JBergDesign

Hi all,
Sorry for the lack of entries this past year. I’ve been busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs this past year!

As many of you know, I started my own business in June of 2005, CaliCat Design & Web Consulting. It’s been great! But, like most new businesses, it has also been up, down sideways, backwards and fowards. And, I put in a LOT of hours. (Hint: this is why I’ve been neglectful of this site.)

Business is good, but today I’m working through a headache and aggravating print vendors. Such is the fun of having your own business.

This is just the post to get me back into the posting groove. I promise to be more attentive in the future. the NEAR future! Meanwhile, visit my business site at www.calicatdesign.com.

Peace out!
Jules

Note: If you’ve noticed the ability to Post comments is gone for now. You can thank the many idiot spammers/seo junkies out there trying to get a million websites linking to their site. I got bombarded… so I removed it for now. It may be back.

Lately, Starbucks Coffee has a series of conversational cups called ‘The way I see it…’. The cups contain comments and thoughts from people in history, as well as celebrities. I saw this one today and had to share.

Quote #61
Imagine we are all the same. Imagine we agree about politics, religion and morality. Imagine we like the same types of music, art, food and coffee. Imagine we all look alike. Sound boring? Differences need not divide us. Embrace diversity. Dignity is everyone’s human right.

— Bill Brummel
Documentary filmmaker. His programs focus on human rights issues.

Peace out!
Jules

A couple months ago I posted a note to acknowledge the departure of my cousin’s dog/friend/child, Stanley. Today, I am writing about my own loss and grief for on Friday, November 4, I said goodbye to my good, dear friend of fifteen wonderful years, Callie.

(I know. I know. Right now most of you are thinking, “what a complete sap!’ To them, I say this… ‘tough noogies’. I am who I am. Tender heart and all.)

There is not much to say, really. Callie was older and getting ill and had many other problems. My parents had the unfortunate and very difficult task of having to make the final decision to let her go. But, my sister, Amy, and I are the ones who offered to take her in. (I couldn’t let her be alone), along with my partner, Jude.

Callie and I always had a special bond, from the moment we brought her back into our house (long story for another time). She was my buddy for the 10 years I continued to live at home. When I left, I don’t think she was too happy with me. It wasn’t until these last few months that she started to let me back into her life. For which, I am grateful. It was the very least I could do to be with her, comfort her, at the end.

I was there when they put the needle in her paw. It was quick and painless. It was a matter of mere seconds and she was asleep… forever. I had quite a difficult time saying goodbye to her. It took me quite a while to leave the room. I am still grieving now. Which is also why I waited this long to write this entry. I just could not think of her without breaking down in tears (as I am now).

I know she is in a far better place now. No longer scared. No longer in pain. In a place of warmth and love, waiting for her family to be with her again. So, as the sap that I am, I want to dedicate the poem ‘Rainbow Bridge’ to my little girl, Callie, and to everyone else reading this who have also said goodbye to their dear, furry friends.

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them; who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

THEN YOU CROSS RAINBOW BRIDGE TOGETHER…

Author Unknown

Goobye my little girl. Peace out.

In loving memory,
Your Pet, Julie

Good morning all! I know most of you are STILL waiting for our remodel updates, but I’m behind due to workload. I need to take the time today, though, for a topic that need attention.

My cousing wrote us yesterday in a call for support. She and her 16 year old daughter will get up very early on Sunday, September 25, at Yosemite National Park in California to hike to the top of Half Dome. Their goal is to raise over $500 for The Histiocytosis Association of America. With help from folks like you, I know they can raise it.

Here is the information she sent me:

******
Histiocytosis is a rare blood disease that is caused by an excess of white blood cells called histiocytes.
The histiocytes cluster together and can attack the skin, bones, and organs. The disease can range from limited involvement that spontaneously regresses to progressive multi-organ involvement that can be chronic, debilitating and life threatening.

The majority of histiocytosis cases occur in children under age ten. The disease affects roughly 1 in
200,000 children born each year in the United States. It can also occur in adolescents and adults of all ages. Histiocytosis is so rare that there is little research into its cause and treatment and is often referred to as an “orphan disease”, meaning it strikes too few people to generate government supported research.

