My thirteen favorite romantic movies of all time....

Married To It
I love this movie - I think it is such a realistic view of how different marraiges can be while still working, and how people at different stages learn different things about life.

Steel Magnolias
A great chick flick if ever there was one - I love southern women, I suppose because my Mom was a southern woman.

Gone With The Wind

Other girls had Cinderella, I had Scarlet. I actually really only love parts of this movie (its so darn long) but I love a strong woman, and Scarlet was one strong lady!

Diary of A Mad Black Woman
Another strong southern woman. I get a bit uncomfortable during the scene where she throws her husband in teh bathtub after his accident, she really releases her anger and it is scary to watch. I LOVE the scene where they go into the other woman's closet and tear it up, and when they cut the couch in half. I suppose the biggest reason I love this movie is the relationship that develops between the main character and the moving man she meets, and the way her brother holds onto his love for his addicted wife and in the end she comes out ok. I know, I know, its a movie, real life doesn't always work out so cleanly, but it is nice to think it does for a couple of hours!

Before Sunrise and Before Sunset



These two should go together - they are really a matched set. A great story about the chemistry that can happen to two people in an instant that can change their entire lives. Years later that chemistry holds true, and their lives intersect and reunite.

Music and Lyrics
Sweet show, cute and the look back at the 80s is spot-on. They got the video in the beginning right, and I love how Drew plays this part. It is a sweet watch for a rainy afternoon.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith
This is a violent movie, but it is also a love story. This is the movie where in real life Angelina and Brad found each other. You can feel the chemistry. They are two competitors pitted against one another and it is a turn on!


Hitch
This one has a lot of common sense to it. I always enjoy a good show. I like it when the little guy wins, when love prevails, and when cute men make fools of themselves to prove their hearts. This has it all!

West Side Story
A classic, what can I say? It was a teen flick for my sister and brother's age and it reminds me of the time they grew up. Also it is a nice remake of Romeo and Juliet, and the score is simply terrific.


The Notebook
This should be #1, because it is my #1. I love this movie. I love a good romance, and as I've gotten older I appreciate it when two people stick together forever and don't give up. There are parts of it that remind me of my own teen love - the passion and drive that you have then that is rarely recaptured later in life.

Spanglish
I'm not even sure why I like this movie. Maybe because for once Adam Sandler plays a real person and not some cut-up. Maybe because the romance in it is sweet and innocent. Maybe because I think Tea is a terrific actress. It just struck a chord with me.

Oklahoma

I love musicals, and Oklahoma is no exception. I love so many of the songs on this, and it reminds me of the kinds of things I watched growing up.

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Works for me Wednesday

Well today's tip is on how to get stinky shoes not stinky anymore. Did you know that the reason shoes smell, especially in the summer, is that bacteria start growing in them? You can kill the bacteria by putting your shoes (or your kid's shoes or your hubby's shoes) in the freezer for half an hour. Freezing them kills the stinky things, then pull them out, warm them up and put them back on!

Tackle it Tuesday Continues

Today I thought I'd tackle the laundry room. Since we got home from the coast (only one short week ago) it somehow has gotten completely out of control. Ok, it was a bit out of control before that, but look at it now!
So I went in and did an intervention, put laundry away, put the kid's clothes in their baskets for them to put away in the morning, even dusted and threw away a ton of junk. Still need to face off with the shelving unit in there, but at least it 'looks' better then it did!

Hard News to Hear

When we adopted Emma, we adopted her knowing that she had a small heart defect. We got her in to see the cardiologist almost as soon as we got home, and at the time they confirmed the measurements and information we'd received from China. We were told that in 3 to 4 years we would need to take Emma to Portland and have a minor catheterization surgery to repair the hole in her heart and make her 'normal.'

Today I had a follow up appointment with OHSU, something routine. I didn't think anything of it, and I took Em alone. It was a different doctor today, who listened briefly to her heart and said everything was fine. I mentioned to him that we had noticed her tiring sooner lately, and he dismissed me and said that that symptom would have nothing to do with what was wrong with her. I explained that the last cardiologist had said in fact that it would be a symptom. To appease me I think he finally agreed to take another look.

Now, instead of 3 years, we have 4 months. It seems little Em's heart is working double over time and enlarging. They want to push her surgery up quite a bit and possibly operate on her this fall. He had a very different approach when he came back in to see us and give me the news.

Please pray for our little girl. The other thing he said was that it could very well be an open heart surgery and not the cardiac cathertization that we had been hoping for. He said until we had more complete diagnostics run in Portland we wouldn't know a thing.

It is one thing to know your baby is going to have a problem years from now, and quite another to find out that the problem is at hand and that the solutions are going to be more invasive and scary then you expected.

'

Marriage Monday

Well it is another marriage Monday, lets recap. A few weeks ago DH and I were definately far down into a valley. We have had a challenging spring, with lots of loss and change and pain. We were taking it out on each other, and I was praying hard that God would give us an avenue to heal through.

Then God sent us to the beach - what a wonderful thing that was, and I found the challenge and I found the book, 'The Power of the Praying Wife" and life has been buzzing along.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book, and each night I try to pray for dh about the topic that I read about for the day. Some I already do all the time anyway. I've found myself praying for his safety since we met. Others I hadn't thought to pray about - work, purpose, mind.

I do think it makes a difference. We've been together 10 years as of Sunday. I thanked God last night for giving me 41 years of life, for all the good and the bad, and for giving me a man I could spend the rest of my life with.

Not too bad!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well I made it, I'm 41 years old! Ta Da. So far its a quiet day. Everyone at work forgot, which is par for the course.
One of my good friends sent me an ecard first thing and sang me happy birthday, and some of my other friends have remembered. I have a promise out of the kids that they will draw me pictures for my birthday. Both the older ones think we should have a beach party tonight. I had to tell them that Mommy had planned a kind of different party for herself, without them. My best friend and I are headed out for a pedicure and a slice of cake. Gotta love babysitters!
The beach trip was my birthday present this year, so I don't expect much of anything else.
Took Violet over to the first day of Ballet Camp today. She was so excited. Of course I win the bad mommy award on that front. I bring her in to work with me this am all ready for ballet. I am rereading the sign up sheet and I notice it says, 'a sack lunch and snacks should be brought along.' Oh my goodness, a sack lunch? So Vi is the only kid eating Subway for lunch today as that is about what I could pull off at 30 minutes before the class starts and no kitchen.
I keep waiting for her to find her 'thing.' When do you find the thing that you can do that you are mad about? Will it be ballet? It was NOT soccer, soccer was a complete bust. Gymnastics didn't seem as 'fun' as I thought it might be. Swimming is not it. Maybe Ballet will do the trick.
I'll post some pics later in the week. They do a little performance at the end of the week for us.

