Home is where the heart is

New iPod nano disappoints

2010-09-13T20:38:00.000-04:00

Weren't you excited to hear about the Apple refreshing the iPod line of devices? I was in anticipation because my previous Nano, while still functional, had a broken LED display after a nefarious incident with a German Shepherd's curious bite.

I love the size of this new device since I like to run: it isn't bulky and my favorite thing of all is that it simply clips to my clothing. The previous iPode nano had Nike+ built in: it was capable of receiving information from the sensor in my shoe, recording my distance, pace and things like this. The Nike+ program is built in to my iPhone as well but I found running with my iPhone bulky.

The new iPod nano only offers a stripped down version of Nike+, it is strictly a pedometer now. BUMMER! Needless to say, this device doesn't fit my needs now and when I called the Apple store, the expert there indicated Nike+ is only offered on the iPod touch as well as the iPhone.

This small change may not make a big difference to many but for me, it has made all the difference, I'm returning my new Apple iPod nano.

Move forward

2010-08-15T11:42:00.000-04:00

I caught up on some reading this weekend and ran across this article Changing your habits in 3 steps. Please read the article and comments but the key action points to change listed are

1.    Acknowledge
2.    Accept
3.    Act

Contemplating the basic truths of this article, I am reminded all over again how if we are not making progress, we are falling behind. The words of historian Arnold Toynbee “Nothing fails like success” ring true in our personal lives as much as business. Puppies finally grow up, tiny children turn into adults and habits that were successful in prior eras must now change due to changing metabolisms. Finally, individually we too grow and change and a healthy assessment of habits can be cathartic, freeing.

Did you notice that two of the three steps to change happen in your mind? Could it be that when the realization came that it was time to change, fear set in? That happens to me and then I feel paralyzed, like a deer with eyes caught in the headlights. Now is the time to forgive yourself for procrastinating, release the pressure. Take a deep breath and move forward because "Every day we have another chance to make a difference." - Jeff Pulver

Laundry can be fun

2010-03-06T22:26:00.001-05:00

One could opine about the beauty of a good Brazilian, tight muscles or just a great bum. Needless to say, laundry has its merits.

the milky way

2010-03-06T10:28:00.001-05:00

The White Mountain from charles on Vimeo.

When we glimpse into the sky to see the star studded heavens, aren’t you so glad to live in such a fine home? Our Earth is truly a jewel suspended against the magnificent backdrop of the Milky Way.

My cup runneth over

2010-02-28T17:52:00.001-05:00

It’s my birthday this weekend and it only seems appropriate to reflect on the goodness that brought me here to another year of standing. I want to tell you about this collage and why I love it so much. I have deep affection for all of the people in these images of the last year:

My friend Kimberley whom I have known since I was 15, asked me to join her at Wolf Trap where we enjoyed hearing Cheryl Crow in concert. I am so grateful our friendship has endured through the years.

Cassie the GSD taught me the joys of this breed. I bet you didn’t know that I was afraid of German Shepherds previous to knowing Cassie? I learned so much that I eventually got a GSD rescue, Sarge. He unfortunately turned out to have problems but I wasn’t afraid to help him face these issues.

Shashi Bellamkonda, a very busy Social Media Swami for Network Solutions, has kindly spent time with me over the past year sharing his creative energy

My dear sister Denise, is a constant source of advice, arse kicking and laughter, depending on what is required.

Karuana Gatimu who is just one of many amazing SharePoint women I am honored to call friend, shares her positive energy and outright knowledge colleague to colleague.

My ex husband is a really great Daddy and I really respect how well he has helped raised our daughter to be the amazing young woman she is today.

My dear grandmother was an icon of elegance, patience and love for her family. I strive to imitate her best qualities.

My beloved daughter, was the center of my life for many years. As she enters adulthood, she is growing into a woman with her own life (!) that I find interesting and charming. She remains someone I would always want to be friends with anyway, even if she weren’t my daughter.

and yes, even the AIM running man. I have many dear friends who are current or former AOL players and I feel truly blessed to have them in my life, so the AIM running man means a lot of good things to me.

And of course, no discussion of what a great year I had would be complete without mentioning my best friend who has insisted on teaching me how to have fun! To wit:

We each have so much to be thankful for, have you told those people in your life how much you cherish them? The encouragement to live in the moment is powerfully good advice. My experience has been that when there is a deep appreciation for the here and now, one has greater satisfaction in life. So I leave you with the words of Dale Carnegie:

Today is life - the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today.

My ninja poodle

2010-02-21T21:20:00.000-05:00

My precious new dog was feeling a bit anxious until she found a rope upon which to expend her energy.

Have fun! Vote!

2009-08-31T22:18:00.001-04:00

This video just tickled me - all the more reason to vote for this cuktural icon

My heart is here

2009-08-31T00:30:00.004-04:00

Oh hi! Yeah, so that last post, you know, the one saying goodbye and all? *cough* Please disregard. You know what I discovered? Home is where your heart is and my heart was always here. I’ve came back here to my tiny blog home.

And oh boy, do I have stories to tell you! I have amazing things happen to me all the time, so let me tell you what happened just the other night. Err, maybe I will show you first what happened:

I hit a concrete barrier in a heavy construction area, somehow just caught that dern thing in my wheel well. So, I pull off to the shoulder, make some calls and think to myself, “This is really dumb! and a bummer!” I was safe but the Sheriff’s officer who came by was from the same small Southern Virginia town where I spent years working before I moved to Northern Virginia. We knew a lot of the same people and the fun tucked away little places to get great food that only locals know about (shout out to Midtown Market!). Since the officer stayed till the tow truck arrived, we had fun remembering those good things instead of focusing on the accident. The tow truck driver showed up, did his thing and we were on our way. It was during this drive that the fatigue began to sink in; it was after midnight after all. I guess I must have said aloud a couple of times how disappointed I was that I had damaged my vehicle. This driver took it upon himself to cheer me. His choice of words were of interest to me, particularly when he told me, “A positive attitude can heal you”. Little did this man know that I have been spending a lot of time focusing on this very thing! My latest read has been “You can heal your life” by Louise Hay. This driver’s kindness really touched me.

