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Thursday, October 28, 2010

You Are Not So Smart: Procrastination

"the problem isn’t you are a bad manager of your time – you are a bad tactician in the war inside your brain."


http://www.facebook.com/everydaypeoplecartoons?v=wall




This guy hits the nail right on top of my head! I was reading this post about procrastination and I swear it was like being read my faults at Judgment Day! Tell me I am not alone in this...or alone in ADMITTING this dilemma!


Find his Blog here: http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/10/27/procrastination/


Find him on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/You-Are-Not-So-Smart/126977487335917?v=wall

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Vintage Kitty: A Conscious Resale Boutique


The Vintage Kitty: A Conscious Resale Boutique

3655 Perkins Rd. (inside The Foyer) Baton Rouge, LA, 70808 (225) 573-4405 Vintage and handmade items. What we look for and sell: All things KITTY CAT; Bohemian, mid-century modern, shabby chic & vintage decor; useful art; BOOKS; art nouveau & deco; green design; repurposed furniture; art by locals; vintage pottery; etc.

Sunday, October 03, 2010

About Hope Animal Rescue Advocacy

In my research for finding my place in the animal advocacy movement, I realized that I needed to find a way to raise money to fund my goals in order to make any kind of a difference. I came up with http://www.bookphilosophy.com, based on selling low-cost books on Amazon. I started off with my own extensive collection, traded bricks for books on Craigslist, as well as friends and family donating their books. I've also purchased books from local consignment shops, yard sales and even in lots on Ebay. It is still in the phase of trying to just break even, but I hope to someday open a physical location and possibly even do a catalog of some sort. I am trying to find a way to get more people to donate books to this effort. I'm studying how to become a non-profit, so that is in the works. I am also reading Nathan Winograd's Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America, which accelerated the whole No Kill Movement in order to gain an understanding of what needs to be done and how to go about doing it.  

Other ventures:



If you would like to donate your used books, craft supplies or vintage items please contact me or you can make a monetary donation below.




This project just began July 2010 in an effort to take on the extremely high euthanasia rate here in Baton Rouge. I have volunteered at several different shelters, beginning in Jacksonville, NC (a military town) where animals were "put down" if they were at the "shelter" for one full week. I was a member of the group S.H.E.L.L. (Students Helping Earth Live Longer) at Coastal Carolina Community College. I held the office of Reporter and as such was given the assignment to take on a cause. Mine, of course, was to help the animals. I visited the pound (a better title than "shelter" in this case, in my opinion) each week and photographed animals that were up to be euthanised (that's the polite term pounds use instead of saying "killed"). I would post these pictures on a prominent bulletin board at my school and put them in the school newsletter. It was a small contribution, but it did get some of the animals adopted. Meanwhile, I made it a point to visit EVERY SINGLE ANIMAL in that place (that I was allowed to, some were in quarantine for diseases like rabies or were very aggressive) to give them a bit of love knowing I would perhaps be the last bit of compassion they'd have on this earth. It broke my heart to know they were going to die and I wanted to save them all.

When I moved back home to Louisiana, I spent some time volunteering for Cat Haven and CAAWS (Capital Area Animal Welfare Society), and the Denham Springs Animal Shelter.




I am drawn to helping animals. My passion is to do my part to end their suffering. I am not a zealot. I am not a vegetarian or vegan or any of that (although I do admire people who are). I do not put animal rights in front of human rights. I just feel a certain fondness for them and their plight. I want to make a difference in what happens to them. They are innocent creatures who have no way of standing up for themselves.

