nodeva

I've been laid off

2009-01-17T14:49:32Z

And I have no idea what to do next.

He might even be a rock star

2008-08-19T12:40:24Z

It's happened, years earlier then I expected, and I don't know what to do about it.

The Bug asked to listen to Hannah Montana. That's right, the Disney machine appears to be sucking him in at the tender age of 3.

I'm trying to find comfort in the fact that the request was bookended by requests by him for R.E.M and The Velvet Underground.

Harry Potter is my Harry Potter husband

2008-08-09T02:15:06Z

via froglady
<p><em>Your result for The Harry Potter Husband Test...</em></p><h4>Mrs. Harry Potter</h4><p style="text-align:center"><img src="http://cdn.okcimg.com/php/load_okc_image.php/images/0x0/0x0/0/17226131710288665942.jpeg" width="663" height="919" /></p>
<div>You like a guy who's not afraid to fight evil when evil picks a fight. There's a lot to say for bravery in the face of overwhelming odds, even if it does come with a prejudice against people who don't fit into his conception of "good guy" and a penchant for hurling objects across rooms when he gets angry. But in fairness, for an orphan who's spent the better part of his life being hunted by the most evil wizard in existence, he's turned out pretty well. Just be prepared to name your kids after everyone he's ever lost, because he's got a bit of an obsession about the past. <em></em></div><p><a href="http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-harry-potter-husband-test">Take The Harry Potter Husband Test</a> at <a href="http://www.helloquizzy.com/"><b style="color:#131313"><span style="color:#ac000c">H</span>ello<span style="color:#ac000c">Q</span>uizzy</b></a></p>

inspirational text

2008-07-02T00:36:08Z

I need some for a porject for school. Short story, article or novel. Any suggestions?

A packrat with a pretty bag

2008-05-28T14:21:42Z

I needed my jump drive this morning, so I reached into my pretty laptop bag, which has been my carryall for everything bag lately. Below is a list of what was in there:

Laptop
powerchord
3 lipsticks
1 blistex
3 pens
2 pencils
1 fine point Sharpie
small hair brush
glue stick
small bottle of Visine drops
checkbook
empty wrapper for spongebob cheese crackers
plans for rearranging bedroom and renovating basement
12 cents
half a red crayon
wallet
blank index cards (about 25)
knitting markers
small toy scorpion
knitting needles with sock cast on
two giant safety pins for holding knitting stiuches
Half a ticket to Eddie Izzard show
Gift Card
small hair clip
Two kids books - Llama Llama Red Pajama, and the Night Kitchen
Work ID Card
Changes from client on freelance project
Tuition bill
2 bills from lawn care service

What wasn't there was my jump drive.

I'm in

2008-02-28T18:28:24Z

Woohoo!

I was accepted to the graduate program I applied for!

Yeah me:)

On her deathday the universe cried tears from the heavens

2007-12-10T15:23:58Z

I had thought about saying something, hopefully meaningful, about Star today (along with half of the internets is appears) it would have more than likely been some morose, self-indulgent tripe that wouldn’t honor her memory as well as others already have. And then I thought about not mentioning it at all, since I often don’t really share my real feelings with others. So instead of trying to figure out what to say, I share with you

(as we are walking out the front door)

TB: Mommy, can Aunt Star talk to me?
Me: (taken completely by surprise*) What honey?
TB: Aunt Star, she can’t talk to me, can she?
Me: No she can’t, she would, if she could I think, talk to you especially. But no, she can’t.
TB: That’s because she died.**
Me: Yes, she died.
TB: How?
Me: She got sick really fast. Usually when you get sick, you feel bad for a little while, and then you get better. But Aunt Star got sick really fast and there wasn’t anyone who knew how to make her better. But you shouldn’t worry because what happened to her is very unusual, and that’s not going to happen to you, or me, or Daddy.***
TB: And not Aunt Robin, right.
Me: No honey, not Aunt Robin.
TB: I just wish I could talk to Aunt Star.
Me: I know, but people can’t talk after they die. But she’s always with you.
TB: Really? How?
Me: She lives in your heart.
TB: (Looking down and pointing at his chest) How does she do that?
Me: (Scrambling to recover as I realize that the concept is way over his head) It’s just something to people say. It means you will always remember her because you loved each other very much.
Me: What made you think of Aunt Star this morning?
TB: I saw her in my sleep last night.