Then the tow truck driver gave me his phone number “just in case” I was feeling bad but he totally surprised me in the morning with this text message: “Don’t be a weed. Be a flower, shine be cheerful. A flower makes more smiles than a weed".” I laughed and really, how could I not smile the rest of the day?

Where is your heart these days? Reply in the comments and let’s chat.

Served the purpose

2007-03-12T10:28:00.001-04:00

Maintaining a personal blog has, for me, served a specific purpose: It was a place to maintain some level of communication with people I very much wanted to stay in touch with that were not available to me personally since they lived far away.

This blog has served it's purpose and will not be updated after today. I have made new friends along the way and that in and of itself was more than I could have ever asked for.

I will still be writing about the technical things that consume much of my day over here at Windows Admin Wench.

Thanks for reading.

Deanna

Why not have have sex before you get married?

2007-03-08T12:26:00.001-05:00

In my last post, I mentioned the HPV new vaccine and it really spurred a lot of good conversation.

Paul asked a good question:

Why is having sex before you get married bad? (and my contention is: it isn't! Except maybe for the first few times, I found it to be AS enjoyable as AFTER I got married, and I can't think of ANY nasty side effects of the times BEFORE I was married. You? :-).

This truly is a question that parents should be talking over with their children. My opinion stated here in this blog would be without context and devoid of a genuine understanding of my values. However, on NPR this morning there was an awesome piece by a young reporter on how teens DO want to talk to their parents about sex. Listen to that story and talk to your kids.

Technorati tags: premarital sex, family communication

Wait till my daughter hears this!

2007-03-02T13:42:00.001-05:00

RICHMOND, Va. - Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday he would sign legislation requiring all sixth-grade girls to be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.

My daughter graduates in 2009, so she just misses this requirement. The article goes on to say that parents will be able to opt out too. This is one step beyond just handing out condoms to young people. Saddening, isn't it?

Technorati tags: HPV, vaccinations, sixth grade girls in VA

Winter blues? Take a trip

2007-02-23T19:50:00.000-05:00

From Denise

Enlightened grieving

2007-02-21T21:14:00.001-05:00

Have you ever lost someone you love in death? It is a unique experience for each of us, no question. My Mom died instantly in a car accident in September of ~~2003~~ 1993. She was only 52. I was 27 at the time, married with a two year old. I never appreciated how hard her death would hit me since I was an adult with my own family. I was so naive.

I really was in a fog for a year. I can remember instances when I felt like I could sleep forever and Lizbet would wake me up and say in her little voice, "I am hungry momma, are you going to make food?" There were times when the sadness was so overwhelming that I would turn to Mark and say, "I feel so bad and I want to stop but I don't know how, help me please". One time he just didn't know what to do so he suggested a walk around the block. We lived in downtown Escondido, CA at the time so it was interesting but when we got back I really still felt the same. I comforted myself with the thought that he was doing all a person could do to help someone who was grieving as I was.

Today I heard a segment on NPR's Morning Edition about grieving. The discussion was about new research into what is considered the classic stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. What stood out to me was this singular thought:

"Grief is really about yearning and not sadness," Prigerson says. "That sense of heartache. It's been called pangs of grief."

And that is SO TRUE. Head over to the NPR site and listen to the whole story yourself. It is definitely worth your while to learn about grieving even if you are not experiencing it, you may one day want to comfort someone close to you who is in pain.

Technorati tags: grief, yearning

en-kûr' ij

2007-02-08T22:21:00.001-05:00

Encourage (verb) - 1. To impart courage, To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.

I have been both humbled and heartened by the outpouring of support this week towards me. Thank you for the comments, emails and personal conversation!

I wish I were stronger sometimes but I couldn't rally myself this time and I really got ill! I mean, I haven't eaten (I KNOW! I can't believe it either!), didn't visit the gym, just worked and went home to bed. Your kind words sunk in and I started to get better.

Had lunch with Lizbet's Dad yesterday where we talked things over constructively. It is interesting to observe that we can talk together now better than we did before...

Of course, I made an effort to talk to Lizbet every day this week as well too. She understands how I feel, I understand that she didn't intentionally mean any harm and well, we are just good.

And I am good.

Technorati tags: daughter, crazy life

You are clueless if...

2007-02-04T16:13:00.001-05:00

You imagine I won't block your number if you send me a text message telling me I have "been pimped, pass it on".

You don't say "Thank you" after I cook a meal for you that cost me an afternoon and $$$ in ingredients.

You act badly & choose to ignore my hurt feelings.

You think I am interested in you if you never call me.

You haven't figured out that I am a social creature which means I need to have friends and spend time with them on a regular basis.

You believe that your lies won't be discovered.

Technorati tags: Bad men I've met, crazy life

Pain can be a very good thing

2006-12-21T12:22:00.001-05:00

Long time readers of this blog will recall that starting in July I have been trying to work out more seriously. I eventually went down the path of working with a personal trainer after I injured my leg when I was on the ellipse step machine (I felt so stupid, we can only guess I had my foot positioned strangely and that is what caused the injury; I swear for once my foot was NOT in my mouth).

Working with a personal trainer has been GREAT for several reasons:

1) I have learned a ton about the equipment
2) I am learning all sorts of different floor exercises
3) Lots of positive encouragement.

