Thursday, February 28, 2008

Follow up on the Chevron story

I complained to Chevron and they handled my complaint and they are sending me a $20 gift card. They owe me $12 that I lost on the two trips that their car wash didn't work so they're really only giving me $8 for being rude to me and causing me mental anguish!

Greener Grass Design

I bumped into an old friend from high school not too long ago and she told me that she and another friend from high school started this online store, Grenner Grass Design. I gave this friend my business card and told her to ask Cindy to write me. I forgot the name of their business, but then the other day Cindy e-mailed me and sent me the address.

It is such a cool store!! It reminded me a lot of Red Envelope. I havethis really cool necklace from there. I love it! It has an aquamarine for my daughter and a white saphire for my son.

Anyway, check out Greener Grass Design. I love these earrings! And these rings!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I'm Official Now

The editor of skirt! Houston sent out a lovely introduction today via e-mail.

I wish you could see the whole thing with the pretty background art. But here is part of what she said. Check it out!!

"On that note, there is a new writer joining me on the skirt! blogging front!

Please welcome Shoegirl1970's! Loida Casares Ruiz grew up in Northeast Houston, has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, a Masters in Communication, has written a novel, appeared on Radio Pacifica, published short stories for The Houston Institute for Culture and has read her work at the local literary group, Nuestra Palabra; Latinos Having Their Say. Not to mention, she balances all of this with a full time career and her role as a wife and mother.

Ruiz draws upon her family's history and experiences in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and in Houston. Her compelling narratives capture the tradition of oral history through the types of accounts and yarns that are passed down to generations. She focuses on ways people relate, and on moments of epiphany. ~ The Houston Institute for Culture
So, while you are signing up for that new skirt! account, drop a line to welcome Shoegirl1970's!"

All My Best,
Dusty Gilbert Editor
skirt! Magazine

Isn't that the sweetest introduction??? Awww.. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Kisses!!

Can I Really Cook?

To find out the answer check out my blog on skirt! By the way, Rey's red beans and rice were fabulous, in case you wanted to know.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Recent Cute Finds

Super Cute Avon bag I got free for ordering this package of goodies. I went with the cool shades because I wanted the Eggplant eyeliner. I can't remember if it said that the bag was a make-up bag or a regular purse. I'm going to use it as a purse this Spring. Too cute! My step-daughter is selling Avon now and I ordered it from her. I added her to my links on my page here. She has a website and even though she’s in Louisiana, I can order from her and it will ship to me, and she gets the credit. Talk about a win-win situation!
I also want to buy this gorgeous Mark bag, also from Avon. I can’t decide between the beige and the white one because I already have a beige purse, but I don’t own any off white shoes this shade. Decisions, decisions!!



Super Cute Fortune Cookie Soaps from Bath Junkie on West Grey. I bought six in six different scents. They came complete with a Chinese food box and chopsticks!

Not So Overwhelmed Now

Okay, I'm better now. I got over that overwhelmed feeling and just did what I could. I still need to do laundry today, but at least I feel better than I did yesterday.

Besides, it's a beautiful day in Houston today! The weather is perfect and the kids are outside playing and enjoying this beautiful day. That makes me feel better. I felt like I kept them cooped up in the house all day yesterday and I felt a little guilty about that. They are out there playing with my girlfriend’s little girls right now. Their aunt, also my friend, dropped them off to play so they could go to the grocery store.

Today I feel calmer and I will do what I can with the laundry and I need to clean my floors too. If there's more time I will do more. If there isn't, I'm not going to stress either.

We're going to my cousin's baby shower later, so that's why I will do what I can between now and the time the kids need to have baths to get dressed. They deserve to go to a little party to see their cousins and to dance, after staying inside all day yesterday.

The amazing thing about doing all this work in the house is that tomorrow I have to go to work and I have to work there too. Granted, it’s a different kind of work, but it’s work none-the-less.

I hope my husband isn’t too exhausted when he comes home. He’s been volunteering all weekend with the roofing of our kingdom hall. He came home exhausted yesterday and his lower back was killing him. But he also felt really good to be a part of a project like this one. That’s the thing about volunteering. No matter how tired it makes you, you are also filled with a great feeling about your work, and that makes it well worth it.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

That Overwhelmed Feeling

When I look at each room in my house the overwhelming feeling of not knowing where to start is enough to make me want to run and hide... or run and blog.

