I was pleased at how many ceremonies and events were planned and staged for the remembrance of September 11, 2002. It shows that we are a nation that does not want to forget about the insane violence that runs rampant in this world, the violence that wishes to penetrate our nation.

I am hopeful that we will all be able to take a few minutes, in the very least, every year to remember the fallen.

I also hope we will wake up and realize that we have American terrorists tucked safely way in our own county. In fact, we have American terrorists who are befriended and harbored by a presidential candidate. How marvelously handy.

I wonder how it is that patriotism has become so sadly redefined in the last couple of decades. The concept of personal freedom has cut so deeply into our collective unity that even dangerous people with ill intent are handed more liberties than ever before. How have we come to a place where people who have harmed others and even go as far as to boast of their criminal acts are now celebrated and lauded?

I wish that the remembrance of September 11 would also serve to embolden Americans to feel the pride for the Nation that we deserve to feel.

I kept my daughter’s crib bedding. After she was born, I went out and bought bedding with lots of Battenberg lace and embroidered rosebuds. I did the whole room is mostly white, with rosey accents. I guess I hope one day she might be able to use the bedding for one of her own children.

Now, before she was born I bought a set of crib bedding that did end up being used. I have been a huge Babar fan all of my life and I went to al lot of trouble to locate a set of Babar crib bedding. I figured that the liberal use of red and Kelly green would work for either a boy or a girl and we had chose not to find out the gender of the baby before she was born. When Gigi was born, I suppose the red and Kelly green just did not feel right anymore and I boxed up the Babar set.

About a year ago I gave away the crib, bassinette, changing table, swings, and other baby items on Freecycle, along with a lot of Gigi’s clothes and toys that she had outgrown. I offered up the Babar bedding, asking that someone only take it is Babar meant something to them, since I the crib bedding had been to hard to obtain – not to mention expensive. I got a lot of replies, but every single one said they ere just looking for whatever they could find for their babies. So, I chose to hang onto the bedding. I did not want to give it to someone who could very well just toss it out.

And so, I have both sets saved. Maybe I’ll even use them again myself one day.

When I was in elementary school back in the 1970s, my picture would be taken on picture day and then proofs would be sent home to my parents. They were able to see the picture before choosing how large of a package to order from the portrait company.

When did schools stop doing this? For pre-school last year and for kindergarten this year I had to choose my portrait package and pre-pay before the pictures were even taken. I have to hope the pictures turn out OK and that all these portraits I ordered are actually good enough to send out as Christmas gift, which is what I am currently planning?

Do any of you have kids in school and actually get proofs to look at before you have to pay?

Just a little gumble on my part. I got some paperwork in my daughter’s homework folder that I have to return tomorrow. Usually, I would not really mind, but these are all forms I was careful to fill out the first day of school and return the first day. Somehow the school lost Gigi’s paperwork! It’s an annoyance, really.

She is only in Kindergarten and this is only her 4th week and I have a file folder that is already overstuffed. It seems like I have filled out more forms than anyone could possibly need. *sigh*

It feels VERY ironic to look at the headlines on CNN and see that forcasters are telling residents of Galveston, Texas to prepare for hurricane Ike.

Just this evening my daughter I read the book “Hurricanes” by Christy Steele. It’s a children’s book, but it has a gripping chapter about the Galveston hurricane of 1900, which hit 108 years ago today (September 8, 1900). It killed 8,000 people and it is said that people from miles away cold smell the rotting bodies that were floating in the water and wedged into treetops.

Nuns trying to recue children in an orphanage tied themselves with ropes to rows of children and were overtaken by the floodwaters. All of the nuns and the children died – still tied together. It was a harrowing disaster.

Thank God we have the blessing of modern technology now. We can see radar images and Doppler forecasts and have days to prepare for potential disaster – enough time to get people and pets out of danger.

I know social networking is all the rage online now and I have put up my profile over the course of time on a couple of the more popular sites. And, I have chosen my favorite finally – Facebook.

I find MySpace next to useless and glommed up with young kids and too many people looking for weird “encounters” for my taste. I also dislike how it has become basically a site where people promote their businesses.

LinkedIn is very cool as well, but it is primarily for professional networking and that is what I use it for exclusively, so it just doesn’t really fall into the category of “social” networking for me.

