Sunday, August 05, 2007
Germantown Splash Park
We went to the Germantown Splash Park on Sunday with some friends. This is the perfect place for water fun for little ones, you don't have to worry about them going in deep water. Its all fountains that you can run in. The only issue I have is that you get splashed in the face continuously and so that's a little hard to deal with. But when it's hot who cares?
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Fairy Party
Last weekend one of Gigi's friends from day care had a fairy party. It was really a great idea and the food and decorations were very creative. Several little girls were invited over and given fairy wings, wands, etc. I think they all really enjoyed it. The girls were asked to dress in the type of dress they thought a fairy would wear. I guess was a flapper fairy. :)
Friday, August 03, 2007
Control - its a conversation starter
Well it seems that my post on Control has been great for starting insightful conversation. After writing it it really made me think about how I handle myself and got a friend of mine doing some self exploration also. This is great, I need to do more posts like that. I love taking about this stuff. What makes us tick, or crack as it may be.
Since this conversation did not take place on the blog I have asked my friend to allow me post the conversation.
My friend wrote...
I'm probably going to blog about this, but I've been thinking a lot lately about your self confidence entry and the Hack Yourself letter. I've always had challenges with my self esteem and have only learned, over the last several years, how to overcome that at times and especially how disruptive it can be in my personal and professional life. What I've been wondering about folks like you and my boss, and the guy who wrote Hack Yourself--people who exude self confidence--is whether you ever are at a low point yourself. Do you ever find that you are not performing optimally and are letting your behavior be adversely affected by a temporary lull in your self confidence? I mean, it's one thing to have a history of low self esteem. It's another to read stuff like Hack This and your blog entry and start thinking things that don't help me like, "man, I'm such a loser--these people don't let anything get in their way!" Am I making any sense here?
So my response was...
Yes you are making sense. I am glad you feel I "exude self confidence" and I guess most of the time I do. But really sometimes it's more show that substance. Not to say I don't have plenty of substance, but I've learned to fake the confidence when needed and as the situation pans out I grow into it. This allows opportunity to continue to come my way, even it I don't necessarily feel ready for it. One thing I have always done is keep my head down and work hard and pretend I know what I am doing until I really know what I am doing. It's been my way of hiding my flaws, but are they really flaws or do I just see them as that? Certainly my ability to spot lack of confidence in others is due to my own bouts with it. My post was an effort to allow the readers see it in themselves and get on with it. It's frustrating to me to sit and watch without a real way to effect change for others.
I believe most us have that little voice of self doubt in their heads, and of course carry mental baggage of things that have hurt us in the past, but it's important to see in ourselves the strengths that others see. I've been lucky to be in positive nurturing environments both at home and work, it has really allowed me to come into who I am and be confident.
To answer the question have I let low moments effective my behavior and productivity, certainly. But more in my younger days and I guess I did so much of it then that I really try not to allow it now. :) Again, it's this practice that allows me to see it in others. Now if I am on a low point I let it ride a bit and if it doesn't turn around I start faking it and sooner or later, usually sooner, I get back on good note. It's like smiling, even if you're not in the the mood to smile when you start, it actually makes you feel better and then you find yourself smiling without making an effort.
My friend's response...
Thanks again. I love this kind of discourse. It's great to learn a little about what makes people tick.
I guess my perspective goes right back to the topic of your original entry on this--control. By my count, I'm not so hot at faking anything. I tend to be brutally honest most of the time. Most people who know me well will attest to this--most of the time the examples they site are the times when I come right out and tell a person what I think regardless of how it might sound or how the subject might take it. People who don't know me at work or home usually find this amusing at least and admirable at most. My problem is that the longer I know you or the more often I'm around you, the more often I take the opportunity to "set you straight." This is when some people get to see how abrasive I can be. It doesn't stop here. Get me into a debate or an argument and, sometimes, I lose control. Now, this mostly depends on my mood and my mood is usually not directly related to the topic at hand. I am also very rarely aware of my mood or how it might effect my behavior until it's a bit too late. I won't go into the details of what happens when I lose control. It's usually embarrassing on some level and I almost always end up apologizing to someone very soon afterwards (another quality that most people who get to know me tend to appreciate).
