I’m the type that often forgets to pull down my blinds at night. Of course, once I need to undress or change, I remember and down go the blinds. I like my neighbors, but there are just some things I don’t care to share with them. There is no reason for them to know if I am wearing my fancy panties or the laundry day underwear, you know?

The other night as I reached to pull down the roller shades, they popped right off their hardware. The whole thing tumbled down and until I buy some new brackets, it is staying down. I can kiss privacy goodbye on that particular window. Unfortunately, my bed is snuggled right next to that window, so now I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, look out the window and wonder if some bored teenager out skulking around the neighborhood has been watching me sleep.

Oh well, that is probably the best way to motivate me to actually get out and buy the new brackets!

When it comes to photo editing, I have always loved Photoshop. It’s been painful in the past when someone has asked me to recommend a photo editing software and I say Photoshop, but then have to throw in that it is super expensive and has a steep learning curve.

So, it is exciting to see that as of today Adobe Systems Inc. is offering their basic Photoshop Express for free. It is web-based, so there is nothing to download and you can access your account from any computer in the world.

Adobe says that the Photoshop Express software is designed with the layman in mind. Gone is that steep learning curve and now nearly anyone can master photo editing quickly. Of course, if you find that you like Express and want to go with something a little more advances, Adobe’s Photoshop Elements is still only about $99.

I personally still prefer the full, professional version, but even I never use all of the features it is equipped with. Most people are going to find that Express does the trick for them. Express allows you to store up to 2 GB of photos online, crop them, rotate, edit for quality. You can automatically correct color and lighting, retouch photos, fix red-eye, sharpen, add effects, and more. It has all of the features the basic user would ever need.

Just make sure you have Adobe Flash 9 installed, and you are good to go.

When I first moved to Florida, I wondered why anyone here ever needed to vacation outside of the state. We have beaches and theme parks and Indian casinos and tons of historical destinations. But, as the years have gone by I see that it is just like living anywhere else – getting away comes to mean taking off and going far from home to gain some relaxation and time far, far away from your daily life.

Some of my best friends and I have been talking longingly about a weekend away with just the girls – no men, no children, just the girls and whole lot of relaxing. A few ideas have been cast about, but we keep coming back to Las Vegas, mostly because we all agree there is a lot to do and nobody in our group is against the idea.

So, Ruthie is charge of finding for good show tickets, Margot will find a good flight for us, and my job is to book an affordable Las Vegas hotel that is in the thick of the action and ideal to use as our center of operation while we are in town. The other girls will be in charge of teaching us how to play the tables and stay in the good part of town

Now, finding a Vegas hotel can be tricky. There are quite literally hundreds to choose from and you want to be careful to make sure you are in a good location, close to the attraction, within walking distance preferably. While I was hunting down a Las Vegas hotel deal, I came across the website for the Sahara. I think I got there because I saw that they have Roseanne Barr appearing there right now and that is one of those shows that seems just perfect for a group of tired moms like us. The Sahara is one of the classic places on the Strip, having been around since 1952 and being a hangout for the Rat Pack. It even served as a setting for “Ocean’s Eleven” – the original film, not the remake.

I was in the mood for something with oatmeal in it and not really in the mood to watch batches of cookies in the oven, worrying about remembering them so they do not overbake. So, I pulled out my mom’s old recipe for No Bake Cookies today and in a few minutes I will whip up a batch.

2 cups sugar
2 squares unsweetened chocolate or 5 Tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups oats

Bring to a boil sugar, cocoa, and butter. Add the vanilla. Pour mixture over oats, mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet and chill.

Some recipes use chocolate chips in place of the other chocolate. This assures that they will set firmly.

I took ballet for a few years when I was young, but I quickly moved onto playing soccer and wearing combat boots and work boots to school. I grew up right in the middle of the punk movement in Washington, DC, so the ideal feminine look involved a rough edge. Ballet and cheerleading and the love of the color pink did not come into my life until I became a mother.

So, now I have a daughter and she is all about pink and princesses and growing up to become a cheerleader. I spent the afternoon calling around to dance studios to look for the right place to put her in for ballet lessons. I think I may begin her at one of the community centers. The cost is less and that way she can see if she really likes the dance, excels in it, before I commit to expensive monthly fees being deducted from my checking account – which is how some of the top schools in the area insist you pay.

