Reason for the Dirty Look

Q: How else do you think I keep my girlish figure?

A: I thought you got all your exercise jumping to conclusions and running off on tangents…You know, like most women.

Learning How to Ski!

With the Scouts we went to Winterplace, West Virginia and I put skis on my feet for the first time!

Getting off the chairlift for the first time. I did not fall on my butt!

At least not when the camera was around.

This is easy, anybody can do it!

Me and some of the girls, deciding which run to own next.

Wait. How do I go uphill?

Oh No! Don't slide backwards!! No Brakes!!

I did take the Ski School on the bunny slopes. I ended up ditching my class because I just wanted to ski. School and I never really got along to too well, I learn better by doing. I learned that man-made snow is about as soft as concrete, only colder and wet. After spending many turns sprawled across the path, I finally got the hang of it. I made it all the way down the mountain twice without falling!

Finishing up my last run, just as we were getting ready to leave, I overcame my fears and bombed the steepest, longest hill in the park. I decided that if I fell, I fell and oh well...I was going for it. I swung down and started picking up major speed, telling myself to leanforwardleanforwardleanforward.

A kid biffed it right in front of me and I knew I was going to crash straight into him, but I maneuvered past him and made it to the bottom safe and sound.

Last run of the day and I nailed it!! I am so stinkin' proud of myself! Go Me!!

Creative Marketing

Some marketing guru at the nation's largest independent broker dealer came up with this catchy tagline. For real. It is posted on the home page of our intranet. I look at it everyday. Not only did somebody get paid to come up with this, but multiple people, including higher ups, approved it! Does anyone else see the blatant innuendo in this? Seriously!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Quote for the Day

With the fearful strain

that is on me day and night,

if I did not laugh, I should die.

-Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States

Born today 1809

Comic of the Day

Happy Valentines Day!

A Flower by Any Other Name...

What Edeninc Means You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Pour 'em out

The time I spend doing nothing is more rewarding than the time I spend doing something.

I can't stop thinking.

Yellow is a great color for a bathroom, bad for a kitchen.

I would rather have flowers.

You must think I am so selfish. I am.

I use my past as an excuse for my behavior.

I eat popcorn and candy 1 piece at a time.

If I had to choose, I would rather have a spoon than a fork.

They say pointing is rude. I do it all the time.

Who are "They" and why do I care what they say?

I wish I was a better photographer.

I wish I would actually do all the things I wish I did.

I broke it.

It won't ever be the same.

I'm scared of change.

Books sit unread on my shelves, mocking me.

I think the books I have read make fun of the ones I haven't.

God told me something once, now I'm scared to ask.

I could knit you a hat.

When I hear about friends and their babies, my heart breaks.

The wind sings to me.

I wish I was a cat, that's the life!

I pretend to be happy for you, but I'm really not.

I feel more comfortable in a poolhall than in most other places.

Once I didn't have anything else to repent of. It didn't last.

I really would be ok with less, as long as I knew it would be there everyday.

My dad made me a little wooden truck. It makes me smile everytime I see it.

I want to trust Him, but I'm scared of what He'll tell me next.

Someday I will meet them. What am I going to say?

Going to church makes me feel guilty for all the things I'm not doing.

The power went out. Made me wonder if we could make it without it.

I want to see a psychic, just to see if they're for real.

His picture makes me feel courageous.

I miss Oreo.

I'm scared to call and ask about medicine.

What if it doesn't fix anything? Then what?

I'm glad we finally have a kitchen table.

3 Yahtzee's? Are you kidding me!?!

The sculpture of Psyche reminded me of me.

We pay to talk to her, but I think she's kinda batty.

I play Boggle by myself.

I know I'm smarter.

We hang pictures way too high because that's where the leftover nails are.

Lost is getting way too far out there.

Sometimes I wish I did watch TV.

When I feel like misbehaving I read PostSecret, and know I'm not alone.

I keep the picture from your failed marriage as a reminder to me of too fast choices.

And because my hair looks great.

