Blogs List
Momsense
 Betsy Bethel |
Getting Away With the GirlsTue, March 2, 2010 @ 3:53PM My mom, sister and I had our annual girls' getaway weekend last weekend. Every February, we rent a cabin somewhere for the weekend just the three of us, to catch up and bond and do fun girly stuff. It's important for us to get away together because we truly are three peas in a pod, yet we no longer live in a pod. In fact, we haven't lived in the same house for 25 years. My sister lives in suburban Dayton, my mom in the North Georgia mountains and I in Martins Ferry. Whenever we are together on other occasions, our attention is divided between children and siblings and other parental units. The girls' getaway gives us a chance to break up the monotony of gray winter days and bring some life-giving sunshine into each other's lives, if only for a brief time. Last weekend, we rented a cabin at Dillon State Park outside Zanesville, which we all recommend highly. From the maintenance guy who shoveled our porch and sidewalk after Friday's snowfall, to the thick towels and soft sheets, to the super-cleanliness of the place, we were quite pleased. Our itinerary included four main goals: eat out, shop at the antique and pottery places outside Zanesville, play Scrabble and watch chick flicks. While going about our weekend activities, I had several "things-that-make-you-go-hmmm" moments.
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Politically Fashionable
 Joselyn King |
Lacking an "A" EffortTue, March 9, 2010 @ 11:34PM What's in a name? A lot when politics is involved, and it's an election year. The League of American Voters -- that's "American" voters, not the League of Women Voters -- is attacking U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., and other House Democrats for their support of health care reform legislation proposed by the Obama White House and now before Congress. The ads run frequently. Anybody but me notice that the group consistently misspells "Alan" as "A-l-l-a-n?" He has been in office for 28 years, and you would think someone there might have seen the name. A-hem. . .maybe they're not from West Virginia? You would think if gunslingers were coming in from out of town, they could at least shoot straigh.
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Myer on Politics
 Mike Myer |
Don't blame insurance companiesWed, March 10, 2010 @ 4:07PM Of course, health insurance companies are out to make the highest profits they can. So are companies in all lines of work. That's the nature of the free enterprise system. But blaming them as President Barack Obama has for sky-high health care costs in America makes no sense. Think about it. When do you most often bemoan the high cost of health care? Probably when you're at the drug store. Gosh, some of those prescriptions are simply outrageous! Who do you suppose sets the prices for drugs? Drug companies, not the insurance industry. Trust me on this: The insurance companies are just as unhappy as anyone about the high costs of health care. Part of the reason for that is that the more money you have to pay out, the lower your profits. How come health care costs are so high? In part because we Americans demand the best of everything, particularly when it involves prolonging our lives, lessening the severity of our injuries - or even keeping us from sneezing so much during allergy season. We demand the best health care, and we've gotten it. That costs money. There are lots and lots of other factors involved in health care costs. Medical malpractice lawsuits are one aspect of the problem. But putting all the blame on insurance companies just doesn't make sense - unless you're a politician using the old, tried and true strategy of claiming that you're defending Americans against some powerful villa.
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"Out There"
 Phyllis Sigal |
Passion: It's What Drives Us to ExcellenceWed, March 10, 2010 @ 1:35PM One of the early blogs I wrote was about a couple of women I met, who were following their dreams, and doing what they were passionate about. One opened up a bead shop in the Edgewood neighborhood of Wheeling; the other, a gift shop in the Centre Market area. I've been thinking a lot lately about people who have passion for what they do. I believe that if you have passion, you are happy. If you get up each day and are truly participating in what you are passionate about, you are lucky. You are leading the life you want to lead. People who are passionate about what they do, also are usually good at what they do. Their passion drives them to excellence. Take for example, those who won Oscar Awards the other night. When I listened to Oscar-winners Sandra Bullock or Jeff Bridges or Monique talking about their lives, their award, their craft, there was no question in my mind that they care about what they do. They want to be the best. They put their heart and soul into their jobs. And they are rewarded for that. When I see the Tony Award winners talking about why they do what they do, I feel their passion, too. I see it in our everyday lives, too: reporters so excited to tell the story they're working on, they're bursting; children, just plain passionate about life in general; friends, passionate about relationships in their lives; my children, passionate about their goals.
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Heather's Corner Desk
 Heather Ziegler |
CindersSat, March 6, 2010 @ 9:36PM Now that the snow is melting, all those gritty black cinders are more evident than ever. In fact, for walkers and runners, they are down right dangerous. Has anyone tried to walk down Chicken Neck Hill or run across the Bridge Street bridge in Elm Grove? I have seen plenty of track teams on the run as of late and I wonder how many may have taken a spill on the cinders. It would be nice if a street sweeper could clean the sidewalk along Chicken Neck Hill. As for the sidewalks on the bridges, I guess we will have to wait for Mother Nature to rain them away. I would be happy to sweep up the cinders in front of my house, deposit them in a bucket for reuse by the state road. But they would have to come and get them because I would not be able to lift the bucket when it's full. Perhaps I should hold onto that bucket at least until April as the Farmer's Almanac is talking more snow for March. Let us hope those old farmers are dead wron.
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