"go crazy"

	Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry:	go crazy
Part of Speech:	verb
Definition:	become insane
Synonyms:	blow a gasket*, blow one's mind*, blow one's stack*, blow one's top*, crack up*, flip one's lid*, flip out, fly off the handle*, freak out*, go ballistic*, go bananas*, go batty*, go berserk*, go bonkers*, go buggy*, go cuckoo*, go daffy*, go haywire*, go kooky*, go loco*, go loony*, go mental, go nuts*, go nutty*, go off, go off one's rocker*, go off the deep end*, go off the wall*, go psycho*, go wacko*, go wacky*, lose control of oneself, lose it*, lose one's cool, lose one's mind, wig out*
Source:	Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1) Copyright © 2007 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. * = informal or slang

Park(ing) Day 2007

Happy Park(ing) Day!

What? You don't know about this holiday? Go here! It explains a lot that it has originated from San Francisco, but it truly is great idea.

Why PARK(ing)?

More than 70% of most cities' outdoor space is dedicated to the private vehicle while only a fraction of that land is allocated to open space for people. Around the nation, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel, and more pollution. It’s time to rethink the way streets are used!

A metered parking spot is an inexpensive short-term lease for a 10'x20' plot of land. Imagine what you can do in a space usually dedicated to private vehicle storage. Parking Day began in a single metered parking spot in San Francisco and then spread around the world. People who want more open space, less traffic, and safer streets have joined together.

I'm back!

It's been a rough ride these past few months. Physically, I still sound like I'm coughing up a lung. I must be reverting to my previous life as a cat. Mentally, I'm going a bit cuckoo. I'm a bit upset, more concerned about how things will happen the next few months.

I will admit openly that the ubiquitous "they" screwed up and gave MY job to someone else. The best part of the sordid affair is that as of Monday October 1st, I will be back in the library! It's not MY job, but it is a very good job - a fantastic opportunity as campus (solo) librarian and instructor at a new (in our area) college. WooHoo!

I will miss my coworkers greatly. My last day is next Friday, and I hopefully will have all my ducks in order (so to speak).

Please note.....

Please stay tuned for a very important message.......

Are we too selfish to change?

I'm slowly trying to minimize the footprint me and my family makes on the environment. Green Bay is slow in adopting the environmentally-conscious way of life like my home town of Madison is, but it's getting there. I love the idea of purchasing locally raised meat. We have the vegetable garden, but we need to harvest soon before the threat of frost and get the food canned or frozen. The Omnivore's Dilemma is the next book on my "to - read" list. So I read No Impact Man's blog regularly, and I applaud this "Change the Message" message.

Reposted from No Impact Man (permission granted).

A hundred years ago, waste was considered immoral. Throwing out something that still worked was just plain wrong.

What changed that? Marketing. Factory owners wanted to keep their production lines churning and factory workers wanted to keep their tummies full. Repetitive consumption seemed like the answer.

Slowly but surely we convinced ourselves that new was better than old. It became ok to throw things out. It became ok to waste. In fact, out with the old and in with the new kept the economic wheels turning. Buying became downright patriotic.

The result of this old messaging is that, now, everybody wants the newest iPod, the biggest SUV, a huge vacation. And no one is going to give these things up voluntarily, right? Wrong.

Because history shows us that acquisitiveness, a twentieth century phenomenon, is not based on selfishness (which presumably would have been present from the Stone Age). Instead, our consumption arose because of newly-learned social norms and values.

So, we can change the message.

For many years, in this country, smoking was trendy. Now it’s not. The message changed. When I was young, people threw their wrappers on the New York streets without a thought. Now people sneer if you drop your trash. The message changed.

Why wouldn’t the same be true of our use of planetary resources? For many years, as a culture, we thought it was great to get more and use more, and that was the message.

People argue that changing course is impossible. You can’t, they say, change human nature. But we don’t have to change human nature.

All we have to do is change the message.

So cool!

