That's What He Said About First Dates

Here are some pointers I received via a random email about dating. It's a quick trip into the male psyche called the 5 First Date Turn Offs for Men.

You may want to buckle up for this trip. Wait! Hold the entree, I'm outta here... :)

#1 - Can't Hold a Conversation: Is the conversation difficult? By appetizers a guy thinks he can tell where the date is going and if he even wants to be there for the entree.

#2 - Doesn't Ask Questions: Is she interested in the guy or does she only talk about herself and what she likes?

#3 - Lots of "Me" Talk: Some guys will count the number of times a girl says "me" on a date. Does the conversation or do the questions she asks set up conversation topics about herself?

#4 - Lack of Adventure: It's good for a girl to be willing to try something new. You may not like it, but try it once. A girl can can tell her date she doesn't like skydiving the next time he wants to go.

#5: The "ex" talk: Dwelling on past relationship(s). Just don't go there.

Ironic

A colleague from work sent this picture of an emergency department sign around the office. I'm not sure if it is doctored (pun intended) or not. Either way it's pretty hilarious.

15 Tips For A Successful Webinar

In case you ever need to conduct a webinar, here are some tips to help you be successful...

Webinars which are planned and executed properly can provide training for a large number of geographical dispersed attendees. There are my 10 tips to manage any Webinar.
1. Plan, in fact over plan: Create a webinar plan that includes schedules, potential speakers, what you want out of the registration process, what...

15 Tips For A Successful Webinar

A (More Real) Love Story

Funny video...

How to Keep a Healthy Level of Insanity

(Thanks, Pam, for sharing a laugh...)

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice!
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks . Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Marijuana.
6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.
7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.
9. Sing Along At The Opera.
10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.
11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'
12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'
13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity

14. PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WHERE THE FITTING ROOM IS.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth day to you!
Happy Earth day to you!
Happy Earth day to you-ou!
Happy Earth day toooooooooo you!
(And many more...)
P.S. - It helps if you sing it.

Core and More

The videos didn't want to download. Find core training here and another core training one here and here (swim technique) and here (bike) and run (here) and here (transitions). Running form can be found here and here and here

Things that Make You Go Hmmmm

A friend and I have been training for a sprint over the past week or two. On Monday in the gym's swimming pool area, we spied this sign. (Thanks Linda for sharing your picture.)

Notice anything odd? Instructions to call 911 in case there is a problem. Phone jack. No phone. Anyone know of a waterproof phone you can carry with you when you swim?

At the same gym, the restroom sign below was on a stall door inside the women's locker room. How exactly does that work? The sign to come into the locker room says women only, but one of the restroom stalls will accept men...

Seven Things

More amazing ASL with Miley and Stephen Torrence...

(And temperamental video uploads. Please follow the link.)

But Maybe They Aren't

Apartment Four - by They Might Be Giants

Twilight Twitterpation

Oprah's looking for answers... and people willing to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Are you or your kids obsessed with the Twilight series? Have you or your kids read all the books, seen both movies and now you are counting down the days until the release of Eclipse? Have you already made plans for the release of the newest movie in June? Who's your family's favorite Twilight star...and why?

Why do you love the story so much? How has it impacted your life? What have you learned from the series and how has it made you a better person? Are you a housewife who's started a fan club with friends? Do you have a young adult in your family who's been inspired to write his/her own stories? Has the romance in Twilight sparked the romance in your own relationship?
Tell us how the Twilight series has inspired you or your family! Please only write if you are willing to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Should I admit openly that I filled out an entry form--or just keep that part to myself?

Say It Isn't So

In humor we find truth: Check out this video

Hip-hip-horray

Here's another post for my nieces and nephews.... Care of YouTube

Beat It

One of the darling ladies I work with is organizing a team from KLAS to walk for Breast Cancer Awareness in the 2010 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event on Saturday, May 8 held in Salt Lake City. It's such a great cause I wanted to give a shout out. It's also one of the days I wish I had a time turner necklace. I'll be in Millcreek Hollow in Marriott-Slaterville that day cheering them on from afar. I'm sure donations are always welcome...

