Other Kinds Of Stupidity

I was just reading about Hallie Berry and the 'comment' she made on the Tonight show and how she felt she needed to apologize for the comment that a distorted photo of herself made her look like 'her Jewish cousin'. Come on people, are we really all that thin skinned? She wasn't being mean, or deragatory. In fact the comment came from when she showed the pictures to some young women who worked for her that were JEWISH. I really think that the aura of political correctness, and jumping on anyone who says something conceived as racist is way out of hand. Several months ago I made a short film on the evils of racism and in it I said racism was the darkest of evils. Someone attacked me saying that using the word 'darkest' implied a racial slur against blacks.... what? Um, I don't think so. Come on people. Use some sense when dealing with such things. REAL racism needs to be dealt with. Going overboard, on the other hand is a different kind of stupidity, and really needs to be igorned. Sorry.

Anger Management

There's an article on how to complain without 'venting' on Yahoo. Mostly it has to do with dealing with problems that arise during travel, but when you think about it, it's probably a good idea to consider how you complain about anything in life. Most of it really is just frustrated venting that gets you nowhere. Well it may help you feel better a little, but it doesn't solve anything, and usually makes the person you are gripping at just dig in harder and ignore the real problem. Getting a hold of your own frustrations and pushing aside anger to look at the simple ingredients of the problem so you can lay them out in an un-emotional manner is the best way to sort through difficulties without it turning into a blow out, but how often does that happen? It's natural for our anger to be present over something we feel is done to us. It's difficult to push it aside. It was a really good article though and something I'm going to try to deal with in my own times when I need to handle a problem with someone else, and not just traveling.

Big Loser

Well, did any of you guys happen to watch last Tuesday's episode of Biggest Loser? I love that show but what was going on there last week really toasted my buns (how's that for talk from a dieter? LOL). I can't believe it. First the show's creators restructered the entire way the show was conducted so I felt kind of lost, and a little angry because it's hard to root for your favorite team when the teams are all split up and re-grouped. Then the real bombshell came. Two members of the former blue team conspired to pull a stunt to get rid of someone else. Suddenly it was a typical 'reality show' instead of the everyone being there for the main purpose of losing weight. In fact, in order to pull of their little game, they had to do the exact opposite! Two of the blue team members GAINED weight ON PURPOSE. One of them, a whopping SEVENTEEN pounds! Apparently they did it by drinking mass amounts of water and holding it right before the weigh in (man, 17 pounds of water, that's over two GALLONS!). It was so wrong though. Lots of others, including two of the trainers were massively pissed off about the whole thing when it came to light, and I don't blame them, what I DO blame them, and the show for is not considering that against the rules in the spirit of the idea behind the show---LOSING weight. If Biggest Loser comes back on next season, I sure hope they have taken such tactics into consideration and made rules to avoid them. To me, that should be grounds for expulsion from the game!

Back To My Roots

While I've always had an active imagination, and wrote little stories in my childhood days they were usually centered around famous characters that attracted me---yeah, fan fiction. Years ago, and I do mean years ago when I first got 'hooked up' on line I started writing fan fiction on various sites. Some geared toward certain celebrities, some toward certain popular shows, etc... it was fun, it was exciting, and the feedback was... well, ego boosting. Those of us who write know what a lonely business it can be at times. We also know how discouraging it can be without knowing your words have any effect at all on others. Huddled away in our 'bat caves' to write for hours and wonder if anyone else on earth will feel it the way we do. Oh sure, we try critique groups, but that's a different type of animals entirely. After years of doing fan fic, I finally branched out on my own and wrote my own original fiction based on my own characters and had some levels of success... but it gets daunting at times. You can find yourself loosing faith. Finding that faith again is vital to picking up the 'pen' again, but where do you find it when it's flown away?

Go back to your roots... at least that's what I did. I feel the juices flowing again and it's a great feeling.

It's The Little Things

Being a romantic at heart I love buying frilly little gifts for the entire bridal party when I go to weddings. So often the rest of the party get totally ignored on that day, while of course it should be the bride's day, still, the rest of the group put a lot of work into that day too. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Just something to say they are appreciated, and noticed. I forget myself about the men in the party though. I never really thought about groomsmen gift. If I remember correctly I didn't at my own wedding either, and I'm pretty sure my hubby-to-be at the time didn't either. He's not really like that. It's not that he's not thoughtful, he is, he just doesn't think in terms of little things like that. I kind of feel guilty that I didn't either now.

