Really Businessweek? Really?

The cover of last week's Businessweek...Hmmm...Whacha sayin' there Businessweek? Do hedge funds cause erectile dysfunction?

I'm generally not a prude but I find this to be vulgar. And I'm ok with vulgarity for the most part. However, this offers no added value. It's not even particularly funny. Or witty. Or creative. In my mind a couple of 12 year olds playing with clip art and sounding like Beavis and Butthead designed it in about 5 min.

Yet, based on info presented at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-11/cover-trail-the-hedge-fund-myth this was all completely intentional and most likely thought up by a group of adults, assumably with degrees of some sort. Which alone is a scary thought.

I think it's in poor taste.  Perhaps my problem with the cover does not lie in the vulgarity of it, but in what appears to be the general lack of effort involved in coming up with the idea.

At least I now know why my mail lady looked at me funny when she handed me the mail. Having it on my desk makes me feel a bit dirty, like I had to go behind a corporate black curtain in the back room of a creepy old warehouse filled with rats to get my copy.


Another thing, the title of the article is "Hedge Funds Are for Suckers". Seriously???  What did this poor guy do to you Businessweek? Either way (perception or reality) it would seem to me that the guy on the cover is a bit...ummm... fortunate? One would think that his problem could simply be fixed with a little magic pill. Is there a pill to make hedge funds better?

I must disclose that I personally do not have a hedge fund, perhaps that's a good thing...

Memorable? Yes.
Good? Ehh - nope.
My advice? Subtlety goes a long way.

Waterfalls and friends

Summer 2013 is almost over! So far it's been pretty wild. One of those 'thankful you're alive' kinda summers!!

The boys and I went camping last week with an dear old friend and her son. She has been asking us to go for a few years and I have always said no, because honestly hanging out in the wilderness with 3 kids staring at one another never really appealed to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors! I love hiking and fishing, and being one with nature. However, I also like sleeping in a bed, showering, and not listening to kids complain that they are bored. That's when she explained that she has a camper (with a shower, kitchen, air conditioning, and TV) and that she stays at a campground that has 2 pools, tennis court, basketball court, an arcade, and wifi - OK we're in!

I'm so glad we went - We had a blast!

There were a ton of geese there and the boys had fun feeding and bonding with them. There were 2 geese in particular that seemed to gravitate towards the kids the most and they were always together, it was cute!

Fave goose - He/She/It's a hybrid goose....

And then there was the sunset.

And the waterfalls



Yep - It was so much fun and totally worth "roughin' it"!

Dear McDonalds

Hello McDonalds,

I recently read an article in Bloomberg Businessweek about the new McDonalds McWrap which inspired me to write to you. I have eaten this product a few times and have to say that it is a nice change once in a while. 

However, I am wondering why you chose to call it " McWrap". To be honest, that is perhaps one of the worst names for a food product that I have ever heard. I know MANY people, children (as young as 8) and adults, who have a hard time saying it with a straight face. It has even become a standing, albeit crude, joke among young boys. To put it bluntly, it sounds like "MyCrap" or "M'Crap".

"Do you want McDonalds?" " Ok, but I'm not eating MyCrap!"
Or, " Where exactly did they get the "Premium" ingredients for M'Crap?"
Or,  " How's M'Crap taste?"

I don't mean to be rude, but its hard to order something to eat when the visual image it inspires is that of fecal matter.

Since this is a form for questions my question is, " Did no one recognize this pronunciation delimma before launching the product?"

Thank you.

Did I send this to McDonalds? Yes I did!

What gets you through?

I was recently chatting with someone and the topic of my new favorite song came up - Thistle and Weeds by Mumford & Sons. It became my favorite during my whole ‘You have cancer’ ‘No you don’t’ roller coaster. The last part of the song’s chorus repeats “I will hold on”. If you don’t know the song you should look it up – quite powerful indeed! Like trying to maintain sanity in chaos. Imagine driving down the interstate in the rain, volume up, playing that part over and over, after contemplating whether or not the next few years may be your last. That was my emergence from the depths of self pity.


I don’t think this is something that's cancer specific. Everyone has or needs that "something" to pull them through the rough spots.

So I was wondering… What gets you through? Many say Faith and/or Family, but what else? What do you hold onto when times are tough?

My list:

1) Song: Thistle and Weeds by Mumford & Sons

2) My happy place – The Lake

3) My grandmother’s necklace

4) Movie: Fried Green Tomatoes

5) My wedding band – This, and my grandmother's necklace, may count as family but I often find myself playing with them when I need strength

6) Storms

7) My 4 legged baby – He is the world’s best Great Pyrenees!!

What's on your list?

Me and DIY

Need information on something? I'm your girl!
Looking for a researcher, organizer, writer, or dog sitter? You've come to the right place!

Want a handmade re- purposed fancy shmancy dodad? Ummm...no can do buck-a-roo

I've never been very creatively crafty. I can sew a button on and fix the tear in Mr. Tiger's leg, but I am certainly nowhere near as awesome as Leigh Anne. The whole reason I haven't joined Pinterest is because even though all that stuff is cool, there is no way I could pull any of it off. I've looked at some of those things and my brain goes from, "Oh neat!" to, "Whaat????" in about 5.67 seconds.

That's why my recent trip into DIY Land is so impressive, if only to myself.

The cushions on the kitchen table chairs were looking a little shabby and not in the chic sorta way. More of the 'been sat on by 2 kids for 5 years' sorta way.

So I bought some fabric

Gathered a few tools

And recovered the cushions

Me thinks me didn't do too bad for my first solo DIY project.