I should be 25 already

I've often wondered how my life would be different if I had been born on my mother's actual due rather than 2 weeks late.

I would be a January baby, not a Valentines' Day baby.

I would have garnets instead of amethysts; thus my favorite color growing up probably wouldn't have been purple.

I wouldn't hear anyone say "awww" when carded at restaurants.

I would probably still enjoy all things heart-shaped and would willingly fight the crowds for my own romantic dinner on the 14th.

Maybe, since I was late for my first day in the world, I've compensated by trying to be the most punctual person I know. What if I had been on time? Would I be habitually late?

Maybe I would have been a smaller baby - how much did I grow in those 2 weeks? Would my father still have been yelling, "It's a girl! And she's big! And she's beautiful!" down the halls of the hospital? What would he have said instead? "She wasn't ready! Puny baby!"

Could I have accomplished more in life with 2 extra weeks? A head start against myself?

Today, had I been born in January, I would already be 25! Car rentals, here I come! (Or so I would say...)

Louisville is NOT on this list - thankfully.

Forbes ranked the Top 10 Most Miserable Cities, none of which were Louisville! Hooray!

Number 1: Detroit, big shocker. Will you freeze to death before someone shoots you for your wallet? It's a toss up. I've also heard Detroit is America's Fattest City, taking the title from Houston a few years ago. (No footnote here, only something I heard awhile back.)

I'm still dying to visit Chicago and NYC. But I'm not at all itching to move there, especially after hearing from Forbes!

Sound sleeper

In college, I slept through a number of fire alarms, indicating to me for the first time in my life that I was a seriously sound sleeper. This morning a coworker of mine came into the office and was excited to talk about Louisville's most recent weather pattern: last night's winds of over 75 mph. "How did you sleep?" she asked. Like a baby - I hadn't heard a thing!

Kristen texted me at 6:30am this morning to check on us. (I'm assuming she was checking in because she had heard about the storm from two states away - if there was something else to be worried about, fill me in!) Rest assured, we're doing just fine on this quiet, sunny Wednesday.

Shelby & I had been out at the mall right before the winds really picked up. It had been raining and the power had been flickering off and on, causing the stores' credit card machines to stop working. Turns out we chose the right mall - the mall next door was completely dark when we drove by on the way home.

Things started to pick up about 10pm. Driving home I tried to avoid the big tractor trailers so none of them would blow over on me. I made it safely into the cottage and said a little prayer of thanks for shelter. I read about 5 pages of my book before I fell into my deep slumber.

The aftermath of all that wind? I heard of a building that lost a roof, another that was completely leveled. (What do you do if you get to work and find the building GONE?) No mention that it was a "tornado," but whatever the storm was, it was very selective in what it destroyed.

For me, it was just another night of restful sleep.

Famous Louisvillians - Part II

Diane Sawyer
"Good Morning America" Host

Pee Wee Reese
Baseball Hall of Famer

Happy Birthday Song
Tune Sung to Birthday Boys & Girls
(Written by Louisvillians Patty & Mildred Hill)

Colonel Harland Sanders
Famous for His Fried Chicken

Ned Beatty
Academy Award Nominated Actor

Beauty IQ - Go vs. No

Since moving to Louisville, I've noticed a lot of people are interested in good beauty products (skin care, makeup, etc.). I had barely heard of Aveda until I moved here, and now I see an Aveda salon practically on every corner. Of course, Arbonne is popular among most ladies I know personally. The skin is your body's largest organ, so it makes sense to use some sense in deciding what to put on it. Unfortunately, cosmetic companies are not regulated and can advertise benefits without disclosing any harmful effects their products might cause.

So how do you know what's best? Do you splurge on the $20 mascara? Will Clearasil do the trick on that ugly bump, or will it trick you into cancer in the process? Your hairstylist knows what's safe to put on your head, right?

Lucky for us, someone has gone to the trouble to test a lot of the products we use day to day. Skin Deep is a database that ranks skin care and cosmetics with a handy color-coded guide to know what to use and what to steer clear of. Pretty handy, don't you think?

Keep in mind: green means go, red means NO!

No No Nalgene

Live in Canada? Trying to find a reusable container to hold your drink?

Don't waste your time looking for the popular Nalgene bottles.

