Category Archives: Tags

A little housekeeping

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I am quite possibly the very worst blogger when it comes to graciously accepting awards and completing tags in a timely manner.  I’m not kidding…I keep a sticky on my desktop of my “tags” and one of them dates October 28th, 2008. As in the October 28th that was nearly three months ago, yes.

You’d think that I would use these tags and awards when I have nothing to write about and I can sneak a post in, but that isn’t the case. In fact, I always have stuff to write about, it is just the time to do it that I seem to be lacking in.

Since we have returned from our holidays (and were greeted with glorious weather!) I have been on a bit of a spring cleaning kick. The house is literally shaking as I whirl through the house, on to the next rug, the next closet, the unwieldy stack of goods for donating. (Okay, maybe it isn’t so much the cleaning that is making the house shake, but more likely the little earthquake we had again last week. And let me tell you, the cats? They do not care for the earthquaking!)

So where was I? Oh, yeah…we have been spring cleaning freaks here at the house. And I need to do the same here at Chaos, too.

I am working on switching Chaos over to our own hosting site. Have hit a snag or two, but when the wrinkles get worked out I can post pretty! big! photos and also have a lot more control over how it all works and looks around here.

In the meantime, I have some really, REALLY outdated links over there on the side. See ‘em? So let’s do a little updating over there too. I have a new list of awesome friends that I regularly try to read, but maybe you have a blog and I don’t know about it – or you want to make sure to make the new list? Leave a little comment love and I’ll make sure to get you updated.

Next…that tag up there? The one from October 28th? It was from my friend Kate over at her blog My Pet…Peeve. She awarded me the “I love your blog” award. Mwah! Thanks, Kate.

And in accepting this award, I have to answer the following with one word.
Ahem…

1. Where is your cell phone?  Purse
2. Where is your significant other? Sofa
3. Your hair color? Mouse-y
4. Your mother? Crafty
5. Your father? Frugal
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Non-existent
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. The room you’re in? Living
10. Your hobby? Scrapbooking
11. Your fear? Something happening to girls
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
13. Where were you last night? Disneyland
14. What you’re not? A saint
15. One of your wish-list items?
16. Where you grew up? Michigan
17. The last thing you did? Goodnights
18. What are you wearing? Jammies
19. Your TV? Paused
20. Your pets? Kitties
21. Your computer? MacBook
22. Your mood? Content
23. Missing someone? Always
24. Your car? Empty! (Gas!)
25. Something you’re not wearing? Bra
26. Favorite store? Tar-jay
27. Your summer? Beach-y
28. Love someone? Definitely
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? 5 mins. ago
31. Last time you cried? Last week

Whew….I was almost able to do them all with one word. That is kinda hard.

Neeext. My friend Colleen tagged me to do this last week, I think. And I did take the photo when I was told- but never got it posted.

So the rules are:

1) Take a picture of yourself right NOW!
2) DON’T change your clothes, DON’T fix your hair… Just take a picture.
3) Post that picture with NO editing.
4) Post these instruction with your picture.
5)Tag 10 people to do this..

So Addie and I set up the camera – and of course she had to be in the photo because she LOVES to use the remote. So this is “our” photo, sans editing.
blog

Uh, yeah. No editing, remember? And…Yikes!

So my hair? It is in pigtails because I was on my way to spin class and that is the only way it will stay out of my eyes. I do realize it looks totally dorky, but let me repeat…it is the only way it will stay out of my eyes!

Now Addie’s hair…I’ve got nothing there. I can’t remember if this is before or after I tried to tame it. Somedays it is just better not to ask. How about we look at a photo of just her, though.

kins

Mmmm…much better. And that, my friends, is why I like to take the photos, not be in the photos.

And, one more. I was tagged on this one from Christina – and the rules on this one read:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same

So I’m going now…I just dumped all my photos to our back-up drive, so I’ll go there, the ones on my laptop are not going to be as fun, I’m sure.

And….jackpot! This beauty is from January 2006. Jam was out of town and I was trying to use the remote to take a photo of his girls to send him via email. (Since this was before he could log onto Chaos to see his girls anytime he wanted!)

girls

Would you look at the cherub-like, sweet little face on Em? She wasn’t even three yet! And the chub-a-lub of love on my lap! Those cheeks are just delicious!

*Sigh* Good times, good times.

And that I think qualifies as possibly one of my longest blog posts. But it feels soooo good to get the housekeeping done. Now I’m off to do some real laundry…

So many books, so little time.

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My lovely sis over at FourGirlsandOneBoy tagged me for a meme a few weeks ago, and well I am just now getting around to it.

You know the one – pick up the book you are reading and turn to page 123 and post the fifth sentence.

So this is my current reading stack -

books.jpg

I’m in reality only working on, or finishing up, the first five on the stack.

I just started Eat, Love, Pray, so I don’t have much to comment on yet. But the assignment for that book is:

“Our whole business therefore in this life,” wrote Saint Augustine, rather Yogically, “is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen.” Like all great philosophical ideas, this one is simple to understand but virtually impossible to imbibe.

