Social Engineer me? I think not.

I'm in the middle of a book called "The Art of Deception" by Kevin Mitnick, an infamous world-renowned computer hacker turned good guy. It is just a bunch of little stories about how easy it is to get information from people just by asking for it, and I am just amazed at how easy it is to get information from people just by asking for it. All a guy has to do is familiarize himself with some industry terminology, have a level head, and boom, he's an insider. How easy it must be for these social engineers to pick up usable information about people just by browsing through blogs.

For this reason, I am now turning off the search feature so search engines don't find me anymore. Only about 8% of my readers (or should I say hits? since a hit doesn't necessarily mean a reader) come from search engines anyway, but I'll be saying goodbye to the faint amusement I get from seeing some of the keywords used in finding me.

Some recent ones:
Long black sock
do do la do do la do da lala
runaway chickens?
pieces of teeth falling out
cat vibrates
And there are a number of searches for upside down parabolas, viktor frankl, interpretive dance moves, routan babies, and kanye west lyrics. The riveting, educational and valuable content of my blog.

Goodbye keyword searchers.

I'll have two prescriptions, please

Awhile ago, Geoff had suggested that I refill my prescription at Wallyworld, because it is the closest place to our house and we are there all the time. So, since my automatic monthly refills at Place A ran out last month (or so I thought), I took my slip of paper to the Wallyworld pharmacy last Thursday night. I asked the kid behind the counter if they did automatic monthly refills. He didn't know, but pointed me to the older gentlman who said, yes, they did. Then they pointed me over to another kid at the computer who was to set me up - only, he didn't know how. So after verifying again that yes, they do do automatic monthly refills, he got instructions from the older gentleman on how to set me up, getting frustrated and exclaiming, "I'm doing my best!" when prodded by the old guy. He reminded me that, even though it was on automatic refill, it would probably be a good idea to call ahead of time anyway, to make sure they had it ready. He finished up and then closed the shutter without even saying goodbye.

Okay?

In the meantime, I got a call from Place A saying that my prescription was ready for pickup. I didn't know I had another one there? I guessed there was one more that I wasn't aware of, and went to pick it up. I told the pharmacy manager that I'd just set up the same prescription at Wallyworld and asked if he could transfer it back up to Place A, and he said yes. A minute later, I was paged back to the pharmacy at the back of the store, where the manager explained that I already had a whole 'nother year's worth of refills. When I said that should've been my last one, he said that sometimes they call the doctor's office and get the go-ahead for me. ? So, as of that point, I had two open prescriptions in two different places. (It's a good thing I'm not a drug addict or I might try to exploit that little loophole!)

I figured I should call Wallyworld back and cancel my prescription there, on the off-chance that it would mess my insurance up somehow. The girl on the phone asked my name, couldn't find it, then asked for my date of birth. My birthday is in August. She said, "Is that ten?" I said, "huh?" She said, "August, is that the tenth month?" I said, "August is the eighth month of the year." Then she cancelled it for me. I hope. I should never have gone there, I hope nothing gets screwed up. I have to admit, and not trying to be snotty, but I was quite shocked that they are letting that girl count pills. Kind of surprised at the whole operation, actually.

Funny

My coworker sent me this video that I thought maybe might be could be kind of somehow sort of related to the last little while. Enjoy.

Thank you

Thank you sooo much all who commented. I just appreciate each of your support so much, for real. Today was a better day. Got up early this morning (for the gym), and upon coming home had a good 20 minutes to just sit on the couch by myself in the quiet and meditate; to gear up for the day a little. And the drive to work was so beautiful because, for once, the sky was completely blue and clear. It was like a sigh of relief. So maybe all those things helped, because I felt much more in control today and actually got a lot of work done.

I mused at it today, about how I can just fall apart like so, even as good as I have it. What would happen when the real life-trials come along, as they surely will at some point. I've got to learn to center myself and get a grip. I think maybe a short, daily meditation would be a very good idea.