Changing Seasons

Today is beautiful outside. After a day of thunderstorms on Thursday, then a cold front the storm blew in on a dreary cold Friday, having the sun out and the breeze warm today makes it feel like it might very well be the last day of fall. Not too uncommon here to have October be the end of the decent weather. It makes me feel like taking a tablecloth out and spreading it on the ground to have a picnic to celebrate this end of the season. Pretty soon it will be holiday lights, festive feasts, and most of all bitter cold. Ah, the warm days of summer are gone too soon once more. This drastic change of weather we've had in recent years kind of leaves a gloomy feeling because the leaves haven't even started to change yet. We don't seem to get the beauty of fall anymore. Just summer, then right into winter.

Look At How You Feel

Back on my jewelry kick for a moment--I've found that I really like wearing jewelry of all kinds much more now that I'm losing weight. Funny, but dressing up, wearing jewelry, wearing make-up kind of goes by the wayside a lot of times when we start to feel less attractive, even subconsiously. Once you start to feel good about yourself again, a lot of things come blazing back into full glory, including wearing nice clothes, and jewelry (and that's not all, but this is a 'g' rated blog). I have even taken, most times anyway, to not wearing sweats and t-shirts to 'work' in my home office anymore. I do slide on that once in a while, I mean what's the fun of working at home if you always have to get dressed up? However, even in sweats and t-shirts, I feel sexier!

Doing What You Love

I just took a little break and went in and turned on the tv to watch for a minute while I had a pear and revived my energy. 'Rock Star' was on. It's one of my favorite movies, but just seeing that little glimpse of it, rather than sitting and watching through the entire thing gave me the rare opprotunity to think about it in a different vein. How often in life do we finally acheive what we think is our 'dream' only to find it's the same old 'stuff' (see I can use nice words). It's just a job. Same politics, same drudgery, just in a shinner package--maybe. I've certainly found that to be true. I've been lucky enough in life to have turned several 'hobbies' into financial ventures (ie: job). In doing so I've found in EVERY case that there's nothing that sucks the fun out of an enjoyable pursuit faster than having to make money at it. They say that it's wonderful to be able to make a living doing what you love to do... that's true to a point--just don't expect to keep on loving it.

TV for Real Life

I bet you didn't realize how much you can learn from television that you can apply to your real life. I'm not even talking about reality shows here. I mean sitcoms, dramas and all that. For instance, a few weeks ago on the series 'Shark' I learned that you can sometimes pay for plastic surgery with sex instead of money. I mean all us poor girls who'd like a little nip and tuck, but don't have the cash--no problem? The sleezy doctor's will probably hit on us seeing our desperate need for their work, and do it gratefully in exchange for a little bump and grind retaliation... of course, the drawback here is you may end up dead. Dang, I knew there had to be a catch.

Getting The Big Bang

I started out watching the premiere of 'Big Bang Theory' a few weeks ago but then let it go. It was kind of 'haha' funny, but not really what I thought it would be. I really liked the idea of Johnny Galecki, David from the Rosanne show, in a new character. It's kind of funny because his character on Big Bang isn't much different from his old character on the Rosanne show. It really didn't quite make the cut though because although seeing a bunch of 'egg-heads' in difficult circumstances is funny, and even heartwarming in a 'I'm glad they have the same problems' sort of way, and even worse, that's all it was. However, I was drawn back in last night when Lauri Metcalf, Jacki (the sister) from Rosanne, made a guest appearance... now there was the old chemistry. See I loved Rosanne. That was a great show. Those two characters being on Big Bang really brought back a chemistry even though the Laurie character, playing the mom of Physicist 'Sheldon' wasn't the same as her Jackie character. I really enjoyed that episode. I think I'll give Big Bang another shot. It could actually amount to something after all.

The Thrill of Not Knowing

Sometimes I wonder if I have covered all my bases in investments. I'm usually a pretty 'safe' investor. I tend to take only those things that require small investments in money, and are secure so I am not likely to lose the principle. It could happen, but it's not likely. However those investments don't pay off really big either. The more you have, the more you get, and it can get rather large over time, but it's not like a huge windfall at every turn. Real estate, and real estate franchise can really put a fire under investment returns. I've learned a lot about real estate investments and have come close to jumping in at several points. Some days I think I just need to grab my nose and jump in the water, or I'll never get wet. I'll never feel like I know enough, or feel secure enough, but then again, there's a certain level of thrill in the not knowing.

