World Water Day 2011

If you watch an old movie and take notice of the little things that happen in each scene... you will notice one huge difference between pre-1980 movies and movies of today. Water bottles + plastic bottles of other drinks "on the go." It seems that people can't go too long without taking a drink of something, so they carry plastic bottles around everywhere they go.

Since today is World Water Day i am focusing on water.

How often do you grab a bottle of water? How often do you see people walking around with a bottle of water {park, gym, mall, sporting events, etc.}? If you answer never, you are either blind to the world around you, or you live in a place that doesn't have bottled water available {an Earth friendly utopia of sorts}. Everywhere i look, someone has a bottle of water in hand. It seems that the human body has "evolved" into something that can't go even an hour without hydration. We cling to our bottles of water like a baby to their favorite blanket. We rarely use a re-usable bottle or glass/plastic cup when we are on the go {how many starbucks cups do you use and toss each week?}. Most people that i know drink bottled water even in their own home, instead of using a cup. This baffles me a lot about the human psyche. What is it about a bottle? Why can't people grab a cup/glass and sit down at their desk?

I do not remember having a drink on the go when i was a really little kid. Our soda came in glass bottles, so we didn't take them out of the kitchen. Instead, we poured ourself a cup. If we wanted water, we turned on the sink, filled up our cup, and got our drink on. If we were out and about and thirsty, we drank out of a water fountain, or on rare occasion we would buy a drink that came in a paper cup {still not the best option}. There were many times when we would just wait until we got home or wherever we were going to grab a drink. We might be really thirsty by the time we got somewhere, but we learned to deal with it. When playing sports we had a plastic cup with our name written on it and the coaches brought giant water containers and we would get a drink in our cup when needed. If you look around at a sporting event today, every kid on the field has their own bottle of water to drink. I can't remember the last time i saw the giant water container in youth sports. Instead you see the individual bottles; even the parents in the stands have their own bottle of water.

I admit that the ease of water bottles keeps people more hydrated. There are probably less incidents of heat stroke and dehydration due to sports or over heating while being outside. But for the most part, the bottles of water aren't truly needed. Just as they were not needed back when we were kids. If you are not being over-worked, grab a drink before you go to keep you pre-hydrated and then refuel your hydration once you get back home. If you MUST take water on the go with you, invest in a reusable bottle {they come in BPA Free plastic, metal, and/or a mixture of the two}. They aren't that expensive. If you do the math... they are actually cheaper than the continued buying of bottled water.

If you are at home... use a cup! Drink from the sink or a filtration system if you aren't comfortable drinking unfiltered water. Nothing has changed since you were a kid. The use of a cup has not changed at all. They still hold liquids. It isn't as if cups have changed to no longer have bottoms or sides; trust me, they work the same as they have for thousands of years. You can still walk around the house with them and not spill it everywhere. If you are worried about spilling, invest in a "coffee" mug with a lid to take from room to room in your house. Clean water is available in all of our homes in America. We are blessed, super lucky, amazingly well off, and we should be humbled by the thought that we are lucky enough to have CLEAN drinking water at our fingertips.

* Fact: 8.8 BILLION gallons of bottled water were consumed in the USA in 2007.

* Fact only 12% of the plastic bottles from that water used were recycled.

* 63.4 BILLION plastic bottles are dumped into landfills and oceans each year, and growing to more and more being dumped each year.

Two quick things i want to add:

1. Charity: Water Water Day 2011. I've talked about this amazing charity before. They bring CLEAN water and education to other countries around the world. If you are able to donate to a charity, i urge you to check out Chairty: Water's website and give what you can, when you can.

2. The trash in our world due to water bottle use.

          a. MSNBC Article on Plastic Trash in America.

          b. Mother Nature Network: 5 Reason not to drink bottled water.

          c. Youtube Video about plastic in our Oceans.

          d. Youtube Video {commercial} for water filtration {brita}

          e. Youtube Video {commercial} "if you could see the real impact" of bottles {brita}

          f. Youtube Video {ethical Water} "Confessions of a plastic water bottle"

Now, go and get yourself a BIG cup/glass of water from your sink. Go on. You'll feel much better about yourself and the way you are treating the planet.