Anyway, the superbowl is almost here, eh? I hope everyone has a nice, enjoyable weekend planned. I am looking forward to it.

Flying my freak flag now

Do you ever get the feeling that you're literally losing your mind? I had to ask my boss to fix my timeclock today for like, the eighth time in two weeks. I know it's just the timeclock right? Big deal. But HOLY COW. It is representative of where my mind isn't. I can't seem to sit still. Can't focus. Can't seem to think clearly. I feel so terrible, too, like I can't decide whether to laugh out loud or bawl my eyes out. I seriously think I'm cracking up. This really isn't normal for me. What is happening? I'm so on top of this stuff normally. Cracking up, for real.

cat

WTF?

Boy never did I think our competition would generate SO much enTHUsiasm. (Thanks hun, for being my one supporter so far!) Ha ha. One person asked if they lost 80 pounds by cutting off their legs if that would work. Another asked if I was getting big and said losing my husband doesn't count as weight loss. (I told him off for his innapropriate comment. WTF man?)

With less schoolwork to worry about and quarterly taxes being done, the stress is considerably less. However, my mood is still shifting between stoic, despondent, and pissed off. As in, DON'T MESS. AND I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING.

.

Except for those few times I see hubby during the day (like on lunch break today) that make all my troubles disappear.

.

I long to get out from under these ugly clouds and into the sun.

Biggest Loser Competition! We want you!

Note - if you want to participate in this with us, let me know your email, so I can answer your questions and keep you updated on weekly weigh-ins and other stuff. Mine is calistanley at hotmail dot com. (I know you can put that together.) Thanks!

Also - If you aren't close enough to another competitor to have them view your scale, we can work around it! We still want you to play!

------------------------------
Hi friends and Family,

My good friend Cali and I want to start a “Biggest Loser” competition. It will be based on the percentage of body weight someone wins not just the amount of pounds. So, if someone who is 200 pounds lost 20 pounds, that would be 10 %, the same as if someone who is 100 pounds lost 10 pounds.

The competition begins February 1st and we are thinking either 2 or 3 months. Whatever the polls come back saying is what we will do. So cast your vote. Each person puts in 20 bucks of their own and whoever wins will get the pot!! Here are the rules:

1. Only honest people. . . if you are a cheater or a liar you aren’t allowed :)
2. Must weigh in wearing the EXACT same thing on the EXACT same scale at the EXACT same time once a week.
3. Must report your weight PERCENTAGE lost to Kayt or Cali every week. If you fail to do this you will be disqualified.
4. Each contestant puts in 20 dollars. Must have your money in no later than February 6th to Kayt or Cali. If you don’t trust one of us, you don’t know us well enough. :)
5. You must weigh in front of at least one other contestant in the competition.

(Note from Cali – after receiving everyone’s numbers, I can send around a spreadsheet to let you know where you are with respect to everyone else. If you want me to do that please let me know! Thanks)

This will be a fun way to get in shape and lose weight for anyone who wants to join!!! Let me know! Also, if you know any HONEST people that you really trust, feel free to send this email on to them.

Thanks!!!

Kayt

Mmmm ice cream

So it's after class and we're thinking we go to the gym... so we drive up there and the parking lot is packed and we're thinking... not so much. And we're thinking.... we're hungry and maybe.... ice cream sounds good... yeah that new Sub Zero over there, never been there before. I wish every trip to the gym was this good.

I could skate away on

Okay, so about two years ago, I heard a song on 101.9 the end on my lunch break. It was such a pretty song, and I thought I'd hear it again on the radio to find out who it was, but never did. So I just tried searching for it even though I didn't know who sang it or what the lyrics were. No luck. As a last-ditch effort to find the song, I emailed Chelsea at 101.9 the end and tried my best to describe this song I heard two years ago and... she totally got it right! (sweet! she's good!) You'd think I would've recognized it was Sarah Mclachlan. (I claim to be her biggest fan). I've added the song on the playlist at the right and included the lyrics. I love it.