I am always amazed at how much of a connection Star and the Bug have. She died a week before his second birthday. His pediatrician warned us that eventually he would forget her, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, and I think that is wonderful. What a gift for him.

And I think it rained because the universe is sad and misses her today.

*Yesterday was The Bugs kid party for his birthday, which isn’t until next week. We opted to try and not talk about Star in anyway yesterday that might have dampened the festivities. Star would have approved of this.

**One of the specialists from his daycare warned me that as he gets older and understands more about what death means, he will continue to reprocess the events around Stars death and re-question it.

***I always feel like I’m lying when I say things like this. I have no idea what’s going to happen. But somehow I don’t think that’s the right thing to say to a little boy trying to process what he understands about death.

25 days to make a difference

2007-12-03T19:32:06Z

found via Lawyer Mama

A little girl named Laura has a plan for the holiday. It's called Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference. Go read about Laura's project and then I dare you not to be inspired to follow in her footsteps.

Check it out, and get inspired.

Random questions you may or may not want to know the answers to

2007-11-27T21:03:20Z

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
I cry all the time.

3. DO YOU LIKE UR HAND WRITING?
No. If that was all you needed to get into medical school I would have been top of the class.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Roast beef

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Maybe. I can be hard to get along with

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT?
Considering that my family’s nicknames are Sarcasmo, Sarcasmom, Sarcasdad, Sarcas-sis, and Sarcasmo Jr., I think it’s less about using sarcasm as it is having it in my blood.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS
Yes

9. WOULD GO BUNGEE JUMPING?
Maybe!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Raisin Bran

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Not usually

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Physically, not as much as a used to be.
Emotionally I think I am as strong as I have to be.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
ALL OF THEM

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
What they are wearing

15. RED OR PINK?
I like them both

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Too little confidence

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Star

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Sure, why not

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Dark Blue Jeans and brown boots

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
An oreo cookie

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Eddie Izzard: Glorious

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
That’s hard to decide, but as a word I’ve always liked maize

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Sage, lavendar, apples and cinnamon together

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My Husband

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Very much

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Football

27. HAIR COLOR?
Brown with a few lighter highlights

28. EYE COLOR?
Blue

29. Do you wear contacts?
No

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
As I’m currently craving red meat, a medium-rare steak. But that could change in an hour.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Scary movies with happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Blades of Glory

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
White Tee with a tan sweater

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
HUGS, especially from my son

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Fudgy brownies

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Who knows

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND
anyone

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Green Grass Grace

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
No mouse pad

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT?
Dancing with the Stars

42. FAVORITE SOUNDS
My son when he sings to himself

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Japan

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
All of them are special

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Philadelphia, PA

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Everyone’s

48. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?
4:52 p.m.

Hungry like the wolf

2007-11-19T03:14:32Z

Star would be so giddy right now watching Duran Duran on the AMA's. (I swear, she got giddy, I've seen it:)

Simon Le bon was an early member of the pretend Rock Star boyfriend club.

Best Dilbert Ever

2007-11-16T19:15:23Z

Say thank you to a veteran today

2007-11-12T21:07:48Z

Today I say thank you to my husband (a Veteran of the Kosovo conflict), my Uncle, Capt. Foster, Capt. Anderle, SSGT Thompson, WO2 Pardue, all currently serving in Iraq.

In honor of Veteran's Day:

These very cool photographs done in the early 1900's, often to help sell war bonds. Check them out.

The one of the statue of Liberty consists of 18,000 soldiers.

Wedding Meme

2007-11-09T15:25:39Z

A wedding mem found via RaisingWEG

1. Where and how did you meet your current spouse?
At a sweet 16 party for a mutual friend (I had gone to elementary school with her, and he went to high school with her. We started talking because this friend’s cousin thought he was cute, but was afraid to talk to him.