I've been working on cleaning my house since around 1 p.m. and it is now 8:30 p.m. Folding my kids clothes alone took me close to 2 hours. I know because I watched a whole movie in that time. I stopped in between and wrote a blog entry here. I've also had to stop to make lunch and dinner, but I've pretty much kept it up all afternoon and evening. I just finished the dishes, but I have to go back and finish the silverware.

I really miss my cleaning lady! But that's the price you pay when you're in sales and you're paid monthly bonuses. On those months that you don't get a bonus you have to do without the "wants" and you have to focus on the "needs." I'm there this month. Thank goodness I also have a salary and I don't work on 100% commission.

I hate that overwhelmed feeling and when I get it I think that the money I pay someone to help me out once a week is well worth it.

My son just took an old cereal box and turned it upside down and poured out the last few crumbs on the floor. Argghhhh!!! I'm about to lose it! Excuse me while I go pour myself a drink!

Did you notice my cool skirt! logo at the bottom of this page? It takes you to the National page and then you click over to Houston for my other blog.

Crazy Kids

We got home Thursday night and my daughter took the keys from me and then ran ahead of my son and I to open the door. As she ran into the foyer that divides the back door from the garage I heard her yell out in pain. She had tripped and fallen at the foot of the steps. My son and I were behind her so we came upon her crying and clutching her leg. My husband was standing at the open doorway asking her what happened.

"I tripped and fell!" she cried.

My son looked at her, as he stepped over her, and said, "I don't fall down! I have magnets on my shoes."

Kids! They are so amazingly smart and so amazingly funny all at the same time. They crack me up! Never a dull moment, that's for sure.

I've been very diligent on the skirt! blog and I've been pretty happy with my last few posts. I have been sticking to a family theme a lot. I need to branch out and talk about some of the other things I'm passionate about, like city life and art, among other subjects. It's kind of strange because sometimes the link doesn't work and I can't link to websites. I don't know why. I need to ask the editor or the web master.

Come by and visit and leave me comments. The pages visited the most or commented on the most show up on the front page.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Love This Edna St. Vincent Millay Quote

My candle burns at both ends;It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--It gives a lovely light!- Edna St. Vincent Millay

Changes on skirt! web site

Of course right after I blogged about visiting me at skirt! they changed the web format a little. Now you have to go to the Houston skirt! and when you get there you will have to click again on the Houston skirt! logo on the top bar and you'll see a drop down menu. Local Blogs are in that drop down menu. Or I'll try to keep the links on here current with the blog there.

Come by and visit! Log on, it's easy to create an account! And leave me a comment!

Monday, February 18, 2008

Don't Forget

Don't forget to go by skirt! to visit there too. You'll recognize me in the line up.

IF it takes you to the national skirt! site go to the drop down menu and choose Houston. You'll see all of the other 17 cities where there's a skirt! magazine. When you go to the Houston page you'll see a menu to the left and you'll see "Local skirt! blogs."

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Blog Thoughts

I've been thinking about what I'm going to blog about on my skirt! blog and it got me to thinking. I don't know that I'd be comforable blogging about some of the things I talk about on this blog. As crazy as it sounds I feel like I can talk about more "personal" things here. And by personal, I don't necessarily mean private.

I just don't think that the readers of skirt! will care too much about some of the more mundane things that I do each week. I feel like the blog entries there should be more I don't know... interesting in a different way. But not as personal. Here, friends read, and they like to keep up with me this way. On skirt! I feel like I'll have to follow more of a theme.

Now the question is, do I have the energy to keep up both?

Friday, February 15, 2008

Check out my second post!

Updated 8/7/18

More than 10 years later I'm insanely curious as to why people come to this blog post so much. It's my second highest read post after Nike Quotes. The only guess I have is that the label I attached was "skirt magazine." YTD since I started using Google Analytics I now have 13,968 views to this page. Stay a while! Read my other latest posts and follow me on Twitter. Shoegirl1970

Updated on 10/14/17, almost 9 years later.

