Monday, October 20, 2008
New Bikes! Updated!!
Ok - these pics have been sitting in the que for forever - I don't know why I haven't posted them yet. After scouring garage sales all summer I finally stumbled on the right price for the right product. Voila!
$50 for Tuan's bike (which I always ride when pulling the kids - gotta have the 10-speed. And toys. And groceries! LOL) and only $10 for mine!
Now - the bike trailer was not from a garage sale. People just don't sell them at garage sales. We got it new from K-Mart. $100. Ugh. But - it is more than paying for itself in fuel prices and my waistline! lol
I love my bike. It's vintage and just so me!
And the kids seem to like it as well. After a long morning at the park they just couldn't stay awake.
Ok guys - I don't know where my brain was ysterday when I was posting this. I left some stuff out so now I'm editing it in:
I bike all over town with this trailer. It is so awesome being able to go to parks further away than we can walk but not too far with the trailer. And I needed to go to k-mart to get some new self-sealing tubes and found a 25 quart stockpot on sale. So I bought it (needed a tall one to can my quart jars) and put it in the back section behind the kids! For some reason it is easier to get the kids back in the trailer and buckled up than it is to get them into their car seats and buckled up. Hmmmm. :P
There is a bit of upkeep. A bike chain, bike pump and new tubes. We should have just bought new self-sealing tubes (LOVE these!) and replaced them right off but we waited until the current tubes got too punctured to patch. Trust me - just get the self-sealing tubes. They are really quite reasonably priced - $7 I think.
My favorite part? Seeing the car sit in our driveway while Tuan goes to work and I get around town with the kids. Happy for our bank account and happy for the environment!
$50 for Tuan's bike (which I always ride when pulling the kids - gotta have the 10-speed. And toys. And groceries! LOL) and only $10 for mine!
Now - the bike trailer was not from a garage sale. People just don't sell them at garage sales. We got it new from K-Mart. $100. Ugh. But - it is more than paying for itself in fuel prices and my waistline! lol
I love my bike. It's vintage and just so me!
And the kids seem to like it as well. After a long morning at the park they just couldn't stay awake.
Ok guys - I don't know where my brain was ysterday when I was posting this. I left some stuff out so now I'm editing it in:
I bike all over town with this trailer. It is so awesome being able to go to parks further away than we can walk but not too far with the trailer. And I needed to go to k-mart to get some new self-sealing tubes and found a 25 quart stockpot on sale. So I bought it (needed a tall one to can my quart jars) and put it in the back section behind the kids! For some reason it is easier to get the kids back in the trailer and buckled up than it is to get them into their car seats and buckled up. Hmmmm. :P
There is a bit of upkeep. A bike chain, bike pump and new tubes. We should have just bought new self-sealing tubes (LOVE these!) and replaced them right off but we waited until the current tubes got too punctured to patch. Trust me - just get the self-sealing tubes. They are really quite reasonably priced - $7 I think.
My favorite part? Seeing the car sit in our driveway while Tuan goes to work and I get around town with the kids. Happy for our bank account and happy for the environment!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Swashbuckling Through Parenthood
Errol Flynn was an early 20th-century film actor
who often played the role of a swashbuckling hero.
He truly was a masterful swordsman.
When asked how he handled his sword with such grace,
he was known to have said he held it as if he were
holding a small bird.
If held too loosely,
it would fly away.
If held too tightly,
it would be crushed to death.
The key to his mastery was staying tuned in enough
to *feel* that just-right place between too loose and
too tight.
Today, as you interact with your child, pay close
attention to your feeling of "holdingness."
Are you holding too loosely?
Open your heart and hold your child
closer to its warmth.
Are you holding on too tightly?
Relax your grip and trust that All Is Well.
http://dailygroove.net/swashbuckling
who often played the role of a swashbuckling hero.
He truly was a masterful swordsman.
When asked how he handled his sword with such grace,
he was known to have said he held it as if he were
holding a small bird.
If held too loosely,
it would fly away.
If held too tightly,
it would be crushed to death.
The key to his mastery was staying tuned in enough
to *feel* that just-right place between too loose and
too tight.
Today, as you interact with your child, pay close
attention to your feeling of "holdingness."
Are you holding too loosely?
Open your heart and hold your child
closer to its warmth.
