Coffee Beans

MOVED!

2007-07-05T22:29:00.001-07:00

I have moved to WordPress! See my new site!

happy birthday america

2007-07-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

I slowly woak up today... made patroitic heart-shaped waffles for Ryan before he went to work...folded some laundry... ignored 2 pages from the most annoying reporter around ... I think I'm being a pretty good at-home wife today :-)

Last night Ryan and I meandered around some stores at the mall while enjoying some Starbucks frappachinos. While we were shopping we started reminiscing about what we did for July 4 last year, and it brought back fun memories of sharing breakfast @ Panara\; visiting Grete at the Ft. Worth Zoo when she only had a week or so left of work before their big move to CA; seeing the Superman Movie @ the Rave; running in to Anthony at Target on his way to Channel 5 (I don't know why Anthony & Allison weren't with us for fireworks and junkfood eating...I think Anthony was working, so Allison was with her fam...); and enjoying the evening by hitting Wendy's with Jon & Grete, followed by a gluten snack/junk-food run to Tom Thumb so we would have food to munch on while we watched fireworks along I-35 in Burleson. You can see our mad junk-food stash to the left. Keep in mind that we had just eaten dinner @ Wendys' (obviously the four of us are really committed to healthy eating). I think we ate pretty much everything in that chair while watching the fireworks. It is amazing how each of our lives has changed in 1 year. We miss you guys.

Oh yea, and we decided that could be one of the best Fourth of July's ever.

sonic has arrived

2007-07-01T18:02:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I read Jeff's frustrations with Sonic running commericals in South Florida...Jeff felt very teased by their marketing efforts since his online search for Sonic locations showed that the closest Sonic was nearly 100 miles away.

Sonic marketers are, in fact, not crazy...we have a SONIC, America's Drive-In! Woo-Hoo! Life is good. In some ways I feel pathetic to be this excited about a fast-food chain. Hamburgers, extra-long coneys, tots, lemon-berry slushes...but these menu items are not the run-of-the-mill fast food options. Where else can you get a drink larger than your arm, made of thousands of flavor possibilities, for $2? Only at Sonic.

I learned of Sonic's newly-opened location just last week and Ryan and I both (well, maybe I was more than him since I'm blogging about it...) were looking for a good opportunity to make the 30 min. drive to drink-goodness. As we were making the drive tonight we both started laughing feeling uber-goofy for driving 30 min. for fast-food, so we had to remind ourselves that this was no ordinary fast-food we were after.

When it was my turn to order I blurted out that I wanted a Route 44 diet cranberry-limeade...Ryan looked at me...inquiring if I would be able to drink that much. Totally offended. Then I got the beverage. It was huge. I had never had a drink that large beforel, and about an hour later I offered him my drink. Nevertheless, we had a lovely Sonic, South-Florida evening.

house hunting

2007-06-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend we spent our Saturday driving around with our realtor looking at houses and townhomes. The entire process of looking to buy a house has been very educational; I never realized how much paperwork, searching and planning goes in to owning your own home. I had really been anticipating getting out and seeing some places we were interested in.

The first lesson of the day was learned when we visited a house that I had found doing my own searching. From what we could see online, this place was awesome and I was probably the most excited about seeing it...then we drove up. The house needed some siding work, the chain-smoking owners were home and had not considered picking up before showing their house...needless to say, it was a bust. Never trust the pictures online or the descriptions the seller's realtor has written...such as "almost fully updated...." if that means a chunk of the ceiling has fallen in, the floors are ripped up and the places is un-livable at the moment, then yea, it's "almost fully updated..." (yes, this was the case at 1 place we looked at...as our realtor reminded us constantly, you have to get out and look at places becasue you never know what you'll find).

At the end of the day we did see several places that were possibilities...we'll continue to look throghout July when we will need to decide if we're going to buy something or find another place to rent.

Decisions, decisions...we're not really sure what we want to do. It's exciting and intimidating. It's been fun so far and we'll keep you posted.

happy birthday love

2007-06-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today is my husband's 26th birthday. I hope (and think) that it has been special for him. Sometimes it can be difficult to do something for Ryan that adequately expresses my great appreciation, respect and love for him. If you are reading this and know him, you know what I'm talking about. For some reason God has chosen to give me a husband that lives his life in such a way that it inspires me, and others, to love God more; it really is an amazing thing and I know that I am fortunate to have friends who have experienced this same thing with their spouses. So happy day Ryan, I love you :-)

sunday fun

2007-06-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed an afternoon at the Botanic Gardens, eating low-point treats (hehe) and doing some fun shopping...

disturbed

2007-06-06T18:41:00.001-07:00

So you might be looking at these pictures and be wondering what is going on... this looks like me, but strangely not like me at the same time. Here's the story: my darling husband asked to take my picture last night and wouldn't tell me why...30 min. later he is laughing while he worked on the computer and eventually showed me what he had been doing; testing to see which side of my face is my "best side." Isn't that nice of him... if you'll notice, the left side of my face is apparently slimmer and more defined in my cheek and jaw than my right. The top photo is 2 of my left-sides put together and the 2nd photo is 2 of my right-side put together...below is the real picture.

All day today I have been paranoid that I am un-even. I am officially un-even.

help found

2007-06-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have found an awesome intern for my new internship program at work! I cannot express how ecstatic that I am about this! The student that came to interview today will be a perfect fit in our department and has plenty of skills to help lighten the work load, and I think he could be an excellent candidate to make a full-time employee when he graduates next May.

Our CEO is also very excited that I have started an internship program and today he asked me why I have been so diligent in setting it up, and for me it is a no-brainier. The sole reason I have my job that I do today is because I was given an outstanding internship opportunity that allowed me to gain a wealth of experience for an entire year before I graduated. Now that I am in a management position and have the freedom to develop this program, I hope to give many students that same opportunity. Yea for interns!

tuesdays with kim e.

2007-06-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick run down on what we've been up to lately...a surprise weekend getaway to Orlando/Disney World (thanks wonderful husband)...Memorial Day Weekend cookout/wiffle-ball...helping out with Switch (youth group)...a really fun visit from Grandpa & Georiga...trying to be good on my WeightWatchers program (I have lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks!)

For your viewing pleasure, above is a pic from Disney (Downtown Celebration) along with a great photo of me & Grandpa at the top of Jupiter Lighthouse.

Hurricane season officially started last Friday and we're not so sure what to think about it all. The state of Florida has "tax-free" hurricane supplies for the next couple of weeks...generators (under $1,000, of course); "items sold as artifical ice" (under $10); visqueen (under $50...um, what is that???); and a bunch of other items you can see here.

Basically, we have no idea what we've gotten ourselves in to. People at work keep laughing and joking about the last round of "real" hurricanes from a couple of years ago and they can't wait for this year's "hurricane parties." (Which I have been told are block parties people have when their electricity goes out...they quickly BBQ their meat with neighbors and have a big party outside before the storms hit and their meat goes bad)...

I've also been notified that since I work at a hospital I have 12 hours to report to work once the hurricane warning is posted. I then have to wear a bright orange vest until the event has cleared out...I am allowed to bring immediate family members and pets, but I have to supply food and water for any family or pets I bring in. I don't know, this just isn't sounding like anything I would laugh or joke about, or a party ocassion that I would look forward to. Why wasn't this part of my interview and orientation....

I guess I'm just not a Florida girl yet.

mental

2007-05-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

Lately I find myself filled with much gratitude and thankfulness for the work that God has done in our life (Ryan and I), allowing us unique opportunities to share His love with others and experiencing the many blessings of rich friendships and relationships that He has lavished upon us. In my moments of reflection I think I am most thankful for the amazing people that God has allowed me to know at different stages of my life, and I am encouraged and rejoice over the work that I see Him doing in their lives and how He is growing them in new life stages, ministries, vocations, etc.

One person that God has used to influence and mentor my life is my high school youth pastor, Jol, and his wife, Sherri. Shortly before I moved to college Jol gave me and a few of my friends each an old business card of his that had a Scripture verse tapped to the back of it... he had used the cards to help him memorize God's word and he hopped they would be a blessing for us. Jol is a man of purpose, so I have to believe that it is no cosidence that my card read,

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vein conciet, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves." - Philippians 2:3

The passage in Philippians 2 goes on to say "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men." The Greek word for 'attitude' in this passage is the word 'phroneo,' which means to be mentally decided. God used Jol and the old business card with Scripture to transform my heart and mind to be mentally decided to serve others.

I have been confronted with this truth in quiet moments the past couple of days. Am I currently living my life mentally decided to serve others, or am I mentally decided about serving myself and my own needs and desires?

skip the sign-in

2007-05-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

I got this information from my latest REAL SIMPLE magazine (compliments of my darling mother-in-law) and thought it would be great to share...

Don't waste time typing your personal details into a Web site that you just want to browse. Find an already registered user name and password on www.bugmenot.com to access free content at more than 150,000 sites that require registration.

can i get some more points over here?

2007-05-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

On Friday I officially started Weight Watchers at Work. I refuse to call this a diet--I'm trying to embrace calling, and making it, a lifestyle change. The WW@W program is huge where I work, so I decided to take the opportunity to improve my eating habits and build deeper relationships with my co-workers. Just 3 days in to it, I am doing okay and am staying under my daily, alotted points (21) and overall, I don't feel like I've been missing out on anything...there have only been a few times that I wish I had more points to spare :-) I look forward to reporting my progress along the way and I thought that posting on here would only increase my accountability and incentives (along with the superskinny lady who weighs us in every Friday). Oh, and did I mention that the folks who gain weight during the week have to stand on the other side of the room...pray that won't be me!

...and this is the longest day of my life

2007-05-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, so that's a lie. Today is just one of the longest days of my life -- the quote, which was taken from Season 1 of 24 ("Right now, terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate. My wife and daughter have been targeted. And people i work with may be involved in both. I'm Federal Agent Jack Bauer and this is the longest day of my life.")