No News Isn't Good News

With all of the talk about celebrity rehab and its effectiveness, or lack thereof, it's really putting a shadow on a very important industry. Drug treatment centers are vital in the work they do to help those who earnestly want help from their addictions. The trouble with celebrities in rehab is that they really don't want 'help', they want some magic cure that will enable them to go on with their destructive lifestyle while not suffering the consequences of the drugs and alcohol abuse. Maybe in some warped sort of 'perfect' world that would be possile, but in reality, if you want a cure, you have to be willing to accept the treatment, and do the work to get through the rehab. For those that really DO want to clean up their lives, rehab is the best possible way to do it. Most of the time there is no way to do it alone, and friends and family can only help so much. The professionals that work at the treatment centers have not only valuable school knowledge, but often times life knowledge of what it takes to get rid of the dependancy on alcohol or drugs. Sadly, the focus now is on the celebrity rehab failures rather than on how wonderful and helpful those places really are. The focus needs to shift. Unfortunately good news is usually not 'newsworthy'.

Baby On Board

Way back when my kids were babies I did everything with them in baby slings. I loved them things. Then when my grandkids came alone, I reaquiainted myself with the wonderful strapped cocoons that allowed for freedom of movement while keeping the baby close to your heart. You can do anything when them things, even jogging, which I did often after the birth of my first child, and not so much after the birth of my second. Okay, well I'm back to jogging, and grandchild number 4 is on the way, and well, I'm digging out my old baby sling in preparation.

Going For The Gold

I am looking for a new watch. If you're gonna get a new watch why not go for the gold? I think getting a Cartier watch makes more sense than spending a couple of dollars at a discount store. I mean, sure you save money, but it won't last as long--been there, I know--and it won't give you nearly as much pride. I mean this is something you wear on your wrist in a prominent viewing spot, it should be something beautiful as well as functional. Cartier watches are elegant, and sophisticated. A watch to be proud to wear. I really love the silver/black/gold one they have. I adore those combinations of colors.

Why Did I Get Married?

Whoo Hoo, I can't WAIT to see Tyler Perry's new movie 'Why Did I Get Married?' First of all, Janet Jackson is one of the leading cast members and I really like her in movies, secondly I like Tyler Perry's work, at least his sitcome 'House of Payne'. I haven't seen his movies before, but I've seen clips and they look hilarious. One of the lines in the previews of the new movie has a husband and wife in the car and she tells him to 'go to hell' and he says 'already there'. I know, not really all that original, but totally hilarious. Another part I saw in a clip the other day when there was a special on with Tyler and the cast from the movie had the 'men' in the ensamble cast together talking about marriage and cheating and the 20% rule, it went like this: The one guys says, in any marriage a woman can only give you 80% of what you need, no matter who they are, so along comes 20% and you go for it, and you end up trading 80% and only getting 20% in return.

Okay, that was very paraphrased, I don't remember the exact words, but that's close enough for the point. It's so true. Guys cheat thinking they are going to get so much better but usually when a guy cheats its an impulse thing, someone who gives them the illusion of a little excitement, or beauty they are lacking, but they fail to realize that new woman isn't anywhere near the personality of the one they are leaving because they haven't gotten to know her, just her 'ass'ets. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the movie. I'm going to be on the look out for a couple of his earlier movies too, especially Media's Family Reunion that I saw clips of on the special.

Fall is a Bust

I'm so lovin the Biggest Loser on Tuesday nights, but honestly as much tv as I'm watching lately with all the new fall shows, that's the only one I'm really feeling. Oh on Monday's my usual standby's 'Two and a Half Men', and 'Rules of Engagement' are still funny, but even they have lost a little bit of the spark they had last year. Maybe it's because there's only so many things you can say in that 'environment'. It's just a little predictable. For the new shows I'm watching myself this fall, the Bionic Woman, and Cane, I'm just less than totally impressed. Bionic Woman really isn't hitting the right spots at all, and Cane, while I want to like it, seems a little lackluster for all it's backstabbing, that's all it is. The characters themselves just don't 'feel' like well-rounded real people. Except for the father of the family, him I really like, and he's very well played. The rest are just evil little self-centered ego-spuds.

I've Been Tagged!

I recently had an engraved dog tag made with the inscription 'Winning the race, one step at a time', on it, along with my name, and a victory symbol. I got this great necklace and dog tags from Quicktrophy.com and they were fantastic to work with!

Ordering online was quick and simple. There were all kinds of colors to choose from, I picked gold (the color of victory!) and then you simply type in your inscription on the lines provided, and off you go. They let me know when the order was going to be created, when they were shipping it, everything!

