MindComet

Halloween, You’ve Always Been My Favorite

I have always been in love with Halloween.  As a kid, I could not wait to pick-out a costume and wear it around the neighborhood with my brother and sisters.  I’ve had quite a selection of costumes over the years, as that has been the one thing that has never changed.  I still love to dress up in Halloween costumes.  This year I had a dilemma, as I had prepared to wear a bumblebee costume (notice, I did not say “Slutty Bumblebee”).  This costume is large, heavy and round like an actual bumblebee.  When Caboose tried on my costume, it covered almost his entire body and when he shook his very hidden back-side and say “Does this make my butt look fat?“.  The dilemma this year, however, is that it will be close to 90 degrees and wearing a furry heavy costume is less than enticing.

Last year, I made up a costume (I usually buy) and it was a horrible failure.  I was told that it was too obscure and no one got it.  It really stinks when you have to continuously explain your costume and the only response you get is a look that says “Man, you are odd!“.  Let’s play a game.  I will describe my costume to you and see if you can guess who/what I was…. Ready?

I wore a black dress.  I had silver buttons running down my back and I had a “Mary” name tag sticker on.

Last year’s failure is one of the main reasons I am clinging to the bumblebee outfit so tenaciously.  Everyone should be able to recognize a bumblebee when they see one.  Hopefully. 

Because I love lists, I am going to give you a run down of my Halloween costume history.  Here we go; Bumblebee, Miss Mary Mack (that’s the answer), A Best Buy Employee, A Giant Referee (it had a hoop around the middle so I looked like a ball), Miss Trailer Park 2005, Snow White, Snow White again, and the list goes on.  I encourage everyone to loose their inhibitions, dress up as something fun, and get your Halloween on!!

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Oct. 29, 2009

I Just Can’t Have Nice Things Anymore

As I continue to settle into my new home, I find that my budget allows for me to buy one new home accessory a month.  Even with the budgetary allotment, I never seem to have enough money for sweet paintings like this anymore.  Is it because I have a child, all my extra money goes to the purchase of Bionicles and Xbox 360 games?  I am unsure.  All I know is that they don’t paintings like this in IKEA.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Oct. 19, 2009

Good News For Drinkers!

Moderate drinkers that is….  According to a study by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, non-drinkers and heavy drinkers have a higher likelihood of suffering from depression and anxiety than their moderate drinking counterparts.  Even more troubling for the non-drinkers, according to the study, they had fewer friends and were less well-adjusted socially than the other groups. 

For clarification sake, moderate drinkers have two drinks per week.  So I say that beer at Happy Hour on Friday with your friends is a great idea!

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Oct. 13, 2009

Still Another Item In The “I Want That” Category

Since I’m trying to be diligent in saving money, I am packing my lunch every day.  Now I own one of those ubiquitous insulated nylon lunch bags, you know the ones I’m talking about.  But there are days when I am uninspired by my lunch.  I think I’ve found the solution.  No, it’s not better quality sandwiches (but that would be an improvement), it’s a better lunch box.  I think I’ve found the perfect one.  I will continue to look around, but check out this sweet number.  Don’t be jealous, you too can own one.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Oct. 07, 2009

Are You The Next….

I ran across a contest looking for a spokes model for sustainability.  This model, aside from being pleasant looking, has to actually live the green lifestyle.  The winner will become the face and brand ambassador for the movement.  That started me thinking, not about entering that contest, but what kind of contest would I be a perfect representative/model. 

Let’s review my qualifications; I’m not photogenic.  I’m not highly educated (I don’t posses advanced degrees).  I’m not particularly talented or coordinated.  I can’t juggle / sing / dance / crack a whip / shoot a gun / whisper to animals / or ride a bike.  I am average in the most painful way.  I am “Middle America”. 

Being average “Middle America”, I think that I would be the perfect tester / reviewer / judge for new products.  That would be the contest I could win; “America Says What?“!  Who better than a middle aged Ohio transplant living in Florida to say what average people would like or dislike.  Anyway, if there were a contest designed for me it would be “America Says What?“.  What would yours be?

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Oct. 01, 2009

How Do You Pay For Stuff?

I’ve noticed something happening… There are now vendors like stores, service providers, and medical professionals who are limiting how they accept payments.  Instead of taking all conventional forms of payment such as cash, credit, debit, and checks.  They are only accepting specific payment types. For example, I was out with a friend getting an ice cream cone (yeah, I’m really a little kid at heart) and had to have my friend buy my cone because the ice cream parlor didn’t accept credit/debit cards.  It happened at Caboose’s karate school as well, they are no longer accepting credit/debit cards because the cost to the business is too high.

I understand that there are steps that need to be taken in order to preserve efficiencies on the vendor’s side, after all this is a difficult economic time.  However, is the cost of inconveniencing your clientele a price you really want to pay?  The name of the game at this point is customer satisfaction, ease of use, and experience.  Limiting how you allow people to pay may cause unnecessary stress and a customer who may or may not return.  In my case, the karate school was a necessity so I was forced to alter my habits to conform but that may not be the case for every scenario.  It has also forced me to carry around a small amount of cash, which I don’t like to do as I find it spends easier than my debit card.  The things I will do to have the occasional ice cream cone.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Sep. 24, 2009

Soldiers Angels

With the announcement of the CommuniCause winner, Soldiers Angels, I went to take a look at their website.  They are doing amazing work, they give soldiers reminders of home when they are so far away and enduring tremendous difficulties.  As I was reading through their site, I was struck by the desire to “adopt” a soldier of my very own.  After reviewing the requirements, I decided that this was something I wanted to do with a buddy.  I enlisted my good friend, Jamie Brooks, to co-adopt with me. 

A few minutes ago, I received the name of my soldier.  Her name is Margaret.  Jamie and I were very excited to have a female (and as a bonus, she has a dog) as we have a better handle on what kinds of things we would like to send in a care package.  Our soldier provided us with an email address, so we reached out with a welcome/about us email.  The good folks at Soldiers Angels told us not to get our hopes up about two-way communication, but sending the email seemed like the right thing to do.  I’ll keep you updated on how it goes and hopefully it will lend some moral support to Margaret.

If you are feeling like you need to do something to help your fellow man, then I suggest that you look into adopting your own soldier.  Soldiers are not at war for their own gain, but to protect all that we hold dear and precious.  The least I can do is to help one feel appreciated and a little more comfortable.

Soldiers Angels

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Sep. 17, 2009