my real life adventures

America Deserves A Raise Contest - win 40k for a friend and yourself

2010-04-20T19:43:00.000-04:00

Is there someone you know whose paycheck may not reflect how hard he or she works?

At Advance America, they think America deserves a raise. And we might just start with someone you know. Share your story.

For every vote, Advance America will donate $1 to charities devoted to job training and education.

Where is spring?

2010-02-14T23:42:00.000-05:00

So... a bunch of things have happened since December!

Marshall turned 9! Longest Birthday celebration ever - this according to Rianne, who always gets uber jealous - started celebrating Tuesday night with Ivy and ended Saturday night with Bama and Papa - interspersed with wonderful cards from Grandmom, Grandpop, Uncle Mark, Uncle Steve, Aunt Joann, Andrew, Alyssa, Uncle John & Aunt Jeannette and even Aunt Joie & Uncle Fitz .

I started my new job as the Web Marketing and Graphic Design Manager for Tender Corp in Littleton at the end of January and so far so good. Dan's doing some short-term work for Garnet Hill and I'm still helping them out some weeknights and Saturday mornings.

Oh, yeah I got locked out of the house last week and Dad drove up all the way from Bradford and rescued me.... we've now separated the house keys. Next on the list - fixing the windshield wipers!

Home in Bethlehem, NH

2009-12-19T22:03:00.002-05:00

So, for the first time since I started this blog back in 2005 I'm living in NH. I've decided not to change the name of the URL that gets you here, because my heart (for the time being) is still down there and it helps remind me of all the good PA times we had.

When we moved down to PA in August of 2004 Rianne was entering 1st grade and Marshall was 3 1/2, now we're back in the North Country - Rianne is in 6th grade and Marshall is in 8, almost 9. It was a good 5 years and I'd do it all over again. We'll miss our friends and family in the area, but figure they'll just give us an even bigger excuse to visit the area.

So for now I remain heatherinpa

Moving on, Philadelphia

2009-12-10T08:19:00.002-05:00

Well it's my last day working from home in NH and I have to say I'm a little sad. I fly back down to Philadelphia tonight, do one last solo day in the office and then, next week, start training my replacement.

I'm up to my neck in procedural manuals but I'm still going to miss the friends and family in Philadelphia. I know I'll be back, a lot, but it's a small consolation to me right now. At least till the 18th I'm yours.

whitls soidgoi

2009-05-26T21:20:00.003-04:00

diggley leaves
purple moon

whitely faded

lined the street
truth left, right

sharp and falling
of rocks and mud

tallish leaning
in for whispered chill

2009-02-04T11:26:00.001-05:00

Wednesdays are great! If everyday could be one day I'd pick Saturday, next would be Sunday and then Friday and then Wednesday. Hmm, guess Wednesdays aren't as great as I thought they were...

2009-01-28T08:42:00.001-05:00

Phew* Made it into the office... my feet are a little wet, but I'm warming back up fast.

2009-01-05T17:08:00.001-05:00

cough*achoo* ugh my head feels swollen to the size of a watermelon.

Happy New Year from VT!

2009-01-01T15:52:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the negative tone of my last blog entry - we are beset at every side and I shouldn't let it get me so down :)

So we've been up in VT for over a week and aren't leaving for another 3 days - it's glorious! We've gone snowshoeing, sledding and have played tons of video games and done another ton of research on our new project - a small house on our land in Bethlehem, NH.
To chronologue all of that information I've started a new blog - http://mygreencabindream.blogspot.com/ - it's all about our discovery process and determining which method's we're going to use to create our new abode.

We are thinking, Lord willing, that we may be back up in NH full-time by this time next year. We have no jobs up here, nor promises for jobs or a foundation for the house - but both of us have been feeling a strong desire to return to the north country and refocus our lives on God and family.

We envy your prayers for this next year as we fumble our way through the construction progress.

Much Love,
Heather

Packing and Wrapping

2008-12-23T13:05:00.002-05:00

I am tired, very tired of packing and wrapping - but more than that I'm tired of people. Having to deal with people's emotional manipulations and interpretations of events and their feelings and response about those events. Nothing specific mind you cause that would just tire me out even more. It's just a constant stream of... what's that stuff that floats on the top of the ocean you know that stuff... it's like flotsam and jetsam or something like that. I don't know, maybe people like the "drama" but I just can't seem to care that much.

oh well. off to VT for a nice nice vacation. so looking forward to some sleep!!

A not paid blog post

2008-12-16T13:16:00.001-05:00

Recently I tried to add myself to the payperpost blogging minions - needless to say - I didn't get in. I don't blog enough. However, they told me that if I blog 20 posts in the next 90 days they can enroll me.

FYI - http://payperpost.com

Blog #1, Day #1

Dreaming of Home...

2008-12-06T08:58:00.002-05:00

I know that every once in a while I get a crazy idea in my head and drive everyone around me nuts by trying to get people to buy into it. So, I'd like to introduce you to my latest and greatest and I'm feeling like I don't need that much buy in this time! Though I would love to hear your thoughts!

I want to build an Earth Sheltered Home on our land in NH. Dan's already said he thought we could do if the zoning/building codes for our town don't exclude it.

From the looks of it, we could plan a small house for a "guest house/cabin" and then taking what we learned from that build a larger one. We have a ton more hill than then did and 10 acres of trees.

Let me know what you think! I'm off to explore zoning and building codes!

-h

DVICE: 11 fun things to do with obsolete tech

2008-12-04T09:25:00.001-05:00

DVICE: 11 fun things to do with obsolete tech

This was my Fav!

5. Walkman iPod Case

PROJECT SITE: DVICE

WHY IT'S COOL: Just cause vinyl's back in fashion, doesn't mean all your old cassette tapes are on the verge of a comeback. It's time to let go of the Walkman that's been banging around your desk drawer since the last time Guns 'N Roses released an album. Fact is cassette players made of metal or hard plastic can take a decent lickin'. They're also pocket-size and slim. Plus, what jackass wants to steal a portable tape player? So beyond being a reliable hard case, your new Walkcase is a genius way to conceal the $400 32GB iPod Touch you just upgraded to. Crank some Sugar Hill Gang or White Snake every now and again, and no one will know the difference.
DIFFICULTY: n00b

Social Media Marketing & Turkey

2008-12-04T09:23:00.000-05:00

Some of you may know I made a Brazilian Christmas Turkey for Thanksgiving this year. It's the first time since Aunt Stephanie & Uncle Gary's Thanksgivings that I've made this and I must say it was once again a marvelous bird! If you ever want to give it a try here is the recipe. I edit the recipe a bit and ignore the stuffing, but it always tastes great! That's bacon criss-crossed on the breast and Dan says it tastes wonderful - this year we tried the extra thick variety ;)

So after the turkey my new hobby is Social Media Marketing, so I've been digging in a bit and it seems that the general public expects companies to have a presence in social media. It's so involved that if you have a small-ish company you're looking at almost have one whole person doing just social media. I have seen some automation tools, but the all get a "thumbs down" because there is no one behind them. People have to feel that there is an actual person behind your social media efforts otherwise they view responses as pushy sales tactics. It's a great area, I'm just trying to figure out how to integrate these social media marketing skills with my graphic design side :)

- h

Nadine's Super Surprise Baby Shower

2008-11-06T14:41:00.001-05:00

NSSBS_piano on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Today we had Nadine Ezzat's Super Surprise Baby Shower and it was indeed a great surprise!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

UGH! CBS's pre-commercial commercial

2008-11-03T21:11:00.001-05:00

Whoever thought up the CBS's pre-commercial commercials for Monday night STINKS. I've only seen the things for two Mondays and I already strongly, STRONGLY dislike Laura Spencer and her snide tone and meaningless dribble. We already have to watch commercials and now we're stuck watching her "talk" to us, like she knows us and really cooks. Come on look at her... she doesn't cook, not even those Bertoli things she's pimping.

Can someone tell CBS that sure this will get them more money in the short run, but it's going to irritate and alienate loyal viewers. You can't sell advertising if your numbers are going down!

Anywhoo :P

Blogged with the Flock Browser

When the 70's hits your cousin in the face...

2008-11-03T20:19:00.003-05:00

Facebook | Jon Fitzpatrick's Photos - Halloween 2008

All I could think about was the Ron Burgundy movie..."[looking at his reflection in the mirror] Mmmmm... I look good. I mean really good. Hey, everyone! Come and see how good I look!"

lol - great costume :)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Win a Gizmo!

2008-11-03T09:47:00.001-05:00

Seems like everyone is giving something away these days. If it's not a twitter contest it's a subscription drive for a mag that offers you the possibility of winning so you give them your stats. It's worth it if you have a good work address ;)

This week's prize from I.D. is a Flip Mino
(digital camcorder that plugs into your computer)
http://win.id-mag.com/entry.asp

Happy prize winning :)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Today's Fun Links

2008-10-30T11:16:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MufTb-D4AcE

http://www.smartypig.com

*yea! Phillies!!*

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Amazonwindow shop (windowshop.com)

2008-10-29T09:39:00.001-04:00

Amazon just launched a new website - windowshop.com and it looks really interesting. Have to say it's a great time to launch something like this, what with Christmas around the corner. Check it out also that and Flock it's web browser that integrates blogging and a bunch of other things into it's interface so that you can update your info in a snap.