I'll come back to 24 later, but as for today...

Work has literally been insane for the past 3 weeks. I feel the need to apologize to the world for returning very few calls from friends and family and any nutty stressed-out behavior that I have exhibited. No excuses, I have been pretty lame lately. Oh, and my blog has gotten totally lame, too. Let's just say that there is a national news story that took place where I work this week and I have dealt with escalated national media folks at length for the past 2 days. I am happy to say that things should be calming down after tomorrow and I had the pleasure of telling someone they were escalated today. What a wonderful adjective. Almost as wonderful as the word fabulous.

Yesterday I was a stressed out crazy-woman, but thanks to Jesus, my wonderfully calming/patient husband and an elliptical machine, today I was able to be calm. I have to say that I am so thankful that I can walk through tough days without fear, knowing that

my God has already saved the day through salvation in His son, and that's really all that matters in life. What I do to earn a paycheck is frankly insignificant (as much as I would sometimes like to think that it is very important to the world turning correctly...). The only meaningful part of my job is that I have an opportunity to share love and grace with the people I come into contact with, and I am not even faithful with fulfilling that purpose at times.

The lyrics to a Hillsong United song, Salvation, played in the back of my mind all day.. for I know my God saved the day, and I know His word never fails and I know my God made a way for me.... It's gonna' be alright :-)

Back to 24. What can I say, I love Jack Bauer. I love the suspense. Season 5 rocked and I am dying to run down to Blockbuster and watch the first 4 episodes of Season 6 on DVD. The best TV show ever...

things i prayed for

2007-04-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

God Weeps Too

Words and Music By Eli

This is for the man, who never learned to read or write
He worked two jobs instead of going to school
I know it hurt you as a child, please remember all the while
That God weeps too

This is for the widow, who now must sleep alone
When the memory of a kiss will have to do
Every night when she lays down, you can almost hear the sound
When God weeps too

God weeps too, God weeps too
Though we question Him for all that we go through
Still it helps me believe and my pain it does relieve
When I think that, God weeps too

And for every survivor of the wickedness of man
Whether you're a black man or a Jew
Some people kill in Jesus' name, He is not the one to blame
'Cause even God weeps too

And I never really thought about
that much about it, but God weeps too

"I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them." -- Isaiah 57: 17-19

vacation days with family

2007-04-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a fantastic visit from Mom & Dad E. this past week/end. Here are some highlights from our explorations in Palm Beach.

Here we are on Palm Beach . . . our 2nd attempt to have someone take our photo together :-)

Ryan's steller "self-portriat" skills to get the 4 of us in a pic together

Ryan and Dad E. on a boat tour of Peanut Island

Mom E. and I enjoying our coffee at Sailfish Marina

This picture does not do this scene justice. This 70-something couple were creating their own sensual version of "dancing with the stars" in downtown WPB on Friday night.

Downtown City Place in WPB

Mom E. and I at Legal's Seafood

A picture with the lobster bib :-)

Ryan with his parents downtown

sandy on Easter

2007-04-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today Ryan and I enjoyed a quiet Easter together. After much built anticipation over the choice of song for LifeChurch's first MixTape07 sermon on Easter (okay, so maybe we were the only ones wondering which song would be the first on the "MixTape"), we were totally off on our guess as it was U2's "Window in the Skies." You can read Ryan's re-cap here.

After eating our "Easter lunch" that we made together, we hit Palm Beach and enjoyed reading, playing in the ocean and catching some sun. It was a very relaxing day, even though I lost to Ryan at the game of LIFE tonight...which, I had totally forgotten that the winner is the one with the most money when you land on the retirement space...and some how I went the whole game having no kids, which is probably b/c I was an accountant. If you think about it, LIFE is really a funny little game that really reflects the fact that it came out in the '60s.

i'm a fool

2007-04-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

This April Fool's came and went without me falling for a prank, or so I thought until a little bit ago.

On Sunday I was checking my gmail account when I read their announcement "re-introducing" Gmail Paper... I read it and thought it was a little odd that Gmail was offering to print and mail you hard copies of your e-mails and attachments (including color photos), in as large of a quantity as you wanted. I just felt like Gmail had outstanding service.

But tonight Ryan informed me that Gmail Paper was Google's April Fool's joke and I felt a little taken, but extremely foolish...

Anyone else fall for the joke?

Everyone loves Gmail. But not everyone loves email, or the digital era. What ever happened to stamps, filing cabinets, and the mailman? Well, you asked for it, and it’s here. We’re bringing it back.

re-cap from the past week

2007-03-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

The weather in So. Florida has been so incredible in the past few weeks that I've been soaking up the sun and not blogging or e-mailing much. Everyone at work has had "spring fever" and left early to enjoy being outside before, what we're told, will be a miserably hot summer.

Tonight Ryan and I were part of the first LifeChurch - Wellington membership class. I was very excited to enter in a covenant community that we can serve in. While I never would have pictured us being a part of LifeChurch, God has clearly shown us that this is where He would have us to serve. An aspect of LifeChurch that I really appreciate is their focused mission; To lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. I love it. It is a focused vision, accomplished through the ministry of it's covenant members, focused on Christ. Our membership covenant requires a commitment that we would be involved in LifeGroups (small group Bible study), that we would tithe, serve an a church ministry and also participate in 1 mission experience each year. We're actively praying about which ministry we should be serving in and I am def. looking forward to see what God is going to do!

On a side note, I'm not sure if the PR/Communications folks @ LifeChurch sent out a press release, but kudos for getting the church in the Palm Beach Post. As a marketing person I can def. appreciate the media/message value.

At work...I have had an increasing number of folks wander in my office and ask for "blessings from the Sister." You might ask why this is happening...I acutally have a plaque on my office door that dedicates the office to a nun who was formally a CEO at my place of work. In the past week alone more than 6 people asked me to either pray for them, christen their child or to bless them with holy water.

a wonderfully failed spring break story

2007-03-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

3 years and 2 days ago my Mom put me on a plane from El Paso to Fort Worth after a failed attempt of myself, Marissa and Merica driving to Las Vegas/San Diego for Spring Break. Looking back we were pretty stupid in our trip planning; we left Fort Worth at about 5:30 p.m. 2 days before spring break actually started (we planned to drive 18 hours through the night) in a '92 Ford Escort (Marissa and I had pretty new, reliable cars, but oh no, we chose to take Merica's...). Just a short 10 hours in to our trip, the Escort started acting up; basically it stopped running about 3 miles outside of El Paso, near the boarder of Mexico at 3:30 a.m. If you have seen the movie Babel there is a scene where they are going through boarder patrol in the middle of the night; that was pretty much our situation. Praise God that Merica was intelligent enough to bring a credit card on the trip so we could get a hotel room once the Hwy. patrol man dropped us off at a Microtel. . . On Day 2 of our trip the mechanic told us that the Escort's clutch had gone out; Merica and Marissa had decided they would take the Grey Hound bus on to Cali, but my Mom was not about to "okay" that.

Even though I was only along for 2 days of the adventure, we really did have a good time and in the end I have my Mom to thank for not letting me go on a Grey Hound bus with my friends so that I could be flown back to Fort Worth, have Ryan feel sorry for my failed and lonley Spring Break, which motivated him to take me to dinner at Tacos Ernestos. And that was how we ended up on our "first un-official date" on March 15, 2004...Mexican Food Day. So, Happy Mexican Food Day to the best husband a girl could wish and hope for!

fun in the florida sun

2007-03-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from my Dad, step-Mom, Michelle, and my Step-Sister, Lauren. Ryan and I had a really great time getting to show the family around Palm Beach and it also allowed us an excuse to explore where we recently moved to even more. Below are some picures that highlight the last 3 days.

On Saturday night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the water at the Old Key Lime House in Lantana.

Here is Ryan and I on the pier at the Old Key Lime House.

On Sunday we headed out to Singer Island and enjoyed watching the boats at the pier.

Our tax dollars hard at work... please tell me what Homeland Security is doing at the Palm Beach dock at Singer Island? Hum...

Lauren and I sporting some of our favorite hats at a shop on the island.

My cutie husband on Palm Beach. Even Ryan enjoyed playing in the ocean (!!)

Michelle and Dad couldn't stop laughing while we ate dinner at the Belliago Resturant in downtown West Palm Beach.

I felt like I got an awesome pic of the Atlanta Braves pitcher warming up at Roger Dean Stadium for a spring training game vs. the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

The end :-)

selling out on strangeculture

2007-03-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was being a good wife and reading Ryan's latest blog post. While reading I noticed his Google ad post...

"Gay friendly autos...does your ride reflect your pride?" hum...

And I have to ask myself, and Mr. Strangeculture... is it really worth it to have these random Google ads popping up on your blog? What makes a car "gay-friendly?" How would I know if my ride was "reflecting" my pride?

Just some food for thought on a Thursday night.

thief

2007-03-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

I can't expect people who don't know Jesus to act like they do.

Last weekend I was at a nice golf venue for work and someone swiped the camera from our table. Initially I was really upset that someone would do that -- let alone someone who could afford to buy a much nicer camera and who had paid at least $75/ticket to be at the event we were at. When I told my boss about what happened she said that she couldn't believe that someone would do that, and I concurred. But then I got to thinking about it some more... I guess I should expect someone to do that; humans are always battling their sin, and I have no idea if our camera theif even thought twice about what they were doing.

I often forget to consider what the Holy Spirit's convictions keep me from, and without Christ's work in my life who knows what I would do. It also with the same convictions that I have forgiven our little camera theif and hope that they are putting it to good use.

"For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." - I Thessalonians 1: 4-5

pepsi & coca-cola "sparkle"

2007-03-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

I read a pretty interesting story today in the New York Times (and no, not in Starbucks) about some new drinks by Pepsi & Coca-Cola that are fortified with vitamins and minerals. They're calling these drinks "sparkling beverages." Basically... pop on vitamins.

