You know what I hate? Baseball players who pump junk into their systems and claim to be athletes. That's like getting Botox every six weeks and claiming to be "naturally" wrinkle free. Oooh, but it's a naturally occurring bacterium. Human Growth Hormone occurs naturally in the body, so injecting more of it into your ass is totally kosher.
Manny, seriously? Is it silly of me to be surprised as more names get drawn into this mire of crap? I hate asterisks. I hate them. I hate how they hang up there, broadcasting their nefarious purpose. Yeah, he did this. Sort of. But there's more to the story. And you're probably not gonna like it.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Stump the Bookseller
I am a book fiend. My older sister taught me to read when I was about three years old and I haven't really stopped since. I'll read pretty much anything once and a lot of my favorite books over and over again. My Husband's suggested getting me a Kindle a number of times, but I have so many beloved books we'd have to purchase again...it's just not worth it.
As a kid I read everything from children's books to adult classics (I honestly thought Animal Farm was going to be about an animal farm). While looking for a picture book I couldn't think of the title of, I found this website and I've really enjoyed perusing it ever since.
Harriet Logan runs a used bookstore, Loganberry Books (literature's gone green!), in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She had a hobby of finding long-lost children's titles for her customers and turned that hobby into a website. For $2.00 you can post a description of the book you can quite recall, and either she or one of the site's visitors will answer it for you! Totally cool, especially for me...I want my baby to have more books than diapers when he/she gets here someday.
My book stumper involves a children's book I read in sixth or seventh grade (approximately 1997). The only things I can remember about it is a group of girls who each have a magical gift which helps them "work;" one girl with cropped black hair has a belt or girdle that makes her invisible because she's a thief by trade. I feel like another girl was a seamstress or something, but I can't be sure. I'm also assuming there were either three or seven girls in the story...those are pretty magical numbers and the appear in a lot of literature.
So far no one has figured out my book, but I paid my $2.00 and I am still hopeful! It's listed in the Stumper Archives as M595. Check this site out and reminisce about the books you loved as a kid.
As a kid I read everything from children's books to adult classics (I honestly thought Animal Farm was going to be about an animal farm). While looking for a picture book I couldn't think of the title of, I found this website and I've really enjoyed perusing it ever since.
Harriet Logan runs a used bookstore, Loganberry Books (literature's gone green!), in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She had a hobby of finding long-lost children's titles for her customers and turned that hobby into a website. For $2.00 you can post a description of the book you can quite recall, and either she or one of the site's visitors will answer it for you! Totally cool, especially for me...I want my baby to have more books than diapers when he/she gets here someday.
My book stumper involves a children's book I read in sixth or seventh grade (approximately 1997). The only things I can remember about it is a group of girls who each have a magical gift which helps them "work;" one girl with cropped black hair has a belt or girdle that makes her invisible because she's a thief by trade. I feel like another girl was a seamstress or something, but I can't be sure. I'm also assuming there were either three or seven girls in the story...those are pretty magical numbers and the appear in a lot of literature.
So far no one has figured out my book, but I paid my $2.00 and I am still hopeful! It's listed in the Stumper Archives as M595. Check this site out and reminisce about the books you loved as a kid.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Bad News
Our latest piece of news...My Husband's best friend and college roommate's dad has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. The doctors pretty much told him he can have six months or less without chemotherapy and maybe a year with it.
As if that doesn't suck enough, said roommate is getting married on Memorial Day weekend. So basically that could be the last time their entire family gets together. And of course, now the wedding isn't really about the couple anymore. Every happy event in the next few years (his sister's wedding, their first baby, etc.) is gonna be marred by the fact his dad is gone.
I'm so sad for them in this entire situation. And it makes me think about losing My Husband. It doesn't take much to make me think about losing My Husband, what with the line of work he's in, but this definitely does it.
And because I wouldn't be me without that selfish little voice in the back of my head, I'm disappointed the wedding has taken on an entirely different tone. This is my first non-family wedding and my first with My Husband (minus our own). And I have to tell you, our wedding wasn't all wine and roses.
The pressure for perfection was intense. My father continually lamented how much it was costing him and screamed at me regularly to vent his frustration. My sisters were only sporadically involved, being busy with their own lives. My mother continually reminded me to be grateful. My parents invited a married couple to the wedding in exchange for them re-sodding the front lawn. My Husband was gone all day Friday and late for the rehearsal dinner because of his second bachelor party in Boston the Thursday night. He was late for the ceremony Saturday afternoon because his older brother took 90 minutes to get ready and then stopped to fill his empty gas tank before taking the wrong highway to the church. And a million other little things.
So I was excited for this wedding...I had no worries, I new exactly how to be helpful to the bride, groom and their families and there was absolutely no pressure. Sweet deal. Now that's all gone and I have no idea how to act when we get there.
