p@Ssw0Rdd$$

It's way past time for us to chnge passwords in our house. We change every single password on a regular basis of every five or six months. Right now we're at.....eleven I think. Something happened about nine months ago that has put a hiccup into most of our plans. We love that kid, but keeping to task became a LOT harder!

We have used words and names that have meant something silly to one of us or the other. Anny's childhood cat Brutus was a password for a while. I saw a Maybach car on the road one day and loved the M logo, so Maybach became our password after Brutus. Before that it was Glenkirk, the place we met and the place we got married.

(Do not worry, none of these are passwords that we use now. Maybe "worry" is the wrong word. Don't try to break into my life, none of these are passwords we use now!)

We also always tag a number or two at the beginning or end, and always change the number at the same time that we change the word.

The fun time is the week after we decide to change it. We then have to systematically go through every vendor we use to change the password, even if we don't plan to buy from them until Christmas! There is nothing worse than the four attempt password entering to buy one toy because you can't remember when the last time you changed your info was!

At the office we've gotten even more complex. Here are the rules there:
Changes every six months - forced change by the server
At least eight characters (any number, letter or symbol)
At least one number, one letter, one symbol and one Capital Letter
Cannot be a simple word - so anything with "monroe" would be rejected

Luckily I have another three months to come up with a new one at the office!

Anyway - I'm thinking that we are going to move to a two-password system in the coming weeks. One password will go on things like email and blogs, and another to go on bank accounts and places that our credit cards are stored.

My questions for you are:
Do you and your spouse share one password for everything or have separate passwords for different accounts? (that's if you have a spouse, if not, ignore this one!)
How often do you change your passwords? (follow up, are we crazy to make the change as often as we do)
Do you use simple words or something more complex?

Holiday's with Double Meanings

This time of year, Holy Week and Easter, is especially hard on my family. My extended Monroe family, that is, not my wife-and-daughter family.


In 1999 my grandmother died on Good Friday. I don't even know the date, but I remember everything very vividly. This year I find myself thinking about it more than in past years, I think I've become more emotional since Abby's arrival. Seeing a birth changes you, and it's not necessarily bad.

My Grandma Pat had a huge part in raising me. My parents divorced early on, and my brother and I lived with my mom and step-father. At about the age of 11, when my mother was in Saudi Arabia in Desert Storm/Strike, we moved up to Maryland to live with my grandparents, aunt and father.

Grandma was an in-home babysitter, so she was home when we left for school, and home when we got home. She was a stabilizing force. No matter how bad a day I could have, she reminded me to keep things in perspective. She stressed family first, but also the value of a good day of work. I can not think of a day she "called in sick" before she got really sick, and then she worked as long as she could and made sure that every child had another good place to go for childcare.

I was young. I remember that I was in college, but living at home. I remember very vividly the cryptic phone call from my father, and being furious that people would not share more than "you need to come to the hospital." I also remember being the public face of strength for the family. We needed someone to make arrangements at church, and that is a role I easily stepped in to.

I remember Grandma more than I remember her death. She was always loving, and was the most accepting person I ever knew. Though she was a Presbyterian to no end, she would sit with the regular Jehovah's Witnesses that stopped by on a weekly basis. I never saw her turn away anyone from child care, even if she disagreed with some of their views. She taught us that education about a variety of things so that we could hold conversations with those same people.

I know that today is hard for me, but I will be fine. I know, more, that today is one of the hardest days for my grandfather, who I love and adore above almost anyone else in the world. He was there when I was baptized, when I was married, when I was ordained. He made a special trip to be with us at the hospital when Abby was born. He made another trip for her baptism, too.

He will be home and we will see him tonight for dinner. I know that hugs last longer on Good Friday in our family. We remember that Jesus died. We also remember that Grandma Pat died. They both opened their arms to those in need, and I love them both.

No posting before the end of the weekend, so Happy Easter to you all. I'm sure that Abby's blog will be updated, so check over THERE to keep up with her. If you can.....!

What Dog Breed are You?

Laid-back, sociable and well-groomed, you've got your own hip little pack of groupies who just love to be around you. You have a brain inside that adorable little head of yours, though you use it mostly to organize your hectic social calendar. You never poop out at parties, and since you're popular with ladies and men, as well as children and adults, you dish out your wit, charm and luck to whomever is close enough to bask in it. The top dog likes you and wants to be your best friend, despite the fact that he doesn't really know what the heck you do. No one does, in fact, but everyone loves you all the same. A true foodie, you’ve got your keen ears fine-tuned to make sure you don't miss out on the opening of a trendy new place to nosh. But your youthful days of being able to wolf down food 24-7 are wagging behind you, meaning you've got to watch what you eat so you don’t pull a Brando and outgrow your coats.

World Kidney Day

It's World Kidney Day!

Please take a moment to become more educated HERE. Take the Quiz - it's very informative.

To read about MY kidney story, click HERE.

For those that have asked recently - I'm feeling really good right now. I'm feeling more run down from a sick baby than from my kidney's causing problems. I've gotten a lot better about laying off of the potassium recently, and am looking forward to continuing my afternoon walks with the girls of the house as the weather continues to get nicer.

The one thing that I wish everyone knew about FSGS (my type of kidney disease) is that sometimes I really just don't want to do anything but sit. A normal day does not take the wind from my sails, but some times I get really quiet if I'm doing a lot. That usually means that I'm pooped.

The other thing (I'm going with two, just for the fun of it!) that I wish folks knew is that, I'm not avoiding your mashed potatoes because I think they aren't good. I want banana pudding more than anything sometimes, too. I can't have potassium in quantity, and those two are the biggest culprits.

For Contest Purporses, I'm linking over to Krissy! You should check her out, and not just for the contest prizes!

New (and Contradictory) Sins

(For the record, I am not Catholic and do not subscribe to much of the theology and hierarchy. I am just observant.)

The Vatican released a list of new sins for the 21st Century. These do not take the place of the old standards, but add onto it. The new ones are:

• Environmental pollution
• Genetic manipulation
• Accumulating excessive wealth
• Inflicting poverty
• Drug trafficking and consumption
• Morally debatable experiments
• Violation of fundamental rights of human nature

Okay, some of these are just common sense as bad. Numbers 3, 4, 5 and 7 are blatantly so. I don't think that numbers 1 and 2 are good, but sins? Sometimes humans need to be the experiment. Trust me, I would jump at the chance to be a test subject if there was a chance that my kidney problems would go away!

Then there is number 6 - Becoming Obscenely Wealthy. Isn't that what the Catholic Church is known for? They have more money than....Sorry I can't type it!

To top that, there is a report that the Papal Visit to DC in April is going to cost upwards of $3 Million. How is that for obscene wealth!

Air Drumming

Quick post from the office (ahem) about the drive in this morning.

At a light behind the University I noticed this guy air-drumming in his big SUV. He was into it more than I have seen anyone before! In his mind, he was playing an entire set of drums, not just the steering-wheel-snare-drum that I prefer.

At the next light I noticed that he had gotten MORE into it - even picked up a REAL drumstick to rock out with! I gave up faulting his bad driving, because he was happy on his way to (I assume work) someplace on a Monday morning. I was struggling to keep my head up and he's rocking out.

At the NEXT light he went even further. He pulled out a second drumstick! He was rocking out, drumsticks in hand, over the entire dashboard of his car! It was hillarious!

Okay, I am going back to working. I just HAD to share this. (And who knows, maybe it's only funny in my head. You know, one of those "had to be there" moments.) Sure made my morning go a little smoother.