The thing is that a lot of this stuff gets summed up as me being a bit moody or passionate--when I discuss this with the people who accept me, they say that they know that that's just "David being David." Even when I find myself apologizing, people tell me not to worry about it. . .I guess I always come back to the fact that most of the actual behavior is related to my need to be taken seriously and for my thoughts and feelings to be respected. If my confidence is low at the moment, I'm likely to believe that I'm being brushed off or disrespected--even if all that is happening is that someone is disagreeing with me. Even when people tell me I don't need to apologize or say they know that that's just the way I am, internally, I take that as being brushed off--people should accept compliments and apologies more appropriately!
So, I guess, as I mature too, I understand all of this about myself even better and, hopefully, I gain more control over my behavior. The thing that I still feel in the dark about is how other people, especially those who seem so successful, happy and "with it", maintain the control necessary to keep their feet out of their mouths. It seems as though these people must have a balance in their lives of the sort that will always be out of my reach. I guess the key here is that it only seems this way and, of course, only when I'm not feeling the most confident. Also, I suppose if I knew everything about how these people manage, they'd have no privacy and there'd be no point in getting to know them.
My Response...
Oh I've certainly put my foot in my mouth - that's always fun :( , not to mention embarrassing. The last time was at work with someone really pushing on me, really just pushing buttons with a fever and I was letting him. During the discourse I yelled across the office at my beloved assistant, who was with an outside vendor at the time ( I unfortunately did not realize this), and to say the least made an ass out myself. It was really not a good moment. I still apologize profusely to her about this incident to this day.
I have seen the owner of my company, who I admire greatly, lose it on occasion. So we all may lose it, but control is certainly the key. I really hope I don't allow myself to be pushed that out of control again, and pray I spot the warning signs and remove myself from the conversation before it happens.
You play a dangerous game, as I guess I have with my original post. People don't always want to hear what your opinion is if it reflects negatively against them, but I understand the need to let them know. Most of the time I keep my mouth shut, unless of course it's in a work situation where it is my job to observe and comment to employees and their managers. But in the social group, if you ask me I'll tell you, but otherwise I'll keep it to myself or blog about it. :)
Since this conversation did not take place on the blog I have asked my friend to allow me post the conversation.
My friend wrote...
I'm probably going to blog about this, but I've been thinking a lot lately about your self confidence entry and the Hack Yourself letter. I've always had challenges with my self esteem and have only learned, over the last several years, how to overcome that at times and especially how disruptive it can be in my personal and professional life. What I've been wondering about folks like you and my boss, and the guy who wrote Hack Yourself--people who exude self confidence--is whether you ever are at a low point yourself. Do you ever find that you are not performing optimally and are letting your behavior be adversely affected by a temporary lull in your self confidence? I mean, it's one thing to have a history of low self esteem. It's another to read stuff like Hack This and your blog entry and start thinking things that don't help me like, "man, I'm such a loser--these people don't let anything get in their way!" Am I making any sense here?
So my response was...
Yes you are making sense. I am glad you feel I "exude self confidence" and I guess most of the time I do. But really sometimes it's more show that substance. Not to say I don't have plenty of substance, but I've learned to fake the confidence when needed and as the situation pans out I grow into it. This allows opportunity to continue to come my way, even it I don't necessarily feel ready for it. One thing I have always done is keep my head down and work hard and pretend I know what I am doing until I really know what I am doing. It's been my way of hiding my flaws, but are they really flaws or do I just see them as that? Certainly my ability to spot lack of confidence in others is due to my own bouts with it. My post was an effort to allow the readers see it in themselves and get on with it. It's frustrating to me to sit and watch without a real way to effect change for others.
I believe most us have that little voice of self doubt in their heads, and of course carry mental baggage of things that have hurt us in the past, but it's important to see in ourselves the strengths that others see. I've been lucky to be in positive nurturing environments both at home and work, it has really allowed me to come into who I am and be confident.
To answer the question have I let low moments effective my behavior and productivity, certainly. But more in my younger days and I guess I did so much of it then that I really try not to allow it now. :) Again, it's this practice that allows me to see it in others. Now if I am on a low point I let it ride a bit and if it doesn't turn around I start faking it and sooner or later, usually sooner, I get back on good note. It's like smiling, even if you're not in the the mood to smile when you start, it actually makes you feel better and then you find yourself smiling without making an effort.
My friend's response...
Thanks again. I love this kind of discourse. It's great to learn a little about what makes people tick.
