What do you think?

Of all the new pretties?? After much bellyaching, I think that I can stay here at Blogger. With the added courage from the support of Suz, and Margie, and Dawn, I gt the courage to hit that "customize" button that has mocked me for so long. That's a damn fine button, I tell you! Makes a world of difference, and alot of work!

I am still tweeking obviously..which, by the way, if you have any huge issues..tell me. Like I made this pretty wide...which I think makes reading easier...but if it's all crazy looking, tell me..mmmmkay?

And I am still mastering the whole Blogroll thing..thank you Margie !...so yes, links are missing. That aspect of the upgrade takes a long time. It's very tedius, which is a good thing...because there are SOOO MANY ADOPTION BLOGS!!

And.maybe someone knows this..I want a way to add another "page" here? Like I would like to have the whole "My reuinion story" laid out in order..I know I can do it as a links list, but....I want pages!!

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On a side note,I was watching Brad Pitt last night being interviewed by Larry King live in New Orleans. Only for a minute really, since it got really painful. I mean, Brad is real purty like, and I think he means well, but he doesn't seem to do so great when someone has not written his lines for him. Or he was stoned..lol.
Anyhoo, aside from him hanging out with Angelina and thier nasty adoption habits, what he was talking about was this whole project that he has underway in New Orleans. It's really very Cristos like.. this whole "pink houses"..I mean I like the idea. I love that he is doing something and using 5 million of his own money to do that something...
He wants people to ADOPT these houses. And I get the ideal..and again, it's great. I don;t mean to be picking on him or his project for his terminology, it's just that:
1) He annunciated the word "adopt" differently. I swear..go Goggle it yourself!

On his ‘Make It Right’ project: (a housing redevelopment in the lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA):
BRAD PITT: OK. This is what we are calling the adopt-a-house campaign. It is part art installation, it is part act of social disobedience, but it is really meant to work as a fundraising component. And we were looking for something that was loud and would get a lot of attention, that was also hopeful. So what you see here is, as you see these blocks scattered across this section of the Lower Ninth, to represent the houses that were destroyed, the homes that were destroyed. And what we are hoping to do is, as a house gets adopted, this is going to be up for five, six weeks, five-and-a-half weeks, as a home gets adopted, we will right that house and we will put it back on its foundation. So hopefully this will be an art installation that will be constantly evolving. And by the end of this -- by the end of this five-and-a-half weeks, we hope to have a symbolic neighbourhood put back together. And that is the goal

2) Because I am who I am, I do bristle often at the use of the word adoption, adopt, etc. So, yeah, I am listening to what can be a weird overuse and attention grabbing way of using this word.

but then....
It got me thinking this am. We just love to keep using this word Adoption. It's like we forgot our thesourus. Adop this, adopt that. We don't sponsor anymore, not when you can ADOPT!
Adopt a house.. that's a good thing for Brad and this project. Help rebuild!
Adopt a highway.. to clean it, make it look nice.
Adopt a mutt.. to love and cherish and pick up poop.
Adopt a family.. help them with what they do not have.
Adopt a technology...new tools, new ways of working.
Adopt a pound puppy, a cabbage patch kid, and like 5 other toys this Xmas.


It's like EvERy way that we use this word too... it has the underlying connotation of "improvement". It's always a positive thing.

Improve the houses, rebuild.
Improve the highway by cleaning and planting flowers.
Inprove the puppy's life with a home and care.
Improve the families life by assisting them in getting what they cannot.
Improve your job, your business, a system, your blogger habits by new tools.
Improve your kids life by getting this great realistic toys.

You see where I am going with this?
Adopt a child. Improve that child.

Now I know, really I do, that the ideal is to improve the life of the child. Give them more, provide for them what cannot be provided without the adoption...speaking idealistially of course!
But it does seem to then automatically assume then that the life pre adoption needed improvement. Which we know is not the true case for every case...where IS that "burning building" post!!
And then I think to words adoptees say...do not so many of them feel the pressure to be "better, improved"? You know whar I mean? Not being an adoptee, I'm not going to attempt to discuss their feelings, but how the words is used, I think, does play into how people end up feeling.
At least I see an interesting play on it all here.

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Since I am just all over the place with this post...
Rye and I are about to undertake a big scarey thing..which hopefully will be a good thing!
We are going to take over a cute neighborhood deli!
I have been working on a business plan for the last week. And crunches numbers..which look really good! We are looking for investors and backers, etc, but with a realitivly small chunk of change we buy the business. If anyone has cash sitting around and wants to check out this great investment opportunity, just give me an email and you can check out the plan.( Rye has presuured me to say that...snarf)
But, really..while this is scarey, I am kind of excited. This is a picture of the actual building with our desired improvements..new singage, flowers, etc! isn't it just sooo cute?
The name and sign are just for pretty making, etc. And I think we want a cute bench outside, or a little cafe table if we can. So soon, I might be sittig in my deli, blogging.

Now if only my arm would get better.
And I really need a hair cut! Before Monday when I go to NY!