Support the Troops!

A local organization here in MD has been formed with a simple mission: to support the troops returning from Iraq or Afghanistan & to encourage others to support those troops.

What's really neat about it is how they are doing it. We've all heard stories about personnel in uniform being thanked in airports or people buying them meals or what not, but how do you know someone has served if they aren't in uniform? This organization solves that problem by creating a sticker that they can put on their car:

Simple. Easy. Effective.....

Another great thing is this organization has no political agenda or affiliation. Their mission is to support the returning troops and anyone who wants to do that is welcome, regardless of political leanings. Considering the political climate we live in, how refreshing to find something that is truly bipartisan!!

Lastly, this is being done solely by private funds!! Stickers are free for those who served (or families of those currently serving). If you fit in that category, click on their website and request the appropriate sticker and it will be sent to you free of charge. (I know there is a volunteer "envelope stuffing party" being held in the area today where they expect to send out 200,000.)...If you are not in that category, but would like to contribute, you can donate thru the webpage/paypal. Each sticker costs only $.04 to make, so even a small donation can go a long way/help a lot of ppl.

I just donated. And while I can't make today's stuffing party, I do plan on helping out at the next one. The way I see it: if a sticker brings about even one thank you, that's $.04 very well spent!!

The Sweetest 4 words in the English language right now

I've mentioned before what the worst 4 words in the English language are to me. But I just got an email that contained the sweetest 4 words:

PET Scan is clear

WOO HOO!!!

While that's good news anytime, it's especially significant this time. You see, this marks 2 years cancer free, which means my sweetie is officially considered to be in remission!!!!!!!

It's been a rough couple of years to get to this point, but the important thing is we are now here!! There's going to be a (probably noticeable) spring in my step as I head out of here tonight!!

WOO HOO!!!!

Prayers Needed

My mom is having surgery today. She has a tear in her rotator cuff that needs to be repaired & a bone spur on the shoulder joint that will be removed at the same time.

This is a first for my mom as she's never had surgery before. I told her that if she wanted to take a page from my playbook, I would have preferred that she take a dance class. :-)

If you've got a moment to send up a prayer or to keep a good thought that everything goes well for her, I'd appreciate it.

How Do You Say that in English?

It always surprises and amazes me when I come across something that I can express in aother language, but don't know how to say it in English.

For instance, I can't sail in English. I'm sure that sounds strange to most people, but I had never been sailing until I was an exchange student in Sweden. My host family had a 30+ foot sailboat and we spent a couple of weeks sailing on the Baltic. Never having done it before, I learned all my terminology in Swedish....A couple of years later, a friend took a group out for an afternoon sail. She had asked before hand if any of us had been sailing before & I told her I had. Thus, she was expecting me to be able to help out. Unfortunately, I discovered that I couldn't sail in English when she called for me to do something and I had no idea what she wanted.

I just ran into a similar situation. My SO needed to meet up with someone who lives approximately an hour away, so they decided to meet about 1/2 way. They wanted someplace easy to find/hard to miss, and right off the freeway to make it easy. The perfect location turned out to be an Ikea.

This is the closest Ikea to me, but since it's 35 minutes away, I don't go often. This may be a good thing as I tend to spend more than I'd like to admit there. Unlike most ppl, I don't spend it on the furniture. Nope, I could spend tons of $ in that little area outside of the cashiers that sells Swedish food. Admittedly, Swedish cuisine isn't well-known; when was the last time someone said, "let's go out for Swedish tonight"? But, for me, it takes me right back to the time I spent there & there are things I really love that one just doesn't find anywhere in this area other than Ikea.

So, I wanted to ask my SO to pick up something for me.....but I didn't know what to call it in English.

Luckily, I was able to describe the items well enough that he figured it out. (Actually, I gotta give it up to my sweetie -- not only did he get the item I wanted/asked for, he also got me 3 or 4 other things that he knows I like. )

But, yeah, it's a very odd feeling to hear oneself saying, "I don't know how to say that in English," when English is one's native language.

Ruby -- The Adventures Continue...

