On 'Falling Star' Jessica Simpson

Don't get me started! I don't know who writes this sort of crap about celebrities, but it is really getting old. I saw the pictures that have stirred the ugly writings about Ms. Simpson, and frankly, the outfit she was wearing on that particular day at the chili cookoff, wasn't particularly flattering, but gee whiz, it was a chili cookoff! Give the human a break! Why do we buy into the junk these people want us to believe. Jessica Simpson is far from fat. As a matter of fact, if you disregard the icky outfit, she looks pretty good. Like a real person, not some stick person. So, Jessica, don't listen to the ramblings of fools. You look like a real, beautiful person. Your star is not falling. People who judge you so harshly need to look in the mirror, and also stop judging people by the way they look on the outside. Sheesh, don't these people watch the new reality show True Beauty?

Life Lessons from the 100 Point Basketball Game

I just had to make a quick comment on the girls basketball game between the Covenant School and Dallas Academy which ended with a score of 100-0, and ultimately, the coach of the winning team being fired. My girls play on various sports teams and it has almost always been a fun, worthwhile, character-building experience for my girls. I have mixed feelings about the outcome of the blowout game in Texas. You have to admire the girls on the team that lost; they didn't quit and seem to have taken the loss in stride. They are learning the game and learning lessons about persevering, grace, and sportsmanship while they are learning to play the game. The Covenant School team is also learning some things. While I am sure it felt good, for a moment, to have scored 100 points, I have to believe that at least a couple of girls on the team had some feelings of mercy toward the other team and felt the need to maybe pull back a little. The coach of the team could have slowed things down; he had to have realized the skills of the two teams were mismatched. It would have been a good time for the girls on the Covenant team to get a lesson in good sportsmanship and gracious winning. The lesson for the Covenant girls appears to have been "crush your opponent" and "it doesn't matter what the score is". I'm not sure the huge, lopsided score and the unapologetic coach warranted his being fired (maybe there are other reasons). I'm not sure the win required an apology or a forfeit of the game. An attitude adjustment of the coach and team members is what needed to be done. Parents and educators are always told to be looking out for "teachable moments" in kids lives. This would have been a great opportunity to teach mercy, grace, patience, and kindness.

Scattering

My oldest daughter and my husband took off for the ten hour trip to Indiana. Ever since my husband accepted his new position and we decided to move back, we have been slowly scattering our family. The situation is not ideal, and the longer it goes on, the more difficult it gets for us. My daughter wanted to start the second semester in her new school in Indiana rather than wait until the beginning of her junior year. I am now down to living with my three youngest children and our dog. We had hopes that the change of the Washington, D. C. gang would bring families our way who might be interested in purchasing a home outside of the D. C. craziness and mess. Many families who are our neighbors are folks who work in the defense industry, military, secret service, FBI, and the like. This area has better schools (#57 in the country for high schools), less traffic and a more "normal" lifestyle than that of our nation's capitol. We live close enough that we can take advantage of all the good things about Washington, D. C., but none of the crime, and overcrowding. It would be a great place for someone to move to if they desire such a lifestyle. What is so frustrating for us; and what has caused the scattering of my family is the simple fact that no one has even made a offer on our house. We are stuck and until we get an offer, (our asking price is $71,000 under what we paid) the younger girls and I are stuck here for who knows how long. Please, someone, buy our house!

It's A New Day!

Yesterday was a great day here in the Washington, D.C. area. The day was crisp, cold and sunny. Everything was set in anticipation of the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America. It was a day that will be remembered by all and read about in history books. Now the real work begins. We are a country who is ripe for change; ready to answer the call to change and make things better. What a great time to live in the United States! Change is coming no matter what, so let's get on with it!

Stop Crying! Your Tears Will Freeze!

I had to apologize this morning to my seven-year-old. Every single morning, that kid cannot find her shoes. This morining was no different. It was time for the bus to come and she couldn't find her shows. I crabbed at her and raled about how you should always put your things in the same place so that you can find them easily the next morning. On and on I went, reducing her to tears. After I remembered that she had taken her tennies off in the basement to put on her winter boots, she was ready to go. The last thing I said to her as she went out the door was, "Wipe those tears off your face, they will freeze." It was 2 degrees this morning when she hustled down the crispy driveway to catch the bus. Fast forward. . . I take my shower and get ready to go to my daughter's school because I help in her classroom on Friday mornings. I get completely dressed, but I couldn't find my tennis shoes! I looked all over and could not find those darn things. Of course, I hear the very words I shouted so nastily to my daughter going around and around in my head! I never did find my shoes; I had to pull on my super-cool cowboy boots and scoot out the door. The last thing I said to myself this morning as I went out the door into the frigid morning air was, "Stop crying, your tears will freeze!" Man, it's tough to be a mom sometimes!