Positive encouragement is really key to any workout plan, so if someone in your life is working hard to stay fit, the VERY best thing you can do is cheer them on, if not shoulder to shoulder, at least in spirit from the sidelines. One really important lesson I learned early on from Tim was to embrace the pain. There are truly moments when I think I can't possibly do another rep or take another step; when I tell myself to embrace the pain because this pain represents progress, I find a new well of motivation to carry on. This idea...embracing the pain...has been on my mind for a few weeks now.

I have been doing some reading on this idea and this article "Happiness Isn't Normal" in TIME magazine was super interesting. I liked this thought right here when Dr. Steven Hayes says,

"...we should acknowledge that negative thoughts recur throughout life. Instead of challenging them, Hayes says, we should concentrate on identifying and committing to our values. Once we become willing to feel negative emotions, he argues, we will find it easier to figure out what life should be about and get on with it."

This is one thing I do know very well about myself: I know my personal values. I plan to listen to those values a lot more, not sort of blindly going through the days doing things for other reasons that don't mesh with my values. This can cause pain, no question about that. I am learning that pain can be a good thing.

I would really appreciate hearing from readers on how you have learned to embrace the pain.

Technorati tags: New life

Pretty Columbia Flooring

2006-12-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

Ahh, the flooring project is done! The dust is cleaned up, the furniture in place. Thanks to Columbia Flooring for making such a beautiful product.

The odor takes me back immediately

2006-11-30T19:45:00.000-05:00

My flooring has been delivered! It is right there, next to my front door. Yes, going to replace that light blue carpeting. You know what makes me really happy? I bought flooring that was manufactured by my former employer. When I walked in tonight, the smell of that wood was the first thing that hit my nose and it made me so happy; I immediately recalled how the mill has this same clean wood odor. I had the opportunity over the six years I was the network administrator for the engineered flooring mill to work closely with many of the folks who actually work on the manufacturing line. These are some of the finest men and women I have ever known and their work ethic certainly spurred me on to do my best for them.

I miss those good men and women; I am so happy to have a little piece of them with me in my new home.

ConvergeSouth taught me lots

2006-10-14T14:46:00.001-04:00

There was a lot of awesome content at ConvergeSouth in Greensboro, NC. I heard Elizabeth Edwards and it was more of a conversation between her and the audience about Building Online Communities. The audience members have blogs that range from religious topics to gay/lesbian issues to politics.

Personally, I was most anticipating getting to meet Maryam Scoble. She and her husband Robert Scoble presented "10 ways to have a Killer Blog". I realize more than ever the importance of having a focus. Sitting in this audience listening to others and what niches they have chosen to fill has been fascinating. Like this gal who is creating a documentary: Living with Geeks. Or this blog: SpiritBlog.

The final session I attended was about dealing with chaos - what do you do about negative commenters or personal attacks, things like that. The conversation then turned to business blogging and the idea of "If there aren't comments, you don't have a blog" (not true).

It was a privilege to be surrounded by such intelligent people; I learned so much from the conversations during the sessions and offline afterward. I think my favorite quotation was from one session leader who also happens to be a journalist who gave us all "permission" to let our blogs be precisely what we want it to be.

Technorati tags: Blogging, ConvergeSouth, Greensboro, Scoble

Event ID 9694

2006-10-05T19:45:00.001-04:00

WARNING: The following post contains information only an Exchange Administrator will ever care about. Apologies to all non-technical readers but this has consumed so much of my life this week that I must write about it.

Here is the scenario: User has Outlook 2003 SP2 running on XP SP2 machine talking to Exchange 2003 SP1. Outlook is running in cached mode. Client has numerous crack add-ins such as Plaxo, Linked-in, and Google desktop search engine. And they also run AIM. Client loses connectivity to Exchange and is getting kicked out of AIM at the same time. Event ID 9646 appears on Exchange server:

Mapi session "/O={Exchange org name}/OU=R_VA/cn=Recipients/cn={username}" exceeded the maximum of 32 objects of type "session".

And guess what? User is locked out for 30 minutes unless you reboot the IS!

Really, at the end of the research, I became convinced that both Outlook and Exchange were behaving properly. Something else was generating massive amounts of MAPI sessions. The only answer is AIM and the incredible number of open chat windows this particular user had active during any given hour. I found this article that discusses how to increase the allowed number sessions from the default of 32 to something more. I have made the registry fixes, now I sit back and wait for the howls or blissful silence.

***Update on how this turned out here***

Technorati tags: Exchange 2003, Even ID 9694, AIM

ConvergeSouth

2006-09-14T09:11:00.000-04:00

I registered after I read that the Scobles will be in Greensboro in October. I really enjoy reading Robert but I am going to meet MaryAm. See you then!

ConvergeSouth

Marketing to 40 year old women

2006-08-31T07:45:00.000-04:00

I love Nordstrom's. I don't often shop there but here is what they do for me on a regular basis anyway. I get a regular email from them that tells me about sales (and by the way, if you didn't know, Nordstrom's can have some pretty fabulous sales, worth the trip to the store IMHO). In that same email they typically also have some kind of clothing showcased. The email in my inbox this morning? Not your daughter's jeans. Hey, caught my attention immediately. My daughter wears her jeans on her non-existent hips. She has booty but not a lot of hips yet. Her tummy is virtually flat (she has inherited from me that weird little round pat of softness many of us have that exists right below the naval) and of course, legs are in perfect shape since she is only 15 and spends her summers swimming, etc. I love jeans but you know what, there is just no way that the jeans that are marketed to my daughter will EVER.FIT.ME. Hurts my feelings a little. So when I get an email that says 'Not your daughter's jeans', you have my FULL attention.