Japan.

watch this video. 

Take the 10 minutes. 

see how much was impacted by the Earthquake and following Tsunami. 

Then, if you can, donate $10 to help aid the Japanese in their recovery.

Japan had a great tragedy happen the other day. One that makes you sit up and take notice of the world around you. It reminds us that we are all on this planet together. We are all at the mercy of this place we call Planet Earth. Be it a hurricane, Typhoon, Earthquake, Volcano, Tsunami, or any number of destructive forces... we are but tiny, meaningless creatures to Mother Earth. We were not the first ones to claim this planet as our own {i speak of the Dinosaurs}, and we certainly won't be the last. Cherish the moments you have and love the ones you are with.

Please, if you have the funds, donate to the American Red Cross today. If you do not have funds, take up a collection at work or with friends. Give time... even the simple act of posting the information about donating on your twitter, facebook, or blog can do amazing things to get the word out there to HELP in the need of others.

Text REDCROSS to 90999 or contact your local Red Cross agency to see how you can help.

Are American's full of themselves?

Without having cable Tv anymore in our house, i heavily rely on the internet to give me my information. Many other Americans do the same by use of their iPhone, blackberry's, and even their office computers. We can not sit around getting updates via the Tv like we use to... we are more mobile than ever before in our history. And knowledge is on the go with us.

Which brings me to why i think American's are a bit full of themselves and have no idea what it means to protest for things that they truly need. Don't get me wrong... protests for women's equality and the right to vote in the 1920's, the civil rights movement in the 60's, and even the protests for the War to end in the 60's. All good and nobel things. Without those movements, our country might very well be stuck just like the countries in the middle east... stuck treating women like they are less than equal. Judging people by the color of their skin, their religion, and etc. We've come a long way in our country... but some of those advances in equality have made people feel like they DESERVE to get something for nothing. These people equate having Freedom with their right to have it all.

Imagine how the people in Egypt feel seeing the people in Wisconsin protest and claim all over the news that they are a revolt just like those happening in the Middle East and Asia. What exactly do those in Wisconsin have to protest for? The ability to earn more money? And while they are all protesting... they still have the use of their phones, their twitter, their facebook, and their internet usage on their phones... unlike in Egypt and Bahrain, Iran, and China, and many places around the globe who have been protesting over the last few months. The protesters in America aren't being shot at, they aren't being pushed or shoved by police, they aren't being arrested for just being there... they have their freedom to protest and they are taking advantage of it for something most Americans already live without and do not even care about. There are doctors in the crowd handing out excuses to get people out of work so that they can protest. I'm not certain, but i'm pretty sure that would only happen in America. Most other countries hide who they are when they protest so they are not harmed, and to keep their families safe.

Would these people protesting in Wisconsin still be there if they were being shot at? What if they were being beaten by police? What if their families lives were put in the line of danger all because of their wanting to protest for their ability to earn more money? I mean, who protests for money? I can see protesting for civil rights, the right to vote, the right for clean water, the right for freedom and any other human right... but Union rights? i've never understood Unions or their bully tactics. There is a reason why throughout history and in movies people who are the heads of Unions are related to Mob's or Crime syndicates. Unions are not the answer, they are the problem.

I am all for standing up for what is right in the world. I support many causes that promote a healthy way of protesting and getting things done to make the world a better place. But there is something wrong in the way that the people of Wisconsin are going about doing what they are doing. There is something not right with the people of Wisconsin being compared to the people of Egypt and Morocco, and Iran, and China, and all of the protests that are taking place around the globe for true reasons.

i think this is a great example of why the people around the world look at Americans and say we are Selfish, arrogant, full of ourselves kind of a nation. We have been taking advantage of our own free system for so many years that we have forgotten what it means to not be free. To not have the things that others go without daily in their lives. it makes me kind of sick, and a little sad to think that people all over the world are being denied basic human rights... and we have people in our country who are fighting over some really stupid things.