I find it so interesting that I have so many visits to this post. According to Google Analytics, I have had 4,658 page views in the history of the blog and 53 so far this month.  Why? It's such a short little paragraph referring readers to a blog entry from skirt! magazine that doesn't even exist any more.

They used to have a blogging community of mostly women but they did away with it and took down all our blogs. It would have been nice if they had at least archived them for us somewhere.

The funny this is I don't even remember the blog I'm referencing here. It must not have been a very memorable one. But what key words do people search for that takes them to this blog entry? And how am I about to skew those numbers by adding this updated introduction?

If people continue coming in through this page please stay and read some of my updated material.

Original Post from 12/15/08

Today when I read over my first blog entry on houston.skirt.com/blog I thought it sounded kinda stiff and formal. I posted my second blog entry today. I hope I sound a little more relaxed! Check it out and tell me what you think.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Shoegirl Corner is Moving!

Hello All! I am very excited to report that Shoegirl Corner has a new home. I have been invited to blog for skirt! Magazine! Today was my first official blog entry and I am super excited. I consider this a great opportunity for my writing career.

Please check out my new home at http://houston.skirt.com/blog. As you all know, I lead a very hectic life and I do not have the time and energy to blog in two places regularly. The skirt blog will now be my regular home, but I will blog here once a week or every two weeks.

Thanks for always reading me and it’s because of great readers and friends that I have kept this blog going for the past three years. The time has come for me to spread my wings!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

It Was a Noble Effort but...

I tried it, but it didn't work. I tried to be a polished looking girly woman, but I couldn't do it. I started getting my nails done again, after a seven year break, but the upkeep is killing me. I just can't keep it up like you have to.

I love the way they look. I don't even wear them long. I wear them short, but I love the look of the gel overlay on my real nails because it makes all my nails even and the polish stays on them. I just can't make it into the nail shop every 1.5-2 weeks like I have to.

When I was young and single I used to have my nails done all the time, but of course I didn't have the kind of schedule I have now. When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, seven years ago, I stopped having them done. I didn't want to have them done or wear them long when I had a baby and I was changing diapers. My daughter was potty trained right before I had my son so I went from changing one set of diapers to another. I changed diapers for six years straight.

So when my son was potty trained at three I got really excited and said I was finally going to get my nails done again. Well, I tried, what can I say? Our lives change and so do our priorities. Being a mom takes more out of you than you think!

Funerals & Graves

I went to my mom's friends funeral. I'm glad I did. Even though I wasn't close to her family I felt it was important because this was my mom's friend and Iknow my mom would have wanted for me to.

I was really excited to find out that the final viewing was in this really old chapel at the same Brookside cemetery where my mom and sister were buried. I always admire this chapel when I go to check on my mom's and sister's gravestone, because it's right next to them. It's a small chapel and it has a really interesting history that dates back to the 1800s and the Berry Family of Houston. I always want to go inside, but it's closed. Yesterday I got to go inside for the first time, but there were so many people there that I didn't have an opportunity to really take everything in.

I also checked on my mother's and sister's graves and found my sister's overgrown with grass. I need to go back and clean it off. I also need to call and ask how often they clean them. I was wearing my mom's cameo brooch that I bought her in Pompeii and I thought of her all day.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Feeling Melancholy

I am feeling very overwhelmed at this moment. I feel like I have a million things to remember and so little time... I forgot that my daughter needs to learn a song or poem by Tuesday. It's Sunday night and it’s fast approaching midnight. My daughter is asleep now so she only has tomorrow to learn something she had all weekend to learn, had I remembered. We haven't done our income tax and we have all the paperwork we need. There’s more but I don’t even feel like writing out my TO DO list here.

Today I had dinner with my dad. I needed to do that. I hadn't done so in a while, even though I've seen him and he's been over the house.

One of my sisters came by to meet us and have a coffee with us. My dad had just finished telling me that a good friend of my mother's had died suddenly from cancer. My sister shared the same news, but also told us that the funeral talk was tonight. It was too late, I was wearing jeans, or I would have gone.

I felt really sad in way because I only spoke to her daughter recently and she told me her parents now lived in a retirement home nearby in the Heights. I said I wanted to go by to say hello but I never did.

It reminded me of something my mother always said. She said that we should visit people when they were alive and not when they were dead. I felt bad that I never went by to say hello to my mother's friend.

I must be feeling all over melancholy. Hearing that news and thinking about my mom and her friend made me sad too. I remembered how they used to love to sit and talk and have a beer together. I guess I shouldn’t really feel sad. I should picture them just like that. Laughing and talking over an Avon book and having a drink.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

The Dom Perignon Mystery & Other Champagne Adventures

A while back, maybe a month or so ago, my in-laws asked Rey and I if we ever drank the bottle of Dom Perignon that they had given us. Rey and I looked at each other with puzzled looks. We told them that we never received a bottle of Dom Perignon. We would definitely remember that. They insisted that they had given us a bottle of Dom Perignon and we kept saying we never received it.

We showed them an autographed bottle of wine that they had given us for one of our anniversaries and that we did drink. We kept the bottle because it was signed by the wine maker. We told them that that was the only bottle they had ever given us.

Last night while visiting us, they brought up the topic again. They insisted that they gave us a bottle of Dom Perignon for either an anniversary, or before we went on a trip somewhere. We could not remember a bottle of Dom Perignon. Come on, let’s face it, if you received a bottle of that kind of champagne, you would remember.

Rey said, "The only other bottles you've ever given me are the two bottles of tequila that we're keeping for you."

"What two bottles?" his mother asked.

"The two bottles you asked me to keep for you a while back," Rey answered.

"I didn't give you two bottles. I only gave you one bottle," his mother replied, "Go look and see what you have."

So Rey went to the small closet under the staircase and pulled out the two cardboard boxes. Inside one of them was a bottle of Dom Perignon wrapped in newspaper dated October 2003! They gave us the bottle 4 1/2 years ago and we didn't even know it! Can you say, "BONUS!"

I think they gave us the bottles and didn't say anything about the bottle of champagne, thinking we would see it. That just goes to show we aren't that nosy because we didn't look in both boxes at the time. I just can't believe that it took them that long to ask us about it.

We had a really good laugh about it and it reminded us of another time when we received an expensive bottle of champagne and didn't even know it. That time it was on our honeymoon.
Rey and I went to Italy on our honeymoon, around 4 months after our wedding. I slept on most of the flight for two reasons. 1) I wasn’t feeling well and 2) I can sleep anywhere and I usually do if I’m tired.

Rey chatted with the flight attendant a lot and she knew we were on our honeymoon. When we got ready to land she told Rey that she had something to give us before we left but not to say anything. So before we left she slipped a bottle of champagne in our carry on bag. We looked at the bottle and thought it was such a pretty bottle with flowers on it.

We landed in Milan and by this time my cold had gone full blown. I was very sick by the time we landed and even though I’d slept, I felt jet lagged. Let’s just say I had to sleep for one full day when we got to Milan before I felt well enough to venture out. Poor Rey had to walk around and explore the area around our pensione without me. He came back with coffee and breakfast for me the next day after going out very early because he had already slept a lot.

Finally we ventured out together and did some sightseeing. We still didn’t drink the champagne because I was taking a lot of cold medication. One good piece of advice. Always carry a little first aid kit of cold medicine and other things you may need when traveling to Europe. Their pharmacy prices for over-the-counter, are a lot more expensive.

Anyway, back to the champagne. We carried the bottle with us on a train all the way to Rome. Finally in Rome in the Hotel Panda, in out tiny room on our tiny twin bed, we opened our bottle of champagne and drank it.

We went to several other places on our honeymoon, including Florence, Pompeii, and Venice. After 10 glorious days we returned back to the reality of home and Rey was grocery shopping when he came across bottles of champagne. He thought about that great champagne that we had enjoyed on our honeymoon and he looked for it on the shelf. He clearly remembered the bottle because it was so pretty. Imagine his surprise when he found out that our bottle of champagne, Perrier Jouet was more than $100!

That flight attendant had been very generous in her honeymoon gift to us. We felt sad that we hadn’t made a note of her name to send her a nice note later. Not only because her gift was $100 bottle of champagne, but because she had been so warm and friendly with us.

That was an important lesson to learn. Since then I always make a note when someone is kind. I need to do better and I need to make sure I send a nice note to the company when I have a good experience.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Eye Update and other stuff...

