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February 2007 Archives

February 1, 2007

I really dislike 3AM

People think I exaggerate when I tell them I have not slept through a night in over 14 years but I'm telling ya, it's true. That kid of mine kept me awake through my entire pregnancy. Even now, as a teenager who should be lazy, he wakes up in the middle of the night, gets up early in the mornings, wants to stay up late. UGH! I was sound to sleep when I heard him get up and start milling around. Bathroom break I suppose. He gets back to bed and the dogs want out. Now that I've been out in the snow, I'm not able to go right back to sleep.

Buck had his bags unpacked yesterday and is supposed to be groggy. Someone forgot to tell him that as he is also wide awake and prowling around. His doc said to keep him confined the first night because he'd not be able to fend off the dogs and such. Whatever. I put him in C's room and shut the door. Went back five minutes later to check on him and he was on the top bunk. No idea how he got up there. Guess we're just a family of quick healing insomniacs.

Just noticed I'm pretty dang good at typing in total darkness. Neat skill!

Checked my email and found that smoking has claimed the life of someone else I know. I get accused of being one of those annoying ex smokers but come on!! Is it worth your life to make the tobacco companies wealthy?

Taxes

Tax debt might be looming in my future I'm afraid. I don't get to claim C. this year which hurts enough but I stupidly forgot to change my W4 when I got divorced years ago. I've been withholding as married with two dependents. Check your W4s! It's way too easy to forget about life changes and how they impact your tax rates.

I don't want to have to take out a loan to get through it but with that and braces.... oh yeah, no ortho insurance for this next, more expensive, round of orthodontics means we pay for all of it. Christopher looks just like his dad but he got my small mouth. Yes, it is! Very small. And crowded. I just know how to make it seem bigger. HA!

Running

I was in pretty good physical shape when C. busted his toe. I had to fight really hard to keep at least 30 minutes a day blocked out for working out. Then the toe happened and my time got sucked up taking care of him and doing things to make his life better. Now the toe is mostly mended and I can have some me time again.

Got back on the treadmill for a run this week and it just wasn't happening. My legs protested something fierce so I'm doing the couch to 5k run plan. So far so good except my chest hurts and I cough when I run now. My mom thinks it's from smoking but I have not smoked for almost four years. Doubt that's it.

So upping my water intake a lot. I literally forget to drink so every hour and a half, I down a glass of water. I noticed the bathroom baseboards are dirty. Funny the things you notice when you spend a lot of time in the bathroom.

Small Business

Iowa has passed an increase in the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. That is good for employees but may be the death of small businesses already struggling to make payroll. I guess it's also going to be bad for head start as it will raise some above the income guidelines. According to the small business blog, the first mandatory sick leave ordinance goes into effect in San Francisco and Senator Edward Kennedy is pushing for a federal sick leave law.

All of these things are good on some levels and not so good on others. Most things on the federal level seem to be restricted to small businesses with 15 employees or more, but still, I agree with this opinion piece "Don't Kill the Golden Goose".

On the other hand, why don't small business do a better job of keeping up with wage hikes in the larger industries?

Sometimes...

Sometimes this parenting with an ex is really hard. Making decisions, staying jointly informed, keeping on the same page... very tough sometimes. And sometimes, I get a little frightened that we are going to screw it up. Then I cry. The kids are the most important thing in my life and I want to do the very best by all three of them.

C. brought home his Iowa Test of Basic Skills tonight and he's at grade level in spelling but everything else is off the charts. He's very proud of his predicted ACT/SAT scores. Lately he's been talking a lot about college and how he is going to go. I hope he keeps that attitude.

February 2, 2007

Valentine's Day is coming

Free, funny Valentine's Day eCards on Egreetings.com.

I used to send egreetings all the time but they all started to seem lame. This one is really funny and all of the cards seem to have longer play time/more content. You can get a free 30-day trial membership to send unlimited cards. A yearly subscription is only $13.99 and you can schedule your eCard to arrive on a specific date. That would be really handy for me since I often remember someone's birthday is coming up, then totally space it off on the real day.

I had to search on "anniversary" to find anniversary cards. My best friend's 25th is coming up this month. Her hubby has internet at work but they don't at home. I wonder if I can save a card to a CD. On the legal page, it says "Egreetings.com may allow you to create your own greetings by uploading your own photos, artwork and other materials". That would be really cool as I could upload their wedding picture.

So glad I only go there virtually

Most of you know that my job is actually in Boston and that I telecommute each day. I've never been there but I can tell you most of the surrounding communities, the main roads, zip codes and phone prefixes. Sometimes I think it might be cool to live there and then I hear what they pay for a parking spot. A few months ago someone tried to steal my coworkers car from the work parking lot. Messed up her window and steering column. Tonight, someone did get my boss' car. He's more upset about the ipod that was in it then anything else. I'd be so pissed at the whole notion.

Cartoon Site

I see a lot of cartoons when I am browsing around myspace and wonder where people find such things. Eva and her friends find the funniest ones but this cartoon is funny! So is this one:

Maybe this weekend I'll go around dropping cartoons into others comments. I hope this site loads some more cartoons on. Seems like I find something I like and it goes away very shortly. Kind of like Schwans food. If I like it, they discontinue it!