It’s been quite some times since August 26 car crash in Clearwater, Florida that left John Graziano incapacitated. Now seven months later, the Graziano family is finally filing suit against Terry Bollea (Wrestler Hulk Hogan), his estranged wife Linda Bollea, their son Nick Bollea (who was driving the car), and Daniel Jacobs (who was driving the car that was racing with Bollea’s car).

The suit claims that all four defendants were negligent in the acts leading up to Graziano’s injury. Damages in the millions are being sought, with proceeds from the suit to go into a trust for Graziano’s long-term care. Though there is no exact way to tell how much Graziano’s medical bills will actually cost over time, an attorney for the Graziano family says the costs are already more than $1 million.

There has been very little information released in the past about the exact condition of John Graziano, but now attorneys are saying that part of Graziano’s frontal lobe was removed due to crash, that he is in a “semi-conscious” state, and responds only to particular stimuli like heat and touch.

• The suit claims Terry Bollea is liable as the owner of the two cars involved in the street racing leading up to the accident, as a parent who signed a driver’s license application for a minor child, who legally assumed responsibility for the minor’s driving, and as someone who knew the likelihood of his son and Daniel Jacobs to race and drive recklessly.
• The suit says Linda Bollea knew of her son’s reckless driving and encouraged his dangerous behavior.
• The suit calls Nick Bollea liable for speeding, racing and consuming alcohol as an underage minor.
• The suit says Daniel Jacobs is liable for light-to-light racing.
• Related Posts

  • Graziano’s Mom Says Suit “will be filed”
  • John Graziano Update, Finally
  • Nick Bollea Sentenced to 8 Months
  • John Graziano Update?
  • When Motive Comes Into Question

Oddly, the latest local individual arrested for having a sexual relationship with a student lives in my old neighborhood – the neighborhood where I still own a house with my ex and from where I recently moved.

Lisa Robyn Marinelli, 40, of New Port Richey, Florida was arrested yesterday and has been under investigation by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office since February, because the alleged victim’s father said he saw his son get out of Marinelli’s car while pulling up his pants.

There are reportedly hundreds of cell phone calls and text messages between the boy and the Marinelli on record, including one that says, “How about a quickie 2morrow afternoon?” and another inviting the kid to Marinelli’s home “because real men only need 20 minutes.”

The boy also turned over a pair of Marinelli’s underwear to the police. Marinelli had been substitute teaching at Mitchell High School when she met the 17-year-old boy.

The question begs to be asked: isn’t there a fine line as to whether a 17-year-old boy is really a victim when it comes to a consensual sexual encounter? The kid will more than likely be old enough to vote in the upcoming presidential election, attend college this fall, and soon be old enough to buy cigarettes. Nonetheless, the law says he is a “victim”? I have to admit I am rolling my eyes right now. It is a fine line, indeed.

Still, the woman should have thought of her husband and her children before she got involved with anyone else, especially a kid who is going to be unable to keep his mouth shut about bagging the “hot teacher”.

I’m sure you have heard of the acronym I.C.E., which stands for In Case of Emergency. It is the standard method people use to enter their most important emergency phone number(s) into their cell phones. If someone were to come upon you in an emergency situation and you were carrying your phone, ideally they could open your phone and page down to an ICE number so they knew who to contact. Otherwise, they might just start dialing at the top of your phonebook and end up reaching some former boss you forgot to remove from your phonebook.

Sometimes a cell phone hold the only identifying information a person is carrying; especially teens that tend to leave the house with wallets or other ID. I have three ICE number is my cell phone’s phonebook, labeled ICE1, ICE2, and ICE3.

A very cool, very useful campaign started over in the UK, but has since gained momentum worldwide. It’s called ICE Your Phone™. You can place an ICESticker on the back of your phone to let people now that your phone indeed contains helping contact info. In fact, the icesticker.com campaign is becoming so iconic that it is quickly starting to be as recognizable as MedicAlert bracelets.

