Bliss. . .

My friend C recently bid Adieu to the corporate world and has started her own business- Domestic Bliss. It's a fantastic idea, and in my humble opinion, I think it's going to be huge. It always is when people really follow their passion. Who knows. I may even end up working with her if we move to Boston. Seriously, Martha. Watch out.

Baby shower!

This weekend, I threw a baby shower for Suzi-Poodles. Well, technically, I co-threw it, but because my co-host was kind of cheap, and kind of tacky, I did a hostile takeover. The theme was pickles and ice cream and this was one of the flower arrangements. Needless to say, it was an excellent party, where Suzi got much of what she needed for the new little fella. My turn next!

In other news, one of the Dudes sent me this. It's very cute. I wonder if creatures this cute know it, or if they have self-esteem issues like we do.

One Village to House Them All.......

Um....Wow. My supernerd Hubby is rubbing off on me. I'm not sure whether I think this is horrifying or incredibly cool. I'm kind of into the Swordsman Cottage.

My collection...

Today I'm sharing a guilty pleasure. Hubby thinks it's hilarious, but I'm always collecting coffee cups and nalgene bottles. I have ten. I call them my sippy cups, and I can never have enough. My two favorites are from the My favorites are the green one from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (if you haven't tried their original Ice Blended, you haven't lived) and my stainless steel on from Grenell Island on the St. Lawrence. Is a sippy cup collection silly? Yes. But, it's probably cooler and less expensive than a 900+ unit comic book collection.

In other news, both of the cats have colds. They sneeze all day and are on pediatric amoxycillin(sp?). It's as much fun as it sounds. Poor sick babies.

Where are we, five years later?

So, it's been five years since 9-11, and I'm having a bit of a tough time with all the "anniversary" stuff in the media. Have we really hit the statute of limitations on showing scenes from that tragic day? With CNN's all day "live" coverage, and movies, and television movies, and documentaries, it just seems like too much. Are we really in a place where we understand what happened that day? Are we really that much safer? Do we really need to relive 9-11 in the media? It all seems like too much. Exploitative, even. I feel like this day should be spent in quiet remembrance of the people who lost their lives. But that's just me.

How hard is decent customer service?

Because I haven't been feeling very well, and with all the work stuff this summer, I decided to treat myself to a one-time-only, top-to-bottom housecleaning. I made the reservations two weeks ago. They were supposed to be here between 11 and 12. That's right folks, it's 2:30. Has anyone called me? NO. When I called, what did they say? "Umm. Sorry. THey'll be there at 2:15. LIARS. No, they're not f(*&ing here. And I've now wasted my entire day with hubby, got up early on a Saturday to tidy up, and NOW, I'm going to be up til f*&^ing midnight doing it all myself. F)()(*)@()*#$&)(@*#)(*! Watch out customer service, here I come.

Sad day....

Two sad items in the news today-

Andre Agassi has retired after losing his final match. He's had a great career, has gone from obnoxious to class act, and I wish he could have gone out on top.

And just now, CNN is reporting that the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin has been killed while filming a documentary off Australia's coast. While he was a little wild, and saturated the market for a while, but he's done a lot for awareness and conservation and will be missed.

Grumpy.

This is how I feel about getting back to work and finding out I'm still responsible for of EVERYTHING.

Vacay- Part One

So, we're just back from a week with Hubby's Clan. I ad to start the entry with a picture from the fair. I'm sure you can see why!We spent a day at "America's Fair" where we ate fair food and had fun with the wildlife- including an apparently mean chicken. I have no idea what a figger is, but I'm not going to stick it in the cage.

Then we spent two days up north and fell even more in love with the St. Lawrence River. Here's hoping we can get back there next summer.

In addition to all the relaxing fun, we also did a little bit of good for a small New York organization- Canine Helpers for the Handicapped. We spent a few hours folding and labeling their newsletters- it brought me right back to my nonprofit days. All in all a great trip, and we can't wait to get back and see them again in December. Now, it's looking forward to our Hawaii trip in September. YAY for Hawaii!!!

