the ultimate road trip

Spring Break 2011.  Last year around tax time, we decided, "Next year we're going to take our returns and go to Disney World."  A great idea!  One that we had come up with the year before and had to scrap because we had to use the returns for other things.  And yes, this time around the same thing is going to happen.  We still want to have a good trip this year though - something memorable for all of us and less expensive than flying to Orlando, so we've come up with the idea of doing an old-fashioned road trip.

We all love the idea.  The only issue is that we can't figure out where we want to go.  My husband has never been in the ocean, my son has never seen the ocean or mountains, and I'd love to get them there.  That opens up a whole world of possibilities, right?  Now, cross off anything in the Gulf because - well - it's Spring Break.  Not really a family atmosphere, ya know?  Also cross off going anywhere where we would have to drive through the Rocky Mountains because it's the 3rd week in March and the weather is pretty unpredictable up there. Add a few factors in like we want to be sure that there are activities for all of us to enjoy, we don't camp and we're on a limited budget and it makes the decision a little harder.

Some ideas we have come up with are Washington D.C. (tons of free stuff to do and not terribly far from the ocean, but hotels are a little pricey), a tour of BBQ hotspots (pretty easy, but the kid would probably get bored and there would be no ocean and no mountains), Maine (because we want to eat lots of lobster but again, not much fun for the kid), and a little jaunt through the Smoky Mountains to the lower east coast and back, but we wouldn't know exactly where our destination would be.

Who knew this would be so difficult!  Anyone out there have any suggestions?

i have to agree with the sleep talkin' man

Please tell me you've checked out the Sleep Talkin' Man.  There's nothing like a good chuckle in the morning, and this site gives me plenty.  A wife blogs about the things that come out of her husband's mouth while he's sleeping.  Simple, yet hilarious.  There is "controversy" over whether or not this is actual sleep-talk or if the writers of the blog make it all up, but seriously - who cares?  These insane random thoughts are merged together so beautifully that it doesn't matter where they come from.  I've posted some of my favorite quotes below...

"That's the difference between you and me. Your heart is filled with hate, and mine is filled with kittens. Mmmm, kittens. Meow."

"I think I'll become a decimal point. Cause it's got the power to make things look small or big, all at the same time. I want to have such power. Mmmm, power."



"The world's just not as sparkly as you want it to be. We should all carry some glitter and add a little bit along the way."

"Pay homage to toast. Prostrate yourself in front of it: hot, crunchy bread slice thingy. We shall celebrate with tea! Iguana tea."


"I'm in a totally zen-like state… Can't you tell how fucking zen I am?!"


"No. Don't look up. They're in the trees. Those tree cows. They're a deadly shot. They'll get you in the eyes. Get them down with threats of violence. And a bucket of grass, of course."


"Ghostly froggies. A-hoppin' and a-haunting. Oooooh, ribbit. Oooooh, ribbit."


"(singing) I'm gonna be the captain, I'm gonna be in charge. I'm gonna be the captain, I'm gonna be-... You can fuck off to the back and sulk there. (singing again) I'm gonna be the captain, I'm gonna be in charge.... Captain Bollocks! I shall be Captain Bollocks. On the good ship Scrotum. It's a small boat, but it'll pack a punch. We'll be able seamen in our boat, Scrotum."


"Yeah, you can find it on www.uselessfuckingpieceofcockshitesuckingtitfuck.com."

And the best one for us Wisconsinites:
"My badger's gonna unleash hell on your ass.  BADGERTASTIC!"

Hope you got a little chuckle out of these.  Seriously, follow this blog - it's a little piece of happy insanity every morning.

why is this surprising?

A couple of weeks ago, the media was abuzz with the story of the results of a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.  This 32 question survey on religion was given to 3,412 randomly sampled adults across the country and the results were interesting, but in all honesty I wasn't surprised. 

Disclaimer:  Remember, this is my blog - therefore my opinion, so don't go getting all pissy... ;P

Do you have any interest in trying the quiz yourself?  You can find a shortened version here.  If you do want to try the quiz, I hughly suggest you take it before you continue reading this entry...I don't want to give anything away.

Done?

Good.

I'll continue...

Now the findings showed that in this cross-section of the US, the people who scored the highest were those who consider themselves Athiests/Agnostics with people of Mormon and Jewish faith coming in a close second and third. 

This was absolutely shocking to some people!  I don't really know why.  I have found that a good section of people who I have talkted to who consider themselves Christian (and according to the survey, two-thirds of Christians) - whether they attend church every week or not - have never read the Bible completely, or only read parts of it.  Sure, they know the stories of the Bible, they know the quotable verses, but rely on sermons and their own personal beliefs to keep their faith going.  Many were brought up that way and it's more a family tradition - it's how they were raised.  (Please don't accuse me of lumping all Christians in this group - I know of many who study the Bible intently as well.  I just know there are many who consider themselves Christian without a deep knowledge of the Bible)  That is what they know, what they believe, and they have no need to investigate any further.

