Someone said something, that I’ve heard over and over the last couple of weeks.  I don’t remember offhand who said it, but it basically goes ‘doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity’

Guess it’s time to change what I’m doing, otherwise my results will be the same.

I said something earlier about my daughter doing a Walk Away the Pounds video with my husband.  Well, this morning, when I was doing the video because of a walking contest we’re doing at work… I caught my son doing it.  I even got it on video.  Once I get my writing done for the week, I may try to get it uploaded for those who are interested in seeing it.  My husband said the 1 year old did it, but I didn’t believe him until this morning…

As for the other… well we’re doing a contest at work where they gave us pedometers and divided us into teams, and we’re supposed to see which team can get the most mileage between March 1 and May 31… so far all I’m finding is that the pedometer doesn’t always show all of the steps I’ve taken during the day, and when it does, I take a lot fewer steps than I thought.  My goal is to hit 5,000 consistently by the end of March…. which means I need to find out if I can have the pedometer replaced as I managed to break the clip somehow…. Let’s just hope they don’t consider that actually breaking the pedometer, and I won’t have to pay for the replacement.  Sighs.

I’ll freely admit that my daughter watches too much TV.  My husband has to have the TV on, even when he’s just sleeping in the living room, and my daughter has taken after him.  I’m going to have to work on that since I’ve never been a big fan of TV except for a few shows… which I can now watch on Hulu or something now that I have Internet access again LOL

So, since we got cable again on Tuesday, she’s watched Cartoon Network pretty much non-stop while she’s been awake.  Except when she does a Walk Away the Pounds 2 mile walk video with my husband… but that’s another story.  At least she’s getting exercise.

Back to my point, Sketchers has been advertising a shoe for girls called Twinkle Toes or something like that, and I keep hearing from my daughter that she wants a pair of them… I haven’t figured out how to break the news to her that even if I had the money, I wouldn’t be buying a pair of Sketchers for a 5 year old.  I just can’t see spending that kind of money for something she’s going to grow out of rather quickly.

Let’s not even mention the ad she saw for makeup for girls when we were cuddling in the recliner yesterday.  It was showing different makeup in a case that looked like a cell phone, etc.  I was at Claire’s a couple of weeks ago to look for a bag to put some jewelry in to protect it when I shipped it to my son for his girlfriend (whew, that’s a long sentence, but I can’t figure out how else to put it LOL).  While at Claire’s, I saw the makeup in cases that looked like cell phones among other things… but do I really want to buy that for a 5 year old??  I did see a couple of other things that I thought she might like for her birthday… I can’t believe my baby girl is growing up.

*edited to add: I told her that I don’t wear makeup so she didn’t need makeup, and she just looked at me and said “but it’s toy makeup”  LOL

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, I guess my point is that these companies know what they’re doing when they advertise during the day on a channel like Cartoon Network.  They know the kids are going to be bugging their parents to buy whatever it is they’re trying to sell.  I may consider it a dirty trick, but I understand it.  I also know that I can combat it by being consistent and telling her no when she asks for whatever it is on TV.  Even if I do decide to buy it later for her birthday.  LOL

Ok, so this is a few weeks old at this point, but I got a kick out of reading it on Slashdot when it first came out.  http://politics.slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&type=story&sid=10/02/16/2346202 I even went to the source and read some of the first and second report written by the IPCC, or at least the parts that were referenced to in the by the Utah Assembly.

Apparently, the Utah Assembly seems to think that if they pass a resolution denying global warming or global climate change based on one inconstancy between two different 600+ page reports written by 2 separate groups, then this denial will make an actual difference with what everyone else thinks.  Uhh, yea, I’m going to change my mind about how I feel about global warming based on something that some state I don’t live in has as a resolution.

As for what I really think… well I know there’s a lot of controversy surrounding what’s been said and determined.  So rather than fighting over the details, is it really going to hurt for us to conserve energy where ever we can?  I know that if I conserve electricity my bill will go down.  If I conserve gas by driving more, I’ll be healthier because I’ve been walking more and/or I’ll save money on gas.  With trying to pay off all of my bills before I turn 40, I can’t see how either of these options is going to hurt anything.  Neither will starting my own garden, whether it be container gardening or square foot gardening.  I save money and have more plants around that’ll absorb CO2.

Let’s face it, the whole thing with carbon offsets is bogus anyway.  There’s no way to track what’s actually being done, so why do we look up to those who buy these carbon offsets instead of using Ed Beagley, Jr as an example and making their homes truly ‘green.’  Just because they have the money doesn’t mean they should waste it instead of conserving our resources?

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions because I feel like if I’m not going to start today, I’m not going to start Jan 1, but I do have goals for the coming year(s).

I’m giving myself a deadline of Jul 2014 to reach my goal weight.  That seems like a long time, but if I put pressure on myself, I do very badly.  My 25th high school reunion is the 4th of July weekend that year, so I want to be at goal. 

