Global warming?

The news has come out that researchers may have fudged some of their numbers to prove that global warming exists and that we humans are destroying out planet. Climategate has hit the news. Whether they have or have not is not the issue I want to tackle. I think the damning evidence that it is below freezing constitutes sufficient proof that something is up with our planet. Is it the next ice age?

My poor Earth. It has existed for so long and gone through so many cycles of life and change, to her this is probably just another phase. The fact that I am on the planet during this change is significant - to me. Extreme heat and extreme cold confirm to me that Ms. Earth is moody and is looking for a change. (Could it be Earth menopause?)

Just after Thanksgiving, around the beginning of December I was walking to my office. There was no snow on the ground yet, but it was bone-chilling cold. (As an arthritic woman, I know what bone chilling is...) I was enduring the cold and glad there was no snow; however, I was looking forward to snow because it may warm things up. Fast forward less than two weeks or so and now we have snow. Enough that (were it ever to get warm enough) it won't melt. It has not warmed up at all. If anything it is even colder.

I am hoping that winter will say goodbye by March and that we will enjoy a nice Spring. However, given our moody planet, it may be a short Spring and she will walk us right into a blistering hot Summer. I like the hot. I like getting into my car in mid-July and having a suffocating heat. It's like a great big hug. I don't like the hot steering wheel and I'm sure come Summer I will have something to complain about.

In the meantime, I will endure the winter because I know that it will not last forever. I will be patient and wait for the Earth to get over herself. I hope she can go back to the way she was in my lifetime without too much change.

Making Time

In an attempt to improve accountability and productivity in our office we were introduced to an accountability coach. For a ton of money per hour she gave us "tools" to "fix ourselves."

No one is perfect. Everyone has one thing or another they can improve on. Everyone can learn to be a little more accountable.

In one of our one-on-one meetings she told me to throw out all of my to do lists and use a tool she referred to as a "Complete Each Day Completely." First of all, as a to do list addict how am I to simply do away with the list? Without my task list I am convinced I would be unable to do my job - how would I know which client needed what?! Her rationale is that people who use to do lists try to cram too much into one day. She claims that we believe we can "make time."

Yesterday I made a short list of things to do when I got home. Nothing huge - simply a few little things (vacuum, weeding, make dinner, and go to the gym). Sadly, the only thing that got done was the gym.

This morning I woke up at 4:30am just because. However, in that amount of time I did my vacuuming and threw stuff into a crockpot for dinner. Two things on my "to do list" were done. I think I understand why to do lists can be detrimental - it can be completely devastating when things on the list are left undone. Added stress. No fun.

Even if I don't physically have a list written down there is always a to do list running in my head -- laundry, pay bills, pick up dry cleaning, call family, church stuff, and on and on and on.

Is it possible to exist without a to do list? Is it possible to have a to do list without "making time" and waking up at an thinkable hour because there are things that need to be done and I am trying to make time?

It's been awhile

T tells me that my blog has dropped to the "obscure" list on the many, many blogs he follows.

For our birthday we decided to get a laptop. For months now we've been sitting on the couch watching whatever shows we have piled up on the Tivo (oh I'm sorry, our Tivo died and now we have the horrible DirectTV DVR -- that is a blog for another time). Anyway, we've frequently mentioned how convenient it would be to be able to sit on the couch enjoying our time together all while working, Facebooking (is that a verb?), and other diversionary tactics to keep us multi-tasking so that we feel productive all while watching football games that never seem to progress.

The laptop is great. There is truly nothing better than schlumping on the couch with the world at my fingertips. Sometimes it is too much power. Where to go...what to do. I generally just end up playing Maijong - a fantastically addicting tile game that could be similar to dominos -- depending on what version is played.

So with the new laptop and the additional hour of "free time" I have found each day, perhaps I can revive this blog to a more satisfactory status.

There is one great downside to the laptop; however, it has greatly decreased the amount of cuddle time we enjoy each night. Perhaps I will need to introduce a time limit.

So many random thoughts running through my head, but all will have to be for another time. Time's up.

Is it Fall yet?

About a week before Labor Day something happened. It must've been a full moon or something, but all of a sudden I became so excited for Fall & Halloween.

