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Jan
6
Vegas, baby.
Filed Under travel | Leave a Comment
My brother-in-law took his family to Vegas yesterday. They have a direct flight to Germany today. I’m sad to see them go. We should have gone with them and stayed in a lasvegas hotel. I’d like to stay in New York, NY, or at the Wynn. Sadly, the Wynn is waaay out of my price range and I don’t think they’d recognize my black jack genius in time to give me a free suite. Especially since I usually only gamble with about $50.
But still, I want to go. I can’t believe we live so close, and we’ve still never been.
I mentioned in an early post about David Sedaris talking about people that poop in department stores. He also mentioned people that poop in their pants at slot machines because they don’t want to leave. That’s crazy, right? He said, “I can see that happening at the craps table, but not at the slots.”
Ha ha ha. That cracks me up every time!
Jan
6
AV geeks unite!
Filed Under technology | Leave a Comment
One of my resolutions this year is to become more technically savvy. In a nutshell, I want to figure out how to have my Tivo, my cable box, my DVD player AND my VCR connected to my tv. I want to know how to use my infernal s-cable without messing up the sound on one or all of those boxes. I want to NOT be suckered by Best Buy into buying cables that I really don’t need.
Attainable goals? I hope so.
BTW, I really don’t like Best Buy.
Jan
6
going greener
Filed Under recycle, live green | Leave a Comment
It’s a struggle. We buy our son toys that are so over-packaged in crazy plastic, that I wonder what possible improvements we could make that would ever counteract the waste we’re producing. The sad fact is that that kid loves his Thomas and friends trains, and we want him to have them. So we do other things. We recycle that packaging.
Lately, we’ve been really focusing on unplugging all of our plugs - especially cell phone chargers - so that we’re not wasting all that leaking energy. I found this super cool little gadget - the Kill-a-watt - that tells you exactly how much energy your appliances are using when sitting dormant.
The Kill-a-watt and a whole bunch of other cool eco products are available to make life easier. For example, it turns out my TV is energy efficient. It has an off switch so that I don’t have to unplug it. I have to physically turn the switch back on in order to use the remote, but it’s not using any standby power in the meantime.
On greenandmore.com, they have these things called solar juice bags - laptop cases, totes and book bags that take solar energy and charge personal electronics. How cool is that? And the company lives it’s message - no plastic ware, recycled office supplies and kitchen goods, 100% recycled cardboard boxes, etc. I love someone who practices what they preach.
My most favorite product is the indoor kitchen composter. We’ve got a plastic compost bucket on our counter that is so sad and overused (and smelly! no matter how many times you rinse it!). I’d love to replace it. I’m proud of our composting efforts - there’s no reason we can’t do it with a nicer container on the counter!
If you’re looking for a source for green products, or even green info, greenandmore.com is an excellent resource. With their green learning center - full of top notch information from sources like the EPA and US Dept. of Energy and the going green blog: a community and staff blog called “GreenMusings” where the employees and public share their going green stories and photos, I know you’ll find as many resources as I have.
Jan
6
power tools
Filed Under tools, gifts | Leave a Comment
Each year at Christmas, Father’s Day and my dad’s birthday, I wander the aisles of Lowes and Home Depot, looking at all the power tools and wondering if my dad already has them. This year, I got him this funny little wrist magnet that straps on his wrist and has a little magnet tray for nails and screws. This gift idea was inspired by my wrist pin cushion, which effectively keeps pins out of my mouth during sewing. I thought it would be handy, but who knows? Then I see fancy stuff like the Ingersoll Rand air tools, and I wonder if that’s what he really needs? Honestly, I’m pretty handy with my Black and Decker screw-driver/drill set, but I wouldn’t know the difference between a air gun and an air ratchet. I fear that my dad is destined to get gift cards for eternity.
Jan
6
David Sedaris
Filed Under fair labor laws, david sedaris, cambodia, PRI, Ira Glass, This American Life | 1 Comment
I’ve been listening to This American Life free podcasts quite a bit. If you are at all interested in excellent stories, I highly recommend it. You can find them on ThisLife.org or on iTunes - for free.
The most recent program was called David and Goliath, and it had a funny story about a mom trying to create a little peace between her five year old and her 12 year old. As a girl with a sister who is five years older, I found this story relate-able and wonderful. The mom’s concern was that the older sister really didn’t like the younger sister, and that this negative opinion would carry on into adult life. As the younger sister, I definitely carried some anger and resentment for my very powerful, very witty older sister. In fact, well into my 20s, I planned the day that I would just knock her out cold. Not for any specific reason other than I finally could.
I never did it. Now, I don’t even want to. 99% of the time, anyway. But it was a great story.
Next was a story about Cambodia and how the whims of American policy and corporate buying practices really rule their lives, while Americans have no idea that this is going on. It was an eye-opening story that reminded me to get out of my bubble a little and pay attention. I’m happy to say that I bought two shirts made in Cambodia from Target, and then wrote a letter to Target thanking them for supporting a country with fair labor laws. It took me 15 minutes. And I love the shirts. It’s not big change, but who knows what difference it could make. Certainly more than if I didn’t write the letter, right? (Here’s a little more info about being a responsible consumer from the FLA.)
The last story was an essay by David Sedaris talking about people that poop in department stores. Ever heard of this? Apparently, it’s quite common. And disgusting! The story is hilarious - delivered in a dead-pan sarcasm that only Sedaris captures.
The entire show was a joy to listen to. So thanks, Ira Glass and crew - for making my day more informed and entertained.
