One of my favorite things about my job is getting paid to test stuff I’d be playing with anyway. Right now, I’m testing a beta version of a WordPress blogging client for the BlackBerry. I must say, it rocks.
Hey! It looks like I can even add a pic. Sweet!
10 minutes later: Okay, that wasn’t as intuative as I’d hoped. Oh well, I’ll add a pic another time.
Leave a Comment » | 
Brain lint | 
Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
I met Tina about three years ago when we worked as freelancer writers for the same client. This particular company liked to have its freelancers hang around a private IRC channel all day and that’s how I got to know her. At first, we chatted because we have several things in common — homeschooling, homebirthing, love of tech — but Tina consistently impressed me with her level-headedness (the IRC environment we were in tended to get fairly hostile at times) and her humor.
When the company folded, we continued to keep in touch via Facebook, Twitter, etc. Here’s where I point out how ridiculous it is that we only live 45 minutes away from each other and talk almost exclusively online, because she’s been an awesome help and resource for me more times than I can count.
Tina recently opened her own handmade jewelry store on Etsy and, trust me when I tell you, you need to check it out. She crafts the neatest things out of all kinds of metals and gems including two of my favorites, sterling and hematite.
Tina is an incredibly strong and independent woman, and it shows in her choice of strong designs made out of strong metals. You can almost picture her banging and hammering away in her workshop. 
Tina makes things you won’t see at the jewelry counter of your neighborhood store, and I’m glad because her pieces are too good for that. Each one shows it was made with thought and care, and they’re totally unique. Every time I see something Tina made, it reminds of things I’ve seen at upscale boutiques.
I can’t begin to say how envious I am of Tina’s talent. I feel that way about musicians, sculptors, and anyone else who has the ability to turn a concept in their mind into something tangible (I can’t even draw a passible stick figure, mind you). If you need a gift for any occasion — she makes men’s jewelry, too — you really need to check out what Tina has to offer.
The title of this post was inspired by this movie and is meant as a nod to the gemstone she’s working with this month. It also references a Proverb that says the price of a worthy woman is far above rubies. Tina is just that worthy, and so is the jewelry she makes.
1 Comment | 
Uncategorized | 
Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
My boys and I are members of a homeschooling group in the area. I received an email today that went out to the entire membership “warning” me that June 6th is “Gay Day” at Disneyworld and that it might “flow into the entire weekend.” If you know me, you know that even typing those hateful words ties my stomach in knots. I am passionate about a lot of things, but gay rights is top of my list so you can imagine this email makes me rabid.
I’m not entirely sure what to do.
I have read over the agreement members must sign in order to join this group and there’s nothing to indicate that I should have anticipated this email. My knee-jerk reaction is to instantly remove my family from the group because this type of hate goes against everything I believe in and stand for — hate directed at any group, lifestyle choice, ethnicity, etc. I want nothing to do with anyone who would spit out vile crap like this, particularly around my children. Furthermore, I don’t want to support (and pay to be in) a group that condones this kind of talk from its membership, and allows its email list to be used as a soapbox.
On the other hand, why should my family be the ones to leave? We are paid-in-full members with as much right to be there as anyone else. Besides, I feel as if silence is as good as acceptance of this situation. I also get the irony that if I sent out an email shouting (this email was typed in bolded size-48 font, by the way) a warning that next week was “White Day” and everyone ought to bar the doors and save the children, you can bet they’d bounce me out on my ass.
I’m truly at a loss as to what to do about this. On the one hand, I live in the real world and know that people discriminate or are hateful about a lot of things, not just lifestyles that are different from theirs. I’m not a 16-year old emo-girl filled with angst at the unfairness and repression facing the human race. Neither am I a self-righteous, smug 20 year-old who hasn’t yet figured out that the world doesn’t spin on her personal axis.
I’m just a regular middle-aged woman who believes no one should suffer — knowingly or unknowingly — at the hands of fools. I’m just an average mother who wants her children to grow up to live in a world where this kind of talk is actively discouraged, not ignored, and do what I can to make it so.
Here’s what I don’t want:
~ To try and change anyone’s mind or this group’s email policies. It won’t happen, which sickens me on a number of levels.
~ To start a fight within the group.
~ To ignore the email.