February 3, 2007

Girls play hardball

Went on a road trip this morning to take C. to his dads then to watch Emily play basketball. It was sort of a basketball, football, boxing match kinda sport today. There was a boys team from another town sitting near us and I heard their coach say "The girls play tougher ball than you guys do! Look how aggressive they are?" The first team they played seemed to be made up of college freshman. Girls bigger than I am! Our little Em charged right up to the biggest one and ripped the ball away! They lost that one.

Next game was more evenly matched and better played as far as actual skills. It's so fun to watch and Emily really hustles.

Millionaires date online?

Millionaire Dating? Are there really millionaires who haven't been snatched up already? I suppose there are probably some computer geeks who've made lots of money and don't get away from the computer long enough to have a social life.

I think that site would be more interested if it only had single millionaires instead of thousands of men and women looking for a sugar daddy/momma. I wonder how many poor folk give up on trying to find money and hook up with each other on that millionaire site.

It's amazing to me how many lonely people there are in this world. One trend I've noticed is that too many women think they have to go the sexy route to get a man. Browse the photos and you'll see what I mean. Yuck! Ladies, don't do that.

I just found a guy claiming to make over 2.5 mil annually and describes his housing situation as "Can get a little crazy sometimes". Maybe it means he travels a lot.

February 4, 2007

I like being the underdog

My team is the underdog going into today's game. I like that because if they do lose, they've met everyone's expectations. If they win, they've surpassed the expectations. SCORE!

I just hope it's a good, clean game with lots of fun plays.

The groundwork has been laid

I've heard people say that hell will freeze over before the Bears win another Super Bowl. Well, I'm hear to tell you that I've done the preparatory work. I cleaned woodwork today and I cleaned behind stuff, people. BEHIND. Not just around. I actually took the time to pull things away from the wall and cleaned behind it.

Is it a little cold in here?

Dan Marino (halftime commentary)

Hate that guy and when he came out for the coin toss, I screamed "NOOOOOO!!!! JINX!! I'VE BEEN JINXED!!!" Bears came out looking awesome (just had to yell SHUT UP!!! at Marino) but I think I've been jinxed.

Too many turnovers so far on both sides. As Shannon Sharpe said "Youse gots to hold onto your luggage!"

Todd says he won't watch Prince. I reminded him that Prince is my friend Lori's favorite so he had to watch. He said "If she wants me to watch, she'll call right before he takes the stage." If she paid attention to her phone, I'd text her and tell her to call him. haha

Soaps

Watching this struggle of a game and reading about Soap Operas. I had no clue there was a soap called Ugly Betty. Is that a daytime thing?

I don't watch soaps anymore but I remember once my friend Robin was going to be gone and wanted me to watch Days of Our Lives for her. I swear to God, there was a scene with a woman and this baby and the woman said to the baby "You want another moon pie, Elvis?" or something like that. It was definitely a moon pie and definitely Elvis. I went to the cast page and don't see that lady or any boys named Elvis. I think that had to be over a decade ago so the baby is surely 40 or 50 by now. HA! Seriously, does anyone remember that?

I haven't watched any of *my* soaps for so long that I barely recognize the actors playing now but if you click a character in the character list, you can read their history and who played that character. I used to watch As the World Turns with my dad on his lunch hour when I was a little kid. He called it "watch the world go 'round". When Todd worked nights and was home days, we'd watch it on my lunch hour. Now my lunch is usually at my desk or I use it to do laundry or something. Watching hot soap guys sounds better,huh?

Crappp

Clearly, the Colts are hungrier for a Super Bowl win. Notice I'm not making excuses that one of my key players is out with an injury. I hate that mentality. Second string knows how to play ball, too. Grossman is going to take a beating in the press tomorrow for sure. Poor guy. We are just being outplayed. I still have hope. Dear Lovie, please tighten up the defense. Thank you. Defense, please do your damn job!!

Can I hate the Colts and love Bob Sanders? He's awesome. He just needs to trade. ha!

Congratulations Colts fans

C's dad used to always say "This is the year of the Colts." I guess it finally was. I am thankful that my team made it to the big game again and mostly thankful I no longer live with a Colts fan.

I am exceptionally happy for my cousins in Indiana who are diehard Colts fans. They've waited a long time for this.

February 5, 2007

Soccer fansite

Browsing a Cristiano Ronaldo fansite and wishing I knew more about soccer. This site doesn't have a lot of pictures but it does have a lot of video. He plays for Manchester United. I guess I have never heard of that either so it gives me something else to look up and educate myself about. I was a big fan of Brazilian soccer when Eva was over there. Matter of fact, she brought me back a Ronaldo jersey. Different Ronaldo though.

February 6, 2007

Stupid Animals

The cat is determined to get outside and this is NOT permitted now that we have a lot of vet money dumped into him. The past week has been a challenge to keep him in. I read that if you can keep them in for a couple of weeks, they will stop trying to get out. We had almost a week done but now must start over following a 5AM chase around in the dark. Oh, and it snowed in the night. Chase in the dark, in the new snow, in my pajamas, when I'm so tired I can barely stay upright. GRRR

Can I go back to bed now? Nope. God, how I miss being 20.

February 7, 2007

Time Management

I complain a lot about how many things I have to do and the lack of time to do them. My boss bought me the Getting Things Done book but I never had time to read and absorb it. Now I am looking over this site on time management.

I found exactly what my problem is: Management by Crisis. As the article says, it is addictive. A lot of that can't be helped at my work but I have let that management style trickle into my home life.