I'm using it right now as a test, if it works well I'm going to recommend it to our PR lady so she can use it to update our social media marketing tools ;)

ttfn
h

Blogged with the Flock Browser

2008-10-29T09:02:00.001-04:00

munching on munchkins :)

2008-10-28T15:39:00.001-04:00

playing with a new tool at work today. I love that part of my job involves investigating social media and how it works.

so we're all bummed about the phillies... and it's still raining *sigh*

Today's short list of irritants

2008-09-30T08:17:00.004-04:00

- My headache

- my hair is poking my eyes

- economic unrest and the political blame fest, they need to get over themselves and do what's right for the country. This is no longer about who the next president of the united states is, this is about our jobs, my families well being and all of our futures.

You're either part of the problem, or part of the solution.
Pick a team gentlemen.

And that's my rant for the day! :D

2008-09-17T15:53:00.001-04:00

going to the irish pub tonight - girls night out - whoohoo!

Rumors of my death... yada, yada, yada

2008-09-16T10:18:00.002-04:00

So another long blast of space between this blog entry and my last. Couple of highlights for all ya'll out there in the blogosphere...

- New dog, Mick
- Kids spent the summer with Grandparents in VT and with Steve & Jo in NJ
- Moved to Hatfield, PA
- Kids came back
- Frantic school related activities
- School started...

Oddly enough at work we started an educational blog that I designed in typepad. Worked on it today and it prompted me to create this post on my own blog. I'm going to have to start investigating what I can actually do to the blogger interface.... if it's customizable etc that could be very cool. Looking for a new css project to test an app. out on anyway.

Slowly feel myself turning a little geekier every day - getting a computer (PC) for the kitchen for calendars and school homework. If only Mac's were cheaper *sigh*.

Back to work - shout out to all the fam and friends! Love you guys, no matter how stinking far away you are :D

Mick, the dog

2008-06-23T08:42:00.003-04:00

So Dan's dream has come true.
We have a new dog. It's been 3 long years, one bad cat, two dead hamsters and here we are with Mick.

I have to admit to a certain amount of "you're-an-idot" anger, cause I'm not really a big fan of having a pet right now. We'd finally got down to ZERO pets and I was ok with it... there wasn't some weird little turd on my coffee table. No "surprises" lurking in corners of the house - baaaaad cat!! I felt like I really gave up a lot when I said the cat must go... I liked the cat a lot! I just didn't have time to clean up after her and her shenanigans along with everyone else's.

So, now that I'm over myself, it turns out he's a good dog. Very friendly and just a sweetheart. He's already picked up on some of the training we started on Friday and I think he's starting to like me. He basically worships Dan, follows him everywhere - even in circles :) Only one accident so far and Dan, smart fellow that he is, didn't even balk at cleaning it up very thoroughly.

MaryRuth, Richard and Eyrleigh are coming to visit on Thursday, so this will be his first child interaction with us. He grew up with another dog, a cat and 3 children so we don't anticipate any issues.

So for those of you wondering what kind of Dog Mick is he is a Stafforshire Bull Terrier and they have some interesting traits:

Staffords are prone to drowning since many cannot swim well or even stay afloat.
Staffords are generally not heat tolerant. NEVER keep your Stafford out in the direct sun on a warm day for more than a few minutes, and, on hot summer days, try to limit your Stafford’s most boisterous activities, even in the shade, to the cool of the evening hours. Because of the structure of their head and airways, Staffords can overheat very, very easily, with only a few minutes of brisk exercise on a warm day.
The breed’s patience and gentle ways with children are legendary

So check our Flickr page for more pictures! The kids will get to meet him over the 4th of July weekend and we're very excited to see how they handle him. We anticipate some training on both ends and are hoping that one or both of them are interested in working with the dog for agility training.

Survey Monkey

2008-06-19T19:03:00.002-04:00

Hello World of Readers!

I am, yet again, embarking on another adventure into semi-entrepreneurship (bigger word please!) and need your help. As many of you remember I had that idea years and years ago that no one believed in and then someone thought of it and they did it and got rich... this time I'm hoping to beat them to the punch! SOOO... that means it's Survey Time!

Please take my Survey here - ONLY IF you are a female!

So for those of you looking for pictures of an actual monkey... sorry, you'll have to wait till I update flickr with a picture of Dan (oh snap*) hahaha!

Thanks in advance for your help!
- HeatherinPA

Baby Michele Rose Ilsley

2008-05-30T10:50:00.004-04:00

Michele Rose-Sinclair Ilsley
10:17 am - May 29th, 2008 (due date!)
6lbs. 14 oz. - 21" long

Mom and baby are both healthy and happy! They reported 2 poopie diapers already and Tim seems to be doing a great job changing diapers :) In my personal opinion she's the perfect mix of Tim and Rachel... a perfect little button. Her voice is as soft as her hair, man you forget how soft baby hair can be!

We only got to spend 30 min with the new family and my camera battery died on me - so kicking myself!!!! But Tim and Rachel had a great camera they were shooting pictures and video's with so I'm sure we'll get to see those soon. Mom and Dad had a little video conference with the baby and will be down next weekend with Auntie Beth to see her in person :)

Meanwhile we're letting them rest up. They get out of the hospital tomorrow and we're going to see if we can take the kids over to meet Michele on Sunday.

A TV Anchor just lied! (fake gasp*)

2008-05-28T18:46:00.002-04:00

Slouching here in my chair, the only seat that is above floor level in our almost entirely packed house, and I'm watching the news out of the corner of my eye... also listening to Rianne "teach" Marshall some out of key musical scale. His voice is actually much more in tune that hers... oh well. So I've been contemplating a lot of things lately, mostly gardening, canning and is it possible to own a milk producing goat in our new township?

So the nightly news/horror show comes on... blah blah blah pause, talking about gas and then he says "..looking at the many ways the high cost of gas is cutting into the lives of every citizen in this country right now..." Ok so he's not really making a statement, so it's not a real lie. BUT if you think about what it implies you could extrapolate a general statement - Everyone in the US is being effected by the gas prices. So you could say, if you allowed me to, that that's what he actually said.

Now that we've cleared that up, I'd like to know how exactly the gas prices are effecting the Amish? From what I understand they are pretty much self reliant. Sure they buy kerosene for their lamps and propane for stoves/fridges/freezers/lighting, but that's not gasoline. They have their horse and buggies and make/grow everything they need.

If that TV news anchor came on the air one night and said "how gas prices are effecting even the most self reliant population in the nation, tonight we're looking at the Amish and how they're coping" then I might actually pay attention. As far as I know the Amish even make their own fertilizer - I see them spread it all over their fields *pe-uw*!

Enough ranting for now - back to waiting for the baby to be born!!

space-time and what?

2008-05-07T20:20:00.006-04:00

Ok! Finally updating my blog.... look I photoshop'ed my head into this picture from another one... why you're asking? cause the hair is fluffier and some how I think that makes up just a tiny bit for the odd angle and slumpy pose.

were all We've got a dozen more photo's... took a while to get one where welooking in the same direction with reasonably good facial expressions...well look... See what I mean :D

So we're moving at the end of the month... good by sweet sweet Lancaster County! i will miss your outlets, your fabulous food and your cow manure smell.

More later on the mess of moving...

31-12=19

2008-01-03T21:46:00.000-05:00

This weekend we'll be celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary - doing something fun I'm sure... And celebrating my brother's 31st birthday.

Posted new pictures of the kids on flickr - vt is so cool, I miss snow!

Also, horribly stupid, but hilariously funny - watch these human tetris game shows from Japan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll2kajMH2u0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84_QL1kEmH4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPFZl59_OZ4

Laughter is good for your health :) Certainly better than long meetings anyway... *sigh*

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T20:22:00.000-05:00

We just finished making up our family list of New Year's Resolutions and we're feeling really optimistic about actually accomplishing them. This is our first year giving the resolution thing a try and the kids have really embraced it, even creating a list of two individual things they'd like to do over the next year.

I'm particularly excited about the "visit 5 national/state parks" goal. We've already identified the parks and planned when to take them. It's going to be particularly important to have these kinds of things this year because our main family vacation is going to be moving... tons o' fun there :P It's reassuring to know tho that we've planned far enough in advance to know what we're doing all the way into September, which gets us past the move and into the next school year. So though we can't plan every little detail I think that it will help the kids feel more secure with all the change going on.

We're particularly looking forward to getting to know the church body we've identified as a serious contender over in Ft. Washington, it will be a hike, but if things work out with the church and the school it will be more than worth the effort when the time comes to move. Dan and I scouted/attended services last week and really enjoyed the message. Dan even talked with a man who spoke enthusiastically about a young couples group at the church... do we still qualify for young?!

Well, we wish all of the best for all of you out there that may (or not) see this - Happy New Year and God Bless!

The Disney Vault... fear in advertising

2007-12-30T20:11:00.000-05:00

As a parent I want my children to have the same sweet memories I have of certain things. Advertisers know this as "nostalgia" and they find it in your brain and use it as a mechanism to make you think that you only have one chance to buy something. This Disney Vault for example, we all know there probably is some kind of "storage" something somewhere, but "locking" it away and making unavailable to drive up short term sales... that's just rude.

And if you're going to be rude why would you be rude to parents of small children? How does that make good business sense? Sure they have a lot of movies to work with and so they can rotate them and sell more of one at a particular time than say a little trickle over a longer period of time. Maybe they've done measurements and have determined that the sales are greater with this strategy, but what has it done to the good will of their audience - to the mom or dad who just really wants to get the one particular movie that's locked away in the vault?

I'd think it would work better to just let people buy what they want when they want, maybe even put together sets that were created during a certain decade... I don't know, I'm just really really tired of seeing that vault close and feeling a tinge of advertising induced fear. So far it's annoyed me enough so that I've actually bought zero movies, how effective is that?!

