Addictive sites to discover this weekend

Posted on 29. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites, music

If you’re looking for a break, here are a few of my favorite websites to visit to waste time online:

Etsy: This craft/art site has a great section called Pounce. When you click on the Pounce button, it’ll show you a page with pictures of items that just sold on the site. If you like an item, you can see what else the seller is offering.

StumbleUpon: I have a Stumble button on my Firefox toolbar. When I click on it, it takes me to a new website it thinks I might be interested in. Then I click on thumbs-up if I like it and thumbs-down if I don’t, and Stumble uses those votes to refine what it thinks I might like. I’ll list the next five sites it takes me to:

1. “Toddler’s Elmo Doll Makes Death Threats” in Tampa Bay Online. What? Gotta be satire, but it looks legit. I’ll reserve judgment.
2. A Hong Kong art site. I gave it a thumbs-down. Too dizzying.
3. Shatner / Hasselhoff ‘08: At first I gave it a thumbs-down, but then I couldn’t resist the picture of Shatner with Kim Jong Il. I also like the slogan, “From Yesterday’s Tomorrow, For A Better Today.” Thumbs-up!
4. A political blog with a really long post in tiny white print on a black background. Boring. Thumbs-down.
5. “Trail of the Cougar,” a PBS special. Thumbs-up. There are cougars in our town.

Pandora is the musical version of StumbleUpon. You tell it what songs, artists or genres you like, and it’ll play music it thinks you’ll like. You can give them thumbs-up or down to refine the selections. I’ve discovered some great new musicians this way.

I probably don’t need to mention iTunes, but in case you don’t already have it on your computer, GET IT NOW!! My favorite section is the free podcasts. My faves include This American Life, Salon Explainer and NPR’s This I Believe and Driveway Moments. I’ll listen to them tomorrow when I do my taxes.

The biggest time-waster I’ve ever seen is BubbleWrap. Make sure your sound is turned on.

Please let me know if there are any non-game websites you find particularly addictive. I didn’t include game sites here, since I know I’d have a hard time stopping playing once I got started.

PS – If you’re a client reading this, don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare relax while I knew I had work for you. ;) Or, maybe the party line should be that relaxing makes me more effective. Yeah, that’s what I’ll say from now on. Now to make sure to relax!!

Which of these experiences would you prefer? It’s obvious to me.

Posted on 28. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in food, travel

Here’s where I’d love to be right now: The Nannai Beach Resort in Brazil. Too bad the super lux bungalows cost $838/night.

I’m glad I’m eating at home tonight instead of at Dinner in the Sky. They set up a crane and dangle a bunch of diners 50 meters above the ground. Here are photos from Amiens:

I’d be afraid of dropping something, and I’d hate it when the wind blew us back and forth. Also, what if you need to go to the restroom?

100,000 or 1,000,000 ways to have fun

Posted on 27. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, politics

When my eight-year-old car reached 99,999 miles today, I pulled into a parking lot and took a picture of the odometer. I was listening to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic at the same time, and was amazed when The Bird and The Bee started singing “Tonight You Belong To Me.” That’s been one of my favorite songs since as long as I can remember. I used to play the old Patience and Prudence version over and over.

I called my sister, who was born at 3:33 am and appreciates number strings, but she wasn’t in. I played the song in the background, and when she left me a message a while later, she sang it back to me. It turns out that today is the 20th anniversary of the blind date I set her and her husband up on. I also called Judy E., who probably thinks I’m insane. I told her I was certain her husband would appreciate it, so she’s checking with him.

It’s a very big day for round numbers. Today’s also the day that Barack Obama gained his 1,000,000th donor. This morning’s email graphic shows over a million supporters. Last night it was at around 996K.

Looks like people liked what they saw in last night’s debate.

Teenage boys shower before Mom drives them to their girlfriend’s house?

Posted on 26. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in health, parenting, sports

As usual, rumors of the moral delinquency of our youth are greatly exaggerated.

Surveys show that 80% of teenage boys pursue a girl because they like her. Only 14% put sex at the top of the list. In “Peeking Inside the Mind of the Boy Dating Your Daughter” in this Sunday’s NY Times, we discover that,

Physical attraction and wanting to get to know someone better were tied as the second-most-popular answers. Boys who were sexually active were as likely to say they pursued sex out of love as they were to say they simply wanted to know what sex feels like or to satisfy a physical desire. Wanting to lose their virginity barely registered, with just 14 percent of boys checking that answer.

