#304 - No Fear

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that TLG loves to swim. Tonight we were visiting the pool at my aunt and uncle's home, and he was in his favorite green lifejacket/suit with his inflatable fish ring. All three of us were in the deep end, and he had been watching us jump into the pool. So imagine our surprise when he got out of the pool, then turned around and jumped back in with no help from either of us! OK, this is stretching the "new thing" factor, but the kid has no fear of water... while we were right there, neither of us had a hand extended to catch him like we'd been doing previously, and it's a very good thing he landed just so (perfectly on the inflatable fish so he didn't topple over into the water). Scared the bejeebees out of both of us, but he loved it. We won't be letting him do that again until he gets some swimming lessons!

#303 - Remedy Magazine

Today I received a copy of Remedy magazine in the mail, addressed to me, and since I have never heard of it, I gave it a try. And you know what? I am definitely not part of the target audience. Based on the stories and ads within, I think their target audience is women age 50+ who have health issues or are worried about their health. The tagline on the cover says "Health & Wellness for Life" but I counted eight (yes, EIGHT) fold-out cards that could be torn out to return for more information. The tally of return cards is:
- diabetes products: 3
- osteoporosis drug: 1
- rheumetoid arthritis drug: 1
- blood clot reducing drug: 1
- blood pressure reducing drug: 1
- peripheral artery disease drug: 1
The stories included an interview of a young diabetic athlete, a handful of "eating right" tips and ideas, and a story about different types of pain. Based on my hubby's long journey with his pain, this was the only story that held my interest for very long. I will probably invite him to look at this article just so he can see some other options outside of the ones his doctors have offered.

I have no idea how I got on the mailing list for this magazine, though there is a circle on the cover advertising a free subscription available online so I don't expect to get any more. Generally, I'd say this isn't my new favorite magazine, but perhaps that's partially because I don't like to be reminded how unhealthy I actually am sometimes.

#302 - Stuck on a Plane

Today the FAA had some sort of software malfunction and I got stuck on a plane at O'Hare Airport. I've certainly been stuck on planes before (most notably in Logan International at Boston) but this was the first time I called someone to check the news to see if my plane would be able to take off! (In the past, it's always been a malfunctioning plane and it wouldn't do any good to check with anybody else.) As it turned out, my wonderful hubby was in the middle of lots of work and couldn't check the internet for me. The others I called either didn't answer or didn't know what was going on, either. So this time around, this plan didn't work for me. Maybe in the future I'll have a cell phone that can check the internet, but for now that's always seemed a bit excessively "wired" for me. Anyway, long story short, I was only delayed about an hour and I was able to run and catch my second plane back home with a few minutes to spare.

#301 - Lox and Bagels

For breakfast today, I tried lox and bagels. I wasn't even entirely sure what lox was (thinly-sliced raw salmon, apparently) and by "entirely" I mean, I thought it was cooked. It arrived on my plate, shown here, with cream cheese, capers, cucumbers, tomato and onion. (I had to ask what the capers were, too: tiny olive-like things.) A good friend from the east coast also ordered this dish and showed me how to make an open-faced sandwich. My first bite or two were pretty "fishy" but once I got the hang of all the other ingredients it was tasty. Not something I'd eat often - probably more an acquired taste at this stage in life - but I'm glad I got to try it, and even more glad that I had a friend to show me what to do!

#300 - Touring And Planning

While I'm in Chicago, I am excited to hear about our national convention that will be held next summer at this resort. Today, a staff member took us on a tour of all the rooms where the convention will be held throughout the hotel. Of course, I've helped plan special events in resorts before, but never of this magnitude and I've never needed a formal tour of so large a property! My good friend (who was mentioned in the previous post) works at a hotel in southern California, and I wished she had been on this tour so she could have provided some insight... but she had to stay home from this trip. Instead, I observed the large tents, ballrooms, hospitality suites, meeting rooms, restaurants and the theater with our group of ladies making the plans. I think it's going to be a great convention.

#299 - Faux Treasurer

A good friend of mine was supposed to be on this trip to Chicago. Alas, she is not, and she is the treasurer for the group that is meeting. As many groups and exec boards as I have been on, I have never been the treasurer of anything. (I've done almost everything else, including: president, recording secretary, editor, VP programs, committee chairman, committee member... I don't know what it is about me and money, but nobody has ever asked me to be in charge of the money.) Anyway... today I gave my first-ever treasurer's report (with a budget and notes from my good friend). And you know what? Being a treasurer is HARD WORK. Everything going on at our meeting has an impact on the budget, so I had to keep going back and adding notes as we discussed everything. It's not like I could just present the budget and be done with it. I have always respected treasurers for doing their jobs, but now I understand how difficult it is!

#298 - Chicago, That Toddlin' Town

After the show ended, as we were waiting to pay for our parking, I stood on the corner of a downtown intersection and I watched the train go by, marveling at its speed and efficiency. I believe this is the famous L train, though I don't know what that stands for and the Chicago Transit Authority website doesn't have any info either. We don't have a passenger train or subway or anything like that in Reno, so it was amazing to watch the train go by so frequently. (Of course, Reno does have Amtrak downtown, but it's not used for getting around town, so it doesn't count.) Just another amazing thing to watch after an incredible evening in downtown Chicago.