Changing Direction

I thought I'd NEVER leave Blackberry but I did. I just got the new LG Escape smartphone and it's actually very nice. I cheated a little though and got to test it out for month before buying. photo courtesy LG.com The Escape measures 4.96 by 2.54 by 0.37 inches and weighs just 4.5 ounces. It's made of shiny black plastic with a light pattern printed on the back and a smoked chrome ring around the battery cover and display and looks and feels like a quality device. The design is minimalist-sleek. There's a volume rocker on the left edge, a power button on the right, a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, and a microUSB port on the bottom. That's it.  There's about half an inch of bezel on either side of the 4.3-inch, 960-by-540-pixel IPS LCD, which looks beautiful. It gets very bright, and its 256 pixel-per-inch density makes for sharp text and images. The phone is light and comfortable to hold, and typing in both portrait and landscape mode ...

We had a lovely hike around Devil's Tower. Here are some of the Native American legends regarding this sacred land. Arapaho Legend An Arapaho lodge was camped at Bears Tipi. The father of this lodge was a head lodge and had seven children, five boys and two girls. The two girls had made an arrangement between themselves that the one who found the end bond (end rib) of a buffalo should receive the most favors from the brothers. The boys often made trips to other tribes. After a long search one of the girls found an end bone of a buffalo and on picking it up she turned into a bear and made some big scratches on her sister's back. The bear-girl told her sister, "if you tell the dogs will howl and this will be a signal so I will know that you have told." The sister did tell her brothers and when they heard the dogs howl and give the signal they were scared and started to run. The bear-girl heard the signal and ran after them. The girl who had told was carr...

This gave us quite a surprise while visiting The Lodge at Deadwood Gaming Casino  in Deadwood, South Dakota.

I'm currently hooked on these shows but not in any particular order.  Great acting in them all!

While out enjoying my weekend as I was out doing my shopping, I made a rare impulse purchase at my neighborhood drug store of the "As Seen on TV" PediSpin for $14.99 and am pleasantly surprised at how WELL it works. Its powered by 4 AA batteries (batteries not included) and includes 1 Filing plate, 1 Finishing Head and 12 replacement Finishing Pads. Its great for smoothing out rough heels! Because I consider getting a professional pedicure one of life's great pleasures, I won't give them up totally but this PediSpin will serve me well between salon visits. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Unfortunately we were the recent victims of a burglary. It's a strange feeling to come home and see your things scattered everywhere and valuables missing. It happened during the day when nobody was home. We did the whole police report thing and they took fingerprints. Our HOA President also pulled video. So we'll see what comes of the investigation. For now we have re-secured our home and beefed up our security system. Yes it sucks to go through this and the feeling of being violated is very real but we're staying positive and are grateful that no one was hurt. There have been a lot of home invasions across our city and many have happened when folks are at home so it could have been worse. Thank goodness it wasn't. My advice after going through this experience is to secure your residence as best you can, take pictures of all your valuables, and take down serial numbers of all electronics. It will help in reporting and might help in recovering your ...

What's my secret? It's the God in me...

These days the computer functions as the DVD and DVR player.

This morning's workout was tough! Usually after I'm into it for 15 minutes or so some endorphins kick in and then I'm on my way but not this time. I was fatigued throughout the whole workout. Strange as it sounds though, I knew I'd feel better after getting it done and I was right! Good news is I'm coming up on a couple of rest days so I plan on doing just that.

I haven't taken a poll on this but I'm often surprised at the reaction I get when many people hear me say that I'm happy & content. Maybe some who are feeling such great dissatisfaction or insecurity in their lives make assumptions that everyone else must be as miserable as they are. Since I know that there will never be a "perfect" situation and I can never be a perfect person. I'm not waiting to achieve certain goals in order to be happy. Although I have goals I'm working towards, I can still love me right where I am. I believe that we face challenges in life to build character and strengths that we may otherwise lack if everything flowed our way just the way we wanted it to. I try always to make the most of my situations whether bad or good, practice compassion, love myself and others unconditionally. I have made a conscious choice to be content. This isn't a place that you arrive at instantly. Much of it is internal work. Being st...

Check out LaKesha Womack's radio blog spot on dealing with haters.  Great advice! Listen to internet radio with LaKesha Womack on Blog Talk Radio

Sometimes you have to know when to let go and fire a client. Recently I had a prospective client buzzing around me wanting to feel me out for my services.  He's sort of a jack of all trades (you know the type) that approached me about building a website for him as well as needing advice on other business matters.  So after a short discussion letting him know how I work, my fees, and contract, I told him that I would follow up with a formal meeting request so that we could discuss his needs in further detail.  Oh, there's one other detail I forgot to mention, we work together.  So every time I would set an outside appointment for us, he would ask for a reschedule BUT would continue to stop by my office frequently throughout the week for several weeks to ask me for input on his side business.  Now I entertained this a couple of times but quickly figured out where this was going...NOWHERE! So today after another approach of "hey can you take a look at my ...

Despite how the game ended, Hubby and I had a great time at the Orlando Magic game vs the San Antonio Spurs. It was a close game with some hot moments in the final seconds. A bonus to the fun was that we were able to enjoy the game from the City of Orlando Suite so the food and drinks were constantly flowing. The view of the court was awesome!

One day I hope to be this good on the treadmill. :)

I'm a lover of nature and wildlife and this has got to be one of the best videos I've seen in a while.  Please take the time to watch how a whale's life is saved and the appreciation it shows in return.

2011 is in the rear view mirror now.  Fortunately Hubby and I were able to spend the last two weekends of the year getting our travel fix. Christmas weekend we enjoyed the mountains in Lake Tahoe. New Year's weekend in Las Vegas! From the slopes to the poker tables we always enjoy meeting people from interesting places around the world. I hope and pray for more adventures in the new year.  Happy New Year to you all.