I also have a huge problem saying no. Oh, and I have piles of notes on my desks that don't get purged into a permanent system. I need to take some time and read through the suggestions and get organized. Guess what? It won't be today for I am out of time!

Random thought on this day: Is there a man out there who would take his lady to a Rod Stewart concert? So far the consensus of all my man friends... and my man... is a big "Hell no!"

Yay! Eva came over!

Eva's been so busy with basketball and I've been so busy with work that we haven't connected for a couple of weeks. I miss her like crazy when she stays gone that long. She came in tonight and said "Where have you been!!??", as if I'm the one who has been missing. HA! They are going into district basketball next week and I sure hope they can go all the way to State again. She missed that last year due the Brazil thing. Thanks again to everyone who helped make that possible.

She went home with potatoes, a Brasil hat, and was taking a bag of cheesy popcorn but she ate that all before she got out the door. Typical kid! I was so grumpy tonight but having her silliness in the house pretty much took care of that.

If you don't have a Valentine already...

For my single friends, Free Online Dating. I've never tried online dating but I've made tons of good friends over the years through that I know online only. Some of them have found love online. The internet is such a normal part of life now that online dating isn't the taboo that it used to be. (Really, mom. ha!) No credit card required to sign up.

February 8, 2007

I miss the old, spontaneous me

I want to take an 8 hour road trip this weekend to watch my cousin compete in a cheerleading competition but the days of jumping in a car and taking off are waaay far behind me. blech.

February 9, 2007

More on the "secret"

As for that law of attraction... when Eva wanted to go to Brazil, from the very first moment she mentioned it to me, I set my mind to the fact that she would go and I never once waivered. The same thing applies to every job I've applied for. I've only not wanted one job and guess what? I didn't get the offer either! The only time I've not been been offered a job I'v interviewed for.

Dreaming

Yesterday I read some about the "Secret" of the law of attraction where you bring back the same energy you put out. I think that is true so this morning I'm putting out a vibe that I can travel and take trips. Even bigger trips than 8 hour spontaneous ones to see my cousins.

My former coworker and her husband are now living in Italy and our outbound exchange student went to Italy this year. It sounds so romantic and the pictures look awesome. You know I have a thing about blue ocean water and white beaches. I am checking out Italian property, specifically beach oriented places. The old stone farmhouses near Tuscany have a certain appeal too. I wonder if somewhere in Italy, there is someone looking at farm ground in Iowa and dreaming of owning a John Deere? I actually wouldn't be surprised if there were.

Drug Rehab

If I ever need drug rehab, send me to The Watershed. I've never seen a rehab center like that before. I had a friend kick an addiction to meth after being court ordered to a facility near here. It wasn't anything nice like that but rather a cold, clinical facility. They basically dried a person out and wished them well. The Watershed provides therapies and education. Therapies, meaning family therapy as well as individual. They also have different levels of inpatient as well as outpatient treatments. I wish Iowa had some places like that as we still battle a tremendous meth problem.

Speaking of drugs

Iowa has a really nifty web site called Iowa Meth Watch. No matter how many times I read the ingredients in meth, it still just amazes me that people will put that in their system. A friend of mine had a meth addiction and I asked him just how in the Hell do you ever get stupid enough to even try it. He said you get reallllly drunk and someone says "Hey, wanna have some fun?" Reason #4,749 why I don't get drunk.

February 10, 2007

Encyclopedia?

An encyclopedia with an entry for antique jewelry? Encyclocentral is a very interesting and almost confusing site of not-so-typical encyclopedia entries. The navigation consists of clicking a letter of the alphabet and it displays results in a very random order. You can also search but the random thing is what makes it interesting. For example, I am going to click the letter "C" and see what I get. Carpet Rug Binding Machines?? See? Not your typical encyclopedia.

Wallpaper

It's been a long time since I looked at wallpaper. (Wallpaper for the walls, not the desktop.) I'm thinking of wallpapering Emily's room. It's so small that it won't take very long to do and we could get really creative. I've called in the nation's top decorator for assistance. NO! Not Martha! Faith.

Creative Wallcoverings is a really neat site for wallpaper and accessories. I like the retro stuff. Funny how that happens. When I was a kid, we had green curtains and I just hated them. I bought new living room drapes last summer and I think they are the same shade as the ones I hated as a child.

February 11, 2007

Coupons and bargains

CouponChief.com has an ever expanding selection of coupons and deals. You can search by category, item or by store. Several good Best Buy deals today. All vacuums on sale! I am addicted to vacuums. We have four and none of them work to my liking. I need a Dyson pet hair but they're too much, even on sale.

Procrastinating? Still time for Valentine's Day flowers. Chocolates are always good, too.

It's the little things

We took C. and one of his friends swimming today. They were in the back of the Suburban talking about Beyonce and C's friend said "If I were black, I'd ask her out." C. said "You don't have to be black to ask a black girl out!" YES! He may not listen to the lecture about putting the toilet seat down but I'm glad he pays attention to these important things.

In other news, I saw a man in a speedo today. Really, those things should be outlawed. They don't look all that good on olympic athletes in top condition. They surely do not look good on old men. *shudder* C. said he didn't appreciate that because his mom was having trouble with her eyes anyway without seeing that. HA!

