Why the Hyphen?

Which is correct?
A) Wendy Lloyd-Curley
B) Wendy L Curley
C) Wendy Curley
D) Wendy Lloyd Curley

Three of those make me shiver.

In 1989, Alan and I got married. True story... I took about 8 rolls of film into the drugstore at Scottsdale and Thunderbird and asked for double prints... as you did. They advertised 24 hour turnarounds and promised the prints back the next day. I gave them my name and left.

The next day I went in to pick up the prints. Lloyd. They looked and looked and looked, but couldn't find them. I should come back the next day and get them. They were sorry.

The following day I went into the store to pick them up and gave them my name to pick up the prints. Curley. Voilà. There they were. I go t them all for free because of the delay.

I didn't even realise I'd done it. Really. Not until a few days later.

Anyhoo... I digress. It's this darn hyphen that got me started on this blog post. The mysterious line that appears out of nowhere. In 25 years, I have never used a hyphen. Never.

When we got married, I decided to just add the new name to my perfectly good original name. I wanted to be a family in name, but never to lose my Lloyd-ness (Oooh... look! A hyphen!).

In the interest of clarity, my surname is Curley. Filed under C. My first name is Wendy. Filed under W. My middle name is Eleanor. No one files things under middle names, so we're safe. And my maiden name is Lloyd. I'm Mrs Curley. I'm Wendy. I'm WLC. To my mom and dad, I'm sometimes E. And when you're giving me an award or introducing me formally or putting my name on a credit card, I'm Wendy Lloyd Curley. No hyphen.

Don't worry... I use white out on all the awards. :) They look great.

Happy Sunday Morning



I'd just eaten a scone... that's powdered sugar. (Photo: Angela)

May 15th. It's been cold in Sydney this week. Seems colder than it should be. It is supposed to be late autumn, but it feels like a Sydney winter. When I start to think I'm cold, I close my eyes and try to feel Denver in February. The cold eases when I do that. It's not ever that cold.

This week has been fantastic though because the sun has been out. It's dry. The air is dry, too. Alan actually applied handcream the other night. It's weird.... that used to be a 3 times a day occurrence in Arizona and Colorado. Now we don't really use handcream much. I put on lotion on my arms in the morning, but that's more because I love the smell of the body butter I'm using.

This morning I woke up at about 7:00. I'm pretty sure it was Copper who woke me. He needed to go out. Alan was the one who let him out and then over the next 3 minutes all of us peed and then got back into our warm waterbed. I tried to sleep again, but my mind was moving.

I was angry actually. Last night Paul and I had a gig at the Quarryman's Hotel in Pyrmont and after we did our first set, we were asked to not play anymore because of a soccer game about to start. Apparently everyone in the pub wanted to watch the game and this silly live music was going to empty the place. We got paid, but that's not the point.... I wanted to play.

This is the second time the Q has pissed me off this week. Earlier I found out that they are cutting back their budget to only have a solo performer on Saturday nights. They just don't have the turnover at the bar to justify the expense. Don't get me started about all of the marketing they could be doing to make it work, because if I start I'll be on a rant and probably end up writing a marketing plan. I was the only one promoting the music. Go figure.

So after June, that means no Wen & Bendy or Wendy and Paul or Merchants of Menace at the Q. That's what happens in this industry. It just kicks me into gear to get busy and find a few new venues where we can play. I needed to do that anyway. I've been around the industry long enough to know that this is normal, but I wanted to share why I was angry this morning....

I got up and checked my Facebook. I have a personal profile where I can see my cousins, my Arizona buddies, my Texas and Colorado friends, my skiesta family, and my extended Aussie clan. I like checking that page once a day. Then I have three pages: Wen & Bendy, Wendy's Candle Consultant Page, and Wendy the Candle Lady - for my clients. I check all four places every morning and then I'm done. I did that this morning.

Then I went outside (yes, into the cold, sunny morning), sat on Copper's Landing, and meditated for 20 minutes. I've learned Vedic Meditation recently and I am very good at doing it in the morning. I'm supposed to also do it once in the afternoon/evening, but I've found it hard to prioritise that. I will though, because I am positive that it is doing me good. I sometimes feel a wave of.... what is it.... it's a vertigo feeling.... sort of a buzz, dizziness, perhaps almost sleep, emptiness.... where I know I've gone somewhere else. It doesn't happen for the entire 20 minutes. It just creeps up on me. When it happens, I know that I'm getting into the zone. It's hard to describe. But it's pretty amazing.

Alan just got up and he's making me another coffee now. Yay! We are headed off to Fiji next week for a beautiful five night, five star holiday courtesy of PartyLite. Copper is having a house guest while we're gone. Debbie will love our warm dog, indoor and outdoor heaters, and bubbling spa. Copper will just love Debbie. :)

I think that's all for now. Arizona is hotting up.... Hope you in the north are enjoying the almost summer. I'll keep my ugg boots on.... :)

Life is Good

There is a lot going on. Always seems to be. I feel like I've neglected my WendEmail too long though and it's definitely time for an update.

Travel
I have three trips "planned." First, to go to Fiji for five nights in May. It's another trip I've earned through my network marketing business at PartyLite. Alan will come with me and it's all completely free. Yippee! Second, to visit my brother in Shanghai, China. I hope to do that in October - Alan has started looking at flights for me. Third, to go with a group to Spain in April/May 2012. It's time to get the accommodation booked, so I need to get going on it. My mom and my cousin Alison are helping me organise it all this time. I need to get on the ball with them.

We'll share the itinerary and anyone who wants to can join us in Barcelona. What a fun time we had in Italy last trip. Feel free to gate crash on this one.

Music
Ben has formed a band as a vehicle for his latest string of songs. He asked me to be a part of it, so I'm playing guitar (acoustic and electric) and singing. It's a four piece band. We have a blog. You can subscribe or link to it through Facebook. I'd absolutely love for you to read more about that because we're going to be sharing videos, audios, and updates as the project develops.

I'm also playing pretty regularly at a pub in Pyrmont called The Quarrymans. Mostly with the Wen & Bendy duo, but occasionally with my good friend, Paul. It's a strange pub, but we have fun getting out there and playing songs we love. Wen & Bendy are on Facebook, too, so if you want to keep up with our schedule, you could "like" us.

Candles
I've officially become Wendy the Candle Lady for my public business persona. Not only do I have Wendy the Candle Lady on Facebook, where I can link with my clients, but I just bought the domains of www.wendythecandlelady.com and www.wendythecandlelady.com.au. They aren't active yet, but I'll link the two together and develop a landing page for that site in the next month.

The business is going really well. My team has been growing nicely and I'm working on improving my process for training new consultants. We had 6 new people start in March, which was a record, and I think that sort of growth will continue. As the leader, I need to make sure new people get started right and get my attention, even as the number of new people grows. So my focus is there.

I'm also doing a lot of networking now. The first reason is, of course, to keep expanding my business. The second reason is to develop my professional network; I've met a lot of great people through my BNI chapter. The third reason is to lead by example. One of the problems we always need to overcome in party plan, is to keep meeting new people. I wanted to be able to share effective techniques to do that with my team.

One output of that is that I've been writing. I'm involved in a book project that will be completed in the next few months. I'm writing a chapter on how to effectively network as a party plan person (aka network marketing or multi level marketing). The book will be available on Amazon and it is a great way for me to put my toe into writing and publishing. More info as it comes.... I'm excited.

Home
Alan is fantastic. His job had been getting very stressful last year because he was managing too many people. This year he was able to make some management changes under him and he is more sane because of that. He still sails almost every Saturday - racing a 24 foot sailboat in the beautiful Sydney Harbour.  He loves it. Earlier this year he and his sailing buddies had a skiing adventure in Japan. He loved that, too and enjoyed Japanese skiing. He would like to take me there. I'll wait to see if the mountain is radioactive after the recent events.... So sad.

Copper is my ragdoll dog. He is 3 years old now and we have a lot of fun together. Because I work from home, he and I are really close. We take snuggle breaks every now and then, go for walks, and he greets all of my guests nicely. Everyone loves him (or at least that's what they tell me) and he makes people smile all over the inner west of Sydney. Last week, Ben and Ange took him to Coogee for a walk on the coast, so he is spreading the love as much as he can.

The house has been completely transformed now that the deck is complete. Every morning, I open the doors all the way and enjoy the fresh air. It's absolutely what we were looking for when we decided to make it happen. We are working on the landscaping now. I suppose the projects will just keep coming. After the landscaping is done, we'll move to the interior decorating to blend the living room, dining room, and deck and to improve the flow. Alan will finally be able to get the TV and sound system he's always wanted. I'll get a new couch, a nice place to read, and a better entertaining area. But we're patient... it'll happen when it happens.

I love getting updates from you, too. So drop me a line to let me know what's up every now and then. Facebook is pretty cool for staying in touch, but lots of people don't use it, so call or write. I'm on Viber and What's App on my iPhone, so it's free to talk to, text, or send photos, videos, or audio recordings to me if you have that set-up, too. :) Douglas and I love both and are in touch now more than ever. (Being in China and Australia has brought us closer together. Strange, huh?)

Make it a great day! Love, WLC.

Winter Solstice

Hi. I've been thinking about a blog posting for a few days now, so I guess it's about time to make it happen.

Yesterday, a group of us decided that the day was too perfect to go inside. So we ate breakfast outdoors at one of our favourite cafes (Crumb in Concord) and then we set up the tables and chairs in our backyard. We also got out the outdoor heater because we knew that once that glorious sun sunk behind out house that it would start to be really cold. We were right.

But before the sun left us, we were warm and happy. Margaritas were filled and refilled by Alan. Water spacers (which we call "wedgies") were consumed by everyone. Ange volunteered to go to the store to get us some nibbles (and she outdid herself). Copper played happily with AJ. And we found a ladybug. She was enjoying the beautiful day, too. This isn't a picture of her - we were relatively camera free - this is one I found on the net. The resemblance is uncanny . :)

A winter solstice here means that Arizona is HOT, HOT, HOT. You can send the sun back our way now, folks.... We'll take it from here. Sit tight because you only have 4 more months of triple digit temps. I love Sydney!

FYI, our trip to Vietnam was fantastic. We went for free thanks to my PartyLite career. Once again, PartyLite selected a destination that Alan and I would likely have overlooked. We stayed in Da Nang on the east coast of Vietnam; pretty much in the middle of the country when scanning it from North to South. The resort was spectacular. We visited the nearby ancient village of Hoi An a few times to get some historical perspective, to see the traditional vendors and tradespeople, and to do our part to stimulate the Vietnamese economy. Most of the time we spent relaxing in the pool, on the beach, or at a dining table of some sort. It was a hard five days, but we struggled through it.

I've been playing my guitar quite a bit for the last few weeks. Got myself a few gigs and made some things happen. I actually have my friend Joanne to thank for getting things moving again. She wanted some live music at her 40th and Little Big Horn (LBH) was happy to oblige. Well, the pub liked it and asked if I could put together a duo for a few Saturday nights. So Wen and Bendy dusted off the mothballs and played a great gig earlier this month. This Saturday I will play with Paulie which will be heaps of fun. Then two more Wen and Bendy gigs in July. And now LBH has another booking in August. It's starting to happen again - Ben might even say I'm on a roll. :) Thanks, Jo!

Well, writing this might be a stalling tactic. I'm going to sign off and get to it. There's lots to do today. I hope you in the north are enjoying the summer solstice as much as we in the south are enjoying our winter one. Once again, the incredibleness, and the reliability of the universe amazes me. Let the days get longer!

Ta ta for now. Love, WLC.

The Left Hind Leg

After two glorious weeks in Colorado, I took the long flight home. It took longer than usual because I had to get to the airport early for Alan and Rootsey. After 4.5 hours in DIA, I flew to LAX, waited for 5 hours, and then flew 14 hours to Sydney. At this point, I must say that V Australia is now my airline of choice for the trip across. They were wonderful. I filled out a survey card to tell them so.... Perhaps in another post, I'll tell you why.

The plane landed at 6:00 and I was out of the terminal by 7:15. As I travelled to the house in the taxi, I smiled at the prospect of walking both dogs. Copper would have improved in my absence, so I knew they could both make it to Abbotsford Point and back. A nice 5 kilometre walk in the beautiful summer weather (and not too hot).

But that was not to be.

It's now 11:00 in the morning. I've just gotten back from the vet. I left Mogy there to get some tests and X-rays. The initial diagnosis is that he has hurt (ripped, torn, or in some way damaged) his cruciate ligament in his (get this) left hind leg. (For those of you not seeing the synchronicity, that is the same leg that Copper damaged so much in his dance with a car last August.)

I'm exhausted from visits to the vet. I'm exhausted from life and death decisions for non-life threatening events. I'm exhausted from getting one almost to the point of normal only to now be thrust back into the other being significantly injured. We haven't even finished with Copper's physical therapy. We also need to have the last two screws removed from his ankle.

This blog is NOT just supposed to be about my damn dogs!!!! It's supposed to be about me. It's supposed to be more upbeat and happy - just like me.

But right now, I'm not happy. I'm miserable.

I'll have to write about the Colorado trip some other time....

I Quit Facebook

Hello. Please excuse the delay in completing my travel log. I promise that I will get back to it in the next week or so.

I've been horrendously busy. It's a good thing. My candle business is growing like gangbusters and there is simply a lot to do. Yay!

In the midst of it all, I made a rather rash and rebellious decision; I quit Facebook. Not only did I quit Facebook, but I jumped onto LinkedIn and quit that one, too. The next step is to quit MySpace. I haven't used MySpace in months, maybe even years, but I do have a log-in, and I'm going to quit.

Withdrawal symptoms still persist. When I walked by my computer (no matter what I was doing) I would stop to hit F9 in my email to see if I had any thing new in my inbox (this is still a problem) and then flipping over to the FB tab and refreshing the site to see if that glorious red flag was alight or if there was a number next to my inbox telling me how many FB messages I had. A few weeks ago, I tried to ween myself off FB by only checking it twice a day. That worked a bit, but when I really thought about it, I didn't need to know.

I think life is about quantity time as well as quality time.

Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing names of people who I don't see much, but I didn't (don't) have time to be with everyone all the time. None of us do. There are real live people who need us to be more attentive in real life. I think life is about quantity time as well as quality time. We simply can't really share our 24 hours each day with hundreds of people. When we do, we spread ourselves too thin.

Physical presence is important to me. The phone is important to me. The social networking on the internet had become too important, too time consuming, too much of a distraction to my real life social networking.

So I quit.

Seth Godin is a fantastic thinker and I read his blog everyday. How he writes about so many diverse topics with such frequency, I don't know. His brain must just be overflowing with information that he must get out. I try to do the same on my Rainbows and Candles website. I share everything I can with my fellow candle consultants. I aspire to be like Seth Godin: available, smart, direct, diverse, and well-respected for those things.

I just came across a short video Q&A where Seth offers his opinion about about online social networking for businesses. I couldn't agree with it more, and I think it also applies to social networking for real friends.

I'm going to go create and continue to develop the social networks that really matter to me. Anyone wanna talk face-to-face or on the phone? I do!

P.S. A special thank you to Renee who just emailed me photos of Sara's first day at school. Renee took the time to do that for me because I'm not on FB anymore. To me that meant the world. I love you, Renee!

Up Life with Down Moments

My natural state is up. Positive. Glass full. Fantastic. In fact, if you called me right now, I'd be happy. You'd ask me how I am and I'd tell you I'm great. My business is doing well. I've been practicing the guitar! (My arm actually hurts from practicing - yes, my arm - I think I have a bit of repetitive stress in my left arm from these scales.) I had a fun gig at the Welcome last weekend. I've been asked to sit on an advisory board for an international company. I'm about to go to Italy with some of my closest friends and family. I won (earned) a free trip to Hawaii for Alan and me. My health is good. My house is great.

Angela would hate me for it, 'cause I would probably say, "It's all good." (You see, Angela just doesn't see it that way. It can never ALL be good.)

And she's right; it's not always rosy. I just compartmentalize very well. I can turn off the bad things and focus on the big picture. I take a deep breath, shrug it off and move on. Sometimes that takes longer than others. I'm using this blog time to shake off the latest setback. I'm sure I'll recover by the time I've finished the spellcheck.



Anyhoo - that's just a small post for those of you who think I have nothing to complain about. It's not that I don't have those things. It's just that my life is too short to dwell on them. Hell... I'm already 40 and I've just figured that out. I hope you do, too.



Namaste. ("The light within me honors the light within you.") WLC.

Forty Eve

Well, here I am on the day before my fortieth birthday. It's St Patrick's Day in Sydney. Not yet noon. Alan is at work. I am in my bathrobe. The dogs are asleep behind me. There's plenty to do.

But I thought I'd write instead.

This morning I woke to a slight sore throat. Maybe it's not that slight. It is definitely a sore throat. I'm also feeling very tired. I think the partying and entertaining has caught up with me a bit. It has nothing to do with age, it has to do with lack of sleep. I remember feeling this way at 16, too.

"Forty is the new 20!" That's what people have said on most of my birthday cards. Well, I don't really know about that.... I'm just pretty happy to be healthy and employed and in love and surrounded by friends. My age doesn't matter. Those things matter a lot. I think people are just trying to say that we're as young as we feel, but we all know that's not really true. We're as young as our birth certificates say we are and that's really all there is to it.

So I'm about to be 40.

At least it was a great excuse for a party!

Here's a list of things you might want to know.

• I just redesigned my office. It's not complete yet, but the old furniture is gone, the walls have been painted, and most of the new furniture is in place. Walls need more stuff on them, attached sunroom needs painting, and one more piece of furniture is needed, but all is working and I'm really happy.
• Mogy has lost weight. He is now a healthy 30 kilos. He was almost 36. That is a great accomplishment and one that does have a good lesson for us all. If you want to lose weight... eat less. It works.
• Copper is hard to groom. He doesn't shed at all, but his hair is very hard to keep untangled. I work on a section each day, but I'm constantly playing catch-up, not doing preventative maintenance.
• Alan has started playing touch rugby. His team is called the Waboritas (after Sammy Hagar's recipe for Cabo Wabo Margaritas). They are good. He doesn't think I need to go see how good, though.... No witnesses.... Hmmmmm!?!?
• We are going on a two week holiday to the Alps and Italy in May. While in Italy we will be part of a group of 18 people in a Tuscan villa. My parents, my cousins, my friends, their siblings, their cousins. I anticipate seeing some beautiful countries and landscapes, fun, laughter, food, wine, and the continued development of lifelong friendships.
• Angela and I have both earned another free overseas vacation from PartyLite. This year we are going to Hawaii. Alan and Ben are coming, too, of course. I've not been to Hawaii before, so I'm looking forward to relaxing there for 4 nights. Short, sweet, free, and 5 star! Yippee!
• My calendar has appointments in it all the way through 2009. I feel as busy as I've ever been. I need to improve how I use time.
• My music stopped. My gigs dried up after January and that is the problem. Gigs are deadlines. Deadlines are my lifeblood. Without them, I am lost. I feel lost musically. (BTW, I do recognise the irrationality in that, too. I know that it takes practice and learning and practice to play well so that I can even get the gigs. I KNOW! Just do it, Wendy!)

And that's all I can think to tell you right now. If I think of anything else to say, I'll write another post. If you subscribe to this blog, you'll get an email whenever I add a posting. I don't write too often, so it won't fill up your email box or anything. Or you can subscribe via RSS if you're RSS-savvy.

Chow for now! WLC.

A Cold, Wintery Update

It might seem odd to my friends in Colorado that I'm cold today. The sun is out, the temperature is a crisp 59 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind is blowing at 11 mph. My friends in Arizona and Texas will understand.

I'm busy with my candle business. This month my goal is to sell $11,500 worth of candles. In Olympic-speak, that'll be a PB for me. If I am successful, I will earn 23,000 points toward my trip to Hawaii next May. That means I've earned enough points for me to go for free. I can then focus on getting another 23,000 points in January, February, and March so that Alan can go for free, too. Oh la la. Wai Ki Ki... here we come!

Mogy and Copper keep me entertained throughout the day. Copper is really a good dog. He is friendly, silly, and a bit of a comedian. He takes discipline well and does what we want him to most of the time. He's too tall for our current television height and doesn't really understand why we tell him to move when he stops in front of the TV. His quizzical look is priceless as we both yell, "Go!"

We invested in a TiVo like contraption last year. It's nice because it pretty much stops us (me) from sitting in front of the TV watching crap. I record musical, funny, or interesting shows and watch them commercial free when I need a break. I'm much more calm about the TV because of that. Still hate to waste time in front of it. There's not enough time to do all the things I want to do in a day.

I donated to Barack Obama's campaign today. My first political contribution. As an ex-patriot I reckon I see things from a different perspective to most Americans. Without hesitation, I share with you that I believe Bush and Bush policies destroy peace, prosperity, cooperation, and joy across the globe. Political relationships are strained worldwide. Environmental problems are worse, not better. McCain will just keep us on that path. Don't let Republican versus Democrat be your guide in this election. Let change be your mantra. Because we need it. We all need it. It scares me that the race is as tight as it seems. It seems like it should be a slam dunk for Obama to win. Why don't I see any good arguments for McCain? I can usually see both sides.

