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I've gone to my farm in Kentucky for the weekend. It's a great place to relax, do a little hard physical labor, and forget about the rest of the world. If you don't have such a place, I highly suggest you get one.In the meantime, here's something I found for you to read that you might find a prince of an idea. Or a royal presumption.See you on Monday.J. PetermanFrom: Des Moines Register 

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Many businesses have started and flourished by the virtue of credit cards. Showcasing personal savings, no matter how insignificant the amount is, can tilt in your favor, approval for a financing loan. Financing companies nod at businessmen who can show … Continue reading →

Gynexin is actually precisely created to eliminate that very common yet unsettling problem – ” moobs “. It may well sound funny to other individuals but to prospects that suffer from bigger breast growth, right now there happens to be … Continue reading →

Many health-related research has revealed in which laughter decreases certain anxiety hormone levels. Fun cures. This is a medication with regard to lethargic mood and also effective device to battle despair. This brings any delicious smell to the spirit and … Continue reading →

1. They have nice heads. Heads you can nibble on, steer them by if necessary, cover with kisses. Solo's is so great (probably just because he has less hair) that we can't stop grabbing it and saying, "I love your head!" to which he says, "I'm not! I'm Solomon!" Okay.

2. They put up with a lot. THIS CANNOT BE SAID ENOUGH. They have fluidly adjusted to having power for only ten hours a day, FOR EXAMPLE. We do a lot by candlelight. They love to light candles, (the big kids) they love using flashlights. They make everything more fun. Better.

3. Extension of 2: Recently Kid A and YaYa have become incredibly polite about people talking to them. They say Namaste in response politely, and YaYa even lets people touch her hair. If we are out, it can be twenty times a day. She wants to be so nice, suddenly. She doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I've explained to her that just reaching out and touching her hair is okay, but if they keep on playing with it, she can ease herself away or just ask people to stop. Anyways, it is the sweetest thing to see them becoming these polite people. It can be overwhelming; the amount of people who want to know our names or where we are from or whether our hair is "original" or "duplicate," but they handle it with grace.

4. They love to dance. The dancing that was going on with our Geography Songs when we were doing school the other day was just ridiculously fun. Singing and dancing about Equatorial Africa and the Middle East. How can I not have the best time teaching these kids? Listen. We have rough school days, too. YaYa has a panic button that keeps her from learning sometimes. And Kid A has focus issues. But schooling is like any practice (like meditation or prayer); you have good days and bad days and our good days are like diamonds. But beyond school even, the dancing is hysterical. Imagine walking past a club on the street and having all four of your children break out their best moves. It's awesome.

5. They love each other. With violence, at times. I admit, I sometimes feel that I have a pack of wrestling lemurs, crawling all over each other and tearing the peace and quiet to bits. But I have seen such genuine acts of love from each of them, as they struggle through all the giving that needs to go on with siblings, especially siblings so close in age. I don't think I realized how much giving they do until I went on that trip with only YaYa and saw how different it was for her to have ALL my attention.

6. They love beans. I love having kids who love beans. YaYa loves beans so much that she would write poetry about them, if she could. Lentils, pintos, garbanzos. They love them.

7. Imagination! If you could harness it, it could change the world. They always have something they are pretending. It doesn't stop. The hardest part about it is getting their attention during the midst of a crazy game of pretend. I have to stand there and holler, because they literally can't hear me. It can be dicey, at times, trying to decide whether Leafy's robots are allowed in the animal games. Each person's imagining is so strong that it doesn't leave a ton of room for the other's. I find myself embroiled in these debates about the positioning of pretend lands on pretend maps, whether a certain kind of animal is allowed on a certain kind of island. I enter in enthusiastically, but have to retreat with my arms over my head. The details are too much for me. (You'll be happy to know that in Leafyland, there is a Coffee Island, for grownups.)

8. They are kind to animals. And they know it. They often say, "This dog loves us because we're nice to him and other people aren't." YaYa is kind to everything. She gets heartbroken over a crushed snail, lets ants crawl over her arms (I know!), becomes furious about fly killing.

9. They have a lot of faith in us. It makes us better.

10. They make our games better. If we watch TV, Chinua likes to pretend that he is speaking for the characters, whether they are sharks on Animal Planet, or soccer players, or people on commercials. It's hilarious, and the kids play along and make us laugh. YaYa and Kid A are playing rummy now (yes! rummy players!) and well, I guess I just really want to say that they make life more fun.

