Spanish Word of the Day 30 June 2004 -- en

Another preposition today. This time it's en, which means in or on.

El libro esta en la mesa. The book is on the table.

Spanish Word of the Day 29 June 2004 -- sin

Today's word of the day is a preposition, sin. This means without.

Leo sin anteojos. I read without glasses.

Overweight?

I found a list of celebrities that are considered to be overweight based on the BMI(Body Mass Index) standards. I was pretty surprised by the results, because these people all appear to be in shape to me, but the BMI doesn't distinguish between muscle weight and fat weight, so maybe that's the key.

OVERWEIGHT:
Andy Roddick: 6'2": 197 lbs: 25
Bobby Labonte: 5'9": 170 lbs: 25
Michael Jordan: 6'6": 216 lbs: 25
Kobe Bryant: 6'6": 200 lbs: 25
Nick Lachey: 5'10": 180 lbs: 26
President Bush: 5'11": 194 lbs: 26
Matt Damon: 5'11": 187 lbs: 26
Dale Jarrett: 6'2": 200 lbs: 26
Richard Gere: 5'11": 187 lbs: 26
Vin Diesel: 6'2": 200 lbs: 26
Johnny Depp: 5'7": 190 lbs: 27
Denzel Washington: 6'0": 199 lbs: 27
Billy Zane: 6'2": 210 lbs: 27
Will Smith: 6'2": 210 lbs: 27
Cal Ripken: 6'4": 210 lbs: 27
Tom Brady: 6'4": 225 lbs: 27
Yao Ming: 7'6": 310 lbs: 27
Karl Malone: 6'9": 259 lbs: 28
David Boreanaz: 6'2": 218 lbs: 28
Nic Cage: 6'1": 210 lbs: 28
Brad Pitt: 6'0": 203 lbs: 28
Barry Bonds: 6'2": 228 lbs: 29
Brendan Fraser: 6'3": 234 lbs: 29
Keanu Reeves: 6'1": 223 lbs: 29
David Duchovny: 6'0": 212 lbs: 29
George Clooney: 5'11": 211 lbs: 29
Harrison Ford: 6'1": 218 lbs: 29
Bruce Willis: 6'0": 200 lbs: 29
Dr. Phil McGraw: 6'4": 240 lbs: 29

If your BMI is below 18.5:
This indicates a lean BMI, indicating low body fat.

If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9:
A BMI in this range indicates a healthy level of body fat. A BMI percentage in this range is associated with longevity, and a low incidence of serious illness. Studies have shown that this is the level that most people find aesthetically pleasing.

If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9:
A BMI in this range is considered to be overweight, and having an increased risk of associated disease. Ideally if you are in this range you should find ways to lower your weight. Start by changing to a healthy diet and undertake an exercise program.

If your BMI is between 30 and 39:
We have now reached the obesity range. It is essential that a lifestyle change is undertaken.

If your BMI is over 40:
This indicates an individual suffering from extreme obesity, and is in a very unhealthy condition.

Spanish Word of the Day 28 June 2004 -- pagar

The verb of the day today is pagar, which means to pay.

The conjugation follows:

yo pago
tú pagas
él paga
nosotros pagamos
ustedes pagan
ellos pagan

Yo pago demasiadas cuentas. I pay too many bills.

Slacking off over the weekend

Okay, I was kind of bad about posting over the weekend. Didn't go anywhere or anything like that. I watched some football(soccer for you Americans) matches on Friday from Euro 2004. I'm a little behind in my viewing, because they're recorded. I watched England's 4-2 defeat of Croatia from 6/21 and the 2-2 draw between Denmark and Sweden from 6/22. Only one of my favourites has moved into the semis and that's the Netherlands. Ahh...such is life, I guess.

On a different note, I'm playing the Sims again. That's so addictive. I played most of the day on Sunday.

Spanish Word of the Day 27 June 2004 -- amar

Another verb today. It is amar, to love.

The conjugation follows:

yo amo
tú amas
él ama
nosotros amamos
ustedes aman
ellos aman

Yo amo mi hijo. I love my son.

Spanish Word of the Day 26 June 2004 -- recibir

Another verb today -- today is recibir, which means to receive.

Here is the conjugation:

yo recibo
tú recibes
él recibe
nosotros recibimos
ustedes reciben
ellos reciben

Ellos reciben muchos paquetes. They receive many packages.

I'll never be able to look at a judge the same way again

From thesmokinggun.com:
JUNE 24--While seated on the bench, an Oklahoma judge used a male enhancement pump, shaved and oiled his nether region, and pleasured himself, state officials charged yesterday in a petition to remove the jurist. According to the below complaint filed by the Oklahoma Attorney General, Donald D. Thompson, 57, was caught in the act by a clerk, trial witnesses, and his longtime court reporter (these unsettling first-hand accounts will make you wonder what's going on under other black robes). Visitors to Thompson's Creek County courtroom reported hearing a "swooshing" sound coming from the bench, a noise the court reporter said "sounded like a blood pressure cuff being pumped up." Thompson, the complaint charges, even pumped himself up during an August 2003 murder trial. The AG's petition quotes Thompson (pictured above) as admitting that the pump was "under the bench" during the murder case (and at other times), but he denied using the item, which was supposedly a "gag gift from a friend."
Thompson is pictured below:

Homage to Walt

Have I mentioned that I like Walt Whitman?

Song of Myself, I, II, VI & LII

I
I Celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil,
this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and
their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never
forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.



II
Houses and rooms are full of perfumes.... the shelves
are crowded with perfumes,
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it,
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.

The atmosphere is not a perfume.... it has no taste
of the distillation.... it is odorless,
It is for my mouth forever.... I am in love with it,
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
I am mad for it to be in contact with me.

The smoke of my own breath,
Echoes, ripples, and buzzed whispers.... loveroot, silkthread,
crotch and vine,
My respiration and inspiration.... the beating of my heart....
the passing of blood and air through my lungs,
The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore
and darkcolored sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn,
The sound of the belched words of my voice.... words loosed
to the eddies of the wind,

A few light kisses.... a few embraces.... reaching around of arms,
The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,
The delight alone or in the rush of the streets, or along
the fields and hill-sides,
The feeling of health.... the full-noon trill.... the song of me
rising from bed and meeting the sun.

Have you reckoned a thousand acres much? Have you reckoned
the earth much?
Have you practiced so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin
of all poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun.... there are
millions of suns left,
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand.... nor
look through the eyes of the dead. nor feed on the spectres
in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.

VI
A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any
more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful
green stuff woven.

Or I guess if is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,
Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we
may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of
the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow
zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the
same, I receive then the same.

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them,
soon out of their mother's laps,
And here you are the mothers' laps.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old
mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths
for nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men
and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring
taken soon out of their laps.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and
children?

They are alive and well somewhere,
The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait
at the end to arrest it,
And ceas'd the moment life appear'd.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and
luckier.
LII
The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains
of my gab and my loitering.

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.

The last scud of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow'd wilds,
It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk.

I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.

You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.

Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.

And here's a funny find at anecdotage.com: Walt Whitman's last words.

At work in body but not in spirit

It's Saturday morning and I'm at work. I really don't want to be here today, and I had a fantastic opportunity to stay home today, but I didn't. I didn't wake up on time, I was an hour and a half late for work. I debated just calling in and staying home for the whole day, but I didn't do it. I've been here for about an hour and I've already been through 2 cups of coffee. Arrgh.

FIND of the week

FOUND magazine : FIND of the week

Lollapalooza 2004 -- c'est fin

It's over before it even began.
.: Welcome to LOLLAPALOOZA 2004 :.

SPARKfashion.com - CUSTOMIZE YOUR STYLE!!!

This is pretty neat place where you can customize clothes with vintage-y designs.
SPARKfashion.com - CUSTOMIZE YOUR STYLE!!!

Spanish Word of the Day 25 June 2004 -- vivir

The verb of the day today is vivir, which means to live.

Here's the conjugation:

yo vivo
tú vives
él vive
nosotros vivimos
ustedes viven
ellos viven

Vivo en los Estados Unidos. I live in the United States.

Spanish Word of the Day 24 June 2004 -- hacer

Today's verb of the day is hacer, which means to do or to make. It is irregular in the first person singular.

Here's the conjugation:

yo hago
tú haces
él hace
nosotros hacemos
ustedes hacen
ellos hacen

Hacen su trabajo. They're doing their work.

Spanish Word of the Day 23 June 2004 -- ayudar

Another verb today -- ayudar, to help.

The conjugation:

yo ayudo
él ayudes
tú ayuda
nosotros ayudamos
ustedes ayudan
ellos ayudan

Yo lo ayudo con sus lecciones. I help him with his lessons.

Five artists who probably should have been discouraged from dancing in their music videos

From Merlin's List of five things, or 5ives:Five artists who probably should have been discouraged from dancing in their music videos

Spanish Word of the Day 22 June 2004 -- trabajar

Another verb today -- this time it's trabajar, to work.

The conjugation follows:

yo trabajo
tú trabajas
él trabaja
nosotros trabajamos
ustedes trabajan
ellos trabajan

Trabajo en una oficina. I work in an office.

Gmail

I browsed by gmailswap.com and was looking at all the strange things being offered in exchange for a gmail invite. I guess I'm pretty lucky that I've got a nice friend who hooked me up for free...no strings attached. Well, there are kinda strings attached. The guy is my ex-boyfriend. But that's beside the point. The things being offered range from a picture of my big Gmail member smile! to Cdn only-1/4 ounce of Canada's best bud. That is too funny to me.

Back to the grind

I'm getting back on the South Beach Diet this week. Yesterday I did well until dinner. My husband and I were both feeling bad and I really didn't feel like cooking, so we ordered in Chinese. I really didn't eat much, but I had an eggroll and a cheese wonton. I don't suppose that's going to kill me. I'm going to do better today. My sister is doing the diet with me. She called me last night to check in on how it's going. I felt bad telling her that I was in the middle of eating a chinese dinner, especially after she told me that she went to her mother-in-laws house, where they were having a birthday party with hamburgers, cake, and homemade ice cream. She said that all she ate was a plain hamburger patty with some cheese on it. No cake, no ice cream. I felt like a heel.

On a different note, I'm moving at work today. My department has been split up for the last few months with some of us in one building and some in another. We're all moving into the same area now. It'll be nice to not have to make a trek across 2 buildings to see my supervisor. I also got to wear jeans today because of the move. That was handy, especially since I woke up late today.

Spanish Word of the Day 21 June 2004 -- salir

I'm rolling on through the verbs, so here's another. Salir, to leave or to go out.

The conjugation:

yo salgo
tú sales
él sale
nosotros salimos
ustedes salen
ellos salen

Salgo ahora. I'm leaving now.

Woo hoo! I got a gmail account

I got the hookup...got my gmail account set up already. Yay!