I leave you with my all time favorite quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Baton Rouge Daily

Twitter just got a whole lot more interesting. Paper.li created a  wonderful way to read all of the articles that your list has submitted in a 24-hour period. I've created The Baton Rouge Daily. Click here to subscribe or create your very own newspaper.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Book Philosophy Catalog

I have to admit, I am a catalog junkie. I get so many different types of them in the mail that I could probably build a house out of them! I started Book Philosophy as an Amazon bookseller just 9 months ago while I was pregnant with my baby girl because I knew I'd want to stay home with her. I wanted something that I could do from home that I enjoyed doing. I've worked out a lot of kinks and have been learning a lot along the way. I had been checking out commercial real estate rentals scouting out possible locations to open my used bookstore. An opportunity came up to open one at a local women's spiritual center at a low cost that my intended customers frequent everyday already! It seemed like such a great idea, but then I realized I'd have to stay in that small little shop all day at least 6 days a week...time away from my two children. And what if enough customers did not come in and shop? Would I be losing money on the rent and inventory? I woke up this morning with the strong pull towards exploring the possibility of creating a print catalog. I am very excited to start exploring this possibility! If anyone has advice or suggestions I am open to hearing it all!
~Christine

Thursday, September 23, 2010

'A city with a great library is a great city.'


Bespectacled old librarians shushing patrons who dare to open their mouths? Gone. Electric typewriters as cutting-edge technology? Yeah, right. Overstuffed card catalog? It’s digital now. Books that are only available in paper form? So last decade. Last place you’d expect to see a rock band? Not anymore.
There are those people who will tell you that these stuffy, musty public institutions surely are in their final days. There are those who ask, “Why frivolously waste $19 million making the downtown Baton Rouge branch bigger?”
The same people are convinced that the Internet [led by Google] thrust a sword into the gut of libraries and that iPad and Kindle will strangle the last breath out of them. After all, e-books are predicted to constitute 40% of all book sales in as little as three to four years. Heck, even Barnes & Noble has put itself up for sale.
In reality, public library parking lots are packed. Patrons’ usage has accelerated for the better part of a decade and is setting new records—particularly during the recession, according to separate studies by the American Library Association and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Nationwide, visits to public libraries last year totaled 1.4 billion, or nearly five per capita. That’s up 17% from two years ago.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

It IS all About the Journey, ya know.

I really DO NOT enjoy going tit for tat with anyone as far as religion and politics are concerned. Especially with someone who cannot see past their own nose. Apparently some Baptist preacher did a quick Google search ("all about the journey" spiritual blog ~according to my stat counter) and came up with my blog title and decided it would do to prove his point to a thorny commenter on his blog. Me, being who I am, cannot just let someone sling my blog around without any type of defense. So, here goes:


This is where preacher man, as I like to call him, is coming from:


"Your rescue from sin, death, and the wrath of God comes, not from inside of you, but from outside. Nothing that happens inside of you—no breakthrough, no epiphany, no resolution—can save you from your current situation. For that, you need something that happened outside of yourself, on a hill outside Jerusalem 2,000 years ago..."




This is wrong on so many levels...I don't even feel like starting to go there. Don't get me wrong, this guy can write a convincing piece. I like his sense of humor and some of his ideas about life, but when it comes to religion, he and I are on two totally different planets. 



I cannot imagine that he's read the JOURNEY from the beginning of this blog to now before summing me up…or dare I say, “judging” me so quickly. He must have read the title, some old posts, and categorized me as the "college sophomore" with the “empty, vague, ‘all about the journey’ Spirituality” (I actually doubt he's even read any of my posts, to tell you the truth).  

I was/am one searching, piecing God together from the fragments that made/make sense. I’ve been lost. I've struggled and rebelled against life, but I decided a long time ago to stop trying to run the show and to just let God/the divine, whatever you want to call it, guide me. I’m in a very good place in my understanding of God. 

Preacher man is wrong on the "feeling emptier than ever part" as far as I'm concerned. Dead wrong. I think people like Deepak Chopra and Robert Moss threaten every thing on which his belief system is based. Our basic human instincts are fight or flight when we are threatened, and we often seek to destroy (as he is doing to Chamblee54 who brought this dialogue to my attention) what we fear or do not understand. 

I understand this fundamentalism “by the book” mentality as I was raised by people just like him. They have to go to church, put on a good front, judge anyone that does not understand the world in exactly the same way and tell him or her they are going to hell because of it. He seeks to refute anything that does not fit into his predetermined by the Bible mold. 