Drive thru mentality

It seems that everyone is too busy in life. No one wants to slow down and enjoy the things that are meant to be enjoyed. I know only a handful of people {myself included} who would rather drive to a vacation destination than fly. Everyone wants to just get there and skip over the places that are along the way, and then get right home by skipping over the places once again. No one cares to get out into the world and see the world much anymore.

The people of Europe have it right. For the most part, each person can speak their native language along with English and several other languages of the area around their country. The reason for this learning is simple; they travel, they explore, and they are aware of their entire continent that they live upon. Only 7% of American's have a passport. Which for the most part we do not require one for any reason at all other than to travel to Canada and Mexico while driving and seeing things, so this is just a random point to make. European's however can get to almost any other country from where they live in just a few hours. And i could not find any hard numbers, but most online sources said ALL Europeans had passports.

You do not need to live in a place like Europe to immerse yourself in a culture rich environment. Inside of each town, each state, and each section of our country you can find culture. There is so much to see in America. I'm proud to say that i have driven from one coast of this country to the other coast of this country. I've driven North to South and places in between. And honestly, i've barely scratched the surface of what there is to see in America. But i can tell you this, i've seen some truly amazing things driving around this country of ours. Middle of nowhere Utah/Nevada border area... the great salt flats! amazing! Middle of nowhere Wyoming... Tree Rock! Middle of nowhere New Mexico... Billy "the kid" history! Places you can not just take a plane and you are there. You have to get out and take an adventure. I could list off so many amazing things that i've seen over the years because i took the time to get to where i was going and noticed all of the things along the way.

This isn't just about knowing your country and seeing it, but on a whole people prefer to just have a drive thru style of life. Maybe it is because it is COLD out in the mid-west but the drive thru's are always packed and the parking lots and inside the places are empty. I prefer to go inside, sit down, and enjoy speaking to people face-to-face. {I admit to getting drive thru meals when we are painting or doing a task that requires fast food.} There is just something about the concept of everything going drive thru, it bugs me a bit. Drive thru pharmacies are popping up at even the larger chain stores that do not even specialize in pharmacies. I saw in the news a few months back that they have a drive thru "Adult" store opening up in Texas. I've seen articles on drive thru cigarette and alcohol stores. It's just strange that people can drive thru to get almost anything these days.

I get that people are busy. I get that everyone thinks that their time is more precious than parking, getting out of their car and actually walking around a store to get what they need... but is it any wonder that the Obesity rate in America climbs higher and higher every year? People are getting lazier by the minute. Soon it will be like in the movie Wall-e. People will have zero need to even get up for any reason and they will turn into the people in that movie. FAT and LAZY people just wondering through life with no attention span for reality. it is a sad thought to think of the future of the human race when everything is going to a lazier way of doing things.

This sort of turned into a mini-rant there at the end. Sorry. Basically i wonder when the drive thru lifestyle will end in America? When will people realize that they NEED to get out and DO things. Explore, Enjoy, and Appreciate the life that is all around us all. There is plenty of time to walk your happy bottoms into Taco Bell and get your food for lunch. Not only are you getting a bit of exercise that will help save your life one day... you are also shutting off your car, which in turn helps reduce CO2 and less pollution also helps save your life and the life of others!

Do cows get called fat?

{as always, if an image is from weheartit.com, click the image}

this lovely little Cow image was found on weheartit.com

it often occurs to me that we as humans are obsessive compulsive on so many levels in our life, but few will openly admit it. One that stands out firm in my mind - our body image. Many of us strive to be a tall thin model looking women... and the men strive to be tall, dark and brooding (muscles) just like the celebrities we see in movies and magazines. We each walk around and view each other as a "size" and look first at appearance before we consider speaking to each other. We size up ourselves standing next to people around us - maybe we think we are too large in certain areas, maybe we think we are too small in other areas. When standing next to an attractive man, we are more aware of the way that we are standing - we are also more aware of how we look and feel about ourselves. Because chances are - that man has already sized you up and thought of you as either "attractive" or "not attractive" because of your shape, size, and looks.

