Living Well - The mobile office

Most of us consider our vehicles our mobile office. Depending on what business you are in, you can spend most of your day in your car. Im lucky that I am not one of them.

No matter how much time we spend in our cars, we like them to be comfortable. We personalize them with bumper stickers and listen to our favorite tunes. We even get defensive if someone doesnt like the make or model we have, the color, or whatever bumper sticker is on it...

But no matter how much we love our cars, sometimes we "junk" them up. Sometimes our children "junk" them up. Lets see: McDs wrappers, candy wrappers, assorted cereal pieces, various small toys from fast food places, cards, gum wrappers...this list could really go on!

Adults tend to leave items in their cars as well...and Im not talking about a jackstand or jumper cables either!

The one Im most guilty of is leaving a jacket/hoodie in the van. After a couple days of this, there can be 3 hoodies in the van...I now make sure that once a week, I bring in whats left out there!

I find the easiest way to get rid of trash is while Im filling up my tank. I like to keep a few plastic grocery bags for this. While gassin up, I do a quick look and then start collecting-if theres a bag ready to get the heave---it goes right in the can right at the gas station.

Another thing to do when you fill up your tank is check the air pressure in your tires. Air pressure gauges are inexpensive and easy to use. Driving with the correct air pressure saves money.

If you are a parent, you spend alot of time waiting in your car....
Use this time to go thru your glove compartment or windex the windows.

If you just dont want to be seen windexing your windows waiting for your child -- maybe do this while waiting for your car to warm up in the morning. I like to Armor Arm the dashboard when its warming up.

Once your vehicle gets clean and straighted, put a bag in the back and tell the kids to throw the trash in there. If theres no place to toss it, it will end up on the floor.

If you need to keep items in your vehicle for business purposes, I suggest keeping them in a tote in the trunk. Not only will they be "hidden" but if there is ever a leak, your items remain dry.

Business items can vary, but make sure that your vehicle isnt becoming "storage". Items in your vehicle should be those you use often and therefore are current.

There are some items that you MUST keep in your car: jumper cables, jackstand, tire iron, flashlights, blanket, flares etc. Many stores like Pep Boys and even Walmart carry these kits.


Once you make it a routine to do these small things, it will become a habit. I just hope you arent like me and want to clean out other peoples vehicles while they are filling up!!

And just for your information, I havent done that in years - so unless you have a Lambourghini or Porsche - I aint goin for a ride!

Living Well - Books, Books, Everywhere!!

Some friends have asked me to start blogging about how I keep things so "tidy" at my house and have everything organized. Well, first - EVERYTHING is NOT organized. However, my living space is greatly uncluttered.

Anyway, books....where do I even begin?

I love books - I love to read -- But I have learned that you cannot keep every book you have ever read (unless you have a mansion). Normally, we acquire books thru our friends or family members, usually passing them to someone else when we are done.

My favorite way to get books is thru the public library. Not only can you "check out" books, you can also purchase gently used books for as low as 25 cents!

The problem is when a book costs a quarter - you tend to get many more! You get home and realize, you do not have room for these books.

Well, you have a few solutions:
1) trash the used book (which I am NEVER for)
2) recycle the used book (better than just tossin, but still)
3) donate old books
4) Book Swap!

I have found several ways to pass many books along, instead of them collecting dust or wasting space in my house.

My local public library accepts gently used books, vcr tapes, and cds. This is a bonus for them, since alot of those books are donated by others, or out of circulation at the library - and they make some money reselling it.

You are going to hear this alot from me....technology is WONDERFUL!

You can get lost in the world wide web visiting the thousands of websites specific for "books". I have found a handful of sites that work for me. These sites allow you to send a book to someone who requests it without obligation to return it. You can also request books to be sent to you.

Here they are:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/
http://bookmooch.com/
http://www.cash4books.net/
http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php

There is also a site that allows you to view entire books online. Obviously, this is fantastic on many levels!
http://www.fullbooks.com/

The World Lecture Hall is a great one for FREE course material.
http://web.austin.utexas.edu/wlh/

Now that you know where to buy, donate, and trade books....what do you do with the ones you have?

