Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Somebody LUVS me!

Here's a response to my "21 Wise Thoughts" post...awwww, shucks
-----------------------
Thanks "Bing"…those were as awesome as you are!! I can think of at least 21 reasons you are so terrific and not in any particular order!

1) Commitment to Christ
2) Kind
3) Caring
4) Fun
5) Talented
6) Thoughtful
7) Passionate
8) Generous
9) Adventuresome
10) Supportive
11) Dependable
12) Leader
13) Encourager
14) Enthusiastic
15) Compassionate
16) Servant-heart
17) Musical
18) Beautiful
19) Authentic
20) Nurturing
21) Friend…my friend.

I am so blessed to have you in my life.

May your day be as special as you are in every way!!

Hugs and love,
S

21 Wise Thoughts

I got one of those "forward this so you can have good luck" e-mails yesterday. I felt like adding more to it before I sent it out. Lots of people liked it, so here it is....
-----------------------
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
- and make sure you don't expect anything in return! It truly IS better to give than to receive.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
- that's what I call the "80 year rule" - when you are both 80 years old and rocking in your chairs on the front porch, you better like the person for who they are!

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
- It's also better to want what you have than to have what you want.

FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
- and say it often. Never leave them guessing!

FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
- and don't say "I'm sorry, but...." That negates the whole apology!

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
- My theory: get through at least one holiday season with someone. That's usually when childhood trauma and family dysfunction shows its ugly face.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight. but know the difference between love and lust.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. If you don't know where you want to go in life, how will you get there.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
- And when you get hurt, learn from it. (I'm SO much smarter now!)

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
- Better yet, try arguing the other person's side. It'll give you a better insight.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.
- Don't judge yourself by your relatives, either.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
- Talk less, think more!

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
- and don't let them go until they answer!

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
- and both take great work!!

FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
- Better yet, say "GOD bless you." When I was married, my husband would say "God bless you" whenever I sneezed. My response was always "He already has." I still believe that.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
- Don't think of it as "losing." Think of it as a learning opportunity.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
- and forget these three: Regret, Retaliation and Rage.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
- Don't let a little dispute become a big one.

NINETEEN. When you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. and OWN it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
- Use your caller ID to use their name when you answer. It makes them laugh, but also make them feel special. Our name is our most valuable asset, and we always smile when we hear someone use it.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.
- Spend time doing nothing. Listen to your mind and don't get lost in the "busy-ness" of life!

Husband shopping

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE !

There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch: you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.
On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.
The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.
The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking.

"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads: Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead good looking and help with the housework.

"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads: Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 4, 363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

----------------------------------
I'd settle for the Bargain Basement, really. Or maybe even Brian.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Poll results: We're going to Vegas AND NYC!

Ok, so it sounds like everybody is ready to get the heck out of here....here are last week's poll results:
------
If Bing were to take me on her next vacation, I would want to go to
New York to catch some shows. 10% 2 votes
Las Vegas to catch some action. 15% 3 votes
BOTH. But not on the same weekend! 75% 15 votes
20 votes total
-------
I can only take the surge in votes the last two weeks to mean one of two things:
1. The Bing Blog is getting more popular
2. You pesky buggers are stuffing the ballot box, so to speak.

Now we just have to figure out WHEN to go! See this week's poll.

St. Louis: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Three things about St. Louis:

The Good: GO CARDS!

The Bad: The fact that I've never really been there to slide down the Arch.

The Ugly Who the heck is Morgan Quitno Press anyway? Ah, a family of numbers-crunchers creating work for themselves while living in LAWRENCE, KANSAS! I elect that place "Most Boring Place to Live in the WORLD!"
-------------

A few of my favorite people in the whole wide world are from St. Louis, so I know it's gotta be a great place. Mostly.

A Suffering World

This is a book review by Susan Olasky that I found in World Magazine for Why a Suffering World Makes Sense by Chris Tiegreen.

"..Our sufferings, Tiegreen writes, are the canvas upon which God displays His glory. Only in a fallen world among needy, lonely, and sick people like us could God show Himslef to be merciful, comforting, and healing. In our sufferings God displays His character; through our sufferings He makes Himself known to us and prepareds us to reach a suffering world."

I feel so much better about my bad week.

