lippy

Have you ever bitten the inside of your lip, and then KEEP biting it accidently whenever you eat? it's...really....annoying (and painful). I am housekeeping my office this week - color-coding files, getting rid of documents from 2005 that I"l never need (until I throw them out of course). It's all very liberating and feng-shui-like. I think I'll buy a plant over the weekend and name it Hank.

Green Tip on-a-budget tip - start your own office-recylcing effort if no one recycles office paper. I take 3 boxes from work every Friday and recycle most of it but then I always have paper available as well for my own home printer, kids' art projects (paper-mache heads!!), and paper in general. You'll actually save money on this one and your eco-concious efforts will rub-off on others (my co-workers are now very good at putting all their office paper in the recycling boxes).

b-day weekend

As far as over-30 birthdays go, this was a pretty good b-day weekend. Ran the Wichita half-marathon (started feeling the blisters that now cover my right foot at mile 6 so that was not too much fun), had brunch at Ben and Sam's (AWESOME food - like "I can't believe my luck at be-friending gourmet chefs" food), and went out for Japanese steak house last night (the kids LOVE it). We were supposed to go up for a flight with Euge but the winds were really strong and sitting on the runway in that rinky-dink plane, my gut just felt uneasy. I looked over at Eugene and I could tell he was torn about what to do. The winds were really borderline "too strong to fly" but that plane was rocking pretty good and we were still on the ground! After a few minutes and checking the weather again he looked over and said "I just don't feel comfortable". He made a good call as the "Pilot in Command" - I was pretty proud of him and really relieved this birthday wouldn't potentially be my last! haha.



running...and running....


Finishing at last!!



Behaving ourselves at the Japanese steak house


The chef putting on the show


Catch the Shrimp!


Where did it go??

Ode to Oprah

I recently started using my DVR for good things (not that Spongebob, Dora and Diego are bad but after 60 saved episodes of each it becomes turtuous). I started recording Oprah to watch after I put the kids to bed. Watching the shows again was like being re-united with a former BFF. I admit it, I LOVE the shmaltzy "we can all be winners...live your best life...accomplish your dream" shtick that she spoon feeds us every day. It's like wrapping yourself in a warm fuzzy blanket. I laugh, cry, cheer and get totally sucked in and begin living the gospel. I've followed Dr. Oz's advice and rid my fridge of foods containing sugar, enriched flour and partially hydrogenated oil. I try to "pass it on" every day and do good deeds for strangers (some days smiling politely at chronic compainers is the best I can muster), I even started believing that maybe I can accomplish my own dream of being a successfull freelance video producer/journalist, live on the ocean or in the mountains (I'm not too picky -either will do), travel the world with my pilot/rocket scientist husband and gorgeous kids during the summer, all while being deliriously happy and then featured on Oprah herself! OK, OK, I agree, a lot of it is totally fake and corny, but I've realized that Oprah's biggest appeal is that it inspires you. You see every day people doing wonderful things, and it takes a little away from the sayings "I could never accomplish that" or "what can I do? I'm only one person." It's a great escape into optimism and I always want to accomplish a little more after watching. And after retiring up to the bedroom, guess what I can read before going to sleep? You know it - the "O" Magazine!

Thrifty Green Tip: Don't idle your car - it's a myth that cars burn more gas starting up than sitting there idling. If you're waiting for someone or something, just turn the engine off. You'll save emissions, AND gas money.

Better late than never

I hawked newspapers for United Way last week outside my work. Denise Neil (a columnist at the paper) was there too, so we hung out and made the best of it. Most of the time I was there (6:30am-8am) it was dark and quiet. The DJ from Power 93FM was there too and I love how they always make it sound like there's a BIG party going on wherever they are - I mean I wanted to go there too until I realized I was there and it was just the three of us, and a random car that would try like hell to avoid eye contact until we pretty much had to jump on the hood waving like idiots. Denise just emailed me the pictures she took and I guess I'd better abandon any plans I have to do any sign-holding jobs after looking at that first picture - nice. I redeemed myself in the second picture though.

In other thoughts...Joshua's teacher asked to speak to us last week after school (uh ohhhhh), but it was good news. Seems Josh scored so far off the charts in the mandatory reading comprehension tests that he will now be spending a few hours each day with, not first graders, but SECOND graders! If you're a diligent blog reader you'll know that I predicted my son was a genius way long ago.