It could have been that hubby has been on a "destroy every living branch in our yard" kick and removed branches from a very dead plum tree. Now the poor, bare tree has nothing but a trunk and a few large limbs -- it would look awesome with little paper ghosts hanging from it. The power company has come and "leveled" off tress that were a nuisance to them. They must get great pleasure in doing really crumby work. Another factor for the excitement may mean that I can almost ignore my yard and not feel guilty for it. Leaves are supposed to be dead in the Fall.

The autumn truly is my season. I was born in the Fall - I think mother nature knew that I could only be happy this time of year. I love the start of school - even though I'm not in it anymore, new pencils and school clothes still make me happy. That explains the lack of variety in my wardrobe. I have absolutely no Spring/Summer clothes and the winter is just recycled Fall-wear. It is probably for that reason alone that the Winter is bearable. I hate winter. Aside from the Christmas season, there is really nothing good about it.

Speaking of Christmas reminds me of decorating. While my basement is exploding with red and green decor (and a huge Christmas tree box that is always in the way), Fall is probably my next biggest decorating season. Aside from that the house stays the exact same way from January - October -- except this year. I think I'm pulling out the pumpkins and witches this weekend - half way to October, that is perfectly acceptable.

I just received my Crate & Barrel & Coldwater Creek catalogs. It's a good thing I can't go into debt for just thinking of all the things that I want.

So, it may be a little early, but Happy Fall everyone.

Life is messy

I love clean. I clean for fun. I read books on cleaning. (Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House is a complete and "fun" read). Clean makes me happy. It makes me feel good. I feel like I have accomplished something and conquered my filthy environment.

A Bissel commerical had the tag "Life's messy. Clean it up". It figures a vacuum would give this gem of wisdom. (I hate vacuuming most of all -- I'm never satisfied and there's too much equipment and it still doesn't get all the corners and filth.)

Life is messy. Everyone has problems, struggles, "dirt". I'm just finishing up a series of books that walks through the premortal/mortal life. I wonder what it will be like to get to postmortal life and compare with what we once knew and what we have actually accomplished (or didn't accomplish).

I wish there was a way I could save my loved ones from their own dirt. Wouldn't it be great to have someone who could keep me away from my own dirt! I guess the good news is, it's just dirt... and there are lots of ways to get clean again. Too bad we it's so hard to remember that it's easier to stay clean when we are having so much playing in the yard.

Cold v. flu

Just as the weekend was starting, hubby said that he was congested. He also had a headache, but that is not uncommon given that he gets a headache anytime there is a shift in barometer pressure. All of the rain we have had the last few weeks just adds to that pressure.

Sunday morning I had the pleasure of waking up with a congested head. As the day progressed it just became worse and worse. I went to bed at 9:30 after taking 2 or 3 naps during the day.

Monday I have aching hips and joints and tunnel vision. I want to put a bullet through my head just to relieve the pressure and to see if I can breathe again. I Googled the difference between a cold and the flu. I am certain I do not have H1N1 (swine flu). I am fairly confident that I just have a cold and that by next week I should be myself again. I sure hope this week goes by fast!

I did learn some nasty facts about the flu vs. the cold that I will not share. Basically, unfortunately, this will not kill me – even though I wish it would. I would be much happier.

While I believe my husband passed this lovely cold on to me I do not believe he is suffering nearly as much as I. I wonder if I can give it back?

Does running ever become "fun"?

So in my best attempt not to let "middle-age" (is that really where I am?) get to me I've been working my tooshie off at the local rec center and at a CrossFit gym. I can't say anything has particularly changed in the year I've been going. Maybe the fat has shifted to other places - I have found muscles that I didn't know I had.

Yesterday's CrossFit workout seemed really simple - run 400 meters and do 50 squats 4 times. So basically - run about a mile and do 200 squats. At the rec center I've been doing run/walk intervals for 2.5 miles. The CF workout should not be hard. After my first set of squats my legs were jello. By the end of the workout I was ready to be done.

I am glad that I cannot go to CF on Friday's - today's workout looked like death. If it didn't kill you - you would want it to! Why is it that people seem to like to kill themselves?! And why is it that I am one of them?

Toad read me the most hilarious article on "Why I Hate Jogging" http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2009/05/21/run-forrest-run-why-i-hate-jogging/

Sometimes satire is so fun. If you hate to jog - you should check it out!

Remember when...

Last night the slowing dying Sunday evening soap opera, Desperate Housewives, bid farewell to the trampy Edie Britt (played by Nicolette Sheridan). Back in the day when a show was going in to its television grave or the writers ran out of ideas they would have show to relive some of the moments that the viewers shared. Generally it was a sappy moment in time that was like looking through a photo album of old friends and “remembering when”.