When I first introduced you to my foster dog, Ruby, I ended the post by saying "more adventures to come". What an understatement that was!!

First, she went into heat about a week after coming here. She was scheduled to be spayed just 2 days later, but that had to be postponed until she was out of heat. We survived that and a month later, she got spayed and after recovering from that, was finally ready to find her forever home.

The first family that was interested would have been perfect for her. They'd just had to put their previous dog down, and ultimately decided they wanted another male, so it was a no-go. The next family that inquired wasn't a good fit -- Ruby is a bouncy, in-your-face, play-play-play type. This family has a dog with hip issues, so he could unintentionally end up hurt if Ruby were to bounce on him. Thus, she was still hanging around here until the right home could be found.

Then came last weekend. Sunday morning, Ruby started having grand mal seizures. They were thankfully, short-lived, but pretty dramatic -- she was out of it/unresponsive, back legs paddling, rest of the body stiff/arched, hypersalivating, shaking violently. Think of the way Hollywood portrays a seizure & this was the canine equivalent. She had 7 of them in the first 24 hrs, until the vet was able to get her stabilized and on meds to control them. The good news is she hasn't had any since. The bad news is they can't figure out what caused/is causing them.

She's been walking around like a "punch drunk sailor" as her body acclimates to the meds. She's getting better, but still is lacking somewhat in coordination. It's like her back half and front half are a 1/2 beat out of sync. A couple more days and hopefully she'll be back to her usual bouncy self. Who would have thought I would miss that?

Michael Jackson RIP

I know it's been more than a week since Michael Jackson passed away, but this is the first time I've gotten the chance to sit down and put my thoughts together. Mostly, it's just sad to lose anyone that young, but most especially to lose someone with that much talent & artistry.

His songs were the soundtrack to most of the jazz classes I ever took. One of my jazz teachers actually was in the video for Beat It and again in the Weird Al parody of it, Eat It. (In Eat It, he was the "gang member" in the white leather jacket with the smiley face & "have a nice day" on the back.)...It's rare that I don't hear one of those songs and it doesn't place me immediately back to whichever dance class where we used that song.

Another one of those "burned forever in my mind" memories from high school was the time when 3 of us decided we had to go get ice cream from a place approximately 30-35 minutes away. The only one of us who had use of a car that night was a friend who could borrow his mom's car -- a small convertible. (Luckily, I'm small enough to fit in the back or it wouldn't have worked.) That friend was in the process of creating a music mix, but the only stuff he'd gotten to so far was 3 old Jackson 5 songs: ABC, I Want You Back, and one other that escapes me at the moment. For 35 minutes out there, and 35 minutes back, we heard those same 3 songs over and over again, top down, singing along...I don't hear any of those 3 songs without thinking of that night.

And who (who was around) can forget the impact of the video of Thriller?! A friend of mine managed to record it and we played it over and over until we managed to break it down, and then we knew it by heart. Yeah, I'll admit it, we were all dancers, so we kinda get a pass, but I'd bet there are tons of others who, if they were being honest, would have to fess up to the same thing & they wouldn't have the excuse that they were dancers.

He was always breaking new ground & and what he did one day would be tweaked & modified and incorporated until 10 years later, there it was at the core of whatever was hot. The "heartbeat" in today's hip hop? Take a look at this video of Dirty Diana and you'll see it developping:



And, yes, as a dancer, I know that the Moonwalk came directly from Bill Bailey:


but you gotta admit, MJ made it his own and it grew from there. And, I think that's really the saddest thing -- that we'll never know what he would have done next or when that next iconic thing would have appeared.

Happy Fourth of July!!

I'm Okay

Just a quick post to let anyone who might be reading this know I'm ok. Yes, I commute by Metro. Yes, I ride the Red line, even going home in the same direction the 2 trains that collided were headed. I, luckily, don't get on until a few stops beyond where the crash happened. I, also luckily, left my office about the time of the crash, so got to the subway about 10 mins after the crash had happened. My commute home was slow-going & took more than twice as long as it usually does, but was otherwise uneventful.