February 12, 2007

Server Monitoring

Our programmer writes little code snippets to monitor our servers and I use an advanced app to monitor various applications that run on servers we manage. If you need to monitor your server but don't have access to a programmer or a budget that affords the more expensive monitors, you might want to try out Simple Server Monitor.

It supports Ping, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, IMAP, POP, and custom port monitoring. In the event of failure, it can send an email alert. It normally sells for $49.95 but there is a 20% off coupon until March 31 (coupon code - V20BETA). It runs as a windows service so it's completely unattended.

Feelin' sorta reflective, sorta sad

Tonight I saw a picture of downtown Kansas City at night and I almost cried. I lived in Kansas City briefly about 20 years ago and I hadn't realized that I did enjoy my time there. At that time I was wishing I were home or anywhere else really. I didn't give it a fair chance because I had one foot planted in the past and what was comfortable. It is a high priority goal to spend the next half of my life looking forwards more than backwards and getting out of my comfort zone. Dancing while there is still music.

February 13, 2007

Lighting

Looking at home lighting fixtures to find a different light for Emily's room. Love this light but it's for outdoors and not exactly cool enough to be in a girl's room. Maybe this one. Anything would be an improvement over the 1970's ship wheel thing that is in there now. Maybe it's a wagon wheel. For sure, it's ugly and the hobnail glass globes only add to the ick factor. Maybe just a trendy lamp.

Maybe, I need more money.

Shower hog

Suddenly, it's important that the kid smell pretty and look good. I suspect there is a new girl in the picture. He used to race through the shower and fight me over combing his hair. Now he even conditions his hair. This leaves very little water for my shower so if I smell funny, it's the fault of the boy.

Earlier tonight he shot his first rabbit. I was not mad but I was far from happy. He thought I might want to take a picture of it. DO WHAT?? I am the one who gets up in the middle of the night to save baby rabbits from neighborhood cats. I sure don't want to photograph a dead one! UGH! Em often says we need our own house. We = she and I. I am almost ready to agree. BOYS!

February 14, 2007

New (to me) health site

Health Adel is a health care site featuring what they refer to as "unique hand written medical health information articles". In my opinion, that is sort of confusing since "hand written" is cancelled out by the nature of being online. I would describe it as medical health information presented in layman's terms or easy to understand health articles.

District basketball starts tonight

This year has gone by so fast. Time for districts again. I really want to go see Eva play since the season is winding down but it's damn cold out. I have not been warm since yesterday. I suppose a good way to get warm is to go into a sweaty gym full of people.

Guess who's on the radio?? Rod Stewart! Seriously, how can people (MEN!!) not like him? I think it's gotta be jealousy. I bet he makes an awesome Valentine. Todd brought me daisies yesterday and a card. This morning I found a heart shaped box of M&Ms on my desk. Tonight, he's grouchy. Go figure. I should play Rod really loud and see if that brings him out of it.

True story from today: C. and I went to the store to find something to surprise Todd and the kid at the computer/register was having problems. He called the manager over and the manager reset it. The kid said "I think this one freezes up so much because it's close to the doors and the cold." I almost erupted into laughter but I managed to giggle quietly on the inside instead.

Valentine's Day

Today is what my friend Pete calls "man tax day". A day to send roses to someone you love.

Once I tell people my roses story, they never send them to me. In high school, the "great love of my life" sent me a dozen roses for Valentine's Day. Too bad he forgot we were in a big fight from the night before and he totally forgot what an unreasonable bitchy teenager he was dealing with.

The roses arrived and my mom said "Oh how beautiful! Those cost a fortune!" A true fortune for him at the time as he only had a part time job at the livestock auction barn. God only knows how many paychecks it took to buy them.

Like I said, I was a bitch. That's actually putting it lightly and looking back now, I am totally ashamed of my behavior. I took those beautiful roses and stood in the door, waiting for him to show up. As soon as his car pulled into the drive, I walked across to the Dairy Queen and started randomly giving roses to people. He started yelling "What are you doing??!!" at which point I kicked the bitch up a notch and threw some into traffic. It was a horribly mean and childish thing to do and hurt him really bad. It was only one of many hurtful things we did to one another throughout a long on again, off again relationship. If he somehow stumbles on this, I'd like to apologize again. I was so mean and spiteful then.

Todd gave me daisies yesterday and I guess there is one red rose in the bouquet too. Thankfully I am not near as mean and hateful now. I put Todd's flowers on the fireplace mantel and said thanks a couple of times. God, now I've depressed myself by remembering what an awful human being I used to be. I am still paying my penance.

February 15, 2007

We won!

The girls play again Saturday night so it'll be all basketball Saturday as Emily plays a tournament during the day. I checked the scores from last night and the school that has beat us both times this years was defeated last night. That should shake things up as we go on through the bracket.

I woke up this morning and the temp said -6. I started to groan but my new way of thinking took over. I may have to spend an hour outside this morning but I have a warm coat and a nice, warm house to come back to. Some people aren't so lucky.

Development tools

Too bad I haven't taken the time to teach Christopher about being a developer. He wants an iPod and I found that eDeveloper Discovery is launching a contest to reward the developer who creates the coolest application with their product. The prizes are iPods. He would probably build some video game cheat code application. Anyway, more details from the press release if anyone is interested.

