Time Capsule

I got tagged on this one from Karyn. Let's see if I can remember this far back.

20 YEARS AGO: (can I really say that? Am I THAT old??? Yikes.)

1) I got a scholar ship to Detroit Country Day school, a really hard private school in Birmingham MI. I lasted one year then switched to a super easy Catholic Girls' School instead.
2) I was really into the L.M. Montgomery books. I read (and own) every single one!
3) I was pining over Ken McGraw, my 7th grade boyfriend who dumped me for Sarah Bernstien because she had boobs.

10 YEARS AGO:

1) Honestly, the 1990's were a blur to me. 1998? Uh...I went back to school to get my English teaching minor.
2) Left for Fiji the last day of 1998 to do my student teaching.
3) Lived with my best friend Jeanette. It was awesome.

FIVE YEARS AGO:

1) Kelly and I went to Italy, via France, Germany, Austria, and The Netherlands.
2) I started trying to get pregnant. And spent the next year and a half trying.
3) Celebrated our 1 year anniversary

THREE YEARS AGO:

1) I finally had a baby!
2) We were sealed to each other and Daphne.
3) I quit teaching school to be a SAHM.

ONE YEAR AGO:

1) I sold my Passat (wah!) to get a mom-ish car. But I do like my Tribecca.
2) Well, it wasn't quite a year ago, but last year my sister moved to Texas.
3) We took our first family vacation--to Arizona.

SO FAR THIS YEAR:

1) I lost 11 lbs on Weight Watchers.
2) My right eye joined my left eye in having an astigmatism.
3) We finally got a good sushi restaurant close to us - Yapona.

YESTERDAY, I:

1) Made a sandbox for my kids out of my buried strawberry patch.
2) Worked on my March, yes March, digital scrapbook page.
3) Painted my nails for the first time in about 2 years.

TODAY, I:

1) Had pancakes at IHOP for breakfast.
2) Made pasta salad and sugar cookies for our 4th of July family party.
3) Took a nap so I can stay up for the fireworks, hahaha.

TOMORROW, I WILL:

1) Enjoy the 2nd day of my hunsband's 3 day weekend at home.
2) Make a cover for the sandbox.
3) Hopefully sleep in late.

IN THE NEXT YEAR, I WILL:

1) Probably consider having another baby.
2) Try to take a family vacation so we can actually use our timeshare.
3) Decide whether or not to keep my real estate license.


Boy, that was harder than I thought! Anyone who wants to play along, consider yourself tagged!!!

Trivia Quiz

Wanna see how smart you are? Take this quiz. (It's timed, so don't take too long!)

I got a 25, which made my husband gloat because he got a 28. I missed the math question, that was a given. I also missed the beer question, who can blame me? The others, well, I guess I have no excuse.

How did you do?

If You Like Jane Austen...

You'll like this movie. It's called "North and South." In case you're worried, I'm not talking about the horrible mini-series from the 80's staring Patrick Swayze. No, this is a movie made from a book by Elizabeth Gaskell from the 1850's. It's a later time period than the Empire Period from Jane Austen's books; the dresses are full-skirted and waists are lower. But the feel is similar. It's a four part series, so you do need to be into period movies. But if you can handle the 8 or however many ours of Pride and Prejudice, you'll do fine. It's out on DVD. I just finished it and liked it rather well.

Synopsis: Margaret Hale and her parents move from the slow-paced south of England to a dark, dreary industrial cotton town, Milton. There she tries to adapt to the difference in culture and climate. Meanwhile, she meets the horrible master of one cotton mill, Mr. Thornton, and makes friends with some poor workers at a different mill. Things get tense when the workers strike for better wages and the manager has become friends with Margaret's father. Margaret finds herself caught between her own class, where she has few friends, and a lower one, whom she respects. She also hides a secret which may cost someone dear to her his life if she reveals it. Yet, due to misunderstandings, her character will be in question if she does not.

Sound good? If you watch it, let me know what you think.

