Danger is Part of the Excitment

There are a lot of great programs out there now to make Internet usage both more enjoyable and safe now. A popup blocker can make it more enjoyable by keeping annoying ads from interupting your cruising. A good virus program can keep you from getting infected. I don't think anyone now can even consider a life without computers and internet connections where 30 years ago it was inconceivable that the world could be such an open place. With the openness there will always be dangers lurking, but technology is really getting a handle on it. I can't wait to see what awaits us in just 10 years and beyond. It makes me think of the times when as a child I'd read sci-fi books and dream of the possibilities they presented and now realize how much of them are realities. Sci-fi movies of today may be the realities of ten years from now... that's exciting, and probably a little dangerous too, but that's part of the excitment.

Does Your Style Rock You?

I both love and loathe winter. I hate cold, I hate doing outdoor chores in the cold (and on a farm there are a LOT of outdoor chores all year round) and most of all, I hate frozen water (goes with the outdoor chores thing, but it's a special hate all it's own). What I LOVE about winter is the baggy, big, layers of clothes you can get away with. Those clothes and coats hide a multitude of sins--or pounds whichever you wish to call it. It's kind of hard to be fashionable though. It doesn't matter if you're wearing volcom clothing or something from the bargain bins. Now in the summer, it matters. Every stitch is visible (along with all those pesky pounds). You can really rock your style in the summer. In the winter, your style tends to rock you. It's all about what will keep you warm. At least if you live in the frozen northern half of the country, and have to work outside a good part of the day.

The Biggest Pain Of All

I have hurt so many body parts in just a few months without really knowing why I'm beginning to think I need one of those medical id tags just to say 'careful, fragile body'. I feel helpless like something must be wrong with me, but I don't know what. I'm not a person prone to injury, or illness. I haven't been sick in years. Then just two months ago I somehow pulled a muscle in my butt, yeah I know, not glamourous, but what can I say, it was horrendous though and still bothers me some, but it's been replaced by a new, and bigger pain. The rear pain I attributed to extreme exercise with my new diet, but since that I wasn't able to exercise much at all so this new one is beyond me. I woke up with it. I either twisted in my sleep, or something, but it's been almost two weeks. I think it's a pinched nerve in my shoudler, but the pain is excrutiating. Maybe I should just wear a sign on my chest that says 'fragile'... maybe that will do it. I'm not used to being fragile though, and that is an even bigger pain. In fact, it's the biggest pain of all.

Not Just The Same old Same old.

Just like various parts of the country all seem similar so do most hotels. I've spent a lot of time in various hotels and it really doesn't matter where in the country you are they're pretty much the same. The big differences would be in 'class', or cost. But a 5-star hotel is going to look a lot like any other 5-star, and a roadside motel is going to look like pretty much every other roadside motel. I don't mind so much when I'm traveling for showing or business, but when I vacation I want a hotel that doesn't feel like every other hotel I've ever been in. There's only one place in the country like that in my opinion, and that's at a lasvegas hotel. Those hotels are like little continents all their own. You feel like you've been somewhere out of this world at a Vegas hotel. That's my idea of a vacation. I suppose for those that don't travel several weekends a month all year round and stay in motel and hotel after motel and hotel any hotel will feel like a 'vacation' but for those like me, we need something different to feel like it's not just the same old same old... and Vegas does that with unprecidented style.

Uniquely The Same

I hear a lot about the beautiful scenery in one place or another, depending on who is talking. The funny thing to me is having traveled rather extensively to animal shows all over the country, it seems to me that 1) there's beautiful scenery everywhere, and 2) by and large, one town looks a lot like another. Now it's true some areas have a distinct feel to them, like say Boston and it's early British Americana, or the kind of fresh rolling hills feel of Wilmington NC real estate. Lots of the midwest looks like all the rest of the midwest. An Ohio highway resembles an Indiana, and Illinois one, and yet you can find areas that are uniquely breathtaking on their own and to themselves. Oklahoma is a big flat dusty plain, and still there are areas that can take your breath away. So when I hear someone talk about the stupendous scenery in such and such a place, I just smile and nod, and think, just like anywhere else in the USA. As big as the country is, it is amazingly unique, and the same all at once.

Correcting Chronic Pain

My husband has been suffering from a chronic pain in his shoulder for months now. Since he does so much heavy lifting at work he thought that was a major reason for the pain, but it turns out a lot of the problem was from pressure when he slept. He always sleeps on his side. He hates sleeping on his stomach, and can't seem to stay on his back so he ends up on his side and that puts a lot of pressure on his shoulder joints. One recommendation was to get a foam mattress that would be more apt to mold to his body rather than increase the pressure by resistance like a spring mattress would. We are checking into that option as well as a few others. He was relieved to learn that it was something like that rather than the strain of lifting and pulling that he does daily in his job as a paramedic, but it's really important to correct the reason no matter what because it definately effects the way he is able to do his job.

Real Estate Licensing

I have a close friend who recently went to school for her real estate agent license in her new home state of Ohio. Wow, what a difference it was compared to when I got my Illinois license in real estate back in 95. I'm not sure if it is just the number of years and the way things developed in the real estate licensing area, or if it is the difference between states, but my friend said that she'd been told it was too bad she didn't get her license in Illinois before she moved. Apparently there is a wide difference between states in the regulations and such. She'd been told that simply transfering the license was not only possible but much easier. She had to go through almost ten times as many hours of class time and the test was even harder there than it is here in Illinois. That's saying a lot because although I passed my test the first time back when I took it, that was unsual. MANY people even then had to take the test several times before they passed and that was always a big fear going in because you couldn't take the test in immediate succession. They only offered it at certain intervals and you had to wait (I think) two months, maybe three it's been a long time but it was about that as I recall to take it again. Ohio is apparently even stricter.

My New Motto

I've been exercising a lot and finding out I had muscles where I never thought any existed. As a result of that, I've also found the need for joint and muscle pain relief that I never had before. For awhile I would stop exercising when the pain was really bad, but I realized soon after that the best way to deal with it was to work through the pain, at least to some extent. Of course, serious injury needs to be dealt with, but the typical aches and pains will just come back worse if you stop and then start again. It's like it needs to hurt a little to go further, and if you let it relax before starting again, you're right back at the beginning... so, keep working, and build up that medicine chest right along with the muscles. I guess that's my new motto.

Getting Help, One Way Or The Other

Well my son went for his second court date yesterday for his DUI. It is his second DUI in a year and I thought it would have been settled yesterday, but they continued it again. Sometimes I lose faith in the justice system. It's so wrought in red-tape. I've been unsuccessful in convincing him he needs drug rehab in spite of having found several that would suit his needs. I keep hoping that when they finally come to some judgement part of it will be mandatory rehab. I'm not too sure that's successful. It would be much better if he realized his problem and went on his own, but if it won't be that, then at least he'd end up having to talk to counselers and doing the rehab, maybe it would sink in more for him in that situation. In spite of the way the law reads, it seems like the courts have minds of their own and aren't really all that interested in persuing jail time (not that I really want him to go to jail, but I want him to realize the seriousness of what he's doing, and if that's what it takes, then so be it), or enforcing rehab. They're only interested in the fines it seems. Perhaps that saddest part of all.

Fashion's Trendy Comeback

They say if you keep something in your closet long enough, eventually it will come back in style. That saying is never truer than in the case of one very ancient, yet trendy fashion accessories. They are an ancient instrument of fashion torture that towards the end of the last century and now into the new one, has become quite the staples of glamor. They are corsets. I guess you could say Madonna made them popular in the 1980's when she decided to wear one outside her clothes on stage, and in videos. Really, as lingerie they have been popular for longer than that. How exactly do we as women come up with these things? Or maybe it's the men that do it. Either way, corsets are now a fun item to have in your fashion arsenal rather than torturous devices that keep women from breathing. Whether you prefer leather, or lace, they come in all kinds of designs, fabrics and styles. Some of them actually even do what their original inventor designed them for, and keep everything in its place where it belongs... breathing optional.

Walking Fit

When I started my new weight-loss exercise regime at the beginning of August, walking (road walking) was tops on my list of aerobic exercises. Three times a week I'd hit the road walking 3 to 5 miles. It's a great form of exercise... until the temperatures drop below the freeze line. Then, for me anyway, outdoor walking is no longer an option. Not too mention that out here in the country, their are no sidewalks and walking on the streets can be dangerous at any time of the year, but more so in the winter with icy roads making cars passing by even more dangerous than they can be at other times.

I am really looking for a good treadmills. I've wanted one since I started but put it off because well, the poor man's treadmill is blacktop, lol, but with winter here, poor (wo)man, or not, I don't do frozen blacktop. Besides, with a treadmill here in the house I wouldn't have to worry about being caught in a storm like I did in September, or care if it's too early, or too late, or if, in the summer, it's the hottest part of the day and can't go because I'd have a heat stroke. I can exercise anytime I like, whenever its convienient for me. Plus, I won't have to worry if I fall, sprain an ankle (happened once) and have to hobble home the remainder of the miles. My Christmas wish list is getting pretty long though.

