When I got the news this morning that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had split up I felt sad. I don’t know these people, and yet I still feel badly for them. Is that crazy? I think a lot of us thought of this “golden couple” as a standard for American romance. It was the first marriage for each of them, and they certainly look beautiful together. But who is to know what goes on in any relationship besides the people actually in it? Sure, the tabloids can speculate, and fans can lap up the gossip – but happiness, and compatibility, is such a personal issue that only the people involved know the truth of the matter. I wish Brad and Jennifer all the best. Even under the best of circumstances, when a split is amicable, it is a change to adjust to, and it can be stressful. Many of us have experienced this and can relate. My advice would be to spend time with friends and loved ones, and to consider this a new beginning. ]]>

Saturday I took a vegan cooking class at Madeleine Bistro with Chef Dave Anderson.  I was so inspired that afterwards I ran out and bought a mandolin (for slicing vegetables) and a fancy zester!  Then I thought… I really want to grow my OWN vegetables – and have fresh vegetables plucked from my backyard served up on my dinner table.

So… why not? I mean, I have tried this before… with not so great results.  But I don’t think I was as motivated previously.  My mother, my two grandmothers, and my sisters are all AMAZING gardeners – so I thought the green thumb thing must run in the family.  But I discovered that it takes much more than just dropping a few seeds into dirt.  And I discovered that I’m a much better writer than I am a gardener!

Now I’m approaching this from a different angle.  To keep myself on track I am going to blog about this new experience.  And today is Day 1:

Yesterday my hubby and I went to Home Depot and I picked out pots and plants and seeds.  There’s really no space in my backyard for a garden to be planted into the ground – so I figured a container garden would work best.  I found plastic pots (so that they are lightweight and I can move them around if necessary) that have a built in drainage system.  I’m trying to make this as fool-proof as possible!  I also got 3 big bags of organic soil. The total came to $150., but the cashier said if I opened a Home Depot credit card I could get a $50 discount – so of course I did that!  I’m hoping that we get more than $100 worth of vegetables out of this “experiment” to make it worth my while… and I know that $100 can buy a LOT of vegetables!

I’m not a huge tomato fan – but I do love Roma tomatoes, and they didn’t have a plant of those so I got the seeds.  I put those in one of the large containers.  

Then in another large container I put a couple of little zucchini sprouts, and a couple of yellow squash sprouts.  And in the third large container I put green onion seeds.

I’ve also got 3 medium containers.  In the first I planted basil – I plant basil every year, we use it often!  In the second I planted a lemon cucumber sprout.  And in the third I put some green bean seeds and some snow pea seeds.

I’m the first to admit – I have no idea what I’m doing – but I am giving it a shot!  My new little plants are all tucked in the soil and watered – the sun is shining – so we’ll see what happens!

