What do you Dream?

I wrote a post about unfulfilled dreams and felt that it was a bit unfair because I didn't get a chance to talk about all the dreams I still have. Indulge me!

My biggest dream is that my children grow up and believe I am the greatest mom. Ever. I hope we maintain a close, healthy relationship as adults. I don't kid myself into thinking we will make it through the teenage years unscathed. Two Words: Boarding School!

I dream of retiring financially secure with a solid plan for the future. This includes paying off our mortgage on both homes we own and being completely debt free. Every financial decision we make is geared towards that goal. We invest in our children's education so they will support us when we are old (just kidding!).

I dream of being married to my husband for many years to come.

I dream of spending countless hours sitting on the porch of a beach house reading, knitting or quilting watching my grandchild(ren) run around on the beach whilst my grown children wait on me hand and foot.

I dream of long sailing holidays in warm sunny tropical locations.

I dream of a world where children are not afraid, ill or illiterate.

I dream the Chicago Cubs will win the World Series.

I dream of being skinny again.

What do you dream?

No Noise

My husband and I spent the day relaxing and tidying after 2 solid weeks of holiday mach 10 hair on fire activity! The house was sooooo quiet. Things stayed put where you put them and rooms that you had previously tidied, stayed tidied. They didn't suddenly morph into disaster zones whilst you went upstairs to change the bed linens. Amazing.

We then went out to dinner last night. (Wagamama's in Windsor - one of our favs!) We talked. To each other. For 3 whole hours without a single interruption. Except the waiter. Which doesn't count because he brings you things! I love talking with my husband.

We came home. We went to bed without putting little ones on the loo. And I forgot to set my alarm which I don't normally need because I have 2 small children who wake at the crack of dawn. Oooops - gotta get to work!

Social Networking

My name is LaDawn and I am a Facebook addict. And I'm not the only one!

My husband just doesn't get it. He can't see any inherent value in Facebook or any type of social networking tool. But remember this is a man who didn't remember to send his mother birthday cards. Ever. Until he married me.

I was frustrated when I joined Facebook only to realise that I had no friends. I remained friendless for a day and then realised I needed to take things into my own hands. I inivited all my friends and family. Some of them have joined. Some of them have embraced the services and made an effort on their profiles. Some have not. I suspect they don't get it either. Or they simply haven't made the time. Which is what it takes. Setting it up requires a bit of an effort.

But once it's there it just goes. Viral.

But I still here the question, "What's the point?" Well, it's about keeping in touch and supporting each other. Living is all about people. And your connection with them. I can't tell you how difficult it is to live 5,000 miles away from your family. And when you change jobs it is virtually impossible to keep in touch with former colleagues who you used to spend everyday work day with all day.

I have a former boss of mine, Kirk, who was fantastic to work with. He relocated from the UK to Australia back in December. I swore I would keep in touch with him. And even though I've got a blog and he's got a blog we still struggle to keep in touch with what is going on. I have so many colleagues that I worked with day and night for 12 years when I first graduated from university. We were ambitious and driven. We never took vacation. We worked hard together and played hard together. they were like a surrogate family. Do you know how many of them I am still in touch with? ONE! Tragic!

I do keep my networks separate. I use LinkedIn for my professional network. This includes people I've worked for, with and/or know in a professional setting only. I use Facebook for the other side of my life (woman, wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter)

Join me in my networks! It's a bit of an experiment but it can't hurt! And let's keep in touch!

Holes in Socks

My husband wears socks with holes in them. We can afford to buy new socks but he has his "comfy" socks and refuses to stop wearing them just because they have a few holes in them. The holes aren't just in the toes. Holes appear in the heel and across the top but he persists. He insists that he can't buy his favourite socks in the UK so we must go to the USA which makes the socks a bit more expensive than if he would just go to M&S (Marks & Spencer). I can't seem to get him to see that surely socks with no holes would be more comfortable (and warmer) than socks with holes no matter where he purchases them. He disagrees.

Now you might think this doesn't matter. I might be the only one in the whole wide world who sees his socks but this just isn't true. Inevitably, we go round to people's homes and when we arrive we remove our shoes. And, taaadaaa! There are Marc's toes. I find this embarrassing. He doesn't. Of course, he is an adult and I should let his toes speak for themselves. But somehow this makes me feel like I'm not a very good wife and I'm not taking care of my husband making sure he has whole socks rather than holey socks. I've tried throwing the socks out. He gets them out of the rubbish. One Christmas he received 16 pairs of socks. He was not happy. So now I leave the sock buying to him. Which simply means it doesn't happen! Grrrrrrrrrr!

I wish I had the technical ability and tools to set up an online survey. I would ask:

1) Does your husband wear socks with holes?

2) Do you care?