Tropic Hunt Madness

Yesterday was Tropic Hunt 2006. I was torn between two teams, both of which wanted me for my quick wit and brilliant mind...I think. I got there late because I played for all 3 services at church and was just not in "Hunt" mode when I arrived. Both teams did well, solving the 5 puzzles correctly. They even got the phone number to call. It was there that our hopes were dashed, due to Dave Barry's warped mind. Well, that of his team, anyway. He himself said he's not that clever. Still, we had fun. If you haven't done a Hunt, you haven't LIVED!

Saturday, October 28, 2006

LOSER!

Who: ME
What: doing work in my office (school and Ultra-Band-Geek convention planning)
Where: my office at school
When: 9:30 PM on a Saturday night
Why: because I HAVE no other life!

Minty Fresh

No marathon training for me today. My leg is still acting up and it's not been a good week. So I took the school trainer's advice and slathered my leg up with Ben-Gay, wrapped it with an Ace bandage and took some Advil. (Wow - 3 product placements in the same sentence. I should get paid for endorsements.) Anyway, the final take on it is, I feel better and smell minty fresh. Let's hope it continues!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Another short week, another day behind.

This was another 4 day work week. Most people LIKE that. It just puts me that much further behind. Now I get to come in tomorrow (Saturday) and try to play catch-up. It'll be a long day; I'm just leaving school now, since tonight was the first "Stand Around". (The kids like to call it a dance, but really, all they do is stand around. Hence the name, courtesy of Big G.) So I get to go to sleep, TRY and get up at 6:0crap, run 9 miles on a leg that's still giving me fits, do some catch-up work in the yard (since it's the first weekend I've been home in 6 weeks, courtesy of Tia, L.P.O.U., D-Man and mi familia) and THEN - come to the office and try to catch up.

If I ever get completely caught up, it's a sign of the Apocalypse.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Maybe this will work...

A friend forwarded this to me today. Settle for Brian. Maybe she's trying to tell me something. I'm thinking of setting up my own site. Care to help?

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

And now for something completely different....

In order to encourage more "interaction" (er...posting), I hereby pose a new column, the Question of the Day (from "The book of Questions" by Gregory Stock) Let's get started, shall we? (You may post anonymously if you choose; it makes it that much more fun!)

Today's question is:
If you could take a one-month trip anywhere in the world and money were not a consideration, where would you go and what would you do?

Monday, October 23, 2006

NEW WORDS FOR 2006:

found today, buried in my e-mail in-box
--------------------------

Essential vocabulary additions for the workplace (and elsewhere)!!!

1. BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

2. SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything,and then leaves.

3. ASSMOSIS: The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.

4. SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstreamonly to get screwed and die in the end.

5. CUBE FARM : An office filled with cubicles

6. PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.

7. MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.

8. SITCOMs: Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stops working tostay home with the kids.

9. STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and
whiny.

10. SWIPEOUT: An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.

11. XEROX SUBSIDY: Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's work place.

12. IRRITAINMENT: Entertainment and media spectacles that are Annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The J-Lo and Ben wedding (or not) was a prime example - Michael Jackson, another...

13. PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.

14. ADMINISPHERE: The rarefied organizational layers beginning just abovethe rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed
to solve.

15. 404: Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested site could not be located.

16. GENERICA: Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.

17. OHNOSECOND: That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake. (Like after hitting send on an email by mistake)

18. WOOFS: Well-Off Older Folks.

Poll results....

Hmmmm....it seems to me that people are VERY interested in the Bing Blog Poll if there is something in it for THEM! Well, if I have to BUY friends....I'm cool with that.
------------------------
If Bing were to take me on her next vacation, I would want to go to:

Votes
New York to catch some Broadway shows! 32% 6 votes
Colorado to catch some snowboard/ski action! 11% 2 votes
Las Vegas to catch some gambling action! 37% 7 votes
Deluth to catch some Zzzz's! 11% 2 votes
Botswana, so I can say "Been there. Done that!" 11% 2 votes

19 votes total
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I'm kind of disappointed that nobody loves me enough to go snowboarding, but that's ok...I'll just go all by my own self.
I think I need to have a run-off between Vegas and New York. Heck, I may even do both!