Sounds good, eh? I think I’m going to like it.

I just finished Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama’s first book. It was very good, even if you are not an Obama fan. It is a very well-written, thoughtful and interesting book about his search for his identity, and the struggle to figure out what community he really belongs to. I really did enjoy it. He is as eloquent a writer as he is a speaker. The meme assignment for this book is:

“When the two of them withdrew to the kitchen, I would overhear Maya complaining to my mother. “Barry’s okay, isn’t he? I mean, I hope he doesn’t lose his cool and become one of those freaks you see on the streets around here.”

And I’ve been working on Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and your Children since our visit to Hawaii. It is um…interesting. I guess all of the ideas put forth in it are good in theory like, “Remember anger is just a passing state, so don’t empower it.” or “Remember angry thoughts and words are bad for your karma.” and even, “Look inward for the cause of anger so you can eliminate it.” But in practice…well, it has been nearly impossible for me to institute around here. I’ll have to write more on that another time. The meme assignment for that book:

“Even those mothers who seem to live with their soul mates concede there are phases when they “can’t get enough” of their partners followed by phases when they could “take them or leave them.” All relationships go through seasons.”

Well, duh. Right? See I don’t disagree, but I haven’t found the practical help in the book yet…but there is still plenty of book left. I’ll update on that one, I’m sure.

And then, the two triathlon books sitting there. These I did read, but I’ve kind of read them on an “as needed” basis. I did really enjoy the Slow, Fat Triathlete. Her book is very funny and pretty informative for a first-timer. The assignment for that one reads:

“Going from zero hours a week to ten or fifteen can do more harm than good, especially for the previously inactive or currently tubby among us.”

Hee. Tubby. Anyone who uses “tubby” in her book has a great sense of humor, right?

So that is what I’m reading right now. Doesn’t count my leaning tower of magazines on the other side of the table, though.

mags.jpg

I’m not tagging anyone, since I think most have done this – but leave a comment if you would like to share what reading goodies you are currently enjoying.

Preparing for the Greatest Job in Life

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I’m a sucker for these “tags.” I am not sure how exciting this is to anybody, and most of my readers, well my family and friends at least, already know my complete resume. But the mere fact that Colleen tagged me, means I cannot say no. So here are eight of the jobs I’ve either had or are currently holding down:

1. Writer and photographer, Leslie Local. The now-defunct newspaper was a 8-ish page, weekly newspaper, chock full of small-town news. I worked there throughout high school and during summers while in college.

2. Bookseller, Waldenbooks. A during college, first-married, help us get by kind-of job. Actually, I LOVED this job. Got to work around books, and people who loved books, and people who wanted to buy books. All. Day. Long. Also took advantage of the added perk of “borrowing” the books, like my own personal library. It was heavenly.

3. Marketing Specialist, D2K. My first “real” job, straight out of college. I started doing whatever the Marketing Manager needed help with; writing, planning trade shows, getting everyone coffee, etc… and then found my niche and started learning graphics programs and design, all on their time. Designed my very first website for them.

4. Art Director, LetsTalk in Miami. Eww…this was one of those jobs. Had a horrible boss, worked a ton of hours, never got the help/money/materials/resources we needed. But the title looked great on a resume and helped me to get the next job.

5. Design & Publications Manager, SF-based law firm. The law firm isn’t there anymore, but it was a pretty low-key nice job. Worked in a building right on the bay, under the Bay Bridge. It was a pretty sweet gig.

6. Creative Strategist, DigitalThink. The company has changed hands and changed names, but this is the job that I think defined me as a “professional” being. I worked with huge clients like Circuit City and Schwab and designed some pretty cool on-line training for many companies. I met most many of my SF friends and a lot of people I freelance for now at DT. It was one of those jobs that you give your “all” to, and occasionally you’ll get some recognition and satisfaction from it. I started there and was employee #12, I think, and when I left it was a publicly traded, an over 200-employee company. Pretty drastic difference, and one crazy ride. I feel very fortunate to have lived it. And happy to be done with it, as well.

7. Design Freelancer. What I’m up to “professionally” these days. I have a few long-term, regular gigs, and am constantly picking up little jobs like logos, websites and invitations. I actually really enjoy being a freelancer. It allows me to pick-and-choose what I want to do, still contribute to the family income, keep up with my skills, and manage my own time. All of which allows me to do my absolute favorite job…

8. Mommy. I really feel that doing all of #1-#7, before I had the girls, is what makes this particular “job” my favorite and makes it the job that I have been most successful at. The other jobs taught me perseverance, persistence, patience, effective communication, creativity, time management, and an appreciation for the best things in life. All of these skills get tested and used each and every day as I plunder about, trying to be Mommy to E. and A. Both of which are two very demanding clients.

But really what better job is there in the world?

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So now the rules state that I must *tag* some other bloggers. Since I have a whole bunch of friends who have recently forayed into the blogging world, I will “tag” the following and help them get some traffic, too! If you are so inclined, leave a comment letting us know you are playing along, too.

Kim
Kimmer
Michelle
DJ
Vic
Becky