This one isn't quite as cool as the first one, but it was odd anyway.  I can't really tell you the exact location of this, but it is in very Northern lower Michigan.  The great lakes were formed by glaciers, so there are interesting rock formations and hills in Northern Michigan.  We were driving around when I asked my husband "what the heck is that off the road there?"  So, we turned around.  It is a gigantic rock.  Just sitting there.  No real path to it or a...

There will be a few of these, but this is probably the best example that I have.  I recently took a vacation with my hubby.  Nowhere special.  When asked what we were planning on doing, I said "nothing".  We just planned on hanging out and doing what we wanted to do.  One of the things that I tried to do was to see things with a fresh eye.  I traveled to places that I had been to many times before, but I saw things that I never noticed.  This article is abo...

One form of meditation is the practice of "thinking about nothing" which is basically voiding your mind of thought.  I've never achieved this, but I do have my own form of meditating that I find similar, but definitely my own style. It first requires a nice cup of coffee, and a quiet place.  The place does not need to be a temple, or any other special spot.  It just needs to be quiet.  I sit by myself and think about everything that comes to mind.  By doing this, I fi...

I really don't get to spend as much time with my husband as I'd like to.  Of course, it's simply not possible to spend enough time with him because there are only 24 hours in the day. But, luckily, I am going to spending the next 4 days with just him.  We're taking a little retreat "away from it all" for a few days.  Going to spend some time in the area that I grew up in, but have no real plans.  Just going to hang out and enjoy being with each other. So, I will be gone...

Hope everyone has a great next 4 days.  I am running away to Northern Michigan (where I grew up) to visit my family that I haven't seen in 1 1/2 years.  I'm not even taking my laptop......at least that is what I claim now.... But, I don't have a dial-up account, so I won't be online at all. So, everyone, take care of yourselves, and I'll chat with you on Wednesday!

This is probably just campaign crap, but I found it interesting as fuel prices effect all of us.  I received an email today from the Bush campaign (yes, I get Presidential newsletters...) and the thrust of it was about Kerry's proposal to increase gas tax (yeah, like we need that taxed).  I have no idea if it is real (the newsletter is, but not sure if the Kerry idea is).  Gas is one of the last things that we need taxed, especially in California where they are nearing c...

It seems like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to blame bush for our economic problems.  Everyone sees Clinton as the one who "balanced the budget".  Unfortunately, what happens while a President is in office is usually not what he did, but what the Presidents before him did. The decline in the economy started when Clinton was in office.  A great article can be found at: http://www.house.gov/jec/press/2004/01-22-04.pdf So, what has been getting us out of the slump?&nbs...

 This is really a bit of a response to some comments on: https://www.joeuser.com/forums.asp?MID=3&CMID=3&AID=10569#30806 The first comment was from stevendedalus "The problem is that those of us blest with a deep sense of self-responsibility don't ever seem to face the tough challenges that others less gifted are helplessly trapped in."  After which Brad gave a glimpse of "me".   I usually don't say much about my life because I don't *ever* want anyone to fee...

I don't like welfare in it's current state, but that is not the thrust of this article.  It is the fact that people, in general, have no drive to "do something better" with their life.  They take life as it comes and make excuses why it's not better. One of my biggest issues is SSD.  Social Security Disability benefits.  The basis of it is a good one, but the laws that deem what a "disability" is are very flawed.  At the very crux of it, it basically says that if yo...

In my ramblings around the internet, I ran into this site: http://www.namesuk.com/title.html So, now *you* can be a "Sir" (or "Lady"...or 'Duke"...or...)

In my ramblings around the internet, I ran into this site: http://www.namesuk.com/title.html So, now *you* can be a "Sir" (or "Lady"...or 'Duke"...or...)

I read so many blogs that complain left and right about the USA.  If you took them to heart, you would think that this is the most evil place on Earth.  After talking with somebody I know out of the country, it is obvious that the press portrays the US the same way.  This person was under the assumption that nobody had healthcare and you would go broke in the US if you got sick. My family has been in the US a *long* time.  Like, "Mayflower" long time. ...

There is this local radio station- Channel 95.5 that has this thing called "The War of The Roses".  This is the basic of it: A listener calls in and says that they think that their significant other is cheating on them.  The radio station calls up the person that is suspected of cheating.  They say that they are doing market research for flowersbloom.com (which does have a website) and that by answering a few questions that they will send a dozen roses to whomever the person ...

This morning on my way to work, I was thinking of all the odd little hang-ups that I have. I am sure that they end up effecting my social life in some ways.  My husband thinks that they are funny.  I find them annoying.  These are the ones that I have identified: 1) I hate people eating with their mouth open, especially if it is crunching something 2) I hate people cracking their knuckles (this comes from having arthritis) 3) Having something obscure my line ...

I was listening to the radio the other day, and there was a plastic surgeon talking about liposuction.  He was talking to one of the men on the show, and told him that liposuction wouldn't work well for him even though he was 45 pounds overweight due to his body type. After listening for awhile, they explained the very simple thing that makes people look different at the same weight and height.  There are basically two types of body types: 1) those who store most of t...