I have a feeling like these will tank like Pepsi Clear... anyone remember Pepsi Clear?

true confessions

2007-03-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

I went to Starbucks 18 times this past month.

Um, being that there were 20 week days in the month of February, I guess I kinda went to Starbucks nearly every day. I was clearly out of control and didn't even realize it until Ryan and I were looking at last month's credit card statement. I just felt like I needed to confess to my blog audience that I significantly exceeded my New Year's goal of 2 Starbucks treats per month.

All that said, I have really gotten to know the staff at our local 'bucks that is just a few blocks from our house. They are really wonderful folks and I enjoy talking with them when I wait for my beverage. Get my coffee, talk to Sam, Jenn or Stan in the morning crew .... read the NY Times headlines........ah, what a wonderful way to start my morning commute.

For March, I think I will really try to stick to my New Year's plan of just 2 Starbucks visits. I've already used 1 of them, so I will keep you posted on how I do. Thanks for reading my confession.

missing Picasso art and sunshine

2007-02-28T15:59:00.000-08:00

Two famous Picasso paintings were reported stolen from the home of the painter's granddaughter.

People are saying that the paintings, “Portrait of Jacqueline” (left, circa '61) and “Maya With Doll” (right, circa '38) are valued at $66 million. The value that society places on items, such as these paintings, always blows me away.

Too bad I am not considered prolific enough to warrant my creative outputs being worth millions...I mean, my mother has boxes and boxes of my school work from growing up and she can't even get $.01 for it....what a shame... :-)

On a personal note, I am ecstatic about spending the rest of the week wearing polo shirts and sunglasses while I work at the 2007 Honda Classic, PGA Golf tourney! The tourney is being held at the very beautiful grounds of the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, just up the road from where we live. I would get more specific about what I'm doing and some interesting folks I've gotten to meet in the last couple of days, but I like to keep my employer vague on here. It is just a blast to not be in a suit sitting at a desk. Yesterday I went and had a spa pedicure (thank you Ryan) to relax and have my feet butified to be in sandals for the rest of the week. Amen for pedicures and sunshine. :-)

our church...LifeChurch

2007-02-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

Our new church family has become LifeChurch.tv. Here is the video they showed Sunday morning. Ryan and I are both excited to be involved and be a part of what God is doing through the church body.

my oscar predications

2007-02-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

I know that I rarely talk about movies on my blog, but I thought I would make my husband proud by making some official Oscar predictions before the show tonight. Ryan is going to post his picks on strangeculture, so we'll see who faired better at the end of the night.

My winners are...

Picture – Little Miss Sunshine
Director – Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Actor – Forrest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland
Actress – Helen Mirren, The Queen
Supporting Actor – Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Supporting Actress – Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Original Screenplay – Little Miss Sunshine
Adapted Screenplay – The Departed
Animated Film – Monster House
Foreign Language Film – Pan’s Labyrinth
Documentary – Jesus Camp
Editing - Babel
Cinematography – The Prestige
Art Direction – The Prestige
Costume Design – The Devil Wears Prada
Make-up – Pan’s Labyrinth
Sound Mixing - Dreamgirls
Sound Editing – Flags of Our Fathers
Visual Effects – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Original Score - Babel
Original Song – “Our Town,” Cars
Animated Short Film - Maestro
Live Action Short Film – West Bank Story
Documentary Short – Recycled Life

GoingLean and other random happenings

2007-02-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

What's new with the Florida E's? Well...Ryan discovered that the Kashi GoLean Crunch! Honey Almond Flax cereal might have been the catalyst for Kashi granola bars...he found his cereal stuck together like a brick last weekend. Poor Ryan.

In other news...I am still enjoying my job tremendously. Because I feel it necessary to keep things vauge on here regarding my employment, just know that it is good. Ryan gets the pure joy of hearing all of my interesting and un-interesting related stories. What a super husband.

The Hopper crew is coming to visit in a couple of weeks, so we're pretty excited to have some family in town. Ryan's parents will also be coming to visit this spring...can you tell that we will be spoiled by having some of our favorite people in town really soon...Brian and Suzanne B. visited us a couple of weeks ago and it was really wonderful to spend time with old friends and show them around.

Things at c28 are going really well and it seems like momentum is constnatly growing. Jeff and Amy (owners of c28 - West Palm Beach and good friends), announced that they're having a baby this fall! We're so excited for them! My good friend, Amanda, and her husband, Garrett, will also be expanding their family when by welcoming twin boys in to their family this July...I can't wait to meet them! I love sharing in all of the excitement of growing families.

where, oh where are my favorite restaurants?

2007-02-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

I have recently experienced withdrawls from some of my favorite eateries that we had in Fort Worth. Among my most missed restaurant/dining experiences that I miss are at la Madeleine's and Rosa's Cafe'. In a sheer moment of distress and desperation, I wrote plea-ful e-mails to the consumer comment e-mail address that I found on their respective websites. I merely tried to demonstrate, through some basic market analysis, that their restaurants would be very successful anywhere in the greater West Palm Beach area. I will keep you posted on whether or not any developments occur...

the things we do for love

2007-02-17T20:24:00.000-08:00

"Must one not wonder about people willing to wear a commerical trademark on the outside of their shirts or caps or shoes to let others know who they are? And just think of a world in which little children sing, 'I wish I were a [certain kind of] wiener. That is what I really want to be. For if I were [that certain kind of] wiener. Everyone would be in love with me.'

Think of what it would mean to be a weenie, or for someone to love you as they 'love' a hot dog. Think of a world in which adults would pay millions of dollars to have children perform this song in 'commericals' and in which hundreds of millions, even billions, of adults find no problem in it. You are thinking of our world. If you are willing to be a weenie to be loved, what else would you be willing to do?"

--Dallas Williard, The Divine Conspiracy

The mis-intergration of De Jesus

2007-01-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

Today I read about a man who is claiming to be Jesus Christ in his second coming. Luis de Jesus Miranda, 60, head of the Growing in Grace International Ministry says that Christ "intergrated" with him, making him God incarnate. Forget kookey people seeing Jesus in a tortilla chip, or the Virgin Mary on the side of a building...this dude is claiming to be Jesus! Maybe he is just confused because his last name has 'Jesus' in it...hum...

I actually went over to his website, and one of the nuttiest things I read can be found under "FAQ: Could Dr. Luis de Jesus Miranda be another false christ?" You'll have to read it to believe it...

You can read the Newsweek article here

Related Tags: Luis de Jesus Miranda, Jesus, News, Newsweek, Growing in Grace International Ministry, Second Coming of Christ, God, nutty man

my reaction to Jesus Camp

2007-01-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I just finished watching Jesus Camp, the Oscar nominated documentary that follow's Pastor Becky Fischer as she teaches a group of young, pentacostal, evengelical Christians to become "dedicated soliders for Jesus."

It is really hard to summerize my thoughts on this one, so I'll try doing it this way.
Funniest Moment: A cardboard cut-out of President George W. is placed on the stage of the camp (Kids on Fire Camp in Devils Lake, ND) and the kids (ages 6-12) are invited to pray blessings over him, pray in tounges for satan to have no power over President Bush.

Most Uncomfortable Moment: Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady included a stop at Pastor Ted Haggard’s mega-sized New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Haggard makes some strong comments about gays. He then goes on to say that kids are easy to bring in the church; they want to know that someone loves them and cares about them...it's easy to sell church and Jesus to kids.

The Uneducated Moment: There were many things said out of ignorance in this movie...I hardly know where to begin. Possibly the worst was watching the kids be handed hammers to smash coffee cups on stage that had the word "Government" written on the side. The smashing represented destroying satan's power in government; namely abortion. Many times, throughout the film, people asked for abortion to be abolished in the USA, in the name of Jesus; that way revival could happen.

Watch it for yourself. I'd be interested to hear other's thoughts...You can view the trailer here.

My Blogoversary

2007-01-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

I started blogging 1-year ago today because I wanted to compete with Ryan for visitors. Believe it or not, initally I did have a few more than he did. Needless to say that I quickly fell behind and my content is not as interesting for people who don't know me.

I really enjoy writing at 2coffeebeans and some of my favorite posts from the previous year include:

Didn't You know, Kayne Was Moses' Homeboy

Thank you for Smoking: PR 101

My most searched posts from google were:

Wahab's $218 Trillion Phone Bill

Robbing Mick Jagger

Foundue Fun (with the nice mispelling)

Looking back over these makes me want to post better again and climb back ahead of strangeculture :-)

the awed couple

2007-01-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

If you know me, you know I don't watch TV (with exception to my beloved House, MD, and 24...and recently LOST), so don't be misled by this post...

Have you ever seen the eposide from King of Queens where Carrie and Doug get dumped by their friends for another couple that is more convenient to hang out with? This causes them to look for a new couple in any place from the paint section at Lowe's to using an annoying couple that is obsessed with them to meet other people. Anyways, it is a very funny eposide about looking for a compatiable couple to hang out with. Anyone who is married knows how this goes; you have to like both the husband and the wife to make it work...it really is more tricky than dating as a single person :-)

So Ryan and I find ourselves couple dating, if you will, and so far our schedules really haven't allowed us the time to meet said couples. This made it all very exciting today at work when a co-worker asked us out to dinner with he and his wife. Woo-Hoo! My co-worker seems like a pretty cool guy. He and his wife are about 30, former Texans too, and they seem to like the same types of activities as us. So there you have it...we might be making friends, haha :-)

a new year

2007-01-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about various goals in my life, and whether or not I can be a goal oriented person. Not that I don't have goals, I just kind of "do things," and feel like I've been fairly successful at things I have I tried to attain.

But I've decided to set some concrete goals for 2007.

1. Practive better health by exercising at least three times a week for 30 minutes.

2. Limit myself to two starbuck's treats a month.

3. Pay off at least 3/4 of my student loans.

4. Read the Bible in a year.

5. For Ryan and I to get plugged into a small group at church.

6. Make friends in Florida.

7. To launch a new website for the children's hospital I work for.

8. Write more encouraging notes, and actually mail them when I do write them.

9. To find new ways to show Ryan that I value him.

10. Keep our house clean 80% of the time.

11. Take a vacation to a new place.

12. Read two books (completly).

imported snow

2007-01-03T18:55:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed imported snow for the 3rd time in my life tonight. Imported snow is what companies will deliver to you by the ton if you live in a warm place and want to enjoy a snowball fight and snowman building. Tonight our apartment complex brought in 3 tons of snow for people to play in at a community social. It was a lot of fun watching all of the kids and adults enjoying themselves. It was the first time that some of our neighbors had seen snow in the mild climate of South Florida.

My first 2 experiences with imported snow happened while I was a TCU student at their annual Frog Freeze that kicked off the spring semester. I joked with Ryan that we are developing a track record for living in cities that require the importation of snow to cheer people up about missing winter weather. The sad thing is that when I drove home today and saw the snow being dumped out of a truck it really didn't phase me...my thought was, "oh, they do imported snow here too."

*the above picture is from the TCU Frog Freeze 3 years ago.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all from the E's in Florida! I thought it would be fun to post a few pictures from our lives this past week so our friends and family can see how we celebrated.

Below you can see the beautiful live wreath that the ad agency I am working with sent for Christmas...all the way from Washington state. Very nice.

Emily got a nice picture from my step-sister, Cortney, cute!

Yummy Christmas dinner! Thanks to Erin and Steve for our festive placemats!

We didn't have a white Christmas, but we had a hot, wet and humid Christmas, complete with a heavy 10 min. down-pour of rain around noon.

This photo is proof that I cannot multi-task. While wishing my family "Merry Christmas" on the phone, I managed to dump half a bag of powdered sugar on top of my head and was covered in the stuff. I talked to my Dad, step-mom, grandma and grandpa while covered in the white-powdered stuff. Gross!

Toby, my in-laws' cat, gave me naughty underware for Christmas. I was reading what they said :-)

Here is Ryan with some of his stocking stuffers.

Thanks to Dad and Michelle for sending a freezer full of goodness from Omaha Steakhouse!

a little sugar

2006-12-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

Tonight Ryan and I decorated Christmas cookies together. Unlike most families, we decorate a wide-assortment of cookies to enjoy; when I say wide-assortment I am referring to Ryan's beloved star-of-David cookie and our Texas cookie. This year Ryan topped his most creative efforts to come up with a manger cookie; it is really quite impressive looking if I do say so.

Here Ryan is holding one of his creative manger cookies and is quite sad because he broke a leg of the manger while preparing to frost it. Very sad.

Here

is a very blurry picture of one of our Star of David cookies. This cookie cutter was a gift from me to Ryan last year and prompted interesting discussion when we took a bunch of them to Allison & Anthony's Christmas party last year...people thought we were the token Jewish couple. (Ryan's manger is to the left of the Star of David.)

sijiqxd

2006-12-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else have a problem with the word verifications when they post a comment? Usually it takes me like three times before I get it right.

breakers

2006-12-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

This last week was a busy one for the Ryan and I...we both worked long hours this past week for various reasons. Speaking of work, I love my new job and am really enjoying it and all of the little adventures associated with it. A fun story from this past week was going to a Christmas Party at the legendary Breaker's Resort in Palm Beach. While we were there I saw Matt Lauer who was in town for his annual golf tournament....I did not have the boldness to approach him, but it was cool to see him in person. The hotel was really beautifully decorated for Christmas and also had fun getting to know my CEO and his wife better.

This weekend I finished up my Christmas shopping and baked some more Christmas cookies, it was relaxing and got me geared up and rested for another week :-)

a look at our place

2006-12-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

I have had many requests over the past month for pictures of our place, so I thought I would start with the living/kitchen/dining areas to show. I found it to be very difficult to try to give perspective of space, so hopefully you can get a good idea of how our place is situated. You can see the front door off to the left in this first picture. The master bedroom & bath is set back down a hall way that is just around that left-hand wall. Enjoy :-)

our tree

2006-12-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

touching moments

2006-12-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

On my way to work I stopped to get one of my life's greatest vices... known on Wall Street as SBUX. While waiting for my said drink, I spotted the front page of the NYT and started reading their front page story about Atlantic City and its dissaryed nature, particularly issues with prostitution. This story really moved me and I thought about what I had read during my entire drive to the hospital. I really had a hard time grappling with the reality of the lonliness of the women and the hallowness of what is pursued out of the depravity of the world. I couldn't bring myself to turn on the radio or listen to the CDs I had with me. One of my favorite songs titled Save Me by Ben and Robin Pasley has the following lyrics that rang in my head all day:

Save me, Oh, God

For the waters have come up to my neck

And I am sinking to the bottom where I cannot stand

I am calling to You, can You hear my cry?

Save me, Oh, God

I have wandered and I cannot find your hand

I am looking for your Father, but my eyes fail

I am calling to You, can You hear my cry?

People's actions are oftening crying out for something, someone, anything to save them. It made me wonder if I adequately cry out to God to be my daily rescue. I need Him and I need to tell others that they need Him too.

Here is the lede to the story from today's NYT... I wanted to copy it on to the blog b/c you can't access old Times articles.

By DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI and SERGE F. KOVALESKI
Published: December 5, 2006
ATLANTIC CITY, Dec. 3 — In this seaside resort town where vice has long been a lucrative commodity, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about four crack-addled prostitutes who lost the struggle to survive in the underground economy that flourishes alongside the shimmering casinos.

The depressingly sad story is written with amazing tone and clarity. I plan to write the author, David Kocieniewski, an e-mail telling him how powerful I thought his reporting is in the story.

about that time

2006-12-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

I have fallen behind in being a good blogger lately. Maybe my mother-in-law is the only one who has really noticed the lack in my updates, but for the rest of my plethora of readers, get excited.

Last night marked the 2nd annivisary of 1-2-3-4 day for Ryan and I ... the night we got engaged (12-03-04). We celebrated by going to eat at Charley's Crab, just off of Ocean Ave. in Palm Beach...it was a rather fun and swanky place. While we didn't have brandy and cigars with the rest of the crowd, we did enjoy a wonderful meal of shrimp, salmon and chocolate truffle cake...

Work has started in full swing for me. I really, really love my new job. I work with some of the nicest people; salt of the earth if you know what I mean. It's funny because so many people here are from New York and New Jersey. The joke is that West Palm Beach is the southern most suburb of NYC and I have found this to be true. At work I am known as the "Texas belle," which I find very, VERY funny, especially since I'm not even from Texas. Although strangly enough to these people I am a Texan. Ryan is known as a Texan here too, which is really thrilling to him. Then again, there are many people who are very confused by the fact that c28 is from California...so most people think we're from CA too...hum...Texas Californians...

This picture is on here for the sole purpose of showcasing Ryan's photography skills. Notice that I took the one above...

the grandest of opening parties

2006-11-17T21:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight was our Grand Opening Private Party event for the supporters of the store. We had an amazing time!

Ryan is pictured here with Jeff, the owner of our franchise store, and Aurelio, the CEO of c28 and NOTW (Not Of This World...all about Jesus; our main clothing line).

Awww... Jeff & Amy with their yummy gift from Aurelio.

The awesome merch...many hours of work!

Robert, from corporate, is shown using his amazing gifts and talents for working with customers! His abilities are "sick," as the Cali people say...

a work in progress

2006-11-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

getting the word out

2006-11-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

We spent our entire day promoting the store at a large outdoor concert venue called WayFest. You can see the main headlining bands listed above. The day was awesome. We were able to make contact with over a thousand people. We had our merchandise set up on display, passed out 10% off-coupons to the store, brochures, stickers and entered people in a drawing to win a $200 shopping spree or 1 of 4, $50 gift cards. The only thing that would have made today better was actually selling our merchandise...but alas, our merchandise is not here until Tuesday and everyone will have to wait exactly 6 days until we open.

(Notice Ryan grooving to the tune of Barlow Girl...he is pictured with Shea, one of our super-cool employees.)

There were times today when we could hardly keep up with all of the people stopping by our informational booth. It was CRAZZZZY!

Ryan and Emily workin' the booth. Are these 2 old enough to be running a retail store?

Don't worry...I was at the event helping too, but now as I sit here on my couch and blog about the day I am longing to put on my amazing aroma therapy socks that I was sent in the mail earlier this week. Many thanks to my cool mother-in-law for including me in the funky socks exchange (I would put a link to her blog, but it doesn't exist yet...don't you think Mary Ann should have a blog? We do.)

humans are funny

2006-11-08T09:22:00.000-08:00

I had a friend in high school who always said, "humans are funny." They really are.

Last night Jeff, Amy, Emily, Robin (Emily's Mississippi friend), Ryan and I grabbed some food at a place called Too Jay's . Our waitress, Pam, was so funny and crazy...as was the woman who wasn't our waitress, Robin, but who chimed in on talking to us, checking on our food, refilling our drinks. By the end of our meal Waitress Pam thought it was my birthday and that Ryan's was the next day (that's how I knew we were meant to be as husband and wife)...and Waitress Robin thought it was Emily's birthday... In the end Emily ended up with a huge piece of amazing carrot cake, Waitress Robin realized we were Christians and apologized for anything she might have said that was offensive and she wanted to work at the store. It was a very comical meal.

Things are really coming together on the build-out of the store. I keep forgetting to take pictures as the construction progresses, so make sure to read Jeff's blog to see what things are looking like. Ryan and Emily are interviewing potential staff this week and we are gearing up for an outdoor concert we will have a booth at on Saturday. I will make sure to take pictures and post them this weekend.

We open in a week from Saturday...we're so pumped.

