The First Day of the Rest of our Lives

6 years ago today, I married the love of my life =)

We have had some great years and not so great years but it has always been interesting and full of laughter. He has enriched my life more than I ever thought possible. What a blessing to find someone you can like AND love. I know its cliche, but really - each year I love him more.

Here's to the many more years of fun, love & laughter !

Buzz Words, Lesson #2

When last we visited corporate America, we were exposed to a new and exciting world of vocabulary. And now, as I am back in the throes of the madness - I thought I would share more "buzz word" knowledge.

"Socialized" - shared knowledge. Pass it around to fellow coworkers and groups so that everyone is aware of what's going on. I socialized this problem with the team in order to cover all bases.

"Adjust for real time" - pretty self-explanatory I think. Adjusting time lines/deadlines to fit realistic dates.

"Reach out" - communicate with. We reached out to the marketing team in order to get the materials out to the customers.

"Spin up" - kind of promote, add responsibility. We will spin up Suzie so that she will be 2nd tier support behind me.

"Shared resource" - personnel that is shared between/paid from different departments. Suzie can't be spun up any higher because she is a shared resource. (this one is my least favorite - I don't like people being referred to as resources)

And that concludes this session of Buzz Words 101, part 2. I will continue to monitor the situation in order to keep us all up to date. Corporate America will thank us.

More later...

Futbol...Soccer...Calcio... what?

My very first memory of soccer was when I was young, maybe 6 or 7, visiting Grandma in Oklahoma and attending my cousin's soccer game. It was a hot summer day, everyone was just standing on the sidelines (no bleachers) and I was BORED! It was the longest, least exciting sporting event I had ever been to. sigh

And so, with that memory in my head I found myself here -->
Yes, I know it is indoor, but hey it's Texas and they are just starting. hehe My niece and nephew are having a great time playing and because I love them, I will go. I really know absolutely nothing about the game though, and am not that interested in learning. What I do know is this:

1. Players run ALOT. Like the whole game. which actually brings us to point #2.
2. Soccer players have great legs and butts. hehe
3. Italian player are just as good at theatrics as playing the game.
4. David Beckham is really really hot, but his voice is as high as a little girl's.

But wait, you might say? Lady - you live with an Italian! Aren't they crazy fans for calcio? Fans that are tried and true, with a deep deep passion for the game? Well... that could be true for most Italians, but not mine. S is not that interested in sports. He's a skier, a really good skier, and likes to watch that, but otherwise - nah.

Of course we had to watch the Olympic soccer games - well, at least Italy and USA - and that was very fun. My most favorite parts were when they rolled around on the field clutching parts of the body that weren't even touched. hehe That is the entertainment to me. I was not even bored during the games, at times they were quite exciting. AND, Bend It Like Beckham is one of my all-time favorite movies. So see, I have made strides in my opinion of the sport.

That said, I am glad S is not a crazy nut fan, so that we haven't had to spend our weekends watching European soccer. However, sometimes I do miss having a man interested in football and college basketball. Spending a nice Sunday yelling at the TV when the Cowboys do something stupid is always enjoyable. I am a fan of those sports - at least in the sense that, I like to watch my favorite teams only and LOVE March Madness. But I guess, its a small price to pay for not having a rabid "calcio" fan to live with.

Life is full of little compromises...

lol

More later...

God loves me

Today was my first day back going into the office and working full-time again. Can I just say... I AM EXHAUSTED! hehe Man, I got spoiled working from home.

It was a good day, and so fun to be back with my coworkers. This is definitely my most favorite place I have ever worked. I actually like getting up to go to work. Well ok, I don't love waking up (see #35) but I love working there.

