I did it my way!

Google is dumping their igoogle feature which I love so I am going back to the lesser known, but really wonderful (read no ads or banners!) website http://www.myway.com   I highly recommend it!

You click on "my page" and then you get to personalize the whole thing..what it looks like and what information you want on it. I really like it...just sayin'  (I updated and set up my list of frequently accessed websites...this is going to be an easy transition and save me from an online bill paying nightmare.

So Happy New Year and have a great day!

First Day of School....but not for me! :-)

Wow....seven years retired now....? Hard to believe....but still happy happy happy! :-)

I'll be thinking about my friends and colleagues tomorrow as they meet and greet their new students....I, on the other hand, plan to be on the beach, enjoying the sun and sand. :-)

So this weekend. the last of the old summer vacation time frame of yesteryear, we did some dancing (including with our visiting friend, Teri, on Saturday night),

Tom and Teri

Newlyweds

Teri and Me

 and bonfire-d with Chris and Michelle and hung out. I'm sorry we never made it to Myrtle Beach, but we just couldn't figure out working around Tom's assorted medical stuff with certainty on how he'd be feeling re the long drive. Too bad, just when Margie moved there (-ish)

Other summer vacation regrets include not having a chance to visit with Alex and the boys. Hopefully that will be in the cards one of these days.....

So...September. Wow. I am NOT looking forward to cold and snow......

Learning about the Marketplace

Tuesday-Thursday of this week I traveled the 90 miles round trip to New Brunswick to attend the CMS National Training for our NY region. This was my second year in attendance and it was fascinating.

Guess whose team won "Medicare Millionaire"? :-)

Have  a question about the Marketplace opening up for business on October 1? I may just have answers! :-)

While I was in New Brunswick I also had the pleasure of making phone calls from Barbara Buono for Governor headquarters there. I even got to see her in person!

Me, hanging with the Democratic candidate for Governor of NJ

I also had the best lunch ever at Old Man Rafferty's:

Poor Tom missed me very much. We went to the movies Tuesday night, but I was too tired to dance on Wednesday night (after a full day of workshop sessions followed by two hours of election phone calling!) (The Thursday session started at 8 a.m.!!!! and I was driving in life threatening thunderstorm/heavy rain conditions the whole way up. :-(

In other news, my first teacher-led instruction HR Block class of the season was cancelled due to lack of others signing up. I was, however, successful in signing up for Chris's class for basic review, which should be lots of fun! 

I can't believe it is so close to September. (Oh, did I mention how pleased I was to find I received a third quarter homestead benefit on my tax bill? Whoo hoo! What a nice surprise after all these years.)

The beach at last!

Hard to believe we live so relatively close to the beach and the first we got to it this season was August 13th. But, we got there. It's a start anyway.

We went to Island Beach State Park and then took a peek at Seaside Heights and the aftermath of Sandy. So sad.

But our beach day was good and it turns out there is something called a senior citizens pass available for free entry to all the NJ state parks. I am going to send for it! Whoo hoo :-)   (and then go places!)

Talking about going places, I realized as I walked in to Prospectors last Sunday for Sugarfootin' Sunday that  I had been there dancing every night from Wednesday...no wonder my legs were ache-y!

My camera gave me a scare when I tried to take a picture of Gary at my t-shirt selling tent at his 2013 Hollystock event. (It was sunny this year and I was a volunteer.) The scare was, it didn't work. :-(  I read some stuff online and fiddled with the stuck lens a few times and now it seems to be working again. Whew.

I got my new tax bill and it appears I have a third quarter reduction for a homestead benefit. That was a nice surprise after all these years of nothingness!

That was good news. On the bad news side, I got an e-mail indicating that the library book I thought I'd returned with the bunch on Aug. 5th was still with me and now I owe the library $1.20. Boo hoo! (It wasn't even one of my top ten :-(  

I had lunch with Kathryn on Thursday, Gee Gee on Sunday,  the DEAR group on Monday, and Tom on Wednesday. I think it's time to get back to the gym..... and for my next resolution....more sleep!

August already!

I saw it was August and panicked for a moment...despite the fact that this is the seventh year that I don't have to worry about getting my room ready for the new school year as summer races to a close. Have I mentioned lately how much I love being retired?

Recent good news was that our air conditioner got fixed instead of having to be replaced (thank you, Walt Nesbitt!). Bad news was I had bronchitis for two weeks...still suffering a bit actually.

On the medical front, it's mostly all good. Tom doesn't have to have surgery this quarter and my testing didn't come up with anything obviously bad. I might still go for some exploration of a jaw nerve to see why I had the weird symptoms.

We had fun at the Jamboree in the Hills and Randi's pig roast and Doug Brewin's performance at the 4-H Camden County Fair. It was fun to see Jill and Mike and Ann for lunch at Bonefish Grille (My meal was soooo delicious!). I was disappointed that although the restaurant was just across the street from Gina that we didn't get to see her (and Howard and Robert...who were on the way to the airport).

I signed up for like ten HR Block classes today. Looks like I'll have a pretty busy fall!

Not fun

Central air conditioning replacement is an expensive proposition and deciding what to buy, who to buy it from and whether the heating part will coordinate when the time comes that it needs replacing too are each a major consideration. My head hurts.

Meanwhile, Tom went out and bought a "portable" air conditioner for $400 while we're thinking about the central air debacle. (It is certainly cool when we're next to it!)

I thought my virtual HR Block course was yesterday and it's not until the 25th, so I was able to watch the CMA Songwriter Series show with Miranda Lambert, Kip Moore, and two really great other writers. One of them was on an island with Kenny Chesney and wrote two number one hit songs while he was there. They told interesting stories about songs they wrote and each other. It was in Boston, but the streamed it so all could enjoy...and I did!

I had a brain MRI the doctor ordered to figure out why I get novocaine flashbacks and stiff painful ear and headaches. It came out fine, so next I do a carotid ultrasound. The MRI wasn't that fun.

I am looking forward to seeing Doreen and George at the Jamboree in the Hills. Has it really been over two  years?

It's Friday again already. These weeks are flying by! I have been so lazy....! (except for one Contact overnight shift and two SHIP counseling conversations).

Praying for Shaun Hummel....

How hot is it?

Tom left for golf and our air conditioning is broken...again! I guess I'm heading to the air conditioned movie theater!
We had breakfast today with the brunch group at Amy's Omelets in Burlington.

This is hard to believe, but I didn't have my camera!?!! Luckily Dina's phone was available and ...what a great shot, right?

We've seen a few movies....Man of Steel, World War Z, the "new" Star Wars one, White House Down...
and I have a few on my to go to list.

Bookwise it's been all the Lisa Scottoline's I can get my hands on, The Tenth Song, and the wonderful Kate Morton book - The Secret Keeper.....I started David Baldacci's The Sixth Man and realized I'd already read it. Duh.

Hello to Margie in Myrtle Beach...wish we were there!

We had fun at the XTU concert and Fourth of July at Angel's. We've been dancing despite poor Tom's aching heel.

Wow, it's really getting hot in here :-(  Bye!