Faithfully Execute or Execute Faithfully?

Either way...the new prez has hit the ground running.

Someone needs to send the name of a good mover to the kids at Gitmo, Suze Orman's books to those with now frozen salaries, and some doves for immediate release to the leaders in Palestine and Israel.

Day One: A

C-is-for-Change

Back in the Saddle...or Something Else Equally Uncomfortable

I compose blogs in my head--often. I need to write more. For too long I felt like I had to consign to some preformed notion of blogging, some set of guidelines that other bloggers had figured out but whose correct form had eluded me. Well that silliness is done with.


Ramble on,
And now's the time,
the time is now
To sing my song.
I'm goin round the world...

Led Zeppelin

Always tell the truth. Even if you have to make it up. ~Author Unknown

This is me giving myself advice. I mean for this to go along with my last blog.

Truth is the most valuable thing we have, so I try to conserve it.
Mark Twain

“Gossip needn't be false to be evil - there's a lot of truth that shouldn't be passed around.”
Frank A. Clark

If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.
Mark Twain

"Gossip and slander are not victimless crimes. Words do not just dissipate into midair. . . . Words can injure and damage, maim and destroy - forcefully, painfully, lastingly. . . . Plans have been disrupted, deals have been lost, companies have fallen, because of idle gossip or malicious slander. Reputations have been sullied, careers have been ruined, lives have been devastated, because of cruel lies or vicious rumors. . . . Your words have such power to do good or evil that they must be chosen carefully, wisely, and well."
Wayne Dosick

A half truth is a whole lie.
Yiddish Proverb

"I will follow my logic, no matter where it goes, after it has consulted with my heart. If you ever come to a conclusion without calling the heart in, you will come to a bad conclusion."
Robert Ingersoll

Reality is bad enough. Why should I tell the truth?
Patrick Sky

Speak the truth, but leave immediately after.
Slovenian Proverb

"A more peaceful way to live is to decide consciously which battles are worth fighting and which are better left alone. . . . Is it really important . . . that you confront someone simply because . . . he or she has made a minor mistake? . . . Does a small scratch on your car really warrant a suit in small claims court? . . . These and thousands of other small things are what many people spend their lives fighting about. . . . If you don't want to 'sweat the small stuff,' it's critical that you choose your battles wisely."
Richard Carlson

The cruelest lies are often told in silence.
Adlai Stevenson

"Wink at small faults; remember thou hast great ones."
Benjamin Franklin

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.
Robert Brault

A little candor never leaves me. It is what protects me.
Antonio Porchia

Respect for the truth is an acquired taste.
Mark Van Doren

People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than out of the honesty.
Richard J. Needham

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth - anonymously and posthumously. Thomas Sowell

“The only gossip I'm interested in is things from the Weekly World News - 'Woman's bra bursts, 11 injured'. That kind of thing.”
Johnny Depp

Cue the Truth Police

One of my greatest character flaws in running my mouth. When I get angry, I quickly spout off to whoever happens to be nearby. People who know me really well just let it go--they know that I will chill once the catharsis is complete. A good friend of mine recently reminded me that I need to be more careful who I choose as listener for my venting because he/she may not understand that no matter what I am saying, I am likely only momentarily upset.

This made me think about 'talking behind someone's back' and I realized that I probably do this far too often. Granted, most of it is harmless, 'ugggh' kinds of things--passing annoyances easily dismissed. Nevertheless, I decided that I should tell my friends/family directly when I am upset about something. I try to delineate between passing irritation and true issues that are getting in the way of my relationship with him/her. I recently made my first attempt at telling someone about what was bothering me, only to have it blow up in my face.

So, what now? I don't want to be cynical and just say, 'well, back to sh*t talking,' but seriously? Is this why so many people gossip and avoid honesty from the get-go? I realize that sometimes I could use more tact--who couldn't? But I want to feel as though I can speak candidly with the people in my life without fear of an nuclear meltdown in the relationship. I simply cannot tiptoe around on eggshells sugarcoating everything--it's hard on my back and sticky as all hell.

Maybe I just overestimate the openness of my relationships. Maybe I am just a jerk. Maybe most people just 'can't handle the truth!' But maybe, just maybe, I did what was true to me--and I won't apologize for that.

