
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Vote now!

Labels:
Doctors Without Borders,
MSF,
Tripadvisor,
TripAdvisor.com
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Would you like fries with that?

image: SideSalad.net
Monday, October 20, 2008
And the winner is...
I know you've been waiting with bated breath to find out which of the road signs is a fake. So hold on to your hats, people...the impostor is indeed the one in the center. That is a photo from a trip we took to California two years ago. We were driving around in Sausalito, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and I was imagining that I lived there. I was thinking about how I would be drinking my coffee each morning overlooking the water, wearing those Himalayan knit booties with the tassels on them, and writing in my journal. OK, I don't do any of that except drink coffee, but it felt right for some reason. There was the sign, and at first we thought it was real until Jon pulled over and he got out of the car for a closer look. Someone had added the hat and guitar to a regular sign using black electrical tape. It was so funny that Sara wanted a picture. If you look closely, I think you can even see the Himalayan booties...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Speed humps? I beg your pardon?!
When I moved to Florida from New England, I noticed that some of the road sign terminology differed from what I was used to. In New England, the signs read Speed Bumps. In Florida, Speed Humps. Three years later, this is still funny to me. Apparently this term is used in the UK as well, and this got me thinking about what other amusing signs we might find on our home exchange adventures in Europe. So let's see how good the rest of you are: which one of these signs is a fake?





Leave your answers in the comments!
Whatvia?

image: TAVA
Labels:
blue cows,
home exchange,
house exchange,
Latvia
Old, old, old!

I was floored when I realized that Maureen McCormick, Marcia of The Brady Bunch, is 52 years old. 52 years old! Sorry, but I am not really able to wrap my brain around how old she is...or, more honestly, how old I am! Her tell-all memoir, Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, is out today and reveals her history of drug addiction, bulimia, and a series of bad relationships, including her attraction to Barry Williams (Greg Brady). He really got around - Williams also had a brief relationship with Florence Henderson, who played his mother on the show. Eek.
photo: ABC
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Going under the knife?

Earlier this week I had an appointment with the dermatologist for a routine skin cancer screening, and was surprised when the PA (Physician's Assistant, like a Nurse Practitioner with more schooling) came in and didn't introduce himself or anything, just started in on the exam. I happened to know he was a PA because I saw the practitioner profile on the website, and normally I don't mind seeing a PA so it wasn't a big deal to me. He found a few areas of suspicion, as he called them, and as we were discussing whether to biopsy them, he said that some dermatologists would take a less aggressive approach, but he prefers to do the biopsy. Doesn't this sort of imply that he is also a dermatologist? It was on my leg so I let him do it, sort of in the same theory that you don't want your doctor to start your IV because although they can do it, they don't ever do it and therefore don't do it well. Let the nurse or the phlebotomist do it. So I didn't really care that this guy did a small biopsy on my leg but when he told me that he needed to do two additional ones on my face (!!), I wasn't sure I still wanted to go along with the plan. He seemed put off by my questions about how much of a scar would be visible, and said there wouldn't be any real way to predict until he did the procedure, but it would be just a small scar. Just two small scars, actually...on my face! What do you think? Should I let him do the procedure, should I ask for an actual doctor at the same practice, or should I go elsewhere entirely?
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Home exchange shopping...

I was thinking about that funny TV commercial with the woman with the extra steering wheel who forces the guy off the road (I know you all saw it because I posted it a few days ago) and it made me think about our British home exchangers. He was concerned about driving in the US, and hadn't taken his host car out for a spin. It's a convertible and a great car to mess around with but he was uneasy because we drive on the opposite side of the road. At least the convertible they have is an automatic transmission. I just realized that their car, the one we will be using, is a stick shift and normally that's not a problem for us but we will have to shift with the opposite hand! Hmmm, I'm not sure how much I am loving that idea. I totally get his uneasiness, and realized that all of our exchangers might be nervous driving around in a new place, even if not on a new side of the road or with a different body part. So, we ordered a portable GPS for our car that we will be leaving for our guests. No, Mom, they're not going to steal it!
cartoon: Bill Junk
Monday, October 6, 2008
Trust me, you'll be humming this all day long!
Watch the whole thing...it just gets better and better!
Home exchange: I heart Geordies

