Back to Work

The most frequently asked question after 6 weeks off: “Are you glad to be back?” Yes and no. Yes, it’s nice to be productive and generating a little income, but I could certainly get used to living the life of leisure! I think as long as I had something to do, I’d be OK. The housewife thing could get old very quickly with nothing to do -- and trust me, some days recuperation was very boring.

One of the things I enjoyed most about being off was being able to cook dinner and try new recipes. When working, by the time I get home, I’m usually too tired to cook anything requiring actual preparation. We eat out a lot during the work week. Luckily, there’s no shortage of places to dine along Route 1!

So, while I was out, my office went through a little re-org. I no longer report to the same person, but the transition to my new manager will be very easy, I think. I’m a little sad that I’m no longer directly reporting to Kara. The good thing is Mary is a very skillful project manager -- I could have been assigned to someone really dreadful.

It’s funny how everyone (including myself!) expected more frequent (daily?) blog posting while I was home. I did have a couple things to write about -- like the awesome lunar eclipse I witnessed one morning in late August. Then the time passed and the topics were no longer relevant. My birthday came and went quietly. And my time off flew by fast.

WELCOME to my new readers -- especially the one who thought my post on personal phone calls from the office was funny. I have to make sure I don’t write anything too bad about my co-workers now! Till next time...

Last Day of Summer Vacation

Today is the last day of my medical leave from work. I return to work on Monday. Where did the time go? Six weeks flew by so quickly! When I was first home from the hospital, I thought the soreness from the surgery and incision would go never go away. Gradually, I began to feel better and became more mobile. My belly still gets sore after a long, active day, but I'm not as easily tired as I was in the beginning.

Two years ago, I was in between jobs and had 4 months off. I couldn't wait to get back into the work world! This time, I can honestly say I think I could get used to being a housewife. Or at least have the summer off every two years to regroup.

To my faithful blog readers, I'm sorry I didn't have more to blog about during the past few weeks! I thought having all this free time would provide more opportunity to write, but there wasn't much to write about. Nerts. Have a great weekend everyone!

Finally Official

Shaun (aka "Jake") and BHL made it official this past weekend, marrying at the home of Shaun's dad. It was a beautiful afternoon; a little breezy, but sunny and not humid. Shaun and Lena's families put together an awesome ceremony and reception. Here's the bride and groom with baby Lorenzo, Alyssa and little Talli:


Who needs "Ace of Cakes" when Shaun's got a very talented and creative cousin Bianca? The cake was chocolate with raspberry in between the layers. I tried to get all her secrets, but only gathered that it took her about a week and she used fondant to cover the cakes.

After the cake cutting and champagne toasts, Hayley, Shaun and William shared a Chumado group hug:

I took a lot more pictures, but a lot of them are very grainy. I'm sure there will be some pics on the Moreno Family Site shortly, so go check and check often!

We had a great time and wish Shaun and Lena a lifetime of happiness!

Sunday morning, we went to "church". The "Church of the Holy Donut". That's what the car show at the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot in Burtonsville at the corner of 29 and 198 is called. It's every Sunday morning, and this was our second time attending.

Poor Johnny got stung on the lip by a bee that was trying to snag a bite of his apple fritter. But we did enjoy seeing some new cars and showing off the green '34 Ford (not pictured).

This yellow ride was very unusual and highly modified. We didn't see it park (the crowd gathered around it really quick!) but John suspects it has hydrolics under it to bring it up while driving:


We saw a lot of new sports cars too. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Ford GT's. I told John I'd rather have a truck than an overpriced sports car -- to which he replied, "I married a Redneck!". OK... maybe I'd like to have this little sports car:


It's a Lotus. Cute, no?

For car enthusiasts or just something to do on a Sunday morning, swing by Burtonsville around 9:00 AM. There's something for everybody!

Agent 99

When I was traveling a lot for work at my previous employer, we always used a travel agency to book our flights, hotel and car. I'd call or e-mail the agency and give them the destination and dates. They'd fax or e-mail my itinerary and off I went, oblivious to all that goes on to get the cheapest fare, etc...

For personal travel, I can barely remember how many times I've had to book my own flight. The only one that comes to mind is a trip to California for a wedding. I actually used frequent flyer miles I'd accumulated from all that work travel. Most other times we've traveled, someone else has made the arrangements.

When John and I went to Thailand in January, we checked various airlines and tracked the change in fares, but in the end, we took the flight out of the airport most convenient for us. I'm sure there were cheaper flights on airlines we've never used, but we weren't looking for that.

So, my mom, aunt and 4 family friends (two coming from Thailand) are planning a trip to Vegas this October. Having one foot in the 21st century, they know this trip can be booked online, and have even gone online to look for flights and hotel rates. But when it comes to actually BOOKING the trip, for some reason, they can't seem to complete the task. This is where I come in.

Do you know how much I dread this task??? I don't even like doing this for myself, but now I have to book this for 6 people??? Part of the problem is their constant hovering over the computer while I look up information. They see $49.99 on the screen and think this is the rate. It is if you're willing to fly out in the middle of the night in the cargo area with 4 stops in between. And yes, there are cheap hotels in Vegas, but if you want to be on the strip, most hotels are going to be $200.00 per room per night. UGH!

Another task I have to do is to locally book some hotel rooms for a group of people coming in from Thailand. I'm not sure how my dad got involved in this, but somehow I have to call up the Crowne Plaza with a bunch of goofy check-in and check-out dates. Some people are coming in on the 20th, some on the 23rd, or leaving on the 23rd. I don't know.

I'm not good at looking up travel stuff. I made John do it when we went to Vegas and Thailand. This time, we're talking about 6 old ladies. They're stingey with their money. They want the Moet for the price of Asti. I'm stressing out at the thought of my parents' arrival very shortly so I can book all this for them. Why couldn't they just go the old fashioned route and use a travel agent like they always have??? Wish me luck.

**UPDATE**
It took over 2 hours to book the Vegas trip! There should be hazard pay or something for this. I ought to just be grateful to be able to do this for my folks, given everything they've done for me... but the hovering -- I wish they wouldn't hover! So glad it's over.

Beach Recap

Even though we've been back from the beach for a few days now, we're still trying to get back into the regular home routine. This year's house was one we had rented previously - "Carasiveen". I stayed here my second beach trip in Sept 2000, after my first trip (May 1997) in which I had vowed never to bunk with these people ever again.

Although I remembered this house was where the "Stable Val" incident occurred, I didn't recall it as the house where Linda reunited with Nate.


New memories were made with some drinking games. Jenny taught the guys how to play "Turtle Master":

Sunday morning, MB and her brother, Jim, cooked breakfast. As much as I like contributing to the cooking, it was nice to take it easy for a change.

The weather was beautiful and the gang got to play some volleyball:

Tuesday morning, Stacey cooked a lovely blueberry pancake breakfast while William imitated the way Freddy walks:

John and I left the beach Tuesday afternoon so we could have a day to recover before John returned to work on Thursday. We celebrated my birthday Wednesday night with my family at Red Sky:

Hope everyone had an awesome Labor Day weekend!