I watched the Travel Channel last night, which is a big deal b/c the kids take it hostage over the weekend until I'm stuck with the theme song of "Diego and Dora" stuck in my head for the rest of the week (why does Dora get only a "backpack" when Diego gets to have a "rescue pack?" - sexist). Anyways, the program showcased the natural wonders of the earth - Amazon River, the Gadaloupe Islands (spunds like that anyhow), and the world's tallest waterfalls in Venezuela - MAN I wanted to go see all of them - I'm a traveler at heart and have been fighting the desperate urge to go off travelling again. I used to go overseas every year until the kids - yes joys of my life etc etc - how can I find a job travelling and producing TV programs? ahhhh, Travel Channel! Now I need to convince Euge to move to DC - NASA's Goddard Flight Center is there, should be a cinch.

Green Tip of the Day - The Eagle did an awesome 2-page article on re-useable shopping bags (I know, everyone outside of Kansas is like "well duhhh"), but local folks - these are great. They costs under $2 each and save plastic bags from polluting lakes, or just sitting in landfills for like thousands of years (they don't desintegrate). The reuseable bags also save the energy and resrouces going into making the plsatic ones. They're stronger, save you a ton of trips back and forth unloading your groceries and they're totally hip right now - you'll be the envy of the parking lot!! Dillons Marketplace sells them now, and offers recycling for plastic bags. Just get one or two each grocery trip you make and you won't feel the cost at all.

Back in Time

As part of my "Duties as Assigned" at work, I'm working half-time at Old Cowtown Museum - It's a living history museum that's in bad need of a facelift. We had a special VIP kick-off event yesterday and I decided to have fun with it. I got help with the costume closet and dressed up in 1880's period dress. OK, if you're a good sport and a tad narcissistic like me, this is a great gig. As one of the "Townfolk" I had people approach me, get their pictures taken with me, and just smile a lot more than usual. I adhere to the Sesame Street principle of "the more we get together, the happier we'll be", so I had a great time. I was also so impressed in talking with the other real-re-enacters, how dedicated and passionate they are about the place. Most have been volunteering for like 10 years and just love it (this is like EVERY weekend without pay). I can see a little now why they love it - it's a little bit of an escape, like playing house in a make-believe little town that's life-size!. I had fun during my time there and can now say I think it's a place worth visiting - just slow down and be sure to spend some time talking to the interpreters - their knowledge and attitude are a welcome change from the hectic pace of everyday life.

Blogger's Block

I know I know...bad blogger....BAAAAD blogger...This is a great examploe of putting too much pressure on myself. I was so set to re-vamp the tired old blog, to launch the New, Improved "Dot on the Map"...To incorporate a constant theme....That I instead became overwhelmed and did nothing. Then I realized:

No one reads this stupid blog but me (oh and Jennifer - Sorry Jen!!).

My life just ISN'T that interesting.


I really don't have the time or energy needed to make this a must-read


So...if you like random thoughts, stupid pictures and random postings, this is the place for you!


Things I thought to write about this past weekend:


Web Videos: I happened to teach a series a video production workshops to our newspaper, and know that all the papers and TV news sites are jumping on the "must have video on our site" bandwagon. But I realized over the weekend that the vast majority of us still use the internet to 1. read gossip (MSN's most clicked heading), 2. watch STUPID videos, 3. find out if that icky-looking rash is really leprosy or not (God bless webMD).

Kansas State Fair: Check out the pics above. OK, word of advice to the Kansas Tourism Bureau: do NOT, I repeat NOT use the fair to profile how culturally enriched Kansas is. All I can say is 6 teeth per family (my facebook page has a great video of the pig races if you're interested).

My son and my bum: He loves it, I don't know how to handle the obsession. He'll hit it, hide behind it, laugh at it, what's the deal? I happen to think I have a pretty great booty myself - is it wrong to be flattered? Five is a very obnoxious age.

Cheap Green Tip of the Day: fill big water bottles and put them in the back of your toilet - it costs nothing, takes 15 minutes and will save you gallons of water every day.

Stay Tuned for more fascinating random thoughts!!