive home.

After walking Buddy, picking up a copy of Orlando Weekly, and checking the mail, we had a dinner of tomato sandwiches.

Now I am updating my automatic funds transfer for my storage rent, activating my new BOA card, and checking email. I will have to help Bob with some of his math problems in a few.

Orlando, FL

It was a good day.

Managed to sleep in until almost 6:00 AM! Then we got up, harnessed Buddy up, and took him for his walk. Bob came along for the walk too.

When we got back home we fed Buddy, and then poured a bowl of Cheerios for me (Buddy likes Cheerios too!). After this I showered, shaved, and put on the new shirt and slacks I got yesterday during my lunch hour. I needed to dress a little nicer today since Craig, Fay, and I were having dinner with Joan Salah, our Area Vice-President.

UPS delivered two new books for me today. I got Just Like You Only Prettier and a book about bananas. I am still watching for an order from Sparkfun.com.

Another busy day. I think our sales are over $150k for the week so far. I took left over cajun chicken breast with me for lunch. When I left, Bob came with me and I dropped him off in the parking garage at the hospital to get his car. We decided that it would be best if he did not come to the dinner tonight.

Buddy has a veterinarian appointment for Saturday, May 8, at 8:00. He is going to get his three-year rabies shot, leptospirosis, bordatella, heartworm test, and fecal parasite test. We are going to talk to Dr. Jason about putting him on Comfortis for fleas and ticks this year.

Fay was a little worried about our dinner this evening with Joan. Joan was really grinding an axe for Fay for a while there, and Fay is afraid that Joan still harbors some animosity. I told her to relax. "Joan is on the run right now. She knows corporate is watching her closely. She wants to make nice with us now." Gabe Puerto phoned up from Hollywood and told Fay he knew about this dinner for a couple of weeks. He told her to enjoy herself and order anything she wanted.

So, we pulled up the menu on the Internet and browsed the selections and prices. The most expensive item was the 9 ounce fillet mignon at $27.50. Fay said, "I am not going to order that. I was not brought up that way." Okay. Whatever.

At 5:30 we left the office and drove the 1.2 miles to Stonewood Grill and Tavern. We were a little early, but it was hot outside, so we went in and waited at the bar. I ordered a martini, and Fay was agonizing over the drink choices. She said, "I just want a cranberry vodka." I told the bar matron, "I'll have a martini with well vodka, and a Cape Codder for her."

"What did you order me? How did you know it was called that?" I explained to her that I tended bar for a while in the 90's while working my way through school. I told her that when someone ordered something I did not know how to make, I said, "How would you like that?", and they usually gave me directions.

Craig showed up at 5:55 and he ordered a beer. Fay and I both raised our eyebrows at that. At 6:00 on the dot, Joan walked in. We then went to a table.

Fay ordered some kind of warm water white fish, I ordered the lime-ginger salmon, Craig ordered (haha!!) the most expensive thing on the menu - the 9 ounce fillet, and Joan ordered the herb-crusted grouper that was on special. We had appetizers and more drinks. I started my second martini.

I am glad for the alcohol. I think I was just as smiling and charming as I could be. In fact, Craig thinks we scored a home run with this dinner tonight. I tried to parrot everything that Craig ever said about the Darden account at the table.

Craig told her that it is imperative that she copy Vince and Fay on everything. "I am the most disorganized person in the world and these two keep me up to date." At this point I mentioned that Robert Chuhak of Darden has his 42nd birthday on Thursday. Joan was very surprised that I knew this. "Should we take him to lunch, or something?" Then, looking surprised, I said, "But YOUR birthday is on Sunday!" This really astonished her!

Yes, I am THAT organized.

There was more talk about the various accounts we are working, and a comparison of FER with Duskey-Utsey, RepsSouth, and Hanson Group - our neighbors. We picked up a couple of useful pieces of information from the convo - even Fay picked up on the fact that Joan seems afraid of us talking to Larry Bryce.

She tried to tell us that Larry is a mole sent down from corporate to report on us! I almost spit vodka and vermouth all over the table when I heard that, but I held my tongue.

Since this was so much fun, apparently, Joan said that we will do this quarterly, and she wants me to schedule the dinners. It's not a bad idea if she wants to work more closely with us, I guess.

Overall, I agree, the night went very well. I phoned Fay on my cellphone during the drive back home to discuss it with her, then I called Craig and talked with him right up to the moment I parked in Space 328. We will talk about it more tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow, William Trabazo will be coming to our office. Craig has to take him to visit Louis Wohl & Sons because they are bitching that nobody is calling on them now that we canned Debbie.

It's going to be fine. Today was the day we were most worried about and was a piece of cake - 7 layered chocolate!

Orlando, FL

It was almost 6:00 AM when I got up this morning. After a bowl of Cheerios, I took Buddy for his morning walk, then came home to shower, brush teeth, shave, and dress for work.

Work was a little hectic today - a few orders, lots of phone calls and emails about problems with equipment delivered, and to make it worse, all Manitowoc factories posted a price increase and I had to order new price lists for some of the dealers.

We did not see Craig all day. He had an appointment with Dr. Tabbas and she cut little pieces off of him for biopsy. Later he had a meeting with Bob Chuhak and Joan Salah, but he phoned in during the day. He asked Fay and me where we wanted Joan to take us to dinner. I told him Stonewood Grill. He told me to make the reservation.

He said Fay and I could each bring someone else with us if we wanted. We will have to see if we can get Bob's car back from parking at the hospital. Maybe I will drop him off at the parking garage tomorrow on my way to work.

I answered the phone this afternoon, "Good afternoon, FER, this is Vince." to hear some guy going, "Yes, is this the Dildo Depot?" I broke out laughing at Bill Murray, Edward Don salesman. I told him, "We used to be, but we changed our name." He really didn't like Debbie.

When I got home this afternoon Bob had a nice dinner of Cajun Chicken Breast with rice ready. The recipe was for pork chops, but he modified it. They tasted good!

I reminded Dave Pierre that we were enroute to Orlando 17 years ago this evening for "It's not just a job, it's an Adventure". What seemed so strange and difficult then, in hindsight, would be a breeze today.

Weekend

After taking Buddy out for his morning walk, I went to Florida Hospital to visit Bob. He was still in the cardiac observation unit waiting for his MRA and neck x-rays. He was frustrated because the imaging was taking so long.

I went back out at 8:00 AM, came home and emptied the dish machine and then put the dishes from the sink in. I put Bob's Blackberry on the charger since the battery was dead. After this I went to BJ's Warehouse to get bulk cases of bottled water, fruit, cheese, and canned goods. I came back and put this away.

Before going to Super Target to get the rest of the groceries, I tried to stop at the hospital, but there were no parking spaces. So, I went to get the rest of the May groceries.

It only took an hour to finish the groceries. After putting these away I got Buddy harnessed up and took him out for his evening walk. It was still pretty warm and he was panting most of the walk.

Bob got back home around 8:00 PM. Kim, one of his dispatchers drove him home. Boy, Buddy really took to her! She stayed and visited with us for about half an hour. They said that the AVM formations on his brain are not growing, but one of them is pressing on his optic nerve. This is making his pupil dilate and contract slower than normal. The extra light was causing him to have headaches.

He was given prescriptions for two different drugs depending on what type of pain he has, and he was told to start wearing sunglasses outside. You would think that in Florida that would go without saying.

Orlando, FL

Bob did not come home today. He phoned this morning to say that the doctor wanted to run an MRA (whatever that is), and they still had not taken his neck x-rays.

I set up a Facebook page today. This blog and my Flickr page are linked to my profile there. This will remain my blog. I will not be posting updates to Facebook.

There are already 37 friends listed!

This afternoon I harnessed Buddy up and took him with me in the truck down to Shiners to get the truck washed. Then we bought a tank of gas.

When I came home I took Buddy back upstairs, and then I waxed the truck and cleaned the glass. It looks pretty nice now.

After this I took Buddy to the shower and scrubbed him down with Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Then I showered myself.

I did four loads of laundry today (including the dog's bed). Now I need to fold the clothes up. What we did not do was get to the grocery store. I do not know when we will do that. Hopefully we will get to Daytona tomorrow to mow the yard up there.

Pictured tonight is a shot of the Waverly lobby. This is looking west toward the front desk.