10 years ago today...

I met you nervously in person for the first time. You were waiting for me, carrying a single red rose. We ate dinner and we talked. We laughed. We went for a long walk and talked about the things that were important to us. Within a few short weeks I knew you were 'the one'.

Nine years ago I was the walking wounded. My Dad had died, your Dad had died, and within a few months my Mom would die too. You held us both together when it didn't seem like anything could.

Eight years ago we put on our best clothes and drove to church. We rewnewed our vows, in our own church, with only our pastor and a youth pastor as witness.

Seven years ago we had done our first IVF and it failed. I held in the tears after holding our first grandchild till I made it out to the car, and then we held each other and cried and cried like our hearts would never mend.

Six years ago we were in Portland, on a dinner cruise with our fingers crossed. Earlier in the day we'd transfered the embies that eventually turned into our beautiful twins.

Five years ago we were in awe of the two amazing lives we had created.

Four years ago today we were still in awe of the twins, and starting to talk about how we needed to have more children because they were so amazing.

Three years ago today the twins picked the name 'Emma' for the little sister they wanted.

Two years ago today Glenn's mom had moved in with us after we returned from taking the twins to Italy. It was also about 2 years ago that Violet said, 'Mom, it's time to go get Emma' at about the same time as when Emma was taken to the hospital and registered for international adoption. Our paths were headed towards one another even though we didn't know it.

One year ago today we got the word that Emma was ours forever and we started planning our trip to China to meet her.

Last night you didn't skip a beat. You took me back to the place we had our first date, you had arose waiting, and somehow you did it all without me knowing you had remember at all! I love you honey.

My Green Phase

I'm catching up on all the posts I didn't do last week, in case you are wondering why I'm so verbose tonight. I actually had these done, just not posted.

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I've started looking into green cleaning. It all started innocently enough. Glenn is now calling it my 'Green Phase' but we'll see if it sticks.

I started out this spring going to see a naturopath that a friend reccomended. She is really a terrific doctor, and I think she has made a difference. Anyway, she started talking to me about how important it was to try to eat foods as close to being whole as possible. About how organics are better for you, how there are so many pesticides and chemicals applied to everything we touch now that we are exposed to lots and lots of toxins which can make us feel bad. I've always been a bit of a skeptic so I listened and figured I'd give her way a shot.

Over time I did see a difference, and so I started adding other little things. For a few years now we've had 2 garbage cans. We got the second one when Glenn's Mom moved in and we just stuck with it. We filled them both up each week. It was costing us a ton of money, and we were diligently filling up the landfill.

So we started recycling. We sent back the second can and we rarely fill the one can completely. It is amazing how much stuff can be recycled.

It is only natural after you start looking around at these kinds of things that you look at the chemicals that you use in your home. I bought a book on Green Cleaning, and I figured I'd give the products a try. I'd been using Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products and Seventh Generation Laundry detergents. Little did I know that I could clean most of the rest of my house with baking soda, vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice!

Do we still use plastic - sure we do. I'm storing kid's clothes in it like mad. I'm not to the point of sleeping on organic cotton sheets and what not, but I like the changes we have made. If nothing else we are saving money now with these small changes. Hopefully we are shrinking our footprint as well!

Beach Pictures

Emma and Vi running in the waves.
The world's biggest club sandwich - we go to a restaurant in Newport called "Shirley's" where they make truely HUGE servings of food. How do you bite on this?
You can't see it very well, but out on Newport docks there are 2 old tires set up on pilings. The leaning one has a group of baby seagulls in it while the Daddy overseas. The waitress said that only one seagull is born each day, I guess they take turns!
At the Hatfield Marine Science Center, Jakey looks for the turtle that simply must be under the shell.
The kids and Daddy checking out the indoor tide pool where you can pet a starfish or a sea urchin.
The kids in front of the mini sub that Hatfield has out front. Hatfield is a division of Oregon State University. They are located right next to the Oregon Aquarium in Newport, and honestly I like them a bit better then the fancier model. They always have an octopus to look at, things to touch, and a great bookstore with wonderful books for you and the kids. They aren't so gimmicky.

Fantastic Friday

I thought that would be a good title. Nothing particularly exciting happened today other then it ended the world's shortest work week (2 days) You gotta love that.
In about 56 hours I turn 41 - that is pretty exciting. As usual I've been pretty introspective the last few weeks, considering what I want to do differently, what I like about what I've become. One thing I've realized is that I want to be a better wife. I saw on a website about the book, 'The Power of the Praying Wife' and I started reading it. It has really given me a great deal to think about.
I have realized over the last few months that I entertain people sometimes at the expense of others. It is an easy habit to get into the mode of not speaking in a completly loving manner about the ones you love sometimes - when they frustrate you, when you are making a joke about how 'men always do' this or that. The truth is, it colors how I view our relationship, and for that reason I've decided to stop. I've married a really terrific guy, and so I should let people know that.
I'm also giddy because Monday night I've scheduled a babysitter after work. My best girlfriend and I are sneaking out for dessert and a pedicure. I'm so far behind on pedicures, the thought of it is simply lovely!
I went out tonight and bought some plastic bins so I can start sorting and boxing more of the kids clothes. I buy way ahead and so I end up with piles of clothing in different sizes. I've been stuffing them in the girls' room since the girls aren't in it yet, but now that I want Emma to move into her own room, I need to clear it out. This weekend's project is to get some of that stuff boxed and put away.
I'll try to add more beach pictures too this weekend, so stay tuned!

