The Economist is one of those magazines that I rarely read, but, when I do, I wish I read it more often. I picked up one at LaGuardia last week for the plane trip home and it was great. My favorite article, In Praise of Clutter is a must-read for you born organized annoying people out there with clean desks (my dh being one of them). The most telling quote as to "why" some of us collect paper clutter - : Knowledge workers use information to change themselves. Thus, it's hard for knowledge workers to put their paper away until it's been digested. So, don't mess with my piles and leave me alone!
1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year? No one thing. These days, wise parenting and spiritual growth are my main goals and biggest accomplishments.
2. What was your biggest disappointment? Buying the house we're in now. It's been a disaster and a move we should not have made. We're cutting our losses asnd selling, but we should never had done it in the first place.
3. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? No.
4. Where will you be at midnight? Do you wish you could be somewhere else? Asleep! That's what happens when you have young children and all of your friends have young children. I'm perfectly happy to be snug in my warm bed with my dear spouse.
5. Aside from (possibly) staying up late, do you have any other New Year's traditions? I've never been a big New Year's fan. When I was younger, I made a lot of the typical resolutions. Now, I just say a prayer of thanks for life, family and peace. Boring, but blessed.
1. Do not take a 3-year old & a 5-year old to New York City. Just don't do it.
2. Do not take your sixty-year old father, either.
3. Do not go to NYC anytime near Christmas Day.
4. Do not stay in Times Square. Yes, it's clean. No, don't stay there.
5. Overtip the cabbies. They will love you.
6. Bring a hat in the winter. Even if you hate them, you will want one.
7. Don't try to mail anything at LaGuardia. They have removed every mailbox on the premises because of the anthrax scare.
8. Smile. A lot. It pleasantly surprises everyone.
9. Brace yourself for Ground Zero. Regardless of what everyone says since it's cleaned up, it is still a sobering sight. As it should be.
10. Love NY for what it is - loud, crowded, exciting, exhausting, stimulating, thrilling. I think it's the greatest city and I love it. Thanks for the visit!
Greetings! I know all two of you (hi mom!) who read me are thrilled that I'm back. My dad has been grumbling for years that terrorists have taken over the neighborhood. Dearest parental units live about a mile or so from one of the largest mosques in the country. Well, dad apparently was right. Ashcroft's big Hamas bust was just down the street from their home. It is indeed a small, small world.
I'm channeling Martin Luther. Who Knew?
| "Sin is incurable by the strength of man, nor does free will have any validity here, so that even the saints say: 'The evil which I do not wish, this I do.' 'You are not doing the things which you wish.' 'Since my loins are filled with illusions,' etc." |
| You are Martin Luther! Yeah, you have a way of letting everyone know how you feel, usually with Bible quotes attached, and will think your way through the issues, although sometimes you make no sense! You aren't always sure of yourself, and you can change your mind about things, something you actually consider a strength. You can take solitude, especially with some music. |
My name is Debbie Eberts and I'm a thirtysomething SAHM with two sons, 3 and 6. I have a law degree from Southern Methodist University ('92) and spent five years in Dallas as a litigator, most recently for the Dallas office of Jones Day Reavis & Pogue (a firm that I *love*).
I am your basic right-wing, evangelical Christian nightmare. I believe in God. I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins.
I vote Republican (contrary to some in the GOP, however, I am not interested in a theocracy). I am not a feminist, although I'll be the first to admit that I rode their coattails straight to law school. I love my country.
My better half is an obstetrician/gynecologist and because practicing medicine in Texas is a nightmare we loaded up the truck & moved north in 1997. First stop, Hibbing, MN. That did not last long. Next stop and home for now, Neenah, Wisconsin.
Where is Neenah you ask? On the edge of Lake Winnebago (yes, the RV's namesake) between Green Bay & Milwaukee.
What is interesting in Neenah you ask next? Well, look at a manhole cover next time you're out-and-about and it will likely say Neenah Foundry - Neenah, WI. Also, Kimberly-Clark was founded here, although the executives moved headquarters to Dallas several years ago (and I'm sure their decision had nothing to do with better golf weather and no state income tax in Texas - but I digress). And, last but not least, Neenah is a hotbed of transexual sex change operations. I am not making this up, as Dave Barry would say. One of the (ahem) pre-eminent sex change plastic surgeons (warning: adult content) is right here in lovely Neenah, Wisconsin. Who knew?
Why am I here? I love the internet. I am opinionated. I like to write. I have actually been blogging since February 2002, but the learning curve has been steep for me so it's taken me this long to figure out most of the basics. In the meantime, I have been and continue to be inspired by Instapundit, Lileks, not martha, Listen Missy, Rachel Lucas and Mitch Berg, among others. So, why not?
What's with the wierd name? Well, whilst in Hibbing one of my friends and I desperately wanted to open a decent coffee shop and I wanted to call it Lone Star Coffee Bar because I was so homesick for Texas. A small one downtown was for sale and we planned to buy it and bring some civilization to Hibbing. Instead my husband and I moved to Wisconsin. But I still think longingly of opening a little coffee shop called the Lone Star Coffee Bar. This is true in spite of the fact that I hate coffee. But Lone Star "Diet-Coke-with-Extra-Ice" Bar just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Enjoy.
Steve Chapman makes the usual good arguments about why the twenty-one-year old drinking age is a Good Thing.
I'd like to make another suggestion, however. I think the voting age should be raised to 21. Seriously, if our society doesn't think you are responsible enough to handle alcohol at age eighteen, maybe you are not responsible enough to vote. Voting is serious business. More voters is not better. Informed, responsible and mature voters are better.
The only exceptions I woud allow would be for men and women in the armed forces. For them I would allow drinking and voting upon entry in the military. If you can carry a gun and defend our freedom, you can vote and drink, although preferably not at the same time.
Green Bay Packer fans are nuts. There is nothing on this earth that would compel me to sit in six degree weather for three-plus hours.
I am honored to be one of the cozy one million people who received a Christmas card from the Bushes. I would fall into the "supporters" category. Clinton only sent out 400,000 cards his last Christmas - that surprises me from the man who felt your pain.
Let's see - teaching abstinence is working here, and shockingly, here. But it's still taboo. I believe this quote tells us why -
AIDS activists aren't picketing international organizations, demanding that they spread the Uganda model, because they have a blind spot. For them, urging people not to have sex almost constitutes a human-rights violation..
What's up with that?
I am so bummed that Suzie Terrell lost in Louisiana. I think I'm turning into one of the political idealogues that must have Complete and Total Domination of all Opposing Voices. Someone please stop me.