I Never Thought I Would Live to See the Day

As a kid I use hear kids like me say, "I wanna be President when I grow up." You always responded with "of course", but in your heart, you really didn't believe it. Last night, the world got to witness history in the making. Now when little kids say, "I wanna be President." I can really say (and believe), "Yes! You can!"

I marveled at the elation of the people in this country. I mean who would have ever imagined people dancing in the streets in front of The White House? What really has left me speechless is the celebration of people from around the world.

I am proud! I am excited! I have lived to see America renew the hopes of its promise.

I Can Tell the Next Generation...

That I did my part in the historic 2008 Election! There was no line. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes. But I had to take stock of all the parents that had their children with them. They all wanted to be the example that their children would one day emulate (we can all hope). It was really wonderful to see.

No matter which side you are on, I hope that you went out and let your voices be heard.

Goblins, Pumpkins, and Plenty of Treats

Another Halloween has come and gone. The last of the Trick or Treaters have made their way home to take stock of all the candy they have collected. I celebrated the holiday with 2 glasses of Zinfandel at happy hour. There are only 2 things I don't like about Halloween. The first is trying to estimate exactly how much candy I need, so that I have no overages. The second is trying to resist eating said overages.

At least I will be in the gym in the morning.

It is done...

in 5:05. That is what it said when I came across the finish line at The Marine Corps Marathon. Now according to the Marine at the finish line when my official time is posted (in 72 hours), my time will be less than that because the clock at the finish is the race clock. Since we all didn't start at the same time (I came across the start line 5-6 minutes after the Marathon actually began), my time has to be adjusted accordingly.

Miles 1-9 were grueling! The hills were unlike anything I have ever seen. Miles 10-23 were alright. I cried from mile 24 to the finish. I am not sure where the emotions came from. They just rushed me and I sobbed the entire way to the finish. One the very last hill (about .2 miles), my charity sponsor's trainer Kathy literally ran with me. I was grateful as I didn't think I'd have been able to do it without her.

I am sore and tired. But I feel good. I even got a cool medal for all my trouble.

E-Mail Stress Disorder

I think I have it.

No I am serious. At 7 this morning I turned on my computer and logged into my email and noticed that I had 47 emails. OK, so 47 emails isn't really a large number...that is if 47 is the number you have gathered over the course of a few days. Of course, that wasn't the case with me. I checked my email just 6 hours previously and I had 0 emails in my inbox. Then I got sick to my stomach because I realized that I was checking my email at 1 o'clock in the morning.

Email is supposed to make life easier. It is supposed to make life more convenient. It is supposed to keep you in touch. How come I don't feel like that is the case?

So what is a person to do when you are feeling like you are overloaded with emails? I went to "the experts" (to be read the Internet). Here is what I found:
1. Filter for important email
2. Chunk email checking and responding times
3. Stop checking every minute

I surmise that the "experts" forgot #4, so I've added it to the list:

4. Don't be afraid to use the Delete button.

I Love...

Tina Fey. She is hysterical! More than that she is reallly smart. Hysterical and smart. You cant beat that. She left Saturday Night Live to do 30 Rock and most of us (including me) held our collective breaths. But she has joined the ranks of Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroid, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Chris Rock. They have been able to go on to do big things outside of SNL. You can see that I could go on.

She is damned funny. Thank you Tina Fey for making the last days of this election cycle bearable.

Here's What I Think....

This is the conclusion I have drawn in the last few days about the campaign. November 5, 2008 can't get here soon enough.

A Nice Suprise

So all of you readers (the 2 of you) know that on October 26th I'll be running the Marine Corps Marathon. In order to get a spot in the popular marathons, one must have a charity sponsor. You raise money for them, you get training and nutritional support from their team trainers. I am running for Fisher House Foundation.

My goal was to raise $1000. To say the fundraising has been slow is an understatement. People that I knew were financial guarantees fell through. People that I didn't expect stepped up. That wasn't more evident until a co-worker walked up to me today and handed me 3 checks, totalling $250. I am now $45 dollars off of meeting my goal.

Thanks Diana.

To see more on my great charity click http://www.fisherhouse.org/

Saturday Field Trip

I am a Wegmans convert. Today, a friend and I made the trek to Hunt Valley Town Center and spent the afternoon inside. I've been told that going to Wegmans was an experience, but I had no idea. Before we arrived, I asked my friend what was the big deal, I mean there are nice grocery stores around. Her answer, "Yes there are grocery stores and then there is Wegmans." I should have known when my friend suggested that we have lunch inside before we did any grocery shopping that she may have had a point.

How right she was. My lunch came from the Asian Bistro, my friends lunch from the sandwich shop. Our table overlooked the patisserie (later I got fresh snickerdoodle cookies from there). After lunch, we perused the kosher area, then we walked up and down the organic foods. My friend persuaded me into going to the cheese and olive bar, I passed on the Gorgonzola. The Tea Shoppe was amazing. Pat, the general merchandise manager, gave me 4 jars of pickled beets because he didn't have any on the shelf when I came by to get them. I spent $4.22 in the Candy Store (inside Wegmans) on Bit-o-Honey and Mary Janes.

I made sure that I picked up a little something to eat for tonite's before I left Wegmans. Made to order sushi (made with brown rice) seemed to be the ticket.

On This Evening...A List

1. Alton Brown's new show Feasting on Waves is now a favorite of mine.
2. I have less than 6 weeks to go until the Marine Corps Marathon.
3. Life, for me, is indeed a cycle. I have lost touch with a second set of my married friends. Unlike the first group, I am not that hurt.
4. I am physically strong. My knew motto is: Better, Stronger, Faster.
5. My new addiction is local wines. I am really digging this Pennsylvania wine called Liberty White. Yummy!
6. I am bored with teaching. I am mortified that I am even able to utter the words.
7. I love learning. It doesn't matter what it is, learning is just plane old fun.
8. I am a closet style & fashion junkie.
9. Laughing is indeed the best medicine.
10. God has given me many blessings and I am grateful.
11. I have come to detest people that are without honor.
12. I am at peace doing quiet and solitary things.

That is all.