From the Inside Out

One of the great things about Facebook is that I can easily stay connected to my friends by reading their status updates. The bad thing is that I also get to read about all the fun things they are doing this week while I’m slaving away at work.

I know this sounds whiney, but it’s not fair. Seriously, why can’t workers get a Spring Break too? It’s one of the things I desperately miss about school. It’s been years since I’ve had a Spring Break (too many to mention), but each time it rolls around, I always feel a ping of jealously for those who get to enjoy it. Skiing, surfing, laying on the beach, enjoying the nice Spring weather, shopping, hanging out with friends — those are just a few of the things I’m missing this week.

Sure, I could take vacation (well, I could if I wasn’t so busy), but that’s not really the point. It would be nice to have a week similar to Christmas Break when works slows down and everyone takes off. Better yet, let’s just close down our offices for a week and let people enjoy the break with their families without having to take vacation time.

When I worked for Nortel, they always closed their offices during Christmas week. Why not do the same for Spring Break? Parents wouldn’t have to worry about day care for their children who are out of school. They wouldn’t be forced to burn up vacation days if they chose to stay home with their kids or take their families on a trip. Those without children wouldn’t be penalized for being child-free. Everyone would get a nice break and return to the office refreshed. It’s a win-win.

So, what are your thoughts? Is this (1) a good idea, (2) the crazy ramblings of someone filled with Spring Fever, or (3) simply wishful thinking? Weigh in with your comments below.

Millions of people across the world will celebrate Valentine’s day tomorrow. For many, it’s the perfect time to express their love for significant others or spouses. For others, it’s a falsified, commercialized excuse for selling flowers, cards, and candy. Regardless of your opinion about the holiday, it provides an excuse to fire up the romance and remind the special ones in your life that you love them.

Six Useless, but Fun Facts for Valentine’s Day:

• 188 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.)
• Over 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight.
• Research reveals that more than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine’s Day by purchasing a greeting card.
• There are 119 single men (i.e., never married, widowed or divorced) who are in their 20s for every 100 single women of the same ages.
• 2.2 million marriages take place in the United States annually. That breaks down to more than 6,000 a day.
• Kissing unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes and encourage bonding in men.

Now for something a little more useful. If the news about our struggling economy has you down and you’re looking for a less expensive way to celebrate the day, why not plan a quiet dinner at home and then snuggle up with a good romantic movie?

Here are the Top 10 on my Valentine’s Day list:

• The Princess Bride — you can’t go wrong with this movie. It’s a classic and one of the most quoted romantic movies of all time. Besides, it’s got the whole package — humor, action, and romance — and the guys like it too.
• Ever After — the classic Cinderella story in a 16th century setting.
• Pride and Prejudice (not the zombie version ) — great movie based on the book by Jane Austen.
• When Harry Met Sally — Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan set out to see if men and women can ever just be friends.
• Sweet Home Alabama — A great song and a great movie with a classic love triangle between Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey.
• French Kiss — Another Meg Ryan film primarily set in France…after all, Paris is the most romantic city in the world.
• Pretty Woman — a 90s version of Pygmalion with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.
• Dirty Dancing — an oldie, but goodie.
• How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days — Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson prove that love conquers all, even when trying your best to mess it up.
• Australia — an epic romantic adventure starring Nicole Kidman and the “sexiest man alive”, Hugh Jackman.

Free feel to comment below and share your own list.

One of the saddest times of the year is when I gather up the Christmas decor and place it back in the closet.  There are no more lights, nativity scenes, nutcrackers, or Christmas cheer.  The house seems empty.  It’s the last sign that the holiday is officially over and work is about to begin again.  I always find it a little depressing.

This year the holiday has come and gone way too quickly.  I wasn’t able to properly savour it, and I’m not ready for it to be over.  Alas, I don’t have a choice.  Life continues to move forward at a breakneck speed.  It doesn’t care whether I’m ready or not.  As I pondered those thoughts today while packing everything up, I was reminded of the words to ”Boxing Day”, a song from Relient K’s Christmas album:

Take it all down, Christmas is over
But do not despair, rather be glad
We had a good year, now let’s have another
Remembering all the good times that we had

Oh, no more lights glistening
No more carols to sing
But Christmas, it makes way for spring

That song always seems to lift my post-Christmas blues.  Yes, Christmas is over.  The lights are gone; the carols won’t be sung again until December, but there’s still a reason to be happy.  Winter is coming to an end.  In only a few short months, we’ll soon see the grass turn green, and flowers will begin to bloom again.  Christmas makes way for new life and a new year.  Rejoice, it makes way for Spring. 

I spent the last day of the year preparing for our annual New Year’s Eve bash. We had a great time tonight with our friends from ALC. To view all of the pictures, go to the Photos section of the blog.

Clarissa playing the 2008 Year in Review game

The girls win!!

The guys trying to unscramble their NYE words for the 2008 Ultimate Survivor game

Clarissa vs. Derrick in the “worm” eating challenge

All gone…Kris wins his challenge

The remaining girls with their finished puzzle — they win this immunity challenge

The endurance challenge

Mitts ready? Survivors Ready?

My card tower is the tallest…oh yeah baby!

It’s almost 2009…getting ready for the balloon drop!

2008 had its moments — some good and some bad. It brought many challenges and a few disappointments. The highs were great, and the lows were rough. To be completely honest, I’m not sorry to see 2008 end. The New Year always seems to bring the promise of a fresh start, a new beginning. I’m ready to move forward in 2009…no looking back. I’m excited about the future and can’t wait to see what God has in store this year!

Happy New Year to All!

We celebrated Christmas today with the Powers family in Forney. 

For a few highlights from the celebration at my house yesterday and the festivities today with Gary’s family, check out the video below. 

NOTE:  For those of you who know that I got a hi-def Flip camera for Christmas, don’t judge it by this video.  I uploaded the low res version to YouTube.  I’ll probably swap it out for the HD version when I have more time for uploading. 

Now it’s time for a Christmas flashback video…check out this one from 2006.  It’s fun to see how much the kids have changed, especially Jackson.  He was only a few months old when this vid was shot.