A Business Trip

Doug has not traveled overnight for work since he started at SI Goldman almost two years ago.  I have really appreciated that since he regularly stays two nights a week in Orlando to shorten his daily commute.  In saying that, however, I was excited for him that he got to go to Charlotte this week for the annual Comfort Systems accounting conference.  Doug has been a controller or CFO for most of his career but has never worked for a construction company before this position.  The conference this week not only allowed him to network with other controllers from CSU, but to also learn even more about the construction industry.  He has spoken highly of the conference since he arrived on Monday.

When Doug originally found out that he was going to Charlotte, he invited me to tag along.  I had never been to Charlotte but knew that I would miss the first Bible study and CCW meeting if I left for the week.  Because of this, I decided that I would drive up today and meet Doug in North Carolina for the last two days.  Once he was finished with his conference, we would then drive to Indiana for the rest of the weekend.  I left early this morning and arrived well before Doug's dinner.  His hotel was very nice, and the surrounding area was beautiful.  Doug had enough time to check out the restaurants and shops behind his hotel with me before he left.  I then enjoyed a quiet night relaxing in his room.  Doug arrived back just as Dancing with the Stars began and we enjoyed a few drinks from the hotel bar while watching the second night of this season's premiers.  It was a wonderful way to spending an evening.

First Meeting of the Season

Over the past twenty-four hours, I have traveled to Blessed Trinity three times. First, I had a gift shop meeting last night to go over some of the new items in the shop and talk about any concerns that we had while we were working.  I was glad to find out that I wasn't the only one that felt overwhelmed at times after the 11 a.m. mass.  From listening to everyone else's experiences, it was definitely the busiest shift of the week.  I appreciated the solutions that were given and that there was pizza for everyone to share. 

This morning, Bible study began for the first time since May.  Due to an errant DVD player, we didn't have a lesson today, and instead talked about our summers, the Feasts of the Bible that we will be studying this fall and the canonization of Bishop Fulton Sheen next week. We added a new member this year as one of the ladies from CCW decided to switch to our group.  I was sad to see that we lost one as well.  Terri had been a big part of my Tuesday mornings these past three years, and it will definitely not be the same without her this year.

Tonight, CCW kicked off its first meeting of the season.  There were a lot of changes from the last two years.  The meetings were moved back to the Knights of Columbus Hall.  Robbi had taken over as president and the rest of the executive board were new to their positions.  Father Pat joined us for a blessing, and we had several fun "get to know you" activities.  The biggest change was in the tone of the meetings.  It was so much more relaxed, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.  After two years of tense meetings, I am very much looking forward to the change.  

NFL Sunday Promo or Scam

When Cameron upgraded his phone last month, I found out that we could get NFL Sunday Ticket for free if we also upgraded our plan.  Since both Meg and I had been having issues with the service in Florida due to the fact that Verizon was slowing down data to users on old plans, I thought it would be a great idea.  Cal didn't need NFL Sunday Ticket since he could always catch the Bears games, but Doug missed the games here in Florida.  With Sunday Ticket he could watch every weekend.  Cameron also could see every Lions games this year and I could keep up with all of the IU players that were drafted last summer.  

Unfortunately, the promo was not quite as great as it seemed.  The NFL season started yesterday, and we did not have access to Sunday Ticket.  I was extremely frustrated as I spent hours on the phone and in their chat room trying to use the promotion that they promised us.  We have been Verizon customers for almost thirty years, and it was the first time that we had ever contacted them with a complaint.  I was amazed at how poorly I was treated.  

Thankfully, Verizon did finally give me the correct code today and stayed online with me while I verified that it worked.  They also gave me a $70 credit on my bill.  It wasn't what I wanted and I felt that they failed on their end to provide good customer service, but since there isn't another phone provider with as reliable service, I will be happy that it was resolved at all.  I definitely will be leery of any of their promises again, but the good news was that I was able to sign up for Hulu through them, saving me an additional $30 a month which in the end made it a little bit better.

