Archive for August, 2007
Now that we have all of these extra channels on our cable television, I have been finding some very interesting, and rather graphic, shows on HBO, STARZ, and Showtime.
One show that I have found rather controversial and different is a show called Big Love. The show is about Mormon families who believe and still follow the practice of polygamy. Big Love has been nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe.
The main characters of the show are Bill and his three wives. You can see some battle between wives as the "first" wife, Barb, struggles with sharing her husband.
About the Show:
As if juggling three wives weren’t tricky enough, Season Two of Emmy®- and Golden Globe®-nominated ‘Big Love’ finds modern polygamist Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) tackling problems outside his three-house suburban home. As a failed expansion and a suspicious employee entangle his work at Henrickson Home Plus, Bill races to find the person responsible for outing his wife Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) as a polygamist at Utah’s Mother of the Year ceremony. Meanwhile, back at the fundamentalist Juniper Hill compound, prophet Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) sets his sights on Bill’s brother Joey (Shawn Doyle) as leverage to regain a share of the family business. Throw a pregnant Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) and an overcompensating Nicki (Chloe Sevigny) into the mix, and Bill won’t be getting much sleep at any of his houses. Bold, funny and wholly original, Big Love continues to explore the evolving institution of marriage through this typically atypical family.
The school definitely doesn’t waste any time with sending home fundraisers! The first day of school my son came home with a Joe Corbi Pizza fundraiser. There are a lot of good items in the book, but man! Give the poor kids a chance to get started before hitting them up already.
We never do too well with fundraisers around here. When he was in preschool they would send home fundraisers but with all of the kids in our families, everyone gets tired of getting hit up to buy something. My mom will buy something and me but that will probably be it.
Well, both my son and I made it through the first day of school - him doing better than I. He came home just as excited as he was when he left this morning. He loves learning, for right now anyway, so I am glad that his first day was really good!
They already sent home a fundraiser! They don’t waste any time, that’s for sure! At least it is a half decent fundraiser - Joe Corbi pizzas, calzones, pretzels and cookie dough.
I guess the next thing he will be bringing home is information about school pictures.
All in all it turned out to be a good day.
Blog Day is an annual event (August 31st will make the third year) that is dedicated to to bloggers from around the world. The purpose of Blog Day is for all of these bloggers around the world to recommend other blogs to their readers and visitors to increase exposure.
Every blogger wanting to participate in Blog Day is required to recommend at least five blogs. It is recommended that each blogger choose blogs that are of a different interest or topic to their own blog. For more information on Blog Day, visit http://blogday.org/.
It is a very difficult morning for me. I knew that I was going to take my son leaving for school hard but I never imagined I would feel this bad. He is my baby - my only one. He has been my whole world since the day he was born. I have wrapped my whole life around him and I guess that hasn’t been completely good. Now that he is gone I don’t know what to do with myself.
I’ll have to seriously look for some activities to get involved in to kill some time for me.
Healthiest pasta salad:
- Substitute whole wheat pasta for penne pasta. Whole wheat pasta is high in fiber and fills you up better so you eat less.
- Add bell peppers. Bell peppers are high with immune-boosting vitamins C, A, and Vitamin K which is crucial for healthy bones.
- For protein, use canned light tuna. It has less mercury than white tuna and is high in protein and Vitamin B12. B12 is a mood lifter known to help create more serotonin.
I’ve found some of the best movies on television are the Lifetime Original Movies. Even though we now have access to hundreds of channels, I find myself mostly going back to the Lifetime channel and the Lifetime Movie Network.
One movie I like in particular on Lifetime is the movie "Gracie’s Choice". It’s about a teenage girl adn her siblings whose mother is not fit to have had children. She is never around, she had five kids and each one of them had a different father, and she liked to party and sleep around over taking care of her family.
Gracie, the oldest, ends up adopting her three brothers and her mother’s parental rights are terminated. Gracie’s sister had a baby and lived with her boyfriend. It’s sad that this kind of stuff really goes on in the world.
My son graduated from preschool this morning (sniff, sniff). Of course, I cried! I couldn’t help it. If I cried for a preschool graduation I don’t even want to imagine how I will be when he graduates from high school!
My little boy starts school on Monday. I am really having a rough time with this but I am trying to be brave and strong around him. I don’t want him to see me upset because then I’m afraid he won’t want to go.
His best friend, a little girl, is going off to Kindergarten too so he won’t get to see her twice a week at daycare. He is sad about that. They were hugging each other this morning - it was so cute. We are going to keep them in touch so that they can continue their special friendship.
6. End fuel-ishness
Don’t buy a higher octane gas than you need, advises Jamie Kitman of Automobile magazine. Check your owner’s manual to see about gas octane you should use. Close your gas cap tightly to prevent leaks.
7. Be a smart topper
Instead of piling your luggage and camping equipment in a big square box on the roof of your car, us an aerodynamic car-top carrier. The wedge shape reduces wind resistance which maximizes efficiency.
8. Time your station stops
Fluids expand when hot and contract when cold. You might get a few ounces of extra fuel by getting gas at night when it is chillier.
9. Drive with discretion
Aggressive driving habits are unsafe and waste fuel. Avoid rapid acceleration, jackrabbit starts and hard braking. By not driving aggressively, you can cut your highway mileage by up to 33%.
10. Left foot liftoff
If you have a habit of riding the brake, you could be wasting fuel. Riding the brake causes mechanical drag since you are creating slight friction at the corner of each wheel while moving forward.
US families spent an average of $2,277 on gas last year. This was up 78% from 2001.
Here are some tips on how to keep money in your pockets and not in your gas tank:
1. Adjust your air-conditioning
If you are stuck in slow moving traffic, roll down the windows to save fuel. If you are coasting down the highway, turn on the AC with the windows up to prevent wind resistance.
2. Don’t be idle
Ronnie Kweller of the Alliance to Save Energy says if you’ll be waiting for more than 30 seconds somewhere with your car idling, turn the car off so you don’t waste gas.
3. Stick with the speed limit
Every five MPH over 60 is like paying an extra 20 cents per gallon according to Ronnie Kweller.
4. Change clogged filters
Engines mix air and fuel together, which means a dirty or clogged air filter requires your motor to use more gas. (Jack MacDonald, director for Pep Boys). Check your manual for guidelines.
5. Test tire pressure monthly
Melissa Montisano, general marketing manager for Goodyear, recommends "having your tires inflated to the proper air pressure can improve your gas mileage by more than 3%".
You can check out the websites below to save money on gas:
Gas Buddy - Enter your zip code or city to determine which stations have the cheapest fuel prices near you.
Gas Price Watch - Find the cheapest gas in your area with the frequent updates for over 120,000 stations.
Erideshare.com - Cut costs by searching for a carpool buddy in your town.