December 31, 2006

Celebrate New Year's in Times Square

Are you wishing you could have been in Times Square ringing in the New Year? Well now you can celebrate New Year's any time you like, by visiting the Times Square New Year's Eve Virtual site (best when viewed with a hi-speed connection). You will be in the thick of the celebration on the corner of 44th St. and Broadway, while being surrounded by visitors from all over the globe (New Yorkers know to stay at home), including some of New York's finest (NY Police Officers). Simply bring your own champagne and enjoy!

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Personal Update

Well after hobbling about and finally getting all the results back and the 2nd & 3rd opinions out of the way, it has been confirmed that I will need knee surgery. That major ouch is scheduled for January 8th. After which I will need several months of recovery and physical therapy. On the positive side I will be out of work focusing solely on my recovery. On the negative side, my carpel tunnel and and tendonitis in both wrists and elbows has returned, keeping me away from blogging. This will keep me more isolated that ever and will drive me absolutely nuts. I am a very active person, not a sit around, hang out and watch tv type person. So I will need your positive thoughts and prayers more than ever.

In the interim, if you all start off your New Year healthy it's a great start to your year. May it also be joyous and prosperous and full of funny blogging fodder!

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Search for remains expands at WTC

I continue to follow this story in the hope that the remains of 2 of my friends might some day be found.

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December 19, 2006

So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehn, good bye

Well boys and girls, the time has come for me to fly and say good bye.

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Over a week ago I had a knee injury where I tore some ligaments. Painful yes, then and now, but I"m holding my own. The injury requires me to hobble about at excrutiatingly slow speeds. So doing something simple, like going to the bathroom at work and back takes me about 20 min., so something a little more elaborate and complicated, like taking a shower, is an enormous production.

All of this has taken a toll on my son as he saw me fall off the ladder and has been forced to help quite a bit. He's had to unfortunately go wiith me through some of these tests becausae I've not been able to get a babysitter. So these past few days he's begun reacting to my injury in a less than positive way. He's actually become afraid of my knee because he hates the sound of cartilage rubbing against cartilage coming from my knee when I move about the apt. I don't enjoy it either.

So as you can see, at the end of each day there are no spare minutes left for me. And I would really like to use that time to get some badly needed sleep and to spend time with my son going on Inter-planetary voyages and reading The Chronicles of Narnia aloud, instead of sitting awkwardly in a chair surfing for blog fodder.

I'll be back after the surgery and ensuing months of grueling physical therapy are over. But hey, I had fun while it lasted.

In the meantime, I want to leave you with a TRULY hysterical post someone sent to cheer up my spirits. It was exactly what I needed to read while laying on a stretcher in pain in the Emergency Room. BTW, the hospital staff loved it too.

The link was courtesy of a certain fabulous non-blogging redhead that shall remain nameless. BTW, all comments will be closed on this site shortly, so I want you to know that I appreciate all your visits and warm thoughts in advance. Thank you!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

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December 18, 2006

'Tis the Season

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Dreaming of DC

Tomorrow I get some Dr. news, but last night I was dreaming of DC. Maybe its because I'm wondering if they'll be a mob of camera crews, media pundits and other political vultures circling as I leave my Dr's office tomorrow. Is there no privacy these days?

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December 16, 2006

Injured Santa

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December 14, 2006

Today's Big Meeting

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Yep, that'll be me today... oh joy!

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December 12, 2006

Reindeer w/Attitude!

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December 11, 2006

An Incredible Life

Some amazing stuff has been happening to me lately, and I never would have thought to even blog about it had it not been for Tink’s blog prompt some time ago asking people to write about “something FABULOUS in your life right now!” I wonder if you all realize how wonderful your lives also seem to me?

I guess I never think to write about those “fabulous” moments because I reserve them for my journal, where I also include my thanks for them adressed to God. If I have the time, I also reflect on the impact it has had on my life. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had the chance to write it in my journal so I’m going to share it with you all.

A few months back I was asked by someone in my firm to donate a picture which hung outside our conference room for a small charity auction benefiting the Tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka. He had seen the picture hanging on the wall outside our conference room and thought it would be a great piece to add to that show. After having done my due diligence to determine if the organization met my fiscal and social causes criteria I agreed to give them the photograph, and to make it truly unique I agreed to also give them the negative, making the photo a one of a kind.

When I received the invitation to attend I declined, as I normally donÂ’t go to evening events, prefering instead to be home with my son reading him a story and tucking him in bed at night. Well, the organizers didnÂ’t like that and began a shmoozing campaign that drove me nuts. I finally agreed to go but told them I would only stay until 8:00pm.

I show up to the event thinking it’s this nice small charity thing and I find myself in a professional gallery with close to 200 people. As I looked around I saw incredible artwork in all mediums and amongst them is my photograph. I was dumbfounded. Later, during the auction I was absolutely speechless when I was introduced by the host using some incredible adjectives when referring to my talent, followed by the words “professional debut”. I didn’t hear anything beyond those words as I was trying to figure out what that really meant to me.. Later a work colleague told me that someone had paid $450 for my photo. That too was amazing, because whenever I take a picture it‘s for my own personal pleasure. I post a few pictures on my Postcards site because I ultimately want to share them with you.

On the ride home that night I thought how nice it was to be amongst other artists, talking the creative talk, and receiving appreciation and validation for my artistic expression. But to me taking pictures is simply one of the many artistic things I’ve loved to do since I was a kid. In looking back I have received awards in different amateur competitions for: photography, videography, short stories, poetry, and singing… Suddenly, as the car wound up onto the bridge, leaving Manhattan behind us, I finally realized I was actually living the life I had always dreamed of – an artist’s life. All my life I have struggled to get to a place where I would have a little bit of time for my creative expression, only to have my many responsibilities thwart those efforts. I’ve been so good at carving out small chunks of time whenever I could, that I didn’t realize I was living the life I always wanted. Funny how it took one simple photograph and blog prompt to make me realize that.

Oh, and just because you haven't seen my name in your comment box doesn't mean I haven't been reading you! I have, but since I'm sitting in meetings reading I really can't start tapping away on my phone otherwise they'll know I'm not really paying attention. But soon, prepare for the onslaught of comments that I sometimes do to help boost your rankings and to let you know my thoughts when I read your posts. Some of your stuff really makes a dull or dreary day better, like when the side effects from my chemo is kicking my butt. At those times you especially come in handy because as I'm sitting on the john sideways, leaning my back against the side wall, waiting for my nausea to subside and praying my lunch stays down, I read you guys! I read you as a distraction so I can focus on you rather than how I'm feeling; I read you for laughs; to know what's going on in your lives; and just to appreciate the special people that you are in my life!

So thank you from the bottom of my heart for being who you are - Amazing Individuals - and for sharing of yourselves! God bless you all!

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December 07, 2006

Go Elf Yourself!

I have been missing all of you. As the kids say in NYC: "Work has been MAD CRAZY!" I am inundated with great projects and having to participate in a few events which are not so great. More on this over the weekend.

In the meantime, may I suggest that for a little holiday fun you all go Elf yourselves!

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December 05, 2006

Holiday Safety Tips

Here's why I compiled and posted this list:
From November through New Year's there's a 39% increase in household fires. In NYC alone, Christmas trees are involved in over 800 fires annually, resulting in 40 deaths (90% of which are children under the age of 10), 150 injuries and an average of more than $15 million in property loss and damage.

To ensure my son is familiar with Fire Safety I print out the list in the extended entry, give him his fire marshal hat and have him help me conduct a fire inspection. He reads off each one out loud and then checks off each one as we find we're in compliance. Then on a given Saturday morning we review our apartment fire exit plan and run a drill for our 2 fire exits. If we are able to keep it under last year's time he not only gets a sticker, he gets an ice cream sundae! This year I'm also involving my sitter as I've been working late every blue moon and I want to make sure she knows what to do.

