The beginning of fall and the continuing trashing of the forest! Shame on us!

Covet? Me? YEP!

Time to write a post as my family has made a stop to visit aunts and cousins “on the way.” They will arrive tomorrow. My sister called last night and said my hubby and I should drive to Utah and join the group. She was just trying to be loving and was excited.

I got jealous. I can’t believe I did, but I did. The family was supposed to be here with me today.My darling husband works and can’t just pick up and leave (though he deserves a wonderful trip).

My niece and nephews live in a beautiful mountain community,and they have motorcycles and horses, and were having a BBQ…..I resented the fact that they were together and we were excluded. I resented the fact that I don’t have acreage and all the fun stuff to offer the family.

I was totally bummed as I figured the things I have for the children to do would now seem trite and not so much fun at all. I had dinner all planned and high expectations for today.

ME, ME, ME. Yes, it was all about me!

In reality, the more people who love my children and grandchildren, the better for them and their lives.. The more fun and exciting things they get to do - all the better! Meeting their “extended” family is wonderful for them. My son was having a blast with his cousins and everyone was very happy. What in the world was I thinking! I want them all to be happy and enjoying each other and loving life!

IF I LOVE THEM, I WANT THE BEST FOR THEM!

So now, with a new mind set, I will “endeavor” to keep those things in mind and be generous with my thoughts. After all, what I really want for my family (close and extended) is for them to be loving, happy and healthy! There you go. I fess up and make amends for my momentary negativity. I am going to take a breath and let that nasty stuff fly out my fingertips!

I feel like I’m cheating….

…..on line, that is! I haven’t posted for a while. It’s not because I don’t “think” about doing it every day.
I’m hooked. I just have been preparing for family coming from the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

My son recently gained custody of his three children, 6, 8, and 10 (He practically raised them from birth). They arrive on Monday and so we are busily preparing for (we hope) an extended stay.

So this brief post is simply to say - I’m gone, but not dead! The PRIORITY, above all this wonderful writing and sharing with new friends, must take a back seat to REAL LIFE. As much as I love to sit here and share thoughts - read and gain insights and new friends - I still prefer LIFE and ACTION.

So until a few weeks from now (probably), I will be riding bikes, playing games, hiking, swimming, finding interesting sights to see, and LOVING the heck out of my family! Hugs, kisses, hand holding, and good times together.

Time is FLEETING - I suggest YOU SPEND SOME QUALITY TIME WITH THOSE YOU LOVE! FAMILY, FRIENDS, ACQUAINTANCES…..JUST TAKE SOME TIME TO TALK FACE TO FACE WITH SOMEONE AND DON’T ISOLATE YOURSELF 24/7.

IT’S NOT GOOD FOR YOUR BODY, and certainly not ENTIRELY good for your mind….God Bless!

Face paste - Women’s Makeup - Lips to die for……

Well, that isn’t really what this is all about. It is about how to AFFORD all the “stuff” that is advertised because we NEED
it to be beautiful (Choke!).

One of the things I really protest is the cost of these items: lipstick, face makeup, blemish cover, eyeliner, mascara, etc.etc.etc. YOUNG women have been convinced that in order to be beautiful one must indulge in these expensive items. NOT!

Youth itself is beautiful naturally. The pheromones that attract the opposite sex will still be present without makeup. What is really attractive and sexy (I’ve learned over the years) is a beautiful smile and CONFIDENCE. Not conceited behavior, but a confident woman exudes sex appeal all over the place - or so I’ve been told!

Youth does not end at 29. I know women who are in their late forties who wear very little to enhance their look and they are still stunning. Good health, a vibrant personality, a great sense of humor - these things are all very sexy too.

I won’t lie. I’ve worn mascara, eyeliner and various types of lipstick and glosses for a long time. I have also used blemish cover on occasion. I do know that some women really do benefit from wearing face makeup, particularly if they have had complexion problems or scarring of some sort. That can be a blessing for self-confidence.

Just remember it is YOUR DEMEANOR that is attractive; your smile. A woman could be drop dead beautiful and have a scowl on her face, or be bitchy, and that woman will get uglier by the minute. You’ve seen it happen. With guys too.

Use makeup moderately and then when you go snorkeling or swimming you won’t have it smeared all over your face.
Or if you take it off you won’t shock someone by the different (not less attractive) but different look. Here’s a tip too.
Waterproof mascara does often work, but after years of useage, it will pull your eye lashes out permanently…one by one.

