Conserving energy

As energy costs continue to rise, businesses are looking for ways to reduce the use of these resources. Hotels with in-room temperature controls face a great inefficiency with the use of energy. Patrons often check into their room, turn on the system and leave for hours at a time. This allows the room to be set at a comfortable temperature while no one is there to enjoy it.

I'm currently in Chicago at the Sheraton. To conserve energy they have attached the activation of heating/cooling system to the deadbolt on the door. This requires that we are in the room before the system can be activated.

I actually appreciate the ingenuity of the system. They have it well marked on both the deadbolt and the heating/cooling unit. A on/off system may make it uncomfortable for the hotel guest during they stay. Yet complete access the system creates a lot of waste.

The only problem with the system is when not all the parties are in the room at the same time. My sisters and mom joined me for part of this trip. My sister often would go out later in the evening with friends living downtown. We couldn't lock the deadbolt lest she not be able to enter when she returned. Yet sitting in the hot room proved to be very uncomfortable.

We were able to resolve these issues with the use of cell phones but it proves that even the most ingenious of systems have their flaws.

Feeding the VCR

Pregnancy comes with a host of physical side-effects (so I've heard). To maintain any level of sanity, expectant mothers need time to rest. Unfortantely if this is child number 2, 3 or 11 the other children in the house make this a daunting task. When Julie was pregnant with her second child, she would shut lock the door of her living room from the inside to rest on the couch while Adam played. With a locked baby-proof living room, she was confident she'd awake if disaster struck.

Julie is a rather sound sleeper and wanted to be assured her 3-year old boy would be entertained while she rested. She covered the entire east wall with paper and posterboard. Markers and crayons created the ideal graffiti experience for this creative 3-year old.

Adam also was a constant snacker. A sippy cup of water, bowl of cheerieos and small PBJ sandwiches sustained him during this time of rest.

Julie would pop a video in the VCR, lay down on the couch to "rest her eyes" for a few moments while Adam contentedly played. As aforementioned, Adam snacked quite a bit. The ever caring child he was concerned the the TV would get hungry. He quietly wandered over the VCR, stuck in a cheerio and ba-da-bing! it disappeared. Assuming the TV had swallowed it and was still hungry he continued to feed the TV his PJB sandwiches.

Julie awoke to Adam asking the TV if it was "full yet." The VCR is no longer hungry as none of us are once we die :).

Perms and highlights...are they different?

In my early twenties I decided I wanted to add some zip to my life, by this I mean changing my hair. I'm not an overly high-maintenance chick when it comes to my looks. I appreciate appearing well groomed and enjoy picking out clothes but I don't tend to spend a lot of time on this endeavor.

I decided that a few blonde highlights would be a lot of fun. As time progressed and I kept re-highlighting my hair, it becomes more and more blonde. If you look at my family picture in the HOME post below you'll see I'm definitely brunette.

I never intended for it to get as blonde as it did. It wasn't till this past October that I finally was sick of spending the money and time. My fabulous hairstylist Melissa was able to accurately match my natural color with a dye to return it to a presentable state.

The Bible says the "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30. Many dear friends (often more jokingly than serious) said that my highlights were not Godly as they promoted vanity and changed the way God made me. Yet this same standard did not apply to the perm. When questioned about this discrepancy few had a good answer.

Perms it seems are considered less "out there" than anything associated with dye. Even though the same to criteria for why the highlights were "bad" applied, many did not possess the same strong feelings towards a perm. Illustrating the dislike of the highlights probably had more to do with personal preference than sound argument.

I do not feel that either is really a problem. It probably goes under the category of not "unlawful but not necessarily expedient." Not horrible to do but probably my time and money could be used better elsewhere.

just lost my post

Alright I just wrote this beautiful post on spring and the beauty of a spring storm. But my computer did something odd and I lost it. I'm feeling a sudden lost of inspiration so I'll just go with.

