Staring @ the Ceiling

This is the first Monday I’ve gotten up on time and to work early in months. I went to sleep later than normal, but I’m wondering if all that fresh air from yesterday’s Father’s Day activities helped me sleep better.

It was nice to spend time with my parents yesterday. Everyone got along splendidly as we enjoyed a nice dinner at Olive Garden and then enjoyed their backyard all afternoon reading the newspaper and chatting over coffee. I rested in a comfy chair thinking back to all the times I spent in that beautiful backyard – playing soccer, playing with our dog in the snow, reading in the shade under a big tree, listening to the wind in the leaves and noisy discussions between the birds. I remembered laying out in the sun listening to cassettes and reading all afternoon when both laying out and cassettes were all the rage.

Today is Dexter’s 5th birthday, but he doesn’t look a day over three. I realized this morning that Hobbes is 10, so obviously that makes him twice Dexter’s age. Regardless of age, they’ll always be my babies and I’m hoping to have both of them around for a very long time. Thinking about Hobbes being 10 worries me that eventually he won’t be around. There’s no amount of preparation for the heartbreak that will bring. If I think about that, I’ll cry so instead I’ll focus on this out of focus photo I took of Dexter on the day we met. Slightly blurry but still a great photo, and I think you can understand why I fell in love so quickly. This morning I gave Dexter his birthday hugs and kisses (which aren’t that much unlike our normal morning routine) and told him I’m always happy I found him that day and brought him home to our little family. Hobbes and Dexter then enjoyed their morning wrestling match while I showered, but I’m pretty sure Hobbes let Dexter win since it’s his special day. I’m really fortunate they’re such great little buddies! They’ll both have a special tuna dinner to celebrate later, but in the meantime Hobbes was instructed to be extra nice to the birthday boy today.

Today I need to call about the payoff on my Jeep. I’m pretty sure I only have a few more payments left. This is a good thing since what I used to make in payments can now go towards GAS MONEY. Since the economy shows no signs of getting better in the near future, I really need to get myself in gear and start saving money. I feel like I have so many areas in my life that need ‘cleaned up’ that it’s overwhelming. I know I should just focus on each step and stop worrying about the big picture, but it’s very difficult. It’s always been a challenge for me and probably why I have a difficult time completing some projects in my life. Something to work on, I guess. I also wonder if my lack of any real ’schedule’ contributes to this difficulty. Other than my work schedule – which is also pretty flexible – I can do what I want whenever I want. I know many people would be somewhat envious of my freedom, but sometimes I think I would benefit from more of a regimen.

Speaking of regimen, I’ve been on Weight Watchers again now for just over a month. I did really well the first few weeks and lost 12 lbs. Since then, I’ve gotten lazy and gained back 2 lbs., and have done everything wrong this past week. I’m not sure why I so quickly lost what had been a healthy amount of determination but I hope I can get back on track just as quickly.

I’m looking forward to upgrading to Firefox 3.0 tomorrow. I installed a beta version when it first became available, but so many of my plug-ins wouldn’t work with the new version that I had to remove it. I hope I’m correct in assuming that at least most of my plug-ins should work with the official release.