Category Archives: Media/TV

Hurricane Housing

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You know… I’d so do a blogathon to raise funds if I had enough publicity…

I just received something from Move On.Org:

Hurricane Katrina’s toll on communities, homes and lives has devastated the nation. Now victims must face the daunting question of where to go nextâ????and we can help.

Tens of thousands of newly homeless families are being bused to a stadium in Houston, where they may wait for weeks or months. At least 80,000 are competing for area shelters, and countless more are in motels, cars, or wherever they can stay out of the elements. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross are scrambling to find shelter for the displaced.

This morning, we’ve launched an emergency national housing drive to connect your empty beds with hurricane victims who desperately need a place to wait out the storm. You can post your offer of housing (a spare room, extra bed, even a decent couch) and search for available housing online at:

http://www.hurricanehousing.org

Housing is most urgently needed within reasonable driving distance (about 300 miles) of the affected areas in the Southeast, especially New Orleans.

Please forward this message to anyone you know in the region who might be able to help.

But no matter where you live, your housing could still make a world of difference to a person or family in need, so please offer what you can.

The process is simple:

  • You can sign up to become a host by posting a description of whatever housing you have available, along with contact information. You can change or remove your offer at any time.
  • Hurricane victims, local and national relief organizations, friends and relatives can search the site for housing. We’ll do everything we can to get your offers where they are needed most. Many shelters actually already have Internet access, but folks without ‘net access can still make use of the site through case workers and family members.
  • Hurricane victims or relief agencies will contact hosts and together decide if it’s a good match and make the necessary travel arrangements. The host’s address is not released until a particular match is agreed on.

If hosting doesn’t work for you, please consider donating to the Red Cross to help with the enormous tasks of rescue and recovery. You can give online at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=859

As progressives, we share a core belief that we are all in this together, and today is an important chance to put that idea to work. There are thousands of families who have just lost everything and need a place to stay dry. Let’s do what we can to help.

http://www.hurricanehousing.org

I just gave to the Red Cross. There are lists of other places you can give here, here, and here.

“Supersize Me” and Other Health-Related Rants

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Here are my thoughts on Supersize Me.

It kind of made me ponder my whole battle with weight. For those who know me in real life, I’m about 5’1″ and 155 lbs. At the beginning of this year, I was about 170-175 lbs. My BMI was 32. It’s now about 29. (I’m not saying that it’s perfect — just lower.) I’ve never fit the traditional clothing sizes because I’m so short and I’m just not built to be a GAP girl. Since I was probably 8 years old, I have been “the fat kid” except for my first year of college when I was 110 lbs. (Then again, I was also barely eating because I was so sick with bronchial viruses and allergies.) During my second and third years of college, I gained probably 50 lbs from a combination of antidepressants, birth control pills (I have wicked PMS, OK?), and a bad diet.

Last year, I saw a video of myself reading the lessons at a church service where Jon was preaching. I know the camera adds 10 lbs but I looked pretty large. I had a double chin, I could barely zip up my khakis, and I seriously did not look like I wanted to look.

In June of last year, I spontaneously started taking walks every morning and eventually increased to every evening. I lost about 5-10 lbs and was really pleased at my clothes getting loose on me. I gained some of the weight back in the fall months because of lack of exercise and not as good diet.

For New Year’s, I decided to continue my resolution from 2004 and develop healthier habits. I figured that if I could lose 10 lbs without really even trying, I could probably lose more weight this year. I made sure I was doing taebo or walking (if weather permitted) at least 3 times a week and I found that I increased that to every day. It’s honestly gotten to the point where if I don’t work out in some way, I feel really strange.

Foodwise, I really am not a fan of “down-home cooking” like mashed potatoes, grease, gravy, and all that. Eating salads and stuff was not all that hard though giving up soda and french bread was. I do eat carbs but I go for the whole grain kind. (I love my Cheerios.) I really aim for eating fruits and vegetables and I eat meat every few days. (I go for other forms of protein.) I *try* to only have soda when I go out to eat. (I’m not always successful — we have Sundrop and Canada Dry in the house because Jon is recovering from surgery.)

Having my gallbladder taken out was kind of a wake-up call because it’s usually a sign of either losing weight too fast or being obese. Another wake-up call: my uncle’s death in January — I have high cholesterol genetically in my family and while it wasn’t the reason he died, it was a contributing factor.

Fastfood-wise, I used to eat Arby’s two to four times a month or I’d grab a bacon cheeseburger when I went out to eat. I seriously can’t eat like that anymore. If we go to Watertown to do errands, I insist that I get Subway (it’s ALL about a 6-inch turkey breast sub on wheat with tomatoes, pickles, and onions — none of that cheese or mayo or mustard) because Arby’s makes me feel really greasy. When we go out on Sundays, I get a grilled chicken sandwich without the lettuce and mayo (but with the tomatoes, pickles, and onions) because it fills me up and it doesn’t have the calories that the burger does.

My thoughts on lifestyle changes and fat liberation will wait for another entry.

Duuuuuuuude… You Gotta Listen To This!!!!!!!!!

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This week’s Wait Wait — Don’t Tell Me! is soooooo cool. They had the story about Chelsea’s “dowry” (which is a source of amusement to both Jon’s and my family because my brideprice was 50 goats), a comment that a mouse eating an albatross was “like a tabby attacking a hippopotamus” (I have tabbies), and they have Janet Evanovich on the show (who is a kick).

Go to the website tonight and listen!!!!!!!!!!