Watching the episode last night, I felt betrayed by the “remember when” moments that I didn’t remember because I wasn’t invited. It has been obvious that the character is under-developed that no one could blame Ms. Sheridan for leaving a show that obviously did not appreciate her. The episode didn’t even show one moment that a viewer had previously seen, but what can you expect from a show that writes itself into a corner and then suddenly moves forward 5 years.

It’s times like this that I miss “old” TV. I have never been interested in “reality TV” of any sort from Survivor to American Idol or Dancing with the Stars – none of it has any appeal. I want a show with characters I can love or hate and I can forget about them until I have time to be friends again. I don’t want my television shows to mix in with my news and my real life. Let me have an hour to forget about the mess I have around me and then let me get back to it.

Media is a living, evolving thing. As the internet has put the newspaper industry to bed, so are cable/satellite television and the DVR being blamed for today’s low quality television. Networks are competing with so many other channels – including themselves that they don’t have time to allow the average view to become vested in their program. DVRs have made advertisers weary of paying high prices for something viewers are just going to skip over.

Personally, I like my DVR (I loved my TiVo – the regular DVR from Direct TV has serious issues, but that is a rant for another time) and I don’t see the difference between watching “live” TV and leaving the room when the commercials are on or sitting on my couch and watching them flash by – at least in that moment I see what is being advertised and I must watch any Mac or Sonic commercial. See, advertisers just need to be savvy and TV network big-shots need to have more faith in their programming and find writers who can creatively and intelligently maximize the characters they have created.

Why can’t people just be people?

I received the following clip in an email from a co-worker. I thought it was very cute.



As my day continued I realized how very accurate this video is and how very sad that a dog and elephant can look past differences, but people see a different color skin or hear a different language and completely shut down.

Last week I attended a forum on immigration in Utah and the U.S. presented by the American Immigration Lawyer Association National President. Charles Kuck is one of the nicest, genuine people I have ever met – even if he is a lawyer! Actually, truth be known, immigration lawyers are probably the best type of lawyers – but that is a rant for another time.

The Deseret News published an article about the forum. It is hard to summarize 2 hours of information into 2 columns. It was the comments I found most troubling. I can’t believe the ignorance of people. There are so many people who are anti-immigration, but they have no idea what they are talking about.

Take for example, “make them all come in legally”. That would be great, if our government allowed for that. Because of poorly planned laws implemented by Bill Clinton illegal immigration jumped from about a million per year to over 12 million because it became too difficult to do it “legally”. Over half the 12 million people who come on visas overstay – the majority of them are from Asia not Mexico. Did you know that if a U.S. citizen wants to sponsor his Mexican brother for a green card, the wait is 62 years? I’d cross a desert too.

The state legislature has over half a dozen immigration bills this session. I’m not normally an advocate, but I see how inhumane and discriminatory some of these bills are and I am appalled, so believe it or not I wrote my representative and I got a response back, amazing – she said my opinion mattered, even though it was the minority. There are so many people who are writing their ignorant comments (such as can be found on the comments of the Deseret News article) to the legislature – it reinforces to me how important it is to be informed. Maybe I’ll need to become an advocate after all.

Obama: What I want for you

Did you see this sweet letter from President Obama that appeared in Parade a couple weeks ago - it's taken me awhile... http://www.parade.com/news/2009/01/barack-obama-letter-to-my-daughters.html

A world of color - almost

Am I the only person who has a better life in her head that in reality?

Granted, I have a pretty great life. I am very blessed and am incredibly glad for the things and opportunities I have been given. But, being a perfectionist – it is hard not to have things just the way I want them. (It also doesn’t help that 9 times out of 10 – I have no idea what I want).

Today’s rant is brought to you courtesy of my living room. Several years ago when we bought our home – all of the holes left from the prior owner’s art drove me crazy. I filled some of the holes in, but I could still see them. Many of them were probably not visible anymore, but knowing they were once their drove me a little crazy.

Over the holidays I found a couple of Home Depot gift cards and decided that once the Christmas decorations were put away I would finally begin the much discussed quest of painting. I toyed with the idea of having a painter, but the idea of taking time off to be home and the price convinced me that we could do it ourselves.

