I recently signed up as a writer on Helium.com. It is SO addicting! The basic premise is that you search for titles you know about and submit original writings. There is also a creative writing section for works like poems, short stories, essays, and novel exerts. Even more fun is picking a pen name! I chose Lillian Jensen.
So far, I've only submitted three writings, but I spent the better part of the afternoon collecting titles and suggesting other titles.
With so many things going on in my life, my writing had/has really suffered as of late. I hope that this will encourage me to pick it back up again. I am not overly impressed with anything I've submitted yet, but I know it will come in time.
In the meantime, you can read my work here: http://www.helium.com/users/527843/show_articles
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Pandora Woes, A Stinky House, and Phone Wars
Here it is, July 30th, just one day shy of a month, and I've officially maxed out my 40 hours of Pandora usage. For those of you who have never used Pandora, it is an internet radio. I have been an avid fan for over two years now.
With the rise in royalty rates, Internet radio companies are beginning to have to adjust the amount of listening they offer for free. Pandora has instituted a 40 hour limit per month before they give you the option of paying $0.99 for the rest of the month or upgrading to Pandora One for $36 annually.
I was fairly certain I'd hit the 40 hour limit. I listen to Pandora quite frequently as I'm working away at my desk. I listen to it at home while I do chores. I was even excited at installing the Pandora app on my iPhone (whenever I get it).
I'm surprised that I lasted almost the entire month. I've really tried to ration my usage, but it's just so hard. Many of my friends and even my own fiance are being babies about the whole thing and switching to Slacker Radio. Lame! You can't even thumbs down songs or shelf them for a month.
I still really dig Pandora. I refuse to pay for it, though. So that's my cunundrum.
Last night, the Hunk and I went to the new house to do some more painting. He had gone the night before to spray some OdorBan stuff he bought to kill the lovely cat piss smell that has permeated every surface in the house. Ripping out the old carpet has helped, but you still get a whif of it every so often. As we walked through the house last night, we didn't smell any cat! Insert dancing banana icon here! However, our happiness was smashed to smitherines shortly after we turned on the air conditioner. The house smells like cat piss. Again. The Hunk and I are very, very discouraged. Our next step is to have all of the ducts cleaned. After that, I may just burn the whole thing down. Nah, just kidding.
The Hunk is up for a possible promotion at work soon. One of the perks would be a company cell phone. He thinks he's going to go with the new Palm Pre. I also get a new cell phone whenever I make up my mind. I am considering going with Apple's iPhone, just to spite the Hunk. Is that terrible? Haha! However, as a long-time self-proclaimed Apple hater, I'm having a hard time taking the plunge. I loved my Treo, but it is dying a slow and painful death. It doesn't ring anymore, nor does it play a notification when I get more than one email simultaneously, which tends to happen a lot when you're in IT. Sigh... poor little Treo. Either one seems like a great option for a multi-tasking fiend such as myself. But yeah, I think there are going to be some major competitions arising if I get the iPhone and the Hunk gets the Pre. I am looking forward to it!
Well, all, I'm off to do some work.
Until next time,
-MFW
With the rise in royalty rates, Internet radio companies are beginning to have to adjust the amount of listening they offer for free. Pandora has instituted a 40 hour limit per month before they give you the option of paying $0.99 for the rest of the month or upgrading to Pandora One for $36 annually.
I was fairly certain I'd hit the 40 hour limit. I listen to Pandora quite frequently as I'm working away at my desk. I listen to it at home while I do chores. I was even excited at installing the Pandora app on my iPhone (whenever I get it).
I'm surprised that I lasted almost the entire month. I've really tried to ration my usage, but it's just so hard. Many of my friends and even my own fiance are being babies about the whole thing and switching to Slacker Radio. Lame! You can't even thumbs down songs or shelf them for a month.
I still really dig Pandora. I refuse to pay for it, though. So that's my cunundrum.
