Inside the kingdom : my life in Saudi Arabia– Bin Laden, Carmen

She brings the solitude, the oppression and the stark reality of life in a deeply religious country to light. The problems she went thru are told in detail with little to no embellishment. A very good read

Woot!

I just got invited to be "THE" city blogger for Omaha on this site:

http://hotelsbycity.net/blog/

I am so excited!

Tragic Loss (not just for the Patriots..)

But for New Orleans as well.

Marquise Hill drowned on Lake Ponchartrain Sunday night. He was a defensive end for the New England Patriots, but he was much more than that.

He spent most of his time and money helping to rebuild his hometown of New Orleans, LA. Even in his last moments, he was helping to calm the woman he was with "I spoke with the girl and her mother this morning and they said he helped her stay calm. He ended up saving her life, keeping her calm until she could grab onto a buoy," said Elias , who added that Hill can swim, but was not wearing a life preserver." ( Link to quote)

Link to Boston Globe Story

Migraine (or alternately, How I spent my Memorial Day)

First came the tensing of the muscles in the neck and the craving for sleep:

Then cames the tingling of my fingers, and my vision started to get blurry.

Then BAM! The pain. The skull splitting pain. The throbbing, never ending pain, and the pain brought with it, nausea, light sensitivity, sweating, and a stuffy nose.

Then thankfully, mercifully, it was over. I could sleep. I could move with out throwing up. I could sit up with out my skull falling apart in my hands.

And that is how I spent the later half of my memorial day. How about you?

And today, I get to deal with the residual lethargy, small headache and the vestiges of the nausea. Yay for me.

Hardcore diaries –Foley, Mick

.I’ve read Mick Foley before (Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks ) and I must say that he has really grown as a writer. He makes it easier to read and follow this time around. I actually learned a few things this time: 1. He has written actual novels! 2. He spends quite a bit of tiem with Make a Wish foundation and various other childrens foundations. I will be looking up his other novels to check them out

Born on a blue day : the gift of an extraordinary mind– Tammet, Daniel

Utterly amazing. The ability that Daniel has to let the reader inside his mind, to show how he thinks is amazing. I never fully realized how an Autistic thinks or feels and he brought that to life for me

Memorial Day

"Many have walked a path, a jagged road
Leading to tears of peace entwined with fears.
These times were not their chosen ways,
But soldiers took their stand.
The breezes of war, kiss their brow
Made the young old before their time
...and others ageless from the sound of reapers in the field.They lived in a time of unfamiliar boundaries
Life made up of loyalty to our country and forced survival.
Preserving independence, rights and liberties
Freedom redeemed at countless costs
Common men and women performing uncommon acts of valor
Leaving behind all they have ever known
...Family, friends, jobs and mother-land.

Masses went, to fight upon foreign soils
Their faces have been forgotten,
But the wounds, the pains and the cries remain.
Tired eyes mourning from within, looking out at
Blood covered promises and sorrow worn victories.
Searching for, yet not wanting to find,
...Buddies that have fallen, the victims of war.

Pride in serving, the pain in remembering
Colors of the crimson soaked sod and blurred visions of the mind.
How thankful we should be, we should sing the tune of memories
Of forgotten heros standing at past history's door
They went and came home, many returned in part...
Let us remember those who returned in lifeless form
...and never stop looking for those labeled M.I.A. and P.O.W.

Memorial Day, a time to pay tribute for the ultimate sacrifice.
Celebrate with your picnics, beach outings and reunions,
But teach your children about the sacrifices made,
Pride in the United States and the courage of the past.
Men and women, no matter how large or small the part,
Left their all behind, footprints of war imprinted in the annals of time.
Let us give them bitter-sweet honor of a hero-respect
...and a heartrending thanks.

by Colleen Reddaway Cook [Copyright, May 1997]

Happy Memorial Day. Enjoy the day off, spend time with family, but never ever forget those that made this day possible.

-B

Adoption:

I just found out the my cousin and his wife are adopting.

I honestly don't think there are words that adequately say how proud I am of them. There are so many children in this world, who are with out hope, with out family and with out a future. My cousin and his wife are making a choice to stand up for one of those kids and say, "I chose you, I want to give you a home, a family and a future".