Depending on which station/news report/website you look at, there are at least 7 and possibly 9 fatalities; there could still be more to come. There were about 75 ppl injured. Please keep these ppl and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

The Egg Fairy

Seeing how I live in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area, there really aren't many farms right around where I live. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there are some very nice farms not too far away, within an hour or so. I had reason to visit one yesterday (Legacy Manor Farm).

While I was there, the owner asked me if I could use some eggs. She explained that they had more than they could use & since their next scheduled market wasn't until Wed, they were getting overrun with eggs. In fact, she was throwing them out for the hogs to eat because she had to do something with them. I said, "Sure, I can take some" figuring she'd give me a dozen or maybe two dozen & gee, freshly laid eggs from free-ranging birds sounded pretty good to me.

HA!

She loaded a HUGE box of eggs into my car. When I got home and got them sorted out, I had more than 16 dozen eggs!!! I'm not a frequent egg-eater, so 2 dozen would have been pushing my outer limits (and would mean needing to bake something to use them up), but there is NO WAY I'd ever be able to use up almost 200 eggs before they went bad!!

So, I played "egg fairy" yesterday. I called friends and visited neighbors, bearing fresh, organic, free-range eggs. I manged to give away somewhere around 9 or 10 dozen eggs (rough estimate) so far, & will be bringing more with me to our dance classes tonight for our students and those who help us out to share the wealth. (I feel a little bit like Oprah: "you get a dozen, and you get a dozen, and you get a dozen...."

I am the egg man!! I am the walrus!! Coo coo ka
choo!!

Be the Match Marrowthon

I've written before that bone marrow transplant is a subject that's near and dear to my heart. Thousands of people each year are thrust in the unfortunate position of needing a transplant due to leukemia, lymphoma, genetic disorders, etc. In about 70% of those cases, there isn't a suitable match within the family. Imagine how scary it must be to be that potential recipient, hoping that there's a match in the national database & the relief they must feel if they're lucky and one is found. Every person who joins the registry as a potential donor increases that potential recipients odds that a suitable match can be made...

Every once in a while, the National Bone Marrow Program provides the opportunity for new participants to join the registry free of charge.* The current opportunity runs until Monday, June 22nd, while funding remains. Their hope is to add 46,000 new names to the registry during this Marrowthon.

The process of joining is easy:

1. Confirm your eligibity -- are you between the ages of 18-60 yrs old? in good health/meet the medical guidelines? live in the US? etc.


2. Complete the online form & a registration kit will be sent to you.


3. When you receive your kit, follow the instructions to do a cheek swab & send it back to them.

That's all there is to it -- quick, easy, painless & if you do steps 1 & 2 before June 22nd, it's also free!

*A question I often get asked is why isn't it always free? Bone marrow matching is based on number of factors. Bottom line is it takes $ to type each sample that comes in, so they can determine which of the potential donors would be a match for a specific person in need of a transplant. Funding has been provided for the Marrowthon, so the cost associated with typing any new registrant has been covered, but donations would gladly be accepted from those who are able so that the funding can be stretched further.

Tragic

My thoughts & prayers are with the family of Stephen Johns, the security guard who was shot & killed at the US Holocaust Museum yesterday. How sad that a place that stands in witness of the consequences of mankind's inhumanity and of the dangers of intolerance became a place of further intolerance.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, most especially to mine!!!!

Perspective

It's been raining off-and-on (mostly on) for the past 5 days or so. Like most ppl in the area, I was getting pretty fed up & frustrated by the rain, or more accurately, by the lack of sunshine. Until yesterday, that is.

During a brief let up in the rain, I got to play outside with 2 of my nephews, ages 4 and 2 yrs old. After watching the 2-year old splash thru the puddles with wild abandon, I suddenly didn't mind the rain quite so much.

Thankful Thursday Friday

A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4

This week, I'm thankful for having been blessed to know Frankie Manning for 20 years. It's not everyday you meet someone who truly changes your life. Frankie did that for me in January 1989. I wouldn't do what I do if it weren't for him.