 

Note: People are always mentioning that our kids must be a lot of work. ALL THE TIME. People on the street. "Four kids! You must be tired! A lot of work!" The other day, YaYa asked me, "Are we too much work? Is it hard to have kids if it's such a lot of work?"

Goodness. She's been listening. Well, this is my response. Life is so much richer with them. They make traveling richer for us, fun is better, and the quiet moments? They are a lot more precious.

The Wheaton and Other Unusual Units of Measurement

Because sometimes feet and seconds just won't do.

Disney produced a documentary promoting nuclear power in 1957 called Our Friend the Atom. It has been shown in countless high school science classes since then. The 53-minute film is available in segments on YouTube,  if you’d like to watch the whole thing. One part that stuck with us is the demonstration of a chain [...]

McDonalds added 62,000 jobs last month. Coincidentally, McDonalds was one of 1,200+ winners of the “ObamaCare Waiver” lottery, along with multiple Unions who had pushed for ObamaCare and then wanted out. And, depending ... read the rest

There are many reasons to join the growing roster of non-Canadian entrepreneurs operating in Canada. According to an extensive 10-month study of multinational business costs in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Canada by KMPG, Canadian businesses costs ranked the least. Also they … Continue reading →

Books Each and every Internet Marketer Should Have on the Shelf When you spend the majority of your time working and socializing online and using your computer to conduct most of your daily activities it is easy to forget that … Continue reading →

Kids weigh in on the recent death of Osama Bin Laden! Very funny.

I attended a funeral for a long time resident of the Salvation Army Community Services today.  He stayed with us for several years after the death of his wife and the alienation from his children.  During the funeral today, the priest mentioned his time at the Salvation Army several times and each time he would [...]

Just when the Indiana Legislature gives Governor Mitch Daniels (R-IN) a gift allowing him to sign a bill defunding Planned Parenthood it looked like the truce was over. Well, not quite.  He made some incredibly absurd ... read the rest

Whether you live in the country or a big city, chances are you've dealt with rodents a time or two. These little critters may be cute but they are a huge health risk to you and your loved ones and they need to go. There are more than a few methods of getting rid of [...]

Filed under: Soul Food, YouTube Vid's Tagged: Weird Al Yankovic, YouTube

The particular laundering with the apparel is one other difficulty. A vintage outfit really should be cleansed just after 2-3 dons. Tend not to put the dress in this appliance; it must be laundered in your hand. Should you don’t … Continue reading →

On Fridays, I post a series of unrelated questions meant to spark conversation in the comments. Answer one, answer all, respond to someone else’s reply, whatever you want. On to this week’s topics of discussion… 1. Of all the books you’ve ever finished, which one took the longest to read? Why’d you keep putting it [...]

“Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear gives you lots o’ hugs, and lots o’ love, and lots o’ fun, no matter where you are.” -Narrator, faux 1983 commercial for Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, who was the main antagonist in Toy Story 3. Okay, hang on. So my guess is that Pixar made up this bear character so they’d have a new [...]

By State Senator Paul McKinley To use a baseball analogy, the 2011 legislative session (or stalemate!) has entered into “extra innings” and depending on your perspective, either the batters keep striking out or the pitchers are ... read the rest

On his way home from Troy after fighting and fighting and fighting some more to get his brother’s wayward wife, Helen, back, the red-haired king Menelaus took a detour to gather booty in Egypt.  You know, like you do when you’ve been away for ten years battling Trojan warriors…why not stop by the Nile to [...]

John has been going through all our old photos and videos - stumbled upon this one from back in 1998. Stick with it til the end - it’s hilarious! addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Ffamilyonbikes.org%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D1798'; addthis_title = 'A+blast+from+the+past'; addthis_pub = '';

Doug: “What do you want for Mother’s Day?” Me: “A new splash screen.” Doug: “What do you want me to BUY you for Mother’s Day?” Me: “You can give me a new splash screen for my birthday.”

1. If I Needed You - Dead Ringer Band 2. I Don't Know What It Is (live) - Rufus Wainwright 3. Sometime Other Than Now - John Hiatt 4. The Greatest - Cat Power The Greatest 5. Country Pie -...

3 Bed Wetting Treatments that can Help Prevent this Problem If you or a family member has an issue with wetting the bed, you already are aware that it can make you feel wretched. When your search for an answer, … Continue reading →

a lot of people will be more than happy to share with you their particular experience and also can tell you favorable and also the poor areas of the work. When possible obtain as much practical knowledge as possible in … Continue reading →

Sometimes hope feels like a feather floating in the air, you touch it gently, with such a tiny grasp, you don’t want it to disappear into the universe. Sometimes that is what this Mother’s Day feels...