That we could actually have our own journey with the divine that we don't need the institution of the church and the blessing of the preacher to mediate between the divine and ourselves. That there is such a thing as the “collective unconscious”, that we can connect directly with Source, without permission from anyone. Is it so unfathomable that we could journey to "heaven" and to "hell" in our own hearts while we are still living this physical life? That we are on this earth on a quest to learn certain things, to come full circle? To become more wise and pure through each lifetime? That we could communicate directly to God and angels without the interference of a Baptist preacher or dogma? Does he actually believe that when we die we will all go to a city in the sky where our every human whim is fulfilled? 

Yes, I'm often vague and searching in my writing.  Anais Nin eloquently explained it this way,

There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination.  Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic. 

If you stop looking for the truth while you are breathing you might as well lie down and die. What I found to be truth yesterday might be discredited tomorrow, as new insights are formed. At one point in time we have all thought we had it all figured out, only to be put dejectedly in our proper place by someone much wiser than ourselves or through our own trial and error experiences. 

If he thinks he has all of the answers as a mere human, he's deeply flawed. And he probably thinks dinosaurs didn't exist because they aren't in the Bible (despite the evidence of fossils). I had to go there based on his simple-minded (or calculatingly controlling) arguments. And, just so he knows, God is not a man in the sky with a white beard watching to see when we are bad or good like Santa Claus. When you say “he” and “him” you are minimizing what God is and equating God to nothing more than a human with superhero powers. That is not what God is, sorry. Thanks chamblee54 for including me in the conversation...and distracting me from getting any work done tonight.

I’ll end with two profound quotations about life. These somewhat allude to what my blog is about (besides the totally obvious journey of my every day life) and why it’s aptly named “It’s all about the JOURNEY”.

Robert Frost said, In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life.  It goes on.” It does, and on and on and on. (Even if some mean-spirited, judgmental preacher man wants to belittle a completely random person on the Internet).


Nancy Willard said, Sometimes questions are more important than answers. I could go on and on about this one, but I’ll leave it at that. 


Saturday, August 28, 2010

Martin Luther King "I have a dream"

Today marks the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. 


It bothers me to the nth degree when people throw racist remarks around about this man. Just looking at the "dislikes" clicked on youtube for this video by the 1,000 plus people shows the ignorance and racism still running rampant today. I think, if those people took the time to listen or read the speech, that perhaps it would resonate with them. 


From: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm


[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio. (2)]
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
                Free at last! Free at last!
                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Life is Good

Tomorrow I turn 32. THIRTY TWO YEARS OLD. I am right where I want to be too. So much is in the works right now. Isaac started at his new "school" this week. For now Liliana will be home with me, then, when she turns five months, she'll go to Mother's Day Out two days a weeks so I can work. Yes, I have a job...as in, someone else paying me to do work for them. It's exciting too. I'm selling ads for a magazine that was born right here in my subdivision eight years ago. Neighbors Magazine. Of course this propels me to want to do so much more, so I've created a Neighborhood Link website for my subdivision and will be proposing it it to the board at their next meeting. And I'm writing an article about it. Okay, that and neighborliness. I am still selling books online...it's a pain trying to put together the website. I sell on Amazon, but want my own "store". I've been procrastinating with it. In the meantime I've also been working on my animal advocacy. I'll be volunteering with Spay Baton Rouge at their next Spay Day. I have huge ambitions with all of this. It is my life's work. To be the voice for the voiceless. To help not just rescue the animals, but to change the circumstances that lead to so many NEEDING to be rescued. I'll wait to see which path I'm drawn to and will follow it willingly. Life is good :o)

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ganesha and making my dreams come true: Coincidence?

After reading this (read below) I got goosebumps!

