Motto

The Universe has a limited amount of energy, and I intend to use my share productively.

Monday, June 20, 2005

Birthday Blues???

I am having birthday blues? I didn't that was possible with me.

We are going to Vaccaro's for dessert "lunch" tomorrow.

No, what I'm really bummed about is that we only have 3 or 4 offers of help for our move this weekend. Bummed. Double bummed.

It would be so much easier if we had 20 people show up. But it certainly doesn't look like that is going to happen.

=(

Monday, June 13, 2005

Takes Two to Tango

...and I don't want to, in this case.

I'm being countered on every point I give for justification of going to NVO.

I'm done tangoing.

Let it be as it will be.

I am weak when on the spot justifying a position. I think better later.

No more tango on this.

Done.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Chesapeake Shakespeare

Chesapeake Shakespeare is doing weekend performances of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in a park in historic Ellicott City during the month of June. Every Sunday performance is a "family performance." They have face painting and a "show before the show." You can bring your own chairs or blanket or use their chairs.

On Father's Day, they are admitting all fathers for free with a child of any age. I would love to do this, and I have emailed Tracy to see if they are interested. If I actually get tickets for us, then I will get the book and Cliff Notes from the library. They also have a version for kids. I will get that too.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Snubbed Again

The owners of the new house next door subbed us again yesterday.

Missy was playing in the backyard with the mini-football. It happened to roll across their new driveway into their front yard.

She ran over to get it.

They came driving (slowly) up the driveway. She waved to them, they drove slowly past, and then she ran back over to our yard.

When the lady got out of their vehicle, I called out, "Sorry about that!"

I don't recall if she even looked up, but she did respond, "That's okay."

I continued to stand there, hoping for a bit more discussion or something. Nope. She got her dog and walked straight into their house.

Oh well. I guess Blucky is right: It's easier this way. We don't have to try to be nice to them.

But it's my nature to be nice.

The other neighbor lady was out with the dog for a few minutes. We waved to each other and said hi. She appears to be pregnant. Probably their first.

Monday, May 16, 2005

Palm Trees

I brought in 3 palm trees this morning and hung them on my wall. All we need now is some sand, and this office will be a beach!

Friday, May 13, 2005

Not Interested

If the all trees are as tall as I am throughout the neighborhood and I can read my neighbor's newspaper while standing in my own house, we aren't interested.

Belief

It is interesting to see how showing belief in a person can dramatically change the tone of the conversation.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Patent Agent

I want to be a patent agent!!! Requires good oral and written communication, technical skills, scientific background, dabbles in patent law and gets paid bundles!

I've got to find out more!

Monday, May 09, 2005

He beat her to it

Bucko beat her to it. He wants a separation from Zody and he wants the kids. This is after he has signed the affidavit to allow her to take the kids to Sitarland at the end of this month, but it says this is allowed only if there is no dispute.

Zody got her two PI proposals and the one she CoI-ed. That's three. And money beyond August.

Now what?

Yikes.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Marriage

From NPR: smartmarriages.com

Bedside Tables

I'm going to order the matching bedside tables TODAY! I'm so excited.

Mom offered to pay for them for my birthday and our anniversary gifts. Wonderful. Now the Master Carpenter doesn't have to make them. And I can get them in the old color that matches the rest of the set. Yippee!

I called my most local EA and Mary was very helpful. I will call her back today and order 2 bedside tables. Fantastic!

This will "complete" our bedroom set. There are other pieces, but we don't currently have room for them. If I get the bedside tables, I will be thrilled. I wasn't sure I would ever get the set completed, especially after they announced the discontinuation of the color.

Next, a house with a master bedroom I can decorate. Burgundy and light gold? Maybe. Paint the walls something other than white. I hope. New bedding and matching window treatments? I double hope!

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Kids to Work Day

I didn't know it was TODAY! Why didn't someone tell me? How was I supposed to know it was today?????

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Monday, April 25, 2005

On to a Better Place

I am deeply saddened by the passing of Man's Godmother. She died Saturday, April 23, 2005.

For as sad as I am and for as sorry as I am for her family, I feel blessed beyond words to have known her and shared time with her. She was one of the most beautiful people I have ever known. She will be missed terribly by many.

My thoughts and prayers go out to her family. My hope is that they see that they, too, have been blessed. Blessed by her presence. Blessed by her love. Blessed by her faith.

I do take some comfort knowing that she is now in a better place and that her suffering has ended. I know with all my heart that her influence has not ended....

Faithful Tutor

I had no idea what awaited me when we bought our house in Scotts Valley. I was seven and a half months pregnant with our first child and was excited beyond reality to be buying a house in the city where I wanted to live and raise my family.

My labor started the day after my due date, and after our daughter was born, my husband returned home to notify family and friends and attend to the house. When he returned to the hospital, he informed me that a nice neighbor lady had offered to provide us dinner for our first evening home with the baby. I was very grateful for that simple gesture, since I had no idea how I was going to manage a new baby and everything else.

I didn’t know who this lady was, other than that she was the neighbor across the street, but she endeared herself to me instantly. I didn’t even know her name for the longest time, but I was sure to wave when I saw her.

My friendship with Carol Ann grew gradually. We were each busy with our many activities. I don’t remember exactly when it was that stopped identifying myself on the phone as “Elizabeth from across the street.” I was surprised when, out of the blue, she invited me to a “tea.” She said it was a lot of fun and I accepted. She was absolutely right about the tea.

It was easy to get to know her family. We saw each other come and go every day and the guys were soon sharing tools. Jamie was easy going and personable, eventhough my shy daughter would hide from him for years. She also grew up knowing Carol Ann’s son as, “Daniel My New Friend.” Not just Daniel. It was “Daniel My New Friend.” For years she called him that.


Around the time my daughter was turning two years old, Carol Ann told me about the most fabulous daycare down in Santa Cruz. I didn’t doubt her judgment, since I knew she had been a preschool and kindergarten teacher for many years. She certainly knew more about early childhood development than I did! She was absolutely right about the daycare.

Who would have thought that toilet training a grandchild could become the catalyst for creating a timeless keepsake? Carol Ann did. She showed me the book she had made from the story that her grandson told to her while he was doing his “learning.”

It was Carol Ann who offered us a week at their cabin at Hume Lake. She said it was an incredibly beautiful place. She offered countless times, before we finally accepted. We had no idea what we were missing. She was absolutely right about Hume Lake.

How is it that sitting in the street, watching Jamie bang on their race car while eating Popsicles can turn out to be so much fun? Simple. It was all Carol Ann. In a moment, she had created a Popsicle Party.
When it came time to consider a preschool for my daughter, Carol Ann was the first to recommend an outstanding preschool---the one she had taught at, of course! She told me of the wonderful curriculum they used and the great teachers they had. She was absolutely right about the preschool.

It was much later that we met Sherry and her family. Sherry’s first son is just a few months older than my daughter. Sherry’s second son and my son are a bit further apart in age, but that didn’t stop the four of them from playing together. Or trying to. We couldn’t help but like the entire family!

I was lucky enough to share meals with Carol Ann and her family.....




These tears are not tears of grief. They are tears of thanksgiving. I’m so thankful for being blessed to know Carol Ann. These are tears of being blessed to have been in the presence of someone so blessed. I only knew Carol Ann for a few years, but she has made an indelible mark on my heart forever.


Throughout my adult years, I have often been thankful for something and state it by saying, “I thank my lucky stars.” Luck had nothing to do with us buying a house on Estrella Drive. There was a star there waiting for us. And it was not in the name of the street.

Shine on, Bright Star!

Friday, April 22, 2005

Still Ours

...Unfortunately.

Our house in paradise is still ours. Thanks to the buyer's lender's mistake/screw up.

Escrow was supposed to close yesterday, but they didn't have the Title Deed in order. As a result, we are paying additional mortgage, property taxes and such for each and every day that escrow doesn't close.

Why should we have to pay????

I understand that sometimes things don't happen exactly according to the plan. But why do we have to pay for it????!!!!

#$%*^^$%@#@#$%&%^#%)&*^^@#$^^ Uggggghhhhhhhhhhhh.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Hair? Who Cares about Hair?

I distinctly remember Faithful Tutor jumping up when I announced my presence at their front door. She wasn't wearing her wig. She was very self-conscious about her bald head.

I remember just striding in and announcing, "Oh, that's okay. I've seen bald heads before."

I think she was relieved and grateful at the same time. Much later, she told me that a close, long-time family friend would not have been okay seeing her bald head. I was a little surprised by that. I guess I would have figured that such a close friend would understand.

In any case, I felt special because she was comfortable enough with me to know that she didn't have to worry about her lack of hair. I hope that my cavalier statement put her at ease. I would never want my presence to make her uncomfortable.

Sadddened

I'm sad today for a couple of reasons.

Today is the day that escrow closes on our house in paradise. I know it is the right thing to do. I'm just sad about it.

This morning I checked my home email and I found a message about the condition of Faithful Tutor. She has taken a severe turn for the worse. The family met last night and they all decided that she would not be recieving radiation on her brain as planned or any further chemo treatments as expected.

I am very saddened to hear this. The end of her time here with is us is near.

The message mentioned that the family needs rest and sleep. I think I understand what this means, after having cared for Basketball Buff. I so wish they didn't have to go through all of this.

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.

Monday, April 18, 2005

We Need More Women Building Designers

And the reason is that male building designers don't think about where people congregate.

Please don't put women's restrooms near the entrance to the stairs or elevator or any other natural place where people congregate!

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Which Comes First?

Taxes or death?

