Like Kate, I can't resist lists. So here goes...

Copy and paste this into your own blog, if you want to participate. Then, bold the items that you’ve actually done.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (We never preformed live, and I only played bass for one song - Sweet Jane, and I don't remember how to play that song anymore, and the band broke up before I could learn anything else... oh well.)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity (Like Kate said, this one's a judgment call)

7. Been to Disneyland (only on business - yeah, you heard me right. It was a business trip.)

8. Climbed a mountain (a really small one)

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (This should be re-written to ask if you've taken a sick day when you weren't allowed to by company policy. Because I've taken lots of sick days to care for family members which is allowed. But I've never taken an illegal sick day.)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance (Actually, it was a hearse, the place where we were living was so small that they stuck a red light on top of the hearse when someone needed to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.)

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check (not for a VERY long time, I'm proud to report)

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone (it was just the very tip of one of my fingers, but it still hurt like heck)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (The speed limit was 25 and he was going faster than the speed limit.)

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Several, including the New York Times :)

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person (Another business trip.)

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Random Conversations

Here are a few things you might have overheard if only you lived with me:

~*~*~*~

M - Sweety, I want you to know I'm a bit stressed so if I'm a bit snappy I don't mean it.
E - Why?
M - We're going to be laying off some people soon and I have to figure out who I'm going to recommend we keep and who should go.
E - But I thought you said there were some people who don't do a good job.
M - Yeah, there are some folks who aren't very good at their job, but they're still people with houses and kids and I don't want to hurt them.
E - Why don't you just pick the people who don't do a good job and don't have kids.

~*~*~*~

M - I have some bad news.
E - You got laid off.
M - Yeah.
E - Oh. Well, don't worry. God takes care of everything and it will all work out.
A few seconds of silence...
E - Mom, can you buy me my own wireless lap top so I can use it in my room?

~*~*~*~

M - Would you clean up that mess! How many times do I have to ask you to put away your things.
E - You sound really stressed.
M - Yeah.
E - Don't worry mom. You are a really super lady with a great personality and you always do a fantastic job. Red Cross was really stupid to lay you off and you're going to find a job soon. Any smart company would be thrilled to have you work for them.
(The sound of a thud echos as my jaw hits the floor.)
M - Uh... well... a..., thanks. How old are you?

~*~*~*~
(The song When You Look Me in the Eye by the Jonas Brothers is playing on the car radio.)

E - Skip this song.
M - I thought you loved it?
E - Mom, this is a really stupid song.
M - But it's the Jonas Brothers. I thought you loved them.
E - Yeah, I do. But this song is just creepy.
M - It's a love song.
E - But why would they play a song like this? It's silly. I don't like it.
M - Yeah, but there are some girls who hear this song and they think Joe is singing right to them.
E - (laughing) Now that's just stupid.
M - It sells records.
E - Just to the crazy girls.

~*~*~*~

I swear this child was born in 1999. I was there when it happened.

~*~*~*~

PS - Don't tell Elizabeth, but I was sure David Cassidy was talking right to me when he sang, "You don't know how many times I wish that I could hold you..."

Just to make sure I REALLY embarrass my daughter

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

HT to Common Table Corelist

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

OMG!!!!

I've already sold my first set of postcards. How cool is that. I figured I was doing all this stuff for the heck of it. Who knew someone else would actually like it!

Creative Pursuits

Now that I'm about to be laid off - just a few more weeks to go - I'm finding that I have more free time. It's amazing how many things I used to do. Some things I completely forgot that I enjoyed.

One of those cool things is photography. But I decided to make it more than a hobby. I've opened a store on Etsy.com. It's called Desperate Dolls and you can find us as DesperateDolls.etsy.com. Let me know what ya' think!

I'm in love, Love, LOVE!!!

It uses the Maserati's strongly built steel platform with a steel upper structure designed to achieve a very high torsional rigidity. It also forms the structural base for its carbon-fiber body, this combination having been chosen for its light weight, ensuring a low center of gravity. Its lines are smooth and elegant, the result of cooperation between stylists and aerodynamicists.

The all-aluminum 90-degree V-8 engine has twin overhead camshafts per cylinder bank, driven by a single space-saving chain, four valves per cylinder and dry-sump lubrication.

Although the powerplant is also a close relative of the Ferrari 430 engine, its 5-bearing crankshaft is of the conventional 90-degree type for complete balance of first- and second-order forces. All the pressurized oil passages are part of the cylinder block and head castings, with no external lines, while the dry-sump oil system — its tank has a capacity of 10.5 liters (2.77 gal.) — ensures efficient lubrication even under the highest cornering forces. Additionally, together with the small diameter of the low-inertia twin-disc clutch, the flat crankcase bottom has made it possible to place the engine very low in the chassis for a low overall center of gravity.

We clocked 0–60 mph in 4.2 seconds and covered the quarter mile in 12.4 sec. at 115.4 mph. Driving for only a few hours, we got a rough idea about the 8C's fantastic balance and dynamic potential (it pulls 1.02g in lateral acceleration), and it is certainly among the best rear-wheel-drive cars we've ever tested.

As the 8C delivers what has been promised, we don't doubt the official Alfa figures except one — the top speed. It is listed at 181 mph, but this is probably false to keep a certain respectful distance from Ferrari. Off the record, we have been told the 8C gets close to 190 mph...

The Italians have created a legitimate sports coupe and a serious alternative to Aston Martins, BMWs and Porsches. It's a genuine GT with excellent comfort on the open road as well. Knowing that the Italian brand still resounds in the U.S., we sense there is certainly a lot of potential for Alfa Romeo's North American revival. Without a doubt, the 8C will prepare the public for other (less expensive) Alfa models to come. Alfa just announced it will build 500 versions of the 8C Spider in 2009.

Hopes Dashed

I'm at a national meeting to discuss all things quality. This morning I was very excited to see that the last speaker of the day was named Deana Croghan. Given the name, this person just had to represent the most perfect person alive. I waited all day with giddy excitement. But alas, she didn't begin to live up to her name. She was a very nice person with many fine quality observations... but she sure wasn't Deana nor was she anything close to Croghan.