The excitement that can be felt when reading thier blog, is palpable, and makes my heart sing. This is a couple who has tried for many years to have children and now they are turning that passion into adopting and finding a child. This won't be just any child, this child is coming in to a family full of love, a family full of hope and a family that has been waiting so so long for a child to love.

"I haven't met you yet or seen your face,
but in my heart you hold a place.
My hopes grow with each passing day,
even though you're miles away"

I can't wait to meet you, my newest little cousin. Your future parents await you with so much love, so much hope. You are an extremely lucky child to enter into our family. This whole family, and all the people in it, are the most loving, caring people you could ever hope to find. You will be spoiled beyond belief, loved beyond imagination, and cherished beyoned reason.

P & M, I applaud you. You are heroes.

--B

What the dead know –Lippman, Laura

I can’t see why the “critical praise” on the cover called her such a great criminal writer. I had the “mystery” figured out about 1/3 of the way in, and the meandering, slow way she took to reveal and then very quickly finish up was mind numbing

Bad kitty –Jaffe, Michele

funny–more of a YA though, kinda chick-lit-ish with “Footnote asides from different characters in the story”, left itself open for a series type following, Jaffe isn’t a bad writer, just now quite there yet and still needs a bunch of work )

Dear man that sits in the cube next to me and your multitude of friends.

--Perhaps you have heard of something called cube-etiquette? It's where you DON'T annoy the people around you with stupid non-work related conversations in loud obnoxious voices. You may want to read up on it, because seriously I couldn't care less about your golf score or where you are taking your "chick" tonight, and btw, you are the one man that doesn't look good in pink, congratulations.

--Also, whatever game you're playing over there, with the beep-blip-boop sounds--cut it out or turn it the hell down , or I will cut the damn power to your cube.

Bad bridesmaid : bachelorette brawls and taffeta tantrums : tales from the front lines– Agrell, Siri.

(I thought it was gonna be funny, read more like an article than a book.Wouldn’t recommend it to anyone)

“The astonishing adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl –Lyga, Barry

. (YA, dark, but not overly Gothy, had a bland and un-surprising finish, but it fit the story well for the most part. Left himself open to writing a follow-up. Would have liked to see pictures of the comic *kinda like Jodi Picoult did in her “Tenth Circle“, it might have made it seem more real. Lyga may need to work on his character development a tad, *SPOILER* as one of the characters goes nuts with little to no warning, and seemingly no reason–)

Weight Loss Page

I started thinking about this , and I guess the epiphany moment for me was that "weight-loss" itself can not, IS not, my "WHY."

My "why" has to be more tied into what I want out of life, my longterm dreams, my goals, my aspirations in life. How can I possibly get excited, how can I possibly dedicate myself to something that I have not linked to the more important things I want out of life. Yeah, I want to fit into smaller jeans, but c'mon, when I lay back on my deathbed and think of the important things in life, am I really going to reflect back to the day I finally fit into a pair of skinny jeans? Maybe, but probably not.
I realized that my "WHY" are my larger life goals, the things I want, my dreams, and that weightloss is merely one tiny step, one tiny part of that "why." A healthy lifestyle is merely a tool that will allow me to live longer and pursue the kind of active lifestyle I want. And I guess what I am saying is that somewhere along this journey I lost that perspective, and a little bit of myself, as well. I did ultimately come to view myself as a number on the scale and that was a measurement of success/failure that I clung too. And it was for that number that I worked the various programs, with the goal being to get skinny. And of course, I had other reasons "to improve my heath" and to feel better, but I completely lost what that meant or why it was important. Simply losing became the goal and, honestly, a shallow, unsustainable, and hollow one. No wonder I burnt out, no wonder I can't find dedication. If someone at the end of my life asked, "and what did you do with your life?" and my answer was "I lost a lot of weight," that would be really, really sad. And of course, not true, because I was a good mother, a good friend, a good wife, a caring person, but in terms of the goals that I set for myself and carried out, if losing was my only goal, I would not be satisfied, because losing weight in and of itself is simply not enough of a "why."