All Things Inaugural

Living in the Washington, D. C. area right now is quite exciting. Everything right now is all about the inauguration of President-Elect Obama. The local news reports on every single detail. I read in our little scrap of a newspaper that the transit system from our town into D. C. is offering free rides on January 20th. That's a real deal since it normally costs $8.00 one-way to use the system. It is tempting to go when we could get a ride down there for free, but with four kids in tow and all the security concerns, I don't think I really want to go that much. The other day, I heard a report about how difficult it would be to find a would-be assassin in a crowd of 2 million. They also said that there is always the worry of biological and/or chemical attacks on such a large crowd. My Midwest, safety-conscious, sensibilities tell me that while it would be so cool to be a part of history, it is really best for me and my girls to just watch the inauguration on television in our (mostly) safe home 5o miles away from the action. What an exciting and nerve-racking time we are in right now. Homeland Security, Secret Service, FBI, CIA, and all those folks must be really ramping up right about now.

Publishers Clearing House Contest

I keep getting e-mails from Publishers Clearing House about how I could be the next winner of $5000.00 per week for the rest of my life. Or, I could be the next $10,000,000 winner! Publishers Clearing House has sure come a long way from the olden days when I was a kid. Do you remember when your mom would get the Publishers Clearing House packet in the mail? It had tiny pictures of the magazines you could order, and then you would be entered into the contest for whatever amount of money was a huge amount back then. It all seemed so exciting. Not too long ago, it seems to me they would award their big prize during the Super Bowl. Now, I can enter the PCH Lotto, and PCH Search & Win, PCH Scratch Cards in addition to the standard $10,000,000 prize. You can even win by watching video clips of the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol (you know, the gray haired guy, Dave Sayer, in the van). I guess people really do win the prizes. If I won, we live so far out that the Prize Patrol probably wouldn't be able to find us, and none of our neighbors are ever home, so there would be very little drama surrounding the prize delivery. Even so, I wouldn't mind winning a prize from PCH. If I won, I would be able to move back home and send my kids to college without any money worries. Ahhh. If only!

OMG! Whatever, Martha Is Good for the Soul!

Earlier this week, on Monday, I think, I wrote a post about one of my new favorite cable television shows, "Whatever, Martha" which is on the Fine Living channel. Last night I watched another episode, and it was hilarious. Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt are so funny! I have never been all that interested in Martha Stewart. She is just a little bit too much for me. I am like the opposite of Martha. I don't really plan anything, I fly by the seat of my pants, as they say, and I do a lot of improvising that would surely drive old Martha bonkers. I did feel like Martha was treated rather harshly when she was involved with the insider trading mess or whatever. Maybe she did something dishonest, but really. . . sending Martha Stewart to jail? I think people were a little too happy about sending her away like they did. At any rate, she seems to be back to her old stuffy and stodgy self that I don't really care for, but find a little fascinating. "Whatever, Martha" is a perfect show for people who feel the same way I do about her. Her daughter Alexis and friend Jennifer have just the right amount of sarcasm and ability to poke fun at all of Martha's antics that you just have to laugh. Poking fun at Martha's craft projects, her haughty attitude and the uppity tone to her voice is refreshing. Alexis and Jennifer make fun of Martha, but they have enough respect for her that they aren't cruel or nasty about it. It is just a fun, don't-have-to-think-about-it, funny show. If you can find it on your cable channel, please try to watch it and let me know what you think. I know it is on Wednesdays, but reruns are on on other days as well. Trust me, "it's a good thing."

FBI Hiring Blitz, Move Here and Buy My House!

I just read that the FBI is starting a hiring blitz. This is just the news I have been waiting for! Why, you ask? Well, I happen to have a beautiful, spacious home in Loudoun County Virginia that would be perfect for an FBI worker and his or her family to move into. It is quiet and peaceful here--just what an FBI agent or worker needs after the high stress working environment in Washington, D.C. Many government workers live in this area, FBI folks included. Loudoun County is one of the wealthiest, fastest growing counties in the nation. The public high school in our town is ranked 57th in the nation. If you are an FBI employee, or soon-to-be hired employee, or anyone who is looking to move to the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountians, please consider purchasing our home. You can view our home on www.zillow.com for all the details. Come to Northern Virginia--jobs, mountains, good schools. . . what more could you want?

Go Google Adsense, Go!

Do you have a Google AdSense account? If you do any kind of blogging, you should. I keep earning money almost every day. If my casual blogging can earn money, just imagine what you could earn if you had more than one blog, or a blog that is targeted to a certain product or group of people! If you have been thinking that earning a little extra money would be great, get on over to Google and set up an AdSense account. You can start earning money right away, I mean it!

Two New Favorite Shows

Just a quick post this morning. I have two new favorite shows that you might like to watch as well. The first one is "Ruby" on Style Network and "Whatever, Martha"--very funny! on Fine Living channel. They are good ones for different reasons. "Ruby" is great because she is inspiring and has a great set of friends who support her and are inspiring themselves. I like this show because I had a good friend who was morbidly obese, and lost her life four years ago. I am rooting for Ruby to beat the same "beast" my friend was unable to. I like "Whatever, Martha" because Alexis Stewart (Martha Stewart's daughter) is able to say to Martha the exact things we normal people are saying as we watch Martha do her thing. Alexis also has a lot of demons that she is trying to work through--no doubt somewhat a result of her "uber mom". Alexis also has a little bit of respect for her mother, which is good too. Alexis' friend Jennifer is a hoot as well. Fun stuff to watch while I am knitting.