The inscription I picked has a personal meaning for me. Some of you know I'm on a weight-loss journey, and this inscription helps to remind me that dieting may be a race, a race for health, but it's not a sprint... it is a long-distance journey that you can only accomplish by taking it one step at a time, and enjoying the process! I love my new tag, and wear it proudly as inspiration along the way. Thanks Quick Trophy!

Childhood Version Of Cool

I need a new bathroom sink. First because the one we have is so dated. The cabinet is very '70's'. And second because it's so big. It takes up the entire wall of one side of the room making the entire room look much smaller than it really is, AND, I want to replace our standard tub with a jacuzzi type tub. So I need more space on that side of the room. I've been looking at bathroom sinks all over on-line and have found some really amazing choices. The problem is I tend to go for that really big cabinet style, therefore defeating my purpose. What I should really get is a pedestal style. That would give me plenty of room. I don't really use the cabinet much. Both top drawers in our existing cabinet are full of my 'junk' makeup, and the bottom is sort of a catch-all. I could really do without it with no problem. I think it's because when I was growing up we always had a pedestal style sink and I thought cabinet sinks were 'cool' (of course I did, it was back in the 70's!). Somehow it's hard to shake your childhood version of 'cool' even if the need for it is long gone.

Replace Cavemen with...

I have a full line up of shows now that I'm watching, either because of my own interest (Biggest Loser) or hubby's (every CSI on the planet) I do like all the shows, even the ones I wouldn't necessarily watch on my own, and I have to admit that I've even learned to really love a few of them (Shark on Sunday's) thanks to hubby's persisitance. Still, sometimes I wish we had two satalitte boxes. His Wednesday night shows pre-empt my chosen desires (although I did demand Tuesday's BL that pre-empts two of his). I also watched the new premiere of 'Caveman' last Tuesday. Funny, and if you replace the 'cavemen' with 'blackmen' you'd get the whole gist of the show... prejudice is ignorance. A good message no matter who is delivering it.

Feeling The Burn---Feelin' Great!

Whew, I rode my exercise bike for 45 minutes this morning! I like that better than all the walking I've been doing, although I'm not going to stop that, but on the stationary bike I get to watch tv while I do it! Hey, killing two birds with one stone, and it beats just watching tv and turning to jello. I got an eliptical machine too and that's great, but it beats me up in just a few minutes. So I am incorporating it into my free-weight, and swiss ball routine, so after I rode the bike I did all that stuff with the eliptical in the cycle as well. I am worked-out but good today. Feels great!

Fun Shopping

I love wearing jewelry and adore costume jewelry because I can't afford the big expensive 'bling' that others might have, and yet the costume jewelry of today is often so realistic that it easily passes for the 'real thing'. I have rings that you'd swear were real diamonds, earings and necklaces that look like the gems they were created to mimic, and even pins and fancy belts that give each outfit that special touch without costing a fortune. Finding cool jewelry is easy online and I don't even have to go searching for it in my car anymore. That makes shopping for it so much more fun.

Relationship That Barely Existed

Speaking of moving on, a long time ago, about 12 years to be more exact, I had my realtor license. I briefly dabbled in real estate, mostly to sell the property we'd owned back then and buy the one we're at now. I don't remember too much about real estate except that it was a long course and a complicated state regulated test. One thing I do remember is that they said once you had your real estate license you would forever have to disclose that fact on any sale of any personal property for as long as you lived. Well, I think that's kind of silly and it kind of puts me in a quandry now as I consider selling the property we're at. Do I really have to state that? I haven't had my license in 12 years. I don't remember diddly about real estate law or procedure... well, okay, diddly, but not much more than that. Things have changed drastically and I'm not up-to-date on any of it, so do I still really have to say that I once, years and years ago, had a real estate license? The reason it seems important to me is that it would seem to put buyers on some kind of alert. Now that is reasonable if the person really IS involved in real estate sales, but if they haven't been for years, and even when they were it was for a very short time, and a very specific situation then it seems like putting caution where none is warranted. I'll have to check that out. I've moved on, no reason to keep beating up an old relationship that barely existed to begin with.

Can't Let Go

Have you ever had a relationship, whether it's a love relationship, or a friendship, that when it was over you just can't seem to let it go even though you know you have to? I kind of have that going on now. It's been a long-term relationship that is over, but it won't leave my mind. Maybe it's because I'm so used to it. Maybe it's because I care deeply about the person involved. Maybe it's all of that, but there's no use hanging on to it. It doesn't help much that they're doing the same thing. We've both moved on, but can't quite finish the on part. Lingering feelings and desires keep popping up even though the actual relationship is over. I don't really know what to do about it. I don't know how to conquer it, but I felt like talking about it. Maybe talking about it will help to make that final move. Maybe for both of us.

Article Writing, And Freelancing

The world of freelancing both in SEO writing, and article writing is such an up and down game. Some really good places to generate income from writing articles stay a viable source, and others change their methods to make them less attractive--to the writers anyway, I'm sure the changes are in the site's best interest. Take Associated Content for instance. It started out as a really decent paying opprotunity to place well-written articles. Then Helium came along with a different format that practically paid nothing, and Associated Content seemed to take a page from them. While they didn't drop all the real payment incentives, they lowered them drastically. You really have to roll with the punches when you freelance, and learn never to put all of your eggs in one basket, because sometimes the baskets break. I surely haven't in the several years I've been freelancing. As a rule anyway. I did, however, earlier this year when a very, VERY profitable freelance opprotunity raised its head. I was doing so well I let a lot of my other projects slide only to have the really great op fall apart after a few months. It was a great few months while it lasted but the demise of that company sure taught me a lesson. When you write for a living, it's not a good thing to spread yourself too thin, but it's even worse to not spread yourself at all. I recovered from the lost potential income, but it took a few weeks to get the other things rolling again to replace it. Life as a writer, when you're not Stephen King, J. K. Rowlings, or on that level, can be very stressful, learn to cut the stress to a manageable level though, and you can survive.

Reality TV

'Biggest Loser' is on again tonight. I don't know what's wrong with me, I never used to like reality shows. I still don't all that much, but some of them like Biggest Loser have a lot to do with what I'm doing in my own life, so that's interesting, and others like 'Rock of Love' are just sort of inline with other long-time interests I've always had. I still don't care for reality shows that have nothing to do with 'normal' life, or 'extraodinary life situations' like rock star dating, I mean that reality show 'I Love New York' what do I care what bunch of guys will do to date a nobody? Same thing with shows like Survivor, not like that kind of thing will every happen to ordinary people, and they themselves are nobody extraordinary, so who cares? That's just my take, and I know it's not the popular one. I am finding myself drawn to the couple reality shows that I have watched though and I still wonder what someone slipped in my Ovaltine lately.

Music For Company

I really love my new walkman. It's the 'old-fashioned' CD player that seem almost obsolete now with MP3 players being all the rage, but it does the job. I would like an MP3 player though because I'd like to make the transition from walking to jogging pretty soon here. Even thinking about joining a running club--they have walking events too. The MP3 player won't skip (I don't think) during jogging. The walkman definately will even though it's an 'anti-skip' one. It clearly states that the anti-skip helps during swaying like walking, but won't during running, or jogging. Plus you can put a lot more songs---A LOT, on an MP3 player. The most I can seem to manage to put on a single CD is about 14, a MP3 can usually hold upwards of 200. Big difference. I'll have to settle for the walkman for a little while though. Maybe I can get an MP3 player for Christmas--for now, the walkman does the job of keeping me company on my walks really nicely.

Rock Of Love

You're never going to believe what I got into watching yesterday. I was tired and bored and there was nothing on TV so I turned on a reality show (yes, really) on VH1--the Rock Of Love--Bret Michaels. I like Bret, I always liked Poison, it's kind of amazing the shape he's kept himself in in spite of having diabetes and such. Anyway, I watched an entire season's reruns yesterday except for the final episode which was on in the evening. I had to tune in to see who he finally picked. Now the entire time watching the series reruns I was sitting there joking back and forth about the goings on, one thing that REALLY made me laugh is one of the girl's parents (it was a segment where all the parents of the various girls left were there) anyway, this one father was all self-important at a private dinner meeting with Bret and his daughter, going on about how he was a self-made man and since he had a nice house and clothes and such, if Bret married his daughter there would be a pre-nup involved... oh my God I laughed so hard, like this little piss-on nobody had to worry about HIS money from a man whose made millions, has a mansion, etc... yeah, I was like, there will be a pre-nup alright, Bret's! Goodness gracious what a joke that was. I do think he picked the right girl at the end. Although I kind of liked the one named Heather, there was just a bit of coniving in there with that one. Jess, the one he picked was a real sweetheart. Hope she can deal with that world.