Now THAT'S A Pretty Funny Little Quiz

Is it wrong that I'm so amused by the % "chance you'll go to hell"?!

Your Deadly Sins

Envy: 80%

Greed: 60%

Pride: 60%

Sloth: 60%

Gluttony: 40%

Lust: 40%

Wrath: 20%

Chance You'll Go to Hell: 51%

You will die a boring death. While dying, you will be jealous of those who die dramatic deaths.

How Sinful Are You?

How Very ... Zen

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. And try to love the questions themselves.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

I See No Bravery

From last night... I thought it was inappropriate to include in my Ode to Haley, so I'll let all of you know about it now:

Oh my gosh. Have you seen "Derailed"? I am quite disturbed. Didn't expect that. Wow. I can't shake the feeling that I have been completely... I'll steal Jon's words... 'psychologically violated'. Must watch at least 2 hours of "Gilmore Girls" to cleanse the palette.

OK, now that that's over...

... yeah, now that that's over, it's late. And I'm tired. Well, a little bit, at least. And I'm gonna give sleep a shot, I think.

So, I didn't go give sleep a shot. Instead, I wrote my Ode to Haley. And I stayed up much too late. Plus, I ran/walked 5 miles today. Geez... what was I thinking?! Anyway, bottom line... I'm quite tired today. Therefore, I'll leave you with a little ditty, go finish watching my Tivo'd JB concert, and head to bed pretty soon. G'night sweets!

The coast disappeared when the sea drowned the sun
And I have no words to share it with anyone
The boundaries of language I quietly cursed
And all the different names for the same thing.

And on the 29th Day of August, He Created Haley

Twenty-some odd years ago (or is it even?), my sweet little mom & dad left me, their beloved, the apple of their eye, their firstborn, much-loved baby girl with Gran while they went off to meet a man about a baby. And then they brought her home. I don't really remember it all that well. I was, mind you, only 2.789041 (and yes, I just spent waaaaay too much time figuring that out... especially since it's probably completely wrong).

Anyway, so I don't remember much about that time. If you know me at all, you know I have memory problems anyway. I wonder what everyone else remembers. Is it just me or do we all have "just the snapshots"? I see pictures. And that's unfortunate... because usually I see pictures that I've seen pictures of. Which makes me think I really don't remember much of anything at all... it's all just photographs that I looked at when I was older and formed a "memory" about. Anyway... I don't have many recollections of the time when my parents brought home my baby sister. I'm sure I was the typical firstborn... excited to have a sister but more than a little jealous of all the attention she was getting. But I loved her. The ONE THING that I can remember (and please, M&D, don't tell me if this didn't happen... well, not that you'd know since it was all in my head... but don't tell me if I get the details wrong) is standing on the bed beside her crib, watching her sleep, worrying about her. (I've always been a bit of a worrier... especially when it comes to my baby sister. Just can't stand the thought of anything bad happening to her. Must protect her at all costs. Don't really understand why I feel like I've got to be her mother... she has a wondeful one that's almost exactly like my own... but I still like to play mom to baby sis every once in a while.) Specifically, that night, I was on a fire kick. I had it all planned out... what we would do in case of a fire. Our windows aren't that high off the ground. I was pretty sure my almost-three year old legs (okay, so it was after I turned three) could make the jump with her in my arms. Well... maybe she'd have to hang on a little.



OK, so as I re-read that, I realize that it's quite implausible. Fine. You got me. I probably made that up when I was about 10 or something. But I thought I remembered it. So, I'm keeping the "memory" anyway. Besides, you get the point. I love her. I worry about her. I want the best things life has to offer for her.

We grew up together. She bit me a lot. I DO remember one time in the KFC drive-thru on a Sunday afternoon (we were in church clothes) when she actually bit a HOLE in my dress. Actually, come to think of it... she must've been a little orally fixated... because she also loved to gross you out by attempting to LICK you. And pinching? Man, that girl was a pincher. I honestly do not remember inflicting nearly as much pain on her as she did on me. Well... except for the braiding. Mom liked our hair braided, and I learned to french braid pretty early in life, so I was responsible for the morning braid for baby sis. My own little rogue justice... probably more than a little unjust... especially for the baby sister who just hated to have her hair pulled. Sorry, baby, I probably could've been a little (or a lot) gentler.

Then came the teenage years. All the fighting we did just kind of stopped. And she truly became my best friend. When I got my license, she rode to school with me every day (with a little SCC cassette tape & McD's to entertain & nourish). And if I couldn't do something for her, I could find someone who could. How many of my friends out there gave Haley a ride somewhere at some point in our relationship? How many of you can't count the rides you gave Haley for me?! (I hope I did plenty of favors for you in return!) We still had our not-so-friendly moments... she HATED it when I drove fast, and since I knew that, I often indulged the behavior. I probably still told on her when she was doing something I didn't want her to do (although, I hope I did give her the opportunity to have a little fun here & there!). (Sorry, Haley, I just can't help telling everything I know. It's our mom in me. Someday I'll repay you (most specifically for the Snickers incident) with a heaping mound of Snickers bars.)

Since I love her so... and since today marks the end of twenty-some odd (or even) years that I've known her (well, maybe that was yesterday... and that would make today the BEGINNING of the next year!), I just wanted to spend a few minutes writing about my sister, favorite friend. I could never do her justice, so I won't really try. You should just know that she's the gosh darn best sister anyone could ever ask for. I miss her every moment that she's not with me. And I'm sure glad that man (you know, the one M&D went to see about a baby) gave us the one he did.



♥ Happy birthday, little one! I hope it was everything you wanted & more. ♥

Goody Two (Running) Shoes

I’m disgustingly sweaty after my daily run… but that’s somewhat fitting since this post is (kind of) about running.

My very, very, very good friends Mike & Jess – being the incredible people that they are – are do-good’ing again. They’ve created a team to participate in Charlotte’s Race for the Cure. The team (Harold’s Angels) is in honor of Mike’s Uncle Harold (yes, UNCLE… breast cancer can happen to anyone) who was diagnosed with breast cancer in early June. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you… it’s a VERY WORTHY CAUSE. So, get involved:

• Check out their blog about the team: Harold’s Angels @ Blogspot


• Get up off the sofa & go run (or walk) with them on October 7! Register at Active.com


• Sponsor the “Angels” by sending ‘em some cash


• Don’t want to participate? Just can’t spare the cash? Well… at the very least, send them your most positive thoughts & best wishes. Leave a comment for them (and Uncle Harold)… yes, it can be anonymous, you silly don’t-want-to-be-known people!... at the Harold’s Angels page.

When the Heart Needs a Little Soothing

I love it when my dad recites this passage to me. He believes that, like him, I can also "write it to my heart". I probably can... but I am so not worthy of his faith in me. But that's the beauty of a dad like mine. He still believes.

♥ Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
♥ In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
♥ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
♥ And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
♥ Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
♥ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

-- John 14:1-6

One for the Road

Well, go figure... I was studying the right things all along.

Now, dang it! Why am I not thrilled!?!?

