Chandra Levy, Justice At Last?

Do you remember the 2001 case of Chandra Levy? She was a young Washington D.C. intern who worked for Rep. Gary Condit at the time? She disappeared and was found in a park a year later I think it was. I had not thought of the case in a long time, but I am glad that the police had not forgotten.

Back in 2001 Gary Condit was questioned and found to have been having an affair with the young intern. Condit was a married man so this did little for his reputation let alone the cloud of suspicion that hung over him because of her disappearance and then murder. The police say he was not a suspect, but public opinion can be harsh and rumors did a number on his political career. I remember wondering if he had anything to do with it, and I am sure many others wondered the same thing.

I guess there is a Salvadorian immigrant named Ingmar Guandique's who has been convicted of similar attacks on other women at that same park. They are suppose to arrest him for Chandra's murder too. There was some mention of DNA evidence, but it did not go in to detail in the article I read.

The article did say that the parents got no real relief from this as you can imagine. I can not imagine surviving the loss of a child and my heart goes out to them. I hope that there is at least some peace of mind in knowing some answers and knowing that the person responsible will not be out and able to do this to other innocent people.

I also hope that this helps restore some of what the Condits lost. It is not the same as losing a loved one, but I know how bad lies and doubt can tear a family apart too. I am glad the authorities keep working on cases long after the drop from the spotlight.

91 Years Of Rockin

I had never heard of Allee Willis before today, but I bet many people with soon become acquainted with Allee and the name Jerry Thill too. I guess Allee Willis is well known in songwriting and producing circles. Willis had put together a tribute video of a lady named Jerry Thill. This video is so awesome, you have to check it out. Jerry is 91 years old has been making music in one form or another for many years now. She can still knock out a beat on the drums like few people I have ever seen of any age.

The video itself is really a cute little production. I love how the old pictures of Jerry kind of wiggle with the beat like they are dancing. I miss my grandma a lot and when I see an older lady like this that is so full of life it makes me think of her. I hope she is surrounded by people that appreciate how cool she is. I have always wanted to learn how to play an instrument. I think it helps keep people's minds young and strong and this clip confirms my theory. I can only hope that if I even make it to this age, that I am as active and awesome!

If you want to feel good, hear a catchy tune, and check out a cool little video...watch the clip embedded here.

Just Try And Wear Them Out !

Just try and wear them out I dare you !
Kids ! Yes children...those cute little, never tiring, baby bundles of joy.
I still want to know why on earth after a child has been up half the night and gets up at the crack of dawn, can keep on ticking...ALL DAY LONG !
Winter time is especially hard as there is little activities we can all do outside to help curb some of that energy.
All I can say is thank goodness for the Golden Arches and their indoor playgrounds.
When we find they kids are to wired we make a special day run and go to McD's and get cheap meals and let the kids run their butts off on the play ground equipment.
Works out great for all of us.
The kids have fun and I don't have to run after them all day...for a little while any how.
So if you need a break try it for a special hour in the afternoon.
They think it was built just for them and I am not going to tell them any different for now.

I See You

One of the hardest things to choose, that is one of the most necessary things in life is eyeglasses.

The frames, the exam, the cost.

Tinted, untinted, UV coated, sun shade, oh there is a multitude of options for glasses and each and every one of them cost you something extra.

You can start out from home to go purchase a great pair of "ON SALE" glasses, but by the time you add everything up, there goes an arm and a leg.But as luck has it I read an article in the New York Times about Zenni Optical. I can order my glasses right online and get them really fast.They sell generic frames, but they are so cute and trendy that I doubt any one would think of them as generic.

I will go to my eye doctor in town and get my exam and then go online and enter the info and presto ! I can see again.

The only problem I ran into is that they had several really cute pairs of frames that I wanted and it was tough to choose.

But by the time I calculated the cost of the frames and lenses and UV coating I wanted, I found that I could actually afford two pairs of eyeglasses from them.