My favorite comment about Frankie's passing was "We now have the answer to the age-old question, 'How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?' Answer: 2. Frankie & whomever he chooses as his partner. The rest of the angels will back off to give him room & watch."

This was a tribute put together by some local DC dancers. It only scratches the surface of what an incredible man he was and how much knowing him has meant to me.

Teacher, Inspiration, Friend

I wrote about Frankie here. I was honored to organize his 82nd birthday party back in 1997. I am deeply humbled, extraordinarily honored, and profoundly grateful to have called him my friend for the past 20 years.

God speed, Frankie. A one, a two, you know what to do...

An Interesting Morning

Unlike, say NYC or Chicago, you won't find a subway stop every couple of blocks in the Washington area; instead, DC's subway was built on a "hub and spoke" system. It's great for moving ppl into the center of the city, but not necessarily for getting from point A to point B outside of that central area.

One of the results of that design is that the Washington subway system is, on average, a bit less...um...colorful than some other big-city subway systems. For the most part, my fellow passengers during the morning rush hour are also your professional 9-5ers, all heading into their offices for the day. On average, it's pretty quiet in the subway car, as ppl tend to doze, read the paper or a book, do a crossword puzzle, etc.

Then there are days like this morning. There were delays on the line, which meant the car was much more crowded than normal. Then, a (most likely mentally-unstable) woman got on, lugging a cartload of stuff with her, which wouldn't be much appreciated on a regular rush hour, but was even less so given the overly crowded conditions. She started telling everyone w/in earshot how she had taught herself to play multiple musical instruments, never had a lesson, etc. She then decided to show us with a little performance.

Let's just say, you haven't lived until you've heard both the US Marine Corps anthem ("from the halls of Montezuma....") and the Star Spangled Banner played on the harmonica in the middle of a crowded subway car during your rush hour commute.

Let's hope tomorrow's commute goes back to being quiet & not very colorful.

By the Numbers

Tiburon's "By the Numbers" post got me thinking I should do one, too. All in all, today was a pretty productive day:

• # of stores visited & from which I'd already checked out before 9:00 am: 2
• # of bags of lawn trim currently waiting to be set out for pickup: 8
• # of additional bags it'll take to get rid of all of the trimming done: another 6-8
• # of tomato seedlings planted: 5
• # of sweet peppers planted: 2
• # of broccoli seedlings planted: 6
• # of strawberry plants planted: 2
• # of feet of push-in garden "fencing" set up to prevent dogs from getting plants: 16
• # of dogs currrently in residence: 5
• # of dogs who are permanent residents: 3
• # of dogs I'm fostering for rescue: 1
• # of dogs staying with me while friends are away: 1
• Combined weight of dogs currently in residence (in lbs): 262
• Largest dog's weight in lbs: 82
• Smallest dog's weight in lbs: 4
• Weight of human in residence: yeah right! like I'm posting that!!
• # of times I've almost stepped on the littlest dog today since I'm not used to having such a small creature around: way too many to count
• # of dogs who like to chase bumblebees: 2
• # of those dogs who have gotten stung: 0 (but I'm afraid that's going to change)
• # of dogs currently asleep: 5 (yay!)
• # of those dogs sleeping w/in 1 ft of me: 2
• # of muscles that are going to hurt tomorrow due to all of the yard work today: all of them!!

Thankful Tuesday

Some things are just too good to wait for Thursday to roll around. This is one of those things:

My SO's most recent PET scan was clean!! There is currently no evidence of cancer or cancerous activity!!!

Despite the fact that rain is actually physically falling outside, it seems like a very sunny day from where I'm sitting!

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm grateful for this week:

• Thursday -- only one day left until the weekend, yay!!
  


• Pandora -- I know, I'm late to the party. I've actually known about pandora.com for a while, but until a recent upgrade to our computers/network at the office, we couldn't get to or use it. Now that we can, I've had it playing in the background nearly every day. Of course, I've been grooving to lots of old favorites, but the best thing is the new-to-me songs or artists I've discovered when it's given me things that are similar in nature to those songs I told it I like. If you aren't already using it, check it out!!
  