I Am Sad

2006-11-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

I know this sounds really silly, but I am devestated that Ryan and Reese have split. I hope they get back together.

Click here to read more from the USA Today article

idleness

2006-11-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

Staying at home. Some people, men and women, aspire to not working or retiring to leisure at some point in their lives. Count me out.

Not interacting with people is not my cup of tea...I feel a little idle these days. In my little over a week of un-employement and staying-at-homeness, I have really gained a sense that there is work to do, in a spiritual sense, for me, employed or not. Ryan has let me tag a long with store business and has kept me in the loop on what he is doing, which has allowed me to connect with people. I also finally met our neighbor today and look forward to hanging out with her more. People were created to glorify their creator and there is something inside of us that desires to connect with others. We were created for joy! As more days go on I find myself less interested in the final un-packing and decorating details of our new place and I end up wasting my time online, going through picture albums and planning meals farther in advance than I ever thought I would. Ugh. I'm fighting the idlesness...

"I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." -John 17:4

keys

2006-10-31T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today Jeff got keys for the store and demolition will begin tonight! Ryan had meetings this afternoon with Jeff, the mall people and some local youth leaders. We're so excited for the coming weeks as the build-out process gets underway, Emily arrives (assistant manager and one of my best friends) and the store gets kicked off.

You can see the store schedule here to get a better idea of what is going on, how to be praying etc. Mainly pray that Ryan finds staff, Emily arrives safely and that there are no hold ups in the build-out process. You can also pray that things continue to work out for us to have a booth at Way Fest 06 and that we are able to get awesome publicity for the store!

On a me note...I had a job interview today that went really well. I am excited to see how things work out. Looks like I will have a second interview with the CEO late this week or early next week :-) Yea! I am one stir-crazy stay-at-home wife... I can't imagine what I will do when I finish un-packing and setting up in the next couple of days...

happy happy birthday ladies!

2006-10-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to........

Sylvia Mathew who will celebrate with the pumpkins and ghosts tomorrow and Allison Kirchner who had an awesome birthday dinner at Texas de Brazil last Friday! Wish we could have been there to celebrate with you both, but we're thinking about you and wish you the happiest of days!

Eploring new places...

2006-10-30T07:18:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I are officially Florida residents... kind of wierd, but it is good. It is wierd because we never, ever thought we would live in West Palm Beach, FL, but that is the beauty and adventure of life and living for a purpose bigger than yourself. Ryan recently had an excellent post examining how even what seems like small decisions can impact your life in a big way.

I finally got the entire living room, dining room and kitchen set up and now I only have a couple more rooms to conquor. You can see my handsome husband working on the legs of our couch in the picture above. He's sporting his deflated Survivor kickball...

On Saturday afternoon we ventured over to downtown West Palm Beach and then over the bridge to Palm Beach to do some exploring. I have never seen so many Bentley's, Jaguar's, Ashton Martin's in 1 persons drive way. It was a little crazy and very beautiful! Many of the very nice houses of Palm Beach are situated around Ocean Ave. I am excited to one day have some surfing lessons; I think I would really enjoy it, although Ryan says he has no interest in joining me :-) We pulled over off of Ocean to take a few pictures next to the Atlantic.

Berinthia Berenson Perkins

2006-09-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

This is my tribute to 9-11 victims and their families, specifically the family and friends of Berinthina Berenson Perkins. Berthina was on Flight 11, seat 19A when it crashed in to the World Trade Center five years ago today.

I personally remember, as everyone old enough to does, where I was on 9-11-01 and how I was feeling. Berinthina would be 58 this year. Maybe she would be enjoy grand kids or friends tonight. I wonder where she was flying to?

Born Berinthia Berenson in New York in 1948, Berenson was a noted photographer and actress and was the sister of model-turned-actress Marisa Berenson (of "Barry Lyndon" fame). Berenson met her husband, actor and star of Alfred Hitchcock's original version of Psycho (1960), Anthony Perkins on the set of his film Play It As It Lays (1972) and married him in 1973. The couple raised 2 sons and remained married until Perkins' death of an AIDS-related illness in 1992. Listed on the flight manifest as Berinthia Perkins, Berenson was killed aboard the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, which was deliberately crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower on September 11, 2001 and was one of over 3,000 souls lost on this date. She was survived by her adult sons, artist Elvis Perkins and actor Oz Perkins.

Life is short and we're promised nothing. I hope that Berinthia's friends and family are blessed by this tribute to her.

The Joy of House, MD

2006-08-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was a glorious day. It was the day that Season 2 of House, M.D. came out. We've had Season 2 at the top of our Netflix que for a while now, but alas, Mr. & Mrs. Smith came last Tuesday instead of House....so we went to Blockbuster and picked up Disc 1. It was a little odd to switch back to watching House after going through 2 seasons of 24, but I'm hooked once again in the lives of House, Foreman, Cameron, Chase, Cuddy and Wilson........

I wish I worked at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with them. Oh wait, I just found out that its not a real hospital...bummer! But do not fear...you can buy apperal for Princeton Plainsboro. Ah...we live in a wonderful capitalistic society that will make money off of even things that aren't real.

2006-08-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

"You know you're going to look just like a covergirl in that
photo." - What I told my CEO today, who then posed himself.

Bad Idea

2006-08-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in the CBS board room when it was decided that Survivor 14: Cook Island would divide tribes based on race; White, Black, Asian and Hispanic. Wow. Ryan told me about this as I cooked dinner tonight and I frankly can hardly believe this is the premis for the upcoming season.

Related Tags: Survivor, CBS, Racism, News, Cook Island, Television, TV

August Fun

2006-08-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been filled with so much fun! I decided to post a few of my favorite pictures to highlight what has been going on with us. Mom and Dad E. came to visit us 2 weeks ago and we had a blast with them...we spent the weekend in Austin and below is a picture of the four of us with the Texas capital in the background, taken from the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. The other pictures are from my birthday weekend. I had a very fablous birthday filled with nice phone calls, cards and presents from friends and family. One picture shows me wearing the dress that Ryan bought me to wear out to my birthday dinner at Texas de Brazil on Friday. We had a blast and I very much reccomend the dining experience! You can also see a picture of the yummy ice cream cake that Ryan bought for me at Ben & Jerry's........chocolate chip cookie dough with brownie...I also reccommend eating one of those too :-) The final picture is of me and my friend, Sheri, posing with 1 of our favorite beverage, Diet Coke, and the cool book she bought me for my birthday to help me over come my readers block :-) :-) Enjoy!!!!!!!!

2006-08-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

I want a blender so I can make my own baby food.

(and strawberry milk shakes)

2006-08-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Women who follow the rules

rarely make history

Reader's Block

2006-08-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking; "I bet she meant 'writers block,' but I really do mean reader's block; and I have it. My husband has recently joked with me that our children will not gain a love of reading from me. I have felt really unmotivated over the past 6 months to pick up a book and read for my own pleasure or education. There are so many excellent books out there and so many topics that I would like to learn more about that something needs to start clicking within the gears of my brain so I don't become a staley-educated slacker. I sit in front of a computer most of my day and write and design ads for work, so sometimes I am absoutly sick of staring at an object while sitting on my rear by the time I get home. But that is mostly a lame attempt for me to explain the readers block...

I really do love to read and I'm hoping that I can regain some drive and desire.

Anyone else understand what the readers block is like?

Related Tags: readers block, books, reading, literature, English, motivation

Pantyhose

2006-08-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

The term 'pantyhose' originated in the United States, referring to the combination of 'panties' (an American term for women's underpants) with sheer nylon hosiery. Taken from Wikipedia.

Pantyhose. I hate wearing pantyhose and am forced to wear them daily to work. My friend Amy says that pantyhose is an employeer's last great oppression on women, especially in the South, symbolic of caging them in or something. I basically think they feel gross on my legs and make Texas summers feel that much more miserable. And since I spend over 70 percent of the days of the week in these nasty nylon's, I end up snagging them and make another weekly trip to Target for another pair. Maybe Ryan and I should invest in some Leggs or Hanes stock...

Related Tags: pantyhose, work, women oppression, career, tights, stockings

The Shyamalan Show

2006-08-01T07:02:00.000-07:00

Last night we saw the movie “Lady in the Water” aka the M. Night Shyamalan show, with our friends Anthony & Allison. We all enjoyed watching it. While I did jump a few times, the film is really not as scary as I thought it would be. The characters were vivid and exaggerated and it was an original story.

I do have to say that I was extremely distracted most of the time because the film’s writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan was also pretty much the lead actor. I know that he normally has a little blurp role in all his other films, his idea of a super cool trademark I guess, but his role was huge in Lady in the Water. Allison pointed out that it is probably pretty cool for his family that he wrote this children’s story and made it come to life in this movie and was even co-starring, but to everyone else… not so cool.

Related Tags: M. Night Shyamalan, Movies, Media, Entertainment, Lady in the Water, Film, Children's Stories

Bells

2006-07-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

There is an old beautiful church that sits caddy-corner to the hospital I work at in downtown FW. On the days when I actually get to leave my office at 5 p.m., I get to walk out to the sounds of its enormous bell tower chiming old hymns. I have been surprised by how much I really enjoy hearing the bell tower ring songs like "Amazing Grace," "How Great Thou Art," etc. There is just something incredibly peaceful to me about hearing that tower ring consistently every afternoon.

Related Tags: Church Bells, Happy, Religion, Church, Music, Worship

2006-07-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Middle: Ryan and I gave each other the same Jack Johnson CD :-)

Left: Beautiful Bride Erin!
Right: Awesome and Funny Husband Ryan feeding the Humpty Dumpty statue some Old Chicago pizza in downtown Colorado Springs.

Goings on...

2006-07-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

I could talk about how I haven't blogged in awhile, but ... duh. Early on this week Ryan and I returned from a mad-fun trip to Colorado for Erin (sis-in-law)'s wedding and celebration of our 1st Annivesary...it was a total love weekend. Awwww.