Or Yehuda, Israel; February 14, 2007 – With the announcement of the free Discovery edition of its eDeveloper™ software, Magic Software Enterprises (NASDAQ: MGIC) is launching a contest to reward the developer who comes up with the "coolest" application. Software applications created with eDeveloper Discovery edition will be judged for their innovation, design, quality, the use of eDeveloper advanced features and the holistic solution created. Amit Ben-Zvi, VP Marketing and Products, says, "We want everyone to be able to experience the power of eDeveloper, and we intend to have fun with this contest. It's always amazing to see how creative people can be, both in the nature and scope of development projects, and in the ways they find to develop and deploy those applications." Entries for the contest must be received by Magic Software no later than April 30, 2007. The winners of the contest will be announced on May 15, 2007 and two Apple iPOD’s® will be awarded. Magic Software’s eDeveloper is a metadata-driven, rules-based platform and application development framework. The Enterprise edition of eDeveloper allows users to create full client/server or Web applications, and service-oriented architecture (SOA)-enabled applications. The eDeveloper Studio Discovery edition, however, is designed for use by students, new developers, and those developing applications for personal use and is available free-of-charge. eDeveloper Discovery allows developers new to Magic Software’s offering to explore the product’s capabilities to develop and deploy basic Windows client and Web applications. About Magic Software Enterprises Magic Software Enterprises (NASDAQ: MGIC) has been a leader in enterprise application development, deployment and integration technology for more than two decades. The company's service-oriented platform is used by companies worldwide to develop, maintain, and deploy both legacy and new business solutions, while integrating these applications across both internal and external, heterogeneous environments. Magic Software’s platform-independent methodology lets companies achieve agility by quickly assembling composite applications, allowing programmers to create services and architects and business analysts to orchestrate and reuse these services to enable business processes. Through partnerships with industry leaders such as IBM and SAP and more than 2500 ISVs worldwide, Magic Software technology is used by more than 1.5 million customers around the globe. For more information on Magic Software Enterprises and its products and services, visit www.magicsoftware.com.

Did you know?

I'm thinking of starting a new feature here called "Did you know?" In that space I would share things that I find out unintentionally. The first entry would go something like this:

Did you know that you can't wash construction paper? I found this out today when I was transferring clothes from the washer to the dryer. The first two items I pulled out were covered with a bright pink fuzzy film of some sort. The third item was covered with what seemed to be yarn fragments. I thought that kid had left something in his pockets again but the days of construction paper projects are way back in his past. I kept pulling out more and more gunked up clothing. Dark clothing, of course. Has to be dark to make it look worse than it is.

About halfway through the load, I realized what had happened. It was not the kid but rather his cat. Bucky. Now known as "that damn cat!!!!". He even looks ornery, doesn't he?

bucky.jpg

I have things from the kids in every room. The laundry room is no exception. Emily made a star thing from construction paper and glitter and her 1st grade picture. That is stuck to the cabinet so when I am loading the machines, I can see her cute face. I had a mobile hanging that Christopher made years ago out of construction paper and yarn. I don't even remember now which class it was or what was written on it but "that damn cat!!!" knocked it down and into the laundry pile, unbeknownst to me. Now I know that you cannot wash construction paper. This is the lint that came from the dryer on round one. I had to run it four times to get all the pink crap out.

lint.jpg

Free Podcast

MyPodcast offers Free Podcast hosting. Enjoy unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage and best of all, it's FREE!! The only catch is that there will be ads inserted into your podcast. There's good news there as well as you get a cut of the advertising as your podcast grows popular and attracts more listeners. The site itself appears to be very easy to use and easy on the eyes. It doesn't say how long of an ad you have to run in your podcast but does indicate that you chose the ad and where it's placed. I'm nitpicky about using mailto: links since they are spam magnets so I hope they go to form based contact methods. Other than that, nice site!

February 17, 2007

We're District Champs!!

I didn't take my camera this year so of course they do the whole award presentation, line them up for pictures, and let each girl take a turn cutting down part of the net. Eva's mom forgot her camera, too. Now we move onto regionals Tuesday night. I hope I can make it.

February 18, 2007

Databases. blech

I upgrading my MT installation this weekend and finally got around to converting my berkeley db to mysql. I really hate doing database work on my personal time but it had to be done. My increased writing has put a strain on the old system. Ah well, now the hard work is done and only the details remain. The devil is in the details and I can't decide whether to face the devil or go watch the Daytona 500. Decisions, decisions.

Comments may be back on

As a result of the upgrade, I may be able to turn comments back on. I hope so because I missed my comments.

I also miss my IBM ThinkPad. Sorry Mother, but I still cannot stand the Mac. I'm just not geeky enough. If I had my ThinkPad or an equivalent, I could continue working on my site AND watch the Daytona 500.

Smoke?

Since when did they start calling Tony Stewart "Smoke"? I asked Todd this question after they said it during pre-race and he answered, "Today apparently." NASCAR is on it's last leg with me. I started watching when Davey Allison drove the #28 Texaco Havoline Ford. Davey died and I learned to love Ernie Irvan. Ernie was hurt and retired so I took on Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett. I've stuck with DJ through the transitions to the UPS sponsorship but now he's in a Toyota. The Texaco Havoline Ford is now a Dodge driven by a guy from Columbia named Juan. It's just too much change to appeal to the masses and less appealing for me.

Cellphones

We have a lot of cellphone conversations around here. Not just *on* our phones but about phones. The kids want one, Todd wants a new one, and I'd like to chuck mine into traffic. Wirefly is a site with new cell phones and plans. Searching our zip code brings up carriers in our area and from there I can look at phones and rebates.

I cannot believe Razrs are free now with new plans. I never liked them but Todd sure did. At the time, they were way too expensive for our budget so he took a lesser Motorola. I think the Razrs seems awfully flimsy but then again, I'm pretty hard on a phone. I run on the trail and the phone will fly from my pocket and bounce along the trail. The newer, thinner phone styles seem like they wouldn't survive a concrete bounce so well. I miss my old LG phone that I retired for my newer Kyocera.

I wonder how Wirefly works with existing customers and getting the phone activated. We go to our local US Cellular store and have get the plan, the phone and all activation taken care of. Found my answer in the resources section:

Carrier Approval. If your order includes a new wireless account, then your application for service is automatically submitted to the carrier you've chosen for approval.

If your cell phone order includes a contract extension from your current cell phone provider, then your information is submitted to confirm that your account is eligible to receive a discount on a new cell phone.

Maybe when Todd gets closer to contract renewal, he can find a phone he likes better. By the time my contract is up I'll be attached to my Kyocera and not want a new one. Am I the only parent who thinks little kids do not need phones? I get accused of being the only one.

Wild ideas

I just looked at Todd and said "I'm thinking about changing dining room chairs". He hates it when I say things like that. These are the ideas that hit me when I'm bored. We have his mom's antique dining room table and my more modern chairs.

(DAMMIT!! Tony Stewart just wrecked!!!)

So anyway, we have the antique table. I think it's called a gateleg. It has six leaves and can expand to the neighboring town. The chairs that go with it have leather covered seats that are worn and frayed. They are in the garage awaiting salvation. As I'm sitting here watching this boring race, I recall my mother recovering chair seats. I could actually do that while I sit here! I mean I could if Todd would get onboard. Doesn't look like he's going to so I'll have to think of something else to do.

Wow, what a finish!

That was an exciting finish to the Daytona 500. I am not known for staying in my seat during race endings or the last two minutes of ball games of any sort. Tonight was no exception. I was up and yelling "Oh damn you Harvick! Get! Your! Ass! Back!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Yup, my ladylike behavior goes right out the window. I wanted Mark Martin to win that. Actually, I wanted Carl Edwards to win but it would've been sweet for Mark as well.

In other news, my personal race car seems to be running. It's been in the garage, waiting on money to rain down from heaven so it can get fixed. It's not been started for quite some time so the battery had totally died and the front tire was flat. Todd put the battery charger on it yesterday and today and just went out to start it. My poor old car.

Pretty, isn't it? I hope I can get it fixed but it's hit that stage where it's draining resources and would probably be better suited for a high school kid to finish it's trip to the junk yard. I'm not ready to give up on the ol' girl yet so we'll keep starting it and waiting for the magic money to fix it one more time.

February 20, 2007

The toe has been cleared for active duty

We saw the toe doc again yesterday and Dr. Trout said not to baby the toe, don't try to protect it, get out and use it! Nothing is off limits. Well, I suppose dropping tables on it is out of the question but as far as sports, PE, and generally boy activity, he's all clear.

He'll have a month or so of physical therapy to strengthen his leg muscles again and increase the flexibility in his hamstrings. He is so excited to return to PE. He must get that from his dad because I hate PE with a passion that cannot even be put into words. I love sports but PE was just dumb. Of course they don't do the same idiotic stuff that we used to do either. Rollerskating? Bowling? Broomball? No way. Try square dancing. I remember way too much about that.

Search engine rankings

When I first started web development ten years ago, there weren't many websites yet. I still remember when the first few commercials mentioning a .com address started appearing on television. Nowadays, it seems every company has a website and a lot of individuals have one or more as well. That's a whole lot of content for the search engines to index.

Since the web is available to the masses, more businesses are using it in addition to, or even instead of, print ads to get their marketing materials in front of the public. In the early days of the web, you simply filled out a form and submitted your site for the search engine spiders to index. As the web grew, the search engines started using better technology to rank and display relvant sites. In response, marketing departments are clamoring to improve search engine placement.

Companies specializing in SEO (search engine optimization) can help drive targeted traffic to the appropriate website. They are also key to helping understand the various rules and workarounds for increasing page ranking. In a web world this large, it's a job better left to the pros.

Basketball madness

I couldn't make it to the regional basketball game tonight as I used up all my gas money going to the toe doc yesterday. Instead I am getting scoring updates via text messaging and relaying the info via email to my boss in Boston. Not only is he a Cardinal alumni, his brother-in-law is the girls' head coach.

FYI, we are in overtime. AAAAAAAAAAAA GO CARDS!! I told Eva to play like she had to get me a day off to go to state tourney again this year.

We won!!

We won in double overtime 62-57. On to Pella for regional finals Friday night. wooohoooo

February 21, 2007

Binoculars

Bald eagles are making a comeback in our area. Todd and I saw 9 of them on our way to one of Em's tournaments in Missouri. The local paper this week has a picture of one in a corn field with a crow. I think I see one some mornings at the lake but can't be sure if it's an eagle or a hawk. I need some leica binoculars. My dad had a pair but I am not sure who ended up with them.