"Loved, worshipped and displayed in over a hundred ways, He rules the hearts and minds of Hindus like no other God. Ganesh, Ganapati or Lord Ganesha is associated with auspicious beginnings and good fortune. Considered a remover of obstacles, His presence can be found on all Hindu temples, homes and even most Hindu Wedding cards. Most devout Hindus start new projects after propitiating Ganesha. So much so, that the phrase "to do Sri Ganesha", has become almost a synonym for the launch of any activity. What has been revered as a religious symbol in Hindu religion; has now transformed into a cultural icon."

You see, lately I have been so very motivated to do the things I've always wanted to do. Not only am I motivated, but I am acting upon those motivations and actually taking the necessary steps to work towards making my dreams come true. I've started my online bookstore and have been doing quite well, I am currently working on my new venture www.mybohosoul.com, the beginning of the shop I will open one day (I am giving myself a year to make it happen) and I am working towards my hearts passion of rescuing animals with my Hope Animal Rescue Project. What does any of this have to do with the above? Weeeeeeeeeell, after I read the above, I looked over next to my keyboard and realized I had placed my statue of Ganesha on my desk a while back! Could this have anything to do with this onset of overwhelming motivation to succeed? Perhaps!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Baton Rouge Hope Animal Rescue Project: The Newly Formed Companion Animal Alliance is Looking for a Shelter Director (please forward)

Baton Rouge Hope Animal Rescue Project: The Newly Formed Companion Animal Alliance is Look...: "Shelter Director Companion Animal Alliance (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Posted: August 9, 2010 Address: 402 N. 4th Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 ..."
Shelter Director
Companion Animal Alliance (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Posted:
August 9, 2010
Address:
402 N. 4th Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Type:
Full-time
Description:
COMPANION ANIMAL ALLIANCE OF BATON ROUGE - We are seeking a Shelter Director who will be responsible for the overall management of the open admissions shelter in East Baton Rouge Parish and all of its support areas. This diverse position requires extensive knowledge of shelter operations and offsite adoption events. Must have extensive knowledge of animal welfare, including care, handling, health, behavior and sheltering issues. Must ensure that the organization's standards and policies for operations and adoptions are met. Experience is preferred but not required. Those with experience must have a demonstrated record of lifesaving success and be committed to the No Kill philosophy. The successful candidate must demonstrate strong leadership skills that promote a positive, professional, and team oriented work environment. Submit resume and salary requirements to pcalfee@braf.org.
Apply by
Email:
pcalfee@braf.org

Boost Creativity: 7 Unusual Psychological Techniques — PsyBlog

I'd read this all of the way through but I'm too busy daydreaming about what I want to do.

Boost Creativity: 7 Unusual Psychological Techniques — PsyBlog

Monday, August 09, 2010

Anne Rice on CNN about quitting Christianity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0GU1YdxFr4&feature=player_embedded

I find this so interesting following my post on coming to a similar conclusion. Of course, Ms. Rice, eloquent writer that she is, communicates it so much better than I ever could.

Friday, August 06, 2010

REM Cloud



REMcloud is a very neat website where you can share your dreams and read about other's (kind of like Dream Twitter). Neat neat neat. Also, if you are in anyway intrigued by dreaming, I have started a FaceBook group about it, The Dreaming Mind. My goal is to write a book about dreaming in the style of Sarah ban Breathnac's Simple Abundance with a tentative title of 365 Days of Dreaming where I explore all of the scientific, cultural & spiritual ideas about dreaming. I want to write it in a style that even non-readers (you know, the people who claim they don't have time to sit down and read a book) will be able to get something out of it because you only have to read one chapter a day for one year (most chapters will just be a page or two). Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Top 10 Most Expensive Rare Books Sold on ABE Books This Month

Came across this article in the Huffington Post. 


By Richard Davies
Rare books: it's a growing market and we sell a lot of them. At the start of each month, we at AbeBooks.com review the most expensive sales from the previous month. Here are the top 10 from July. Find out what big-spending collectors are purchasing through the online marketplace. Always diverse, the list reflects what is treasured in the rare book world and will typically feature some of literature's most famous names alongside obscure authors and titles.


