Odds and Ends

Some thoughts before I do any work this week...

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What's with the massive volume of spam comments lately that are not getting caught by Blogger's spam filters? I feel like I get 3-4 a day, and I know I have seen a bunch of other people note the same thing.

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Is there any child-entertainment invention better than the bouncy house? Not only does it entertain and thoroughly exhaust, but it provides two days worth of good behavior just by invoking the slight chance that it can be cancelled. We went to two separate bouncy-house birthday parties this weekend, which is basically toddler heaven. Also, sort of Daddy heaven, too:-)

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I didn't win the lottery. So, that was kind of a bummer.

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Munchkin has three exams today and tomorrow and then she is...wait for it...done with school. Her graduation is a week from Thursday. I don't even want to guess how much crying I am going to do between now and then, but it's going to be a lot.

Also, since she is the likely valedictorian (bragging), she is speaking, as well. Which she is super nervous about, and which I find adorable because she basically never gets nervous about anything. She is adamant that she wants no help at all, but she has designated Papa Bear as the one person who gets to hear it first and provide feedback...the rest of us have to wait until show time:-)

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Strongly considering going to France with her again this summer, maybe with one of the girls. I hadn't really thought much about it, but Belle Vierge wrote a little love letter to Paris last week that sort of planted the idea in my head. So, we'll see...I am not sure that I am serious about this.

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In other sister news, Tinkerbelle is coming out for TWO WEEKS this summer:-). She is totally a petulant teenager, and I am sure I will want to strangle her at some point...but it will be awesome. Frankly, I think she is kind of a handful these days, and her Mom is hoping that some time away from home will help her a bit. I still don't see her nearly as much as I'd like, but she still listens to me (a little) so maybe I can contribute to making her less of a teenager.

More likely, Munchkin will handle it...she definitely listens to her!

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In the middle of last week, I was given an unusual work task...to go to a conference for a day, and try to find someone to hire at one of our portfolio companies. This is the sort of thing I am good at...getting the attendee list, doing some stalking ahead of time to pick out a handful of people, then finding them and conducting an on-the-spot interview that they don't know is an interview. Net result, four prospects...not a bad haul. Lunch, however, was mediocre:-)

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House hunting? Ugh. Never mind. Unless you have a whole bunch of money I can borrow. And by "borrow", I mean "have".

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Long weekend? Don't mind if I do... Headed to the beach to kick off the summer season, and very much looking forward to it. Anyone who has been around here for any length of time knows my affection for "The Beach House". And as much of a pain as it can be to lug the kids all the way down there, I still look forward to spending my weekends there all summer!

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Finally, officially retiring my car and getting a new one. I've had it for nearly 9 years now, and it's time to upgrade. As little as I drive, I will miss her:-). It's the only car I have ever owned, and we have been through a lot together!!!

Not sure on what to get next...taking suggestions:-)