hell

We're in it now, for the summer.  102 out there today.  Over 100 predicted for every day of the foreseeable future.

At least it didn't start til now.  The past two summers, it started in May, so we got a little bit of time this year to be able to get outside.

But now? No more bike rides. No more gardening.  No more walks. Probably until October.

I hate, and I know that's a strong word that I try not to use...but I hate summers here.  Hate. Them.

Anyway, nothing else much to report.

I got to move to my new cube on Friday, with no warning, so of course, I had to crawl around under my desk to unplug things in a dress.  Nice.  It's usually a clusterfuck where I work, so no surprise there.

New cube is far removed from everyone, and has partial walls between the workstations, so there's a little separation between the three people who sit in the cube.  THAT's almost as nice as being far removed from the main office!

I took a picture of the new cube, but can't get it from my phone to here, so oh well. NO big deal. It's a freakin' cubicle. Who really cares? 

The new cube is in what used to be a hallway....but now, there will be no foot traffic, no kitchen DIRECTLY outside of my cube, so no smelling peoples' food all freakin' day, and no listening to multiple conversations all day anymore, either.

Not that I was listening on purpose...but when there are people chit chatting ALL AROUND YOU while you're trying to concentrate, you can't help but listen.  It's like not being able to stop watching a train wreck.

And with the way people speak down here, well, it IS rather like a train wreck.  Gawd.  They slaughter the language, in horrifying ways, on a moment to moment basis.

Anyway, in other news, we got a cotton print "tapestry" to hang over the big window in the bedroom, and it's not only pretty cool, it was a LOT cheaper than black out shades or curtains!  See pic above.

Post vacation blues

Yeah, it was hard to come back to Oklahoma City after a week at home.  Really hard.

I went through a pretty rough week last week, emotionally.  It was the first full week back at work, and I really hate my job....can't WAIT for the promotion to take effect on July 1, so I can wait and see if the new job is better.

All of the ignorance and "hick-ness" of true-born Okies was really bothering me, too.  I am, by nature, a non-judgemental person, who harbors no prejudices...but Okies....good god.

NO work ethic, NO culture, NO clue.... The two I sit with in my cube spent the whole week whispering, looking stuff up on line, talking about celebrities and tv shows, laughing, on line shopping....doing EVERYTHING BUT working, and they both get paid more than me.

And it's not just them.  The vast majority of my co workers are Okies, and the vast majority of them are absolutely lazy, and spend their work days doing anything BUT working. Including my direct supervisor, whose name is Mia, which I swear to god really does mean Missing In Action because she is NEVER available. 

Anyway....Got through the week, and now, for some reason, I feel more like myself again.  Like I felt before I moved, I mean. 

More like my SELF.

That part of me that was missing....that bit that I went after by going home.  It's back.  Some little part of my soul was found and gathered up when I was able to spend a week with my roots.

I must have left it there. 

This is good.  Very.

The weather lately has been pretty nice, actually.  A couple of days of insufferable heat, but mostly, not too bad.  NOTHING like last summer or the summer before that, which were already hitting the 100's by this time.

We've been out bike riding a lot, and I love that.  Have done some yard work, and planting.

Unfortunately, I have not lost one ounce of the fat I've gained since last month.  This is the first time in my life when I have buckled down, stopped eating unhealthy snacks, exercising more, and have NOT lost any weight.

Even a few months ago, I could do that, and lose 3 or 4 pounds in a week to 10 days, and keep it off until I fell of the snack wagon.

One friend pointed out that when women begin menopause, they gain un-losable weight because of the hormone changes.  As soon as the process of menopause is over, the retained fat melts away.

Hm.  Since I am on hormone medication for at least another year to keep my periods from killing me, I have no idea if I am going through the change or not.

But it sounds like something I can blame this horrid fat on!  And I started gaining it RIGHT AFTER my 50th birthday.  How the HELL??!!  Started having knuckle pain then, too.  What the shit?!?!

I really want to lose that weight now, though, because I saw how I looked in the dance costume in May, and I am dancing in a show in August.  I will really NOT WANT to be seen in costume looking like I do now....I freakin' have BACK FAT!  Gawd! 

While I am not literally fat or even technically obese, I feel self conscious and ugly right now.  It's bad.

Well, I am off to sweep and scrub floors.  Haven't done it since before vacation, and it really needs it. 

First ride

Well, my old, favorite bike made it here from Chicago just fine, and hopefully my sister will get more use out of the newer one (with no complicated gears) that I gave to her in exchange.

The old one is a Trek Navigator 21 speed road bike from something like 2001.

When we got it home, we shopped around for a local bike shop to get a tune up and new seat, and found one to take it to this past week.

The tune up was $40.00.  The new seat was $30.00  NOT nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and seemingly cheaper than in Naperville, IL.

They fixed the rear derailleur, too, which was bent, so now the gears shift smoothly again.

First attempt to put both bikes on the rack worked out okay, and off we went to the Stockyard City entrance to the OKC riverside bike path.

