This is the old server.

If you are seeing this, you are seeing our old server.

It might be a while, but eventually you shouldn't see this message, and you will KNOW you are on the new server.

Thanks,

Robert

TODAY - TECH NOTICE

********NOTICE********

At 5pm Robert will be moving this site to a new server.

It could take a number of hours.

If you leave comments or try to post blogs after 5pm and before I  (or Robert) let you know everything is okay, your comment or blog may be lost.

The site might not look any different and seem to be functioning properly, but once it's transitioned things may be lost if they are posted during the time mentioned.

Sunshine Open Thread

Another sunshiney day

I think the neighbors are having a kid's birthday party - I saw a pirate go into their house - three-pointed hat, parrot (fake), striped legs and all.

HAHA!

Cuz I feel just like a criminal…

Borrowing a line from a Fiona Apple song.

I had a bit of a stuffy nose this morning.  I thought about needing to go up and buy some Pseudoephedrine at the drug store. Now you have to buy the stuff at the counter and you are only allowed to buy so much, as I understand it. I've never bought more than they "allow" - I buy one box - the 96 count generic, when I go.  There is always some testing comment like, "Wow, the big box."  OR "I guess you won't need any more for a while."  (weak grin). 

The last time somebody said that to me, we were all suffering from allergies a few months back - Robert, Heather, Will and Jade - all of us.  Jade will get a migraine if I don't keep her sinus pressure at bay and I was in no mood to be treated susupiciously - so I said, "Actually, with four adults in the house blowing their noses and sneezing their heads off, I'll probably need more before the week is up."

So there I am, lying in bed, feeling irritated at the folks who horde PSE so they can make street drugs and now their behavior has suddenly made me susupect whenever I buy the PSE. 

Maybe they don't like the criminal look of my eyebrow ring. 

I might test the limits and see how much I'm "allowed" to buy before the sheriff's department shows up at my door, because I always feel like buying two boxes, but I'm too timid to ask!  YES!  ME!  TIMID!!!

It's because they make me feel like a criminal.

It is GORGEOUS OUTSIDE Open Thread

We have the windows open even!

Volunteers Needed

Still Seeking Volunteers for Assistance Supervising the Fine Arts Building during the Charles County Fair (Sept. 13 – 16)

It's that time of year… FAIR TIME!  Once again the CCAA will be assisting Greg Gillooly in supervising the Fine Arts Section (Department R in your Fair Guide) of the PD Brown/Fine Arts Building.

What does a volunteer do?

Ensure that visitors don't handle the artwork

Ensure that artists don't remove their work before 6:00 pm on Sunday

Rehang tags/ribbons or anything else that may happen to fall

Offer CCAA bags filled with promotional materials from Charles County arts organizations and businesses to those who come through the building.
Of course, speaking about the benefits of CCAA membership and the value of supporting the arts in CharlesCounty is also a nice "To Do" item!

Bonuses:
Free Pass for Admission to the Fair when you come to volunteer!
There's Air Conditioning in the Fine Arts Building! Read the rest of this entry »

Chuck County Fair A-Comin’

From the Charles County Fair website - YUP kiddies, it's nearly that time again.  I personally have never been a big fan, but maybe I'll try it again this year.  Maybe. 

***

We bring you an old-fashioned county fair with farm animals, displays of all kinds, demonstrations, and food of various kinds.  We present four stages filled with entertainment, games, shows, music, a baby show, pig races, and performers of all sorts. Your support allows us to upgrade the fair and to pay for our annual 4th of July fireworks. 

We thank everybody who has supported us throughout our 83 years of history and hope you will support us in the future!   A thank you also goes out to the many volunteers that make this a special county fair! 

Green Dorm Rooms

Green Living 101: Dorm Room Decorating

by Sarah Lipman

Filed under: Decorating, Green homes, Green living

Every year, high school students applying to university (and their parents) lose sleep, time and hair worrying over which college will fulfill their academic, vocational, artistic and other ambitions. And those serious about their environmental concerns will be just as focused on the green credentials of the institution they'll be funding for four years. If they're lucky, they're headed to a school like the University of South Carolina, which is home to one of the world's few LEED-certified green residence halls, the Silver-rated Green West Quad.

