Not So Cool

This week was way harder than I expected.But, at times like this, I always say: "God its good to be an Irish Catholic chick"I have consulted every possible rule book. And have come to this conclusion: There are NO rules to govern the event that your ex-husband - the father of your one joint and only child - dies. Prematurely, at the age of 47, no less.I wish there was a rule book. Perhaps I will write one.So my son's father died.. He had cancer. For three months. That sucks.The Boy phoned me. "He's gone," he said."Oh, Boy, I am so sorry," I said. Or something like that. We knew it was coming, but when it comes, well, that's a different thing.That boy loved that man..That afternoon, The Boy played basketball. He's a star at that sport. So he went to the funeral home in the morning, picked out the appropriate things, and then he played ball.. I couldn't do that. Play a sport the day my dad died. But he did, he wanted to, and he was, of course, the second highest scorer in the game. For his Dad.We went, of course.I was very nervous about the wake.I mean, what does one DO in this situation?So I walked in.. And they had put up this lovely bulletin board of photographs. Of him, as a child, as a teen, and as a Dad.It killed me, that bulletin board. There he was, in our first apartment, holding our little baby up in the air. So happy! There he was, on that ugly couch that someone had given us, sleeping with our little baby boy. So content.There he was, on our wedding day, no less, smiling a monster smile into the camera. It killed me.I went through the line-up. The Boy was stylin. He had bought a $700 suit to send his Good Daddy off.I was scared to see the family. Would they hate me? After all, I had divorced him. . .They didn't hate me.His sister, who was my best friend (we were so young) came out, special, to have a hug, and a cry with me. His brothers and sisters, well, we cried. . .The next day, was the funeral.I didn't bring enough kleenex.. I thought I had enough. My husband made sure I packed my purse. But tuns out, I needed more.As a certified Irish Roman Catholic, and my ex-husband being the same, I will say this: it was beautiful.The priest actually talked about him, and normally at Catholic funerals they don't even mention the name of the dead. Just ask any Catholic you know....The saddest thing, yet the nicest thing:: the priest chose as the Gospel John 14.2:There are many rooms in my Father's house. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going away to prepare a place for you?When I heard him say that, it killed me. Because I could see him, up there, renovating those rooms. Because he was a carpenter, a meticulous carpenter. A master carpenter.And then the priest gave a sermon. And in that sermon, he weaved, somehow, that Gospel, about many rooms in My Father's House, And The Man, and The Boy.And the priest got in everthing that is true about him: A fabulous father (especially that), a fine, upstanding man, a master craftsman.It killed me. It did.Afterwards, being Good Irish Catholics, we went to the house.For a send-off party.His sister had brought home photographs.. Of us. As kids (we were kids). So happy! Not a care in the world!It killed me.There were a bunch of pictures of him and me. But there are two, in particular, that I love. I forgot they existed, but Good God tnow that I see them, that is the way I will remember him. Remember us.Rest in Peace.You were a good man.

Redefine Marriage

Call me old fashioned, but in my opinion the states are messing with the family unit too much when they started redefining marriage. However, since the federal government failed to define marriage by law, it has obviously come under the category of "states rights." In some states two men or two woman can be married to each other by law, whereas it was illegal in the past. Why not carry the trend a bit further than it is going now? How about bigamy. Lots of people would like to have more than one wife legally, or possibly even more than one husband. Why couldn't a state legalize bigamy? Or, how about moving legal marrying age to age 12 or 13. As long as we're redefining marriage, why not? Here's an even more interesting idea. How about letting each family write their own marraige contract expressing what kind of marraige they want their family to have, and registering it with the state, and then do what they want for their family. Potentially, anyone of legal age could make up their own definition of marriage, register it with the state and go live in marital bliss. I think messing with the institution of marraige and the family is a recipe for disaster in our society. What do you think?

Are Zac and Miley Movie Stars?

Strictly as an outside observer, I'm always surprised / perplexed by teen sensations making the leap to the big screen. The latest examples are Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron. Are they really movie stars already? Or are they beloved by millions simply because of the character(s) they've played? When Cinematical's Dawn Taylor recently expressed her horror at the idea that Cyrus, a "marginally talented, pudding-faced 'tween idol," would be starring in a movie written by Nicholas Sparks, commenters were divided between hating Miley and hating Dawn. Nick Schager's review of Hannah Montana: The Movie was quite negative ("enduring the film is akin to being drawn and quartered"), but fans had clearly already decided to flock to theaters no matter what the reviews said. The narrative follow-up to the 3-D Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour proves, if nothing else, that 'tweens love Hannah Montana. But do they love the actress who plays her enough to follow her in other roles? Efron has been making an effort to demonstrate his range beyond the High School Musical movies. He took on a dramatic role in Richard Linklater's yet to be released Me and Orson Welles, decided not to dance in Footloose, and stars in the comedy 17 Again, which opens on Friday. Is he a deft comic actor? I don't know. I missed Saturday Night Live, which he hosted last weekend, and the recent Pool Party video was not very funny. He became beloved for his singing, dancing, and romancing, but will his fans follow him to comedic and dramatic roles? Do Zac Efron and/or Miley Cyrus have what it takes to be movie stars? Take our poll and let us know.