SoundSeen: Audio Slideshow
Stuart Brown describes Norbert Rosing's striking images of a wild polar bear playing with sled dogs in the wilds of Canada's Hudson Bay.

well, duh

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man 80% Supergirl 63% Robin 60% Superman 55% Wonder Woman 53% Green Lantern 50% Iron Man 50% Hulk 40% Catwoman 40% The Flash 35% Batman 30%

You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

RIP

too true

Well....

What a balance one has to make when you get your hopes up and think positively about something to end up not getting it, or it not happening the way you want it. It's ok, really. Just disappointing when you KNOW what clearly should have been.

Advice to live by (hear that, Karen! This is for you! )

The Thick Skinned
It's not all about you. How becoming less self critical can help boost your confidence.
By:Lybi Ma

.....

Here are a few tips to developing a thick skin:

• Don't take things personally. Sometimes you may need to reframe a person's bad behavior by remembering that it's not about you.
• Don't let others get to you. Refuse to get overly responsive to the negative feelings and provocations of others. Adopt strategies that regulate emotional arousal; otherwise negativity hijacks the thinking brain. Try simple deep breathing or declare time out.
• Remember that everyone gets rejected sometimes. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on. Don't be discouraged if it takes a few times to get it right. Successful people are rejected over and over, but never stop trying.
• When you're rejected or something doesn't go your way, counterpropose a new solution. Often, the person declining your offer is not rejecting you. He may even want to hear another idea. Successful individuals come back from rejection with new proposals. They're creative at coming up with additional ways of looking at things and solving problems.
• Don't hesitate to unstick sticky situations. If you're discussing an issue and the conversation is going off track, stop it and restart it on the right track. You could say: "This isn't going productively. Let's reshoot this scene from the beginning" or "Can we take it from the top?"
• Don't be self-focused. If you do focus on yourself, you'll likely dwell on your shortcomings. Instead, think about your goals and what steps you need to get there.
• Stop the self-talk. Counter self-defeating self-talk with truth talk: "You can be your own worst enemy, so give yourself a break."
• Don't worry about looking stupid. If you are asked a question and you don't know the answer, you can simply say, "I need to think about that and get back to you later."
• Learn to be patient. Don't be impulsive or react to a situation without giving yourself time to cool off.
• Don't be quick to blame. Recognize that other people have their ups and downs.
• Think about others. Enter social interactions with this thought of making the experience itself enjoyable. Ask yourself, "What can I do to make you feel more comfortable."

You know it's going to be one of those kind of days when....

• Daughter wakes up in the middle of the night with night-mares about monsters under the bed.
• Husband wakes up in the middle of the night to cat throwing up on bed.
  
• Wife takes husband's cell phone ... husband takes wife's cell phone by mistake.
• Big diggers and dump trucks wake wife up at 6:30.

alive

It's been a busy few weeks at the House of Eck.

We had a party and witnessed the unveiling of the "LAMBEAU-LANCE". Seriously crazy Packers Fan.






We started Hill #2.


Maddy is doing great.


Joe is stressed out, but does his best to chill out.



I'm trying to be patient.


A chipmunk absconded with the top of my new birdfeeder. Honestly! This is what it started out:

This is what it looks like now. How the hell?

life

And so it goes....

It's been a hectic week. Isn't that always the case? Here's a list of things on my own to-do list for the next few weeks.

• Start preparations / cleaning lists for the House of Eck Fest 2007 next weekend.
• Clean bathtub.
• Vacuum & sweep.
• Weed gardens.
• Harvest food out of vegetable garden.
  
• Go to the bird-seed store for sunflower seeds for the new birdfeeder.
• Purchase more "good-girl" incentives for Madeline. (I'm not above giving out bribes.)
• Send out email notice of committee meeting I'm the chair for.
  
• Create End-of-Summer and Fall "Garden-to-do" lists.
  
• Contact insurance company about upcoming pulmonary test to find out if bronchitis is actually something more like asthma.
  
