My Grandad

This is my Grandad, Robert Lee Campbell.
He was always a formidable strong man, who commanded respect and a slight tinge of fear from most people.  He is my grandad; Lovable, adoring, and always laughing. He lives in North Carolina, far from us in Florida, and visits are very few and far between.  When we do visit an hour is about all he can really take, really concentrate and focus. I have been with my husband for 5 years, and this winter he met my grandad for the first time.  He was unable to come to our wedding, too frail to travel, so we made him his own wedding book with photos.  His wife, Nadine, says he showed it off to the nurses and others when he was ill in the hospital.  Nadine takes great care of him and we couldn't appreciate that more.

I hope he is proud of me. I think he is, and I think he is proud of my dad and the man he has become.    I know it is hard for my dad to se his father wither away before our eyes, but I know he appreciates the time he gets to spend with him.  We wish he were closer so we could have more hour long visits with him.  But alas, I think this is where he will stay until the end.

To my grandad, I love you!!

Christmas Spirit

This is the first year in many that I think I have felt what one might call the "Christmas Spirit."  I have no real reason to have not felt this feeling in the last few years. I feel like there has been some selfishness on my part causing me to not respond to holiday cheer, but instead to focus on me and probably Steven.  I spent eons focusing on others, with not too much in return.  I admit I have felt under-appreciated at times, but not neglected in any way.
So to have this feeling crop up this year feels good.
A study was conducted in 2007 on developing a way to measure Christmas spirit. Full article here: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/promo/xmas/a_measure.pdf.
"Ultimately, people with strong, positive feelings and judgements about Christmas would have a high level of Christmas spirit that influences the conduct of Christmas activities in a happy and cheerful manner."

I am not religious and therefore, do not celebrate Christmas in that manner.  I do however, embrace the idea of good will towards man, and that Christmas sees an increase in this goodwill.  
I have increased my tipping at restaurants, wanting to provide some additional funds for wait staff at this time of year, bought magazines by those door to door saleskids (sucker I know), and bought little trinkets in an effort to say "thank you for all you have done this year." It has made me feel good, and increased my holiday outlook. I define my holiday outlook as, the world is a better place, and will continue to be a better place as long as people "pay it forward" in their Christmas spirit. Spreading Christmas like a virus I suppose.

So Merry Christmas to all, or Happy Holidays, whichever your prefer!

Mark Zuckerberg TIME person of the year for 2010

The title says it all, the article says it better.  I have new insight into who Mark Zuckerberg is, which was falsely portrayed by The Social Network, and how his quirky thought process, is much like most science minded individuals, who don't always see things like the majority of people.  I deal with this a lot at the Museum.
But this quote from the article stuck out and I wanted to share it:
"However much more authentic the selves we present on Facebook are than they were in the anonymous Internet wilderness that came before it, they still fall far short of our true selves, and confusing our Facebook profiles with who we really are would be a terrible mistake. We are running our social lives over the Internet, an infrastructure that was not designed for that purpose, and we must be aware of the distortions it creates or we will be distorted by them." ~Lev Grossman


http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2036683_2037183_2037185-1,00.html

Leslie's Favorite Things

Watched an always funny How I met Your Mother and Barney mocks the Oprah's favorite Things.  Barney's Favorite Things are given out to McClaren's bar attendees.  Made me think, what would my favorite things be?
Well let me tell you...in no specific order, and I don't necessarily have these things...

Tiffany's Knot ring:

Apple iPad

Adobe Lightroom

The Keurig coffee maker. Ok so I don't even like coffee, but it makes hot water.  Could I make hot water in the microwave, yes, on the stove, yes. But I need the gadget. :-)

Wii Black.. I think this might be coming for Christmas (fingers crossed)

Beautiful venetian champagne flutes...from NapaStyle

Ann Taylor Knit Endless Metallic Scarf (Infinity Scarf) I am horrible at wrapping my scarves, this would fix that!

Well, that's all for now. I think it is enough don't you?

The DMV aka HELL!

Why I hate the DMV:
This morning, I tried to log onto the DMV's website to renew my drivers license online.  It responded with a statement that the last time I renewed I did it online, therefore I had to go into the office to get a new license.  First problem, this was not true, exactly. I did renew in 2005 online, however, I had come in person to change my name in 2009.  So I learned the system does not take into account if you had been in person any other time, just the time you renewed. FAIL!

They do not automatically renew your license when you get a new one, it does not change the expiration date. I got a whole new id with a new name. FAIL!

Procedure at the office: go in, wait in line for an hour to get your documents checked and get a number to wait some more to meet the actual person who will check your documents again and scan them (Note: do not use sensitive information as your verification for address (mail)).  And ultimately get your license.

I thought I had all my paperwork, (DL, birth certificate, marriage license, 2 pieces of mail, SS card) waited an hour in line to realize my SS card was NOT in my wallet like I had assumed.  Lesson, assume NOTHING.  Double check.  You must go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Sucka! I will say that the wretched lady at the desk laughed! Laughed! when she took my number away.

The DMV is highly inefficient. While standing in line I saw about 50% of the people turned away do to incorrect or insufficient paperwork. They only have 1 person checking documents and giving numbers yet about 8 stations to process the licenses.  The longest line is the initial check in. There should be at minimum 2 people at the front desk for this.  Once you get past the front desk it's pretty fast and unnecessary  to have that many people in the back. By shifting resources they could be more customer friendly.
Waiting in line for an hour, and then told you don't have something right, (b/c it's always changing), and they wonder why people get so mad.  Hello? You just made them wait for a 2 minute interaction that ended up in them being sent away, just to have to come back and oh...stand in line again! You should get credit somehow for standing in line the first time.  There is no sense of urgency, and the lady was ridiculously slow. She definitely wasn't concerned with how long people were waiting. She could have cared less.  No business would survive if they ran like the DMV.  People would not go there b/c of such horrible customer service. I hate that government agencies are allowed to ignor industry standards for queueing and customer service. FAIL!

Some of things that I saw people turned away for:
An out of country student turned away b/c he had an international drivers license instead of one issued by his home country (India). Not valid, go away sir!

A teenager with his mom who didn't have any mail with their physical home address and his or her name on it.  They had a PO Box and all of their mail goes there. But you can't use a po box.  Go away kid!

A woman whose name had already been changed via marriage, and she had her birth certificate, which didn't match by name of course to every other piece of documentation.  She did not bring her marriage certificate. They sent her away.  On the form list it says if you are changing your name bring the certificate or court decree, not after you have changed your name you still have to bring it.  Luckily I was wary and brought my certificate. She also had her passport with her new name, which would have sufficed if it hadn't already expired.  Not good enough. Go away lady!

A college student from Atlanta had lost his ID and needed to get a duplicate.  He didn't have his birth certificate.  You still have to have all of the documents to get a duplicate (although he could have probably done that online).  His parent(s) have all of his documentation in Atlanta. So sorry...fed ex it here. Go away college student!
It is easier to get a duplicate SS card than it is to get a duplicate DL. Crazy!

How much is it worth?

This morning we are watching the news and they are showing all the people waiting in the lines at the big box stores for Black Friday. One dad and son said they had gotten in line at Best Buy on wednesday for a.....XBox 360.  That's it? Was it worth missing your Thanksgiving dinner with family to stand in line to save $50? I was discussing with Amy (my sister in law) and she and I agreed, you would have to save over $1000 to make camping out at a store on the holiday worth it. And even then I don't know if I would do it.

So to all those shoppers, good luck, and buy me something good!
:-)

Football is all a game of smoke and mirrors...

NPR made me mad this morning.  This rarely happens, but Frank Deford's editorial on the Driscoll Middle School's fake play was ludicrous! Saying that it was "child abuse" to have the kids run a fake play.  He also said that adult athletes are only trying to outsmart the refs/umps, um hello? Puntrooskie, fumblerooskie, fake handoffs etc are all designed to trick the other team (not the ref's or umps).  The offense is always trying to run plays in the hopes the defense has no clue what they are doing.  That's a major component of the game. 
Frank, you must not be a true sports fan or you would understand that! (And you have an awful hair cut!)
http://www.npr.org/2010/11/16/131358322/trickery-on-the-football-field-like-child-abuse

Laziness at its best

How come when we own a dvd movie, we never watch it, but love when that exact movie comes on tv?
It has commercials! Why not just watch it commercial free?

Do they Last?

Tonight I was on my way home from a Gainesville Pet Rescue board meeting, and I heard on the radio that Justin Timberlake opened a restaurant in NYC called "Southern Hospitality."  The first thing I thought was, "Nice, way to rep in the big city."  Then I thought "What southern foods do they serve and will weight conscious New Yorkers actually frequent it?" Then the biggest question of all came to me..."How many celebrity owned restaurants actually make it?"

Lo and behold there is actually a website dedicated to celebrity eateries!
http://headlinerdiners.com/default.aspx

One particular link on it "Notable Restaurants Now Closed."  It lists the place, who owned it and when it closed.
And celebrity eateries in the movies! This site is pretty cool and has lots of information.

Notably, "Southern Hospitality" is not J Tim's first foray into being a restauranteur.  His first place "Chi" in NYC closed in 2005. And he has one still open called "Destino's" in NYC.

Operation New House

We are selling our house.  So we have a loooooong list of to dos to get it ready to be on the market. I'm going to put that list up here so I can cross it off as we complete them. Giving me a sense of accomplishment that I need!  As things come up, I may add more to the list.  Everyday I see something else that needs to be fixed or tweaked.

To Storage:                                     Goal:
-Desk
-Coffee Table
-Laundry Room
-Back BR Closet
-Walk in Closet
-Cat Condo
-Hallway Closets
-Pantry
-Kitchen items
-Blankets/sheets


GoodWill
-CD Stands
-Clothes
-Vases
-More Clothes
-photo frames


Spare Bedroom
-Storage
-Repaint
-Stage


Miscellaneous
-Paint exterior
-Replace Bathroom door: bought door and hinges need to refinish and hang
-Paint Front door interior: bought wood putty
-New knobs for spare br closet doors
-De-Personalize
-Frame art photos and hang
-Fix electrical outlets
-Tile Floor in Laundry Room
-Re hang trim in kitchen
-Grout master bath
-Get crates: got 1
-Hang spare bathroom mirror
-replace countertop in spare bathroom
-Curb appeal: plants, etc.

Crappy Thought of the Day.....

I hate when I sit down on the workout machine, go to put the "seat belt" on and I have to dramatically increase it's length to fit around my middle section.  I HATE the person who was on the machine before me!!

But persevere I will!

If you want to know why I am a Democrat....

"Under Democratic presidents," Bartels writes, "poor families did slightly better than richer families (at least in proportional terms), producing a modest net decrease in income inequality; under Republican presidents, rich families did vastly better than poorer families, producing a considerable net increase in income inequality."

Progress

"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." ~George Bernard Shaw

I have been thinking a lot about my career choice lately.  What is it that I do? Is it what I want to do? Do I enjoy it? and What am I doing it for?

Well I went to school to get my Masters in Museology (yes it's a real degree).  I really enjoy arts administration, but those jobs are few and far between.  In the meantime I work in development at a museum.  And I do enjoy it, even though it isn't exactly what I want to be doing.  Mostly, I do it because I know the end product of my work could change lives.  Museums changed my life way back when I was in 5th grade.

Not every organization is perfect, and the museum I work for is no different.  But it is an amazing organization with mostly amazing people working there.  The potential I see in it is immense.  I have been there for 8 years and I have seen it change a lot, some stuff good some not so good. But I still feel very positive in the progress that we can make, and in the difference we can make in people's lives.
 Progress can only be achieved if:

1. People let go of their preconceived ideas of what/who we are and what we do. In this day and economic climate we cannot be museum purists.

