Adventure in LA - Hello & Good-bye

Greetings from LA! 

Wish I was here for pleasure but I have gotten some pleasure in hanging out with great colleagues, shooting the sh*t and having sprinkles cupcakes.  Yes, I am all about food.and of course patron silver - my bestest friend ever.  And I successfully avoided the seagulls that were abundant at this event.

We are having an event at the Hyatt Century Plaza and star sightings have been had - unfortunately not by me but at least we can say that the following stars have been scene:

Now that we are on the final day of the event, I am so unbelievable happy and ready to go home and crawl into bed and sleep all weekend long.  And this time, I will be snuggling with new pups in NH for the week.  And they have a doggie door so no walking or scooping up poop.  YEAH!    So hello and good-bye LA and hopefully next time there will be more star sightings in person and will be for pleasure and not work

Adventures in Dog/Housesitting - Part II (Child versus Adult-Proof)

When the words "child-proof" comes to mind, I used to just think about medicine bottles and the need to lift weights to open them. Flashforward to this past week and I realized that child-proof in 2010 has taken a whole new meaning.

No, I do not have kids yet but I am housesitting/dogsitting for a family of almost 2 year old twins.  And let me just tell you, their house is like a fortress when it comes to childproofing - especially when it comes to the kitchen - cabinets and all.   Here's the running list:

• Wednesday - Elisa fights child-proof cabinets and the dishwasher and.....WINS! After a wonderful home-cooked meal, I cleaned the counters and opened the dishwasher to find it full with ready to be cleaned dishes.  Oh well, I thought, might as well wash them, right?  Ok, two problems - 
1. The dishwashing liquid is locked up in the cabinet - you guessed it child-proof locks that require a two phased approach to get them open.  So when the family called to check-in on the pups, I asked - what's the magic "open sesame" password to get it open.  Got it open - YEAH!!!
2. This excitement was short-lived when I realized that the dishwasher also had a child-proof lock on it.  You guessed it, I pressed every button imaginable to start and it wouldn't start.  I was like, "Really, people"  am I being punked already in a home, where are those cameras anyway???  I walked away, watched a show and then with a clearer mind, I went back to face the dishwasher.  It was like "Kitchen High Noon."  Except, I won.  I found the unlock button and voila the dishwashing began and I went to bed feeling very accomplished.

• Saturday - Elisa enters the battle of the child-proof stove and......LOSES but only half way.  So after a day of beauty, I come back to Melrose ready to cook dinner for a couple of friends who live in the area.  On the menu was Caribbean Chicken with Rice Pilaf and salad.  They were bringing the drinks and dessert.  I had decided to make home-made pita chips - a mixture of regular, garlic and asiago cheese chips.  I got them all ready on the cookie sheets and was on my way to heat up the oven when.....you guessed it,  it had a lock.  The lights kept flashing at me every time I tried to heat it up - "Stove Loc On" It might as well as said, "Ha ha ha Elisa, you are F*CKED!"  I called my friends but they were out.  I even tried to look up the code on the internet.  To no avail.  So, due to the time, I looked around and then the hallelujah chorus started as the sun (ok, it was raining so I imagined it the sun) lit up the toaster oven.  YEAH!!!!!  Pita chips were had by all and thank god the rest of the menu only needed stove top cooking :)   My friends did try to rescue me but it was after the pita chips were done and I was walking the dogs.   Hey, at least they tried right?

So, what has this all taught me?  Well, the good news is that these child-proof codes and cabinet locks are in existence.  Imagine our parents when we as babies would get into things - I shiver at the thought.  The not so good news is that now as I an single adult woman, can't figure these damn things out and has to send frequent S.O.S. messages to get the job done.  I wonder what it will be like when I do have kids - I am thinking remote clicker locks :)   

Adventures In Dogsitting - Part 1

Hello there!  It has been a while - too long.  Work life balance is getting back in check - especially this week while I am dogsitting in Melrose for two of the cutest wheaten terriers you have ever seen.  They love to walk, love to eat and love to snuggle.   While the Dowd family is away, Elisa will play as much as possible with them.  I mean....look at them:

Stella is on the right and Beans is on the left and this is how they greet me every morning with a shake and a smile.  Then after jumping around for at least 10 minutes, they decide, ok, I am pooped:

So far, I have been dogsitting since Tuesday evening and it has been an adventure.  Let's see what I have learned so far:

• The Walking & The Business:  No this is not a Jersey Shore nickname for the pups - its about, you know, doing their business during the walks.  I do love to walk the dogs around the neighborhood but sometimes I wish they could do their business on command.  Especially in the morning before having to leave for work.  Like you can say - are you ready? And they do it on command.  Yeah, that's like saying you can have twin babies on a schedule.  My girlfriend who has twin boys said that was going to happen for her - five years later she is still working on that one.  But at least they are doing their business and I don't have to worry about accidents, right?
• Sleeping & Snuggling:  Evenings are my favorite time of the day with them.  They are so cuddly soft (yes like the Teddy Bear in the commercial) and all they want to do is lay on the couch near by to keep me company.  Now at night, Beans sleeps at the foot of my bed while Stella, the younger pup has decided to keep me company by sleeping by me on top of the comforter.  This was not an issue until last night at midnight after the lights were out and I was just about to fall asleep when Stella stood up suddenly and....well, let's just say I heard a sound that was not welcome.  Yes, you guessed it, she had a little vomiting accident on the corner of the comforter - GRROOOSSSSS!  She has been relegated to the living room for now on the very comfortable couch which is currently sleeping on as we speak with her sister, Beans.