• Make arrangements with friend to have her kids frequently over the next few weeks to play as she recovers from viral meningitis AND lymes' disease.
  
• Validate and make more clear the plan for the new website design to deliver next week.
  
• Keep smiling cuz life is good.
• Keep smiling cuz the only thing that is consistent and constant IS change.
  

8 things

I've been tagged. Thanks, Heather.

The Rules:

Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

At the end of the post, the player tags 8 people, posts their names, and leaves a comment on their websites to let them know that they have been tagged.

1. My dessert of choice lately has been vanilla yogurt sprinkled with chocolate chips. Go figure.
2. I love taking naps. Especially in my own house. With my daughter sleeping in the other room. With my cats snuggled next to me.
   
3. I'm an avid gardener, both flowers and vegetables. I love the feel of the dirt between my fingers - the smell of the earth as I dig a whole for new seeds or new plants. I particularly enjoy being able to immediately transpose a section from a weeded mess to a clean and beautiful area.
   
4. I'm an avid photographer, especially with our new Fujifilm FinePix F20 camera. I put most of our pictures up on Flickr.
   
5. I don't like pickles, not even when I was pregnant.
   
6. I find Holly-weird, well, weird, as in a gawking at the horrible car crash weird.
7. I miss pottery. I took classes for 2 years and loved the zen of the wheel. 2 weeks ago, I went up to Egg Harbor to meet a friend of a friend. Renee, as it turns out, is living a dream - creating art on a 100-year old farmstead. Beautiful. Inspiring.
   
8. I haven't always followed the Packers. It's kind of hard not to, living with a GB native and whose family has been been employed, in years past and presently, by the Packers. It's ok. I'm not a psycho-fan. I didn't even get to one game last year. Not that I'm counting or anything.

There. Done! I tag Annie and Jamie!

4 days

Definitely not a record, but I finished #7 in 4 days. I loved it. It worked. It was fitting. It wasn't dumbed down - a regurgitation of everything that happened in the previous 6. Brava, Ms. Rowling. I hope you continue writing and continue sharing your talents. I for one am glad I hoped on this particular band-wagon. I can't wait to begin sharing Harry with Maddy. I know she'll love him too.

Without Prejudice?

Are you WITHOUT PREJUDICE?

Watch what happens on this new Game Show Network interesting series. You'll be surprised. I was.

HP#7

When Tracy called to tell me my copy of book 7 arrived, I did the happy dance! I pictured myself at a Potterhead self-help session, " Hello, my name is Karen and I'm a Potterhead.".

Oh well, I'm in good company.

Yes, I prepared sufficiently for the release date by re-reading each book yet again. I've done that before - so I've actually read #1 6 times, #2 5 times, etc... At least I don't have different publication versions like some people I know. Don't you think that would be excessive?

hah!

It's done!

Phew.....I finished it! I needed to just DO IT. I feel MUCH better now that I got it done with. I was making myself and my husband nuts. Ok, I am already nuts, I know that, but I was mucho cranky with him the past few days. :(

But at least this part is over. Now the WAITING. And we all know how patient Karen can be! NOT!

Oh, I'm sorry....You can't read my mind, I suppose. You haven't a clue as to what I'm talking, about do you?

Well, there are a few open library positions in the area. One in particular is the one I am hoping for. It's funny - I've been living here now for, what, 6 years? Since December 2001 anyway. I had that poor experience at one library in town, and ever since, there really hasn't been a position that was for me. And now, at least 2 professional positions are open, plus 3 other non-professional! Crazy, isn't it? When it rains, it pours!

I'll let you know what happens. Cross your fingers for me! :D

nerves

Why should I be so nervous? It'd be a great thing! I know I can do it. I know it can be done. So why are the butterflies just bumping in to each other in my belly? Maybe it's because I haven't done this in so long. Maybe it's because of the unknown factor. Maybe it's because I may be the teeniest bit afraid of success. I know - weird, huh?

Everything will be ok. I know I can do this. And everything will work out. :)