Back to the jest of this post. Did an experiment and got some “free samples” of some VERY expensive makeup. Enough to use for several months. This makeup, after using it for over three months did exactly what other cheap makeup did for me. Practically nothing. Couldn’t see a difference in any way at all. Interesting, eh?

Look at the photo again. I am a stickler for not wasting because of the expense of these items. When I get to the bottom of a tube I cut it and put the remainder in a small container. You would be surprised how much is wasted just because you can’t get to it.

I dig out lipsticks and combine some. I have actually come up with colors that I can’t find at the stores, and they are great.
These days I use a light face makeup to even out my skin tone, but I mix that too. I buy a cheap brand of makeup, a color that is a bit darker than I like. Then I grab one of my containers and start the mix. I add sunscreen and a moisturizer I like. (Ponds is inexpensive and I swear it is a wonderful moisturizer. )

I met a woman with it in her hand and asked her how long she had been using it. She looked lovely. She told me for years and then shocked me. She was in her 80’s. I would NEVER have guessed. She said she mixes just a bit of lanolin with it.
I now do the same and I love it. Mama also used it and so the fragrance brings a memory that is precious to me.

Anyway, if I know I am going to be out in the woods or where a mosquito might be, I also put in a bit of Avon’s mosquito repellent. Lovely light fragrance. The result is no waste, inexpensive and mixed to my skin tones.

I do throw away mascara and eyeliner. Important to be careful with the eyes. As far as lipstick and glosses, I usually add a bit of lip conditioner or balm to the mix of color. Makes it creamy and almost delicious!

So if you are on a budget, or if you want to really wear colors mixed especially for you, wash out some old small containers and become your own makeup artist. More expensive is NOT ALWAYS better!

Okay - I may be addicted to your love!

A photo for your pleasure!Create a beautiful day NO MATTER WHAT!
It’s still a choice.

Urgent for all parents!

I didn’t think I would post for a couple of days, but in case you haven’t heard - Mattel is recalling millions of toys made in China with lead paint and/or magnets. The toys could be deadly.

Check on the web or get the information to protect your babies and little ones! Here is just one site to check: www.ToyRecall.biz - there are plenty of sites to check.

God bless and protect the children!

Swim emergency information

I know summer is almost over, but here is some information that could save lives if stranded in the water….

If you are far from help and need to sustain yourself DON’T try to swim to shore. Swimming accelerates heat loss….which can cause hypothermia (dangerously low body temperature). Try to
stay still, with legs together, and arms as close to your sides as possible.

Hopefully if you find yourself in this position you will have a life jacket on! This is a great time to have extra body weight as larger people cool down slower, which could help save your life.

Learn to float on your back. Learn to swim and dog paddle. Learn to keep that life jacket on!
Be SAFE and at least keep your children with life saving gear on at all times if you are boating.

I won’t be posting again until Friday or Saturday as I am a bit buried with paperwork that needs to be done one day, and my “kayak urge” which needs to be filled the other:). In the meantime, take a breath, enjoy the moments of your life. They pass quickly. Hug someone!

Make someone you love MOVE!

Even if it’s you! (Of course this isn’t me.) It is my darling husband who sometimes doesn’t want
to kayak because the boat has no motor - it’s a guy thing:)…..but after he gets out there he regenerates and is ALWAYS glad he made the effort.

We were meant to move and when I stop, I will be dead! Have a wonderful weekend and move that body. You also create what is known as endorphins. They are a natural high by using your oxygen and moving…honest! You can’t overdose, it’s not illegal, but ask anyone who knows about endorphins-they rock!

Hey, don’t look at me, I’m a chimp!

I want no part of being partly responsible for the man creature!

FOSSILS CHALLENGE OLD EVOLUTION “THEORY”

I have never copied a story verbatim, but this I found very interesting.

WASHINGTON - Surprising research based on two African fossils suggests our family tree is more like a wayward bush with stubby branches, challenging what had been common thinking on how early humans evolved.

The discovery by Meave Leakey, a member of a famous family of paleontologists, shows that two species of early human ancestors lived at the same time in Kenya. That pokes holes in the chief theory of man’s early evolution — that one of those species evolved from the other.