Now, the weather has held off so far this week, but tomorrow this all changes with a rainy weekend with no end in sight.  But don't you worry, Beans and Stella will be walking in style and more adventures of chasing birds, walking in the mud and singing in the rain will be had:

Beans in an Isaac Mizrahi Puppy Coat - ha!

Cheers from London and Howdy from Dallas

Well hello there my dear blog followers!  It has been a while and when I read my last entry I realized that again I had fallen into the black hole of work never to be seen or heard from again.  Oh ok, yes a little melodramatic, I admit but I am happy to say, I AM BACK!  Not so much with a vengeance but rather a renewed energy to blog again. 

Over the past two weeks, I have been traveling - my new homes - airports, taxis, tubes and trains. Oh and not to mention the hotel room that I only see when I pass out from exhaustion.  I have had a few firsts though - London was a first for me last week and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Whoever said Londoners were a bit of cold fishes never met the people I came across.  Everyone - from the taxi drivers to the hotel concierge to the people I bumped into on the Heathrow Express or Tube (their word for the Subway - to Brits "subway" is a walk way underground to avoid the traffic or rain up above) - was extremely friendly, welcoming and more over NICE!  Plus I got to meet my colleagues from Europe who do the same thing I do - and they showed me a good time beyond compare!  I laughed until I almost pissed my pants!

Oh, and let's not forget the food.  I ate until my stomach hurt and drank til I had permanent red wine stains on my lips.  I had it all - from fish & chips, to Spanish tapas to Indian food - YUM! 

On the only day I didn't work - Saturday - I walked for 5 to 6 hours all around London.  I went to the Tower of London first.  For those of you who don't know - I am a Tudors fanatic.  I have watched every episode of the Showtime series "The Tudors" and have read every Phillipa Gregory novel about the women of that time: Mary and Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots, etc. 

So the very fact that I was taking a tour and sitting in the Chapel where the Anne Boleyn's body was found completely made the tour worth it for me.  Yes, I can be morbid but I love all the history surrounding King Henry the VIII and his many wives and penchant for beheadings. 

After the Tower of London, I went to visit the Kensington and Buckinham Palaces which were both closed to the public unfortunately but at least I was able to see them from the outside,  walk through Kensington Gardens, the Diana Memorial and enjoy fresh air. 

I then went to Herrod's  - can we say overwhelming????

Herrod's is as tall as it is wide and....they actually have an opera singer singing Ave Maria as customers ride up and down the elevators.  I mean, really??? Opera as you are shoppping???? And since I am all about food, my favorite part of Herrod's was the food court/gourmet grocery shopping/anything foodwise that you need.  They had a sushi bar and a dim sum bar plus meat factory.  Yes, I was in heaven but was too overwhelmed to be able to pick a thing.

So that was my day in London after my event and I loved every minute of it.  I was sad to leave as I knew I was going to miss London, the Brits and my colleagues.  But then I was heading to another adventure in Dallas and yes, another event.

I am now in Dallas for Day 1 of the Forum.  I haven't been to Southfork (yes, I was an avid "Dallas" fan from the 1970s and remember "Who Shot JR"). 

But I have managed to have fun, not get sick and yes, believe it or not, exercise.   Tomorrow I fly home on the redeye - oh, so can't wait!   Before then, I may, just may go country line dancing - oh, my college roommate would be so proud if I did.

Work Life Balance - Does it exist?

As I logged in tonight to update my blog, I looked at the date of my last entry and it has been almost a full week since my last post.  What happened?  Where has all the blogging gone?  In one word - work.  I started 2010 with a renewed focus on maintaining some kind of work life balance, reality quickly set in. 

Is work overrated?  You bet it is, especially when it comes to the impact it can have on a person's health - whether it is lack of sleep or lack of exercise.  Whether it is Ben or Jerry or my good friend. Mr. Chicken Fingers that have come for visits more frequently than I can count.  Even my dog Bella snuggled up to me last night and looked up at me, put her head on my arm that was attached to my typing hand to say:

Can't you just pay attention to me and stop working????

It reminded me of the time I was working at my last job when my then four year old sister would come home, see me at my computer and close it on me - mid type.  She would say to me, "No, you said you wouldn't be working when I came home."  Even at a young age, my sister knew the importance of work-life balance - or rather knew that I was supposed to focus on her when she was home :).  From here on out, that is what I am going to focus on. 