Well, you organize em! First, you really need to empty your bookshelves completely...Thats right! Find an open spot somewhere and stick them all there. Now, seriously clean your shelving. This really should be done once a year.

Next, group all your books by topic. That means, all of your cookbooks together-all of your pet books together--you get the point.

After you have all your books organized by topic, go thru them to see if there are books that you no longer want or use. Look thru them to see if they are damaged in any way. The books that are damaged can be recycled, but place all the ones you arent going to use in a box to donate, sell or trade.

Dust off the books you will be returning to the shelves (can of air works as well) and then place them on the shelf.


I find that grouping by topic works better than alphabetizing your entire book collection. Grouping by topic allows you to see the "collection". Sometimes it takes having all those books together so you can see JUST how many books you may have and that you do not need more.

Hope this helped someone!

My stress-free Christmas on a budget

Because of the economy, many of my friends have stated that they are cutting back on what and how much they buy. Some of these same friends have complained that they have had to purchase gifts for various people in their lives.

Heres my idea...Instead of "cutting back" or even complaining about it, why not CHANGE the way we celebrate? We do not have to forego tradition when changing these celebrations, instead change the mindsets of those involved.

We need to celebrate this holiday within our means! So, while contemplating on these things, we need to understand what is specifically important to us. These priorities will be different for everyone.


Here are some of my Christmas "tips"


DECORATIONS

I still need my decorations, but unless something breaks, I will not purchase new ones. How about where you store your decorations? If you dont have room for it, dont keep it. This allows you to concentrate on saving/using only the decorations you absolutely love! This also helps when it comes to setting everything up - and putting it away for the following year.

When you are pairing down your collection of Christmas decorations, there are many ways to "get rid of" any extras. You can always give it to another family member, box some of them and give them to your adult children, donate to your church, or donate somewhere else. I suggest that ornaments/decorations that are broken in any way, be thrown away.

CHRISTMAS DINNER

I like to host Christmas dinner. This is mostly due to everyone else in the family having animals or a smaller space to celebrate...but no matter who hosts the Christmas dinner, we have to remember to economize.

Instead of having the host family prepare everything, make your Christmas dinner "potluck". Since most of us are pretty traditional when it comes to our Christmas dinners, we dont really take a chance with crazy off-the-wall dishes. If this is a concern, make sure to speak with those attending, and "assign" dishes to each person.

THE HORROR! GIFTS!

If there ever has been a year to cut back, it is 2008. Most families remember Christmas pasts when they got "that awesome video game system" or the year that they got that "big screen tv". Many of our Christmas memories just straight up involved gifts....and most of us can recall some time in our lives when under our Christmas tree, was a mountain of perfectly wrapped gifts.

Even though some of my friends still bought a couple of the big ticket items - Im sure they saved awhile for it-or will face a sticker shock come January when the bill rolls in.


DIVING INTO CHANGE

Last Christmas, I had JUST moved. I beleive that my gift was that the house sold quickly, and we were able to find exactly what we wanted. But anyway, because of all that was involved in showing the house, packing, painting-etc we really could not have fit in shopping...not to mention keep track of what was bought.

So we spoke to our friends and families and said, Hey-we still want to host Christmas (potluck idea started last year too) but can we NOT exchange gifts? Amazingly, everyone thought that was a good idea. I dont think anyone minded.

THE LUCKY ONES!

We did however still get my daughter and son presents. They wrote lists of ideas with a certain money limit - and we got the top two things they wanted. Both were happy with their gifts.


I have to mention that our one tradition has evolved into something else that has made Christmas a little less stressful. When I was a kid, I was allowed to open ONE gift Christmas Eve. Granted, those gifts were basically Christmas pajamas from your folks....and youd better wear em for the morning for when they take pictures!!

SEE, I AINT LIKE MY MOM & DAD

I have always let my kids do the same, but I never did the pajamas thing to them. I gave them real gifts (like a cd or dvd) My motive wasnt for the pictures tho-mine was to have them occupied so that we could get stuff separated for the "morning set-up".

SLEEPING IN CHRISTMAS DAY = PRICELESS!

Anyway, a couple of years ago, we started letting them open everything Christmas Eve (after Mass the years we were able to go) so that we could sleep in Christmas morning. This alleviated alot of stress Christmas day...mostly because the kids stopped waking up at the crack of dawn to open and play with whatever they got.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Heres an awesome discovery-Comcast has a Christmas digital music channel. For those of you who are starting out....you wont need to purchase music to set the mood. For those of us with umpteen Christmas tunes cds-we can keep them in the cd rack. There is something for everyones taste.


I STILL SEND SNAIL MAIL!

I have neglected to mention something that I need to address now.
Christmas cards.
I dont feel like Christmas is complete without sending Christmas cards. I have a Christmas card list that is somewhere around 90-100 names long. I really try not to bump anyone off this list, no matter how much money I will save on postage. I know everyone feels differently about sending cards-even if they love getting them....and maybe my card is cheering one of them up. So I do NOT skimp here.


THE MORAL OF THIS STORY

We spent hundreds of dollars less this year, but enjoyed Christmas 100% more!
Not only did we save money, our ideas have been passed around amongst our closest friends and we have heard stories about how much they saved!

Theres another bonus as well....no malls, no lines!
NO ADDITONAL DEBT!


So what are your thoughts? Do you think you could implement any of these ideas?

Noticing Christmas decorations

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas. Since changing some of the financial obligations of celebrating Christmas, we had a most relaxing day.

I may blog about how to change those obligations, since it adds to the meaning of Christmas instead of going into debt. But, before I do that, I must get something off my chest...something that has been bothering me for some time now.

I have noticed recently (within the past 5 years) that Christmas decorations are less Christmas-and more ridiculous.

Here are some violators:

* blue lights - Unless you have green, red, yellow, white, you should not have blue. Decorating your house or yard with blue lights does NOT make me think of Christmas. It makes me think you are depressed.

* characters inside snow globes OR any other type of blow up decoration - These things make me crazy. Some of these do not even contain Christmas-like scenarios. For the amount of electricity these things consume-you could have lights all over the place! The other issue with these type of decorations is that when they are not "up" they lay in a pile on the front lawn. Not attractive!

* Nativity sets that do not use Biblical characters. Mickey Mouse playing Joseph is WRONG! Minnie Mouse as Mary is WRONG! If you are going to have a Nativity scene, please stay true.

* The reason for the season is NOT Santa. Really....you didnt know that?

* Unless you live on Baltimore's Christmas Street, you should not insist on having decorations on every inch of yard. Its just tacky especially if there is no "theme".

* Decorations saying "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" - Come on...if you decorate for Christmas, why are you being so politically correct? Your friends, who may not share your religious beliefs really shouldnt be offended...I mean, you dont expect to see the same types of decorations in a Jewish friends home.

* This really isnt a decoration, but - Christmas songs with words changed
(for example - "Silent Night, Holy Night" changed to "Silent Night, Regular Night")

* While I am talking about songs....I love Christmas music at Christmas. I do not like to hear it non stop BEFORE Thanksgiving. I would like to be able to enjoy one holiday before another thrusts itself in my face. Do like most of us do--the weekend AFTER Thanksgiving to the first weekend in January.

* Speaking of enjoying holidays....for some of my friends, I ask that you please attempt to hide the fact that you dont take your decorations down all year! I have friends (and you know if this is you!) who have led me to their house by telling me, you cant miss it-it has the Christmas lights on it--in July.

* And my last one, well, Im sure will make some of my friends will be mad.
BLINKING LIGHTS!!
Before you think about commenting me on this, hear me out -- Unless you have them synchronized-its gonna look horrid. Seriously-your roof blinks and your porch blink, and your bushes blink...problem is -- 4 or five strands on each thing blink and you kinda cant tell what its supposed to be lighting up....(I have the same issue with blinking Christmas trees) And those chaser lights - need I say seizure?


I am very sorry if Ive offended anyone....personally-Ive been guilty of one of these--but saw the error of my ways!


Well, Im off to "un-Christmas". Gonna do little bits at a time tho-dont want to wear myself out.
Comments are of course, welcome....but please keep it polite.

