Christmas lights...

I don't normally put up Christmas lights outside. Last year we strung some along the gutters (downstairs). Well this year I was encouraged to light the tree and the bushes... it is not quit done yet but I would have to say it looks nice.

Of course gram is worried about the lights catching on fire and even though there is not a cloud in the sky, she says it is going to rain and of course it will all short out. Well having never done outside lights I am not sure what will happen, but I am willing to give it a try.

Merry Christmas!!!

Lupini...

Tonight I stopped at the local market and picked up a few things and found something that truly reminded me of my childhood. I found a jar of lupini. It is a bean that is placed in a salt solution. They are actually quite good (once you acquire a taste for them).

But the taste, the smell reminded me of my father. He would buy them at the corner Italian store; and at night when we watched TV, he would go get some and place them in a little bowl and he would sit in his big chair and we would sit around him and we would share them... boy how time passes by; and how quickly it comes flooding back... lupini.

Computers...

Well I decided that I am going to stop bringing work home to do each night, so tonight that is what I did. But a new problem popped up that took up my time... My outlook went berserk. I spent the evening trying to fix the Outlook problem.

In a nutshell here it is... I went to outlook and was getting ready to go over my mail for the day and noticed that my inbox was full of junk mail, so I selected all of the files and hit delete, I received a message that the folder can not be opened. Outlook will not open at all now, when I try I get a message that says bah, bah, bah...
Use the inbox repair tool to diagnose and repair errors in the file. My question... Where the hell is the inbox repair tool? I have searched and searched but can not find it, and if it is in Outlook I cannot get to it. Well another fun night with the computer.

Thought for the day...

As we work for the end of the semester success is a word that comes to mind so here is the thought for the day...

Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.
George Sheehan

Back to Work...

Well today we are all back to work after a very nice, relatively long holiday weekend. I don't know about you, but it was hard for me to get back in the groovy. I need a few more days off.

Christmas is here....

Well today, actually tonight; Christmas began in my house. Gram and Tony really don't have any idea yet but when they awake, they will see and smell Christmas.

I like decorating for Christmas; as I hung the bulbs and untangled the lights, I kept hearing Joy to the World in my head. I plan to finish up the house decorations tomorrow when I can make a little noise and maybe get a little help, but it is nice to see the tree anyway.

I like decorating right after Thanksgiving because Christmas comes so quickly, you hardly have time to enjoy. This way, you can start celebrating even before December actually gets here.

Merry Christmas.

New Versions

Well i have just spend the last couple of hours working through some exercises for the new 2007 Access. I would have to say that these programs are getting so sophisticated that most people (I know) will never use a third of the ability of this program.

Do we really need this or is it just change for the sake of change?

Well on our way...

The weather outside is crisp, cold and frosty. And the shopper have officially began the shopping thing; we are here... the season is upon us.

Thankfulness

I am thankful for the life the Lord has given me. I am Thankful for my Tony, my Andrea and my Chris. Friends and family are good for life and i am thankful the ones I have.

Stuff It...

As my daughter and I prepared to cook this Thanksgiving we both noticed that they have turkeys that are already stuffed. Yes, you do nothing but cook the bird. Oh my goodness who would go for this option?

Well about an hour ago I got things ready for later, you see I stuff late at night and cook my turkey all night. So I prepared all my stuff (not stuffing :o]) so it would be easier tonight. One of the tasks I completed was the cleaning of the bird. After 35-40 minutes of pulling gunk out of this supposedly clean bird, the thought of just taking and baking was rather disgusting.

I like the time consuming, good old fashion way. Yay! Turkey Day!!!

The Zone...

We have entered the zone... we are within hours of the Christmas shopping season. This seems to be a bigger and bigger deal each year and everyone tries to open earlier and earlier.

I laughed when I heard that Kohls is opening a 4:00AM, 4:00 in the morning AM, that is crazy. But I heard one better then that... The Outlet Mall near our home is opening at midnight Thanksgiving evening, yes oh yes. And they are going to be open all night, with a drawing every 30 minutes. The prizes are of enough value that it is enticing enough to get even people like me to think about going. They are giving away, big screen TV's, computers, IPODs great stuff. Of course you have to be present to win.

What a concept, I think the outlet mall wins.

Giving thanks for time off

Well tomorrow is Tuesday and the last day of work (well at my job at least). I am thankful for the time off... I get Wednesday Thursday and Friday and the weekend yay!!!!

I am so looking forward to kicking back and relaxing and perhaps putting up the Christmas decorations. I will spend a few hours on school work, but overall, I plan on relaxing and enjoying myself.

Shopping....

Well I just read my daughters blog, where she talked about her recent shopping experience. I had to laugh because we share the same feelings about the event.

I have to work up to shopping for Christmas, when it finally comes I am ready to go but I can only sustain that action for a few weeks and then after christmas... I don't want to shop for a long, long time. I don't care how great the sale are.

The Holidays...

Holidays are a special time to me. I was thinking about it today; and thought, it is not because of how others make me feel or what others do or say, but it is what I feel inside, deep inside.

A happy that comes from the inside out.

Observation...

I was passing a Jr high today and noticed a group of girls in GYM class, walking and chatting around a track. I watched as the teacher (coach) prodded them to keep moving, boy times have changed.

As I watched them I had flashbacks of my jr high days, I remember running (not even jogging), running around the track several times until I felt like my legs were going to fall off. And if you cut in front of the back stop (you know a short cut) you would have to take another lap.

No wonder this generation is so obese, their exercise level is close to nothing.

Interesting Venue...