D's Disney Insanity Tour

How to see all 4 Disney Parks in one day........

1. Animal Kingdom: Ride "Everest"
2. Animal Kingdom: The Lion King Show
3. MGM: Watch the car stunt show
4. EPCOT: lunch in Mexico
5. EPCOT: ride "Soarin"
6. back to MGM: Watch "Fantasmic"
7. Magic Kingdom: Watch the Hallowe'en fireworks
8. Magic Kingdom: Ride "Pirates of the Caribbean" to see the new effects and Jack Sparrow
9. Magic Kingdom: watch the parade

Saturday, October 21, 2006

4 parks in a day!

My goodness! Today was a VERY busy day. FIRST, I'm back in Orlando. V and I came to visit D-Man again. His sister C is in town. Don't tell him, but this weekend is about 75% about her and only 25% about him. ANYWAY, We drove up last night. It took way longer than it should have. We now officially hate Palm Beach County. They don't seem to understand that traffic is NOT supposed to come to a dead stop on the turnpike.

This morning, I got up at 6 and ran 8 miles. C joined me for the last mile, which was good motivation. I've not been able to run for a week because of a calf strain, but we finished. Then we walked about a bajillion miles because we hit ALL 4 Disney parks in one day. I think it's something everyone should try. ONCE.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

On Being a Pumpkin.....

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see. This was passed on to me from another pumpkin. I liked this enough to share it with all the pumpkins in my patch. Happy Fall!

mmmmm....bacon

Today's amusing e-mail exchange......

-----Original Message-----
From: A D
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:11 AM
To: bing
Subject: mmmmm

The junior parents are here for breakfast.
Guess what there is a lot of on the menu.
----------------

My reply:


Baconbaconbacon bacon bacon
Baconbaconbaconbacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon baconbaconbaconbacon
bacon bacon baconbaconbaconbacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon
bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon

Ahhhh, HECK….I gotta get back to work!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Kate Monster

So today, I'm listening to Avenue Q. (Again, to share with friends....I'm making a mix tape. It must be love!) I came to the realization that I AM Kate Monster.....

I like romantic things
Like music and art.
And as you know
I have a gigantic heart
So why don't I have
A boyfriend?
F*@%!
It sucks to be me!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Great Big Band Dork

I'm sitting at my desk, listening to Concert Band Sacred Music. Why, you ask? Because I want to burn a CD and share it with my friends Am I a great big band dork or what?!

Monday, October 16, 2006

My favorite October observance is....

Last week's poll results...only 2 of you out there voted. I broke the tie myself. And one of your votes was for Hallowe'en. How original. The overall participation this week was pretty lame if you ask me! Tia, what do you think we should do to those who don't participate?

Votes
National Kick Butt Day - October 9 0% 0 votes
National Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work (or school) Day - October 11 0% 0 votes
International Moment of Frustration Scream Day - October 12 67% 2 votes
Evaluate Your Life Day - October 19 0% 0 votes
Hallowe'en - October 31 33% 1 vote

3 votes total

Friday, October 13, 2006

Things that make you go "hmmmm....."

You can hate the truth and you can talk about it and resist it until you're blue in the face. You can complain and look for sympathy, stomp your feet, feel like a victim, and spend the rest of your life feeling sad, depressed, angry and resentful. But none of this is going to change anything.

Being aware of the difference between what we can control and what we can't is critical for day-to-day happiness. There is no point in banging our head against a wall.

It's a subtle shift in your thinking to be able to recognize when you're fighting reality, and the fact is most of us do it a great deal of the time. But if you can make that slight change in your awareness, you will save yourself a great deal of agony and empower yourself and your decisions like never before.

From Easier Than You Think by Richard Carlson.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Brunch for Lunch

Today we get out of school at 1 PM because of our Admissions Open House. Since the first lunch period starts at 9:30 AM and the last one gets over at 11 AM, we are having "Brunch for Lunch." Do you know what that means?

BACONBACONBACONBACONBACONBACONBACON!

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Flying Solo

I just upgraded my (Insert Airline name here) credit card to Platinum. Besides getting extra miles and a few other perks, I also got a FREE Companion Certificate. That means that if I buy a ticket to anywhere in the continental US, I can take a friend along. I have to use it before June 30th, though. So I guess my question is: where do I want to go and who wants to go with me?!