Serving double duty as residence hall and educational medium, the Green Quad complex includes three residential buildings, which house around 500 undergrads, and the Learning Center for Sustainable Futures, a research and educational facility focused on environmentalism and community development.

"We wanted to make it like a green bubble for the campus and community," says David Whiteman, faculty principal of the Quad and director of the learning center. But, he says, "We're also trying to look holistically at the entire social economic system that needs to be in place to have a sustainable society," noting that, this fall, they'll start a community garden and host seminars on local food.

(MORE)

Go Back To School Green

Green Guide 115 | July/August 2006 | Clean and Green

Back to School Eco Checklist 2006

by Anne McAndrews

Filed under: Home and office supplies, Arts and crafts supplies, Paper, Children's environmental health hazards, Recycled paper

Before you know it, the last days of summer are here and thoughts turn to easing the return to school with appealing accessories. You can avoid those mad-dash excursions to depleted stores—not to mention the look on your teenager's face when you bring home a vinyl Tweety Bird binder—by sustainably shopping ahead.

According to the New York State Department of Conservation, parents who pack a child's lunch in disposable bags or containers generate 45 to 90 pounds of garbage every year. That makes 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school. Instead, team up with parents, friends and teachers to buy multiples of these righteous green supplies.

Paper

Always look for processed chlorine free (PCF) and the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled (PCR) or post-consumer waste (PCW) content.

Gray's Harbor 20-pound copy paper, white, 100 percent PCW, acid free and hydrogen peroxide bleached ($6.50/ream; www.treecycle.com, 406-626-0200)

Staples recycled 20-pound copy paper, white, 100 percent PCW, non-chlorine ($5.29/ream; www.staples.com, 800-3STAPLES)

Ampad EnviroTech filler paper, three hole punched and college ruled, 100 percent PCW, non-chlorine ($6.09/100 pack; www.staples.com, 800-3STAPLES)

Earth Friendly Second Nature spiral notebooks, 50 percent recycled, 20 percent PCW, non-chlorine, three hole punched and college ruled ($3.30/80 sheets). Three- and four-subject notebooks with pocket dividers, made of recycled board ($5.94/120 sheets or $10.90/200 sheets; www.treecycle.com, 406-626-0200)

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I never KNEW……

Ok, well, you learn something new EVERY DAY….

And this something new - is something that EVERYONE (woman and man) SHOULD KNOW!

I have a sister-in-law who has/had breast cancer. She found out that she had an invasive kind - and elected to have a double masectomy. She is now almost two years 'clean' but its still scary to have gone through what she's gone through - and to have lost her baby brother to pancreatic cancer on TOP of her cancer - its alot.

I recently received an interesting email from a friend about a type of breast cancer that is not often talked about - it's called Inflamatory Breast Cancer - and you have no lump -

Click here for pictures of what a breast looks like if you have this type of cancer. **WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES **

I also have a link to a news report. ** WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES **

If its not one thing, its another - but I think the ladies of the Cafe need to be aware of this startling news report - I for one, was stunned, after having thought I KNEW about breast cancer since so many women I know (family and friends) had touched my life with their stories……

A WMD Unapproved Post

(photo from the weinermobile website)

I was at the Smallwood Safeway a few minutes ago and they have some kind of jingle-singing contest going on in front of the weinermobile there.

In case anybody has a wannabe star kid or wants to be one themsevles.

Neither of my kids are interested because they are vegetarians.

Brewhouse Live

As many of you may know, Jim Turner has moved LaPlata Brewhouse Coffees to Centennial Street. He's also decided to create a live music venue out of the old space and performances will begin in September!

Check out Brewhouse Live's MySpace Page!

Pampered Chef - Get Your Pampered Chef Here Folks

********************************************NOTICE******************** *************************

Okay guys, I had to remove the link to my party webpage.  I think somebody must have got their panties in a bunch because my consultant got a phone call from her director about not being allowed to link from a website to their personal Pampered Chef page.  When I told her I was going to advertise my party on my blog, I don't think my consultant connected it in that fashion as a problem.  So she kindly asked me to remove the link and to just have people contact her or me for the link info.

Please get your orders in before Sunday.

********************************************************************** ***************************

Since Tracy and I both wanted some Pampered Chef stuff we decided to have a "book party" which allows a local consultant to reap the benefits of our orders - see, keeping it local whenever possible! 