"River"

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
But it don't snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me
You know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I'm so hard to handle
I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby
That I ever had
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I made my baby say goodbye

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on

Ha ha silly Geoff

Cali asking Geoff about his upcoming eye exam

Cali: Do you want me to come with and help you pick out frames or do you want to do it yourself?

Geoff: Ummm aren't they all the same anyway?

Pause....

Cali: I'll meet you there.

"It's a scholarship pageant!" to quote a line from a favorite movie

My gorgeous littlest sister, Danielle, is officially in the running for the Miss "Hometown" pageant. I am so proud of her! That is something I would've never had the guts to do. She used to be so painfully shy and quiet. Apparently she has really come out of her shell in the time I've left home. The pageant is sometime in June. I am clearing my calendar so I can be there!

Or melk, as they say in Utah County

Every day a little old man in an old gold volvo pulls up to the house across the street from my office. He hobbles up to the front door - he's a pretty fast hobbler - and picks up two canning bottles of off-color milk from the lady who lives there. I've wondered what it was for. But I had also wondered about the hay in their backyard... Laura suspects goats. This morning the lady wasn't there. So, bewildered, he left, only to drive by again about three minutes later, peering at the house trying to figure out if she'd come home. He parked in front of the house and there he waited, cradling his little poodle in a blanket in his lap. He waited, and waited, it was sad. I wanted to run across the street and give him some goat's milk so he could go home.

Falafel?

So here's how it is. I dropped another class and am now left with just two, not-too-hard classes. Meaning I'm taking a break. On one side I'm thinking wow I suck/so many other people can do it why can't you/pushing graduation off yet another semester go smartie pants/what about the GH stuff like determination and will and wanting it enough to work for it/pain of effort cliches/you're too weak to discipline yourself/etc. etc. etc. On the other side, it's you know, you've been at this for seven straight semesters now, any other normal person would need a break too. Obviously my escalating mental state is telling me to give it a rest. (Because I'm not actually a fire-breathing dragon, I'm a sopping wet basket case). Geoff keeps saying, "we're not in a hurry, we're not in a hurry". Although, if his plans all go accordingly, he'll be well into his graduate degree while I'm still finishing up the stinking bachelors. Oh well. I'm just thinking about this too much. There is WAY too much thinking going on here. Time to turn it off.

..........................................Farfegnoogan........................................

I had a friend in high school; we used to look at each other and go, "Falafel?" if we didn't get it or sort of to shrug something off. Maybe it will become my mantra. (I had gotten a greeting card with a big picture of a salad on front and inside the card said "Falafel?" We had no idea what it meant)

phone call plus bad day = sad cali

Today after lunch a nasty phone call sent me over the edge. I escaped to the bathroom and had missef a good cry... twice. Feeling this way is.... weird. Unusual. I don't like it.

Bleh... sorry peoples

Got five minutes left of lunch break. Listened to what pieces of the inaugural speech I could this morning. Gosh I hate to be such a complainer. No one likes to be around a complainer. I'm almost done with quarterlies at work which is good. As far as school... I just feel like I'm running out of steam. Feel like starting to question whether accounting is really my alley. Bleh. Where is summer?

Just a little now

My cousin, Natalie, does everything to my hair. She just wove the pink into the bottom layer a little bit, so you can only see it if my hair is up or if it hangs in front of my shoulders. She did it without bleaching it, so it's a little darker than it normally would be. (I've worked too hard to grow the natural color back to just go bleaching it away). It's not garish or nightmarish at all (which I was a little afraid of). It's just enough to be fun. But, now that I've seen what "conservative pink" looks like, I might go a little more bold next time.

Diane wondered what blonde would look like. So I've just included a little picture of the blonde, from 2006: That was our little puppy Tajmahamalama Jabafaba (Taj for short)

(2006)

The blonde was fun but I had so much trouble keeping up the roots that I dyed it black. :( There are no pictures of the black hair, but I do have this one from 2002:

I love this picture. We were just being goofy that day. That wreath behind Alison's head looks like it could be her hair. I just picked it cuz it really shows the color. (Loreal Feria Chocolate Cherry). I loved the chocolate cherry but it was really hard to get rid of when the time came.

Do da do da do.... la la la....

Hmmmmm PINK.......

Now there's a color my hair's never been....

Thank goodness for GH

So, a couple of nights ago as Geoff and I were leaving class and walking out to the parking lot, I had this little mini-silent-mental-breakdown. It was partly "Wow, I suck," and partly "I am never gonna be able to do this." It came after the realization that I couldn't handle a full load of classes, that I'd dropped a class but still hoped to be able to do the gym-thing and now knew I could even do that. (The wow I suck part). And the knowledge that I am going to have to work harder to keep from recieving C's this semester even though I can't really dig into the homework until 8:30 at night at the earliest. (The I'm never gonna be able to do this part). I just try to think I'm wonderwoman or something, but I'm not and for some reason it's a tough pill to swallow. I fill my schedule with all these great, wonderful things, and can barely accomplish half of them. Sigh. The panicky-overwhelmed feeling is more or less gone now; just a resignation is left. It's a lesson in patience, I guess. Patience with the task at hand, and patience with myself and my own limitations.

During our human-performance meeting at work yesterday, I peeked back to my notes from the day we focused on my schooling, and read a statement that comforted me. It's the one statement that our instructor promised to deny he'd ever said: "There is no acheivement in life-balance." It reminded me to just embrace the current (but short-lived) sacrifice of time and mental comfort, and that pain of effort is better than pain of regret. Also, one of my co-workers spoke of a company he visited that morning that is teetering on the edge of its existence, and I felt overwhelmingly grateful to have what I do. My job that I sometimes take for granted that is more than I could ever ask for, my loving husband and family, my home. It is more than some people have in a lifetime. I am so blessed.

Second 12

Okay, so I think not a lot of people connected with my humor on my last post... er... um.... s'okay, s'okay. I often laugh at things that no one else thinks is funny, that's okay.

We had such a great weekend. We took off Friday after work and headed down to St. George. We didn't know where we were going to stay, and we actually ended up staying at the Casablanca in Mesquite, NV. It was so fun! Friday night after we got there, I was so tired that I stayed in the hotel room and watched Conan and fell asleep. Geoff went down to the casino and won $100 bucks right off the bat on a penny machine, then another $100 bucks on a quarter machine. (He's got the magic touch, I think. I never win more than $5, it's really boring). And he stayed to watch the band until around 2:00 when he came to bed.

The next morning we ate at a breakfast buffet and drove back up to St. George and did a little shopping and stopped at the St. George temple visitor center. The weather down there is gorgeous right now!! A cool (but warm) 50 degrees. We drove back to Mesquite and Geoff went to play some more while I took a nap. Then we went to a dinner buffet at the Virgin River casino and kind of casino-hopped after that. We watched the bands at three different places, and I even learned how to play roulette. It's actually pretty easy, and fun. I think we won about another $200 altogether on roulette. We stayed the longest watching the band at the Casablanca and watched the drunk people dance. One girl even went onto the stage and started dancing around the singer until a security guard kicked her off, it was funny. There was one slower song, Sarah Smile, (I don't know the song but I guess Geoff loves it), Geoff asked me to dance so we danced to that one. We haven't danced since Geoff proposed, I felt a little tongue-tied like in jr. high, but it was fun. And Geoff totally led, I was very impressed.

Then around 2 a.m. we went out to the jacuzzi and there was no on else out there (the pool-area is beautiful, by the way. If only it were warm enough to go swimming). So we had the whole jacuzzi to ourselves. Then we went back inside, showered, watched TV for a little while and fell asleep. The next morning we went to a breakfast buffet and left to come home around 11.

So, though we ate at three buffets in two and a half days, at least that was all we ate. And I had the funnest time hanging out with Geoff and relaxing. What a good time.

It made it that much harder to come back to the long days of work and school, but so worth it. And the hotel room and the meals (and even, surprisingly, the gas) were so cheap that the trip paid for itself. I'd love to do that more.