2. How long have you known each other?
16 years

3. How long after you met did you start dating?
One week

4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
Of and on for 7 years. We weren’t technically dating when we got engaged. In fact, we hadn’t even seen each other for a few months and had only started talking to each other again a week or two before.

5. How long was your engagement?
A few months. We tried to elope, but that turned out to be harder than we thought it would be.

6. How long have you been married?
9 years this December

7. When is your anniversary?
New Year’s Eve

8. Where was your wedding?
Philadelphia, at a hall. We were married by a non-denominational minister in the same place that we had our reception. After the reception about 40 of us, went to a club to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I wore my dress:)

9. Describe your wedding costume.
Standard white dress. I’ll try to find a pic to upload.

10. How many people were in your bridal party?
Too many.

11. Are you still friends with them all?
About half of them. Sadly, the guys my husband was friends with growing up have all drifted away.

12. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?
I don’t know. Honestly that part is kind of a blur.

13. Do you wear wedding bands? Are they engraved? If so, what do they say?
We do. They are not engraved. In fact, they are not the ones we were married with. Turns our neither of us actually liked them, but agreed to them because we thought the other one did. We make that mistake more often than we probably should.

14. How many people came to your wedding reception?
About 100

15. Who paid?
We received some pre-wedding financial gifts from my parents and grandmother, and we paid for the rest. We skipped the rehearsal dinner, instead we went and had few beers with some of the bridal party and went shopping for music for the wedding (yes, the night before)

16. What kind of cake did you serve?
My husbands cousin made our cake. It was white with butter cream icing, and amazing. It’s the best cake I have ever had.

17. What did you serve for your meal?
No idea.

18. What was your first dance?
Shania Twain, You’re Still the One

19. Most special moment of your wedding day?
Dedicating a song to my parents for their first dance. They didn’t have a big wedding, and never did the first dance thing, so my sisters and I decided to do that for them. I think it was If I could write a book by Harry Connick jr.

20. Any funny moments?
Right before the ceremony I was pretty much ready to bolt, and my Dad, sensing this looked at me, and lifted =the leg of his trousers to show me the Marvin the Martian socks he was wearing. It worked (obviously as I am married)

During the ceremony I’m told that the DJ had arrived to set up for our reception, which was in the adjoining room, and tested the equipment by playing the theme song to Charlie Brown. Everyone but me heard it. See above about everything being a blur.

21. Any big disasters?
None that I know about.

22. Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We stayed at a hotel in Philadelphia for a few days, where we both came down with the flu, and then rented a U haul and moved to Georgia.

23. How long were you gone?
In Philadelphia, 2 days. After we moved, 7 years.

24. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
I’d have a live band., fewer attendants, more twinkling lights and there would be something outdoors.

Halloween

2007-11-08T16:19:10Z

IMG_7141.JPG, originally uploaded by dbfoster.

A pic of my favorite scary witch!

Trick or treat meme style

2007-11-01T16:13:45Z

I have to thank vis for the lift. I was having a bummer of a day, and this amused me:)

My LiveJournal Trick-or-Treat Haul
nodeva goes trick-or-treating, dressed up as Pippi Longstocking.
babyraven tricks you! You get a used tissue.
feanor1138 gives you 14 green watermelon-flavoured wafers.
feanorsgrrl tricks you! You get a broken balloon.
fullmotor gives you 10 purple spearmint-flavoured gumdrops.
pjg1872 gives you 13 yellow strawberry-flavoured gumdrops.
robin52178 gives you 9 white strawberry-flavoured gumdrops.
sarcasmom gives you 5 milky white chocolate-flavoured gumdrops.
sarcasmoscorner gives you 16 light yellow grape-flavoured nuggets.
tattooedraven tricks you! You lose 1 pieces of candy!
vis_major gives you 1 orange cinnamon-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
nodeva ends up with 67 pieces of candy, a used tissue, and a broken balloon.
Go trick-or-treating! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.

vis

The I should be working but instead I'm screwing around Meme

2007-10-30T19:55:10Z

Taken from vis and babyraven.

