Weird Wild Wordle

I first stumbled over this website via Melanie at DAILY SONRISAS.

I am an artist... Not an author. Here is how the creative behind Wordle.net described his concept:

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.

It's very cool. You can copy and paste lyrics from your favorite song or poem, or type in a web addresses to a blog to create word clouds, like I have done.

I'm curious as to what your word cloud looks like... so, give it shot, and post a link so we can all enjoy your clouds.

Mondrian

Piet Mondrian-esque rendition of me...

Get yours here.

Thanks Niobe.
I adore art and just don't seem to have enough time to be creative.
I agree with you, I feel this suites be quite nicely. Especially the color combinations. Reminds me of my eyes.

Most (recent) embarrassing moment: "No hablo"

ok...

lol....

last week I had dinner with my sis, her new man, my hubby and child at Habanero's Mexican restaurant. Sister's b-day is coming up soon and so, i thought it would be fun to have the restaurant people sing to her.

ok...I'll be honest...I wanted to show off my bilingual ability just a bit. Since I took Spanish in college, I wanted to use it, plus I wanted it to be a surprise when they came around with that GI-MONG-US sombrero. So, i thought it would be pretty cool for me to tell our waiter, in Spanish, that it's sister's birthday and then sister would be surprised! :) nice idea, huh??

lmao...

I'll be honest again...I don't know Spanish THAT well, so when I told the waiter "Feliz Cumplianos" (while making the air arrow toward sister with my eyes), I wasn't sure if he would understand that I was trying to tell him it was HER b-day and NOT that I was wishing HIM a happy birthday. kwim?

Little did I know......the waiter.....would NEVER understand what I was trying to tell him .....

ANY WAY... I'm sitting at the table with everyone, I'm speaking in a language for which I am familiar but not fluent and the waiter says,

"uhm...ma'am...I'm sorry, but i don't speak Spanish."

WTH??? omg. I was so embarrassed. Of course sister, her beau and my hubby DIED laughing.

So much for being cool.... I'm just a big ole dork.

B-12

Earlier in the week I had a doctor visit. it was a standard, no frills, visit with some lab work. I feel as though I am a healthy individual. Although, various ailments do run in my family: diabetes, high cholesterol...blah, blah, blah.

The lab work came back and with it came a phone call.

I have low B-12 levels.

Needless to say, once I got the call, I immediately researched B-12 deficiency and the side effects of such a deficiency:

* Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
* Insomnia
* Loss of memory
* Dizziness
* Lack of balance
* Depression
* Digestive problems
* Dizziness
* Liver enlargement
* Eye problems
* Headaches
* Hallucinations
* Inflamed tongue
* Breathing difficulties
* Loss of memory
* Palpitations
* Neurological damage
* Tinitus or ringing in the ears

(Ironically the individual who compiled this list, must suffer from B-12 deficiency because they repeated some of the side effects: loss of memory and dizziness.)

Anyway, of the side effects listed above I suffer from:
* Loss of memory (I consider my severity mild; like: where did I put my keys?)
* Depression (who's not these days with the economy, etc.)
* Digestive problems (absolutely...)
* Eye problems (I wear glasses. but, I have since 5th grade.)
* Palpitations (these have been more frequent recently.)
* Tinitus or ringing in the ears (more frequent in recent days.)

::sigh::

So, Monday, I start my round of B-12 injections. I have to have 1 injection per week for four weeks, and then once per month until... who knows? I'll find out Monday.

The injection will be intramuscular.

Secretary's Day

For a while I was the only "Secretary" on my floor. I have it in quotes because my titles is not Secretary or any variation there of. At the time of my hire, I had no experience as such, either. When I was promoted to my current position, the manager at the time felt I should be the Admin for the three departments that occupy my floor, in addition to the duties of my position. Needless to say, I pitched a fit. I'm not qualified to do the job. It's the same grade level and pay as my position but I have no experience in that function.

Eventually someone was hired to BE the Admin for the three departments. She did a bang up job, and I was glad to have her for when I needed assistance with my own work load. The Friday before I returned from medical leave after giving birth, I was informed she, the Admin, was going to another department. Great. With the economy looking grim I knew I would be the one stuck with all of the Admin duties, in addition to my regular job function, for an indefinite period of time.

