Just me. Need I say more?
I was discussing politics with someone this morning, and we were talking about Obama’s State of the Union Address last night. Here was an interesting statement I heard this morning from someone:
“When it comes to social issues, I consider myself a Democrat. When it comes to financial issues, I side with the Republicans.”
I thought about this for a while, and I think maybe I’m the same way.
Makes it a little tough to decide on a candidate, huh?
So what have I been up to this past week?
Well, St. Patricks Day came and went. Which means so did my birthday.
Yup, I turned 37 last Wednesday. Yay me!
My husband and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on Saturday. Yay us!
We are getting ready to start some major home remodeling in the next few weeks, now that the weather might officially be letting us call it SPRING. YAY again!
I spent the last several days at work cursing people that don’t get their Social Security cards changed when they get married or divorced. Seriously, people. I spent HOURS this past week researching SS#s for clients that had their 1099′s kicked back to us, only to find out the people were just too lazy to fill the form out and get their info updated.
The University of Northern Iowa gave Kansas the shock of their lives in true March Madness form. Yay Panthers!
Now we’ll see if the SI curse holds true. Because you know they say whenever a team is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, they lose their next game. UNI plays Michigan State on Friday. I’m hoping the curse is NOT TRUE.
And Obama did something pretty huge this week. I’m still mulling it all over in my head as to how I feel about it. I suppose it depends on which side of the insurance issue you fall on, right? If you are one of those people that pay privately for your own individual health insurnce, you’re probably pretty stoked about it. I’ll write more about my take on it later.
I’ll also write more about the fact that I went to the doctor yesterday. And about the fact that I am having a CAT scan done tomorrow of my head. And that my blood work shows that my white blood count is high. And that I have been having a helluva lot of migraines lately.
Blah – I’d rather talk about Obama.
Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.
“DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
“Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
“Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’
“Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?
“VIRGINIA O’HANLON.
“115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.”
VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
(Reprinted from Newseum. The response to Virginia’s question was written by newsman Francis P. Church)
You can view the actual news clipping here.
I have a problem.
I can walk into any Wal-Mart or Target with a list in hand, and come out with at least twice that. Maybe sometimes even more. Send me to Wal-Mart to get toilet paper, and I will come home with a new movie, People magazine, Little Debbie snacks, some apples, 12 things from the clearance aisle (they were only a quarter each!), a new razor for shaving my stubbly legs, and maybe the toilet paper I needed in the first place. As you can see, Wal-Mart stores are a time-sucker for me. How many times have you gone to Wal-Mart or Target and spent way too much time looking through the clearance aisles, throwing items into your cart you don’t need, and probably will later regret buying anyways?
*waving hand wildly* ME! I do that!
My typical Wal-Mart expedition is for every one item on my list, I have to stop and gawk at probably 2 or 3 additional items, one or two—or three—(GOD, I’m addicted) – of which will probably end up coming home with me on that 12 mile journey.
Surely there is a 12-step program for this, right?
One of the other problems we have is that we don’t live “in town” anymore. We have to get on the interstate and TRAVEL to Wal-Mart – which is about 12-13 miles. And Target is even farther. It’s not a jaunt down the road anymore, so we always feel the need to stock up when we go. A trip to Wal-Mart on any given weeknight or weekend requires at least 90 minutes to drive there, shop, and drive home.
And I am being conservative on the 90 minutes. With us, it’s usually more like 2 hours.
About a month ago, someone recommended Alice.com to me. If you have read anything about my obsession of having an Alice in my house, you can understand why just hearing her name perks my ears up a bit. I decided the other day to see what this Alice chick was all about, and like Janet Jackson croons, ask ol’ Alice “What have you done for me lately?”
ooo, ooo, ooooooooh, yeah…
So Alice. You’re FREE to sign-up and open an account with. You offer FREE shipping. As a first-time customer, I don’t even have to order the 6-item minimum (but I SO did anyway), and your prices are OK. What’s your catch?
I looked around on her website, and I decided to give Alice.com a try. First I tried looking for the shampoo I use (Garnier 2-in-1 Shampoo/Conditioner) and found they didn’t carry it. BUT, they do have a pop-up box you can click to suggest an item to them.
Which, of course I did.
Because I like telling people what to do.
Looking through their site, I noticed there are several ways you can do your shopping. You can shop by room (bathroom, kitchen, pantry, laundry room, etc), shop for only Green/Organiz products, By Brand, By Coupons, or you can just simply type in what items you are looking for in the Search box. I chose the minimum 6 items, all of which are items I regularly use. I picked a variation of liquid items, heavy items, and bulky items to test out their packaging and shipping process. Here are the items I chose:
Garnier Volume Injecting Mousse: $3.40
Skintimate Shaving Gel: $2.51
Angel Soft Double Rolls, 12 rolls: $7.47 – $0.50 coupon = $6.97
Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent, 2x Concentrated 50oz. (32 loads): $4.92
Bounce Dryer Sheets, 160 count: $7.45
Jet Dry Dishwasher Additive, 4.22 oz. : $3.05
When checking out, it gives you suggestions of other items which have coupons available. (For example, it suggested Dove deodorant with a $1.oo off coupon) in case I stink. Also, Duracell batteries with a $0.75 coupon, in case I need batteries for um, something. Adding in a “Tailored Just for You” idea of Cover Girl mascara ($1 off!) made me question just what the hell type of person I am?
Deodorant, batteries, and mascara?
Apparently, someone is thinking I am a stinky downtown street corner hooker that uses the heck out of her sex toys?
Ahem. Anyways…
I got to the billing/shipping page, plugged in my address and moved on the final page. The payment.
Alice.com currently only accepts credit cards (or debit cards, as long as they have Visa or MasterCard logo on them.) I input my debit card information and my order was sent. Depending on where you are located in the country, it indicates order can take anywhere from 1-6 business days to arrive. Because Alice.com is located in the Midwest, I was given a 2-3 day timeframe for my shipment to arrive.
To be continued… in 2-3 business days!
Disclosure: Alice.com was recommended to me by some fellow bloggers at the recent I_Blog Conference. I am not being paid or rewarded in any way for my opinions. I just wanted to share my online shopping experience.
Olympian LoLo Jones, an Iowa native (heck, she even graduated from MY high school), will be appearing in a “Bodies We Want” special in the October 8th edition of ESPN Magazine. The thing is?
She’s posing nude.
And I kinda have a problem with that.
Don’t get me wrong– I think her talent, ambition and drive for success is an excellent example to set for young girls. As the mother of three girls, I can always point to LoLo Jones as someone they should emulate. LoLo Jones proves anyone can succeed with hard work and dedication. As an Iowan, I am proud of her. As a mother, I am proud of her. As a woman, I am proud of her.
But in a teensy eensy way, part of me questions her motive.
There. I’ve said it.
Yesterday morning, on one of the area morning news shows they were discussing LoLo’s picture, and her decision to pose for the magazine. She was interviewed on a local sports radio talk show a couple days ago, and she explained her reasoning.
Apparently, LoLo turned down the idea at first. But then afer some careful consideration, she changed her mind. You can read the full article here. According to the story, LoLo “decided she would do it if she could take a tasteful picture that would send young girls the message they don’t have to be skinny or starve themselves.”
Stop the presses. This is where a red flag pops up for me.
I am all for sending a message to young girls, because I think young girls need all the help they can get in achieving a positive self-image. Yes, girls need to be shown that they don’t have to be skinny, and they certainly don’t need to starve themselves. And had this been used as a photo shoot in “Seventeen” magazine, or “Cosmo Girl”, I would see that young girls would be the target audience for the message she so badly wants to convey.
But ESPN magazine? I don’t know much about their main target demographic, but I would venture a guess that it doesn’t include young girls. I asked my daughters, ages 13, 12, and 9 (all of whom are athletes) if they have ever seen ESPN magazine before.
None of them had.
I guess I’ve gone against the popular opinion of those in our state, or at least those in our TV viewing area. I even had a hard time responding to the poll they created. Here is one of the pictures from the photo shoot, and she claims it is not airbrushed (you go, girl!) and you can even see the scars she has from doing hurdles over the years. It’s an awesome picture, an amazing picture. She’s beautiful, she’s in shape, she’s just gorgeous. Here’s the poll that was on our local news station’s website.
What do you think of Lolo’s photograph in ESPN The Magazine?
Love it. Lolo looks athletic and amazing. 87.5%
Disappointed. Wish Lolo hadn’t posed. 12.5%
(Results not scientific)
So… there it is. But I could have picked either answer. While I love the picture, and I do think she looks “athletic and amazing”, I can also say I am disappointed, and wish she hadn’t posed. FOR ESPN MAGAZINE.
Bottom line, how is a “Bodies We Want” feature in a (mostly) men’s sports magazine going to send a message to our young girls?
What do you think?