Your Learning Style: Energetic and Inspired

You always find the words to express yourself, and there's hardly a class or subject you don't enjoy. You Should Study: - Advertising - Art - Classics - Counseling - Journalism - Political Science - Sales - Teaching

What Should You Study?

Stupid Yesterday, Stupid Today, Stupid Tomorrow. Focus, Heidi, Focus.

So, you may have found yourself wondering (if you picked up on the NC references... did I ever come right out and say I was in NC?) why I've been hanging with the fam in NC this week. Well, let me share the details of my day with you... as this day was the reason for my sojourn to les montagnes this lovely August week.

Somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00-ish... kind of hear Mom and/or Haley leave from sleepy stupor
8:00... turn off first alarm (cell phone alarm clock -- very handy tool)
8:10-ish... was that Dad leaving in his big fancy schmancy new truck (does that thing have a Duramax in it?!)
8:30... turn off second alarm (cell phone alarm clock -- less cool, getting somewhat annoying)
8:45... oh crap, I should've been "working" (use hand quotation marks generally there when reading aloud please) 45 minutes ago!
9:30... e-mails answered, nothing major going on, just resting eyes for a sec
10:00... oh crap, I should've been "working" (use hand quotation marks... okay, it's getting annoying now...) all this time I've been napping!
10:30... e-mails answered, nothing major going on, IM'ing with Haley & Jon completed for the morning, I think I'll go take a shower
10:40... burn fingertips on stupid Clairol hot rollers from 1983. What the heck are these things still doing under the cabinet? They could be used as lethal weapons! But, I like my hair hot-rolled, so I brave it one more time.
10:45... consider leaving computer online (to appear Away instead of Offline) while I leave for a bit, remember flaming Dell incidents, close lid. Screw 'em.
11:00... Randolph rescued from back lot at local dealership (where he had oil/lube completed yesterday)
11:20... e-mails answered, nothing major going on, I'm going to lunch
11:50... heck yeah, foot long & cheese sticks. I love going to lunch by myself. No one can make me feel bad about my eating habits. I support the Dairy House!!!
12:15... I'm a little early, so I take a quick drive to see Aunt & Uncle's house that is on the market. Just curious... haven't seen it in forever, want to remember what it looks like. Don't want to turn around in their driveway, so I continue up the street. Oh yeah! An ex used to live up here... ha ha ha... remember night when he hit the mailbox with his car. Good Lord, what was I thinking!?!? Also remember special chalk at Jeni's. Nik & CaptC... we all agreed never to discuss this incident with anyone in uniform, right? Just a friendly reminder from your local tipbuster.
12:25... Stroll into new dentist's office in town for 12:30 appointment
12:26... Commence numbing
4:30... Leave new dentist's office in town to return to awaiting e-mails & nothing major
5:15... Finish "work" for the day, begin napping... Why am I so tired?!
6:00-ish... Hop in shiny new black truck (Does that thing have a Duramax? You're about to find out!) with Pops & Haley. Dinner out... my favorite!
7:30 - 11:15... Movies with the fam (She's the Man & RV -- both quite amusing... you've got to give She's the Man enough time to get better)
11:40... Commence nightly blog post, consider writing out day's events as schedule, toss out lame idea, come up with nothing else interesting, go ahead and write schedule for giggles, decide early bedtime wins out over interesting blog post.

And that, my friends, brings me to the present moment.

Perhaps you find yourself wondering why I visited the new dentist's office? Because it belongs to my baby cuz! And he's a really good dentist. And I had a chewing-on-one-side-of-my-mouth-because-my-tooth-hurts dental problem that I wanted him to assist with. So... remember when I wrote about my other dentist in Statesboro? Yeah, well, he's good. Turns out Joey agrees with him on just about everything he told me. But sorry, huggy doc, I'm pro-fam all the way... giving my biz to the new dentist @ home! Anyway, today's visit was about a root canal -- FUN!!! The next one will be about a crown for that root canal tooth. Then, we're gonna discuss replacing old fillings, additional crowns, a night guard (I cannot imagine WHY I'd be grinding my teeth in my sleep all of a sudden... but Joey & my Statesboro doc are telling me I must be doing it), and bleaching... well, possibly. I'm actually pretty excited about today's work. Hopefully, J.R. has solved the chew-on-one-side problem! And we'll see about all the rest.

Anyway, that's that. I'm off to dreamland. Heading back to Statesboro tomorrow... with a relatively early departure (if I can get my sorry butt out of bed, that is). I figure I can get up & out of here by 9 or 9:30... or perhaps that's a tad ambitious. LOL! Well... as long as I can get on the road by noon-ish, I'll be back home for a reasonable dinner time. What're we having, Jon Boy?

Searching Desperately for 'At Peace'

What is it about nighttime that brings such restlessness? I can sit for hours during the daytime just wishing for the opportunity to sleep. And here I am on a perfectly dark, quiet, relaxing, nothing-else-to-do middle-of-the-night... and I'm wide awake. (Although, those of you who know me & have spent a night with me at all know that if you just give me 5 minutes... or even 5 seconds... of head-just-hit-the-pillow truly quiet/dark time -- you know, without the computer -- I'll be out like Jack McFarland... well, kind of a different out, but you know what I mean.) But for now, the computer is still on. I'm still addicted to the Internet. I'm being my usual night-owl restless-as-hell self. All is right with the world. And it's not really quiet. The bugs are LOUD here! But I love it. Throw in a little bit o' lightning and thunder, and it'd be my PERFECT late-night-at-M&D's night.

I had a very fun day today hanging with my sis et. al. I checked out App today and spent the whole afternoon "working" (use hand quotation marks generally there when reading aloud please) from the student lounge just below Haley's floor. I got to see her office too... storage closet that it is. And I had lunch with Hales and Jar. Loved that Jar could join us. Love that we're kinda reconnected now. Missed that friendship that was such an integral part of my HS senior year & summer. And, of course, Haley was there. And that ALWAYS makes anything fun. Then, to make today truly MY KIND OF DAY, Mom met the two of us girls for dinner at Ruby. Why is it that Ruby is ALWAYS my fall-back? Never fails... nowhere else to go? Ruby, here I come. But I love it. And if it wasn't for the sheer exhaustion that each one of us felt, it would've been I-can't-stand-it fabulous. Phew... don't know if we could've actually stood that, though. Good thing we were tired.

Well... the dark room, bright computer screen, and open window are combining to make an infuriating bug display less than 2 feet from my face. And I'm tired of watching the little bias crawl around on my words... my precious, crazy, obsessive, idiotic words. So, I'm cutting us all off. It's really time anyway. So, get back to work... or get to work if you haven't started yet. Either way, I'm OUT.

Don't Think About It Too Much

There's a fun little web site that posts funny snippets (is that a real word?!) of conversations overheard by "innocent" bystanders in NYC. Perhaps you've heard of it... or even read some of their material (or maybe, on a slow day, you'd like to check it out for yourself): www.overheardinnewyork.com. Anyway, I decided to post my own version today...

Overheard in the App student lounge:
College boy to college girl (after college girl has told the story of her boss's son getting her boss in trouble for looking at child porn on dad's computer): If a 10-year-old is looking at child porn online... say, other 10-year-olds... is that against the law?