The new ones are much more rugged. I would need rugged because undoubtedly Lucy would bang them around. I like this pair because they are small, rugged, and waterproof to 16 feet. They are small enough to fit into a purse, or in my case, a sweatshirt pocket. It's amazing to me how much binoculars cost but they are like camera lenses. A lot of work goes into making the glass perfect and you do get what you pay for.

Just did some price comparisons and Eagle Optics has really good prices and an unconditional 30 day money back guarantee. I need new appliances before I need binoculars but a person can always wish, right?

I've been tagged

A couple of friends tagged me so here ya' go... my guilty pleasures:

Continue reading "I've been tagged" »

February 22, 2007

Tired and sore. Realllllly sore.

I've started working out hot and heavy again. Maybe too heavy as this is day three of my legs trying to detach and run off without me. I hate to tell the legs that they have about 45 minutes of lifting to do later this morning. Did you know muscle is built by injuring it and the act of the muscle repairing itself? I found a really cool site that I've replaced fitday.com with. I gotta get moving so will have to tell you about it later. Happy Thursday!

February 23, 2007

Get Paid to Blog

You may have noticed that in addition to the increase in my writing level lately, I also recommend products from time to time. When Christopher broke his toe, it also broke the bank and I quickly scrambled to find more income. Taking a second job would mean losing out on time with the kids. Not an option.

Through my friend Julie, I learned about blog marketing and getting paid to mention products or services on my site. I had let my site slowly wither away, having been hit by sheer boredom after 8 years of writing. If I hadn't done that, I could make a lot of money as there have been some big dollar "opportunities" lately. I don't have the search engine ranking necessary to take those but this will help me make a few bucks a week to pay the doctor bills.

If you need a little extra, you should check it out. I was skeptical at first but I've seen actually money in hand now so yes, it's legit. You do have to have an established site, preferably on your own domain, and disclosure is required of all bloggers. (hence that little disclosure link some of you have asked about.)

You decide what you want to write about by picking opportunities. That also cuts down on some of my choices because I'm not going to write about stuff I don't know about or things I wouldn't actually buy myself.


Continue reading "Get Paid to Blog" »

Be Still

My mom has this framed print above a doorway that says "Be still and hear the whisper of God."  I just love it.  Such a simple statement and yet so hard for most of us to do. I am trying really hard to realign my priorities, take more time for myself, and to be still and listen.


This morning I am reading How does God get our attention? 


The next time you find yourself wishing that God would pull you aside and whisper a lullaby in your ear. The next time you are looking for something clever, something different, something unique that lets you alone know for sure. The next time you need an audible, clear signal that all is right with the world and God is in control.


Then stop and take your own pulse. Pause and listen to whatever sounds your eardrums can detect. Feel the solid ground beneath your feet and consider the infinite worlds and possibilities beyond. Remember that God's single word gave life to it all.


And because, in that moment, you have the capability and the wherewithal to say "thanks," then you will know it is true: God is still speaking.

And even now, as I try to find that space to just be quiet and be thankful, the dog wants out. This is my biggest conflict. Work is necessary. Spending time with the children is necessary. Keeping a clean and orderly home is necessary. All of these things gobble up many hours of the day. I also find it important to be of service to others so I try to get to the nursing home a couple of times a week and I say yes when asked to help out with school functions. There go more hours. Having our animals brings joy into our lives. Someone has to care for them. Sleep is important. The only place left to get more hours is that silent time I try to take. If I'm sitting there doing nothing physically, then I can easily jump up and fold some laundry and that's what I do.

I know I'm not the only one in this predicament but it's really sad. The state of this world today is beyond insane. When the headline news of the week is who gets custody of a dead body. When our young men and women dying in a war has become so routine it's buried under Brittini's rehab. These are the times we need God yet also the times when we are hard pressed to find the time. So I guess it's a good thing our God speaks to us in the small things. We just need to take that minute or two to marvel at the little things we take for granted and count our blessings.

Another basketball season comes to an end

We lost the game tonight but still, it was a good season overall. I thought we were gonna really do something but the second half went into the crapper. It was one reallllly long drive over there and back. Neither of us had been to Pella before. Not for lack of trying as I always want to go to the tulip festival. I want to see wooden shoes on feet.

It was almost dark when we got into town but it still seemed like an interesting place to visit. Todd said it's too far to take the kids. I pointed out Springfield was way further and they all made that trip. Of course he wrongly thinks that Bass Pro Shops is better than wooden shoes and dutch people and tulips. I am tired. G'nite everyone.

February 24, 2007

Party Tonight

Tonight one of my best friends will be honored at a party to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. She was 15 when they got married and my mom wouldn't let me go for fear that I would think it was a cool thing to do. Puh-leeze. I didn't even think it was a cool thing to do when I did it for the first time at 19. Anyway, some people do find their true love and do stay together through better or worse. They've seen a lot of the worse; things I can't even fully imagine. They are still just as crazy about each other today, if not moreso, than they were 25 years ago. I'm so excited to celebrate this with them since I missed being maid of honor at the actual wedding all those years ago.

The bad thing about the party

Cigarette smoke. blech. It's rapidly approaching four years since I had a cigarette and I never get the urge anymore. Now I am an annoying ex smoker who is irritated by smoke. Not mentally but physically. It burns my eyes and nose and makes my throat and chest hurt. I wish I could get all my friends to quit.

The good thing about the party

My best friend. I love her soooooooo much. You will never meet a happier person or more friendly person and I'm so lucky to have had her in my corner all these years.