~ To teach my children that it’s okay to spout utter filth as long as its “part of their doctrine / belief system / values, etc.”
~ To send a message to my children that it’s permissible to run away from a situation simply because you don’t like what you hear, rather than find a way to deal with it in a way everyone can live with.
Here’s what I do want:
~ To be treated as fairly and respectfully as I treat other members of this group whose beliefs differ from mine.
~ To teach my children by example the right way to respond to these kinds of situations.
~ For my children to understand that my acceptance of others isn’t a moving target and shouldn’t be for them either.
~ For my children to learn that I mean it when I say we are accepting of all lifestyle choices, and know that I will support them just as vocally in their future choices.
In case you’re wondering why I don’t just “find another group,” it’s because they simply don’t exist around here. Though there is an active homeschooling community here, there are only two support groups to choose from and, incredibly, the other makes this group look like the most accepting people on the planet (yes, I live in a very narrow-minded part of the country).
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Several months ago I was sitting with a number of mothers as our children participated in a group activity. For some reason, the conversation turned to Girl Scouts and one woman said she would never allow her children to join a troop. “They let those disgusting lesbian sickos teach those poor young girls now. There’s no telling what they will do if you turn your back for one second,” she said. The only thing that kept me from climbing across the table at her was the knowledge that murder is a felony and I was out in broad daylight with seven witnesses.
I later asked several people whose opinion I respect what I should have done besides bite my tongue in half, but none of us could come up with a good response. Unfortunately, that’s left me in the spot I am today — not knowing how to respond to this kind of hate.
So I’ll put this question out to my GLBT friends, and anyone else who would like to help me figure this out.What should I do? Nothing, since it won’t make a difference in the long run, or say something because not enough people do?
Comments, as you might expect, will be moderated. I will approve all comments as long as they are respectful, thoughtful, or helpful, even if we don’t agree on the topic at hand.
11 Comments | 
There IS no category for this | 
Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
My son was seen at the local urgent care today for a minor foot injury — he was wading in the lake behind our house and stepped on something. He had to get a wound cleaned out and a tetanus shot, nothing huge.
He was nervous as he waited to be seen, and asked if I would blog about this when we got home. I agreed, and snapped pictures with my BlackBerry for him.
So, without further ado, here is how My son’s visit unfolded. (Mom thanks you for your indulgence.)
Getting vitals:
2 Comments | Monkey boys | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
My son had his Webkinz, iDogs, and other assorted animal friends put on a concert for the family tonight. The band only played covers of popular Matchbox 20 songs, but that’s okay.
Then everyone paired off to dance.
You know, there are probably 1,000 other ways to spend a Saturday evening. There is really no where else I’d rather be.
1 Comment | Monkey boys | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
I’ve avoided memes for a long time now, but I just got tagged by Joe Brockmeier for the latest one making the rounds. It’s called “7 Things” and here’s how it works:
1. Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged.
Here’s 7 things you may or may not already know about me. Celebrate or mock me, your call.
1. I have an unbearable fear of open-air heights. I’m all right being up high indoors but get me even 10 feet off the ground and I’m a basket case. I’m so terrified of heights that I can’t watch this video — and I’m serious — without starting to black out. Because apparently my middle name is Irony, when I was in firefighter training I was able to climb untethered to the top of a 100-foot ladder extended straight up from the ladder truck. To this day, I have no idea how I pulled it off, but I’m pretty sure I threw up when I got back to the ground.
2. Speaking of names, I’ve always wanted a nickname. I’ve never been given one that’s stuck, though I did come kind of close once.
3. If you’ve been around a while, you already know about my food issues and decorating neurosis, but you may not know I’m a neat freak to the extreme. I make my bed every morning, the wheel tracks on the rug when I vacuum have to line up, and stuff scattered on across countertops makes me either weep or scream, depending on my mood. Monk’s got nothing on me.
4. Although I don’t wear fingernail polish, I never, ever go without polished toes. At a rough guess, I haven’t had bare toenails in about 6 years.
5. All three of my children were born at home. They were wonderful experiences that I wouldn’t trade for the world. All three births were attended by a physician and his staff of nurses, though my last son was born during a snow storm and the doctor didn’t quick make it on time.
