I just recently heard about TOMS on NPR. TOMS are a simple canvas shoe similar to an Argentinean shoe. The neat business plan behind the shoes is that for every pair that is purchased, the owner gives a pair to a needy child around the world. The shoes sell for about $40. They may be a little overpriced, but it’s for a good cause. I am going to get me a pair.

Beckmania

David Beckham is so hot right now! I am going nuts over Beckham. Posh is such a lucky lady. Becks is such a good soccer player and he’s totally cute. And he has such great friends: Tom and Katie, Eva and Tony. I can't wait until he's a regular starter with the Galaxy.

I am not insane. Please note the third comment here.

Halting the McMansions

Boulder, CO, may have come up with a solution to the gross problem of McMansions:

"Homeowners willing to sign away their option to someday add additions to their houses would receive a one-time payment as well as lower yearly tax assessments on their homes. The forfeited enlargement rights would then be available for purchase through a specially established market. Residents planning to build or expand homes larger than the recommended thresholds — 7,000 square feet on the plains, 5,000 square feet in the mountains — would be required to purchase additional development rights at prices determined by the market, which might be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per property."

5,000 square feet! What would you do with 5,000 square feet. Right now The Poor Man and I live in a townhouse that is just under 1,000 square feet. I would love a kitchen and living room that are twice the size we have now, a master suite where our bedroom is about 1.5 times our current bedroom and a walk-in closet, and another bedroom and bathroom. So that would be 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms total. I expect that would be about 2,000 - 2,500 square feet. What would I do with 5,000 square feet of living space?? Even if we had 5 bedrooms (an office for the husband and a craft room for me), that would still not add up to 5,000 square feet. How do you keep everything clean and cool/warm?

Pottermania

Last week I pre-ordered the latest Harry Potter book for about $24 on amazon.com. For some reason I thought I was going to receive the book by the end of the week, and before anyone could buy it at the store. I was disappointed when I realized that the estimated delivery date for the book is July 31 - August 2. I was even more disappointed when I saw the book for sale at Costco for about $18. Not only could I have paid less had I bought the book at Costco, but I could have spent my weekend reading the book. Bummer.

Weather Miracle

The weather outside: Cool and rainy. The extraordinary thing about this weather report is that it is the middle of July and I am in California. Unlike the rest of the country, it never rains in California during the summer. The rains end in March or April and we don’t get rain again at least until October. But I am not complaining at all. Just commenting.

I'm Back

I am back from my two week vacation in Mexico. We had a fabulous time and we were all very sad to go home, and especially to have to go to work. The kittens were the only ones that were quite pleased to go home, even if it meant having to go on a very long car ride.

During the next couple of weeks I will post about the trip and add some pictures.

On Vacation

I have been working on some posts for a while but have not posted them. I have been bad about posting. I am going to be even worse for a couple of weeks because I am off to Mexico for a couple of weeks.

The kitties are also taking a vacation for a couple of weeks in LA. They are off to a bad start on their vacation after a long 6 hour drive.

Hopefully our vacation will be better.