Are you holding on too tightly?
Relax your grip and trust that All Is Well.
http://dailygroove.net/swashbuckling
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Don't just hover your mouse over this vid and these links. Click on them!!!
http://supportedthebailout.org/
http://fedupusa.org/
http://supportedthebailout.org/
http://fedupusa.org/
Monday, October 06, 2008
Russion Proverb
I will link you to this blog post because it is well researched and echoes my feelings almost exactly. Plaase read it. Here are the highlights.
"There is no shame in not knowing; the shame is in not finding out." If the Russians can figure that out, don't you think we ought to be able to too?
So, FIND OUT!
Before you vote, acquaint yourself with the candidates' positions. ALL the candidates' positions (did you even know that there are Third Party Candidates?) ... and not just the major party ones and the sound-bite positions you get from the nightly news:
Barack Obama on the Issues (Democratic Party)
John McCain on the Issues (Republican Party)
Ralph Nader on the Issues (Independent)
Bob Barr on the Issues (Libertarian Party)
Charles O. Baldwin on the Issues (Constitution Party)
(Baldwin's website was not working, so I provide the party's website)
Cynthia McKinney on the Issues (Green Party)
Alan Keyes (American Independent Party)
(I had trouble finding a direct link to Keyes' stances on his website, maybe you'll have better luck)
Read through their stances. Then evaluate where you stand on the issues ... and not just where pundits, the nightly news or your party affiliation says you should stand, but deep down ... where you stand on the issues and then vote for the candidate that most resembles those feelings.
Does Barack Obama really represent your concerns and values?
Does John McCain really represent your concerns and values?
Does a Third Party Candidate better represent your concerns and values?
Don't just be a voter ... be an informed voter. I can respect a voter who votes for the opposition if they vote from an informed place. I can't respect a voter who doesn't think (or worse, doesn't care) about what their vote represents and stands for.
Remember, the Russians have the right idea: "There is no shame in not knowing; the shame is in not finding out."
Nestle-Free Week
October 4-10
Over the weekend I was feeling particularly frustrated and helpless about my ability to voice my opinion and make a difference with my actions re the financial bailout robbery.
But when I came to post about the Nestle boycott, I realized that I can see the effects of my actions. Last year, after denying for years that the boycott had support, Nestlé's Global Public Affairs Manager owned up to Nestlé being 'widely boycotted'. Independent research has found it to be one of the four most boycotted companies on the planet. See:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press6july07.html
In the past Nestlé promoted its formula with pictures of chubby babies on labels and by sending marketing staff dressed as nurses into hospitals. Today these practices have changed, thanks to marketing requirements adopted by the World Health Assembly, legislation implementing these measures and our work with our partners in monitoring company behaviour and promoting the boycott. Yet Nestlé's latest practices are only slightly more subtle. It presents its formula as containing 'brain building blocks' and suggests that it 'protects' babies, all the time knowing that infants fed on formula do not develop the same as breastfed infants and miss out on the protection provided by the living anti-bodies and other protective factors in breastmilk. They are more likely to become sick and in conditions of poverty, they are more likely to die.
Global monitoring conducted by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) finds Nestlé to be the worst of the companies. And as market leader it sets trends others follow and so drives down standards. As we have exposed recently, in South Africa not only the Department of Health was critical of its marketing practices, but also its competitors, who filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority - they lost and may feel compelled to resort to push similar promotional tactics through the regulatory loophole Nestlé has created. See:
http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2008/07/nestle-driving-standards-down.html
It is regrettable that the boycott continues to be a necessary tool to put pressure on Nestlé and to raise awareness of its marketing malpractice. But the new Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Paul Bulcke, has, like his predecessor, rejected the plan put to Nestlé for saving infant lives and ultimately ending the boycott. Instead Nestlé tries to divert criticism with expensive Public Relations initiatives and underhand methods such as those described above. The changes it makes are grudging. More boycott action will help to persuade it.
Please take the initiative this year to boycott Nestle. Use your buying power to its greatest advantage. Here is a list of products to avoid:
IMPORTANT NOTE: This list includes all products from which Nestlé profits. So Nestlé ice cream is listed because, although Nestlé sold the company, it continues to receive payments for use of the brand name. We welcome new information regarding changes in ownership, but please remember that headline stories about brands being sold do not usually give all the details of the deal. A product is only removed from the list when we are reasonably confident that all links to Nestlé have been cut .
