ArizonaButterfly

I had a nice time in Tucson (the pic is a view from my hotel room), but I was happy to get home late Wednesday afternoon. It was funny because during one workshop a monsoon storm came through the area. People got up during the speaker’s presentation to watch it hail out!

Thankfully when I got home no trees had been ignited in or near my yard. The dogs didn’t miss me much because John and Sarah took such good care of them. The next morning, Cotton and Lucy, who had both been ignoring me since my return both acted thrilled to see John (Lucy even kissed his arm!).

Later today I’m going over to John and Sarah’s for a barbeque. Other than that, I’m hoping for a very quiet and restful weekend.

The picture is from earlier this month when the moon was almost full. I’m trying to learn to take better pictures when it’s dark. I’m leaving for Tucson around 8 p.m. Which is considerably earlier than the original plan of 10:45 p.m., but still later than I wish it were going to be. I’ll be in Tucson until Wednesday afternoon. Lucy was not happy to see the suitcase come out this afternoon.

I have a headache. Some days I really feel like a failure. I like to tell myself that it’s just a “moment” and that things really have turned around, but I’m not always sure.

Since I wasn’t convinced this morning that I’d fully recovered from the flu, I pretty much puttered around the house. Most of it involved cleaning, which generally involves moving furniture in my mind. I just think it’s easier to really clean if the furniture is being repositioned as well. Lucy, as you can tell by the picture, puts up with it, but she really doesn’t like it. Luke and Cotton just hide when the vacuum comes out, although Cotton has gotten a bit braver about it all recently. They were interested when I was cleaning off the top of the refrigerator; however I’m sure it was because that’s also where I keep their dog treats. I’m glad that John and Sarah are coming home today from their vacation in Chicago. It will be nice to have them back. Lucy and I drove out earlier today to check on their house for the last time before they get back.

Since I’ve decided to live, a meme from Five Dollar Shake.

Entertainment Weekly came up with a list of the top 100 movies of the last 25 years. Bold the movies that you’ve watched and put asterisks next to the ones you liked.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)**
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)**
3. Titanic (1997)**
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)**
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)**
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)**
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)**
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)**
13. GoodFellas (1990)**
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)**
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)**
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)**
20. The Lion King (1994)**
21. Schindler’s List (1993)**
22. Rushmore
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)**
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)**
27. Aliens (1986)**
28. Wings of Desire
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)**
30. When Harry Met Sally (1989)**
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)**
34. Fargo (1996)**
35. The Incredibles (2004)**
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)**
37. Pretty Woman (1990)**
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)**
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)**
43. Gladiator (2000)**
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)**
46. Children of Men (2006)**
47. Men in Black (1997)**
48. Scarface (1983)**
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)**
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad
53. The Truman Show (1998)**
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)**
55. Risky Business (1983)**
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)**
59. L.A. Confidential(1997)**
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. Sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)**
64. No Country For Old Men (2007) **
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)**
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)**
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)**
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)**
73. Office Space (1999)**
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)**
76. The Departed (2006)**
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)**
81. Moonstruck (1987)**
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)**
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)**
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)**
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)**
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)**
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)**
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)**
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

I have the flu and am miserable.

I could smell it before I heard about it or saw the smoke from the fire burning on this side of the valley. This picture is from yesterday before it got considerably larger thanks to the wind. The news reports indicate a lightening strike started it; we certainly didn’t get any rain along with the lightening. After their experience last week, the boys were very reluctant to go outside this morning because of the smell. I don’t blame them at all.

When I received my promotion a little over a year ago, one of my first concerns was business cards and supplies. The ones provided were (to put it bluntly) very generic (ugly) and I didn’t want to use them. The design did not reflect me, my position, or even my field very well at all.

I received permission to get my own business cards, and so I began searching the internet for a site to meet my needs. One of the first sites I encountered was VistaPrint.

VistaPrint offers a wide array of printing services including: business cards, checks, rubber stamps, announcements, and car magnets! You can customize all of their products to your liking!

The site is very user friendly! With their business card wizard I was able to create business cards, and matching stationary perfectly suited to my position. They have a very good selection of designs and clip art, but if you can’t find what you need, there’s also an upload option to more personally customize what you need.

VistaPrint’s customer service is also very good. I received my order promptly and was very pleased with the quality of the business cards and stationary I ordered. So much so, that I’ve referred VistaPrint to more than one of my colleagues.

While he’s happy to be in the house, Cotton still refuses to come near me. He does this everytime I’m gone for a few days. Luke, on the other hand, has been at my side since I returned home.

The burned tree is being removed today. My neighbors were a little irritated that I took a picture of it, but since I did it from my side of the fence, they’ll just have to live. I’m not sure why they waited until 11 a.m. to start it either, but that’s their business. (It was 96F at 8 a.m.)

I watched No Reservations and Juno earlier today while I was doing laundry and cleaning a bit. Since they irrigated yesterday instead of Tuesday as they normally do, mowing is out of the question for this weekend. Irrigation yesterday is also why I’m cleaning “a bit” since evertime the dogs come in they track in dirt with them.