Did someone break this girl's legs?

I think they did, except she doesn't seem too upset about it. In fact, I think she took a few too many "happy pills." Probably trying to get her mind off her hair or something.

Holy coke

Yesterday was the first day of school again. This morning I got up at 5 and went to the gym. For a girl who loves her sleep, I must be nuts or something. Geoff has gone to the gym every single day since he got his membership, about a month ago. (Except for Sundays when it's closed and one other day when he was sick). I'm so proud of him for sticking with it so far, and I think he'll keep going. Jared is kind of showing him the ropes, and helping him pick out supplements and stuff. (Jared's a weightlifter). Geoff wears this ratty old coke t-shirt from his post-highschool days, it has holes in the front and back and you can see his stomach hair. He must get really attached to some things... maybe I can get him to wear another tshirt, but I'm not going to nag. Anyway, I guess I just can't be the only one not going to the gym, so there ya have it. I dropped my cost class. Since my boss doesn't care, I'll just retake it if I ever need to. Dropping that class will enable me to go to sleep earlier, which makes early gym a little more possible.

I'm amazed at how agile Wally is despite his overwhelming fatness.

We're into quarterlies again, so work is busy busy busy. Oh how nice some sun would be this weekend.

Sweetheart post

It's my lunch break right now, and it's not worth it to try and drive anywhere in this weather, so I'm staying put. Geoff did a cute survey-thing that he got from NaDell's blog, except Geoff's is all goofs and lies of course, so I'm gonna do one myself here, for the halibut.

1. Where did you first meet your sweetheart?
When I lived in Provo and his friend who had a crush on me at the time brought him over to meet me, except I didn't know they were there to meet me, so I walked in the room with a laundry basket full of clothes, with no make-up and in my pj's, and said hi quickly and left again. He says we didn't like each other much when we first met, but truth his, I don't even remember him from that day.

2. What do you remember about him/her the most?
Basically how stinkin' cute he was, his sense of humor, and quiet confidence. And the fact that he didn't immediately worship the ground I walked on, which I wasn't entirely used to... kept me coming back for more... and the blue hawaiian shirt.

3. Who asked who out first?
It was a mutual suggestion. We had watched a movie, The Burbs, with a group the night before, and while everyone else fell asleep or went home we stayed up until dawn just talking. Then we decided to go home and get a few hours of sleep and then we got back together and went to the Salt Lake temple grounds. (cheesy, I know). Actually the only thing I remember from the temple date was the drive.

4. What did you do on your first date? See above.

5. What was your favorite thing to do together when you were dating?
Make out. It was all we ever did. The "Provo Push," as they say, but we called it "renting movies." We rented movies all the time, then we'd go up in the loft and make out and giggle for hours and hours. My make-up was always completely messed up by the time I went home.

6. When was your first kiss with your sweetheart?
About two weeks after we actually started dating, in the kitchen of his then-house. I was so sick of waiting for him to get around to it that I just took the initiative and did it myself.

7. When did you first realize you loved him/her?
Probably after the Thanksgiving Vegas trip with my family. I got so used to spending the night with him (pre-marital sleeping, not sex... yes my family actually allowed this) that it was hard to be by myself afterward. I just wanted to be with him and no one else.

8 Who said it (I love you) first?
Geoff did. He said, "I think I'm falling in love with you," to try and get me to say it back. I didn't. The next day, he said I love you, and I actually had the wits to say it back that time.