Coffee - Nescafé including:
Alta Rica, Black Gold, Blend 37, Cap Colombie, Cappuccino, Caro, Decaff, Expresso, Fine Blend, Gold Blend, Kenjara, Nescafé Ice, Organic, Partners Blend
Dairy products
Carnation, Coffee-Mate, Extreme Viennois, Fussells, Ideal, LC1, Munch Bunch yoghurts, Rowntree yoghurts and ice creams, Simply Double Ski yogurts, Sveltesse yogurts, Tip-Top
Confectionery & snacks
Aero, After Eights, Animal Bar, Baci Chocolate, Black Magic, Blue Riband, Breakaway, Caramac Chocolate Cuisine*, Colgate Dental Gum, Dairy Box, Dairy Crunch,Double Cream, Drifter, Fab Fruit Pastilles, Heaven, Henri Nestlé Collection, Jellytots, Kit Kat, Kit Kat Chunky, Lion Bar, *Lyons Maid Ice Cream, Matchmakers, Maxibon, Milky Bar, Munchies, *Nestlé Ice Cream, Polo, Quality Street, Rolo, Rowntrees Fruit Gums, Smarties, Toffee Crisp, Toffo, Tooty Frooties, Walnut Whip, Willy Wonka, Yorkie
Contact lens care
Alcon
Mineral/bottled water
Aqua Panna, Aquarel, Buxton, Contrex, Perrier, Pow-wow, San Pellegrino, Santa Maria, Valvert, Vittel
Other drinks
Build-up, Milo, Nesquik, Nestea
Processed meals
Buitoni pasta & canned foods, Herta Maggi, *Osem/Tivall, *Rowntrees Jellies
*Cereals
Cheerios & Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon and Golden Grahams Clusters, Cookie Crisp, Shreddies, Fibre 1, Fitnesse, Force Flakes, Fruitful, Golden Nuggets, Nesquik cereal, Shredded Wheat including: Bitesize, Fruitful, Honey Nut Shreddies: Coco and frosted
*Cosmetics
Biotherm, Body Shop, Cosmence, Garnier, Helena Rubenstein, Innéov, La Roche-Posay, Lancome, L'Oreal, Matrix, Maybelline, Metamorphosis, Plénitude, Redken
Pet Foods
Arthur's, Bakers, BETA, Bonio, Felix, Friskies, Go-Cat, Go-dog, Gourmet, One, Pro Plan, Purina, Spiller's, Vital Balance, Winalot
Over the weekend I was feeling particularly frustrated and helpless about my ability to voice my opinion and make a difference with my actions re the financial bailout robbery.
But when I came to post about the Nestle boycott, I realized that I can see the effects of my actions. Last year, after denying for years that the boycott had support, Nestlé's Global Public Affairs Manager owned up to Nestlé being 'widely boycotted'. Independent research has found it to be one of the four most boycotted companies on the planet. See:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press6july07.html
In the past Nestlé promoted its formula with pictures of chubby babies on labels and by sending marketing staff dressed as nurses into hospitals. Today these practices have changed, thanks to marketing requirements adopted by the World Health Assembly, legislation implementing these measures and our work with our partners in monitoring company behaviour and promoting the boycott. Yet Nestlé's latest practices are only slightly more subtle. It presents its formula as containing 'brain building blocks' and suggests that it 'protects' babies, all the time knowing that infants fed on formula do not develop the same as breastfed infants and miss out on the protection provided by the living anti-bodies and other protective factors in breastmilk. They are more likely to become sick and in conditions of poverty, they are more likely to die.
Global monitoring conducted by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) finds Nestlé to be the worst of the companies. And as market leader it sets trends others follow and so drives down standards. As we have exposed recently, in South Africa not only the Department of Health was critical of its marketing practices, but also its competitors, who filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority - they lost and may feel compelled to resort to push similar promotional tactics through the regulatory loophole Nestlé has created. See:
http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2008/07/nestle-driving-standards-down.html
It is regrettable that the boycott continues to be a necessary tool to put pressure on Nestlé and to raise awareness of its marketing malpractice. But the new Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Paul Bulcke, has, like his predecessor, rejected the plan put to Nestlé for saving infant lives and ultimately ending the boycott. Instead Nestlé tries to divert criticism with expensive Public Relations initiatives and underhand methods such as those described above. The changes it makes are grudging. More boycott action will help to persuade it.