Last month, companies in Canada pulled Nalgenes from their shelves due to the potential harm the plastics pose. I've been on the fence about the plastic bottles for a little while now, but was still drinking out of my favorite pink one until about 6 weeks ago. I switched to a Klean Kanteen, which is stainless steel and (as far as we know) will not leech chemicals into my drinking water. It also fits in my car's cupholder (Nalgenes do not). Worth a try - until they find something dangerously hazardous about stainless steel anyway!

Did You Know? Kentucky State Capital

Frankfort is the Kentucky State Capital. Located between Lexington and Louisville, Frankfort is smaller than both cities. Lexington was first the temporary capital, but Frankfort officially took over in 1792, the same year Kentucky became a state. Here you can find Daniel Boone's grave, which might be interesting (?), and the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is definitely worth a look.

79th out of 100 - I want a recount.

Prevention Magazine ranked the 100 Best Walking Cities of 2007. Madison, WI topped the list, followed by Austin, TX. Laredo, TX and Newark, NJ were 99 and 100, respectively. Where is Louisville on the list? A discouraging 79th.

I love to take walks here! Maybe it's my geographical location, maybe it's the company, but on a day when I could do anything I wanted, I would definitely take a walk in the city. This list makes me want to prove Prevention wrong, or improve for next year. Move Louisville up to at least the top 50 for 2008!

A Reading Recommendation

One of my goals for 2008 is to finish Stephen King's Dark Tower Series, which I started in the fall. Shelby recommended this series to me and at first I was very skeptical. I hadn't read anything by Stephen King and the covers of the books looked very sci-fi, which I don't find to be very interesting. (Just goes to show, don't judge a book...) The fact that I was very wrong in my initial judgment of The Dark Tower Series warrants this post -- I would recommend these books to anyone. Although I'm only on book 4 of 7, I present...

Reasons to Read The Dark Tower Series:

1. Stephen King's first work. I'm told that he actually threw away the first book and his wife picked it out of the trash to save for him. He owes her, big time. Many of his other books reference this series, so I think it's a good introduction to the author.
   
2. Better than Harry Potter. Each book in the HP Series had large chunks of text that I would skip just to get to the exciting parts. I can't skip anything in these books because I will miss something for sure. Also, the Dark Tower Series is complete, so I don't have to wait years for the next installment to come out (I should have waited until this year to read HP when all 7 books were out!).
   
3. Not currently on a best seller list. I couldn't finish The DaVinci Code - too much hype for mediocrity. I barely cracked Purpose Driven Life - why do people like this book, anyway? I love that I'm reading a book that's not only terrific, but also is not on everyone's bookshelf collecting dust.
4. Not scary. After seeing a Stephen King TV miniseries and watching The Shining, I thought reading Stephen King would leave me frightened to be alone for the rest of my life. Not so. The Dark Tower Series is very intriguing, not horrifying.
5. New perspective on the world. The characters in these books experience something sort of like time travel, which is better explained in the books (so read them). The similarities and differences between the characters experiences in the same place but a different time really gives a fresh perspective on my own view of the world.

You can keep track of what books I'm reading, books I'd like to read, and reviews of books I've read by clicking the "Good Reads" link.

Famous Louisvillians - Part I

Muhammad Ali
Heavyweight boxing champion

Sue Grafton
Mystery writer (i.e. A is for Alibi)

Joan Osborne
Singer-songwriter, best known for the 90s hit “One of Us"

John Schnatter
Founder of Papa John's, delicious pizza chain

Zachary Taylor
12th President of the United States

Thinking Twice About Eating Out

When I worked at Outback in high school, I loved the cheese fries, and I loved to special request them "layered" with the cheese throughout. A super date consisted waiting an hour or more for this deliciousness. Little did I know what I was doing to myself. Not only was I wasting my time waiting so long for any kind of food, but according to research done by Men's Health, Aussie Cheese Fries are rated the Worst Food in America. Luckily I've changed my eating habits since then and generally don't frequent many chain restaurants. No wonder my college roommates didn't recognize me in pictures from my pre-college, cheese fries years!

Also note that Quizno's had the worst sandwich. I do love the chain of Jersey Mikes, which I'm guessing is better for you than Quizno's and has much better, softer bread. Subway doesn't hold a candle.