I am LOVING this video!!!
Birth of a Book from Glen Milner on Vimeo.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
It's been a tough couple of weeks...
1. One of my credit cards got hacked.
2. I have spent at least 48 hours dealing with that, online, on the phone, and in person at the police station.
3. Hubby hurt his back this weekend but didn't tell me because he didn't want me to, and I quote, "yell at him."
4. For the record, I have never yelled at him.
5. Until he said that.
6. I read my middle sister's blogpost today and copied her. I went to the Tom Bihn website and bought a bag, a kiwi and black Swift. Click on that link to see it.
7. I am not really caught up at work, but pretty darned close to it.
8. Our tickets are booked for a trip to New Orleans (yay!) - business trip for hubby and I get to be the "plus one."
9. I don't have to go to Miami for sales conference; it was cancelled.
10. I spent 2 days cleaning out my closet, getting rid of about 15 pairs of black and/or gray pants that didn't fit or were out of style. I have room to bring down spring clothes now.
11. We went into Hoboken to have dinner with friends last night. So much fun!
12. A friend fell and broke BOTH bones in her leg, just at the ankle, so she's been laid up for weeks. I've been leaving work early (that translates to "on time" in my case) to visit her at least once a week.
13. Just put in for a 1/2 day this Friday, and days off next Monday, Thursday and Friday. School is closed so this will either be quality time with my husband or I'll be looking for ways to stay out of his way if he's busy working.
14. Spending Saturday with friend E, scrapping and arting. Yay! She doesn't know this yet, but will be bringing her b'day presents with me. Her b'day is 04/04 but I won't see her during the week... She's been sick for a few days, and is still under the weather...
15. Tried Chobani Greek yogurt and liked it.
16. Tried Voskos Greek yogurt and didn't. At least not the blueberry flavor. There's not enough fruit in it.
17. Going to EN&T doctor tonight so he can do a cat scan on hubby's sinuses.
18. Literally a 30 second procedure in that same doctor's office two weeks ago was labeled "surgery" and they charged our insurance company $545 for it!!! Yes, Mom, I should have become a doctor!
19. My baby sister will be visiting St. Louis on business for a week. Wish I could go with her and see friend C again!!!
20. I bought a ticket for the MegaMillions lottery - $363 million! What I could do with... but that's another blogpost...
2. I have spent at least 48 hours dealing with that, online, on the phone, and in person at the police station.
3. Hubby hurt his back this weekend but didn't tell me because he didn't want me to, and I quote, "yell at him."
4. For the record, I have never yelled at him.
5. Until he said that.
6. I read my middle sister's blogpost today and copied her. I went to the Tom Bihn website and bought a bag, a kiwi and black Swift. Click on that link to see it.
7. I am not really caught up at work, but pretty darned close to it.
8. Our tickets are booked for a trip to New Orleans (yay!) - business trip for hubby and I get to be the "plus one."
9. I don't have to go to Miami for sales conference; it was cancelled.
10. I spent 2 days cleaning out my closet, getting rid of about 15 pairs of black and/or gray pants that didn't fit or were out of style. I have room to bring down spring clothes now.
11. We went into Hoboken to have dinner with friends last night. So much fun!
12. A friend fell and broke BOTH bones in her leg, just at the ankle, so she's been laid up for weeks. I've been leaving work early (that translates to "on time" in my case) to visit her at least once a week.
13. Just put in for a 1/2 day this Friday, and days off next Monday, Thursday and Friday. School is closed so this will either be quality time with my husband or I'll be looking for ways to stay out of his way if he's busy working.
14. Spending Saturday with friend E, scrapping and arting. Yay! She doesn't know this yet, but will be bringing her b'day presents with me. Her b'day is 04/04 but I won't see her during the week... She's been sick for a few days, and is still under the weather...
15. Tried Chobani Greek yogurt and liked it.
16. Tried Voskos Greek yogurt and didn't. At least not the blueberry flavor. There's not enough fruit in it.
17. Going to EN&T doctor tonight so he can do a cat scan on hubby's sinuses.
18. Literally a 30 second procedure in that same doctor's office two weeks ago was labeled "surgery" and they charged our insurance company $545 for it!!! Yes, Mom, I should have become a doctor!
19. My baby sister will be visiting St. Louis on business for a week. Wish I could go with her and see friend C again!!!
20. I bought a ticket for the MegaMillions lottery - $363 million! What I could do with... but that's another blogpost...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
God's Grace
I got this from my sister-in-law this morning... Rather than "pass it along," I thought I'd post it here, where the people that matter to me will read it...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wonder how many people will delete this without reading it because of the title. It is a shame but this message is very true. Hope you are all as blessed as I was by this story.
There once was a man named George Thomas, preacher in a small Texas town. One Sunday morning he came to the Church building carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, the Preacher began to speak.