Just thought that was worth sharing.

Also... if you're looking for yet another way to waste some hours, check out Board Dots at BoredMuch.com. What creative usage of homonyms at that site! ;)

OK... going to dinner with the mother & sister. Hope y'all are having just as much fun as we are!

Another Charming Evening in NC

It's funny when Dad is amused. This is the first time he's ever watched "According to Jim". (Evidently, it's the only thing on tonight.) He laughs out loud sometimes, and that makes Haley & me giggle... a lot. Anyway, he's thoroughly enjoying... and it's very cute to watch him watch it. :)

Meanwhile, my sis is spending the night signing up for Blockbuster Online. (It was a close race between Blockbuster & Netflix, but she's decided to go with the big B.) The Queue is a little overwhelming. I can sit there for HOURS at a time working on my own.

And I'm sitting here (in the floor) scanning pics from Mom's massive collection of non-digital images. Mom has never really believed in digital photography. Although... funny story about that. Haley & I bought Mom a digicam a couple of years ago. It's not great, but it's functional. (In fact, it's the one I've been using for a while now... probably for all of the blog pics you guys have seen.) When we bought it & gave it to Mom, she wouldn't even consider learning how to use it. And within a few months, it was Christmastime. At g'ma's house, all Mom's siblings were snapping pics with their snazzy digicams. All of a sudden, Mom comes out with "I wish I could have a digital camera!" MOM... we JUST got you one and you didn't even want to use it! She's like... "oh yeah... never mind." Silly Mom, digicams are for kids.

So... I was watching a little CNN Headline News this AM while I was on my conference call. That darn Tuesday morning call is the most boring thing. I mean, I was in favor of it... dang it, OKAY, it was MY FREAKIN' IDEA. But that was something like five years ago! It has now just become a big ole' pain in the rear. Especially on Monday mornings when I think it's Tuesday. Anyway, at least the news could hold my attention while I was bored. Have I mentioned lately that I love being able to work from anywhere?!

Okay, obviously, I'm boring tonight. Hey, back off... I'm tired! I'll try hard to be better tomorrow. For now, here are some of the lovely photo-paper-turned-digi scannings:

	Aww... what a sweet muffin.
Oh, those silly singin' girls
	Silly Dad & his fern head
Wow! Who knew my hair was that blonde?!?! There was a survey recently where one of the questions made me chuckle... Have any of your friends never seen your natural hair color? Ha! (with an exclamation point)
	This is our "wish you were here" postcard!
My own Big Daddy (with his girls) @ Big Daddy's at the beach

No, I Seriously Have Nothing Better To Do

("Better", obviously, is subjective. I suppose my boss would think I DO have better things to do; but I disagree.)



And, Kona, always out to prove that she's willing to go the extra mile, does not let it deter her that I have now taken the bra away and put it with the rest of the clean laundry on the leather sofa (that she's not really allowed to be on). What the go-getter!

Two Wrongs CLEARLY Make it All Alright

There are two bad-doggie behaviors being demonstrated in these photos. Can you find them?




Answers:

#1 - WHY does Kona insist upon chewing on/laying on my underwear??? Hey! At least this one's CLEAN!!!

#2 - Cooper is CLEARLY hiding the fact (by being all cute & resting his head on the evidence) that he's been chewing on the pillow. Know how I know? I specifically covered that pillow (the yellow & red one) with the purple blanket that is deliberately pushed back off of the pillow in this pic.

Crazy dogs.


Also, one more thing that I wanted to say in "public" (hopefully to hold myself to it!):
Dear Lord, please grant me the self control and willpower to pass by the cinnamon chip muffins the next time they have them out at BiLo. I do understand that they are the cause of my discomfort while running. And I have received your message loud & clear. I am not to have them (for breakfast) anymore. No, Lord, I am not qualifying... they're just so good, they must have been made by your hand. Therefore, I feel it might still be acceptable for me to buy them & eat them as an evening snack or lunch. So, maybe it's okay for me to buy them (you know, thereby, helping out the innocent bakers at BiLo and all the poor check-out folks, produce guys, meat people & other employees who depend on my patronage to feed their starving children) occasionally? Amen.

Waiting for My Rocket to Come

I look through the darkness into the sky
The moon up above me brilliantly shines
I've never been happier watching it glow
I'm here by myself, but I know I'm not alone
I look through the brightness into the sky
The sun up above me, spitting out fire
Call me a child, call me naive
The world is much brighter
Than it ever used to be

Gosh, I wish that was mine. I mean, I wish I had written that. I've been adding lyrics to all the rest of the songs in my library. It's fun... it allows for lots of listening enjoyment as I let 'em play during my work days. Luckily, there are LOTS of songs, for my many long work days. Yeah... don't you love that I'm sitting here trying to convince you of how hard I work? When there's evidence RIGHT THERE (just below this post in the next/last one) to the contrary. Okay, so the REAL scoop is that my boss gave me a writing assignment today. I immediately IM'd Haley to tell her how much I hate writing on command (which is kind of a problem for me since that's -- sometimes, at least -- what I'm paid to do). Anyway, to prove to Haley how much I did not want to complete this assignment, I let Kona (AND Coop) take over the keyboard. Of course, thanks to the wonder & beauty... and pure frustration at times... of digital photography, I got to take the pic over and over and over again. So, as I was showing Jon all of the iterations, he -- of course -- picked another as his fave. And he thoroughly enjoyed the Coop pic, too, so I'll post those two for your enjoyment (and you can judge for yourself if I picked the right pic):

So, big weekend coming up. Tomorrow night is the big Sport Psych party for the grad students. They/We are evidently playing volleyball & going for pizza at the fancy house of one of Jon's colleagues (Haley -- it's the baseball player... don't you wish you were HERE!?!?!). Then... after that excitement, we just learned that the Brooklet Peanut Festival is Saturday. It was going on just about the time we moved here last year (obviously, since it's been a little over a year!... did I mention that in the blog somewhere???), and we attended late in the evening then. It sucked in the evening. All of the vendors had packed up & gone home. AND the only peanuts left were boiled. Ick. Don't try 'em... unless you like your peanuts to taste like raw green beans, well, boiled. Anyway, if it's the ONLY thing we do on Saturday, I am insisting that we go to the Peanut Festival in the daytime. Period. End of story. Anyway... so Haley, that means we don't play this weekend... but maybe next week sometime? :-) Can't wait!!!! I'm already gone to Carolina in my mind. Yes, obviously, I've gotten to the J's (iTunes alphabetizes by first name) in my lyric-izing.

So, I know that yesterday I promised a better topic for tonight. Sorry... as you'll notice from the time stamp, I let tonight get away from me... and that (kinda) means also that i didn't take the time to really come up with a goodie. Although... I probably had a good topic all along but used it too soon! Did you know today was Bad Poetry Day? (Well, technically, it was yesterday...8/18... but it's still today for me even though the clock has flipped over.) So, what I should've done was held onto the bad haiku post for another couple of days. Geez... coulda shoulda woulda. Anyway, in honor of bad poetry day, I hope you all wrote, at the VERY least, a bad haiku. And if you didn't, feel free to allow the official "holiday" to extend into your tomorrow. C'mon, people, let your creative sides out to breathe every once in a while. Write a poem, take some pictures, draw a little, sing a song, bang the drum, whatever!