Typically we go about our daily lives and give little to no thought about our weight, size, or shape... but from time to time we are made aware of who we are in our bodies. It can either make us feel really good - by standing next to someone larger than us OR it can make us feel really bad - by standing next to someone smaller than us. or perhaps visa-versa if you are ashamed of other features you have that are small and wish they were large (you know what i mean).

Currently it is that time of year when summer is quickly approaching and we are all starting to pull our our shorts, our tank tops, and our tiny tees - and putting away the bulky sweaters and sweatshirts that hid the parts we did not like about ourselves. We realize that over the winter we didn't take the opportunity to drop any weight or work out as much as we kept telling ourselves that we would do the summer before. We either have the choice of sucking it up and being who we are and being OK with it - or going on a crash diet to lose some weight before summer.  Recently hubby has taken it upon himself to become more serious about losing some weight. He has put on about 20 pounds this last year and it has not occurred to him that the year before it was 12 pounds and the year before that it was 8 pounds and so on. He is wondering what it will be by next year if he doesn't put a stop to it.

i have been fully supportive of his choice to get healthier by losing some weight - but he is going overboard and eating way less than he should. He is getting zero exercise and just losing weight by "crash dieting". As a forever recovering anorexic - i know just how dangerous having too little calories can be to the human body! I keep telling him "eat a healthy snack" and i keep begging him to stop working from 8am to 1am and  say almost daily, "let's go for a walk!" but he is set in his ways and sees results - so he thinks this is working and going to keep working for him.

Today i am asking - "do you think that one cow would call another cow fat?" is that what all that "mooooing" is about? i think not! Most animal species are not so specific about the appearance of size with those who they hang around, call friend, or even decide to mate with. There are some species that seek out the smartest, the most cunning, the fastest runner, etc. But the size doesn't really matter when it comes to who the animal is in it's group/society. A lot of times in nature - the bigger, the better.  i keep telling hubby - just get healthy, worry LESS about the size of your waist, the size or your pants, etc. But i do not think he is listening to me anymore - he seems to be eating less and less each day that he sees a change in the number on the scale, and it is making him more and more cranky! (another sign of under-eating! not to mention he is getting more headaches)

i too am less than excited myself about summer and having to put on tighter clothes and skirts/shorts - but mostly because i feel naked without my favorite pair of jeans or my favorite sweatshirt! it is not so much that i care about what my body shape will look like to OTHER people - although i do care somewhat about that.

faith and spirituality

I believe an important distinction can be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with faith in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another. Spirituality I take to be concerned with qualities of the human spirit, love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, that bring happiness both to self and others.

- The Dali Lama

i could not have said it better myself. People often inquire in conversation, "what church do you belong to?" i never quite have an answer, and often times i feel put on the spot. i have strong values that come from many faiths. but on a whole, i consider myself more spiritual than religious. i have been part of many faiths in my lifetime, searching for that perfect fit. Each time, i found that the religion confined my beliefs. Each holding positive points of view and each one having some/many/few things that i could walk away with... but in the end i could not call myself complete while being of one set religion. Instead i am learning to be happy with not having a religion as my total base - but instead i focus on keeping myself centered in a spiritual mind.

Haiti and our borders beyond...

*Please note, all images below are linked to their original source so that you can read the stories that go along with them.
** Please note, this is my opinion of how i think it should be, feel free to disagree, but you aren't going to change my mind.

Yesterday i felt angry and very sad towards a couple people that i know. I understand their words were not meant to spark negative feedback, and both of these women are amazing moms and women! But it got me thinking, if two people felt this way "it's great that people are donating to help in Haiti, but what about all the people here in America that need aid?" then perhaps there are more Americans thinking the exact same thing. This makes me very sad.

i am of the mindset that we are not just a nation of The United States of America - we are a world nation. ONE world ONE love! It is not that i do not support American charities and all the wonderful things that they do, but here in America we have a very large scaled government with ways to help every single MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD (even pets!). Certainly there are times when people fall through the cracks in this country... but opportunity is there for any person who seeks the help and guidance of our well established government. Could it be more, of course. But this isn't really about our government at the moment... what i am shocked about is that people can coldly turn a blind eye to the rest of the world because they think it doesn't matter. it DOES MATTER!

Charity: water
My first time coming across this charity - it brought tears to my eyes. If you want water, what do you do? You quite simply, turn on the tap water in your kitchen, bathroom, if need be an outside faucet, or if you are out an about there are clean water drinking fountains on just about every street corner or inside of every building. But what if you had to walk miles every single day to get drinking water. Now what if that water was like what you see in the image above? It baffles the mind to think that an element found on over 71% of this planet - and millions of people do not have access to clean drinking water. I'm not talking about during the aftermath of a disaster like in Haiti or even Katrina, i am talking about every single day of their life and their children's life. Being born in America you are already blessed by not only FREEDOM but having basic needs of life at your fingertips each and every day of your life.


Doctors without Borders
The image above is a refugee camp in Thailand. Imagine if your country kicked you out because of your religious belief or because you didn't belong for some random reason - or because of a natural disaster. You would be forced at gunpoint to stay in a refugee camp. No other country wants you, and your own country will not take you back. You are stuck. Now imagine you are sick or your child is sick. The camps are less than sanitary! You can not leave to go to a doctor, so what do you do? With help from the UN, UNICEF, and Doctors without Borders these people will get medical help. Not to mention food and clean drinking water. Do you honestly think a refugee camp would ever be set up inside of the USA? Hell no. We would find a way to get every single man, woman, and child into a safe living condition. This kind of atrocity happens around the world all the time. There are millions of people in refugee camps as i type this in Haiti and other parts of the world.

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the following images are from on the ground in Haiti. If you can look at these images and still think people in the US need our help & money more than those in greater need elsewhere on this planet, then there is nothing more i can do for you. It is sad to think anyone can see the issues that plague our planet and still think "help me/us first".

my God, just imagine if this was your grandmother!
Pray for those not only in our own country, but all over the world each and every day!



ONE world, ONE love!

climate gate.

the reason we try.

Over the last few days i've been reading and listening to the News talk about "climate gate" (if you've been living inside of a box, try going to google and doing a search on "climate gate"). It stands to reason that any lie is bad and should be looked down upon. But i also feel that it is necessary to sometimes lie to certain people in life... "Why no dear, that doesn't make you look fat." ;-) Although i pride myself on being up front and honest as much as i can in life - i would expect nothing less than the truth from all others to me... so i do all that i can to always tell the truth, even if it hurts someone. But there are certain times when you just can't help but lie to avoid major hurt or unforeseen circumstances.

So when i hear/see that people in the climatology departments have been faking documents to cover up that the world isn't exactly warming up like they had previously predicted - one thing 1st comes to mind - so what?

But when you dig deeper down into the cost of it all - then and only then do i feel frustration towards the issue.

Set aside the cost issue... set aside the billions wasted each year on fake studies and false records... set it all aside, and what you get are people working towards a better future for the planet to make life better for every person on it.

But it does remind me of a quote my Earth Science teacher said almost daily so its burnt into my mind, "the planet will be here long after humans die off and another race of beings takes it over..." just as it did with the dinosaurs; what we are doing today is protecting and preserving HUMAN kind, not the planet. There is very little that we, as humans, can do to destroy the planet for good. We might change its nature, we might make it appear differently than what it had in the past... but we can't destroy the planet (short of blowing it up, of course). But we can harm and destroy HUMAN kind by what we do.

Another thing is a great photographers quote "keep/leave it just as you found it..." meaning that when you go to take a photo of nature or life, don't adjust what you see... don't move the leaves around to make it more pretty for what you think might make it prettier in a photo... just take your photo, and move on so that others can come and see the world just as it should be - natural - un messed with by human kind.

So back to my first original thought of "so what?" If it takes a "lie" to wake up most people on this planet that what they are doing is killing each other, then i say fib a little bit... just stop spending/wasting money doing it and we're all good. Most people i know do not recycle or even try to "save the planet". But i've been at this saving the world business since i was a teenager (but i am far from perfect at it). I was part of Greenpeace. i've been a vegetarian since age 11 and will forever be one. I refuse to think to this day that it is about saving the planet, the planet will be just fine - what i am trying to save is the future of HUMAN kind. Saving the future for my daughter and her (our) future children.

So to sum up, lying is BAD... but maybe change your tactics to save the people instead of saving the planet and you will get more help. Most people are against killing of humans (sure they'll eat a cow or two) so if they realize they're killing each other off slowly by trashing the planet - maybe they will wake up and try harder :)

lost in the words...

I can not say that i have ever known that feeling of being totally lost in the language.  Having never been to another country, i am oblivious to that feeling.  But i am learning so much living in California. This area is 55% Asian 15% Hispanic 15% Indian (India) and only 7% Caucasian and a mix of other races making up the other percentage points.  Just by walking around each day i feel an odd sense of not belonging...

Hanjin (as seen in image above) is my brothers wife of almost 2 years.  She is super sweet and very quiet.  Each time she speaks to me, i try so hard to understand her.  I am not sure if it is that she is not speaking loud enough to be heard clearly, or if i am so-very-not use to translating the broken English spoken by a person not native to America... but there is a lot being lost in translation.

Today we went on an adventure alone with her.  It was i am sure the first of many to come.  She needed to go to the market, which seemed innocent enough of a trip.  I told my brother, "no problem, we can take her while you get some work done."  In the end i realized we were taking her to a Korean/Japanese/Asian market.  

I had been told before that this was an amazing place with lots of foreign goods.  The market itself was very neat, lots of normal foods, and many strange things that Americans probably would never eat (dried squid on a stick anyone?).  I love the Thai noodles that they make in the Thai restaurants but i can never find them in  a normal grocery store.  I was excited at the prospect of locating them in this store.  The asian noodle isle was huge!  Of course everything on the package was written in asian (which exact language i can not be sure), and of course Hanjin tried to communicate to me what kind of noodles i should buy.  I ended up with two different kinds because part of me was overwhelmed by the choices, and another part of me just wanted to satisfy her speaking to me saying, "you buy this one, no?" So i finally just said, "yes, i will buy this one" to a set of noodles.  Only to locate the ones i think i want (?) a few rows down.  I didn't have the heart to put the other set of noodles back on the shelf.  And i was kind of worried i would end up with dried anchovies if i grabbed the wrong item on the shelf. ;-) (ps- these WERE purchase by Hanjin)

The ride home was as quiet as the ride there.  I kept trying at talking to her about things, but i think she was just as unsure of having a conversation with me as much as i was with her.  We sat silently listening to the Juno soundtrack while Claire enjoyed her Asian doughnut and milk in the backseat.  This adventure was quite the learning lesson for me.  One day i wish to venture beyond our borders and see the world.  I only hope i can communicate on a level to where i do not feel like an outsider even when i am with family.  I really think i want to learn Korean now to make her life easier around us... not to mention being able to buy lots and lots of good noodles!

do more for those who can't do for themselves

Every once in awhile you come across something that makes you sit up and take notice of the world.  It makes you see what you have and what others do not have.  There are so many thing that we, as Americans, take for granted on a daily basis.  It is something so simple and easy to get... we can go to almost any place in this country and it will be there.  I am talking about Clean Drinking Water.

The reason that this story came out and pretty much called my name was this, my birthday was just the other week and i told all who wanted to give me something to NOT give me anything because i did not want to move anything more to California.  In stead i asked people to give money to a cause that they were close to.  I have no idea if anyone really took the 10 minutes it would actually take to sit down at a computer and donate to a cause.  But if they did, i thank them for doing that for me and for those in need!