Good news is that my son's eye will be okay. It's in the process of healing itself. He didn't need an antibiotic or anything serious. It took me 2.5 hours, $35 co-pay, and $13 for parking to find that out.

I got my fancy stationary in the mail today! I was really excited to see it. I ended up getting the folded cards with the shoes and purses. I can't wait to start writing notes with it.

Two days of arm exercises have kicked my butt. I am feeling it today! Why can't my upper arms be as small as my lower arms?

I can't drink carbonated drinks any more and I thought it was going to be really really hard to give up Diet Coke and Zero, but I have been really surprised at how easy it really has been. I'm drinking a lot of Diet Lipton green tea these days.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Wikipedia, Random Observances & Motherhood

I love Wikipedia. I think we should all create Wikipedia entries on ourselves. Wouldn't that be cool? Instead of Googling each other we just Wikipedia.

Why is it that as big as I am the smallest parts of my body are my ankles and my wrists? So that means that when I'm finally at my target weight I'm probably going to have these bony ankles and wrists. Scary! All I've lost are 18 lbs and I look down and my ankles are already smaller. How do I go and lose the smallest part of my body first?

Whose idea was it to have two kids, and only three years apart, anyway? Okay, mine.

Sunday my daughter got mad at my son and she threw a Walmart toy magazine right at him, full force. She hit him right in the eye! He screamed bloody murder and after he calmed down he could open his eye and it was just red. I kept an eye on it and 2 days later, after the red had cleared, I found that he had a small blister looking thing on the white of his eye. I took him to his pediatrician this morning and she confirmed that it's a torn cornea. Ouch! So tomorrow we have an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist at Texas Children’s. Oh the joys of motherhood!!

DON'T Go to the Chevron on 610 & N. Durham

OK. I have to start this story a year ago so only proceed if you have the time to read the whole story. You have to know it all to get the full picture and truly understand the level of my anger. I’m mad at the Chevron AND at myself for going there again. What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!

Around a year or more ago I went to the Chevron on the N. Loop West (610) and Durham (think, near Heights) and I filled up my tank. I also purchased a car wash. I proceeded to the car wash only to find that it was out of order. Frustrated I went back into the store and told the attendant. This guy was really nice. OF COURSE he was! He probably was laughing at me, "SUCKER!" He told me he would give me a rain check, since I had already paid, and he signed my receipt.

A few weeks later I went back to the Chevron and tried to redeem my rain check. Yep, you guessed it. The guy that was on duty looked at me like I was crazy. Not only would he not honor my signed receipt, he was very rude about it and blew me off. I was so furious that I swore never to go back there. Never say never.

Today I was looking for a touch-free car wash after taking my son to the doctor. I was driving down the 610 feeder looking for one when I saw that THAT Chevron has a touch-free car wash. I reluctantly pulled in and looped around to the car wash. I didn't want to fill the tank, and I happened to have cash for a change, so I decided to pay at the car wash box. I paid and rolled in. OK. This part is partly my fault. I had trouble pulling into the car wash and placing my wheel on the right place. I had to pull back around three times until I finally got it right. Then the car wash didn't turn on. I pulled back and tried it again and it still didn't turn on. By now I had a guy behind me waiting for me to get in and out, so I felt pressured, so I pulled out and I went around to the front.

I went inside to the tell the guy what had happened and the same thing happened to me AGAIN! The guy (a different guy from a year ago) told me that because I had paid at the car wash and didn't have a receipt, I was basically screwed. He said he had no way of telling if I really paid. When he found out that the guy behind me was able to get it to work (he had a code) he actually scoffed at me! I could not believe how ridiculous he was being. I asked him what about customer service and he looked at me like I was the one who was being ridiculous.

I was so upset with him but I think I was more upset with myself for giving this place a second chance. My husband asked me why I thought that anything was going to change and I told him that I thought that maybe the car wash would work this time and maybe the person in charge would be nice. I didn't think that something like this could possibly happen to me twice. But who am I kidding? Of course this would happen to me twice.