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.
I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."
The preacher was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"
"How much?" the preacher asked again.
The boy sized up the preacher as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The preacher reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The preacher picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and then the preacher began to tell this story:
"One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you are done with them?"
Jesus asked.. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"
"How much?" He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."
Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.
The preacher picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.
I pray, for everyone who sends this on, whether to his or her entire address book or just a few, that God will bless them in a special way.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wonder how many people will delete this without reading it because of the title. It is a shame but this message is very true. Hope you are all as blessed as I was by this story.
There once was a man named George Thomas, preacher in a small Texas town. One Sunday morning he came to the Church building carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, the Preacher began to speak.
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.
I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."
The preacher was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"
"How much?" the preacher asked again.
The boy sized up the preacher as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The preacher reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The preacher picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and then the preacher began to tell this story:
"One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you are done with them?"
Jesus asked.. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"
"How much?" He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."
Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.
The preacher picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.
I pray, for everyone who sends this on, whether to his or her entire address book or just a few, that God will bless them in a special way.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
Monday, March 19, 2012
Something never before seen in my house...
A C.L.E.A.N. and decluttered closet!
I tried on every pair of black and gray pants I own, and put 1/2 of them in a pile to donate! HALF of them! I hung the rest of them on nice pants hangers, along with the 2 brown pairs I own and hung them on the left side of the closet. I took out all the heavy winter sweaters and left a few lightweight and mediumweight sweaters there for the rest of winter/early spring. I took out the jackets I won't be wearing because they're for winter, not spring, and cleaned out the sweatshirts and t-shirts and casual clothes. I packed up what I won't be using until next winter, made a giant bag to donate, and will begin working on shoes and bring down spring clothes later in the week.
I have been feeling heavy lately, not only pound-wise but stuff-wise. I have been saying I want to discard it all and start new, but realistically I know we can't do that. So I've decided to just get rid of what I don't want, need, or wear, or haven't worn in 2 or 3 years or more (yes, I have clothes that old that I take out and put away each season). I will be hanging frames, with or without pictures, because if the frames are on the wall in the hallway, I won't want them to all be empty and that will force me to choose and mat my pictures.
I have already gone through our collection of water bottles and gotten rid of NINE of them! And I still have probably a 1/2 dozen in the cabinet! Next on the kitchen list is mugs. I have publisher mugs, movie mugs, coffee mugs from my mother-in-law, mugs both J and I bought when we lived alone.
I will be choosing a project a week, perhaps the junk drawer, perhaps the pantry, perhaps my lingerie drawer - no matter what, I will be spring cleaning to beat the band, until I am lighter in more ways than pounds!!!
Yay, me!!!
I tried on every pair of black and gray pants I own, and put 1/2 of them in a pile to donate! HALF of them! I hung the rest of them on nice pants hangers, along with the 2 brown pairs I own and hung them on the left side of the closet. I took out all the heavy winter sweaters and left a few lightweight and mediumweight sweaters there for the rest of winter/early spring. I took out the jackets I won't be wearing because they're for winter, not spring, and cleaned out the sweatshirts and t-shirts and casual clothes. I packed up what I won't be using until next winter, made a giant bag to donate, and will begin working on shoes and bring down spring clothes later in the week.
I have been feeling heavy lately, not only pound-wise but stuff-wise. I have been saying I want to discard it all and start new, but realistically I know we can't do that. So I've decided to just get rid of what I don't want, need, or wear, or haven't worn in 2 or 3 years or more (yes, I have clothes that old that I take out and put away each season). I will be hanging frames, with or without pictures, because if the frames are on the wall in the hallway, I won't want them to all be empty and that will force me to choose and mat my pictures.
I have already gone through our collection of water bottles and gotten rid of NINE of them! And I still have probably a 1/2 dozen in the cabinet! Next on the kitchen list is mugs. I have publisher mugs, movie mugs, coffee mugs from my mother-in-law, mugs both J and I bought when we lived alone.
I will be choosing a project a week, perhaps the junk drawer, perhaps the pantry, perhaps my lingerie drawer - no matter what, I will be spring cleaning to beat the band, until I am lighter in more ways than pounds!!!
Yay, me!!!
Monday, March 12, 2012
The man makes stools...
I saw this video on Dooce.com and, well, if what people say makes THIS guy feel good, what he DOES makes me feel insignificant... It's only about 2 or 3 minutes long, so if you have the time to spare...
http://vimeo.com/23095780
http://vimeo.com/23095780
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
We need to stop this madman.
http://vimeo.com/invisible/kony2012
If you have 30 minutes, watch this video.
I was seeing links to it all over FB and Twitter yesterday and I wondered what or who Kony2012 was so I watched the video today.
He is an animal. A criminal. A bad guy. A REALLY bad guy.
He needs to be stopped.