You can support the cause too by Joining/creating a team, registering to "Sleep in for the Cure" , or supporting the KLAS team! General info

Birds of a Feather

One of the guys I work with got some baby chicks about a month ago. Periodically he mentions how cute they are and what they are doing.

About a week ago, I had to run to IFA for some garden stuff and saw the darling little baby chickens. I've been thinking about them all week long since. Which lead to Saturday's purchase of three little chicks: a black, a golden and a yellow. And they cheep, cheep, cheep all the time.

As of yet they are nameless. If Robbie has his way, they will be Bob, Bob the Builder, and Tractor Something-or-other. Not quite what I had in mind - maybe something more like Huey, Dewey and Louie or Larry, Curly and Moe or Spade, Ace, and Joker or Obsidian, Ocher, and Amber/Buff/Citrine/Occamy/Olio or Raven, Penny and Duckling.

The salesman at IFA said their chickens pretty much only lay brown or white. All three should be female, so (if all goes well) the hens should start laying eggs when they are 6 months old. The golden and black chickens should lay brown eggs and the yellow one should lay white.

Chicken earlobe colors are supposed to indicate the color of egg. (Did you know that chickens had earlobes?) I'd hoped for red or blue or green or striped or spotted earlobes for some unique colored eggs. How fun would it be to really have green eggs and ham!

I'm learning all kinds of things about Gallus gallus domesticus (chickens).

Also, imagine my surprise when Nathan didn't decry my joke of chickens as a housewarming gift. I need to learn to stick to cats for that!

Shhhhh!

Here is the secret to weightloss and good health:

“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.”

~attributed to Hippocrates

Jump to It

Especially for my nieces and nephews - Enjoy!

This video wouldn't load. Please watch it old-school on YouTube.

Sew Neat

Open House Invitation

Friday, April 9th and
Saturday, April 10th
10 am - 5 pm Directions

Come see what Thimbles and Threads has planned for spring. New classes, projects, tips and tricks, samples, kits, decor, demos, discounts, fabrics and giveaways!!! Blog

Free Stampin' Up make & take flower pin

Cori Blunt, Chitter Chatter Designs, will spotlight her newest project "Baby Bracelets" and share embroidery tips and techniques from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Friday & Saturday

Once Upon a Time

You'd think telling a story would be easy. That it would be a natural part of life. Something happens; you talk about it. A story is born.

Apparently telling a story isn't that simple or that natural. Sean Buvala (professional, national storyteller) emails a newsletter with tips and tricks about how to tell a story and how to tell it well. In the most recent newsletter he explains that teen backtalk isn't really back talk; it means they are listening.

Below are highlights of three points to keep in mind when speaking with the teen/tween audience (check out the full article):

Tell Your Face
When you enter a classroom of teens, do you look like you are going to have a good time? Do you plan on enjoying the next hour or so? Does your face know it? Save the "professional" face for the staid adult events when you have to pretend to impress someone with your history. When "telling" to teens, smile and enjoy yourself. Mingle with them as they arrive in the classroom. Respond to even the most casual comments made to you before the event.

Build Your History
With an adult audience, I could partially rely on my list of accomplishments, travels and years of speaking experience to get their attention. Or at least get them to quietly applaud. With teens, these histories mean nothing. Your PhD, your 100 years of experience are not something their 13 years of life experience can process. You have to earn the right to be heard. Speak with energy and genuine enthusiasm and be transparent about your purpose. Kids base their evaluation of you based on their (or their immediate peers') direct experience of you.

Encourage Response
Especially in the area of storytelling, I want my audience to build the presentation with me. When teens enjoy you and your work, they will respond to what you are saying and doing. Often this begins with a silly comment or random shout-out designed to call attention to themselves. When you respect and use this initial comment and incorporate it into the story or presentation, you will begin to get comments from the audience that are relevant to what you are saying, not just self-referential remarks from your young audience. Think of these shout-outs as logs to toss on the fire you are building. And remember--working with teens can be rewarding.