I was working hard on taxes last night, very overwhelmed, very stressed, very tired. He keeps saying we should just file for an extension. I don't want to do that, because that will just delay the pain.

It is quite ironic that he's the one wanting the extension, seeing that his work receipts and such are not done. Mine aren't done either, but I'm not home all day. Now, I'm not saying he's not doing anything useful, but there are time critical things that need to be done before the laundry and the web surfing.

I worked through as much as I could and started talking about what he needed to do before I got home this afternoon. He started objecting, saying he'll try, but.... This caused me to question what he was doing at that very moment. "Looking at this website." And can't that be done after taxes are in? *d-e-f-e-n-s-I-v-e* So, we proceed to disagree on what can and/or should be done by this afternoon.

Don't tell me taxes can't be done on time when your share isn't even ready and you are spending time surfing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dearest Honey,

I'm writing you this letter, because I believe it will help me address issues between us without immediate, emotional reactions. I hope that you are receptive to this letter.

I apologize for being upset and stressed about taxes. I understand that I am unpleasant to be around when I'm like that. Unfortunately, I'm venting my frustration with not finding receipts and not having enough time, and it all comes out on you. It shouldn't. I'm sorry.

I appreciate the help you have provided me in tallying up numbers and the like. I also appreciate all the household chores you've been doing so that I can spend every non-working, coherent moment working on the taxes. I wouldn't be able to get them done in such a short time frame without that help.

Whether or not we choose to file an extension is less important than the response I got when I started talking about what things needed to be done before I got home from work today. At the time of the discussion, you were surfing a website. From what I gathered, it was not a website that pertains to taxes, which prompted the ensuing disagreement. You seemed instantly very defensive of your time and what you had already done yesterday. I did not accuse you of not doing anything yesterday. I did not accuse you of anything (I think). I was trying to ask you to stop doing what you were doing and focus on the paperwork that wasn't yet done. Being defensive isn't going to get anything accomplished. I don't know *why* you felt defensive about your time yesterday. I'm not going to guess, which would probably lead me to a wrong assumption. I'd rather hear you tell me about it. I'm trying to lay down my arms with this letter. I hope you will try too.

I feel so burdened with taxes that I have a hard time watching anyone do anything "recreational" while I slog through the misery of taxes (I'm just being dramatic---don't give too much weight to my choice of adjectives).

I recognize that this feeling is a result of the way I was raised. I was taught that I'd better not be enjoying myself or doing anything other than work when someone else was struggling with something that benefitted everyone. That would be seen as unappreciative of the struggle that the other person was enduring for my ultimate benefit.

I have known about this reaction in me for many years. I have seen instances where this learned situational response does not elicit the same response from you. I logically know that I should not and cannot expect you to react the way I was taught to react in these situations. This has and does frustrate me. Not because of something you did, but instead, what you *didn't* do. You may not have realized that what I really wanted was help and support. Direct help and direct support. That does not include idle supportive yes and no answers while you are busy doing something enjoyable or otherwise recreational.

I was also taught that when something critical needs to be done, one must put off non-essential things (especially anything "recreational") until the critical item is finished. Again, this is something that does not seem to me to elicit the same response from you. I can't speak for your feelings or upbringing, but these things were entrenched very deeply at a very young age for me. I can't say that I disagree with it either. It is why I was able to keep my grades so consistently high in school. I wouldn't have gotten through physics at all if I hadn't done this again and again and again. And it is what allows me to jump around from project to project when priorities change at work (or home for that matter).

Focus is part of this. "Focus" on the highest priority. "Focus" was a favorite buzz word for several of my teachers in high school. I think I used to be a lot better at focusing than I am now. I think part of that is due to the sporatic interuptive nature of living with kids. Sometimes I have to force myself to focus these days. At work, I rarely have a problem with focus, unless something is weighing heavily on my mind (like right now). At home, I am rarely able to focus on a particular issue. This is noone's fault, it just is part of life with kids. Focusing on the highest priority is difficult at home, but it must be done at times. It is more unpleasant for me to not have the taxes done than it is to focus hard and do them. Inadvertently, I'm expecting you to feel and act the same way. I cannot expect that.

Please help me understand. We need to communicate. I apologize if my chosen method of communication (this letter) is not agreeable to you. I need some way of getting my thoughts to you without the emotional response usually generated. Obviously, I must care, otherwise I wouldn't get emotional. But that emotion gets in the way of us sorting things out. I'm sorry for that.

I love you and I want us to be on the same plane. I hope that we can get there together.

luv u,

me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Death and Taxes...

Well, thankfully no death yet. But taxes are weighing heavily on my mind.

I tried looking for my business records (for taxes) this morning, but didn't find the records that I would need to do the taxes. Now, I'm not sure where to look.

He needs to do his parking receipts.
I've got to do all the itemizations.
I've got to do paradise.
I've got to do the local.

I've got to be relaxed about it, but I'm running out of time and I know how taxes usually go....