My music playing has slowed down this year. I blame Keith. Keith Newman was the drummer for Little Big Horn, and he's moved to Perth (that's on the other side of this little island). He was the LBH agent and he got us most of the gigs that we did last year. Ben, on the other hand, is working more than I've seen him work in a long time. His gigs are coming in fast and furious. Lately, he's even been doing an occasional double gig (six sets in two different bands) at the infamous Scruffy Murphy's in downtown Sydney. He's got gigs in Woolongong, Balmain, Bathhurst, and Sydney this weekend. Moral of the story: practice enough and people pay you to play. Hmmmm. Perhaps I shouldn't be typing this blog entry right now.... :)

Anyhoo, as a result I've asked Angela to be our agent. She's awesome on the phone, understands the industry, and is arm's length (OK, maybe wrist length, but what do they know) away from the band. She can offer a duo, a trio, the LBH experience, or any combo really. We'll see. I hope to pay her a lot of money as our agent. Go Ange!

I think that's all I want to say right now. Going to pick up one of my guitars and have a bit of a play before I get ready for tonight's candle party. Have a great day yourself and I'll catch up with you individually whenever you want me to. What's up?

Wendy the Redhead!

Well, here 'tis. My first ever hair colour. I had put it off for thousands of reasons over the years. Today, my hairdresser said (for the first time), "it's probably time to colour those grays."

And so, she did. I'm dark. My eyes are greener than I thought they were before. I think I like it. It's only semi-permanent, so it'll wash out.

Think I might have started something.... Cheers!

Renovation Blues

Hi. Sorry about the last post. I thought about deleting it , but you know that I have ups and downs like everyone. So you got to see a down. A bottle of Farmer's Daughter Cabernet Merlot with my good friend Ange did the trick. I felt much better.

It's not completely over; I have the renovation blues.

I'm completely ready to have my kitchen back. The entire house is affected by this job. We are a week behind schedule because of a mistake the cabinet company made. We also have more work to do that I thought we would. I thought the installation would include putting the oven/stove, exhaust fan, dishwasher, and sink. But apparently it doesn't. So we need to bring in a plumber again to hook up what we can't. Alan is good, but he's not a plumber.

We took down a wall between our kitchen and our dining room. Now the house has a big L shaped room with the living room (call it what it really is, it's the TV room), the dining room, and the almost completed kitchen. The improvement is incredible. The effort matches.

Anyway, in the midst of it all, Alan is still working full time (though taking advantage of working from home as often as he can to help me). I am still working pretty hard myself. Candles are taking up about 20-30 hours a week for me. I'm also working freelance with Tex's company, in3corp; that takes about 10 hours a week on average.

Mogy and Copper got a bath and a brush yesterday. Not by me - it's way too cold for us to be wet in the backyard. Plus the backyard is pretty dusty with all of the building materials going in and out. The patio is pretty much a work area for concrete, plaster, and scrap materials. So dog baths came via our friend, Vicki, who runs her own dog grooming salon. She loves the boys and they love her.

A couple of weekends ago, Little Big Horn played for Clive. It was Clive's 50th. Ben and I met Clive a few years ago when we went to his design firm to discuss ideas for our wine rack. D3 Design has been a big part of our work ever since, and over the last few years Clive has been a great mentor to Ben and me. We were really happy to be asked to play at his party. Everyone had a blast. The second set really went off. We apparently had the bar staff dancing, too. Ben is the musical leader of Little Big Horn, and when people are dancing, he just moves from song to song and keeps lifting the energy. It's great to be a part of that. Sometimes I can't keep up with the guitar, but I certainly give it my all on the vocals. We have fun.

Have I mentioned that it's cold? Winter here is mild, don't get me wrong, but because it is mild, we don't have central heating or cooling. So when it drops in temp (or goes through a hot spell) the house follows suit. I'm sure I've told you about this issue before. I have a bit of a green philosophy about it and don't really want to change the situation - solely to keep our energy consumption down. But I regret that philosophy on days like today when my hands are really cold. You just can't type with gloves on.

I've joined Greenpeace, by the way. I'm completely over coal and oil being used to generate our electricity. I believe the whole planet should go solar and do it now. I need to keep educating myself about it all, and I will. I know there is a way to overcome the problems we have in the world; I believe that satiating our energy demand with renewable and clean solar energy will address most of those problems.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about the Presidential election. I have decided to vote for Obama. I'm not a Democrat or a Republican anymore. I'm just me. And I don't like the way things are going. Obama will bring a fresh perspective and attitude to the problems we are facing. We need that.

My dad has also endorsed Obama. He is strongly supportive of his platform. Last election, my parents (in particular, my mom) got involved more than they ever had before and it didn't change the outcome. This time they (in particular, my dad) have upped the ante even more. His blog about the election is interesting and open. Do feel free to give him your own perspective. If you're interested.... Here is the blog where he writes about it all.

Hmmm. Is there anything more to tell you right now? I reckon you're bored by now. Rather than bang away onthe keypad some more, I'm going to go get the little portable oil heater we have an put it into this little office and hope that it, along with my multiple layers of clothes, and perhaps a pair of ski mittens, thaws out my hands.

As Tex says, make it a great day! I'll try to, too! After all, I'm getting a new kitchen! Until next time. WLC.