Being Thankful For The Peace

Between finding good local drug rehabs
in the area for my son who just had his third DUI in less than 2 years, and dealing with my daughter's constant barage of drama, this holiday season is pretty much a goner for my husband and I. Still, I'm looking forward to a nice quiet turkey dinner with him tomorrow. We didn't have the strength for the big family thing this year, and the kids have their issues at the moment. I think in spite of all the headaches of what's going on here, I'm going to enjoy not having to drive for hours to his mother's house, or having them all converge upon us here. Sometimes the holidays are so much work it's not even fun, not too mention the family clashes that often occur. Yep, tomorrow is going to be a nice quiet turkey day... maybe between us we can even come up with something to be thankful for... peace.

Miles Of Cable

Every time I rearrange my living room I end up having to buy miles of fiber cable to move my satellite box to its new location. Then I have to spend hours tucking the heavy black cable into the baseboards so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. I didn't even realize just how much cable I have stuffed inside my baseboards until this last time I moved my entertainment center. I had to go back to the origin of the incoming cable at the family room far wall where our television set used to be (years ago) and traced the wires to the current location so I could splice in the new wire, and oh my goodness it was everywhere. I've moved my TV so much and instead of pulling up the old wire and putting in fresh from the origin in a direct route to the new location, I just went from where the TV had been to it's new location over and over again until there was a virtual maze of cable in the baseboards between the family room and the living room and back again.

I'm beginning to miss the old rabbit ears.

Get The Show On The Road

I have a desktop computer. I've almost always had a desktop. Once in the distant past I had a laptop along with my desktop, but that was back in the mid-eighties, when laptops were a new item. It didn't last long. The hinges on the flip tops of those early laptops... well they sucked. So I've stuck with desktops. My husband, on the other hand, has stuck with the notebook computer prefering their ease of transportation, and the ability to take it with him to work, on the road, or wherever. He had a desktop way back in the early 80's, actually before I even got my first computer and was still typing away on my dearly beloved Selectric (can you remember THOSE?). Once he had his taste of freedom with the laptop, that was it for him, and it was bye-bye desktop. I think for me, it's the keypads on the laptops that kill the experience for me. I know that it would just be a matter of getting used to it. It's about time to think about a new computer, mine being close to three now, and unlike a human toddler at that age, three is ancient in computer terms... perhaps it's time to join the world of flexible movement, and get myself a laptop, and get the show on the road.

Conventional Wisdom

Besides the usual standard checking account I have the customary savings account, and several CD's, and I also have online payment accounts. This morning was one of those mornings from hell that make you truly appreciate the tried and true old-fashioned way of doing business, and taking care of your finances. I had to spend nearly two hours on the phone dealing with the online financial institution that is a behmouth in the world of online payments and income resources to straighten out an error on their part. Two hours, and 90% of that time was spent on hold. It really made me appreciate my regular checking account. It's not that errors never occur with that type of thing, but they sure aren't as convoluted as the less traditional ways of managing income and money are. There is a definate wisdom in the old-fashioned conventions.

Old Dog, New Tricks

The only trouble with technology is there is a learning curve. Sometimes a steep one. Now I know my grandkids who are just starting school now will grow up knowing all about Cat5E cables for better ethernet, routers, and all kinds of things that just confuse the heck out of me. Why can't it be simple? Computers themselves used to be so complicated, and you had to know DOS just to operate them (I did manage, barely), now it's easy. Plug N' Play makes setting up new computers a breeze, and you don't have to know html, DOS, or anything else to get started, get on-line, etc... but for every new advance, like wireless internet, or even most high-speed connections there are new things to learn before you can use them. Hopefully that will change in the not too distant future. I almost got high-speed until I found out that while I could get it, it would only be hooked up to one computer, and to get both of our computers working we'd have to install a router. Sounds simple until you go to the store, and there are like a billion choices to make based on the types of computers etc...

EEK. I love technology, but teaching this old dog new tricks is a difficult job.

Digging Up Trouble

This sucks. Now they are saying that germ-killing soaps may have negative effects. I like those soaps, especially the liquid ones. I keep one in the kitchen, and one on the bathroom sinks. So much less messy, and more convienient than bars. Figures it would turn out they'd be bad for us. There are regular liquid soaps. I guess I'll have to go with those, but the whole 'germ-killing' idea was such a good one. I'm not sure how reputable the 'Washington Post' is. It may be one of those tabloid type newspapers. I hope so, they're all ways trying to dig up trouble. Somehow I don't think so though.

3-2-1 Contact

I just love finding informative websites where I can not only get great current information, but also interact with it as well. Icontact is just that sort of website. You can find articles on all sorts of areas of interest such as a current one entitled: "Universal Sells Songs Without DRM" for music enthusiasts, and anyone who is interested in knowing about recordings being sold with, or without the infamous copyright protection included on them. There are also numerous articles on finance, and real estate, and a great page of articles on health with topics ranging from contact lenses to pregnancy.

What's great about Icontact is that viewers can register for an account and not only create their own blog posts on current events, or items of interest to themselves, but they can respond to other articles, as well as receive responses from readers on theirs.

That type of interaction makes Icontact tops in my book.

Top Of The List

People magazine just came out with their 'sexiest man alive' list for the year. Matt Damon was the winner. Well, hey, I give props to the guy, he's cute, and seems nice, and even humble, but he's not my idea of the 'sexiest' anything. That's why all these lists are kind of fun to look at (which is why they exist in the first place, everyone wants to see it just to see if they agree), but they really don't represent anything at all. Just one person's, or poll's opinion. That kind of thing is just pulp fodder for money, like most tabloidish magazines, they thrive on the horrendous, or scandalous, and if it's not horrendous or scandalous enough, find a way to MAKE it so... or just give the population something to drool over. News that's true may be important, but it doesn't make MONEY.

Quality Grows While The Equipment Shrinks

I have to admit I've become quite hooked on things like the Bose home theater for rich music that completely envelopes you, to surround sound theater systems on the television. The days of the little tape deck have long since gone beyond even the powerful hi-fi stereos we used to think were so superb. I remember how I loved the nearly room-sized stereo system I owned as a teen. It took up as much room in my little bedroom as my dresser and was shaped in an alluring wedge design that made it look so ultra-tech and cool. Now these mega power systems are about as big as an average clock radio and have more quality than those big boxes could ever have hoped to produce. It's really amazing how as technology advances the power, speed, and abilities of these gadgets increases while their size shrinks. Someday you won't even be able to see your cellphone.

The World's Game of Crime

An article on yahoo this morning claims the FBI made a 'deal with the devil' in regards to a mafia investigation. Does this surprise anyone? I mean if the devil can't make a deal with himself, then who can he make a deal with? This sort of thing has been going on for as long as organized crime has existed, which is approximately as long as the United States government has breathed new life into the world of crime and punishment, and how to control the masses through fear and debauchery. Okay, that may be playing rough, and certainly other countries have mafia type organizations (ie: the Russian mob, Chinese mafia, etc...) but where did they learn from? The masters of course. They're governments pretty much play the same game as well, having learned that there's no better way to take the people's attention off the crimes they themselves commit than to give them something more horrifying to look at.

Rebuilding The Chaos

The California stadium that housed millions of refugees from the California wildfires is closing thanks to the thousands of people now returning to their homes. What homes? The pictures of the devestation were horrifying to watch on the nightly news. It was a natural disaster rivaling that of Katrina. The sight of million dollar homes laying in burning ruble were disturbing, but not even as much as the average suburban homes completely destroyed. Even those lucky enough to have stood through the flames, and it was amazing seeing pictures of a home standing where the garage next to it had been incinerated are still going to be devestated by the smoke, and water. My heart goes out to those in the southern California area. They're work is cut out for them, they will have a long time rebuilding from the chaos.

Just The Two of Us

When my children were young, we all loved to go camping. The four of us, my husband, me, our two kids would pack up all the camping gear and head for any one of the many state parks either close by, which there are two of, or down state. I miss those days. We used to have so much fun. For some reason now that it's just me and my husband at home, we don't seem to have as much drive to go camping. All the gear is still in the garage, sitting forlorn and forgotten. This time of year is perfect for camping. It's not too hot, it's not too cold. The mosquitos have headed south for the winter (lol, or wherever they go in the cold, I don't really care as long as they go). Crisp nights are perfect for a nice warm fire to sit around while you look up into the bright, autumn night sky. Can you tell I miss it? I think this weekend would be a nice time to surprise my husband with a little excursion into the wilds, just the two of us.

Jogging The Metabolism Into Gear

I seem to be plateauing in my diet. That's so aggravating when that happens. Everything was going along so well. I was losing between three and five pounds a week, then it just comes to a standstill! I am thinking about reaching for some diet pills to jog the old (and I do mean old) metabolism into gear. I think that at a certain age it not only tends to slow down, it falters and just plain old stops at times. Come to think of it, it might not have anything to do with age. It happens to young people too. I used to hate plateaus when I was in my 20's and dieting too. Hum. Well in any case, it's time for some serious measures to get it moving again.

Me, a Fashionista?