This is a Wikipedia link to Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony
It will take you much less than 30 minutes to read about him. It will take you MUCH MUCH less than 30 minutes to be horrified, and I hope, moved to act. If you can't donate, if you can't put posters up, you can spread the word. Make people aware.
I never thought I'd say these words, but...
Thank you, President Obama, for acting. I hope it makes a difference.
If you have 30 minutes, watch this video.
I was seeing links to it all over FB and Twitter yesterday and I wondered what or who Kony2012 was so I watched the video today.
He is an animal. A criminal. A bad guy. A REALLY bad guy.
He needs to be stopped.
This is a Wikipedia link to Joseph Kony: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony
It will take you much less than 30 minutes to read about him. It will take you MUCH MUCH less than 30 minutes to be horrified, and I hope, moved to act. If you can't donate, if you can't put posters up, you can spread the word. Make people aware.
I never thought I'd say these words, but...
Thank you, President Obama, for acting. I hope it makes a difference.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Two fireplaces in February!!!
I had this post ready for 2 weeks but had some trouble uploading the photos from work, so it had to wait until I had some uninterrupted time at home with my laptop... Jack was sick yesterday; he even stayed home from work. (You KNOW he had to be feeling not-so-good! In fact, he's taking a nap now; we're staying in today so he can get his strength back.)
After spending a few weekends doing the bedroom fireplace, it took hubby ONE.DAY to put up the stacked stone on the sitting room fireplace.
I know you're all thinking he's incredible, and he is, but we were working with an advantage: the gas fireplaces were installed by the fireplace people when we put on the addition, so all he had to do regarding prep work was remove sheetrock, add tileboard, mix mastic, and slap those tiles up there! The tiles were 4-5 stones high, and 24" long, so that made it a LOT easier. Also, FYI, we bought the bedroom rock 2 years ago but just got to the project this month; they were even blocks, all rectangular. The sitting room fireplace stone was ordered a couple of weeks ago, picked up on the Friday of our long weekend, and they've improved the design (yes, it's a different company, too): they had interlocking ends, about 2" long on each 24" tile, so you see far fewer "seams" where we had to cut and modify to fill in spaces.
I am not the person to describe this in technical detail, so I hope that was enough of an explanation that you could figure it out!!! Suffice it to say, I think these new fireplace surrounds add a LOT of oomph to those two rooms!!!
This is the one in our bedroom. It's not a deep mantle; neither of them is. I'm going to lean framed photos and/or a mirror against it, since hanging photos on a rock wall would mean damaging the rock...
This is the one on the other side, in the sitting room. The fireplace is see-through and throws heat on both sides. I'll put framed pictures on this side, too, most probably the focal one will be the painting we had done in Vegas by one of those street painters. You can click on this link to see what I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzi_BGnY0Vc We had one done in greens and browns, trees and a lake, to remind us of our lake house... I'll take a photo of it and post it when I can...
After spending a few weekends doing the bedroom fireplace, it took hubby ONE.DAY to put up the stacked stone on the sitting room fireplace.
I know you're all thinking he's incredible, and he is, but we were working with an advantage: the gas fireplaces were installed by the fireplace people when we put on the addition, so all he had to do regarding prep work was remove sheetrock, add tileboard, mix mastic, and slap those tiles up there! The tiles were 4-5 stones high, and 24" long, so that made it a LOT easier. Also, FYI, we bought the bedroom rock 2 years ago but just got to the project this month; they were even blocks, all rectangular. The sitting room fireplace stone was ordered a couple of weeks ago, picked up on the Friday of our long weekend, and they've improved the design (yes, it's a different company, too): they had interlocking ends, about 2" long on each 24" tile, so you see far fewer "seams" where we had to cut and modify to fill in spaces.
I am not the person to describe this in technical detail, so I hope that was enough of an explanation that you could figure it out!!! Suffice it to say, I think these new fireplace surrounds add a LOT of oomph to those two rooms!!!
This is the one in our bedroom. It's not a deep mantle; neither of them is. I'm going to lean framed photos and/or a mirror against it, since hanging photos on a rock wall would mean damaging the rock...
This is the one on the other side, in the sitting room. The fireplace is see-through and throws heat on both sides. I'll put framed pictures on this side, too, most probably the focal one will be the painting we had done in Vegas by one of those street painters. You can click on this link to see what I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzi_BGnY0Vc We had one done in greens and browns, trees and a lake, to remind us of our lake house... I'll take a photo of it and post it when I can...
Friday, March 02, 2012
The most patient and docile cat ever!
I am not a cat person. Sure, my sisters and my mom have cats that I can tolerate, in fact, I even like them.
But Bosn? The star of this You Tube video?
It's official - this is my most favorite cat ever!!!
But Bosn? The star of this You Tube video?
It's official - this is my most favorite cat ever!!!