In case you are wondering, "D" is my husband -- Dave Liu! As you've probably noticed, I don't update this blog often but I may post more as I've linked this to my Google+ account.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Five Lessons


You may have seen this before. It's something that everyone should read and consider every day of our lives.


First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady


During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?


Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant.


They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'. I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.


Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain


One night, at 11.30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door.


To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."


Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.


Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve


In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 -year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked."Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" , he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.


"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.


Fourth Important Lesson. - The Obstacle in Our Path


In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.


The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.


Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts


Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease.


Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away". Being young the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Faster Comcast/Xfinity Broadband Speeds

I recently received an email from Comcast/Xfinity saying they increased my broadband speed: up to 25Mbps for download and up to 5Mbps for upload. I'm always wary of these "up to" claims so I'm glad I kept a record of my previous speed as a comparison. I just used the trusty Speakeasy Speed Test and discovered my new download speed is 27.72Mbps and my new upload speed is 5.48Mbps. Woot!

Friday, September 07, 2012

The Toddler's Creed

  • If it is on, I must turn it off.
  • If it is off, I must turn it on.
  • If it is folded, I must unfold it.
  • If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.
  • If it is a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.
  • If it is high, it must be reached.
  • If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.
  • If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.
  • If it has leaves, they must be picked.
  • If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
  • If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.
  • If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.
  • If it is closed, it must be opened.
  • If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
  • If it has drawers, they must be rifled.
  • If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.
  • If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
  • If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
  • If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.
  • If it is a stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.
  • If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
  • If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
  • If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
  • If it is paper, it must be torn.
  • If it has buttons, they must be pressed.
  • If the volume is low, it must go high.
  • If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.
  • If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.
  • If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.
  • If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.
  • If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
  • If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.
  • If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.
  • If it is not food, it must be tasted.
  • If it IS food, it must not be tasted.
  • If it is dry it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
  • If it is a car seat, it must be protested with arched back.
  • If it is Mommy, it must be hugged.

I am a toddler.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Top Ten Grammar Peeves

From Grammarly:


  1. "Your" and "you're" are not the same word.
  2. Apostrophes don't form plural nouns.
  3. "There," "they're," and "their" are completely different words.
  4. The contraction of "could have" is not spelled "could of".
  5. "To," "too," and "two" are also completely different words.
  6. "Its" is the possessive for of "it." "It's" is the contraction of "it is."
  7. "Then" shows sequence of events. "Than" is used to compare nouns.
  8. "Affect" is a verb and "effect" is a noun.
  9. "Irony" does not mean "anything that is unexpected."
  10. Your pants are "loose". You "lose" your keys.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Murphy's Law for Moms

  1. If you wear black, they will have a runny nose.
  2. If you wear white, they will have muddy hands.
  3. If you change their diaper, they will immediately poop in a new one.
  4. If you mop the floor, they will spill something
  5. If you put on fresh socks, you will immediately step in whatever was spilled.
  6. If it is perfect, they will fix that for you.
  7. If you say it, they will repeat it.
  8. If it's important, they will forget it.
  9. If you're tired, they will not be.
  10. If you love them, you will see the beauty in it all.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Aden and Anais

I think Aden + Anais products are fabulous, especially the muslin swaddling blankets, but I couldn't figure out how to pronounce the name of the company! Thanks to Babble, I now know it's AY-dun and uh-NAY. Other brand pronunciations:


  • Joovy: JOO-vee
  • Bijorn: bee-YORN
  • Britax: BRIGH-tax
  • Chicco: KEY-ko
  • Fleurville: FLURR-vill
  • Medela: muh-DEE-lah
  • Mustela: muh-STELL-ah
  • Pediped: PEE-dee-ped
  • Peg Perego: PEG PERR-eh-goh
  • Robeez: ROBB-ease (Robbies>
  • Stokke: STOCK-kuh
  • Svan: suh-VAHN
  • Zutano: zu-TAH-no

Monday, June 04, 2012

How To Fix the 10 Biggest Windows Annoyances

We're slowly migrating the computers in our home to Apple/Mac. Until then, I still have to put up with Windows on my desktop. When I have time, I will go through and fix some of the things that annoy me about Windows, like stopping Windows Update from automatically restarting my PC.