Mariannes Motifs

Ada Lovelace Day

I have decided who I will write about for the Ada Lovelace blog pledge to blog about a woman in technology on March 24th.  I am going to write about the NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, who was the first African American woman to go to space.

Did you know that she was a practicing physician who went BACK to school to get an engineering degree so that she could pursue her dream to become an astronaut?  She also applied to the astronaut program twice, as she was rejected the first time.  Do you have that level of ambition and drive in your life to keep trying and never rest on your laurels?  I don't!  I admire that very much.

Picture of Mae Jemison - STS-52 MS Jemison, in LES/LEH, during JSC WETF bailout exercise

NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC)

Bad Luck Day

I got in a bit of a fender bender this morning.  My neighbor backing into the side of my car when we were both backing out of our driveways.  Squished side panels on the van.  Yuck.  Its a rainy day and I am now feeling very blah.

I had an interview with a recruiter yesterday which went well.  I also found some very good looking jobs to apply for and my unemployment insurance claim was processed and approved.

Higher Education and Career Training Make Sense in a Recession

With the recession in full swing there is one segment of the economy that is actually doing well - higher education, in particular schools that offer career training and online courses.   Although the ability to get student loans has been effected by the credit crunch, those still eligible for loans and other programs are flocking to schools when they find they cannot find employment easily in the job market.

Even people who are working are attending classes at night, or online to try to keep their skills up to date or get their degree to remain competitive in the workforce.  Schools that offer accredited online course ware are particularly hot.  My husband attends Strayer part time many of his classes are on-line. 

Companies are also taking advantage of  e-learning development to train their employees.  Companies like Metrick Training are poised to do well as they provide companies with training and testing platforms to make it easy for a company to write an online corporate training session and test.

Amano Chocolate - America's Best Chocolate?

Since the Food Network aired their latest episode of Unwrapped, about the American astisinal Chocilatier Amana Artisan Chocolates, these little bits of sweetness have been flying off shelves all over the country.

Good idea for a special Valentines Day goodie.

  

Tuesday Chit Chat

First of all let me just say that if you are shopping for canned salmon be sure to make sure it says skinned and boned on it.  Bleck.  I did not enjoy taking bones and black skin out of the canned wild Alaskan salmon I used for tonight's dinner.  I am not sure how well this one is going to go over - it's Annies Organic Tuna Pasta mix (like Tuna Helper) made with canned salmon and with mixed veggies thrown in.  They ate it last time I made it so lets hope for the best.

Yesterday's brisket was a huge success.  It sliced perfectly, tasted great, and all four denizens of the house loved it.  That is very rare around here with a picky 4 year old and an even pickier 5 year old.  Usually if it isn't chicken nuggets or mac and cheese it's hit or miss.

My parents are planning another opera trip to New York.  Since my Dad is on the board of the Mercury Opera they set up group rates for the hotel.  Since its a not for profit, they get to save on the city taxes which are considerable.

Valentines Day Coloring Pages and Activities

Updated for 2011: Time for another installment of Marianne's Coloring pages for kids, Valentines Day edition.  I always scour the web for QUALITY coloring pages so you don't have to wade through the yucky ones.

New From ToysRUs - here is a Valentines day activity pack including cute coloring pages, word search, and a maze.  My kids love Mazes!


Valentines Day Coloring Pages

Beautiful Be My Valentine Coloring Page with Heart designs from ColoringCastle.com  and there is also a blank version of the same

Heart and Love Mandela from Milliande.com

Funny Fish in Love from PreschoolColoringbook.com

Fuzzy Kitty with Hearts and Roses from allkidsnetwork.com

Bee My Honey page from PrintActivities.com

Hugging Kitty and Doggie from PreschoolColoringbook.com

Other Printable Activities for Preschoolers and Elementary

 

Valentines Day Word Search and Easy Word Search from Qualint.com

Heart with Arrow Dot To Dot Connect the Dots from Printactivities.com

 

Monday Chit Chat

Ahh the life of the unemployed shmo.  I took Mr. Adam to school, and came home and made some Tully's Kona coffee in my Kuerig.  Sat down and looked at my money making sites to see if there were any good freelance writing gigs to be had today. 