I think God is punishing me.

I don't think there is a cure for cancer.

God lets bad things happen so we can appreciate the good.

Without the bad how would we ever know?

I wish I knew my grandfather better.

When you told me that you had lied to me, I was relieved because of all the lies I've told you.

I say I've forgiven myself, but I don't really know what that means.

I cried when Dale died.

How can a Prophet be voted for?

I remember the mustard on your face and laugh.

I pretend to be tough to hide how vulnerable I really am.

Something happened after we moved there. I blocked it out and won't let myself remember.

Why is it ok that it hurts?

My kitties wait for me to go to bed.

Your rules don't apply to me.

Too much Art...Or not enough?

Duke University's Nasher Museum of Art holds a piece by artist Sean Landers, titled 'Self...Something'. A wall sized canvas with anecdotes, thoughts, fears, perceptions, quotes, anger, jokes, dreams, wants and hates of the artist written out for the perusal of all. The blatant honesty and nakedness of his words struck me to the core. Much like PostSecret, this raw expose' of inner thoughts cuts to the root of each of us. Reminding us that our fears, hopes and dreams are not so different from each other. I read many of my own insights, my own shortcomings and my own angst in his words. Tremendous that simply putting down the thoughts that roll around in our minds could touch another soul. We are so closely connected in this life, in our psyche and our souls. Simple truths resound in each of us, drifting from one to another. Multiplying and strengthing as they go. What would I say were I to write each thought? Who's heart would I prick? Who's wounds would I heal? My own.

What's in a Word?

ENDURE

1. to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo
2. to bear without resistance or with patience; tolerate
3. to admit of; allow; bear
4. to continue to exist; last
5. to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently
6. to have or gain continued or lasting acknowledgment or recognition, as of worth, merit or greatness

1. To carry on through, despite hardships; undergo
2. To bear with tolerance
3. To continue in existence; last
4. To suffer patiently without yielding

1. put up with something or somebody unpleasant
2. face and withstand with courage
3. continue to live through hardship or adversity
4. undergo or be subjected to
5. last and be usable
6. persist for a specified period of time
7. continue to exist

D&C 24: 8

Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.

Quote for a Wednesday

Be open to learning new lessons,

even if they contradict the lessons

you learned yesterday.

-Ellen Degeneres

Tuesday Toes Day!

The bummer about not being sick any more is that i don't get to drink NyQuil for no reason now. Today was Family Plan day on my phone. I don't think I have spoken to this many members of my family in one day since like, ever.
I also actually did work today. Remarkable I know, but understandable considering the circumstances. No one to chitchat with about nothing, so I had to find other things to fill the long work hours. Learning to use my Facebook page, the SuperPoke thing is cool. Approved for cashback bonus points, nice.
Next on the docket, tickets to the great white north. I'm becoming a traveller. Who'da thunk?

Quote Perfect for the Times

To sit back hoping that someday, someway,

someone will make things right

is to go on feeding the crocodile,

hoping he will eat you last - but eat you he will.

-President Ronald Reagan

Woman After My Own Heart

Come Monday, It'll Be Alright (Sing it with me)

