While we were in Mazatlan, we ate chips and salsa on the hour. It was the most addicting salsa I’ve ever had. I would IV it if I could. I haven’t had any good Mexican cuisine in WA state, there probably isn’t any. I decided to make my own, after carefully creating an ingredient list. You might not be interested unless you’re coming over soon and like salsa, but it was pretty good. This is it (it’s prettier if you click the link and blow it up):
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!
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:
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.
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?
www.wikiemedia.com
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…
#11Five Reasons I’m Too Old For MySpace
www.xkcd.com
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.
www.geomatters.com
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:
Things are looking good and keep looking better!
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.
Need I say more?
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.
Cat Killfoil 