10 Years Ago (October 1997)
1.) How old were you? 21
2.) Where did you go to school? I was out of school.
3) Where did you work? I was first assistant to a Stock Photographer.
4.) Where did you live? Danbury, CT
5.) Where did you hang out? On the rare occasions I wasn’t working, clubs and bars
6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes
7.) Who were your best friends? Star, Robin, Tim, Anita, Suzanne
8.) How many tattoos did you have? 0
9.) How many piercing did you have? 4 (two in each ear).
10.) What car did you drive? Dodge something or other. It was gray and boxy.
11.) Had you been to a real party? Yes.
12.) Had you had your heart broken? Yes.
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Engaged

Five years ago: (October 2002)
1.) How old were you? 26
2.) Where did you go to school? Already done.
3) Where did you work? We were in the process of moving from Germany to Japan, so technically unemployed, but a month later I would start working at the US Navy Fleet and Family Supprot Center on Naval Air Station Atsugi, Japan.
4.) Where did you live? Camp Zama, Japan
5.) Where did you hang out? Local bars occasionally. Mostly at home with the Hubby
6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes
7.) Who were your best friends? Star, Robin, Tim, Jennifer, Kenneth, Ann-Marie, Suzanne
8.) How many tattoos did you have? 0
9.) How many piercing did you have? 4 (two in each ear).
10.) What car did you drive? None. But we would own several while we lived there.
11.) Had you been to a real party? Yes.
12.) Had you had your heart broken? Yes.
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Married

Now: (October 2007)
1.) How old are you? 31
2.) Where do you go to school? Nowhere (but I’m currently researching Masters programs)
3) Where do you work? Cancer Research Hospital
4.) Where do you live? Philadelphia PA
5.) Where do you hang out? At home, mostly.
6.) Do you wear glasses? Yes
7.) Who are your best friends? Star, Robin, Tim, Anita, Suzanne, Jennifer
8.) How many tattoos do you have? one
9.) How many piercing do you have? 2 (one set closed up due to lack of use.
10.) What car do you drive? 1998 Ford Windstar Minivan
11.) Have you been to a real party? Yep.
12.) Have you had your heart broken? Yep.
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Married still to the same guy and Mommied up to boot.

20, 20, 20, 20 minutes to go

2007-10-26T20:37:37Z

The other day, the bug and I were in the car and he was playing DJ. Every few minutes he'd shout out a song request, and like the good Mommy I am, I completely ignored the traffic rules, and scrolled through my iPod to find the requested tune. About halfway through the drive he says:

The Bug: Mommy, I want the 20 minute song
Me: (not having a clue what he's talking about) The 20 minute song? Do you mean "If I had a million dollars" *
TB: (whining) No Mommy, the 20 minute song
Me: Baby, Mommy doesn't know that one, can you sing a little bit of it for me?
TB: Umm, 20, 20, 20, 20 minutes to go, I wanna be sedated**
Me: OHHH, You want "I want to be sedated".
TB; Yes Mommy, I want to be sedated.

Honestly, my kid is way cooler at 2 then I ever was. First off, his lyric recall is amazing, and at 2.5, his conversation skills floor me. I'm not fluffing out the sentence structure for sake of readability, that is exactly how the conversation went.

And now, everytime he wants that song, he says: Mommy, I wanna be sedated

*I realize this is a stretch, but it had numbers in it, and it is one of his favorites
** He got the words wrong, but he NAILED the tune

Sadly, there aren't laws against being an asshole

2007-10-26T14:25:39Z

found via http://feministing.com/archives/007982.html

77 year old German Playboy Rolf Eden has filed an ageism lawsuit in Germany because after and evening out with a 19 year-old woman, she declined his offer of sex:

Despite a night on the town with Eden, which ended back at his place, she refused to have sex with him, saying the he was too old for her.
"That was shattering. No woman has ever said that to me before," Eden told the tabloid. "I was crushed." He has filed charges with the prosecutors' office, he said. "After all, there are laws against discrimination."