Please take the initiative this year to boycott Nestle. Use your buying power to its greatest advantage. Here is a list of products to avoid:
IMPORTANT NOTE: This list includes all products from which Nestlé profits. So Nestlé ice cream is listed because, although Nestlé sold the company, it continues to receive payments for use of the brand name. We welcome new information regarding changes in ownership, but please remember that headline stories about brands being sold do not usually give all the details of the deal. A product is only removed from the list when we are reasonably confident that all links to Nestlé have been cut .
Coffee - Nescafé including:
Alta Rica, Black Gold, Blend 37, Cap Colombie, Cappuccino, Caro, Decaff, Expresso, Fine Blend, Gold Blend, Kenjara, Nescafé Ice, Organic, Partners Blend
Dairy products
Carnation, Coffee-Mate, Extreme Viennois, Fussells, Ideal, LC1, Munch Bunch yoghurts, Rowntree yoghurts and ice creams, Simply Double Ski yogurts, Sveltesse yogurts, Tip-Top
Confectionery & snacks
Aero, After Eights, Animal Bar, Baci Chocolate, Black Magic, Blue Riband, Breakaway, Caramac Chocolate Cuisine*, Colgate Dental Gum, Dairy Box, Dairy Crunch,Double Cream, Drifter, Fab Fruit Pastilles, Heaven, Henri Nestlé Collection, Jellytots, Kit Kat, Kit Kat Chunky, Lion Bar, *Lyons Maid Ice Cream, Matchmakers, Maxibon, Milky Bar, Munchies, *Nestlé Ice Cream, Polo, Quality Street, Rolo, Rowntrees Fruit Gums, Smarties, Toffee Crisp, Toffo, Tooty Frooties, Walnut Whip, Willy Wonka, Yorkie
Contact lens care
Alcon
Mineral/bottled water
Aqua Panna, Aquarel, Buxton, Contrex, Perrier, Pow-wow, San Pellegrino, Santa Maria, Valvert, Vittel
Other drinks
Build-up, Milo, Nesquik, Nestea
Processed meals
Buitoni pasta & canned foods, Herta Maggi, *Osem/Tivall, *Rowntrees Jellies
*Cereals
Cheerios & Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon and Golden Grahams Clusters, Cookie Crisp, Shreddies, Fibre 1, Fitnesse, Force Flakes, Fruitful, Golden Nuggets, Nesquik cereal, Shredded Wheat including: Bitesize, Fruitful, Honey Nut Shreddies: Coco and frosted
*Cosmetics
Biotherm, Body Shop, Cosmence, Garnier, Helena Rubenstein, Innéov, La Roche-Posay, Lancome, L'Oreal, Matrix, Maybelline, Metamorphosis, Plénitude, Redken
Pet Foods
Arthur's, Bakers, BETA, Bonio, Felix, Friskies, Go-Cat, Go-dog, Gourmet, One, Pro Plan, Purina, Spiller's, Vital Balance, Winalot
Creative Democracy
A conversation with my daughter when she was five:
"What's that sign, Daddy?"
"That's a political sign for the upcoming election."
"What's an election?"
I did my best to convey the abstraction of democracy
to a 5-year-old. "Do you know what voting is?"
"No."
"Okay... Pretend we're deciding what to make for
dinner, and we're choosing between pizza and
spaghetti. Each of us gets to vote for which one we
want... Which one would *you* vote for?"
"I want pizza AND spaghetti!"
Suddenly *I* was the student, and the lesson was
clear: either/or, win/lose thinking is not something
our kids are born with. It's learned. Even if we don't
actively teach it to them, we teach it passively
whenever we take scarcity and competition for granted.
Today, pay close attention to your decision-making
processes -- your private "elections." Are they based
on scarcity and competition, or abundance and
creativity?
Are you willing to concede your contentious elections
and surrender to the creative process?
http://dailygroove.net/creative-democracy
"What's that sign, Daddy?"
"That's a political sign for the upcoming election."
"What's an election?"
I did my best to convey the abstraction of democracy
to a 5-year-old. "Do you know what voting is?"