Resolutions 2009 - Aiming High

Wow! I cannot beleive that it has been 3 weeks since Ive blogged. Weve all had bouts with whatever form of ick went around...Matts even gotten sent home from school a couple times.

Anyway, I really didnt want to blog about anything political - so Ive kept my blogging mouth shut!

So, after accomplishing almost everything on last year's resolution list, I am definately aiming a little higher this year. Im going to change some habits and truly be organized!



Here they are:

1) I will complete the organizing of my photo albums. I made it from 1971 to 2003 last year, so I feel that this resolution should be a breeze.

2) I will organize my recipes. I have so many loose ones plus duplicates from previous attempts. I hope to start this project by March.

3) I will keep the linen closet un-cluttered. This is a no-brainer.

4) I will go thru old files / old magazine scraps at least once a week. I went 6 months without doing it last year. I hope to keep up on it better this year.

5) We will begin recycling aluminum. Last year I resolved to recycle paper, and I have become a paper nazi (sorry about the descriptive word-If it offends, I am sorry)

6) I will drink at least one bottle of water a day. Every bottle drank will replace a caffeinated drink.

7) I will make sure to take 15 minutes EVERY morning to stretch and warm up. This is mostly because of my joint pain, and I realize that I have to strech every morning, not just the ones I feel pain.


So, do you think Ive aimed too high? What are your resolutions?
I am finally done with decorating! Just got odds and ends before Christmas Eve!

Lost Theory Bonus-Adam and Eve

For those of you who have been reading my theories, heres a little BONUS

I beleive that Penny and Desmond are Adam and Eve.

Since Ben cannot get back to the island, Penny is safe.
Since Charles Widmore cannot get back to the island, Desmond is safe.

The Others should be able to protect them.

Lost theory-Part III (of III) - Groundhogs???

Lost Theory – Part III – Groundhogs?

Introduction:
This is Part III of my three part Lost theory. This theory ties in all my ideas (minus the retelling of the Lost series) and presents the Lost story as a whole. It’s a little lengthy, but please read all of it.



Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day? Bill Murray’s character relives the same day until he does it right. My theory runs along the same lines…

If you take everything you have seen during the series of Lost, you can see a few “oddities” Things that just on the surface seem out of place. Think about what you have seen, playing over and over in a loop. Every decision affecting everything else, including what you have ALREADY seen.

Since it IS Lost canon that Desmond time traveled after the hatch blew up, we CAN factor in that you can attempt to change the past. We also know that Mrs Hawking stressed to Desmond that things have a way of “course-correcting”. I want the idea of “course-correcting” at the front of your mind.


GOOD VIBRATIONS

In Part I, I stated that Charlie Pace is important to my theory. All in all, Desmond can only prevent the inevitable for so long. I also noted that death has been looking for Charlie since the flight itself. If Charlie had died earlier, who else could have “broke that code”? If he would have died earlier, they would not have been able to contact the freighter.

Think about every decision involving Charlie Pace. We know that he swum to the Looking Glass station….so why didn’t he save Joanna from drowning earlier? Charlie claimed he “didn’t swim”.

Unfortunately, (?) EVERY decision led to the freighter coming, being blown up, and more lives lost….oh-and an island that has mysteriously vanished.


WHICH LEADS ME TO

In Season 4, we see a flashback of Daniel Faraday watching a news report stating that the Oceanic Flight 815 was found at the bottom of the ocean. This news made him visibly upset.

Since we won’t know what happens to Daniel Farraday (unless you read spoilers – and I haven’t) until Lost comes back on, we can only imagine what he’s experienced.

If the island vanished into the past, is Faraday upset that the island isn’t there when the plane crashes? Where will Oceanic Flight 815 crash?


THE IMPORTANCE OF JULIET

Before coming to the island, Juliet was able to impregnate her sister, Rachel. (I believe that Rachel and her son are who Jack hears crash on the bridge in the Season 3 finale)

Juliet has been on the island 3 years when Oceanic 815 crashes. We last see Juliet on the beach drinking Dharma Rum watching the smoke from the freighter explosion.

If the island has disappeared into the past, we can speculate that she may have continued to experiment on solving the island’s fertility issues. Depending on how far into the past the island went, we can speculate that Juliet could have injected this “serum” into John Locke’s mother, thereby making him “special”. This would also explain why Richard Alpert visited John when he was a child.