I guess my perspective goes right back to the topic of your original entry on this--control. By my count, I'm not so hot at faking anything. I tend to be brutally honest most of the time. Most people who know me well will attest to this--most of the time the examples they site are the times when I come right out and tell a person what I think regardless of how it might sound or how the subject might take it. People who don't know me at work or home usually find this amusing at least and admirable at most. My problem is that the longer I know you or the more often I'm around you, the more often I take the opportunity to "set you straight." This is when some people get to see how abrasive I can be. It doesn't stop here. Get me into a debate or an argument and, sometimes, I lose control. Now, this mostly depends on my mood and my mood is usually not directly related to the topic at hand. I am also very rarely aware of my mood or how it might effect my behavior until it's a bit too late. I won't go into the details of what happens when I lose control. It's usually embarrassing on some level and I almost always end up apologizing to someone very soon afterwards (another quality that most people who get to know me tend to appreciate).
The thing is that a lot of this stuff gets summed up as me being a bit moody or passionate--when I discuss this with the people who accept me, they say that they know that that's just "David being David." Even when I find myself apologizing, people tell me not to worry about it. . .I guess I always come back to the fact that most of the actual behavior is related to my need to be taken seriously and for my thoughts and feelings to be respected. If my confidence is low at the moment, I'm likely to believe that I'm being brushed off or disrespected--even if all that is happening is that someone is disagreeing with me. Even when people tell me I don't need to apologize or say they know that that's just the way I am, internally, I take that as being brushed off--people should accept compliments and apologies more appropriately!
So, I guess, as I mature too, I understand all of this about myself even better and, hopefully, I gain more control over my behavior. The thing that I still feel in the dark about is how other people, especially those who seem so successful, happy and "with it", maintain the control necessary to keep their feet out of their mouths. It seems as though these people must have a balance in their lives of the sort that will always be out of my reach. I guess the key here is that it only seems this way and, of course, only when I'm not feeling the most confident. Also, I suppose if I knew everything about how these people manage, they'd have no privacy and there'd be no point in getting to know them.
My Response...
Oh I've certainly put my foot in my mouth - that's always fun :( , not to mention embarrassing. The last time was at work with someone really pushing on me, really just pushing buttons with a fever and I was letting him. During the discourse I yelled across the office at my beloved assistant, who was with an outside vendor at the time ( I unfortunately did not realize this), and to say the least made an ass out myself. It was really not a good moment. I still apologize profusely to her about this incident to this day.
I have seen the owner of my company, who I admire greatly, lose it on occasion. So we all may lose it, but control is certainly the key. I really hope I don't allow myself to be pushed that out of control again, and pray I spot the warning signs and remove myself from the conversation before it happens.
You play a dangerous game, as I guess I have with my original post. People don't always want to hear what your opinion is if it reflects negatively against them, but I understand the need to let them know. Most of the time I keep my mouth shut, unless of course it's in a work situation where it is my job to observe and comment to employees and their managers. But in the social group, if you ask me I'll tell you, but otherwise I'll keep it to myself or blog about it. :)
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Lighten Up
Well I am happy to say I am making some progress on ridding myself of the recently gained vacation pounds. Back to where I was before the second vacation so that makes me fairly happy. The other pounds will be harder. I have a new weapon in my arsenal for this quest, Hoodia. I've tried various "weight loss" products before with very little hope or satisfaction, but I have to say so far the Hoodia product has done what it says it will do. Basically it just makes you feel less hungry. And it does it without making you feel like you are on speed. This isn't to say it would keep me from sitting down and eating a large meal or several large meals throughout the day. But what it does do is allow me to eat the small meal and feel satisfied. Most of the time when I go for the small meal theory I fail. I want more to eat as soon as I am finished. I want to snack. Not the case with Hoodia. Now I am only 2 days into using this product but I am also down 3 lbs, so although I don't expect to lose another 3lbs in the next two days, it's given me a bump and if it can help control my appetite. The rest will follow.
When I purchased the product I got a quick education on its origins. Apparently it's an herbal remedy that the bushman in Africa have used for years. Not for weight loss of course but for for it's ability to keep you from feeling hungry. They used it whenever they would go on a long journey where they would have little or no food or water.