Read article

The Ten Exhortations for the Literary Researcher


by George Rabasa


1. Go where no writer has gone before.
2. Don't feel you have to use everything you've learned.
3. You don't even have to use anything you've learned.
4. Keep in mind that someone out there reading your book knows more about your subject than you do.
5. Don't worry too much about that person.
6. Don't confuse facts with details. Facts are stones. Details are wings. The astute researcher smells out the telling detail like a pig rooting after truffles.
7. Hang on to notes, clippings, book titles, photos, souvenirs, postcards, road maps, hotel receipts (good for taxes, if you ever make any money).
8. Whenever you don't know something when you're writing, make it up. You'll be surprised how true it is when you check later.
9. Don't forget to check later.
10. Research does not make the story. The story makes the story.

Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and let someone read to you...


Wednesday, August 04, 2010

If you can't go to the art, live vicariously through the "cool hunter"

I just love beautiful art that makes my mind explode. People can be so amazingly creative. I read the other day that there is a type of communion between the spiritual world and the artist. I believe it. Enjoy!

http://www.thecoolhunter.net/article/detail/1772/branded-art-installations


Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Thai Sword Fighting MV

As incentive to start potty training, Isaac's Grandma Debbie bought him foam swords. In order to teach him not to hit with
them, I looked on YouTube and found this great video of Thai "sword" fighting. Isaac was so excited. He kept saying "I wanna watch THAT" "i WANNA WATCH THAT" the whole time it was on. I showed him how they are not hitting one another. Then he wanted to "fight" so we played for a few mins and I accidentally got him with my sword...he told me "Not sposed to hit like the puter." I apologized. It is pretty cool to watch, in my opinion. I always had this idea that my child would not watch "super hero" cartoons and would never play with guns or swords...ha! That's all out of the window. He makes up superman and fighting on his own. It's like it's something he's born with. Now I get the saying "boys will be boys."

"I gonna wear that dress"

Lord have Mercy. I am selling some stuff on Ebay. I had one of the dresses hanging next to the computer to get the measurements and Isaac (my almost-three-year-old) asked me what that "cool dress" was doing here. I told him I'm selling it online and he let out a pathetic NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. "Don't do that mommy". I said "it's too small on mommy, I'm too big for it, just like when you get bigger your clothes won't fit anymore and you'll have to get rid of them and get new ones." He said "No, that mine clothes." Not Now...I told him. So he proceeds to tell me that he will wear the dress when he gets bigger (I told him it's for girls, not boys)...then he goes into a montage about growing up. "I gonna drive, drive like daddy. I gonna get bigger and grow up. I gonna wear that dress." Hahahaha!

Monday, August 02, 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Baton Rouge Hope Animal Rescue Project: My Pets

I am in the exploratory phase of my and my husband's dream of having a pet rescue...and maybe someday an animal sanctuary. I've started a blog to get the ball rolling. I had to include a page on our animals...we kinda already have a head start on the sanctuary part...wouldn't you say?

Baton Rouge Hope Animal Rescue Project: My Pets: "In the tank, Tiger (the sole survivor after 'Skunk' took out the other fish then Tiger took out Skunk...I'd say it's a fish eat fish wo..."

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Book Philosophy: Shop with me and get books for .01!

Book Philosophy: Shop with me and get books for .01!I'm having to let a few books go for .01 since Amazon has so many people selling the same ones for that price. My loss is your gain (actually, you'd be doing me a favor to clear space on my shelves). Browse my stuff and find something you like! If you are wondering, I'm not losing money because these books were donated and the shipping credit collected by Amazon covers packaging materials and postage. Here's my inventory for your browsing pleasure."

$.01 Books on Amazon

I'm having to let a few books go for .01 since Amazon has so many people selling the same ones for that price. My loss is your gain (actually, you'd be doing me a favor to clear space on my shelves). Browse my stuff and find something you like! If you are wondering, I'm not losing money because these books were donated and the shipping credit collected by Amazon covers packaging materials and postage. Here's my inventory for your browsing pleasure.