I don't know about others, but Ryan and I have noticed that since we've been married, being at or participating in weddings is a totally different ball game; what the pastor says has a whole new meaning since we entered in to the marriage covenant just over a year ago. I really appreciated what Joe, the pastor at Erin & Steve's wedding, had to say to them during the ceremony. He really spoke to the essential and primary relationship each partner has with Christ and that because His grace is sufficient ("My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9) for each person in the marriage covenant, that His grace is also sufficient enough to sustain the covenant between the 2 people.

Even before I was married I was deeply moved by the illustration of the Church being the bride of Christ. It really is a beautiful picture and an amazing gift that people are given in marriage.

Oh, and that picture is of Erin & Steve's ring bearer and flower girl who were playing on the hill of the golf course where the rehersal dinner was held...

A Little Ridiculousness for Tuesday...

2006-06-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

This ranks real High on the "You've Got to be Kidding me Scale"
A spokesperson for Brad Pitt said today that the actor would have what was described as a "routine dental checkup" in the African nation of Namibia later this month.

The spokesperson, Carol Foyler, said that Pitt decided to have his teeth cleaned in Namibia because the Namibian government afforded the actor a higher level of security than the U.S. government was willing to offer.
"Namibia is willing to seal its borders for the entire duration of Brad's dental visit," Foyler said. "The U.S. was not."

Namibia said it was also prepared to put its military on high alert while Pitt was having his teeth cleaned and that it would enforce a no-fly zone over the dentist's office, Foyler confirmed.

please...

Tags: brad pitt, dentist, Namibia, Carol Foyler, celebrity

A Complex Fight

2006-06-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this MSNBC article about the Taliban's relentless efforts to limit and destroy educational facilities for girls through Afghanistan. Luckily the female students and school leaders are putting up a fight; they realize that educating women can give them freedom and opportunity to leave their heavily terrorized country and make changes; the very reason why the Taliban wants to shut them down. The whole situation in that country is too overwhelming for me to even fully grasp.

tags:Afghanistan , Taliban , Terrorism , Education , MSNBC , News , Women//'s Rights

Editors at People Magazine have lost their minds

2006-06-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

my favorite quote of the day:

"Forget red hot or even white hot. Taylor Hicks is gray hot."

What were the editors of People Magazine thinking when they decided to name Taylor Hicks, American Idol's latest champ, the Hottest Bachelor of 2006? I mean, seriously...

tags: Taylor Hicks , American Idol , News , People Magazine , People , Celebrities , Hottest Bachelor of 2006

Authoring

2006-06-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

So my wonderful husband just finished writing his first novel. You can read about it here. I can't wait to read it.

Healthcare for Everyone?

2006-06-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

Healthcare in the U.S. is a mess. I have heard this said a million times before, but now that I'm in the bussiness, let me say: healthcare is a mess.

Real Example of the struggle...
Last night at the board meeting of the hospital I work at, a nonprofit advocacy group crowded the board's monthly meeting to demand that healthcare be provided to all residents of of our county, regardless of citizenship. While this group was very respectful in their presentation, emotions were very high strung. The reality of the matter is that the money to treat undocumented persons has to come for some where, and many of the same members of the adovcacy group who wanted changes (even those who were more affluent) were unsure if they would be willing to pay higher taxes to foot the bill for full medical services to undocumented persons.

Over priced, inaccessaiable to a large majority (I read a stat last week that said that some 40 percent of Americans do not have health insurance), and often struggling along side the immigration issue, there are no simple answers to providing medical care - preventative medical care - to Americans.

Anyone have any thoughts on the issue?

Long time no post

2006-06-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

so...I have not posted in quite a while. I started a new job a couple of weeks ago, so most of my time has been spent acclimating myself to a new office and basically trying to learn as much as I can about my new employer so I can be a swell "public relationer."

And, truthfully, at this point my blog traffic has greatly decreased due to my lack of posting (and well, even if I did post a lot, maybe I'm kinda boring anyways).

Dr. Ferrari & Pier 1's Slow Death

2006-05-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

For the past 2-3 weeks I have been following Pier 1 Import's rapid decline in sales and stock share value. Being that Pier 1 moved their headquarters to our hometown of Fort Worth a few years back, I am especially interested to see what happens with this company. As one anaylst from forbes.com stated, "Pier 1 hit on a successful merchandising idea - with wicker furniture - but forgot to adapt its offerings to changing trends."

So as I'm reading various financial analyst's opinions on the failing wickerness of Pier 1, I decided to see if I would recognize any of the names of the big dudes who run this failing corporation...well much to my surprise, my former college chancellor was listed; none other than Dr. Ferrari from my first 2 years at TCU. Apparently Michael R. Ferrari, age 66, has been a director of Pier 1 since February 1999 and is a member of the audit committee, and
he is also the president of Ferrari and Associates LLC, a higher education consulting firm he established in May 2003 (the month he retired from TCU). Hum, wonder if he didn't have anything to do with bringing Pier 1 to Fort Worth (since he was working in FW as a university chancellor...)

Concluding Thoughts...
#1 Pier 1 said it had hired JP Morgan to help evaluate strategic alternatives and advise the company on a potential transaction to sell its credit card business, review its store portfolio and possibly sell other assets. A possible sale of the company has been the subject of market speculation for weeks.

#2 If I were an investigative journalist I would look more in to Ferrari's connection and interdealins with Pier 1.

click here for fun reading on the topic

tags:

Pier 1 , Pier 1 Imports , Financial News , Advertising , News , Fort Worth , Michael R. Ferrari

Graduation Fun!

2006-05-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend in beautiful Colorado for my sister-in-law's college graduation, YEA! We were so happy to get to celebrate with her and the family. Erin is pictured above in her stunning mustard yellow graduation gown with her super-duper fiance, Steve.

The graduation ceremony was the most entertaining graduation ceremony I have ever been to. It was short & sweet (my own graduation was way too long), Erin was getting her degree and one of the girls who graduated was named Katrina Storm ... no lie. The best speech line from the event was when the alumni representative for the university came to the mike and said, "Let me make one promise to you all: WE WILL FIND YOU!" Love it.

eBay this

2006-05-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

A group of marketers led by Julie Roehm, senior VP-marketing communications at Wal-Mart, today put out the call for advertisers to contribute $50 million for a test of an online auction system to buy and sell TV advertising.

The Big Idea
The proposal is a more contained version of a big idea that Ms. Roehm has been pushing for nearly two years. In a June 2004 Viewpoint essay in Ad Age, Ms. Roehm -- then a marketing executive at DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group -- proposed replacing the TV upfront market with a Nasdaq-like online trading system for commercials.

How It Would Work
eBay presented an online trading platform that could be used. The "Media Marketplace" home page would allow an advertiser or agency to click on a desired network, age, gender and time; see the available inventory; see the time remaining in the auction; and then enter a bid. If successful, the buyer soon would get the message: "Congratulations! You are the Winning Bidder!" The system could work in two ways: A forward auction, where buyers bid for available inventory; a reverse auction, where media sellers responded to a buyer's request for proposals for, say, 20 gross rating points for men age 18-34.

Closing Thoughts
I think the proposed solution would only increase the competitive nature of media buying. With instanteous access to advertising pricing and bidding, the pressure for advertisers to be on top of their game only increases. Overall, a great way to replace the current model that is at least 40-years old.

Humor for your Bumper

2006-05-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Thank You for Smoking; PR 101

2006-05-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a few PR lessons that can be learned from the recent film Thank You for Smoking. In this film Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor, a lobbyist/PR representative for big tabacco, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son. This film was highly entertaining and highly educational. I sat in the theater and empathsized with a man who supports a bad habit of smoking.

Lessons...
*Create an emotional connection between your company/product/position and your audience; human emotions are irrational and prompt people to act and think in ways they wouldn't normally.

*Make your negative aspects your positive attributes. At one point in the film, Nick is kidnapped and gets about 50 Nicoderm patches slapped across his body, and his body eventually goes in to nicotine shock. The doctors tell Nick that he would have died if it had not been for the fact that he was a smoker. As a smoker his body had become acclimated to nicotine. Praise the Lord for cigarettes.

*Be honest, admit your mistakes when you mess up. Nick is not a very moral man and therefore ends up having an inappropriate relationship with a reporter who is doing a story about him. He admits this and somehow he is human and his audience forgives his wrongdoings.

So I thought this was an entertaining flick with interesting characters and some PR lessons, anyone else seen this movie and have some thoughts?

Robbing Mick Jagger

2006-04-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

Mick Jagger has agreed to participate in an ABC pilot currently billed as "Let's Rob Mick Jagger." The comedy is from Rob Burnett, an executive producer of David Letterman's late-night show, and his writing partner Jon Beckerman. The two, as they were hashing out the idea, wondered if they could create a "serialized comedy" series a la "Lost" or "24."

Word on the street is the plot involves a group of would-be robbers who get the idea for their target from a TV tour of the celebrity's lavish New York penthouse. If ABC does commit to the series, Mr. Jagger has agreed to appear regularly, though not in every episode.

So What, Another TV Show?
You see, ABC is very smart. A major music celebrity has apparently committed to frequently appear in one of their television shows...sounds like great ratings...aka advertising dollars...aka preparing a new show to kick of ABC's television podcasting? And this all on the heels of NBC's Jeff Zucker announcing NBC's TV 360; every program on NBC will have a broadband component or a mobile application. The competition is getting stiffer as more platforms for broadcasting are being explored... who would have ever thought that Mick would come to the "small screen?"

Source for info: AdAge and New York Times
Tags: Mick Jagger , News , ABC , TV , Programming , Television , Rob Burnett , Let/'s Rob Mick Jagger , NBC , Jeff Zucker , TV 360 , broadband , Media , advertising

Our RandEM week/end Adventure!