How to ICE your phone:
CHOOSE a responsible person.
INFORM this person that they are your emergency contact and then make sure they have on hand all of the information a medic might need: a list of the medications you are taking, all of your known allergies (especially to medications and food), and names and phone numbers of yours.
ADD this person’s contact info into your cell phone using the heading/title ICE.
APPLY the ICESticker to your phone so emergency personnel know who to call.

When you apply the ICESticker to your phone, it helps medical personnel understand that they have permission to access your phone. This is important in light of HIPAA privacy laws.

I recently bought a beautiful Gymboree Easter dress from a line they put out several years ago – Garden Party. I got it on eBay for close to nothing. I think the seller had not listed the product line name or something. I was thrilled, since it was one of the dresses I had wanted my daughter to have for a long time.

Garden Party fabric

She wore it the day after her birthday, when we went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot. We had been to the Pirate & Princess party the night before and this was a follow-up leisure day on some free Park Hopper passes we got from a friend who works in the park system.

Anyway, close to the end of the day I noticed that Gigi had been carrying her little autograph book that she had made herself close to her chest, school-girl style. The ballpoint ink pen she had been using was in the spiral spine of the book and it had been open all along! Her dress was absolutely covered with with bright blue ballpoint ink marks. Covered.

My initial response was to soak the spots in Tide for day or so and wash the dress. That did not even fade the marks! Finally, I sat down with a Q-Tip and some rubbing alcohol and just gently rubbed at each mark. I noticed the marks were slowly fading, so I soaked the dress in cold water over night and then let the dress dry. I repeated the process three times and finally I had a dress completely free of pen marks!

It was a timely process, but it saved the dress. Ideally, you would put an old towel behind the fabric you are dabbing, so the ink will bleed onto the towel. The dress I was working on, though, was lined with a satin, so the towel was superfluous.

I have always wished I had a relative with a massive Victorian house. A house that had been in the family for generations and had an attic filled to the rafters with boxes, trunks, wardrobes, and crates of books, papers, corsets, and shoes. Alas, the only home in my family that has been around for generations has been continuously occupied for the last 200 years by people who are decidedly NOT packrats. The attic is spotless and absolutely not filled with timeless treasures.

And, sadly, when my grandmother passed away last August, the house went to my uncle who promptly rented it out and stopped taking care of it. I assume he will eventually sell the house and the acreage around the house because he prefers to live in his mansion atop as hill in a tony neighborhood. That, despite the fact that I have numerous cousins with young families who would be more than thrilled to carry on the legacy of the Watson farmhouse.

We live in an age where families do not stay together in their hometowns and pass along ownership of ancestral homes. We have given over tradition to mobility and new money. Who among us rally feel like we have roots? I still struggle over what to call my home town. It seems ridiculous that I was more at home in Gainesville, Florida than if I were to go back to where I was born and raised in the DC suburbs, where I no longer know anyone.

I long for Grandma’s Attic.

I just finished reading Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me by Pattie Boyd. Actually, I only ended up skimming the book. It was a charming tome, but not terribly interesting and certainly not worthy of 336 pages. The whole thing could have been summed up into a novella-length booklet and still conveyed the same basic information.

I found some of Boyd’s tidbits about life in the 60s interesting, though. The general attitude toward sex, diet pills, modeling, and celebrity was so different from today. Now we have the internet and a world where nothing falls into the realm of private information anymore. The mystique is gone when it comes to the high life and the limelight.

One thing I can say about Boyd’s book is that it is 100 times better than The Vixen Diaries by Karrine Steffans. I did not even skim that one as much as flip through it. Steffans’ book is simply a series of name dropping and surface level recollections. You almost feel sorry for her that she believed who eve it was who told her she had enough material for a second book.

And yes, I know that technically Steffans does not aptly fall into the catagory “The Women of Rock”.

I am not a coffee drink. Well, I should be clearer. I am not a coffee drinker anymore. I love coffee. I adore coffee. I have been drinking it since I was six, because my pediatrician told my mom it would help my asthma.

I think it was about 2000 that I decided to go off of daily caffeine. I took myself off coffee at the office and put away my coffee press at home. It was a painful process, but I did it mostly so that I would be able to user caffeine when I had a migraine headache. That little headache tip does not really work if your body is used to regular caffeine.