Books, Boogie, Rescue Dreams

Catholic church. Choir/music. I'm being bumped around by big booties of the black women dancing on both sides of me in the pew. The stern-faced white people look at us in disapproval. I notice I am the only white person enjoying myself. After church, I am leaving. Lots of older people (mostly black, some white) are sitting in pews, waiting. There is no preacher, apparently the service has ended. I walk past the man who I thought was the preacher (red-haired) as I am saying "there's got to be something wrong with the church if everyone is sitting down waiting but no one is teaching them. Then I try suggesting ideas for Sunday school. Isn't there a curriculum that just anyone can teach. He goes to his Catholic books (on a computer screen) & I notice in his titles of stacked books in the 1920s Art Nouveau style a book about Bohemian Philosophy or something. I say "this is where I come from/started/ideas etc." And he pulls it out and takes me on a journey through a story of violence and death...something to do with a wax (red) letter sealer (like on the book "The Secret" maybe?). It morphs into a wooden megaphone of some sort and I walk down the aisles holding it while it is spewing its recordings. I pretend I'm talking & realize when I speak the recording stops & everyone is listening to me. I say some silly things, make some silly sounds as if to play the class clown to take the serious attention off of me (it makes me uncomfortable), then I hurry and run out. 

Monday, July 26, 2010

Paypal Phishing E-mail

I'm sure many people are familiar with these scams where you receive a seemingly official e-mail from one of your account holders, but it's designed to trick you into divulging your sensitive information. This is how identity thieves get your information. I just received another one of these today after making an Ebay purchase and paying with my PayPal account.

There are many websites warning of this type of scam. Click on the link for a list:

Report all phishing attempts so that we can stop these people, one e-mail at a time.


Forward any e-mail you get to phishing@paypal.com or whatever site it's claiming to be (yahoo, capital one bank, etc.)


Paypal's reply to my forwarded e-mail:



Thanks for forwarding that suspicious-looking email. You're right - it
was a phishing attempt, and we're working on stopping the fraud. By
reporting the problem, you've made a difference!

Identity thieves try to trick you into revealing your password or other
personal information through phishing emails and fake websites. To learn
more about online safety, click "Security Center" on any PayPal webpage.


Every email counts. When you forward suspicious-looking emails to
spoof@paypal.com, you help keep yourself and others safe from identity
theft
.

Your account security is very important to us, so we appreciate your
extra effort.

Thanks,

PayPal


This email is sent to you by the contracting entity to your User
Agreement, either PayPal Ince, PayPal Pte. Ltd or PayPal (Europe) S.à
r.l. & Cie, S.C.A. Société en Commandite par Actions, Registered Office:
5th Floor 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg RCS Luxembourg B 118
349.


Tuesday, July 20, 2010

So you have a sense of humor, but...

Find out what your sense of humor says about you. I find this extremely interesting and quite revealing.

Bookselling

I've spent the past seven months or so researching the business of bookselling. It is such an interesting field with so many outlets to explore. I've decided to start a blog devoted especially to books where I can compile all of my information and write about this new hobby. I've been selling on Amazon since January and now starting to sell on Ebay. I find books at garage sales, thrift stores and from people who donate them to my cause. When I go to list them, I find that I absolutely love researching them. Sometimes I get lost and find myself reading the book and not wanting to part with it. I have piles and piles of books that I cannot bare to let go just yet. My favorite finds are vintage books. Since this hobby is shared by so many, I started a group on Facebook to network with like-minded people. One day I'd love to open my own bookstore.

Prevent Drowning This Summer: It Doesn't Look Like It Does in the Movies

Prevent Drowning This Summer: It Doesn't Look Like It Does in the Movies

Writing Effective Email - Communication Skills Training from MindTools.com

Writing Effective Email - Communication Skills Training from MindTools.com

Writing Effective Emails

Making Sure Your Messages Get Read and Acted Upon

Do people respond to your emails in the way you want them to? Or do they seem to ignore them, or miss important information? And are you sure that you're making the best possible impression with your emails?