Researchers said the findings show that teenage boys really are motivated by love and a desire for meaningful relationships.

One can only hope!

Did you realize that only 29.8% of 16-year-olds have their driver’s license? That’s down from 43.8% in 1998. The NY Times story “Fewer Youths Jump Behind the Wheel at 16” says that,

Reasons vary, including tighter state laws governing when teenagers can drive, higher insurance costs and a shift from school-run driver education to expensive private driving academies.

To that mix, experts also add parents who are willing to chauffeur their children to activities, and pastimes like surfing the Web that keep them indoors and glued to computers.

I generally love chauffeuring my kids around. That’s when I find out what’s going on in their lives. I got my license at 17, and think that 16 is too young anyway. I LOVE the photo the Times put with the story (see right). If the girl had dark hair, that picture could be me driving and my daughter in the passenger seat, texting.

And finally, boys should be showering more these days. Wrestling parents in particular should read the Fresno Bee story “Wrestlers grappling with infections: Skin diseases plague school competitors.” Wrestlers are at higher risk of contracting skin infections, including a drug-resistant form of staph called CA-MRSA.

The California Interscholastic Federation, which regulates high school sports, is planning a conference Monday in Sacramento with state health officials to address the issue. But the anecdotal evidence is everywhere: 10 Firebaugh High wrestlers came down with various skin infections last year.

Three wrestlers at Gustine High were treated for staph infections and a form of herpes in January. McLane High forfeited a league match against Sunnyside in January because five wrestlers had contagious skin infections. Last year, two Clovis High wrestlers missed more than a week after contracting herpes, possibly at a tournament in Utah.

In the San Diego County community of Encinitas, 13-year-old Brian Carbaugh died in January from a drug-resistant staph infection after possibly contracting it in a wrestling class. High school wrestling in Minnesota was suspended last year after 24 cases of herpes were reported on 10 teams.

A big part of the problem, health officials say, is that many athletes don’t shower, clean their gear or practice good hygiene.

My son’s good about showering when he gets home from practice or meets, but that’s no guarantee. Scary stuff, especially if you’re allergic to penicillin like I am. The picture to the right accompanied the article. If that’s not enough to scare your son to shower, I don’t know what is.

Mommy, why do women have blonde hair more often than men?

Posted on 25. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in my life

My mom’s suffering a severe case of hairstyle remorse. Her most recent haircut didn’t turn out the way she wanted it to, and she’s considering getting it redone. I figured the internet would be able to help, and I was right: we quickly found TheHairStyler.com, and promptly signed up for an account. I took a picture of her, uploaded it, and within minutes we found several hairstyles she liked and got to see them with her face. She took a printout of them home with her. I hope she’s brave enough to confront her hairdresser!

Since I paid for a three-month trial, I decided it was a good chance to see what I’d look like with blonde hair. I had blonde hair as a baby, and I figured that with my blue eyes it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. After 27 years in California, I’ve always been a little curious about what I’d look like blonde.

Here’s the hair style that most looks like my current one, in brown and blonde. My husband (bless him!) says he likes the brown better. My son said “ewww!!” and I think he’ll have nightmares tonight about a blonde mom. My daughter said she preferred the brown, but conceded that blonde highlights wouldn’t be too objectionable at some point. She’s always been an observer of hair trends. When she was in preschool, she asked why more women have blonde hair than men.

I think the whole thing is rather freaky, and neither truly look like me.

Too bad I’m not adventurous enough to try a really radical hairstyle like one of these:

Maybe I’m just too lazy to do all that styling.

Video of Stage 7 of Tour of California via La Canada

Posted on 24. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in local news, sports

I felt like I was at a block party today at the corner of Commonwealth and Princess Anne in La Canada as I waited for the bicyclists on the Amgen Tour of California to pass by on their way to the finish at the Rose Bowl. I don’t even live in that neighborhood, yet I probably knew at least 25 people there. What a testimony to the closeness of our small city!

Here’s the I took of the bikes racing by:

Click here to find out more about today’s Stage 7 race.

