Inclusive resolutions

For 2009 I resolved to be more inclusive with my wife. I resolved to try and include her in more of the plans and activities that I do so that she does not feel left out. This in itself seems quite noble— but in reality it has been very difficult to do.

Perhaps it is because I did not define it very well. I sometimes make resolutions that are vague so that I can create some sort of accomplishment and have some wiggle room to make it work. Unfortunately, this one was very vague and did not contain any objective goals that I can look upon and say to myself that I am moving in the right direction.

Perhaps it is because I told my wife about it. Sometimes if someone knows your plans they can object to them a lot easier. I think that because I told her, she knows that I am trying and can therefore call me on it if I fail. If I did not tell her my resolution, then perhaps if I did fail I would be the one who could hold my failure against me.

As with all of my resolutions, they do not stop with the end of the year. I can use my lack of accomplishment for this resolution as a motivator to keep this one in my back pocket and strive to look for progress without the time constraint of one year.

Do you have resolutions from this past year, or even next year? Did you manage to keep your resolutions? Do you let your resolutions carry over to the next year, or do you make new ones for the upcoming year?

2009 A year in review

As 2009 comes to a close I have seen other bloggers give a summary of their posts that they have had throughout the year. As I started this blog in 2008, I can safely do this and have a complete year to pull from.

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Posts that I am proud of writing:

Inspiration and Motivation

This is my explanation of the difference between inspiration and motivation written at the time of the President's inauguration.

Coping Mechanism

This post helps to explain how we cope with stress in life.

Smart vs. Intelligent

I seem to get a lot of hits on this one. This is how I define the difference between being smart and being intelligent.

Pretty vs. Beautiful

This is how I define the difference between being pretty and being beautiful.

Do you have that new myPhone yet…

A tongue and cheek look at how our reliance on phone features could go too far.

The Long Rain

A review I wrote in high school about a science fiction short story.

Trolling for South Pole Traffic

My look at Web statistics services and how they leave out an entire continent.

Couples and Train Couplings

An analogy between people who are couples and train couplings.

Trapped in Time: Act 1

This is part one of a two part story that I originally wrote in high school. It is a cliff-hanger in that you need to read the next post to get the end.

Friendship Types

This is the first part of a four part series on different types of friends that a person can have. I strongly encourage you to read the rest of the series as it took me almost a year to complete.

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Posts that currently have 20 or more comments:

Warm Milk

This was my first post that reached 20 comments. It is also one of my first participatory posts where I am participating in Tuesday's Tribute.

Wordful Wednesday - Spikester Diddly Dog

This one got a lot of comments because… who doesn't like dogs.

Communication Styles

This is an introduction to a series post that I have about communication styles. I encourage you to read the next four posts as well since they cover each in more detail.

Writer's Workshop: C is for Cookie

This is a good story about how my sister taught me a lesson for demanding a cookie. Be sure to read the comments, she tells the real story and not the one a 4 year old remembers.

100th Post

Most people like to wish you well on your 100th post. Hopefully it will give you some topics to ask me to write about.

TT: Spin on the Bed

This is currently the record holder with the number of comments made. I probably tribute it to being both a Tuesday's Tribute and a Spin Cycle participatory post.

What's in a nickname: Naming conventions

I think a lot of people have nicknames and like to share theirs.

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And the one that I get the most search hits on…

ASCII Love

I don't know why… but I seem to get hits from all over the globe for this one. So much so that I wrote a special post about it: Looking for Love in all the wrong places.

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Please feel free to visit these pages if you have not done so already to give you a smattering of what I've been writing about this past year.

2010 Polar Bear Plunge

At noon on Friday, January 1, 2010 I will be at Loyola Beach near Pratt Park participating in the annual polar bear plunge. If you are curious and want to know why I do this— read my post here.

Depending on how many people come to cheer me on will determine if I go to an after-party for "hot" drinks— hot-chocolate, hot-apple cider, hot-toddies, etc.

Hope to see you there.

No I have not dropped off the face of the Universe

I am not the kind of person who likes to give excuses… especially when you could argue that there is no excuse. But rather than telling you how busy I was this past week, or how I couldn't get motivated enough to write anything— I just thought I would tell you that I am still here and am trying to get something out before the end of the week. Hoping that everybody has had a great Christmas and is getting ready for a great New Year.

Office Christmas Party

The other day, my wife asked me "What do you wish for for Christmas". Knowing full well that she had something in mind herself— I reversed the question to her and this is what I got:

"I wish I could go to one of those Office Christmas Parties they have on the movies from the 50's". I know what she means. If any of you have ever seen those Office Christmas Parties from Desk Set and The Apartment you know what she means too.