See? Even Cooper & Kona can be creative. (Duh... what did you think they were typing earlier?) But I had to help them with the posting. The mouse is still a little hard for them... what with pawpads instead of fingertips. Can you guess which is which? Yes, I know there are three... and just two dogs.

Bark hungry or bored
But I sure can be bullied
This is my yard, jack

Excitement galore
Let me bite your pockets please
Don't try anything

Sit outside with me
The sooner the better now
When will it be then?


Okay, I promise. I'm over the haikus. Thank goodness Bad Poetry Day is over, right?!

What?! You've Never Seen a Jackimo on Assignment?

Welcome to Another Day... It Don't Seem That Different 'Cause Nothing Has Changed

(Mom, please... it's a LYRIC. My grammar-tical skillz are better than that!)

I read a Yahoo! news story (How About an E-mail On That?) recently that caught my attention... and made me think about my own cell phone habits. Did you know that, even though we spend lots 'o hours on our cells, we only typically call about four people on them. I didn't really believe that... so I thought I'd put the theory to the test. I pulled our own cell phone bill from last month. You know, just to see. And, by gosh, if you don't count the little meaningless calls (you know, the less-than-a-minute ones, most of which were work-related or errand-ish, or the voicemail calls), the article had it just about right... +/- one-ish. I had four numbers that had over 100 minutes talked-to. And Jon had four numbers that had over 100 minutes talked-to. Amazing.

Anyway, this weekend (and this week) have been (so far) movie-licious for us. We saw:
1. World Trade Center on Friday
2. Talladega Nights - The Ballad of Ricky Bobby on Saturday
3. Good Night and Good Luck on Sunday (or was that Monday?)
4. Failure to Launch on Tuesday

They were all pretty good... well, fairly decent. Talladega Nights was definitely the best, followed closely by Good Night and Good Luck. And don't you judge me for that. Ricky Bobby is gonna be a classic... just you wait & see. Anyway, I'm just trying to get back to actually using my Blockbuster movie deal (Good Night and Good Luck & Failure to Launch... and previously Fun With Dick & Jane and Rumor Has It). Too many of these three-at-a-time movies have sat on the coffee table unopened and unwatched for weeks at a time. That is not what I'm paying for. So, yeah, back to using the Blockbuster movie deal AND we've been trying to keep up with Andrew & Amy's theater usage. Now that classes have officially started back (and the two of them are off their summer vacation), maybe we have a chance!

Anyway... it's getting late (once again!)... so I'll bid my adieu. I will promise you this... I'll do my darnedest to come up with a better blog topic for tomorrow. Sorry to all y'all who wasted your precious time reading along with my patter.

Oh yeah, one last thing... I must break up the monotony of the in-the-grass doggie photos. When Haley comments on it, I know you guys are noticing! ;-) Just kidding, baby sister. How about one of how Coop & Kona look after their daily RUN (okay, so it's not a run every day... but I try to pick up the pace on them every once in a while!):

And one more ... an update for anyone interested (!) in being my neighbor. Notice the big white pipe sticking up. What's that FOR??? Anyway, this is my vantage point if I stand (or sit) somewhere in front of my garage door. Lovely, huh?


As Edward R. Murrow would say... good night... and good luck.

Just a Little Bitty ... Picture Post

As long as I take 'em for walks, they love me. Is that unconditional? Um... look it up.

Can Anyone Tell Me?

Why is the man in the moon smiling?

They Shouldn't Let Just Anyone Use a Keyboard

I ran across a web site (okay, maybe it was a blog... yes, I'm addicted) recently that reminded me of my love for haikus. And that, in turn, reminded me of my sweet little godson's pre-life baby shower at which we all had to write haikus on the spot. It was hot in that apartment above the B-fonte downtown, in the middle of summer (hmm... it was the begining of summer... wonder why it was so hot?!), in central PA. So... we're all sweatin' to the oldies (or maybe it was cool rock) and writing haikus for Zach... who was, at that time, still called Jackson, I mean Jake's son, wait... no, it was Jackson. It was actually a competition, the haiku-writing session. And I, somehow, in a room full of literary geniuses, won the competition. Maybe it was just that they felt sorry for me since I couldn't place a one of the baby food flavors on my plate. I don't need the pity... I'd just like to know if mine was actually good. If I still had the darn thing, I'd copy it here for you so you could vote. Oh well. Anyway, this was not supposed to turn into a long soliloquy. I just came here tonight to write a little bad poetry.

Work from home in bed
Nothing more good can be said
Shower me at three

Every day phone call
Cut off by Idlewild spots
Dead zones for fam'ly

Run along slowly
Dogs at either ankle then
The heat makes it hard

Barks wake up neighbors
Woof woof at sounds I don't hear
Alas, it is late

Time with my Tivo
What more could you ask for now?
I want more ice cream

Catch up on Gilmore
Lorelai and Christopher
They must hook up soon

Midnight in 'boro
Chocolate cake would be great
Again with these thoughts

Wrap me up, cocoon
Waiting for you to comfort
I like to be free

Yeah, my poem sucks.
Whatever. It is my blog.
Go read someone better.

Obsession... The Friend That's Always There for Me

I'm a little obsessed with the pics of Saomai (the typhoon that struck China this week). NASA's Earth Observatory page (careful, the image is huge & will stall your machine for a loooong while) said, "Saomai possessed a well-defined, closed (cloud-filled) eye at the center of the storm, with tightly wound spiral arms." Just insanely & intensely beautiful.


Also, there's supposed to be a meteor shower tomorrow night in Ankara, Turkey. I was just about to direct all y'all, wherever you find yourself, to find a way to at least take a peek at the nighttime sky tomorrow night. But, go figure, only those of you in Turkey will have a show to watch. Oh well... even if you don't see any shooting stars (which I've never seen and am majorly bummed about!), make sure you pop out at some point to say hi to bella luna.

I'm really hoping the Wall Street Journal thought carefully before they decided to run one of their Aug. 8 op-ed pieces "August 22: Does Iran Have Something in Store?". Okay, so maybe it has been making its rounds on the Internet, but is there any reason to legitimize the claim (by publishing the doomsday prophecy in the WSJ) that Iran's president may be planning to demonstrate just how much of a nuclear power his country is in an August 22 bomb-dropping session? I must admit... I went outside earlier tonight & I was fine... enjoyed it immensely. Then, after I read this story, I was completely freaked out being outside (when I went again). Sometimes it's really frustrating to be so irrational.