Picking out the colors was easy. I found a “hazelnut creme” and “skipper” (a deep blue/grey) that were pretty. We picked up the gallons and headed home. My “hazelnut creme” ended up being – well, white and “skpper” ended up being a baby blue with a touch of grey. Grrrr. Oh well, it covers up the nail holes

I am to the point where I am frustrated that my house is torn apart and I have so much more to go. This last weekend I got one coat of a two foot space painted. I have a feeling it will be August before my house is put back together.

To top it off – I was looking for sconces this evening and found a red painting that I loved. I wonder what Toad will think about painting the room red. (An on-going battle I have yet to win….)

We've only been back from our trip for 3 days, but it seems like it was forever ago, so I thought I'd better start a post before I forget it all.

We set sail on the Carnival Miracle on Jan 16th from Ft. Lauderdale. The news in Florida continually referred to the "cold spell" they were experiencing. 60 degree weather is so tough. We were glad to be away from the 20 degree stuff we had at home.

We spent the next day at sea and then were busy hitting 4 ports in 4 days: Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and back to Mexico.

We went to Cozumel, Mexico - which is an island by the way - I did not know that. I'm not really geographically aware.

We went on a Jeep ride to a private beach and went snorkeling. We'd never been before, so it was cool. The reef was new so there wasn't a whole lot going on, but I saw a couple of HUGE fish. The ocean totally freaks me out.


We hit Roatan, Honduras. We were only there for a couple of hours, but I would love to spend more time there. We went to a Dolphin Reserve Park where we met Anthony the dolphin and his family. It was fun to play with him.

After 2 days of "play" we hit more historical sites in Belize and Costa Maya Mexico. We went toBelize City, Belize where we saw the Altun Ha Mayan ruins and and went on a tour of a large river (the river Wallace) where we saw iguana, crocodiles, bats, monkeys, and scenery. It was very similar to the river tour I went on in Costa Rica, but the river seemed less dirty in Costa Rica - I think it's because I love that place so- much.

Costa Maya made me realize how fragile life is. The port has recently opened (I think we were one of the first boats to come back) after Hurricane Dean hit it a few years ago. It's amazing how a 5-10 minute storm can do so much long term damage. The trees are still badly broken and all over the place and there is very little around other than the port - which is a major source of income for the people there.

So after running around we had 2 days to relax on the boat, or as Carnival says have a "fun day at sea". We pretty much just stayed on the deck or were in the gym. We only ate 3 meals a day and weren't at the buffet every 30 minutes like a lot of people we saw. We did have our midnight hot chocolate while playing several intense games of Uno. Yeah, we really know how to party.... :) We had fun though. Our 3rd or 4th day out Toad asked me when I wanted to vacation again. I nearly fell out of my chair - I think I may have started something! I KNEW he'd like vacation.

After the cruise we spend 2 days at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa. It was great, but after being constantly pampered and being able to do whatever we wanted - the resort was a lot like prison. We didn't have any transportation other than taxi's - by this time we were broke and tired, so we spent all day in the hotel or by the pool - which we were kind of sick of. The worst part of all was having to PAY for dinner -what's that all about :) We were really sad to watch the cruise ships sail off on Saturday night while we were still on dry land.

I wish I could say it's good to be back - there's no place like home, afterall, but I really miss vacation. Do you think we could find a job in the Carribbean lying on a beach? I don't think I could really do that for very long, but I did enjoy seeing my husband. I think we passed the test - we spent 24 hours a day together for 10 days straight and I still love him to pieces. How cute is it that he called me at 6:30 Tuesday morning because he missed me? After 6 years (this Sunday) we are still completely "whooped". Happy Anniversary, Toad.

Welcome 2009!

Happy New Year! Is it bad that I am glad to see 2008 go? The year itself seemed pretty short, but nothing exciting went on. We went to work and did little else.

Oh well, it's a new year and I have such big plans.... We'll see what happens. I am supposed to be taking down the Christmas decorations down. It's 3 in the afternoon and I am not even dressed yet. I'm glad my new year's resolution wasn't to be more productive. However, we are finally getting around to painting the living room. I have moved all of the furniture out and taken out every nail, screw, etc. etc. from the walls. What a project we have coming!

Also, we're all set for our vacation - we've only been planning it for half a year. Christmas eve we found out that our initial plans were not going to happen so after some scavenging around we are finally set! It will nice to be somewhere warm. I haven't liked the winter too much. Too much cold.