After reading and posting here for a few months, I finally broke down and started my own blog. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's a start. Still finding my way around JoeUser, and can't figure out a couple of things (well - a couple in relation to the mechanics of my blog anyway...LOL) How do I get an icon next to my posts? And is there a way to post a picture in the menu to the left of my blog? Thanks for any insight y'all can give.

When a polling organization in Britain asked a thousand citizens to update the list of Seven Deadly Sins, the results showed an interesting shift in the understanding of sin. The original seven (pride, envy, wrath, sloth, lust, avarice, and gluttony, traditionally remembered with the aid of the acronym PEWSLAG) were replaced by cruelty, adultery, bigotry, dishonesty, hypocrisy, greed, and selfishness. Formerly the essence of sin lay in offending God by failing to curb one's lower nature. In t...

A new report from the Center for Consumer Freedom details the specifics of how PETA is targeting America's religious faithful. They see the religious right as an obstacle to be removed... or brainwashed. "Considering the level of religious interest in the United States, it seems unlikely that we'll achieve animal liberation without mobilizing, especially, Jewish and Christian progressives, and perhaps also many of the conservatives." (PETA vegetarian campaign director Bruce Friedrich in "D...

Nope... we're not talking about driving under the influence here, but dialing under the influence. Virgin Mobile is now offering a new service to its customers: Dialling Under the Influence. For 25 cents per number, VM will blacklist certain users from your phone, so that you can't get drunk and then go off calling in a stupor. You just enter 333 before the number you want blacklisted, and they won't put any calls through to that number til after 6am the next morning. As far as I k...

I've heard several different definitions of humility recently. Maybe not technical definitions, but examples... Some see humility as a weakness... yet don't we respect the humble and avoid those who are arrogant? What defines humility for you? Is there someone in your life who has modeled this characteristic in a way that made you understand it in a different way? Or who was a prime example of humility? Is there a catchphrase you associate with humility? How about these: True hu...

Aug. 15, 2005 — A Pennsylvania man is facing manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges after his 15-year-old daughter struck and killed a woman carrying a baby during a driving lesson. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to live in this situation... as the mother of the woman who was killed, as the girl who caused the death, or as the father who's looking at manslaughter charges. This was a terrible and tragic accident. I don't know how I feel about it. On the one hand...

Thanks to Ted for the spark that ignited this contemplation... Link I've come to despise the effect communication technology has on my life. Do I own a cell phone? Yes. I have one. Hubby has one. Teenaged daughter has one (and is not allowed to drive the car without having it charged and on her person). It has come in handy when I am out and have forgotten what I needed to pick up at the grocer's... and when I'm sitting on the side of the road because my car battery died. I re...

My washing machine broke down last week. It's a relatively new machine, so I doubt that it's anything major... but after doing a week's worth of clothes at the laundromat yesterday (a family of five - not fun), I decided that I didn't want to wait for the repair guy. I figured I'd see if I could handle this myself. I searched the internet to see if I could get a handle on what exactly is wrong with it. General scouting told me that since it's not spinning, the most likely culprit is the m...

*quits singing* I might be missing it, but I was looking for links to personal webpages. Do you all have personal pages? Famiy sites? Mine is below... but be warned, it desperately needs to be updated. I thought it would be fun to get to know you all a little better by exploring your personal "homes" on the web. So how about it? Anyone have a personal website to share?

I absolutely LOVE living in New England. I don't care for the harshness of the winters here, or the blazing heat and humidity of summer... but Autumn is that wonderful in-between time that makes it all worthwhile. We don't really have Spring here, we just have "mud season." New England is in its glory in the Fall, though. When I was younger, this was my favorite season because it was a time for gathering with family that I didn't see often at other times of the year. Over the years, it has...

After hearing you talk about missing the changing of seasons, I wanted to share New England Autumn with you, so hubby and I took a drive Monday and I captured these with you in mind. Enjoy! Happy Harvest!

I'm sitting here chuckling. After responding to an article earlier this evening, I just now returned to the article to find my reply gone, and left with no option to add a comment. I didn' t get some message saying I'd been blacklisted, but could someone explain to me if that's what happened? I find this very interesting. My post was not offensive, did not demean anyone (or even speak to anyone in particular), or do anything else that I can think of that would cause someone to disable my v...

It saddens me how the politics began even before the people of the Gulf Coast were rescued. It saddens me that no one seems willing to take responsibility but would rather pass the buck. It saddens me more hand are busy pointing, than helping - at least this is how it seems to me. But every so often, there is something -- a gesture, a word, an act of compassion -- that reminds me that there ARE people who care... that the heart of God is at work among souls here on earth. There are people w...

I’m becoming my mother. This transformation is a subtle thing, but it’s there just the same. When I first noticed it, I was… chagrined. At times, I am dealing with my children and certain phrases pop out of my mouth: “This house is not a gymnasium!” “Do you hear me?” “Did you grow up in a barn?” As I utter the words, I can almost imagine that my voice turns into the voice of my mother. There’s an edge to it, but not a course or brittle one, just different. Her voice is a little deeper...

I've been a hard core coffee drinker my entire life... the stronger the better. I had tried tea a few times, but just never really enjoyed it. It seemed to lack... something. I decided over the past couple of weeks that I'd like to try to drink tea. It's better for you... and it will be cheaper in the long run because I always end up buying Dunkin Donuts coffee (coffee I make at home can't compare), but with tea, I don't have a taste for an expensive one... so making it at home will be fin...