It's not what you say...it's how you mean it

I seem to be always full of cliches....I have a saying for every circumstance, every occurance within my life, or the life of someone else - if they're asking me for my advice.

And while I know that sometimes it can come off as trite, I don't mean it to be that way. I believe in the sayings that I use, because I believe in the principle that is behind those sayings. While many of them may be considered overused in today's society, that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have a ring of truth that can be applied to that certain situation. They're ingrained in me as part of who I am, because I was raised by them in a sense. My Mom and my Dad were always using them; my Dad specifically used to use alot of the phrases in my growing up days, and that's probably where I got most of them or at a minimum - have the inclination to use them as an adult.

"Say what you mean and mean what you say"....."You're only as good as your word"....."Everything happens for a reason"....."What goes around comes around"....."In time this too shall pass"...."That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger"...."Live and let live"....."Those with the loudest bark usually have the softest bite"..."Deflection is a reflection of discontent with oneself"...."Negativity breeds on negativity"...."Every day is a new day to have a good day"...."Sometimes you've got to be cruel to be kind"..."It's all relative"...."Attitude is determined by attitude"...

The list goes on and on.

I don't think it's such a bad thing to use cliches if you believe in what you're saying, regardless of the phrasing that you use to say it.

What cliches do you use in your day to day living?

Re-lunching?!?

I walked into my office's little breakroom/snack area to just get away from my desk. A co worker and I were standing at the counter talking, and catching up. Someone came in and microwaved their lunch, which smelled pretty good at the time - and then left when it was done, some 2 minutes and 30 seconds later.

As I sat back down at my desk, the aroma of his lunch still lingered......I looked around, and said aloud to the guys who sit next to me, "Do you smell that? What are you eating?" They both answered "nothing - I don't smell anything". I'm crazy, right???

Clearly, I was standing just a little too close to the microwave and now this guys' lunch aroma has found a home in my mane!!!

I've sprayed perfume, I've brushed my hair, used hairspray - yet I still smell whatever it was which is indescribable as to the specific food groups cooked, yet is obviously some semblence of food residue hovering on me.

It's one thing to go to your favorite Mexican restaurant and walk out of there smelling the food, because well, it was your food - or at least food you enjoyed! Or to sit by a bonfire and have the smoke envelope your being until you shower next.

But your co workers lunch?
GROSS.

No big shocker here....

Sometimes, these little blogthings really seem to just "get" who I am!

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris. You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

What European City Do You Belong In?

So tonight is the Emmy's. I'm pretty excited - even though I'll be DVR'ng most of it. Tonight is the Deadwood season finale, as well as the Entourage season finale, both of which are up for awards might I add. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all of my favorites - especially to Denis Leary... Off to the red carpet!

Pieces of me....

So my one year anniversary on the blogosphere has come and gone without my even noticing. August 8th was my one year milestone of sharing my sometimes funny, and often meaningless mind babble. It's been a fun year, one where I've been able to have my own life enriched by some absolutely amazingly talented folks that are on my blogroll - most of you writing because you really have something to say.....or are just able to say the simplest of things so eloquently that I leave your site in awe - or maybe you just make me laugh because I admire your satire and wit. I can honestly say that in my life which is sometimes too busy for me to pick up the phone and call to say hello, blogging has allowed me to connect with other people - and myself - in a way that I had not been able to previously.

In honor of this, I thought I'd select some of my favorite posts from the Drama Log. While there are many rants and raves that I think are pretty good, these are probably some of the best that capture my personality. (At least from my persepective and mood today!)

So grab a cup of coffee, a scotch - whatever your poison may be - and sit back and enjoy the ride of the "I'm just a Girl: Year in Review".

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/08/long-time-listenerfirst-time-caller.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/08/coffee-talk.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/09/dignified-rememberance.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/09/fruits-of-my-labor.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/09/love-of-grand-daughter.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/10/sentimentality.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/11/ask-not-what-your-country-can-do-for.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/11/cycle-of-friendship.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2005/12/makes-my-skin-little-thicker.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/01/loss-of-life.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/01/space-invaders.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/01/only-good-die-young.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/01/inside-actors-studio.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/02/working-moms-observation.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/03/me-im-part-of-your-circle-of-friends.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/04/bazooka-jane.html

http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com/2006/05/what-does-letter-b-mean-to-me.html

Best. Rumor. Ever......

As I was talking with a friend of mine this morning, we were discussing how certain areas in MA -- while lovely to live in -- are missing some of the more modern conveniences that we've become accustomed to. Dunkin Donuts as an example...in some places, they're barely open past sundown...or even located within that same town. Imagine having to travel two towns over just for a cup of coffee? The horror of it.....

So as we were chatting about this, she told me something that I'm hoping is true: Dunkin Donuts may be offering delivery service! Imagine......?

Even with a three cup minimum (I'm guessing there's got to be some semblence of a minimum - even Chinese food has a minimum), it would be worth buying two extra coffees to have it delivered to your door! Or better yet, don't get it on the way to work - do a group order with some people in the office! I'm loving this!

Forget Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn engagement rumors....who cares if Baby Suri is an alien that was adopted.
This is a story that we need to pay attention to!

A girl...an email....and the Secret Service....

It's a long story, but.....the jist of it is that we nabbed some Nigerian email fraud person trying to use stolen credit cards while attempting to puchase three cases of Dom Perignon AND having them shipped with a fraudulent DHL account number. There's a minimum of two people involved here in this instance.... one, that we (the Secret Service and I) traced back to Nigeria; the other located in California. Who, might I add - was dumb enough to use his real name and address, with a land line that's listed in information. And he answered the phone!!!

Tsk, tsk, tsk. The difficulties that have been placed upon them now as a result of this. The FBI, Secret Service...and local authorities in his area of the state are really going to be making his life uncomfortable in about...oh I don't know, 15 minutes?

Is it wrong for me to feel this good about it?
Naaaah.

Truly, I only got the federal level agencies involved because- no one checks Dom Perignon to be legitimately champagne when it's loaded onto an airplane. They can't. How do I know that someone doesn't want to empty the bottles, fill them with some "unknown" flammable fluid, recork them - and them check them as cargo onto a plane for either distribution - or for detonation. (It's hard not to think this way when you work for the military!) So where I had this person's email, home address and telephone number - I just couldn't let my conscience rest until I passed off the information. If nothing is done with the information I provided, well - I can't control that. But I did my duty as an American, and I feel good about that. At a minimum, they can have this loser on fraudulent credit card usage.

There are many, many more details that go with this story..... but this will do for here.
Just yet another tale to add to my already colorful life!

All about a color....

I took a blog thing that I thought I'd share. It caught my eye.... it's "What shade of blue are you". While blue is not one of my favorite colors per se, it is a color I tend to think of as reflective of happiness. Probably because my favorite shade of blue, is a colbalt blue....bright, crisp and brisk. I found some interesting history on the color blue which I find pretty neat because it ties so strongly to femininity.

"Blue is the color of sky and water. The blue of water - the color of depth - impersonates the female principle. Blue of the skies used to be associated with the male principle. It is the color of all heavenly gods and stands for distance, for the divine, for the spiritual (voiced particularly by W. Kandinsky). This interpretation goes back to ancient Egyptians and was taken on by later cultures. Skin of Egyptian god Amun was rendered blue.

The blue color in Mary's's mantle in "The Annunciation" by an unknown master links Heaven and Earth, proximity and distance and also the Divine and the Mundane. Archangel Gabriel brings the tidings of the conception, the Blue of Mary's mantle can be seen in this context as a symbol of purity.

Blue has remained the symbol of fidelity till our times, as fidelity can be proven only from distance, where the opportunity for unfaithfulness awaits. Blue flowers, such as forget-me-nots and violets symbolize faithfulness. According to an old english custom, the bride wears blue ribbons in her wedding gown and a blue saphire in her wedding ring. Tiny flowers of blue speedwell are part of the wedding bouquet."