Another reason i love this cause, the clip about having too much stuff for birthday's.  Every year we, as parents, purchase our kids so much stuff!  I can not stress this enough, i'm getting tired of saying it because i don't think anyone is listening. It is something that sometimes shocks me, to walk through the toy section at the store. There is no longer one Barbie sitting on a shelf that only has one outfit.... oh no, you have Barbie, her entourage, her car, her house, her sister, her pets, her office, her entire wardrobe, her 2nd house, her hot tub, her pool, her second-third-fourth-fifth job, her entire life now has 2 entire isles at our Super Target!  Not to mention they have knock off Barbie, and then there is the newer section of Bratz Dolls.  This is just one toy item, don't even get me started on the 6 months old and under toy isle.  How much can you buy for a new born, really?

Do we need it? Do our children really need so much distraction in their lives?  The things that all people need to live is, water.  Clean drinking water.  It is not something that we have to think about.  What would you do if you have to give your child a cup of mud water?  How far would your walk to obtain a glass of clean water for your child?  Luckily you will not have to worry about this issue any time soon.  The next time you turn on your faucet, and watch the clean water come out for giving to your child... think about what you have been blessed with in your life.

The September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.

Post 101.

This is my 101st post! Blogging goes by so fast.

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Sharing some more blog love; Knock Knock is wonderfully full of beautiful life images!

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Who's following you?  In the land of twitter, you are who follows you.  I have to admit to rather boring updates... my life just is not that interesting to most people in a play by play mode.  But i am up to 76 followers!  And even though that is no where near the amount that is following say, Ashton Kutcher, i feel pretty good that more than 5 people enjoy what i say ;-)

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Gelatinous form. something about winter... it makes me feel all lazy and wiggly in areas!  Soon i will be back to t shirts that are not covered up by baggie sweatshirts and these issues will be more than just me feeling wiggly!  I miss warm weather, i just do not seem to get out as much in the winter... which leads to lazy days watching TV and playing on the computer, which leads to wiggly areas.  Stupid winter!

**

Consumerism!

I have really started to notice all of the CRAP filling up the stores.  I use to be a consumer of CRAP.  I use to be a buyer of CRAP.  But now when i am at the store and i look around at the many isles of items... i start to get angry and then that anger turns into an almost "panic" of where the world is going.  So i pondered the question to my family the other day (to which they gave no solid answer).  "If tomorrow the store stopped selling 5 items, those items would be gone forever, what would you be OK with never being able to purchase again?"  So here is my answer, and mine is grocery only for this purpose of the question.

1. Hostess treats - twinkies, ding dongs, ho-ho's, and all of the other varieties.  I never buy them, never will.

2. Bagged Pop Corn (sold already popped like chips).  If you can't pop popcorn, there is something wrong with you!

3. Already cut up celery and carrot sticks in water. OMG, nasty!  waste of a plastic container, and they look nasty and taste nasty!

4. Half of the varieties of BBQ Sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, etc.  What ever happened to being happy with PLAIN ketchup, mustard, mayo and BBQ sauces?  When i was a kid... we had Ketchup, Mustard, Miracle Whip, Open Pit BBQ sauce, and A1 sauce.  There were not 30 variations of BBQ sauces... if we wanted to spice something up, we used actual spices!  Which in our house we normally we had salt and pepper.  Today, i hate the condiment isle due to the choices.  Give me 1 and toss the rest out!

5. Candy... what ever happened to M&M's and a couple of choices.  There are 10 choices of Hershey Kisses currently on the store shelf!  Seriously, consumers have too many choices!

I could go on, but those are my 5 FOOD items that i personally could go without.

What do you deserve to get?

In watching the news today, i became pretty upset at what i was seeing in the world.

1. Icelandic people protesting and screaming at their government.

2. Plane crash victims "demanding" and "suing" for FREE upgrades to 1st class for LIFE and monetary amounts far beyond what they should get; all for an ACCIDENT! They are LUCKY to be alive and should be thanking GOD, not complaining.