I click and am instantly redirected to a fast loading page with loads of pictures that I can click to get more details on. Oh! It turns out that 'Not your daughter's jeans' is a brand and they are TUMMY TUCK STRETCH JEANS. Yeah, so see? You don't have to spend the $6K and 6 weeks out of work for a tummy tuck! Instead, you can shop at Nordstrom and if you spend $100 on these jeans, well, you can get the same affect!

Okay, they made me laugh. Not on purpose I know. But another nice thing about this page? It has a chat feature, a size chart that is realistic (I have bought many things online based on it and they fit!), the pictures change to the alternate color if you want to see it, you can add it to a wish list, and email the item to someone (I used to do this frequently for permission in the married days). But what never escapes me is this: these pages load fast and 100% EVERY.TIME. This single thing, in and of itself, somehow is hallmark of the legendary service that Nordstrom actually tries to provide in the store. Those sales folks are always nice, always helpful.

You might think that since this is my second post in a month about clothes that I am a clothes horse. I really just like looking. I have never really had the money to buy a lot of things...basically if you spend two weeks with me you will probably have seen 98% of my wardrobe. But...more often than not, if I am going to purchase something, I will probably step foot into a Nordstrom to check out the sales, smell the perfume and hopefully find that single item I actually needed. And that is how a smart retailer found it's way into the heart of a busy mom who works (and works...).

And really, I may never have considered any of this at length if I didn't read blogs from savvy marketers like Hugh that open my eyes to new ways of looking at things. I like associating even just via blogs with smart people.

Oh, and check this out:

I have these shoes! I bought them for no good reason except they are just too sexy! I am working on the body...can they make tummy tuck skirts that make you seem this slim? Please?

A word to the wise

2006-08-23T16:40:00.000-04:00

Don’t marry Career women. "A "career girl" has a university-level (or higher) education, works more than 35 hours a week outside the home and makes more than $30,000 a year.
Marrying these women is asking for trouble. If they quit their jobs and stay home with the kids, they will be unhappy. They will be unhappy if they make more money than you do. You will be unhappy if they make more money than you do. You will be more likely to fall ill. Even your house will be dirtier.

So why not just stay single? Because, academically speaking, a solid marriage has a host of benefits beyond just individual "happiness." In other words, a good marriage is associated with a higher income, a longer, healthier life and better-adjusted kids."

So there you have it from social experts everywhere. Hey, I didn't really want to EVER have sex again.

Strangest call

2006-08-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

I had the strangest call at lunch today. Here I was making amends with my former husband, listening (really listening) to what his concerns were about Lizbet coming with me to Mexico. Turns out he just is scared of sending her away with me and not having every step of the trip arranged and accounted for in this foreign country. I will have to say that as he calmly articulated his concerns, I could really see his point of view. My sister has been REALLY awful about telling us about changes (like the city for one thing – now the wedding is in Mexico City and not Valle de Bravo, three hours away). At the end of it all, I agree with him that this may not work out…and I am not mad and he understands my feelings and we are once again at peace. And yes, I apologized for allowing my emotions to spill over the top…

But in the middle of all this…my cell phone rings. The last four digits on caller ID are the same as work and that is all I pay attention to so I answer. This man says, “Hi Deanna, its Bill”.
I was silent for a second, trying desperately to remember…who is this?!?

I went to Ruby Tuesday’s Friday night for a hamburger and beer. There was a fun group of folks around my age at the bar and we chatted and joked till like midnight. I had a great time. Gosh, did I really hand out my phone number?!? I guess so…

Bill was one of the guys in the group. He wants to thank me for opening his eyes to the way he is living his life.

I have no response to this. I am staring at my phone then look over at this man I am divorcing and all I can think is: “WTF?!? Will I ever understand men?!?” Yeah, I doubt it too...

Just listen

2006-08-22T07:26:00.000-04:00

Quote of the day:"Hell, there are no rules here-- we're trying to accomplish something." –Thomas Edison

I was doing my daily reading this morning and read Belinda's post about loving conversation she had with her husband and then I read a post over here at bynkii.com entitled "Loves pretty funny sometimes". He spoke about how his fiancee had been talking about (not asking for) something that was important to her and how when the opportunity presented itself for him to be able to act on her behalf, he chose to do so. I guess it was the closing line to his post that really got me: "You want to show someone you love them? Just listen man. It really works wonders".

Wow. I just couldn't agree with this idea any more. The love we choose to drape around others should be a finely woven one, with those fine little stitches carefully woven in from day to day, not made of coarse fat knots that are widely interspersed.

So that means today I will be very carefully picking up the threads of that broken conversation about Mexico today and seeing what I can do to make sure the fabric I am weaving is made whole again. I hope for each reader today that they are able to find a way to make the fabric of love they weave around others a little finer and softer than it was yesterday.

Black Guy or Brotha?

2006-08-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

I ran into my neighbor Leroy yesterday and we ended up going out to eat at a local micro brewery. This man has a story for everything.

He was explaining to me that, in his opinion, many black women are just too hard to approach. He offered a sample conversation that might happen in a dance club for example:

Man: Hey, would you like dance?
Woman: (after long glance from head to foot) Oh, umm. What do you do?
Man: (fill in job that HAD.BETTER.NOT.BE.HOURLY)
Woman (after hearing the ‘cha-ching’): What are you driving?
Man: (let’s just hope for his sake his response is nothing less than a 325 BMW)
Woman: Okay

Regrettably, once this exchange has occurred, the fun song the guy wanted to dance was over several minutes ago. And while the man was expected to meet a certain standard, the woman may not herself be his equal based on her criteria. I really didn’t know what to think of this but the way he told me this had me laughing till my sides hurt.

