After spending a day and a half sitting around the Pasadena Superior Court, I was finally sent home today–yay! I was picked as the last possible juror to be considered as an alternate at about 4 pm today. I thought sure that I would get chosen and was extremely relieved when they excused me. In order to get everything done at work, I would have had to go in all weekend which didn’t sound real exciting to me. I made sure to mention that I worked for All Saints Church, so maybe that had something to do with my dismissal. Whatever it was, I am grateful.

Didn’t do too much celebrating today since I had jury duty. I’m in a pool of potential jurors for a murder trial. Have to go back at 1:30 pm on Thursday to see whether I will be chosen. I really hope I don’t get picked.

Heard from the vet tonight. Murphy’s tests for Cushing’s Syndrome turned out negative. So, at this point, I have no idea if anything is wrong with him or if he’s just getting old. I can still take him in for an ultrasound, but that’s $400 and I don’t know whether that’s the way to go since the blood work is negative. Personally, I think he’s having trouble walking due to the calcified disc in his back and possibly he may have some arthritis. I’m going to start giving him chondroitin/glucosamine for dogs and see if that helps.

Played a bit of Animal Crossing tonight and got a special gift from Nintendo–a St. Patrick’s Day hat! They have DLC (downloadable content) on the Wii meaning they can send special items for holidays and at other times. It was cool to have one of the characters standing outside my house telling me he had a gift for me from Nintendo!

BTW, if you want info on Patrick and Veronica’s wedding, Patrick has set up a website (www.patrickandveronica.com) that will provide all the latest news. He posted about their engagement and will probably put up something when they’ve made some decisions as to the when and where.

Well, I’m headed off to bed after an exhausting day. I’m actually looking forward to work tomorrow!

The tree trimmers finished up last night at a little past seven pm. From what I could see, the backyard looked pretty good. The trees were gone and it seemed they cleaned up all the residue. What I didn’t realize was that you can’t see everything when it’s dark. This morning, upon checking it during daylight, I saw what they left. I will probably fill two entire large trashcans with all the branches, sawdust and cypress needles (is that what they’re called?) that remain in my flower bed and spread over what few plants are still there. What a mess!

I want to get out and start cleaning this up, but what few trashcans I have are completely full so I have no where to put anything. Plus the weather is overcast and drizzly–not really conducive to working in the yard. It’s a good thing that daylight saving time has started since it will probably take a few weeks of evenings and weekends spent in the yard to get this all cleaned up.

Just when you think one problem is solved, another presents itself.

Somehow I have neglected to write anything about what’s been going on lately. Perhaps because so much has been happening! So early on a Sunday morning I will try to catch up on at least part of what’s been my life for the past month. It will probably be a long post, but that’s what happens when you don’t write anything for a whole month…and many exciting things have happened lately! Where to begin….

Kevin, Chrysoula and Robin visited us on March 4th. This was Robin’s first visit to Grandma’s house as well as the first time Uncle Patrick got to meet his new nephew. We had a really great time. I only wish they could have stayed a bit longer. But then again, Grandma was exhausted by the time they left! We took Robin to Kidspace Museum where he had a fabulous time. This place is like a dog park for kids! You turn the kids loose and they run about just having fun. There are rooms and activity areas designed for kids of all ages from little ones who crawl about to older kids up to about age 10-12. We also took Robin to the park down the street a couple of times and just let him roam freely about my house for a good portion of the visit. I thought my house had been childproofed, but Robin changed my mind! He found everything and anything that I didn’t want him getting into! He really was loads of fun, though, and I so wish we lived closer so that I could see him more often. It was great to visit with Kevin and Soula as well–but you know how it is, Robin just seems to take precedence over Mom and Dad!

The other really big news has to do with Patrick–he and his girlfriend, Veronica Sweeney, got engaged yesterday!!! I am so thrilled and happy for both of them and am looking forward to another great daughter-in-law! No word yet on wedding details, but I’m sure it’s going to be a huge big party! Oh, and Patrick proposed by giving Veronica my engagement ring that has been passed down through a number of generations of Maginns. More info about the wedding will be posted as they start making decisions. By the way, did I mention that I totally love Veronica?!