• Spring flowers -- Between the cherry blossoms & the magnolia blooms, DC is pretty much busting at the seams. Add in the daffodils and tulips blooming in my front yard, and it's pretty hard not to smile or not to be in a good mood.
  


• Getting a major vote of confidence from the higher-ups at work. Even better was being able to back up that vote of confidence by taking the ball & running with it/finishing the project within the time frame in which it was needed. Something like that is always nice, but it's especially satisfying given the current economy. Every little bit of extra job security is a good thing as far as I'm concerned!
  


• My foster puppy FINALLY being out of heat. She was scheduled to be spayed so she could move on to her permanent home, but came into heat just before, which meant the surgery had to be postponed. She's now out of heat (and acting/feeling more like herself again), which means that a) we can reschedule the surgery, and b) I can take her out for walks again. Being able to get her adequate exercise will certainly help evenings be calmer around my household until she moves on to her forever home!!!
  


• Good friends who have rallied around me these past couple of weeks as I've had to deal with a difficult person and the resulting drama said person likes to cause. While such things are just a part of life & we all have to deal with them from time to time, it's great to know I've got people who have my back and make such unpleasantness more bearable.

How bout you? What are you thankful for today? (Thanks to Tib for the super-fly, retro-inspired new graphic.)

April Fools II

Apparently, Facebook is also having a little fun today, too. I found this amongst my notifications:

Spring in Washington

Spring is one of the most beautiful times in Washington. Ppl come from all over to see the famous cherry blossoms. They are most concentrated around the Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial & that area is usually very crowded during peak bloom, but there are other areas with beautiful blooms as well.I'm still learning what my camera can do, what settings produce what shots, etc. The best way to do this is to practice, so I brought my camera to work the other day & planned to go over to the Tidal Basin to take pics after work. Unfortunately, I had to finish some stuff up & didn't get out as early as I'd hoped. Thus, I decided to skip the 2 mile walk to the Tidal Basin in favor of spending the time (and the good lighting conditions) shooting near the US Capitol, along the Mall, and near the White House instead.These are some of my favorites from the shoot. (If the weather conditions cooperate, there will be more coming, but the forecast doesn't look too good for the rest of the week.)

April Fools!!

I love a good practical joke. As long it's not in any way mean-spirited and no one gets hurt, then bring it on!! And, I say that as both an occasional perpetrator of pranks & as the one being pranked.

There's a fine tradition of the British press pranking on April 1st. Probably the most well-known example is from the 1980s when they reported that Big Ben was going digital. Classic!! (and amazing to me how many ppl fell for it.)

This year's Guardian report of how the paper will cease paper publication & go entirely to Twitter feeds is pretty good. I particularly like the effort to retrofit the major historic events to the format (e.g. the start of WWII would become "OMG Hitler invades Poland, allies declare war see tinyurl.com/b5x6e for more") . Not to be outdone, the Telegraph reports on how swimming fish could be the key to generating electricity.

Except for the famous full-page ad that said that Taco Bell had bought the rights to the Liberty Bell, I can't remember the American press ever joining in on the fun (and does that really qualify since it was an ad, not an article?).... Until now, as this was in today's Washington Post.

Even the usually-stodgy Economist has gotten into the game: "As part of a strategy designed to broaden the revenue base, leverage content over new platforms and promote The Economist brand to a young and dynamic audience, The Economist Group is delighted to announce the development of a public-entertainment facility that combines the magic of a theme park with the excitement of macroeconomics..." I can't wait for Econoland to open!!

How bout you? Seen any good ones today to add to the list?

Happy Birthday, Griffin!!

My littlest nephew turns 2 today. Wow, how time flies!!