Getting skinny is not going to take me to my goals and dreams, but it is a step towards them, not something I am simply doing for getting skinny's sake. At the same time, that being said, there are a lot of other steps/transformations that I need to be doing at the same time I am working my towards my weightloss goals. My weightloss is not my lifelong dream, it is a step towards the kind of life I want, but that life is not going to be magically waiting there for me once I hit goal. Larger dissatisfactions are not just going to melt away cause I am skinny. Shaky relationships are not going to miraculously improve just cause I got skinny. My self esteem is not going to magically improve because I am skinny (it may improve some, but so far, it hasn't). It just isn't.

So, I have decided to go about this weightloss thing from a slightly different angle, not as a goal in and of itself, but as a step towards the larger things I want out of life.

My "WHY" is ultimately to be able to live the kind of life that I want to lead. I want to lead an active, fit lifestyle so that I don't ever feel my age. I want to be spared the kind of health problems my mom has. I want to be happy and proud of myself.

Anyway, I am not sure that this makes sense to anyone outside my head. But I wanted to write it down for myself and share it...

A letter to my younger self...

Dear 17 year old me,

You don't even know yourself yet. You think you know and you want to say that you do, now that you're a certain age, but you don't really and you won't for a very long time.

What's in front of you is a whole world of things, people and places that you’ve never even imagined. Put yourself and your dreams first now, because it’s hard to learn how to do it 10 years down the road. Trust me --that 4 years in the military is looking scary right now, but you will love it, you will meet some of the best friends that you will ever have, and learn that no matter how tough something seems (BOOT CAMP!) you can do it, and do it wonderfully. Please try to apply this knowledge in to keeping yourself in shape…because 10 years down the road, you won’t have the energy or the inclination to do anything about your ever expanding waistline. I encourage you to go to school and get your degree, because if you don’t do it while you are in the military, you will have to wait a very long time before you can ever start it back up, and by then, you won’t even know what you want to be or do anymore.

Everything you do, every thought you have, every word you say creates a memory that you will hold in your body. Now is the time to change the negative thoughts you have of yourself, and know that you are a strong, beautiful and wise woman. If you don’t change them now, you will be dealing with them 10 years from now, and they are very hard to get rid of once they are that ingrained.

Oh, and that guy that you meet at Tech School..the geeky looking one? Be nice to him, he's a keeper.

With best wishes

--you

Do you know what it's like?

Do you know what it's like to lie in bed alone, knowing that you are downstairs but still so unreachable?

Do you know what it's like to lie here and wonder if you' d rather be there, than here with me?

Do you know what it's like to ache for a touch, a hug, a pat or something?

Do you know what it's like to wonder if you really do care, like you say you do?

I know.

Friends

Recently, I have been able to get back into contact with a decent number of friends from my years in the military. It always amazes me how quickly military friends are able to pick up right where they left off, like the years in between talking/writing never happened.

So, "hi" again to all of you. I've missed you. Lets try not to let it drop again, k?

-B

20 questions, 20 Photographic answers:

It's simple, take 20 questions and answer them by taking a photograph. Photographic interviews have been completed by many online journalists in the past, but it's time to get the biggest photographic interview started!Tell your friends, tell strangers - it's time to get to know everyone through images instead of words. one. who am i?

two. who knows me best? My husband

three. how old am i? (or how old do i feel?)

four. the most important thing in my life is _My Family

five. i always carry Lip Gloss

six. something i always do: read

seven. i'm at my happiest when Goofing with him

eight. on a monday morning, you can find me Working

nine. my favourite mode of transport

ten. my eyes are

eleven. my favourite material posession : My books

twelve. to relax, i like to : Sleep!!

thirteen. the town i live in is : The big O! Omaha!~

fourteen. my worst habit

fifteen. my guilty pleasure

sixteen. when i look at someone, the first thing i see is

seventeen. i think is beautiful

eighteen. one thing i can live without

nineteen. one thing people don't know about me

twenty. my life is :

Sephora comes to Papillion!

I <3 Sephora.com (http://www.sephora.com) so you can just imagine my excitement when I found out that the new mall at Shadow Lake (http://www.shadowlakeshopping.com/) features a JC Penny with a Sephora "store' inside!