Then he asked me if my former husband was a black guy or a brotha. Huh? Uh, I dunno…what is the difference? Well, the black guy says ‘brother’ and a brotha says, well, brotha. Duh! But it really goes a little deeper than that. It is about embracing who you are as opposed to the path that allows you to more easily ‘fit in’ to the corporate culture where TV English is used, your family is from roots that other people can relate to and so forth. Well, at least this is what I got out of how Leroy explained this to me…

And this man loves a good apple martini! So yeah, I have a new best friend for life!

Shower the children

2006-08-15T19:16:00.000-04:00

How many times around this time of year do we find ourselves at the store buying supplies for our kids? You know, all those little things like paper and notebooks?

Many teachers are out there today purchasing those same things for those students who will come to the first day of school with nothing in their hands. How do I know? My friend Kelly said so just recently. This summer, she said teachers will “Attend the school supply sales for their own children and pick up “just a couple things” for the poverty students in their own classrooms. This, for me, comes to no less than $500. Each year.”

Have you wondered how you can help? Please visit Rob at his blog and learn how he is going to help: The Learning Locker. He needs help writing a business plan and he has conveniently created a Wiki so that you can help. In fact, any ideas you may have on this topic are worthy of mention, leave a comment!

This man’s passion is incredible and who can resist such a worthy cause?

Technorati Tags:Learning Locker

Peace

2006-08-13T16:57:00.000-04:00

Dear Denise,

My dear sister, I am so sorry I didn’t make it to your house this weekend. I tried, I really did. The events of the week drained me of my energy and while I was able to drive down to my old house, making that two and half hour ride down to your house just didn’t seem reasonable when I couldn’t even wake up Saturday till 11:15 am. The good news is that I slept until 11:15 am!

I can only say things worked out for the best. I did get a chance to hit some of the furniture outlet stores here in this tiny home of so many furniture manufacturers and I found all the things I will need to purchase for my new place. Phew, that was a load off.

The other thing is that I was able to mentally say goodbye to this latest town that I was once ‘from’. I was able to capture some of the scenes that will forever live in my memory of what living in this small southern town was like. Thanks for being so nice about this Denise; I will make the trip down to your house very soon. Really! Don’t give up on me yet!

I was glad for the opportunity to be able to mentally say goodbye and come to peace with this closing chapter of my life.

View from my old bedroom window, I loved this yellow flowered Dogwood. It was always a harbinger of the upcoming season.
View from the front door...so much yard to work in. Yes, I love yard work!
View from the kitchen sink. Pure verdant joy. Note the growing mold at the base of the brickwork. Ughhh, only Clorox kills that black mess
Not going to miss the mold buildup on the doorways
A local computer business! I like how they offered 'Oddities' among other things...
In case you wondered what "The Answer" was, these signs are quite abundant in small southern towns
Welcome to the home of the Nascar short track
I wonder at times if I am loved, luckily this rock points the way
I will miss these gas prices! I never tried their biscuits...
Ahh, with sadness I post this picture of this sign that has been on my former neighbor's house. Not only has this sign been there for a year, there are even more "For Sale" signs in this tiny town...the result of NAFTA.

Technorati Tags:new life

I need a day look

2006-08-10T06:43:00.000-04:00

Clearly just relaxing between support calls

How have we gotten along without Nordstrom to teach us what a ‘day look’ can be?!? It would mean so much if these women were placed in more “meaningful” positions. Like the ones I found myself in yesterday: On a ladder reviewing where the reset button is for the compressor for the air conditioning in the data center, lifting servers and dragging equipment to a lab, standing over a laptop with a screwdriver wondering if I should actually repair it or stab it. Or finally, just hunched over a keyboard, cradling a phone on one shoulder while drinking my green tea…

Technorati Tags:crazy life

Dear Oprah

2006-08-09T20:10:00.000-04:00

A recent article in your magazine about “spongy” people was brought to my attention. After reading it, I wonder if I am one of these folks but more along the lines of like, you know, the physical aspect of sponges…full of lots of little holes like Swiss cheese. That is how I feel actually. Things are missing from me in a way that is hard to articulate.

Here I have moved to be close to my daughter but lo and behold, she is 15 years old and now has two years under her belt of living without me, only seeing me on weekends. She is at her Granddad’s house this week and the only communication I have had from her is that she sent me several pictures from her phone before she pulled her battery to do some "maintenance" (dammit, that kid is too smart for her own good). She didn’t want to lose the pictures so she clogged, err, umm, placed them on my mobile device. Of course I messaged her back to see how she was doing and so forth but blah! One word replies of “GREAT” just didn’t do it for me.

And of course at work things have changed dramatically. I have never been a person who liked to work alone. Well, in three weeks, I will be working alone. To a lot of technical people this is Nirvana – an army of one! Instead, who shows up but this spongy lady with all her touchy feeliness!

And, to boot! I always seem to be attracted to quiet, introspective technical men who ummm, love to be alone with their technology.

So Oprah, here is a show suggestion for you: spongy women and the technical men they love. It might be boring for the audience unless there is a way there at Harpo studios to put on the big screen the text messages, IM’s and emails we exchange. Or could we name it: how to be mortar to a brick wall?

Technorati Tags:new man

Tears in my beer

2006-08-09T00:17:00.000-04:00

I needed to NOT think about me tonight and as I caught up on the blog entries at Liz’s site (lung disease) and Hog Snorts: Enter at your own risk. (he suffers with bipolar disorder), I found myself weeping. Maybe I am just tired (yeah, maybe exhausted) but truly there are times when bad things do happen to good people.

Technorati Tags:crazy life

Making myself laugh

2006-08-06T18:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't been this relaxed in like weeks. Yup, we finished up the property settlement agreement, my meager 15 boxes are packed up at the house and now we just need attorneys to spit and polish the document we put together so we can sign that thing. The next step for me? Move.the.frick.out.of.here.

