Monthly Archives: September 2007

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The Thief Maker

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Publishing a book is hard. And it’s a big deal. I had no idea where to start once I stopped writing. I really like the idea of publishing the book through a self publishing company rather than dealing with stress submission and rejection. I have talked about iUniverse with David, you’ll even find him in my blogroll. He was honestly great at giving me personal feedback and talks about his experience on his blog as well.

I’d been meaning for a while to get his book, and it arrived in the mail from Amazon the other day. I didn’t put it down. It was super interesting to be reading a 9/11 related book this week. It does serve as an important reminder. I thought everything looked and was laid out great, and loved the story. I definitely suggest that you check it out!

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Viva Mexico

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It always takes a week for me to get around to my travels, mainly trying to bug MK to get the pictures to me, since he is in the habit of hiding the camera cords. It rained and stormed almost every night we were there, which was great, as it made the days clear and cool, with just enough cloud cover to relax under, and a nice breeze to keep the heat and humidity at bay.
I needed this trip. It was great family time with MK’s step mom, dad, brother, brother’s gf (Potential Sister In Law?) and little step sister. They are such a fun bunch, and any time we spend together is for learning and laughing, penucle and partying.

We had great meals every day and night, and played ping pong, tennis, shuffleboard, and volleyball. One of my favorite things was painting with KK, and the place glazed and fired the things we made, for the perfect self made souvenir. Check out my little jar:

my-pot.jpg

Looks professional, doesn’t it? I had a little help.
Our place was the top floor penthouse with a great view, a private hot tub, grill, and chairs and tables. Our room was huge. There were four bedrooms and a giant lower level. You can see the marble floors and staircase in the pictures. We traveled into the town and down the beach, and even to the Mazatlan Aquarium, which was interesting.

Here are the pictures!

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Leading Zombie Expert

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How have I lived this long without the Zombie Survival Guide??

I can only hope when Random House publishes my book they give me half as cool a website.

And that when the zombies come I’m ready. How funny would it be to sit at a coffee shop or on the bus and be taking notes?

zombie survival guide
www.wikiemedia.com

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And I’m Younger Than You

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Click here for information. Yes, it’s already been 11 weeks of you shaking your head in dismay. (Cue: “All By Myself…”). So, the top five lists march on…

fives.jpg#11

Five Reasons I’m Too Old For MySpace

  1. I’m married.
  2. Can’t read a single sentence of txt msgng.
  3. No one ever asks “You on MySpace?” anymore.
  4. Won’t take 1/2 nekkid pic of myself in mirror.
  5. Predators no longer message me.

myspace music
www.xkcd.com

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Rich Dad, Poor Dad

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So this book has been out for some time now. I ran out of reading material on the plane and stole this from MK, not sure why he was even carrying it around though. It was a quick read (finished in one flight) and didn’t really teach me anything I didn’t already know (your house is NOT an asset).
I don’t usually post about each book I read (that would be all I had time for) but after all the thought provoking issues the book raised, and the great discussions MK and I had, I thought I’d let you have a little feedback to entice.
My biggest problem with the book was the reiteration of the idea that there is no school teaching of finance. In college I took a Personal Finance class that taught everything from balancing a checkbook and valuing real estate to picking life insurance. So, it’s out there, you just have to look for it. I would certainly encourage (read: force) my children to take a class like that. Not all conversations need to be had at the dinner table. It’s more about setting a good example.

Other than that there were a lot of issues raised. With MK’s profession, we don’t have any problems with risk taking and our money not being in traditional 401(k)s. At our age, I haven’t met any friends that think they will retire on Social Security benefits. So, in the ten years since most of the examples occurred, what a different world we are in. That doesn’t mean that people are making all the right decisions.

What stood out to me was the political ramifications. We elect officials that don’t know how to run a business. And the government then spends too much. If you’re “Posters Inc.” you try to spend less money so you take home more. If you’re the EPA on the other hand, you want to use all your alloted monies in case they decrease your budget. There’s a fundamental problem.