The Thursday Thirteen ( a day late)

Thirteen Things about Our Beach Vacation



1. We had beautiful weather for all 8 days! (a miracle on the Oregon coast)
2. Boo experienced his first time in the ocean. It makes him bounce!
3. Emma saw the ocean for the first time and loved it
4. We had a great time planning our trip to Europe
5. The kids and I had slumber parties most nights where we put on our PJs early and watched a movie
6. We went to two aquariums
7. We played on the beach and built great sandcastles
8. We spent many lazy days watching the surf and just being a family
9. The rental house didn't look like much in pictures, but they had just redone it inside
10. It had a dishwasher (yeah!)
11. The kids petted a cockatoo (two houses down had 2 of them)
12. We collected lots of seashells
13. I got to sleep in until almost noon one day!





Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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Life's a Beach!

Greetings from the Oregon coast! So far we've been blessed with truely stunning weather! I'll fill you in when we get back, for now I'll try to add a few photos...

The Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things that have changed this year about Shari 1. I have become a mother of 3 instead of 2 2. I have traveled to China with twin 4 year olds (our second overseas outing with small children) 3. I have started seeing a naturopath 4. I finally got rid of the varicose vien that made my leg too ugly for shorts 20 years ago (I fell and broke the vessel when I was 21, kept putting off fixing it) 5. Our family has started eating mostly organic 6. I've switched out all our cleaning products to green things 7. I've started recycling 8. I got a new Palm Phone :) 9. I bought a new washer/dryer 10. I actually saved up enough cash for the washer/dryer in advance 11. My mother-in-law died (devastating, she was one of my very best friends) 12. We've eaten in more then we've eaten out 13. I started this blog! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Woo Hoo, Gotta Love Air Miles!

Well today on my lunch break I took a chance and called the air miles partner desk to take my first stab at next year's vacation. DH and I have it worked out that we charge everything to our air miles VISA, and every few years we can go somewhere really fun. A few years back it was Italy. This time its off to the United Kingdom! Believe it or not, I got tickets on the first try. We have 3 weeks in Europe, and I even got weekend flights to boot!
So now the fun planning begins. I stopped by the library today and picked up some travel guides. We go in and out of Heathrow, but what we do for the 3 weeks is up to us. I suspect we'll try to spend the last week in London proper and rent an apartment. Now that we are a family of 5 apartments often make more sense then hotels. Most hotels can't accomodate us quite frankly.
I think we'll probably get a britrail pass and take the train most everywhere. It is so much easier then lugging car seats around and trying to find rental cars that are large enough to accomodate us.
If you are reading this and you have an opinion, what should we do with our 3 weeks? Leave me comments or send me an email :)
Speaking of vacations, tomorrow the house sitter comes and we are off to a week on the ocean. I'm not sure what internet access will look like from there, as it is a small town without much in the way of cell service and what not. I'll post if I can. This will be both Emma and Boo's first time to see an ocean. It should be a kick!
Happy blogging everyone and a Happy 4th of July!

Tackle it Tuesday

Well last night I took 'before' pictures of the kid's closet, and then we went to work. My plan this summer is to move Emma out of our bedroom and into the guest room with Violet. That means all of Vi's stuff has to get out of what will be Jakey's room.
So we emptied Jakey's closet - wow, what a stockpile we had. There were clothes that would never fit, clothes that still would fit, and toys and old garbage that they had stuffed in there.
The guest/girls room now looks like a cyclone came in (ops) but Jakey's closet looks terrific! He and I moved some stuff out of his dresser and into the closet drawers. He is so happy. My intent is to eventually move both his dressers into the girl's room and get him a loft setup, but for now this works!
Em and Violet helped us with the purge. Em found a fake furry white jacket I had purchased for Vi when she was a baby at a garage sale. It never fit her right as it was too big one winter and too small the next. Em was completely taken. There is something really great about the way Em is when she gets something. She found it, and she held it up and I said, 'Em, you can have that if you want it'. She snuggled it up against her and looked so happy while she said with a question, 'Mine?' I said, "yes, yours" and she skippped off to put it on. She got the buttons slightly off but she wore it all evening and was just totally happy. Glenn and I marvel sometimes at how something so simple like an old jacket can mean so much to her.
I couldn't find the camera so I took pictures with my phone. It seems to be wigging out a bit, so I'll see if I can find anything to post later. Anyway, Jakey's closet is drastically improved.

A little bit more about the Dragon Boat Festival

The party this weekend threw Emma completely off course. Weird, I know. She looked like she was enjoying it while we were there, but in fact we returned home and she regressed big time.
The problem with adopting a 2 year old is that they just can't explain it. Maybe even if she was a teenager she wouldn't have words. Did something trigger a memory? Did so many little asian girls somehow send her over the top? The boats? Something someone said ot her?
She fell asleep in the car on the way home, and we had every intention of heading on to a party at my girlfriend's house later in the evening. Instead, Em woke up just panicked. She cried, she screamed, she clung to me as if her life depended on it. She was calm if I held her, but completely balistic if I didn't. She horded food for the rest of the weekend in her cheeks, and until mid-day Sunday she got a wild look in her eyes if I left the room without her. Putting her to bed Saturday was a chore, and she cried and fought sleep until close to midnight.
Poor little heart, how do we heal it for you? Sunday afternoon she returned to her old self, but Sunday night she woke up crying and I took her into bed with us. Glenn said he felt like we had just returned from China as he kept getting kicked in the head.
It is hard to watch your kids struggle in life and not be able to fix it. I suppose I'll always feel that way. Right now though, she seems so small and helpless, and I have so little to offer her. I can't erase the pain that she must be remembering, I can only hug her through it.
This week we'll have all week to do just that. We are headed to the ocean in a few days to play in the surf, build sand castles, and relax as a family. I think it may be just what the doctor ordered for Emma.

The letter N

Well a friend of mine, Robin had a challenge the other day - list ten things starting with a letter. I thought it looked cute so I agreed to play along. She assigned me the letter 'N' so here goes!

1. Night - my favorite time of day in the summer, after the kids have gone to bed and you can sit on the back deck and look at the city lights and hear the noises of people and places, as well as the wildlife that surrounds our house.
2. Novel - I love a good novel to read on a rainy day.
3. Napoli's a terrific Italian restaurant here in Eugene that we like to order in from now and again.
4. Needle - something I use now and again when I do quilting (which since adding kid #3 seems to be a thing of the past, gotta get back to hobbies!)
5. Necklace - Last year DH got me a beautiful locket with all 3 kids pictures in it to wear, I just love it!
6. Nice - What we were all told to be when we were growing up - be a nice girl :)
7. Nap - I think the southern Europeans have it figured out with nap time, why don't we adopt that in America for adults?
8. No - What Emma chants as she is doing something she shouldn't, 'no no no no no'
9. Nothing - What Jakey and Vi say when they are quiet and I ask them what they are doing (and which generally translates into 'nothing you should know about because then we'd be in trouble')
10. Nita - My Mom's nickname, what my Dad called her. Makes me smile when I think about it!