Thankful Thursday

It's been a little while, so I'm overdue for showing a little gratitude. Today, I'm thankful for:

• My 2nd mom's finally getting to go home from the hospital. It was great to hear from her!!
• Daffodils. I've got about a dozen blooming in the yard and it brightens up the day whenever I see them.
• Silly puppy antics. As exhausting as it is to be fostering a young 'un, she is quite entertaining.
• Fresh, red, ripe strawberries. Simply delightful!!
• Starting up our dance classes again. It's kind of tough suddenly not having my Monday nights to myself anymore, but I do love teaching and we have good classes this go round, so it is kinda fun. It's always nice to see students from the fall classes come back, as well.
  
• Getting a clear vote of confidence from the higher ups at work.
• Getting to see my nephews this weekend. It's always fun to spend time with them.
• My new camera. I'm LOVING it!! Only a couple more weeks til there should be some fantastic opportunity for "Spring in Washington" shots.

So, how bout you? What are you thankful for today?

March Comes In Like A ...

Polar bear? ...This year, that seems more appropriate than a lion since we got hit with a classic Nor'easter. I got 6 inches of light, fluffy snow at my place. Some parts of the area got up to a foot.

I took the liberal leave that was offered by my office & stayed home to play in the snow with the dogs. With 3 sled dogs and one puppy whose origin is the Swiss Alps, you can just imagine how happy they were to have snow. The back yard became a dog track for a while as the puppy chased my 10-yr old dog around and around and around.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics, but there's a nice gallery of photos from throughout the area here

70+ lbs of Enthusiasm

Meet Ruby. The 9 month-old Bernese Mountain Dog puppy I'm currently fostering --70+ lbs of enthusiasm, with only a modicum of self-control at this point. Exuberant doesn't even begin to cover it! Did you see the Academy Awards where the winner for Best Director bounced as he accepted the award "in the spirit of Tigger"? That's Ruby, in a nutshell.

Luckily, she's sweet & eager to please, so she's learning relatively quickly. In the 5 days she's been with me, she's learned to (mostly) bounce NEAR me, not ON me. She's also starting to realize that jumping on me won't earn her any attention, but keeping "4 on the floor" will. We're also working on the basics like "sit", "down", and "stay". She thinks she's a lap dog, but at 70+ lbs (and still growing), I'm working on disavowing her of that notion.

More adventures to come, I am quite sure!!

Things You Should Never Do #729

You should never sneeze while rinsing with mouthwash....Just trust me on this one.

Thankful Thursday

It's been a while, so I'm long overdue for a Thankful Thursday post. I'm going to keep it short & sweet. Right now, I'm thankful for:

• Health -- it really is so precious.
• Friends
• Being able to be there for those friends and for the confidence/trust they put into me in allowing me the opportunity to be there for them

Prayers Needed

My best friend's mother, who is like a 2nd mother to me, needs your prayers. She had a stroke yesterday and has edema on the brain. She's had a rough go healthwise -- she has lupus and has been on full disability since her mid-40's. Lupus can manifest in many ways, some of them pretty horrible. In her case, it's caused a multitude of problems, including brain tumors, broken bones caused by just standing up, and now this.

Please take a moment to offer a thought and send up a prayer for her and for her family. Thanks!

Philosophical Question

Is it wrong to watch The Biggest Loser while eating a bowl of the wonderful dessert (chocolate-orange mousse pie with a brownie crust) my sweetie made for me for Valentines Day?

Just wondering.

The Accidental Expert

Like everyone, I've worked hard to become an expert in my line of work. In addition, even tho I no longer use those skills in a medical environment, I used to, so I'm usually the "go to person" for health related matters in my office. Ditto for dog-training related questions in the rescue group. In all of these cases, these are things that I've studied and/or gained experience and in various other ways worked to become more knowledgeable about them.

Unfortunately, it seems I've gotten that distinction in another way, as well, and I'd give it up in a heartbeat....I've become the expert in cancer support.

We've recently learned that another friend was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the same type of cancer my SO has been dealing with. Luckily, this friend's form is the indolent/non-aggressive form, as opposed to the highly aggressive version my SO had, but the treatment is the same, right down to the same chemo drugs, same immunotherapy, same schedule, etc. Given that, we've been providing support and information to him and his family since we've been there, done that and might have some insights that would prove helpful. I also find myself being the "go to person" for our mutual friends who want to help, but don't know how to do so.