I took the opportunity to head out there last week and I wasn't disappointed! I was able to pick up my new favorite Stila perfume Jade Blossom: (http://www.stilacosmetics.com/shop/product/281) and a new "convertible color" in the gerbera shade (http://www.stilacosmetics.com/shop/product/207).

While I was out there, I noticed a new "casual dining" place: Tropical Smoothies--(http://www.tropicalsmoothie.com/). They feature an extensive menu of smoothies and some really great looking wraps and sandwiches. Can't wait to give them a try!

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Happy 28 years to you. Congratulations on not being that much of an "old fart", yet.

I can't wait to see you grow older, and 'wiser' , though I am not sure how you will accomplish the wiser part, as you are already the smartest person I know... I can't wait to see you with gray in your hair, and wrinkles on your face. I want to see you balding, seriously. You look so much like your father already, that I can't wait to see you at his age.

You've grown so much since we met. You used to look like a boy, skinny and bony. Now, you are all man and it makes my heart race to see you engaged in physical activty and sweaty. Yummy!

So here's to many many more, and all that stuff. I love you.

--me

Ow!

HURT LIKE HELL!!!

I woke up Friday morning with really blurred vision, and thought that it was just my contacts, soI changed them and went to work. Once I got there, my eyes started burning badly and I couldn't open my right eye very much or see out of it at all. I went to the doc and he said I burned it somehow. The only thing I can think of is the nail polish remover that I was using Thursday night some how got on my contacts and that the sunlight exacerbated it. Anyway, I am in glasses until Monday, at least and maybe longer. My right eye is dialated and I have 4 different eye drops to put in it every hour.

So long story short, even if you know you washed your hands after using polish remover, wash again and again.

Sad...

I really wanted to do this (http://fullfiguredfashionista.wordpress.com/2007/05/01/hmmmm), but the truth of it is, it was for a "full-figured spank" magazine. They attempted to lure me in with the "Bridal" aspect (and what girl doesn't like to dress up as a bride??) and then turned it around to where they only needed the full figured gals to do the "lingerie" section. I don't mind lingerie, I like it even...but when the "photographer" wouldn't answer my question as to the name of the magazine, and refused to show me his portfolio, I knew it wasn't meant to be. Oh well...

I did enter the Curvology Challenge though, ( http://www.curvologychallenge.com)...this was my submission (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7993988@N02/sets/72157600164744903/).

Freeze Tag!

Mo over at “Inside Mo’s Mind” (http://mosmind.blogspot.com) has tagged me for Chinese Freeze Tag, and so I'm to post 10 interesting things about myself that you may not know.

1. I am constantly on the lookout for /purchasing new shoes/purses, but I don’t really wear more than my favorite 2 or 3 pair. Weird, I know.

2. My father played basketball with a very young Shaq, I remember watching them (My father, Shaq and his step-father...I believe it was). He was a brat then.

3. I can tie a knot in a cherry stem….

4. While attending school I studied German for 4 years, and almost went to a German
University.

5. I can read the entire novel “Gone with the Wind” in one day.

6. When I was in the 7th grade, I was actually in advanced girl’s choir

7. Like Mo, that last one is interesting because apparently I am tone-deaf (according to my husband anyway)

8. I have a huge girl-crush on Angelina Jolie.

9. I can not grow a plant. Seriously. I can kill grass.

10. I am addicted to World of Warcraft, yet I suck at it. I am a nubsauce.

Ok, now you know 10 things about me, that you probably wish you didn’t. Tag, you’re it! Now, you have to post 10 interesting things about you, and then tag 5 more people.

Kat @ Kats Kitchen Talk; Perry @ Something Witty; The Trendsetter @ The Trendsetter; Kris @Not a girl, yet not a wino; Cerlise @ Whispered like Prayers; Patti @ Childbearing Hipster.

Pass the love, people!

Glasses

I was talking to a friend a few days ago about eyeglasses, and what types of frames she should get. She was trying to disguise the fact that she was actually wearing glasses. I am the complete opposite, when I am wearing my glasses, I want people to know! Girls with glasses are hot!

I just picked these out today, and should have them in a week.