Don't post this....

Every have one of those days? This one started out alright and just took a major u-turn. Writing for you might make it all a bit better.

Nope.

Just need to relax away from the computer, I think. I'll write more later.

F#####g Rain!

(Photo Credit: Me)

How well do you know me? I am an Arizonan. I was brought up in the desert. I thrive on moisturizer, water, chapstick, and air conditioning. My fishy star sign is completely out of sync with my preferred atmospheric conditions - though I do love to swim in a 80 degree plus pool when it gets hot outside - any lower and I freeze up and get cramps.

I don't live in Arizona anymore. I gave up the oven for cooler places. Denver for one. Still dry, but cool and clean in the mile high air. And now, Sydney. Where the temperature is pretty nice almost all year round. There's only one problem.

Water.

Freaking heaps of it.

Dropping from the sky for days on end.

And if it's not dropping from the sky, it's hanging in the air thinking about dropping from the sky.

The grass grows as you watch it.

I'm going nuts and it's only been 2 days. It kills me. Makes me claustrophobic. Gives me small moments of depression.

The dogs go stir crazy, too. They play inside. And don't get me started if thunderstorms accompany the water. Mogy freaks out. He follows you (me) around with zero personal space and if you (I) sit down, he jumps into your (my) lap even when he KNOWS he isn't allowed onto the chair, couch, bed that you are (I am) sitting on. Copper is fine. In fact, he has so much hair that he doesn't know it's raining. He likes to try to catch the raindrops in his mouth. It's very cute. A source of entertainment.

Well, I just thought I'd share my state of mind with you. It'll go away. The rain. I'm sure I'll be begging for it to come cool the place down in a few days. But for today, I'm wearing Ugg boots in the summer and dreading the thought of getting wet when I go out to the post office. Wah!

Nineteen

(Photo credit: Michael Rootes)

Hi. Today marks nineteen years since Alan and I walked up to each other at the park near Scottsdale Civic Centre to say our I do's. Incredible that nineteen years can go by so quickly.

We'll have some Champagne tonight. Cheers!

New Year's Resolutions

We all talk about them. I have actually been pretty good each year at setting my goals. I like goals. This week my goal is to created a forecast for my PartyLite business. I hit my forecast last year - very proud of that....

Anyway, my cousin Erica made a list of resolutions and has inspired me to make a few early statements.....

My list (no prior thought.......)

1. Shower and get dressed every morning
2. Get/keep office organised and get finance documentation in order
3. Exercise more. (Probably need a carrot. OK, when I hit my goal weight I will buy myself a car stereo!)
4. Sell 2 guitars (I only "need" 3) and sell the acoustic amp (sounds more like a "to do" and less like a resolution, but if you knew how beautiful these 2 guitars were you'd know it will pain me to part with them. I resolve to do it!)
5. Save money for retirement and Italy - $10,000 each this year. (Wow! Now that's a goal!)
6. Teach Copper how to stay, heel, come, and lie down on command. (Sit is done.)

That'll do for now.... Later this afternoon I might write a little bit about Mogy and Copper's New Year adventure. Will be a good one if I do it. The good news is that they are both OK. Love, WLC.

P.S. Happy New Year!

The Gladesville Bridge

For a few years now I've been working on a song. Not obsessing over it, just toying with it.

Every time I get to the top of the Gladesville Bridge (pictured), I feel compelled to capture the feeling somehow. As you reach the top of the bridge, headed east, towards the city, you see the most beautiful view. The water curls like ribbon away from you toward the city. You can see the magnificent Sydney Harbour Bridge. My dad is the one who told me that the Harbour Bridge is called the "Coathanger." Funny that it was an American who pointed out the nickname to me. I didn't really believe him. Had to look it up. He was right, of course.

Anyway, the feelings I get up there on the top are pretty deep. I feel pride and amazement for the beautiful city spread out in front of me. I feel lonely, because I'm usually alone in the car. I feel foreign because I always think of where I came from when I'm at the top. I feel lazy because I haven't written this damn song yet even though, I think about it every time I'm up there. I feel nervous, because I prefer to look at the view than the road. Sometimes I even slow down to make it last longer.

When I look at the view going westward, I have strong feelings, too. Different ones. You can see the Olympic Stadium, and that reminds me of 2000 when I left the comfort (did I really just say comfort about a job) of ICG and when Alan and I sold everything that plugged in to come here. I think of my convertible and how nice it would be to have it here on a sunny day. I also can usually see the Blue Mountains in the distance. They aren't mountains to me. But I think of my Rocky Mountains when I see the Blue Mountains in the distance. And those Rocky Mountains always make me smile. Sometimes they make me cry.

In 1990, Alan and I lived in Hunters Hill with Ben, Ange, Mick, and Pierre. One day, I decided to walk from Hunters Hill to the city. I don't think I made it; I recall getting to Balmain and then getting a bus back. But on that walk, I ventured to the top of the Gladesville Bridge. I took lots of pictures. They're printed and are probably in a drawer in this very room. I won't look now. But it sure would be nice to see the view and to share it with you.

In 2006, Alan and I ate fish and chips from George's (Ocean Foods) under the Gladesville Bridge on the Drummoyne side. I'd never been to the underside of it before. Alan told me that the concrete they used to make the bridge is constantly moistened; or maybe he said it has never set - I don't really remember the technical details, but it's a special construction method that they used and I'm sure he read about it in The Glebe - our local rag.