So that being said, the following are my results on "what shade of blue I really am". And now I'm off for some Thai food with my development team! See what shade of blue you are!

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded. You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

What Color Blue Are You?

Happy "V" day!

Last night, my husband and I went out for dinner to our favorite martini bar restaurant. Before we went in, we visited this wine shop that's right next to it because we love the shop - and have always hoped to catch the owner inside. It's a much larger store than ours, and carries most of the products that we want to expand to if given the opportunity to in our building. As it turns out, my cousin shops there regularly and she knows the owner, and had mentioned that my husband and I own our shop - and this particular wine shop's owner expressed an interest in meeting with us to talk. So, we took the opportunity to step inside last night and sure enough the owner was in there. So we had a nice conversation, chit chatted about mutually understood issues that are involved in owning such a boutique shop.....and at what felt like the right moment, I casually mentioned that if they ever wanted to sell....one thing led to another....and let's just say the dialogue is now open.

So as my husband and I are drinking our martinis, and talking about future possibility with business plans - something struck me as really funny. (Clearly, the alcohol had taken it's effect by this point...)

Yesterday in work, I was talking with a good friend of mine who had confided in me that he was going to have a Vasectomy done today. We talked at lengths about why he and his wife don't want more children, we joked about stories he'd heard about the recovery from family members and friends of his who'd already had one done, so on and so on. So, after we were done talking I wished him well "under the knife" and told him I'd see him next week when he got back.

Why I was thinking of his vasectomy at dinner last night is beyond me, but it dawned on me.....today is his birthday!!!!!!!!!

Who plans for a vasectomy on their birthday!?!?! What was he thinking??? You want to inflict that kind of discomfort on that day of all days? Actually, it's rather ironic that he's taking steps on his birthday, to prevent someone else from having a birthday, don't you think?

I started laughing so hard, it took all I had last night not to call him and leave a message on his cell phone wishing him a happy "V" day...but I didn't. My husband didn't think he'd find it very funny.

Technologically speaking....I'm musically retro

Today's the day..... Christina Aguilera's long awaited cd was released. And yes, at lunch - I drove to Newbury Comics to get my copy.

While I don't know that this will be a tremedously huge commercial album for her, I enjoy it because it's very jazzy. There's a definite Billie Holliday sound which I love. She's really going into a genre that you can tell she feels very comfortable with - and one that she certainly does justice to.

Funny thing.... I was in Newbury Comics and I overheard a conversation where someone was saying how they don't buy CD's any longer. They're totally hooked on MP3s and their iPod.

Can I just tell you....I am so not into them yet. There is something to be said about walking into a music store and actually looking and feeling the merchandise. I almost get high when I walk in because it's such a rush --I don't know where to look first. Being in a record store, (hmmm, should I call it a CD store?) allows for exposure to other styles of music that you might never have listened to if you're limiting yourself to downloading from the web. There's something to be said about marketing, be it blatant or subliminally. Quite often, when I'm shopping at Newbury there will be a cd playing in the background of an artist that I don't recognize. If I like it, I'll ask who it is and buy it. Sometimes, I might buy a cd just because I like the cd cover and figure "what the heck". You've gotta love the impulse buy.

Today, I bought an artist I never heard of before: Toby Lightman.
I'll let you know if she's a keeper....

The sweetness of summer.....

This weekend was by far - the most picture perfect weekend I've seen here in Massachusetts in a long, long time. Not too hot, not too cold, not too humid...not too dry. It was in a word, perfect. It's hard not to be in a good mood when days like this come by. And it's impossible to stay indoors!