There, there are my 10! If you would like to join just PM me or leave a comment and I'll send a letter to you :)

Dragon Boat Festival

Jacob, Violet and Emma playing with a soccer ball in the park.
Emma hugging a tree.

Emma and another little girl playing with the boats.
The family sitting under a tree eating snacks - it was hot!
Emma with chocolate cookie all over her face (she loves chocolate!)

Today we attended the Dragon Boat Festival, a celebration for China Adoption families here in our area. They had a great turnout, with kids of all ages and their families showing up.
There were supplies to make dragon boats, several small kiddie pools to float them in and food to share.
Emma was a bit hesitant, she still doesn't love crowds. Jakey and Vi played on the swingset and kicked the soccer ball around. One little boy even stripped down and got into the wading pool!

The Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Places that I want to see! Thirteen places I want to see 1. Back to China - I want to spend a month exploring the region Emma is from. (Guangxi) 2. Italy - At least one more visit but this time up in the hill country, and back to Venice. 3. Russia - I've always wanted to explore Russia 4. Poland - I want to see where my father's ancestors came from 5. Great Britain - castles, castles and more castles 6. Greece 7. The Holy Land 8. Drive across the US - road trip! 9. Alaska via the Alaskan Highway 10. Inside Passage via boat 11. New England - Boston, Philadelphia 12. Mississippi River 13. The deep south - Alambama, Louisiana, Georgia Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Vrrrmmmmm Vrmmmmmm

Yesterday I took the bus home at lunch and started running some errands. One of my errands was to pick up a prescription from Bi-Mart. I noticed that there were some race cars out front and then a man came over to me and told me to cover my ears. Soon a monster truck pulled up.
I raced home and told Jakey to put his shoes on. He acted a little put off by my rush, but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot he was all smiles.
They weren't too busy, so they not only talked to Jakey for a while, but they let him sit in a race car! He was so excited. He got a hat and an autographed picture of the one driver. I took photos of him next ot the monster truck as well. A man who was watching said that the truck was so big that I'd have to draw a circle around Jakey in the picture to find him!

Other then that, yesterday was uneventful. Renewed my library card and checked out a couple books. Sorted Emma's clothes and put her winter stuff downstairs in her future bedroom.
I've decided that each evening I'm going to spend a little time in the girl's room clearning the closet out. Emma has been sleeping in our room almost a year now, and I'm ready for her to move to her own space. If I can get the closet empty and the dressers free of stuff I could probably round up some people to help me move the beds around and the girls could start sleeping together. I don't have to bunk Jakey's room right away. I hope to take a long weekend and paint his room though, so I need to start working on a plan. He now wants race cars and airplanes. If you have any mural ideas for that, I'm all ears!

More Camping Pictures

Camp Pictures

Here are some pictures that the camp counselor took this week at camp - aren't they great! That is Jakey on the zip line, as well as pics of the whole group of Kindergarteners to be!

Weekend

Just got back from the farm. Drove the twins out to this place about 5 miles north of town that has fresh produce and some animals. Its cute, they have wisely set it up to be a desitation. You drive out, buy produce and dairy, and put it in your car. Then you can walk back and buy goat food for a quarter and feed the goats. You can also see stock horses, cows, llamas, a donkey, and some labms. They have picnic tables and a playground to let the kids run off some energy. It is the same place we take the kids to hunt pumpkins in the fall, and we always really enjoy it.
Last night Glenn and I snuck in a date night. We went out to PF Chang's again (yum) and then to see "Knocked Up" which was a rough but funny movie.
Its actually raining today on and off, suprise surprise. Amazing how once we hit summer officially the weather goes south. Why is that?
I read this article the other day in the Mother Earth News about how they are injecting beef with salt and water now, have you seen that. If you buy ground beef at a big store and read the tiny itty bit print, it has saline in it. They have found that if they add that it stays red longer. It makes sense as when we used to try to cook low salt for my mother in law sometimes she'd swell up after I cooked fresh meat without adding salt. Now I know someone was there ahead of me. I guess you can also tell that they add gasses by the packaging - if it is in plastic and the top is bubbled up, odds are good oxygen or other gasses have been added to make it red longer. Kinda makes you wonder what else is going on....

Closing Ceremonies at Camp Wilani

Today we left work early so we could drive out to Camp Wilani and attend the closing ceremonies for our little campers. Camp Wilani is out in Veneta, over a hill and down a gravel road.
We all drove out there and parked, and then we walked into the camp. It is deep in the woods althought they have clear-cut just across the meadow. We went to an amphitheater where the other campers were all waiting for us.
Camp fire still looks the same as it did 20 years ago, surprisingly enough. The outfits were about the same, and even the patches sometimes looked like 70s motif.
The kids sang, did skits, and talked about their week and what they learned. The twins and the other kindergarteners were just adorable singing together. Their counselor, 'Monkey' did a great job of leading them all.
All the camp counselors had fake names for the week and they announced their real names today. It was a lot of fun.
I'll load pictures this weekend. Have a good one.

The tree is down...

When I returned from lunch today, I heard a very loud crash right as I was crossing the street. I could see dozens of people standing on the sidewalk looking towards my office. Sure enough, while we were gone they had taken out the last of the tree.

Our university arborist is really terrific. He didn't hit anything, and things landed right where he said they would. I guess I can work happily this afternoon without worry!

