Settled In

Me and them.

Things were absolutely crazy for a bit. With the ex and the kids suddenly back in town... But, we're into a rhythm now. They've got an apartment close by. Close enough so I can see the kids several times a week now. Plus, any weekends I want. Excellent!

I finally spent some time and did a major overhaul of the kids rooms. Old and too small clothes out and room for the new stuff. The place is clean and clutter-free, once again. Time to get back to fine tuning it to me.

Oh yeah. Did I mention that Jack (my kitten) has a buddy? The kids' cat (Mayo) is my cat, now. At least for the time being. Their apartment is a pet free zone. At least the cats get along, and strangely, Jack (fearless little guy) seems to be in charge.

Time to get some charity to come haul all the "extras" from the garage. Working out means pulling the car out. Not the end of the world, but if I can free up that other half, all the better.

Over the last few days, I picked up 120 lbs of plates and three db bars, clamps, and tape (for a fat bar handle). I should be snatching heavy out there in the next day or so. Just need some rubber matting to make a landing pad (burpees, knee tucks, and jumping rope are tough on concrete).

I'm back to cooking. Cooking a lot, too. Oso buco tonight, with plenty for lunch or dinner tomorrow. This weekend, I'm taking my last stab at cheesecakes (low sugar) and perfecting the one that was the best. I hope to have the recipe for Vanilla Bean Cheesecake up by Monday night. I need to perfect the sweetness, just a bit. Eating them all is a tough job. But, hey...

I need to find a farmer's market down here in South Orange County, too. I got spoiled by the great one in Torrance. Having good vegetables makes the low calorie weekdays much more pleasant. Veggies are good, good veggies are great. I'm not so into fruit, but if I can get a few good (read ripe, ripe, ripe) peaches, I'm going to be happy, come the weekend.

I've been a homebody, lately, with the exception of work and a few coffee house outings. But, tonight, I hit up the Gypsy Lounge down in Lake Forest. They had some great music! Really good stuff. And, the beer didn't hurt, either.

Sweet from the Diesel Crew

The Diesel Crew Blogged about this. Sweet, huh?

crap

My kids are back in town. For good, it seems. That's not the crap part. That's the good part.

So many questions, for which I have no answers. Where will Kim live? What will she do for work? That's the crap part.

Allow myself to introduce... myself.

I've felt a little out of touch and absent, lately. Let myself get absorbed into work, rather than think about life much. But the other day, I snapped out of it, got up, and started studying, thinking, and getting out of the house.

It was so nice to have an empty house to come back to after work. Plus, house isn't too far from work, so that's nice. But, I don't really see a lot of people here at home. Just me and the cat. I don't really want to be that sorta guy. Home alone with a cat...

Don't get me wrong, I got a lot accomplished at the house. But, after spending a few half days hitting the road early, then hitting a coffee house or bookstore for a break here and there, I got just as much accomplished AND got to talk to people. That's a big plus.

Turns out I still know people in the area. Who knew that 15 years in one community would have me knowing people?

So, the weekend's been good. CPT studying. Saw the Bourne Ultimatum. Got a couple of good workouts in. On Monday, there's a community fitness expo in Central Park. That should be entertaining. I think I'll skip the 5k, but you never know...