Rocko & Anna's - my inner critic

2007-12-28T13:22:00.000-05:00

Let's pretend I'm a restaurant critic for a moment. I don't like clam shell in my seafood gnocchi and yet I had some... tiny little pieces of delightful crunchiness. It scared me, I thought I was going to be stabbed in the gums. So do I complain to the waitress, no - because it's a seafood dish and there are whole clam shells in the dish so it's reasonable to assume that there could have been a piece of a shell or two in there, right?

Would you complain?

My lettuce was droopy too, I could have gotten fresher from my own plastic bag of salad at home. The only thing that I really liked was the butter, it was good.

Today I went to lunch with some co-workers and I took one bite of my turkey burger and knew I wasn't going to finish it, it was saltier than a Wendy's burger and that's saying a lot. I tried to eat it, but when push came to shove I couldn't. My friend Christine had the same thing and said the same thing, "It's really salty." But this time I said something to the waitress, she said it's very peppery and I said, no it's really salty and she said it's suppose to be spicy and I said, I've had it before and this is really spicy and Christine chimed in "It's really salty." The waitress offered me a re-do, I said no, she offered me a new plain burger, I said no thank you and then she took my plate away.

She comes back with the bill and says "I took your sandwich off", I was delighted - I know the turkey burger is normally really good, so I'll be back!

baby! and a mysterious train ride

2007-12-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

The littlest Ilsley's
first picture!
We're so excited for
Tim and Rachel

due May 29th-ish!

Paula got a contact stuck and didn't dare take a nap so we had fun taking pictures with the photobooth on my computer! enjoy this bizarre montage!!

ATL & the little pumpkin head

2007-12-09T11:43:00.000-05:00

Here I am down in the ATL having a good time chilaxin' with the Hambricks. Lil' Pumpkin Head is so cute it's hard to put her down.

We had a fun day yesterday, helping pick out a Christmas tree and Christmas outfits for the christmas picture. Tree's up and decorated looking all fabulous with it's red bows.

I'm heading out tonight to get back to my kido's, miss those crazy nuts, but it's been a gret flash back to itty bitty baby times :)

Eyrleigh Sedona Hambrick

2007-11-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Our friends Mary Ruth and Richard Hambrick just had their first baby and she's gorgeous!

Eyrleigh Sedona Hambrick

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hambrick/sets/72157603119053175/

Congrats to the Hambrick and Elder families!

Love,
Heather

treadmill desk

2007-10-27T17:35:00.000-04:00

Here I walk (ok that's Marshall, but I'm doing it now)... typing on my keyboard - I've already determined that I need a shorter one to keep my body on center. So, I'm walking, ever so slowly on my treadmill, typing and watch/listening to my tv. This has been my dream for almost a year... trip... yeah need a shorter keyboard... Anyway, this has been a dream of mine since I saw an article about a treadmill desk.

So far I've played a video game, typed an email, googled something and changed the channel on the tv once. I'm going .5 miles per hour to start out, so very slow, but so far I haven't fallen completely over!
So far so good - the one really good thing is this will free up the desk space in our bedroom alcove/office area and Dan can move his gear in so we can work side by side and switch back and forth.

I have noticed that it's more comfortable to walk and work then to stand and walk, so that's a good thing! We'll I'm off to get a short wireless keyboard!

TTFN

columbus day

2007-10-08T09:03:00.000-04:00

why is it that when I just want to check my email I can't... the thing keeps spinning and spinning like it will be for ever loading. life feels like that right now, it's all spinning and spinning and I hate it. i just need it to be one thing, just one thing. maybe if I take all the other things to goodwill... or throw them away.

my automobile

2007-08-01T08:17:00.000-04:00

I drive my automobile
past the trees, making my own breeze
my fingers cut through
I make my own road

what's beyond the door
can the feet stand on the path
the road to somewhere else

my automobile is red
through the windows I look to see
what else is coming down
it's all a metaphor you know

the road the car the breeze
ruffling the bushes
flipping petals off their flowers
rubbing the road with the rubber

all I know is what I have experienced
is that all I need to know
what's on the outside
of the door.

unlock the doors
walk on the grass
feel the pre-existing breeze
someone else's fingers in the trees

update ding

2007-07-17T18:02:00.000-04:00

"The deal was 5 million!" I heard him yell... granted he was just on tv, so I wasn't really scared, it just reminded me about my recent run in with a $3.2 million estimate for outsourcing our creative department. Dan thinks I should ask for a 10% raise, 10% of the money I'm saving the company... he's so funny :)

The first ever McCullough Hamburger Festival will be happening this Saturday. I'm buying a kiddy pool and finding something that floats to put in it... the real Hamburger Festival in Akron, OH has a hamburger bob contest in katsup, but I'm not up for buying that much katsup and I'm not sure if hamburger floats anyway... besides... ew!

Our new piano is great, mostly in tune. and fun to slowly play on... it's been a while ladies and gentlemen so maybe just maybe if I start practicing Christmas songs now I'll be ready for Christmas! Watch out all you famous piano players - Heather's comin'!

Meanwhile the kids are running around singing songs by Toby Mac's son TruDog "Shshake it, don't break it, it took your mama 9 months to make it... " (repeat to infinity, somewhere around insanity).

The kids are off to NJ again this weekend, then off to VT for two weeks and then a week in UT. They won't be home for 4 whole weeks, hope the hamster doesn't die!

this is life

2007-06-25T16:05:00.000-04:00

waiting for your computer to finish a process shouldn't be something anyone should have to experience in this day and age and whatnot!

Summer's starting to heat up, so far it looks like we'll be home one or two Sundays this month, one for a church event and one to do laundry - boo laundry, hooray naps! The kids go to NJ next weekend and then the 4th of July... wait a sec!

I feel like I'm forgetting BIRTHDAYS!?! oh my golly I don't have time to write anymore - cya!

Tim's Wedding and Life (real life, not the cereal)

2007-06-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

fifth's disease

2007-06-03T11:01:00.000-04:00

First off it's not as scary as it sounds. Fifth's disease is like chicken pox or measles in a way. So Rianne had her fever about a week and a half ago (An ill child may have a low-grade fever, malaise, or a "cold" a few days before the rash breaks out. The child is usually not very ill, and the rash resolves in 7 to 10 days.) and is now experiencing the joy of the rash. Bad news, adults can get it and so I did! I had Dan checking my temperature so it didn't get too high, I wanted to let the fever work, but when my temp hit 102 we went for the advil.

Luckily I'm feeling much better - still have some joint pain, but in all the usual spots so I'm just bearing it with a little advil. Ri's currently soaking in the tub as her rash got quiet bad yesterday and is still calming down. Well that's our excitement for this weekend!

questionable internet practices at the cabin!

2007-05-27T14:43:00.000-04:00

I'm typing in hushed tones as the aunts lay reading their books... never suspecting that I'm actually online writing in my blog!

We're having a great time. I'm hoping next year will bring more of the family ladies.

I'm off to visit the outhouse - good times, good times! Too bad its raining :(

i love...

2007-05-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

working from home

I can think
I can rock out and not worry about the people around me
I'm not interrupted as much
I don't have to wear makeup

I could work in my jammies and no one would know!

And the best thing... I have a window to look at the world through and I can hear birds chirping

recent obsessions

2007-04-11T22:04:00.000-04:00

ok, ok... some of you know, I'm actually working on loosing weight. I've joined Curves, the fat woman's gym alternative ;), and have started drinking shakes for Breakfast and either in place of dinner or with dinner. So far so good and I'm happy to announce I actually just had my first craving for a shake. Not sure what that indicates, could be I'm nuts OR there could be some addictive qualities to these shake things.

Anyway, I'm off to do some coding for my Aunt.

I wonder how tacky before and after pictures would look... (ugh, don't even think about it!)

even my wife?! especially your wife!

2007-04-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

Not a whole lot I can say right now, busy and super tired. I have one Copeland ad to do and I can go to sleep.

Wednesday was a big day, God really provided - words, thoughts everything. By the time I got home I didn't feel like talking at all. Dan was patient enough to wait till tonight for me to unload. So, now I'm all talked out again.

Blessed Easter to you all.

love,
h

upcoming events and the price of hair color

2007-03-02T07:36:00.000-05:00

$18, done in the convenience of my own home... granted I wouldn't do it if Beth wasn't here to put the highlights in place. Can you imagine what highlights by Dan would look like? There's a fair chance that it would not be good. ;) So that's on the schedule for tonight, I'll get my much needed hair cut sometime next week. All before my cousin Josiah gets married on Friday night, which reminds me we need to get them a present!

Good thing we're already planning on going to the mall on Saturday. My train buddy Paula is coming over with her daughters and we're all going to try out a new Chinese food buffet and then heading out to the mall, which I think she has never visited. (Can I just say that the train is occasionally making a very loud knocking sound on the side I'm sitting on... very distracting/possibly distressing.)

I think my boss is going to let me go to the HOW Design Conference in Atlanta, GA this year. I'm very excited, it was so awesome when I went in 2001, though this time I swear not to get so many paper samples that I can't take them all back on the plane! I might even get the chance to see MR and Richard.

Ton of work to do today so I'm off to hit the ol' grind stone. Have a great Friday out there.

fun for me!

2007-02-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

so here I am at home, working, again - only this time I'm loving it! We went to the Apple Store over the weekend and got an adapter that lets me connect my laptop to another monitor. I thought using it would mean that I wouldn't use my laptop monitor, or wouldn't be able to. BUT it turns out that my laptop lets me use BOTH! I am in geeky heaven :P

rambling rambler

2007-01-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

I find myself falling asleep on the train once again. my eyes are burning from a long day and I'm tired.
Beth's come to visit - going away now and then to flit across the country side. Today she left for Lebanon, PA to house sit for a friend up there.