Monday blues

It's just another Monday. I feel yucky. I'm afraid I'm coming down with something. Julian stayed home today because he was feeling poor. I don't have the luxury of staying home. My work operates on a system of "occurrences" for absences and tardies. You get 1 occurrence for each full day you miss and a partial occurrence for tardies, either .25 or .5, depending on how much time you miss. If it's 30 minutes or less, you get a quarter, and if it's 31 minutes to 2 hours late, you get a half. More than 2 hours is a full occurrence. You also get the opportunity to work off the occurrences by having perfect attendance for 30 days. I was absent on the 11th of June, so I need to be here until July 12th without any absences or tardies to get that occurrence back. I should be okay. I'm getting to a point where I'm feeling kind of burned-out. I need a vacation. I'm going to be off on July 5, which is only 2 weeks from today, and then I have a vacation at the end of July from the 25th until August 2.
My 5 year wedding anniversary is July 28th, so I think Julian and I are going to leave our son with my parents for a night and have a little vacation of our own. We never did have a honeymoon. We didn't have a typical courtship. I met him online. At the time, he was still in Buenos Aires and I was here. We talked online for several months, as friends initially and then it grew into more. He came to the US to meet me in May 1999. He was here on a 3 month tourist visa with a return flight already booked in August, so if things didn't work out once we met in person, he would go home and that would be that. Well, things did work out. We decided to marry. We got an apartment together in the middle of July 1999 and married on July 28 1999. Our wedding was in the living room at my parents' house. The minister came out. We had 7 guests -- my mom and step-dad, my sister and her husband and their 2 kids, and my best friend. My mom made us a little wedding cake and my sister provided my bouquet. It was nice, albeit not the large wedding I had hoped for. We've been meaning for several years to either have a reception or renew our vows and have a larger group of people in attendance. Maybe soon.

Same old, same old...

I found this while browsing around and I think this is so funny. It's proof that Nickelback is recycling their old songs.

I was on the radio again...

but I didn't know it. The morning guys at one of the local radio stations have this segment they do each day called "Missing Links" that are listener-provided. It can be pretty much anything. I heard one of my missing links as I was taking my husband to work last week and I apparently had another of my submitted missing links on the air on the 15, but I didn't know it. They usually air these between 7-7:30 am. I'm usually at work at this time. But anyway, if you'd like to check out my submissions(along with all the others) they're at the Corey and Jay show website.

Spanish Word of the Day 20 June 2004 -- padre

I chose today's word because it is Father's Day today. Padre means father.

Julian es el padre de mi hijo. Julian is the father of my son.

Spanish Immersion

I'm learning Spanish now. I guess the Spanish word of the day might be a clue. My husband is from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Spanish is his native language. He's assisting me with my studies. We're going start speaking Spanish at home as exclusively as possible to aid in my learning and retention. I'm kind of scared, more nervous really. I know that I can do it, but I'm just a little worried about making a fool of myself in the process. I guess it's better to go through this now with my husband than in front of someone else. We're hoping to go to Argentina to visit his parents next year and I would really like to be able to talk to them and understand what's going on around me.

That brings me to one of my pet peeves. I despise people who travel to a foreign country and assume that the people there should speak their language rather than taking the time to learn the language of the country they're visiting. You will generally be better-received if they see that you're making an effort to speak to them in their own language even if you're reading from a phrase book. Put yourself on the other side of the conversation. Would you rather listen to someone speaking a language that you don't comprehend, or have someone making an effort to speak to you so that you'll understand? I guess that's enough for now.

I'm excited about learning Spanish! I know it sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. It will help me in the long run, even here in the US. We have a large Spanish-speaking population here in Arkansas. Also, if I speak Spanish fluently, I get extra pay at work. Extra money is always a plus.

What a cookout

Last night we had a cookout with a couple of friends. This had been arranged earlier in the week. I was looking forward to getting out of the house and having some time with our friends. I called one of them earlier in the day to make sure they had drinks there, or if I needed to bring anything. It was about 3 in the afternoon and he was soooo drunk already. I was advised by him that he and his roommate (both named Jon) had gone on a local brewery tour earlier in the day and had started drinking at lunch and were currently in a bar, continuing the drinking with some other guys. I was thinking at this point about cancelling the cookout, since I really didn't want to take my family to the house of 2 drunks guys cooking with fire. We decided to go. Things started out okay. They put Toy Story in for my son to watch. I and my husband each got a beer. As far as food, we had hamburgers, hot dogs, waffle fries, potato salad and a lemon silk dessert that I made. The food was yummy. I think the guys had a rough day of it, though. They were both passed out before we left at 9, one in his bed and the other on the sofa. I put the perishables away and cleaned up some and woke one of them up to let us out, so they didn't leave the front door unlocked all night.
We came home and got Enzo in bed. I put in an Eddie Izzard dvd -- Dress to Kill. I love Eddie Izzard. I laid down on our futon to watch and fell asleep. I woke up on the futon this morning at 7. I asked Julian why I was still on the futon, and he said that he tried to wake me, but couldn't, so he covered me up and left me. I think I'm getting too old for this.

Spanish Word of the Day 19 June 2004 -- traer

Today's word of the day is another verb. It is traer, to bring or to wear.

On to the conjugation:

yo traigo
tú traes
él trae
nosotros traemos
ustedes traen
ellos traen

Here are 2 example sentences, one for each definition:
Traigo una falda. I'm wearing a skirt.
Traemos unos burritos. We're bringing burritos.

No so hot today

It feels nice outside today. It's a little bit windy and cooler. It's a nice change from yesterday. Tonight we're going to the house of 2 of our friends for a cookout. We're going to have hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, potato salad, and a lemon dessert. That should be fun.
Last night we went out for dinner as an early Father's Day celebration for my husband. It was okay, except that our son was more interested in playing with his food than eating it.

Spanish Word of the Day 18 June 2004 -- correr

Another verb today...this time it is correr, to run.

And the conjugation:

yo corro
tú corres
él corre
nosotros corremos
ustedes corren
ellos corren

Me gusta correr. I like to run.