In all honesty, it wasn't that bad. Expenses for 25+ people, ordering supplies for three departments, maintaining my own timeliness, accuracy and production goals were easily met daily. I actually enjoyed being... well...busy.

With the prospective contracts coming in the future, my company made the decision to hire another person to fill the position of Admin for the three departments. At first, I was glad because then I could focus on my own job function and less about the administrative aspects of running this business.

It has been wonderful getting to know my new friend. She's eager to learn and eager to be helpful. It's funny how things work out, because she is far more OVER qualified to do the job of admin than I ever will be. But yet, she does it with grace and class.

Happy Secretaries Day to you, my friend.
I should be more humble and grateful to have a job.

Sleep, hair, camera... OH MY!!

I got up extra early today because I have a doctor appointment this afternoon. No cause for alarm, it's a scheduled visit. But I am so sleepy. I could lay my head down on my desk and fall fast asleep in a matter of seconds. I sleep very soundly. Although, I never had a problem falling asleep or staying asleep with Cuddle Bug in the bed. We've had a family bed since birthday. It's been almost 20 months now, and I still love it. I sometimes have a difficult time sleeping when the bed is empty (for example if I wanted to nap).

The point I am trying to make is: empty bed or full bed...right now I could SLEEP!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............................


Oh...

I got my hair cut. She cut off quite a bit. Ten+ inches. Below is a picture I took of the mop my stylist excised. I also have a picture of me with my new do, but it's with my oh, so crappy camera phone. I'd LOVE to get a new phone, but it's just not in the plan at the moment. Should I include that picture as well, or just wait until I have an opportunity to take a better shot?

I let you be the judge... Here are both images. One with a really nice point-n-shot and the other a POS camera phone.

My gear...

Well, it's antiquated. I know this. But it's done me well, and I am forced (due to financial restrictions) to continue using it for the foreseeable future. Unless someone wants to be my rich benefactor or sugar daddy... then I'm pretty much stuck. :(

I have at my availability two Nikon D-70's for all of my professional sessions.

I usually use the Nikkor kit lens: 18-80 mm. But I also own a Quantaray 17-300 mm that I use when I am forced to maintain a substantial distance from my subjects. (And NO, I don't mean because of any restraining orders. I mean because some religious buildings do not allow flash during religious ceremonies.) I chose that lens because it was what I could afford at the time. It's suited me fine for all of my needs. And it's still in great condition.

I own a 50 mm that I luuuuuuuurve. If I could shoot with it all the time I absolutely would. It gives me the range in depth of field and shutter speed that I need. In fact, I have a shoot this weekend with this lens in mind. ::giggle::

I have a pinhole adapter that is fun, but not practical for any kind of photography where motion might occur. But it's a cool toy.

I have an SB-800 stand off flash. I love this flash. I've had it since day 1, and I still learn something about it every day. The capabilities of this flash are stellar.

For all of my point-n-shoot opportunities I use a Canon G-10. Best money I ever spent. I am able to be creative with all of my familiar SLR functions: AV, TV, M and it comes with a 3200 ISO option. LOVE this camera. The 3 inch LCD isn't too shabby either. The video function is crazy-cool! This little camera is my buddy. I never leave the house with it. It's BETTER than my Visa.

All in all... I need to upgrade. I know. I would love a D-90 or better. Since I have several lenses and low fundage, I am "forced" to maintain with the Nikon. I need a better sensor and higher ISO to capture and get the images I see online everyday.

For all the those reading this... I am ALWAYS up for suggestions, tip, crits, etc. If you want to see my website, fire an email to: deshaineATdeshaineDOTcom and I will be glad to forward my site address.

Egg pics and more

Well, as usual I have far more on my mind than I do in my blog. Some is funny, others heartbreaking. Either way I am here... and will be here.

So, I thought I would share my egg pictures from Easter with my family.