That being said, it was so hard getting up with my alarm. And working ALL DAY.. whew. I missed visiting with my sister and her kids, I missed my cat, and I missed my phone call with S. My feet hurt and my hair looks like crap. But since I have not won the lottery and am not independently wealthy, I guess its work for me. Could be worse =)

I will just have to play with sis/kids this weekend, the cat - well, she was happy to see me until I fed her, after that she has completely ignored me and is currently lounging by the pool. Hopefully S & I will figure out a talk schedule to fix that problem. sigh The hair will continue to look like crap until I get it cut on Monday. That will be a red letter day because it is hot as hell here and I have a lot of hair! As far as my feet are concerned - shoes are off and I am being completely lazy this evening to recuperate. hehe

So with a couple of pieces of my artichoke pizza (almost as good as you find in Italy), I settled in to watch some tv. Can anyone explain to me why I have to turn up the volume to even hear some shows but others are blaring when they come on? I mean, on the same channel even! since my sound system remote is broken, I have to get OFF the couch to turn it down. This does not work with my couch potato plans.

But in the midst of my grumblings guess what I happened to find on tv this evening? THE MUMMY RETURNS! one of my ALL time favorites. It is blaring at me, but totally worth it. Oh Brenden, how I have missed you.... Oded Fehr you do make my heart pitter-patter with that black swathed swagger and big scimitar. Ahhh... peace and relaxation.

God sure does love me.


hehe
more later...

Harry Potter is a hunk

Guess what I did this weekend?? Saw the new Harry Potter movie at the IMAX theater in 3.D! Woohooo

It was so cool. The movie is freaking awesome. Loved. it. and seeing it in IMAX is very cool. The 3D part was only about 20 minutes but it was worth putting on those huge silly glasses they gave us. I tried not to worry about if they sanitized them or not. hehe

As one who had never been to a 3D movie, I had to laugh out loud when the green glasses flashed up on the screen, as did the whole theater. Except the poor lady sitting next to me who missed the "speech" before the movie started telling us not to put them on until they flashy thingys. so SHE had them on the whole movie. hehe sorry but it was FUNNY.

Anyway, back to the movie. I really loved it. and seeing those kids in IMAX and close up - well let me just say, they are some good-looking kids. I found myself noticing Harry's manly jaw and neck. not in an ooogie way but in a "huh, hes gonna be a handsome man" kind of way. and the acting was amazing. Its one of my favorite so far.

After the movie, we had a yummmmmy dinner full of HP talk. My friend had just finished the last book and was dying to talk about it. As I probably won't read it (I've only read 2, more interested in the movies), I let her tell me ALLL about the ending. and I must say. It is good!

I am so amazed at the vision of JK Rowling and its so cool how one can have so much imagination. Plus the complete character stories she has created. WOW. Listening to my friend talk about the books made me want to pick them up to read. Or at the very least, don a Gryffindor scarf.

More later...

Summer is

Don't you think? hehe

More later...

I'm a schmoozer baby...

Hey I got my first blog award! Avery has bestowed upon me the coveted "Schmooze Award."

What is that you ask? Well, to quote Avery who quoted Jessica - “...schmoozing is the natural ability 'to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection. Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way.' "

I can definitely say, with absolute certainty, I am a schmoozer! Which thankfully, works in my favor in my job =) So now I get to pick 5 bloggers who have the power of the shmooze

Let's see ... hmmm ... so many schmoozers so little time...

1. Sara @ American Girl in Italy. She is one of the first expat blogs I ever read and I keep going back. I haven't met her in person but I think she'd be someone I'd enjoy knowing and DEFINITELY has the chatty gene =) WOOHOO

2. Katia @ An Aussie lass, A Frenchman and a Burmese. She is an Australian married to a Frenchman, living in Paris. She is SOO FUNNY and also has a podcast I love to listen to. Even us professional schmoozers can learn from her.

3. Ninotchka @ cease cows, life is short. She has a darling family and is funny. What more can you ask for?

4. Jessica @ In search of dessert. An expat living in Switzerland. I haven't been reading her blog long but I really like it. She is funny and interesting!

5. Frog with a Blog. He is such a funny cute Frenchman. Always makes me laugh and seems like the type who could talk to the wall. (as can I) Check him out.


So now, if I've got this right, I post the directions to participate:

1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that have schmoozed you into submission.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the award.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Power of Schmooze Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

I am not sure if I did this right but hey, it's my first time.

More later...