"Change comes a surely as the seasons and twice as quick."

Just as the spring storm cleanses the staleness of winter. I long for this change of seasons to renew my tired heart.

Promises Made-Promises Kept

Many years ago (about 8 actually) when I first was convicted by the call of Christ, I remember having many what seem like now silly objections. I made a promise to a dear friend of mine that I would resolve these issues and repent by the time we graduate high school. By the grace of God I kept that promise.

I've always strive to be a woman of my word. I want people to trust what I have to say without a legally binding document. I have not always succeeded in this but it is one my personal "life goals." (If you'd like to know more about my life goals you'll have to ask).

Part of any life goal is an accompanying behavioral action used to help ensure success. This requires I never make a promise that something will happen that I cannot fulfill myself. If I am not physically, emotionally, intellectually, etc... capable of completing a task, I will not say it will happen. If I say I'm going to do something, I will do it (barring unforeseen natural disasters).

Another behavior based action is to enact this life goal is to proactively contact any person to which I'm not going to be able to fulfill their request versus waiting for them to figure out I haven't done it yet. I try to do all of these either in-person or worst case over the phone. E-mail is not a good way to disappoint someone.

So my promise to you is...I'll do my best, via the grace of God, to be a woman of my word.

Home

"Home is where the people who love you live." I received a bit of ribbing that I still consider my parents house "home." It's not that I dislike South Bend or am not content here...but that doesn't make it home.

After the past 1.5 years, one would think maybe my perspective would change. I am able to drive around town and not get lost. I have numerous friends that I enjoy being with. I have a blessed church to worship with. I know where most things are in town. Yet it doesn't possess the feeling of absolute comfort of home. Purdue felt more like home in a few months that South Bend has yet to achieve.

I think it is because the people who I love the most and who love me, don't live here. It's not that I'm pathetically alone here. I have wonderful church brothers and sisters and some great friends. Yet they aren't my family.

My family who I talk to each member of at least once a week. People who I can call, say I'm bored and we'll have no trouble filling the time with conversation. It's ok to cry, be annoyed, or whatever. People I understand so well that I know what makes them happy, sad and so on.

I have attached a picture of my fabulous family. I can't praise God enough for them. We are all so different but we share a common love and devotion to each other that makes me understand why family is so important.

Offering options versus giving advice

As a rather opinionated individual, I find it difficult not to share my thoughts. It's not that I expect people to do what I say (even though I'm usually right -just kidding...sort of). It would just pain me to see someone do something because they didn't know any better and I did know better. Yet, it is socially taboo and generally not polite to spoon people advice. Typically as the advice giver you are only dealing with the facts of the situation. Most life experiences are compounded by a emotional and spiritual components that make the intellectually logical, illogical. The advice giver fails to account for these components and is incapable of fully comprehending them due their deeply personal ties to the other person.

Despite these social barriers, people may approach you seeking assistance. Sometimes all they want is someone to listen to them and be a shoulder to cry on. Other times they really do need information. Presenting this information as straight up advice has some inherent problems.

1. You may inadvertently pressure the individual into doing things that are against their best interest. People have weird feelings of guilt when the choose not to follow another individual's advice. They may have very good reasons for not adhering to the advice or maybe the don't. Either way it make an additional right/wrong dilemma that may be unnecessary.

2. As the advice giver, you are maintaining control of the situation. The old saying "Give a man a fish you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish you'll feed him for a lifetime." The same goes with advice. Helping individuals in crisis remember they are competent and capable of making decisions strengthens them for the times they have to make those tough choices on their own.

3. You may be wrong. By telling someone to do something that then doesn't work out so well, you can betray their trust and confidence. This can have extreme negative effects on your relationship hence forth.

