Mommy Snack vs. Daddy Snack

As he does every morning, Zane asked for a "snack and a drink". So, I got him a sensible snack of milk and a breakfast bar. He asked me for goldfish and cheezits. He always asks for that. Or bar-ga-cue chips. I try to avoid those snacks in the morning. I told him he needed to eat his breakfast bar and then maybe later. He didn't like that answer. Here is Mommy's snack for Zane:

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Then, I went to the bathroom, leaving him with Kevin, who, in his defense, had been out smoking or something when this conversation with Zane happened. When I returned, THIS is what Zane had:


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Oh Sagges.

~t

Zane, with Dirt and Fence

We got our fence put up in the front yard! It's so exciting. It's the first perimeter to be secured. We can now let Zane and Lukie run wild, and is it fun ever. There are also little piles of dirt that Zane likes to play scoop. Check out these pics...

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Caspian also is enjoying, the new perimeter-secured front lawn.


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He's always good for an action shot. Here's one from Zane:


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Looks like a fun summer will be had here. We even had some wandering minstrels walk up with a dog, a guitar, and a harmonica. How 'bout that. (Nastacia, her name was Nastacia. And Jesse. And the other dude. There, now even if I forget it, I can find it. I hope.)

~t

Zane, with Dirt and Fence

We got our fence put up in the front yard! It's so exciting. It's the first perimeter to be secured. We can now let Zane and Lukie run wild, and is it fun ever. There are also little piles of dirt that Zane likes to play scoop. Check out these pics...

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Caspian also is enjoying, the new perimeter-secured front lawn.


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He's always good for an action shot. Here's one from Zane:


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Looks like a fun summer will be had here. We even had some wandering minstrels walk up with a dog, a guitar, and a harmonica. How 'bout that. (Nastacia, her name was Nastacia. And Jesse. And the other dude. There, now even if I forget it, I can find it. I hope.)

~t

Colors

Zane knows his colors now. HOW did it happen? For so long, he just didn't get it. Of course, he watched oodles of TV. And I worked on it with him a little. Maybe it happened while I was at work. And then, one day, he just knows them. Whew. He is so smart, but he just wasn't getting it. And now he does. I often wonder, "HOW will I teach him (fill in the blank)" only to find out later that it somehow just happens. They just learn it. Kids aren't that much work in that way, it seems. They are plenty of work in other ways, but it seems, thankfully, some things just happen. Whew, I say. Whew.

~t

Luke, Stud

We are not sure if Luke will be an actual stud or not. We have not gotten him fixed yet, so there is a chance. However, he is our little stud now that we got his hair cut. It was so overdue. Just check out this "before" pic:

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Here he is having it done. (You know I like haircut pics)


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And here he is after. Whew. He seems to like being able to see. Go figure.


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He seems a little like a "teenage" dog now. His whole demeanor has changed. He is clearly proud of himself, as well he should be. What a cutie. They grow up so fast. I can't say I'm sad that he's growing up. Some of that puppy stuff was tough. He's easier now. But still so freakin' cute!

~t

The Fortress is Going Up

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The posts are in and the fortress is about to be secured. Well, actually, those are just settling before the fence dudes can come back to cut them down to their proper 4-foot size for our cute little white picket fence. We are getting some funny looks from the neighbors and general passersby, though.

Soon, we will be able to enclose the toddler and the dog and let them run around like maniacs in the yard. Yaaaaayyy!

(All of this during Mercury Retrograde, too. Oh dear. Wish us luck.)

~t

PPP Direct

The good folks at PayPerPost have come up with yet another way for bloggers and advertisers to make the most of the blog marketplace. If you like to use your blog to make money, PPP Direct could be for you.

Basically, PayPerPost is taking the middleman (THEM!) out of the equation. This is an opportunity for advertisers to request specific bloggers and bloggers to request specific fees for their services.

Pretty cool. How does it work?

Basically, you pick your price and install a badge on your site stating it. When potential advertisers click it, they are taken to PayPerPost to work out the deal.

What's in it for the blogger?

Yes, you could hammer out some of these deals yourself, but you gain some valuable perks by going through PayPerPost. Mostly, it's easy to use, you gain marketing through the PPP directory, you automatically have tax reporting done, and there is more security than hashing out deals completely on your own.