So hot

Wow...it is really warm here today. It's only 10 am and it's already 85F. The heat index is currently 92F. The humidity is 72%. The high temperature is supposed to be 92F. This will definitely be an afternoon to go home and jump in the pool. My son is enjoying the pool this year. Last year, he was terrified of the big pool, but he has a little kiddie pool that he used then. He's a big boy now and swims in the big pool with me.
I didn't bring my lunch today, so I need to go out and get something, but I hate to go out when it's this hot. Bleh. The car will be like a furnace. I might just stop by the company cafeteria.

Spanish Word of the Day 17 June 2004 -- hablar

Today's verb of the day is hablar, to speak.

The conjugation:

yo hablo
tú hablas
él habla
nosotros hablamos
ustedes hablan
ellos hablan

Hablo inglés. I speak English.

More stuff

I'm back at work today. Having a day off in the middle of the week has its advantages and its disadvantages. It's nice to get out and take care of errands while everyone else is at work or in school. At the same time, it's weird to work 2 days, have a day off, work 3 days, have a day off, and then start it all over again.
My department is moving next week on Tuesday and Wednesday. I got an email yesterday that next Wednesday is my scheduled move date and that I can wear jeans to work on that day. That's great, except it's my day off. So I asked one of our supervisors about this and I'm moving on Tuesday.
Yesterday was another busy day. I took my husband to work. I went from there to Wal Mart to pick up a couple of things. Then, I stopped at Starbucks for some caffeine. I went home and did a few things around the house. Then we picked my husband up and had lunch with him at Arby's. From there we went to the mall and we bought a new Zippo for my husband for Father's Day. Came home, did some more stuff around the house...went to pick up my husband after work.

Spanish Word of the Day 16 June 2004 -- tener

Another verb today. This time it is tener, to have.

And on to the conjugation...

yo tengo
tú tienes
él tiene
nosotros tenemos
ustedes tienen
ellos tienen

And the sample sentences:
Tengo un hijo. I have a son.
Tiene 2 años. He is 2 years old.

UEFA EURO 2004

Me gusta el futbol!
UEFA EURO 2004

On the drive-thru queue at Starbucks

Spanish Word of the Day 15 June 2004 -- poner

We have another verb today -- poner, to put.

The conjugation, please...

yo pongo
tú pones
él pone
nosotros ponemos
ustedes ponen
ellos ponen

And the grand finale!
¡Yo pongo muchos jalapeños en mi salsa!
I put lots of jalapeños in my salsa!

bleep bleep bleepity bleep

No, the title has no significance. I'm not angry at the world, or angry at anyone for that matter. I just like that rhythm...

Well, one matter that was on my mind was somewhat cleared up. My mom called me on Sunday and told me that she received on Saturday a letter from our insurance company stating that they were going to drop my insurance at the expiration of our current coverage, in August. The reasons they gave for doing so were 2 accidents and insufficient driver information on my husband. The first thing that caused my blood pressure to rise was that the insurance company was showing 2 accidents. I pride myself on being a relatively good driver. I've only had one accident since 1997, and no tickets during that time frame(knock on wood). So I was freaking out, thinking that either my driving record was incorrect, or that a claim had been added to our policy in error. My mom called our agent yesterday and he said that the second accident was hers. Whew! Off the hook on that one. But, the bummer is that the main reason that they're planning to drop the insurance is that my husband doesn't have a driver's license. He doesn't drive. He never has. I drove myself to the hospital when I was in labor. Our agent advised that if my husband gets a license, then we should be able to keep our insurance. I've been trying to get him to get a license for the 5 years that we've been married and it looks like he might finally have to do it.

Spanish Word of the Day 14 June 2004 -- comer

Okay, today's word is another verb...getting back on the verb track. Comer, to eat.

yo como
tú comes
él come
nosotros comemos
ustedes comen
ellos comen

Me gusta comer las manzanas. I like to eat apples.

Another review by my fabulous husband!

Well, here it is. Review numero dos. Someday when he's famous, you can say, hey I read his reviews on Ars Technica. But you won't have that special joy that I do, of making fun of his reviews as he's writing them.
Ars Technica: Thief: Deadly Shadows - Page 1 - (6/2004)

It's Monday again

Mondays come back around much too quickly. Of course, I guess it doesn't help that I only have one actual weekend day off. I have Sunday off and Wednesday off. It's kind of nice to have a day off during the week so that I can go take care of errands while most businesses are open, and the daycare is also open so I can drop off the kiddo and go solo. At the same time, it would be nice to have Saturday and Sunday off, since that's when my husband is off. As things are now, we have one day off together, Sunday, and that is also the only day that my mother and I share as an off day. She wants me to bring Enzo out to visit as much as possible, and I understand, because that's her grandchild, but still, I would like to spend a day at home with my immediate family.

I coloured my hair yesterday. It's really dark brown, almost black. I was ready for a change, and this is definitely a change from the blonde I was. My husband is loving it. I'm still at that point that I'm not accustomed to seeing me with this new hair colour and when I pass a mirror I do a double-take. That will pass with time.

My son and I went to the pool at our apartments yesterday. He loves the water. We went around 11 am, and the sun was shining full on the pool. Enzo was covered in SPF 50 sunblock, so he was good. I got a slight sunburn on my shoulders, but nothing major. It took the whole day for it to turn red, and this morning when I woke up, the redness was gone. I'm ready to get a tan. I was contemplating visiting a tanning salon, but if I can get the tan naturally and not have to pay extra, then I'd much rather do that.

Spanish Word of the Day 13 June 2004 -- otorrinolaringología

Today's word of the day is courtesy of my friend Mats. It is otorrinolaringología, the branch of medicine dealing with the study of the ear, nose and throat.

Here it is used in a sentence:
Carlos estudia otorrinolaringología.

What Santa does in the Off-Season

fishermansanta
Originally uploaded by lacarita.

Who knew that Santa had crabs?

Movie Night

This afternoon/evening was kind of rainy/dreary, so I rented some movies and ordered in Chinese. What a night! For my son, we got The Lion King and Toy Story, and for the adults, we got Pirates of the Caribbean and Grosse Pointe Blank. I had forgotten how much I like Grosse Pointe Blank. That is so funny in a dark way. It's somewhat more relevant now than before, since my 10 year class reunion is this year.

Speaking of my reunion, I'm debating on whether or not I want to go. Most of the people with whom I went to high school I really have no desire to see again, and I've generally kept in contact with the ones I would like to see. We'll see what happens. I may go and dance the night away to the fabulous hits of 1994. What were the hits of 1994, anyway? I've never been a big fan of most mainstream music, but that goes back to my husband's argument that I'm a music snob. I'm not going there tonight.

Spanish Word of the Day 12 June 2004 -- estar

Another verb today. This time it is estar, another verb that means to be. This is used for temporary conditions such as location, attitude, mental state, etc.

Here's the conjugation:

yo estoy
tú estás
él está
nosotros estamos
ustedes están
ellos están

Estamos enfermos. We are ill.

The President's Challenge

It's kinda hokey, I know. I'm doing the Presidential Fitness Challenge. There was a link to it from my company's intranet HR page. So I checked it out. Basically, you enter in the activities that you do each day and the goal is to be active for at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week for 6 of 8 weeks. If you meet your goals, you get awards. And let me tell you, no expense has been spared. If you get the Active Lifestyle Award, you get a badge, a certificate and stickers to put on your certificate. For the upper awards, there are medals (gold, silver, bronze). I don't really care about the awards, but it's nice to have a way to track my activities. I desperately need to get back into shape.

My name was on the radio

Yesterday morning I was taking my husband to work and we had the radio on. We usually listen to the Corey and Jay Show in the mornings, and one of their daily features is what they call "Missing Links." These are websites that listeners send in that are funny, informative, time-wasters, whatever. So we're driving down the road and I hear them start describing what sounds a lot like the link I sent to them a couple weeks back. And then they say my name(mispronounced, but I'm used to that)! Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are the best. Anyway, my link is on their website now, under the Missing Links for 11 June. Badger Badger - no... Badger Kerry Badger Kerry - from Carrie Marcone

You can see it for yourself at The Corey and Jay Show Website.

Still feeling yucky

I stayed home again today. Still feeling out of sorts. I took my husband to work this morning, dropped my son at daycare and came home and passed out on the futon and slept for about 3 hours. Bleh. I haven't felt like doing much of anything these last couple of days. I work on Saturdays, so I plan on going back to work tomorrow. I hope my tummy's feeling better by then.

Spanish Word of the Day 11 June 2004 -- ser

Another verb today...
Today is ser, which means to be. It is used to describe permanent or long-term attributes like nationality, physical characteristics, personality, professions, etc.

And here's the conjugation:

yo soy
tú eres
él es
nosotros somos
ustedes son
ellos son

And an example sentence: Soy la esposa de Julián. I am the spouse of Julian.

Ray Charles dead at 73 - Jun 11, 2004

More sad news...
CNN.com - Ray Charles dead at 73 - Jun 11, 2004

Spanish Word of the Day 10 June 2004 -- leer

Today's word is another verb. It is leer, to read.

Here's the conjugation:

yo leo
tú lees
él lee
nosotros leemos
ustedes leen
ellos leen

Estoy leyendo The Fellowship of the Ring. I am reading The Fellowship of the Ring.

The New Jerusalem -- A Reading

In the car

I think it's going to be one of those days

This morning, my alarm went off at 5:00. I hit the snooze button a few times and slept until 6:00. My shift at work begins at 7:00. I was a little rushed this morning to say the least. I got up, did my bathroom stuff, made sure my husband was up, finished dressing, got Enzo up and got him dressed. He started asking for milk, so I got him some milk and then I gathered up my food for the day. By this point it was already past time for us to leave. So everyone heads for the door and I pick up all of my bags. I think we're okay, then I can't find my keys. I look and look, checking all the places where I either usually place them or may have placed them. Finally, just when my frustration level hits the roof, I find them. They were tucked into a side pocket in my bag. So off we go, running very late by this time. I dropped Julian off at the bus station downtown so he can catch the bus to work. I went across town to drop Enzo at his daycare. I went to work. I got in and logged onto the phone. It was 7:01. So close. But that's okay.

Now, I'm sitting here at my desk and my stomach hurts so bad. It started last night. I think it may be from the bad things I ate yesterday. I had an Arby's sandwich for lunch and then pizza for dinner. My body is getting its revenge. I just hope it gets better.

UPDATE: Hasn't gotten any better. I survived 2.75 hours of work and came home. Since coming home, I've had a glamorous routine of lounging in bed, lounging on the futon, lounging in the chair, visiting the bathroom multiple times, and listening to some mp3s. What a day!

Is there a mom who hasn't done this?

I have done this before. Probably every mother has. 

I am the rabbit.

Mean lil fellow, arn't you?


What Monty Python Character are you?
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I always suspected it...

Now I have proof: I am the Master of the Universe!


Magister Mundi sum!
"I am the Master of the Universe!"
You are full of yourself, but you're so cool you
probably deserve to be. Rock on.


Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
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Spanish Word of the Day 9 June 2004 -- querer

Today's word is a verb: querer, to want. This can also be used as to love.