Offering different options allows that decision to be made by the individual. It is even fine to share what option you would choose if ask. Yet the choice must always be left to the individual. They should not be forced in justifying their decision. "Why?" is probably one of the most damaging questions to a relationship. You may be really seeking "what" their reasons or motivations were. Using "what" versus "why" eliminates the overshadowing doubt you may have in their response. It encourages the exchange of information without passing unnecessary judgment.

So my advice is...just kidding.

Not sure about pets

After living alone for the past 1.5 years, I've been tediously praying/searching for a roommate. I've had several situations that I thought would work out and then God chose to shut those doors. Many friends/family have suggested I get a pet. Now if you don't know me well, this idea is not going to spark a great deal of enthusiasm.

For starters, I'm don't like the way fur feels or smells. I find it somewhat dirty. Some people are able to still maintain a clean home despite their indoor pets, I'm not sure I'm willing to take that risk.

Secondly, my apartment complex does not allow pets. This actually excited me when I moved in. I believe I said to the rental agent "I don't want pets and I really don't want to live around people who do." Yes this sounds harsh, but the thought of being kept awake at 3:30 every Monday and Thursday morning because the neighbor's dog is barking at the garbage collector really doesn't appeal to me.

I'm also not a pet-cuddle person. Give me a kid or person suitable for hugging and I'm all about it. I love to hug etc...well we'll go with most of the time. Every now and then I get protective of my bubble. Research has shown that the average American woman needs to be lovingly touched 8-12 times per day to promote good health. Yet pets just don't meet that need for me. I don't have a desire to pet them or scratch their head. My brother used to force my hand to pet our dog Bailey at home. I just cannot establish that emotional connection.

Finally, I'm not home enough to be a good pet owner. With my current class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I'm not home from 8 a.m. till 9:30 p.m. The other evenings I often have stuff going on plus work during the day. Also since most of my friends and family do not live in South Bend, I do a lot of travel. What would I do with a pet during my crazy weekends?

I currently do have one pet, he is a fish named Russ. He can go easily 5 days without being fed, he never demands extra attention, and he is a fabulous listener. While I appreciate everyone's suggestions, I'm not sure that a pet will make a suitable roommate for me.

In what I know or who I know

One of the most over-used quotes in business is "it's not what you know but who you know." While this saying has a great deal of truth to it, never does it resonate more than in our spiritual life.

The Bible makes it clear that though we have all knowledge, wisdom, and understand unless we love we have nothing. Our works mean nothing unless we know Christ.

When I'm looking for direction in my life, I pray for God to show me which way to go. Often I have a reasonably concrete idea in my head of where that is. I then take confidence in that "I know God's will for my life." It saddens me how quickly have misconstrued the purpose of knowing God's will. God's will for my life is that I love him, that I recognize his Son Jesus as his Savior, and that I do my part to bring others to this wonderful knowledge.

Bible study is a good thing. Knowing how God has worked before and his directions are essential to understanding his spirit. Yet I pray we take confidence in that we know Christ...not in what we know.

Signs of Courtesy

"Service excellence" or "Superior Customer Service" businesses strive to cultivate customer loyalty by providing excellent service. Regardless of industry, it almost always more cost effective to retain a current customer than to attract a new customer. I believe this customer service focus isn't reflective of a more customer-friendly approach to business but rather a deterioration of basic politeness in our society.

It is no longer expected that people are nice to one another. A friend and I ate at Wendy's today. I noted a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper with tips for excellent customer service. The list contained a list of behaviors that I thought all of our mothers taught us. The final concluded with "Just Be Nice." It saddened me to think that we've forgotten how to respect each other as people.

Unfortunately a lack of customer service may be a result of a more demanding public versus a failing of the employee. I have seen numerous checkers yelled at for a long wait or their food wasn't done properly. Many were screaming at a person other than the one at fault. Even if the employee did make a mistake, it rarely is justification for extreme fits of anger. I don't need to make others suffer to find relief for frustration.

In our egocentric society, we are continually looking out for "#1" When we begin to see others as living souls, it is naturally easier to show them compassion and concern. I'm not striving for a meaningless "How may I help you?" but rather that I acknowledge that person as a human being. As customers, it would probably drastically improve our customer service if we showed those who serve us a little compassion.

All of us are served by someone and all of us serve others. It is in the environment of mutual respect and compassion that we will all succeed. I recognize that I won't be able to change the mentality of the world but I'll try to do my part and not yell at the Wendy's order taker because my potato was cold.

Good thing my office is a casual work environment

Feb 1, 2006. This has been the busiest day in the office for the entire year. Yet I still find a quick moment to share. As I'm sitting in my slightly controversial 10:00 am meeting I randomly have a spastic moment and proceed to spill tea down the front of my white sweater. So much for my effort to look mature and profession. Versus bursting into tears I wipe the dripping tea of my shirt and continue through the meeting with a very large spot on my chest.

Well the day is too crazy to justify a trip home, so I walk out to my gym bag pull out a clean t-shirt. The office is also unmercifully hot today, so I had to remove my boots. I'm sitting my office shoeless, panty hose, dressy skirt and a donate blood t-shirt. Of course Dennis, my Senior VP, decides today is good day to come over to my office just to see how things are going. Good thing we don't have a dress code here. Thankfully, I'm don't have in-person meetings the rest of the day so I can sit here to privately bemoan my stupidity.

Obedience is better than sacrifice

God has called all of us to a life of worship and service. Our purpose in this life is to "Fear God and keep his commandments." As humans we try to complicate this issue. In church we read from I Samuel 15. Saul was charged by God to wipe out EVERY living thing of the Amalekites. This include all people, animals and so on. Instead his army spared f the best of animals and Agag the king. When approached by Samuel, Saul defended his actions by saying the animals were for holy sacrifice.

Samuel tells Saul Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.

Human understanding would have considered it wasteful to pointlessly kill all the animals. They could have stimulated the economy and provided for the needs of his people. Sparing the king may be deemed an act of compassion and mercy.

Our human mind will identify an action that we deem as good and use it to excuse us from executing God's will. After the act is complete, we may openly recognize our rebellion. We apologize and are sorry. While God in hiinfinitete mercy often forgives us, it would have pleased him more had we obeyed in the first place. Sometimes these actions havlife-longet consequences.

I find myself justifying things that I know are wrong. Do I choose to forsake the assembling of believers so I can stay home and "have my quiet time with the Lord?" Do I avoid people who are in need because "I don't want to bnosyey" when I'm really just being selfish?

To the outside observer, I may appear completely innocent or justified. But God knows my heart. He doesn't want me to be sorry later buobedientnt today. I have found every time I've submitted my heart is filled with such a peace and blessing I feel foolish foevery timeme I don't. Yet the Lord loveth whom he chasten. I'm thankful he loves me. Without the Spirit's direction and his holy word I'd be completely lost.

Outward expressions of internal experiences

Poker face, I have an astounding poker face. You can tell the precise quality of my hand by my face. I've always desired the ability to conceal my emotions and not show my hand. Recognizing this was primarily a pride issue, I was increasingly convicted. I realized over the years I could conceal any emotion struggles from others and even deceive myself. Because emotion masking and internal retreat are almost instinctive responses I looked for undeniable, difficult to hide, outward manifestations of my turmoil.

I tend to compartmentalize my life. Currently I'm operating in a dichotomous environment. Emotional investments are typically equally invested in work and my personal life. I can experience great trauma in my personal life and maintain a reasonable about of sanity within my work. On the opposite end, work can be going horribly wrong and my personal life smooth sailing. Of course they bleed into one another on occasion but the separation is really tight.

I usually define the compartments relative to the geographic locations where they take place. Work life is in the office, on the airplane, at a conference center and personal life is basically everywhere else with the center of it being my apartment. You can tell my emotional state relative to these two compartments of my life by the cleanliness of the primary geographic space.