Round and Orbity?

Round and Orbity? Must Be a Planet

The elite society of nine lordly bodies of rock, ice and gas would grow to at least 12 and as many as 53 members under a new definition of "planet" proposed Tuesday by the International Astronomical Union.

The core of the definition? Planets are round. And they orbit a star.

It will be voted on next week by the group's general assembly, which is now meeting in Prague, Czech Republic. Binzel said he was optimistic the definition would be approved.

The new list of planets would include UB313, which was recently discovered beyond Pluto's orbit, as well as two bodies that have previously been rejected for planetary status: Pluto's moon Charon and Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Charon and Pluto would become the solar system's first double planet, meaning they twirl around each other but neither dominates. They would become part of a new subclass of planets called "plutons," defined as having orbits around the sun that take at least 200 years. There could be dozens more plutons added after the objects are further reviewed by the Astronomical Union. There are 12 awaiting evaluation.

Ceres would also become the sole member of a subclass called "dwarf planets."

It's also an open question how the new definition would be received by the public, who grew up with mobiles of the nine-planet solar system in their bedrooms and learning mnemonic devices to memorize the planets, such as "My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas."

For the record, Hottie Hubby thinks this is dumb.

When Pluto was demoted, though, we found this->


Which rocks.

Other headlines from the U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government has misplaced the original recording of the first moon landing, including astronaut Neil Armstrong's famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," a NASA spokesman said on Monday.

This country is peopled with idiots.

Tales from the California Real Estate Market. . .

Santa Barbara OKs Housing Aid for Folks Making Up to $160,000 a Year

In a city where the median home price is over $1 million, a planned condo project's units will be priced below market from $495,000 to $595,000. Teachers, nurses, police are among the expected buyers.

No, really. This was a headline in the L.A. Times today. Hubby and I have got to get out of this State.

Hot.

Tonight, I shared a "warm chocolate experience" with my friend Talon. And some dudes at the next table thought that Suzipoodles and I were making out. This may be as close to swinging as I ever get.

The best year yet....

Today, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. No, the honeymoon is not over. Not by a longshot.

The dumbest person....ever.

It's hot in Cali. It's been over 100 every day for two weeks. This, of course, is causing rolling blackouts. There is one area in West Hills that hasn't had power for three days. Tonight, on the news, a woman from that area, dressed in her Channel glasses and big straw hat says, "This is awful. This is just like Katrina all over again. Except we haven't lost our homes."

You'd better lava me now or lava me not!

There is visible lava at the Pu’u O’o vent, people. There is no lava that you can hike to, due to the potential for a large collapse but I’m hopeful, though, because this is my first lava check in over a year that has any pics. Maybe something will become visible before September 25. Keep your fingers crossed

Better news for world health.

Bill Gates has just committed $287 Million over the next five years to accelerate research and discovery of an HIV/AIDS vaccine. It’s a little ironic that the man consistently accused of monopoly is promoting global communication and partnerships in other areas, but I think this may make a difference for the world. At the very least, it should serve as an example to others. Highlights from the MSNBC article are pasted below:

SEATTLE - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Wednesday it’s awarding $287 million in grants over five years to create an international network of scientists to speed up the development of an AIDS vaccine.

Each of the 165 investigators in 19 countries who will get money in this series of grants had to agree to share their findings in real time and compare results with others — even if they had been working on competing projects in the past. Historically, HIV vaccine research mostly has been conducted by small research groups working independently, said Dr. Juliana McElrath, associate head of the infectious diseases program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and a lead researcher on one of the new grants. “While critical progress has been made, the HIV vaccine field has lacked a shared, focused strategy,” she said.

Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, complimented the Gates Foundation on the approach it was taking, but warned against assuming that this is enough money to finish the work. “Funding for AIDS vaccine research is still short of what we need,” Warren said.

My First Political Rant

This one is for all my friends that are horrified that I’m a Republican (socially liberal, fiscally conservative):

It isn’t a politician’s duty to enact their personal agenda. It is their duty to act as a representative of the people. Public opinion polls have shown that the American public is in favor of Embryonic Stem Cell Research.