I got a great lead on a job that I followed up on.  The recruiter needs me to write up my Enterprise Vault experience for the client.

I made up some of that "My Mother's Brisket" which is cooking away in the crock pot so it will be ready for tonight.  Publix really had a sneaky thing going on - the front of the brisket was perfect but when I took it out of the package the back (hidden) was covered in fat I had to cut off.  Sneaky bisnastards!  I mean really - how hard would it have been to trim that off so I didn't have to pay for fat?

My library books are due and I have an ebay package I have to mail so in a few minutes I will be out running those errands.  Has anyone seen that book on how to Ace the IT Interview?  I am afraid my housekeeper cleaned it up really really well and it is not where I last had it.

I am knitting a petal dishcloth which is very pretty - its a round cloth, actually flower shaped.  I am almost done with it.  At this point I have a kitchen full of dishcloths and I really don't need to make any more, however I just like making them.  They are the perfect size project for the short attention span knitter like me.  I hate having big projects hanging over my head.  The zebra stripe purple and black afghan I am knitting is going to take 5 years I think.  Every time I start knitting it I start to fall asleep.  Its a bit too relaxing, if you know what I mean.  It's better than a sleeping pill.  Well sleeping pills don't work for me anyway except plain old Benadryl which makes me pass out like a log and sleep late the next morning.  Yeah - only use in case of emergency.

I seriously have to clean the house up today.  I was sick over the weekend and its a disaster.  The kids had a blast playing with the Knex my mom bought them last year but those darn pieces are all over the place!  plus Legos, plus Tinkertoys.  They are in a building phase.

Ok, the question of the day is: is it worth it to buy expensive luggage or just cheap bags and replace them when the baggage handlers abuse them?  Something really nice like Delsey luggage or Travel Pro seems worth it to me.  Brands like Briggs and Riley and L.L. Bean offer lifetime warranty.

Umbrella Today

One of those "why didn't I think of that?" things is UmbrellaToday.com. You hit the site on your mobile phone, enter your zip code, and it tells you YES or NO to one question: will I need an umbrella today?

You can also enter your cell phone number to receive daily weather reports at a certain time.  (Say when you are getting dressed in the morning.)  Since in many cities the weather is pretty much a mystery each day and you can end up dressing in a sweater in the morning and wishing you were in shorts in the afternoon, this could be handy.

Now I've Got the Cold

After staying home with Ben yesterday I am now achy and sniffly.  Yuck - I have caught the cold.  So as I was sitting here drinking a glass of low acid Tropicana orange juice (does not bother my Crohn's or Acid Reflux - yay!) I started thinking about what other sources of vitimin c or zinc I should try.

My buddy at the ex job was telling me that Zicam works really well.  Tomorrow perhaps I will stop and pick some up.  I know that acia is a berry they say has very strong antioxident propetties like pomegranite.  I had acai in a smoothie once and it was sour and a bit bitter.  Not something you want to eat for the taste alone I guess.  A lot of people promote acai berry products for weight loss but I think its better to add it to your diet as a general anti-oxident for anti aging and cancer fighting.

Did you know that acai berries come from one of the same trees that produces hearts of palm?  It is amazing what you can learn on Wikipedia.

Ball Band Dishcloth

Ball Band Dishcloth
Originally uploaded by mar1annec

Here is a picture of the Ball Band dishcloth I made. It was actually a bit of a pain to make, Grandmother's favorite goes much much quicker. Right now I am making a baby blanket/bunny buddy. Its a cute combination of a small square of blanket with a rabbit for a head.

One good thing about staying home looking for work is that I am having a chance to knit.