Is it weird that I love the feeling of walking around barefoot after wearing high heels all day? It feels soooo good.

Ah, sweet rain

For the first time in months, it rained today. It was wonderful!!! That means no snow and we are looking at temperatures in the 40s! I'm so excited and even the little red breasted bird tapping on my window seemed happy. I could hear the birds singing all day long as they're working on their nests. Ahhh, hope springs eternal.

Have a lovely spring weekend!

I'm sorry to have to subject you to this but I had a blast. Coulda used some cowbell though.

http://besottedblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/besotted-has-new-vocalist.html#comments

Word of the day: Discreet

2 entries found for discreet.
dis·creet (d-skrt)adj.
Marked by, exercising, or showing prudence and wise self-restraint in speech and behavior; circumspect.
Free from ostentation or pretension; modest.

For some reason, over the past week, this word has popped up in my conversations with friends and family. The instances were ranging but what it seems to boil down to is that Americans tend not to be discreet by nature. We're taught to stand up for ourselves and it is all about getting what we want but there is little consideration for how it relates to others or how we might be perceived for it. I have to wonder if the ability to be discreet is a maturity skill that is learned. You have to have patience and restraint but it pays off. Some examples of being discreet: 1) your boss is an idiot and your staff knows it - it may be wise to be discreet regarding how you convey the messages from your boss to your staff. 2) you just had a wonderful sleep over with a coworker and on Monday morning, want to find out 'what that was about'. The whole point of being in a relationship is to enjoy time together not figure out what it means. 3) A friend has been dating someone and within a month has met the entire - I mean ENTIRE family. It's time to show some restraint and let the relationship ride for a while longer.

I could go on and on about talking about the price you've paid for things, labels and brands but these are just a few of the weird situations that have popped up recently. Maybe it is that I've been in New England for almost two years and this Protestant quality is starting to come out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAUL!!!

I love you with all of my heart and being.

Ka Ching

That's the sound of money falling out of my pocketbook. I'm SOO pissed at myself. I'm a new homeowner and have lots of plans for the house, I'm trying to be savvy about my spending and turn it into saving. So what do I do when my husband and I are in New York for his birthday? I go to Prada and buy a $500 sweater, of course! As I was trying it on, I literally had visions of copper drain pipes on the house and that I could redo our bedroom walls for the same amount of money. But no, I bought it. I'm kicking myself in the ass despite my looking cute doing it. This was not an adult decision, this was me, being a dope.

Shake that Bailey's Butt

I've had enough with winter....ENOUGH! Enough with the Bailey's 300 calorie drinks that are like melting ice cream and are so comforting.

I'm ready for spring and I've had SO much energy for the last two weeks. I'm just climbing the walls to get outside and garden, walk to town, start living again. One thing I am taking advantage of is the extra energy. I don't know where it came from (improved diet?) but I do not question such a gift. A while back, I realized how much I love personal training and want to get back into it. One of the first things I need to do is to get back into shape so that 1). I represent good health 2). I can show exercises to my clients without falling over and 3). It is easier to sell the job. One thing I have noticed throughout all of the fad diets and exercises is that we are a desperate society. People need to chill out because there is no secret to weight loss.

In fact, if you look at what we idolize, it is the person in good health. The person that is thin but has energy and moves with grace. This comes with work and good habits. There is an easy answer: get off your butt and take personal responsibility. Stop thinking too much about it and do it.

It's simple math: calories in vs. calories out = energy or fat.

You decide.

Of course there are always exceptions and usually more excuses why this doesn't work but even if you are always going to have a little extra love to grab onto, that's OK. As long as you know that if you needed to, you could climb some stairs and not be out of breath when you reached the top then you're OK. So, I'm working out 4-5 days per week - 20 minute run, 20 min spin (on 1-2 days) and free weights (legs & shoulders, back & biceps, chest & triceps) and abs every day plus lots of yummy stretching. Even if I never lose my Bailey's butt that I acquired over the winter, that's OK. I feel great after every workout. What's better than that?

That wasn't just a light breeze that blew through the northeast last month. I just received this email...holy Toledo (pun intended):
*************************************************
Subject: Update on Lisa

Lisa will be transported to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston on
Friday morning. She's looking forward to getting out of the hospital and
moving forward with the rehabilitation.


For those of you who do not already know, the family has started a fund to
help off-set the significant costs that lie ahead. Following is a write up
from the Local 786's web site. I have changed the mailing address to my
attention with the hopes of not overwhelming Matt with mail.


Please Donate to the Lisa McCabe Readman Fund

Lisa (McCabe) Readman
On Friday, February 17, 2006, Lisa (McCabe) Readman was seriously injured by
a falling tree during a fierce wind-storm at her home in the town of
Bedford, New Hampshire.

Lisa is the daughter of veteran Local 786 member and Assistant Stamford Fire
Chief John McCabe. Although Lisa is recovering well from the
accident, she suffered severe injuries to her back and spinal cord. At this
time, Doctors do not believe she will ever regain use of most of her lower
extremities or walk again.

Lisa is married with 2 young children. The family has established a fund in
order to assist them with the significant challenges that they will have to
endure in the months and years to come. Please consider a donation to help
the daughter of one of our Brothers. A news article regarding the accident
can be found on this page following the Fund's address. Thank you for
support.

Make check payable to:
The Lisa McCabe Readman Fund

Mailing Address:
Lisa McCabe Readman Fund
c/o Christine Keen
198 Four Brooks Road
Stamford CT 06903

Lost in Translation

I can't help but burst out laughing at this stupid thing that happened. We have some Aussie acquaintances that recently got married, we offered to take them to dinner at Chez Jean-Louis in Stamford. It is a charming corner French bistro c'est magnifque!

So Paul and I had a couple drinks (Campari & soda, if you must know)and then our newlyweds arrive, a bit frazzled but they made it. Australians are interesting peoples. They make a point of travelling around the world most often when they are just out of college. Incredibly personable and always up for a chat. We were enjoying our wonderful dinner and drink until I asked how long they would be living in Stamford - you see, the husband moved his girlfriend from Sydney to Stamford only to have to travel 5 days per week, sometimes more. My thinking is, wow, they're really in love or they haven't really thought this through. I mean, she doesn't know anyone, why wouldn't they live in NYC where she can get out and really meet people and have a global experience? While down under, she was a physical therapist but while here, she wasn't able to work. So, she was voluntering and workingout and taking long distance continuing ed courses but that only filled about 20-30 hours per week. So, enough about who they are, the point is, I asked how long they would be in Stamford before they moved back to Sydney. At the same moment, she said 1-2 years and he said 5 or so. Her face went pale and I think I saw her lose her breath. A small discussion ensued and Paul and I watched until we could figure out how to change the subject. We got back to normal small talk when we got them to talk about their wedding. The newleywed husband piped up that they "got some beautiful fidos that we should take a look at sometime". He continued on but Paul, who has one of the largest vocabularies of anyone I know, interrupted with "What's a fido?" He shook his head trying to think about how it could fit into the conversation, both newleyweds piped up "FIDO, you know, a FIDO". I was rolling laughing while this went back and forth for a good minute or two and I looked at Paul and with a raised voice laughing my head off said "Paul, they're talking about photos, you know...pictures".