All In A Day's Work

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Investigative reporter that I am, I followed Eva around for a whole day to see what life is like for her, she always seems so tired.

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First, there is her dental practice. Based on her patient's expression, she must be about as caring and gentle as my dentist. Her look of concentration is a little alarming, too, I think my dentist has had that expression on his face a few times and he usually followed up with, "Shoooot. Well, I guess we can try this."

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I gave Eva some advice as to which instrument of death to use. Actually, some of those things look like my scrapbooking tools.

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It wasn't long before Eva gave up her dentistry and had to gear up for an emergency. I wonder if other firemen need assistance from their mommy to gear up.

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Finally, she was up and running.

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But that's not the end of her day.

Not by a long shot.
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Like all of us, she has to take time for the little chores in life, like getting gas.
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. . . or changing a flat.

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Thanks to Edventure Children's Museum, Columbia, SC . . .

. . . where a kid can be a . . . grownup.

Snoopy, Snoopy Me

I snooped on Marj's camera:

Is that Ethan in a pink girly car??

And then I snooped on Patti's camera:

Geez. I wonder why Tommy doesn't own a camera.

Marj Loves Her Grammaw

They share more than a name.

Marj loves her grammaw alright. Need proof? The link.

My First Day on the New Job

Wow. My first day, er halfday, at Broadstreet Consulting. Man, that's tough work. Floral design is way easier.
Also, since my office is in my home,when does work "quit?" I can be folding laundry, cleaning the kitchen (sure), or reading a book or something and my new boss will approach and start talking shop. Excuse me. Do I look like I'm working here? Dude. You have to wait until I'm in my leather captain's chair with my new matching desk set. Then you know I'm clocked in, then you can talk business with me. He backed off real quick, "Errr, I-I-I'll just send you an email."
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I don't want to be too hard on the guy, he is the owner of the company and all. And look here, as he was discussing FTPs and FP and DUIs and all the technogeek stuff, my eyes began glazing over and I might have nodded off a little. So he ambled off and made me some coffee. Isn't that something? Back in the day, I used to have to get coffee for the codgers. Boy, the busines world has evolved. So he made me this nice cup of coffee and we didn't even bill anyone for our time and I perked up just like a little daisy in the hot sun when given a quick shower.
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Unfortunately, there was a minor unforseen complication. He was unaware of my evolved coffee preferences. I now like iced raspberry mocha lattes instead of just a boring old cup of java. So I thought: this first time, I could give him a hand and mix up the beverage myself.
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Well. The company kitchen didn't have any Hershey's chocolate. What kind of place is this?
I was desperate.
The nearest Starbucks is a 30 minute drive, that's not billable time, and who knows, it might have been one of the 600 they closed.
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I lost my head. I dug into Tommy's secret stash -- a container of brownie mix he made on Monday and has been nibbling on all week. He will kill me when he finds out.
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You know what? It was pretty good. Brownie mix in your coffee with a hint of raspberry.
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Exactly what I needed to get back to work.
And please. Don't read my computer screen in the photo or I'll be fired for giving away company secrets. Don't even try it. I jumbled them up like they do on tv.
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One last thing I must share:





My thanks to alert reader, Debra Thomas, for this spiffy new desk set. She understands what is important when it comes to a new job.

Just one more word on B.O.

Yeah. -- What he said.

Obama Defends Trip Abroad

Hmmmm.... think he read my post yesterday? :) Today's headlines include an article about Obama defending his trip overseas. The link.

Again, presuming that he will soon be "in charge," he makes this claim:

"You're always more popular before you're actually in charge," Obama said. "Once you're responsible, then you're going to make some people unhappy."

Girl Talk II

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Obama “held talks” with Palestinian leaders this week on his “international campaign trail.” It’s always good to secure the international vote, don’t you think?
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65% of Germans said they’d vote for him.

But…. They can’t. (Yet. )

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Can’t? C’mon, he says he’s a citizen of the world, can’t the world vote for him? Can’t he be president of the EU?

Isn’t that what he’s running for. . .

. . . One world?

Well, true, He is stumping for a unified Jerusalem as capital of Israel, there was that Mexican cartoon featuring him atop a Democratic donkey reminiscent of Christ on Palm Sunday, and he has said he is ready to talk to Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who is compared to the devil himself. . . and there is his nickname:

“The Messiah.”

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I think he has come to seek and to save,

I mean to seek and to change

all of us, not just Americans

-- it’s not all about us.

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Yeah, besides his senior foreign policy adviser was quick to point out "The United States of America has one president. That president is George W. Bush," and "Sen. Obama will not be engaged in any way shape or form in negotiations, or policymaking or the like."
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Ya think? How modest of them to say so.

How, exactly, is it then, that he is promising “a new start and a new direction” for the country if he is not yet commander-in-chief? How might he deliver on that?
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I think he means when he becomes President of the EU.
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Well, the high-profile, sentimental, pretty-much-perfect photos we see are certainly persuasive. The three major networks are following his every move, he must be doing something important.

