newbuzz...I am compelled to feed the animals. All the animals. Though I live in town, we have a veritable wildlife preserve at my house. If you are a stray cat, a wandering duck, a mourning dove, a mischievous squirrel, a hummingbird, or simply a hungry yard bird, come on over. You will be fed and admired to the utmost of my ability. I am a nurturer and a nature lover. It is my instinct to take care of the ones I love. It is not enough for me to feed the cats and dogs of our home, I must also feed the animals that roam free in my neighborhood. It has been suggested that I let these critters fend for themselves and they will be fine without me. But I don't do it for them. I do it for me. It makes me happy to feed them. These are quasi-wild animals. They are townies. They don't really have to fend for themselves, because if I didn't feed them, someone else would. But we know each other and we like each other. We have an understanding. They are my wildlife and I am their meal ticket.

newbuzz...My dog has learned to shake hands. Specifically, he has shaken my hand three times. He did this after no less than four years of training and an eight pound bag of cat food, given one kibble at a time. I don't know why he fights me on this. It is clear that he can hear me talking. He can see me holding out my hand. I think he knows what I want. Yet, he sits there time after time with a blank look on his face. At one point, he began to whine every time I gave the command to "shake". I think he was trying to ask why, but my daughter thinks he was saying "I don't want to". In any case, just as I was ready to give up again, he threw his paw in the air and shook my hand. It was like a mercy shake; I think he really felt sorry for me. We all clapped and cheered because it was so exciting. He repeated the same scenario three times yesterday -three shakes in all. It occurs to me that only one of us is stressing out about this. He has the upper hand and I realize that he is much smarter than he looks.

newbuzz...I have finished my last final exam. At 46 years of age, I have completed work for my Baccalaureate degree. I am now a Bachelor of Science in Communications Studies, Oral Concentration. It has taken six years to accomplish this goal. I have continued to work 40 hours per week and watched my daughters grow and leave the nest. What began as a mid life crisis has ended in the beautiful rebirth of my spirit as well as the enlightenment of my mind. I am more confident, more poised and more prepared to face any challenge that comes my way. I am more interesting and more interested in my own life and the lives of those around me. People ask me what I plan to do with my degree. Simple; I will live my life with greater understanding and purpose. I will lead and influence others wherever I find the need. I will advocate for higher education for every individual. I am different because of my education. I have become more of myself, I feel it in my bones.

newbuzz...It is Friday and I am tired. I have worked hard all week. All the worrying I did about things that might happen and things that might not happen has given way to time. Some of those things did happen and some of them did not. In the end, the worrying was worse than the happening. But this is what makes us human, this "nexting" that we do. No other species has this unique ability to think and plan beyond right now. Women in the Western world are especially adept at this skill, and I rank right up with the best of them. Thinking ahead and planning what comes next has served me well in many cases. However, after a week like this one, I realize that it can be carried to extreme. Multitasking can quickly give way to worrying. Worrying is wasted energy. To waste not is to want not. Therefore, I am declaring this weekend a worry free zone. Whatever happens next is alright with me.

newbuzz...There is a young woman at work who is expecting her first baby on April 10th. She is delightfully big bellied and full of optimism. We love to give her advice and tell her our own baby stories. We smile and chuckle as we hear about her aches and pains. We remind her to get up and walk around to avoid putting her back out. We caution her to rest and take plenty of naps now as she won't be sleeping much after the baby comes. Everyone joins in with his or her two cents worth of knowledge whether or not they have children of their own. There is nothing so wonderful at work as having an expectant mother in the midst. Her condition brings out the nurturing in people and the desire to protect her builds a community spirit of cooperation. We will miss her when she is on maternity leave, but we will have so much more advice to give when she comes back to work with a little bundle of joy at home.

newbuzz...I just paid all my bills, which feels good, but I hate to see my checkbook balance dwindle. I am accustomed to having my goods and services. It almost seems like I am wasting money as I pay for my electricity, telephone, internet, gas, house, car, etc., etc. I am lucky that I have an income that allows me to pay the bills, and I realize that I am one of the Americans that needs to do an attitude check. The reason I go to work every day is so that I can have all of my daily needs (and wants) met. I should feel happy and excited to pay for the items I have already consumed. Somehow during the last 20 years or so, I have developed an idea that it is good to buy new stuff, and not so good to pay for the old stuff I already have. I think I would feel more thankful and less entitled if I were required to prepay for the things I want and need. I am not ready to go that far, but I will give thanks tonight that I am able to pay my bills and go to sleep.

newbuzz...This was a Sunday like any other until I had the chance to reconnect with an old friend. What a joy to chat again and think about times gone by. We worked together and spent many hours on the same projects, targeting the same goals. Oh, how I have missed my friend at work these past few years. But I have grown and so has my friend. We both made changes that have been good. I am beginning to understand that change is constant, and so are good friends.

newbuzz...The first day of spring is welcome in Minnesota. We don't care that it is raining. We don't care that it is only 33 degrees. The fact that it is no longer winter is good enough for us. We will be sporting sandals and shorts before the last of the snow is melted from the sidewalk. Excitement is in the air as we begin dusting off our rollerblades and pumping up our bike tires. Soon garage sale signs will pop up on every corner and ads for free kittens will appear in every newspaper. We have made it through the deep freeze and summer is sure to follow. Yay spring!