Since I'm feeling generous, I'll even conjugate it for you:

yo quiero
tú quieres
él quiere
nosotros queremos
ustedes quieren
ellos quieren

And here's a sample sentence that you may have heard before from a talking chihuahua:
Yo quiero Taco Bell. I want Taco Bell.

And another sample: Te quiero mucho. I love you a lot.

It's been too long

I just realized it's been 21 hours since I last made an entry to the blog. Wow. Days off really seem to cut into my blogging time. You'd think it'd be the other way around.

Today, I was gone more than I was home. I took my husband to work this morning. He had to be there at 7:30. Got him there and then drove across town to Wal*Mart for some assorted crap. Got there about 8:00. I had already loaded most of my neccessary items into the basket, but was missing one thing. I needed new wiper blades for the car. So off I go to the automotive department. I should mention that I had my son with me and he was riding in the cart. So I'm standing there in front of the wiper display using the fabulous "wiper wizard" thing to figure out which blades I need. As I'm standing there, pushing the buttons, my son gets really quiet and I hear the sound of liquid hitting the floor. He unleashed a massive pee in Wal*Mart, enough that it totally filled his Pull-Up and was coming out the top at the back. I hurriedly threw the wiper blades in the basket and got the hell out of there, leaving a path of destruction. I pay and we go home. He gets a clothing and pull-up change. I read him a story and then we laid down on our futon together and watched some TV. I fell asleep on the futon briefly and Enzo woke me up by jumping on top of me yelling "Maya!Maya!" which is Enzo-speak for "Mommy."

I then went to work on my Spanish folder. My husband is helping me with my Spanish skills, but part of our arrangement is that I have to have a folder and notebook and take notes, kind of like class. No problem. So I've printed out a lot of things and I have a nice little book started.

Around 11:15 we went out to the car. I attempted to install the new wiper blades that I bought this morning but had no luck. The blades are too wide for the passenger side and too narrow for the driver side. Blah. So I put the old blades back on and we headed out to meet Julian. We had lunch with him today at Arby's. The guy at the register was apparently new and didn't exactly get the order right, but we didn't get charged for the missing items, so it was okay. It was just an order of fries that I really didn't need anyway. After lunch, Enzo and I went out to Auto Zone to get some advice on the correct wiper blades. Turns out neither side is standard, which I guessed after my attempted installation. I need a wide blade for the driver side and narrow blade for the passenger side. Blades in hand, we went to visit my mom for a while.

When I got home, I put the new wiper blades on, and lo and behold, it was like buttah! It's amazing what having the right size can do.

I also did some cleaning today around the house. Being an adult really sucks. Now that I have my own house to run, I really appreciate all the things that my mom did when I was a kid.

It's now bath time for the kid, and then bath time for me, and then bed time for the kid.
I love my days off...

Spanish Word of the Day 8 June 2004 -- baranda

Today's word is technically Lunfardo, Argentine slang. Here goes:

baranda n (lit. railing) bad smell: ¡Qué baranda! What stinks?! How rank!

Steven Burns....musician?

As the mother of a toddler, I have been subjected to more of my fair share of kiddie shows. One of these being Blue's Clues. My son loves that show, so we've seen Steve and Blue too many times to count. I knew that Steve had quit the show and I'd heard all the rumours of his untimely death. After watching a tape of Blue's Clues tonight, I got curious as to what good old Steve was up to these days. I thought I had heard something about him putting out an album. So I browsed my way over to steveswebpage.com and had a look around. There is a faq, some reviews from the press, a blog, but most importantly, an audio section where you can listen to some snippets from the songs on songs for dustmites, his debut release. I took it for a test drive, and I was surprised how good it was. I know it's probably the typical response...how can a ex-toddler show host go on to do this? In reading the reviews, I see that I'm not the only one who's digging this stuff. Way to go Steve!

footnote: I like Steve better than Joe and so does my son.

Donnie Darko

I love this movie. I didn't at first. It took me a couple of watchings to get into it. It's deep. It's a little strange. Both are wonderful attributes. I'm really excited about the Director's Cut that's being rereleased in theatres. This movie really didn't make much of a box office splash on its first release, but it seems to have picked up steam in the DVD release.
Check out the official website.

A meal truly alone?

We've not yet made it through a meal alone without the kid entering the conversation somehow. 

No lack of content here

Julian looked at the page earlier at my request because I wanted him to see that picture of the 3 cats and he said that my posts have gotten shorter and shorter and that it must be because I'm running out of things to say. Au contraire. My posts have gotten shorter because of less time in which to do my writing. I don't think I could run out of things to say. That could be helpful some day. For the moment, though, I'm simply bothering those around me to death with my incessant banter.

Speaking of my husband...I've been asked to send more emails to his parents back in Argentina with family updates and such. They don't speak much English, and I don't speak much Spanish, so that poses a problem. He tells me to just send the email in English and they'll translate it. My take on this is that he should help me translate the email in the first place, since he speaks both English and Spanish. It would be a learning opportunity for me, and make less work for his parents. I wrote an email in English back on 27 May and sent it to Julian so he could translate it for me. I asked him if he sent it to his parents yet and he said no. He told me to just send it in English. So I did and I feel bad about doing it now. I'm sure that in the grand scheme of things, his parents will just be thrilled to get an email from us at all, so I'm going to let it slide -- this time, at least.

Why are guys so...guy-like? Is it something genetic, an essential part of being male?I've been pondering that for some time now and I still don't have an answer. Perhaps I'll never know.

