Picasa Photos

Yay! I've been invited by Picasa to start using the beta version of their web based photo albums! And wouldn't ya know it, just a few weeks after I became a Flickr Pro member. Anyways, just an FYI since I felt like I won the lottery or something.

Water water everywhere!

As I type this, we're relaxing our butts off at the Great Wolf Lodge in PA. It's a log cabin style resort with a HUGE indoor waterpark--water chutes, a wave pool, swimming pools and tons of comfortable fun for the family. I really really like it.

We're only staying for one night this time since it's a bit pricey, but maybe next year we'll try for two.

Cluttered footwear

It's a nonresolving issue (Get it? Iss-shoe? :-)) day after day. I organize and clean it all up, yet still chaos manages to rule the shoe shelves. And so I'm currently brainstorming a way to make it is easy to neatly don out of our sneakers, flip-flops and feet what nots without making such a mess. And all without bending over. Is it possible? (Hell no!) Well I'll try anyway. Here's to hope. Stay tuned for a future snapshot of a better catalogued collection.

Another jerkoff statement from the big guy

"Ages of experience have taught us that the commitment of a husband and a wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society," Bush said in his Saturday radio address. "Marriage cannot be cut off from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening this good influence on society." -- George Bush (radio address, June 3, 2006)

Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh-choooo-bullshit!

Sorry, I have a cold.

To Do List: post family pics

Okay, I'm on the very verge of finally posting our family pics online. I just need to weigh the pros and cons of using our domain name webspace versus flickr.com's service, yahoo photos and the like (e.g., privacy/anonymity, spiders, hackers, user interfaces, fees, etc). Any advice would be appreciated.

Biking in CT

A done deal at the Bloomin' Metric bike tour in Norwalk, CT. It was definitely a fun ride, but in a masochistic, exasperating, heart-attacking sort of way. Hills, hills and more hills. Talk about lactic acid city! At some fork early along the route was a sign that pointed in two directions: a right arrow toward the 75k ride and a left arrow toward the max 100k ride. So we stopped, thought and talked a little, and then went left. A long 100k or bust.

I loved the tour. I think it'll be an annual tradition.

Ride on!

Mom's Day plug

If it were my day, I'd want the The Mighty Bright Triple LED Telescoping Book Light. Well, it wasn't my day, but I bought it anyway, actually yesterday at Waldenbooks in the mall. I'm getting tired of spending money for ebooks when there's a plethora of free books to be had at the library. And since I do much of my reading (which in truth is very little) in the dim, this portable LED book light does the job eons better than the 'bulb' type that I have. Plus, my new light is a hit with little Miguel as a flashlight, doubles as a metal-cutting laser, does text messaging, is iPod compatible, has force field and death ray settings, serves as a portable tanning booth and runs on nuclear fusion trilithium everlasting crystalite batteries. Sshhhh!

Happy Mother's Day!
xxxooo

Bike tour

This morning, I signed up for the Bloomin' Metric Bike Ride in Norwalk, CT. I'll be doing the ride on May 21st with three of my cycling homeboyz. We haven't decided yet, but I think we'll be doing the 75k distance. Hopefully, it should be a nice scenic tour. We'll only be there for the day and hope to be back home by early afternoon.

Ride on, dudes!

I'm a big girl now.

"It's okay, Daddy. I know where to go."
"You sure, sweetie?"
"Yes."

And off running toward the school doors little Tina went. I had brought my camera thinking we'd get a little daddy & daughter self-portrait within the school just before I'd give her my hugs and goodbye-for-the-day kisses. No such luck. Just a quick peck on the cheek and a trailing "I love you too, Daddy" yell as she darted away. At least I managed to shoot a pic before she made it inside.

Here's to another growth plateau reached. (sigh)

Overachievement

"I don't mean to sound like a late-night self-help infomercial, but to stay focused you need standards--something to measure your day-to-day progress by. And in this, as in all things, happiness is my yardstick. You can use what you like, by all means, but I highly recommend happiness. If I'm happy in a comprehensive, contented way, then I'm doing things right. If something is bad for my skiing but good for my general happiness, I give more weight to the latter. I recognize that there are things I enjoy--certain people, beer, and fast cars--that are not directly beneficial to my sport. Still, they make me happy. And that's all there is to it."
--Bode Miller (Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun)

* * *

Alright, so I'm a hopeless self-help book fan. I've gone through The One-Minute Manager, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, In Pursuit of Excellence, the Tony Robbins series, The Now Habit, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, yadda yadda yadda. And this evening, I just finished Overachievement by John Eliot. And of course, I'm all gung ho and pumped up and I highly recommend this latest installment--yeah, whatever; my fervor being the immediate result of my pep rally reading. As usual, let's see how long it lasts.

Ever since highschool, I've thought often about all the mumbo jumbo on self-improvement, the meaning of life and the search for true happiness and passion. Like who hasn't. Anyway, tonight I feel like there's something new right on the tip of my thingy nose that can propel me a bit of a ways forward in my daily attitude for the better. Makes sense? Like I'm on the verge of a eureka moment that can lift me out of bed daily feeling passionate about life. Well, at least for a week. I feel it right in front of me. Some kind of 'happy' cloud. Right there.

Nah, it's probably just the book. And a little spring fever.

Ohhhh Melinda! ;-)