Wild Things...

Here's to living on the wild side.  After a full day of work the mister and I went out for some wild and raucus music last night.  Local boys gone (somewhat big) Sons of Bill played the Jefferson Theater.  They're a country rock group with emphasis on the rock.  A little hard to pin down they play what they write and what they like.  We have another connection with them other than just the fact that they're locals.  Our daughter attended high school with the lead singer.  She rode one of those big yellow school buses with him to Western and she said he pretty much sat in the back like a slacker.  Now we know...he was just busy composing music and working on his plan for fame.  Who knew?

We enjoyed the evening and very much enjoyed getting to see the inside of the Jefferson Theater.  the JT is a turn-of-the-century movie house which was purchased and renovated by local music manager guru Coran  Capshaw (who saw early on the talent in another local band, DMB and developed them).  It looks good and the fact that they took an old movie house and turned it into a great place to hear music at a reasonable price is a bonus in my book.  (Who does $15 tickets??)

Anyhow, it was a fun night and the mister and I enjoyed an adult beverage, some good tunes and made it all the way until after midnight!  However, embarrassingly enough we were too tired to outlast the 88 year old grandpa of the bass player who was sitting in his wheelchair at a table right next to us.  Boy, what does that say about our stamina?  Yours in wimpiness...I think I need a nap.

We Are All Hokies 4-16-07

In Remembrance

• Ross A. Alameddine
• Christopher James Bishop
• Brian R. Bluhm
• Ryan Christopher Clark
• Austin Michelle Cloyd
• Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
• Kevin P. Granata 
• Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
• Caitlin Millar Hammaren
• Jeremy Michael Herbstritt
• Rachael Elizabeth Hill
• Emily Jane Hilscher
• Jarrett Lee Lane
• Matthew Joseph La Porte
• Henry J. Lee
• Liviu Librescu
• G.V. Loganathan
• Parthi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
• Lauren Ashley McCain
• Daniel Patrick O’Neil
• Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz
• Minal Hiralal Panchal
• Daniel Alejandro Perez Cueva
• Erin Nicole Peterson
• Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
• Julia Kathleen Pryde
• Mary Karen Read
• Reema Joseph Samaha
• Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
• Leslie Geraldine Sherman
• Maxine Shelly Turner
• Nicole Regina White

We are Virginia Tech
We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.
We are Virginia Tech.
We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.
We are Virginia Tech.
We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.
We are Virginia Tech.
The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.
We are the Hokies.
We will prevail.
We will prevail.
We will prevail.
We are Virginia Tech.
~Nikki Giovanni

Gardening

Gardening

I spend a good deal of my life gardening but the flower beds around my house don't necessarily reflect it.  My gardening is not performed in the traditional sense.  My gardenening is more of a mental activity.  I do not have a lush rainforest pictured in my mind to which I retreat in times of stress.  The gardening I do is with ideas.  You see, I am not a pushy or confrontational person.  I am more on the quiet side especially if I don't know you particularly well.  Nope, when it comes to making suggestions or trying to convince someone of something I am more of a gardener.  I plant the seed of an idea.  Then periodically I return to that idea with the person in whose mind I've planted it and I water a little.  Sometimes I come back and fertilize the seed a little bit.  Over time I find out whether or not the idea has blossomed into an action or if it is destined to die on the vine before coming to fruition.  There are some folks who will never embrace a new idea, move in a new direction or come to embrace a new opinion unless nudged.  They won't accept that idea unless and until they think it's their idea, not yours.  So, I garden.  Sometimes that turns into a beautiful thing.

Done At Last!

When last I posted, dear reader, I was just beginning my gathering of information for the taxes.  I JUST finished my part and have given the form (from the accountant, thank you Jeeeezus) to dear husband so he can enter his info (of which there is little, since his office manager prepares the business info to send in).  I always feel such a sense of relief when all's said and done.  I wonder why I drag my feet and torture myself with this every single year.  I also VOW every year to be more organized in future.  O.K....some of the organization is improving. I actually have a file in which I keep MOST of my tax files.  Notice the most in capital letters...I still haven't quite got the hang of the 100% thing.  Oh, well.  Done and free at last.  Now I can have a guilt free weekend. 

Happy Easter to me.  This is better than a box of Peeps!