Maybe that'll be next week's poll......

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Cat Bowling

Just for fun, here's something to pass the time...Cat Bowling.

You can post your high score here!

Monday, October 09, 2006

Happy "Kick Butt" Day!

Today is Columbus Day, but we don't have it off. We had Yom Kippur off last week, though, so I guess it all works out. Since I'm not really partial to either, this week's poll is concerning which October holiday deserves a day off. Special thanks to www.brownielocks.com for the information!

Remember, vote soon and vote often!

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Putting the "FUN" in dysfunction

I'm in Illinois. My brother is getting married today. The family has been running around like mad for the last two days getting ready. Last minute shopping, hair and nail appointments, rehearsal and dinner and the ever-present family dramas. I'm exhausted just thinking about it, but I have to laugh. I just keep telling them to let me know where I have to be when, and I'll stay out of the way. I know this is hard to grasp, but believe me when I tell you this: I'M the calm, quiet one in this bunch!

Scary thought.....

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Gay Sex, part two

Today was time for another haircut. Gotta look good for my brother's wedding this weekend, especially next to the ultra-thin, beautiful sisters. (One could pass for Drew Barrymore, the other Celine Dion.) So it was back to my wonderful former neighbor but still wonderful hairdresser A. As usual, the conversation wandered through various topics, but all the while spiraling down to sex. He brought up the fact that his 14 year old son is sleeping much more often, enjoying his dreams very much and even doing his own laundry in the mornings. Hmmmm...wonder what that's all about?

Anyway, the last time I saw A, we went for drinks at Martini Bar and had a little "incident." (See Gay Sex in the Bathroom) Seems he went BACK to Martini Bar last week and the bartender that had started the whole affair (ha ha) has never apologized for the whole thing. So A got another round of free drinks and free appetizers. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

He said next time, he's going to try that same stunt at DisneyWorld and get the whole family in for free.

Poll results: Sugar Rush

Here are the results of last week's poll......
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The most righteous source of a supreme sugar rush is:

Pez - a candy treat in a toy that's neat! 20% 1 vote
Pixy Stix - pure powder, ingested not inhaled 0%
Reese's cups - you got peanut butter in my chocolate 60% 3 votes
Necco wafers - you can break the wafers and play church 0%
Peanut M&m's - melts in your mouth, not in your hand. 20% 1 vote

5 votes total
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In honor of the Jewish Holiday, Yom Kippur and not having school yesterday, this week's poll has to do with having a day off.

Vote soon, vote often and keep those comments coming!

Tuesday/Mondays

I HATE Tuesday/Mondays! I love them on Mondays, but I hate them on Tuesdays. Perhaps I should explain....

We didn't have school yesterday (Monday) due to Yom Kippur - Shalom, everyone! So even though today was TUESDAY, it operated like a Monday, only worse. I usually have to re-train my little middle school darlings on behavioral issues on Mondays since they have been out of "school mode" for 2 days. It gets exponentially worse after a 3 day weekend. Plus they didn't practice much over the weekend, so musically, we had an "interesting" day as well. Add to the fact that I know have to get through Monday AND Tuesday's "To Do" list in one day....I almost wish I'd been at work yesterday.

I say ALMOST because I had a blast with D-Man and Leopard Princess all weekend and really didn't want to leave yesterday. Can't wait to do it again!

Sunday, October 01, 2006

On the Road Again

I'm back in Orlando with the D-Man. This time I had to (volunteered) to help my friend the Leopard Princess get her artwork up to D's church. She painted during communion today for all 3 services. It was amazing to watch and everyone loved it. The funnest part was trying to get all of her supplies up - to make a REALLY long story short: Ricky loaned his van, I drove it up and LP flew First Class (well, ok, First Row...it WAS Southwest Airlines.) D and I played "Secret Service" all weekend. "I've got the football" was our favorite line.

Not to feel left out, I also participated in the service in an artistic fashion: I bought crayons and a coloring book and colored a picture for both of them. Then we had lunch at our favorite place in the world, Yellow Dog Eats. We drew on the walls again and ate yummy sandwiches. I almost feel like a regular, but I told David that he's on his own next week; I have to go to Chicago for my brother's wedding.