The Coolest Commercial

Scott sent me a link to the most wonderful commercial. It involves hundreds of thousands of super balls, otherwise known as bouncy balls, coming down several San Francisco streets. I watched it more then once, and I bet you will, too.

http://www.bravia-advert.com/index.html

Andruw Jones

Look at me...with the Braves' Andruw Jones! He visited our store today at Lenox Mall in Atlanta. I have a signed baseball, too! See what working in a cool store for a great company can get you? And lucky him--he got to go home with lots of great Oakley merchandise! I can't imagine making the money he does, and then also be able to walk into a store and pick out stuff without having to pay for it. My dream! Only I would rather have shoes...

The Perfect Nursing Home?

Leave it to the Irish to come up with the perfect add-on to a nursing home:

Mon Nov 14, 1:16 PM ET

DUBLIN (Reuters) - A nursing home in Ireland has hit on a cheering way to keep up the spirits of its elderly patients -- by providing its own pub.

St Mary's Hospital in County Monaghan, near the Irish border with Northern Ireland, believes ready access to a good pint may help its patients -- average age 85 -- actually live longer.

"We would say the whole social aspect of life does extend the years -- it means the patients aren't bored to death," Rose Mooney, assistant director of nursing told Reuters.

The pub, which opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. and charges normal bar prices, had also led to an increase in the number of visitors, she said.

Having its own bar made the hospital, which has around 140 patients, unique in Ireland, she added.

Headaches and Halloween

So yesterday was Halloween (also Knock Knock Joke Day: Knock Knock. Who's there? Vida. Vida who? Vida you talk like that? I know, its awful...). I had bought a bright red wig with horns on Sunday to wear to work on Monday. People would walk by the store, glance in, and do a second take and then smile. Fun.

Our house (of four apartments) was doing Halloween jointly, and it was a good thing I got home when I did, as we had the candy and no one had a key to get in to it but me, seeings as my roommates weren't home. So I released the candy, and heated up the beef barley soup Gina had made for all of us, and we sat on the front porch steps, waiting for the kiddies. Chad and I had carved pumpkins yesterday, following a book that had come with the carving tools. He did an "easy" one of a witch in profile holding a pumpkin, while mine was "moderate" of four ghoulie monsters. I forgot how much work goes into pumpkin carving! Both pumpkins were a hit however, as almost everyone mentioned them. At first it was just three of us: Chad, I, and my upstairs neighbor Jenna. Lots of kids, they were all so cute! Good thing we had a huge cauldren of candy.

I had originally taken off my wig, as it was giving me a headache after wearing it all day. I eventually put it back on, and my headache increased. Now, this is not an isolated problem. Stating this summer, I have been experiencing increasingly more headaches. Not isolated, either, sometimes a couple a week or more. And painful. I do take over-the-counter headache medicine, and it helps somewhat. After Chad left, I had to leave the festivities and our friends early, as it had gone from being just an ordinary headache to a full-blown problem. I took some medicine, and crawled into bed early. And proceeded to wake up with the headache still present this morning. I am going to begin tracking them, to see if they are related in some way. I really do need to visit a doctor, I guess. This has become an increasing problem. Sometimes I wonder if its the house, with a possibility of mold and other things in it, due to the dirt basement and old house. Who know? I just can't keep this up.

Weekend Home & Desperate Housewives

So I went home to Michigan this past weekend for four days. It was good to be home, and see my family and Annie. When I arrived Friday morning the weather was beautiful. We spent a little time at the mall, and I stopped in at the Gap I had worked at and talked for a moment. Nice to see old faces. We then traveled up to Ludington State Park. The colors have not peaked yet, but it was still beautiful. Driving along the river, you could see the salmon that had come up to spawn. It was pretty cool to see, especially with polarized lenses. We drove through the campgounds some, and saw a 1930s car with what we thought was an original Airstream camper. Pretty cool. We also took a walk by the water and through the dunes. Of course, Annie had to lead. Dad would go ahead to test her...and then she would start pulling and panting, desperate to get ahead. I told Mom that Annie had been telling me that she missed walking in the dunes over the summer...

