This Season

I spent some time on Susan Branch's website this weekend and it really made me want to enjoy summer. I am left longing to make homemade ice cream and lemonade, go to garage sales and truly enjoy this season of my life.



Susan also posts her address for people to send her mail and her promises are that she will write back.
www.susanbranch.com

Bitten

I found the neatest thing while reading my monthly O magazine. Sarah Jessica Parker has created a new clothing line (not such a shock, actually). The two really nice things about this line are:

1. It's affordable. Clothing in the 9.99 - 19.99 range is typical.
2. It's for sizes 2 - 22!

OMG! Something stylish and cool and cheap...that I can actually WEAR??? Where's my checkbook?

http://www.bittensjp.com

"It is every woman's inalienable right to have a pulled-together stylish, confident wardrobe with money left over to live. GET BITTEN." -Sarah Jessica Parker



The clothing is being sold exclusively at Steve & Barry's.

my day in icons

How do you Powerpoint?

I'm a big fan of visual presentations. Flashy, pretty, dynamic, memorable presentations. How often do we actually get to see a great presentation?

If you're like me, not often. I tend to see tons of boring, repetitive, mind-numbing powerpoint slides with bland speakers. Being a marketer myself in a technical industry, I have a difficult time convincing my people just how bo-ring they truly are.

You want a good presentation? Check this one out...



See what I'm talking about? Show, don't tell, people! If you can't remember your lines, bring index cards. Don't use the screen as a cheat sheet in front of your audience. Use it as a visual punch, an accompaniment.

Go forth, be creative, and CONQUER!

Guide to Summer Fun

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/the_haters_guide_to_summer_fun

I came across this article from The A.V. Club regarding things to make summer fun. There are a couple on here that caused me to become nostalgic such as Uno or Fla-Vor-Ice (which is a cheap trill for me) and Super Soakers. But I really think they have left off a couple key ingredients to "summer fun". Photos included for nostalgic purposes!

1) camping. you could find me somewhere in the wilderness.

2) lemonade stand. we made a couple pretty pennies selling our watered down lemonade in dixie cups. our customers were our parents, the nice elderly neighbors and the postage carriers.

3) wild and crazy kids. this show was pure magic! there many a time when we tried to act out some of the adventures these kids got to embark on. and this brings me to my next favorite memory.



4) Double dare. This show got us kids in trouble. but it was always fun to dream that we were there playing in the large tubs of chocolate!

5) Slip and Slide. Another summer wonder. This was a joy that may children still enjoy!

6) The gummi bears. A jewel of a show that disney come up with! I still want some gummi beary juice!

7) Water Balloons. The politically correct way to get back at your siblings!

8) the ice cream man. although the ice cream from this vehicle was melted or far too cold to eat. the mario pops with the gum ball nose, always did it for me!

9) the price is right. I have recently heard the news of the his last show and pity the many generations of kids that will not be able to watch bob barker at 10am on summer days, sick days, days off and ditch days. farewell bob!

Is there anything to add?

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The word on the street is that Universal Studios has formulated "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter," which is a theme park that will open in Orlando in late 2009. Author J.K. Rowling assures that fans of books or films will not be disappointed. More information can be seen at these links.


http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20070531/118063398001.html
http://media.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

Genuflection

So, I wonder…often. I used to wonder why the sky is blue, but the answer was so much duller than I initially expected. Then I would wonder about creation and evolution, but no one really knows for sure and I’m not one to argue over uncertainties.

Recently, however, I began to wonder about the return of the Messiah. The Jewish people, if I am correct, believe the Messiah has still to walk among us. The Christians believe he has been here, done that, and may come back again to save the faithful (very King Arthur-ish).

That led me to question what one is to do if Jesus were to return to us? If he were to walk up to you tomorrow, what is the proper greeting? Are we supposed to bow/curtsy as a gesture of respect to the one and only Son of God? Should we drop to the ground in an Asian kowtow position (arms and face on the floor, folks)? Genuflect (a vocabulary term learned while watching Disney’s Aladdin)? Or is there some other, more appropriate and grandiose, way of greeting our Lord and Savior?

I’m not the most religious individual, mind you, but I was raised Southern Baptist and I believe in God and his boy. And I, personally, would hate to be in that position and make the wrong move. It’s one thing to look like a complete idiot in front of your co-workers and something else entirely to do it in front of Jesus Christ.

There’s a part of me that’s convinced that this has already been decided in the religious community, but maybe they believe we common folk won’t have the opportunity to bump into the son of Mary and Joseph in our travels and, therefore, we don’t need to know.

But, I’m one of those just-in-case types of people.

If you have an idea, drop us a comment here at Sparkly. I’d love to ponder the responses.