I’m giving myself until my 40th birthday to get out of debt.  I’m using Dave Ramsay’s system, and with as little as we owe, it’s not outrageous to think we can be done by May 2011.  I’d like to be able to give more in December 2011, and repay the kindnesses shown to our family this year. (My church did an Angel tree for families with little money.  My kids ended up with a lot of gifts from the church, and they gave us food.  I was amazed at how much we got, and in tears from the generosity.)

I have yet to figure out what else I want to change about my life, but I do know I want to go back to school and finish my degree as well.  I’ve spent too much time being complacent about where I am in life.

Like it’s not obvious with not being on the MUD recently, I haven’t been around much.  I’m working toward being able to post more frequently again.  Until then, you can check out my articles on the Examiner.com website 🙂  I think I posted a link to the side.  If not, there are several posted below.

~Shar

So I did get the letter from my oldest, and he’s doing well.  He sounds so mature already, I’m so proud of him.  I wrote him back the day after I got the letter, but I need to write again already.

And I’ve started writing for somewhere else too.  I signed up to write for Examiner.com as their Oklahoma City Weight Loss Examiner.  My URL is at http://www.examiner.com/x-22761-Oklahoma-City-Weight-Loss-Examiner.

My first article went up tonight.

California unloads on eBay (Opens in a new window)

To help close the gap in the budget, California is selling their surplus on eBay instead of just auctioning it like most states.  To try to get more money out of these repos and impounds, the governor is autographing many of the items.  All a great idea, in my humble opinion. 

What I find really hilarious on one level and mind boggling on another are the comments being made at the bottom of the article.  There are many, many people saying that the problems with California are the fault of the liberals in charge, etc etc.  Uhh, hate to break it to you, Schwarzenegger is a Republican.  The whole problem with California’s economy is two-fold, and neither problem can be placed at any one party’s feet. 

First, they were spending much more than they were making for years.  You can’t do that. 

Second, many in California are being hard hit with the problems with the housing bubble and the economy tanking. 

So in essence, California was spending as much as if not more than they really had coming in, and then they suddenly had less coming in.  Oops.  Seems to me, that’s the problem many people are having too. 

On a personal note, I’m sorry I haven’t been posting much.  It’s been a very busy summer.  My oldest made it off to boot camp, and I’ve gotten one (form) letter back from him already.  I’m sure I’ll hear from him again soon… this time in his own words 🙂

I live across the street from the park where my city sets off the fireworks.  This means nothing to me except that I can walk to the park with my daughter occasionally, and I can sit in my front yard to watch the fireworks every year.  Oh yea, and sometimes the softball games get very loud, which can keep myself or my daughter awake since our bedroom faces the softball field.

Now, I’ve also heard stories about how the park is dangerous after dark, that there are drug deals that go on.  One time someone shot a gun off up the street at about 11:30 pm, and then ran into the park.   I just deal with that by avoiding the park after dark, and being aware of where we are when we go during the day.  I’m also very careful to lock my doors at night.  I sleep lightly anyway, so this is generally enough of a precaution against trouble.

There was an issue last Saturday night (the 4th).  I overheard one of the cops directing traffic tell someone that there had been a stabbing at the miniature golf course attached to the park.  The golf course is about a block from my house, so understandably I was very concerned when I heard that.  However, the cop directing traffic didn’t have any more information, and the newspaper hasn’t had any information since that night.

Because of the lack of information, I’m finding myself wondering how many similar incidents have happened over the years, but haven’t been published in the newspaper.

Ok, so maybe not any lions or tigers.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the big scare for the swine flu lately.  There’s a varying number of dead, mostly in Mexico, with one Mexican toddler who died here in the US.  I don’t mean to sound callous, but it’s hard to get worried about this one.  It seems like there’s always a global pandemic happening.  The avian flu scare wasn’t all that long ago.  It also seems like they’re only making things worse with their rushing around.  I’ve seen reports that hospital workers who have been vaccinated for the flu have died.  Any vaccine will lower your immunity for a few days, making it easier for you to catch anything.  Add that to working in a hospital where you’re treating those with the flu and you’re definitely going to catch it.  Then with the lowered immunity, it’s too easy to die from it.

Don’t get me wrong.  Yes, there’s reason to be concerned, but I guess my feeling on it is a bit fatalistic right now.  If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.  I’m sure a dear friend of mine will disagree with me on that… or he may not.  I don’t remember talking to him about things happening as they’re supposed to.

As for the rest, my feeling is you need to stay away from the flu vaccine and do what you can to stay healthy.  Yes, that means eating your fruits and veggies.  Get plenty of sleep and do what you can to take care of yourself.

And on the note of getting plenty of sleep, it’s past time for me to get some myself.  G’night and stay healthy.