Many Athiests and Agnostics were raised Christian, but because they felt they didn't really agree with what they were being told, decided to delve deeper into the religion, usually starting out by reading the Bible.  Honestly, that is where many people decide it's not for them, or that it's the perfect fit.  After many people come to that decision, they search for another religion that fits what they already believe.

The results make perfect sense to me.  Was it just the fact that WASPs weren't deemed the most intelligent about something?  I know that can get them pretty grouchy.  (Oh, simmer down - I joke.)

Here are some findings that I did find interesting as this takes a look at all answers on a whole, not by religious affiliation:

I know religion is a touchy subject, so I'm not going to go on about anything other than saying that the results of this survey make for some interesting reading.  Be you Mormon or Christian, or Buddhist or whatever...knowledge of the things and people around you is always a good thing as well.

Oh, my score on the online quiz?  15 out of 15.  What was yours?

september's educational post (what a pain in the leg)

With the exercise that I've been doing to try to lose weight (though in actuality it's only keeping off the weight that wants to come back), I've ended up hurting myself.  Big surprise - I know.  After a few months of intermittent jogging, I've developed shin splints.  Lucky me!  I can still do my walk, but as soon as I start running, these things flare up and start yelling at me, so I have to stop. 

I ended up doing a little research on the pesky condition and thought I'd share some of my results.

"Shin splints is a general medical term denoting medial tibial stress syndrome, a slow healing and painful condition in the shins, often caused by the stresses of running, jumping, dancing, sprinting, etc."

Symptoms of shin splints:

• Pain over the inside lower half of the shin.
• Pain at the start of exercise which often eases as the session continues
• Pain often returns after activity and may be at its worse the next morning.
• Sometimes some swelling.
• Lumps and bumps may be felt when feeling the inside of the shin bone.
• Pain when the toes or foot are bent downwards.
• A redness over the inside of the shin (not always present).

"Shin splints can be caused by overly tight muscles in the lower leg, including the calf muscles and the shin muscles. Stretching on a daily basis and even receiving sports massage can help improve flexibility."


A possible contributing cause of shin muscle pain is the relative weakness of the muscles on the front of the lower leg (the shin), compared to the relative strength of the calf muscles, at the back of the leg (the calf). Shin-muscle strengthening exercises are usually prescribed to correct for this muscle-strength imbalance. The shin pain caused by medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints) usually lasts some ten (10) days, the pain slowly diminishing as the muscle-strength imbalance is corrected. The shin pain is attributed to a forced extension of the muscle, by the opposing calf muscles."

"Treatment for shin splints is as simple as reducing pain and inflammation, identifying training and biomechanical problems which may have helped cause the injury initially, restoring muscles to their original condition and gradually returning to training."

What can the athlete do about shin splints?

• Rest to allow the injury to heal.
• Apply ice or cold therapy in the early stages, particularly when it is very painful. Cold therapy reduces pain and inflammation.
• Stretch the muscles of the lower leg. In particular the tibialis posterior which is associated with shin splints.
• Wear shock absorbing insoles in shoes. This helps reduce the shock on the lower leg.
• Maintain fitness with other non weight bearing exercises such as swimming, cycling or running in water.
• Apply heat and use a heat retainer or shin and calf support after the initial acute stage and particularly before training. This can provide support and compression to the lower leg helping to reduce the strain on the muscles. It will also retain the natural heat which causes blood vessels to dilate and increases the flow of blood to the tissues to aid healing.
• Visit a sports injury clinic for treatment and rehabilitation.

"In order to properly treat shin splints and prevent them recurring, the causative factors must be taken into consideration. No matter how much rest, anti-inflammatories and massage are used, without correcting the cause of the injury, the symptoms will continue to return.


Biomechanical problems such as overpronation and supination can be corrected using running shoes or insoles (or orthotics). Ensuring shoes/trainers are suitable your foot type and for the activity in question.

For runners, try to avoid always running on hard pavements as they provide no shock absorption. Try running some of the time on tarmac, grass or even sand to reduce the shock passed through the legs."

Okay, so I completely copied and pasted from Wikipedia and SportsInjuryClinic.net, but I''m not very creative when it comes to explaining medical conditions.


Looks like my crappy shoes from Wal-Mart that are old and falling apart aren't doing me any good.  Unfortunately I don't have the funds to go out and buy myself a good pair of shoes.  At least I walk/run on a gravel trail and not on the sidewalk.  I learned that trick a long time ago.  Guess I'll just have to nurse these babies for a little while, start stretching, get back into it and see what happens. 

what the hell is this?