The animals are all getting older and are coming down with numerous age related problems. Murphy has become bloated-looking (he actually has taken on the appearance of a pot-bellied pig!) and we took him to the emergency veterinary clinic a few weeks ago. After tests there as well as additional testing at my vet’s office, the preliminary diagnosis is something called Cushing’s Syndrome. I’ll get the results of the latest test on Monday and then we’ll begin treating it with drugs. He also has a calcified disc in his back which causes problems walking and jumping up onto things…perhaps the reason he lost his balance outside this morning and fell into the pool! Hopefully this isn’t a trend.

Yesterday I finally got all my Italian Cypress trees cut down in the back yard. They were at least 50 ft tall and could have become a real fire hazard if the foothills above us caught fire. Plus, they had grown so tall that they completely blocked the view of the mountains from our back yard. While I liked the privacy they afforded, I really like seeing the mountains. Now I have to start cleaning up the large flowerbed where they used to be and come up with some plants and bushes to fill in that area. But nothing that will grow any higher than the fence!

I finally scheduled an appointment and got transferred over to a new doctor a few weeks ago. She seems very nice and is much closer to both home and work than my previous doctor. And I didn’t like him, so I’m happy to be with her now. I’m scheduled for lots of routine tests over the next few weeks (blood work, mammogram, bone density testing, etc), but so far all looks pretty good as far as my health is concerned. I don’t have time for medical problems, so I’m hopeful they don’t come across anything when the tests are completed.

Got a summons for jury duty starting tomorrow but, thankfully, I called in and don’t have to report on Monday. Have to call in each evening to see what the next day brings. I probably could have gotten out of going completely since I served as a federal juror last May and you only have to go once a year, but this is for Superior Court and is at the Pasadena Courthouse right across the street from work. So even if I do have to do it, I won’t have to go to downtown LA. And I won’t have to worry about it for another year. All in all worth it. How is it that I continue to get summoned while others I know never get called? Somehow something is wrong with this system.

Well, that’s about it for now. I have lots of pictures to get posted from Robin’s visit, the tree removal, and who knows what else. Just gotta take the time (hopefully this week) to get everything downloaded from my camera and sorted out.

What a fun All Star game today! Kobe and Shaq playing together once again…and winning the joint MVP award! It was a fun game to watch and I was happy the West won. And they did it dramatically with a final score of 146-119. Not sure if I’d want to see Shaq back with the Lakers, but it was fun to see them play together again. Who knows what might happen though since Phoenix is talking about trading Shaq.

Spent the rest of the day on the phone with Sally and Kevin, and cleaning out boxes of junk in my closet. Threw away a ton of stuff which felt good. Still have lots more to go through, but made a good start today. Will probably spend tomorrow (President’s Day) cleaning house to get ready for Kevin, Soula and Robin in a few weeks.

We’re supposed to get a huge storm overnight and it’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow. So I don’t plan on going anywhere tomorrow. A good incentive to get stuff done around the house.

…and it was spectacular! A coworker friend had 4 tickets she couldn’t use so she gave them to me. And they weren’t just regular old tickets, they were in the premier seating area, just two rows above all the press and dead center of Staples. We even had in-seat waiters bringing anything we wanted to eat or drink!

The game was great. The Lakers won and the other team (the Oklahoma City Thunder–who the hell are they? Oh yeah, they used to be the Seattle Supersonics.) scored under 100 points (98 to be exact) so we got coupons on the way out for two free tacos from Jack in the Box. And on the way in they gave each of us cute little teddy bears with a Lakers tag on them. Don’t know what that was about–maybe a gift for Valentine’s Day.

One of the most exciting parts was seeing Kobe score point number 23,000 becoming the youngest player ever to reach that milestone. How unbelievable to actually be there to see something like that happen!

Going to a Lakers game is sooo different than watching on tv. The Laker girls are out dancing at every opportunity and there are all kinds of things going on at the breaks. During the break between the first and second quarters we actually got to see three of the Harlem Globetrotters doing a promo for an upcoming show. I’m sure that something cool probably happened during halftime, but we went out for a smoke break which proved to be relatively easy to do. They have an outdoor balcony on the same level as our seats for smokers. And the balcony is right across the street from the Nokia Theatre/LA Live which is really something to see. In fact, that entire area is amazing with LED lights on all the trees, the ESPN headquarters across the street, shops, restaurants, and who knows what else.