And it further discredits that iconic illustration of human evolution that begins with a knuckle-dragging ape and ends with a briefcase-carrying man.

The old theory is that the first and oldest species in our family tree, Homo habilis, evolved into Homo erectus, which then became human, Homo sapiens. But Leakey’s find suggests those two earlier species lived side-by-side about 1.5 million years ago in parts of Kenya for at least half a million years. She and her research colleagues report the discovery in a paper published in Thursday’s journal Nature.

The paper is based on fossilized bones found in 2000. The complete skull of Homo erectus was found within walking distance of an upper jaw of Homo habilis, and both dated from the same general time period. That makes it unlikely that Homo erectus evolved from Homo habilis, researchers said.

It’s the equivalent of finding that your grandmother and great-grandmother were sisters rather than mother-daughter, said study co-author Fred Spoor, a professor of evolutionary anatomy at the University College in London.

The two species lived near each other, but probably didn’t interact, each having its own “ecological niche,” Spoor said. Homo habilis was likely more vegetarian while Homo erectus ate some meat, he said. Like chimps and apes, “they’d just avoid each other, they don’t feel comfortable in each other’s company,” he said.

There remains some still-undiscovered common ancestor that probably lived 2 million to 3 million years ago, a time that has not left much fossil record, Spoor said.

Overall what it paints for human evolution is a “chaotic kind of looking evolutionary tree rather than this heroic march that you see with the cartoons of an early ancestor evolving into some intermediate and eventually unto us,” Spoor said in a phone interview from a field office of the Koobi Fora Research Project in northern Kenya.

That old evolutionary cartoon, while popular with the general public, is just too simple and keeps getting revised, said Bill Kimbel, who praised the latest findings. He is science director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University and wasn’t part of the Leakey team.

“The more we know, the more complex the story gets,” he said. Scientists used to think Homo sapiens evolved from Neanderthals, he said. But now we know that both species lived during the same time period and that we did not come from Neanderthals.

Now a similar discovery applies further back in time.

Susan Anton, a New York University anthropologist and co-author of the Leakey work, said she expects anti-evolution proponents to seize on the new research, but said it would be a mistake to try to use the new work to show flaws in evolution theory.

“This is not questioning the idea at all of evolution; it is refining some of the specific points,” Anton said. “This is a great example of what science does and religion doesn’t do. It’s a continous self-testing process.”

For the past few years there has been growing doubt and debate about whether Homo habilis evolved into Homo erectus. One of the major proponents of the more linear, or ladder-like evolution that this evidence weakens, called Leakey’s findings important, but he wasn’t ready to concede defeat.

Dr. Bernard Wood, a surgeon-turned-professor of human origins at George Washington University, said in an e-mail Wednesday that “this is only a skirmish in the protracted ‘war’ between the people who like a bushy interpretation and those who like a more ladder-like interpretation of early human evolution.”

Leakey’s team spent seven years analyzing the fossils before announcing it was time to redraw the family tree — and rethink other ideas about human evolutionary history. That’s especially true of most immediate ancestor, Homo erectus.

Because the Homo erectus skull Leakey recovered was much smaller than others, scientists had to first prove that it was erectus and not another species nor a genetic freak. The jaw, probably from an 18- or 19-year-old female, was adult and showed no signs of malformation or genetic mutations, Spoor said. The scientists also know it isn’t Homo habilis from several distinct features on the jaw.

That caused researchers to re-examine the 30 other erectus skulls they have and the dozens of partial fossils. They realized that the females of that species are much smaller than the males — something different from modern man, but similar to other animals, said Anton. Scientists hadn’t looked carefully enough before to see that there was a distinct difference in males and females.

Difference in size between males and females seem to be related to monogamy, the researchers said. Primates that have same-sized males and females, such as gibbons, tend to be more monogamous. Species that are not monogamous, such as gorillas and baboons, have much bigger males.

This suggests that our ancestor Homo erectus reproduced with multiple partners.

The Homo habilis jaw was dated at 1.44 million years ago. That is the youngest ever found from a species that scientists originally figured died off somewhere between 1.7 and 2 million years ago, Spoor said. It enabled scientists to say that Homo erectus and Homo habilis lived at the same time.”

Still, my friends, we are talking about 1.44 million years ago. IT’S ALL THEORY! (Well, except of course, what I believe!) Have a beautiful day! By the way, the author of this article was Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Science Writer.