When you compose an email message, there are some simple rules that you can follow to ensure that your emails make a positive impression, and get you the response you want. We'll look at these here, and we'll illustrate the points we're talking about with both good and bad examples at the end of each section.

Monday, July 19, 2010

The Giving Tree by Sheldon Allan Silverstein at Old Poetry

I just love this poem...and Shel Silverstein.

The Giving Tree by Sheldon Allan Silverstein at Old Poetry

Once there was a tree....
and she loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
and swing from her branches
and eat apples.
And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired,
he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree....
very much.
And the tree was happy.
But time went by.
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then one day the boy came to the tree
and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and
climb up my trunk and swing from my
branches and eat apples and play in my
shade and be happy."
"I am too big to climb and play" said
the boy.
"I want to buy things and have fun.
I want some money?"
"I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I
have no money.
I have only leaves and apples.
Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in
the city. Then you will have money and
you will be happy."
And so the boy climbed up the
tree and gathered her apples
and carried them away.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time....
and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back
and the tree shook with joy
and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk
and swing from my branches and be happy."
"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy.
"I want a house to keep me warm," he said.
"I want a wife and I want children,
and so I need a house.
Can you give me a house ?"
" I have no house," said the tree.
"The forest is my house,
but you may cut off
my branches and build a
house. Then you will be happy."

And so the boy cut off her branches
and carried them away
to build his house.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time.
And when he came back,
the tree was so happy
she could hardly speak.
"Come, Boy," she whispered,
"come and play."
"I am too old and sad to play,"
said the boy.
"I want a boat that will
take me far away from here.
Can you give me a boat?"

"Cut down my trunk
and make a boat," said the tree.
"Then you can sail away...
and be happy."
And so the boy cut down her trunk
and made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy
... but not really.

And after a long time
the boy came back again.
"I am sorry, Boy,"
said the tree," but I have nothing
left to give you -
My apples are gone."
"My teeth are too weak
for apples," said the boy.
"My branches are gone,"
said the tree. " You
cannot swing on them - "
"I am too old to swing
on branches," said the boy.
"My trunk is gone, " said the tree.
"You cannot climb - "
"I am too tired to climb" said the boy.
"I am sorry," sighed the tree.
"I wish that I could give you something....
but I have nothing left.
I am just an old stump.
I am sorry...."
"I don't need very much now," said the boy.
"just a quiet place to sit and rest.
I am very tired."
"Well," said the tree, straightening
herself up as much as she could,
"well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting
Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Can't get rid of your memories? Call Death Bear

Can't get rid of your memories? Call Death Bear



This is weirdly fascinating. An excerpt:


"And while most of his calls are from the lovelorn, others hint at tragedies greater than being dateless on Valentine's Day.
One man gave Hill a photo of himself and his ex-girlfriend on a beach and said they had served in the Army together. Then he gave Hill his military dog tags. Finally, he handed Hill a bullet. "He almost started to cry," said Hill, whose clients know him only as Death Bear and never see his face. "I started walking away and started to break down. I thought maybe something happened to her. Maybe she got shot, maybe she killed herself."

But Hill never presses clients for details. As a bear, his job is not to make conversation.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Target : Company : Meals for Minds



I knew I loved Target! Click the link below to download a shopping list of items whose proceeds go towards their Meals for Minds Community Outreach program.

Target has partnered with Feeding America since 2001 in their fight to end hunger in the United States.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you know that more than 16 million children in America aren’t getting the nutrition necessary for academic success? That’s why Target has partnered with Feeding AmericaSM to create Meals for Minds—an innovative program that supports education at its most basic level. By helping feed undernourished children, we can help them concentrate and perform better in school.
You can help, too, just by purchasing products that may already be on your shopping list. For a limited time, when you purchase select Kraft Foods and P&G products at Target, Target will donate 5 percent of the sales to Meals for Minds. Together, we’ll make a difference in young lives across the country.


Target : Company : Meals for Minds
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