Hire a falcon to chase the seagulls

Posted on 22. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, travel

We met two falcons and an owl this weekend at the Bacara Resort in Goleta (near Santa Barbara) this weekend. They were perched on the back of a golf cart, and their handler explained that they’re used to chase away the many seagulls who decide to play in the hotel’s oceanfront pools. He let us take pictures of them, but didn’t take the hoods off of the falcons. I felt sorry for them.

I asked at the front desk if there was any way to see the birds chase off the seagulls, and they said that the owl and falcons were more for show, not for that work. Maybe their mere presence on the site is enough to scare off the gulls. If so, it’s much more humane and effective than using poison or spikes. Even so, it’s too bad it deprives the birds of prey of their freedom. Hopefully they spend most of their hours somewhere where they can exercise their natural tendencies.

My memories aren’t eclipsed

Posted on 21. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in environment, my life

When I pulled into the grocery store parking lot last night, everyone was looking up at the lunar eclipse. It was pretty cool, but it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the solar eclipse I saw when I was a little girl. Last night I told my kids I thought it occurred when I was three or four years old. I remember that I was attending a viewing of the movie “Snow White” one Saturday at the Congregational Church in Rutherford, NJ when we all ran outside to watch the sky turn dark.

I looked on Wikipedia, and quickly found the date: November 12, 1966. Sure enough, I was almost exactly 3.5 years old that day. And, according to the Day of the Week Calculator, it was indeed a Saturday.

It’s amazing what we remember.

The next total solar eclipse we’ll be able to see from North America will occur on August 21, 2017. Wow. I wonder what I’ll be doing then? I wonder if this blog will still exist? Will my kids be married?

Here’s a picture from the Rockford, IL Register Star of last night’s eclipse. Each photo was taken 20 minutes apart.

Tour of California to pass through La Canada en route to Rose Bowl

Posted on 21. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in local news, sports

There’s no way I’d want to bicycle through the steep and winding roads of Angeles National Forest, let alone make a sharp left turn near the end of my descent. Yet, that’s exactly what the bicyclists participating in the Amgen Tour of California will be doing next Sunday afternoon as they complete the last 93.4 miles of their week long race. After departing Santa Clarita, the cyclists will wind their way through Angeles Forest, whip through La Canada, and race around the Rose Bowl to an exciting finish.

Here’s a map of the last portion. According to Carol Cormaci in the Valley Sun, the riders are expected to enter our city limits around 2:30 pm on Sunday. At that point, they’ll descend Angeles Crest Highway, turn left (east) on Green, right on Princess Anne, right on Commonwealth and left on Berkshire on their way to the Rose Bowl.

As you can see from the graph, they’ll go from about 1,500 feet elevation to nearly 5,000 feet elevation and then back down to 1,000 feet all within about four hours.

I’ll be there to watch them. My sister saw them ride through Mill Valley, and she said they were going too fast to get good pictures. I’ll take a video instead.

Why can’t colleges just cut the cost of tuition for everyone?

Posted on 20. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in education, things that bug me

When I graduated from Stanford in 1985, the total cost of tuition, room and board was approximately $13,800. Using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) conversion tables, that would equal $26,973 today.

So why must we budget over $50,000 a year for each of our kids to attend college?

Granted, my dorm rooms didn’t have carpeting or broadband, and some of the facilities had seen much better days. But I didn’t care: I was just happy to be able to learn in an intellectually stimulating environment.

Last night I received an email from Stanford stating that it’ll be announcing a program similar to Harvard and Yale’s:

Under the new program, parents with incomes of less than $100,000 will no longer pay tuition. Parents with incomes of less than $60,000 will not be expected to pay tuition or contribute to the costs of room, board and other expenses. The program also eliminates the need for student loans.

I think that’s great, but how about the rest of us? We’re extremely fortunate that we have a combined income of more than $100,000, but it doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to shell out $50,000 per kid each year. (Especially for the three years we’ll have two kids in college!)

I wish that colleges and universities would use more of their endowments to cut the cost of tuition for ALL families.

We’ll pay if our kids are excited to attend a fine private institution. But I hope they also seriously consider our state’s excellent, less expensive public university system.

Best source for who’s ahead in the presidential delegate race

Posted on 20. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in politics

“When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad…I simply remember”

Salon.com’s “Election results: Who’s ahead in the delegate race“

“…and then I don’t feel so bad.”