I took the kids on Saturday to Wellesley, which is a picturesque New England town. Yes, it's definitely a "money" town - but it's got such charm and beauty - I can tolerate some of the nouveau riche attitudes that can come along with it. We went to the most beautiful grounds, called Elm Bank. It's owned and operated by the MA Horticultural Society, and they hosted the 10th Annual New England Farmers Market there. It wasn't a farmers market in the sense of fun little local farmers selling the best tasting tomatoes ever....but it was a nice mix of artisans, local gourmet food companies and flower marketers. We had a picnic lunch on the grounds....and my kids just loved it. To quote my son, he said that the day was "better than a whole day of eating nothing but lollypops!"

Sunday, we took the kids to the North End of Boston - also known as Little Italy. This is one of my all time favorite places to go on any day, let alone a day of a feast. It was one of the smaller feasts, Feast of La Maddona Della Cava. Next weekend is the big Fisherman's Feast - and the week after that is the biggest one, the Saint Anthony's Feast. Those are a lot of fun too, but with young kids sometimes the smaller ones are better because they're not so crowded. To me, the bigger feasts are for us grownups - and at night!

To do these things is so much fun, because not only do I get to see the kids have fun - but I get to live my second childhood doing things that I didn't get to do the first time around. Lined up for next weekend: The Tomato and Corn festival on Saturday....and Peach Picking on Sunday.

Who says eating your fruits and vegetables can't be fun???

Mixed Emotions....

Prior to hearing the news this morning, I had been prepared to talk about how I thought it's too soon for a movie called "World Trade Center".

It's just that I think it's too soon to have the event commercialized. I don't mean exploited - I don't think that someone of Oliver Stone's caliber would do that; but I just don't feel comfortable with the fact of someone making millions and millions of dollars capitalizing on even the most beautiful of tributes, this soon.

Fortunately, I didn't lose anyone directly connected to me on that day; and even I got all emotional hearing the commercial. I couldn't imagine how someone who's life was completely ravaged on that day seeing and hearing the trailers (starring Nick Cage of all people, please!) must feel.

Don't misinterpret what I'm saying. I believe that September 11th needs to be in the foreground of everyone's minds....I watch all the footage, and read the articles - I personally, keep myself well connected to the situation at hand. I don't feel that we should be complacent....nor do I think that we should watch the footage constantly, for fear of becoming desensitized to it. Once a year, at the appropriate time - I think it's imperative that we relive that day and never forget.

That being said, after hearing the news of this morning's terror plans at Heathrow that were interrupted, I'm still not sure of how I feel about the movie. I do think that this needs to be an eye opener to everyone out there who thinks that the threat is gone. I do think that those who disagree with phone tapping, and other methods of government "invasion" in an effort to protect us from those who intend us harm should wake up and take a long hard look at who your enemy is. The government is not looking to spy on you, Joe Blow Citizen...they don't care about the weed you smoke, the drugs you deal or the person with whom you're cheating on your spouse with. They're interested in tapping people like those like the 21 arrested today. Don't be afraid of losing your civil liberties. The bad things that you might be doing - aren't of interest to the US Government.

I wonder how some of the very outspoken liberals opposed to the war on terror in Hollywood feel today, knowing that one of the planes was destined to land in LAX....?

Rescue Me

Okay.....Love, love, love this show.
My husband and I have watched Season 1 - and we're in the middle of watching Season 2 - so that we can catch up and watch Season 3 when it comes out on DVD.

I've always been a Denis Leary fan, and not just because he's from Massachusetts. I've really enjoy his raw, gruff and crude style of humor. What can I say? I've always been a guy's kind of girl.

Is the show a little self indulgent at times regarding his character? Sure. But it's his show - so why not?

Definitely worth watching if you're interested, but start with Season 1. I wouldn't jump head first into the third season if at all possible.......

What are the chances!?!??!

I don't like to let anyone down, and if I give my word - I'm going to accomplish whatever it is that I've given my word to.

I've been working on creating a website for one of my girlfriends. During the process, we had a miscommunication which slowed the development down by a week. Where the misunderstanding was on my part (I misread an email!), I felt awful - and said not to worry - I'd complete the site in it's entirety based upon the information that I had up to that point - within 36 hours.

