Yeah, That Looks About Right: Illinois Solutions for the State Budget Crisis

Looks like Illinois is finally coming up with creative solutions for the state budget crisis, but I’m not sure they’ll be successful. I was driving my husband home from an appointment yesterday, and we passed one of those big old billboards announcing the lottery jackpot amount. It looked a bit like this (*Note– this photo [...]

Can We Twalk?

I love a good pun as much as the next person (okay… that’s not actually true. I love them wildly more than most folks, but that’s neither here nor there) but this whole twitter-speak practice of adding a “TW” into pretty much any word is getting on my nerves. Don’t get me wrong… some of [...]

Well… That’s a Little Freaky, Frankly.

So, I had to coordinate a series of interviews today for a new doctor in my department. I offered to take her to lunch afterward, but she needed to leave for an afternoon shift. Which left me all ready to go to lunch, but completely on my own. This doesn’t happen often. Due to the [...]

Another Mystery Solved!

My husband, affectionately known around these parts as “Mr. Kiddoc,” has baffled me for years. He can make things disappear without a trace. Give him a set of keys or a remote control or a scrap of paper with a phone number on it and– in under a minute– it will be gone. He won’t [...]

Today, In a Nutshell… or Pages and Pages

Today has been an uberwacky sort of day. Here’s a little rundown of the highlights: Woke up. Late. (cuz I was up late coughing. It’s the end of a stinky virus) Scuzzled around like a madwoman and lead-footed it to work. Arrived to big banner announcing that the hospital is switching pager service providers, which [...]

Tell Rudolph That Dolly’s Coming Back…

Don’t get me wrong… I love me some children’s Christmas classics. I love Heat Miser and Snow Miser, Charlie Brown’s sad little Christmas tree, and Cookie Monster’s thwarted attempts to tell Santa what he wants. I love Nestor the Donkey, the Grinchy grin, and every single act in the Frogtown Hollow Talent Contest. I even [...]

The Sexiest Man Alive

On my way to work this morning, the disk jockeys were discussing the sexiest man alive. And it reminded me of a story… First, a bit of background: There’s an old movie my mommer especially loves called “Come Blow Your Horn” in which Frank Sinatra plays a playboy juggling dozens of women. When his date [...]

Let It Snow (In Designated Areas)

Yesterday, I left the house to run a few errands. It was cold, but not freezing when I left. An hour or so later, errands done and bag of Chinese take-out beside me, I trundled home along the rural highway that separates Kane from Kendall county. It is the only road to my subdivision. I [...]

I Is Pleasantly Amazed!– In Deep Smit 11/07/08

Friday again! I almost missed it, cuz I’ve been trying to catch up on my NaNo writing. This week, I passed a benchmark of sorts here on Trying To Do the Write Thing. I received my 1000th spam comment, blocked by my ever awesome Akismet Spam Filter. So, for this week’s In Deep Smit, I [...]

Elevator Etiquette: A Rising Problem

Dear Citizens of the Industrialized World, We need to have a quick word about elevators. No, not elevator pitches.  I know that’s where you thought I was going with this, but my goal is much more simple. Here’s a typical elevator: While an elevator is a fabulous and useful piece of technology, it is not [...]

Nutty Enough Already

So, today, I was making my way in darkness to work.  It is a long drive, even at 5:30 in the morning.  Usually I gratefully spend this time in my own head, thinking out plotlines or revision ideas.  But today was not one of those days.  Sliding through the darkness, my gaze focused where my [...]

Hmmm… Is Sarah Palin Watching My Book Trailer?

My book trailer is posted on youtube.  Along with a shorter version. I’ve discovered you can view various stats on your videos when you post them. For my original book trailer, I have viewers from about 20 states so far, but mostly it’s just one or two random views.  Most of my viewers, naturally, are [...]

Very Interesting… But Annoying.

- Something odd is up with my blog stats today… Last night, before I went to bed, I had only a couple of hits. Early this morning, there were a few more. Half an hour later… 2 hits again. I figured I was imagining things. An hour later, a dozen or so hits. 20 minutes [...]

Back on the Chain Gang: My Life’s Quirk

So, Friday is here… which would ordinarily mean time for my weekly “In Deep Smit” posting. But it’s also my turn to post in our Blog Chain Gang. Luckily, this post can be a two-fer, cuz I’m Deeply Smitten with the current Blog Chain topic, started by Mary Lindsey: What kind of quirky habits or [...]

Wisconsin Travelogue– A Twitter-esque Eureka

So, I survived 36 hours sans internet this weekend.  And I realized what the theoretical point of Twitter is, although I don’t think it can work that way in practice. One of the Blog Chain Gang, Leah Clifford recently posted her writing schedule and I had a Eureka Moment.  That’s what twitter should be like… [...]