Will there be times I have to work late?  Yes.  But not every night.  Will I still fit exercise in at least 4 to 5 times a week - the work stress requires it, no?  Will I indudge in fried foods - ok, seriously, that's a big HELL YES.  I will just try not to overindulge and allot for it in my flex points on the weight watchers plan.  What about fun?  Plans are in the works for sure this weekend and eHarmony is becoming more and more fun by the day - woot! woot! 

Good-Bye and Well, hello there!

So since my last eHarmony update, I was hemming and hawing about what to do about the guy with four kids - Mr. R.  Well folks, I went with my heart and.....

Good Bye Mr. R: I closed the match several days after my last eharmony update. Sorry to say because he was really nice and communicated well.  Unfortunately 4 kids was just too much baggage and while I know it's definitely possibility that at my age I could be somebody's stepmother...Maria of the Sound of Music, I ain't.  However, I did something that I would appreciate if I were in his shoes.  I sent him a "Dear John" letter explaining why I was making the decision to close the match and then I closed it.

Hello Misters S & M:  Ok, get your minds out of the gutter people.  There are now two men I am communicating with openly now as we made it through all the initial stages and are at the direct email communication phase of our eHarmony relationship.  After saying good-bye to Mr. R, I started communicating with Mr. S from Nashua and Mr. M from Marlborough.  Both are

• Job Status: Professionals (Electrical Engineer versus Educational Administrator
• Single: Divorced father of two versus single man
• Origin:  Both not from the Boston area (Burkina Fasso and San Diego)

So far, we are just an initial stages of communicating but both are interested in seeing what happens as am I. 

Looking for Mom or Dad? You know how the saying goes - people end up marrying someone that reminds them of their parents?  I actually found it very interesting that I have chosen two very different men with distinct experiences and backgrounds but relatable to my family in a way.  My father comes from a family of engineers, my father is Eletrical and Mechanical and all my uncles are engineers, my aunt works in an engineering office.  Out of 30 Colombian cousins, only 3 of us are not enginners (yes, one of them would be me).  My mother, on the other hand comes from a long line of educators, we have our family history that shows education as the profession of our family to the 18th century.  My mom currently teaches at U Mass Dartmouth and my father is an Senior Engineer at Raytheon.  But hey, I haven't exactly met them yet - I mean - in person.  So let me slow the pace and get back to reality.

I am still glad that I am sticking with eHarmony as it fits my personality and my lifestyle.  But the deadline of April 5th in terms of resubscribing is looming on the horizon.  Who knows?  Maybe I won't need to.  Until next time....stay tuned....

Moose, Coyotes, Bears....Oh My!

When I moved to New Hampshire in 2008, I knew I was heading to an area that was off the beaten track - afterall mapquest didn't even have our street on the map and still doesn't have it on GPS.  Yes, I live far from civilization - we are surrounded by a wooded area.  The first Dunkin Donuts is a five minute drive (unheard of by Boston standards) and Starbucks is...GASP.....a 15 minute drive!  Hey, at least Starbucks has a drive thru, right?  And by the way, I have no problem relying on coffee places to determine what constitutes civilization - I am half-Colombian afterall!

Last year, I had my first jolt of reality about where I live and how close we are to the woods.  Yes, Bella (aka Toto),  we are not in Boston (Kansas) anymore.  There was a black bear sighting in Brookline, NH - in fact the bear was seen on my very street.  Was I sorry I missed the sighting - absolutely, was I didn't come into direct contact?  Hell, yeah!

Flashforward to this past week, where we have ample snow on the ground which shows all kinds of tracks in our yard.  My stepmother came in one Saturday and said, "Um, I think there are moosetracks in the backyard."  No, not Ben & Jerry (we broke up weeks ago, remember?) but REAL moosetracks.  My father was incredulous, , "Absolutely no, they are Bella's tracks."  Of course, we all had to go out to investigate - my stepmom, sister and me.  I mean, there is a significant difference in the hoofs of a moose and the paws of our beloved 65 pound puppy.  Although apparently my father didn't think so, ha!  We found the tracks and it was like fitting our foot within a foot of a dinosaur - so, not Bella's paw print.  So we have MOOSE!  No sightings yet, but definitely we have moose neighbors.  Again, yes I want to see them - but definitely from afar - I have heard that they are not exactly friendly and I would rather them not charge me or my car for that matter.

Then, two nights ago, I was in a deep sleep to be woken up by my sister's "hoofs" running up and down the hallway shouting, "Mom, there are coyotes outside!"  I was like, "Whoa, what did she just say?" And sure enough I could hear them serenading our beautiful Bella.  The howling was not exactly like listening to Handel's Messiah but they were definitely coyotes, judging by the tracks outside.

We now have convinced my father that we do have moose - we dragged him outside to see yesterday.  And he does believe that we have coyotes as well but believes that Bella can take them down either with her beauty and charm or by force.  She is a force to be reckon with when it comes to protecting us - however, I fear that her bark is worse than her bite.

If I get any sightings of our new winter neighbors, will definitely post.  But for now, I will drink my homemade Colombian coffee (too lazy to drive this morning) and hope that they stay at bay.