Besides that, I feel terrible for the bride because she isn't the focus of her own wedding day and she's got a way better reason for it than I ever did. I want to write her a letter or something...let her know I know she'll be worried about her fiance and his family, but that it's OK to take a few minutes to say, "This is about me and my husband-to-be." I don't want her to start off her marriage with resentment.
But then again, that may be crossing a boundary. I've only met her once, and I've only met My Husband's roommate and handful more times. So maybe I should just mind my own business. As empathetic as I am to the situation, I don't know what it's like to watch your father and father-in-law die in the months just after your wedding and I don't want to be...what's a good word? Nosy? Pushy? Opinionated?
Thinking about this makes my head hurt.
As if that doesn't suck enough, said roommate is getting married on Memorial Day weekend. So basically that could be the last time their entire family gets together. And of course, now the wedding isn't really about the couple anymore. Every happy event in the next few years (his sister's wedding, their first baby, etc.) is gonna be marred by the fact his dad is gone.
I'm so sad for them in this entire situation. And it makes me think about losing My Husband. It doesn't take much to make me think about losing My Husband, what with the line of work he's in, but this definitely does it.
And because I wouldn't be me without that selfish little voice in the back of my head, I'm disappointed the wedding has taken on an entirely different tone. This is my first non-family wedding and my first with My Husband (minus our own). And I have to tell you, our wedding wasn't all wine and roses.
The pressure for perfection was intense. My father continually lamented how much it was costing him and screamed at me regularly to vent his frustration. My sisters were only sporadically involved, being busy with their own lives. My mother continually reminded me to be grateful. My parents invited a married couple to the wedding in exchange for them re-sodding the front lawn. My Husband was gone all day Friday and late for the rehearsal dinner because of his second bachelor party in Boston the Thursday night. He was late for the ceremony Saturday afternoon because his older brother took 90 minutes to get ready and then stopped to fill his empty gas tank before taking the wrong highway to the church. And a million other little things.
So I was excited for this wedding...I had no worries, I new exactly how to be helpful to the bride, groom and their families and there was absolutely no pressure. Sweet deal. Now that's all gone and I have no idea how to act when we get there.
Besides that, I feel terrible for the bride because she isn't the focus of her own wedding day and she's got a way better reason for it than I ever did. I want to write her a letter or something...let her know I know she'll be worried about her fiance and his family, but that it's OK to take a few minutes to say, "This is about me and my husband-to-be." I don't want her to start off her marriage with resentment.
But then again, that may be crossing a boundary. I've only met her once, and I've only met My Husband's roommate and handful more times. So maybe I should just mind my own business. As empathetic as I am to the situation, I don't know what it's like to watch your father and father-in-law die in the months just after your wedding and I don't want to be...what's a good word? Nosy? Pushy? Opinionated?
Thinking about this makes my head hurt.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
New Dress Obession: Victoria Beckham Inspired Pieces from ASOS
I'm a shopper. I love clothes and I love to shop. When My Husband was overseas I found myself spending a little recklessly out of boredom and sadness. It was the first time in my life I didn't have to really budget...his salary pays all our bills and when he was in Iraq he wasn't spending a dime. So I spent for the both of us.
Recently I managed to shop a site and fall in love with their dresses without buying them. I realized I can appreciate their structure and how they looked on the models but did not actually need them (plus I just bought a Banana Republic silk wrap dress and a Max & Cleo Navajo Print mini in Kansas City). So I'm learning temperance slowly but surely.
Anyway, my new go-to online shop is a British site called ASOS.
Their dresses are gorgeous! You can find some of the floaty, blouson-type ones that are in right now, but for the curvier girls (like me) they have a ton of stretch-infused, pencil skirted items that manage to make you look sexy and sophisticated. Like Mrs. Victoria Beckham (how'd you like that segway?)!
The ASOS Victoria Beckham inspired line is classic:
Now that is fashion.
Recently I managed to shop a site and fall in love with their dresses without buying them. I realized I can appreciate their structure and how they looked on the models but did not actually need them (plus I just bought a Banana Republic silk wrap dress and a Max & Cleo Navajo Print mini in Kansas City). So I'm learning temperance slowly but surely.
Anyway, my new go-to online shop is a British site called ASOS.
Their dresses are gorgeous! You can find some of the floaty, blouson-type ones that are in right now, but for the curvier girls (like me) they have a ton of stretch-infused, pencil skirted items that manage to make you look sexy and sophisticated. Like Mrs. Victoria Beckham (how'd you like that segway?)!