13 Reasons to love being a parent

Thirteen Things about Shari 1. Hearing the shout of 'Snuggle!' before 3 small ones land on top of you in bed and shower you with kisses. 2. Having an excellent reason to lay on the ground and discuss cloud shapes with another human being. 3. Being able to kiss a hand while wearing lipstick and knowing they will guard the 'kiss' most of the day as a reminder of your love. 4. Seeing the world through a child's eyes 5. Singing and knowing that no one cares if you are good or not 6. Dancing until you fall over laughing. 7. Decorating cookies and sandwiches with smiley faces 8. Listening to stories about the pill bugs you find under the flower bed 9. Receiving boquets of dandelions with heartfelt 'I love you's 10. Coloring the left page while your child colors the right page 11. Reading the books you loved as a child to your children and seeing the same joy in their eyes. 12. Watching your child excel at something you never mastered 13. Listening to the stories of their adventures away from you and seeing their excitement as they gain self-confidence. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! http://thursdaythirteen.com/

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I usually could just take it or leave it

But I couldn't not share this video it just cracks me up! I so hate our age where you can be famous for no talent whatsoever. I have to admit I've taken some obscure pleasure in seeing Paris Hilton get locked up, in spite of the waste of perfectly good journalism space that is spent on her. Anyway, this video is just terrific.

Camp, Tree removal and other musings...

It is Wednesday at lunch, and the sound of a chain saw comes through my shut window as I am occassionally startled by branches hitting the side of the building on their way down. There is a large tree that someone thoughtlessly planted back when the University began, over 100 years ago, about 4' from the foundation. Over time it has become taller then our 4 story building, and probably close to 3' across at the bottom. With all this growth roots stretched out seaking more water, and finding none, broke through the concrete foundation hunting for more.
A few weeks ago men with hard hats and clipboards started circling my tree. Yesterday they arrived and roped off a quadron with orange tape to keep people safe. It goes out 30' feet on all sides of the tree, but they did not ask me to move. Interesting.
I did abandon my office yesterday for a while when the big branches were hitting. This afternoon I suspect I'll leave again when they start removing the actual trunk. It makes me sad that it is leaving.
The twins are on day 3 of summer camp, and they are loving it. I can't tell you how glad Glenn and I are that we sent them. Each day they come home and I'm amazed at what they have done. They have been canoeing, they have gone swimming every day, and yesterday they even did a zip line across the river. They both said they were a little scare but then they had fun once they tried it.
They do come home exhausted each evening, and covered with dirt. I do two frantic loads of laundry to get all their stuff cleaned up before the next day. They crash into bed hard and sleep well each night.
I am looking forward to a quiet weekend with nowhere to go. After all our running around the last few weeks the thought of just being home and being still is pretty attractive. Of course plenty of chores await us. Its time to start working on the bedrooms, getting ready for Violet nad Em to share a room. I have lots of work ahead before that, but we might as well get started.
Have a great day!

8 Random Things About Me...

Above are a few random pictures from our Seattle Trip, just for fun :)

1. I am an artist, I can draw people pretty well and have pictures I've drawn of all my boyfriends when I was in my 20s
2. I love to travel
3. For my 16th birthday I toilet papered the Murphy bridge with my friends
4. If money were no object, I'd have at least one more child
5. My favorite color is cobalt blue
6. I actually enjoy doing laundry - I love how clean everything gets, making the whites really white and how good it all smells when you are done. It is a job that can be completed with very few complications.
7. My idea of a great day is being somewhere in a house adjacent to the ocean, the window open so I can hear the waves and smell the salt in the air. I have to have a really great book as well!
8. So far my favorite European City is Venice.


There, that's 8. Now I'm tagging any of you who want to play. Here are the rules:
Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

North for Father's Day

For Father's Day this year DH decided he wanted to head north to Seattle. Seattle is really one of our favorite cities, and we try to sneak up there once or twice a year when we have a long weekend.
Initially we envisioned this as a train ride, but after assessing what it would be like for me to carry all the luggage and manage children while dh was recovering from shoulder surgery, we opted for the 4 runner instead. After a liesurely ride up to Portland and a couple toy store stops (Hannah Anderssen for me, Fry's for him) we made it to Seattle. Friday we were up early, and we ate breakfast at the hotel before setting off on foot. Our destiation initially was the zoo, but after checking our weather reports we opted instead to hoof it up to the Seattle Center. It wasn't far, probably a little over half a mile, and we were there.
We were a hair early, so we went into the food court area to wait for things to open. At 9:30 am there isn't much happening there, except for an occassional transient trying to keep warm and catch a nap. We had some starbucks before heading down to the Children's Museum.
The Seattle Children's Museum is wonderful. The kids played nonstop for several hours. It was so much fun to watch Emma try to do everything her sibs were doing, laughing the whole time. We dressed up, they made food for us, they assembled and dissassembled things. It was grand.
We went upstairs and boy had the room changed while we were gone. By 12:30 the food court was jam-packed with people of all shapes and sizes. We finally found a filthy table and cleared it off enough to eat. It was fun to watch the crowds. Seattle is so much more diverse then our hometown. For the first time in a while I felt like we didn't stick out a bit. I think the oddest sensation was that when I saw an asian child they most often had an asian parent of two. In our town, most asian children are adopted and so you rarely see a parent of the same race.
So after lunch we headed over to DH's favorite playground, the Science Center. We saw a movie about Lewis and Clark at the omnimax theater before we went to play in the exhibits. The center has a terrific dinosaur fossil exhibit right now. We looked at fossilized eggs, and lots of great dino skeltons. Jakey was in heaven.
We ended up at the water play area. Jakey and Vi are actually about an inch too tall to go in there, but we snuck in anyway. Emma succeeded in dousing herself with water and we couldn't really get her rung out. We decided it was probably time to head out, so off we went.
I stopped at a cute little store next to the Children's theater and bought a few books. They had some really gorgeous fairy books, and of course the colorful sheep book that went with the dramatic performance going on at the Children's museum.
DH dug out garmin and we headed out for a grocery store. Safeway looks different in Portland, it has its own parking structure! After picking up supplies we headed back to our hotel and ordered italian in for the night.
Saturday was a public transit day. We found the bus and rode it all the way out to Woodland Park Zoo. The Zoo there is so nice - the critters aren't caged up in miserable spaces and are allowed to inhabit habitats more like they would have in nature. Its always a pleasant experience, and due to the big solstice celebration in Fremont District no one was there until much later!
We rode the bus back downtown and got off near Pike's Market. We walked down a LOT of stairs (carrying Emma who didn't want to walk much) and ended up at the Seattle Aquarium. The kids had a good time watching the sea otters eat abalone, and looking at baby salmons.
We ate dinner outside, which was a mistake. A cold wind was coming in and we almost froze sitting on the deck looking at the sailboats As usual the food was terrific, but we ate quickly and scurried back to the bus and our hotel.
Today we hit the Boeing Space Museum along with hundreds of other families to see the new space exhibit. It was great - they had a mock-up of the space station and lot sof lunar landing stuff. I think Em didn't get much out of it, but the rest of us were thrilled. It always makes me smile and think of my Dad too, when I get around the old planes. There was one vet from WWII there, and it reminded me of how much he also loved to fly. I hope at some level one of the kids gets that love. It was such a part of who my Dad was, and he never got to share it with them.
More later, its late, and I'm pooped!

A Beautiful day...

Woke up early and went into work. It's graduation weekend this weekend, and the campus is abuzz preparing for the event. As I drove by Dad's Gate there were 6 people out planting big flats of flowers. Others were powerwashing the sidewalks, pruning and weeding, and spreading bark. I always love this time of year, all the excitement and happiness. Families come together to celebrate a fantastic accomplishment that their son or daughter, niece or nephew. Often these accomplishments take years or even a lifetime to reach. Over the last few weeks I've repeatedly seen nervous students pacing the hallway outside our conference room. The culmination of a PhD is the defense, which happens in the weeks up before graduation. It is given after years and hyears of work and it can be the death of your dreams if you somehow blow it. Generally people don't, because by the time you are far enough along in a PhD program to do your defense you have proved yourself, but it still is a time of anxiety and then celebration.
This is a busy time in the offices. During the school year staff work Monday throught Friday, and are off at 5 without a second thought. This weekend though most everyone will be working out in the departments. They do it as much for the pleasure of seeing people complete their degrees and start their life as anything.
People always ask me if we have the summer off. The resounding answer is a big fat "NO". College goes on all year long. Faculty often take the summer off, but staff are still in the trenches. Working like I do in the dean's offices, we are barely effected by graduation or the end of the school year. Our biggest work season often is spring and summer. We start preparing for the 'new year' which for us starts July 1 early in the spring and we continue with setup and adjustments right up till fall term.
I think the truth of the matter is that I really love school. I loved college - I loved learning, the smell of new books in the fall, the cycles that let you complete one set of tasks and move onto another. I loved the freedom of learning about whatever you wanted, stretching your imagination and finding out you could do things you never imagined. I still love that as that is a large part of my job. I may not be developing a cure for cancer or writing the next great novel, but I'm allowed a level of freedom and creativity in my job that would never occur in most standard corporate positions. Universities are full of bright people and lots of energy. They can get stuck in 'how we have alway done it' but often you find innovative people who are dedicated to doing things for something besides money. (Lord knows you don't work there for the cash, private industry would pay so much better for most PhDs and even a lot of Masters and Bachelors degree holders.)
The other thing about universities is that they are really beautiful. The buildings are often old and protected by historic preservation. There are plans to maintain green spaces, and the landscaping is gorgeous. The tree outside my window is almost 100 years old. I work in a building that is 120 years old. There is something great about being a part of something so much bigger.
Ok, enough ode to work for one day. Have a fantastic evening!

How to be a good Mom, according to 'them'

Have you ever considered how our perceptions of what we 'should' be come into being? I've been thinking about that lately. It seems like all of us are racing along at a startling pace, trying to get stuff done. We are trying to work hard, buy more stuff, enroll our kids in all the right things, take the right vacations, buy the right cars, and live in the right houses. Yet who determines what is 'right'?
Very little about our lives is real anymore. I noticed last night as I was picking the kids up from childcare. A woman was picking up her baby. Her body was not real. Here in my little neck of the woods people are investing in plastic surgery. Magazine covers are airbrushed. Women are held to rediculous standards.
Oprah, who I don't often watch, had a show on last week about age. She had on Gina Davis and Diane Carrol and Norah Ephron. Diane Carrol has had so much plastic surgery that she hast the skin of a 20 year old and she is well into her 70s. Gina Davis's forehead doesn't move when she talks, and she has not a crease. Even Oprah's forehead looks pretty creaseless. How is that possible? I look around at my 30 and 40 something girlfriends and we all have a few lines. Of course none of us are willing to pay to have someone inject botox into our foreheads.
Did you know if you go to the store you can pay to buy a 'neck mask' The neck is the one area that we haven't mastered yet. They can't do a neck lift. They can laser it, but the bottom line is your neck is going to show your age, a lot like your hands do.
Ahh, but I digress. So while we are supposed to look a certain terrific way, we are also supposed to do certain terrific things. That song in the 70s, I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, etc, is a lie. No one can do it all without sweating. I think most women who work during the day, come home, make dinner, take care of kids and keep the house fairly decent fall over from exhaustion the minute they get everyone put to bed at night. How could they not? Its exhausting demanding work. At least I get to go to work and just be a worker for a few hours a day. I get adult conversation and interaction. I can do that job and do it well. I come home at night and suddenly I have a million jobs to do, and some of them are changing constantly. Kids don't stay static. Just about the time you figure out how to help them with whatever behavioral problem they are presenting, they throw a new one at you and you start from square one.
Next week I've signed the twins up for daycamp out in the woods. It requires that they get on a school bus together, without us, and ride out each day. I'm so worried they won't go. They have never done it before, and they tend to be a little tentative at first. I've signed them up for very little this summer. I also don't have them enrolled in a million after school activities. I don't know how I could. How do people work 8-5 and get their kids to soccer practice, ballet lessons, karate, and piano lessons? I'm baffled by it. I refuse to buy into it, although the pressure is horrendous. So far we have not been tutoring our kids and pushing them. We read to them each day and we use computers, but I haven't been forcing them to use them to 'get ahead' when they enter kindergarten. People do.
I wonder what we'll see in 20 years when this generation enters the workforce. I suspect we'll see another set of counterculture - people who have been pushed too far too young and rebel by not pushing at all. We are already beginning to see tired and worn out 20 year olds.
The weekend before last we spent a better part of one morning looking for bugs in the front yard. We found 'rolly pollies' as my daughter likes to call them, or 'pill bugs' The kids have far more fun doing what kids have always done, playing with stuff in nature, make-believe and dress up. A large box is still a far more excellent toy then anything we could buy. If the basic truths of childhood haven't changed, why is it that we sink so much cash into commercially marketed things that are supposed to be even better. . You can't get better then a fairy tale castle made out of a refrigerator box, or a pill bug family on the front stoop.
Ok, enough rambling for today...