I have found the community where I want to settle that is moments from work and 10 miles from my baby. In case I hadn't mentioned it, we gave Lizbet the choice of where she could live and she (of course) wants to stay with her Daddy since he is getting the condo (a mortgage that I just can't afford to take over) and it would mean a change in High School if she stayed with me. I was prepared for that sting but you know you never really get over not having your child living with you. I have lived with this sting for some years now. Ahh well. I have no other words to describe this ... emptiness.

I am so proud of myself. For the last few Sundays I have gotten on my bike and gone riding. Just a glorious feeling. I love where I live because there are bike trails everywhere and riding your bike does not mean you have to compete with cars for precious road space as is so common in many smaller Southern communities. At some point today I realized to my horror that I had no more vodka! So as part of my weekly ride, I stopped in at the ABC store. The clerks had their share of joking with me to not "Drink and drive". Yuk it up fellas! I can only imagine how sexy (not!) I looked as sweaty and red as I get in this heat.

Since it has been so freaking hot (well, it is cooling off now...) this post here about teenage boys and the snowman they built was just classic. PG rating for content but oh.so.funny.

Technorati Tags:Crazy Life, Divorce

No more braces

2006-07-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

No More Braces! Yeah, I remember how much I wanted to smile afterwards too!

Technorati Tags:daugher

A piece of IT Catholic Mom

2006-07-18T10:49:00.000-04:00

When MochaMomma decided to have a networking party before BlogHer'06, I knew this blogger was one person we would all like to get to know a little better. I think we have all laughed at her adventures supporting the "real" sisterhood as well enjoyed watching her basement remodel and hearing about her other adventures with her husband and children. She won't be in San Jose but she joins in spirit.

My Blog Interview
I.T. Catholic Mom
Catholic Mom
7/18/06

1. When did you start blogging and why?

My “Catholic Mom” blog came into existence in the May 2005. Why did I start the blog? I’m going to blame it on 2 primary sources:

a. My Mom
b. BusinessWeek Magazine

Here’s how the story goes:

I had just visited my parents in Italy (November 2004), where I learned how isolated Mom felt as an Air Force wife in a foreign country. She asked me, “What’s a blog? Maybe I should try that.” But I couldn’t answer her question until a copy of BusinessWeek landed in my mailbox with featured articles on Myspace and MSN Spaces. Out of curiosity, I started my own blog through MSN and then guided my Mom through the process of starting one, too.

Even though I didn’t plan to keep my blog, Mom and I became so hooked on blogging that we continued maintaining our sites even after my folks returned to the States. We’ve found blogging to be a great way to stay connected with family and friends throughout the world, not to mention the fact that it’s just plain addictive!

(Oh, and I get to fulfill my urge to share my unbelievable harebrained life with the online population. Who can believe the insanity? I always wanted to write a book about it anyway.)

2. Who do you read every day, rain or shine?

Rain or shine, I read any of the 48 feeds in my Bloglines list with current updates. Ok, yeah right. Who am I kidding? I get such a kick out of reading the commentary on my favorite blogs that I read all 48 of them daily even if they’re outdated! However, I just cannot end this response without listing a few of my favorite blogs. *As I generate a little bit of unsolicited cyber traffic to their sites*:

a. Bobbi’s Political Space: My Mom is as out there as you get. I taught her well. :)
b. The Adventures of Thotman: I became attached to Russ’ site early in my blogger days. He’s well respected in the community with an outstanding blog.
c. MochaMomma: Something about how she licks my computer screen.
d. Diary of a Mad Suburban Dad: Intelligence and wit at its finest. Most popular Dad of the blogosphere.
e. Eric at Random: Down to earth parent who is venturing into the world of animation. Love to see his work in progress.
f. Earl the Squirrel: This guy cracks me up on a daily basis.
g. Mother, Daughter, Manager, Wife: Now there’s a truly driven and focused woman. Maybe I’ll be ½ as cool as her one day.
h. Random Thoughts: Angei is musically oriented and well… smarter than me. Always a great read to many visitors.
i. I Can Only Imagine: Funny musings of an American in Tanzania. If I were a 20-something in Africa, God knows I would be AAK.
j. Jayhawk Fever: A newer space with difficult family issues. Her positive and realistic attitude is inspiring. I don’t know how she does it.
k. EZ on the Eyes: Professional flirt bomber of bloggerville. Yep, I’m a happy recipient of his flirt bombs. Who couldn’t enjoy reading what Dennis has to say?

3. Why did you choose to share that piece of yourself in a photograph?

Check out that left thumb

The photo I’ve chosen shows my left thumb sticking straight up as I type. (Egad!) I wanted to share a picture that reflected something goofy about me that I can’t control, so there you have it. (Believe me, I’ve tried very hard to keep my thumb down as I type, but it has a mind of its own.)

4. What is your favorite thing that you wrote? What got a strong reaction from readers? Links please?

Favorite thing? Oh no. Did you say thing? Man… this is the toughest question of all! With so much blogging under my belt, I have a hard time narrowing down my response to one thing. How about 2 things? That I can do. So here are my 2 favorite things that I wrote:
a. Way back in the beginning of my blogging days I wrote a blog about a dream that I had about an old friend who is now a professional football player. To this day, I have no idea what prompted that dream. (Perhaps there’s a deep psychological need that I’ve buried in my psyche? Nah. Probably too many spicy snacks before bed that night.) Since I was so new to blogging when I posted that blog, the response from readers was low. (Ok, I had one response… thanks, Mom.)
http://catholicmom.spaces.msn.com/blog/cns!91BF4CBE7D6DA489!212.entry
b. The second thing that I wrote that I’m getting the biggest kick out of right now (I’m still in the process of writing it) is the “Expanded 101 List” of things about me. After posting a basic list of things about myself, I decided to create individual blogs about each of those items. (Another blogger friend gave me the idea.) The reaction from readers has been much higher than the one about my football player dream. I figure that if anything is going to scare people away from my blog, the “Expanded 101 List” should do the trick.
http://catholicmom.spaces.msn.com/blog/cns!91BF4CBE7D6DA489!5312.entry

5. Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

Absolutely! Or should I say “Unfortunately!”? It’s all me, take it or leave it. (I know some visitors who have chosen to leave it and never come back, but I encourage the freedom of choice in the blogosphere. That’s what it’s all about.)