Revelations Since We Moved

After spending the morning at mass and working in the gift shop until 1 p.m., it was very nice just to hand out the rest of the day at home.  I was able to get Doug’s haircut, and he was able to make a delicious homemade dinner of salmon and wild rice.  During the cleanup, my first revelation of the day occurred. The rice had boiled over onto our glass stop stove leaving what looked like a ruined stovetop.  When we first moved to Ocala, I would have cried about the mess.  We had never had a glass top stove in our thirty years of marriage, so I had no idea that spills like these were commonplace and with a little bit of elbow grease, the stove would look good as new.  Thankfully, the appliance store was able to enlighten me about Weiman stove cleaner, and I passed on that knowledge to both Nick and Brett when they had the same issue recently.

The second revelation that has occurred since we moved to Florida is how quickly the sun ruins anything placed outside for long periods of time.  Decorative items that would have lasted for years in Indiana barely make it through a season here.  The sun completely faded my IU cowbell and turned my orange Easter carrot display pink.  I do not put pumpkins or gourds out on the front porch as they will rot quickly.  The latest victim to the sun has been our tiki bar.  Although it is mostly covered under the back porch the chairs and the front section have started to wear from sun exposure.  Thankfully, I was able to find two near chairs online and just recently found the perfect solution to the wear on the front of the bar as well.  The flag not only looks cute, but will be very easy to replace when the sun does its damage.  The tiki bar has become one of our favorite pieces of furniture and I am glad to have come up with a way to protect it for years to come.  

Another IU Victory

Another weekend and another IU victory.  It started out a lot like last Saturday.  The game started at noon, and it was extremely hot once again.  The tailgate field opened at 6 a.m. and Cameron was one of the first to arrive.  Cora's family was there with plenty of food and drinks for everyone and rally towels were handed out to everyone at the game.  

There was one big difference from last Saturday to today, at least for Doug and I.  This weekend, we watched the game from our living room in Florida.  I had sold our tickets on Seat Geek last week as returning to Indiana would be impossible especially since we were all going to be there next Saturday for family weekend.  Neither Doug nor I were sad to miss the game in person.  We had a great watching the blow out at home and enjoyed seeing Cameron on the big screen.  He also took a lot of pictures which almost made us feel like we were there.  No matter where we watch the game, it is nice to have a football team that makes Saturdays in the fall a lot more enjoyable.

A Day with Meg

I went to work with Doug this morning as Meg wanted to spend the day with me.  I arrived at her apartment before she got up and decided to take a nap as I hadn't slept very well last night.  When I woke up, I noticed that her bedroom vent did not look right.  Upon closer inspection, I could see dirt and mold coming out of the vent and on to the wall.  Last week, Meg and I had talked about her furnace filter as the apartment smelled a little musty, now we knew why.  Meg changed the filter right away and our suspicions were correct.  The filter was wet and had mold growing at the bottom of it. Maintenance was on their way to check the AC shortly after we left for the day.

Meg and I got smoothies for breakfast and then dropped off the Pilot to Doug.  She and I then went to Epcot for the rest of the day.  The Food and Wine Festival was our main focus, but we did ride Figment, Spaceship Earth and Soarin' while we waited for Doug to arrive.  Once he got to the park, we started our journey around the countries trying foods that we hadn't had the last time.  My favorite was the pumpkin ravioli.  I also made sure to get a piece of chocolate cake from the US booth which has become my favorite festival food of all time.  Doug and Meg each got a margarita after we rode Gran Fiesta Tour, and then we did some shopping in Germany and England as well.  Doug was thankful for the light rain as it seemed to keep the crowds low.  Overall, it was a great day, and I was really glad that the three of us were able to enjoy a fun day together.  As an added bonus, the maintenance men were able to completely clean Meg's vent before she got back home.

Why Does My Brother Look Like George Harrison?

Last week, Meg posted this picture on her story and asked the question, "Why does my brother look like George Harrison?"  I do not know what type of responses she received back, but I almost had to do a double take when I saw the picture.  It is amazing how much Cameron really does look like the famous musician.  Meg pointed it out several years ago when she was taking a History of the Beatles class at IU, and I haven't been unable to see it ever since then.

Cameron used to get really mad whenever Meg called him George, but now he seems to embrace his doppelganger.  He has had several people over the years tell him that he looks like other celebrities including an airport custodian who swore he was the dead ringer to Tom Cruise.  None have stuck as long as George Harrison, however, and as I always tell Cameron, "At least no one is saying you look like Ringo."