Matching

Matching is such a different topic to me. Since having twins I've learned that you should not under any circumstances match your children daily. It is frowned upon big time in the twin community. I dress them in matching stuff for pictures sometimes, or coordinating stuff, but for the most part they are their own people and they wear what they want to wear.

This worked out well right up till we started down the adoption road. Now there are new rules. Dress your kids alike so your new kid feels a part of the family. So now for the first time I am hunting through racks of girl's clothing for matching 2T and 6 dresses, tops and skirts. The girls just glow when they match, but finding matching toddlers and girl's clothing is a chore!

This means of course that we are doing a terrific job of making sure the girls feel a part of the 'club', but what about our son? How do we make him not feel excluded? We can't really pony up another son just so he can have his own club. If you think finding matching girl's clothing in different size groups is hard, add in a boy and the fun really begins! So we struggle daily with how to make sure Jakey feels like part of the gang.

One thing we do is to talk about how we are a 'Pile of Powells' or a 'Powell Sandwich' or 'A Line of Powells'. This means we are either all stacked on the bed together, or we put the kids in the middle and hug em (sandwich, we are the bread) or we walk 5 across holding hands.

If you have any ideas on how to make your kids feel part of the group, send them along, we are all ears!

Long Time No post

Sorry to be so long away - things have been a little hectic here. Did a quick trip down this weekend to the Rogue Valley to see our nephew at his graduation party. He graduate from Hidden Valley with honors, we are all so proud of him!
Stayed a cute little place in Ashland, where the party was. Rented a cottage just across the street from Lithia Park. Played in Ashland, explored the shops and found out that some things have not changed at all! Rare Earth, a store that met every teen's dream in the 1980s, is alive and well. It still has cute clothes, adorable shoes, records and cheap decor. Gone are the bongs of the 1970s and 80s, but there is even more cute asian themed stuff to replace it.
Em had a clingy weekend. I feel like I could use a break as she has wanted me to hold her 24/7. Dad won't do, only Mommy. I'm not one to be with anyone 24/7, so it has been a challenge.
Drove both ways as Glenn's shoulder is still not ok. He goes back in 10 days and then he can remove the sling and start the grueling process of physical therapy. I both dread it and can't wait for it. I miss his contributions around here, but I know that the road back is pretty awful.
Had a nice family time Saturday night. Our family is such a bunch of contrasts. Half of the family is fairly 'clean cut' and religious and middle class. The other half is alternative, with tatoos, dreadlocks, piercings and drug use abounding. Always weird to get the whole group in a room together.
I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow. If you can't wait you can always sneak over to the other website, http://www.pileofpowells.net
Sweet Dreams!

Time flies when you are not having fun!

Sorry to have disappeared for so long. What a crazy hectic week it has been. Last week I may have mentioned Glenn had his shoulder surgery. Rotator cuff surgery is HUGE! Anyway, we went to the doctor yesterday and it seems that the recovery time is totally slow. Four more weeks in a sling, then 4 weeks of not lifting over 10 pounds, and then rigorous physical therapy to get back over this. He is being a trooper, I can't even imagine. He can't drive for another 2 weeks, and he can't work. He is allowed to try typing now and again at the computer but when his shoulder hurts he should stop. He is stuck in the house each day all day while I"m at work, and mostly at night we don't go out. I would not do well at that plan.
Meanwhile I've interviewed some nanny candidates, trying to figure out what to do on that front. About a week ago I found out that my son was being harassed and physically tortured by another child at daycare. This same child has done it before, and I had been assured he'd be removed if he did it again. Well, that assurance wasn't worth squat. My intention is to get my kids out of that situation.
Our long anticipated trip to southern Oregon has been busted for now. We instead have booked a place in Ashland in a couple of weeks to go down for my nephew's graduation. Unfortunately his actual graduation is on a weeknight, so we won't get to go to the high school (wah, I'd love to go back!!) They are having a party in Ashland, and I found a cute little house to rent that will accommodate all of us for the weekend. Hopefully we can drive up to Grants Pass and kick around our old stomping grounds. I'm looking forward to letting the kids try Lithia Water at the park as well!
Had a blast from the past looking at my old high school sight. It seems one of my old teachers, who was a young slim blond girl with great long hair who married another teacher, is now a huge women who seems to have the spiked short lesbian hairdo going on. Funny what a couple of decades can do to a person! She was always a strong woman, I guess some things have changed though.
All from the grass seed capital of the world!

Interviewing

So one of my jobs at work is interviewing potential new employees. Today was one of those days - I brought in a small parade of job candidates and spent 45 minutes getting to know each one.
I have to say that a statistic I read many years ago pops into mind at times like this. I think I read that something like 20% of the population has a mental illness. It is never so apparent to me as when I do interviews.
With the age of the internet, with information literally at your fingertips, people aught to 'know' how to interview. There are some conventions to it. Wash your hair. Put on clean clothing. Brush your teeth. Think a bit about your life, and what you would like to tell the employer. Maybe live on the edge and do a little research on the place. Look interested. Remember that it isn't a test to see how good you interview, its a chance to talk about who you are and who the company is and see if it would be a nice fit.
of course the interview process is fraught with difficulties on both sides. I am the middle-man - the person who helps other people find good candidates. I am constantly asked why they have to do two interviews, why they need to talk to soo many people, why they have ot invest so much time. When I tell them it costs half a year's wages if they screw it up, they look doubtful. They minimize the work these people do for them. They don't think about what they really need and want. They tend to try to hire people they would like to go out to coffee with and discuss a great book together.
We survived today's intervews only to be left with no clear winner. So the process of elimination began with us trying to contact references. This is another area where people mess up. Make sure you have good #s for your former employers. Today I made 6 phone calls, and I got not a single reference. I did find two numbers that worked, but both people were out of town for the week.
Hiring season is at hand. This is the beginning of lots and lots of interviews, reference checks, coaching and discussion. After having sounded so negative above, I wills ay that people do do it right. Unfortunately out of the 2 dozen applications on this job, only a handful did. Then again, I only need one great candidate to say 'yes'!
...............
And on a personal note, today is Emma's day to fall down. Two is getting more and more charming by the day. Today Emma stood on my bed and when I tapped her just barely on the chest with a finger she fell into my pillows laughing hysterically. She would get back up and wait for me to do it again. If I didn't comply, she'd fall anyway and laugh hysterically once more. It was terrific therapy! There is nothing better then the clear free laugh of a two year old....
Good night!

Long week and its only Tuesday!

Whew, what a week. Sunday was Mother's Day, and it was a fine one although probably not what I had envisioned. Kids were cranky, Glenn was nervous and we couldn't find a movie to go to. Ended up puttering around the house and cleaning the garage. Not exactly a dream day of relaxing but it had to be done.
Yesterday I drove Glenn over and he had his rotator cuff reattached. That was a charming surgery. Got there at 10:45, he didn't get in to the surgery room until 1:19 and I didn't see the doctor till closer to 4pm. The orthopedic surgeon brought out some beautiful color shots of Glenn's shoulder which he said were crap because they were just little peep-holes into it. the good news is that he got things reattached, although it took longer then he intended.
Luckily I had planned for them to run over (they always do) and so I ran home, picked up the kids, and met my friend Cynthea at my house. I even ordered pizza so no one would starve. Then back to the hospital to wait for them to discharge the patient. Sometimes hospital planning baffles me. they have a pharmacy in the base of the short stay unit. They give me 3 prescriptions that he should start immediately, but they don't give them to me until they give me his discharge paperwork at 6:10 pm. I go downstairs. The pharmacy closes at 6pm, so no luck. We can't spend the night without the prescriptions. Glenn is cranky and doesn't want to go home and sit with Cynthea (who is my friend but only an aquaintance to him really) and so I end up with him in the parking lot at Bi-Mart for an extremely long time waiting for them to fill our prescription. Bi-Mart doesn't care if you are in pain, if you just had surgery, if you are dying in thier parking lot. They fill prescriptions in the order they come in, whether people are there waiting or not. So we waited 45 minutes after they told me 20, and finally got to go home.
Today I had to 'watch' Glenn all day. That was fun. He mostly slept and so I did a few chores and not much else.
I did get some exciting news. It seems that the preschool has changed it's mind on transporting to kindergarten. When we were planning everything early this spring they assured me that they would go to any kindergarten within a reasonable distance if 2 or more kids were going. Since I have twins, I figured I was scott free. Well today I turned in my 'reservation' for next year and she said, 'oh, I don't know that we go to that school. What???? So now I'm scrambling trying to figure out how to take care of Jakey and Violet in the fall. This is not funny. I'm tired, I'm not good when Glenn isn't functioning to begin with, and having my plans all toppled really stresses me out. Blech.
As an added bonus we all slept terribly last night as Glenn was in a lot of pain, and the stomach flu that the rest of the family enjoyed for the last 2 weeks seems to have landed on me today. I have to interview 3 job candidates tomorrow and sit in on a construction conference call, so I can't not go to work. Weee.
Guess that is all from the middle of Oregon....

Wild and crazy weekend

Thursday night the fun began. You see, this weekend we had Emma dedicated at church. That meant that family would come up, which in turn meant that we needed to get through Mom's stuff before they arrived. We sent a set of photos down to the distant realatives to see if anyone wanted anything. Most everyone said, 'nope, Mom gave us what she wanted us to have' but not my sister in law. She of course had to have a different approach - she wants us to hold everything while she darts off on another international adventure. I am not sure how to act around all this. She wasn't my mother, and she isn't my sister. I mostly resent the fact that she is being so greedy. Doesn't it seem strange. In my world normal people want things to remind them of the person they lost. They don't worry about net worth. This woman is wanting things appraised. She actually wants to come into the house when we are not home, which makes me wonder what else she will take. I feel very uncomfortable with the whole thing.
Her daughter came up with her husband, and we gave them a few items. We had a nice weekend with them - had pictures taken, went to the fairy festival, had a nice time. Sunday we had the dedication and then we all went to lunch. Emma as a bonus got the stomach flu.
Guess that is it for tonight.

Why are manners and ethics dead?

This weekend we are throwing a little party for our latest addition, Emma. We never properly got the chance to welcome her to the family when she arrived last fall. When you are dealing with adoption of orphanage infants you are dealing with attachment issues. We were told to do something called 'funneling' where you don't let anyone hold the baby but you for months, allowing time for the new child to bond with you as parents. With 8 months under our belts now, it seems appropriate to celebrate Emma coming into our lives.
We are having her baptized at church on Sunday. Aftwards we will all meet friends for lunch. I've reserved a private room at a local chinese restaurant on the river. We sent out invitations and we put RSVP on them.
We are now getting close to the time when I have to call the restaurant and confirm. I have heard very little from anyone. When I've said, 'so, do you think you are coming' they all say, 'oh yes'. But if I didn't run into them and ask I wouldn't hear a thing!
Honestly though, this is just one example of a far bigger problem. It seems manners have pretty much died off. Thank you notes after job interviews never happen anymore. It actually dates us to write them. People under the age of 40 do not write them in my experience.
Putting 'regrets only' on the invitation does no better. People just don't follow up. They either show up or they don't and somehow you are supposed to plan for it.
Meanwhile work today was full of fun information. I have an employee whom I suspected had poor judgement for quite a while. Today I confirmed that. Her judgement is far worse then I expected, and now I have to do something about it. She violated a university policy and a state administrative rule. I started the process of gathering the documentation I need to mount a progressive discipline case against her.
I hate these. As a supervisor I can't talk about what she has done to anyone. I'll be slayed by her with her coworkers because she is free to say whatever she wishes. Most of these cases say plenty. Meanwhile management follows all the rules and carefully backs up their case. In the 10 years I've done this I've terminated 3 employees. It has taken me well over a year each time to go through all the documentation and hoops that are required. At the end I have never had a single doubt about my decision to terminate them. We shift employees, we retrain and rework employees, we do a lot to make their jobs work with their lives. When they choose to fail, it is a long process that in the end shows the worst of everyone.
I rarely have these quite frankly, and when I do I am forever amazed that people don't take their jobs that are paid for with taxpayer money more seriously. I've always felt that if your behavior was not something you'd want on the front of the state newspaper, then you should not choose to do it. People over the years do continue to amaze me with their choices. We have an obligation to behave ethically at work. People trust us with their children and their money. I'm baffled why some employees don't get the gravity of the situation.
All for tonight!