If you walk into my apartment to find dishes in the sink, clothes on the floor, and my curling iron still plugged in the bathroom you can venture to guess I'm struggling personally. Whenever I resolve a personal issue I get a great urge to clean. It is if removing the cobwebs from my heart makes me notice them in the corners. Cleaning declares that I've been victorious.

If you walk into to my office and see piles of paper, partially use notebooks, and a warm open Diet Pepsi can you can assume that I'm overwhelmed or feeling a loss of direction relative to my work life.

It's not that any of these places become dirty gross with things involving mold etc...but they obviously need a touch up. So if you ever do walk into my office or apartment and see it in such a state...I don't probably need a reprimand or a sarcastic comment. I probably need a hug.

Learning to Pack Light

Any one who has traveled with me knows that packing light is not my strength. I've discovered that is not because I am unable to decide what to leave behind but my luggage has been too large. I have some very nice pieces of luggage that I've acquired over the years (how I've acquired them is for a later discussion). Many a guy has shaken his head and marked me a senseless girl as I struggle with these large bags on a car trip. More than one as given me the most evil stare as they cram the piece into a small Ford Escort of Dodge Neon.

As I pack my suitcase I equate empty space with me forgetting something. If I don't have to throw my entire body on top of the bag to shut it I have obviously forgotten something. Typically the large heavy bag comes back with 46% of the items unused. I fall into my chair after dragging the thing up the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment.

To rectify this problem I have relegated my luggage to the closet only to be used on long business trips where I'm flying out. All short weekend jaunts are limited to my black tote and Press Ganey duffel bag. It was such a joy this weekend to make one easy trip up the stairs with my bags. I was even able to keep talking on my cell phone and get the mail in this single trip. I used majority of things in the bag, lacking nothing.

Maybe there is hope for my back yet.

Audio Learner

Each of us take in information through our different senses. Some experiences are retained better in our long-term memory influenced by the sense that was used for the intake. Many people say I'm a "visual learner" meaning seeing pictures or examples helps them retain information better than other methods. I discovered in college I'm certainly an audio learner.

Being the nerd I am, I was prone to reasonably large amounts of study time. Yet I found that my greatest study strategy was simply to attend class. I was able to absorb most of the information necessary for the exam or project by simply listening to the instructions.

When cold evening after my night class, I was discussing with myself the principles covered in class. Now I was the only one listening minus the occasional passerby who caught a tidbit of my conversation. It was during this intense personal discussion did I discover I was an audio learner. I said to myself "No wonder I talk to myself so much, I'm an audio learner."

My friends argue that I'm still responding to the little voices in my head but since I'm still only hearing my voice I'm fairly confident that isn't it. My internal conversations are not usually as stimulating as those with other individuals as the element of surprise is eliminated.

Phone conversations are very satisfying to me because of this inclination towards audio learning. The 900 hours of call time since May 2004 with my current cell phone supports this assertion. While I always prefer someone in the room, I compensate for my current status with the cell phone.

Talking to myself also provides some level of comfort. I just never want it to get in the way of personal relationships. Brett said he saw me on campus a while back but..."I was going to say hi but I didn't want to interrupt your conversation."

Busy-Making ourselves feel important

"How's work?"
"Busy"

This common exchange of pleasant statements has sparked my interest recently. When I ask anyone about their school or job, I expect at some point in the conversation for them to reply how busy it is. If they fail to make this statement, someone usually comments "enjoy it while it lasts" implying that it will be busy in the future. If a person is never "busy", they are often considered lazy or useless. Ok...so that may be a little harsh but we feel something is wrong with them if they are getting enough sleep and enjoying time with those their lives. In reality, it may be the rest of us who have got it wrong.