Please Forgive Me

When traveling through the blogsphere, I've found it annoying that a moderator has to review and push comments live, but didn't understand the reasons until recently. Due to some inappropriate blog comments that I cannot delete or even edit, the settings for this blog have been changed.

Thank you for visiting. Please forgive the extra steps and hassle when commenting. I love to hear from you.

Crazy Runs in the Family

So my sister-in-law is talking about adding a little spice to the family with a sprint. This is not a family calling plan. And before you go jumping to any conclusions that it's a simple, quick foot race let me tell you, it isn't. It means a swim, bike, run; also known as a triathalon. For a sprint it means a half mile swim, 13 mile bike ride and 3.5 mile run.

Translation: sprint = crazy

I'm mulling the idea, not quite sold on it. Willing to entertain and possibly try. To me it doesn't really sound fun. I'm not a runner; never have been. Dance? Volleyball? I'm all over that. Swimming sure. I'm a bit rusty, but it comes back, right? Like riding a bike?

Part of that mulling includes research and interviews. Thank goodness for Google, the Internet and friends that have completed triathalons. Recently I dusted off my username and password, visited sparkpeople.com, joined a couple of Triathalon groups and asked a few forum questions. It seems a sprint is even doable and Sparkpeople has articles for every aspect and level of triathlete.

Here is my favorite piece so far:
Beginner - Coming off of the couch? OK, you're probably still deciding whether you will or can make a big lifestyle change for the better. And you are probably somewhat intimidated by the 'triathlon' idea.... You need something that will motivate you and instill a lot of pride as you will be a very small percent of the population training as a triathlete. But getting started can be very intimidating. You have the jargon to get used to, probably a hundred questions plus you have to train in all three sports at once! That can be daunting to the beginner. By following...

Exercise program ideas - Free training plans
Running from scratch
16 week program
Training videos

I'm going to need some seriously padded shorts because bike seats are so, so comfy. But where do you change in a race from swimsuit to bike shorts to running shorts? I believe the answer is that you simply don't change. Multipurpose, non-rubbing, non-rolling, padded seat, full body swimsuit/jog suit/bike suit? Probably very aerodynamic. Where do you find such gear and the courage to wear them?

Important things to remember - eat well, Swim, bike, run, stretch and weight train. Sparkpeople says, "Anybody can run a triathlon...even if you haven't worked out in years. All it takes is patience and willpower...you must make it a priority in your lifestyle. Once you do this then the training will come easy," "Make training an 'appointment'" and "Champions work their weaknesses!"

Care to join us?

Happy Easter

Ain't Nobody Quite Like Him

I looked up my dad's name online to see what it meant, but none of the websites recognized it. Many alternatives were offered such as Randall, Randell, Randolf, Ronald and Randulfr--but no Rondall's. I think that's because he's one of a kind, a stellar guy and a real #1 dad.

This name and meaning did come up and it fits him pretty well:
Ron - Advisor To The King
Gender: Male
Origin: English
Means "song, joy" in Hebrew.

Happy birthday, Dad!
Love your favorite older daughter

(What do you mean "who"?)

Must Be Outta my Census

So it's April Fool's Day as well as the 2010 census due date. Is your census filled out and mailed in?

On the first note, here are a few cool April Fool's things from today:

Google outdid itself this year. They changed the company name to Topeka after a city in Kansas, because Topeka informally changed its name to Google. more

Gmail dropped the vowels. Or should I type Gml drppd th vwls? more

And Google introduced a new translation application that will revolutionize life as we know it. I'm thinking about getting an android as a result. Check out the video:




YouTube announced that you can now watch videos in text - why bother with HD and videos clogging up your bandwidth? more

Starbucks announced it will add two new beverage sizes to its menu: Plenta™ (128 fl oz) and Micra™ (2 fl oz). more

Tina texted me that she owes me ice cream. Not sure if I'm going to believe that one is a joke or not. Free ice cream is always a plus.