tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56937592007-01-05T13:57:24.958-05:00SusannaBlogger851tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-81543660933946611272007-01-05T13:49:00.000-05:002007-01-05T13:57:25.047-05:00

Just a quick post to test the new version of Blogger, and to mention that Riverbanks Zoo is offering free admission every Friday in January and February. Since we're having such unseasonably warm weather anyway, might as well get outside and enjoy the flora and fauna.

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1166738379855572472006-12-21T16:50:00.000-05:002006-12-21T16:59:39.866-05:00

I just wrote to my senators to make sure they are aware of the plight of the children of immigrants which DHS has abandoned and imprisoned in Texas. One nursing mother was separated from her infant, and as far as I've heard they were not reunited, forcibly weaning the child. As a new mother myself, this tears at my heart. I know nobody reads my blog, but I'm hoping that by adding this link I can

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1166218579842760902006-12-15T16:31:00.000-05:002006-12-15T16:36:19.853-05:00

According to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, you may have beach-front property within your lifetime. I wonder how this could affect McClellanville? It's not directly on the water but along the Intracoastal Waterway behind a bunch of barrier islands. climate, realestate, mcclellanville

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1165590867622242342006-12-08T10:14:00.000-05:002006-12-08T10:14:28.216-05:00

Move over, Uga: the Gamecocks now have their very own live mascot, Sir Big Spur. He's a 13-year-old gamecock who will have his own roost at Williams-Bryce Stadium. Yes, 13 is pretty old for a chicken, so his owners have a 5-year-old gamecock ("Sir Big Spur II") waiting in the wings. I didn't realize that USC's mascot tradition only goes back to 1971. The original guy in a suit was just called "

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1165004772938701412006-12-01T15:14:00.000-05:002006-12-01T15:26:12.950-05:00

I was just listening to Walter Edgars' program on NPR. He and his guest were talking about preconceptions people, especially Yankees, have about Southerners. Mr. Edgars told a story about the time he moved up to Vermont for a year to teach at a college there. His daughters transferred from Heathwood to a private school up there. His 10-year-old's teacher asked her what did she notice about her

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1164724345338758182006-11-28T09:32:00.000-05:002006-11-28T09:32:26.006-05:00

In his Viewpoints article for the Daily Gamecock, "Fogies forget college part of real world", Aaron Brazier says well what I have often said myself: college students are not by definition out of touch with the rest of the world. If anything, their learning experience makes them more aware of what's going on in the world, both past and present. College students are in a unique milleu that can

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1163773733793524102006-11-17T09:20:00.000-05:002006-11-17T09:28:53.806-05:00

It's official: a recount has confirmed that Jim Rex will be South Carolina's next Superintendent of Education. I now feel a lot better about the idea of my son attending public school in this state. Hopefully, Rex is serious about implementing the reforms he talked about during his campaign. One reform he did not mention, though, was consolidating some of the school districts to reduce

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1163703332669339742006-11-16T13:51:00.000-05:002006-11-16T13:55:32.680-05:00

It's finally happening: tonight, the University of South Carolina is playing the University of Southern California in basketball. That means it's not just USC vs. USC, it's the Cocks vs. the Trojans. USC, sports

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1163608584698512972006-11-15T11:27:00.000-05:002006-11-15T11:38:50.113-05:00

John Edwards is touring around the country to promote his new book, HOME: The Blueprints of our Lives. This Sunday, November 19, he will be at the Happy Bookseller in Columbia for a book signing. I plan to be there, too. I regret not asking him to sign my copy of Four Trials despite the many opportunities I had to do so as a volunteer for his campaign. I'm not going to pass up this opportunity.

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1159666234958616222006-09-30T21:21:00.000-04:002006-09-30T21:30:34.966-04:00

This article prompted me to write both my senators. I do not want some misguided people in government interfering with my Constitutionally-given religious freedom. These people seem not to have taken into consideration that they're not just limiting the judicial options of athiests and other non-Christians, they're limiting the options of Christians to challenge the government in court as well.

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1156557024019589852006-08-25T21:41:00.000-04:002006-08-25T21:50:24.026-04:00

I heard on the radio today that proposed routes of I-73 through North Carolina will soon be revealed. I-73 is a new interstate highway which will run from Michigan to Myrtle Beach, SC. It should help take some of the burden off of I-95, the main north-south route vacationers take to get into the state. The proposed route of I-73 through South Carolina has already been made public, but today was

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1156468704468649972006-08-24T21:00:00.000-04:002006-08-24T21:18:24.476-04:00

I recently discovered Yahoo Answers. Before you click on that link, I should warn you that that site is virtual crack. I've been busily answering random questions, enjoying sharing my opinions and advice with people who actually want to hear them. I also asked a couple of questions, one of which was "What's the difference between a Mutual Fund and an Exchange Traded Fund?". I had read several

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1156361189153354822006-08-23T15:16:00.000-04:002006-08-23T15:27:30.086-04:00