I've been cleaning out my closet now that I'm losing weight and going through what clothes I need to replace. I have riding apparel that is not only out-dated but way too big now that I'm going to have to purchase for the next show season, and forget about work clothes. My work clothes consist of sweat pants and t-shirts for the most part since I work at home, but I've always had to have a certain amount of dress clothes for those times I have to go out and meet my 'adoring' public, or attend meetings with editors and the like. None of that fits anymore. Sigh. Well, I have all winter to get my wardrobe in gear. I don't do anything in the winter. I hate cold, and don't much care for driving in snow, or on ice either. By next spring I'll be a fashionista once again... yeah, as if. Well, at the least I'll be ready for the summer's events.

Tyler Perry's House Of Brilliance

I watched Tyler Perry's 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' last night on DVD. Actually it was his current movie out at the theaters now 'Why Did I Get Married?' that brought the other movies of his to my attention. I'm sure glad it did. Actually, to be more truthful it was my comment to a friend on how I couldn't wait to see 'married' that made her ask if I'd seen any of Tyler's others... well Diary is fantastic!! It's both a spoofy type of comedy (with it's Madea and Joe characters), and a complex relationship drama all rolled into one great, and inspiring movie.

I HAD seen the sitcom Tyler Perry's 'House of Payne' and loved that. His writing is witty and insightful in there too while at the same time making you laugh at the characters and their situations. Using comedy to get a very serious point across is a fantastic tool, but one that only a few writers can accomplish. Mr. Perry does it brilliantly.

Take Those Breaks

I spend long days sitting behind the computer at my desk here and sometimes forget how important it is to get up once in a while (beyong an occassional trip to the bathroom, or the kitchen for another cup of coffee). I got a wake up call a few months ago when I found my ankles swollen at the end of the day to the size approximately that of an elephant. Um... not good. Since then I've tried really hard to spend a few minutes every couple of hours getting up, stretching, even exercising some. I've been a lot better ever since, and haven't had a case of swollen ankles afterwards either... thank heavens.

If you spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, either at home, or in an office, don't forget to give yourself a break. In an office that's more likely since there are regularly scheduled breaks. It's funny how when you work away from home you watch the clock for those breaks and make sure you take them, but at home you lose all track of time and don't even think about taking a lunch sometimes. Schedule yourself as if you worked in an office surrounded by fellow employees all watching the clock for that treasured break time, and make sure you take them yourself... it's nice to be a workaholic, but you have to make sure to take time for yourself too.

What Price?

Wow the California wild fires that are raging now in the Malibu down to San Diego areas are just frightening to watch on TV. Seeing that kind of total and mass destruction caused by fire in an age where we are so technologically advanced seems incomprehensible, and yet nature puts us in our place yet again. We are helpless to stop her, unable to control her, we can only get out of her way. Hubby kind of quipped about my wanting to move to California--it's always been a dream of mine. It's true but I'd like to live a little further north, in the LA area, and yet they've been hit too before. In fact the current devesatation isn't too far from LA, they're just lucky that the winds are blowing south and not north. I think everyone fears fire in their home. We all know what kind of destruction it can cause, and if you happen to be sleeping at the time, how likely it is that someone will perish in the flames... but until you see how wildly out of control it can get under the right circumstances, most people don't fear entire cities, towns, or parts of the state being destroyed by it. I really would like to move to California, but I'm not sure I'd ever have the gumption the guy on the news last night had. They showed a resident of the area who had refused to leave his home in spite of evacuation orders. He was all singed, his eyebrows half missing, his face reddened by the heat. He'd spent days hosing down his property to keep the flames surrounding his home at bay. Apparently it worked, but my goodness is he lucky. Smoke inhalation alone could have--should have--killed him. But, he got to keep his house. You kind of have to ask what price you're willing to pay to save some memories, and a roof.

Exotic Employment

There are a lot of exotic places I've dreamed of living, and working. London may not be truly 'exotic' but to me it is. It's an overseas land, it's steeped in history, it has a different political hierarchy--it's beautiful. Finding a job would be vital prior to picking up and leaving the country to work in a foreign land however. It's possible though.

There are great ways to find jobs in London using companies geared toward finding work for you just as their are on this side of the 'pond'. Using them can make your efforts more beneficial and speedy, and have better results. Making sure that your London jobs really fit your criteria for payment and benefits, as well as your skills can be tricky on your own, especially if you're not right in the area, or accustomed to the surroundings.

You need to know if where you are looking for your jobs in London are in the area you wish to locate. A good job service can help you determine what is appropriate to the area of your choosing. Get the information you need and start looking for that exotic employement in London today. You might find yourself living in the land of the Queen before you know it.

Thin and Happy--Who Knew?

I read an article this morning on how a lack of sleep can make us irrational. There are a lot of things a lack of sleep can do, if you're dieting it can destroy your efforts by still making you store fat rather than burn it--part of the bodies self defense mechanism. It is such a vital area that I know occassionally I lack in. Take this morning for instance when I woke up several hours early and decided to come online instead of opting to try and get back to sleep. I think women have it particularly tough in the sleep deprevation area. Weight gain, irrational behavior, those are things we deal with plenty even with enough sleep. LOL. Okay that may have been a sexist statement, but I'm a woman so I can say it. It's true. I need to pay more attention to the amount of sleep I get. I could be a thin, and happy person--who knew?

A Girl Can Dream

Now that the kids are long since grown and out of the house, I'd love to create a movie watching atmosphere that is elegant and comfortable. The kind you see on the channels that show rich people's houses in their entertainment, or cinema rooms. Hubby and I love to watch movies and it would be wonderful to have home theater furniture and a huge screen, not just a big screen mind you, a HUGE screen. There are so many options available now that it really is possible. We have the room too. Our living room is really big and would easily accomodate some luxurious seating and a big screen. A girl can dream.

Enjoy The Show

When I was younger I used to love to go to concerts, the really head-banging type of hard rock concerts like Led Zepplin, Motley Crue, and such. Now a days I'm much more mellow and prefer the lovely music and scerene type of stage presence of artists that are more laid back. Artists whose fans are more laid back might be a better choice of words. Getting Celine Dion tickets would be a good choice. She has very dedicated fans but the atmosphere of that kind of concert is much more relaxed and enjoyable. There isn't the same type of frenzy, or when you come right down to it, dangerous element in the air. You can actually enjoy the show, and she does put on a beautiful show.

Perfect Lighting

I need to get better lighting in my kitchen. It drives me nuts. It's a big old country kitchen and you'd think that the sheer size of it would make for great lighting, but there are lots of cabinets and they block the light on the countertops. What's worse is the wiring in this house is ancient, and I had a huge problem with my office (old daughter's bedroom) ceiling light. Turned out to be a simple switch malfunction that hubby was able to fix in a matter of a few minutes after a trip to the store to get a new switch. I was so worried it was a short in a whire somewhere. Thank heavens it wasn't. It's wonderful to be able to once again go in my office and flip the switch and have there be light again. I was using an old desk lamp, but it wasn't in a good position for lighting. I much prefer overhead in my office area.

In The Country

The big thing online now is YouTube and free videos. I love to make my own, and I love watching other people's too. I sure wish I had high-speed internet, I'd be watching them a whole lot more than I do. As it is it takes me about an hour just to watch a short 2 or 3 minute clip so watching the longer ones is almost out of the question. When is the real world ever going to come to the country? That's the biggest drawback to living in the sticks. It takes forever for us to catch up to current technology, and when we finally do, that technology is old news, and there's something else that we won't get for decades that's 'in'.

In Your Own Backyard

'Man makes helicopter in backyard'... that was a headline today. I don't usually bother to read the articles, the headlines are usually funnier. But the thing is with the high-speed connections, and advanced technology of the internet, there's nothing we can't learn how to make. I watched a tv show a few weeks ago ... not sure but I think it was 'Icaught' where they showed how people can even learn how to make bombs on the Internet, and there were kids learning how to do it from simple household items and blowing things up in their backyards... is that safe? Probably not. It kind of amazed me how some of the parents reacted nonchalantly about their kids activities. It's kind of scary the things we can learn so easily now. In the old days if you wanted to learn how to build a bomb you had to do it the old-fashioned way, get in with a street-gang, or other criminal element, and learn from the pros. Hey, at least it was an apprenticeship program that hopefully would keep you from blowing off your own hand while you learned--right? More than that, it would keep average kids who didn't have access to street gangs, or hoodlums from practicing the fine art of explosives. What's this world coming to when any kid can learn to build a bomb, and Joe next door can build a chopper as a get-away vehicle?

Okay With Me

I've always been the Tomboy type, preferring slot cars, model airplanes, and jeans, to dolls and frilly clothes. I'm still like that more often than not. I prefer sweatpants to silk, messing around in the dirt with the animals to an afternoon tea, and wear makeup when the occassion warrants it, but it better not warrant it often.

I don't have anything against women who dress up every day, put makeup on before they ever think of leaving the house, it's just not me. I don't think I could ever be 'that' person, not happily anyway. Lately I've been feeling a little more 'dressy', but it's still me, it's still the woman who spends half her day playing in the dirt, and the other half shoveling it out of stalls. LOL It will always be that way until the day I die I suppose, and that's okay with me too.