"No."
"Okay... Pretend we're deciding what to make for
dinner, and we're choosing between pizza and
spaghetti. Each of us gets to vote for which one we
want... Which one would *you* vote for?"
"I want pizza AND spaghetti!"
Suddenly *I* was the student, and the lesson was
clear: either/or, win/lose thinking is not something
our kids are born with. It's learned. Even if we don't
actively teach it to them, we teach it passively
whenever we take scarcity and competition for granted.
Today, pay close attention to your decision-making
processes -- your private "elections." Are they based
on scarcity and competition, or abundance and
creativity?
Are you willing to concede your contentious elections
and surrender to the creative process?
http://dailygroove.net/creative-democracy
Friday, October 03, 2008
Fellow Americans, this amendment is what your government just passed.
Did you know?
Did you care?
Do you care?
Did you know?
Did you care?
Do you care?
Seven better uses for the bailout’s $700 billion
Seven better uses for the bailout’s $700 billion
1. The nation's infrastructure
2. The nation's largest solar power array in the desert near Gila Bend, Ariz.
3. Health care.
4. Reduce carbon emissions.
5. Port expansion for global trade.
6. National security.
7. Education.
1. The nation's infrastructure
2. The nation's largest solar power array in the desert near Gila Bend, Ariz.
3. Health care.
4. Reduce carbon emissions.
5. Port expansion for global trade.
6. National security.
7. Education.
Top 5 Reasons to Vote Against Paulson's $700 Billion Bailout
Top 5 Reasons to Vote Against Paulson's $700 Billion Bailout
1. BAILOUT'S INHERENT FISCAL INSANITY COULD MAKE PROBLEM WORSE
2. EXPERTS ON BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT SAY THIS BAILOUT COULD MAKE THINGS WORSE
3. THERE ARE CLEARLY BETTER AND SAFER ALTERNATIVES
4. ANY INCUMBENT VOTING FOR THIS PUTS THEMSELVES AT RISK OF BEING THROWN OUT OF OFFICE (and I have informed mine of this.)
5. CORRUPTION AND SLEAZE ARE SWIRLING AROUND THESE BAILOUTS - AND AMERICA KNOWS IT
1. BAILOUT'S INHERENT FISCAL INSANITY COULD MAKE PROBLEM WORSE
2. EXPERTS ON BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT SAY THIS BAILOUT COULD MAKE THINGS WORSE
3. THERE ARE CLEARLY BETTER AND SAFER ALTERNATIVES
4. ANY INCUMBENT VOTING FOR THIS PUTS THEMSELVES AT RISK OF BEING THROWN OUT OF OFFICE (and I have informed mine of this.)
5. CORRUPTION AND SLEAZE ARE SWIRLING AROUND THESE BAILOUTS - AND AMERICA KNOWS IT
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Only a few days left!
I can't imagine any of the regular readers of my blog not voting but this is such a great vid I had to share it.
Declare Yourself dot Com
Declare Yourself dot Com
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Divide and conquer
It's supposed to be the opposite, no?
Emma and Daniel have perfected the art of divide and conquer.
Me: Ok guys, you have 5 more minutes to play at the park.
Emma: Noooooooooooo!
Daniel: Noh!
M:4 more minutes.
E & D: No!
M: 3 minutes left.
E & D: No!
M: 2 more minutes, guys.
E & D: No!
M: 1 more minute!
E & D: No!
M: ok, I'm going to get our stuff together and then it's time to go!
E: Mommy, I'm still playing!
D: WING! (swing)
M: Ok - let's go guys.
Em promptly runs in one direction while D runs off in another.
Divide
and
Conquer!
Sheesh.
Emma and Daniel have perfected the art of divide and conquer.
Me: Ok guys, you have 5 more minutes to play at the park.
Emma: Noooooooooooo!
Daniel: Noh!
M:4 more minutes.
E & D: No!
M: 3 minutes left.
E & D: No!
M: 2 more minutes, guys.
E & D: No!
M: 1 more minute!
E & D: No!
M: ok, I'm going to get our stuff together and then it's time to go!
E: Mommy, I'm still playing!
D: WING! (swing)
M: Ok - let's go guys.
Em promptly runs in one direction while D runs off in another.
Divide
and
Conquer!
Sheesh.
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