2. People realize that change is inevitable, and although you may be uncomfortable with it you have to do what's best for the museum.

3. People stop whining and complaining that they don't have enough of whatever resource they need.  Figure it out, people have done more with less, we can too!

So even in the face of adversity, in a time of waning state support, we can make a difference.  Progress is attainable, and I will continue to have hope!

Red Heads Rock!

I had an interesting discussion today while on an errand with some co-workers.  Would you want your kid to be a red head, aka. a "Ginger?"
A little scientific information:
Red hair is made up of a combination of high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin.


Being that I have red hair I think it is always assumed that if I had a kid it will without a doubt be a red head.
However, red heads are actually a genetic mutation in the MC1R protein (let the jokes commence) of a recessive gene on chromosone 16.  Only 1 to 2% of the worlds population is red headed.  And that percentage increases in certain parts of the world, with Scotland having the highest at 16%.
To have red hair both Steve and I would have to provide this recessive red head gene to our kid. SO it is very likely I will not have a red head.  If my MC1R gene is rr and Steve's is RR, no red head kids.  If Steve is Rr, then we have a higher chance of having a red head.A great example of this, and how it can skip generations. (from http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=245)

Now since we are so rare, remember only 1-2% of the world's population, it causes me to get very angry at famous red heads when they change their hair color to blonde or brown or whatever.  There are few red headed role models.  As kids we growing up we get ridiculed for being different, called names some not to savory. If all of the famous people out there change their hair color, they perpetuate the myth that having red hair is ugly.  Even if they just wanted a change from their regular "look."

Examples of pretty red heads:
Julianne Moore

Amy Adams
Lindsey Lohan (she really is a beautiful girl, tragic though)
Rose McGowan
Geri Haliwell (Ginger Spice)
Nicole Kidman
Alyson Hannigan

You get the idea.

Calling All Famous Red Heads! Don't change your hair color and be a representative of the Ginger Kids! (I'm sure that is copyrighted by South Park creators).  Whatevs.

Oh and to answer my original question "Would you want your kid to be a red head, aka. a 'Ginger?'"
Yes and no.  I would love to have little mini-mes with blue eyes and red hair, but I do not wish on my children the ridicule that I grew up with.  Maybe times have changed and being made of for having red hair isn't as bad, but I doubt it.  Hopefully, they will appreciate their hair color as much as I do.  (Although I do lighten mine to Strawberry Blonde like ti was when I was real little.)

Migraines: My Adventure

So I wouldn't necessarily call my life with migraines an adventure, more like a trek, uphill both ways, in the snow, with no shoes, on a rocky road.  It's been a lifetime of learning about how the body works, what medications can do , and how to find better ways to manage the pain without the aid of medications.
I write this as a guide to friends who may be starting their trek.  If I can provide some direction, some insight, some guidance, and some support, it will be worth it.  It is long, so bear with me.  It is chock full of information and links to great articles on migraine treatment.

One of the first things any doctor should tell you is that migraines are not spontaneous things without a cause.  Any good doctor should tell you that treating the symptoms, without exploring potential causes will only make you reliant on medications, and in the end continue the suffering that you are seeking to get away from.

So what should you do?  Not every person is the same, women get migraines for different reasons than men do, and every individual has their own triggers.  You need to start to find out what those triggers are.

Keep a migraine journal.  
Write down the date, what you ate or drank prior to the migraine. How were you feeling? Did you have eye pain, back pain, neck pain, sinus pressure? Was there a storm that day or low pressure front?  For women where were you in your menstrual cycle? All these will provide clues as to the causes of your migraines.
Then track what medications you took to relieve that migraine.  Typically I would start with 2 excedrine (and a side note: Excedrine and Excedrine Migraine are exactly the same.  Excedrine was allowed to add "Migraine" to their packaging after studies showed this was one of the best medications to treat a migraine.) Then if in 45 minutes to an hour I still had one I would take one or maybe 2 more.  Tracking your attempts at relief will also provide isight to your doctor on what works and what doesn't.
Armed with this will help you have a productive conversation with your doctor and hopefully find relief quickly and easily.

