Sites of the week

My best friend Chris and I met back in high school. Our story isn’t highlighted with tomfoolery like so many others who have shared a path for so long. No, back then Chris and I were the lovable losers straight from a John Hughes movie. We played basketball, worked part time at Sea World and quoted movies. We were definitely NOT the guys going to parties getting drunk and stoned.

Three and a half years ago, Chris honored me by standing by my side at my wedding. He was my best man, and continues to be so to this day. A couple of weeks ago, he asked if I would return the favor. He’s getting married in San Diego in May, to his longtime love Kristen (I know – Chris & Kristen… how cheesy!)

I mentioned to Jen that Chris wanted to have a guy’s weekend sometime in April, just to get away, eat some good food and play some golf. I was initially concerned about the financial burden, but Jen reminded me that best friends and their once in a lifetime events probably weren’t the appropriate time to pinch pennies. Agreed.

However, her unbridled support turned somewhat skeptical when she learned of the trip’s destination: Las Vegas.

Vegas has turned into a parody of itself. Practically a Disneyland for adults, including adventures that can give Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride a whole new meaning. Allow me to quote a favorite online columnist of mine, Bill Simmons:

The other problem is less serious and infinitely more annoying: Those “Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” ads, maybe the biggest head-scratcher in advertising history. Why would anyone ever inflict that much needless tension on their demographic? Who exactly are they appealing to? Adulterers? Druggies? Strip joint stalkers? Snuff film producers? I guess we were supposed to think to ourselves, “You know, I wasn’t gonna go, but I didn’t realize I could do morally destructive things with no repercussions — book me a plane ticket!”

Somewhere in Jen’s subconscious, this is probably where her skepticism about Vegas comes from. The stigma attached to unsupervised men wandering the Las Vegas Strip committing one depraved act after another.

The fact is, we are going to do almost the exact same things in Las Vegas we would have done at any other destination. Eat good food, hopefully play some golf, relax and reminisce about Chris’ glory days that he is about to put a permanent seal on and lock away for good.

Vegas obviously adds an interesting wrinkle. But not in the way Jen is worried about. For us, it’s about seeing random celebrities walking amongst us normal folk, quoting Swingers every 30 seconds, and of course the possibility of winning a few bucks at a $5 blackjack table. But that’s it… the debauchery isn’t for this crowd. We’re more likely to be in bed by midnight then up five hundy.

In reality, I know Jen isn’t that worried about me and what I’ll do in Vegas. The real problem with this whole scenario is that she pretty much has Carte Blanche to do whatever she wants for the next six months, with any static from me immediately quieted by the stinging “Hey, you are going/went to Vegas without me!” How that’s different from her doing whatever she wants the rest of the time is beyond me.

Td

Well, I’ve crossed over 19,000 hits and am hoping to hit 20k by the weekend. Thank YOU for making this all possible!! So in honor of YOU getting me to 20k, I am offering up a BLOG TART!

What is in this sweet treat? Well, let me tell ya…

1. Heidi Swapp Journaling Spots
2. Round Heavyweight Coasters
3. Big Clips
4. Clear Card box from Impress
5. Ribbon in FUN summer colors
6. Badge Holders so you can make Luggage Tags/Diaper Bag Tags

So, what is it going to take to get all these goodies? In your comment, you must answer 3 questions.

1. About how many blogs do you read daily?
2. What is your favorite SU! color?
3. If you could go anywhere in the world on an all expenses paid vacation, where would it be?

I will announce a winner on MONDAY, the 19th. Winner will be selected from a random drawing of those that answered the questions originally (please don’t just say, “what you/she said”), and have only entered once.

My Answers:
1. In all honesty, not many. I browse the ones on my blog roll, but having an 8 month old limits my leisurely blog reading, but I wouldn’t trade that in!
2. At the moment…So Saffron
3. I think Fiji. I want to stay in one of those over the water, glass bottom cabanas and sip fufu drinks all day. For now, I will call that my happy place.

Are you sick of it yet? Well, I can’t be, because I just found out that another friend of mine has a bun in the oven. I am, to say the least, a *wee* bit excited for her and her DH! The Sketch Challenge on Splitcoast was the perfect layout for a perfect inspiration.
I may have a new fave stamp set from SU!…I absolutely {heart} Polka Dots and Petals. I didn’t think that I would because I often am troubled when trying to create stuff with sets like little pieces. For some reason, this set and I click! I love making backgrounds with it and, although I haven’t tried it yet, it will work great with masking, kissing and creating patterns on stuff that was otherwise plain. I almost made her dress floral by doing this, but decided against it at the last minute.