How many Office Parties have you gone to where everybody is drinking, nobody is working— people are out in the copy room making out, etc. etc.? I must admit that I have not ever attended one of those— but I have had some nice ones over the years. The best one I went to was when they put us on a boat for a dinner cruise.

I think that due to Political Correctness and Sexual Harassment— those parties are now a thing of the past. In fact— a lot of them are no longer even called Christmas Parties. More like "A Celebration of the Cold Weather" but even that may be offending too.

As I like a good story— any of you have great Office Parties that you have attended. Any great stories to tell about them… Do tell.

F2: Chicken Bacon

Welcome again to Friday's Feast. Today I'll be talking about chicken bacon.

If you don't know what Friday's Feast is all about, please read the Friday's Feast page for a more detailed explanation. If you want to join in on the feast— be sure to leave a comment and include the URL to your post so I and others can know of your contribution. Also, if you want to see a particular topic— feel free to suggest it as well (I'm always looking for new inspirations).

Participants in this weeks Feast are as follows:

• Margaret aka: Fact Woman @ Buttercream Lane
  Here's a post with the 25 days of Christmas Cookie Recipes. If you don't have any ideas for cookies, here's the place to go.
• Aliceson @ Feet off the Table
  These look more like candies than cookies, so they are definitely a hit.
• American in Norway @ American in Norway
  St. Lucia and Hot Chocolate.
• Michele @ It's a dog's life
  Meatless Monday… need I say more.

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With inspirations from The Colonel…

When my wife and I started to host Christmas at our house, we bought a variety of sausages to serve. After a few years of that, some family members requested that we do bacon instead— we happily abliged.

Given that I usually try to be frugal and buy chicken breasts with the bones and skin attached, I decided that I would do something with the chicken skins and add chicken bacon to the mix.

Chicken Bacon:

Chicken Skins (raw)

Broiler Pan

1. Lay the chicken skins on the broiler pan.
   If you don't have a broiler pan, you can make one with a 13x9 baking pan and laying a cookie cooling rack on top.
2. Broil under the broiler until the skins become crisp.
   It is a good idea to keep an eye on it so that they don't burn.
3. Remove from the broiler pan.
4. Enjoy.

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Because next week is Christmas at our household I have decided not to post a Friday's Feast. I would much rather be opening presents than opening my browser or feed reader. And since the Friday after that is New Years Day, I have decided to give you two weeks to let me know what you serve or have eaten for New Years Eve or even New Years Day.

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In and up around the Internet

I have had this up on my sidebar for some time now, but never quite explained what it is. Of course, if you are reading this on a reader you will probably never see it and wonder what the….

Being a transient being, I am never in the same place at the same time. I heard it said: "Space was invented so that everything doesn't happen in the same place— and Time was invented so that everything doesn't happen all at once". For these reasons alone, the sidebar will come in handy to let you know Where's CaJoh….

 LinkedIn:

For those who do not know what LinkedIn is, it is a professional social networking site geared towards job related networking. Most people use this site as a tool to help find a job. I use it as a way of keeping in touch with other professionals in my field. Since my carer path has been wide and varied over the years, I have contacts in many different fields. If you have a LinkedIn account, feel free to link up.

 Blogger

This seems redundant, but just in case I re-purpose this code in other places this will bring you to my Blogger profile page.

 Twitter

Yes… I'm a twit-too. Mostly I have been using it as a way of promoting my blog— so don't be too disappointed in the number or the content of my tweets.

 Facebook

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to make a friend request. I must warn you that there are a lot of people with my name— so please explain how you know me so that you don't get my standard reply if I don't know you.

 Delicious

I will need to write a post about this service so that you know what it is. If you have a Delicious account and want to share your bookmarks, or want to see what I bookmark myself— feel free to stop by.

 iLike

I discovered iLike through Facebook, but the fact that it works with iTunes is what got me hooked. If you have an iLike account and want to compare music— please do.

 Picasa

Since not all of my pictures on this blog are posted, here is a place where you can see my eye on the world.

There are several others (Wordpress, Goodreads just to name a few)… to which I do not have the properly sized button for. Since I am a bit handicapped when it comes to picture editing (I know what needs to be done, I just don't have the tools to do so)… I am calling on you to help me out. If you are up to the challenge, send me an e-mail and let me know.

I have been wanting to write separate posts on many of these, so if you want more detail, let me know which one and I will make a separate post dedicated to it.