Happy Halloween!

Sophie, The Diva
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Halloween 2006 - trying to get home early from work to do makeup for our little witch (not Fluffy). Phone calls keep me at the office until almost 5. Great - traffic galore. Finally make it home - the witch awaits. She doesn't want lipstick after all, but she'll take blush and mascara. Her friends are over for a pre-party. Cute.

We get Sophie dressed in her Diva costume. She is not pleased. We all walk up the street. About half of the houses have welcoming lights turned on - not a bad ratio these days. We walk back down the street.

Todd and I trade places. I am now in charge of candy distribution. We have a special Halloween bowl with a hand in the middle that tries to grab little hands as they go after the candy. It's fun to watch them startle and then quickly grab what they can before they get attacked again.

One of the trick-or-treaters plays a Suzuki tune on the violin - impressive. I try to make conversation about the fact that I too play the violin. He isn't interested. He's got candy to collect.

Todd and Sophie return. Our Diva is now a very dirty Diva (it has been raining today). I take her picture. Then I relieve her of her suffering. She is pleased.

Rebecka is at her friend's house. Todd is reviewing something. I need to review something. Sohpie is wandering into the closet. I should probably go retrieve her before she does some form of damage.

Saturday fun

Todd is at the grocery store to buy the ingredients for the chocolate fondue for tonight's get-together with some friends, I am eating oatmeal after a hard run and blogging, Rebecka is getting into her witch costume so that we can go the the special Halloween edition of the weekly recycling at her school, and Sophie is trying to tear her new squeeky stuffed beaver to shreds.

It's an average Saturday morning at the Green household.

badly written...

There are few things that I find more disturbing than bad writing. I continously try to understand how colleges and universities allow their students to graduate without basic writing skills. Every other job description out there demands "Excellent verbal and written communication skills." Ha! Good luck with that.

It's not "it's" it's "its." Why can people not get this? Or "The children went their to meet there parents." Ugh!

And then there is passive and ending sentences with a "with." Yes, I understand this is how we speak, but write is different from speak. Unless you are "chatting," which seems to be a mixture between speak and write. Especially with the audio options these days.

I fear that in 15-20 years, the art of writing will have deteriorated to a point beyond repair. Sigh.

But I will not give up! I will continue to mark up every document that I review like I was teaching Writing 101. The only difference is purple and green MS Word comments replacing the red ink. It does take away some of the thrill, but it is still fun. :)

Doh!

So I laced up my new shoes and headed down to the "fitness center" at this God-forsaken hotel that I'm staying at this week (no mints on the pillow, no banana pancakes in the morning, no Bath & Body Works shampoo). The door was locked, so I went to the front desk to get the key. I unlocked the door, swung the TV over to face the treadmill and started to step up onto the treadmill.... and there it was - the dreaded sign: "Out of Order".

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

After all that. New shoes. Got up early. Drank 20 oz of water. Guh.

So, I did lunges, abs, and other fun-filled activities in my room.

I guess I'll have to face the WI weather and go running in the business park after work.

Have a nice day!

New Shoes...

After a fairly long drive (I don't think the online map was quite to scale) and a pleasant chat with the owners of Performance Running Outfitters, I am now the proud owner of a new pair of Brooks Glycerin 4.

Yay!

I'm losing my mind!!!

Last night, I tried to check in to the wrong hotel... Yep.

Whaaahhhh!

I left my running shoes in Nashville!!!! What to do? Well, there's only one thing to do: Go get some new shoes tomorrow... I think I'm past the 300 mile limit anyway.

"I love me!"

Yesterday, as Rebecka and I were driving home from dinner at Panera, she made some comment that lead me to say: "You are such a cool kid."

To which Rebecka enthusiastically responded : "I know! I love me!"

Yes! We have officially succeeded as parents.

Btw, this is exciting: My favorite brand of granola bar (Nature Valley's Sweet and Salty Nut Granola Bars) has released a new flavor to the market... CASHEW!!! It is delicious.

OK - Back to work...

Extreme Makeover

Rebecka and I had a date night last night. The plan was that we would both go get our hair cut (and I would get my eyebrows waxed), go to dinner at Rebecka's favorite spot (Royal Thai), and go to the mall and buy some long pants (since she outgrows pants as you walk out the store with them). Well, we did all of that, but we also threw an extra little twist into the mix: Rebecka decided to get her ears pierced! I never thought she would go through with it, but sure enough, she now has cute little pink flowers in her ears and she is Queen of the World. :)

We finished off the evening with a movie (Monster's Inc), popcorn, and a sleepover in the bonus room (that got slightly interrupted when of of our offshore teams called me for an emergency at 1:30 AM).

It was an awesome evening!

Dressed for Success

Sophie Profile
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Studies show that people who wear more powerful looking clothing and clothing that is appropriate for their profession have a change of mindset. They go from "relaxed mode" to "professional mode" and it is reflected in their behavior.

And think about it - don't you behave differently when you're in a suit than when you're wearing cozy pj bottoms and a long wrap-around sweater (which is what I'm wearing right now)?

Well, I never knew that this also applies to dogs... Since Sophie got back from the groomer, she has been a little angel. In fact, she is so good that we (Todd and I) are no longer in a constant mode of plotting about how to get rid of her.

The only other option we can think of...

They gave her drugs at the groomer's. How else would they get the little devil to stand still?

Sissy Dog

Sissy Dog
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Sophie got her haircut today. She has pink bows on her ears... She looks like a girl dog for the first time in her life.

So other than Sophie... Well, I'm working around the clock. Todd is working around the clock. Rebecka is having fun around the clock. Just like it should be.

We have booked tickets for get-aways both at Thanksgiving and Christmas so there is no backing out of vacation now.

We need it!