Fine Tuned and in Good Working Order

I think it's important in life to do a 360 degree evaluation every once in a while. Sometimes you can get so caught up in what you are doing that you don't even realize when things aren't working right, or as efficiently as they could. That's true in business, and it's true in everyday life as well. If you're a business you have to do in depth analysis preferably done by professionals who know what they're doing, but if you're an individual who just needs to take stock in their lives, a little concentrated meditation will often do the trick. Clear out the cobbwebs and make sure everything is fine tuned and in good working order.

Maybe It's The Glitter

I've begun to wear jewelry a lot more lately, and have rekindled my love for diamond rings, necklaces and the sort. I've also come to realize there's a time and a place for all things in life. For instance, while you're banding a young goat may not be the best time to wear a diamond ring. While you're cutting down trees may not be the best time for long flowing necklaces. You think I'd know that by now, having lived on a farm for better than ten years, and such, but for the last ten years I really haven't been wearing jewelry much so the experience of doing things with fancy jewelry on really hasn't hit home until lately. Still, I think the animals are appreciating the 'new me' a lot lately. I've noticed some of the stallions looking at me with renewed interest. Maybe it's the glitter.

Sorting It Out

I watched Barak Obama on Jay Leno last night. I've never actually heard him speak. I've read about him, his issues, his stand on politics, but never really saw what a really enjoyable person he is to listen to. Leave it to the Democrats to have such smoothies running for office. I've always said I thought he was 'too smooth'. Really though I found him a lot more enjoyable to listen to than Hillary. I've never cared for her. I get a very sly vibe from her, always have even when she was first lady. I've said up until now that I don't really care for any of the candidates, but I think I've just changed my stance on that. I think I'll lean toward Barak. I still say you can't tell what a person is going to be like as a President just from campaign speaches, but you have to try and sort it out the best you can I suppose.

Waitakere World Junior Badminton Championships

For sports enthusiasts there's no better place to be than New Zealand for the Waitakere World Junior Badminton Championships 2007 from October 25-November 4. Get behind your favorite young athelete and experience the joy of competition while learning about a much under-appreciated sport. Teams from twenty-six countries will be competing for the World titles at The Trusts Stadium.

Auckland accomodations include beautiful scenery, and restaurants as well as fabulous Auckland hotels and other tourist attractions to keep you on your toes for your stay in the beautiful New Zealand countryside.

Enjoy all of the wonderous sporting endeavors for you and your family like sailing, and hiking as you experience the unique culture of Auckland. All of the fun and entertainment can be yours at great prices with your hotels in Auckland deals.

For more information on the Waitakere World Junior Badminton Championships 2007 and other spectacular events for you and your family check out visitor information here and get started on planing your amazing New Zealand vacation today.

Being A Better Person

An article on Yahoo this morning had a headline about how a sense of humor makes for a better boss, and working environment. Well don't you think that holds true to all aspects of life? I've found it to be true in my life I know. They say laughter is the best medicine, and it really is. It relieves high-blood pressure, stress, and makes you feel less fatigued. You have to have a sense of humor to get through life sometimes. Especially when it gets really tough, which it has a habit of doing. So smile, laugh, and see the humor in even the toughest of things, and you'll be a better boss, worker--person.

Asbestos Dangers

There are a lot of serious medical problems being advertised on commercials lately, like maliganant mesothelioma. This is a very serious problem and if you've been diagnosed with it and it was caused by asbestos exposure due to a job, or somebody else's property, or even inaccurate information about your own property then you have every right to find legal help in regards to the care and suffering encountered due to it. It's scary that we even need such commercials. What's very important is that those who suffer from this deadly cancer find a treatment center that is experienced in handling such a dire form of cancer and its specific needs. They also need a lot of emotional support from friends and family. There is no known cure for maliganant mesothelioma at the moment so they need to be sure their family is provided for and cared for in the future. What we need to do is find a way to make this type of exposure completely unacceptable. Alhtough I'm not sure it's even possible. I saw a news segment a few weeks ago where they were picking large pieces of asbestos off the beaches around lake Michigan. They don't know who to blame, but it has to be coming from somewhere.

Watch Out

I really need a new watch. I need one with a good second hand on it to help me get my pulse rate while exercising, and one that is easily readable. I like big watches too, not delicate little 'girly' watches. LOL I found some really cool looking Panerai watches that I really like. They're not cheap by any means, but they look fantastic and have lots of options to choose from. I've had my fill of cheap discount store type watches anyway. They work for a little while then stop keeping the right time much less anything else. I think I'll ask for one of these watches for my birthday.

Going On The Go

I love long road trips but the older I get the harder it is to hold 'my water' so to speak. I often think I should use some adult diapers, sometimes it seems like the gas stations and whatnot are so far apart. I read recently of a woman doing just that so that she didn't need to stop at all between one point and another because she was in a hurry to get where she was going, something about her husband having an affair. Sorry, but if that's the only reason, I think I'd take the time to make pitstops, it isn't all THAT vital to get there at any certain time.

Sin City

There are a few places I'd like to go on vacation that I haven't been to before. One is Las Vegas, another is London, and another is Paris. I'd love to stay at the Excalibur Las Vegas. It has such a cool theme, and looks very luxurious. I love King Arthur themed stuff, and all the movies and such, so staying there would be a real kick. I just really want to go to Vegas once before I die though. LOL I mean really everyone needs to visit sin city at least once in their lives.

Selling Out

Even though I once had a realator's license I think when we finally do decide to sell this house, which is an oft topic of conversation around here, I will look for a
realtor to handle the deal. It's been years since I had my license and even though I rememeber in real estate classes being told that I would forever have to 'disclose' my realator status when selling property, I have no clue any longer. The laws involving real estate are so complex. I do know that selling 'by owner' is probably the most dangerous thing you can do, and usually the most ineffective way to sell a piece of property, especially now in this depressed real estate market. I want someone who knows the business presently, and has access to as many sales venues as possible.

Beautiful Country

Sometimes living out in the middle of nowhere is fun. This is a little scene right outside my backdoor on my laundry lines.

Mr. Falcon flew in:

Stopped and set a spell:
Then looked about before taking off again:

I love those beautiful birds. This is the first Peregrine Falcon I've seen in this area though. I've seen lots of chicken hawks---truly hideous birds on the ground, although in the air they too are quite stunning.

Personally Boundaries

There's an article on Yahoo about when to hug, and when not to hug co-workers. Personally I'm a very 'touchy feely' type person, but I have to say I draw the line at hugging co-workers. I may pat someone on the back, or something for a job well done, but I just don't see the need for hugging anyone that isn't in my 'personal space' as a rule. If you're hugging someone that you aren't intimate with personally I think you have over-stepped your bounds no matter where you are, work or otherwise.

She's Back

It's been very 'blah' around here. At least for me. I don't know if any of you are affected by the change of seasons like that but I almost always am. The only seasonal change that does not have that affect on me is from Winter to Spring. That is a GREAT feeling, and I never get the blahs. Summer to Fall, Fall to Winter, and even Spring to Summer to a lesser extent always brings on the dooldrums. It passes. I feel much better today than I have all month. You can probably tell by my sporadic blogging that I haven't been up to speed just lately. I'm back. :)

Almost Twenty Five Years And Still Going Strong

I lost my wedding ring a long time ago. In recent years I've been wearing my husband's. It doesn't fit him anymore, and unfortunately (size wise that is) it does fit me. However, now that I'm losing weight it's getting loose. Soon I won't be able to wear it without risking losing it along with the weight. Next year will mark our 25th anniversary! (And hopefully the end of my dieting journey, so I'll be a normal, for me, ring size again.) We have decided to check out wedding bands and get ourselves a new pair to commemorate the occasion. I mean, hey, 25 years is a big deal. Who knows if we'll be around in 25 more? Either way, I know we'll be together if we are. :) A new ring will really show off that commitment.

Where The Sun is Hot, and So Are The Horses

Some of the most beautiful scenery is in Arizona, at least if you're a sun-lover like me. Scottsdale real estate is amazing. I love Scottsdale because it's the site of one of my favorite shows every year, the Arabian World Championships. I don't own any Arabians, but my best friend does, so guess who gets to be her groom each time? Hey, it's one way to get a free trip to a state I love to be in, and see some of the world's most beautiful horses.

Discovering the Intranet

Just about everyone knows what the Internet is, but how many people know what the 'Intranet' is? Using intranet software helps companies keep all of their employees on the same track through varied projects, and allows for inner-office communication, and even coast-to-coast satellite offices to be 'in the loop'. Epazz has a brilliant Intranet program that offers a 30-day free trial for your company, just call them to have it all set up. They will integrate it into your backend system, and offer you a total managed hosting situation. Give your company the very best in website management, groups scheduling, email solutions and much more. You will have a one-point secure access for all of the on-line services and complete support from Epazz all the way through. Find out how easy keeping everyone working together really can be with Epazz.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go for New Office Furniture

Bush furniture has some AMAZING office furniture. I'm trying to find a new desk set for my office to replace the anicient piece and mismatched arm, and cabinets I have now. I'm looking for something modernish yet with plenty of storage space and good setup for my computer system and all its components. There are a lot on the market but buying something you use as much as I use my desk means finding just the right match for personality and use, and equipment--I have A LOT of computer equipment and add-on components. Right now it takes up my entire desktop which makes for a really cramped working area. That's one of the main reasons for wanting a new set up. I'm kind of leaning toward the BUSH OFF 02 desk set. The 'Citizen' set is really clean and I like the lines, but it's not 'complicated' enough for me. I need something more along the lines of the 'Bush Off', or the 'Mission Pointe', although I do really like the Citizen's hutch....Hold the presses I just saw the Fairview Office Collection in Antique Black and Hansen Cherry Finish, ladies and gentlement I think we have a winner!

Techno Labeling

I was messing around taking pictures the other day and dropped my camera so I'm once again researching digital cameras. I loved my camera but that brand doesn't make the exact same camera anymore. Big surprise, right? It seems that technology is out-dated the moment you pass the cash at the register anymore. Mine was a few years old anyway, and that made it completely obsolete. It was a great camera though, and did the job proudly. Probably would have continued to for a long time had I not dropped it on the pavement outside. Deciding on something even as simple as a camera is painstaking for me. I am not a geek so I don't know everything there is to know about what makes a good camera, I only know if it takes good pictures after I've gotten in and had a chance to play with it, and it MUST be simple to use, because--again--I am not a geek. That's what I liked about my last camera. Simple, you had lots of settings to chose from but they were easy to understand: night, action, normal, and a few others I never used. In spite of that it was simple to use--point and click--that's my style, and managed to take great pictures in spite of the techno-moron that was using it. Technology should come with labels--moron safe. That would work for me!

Get Into The Thrill

I used to be very athletic, and involved in a great many sports from eventing on horseback, to barrel racing, to softball and basketball in school. I got away from that but am really trying to get back in the groove. You could say I'm single handedly reviving the workout DVD industry, and beginning to get back into various sports as well. When I get into a sport that means getting the gear necessary and it means shopping in places that carry specific items for that sport. If it's golf, which I've recently found a new affinity for I go to Callaway golf, for my horsie endeavors which I've never gotten out of, I go to more equine related sites. It only makes sense. Shopping at generic stores, or even 'all-around' sports places may get you some items of varying degrees of quality, but you won't necessarily get the items that will really fullfill your enjoyment of the game of your choice. Sometimes it's just a little thing, sometimes it's something really involved and complex, but in most cases those things aren't easily found at stores that aren't geared to a specific area. In my opinion it's one of the reason people try certain sports or exercises and give up, they never really experience the full thrill of that passtime.

Sorry Dear, You've Expired

I just read a headline that some German official thinks marriages should 'expire'. I can just see some husband rolling his wife over in bed and checking her forehead for an expiration date. How convienient if you've decided you don't want to hassle with the troubles of marriage, hey, sorry baby, you've expired! Marriages aren't a carton of sour cream, it's a dedicated effort to meet the demands of changing personalities, life stresses, and tragedies as well as joy together with someone you love. There really shouldn't be an expiration date on love.

A Ringer

You know you're loosing weight when the wedding rings you had to have re-sized to fit when you gained the weight suddenly need to be tapped, wrapped, or whatever (in this case tape was all I had available) to keep from falling off. Nice, and yet at the same time, I feel like a sixteen-year-old wearing somebody else's high school ring that's two sizes too big. Remember those days? The big bulky yarn wrapped around the back of a school ring from your boyfriend? LOL I'll tell you though, these poor rings (engagement, and wedding) are sure getting a work-out through the years with the up-sizing, and down-sizing. Hopefully this will be the last of it.

Defending Britney

I'm not used to being put in a position to defend the likes of Britney Spears. All the junk this last week however, that's being spewed about her appearance on the MTV awards show is just crazy. Granted she's no role model, or even model citizen, but fat? Goodness gracious how should that make women like ME feel? I'm working my butt off to lose weight and get fit but if THAT'S America's view of FAT then I may as well just toss in the towel. As for her lack-luster dancing, okay, hey, it happens. Apparently her 'planned' routine was nixed at the last minute and she had to throw something together she was obviously uncomfortable with. I've read some remarks that her 'handlers' shouldn't have let her go on... oh sure, that wouldn't have made headlines everywhere with words like 'diva', 'undependable', etc, etc... She was damned if she did, and damned if she didn't, but overall it was a fiasco that didn't really happen. How dare anyone call that woman fat, or even talk about her bad performance, I dare anyone that says that to get up on stage in front of a television audience of millions and do anything at all.

Judging Your Routes

I have often used online map sources to plan out my trips and get to where I'm going with no hassle, but this is even better. With traffic report you get in the moment information when you need it most to decide on which routes to take, and how to get where you're going with the least amount of effort and distress. I sure could have used that on the occassions when I've taken a planned route only to find out a bridge was closed as happened on our Iowa trip. What a pain that was and then we had no way to be sure of our 'alternate route' either. With traffic report you can get information on your PC, or even your iphone.

"TrafficGauge device offers real-time traffic anytime, anywhere with the TrafficGauge handheld, TrafficGauge for Cell, TrafficGauge for PC, TrafficGauge for Widget Suite and TrafficGauge for iPhone. Each product or service offers simple to use and easy to read traffic maps. These maps are the best in the industry. The device is an award winning, customer-loving favorite for navigating traffic in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. The cell phone and PC/Mac software is free and works in most major metropolitan markets."

Home Shopping

Finding discount furniture stores online is easier than you might think, I prefer buying everything online and having it shipped to me. It saves all the hassle of driving to the store and hoping they have something that I'll like in stock. Everything's 'in stock' online. I've found the selections so much better too at places like Boyles.com and others. I'm not limited to the space a physical store has in regards to what it carries, or even local 'tastes'. You can usually find much better deals too, and having it delivered right to you is about the simplest way of shopping I can think of.

Blinded By The Light

I received my new blinds on Thursday and oh man are they beautiful! I love the way they look. The wood blinds and Faux wood blinds, which is what I ordered, from Blinds Chalet look magnificient! I love the molding that they come with too that goes across the top of the blinds to hide the mechanism that most blinds just leave out there for everyone to see. It creates an elegant image and the perfect finishing touch. They were so easy to install too! I love the look of the faux wood blinds too. They're 'warmer' than the standard aluminum, or pvc type blinds, and a much thicker and wider slat that gives them plenty of substance. I've waited a long time, and searched a lot of places for the perfect set of blinds to put in my living room window, and I'm so glad I didn't settle for anything less than the fantastic selection and quality of Blinds Chalet window blinds. They had so many styles and options to choose from it was incredibly difficult to settle on just one type. I'm already thinking about which of their styles would look best in my family room to replace the standard aluminum blinds in there. Best of all, with our new living room blinds, we're no longer blinded by the southern exposure that would come through that window if the shades weren't completely drawn. Now we can chose what level of light comes in without it being all or nothing. Now I'm just blinded by their beauty!

Get In The Game

It only makes sense that if you are going to actually 'get in the game' and play the sports you love to watch, you look the part. Looking the part is important because the gear worn wether it's football, tennis, golf, or swimming developed the way it did for a purpose. So getting the top of the line golf apparel ladies wear if you're a female playing golf, or the best shoulder pads if you're going to play football is as important as how you prepare to get in the game, or how you tone up your body to meet the physical challenges of your favorite sport.

Into The Game

Sports aren't something I get into in a big way, but my husband, and many of my friends, even women, really do love watching the games on TV whether it's Tennessee football, Chicago basketball, horse racing, or even tennis, there are few exceptions to the devotion... maybe golf, but that's just in my circle, obviously even that has a great following who will watch every stroke on the tube. They'll watch the replays, the commentaries, and endless shows disecting every moment of each game for hours. Somehow it makes them feel like they have an interest in the athletes themselves, or even a place in that life. I guess I can understand that.

One of Those Days

There are days that just end up being an emotional wasteland. Days like today are ones you know you would have been better off never getting out of bed because nothing is going right. You can't force it to go right, you can't do anything and it makes you feel so powerless... and it's only 10:39 in the morning. Okay, one good thing just happened, I saw a payment come in through my email notification for a job invoice. That doesn't quite negate all the 'wrong' things this morning already, but maybe it is an indication that the day isn't going to be a total wash.

I Need To Go To Vegas

I have always wanted to travel to Las Vegas. My husband was there once. It was a medical conference, and the kids were still at home, and therefore, so was I. When he came back he was full of tales of the magnificient Las Vegas Hotels and casinos. The fabulous nightlife, and the glitter and lights not to mention the great shows.

Everytime we talk about taking a vacation I mention Las Vegas. I want to stay in one of the beautiful, luxurious Las Vegas Hotels, and eat at the terrific restaurants, see the shows, especially one of the impersonator shows, they always look so cool on TV. I want to gamble--just a little mind you, but I want to do it just to say I have. I don't expect to win, I know I won't. I just want to play.

That's what's so great about Las Vegas I think. It's a big people playground. You can't possibly run out of things to do, and you can do it twenty-four hours a day. When you're tired you crash in the Las Vegas Hotels, and then get up and start all over again. I need a vacation, and I need to go to Vegas!