The next day we headed to Grand Rapids. Mom and Dad needed to shop for a few things. Lakeshore's marching band was performing at the Jenison competition, and we bundled up to stay warm and dry and went. Its been a long time since I went to a band competition. Loads of memories came flooding back. They did well, and placed first in the division, third place overall. I did love the shows that Reeths Puffer and Jenison put on. They were just as showy as always. Reeths Puffer (which is the district my parents live in now) did an African show, and had placed 30 or so big African shields along the front. Near the beginning of the show, they pulled what you thought was the front off to display a much more colorful shield. It was gasp-inducing. And Jenison did a show on opposites and half their band wore white uniforms (wood-winds) and the other half black (brass and percussion). It was as if two different bands had come together to do a show. I didn't know where to look.

Our Sunday started off pretty eventful. We were going to the earlier service, and Mom and Dad were to leave earlier then me to practice with choir. Well, Mom overslept (she woke up with the alarm clock in her hand, and didn't even remember pressing snooze) and so drove me into church...until we hit a deer, a doe. The deer didn't even pause at the road, she was already running. We speculate that we hit her mid-jump, as she entered the road on the driver's side, and the passenger side of the car is what was damaged. The hood and the front panel on the passenger's side are damaged. Dad went back later with the sheriff to get a permit to take the deer home and process it. He joked later that the Georgia relatives come to visit and now he finds himself bringing home roadkill...mercifully, we figured out the deer died instantly, with a punctured lung and broken back. I did help him clean it out, which I have never done before.

Uncle Denny, Danette, Katie, Grandma and Grandpa came up for dinner and to see me. Mom cooked a turkey (I know, its awful close to Thanksgiving, but she had it in the freezer and said when would two people eat a turkey, anyway?). It was wonderful to see everyone.

Uncle Denny had left us a People magazine for one article about a hospice with a CF patient. So I was flipping through it, and near the end was a one page article on...Page Kennedy, the newest cast member of Desperate Housewives (the guy in the basement in chains). My jaw fell open, as I went to college with him. I know a castmember of Desperate Housewives! I helped costume him! We had taped the episode...and when I watched, there he was. How weird, to know him, on this hot show...Since then, I have talked to several friends, and they are equally incredulous. Not that he was bad at WMU(he could be very good when he was on), but still...how could you know?

My new boots

So I did it, I bought the boots today. And I am happy to announce that I got them for 50% off. Patience is a virtue.

Although, it was rather trying. I saw online that they were on sale yesterday, and proceeded down to the store on my break. But, wait! They were still only 30% off at the store. So much disappointment! So I decided I would just order them from online. And, of course, they were out of my size. Infuriation! I decided to print the page out to prove that they were indeed on sale, and go down there and try and convince them to match the price, seeing as I couldn't get them online. So off I went today, and low and behold! They were now on sale 50% off, too. So I bought them, and I am very happy about it.

Also happy because I will be flying home to Michigan for the weekend, to see my parents and Annie. They tell me it will be a miserable weekend weather-wise, cold and rainy. I'll have to borrow a coat, as mine are in Chad's storage unit. But, still, whatever the weather throws my way (as long as it isn't snow!), I'll be okay with it. It has been much harder this time be away from everyone, after all that has happened. So going home will be good.

Car Insurance

One more thing...

Car insurance goes hand in hand with everything I am going through regarding my car. Yet--no one, except insurance agents, can really tell me much about it. What levels do I need? Why? What does this term mean, exactly? Their so-called definitions online sometimes confuse me even more then I was previously.

If you have no one knowledgable to go to, what do you do? Wander through, blindly, and never be really certain about what your agent is telling you? How do you know what they say is what you need?

I am so frustrated! I understand that I am slightly maligning my own Dad with this...but, honestly! Why is this never taught? Why are you not required in high school or college to take "What you need to know to get though in the real world concerning your insurance, finances, retirement, etc. 101"? NO ONE TEACHES THIS! Do other people just pick it up somewhere, somehow? Everything I read seems to contradict the other things I find. And, of course, being the internet, I certainly can't trust everything I read.

