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For "Babysitting Made Easy", Part I, click here!   I stood for a moment in a rainswept parking lot with a small, padded person hanging down my back...with me gripping his calves tightly as we gazed off in opposing directions...   Spanky and I'd done a million horsie-back rides without incident. But as it happens, we'd never done one outdoors in winter, with Spanky gloved, cushioned, layered, and padded as if for a historic lunar expedition. In my mind, as we made our way across the Black River Coliseum parking lot, it did, in fact, register on some level that his grip was beginning to loosen, that his hold on me was receding ever so gradually. But I thought he

A dear friend gave me the chance to take her visiting 4-year-old cousin to see "A Garfield Christmas" at the Black River Coliseum last winter. I, who have no children, jumped at the chance to play auntie to a great little guy. I'll call this young friend of mine, oh, "Spanky", I suppose, for his pre-school street cred may require some discretion here, since he's already made one risky public appearance with a dork who obviously knows nothing about his kind. I myself didn't realize how little I knew about very little humans until the evening of the event---and by then of course, it was too late to secretly deposit him back on the family doorstep and flee without arousing

Last Week's Weigh-In: 135 lbs. This Week's Weigh-In: 136 lbs. Folks, I'm genuinely excited! Why? OK, I have living proof now of what should be obvious, but often isn't: Exercise truly does stave off undesirable weight gain! In my largely unsuccessful attempt to catch up in work and life after my bout with illness, I paid less attention to what was going into me than I did when I was sick. Though I didn't let The Little Wolf call the tune as much as I have in the past, I had some pretty deluxe pig-outs on some days. (BEWARE THE CHURCH SUPPER! ESPECIALLY AT CHRISTMAS AND EASTER!) I just sort of abdicated at times in favor of some other "urgent"

"I would recommend CompTIA testing for anybody that's interested in the IT field." ---Shane Barnes, Broadband Specialist, semo.net   semo.net broadband specialist Shane Barnes recently obtained "Network+" certification, a distinction conferred by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), and one increasingly in demand by employers in the information technology (IT) sector. The "Network +" exam is a rigorous 90-minute exercise designed to gauge skills with various network types; it covers everything from hardware and software issues to connections, protocols, cable specifications, and troubleshooting techniques.

Last week's weigh-in: 141 lbs. This week's weigh-in: 135 lbs.!!! YESSSS!!! You know that saying about life giving you lemons, and you, ever optimistic and resilient, going on to make lemonade with them? Well, first of all, let me just say that I can hardly claim credit for the remarkable weight loss described above (and verifiable through the Butler County Health Department). My "lemons" came in the form of that horrid viral, flu-like scourge that's been sweeping the land for the past few weeks. I was flattened for about a week myself, with bone-piercing chills, fever, cough, headache, muscle pain...not to mention those fleeting mental images of the planet's craggy surface during prehistoric times, and of the scaly, lumbering reptiles that may even currently---but secretly---be burrowing