Speaking of irrational... I know I told y'all the other day about my irrational fear of sleeping next to the window after 9/11... well, we saw World Trade Center tonight. Not necessarily a pick-me-up. It was pretty good, though. Despite Nic Cage being the primary star. (I really dislike Nic Cage, for some reason. Just can't even stand to look at him on the screen! Tonight, though, he spent most of the movie trapped under the rubble with only a little bit of his face being shown periodically.) Of course, what walking, talking, breathing, feeling American can possibly dislike this movie? Several scenes were quite powerful... including one that did a decent job of showing the sheer power associated with the first tower collapsing. And the other actors/actresses were great. Couple of things, though. 1) I spent the whole first part of the movie (until the first tower fell) cringing (worrying, being irritated, etc.) that people weren't moving faster. I mean, I know no one expected that the towers would actually FALL, but hello... burning building over your head. RUN, dammit! Is that insensitive? Sorry. Really, I am. 2) How much would it have sucked to have gone down there to help (police officers, firefighters, paramedics, etc.) and ended up a victim yourself (without ever having even helped one other person)?! Obviously, I'm a horrible person. I know it. 3) I read a story just today about a photographer who walked toward the WTC (snapping pics along the way) as the events of that morning were unfolding. C'mon... how crazy (and obsessed with capturing the images) do you have to be to actually walk toward that scene? And I know he may not have even realized the true danger (like those slow-moving people that were so annoying in this movie!)... that is, until the first tower came down. But once that first tower came down, Lord have mercy... skeedaddle out of there! (Unfortunately, he didn't... and he was killed by the 2nd tower collapse. Wow... again, showing how completely insensitive I am. Tonight must just be the night for me to be awful! Anyway, most of his equipment and film was destroyed, but some of his digital pics made it out. You can see them at The Digital Journalist page.) 4) I think we probably all remember exactly what we were doing when we heard the news on 9/11/01. I remember standing in front of the tv in the HR conference room in State College watching the towers fall. I thought at the time that I was amazed they were staying with the feed. That memory (and the emotions of the day) was very clear in my mind as I watched the movie tonight. Amazing how some things just stick with you like that.

Wow... clearly that's enough. I merely wanted a quick little shout-out post tonight. Obviously, I had a lot on my mind after the movie tonight, though. Sorry to burden you with reading one of these silly postings on a weekend (provided you find me here before Monday). Be good... be safe... and get right with your God (before 8/22). :) Much love to you all.

I'm Keeping Upward Bound Now

Yet again, the actions of a deranged few have mucked it up for the rest of us. I was more-than-disturbed this morning when I woke up to yet another news story about a terrorist plot, this time foiled by the world's police organizations (and busted up -- to use the well-chosen words of our very own commander-in-chief -- in the U.K.). Not only was I freaked out all over again (the 9/11 attacks made me irrationally HAVE TO switch sides of the bed so that I wasn't sleeping next to the window), but I'm disgusted by the pure inconvenience of it all! And here when it was getting the tiniest bit EASIER to fly our friendly skies. (Please excuse the whiney, bratty nature of this post. I really do understand the need for tight security, and I will comply with every rule put in place... but I'm gonna complain about it... and this is my outlet.)

As a company "traveler", I got my obligatory travel bulletin from our travel agent today (they always send out a brief -- and, most of the time, filled with DUH information -- note about any changes happening re: airline travel) letting me know that I cannot take any liquids, gels, lotions, or the like on board the plane and that I should expect long delays if I'm traveling today. (Thank goodness today wasn't a travel day for me. The pics of airport security lines are disturbing. And the lines of cars waiting to get into the terminal area at some of the world's airports! Geez.) Our agent also mentioned (admittedly with no documentation from any of the airlines or governing bodies) that, although not explicitly prohibited, travelers toting electronics (laptops, iPods, cell phones, etc.) in their carry-ons can expect additional long delays at the airport. Of course, if I had to choose between having these items onboard my flight and landing safely (and alive!), I'd definitely choose to get back on the ground in one piece. So... if you MUST take absolutely everything away from me before allowing me to board, go ahead. But maybe we could ramp up the on-board entertainment and free snackage if a streamlined-traveler approach is going to be a long-term solution to curbing terrorism? Perhaps we could build the two into one... naked air transporation... built-in entertainment, and probably more-than-a-little appetite curbing -- you know, since America is so obese -- to keep us from wanting the free snackage. Anyway... TSA, if you're interested in my opinion, I think the following are must-allows on-board (for me, at least): laptop, iPod, book or magazine (of my choice... please don't tell me to read the airline's publication), cell phones (even though I can't use 'em in-flight, I couldn't imagine having to wait for my checked bag to be "re-connected"), chapstick, a hair tie, my change purse wallet (with ID, credit cards, and any cash I happen to have -- which is usually none at all), and sunglasses.

So, I hate to sound like a big ole whiner about this stuff... especially when it is quite possibly a life or death issue... but a part of me is really irritated that I'll have to actually check a bag on my next flight (or just not take ANY liquid items along... lotion, shampoo/conditioner, perfume/body spray, make-up, toothpaste, etc. ... so, yeah, THAT'S not happening). Over the course of my last few years of traveling, I've gotten quite good at packing for any length of trip in one small (carry-on sized) suitcase. As long as the Internet check-in (or an e-check-in machine at the airport) is operational, I have my boarding pass in hand and my trusty coming-with-me-through-security bag rolling behind me from the moment I arrive at the airport. With this approach, I've avoided many a long line at the check-in counter and gone straight to the gate to relax comfortably (well, as much as it's possible in those stupid airport chairs) until my flight begins boarding. Don't get me wrong... I'm not one of those people. I won't wheel my as-big-as-allowed carry-on onto the plane unless it's a big jet (with lots of roomy overhead compartment-ture). On most planes just a tad smaller than those big boys that easily hold my bag on-board, they have a quite effective plane-side checking process that gets your bag underneath (so you don't have to bang knees going down the aisle or wrestle with it to make it fit over your head... as you pray that the heavy-as-sin thing doesn't come crashing back down on you!) AND returned to you as you come off the plane at your port of arrival. All you need is one of the trusty pink or green or yellow tags that they hand out during the boarding process. They'll usually even let you keep the same one from flight to flight (even if they have switched colors). So, there's very minimal effort required to easily transport your bag from A to Z without hitting the check-baggage-counter or fighting the idiots at the baggage carousel. (If you're one of the lunatics who pushes to the very front of the crowd while waiting for your checked luggage, please slap yourself in the face at this time. Do you realize how freakin' annoying you are to the rest of us who are trying to wait patiently? Helloooo... if we all just stood back, like, 3 feet, everyone could see the bags as they hit the conveyor. Then, when you actually see your bag, step to the front & grab it. Good gosh... it doesn't take but half a brain, people. You know, it's just that annoying... slap yourself again.) So, yeah... seeing as how I have a meltdown every time I have to deal with checked baggage, I have chosen this much-healthier (for me, at least) option. And I'm going to be really pissed the next time I fly if I don't still have this option. Somebody get me some Advil, please. I'm gonna need it.

I Don't Know Just Wants to See You

Cesar Milan is my hero. He's amazing. I love the "Dog Whisperer". It teaches me lots of things to try with the hellions. Unfortunately, when we make inroads on one behavior, another one shows up. Tonight, Cooper decided he likes chewing the corners off of pillows. I haven't really seen an episode where Cesar deals with chewing. Hmm... maybe I can present sweet little Coop to him for a future "date". Coop wouldn't compare with Cesar's usual clients, though. When you catch him chewing on the pillow, he goes into spongey mode. I've told you about spongey before, right? When he just soaks up the love like a sponge? It's quite the way for him to avoid punishment... or any negative feelings coming his way at all!