So you see, there's lots of emotion and lots of story and lots of personal context to work with and weave into this song. It is inevitable. It will happen. I just want it to capture as much emotion as I feel when I get to the top of the Gladesville Bridge.

It's a work in progress. Perhaps this blog helped. Hmmmm....

Elections, Environment, Television, and Puppies

Hello. Welcome to my blog. In case you're new, I've been keeping it for over a year now. For a little while I included some of my candle business stuff in here, too, but I've separated that out now. So it's all about me and my dribble. If you want to stay on top of my dribble, please subscribe. Otherwise I'll probably only send you an update by email twice a year. (That might be enough for you, I don't know.) Of course, you could use RSS to stay on top of my blog, but only .2 percent of the world seems to know how to use RSS, so I'll just recommend the subscription method.

This picture of Ben and me was taken to hopefully get us a few gigs as a duo in 2008. Here is a link to our MySpace site. We are the Balmain Bugs.

Here's my MySpace site.

It's been awhile since my last WendEmail. In fact, I'm not sure when I sent the last one. Nothing new to report, really, but here are a few topics I thought I'd talk about....

Elections
Not the 2008 "Clusterf**k to the White House" elections (I do record and watch The Daily Show), this Saturday, Australia goes to the polls in a federal election. No president here, just a Prime Minister. You don't really vote for a Prime Minister, you vote for a federal minister in your district and then the elected ministers in the majority party ("the winners") select a leader. That person is then the Prime Minister. Then the minority party selects "shadow" ministers to disagree with everything that the "winners" say and government returns to its normal course of inaction and bureaucracy. Call me a pessimist.

I can't vote. I'm still only an American. I tried to become an Aussie, too, but the government moves slowly. Too slowly to get me in on time. Ho hum. I'll just wait. No hurry now....

Environment
Still yet to see Emmy Award and Nobel Peace Prize winning, An Inconvienient Truth, I just wanted to say that I am doing a few small things to help. I live in a moderate climate. I can and do (although it is uncomfortable sometimes) live without air conditioning. I drive a small, fuel-efficient car. And I don't replace it every few years - don't need to. I live near the shops and I walk there lots. I don't drive to the post office, I walk. I turn off lights. I recycle as much as I can. I don't water the lawn (and if I needed to, I'd replace it with natural landscaping).

I still think we're in trouble. I think our lifestyles will change the world significantly in my lifetime. The small efforts on my part won't do much to stop it. We need a global answer.

Solar.

My dad pointed out this article to me. Please do take a minute to read it once you're done with my dribble. Solar's Day in the Sun.

Why is it so hard?

Television
Well, if you've not read my diatribe about quitting TV, here it is. More importantly, what a difference it's made. I seriously didn't think I watched that much, but OH MY GOD, I watched LOTS of TV. I went through withdrawals! When did I watch? In the morning when I was having coffee, at lunch, and then starting at 7:30 or so and going until 10:30 or later almost every night. Let's see that's 1+1+3=5x5=25 hours minimum per week that I was watching TV. (I'm pretty sure I've been more than "conservative" in those numbers, so it was actually MORE than that.)

My guitar practice has increased. My customer service calls have increased. My exercise time has increased. My reading time has increased. I'm writing this to you -my writing time has increased.

Puppies
Though plural above, we only have one. His name is Copper. He and Mogy are brothers and they are very happy dogs. Very happy. I'll do a video this afternoon to let you see how happy they are. They play well.

Copper sits, stays, and comes (most of the time). He has been for 2 short walks so far and did well at both. He sleeps really well at night (inside, of course), and once he wakes up in the morning, he and Mogy play/sleep alone outside. One of us just has to shuffle to the door to let them out. Then we fall back into bed.

He has doubled in weight in 4 weeks. Now 12 weeks old. He'll eventually be the same size as Mogy - though perhaps a little lighter.

Here's a link to some pictures of them until I get the video up.

That's all for now. I'm feeling like writing a lot lately though, so please do check back here to see what I might have been up to. No writer's strike for me.

What's up with you? Write soon. Love....

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Copper got a bath today. I gave it to him in the bathtub. What a good boy. He just let me do everything I needed to do and then (yippee) he dried pretty quickly.

It's a rainy and cold spring day though, and I think he's a bit cold; that's probably why he is cuddling up to Mogy. They are right next to me. Sleeping away just like this picture shows (you can click on the image to see a larger one if you want). I played with the exposure a bit and gave it a whimsical frame. Mogy's not that yellow....

I hurt my back in the process. Sore on the left side. I've tried a few yoga postures to stretch it out, but it's pretty sore.

Well, that's about it. The only other thing worth mentioning here is that I had an absolutely beautiful day yesterday. Great friends, a really funny movie (Death at a Funeral - highly recommended), a beautiful lunch at the Sydney Rowing Club, and then drinks and dinner in our backyard. It was relaxing. A great way to spend a Sunday.

Crazy John

Crazy John has died. Forty-two years old and rich, rich, rich. And now he's dead. Funny how that makes me more and more happy about the choices I've made.

(Sorry, I have to interrupt this story for a minute. Here's what just happened: Mogy walked into the office. Copper (see the cute picture, that's Copper) was having an intense moment of biting my ankles and pulling at my jeans while I typed. Guess what? Mogy had a rope toy and actually teased Copper with it by grunting and waving it in his face. Yes, this is the same Mogy who I call the Sloth - he might get a new nickname soon. I took leave from my typing to get them outside onto the grass where I had a 3 minute "I wish I had a camera" moment. They were playing tug-of-war! Oh so cute to see 6.8 kilos versus 32.8 kilos. Mogy is going to LOVE Copper. In fact, I think he already does. Photos imminent.)

