Daily Dose of Blogs – Blogroll
Finally, a blogroll update! I hate housekeeping of all sorts.
Technorati Tags: blogroll, housekeeping
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Daily Dose
Daily Dose of Food – Asparagus
I am not a foodie. I’ve said it before and I know I will say it again. A lot. So if I’m not a foodie, why am I fascinated by this asparagus pot?
I can’t even remember the last time I made asparagus. There’s some in the freezer that I ordered from Schwan’s a month ago and nobody has made it. And I know TW bought some fresh asparagus awhile back, probably around Easter or something. But me? When did I last make asparagus? I have no doggone idea.
And why do I even read the cooking gadgets blog?
Technorati Tags: asparagus, foodie, cooking_gadgets
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Used Book Gift Exchange
My friend Poison Oak mentioned her family is thinking about doing a used book exchange in lieu of holiday gifts this Christmas. This sounded pretty interesting to me so I asked her how they were going to do this. They haven’t sorted out all of the logistics yet but this is what they’ve come up with so far:
*Her sister in law suggested asking spouses to determine who has read what. Her brother likes the idea combined with the asking spouses idea.
This got me thinking about how it could be done which of course led me to ponder the idea of doing it like a Bookcrossing book box. (First person puts in 3-5 books and mails it to the next person on the list. That person takes out the book(s) he/she wants and puts an equal number in and mails to the next person etc… Great idea but probably not good for Christmas gift exchange, right? Probably a cooler idea for a family who lives far apart to do over the course of a year or something.
From there I thought about other gift exchanges I’ve been to and the one that’s sticking in my head is my mom’s Wild Women of the UU White Elephant party every December. This would be a great idea if everyone is going to be in the room during the gift exchange and if the family looks at this as “fun” and not necessarily all that serious. The way it would work is each person wraps a used book from their collection and brings it to the “party”. When they arrive, they get a number. Person number one choose a gift from the table and unwraps it. Person number two chooses a gift, opens it and can either keep the book or trade with number 1. Person number three chooses a gift, opens and either keeps it or exchanges with person number 1 or 2. etc… Loads of fun unless you happen to get the book you’ve always dreamed of and someone “steals” it from you. I could see the adults in my family doing this and having a good time with it.
Do you have any ideas for my pal Poison Oak and her family?
Technorati Tags: gift, used_books, bookcrossing, white_elephant
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Daily Dose of Diet – Obsession
FB is back and he’s talking to himself about weight loss and obsession and he’s doing a mighty fine job of it, too.
He’s asking himself really good, hard questions and giving good, honest answers back again. That’s good therapy, whether the topic is weight loss or another issue causing you some angst, don’t you think?
Technorati Tags: weightloss,, diet,, obsession
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Daily Dose of Work – Retirement
No, I’m not retiring. But right now, I wish I was. (Not because I don’t like my job – I do. Quite a bit. Some parts of it are annoying the heck out of me at the moment but those will pass.) Anyway, this post isn’t about me. (Well it is, because it is ALL about me, all of the time.) It’s about my dirtbag ex husband.
The dude is retiring from the USAF on Friday after 25 years of service. Time Flies. When You’re. Ummm. Getting Paid? OK fine, some of it was fun and interesting for all of us. Other parts of it pretty much stunk. So, a lot like any other job (my current job included) with more travel and longer hours and pretty crummy pay.
I actually remember the day he walked into my parents house, really late in the evening and announced he’d enlisted. After saying for a full year that he was definitely NOT going to join the USAF, like his father did. Apparently walking off of a crummy job mid-day with no real prospects at the age of 19 can change a guy’s mind so enlist he did.
So a military family we became. Military children we raised. And a military divorce was had after 20 years and 6 months (I’m no dummy if you know what I mean…).
I think I enjoyed the time he spent in the AF more than he did. Lots of DWs (that’s dependent wives for you non-miliary folks) really hate military life – long hours, husband gone all of the time, military housing and military healthcare. None of that bugged me in the least. Other military wives bugged me but that’s another issue entirely. It didn’t matter where we moved, I enjoyed the base we were stationed at, the country or city the base was located in and the adventure of it all.
My kids, on the other hand, are really not as fond of the military life as I was and am. My oldest is married to someone who is in the USAF but I think she’d prefer it if he finished this enlistment and got out. I’d prefer it too since they’ve yet to go overseas and it’s almost time for them to consider children, if they are going to have them. 😉 Michelle, the 15 year old, is truly evil when it comes to discussing the US military. She simply cannot find anything good about her childhood, no matter how many fond memories we try to ignite. I chalk it up to her age and being disgruntled with her life in general, not to mention her father in general.
Anyway, the dude retires on Friday. All three of the kids will be there to see it, along with his wife and her sons, his parents, his sister, brother in law. I won’t be there to see it and that sort of bugs me. After all, I’m the one who got him through the rough parts, ya know?