Diet Mentality

This is a quote from the 'Spark People' website that I hope they don't mind me sharing. It's from one of their fantastic weight loss articles. The entire site is amazing and anyone looking to live healthier, and/or lose weight should check it out! IT'S FREE and it's marvelous. Look for http://www.sparkpeople.com today and see what a great benefit it can be to you. (No this isn't a paid ad, I LOVE the Spark People website)

Anyway, here it is:

…you starve during the day and gorge during the evening.
You might think that eating as little as possible throughout the day will help you lose weight. Perhaps you skip breakfast altogether and only eat a small snack during the day. But if you don't fuel your body regularly throughout the day, you're more likely to binge in the evening—at dinner and into the late evening. Plus, without adequate nutrition all day, your metabolism will wane, and slow, making your energy levels low and weight loss even harder.

(I messed up with the formating here and couldn't change it, the quote ends here, below is not a quote it's my comment, lol.)

That was so 'me'. Since I've stopped doing that I've lost TWENTY FIVE pounds. Okay, okay, I've also added a lot of exercise and made sure what I ate was the RIGHT thing to eat, but I've done all that before with little luck until I realized thanks to them that I was looking at my 'diet' all wrong. Not eating enough, and often enough was a huge trap.

Permanent Choices

I need a new ceiling fan in the kitchen. Ours is at least twelve years old (it came with the house), outdated, and feeling its age from the sound of it. There are so many fantastic styles and choices in ceiling fans now that it's hard to choose which one I want to spend my life with. Those types of things are sort of like choosing a mate. haha. When things are permanently attached to a wall or ceiling it's a lot more important, at least it feels that way.

Craftmade ceiling fans are some of my favorites in my choices so far. Their 19th century fan looks almost identical to the one I have now, except that it's a little tighter to the ceiling which is something else I love about it. We have such low ceilings in our home that the closer to the ceiling the fans can be the better. Then again, so many of their other styles appeal to me with their clean, smooth lines, they are very modern, and would probably suit the style of the house, and my decor much better. The early century fan up there now kind of stands out of place.

I wish they'd had Fanimation ceiling fans when my kids were living at home, they're beautiful and would have been perfect for their rooms. Their Tahiti fan is so whimsical and cool my daughter would have loved it, and the surfboard fan would have delighted my son.

Actually since I'm using my daughter's old room as an office now, that Tahiti fan is really calling out to me too.

What's In Your Cabinet?

What's in your cabinet? Kind of makes me think of that commercial 'what's in your wallet?' I haven't given much thought to our medicine cabinet lately, but having important first aide supplies on hand is necessary. It should be a necessity in every home. When my kids were younger it was never something I had to 'think about', we just had everything. I think people with kids are just like that. Kids are always scraping, falling, banging... so there is an ever constant need for the little necessities like band-aides, tape, gauze, peroxide, antibiotic cream etc. Those people without children, and those of us whose children are grown and gone sometimes have more trouble remembering to keep the medicine cabinet stocked with such little things though. We tend to be a little more careful about our bodies than the average four-year-old, lol.

The whole issue came to light for me the other night when I was doing dishes. More careful than a four-year-old or not I did something stupid, I was rinsing out the blender and rather than take it all apart just to use it again for a late night fruit blend I was just rinsing it and I decided to make sure nothing was under the blade, so I 'carefully' put the sponge in there. For my own record, I really thought I was being careful... jammed my finger right into the blade... so much for careful.

It really wasn't all that bad, but it needed a band-aide. Calling for hubby... need a band-aide. He came running with one band-aide and an empty box. This is it he said, hope it's enough. Well it was, but how do you get so low on something so ordinary? I just don't think about checking those things before I go to the store. A few weeks ago I needed some peroxide for a scratch I'd gotten outside... none.

Time to resupply that medicine cabinet. How about you? What's in your cabinet?

Me Time

One of the tips the diet site I found has is using skin care products like vitamin rich lotions on the skin to help the elasticity of the skin as it needs to shrink back. It can help with the stretch marks, and wrinkles as well. No sense in working so hard to look good again only to end up looking like a prune, or like someone deflated me. It feels good too. Spending just a few minutes a day taking care of my skin makes me feel refreshed and re-viatalized. It's a 'me' time. You don't realize how often you forget to take some time just to make yourself feel good when you get involved in a hectic life. Everything moves so fast. It only takes a couple of minutes to make all of that disappear and feel good again.

Help With The Cycles of Life

I could have used some progesterone creme this week. It was 'that time' and usually I don't have a lot of PMS but it was pretty hard this week. Maybe it's the new diet. I'm just happy that's over. It seems to be a lot different now that I'm older too. Things don't work the way they used to, or I react differently to them. I didn't even know you could topically apply progesterone but it sinks in through the skin, and prevents a lot of problems from weight gain to preventing breast cancer. It's amazing how much women don't even know about the things like that.

Anyway to Make a Buck

There was a headline this morning that 'dog chewed Michael Vick trading cards' were all the rage now. That's so funny it's sad. The whole scandal is just so blown out of proportion, even Vick's father is 'cashing in' on his son's misfortune with a tell-all book. Now I say 'misfortune' in the most tongue in cheek way, I mean he did it to himself, but still, he's just a man who did something horrible but going on and on about it, and people crying over it because it was HIM, and the news going on and on about it. Get over it, get on with your life, it happened, he should be punished but he's not some fallen god, he's just a man who committed a nasty crime. I have a friend who tells me all of Atlanta is mourning and sad over this fallen 'hero'. (She lives in Atlanta.) Come on people he wasn't a 'hero' he is a man. We put people on pedestals too often. It's crazy. It just breeds insanity like the dog chewed trading cards. Anyway to make a buck though, I guess.

Beauty At The Curbside

Nothing adds cool curb appeal to a home than really nice residential mailboxes. The Mailboxixchange has some really great boxes for either home, or business use. Their commercial mailboxes are sharp and crisp and give a professional polish to a storefront, or building. No matter what type of mailbox you use, or where you need it you'll be able to be proud of the way it gives your home that finishing touch, or your business that sparkle.

Even out in the country where we live our mailboxes aren't just utilitarian, they give people a small peek at 'who we are' by their style, and how they're kept. First impressions may not always be fair, but they are there. People can't help but notice things like that.

Make sure your mailbox gives people the impression you want it to, and find out how you can even earn money by becoming an affiliate. You can earn twenty dollars just for signing up for free. How beautiful is that?

It's TRUE

Okay, I actually read the article now... Nicole Richie really did only spend less than an hour in jail to serve what was supposed to be a 1-day sentence... boy she and Paris really have it made... first of all, WHO GETS A ONE DAY SENTENCE for driving the WRONG way on the freeway UNDER the influence? Dang... I'm movin' to California, but then again, I'm not rich and famous.

Doin Time

Did I read the headline right this morning? Nicole Richie spent 68 MINUTES in jail? It was something like that. I have to go back and actually read the article, I mean there has to be SOME explanation for that-right? Come on, I mean MINUTES. Not 68 hours, days, weeks, months--MINUTES. Even being rich and famous can't account for that. Heck even Paris Hilton did better than 68 minutes. What? Did Richie go into labor the moment she walked into her cell? That might explain a 68 minute jail sentence. Or did she get a rash like her pal Hilton? See, Paris paved the way and showed Nicole all the excuses. A lot of times I'm just cruising through the 'home page' and don't take the time to read the articled, but most of the time the headlines are funnier than the actual article anyway, but oh man, I have to go back and read that article.

New Diet, New Views

I've been learning a lot of new things on this diet. I really didn't think I could. I know that sounds egotistical but hey, I took a test at the start of this one and even it called me a 'diet guru'... but see, I know a lot of the right things, I just never put them into action... at least not for very long. What has dawned on my 'guru' mind is that I've always considered them 'diets'. Diets are something you go on and off of at a certain point. What I needed to think of them as is lifestyles. A new way to live. Diets are for those folks needing to loose 10 maybe 20 pounds. If you need to lose more than that, you probably need to change the way you live. Not some quick fix diet, a long term healthier way of eathing. I think, I hope I'm on the right track now.

The Blog World

The Internet has become such a fascinating place, I still boggle over it sometimes. In just maybe 20 years it has turned into a world of its own and yet expands the actual world we live in in ways that sometimes I'm not sure we really comprehend. Blogs too... those even in a much shorter time. I think it was maybe 6 or 7 years ago when I first heard the word 'blog'. My son had opened up a MySpace blog and it was just really a bunch of teens mostly keeping journals and being 'friends'... then slowly it evolved into something that was at first the same, and yet totally different. Now you can still find millions of blogs that are just 'journals' of everyday life. Big friend communities that keep track of the daily lives of each other from all over the globe, but it's sure not just teens anymore. You can also find extraordinarily informative blogs about many things, and even specific subjects of just about any nature. And the most amazing part of all is the unlimited nature of it. There is no 'ceiling' where it has to end. It can go on for ever and get as big as it will without ever hitting a wall. That itself is hard to comprehend. A world without limits of space.

Exotic Travel

Easily one of the most recognizable tourist attractions in the world, the Sidney Opera House is amazing, and beautiful all by itself. It is also one of the top Opera houses in the world and home to all forms of beautiful performace art such as ballet, opera, and symphony performances. It's said that the opera house put the continent on the map. I don't know about that. Austraila is a wonderful, exciting, and thrilling place even without the Opera house. I'd love to see Australia and stay in one of the Sidney hotels so I could look out at the magnificent shoreline and the beautiful Opera house every morning. Or in one of the Melbourne Hotels

Australia is such a contrast of modern beauty and primitive wilderness and wildlife. There are plenty of tourist attractions in the big cities and lots of 'outback' tours that are exciting. It's another of the places I'd love to visit. It's not romantic like Paris, it's raw and energetic.