Obviously, I'm happy to do whatever I can to make such a tough time a little easier. However, I'm not sure I like being the expert in this. I never expected to have to do this once, much less twice. I'd happily resign from the position if only I could.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! If you haven't yet done so, go tell those that you love that you love them.

It's not you, it's me!!

No, I'm not breaking up with you....Yes, I know I haven't spent any quality time with you in a while. No, it's not you, it's me.

Sorry for the radio silence. I had to hit the ground running when I got back from Florida in order to get ready for an audit here at work (ugh!). The audit is this week/happening now, so hopefully, things will calm down a little and I can tell you about the trip and other stuff going on. Be back as soon as I can.

Golly Gee!!

Tiburon had a fun meme -- ask for a letter & once she assigns you one, list 10 things you like that start with that letter. I decided I'd play along and she assigned me the letter "G". So here, in random order, are 10 things I like that start with the letter G:

1. Going places -- I love to travel. It's been a while since I've gone somewhere new and I'm itching to go exploring. Ireland, Croatia and Italy are the places that are really intriguing me currently, but I'm open to lots of different places and ideas.

2. Getting organized -- something I'm working on & desperately need to do more of.

3. Griffin -- my 22-month old nephew. He's developing quite a good sense of humor and it's a lot of fun to be around him and to watch him grow/develop.

4. Cary Grant -- The characters he played in the old movies are just about my perfect man: smooth, sophisticated, intelligent, with a wicked sense of humor and a dazzling wit. He also trained as an acrobat prior to acting, so there is an extra "something" in his movements that step his performance up to a different level. See The Philadelphia Story or North by Northwest or Bringing Up Baby to see what I mean.

which brings me to

5. George Clooney -- I've already admitted to his being a guilty pleasure of mine. After this little exchange between him and his father earlier this week here in DC, I'd have to say he's about approaching my Kryptonite.

6. Games -- I'm a big time games and puzzle person.

7. Gargoyles -- especially those with a sense of humor. If you ever come to Washington, DC, I highly recommend visiting the National Cathedral. One side of the building has more traditional gargoyles & grotesques, but the other side steps out of the box, so to speak. There are alligators, elephants, cats, dogs, etc., as well as a construction worker whistling at the girls who attend the all-girls school right next to the cathedral. There's also a Darth Vader.
8. Gourmet Chocolate -- I'm not above a Reeses Peanut Butter cup or the equivalent, but when I have the opportunity to indulge in some fine Belgian or Swiss chocolate, I pretty much never turn it down.

9. Good friends -- for they make this ride worthwhile.

10. Google Reader -- the ultimate tool for keeping up on those blogs I like to read.

Anyone else want to play along? If so, just let me know in the comments and I'll assign you a letter.

Kudos to the Pilot & Crew

I've been watching the coverage of the US Air flight that crashed into the Hudson River just after takeoff from LaGuardia. Spectacular job by the pilot and crew!!

As someone who is flying tomorrow, in similar conditions (frigid temperatures, flight plan over water just off a major metropolitan area, etc), I sure hope the pilot & crew on my flights are just as good. And that we will never learn if they are!!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday, which means it's time for a little "attitude of gratitude". This week, I'm thankful for:

• Getting to see my family. With my siblings and I being spread coast-to-coast, and not even all in the same country, it's rare that you get all 6 of us in one room at the same time & it takes some doing to make it happen. Last time we managed it was 4+ yrs ago, so I'm very much looking forward to it.
  


• The fact that my family all gets along & that we have a really good time together. There are lots of ppl who dread family get-togethers; for us, we've been looking forward to this!!
  


• That we managed to keep this a surprise for my parents. Dad wouldn't have noticed, but Mom is pretty perceptive & picks up on little things, so she was the one we had to really watch it around. She knows that 2 of us will be there (are already there actually). That was the "set up". She doesn't know that the rest of us are coming, along with more of my neices & nephews. Dinner tomorrow night when we surprise them should be wonderful.
  