It's a really nice, paved path that runs for a few miles down each side of the river.  It has easy curves, and gradual grades, and some good long flat stretches to get up some speed.

We didn't get out to the path at all last year, because right after we moved from the apartment to this house in May, the over 100 degree temperatures started, and didn't quit until September.

Because of the record setting heat of last summer, we never even bothered to get the bikes out of Dave's parents' shed until October (where we had stored them when the apartment complex sent around a notice that NOTHING could be kept on apartment porches except chairs/furniture).  Then, we only rode around the neighborhood a couple of times last fall.

The year before that, though, when we still lived at the apartment, we bought the bike Dave has now, as well as the one I traded to my sister for my old one.  We rode a LOT that year, with the notable exception being the hottest part of summer, which was shorter and less brutal that year than it was last year.

So far, this spring and summer have been wetter and cooler than last year OR the year before, so I am trying to be optimistic that we might get to ride a few more times before the worst of it starts.

Anyway, the newer bike that my sis has now is a really cool Schwinn cruiser with no gears, smooth street tires, and a hand brake.  I really liked it, but when we were planning the trip to Chicagoland, I started wondering if it would be possible to get my Trek and bring it back.

As much as I liked the Schwinn, it wasn't my Trek!

So, it was great to get on the Trek again, and to have it in perfect working order.   First ride was an easy start:  4.5 miles in 27 minutes, at an average speed of 8.5 mph.

Home to some ice cold Trader Joe's lemonade....which I am now out of.

Guess it's time to back up to visit again, and get some more!! 

6 days at home

Remember, you can click on any image for a larger view.

We departed Oklahoma City a week ago Saturday, and drove 13.5 hours to Chicagoland, where we landed at my sister and brother in law's house.

On Sunday, my sister and brother in law had a party to which most of the family, and many friends came.  It was so much fun, even if the weather was record-breakingly hot.  It was SO good to see everyone!!

Then, Monday was Memorial Day, and the first of two trips to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs beat the Padres.  My sister, brother in law, and niece took us to that game.  It was TONS of fun....again, record breaking heat. Real pizza afterward at a place in Wrigleyville called Pequod's.

For Tuesday's game, it was only in the 80's, and we drove up ourselves (my car's first ever trip into Chicago, and Dave's first time ever driving there), and met my nephew and his girlfriend who live in Wrigleyville. We walked to the game from their place (at least a mile walking one way), and afterward, had dinner at Goose Island, Wrigleyville, enjoying their locally crafted beer.

We got a LOT of exercise those two days, walking all around Wrigleyville!

Wednesday, my sister came with us downtown, where we visited the Shedd Aquarium, had lunch at the Berghoff, and a vodka at the Russian Tea Time tearoom.  Dave experienced his first Chicago taxi ride.

We were going to go over to Millennium Park, but it was only 50 degrees out that day, so we came on home.  Dave and I then went over to some friends' house to have dinner and enjoy their hot tub.  I spent a LOT of time at that house, and in that tub, when I still lived up there!  It was sooooo nice.

Thursday, it rained all day.  We met another of my friends for lunch, but mostly just stayed home while it poured rain and never got above 45 degrees.  We mostly just relaxed, and watched a couple of movies, and spent time with my other nephew (who lives at home for the moment).

That night, went out for my much anticipated Greek food!  OH my god.  It was so, so, so extremely good.  My niece came out and met us for a beer at a local bar afterward.

Friday, it was all about going to stores we don't have down here and stocking up on stuff....Brought home a bunch of yummies!

We also got to spend a couple of hours at the Morton Arboretum, which we had planned to do on Thursday, but did not because of the rain.

Friday night, back to the bar for some last minute visits with friends and family, and we departed early on Saturday (yesterday) morning.

It took over 15 hours to get home, because we stayed out too late Friday, and were both exhausted when we got up.  Dave stopped every hour.  I was supposed to help drive, but my dry eye issue was really bothering me, and I had a splitting head ache most of the day, so I only drove for one hour of the trip.

Plus, we got stuck in gridlock traffic outside of St. Louis for almost 90 minutes.  THAT was fun.

We got home after dark, to find that one window had been broken by the strong storms that happened down here while we were gone, but all else was fine.

The cats were VERY happy to see us, and both of them slept with us in the bed all night.

Today, we got our errands done to re-stock the fridge and pantry, and I am off to cook us a late supper.

All in all, it was probably the best thing for me in a long, long time.  I really needed to be around people who talk like I do.  People who think like I do.

People who really know me, and love me anyway.

It helped me find part of my "self" again, that has been largely missing since I moved down here.  I smiled and laughed out loud like I have not done in almost 3 years.

Gotta hold on to that now....

Now that we've made the trip, we know how to do it....as long as we stay healthy, and have no more catastrophic bills like, you know, from the hospital....we plan to try to make this trip at least once a year.  Maybe not for as many days.  Maybe not with spending as much money!!  (*laughs*)  But at least once a year.