Part of this 36 hour time frame, my son was at the middle stage of his being really sick. Clearly it was an unexpected situation - but I wasn't about to not keep my word. So, on the Friday night that I said I'd complete the site - after both kids were in bed - I pulled a marathon and completed it. I finished at about 3 a.m., published it - and sent my girlfriend a long email explaining what I had done to the site, and to please review it and let me know what changes she might have, yada yada yada.

I felt really good, because despite the fact my son had been so sick - and though I was very tired - I didn't let my girlfriend down; and in some ways, it was a well needed distraction from thinking about how sick the Ty Guy was. I got to spend some good time with my father (who stayed up with me while I worked) which I don't get to do at all since my parents live out of state. (Oh, did I forget to mention that my parents were down for my daughter's birthday party? Well - they were, although we didn't get to spend too much time focusing on things other than how sick my son was, so the time working on the computer was a good bonding time - as well as a break from worrying...)

So, my girlfriend calls me on Sunday - and asks how my son is doing. I hadn't gone into details at all in my email, just mentioned that he had been sick. So, at this point - I'd just spent all of the day and night previous at Children's Hospital, didn't have any better answers on my son's health, was really tired - and just filled her in. Then I switched the conversation because I was dying to know how she liked her site...and being the good friend she is, she said "Oh, it's fine, I just have a couple of questions, but it can wait until the TyGuy's feeling better and you have a little more time....." She called middle of the week, to check on him and ask an unrelated question about something - and so of course, I asked again. And, in good friend fashion - she said "I have minor changes, really it can wait until you get situated... let's talk on Monday!".

So here it is Monday. I pulled up the site at work to show a coworker this great DHTML menu I used for her nav bar, and the site was not there. What was there, was the placeholder I had put there while I was working on the site. Funny thing is......I deleted that placeholder from the server prior to publishing the site. Which meant only one thing: a server must've crashed, and the company backed the site up from a date prior to the crash. Which would mean one thing: She never saw the site! She probably read my email, thought I was a complete idiot (Being a good girlfriend, she wouldn't think that necessarily, but definitely think I was overwhelmed and only thought I published the site!) and didn't know how to tell me!

I've never been so mortified. Well, at least not this mortified in quite some time anyway! I called the hosting company and guess what. I published the site at about 3:30 a.m. 7/29; the server crashed at about 4:00 p.m. on 7/28 - they backed the server up to the morning of 7/28. And the kicker of it all - I got no email notification about it because they have a typo in my email that's on file! What's even better? I couldn't tell that the site wasn't working because when I called it up on my system - it was stored in my cache. AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

She's been sending out emails and advertising her site on her card - and people haven't been seeing the site!!!!!
I'm absolutely mortified. And while it's not my fault per se, I still feel awful.

Clearly, I'm not good at this stalking business...

Because just yesterday, my "boyfriend" (unbeknownst to him!) Jason Varitek - had knee surgery one street over from my store - and I didn't know! Obviously, I'd have gladly sent over a bottle of wine to help him recover and wish him well while he rests at home!

M E N

You can't live without 'em.....and you can't shoot 'em. Ugh.
What's a girl to do???

Self centered, egotistical, self righteous and ignorant. That's what the lot of them are.
I'm trying so very hard to raise a son who is anything but those things.
And despite my "better half" (choke, cough....better?!?!? Let's just say "other"...) I will make this happen.

I just want to scream, I'm so irritated right now.

Clearly, if men were left to carry the load of women in this world - not only would the species have died years ago - but it would've whined throughout the process as well.

The "I'm just a Girl" kids...

Here's my Princess Petunia the day of her party....when she was pretty and clean!

And here she is...not so clean!

And here's my little hambone from the day of the party...

We still don't know if it's Kawasaki or not.... but indications look good.

We're heading to the beach for a day or two (with the doctors approval!) for some well needed vacation.

Fingers crossed....hopefully no more fevers.