This morning I was craving iced coffee, so I made a bog glass and because I am not used to caffeine on a daily basis now, I am flying just a little bit. I am trying to use it to my advantage: laundry, blogging, other website upkeep, sorting through my daughter’s old clothes. But, my mind is a tad unorganized due to the additional stimulants. So, I’m just flitting around doing a little of this and a little of that. It’s not terribly effective.

Ideally, I just need to go out in the backyard and burn off some energy on the mini trampoline or by pulling a couple of hundred weeds from the flower beds.

My mother has been calling my attention lately to the chem trails we keep seeing in the sky over our home in the Tampa Bay area. They are generally present on clear, windy days and last week, my 5-year-old daughter even looked up and said, “Mommy, look at all the stripes!”

You see, although we live near a major airport, the places coming in and out of TIA are not leaving checkerboard pattern trails. They just don’t. These trails are left by smaller, faster airplanes.

A microbiologist did an analysis of the trails over Tampa a little while ago and found influenza strains. According to the website robertghostwolf.com, the theories as to what the Chem Trails are FOR include “weather modification, radar interference experiments, creating electromagnetic reflectors for HAARP emissions, broad spectrum immunizations, broad spectrum poisoning of the population,” but are nearly impossible to prove, since the government will not acknowledge the actual action of these small planes.

Go to your favorite search engine (anything but the one that begins with “G” — as I cannot endorse a company who wishes to rule the internet with an iron fist) and do an inquiry on “chem trails”. If nothing else, it makes for compelling reading.

Am I solid believer in this concept? No, not really, but I am wise enough to read and listen and keep my mind open to what may indeed turn out to be startling truths.

I’ve only been to Chicago once. It was for a trade show back in 1998. I had just stared working for the company as their lead graphic designer and it was s time for me to both get to know the business and get to know my co-workers. The president of the company spared now expense and we ate at the greatest restaurants, ordered cocktails all over town, and had spending money to play with in the stores. I had a blast.

I ended up staying with the company until just before I gave birth to my daughter. In fact, I still do a lot of freelance for them.

While we were in Chicago we took a night and went to bar under the observation dck of the Hancock building. Of course, it is close to impossible to get a good table over by the windows. I observed firsthand that night, for the first time, how imposing my boss can be in public. He somehow strong-armed us a table and I think the people who had been sitting there never knew what hit them. I got to sit in a chair that bumped right up to the glass and when I looked down it felt like I was floating out over the city of Chicago.

The next day I had a whole other view of the “Windy City” when I was standing on a sidewalk in front of an office building and saw an entire window come crashing down from a hotel. The heavy winds had sucked the window right off the building. Thank God it did not hit anyone!

Now one of my best friends is moving back to Boston with her husband and children. We met when we were both living in Gainesville, Florida and she had moved there from Chicago. They just miss the city so much that her husband finally found a job there again so they can move back. I am planning to go visit them soon, so I can see Chicago on leisure terms, instead of having to mix business and pleasure.

I’ve used the Trusted Tours & Attractions website in the past to pick up discount tour tickets for the San Diego zoo, so of course I logged on to learn about the best things to do in Chicago and get other family vacation ideas. You should check out their site, too, because right now if you sign up for their eNewsletter (I signed up al long time ago) you can win an IPOD Nano. Make sure you do it before Monday, March 31st, 2008, though.

Are you a gay porn star like James Zinkland or maybe an aging Penthouse Pet like Sheila Kennedy? Do you hunger for attention, even if it means going on National television and making a complete ass out of yourself? Do you feel completely comfortable knowing that fat, balding camera men are sitting in a control room giggling as they watch you use the bathroom and shower?

Then, maybe you should audition to be a houseguest on the next season of Big Brother. The reality TV show is holding tryouts in Tampa on Thursday, April 17th at 4 – 8 p.m. Just show up at Dubliner Irish Pub on 2307 W Azeele Street in Tampa and show the producers why you should be the next freak they choose to spend time in front of cameras 24-hours-a-day, every single day of the week.