Salon.com does a great job of summarizing state by state, and by delegates vs. super-delegates. (Do the latter wear capes and fly through the air?)

Besides, I love the graphics.

White circle around the moon

Posted on 19. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in environment, travel

On Sunday night I saw the following when I looked up at the Santa Barbara sky:

It was much more vivid in person. The moon was nearly full, and there was a white ring around it. Here’s how Wikipedia describes it:

A coloured circle around the moon is not a moonbow: it is usually a 22° halo produced by refraction through hexagonal ice crystals in cirrus cloud.

An astronomy professor who was in the group said the ring was actually only about a mile above the earth, and that this happens more frequently on the West Coast. I’ve been out here for 26 years, and I’ve never seen this. Maybe I need to look at the sky more.

Should we have compulsory national service?

Posted on 18. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in education, politics, religion

I heard at least five people this weekend state that they support a compulsory service program for young Americans. These plans would require 18-22 year-olds to take a year or two off to serve in the military, teach in underprivileged schools, help senior citizens, or perform some other sort of public service. Some proposed that people who served could have a portion of their college education costs forgiven.

As much as I like the idea of people serving others, when I first heard this I turned to my husband and whispered, “Sounds like another Baby Boomer plot to get the young to do the work for them.” I hate to be cynical, but aren’t the young already going to face a bigger burden trying to pay down our ever-expanding national debt and support the growing ranks of benefit-receiving senior citizens? Also, from Teach for America to Americorps, this generation is performing more public service than any I’ve seen.

Still, the idea has merits. Countries such as Israel and Germany, and religious groups such as the Mormons, have found that compulsory service not only provides much-needed workers, but it also helps bond the workers to each other, to the people they serve, and to the nation or religion that they belong to.

The word “compulsory” is what bothers me. If it’s truly valuable and important to serve, we should provide incentives so that people want to do it. I like the idea of forgiving student loans, as that would help attract intelligent and motivated workers. Perhaps there could also be a housing allowance to help in this tough housing market. In general, I think that people who volunteer will be more excited and therefore more effective at their tasks. Then, perhaps they’d even consider extending their public service as a career.

Let’s trade 7th graders

Posted on 16. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in education

I’ve often said that the more we know someone, the more we appreciate and respect their views and choices. That’s why I love this idea I heard the other day:

Offer 7th graders a chance to trade places for a week with someone they consider to be different from them.

Imagine how much kids would learn by seeing how other families interact, and how other schools operate. You could have rich kids and poor kids trade places, and kids of different races. Hopefully the kids would not only learn lessons, but would make longterm connections to communities other than their own.

Seventh grade would be the perfect age to do this: kids are old enough to spend a week away from home, but young enough that they wouldn’t have to face the impact of missing a week of high school.

If someone implemented this program, it’d be best to start it small and see what works best. Any takers?

What’s bugging me today: Clemens & Clinton

Posted on 14. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in politics, sports

Why is our Federal government spending so much time on steroids in baseball? I’m all for stopping professional athletes from taking performance-enhancing drugs, but isn’t that the business of the professional leagues and the courts? I think we have far greater issues our elected officials can be spending time on.

And Clinton wants to change the rules now that she’s behind, and get the delegates for Florida and Michigan? I’m glad I don’t have to play Monopoly against her.

Enough. I’m on the run today…

Why I finally let my daughter have a Facebook page

Posted on 13. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, parenting

After much consideration, I finally made my daughter’s day and told her she could have a page. Here’s why:

• She’s 16, and I think she’s mature enough to handle it
• Our church youth leaders announce upcoming events on Facebook
• She agreed to be my “friend”
• She’s going to give me her user name and password
• She’s only going to be “friends” with people she’s met in person
• We agreed upon her privacy settings
• I’ve been exploring Facebook lately, and I think it’s safer than MySpace

I envy my kids’ generation. They have so many more ways to bond and keep the communities that they build than I ever did. Once they graduate, they’ll still have their friends’ cell phone numbers, Facebook pages and email addresses to help keep in touch. I’ve lost track of all but a few of my high school classmates. Then again, I do keep in touch with the ones I care the most about.