I am going to get a pair of dark green and another pair with a maroon cast to them.

This way what ever I wear, one of the pairs will match my wardrobe.

I don't know what I would do without the internet sometimes.

My Heart Goes Out To Buffalo NY

I was so sorry to turn on the TV late last night and hear about plane crash in Buffalo New York. It was only a few weeks agos when we celebrated a hero pilot and crew in another NY plane incident. Unfortunately the outcome for this plane and passengers was not as good. So far it seems that all 48 people on board the plane and 1 person that was on the ground were killed. Two others on the ground ( from the house I think) we taken to a hospital.

I recently have a new friend that is from Buffalo. I have not been able to get a hold of her yet to see if she knew anyone who was hurt or lost in this tradegy. Eitherway there are over 50 families greiving right now and my heart goes out to them all. This was a commuter flight that many of the passengers probably had taken before. Why did this happen this time, we will never know.

My prayers to all involved.

Keeping Your Business Afloat

How are you dealing with this economy when it comes to your business? It is getting harder and harder for everyone to keep their businesses open in these harsh economic times. I saw this article this morning that asked you to say which business or restaurant that has closed that you will miss the most. That was too sad and thought provoking for early in the morning. I hope my favorite little diner does not have to close because of all this mess. The food is great and the owner is a super nice guy.

I heard of a site called OnlineCheck.com that offers Business Loans with no closing costs or fees. They are suppose to be faster than a traditional loan, and the have rates as low as 7% it says. They also do credit card processing that could give you more options when it comes to allowing your customers to pay you. It might be one place for you to look if you are needed some money to get through this crunch, or just because you want to remodel or expand, etc. Check it out.

Swap Your Books For Free

Do you like to read? I do when I have time, and if you are like me you probably have a ton of books around the house that you have already read. There are some books that you want to keep forever, but others you could part with. You could pass them on to friends, donate them to Goodwill, sell them in a yardsale..or you could swap them.

I am talking about PaperbackSwap.com, this site is so awesome. You sign up for free, and you can trade books you already have for books you want. When you first join you are suppose to list something like 9 books I think it is, you get so many "credits" for doing so. These credits are what you then use when you want to request a book that someone else has listed. When you send someone a book you pay the postage, and you get another credit after they have received the book. You can even make wish list that they will fill as soon as a book on your list becomes available, it is so awesome.

It felt a little odd as first when I mailed out about 6 books before I found something that I wanted to have sent to me, but I have more than made up for any postage I have paid for in the books I have received through the site. Just this week I got a book from the site that my husband needed for school. There are other areas of the site that I have not even checked out yet, like the CD Swap area, and "Box of Books" area. Also, it may be called "paperback" swap, but there are hardbacks and audio books on the site as well. I think audio books use up 2 credits if I am not mistaken.

I wanted to let you all know about it because I love it. Also if you click on the icon in this post on at the side of my blog, I get credit for the referal too. This is another way that I can earn credits toward more free books. It doesn't cost you anything to join, so check it out, it is really fun. I would much rather send my old books to someone who will enjoy them and get things I want, than sell them for a quarter at a yard sale.

Real Shutters

Have you ever shopped for exterior shutters? We were thinking of getting new shutters for our house, but we would really like them to be functional. It is not like we live in a hurricane zone or anything, but the wind storms have been crazy this year. It made me think about how nice it would be to have shutters that were more than decorative.

I want shutters that actually close and lock. I found some at LarsonShutter.com. You can get decorative shutters, or you can make them function. They have all the hardware you would need to make them work, and you can get anything from vinyl, to composite, to classic wooden shutters. I am not sure what color or material I want yet. I am sure my husband would vote for whichever is the lowest maintenance. I know that he will like the fact that until the end of the year, if we order online, we can get FREE shipping! Hurray! You know me and online shopping, whenever I can get free shipping I am very happy.