Brisbane is one of the Austrailian cities you hear so much about. It's easy to find affordable Brisbane hotels and the culture is more upper European. You're more likely to feel like you just stepped out of a London building than onto the Austrailian continent when heading out into the city for the day. Brisbane even has its own football team--the Broncos for the sports enthusiast traveling abroad.

New Tech--Time Travel?

Can you believe this? I just lost an entire post thanks to a Blogger error. That's enough to make you want to give up on all technology. I was writing about the headline stating that some new thoughts may unlock the keys to time travel and how that will eventually cause the collapse of all gambling including lottery because like Bob and I so often say 'how cool would it be to be able to go forward and get the winning lottery numbers and then come back and play those numbers'. Of course, we can never afford the new technology when it first comes out so we'd be out of luck once more because by the time prices on new and used time machines dropped to where we could afford one, gambling wouldn't exist anymore.

Fixing The Old

My battered old sewing machine has been getting a bit of a workout lately since I've been loosing a few pounds. I wonder how many people anymore actually sew their own clothes, or even do simple alterations? It is such a throw-away society now that we tend to throw things out and go buy new ones if something doesn't fit anymore, or breaks. I like sewing. I'm not really good enough to make my own really complicated clothes but I've made quite a few pairs of pants, and simple shirts and tank tops. With a little time I could probably do some more elaborate work, but finding the time for it is difficult. Still it makes me feel good when I can fix a pair of pants, or a shirt rather than having to just toss it away, even if I can get a new one for a cheap price.

Road Trip!?

Oh, I almost had an opprotunity to take a road trip. I'm just a little too far off the path that the crew was going to take. They're heading out from Florida and heading to Las Vegas in an RV! What an exciting trip to go on. Too bad they're not even touching Illinois much less within a reasonable distance from me on their route. I checked though, I'd need a whole new set of luggage if I were to even think of going anywhere. I don't think it would be too classy to show up in a big hotel with paper bags holding my clothes. I had a really nice set of luggage but my daughter never returned them after her honeymoon. It was time I got a new set anyway. You never know when the next opprotunity for a road trip will pop up.

Better Desks

I wish my office were just a little bit bigger so I could get one of those big executive desks type sets they have out there. I'd like a big mahongany one with a book case behind it, and a computer cabinet. I've even seen one that the monitor hides under the desk and is viewable by a clean window so you still have your desk top, that one was amazing--and big. That's the problem, all of those sets are so big usually. They're beautiful though, and anyone with enough room in their office for one really deserves to make themselves feel like the top executive they are. Nothing makes for a better place to work than a beautiful desk, and a better place to work means better productivity since you like being there so much.

Good Vs Bad Of Working From Home

Sometimes working from home can be the epitome of frustration--like this morning for instance. Nothing is going right and I am about to pull my hair out--the good thing about working from vs. working in an office on a time clock? I get to stand up from my desk and walk away rather than burst into tears because I want to toss my computer out the window. On the other hand, some of the things that are frustrating wouldn't have happened in an office, first off-I missed a bunch of ops because I couldn't get online this morning thanks to a thunderstorm, second one of the programs I normally work with kept screwing up. Plus, even if I were pulling my hair out in an office on a time card and getting nothing at all done, they'd still have to pay me... so there's a definate downside too. At least I don't have to worry about getting an ulcer... that's good because working from home means no health insurance either.

Traveling Abroad

I've always wanted to travel abroad, especially Paris. That has to be the most romantic place to visit. Even hotels in Paris are romantic. There is something about their architecture and style, it matches everything about the country. The Louvre would be amazing too. I've always wanted to see the magnificent artwork of Di Vinci, and Monet, but I didn't know that the Louvre was once the residence of the Kings of France! I've only seen it in movies, and of course made most popular by the Di Vinci Code just seeing the splendid interior in the movies I can see Kings and their courts strolling down the stately hallways.

Then there's the entertainment like the club Lido. Cabarets where you can imagine the characters from the movie of the same name during the war reaching out to you through their modern counterparts. I imagine staying in any of the hotels in France and walking out onto the street in the dusky morning air and seeing artists on the street painting. Or waking up in my Paris hotel and seeing the Eiffel tower out of my window. Eating cheese and sipping wine on the terrace while the city moves about below. It would be the perfect vacation.

Working From Home is Easy?

Yahoo had an article this morning about the high percentage of people who work from home now, and how easy it is to find work from home opprotunities, or as they're sometimes called 'telecommute' positions. While it mentioned the scams out there in the title, they didn't hit upon the vast amount of home working scams out there in the article itself. There ARE real honest work from home opprotunities, but the scams far outweight them, and if you are really interested in working from home you have to be prepared to wade through a lot of bull before you get to the biscuits.

I'd say the percentage is about 10 to 1. Actually there are far more scams out there than a 10 to 1 percent BUT once you begin to recognize them for what they are, the number of times you'll even bother inquiring about something you have even a skeptical reason for believing you'll find your average in the 10/1 ratio. For every 10 things I check out, only 1 ends up being a real legitimate opprotunity with a true potential.

As you start looking for work from home opprotunities remember ONE thing as you look and you'll be a step ahead and be in the 10/1 catagory right off the bat: NEVER PAY SOMEONE FOR INFORMATION. If an ad says just sent 10.95 .... or any price... smile to yourself and think 'next'. You'll be on the right track and headed toward finding a real work from home career.

Get Your Heart Pumping

This is an awesome device that you can use to determine the oxygen level in your blood stream--and your pulse rate.


It is especially handy if you have oxygen related troubles like COPD it could even be useful for those in a hard core exercise program to determine the effectiveness of your cardio, and toning exercises. The pulse oximeter is small, lightweight, durable, and easy to use. It works on battery power, and turns off automatically to conserve the battery life. The pulse rate indicator would be really good for after a cardio workout too in order to determine your peak abilities.

Potter, and Time Moves On

Jamaica is bracing for a hit from hurricane Dane, and J K Rowlings is writing a new book, and the world is moving along as planned. JK has said it's unlikely she'll ever have the same success again as she had with the Harry Potter series, notice the word unlikely -- leaving it open for the possibility, after all, her name alone will sell the next one no matter what. Whether she ever does or not, the over 1 billions dollars netted from the books, movies, and Potter toys has set this once struggling single mother up for life. The real story is more of a fairy tale come true than the books ever could be.

Mining deaths

The leading stories in the news is about the Utah miners that were trapped and now the deaths of three of the rescue workers. What a horrible ordeal for the families involved. The rescue attempts have been halted with the new collapse, and from the outside it's easy to say that they shouldn't have even done it in the first place. The mine is obviously dangerous. How hard it must be for the families involved though, to have to accept the fact that their loved ones are gone, not knowing if they're still alive or not. The news reports even early yesterday still called for hope that the oringinal miners were alive, although I fail to see how after a week underground. It's hard to give up hope without knowing for sure though. I feel horrible for the families and my thoughts and prayers go out to them, and to the loved ones of the miners killed yesterday as well.

Never Pay To Work

Have you ever fallen for one of those paid infomercials on tv? I did last weekend. Oh me. LOL Now I have to deal with the money lost until I get a refund -- IF they are true to their money back guarantee. It was one of those get rich on real estate ads. I know better too. Really I do. First of all it violated my steadfast rule of NEVER paying someone to work for them, or even to learn how to work. Second I'd written a great many articles on this particular real estate scam. To my credit I'll say that at first the informercial didn't sound like the same thing. Anyway, I learned my lesson. Now I've bought things from television ads before and been very satisfied, but that was for products, not work-from-home type stuff. There are legitimate work from home things, I do them, but NEVER pay to do them! Now to go and stand in front of a mirror and repeat that mantra to myself a hundred times or so, since it seems I need a refresher course.

Buffet Tip?

Here's a question I've had on my mind for a while. If you go to one of those buffet types of restaurants that are popping up all over the place, do you leave a tip? Each different buffet has a different level of service. For the ones that do absolutely nothing other than grabbing dishes from tables I tend to think no. For the ones that come and at least deliver drinks to you along with getting the dishes okay some--maybe not as much as a full-serve restaurant. Then again, I really don't like the ones you have to rely on a waitress for a drink from. Sometimes they're too busy, but beyond that, what if you want a different type of drink? There's even one buffet style of restaurant you have to declare your drink when you pay at the register before hand--and they charge you seperately for the drink.

Can you tell I know too much about the buffet style of restaurants. Being on a diet I'm not likely to see the inside of those for a while now anyway.

You Are Never Too Old To Learn To Live Right

I've been dieting lately, and using my new Total Gym, which I LOVE. As of last Saturday I've lost 12 pounds and a total of 8.5". I try hard not to weigh myself more often in order to avoid getting over-anxious, or depressed if it's not moving fast enough. I'll be happy with 2 pounds or so a week, plus some inches off.