Right now I am eating a delicious South Carolina peach, purchased at Joe's Produce Market. Joe's is the only place in Columbia where we'll buy peaches. All the grocery stores here seem to stock only Mac's Pride peaches, which are also from South Carolina but very different from the fruit I'm eating. Personally, I don't see what Mac is so proud of. His peaches are hard as rocks and taste like

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1156296849979339342006-08-22T21:25:00.000-04:002006-08-22T21:34:10.010-04:00

I spend a lot of time each evening hanging out in my son's room. So anything I want to get done, whether it's folding laundry or reading a magazine, is more likely to get done if I can do it in there. Tonight I noticed that my feet were in pretty bad shape. I recalled reading in this month's Real Simple that baby oil is great for your nails, so I checked out the drawer in the changing table to

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1153860049206510572006-07-25T16:39:00.000-04:002006-07-25T17:53:05.886-04:00

As seen in the July issue of Lucky: George calls this "the skirt of lost souls." (If you love it, you can buy it here.)

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1153698291106431612006-07-23T19:39:00.000-04:002006-07-23T19:44:51.146-04:00

We had a magnetic notepad on our fridge that we used to keep our grocery list. When something runs out, it gets written down. At the end of the week we add whatever we need to make that week's meals and do all the shopping on the weekend. We couldn't find another magnetic notepad at any of the stores we visited this weekend, so I figured out how to make one from things we had lying around. I

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1153577753747328912006-07-22T10:08:00.000-04:002006-07-22T10:15:53.756-04:00

I read in the paper this morning that a feature film starring Kevin Bacon is going to be filming somewhere nearby a couple months from now. The article says they may need about 500 local actors, and I'm guessing most of those will be extras. I've always wanted to be an extra in a movie; it's on my list of things I'd like to do at some point in my life along with learning to play the steel drums

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1153433308363313912006-07-20T18:06:00.000-04:002006-07-21T09:27:17.020-04:00

Sometimes I have a bad hair day, bad face day, and nothing-in-the-closet-fits day all at once. Maybe I stayed up too late the night before, maybe I'm just not feeling well. Whatever the reason, I've learned that on a day like that there's no point in spending hours in front of the mirror trying to make myself look good. That will cause nothing but frustration and a foul mood. Instead, I go for

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1150301378412784962006-06-14T12:02:00.000-04:002006-06-14T12:09:38.466-04:00

The State interviewed several voters during yesterday's primary election. 73-year-old Mildred Ellison had this to say about why she voted for Bob Staton instead of Karen Floyd: "I don?t like this school voucher debate. Plus, I saw a picture of Ms. Floyd in a debate, and her skirt was way up here. We don?t need that in schools."

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1150128931247723162006-06-12T12:12:00.000-04:002006-06-12T12:15:31.260-04:00

I had a horrible sinus headache last week. Since I'm breastfeeding, I couldn't take any decongestants. I tried Tylenol, spicy foods, and a cold washcloth on my forehead - none of those really helped. My mother-in-law mentioned that one of her friends who used to suffer from sinus problems cleared her head for good by drinking a concoction made from one spoonful of honey, one spoonful of vinegar,

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1149027514756399612006-05-30T17:52:00.000-04:002006-05-30T18:18:34.803-04:00

Even though the U.S. economy is doing well, people don't feel like it's doing well. That's the gist of this article on why talking up the economy might not be a good vote-getting strategy for Republicans this year. But why do people have a pessimistic view that seems at odds with economists' numbers? I think it can partly be explained by a forum post I read recently made by a mom despairing over

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1148663550291009232006-05-26T13:04:00.000-04:002006-05-26T13:12:30.346-04:00

This article about legal immigrants struck a chord with me. I remember how difficult it was to get my brother-in-law's green card back in 1998 when he was getting ready to marry my sister. We actually worried for a while that the wedding would have to be postponed, but fortunately our senator and his immigration lawyer (who was invited to the wedding) came through. That's why I'm not completely

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1148487618936648952006-05-24T12:17:00.000-04:002006-05-24T12:20:18.993-04:00

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer crashed a plane he was piloting. I'm glad to hear he and his passenger are mostly all right, but nobody should let this man sit at the controls of a vehicle ever again. Not even bumper cars or paddle boats.

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1138733925676337382006-01-31T13:52:00.000-05:002006-01-31T13:58:45.690-05:00

I've discovered a great new online radio station, Radio Paradise. They play a great mix of good rock music unconstrained by decade or sub-genre. And unlike the ClearChannel name stations on the regular radio (i.e. "Steve" in Columbia, "Dave" in Atlanta, "Jack" in NYC), they've got a real DJ picking music. I find I like hearing his comments on the bands and his announcements of what's playing,

Susannatag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5693759.post-1138576049201826802006-01-29T17:40:00.000-05:002006-01-29T18:07:29.256-05:00

George and I often seem to stumble across trends right before they become big. Not because we are super-smart and prescient, but because one of us happens to want to buy a particular thing. For example, when we wanted to buy Chuck Taylor All-Star high tops in mid-2000 we had to special-order them because the company said they were going out of business. Six months later, the company had been sold

Susanna