6. If you had a super power, what would it be?

My family and I were just talking about this topic at the dinner table yesterday. How did you know? Unanimously, we decided that having the ability to teleport would be the best super power of all time. I cannot think of a single better super power than that. Heck, with gas prices up to $3/gallon, I could save enough money to pay for my salon visits. Manicures, pedicures, and highlights don’t come cheap! (Ok yes, I sounded so superficial just then. Ignore that comment. It was so out of character. Really, it was.)

A piece of Sue

2006-07-18T05:58:00.000-04:00

I wanted to interview Sue because after her first comment on my space, I knew I liked her very much. Neither of us will be attending BlogHer'06 but we are there in spirit and here is a contribution to the networking party that Mocha Momma threw.

Sue has a huge heart and has shared a lot of affection with me, something I have been in need of lately. Read on to learn more about Sue(mominator).

1. When did you start blogging and why? Or Talk about your blog. What can I learn about you in under 5 minutes? I began my first space last October when my grandson moved out of town so he could go to the computer and see us whenever he wanted and I could write 'notes' to him. He is on the Frequent Stroll list ; ) While doing that one day, I accidentally discovered Catholic Mom. How lucky am I? It snowballed from there. The space I have for regular blogging began as a vent for me in March, 2006. With a decade of insanity with Drama Queen, I needed an avenue to write it out. But, as I began blogging and visiting others, my blog has become more of day to day account of our crazy life. Some of what I write is also a journal of sorts for my grandchildren that were placed for adoption so they can get a glimpse of our life

In under 5 minutes, people will know I have a beautiful, smart, and wonderful daughter who is in college. They will know I have a husband who wishes he was a rock star instead of a physician. They will know they are glad to not be in my shoes with regards to my oldest daughter, which is fine. If I can help, I'm glad to do so. The most important thing is that I am a Jayhawk first and foremost. Pathetic, but true.

2. How do you use blogging to build friendships? I don't 'use' blogging to build friendships. It has just happened. I have discovered the most sincere, wonderful, supportive, and hilarious people blogging. I have been able to help a few, been an ear for others, and everyone has been an incredible blessing to me.

3. Who do you read every day, rain or shine? Two months ago I could have named off the top of my head the people I visited regularly without fail. Since then, I have met even more incredible bloggers out there and I cannot possibly limit it to a few. If I could, I would visit everyone everyday and I do try.

Me and Reece

4. Why did you choose to share that piece of yourself in a photograph? I chose that photograph for two reasons. First, I have only a handful of photos of me at all! I always take the pictures. Second, it's the only picture I have of me holding my grandson who passed away May 20th. I just found this today. I miss him.

5. What is your favorite thing that you wrote? What got a strong reaction from readers? Links please? I have not been doing this long enough nor am I good enough at writing to have a favorite. But whenever talking about my grandson, I love it! My Texas Tornado. So I suppose that would be my favorite. http://rock-chalk.spaces.msn.com/blog/cns!4DF698354CAD204D!655.entry

6. Are you and your blogging persona the same person? My blogging persona and myself are the same person. What you read is what you get baby.

7. If you had a super power, what would it be? This question was a challenge since I'm not really educated as to all the super powers that be. If Samantha from Bewitched counts, she would be at the top of my list!! If Drama Queen is missing or out of line, twitch my nose! Problem solved! If Blondie is getting sassy or needs to actually do a little manual labor, twitch! She's there doing it with a smile on her face! If Dweeb's violin is ready to send me through the roof because no one should teach themselves that instrument, twitch! He plays like a Maestro! House dirty? Dinner needs to be cooked? Twitch my nose and it's all done in the blink of an eye! Just think how much time I would have to spend on this computer visiting every single person on my Frequent Strolls list evey single day! Would that be heaven or what?

Get all carbed up?!?

2006-07-13T20:20:00.000-04:00

I got advice from Tim to get all carbed up tonight in preparation for tomorrow's ass whooping. Uh, it is 8:16 pm and I am still installing NT4 on some lame Pentium 3 333Mhz f*n server in preparation for a test restore of some fricking legacy system. Yeah, just sharing that tomorrow is GOING.TO.SUCK.

Defiance never pays

2006-07-12T11:53:00.000-04:00

I have to say that even though I am a Microsoft Certified Professional and I work in a Microsoft shop that I am glad that the EU is taking a firm stand with Microsoft. Reuters reports that EU fines Microsoft for defiance.

No company is above the law. Each and every company, large or small, operating in the EU must abide by EU law," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told reporters.

This article went to say:

After years of investigation, the Commission found in 2004 that Microsoft used the near-monopoly power of its Windows operating system to harm competitors making workgroup servers, which run printing and sign-on services in offices.

The Commission ordered Microsoft to give rivals the information needed so their servers could compete on a level playing field with Microsoft's own. Microsoft must help its rivals interconnect smoothly with Windows.

It is this very arrogance that has been a turnoff for both business buyers and those who have to support the software. It is not a world where we can only run Microsoft products any more, we are expected to use 'best in breed' solutions to address specific needs. I am glad that someone else is holding their feet to the fire since the voice of customers was long ago drowned out by Microsoft Marketers...