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Daily Dose of Kids – Blogs and Privacy
I’m going to share a really important Denise Rule with all of you folks. That rule is: Do not read your kid’s My Space, Live Journal, Xanga, [insert blog platform of choice]. That rule has a sub-rule that reads: Do not read the My Space, Live Journal, Xanga, [insert blog platform of choic] that belong to the friends of your kid, either. I’ve had this rule for a very long time and it has served me well. It will serve you well, too. I promise it will.
USA Today ran a nice little article about teens and blogging/journaling. It seems a lot of parents are surprised at what they’ve found when reading their children’s “blogs”. And once they’ve read the blogs, they don’t know what to do about it.
Hellooooo folks, if you are surprised by what your kids are writing in their blogs then you aren’t paying attention to your kids or you are in denial about your kids. That’s not the fault of My Space, Live Journal, Xanga, or [insert blog platform of choice], that’s YOUR fault.
Would your parents have been surprised by what YOU wrote in YOUR paper diary/journal when you were 15? Would they have been shocked at the words you used when interacting with your peers, away from prying parental eyes? Would they have been appalled at the things you did behind closed doors, while someone’s parents were out of town? If they would have been, then they weren’t paying attention either. Maybe it is an inherited trait?
I do not read my children’s journals, paper or online, and I’m rarely surprised at what they do or say. I don’t read their friends journals and I’m pretty good at knowing who the problem kids are and what their problems are. I do not read my children’s blogs and they have been known to simply carry on conversations with me regarding their friends’ blogs because they realize I already know what goes on in the world of teens and young adults and I’m not naive enough to think that they are immune to the dark side.
I cannot believe there are adults using the excuse “They put this stuff up for strangers to read so why are they upset when their family reads it?” as a valid reason for reading a blog without permission. Your children would not want you following them to the prom and lurking behind fake palm trees and crepe paper to see what they are doing, even though they are out in PUBLIC, would they?
The world has changed, mommies and daddies, and it is time to change with it. There are things that you (or people just like you) put up in a public forums everyday and you consider them private and anonymous, even though you are looking for answers and feedback and support from perfect strangers. I spend 12 hours a day reading message board posts from adults who would definitely NOT post half of the messages they post if they thought someone they knew was reading over their shoulder. Our children are doing exactly what adults have been doing ever since listserv and bulletin boards began.
Give your kids some publishing space and pay attention to what is going on in the world around you, and around them. If they trust you, they’ll tell you in one way or another what they’re writing and reading and who they are talking to out there in the blogosphere. And if you’re paying attention, you won’t be the least bit surprised by what you hear.
Technorati Tags: livejournal, xanga, myspace, teens, blogging, privacy
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Daily Dose of Vacation – Hairbrushes
Snead asked, so what is it that makes you love this particular brush and today seems like the day to answer her.
Why does today seem like the day? Since I’m sitting in a four star hotel that is NOT remotely like the two hotels I’ve stayed in with her while in Atlanta – it’s MUCH nicer. You’d think I’d be doing fun hotel stuff, right? Fun vacation stuff, right? Looking out of the window at the offices that have caused me so much work angst lately and considered ways to get even, right? Well, I am doing fun hotel stuff. I’m not worrying about cleaning up messes and we’ve watched several episodes of What Not to Wear and I suspect Clean Sweep and the like will also make appearances. We did fun vacation stuff last night and will be doing more of that this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow, so chill folks. I’m having vacation time, I really am. As for the looking out the window at those offices… and plotting… well I would, but I like my paycheck even when I’m frustrated so I feel incredibly lucky that the great view from this room looks out over Atlanta in the opposite direction and makes plotting harder. Maybe another time?
You’re still wondering why I’m blogging about my hairbrush while on vacation, aren’t you? Or had you forgotten that’s what I set out to do? I almost forgot myself so I can’t blame you if that’s what happened. The reason today is the day is because I am in Atlanta at a Four Start Hotel and I have NO HAIRBRUSH AT ALL! That’s right folks. Me. The woman who is incredibly anal about hairbrushes and always makes sure to travel with three, at a minimum, has NONE. NOT ONE.
I blame MICHELLE. She was sick and not improving and laid on mommy guilt so rather than pack in my incredibly efficient way, I just threw things in and left TW to throw things in, as I rushed all over town yesterday getting Michelle to the doctor, getting her medicine, getting her a Halloween costume etc…
I blame TW. After all of the trips I’ve packed for her, you’d think she could have managed to think about my hairbrush. We’ve already established that she understands the importance of this one item in my life. Instead, she printed a copy of the itinerary and directions and such – which was unnecessary since I had already printed a copy earlier in the day!
I blame WORK. If I hadn’t found myself immersed in a project that I thought I was removing myself from, I’d have had time to take my sick child to the doctor earlier in the week. I’d have had time to buy her a Halloween costume earlier in the week. I’d have had time to pack in the normal, and highly efficient way, I normally pack.