I've heard the acronym BUSY-Buried Under Satan's Yoke. The idea that the mundane and pointless things of life consume our most limited and valuable asset, our time. Modern technology such as the microwave, automobiles, computers etc.... all could be utilized to minimize the amount of time it took to do certain tasks. Instead of reinvesting this time into our spiritual growth and edification, we have increased the number of pointless things we require of ourselves. As this is a societal mindset, the individual who tries to challenge does not receive much for social support. Schools, jobs, and so on are designed to train us to maximize our time for economic development. As if this economic growth is good in and of itself. If we are not contributing our full amount to the greater good, we are considered a leech on society. It is essential we convey our "busy-ness" to everyone so that we are viewed as an equal. If we are not busy, we fear we are missing something.

Now those who choose to not maximize their economic potential in exchange for a less busy life face daily pressures to conform to the mindest. No one says on their death bed "I wish I had completed that report" or "I spent too much time with our kids." Unfortunately our "business" interferes with the things we love the most. If we would slow down and think about it, maybe we wouldn't have to wait till were in the nursing home to relax.

Joys of aging

As I've commented before, Americans traditionally despise aging. It is considered something to avoid. "Young at Heart" and other such expressions only perpetuate the idea that getting old is a bad thing. The elderly are generally devalued by our society. Placed in facilities to await death, they are often the most neglected group of our entire society.

True with old age comes physical deterioration and bouts with senileity. Due to their declining health status, the average American is more forgiving of socially inappropriate actions committed by the elderly. Older Americans are allowed to say whatever they think, act like children, and return to a simpler life without social criticism. I'm not saying that the elderly have it easy...but I'd like to point out that era of life has some finer aspects.

My grandfather has been rather out spoken his entire life. Now that he is 84, he feels it is right to comment on every person he says. Now that is he almost deaf...he makes these comments quite loudly. Our poor musical director was subjected to comments about her size during the entire junior high Christmas program a few years back. Despite my parents and sibling vigilant efforts to quiet him, he continued to make comments. Never did another member of the audience ask him to shush nor did the musical director. All this is taken in stride to "humor the old geezer." Grandfather is also well known in our small time for securing his pallbearers. Ever the planner, he has had his pallbearers lined up for the past 6 years. He frequently forgets who he is already asked, so I'm counting on at least 15 when the day finally arrives.

Grandpa and Grandma now get to ride around the mall in their scooters. Never mind that they have run over the toes of at least 25 strangers and the walls in their house have mysterious holes in the shape of the handle bars. They are free to drive around these new toys wherever they can make them fit. As a 10 year old these would have been as cool as a dirt bike. The scooters of course are compliments of the Federal Government for reaching the age of 70+. Grandma and Grandpa are also enjoying themselves immensely with their lift-chair races.
Ready
Set
Go!
Let's see who can get dumped out first.

Finally, being the patriarch and matriarch of the family allows them to dictate the day, time, meal, and schedule of events of family activities. We know that Thanksgiving is held on Thanksgiving Day, at lunch time, a traditional meal of turkey, corn casserole, dressing w/o sage, pistachio jello salad, rolls, and home made pumpkin pie w/Cool Whip will be served. Grandma calls to remind us of this usually at the end of October. Not that we mind doing the work as they aren't really capable. But it would be nice to try a ham for once.

Overall aging holds some promise. I just home my family loves me enough to put up with my shenanigans when I reach that age.

Wishing for sunshine

The weather has been slightly confused in South Bend. The clouds and jet stream think it is late March. It is right around 40 degree and a deep dark grey. We've had approximately 7 hours of sun in the past 3 weeks. I wish I was exaggerating but it's the truth. I'm not a huge fan of really hot weather but I do love sunshine. I'll take the heat (with my central air of course) for a little sun.

Now I'm quite thankful for this little temperature mix-up. I'd be very content to for go some for warmer weather. It was my own foolishness that led me to have temporary amnesia regarding lake effect snow when I took my job in South Bend. It was April/May when I was interviewing for the position and in June I moved up here. Hence beautiful weather. The cold snow we received through most of November and December was not something I bargained for.