One thing I have decided is I need to upgrade my photo gear. I need new cameras, new lenses and new computer to edit my new pictures I'll be taking. I need a rich benefactor. Any takers?? Any one know how to get one of those pay pal buttons so people can contribute to my campaign??

Alas...

Here are the pictures. By the way, I didn't realize you could shell the eggs and THEN dye them. Very cool. Now if I could just get one of those egg molds.

eck

I've been sick the past few days and then of course there was the holiday.

nothing terribly exciting to report.

I don't watch the news.

That's right. I don't watch the news. But that doesn't mean i don't know what's going on in the world. I just don't feel the need to expose myself to the dirty details of how many homeless people clutter the streets, how many people are unemployed today, how many murders happened since January 1 and how it's risen since last year. I don't feel I need to know how many children are abused, rapped, kid napped, murdered or missing. I get the Amber Alerts, so I don't need that additional torment from the news.

I don't read the news paper because it's almost as bad. The only difference with the news paper is the extraordinarily detailed financial and sports sections. Of which I neither understand nor care to understand.

I am not an uneducated woman. I know what's going on in the world. I know about the upper level activities: the missal in Korea, the mob of people that are unemployed, the suicide rate is probably increasing. (Simple deduction can tell you that.) Surprisingly the birth rate is increasing. But that could be from people not having health insurance. Oh, gawd...then there's Octo-Mom. Don't even let me get started on THAT. During the election all I heard about what how this candidate was saying this or that. And that is always one sided anyway, so what good does that do ANY one?

I would, for once, like for the news people to pass along GOOD news. And ONLY good news for the whole hour/half hour. Is that even possible?

I want to know about the local parks and what special activities are going on there. Tell me about communities having picnics or parades or air shows. Tell me about the local nursing home that had 50 people donate time, money and services to make it a better place.

I get so tired of hearing about how many died in Iraq/Afghanistan. It's a (VERY) unnecessary evil of the world. If you are reading this post first, let me just add this: I am a child of a career military man. I support our Troops to the nth degree. And I do that blindly. It's not their individual faults for the reason they are there. I support our President (past and current) blindly because, after all, he is/was our President and it's his responsibility to make the best decisions for our country as a whole. Period.

I do, however, thinks it's the responsibility of the media to cover what is necessary AND what is good and positive. After all... our children are growing up in this.

By the way...

My jury duty has been canceled.

I figured when I got my notification that I didn't have to appear until Wednesday and then with Friday being a "holiday"...

oh, well. story of my life. i suppose.

Cherry On Top

I just realized my zipper has been down since the last time I used the restroom.

Lord knows how many people I have walked by until I realized the situation.

I do know that I walked past my office cleaning ladies, and neither one of them said anything...

at all.

Not sure what that says about me, them or how the past 7 days have gone for me. But...

there it is:

humility.

at the rawest.

oh well.

Ill

I've had a very sick child for the past two weeks. After being diagnosed with pink eye, we have come to be re-diagnosed with allergies, instead. I absolutely loathe giving my child anything (especially medicines) that are unnecessary. So, needless to say, I was PISSED to learn we had been treating the wrong issue. But at least now we know. Zyrtec will be our staple for a few weeks.

Now I am starting to feel ill.

As for my jury duty, I purchased a book: A Killer's Kiss, by William Lashner. I read the first few pages while at the book store. It was interesting enough for me to purchase it. I hope it will be worth the $7. I checked the website for the US District Court, and I have been postponed until Wednesday. I have a feeling I will be released from duty with the holiday (Easter / Good Friday) quickly approaching and considering I've been postponed until Wednesday. I will say this... I am kind of disappointed. I was truly looking forward to being on a trial of some sort.

Complete Randomness

Today I:

Studied a bit of the CFE exam
Read about American Idol
Read random Twitterers
Tumblr'ed a bit
Researched a quote regarding "clear conscience" (to no avail)
Conversed with Giggles regarding "life" (in general)
Read a blog from an old "friend" about how to prepare placenta for encapsulating
Researched dread locks the right and wrong way to get'em
Commented on random people's tweets, blogs and tumblrs.

I must leave now to pick up cuddle bug from day care.

All of the above is true and real. What did you do today?