Now of course the other major factor in health and weight control is exercise. I have really let this go. But I have good news on this front also. My office is moving to a new building and there is a very nice Sport and Health club next door. We have meeting today with one of their reps to get an employee discount for our staff. We'll get this in motion ASAP, so I can start going there. Even now before the move it's much closer to my office than my other gym.
Ah, I feel in control. And caffeine free.
When I purchased the product I got a quick education on its origins. Apparently it's an herbal remedy that the bushman in Africa have used for years. Not for weight loss of course but for for it's ability to keep you from feeling hungry. They used it whenever they would go on a long journey where they would have little or no food or water.
Now of course the other major factor in health and weight control is exercise. I have really let this go. But I have good news on this front also. My office is moving to a new building and there is a very nice Sport and Health club next door. We have meeting today with one of their reps to get an employee discount for our staff. We'll get this in motion ASAP, so I can start going there. Even now before the move it's much closer to my office than my other gym.
Ah, I feel in control. And caffeine free.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Control - It's yours if you want it
Today’s post may seem a bit out of context for some of you. But as promised I plan to keep this blog alive more than once a month so this something that is on my mind and worth publishing. Its something that I feel is good to remind myself of and maybe all who read it will be reminded of the control we each hold over our own lives and how our perception of any given situation makes a difference in how we experience it.
If you think the world is dumping on you, it is. If you didn’t ask for it but are getting overwhelming challenges, you see it as opportunity and it is. The external details of either scenario are the same, it’s how you choose to see it and how you plan to react to it that effects the outcome and your happiness while living it.
If something isn’t for you don’t do it. Plain and simple. But if its fear, self set limitations or even lack of learned capabilities keeping you from doing something, get over it and add some new skills to your bag of tricks. And enjoy overcoming your own internal difficulties.
Finally where do you want to be in life? Who is the person you want to be? What is holding you back? My advice, unsolicited of course, is to stop wasting time complaining and creating drama. Do not allow the easy escape of blaming others for what is going wrong, don’t worry about opinions they may or may not have about you. Look at yourself and find the strength you need to make it the life you want it to be. Let go of old baggage, know that no one is going to do it for you and maybe some will try to hold you back. I know you know that part but the hump I feel you’re having trouble getting over is the part about how in the end it’s up to you. Figure out what you want to do and do it.
The control is yours if you want it. I know this post is going to make you mad and you'll have many great reasons to prove what I am saying does not apply to you. But if you walk away with one little peice of doubt to put a chink in that thick armour of yours then I will be happy.
If you think the world is dumping on you, it is. If you didn’t ask for it but are getting overwhelming challenges, you see it as opportunity and it is. The external details of either scenario are the same, it’s how you choose to see it and how you plan to react to it that effects the outcome and your happiness while living it.
If something isn’t for you don’t do it. Plain and simple. But if its fear, self set limitations or even lack of learned capabilities keeping you from doing something, get over it and add some new skills to your bag of tricks. And enjoy overcoming your own internal difficulties.
Finally where do you want to be in life? Who is the person you want to be? What is holding you back? My advice, unsolicited of course, is to stop wasting time complaining and creating drama. Do not allow the easy escape of blaming others for what is going wrong, don’t worry about opinions they may or may not have about you. Look at yourself and find the strength you need to make it the life you want it to be. Let go of old baggage, know that no one is going to do it for you and maybe some will try to hold you back. I know you know that part but the hump I feel you’re having trouble getting over is the part about how in the end it’s up to you. Figure out what you want to do and do it.
The control is yours if you want it. I know this post is going to make you mad and you'll have many great reasons to prove what I am saying does not apply to you. But if you walk away with one little peice of doubt to put a chink in that thick armour of yours then I will be happy.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Getting back into the swing of things
I call this shot creative camouflaging. This was taken at Race Point Beach in Provincetown, MA at the very tip of Cape Cod. A guy came up and asked for the time and then I got the big idea of asking him to take our picture. I hand him the camera and then realize I am about to document what I look like in my bathing suit. Now I am not so self conscience that I won't wear my bathing suit in public, but really I am not thrilled by it and certainly don't need to document it. So thought fast and pick up Ms. G to hold in front of me. Good Plan.