My very good friend’s son, Anton was born with Langerhans Cell Hystiocytosis. I just happened to be at her house in California the day her very young baby was diagnosed. Despair turned into resolve as this family set out to make a difference in the lives of people with hystiocytosis by organizing this annual Hike For A Cure. Last year nearly 150 hikers joined to raise $70,000. This is the first year that I have been able to join the hike and I am very excited and very nervous.

I am excited because I want to be a part of helping to find a cure for hystiocytosis.

I am nervous because I am have all the joint aches of a 44-year old and I am cardiovascularly out-of-shape. The Hike up and down Half Dome is 18 miles with an increase in elevation of 4,000 feet! Arghhh! I have started to train (hiking, weight lifting, hill climbing, etc.) and will be climbing many flights of stairs here in flat Minnesota. I am accepting any and all suggestions for long and hilly hikes within 20 miles of St. Paul.

The trip is costing us very little. We used frequent flyer miles for our flights. We’ll be sharing cabins and transportation with the organizer’s family. We will probably need to buy some meals while in Yosemite. To make my goal of raising $500, I am going to ask 100 people for a $5 donation.

Can I count on you to sponsor my hike by donating $5.00 (or more)? (All donations are tax-deductible.) If you want to sponsor me, read on…

HOW TO SPONSOR GENA:

Let me count the ways:

1. Pay through PayPal by going to http://www.hikeforacure.com/
In the left column click on “Register or Sponsor” then “Become a Sponsor”
In the window scroll down to #4 and click on the PayPal logo.

2. Donate by phone with your credit card (MasterCard, Visa and American Express):
Call the Histiocytosis Association of America, (HAA), directly at 1- 800-548-2758 (in US and Canada) Monday-Friday between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
They will be happy to talk with you! Tell them you are sponsoring Hike For A Cure hiker Gena Berglund.

Thank you for considering sponsoring me. Feel free to share this e-mail with friends and family!
********************

If you sponsor Gena using PayPal or calling HAA could you send me a quick e-mail note and I will send them on to Gena, so she can keep track of her donations.

This is a good cause, folks. I know there are a lot of causes out there that I personally would like to help, but I just can’t do it all. But, this one is close to home for my cousin and I’d like to help her out as much as possible. Please consider donating just $5.

Thanks for your time. Peace out!

Julie

Monday evening Jude and I had the pleasure of visiting my family in Sheboygan. The highlight of the night was going to my niece’s softball game at my alma mater, North High. Man has that place changed!

But, that’s not what I want to talk about here. What I am writing about today is my cool niece and her growing pitching ability. What an arm!

She’s been playing fast-pitch softball for the past 3 summers. This summer is the first time they’re truly ‘playing’, as opposed to simply ‘learning’ the skills the past two summers. I was happy to bring with my digital camera and took a couple minutes of her pitching. She still has to work on consistency and some accuracy, but, hey!… she’s 11 for pete’s sake! She’s got a number of years ahead of her to hone her skills. But, for an 11 year old (almost 12) to pitch like this? Cool.

Video: click here

So, KUDOS to my niece, Andy, for continuing to practice and build on a skill. I’m very proud of her! (I would be even IF she didn’t have that pitching arm!!

Peace out!
Jules

Today I did something completely different. Something nobody, even myself, thought I’d ever do… I got my hair colored.

My step-daughter, Jeni, is in cosmotology school. She’s doing great! Every now and then, she needs a victim - er, I mean, volunteer - to sit in her chair while she takes her evaluation (or, evals) tests. Today, she needed someone to volunteer for her ‘color eval’. Since nobody else was available - who didn’t already have color in their hair, or boxed color from a store - I volunteered.

I was originally just going to go a little lighter than my natural color. But, her instructors informed her at the last moment that the evals are for ‘darker’ color. So… there I went!

This is a ’shade’ darker than my natural color.

Personally, I think the color came out great! Now… to get that Scandinavian face of mine out into the sun to get a little COLOR on it!! eep!

Thanks, Jen, for something completely different!

Peace out!
Jules