I just want to make a smart, informed decision about coverage for my car. Why does this have to be so difficult? I feel like I am running in circles. No wonder no one changes their coverage, its a huge hassle to figure out what is wrong, and what is right. Does anyone else have this problem? Or is it now that I finally have health insurance (through my job, yeah!), that I have to be confused and frustrated by another insurance in my life? Will someone just tell me, here, this is what you need so you won't get screwed if you have an accident. Someone I can trust, please?

Chad half laughs at me. He had to get his insurance fast, due to changing to Georgia, so he didn't have the time to agonize over this like me. But, does he really know if his coverage is enough? Who does? What is enough? Without killing me with premiums? Augh! Perhaps part of my problem has been time. I started this process over a month ago, and I feel more frustrated then when I started. Perhaps my problem is too much time to analyze, too much time to think and question.

Unfortunately, I can apply that last sentence to alot of things in my life...


HELP!

No longer a Michigan resident

Well, I've done it. As of yesterday, I am no longer a Michigan resident. My Michigan plates expire on Mom's birthday (which is next week) and I have to finally bite the bullet. So, I made an appointment at the DMV. Astonishingly, the whole process only took me 45 minutes. Really, really glad I made an appointment instead of flying by the seat of my pants and just showing up. Also really glad I got a passport, as it makes the whole ID thing so much easier: you don't have to show a copy of your birth certificate. And being as I live a long way from said certificate, this is much easier. I did the whole nine yards, too: registered to vote, and became an organ donor.

Next week's big project is getting the plates and registration for my car done. Have to transfer my title, too. Will dutifully do all of my research and make sure to bring all of the necessary paperwork with me, to make the process less painful.

I had to give up my Michigan license. They had to keep it, to prevent me from altering it or something, I'm sure. But it made me a little sad. I have been a Michigan resident all my life, and that license was a connection to it while living here in Georgia. And it was a pretty decent picture, too!

On a funny note, Mom was due for a driver's license renewal. So, a couple of months ago, her renewal information showed up...here, at my address in Georgia. The address on it was ours at home, but the information that the post office prints along the bottom side of the envelope was my address here. Very odd. And then, late last week...her license shows up here, too. Same situation with the addresses. Its so strange. I mailed her the envelope and all (after sneaking a peak at her picture!) so hopefully she can get everything straightened out. I know I did a change of address for here, and occasionally I get credit card offers for her, but she is listed on some of my accounts, so that made sense. But this didn't.

Happy birthday Dad!

I'm in love!

I must confess, I'm in love. But! Thus far I have resisted their siren call...at least until they go on sale. And if you know me well, you may have realized that I am talking about a pair of shoes. I saw them at the Nine West store in my mall, which I have done my best to avoid walking into. But now, I visit once a week, usually on a Thursday, just to make sure they haven't gone on sale. Yes, they're not practicle shoes, but they're just so glorious! And I do so love red. So don't worry Mom, you trained me well enough, I will not buy them at full price.

On a different note, I have decided to learn how to carry on a family tradition: quilting. I am going to sign up for a basic machine quilting class at a local quilt shop. It will take place over three Sundays, four hours a class, in November and December. They also have Block of the Month program that I may do, as the end result quilt is so beautiful, and in one of my favorite fabrics: batiks. I would looove to learn to batik.

March of the Penguins

My roommate, Gina, and I went and saw a matinee of March of the Penguins today. Loved it. Loved Morgan Freeman narrating, and am watching him on "Inside the Actor's Studio" right now (he is so fantastic!).

I knew some things previously about emperor penguins, couldn't tell you exactly from where. I knew they are the largest penguin species, and that the father does alot of the intial care. What I didn't know was about their 70 mile journey to more stable ice for their breeding grounds, that Mom and Dad take turns making journeys back and forth to the water's edge for food for themselves and baby, and so much more. It was fascinating, amusing, and occasionally heart-rending. I know its incredibly cold there, but they showed the egg freezing and cracking in the cold during a botched transfer attempt between Mom and Dad...heart breaking. But, oh, when the babies hatched! Impossibly cute. Small, soft looking, fuzzy. And immense personality. When they finally venture out, they toddle around, unsure and curious. I could go on and on...