While I'm on the subject of doggies and "training" (although Cesar doesn't train dogs... he rehabs them; and he trains people), Leslie, our local doggie trainer who's trying to help us break Kona of the KILL approach she takes toward all other living things, called this evening to cancel our class for today. It was too hot, she said. Shortly after I heard from her (and knowing that the dogs HAD to get some exercise today -- especially since Cesar has me believing his Exercise, Discipline, Affection approach), I decided to go running with 'em. They really do pretty well. They've gotten soooo much better. Both of them actually know how to walk now. And if I help them exert some of ther energy early in the "walk" by running, it usually goes so well! Anyway, I didn't get (read: take) the opportunity to run today on the treadmill, so I went with dual motives... exercise the dogs and exercise the self. It was good stuff. Felt great. Although, outside, I do a terrible job of knowing exactly how far/long I've run... so I think I cut corners on the normal routine. But it's something, right? Anyway, so tonight, the daily thunder/lightning clouds were rolling in from the southeast just as I was going out (we've been getting consistent thunder-boomer clouds -- remember thunder-boomers guy, Haley?!?! -- every day for a few weeks now... the rain often jumps right over us, but we get the clouds, thunder & lightning... all very cool, especially when it actually rains!). So, we had quite the little show during our exercise. Luckily, we didn't get struck by any of the lightning, so that's one good thing that happened to me today! Anyway... after I bragged on how well the dogs do walking/running on leash, now I'll tell you how they didn't do so well. Just about the whole way back to the house, whenever I quickened the pace, Cooper used that as an opportunity (as his little legs picked up momentum) to jolt across in front of me and try to bite (gnaw, attack, jump, whatever) Kona. So, that was annoying. I had to pull him back across more than a few times... which is not so easy to do when you're concentrating on holding the leashes up out of the street, not stepping on pawpads, tugging the red dog with your left arm... all the while trying to keep up the pace so you don't disappoint yourself with a "walking period". I hate the "walking periods" that I just have to have sometimes. I really don't have to have them. I know I don't. I'm stronger than that, darn it! One time when I was running on my mom's treadmill at M&D's, my dad came down to "chat" while I was running (which you -- well, I -- can't really do, but he talked while I huffed & puffed). As I slowed to a brisk walk at one point, he asked me what hurt... you know, what caused me to have to slow up in the middle of my run. And I didn't have an answer. Nothing really hurt. I was just tired... not physically unable to perform (which, dang it, if Curtis Martin doesn't come off that list soon...), but what? Mentally tired? It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Maybe when I actually figure out how to push through those "I must stop now" moments (which I truly can do with the right song playing on my iPod... something about a red top does it every time), I'll actually consider myself more of a runner. Until then, I'm a pitiful amateur-ish poser who just likes to pretend she's getting some good exercise and doing something healthy for herself... while she has hand-spun milkshakes and chicken sandwich combos for lunch. Oh well. At least the scale isn't tipping in the wrong direction b/c of my eating habits. Maybe, just maybe, the running helps keep it solidly on ... yeah, did you really think I'd TELL YOU? Let's just say it's around the same number I've ALWAYS been. I swear... always... since, like, when I was born. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. But at least since I was 1.

Well, that got to be an extremely long paragraph. About nothing but dogs and running and eating. Typical blog post yet again. My apologies for being boring. Oh well... might as well finish it out with the standard doggie pic(s).


Fair warning... I had to "force" those pics in (since, for some reason, Blogger has just stopped providing the HTML for me when I upload pics!); but, hopefully, I've learned my lesson & made the links to the full sizes work this time!

Anyway... wherever you find yourself over the next few days, try to make sure you stop to smell the flowers (and ignore the shadow of the crazy lady standing over you snapping pictures of you doing it).



Sending you much exercise, discipline, and affection. XOXO

Another Day, Another Psychotic Episode

So, instead of working today, I found this really great page that lists the best of Digg games in one place. I spent quite some time on this one trying to reduce my avg mile error (and improve my U.S. geography). Jon would love it. Unfortunately, at the moment, he won't wake up for the five minutes it would take to play. But I'm sure if/when he ever finds it, he will love it. And he'll probably beat my average error "score" of 7 miles. Camille, on the other hand... LOL.

But really, I did do some actual work as well. The to-do list from yesterday... definitely helped! And it was nice to be able to prove to my boss (had I wanted to reveal to her the super-secret location of my blog, which I didn't... but I could've!)-- so it might've been nice to prove to my boss -- that I had already reminded myself that I needed to turn in my FY07 objectives even before she sent me a note about it this morning. The inbox is down to 90 and I got those objectives done. And I finished the eAppraisal stuff I was rambling about. The only thing I didn't do is contact the peeps about the training. And that's mainly because I don't like that part of my job. So, I choose not to do it... and I do a fabulous job on everything else. So far, it's worked out pretty well for me. Hope the gig isn't up anytime soon! As long as my boss still thinks this is me (it's not, btw), I think I'm good:



Now, come on! You know you think that's funny. Stop being such a prude and crack a smile. My boss forwarded me this picture... after having a conversation with me about how I can't have the same unrealistic expectations for everyone else that I have for myself. She says she doesn't think it's acceptable for me to expect my colleagues to work on the weekend, be readily accessible after hours, keep a notebook computer on their laps at all times. Harumph. We have such different lives, my colleagues & I.

Well, I'm tired & I can't get my Outlook to open. (It's trying to access an archive folder on the State College server... the same one that I actually told it to CLOSE when I logged out earlier. Grrrr.) I had a list for myself in there of some topics I could write about when I ran out of other stuff. But, it's just not meant to be. Instead, I'll post Jon's new fave pic (he actually complimented me on it!) of the kids:



Cute, huh? I think I've found my photog speciality... taking pics while sitting/lying in the grass. First, the Haley/Sydney portrait. Now the Coop/Kona one. I'm proud. Don't burst my bubble please. And if you must comment on this post, please tell me how pretty the picture is. :-)

My Well Holds Plenty for Penny Wishing

See? I tried to tell you. Even USA Today agrees. I've been relying on all the right wiring in my brain to make decisions all along. Okay... so I can't make a decision to save my life. But the process I try is correct. It's all about emotion, baby. Every time I'm faced with a decision, I attempt to go through my feelings about it. What would I feel if I went with Choice A? What about Choice B? And if it has anything to do with food, Haley & I agree. You must chomp, chomp, chomp on the fantasy choices before making your final selection. It may look funny, but once you've sampled the Spicy Chicken Sandwich and the #1 Hamburger Combo, you'll know which one you want. Well, that's the theory anyway. For me, I still love both. My emotions themselves are just too emotional. "The brain stores emotional memories of past decisions, and those are what drive people's choices in life," the researcher says. Oooh... good quote. But I have positive emotional memories tied up in both the spicy chicken and the hamburger combo. I STILL can't decide. Spicy chicken or hamburger. Hamburger or spicy chicken. Aaarrrrgggghhhh! And now I'm lost in an endless spiral of which-do-I-choose-b/c-I-love-them-both hell. Shoot... now I'm hungry. Like I said, we should all rely more on logic to make decisions than emotion. Emotion is stupid.

