I'm here!

Wow... it's taking a lot longer to unpack than I had anticipated. Eric has a lot of stuff, so trying to figure out where to put all of my stuff has become a bit of a chore. We've been chucking as much stuff as we can. Eric has given me free reign of one of his bedrooms. It's basically a guest bedroom, but it's also my escape hatch whenever I need "me" time. :P

The job situation is up in the air. Currently, I'm working remotely for my employer in Austin until they find a replacement. My boss has been looking for a while, and I gave him some references, but I don't know if they've panned out. So, we'll see. For now, I'm still working 30 hours a week at the old job.

Jaiden is doing great. We drove through D.C., and visited Eric's parents. They have two cats, and Jaiden was a perfect gentleman. He never tried to chase, although I have no doubt he wanted to. The first time Oreo caught sight of Jaiden, she completely froze, gave him that "cat look", and backed up, one step every five seconds, lol. It was hilarious. It was like she was thinking, "Maybe if I move reeeeeally slowly, he won't notice me." I got up to use the bathroom, and came out to see Jaiden lying on the floor in the living room, and the cats four feet away--everybody just staring at each other. I think Jaiden was teasing them just a little bit. "Come out and play, kitty kitty..."

Eric and I went on a bike ride Sunday morning. It was... interesting. Riding with Eric is fun, though I was a bit grumpy because it was cold and WINDY. 10-20 MPH winds. It was awesome on the way out; not so fun on the way home. We rode a trail most of the way to a town (basically a suburb of Philly) called Manayunk. Eric and I had actually celebrated Valentine's Day in Manayunk. :) Anyway, the last two miles or so into the town were hilly. We rode to a coffee shop, had some coffee and a croissant, and headed back. The ride back really kind of sucked. Even drafting off Eric, I felt completely drained of energy. Eric offered his Clif bar, but I knew it wouldn't help--once I get to the point of no energy, no amount of food will help. I just have to keep fighting, and rest once I get home. In the last mile, struggling and grouchy from a rather pitiful ride, I ran into two HUGE swarms of bugs. They got all over my coat, up my sunglasses, UNDER my headband and into my ears, down my shirt, into my helmet, UGH!!! I stopped right then and there and practically flung my helmet, headband, and sunglasses to the ground. Eric was shaking his head at me, telling me to move forward five feet because I was just standing in a swarm. I was so creeped out. I don't mind a few bugs, and even in Omaha, I'd always find gnat bits down my jerseys after a hot day's ride, but I draw the line somewhere around 20 bugs. ;) Yesterday, I had at least 50 on me. ::shudder::

I'm SO out of shape. It's ridiculous. But, Eric and I will be riding together a lot. We have another ride planned for tomorrow (my legs are actually a bit sore today from Sunday's ride, which never happens). Sigh... probably meet up with some more bugs. :(