No matter how you celebrate the holidays, there are many things that you can do to make sure that your family has a safe and comfortable holiday. Here's a number of tips I always keep with my holiday decorations, and which I anonymously mail to my idiot neighbor upstairs, since he had his Christmas fire (which partially burned and flooded my apt.) 4 years ago. This list is a reminder of all the things we should be carefol of as we decorate and celebrate during the holidays. Please feel free to add your own safety tips in the comments. Thanks!

The sources for these tips were culled from the: Fire Department of New York, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. This was originally posted on 12/6/05.
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December 02, 2006

My SonÂ’s 4th Letter

Dear Santa:

How are you? IÂ’m fine. IÂ’m looking forward to your visit. I canÂ’t wait because I have been very very good this year. I have been so good I even got a Citizen of the Month award and go my picture in my local paper for returning money I found in the playground!

Here is the list of what I would like to get for Christmas. I know its more than my 5 gift limit but please remember that I have been very, very good and I returned the money I found. Please put an X next to the gifts you are giving me with the gifts so I will know which gifts I have to thank you for. I made a copy of this letter for my aunts and uncles so they can get me whatever gifts you donÂ’t give me. I know a few of them are expensive so if you want you can get me only one gift and my mommy and aunts and uncles will get me the rest. Okay here is the list: [snip]

[snip] I wrote this long list just in case there were a few toys you could not find you could then get the others.

Thanks a lot Santa! Oh and to make it easier for you I asked the super to leave the roof door unlocked christmas eve.

P. S. BTW, I would like the rainbow colored launcher.
P. P. S. I have a surprise for you when you visit. I have some very special treats for you this year.
P. P. P. S. IÂ’m sorry but itÂ’s not cookies and milk.
P. P. P. P. S. We are leaving out some fresh fruit salad to help you stay healthy and give you lots of energy.

Yes, he indeed did speak to the Super about leaving the roof door unlocked. It was also really hard not to laugh when I read my son's handwritten letter in front of him.

Posted by: Michele at 05:56 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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December 01, 2006

Giving with LUV

Okay, now that youÂ’ve made a commitment to have a financially sound and spiritually blissful holiday, hereÂ’s some ideas on how to do it or get others to join and/or support you in your efforts.

What do you buy a man or woman who has everything? Why a heifer of course! Or a Llama if you prefer. For such truly blessed individuals (like most of my family members), consider a donation to their favorite charity or volunteering in their name. You can also give a gift where you pay lifeÂ’s blessings forward and simply let the recipient know. Many charitable organizations will let you give a donation in someoneÂ’s memory or in honor a living loved one. Some will even go so far as letting the honored individual know directly how much they appreciated the donation and what it will mean to their organization.

This year I will be pooling the money from all the gifts I would have bought for my mom, my sisters & their husbands and buying something Udderly original: a heifer from heifer.org. I could have bought an animal for each member but I really wanted to buy a milking cow and change the lives of little children in a small indonesian village that was nearly wiped out by a typhoon recently. Heifer.org is an organization I trust (I did my due diligence 4 yrs ago) and have loved and support their work since I discovered them. I started with a flock of chicks ($20) and moved on to goats and last year it was a sheep. My goal of one day buying a heifer is finally here. What this organization does is not only give individuals the tools with which to farm, you money is providing them with the initial knowledge and seed money to enable their community to thrive, by requiring them to use part of their profits to also pay it forward. In doing so you donÂ’t help just one person, you help an entire community create a self-sustaining economic safety net that expands ever wider. Go ahead, I dare you to buy a heifer in someoneÂ’s name. Just imagine the look on their face when they get the card announcing the gift and thanking them for the gift of the heifer. Priceless!
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