Anyway... I love checking out what national holidays are going on today, this week, this month. Today (8/7) is the last day of National Simplify Your Life Week. Whew... glad I missed that one! My life soooo doesn't need simplified. HA! Luckily, I've caught the beginning of Don't Wait! Celebrate! Week (8/7 - 13)! Most excellent. It's my new fave week. No time like the present. Carpe diem. Cliches are us. AND if the web site I found last is to be trusted, tomorrow (8/8) is Happiness Happens Day. Also, another one of my favorites. Because it does. Just happens. Especially when you're not paying a bit of attention.

And, finally, since i have nothing better to do (!), here are a few links I enjoyed greatly. Careful with the first two if you're in a public place (i.e., @ work!). There's sound & they're videos.
1) The Appalachian is Hot! video. Haley's new fave commercial.
2) A hilarious (and I mean HI-lar-ious) video of the frog brothers. Haley, Holly, Callie... aren't you glad the "Talk Dirty to Me" routine (or any of the others) isn't on tape?!?! Thank goodness there were no camcorders in our possession. But, seriously, this video makes me laugh out loud (and even rofl!)!!! Do these kids look familiar to anyone else?
3) In paging through some Hubble Space Telescope pics, I found this one. Does anyone else see something besides a "Perfect Storm of Turbulent Gases in the Omega/Swan Nebula (M17)"? I swear... I can't even see the storm of which they speak for the pic I see instead.

But, in my real life, I do have activities that must be completed tomorrow. On the to-do list include: composing some FY06 objectives (it's been almost two weeks since Mary gave me my performance review -- including a very good constructive criticism session... which I took very well, Mikey... re: my nervous laugh! -- and she asked for my input on my "future objectives"... which I was supposed to give her last week!), contact a training company and our sales manager re: some sales training (again, another task assigned to me by Mary over a week ago... I'm sensing a pattern here), deliver a report on our online appraisal process progress (say that 10 times fast!) to the HR Directors, finish updating the appraisal database with current employee info, ensure all merit increases were accurately loaded & the retro amounts were calculated correctly, get the e-mail inbox to back down below 100 items, etc., etc., etc. I know you don't care; but when I re-read this post in the AM, I'm going to appreciate the heck out of the fact that I made myself a little to-do list for the day! :-)

Tonight is Mary's last night... she leaves us for PDX tomorrow around lunchtime. It's been great having her here. The eating in has been a nice change! And the whole fam has felt so blessed to have her visit. Safe travels back to the west coast!

My Supply of Liquid Sunshine

First, Cooper was on the lookout for it. (He was very good at keeping his post... even when I distracted him.)


Then it finally came! We've needed rain all summer. Today, God decided to bless us with a bit.

No, I Wasn't Drunk...

... But I was really, really, really sleepy... and, truth be told, completely falling asleep in between sentences. Sorry for the atrocious spelling in that last post. I have gone back to edit it now. Usually, that's a job for just-before-publishing; but I just couldn't make it last night!

Me & U Do It To It with Buttons while you Hate Me with the Lips of an Angel ... and Other Top 20 on 20

I had a very, very busy day of work today. (Which, by the way, still isn't over. I expect to still be working on importing our salary changes -- it's merit increase time!! -- at 2:00 am. Oh well... at least I have a good excuse for staying up that late tonight!) It was one of those days that I didn't even have an opportunity to get up & do anything (including take a shower until REALLY late in the day!). So, I ended up staying in the bed, alternating between lying down and sitting up, with the ultra-hot laptop (oops... I mean notebook computer) on my lap, on the bed, etc., in my pjs. A couple things I thought of while writing that sentence: 1) Have you seen those stories about the Dell laptops spontaneously combusting (story 1 and story 2)? Man... as much as my computer is on my lap, I sure hope I don't have one that's prone to catching fire. But, as hot as the darn thing gets, I wouldn't be surprised! It would probably be a pretty funny sight... kind of like the time I pulled a cookie sheet out of the oven with a dish towel and accidentally dragged the towel over the elements. Here's me standing in the middle of the kitchen floor while Haley & Jon scream at me that I'm on fire. It slowly dawns on me that my hand is getting hot & I quickly drop the on-fire towel (and the cookie sheet... along with the darn cookies!) onto the floor. Good reaction, huh?! Stop, drop, and burn the vinyl floor. Anyway... I can only imagine my reaction if my notebook computer exploded in my lap. 2) I did grab 2 seconds today to run to Chick-fil-A for a quick lunch. I did not, however, change out of my pjs (tank top & shorty shorts). Although they're not the same ones I talked about earlier, it did bring to mind Lis' comment from a couple days ago. Lis, what do you mean? I ALWAYS wear my pjs out in public! I may not get out of the car (all my fave places have drive-throughs), but I'm technically in public. The funniest part of your comment, Lis, was that it popped into my e-mail WHILE I was out in public in my passed-the-sniff-test-but-still-dirty pjs.

Anyway... the reason I even started this post was to talk about the music I've been listening to today. When I get really busy & don't get out of bed, I usually eventually think to turn on the TV. But I cannot allow myself to turn on video... because I would easily get sucked into ANYTHING (hello, ADD... I'm reminded of Thursday nights in State College when Lis & Jon would get so irritated at Jake & me watching whatever was on TV instead of listening to & participating in the conversation... hello, I can't look away from the pretty picture... and if you don't want me watching it, turn the darn thing OFF!). So, I frequent the XM satellite channels on DirecTV. And instead of flipping between stations to find good songs, I usually end up picking the Top 20 on 20 station. I thoroughly enjoy it, because I'm usually a fan of the top 20 hits. But it is funny that I sit here listening to it ALL DAY. I've heard the "top 20" songs (there are actually a few more than 20!) a million times today!!! My favorites include:

- Buttons, PSD -- one of my faves for the past week... I attribute it to Calliente's bust-a-move moment at the water fountain in front of half her office
- Me & U, Cassie -- so that's where Jami got her MySpace tune! can't help but like it now that I recognize it so easily... hard to ignore a ooh-I-know-this-song moment
- Do It To It, Cherish -- I'm reminded of Leafy @ Granville... Kasey would say "do-do-do", Ash would say "do it to it"... SUCH FUN TIMES
- Snap Yo Fingers, Lil Jon/E-40/Sean Paul -- geez... WHY do I have to like an E-40 song??? Please... no one tell Jon. Same as Cassie's song... sooo easy to recognize!
- Crazy, Gnarls Barkley -- dang that Marco... he'll always be the person I associate with Gnarls Barkley since he's the first person I know of who "found them" on MySpace. Speaking of Marco, how small is the world when the Internet's involved? I had to leave Haley a comment last night at 2 AM to discuss the pure WEIRD that is Marco and Richie in the same mental image frame in my mind (thanks to Callie's blog post).
- Promiscuous, Nelly Furtado -- I really didn't even believe this was fly-like-a-bird Nelly Furtado when I first heard it. I enjoy the song, but it's JUST NOT NELLY. But I guess it is... and I'll just have to get over it.
- Unfaithful, Rihanna -- Easy to learn, hard to listen to
- Ain't No Other Man, Christina -- eh... regular old reformed-XTina song
- London Bridge, Fergie -- LOVE Fergie (um, and Josh D.) ... don't necessarily love this song. But it grows on ya. I still don't get it, though. And no, I don't want any of you to try to explain it to me.
- SexyBack, JT -- ha ha... JT. Yep, he's back. And I'm listening again. :-) So, the first time I heard this I agreed with some random person I saw comment about it... he said SexyBack was just JT's latest prank... proof that he could get the radio stations to play anything he put out (even the stuff he wrote while strung out). But, once again, JT's growing on me. LOL
- It's Goin' Down, Yung Joc -- Another MySpace popular
And finally... the worst of all of my guilty pleasures... I'm so embarassed to even admit that I halfway-enjoy this song. Oh, what the heck... y'all don't read this anyway... and if you do, no way have you gotten all the way down here!
- Stars Are Blind, Paris Hilton -- Please, someone tell me Paris was in no way associated with this song... that she's lip-syncing and they only hired her to "act" in the video & plaster her name/face on the album!!! I just cannot take it if I actually like one of her songs. Luckily, I've already started seeing speculation that she's not really the mastermind behind it. Whew... what a relief.

The other thing I find interesting is the way in which the top tunes (#1 especially) change throughout the day. At 12:25 tonight, it's Ashley Parker Angel (Let It Go). Earlier today, I remember #1's including: Nelly's "Promiscuous" and PCD's "Buttons". Just seems like different tastes prevail at different times of the day. Eclectic, I like to call it. And I was also pleased to hear that KT Tunstall and James B. are still making periodic appearances in the top 20. Love them. Miss them when they're not around.

Anyway... Mary made it in tonight, albeit a little late and a little perturbed at the not-so-friendly-skies crew that kept her & the other passengers seated through most of the 6 hour trek across the country. You know, I've noticed it lately myself too -- the pilot seems to be keeping that seat belt sign on unnecessarily. And, thank you very much, if we're flying along steadily, I think I'll chance it instead of holding it as Miss-Terrible-Manners-Attendant may so rudely suggest.

OK, time to wrap it up & get on with posting these merit increases. Just a few pics before I go: ... the fabulous job we're doing keeping up the outside of Forsythe (and turning the pretty lights on when it's dark); a better (well, I like the flowers better) pic of the dining room (red room!); keeping tabs on our next door neighbor's house (there's still plenty of time to get in on this...okay, we'll discuss later); and finally, the spectacular colored sky from yesterday's dusk. It was simply unbelievable.


- Much luv -

Anti-Problem... Ain't We All?!

Tivo also makes me smile. On tonight's agenda: one of the Gilmore eps. (There are millions of 'em crowding up my Now Playing List... and I love them... but it takes so long to watch them!) In this ep, Lorelai is dealing with Rory dropping out of Yale by picking paint colors (which I know a little about... see below). One of the best lines ever:

Luke: Do you wanna know the problem here?
Lorelai: Actually no, I don’t like problems. I avoid them when I can, and I don’t like people pointing them out to me.

A couple of house-related projects I wanted to share with y'all...
The finished dining room is really red, but I like it. My mom saw it and was like "whoa, that's dark red". But I like dark red, so it's all good. And Jon sure did a great job being "handy" with the doggy door. Kona & Coop have done very well learning how to use it, too.


So, I was reading a little article online a few days ago (I think it was on Engadget) about how Tivo is affecting TV viewership. A research company did a survey (YIKES!) to prove whether or not people are watching MORE TV with DVRs despite the ad-skipping features Tivo offers (you know... to figure out if advertising can still be effective -- if it's ever been all that effective).

Mediamark's numbers state that 20 percent of adults watch 44.5 hours or more of TV per week, while only 15.7 of DVR owners watch that much boob tube. The numbers come from in-home interviews of 26,000 adults from March '05 to March '06, but the broadcast networks aren't buying it.

See? I'm not the only one who doesn't necessarily trust surveys. Just thought I'd back up my lunacy with some other people's ranting.

So... thought you'd like to know. Today (August 2) is National Friendship Day. All of you "friends" out there... I miss you & I love you. I still think of you all as very precious metals!

And speaking of friends... it's okay for me to know about the leavings and comings in the department. I officially wished my best bud well in her departure today. The departure of which I speak is coming much, much, much too quickly. Wish I had time to get back out to the Beaverton office to say a proper goodbye... but we'll meet for lunch next time I'm in town, I'm sure! I shared with my friend what I had written in the blog about her on the day I found out about her leaving (wishing her great, fun things and missing her already), and she said very nice things back to me. Not sure how we ended up hitting it off so well; but I sure as heck will miss her. My life has been funny like that... quick little intense friendships all across the country... KL, CF, SW, etc. Unfortunately, I tend to lose those peeps as quickly as I find them. Luckily, though, I do have a few constant silvers and golds. And you guys mean the world to me (as do you quick hits... so if you're out there somewhere, let's do lunch sometime!). I'm just going to have to work on my ability to sustain. So... here's to fermatas. May we hold on forever. Gosh, I love those little bird's eyes.

Shoot... so... another web site just informed me that National Friendship Day is the first Sunday in August (and not today as my first source told me). Oh well...whichever day it really is, may we all celebrate it EVERY DAY.

Had to say goodbye to Mom & Dad this AM. Loved, loved, loved having them here! But looking forward to a new visitor tomorrow. Mary - hope your trip across ye old country is pleasant! See you tomorrow night!

X's and O's, y'all. Good night.

From Now On, the Sniffing Will Be Replaced By ...

Have you ever been right in the middle of changing clothes and decided you really wanted to wear something that was already in your dirty clothes hamper/basket/pile? Okay, so that's not so bad (that's just the thought, after all). But have you actually reached in, pulled it out, completed the sniff test, and decided it's not bad enough to keep you from wearing it at least one more time... then proceeded to put it on & just wear the darn thing?!?! (And speaking of the sniff test... I believe it was Keira Knightley in one of my US Weekly magazines who was quoted as saying something about wearing anything without visible stains that passed the sniff test. Bless her heart... Keira's my kind of girl... well, she used to be before she withered away to nothing.) But anyway... whose mom invented the sniff test? And why do we DO that? There really should be a better way to tell if something is just clean enough to wear without embarassing yourself. Maybe one of those techies who amuse themselves by inventing funky, ultra-cool gadgets (and apparel) could come up with something useful in that regard.

Of course, it's my own fault. I did whites today instead of darks... because I was trying to be a good wife and make sure Jon had undies to wear. I forgot my fave jammies were in the dark to-be-washed pile from State College. No worries... they passed the sniff test.

Ick... probably not such a good post... more than a little disturbing for those of you who are easily disgusted. So, if it's not exactly what you expected, tough cookies. I don't always have to do exactly what's expected!