The ASOS Victoria Beckham inspired line is classic:
Now that is fashion.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Another Day, Another Online Discovery
In my internet travels this weekend I came across an organization dedicated to "connecting the civilian and military worlds." In the days of pop stars' plea deals and political posturing making headlines instead of our men and women overseas, it's nice to discover websites like this one. They sponsor billboards and television ads to remind civilians there are two conflicts going on and soldiers and their families are still sacrificing.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Entertainment Section as much as the next person. Probably more so since I'm so into the movie/television/theater scene. But it's difficult to comprehend that in 2006, almost one third of American students polled couldn't find the STATE OF LOUISIANA on a map of the United States...half couldn't find Mississippi (I don't even want to think about the brain hemorrhaging caused by looking for Iraq or Afghanistan). But I guarantee you 100% of those kids could name the four main characters in Sex & the City.
And I know the whole point of My Husband's service is so that little Iraqi girls and boys have the opportunity to learn about geography or which Jimmy Choo sandals go with which one night stand, but one would think the approximately 5,000 hours kids spend in schools each year would ensure something scholastic stuck in their little brains.
Anyway, special thanks to Operation Never Forgotten for this photo and all the good work they're doing for military members and their loved ones.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Entertainment Section as much as the next person. Probably more so since I'm so into the movie/television/theater scene. But it's difficult to comprehend that in 2006, almost one third of American students polled couldn't find the STATE OF LOUISIANA on a map of the United States...half couldn't find Mississippi (I don't even want to think about the brain hemorrhaging caused by looking for Iraq or Afghanistan). But I guarantee you 100% of those kids could name the four main characters in Sex & the City.
And I know the whole point of My Husband's service is so that little Iraqi girls and boys have the opportunity to learn about geography or which Jimmy Choo sandals go with which one night stand, but one would think the approximately 5,000 hours kids spend in schools each year would ensure something scholastic stuck in their little brains.
Anyway, special thanks to Operation Never Forgotten for this photo and all the good work they're doing for military members and their loved ones.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
This I Believe
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| Courtesy of http://blog.codlibrary.org/?p=521 |
The original This I Believe was a series of radio broadcasts running from 1951-1955 and was the brainchild of a personal idol, Edward R. Murrow and some of his associates. They'd collect and record essays from notable names and local "everymen" about their core beliefs.
The broadcasts were so popular they were translated into a number of languages and similar projects were launched in other countries around the world. Eventually the recordings were published as essay collections. This newest volume contains testimony from original 1950s participants like Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Robinson and introduces more modern faces like Eve Ensler, Bill Gates and John Updike.
Frankly, I'm obsessed. Each essay is short and clear (the recordings ranged from three to five minutes tops) and so they book, even with its deep purpose is a very easy read. The editors have a website that contains all the original 1950s transcripts, gives visitors the opportunity to write their own "This I Believe" essay along with all sorts of other fun stuff.
For my atheist readers, the book is obviously a little heavy on the God and faith stuff, but you'd be pleased to read Penn Jillette's piece "There is No God," that emphasizes the importance of humanity.
Please, please, please check out this book or its original format. No matter where you're from, who you are or what you believe, I promise you won't be disappointed.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Has Buoy's bed-wetting ended?
When I told my mom about the issues we've been having with Buoy marking her bed, she agreed with the anxiety angle our vet is considering. Instead of a nightlight (like the vet talked about), my mom suggested a piece of clothing that smelled like me to help Buoy feel more secure.
A few nights ago I tried it with a pair of my sweatpants I'd lazed around in the last couple of evenings. I turned them inside out and spread them over her bed so that they covered most of it and put her in her crate. She actually settled in almost immediately and slept through the night! As far as I can tell she hasn't marked her bed with urine.
I've also found if the clothing (currently a t-shirt) isn't covering the bed and is bunched in the corner or something, Buoy will rustle around the way she does before she marks, trying to straighten it out. If I go in there and fix it for her, she lays down right away without peeing.
I can't really blame her for needing a little comfort. Last night I pulled out my old stuffed toy, a GUND golden retriever named Noel Dog, to sleep with while My Husband was in the field. With all the activity in the troop and everyone muttering about Afghanistan next spring and the fact that I went off my birth control pills on Sunday and we could get pregnant at any moment...well, I need a little comfort myself.
A few nights ago I tried it with a pair of my sweatpants I'd lazed around in the last couple of evenings. I turned them inside out and spread them over her bed so that they covered most of it and put her in her crate. She actually settled in almost immediately and slept through the night! As far as I can tell she hasn't marked her bed with urine.
I've also found if the clothing (currently a t-shirt) isn't covering the bed and is bunched in the corner or something, Buoy will rustle around the way she does before she marks, trying to straighten it out. If I go in there and fix it for her, she lays down right away without peeing.
I can't really blame her for needing a little comfort. Last night I pulled out my old stuffed toy, a GUND golden retriever named Noel Dog, to sleep with while My Husband was in the field. With all the activity in the troop and everyone muttering about Afghanistan next spring and the fact that I went off my birth control pills on Sunday and we could get pregnant at any moment...well, I need a little comfort myself.
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