Jan
6
My treasure for a caucus
Filed Under John Edwards, personal responsibility, Barack Obama, Democrats, presidential candidates, hillary clinton | Leave a Comment
Wouldn’t it be fun to be an Iowan? I have been begging my family and friends to discuss politics with me. My mother-in-law, who lives in Paris, and my German sister-in-law, had more opinions on US politics than any of my fellow country-men. What does that say about the system?
I would love to be a caucus-goer…debating with my neighbors about why my team is the best. “Come to my side…here’s why!”
The problem is, I don’t have a side. Well, I have a side, and it’s decidedly DEMOCRAT, but among the dems, I’m a little confused. I’m having trouble figuring out how to really find the minutia of the plans of Obama, Edwards and Clinton. I’m increasingly more and more in support of John Edwards, but I’m afraid he’s just not going to have enough money to see the process through.
My brother-in-law made a comment about “what’s the point? The free mason’s already know who the presidents will be for the next 50 years” or something like that. I can’t tell you how much this saddens me.
I don’t care what secret societies are at work. I have hope, and I want change. I want the middle class to be saved. I want corrupt big business out of business. I want WalMart to only buy clothes manufactured in countries with fair labor laws (like Cambodia!) and to stop ruling the economies of third-world countries by demanding cheap jeans. I want Americans to pay attention to the products they’re buying and have a little personal responsibility for the choices they make.
I want my husband and my brother-in-law to get informed and get excited about the political process.
I want my son to grow up hopeful, not full of disillusionment and apathy.
Do I want too much?
Jan
3
ahhh, family
Filed Under christmas, family drama, family | Leave a Comment
As I’m sure is true with many of you, these last two weeks have been a whirlwind of family. Mother-in-law in from Paris, my brother-in-law’s wife and two kids (that he’s been “separated” from for the past year) in from Germany. Trips back and forth between my sister-in-law’s house. Hotel stays on Christmas night. It’s been a lot.
I started back to work today, and I really feel unprepared. My brother-in-law’s family is still here for a few more days and they’ll be staying with us for the weekend. I don’t know how I’m going to do my work-from-home job and entertain these people.
I’m sure it will be fine.
Anyway, I got the most beautiful key chain for Christmas from my friend Megan. It’s AWESOME, but sadly, I keep forgetting to call her and tell her it was my most treasured gift! I got lots and lots of awesome gifts. And most of my handmade gifts went over really well. I know for sure that two of the scarves were big hits and are getting lots of wear.
No strange gifts this year - like the time I got equestrian riding apparel. (I don’t ride.) Although, my mother-in-law did give me two identical shirts - one of which I’m positive was intended for my sister-in-law. When I asked her about it, she said when she finds something she likes, she buys two, but I know the truth. I’ll make sure my sister-in-law gets it. We can wear them on the same day
Hope everyone’s holiday was full of joy and that you’re now able to put your feet up and rest for 11 more months!
Dec
21
Gold Medal Wine
Filed Under gifts | Leave a Comment
I was considering getting my sister a wine of the month wine clubs subscription for Christmas, but then she stopped drinking! Who would of thought! So, I decided to try it for myself. I am not a wine connoisseur by any stretch, but I’d like to know more, and so I thought this would be cool.
I picked Gold Medal Wine because they ship their monthly wines from small vinyards in California. Now I get to feel like I’m supporting local farmers while I get my drink on! Awesome. My first selection came from a small winery called Madrona - securely packaged in form fitting styrofoam were two bottles. One of Merlot and one of Cabernet Sauvignon. Now, normally, I’m not a red wine kind of girl. If I do drink red, I pour it into a sprite and make it a spritzer. (All the wine drinkers just gasped!) But I drank the cab in a wine glass like an adult - sans soda. And you know what? It was great. We grilled steaks for dinner, and it went very nicely.
Enough about my bad wine reviews. The best part of my package of wine was the newsletter - The Wine Press - chocked full of info about the vinyard, recipes that the wine would pair with, and other factoids about wine. EXACTLY what I need to further my education.
Sommeliers, watch out. Here I come - one month at a time!
Dec
13
I was in Macy’s last night, looking at the huge CZ rings in the jewelry dept. Sometimes I wish I had a fancier wedding band. My husband and I have had our little silver bands since the day we eloped. We bought them from a silver jewelry kiosk in Coconut Grove, Miami. Don’t get me wrong, I love my little no nonsense ring. In fact, when I was at the spa a few weeks ago, I got a manicure, and while the girl was working on my nails, she put my little ring in cleaning solution. I’m pretty sure that’s the first time it was ever cleaned Anyway, it looked great - brand new again.
But still, I’d like to get a real set of wedding rings. You know, an engagement ring and band and a matching band for my husband. Someday, right?
Probably around the same time we have an actual wedding ceremony. Maybe for our ten year anniversary.
Dec
13
Thomas and other trains…
Filed Under blabbery, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tuesday was a birthday around here, and we had a ball. I baked a cake, my husband bought our son a life size Thomas the Train, and he wouldn’t ride on it. Anyway, so we got this crazy train, and it made the baby cry if we put him on it. So he just pushed it around. Which he loved.
I was not in favor of this present.
Oh well.
I also took care of most of the Christmas shopping yesterday, thanks to the Real Simple gift guide. I bought almost all the gifts I still needed online. Awesome. I found great stuff at Portsmouthtea.com, moma.org, and spoonsisters.com. I also really liked port authority clothing. I just have a few more gifts to finish making/buying. Luckily, lots of family is coming here, so I have a little more time with their gifts. I just need to get the rest of the packages and cards in the mail early next week.
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