The Hawaiin theme carried throughout the evening and into the surprise gift. Their daughter and son-in-law got them a trip to Hawaii. There's no one more deserving.

February 25, 2007

The Ultimate Gift

There's a new movie opening March 9th that I want to see. It's along the same line of thinking from my earlier entry about getting back the same energy you put out. The movie, like the book, is based on the message: "The only way you can truly get more out of life for yourself is to give part of yourself away.” The pre-screenings have already resulted in over $5 million in donations to charity. I have read this morning that the books’ author, Jim Stovall, has done a lot of distance learning projects with schools to spread the message. Show Of Hands is a teen organization that connects teens with charities. The idea was inspired by The Ultimate Gift.

This is the official site of the movie "The Ultimate Gift" and the grass-roots movement its starting to help charities and give to others. Support the charitable cause of your choice through the unique “Weekend Of Giving” promotion for “The Ultimate Gift”. You can find more details about how your opening weekend ticket can help a charity by visiting www.TheUltimateGift.com.

As Pat mentioned in my comments, my 40th birthday is coming up and I've been thinking about asking my friends to forego my Amazon wishlist in leiu of gifts to my favorite charities. Reading about this movie is strengthening my resolve to do that. More details as the dreaded FOUR-OH gets closer.

Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine playes Emily in the movie.


My growing body

Looking back over the pictures from last night and wondering where in the world did that belly come from. My mom thinks it's a gyno issue but I got out the fat calipers and they don't make excuses or lie. On the scale dealing solely with body fat content, I am "overfat". Not by just a smidgen but quite a bit actually and pretty much all of it is in my midsection.

When I discuss my weight, people assume I am speaking from a cosmetic standpoint. They say "Oh shut up! You are not fat! You look great!" While I appreciate the sentiment, the fact that I am carrying this new body weight in my belly is dangerous. Read "Belly Full of Danger" to see what I mean. Of course I can see in pictures that I am not proportioned in a weird way and it's not flattering but the main issue is that I want to live a long and healthy life. I don't want to fight diabetes and heart disease and so on.

I mentioned last week about a new site I found. It's called Spark People. (Be forewarned... if you use the nutrition tracker and enter a fast food outing, you will be shocked!) It's not a diet site so much as it's a lifestyle site. It addresses nutrition and fitness as well as overall life goals and being mentally fit. The handiest feature for me is the water tracker. I seldom get the sensation of thirst so it's not uncommon for me to go well past noon without a drink.

Last week I recorded a couple of normal days water consumption and a few days of trying to force myself up to the 8 glasses recommended. On the days where I didn't force it, I recorded 2 and 3 glasses respectively. Add a small cup of milk with dinner and that's my total fluid consumption on a normal day. I bet that's hell on my kidneys! On the days where I tried to force 8 glasses, I made it to 8 once and was up every hour all night visiting the bathroom. The other days I would shut off liquids by 8:30PM and I could only make it to 6 glasses.

Again, it's a time issue for me. How can I work my job, tend to my kids, keep my house clean, be of service to the community, work out an hour a day, eat six small meals, sleep 8 hours, drink 8 glasses of water and visit the bathroom the corresponding number of times and only have 24 hours to do all of this in? Anyone have the magic formula figured out yet? Please share if you do.

February 26, 2007

The Princess

She has her mom's sweet disposition and her dad's even temperment but this... this is *my* contribution to her personality.

http://www.youtube.com/v/8XkNXxCRDMg

February 27, 2007

UK Insurance

We have had the same insurance company for years and never bother to shop around. Our agent is a friend of ours and we can count on him to take good care of us. My beautiful car is a deer magnet and has been annihalated by the four legged creatures on two occasions. Both times an adjuster came right over and told us to take it to the body shop of our choice.

If you are not happy with your car insurance or just looking to save some money, it pays to shop around. If you are in the UK (United Kingdom) and want to compare insurance rates, insure121 lets you research and compare car insurance, home insurance and even
pet insurance. The luck we have with pets, it might be worth our time to investigate insurance on them.

February 28, 2007

Wednesdays

Traditionally known as "Hump Day" wherein you get over the hump and coast through the rest of the week towards the weekend. It's the day of the week where I am the most tired and generally crawl along like a slug. All of this thinking must go away as it's negative. How to think of Wednesday in a positive light without casting Monday and Tuesday as bad days... hmmmm...

Eye Surgery

Almost every morning I sit down to the computer and think "Gee, I can't see well today." Sometimes I even comment to my coworker about it before I realize that I don't have my glasses on yet. Duh. I don't know if I'll ever get used to them. At night it feels like they are still on my face when they aren't. I don't know if that is normal but it's aggravating.

My mom had eye surgery a few years ago and now only needs glasses to read small print. She wore contacts almost her entire adult life and was happy to give them up. I read an article in US News & World Report about laser eye surgery and the differences. In it, they quote Glenn Hagele, founder and Executive Director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance (http:/www.USAEyes.org). From there I went to the USA Eyes site and found a section called 50 Tough Questions For Your Lasik Doctor that is helpful in knowing what to ask beforehand. I don't know if I'll ever get brave enough to even look seriously into something such as eye surgery but I will be bookmarking this site.

About February 2007

This page contains all entries posted to JustLisa in February 2007. They are listed from oldest to newest.

January 2007 is the previous archive.

March 2007 is the next archive.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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