My History: the early years
I started getting migraines when I was 13 years old.  About the time I started getting my menstrual cycle.  I spent 5 years with only over-the-counter medications, massages, and lots of hiding in a dark room trying to not vomit from the pain.

When I was nineteen I started working for a doctors office and one of the doctors was open to exploring the causes of my migraines.  I had a bad cheerleading accident in 1993 that I had no idea in later years would cause me so much grief. I hurt my back and I was constantly in pain.  The first thing she had me do was see a chiropractor.  At that stage in my life I thought it was a bunch of BS.  My mom had gone for years and never had relief.  But I agreed and found a chiropractor that was amazing.  Having my back adjusted released pressure that was causing me to have neck pain causing headaches that would become migraines.  That alone made me realize I could take care of this.  There was hope.

I did a migraine journal, and found that I really didn't have food triggers.  But I did notice that during my period (sorry guys) I would get really bad migraines.  This was a clue to my doctor.  She decided to try putting me on birth control pills (not that I shouldn't have been on it anyways) to see what would happen. The first one was a triphasil.  Holy cow did I hate that.  We then went to a monophasil and that made a world of difference.  It cut out a ton of migraines during the month.  But when I took the placebos and had my period they were still really bad.

During this time I was on a myriad of medications.
Midrin: drunk like side effects and I developed a resistance to it within 6 months.
Ibuprofen: didn't do anything.
Pain killers: lets take a nap.
Phenergan: for the nausea and vomiting.
Excedrine: Only if I caught it in time.
Propanolol: preventative med, with nightmares as a side effect, no thanks!

My History: Recent Years
Several years ago my current doctor gave me a prescription for Imitrex.  I call this the wonder drug.  For the first time I could take a medication, and within 45 minutes I was migraine free AND functional.  The nausea subsided over the years while I was on it, it actually seemed to make the migraines less potent.  Then the big bad insurance company limited the Imitrex and had the nerve to say to me that I needed to find the cause of my migraines and work on that instead.  Excuse me? Have you dealt with migraines for what seems like eons, and do you have any idea what I've been through to find out what the issues are?  I was so angry, and I was back to getting pain killers and phenergan. Yay!
Out of frustration I tried to find another preventative medication.  Studies were coming out that an epilepsy rug could also prevent migraines.  Sign me up!  Even my cursory research did not uncover the extent of the side effects of that med, and I would later learn that this is something you just don't want.  I'll cover more of that later.
There a came a point in my life where I needed to come off all medications.  And I started to panic that I was going to regress into miserable migraines that caused me to miss out on so many important things in my life. I did not want to go through that again.
So I started looking into holistic remedies. I started acupuncture and although I didn't hold out much hope, it has changed my life.  I'm off all meds, and I'm virtually migraine free.  I get them very rarely now and I can live life to the fullest without worrying if I will get a migraine.

My Thoughts on Current Treatments:
Food and Drink
So many people have food triggers.  Wine is a BIG one.  It has tannins in it that cause migraines and headaches.
An interesting article on tannins and migraines: http://www.wineintro.com/glossary/t/tannins.html
And one on food triggers: http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/features/avoiding-food-related-headaches

Medications
Topamax: The evilest of them all.
Like I said before this medication is approved for epilepsy, but can also be used for migraine treatment.  This med keeps the chemicals in your nervous system and brain calm thus preventing migraines.  In epileptic patients it does the same thing to prevent seizures.  BUT! and it is a big but,
the side effects are long lasting and disturbing.
It causes: short term memory loss, word recall issues, speech impediments.  All of which I have experienced.  I was on the medication for 2 years, and I have been off it for over a year and I still have the side effects.  They have not lessened one bit.
Yes it worked for preventing migraines, but it didn't solve the issue and caused long term issues.
How Topamax works: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4676086_topamax-work.html
Article on the side effects: http://www.relieve-migraine-headache.com/topamax-side-effects.html


Imitrex and Treximet:
Narrows the blood vessels and stops the pain signals from being sent to the brain.
More information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000102
The only real side effect I have ever had is a slight stinging in my fingers and toes when i put them in hot water.