Umm, yeah. You go with that buddy. I have to agree with the feministing commenter who said

women's bodies are not a public resource. Therefore, they do not have to obey anti-discrimination laws.

That is much nicer than the way I was going to put it.

Um, wow ...

2007-10-23T13:43:18Z

That is some serious committment right there:

(found via twhite design)

The hive mind has spoken

2007-10-19T15:08:36Z

Conversation 3 days ago with colleague
Colleague: Nodeva, can you please make up some flyers for this event? We had a similar event several years ago and liked the poster, so can you use the same on and just change the copy?

Me: Sure, are you sure you don’t want a new design though? I can’t access the old files, so either way I’ll have to create something from scratch. I can recreate this, but I’d be glad to do something new for you — something that is more in line with the previous things I’ve already created for this event.

Colleague: No, why make more work when you don’t have to. They* like this design so let’s just go with it.

Conversation with same colleague today
Colleague: I finally heard back from them*. They were wondering if you could redesign it. The redesign you did for our previous event was really well received and they thought you would do something similar for this.

Me: I thought they wanted the same design as before?

Colleague: They did, until they saw it. Do you think you could just pop some photos in and snazzy it up the way that you do?

Me: (banging my head on the desk) Sure.

A piece of advice: When your designer politely offers to redesign something for you, what she’s actually telling you is that what you have is complete crap visually. Let her. She’s a much nicer person when she doesn’t have to redo work simply because you didn’t want to listen the first time.

*They/Them is the weird collective here that decides everything. No one person makes a decision – it’s all done by committee. I think it's so that I never have a clear target.

Update

2007-10-17T14:22:19Z

About a month ago, I asked you all to cross your fingers and toes for Hubby, and now I’d like to say thank you, because what ever you did worked. Hubby will be leaving the fancy schmancy 5-star place he currently works and is going corporate. Yeah! They are willing to work with his school schedule, which will be nice, since he really wants to finish, and the company is HUGE, so there is a lot of potential for advancement for him once he’s done his degree.

Plus he will finally get benefits! Yeah!!!

marry me

2007-10-16T02:47:25Z

or why Cameron and Edyta's routine tonight will always be my favorite

Tonight after watching (and ridiculing) the Superman routine that Cameron and Edyta did on Dancing with the Stars, my son turned to me as he pointed to Edyta on the TV and asked:

"Mommy, is that you?"

My son thought the woman with the 12-pack abs was me, and if that wasn't enough, he then said:

"When I get big, I'll wear a "C" on my chest, and we'll get married so we can dance like that"

There are no words ... I feel like I am officially in the Mommy club now ... my 2-year old son wants to marry me *sigh*

Everybody say it with me now ...

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

nodeva @ 2007-10-04T15:25:00

2007-10-04T19:25:57Z

As I stare for the third day in a row at a brochure that I have now tossed the umpteenth design for I am feeling very much like a no-talent hack, a fraud. Any second now people dressed like art students are going to show up and revoke my design credentials. We’re sorry Ms. Foster, we were wrong, you should never have gotten this. They should have gone to someone who has some talent, which you obviously do not.

Out of the mouths of babes ...

2007-09-21T14:42:41Z

... or, oh dear FSM I need to go on a diet.

This morning I was dropping The Bug off at school, and he was finishing his breakfast his breakfast (a whole-grain waffle) as I pulled into the parking lot. As I'm getting him out of his seat he says:

TB:"Mommy, my belly is getting big"
ME: "Are you full from eating your waffle?"
TB: "No mommy, my belly is getting big like yours"
ME: (brief pause to collect myself) "Well, honey, mommy's belly's not supposed to big, it's supposed to be flat like yours is.
TB: "Oh. Can I have a big belly like yours."

Yeah. The commentary on this can pretty much write itself. The worst part is that I found this to be really funny. I mean, let's face it, he's only stating the obvious. And he didn't know me pre-baby body, so he doesn't know that Mommy used to be a hottie. I'm going to go crawl into a hole now.

I'm more than a little crazy:)

2007-09-19T17:36:47Z

My pirate name is:

Mad Bess Cash

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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