This warm spell has provided a bit of relief. I'm contemplating a quick visit to the tanning bad but then again do I really want to hasten the aging of my skin? Temporary warmth and happiness at the risk of skin cancer...I probably can't make myself do it.

I just need to find a hot vacation spot.

My New Year's Resolution-Not to make New Year's Resolutions

Evil, deceptive, pointless, and inconvenient all excellent descriptives of New Year's Resolutions. Now I know for some people New Year's resoluitons are very meaningful, important, and provide motivation to change something that probably needed changed a long time ago. I'm not opposed to personal growth and development, as long as it doesn't cause me great inconvenience.

Every January the Y where I work out member activity almost triples. All those poor souls determined that this year will be the year they lose weight come to crowd my gym. They flock to the gym for the first 2 weeks in January determined to make a change. This makes it very difficult for those of us who are regulars to maintain a normal routine. While a few make it and join our regular ranks, there are two distinct types of New Year's resolutioners who quickly fall off the wagon.

The first type is the "Going to the gym qualifies as working out" types. This group feels that simply showing up at the gym has to burn at least 300 calories. The may swim a lap around the pool then relax in the corner or they will walk on the treadmill at a pace that would even disgust a turtle. They take the elevator to the second floor to use the cardio room. Whatever the chosen activity, more calories are burned on their walk to and from the closest space in the parking lot than during their entire stay. After a few weeks, this group has not only failed to lose weight they have gained 3 pounds from their "reward" at McDonald's on the way home. The whole "exercising thing didn't work" and they quit coming.

The second type is the "I haven't done this in years so I need to catch up." Members of this team work out hard. So hard they borderline kills themselves. Instead of setting a reasonable pace for a 40 minute work out, they sprint for 10 minutes on the treadmill until their entire shirt appears as if they strategically stood under a active sprinkler system. Their breathing is so heavy people's eyebrows begin to raise and the YMCA staff are just praying the kneel over on their drive home versus somewhere on their property. This group hurts for a week and figures they have done enough to count for the entire year and hence returns to their normal activity.

I need to be patient and encouraging to all those who are striving to improve their health. The basic principles of healthy living haven't changed since the beginning of man. Eat right and move. I'm not saying this will turn you into a size 0 super model...but you'll feel better all around. I don't get too annoyed at these New Year's resolutioners. Since you have to sign up for a year membership at the Y, I just figure they subsidize my dues for the rest of the year.

Shopping Cart Growth

As I've matured through the years and watched the average American's waistline continue to grow, I have noted a direct relationship with waistline growth and our shopping cart size growth. During this same time period Americans have witnessed a decline in overall savings. While we may make McDonald's the villain in this story, I believe grocery stores are to blame.

As a single girl living alone, I do not need a lot of groceries. I traditionally look for a basket to do my shopping to avoid over filling my cart with things I don't need. Many American families head off the store and only stop filling their cart with purchases once the cart is full. Not everyone stops causing many items to come crashing down on the dirty linoleum, hence Heinz move the plastic bottles for their ketchup.

A few nights ago I headed to Kroger's, they basket holder was noticeably empty but there were an abundance of large carts. As a child, myself or my siblings were often placed in the grocery cart to do the weekly shopping. There was barely room for two children if you wanted to put any groceries in the cart. Now a days you could bring your 3 kids, dog, cat, and hamster and have plenty of room for the groceries. The idea is that you only bring 1.2 children and fill the rest with unhealthy high-mark up products. Later you come back to buy the more expensive "diet" products to try and repair the damage.

As I paraded through the store I had to discipline myself to only grab the items I had written out on my list. I only wanted about a basket's worth of groceries. I would not let my practically empty cart fool me that I was lacking anything. If we really want to promote better health in Americans, we need to reduce the shopping cart size. If people want to purchase as many goods, it will at least require an extra trip around the store.