So, I highly recommend the movie. Not a "chick flick". Seriously good, compelling, and such a perspective on such a difficult life. It's amazing what these penguins go through...and how cute they are.

Lions and elephants on the Great Plains?

Yes, you read my title correctly. I read an article online about an article in the journal Nature saying that some scientists are proposing this, since even before Columbus we lost all of our really large wildlife here in North America.

"The rapid extinction of dozens of large mammal species in North America -- perhaps due to a combination of climate change and overhunting -- triggered a landslide of changes to the environmental landscape. Relocating large animals to vast ecological parks and private reserves would begin to repair the damage, proponents say, while offering new ecotourism opportunities to a withering region."

Here is a link to the article: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/08/17/wild.america.ap/index.html

I don't know what to think of this?!? Whatever would inspire someone to propose this?

Chickens and Paychecks

So...was driving home from work on, I believe, Friday. It was sort of raining, depending on where you were in metro Atlanta. Like it has been for a long time. Its funny, starts out a gorgeous, sunny day, and by the time myself and all other Atlantans head home, the afternoon rain has started. In some places, its that nice, gentle summer rain. Then you also encounter the torrential rain which makes the streets into rivers overflowing the curbs. Lots of fun. But this was a moderate spot of rain. You know those clear plastic shelters for people waiting for the bus? Well, out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement near the ground. I had enough time for a passing glance...and it was a chicken. Seriously, right in pratically the middle of Emory's campus and hospital complex. Flapping it's wings (Dad said it turned the shelter into a chicken coop!). And you know, chickens are pretty distinctive silhouette-wise, so I know I'm right. It was just so odd, such a funny thing. A chicken there, in the middle of all that.

So my paycheck is late. Was supposed to get it on Friday. Planned my lunch around running it to the bank. Never arrived. Emailed someone, and he called to talk to me about it. He also called back after I had left for the day, and something had been wrong with it and they had cut a new one and it should arrive by FedEx on Saturday. No arrival. I do have today off, and I keep waiting for the phone to ring and for them to say, hey, it's here. Nothing yet, and its 1pm. Frustrating. There are little errands I need to run, like an oil change, and I can't, my hands are tied. You never realize how you count on that money to be there on time until...it isn't. At least I am not as bad off as a co-worker of mine, evidently her time sheet wasn't faxed and who knows when her check will arrive. Going on evidence, I guess who knows when mine will arrive, too?

Frustrated. No way to spend a day off.

Day off, plus recipe

Today I had the day off. I lounged around some, and did a little work, too. Called Dad while watching the View, said I didn't know he and Mom were going to be on TV. We are? Yeah, they are showing and doing a make-over for the messiest garage in America. He pretended he couldn't hear me...to be truthful, our garage is lots cleaner then the one on the show.

Ran to the grocery store to get my food for dinner (more on that in a moment). The car ahead of me at one point had alot of bumper stickers. But my favorite was "What would Scooby do?". I thought that was great.

So I am trying some of the food from the magazine Marie Claire's diet "Wine, Chocolate, and Cheese Diet". Yeah, I know. But what they are saying is if you cook your food from fresh ingredients (none of those nasty preservatives) and eat smaller portions while not starving your body of the things it needs, it's okay for you. I thought, well, I can do that. So I tried my first recipe tonight: Potato and Leek Chowder. I doubled the recipe, so I won't be doing this for just a couple meals. If you are interested in the diet, you can find it at http://magazines.ivillage.com/marieclaire/frenchdiet. Its pretty good, so here it is:

Leek and Potato Chowder

Don't know how to handle a leek? Get the easy details here.