I also get the impression that there’s more mixing between social groups because of Facebook. Some kids have friends online that they probably would never eat lunch with. Even so, because they’re “friends,” I think they have at least a modicum of sympathy and respect for the other person. Even though there can be online bullying, maybe it nets out to be less bullying overall since people don’t bully “friends.”

I’ve been more impressed with the culture of Facebook than that of MySpace. People generally use their real names and personas, probably because they’re accountable to whichever groups they belong to. I’m also glad that I can’t see personal details of my daughter’s friends unless they’re also my friends.

Who cares what Michelle Obama wears?

Posted on 11. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in feminism, politics

I enjoyed reading today’s Wall St. Journal front page article about Michelle Obama until I got to the end and read this:

On a recent campaign trip, she wore a classy but edgy black suit with an intricate white starched blouse. It was perfect for fund-raisers she attended at private homes in Manhattan and Greenwich, Conn., but less so for a meeting with working women at a Stamford, Conn., diner.

WHO CARES?!?!? I don’t care what Michelle, Hillary, Barack or Bill wear. Unless they’re parading around in a SpongeBob costume, I’m sure they’re trying their best.

This is so jr. high. I feel for Michelle: I’ve definitely worn the wrong thing on occasion. I remember wearing a skirt that was a tad too grungy to a fancy country club lunch last spring. And how about those working women in Stamford? Aren’t they good enough for a white starched blouse? (see pic above)

Let’s cut the fashion talk and stick to the issues.

(Although there’s still a part of me that rolls my eyes every time a candidate wears a hard hat.)

Going through high school with a conjoined twin

Posted on 11. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in disabilities, inspirational people

Here’s a featuring conjoined twin girls, Abby and Brittany Hensel, who were born in 1990 and live in Minnesota. They have two spines, two stomachs, three lungs and two arms. Even so, they lead incredibly normal teenage lives, and have great attitudes. According to Wikipedia, they play sports, play piano, and even drive. They’re on track to graduate from high school this year.

Honoring our sweet little Steffi

Posted on 10. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, my life

I first learned about West Highland White Terriers when my parents gave me a dog sticker book for my 5th birthday. I decided I’d have a Westie some day, and at one point even said that I’d own a Westie farm when I grew up. I finally got a Westie puppy 17 years ago. We named her Steffi, and she was one of the sweetest, most patient dogs I’ve ever known. She was great with the kids, and was always willing to fetch a ball or run circles with our preschoolers around the hallways in our house. Unfortunately, she got cancer when she was nine, and despite aggressive treatments, died several months later.

Soon after that, I purchased the print and the matching frame below on a trip to Santa Fe. In case you can’t read it, it says “Our Lady of Sass: Westie Divina.” I thought it reflected Steffi’s energy and enthusiasm.

When we moved to our current house, we decided it fit perfectly into the nook in the hallway. We added her old dog tag and a few little statuettes, and before we knew it, it looked like a shrine. That’s not what we intended, since we’re not dog worshipers, but it is a nice way to remember a sweet dog.

We still miss her.

This post is dedicated to MotherPie, Janna G., and Mary R.H., who all lost dogs recently. And also to Debbie J., whose dog isn’t doing so well…

Before you eat that, read this

Posted on 10. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in food, health, life lessons

Whenever I’m getting lax about what I eat, and start gaining weight back, I should read Gary Taubes’ PBS interview. Taubes, the author of “,” explains why a lower carbohydrate diet is healthier and more effective for weight loss than a low fat diet. If that’s not enough, read Taubes’ 2002 NY Times article, “What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?”

It worked for him, and it worked for me. I just need to be reminded why every once in awhile.

LA County refusing to count all “Decline to State” votes

Posted on 09. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in politics, startling statistics, things that bug me

Undecided “Decline to State” voters who voted in Tuesday’s California Democratic presidential primary were faced with the following ballot:

If they filled in a circle for one of the presidential candidates, but didn’t fill in the “Democratic” circle up above, the County’s machines won’t count their vote.

According to yesterday’s Long Beach Press-Telegram, about half of the 189,000 non-partisan ballots cast may not have been counted. County officials are manually recounting about 1% of them to guesstimate how many people were disenfranchised.

That’s wrong. People voted, and their votes should count, no matter who they voted for.