Marsh is turning 6 and we cant find the perfect place to take him and his friends for a birthday party... short of PIzzaa hut.... guess I really need that nap.

So much stuff going on I feel like I cant focus. I'm going to have to go back to living from a list again. Hate lists.. they're stifily. Just like business clothes... beginiig to think I can't design wearing business clothes... this coudl impare my career progress...

morel ater when I can think straight

h

Thursday before Christmas...

2006-12-21T12:28:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while but at least it's something!

Tonight my parents arrive, Beth has been here since Monday and has been fun to have around - though I don't think I've been able to give her as much attention as I want. Life is pretty distracting right now and I'd gotten used to my hustle and bustle adding one more thing was bound to make me notice how busy things were... Tomorrow I work from home and hopefully we're getting out at 2pm. Would so love that.

January 1st I'm officially going to become the Lead Graphic Designer here at work. I guess they've given up on hiring a Creative/Art Director since the last two didn't stick. I change bosses so I'm figuring out how to talk to the new guy. He seems pretty nice.

Today is the cookie exchange thing and I'm not going but I am passing out congo bars. Then party on the train on the way home... more congo bars! And when I say congo bars I mean real congo bars, nothing new added ;) Time to pass out the sweets!

more later!

T'was the Monday before Thanksgiving...

2006-11-20T07:50:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning brave readers! We had a fabulous weekend, or one I really enjoyed, we cleaned, cooked and bowled - was fabulous :) So far I've made 3 batches of fudge, 2 of which have come out perfectly, the first turned into a mass of good and while tasty could only be eaten with a spoon.

As some of you know we recently parted ways with our cat. A sad day in our house, but a necessity - she needed more of our attention than we could give and was starting to have some behavioral problems. So during our "the cat is leaving" conversations with the kids we discussed a replacement pet - the goal being a pet that would require less attention than a cat. We started out with a snail, we've had a snail before - I liked it, it required little of my attention and only smelled when it died. From snail we moved to fish, which I immediately said no to... I always end up cleaning the tank and having had my own pet fish through out the years have disliked that task immensely.

On to turtle... not a bad choice, but a little too large for my liking. At this point I might have suggested a snake or spider but you know me... at some point I'd freak out and either squish the spider or try and get Dan to do it for me. I wanted whatever it was to fit in a small box on top of our short bookcase in the living room, so something small that doesn't mind us not being there during the day and doesn't mind getting man-handled by kids after 5pm.

Enter the hamster, a nocturnal creature, our Chinese Dwarf Hamster is the size of my palm. Her name is Rosita Vine McCullough, Rosie for short. So far she loves her wheel and is great at getting around the house in her exercise ball. She escaped once and after we caught her was calm enough to hang out on my arm while we talked to her and gave her a little pet on the head. We bought a Hamster training book and we're going to try some of the Hamster training tricks in it to get her and the kids use to handling each other :)

mmm homemade granola bars are yummy! Come on over and try one!

University Settles With Christian Student Who Objected to Social-Work Assignment

2006-11-10T07:47:00.000-05:00

[OK - just a quick preface to this rant.. some of you know me as sweet mild mannered me, not one for confrentation or arguing - mostly because its never worth it - and I realize that lately my blogs have been rants of some sort. Its seems to be my blog trigger for this month - must rant, must blog. So here we go, but rest assured some day I'll blog on something trival and it will leave you feeling empty - because you secretly love my rants. ]

I first read the above headline in an email newsletter I get through work, a paid subscription specifically designed for all of upper education across the country. It caught my eye as I scanned down the email, great another whining Christian making us all look bad. After all "University Settles With Christian Student Who Objected to Social-Work Assignment" sounds like a Christian didn't want to do some kind of community service/work related assignment, something that any reasonable student would do and this stupid sap was hiding behind his/her religious beliefs to get out of the work. Right? That's how I read the headline... seems a reasonable assumption to me.

With some chagrin I clicked the headline to see the story (click here) and it turns out that the student had problems after declining to sign a letter to the Missouri state legislature "the assistant professor who directed her undergraduate social-work program, had accused her of violating the university’s Standards of Essential Functioning in Social Work Education after she refused to sign her name to a letter her entire class had written to the Missouri Legislature in support of homosexual adoption." Well come on now, that's a totally reasonable thing to decline to participate in - good grief! The girl did the right thing and should have been allowed to do so without penalty, I'm glad she's taken action, hopefully it will help all who participate in the program in the future.

I looked over the rest of the story and noticed the word "attacked" in reference to "several conservative groups". I'm so tired of news not actually being news, but being opinion tucked in and trimmed around details. Any time I read the newspaper, any publication really, I find my self reading defensively, having to pull out the meat of the story from the opinion, purposefully ignoring over half the article so I can actully figure out what happened.

Defensive reading skill courses coming to a school near you!

financial ludicrousness

2006-11-02T17:12:00.000-05:00

I know it's not a word, but it fits... wait, it is a word - it's in the blogger dictionary! Anyway, I was listening to the Dave Ramsey show this afternoon and was appalled when a caller described how Capitol One, a major credit card company, deploys portable classrooms and takes them to schools and "teaches" children how to manage money!

The fellow said he spoke with one of the guys doing the set up for the trailer and he said by one of the life phases in Capitol One's "budget" they're showing kids how to use credit cards to purchase things they don't have money to buy. This is not responsible teaching, it's more like indoctrination! Or as the guys in my office like to say - "they're gas lighting you".

Makes me feel like taking out a full page ad in the paper offering classes on living w/o a credit card... *gasp* only spending what you make... Oh dear how will we ever survive!! Don't think I'm being a hypocrite... We don't have a single credit card and haven't for about 5 years now. Sure it's super scary at first, I always thought... What if my car breaks down? What if what if... It's all worry and worry is a fruitless waste of time... Might even be a sin! So we've just been doing the best we can with what we've got.

Ok enough ranting... though one last quick thought... if I talk about buying a new car again just give me a nice little smack to the head. That should remind me. I hate car payments!

crafty christmas

2006-10-27T07:42:00.000-04:00

Ok - we have our newly established budget... yes, I said budget. It's a doozie too, but it gets us where where we want to go a ton faster... a TON. So all you family memebers out there - fair warning... it's going to be a Crafty Christmas!

I'm so in love with some of the things I'm finding to make on the internet. Take this one for instance, it's classic - making a tote bag out of those plastic grocery bags! The trick is going to be getting bags of a certain color to make the pattern rock out. This magainze, Ready Made, has a whole forum on reusing items with some really great ideas, practical and fun ones. So we'll be investing lots of love and time into planning our Christmas Crafts. Hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy finding fun cool things to make for you.

sorry about that

2006-10-11T08:05:00.000-04:00

I was in the middle of writing my blog when our train died. We ended up transferring (i.e. jumping out of one and crawling up onto the other) from one train to another one. I didn't get home til 7:30 - but it was a nice half hour with the kids. Ri and I chatted while I ate dinner and we talked about her mobile project and read funny computer print ads out of Dan's computer mags. Took a 30 min. break on the couch, piled with laundry I need to fold, and then back to the computer to do 2 weeks worth of Copeland ads so Armin could see them this morning. Luckily 6 out of 9 were repeats and I just had to rename pdf files.

Tonight I fold the pile of laundry and straighten up the house. Mom's coming late tomorrow night, we're really looking forward to her visit. Marshall's doing his usual "Gradma's coming today?" ever single day, but it's cute so we bear it :)

Need to go shopping - laundry detergent, dishwasher soap and peanut butter... trying to remember!

stressin'

2006-10-10T17:48:00.000-04:00

Life in general has been good this month. Dan surprised me with tickets to a Sarah Kelly concert, the day after his birthday. His birthday mind you, not mine... though I really can't remember what we did for mine... clearly I'm getting too old. So Steve & Joanne came up from NJ and we went over to LBC and it turned out that they hadn't sold enough tickets so the concert was free! Evidently they only sold 19 tickets so they re-did the whole thing and when they called Sarah Kelly to say they were going to have to cancel she said she'd come anyway. How cool is that!

So the concert turned out to be about 4 acts from the LBC student body/community with a very nice piano concert of Sarah Kelly all by herself. It was so nice - she had candelabras on stage and votive candles and a grand piano. It was pure music, her voice and the piano - if she had cd's out like this I'd buy a copy of both of her cd's done this way - in addition to the regular versions!

I have to admit that I was rather afraid how Joanne and Steve would react to the music. They're tastes are a bit more conservative - style wise - than ours. But because of the changes - everything worked out rather well and we all had a great time!

Do pray for Steve's mom though, she's in the hospital - in the ICU (I think). During the concert there was a little scare, it was resolved, but still ... ops got to go get on the other train

Rianne's cast will come off Tuesday Oct. 31st - she's dying for it to come off.

Thursday I'm going to NYC for an afternoon seminar

crazy week

2006-09-30T18:13:00.000-04:00

This week has just been off the hook, so to speak... Monday we took Ri to the Drs because she hurt her wrist ice skating on Saturday and it doesn't feel any better... Tuesday - mommy works from home and Ri get's xrays and a cast. Wednesday Dan's parents are in town - we clean house like mad because my parents are coming Thursday night... small dent made in mess. Thursday we go to Johnny's house for dinner with Dan's folks and dash home to wait for my folks. Pack stuff for kids - abandon idea that kids will take their stuff with them Friday with my folks. Work Friday - kids with my folks and dash home after work to CLEAN house! Beth had stayed behind and cleaned our house and our car!! Thank you Beth we LOVE you!!! Frantically pack everything - dash out door - bad experience with Oxford Burger King - 1.35 min later we arrive at Family Reunion!

