This month I embarked upon a journey to experience some of my Irish heritage by reading Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt.
The book was depressing, but good. In talking with a friend from work, he summed it up well when he said he “ate himself through the book.” The story is a charming tale of what it was like to grow up in Ireland during WWII – without food, basic necessities, and barely the clothes on your back. I appreciated the story for what it expressed about perseverance and determination. I can’t even image what it must have been like…
I thought that his descriptions of his first encounters with love were endearing. I enjoyed that it was told from a child’s perspective. I loved that the narrative wrote openly about what he encountered and what he felt. I appreciated his remarks about family and religion.
It was a good read and I would recommend it.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Happy St Pats!
Happy St. Pats! Mom and dad came into town on Friday night before Saint Patrick's day and it was none stop fun till they left us on Easter Sunday.
Saturday was met with a early morning trip to drop Aaron off at the airport for his trip home for Spring break. It was a great visit and I was sad to see them go on Sunday. Thank goodness for friends Megan, Scott, Jackson, and Aida, who provided a distraction to keep the tears at bay.
Mom with Aida.
We started the visit with some green fun in 5 points at their annual St. Pats festival. We went for a walk, watched the parade, and enjoyed music and friends throughout the day.
Mom and I giving each other jello shots.
Our early morning beverages at Delaney's Irish Pub.
On the way home we stopped to find a few geocaches that Leigh and Mickey and I couldn't find during their visit.
Monday had us visiting Savannah for some history and site-seeing. On the way there we stopped in Beaufort for tradition food at Gullah Grub and a visit to Hunting Island. Mom and dad introduced me to a B&B experience which I enjoyed (especially the happy hour of wine and snacks). It took us nearly all night, but we finally found a bar to make some Irish flags.
Wednesday we headed back to Lexington and sadly I had to go to work. But, mom and dad kept themselves busy at our house, fixing things and cleaning up our yard. The last weekend was met with more outdoor activities and projects on the 'honey-do' list (that my honey doesn't do), including replacing our kitchen sink, refinishing our bedroom furniture, and yard work.
Saturday was met with a early morning trip to drop Aaron off at the airport for his trip home for Spring break. It was a great visit and I was sad to see them go on Sunday. Thank goodness for friends Megan, Scott, Jackson, and Aida, who provided a distraction to keep the tears at bay. Mom with Aida.
Thanks to mom and dad for everything. It was a great visit.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
New Ozone Standard
I know, right, two new posts in one day...but I had to share some important news. Important not just for me, but for everyone who breaths. The EPA announced today a new ozone standard (in fact a tightening of the standard) that it hopes will better protect the health of citizens and the environment.
Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms when emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) “cook” in the sun. Power plants, motor vehicle exhaust, industrial facilities, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are the major man-made sources of these emissions.
It will be interesting to see how this change effects things to come. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend just one of five public hearing (in which the EPA received nearly 90,000 written comments) on this issue some months ago in Atlanta, GA.
Not only does this ensure that I will have a job in the years to come, but it also has significance in terms of how transportation planning is conducted, as those areas that will now be designated as nonattainment will need to conform to certain standards/procedures that they didn't have to deal with before the change in the standard. It will also no doubt effect economic development in areas now in nonattainment of the new standard of 0.075 ppm (used to be 0.084).
The EPA estimates that the final standards will yield health benefits valued between $2 billion and $19 billion. Those benefits include preventing cases of bronchitis, asthma, hospital and emergency room visits, heart attacks and premature death, among others. EPA’s analysis also shows that these benefits will likely outweigh the cost of implementing the standards, the cost of which is estimated to range from $7.6 billion to $8.5 billion.
Only time will tell...
Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms when emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) “cook” in the sun. Power plants, motor vehicle exhaust, industrial facilities, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are the major man-made sources of these emissions.
It will be interesting to see how this change effects things to come. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend just one of five public hearing (in which the EPA received nearly 90,000 written comments) on this issue some months ago in Atlanta, GA.
Not only does this ensure that I will have a job in the years to come, but it also has significance in terms of how transportation planning is conducted, as those areas that will now be designated as nonattainment will need to conform to certain standards/procedures that they didn't have to deal with before the change in the standard. It will also no doubt effect economic development in areas now in nonattainment of the new standard of 0.075 ppm (used to be 0.084).
The EPA estimates that the final standards will yield health benefits valued between $2 billion and $19 billion. Those benefits include preventing cases of bronchitis, asthma, hospital and emergency room visits, heart attacks and premature death, among others. EPA’s analysis also shows that these benefits will likely outweigh the cost of implementing the standards, the cost of which is estimated to range from $7.6 billion to $8.5 billion.
Only time will tell...