Problem is I can't really walk around like that in real life. Got back from vacation and did my morning ritual weigh in. 140lbs. UGH. That is 5lbs over my "I have got to do something about this weight" weight. Well I guess it could be worse since It's not SO bad that I can't even post it here, but really this is bad. I am missing the benefits of when I had food poisoning earlier this year. I was sick for three days straight, but the tummy was flat and I was weighing in at a comfortable 133 lbs. Two vacations later and I am up 7 lbs.
So I guess I need to get my you know what to the gym, and leave some of it there. I'll rant here with some updates. Which brings me to the next point of my subject line of getting back into the swing. I have plenty of stuff to write about so I will make some time for it. A monthly blog is a boring thing.
The vacation. It was great. We rented a beautiful house on a bluff overlooking Cape Cod Bay. At night you could see a few lights, lighthouses I presume, over at the tip of the cape. One of which I did not see, Race Point Lighthouse, even though we were RIGHT THERE. It was behind a house and I didn't even know it was there. How stupid is that. I really wanted to take a lighthouse tour of the Cape but didn't, but I could have at least seen that one. Anyway it was nice to see it from our house.
The reason for our trip was to witness the Batz Mitzvah of Paul's niece Olivia. It was my first one. I didn't get to see much of it though because Ms. G was having a hard time sitting in her seat and an even harder time keeping quiet. The parts I did see were nice, apparently the rabbi is a bit on the non traditional side and sang and played guitar a lot. I was especially impressed with Olivia's poise and confidence in her reading and chanting.
The party afterwards was quite fun we got to see many of Paul's relatives that we never see, so that was good. Shame on us for not taking any pictures there.
The rest of the vacation was split between hanging out with Paul's immediate family and doing some day trips just the three of us. I know Paul really enjoyed spending time with everyone especially his sisters.
The day trips were also fun. My favorite was taking the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard for the day. The weather was perfect and the island was some of what I expected and then some I didn't. Part of that was because we were in the most touristy spots. With such limited time and no vehicle we really didn't get to explore much of the island.
Other favorites include a day trip with just Karen and I to shop and have lunch in Chatham. And getting a chance to walk on the beach and chat with Paul's sisters. I know Paul especially enjoyed having his Aunt Fran stay with us for a few days, and Gigi loved playing with her cousins.
All in all it was fun, we pushed Gigi's limits a few times and need to scale back on the schedule, but she really enjoyed herself.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Plymouth, Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard
The are Tons of pics and lots to say but not so much time right now . So enjoy the pictures below and for more click on >>>>>THIS LINK<<<<< for the entire album. The house was great, the view to die for. We really enjoyed time with the family, especially Gigi with her older cousins. The Cape and Martha's vineyard were beautiful...more later.
Laura, Karen and Janice.
The gardens and houses at Oak Bluffs
More on the ferry
Gigi collecting rocks at White Horse beach.
Ramsey, Drew and Derek having a seaweed fight.
Paul, Gigi, Lisa, Karen and I.
Gigi sporting her new cap from Provincetown.
Laura, Karen and Janice.
The Barnstable Fair.
On the ferry to Martha's Vineyard.
The Harbor at VineYard Haven
The gardens and houses at Oak Bluffs
More on the ferry
Neighborhood Playdate
We just got back from vacation but before I get into posting pictures from that I figured I'd get a few up from a fun play date we had earlier this month.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Summer Fun
Well I guess this is getting to be a monthly blog, rather than a weekly one. The more I try to get more time out the day the less time I seem to find. Well Gigi is getting good on the computer these days, so maybe she'll take over for me. We all laugh but it will be sooner than you think! Right now she is really digging having her own machine where she plays games with colors and shapes, etc.
We are really excited she will start montesori school in September. I think she is going to get a lot out of it and really enjoy that she is going to school instead of day care. Only 2 more months!
I guess one reason I haven't been blogging much is the great weather, usually by now we are holed up inside with the a/c on. But its been great, we have only had a few a/c days, the rest we have been able to open the house and enjoy the weather. No time for the computer.
We had a great vacation last week, have one coming up in a few weeks, plus right before we went to the beach we had a great party with some of our friends. So I guess there has been a lot of work going on but also lots play, not much computer time.
OC Beach 2007
We just got back from the beach, it was very nice and relaxing. The weather was great, some cool and some hot. Mostly we went to the beach, went out to eat and took Gigi to ride the kiddie rides. And slept. It was good.
For ALL the beach vacation pictures, click here to go to Picasa web albums.
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