This has been done before, you say? Why choose PPP?

The main reason here is simple. Cold, hard cash. While competitors charge 50-100% markup and keep money that could be yours, PayPerPost charges only 35% for their self-service model. This passes the money on to the blogger and allows the advertiser to get more for their money. Everybody wins.

~t

Campaign 2007: Vote for Not Martha

I'm not really into politics. You might even say I'm decidedly NOT into politics. But I am into my friends. You may remember back a few months ago when this blog was so boring and looked like many other blogs out there. Now it does not. And that is thanks to my buddy Retta. Now, I'm campaigning for her to win a free soda machine. She so deserves it. She's very generous with her time and talents even though she has four, count them FOUR sons. Yes, four. They need less sugar. Go vote for her: VOTE.

~t

TheNewsRoom

I just "mashed" my first news story! Not only was it totally free, it was also quite easy. I have been looking at expanding the content on Musings, and I really like the idea of mashing select news stories. I think it's a great way to use your blog to create a difference as well. In general, I think the news focuses a little too much on tragedy, so I liked this story about Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London making a new "green" (aka environmentally friendly) version of Prince Charles. I visited Madame Tussaud's back in '96, and I loved it. (Of course, it might have been more environmentally friendly, just to leave the old one. But hey, I still give 'em credit.)

So, how did I accomplish my cool news mashing? I used The News Room. Not only do they provide relevant, timely news, but you also can make money via advertising with CPM starting at $1. Nice. There's tons of video and content choices and you can earn prizes like vacations, electronics, and cars just for participating. The choices are conveniently organized by category so you can find the type of news that will fit your blog best. Categories include: US, Local, World, Business, Politics, Health, Sci-Fi, Entertainment, Sports, Life, Press Releases, Reference, and Campaign 2008, for all you politicoes out there. (My story was from the Life section.) You can also mash it from my blog, too. Cool.

Check it out!

~t

Zane's New Bike

So, we got Zane this super cool new type of bike. I hear it's European. There are no training wheels. It is not a tryke. And there are no pedals! It's supposed to help him find and keep his balance. He's pretty good at balancing when he's climbing and jumping and dancing, so we'll see how he does with this. Here are some pics...

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Apparently, they are called push bikes, walking training bikes, or walking bikes. Here is one I found on Amazon that Zane seems to wish he had:



The reviews on this one were pretty good. And it's cute, too. We got one of the wooden ones that was more like this (although not quite this spendy)...



~t

Kevin is weird day (like this is anything new).

So, I'm in the process of watching The Queen. I like it a lot. It's very interesting from many perspectives. Then Zane woke up and I had to go get him. When we came back downstairs, this is what greeted us:

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So, the movie is giving me new respect for Queen Elizabeth II. Sorry for posting this picture, Your Majesty, but I could not resist. (I'm wondering if Kevin is related to the royals at all?)

t

Haircut Day!

Here are Zane and I with our new haircuts. Kevin got one also, but he is being picky about it. It looks great. Caspian wants to get moppy again, so he didn't get one. Luke will be next. That will be fun.

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~t

A Published Author

Kevin will soon be a published author! In fact, he has already been paid for the print and e rights to his story, Beef. The story is going to be appearing in a coming edition of All Possible Worlds. (We're not sure exactly when, yet. But don't worry, we'll tell ya!) It's the start of great things. YAY, Kevin!!!

~t

Hey, Kevin made a video!

Apparently, the boys were out hippie-ing around today while I was hard at work. Hrmph. How did I end up the conservative in this deal? Oh well, at least they got some cute pictures and a video. I like to call these shots, "Daddy should not dress me in this black t-shirt again until I get a haircut on Friday." The natural quasi-mullety way his hair grows in with the black t-shirt is somewhat questionable for me stylewise, but he's still just so freakin' cute. I think he can get away with it.

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Here is Zane's first music video: (Seems the quality on this puppy is questionable. I thought it was just youtube, so I put it on dropshots, but still no dice. Sorry. It is still good for meditative purposes.)


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I like blogging.