2006-04-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

Miss Emily Day left the yellow brick roads of Kansas and spent about 4 days with Ryan and I this past week/end. Emily is one of my dearest friends in the world and it was so much fun and such a comfort to get to spend time with her!

The other times that Emily has been to visit me in Fort Worth have been rushed and planned around either me moving in or out of a dorm @ TCU, me graduating from TCU, or me getting married. So it was really nice that this trip had nothing else going on, so Ryan and I were able to take her around and show her some highlights of Fort Worth. The above picture is one that we took of ourselves at Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival.

The picture to the left is one that Ryan very artistically snapped of us standing just out side of the Kimball Art Museum.

The frisbee pics were taken at Oakmont Park near our casa...we're clearly preparing for a mean game of frisbee as Emily is stretching and I'm getting the game face on, and below you can see our mad skills in action!

Tags:

Fort Worth , Main Street Arts Festival , Friends , Kimball Art Museum

Update on Selling My Wedding Dress...

2006-04-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of months I have considered (and still am) selling my wedding dress. Please keep voting!!! Here are my thoughts in considering this decision...I'm clearly leaning one way right now....

Thoughts on why I would NOT sell my dress
* To have another keepsake from our wedding.

* In case our child(ren) want to see it in person.

Thoughts on why I would sell my dress
* I only wore it for 1.5 hrs. We had our reception before our ceremony, so the bulk of our wedding day I wore a simple white sundress at the reception.

* I wouldn't have to worry about storing it for the rest of my life

* EVEN IF we had a daughter, she probably wouldn't want to wear my dress at her own wedding...styles change...body shapes are different...she'll probably be really stubburn like Ryan and I and wouldn't dream of doing something like wearing her mom's wedding dress...

* While I really love the dress I wore at our wedding, it isn't the focus of our marriage or even the most significant symbol from that day or our relationship that I own.

* Someone else who might not otherwise be able to afford a dress could have the one that I wore.

* I think I might have asked my Mom once to see her wedding dress to which she replied, "Um...I think your Grandma might have it, but I'm not really sure." I said, "ok, I'd rather see the pictures anyways." and then my life went on.

Your Opinion Counts - Should I sell my dress?

2006-04-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Scientifically evaluate your rear?

2006-04-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

A team of British academics have developed a mathematical formula to determine just how perfect your posterior is. Ryan passed along this FOX News article from a couple of days ago that I can't help but post about! Can you really beat FOX News interviewing Sir Mix-Alot, who FOX News calls a said "booty expert," about what he thinks makes a nice rear??!!
"They got to be juicy, round, with a little jiggle to it," the "Baby Got Back" rapper told The Post yesterday, laughing hysterically. "The bubbliness does matter." But there's only one way to measure the most desirable derriere, he said. "You know it when you see it," he said. "We could debate this all day."

To see the mathematical formual and read the full FOX News article, click here

Tags: Fox News , Sir Mix A Lot , Fox-News , Baby Got Back , Fun News

It's all about...

2006-04-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Who do you need? Well according to this banner, the answer is yourself, "ME." (all of the colored t-shirts say "ME.") I think this is a nice commentary on the focus of society and the challenges that our culture presents to seriously going beyond the "ME."

Tags: Me Generation , Self , Life , Culture

A Flop of an Idea ...Consumer Created Chevy Tahoe Ad

2006-04-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last month I posted about General Motors Corp.’s web contest that used a technique called video mash-up to let consumers insert their own copy and create customized 30-second commercials for the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe.

The Results? Well, let's just say Chevy probably isn't considering most of the submissions. Rather than getting a creative ourpouring from consumers, Chevy has recieved a number of ads that attack the SUV as a gas-guzzler, a contributor to global warming and a war-monger. "Don't buy me," read the copy over an SUV in one commercial.

In a world of consumer-controlled content, the consumer can't be controlled. That's a lesson learned the hard way by General Motors Corp.,

Consumer driven considerations... from adage's Kris Oser
Chevy's miscue set the video-Internet world abuzz about how to protect a brand while still ensnaring consumer involvement. It's a pressing issue at a time when video mash-ups-the practice of taking content from one medium and "mashing in" content from another to create an entirely different video clip-are the darlings of the consumer-generated content craze.

What's a Mash-up?
A mash-up can include content from a TV show conjoined with home movies from a camcorder, or a video ad rearranged and rewritten by a consumer. The term mash-up was originally used to describe the DJ practice of mixing tracks from different songs to create unique tunes.

Closing Thoughts
It will be interesting to see if any other corporation opens up a "create your own" advertising contest after Chevy's mishap. I'm surprised that they didn't consider that they might recieve a plethora of critical ads...you know, given that the Tahoe is a very large SUV that does consume a lot of gas, envionrmentalists tend to be passionate and vocal...but hey, bad press is still press! The Chevy website invites consumers to join them online in the "Chevy Boardroom" on April 27 at 8 p.m., EDT, as the five finalists are announced and the Grand Prize winner is revealed. I can hardly stand the excitement.

Tags: advertising , Marketing , Media , Tahoe , chevrolet

A Little Paint on the Barn if you know what I mean...

2006-04-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

I read the most humorously pathetic quote today off of Colossiansthreesixteen.com that is from Mary Mohler, the wife of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president R. Albert Mohler, Jr.:

...Mohler tells females that they ought not even go to check the mail without first “putting a little paint on the barn” (wearing make up)...

Grandma & Grandpa

2006-04-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had the pleasure of spending the evening with Ryan's grandparents who are visiting from Colorado. We had a wonderful late afternoon and evening talking, eating and walking around our neighborhood with them. I always enjoy watching Grandma and Grandpa interact with one another. They are a very loving and encouraging Christian couple, and they remind me a lot of my mom's parents whom I love and respect very much. We really enjoyed seeing and visiting with them! Grandpa was even kind enough to offer up marraige advice as we said goodbye: "It's not 50/50. It is 110% and 110%; it is worth it to give extra to the person you love, and never go to bed angry...but I'm sure that you already know that by now." :-)

Keep Up, or Fall Way Behind...Web 2.0 etc...

2006-04-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Orkut, MyPraize, Xianz...what are all of these online sites/communities and are they "safe"? MySpace, in particular, has recently gained negative media and public attention after being linked to the immigration protests of the past weeks, weekend party violence, and inappropiate relations between adults and minors. In hopes of saving her 13 and 11 year-old daughters from the "sin" and "dangerous people" found on the likes of MySpace, my boss recently banned her 2 pre-teen/teen girls from participation in any related online community.

I am just on the fringe of the generation that is really utilizing and connecting through these various online communities. Facebook hit the secene as I was finishing up my undergrad degree at TCU , and I just never really got in to any other online forum. What is the draw to these communities and other personalized media? RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com offers up some suggestions in a recent post titled Our Own Private Paradise.

Online Communities and the Church
So in the world but not of it...MySpace or MyPraize (MyPraize was created by Joshua Holmes, student at Liberty University)...are online communities a wise choice for Believers...should Christian parents highly moniter or ban their children from them? I think these are all good questions for Believers to consider and figure out. My husband teaches high school and frequently tells me about the significant role that MySpace and Facebook play in his students social interaction. As these forums grow and their users do the same (in years that is), the significant role that online communities will continue to play in the lives of people will most likely increase, and I think that the Christian community would be missing out on understanding their culture if they were to completely ignore them.

Cheese Factor
I didn't have to spend too much time on Xianz's site to realize how much I don't like it....the banner line for Xianz... "It's not MySpace or YourSpace...It's HIS space!"

More Exellent Information about online communities
New Blogging Tool for Christians by tallskinnykiwi.com
How Your Church Can use MySpace by churchmarketingsucks.com

Tags:MySpace , Online Community , Facebook , social networking , web 2.0 , Church , Christian , xianz , MyPraize

Wahab's $218 trillion phone bill

2006-04-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

I know that I have gone over my cell phone min. before, but I have to admit that I never saw a phone bill as high as Yahaya Wahab, a Malaysian man who received a U.S. $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days. The following are a few exerpts from an the AP wire story...

Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84-ringgit (U.S. $23) bill, the New Straits Times reported. But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a 806,400,000,000,000.01-ringgit (U.S. $218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported.

It wasn't clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya's father's phone line was used illegally after his death. "If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said.

Closing thoughts...
Hopefully this is just a huge mistake and Wahab will get to laugh this off and have a good story for his grandkids...

Tags:Malaysia , Phone , news , Telekom Malaysia , Yahaya Wahab

Katie Couric is off to CBS

2006-04-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

On the 15th annivsary of Couric's start at NBC/TODAY, she announced her resignation to join CBS and become the first woman to solely anchor a network evening newscast.

You can check out the video from Couric's announcement on the Today Show by clicking Here.

In the past 13 months, Bob Schieffer has improved the CBS Evening News ratings significantly...the newscast has won 740,000 new viewers in the last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. Mr. Schieffer knew the “Evening News” assignment was temporary, and has publicly supported the quest by CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves and CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus to woo Couric to CBS News.

Only question is... Does Couric have the respect and repore to match Schieffer's in terms of viewership?

Tags: Katie Couric , today show , NBC , CBS , journalism , Media , Bob Schieffer , CBS Evening News , news

A little Bob

2006-04-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

This evening I get the opportunity to attend TCU's annual Scheiffer Symposium that is titled “The Changing Communications Landscape” and the panelists will discuss various factors affecting the ways in which news is distributed and received. Bob Schieffer will moderate the panel.

I have a lot of respect for Mr. Schieffer's journalistic integrity and his conversational approach to moderation and interviews. Tonight I am looking to hear what factors Judy Woodruff (former CNN anchor) and Jill Abramson (managing editor of The New York Times) say affect their choice of story dissemination, specifically how embedded journalism has impacted cable news (more on the part of Woodruff). I will especially be looking to hear if Abramson mentions the affects Jayson Blair's 2003 plagiarism scandals have had on editing/fact checks/story choice at The NYT.