Last night, the Hunk and I went to the new house to do some more painting. He had gone the night before to spray some OdorBan stuff he bought to kill the lovely cat piss smell that has permeated every surface in the house. Ripping out the old carpet has helped, but you still get a whif of it every so often. As we walked through the house last night, we didn't smell any cat! Insert dancing banana icon here! However, our happiness was smashed to smitherines shortly after we turned on the air conditioner. The house smells like cat piss. Again. The Hunk and I are very, very discouraged. Our next step is to have all of the ducts cleaned. After that, I may just burn the whole thing down. Nah, just kidding.
The Hunk is up for a possible promotion at work soon. One of the perks would be a company cell phone. He thinks he's going to go with the new Palm Pre. I also get a new cell phone whenever I make up my mind. I am considering going with Apple's iPhone, just to spite the Hunk. Is that terrible? Haha! However, as a long-time self-proclaimed Apple hater, I'm having a hard time taking the plunge. I loved my Treo, but it is dying a slow and painful death. It doesn't ring anymore, nor does it play a notification when I get more than one email simultaneously, which tends to happen a lot when you're in IT. Sigh... poor little Treo. Either one seems like a great option for a multi-tasking fiend such as myself. But yeah, I think there are going to be some major competitions arising if I get the iPhone and the Hunk gets the Pre. I am looking forward to it!
Well, all, I'm off to do some work.
Until next time,
-MFW
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Difference Between Mommies and Daddies
Each morning, my fiance and I (I still need to think of a clever way to refer to him here...hmmm....) take turns either taking a shower or tending to our daughter, 'Lil Bit. There are pros and cons to both scenarios. i find that it is easier to wake up for the day when I start my day with a scolding hot shower. I get to wake up slowly and gradually. Then again, 'Lil Bit is a morning person, and she's TOO freakin' cute when she first gets up and is SO excited to make your day with a beautiful two-tooth smile. This morning, it was my turn to take a shower first and his turn to give 'Lil Bit her bottle and change her diaper.
After I was all showered and dressed, I walked into the baby's room to say good morning. She was all curled up with Daddy in the rocking chair, happily gulping down Part I of her breakfast between fits of giggles when he would tickle her toes. I kissed her forehead, then his forehead, and then I was reminded of one of the differences between mommies and daddies.
"When I came in this morning, she was standing up in her crib, staring over the side, looking at her binkies" he explained.
Now, granted, I've seen her pull up on stuff many, many times, and I have many, many pictures. Like this one:
However, in a mother's eyes, it is a huge milestone to walk into your little tyke's room, only to find them greeting you in a standing position. You can bet your arse I would have taken a picture of this happening.
The difference here is that moms have to capture every single first with photographic evidence, while dads seem content filing it away in the recesses of their memory. Why do you think it is Mom that is usually in charge of updating the baby book?
So, yeah, until I get this monumental occasion on camera, there will not be any turn taking in the morning. I will drag myself out of bed, camera in hand, and I will sneak into her room, ready to snap the picture.
Call me crazy, but it's just the difference between mommies and daddies.
After I was all showered and dressed, I walked into the baby's room to say good morning. She was all curled up with Daddy in the rocking chair, happily gulping down Part I of her breakfast between fits of giggles when he would tickle her toes. I kissed her forehead, then his forehead, and then I was reminded of one of the differences between mommies and daddies.
"When I came in this morning, she was standing up in her crib, staring over the side, looking at her binkies" he explained.
Now, granted, I've seen her pull up on stuff many, many times, and I have many, many pictures. Like this one:
However, in a mother's eyes, it is a huge milestone to walk into your little tyke's room, only to find them greeting you in a standing position. You can bet your arse I would have taken a picture of this happening.
The difference here is that moms have to capture every single first with photographic evidence, while dads seem content filing it away in the recesses of their memory. Why do you think it is Mom that is usually in charge of updating the baby book?
So, yeah, until I get this monumental occasion on camera, there will not be any turn taking in the morning. I will drag myself out of bed, camera in hand, and I will sneak into her room, ready to snap the picture.
Call me crazy, but it's just the difference between mommies and daddies.
Monday, July 27, 2009
A Word About Band-Aids
As I said in my introductory post, I had to go to the pharmacy last night. Normally, I wouldn't blog about such a mundane event. However, there were a couple of funny caveats to this particular occurrence of said normally mundane event.