Heavy Topic

Have you guys seen the video about the hit and run in Hartford, Connecticut??? I just watched it today and I was horrified to see dozens of people and cars who witnessed the whole thing or who passed by the man lying in the street and did NOTHING. Actually, 4 people did call 911. But no one approached the man, no one chased down the cars to get their license plate numbers, no one even went to take the guy's pulse or see if he was alive. In fact you see a couple of people in the video crossing the street, right next to the man lying there bleeding, and not even slowing their pace down.

(Warning, VERY graphic)




And I found links on the side of that video to other disturbing videos. In one, a woman in a NYC mental hospital emergency room collapsed to the ground and eventually died, right there in the emergency room, after no one did anything. Two other patients sat there watching. Two different security guards came in and saw her lying on the floor and then left. A doctor came in and saw her and left, and finally a nurse came in, gently kicked her, realized she wasn't responding, and then proceeded to try to help her. She was already dead.

And finally, a link to a video of a policeman dumping a paralyzed man out of his wheelchair onto the precinct floor because he insisted the man stand up to be searched. No one else in the room helped the man up. Can you imagine?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? Are those just isolated incidents of particularly callous people? Or are we, as a society, becoming so disconnected and numb that we won't help people in need around us?

What are you guys' thoughts?

Art Project

Daddy, Look what Daphne made you with the marker you left out this morning...






And then she made you this...












The marker is 75% fainter after I scrubbed him from head to toe. So now it just looks more like bruises than marker. AND Beck has his doctor's appointment today so now I'll be recognized as the Mom with the most artistic toddler in the whole office. Or else a child abuser. One of the two. Hope you like scrubbing too, Daddy, because Daphne got creative with the carpet in the playroom, the couch, and lots of toys. See you at 5!

Put it On Paper

I love to write letters to companies. Am I the only one?

Today I wrote a letter to V8 telling the how disappointed I was that their V8 Splash has high fructose corn syrup in it. Way to ruin an otherwise totally healthy drink.

I wrote a letter last month to Cover Girl telling them how much I love the way the new Outlast Lipsticks taste with the strawberry flavor in the lipstick and the gloss (but also how I wish they'd bring back my favorite color, which they recently discontinued). They sent me some coupons for $2 off their lipsticks to help defray the cost of trying new colors.

I wrote a letter to Geico last year to tell them how much I loved their customer service. It's always super fast, you never have to wait on hold, you never get outsourced to India, and they're always super pleasant and well-trained. I told them I would never switch companies, even if someone else was cheaper because good customer service means a lot to me. Six months later they kicked me off their insurance (we think because we had to many glass claims in a 12 month period. We never found out.) I guess they never got my letter?

If I go to Taco Bell or MacDonalds and my food is attrocious or if they completely forgot something, I actually call the number on the bag and complain. Usually they send me a free meal coupon.

But I don't do it for the coupons and freebees. I do it because it is some major part of my personality to want to make the world a better place. And I guess I feel that people, or companies, can't change if they don't know there is a problem. And most people, and companies, really do want things to be better, I think. They want feedback--feedback is how they know how they're doing. I know when I have worked in smaller mom & pop establishments, they've always been grateful to know if people really like their product or if there is an issue that they can fix.

What about you? Do you ever give stores, restaurants, service companies your feedback?



.

NOT diet food

WARNING: IF YOU'RE ON A DIET, PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE TO READ.






YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO STOP BEFORE YOU GET FATTER JUST READING THIS POST...









This is my new favorite treat:


I love choclolate and fruit together. So even though I'm not a huge ice cream fan, when I saw the coupling of pomegranate and dark chocolate, I was very intrigued. And it turns out, these babies are as good as I had hoped. In fact, they're wonderful. The ice cream is fruity and just a little bit tart, and the chocolate is not terribly dark, so if you're not a dark chocolate fan, you should be OK.

Oh, and in case you're wondering which wine to pair these ice cream bars with, Haagen Dazs recommends a fine Bigaro, a delightful, effervescent dessert rosé from Italy. I'm not even joking.