6. I am absolutely grossed out by food-scented body lotions. I mean, really, who wants to smell like a guava or nectarine? Ick.
7. I have a really, really bad sense of direction. Thank god my mother got me a GPS for my birthday last year.
Now for the hard part. I have to come up with seven people to tag. I spy, with my little eye:
1. Crystal Edwards, because I secretly hope she’ll sing her 7 things.
2. Kristin Shoemaker, because I always drag my partner in crime with me for stuff like this.
3. Dave Caolo, because I need more than this to tease him about.
4. Justin Ryan, because I know whatever graphic he puts up with his post will leave me writhing in hysterics on the floor.
5. Cory Bohon, because he is a super-cool Apple fanatic and fellow writer that everyone should get to know.
6. Renee Robbins, because I think she’s a really neat woman and I’d like to get to know her better.
7. You. I’d like you to tell me 7 things about yourself, on your blog or down there in the comments. There are about 20 more names I could have put in this slot but, the truth is, I want to know more about all my Internet friends, not just seven. So, go on, tell me what you want me to know.
Leave a Comment » | Me. ME! | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
UPDATE: I finally located the perfect place to donate our gifts yesterday. We took them to a charitable organization that plans to drive around to migrant farming camps on Christmas Day and deliver toys to the children living there.
It’s a terribly sad situation for these families. Migrant workers arrive in this area each year to harvest tomatoes, strawberries, and other food from the farms around here. They come here with virtually nothing, and live packed like sardines in travel trailers parked around the edges of the farms.
I’m so proud of my kids, you can’t even imagine. Here’s a pic of them before we left to drop off the toys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My kids received some money for the holidays and decided to buy toys for needy kids instead of spending it on themselves. I took them shopping yesterday and, all told, they’ve got about $300 in toys to donate in addition to what I’m also kicking in. Now, what are we going to do with this stuff?
I considered just showing up at the Salvation Army as they serve Christmas dinner and just handing out wrapped gifts but I’d be mortified if we ran out right as Little Susie got a doll while her brother left empty-handed.
Who knew giving away a bunch of new toys would be so complicated?
2 Comments | Monkey boys | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
I’m downright ashamed that I’ve ignored this blog for about six weeks now. Shame on me. Between working, moving, navigating a child through his temporary life in a cast and wheelchair, and beating education into the minds of my young offspring, I’ve had my hands full. Now I come to you in total supplication, beg your forgiveness, and appeal to you for help solving a problem of the highest order.
What am I supposed to do about the warring factions of cats between which I’ve suddenly found myself ?
Here’s the deal. When I moved my family of kids and cats into this new house, I knew they’d all love the backyard that ends in a large watering hole that’s home to fish, turtles, and all sorts of cool birds that come by.
Predictably, the cats are in awe of constant stream of activity and sit for hours on the lanai, quaking, chattering, and chirping at whatever flits by — including the occasional plastic bag on a windy day.
What I wasn’t expecting was the cutest little homeless calico cat who stops by for a visit. She’s apparently well-known (and well cared-for) in the neighborhood. From what I gather, she’s named Chloe and everyone takes turns feeding her and giving her whatever attention she’s looking for (which, as you’ll soon see, is a lot). She has no particular home, but rather has the run of the block. Since we’re in Florida, she’s not in danger of freezing to death so as long as she steers clear of everyone’s golf carts, she should be fine.
Well, except for the weensy problem my cats seem to be having with her.
Scooter and Tetley are typically fairly low-key cats but they go completely screaming bonkers when Chloe comes around. I get that they want to protect their turf and really try hard not to laugh, but they’re so…well, melodramatic.
I always know when poor little Chloe comes by because if my girls are lounging in the lanai chairs (which happens often), all I hear is “MMMMMRRRAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOORRRRRRRRRrrrrRRRrrrrrrrRRRRRRrrrrr” in tandem. Roughly translated, that means, “Step off our property before I slice out your trachea.” Scooter throws in the tail-tip twitch for added measure which is, of course, cat-code for The Finger.