On Saturday night we drove about 80 miles west of our house to meet our future home exchangers from northern England. They were on their first trip to the States, on a home exchange near enough to our place that I thought it would be interesting to get together for dinner. I have to admit that I was nervous about meeting people that I had only traded a few emails with, and it's uncharacteristic of me to invite them to dinner. I have no idea why I suggested it. So we drove up to to the home they are exchanging, which made it even weirder since it's not even their place but also sort of cool so we could see what the house looked like. This particular house is small, what realtors would call quaint, and its affluent area and charming guest cottage make it a desirable home for exchange. I knew that the swappers have young grandchildren, so I thought this would be like an evening with someone's grandparents, all proper and polite with the kids bribed with candy to keep them quiet. I thought I was going for tea with the Queen. I was totally wrong. These people were amazingly young in both their appearances and in their spirit, and after a few awkward minutes of introduction we settled in for an evening of laughs and great companionship. They enchanted us with stories of home exchanges across Europe and shared tips and advice for us as first timers. It seems the people from this particular region of northern England are called Geordies, known for their friendly nature and hospitality, and I can't think of better people to show us the ropes.
photo: BBC
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Netflix begins with N!

Labels:
Californication,
David Duchovny,
Madeleine Martin,
Netflix,
Roku,
Watch Instantly
The accidental humorist
The other day, I was having a hell of a time thinking of something beginning with the letter N that Sam could bring to school for "Share Day." We were running late and trying to get out the door without forgetting anything, and I asked him what to bring that started with N. He thought about it for a minute, and then came up with the ultimate solution: Nothing.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Home exchange: call me herring and put me in the lake

photo: GAN
Labels:
home exchange,
home swap,
HomeExchange.com,
Norge,
Norway
N is for...uh, I don't know

Friday is "Share Day" at Sam's school and he is supposed to bring in an item that starts with the letter of the week. This week we're on letter N. Believe me, I have tried and tried to come up with something that he can show, or even tell, that begins with N and I am horrified to admit that I can't come up with a single appropriate thing. The kids already made noodle necklaces today (hey! those were my 2 ideas!) and tomorrow for snack time they're making nachos, so I am done. Nunchuck? Noose? I don't think so. Last week we kicked some preschool ass with Hess helicopter and now we're in trouble. Nookie? There's always the Norway guidebook, but that is super lame, and I doubt that the 4 year-olds really care what Arthur Frommer has to say. Nantucket? Kids love limericks, right? Sam can't spell, so he doesn't know what starts with N, and Jon will fall out of his chair laughing if I tell him I can't think of anything. Nightmare? You betcha! Please (!!) leave me your ideas in the comments...I am going to take a nap.
image: mosaicartsource.com
Labels:
preschool,
Sam,
school,
Share Day,
show and tell,
the letter N
Home exchange: Germany Schmermany

I've been fortunate enough to find 2 families who want to exchange their homes with us, and when the German exchange fell apart I started to wonder. Was I crazy to look for a 3rd exchange? Would it be possible for us as first time exchangers to coordinate a 6 month exchange in 3 different countries, working backwards, with only a few months lead time? Luckily for my family, I am particularly drawn toward problems that seem almost impossible to solve. I went back to my old files on a family in Norway, our other target country. We had discussed an exchange, but they seemed to lose interest over time and they had received another offer, so I thought that it was all over. My daughter Sara had really wanted to stay in Scandinavia, and she kept telling me that she could understand Norwegian because of its similarity to Swedish. I speak Swedish, Mom, so I'll have an advantage in Norge. She pronounced it the Swedish way, Nor-ee-yuh. The problem was that I had already told this family that we were most likely going to exchange with the German family, so by now the Norwegians must have made other plans. Oops. Hey, they had been straightforward in letting me know that they had another offer, and I did the same for them. I didn't want to string them along unnecessarily, and I thought I was being considerate. Apparently I was the only one who thought so, and the Norwegian family was not too happy to hear from me again.
Labels:
home exchange,
home swap,
HomeExchange.com,
house exchange,
Norway
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Little pink ribbons for you and me

October is breast cancer awareness month! Please be sure that you (and the women you love) are getting regular breast cancer screenings and talking to your doctor about what tests are right for you. Breast self-examination is important, and you can download and print BSE cards for free from Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
More than 25 years ago, Nancy G. Brinker (left) founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure to honor her sister who was dying from the disease. The foundation became the world’s largest source of private fundraising for breast cancer research and invested nearly $1 billion by 2007. One billion dollars! Please help me support the mission started by Mrs. Brinker and donate today!
photo: Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Tears of joy

I recently got back in touch with some friends of mine from a very long time ago, friends I haven't seen for 18 years. While the reasons to get back in touch were sad, I learned that the Associated Press had done a beautiful and moving story about one of these old friends. Seeing this short piece was exactly what I needed to help me heal, and I wanted to share this sweet story with you. Please click here to check it out (my friend is the one in green).
image: Meredith Haley Sonson
Labels:
AP story,
Associated Press,
gay marriage,
marriage,
San Francisco
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