What I did on my Summer Stay-cation

With some vacation days remaining which had to be taken prior to June 30, I decided to take them, but stay home. The timing worked for a couple of reasons: kids' last day of school, puppies getting fixed, me in need of a break from work.

So, here's a quick run-down of what I did:

• watch the puppies, keep them from picking at their stitches, carry them in and outside to keep them from using stairs, keep them from digging and playing in the dirt to avoid infection - SOLUTION: Put them in baby onesies (size 0-3 mos) so the site was covered from dirt, doggie picking, and any other potential dangers - BTW, they still got infections cuz I couldn't keep them from jumping, running, playing, and generally irritating the site. Anti-biotics are almost done and have cleared it up with no problems.
• hang out with my kids since school was finished and try to keep them occupied in a useful, productive manner - RESULT: My son cleared out some clothing which didn't fit and helped with laundry.....by putting a load of khakis, towels, and sheets in the washer at one time when I told him to do those 3 loads by the time I got home....NICE! My daughter tried to perfect her manicure and learn how to best style her hair. GREAT!
• cleared out 2 dressers and 1 bookcase RESULT: now have bags of clothing & books to give to charity. SWEET!
• shopped Whole Foods for the first time - RESULT: Best Salad Bar dinner, plus bought and enjoyed hummus & roasted pepper/eggplant dip - potomacfinefoods.com
• played Top Chef on my computer almost non-stop
• Hosted/Supported some online chats for the courses I support at work, plus do some other work that needed to get done within a certain timeframe. (yes, on my vacation, but it really needed to get done and I wanted to do it rather than have it passed off to someone else).
• discovered that falling asleep on the couch whlie watching movies and waking up the next morning isn't as fun OR as comfortable as I thought it would be.
• FINALLY - took/taking full advantage of BLOCKBUSTER'S Summer Escape rental package. I discovered this when I went in to rent 6 movies for me & my kids to watch over the last week. The clerk told me that instead of paying over $30 for 6, I could pay $15 and take ony 2 out, but bring them back and exchange them for 2 more AND do this as many times as I wanted to within the week. RESULT: I watched the 2, took them back and exchanged them for 2 more, took them back and exchanged them for 2 more, etc. AMAZING DEAL!!!!....and it continues! I will be posting a list of the movies I have watched and asking for recommendations in an upcoming post. I will also be recommending (and NOT recommending) other movies, so LISTEN UP!

What a great stay-cation! A little bit of everything, and a lot of nothing!

P.S. Did I mention that I got crabs twice while on stay-cation ;) Me likey the mid-atlantic region...

Why Isn't Everything Fixed Yet?

DISCLAIMER: I am a Republican, a staunch Repulican. I have always voted as such and am not able to picture myself ever doing otherwise. This post is not a slam on Democrats, but on the expectations placed upon politicians as a whole.

Why isn't everything fixed yet? Why is the economy still bad? Why aren't folks getting Cost-of-Living raises for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year? Why are people going into foreclosure?

WARNING: Here's where it may get dicey, but stick with my thought process, okay?

Republicans: Why hasn't Obama fixed everything? He's been in for more than 100 days. I didn't vote for him, so he must suck.

Democrats: Why hasn't Obama fixed everything? I put all of my faith in him. There was some resistance to change. I voted for a new type of administration and for change. I voted for him, but nothing has changed, so he must suck.

So, what were our options:
Young, Black, Male, Democrat
Middle-Aged, White, Female, Democrat
Older, White, Male, Republican
Greenies :)....any demographics....

Those were the dynamics from which we had to choose. I'm not sure that any one of those combinations would have been more successful than the others. Switch them around?

• Middle-Aged, Black, Female, Republican?
• Young, White, Female, Democrat?
• Older, Black, Male..........AnyParty
• Younger, White, Female.................AnyParty?
• So many others to create.........
• Really, what would have been the difference?

Why hasn't EVERYTHING been fixed? Weren't we all expecting more from this President because he was the "Out-of-the-Box" choice? He is black. He is young. He is a male with a strong wife, and two very small children. There is a swingset at the White House. There is a vegetable garden at the White House. There is a newly, adopted puppy at the White House.

Are these the things which make him more qualified? Is that why all of our problems should be fixed? Please fill my paycheck with more money on a regular basis! Please provide COL raises for everyone I know!

Folks - this man is not a miracle worker. He is a man, husband, father. Let's not place it all on his shoulders, just as we should not place all of the blame on Bush's shoulders. He, too, was a man, husband, father. Just breathe...

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.