This morning... wake up make breakfast for entire group, go to get in van to go to playground... flat tire. Donut installed... off to get Tim - but in Mom and Dad's car.

PHEW - it's not over yet!

weekend brief

2006-09-25T17:47:00.000-04:00

seems like I never have time to blog over the weekend... I guess that's fine with me!

Saturday we did our normal ice skating lessons. Marshall actually went across the ice, one of the teachers gave him a little xtra attention and that really helped. Rianne was doing fine till she fell and hurt her wrist. She's at the Dr's right now getting it checked out. Nothing was swollen, but this is day 3 of pain and sensitivity to touch so we figured we should get it checked out. I'm hoping it's just a sprain and not a fracture.

Dan picked up some Roller Blades for Marshall at Walmart - we're hoping they help him skate better since they helped Ri so much.

I have a new wheelie bag for my work stuff. It's really nice, I'll try and post a picture later. I'm hoping to avoid the headaches and stiff necks the other bag was giving me. Marshall got a new mattress and is enjoying being a foot higher off the ground.

Sunday I did Junior Church - we had a full house - 10 kids - much better turn out than the last time with 3 (2 my own). It was a fun time, and we even did SWORD drills at the end - I remember loving those! Rianne said her favorite part was the word jumble we did at the beginning. She just about knocked everyone's socks off at the SWORD drills cause she does those at school. Marshall just talked through the whole thing.

Sunday was a laundry fest and the rest of the week we'll be cleaning for Dan's folks and my folk's visits Wednesday and Thursday... Friday we're off to Maryland. I don't think I'll have much time for posting this week so don't plan on hearing much from this end.... though it's not like I know who reads this!

false alarm

2006-09-22T08:18:00.000-04:00

ok - I'm not disgruntled anymore. I got a hard copy of the schedule and evidently there was a miscommunication because the 4:35 train, which will be a 4:45 train will indeed stop in Parkesburg. I've un-alerted the media and am standing down...

Just glad I didn't make too big of a deal of it... hahahahaha ha ha. cough

Its another lovely cool day and I'm riding the rails!

Unreasonable Anger... ?

2006-09-20T07:42:00.000-04:00

I'm not entirely sure I'm angry... I could just be really upset. Some of you know I ride Amtrak on a daily basis, I've come to love it and have even started a separate blog under a not so cleverly disguised alias where I talk about train related things.

Today, for the first time I feel really disgruntled with Amtrak. One of the gentlemen that rides the train with me in the morning got an advanced copy of the new "Keystone" high speed *cough*cough* schedule. According to that schedule there will no longer be a train stopping in Parkesburg between the 7:28am train and the 10:30-ish train... which I wasn't too bothered about, but means that if I'm late and miss the 7:28 I'm going to have to drive somewhere and get on a SEPTA train. It takes me 30 min. to get a SEPTA station + at least an hour on the noisy-uncomfortable-stopping-at-every-stop train - so all together at least 2 hours late for work. Oh well, I'll just have to make sure I'm not late...

Next thing I know they're talking about how the 4:35pm train, the train that allows me to get home at a decent hour, the one that allows me to make and eat dinner with my family, will not be stopping in Parkesburg anymore... it won't even stop in Downingtown. This is where the anger comes in... I've been working with my boss to work out a flexible work arrangement where by I'll be allowed to leave at 4:25pm, specifically to catch this train, specifically to get home to make/eat dinner, go to my children's events and gosh actually do some things myself!

I know it will all work out some how but right now I'm just mad... I'll probably just write a quick note to Amtrak to let them know that they're creating problems for faithful commuters that have bumped up their sales in the past quarter or two. If they keep the schedule like that I won't be buy a monthly ticket from them anymore, I'll have to figure something else out.

In my opinion touting "high speed" that isn't' high speed unless you skip stops... not cool Amtrak, not cool!

Weekend in Brief

2006-09-18T19:48:00.000-04:00

1. Sold Futon for $340
2. Bought new Couch - Pottery Barn Outlet 40% OFF - out of pocket - $188

Super comfy... need a cover though!

I finally got my new glasses today - short movie of my new look won't post.... Still working on the whole bangs thing... but I'm lovin' my new Vera Wang glasses :) So nice to have an up to date prescription and to be able to see!

Figuring out pictures on Flickr.com... I'll put a link up very soon. LINK HERE

h

confectioners sugar on my mountain of joy that is my day

2006-09-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

ugh

I need a day with some sun in it... please?!

I'm ok, really I am

2006-09-13T17:02:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking very very hard about whether or not I will EVER EVER wax my upper lip again. The ripping of the hairs was so painful that when it was over and my eyes stopped watering I gasped. Megan, the nicest waxing lady I have ever had, made sympathic noises and then tweezed the buggers she missed! OHHHHH! That smarts soooo bad. I swear my lip was a swollen red for hours after. Luckily it has calmed down, but I swear just thinking about it is causing a tingling along my upper lip.

Basically waxed my whole face... baby soft today. New glasses are suppose to get here Friday. I'll post the picture then. Back to liking my hair, color, bangs and all :)

cell phone-less

2006-09-11T21:54:00.000-04:00

going on day two... not liking this.

Dan forgot me at the train station... cause I didn't call him.

weekends are way too short!

2006-09-10T22:31:00.000-04:00

Friday night was hilarious - first a note from Marsh's teacher... he fell of his chair in library and got rug burn on the entire right side of his face. What kid just randomly falls out of a chair like that?!

Then we drove over to Refton to pick up the Audi, paid the bill took my cell phone and prepared to drive home - car started, but the wipers and the blinkers didn't work. So, I wrote a note to the garage, locked the car (cell phone still inside) and tossed the keys - the only keys we had - in the drop slot. There's no chance I'm getting it back till Monday night... so don't bother even trying.

Saturday morning Dan dropped me off at Sue's for a haircut/color along with my bike... yes I said bike. Anyway 1 hour later I remember that I've left my house keys in the van - with Dan in Lancaster w/the kids at skating lessons - wonderful! Another hour later I have bangs and hair that is too dark... I look like a fat Joan Jet... so not good. (Have tried to give it a chance, but have since called to ask for my hight lights back.)

Then I (mostly) rode my bike 3-4 miles back to home- stopping briefly for a break, just past the old covered bridge, just long enough to be creeped out by a slow moving van - and Dan found me peddling my way up bridge street, only 3 blocks from home. A shower and a fresh set of clothes later and we were at wal-mart purchasing some fun soaps and face washes... Ri got her first real pimple so we've introduced a bubbly face wash just for her!

Next Dan cleaned out the garage and I cleaned the office - we now have a garage gym complete with TV and cable connection and one less desk in the living room. Moved some things around in our bedroom and I am currently typing this blog from the desk newly relocated in our bedroom! Very nice... I could spend the rest of my life in our bedroom! Mostly because I hate the living room... something has got to be done about that room, but I just can't come up with anything and it's driving me NUTS!

Hey and when am I going to get any of those dark chocolate m&m's! Mar says they are the best ever... I believe her but I think I'd like some empirical evidence :)

Good news - Marshall's face has healed and he only has a small scab on his nose now. Who knew falling out of a chair onto a rug could be so dangerous!

-h

WARNING: time sucking device

2006-09-08T17:11:00.000-04:00

http://www.107.peugeot.co.uk/peugeot.swf

I dare not reveal my source!

BEWARE: It's addictive AND if you loose you have to start completely over from the BEGINNING!!

super fly!

2006-09-07T10:41:00.000-04:00

Another make over in progress. Getting new glasses sometime next week, very cool glasses. I've been wearing 5 year old glasses since I broke my year old glasses almost 5 months ago, so it's about time for a new pair.

I'm also getting my hair done this weekend. Gonna try something new - maybe I'll actually post a picture of the new me when I'm done ;)

Seriously wish the train station had a nail place in it... my feet would look 10x's better.. and maybe my eye brows would look human! i've been down in PA going on 3 years and haven't had an eye brow wax in that long... I know, I'm not human anymore.

cya soon!

80 miles an hour

2006-09-02T22:42:00.000-04:00

ok, so maybe not quite 80 miles per hour, but we're going close. With the speed limit set at 70 you almost have to go 80 to keep up with traffic. okay... there's not really any traffic we just want to get back so we can go to sleep.

The kids and Mary Ruth and Richard are in the back.. all pretty much asleep from a full day of doin' stuff. We got up around 7am got dressed, ate a nice full breakfast - pancakes, eggs, sausage, oj, and coffee. We left the NC house at about 9am and started on our way to Hartford, TN for our white water rafting adventure in the Smoky Mountains.

The Pidgeon river was high, fast and super fun! We have some pictures I'll post later - mostly because I don't know where they are right this moment. It took us a little over an hour to go down and our guide Alison, who is also an elementary school art teacher, was a delight. Mary Ruth, Rianne and Richard all jumped in the river to float/swim. Marshall would have but I was just a little too nervous about him so we let him splash around in the water when we landed at the end of the trip.

After changing and hoping back in the car we drove the scenic route over to Gatlinburg, TN - walked the main drag, played putt-putt on the side of hill, at dinner and walked some more. We bought the obligatory tourist taffy and enjoyed some ice cream/slushies while relaxing in rocking chairs on a balcony above the main drag.

A very satisfactory day trip!

schedules

2006-08-30T08:29:00.000-04:00

All seems to be going really well this school year. The kids get picked up at 7:08 and we leave immediately after, getting me to the station on time and Dan to work before 8. This means Dan can leave at 4:30 to go get the kids by 5pm and sometimes I get to take the 4:35 train home to meet them at 5:45 - Everyone gets to get dinner ready together, we eat breakfast and dinner together... what a neato experience ;)

Much better than last school year that's for sure!

first day!

