Send Me to Denmark Please

I've been arguing with some people for years about what I think can be a very real relationship between one's physical environment and one's happiness. Well, really, there's one person in particular I've been yelling at for some time about this. (You know who are you.) He thought all my moving around was a bit silly, that it didn't matter where I lived, that there was something within me that needed to be ironed out and that until that happened, I'd never find any peace. I never disagreed that I had stuff to deal with (who doesn't?) but I also knew that certain environments just did not feel right to me and that I needed to be in a place that felt stimulating, alive, and loving. Yes, loving, whether that meant being in close proximity to the people I care for most deeply or living in a community that seemed to genuinely care not only for me but my neighbor, too.

So then can I tell you how excited I am to hear about this book? Thank you, Mr. Buettner for making me feel a little less crazy about my position and for letting that friend of mine know that he's just, well, wrong. Heh heh...

Insert Giant Smiley Emoticon Here

Today is a cloudy, chilly fall day in my neck of the woods. Some might even deem it a bit depressing as they try to galvanize themselves to do a little work when all they really want to do is wrap themselves up in a blanket, drink some tea, and drift off to siesta land. (I mean, some people might feel this way.) But then you watch this and I doubt you can feel anything but warm, sunny, and cheerful. Especially when you see that little gavel dance.

Oh, if only I had singing, dancing puppets at my disposal at any given time. (Sigh.)

Apples, the Evil Food

I try to be very respectful of everyone's independence and choices in life. However, I, too, NPR often wonder whose choice it should be to eat healthy. My instant reaction to that question in your article was, don't you dare try to tell me what to put in my body! But study after study shows that the obesity epidemic in the U.S. is driving up health care costs astronomically. (Guess who's paying for the uninsured person who ends up in the ER due to a diet induced heart attack?)

And now, if I may, I'm going to vent a bit.

Is it just me or is Ms. Coleman's comment absolutely infuriating? Who on earth is complaining about apple slices? And what exactly is the message here? That if your children are "picky" eaters, let them eat all the french fries they want? Come on now, Ms. Coleman. You're not doing your boys any favors. And I doubt you are helping out the rest of us down the road either.

Maybe try a pear instead?

Let's Stay Out of Crazy Town, Shall We?

When people try to tell me that animals don't have emotions, I proceed to go to Crazy Town in about...oh...0.8 seconds. It's photos like this one where the facial expression is so indicative of something so very real and raw (an expression that I unfortunately saw on the faces of many a traumatized client in my past work) that makes me want to shove it in the faces of any non-believer. Emotionless creatures? Are you kidding me?

Take THAT, Big Oil!

I really like the phrase, "closing in on oil". After a less than ideal morning, this is a pretty great bit to stumble upon.