FaceBook, though, I love. I don’t go in for the all the “apps”, but I enjoy the simplicity of keeping up with all of my friends on my sign-in page. And, with just a little time invested, I have found quite literally tons of my old friends. It’s been lovely to use.

Or, Those Pesky Phone Numbers That Use Letters…

I know businesses like to give you their phone number using letters that spell out words so that you can remember their number easier, but I find it annoying. Go ahead, give me the cutsie number, but have the heart to translate it into actual numbers underneath. Please?

I find it awkward to hunt peck around the phone keypad looking for the corresponding number and I am prone to mis-dialing.

Case in point – I was going through some old gift cards I forgot I had just now and calling to see if I have balances left on any of them. The back of the Toys’R'Us card says to call 1800-TOYSRUS. I thought I dialed it correctly, but when I connected to the number, all I heard is a woman’s voice saying, “Call 1-888-FREESEX, that’s 1-888-FREESEX.”

Huh?

At first I thought it was a case of a wily phone sex business snapping up the Toys’R’Us number after it expired. I even spent a few minutes doing an internet search to see if this had been reported in the news. And then, I realized I probably just mis-dialed and tried the number again. This time I actually connected with Toys’R’Us.

By the way, my gift card balance is zero. It’s old enough that the balance got eaten up in ridiculous fees.

I wish I could go into greater detail about a neighbor of one of my best friends, but out of common decency I can’t say enough to identify him. My rant here is about the fact that all it takes is one bad neighbor to spoil an entire neighborhood.

My friend lives two houses down from her neighborhood’s resident bully. He has cameras trained on his next-door neighbor’s pool and the park across the street. He has gone door-to-door during HOA elections each time to try and smear everyone running for an office. He has made physical threats to several of his neighbors and regularly attempts to engage people in shouting-matches and the like.

Lately, though, he has escalated. He’s been spraying Roundup on his neighbor’s yards so the grass dies and he is has been seen messing around with newly planted trees in other people’s yards – and they die within days of whatever it is he is doing. Now, it looks like he has poisoned at least two dogs in the cul-de-sac.

There is a lot of proof, just not really the kind the police will take into consideration. He was told by a sheriff, though, that the next time something destructive happened in the area they are going to open up an investigation about him. My friend gets the blood work back on her dog in the morning and if it is positive for poisoning, I image that will b the straw that broke the camel’s back. Let’s hope.

I’ve never had a neighbor THAT bad. I did live next-door to a couple in my last neighborhood who had loud outdoor parties during football games and who also dumped their car ashtrays on neighbor’s sidewalks. They were the type to mow their lawn and skip the mere 6-inch swatch of grass between their property line and my driveway. You know – the kind of people who would rather suffer physical pain than do even the slightest kindness for a neighbor. They were super loud, unbelievably so, but I do not think they every knowingly damaged my property.

I went ahead and watched the two-hour series premiere of the new 90210 television show on the CW. Back when the original 90210 was on, I was in college and rather enjoyed the show – as schmaltzy as it was. I was mostly interested tonight is comparing the two versions.

In a nutshell, the modern version is way more risqué. One of the first scenes of the premiere shows one of the main characters walking up on a boy as he is getting a blowjob in his car. Underage drinking is portrayed, drug use is shown, and the kids are much more brazen about disobeying both their parents and their teachers. It made the scene in the original 90210 where Dylan deflowers Brenda in a hotel room during prom look almost puritanical.

The new Beverley Hills, 90210 has already set a similar tone to the original in at least one way: adult will be involved in the story lines and important issues will be tackled. In just the two-hour premiere I saw allusions to storylines to come involving long-lost children that were given up for adoption, the trauma of divorce, unfaithfulness in relationships., drug addiction, mixed-race families, caring for elderly relatives, and more.

I think I will set the DVR for next week and see if this version continues to entertain me as much as the original.

I’ve been getting new contacts on Facebook almost daily ands most of them are from people I went to high school with, because we are ready for our 20th reunion. 20th! Holy cow, people.

I went to the 10-year reunion and I admittedly had an awful lot of fun. I’m going to skip this one, however, and just hope to hear more feedback from the people who do get to attend via the internet. Even ten years ago not as many of my classmates were online.