Birth Control Pills:
This is take it or leave it thing.  Some women take them and GET migraines.  Others find relief by taking them.  Earlier I mentioned I was first on a triphasil.  This is where the dose starts out low, then in week 2 it goes to a higher dose, in week 3 it goes back down, then week 4 is placebo. Each change in hormone level was brutal and agonizing.  Many women get migraines, because they have hormonal fluctuations.  These fluctuations can trigger migraines.  I switched to a monophasil and it evened out those hormonal fluctuations.  This may not work for all, testing various BCP's and figuring out if any cause more or less migraines is the best course of action.

Other medications:
An article from the Mayo Clinic breaking down all the types of migraine medication treatments.

Acupuncture
This is a treatment I discovered when I had no other alternatives.  I had to come off all medications, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Within 2 months of treatment the number of migraines are virtually nil.  I may get 1 a month, they aren't very severe, and I can usually take excedrine and knock it out right away.  I will admit that I was a skeptic, but I was at a breaking point.  I am now a believer!
Article on acupuncture for migraines: http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/headachemigraine/a/AcupunctureMigr.htm

So, I will leave it at this for now...I wish all my migraine sufferers luck in their treks!

Doggie Dreams

On occasion while lying in bed waiting to fall asleep, I will hear this little noise coming from somewhere in the room.  Brisco, our 5 year old mix breed, is the culprit of the noise. He makes these funny sounds while he is sleeping and dreaming. He doesn't do a full out bark, but he does his little bouf, bouf, wimper wimper.  I wonder what he is dreaming about.  Is he chasing a squirrel? Maybe a cat? Is he being chased? His life is somewhat boring, so I can't begin to understand what he might dream about at night.  But it makes me giggle every time, and I try to be quiet so I don't wake him from his dreams.


Sweet dreams puppy!

From Pets: Dogs and Cats

Dreams

For the last few days I have been having crazy dreams that make absolutely no sense.  The strange thing is how much detail I am remembering about them.  Amazing detail.  I used to have this dream book.  It would tell you what different elements meant in the dream.  I bet there is a website like that now....let me check....yep! Tons as a matter of fact.

Hmmm, maybe I will try to decipher them now.  It probably means nothing, but it's kind of fun.

Major Geek Out

My trip to Rhode Island was fun and it was great to spend time with Janice and Jason. We saw some cool museums (Culinary Arts and Lizzie Borden), went to see a fire show on the river, ate good food and took 2 trips to the Apple store.
The trips to Apple are just a symptom of a great addiction. (I have many random addictions I think). Steve could not be happy about the ideas that were planted in my head via the geek out of 2010 that Jason and I had.
Janice and Jason should have stock in Apple, and maybe me too, soon anyways. They have the following:
1. Mac Mini: to watch tv shows and movies on
2. Mac Airport Express: that is the wireless internet, that allows printer hookup and they can also hook it up to a stereo with an aux output that then gets music from their iTunes transmitted through it. (AWESOME!)
3. iPhones: have 3G's but ordered iPhone 4's while I was there. Jealous!
4. MacBooks: Pro and Air.

Ok so what do I want? In order of importance:
1. Airport Extreme (I want to also be able to hook up a hard drive to it as a server).
2. iPhone 4: but I want to wait for the 2nd generation of the 4th generation phone.
3. Mac Mini: I so want to store movies on it, I never watch my DVD's, too much work. Having it on the mac mini would be soooooo convenient.
4. A new MackBook, Pro!