9. How did s/he propose?
Have I already blogged about this? I don't remember. He sneakily picked up my ring before I knew it was ready, having his friend leave a message on my phone, pretending to be the jewelry store clerk, saying the ring was going to take some extra time. Geoff told me we were going to play night games at Rock Canyon park with some friends at 10:00 that night. So we tried to find stuff to do until then, we went to an ice-cream shop and ordered huge sundaes - Geoff didn't touch his - and caught the last half hour of a movie. When we finally got to the park, I was bummed that no one else was there, thinking it would put Geoff out. But he got me out of the car and pulled me up the hill and down the other side, where I spotted some people standing there in the dark. Geoff was so insistent on getting me into the center of the bowl that it dawned on me what was happening. We got to the center of the bowl and a big spotlight shined down on us from the top of the opposite hill. Then two more spotlights from different sides of the bowl, and I looked around there were rose petals all over the ground. Some music started playing, "That's How Strong My Love Is," by Taj Mahal. We danced for a few minutes and he got down on his knee and presented the ring. Of course I said yes, then applause from the top of the hill... all of his roommates had helped him carry out the whole thing, and there were a bunch of high-schoolers watching too, waiting patiently to use the field. Then we drank hot chocolate and hung out, and gathered up the rose petals. It was so cute.

10. What are three things you remember most about your wedding?
1. I couldn't stop grinning during the temple ceremony. I felt it was probably innapropriate to be grinning like a stupid hyena, but I couldn't wipe it off my face.
2. My grandparents were there, it was the last time Grandpa ever got out of bed, he was so sick. What a show of support, it still touches me to think about it.
3. How weird it was that it was so official. I had a husband. Talk about weird. (But the best thing in my life, ever.)

Sorry so sorry

Another six inches today at the end of work. Everyone idled all the way home, afraid to be the cause of an accident. I'm just happy to be coming to my warm and toasty home, and not back out to school. (bleh.) Speaking of, I was so embarrassed to give my grades to my boss today. (He reimburses a percentage of my tuition, depending on the letter grade of each class.) Surprisingly, he kind of celebrated when he saw my C. "Can't be an over-achiever all the time!" he said. I told him I was signed up to retake it and he just went, "Nah, why? That's a dumb class, you don't need to retake that one." So, it made me feel a little better that he doesn't care. When he asked why I cared about the GPA though, his brother, the resident-CPA, (who had walked into the room) said, "well the only reason she'd care about that is if you're going to get a masters." And they both looked at me expectantly. I had to say yes, I wanted a masters to be an option, but I hadn't planned on broadcasting that to my boss just yet. Mainly because I'm aiming for the program that will let me keep working and I don't want him to think I'm about to pick up and leave. Oh well. It is what it is I guess. I'm sure he'll ask about it a little down the road. I'm still going to keep the class at least for the first couple of weeks and we'll see what happens.

I love this Howie Day album, Australia. It's a little more rustic than the follow-up, but still as intense. I love the chorus to Kristina, it is beautiful. The whole album is beautiful. Howie Day is beautiful. If I could marry this music, I would. If you get the chance to look the album up, Sorry So Sorry, Secret, Ghost, Kristina, and Disco are the best.

Lock and load... preparing for the new year

Pregnancy is weird. I'm not pregnant, but we just found out that one of the girls in our presidency is. (The only people from the ward who read my blog already know about it, so I think it's okay to write about it). She said today is the first of many that she's even been able to stand up, and she can't keep anything down. While I don't envy her sickness, I am truly excited for her. It seems like everyone I know is either pregnant, trying, or plans to try in the next six months. (Even Ma Ingles found out she was pregnant today). I guess we enter phase "baby announcement", rather than wedding announcement. They are leaving us behind. It is our choice though, and we aren't ready yet. I always feel kind of bad talking about it though because I know so many have tried and are having a hard time, and I never know what I might say that would trigger someone else's pain. I can be kind of a clod sometimes. But I am excited for our girl, she will be a good mom.

Well, cost management professor, Mr. "Students First" gave me a C+. So, I am taking the class again; the best way I know to fix what it did to my GPA. I'm taking it with Geoff this time, from a guy without a chip on his shoulder, and I think it will be fairly easy since I had a pretty good handle on the material... regardless of the grade. The only bad thing about retaking it is that it'll detract from the time that would be spent on my other three classes. So, if after a few weeks I find I can't keep up with everything, then I'll drop that class. I hope it will work out though, I'll just need to apply myself better. No more wasting away Friday nights. The other three classes I've got are Advanced Financial Accounting (which I'm excited for because I really really need a refresher), Government and Not-for-Profit Accounting (which sounds incredibly boring), and Accounting Information Systems, and I've really no idea what to expect from that one.

