Category: Well why not?

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(Semi-)Blacked out to stand against SOPA/PIPA

Why the black bars up in the corners today? you may be wondering. A day of mourning? Not exactly.

Without completely blacking out my site (i wanted you to still be able to see me! well, and to give a little explanation of what’s going on, too), I’m joining thousands of others to put the Internet on strike for a day in an act of protest against the proposed Internet censorship bills SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act in the House) and PIPA (Protect IP Act in the Senate). SO-what?

Essentially these 2 controversial pieces of legislation aim to put control of the Internet in the hands of the government and corporations, namely the entertainment industry. They claim it’s to try to crack down on rogue foreign websites and Internet theft, but a core goal of these bills is really to get people to maybe buy more Hollywood movies. What the what? Yeah, I know, that’s what I thought too.

There are, of course, many more intricacies to and repercussions of these bills, and my synopsis above barely scratches the surface. Please watch this video for an excellent recap of what may happen if this legislation does pass.

If you’d like to join me in the protest, head on over here and here for details and to email Congress to stop the bills. For the sake of retaining my freedom to keep my blog as I know it, thank you!

 

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Tebowie

Happy Friday! Oo, and a Friday the 13th, too. Whew, these past 2 weeks have been pieces of work, so saying I’m happy it’s Friday is an enormous understatement. And what’s better on a Friday than some lighthearted entertainment?

As such, I give you Jimmy Fallon’s “Tebowie”. So awesome. Have a great long weekend, everyone!

 

 
 

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Resolutions? What resolutions?

So in all the catch-up blog reading I’ve been doing since getting back from Hawaii, I’ve noticed a resounding theme from this past week. What? No, I didn’t read any blogs while I was on vacation. Why would I do that? There were way too many hours to be spent lounging by the pool and sun rays to be caught. Duh.

But as I was saying… It seems the thing to do this time of year is post either a year-in-review recap or a list of resolutions for the year ahead. Or both. For the overachievers out there.

As I read more and more of these posts, I keep thinking maybe I should do the same. But the more I think about it, the more it just doesn’t sound right for me. I mean, I just started this blog last spring, so I don’t have much of anything to recap there. Just a bunch of my random thoughts spilling onto this screen with a few site redesigns thrown in to keep you guessing.

In my non-blogging life nothing too exciting or noteworthy happened either. You’ve heard about most of my days here, and to be perfectly honest, I really can’t thing of anything magnificent that stands out to relive. 2011 was a decent year – some good trips, one of my sisters got married (which was awesome), and we are all healthy, so I’m thankful for that. But other than that – eh, not a whole lot to report. Just another year in the time books.

And as for resolutions, I’ve never been one to make them. I don’t really see the point of resolving to do something for the entire year on the very first day of it, when you really have absolutely no idea what’s going to come your way during said year. I mean maybe it’s kind of nice to have a general guideline in mind for yourself if you have certain areas of your life you really want to work on, but I kind of like myself as I am. I’m happy with most things in my life right now and don’t really feel the need to change much.

So call me a party pooper, but New Year’s resolutions aren’t my bag. And maybe it’s my over-inflated ego talking when I say I don’t have much I want to change, but it’s the truth. Sure some things could be tweaked a little to really make me ecstatically happy, but I’m not crying and whining without them.

I will say, however, that I think 2012 has a much nicer ring to it than 2011, so maybe that’s a sign of good things to come. Either way, a belated Happy New Year to you all!

The last sunset of 2011 that we saw (pardon the iPhone blur)

 

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Beauty in giving

Remember a few weeks ago when I asked you to help one of my blogging friends Kelli and her family? I mentioned that, among other things, she was holding a Thirty-One fundraiser, with proceeds going to aid her niece and her family. Well I ordered a scarf from that fundraiser to help out, and it arrived yesterday. I love it!

It’s a fun, bright pink silk scarf with a design of circles. Being on the shorter side, I had to come up with just the right way to wear it so it didn’t look like a choker. Please remember, my creative skills are severely lacking, and unfortunately this applies to fashion, too.

Now for a little styling:

Not bad, eh? I paired it with that white v-neck tee and a casual black blazer, all worn with dark trouser jeans today.

Thanks, Kelli! My thoughts continue to be with your family, especially little Delaney.

 

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Mmmoscato

Friday afternoon I was craving a tasty glass of wine, as is usually the case when the weekend is fast approaching. We had D’s holiday party at daycare first, so afterward I dropped D and R at home and ran up to the grocery store to peruse their selection. (side note – D wanted nothing to do with Santa at the party, so unfortunately we have no cute pictures. so sorry)

I was in the mood for a white – cool, refreshing, and probably on the sweeter side. Yes, I like sweet wines. So what? I ended up picking up 3 bottles – a moscato (there’s the sweet stuff), a white blend from Napa, and a cabernet sauvignon. And no, I wasn’t planning on drinking all of them that night, thank you very much. I had simply noticed our wine rack was perilously low so I thought I’d stock up.

I’d never had any of the 3 I selected, so I was excited to try them. I love getting new wines – it’s like a little adventure, never quite knowing what kind of genie is going to come out of the bottle. Some pleasantly surprise, some horribly disappoint, but I always like to add to my repertoire.

So anyway, I chose to go with the moscato first. It was from Naked Grape, and I had seen it at a store last weekend and still wanted to try it. I’m very glad I did. It was light, sweetly tasted of peaches, and was exactly what I wanted.

 I thoroughly enjoyed the Naked Grape, and would definitely try their other varieties. If you like moscatos, I highly recommend this one. As for the other 2 bottles I bought, I never got a chance to tap into them this weekend. I’ll certainly take you with me, though, as I continue my wine tasting journey with those.

 

 

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The little things

They really do mean so much. I’ve never been one who needs a ton of affirmation and praise to be happy. I’m totally fine with an occasional “good job” to know my work is appreciated or a simple hug to feel loved. I don’t need the adoration to be heaped on or to be smothered in kisses. Sure that’s nice every now and then, but I’m not a person who immediately feels unworthy without it.

Case in point, most mornings I drop R off at work after we take D to daycare. There’s a stoplight right around the corner from where I let him out, and I usually see him walk or bike by the intersection as I’m waiting to get through the light and onto the highway. Each time I look over to see where he is, and if the timing is right our eyes meet and he gives me a little wave.

That tiny gesture instantly brightens my day. We could have spoken zero words to each other that morning (not because we’re angry, we’re just not very loud morning people. especially when we’re headed to work, blech), but as soon as I see him wave all is right in the world.

Now as for the rest of the day, well, that’s usually a beast all of its own design. But those moments after the wave? Nothing beats them.

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