Considering my laptop (MacBook) is finally filled up with tons of photos, I need the Airport Extreme so I can have the server. I do believe that will be sooner than later. Then I can check it off the list and move right along.

All photos (c) Apple.com

Bad tattoos should be outlawed

I have officially arrived in Rhode Island. My trip was exceptionally uneventful. The usual wait in line here, check your bag, boarding pass, wait in another even longer line for security, then wait at the gate. All went smoothly, yet long at Orlando International. The only real intriguing thing was the insipid girls who were waiting for my same flight. Maybe intriguing is the wrong word, train wrecks might be more appropriate. One was loud, obnoxious, high pitched giggly, the other was just somewhat sad. (I know I doth judge too much, but the reasoning will soon become clear as to why on this occasion it was ok, or was it?)
both were returning home from what appeared to be a Florida vacation. The sad one was slightly sunburned, messy hair, and a very unfortunate dress. The other also in a quite unfortunate dress herself, was constantly announcing random celebrity facts in her very loud voice.

So why should bad tattoos be outlawed you ask? Well loud obnoxious girl had a fresh tattoo on her foot that read "Mischief Managed." And the sad girl had "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" huge across her upper back. I now know that both of those are Harry Potter quotes, ok, so you tried to have some meaning to your tattoos, maybe a C for effort. But they were terrible! Hideous, poor artwork, just plain ol' bad. And both were large!! Someday they will either have them removed or they will have to get a more experienced artist to fix them.

Hope you had a great vacation, here's your ugly tattoo! Thank you and have a nice flight.

CNN, news or addiction?

So everyday I read CNN.com. Ok so I don't read everything, but I peruse the entire sight, and pick and choose what news I desire to "hear" about that day. Some days I just want mindless entertainment news, which inevitably leads me to a story that links to People.com. Then there are days when horrifying tragedies catch my attention. A child missing (which always makes my heart ache and which I never have faith that the child will be found alive but hold out hope nonetheless), a plane crash, murders (like the recent Joran VanderSloot story, which makes me mad b/c until this guy came along I LOVED the name Joran), etc.
But I always find it hard to read anything about politics. Warning!! I am NOT looking for a political discussion here. I find it annoying that republicans nor democrats can seem to agree on anything. I heard a great idea on NPR recently that primaries should be dissolved, because primaries require the potential nominee to be decidedly right or left, and there is no room for a moderate in the middle. So people who would be best at making decisions and compromising are left out in the cold or have to become independents, and how often do independents really win? Bi-partisanship BAH!
I digress, CNN.com is a wealth of information that occupies much needed down time, although I think I would appreciate seeing happier stories more often. Also, their video content has increased dramatically, great you made a news segment a video, but add a transcription of the story.

Ooh! A story on how e-reader price war erupts. Must read that now!

TV's, sofas, and lots of money

Today I got a text from Brittany that Rooms To Go had a sale if you buy a room you get a free 50" plasma HDTV. What? Seriously? To the internet I went. Well yes indeed this is true. So I showed Steve and waited for him to say "Are you kidding?" Then he didn't. He said Hmmmm. And he actually wanted to go look. Holy crap, did my husband get stolen and replaced with this imposter?
Off we went to the local Rooms To Go and looked at all the packages picked out the pieces we wanted, and then I thought "ok now he's going to pull the plug...game over...go home." But he didn't. We got it. All of it, sofa, chair, cocktail ottoman, end table, lamp, TV console and.....a 50" TV. I guess the world cup in HD was just too tempting!

House Hunting

The million dollar question: do we want a new house and do we want it now? I guess it depends on who you ask. Me? Yes, absolutely lets do this! Steve? Mmmmm, maybe, yes, eventually, etc.

The latest issue: do we spend more now, build and get everything we want? Or spend less up front, get something that needs remodeling, and spend the money over time to make it what we want?
I;m all about efficiency and being happy in my surroundings. So I say pay up front get what we want. How long will this process take? Only time will tell.