Love is...

Other than being higher than a mountain, and thicker than water....Love is puppies! My puppies in particular.

They are smart:

- ring a bell to go outside

- learned the "sit" command in one day

- don't piddle on my bed

They are also cute, mischevious, loving, and supportive. They took care of me last week when I was so sick....well, I mean, they didn't bring me medicine, soup, or take my temp....but, they sure did snuggle up, kiss and love me, and keep me company while I was miserable!

Here are the pictures of them after digging a muddy swimming hole for themselves after 2 days of rain :).

I'm Brilliant because.....

1. I have discovered that PMS stands for Pesky Mood Swings
2. I've figured out how to avoid doing laundry...... febreeze & weekly trips to Target to buy more underwear...... (kidding, but not far away!)
3. I know exactly what movies to put in my 5-disc DVD changer to elicit the tears needed to deal with Pesky Mood Swing - Cry-baby.
4. I have hidden my soon-to-be 15 year old son's birthday gift in the dishwasher.... pretty sure he won't find it between now and his birthday on Friday.
5. Dunkin' Donuts coffee really tastes the best, straight-up black....no cream or sugar needed.

I'm pretty sure there is more corroborating evidence to support my brilliance, but I've got to finally drag me arse to bed after waking up in the middle of the night with the need to document my high level of ability to WOW and WOO my audiences with my ever-exciting adventures and stories. G'night me friends!

Subtle differences

Subtle differences can easily go unnoticed. I suggest that we pay more attention to them.

Did you know that the word for marry in Swedish is "gifta"? (pronounced yifta). The word for poison is "gift".... something to ponder about the derivation of words.

There is a difference of only 1 letter between winner and wiener. Think about that when you think you've picked a winner, you may have misspelled your selection.

I note the above not to scare or encourage bitterness. Just make sure you think before you act, and buy yourself an updated dictionary.

Too Old or Too High Tech?

Which is it?
Am I getting old? I'm having trouble remembering my username/password. Is it serious? Do I need to get to a Neurologist for testing?
OR
Is it that fact that I have 4 email accounts, 2 blogs, 3 Social Networking sites, 3 Wiki sites, 1 Social Bookmarking site, 5 financial institutes.....and, that doesn't even touch on all of my online shopping sites.....could that be part of the problem? I don't always sign up with the same email account, and I don't want to use my financial passwords for my social networking sites, and some of them are work-related sites....

Oh, the angst of being one of such high intellect, technical savvy, and mass popularity. Now, can someone tell my how to work these damn motion sensor nightlights!?!

How high? How high?

Why is it that some people think that will be the answer when they say, "jump"? Instant gratification, folks! That's what they want. There is no regard to the fact that others may be swamped or involved in something else that someone else asked one to "jump" on. Perhaps the problem is in the asking. There are many ways to ask one to jump:

• Can you jump for me?
• Please jump.
• Do you have time to jump for me right now?
• I could use some help jumping, are you available?
• JUMP, Asshat!

Some of these I would be more likely to respond to with a smile, others with a finger gesture. Feel free to use this as a matching activity in your spare time...... see, I just let you know that you could "jump" on an activity if you wanted to.

Now, I do realize that some things you are not able to opt out of and they must be done. But, let's evaluate whether or not it is URGENT. Urgent means that it has to be done right now or someone will die, go to jail, or lose funding. Those are pretty important. If no one is bleeding from the eyeballs, then maybe it could wait until I am finished.

FINAL WORD: Ultimately, my problems, issues, needs, etc. are bigger, more urgent, and more important than yours anyway.

Am I having fun?

Because time is flying!

It is already February. The second month of 2009....really?

So, this year, my daughter will turn 12, my son will turn 15....what??!!?....and I will be one year deeper into my 4th decade.

Here are some of the other events of the year:

- I've suddenly gotten really into cooking. I enjoy getting home, chopping vegetables, potatoes, and prepping food for dinner.

- February will be my first month without a car payment since I paid my Honda off 1 year early.

- I will lose the 40 pounds I started to gain over the last 18 months (already 5 down after only 1 week back to journaling all my food with Weight Watchers).

- I will work toward paying off my debt (already consolidated on my card with the lowest APR).

- Things are going so well with my job, and they are only on their way to getting better with the team I am on. My team is interested in focusing on each of our strengths and making sure we are doing things at which we are most suited instead of "fixing" our weaknesses. COOL!

- I'm adopting twins....

Although this is not a picture of my girls, this is what they look like. The solid girl will be called Lacey Grey and the white/blenheim, Zoe Bailey. The middle names will only be used when they are in trouble :).

Anyway, I have so many good plans for myself this year. There won't be as many vacations as last year, but I think things will still be good for me and the kids this year. I'm so looking forward to it and ask the powers that be to stick with me.

Wow...I suck!

Has it really been since November? I posted nothing in December? That was the month I finished my first semester in the Adult Learning Graduate Certificate at Hopkins, went to London (England, that is...), and then there was that little thing called Christmas...and New Year.....
So.....quick recap......
Relief
Amazingly fun, special, father-daughter bonding
Family, hysterical, food....foood......food....
alone....shocker!

Okay, there it is! I'll add some real posts coming up. I'd love to say it was because I was so busy, but I must blame it on the Wii. I am now addicted and feel that I may need to quit my graduate studies, and possibly my job in order to keep up with the Wii in the way that I would like to.

Stay tuned for fun info and awesome pics....maybe I'll even look into using some of the Web 2.0 tools I'm learning more and more about.