May 2006

My husband sprung a leak! And I was so impressed I just had to give it a try. I’ll start off by dropping the Link Leak Virus in his lap. ’cause I loves him, ’cause he dropped one on me, and ’cause he’ll buy me a Chai Tea later. Click the link to check out what started all of this and while there, check out his original post on the Link Leak Virus, for an in depth explanation.

Basically, the idea behind it is sharing your readers with other bloggers - who’ll then share their readers - who’ll then….. Oh, you get it. It’s a really great idea, even though I didn’t think of it.

We bloggers need to have one another’s back. The best way to keep the blogosphere thriving and healthy is to keep it fresh and lively. In that vein, I’m going to start devoting every Friday to the funkiest, funnest, freakiest posts or post subjects that I’ve found during the week. Funky Friday may not always be PG or PC. It’s Friday for blogging out loud. (But I promise to be a good girl the rest of the week.)

The second Link Leak Virus I want to drop is on a gal I have a blog crush on. Man, I love her writing, her wit, and the sexy cool way she looks at the world! The post I’ve linked to (above) is because of its nature (the subject puts the freak in freakish and the ug in ugly). While on her blog, be sure you read her other posts. Read at least 10 - you’ll be addicted to her forever. The woman’s ALL THAT and an order of onion rings.

Now, no Funky Friday is complete without a great joke, right? Especially if the joke involves a nun, a bar and a restaurant. (Poor sweet nun - she should’ve never gone in there in the first place.) Anyway, here’s the Link Leak Virus to the Fun Nun.

The joke is posted by a young….very young…., pretty……very pretty….woman. Don’t let her age, sweet smile or size fool you, though. This girl’s got the heart of a fighter. She’s already been through more than most people go through in a lifetime.

What has she done, exactly? Stared cancer dead in the eye, didn’t blink and didn’t back down. Mark this down, she’ll be the last one standing, because the most beastly monster in the world didn’t know who it was messing with. It didn’t make her weaker, it didn’t make her bitter - it made her stronger. No self-respecting bully can stand that.

What amazes me (really, really amazes me) is the fact that she has kept her zany sense of humor and wild sense of adventure. While on her blog, you can read her story. You’ll never forget her, I guarantee it.

Hope your weekend is one long party! Not a pity one, not a keg one: just a glad-to-be-alive-I’m-going-to-make-every-minute-count party.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

I started not to link to the following article - I didn’t want to offend anyone’s sense of dignity by sending them off to what sort of amounts to as a dirty joke. But, by gosh, it’s a funny dirty joke!

But I figure that if I warn you that it’s not a G or even PG article - then you click the link anyway…. you’re looking for a laugh and won’t mind a little locker room humor. The article doesn’t have actual, bonafide “Do this and you’ll have less stress…” type of info (Then again, I’m not a man…maybe it does!). But for the period of time that it takes to read it, I’m thinking the stress level will be zippo….and that’s a good thing!

Laughter’s good for you, and I think we all need to lighten the heck up every now and then…..so below’s the link:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Cut Stress in Five Minutes

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

My youngest daughter and I played tennis for 60 minutes yesterday. My body is completely aware of each and every one of those 3600 seconds today. But, it actually feels good - because I know that I’m getting back (slowly/surely) into “summer” condition. One day, my serve may even come back. Hey, I’m an optimist!

I’m also a duffus, because I should have done something during the winter to stay in shape. Apparently I considered blogging and brushing my teeth to be winter sports. I’d put my fingers in the shape of an L on my forehead…..but, er, it might hurt to raise my arm that high…..so, um, let’s just imagine that I branded myself a loser.

Our minds aren’t much different from our bodies. They’re as strong as we allow them to be, as powerful as we prepare them to be.

The tips below are recommended for keeping your nerve cells functioning and your brain cells working at top speed:

• Exercise your mind. Read, play word games and follow current affairs - even if the current affairs are downers, you have to know what’s going on around you. Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t read the news - too depressing.” Personally, I think being uninformed and unaware of the world around you is much more depressing.
• Exercise your body. By keeping your heart and blood vessels healthy, you increase blood flow to the brain. Absolutely essential for top mental fitness.
• Eat a healthy diet. You’ll provide your brain with the fuel it needs to run on all cylinders.
• Get a good night’s sleep. Doing so will help you retain information. Lack of sleep is one of the worst things imaginable for mental fitness and functioning.
• Stay socially active and learn new hobbies. This will keep the creative part of your mind alive and active.

Start addressing each one of the tips above today, and keep at it. In a few weeks, you’ll notice a HUGE difference in the way your mind’s working for you. You’ll also feel so much better you’ll want to hug yourself.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

“By perseverence the snail reached the ark.”

……and Stephany hits her mark!

My daughter Steph has a lot in common with the snails who made the ark! It’s not that she walks really slow….which she does. And it’s not that she’s very petite….which she is. It’s all in the attitude of “I’m sticking with this and will come out on top. I won’t quit until I do!”

Steph and I spend the better part of our days working online. Designing websites, coding layouts, configuring blogs, writing content, making graphics, researching, etc. etc. etc.

She was up against a two headed monster of a coding problem today. I mean, she’s a teen-ager - this sort of problem would stop people twice her age in their tracks. (Take it from someone who stood in those very tracks, like my toes were nailed to the floor!) From my computer, I could hear an occasional groan from hers - which told me she was still in pursuit of the answer. At one point, she put on some Whitney Houston music - she said it was to drown out all the yelling she was about to do.

The yelling never came - by the time the beautiful diva finished her beautiful songs, my beautiful daughter had come out on top. Pretty pleased with herself, too. Her first words were, “I’m a freakin’ genius.” She gets her modesty from her dad.

I’m always impressed with the way she sticks with something until it comes around to her way of thinking. I like the way she handles herself under pressure, too. No yelling (even when she’s sure it’s coming), no arrival of a bad mood, no stress and strain on her face…. She just does what needs to be done, and if that doesn’t work - moves on to the next attempt. She’s a cool kid.

I also love her taste in music! I got so lost in Whitney’s amazing voice I forgot about the demons lying within my own daily grind. When Whitney was on top of her game, there wasn’t anyone better, brighter or more beautiful. Anyone who never had a crush on Whitney Houston just didn’t know what crushes were for!

I don’t think there’ll ever be another one quite like her. Problem is, I’m afraid she’ll never even be like her.

I wish she’d had more perseverence and fight. She gave in and her beautiful spirit gave up. As a big, big, big fan - I hope she wakes up one day, fails to recognize herself and gets it together.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi