Tuesday, December 30, 2008

With a hint of meat...

So, let me know what you think of this. Be sure that your speakers are on. It adds to the...ambiance.

http://www.firemeetsdesire.com/

Monday, December 15, 2008

C, T, or S?


President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have been crafted into Italian nativity figurines this year, alongside baby Jesus and wise men. Apparently, they are big sellers.

So what do you think...Classy, Tacky, or Stupid?

Sunday, December 07, 2008

I need someone smarter than me

Here's the subject - The Economy. Specifically the Big 3 and Bailouts.

Can we agree that the auto industry made many mistakes in the 70's, 80's and even the 90's by building some crappy stuff, letting Union workers get away with some bad working habits, and not preparing for the future? (How hard is it to realize that there eventually would be an "oil crisis?") But I would say that in the 00's, the industry has made several changes to labor agreements to ward off major crises. While not a perfect industry, are their "sins" any worse than Wall Street's?

This thing in Congress is all about politics. Period.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Happy Election Day

I am a happy voter. Everything about today has made me happy. It is gorgeous outside, which they say is good for voter turnout. I voted at 2:00pm, and while it wasn't busy, there was a steady stream of people coming to vote. Joy!

As I looked over my ballot, I was thinking about voting a straight-party ticket for the Democrats. But, I paused and realized that I really wanted to cast my vote for Barack Obama specifically - not just the Democratic party.

It felt right.

I hope everyone else is having a fabulous day.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Cookie Jars and Cats

So of course with Hannah we talk a lot about things from our childhood and I have come across two things I need help remembering. This is mainly directed to Tess and Kirsten but Scott and Stephene may have used the same songs and saying growing up too.

First, do you remember saying something about "being on someone's cookie jar" when swinging? I remember saying it when you were swinging next to someone and they were right in line with you. One would say to the other "get off my cookie jar" I said it the other day at the playground and was completely perplexed by what it means or if there was more to the saying.

Second, what are the words to Senior Don Gato?? I know we sang it every year in elementary school. I remember Todd Hesse being Senior Don Gato in our 5th grade graduation play and yet I can't remember the lyrics to the song!!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Question

So, we've pretty much decided (whether in our own homes through friendly debate/banter or through media interpretation) that this country is ideologically polarized. Here's my query:

What is the crux of this polarization? Clearly Republicans and Democrats look at the same issues in very different ways- this is how we can come up with such very different solutions to the problems that are universally recognized. But what is that one factor that makes such a divisive split?

For example:

What I've heard some people say-
Republicans believe in smaller government, less taxes, strong national security.
Democrats believe in big government, more taxes, weak national security

But this is really too complicated.

What my father always said-
Republicans look out for themselves
Democrats look out for "the little guy" or "the underdog"

Perhaps this is too simplistic?

My belief-
Republicans believe that everyone has the ability to and should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Democrats believe that there are some people who absolutely can not pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

Perhaps it's futile to figure out exactly where the ideological split is, but I wanted to send this out there to see what y'all thought.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

And another one

John McCain says the phrase "Lipstick on a pig" in a speech.

Barack Obama says "Lipstick on a pig in a speech."

Sarah Palin says "Lipstick" as a punchline in a speech.

All of a sudden, if anyone dares use this word again in a speech, it MUST mean that it is a smear against Sarah Palin!

Classy, tacky, or stupid?

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Quick Poll

The Republican National Convention...

Classy, Tacky, or Stupid?

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Return of Lamafest

Hi all - gee I hope everyone's lives have been more interesting than our blog!

Whelp, it's labor day weekend, which means LAMAFEST!

This year we went with SDB's side of the family. It was fun to watch our niece and her cousin check out the llamas and alpacas...even when our niece insisted on calling them "silly goats."

On to the pictures!

The annual favorite: the llama obstacle course:


This year's llama merch must-have: a hand puppet! Get a good look - your kids will be seeing this guy a lot! By the way, he needs a name...any suggestions?


An irresistible activity with our new hand puppet:

Friday, July 11, 2008

Friday Night Gripe

I have a gripe. Why do some people think an email should be answered in a matter of hours? I get the same sort of "I want it now" attitude with phone calls too since the advent of the cell phone.

When I get 2 emails in 7 hours asking the same question with the second one in a quasi-rude tone, it takes everything I have not to email a scathing reply back. Anyone have any appropriate ways to stick it to them?

Just thought I'd air that one out.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

I really want to write about the memoir thingy, but I'm having a little bit of a crisis right now and need some input. For some reason, it has become "door-to-door" week at the Harding/Miller household. The first of the week was a possible magazine scam (for a cause that was not really explained). After telling them that Scott and I "couldn't buy it right now," I was told that I could due to my obvious demographics and that I should stick to saying that I am not interested.

The second was the neighbor girls selling rocks. Yes. Rocks from the driveway. It's better than video games, I suppose. They wanted a steep 25 cents. Is it bad that I played along and gave it to them?!

The third was a nice young lady trying to raise scholarship money for college. She was selling Cookbooks. The publisher of these cookbooks was some Christian company that also sold childrens' books about Jesus and his life that I could read to Roz and/or that Roz could read to me some day. I told her that we couldn't do it right now either. The look of disappointment on her face just about killed me. I almost asked if she would simply take some money from me outright, but my imagination got the best of me (I could just see her using it for drugs or a pedicure).

I want to give these people a chance, but I don't need anything from them. I want to help them, but they ask for too much in order for me to buy their little trinkets or scary books. We do donate to charity, and I am often concerned that our money doesn't every really go to the people who really need it. In the case of these door-to-door nomads, would my direct money be more beneficial? Or should I simply lock the door and absolutely never under any circumstance open my door unless I recognize the person (which would not have saved me from the rock peddlers this afternoon)?!

I need some advice, dear readers. And I promise, you are perfectly welcome to ignore my plea, and it won't cost you a dime!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

What the World Eats

I saw this over on Andrew Sullivan's blog. I like to bring snippets of this great blog over to our little blog just for Animal's benefit. :)

Anyway, this link really goes to the Time.com site. It is a photo gallery of what people around the world eat in a week. I thought it was really interesting!

Take a peek:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519_1373764,00.html

Vanity Post

Alright, I have time to kill while waiting for my eBay items to end. (Sidenote: I think I'll be scouring the house for more stuff to sell. I can't believe the bids on some of these things!!!) So, I went on over to Animal's blog and saw that we at CTS have been tagged!

Here are the rules for this meme:
1. Write the title to your own memoir using 6 words.
2. Post it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who tagged you.
4. Tag 5 more blogs.

I've never thought of writing a memoir. I've only thought of writing about a couple experiences (likely cancer and coming out) as maybe, what, a case study? That seems odd...would I really want my experiences being studied and dissected? As in, "class, how would YOU have handled this situation?"...with the implied "better" at the end.

But, if I were to truly write a memoir, I would want it to represent more than my isolated challenging experiences. Thankfully, I wrote a 3-word title for my imaginary memoir last summer while playing a game at the Miller Cottage. I'll just add some words to that!

Charmed, I'm Sure: This is Me

Well, there it is. I'll tag one new person: Susan, you're up! Then, I'll double-tag the rest of CTS: Tess, SDB, Strangela and Fashionably Late.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Just for scuz

This Paul Simon video popped in my head this week. At the moment it struck me, I couldn't think of anything better than Paul Simon doing MC Hammer's dance. Oh yeah, it's a great song, too!

Enjoy!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

annoyances

So I know this is silly, but there is this one little thing that annoys me every Thursday. I work from home for four hours every Thursday, usually from 7ish to 11ish. The weekly annoyance occurrence when I log out:

First I click on the "log out" button.

Then a pop up says "are you sure you want to log out? Yes or no" So I click "yes" because yes, I know what it means when I click on the log out button.

THEN another box pops up that says "You have logged out" I know! I have to hit ok to get past this pop up.

Finally the last pop up box says something along the lines of "this window will now close."

Yes, there are much more important things to get worked up about but seriously this drives me crazy!!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Buscapades

Heya. Thought I'd update y'all on my bus experiences from this week. So, here goes:

Monday:

I was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and perhaps naive. I was sporting my (well, SDB's) iPod and my backpack and I was on my way. The walk was good, the bus was on time. When I got on the bus, I noticed that I was the only one with headphones. I wondered if it was some sort of bus etiquette thing, or simple economics ...it seemed like most of the riders where there by necessity, not by choice.

Tuesday:
Again with the iPod. I discovered a new podcast to listen to. A little unpolished gem from "2homos.com." About halfway through the ride, I noticed that it smelled like pot. It was 8:15am! Was it the woman in scrubs who just got on the bus? Someone in the back?

Wednesday:
I had to run to the bus. Not liking the earlier morning aspect. On the way home, TV 6 was filming and interviewing for a story on CATA, and the millage increase they are looking for. I didn't get interviewed, but the guy next to me did. I wish they had talked to me because I disagreed with what the dude next to me said. Maybe the dang iPOD turned off the reporter?

Thursday:
Ok, time for a little experiment...no iPod this day. Sure enough, 2 guys talked to me at the bus stop. I experienced my first bus stop philosophy... did you know that life goes by fast, so you should live in the moment? A different guy got picked up by a friend in a car. The guy who thought we should live in the moment started living in the past...he was jealous because he would rather take a car than the bus.

Friday:
Oy, shin splints on the walk to the bus. Mama needs a new pair of shoes. I was bummed because there was no hybrid bus on my route all week.

Anyway, it was a good week. The weather was nice everyday. I think my backpack setup is working pretty well. I found out that my company will cover my bus pass (in lieu of a parking expense). I had a lot more exercise, which has already had a positive effect. My favorite part though, is when people ask me what I'm doing about parking. I just smile and tell them I'm taking the bus!!

Friday, May 16, 2008

New catchphrases

I heard two new phrases today that I'm considering stealing for my own use. Let me know what you think:

For showing a sense of understanding/acknowledgment:

"I smell what you're steppin' in."

For calling out your liberal friends:

"No way, that's so FOX News of you!"

These phrases both made me chuckle. Granted, there was some drinking around when I heard these, so everything was "soooo awesome"...I guess that's why I'm running them by y'all before I try to adopt them. I'm counting on you to let me know!

Monday, May 05, 2008

Going green

(My apologies to SDB, who probably thinks that I've finally "come around" to MSU. BAH!)

My office is moving to downtown Lansing soon...like 2 weeks soon. I've lived a mere 1.5 miles from my office for what, 7.5 years now, and I could never quite get into the habit of walking/biking/busing to work. I'm kind of ashamed of that fact. But now, faced with a 5-6 mile distance, plus the pain/expense of parking, and the usual onslaught of road construction, I have decided to take the bus to work!

I am SO looking forward to this. Here's why:

- "me time" during my commute
- no driving, no stress
- more exercise due to walking to/from bus stops
- less gas to buy
- better for the environment (especially if I get one of the super-cool hybrid buses)

SDB and I tried out my route over the weekend. Door to door, it will take about 40 minutes. Not too shabby! I'll need to change a few other (bad) habits of mine...for instance, I'll need to routinely make my coffee at home instead of swinging by Tim Hortons (where I'm known as "large coffee with cream and a toasted 12-grain bagel with peanut butter") or Biggby (where I'm known as "tall coffee and blueberry bagel") for my morning brew. I'll also have to get up earlier!!

How will I do in the face of all this change? Well, I have no freakin' clue right now, but I'll let you know.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Facebook Daze

Alright, so what's my problem. For 32 years i've been perfectly happy without Facebook and generally not keeping in touch with anybody from my past. Then, I discover Facebook and can't get off of it. In the manner of a few days i've added 30 friends and feel this compulsive need to send little notes to people I took a class with 12 years ago. "Hey man, long time no talk, what's new?" Compelling stuff! I'm worried that this is spreading. I sit at work and think about looking on the internet. Just look at me, i'm posting a BLOG!! This never happens. I really have nothing to say, its just that my fingers feel this need to type. I guess I now understand my students a little better. Ooh, finger cramp, better stop.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Just for entertainment...

I love weekend mornings for listening to the radio. If you are looking for a little comedy, check out this episode of "This American Life." Around the 8 min. mark, "PC" of the hilarious and witty Apple commercials does a bit. He's pretty funny, IMHO. BTW, his real name is John Hodgman.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

An age old question

Question for y'all:
At what age do you stop caring if you loudly fart into the toilet bowl in a public restroom?

Add on question...is there a gender difference, too?

Friday, February 22, 2008

Irony Haiku




white athletic sock
everything must go in mouth
this can't be my kid

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Declining Society, or Picky Complaining?

You know that conversation we have sometimes have about signs of a declining society? Well, I have to add signs from AIR TRAVEL to the list. If there is any time for a "MEMEMEMEMEMEMEEEE!!!!" attitude to display itself, it is in the airport. Now, I have to admit, one of my biggest pet peeves is also activated in this situation: people behaving badly in public and/or "obliviots".

Ok, so the reason air travel is a sign of a declining society is the reaction I received for doing a couple NICE things at the airport. The first one was on our recent trip down to FL. SDB and I boarded the plane, expecting to sit next to each other, blah blah blah. When we got to our assigned row, there was a mother and two young boys occupying the entire row. So, naturally, we talked about the situation: those are our seats; oh, I see, you want to sit with your boys; what, you have three entirely separate seats for your family?; oh, ok, I'll take your seat up there. So, No Big Deal. It's like giving up your seat on the bus for the person on crutches. Come on. But, when I got up to my seat, the woman I ended up next to acted like I should receive a medal of honor or something. She was gushing about how nice that was. And well, yeah, it was nice, but again, NO BIG DEAL. Was it so shocking that I didn't make a scene (picture foot stomping and "I WANT MY AISLE SEAT") and summon the flight attendant?

Ok. So, the second example was waiting for our delayed flight coming back to MI. (What? I don't have to be cold for another hour? OK.) There was a *choke* "typical" technology-laden family sitting across from us (not talking to each other or reading or people watching or anything). SDB and I noticed that they had spilled a soft drink and there was a pool of sugary goo about to travel to the dad's shoe. So, I got up, walked over, and told them about the drink. Again, shock and amazement that I helped them avoid stickiness. A big hearty THANK YOU and a second look at the strange creature that provided assistance without being provoked. Maybe they were more shocked that I noticed something outside of my little area. I don't know. I was glad to help, except that the next thing we noticed was dad (nearly sticky victim) and son (likely suspect) with their feet up on the chairs, while the mother (innocent bystander) was down on hands and knees with a tiny napkin trying to clean up the soda. UGH.

Anyway. Maybe I'm just looking for things to complain about. I'm kinda in that mood. But, seriously, shouldn't courtesy and helpfulness be the RULE, not the exception?

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Classy, Tacky or stupid

http://www.lulu.com/content/1413999

Click on preview calendar. My vote is tacky but I want it!

Enjoy!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Rozzle Update

Me thinks gone are the days of blabbering endlessly about politics and opinions (for a while anyway). All I seem to have time for is BABY. Especially now that she's so FUN! So, instead of making some snarky comment about the horrendous state of what should be the most exciting presidential campaign of recent history (too late...) I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the Rozzle. Enjoy!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Broccoli...with cracks

Check out this video! Broccoli as an instrument...who knew?



Check out this guy's other videos, too. Slide whistles out of radishes, hand pipes out of carrots, etc. Pretty cool.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Election Haiku

Here's some background before I dive into my election haiku.

1) It's clear that all of the candidates are tuned in to the message of the year: Change.
2) I was watching the New Hampshire primary returns last night, and started getting a little crazy.
3) NPR had a little tidbit about the candidates overusing "change", so they pulled out the thesaurus. This tidbit would prove to be my inspiration.

CHANGE

Obama, my man
Everyone is using "change"
Try "transmutation."

Let's see YOUR haiku!