• If you agree, click here to sign the Courage Campaign’s petition to have the Registrar count EVERY VOTE. You don’t need to be a Los Angeles County resident to sign it.
• Click here if you’re a Decline to State voter in LA County concerned that your vote may not have counted.

Happy 100th Birthday, Grandpa Christie!

Posted on 08. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in my life

Today would have been my paternal grandfather’s 100th birthday. Too bad he’s not here to celebrate it.

To the right, you can see a picture of him with his mother when he was a little boy, then a photo taken when he was a businessman, probably at Klopman Mills in Manhattan, and finally with his mother as an adult.

My grandfather had attitude. He was never afraid to say what was on his mind, and he grew more fearless with age. He didn’t take very good care of himself, but despite diabetes, heart problems and throat cancer, he lived to a ripe old age. He was like the Energizer Bunny – he took a licking and kept on ticking.

He probably learned that as a child. His father died when he was an infant, and when his mother met a man who didn’t like kids, Grandpa went to live with his grandmother. He once told me that his Grandmother Goergens was a strict German woman, but he was eternally grateful for her love and support.

Whenever my sister and I would visit his house, my grandfather would make us flex our muscles for him. It was a silly thing, since neither of us had particularly impressive upper arm muscles. Too bad my he isn’t here now to see the muscles my son’s developed doing wrestling. He’d be so proud. He’d also be proud that my son shaves his own head, since my grandfather was an enthusiastic hair cutter.

He came of age during the Depression, so he was quite frugal. Whenever I buy paper towels, I think of Grandpa Christie. I remember visiting him at his nursing home once and he insisted that we drive him to a certain store so that he could get the Bounty Select-A-Sheet paper towels and only have to use a half a sheet each time. Even so, he and my grandmother once drove my husband and I up to West Point from their home in Haworth, NJ to have lunch at a restaurant. My father couldn’t believe they did that.

Before I left for college, my grandfather gave me a clothbound ledger, and taught me how to track my finances. I used it until I got a computer with Microsoft Money. Even then, for years I had my husband tell me exactly what he spent each day on lunch, to the penny. That all went out the window when life got too complicated with kids. I bet Grandpa’s scowling at me as I write this.

My grandfather met my grandmother on his birthday in 1936. They got married four months later, and stayed married until they died. I took of a TV playing a VHS tape of my grandparents’ wedding on June 26, 1936. Hopefully sometime I’ll get a better version.

I wonder how we’ll be remembered when we’re gone?

This is still the Wild West

Posted on 08. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, local news

Early this morning I saw two coyotes trotting up my street. A pack of coyotes lived in the canyon across the street from our old house up the mountain, but this is only the second time I’ve seen any near our current house. For those of you who don’t know where I live, my city is at the base of Angeles National Forest, but my house is only about 1/4 mile from the 210 Freeway, a major 10-lane highway.

Seeing the coyotes alleviated any guilt I might feel about not walking my dog early in the morning. My sister-in-law and her dog were attacked by coyotes in Dallas a few years ago, so I don’t want to take any chances.

At least coyotes don’t stink up the neighborhood.

Maybe I should paint my house these colors

Posted on 07. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in art, travel

My house is yellow, but it’s not this bright and it doesn’t have purple trim. We had a color consultant help us choose the color for our house, and purple wasn’t in the palette she suggested.
I couldn’t resist purchasing this birthday card from Trader Joe’s. The street it featured looks so cheerful and colorful I think you’d have to be happy just being there. I tracked down the name of the Rock View Bed & Breakfast in the photo, and I think it’s in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. Maybe I’ll visit there someday, to see if my happiness theory proves correct.

Perhaps the buildings across the street are all drab and ugly. If so, the best place to stay would be across the street, so this would be your view:

Anthony Portantino’s running for CA Assembly Speaker

Posted on 07. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in politics

From the La Canada Valley Sun website:

Former La Canada Flintridge mayor and current Assemblymember Anthony Portantino announced today his intention to run for the position of Assembly Speaker. The Assembly Democratic Caucus set an election date of March 11.

“With the date now set by the Caucus, I would like formally announce my candidacy for Speaker of the Assembly.  I intend to meet with my Assembly Democratic colleagues to make my case on how to move California forward.  I believe my performance to date and my positive, consensus-building approach to tackling California’s challenges shows I have something to offer,” Portantino stated in announcing his bid.