2006-08-28T18:09:00.000-04:00

today was the kids first day of school!

Marshall was so happy to get on the bus, as I was closing the door he said "Have a fun day all by yourself!" and off he went. Slighty sad, but it's been coming for a while now ;) I allowed myself a couple of minutes to be sad, but it's not really anything to be sad about. He's turning into a great kid.

Ri is in 3rd grade this year and to her dismay already has homework, but she's doing it! She's always been pretty sharp. This year we went a little crazy on the back to school clothes, but she looks great and we had fun trying them on and picking them out. Man are sparkles big this year!

more later!
h

close the door!

2006-08-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

why is it, as it always seems to be with life, that as a group we'd all rather stay where we are comfortable than to venture out into something we don't know. For instance, right now the door on the train is open - just the one between cars, not the one that could let you throw mama from the train (not that you'd ever actually want to do that) - it's noisey, very noisey and everytime we go over a bump it rattles and hisses. No one is getting up to close it, to see if maybe it's not broken that maybe someone just didn't undo the switchy-toggle thing... maybe we're afraid that someone will think us stupid to care, stupid to venture out and do something for the group? I don't know... I don't understand.

I know if I was trying to nap it would drive me crazy!!

Instead I'm trapped in my seat by a tangle of wires...

34 years + 1 day

2006-08-16T08:09:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was quite a day. I left work later than I was suppose to and then the 5:35 Amtrak train that I take was delayed an hour because of some suspicious "liquid" spill near the Lincoln tunnel. I guess the police thought it safer to shut everything down. So 6:35pm and we're finally on board the train, 7:45 I'm waiting on the curb.

We rush off to Lancaster to pick up my loverly new laptop - using it right now - it's really really great! AND I'm on the train working ONLINE! I'm so excited!!! Over the weekend we upgraded our phones, our plan was about to expire, and added on wireless broadband service, so that wherever I am I can be ON. Not that I actually will want to be on, but just that I can.... super cool!

The kids start school on the 28th - they're both really excited. Marshall's been asking every morning if he's going to kindergarten, poor guy still has a week and a half. Ri's turned into the worlds fastest reader, she had some required reading over the summer that she just got the book for yesterday... and she's all ready done. I've been quizzing her on the story and she seems to have gotten it. :) Maybe someday soon we'll start a kids bookclub.

Getting near the station!

Have a great day world!!

h

your beautiful cubical

2006-07-13T13:43:00.000-04:00

http://www.lifeaftercoffee.com/2006/06/14/my-cubicle-song-lyrics/

enjoy!

gray cubes and pale legs

2006-06-29T13:00:00.000-04:00

our hallway is this yellow-tan-ish color, I have to walk down it to get to the bathroom. seriously need to do something about the mirror in the ladies room, I can't work thinking my butt is as huge as that mirror makes it look.

feeling like a complete moron because my cute kapris are the same color as my super pale legs under the wonderful fluorescent light of my office. have a horrible headache and just feel like I can't do anything right just now.

stupid javascripts, I'm not a programmer I'm a designer - good grief

... i think i have fluff on my face

too late, already tried

2006-06-22T21:33:00.000-04:00

lost 4 paragraphs of good blogging!

not retyping!

overview
1. so you think you can dance
Benji&Natalie - good
Ivan - bad

2. living room rearrainged

3. busy weekend plans
parents
kids
lunch w/Tim
yardsales
blueberry festival

gotta go

h

Bethy visited!

2006-06-20T09:22:00.000-04:00

I just love that my little sister lives close enough to visit whenever she
wants! Out of no where she called yesterday to say that she could spend the
night at our house - so surprised and delighted :)

Unfortunately I've started my new 5-9pm schedule where I'm lucky if I can
stay awake till 10pm, and she didn't get to our house till 12pm. I
basically opened the door, apologized for drooling on her pillow and went
upstairs to drool on mine. Then this morning I got up, got dressed, and
checked with her before I left at 5:50am to make sure she didn't want to
take me to the train station... She didn't :)

Anyway it's just nice to see her and nice to be so pleasantly surprised!

The never ending day...

2006-06-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

Here I am sitting in my cube... My head is numb and my brain feels like it's
been clubbed.

I am so sick of being creatively cut off at the knees. I can take some
degree of constructive criticism, but it galls me to no end to have my
designs questioned. I rant in my head "do people not know that I've been
doing design work for 10 years?! why don't they respect my designs?!" then
I turn and smile "sure we can try that". I waste my days making things look
ugly because people want to see what it looks like their way.

I try to rationalize with them but they don't listen - they think if you
have to explain the concept then it's too much. I explain because you make
me, because you don't get what the user will in a glance. You can analyze
design all you want, but if you're thinking about what you want you won't
give the user what they need.

There are reasons behind my choices, I don't randomly select colors and
styles and throw them together. Thought should always go into design, if it
doesn't it's not design, it's a mess. If I don't explain the concept you
think I'm pulling things out of my ears, if I do explain you think it's too
much work.

Fine, have it your way but you're going to look bad and then someone's going
to blame it on me.

what's that?

2006-06-12T21:03:00.001-04:00

it seems that Calvinism has been coming up a lot more these days. last tuesday my sister-in-law was over and somehow we ended up talking about it. then thursday we get our copy of the Liberty Journal, a long term benefit of attending Liberty University and the featured story is about Hyper Calvinism. And while I'm not a huge fan of all of the views of the Falwell organization (if you know me well you might have even heard me say Jerry Far-as-is well - which was me trying to say you're better off being as far away from Jerry Falwell as you can) I often agree with the underlying principle they're addressing... it's how they "address" it that often offends me.

Anyway I ended up talking with Dan and Tim about it on Sunday, granted my understand of Calvinism is rudementary, one of the major points being that not all of us are selected/elect by God to be saved. The first thing that always pops into my mind is "wow, they've got some ego's". I mean, if I truely believed that God only chose selected people to be saved how on earth could I think that I was anywhere close to being chosen?! What kind of opinion would I have to have of myself to think that God Himself chose me over anyone else?!

I already know I don't deserve salvation but that's why God extends His Grace to us - for by grace are we saved through faith, and that not of ourselves lest any man should boast - and that while we were yet sinners He died for us. Not for some, but all! He is not willing that any should perish but that all should be saved. I know I've paraprased rather badly, but you get the idea.

It's funny, I always thought I came from a rather libral belief system, but I don't think of it as liberal anymore. I have definite beliefs like, I don't believe that you have to be baptized to be saved (though as followers of Christ we should follow his example and at some point, when it's right in our spiritual walk, should be baptised as part of our walk with Him), I believe we are all given the gift of salvation and that some don't take the gift. So, while I don't agree with Calvanists, or some Baptists, and I think it's sad that they think that way (we can't fathom God's Grace, why are they trying to limit it) I don't see much point getting mad about it. The bottom line for me is that ultimately we're not the ones that decide who's right and who's wrong, God is the Judge and our focus shouldn't be on someones particular interpretation of scripture, it should be on Him and His will for our lives.

That's my rant for now ;)

Lunch at DeL

2006-06-12T12:44:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Monday! I'm feeling pretty good today, slept like a log on the train ride in to work this morning. It's what I get for staying up late watching PBS's Mystery - Ms. Marple. I just love Ms. Marple mysteries and enjoy the flashbacks that watching the "Mystery" intro graphics - it's like a cartoon of sorts and it hasn't changed in at least 20 years.

Tim came over for Sunday dinner yesterday and it was great, we ate out on the porch and ended up having a nice chat. He's looking great and feeling pretty good from the looks of it. Really proud of him. Dan also gave him his old laptop, with warnings about it running slow , it has a wireless card so all he needs is a wifi hotspot and he's set! Who knows maybe well all start getting email from the boy!

Well I've got to finish up my BLT and get back to work!

h

schools over!

2006-06-08T21:24:00.000-04:00

The school year is coming to an end. Marshall had his last day of school June 1st and Ri has her last half day of school tomorrow June 9th. Here's a picture of Marshall with Mrs. VanCleave his preschool teacher. He just thought she was the best teacher ever! I remember picking flower with him for her, it was his idea and he was so careful with the flowers. When he finally gave them to her he was so excited he just kept jumping and jumping.

Here another picture of Marsh with some friends from school, the second girl over is Emily - her and her mom, Brenda, gave Marshall rides to the baby sitters after I got my job in Philly. They really saved us a lot of headaches.

Couple of weekends ago Rianne and I went to NYC with my sister. Ri got some too sweet ice cream that started to make her sick... so I took a picture :) It's absolutely hillarious the look she has on her face. Lucky for her she stopped eating it before it really made her sick sick :)

Works going well for both Dan and I. He recently hired one of his contract guys full-time so now he has two employees under him. I also started doing a lot more creative work and am really loving it. The people at work are really nice too so that makes it really easy.

Off to make sure the kids are in bed - talk w/you soon!

h

monday thai, tuesday pb&j

2006-05-08T22:25:00.000-04:00

So, today I had a great lunch with 2 cousins and my brother! Christie works a lot closer than I thought and Lara was in town for a wedding/visit. It was Christie's idea since I called her over a month ago and said "let's have lunch!". Tim got a prime parking spot out front of the Thai restaurant and we all enjoyed good conversation over some pretty ok food and weird tasting tea. Tim swore his Thai Tea ($3) tasted like maple syrup with cream added... I tasted it, he was right! To be fair, it did have a tea aftertaste :)

It's funny how family can, after years of seeing each other off and on, just sit and talk. I know I didn't get to ask Lara and Christie half the things I wanted to and I KNOW I talked way too much (as evidence by the fact that I was still eating when everyone else was done... and the funny looks Lara was giving me). Hours are way too short when your talking. Lara's definitly right though, Tim and Jos are similar - I think it's their attitude twards life, no stress at all... just go with the flow.