I was in a meeting the other day and over heard faculty talking about My space and other sites like that. One of the comments that made was that not only kids (or young people) but potential employers frequent this place and look and see what type of person they are looking to hire. A very interesting concept.

They also said that they rate instructors and all kinds of stuff like that. Well my interest was peaked so I logged on tonight and surfed a little. I found my college and was interest in what was said about my fellow colleagues and of course what they said about my teaching style.

Well the comments about me were favorable, but more interesting then that was that as I looked over the list and saw the ratings and checked the comments, I would have to say that I agree with most (if not all) of the comments. Most of the time, the students were right on.

my division did extremely well I must say. As division chair, I was pleased.

Happy, Happy Birthday...

Well today, November 14th is my sweeties birthday. Happy Birthday sweetheart and many, many more.

Brain dead...

Well this is the time in the semester when the students all seem to go brain dead, the I just want to be done syndrome. Well I have a bit of news for you, the students aren't the only ones that feel that way, instructors do too.

That time that we often get (in education) is much needed, a time to reflect, to re-group and refresh. I love being in the school system. I love my job and I love my time off.

Happy Birthday Brother

Well today November 12 is my brothers birthday, well he would have been 56 today. You see, he passed away Feb 3 of this year. A massive heart attack. I was reflecting on the last year of events and... and well we still feel the pain and emptyiness of the whole event. odd as it may seem, we think more of him now then when he was alive and well and with us.

Lesson learned.

Happy Birthday Brother.

I missed a day...

Yes I missed a day of blogging yesterday; well it was not my fault... Well it wasn't. We had some rain, although I don't think it was the storm, I think someone hit a pole or something like that.

You see if it was raining really hard, I would not be on the computer, but with a mild mist I was still on the computer down loading pictures. And then right in the middle of everything BLACKOUT. We were without power for over a hour and 1/2. Any way, I fell asleep and there you have it... no blog for Sunday 11/11/07. So In the spirit if the month... I am back dating this blog.

Thought for the Day...

Nothing great was ever accomplished without Enthusiasm.

Computers are Evil...

Well I have just spent the better part of the evening trying to install a rather simple download from the Internet. And of course it DIDN'T work.

I have always had a love/hate relationship with computers and that is still the case. Yes I know you are saying... you are a computer instructor and that is true... but I don't have to like them do I???

I am amazed at what it can do, like... allowing my son to just take control (with my permission) of my computer from yes hundred of miles away. Amazing to say the least well, maybe a better word would be spooky. But even an expert like my son cannot fix this pain in the butt software problem (well so far).

I give up, for tonight after all, tomorrow is another day :) nite all. But rule to remember... Computers are Evil.

Long week

It has been a really long work week; battles to fight and things to be done. I am glad it is Friday (soon) and I only work a 4 day work week.

Thought for the Day...

PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort.
Paul Meyer

Focus or re-focus

Well I have sat in meetings all day today. Literally from 8:00 to 5:15 with 45 minutes for lunch. That makes for a long, long day. I have to say that it is a good thing for instructors to do from time to time to get the feeling of what the students goes through each day in our classes.

So this post fits (I think).

FOCUS
Your life should be focused on what's important, not what needs to be done.
anonymous

Christmas Coming Earlier This Year?

I like Christmas and the Christmas season. I think mostly everyone is kinder and friendly and there is just a genuine happy feeling this time of year.

But I don't know about you, but I think that the merchants are starting the holiday season earlier and earlier each year; and this year have gone too far. It is not even Halloween and the Christmas stuff is out. I had to laugh... we have a new Target and we went in to look around and literal Halloween stuff on one isle and Christmas stuff on the next... weird wouldn't you say.

When will it end??? Will we be starting the Christmas season on Labor Day soon?

9 months

Well I just watched the video of my brother, because just the other day Nov 3 it was 9 months my brother passed away; it seems like just yesterday. It is still hard to believe and it still makes me feel like I was punched in the gut.

It really is strange because we really didn't see him often, but knowing he is gone... it creates a big emptiness. We think of you often and it helps us to remember how short life really is and well it makes us re-evaluate how we spend our energy here in this life.

Love U miss U Alvin.

an Oxymoronic Event

Twice a year I switch my summer and winter clothes; and today was the day. I spend the afternoon putting away my summer clothes and taking out my winter clothes. Well as I was doing this… I was sweating; I was sweating because it was hot.

There is something Oxymoronic about sweating while you are taking out the winter wardrobe, don’t you think?

Blog Month

Well as much as i like to blog, I have to say it has taken a back seat to work... well life in general. So I think I will take the challenge to blog everyday this month.

Well an update on the weather. I thought that when the cool weather began this week that all we would see would be winter like weather. Well... I was wrong. Actually this week, we have had rain, fog, and sunshine; temperatures in the 40's and 50's and in the 70's and 80's. so if I know anything I know that I don't know what the weather will be doing.

Happy November 2nd.

Update on mom

Well my mother has been battling ovarian cancer. And is doing her second round of Chemo. This time around the treatments have been knocking her down more them last time. But today we got some good news, her CA 125 marker is down in the normal range. YEAH!!!!

Just to put this in perspective... When she was first diagnoised her CA125 marker was 680. After surgery and 6 chemo treatments we got it back down to the normal range (0-35). Then a few months ago she was tested and her count was 79, then 2 weeks later it was 96, then a week later it was 117; so we knew that the cancer was on the war path again. But we are thankful that with this blood test (CA125) we can keep a check on the active cancer cells.

Oh yes, the blood test last week revealed that her marker is back in the normal range... she is 29.4.