I've been thinking more about our potential move. There's a part of me that is ready to move. I've lived in the same city for most of my life and I'd like a change. But there's also a small part of me that is terrified of leaving behind everything and everyone that I know (except my immediate family, of course). Maybe it's a side effect of growing older because when I was younger (and not that much younger) I was prepared to move to another country to be with my now-husband. He ended up moving here instead, so it really became a non-issue for me. But now it's reared its ugly head again. I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. I really need to get over this and get on with my life.

Spanish Word of the Day 7 June 2004 -- embarazada

Embarazada (adj) means pregnant. Yo estoy embarazada. (I am pregnant)

This is a word that looks similar to embarrassed in English, but embarrassed is what you'll be if you use embarazada incorrectly.


EDITOR'S NOTE: I am not pregnant, the above sentence is merely for demonstration. I am just trying to stop any remours before they start.

C'est moi

lacarita
Originally uploaded by carrie.

This was me back in 1998. And just for the record, no that is not my natural hair colour.

What the...?

Dare I say...?
Originally uploaded by seanshaffer.

Okay, this popped up on my screen in Flickr as a random image. Is that a cat orgy? I am afraid...very afraid.

Spongebob Squarepants is my new hero!

Spongebob Squarepants
Originally uploaded by lacarita.

Spongebob is my new hero. We were introduced to Spongebob by my 2-year-old son, who saw it at daycare. We were in the store one day and wheeled past a display with Spongebob VHS tapes and DVDs. He made such a fuss I decided to give in and bought a tape. It was under $6, so I figured it was no big loss if we got it home and he/we hated it. We all love Spongebob. He's so funny! And so cute! And even though he's not exactly the brightest, that just makes him all the more endearing. We now have 25 episodes and I've seen every one of them. Watching Spongebob makes me happy. And that's a good thing.

Music

My husband says I'm a music snob. I disagree. Sure, I like to listen to some new bands that he hasn't heard of, but that alone doesn't qualify me as a snob. I like to listen to good music. It really doesn't matter what the genre is. My one exception is country, I suppose.
Right now I'm listening to The Mars Volta, De-Loused In The Comatorium. This is a brilliant recording.
Another band I like is Yo La Tengo, who will be at Juanita's here tomorrow night. This is a group you need to go see if you can.
I guess that's enough about my musical tastes for now. More to come later.

The results are in...

Maybe I shouldn't post these results, but here they are anyway:

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Very High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	High
Level 7 (Violent)	Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Very High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

This doesn't look good for me.

Moms Calendar

One of my favourite entries from the Moms calendar for 2004.

Moms Calendar - May 11 Originally uploaded by lacarita.

Bitter? Me? Never...

I found this site while perusing the web this afternoon. I really enjoyed it, being an ex-waitress and having been there and done that. Especially nice is the STD, the Shitty Tipper Database. Seems that Jennifer Lopez is really making great impressions on waitstaff the world over.
kiss my bitter ass

Everybody! Everybody!

I love Homestar...and Strong Bad...and the House that Gave Sucky Treats.

CNN.com - Ronald Reagan dies at 93 - Jun 5, 2004

Sad news.
CNN.com - Ronald Reagan dies at 93 - Jun 5, 2004

información

Spanish card Originally uploaded by lacarita.

10 de bastos
Here is a link with info on Truco and how to play. Este sitio está en español.
Truco - Juego tradicional de Argentina

ZB Pedal Steel Guitars - Please help! - The Steel Guitar Forum

This is a lovely thread about ZB Steel Guitars, a company that was founded by my dad. I made a page of serial number info for the guitars made while dad still owned the company and got a nice link from Larry on the forum.
ZB Pedal Steel Guitars - Please help! - The Steel Guitar Forum

Keyboard-o-rama

Toddler-approved. Loving Elmo around here. My 2-year-old feels important as he presses the keys and sees Elmo interact.
Keyboard-o-rama

The Lair of the Crab of Ineffable Wisdom - a load of stuff by Joel Veitch that will probably crush your will to live

This is funny stuff. It's got the Spongmonkeys and lots of kittens. It's older stuff, but still good. Take a look, if you haven't already.
rathergood.com

Had a fun evening out

I went out for dinner tonight with my husband, son, and one of our friends. We went to a southern cooking restaurant and my friend ordered this thing called Southern Cordon Bleu or something like that. Anyway, the premise of this thing is that it's a huge ham steak with swiss cheese on it topped by a chicken fried chicken(I know that's redundant -- it's what they call a breaded and fried boneless chicken breast), gravy and "special seasoning." This arrangement was as big as a dinner plate. We decided that the name was all wrong and it should be "heart attack on a plate" or something like that. And people wonder why we have an obesity epidemic. Geez. To his credit, he didn't eat it all -- at least not at one sitting. He left with take-out box in hand.

After dinner, we headed on over to Starbucks for some caffeinated goodness. I had a caramel macchiato. Yum! :) My husband rides me about trying to patronize local coffeehouses instead of corporate giant Starbucks, but until there's a local coffeehouse that is as convenient, then I guess I'll be going to Starbucks. Maybe I should open a coffee shop. Maybe I could have a Wi-Fi hotspot. Oh yeah. Hmmm....

Local Gas Prices

~ Welcome to NARNIA ~

I really enjoyed the books, and I hope this movie is worth watching. Guess we'll have to wait and see, eh?
~ Welcome to NARNIA ~

Ah, another gorgeous Saturday...and I'm stuck inside

I just got the daily weather report on my phone. It is currently 66F and is supposed to reach a high today of 86F with intermittent clouds. ¡Qué lindo! I'm ready to get this body in a swimsuit and in the pool so I can get a tan. I don't get off work until 4, and after I get off I have all the adult responsibilities to take care of -- laundry, cleaning, groceries, cooking, etc. I want to go swimming, but more than anything, I want a tan. I might have to break down and go to a tanning bed a couple of times. I know I said that I wouldn't do that, but I just don't have the time to spend outside soaking up the rays like I used to in high school and college.