And you know what got me the most? How RUDE the guy acted! SO if you live anywhere near the Heights, Garden Oaks, or Oak Forest, DO NOT GO to that Chevron. The people who own it, or manage it, or work there, are evil. I'm going to call Chevron to tell them about it. I know it's probably a franchise, but they should know what kind of persons are representing their name.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Quick Hello

Just passing through real quick and stopping by to say hello. I went to the gym today and I did the weights for the first time. I've only been walking up to this point, but today I started working out these big arms. I don't want to end up with a bunch of flab when I lose the weight.

I still don't have an update on the skirt! thing. Hopefully I'll know more this week and I'll be able to tell y'all what it's about.

Meanwhile, I think I told y'all that I submitted a short story to a literary magazine. They accept their submissions with writing contests. I'm going to submit another story by the end of this month if I can get it together. I'm really trying to put myself out there more as a writer. I figure that if I keep doing this I will eventually catch someone's attention. I may have already!

I stopped doing the Elizabeth Gilbert exercises as often. I really need to start doing those again. I need to keep reminding myself of what I "really really really" want.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Writing & Talking

I am not one of those quiet introspective writers who have little to say, because they are so intellectual and full of their own thoughts. But you probably already guessed that.

I’m one of those persons that is constantly filled with thoughts and constantly feels compelled to tell someone those thoughts.

As many of you who know me in person know, I talk A LOT! Well you probably already guessed that there’s a direct correlation between my writing and my talking. I have thoughts and dialogue going on inside my head all day.

Writing is an outlet for all of those thoughts jumbling inside my head. Thus the reason why you will sometimes find three or four blog entries in one day.

Okay, I just had to say that before I start to fold the gargantuan pile of clothes on my sofa at 10:30 at night. Today was laundry day. That was just a thought I had to get down as I procrastinate starting the huge task before me.

To Do Lists

I forgot to mention something else. My friend was giving away extra books she gets for work that she doesn't use. One of them was "To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us." The title alone cracked me up and I had to take it. My sister and my husband have often made fun of my to do lists. Well now I get to see who in this book has similar lists to mine and we'll see what it says about me. According to this book at least. :)

OK so I shared that little tid bit with you. The author has a blog too. I need to go check it out.

Super Bowl Sunday & SJP

It's Super Bowl Sunday. I'm only half watching the commercials and of course not the game. I'm not into football. There I said it!

I actually bought another magazine that wasn't O. (skirt! doesn't count because it's free in racks around town) I picked up the February issue of Allure because "my girl" is on the cover. And by "my girl" I'm referring to Sarah Jessica Parker. It's a very nice interview with her. And now that I'm losing weight I'm looking forward to fitting into her Bitten line. I reported a while back that even though she does carry plus sizes all her clothes run smaller than department store sizes. I read somewhere that her sizes are true couture sizes.

I'm not really some crazy stalker-like fan, BUT I must admit I really like the smell of her perfume "Lovely." I'm yet to get a bottle though. And I understand that she's about to launch a second fragrance called "Covet."

Another interesting little tid bit. I didn't know that Manolo Blahnik created a shoe just for her for the movie. Beautiful shoe and I like the dress too. I don't know about that crazy feather handbag though.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Houston Crime

Two weeks ago two of my girlfriends were robbed at gunpoint in the Heights on 19th Street. My husband's SUV was broken into that same night, on 18th Street, and they stole his stereo and phone headset. And my CDs! And I can't help but wonder what the heck is going on?!

I mean, all people deserve to live in a safe neighborhood regardless of their income level, but let's face it, the more affluent neighborhoods usually get the most attention. So that poses a very interesting question. Now that our inner city neighborhoods have become more affluent why aren’t the new residents influencing better police security?

Those of us that have always lived in the city used to joke that there was more crime in the suburbs, or in more affluent areas of town, because robbers went where the money was. We used to joke that criminals didn't really steal from one their own. (Think of the philosophy of one of the characters in the movie Crash.)

Gentrification is changing that stereotype. Our neighborhoods in Houston are changing completely. We are basically bringing more money into areas that had been run-down for some time and we’re creating more hot spots for criminals who make a living from robbing. Of course we may have criminals coming from the outside suburbs into the city to steal too. Not all criminals come from inner city either. It just changes the whole dynamic or stereotype that criminals come from the city and go out to the affluent areas to rob.