Pandora Corp. Announces PC Pandora Computer Monitoring Software FREE Giveaway For Internet Safety Month The United States Senate has named June as Internet Safety Month. For the last week in June, Pandora Corp. will give away their signature computer monitoring software absolutely FREE to parents that need an effective solution to keep their kids safe on the Internet this summer. (Vocus) June 24, 2010 — Earlier this month, the US Senate passed a resolution proclaiming June as “Internet Safety Month.” The motion comes as an effort to educate parents and children about the dangers of the Internet and spread awareness. While most people will say that nothing in life is free and “everything has a price,” for the last week in June, Pandora Corp. is changing the rules. Beginning at 12:01 AM (Pacific Standard Time) on Saturday, June 26th, and continuing through midnight on Wednesday, June 30th, the company will be giving away its signature computer monitoring software, PC Pandora 6.0, absolutely free! “We did a holiday giveaway in 2008 and it went very well,” says James Leasure, co-founder of Pandora Corp. “Unfortunately, the economy still hasn’t turned around for most folks yet, but the need for an effective solution to keep kids safe online this summer is still overwhelmingly present. So, we’d like to help the parents in need once again.” During the last week in June, parents can visit www.pcpandora.com and use the code FREESUMMER2010 to get the current PC Pandora 6.0 absolutely free as a download. The giveaway will last until 11:59 PM (PST) on June 30th, 2010, or until 50,000 units have been given away. No catches. No strings. During the 2008 holiday giveaway, over 35,000 parents were given a copy of PC Pandora for free. Pandora Corp. is hoping to help as many parents with the second free giveaway in the company’s history. “The US Senate says this is the month for parents to educate themselves on the dangers of the Internet,” explains Leasure. “There is no better way to educate yourself than finding out and learning exactly what your children are doing online.” [PC Pandora is computer monitoring software that records all activity on a computer. First-rate monitoring capabilities take sequential snapshots of everything that happens on the screen, thus allowing parents to see first-hand everything their child does both on and offline. Complete records of all user activity are presented in both text-based files and easy-to-read charts. All instant messenger chats, emails sent and received, websites visited, peer-2-peer files shared, keystrokes logged, programs accessed, Internet search queries and more are recorded for parents to review. “If your child is talking to strangers on social networks, creating multiple social network profiles, downloading illegal music and movies, falling victim to a cyberbully, or simply visiting websites you don’t approve of, you will know about it if you are monitoring their internet activity.” For parents that have to work this summer and leave the kids home alone, PC Pandora comes equipped with the IRIS feature, which sends the recorded text-based files to a parent’s email at specified intervals. But it’s the newest companion to PC Pandora 6.0 that makes monitoring kids on the Internet easier than ever before. PC Pandora LIVE! allows parents to access the data recorded by PC Pandora from anywhere in the world through a safe and secure SSL encrypted website. All a parent needs is an Internet connection and a web browser; users can even log in from their iPhones� and other handheld devices. “While the IRIS email report feature is a valuable tool for any parent, the LIVE! service is priceless,” says Leasure. “PC Pandora LIVE! allows you to review the data and adjust settings on the monitored computer. Not only can you can check web history and view instant messenger and email conversations, but you can also view the screenshots, update Internet filters, and fine-tune the parental control parameters, all while at work, on the road, or simply unable to be at home in front of the monitored computer.” For parents monitoring multiple computers, PC Pandora LIVE! also collects the data from all machines with PC Pandora 6.0 installed and provides that data in a single place for easy review. This makes it easier to review a child’s activity – no more emails to comb through and no more having to manually view the data on multiple computers. Typical filters and standard blocks are easy for savvy young users to circumnavigate, but if you have computer monitoring software, you’ll know what your children are doing and be able to act appropriately. Leasure states: “This summer, parents need to know what their kids are doing online. Our PC Pandora 6.0 monitoring software coupled with the LIVE! service is the best all-around defense parents can get to help keep their children safe on the Internet. If someone is approaching a child with ill intentions, or if a child is engaging in risky behavior, the parent will know and can act immediately.” Pandora Corp. is offering a fully-functional copy of PC Pandora 6.0, a $70 value, absolutely free for their Internet Safety Month giveaway. Leasure adds, “While we unfortunately can’t offer the LIVE! service for free at this time, it’s a reasonably priced add-on for parents who want the convenience and extra measure of safety it provides.” Parents interested in getting a copy of PC Pandora can go to www.pcpandora.com and use the code FREESUMMER2010 at checkout to get PC Pandora 6.0 for FREE! About PC Pandora: Pandora Corporation was formed with one goal – to help our customers monitor, control and protect their families and themselves online. First released in mid 2005, PC Pandora has been constantly upgraded to industry-leading specifications and has received accolades from users, reviewers and even school districts and law enforcement agencies, who use the program to help in the day-to-day supervision of the children and citizens they are charged with protecting. The company website devotes space to helping parents by providing them with 18 Tips to Safe Surfing and Pandora’s Blog, where current news in the world of online safety is discussed regularly. In addition, the Pandora Corp. has made the PD Pandora Internet Safety Symposium available to schools and law enforcement as a free resource for spreading internet safety awareness to parents. Over the past few years, PC Pandora has vaulted into a leadership position for parental control software by boasting a combination of features that are unparalleled in the monitoring industry. In 2010, Version 6.0 was released, again widening the spectrum of coverage and protection offered by the program. Concurrently released with 6.0, the web-based PC Pandora LIVE! service affords parents the ability to keep their kids safe from anywhere at anytime. PC Pandora is also now available through the Pandora Corp. store at Amazon.com.

How can it be October 1st already?  This has been such a strange year.  It’s been one of those best of times, worst of times scenarios that I thought only Dickens could experience.  And now as the year is winding down, I’m winding up to put these lessons learned into something tangible.  Time moves on, growth continues, creativity bursts forth from even the cracks in the sidewalks.  This is something I’m compelled to do.  Autumn calls to nest, to get comfortable, to be warm.  But the inner urging forces me to be uncomfortable, to stretch, to move into that uncertainty, to test myself yet again.  Somehow this will be good for me, so I abandon any further thoughts of procrastination.  I am writing my new book!