Surprisingly I had a rather productive weekend, depsite being gravely ill and on my deathbed coughdramaqueencough. What!
Went home sick on Thursday and sadly missed my pool match, Friday came on a might quicker than expected. Though that may have been the 5-6 shots of NyQuil I had. And the memory foam mattress (side commercial: I highly recommend you invest in this little invention. I can actually sleep through the whole night with it!)
Friday I did make it in to work sometime after 11am, but to no avail. The Fed-Ex I needed did not arrive and I just infected my work area and coworkers for no reason. I did get rid of the box-o-SunChips that had been cruising around with me for, oh, say 2 months. Hey, they were free and I passed on the freeness to my fellow corporate slaves.
Saturday I was a bit on the manic side and hopped out of bed at around 10 am and....DID THE DISHES!!! And laundry! Wow. I even wiped down the counters and scrubbed the stove top and swept the floor! Go me! (For you folks who think that these everyday chores are not an accomplishment, I would like you to remember who is typing. Pat on the back for me!)
D came home from some Scout thing and we ran a couple errands and ended up at a discount furniture store that he heard about on the radio. This place had all the furniture that they have in model homes, so it's fancy stuff but they can't sell it as new. Anyways, we had no goal in mind, just wandering. And there it was...A solid wood, pub height kitchen table with two solid wood chairs. It needed a new coat of finish and the some leveling, but we scooted out of there with a very solid and gorgeous little table and chairs for.....$264 with tax!
D says it might be some fancy Honduran Mahogany wood, it is unlike any wood I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of wood. It had deep reds and oranges mingled in the burls and knots. Like I said, it's gorgeous. We get it home and I smash my thumb between the rail and the table trying to finagle it in the front door. Man Down!
D decided it needed a laquer finish because it was only finished with a penetrating oil, not enough to protect it, so off to Lowe's. We also looked for some bathroom shelves, because I have this odd desire to be organized and not have my things in cardboard boxes (I have yet to achieve this in any home I've ever lived in). Yes on the laquer, negative on the shelves, but I did find a shoe organizer that would be suitable for part of my growing shoe fetish.
Back home and I learn how to finish a table. 320 grit sandpaper and no paw prints. I do the second coat, basically, all by my lonesome (and now it needs another coat bcuz I'm not pro). The fumes are giving me a quasi NyQuil high, so we scoot out again to look for chair pads. Nothing at TJ Maxx, but Bed, Bath and Beyond rings true to their name, once again. Yea on the shelves! Also some cute chair pads with antislip stuff in a burnt umber hue (check your Crayons for a comparison). Placemats on clearance and we are outta there. I would like to say at this point that the last placemats we owned were given to us for our wedding. I myself had never before purchased a placemat, so this was an accomplishment in itself.
Sunday morning and time for church at the glaringly early hour of 9am. Ironically, or not so, my fever spikes and I am listless. Being that I teach 5 rambuncuous 3-year old's in Sunday School, my current state of physical well-being was not conducive to survival. Basically, I ditched. I crawled back into bed and woke up around 10:30a. D, however being the stalwart member of the Lord's true church, went to represent our family. Good man!
I did make it up out of bed and managed to notice the shining sun and warmness outside. I opened every window in the house, let the cats meander into the backyard and did what any marginally sick woman would do on such a beautiful Sunday morning. I painted my toenails. Sparkling Red Comet! Nice!
D came home and guilted my ditching by telling me that everyone asked about me. Hmphf! He is such an amazing chef, he made chicken enchiladas with green sauce from scratch. I helped by grating the cheese. (not so difficult with the fancy pants new food processor I got so I can make salsa with much more ease, but I digress.)
After this scruptious meal, I am determined to put the words "Easy to Assemble" to the test. I open the box with the new bathroom shelves and start pulling out pieces and more pieces and some more pieces. There were also screws and fancy parts and not so fancy parts and, of course, the oh-so-useful-tool, the alan wrench. This bent hexagon of steel is the nemesis of all would be assemblers. It is small and slippery and painful to use. Why don't they just make all the screws Philips-head and say on the box "Requires Philips-head screwdriver to assemble" Honestly, how many people do not have a Philips-head in their house? If not, they shouldn't be trying to assemble anything becasue they lack the basic tools to live by.
Anyways, after much struggle and frustration and dropping the oh-so-useful alan wrench and more than a few screws, I DID IT!! Bathroom Shelves Done! Go me!
I also assembled the, no-tools-required, shoe organizer. Which is now in my closet holding 16 pairs of my shoe fetish. This also means that I got rid of all those shoe boxes from the top shelf in my closet. Now I have more room for my sweaters and hats and the rest of my fetish that did not fit on the organizer. More room leaves only 1 option; must be filled!
All in all, a pretty productive weekend considering my near deathly illness state.
Stay classy San Diego, and thanks for stopping by.