Entries from October 2007 ↓

Rick and I woke up and headed over to Wilson’s restaurant in Paso Robles for some tasty breakfast. Usually the place is full of retired couples but today there was a kid invasion and we ate to the charming sounds of crying babies and soccer moms chatting about whatever they chat about. It was satisfying to hear the retired couple in the next booth over grumble about the ruckus. And then I worried that we were getting old and grumbly, too. Whatever. I’d rather be grumbly than deal with ruckus like that every day.

We met up with some friends at Avila Valley Barn in San Luis Obispo, a farm with lots of fresh produce, roasted corn, freshly-pressed cider, hay rides and a massive pumpkin patch. Rick and I picked up a huge (31 pounds!) oblong pumpkin (which I plan to carve in his likeness, including warts and missing teeth, heh) and a very tasty-looking pumpkin pie. I love Fall - it was sunny and breezy and not too warm and the smells in the air were delightful.

I rounded out the day with a mammoth grocery shopping trip and red beans and rice with cajun sausage and Caesar salad for dinner. Paul Newman’s refrigerated Caesar salad dressing is excellent, by the way. Am going to wait a bit to try the pumpkin pie as I am stuffed!

[Thank you, Cute Overload.]

Finally, something to hide the yucky stains left on the carpet by the previous tenant. I was so lucky that it fit in to my color scheme!

My new apartment is shaping up quite nicely! Rick helped me put up my giant gold-framed mirror over the couch this weekend, along with some other pictures. I also got a comfy chair and footstool from IKEA so that there’s more place to sit than just the futon. I moved a bookcase out of my dining area into the living room and then turned the dining table and chairs at a 45 degree angle. It looks a lot more like home in here.

Now I really need to get my bedroom into order. I’ve been working on my dining table this whole time but would really like to convert a small nook upstairs into my work area. There’s also about 4 boxes worth of “stuff” upstairs that I need to deal with. I want to get a new bed (of course that means new linens), nightstands and possibly a new desk upstairs. It’ll be a total re-do! Am very excited about it, just need to clean it all up to start with. Once that room gets in order it’ll be much more conducive to working up there… and keeping lounging and working areas more clearly defined!

Pixel and I had our first class at Petsmart’s Beginner training today. Since we missed the first session we had a half-hour one-on-one session with Nicole, our trainer, before the regular class. We talked about Pixel’s peculiarities (fearful, nervous, territorial) and I learned the Look-at-me command to get his attention.

Then, in the general class, we learned Sit and Loose-leash-walking — where you walk with the dog and then suddenly change direction any time he tries to get ahead of you. I was dizzy from all the spinning in the first five minutes but by the end of it he seemed to be getting the idea.

Pixel had a belly full of treats and needed a major nap by the end of it all. I feel pretty confident that we can learn some valuable things by the end of this 8-week course. And you can’t beat the price tag (only $109).

My friend, Jon, from Pasadena was traveling to visit his sister in Santa Cruz and stopped at my place last Thursday in time for dinner with me and Rick.

Trader Joe’s to the rescue! We had veggie samosas as an appetizer while I cooked up some chicken (for us omnivores) and cauliflower (for Jon, the vegetarian) with Marsala simmer sauce for a tasty Indian treat. Brown rice bowls, steamed broccoli and toasty Naan rounded out the menu for the night. And for dessert there was Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. (Tip: TJ’s sells Ben and Jerry’s by the QUART.)

We watched Survivor and then some Jon Stewart on the TiVo and then I made up the futon for Jon. (He said the innerspring mattress was quite comfy in case anyone else is interested in visiting…) Coffee in the morning and he was on his way up the coast.

Pixel did not like this visitor at all at first but by morning they were buddies. All in all, a fun little visit. I look forward to getting more LA peeps up here

In March I attended David Allen’s Getting Things Done seminar for work. Part of the seminar included writing down long-term goals for 6-12 months, 2-5 years, etc. I recently reviewed my 6-12 month list and realized that I had already completed 6 of the 9 I wrote down!

When I wrote those goals down they seemed depressingly insurmountable. Now I’m tremendously motivated to get started on the next 6 months of goal-attaining goodness

GTD works!

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