Four Things...

This has made its way around several blogs, and I just received it from a friend...

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Birthday Card coordinator at a dentist's office (first job ever...must be where my greeting card obsession began)
2. PR Intern @ Four Seasons
3. Student worker @ ACU Office of Media Relations
4. Communications VP @ AHA (current one...not as glamorous as it sounds...i love it, though)

Four movies you would watch over and over (not necessarily my top favorites, but ones I watch often):
1. Sense and Sensibility
2. Napoleon Dynamite
3. The Molly Ringwald Triple Threat: The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink
4. About A Boy

Four books I could read over & over:
It's so horrible to say, but I can't ever re-read books! I like it once, but don't seem to have the attention span (or maybe imagination) to read it again.

Four places you have lived:
1. Houston/Sugar Land, TX
2. Hurst, TX
3. Abilene, TX
4. Fort Worth, TX

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Oprah (the bulk of my recorded Tivo time)
2. Survivor
3. Inside the Actors Studio
4. Currently...the Winter Olympics

Four memorable places you have been on vacation:
1. Near-death skiing experience in Breckenridge, CO
2. Honeymoon in Kiawah Island, SC
3. Marathon in Hawaii
4. Philadelphia (most recent...very cool city)

Four web sites I visit daily:
1. americanheart.org
2. oprah.com (I really want tickets to the show!)
3. weather.com
4. blogs, blogs, blogs

Four of my favorite foods:
1. whole wheat bread with Peter Pan reduced-fat crunchy peanut butter & Diet Coke
2. Chipotle guacamole (the best ever!)
3. Blue Bell Birthday Cake ice cream
4. Wade's spaghetti

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Playa del Carmen (best beach location)
2. Oprah Winfrey Show
3. Torino, Italy, for the Olympics in lots of snow!
4. any vacation destination with Wade

Four friends I am tagging to do their own "Four things":
Anyone who reads this...either on your own blog or as a comment for my non-blogging friends and family (get a blog! ) :)

Promising

After a long day like today, here's a promising stat from my random 30-something trivia:

"Psychological health steadily increases from 30 years of age to 40, 50, and 62 years of age." (Psychology and Aging, Volume 15, Number 2)

Important Correction

If you scroll down to "In My Prayers," you'll see the entry about my aunt suffering a stroke recently. There is an unfortunate error in the posting. She's only 45. As someone who is hanging on to 29 for as long as possible, I understand the importance of an accurate age. So, Aunt P. is not in her late '40s, but mid '40s. I stand corrected. :)

The most important update is that I'm happy to say that her recovery has been incredible. Go Aunt P.!

I've Got the Fever!

As in Olympic fever. Wade & I are Olympic junkies. I guess this is the 4th Olympic Games since we've been married. Each time they come around, we become glued to the TV (this year the Tivo). So, I'm sure there will be several blog rants and raves over the next 2 weeks about the big games. Plus, I can't wait to see what gut-wrenching, pull on your heart strings feature stories they come up with this year! To get it started, here's my commentary on the Opening Ceremony:



I think it's supposed to represent the Italian"passionate spirit." It reminded me of the red Power Ranger on fire.






The only word the comes to mind..."Ricollllllllaaaaaa!"





A Ferrari? I guess this was their weak effort to connect to the male audience in the middle of all the symbolism and interpretive dancing. The odd part was that it came onto the stage, revved the engine, did some donuts, and was engulfed in smoke from the burning rubber. You couldn't really see much. But, I guess it was enough to get some testosterone flowing.



This was actually one of the coolest parts. All of these dancers were organized into a formation like a giant skier. They would move around so it looked like he was skiing. Pretty impressive.





Then, the opposite extreme. This guy started his dance dressed up in a suit. To represent the transition to Italy's future, he stripped down to the jumpsuit and Mohawk. I'm not sure how that represents the future...it looks pretty '80s to me.




And, alas the lighting of the torch. I don't know how or why it happens, but in true "Oh-my-gosh-I'm-turning-into-my-mother-fashion," I got all teary-eyed when it was lit.

Risks

I'm not a risk-taker. In fact, I like things pretty safe and predictable. Kind of dull, huh? I've improved a lot in the last few years, but still have lots of room to improve. A work in progress...aren't we all? When talking about risk recently, someone suggested this little reading, so I thought I would share:

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable." ~ CS Lewis

Not trying to get too deep. Just a good reminder that the consequence of not risking vulerability or the possibility of beng hurt can sometimes hurt even more.

Secret Revealed

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Ah-ha! The secret of the mysterious "20 Questions" game has been revealed. I guess it's not a big secret...it's just a really smart computer chip. Surprise! http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000725.php

If you haven't seen or played this game yet, you should. It's pretty cool, that's even coming from a non-techie. You think of an object. The computer chip asks you 20 questions that you answer yes, no, or unknown to. Then it guesses your object...and is right most of the time.

Technology! I guess in 2006 it should be obvious that the computer chip figures it out. When Wade & I first got the game, we would wouldn't say it out loud, but would whisper the object to each other. Just in case the computer inside could hear us! Aren't we smarter than that???

1 month down

1 month of blogging! It's been fun. Strange at times, but fun. I realized, though, that I've gone an entire month without talking about our dog...I can't believe it...what a bad dog mom I am.

Macy is our 2 1/2 year old golden retriever. I'm still shocked at myself for turning into one of those "dog people" that is treats their dog like their own child. But it happened. Welcome to the blog Macy! (I'm such a loser!) :)

So to be a good dog mom, I thought I should post some pictures. These were pretty funny. I grabbed the camera a couple of days ago and took these 3 pictures. It's like she was totally annoyed with me and just had to turn away.




































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How about another 30-something tidbit?

"There is no character in women's faces before the age of 30."
(Honore de Balzac, A Woman of Thirty)

So that's what those small lines under my eyes represent...character!

Are You Wearing Red?

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I promise not to do this too much, but today's post contains some self-promotion (although isn't a blog about myself all self-promotion?). This time I'm promoting the company I work for.

Friday, February 3, is National Wear Red Day. The American Heart Association uses this day to raise awareness about women's greatest health threats--heart disease and stroke.

I hope you'll join me on Friday and wear red. For more info., you can visit:
http://www.goredforwomen.org/

PS: Good news...my aunt's recovery from her stroke is going really well...yay Aunt P!