Spellen errers

I was looking into the downsides to Splenda and other artificial sweetners, when I came across a man's description of his experience with headaches associated with eating Splenda. He predicted that if he had consumed more Splenda on one particular occasion, the effects would have rendered him "unconches." I took me a second to realize what the word meant. Something along the lines of unconscious, I'd imagine. Gave me a little chuckle.

By the way, my research into Splenda lead me to Truvia, a natural sweetener made from the herb stevia. Truvia is up for approval from the FDA (not like that makes a huge difference in whether or not it's safe...), but you can buy it already from www.truvia.com.

Praises for Marriage #7-9

Third monthiversary! We've now been to two other weddings as "the old married folk." Why do we support and encourage these other nuptials? Well:

7. Breakfast in bed. Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits are my fave.
8. Slow dancing in the kitchen.
9. Tag team driving back to Virginia. (And what a great team we make. Is marriage an Olympic sport? We'd win the gold for sure.)

There are certainly MANY more praises for marriage than these three. An infinite amount, to be exact. Like many others in this blog, this post is one of many to come in a series. Don't want to give all the secrets of marriage away at once!

C is for cookie (or China, or...)

If you've watched any of the Beijing Olympics, you've probably noticed the extremely young Chinese gymnasts, questionably too young to compete.  Commentators, news anchors, and U.S. patriots alike have all commented on these babyfaced competitors, some beating their of-age counterparts for the coveted medals.  I even heard NBC broadcast allegations that the Chinese government could have possibly tampered with official documents like birth certificates and passports to ensure the eligibility of these athletes.  Now for digital proof, a hacker has exposed several websites that had shown hard evidence that two girls in question were only 14 - only to see the information vanish from those websites shortly after.  

Could it be mere coincidence that China and cheater start with the same letter?  

Give the gold to Nastia!!

Dave who?

Saxophonist LeRoi Moore of the Dave Matthews Band died yesterday after suffering injuries in an ATV accident in June.  In all honesty, I probably would not like DMB as much if Charlottesville was not my hometown.  But I remember one of my band teachers telling my class stories about how he taught members of DMB, inspiring us to practice (but more likely making us listen to DMB instead of practicing).  Of course, their songs were played more often and everyone had a DMB t-shirt in the city where Dave, LeRoi, and the rest got their start.  I even went to their concert at Scott Stadium in 2001, a noteworthy performance 7 years after making it big.   I think it was 7, anyway.  

I'd imagine LeRoi's death is the buzz around Charlottesville.  Not so much Dave-love in Kentucky, so I've noticed.  Kind of like no one in Charlottesville has heard of My Morning Jacket (you know, a Louisville band, also successful, played on the Waterfront on Saturday)...  But the Cville connection is there, and I'm a little sad to lose LeRoi.  I'll have to play a tribute "Ants Marching" on the way home tonight.

Fat Ol' Kentucky

Front page news today:  Kentucky is one of the fattest states, and it's getting worse despite our best efforts.  More than 40% of Kentuckians are overweight; 28% are "severely overweight," including one 33 year old who was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.  Although the most common form on diabetes, Type 2 usually affects older people (older than 33, for sure), and obesity and diabetes are seriously linked.    According to the American Diabetes Association, "While the [Diabetes Prevention Program] also showed that some medications may delay the development of diabetes, diet and exercise worked  better."  Prevention is key - Get moving Kentucky!

Whole Foods Is No Better Than Walmart

About 10 days ago, I was half-watching the news, half-dozing on the couch, when a story came on about yet another beef recall.  Big deal!  Old news!  Happens all the time!  

But -

My ears perked and my jaw dropped when I heard the beef was recalled from WHOLE FOODS stores across the nation, including Kentucky.  The high priced, high and mighty, "safe" grocery store is no better than Walmart, the store that usually gets the short end of the stick.  Forget China, forget cheap labor - there can be problems anywhere, some just at a loftier price.

KY: Working on Alternative Fuel

The trip to VA for the wedding was less expensive than it could have been - gas prices are "down," relatively speaking.  I took more science classes in the year following graduation from W&M than I did during my entire 4 years of liberal arts, and to my surprise, I loved chemistry and was pretty darn good at it.  Too bad I didn't stick with it b/c I would LOVE, LOOOVE to come up with an alternative fuel source for the U.S.  I WILL make bio-diesel in the backyard/garage one day.  Until then, my fellow Kentuckians are working on ways to eliminate America's dependence on foreign oil.  Their plan will take Kentucky coal and convert it to liquid - aka Diesel!  Genius.  

Back By Popular Demand

I went to my cousin's wedding on Saturday, where I saw a lot of family members who read this blog.  Well, my fans want more!  (By "more," they meant they wanted something to read.)  I've been meaning to write on a number of subjects, so here we go. 

Special thanks to Shelby and Kristi, who keep me inspired and motivated, even if it is only once a month.