Women's History Month
In celebration of Women's History Month, MSN published an interesting questions on its cite: “We'd like to know which female historical figures have inspired you the most. Why do you look up to them?”
This got me thinking about all the influential women in my life, who they are, what they taught me, and what they mean to me…Perhaps, most obvious are those women closest to me; my mom, my sisters, my grandmas, my mother-in-law, my grand-mother-in-laws, my aunts and aunt-in-laws, my friends, and mentors. Throughout my life, I have been truly blessed to know some extraordinary women. I was fortunate enough to have a stay-at-home mom and two unbelievable sisters who together taught me so much about what it means to be a woman. To my mom: thanks for teaching me to value a home for what it means, not what it is. To Leigh: thanks for teaching me that women can have some seriously strong convictions and we shouldn’t ever be ashamed to express them. To Erin, thanks for teaching me how creative and free-spirited women are and can be.
To all of you collectively: thanks for teaching me how to be feminine, strong, independent, outspoken, passionate, powerful, righteous, demanding, compassionate, helpful, and honest. Thanks for showing me how to break down barriers, fight for what you believe in, express what you feel, persuade others to act, teach others what you know, share what you feel, and believe in yourself. I have known some fabulous women in my life and have taken something from each of you. I have a lot more yet to learn and even more to be thankful for…I can vote, I can work, I can be a great mom, I can work and be a mom if I want to, I can run for political office, I can tell people what I think and stand up for something I believe in…
I thought that I would chime in and say “thanks to all the women who have come before me.” I thought I would raise a collective fist and say Yah! to all the women out there.
For more info, here are some links...
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/womenshistorymonth/a/whm_history.htm
http://www.history.com/minisites/womenhist/
This got me thinking about all the influential women in my life, who they are, what they taught me, and what they mean to me…Perhaps, most obvious are those women closest to me; my mom, my sisters, my grandmas, my mother-in-law, my grand-mother-in-laws, my aunts and aunt-in-laws, my friends, and mentors. Throughout my life, I have been truly blessed to know some extraordinary women. I was fortunate enough to have a stay-at-home mom and two unbelievable sisters who together taught me so much about what it means to be a woman. To my mom: thanks for teaching me to value a home for what it means, not what it is. To Leigh: thanks for teaching me that women can have some seriously strong convictions and we shouldn’t ever be ashamed to express them. To Erin, thanks for teaching me how creative and free-spirited women are and can be.
To all of you collectively: thanks for teaching me how to be feminine, strong, independent, outspoken, passionate, powerful, righteous, demanding, compassionate, helpful, and honest. Thanks for showing me how to break down barriers, fight for what you believe in, express what you feel, persuade others to act, teach others what you know, share what you feel, and believe in yourself. I have known some fabulous women in my life and have taken something from each of you. I have a lot more yet to learn and even more to be thankful for…I can vote, I can work, I can be a great mom, I can work and be a mom if I want to, I can run for political office, I can tell people what I think and stand up for something I believe in…
I thought that I would chime in and say “thanks to all the women who have come before me.” I thought I would raise a collective fist and say Yah! to all the women out there.
For more info, here are some links...
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/womenshistorymonth/a/whm_history.htm
http://www.history.com/minisites/womenhist/
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
February Visitors & Tiger Town
Aaron and I enjoyed visitors in late February when Leigh and Mikey visited from MI. The weather could have cooperated more (as it was rainy and cold for SC), but none-the-less we had a great time! Leigh did a great job blogging the days events, so I won't repeat it here. Some of my highlights from the visit were a trip to Charleston, Edventure Children's Museum, and the Riverbanks Zoo.
Last weekend we went to Tiger Town to watch the Detroit Tigers play the Cleveland Indians at Joker Marchant stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
It was a long ride (at 7.5 hours), but a great time! We saw lots of the Tigers from Inge to Cabrera. The weather was great and even required sun tan lotion. We enjoyed dinner at Applebees after the game and a stop at the outlet malls on the way home.
Last weekend we went to Tiger Town to watch the Detroit Tigers play the Cleveland Indians at Joker Marchant stadium in Lakeland, Florida. It was a long ride (at 7.5 hours), but a great time! We saw lots of the Tigers from Inge to Cabrera. The weather was great and even required sun tan lotion. We enjoyed dinner at Applebees after the game and a stop at the outlet malls on the way home.Aaron also enjoyed the Animal Farm which I rented on cd from the library to occupy our time on the way to Lakeland. As for me, I am on to reading Angela's Ashes, which is quite depressing so far.
Aaron goes under the knife on Thursday, so we'll report back on that later this week. In the meantime I am off to the store to get supplies for the master cleanse, which should be interesting.
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