I really think that most kids in school don't realize how good they have it. School(at least when I was in it) lasted from 8:00-3:00. There were no weekends required, and you got a break for roughly 3 months in the summer, plus about 2 weeks off for Christmas. Now, I get 3 weeks off a year, and I generally don't take those as consecutive weeks, just so I get a couple of well-spaced breaks a year.

I asked my husband about getting a cable package en español. I'm trying to improve my Spanish skills, and I thought that watching tv in Spanish would definitely help. I really feel that I should be more fluent than I am, considering that my husband is a native speaker. Anyway, I'm straying from the point. I emailed him a list of the included channels and he said that it's pretty crappy. I guess that means no Spanish cable for Carrie. Oh well.

Double Chocolate Stout

This is one of my favourite beers. Yum!
YOUNGS

mi gato

Pixel Originally uploaded by lacarita.

Mats4D Design:: State of the Art Multimedia Design :: - 3D Animation - CDROM Authoring - Flash production - Video Compositing and Web Development

I thought I'd give my friend a nod here for his newly relocated page. Mats4D Design:: State of the Art Multimedia Design :: - 3D Animation - CDROM Authoring - Flash production - Video Compositing and Web Development

The Rap Dictionary

This was an interesting read.
The Rap Dictionary

Friday again

Woo-hoo! It's Friday...another payday, too. I'm trying to make some plans for dinner tonight. Other than that, not much exciting around here. Just doing my thing...

So, my plan to get back on my diet last night kinda backfired. We had pizza and beer. I ordered a pizza online. That is too easy. I don't have to talk to anyone until someone shows up at the door with the pie.

One thing that's been on my mind lately with my dieting and all is the people that are trying to sue fast food chains for making them fat. That is absurd to me. It's not as if McDonald's makes them come in to their restaurant or makes them order a Big Mac and supersize fries. I realize that if I go to a fast food restaurant, that a lot of the options on the menu are not the healthiest things I could be eating, but it is my choice made of my own free will to order, pay for, and eat these things. Nobody is standing there at the counter twisting my arm. So, people, please give it up! Acknowledge the fact that you're fat because you made bad food choices and don't try to blame someone else for stuffing your face. It's the same thing with tobacco companies. Sure, cigarettes are bad for you. But it's not as if the company representative comes to your house with a cigarette and a lighter and shows you how to smoke or leads you to the store. Smoking (or not smoking) is a choice. Buying cigarettes is your choice. It's called free will. You're going to do what you want to do. Enough of my ranting for now. I'm out.

Imagination at Work!

I had lots of fun at this site bugging the hell out of friends and family with emails of my finished "masterpieces"
Imagination at Work!

Put Down the Donut!!!!

I just love the name of the site...
I can just imagine the food police: "Ma'am, I'm gonna need to to put down the donut"
Put Down the Donut

mid afternoon slump

I'm on my afternoon break and I feel like I could just put my head on my desk and go to sleep. I guess it's because I had a lot of carbs for lunch and my sugar high is subsiding. I really need to get back on my diet. I hate feeling like this. I feel bad partly for eating something that's not "approved" but mostly just physically feeling yucky because of what I ate. I resolve to start this evening. I am going to start eating better again.

Mission Accomplished

I got a swimsuit today! I was going to go out to the pool and test it out today, but just when both I and Enzo got suited up, I heard that there was a severe thunderstorm warning for our county, and going swimming with a large storm moving my way is not my idea of a good time.

I also got some items for the bath today. I'm redecorating my hall bathroom in khaki and pink. Those are two of my favourite colours at the moment, and I found some cute inexpensive stuff in that colour scheme, so I decided to take the plunge. We also got 3 new Spongebob Squarepants videos for the kid.

Other than that, not a whole lot is going on around here. Life is pretty boring at the moment. I guess I'm going to have to create some excitement.

Water-skiing squirrels make me smile :)

Doesn't this just make you happy? Something about a water-skiing squirrel really made my day today. We had lunch with Julian and this came with Enzo's kid meal. I just had to share. 

coffee coffee coffee

I finally got my Starbucks fix tonight. We went out for dinner tonight and then I got my caffeinated beverage from the drive-thru at Starbucks. That was about 2.5 hrs ago and I am wired now. I've managed to get on Julian's last nerve. I found a bunch of stuff at ThinkGeek that I want. One item on the list is a red swingline stapler. If you haven't seen Office Space, you won't fully appreciate this. That is one of my favourite movies, but I didn't truly get it until I went to work in a corporate environment.

On a different note, I'm off tomorrow and I think I'm going to have a go at swimsuit shopping again. I just want something that's cute, covers the right places, and doesn't look like something my mother would wear. Simple enough. I may also look for some new sunglasses. My previous pair has been destroyed thanks to my son, the walking demolition machine.

Definitely Good Eats

I love AB.
Alton Brown.com

Feels like Monday all over again...

Ugh. Well, I'm back at work again. Looks like it's going to be a busy day again today. I signed up to work through half of my lunch. I may cancel that, because I need to go to the DMV. My tags expired yesterday and I totally forgot about it until this morning. Oops.

One of my teeth chipped over the weekend and it hurts sooo bad. It doesn't help either that the remaining tooth has a jagged edge now and it is rubbing on the inside of my mouth. I have a spot that has rubbed raw. That makes it difficult to talk, and that's bad when you talk on the phone for a living. Blah.

I also ran out of cigarettes. Today feels like Monday all over again. At least I'm off tomorrow.