When not on the lanai, my cats will usually sit at the sliding glass door that leads to it and monitor whatever is going on outside. This is Chloe’s clue to come through the screen and sit nose-to-nose with my cats, thereby enraging them to the point of hysteria. Let me tell you, it’s big fun to try and watch a movie on the living room couch while the felines reproduce scenes from West Side Story in the kitchen. I’m fairly certain at least one of my cats is flashing a miniature switchblade at Chloe when I’m not looking.
I’ve tried everything I can think of to shoo the outside cat away, including banging pot lids together (which my neighbors love), and pelting her with a water gun (which makes me feel terrible). She’s driving my poor cats nuts and they, in turn, are driving me nuts.
Has anyone out there dealt with a similar situation? I’m wide open to ideas, though the must be humane because I’d sooner move into my garage for peace and quiet than hurt a kitteh.
So, that’s my problem. HALP?
(Dear god, I’ve become one of those crazy women who blogs about her cats.)
1 Comment | Sharpest pets, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
Today is my oldest son’s 11th birthday. While I was pregnant, I remember thinking that after he was born I’d be the one who would do all the teaching while he did all the listening and obeying. Yeah, I was totally wrong.
Today my son is more than a decade old and a we’re both a decade wiser. Though I kid myself I can still teach him a thing or two, the reality is that I learn just as much from him as he ever could from me. For instance:
11) If you run full-speed at a mud puddle and jump with both knees bent you can, in fact, soak both your brothers in sidewalk soup even if they’re still 9 feet away.
10) It’s entirely possible to make your mother turn purple if you give yourself a haircut just before a family event where pictures are expected to be taken. And you can do it twice in the same year.
9) Even if you can retain every single statistic of a football player who’s been in the NFL for 14 years, it doesn’t mean you’ll remember not to leave your favorite football behind the tire of the car.
8 ) You can squirt toothpaste directly in your mouth instead of on your toothbrush before brushing and still be cavity-free at your next checkup.
7) Spit makes a pretty pattern when launched from the top level of Tampa International Airport’s parking garage onto the rooftops below.
6) Grossing out your younger brother — and, yes, your mother — never gets old. Flipping your upper eyelids inside-out is sure-fire winner.
5) If you don’t have scrap paper on hand to play tabletop football, peas make a great substitute.
4) Saying, “I hope this works” followed by a loud BLAM! will give your mother a partial stroke.
3) If your mother laughs at your knock-knock joke #281 without rolling her eyes, you’ll be required to wear a jacket when it’s cold without rolling yours.
2) Your mother always monitors that invisible bungee cord that connects you. Stretch it, because she won’t let it snap.
1) Love between a mother and son is unconditional. Believe it.
3 Comments | Monkey boys | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
Once upon a time, I met a girl.
No, wait. That doesn’t sound right.
Shoe and I met while working on the same project for the same client (isn’t that always the way of things?). One day, was plodding along at work (which, since I work at home really means, I was barefoot and mousing around my computer screen with one hand while holding a large cup of coffee with the other) when I decided to check my email. When I saw something in my inbox from her, I quickly put my drink down before opening it because I’d learned that very nearly anything from this girl meant that whatever I was drinking at the time would end up spewed on my keyboard while I laughed hysterically.
She really is that funny. Everybody says so.
Though I can’t recall the exact content of the email it was, not surprisingly, absolutely a riot and I sent her a private note saying so. What started as a group chit-chat on team email evolved to long letters back and forth, comparing notes on and talking about everything under the sun (Except you. We never talk about you.) One thing led to another and eventually, we got together and did this.
Fast-forward in time. I told Shoe I needed a great and memorable name for an IT-centric blog I started for a client (I still need one, yo. Right now it’s named after, well, me, and that just isn’t right.). As only she can do, Kristin came up with a couple of really hysterical ideas that were, y’know, totally unprintable (as did my pal John Mark). We had a good laugh and I kinda forgot all about it.
Until today.
I guess Shoe really wants me to use one of her suggestions. Look what she sent me:
(In defense of us both, the little blue dude is probably only funny if you’re one of these.)
Now, I ask you, how can you not adore someone who gives you these kinds of “warm fuzzies”?
But, damn her, she still wins the prize for the coolest nickname ever.
[Thanks, Shoe! You are 100% celaphod greatness! I love them!]
1 Comment | Sharpest friends | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Hoover
My Recent Work Twitter
|
