::snore::

I could curl up in a ball and go to sleep right now. Well, maybe not actually sleep, but the trying would be fun. I'm exhausted and sore. It was a good weekend, but long and full. Let's start with friday.

The new view out my window*:

My sweetie pie husband surprised me by stopping by Friday to take me out to lunch! :-) We headed to Tir Na Nog, which I love. It was a great lunch. In addition, he brought me this beauty to stick with my growing collection of office plants:

The whole day was super busy... lots of stuff that popped up that day for me to take care of, so it definitely went fast. I left a little early and we met Ro & Pat for dinner in Media (here). After dinner we headed to ice cream and Ro gave me my b-day gift, some of my perfume. Yummy. I took a few pictures, but of course, forgot my camera at home today... some maybe I can share tomorrow. Then it was home to relax for a bit.

Saturday morning we woke up, got ready and packed, then headed to my parents. They gave me my birthday presents (a home depot gift card, a bottle of wine, some new ear buds for my mp3 player, and a pretty metal hanging decoration with a candle inside). I had a hair appointment next, then headed back to my parents. They left not long after to head to the hotel (my mom's birthday gift, a night away for them at the lovely Hotel Bethlehem). I ate some of the pesto my mom made for my birthday lunch, then we headed out to Premise Maid for some of their incredible ice cream. It was a beautiful day for it! After that we hit up two local wineries: Clover Hill and Vynecrest, both part of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail. We tasted a few and bought a few at each. After that it was back to my parents place to play with the doggie a bit, and for me to get my walk in.

I wish I had had my camera with me because there is some beautiful beautiful scenery around there. I did snap a few with my cell though. My walk on Saturday was a bit torturous... lots of very steep hills, and large sections with no shade. At one point I walked through the very well to do neighborhood near my parents called The Manor. I'm guessing they called it that because "The Really Bloody Huge Mansion" didn't have the same ring to it... but damn are the houses in there huge.

Here's one of the bigger ones. A view as I'm walking up the hill towards it:

Getting closer...
It's a very impressive house, with a back that looks almost like a castle... rounded turret-type areas, very ornate decorations along the windows, etc.
And yes, that is the back! This is the front:

It also has a five-car garage on the side... and I've heard rumors that the garage has an elevator to a lower level with area for more cars!

After I left The Manor, I headed down hill to a curvy road that winds along a creek and woods. Very pretty.


That was a nice section to walk.

Once I got home Trav and I enjoyed a pizza for dinner with a bottle of sparkling wine we had picked up that day, and watched some Olympics. We stayed up to watch Phelps's last race (a relay)... and it was great to see the US take gold in that too. It was really the first time we stayed up for the Olympics, and it was only until 11:30 by which time we were pooped!!

Unfortunately my sleep wasn't so great that night... with weird dreams, including repeatedly dreaming that there was someone in my parents house and waking up thinking I had heard noise outside the bedroom door. No fun.

Sunday we woke up much earlier then either of us wanted, fed the dog and took here out. Then we just relaxed until my parents got home around 10:30 - 11ish. We hung out for a bit, then headed home. After eating I headed out to do my walk.

That walk was probably the hardest one I've done yet. Not because of distance (though my feet did hurt!!) but because I was already so tired, the last thing I wanted to do was walk. Not to mention that I normally walk with Ro on the weekends, but since we were away that morning, I was walking on my own. It made for a difficult time... mindset is such a big part of the battle. Let's just say that it was so tough for me that when Trav called to tell me he was running out (see below) and asked that I stick the wash in when I get home (since he had meant to do it, but fell asleep and just woken up)... well it actually drove me to tears. Seems so silly now, crying over laundry, but I was just emotionally spent! Its days like that when I just cannot wait for the race to get here, so I can be done with it. So I can be back to walking purely because I enjoy it, and only when I want to. I've written about how glad I am that I chose to do the 3-day, and that is definitely still the case... but some days are so much harder then others, and I will never claim that it is easy.

In any case, it was already about 3 - 3:30 when I got to the park, and with 13 miles to do I didn't get home until about 7:45 (half an hour drive home). In the meantime Trav got a call from his oldest brother who was stopping at Willy's on his way to the Cape... we thought they were stopping today, but apparently they were stopping Sunday. Trav got the call and then called me about it at 5ish, and since we determined it would have been too late if he had waited for me to finish my walk, he just headed over to see his brother for a bit. When I got home I showered, threw on my comfy PJs and threw the wash in before finally settling down with some dinner around 8:30. We were in bed a little after 10... and let me tell you, it was not soon enough. This morning I was still exhausted. My only consolation: 1) I'll be in bed again in less then 9 hours, and 2) I'll be on vacation in less then 5 days! So much sleeping in to look forward to!

At the moment, I kind of feel like this:

Heaven help the person who steps on my toes today... ;-)

And one more just because its cute:

Anyway, this is very long and I have lots of work to finish before this week is out and I can be on vacation. So I'll finish up with one bit of Harry Potter news, then I am out of here. Have a great day!

In Harry Potter news... there is bad news for fans eagerly awaiting the next movie (::raises hand::). Film postponed! The bastards wanted better timing for more money, so they are pushing the movie back to next summer. I'm so bummed.

Harry Potter film pulls vanishing act
Aug. 17, 2008, 2:49 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Maybe Harry Potter should have brought a note from his parents saying he would be missing school.

Warner Bros. gave Harry the school year off, announcing last week it was bumping the sixth movie in the series from fall to next summer. But Entertainment Weekly — which shares the studio's parent company, Time Warner Inc. — was unaware, featuring "Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe on the cover of its Aug. 22-29 fall-preview issue.

The magazine leads off the issue with a six-page spread pegged to "Harry Potter and
the Half-Blood Prince," which Warner Bros. on Thursday moved from its Nov. 21 release date to July 17, 2009.

The studio had been considering the date change for three or four weeks, "but it really didn't kind of get on the front burner until sometime within the last seven days," Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. head of distribution, said Sunday.

Entertainment Weekly's "deadline must have been earlier than the decision, than when we started to get serious about making the decision," Fellman said.

An Entertainment Weekly spokeswoman did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages seeking comment.

The magazine's online edition added a preface about the date change to the "Harry Potter" story. It also had a laugh or two about the lack of communication between two Time Warner outfits.

"In an irony sure to set blogger hearts beating giddily, the film graces the cover of EW's new fall preview issue," reads an entry on the magazine's Hollywood Insider blog. "EW and Warner Bros. share a parent company, but they clearly do not share, you know, important ... information."

The blog goes on to joke that the date change will leave Entertainment Weekly "readers in possession of a 'Dewey Beats Truman' collectible." It also notes that British film magazine Empire features Harry Potter on its current cover, though that issue touches on big 2009 releases, as well.

Warner executives said the date change was a business decision and not due to any production delays on "Half-Blood Prince." A recent Writers Guild of America strike had delayed production on some films, leaving a lighter lineup during 2009's busy summer season, Fellman said.

The July 17 release — the same weekend Warner Bros. debuted its blockbuster "The Dark Knight" this summer — offered better box-office potential for "Half-Blood Prince," Fellman said.

The change left a hole in Hollywood's overall schedule for Nov. 21, the week before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest weekends for theaters.

But fantasy fans will not have to do without: A day after "Half-Blood Prince" moved out, Summit Entertainment's vampire romance "Twilight," based on another best-selling series of books, moved in, switched from its scheduled Dec. 12 release to Nov. 21.

I'm not big on the waiting... so this is annoying for sure!
Okay, later all!


*Sorry, all the pictures are cell phone pictures. They are blurry and crappy.