How I spent my July 4th by Chief the dog

Independence Day

Yesterday I was explaining to Zoe why 4th of July is also called Independence Day and it made me think of all the ways she has become independent lately. I hear "I can do it myself" a lot these days and most of the time I welcome it.

Zoe now can:

• Open the car door, get herself into the car, put on her seatbelt and close the car door without any help. Those of you who don't have kids can't imagine what a relief that is and those of you that do, I am sure you know.
  
• Go to the restroom at restaurants without me.
• Wash her own hair and body in the shower without any help.
• Clear her dishes from the table (not that she does it all the time).
• Pick out clothes and put them on -- and sometimes the clothes even match.
• Find the shows she wants to watch on TV.
• Read her own bedtime story (in truth she goes back and forth on this -- sometimes she reads and sometimes I do).

I wonder what's next?

(I had to use the bullet points because I skipped my usual Friday post.)

The 3/50 Project

I just read this post from traciedesigns and I had to share it too because I think it is a great idea.

I'm sure everyone has noticed lots of local businesses disappearing in the last 6 months to a year. I know I've lost a couple of favorite spots (including my beloved Katzenbergs). The 3/50 Project is simple: pick 3 local, independently owned businesses you really like and commit to spending $50 a month in each.

For more info, background and some great statistics, visit the 3/50 Project website.

I'm on board, how about you? If so, spread the word!

Have you seen this? Life.com

Remember Life magazine with all the awesome pictures? Well, it has been reincarnated into Life.com and it is all about the photos. They've broken the images into major categories, but they also have a pretty good search. Each image has options to email, share, rate, print, link and license. You can find images of just about any major event you can think of. Great site for browsing or searching. Very nicely done.

Summer days

Now that we've finally had a few days of actual summer weather I am starting to believe it is real. I just got back from dropping Zoe off at the camp bus and I am filled with longing for my own camper days. I went to day camp and then sleep away camp from the time I was about 6 until I was 13 or 14 and I loved it. I loved the swimming, the arts and crafts, the singing, the campfires, the bad food, the s'mores, the everything. It was all special and unique to summers. To me, that is what summer should be all about and not sitting here at my desk doing the same job like it was any other day.

Growing up kinda sucks sometimes.

Friday's Lessons Learned: It's Friday again already?

I'm not complaining that it is Friday again, I just can't believe how quickly this week went by. I only managed one post between last Friday and this. I hate when that happens. OK, on with this week's list:

• Losing weight feels really good, but having your "skinny" jeans (not as in the style, but as in the ones you can wear on your skinny feeling days) be too big feels downright amazing. I'm just about to start the 6th week of the competition at my gym and it has been a wonderfully motivating experience.
• Nothing scares me like a sick or injured Zoe. On Wednesday of this week she did something to her neck. It hurt her so much that she was crying and couldn't really lift her head. At first I thought it was a muscle strain and then when it wasn't better in the morning my mind started to jump to all kinds of worst case scenarios like meningitis or something like that. I took her to the pediatrician and luckily it turned out to mild whiplash. I have no idea what she did to herself, but I think it was either from jumping on the bed or Chief pulling too hard while she was holding the leash. She's feeling much better now. Phew!
• Saying "Calgon, take me away!" does not actually magically transport you to a luxurious bubble bath, no matter what that commercial says.
  
  
• Chief likes to carry a tennis ball in his mouth where ever he goes. And sometimes around the house he will drop it out of his mouth and let it bounce up so he can catch it. I never saw a dog do that before. Have I mentioned that he's a great dog?
  
• Meteorology is a lost art.

An ABC Meme

Got this one from Queen Emily, of course. She says is really one of those Facebook quizzes, but I like it better for the blog.

You are supposed to write a note with the ABCs of YOU. (Consider yourself tagged if you'd like to do this one.)

A - An advantage that you have: White & college-educated.

B - Blue or brown eyes: Sometimes mine are blue and sometimes they are green, but Zoe has beautiful brown eyes that look like candy drops.

C - Chore you hate: Changing the sheets. Actually I hate the entire process. I hate pulling the sheets off the bed, I hate washing the sheets, I hate folding sheets, and I hate putting new sheets on the bed. I don't mind regular making the bed though.

D - Dad's name: David. It is interesting to note that he has no middle name.

E - Essential start of your day: Brushing my teeth

F - Favorite color: I don't have a favorite, but I am not often drawn to yellow.

G - Greatest thing you've ever done that made you feel really good: Almost every year for Zoe's birthday party I ask party guests to make a donation to Save the Children instead of bringing a gift. We've raised a few thousand dollars over the years.

H - Habit you have: iPhone. Not sure if that is a habit or a way of life.

I - Issue you hate that the world tries to make you pursue: Jon and Kate Plus 8. Who really gives a crap?

J - Job title: Senior Project Manager

K - Khols or Target: Target all the way. I rarely go to Khols of my own volition.

L - Living arrangements: House in Fairfield, CT that I share with my husband, my Mom, Zoe and our newest resident, Chief.

M - Music you like: The music they play on the Sirius Satellite station, The Spectrum and classic 80's New Wave.

N - Nicknames: No one really calls me by a nickname anymore, but in the past I have been called Mertz, Marsh, Mars, and M

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Hernia repair surgery

P - Pet Peeve: When people say "FYI." I don't mind it as much in an email, but when someone actually says it, I find it highly irritating. Close second to that is when people sum something up by saying "it is what it is."

Q - Quote that you like most: "Leap and the net will appear."

R - Right or left handed: Extremely right-handed

S - Siblings: One, his name is Jon.

T - Time you wake up: 5:30 AM

U - Underwear: Yes.

V - Vegetable you dislike: broccoli

W - What makes you run late: Rob

X-rays you've had: Right foot (after dropping a heavy stapler on it), pelvis (after falling down icy stairs), face (after bad fall while playing basketball), and teeth.

Y - Yummy food you make: Several different kinds of cookies including Linzer tarts, macaroons, and peanut butter.

Z- Zoo Animal- I'm partial to the giraffes.

Friday's Lessons Learned: A Week in Photos

This week I am too lazy and exhausted to write full bullet points so I am relying on pictures. We all know how many words they are worth, right?

• I was finally able to catch a photo of one half of the cardinal couple that frequent my bird feeder. This is Ruby:
  
  Her mate, Carmine, is still camera shy.


• Zoe was into crazy outfits this week. Yes those are socks on her hands, and yes that is her underwear over her pants.
  
  



• Chief likes to sleep on the floor next to my side of the bed with his "baby." He is probably the best dog, ever.
  
  



• We had another visit from the Tooth Fairy this week. Zoe lost her first top tooth and now has that jack-o-lantern look!
  
  



• Yes, you may have noticed there are no pictures of Rob this week. He's been too busy working his crazy summer schedule to participate in any of my photo shoots, but I will share that my excellent friend Heather has started a hysterical new blog called Rob hates blogs about him. Anyone out there who wants author rights, let me know.
  
  

Have you seen this? The MP3 Experiment

I read about this a couple of weeks ago on David Pogue's blog. He gives an excellent description of the day from a participants point of view. But, better still is this video: