Another busy week. We had Trainer practice at work this week. That went well since the Trainers are really smart and motivated. Then, every evening after work there was something going on. Monday night, we had an ENA meeting at Mario's Italian restaurant. Yummy! I love that place! Tuesday was shopping and it was Karen's birthday.

Wednesday night, we had Martini night at Betty's house. We stayed up til almost midnight playing poker. I came in 2nd place. Everyone put in $10 and the winner got $50, 2nd place got $20 AND 3rd place got $10. I had crappy hands for the first 2/3 of the game and rallied at the end. Karen won the big pot....Bitch! Ha! Just kidding.

Friday night Terri and Kevin came over for a good ol southern meal. We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and pan gravy, collards (fresh from the garden), corn bread and fried green tomatoes. I tried to find Moon Pies and RC colas but struck out.

Saturday we went to a party at Jane and Charlie's. We hung out by their pool. They live on the river and have an awesome view. Charlie steamed some oysters and there was a spread of food and plenty of drink. Charlie had planned on fixing some ribs on the grill but they had sooooo much food that no one had room for ribs. The weather was perfect and the company was even better.

Yesterday, I worked in the ER. I'm only working 2-3 days a month in the ER while this project is going on. I actually miss it. I hate working Monday through Friday. Sitting in front of a terminal makes for a long day. Even though I'm excited about the project I like working in the ER better because time goes by fast. I like the doctors and nurses that I work with. I've always said that you have to have an "ER personality" to work in the ER. Everyone is different in their own ways (which makes things interesting) but they all have the same "twist" to them. I think you learn to appreciate life more in that tpe of job.

Today, I'm doing home stuff. I have to catch up on chores. I was outside this morning (80 + degrees by 10am) pulling weeds and doing yard work. My petunias in the back petered out. I planted them at the end of summer last year and they did great. But they bellied up in this heat. I planted some zinnias in their place. They look great. I bought 8 zinnia plants at Lowes for $3.98 each. I made up my mind that I WILL learn to start plants from seed from now on. I see Zinnia seeds everywhere for a buck. They're annuals, so why put $30 bucks into 8 plants that will die at the end of the season when you can start them from seed for a whole lot cheaper. I've never started anything from seed before. But it can't be too hard. I'll pick Linda Higginbotham's brain. She knows a lot about gardening. I showed her the picture of my huge tomato plant (above) that I was so proud of. She told me that I needed to desucker it and cut of the stems that don't have flowers or fruit on them because the plant spends too much energy on the plant and not the fruit. That makes sense. So I came home and did some major trimming. I was scared, very scared. I was afraid I over did it but within days, the tomatoes started to ripen and I'm harvesting tomatoes now!

Whew! It's been a busy week. We started "Train the trainers" this week with the new computer conversion at work. Everything ran smoothly. It's just a matter of working a few bugs out and then hunker down and train for the next four months. We have some really smart Trainers on board (a lot smarter than myself). I subscribe to the idea of being surrounded by smart, capable people. Then you can't help but suceed in a project. We definitely have an "A Team".

Terri and Kevin came over last night for dinner. Dave has a friend who has some connections on an Alaskan crab boat. He brought home a big box of Jumbo King Crab legs. OMG! I felt like I died and went to heaven! They were huge! We had baked potatoes, cole slaw and Terri brought a cherry cheese cake. Of course, Kevin and I had a few Bloody Marys. Does that sound like a totally sinful meal, or what?

I went for a bike ride this morning. Terri and Kev got me motivated. They bought two Townie bikes like mine. I'm so pathetically out of shape. I rode around for 20 minutes and had to come home. Maybe I'll do it again tonight and gradully build up my strength.

The vegetables are doing great. I have to water them every day. In the fall Dave is going to help me with a "square-foot garden". That's the ticket when dealing with a small space. You only have to water and fertilize these concentrated areas. Because it's a small area you can use the best soil. I'm having fun with gardening because still in the discovery phase. I have to experiment with everything. So far, I haven't had any insect or disease problems but I know that will happen eventually. Then it probably won't be so fun!

Well, I actually have a whole weekend ahead of me with a clean slate. There is nothing that I HAVE to do. Sure, there is always little stuff that need to be done but I'm going to have a "goof off weekend". I might just hang at the beach, float in the pool, take a few siestas, work the two Sunday crosswords (I haven't done that in a long time) and take the bike out for a few short spins. I had planned to go to Blockbuster for some movies but that requires driving 10-11 miles and driving in traffic is not in my low stress, veg out weekend plan.

Today is Mother's day. I have the best mom ever! I've always said no one can love you like a mother and a dog.

Dave and I went to the gun range today. I guess people don't do to the range on Mother's day. It was really quiet. We compared different rounds in the 357. First, we shot 38 special rounds. Nice and smooth. Then we shot 357 Magnum 110 grain grain rounds. That was a nice shoot too. The 38 snub nose has a lot more kick because of the shot barrel and light weight. I shot the best with these rounds. Then, we shot 357 Magnum 159 grain rounds. Whoooo! Now that's a bullet! It has a lot of power to it. When Dave was shooting and I was standing in the space beside him, I had to step back because of the gun powder flying and hitting my face.

Today was my only day off this week. We came home and I took a 2 hour siesta and then went to the beach. It's been dry down here and we need rain but it was awesome weather today. Warm and breezy.

Check out this monster tomato plant! I'm shocked at how huge this plant is! It's Roma tomatoes.


Also, check out this rose bush. It's weird. I stuck it in the ground not expecting it to do anything and it really took off.


Last, but definitely not least....Larry!

We went to see Terri and Kevin's new boat. They raised their kids and got rid of their "things" and moved onto a 41 foot Morgan sail boat. They're living their dream now. Here are some pictures of my pals on the boat:

Wheeew...I'm tired. I worked 76 hours in one week. I'm off today and back to work tomorrow. One day isn't enough when you have errands to do. I have to say, Dave actually did some laundry and cleaning this weekend. That makes life a lot nicer.

I got "a sign" today. Everyone knows I've been obsessing over the Bird Flu lately. Well, check this out. The bird on the window sill was stalking me.....it's a sign! (double click the pic). I swear that little bastard was watching me!