{This is just the beginning...click to read the rest...}

Most people who are making money on eBay don’t get all their income from eBay alone. They have found some of the many ways that you can use eBay to give your existing business a boost. Stock for Sale When you have leftover stock or used items from another business, you could sell those items on [...]

At ease, everyone. A few recent reader questions: • On the subject of decluttering, reader Connie asked, "I'm puzzled because no one has mentioned selling/yard or garage sales. Does no one do that any more?" Hi Connie! I love...

It’s been over two decades since Bossy had her own checking account. She highly recommends it.

This planter, which sits on the front porch of Bossy’s mom’s house. Bossy’s mom made it out of a pair of her old (real) boots. Bossy believes these Impatiens are still in their pots and simply shoved down into these boots, because Bossy thinks her mom still wears these.

Who’s Howard Hanna, and how’d he get such top billing with important stuff like the earth and the, um, umlaut?

Man Reports Incorrect Change to Police Dexter White of North Charleston, South Carolina paid a drug dealer $60 for crack cocaine, but says he only received $20 worth. Naturally, he was angry, so after he smoked what he had, he called 911 to report that he had been shortchanged. White asked for the police to [...]

If they made a map filled with all of the film characters associated with my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, it would contain an image of Nick Nolte from the obscure 1984 film Teachers (Filmed in Columbus), five seconds worth of Michael Douglas screen time from the film Traffic that was filmed outside the State Capital [...]

Over at Fast Company there’s a slideshow of incredible dollhouse interiors, all designed by a Santa-Claus-lookin’ Frenchman who operates somewhere between the world of Franz Kafka and that of director Jean-Paul Jenet (remember The City of Lost Children and Delicatessen?). I love how these multi-level creations have a “normal” part, where one would assume people [...]

Welcome to May, a month with many important holidays. From Mother’s Day to the unofficial start of summer, there are plenty of days you don’t want to forget. In this quiz, we’ll give you the holiday, you tell us the date (don’t worry, we’ve got a blank calendar to help you out). Take the Quiz: [...]

One slide at a conference places peak oil in perspective. It's a three century run with a precipitous decline.

It reminds me of Jeff Rubin's book Why Your World is about to Get a Whole Lot Smaller. As a chief economist and observer of global markets, he paints a scenario of rising prices and argues for a much needed rethink about our energy usage.

"Life as we've known it is up for grabs in a world of expensive fossil fuels. Expensive oil means a severe curb on the free-spending lifestyle that cheap energy has afforded us for some time now. It means you can say a long and wistful goodbye to the inexpensive products manufactured on the other side of the world. You may not love them, but they have been stretching our dollars for a while now and holding down inflation at the same time. You'll miss them when it starts to become clear that your pay cheque just doesn't go as far as it used to." (He is forecasting $7 a gallon for gasoline in a few years.)

Rubin provides an alternative,

"Not only must we decouple our economy from oil but we must re-engineer our lives to adapt to a world of growing energy scarcity. And that means learning to live using less energy. While much could go terribly wrong in this transition, don't be surprised if we find more than a few silver linings in the process, like a solution to carbon emissions, for example. And don't be surprised if the new smaller world that emerges isn't a lot more livable and enjoyable than the one we are about to leave behind.

Either way, your world is about to get a lot smaller."

Via NPR and Treehugger

This week has been filled with angst, rejection, insecurities, and pity parties at my house. All of them mine. I’ve worried that “nothing will work”, that I’m “not good enough”, and that I’m “putting myself out there for nothing.” I … Continue reading →

Kmart Outdoor Living department is a budget friendly place to shop for everything for easy and great looking backyard. Several bloggers teamed up with Kmart to create some real life backyard makeovers with products from Kmart, you can read more at KmartOutdoorLiving.com. You can also see my entire backyard makeover and details how I turned [...]

Don’t suggest to your wife that she get a mammogram for her birthday. Just saying.