~t

What I'm Reading

After watching The Secret, I've been enjoying getting back into some of my personal development and metaphysical studies. I always feel the best when I'm practicing this stuff. The new book I'm reading is Your Destiny Switch by Peggy McColl. It's all about using the power of your emotions to create the life of your dreams. It's got some great exercises to help harness that power and stay "switched on" to a more positive, successful, productive, abundant, connected, joyous, and loving way of life. Good stuff.



~t

Aloha

I've been working now for about 3 1/2 months. Honestly, when I write that down, it seems ridiculous to me. It feels like much longer. It feels like so much longer. I have begun to dream of tropical vacations. My dear friend Bonnie raves about Hawaii, Kauai specifically. Now that I'm on the West Coast, it somehow seems much more doable to go to Hawaii. Also, it's relatively easy to get a great Kauai Vacation Condo.

Even better, by taking advantage of a Kauai Vacation Condo opportunity, tourists are participating in the growing field of ecotourism. The focus in ecotourism is on nature, culture, and benefiting the local community of the place toured. Now that's tourism I can really get behind. And if I get a fabulous vacation at an affordable price in a sweet Hawaiian condo, all the better.

This site linked above is cool because it makes it easy to search for homes, condos, or hotels based on your destination, dates, price range, and number of guests. Check it out!

~t

Hey, I made a video!

Well, it's not my best work, but I thought I'd capture my little tyke on video since we hadn't in a while. He has been growing like crazy, talking all the time, and in general, just being too smart for anyone's own good. Lately, I've just been working--ho hum. I've been losing weight again--Yay--but not having a whole heckuva lot of time for blogging--boo. I think I will always write in this new format I'm creating--not. (Collective sigh of relief from my 10 readers.)

I've been trying to think of all the cute and funny things Zane has been saying and doing lately and I just can't! Oh dear. I'm worse at doing a baby book than I thought I would be. I gave up the baby book so soon, but I tried to make myself feel better, because what was my blog but a big ole baby book? Well, heck. Oh well. Let's hope the Akashic Records is getting all of this. Don't know what I mean? Here's the great thing about the Internet--I'm not going to explain it to you. Go Google it. Ha. Ok, obviously I'm sassy tonight. I'm hoping I have now babbled long enough that I can go grab my code from youtube. Hang on. Dang, only at 80%. What else can I tell you?

I've been working on manifesting wealth. And freedom. I dig freedom. Kevin is watching some dumb thing on TV that I don't want to watch. Ugh. I hate it when I don't want to hang out in my living room because there is some dumb thing on TV. In general, that's most of the time, unfortunately. TV is ok, but in general, I find it annoying.

Now, here's Zaaaaaaane...



(He doesn't say much, but he looks cute. I'll try to get a more stellar conversation next time. Babies. You just never know.)

(Ok, I know he's not REALLY a baby anymore. But he likes to be called one, and he'll probably be my only, so I'm stretching it out. So sue me.)

~t

Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Time for a little bit of fun. I'm not sure I really agree with this, although much of it rings true. I *wish* my house were neat.

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Thanks go out to Suemary. I got this from her myspace. (Is that how you say it? Or is just "her space" or "herSpace"?)

~t

The Ex

We all know I heart Zach Braff. I also heart Jason Bateman. Did you SEE him in Dodgeball? And of course, there is Arrested Development. And goodness, I also have love for Amanda Peet. They are ALL TOGETHER in The Ex. A quick glance shows some other heavy hitters in the cast. I do not know how this movie could go wrong. I would be in shock if it did. I think it will be my Mother's Day gift to myself to go see this film the weekend it comes out. Here's the trailer:



~t

New Book on Appreciative Coaching

I've written about coaching on this blog before because I have a certain amount of passion for it. I think coaching is a brilliant development in our evolution that can help innumerable people reach higher and higher potentials all the time. Not only have I intended to become a coach, but I am not using coaching skills in both my professional and personal life.

Now, Capella University faculty member Sara Orem has co-authored a new book entitled Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change. The process focuses on the strengths of the individual involved to guide him or her to the greatest success using positive questioning, mindfulness, and other techniques. The goal is to inspire individuals to grander views of the future so that they might achieve more.

Capella University is a fully accredited online university that offers both bachelor and graduate degree programs, including an online mba program.

~t

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