Today I tried to find a lot of my old photo albums, but they are apparently in my storage unit. I did happen to find some stray photos in a box that says “To File”. I scanned some of the sillier ones and made an album on Facebook that I am hoping only a couple o chosen friends can see. I set the security setting as such, but now I need to see if it works.

Max Factor sent me some of their cosmetics to try out (via Buzz Agent) and I liked them all well enough. However, I LOVE the LipFinity lip color.

I received a Color Genius Mineral Blush and Color Genius Brush, Max Factor Lash Perfection, and the LipFinity. The blush was cunning. There are three shades in one compact and they are curved so blending is easy. I liked it, but might not buy it again. The Lash Perfection wears like most any other mascara, but the brush really does coat my lashes a lot more evenly than even some of the Clinique and Lancôme mascaras I have in my makeup kit.

Let me take some time to tell you about the LipFinity. I don’t wear lipstick very well. It looks great on, but it does not STAY on. I lick my lips, bite my lips, and just generally wear my lipstick off in minutes. I get aggravated at having to reapply it so often and I’m not always in the position to do so. Most long-wearing lipsticks or lip stains leave my lips looking very dry. However, the Lipfinity comes with a separate lip gloss. You apply the color, let it set for a few seconds and then put the clear lip gloss over the color. I throw the lip gloss into my purse and leave the house. Since it is clear, I can reapply the lip gloss as often as needed without needing a mirror or even a steady hand. I can work, eat, sweat, talk, lick and bite my lips – and the color stays true for hours and hours.

I love the stuff so much I went out and bought three more colors. This is the first semi-permanent lip color I have found that actually stays on like it promises. I’ve also paired the color with some of the sparkly clear lip glosses I already have on hand it since the initial color application is independent of anything else – it looks great.

If you want to get the most out of LipFinity, make sure to follow the directions. Apply the color and then DO NOT blot of rub your lisp together. You need to allow the color to set in and dry for about a minute first. Then, do as you will. I apply the gloss at this point. If you do it right in the beginning, this lip color will indeed work for you for hours on end. Some people even claim it lasts all day. I’d say for me it lasts about half the day, but that is still amazing.

Boo-Hoo. 

Sean Combs, the man so desperate for a nickname that he gives them to himself, is an ass. And guess what, Diddy – most of the world agrees with me. You are so surrounded by yes-men that you have no idea how much of a joke you have become.

The latest laugh-fest headed up by Combs is his video blog posting where he complains about the high cost of gas. He is right about the high cost being an important issue and that people are upset about it. However, does he really think that people want to hear his profanity-filled rant about how he can no longer afford to fly in a private jet at $200,000 a trip so he can pursue his “acting career” (the “career” only he is taking seriously)? Should we feel sorry for him that he has to fly commercial? I think not.

What an ass. At least he can still afford to travel. A lot of regular folks out there have had to cut back on food and transportation – and that includes flying at all.

How about someone making a web browser that works well with all websites first? I have Internet Explorer, Opera, and Firefox loaded onto my computer and I have all three open at most times. Why? Some sites won’t work with some browsers, some work better in particular browsers. It’s a hit or miss sort of game and I find it annoying.

And that is why I am not going to be one of the dupes who downloads Google’s Chrome browser.

Plus, it is oddly suspicious that Chrome is released right after Microsoft gives us Internet Explorer 8. Explorers’ newest upgrades include more ways for you to cloak your online preferences as well as a shield that will make it harder for Google and other marketing networks to figure out which ads are most likely to appeal to which individuals. In a word, it is giving us more privacy.

Google is not a fan of Privacy.

Google wants a piece of the web browser action and to me, it looks like they are going to make a grab for it without actually giving us a truly compelling reason for why we need yet another browser. The official Google blog calls Chrome “a fresh take”. So, is that like all the ambiguous “change” Barack Obama has been talking about? A lot of talk about newness without solid evidence of anything new actually happening?

One of the more exciting aspects of Chrome is the New Tab Page, but that is simply just Opera’s Speed Dial. Yawn. It’s not anything new at all. In fact, if you look around Chrome, you will see that they use a LOT of Opera’s features.

Thanks, but no thanks. I think I will stay with Opera as my main browser. Just because Google wants a piece of the action does not mean they have done anything to actually deserve it.