I See What You Meme

I look forward to listening to my podcasts every week.  During my time in the car, I catch up on a variety of news programs with topics ranging from the arts and culture to politics and religion.   I have learned so much from the Planet Money team . If you haven't checked out their stories on NPR or the stories they do in conjunction with the PRI program This American Life , you are missing out.  Planet Money covers topics from "Should we use a dollar bill or coin?" to "How did the United States get into a housing crisis?" With their stories, I have gained new insight into topics that are barely brushed over in most other media outlets.  One of the most important things I have learned is that any  current problem our country is experiencing related to money is complicated.  There is no quick fix. There is no easy answer. Yes, most of the causes of monetary problems come down to greed. However, finding a solution that works for everyone without major di...

What a week this is turning out to be! It started on Monday with Vance and Mark in surgery .  Both are doing well. At last report, Vance (the donor) had been released from the hospital.  Mark's body has taken the new kidney very well and he is on the road to recovery.  Thank you to everyone for the kind words and support for our family over the last few days. Of course, Tuesday saw a whole lot of shakin' going on.  The 5.9 earthquake that rocked Virginia (and much of the East Coast) seemed to cause some structural damage around the area but not a lot of injuries. As far as I know, there have been no reported deaths. All is well...for now.  While the quake was quite the jolt for all of us, I am reminded of how blessed we are when I think of those effected by the Japanese quake back in March. This was a minor inconvenience by comparison. There is no rest for the weary, though, because Irene is on her way.  There seemed to be much debate regarding the exact...

I would like to take this opportunity to say that I think the ipod is one of the single greatest inventions of all time.   The biggest storage challenge in our house is figuring out where we will put all of our CDs.  When you have two musicians in one house, you acquire a lot of CDs.  Fortunately, many of these were procured through Roger's small but frequent gigs moonlighting as a radio DJ.  Plus, 90% of any discretionary income we ever have goes to music and books.  Books, music, chocolate, and wine.   That's pretty much what makes me happy. ( note to self: book blog post imminent for sure) This is about 1/2 of our collection.  Just half.  My tastes are pretty eclectic.  The CD shelves hold pop hits from the 80s and jazz standards from the 60s, Disney classics and classic Genesis, well known artists like Sheryl Crow and the Counting Crows and lesser known fare like The Mighty...