3. People who don't deserve a HUGE bonus got a bonus worth more then any average American will plan to make in their lifetime.  Not to mention we just bailed out their company from going under, they should be lucky to have a job.

4. The Exxon Mobile company (and other oil co.) posted their earnings for last year and they are still complaining their BILLIONS are not enough for them and giving a "poor us" attitude because the price of gas is below $2.00 a gallon.

I do not consider myself an overly educated person or someone who often knows what the heck she is talking about. But what i do know is people.  And i am starting to dislike most people for their "i deserve it all" attitude, and i have lost most of my faith in my fellow humans to just be good people.

I am sitting here looking around my living room.  I know that by next month the couch will be sold, the desk, the shelf, the apothecary CD holder, the bench, and the love seat... oh yes, and the big screen TV, all will be sold and gone.  I know that the only way for us as a family to really make it is to move on.  I'm not going to sit back and stick my head in the sand and cry.  And i am certainly not going to just expect someone to bail me out and take care of us.  We are the makers of our own destiny.  And i for one am not going to just sit here and feel sorry for myself and then expect someone to just fix my life for me!

So, what do you deserve?  What do you expect to get if you aren't willing to make an effort?  And if something "bad" comes your way, are you going to expect to get something out of it, OR will you just understand that life isn't always fair and pick YOURSELF up, dust yourself off and make YOUR life better without asking for a handout.

i really keep hoping for a real change, and i feel sorry for those who voted for Obama thinking he was the "change".  One man can not change the world... and one man can not change this country.  It will take the change in every man, woman, and child.  An effort towards a better life, a happier life, and a more grateful life.  So today, be grateful for all of the things that you have.  Love your spouse, love your children, love your moments.  Don't expect everything to be perfect and just to automatically be done for you.  Create your own destiny, and while you are creating your destiny, be sure to help those around you find their destiny so we can all live in a better world.

take advantage you're worth it!

Wait, what?

that is the message so many people are getting these days.  Everyone thinks they are "worth it".  And i agree that you should always think you are worthy of the things life has to offer.  You should live free!  You should have a choice in how you iive!  but at what cost do we "bailout" people who mess up?

We've become a nation of "uhhh!! no fair! where's mine?!" The Veruca Salt syndrome as i call it.  Everyone thinks that they deserve it all.  Kids don't even try anymore because they know that if they complain to their parents, their parents will get upset and then they will take over for them and "bail" them out of trying.

I am always thinking to myself (as i look around at other parents) am i raising my daughter wrong and she's going to end up hating me for being so harsh!  But i've come to realize that kids are far out of control when it comes to getting their way.  You can't punish a child at school or the parents will sue and take good money away from the school.  And the parents won't punish the child at home, so where do these kids get punished?  (i'm not talking about spanking, we don't believe in that at our house)  They do not get punished.  And so they grew up and are growing up expecting to get their way in everything that they do.

Does the current "bailout" teach our children anything other than this; FAIL and someone will be there to BAIL you out?

I can proudly say that i am the only person in my family that did not file for bankruptcy.  We have debt and we are currently struggling to make sure we have everything under control in our budget... but WE are bailing ourself out.  We are not asking for a handout because we got ourselves into financial trouble over the past few years.  We do not expect anyone to pay our debt.  Sure it would be wonderful to have someone just hand me the money and take the easy way out; but what do i learn from that?  Nothing.

I am against all of the current bailout plans.  What would happen if the government did nothing?  The truth is - no one knows because they are planning to keep bailing out troubled business'.  It makes me angry and it makes me sad to think that there are hard working families out there going without because they can not even put food on the table.  And then 3 CEO's show up on their private jets costing $20,000 each!  There are people who would love to earn that as an income in an entire year!  and they spent 3 times that amount just getting from Detroit to D.C. 

Shame on you Government, Big Business, and on the society that we have become.  We should all know better and we all need a serious time out! :o)