It was around 9:00pm last night when my darling hunk of a fiance came through the front door, holding a terry cloth towel wrapped around his finger. He had been at our new house, ripping up old carpet. See, we purchased a house in mid-June that needed new carpet, lots of paint, and just a ton of help in general. Fun times.
Of course, it isn't every day you see your fiance dripping with sweat, not because of the physical labor required to rip up carpet but because he feels like he's going to pass out from loss of blood, so I was instantly a little bit worried just looking at the blood stained cloth and his pale face. It's funny that I can watch shows on the Discovery Health Channel and think they are cool, but if I see a tiny bit of blood coming out of someone I remotely care about, I get a bit nervous.
I sat him down on the couch and brought him a glass of ice water. He asked me for a band-aid. Now, as any mom knows, band-aids should be a staple in any household, right? Would you believe that I did not have ONE SINGLE band-aid?! Immediately, I was stressed out. It's funny what things trigger stress in this MFW.
I grabbed some keys and hopped in the car, speeding down the road... to buy band-aids. Luckily, I did not get pulled over.
But....
As I pulled up the CVS, there was a homeless guy sitting outside the door, asking for change. Instead of asking me for spare change, he asked, "Ma'am, is everything ok? You look like someone is about to die." "Sorry! Can't talk now. MUST.BUY.BAND-AIDS!"
He was quite nice. Oh, and did you know there are Band-Aids with antibiotic cream built in? How handy is that?!
After picking up the band-aids, I went over to the house to turn off lights. And as I opened up the garage door, this is what I saw:
What a mess! I mean, really, it's a good thing we're making some real progress on getting everything finished, but wow... this is one thing that band-aid of any sort, literal or figurative, won't fix.
The good news is that my house is now stocked with band-aids of all shapes and sizes. Crisis averted.
Until next time,
-MFW
It was around 9:00pm last night when my darling hunk of a fiance came through the front door, holding a terry cloth towel wrapped around his finger. He had been at our new house, ripping up old carpet. See, we purchased a house in mid-June that needed new carpet, lots of paint, and just a ton of help in general. Fun times.
Of course, it isn't every day you see your fiance dripping with sweat, not because of the physical labor required to rip up carpet but because he feels like he's going to pass out from loss of blood, so I was instantly a little bit worried just looking at the blood stained cloth and his pale face. It's funny that I can watch shows on the Discovery Health Channel and think they are cool, but if I see a tiny bit of blood coming out of someone I remotely care about, I get a bit nervous.
I sat him down on the couch and brought him a glass of ice water. He asked me for a band-aid. Now, as any mom knows, band-aids should be a staple in any household, right? Would you believe that I did not have ONE SINGLE band-aid?! Immediately, I was stressed out. It's funny what things trigger stress in this MFW.
I grabbed some keys and hopped in the car, speeding down the road... to buy band-aids. Luckily, I did not get pulled over.
But....
As I pulled up the CVS, there was a homeless guy sitting outside the door, asking for change. Instead of asking me for spare change, he asked, "Ma'am, is everything ok? You look like someone is about to die." "Sorry! Can't talk now. MUST.BUY.BAND-AIDS!"
He was quite nice. Oh, and did you know there are Band-Aids with antibiotic cream built in? How handy is that?!
After picking up the band-aids, I went over to the house to turn off lights. And as I opened up the garage door, this is what I saw:
What a mess! I mean, really, it's a good thing we're making some real progress on getting everything finished, but wow... this is one thing that band-aid of any sort, literal or figurative, won't fix.
The good news is that my house is now stocked with band-aids of all shapes and sizes. Crisis averted.
Until next time,
-MFW
What I Am
Greetings! Welcome to the new digs! I hope you enjoy your stay. After much pestering from friends, I've decided to go public with my crazy antics, ridiculous aspirations, and helpful tidbits of information on how to properly be domesticated.
Yesterday, while on the way home from the pharmacy (more on that later), Edie Brickell's "What I Am" came on the radio, and I thought, "Wow, what a perfect thing to ponder for my introductory blog post." So... yeah...here goes!
