Week of July 25, 2011

I just read the most amazing book. It's called Life, In Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice by Kristen Jane Anderson and Tricia Goyer. It's the true story of Kristen, who as a scared, confused seventeen year old, decided to end her life.. She believed nothing would ever get better. Her grandmother had died, a close friend had committed suicide , and  she herself had been sexual assaulted., Kristen had sought psychiatic help, but all she got after a 15 minute consultation was a precription for anti-depressants. They didn't work. Desperate to stop her pain, she laid down in front of a freight train..  She survived, but both her legs were severed, .
Life, In Spite of Me is the story of her journey back. Despite dealng with a painful physical disability, as well as a psychiatric disorder, Kristen fought to bring meaning to her life..She recommited herself to her Christian faith and plunged onward. And that is the inspirational part of the story. She discovered she had the capacity to help others just by sharing her story. And she developed a close relationship with God to help her through the rough times.
Kristen's story is available from http://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/

SPACE:. From the inspiring we move to the disappointing. The final space shuttle flight huld have ended in a blaze of glory. Instead Atlantis landed under the cover of darkness. What was with that?
While mourning the death of US manned space flight, it's time to check out what the Europeans are doing. The European Space Agency (ESA) has an interesting website focusing on their space accomplishments. They also publish a quarterly, downloadable journal  that offers a more in-depth look at space science and exploration. Check it out at http://www.esa.int/.

FOOD & REWARDS: Moving to the mundane, Lean Cuisine frozen dinners are now running a reward program. Go to http://www.leancuisine.com/ to sign up. Then enter the code found inside the box- for example-LYJF-7PTP-GRHHX. Points amassed can be redeemed for coupons,dining decor,gift cards and more. As I consume 3-5 of these tasty meals per month I'm able to earn points with little effort. 

And now, Raja speaks:

HI! I really like those frozen dinners. Mommy feeds me chunks of salmon and chicken from them.I love t be hand fed. She pets me and tells me how beautiful I am. I like people food. Mommy is careful what she gives me because I have a delicate tummy. Pada, though , is a furry garbage disposal. He eats everything. Even vegetables. I'm sure gkad I don't have to share a litter box with him...

Till next time.....

SPACE:  With the landing of the shuttle Atlantis, the US manned space program will come to an end. After this, if we want to send an astronaut to  the Internatinal Space Station, we'll have to use the technology of another coumtry, most likely Russia. Trusting the Russians with our personnel and technology is like letting the fox guard the henhouse. President Obama is making a big mistake in throwing away all that this country has developed  in space over the last forty years. Unfortuately Obama is perfect in his own eyes, so the chances of him reversing his decision are slim.
NASA  http://www.nasa.gov/ has a comprehensive website  that will gladden the hearts of space geeks and casual observers both.. Under Home click on STS-135 and learn about Atlantis, its mission and its crew. Photographs and videos are available for downlading. You can even download the tunes used to wake up the astronauts each morning..Plus there is plenty of background on previous shuttle missions and crew.  Information on NASA's unmanned space probes is also available.. For example, did you know that the Cassini-Huygen space probe recently recorded a lightening storm on Saturn?

While we're on the subject, happy birthday Neptune. The planet just completed its first orbit around the sun in the 165 years since it was discovered.

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Neptune by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope

And Now, A Few Words From the Cat:

Hi! Raja here. Mommy is so busy with her blog that she's neglecting mine.I wanted to tell you about my new furry brudder, Panda. He' sa tuxedo cat who stared hanging around here.   He very politely asked if he could share my territory. I told him "Okay. I'll even get you food. But stay away from my human." He didn't listen. First he caressed her legs with his whiskers. The he poked her with his little pink nose.  Two days later it was head butts  and rubbed against her.The next thing you know, Mommy is cradling his head in her hand and cooing"How's my Pandy Man.?"  BLECH. He  lives mostly outside,but comes in for food and cuddles. Yesterday he took a two hour nap in MY bathtub. I suppose he is a handsme fellow. He's white with black spots. The lower half of his face is white, while the  upper part and his ears are black. He also has a black tail. I guess Panda is an okay name for him. It's cuter an Holstein. And he knows that I'm the Queen an must be obeyed.

That's all for now...

Deals- week of July 10, 2011

BOOKS: Former First Lady Betty Ford passed away on Friday, July 8, 2011. She was 93. Of all the First  Ladies, she was the one I admired the most. Through her candor she brought breast cancer and its diagnosis and treatment into the national consciousness. Later, her public admissions of alcohol and prescription drug abuse brought addiction into the spotlight. Yet she always maintained her dignity. She simply discussed what happened to her honestly, never asking for pity or adulation. Before she spoke out many people didn't know that one could survive breast cancer. Or, that  it was possible to become addicted to prescription drugs.
In 1978 Mrs. Ford published her autobigraphy,  The Times of My Life. In it she detailed her life as Elizabeth Bloomer growing up n Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was married and divorced, modeled, studied dance with Martha Graham and was a successful careeer woman, working in fashon merchandising, when she met and married Gerald Ford in 1948. As his career in Congress took off, she raised their four children largely alone. She later joined her husband in the Washington area  as he served as the Congressional Minority Leader. Suddenly, Spiro Agnew resigned and Gerald Ford was vice-president. Nine months later Richard Nixon resigned and the Fords found themselves in the White House..
Both her autobigraphy and her 1987 account of her recovery from addiction, A  Glad Awakening,, are available at http://www.amazon.com/

Coupons:  With the economy in sad shape people are watching every dollar. One way to save money is by using coupons. The website,http://www.coupons.com/  offers high value coupons for printing. Deals are available on food, household supplies,health and beauty aids, pet products , infant formula and disposable diapers; and entertainment items. Users can view national coupons, or, by entering their zip code, find local deals. The service is free and only requires a printer. Check it out. Of course, they .also have a Facebook page- www.facebok.com/coupons

That's all for now...