Principal Electrical Engineer

Location: Queensland - Brisbane CBD Principal Engineer (ITS) A Senior ITS Engineer with roughly 10 years Transport System experience is required by a leading government department based in Brisbane . You will be responsible for managing projects in the ITS field, as well as providing technical expertise and administration of contracts and support to the design, construction and maintenance processes. In return, you"ll be offered career progression and work on some of the most exciting projects in Queensland. Responsibilities of the role: - Manage projects across the ITS area - Provide technical expertise. - Develop innovative and progressibve technology solutions. - Manage the development of traffic management and traffic information systems. - Provide governance for ITS safety creating and updating standards and guidelines. Required experience: - Proven background in ITS managing delivery of technical projects. - Demonstrates innovative thinking - Experience of working with local and state authorities. - Qualified in Electrical Engineering or similar IT related field. - Excellent written and spoken English If you are interested, and are seeking a new and challenging opportunity with certainty and safety for your future career, please forward your CV.

presents for 50s,15s will do

an article about christmas shopping the other day and the woman being interviewed was asked how she approached the knotty problem of buying presents for men. She said that she always assumed that if she thought about what a teenage boy might like, then generally that's what a "full grown" man might like too. What's your mindset when buying presents for the "adult" males in your life?

tomato ketchup restore hair to old dark self?

The Boss heard on the radio that a woman who had dyed her dark hair blonde - and it had turned GREEN - was advised to use tomato ketchup to restore her hair to her old dark self. Is that true? Ladies, do you reach for the tomato ketchup when your hair colour goes wonky?

30 Bucks for a Photo with the 'Twilight' Hand Model?

I don't know about you, but I never really cared for the autographs of and photos with the big names of Hollywood. Why go for the familiar faces when you can go for the body parts? That foot. That boob. That hand. Okay, I might be laying on the sarcasm, but there is a spotlight turning onto one visually famous set of hands.During the Eye Con Twilight convention in Florida this year, Convention Fans reports that you can get to know the person behind those apple-holding hands -- Kimbra Hickey. But, such an honor will cost you: To get a picture with Kimbra in front of her Twilight poster, you have to fork over $30 of your hard-earned money. I guess that's pretty cheap for a chance to come close to the most famous hands in the world! I wonder if that thirty will get you a photo a la Janet Jackson on Rolling Stone?Now I can't take a complete hard line like Convention Fans did. If you want to feature her -- why not? But come on ... thirty bucks? There are many monumentally more notable names who offer their autographs or photo ops for free. But as they also point out -- the rest of this event is ridiculously pricey as well. Just take a look: $35-$295 for access to the event; $60 for an autograph from stars like Peter Facinelli; $240 for a picture with a small group of the cast -- I bet it would be cheaper to fly to Vancouver and stalk the actors there. Ah, there's nothing like stealing the wallets of eager fangirls everywhere, especially during hard times.

Earn Back a Higher Level of Fitness

We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other. Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind. Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Adidas is giving gorgeous gym bags to each featured member.

Determined to change that, though! What gets you to work out, even when you're feeling lazy? I go online and look at health websites! The articles and tips charge me up with energy!

The Fastest Way to Lose Fat

If you've ever tried it, you've probably noticed that you gave up shortly after trying because it's too hard. The reason it is too hard, is due to the fact that they make you view eating as a bad thing. Eating is good and enjoyable. You have to learn to eat and lose weight. That's why I'm going to share with you the fastest way to lose fat.

The fastest way to do this is through a smart diet. A lot of people don't realize that it's how you eat your food, rather than what you eat that has the biggest impact. You have two identical people and gave them the same food to eat over the day; one could lose weight and the other gain it based completely on when they ate the food. What you need to do is eat smaller meals more often. This causes the metabolism in the body to go faster and improve.

Weight lifting is by far the best way because it stimulates your metabolism, forces your body to consume fat and allows the body to burn more calories over the long run.

meiget

There're no wonderful songs for me to listen to...