Thank You to My Husband for Being THAT Kind of Programmer

Before we officially dated, Mr. Bear and I were just friends.  For the record, Mr. Bear thought we were dating an earlier time too, but apparently, I did not get that memo.

…but, that is neither here nor there.

Before we officially dated, I used to call Mr. Bear about my various computer issues.  One time, Mr. Bear upgraded my computer from Windows 95 to Windows 98.  As a result, I lost all of my audio capabilities on my PC; something that made me very sad.   I called Mr. Bear and let him know that while having the upgrade to Windows 98 was fabulous, my sound was not working.  Mr. Bear did not apologize, nor did he volunteer any troubleshooting.  He simply told me he was not that kind of programmer.  There was no guarantee of work for free and I suffered through the age of Napster sans volume.

A week ago, my computer started showing me the dreaded blue screen of death each and every time the computer started.  For several days, I was afflicted with the blue screen of death and for many days I fretted it would never be fixed.  Thankfully, however, Mr. Bear was able to fix it (Praise be to Baby Jesus) and alas I am browsing, surfing, opening and closing programs. All is good in our household now.  I am glad that my husband is that kind of programmer, because my computer is up, running, and happy.

Home Again

Mr. Bear is doing very well.  Surgery went well and he is feeling better all the time.

It was an emotional day.  I am glad to have my amazing husband back at home.

One of the best birthdays ever.

In Just a Few Hours…

We are moving into the TTC camp.  I am nervous and excited.

Today is my 35th birthday.  I am officially in my mid-thirties.  Man, the past ten years have breezed by so quickly.

Tomorrow is our five year anniversary.  Happy anniversary Honey.  I love you more than you could possibly know.  Thank you for five amazing years!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Sunday we took the trolley from near our house to Sea World. It was a fun 30 minute ride by trolley to Old Town in San Diego and a quick bus ride over to Sea World. Allie was thrilled we were going to see the ami-na-nas (animals) and the dolphins that swim underwater. It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect.

We headed over to the Sesame Street Bay of Play that just opened last month. They have so many activities for little kids and we were having a good time.

The power of stupid, however, was very strong at Sea World and we found out quickly just how stupid. We were in this bounce house sort of thing, where the sign clearly states no one under 37 inches high should be in the bounce area. There was a mom and her older kid swinging this little, tiny baby (probably a year old or so) by her arms and legs. You know. Mom has arms, other person has legs and she is swinging this fragile little baby with 5 billion kids running around them. I was keeping an eye on Allie, while trying to follow the “no one over 37 inches high” rule to stay off, and not be Helicopter Mom to my kid. I just shook my head, while thinking, “Someone is going to get hurt. Idiots!”

Little did I know, that someone was going to be my child. Stupid mom and her kid swung the baby up while Allie was walking by and the little girl and Allie collided heads, leaving Allie knocked to the floor with a big red mark on her cheekbone, near her eye. Poor girl. The tough girl she is got up and went back to playing, but she still has a little bruise near her eye today.

We had a good time the rest of the day, but I keep thinking about the collision each time I looked at the swelling on Allie’s cheek. Nothing like feeling like a terrible mom.

We walked around for a couple hours, caught the dolphin show, the seal lion show, and a couple rides, then headed back to the bus and back to the trolley.

On the way back home, Allie fell asleep on my shoulder—something that just melted my heart. Some people have kids that sleep anywhere. I did not give birth to that kid. My little angel wants to be awake all the time. She does not want to miss a thing.

It was just the kind of day we all needed yesterday.


My parents have been gone for a week. Today was my dad’s birthday and Sunday, of course, was Father’s day. I have missed them so much! Mr. Bear’s mom has filled in as my surrogate mom this past week and I am so grateful to have her around. I have grown to appreciate her so much and she is always there to help out with Allie (even if I know she enjoys spending time with her more than anything! Win-win there!). She loves Allie as much as we do and I did not even know that could be possible. She has done an amazing job helping us get our house together with window covering, making pillows for Allie’s bedroom set, and just being around whenever we need her. Plus, her husband helped Mr. Bear get our garage in shape. For all those things, I am eternally appreciative.Allie and I have a cold right now.  I will put up some pictures of Allie’s cute room tomorrow.

We have a nice dinner planned in La Jolla with Mr. Bear’s dad and step mom tomorrow evening.  Should be a good time.  We are looking forward.

NYC Marathoning

I have not mentioned this before, but I quietly entered the New York Marathon lottery a few months back. For those of you that are not familiar with the process, because of its popularity, the New York Marathon has a lottery for those not guaranteed entry. In order to be guaranteed a race entry, one has to be a lot faster than I am. A lot faster. There are other ways to get in, like running 9 New York Road Runner races in the previous year, running with a charity, if you have run 15 or more NYC Marathons, and the only shot in hell I have—-the lottery.

So, in February, when I read about the lottery opening, when I was still following a workout plan and still on track to run a marathon, I entered the lottery. I have to admit, I was caught up in the moment. I have often dreamed of running through the streets of New York, running in one of the greatest city marathons, running the picturesque course, wearing the “I finished the New York Marathon” t-shirt, and my heart thumped with excitement. I filled out my information and the cursor blinked a minute or two before I finally sent it off to the invisible lottery in cyberspace.

I knew when I hit the submit button that maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I made a mistake. Mr. Bear confirmed this with a, “You did WHAT? What if you get in? What then? It cost $11 to enter and HOW MUCH for the race? WHA? $125? Can you cancel?”

A little impulsive, I am.

I winced when I opened my e-mail on June 4th, the day they were to draw the names for the lottery. I was secretly afraid I may have gotten in. I received this e-mail on June 5th:

Entry Number: 216160

Dear Laura Lohr,

Thank you for applying to the ING New York City Marathon 2008. We’re sorry to inform you that you were not selected in the random lottery drawing. Although we wish everyone could be accepted, we have to limit the size of the field to ensure the best experience for each of our runners.

Blah, blah, blah. Try again next year.

Alas, it would not be meant to be, as the New York Marathon lottery draw-er-gods did not draw my name on June 4th and I am off the hook for all but the $11 non-refundable processing fee. All is good in the world. Someone more deserving likely filled what could have been my spot. Mr. Bear is saved $125 plus airfare, lodging, and cab fares. Deep down I am relieved, although thinking about running it someday truly makes my breath quicken and my heart beat just a bit faster. Someday rings out in my brain.

Better luck next year as the e-mail cheerfully offers.