What I've learned about my diet is the most valuable thing, however. I've learned that it's not the amount of calories I had been eating. I always thought it was unfair that even though I only ate between 1200 and 1600 calories a day depending on the day, I was still overweight and would gain rather than loose weight, where others seemed to eat as much but were thin as rails. I discovered something I should have learned a long time ago. It's not how much I was eating, but rather, how I was eating it.

In my normal day I would eat nearly all of the calories at my dinner time, around 6 or 7 pm. I usually never ate breakfast, rarely ate lunch, and maybe remembered to get a snack or something around 3 or 4... maybe. Most times I would just pile on everything into dinner.

Quite often during those times I'd awaken in the middle of the night hungry. That didn't make much sense to me, but I wouldn't be able to sleep until I gave in and ate something, even if it was just a piece of bread, or whatever was available and fast.

With my new diet I actually eat 6 to 7--- yes SEVEN times a day!

I eat very healthy and base it on the food pyramid but it's very, very much the same foods I would have eatten before. I have always liked vegetables, and fruits, although I admit I didn't have much fresh fruit around because it is both expensive and hard to keep. But with a little extra effort I have been keeping enough fresh fruit around to include it in my everday meal plan. I usually have low-fat yogurt for a snack which is not somethihng I used to have only because it's a bit pricey, but I have always liked it. Now I make the effort to buy enough to have one or two a day.

When it is all said and done however, it wasn't the foods, or the amounts, it was a matter of breaking it up over a period of time throughout the day. Always having a light breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, dinner, a snack and then if I stay up late enough another snack.

It is still the same amount of calories, and I am NEVER hungry. I do not even wake up in the middle of the night hungry anymore.

The thing is if you eat that often, every 2 or 3 hours, even if it is just a container of yogurt for a snack, it sparks your metabolism and keeps it reving and burning calories.

If you only eat once or twice a day, even three times a day, your metabolism slows down and doesn't burn enough. It starts to 'save' calories. We don't need that now do we?

You never are too old to realize what you've been doing wrong.

Great Hobbies

Speaking of getting a new house, Bob and I were talking the other day about what we're going to do, if we're going to move, if we're going to move somewhere we can have the animals, or not. Personally I wouldn't mind not... but he was worried that when he was ready to retire--soon, he'd have nothing to do if we didn't have the farm. He didn't have any hobbies. I reminded him how much we used to love RC cars, and planes, and boats back before we moved down here to the country. We'd build them all the time and take them out to the street, or for the planes there was a local RC airplane club that had a 'strip' not too far from home and we'd go there and fly, or we'd go down the river that was about a block away and put out the boats. It was loads of fun, and not nearly as much 'heavy' work as the animals. I'd like to do something like that. I'm getting kind of old to be doing all the manual labor of farm life.

Light Up

I went to a friend's house the other day that had a beautiful chandalier, it reminded me of a kichler lighting fixture that I'd seen here online. I'd love something like that if I had an entryway, or a higher ceiling. There are so many beautiful lighting styles though. I like wall lighting, and I like floor lighting. I've always had lots of table lamps but that can be so inconvienient. If you're not sitting in the right place, the light isn't good. I've seem some beautiful floor lamps and they make more sense, if you need to you can move them to just the right spot. I'll never have ceilings high enough for a chandelier though, not if I stay where I'm at.

Hollywood Rehab Is Still Rehab

With all the talk about Paris, and all the rest of Hollywood and their ins and outs of rehab, drug rehab is getting a bad rep. It's sure not the fault of the rehab centers. They can't control the people. What are they supposed to do, tie them down and handcuff them to steel bars? Rehab is alot about the help, but it's MORE about the individual and their ability to reform, or want to. That's really the hard part, and it is for any addict, not just a Hollywood star or starlette. They may have more individual triggers, but for anyone, that pull back to the 'life' of addiction is so very strong. It's really easy to let your head talk you back into it even if it KNOWS it shouldn't. Good help with drug rehab is essential. For many addictions there is just no way to do it alone.

A Full Diet Plan

I'm on a new diet now. I won't tell you how much I have to loose but lets just let it go at -- it's a substantial amount. I am watching what I eat, and I even bought a new weight machine for the house. It's great. I love it. I've been using it for a couple days and I feel terrific. I think I need to really get started right with cleaning out my system though. I'm drinking lots of water so that is great for cleaning out the kidneys, but one area no one talks about because it's kind of icky is how much junk your colon builds up over the course of a year, much less years upon years. There are some great products available to do a colon cleanse. You can do it right from your home. It doesn't require a trip to the doctor, or anything at all, and it flushes all the built up toxins that lodge in that area. It's not pleasant to think about, but it is something everyone should consider.

The Just Before Payday Blues

Getting paid every two weeks is a real pain in the butt, but that's pretty common with most companies now. Getting paid twice a month is even worse. The stretch seems unbearable sometimes. Right now I'm working for a company that pays twice a month. It sounds like it should be the same as every two weeks, but it's not. Not quite. Most months it does work out to every fifteen days so that would be about every two weeks, but then there are other months, when there are five weeks even with the same number of days... please don't ask me how that works, but it just does. Those months feel like they go on forever when you are only getting paid twice a month. There are times like right now, when normally I would have gotten paid last Friday if it were every two weeks, but I am still waiting on my payment that will probably happen in the next two days that I'm biting my nails in anticipation so I can pay bills and do silly things like buy grocieries. Times like this I really think about getting a payday loan. It would only be for a day or two. It would let me get the things I need and pay the bills I need to pay when I need to do it. They are pretty helpful when you have an emergency too and payday is still a week away. I've had that happen. Car breaks down. Never a little thing when that happens. Air conditioner goes out--just last week during a major heat wave. Isn't that always when they go out?

Oh well, only a few more days.

Special Moments

I can't wait for my pay this week. Hubby and I want to go to a concert next month and I didn't tell him but I'm going to surprise him by getting the concert tickets online. It's not very often we agree on a particular concert or performer. Our marriage has always been based on I love you even if I think you're crazy. Every once in awhile a moment comes along when we actually like the same thing at the same time. That's such a special occassion that I really have to commemorate it by being the one to get the tickets.

Summer Shows

I just got back from a local horse show. I always take along some of the personalized cups, pens, and date books and those types of things that I have for promotion of both the farm, and my writing. Today however, I think hubby and I used the cups more than we gave them away. We did give out lots of pens and calendar books though. I love going to the shows even when we're not actually showing. It's like a big party with all your friends you only get to see when the shows are around. I even got to see a friend from Missouri that I hadn't seen in over a year. We sat around with our drinks, just kicking back in the lawn chairs while the show went on around us and caught up on all the things that have been going on in our lives and before you know it the day was almost over. That's the real thrill of showing. All the hard work of prepping the animals and showing them is just a side benefit.

City Life

Besides all the beautiful new homes being built out here in the country just plain acerage and real estate like that is going through the roof price wise. That's nice since I'm in the process of considering my options for selling my house and moving someplace where hubby and I want to retire, but the double whammy is wherever we want to move is apt to be expensive too. I'm beginning to lean more towards getting a real estate agent to find us a nice town home, or condo and forgetting about owning any amount of land. There are a lot of benefits to condo living that I can really appreciate more and more as I get older and the yard work gets harder. I grew up in the suburbs so city living isn't totally foreign to me, although it would take some getting used to again. There are lots of perks to the convienience of city life though. It's getting very tempting.

Apparently Usher called off his wedding to Tamika this weekend. I feel sorry for them, it seems like the pressure got to be too much for them. Not only did Usher's family hate the girl, but his fans were merciless. That has to be tough to deal with. On the one hand you might think 'well they have to learn to just ignore all the talk', and of course they do, and I'm sure Usher probably has, but for someone not used to that type of thing it has to be really hard to deal with emotionally. Fans get way too carried away. I've seen in on all kinds of message boards and fan sites for all different artists. They're the ones that have to learn how to 'chill' and leave those people alone.

Gorgeous New Home

There is a beautiful luxury home being built not too far from me. When you consider where I live out in the middle of corn fields and cows it seems kind of out of place. Most homes built now though are magnificient mansion looking types of places. I can't say I'm not a bit envious--becasue I am. I have a very nice three thousand square foot home, but it's just a regular run of the mill ranch house. Nothing as spectacular as those new homes that you find popping up everywhere. I'd love to be able to get a house like that someday. Maybe when we retire.

Death Kitty?

Have you heard about the 'nursing home cat'? It seems there is this cat that can predict with sort of freightening accurracy when patients in the nursing home where he lives will pass on. If he goes up and lays with a patient, within four hours the patient is dead. Jay Leno had a funny skit on it asking if the nursing home attendants didn't just think 'maybe the patients are allergic to cats'. What's REALLY scary is that yesterday one of my cats who is normally very cuddly and lovey, but not overly insistant about it suddenly would not leave me alone. The moment I sat down anywhere this cat jumped up on me and cuddled and lay down to fall asleep. Hubby looked at me at one point and offered that 'maybe she's trying to tell you something'. I have to admit I was a little afraid to go to sleep last night. HAHA, but I'm still here this morning, so either she was wrong, or I just got lucky.

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