Our church has changed from the 9-noon block to the 1-4 block. It was soooo nice to sleep in this morning, and eat breakfast, and take a full shower to get ready. I don't mind later church so much. The only thing is it will cut into the non-interrupted study time, so I'll just have to get it done before Sunday this go-round. (Trying to mentally prepare, here.) Our primary was huge today. 18 kids, that's like, twice the usual! Most of the new kids are the new sunbeams that just came in from nursery. They did a pretty good job at sitting still and paying attention, except for one little boy. I think he's got mental problems, like, undiagnosed ADHD or maybe autism or something. There is another boy who has autism, but he is actually very well behaved. This other kid needs treatment, he is out of control. It will be an interesting year. :)

I sure love my husband. This morning I watched a program on the BYU channel while Geoff napped, about making a marriage relationship work. The speaker referred to John Gottman's work a lot. It would make the second time I've heard about his research, because we've talked about it in our human-performance meetings at work. It's pretty fascinating stuff, I think. One thing that stood out to me was the list of things that marriage partners should be on the same page about, or at least in the ballpark. (Not John Gottman's work, this list). It was long, and I was pretty amazed. It made me think how hard it is to really find someone that is totally compatible with you, and even at that, it takes a lot of work. Geoff and I have done our share of working too... ups and downs, like most things. But in the end, I realized that he is so perfect for me. Is there another person in this world who could stand to be married to me, and even enjoy it? It's a long shot! I just feel so comfortable, safe, and happy with him. I sure love him.

Bye Frank

Well, mom & dad took Frankie to the vet yesterday. They could've prolonged his life for a couple of years through surgeries, daily injections, overnight clinic visits, medication, etc. He still would have been miserable. I didn't realize he's lost half his body weight since May. Mom & Dad brought him home from the vet, not wanting to make a decision right away. This morning they took him back and went through with it. Mom called me in tears. She will be the one to tell Al. Well, at least we know he isn't suffering anymore, which is the most important thing. My dad wrote a really sweet post here.

Thanks for all of your comments; your concern is appreciated. :)

Frankie

Last night in celebration of the new year we laid in bed and watched a Knievil jump the "volcano" in Las Vegas. Boring? I beg to differ. You see, we had brand new sheets on the bed. Crisp, clean, cool, soft, and ultimately very sexy. (ooh la la) They were a gift from Geoff's mom. Quite an improvement over the cheap, rough, leopard-print sheets we bought before we were married that we still have and use. You know, other people have to buy us things like sheets and towels, because we never consciously think about getting new ones.

Today we slept in, cleaned house, and went to dinner with mom & dad at Fuddrucker's. My parents are fun to go out with. As we were coming home, I accidentally said "gaggle it", instead of "google it". Ha ha.

Our dog, Frankie, is blind. Well, he's mom & dad's dog, but we got him when I was twelve and he was a little mini-schnauzer puppy. His eyesight's been getting clouded over the past year, but in the last day or two the light's gone completely out. He can no longer go up or down the stairs to the backyard without falling down, and he got stuck behind the woodpile in the backyard and couldn't see his way out, until he finally cried in frustration and mom went to get him. Poor thing. They think he might have a doggie-version of diabetes or something, because he's been drinking three times as much as usual, and losing weight. They are taking him to the vet tomorrow. If the vet can make any suggestions that will help, short of an expensive surgery, then they will do what they can, otherwise they will probably have to put him to sleep. There is no one home during the day to make sure he gets what he needs. (He will even need help going to the bathroom now). Neither mom or dad seemed very emotional when telling us about it, but that will be a hard thing to do if it comes to it. He is such a patient and lovable little guy, and he's been around for twelve years. I might never see him again. It's so hard to get attached to pets and then have to let them go. Or watch them suffer in their old age. Or both.