And how many network anchors met McCain on his foreign trips?

-That would be “none.”
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-Oh… but McCain's not promising that

all things will be made new.

He’s not offering a pie in the sky.
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Alice, I think I see a White Rabbit in a waistcoat carrying a watch.

I definitely see a rabbit hole.

Weekly News Digest IV

Better late than never, the news you almost missed:

1. Oregon man completes flight of fancy - in lawn chair. The link. Dude flew 200 miles in a lawn chair with helium balloons, using his "trusty BB gun" to get himself back to ground. My favorite quote: "'He came right over our pea field,' she said. 'He was coming down pretty fast.'"

2. Swedish men accused of drunken mowing. The link. Honestly, that happened in our town just a few years back. Guess it's not as rare as it used to be.

3. Moon mistaken for UFO. The link. This was reported in a phone call to Welsh police. Here's my favorite quote: "'If you've got a couple of minutes perhaps you could find out what it is? It's been there at least half an hour and it's still there.'" A recent update contained this fun quote of the police report: " Control: "Alpha Zulu 20, this object in the sky, did anyone have a look at it?" Officer: "Yes, it's the moon. Over." Look at this follow-up article if you want some more strange emergency calls, they're at the bottom of the article.

4. Woman reaches into bra, finds bat. The link. Favorite quote: "Abbie Hawkins, 19, said she initially thought her cell phone was going off when she felt vibrations in her clothes."

5. Claim: Kids who say "yuck" may be racist. The link. "The London-based National Children's Bureau released a 366-page guide counseling adults on recognizing racist behavior in young children." At last we are making some real headway with all the hate-crime research and legislation. If I can have my kid thrown in the slammer for saying "yuck" at my food, my life would be so much easier.

My New Job

I have officially resigned from The Petal Shoppe. I still have my bookkeeping jobs; I just never quite got the hang of floral design and I was offered a sweeeet job at Broadstreet Consulting.

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Here's the owner, my boss, trying to teach me the basics of web design. Now really, can web design be all that different than floral design?
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Does he look frustrated? He's really trying to get a point across. Something about a square or something. I was sidetracked thinking about getting an office with a window and maybe a cute matching desk set. I was thinking about the joys of working in my PJ's all hours of the night like geeks do and wearing a pocket protector and maybe getting me one of those blueberries.

I can't wait for my first paycheck.

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My ultimate career goal, however, is to crew a chocolate delivery vessel through the Grenadine Islands. "Prana, the chocolate ship, is a 36' wooden ketch that sails chocolate that I make in Grenada to other Grenadine Islands," claims the help wanted ad. This lovely job was brought to my attention by an article in Outside Magazine's August 2008 issue, "Like Water For Chocolate" by Eric Hansen. This is my favorite article in the whole wide world. I quite enjoy Hansen Humor.

Another appealing job is one I discovered in Cedar Rapids, that of "Debris Monitor." Doesn't this one look swell? You can't read the sign, but on his door, the bottom line reads "Debris Monitor." He's catching some rays, looking authoritative....just watching, I mean monitoring the big trucks haul off debris. But then, for you power hungry peeps, right down the road I spotted the "Debris Monitor Supervisor." Oh yeah. He got to sit inside his vehicle and read the paper. How cool is that?

Happy Birthday, Miss Pops

22 Years ago today, after 12 hours of hard labor, Patti entered the world.

Even as a child, she was so strong willed and argumentative, we knew she would be a lawyer. (she starts law school in a few weeks) She has always been the brains in the family.

P D S

Let's take us a little stroll down memory lane, shall we? . . .

She was always very appreciative of my homemade toys.

What do you think, she's maybe . . 4 here? --

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She was and still is very shy. . .

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She went through a horse phase where she was a part of the English Equestrian Circuit.

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Here's her "I love my sister" phase. . .

(this one's for you, marj)

(you're welcome)

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And her entire life has been a "Mary Kate & Ashley"phase

And there was her "student traveling through Europe" phase

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Like everyone else, she had to have her "rapper gangsta" phase, which only lasted one day. . .

Happy Birthday, Patti, it's been an awesome 22 years!!!!!

You light up my life!!

And finally, the most awesomest, best phase of all:

The Mama Phase.

Iowa is Proud to be American In the Midst of Disaster

If tomorrow all the things were gone,

I’d worked for all my life.

And I had to start again,

with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,

to be livin here today.

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,

and they can’t take that away.

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And I’m proud to be an American,

where at least I know I’m free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you

and defend her still today.

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‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land,

God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.

Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.
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From Detroit down to Houston,

and New York to L.A.

Well there's pride in every American heart,

and its time we stand and say.

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That I’m proud to be an American,

where at least I know I’m free.

And I wont forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

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And I gladly stand up,

next to you

and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain’t no doubt

I love this land,

God bless the USA.

- Lee Greenwood

The spirit of America pulls

together in times of adversity.

That was abundantly clear in

the amount of volunteers in

Cedar Rapids as well as the

amount of flags I saw flying

high and proud. I could not

photograph them all.