I love love love me some thick frames, why hide? This is what I wear normally:

Gotta love the girl geeks!

Tortellini Bolognese

I have learned that if I want my kids to try new things, those new things must be in the form of a pasta and have some sort of red meat sauce on them...makes it easy, no?

I found this recipe on the back of a bag of frozen tortellini:

1 pkg frozen Rosetto tortellini (any filling--I used cheese)

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic (minced)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1/4 cup chicken broth or red wine (I used the chicken broth)

1/4 tsp. Basil

1/4 tsp. Oregano or thyme (I actually did 1/8 tsp of each)

Prepare pasta as directed on package.
Meanwhile--for sauce, place oil in pan, heat. Add beef and brown. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until soft. Mix in remaining ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste. (It didn't need either, in my opinion)

Serve over prepared pasta.

I added a sprinkle of italian seasonings to the top and served with crusty sourdough rolls (also from the freezer section)

Yummy!

Looking for suggestions

I am looking for a cute open toe/peep toe flat for work, in either a brown, black or navy. Nothing too fancy. Any ideas?

ETA: I love these

But I am not sure if I can pull off an animal print.

ETA (again)...these are also really cute for not being a flat:

Old Navy pulling Plus size line from brick and mortar stores:

"Dear oldnavy.com Customer,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding our Women's Plus line. After much
evaluation, and as difficult a decision as it was, we will be removing
the Women's Plus line from all of our Old Navy stores. Please accept
our sincere apologies for any disappointment this may cause you.

While we will no longer carry Women's Plus in any of our stores, the
complete line is available on our website at oldnavy.com. You can place
an order on the web or by calling 1-800-OLD-NAVY, option one. Our
online representatives are available 24 hours a day to assist you with
questions or order placement.

We hope this information is helpful and look forward to shopping with
you soon.

Sincerely,

Customer Service Consultant"

Seriously, wtf? This sucks. How are plus size women going to determine if a particular old navy clothing item fits them, with out having to buy it first? While I love shopping online, I love being able to go into a store and actually feeling the fabrics, testing the fit with out actually buying the item, just to have to return it if it doesn't fit. TPTB at GAP (parent company) apparently think that this will help boost on-line sales for the plus-size line . Well duh, if you take away other options for your customers and only give them one avenue to purchase the correct size, of course that avenue's sales are gonna rise. It's common sense. I wonder how many customers that Old Navy will lose, with the people who don't shop online (are there still people that don't?) and those of us who won't buy something with out trying it on first...Will be interesting to watch.

Artwords topic "Botany"

or

Dear Lady,

Dear lady who sits over 50 feet from me but who talks so loudly that I can hear you over my headphone with Evanescense at full volume:

SHUT UP! Seriously. I am happy that you went out Saturday night, but I DO NOT WANT the details. I don't care how hot you looked (doubtful, by the way), or how much you had to drink, or even how bad your hang over was. TRUST ME!

Also, the Fran Drescher as "The Nanny" giggle...it's so 1995. Stop.Doing.It.

Thank you,

Fashionista

Rigatoni Pasta with a White Clam Sauce

****

Cook rigatoni until al dente (or however you like your pasta), drain.

Pour white clam sauce over pasta and stir to mix.

Serve and enjoy!

****

WHITE CLAM SAUCE

1/4 cup pure olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cup clam juice
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cups minced clams (fresh or canned)
1 doz. fresh clams

In frying pan brown garlic in oil for one minute over moderate heat. Add clam juice and bring to boil. Add parsley, salt, pepper, minced clams and heat through.

Hmmmm......

"We will need you to bring: a two piece swimsuit or panties and bra, and a teddy or one piece swimsuit."

This is an email I got in addition to the Bridal Catalog test shoot invitation. While the shoot itself sounds fabulous, (paid trip to KC or Chicago, hotel and food), I am a little leery of a "Bridal" magazine asking me to bring this stuff. Why would I need to do that? I thought the shoot was for gowns. Now I am not so sure I want to participate.

Awesome new shoes...

Just picked up these American Eagle Skull Skimmers from Payless. OMG, they are so comfortable. I wish I could wear them to work :(.