Here in Ireland, they celebrate Valentine’s day differently than the states. Basically, it’s a day for couples – and not so much the day where you show appreciation for everyone that you love.
In the spirit of America’s “kids”, I decided to make some homemade Valentines for my colleagues at work. The goal was to make them as punny/cheesy as possible because they’d all heard of “school” style Valentines Day from having watched the Simpsons. (I choo-choo-choose you, Valentine.) I also included some candy hearts with each one, and would like to think that it made them smile at the corny-ness of it all.
Without further adieu, the Valentines – made out of cardstock, decorations, and my own sad sense of humor.
First Set of 4 all say:
“Valentine, I Dig You!”
“Bee Mine”
“Valentine, I Ad-ROAR You!”
“Valentine You’re a Star!”
Second Set of 4:
Valentine I’m Falling For You!
No Bones About it – You’re My Valentine!
Daisies just wouldn’t be the same without you, Valentine!
Valentine – You set My Heart A “flutter”.
Here’s hoping your Valentine’s was as filled with love as mine!
The Internet is a wonderful place – filled with information and ways to keep in touch. You can buy, you can sell, you can connect.
Today’s a special day – International Internet safety day.
In honor of the day, I think we all should watch this instructional music video.
And while you’re watching the video and learning about dodgy 80’s music with random videography, I would also suggest that you review the following internet safety tips (from me – in my years of working in the internet industry) because well, it’s always good to remind yourself once in a while:
a) There’s no such thing as “private” on the Internet. If you post it, it can be read, seen, and found – even years later. Keep this in mind because it’s like a “permanent” record – and can be used for/against you for the rest of your life. Remember this when posting to chat boards, blogs, facebook and other social networking sites. (No kidding. It’s not like the so-called permanent record we had in school.. this really is permanent. Ever seen Google’s cached pages or even tried looking up old pages on http://www.archive.org/ using the “wayback machine”? There’s stuff on there going back well.. forever.) Follow the general rule of “would I feel bad if my mom read what I just posted?” and/or “would I want to be treated like this?”. Type, read, re-read, and then THINK BEFORE YOU POST. (People have been fired for posting things about their job, about how they’re not sick but taking a sick day, etc…)
b) Never share your password with anyone. I know this seems obvious, but really, passwords should be private and not written down/carried around. They should also be something hard to guess and numbers/letters mixed. Never Ever use “password” as your password. My suggestion is to use a combination of numbers/letters that look like something you’ll remember. For example, MyCatLovesMe could become MyC4tL0v3sM3 – and be a really great password. This is because “A” looks like 4, “o” looks like “0”, E looks like a reversed “3” and so on. Otherwise, be careful when using special characters in a password. They may work with some programs / sign ins but not with others – it depends on how the password database is coded.
c) Don’t download / open attachments without scanning them with Anti-virus software- and NEVER EVER from someone / somplace you don’t know. Either of these is just asking for trouble. You wouldn’t pour sugar in your car’s gas tank – it’d ruin your car. It’s the same concept with your computer downloads.
d) If it looks like a fishy, and it smells fishy, it’s probabally “phishy”. This is a great philosophy. If you open an email and it’s asking for your details – or go to a site and they’re asking you to give them your credit card data – and you’ve no reason for being asked this – most likely, it’s someone’s attempt to “fish” (or phish) your information to use it maliciously. If you suspect that it’s not “for real” – it’s probabally best to not fill it out. Scams, ID Theft, and money loss could occur – and we all know in these times – it’s better to be safe than sorry. Most legit websites won’t ask for this type of information without you actually “asking” for something. Eg. If you go to the bank and open an account, they will ask for your info. If “a bank” sends you an email out of the blue asking for your data – even if it looks like your bank, it’s probabally “phishing”.
e) Know everyone on your buddy list. If you don’t – and are chatting randomly – Don’t meet up with people you don’t already know. It’s just good sense. There are bad people out there. You have to look out for yourself – and it’s easier to lie in “text” than it is face to face because you have no body signals to give away the lies. Be safe out there.
Otherwise, here’s a few other suggestions from Google – that are worth reviewing.
Since late last year, I’ve been taking some dance classes in a style called Ceroc. It’s been a great opportunity to meet a few people, learn to dance, and have a fun evening out that’s not sitting at home!
As can only be expected, the dance class is mostly women, but we have a good few men in the class who are learning as well. I’m surprised at the ages of the different classes – I’ve seen people from about 20 all the way up to their 60’s learning to dance. I have a sneaky suspicion that it’s because of shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing” that some people are in the class – but I have to say whatever the reason, its been fun to dance with multiple partners – and even more so, to have partners that actually WANT to dance and are enjoying themselves too.
So, you ask me, what is Ceroc?
Well, it’s a male led dance that is a combination of modern swing, jive, salsa, and merengue. It also has steps from the Tango and Rhumba, but not necessarily all the complex footwork. It’s fairly easy to learn – and in a single class, you learn enough moves for most guys to actually “look” like you know what you’re doing on the dance floor. 🙂 Oh – and the best part? It can be danced to almost any type of music you want. There’s over 250 steps by the time you make it through the highest level advanced levels – with the beginners learning about 18 or so in the first 6 weeks. They’re done in any combination (as led by the man) and it’s always a treat to see the different styles of the people on the floor – in combination.
I don’t have any videos or pictures of myself dancing (I’ll see what I can do), but I can give you a few samples, thanks to youtube. The one at the top of the page is an intro to one of the mid-level classes, and the one below is as well. The bottom one is a guy teaching some modern jive – but he also teaches ceroc – and you get an idea of how the steps are introduced.