newbuzz...Today my husband accompanied me and my two dogs on our walk. It was fun, but it is clear that he does not yet know the dog-walk code that has evolved with me and the dogs over the last two years. For instance, he was thinking that the reason we go for a walk is to walk. Wrong. The dogs simply want to sniff and pee. I simply want to be outdoors to feel the sun in my face, the breeze in my hair, and to hear the sounds of my community. He was a little frustrated at our slow moving pace, but eventually realized that we would make better time by giving in to the dogs. If we allow them a few good sniffs around a tree, they will give us a fairly long stretch of straight line walking. I think we would do well to apply this theory to our interactions with people as well. Sometimes a little diversion serves the end goal better than single minded pursuit . I'm looking forward to our next walk with the dogs.

newbuzz...It is St. Patrick's Day, and everyone is Irish. I wore green today. Lots of people at work wore green today. All day long I heard hushed plans of meeting at various pubs and bars to drink green beer. Is that was this day is all about? I have to shamefully admit that I do not know St. Patrick's claim to fame, though I think it has something to do with the great potato famine. I know it is a day for parades, bagpipes, and Irish pride. No one seems to mind that it is an ethnic/religious holiday. No griping about foreigners. No wishing "they" would go home. This is one ethnic holiday that is fun for all ages and good for local businesses. I suppose there was a time when this may not have been so. I look forward to more ethnic holidays that bring people together instead of bringing out the worst in some folks. For now, I'm going to enjoy the fun, have a beer, and steer clear of leprechauns.

newbuzz...What a difference a day can make. Today was a sunny Sunday. The sidewalks were wet but mostly clear of ice and snow. There were people everywhere out walking their dogs, and pushing strollers. The squirrels had a little more flicker in their tails and the birds were chirping louder than usual. Though yesterday was a good day, today was even better because the sunshine was so warm and the breeze was a little lighter. I brought a jacket outside with me, but never put it on. It was straight sweatshirt weather, and in a Minnesota March, that is a wonderful thing. Now I can believe that spring is just around the corner.

newbuzz...Friday morning we woke to find that our cat had vomitted on the bed. We found her downstairs on the dog bed in front of the heat vent. This is very unusual because she is a timid cat and usually skitters away from the dogs or any foot traffic. Though we all clunked around looking at her and wondering what was wrong, she just lay there flat out with her head down. She had to be ill to behave like that. I imagined the worst...a toy mouse lodged in her gut, a fish bone stuck in her throat, feline leukemia, diabetes, a urinary tract infection. We promptly took her to the vet and she was a little dehydrated. After $200.00 worth of tests, we found out what was wrong with her: nothing. She's home, she's fine. She is sitting on the dog bed, unblinking. We thought her strange behavior indicated a serious illness, but it turns out she just finally found her voice. After six years of bashful manipulation, she is now exerting her full feline force of will. Look out dogs!

newbuzz..Friday the 13th can strike fear in the heart of the strongest warrior, but only if you're superstitious. Not me, I won't give in to the fear. Anyway, today is my daughter's birthday so I have only happy vibes in my world. We had a lovely dinner and cake with the grandparents complete with good conversation and strong coffee. It occurs to me that I choose happiness on a regular basis and that is why my life is working.

newbuzz...Why is there so much Easter Candy? I just threw out the Christmas candy last week, and I think if I looked hard enough, I could even find some Halloween candy around here. Why do they make so many kinds of candy, and why do I buy it? Sometimes we eat the candy and sometimes it just sits in the candy dish until the holiday is over. Then we toss it away to make room for the next bowl of sugar. I like to have it because holiday candy is fun and it makes me feel like a kid. It is cheap and plentiful. Instant emotion every time I reach for a piece - from the store shelf, or the candy dish. I think for the next holiday, I'm going to give up the candy and start reaching for hugs instead.

newbuzz...Are Wednesdays better than Tuesdays? I guess so, if you like wacky better than tacos. I am a big fan of both Taco Tuesday and Wacky Wednesday. But for me Wednesday is best because it is the official Hump Day-as in the top of the Bell Curve. On Wednesday I've reached the halfway point in the work week and it's all down hill from here. It doesn't get any better than this. I've accomplished a lot, with just a little more to go. The glass is halfway... full or empty, you choose. I take mine on the rocks with a twist of lime.

newbuzz...We are having a spring snowfall. It is surprising how quickly the wind blew up. In less than half an hour my lawn went from brown soup to white powder. I'm glad to be indoors as the weather lady is predicting a big drop in the temperature. March is coming in like a lion and we can only hope that it does indeed go out like lamb. Though I am tired of winter and ready for spring, I do have to wonder what we would talk about without the four seasons.

newbuzz...I think Mondays are overrated. Especially the first Monday after the Daylight Savings Time "spring-ahead". I had a lot of anxiety about waking up early, or not waking up at all. Then there was the problem of making sure all the clocks (and watches) had been changed. All this while carrying the typical Monday load of "the weekend was too short and now I have to get down to business" blahs. So, I woke up before the alarm, went through my paces and found myself at work, on time, as usual. Everyone else was there, the work was there. Nothing different than any other day. So I made the coffee and hunkered down to work. The difference between a Monday and any other day are my expectations, and I have come to realize that Mondays are overrated.

newbuzz...Homework got the best of me. I can admit it. But now I'm back in black (ink that is). I aced the psych exam and I can relax for a little while. Relaxing is never so much fun as after a period of great discipline and hard work. It is 40 degrees outside today and the sun has come out a little bit. I have taken my dogs for a walk and even cleaned the kitchen junk drawer. I have the time and energy to buzz in my blog. These are life's simple pleasures, ever more satisfying after a long abstinence. Cheers!