All in all it was a great night and I can’t wait to go to the next game. Did I mention that Patrick has tickets for another game in April? How cool is that?!

This week has been a real bitch at work and ended about as bad as it could possibly end. I went out around 2:30-3:00 this afternoon to walk across the street to drop off the payment for my utility bill. On the way back my left ankle collapsed and I went down. I didn’t trip or slip, my ankle just collapsed under me. I landed on my right knee which is really sore now and my left ankle is swollen and sore–no doubt it is sprained or has some torn ligaments. Thankfully Amanda was with me and was able to help me up and assist me as we walked the half block back to the office.

Since I still had work that had to be finished, I went back to work. Finished shortly before 5 pm and headed home…well, eventually. I had planned to stop at the grocery on my way home and decided I still needed to do that since I was completely out of coffee. So I went to Albertson’s (less crowded than Ralph’s with parking closer to the front door) and leaned on the cart as I pushed it through the aisles. Left the Diet Pepsi and cat litter in the trunk when I got home. Patrick will be stopping by tomorrow morning and I’ll have him bring that stuff in.

Sat around all night hoping the pain would subside. It’s let up a little, so we’ll see how I feel tomorrow. Trying to get by on ibuprofen, but may have to use something stronger (still have some vicodin) if I want to get anything done around here.

I wish I knew what causes these falls. This one especially came without any warning. I was just down on the ground in seconds and didn’t even have time to catch myself. Getting old sucks.

Went to bed last night around 11:30. It was extremely cold outside and dark clouds had been forming over the mountains since late afternoon. And then it hit. The first raindrops sounded really big and Murphy got a bit excited. Then it went crazy outside! The lightning and thunder scared all the animals. The cats hid and Murphy tried to jump in bed with me. I got up and looked out back where the hail was covering everything and it looked like a snowstorm had hit. And the hail kept coming, getting larger and larger. The really big chunks hit the pool with a vengeance, causing splashes up to 2 ft high when they hit the water.

And then it stopped. This morning my car was still covered with ice and I had to let it warm up to melt the ice on the windshield. We just don’t carry ice scrapers in the glove box in So.Cal. It must have continued to rain a lot during the night ’cause my trash cans washed down the street and my neighbor’s cans were in the middle of my driveway. I sat my poinsettia plant out where it would get rained on. This morning it was stripped of leaves and petals.

I have to admit it was kind of exciting getting some crazy winter type weather. Winter around here is usually just sunny with some occasional rain. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining! It was hard finally getting to sleep last night after the weather induced adrenaline surge. Next time let’s hope the storm hits earlier.

It was cold and rainy here this weekend and I took advantage of the weather and lazed about the house. Played a lot of Animal Crossing, watched the Lakers beat up on the Spurs, and did some laundry. That’s about it. I just couldn’t get motivated to do much else. I should have done a lot of stuff around the house, but oh well.

Not looking forward to this week at work. Got behind last week after my admin asst was out sick again and I had to do his work on Thursday in order to get the bills paid. Gotta deal with getting out 1099 forms this week as well as doing payroll tomorrow. Plus a bunch of other odds and ends, a meeting all morning on Tuesday, and a 7:00 am meeting on Thursday. I’ll be glad to see this week end.

Maybe that’s why I lazed about this weekend. My body knew I needed to be rested going into this busy week.

It was fabulous! I’ve seen lots of inaugurations, but this was the most emotional one I’ve ever experienced. Never before did I find myself in tears while watching a new president take office. But today I cried throughout the ceremony. I guess I’ve never felt so good about a candidate in the past.

I am even more excited now to see what Obama is able to accomplish. Beginning with putting hold on all the Gitmo prosecutions for the next 120 days is a great start. I expect the days ahead to be like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

I’m extremely proud to be an American today.

Yay! Three days off plus the inauguration! Got lots to do both inside and outside the house, but expect to get lots done with three days off. Hopefully there won’t be lots of inaugural stuff on tv to distract me!

Got lots finished at work today and even managed to stop at Office Depot this morning to pick up 1099’s and Turbo Tax. Had hoped to be able to leave work early to get my hair cut tonight, but just couldn’t get away. Oh well, I have 3 days to fit in a haircut.

Our weather is absolutely beautiful right now (sorry to those of you living where it’s cold), so I’m hoping to get my roses trimmed back and also get the leaves fished out of all my succulents along the driveway. The gardener cleaned up a good portion of the leaves, but the ones that get stuck in the aloe and jade need to be picked out by hand. I’m actually looking forward to working out in the yard again as it’s been awhile.

I’m off to bed so I’m not tempted to sleep in tomorrow.

Just when you think that all is going well and that you are finally getting caught up, the proverbial shit hits the fan. It seems the person who set up our new timeclock made a huge error. We asked that holiday and vacation time be included when determining overtime hours for both individual days as well as entire weeks. The setup person neglected to do this. Unfortunately, I just found out about this today when a few of our hourly personnel let me know that they didn’t get paid for their overtime over the holidays. Well shit.

I spent most of the day figuring out what these folks should have been paid vs. what they were actually paid. Tomorrow I will be issuing checks to all of them. And then I have to go backwards to last May to determine if any of them didn’t get paid correctly for their hours worked throughout 2008. What I’ll most likely do is finish up all my other work that absolutely must be completed this month and then start in on that project. None of them know they could be entitled to additional pay for those hours, so whatever they get will be like a bonus check.

It took all day to figure out 2 weeks worth of overtime. God knows how long it will take me to determine 7 months worth.

It felt like a wonderful summer day today with temps in the 80’s. But it was weird since I spent a good portion of the weekend putting away Christmas decorations. Still need to finish that up, but I am making good progress. Am trying to clean everything really well (dusting, washing glassware, etc.) as I put away Christmas and take out real life, so it’s taking a bit longer. It will be worth it, though, to have a nice clean house when I’m done.

I would have liked to have worked out in the yard today since it was so nice, but just didn’t have time. I need to do a lot in the backyard since my jerk of a neighbor ripped out all the iceplant I had planted along the back wall. He repaired his falling down fence and told me the wall was his property (even though he can’t see it from his yard) and that he didn’t like my ‘vines’ as he calls the iceplant. I went outside on Saturday afternoon only to find that he had ripped out the plants and tossed them in my yard! This man is a total asshole!

As a result, I will have nothing more to do with him. He is by far the worst neighbor I have ever had. He does not understand that you really do have to try to get along with your neighbors when you live this close to one another. For whatever reason, he has a thing about what I do in my yard and is constantly criticizing something regarding my house or my yard. This is the guy who does the bare minimum to maintain his house and yard. So, he’s lost me as a neighbor. As far as I’m concerned, his house is empty with no one living there.

Sorry for the rant.

I was sitting on the couch in the family room, watching tv, when the latest earthquake hit. Murphy jumped up and the cats went running. I jumped up as well and waited for more…but nothing more happened. It was very quick with just a bit of a jolt and a roll, a reminder of bigger things to come one day.

Evan Michael Barnett, son of Mandy and Eric Barnett, was born yesterday, 1/5/2009. Mandy is the daughter of my sister, Kelly. Evan weighed 8 lb 5 oz at birth and is 21-1/2″ long. Kelly and Sally were both there for the birth and report that both mother and son are doing great.

And so it’s finally here. The start of a new year and the start of a new presidency. Only 18 more days until the latter. Still not sure how I’m going to be able to watch all the festivities. I don’t remember watching Dubya’s inauguration speeches, but I do recall seeing quite a few others. Were all of those when January 20th fell on the weekend?

2009 started with a bang after a fabulous party at my house hosted by Patrick and Veronica. Everyone had a great time with lots of food, drink and partying…and, of course, champagne at midnight! We all got dressed to the max (tuxes, suits, long dresses and cocktail wear) and it was great fun to have a dressy party. And thanks to P & V for coming over the next day to clean up everything. Much appreciated.

For the first time ever I didn’t get up early to watch the Rose Parade. Just too tired. Saw bits and pieces of the parade throughout the day, but never did see the entire thing. That evening I cooked the traditional pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Vanessa and Rick stopped by for dinner and it was a pleasant end to a beautiful New Year’s Day.