We can also speculate that Juliet could have impregnated any one of the Oceanic Six’s parents, thereby making all of them “special”.


WIDMORE-LINUS-PAIK

We have seen connections between Charles Widmore, Ben Linus, and the Paik family. We can only guess at some of the connections between Ben Linus and Charles Widmore, but we DO know that Ben will be looking to even the score between them.

We know that Sun bought a controlling interest in Paik Industries, and has approached Charles Widmore-stating common interests. Is she referring to Demond & Penny, or some type of rivalry among Widmore and Paik?

We have been led to believe that Paik Industries built the Black Rock and has some type of connection to the construction of the hatches that are scattered on the island. If this is true, then we can begin to piece the connection between Paik and Dharma.


PAIK-KWON

It is no secret that Sun’s father has no respect for Jin. He allows him to marry his daughter on the condition that he work for Paik Industries. We find out that the reason Sun and Jin are in Australia catching a flight to California, is for Jin to deliver 2 watches for Paik. Prior to the flight, Sun is “plotting” to leave Jin – a fact that I find important….If Sun leaves Jin, she misses Flight 815 and does not crash on the island. This leads me to believe that Paik may be trying to “get rid of Jin”.


DESMOND & PENNY

Penny’s father did not approve of Desmond. Desmond feels compelled to prove his worth to Penny (who constantly tell him he doesn’t have to). Through a set of events, he acquires a boat, and enters a boat race to “get his honor back”. He eventually crashes onto the island, and enters the code in the Swan hatch. While we see that Desmond and Penny reunite….we wonder how long it will be before Charles Widmore finds out.


SMOKE MONSTER?

Since the first appearance of the Smoke Monster, we have been attempting to guess at what it is, and what its purpose is. We know that it can manifest itself in a physical way – such as pulling the pilot out of the plane, dragging Locke thru the jungle, throwing Eko into the air….

I believe that the Smoke Monster is the ISLANDS way of course correcting. We have also seen Ben “summon” the smoke monster.


BEN’S INFLUENCE

Ben Linus certainly has a way about him….he can manipulate ANY situation, and seems prepared for any outcome. Even when Ben turns the “frozen donkey wheel,” and leaves the island, never able to return - he seems to have it all under control.

This leads me to believe that Ben has the ability to remember the outcomes of time loops. If Ben has the ability to remember all the outcomes, and has the power to “summon” the smoke monster, what other island mysteries can he manipulate?


GOING BACK TO THE FUTURE

We are left with the suspicious death of Jeremy Betham (John Locke). Betham spent much of his last days, speaking with each of the Oceanic Six, explaining to them why they must come back to the island….claiming “Bad Things Happened”

It is my belief that Betham is not dead, but has been bitten by the Medusa spider, rendering him paralyzed. It is not known if anyone other than Nikki, Paulo and Dr Artz knew about this spider, so the belief that he is dead-with the cover story that he hung himself, could be important.


ALL OF YOU MUST COME BACK TOGETHER

It is unclear at this time, to know what occurred on the island after the Oceanic Six are rescued. However, the involvement with Widmore, Linus, and Abaddon certainly make the situation seem dire on all accounts.

The comment that ALL of the Oceanic Six MUST come back leads me to believe that upon their return, they must make different CHOICES.


WRAPPING IT UP

If you think about this (without having your head explode) you may notice that in the Pilot episode, their IS significance of Jack and Kate NOT being on the beach. It is my belief that the Pilot episode IS the Oceanic Six’s return to the island.

Each of the characters MUST make different choices in order to survive. Should they attempt to locate the transponder? Should they save Charlie? Should they attempt to get off the island? Would the Others look upon the Losties differently if they weren’t continually working against them-instead, protecting the island.


ONE MORE THING

So we have all heard the whispers….I believe that the whispers are “warnings” FOR the Losties. These whispers usually precede some type of event, and are normally heard backwards. MAYBE these whispers are OUR Losties in another loop.


In the fun that is the movie, Groundhog Day….these events MUST be changed for the story to end on a HAPPIER note!