I remember when he ran for City Council here. I’ve never seen anyone campaign so hard in my life. Anthony actually went to a rival high school back in New Jersey, but we didn’t know each other until we met here in Southern California. He’s a hard-working guy who loves his job, so I’m sure he’d be a great Speaker. Go Anthony!

La Canada goes 54% for Obama, and 48% Democratic

Posted on 07. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in local news, politics

According to today’s Pasadena Star News, among La Canada Flintridge Democratic voters, 1,079 (46%) voted for Clinton, and 1,264 (54%) voted for Obama.

That makes a total of 2,343 votes cast for a Democratic candidate, and the paper shows that 2,582 were cast for a Republican candidate. This means that 48% of the votes cast here were for a Democrat. Some of these were “Decline to State” voters who could vote for a Democrat, but this is still impressive.

The times they are a-changin’…

Clintons lend $5 million to Hillary’s campaign

Posted on 06. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in politics

Did you know that Barack and Michelle Obama only finally paid off their student loans three years ago? That’s what . When Barack graduated from Harvard Law School, he chose a low-paying legal services job instead of a high-paying job with a big firm.

It’s lucky for Hillary and Bill Clinton that they didn’t do that, or they wouldn’t have been able to loan her campaign $5 million dollars in late January. They’re considering loaning more. Their press release says that it shows their commitment to the campaign. It does, but it also shows that there weren’t enough people who had faith in her to give more money.

That’s why I gave more to Obama today. We’re lucky we paid off my husband’s loans awhile back, so it’s good to be able to give to our candidate of choice.

Today I bought some razor blades

Posted on 06. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, parenting

Today I bought some razor blades. No, I’m not THAT depressed over yesterday’s primary results! I needed a razor blade to get the wax off our glass coffee table top. My son was a little too enthusiastic when he blew out a candle last week.

Razor blades are the spray paint of the drugstore: you need a clerk to open the locked cabinet to get them out. Retailers must be afraid that teens will swipe the blades and cut themselves. Given my phobia of injections, it’s not surprising that I completely don’t understand this practice. I never heard about this when I was a teenager 30 years ago, so I suspect that it’s a sick trend helped along by media attention. Either way, it’s creepy.

Once I got the razor blades home, I couldn’t open the package. I eventually used a flat-head screwdriver to break it open, thereby destroying all of the package’s safety features.

Thankfully, I’m not at all afraid that my kids are tempted to use razor blades, so I won’t have to hide these. Same goes for the alcohol or the unused prescription medications we have in our medicine cabinet. Lately, I’ve heard that teens are abusing prescription drugs like Vicodin more than illegal drugs. I’m trusting my instincts and the evidence before me, and am confident they and their friends aren’t using these things. But I’m always on guard, and I keep the meds in my medicine cabinet upstairs.

California Independent “Decline to State” voters CAN vote for a Democrat

Posted on 05. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in politics

From Obama campaign HQ:

“Decline to State” (DTS) voters have the right to vote for Barack Obama in the Democratic Presidential Primary.

DTS voters must identify themselves as DTS or non-partisan voters and ask to vote in the Democratic Presidential Primary when they arrive at their polling location. They will get instructions from a poll worker on how to vote in the Democratic Primary. If a voter gets into the voting booth and finds that he or she does not have an option to vote for Barack Obama, the voter should not cast his or her ballot. Instead, he or she should return the partially filled-out or unmarked ballot to the poll worker, and ask the poll worker to seek clarification from the supervisor at the polling location or from the County Registrar of Voters.

In Los Angeles County, DTS voters will be given a non-partisan ballot which they must take into a “Democratic” booth. They must mark both the “Democratic” bubble and the bubble for Barack Obama.

If you or anyone you know has any problems voting today, please contact the local County Registrar of Voters or one of our election protection hotlines at:

Los Angeles:

San Francisco/Bay Area:

Oakland/East Bay Area:

San Diego:

Or email

If Obama were a state, he’d be California

Posted on 05. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in politics, quotes

So said Maria Shriver at Sunday’s rally at UCLA:

“The more I thought about it, I thought, if Barack Obama was a state, he’d be California. Diverse, open, smart, independent, bucks tradition, inspiring, dreamer, leader.”

Maybe that’s why I love living here so much.  :)