I was doing an innocent search in YouTube to see if I could find a clip from Willow to send to my friend and I came across this:



The song about Willow doesn't even start until 2 minutes into it.  I think I might have found my Halloween costume for the year!  Then again, maybe I'll pass...

not the "typical" female

I might be a female, but...

I do not enjoy chick flicks.  They're formula, sappy, unrealistic and boring.

I do not attend any book clubs.  I read books of my own choosing - some new, some old, both fiction and non-fiction.  And while we're on the subject,

I also do not read the latest trendy book series, romance novels, young adult books or hottest vampire series.

I do not bake.  I have tried, but I just can't do it if it's not from a box.  I can cook just fine, but don't expect me to mix flour, sugar, butter and a few other things together and come up with anything remotely edible.

I do not watch Lifetime.  I think the only time I ever did was to watch a few episodes of the Golden Girls back before it was on 24/7.

I don't watch Sex & the City, drinking cosmos and dreaming of living that life.  I tried watching the show once, and it was just nothing like me, so that was the one and only shot.  I've never had a cosmo - nor do I care to.  If someone orders one for me, sure, but you'll never hear me say, "Hey girls, let's get together for gossip and cosmos!" 

I don't blow my money on the latest styles, designer labels, latest trends or dozens of shoes.  I am a clearance sale shopper when I finally get the money to spend on myself.  The clothing I do buy is classic so it can last.  Very rarely do I buy something that is trendy - but, I don't look dowdy or frumpy.

I detest Oprah....and her "followers"  I just don't understand why people will buy luxury items, read specific books and behave a certain way because one woman tells them to.  It's scary - a whole subculture of upper-middle class to upper class female drones.

I do not scrapbook.  I do not need to embellish memories of things that happened by adding colorful papers and stickers.  My pictures are either framed on the wall, in full albums or in (somewhat organized) boxes.

I do not go ga-ga over babies.  Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike them, but I don't feel the need to touch, hold, cuddle, smell or talk to every baby around me.  Don't take it as an insult, I'm sure it's very cute, but it's not something I'm compelled to do.

Not that there's anything wrong with females who like the things that I dislike...

Having said all of this, I am by all means a woman.  Curvy in all the right places (and a few extra curves that I'm working on getting rid of), looks damn good in a skirt, devoted mother, wife and daughter, enjoys the company of men, does her best to bring home the bacon and keep her family going, balances work and family with a little time for herself, loves having fun, learning new things, and reminiscing about the past.  I can go from exercising to finding my husband's lost screwdriver to meditating to playing Mortal Kombat with my son to cooking dinner without hesitation.  I won't play games unless we're both playing for fun, I don't enjoy crying, so I won't use it to make you feel sorry for me, and I won't bite unless you want me to.  ;)

I am not the stereotypical female, I am a woman.  And dang happy with it.

when the wall comes down

I am usually a very positive person.  Our circumstances in life aren't always perfectly ideal, we don't have much, but we are happy to have each other and are thankful for the things we do have.  Sometimes, though it just hits me and I get very sad.  The wall that I put up to help block out the negative comes crashing down and my mood goes along with it.  Today was one of those days.  I broke down.  I let the fact that I spent a little more money than I wanted to on groceries get to me and I couldn't control my sobbing.  Whoa.  Thankfully that doesn't happen to me very often.  I just forget that I'm human and have emotions that I may not want to show from time to time.  If I let them build and build like that, they're bound to overflow - for what seems like no reason at all.

I got through it quickly.  Still not happy that I broke, but it happens.  Just have to keep reminding myself that we are still happy, we're okay, we have a great family, and not let the little things get to me.

the dime store

In the days before the Dollar store, we had the Dime Store.  Those who came before us called it the Five and Dime.

The dime store was downtown within walking distance (or even a bike ride) to home and when you had a little extra allowance money, you couldn't wait to get there and choose from the vast array of goodies they had on their two levels of bliss.  Here's a compilation of some of my favorite dime store items:

Smarties Pops ruled!  

If I remember correctly, they were only 10 cents a piece, so I'd stock up.

Big League Chew

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who attempted to fit the whole packet's worth of shredded gum into my mouth...and failed.  Talk about a sugar rush!

Garbage Pail Kids

I spent quite a bit on these things.  Unfortunately, I never found one with my name.  

 Halloween Costumes

When Halloween rolled around, there would be aisles and aisles (okay, maybe it just seemed that way to a kid in grade school) of costumes in boxes.  Plastic masks and smock-type clothes coverings that somehow was both the costume and the answer to the question, "Who are you today?"  (I happened to have that Leia costume on the right)

Chirping Christmas Ornaments

I always felt sorry for the poor employees who had to sit there and listen to 5-10 of these things going off constantly.  Christmas was full of chirping plastic ornaments, silver tinsel, bad artificial trees, lights, and...ugh...all I can hear are those dang ornaments!