Here are this week’s full results:

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 1/3 votes! Joshuapundit–-Pakistan, A Bridge too Far
• Second place with 2 votes – Right Truth-The Celebrations: What You Don’t See
• Third place *t* with 1 2/3 votes – Bookworm Room-A rebuttal to Jesse Kornbluth on the subject of Andrew Sullivan
• Third place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Colossus Of Rhodey – Progressive hypocrisy and the death of bin Laden
• Third place *t* with 1 2/3 votes – New Zeal-Bill Fletcher, Jr. – Leading Socialist Calls for Mass Actions, Law Breaking, to Re-Elect Obama in 2012
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Sweet!
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – The Razor – Relief At The Death Of Osama Bin Laden
• Fifth place with 2/3 vote – The Noisy Room – The Move to Undocument The Documented
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – VA Right! – Why Killing Bin Laden Was Obama’s Only Viable Option – and How He Plans to Score Political Points With the Pictures
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Simply Jews – Roger Cohen: a man who rarely misses an opportunity to miss a point
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -The Political Commentator- Mea maxima culpa! Osama bin Laden, Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 1/3 votes! – BlackFive- Squandering Our Victory submitted byThe Glittering Eye
• Second place with 2 votes – Iowahawk – American Pride Is Back Out Of The Closet! submitted by Joshuapundit
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 vote -Ace of Spades HQ – Howard Fineman: Obama Watched A TV Show So He’s Pretty Awesome submitted by Bookworm Room
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 vote -Atlas Shrugs – Mitch Daniels “Honored” by Notorious Jew-Hating, Supremacist Organization AAI submitted by New Zeal
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -IsraellyCool – The Chaser’s Take on Green’s BDS BS submitted by Simply Jews
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Big Journalism – MSM Uses Palin’s Own Children as Political Weapons Against Her submitted by Right Truth
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Big Journalism – MSM Uses Palin’s Own Children as Political Weapons Against Her submitted by Right Truth
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Belmont Club – The End Of The Trail? submitted by Rhymes With Right
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Danger Room/Wired – Unfollowed: How a (Possible) Social Network Spy Came Undone submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Big Government/Pamela Geller – Killing Yesterday’s Man submitted by The Noisy Room
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Atlas Shrugs – Would Bush Have Washed Bin Laden’s Body? submitted by Snapped Shot
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Mental Recession – Liberal Policies Lose on a Day America Wins submitted by VA Right!
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Melanie Phillips – A Marriage Made In Hell submitted by The Watcher
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Foreign Policy – More Than 1 Billion People Are Hungry in the World submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Big Peace – -Pakistan Was Holding Bin-Laden submitted by The Political Commentator
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Christopher Hitchens – Death Of A Madman submitted by The Watch

God I love Groupon. But only for one thing- the facial/massage offerings. Forget the events, forget the dinners, the movies, the elephant taming, just bring on the spa services.

I went yesterday. Used my Groupon for a $65 one hour massage and one hour facial. Oh, sweet Jesus. There's the soft music. Someone rubbing scented things into my skin. The hair massage. The warm cozy comfy bed. It's what I imagine the womb is like.


I don't know what it is about getting a  facial. All of the sudden I find myself craving nothing but cucumber water and organic vegetable carefully tended by my own hand. It's like being trapped in a copy of Sunset magazine. Which lasts for all of about a day and a half.

Hey a girl needs her coffee.

Reading widely used to be a luxury, but apparently now that I’m a writer, it’s a hindrance. I was recently asked by my publisher for some comparable titles for my second novel The Telling. “Comparable titles” help the marketing team discern a target, a demographic, a genre. You know, “If you liked Water for Elephants, [...]

I’m writing about worrying today over at Jon’s 300 Words a Day. I hope it helps you to not worry.

My friend Johanna reminded me that things tarnish with time. Even beautiful Cadillacs. So as I rode my bicycle past this 40 year old pickup, I remembered that the original owner loved it the day he drove it off the Chevrolet dealer’s parking lot. He had a great time taking his wife or best friend [...]

This week, Google released a new commercial for Chrome, their web browser. If you haven’t seen it, I don’t want to spoil it, so please spend 92 seconds and give it a view below. I love the idea of emailing your kiddos as they’re growing up so they can read them when they’re older. I love [...] Related posts:

1. Confessions of an email freak
2. The chat is on! TONIGHT – 9:00 PM EST
3. The Cool Compassion Project: Should we sponsor a child together?

~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~ May 6th, 2011 “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” Orson Welles   ★~Today is No Pants Day: I see London, I see France, I see someone’s underpants! Today we take casual Friday to a new level with No Pants Day, [...]

A Mother’s Prayer for Her Child by Tina Fey. Amen. * In a project called Scitweets, Maia Weinstock enshrined your favorite internet scientists, science bloggers, and science journalists in Lego! How many do you recognize? (via Boing Boing) * There were 79 commandos involved in the bin Laden raid -and one dog. While the dog’s [...]