Back to the choices I've made....

• Working for myself rather than for a corporation. I would have missed that moment above if I worked for a company. I would have had to get up at 6:00 in the morning, commute to work, deal with bosses and customers and employees, commute home, fit in life around work. Sorry... not for me.
• Not buying into the more money is better argument. Time is more valuable than anything else. Time spent with friends, family, art, nature. Money is the means, not the ends.
• Not watching TV. Although a relatively new phenomenon, this is a winner. I'd like to get rid of it. The computer is all I need.
• Moving to Sydney, Australia. Wow, what a great decision we made. I can't imagine living in the US any more. When I go back, I notice the difference. We could choose to live in a material world here, too and lots of people do choose to. But not us - and it took moving here to break the cycle.
  
• Starting this blog. I'm so glad that I started this blog. It is nice to be able to read back. It's nice to be able to share a bit about myself and the various hats I wear. My opening statement is proving to be pretty rock solid. Even if is is just for me, I really like it.
• Marrying Alan. Nineteen is pretty young. I am so happy that I had the courage to say yes. I am so happy that he had the courage to ask. I'm so happy that we have the tenacity to change together. We are not the same people we were when we met - heck, we're not the same people we were 10 years ago. And it's getting better all the time.
• Not having children. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. It's just not for us. No regrets. Puppies are going to fit the bill just fine.

Crazy John had it all, and he worked his butt of for it. And he's gone. All out. Game, set, match.

Forty-two. Only forty-two.

My friends and family mean more to me than money. I know I have to get better at making money while still making the type of choices I've made, but I know I will. I already have.

2007 Australian Citizenship Test

So many people have sent this to me that I thought I'd share it with you. I will also indicate whether I got the answers right or not, but won't give out the answers. Feel free to ask questions about the questions or even to suggest answers so we can all have a laugh.

1. Do you understand the meaning, but are unable to explain the origin of, the term "died in the arse"? - The sepo (that's me) got it right!
2. What is a “bloody little beauty?” - The sepo got it right!
3. Are these terms related: chuck a sickie; chuck a spaz; chuck a U-ey? - The sepo got it right!
4. Explain the following passage: "In the arvo last Chrissy the relos rocked up for a barbie, some bevvies and a few snags. After a bit of a Bex and a lie down we opened the pressies, scoffed all the chockies, bickies and lollies. Then we drained a few tinnies and Mum did her block after Dad and Steve had a barney and a bit of biffo." - The sepo got it right!
5. Macca, Chooka and Wanger are driving to Surfers in their Torana. If they are traveling at 100 km/h while listening to Barnsey, Farnsey and Acca Dacca, how many slabs will each person on average consume between flashing a brown eye and having a slash? - The sepo got it right! (Though the answer is flimsy.)
6. Complete the following sentences:
• If the van's rockin' don't bother ________? - The sepo got it right!
• You're going home in the back of a _________? Doh!
• Fair crack of the _________? Doh!
7. I've had a gutful and I can't be fagged. - The sepo got it right!
8. Have you ever been on the giving or receiving end of a wedgie? - The sepo got it right!
9. Do you have a friend or relative who has a car in their front yard "upon blocks"? Is his name Bruce and does he have a wife called Cheryl? (I have an Uncle Bruce and he likely does have some vehicle up on blocks.... but I still think I need to say Doh! to this one....)
10. Does your family regularly eat a dish involving mincemeat, cabbage, curry powder and a packet of chicken noodle soup called either chow mein, chop suey or kai see ming? - No, but that's a good idea for my (looming) citizenship celebration lunch.... Does that count?
11. What are the ingredients in a rissole? Doh!
12. Demonstrate the correct procedure for eating a Tim Tam. - The sepo got it right!
13. Do you have an Aunty Irene who smokes 30 cigarettes a day and sounds like a bloke? - This sounds eerily like the Simpsons.... No comment.
14. In any two-hour period have you ever eaten three-bean salad, a chop and two serves of pav washed down with someone else's beer that has been flogged from a bath full of ice? - All 'cept the beer bit, so I'll take it as a winner....
15. When you go to a bring- your-own-meat barbie can you eat other people's meat or are you only allowed to eat your own? - The sepo got it right!
16. What purple root vegetable beginning with the letter "b" is required by law to be included in a hamburger with the lot? - The sepo got it right! (but I break the law.)
17. Do you own or have you ever owned a lawn mower, a pair of thongs, an Esky or Ugg boots? - The sepo got it right!
18. Is it possible to "prang a car" while doing "circle work"? Doh!
19. Who would you like to crack on to? - The sepo got it right!
20. Who is the most Australian: Kevin "Bloody" Wilson, John "True Blue" Williamson, Kylie Minogue or Warnie? - The sepo got it right!
21. Is there someone you are only mates with because they own a trailer or have a pool? - Not really, have to miss this one.... Doh!
22. What does sinkin piss at a mates joint and getten para mean? - The sepo got it right!

So, Aussie readers, am I in? If so, could you please ask the department of immigration to hurry it up a little. I applied in February, was approved in August, and haven't heard boo since. Need to pledge an oath or something. Bring it on!