If you haven’t read this book, I suggest it. It’s a simplest way to understand why some things aren’t working. I don’t honestly suggest going to “get rich” seminars, I doubt we’ll all be real estate moguls, but you can remind yourself where you stand, discover what you can do to improve your life, and stop thinking of money as evil.

rich dad poor dad
www.geomatters.com

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August Tally

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Too many visitors and vacations are getting in my way again (still). My new resolution is to not treat it as an excuse for bad food and drinking any more. That might work for people when it’s only once every so often, but we’re not like that, there’s always something going on. I am also going to start trying to permanently logging my miles, I made 34 last month (since I only ran 8 days that’s not bad.)

Final stats on the Calendar of Progress:

  1. I used those ankle weights all the TIME. If the gym was busy I used them for upper body lifting as well. I could watch tv and lay on my side, etc. They are awesome and I’d recommend them to everyone who thinks they are too tired to work out. I’m done trying to lose weight, since I did squeeze my butt into size 0 pants (but didn’t buy them haha). Now it’s all about tone.
  2. I am still running long routes, but the timing was hard with my parents visiting at the beginning of the month and Mexico at the end. In other news, my parents have been walking every day, drinking and eating out less too!! It’s exciting when you rub off on other people around you. (I’m assuming that one).
  3. In Mexico I drank strictly banana margs to get my fruits 😉
    I found I was not drinking enough water so I’m getting back up on that.
    I also have started taking a giant horse pill of a multi vitamin every day.

Things are looking good and keep looking better!

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No More Dropping It Like It’s Hot

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What am I talking about? My favorite dance move, of course. You may call it the “Dip It Low”, “Bootilicious” the “Shakin’ It” or the “Get Low”.
All you need to know about it is that if it has been a while, even if you are a super star runner, you should limit yourself. I haven’t been going out at all lately, and should have known better. The first one got such rave reviews I forgot I was in 6 inch heels and sober. I shouldn’t have gone for drops two through seven. Hopefully the sheer inability to basically walk for the past two days will teach me the lesson.

get low

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Common Goals

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Recently at a party, MK was telling the story of his old roommate, the sweetest guy ever. He was independently wealthy and a college student for life. Well, MK’s going on and mentions our favorite fact about the guy, “His goals in life were to try to amass every college credit there, and to find the perfect third ingredient for Mac and Cheese.” This always make me laugh, since there’s a nice little dichotomy between those things.

Apparently, it’s not as outrageous as I thought. Party-goers all began shouting their most obvious answers.

“Hot dogs!”
“Crackers!”
“Peas!”
“Salsa!”
“Hot Wings!”
“I like carrots.”
“Lemon Pepper, totally!”

I couldn’t breathe, stuck in that silent laugh I get when I’m totally shocked. So, I learned that many more people have tried this than I imagined.

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Vick Doesn’t Matter

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Or how about shouldn’t matter, not this much. It seems everyone is a little too worked up about the dogs. I’m late even getting out an opinion at this point. But I didn’t expect it to blow up into the talk of the preseason. Hey, don’t get me wrong. I like dogs. I love dogs. Fines and jail time, that’s the law. Suspension from the game? Y’all think that’s appropriate, fine.

But what about these guys?
I had no idea until I read this article: Last Days – The Stranger
Take a look at the first bullet point.

These guys beat their PREGNANT wives and were not punished by the NFL. Dogs don’t matter to me that much. Without the original article I’m having trouble finding all the ramifications, but does it make sense?

does not equal unequal
www.greenville.k12.sc.us

The whole problem is a typical one with regard to our sports heroes, that of uproar and unpopular actions getting in the way of equal treatment and correct punishments. We can be mad about the dogs, we can let the law handle the punishment for the rules he broke. But football is his job. And if others don’t get kept from working after abuse (on people), what sense does that make? Let the man play. We can be mad, sure. We can let him apologize to PETA. But there’s a line that I’d like drawn that separates the man and the ball player.