Science is poised to make great strides in the fight against Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, etc. and stem cell research may be the key. Despite the promise of medical advancement, and public support, the President has vetoed legislation that would allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

The article I’ve read about the bill in question did not specify, but I’d assume that it’s not like scientists are stealing embryos. In my opinion, the only embryos that should be included in such studies are those surrendered/signed over by couples finishing In-Vitro treatments or created with the sperm/eggs from donors willing to participate in such research. In fact, if it weren’t so painful and invasive, I’d be the first one in line to donate my own eggs for this type of research. Well, once I’m done using said eggs for the creation of gorgeous babies with my gorgeous husband.

What is it going to take to show politicians that the people of this country support this kind of research? And if the people support it our government should as well, and put funding toward it, despite personal opinions.

Seriously, W, WTF! It’s crap like this that makes me ache for the day when my generation’s representatives will take over, opening doors that to this point have been kept closed by the whims of a generation that refuses to see the direction in which this Country is going.

While I’m at it, where the hell is all the funding for space science? What, we want to go, but we don’t want to understand the environment out there or the forces at work that will affect whatever we do send out there?

Mike is gonna be so proud of me…

Midterm Book Report

One of my goals for 2006 was to read 12,000 pages I’m on track to meet or beat that goal, and thought I’d give a quick review of my books so far. They will be rated by Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down or just Eh. Sorry if it’s long.

• The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio by Terry Ryan- Eh.
• Bee Season by Myla Goldberg- Thumbs up.
• Night by Elie Wiesel- HUGE Thumbs up. I have to agree when O when she says it should be required reading for everyone in the human race.
• Marley and Me by John Grogan- My favorite book of the year, thus far. Laughed until I cried, cried until I laughed, and wanted to adopt a puppy the day I finished.
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki- Thumbs Down. A lot of to-do’s but none of the “how” to accomplish the goals.
• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt- Thumbs way up.
• My Friend Leonard by James Frey- Scandal or no, great writing style. Not as good as A Million Little Pieces but still good.
• YOU: The Owners Manual by Dr. Mehmet Oz- Thumbs up.
• Endurance by Caroline Alexander- Eh. Great story, great pictures, but could have been told in a more dynamic style.
• Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx- Thumbs up.
• Smart Couples Finish Rich and The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner by David Bach- Thumbs WAY up. Fiscal advice for everyone with not the “how” as well as the “why.”
• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie- Thumbs up.
• Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich- Eh. Fluffy beach read.
• The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown- Thumbs still up on the third time around.
• Hello Mrs. Pigglewiggle by Betty McDonald- Thumbs Up. Kiddie-lit, BTW.
• Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld- Thumbs up.
• Perfect Match and The Pact by Jodi Piccoult- Thumbs up. My new author of the year.
• 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal- Thumbs Up
• A Spanish Lover by Joanna Trollope- Eh, leaning toward Thumbs Up
• The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger- Thumbs up.
• The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve- Thumbs up, leaning toward eh, for a lack of ending.
• Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner- Eh leaning toward thumbs up. Stick with Chick Lit, and lay off the mysteries, Jen.
• Without You by Anthony Rapp- Thumbs WAY Up. If you’re a theater geek, you must read this…. And weep…. Numerous times…. I did. Tied for favorite book of the year.
• A Little Love Story by Roland Merullo- Thumbs up, but another lack of ending.

Now I’m on to The Trouble With Girls by my college professor Marshall Boswell. Love it so far. Buy it just to support the Bos. Love that guy. Loved his classes. I doubt he so much as remembers my name but I’m thrilled he’s doing so well. I also have his second book Alternative Atlanta which is on the To-Read list for later this year.

Doing a lot more for the world than me. . .

A fellow Rhodes Alum is making a lot of news. He's running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days to support the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. I wasn't aware the human body could do such a thing. I wish there was more I could do. Hopefully building awareness will help- so if anyone reading this has access to a corporate sponsor- have them visit http://www.50in50in50.com/.