what is fabulous about Earth Week

The beautiful earth God graced us with needs all of us to take better care of it. A few things we have done to make it better -
1. NEVER litter - it makes me sick to my stomach when I see someone litter - no reason for it
2. Set up recycling stations in our garage - Martha Stewart wouldn't approve of my station but it doesn't have to be pretty - just big tubs that say - Paper, Plastic/Cardboard, and Cans
3. Buy the low energy light bulbs
4. Install the solar lights for outside (we put these in last year and they are totally charged by the sun)
5. Turn the lights off during the day and when rooms aren't in use
6. Turn the water off when brushing teeth
7. We keep the house around 70 in the summer and 67 in the winter.

We aren't perfect as we still own 2 SUVs but can't really drive a smart car with three kiddos and all their STUFF (not as guilty as Al Gore must feel with his own personal jet he takes everywhere)! However, we are trying to do our part in small ways. Unless you move to an Eco Village, you can't be PERFECT. I will continue to look for more ways to take care of the earth - join me!

Am I really connected.....

Ok - so I have been spending more time on facebook these days connecting with old friends, sharing photos, etc. I am actually overwhelmed with the amount of options we have to connect these days. I just counted about 12 applications we need to add to our website to make it easier for people to share information (Digg, Newsvine, Yahoo, Furl, Stumbleupon, Fark, Ma.gnolia, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, del.icio.us, Reddit, Technorati, and I am sure there are more). WOW.....
So...I am driving along in my giant suburban (which I LOVE for the space & kid friendly build and HATE for the amount of gas it takes to run) and I take a moment to look around and this is what I see...

Blackberry in my lap
Satellite radio
GPS system
Laptop on the seat next to me
DVD player in the back seat
2 PSPs ("portable play stations" in case there are those of you out there who don't have kids)
I Pod Nano in the front seat
I pod shuffle in my bag
10 year old cell phone - yes, we are crazy and bought our 10 year old a cell phone and oddly enough - I am feeling pretty good about (gotta love texting)
...and the Leapster that Caroline is pounding on (not sure she even knows what games are - she just likes to hear the music and pound on the buttons)

Ok...is this crazy. I think when I was 10, we had one walkman that my sisters and I shared. OR...is it smart? I mean, all of these gadgets are so cool and can provide such assistance during the day for both our personal and professional lives.

So, are we really connected? Your thoughts???

MSU Homecoming

What is so great about going to your alma mater's homecoming celebration??? - mainly, the chance to reconnect with the institution that you were a part of during a very important time in your life! I grew so much in college and had the ultimate college experience. It wasn't always perfect, but life never is - it wasn't always easy, but life never is - and it wasn't always fair, but life never is.
I love seeing people's expression when they return to Murray after having been gone for several years - the campus is BEAUTIFUL! The positive changes MSU has made to the overall look of the campus, are exciting. Alumni who come back and experience it all over again (many bring their own kids and tell them - "this is where I lived, ate, studied")- I just love that! So, if you haven't been back to your alma mater - Homecoming weekend is the PERFECT and most FAB time to return and reconnect with old friends, favorite professors (oh, and there is usually a fun football game to attend too).

4th grade football

Ok, so I am sitting at the football field yesterday watching 3rd and 4th graders tackle eachother to the ground - some rejoicing in their ability to pull their opponent to the ground, some frustrated that they didn't make their tackle or score the touchdown, and yet some picking the grass, daydreaming - (so funny when you see a kid out there like that who totally doesn't want to be there but mom or dad signed them up). What I think is fabulous though about little league football is the amount of kids who can succeed on the field. Other sports are so individually focused (baseball - you make an error and everyone knows, or basketball, where there are 5 kids on the court) but football - a slightly obese child, who has the ability to sack the quarterback, jumping up in triumph and celebrating his skill is totally FAB. I am not a huge fan of football - but I am a HUGE fan of pumping up kid's self esteem. Kids are so fragile - they pay attention to everything and this has become apparent to me when my 10 year old mentions things to me that I would have thought he didn't notice or care about (like what another parent said to him after the game or how a friend treated him at school). Building kid's self esteem is so important and football seems to be an avenue to several kids to experience the chest bump, the high five, the "way to go - you ROCK" feeling!

Fabulous coffee

No deep thought here but just reflecting on all of the years I missed out on they yummy taste of a cafe mocha or a delicious coffee with cream and splenda! Did this coffee era always exist or has it just been popular with the start-up of Starbucks and others..I have no idea. I remember my mom and dad always drinking coffee (plain black) but don't remember seeing coffee bars on every corner and in the lobbies of churches.

We went to a church while on vacation in Destin, FLA one time and they had a coffee bar in the lobby (like a real Starbucks - so funny). Anyway, although I missed several years of (college years until about 3 years ago) - I am making up for it now! I LOVE COFFEE! I like the taste (and obviously the caffeine).

Our fabulous country

I have tried to commit to being an informed voter so I am watching both conventions with an open mind (I wish everyone would do that). Anyway, I love the fact that we live in a country where no one dictates to us how we should vote. I love the fact that we are free to express our opinions and develop values based on our beliefs. Can you imagine how you would feel if someone dictated to you what you should believe? It would be ok for a while if they were "preaching" what you wanted to hear but the first time they (he/she/it) mandated something you didn't believe in or could get behind - wow....that would be awful! At least in this country we can educate ourselves and we are able to ask questions and seek more information!

I got in the middle of an e-mail stream from one of the those silly forwards (I don't know why people forward crap via e-mails without checking out the source anyway). Anyway, this forward had to do with Obama so I was copied on all of these back and forth e-mails between an extreme right and an extreme left (two peas in a pod if you ask me). Finally, after reading their opinions I simply said - "isn't it nice to live in a country where each of you can express your opinion and no one dictates to you how to vote - it's a beautiful thing..God Bless America (although I am convinced that God would have no part of politics but that is for another day and another blog).

Funny - neither person replied and they kept arguing back and forth - both being ugly to the other.

I am thankful that I don't have to agree or live by either one of their beliefs - God bless this fabulous country!

Fabulous higher ed

I have recently been given the opportunity to serve in an administrative/marketing roll for a university (murray state university). Classes started for students today and I am so amazed at how the face of our campus changes when the students come back. I attended the freshman convocation ceremony on Monday - all freshman have a "freshman reading experience" where the university selects a book and then we invite the author to come on campus and welcome the students and talk about why he/she wrote the book, lessons from the book, etc. The President also welcomes the students and challenges them to work hard, learn as much as they can and do everything they can to have a successful four years (some may be five, six years...ha). Anyway, I just was reflecting on the atmosphere of higher ed and how the students may not appreciate it until they are gone. The faculty and staff have the opportunity to really "change and mold lives" and the students have the opportunity to develop, learn, explore, search......the list goes on. How fabulous is that?

If you are in the mood and reading this blog - I would love to hear your best memories of college - what made a difference in your life during those years?