Stamps: $1 Mike’s Prego Girl Stamp, Karen Foster Mini Casual Snap Stamps, Print Pattern BG and Polka Dots and Petal from SU!
Paper: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Ink: StazOn Black, Craft Certainly Celery, So Saffon, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom
Other: Ribbon (unknown brand), Punches, Rhinestones

So…
Who thinks that I should offer up a Blog Tart tomorrow??

As I mentioned in my first post I’m a Structural Engineer. Nine times out of ten when I tell someone that, they have absolutely no idea what I do for a living. Here is a quote I found one time that really ought to make it clear as mud:

Structural Engineering is the art of modeling materials we do not wholly understand,
Into shapes we cannot precisely analyze,
So as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess,
In such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance.

-Dr. A.R. Dykes

Well, in order to be a professional Structural Engineer, I have to become registered. In order to do that, I have to meet a myriad of qualifications, including being an “apprentice” for four years under a registered engineer and passing a national exam.

This national exam has about a 30% pass rate - I need to study like I have never studied before. However, studying has never been my favorite thing to do. In the past, I always put in the minimum effort and at crunch time got away with brains and BS. It always amused me that in middle school (junior high if anyone still calls it that) my mom scolded me “You won’t be able to get away with that effort in high school”. So naturally, I coasted to a full ride scholarship. When she admonished “Now you’re going to have to develop some real study habits” as I left for college, I thought this time she was right. But alas, college came and went without any real killer studying happening (don’t get me wrong, there were some LATE nights in college. But a lot of that was goofing off and finishing projects that should have been finished weeks earlier.) Maybe 25% of “time studying” was actually spent studying.

And that last comment brings me to where I am today. I’ve been locking myself in a room 3 nights a week and on Saturdays trying to prepare for this exam since New Year’s. I am, in fact, studying like I have never studied before. But the fact remains, I’m not studying as much as I can, nor as effectively as I probably could.

Which got me to thinking, how much time do we waste doing things poorly?

Jen may edit this out, but I’ve jabbed her before about cleaning the wet areas of the house (bathrooms and kitchen). I sometimes think she is more focused on getting done than doing a good job. I, on the other hand, am quite the opposite for some tasks. I washed her car last weekend, and it ended up taking me a solid 90 minutes. She came out to check on me twice, probably wondering if I had been run over by passing traffic. It was just my supreme attention to detail (aka: being anal) coming out and making meget down to the nitty gritty. Inside the rims of her tires, the logos on the rear lift gate, and into the grill around her license plate. In reality, I probably could have hosed down her car, washed the whole thing, rinsed it and dried it in less than 30 minutes. I undoubtedly would have missed a few spots, but the car would look clean, and I’d have had that hour back for myself.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of times I take the short cuts and there are plenty of times Jen does things the right way. Those are just the first two items that come to mind (not to mention a thinly veiled cheap shot at Jen – shame on me!) But it reminded me of that old saying “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.”

I guess I want that to be a motto for everything I do. What good is playing with my daughter on the floor if I’m half distracted by the TV or surfing on the laptop? What good is wiping down the counter if it still fails the white glove test? What good is offering to make dinner if all I can come up with are frozen fish sticks and Doritos?

What good is spending hours studying if I’m constantly wishing I were doing anything but? Luckily, I’ve still got 6 full weeks until my test date, and I know one wrong I will definitely correct quickly (cross your fingers I pass, otherwise I’ll be studying all summer to retake the exam in October.) Since this has come to mind… I’ve found a few other things where a little more effort goes a long way. I know sometimes we get stuck in our little ruts and just plow through our daily activities. Maybe my minor epiphany will help one of you do something better next time.

I’m finding it difficult to wrap this puppy up succinctly. I don’t have a terribly clever or funny way to go out this week. Maybe if I were a more polished writer I could come up with something better. Or maybe its 4:30pm on Friday and I just want to go home. (Another case of doing something rushed… and doing it poorly.)

Td

ETA:
I wrote this article to make one point; and then forgot to make it! Some writer…

I wrote everything above to say this: Please remember to show as much passion, excitement and enthusiasm for the other things in your life as you do for your stamping. It’s one thing for your husband to feel like he has to share you with this obsession. It’s another to make him feel like he takes a back seat to it.

Td

I swear I haven’t forgotten to post…LOL! I have been a little busy with working on publication submissions and such. Don’t miss Tony’s rant tomorrow and I am think that next week I am going to have to post a Blog Tart…especially since I am nearing the 20,000 mark on this site! Thanks so much!