• Warmth & Sunshine & Beaches!! It's really cold here -- we aren't supposed to even hit freezing today or tomorrow, which is unseasonable for here. Temps are forecasted to be the single digits when I take off tomorrow. It's supposed to be mid-70s to low 80s and sunny all weekend in Fl. I'm sooo ready for that!
  


• The internet -- what did we do without it? I managed to stop the mail, check in for tomorrow's flight, confirm the rental car, get directions from the airport to the hotel, and more, all online in the last 24 hrs. What a time-saver!!
  


• My new camera!! -- It came!! And I managed to get back here about 20 mins before the FedEx guy showed up, so it was much more painless than it could have been!....So far, I've only attached the strap and charged the batteries (mostly because I know that once I start playing, I won't want to stop, so I'm not doing anything else until I've packed and gotten all of the rest of that type of stuff taken care of). I'm so glad I'll have it for my trip; since it's difficult to get us all together, I want to make the most of the opportunity while I have it.
  


• A great dance/business partner -- we're in charge of running a dance here this weekend. When we were given our dates for 2009 (it's a RFP process & we never know what we're actually going to get from year to year), I already knew I'd be in FL this weekend, so he's got to do all of it on his own. It's doable, but it's a lot easier when there are 2 ppl to take care of all of the details & it means he pretty much only gets to work/manage things all night; no dancing for him. Thanks, Babe, for handling everything and doing so so good-naturedly.

Everyone have a great weekend. I don't know if I'll check in from FL or not, but I will report in later.

Venting!!

You may have heard that there are some big to-do's happening here in DC in the next week or so. Well, unlike the millions of ppl that are flocking to DC, I'm getting the heck outta Dodge. Actually, this has nothing to do with the inauguration activities; we are surprising my mom for her birthday and flying in for a mini-family reunion. It just happens to coincide with the inaugural.

This has been in the planning for over a year. Got my plane tickets last summer, booked the hotel last May, etc. Took care of the little details like arranging for 2 of the dogs to stay with a friend & getting a ride to the airport from another friend back in about November or early December. Yep, this time, the only last-minute scrambling was going to be packing and finding a good book to read on the plane.

Yeah, right.

First, the person who was supposed to take my dogs for the weekend forgot & he's not available. Luckily, there are more ppl coming into town than leaving, so it looks like I can still get them into the boarding kennel. Not ideal, but at least it's covered.

Then the person who was going to take me to the airport is backing out. Well, not officially backing out, but talking about how long/packed a day it'll be and hinting that it'd be nice if I could at least look into other options. Usually, I'd just take Metro & the subway itself would get me there in plenty of time, but the bus that I take to get to the metro doesn't start running early enough for that to be an option. I've booked an airport shuttle instead, so again, it's covered, it's more that I hate scrambling last minute & if I'd known it was an issue even a week or so ago, I probably could have made different arrangements/found someone else who could have given me a lift.

Adding onto that is the camera I ordered online & want to have to take with me was shipped with a signature required. Usually, that means the Fed Ex guy comes by, when he findsI'm not there, he leaves a slip; I sign the slip & he leaves the package the next day. Nope. Not this time. That's not good enough. Nor would it be ok to have a neighbor sign for it. Someone must physically be in my house when the Fed Ex guy comes by & must sign for it at that moment....I know it's something that protects both the vendor and me, but why this time/this week?

I had such plans of being able to neatly wrap up all loose ends, easily & smoothly, and gently glide into a mini-vacation calmly & unflustered. Not likely to happen. *sigh*

Update: I'm better now. I just needed to get it out of my system. Sorry for whining.

Another Oprah Giveaway

I'm home sick today & have Oprah on right now. Today's guest is Suze Orman & she has a new book out called Suze Orman's Action Plan for 2009: Keeping your money safe & sound. For one week, Oprah viewers can download it for free by going to http://www.oprah.com/download.

Given the economic environment, I don't know about you, but I can use all the information and advice I can get.

Happy New Year!!

Wishing you & yours a healthy, happy, peaceful and prosperous 2009!