There is a very good possibility that I will be on Good Morning America on Monday May 15th. Long story short. a lady is helping me negotiate some flextime with my job and it's landing me in her segment! Set your VCR's! Guess I should warn my boss... just in case his bosses boss sees/hears about it!!!

In other work news, my 90 day review went well. Boss still thinks hiring me was a good decision :)

see, that's why you didn't get a waffle iron!

2006-04-17T21:41:00.000-04:00

Had a great weekend, the weather was great and the sun was shining. Tim came over for dinner on Sunday and the house was clean enough to relax for 10 minutes. Woohoo 10 minutes!!

I fell asleep.

weekend chef

2006-04-11T21:42:00.000-04:00

______________old draft entry (3/27)__________________

It seems that I'm enjoying cooking more now that I can't than when I could.

Dan has taken over the meal prep because I get home so late. So, I very seldom get to "make" anything. So, I guess my mind is saving up all that cooking energy and converting me into the WEEKEND CHEF ((echo))!!

For the first time in my life I made Chicken Marsala, complete with mushrooms, marsala and dry sherry. I found myself thinking about Julia Childs and took tiny sips of the marsala (which tastes like liquid beef) and the sherry (which I quite liked at first, but then didn't because of the aftertaste). The kids and Dan really enjoyed the chicken, which was super moist, and Tim, Marshall and I enjoyed the mushrooms.

_________________new content ____________________

It's all true! I helped cook some pretty good meals over last weekend at MR's house. It was nice to sit at a table and enjoy a meal w/o incessant babbling from a little boy, we all know who, and sulking from the girl who had to change her shirt so she didn't get sauce on the good one (a whole other blog entry!) SO, I do like cooking, I'm just better at it in short spurts :)

MR's mending well, more updates later, but everything seems to be going very well.

All for now!
h

Srilanka was glorious, we should go again next year

2006-04-08T22:54:00.000-04:00

One of my traditions with MR has been making a meal from different countries. Over the years we've done Sweden, Ireland, Morocco, gosh too many to really remember. So, per tradition we started discussing what we were going to make the night I arrived, with Richard suggesting that he take MR's place. MR is recovering quiet well, but still shouldn't do long term standing or walking.

So we finally settled on Srilanka, and after running to Lowe's, Chick-fil-a, Pier 1, Cost Plus World Market, and Kroger we got back to the house and started making dinner. However, Richard got sidetracked by a crown molding project and Mrs. Elder started work on a water color painting, so MR and I got the kitchen all to ourselves. It was quite nice, I made the main dish and MR made the onion/green pepper/cucumber & hard boiled egg salad, and banana puffs. All was quiet delicious and although there was some debate about if Srilankans got to eat vanilla ice cream with their banana puffs, the meal was very enjoyable :)

We're off to church tomorrow, so I should head off to bed. Slept in till 10am this morning! Though I have no idea how late I was up since I was reading a book :) Nighty night!

h

Come fly with me

2006-04-06T15:17:00.000-04:00

Good ol Frankie

I'm off to hotlanta today to visit MR, who sounds to be recovering nicely
from her recent surgery. Praise the Lord that everything is coming out so
well.

The kids aren't happy to see me go, but I'll be home for dinner on Monday.

Last weekend we went all over the place - the Peabody Museum in New Haven,
CT - the mall in West Haven, CT - Denny's in West Haven - The Cheese Cake
Factory West Nyack, NY. Had a great time visiting with my folks and Ivy.
Even got to swim in the hotel pool!

Dan and Marshall are gearing up for their fishing trip in May, visited Dicks
Sporting Goods and got them fishing poles and a life jacket for Marshall. I
think they're planning on tying it, with him in it, to a tree so if he falls
in he won't go far. I jokingly said they could just let him float in the
river with the soda, he could tell them when it's cold :)

Anyway enough for now! Hope everyone out there is doing well.

Fly me to the moon!

haircuts

2006-03-21T07:38:00.000-05:00

Say good bye to long haired Heather and hello to the new fabulousness of short haired Heather. Ops forgot to take a picture, tell you what I'll take one this afternoon and post it in here :)
Ri's scheduled for a major haircut on Wednesday. The girl just cannot take care of her hair and doesn't seem to care when it gets all tangled, so we're going to try a little bob on her and see how it looks. I'm really curious about the curl her hair has, if it's going to curl up even more w/less weight on it - it's not a ton of curl but enough to maybe create a wave or two.

more later!

Helpful bits of advice

2006-03-20T09:58:00.000-05:00

1. Take your sister-in-law up on the offer of that extra "just-in-case" the
kids get sick grocery bag.

2. Give the kids a throw-up bag BEFORE you leave. The five second "I'm
about to throw up..." warning is not enough time to get anything in place
to protect the surrounding environment.

3. Drive as fast as you can, roll down the windows and open all vents. This
will cause most of the liquid to evaporate so that when you do really
pull-over to deal with it, it won't slime you too.

4. The nose is a very adaptive sensory instrument, think of one smell that
you are very familiar with, make sure that it's a nice strong smell that you
like. If you concentrate hard enough, you can turn the smell into a cherry
tinted something, that while not appealing will help you avoid vomiting
yourself.

5. Don't use your cruse control with vomit in the car. It's just not safe,
your mind will not be able to keep up with the speed of the car and you
could rear-end someone.

6. Don¹t worry about the younger children, they won't notice anything is
wrong till you get home. At which point you can bet they'll say something
profound like "eeww, sissy threw up!".

7. Do be careful to have the younger children exit away from the mess, other
wise they will interact with the mess and inevitable end up making their
very own mess later on.

8. When cleaning the mess, open all doors and spray carpet cleaner on
everything. At the very least when you get it on you, and you will, you'll
have a shot at smelling like carpet cleaner more than vomit.

9. Any money found while cleaning is yours, all children forfeit their
claim to any money in the car when vomit is involved.

10. Once all the goo is cleared away use a Magic Eraser with a little bucket
of soapy tap water. This gets rid of any left over mashed bits and cleans
the carpet quite well.

Well I hope these tips will help you out somewhere down the road. I know
they'll be in my mind for our next trip!

A real live blog entry!

2006-03-17T16:55:00.000-05:00

Here I am, still at work and the office is DE-serted! For the first time ever I get to turn out the lights - I guess this means I'm really hired then :) But then I could get in trouble for writing this blog entry while still at work... my boss , Carl, already knows I have a blog. I doubt he checks it though, since he found it while researching my background prior to hiring me.

I'm sure I could say some profound stuff, but I've got Chinese on the brain and I'm thinking about the scifi channel's remake of Dr. Who. Anyone want to bet $50 that it's not going to measure up to the original... anyone. Ok, sorry can't take that much action!!

do you know the muffin man

2006-03-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

I know a muffin man.
Muffins are a buck!

A wonderful train of thought

2006-03-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

Sleeping on the train is like sleeping in the wilds of anywhere. You have
to sleep with one eye open... or maybe just an ear. Today I got on the
train and after a night of design work and baking decided to snooze a bit. I
set my trusty phone alarm to go off 1o min. before my arrival time, and
clutching it in my hand I tilted my head back with abandon. It was a good
good snooze. Of course I woke up enough at every stop to know where I was
and to watch people get on and off - but not enough to let them think I was
awake. It seems no one wants to sit next to a "sleeper".

Maybe on the way home tonight I'll be able to recline again. Got to do that
yesterday for the first time and it was heaven! Less head wobble and more
sleeping.

Had a horrible dream about a flood and not being able to go to Mary Ruth's
wedding last night in bed so maybe light sleeping on the train is better for
my psyche, esp. since Mary Ruth is already married!

Ttfn
h

M.I.A.

2006-03-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

Since the onset of my job I have been remiss in updating my blog. Recent concerned corespondence has prompted me to send out this note, assuring you that I am indeed still alive and healthy. I am also, happy to report, that the rest of the family is also in the same happy state. Please put your minds at ease regarding this matter and enjoy the remainder of your week in happy bliss.

Truely Yours,
heather in pa

_________________________________________

Loverly! Sure have tons to update you all on but since so much time has passed I'll just fill you in on this last weekend. I, of course, got to watch "Emma", which is why I had so much fun writing the above. I only watched it for 25 minutes though as both Dan and Tim, who was over for Sunday dinner, started making ugly noises and mocking the dialoge. Luckily we all share a love of sci-fi so we watched some TiVo'd Stargate shows :)

The weekend turned out most spectacular as Beth came down for a visit on Saturday. She met us at the King of Prussia Mall, a very fancy place. Tim drove up to meet us and we at dinner at Killarny's, it was an ok dinner, but Tim was very let down by their shepards pie. The covered it in some brown gravy that Tim thought tasted like it had just come out of a can. So long story short, laptop still broken (Apple store mobbed), food not so great.

Beth left early Sunday morning and Tim showed up around 5pm for some homemade lasagna, low fat and low salt, turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Dan also made some DE-licious whole wheat bread with oatmeal and flax seed in it and boy oh boy was that good. The whole loaf got gobbled up. But then everyone knows it's hard to keep fresh warm home made bread from being eaten up. We'll be making more of that though for sure!