Lisa 'veritas vos liberabit' C

My Two Funny Girls

I have two friends that regularly crack me up. Here are some things these two ladies (and I use that term loosely) have said via MySpace, text message, or in conversation in the recent past:

Viva La Santa... wait a minute... that doesn't sound right. Give me a break. I've only lived here for six months. I'm practicing the language.

I like to think of our tezts as "delightfully tacky," much like the Hooter's slogan!
I love that I typed tezts. Wow...have another!

Over the holiday weekend a rattler wounded my dog Scooter. I ended up paying a pretty penny on anti-venom and care provided at the vet. I've gotten several, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" looks from co-workers regarding the pricey bill. The best though, is when a co-worker informed me I wasted money and Benadryl would've sufficed. Okay Ace Ventura, the snake bit my dog… he didn't sneeze on him.

Why would someone have texted you? Why would they have seen 'The Gooch' in my phone book and been like, yeah, I'll text that one?

Apparently he was half blind before we got him glasses. You should have heard him read the other night! He did so good!

If anyone asks, 'ho, ho, ho' is just what Santa says and has nothing to do with our picture.

Lisa 'giggling' C

Christmas Movie Faves

I love Christmas movies, and so I compiled the following list of my favorites. These are mostly sentimental faves--most are the ones we would watch on TV as kids. And even in the instant gratification buy the holiday DVD set age, I still like to catch most of these on TV:

1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: Who hasn't felt like a Misfit Toy at some point in their life?

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas: She may be a b**ch, but I really love Lucy.

3. Miracle on 34th Street: I think I established my love of Santa in the last blog, so it's not a stretch to see why I love this movie.

4. Elf: First, I adore Will Ferrell. Second, I cry whenever Santa's sleigh flies over the cynical New Yorkers' heads. I really love this movie.

5. It's a Wonderful Life: Classic.

Lisa 'in the holiday spirit' C

You'd better watch out!

The Santa Myth

November 21 2007

Whether you're the kind of parent who creeps in on Christmas Eve to deposit presents at the foot of the bed, or goes so far as to put sooty footprints on the living room floor, apparently most kids have twigged the truth about the man in the red suit by the time they're seven and three quarters.
Back in the more innocent 1970s, children apparently believed in Santa beyond the age of nine, but a new survey by Disney to mark the launch of Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause has found that today's kids are more clued-up.

From: http://www.raisingkids.co.uk/todaysnews07/news_211107_03.asp

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I was raised in the not-so-innocent-80s, and I am here to tell you that I believed in Santa.

Until I was 12.

Yes, really. (I was a late bloomer, in bra size and emotional maturity.) I'd suspected for a couple years, but when I finally pieced it all together, I told the family member I thought would be the least angry with me--a favorite aunt. She got wide eyes, and said, "You'd better talk to your dad." Crap. I was in trouble for not believing in Santa? My dad seemed somehow befuddled by this development in his little girl; he alternated between what seemed to be anger and disappointment. Finally, he pulled me aside, and told me that yes, I was right, there really was no fat man in a suit who delivered presents--but I had better be clear on one thing: "The spirit of Santa is very real. And that is what's important."

As with most things in life, my dad is so right.

My nine year old is dangerously close to not believing. And I, well, I feel my father's anger and disappointment at this development. Last year (when she was in third grade), she came home and questioned us constantly: "Mom, so-and-so said Santa isn't real...is he? How does he get to all the houses? Does he really live at the North Pole?" This was exhausting, this constant parade of know-it-all, disenchanted eight year olds trying to wreck my little girl's belief in Santa Claus. So you know what we did? We lied. We bought sleigh bells and made Santa-landing-on-the-roof-noises. We baked cookies and left them out for the big guy. We tracked Santa on NORAD's website. We kept her believing in Santa, if only for one more year.

In my research for this blog I found people calling Santa 'the big lie.' This crushes me a bit. Since when is believing in something you don't see, but benefit from, a terrible thing? I wasn't broken spirited when I found out Santa wasn't real. And when my kids quit believing, they'll be just fine (I may not be, however). My husband never believed in Santa, and he feels totally robbed. I did believe in Santa, and I am thankful. It's a lie, but as far as I am concerned--believing is always the truth.

Lisa 'Jolly ol' C