madameblogalot

My dad called to tell me there is an upcoming Get Motivated seminar in our area. I had never heard of this before. So I checked out the website. Though it’s touted as business seminar, it seems to be a day of motivating speakers, learning how to get the best out of yourself and your daily interactions. It looks to be an eventful day filled with inspiring talks by Colin Powell, Sarah Palin, Lou Holtz, Zig Zigler and others. It sounds like they will really put on a show, utilizing pyrotechnics, live music and special effects. They say this is a seminar for everyone!

I just came across a video blurb for Raj Patel’s newest book The Value of Nothing. I have never read or heard anything put out by Patel, but I found the ideas presented in this new book to be very thought provoking.

Patel strives to bring out the ideas of over-consumption, something that I do believe most of us in modern America struggle with. I like how he juxtaposes the value we have placed on certain items, such as factories vs. forests and “value meals” vs. vegetables and fruits. Just from watching the video, I would be interested in the reading through the book to see what ideas he is really presenting. I don’t want to go to an extreme, say, where the trees or animals have more value than a human life, but I do think it’s time the pendulum gets balanced.

I think that it is time to re-evaluate where we all are in our lives, in history and what kind of legacy we want to leave those coming behind us. I don’t think that all of what has brought us here is evil, but I do think it’s important to see how we got where we are and how we can improve on areas that need improvement. I think that is part of learning. I tell my daughter that is exactly why we have to study history.

I know we will not be on this earth forever. I do believe it too will pass away. But as long as we are here I believe we are called to be the best stewards of it that we can be. I am going to check out the chance win a copy of this new book. It should at least provide some very interesting reading and some really good things to think about.

Today’s training called for a short swim, 21 minutes. I was glad for the “rest” since I was hurting after my hour on the elliptical machine last night. But I wanted to do something different. Usually I just swim a slow, steady pace lap after lap. I had talked to one lady who is now doing triathlons in her 60s! Her daughter had told her to increase her speed to swim four laps as fast as you can then rest. Well, I knew I couldn’t swim four laps fast, so I tried for two laps fast*, then a lap of breast stroke.

Wow! I was struggling after the first lap! But I did three sets of these. Then, I did on lap fast and a length breast stroke. I think I did four sets of those. After I was done I was glad. And if felt good to do something different. Since I had wanted to quit after that first set, I rewarded myself with five minutes in the hot tub after I finished!

*fast is a relative term. I just did my own version of “fast”. I am pretty sure it was faster than my regular stroke!

As I stated before, rodeo season is gearing up! The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is now just 35 days away. Though I have not talked to anyone personally who has already purchased  this year’s Houston Rodeo tickets , I have no doubt there are those who have! Many of the headline acts were announced earlier this month. Some of the big names include Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker, The Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, and The Black Eyed Peas.

This line up is a far cry from the groups I used to see perform at the HLSR in the Astrodome. I remember seeing Anne Murray and The Oak Ridge Boys back in the day. Although I have taken my kids several times, I have not attended the concert and rodeo events since they’ve been moved out of the Dome.

But the HSLR still brings lots of fun for the whole family. There are lots of livestock to see, the pig races are always fun. Watching the littlest cowboys and girls in the stick horse rodeo is cute. There is lots to more to see and do at the HSLR. Check out the events calendar and concert lineup for full info.

One silly thing I have missed with my Mac is the Spider Solitaire game. I have searched to add one to my desk top but none really seem available. At any rate, I did find an online version at the AARP website. It’s ok. I have yet to win the double suit game. It has corny music which I can luckily turn off. But the biggest thing is that the cards are small. It seems that a card game at the AARP site should be, um, LARGE PRINT, if you know what I mean! Not that I’m getting old or anything. It’s just that larger cards would be easier to see. And if your target audience really is older people, well, you’d think they’d make it easier on all us those older people who want to hang around their website playing card games!

With January comes the first announcements of who will be headlining the local rodeo in March. The Livestock Show and Rodeo is a big deal here. And not just for the performers. Many of the people in our area really do want to see the rodeo! And there are quite a few who take part in the show and rodeo. I know a guy who used to be a rodeo clown. And lots of the kids here participate in riding events, calf roping, and showing the animals they have raised.

Those folks who follow the actual rodeo events will be pleased to know that the National Final Rodeo tickets are already on sale for December. Once you’ve attended your local rodeo, then you too might be hooked! To make sure you don’t miss out on the best in bull riding, steer roping and wrestling, bare back riding and bronc riding, barrel racing and all the other excitement the rodeo finals bring, be sure and stop by the NFR Tickets plaza to be one of the first in line for the tickets!

Are you a poet and you want the world to know it? The Poetry Coach has a great looking website that will allow the aspiring poet to gain the added insight to getting his/her work(s) published. The Poetry Coach has lots of experience in writing, reading, and teaching. This looks like the perfect place to get that extra punch! And just maybe you too will find yourself a published poet!

Have you heard about the newest punctuation? It is a punctuation to show that you are clearly being sarcastic. It has been termed the “sarcmark”. It is evident that when communicating through electronic devices, words and meanings can often be misunderstood. Most of the time, we temper these kinds of comments with “emoticons”. But now, trendsetters have come up with this sarcmark to make sure your reader understands that you are being sarcastic. I wonder what someone like Jock Stewart would have to say about the sarcmark. I don’t think he would be interested in spending the $1.99 to download, though he would be able to get a lot of use from that one little punctuation mark! Many of us smart mouths would be using that sarcmark constantly. And teens, well….

My only thought is that if you have to use a mark to point out your sarcasm, isn’t it kind of lost anyway? Kind of like having to explain a punchline….I wondered too what Jonathan Swift would write about using such an icon.

As part of yesterday’s Martin Luther King Jr.’s day of observance, there was a group of protestors gathering to speak out against Planned Parenthood’s largest center opening soon in Houston. Part of the protest was about the abortion services provided by the organization, while the other side of the argument stated the group was targeting minorities (based on the location of the new facility.)

I have long teetered between the services Planned Parenthood provides. I think we should all be cognizant of “planning parenthood” and know that everyone is not. I did find it interesting that the protestors say the center is targeting minorities.

I think that no matter what ethnic group you belong to, you should be able to have access to full disclosure of information regarding your health care and the options available. Sort of like the site I saw providing disclosure of yaz side effects. There are lots of women using these types of pills. Full testing is difficult with birth control pills. And these kinds of pills are not always used to prevent pregnancies (some girls use them to control acne.) No matter the case, I think that side effects should be made known to people using any product, no matter the ethnic group, no matter the socioeconomic group, no matter the place they are in life. It is imperative in cases like this that people be able to make an informed decision.

I get a weekly parenting newsletter. This past week the author had a little tidbit inserted that caught my attention. She said “There’s a statistic I once read which stated that your child will confide in you at the age of seventeen 10% of what he’d shared with you at age seven.”

I don’t know if I agree completely with that. I think it’s likely less than 10%! Maybe that is because my seventeen year old is a boy. Maybe it’s because at age seven he was homeschooled and home with me all day. Maybe it’s that I’ve pushed too hard or he is just testing his wings. I don’t know.

But I do know that there is a very big difference in 7 and 17!