Obviously, I’m fixated on my brush right now and I’m thinking about how unpleasant it will be to go and buy another one just to get me through the weekend. I hate new brushes. I hate that the handle feels different and the bristles feel different. The weight is different. I’m a woman who really dislikes change and when I get use to something, I tend to stick with it.
It’s not that the pink Goodys brush is some high end, BMW of hairbrushes. It’s simply that I am use to the size and shape of the handle. The weight of it in my hand. The bristles. The brush. It’s familiar, I know what to expect when I use it. I don’t have to think about the best WAY to use the brush. I just know, because it’s the same brush I’ve used for years and years and years. Even when I open a new package and pull a fresh one out, I know what to expect. Same size. Same weight. Same brush.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and find MY brush at the Eckerd around the corner? (And why is it that all of the Eckerds in my town changed to CVS but here in Atlanta they still have Eckerd?)
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Daily Dose of Time – Work
Today is Take Back Your Time Day and I am making a resolution to do just that.
I can be a bit of a workaholic and a bit of a perfectionist. And I’ve been known to volunteer to help others who don’t seem quite as able to work a 60 hour week and take care of their families.
Today, I’m vowing to make some changes. Personal Changes. Professional Changes. Life Changes. I haven’t chosen the four windows of time activities that are suggested on the website or anything like that. I’ve just decided today that this has to happen.
I’ll get back to you with specifics. And if I don’t, would you please prod me to see that I’ve actually taken steps to Take Back MY Time?
Technorati Tags: take back your time day, time management, stress
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Daily Dose of Weather – Hurricanes
Click Michelle is talking about the hurricane so I figured I’d take a minute and talk about it from the perspective of the folks in the “flamingo house”. I’m sure you’ll find it educational entertaining.
Last year we had three dog-gone hurricanes up here in Hoggetowne. We’re an hour’s drive from the Gulf and more than that from the Atlantic. We are inland for goodness sakes, we are not suppose to really have to deal with hurricanes. At least that was what I thought being a native of Hugo-land. Ha. Apparently we do have hurricanes because I was without power for several hours during all three. I was also without phone, cell phone and worse yet, INTERNET for many hours during all three. We had no significant damage to the house, which is shocking since we have three dead trees in the yard that the landlord has refused to do anything about. Whatever. It’s his house and if one of those trees takes out something important, like the roof, then I guess he’ll deal with it, won’t he?
Anyway, what troubles us around here the most is the fact that STARBUCKS CLOSES long before the hurricane arrives and they aren’t good about opening during a hurricane. Having no coffee is actually worse than having no internet.
The other problem is, we read. A lot. Not as much as we use the internet but it’s a close second. (or it is when I’m actually able to read, which I’m not, for some reason) It’s really hard to read at 6pm when you’re in the middle of a hurricane, don’t even think about trying when it’s 10pm. Even with the little flashlights we had last year, it was not fun. It was challenging though. Trying to figure out how to hold a cheap 3 for a $1 flashlight under your chin in just the right way as to keep the batteries connected to that metal thingy inside that actually makes the flashlight work, oh yea a huge challenge.
If you’ve been reading my blog regularly, and obviously everyone is, then you know TW tends to give me really wonderful birthday gifts, well last year’s gift is a prime example of that. I got. A. Hurricane Kit. For My Birthday. Yes, a hurricane kit.
Not just any hurricane kit, a DENISE hurricane kit. Since then, we’ve added the truly fabulous (not fabulous tasting, mind you) Wolfgang Puck coffee to the kit. (I keep drinking it without a hurricane in sight though because I’m lazy and sometimes need coffee IMMEDIATELY and TW is not home to make it for me anymore.)
So now I have a special radio so we can listen to KTK and their hurricane coverage. I have a lantern. I have more flashlights in a variety of sizes. I have a small stove and I have a battery operated coffee pot for when the six cans of Wolfgang Puck are gone.
No, there is no water except for that bottle of Ethos Water I told you all I was going to buy months ago. It’s been in the car ever since I purchased it and I’m sure will taste just fine after being boiled in the car all this time. I have no idea if we have food that can be eaten cold and uncooked or easily cooked on the little hurricane stove. Probably we have something. Or the kids won’t eat. Whatever. We have coffee and light with which to read by. That is all we really need here.
For those of you who might need a different kind of hurricane kit or some other sort of hurricane preparedness info, WebMD has that info. Someone should write to Dr Marks though and tell him about Wolfgang Puck. I’m sure he’ll agree that this is important.
Technorati Tags: hurricane_kit, wolfgang_puck_coffee,
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Daily Dose of Family – Weekends
Why is it that there are some weekends when there is simply nothing to do or nothing to be done? And other weekends when there is too much to do and too much to be done? We’re faced with the latter and it’s giving me a wee bit of stress this morning as I ponder all we can do and all we have to do.
Here’s the list:
Of course we also have the typical Saturday and Sunday synchronized swimming, the Sunday church and youth group events and the LAUNDRY that must always be in progress as well.
Busy, Busy, Busy… what shall we do?
Technorati Tages: things to do, list, Gainesville, family fun
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