I am the typical multi-faceted woman. You see many of us walking down the street, perusing library shelves, grabbing a latte at Bucky's (and stashing the receipt in the trash so our significant others don't figure out that we are STILL spending way too much money on coffee), taking kiddos to Story Time at Barnes and Noble (hey, there's a Bucky's! How convenient!), picking up dry cleaning, taking classes, applying a new shade of lipstick... you name it, we're there. We're the career-minded, organizationally gifted, Super Moms and Super Significant Others. Or so it seems. On the outside, we look almost super human. Our hair is brushed, our clothes are not wrinkled, our kids are well-fed, well-dressed, and semi-well-mannered. But how do we do it?
For me, it is having the support of my wonderful fiance and knowing that I am not defined by how clean my kitchen is, how often I get my hair cut (wow, it's been quite a while...), or even how many times I've been promoted. It's finding the short-cuts where you can, but it is also not skimping on things you shouldn't.... like serving take-out on your finest china on a table set nicely with a real table cloth, fresh flowers, and maybe even a candle or two. You don't have to cook, yet you feel like the meal is special because the kid is in bed, and it's just you and your partner, munchin' on some chinese from Master Wok.
The truth is, we get by. We do the best that we can each day, and we've learned to settle for that. Some days it doesn't seem to be enough. Some days, I think to myself, "Gosh, I have about five more things on my to-do list that I really should do before I get to bed." Other days it's, "Today was hella productive! I am THE multi-faceted woman!"
If you look up the word faceted, the all-knowing Google will tell you that a facet is "a tiny surface polished onto a rough diamond that gives a finished diamond its shape. The way light interacts with these facets affects a diamond's brilliance and sparkle."
I think the same is true for women. We're "polished" - domesticated if you will - until we have so many surfaces that it is hard to see them all at once. But if they're polished in just the right fashion, the result is one fabulous diamond of a woman.
Until next time,
-MFW
Yesterday, while on the way home from the pharmacy (more on that later), Edie Brickell's "What I Am" came on the radio, and I thought, "Wow, what a perfect thing to ponder for my introductory blog post." So... yeah...here goes!
I am the typical multi-faceted woman. You see many of us walking down the street, perusing library shelves, grabbing a latte at Bucky's (and stashing the receipt in the trash so our significant others don't figure out that we are STILL spending way too much money on coffee), taking kiddos to Story Time at Barnes and Noble (hey, there's a Bucky's! How convenient!), picking up dry cleaning, taking classes, applying a new shade of lipstick... you name it, we're there. We're the career-minded, organizationally gifted, Super Moms and Super Significant Others. Or so it seems. On the outside, we look almost super human. Our hair is brushed, our clothes are not wrinkled, our kids are well-fed, well-dressed, and semi-well-mannered. But how do we do it?
For me, it is having the support of my wonderful fiance and knowing that I am not defined by how clean my kitchen is, how often I get my hair cut (wow, it's been quite a while...), or even how many times I've been promoted. It's finding the short-cuts where you can, but it is also not skimping on things you shouldn't.... like serving take-out on your finest china on a table set nicely with a real table cloth, fresh flowers, and maybe even a candle or two. You don't have to cook, yet you feel like the meal is special because the kid is in bed, and it's just you and your partner, munchin' on some chinese from Master Wok.
The truth is, we get by. We do the best that we can each day, and we've learned to settle for that. Some days it doesn't seem to be enough. Some days, I think to myself, "Gosh, I have about five more things on my to-do list that I really should do before I get to bed." Other days it's, "Today was hella productive! I am THE multi-faceted woman!"
If you look up the word faceted, the all-knowing Google will tell you that a facet is "a tiny surface polished onto a rough diamond that gives a finished diamond its shape. The way light interacts with these facets affects a diamond's brilliance and sparkle."
I think the same is true for women. We're "polished" - domesticated if you will - until we have so many surfaces that it is hard to see them all at once. But if they're polished in just the right fashion, the result is one fabulous diamond of a woman.
Until next time,
-MFW
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