Dan got new tires for his Audi and it drives like a dream. I'm looking forward to driving it to the train station tomorrow, if he lets me :) Well that's all for now! once my laptop is back up and running you'll probably see more posts - it's just no fun to come home and sit at the desk computer when I've been doing that all day :P

serenity now

2006-02-08T11:24:00.000-05:00

i'm so jittery today, it could be the cold, the green tea or the fact that i start my new job on monday! yes, yes, you heard right drexel hired me! God is so good - "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting." Job 8:21

our pastor challenged the congregation to read through the Bible this year, I think Mary Ruth and Richard were visiting that Sunday... new years day. i know it's not super nice to drag your new years eve guest to church... but we made it and none of us fell asleep! Anyway the theme is 66 in '06, which only looks slightly satanic :P So, I thought about how to do this. I've always thought that reading through the Bible in a year, while a good idea, wasn't as good as actually understanding what you're reading and I know reading & understanding the Bible in a year wasn't a realistic goal for me.

So, I thought about this challenge and came to an unusual solution, an audio bible. Long story short I found a podcast called the Daily Audio Bible where a guy from Nashville reads select passages every day. He reads from a different version every week, so far, and the sound is nice and clear. I listen and rewind and listen and when I want to read it myself I pick up my trusty Bible and read along. It's great because I can pause it when the phone rings or when I need to step away. I've even subscribed on iTunes and if I miss a day I just download it and listen to two days back to back. I've even listened to a couple of days more than once. I highly recommend it!

peanut butter cookies and absolute truth

2006-02-06T09:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after church Dan and I spent about 2 hours making peanut butter cookies. We both love peanut butter cookies, but I wanted the cookies to not be so crumbly. We varied the cooking temperature and the cooking time, and each time the cookies came out crunchy and crumbly. I suppose if I want chewy peanut butter cookies I need a totally different recipe.

I have been thinking about absolute truth a lot the past couple of days. Mostly because our guest speaker at church was talking about relativism. Tim was over for Super Bowl XL and I was telling him about it - said "He was talking about absolute truth... only in a round about sort of way." and Tim bust out laughing. The speaker just never said the words "absolute truth", not sure why cause he said just about everything but. Either way I'm a fan of absolute truth.

Marshall's turning into quite the clever little man. I have a little home office and today Marshall decided he needed an office. So we got his phone, his tie and a "laptop" for him to work on and of course a cup of tea. He called me on his phone "MOMMMM!" "MOMMM! HELLO MOM!" - I'm in my office, he's in the dining room yelling into his little play phone. So of course we have a conversation, and he orders a peanut butter cookie. How'd I turn into a secretary?!

music fun

2006-01-31T22:16:00.000-05:00

http://www.pandora.com/

cool - just type in the name of your favorite song/singer and bam you have your own "radio" station. The sound is pretty good, better than some of the iTunes stations I've been listening to.
Many thanks to my cousin Lara for sharing! Presently listing to my Jeremy Camp station :)

Good Things

2006-01-31T21:20:00.000-05:00

The past couple of days have been a whirl of happenings. Sunday night my parents left to go back home and an hour later we got a call from Dan's father that Steve's father was in a coma. I started praying the second I heard Dan's voice lower, I just knew it was about Grampa Bambrick and it broke my heart. We'd been praying that he would accept Jesus as his Savior before he passed but he went into the coma and never came out. He passed Sunday night. Our only hope is that something got through to him in those last days. Hope, hope to see him in heaven. Hope is a good thing.

Thursday the kids and I will attend the funeral, Steve and Joanne have been through so much lately I think they're just running on fumes, they're just too busy to realize it. I am hoping I can be of some use while we're there, at least bringing the kids with me should help cheer up Andrew and Alyssa. Joanne said Steve was surprised and happy that we could come down. We're family, family supports each other.

So, tonight I'm doing work getting ready for my second interview with Drexel. I'm presenting them with a new home page design, a postcard design and maybe an email and information sheet design as well. We have been praying that God's leading will be very clear on this job. It's a mystery to me how He works... every once in a while I like to think I get it and I'm making the right and logical decision and then He throws in something else.

I'm learning to give the control over, but I have to learn it over and over and over every single day. I'd like to think I'd get better at it, but I don't - all I can do is pray - I'm hopeless with out His help. There's something horribly horribly wonderful about not being in control. I don't have to make this decision, it's not up to me ... it's like that saying that I've heard since I was a teenager "I'll do my best and let God do the rest". I don't think I really knew the full implications of that until now... it always sounded trite and fake, but stepping up and actually doing it... no way, that's the real stuff the hard stuff, the gritty stuff living up to promises involves.

Marshall's Birthday

2006-01-30T15:11:00.000-05:00

Saturday Marshall turned 5!
What a big day for fake teeth :D
These were the most disgusting teeth we'd ever seen, so we bought them and stuck them in our mouths.
Mom and Dad flew in from VT for the weekend and we partied all day Saturday. By 1pm we had Fitzpatricks, Aunt Joie, Uncle Fitz and Christiana, in the house and we were eating lunch outside on the side porch in 55 degree weather! 4pm and Aunt Joie & Uncle Fitz had to hit the road. They left behind two delicious apple pies and some very heavy cards! Turns out the cards had quarters taped on the inside of them in the shape of the number 5 (Marshall) and 8 (Rianne) - very cool

Sue, Luke and Wesley showed up for the cake phase of the party and we went into present mode. Luke and Wes gave Marshall a Spiderman action figure and a Spiderman towel set. Grandma, Grampa, Mom, Dad and Ri gave Marshall a Spiderman bike, complete with training wheels, Christiana gave him a set of super cool magnetic toys and Andrew and Alyssa gave him a GOLD Deisel 10 with a new Thomas movie and a Bob and Larry kite! Quite a haul for a 5th Birthday.

Bird Flu Pandemic

2006-01-24T22:14:00.000-05:00

Isn't it great! Today on Oprah (shut-up) they had a guy that consults with the UN, the White House, the CDC and a bunch of other top level agencies and he said it's coming. Evidently the bird flu is starting to mutate in Turkey and if it mutates so that it can pass from human to human we're going to end up with a pandemic similar to the one back in 1918

So Oprah asked this guy... what can we do? He talked about getting a special kind of mask that creates a seal around your mouth and nose and then admitted that he didn't have enough of them to last the whole term of the pandemic - 9-18 months. Oh and gloves, cause if you get the masks the outside of the mask gets contaminated and then if you take it off and touch it w/o washing your hands you'll end up rubbing it in your eyes, nose or mouth.

Oh and the people who are going to be the most affected by this virus are people between the ages of 20 and 40's especially vulnerable will be pregnant women. I imagine the hundreds of thousands of people who watch Oprah are searching the internet tonight searching for the face masks and gloves they need to protect their families.

So, I did a little research - if we assume one mask per day per family member for 2 years (the longest estimated length of the pandemic) with 4 family members that's 2,920 masks. I did a quick google search and after reading a back order note (resulting from the Oprah show) found that I could buy that many N95 rated masks for $1,138.80. I'm sure all the people on my street are also asking about our town's chlorine supply and if we'll have enough to last a whole two years. Good grief.

I'm not saying we shouldn't do stuff to be prepared. It's wise and prudent to be prepared. I even think I'll start squirling away a couple cans of whatever we have at the back of the cupboard that we don't eat this month, I'll probably even buy an extra bag of flour or oatmeal every other week and tuck it in a dry spot in the basement. It just seems a little extreme of Oprah, given the zombie like qualities of her audience, to say on national tv "I feel kind of hopeless."!

Reminds me of that hymn - My hope is in the Lord who gave Himself for me
the author of that song lived right through the 1918 pandemic

Psalms 146:1-6

2006-01-21T20:07:00.000-05:00

Praise ye the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul.

While I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being,

Put not your trust in princes, nor the son of man, in whom there is no help,
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God;
Which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therin is: which keepeth truth for ever:

my real life adventures

America Deserves A Raise Contest - win 40k for a friend and yourself

Where is spring?

Home in Bethlehem, NH

Moving on, Philadelphia

whitls soidgoi

Happy New Year from VT!

Packing and Wrapping

A not paid blog post

Dreaming of Home...

DVICE: 11 fun things to do with obsolete tech

Social Media Marketing & Turkey

Nadine's Super Surprise Baby Shower

UGH! CBS's pre-commercial commercial

When the 70's hits your cousin in the face...

Win a Gizmo!

Today's Fun Links

Amazonwindow shop (windowshop.com)

Today's short list of irritants

Rumors of my death... yada, yada, yada

Mick, the dog

Survey Monkey

Baby Michele Rose Ilsley

A TV Anchor just lied! (fake gasp*)

space-time and what?

31-12=19

Happy New Year!

The Disney Vault... fear in advertising

Rocko & Anna's - my inner critic

baby! and a mysterious train ride

ATL & the little pumpkin head

Eyrleigh Sedona Hambrick

Eyrleigh Sedona Hambrick

treadmill desk

columbus day

my automobile

update *ding*

this is life

Tim's Wedding and Life (real life, not the cereal)

fifth's disease

questionable internet practices at the cabin!

i love...

recent obsessions

even my wife?! especially your wife!

upcoming events and the price of hair color

fun for me!

rambling rambler

Thursday before Christmas...

T'was the Monday before Thanksgiving...

University Settles With Christian Student Who Objected to Social-Work Assignment

financial ludicrousness

crafty christmas

sorry about that

stressin'

crazy week

weekend brief

false alarm

Unreasonable Anger... ?

Weekend in Brief

confectioners sugar on my mountain of joy that is my day

I'm ok, really I am

cell phone-less

weekends are way too short!

WARNING: time sucking device

super fly!

80 miles an hour

schedules

first day!

close the door!

34 years + 1 day

your beautiful cubical

gray cubes and pale legs

too late, already tried

Bethy visited!

The never ending day...

what's that?

Lunch at DeL

schools over!

monday thai, tuesday pb&j

see, that's why you didn't get a waffle iron!

update ding