Crime is crime, no matter what, and the citizens of the city need to do something about it. After my girlfriends were robbed they felt the need to do something. They made flyers and they posted them around the Heights in case someone found their purses. They hoped that the robber discarded their purses and that someone found them, but they also wanted to make the neighbors aware of what had happened to them.

Now that cities are changing the new neighbors should get together with the older neighbors to make some noise. The residents of the Heights and the merchants on 19th Street should work together to make their voices heard. New neighbor’s can help make a difference in their neighborhoods. They can use their affluence to influence change.

Handkerchiefs and Other Musings

Yesterday I was talking to my dad and he has a bad cold, but he was still going out. I told him to make sure he had some Kleenex to wipe his nose. When I said that I remembered that he doesn't carry Kleenex because he carries a handkerchief. I asked him if he realized that no one carries a handkerchief.

"They don't?" he asked surprised, "Why not?"
"Because they don't. Only older men carry handkerchiefs."
"I didn't know that."

Isn't that interesting? I looked up the word handkerchief on Wikipedia, because of course I became interested in the subject now. I found out that one of the reasons people don't use handkerchiefs is because they consider it unhygienic. When people started using Kleenex instead, they stopped using handkerchiefs.

I asked a couple of people if they carried handkerchiefs. My babysitter's husband who is 65 said he used to but that he hasn't in a long time. I asked my husband and he said, "Gross, no!" He's one of the one that considers it unhygienic.

It reminded me of my wedding and how my friend Liz gave us all handkerchiefs to use since I had an outside wedding in August (I know, insane). They were beautiful handkerchiefs, embroidered with little flowers, and they sure came in handy that day. We used them to wipe our sweat when the guy who married us went on for almost an hour, instead of the 20 minutes my husband asked for.

Then I thought of my daughter. The way the world has changed so much since my dad was a young man, or how much it's changed in our lifetime, imagine how much more it will have changed by the time my daughter is an adult. Will she even know what a handkerchief is?

I took out her baby bonnet and I explained to her how it would become a handkerchief when she gets married. At my baby shower the same friend, Liz, gave me a beautiful white bonnet for her. It came with a little card insert that said that the baby would wear the bonnet and when she grew up it would become a handkerchief for her wedding day. I just thought that was so beautiful.

Of course I had to remind her what a handkerchief is. I guess if I keep reminding her until she gets married she'll remember.

Other Musings

I am such a sucker for Pampered Chef. I love their gadgets. I have so many already! One of my favorites is the jar opener. I like the way it can open anything as small as a jug of apple juice to a jar of honey.

NPR Features for Black History Month:
Yesterday I heard an excellent segment on the historic move by four black students who started a national sit-in at businesses that wouldn't serve African Americans.

It reminded me of something my dad used to see when he was a young boy in the '30s and '40s. When his family used to go work in the fields in West Texas he used to see signs outside of diners that read, "We don't serve Mexicans or Dogs." That also reminded me of the cities around the U.S. that are passing laws saying that they won't rent to illegal immigrants. How far have we really come as a human society?

Friday, February 01, 2008

Exciting News & Other News

I've been just full of great news lately. I hate to be such a tease, but I may be having a BIG announcement soon having to do with a certain local magazine. I don't want to say anything until it's official, so I will leave you with that.

Just one more example of how crazy our life is. Yesterday my husband had a talk at our meeting. (religious) He was on his way home when he got a phone call from the alarm company that his alarm at work had gone off. He had to exit and go back to work, only to find out that it was caused by the crazy gusts of wind that we had yesterday.

When he finished there he started back home, already running late, and he found that a tree in front of our house, but outside our fence, had broken in the wind. The branches had fallen over and across the electricity lines that went to our neighbor's house. It had literaly ripped the box off the side of her house. She was very upset and Rey felt really bad for her. He talked to the guys that were out turning off her electricity and he told them that he'd called the city about that tree already.

He took the time to find a long extension cord for our neighbor and he ran it from our garage to her house. He also let her borrow an extra strip, a lamp, and an electric heater. He barely had time to shower, shave, and get dressed.

Of course we were a little late to our meeting, but on time for his talk, but it was worth it knowing our neighbor was taken care of.

So that's the kind of stuff that always seems to "challenge"us. But we always get around them!