• 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. unsalted European butter
• 2 cups chopped leeks (white and light-green parts)
• 1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (cutting the potatoes into small, even cubes ensures that they'll cook evenly and quickly)
• 2 cups (16 fl. oz.) chicken broth, plus additional if desired
• 1/2 tsp. ground sage
• 2 tbsp. unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 3 tbsp. chopped fresh chives

1 Add the oil and butter to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring constantly for five minutes, or until softened.

2 Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the potatoes, broth, and sage. Cover with lid. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove lid.

3 Whisk the flour with the half-and-half until very smooth. Add it to the potato-leek mixture, stirring constantly. Once thoroughly combined, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for five minutes or until slightly thickened.

4 Adjust soup consistency by adding more broth, if desired.

5 Stir in half of the chives. Season to taste with sea salt. Serve topped with remaining chives.

Note: This recipe serves two.

330 calories, 8 g fat, 53 g carbs, 5 g fiber

Our Trip to Atlanta Zoo

Chad and I went to the Atlanta Zoo (www.zooatlanta.org) today. It was one of my infrequent weekend days off (one of the perks of retail management). I was really concerned about the weather, as rain was predicted and it was pretty grey looking. So we packed up our cooler and headed off, umbrellas in hand.

We had alot of fun. It is a sort of small zoo (I guess since visiting the San Diego Zoo, zoos will seem small), but well done. Chad's favorite animals were the elephants. They were very red, due to rolling around in the red Georgia earth. Later in the day, in the Elephant House, we saw one of them painting. But we could only stomach that for so long, as it was rather fragrent. Dad, we did see a red tailed hawk, and would have watched the bird show it was in, but it rained.

We saw several babies, including two Orangutans and Golden Tamerins. There had been hope that the Panda was pregnant (and that would have been number 3 in America, after the National Zoo in Washington and another in San Diego), but alas, it was a false pregnancy. Seeing a baby panda would have been great!

Later, it did rain, and pretty hard. We huddled under an overhang with our umbrellas for awhile, then beat a retreat to a nearby pavilion. It did let up and dry out somewhat, so we were able to finish wandering around.

This is a link that will (hopefully) connect you with our pictures at ofoto.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=l4bsgz6.280bsx8q&x=0&y=-w6jcc

Cows with Guns

So let me explain this before I post it: Chad was looking for funny cow pictures for a laser module (he says if you know of any, please post a comment for him on this blog). Being the internet, he stumbled across this: http://www.3dweb.no/galleri/stuestolbm/bilder/anim1.swf

If that doesn't work, try www.cowswithguns.com

It is well...pretty undescribable. And not violent, so don't worry about blood and gore.

Online Games and Stuff

Ok, so I confess to liking games on the computer. I recently found www.addictinggames.com . And lately I have been playing "Holy Cow", a little angel cow trying to get to heaven by blessing people. Corny, yes, but who doesn't like corny once in a while? Also "Insaniquarium" by www.popcap.com.

The weather here has resumed being in the low 90s and humid, although not as bad as last week. We had a few 80 degree days earlier this week, and that was nice. Hopefully it stays nice on Saturday, as I have the day off! It's such a wonderful thing, working in retail and having that rare Saturday off. I have plans for Chad and I, which I will disclose at a later date, as I am keeping them secret from him as yet. Which, of course, drives him nuts.

Hey, Mom and Dad, yet another technical coup for me! I fixed the printer at work Tuesday, and the fax machine today! At least the report said it was sent, I didn't have anyone to send it to to test. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Air Conditioning

My poor staff at my store has been suffering since last Sunday from a lack of air conditioning. I am happy to report that after sweltering in the southern heat (and the scaring off of air conditioning adjusted customers) for a week, we now have functioning air conditioning! I guess I never realized what a beautiful thing air is before.

Manshape

So I must confess that I do occasionally listen to WGN radio online, mostly Kathy and Judy. Well, they have a links and information page that I will visit, usually you can find some pretty funny links or information, along with things I would have never dreamed up. This is one of those: www.manshape.com. Very, very, funny.

Welcome to my blog!

So, I never really thought I would start my own blog. Darn you, Shelly! So, welcome to my world. Mom, think of it as a way to keep closer tabs on your long distance baby!