Say Whaaaaa?

I purposefully sit as near as I can to the table of old guys when I go to Block's Bagels:

"And then he said how much he loved Nascar. To be honest, I didn't really know where to go from there."

Cele-bray-chion

The sump pump in my office building decided to extend the World Water Day celebration and filled the room where my cubicle resides with 3 or 4 inches of water last night. Yippee!

If you're interested in helping a family have access to clean water, right in their own home, check out this option. There are many, many ways for you to make changes in the lives of people who don't have what we have, but I don't have enough room on my blog to list them all, so here's one place to start. AND, the guy in the green shirt at the top of the page, his name is Salvador. AND, he's from the city SAN Salvador, in the country of EL Salvador. How could I not link to a picture of that guy?

World Water Day

Yes, this is one of those blogs where every now and then the post will be only about some charity or world disaster. The author of this blog wants you to know that she has ZERO problems using this blog as a space for the benefit of people who don't have a voice.

March 22nd is a day that the United Nations has designated as World Water Day. The purpose of World Water Day is to raise awareness (especially in ridiculously wealthy countries, like the United States) about the unacceptable numbers of people in our world who do not have access to clean water. 1.1 BILLION people do not have access to clean drinking water.

Today, as we go through our Thursdays, I challenge you to think about how different your life would be if you could no longer grab a bottle of water, flush the toilet, wash your hands or your food, prepare your food in clean dishes, or do any of the other things that we do with water. Or if you had to do all of those things with one bucket of water from the bathtub after your entire subdivision had bathed there. Today is about raising awareness. And while awareness is the first step, we cannot stop there.

I invite you to check out the Global Map of Water. I found it to be an extremely interesting resource as I sit with the awareness of this issue and contemplate where I go from here. Because this is not okay with me.

50 Things I Love, In No Particular Order

1) The veggie burger at Northstar
2) The internet
3) Reading
4) Fresh berries and Cindy's Sweet Cream
5) Movies at the movie theater
6) Writing
7) iPods
8) Email conversations with far-away friends
9) Fresh nail polish (on fingers and toes)
10) The feeling you get right after a shower, right after a work out
11) Husband's cooking
12) Singing while driving
13) Quiche
14) Buckwheat Zydeco
15) Snuggling with Husband
16) Massages
17) An uncrowded beach
18) Thunderstorms
19) Guacamole
20) French cider
21) Fleece pants
22) Sunshine
23) Listening to someone talk about something that they LOVE
24) Beyonce
25) Weekends
26) Falling asleep to the sound of rain
27) A new haircut
28) That moment when the lesson clicks and I learn
29) Mars Hill podcasts
30) Fuzzy socks
31) Running
32) I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by the Arctic Monkeys
33) Context
34) The bread pudding at Der Dutchman
35) Lip balm
36) BBC mysteries
37) Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes
38) Candid photos
39) New running shoes
40) A good stretch
41) Live music
42) Alone time
43) Hanging out with friends
44) Overusing the word "Awesome"
45) Vietnamese cinnamon
46) Green curry
47) Receiving cards in the mail when it's not my birthday
48) Fresh cut flowers
49) Fish tacos
50) Laughing with my entire body

Under the Overpass

Near my house there is a park with walking/biking trails that go on for miles. As much as I love visiting and exercising in this park there is a moment during each visit where I am confronted with how fragile a thing it is to be a human being. It's always the moment where I am walking next to the creek where trail dips below the overpass for I-270, the Columbus outer belt. At this point on 270, the road is split with cars going in opposite directions on separate roads altogether, so that when walking under it there are two overpasses above you. Cars, SUV's, and semi-trucks whiz over you less than 20 feet away. At this point on my walk I have at least one thought about a vehicle flipping itself over the side or a rock or some other piece of road debris flinging out from under a tire and impaling me in the head. As morbid as it sounds, it does make me pause and give thanks for the protection that has been afforded me and those close to me.

Over the past week I've had the opportunity to pause and think about the thin line between life and death more often than I'd prefer to think about within a span of seven consecutive days. A co-worker of mine had to decide whether or not to keep her 26 year old daughter on life support after a coma-inducing asthma attack . Her daughter passed away last Monday. On Tuesday, some family friends had to start thinking about whether or not to keep their husband and father on life support after a motorcycle accident. He died earlier today.

I cannot fathom the situation that my friends find themselves in this week though my heart breaks at their grief. I know that today I am unspeakably grateful for the protection afforded me and those close to me. Walking under 270 this afternoon was both more and less difficult than it has ever been.

2 Reasons Why Goodwill is Awesome

Reason #1
Stranger: Hey! Nice hair!
Me: Thanks!
Stranger: We should put you on the E! Channel!

Not just a general, "You should be on tv." Nope. He knows specifically where on tv my hair belongs. According to this record clutching stranger, I have the hair for celebrity gossip. That. Is so. Awesome.

Reason #2
Disco Jeans for $1.99. And I know they're disco jeans because that's what the label says. That and the high waist. I tried them on for Husband when I got home and when I turned to show him the view from the back he says, "You've just transported your butt to 1974!" Double. Awesome. I'll probably wear them when I go on the E! Channel.

Sponsored Links

Google, in all of it's infinite helpfulness, gives me a list of "Sponsored Links" next to each email message. Most of the time they are ignorable, but every now and then, one will catch my eye. I, in all of my infinite helpfulness, have compiled a list of a few of my recent favorites to share with you.*

*Please note that I have not actually visited any of these sites even though they are linked here. CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I was scammed 37 times
These websites are absolute scams I will show you the ones that work
Dannys-Scam-Review.com
(37!!! REALLY? You didn't pick up on the scam the first 36 times??)

Peter Potty - $38.95 New
1st Portable Flushable Urinal, as seen on "I Want That"
www.bippityboppitybaby.com
(Portable Flushable Urinal. Three words I never thought to use together.)

Worldwide Email Finder
Find anyone's email, in any country Gaurenteed.
www.theemailfinder.com
("Looky here Ma! This one's Gaurenteed! And with a capital G!")

Apnea? Play Didgeridoo
Study says didgeridoo play relieves snoring and apnea. More info here!
www.laoutback.com
(Sounds reasonable.)

lefties
- after you read this there will be one less of them. One more of us.
www.solutions-here.com
(One less leftie? One more leftie? Who? What?)

Trampoline Beds
Trampoline beds in Unique colors Free shipping, Priced right
www.funspot.com/Trampoline_Beds
(The selling point for me here is the promise of unique colors.)

Teeth Wipes/Adwin Korea
All you need to know about Teeth wipes and bad breath
www.adwin.co.kr
(Who knew there was anything to know about teeth wipes? Lots of pleasant imagery here.)

Mr. Ellie Pooh
Looking for Elephant Dung Paper? Eco-Friendly, Exotic Gifts Items!
www.mrelliepooh.com
( !)