Tonight's featured panelists: Bob Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News, interim CBS Evening News anchor and moderator of Face the Nation (TCU graduate and for whom the Schieffer School is named); Jill Abramson, managing editor of The New York Times; Larry Kramer, founder of Marketwatch.com and president of CBS Digital Media; Judy Woodruff, former anchor of CNN’s Inside Politics and correspondent for PBS’ The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; and Len Downie, executive editor of The Washington Post.

Tags: Bob Schieffer , News , journalism , TCU , Texas Christian University , CNN , New York Times , Media Bias , CBS , Jayson Blair , communication , journalists

Will Katie Couric say "Good-Bye" to NBC?

2006-04-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

Speculation is mounting this week surrounding whether or not Katie Couric, NBC's 15-year-vetern and darling host of the Today Show, will leave the network to become the host of the CBS Evening News. If Couric were to take the CBS job, she would be the first female to ever serve as the solo anchor of a flagship network.

Couric is currently finishing out her $65 million contract, under which NBC paid her more than $15 million per year, that is not up until the end of May.

Michele Greppi of Advertising Age writes:
Because Ms. Couric is the biggest star -- and collects the biggest paycheck -- in TV news, there have been months of frenzied speculation and false rumors about every angle, including whether her ambition to sleep later and become the first female anchor to solo as the top network anchor was stronger than her long friendship with Jeff Zucker, the former “Today” executive producer who now is the president of the NBC Universal Television Group.

High Stakes for NBC
NBC arguably has more at stake than CBS in the situation. NBC can’t afford to run off viewers by making the wrong choice of successor to Ms. Couric on the cushy couch next to Matt Lauer, Ms. Couric's polished co-anchor for the last nine-plus years. Neither does it want to lose any of the in-house contenders, especially the well-regarded “Weekend Today” co-anchor Campbell Brown, who might feel their career hopes have been thwarted.

CBS Risks
To be sure, much money rides on CBS’s gamble that Couric can successfully make the leap from TV best friend to TV navigator of weighty news stories.

Tags: NBC , CBS , Katie Couric , Today Show , News , Media

Opening Day 2006

2006-04-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Today is the opening day for the Texas Rangers! I am personally not a huge fan of the Rangers, per se, but I do love everything about the opening day for the baseball team of where ever I live. I grew up going to opening day of the Kansas City Royals with my family, so I guess in some ways it is a little tradition we had. And today North Texas has really beautiful weather outside and the Rangers are playing the Boston Red Sox; a great combo for an opening day!

Tags: Opening Day 2006 , Baseball , Texas Rangers , MLB

Nintendo for Baby Boomers

2006-04-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

This is taken from an article by Beth Snyder Builk from Ad Age

Nintendo’s newest video game is a workout for your brain. And baby boomers will snap it up.

At least that’s what Nintendo hopes will happen this spring with the U.S. video-game release of “Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day” in April and “Big Brain Academy” in May. Judging by booming sales in Japan and enthusiastic previews by European and U.S. reviewers, Nintendo likely won’t be disappointed -- though it does face a challenge marketing to a demographic that defines games as Monopoly and Scrabble.

Who Needs Brain Exercises?
Both the Japanese and U.S. Brain Age games are based on the work of popular Japanese neuroscientist and author Ryuta Kawashima, whose studies show that certain reading and math exercises help stimulate the brain. He and some other researchers touted by Nintendo contend mental sharpness can be strengthened with brain exercises.

How Brain Age Works
In Brain Age, players try to quickly complete exercises including simple math equations, reading aloud, drawing pictures and memorizing numbers. The game then scores the results on an age scale of 20-70 to reveal the user’s “brain age.” Big Brain Academy is similar but allows for up to eight competitors. Both are played on the Nintendo DS system, which is dual screen writeable device, and both will be priced around $20.

Closing Thoughts
Baby Boomers are approaching the retirement age, so I guess they will need something to do...why not join their grandkids on Nintendo...although, I agree that marketing a video game to a Scrabble/Monopoly/Life generation may be difficult.

Tags: Nintendo , Baby Boomers , Retirement , video game , brain exercises , Ryuta Kawashima , Marketing , technology

Make 60K or less? Harvard is free for your Kids...

2006-03-31T06:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Harvard University announced that their financial aide budget will be increased to allow students of parents who make $60,000/year or less to attend the prestigious university for free. Harvard's president, Lawrence H. Summers, said that this new policy will help diversify their student population, something that Harvard is committed to.

I think this is an excellent program instituted by Harvard. Today it costs approx. $42,000/year to attend Harvard University - a cost that is too high for most middle to upper-middle class families to afford without incurring major debt. Middle class students are hard pressed to find decent financial aide to attend any university other than in-state colleges, making more prestigeous private universities inaccessible for most. The article I read mentioned that other more expensive universities are initiating similar programs to make their education more accessible to middle class/income students, but I couldn't find a listing of those schools.

You can read more specifics about Harvard's new policy by reading today's MSNBC.com article HERE.

Tags: Harvard University , Harvard , Middle Class , Financial Aid , Education , College , news

The Husband on Strike

2006-03-30T06:37:00.000-08:00

During my morning commute I was introduced to a husband on strike. Basically a Michigan guy, James, is on "strike" because his wife has their 2 mo. old daughter sleeping in their room every night and refuses to do otherwise. James is sleeping in a tent on their roof until his wife decides to listen to his parental advice and allow them to reclaim their bedroom as a place of peace and relaxation. To read James' blog, view pictures of his tent & sign, to add to his 500+ comments he has recieved, or to sign his petition, just go click here.

James' strike began to pick up media coverage yesterday. I think that this is pretty funny and I give James mad props...I agree that a bedroom should remain a sacred place for parents.

Tags: Husband on Strike , Michigan , Husband , Parenting

Props to Shane, too!

2006-03-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted about Spice International Cafe and I failed to attribute the true person who first told me about the new FW resturant. So I just wanted to mention that my ultra cool friend, Shane, and his super wonderful wife, Sylvia, were actually the first people to go to Spice (that I know), since they ate there the day after it opened in mid-February. The above pic of Shane & Sylvia...

Shane being the first person I know to actually visit Spice International Cafe is not the only reason he is a cool guy. Shane is getting ready to kick off his new business, Secure Foods, which is a business dedicated to providing retail food service clients with the most cost effective, strategic and practical methods to protect their customers, workers, and reputation from damages. So if you are in the retail food business, you should contact Shane.

Tags: Secure Foods ,Spice International Cafe , Retail Food Service , Food Service , Fort Worth

Illegal Workers: One Very Complex Issue...

2006-03-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

Keep all illegal wokers out? Let them all in? Although many Americans have been taking a firm stance to one of those positions, this issue is just not that simple. Law enforcement, taxes, equality, economics, cheap labor, and the like work together to compound the issue of 'solving' America's illegal immigrant problem(s). Many people in my area of TX have voiced ignorant, ultra-conservative remarks, but so far, here is the most ridiculous statements I have read/heard on this issue. I pulled this from an MSNBC.com article:

[Tom] Tancredo [R-CO] may not be a household name yet, but he's doing everything he can to change that. As the House and Senate debate the nation's immigration and border-security laws, the four-term Coloradan has positioned himself as the loudest, angriest voice against the estimated 11 million illegal aliens now living in the United States. They are "a scourge that threatens the very future of our nation," he says. He laments "the cult of multiculturalism," and worries about America's becoming a "Tower of Babel."

Tancredo is claiming (more like threatening if you ask me) that if the Republican Presidential candidates of 2008 fail to make immigration a platform issue, he will make himself a presidential candiate. He doesn't think he'd win in '08 though; he declares himself "too fat, too short and too bald" to be president. This is the kind of extreme right politician the press is looking to quote, and behalf of all journalists: Thanks for your ridiculous comments, Mr. Tancredo. Your ignorance reads beautifully in print and sounds just dumb enough to make TV interesting.

I'm not claiming to be educated enough on this issue to fully expound, so I am digressing my opinions here. All I know is that this is not a simple issue for America to work through, and I am pleased with G'Dub's stance thus far. It's his second term, so he can make other Republicans a little feisty.

Immigration , border , MEXICO , Tancredo

A Stiletto Run

2006-03-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

On March 9 in Amsterdam, 'Glamour' magazine sponsored a race in which 150 women ran through the most expensive shopping area of Amsterdam -- in stiletto heels. Four thousand female contestants wearing no-less-than 2 3/4-inch stilettos competed for 10,000 euros shopping money. Wow.

Just a little Jack. . .

2006-03-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

Back in July, I bought Ryan a copy of Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams album, and I think I love it more every time we listen to it. Personally, this is my favorite album by Jack. If you want some great lyrics and tunes to hear, you should check out In Between Dreams.

Here are some of my favorite lines from a song titled Never Know

Never knowing
Shocking but we're nothing
We're just moments
We're Clever but we're clueless
We're just human
Amusing but confusing
Helping, we're building
And we're growing
Never Know

Jack is pictured above at a photo shoot for the movie Curious George (he did the soundtrack); I mean, how cool is that. . .

Just for the Germ Freaks

2006-03-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

When it comes to all of my home linens, I admit that I have germ issues . I am very particular about the clenliness of all towels and bedding, so I thought this new washer sounded pretty cool!

I found this on engadget.com. . .

If you've been waiting for a chance to use the power of silver to sterilize your laundry in cold water (and we know you have), Samsung has your number. The company will be bringing its SilverCare washer to the US this month, at a price of about $1,399. The washer uses silver ions to sterilize laundry, and Samsung claims that it kills 99.9% of bacteria on clothing. Once this catches on, we suspect Samsung will spring an even more upscale version on us, which will use gold or platinum to wipe out the other 0.1% of bacteria, and impart a metallic sheen to our clothes in the process.