Woke up this morning to heavy, heavy fog and cool temps. Decided to just sit around playing Animal Crossing on the Wii and messing around on the computer. I know I should have started taking down Christmas, but just couldn’t deal with it yet.

So, Happy New Year to everyone. Hope 2009 turns out really well.

I love this game! Have been spending hours and hours building my house and collecting goodies. Vanessa will be visiting my town later today–and I will go to her town as well. Still have to hook up the WiiSpeak feature so that we can talk with each other while playing.

So far I like most everything about the game except for a few new features. The city is kinda boring and I only go there once a week to see what’s new in Redd’s shop. I will be visiting Gracie’s shop on New Year’s Eve when everything is half price. Been saving my bells for that big sale! Also don’t like the fact that the grass/snow wears away if you run around too much. Hopefully Nintendo will fix that one. Otherwise, it’s a great game and just as addictive (if not more so) that the earlier versions.

My nephew, Jaden, got the DS version of Animal Crossing for Christmas and called numerous times yesterday with questions on how to do all sorts of things. How fun is that?! So far he really loves the game and I hope he figures things out enough to keep him interested at least until the snow melts and spring arrives–both in the game and in real life!

It was only a few days ago, but it seems like a lot longer. While it was great, I’m really glad Christmas is over. Too much work and too much stress.

Patrick and Veronica came over on Christmas Eve. We decorated the tree in front of a nice warm fire and feasted on honeybaked ham, cheeses, crackers, potato salad, macaroni salad and magic cookie bars (of course!).

The next morning I watched Robin open his gifts in Seattle! Kevin and Soula arranged for a video feed from their living room to my computer so that I could see all the fun and craziness associated with Santa’s visit to a 16-month old little boy. Robin seemed to be totally overwhelmed with all the toys and gifts. It was really great to be able to watch everything–not as good as being there in person, but close.

Patrick and Veronica came over in the early afternoon and we opened gifts and began the cooking of the Christmas goose and all the trimmings. It’s fun trying new things for the Christmas meal and much easier on me not to have to cook a turkey. Last year was prime rib, this year goose, maybe duck next year.

I received two really great gifts from my sons this year. Kevin sent a digital picture frame that holds up to 3000 pictures! It will also play videos and music to accompany slide shows. I haven’t yet hooked it up and begun playing with it but I expect I’ll have it loaded with pictures of a certain little boy very soon! Patrick got me a huge (~5 ft tall) Craftsman tool center on wheels. I started to call it a toolbox, but it’s much more than a box! I’ve always wanted one of these and now really need to get busy on cleaning out and reorganizing the garage. Thanks boys!!!

The weather is starting to feel much more like California after a cold and rainy Christmas Eve and Day. It was kinda nice to have the cool weather so that a fire in the fireplace actually seemed right. But I’m glad the sun and warmth are back.

So, all in all, Christmas turned out pretty good this year. I’m really enjoying having the house all decorated and dread having to deal with putting it all away. It looks so festive right now and I’m glad Patrick will be having a New Year’s Eve party here this year so that others can enjoy all the decorations. Lots of work awaits over the next few days to get ready for the party, but it should be lots of fun. Updates and pictures will follow…

Soula has put up new pictures of Robin in her Picasa album. He’s so cute! Take a look: http://picasaweb.google.com/dreamfarmer

Just talked with Kevin. They have about a foot of snow on the ground and it’s still coming down! He’s not sure whether he’ll be able to get to work tomorrow or not. On the national news that I watched earlier, they showed streets in Seattle that were just too steep to drive up or down in all the snow. They closed the streets and let kids use them for sledding hills! It was weird–normally busy streets totally shut down and turned into a winter playground!

I am so glad I didn’t go north for Christmas this year. I would have loved being there for a white Christmas, but probably would have had great difficulty in actually getting there. The airport began canceling flights yesterday and few if any flights were going in/out today. The rest of the week will continue to be a mess for travelers since there were close to 3000 people stranded there just from yesterday! What a mess.

Our mountains are covered with snow and it makes for a beautiful view as you look north. The weather here is cold by Southern California standards. Down into the high 30’s/low 40’s at night and not getting out of the 50’s during the day. We’re supposed to have a rainy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day–as close as you can get to a White Christmas here!