Err, forgot some details

2006-07-11T21:54:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention some other things from the assessment test:

1. I could do 10 'girlie' push ups
2.I did 40 crunches in 60 seconds
3. When I sit with my back up against the wall and stretch out my hands, I can't reach past mid calf
4. I did 15 leg presses with 90 lbs

So while I have had a headache since Saturday night, the hormones raging through my body finally seem to be subsiding tonight. Tomorrow we are working on legs. Let's hope when I wake up in the morning I am ready for the can of whoopass that is gonna be opened on me...

Assesment test

2006-07-11T09:36:00.000-04:00

Chris had a headache! So he was easy on me today. We took all my measurements. Wait, that was painful.

Body weight: 142 Goal: 130
Body fat: 32% Goal: 31%
Hips: 39" Goal: Lose 2"
Thigh: 21.5" Goal: Lose 2"
Torso: 31" Goal: Lose 2"
Upper Arm: 10.5" Goal: Lose 2"
Chest: 36" Goal: Lose 2"
Shoulders: 38" Goal: Lose 2"

I can tell I am going to like Chris very much for the couple of weeks I work with him before he turns me back over to Travis. As I was walking out this morning he yells loud enough so everyone at the front desk and surrounding area can hear, "We are going to wipe the floors with your ass tomorrow morning!"

To which I called back, "BRING IT ON".

Vista will offer a "basic" look & feel

2006-07-10T11:45:00.000-04:00

About time! Information Week reports “Microsoft last week confirmed that when Windows Vista ships it will offer a more attractive look-and-feel to users who don't have the graphics horsepower to run the new Aero interface.”

Derr! That pretty much represents the majority of hardware out there right now!

Governors School

2006-06-23T14:19:00.000-04:00

So proud of my big girl, she will be attending Summer Regional Governor’s School for the Performing Arts. She loves to sing and it is always so much fun to hear the final performances from these talented youths. Wonder if I can post video here? Hmmm, now I have something new to learn.

How do I feed the Good Wolf?

2006-05-12T19:14:00.000-04:00

Quote of the day:
All high achievers plan their work and work their plan, for they are keenly aware that 'luck' is most often being prepared to take advantage of a situation." - Unknown

Fact of the day:
A barking dog is not usually a sign of aggressive behavior; it is the silent, snarling or growling dog that is actually most dangerous.

A great illustration from the Native American culture.

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 "wolves" inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy,
jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

The above portion of this post was a conversation via email that I had with a close friend last July and rereading it today made me cry. How am I doing in my life....well, the truth is I feel badly.

I have struggled mightily these past months with my marriage. For those who have read my blog since I started writing it last September, the imminent failure of my marriage has cost me a great deal in terms of peace of mind and my health. I guess we always want to understand "Why?" and "What did I do?" and "How could I have been a better person?"

We have dragged our feet in this process, not wanting to be too hasty to separate but I have wondered many times if this was the best thing. I see now it was. Finally, a few weeks ago, my husband was able to reveal an issue he has struggled with since before I met him that helped explain his emotional distance, the passive aggressive behavior, the need for control. I am just grateful to finally know "the rest of the story". It makes me feel bad but I just don't want to be married to him anymore. The years of emotional distance have severed for me that closeness that I imagined we had. The revelation of his problems has forever shattered my perception of the life I thought I had.

I just hope I am successful in feeding the Good wolf because I already feel eaten up by the Evil wolf.

Four Agreements

2006-04-18T12:51:00.000-04:00

I am pretty sure that I am sicker than I realize and am heading to the doctor this evening. I was doing my daily reading and ran across the site for Don Miguel Ruiz that talks about the “The Four agreements”:

1. Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Wow, this is really powerful and I think I am headed over to Amazon right now to get that book…

***************************

4:15 pm Update

Social Security now recognizes me with my married name and updated their database! Now I can go and renew my Drivers License!!! Wheeeee

I pity da fool

2006-03-26T19:50:00.000-05:00

Church was rather interesting today. The speaker was talking about why we can trust the Bible and one of his points was that the writers admitted the foibles, not just the wins. The example he cited piqued my interest: The time that Miriam was sent out of the Israelite camp by God for a rebellious attitude. The speaker’s logic went something like this: while we allow ourselves to discuss our sister's mistakes privately, a brother is not willing to let others publicly mock his sister when she makes mistakes. Especially in the case of Miriam, she as a young girl had literally risked her life when Moses was placed in that basket and was sent down the Nile; Miriam kept a close watch on him and was crucial in his receiving loving care from his own family as opposed to death as an infant. Moses loved his sister. He still wrote down the mistakes she made for all to see though.

That was something I hadn’t considered (never having had a brother) and it was interesting to contemplate Moses feelings towards Miriam; well, and men’s feelings toward women in general.

Lizbet & I had the chance to be part of a group that fed the traveling speaker and during the luncheon I was chatting with a mom who was remarking on an Oprah episode that she had seen where they were discussing the importance of a Dad in a girl’s life. It really is very interesting how that father-daughter relationship is a unique one; studies show that there doesn’t seem to be any other relationship which shapes an individual as much as this one.

I am so very grateful that Lizbet’s Dad is one of those remarkable men who intuitively know how to be there for his daughter. He certainly goofs, like when he wants to carry her like a sack of potatoes (still!). Yikes. But he is there, playing and spending time with her. She really does know beyond the shadow of a doubt that her Daddy loves her with every fiber of his being. She knows to pity the first pimply faced boy that shows up at our front door to take her out on her first date…he will have to run the gauntlet if he imagines he has any chance of actually going out with Lizbet.