I was going to write all about this woman who is an expert at planning-ME! And I was going to be really objective and say that being an overplanner is not good because when something unexpected happens, panic ensues. So I WAS really happy with my hot tea made cold and in my Tervis, and my pjs and face cream on and I WAS going to get in bed with my laptop and write all about what a great planner I am. That WAS before Monkey woke up coughing and crying, climbed on my bed and closed my last-leg-laptop (that has to be coaxed into powering back up)...and all that WAS right before the little angel dumped my tea on my laptop...and Shark WAS right there. I of course was getting tylenol, nose spray, honey etc.
And that is why the best laid plans don't always work out.
Being that I am so solution oriented I went back out in the kitchen spent 20 minutes assembling my new desktop that I WAS going to wait a few days for...and just when I thought I WAS back in business, no modem. That's right my little pets, desktops apparantly don't come with wireless....I WAS going to cry again but then I heard the hum of my laptop and her she is.....now tell me-who could have planned all that?
kisses...
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
To move your spirit....
http://www.rising-above.com/index.php
Look up John O'Leary right now. Shark and I went to the Annual Dinner for our hospital tonight. John O'Leary was the speaker and it was BEYOND inspirational. He was burned on 100% of his body as a 9 year old boy. Not a DRY eye...his talk includes baseball, and he gets a HUGE laugh out of the crowd by showing a photo of his sons in smocked outfits. WE LOVED HIM!!
Please comment...wondering if anyone is reading!
Look up John O'Leary right now. Shark and I went to the Annual Dinner for our hospital tonight. John O'Leary was the speaker and it was BEYOND inspirational. He was burned on 100% of his body as a 9 year old boy. Not a DRY eye...his talk includes baseball, and he gets a HUGE laugh out of the crowd by showing a photo of his sons in smocked outfits. WE LOVED HIM!!
Please comment...wondering if anyone is reading!
Friday, January 16, 2009
My First Friday Expert!
get ready...this is good stuff! I met with Mary D, a wife and mother of 4 GIRLS (and 2 dogs!), after hearing that she has a calendar system to beat the band.She is a self proclaimed chronic listmaker (takes one to know one-we LOVE each other.) So here it is friends..very simple to do and some great-and IMPORTANT ideas.
Grab a monthly calendar at Office Depot- perhaps one with the place on the right to jot notes.I am going to give you a list.1. Write down all birthdays and anniversaries, and a little note a week before to send a card.
2. Go through the warranties for all your cars, boats, appliances, COMPUTERS, etc. (these should be in folders somewhere in your home)Write down when the warranty expires and then a note 2 weeks before to take it in even if it works and get all checked out!
3.SAFETY-write down a day each month to check the batteries in your smoke detectors. No one ever thinks their house is going to burn down but everyday some one's does. ALSO you should have a fire extinguisher at each end of your house on each floor. Here is where you use the notes on the side. Put "Fire extinguisher expires Nov 2014." But you are going to put that in the notes on the side of November 2009 and then move it each year so you keep track!
4.MEDICAL-do the same as above with Mammogram, Dermatology, Dental appointments. Also a great way to track flu and tetanus shots.
5.MAINTENANCE- when were the gutters cleaned, trees trimmed, fan blades wiped? great way to make sure you don't have to do it all the night before house guests arrive.
6.SERVICES-this one really got me because I paid Stanley Steamer for a year of 4 cleanings and have only had them come out once. Keep track of pest control, and other subscription type things that often run out without being used! Also great for gift certificates and store credits so they don't expire.
7. DETAILS, DETAILS-write down when your drivers license and passport expire and move it every year on the list...the zookeeper may or may not be operating with an expired license if Mary D hadn't given that little reminder!
Other wonderful ideas!
Get up early-GROAN-but worth it, in order to read paper, dry hair, and check your calendar before the creatures stir.
Begin Christmas shopping right after Christmas. Mary D loves to choose the same gift for her group of girlfriends. She orders up 1, checks it out and if it works she orders the rest! I LOVE that idea!
Get rugs, floors, and windows cleaned the first two weeks of November...mark on your calendar first week of October to call for appointments! Then you will enjoy it all for the Holidays!
Have a firebox, or a couple, where you keep copies of all important documents. This is always a tough one but a great help to loved ones in an emergency. List lawyers, doctors, bank info, safe combinations. Do not put this in a safe deposit box. The bank will most likely be closed when this information is needed. A step by step list of your wishes is a really nice thing for those left behind. (ZOOKEEPER HATES MORBID, but this is good info).
Thank you Mary D. I am really looking forward to my new Driver's License, utilizing my warranties, and getting Stanley Steamer back to the Zoo!
Grab a monthly calendar at Office Depot- perhaps one with the place on the right to jot notes.I am going to give you a list.1. Write down all birthdays and anniversaries, and a little note a week before to send a card.
2. Go through the warranties for all your cars, boats, appliances, COMPUTERS, etc. (these should be in folders somewhere in your home)Write down when the warranty expires and then a note 2 weeks before to take it in even if it works and get all checked out!
3.SAFETY-write down a day each month to check the batteries in your smoke detectors. No one ever thinks their house is going to burn down but everyday some one's does. ALSO you should have a fire extinguisher at each end of your house on each floor. Here is where you use the notes on the side. Put "Fire extinguisher expires Nov 2014." But you are going to put that in the notes on the side of November 2009 and then move it each year so you keep track!
4.MEDICAL-do the same as above with Mammogram, Dermatology, Dental appointments. Also a great way to track flu and tetanus shots.
5.MAINTENANCE- when were the gutters cleaned, trees trimmed, fan blades wiped? great way to make sure you don't have to do it all the night before house guests arrive.
6.SERVICES-this one really got me because I paid Stanley Steamer for a year of 4 cleanings and have only had them come out once. Keep track of pest control, and other subscription type things that often run out without being used! Also great for gift certificates and store credits so they don't expire.
7. DETAILS, DETAILS-write down when your drivers license and passport expire and move it every year on the list...the zookeeper may or may not be operating with an expired license if Mary D hadn't given that little reminder!
Other wonderful ideas!
Get up early-GROAN-but worth it, in order to read paper, dry hair, and check your calendar before the creatures stir.
Begin Christmas shopping right after Christmas. Mary D loves to choose the same gift for her group of girlfriends. She orders up 1, checks it out and if it works she orders the rest! I LOVE that idea!
Get rugs, floors, and windows cleaned the first two weeks of November...mark on your calendar first week of October to call for appointments! Then you will enjoy it all for the Holidays!
Have a firebox, or a couple, where you keep copies of all important documents. This is always a tough one but a great help to loved ones in an emergency. List lawyers, doctors, bank info, safe combinations. Do not put this in a safe deposit box. The bank will most likely be closed when this information is needed. A step by step list of your wishes is a really nice thing for those left behind. (ZOOKEEPER HATES MORBID, but this is good info).
Thank you Mary D. I am really looking forward to my new Driver's License, utilizing my warranties, and getting Stanley Steamer back to the Zoo!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
New Zoo Resolutions!
Is the 14th too late to post resolutions? oops..where did the time go? Where did the zookeeper go? I have been hiding in Americasmart in Atlanta-my fave place!!!! Found some great centerpieces for the Omlette party, and a rug for the living room...along with some other special goodies! Now I need to post the resolutions! One is to brush the creatures teeth everyday-I know that sounds absurd that it isn't automatic-but if you have suggestions send em! AND I will be posting once a week from an interview with someone I consider to be some kind of expert...isn't that hilarious? keeping my desk clean, emptying the dishwasher, blah, blah blah. Not even listing diet and excercise because that is too obvious and to me too boring.
And now that it is the day after I can tell you that Shark celebrated his birthday just his style. Quiet night with the creatures eating BBQ a big 35 on his cake, a nice chat with the Menlo Park Zoo on the telly and then he was PLUGGED in to his new iPod touch. Thanks Giraffes for the idea-he LOVES it. I am not sure if I was dreaming or if he was holding it in my face last night while I was sleeping. Happy unBirthday Shark!
stayed tuned for what you should be doing with your calendar!
And now that it is the day after I can tell you that Shark celebrated his birthday just his style. Quiet night with the creatures eating BBQ a big 35 on his cake, a nice chat with the Menlo Park Zoo on the telly and then he was PLUGGED in to his new iPod touch. Thanks Giraffes for the idea-he LOVES it. I am not sure if I was dreaming or if he was holding it in my face last night while I was sleeping. Happy unBirthday Shark!
stayed tuned for what you should be doing with your calendar!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Farewell Farmhouse
This entry has taken me a few days to want to write. Most of you know I wear my heart on my sleeve and am quick to make a comment/decision. We rang in an early New Year with the Kilbys (giraffes-tallest people I know), and the Morgans (labs-they have an awesome one and the best name I could think of for the best neighbors). Anyway in the morning I headed north while Shark has the Owl watching him and the boys. I arrived in Delaware to be with my family and go through the Farmhouse. Our beloved grandmother died in August and we needed to all be together again. It has taken a few days for me to decide what those days meant to me. To be with her possessions was bittersweet, it was like being with her but then more without her. What I left with was the sense that Gram left a legacy in every single aspect in my life. After recognizing this, I have written some thank you notes, remembered a few birthdays, organized my placemats, and served dinner on better china. Lookout we may using linen napkins at the ZOO. Another chapter of my life with Gram seems to be coming to a close and while my heart is broken, my head reminds me to be the gracious woman Gram was to all. Our family is making steps towards new traditions in new places and with the addition of Reynolds duPont IV "Rhett" (courtesy of Elizabeth and Reyn) we rest assured that life has a wonderful way of carrying on.
Stay tuned for New Year's resolutions!
Stay tuned for New Year's resolutions!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
IOU
So here is the Christmas nitty gritty. Make no mistake NORTHERN CAlifornia is freezing! We bundled up and had a ball. Hasbro has nothing on the Star Wars collectibles that the Oak Drive Zoo boasts. A dear Schaffer family friend remarked, "For the Schaffers, Star Wars IS A RELIGION." Thanks Christopher, someone could have WARNED me! (too bad I learned that after Church, we could have skipped-just kidding). The whole trip was amazing. We ATE, and COOKED and talked about EATING and COOKING!!! Monkey showed off his amazing eating and walking skills, and the Bear was in constant Jedi Christmas mode-what a ball. I doubt my father in law reads my blog-so I am not just saying this because he will read-but he may be the easiest going, sweetest smiling, dearest man ever. I may or may not have asked him to watch the creatures or grab a cup or whatever at least a hundred times and HE DID IT. And my mother in law is an amazing hostess with everything we could ever want already on hand, highly organized to get us out to a Lego exhibit,, a children's museum, and some glorious parks(love THAT), with a heart of gold that stretches clear across the country! Last but not least THE LION! Yes my brother in law surely wants a ZOO name from me. The Lion was only agressive when provoked by a badass game (courtesy of me), otherwise the wise soul sat back and watched the Star Wars, took care of the young, and was great compnay to all. Thank you Oak Drive ZOO! We'll be back soon!
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