Tax Dodging

Tax Dodging

Yeah, yeah, yeah...it's not what you're thinking.  No, I'm not plotting some way to avoid paying taxes.  I'm not a huge corporation with friends in Washington after all.  I'm merely referring to my annual dodging of the hunt for the various and sundry official documents, receipts, crumpled post-it-notes and miscellanea that comprise my personal tax filing system.  Yeah, I have a small file that holds all things tax related over the course of the year...when I can remember to put the papers and such in there and when I can find it under the usual flotsam and jetsam of my "office" but as always there are bits and pieces that get away and I end up spending an inordinate amount of time searching for those bits. 

Every year I swear I'm going to do my taxes as soon as I get my W-2's, and every year I put it off as long as possible...like until DH starts bugging me to get the info to him so he can get it to the accountant.  Yes, I said accountant and can I just confess here and now how relieved I am that we FINALLY have one?  Did I mention that I was the accountant for the first 20-some years of our marriage?  Me?  The one in the family who can't "borrow" and "carry" without having to first remove her shoes? 

So, having set aside 3 of the last 4 weekends for at least starting to gather all my "stuff" so I can see what's missing I guess I need to bite the bullet and begin.  (I was out of town for the one weekend that I hadn't dedicated to taxes.)  Notice how I decided to do a blog entry after more than a month's hiatus INSTEAD of getting the taxes out?  Yep, I'm that dedicated a procrastinator.  Gosh, if I had the same dedication to completing the taxes as I have to avoiding them, then life would be sooo much better.

O.K.  Off to get the file and the calculator.  Sigh.  Have I mentioned that I hate this??  Maybe next time I'll offer my sister that I'll go get her root canal - without anesthesia - if she'll do my tax prep.  She's much better with numbers, after all. 

Pencil sharpener, here I come.

In Case You Were Wondering About the 5 Second Rule...

For those of you who may have been wondering about that all important 5 second rule, here is a flow chart to help you with your decision making.

And now here is an article to further clarify the rules.  Read it and rejoice...for you may be able to salvage more than you thought.  http://blog.syracuse.com/healthfitness/2007/05/change_5second_rule_to_30secon.html

Happy New Year

Don't know about you guys but I am delighted to see 2009 in the rearview mirror.  It was a pretty crappy year for us, primarily because of losing someone we loved dearly, John's mom.  We also lost our adorable 11 year old "puppy", Champ.  He was a great dog even though having him was a lot like owning a perpetual toddler.  His enthusiasm was part of what made him so fun, though. 

In addition to losing family members, the physician community at Martha Jefferson Hospital lost two great docs this year to accidents.  The first, Jim Knight, was my doctor when I first graduated from UVA.  A well respected and beloved internist, he fell from a ladder while trimming branches at his church, First Presbyterian, and died back in June.  Just last month one of the private practice surgeons, Latham Murray, died in a tragic accidental drowning over Thanksgiving weekend.  It was a shock to everyone.  He was one of 8 sons of parents who are still living at 92 years old.  They're a well established local family who give generously of themselves and of their resources to the community and to the University.  The brothers hand made a coffin for Latham.  He was a father of five, loving husband, and a repected surgeon.  He has been sorely missed.

We have had many good things happen this year as well...it's just that they're a little overshadowed by the intensity of the deaths we've experienced. 

I found gainful employment again and at a place I really enjoy working.  Although it's only part time it's still interesting and provides me with challenges.  Christine has returned home and is working at a local vet, getting more experience under her belt as she ponders her next career move.  John's schedule is busier.  Although he lost his long-standing Office Manager he was able to replace her relatively quickly and with someone who is a real go-getter, so we have hopes that she will be able to learn quickly.  I am also working part time at his office doing some medical billing, fighting the good fight with insurance companies, and making bank deposits. 

We miss those who are gone for good, but we focus on those who are here and who are near and dear to our hearts.  We have hopes that our economy will continue to improve (in the hopes that we MIGHT be able to retire one day).  We give thanks for being in relatively good health for a couple of half-centenarians-plus.  We wish good judgment on our elected officials that they might make wise decisions to move this country  forward and to strengthen it.  We wish all of our family and friends a happy and healthy 2010 and look forward to our next decade of adventures.