Our lovely Consultant is Deborah Sherouse of St. Charles.  Her information is on the website.  If you have any questions, just email her.

Here's how it works - you go to the website and make your orders, they are not processed until she closes out the party on Sunday August 12th.  If you'd rather, you can phone her to make your oder too.  If you want a paper catalog, she can get you one.

You can pay by credit card or check, which you can mail to her if you want.

I wanted to buy the canopener and one of their legendary baking stones - but they have tons of stuff that is good quality.  I only buy what I need, I'm not a big gadget person, but I am big on quality, so that's why I'm going this route.

I would love it if anybody has any suggestions of something I might really like to have or something they have found very useful they got from Pampered Chef, to leave their comments in this thread.

Just go to Deborah's personalized Pampered Chef Webpage and make your orders (email me).

National Night Out In Nanjemoy Turns Unconstitutional

Excerpt from THIS Bay Net Story by Anna Daily

The coordinator, whose name DeGiorgi didn’t mention, then asked if the bags of supplies contained any campaign literature.  When DeGiorgi freely disclosed that they contained one campaign flyer the coordinator flatly stated that he couldn’t give the bags away with the literature inside. 

DeGiorgi and Posey were stunned.  The Nanjemoy Community Center already contained several other politicians giving away items with political messages on them.   Maryland Delegate Peter Murphy was handing out rulers embossed with a political message.  Commissioner’s Board Vice-President Edith Patterson (D – district 2) and Reverend Lowell Hancock of Oak Grove Baptist Church were handing out school supplies on behalf of the Western Charles County Community Association.  Last year, Patterson herself handed out campaign material at the festivities.

Quote of the Day

A good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude.  Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole and against a side sky.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Volunteer Ops

There is a nice list of volunteer opportunities on the Indy HERE.

Oh boy.

http://godtube.com/

A slight reddening may occur…

So Amber, for the second time in a week, packs this disgusting smelling mud from the health food store on my face - the first time it just plain old cleaned my face well.  Well, this time when I washed it off I looked like I dunked my face in boiling water.

I'm not big on tons of cosmetics and stuff, but I do like to try to take care of my skin.  I don't do mud packs often, but I figured what the heck?

I went into her room and read the packaging and it said, "Some slight reddening may occur…"

Nice.

I'm using an ice pack and hydrocortisone - hope it helps!

Comcast and NFL Network

Robert is SO PISSED at Comcast - he said they took NFL Network off of the regular plan and stuck it in an add-on package.

We are seriously considering changing to The Dish or something.

Recommended Reading: 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School

50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School: Real-World Antidotes to Feel-Good Education by Charles J. Sykes.  Check out the website here.

 Some of Mr. Sykes' sage wisdom:

#1 Life is not fair. Get used to it.
#7 If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he’s not going to ask you how you FEEL about it.
#15 Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it “opportunity.”
#42 Change the oil.
#43 Don’t let the success of others depress you.
#48 Tell yourself the story of your life. Have a point.

#9 Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn’t.
#14 Looking like a slut does not empower you.
#29 Learn to deal with hypocrisy.
#32 Television is not real life.
#38 Look people in the eye when you meet them.
#47 You are not perfect, and you don’t have to be.
#50 Enjoy this while you can.

Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland

Robert and I were talking about how lonely Hera is going to be when the other two doggies leave when Amber moves out.  We discussed the types of dogs we like.  I was telling him how much Jade totally loved this black German Shepherd named, "Shadow" and he said that a GS was too big. It turns out that he was steering me away from bigger dogs because ever since he's been watching re-runs of Enterprise he has become once again enamored of Capt. Archer's dog Porthos, who happens to be a Beagle.

Well, talking about pure-breeds presents a bit of a problem for our family because I like to take in homeless and shelter doggies.  So I put in "Beagle" and "Maryland" into the old Google and figured I'd find some breeders and what I found was Beagle rescue organization right here in Waldorf - Southern Maryland Beagle Rescue.  Robert wants to "go and look to see what they are like" and I said NO WAY I'm NOT going until Amber is gone and so are the extra doggies, because I will fall in love with one of them and be totally tormented by not being able to bring it home.

Anyhoo I like William and Meredith up on the site right now.  Adorable.

So if you're looking for a Beagle, try there first