5 Things you don't know about me

I was tagged by Tom Marble to divulge 5 things you don't know about me. Since I pretty much say whatever comes into my head and wear all of my emotions right out there on my sleeve, this may be difficult, but I'll give it a shot.

1. I was vegan for 12 years. During my first pregnancy I craved meat. Ate a filet mignon. Never looked back. What the hell did I eat?

2. This is my second marriage. My first husband now lives in his native England. If you are going to get divorced, I highly recommend doing it with someone who lives overseas that you are never going to run into at the grocery store.

3. My daughter's name is Story. Where does that name come from? She is the Story of us - me and my current husband.

4. I backpacked alone around the world for 18 months. An experience I recommend to anyone who will ask for my advice.

5. When I was 17 years old, I was in a car accident that resulted in 2 broken arms. I was in casts up to my shoulders with bent elbows on both. Yes, my mother had to do things for me for the 12 weeks I was incapacitated that no 17 year old girl wants her mother involved in.

I officially tag - Simon Phipps, Geir Magnusson, Danese Cooper, Glynn Foster, whurley.

Posted at 11:10AM Dec 22, 2006 by sarad in General  |  Comments[1]

Chronicles of Nickerson - Christmas Scaffolding

We've got an entirely new kind of scaffolding on the house this time. I think we've seen them all now. This kind is more like the building toys our 4-year-old plays with. Everything snaps into place and all of the pieces are modular.

The first floor of the house has a huge all-glass door with very large windows on each floor directly above it. One side of the door is set onto the poured-in-place concrete wall. Whenever it rains, water runs down the concrete where it hits the door - on the inside of the house. The source has been elusive. This is the third time, that I can recall, that scaffolding has been set up to try to find it's source. Finally we found the culprit this week, a crack in the framing of the window above the door. Three's a charm I guess. Now what to do with that 8 foot by 8 foot window that intersects multiple stucco sections is the question. I'm sure whatever the agreed upon resolution, we'll get more scaffolding.

While it's here, at least we can get the bird prints off the outside of the windows.

Posted at 09:08AM Dec 15, 2006 by sarad in General  | 

Invited to Crash

If you are invited to crash, are you invited, or are you crashing?

Posted at 04:58PM Dec 11, 2006 by sarad in General  | 

Bacon

I don't eat bacon very often, well because it's bacon. And I very rarely ever cook it at home, well because it's bacon and it makes a mess you can smell all day. But it's been cold out.

This morning my husband and I are frying up the yummy bacon and our 4 year son comes running up the stairs franticly yelling, "what is that smell?"

"It's bacon," we reply.

"Bacon," he says dreamily, "that's my favorite."

Posted at 10:56AM Dec 09, 2006 by sarad in General  |  Comments[2]

Searching for Happiness

Two friends of ours are documentary film makers. Their latest film, Before the music Dies, is a indepth look at the evolution of the music industry. Their new movie is an investigation into happiness and they are looking for subjects. They say it best, so read below and let me know if you have anything you'd like to pass on.

_______________________

I'm writing to ask you to help me with a very, very special project.

Our first film, www.beforethemusicdies.com, is complete. It's a good film, and I'm proud of our work. If you haven't seen it I hope you will when it screens near you. You can find locations and dates at www.beforethemusicdies.com. I'm satisfied with the first film, but now I'm ready to really make a difference with the second.

We're about to begin work on "The Greener Side" in earnest. This is where my request comes in. My goal with "The Greener Side" is nothing less than changing the world by changing the perspective of thousands, perhaps even millions, of people. With this film we're investigating what really makes human beings happy. We've interviewed some of the most intelligent people in the world, including esteemed professors from Harvard, Cambridge, Stanford, and Yale, and some of the most well known authors and thinkers on the subject of happiness.

What we need now are the real life stories - those individuals who seem to have found the secret to personal happiness. They may lead seemingly unremarkable lives or they may have survived the most unspeakable circumstances. The common thread is that they seem to have discovered some understanding that has transformed their lives. They are typically described as "the happiest person you'll ever meet". They're in every part of the world, and I want to speak with them. Their story, their secret, could help transform the lives of millions of others, and make the world a better place to live.

If you know or have heard of someone like this, and you think they might like to be interviewed, please respond on this blog.

We'll have the website live after the first of the year, and if you're interested you can track the progress of the film at www.thegreenersidemovie.com.

As 2006 draws to a close, I hope this note finds you well. It's been a remarkable year for me and my family, and we're very excited about working on this project in 2007.

PS - If you're curious about the real secret to happiness, there is actually an answer. Though it may seem odd, science and religion have come to the same conclusion. You'll just have to stay tuned to find out what it is!

Posted at 01:46PM Dec 07, 2006 by sarad in General  |  Comments[1]

Chronicles of Nickerson - Raised this way

My 4 and 5 year olds were playing on my daughter's bed. One of them, they each blame the other of course, put a big dent in the wall with their heel. I ran in there because it was quite a loud noise. After ascertaining that everyone was OK, and that "no one" had made the dent in the wall, my daughter said, "It's OK Mommy, one of the workers will fix it." And they went on playing.

Posted at 09:41AM Dec 05, 2006 by sarad in General  |