Garanimals

You'd never have to worry about mismatching your clothes as long as your animals matched.  How could life be any more simple?

Grandma Clothes

It was a wonderful world of polyester and boy did my grandma love it!

What about you?  Do you have any favorites that I might have missed?

of course i remember...

Nine-eleven.  I guess that's what this day is called now...or "Patriot Day" which is a term I really can't stand.  It should really be called Remembrance Day (I know, that's another name for Veteran's Day, but since that is the official name for it now, I think we could use it for this one.)  I mean what do we do on this day every year?  We remember.  Remember where we were, remember every emotion we went through, and remember those who were lost - so many people in so many places and from so many different walks of life.

Of course the question will pop up for years to come: Where were you when 9/11 took place?  Well, I was getting ready for work, turned on the tv to the Today Show, which I watched every morning back then, and saw that a plane had flown into one of the towers.  "Oops," is what I thought.  I had heard of other instances where small planes had accidentally flown into the Empire State Building, etc, so I figured that happened again...until I watched the second plane hit live on tv.  Okay, this isn't right.  That's when I woke the hubby up and told him what I just saw.  I continued getting ready for work while poking my head out over and over to see what was going on.  Hubby decided to get out of bed to see what was going on and that's when the call came over the tv that the Pentagon had been hit as well.  Whoa.  Now it's more than one place?  What's next?  Pandemonium and chaos was coming from the tv, nobody knew what was going on.  I didn't want to go to work, but I had to.  I left the tv, got into the car, turned on AM radio, and as I pulled out of the garage, the first tower went down.

Work was a physical therapy clinic in a strip mall that had no tv, no internet, only the radio.  We were all glued to it, though from time to time a patient would actually show up for his or her appointment.  Even when they did, conversation remained with the events of the day and the speculation on the parts of the closed-minded employees who I worked with at the time.  The other tower went down, airplanes were grounded, a rogue plane was headed...somewhere.  Fighter jets flew over somewhere close to us and broke the sound barrier.  Then there was only silence outside.

That silence is what made my fear appear.  It was an unnatural silence.  Nothing in the air, everyone was inside glued to the 24-hour news stations that were reporting any bit of information they could, even if it wasn't accurate.  I wondered how much more there was to come, if "they" were going to hit Chicago with something, if my 13-month-old son would be safe.

It was only in the days after when we knew the "who"s and "why"s that the fear left and we could then focus on the loss.  The immense number of those lost.  The ones who were going about their business and lost their lives instantly at the office, the ones who were trapped in those planes used as weapons and saw it coming, those who were in the panic of trying to get out and couldn't make it in time, the ones who were doing their jobs and trying to help people get out, and the ones who took things into their own hands, knowing they might not make it, but wanted to take the chance.

I feel for those who lost family members that day.  Their loss, however, shouldn't be used as a political campaign or excuse for hatred or a contest to see who is the most patriotic.  Use the day to be thankful for those you have, for the air you breathe, for the diversity of life around you, and let the hatred and anger go.

high on life?

For some reason I have had this overabundance of energy this week.  I keep wanting to get up and walk instead of sitting, my mind is racing about twenty different things all at the same time, I'm in a good mood, I'm humming (when at work), singing and dancing (when not at work) to my music, and haven't had the urge to strangle anyone.  Well, I take that back, though the homicidal urge appears it passes quickly.

I can't figure out what is causing this insane amount of joie de vivre.  I'm not really complaining, I just like knowing why.  My diet hasn't changed (though I need to do a little tweaking...been thinking about that), I'm not taking any new vitamins (unless the B vitamins that I've been taking for a month and a half are finally kicking in), I'm not getting any more or less sleep, so I just don't get it.

I actually went for a walk last night at 8:45 just because I didn't feel like sitting any more.  I never walk at night, especially so close to bed time.  I'm always afraid of either getting abducted or making it home safely, but then not being able to get back to sleep.  Well, I was able to fall asleep - no problem.  Unfortunately, the kid had a nightmare and woke me up at 4:30 and I had a hard time getting to sleep after that, so I'm a little tired today, but still in a good mood (other than the few times I've been ready to slap someone upside the head here in the office, but like I said it passes quickly). 

My mind is going a mile a minute - sometimes about one thing and other times it just jumps from one subject to another.  Sometimes I'm very analytical and think clearly, while other times I ramble on and on, not able to make my point succinctly.  Either way - I'm just going and going.  Now, if I could just figure out how to solve all of our money issues....come on brain!

I think for now I'll stick with the reasoning that someone is lacing my tap water with cocaine.  We'll see if the real reason comes through sooner or later, or if I ever crash