C's Blog

Congratulations to my sister, Kristin, and my bro-in-law, Carlos!

Sofia May Hoyne Gomes came into the world early this morning at 5:50 am.

Here are her stats: 20.5 inches long, 7 lbs, 6 oz.

I've talked to them twice on the phone today. Since they are in State College, PA, it's killing me that I can't just drive up to the hospital to meet my newest niece. Thankfully, we're planning a trip in a few weeks! I can't wait!!

Perfectly enough, I was reading one of my favorite blogs this morning: Astronomy Picture of the Day by Nasa and today's picture is of Earth taken from Apollo 17 in 1972 with the title, 'Welcome to Planet Earth!'

And then, I realized some other parallels: Isaac was also born on a Sunday and Kristin and Carlos were heading to the hospital about the same time in the middle of the night that Bryan and I were with Isaac. : )

If you haven't seen it yet, check out Kristin & Sofie's Baby Shower Blog. I'll be posting Sofie's photos there, too. : )

YAY! What an exciting day!

I am so homesick and I'm not out of town!

Since the birth of their first baby, Sofia, my heart has been aching to see the newly expanded Gomes family in PA.

My parents just sent pictures via email and I'm crying at my desk. I've looked through the collection of 50+ photos at least ten times. I miss them so much. (I cannot even imagine how Carlos's family in Portugal must feel!)

So, to brighten my mood, let's play Guess the Hoyne Family Baby!

Here's how we play: My parents now have four grandchildren. Granted, many babies look a lot alike and two of them are sisters, but I think these cousins particularly resemble each other. Which one is which? (They are listed in random order.)

Here are your choices: Reese, Isaac, Caylee, & Sofia.

Take a guess in the comments below! : )

I have this on-going joke with my colleagues about corporate speak and how fluffy it is. (And when I say "fluffy" I mean full of hot air... did I just make up another term?)

Anyway, I keep a running list in my head to share with friends. I also write down the really great quotes at the end of my notepad for future amusement.

Most of the corporate speak is a complete misuse of the actual word, which makes me secretly giggle at the person inside my head when I'm talking to them.

Some of my recent favorites are:

• Ping:
  actual definition: a computer network tool that acts as an echo. (wiki here)
  corporate speak definition: to contact someone via email or phone
  used in a sentence: "I'll ping you again later when I find out the details."
• Wheels Up/Wheels Down:
  actual definition: when an airplane retracts/releases its landing gear
  corporate speak definition: the departure/arrival of someone at the airport
  used in a sentence: "She'll be wheels up at 3pm and wheels down at 5pm."

• 10-30-06: "I don't have the bandwidth for that." (referring to staff, not internet access)


• 11-08-06: "...nuggets of innovation!"


• 01-10-07: "I have it in electrons and I can send it off."


• 01-30-07: "Horizontal Integration Programming" (what?!)


• 02-05-07: "(insert name here) is a HUGE fan of websites!" (well, yes... so am I...)


• 03-29-07: "We help you proceed expeditiously with caution."

Truly great. You can't make this stuff up. : )

What are your favorites? Add your favorite corporate speak terms in the comments below!

P.S. Isaac met the REAL Muck and the REAL Scoop yesterday on our walk! (Muck and Scoop are characters from one of his favorite TV shows, Bob the Builder.) He was totally jazzed and asked me to take his picture with each of them. (That's my boy!) : ) Click on the links to view the pictures on my flickr account.