Ahhh so that is what a full night sleep is like….

Ok so it has been a crazy, crazy year! But I can't believe how much better I feel with a full nights sleep! I took some cold meds and crashed around 8:30 p.m. last night. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. on my own! For those that know me know that is a major thing for me. I am not a morning person at all. Just the fact that I don't kill people on the way to work is an accomplishment, but today I not only woke up but woke up happy. WTF!?! Are the planets aligned today or something? Or is the fact that I got a full 8 hours of glorious sleep to thank for that. Only time will tell.

On a writing note…since deciding to take the rest of the year off from school and teaching I have ultimately freed up my brain for more fun matters like reading and writing. I have put the offer out there if anyone needs book reviews done this is a great time to get your books to me. My brain is craving some good stuff so pass it on.

I am also in a holding pattern as the Dr's work out the results of my testing and try this and that to see if it helps…so life goes on…

Another thing that I am dipping my toes into is the state of the world and America today. So don't be too surprised if I pull out my soap box in the coming days and weeks. I have been silent for too long on many things.

My friend list is growing because I am expanding my mind, my beliefs, my love to the world at large. So if you are newly added, thanks for the add and I look forward to getting to know you. If you are prior, I hope you know how much I love and respect you and our friendship.

With much love and respect,
Shan

Taking time to breathe...

After a long, long summer turned to fall I decided that I am taking time off from teaching and going to school until the 1st of the year. I am in the process of very nasty testing on my hated but much needed kidneys. With my health issues and such, I figured it was a good time to slow down and regroup things in my life.

I want to get writing again but need to determine what path to take with it. I need to figure out what path I want to take in this fork in the road...so I decided I am taking until the first of the year to figure life out.

This isn't a bad thing or me in a spiral again. I am just so grateful for the life I have right now that I want to take time to enjoy it as well as look at where I need improving.

What does this all mean? That I am going to enjoy the holidays, the chilly weather, baking cookies, reading, snowball fights, sitting by my mother-in-laws fireplace, drinking Ck's amazing hot chocolate. All things amazing. Life is to short as it is and the busier it gets the faster time flies!

My first born turned 15 this month and my youngest will be 7 next month, with my middle child turning 14 in Feb. They are growing up way too fast.

If anyone has a book they want to recommend or want me to review for them, this is a great opportunity to do so.

Well, back to work. I am grateful for all of you being apart of my life.

Hugs to all~Shan

You think you know me.... Okay I've tagged! (Luv ya Sophie!!)

Okay I've tagged! (Luv ya Sophie!!)

8 Person Blog Each player starts with eight random facts/habits or embarrassing things about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.

1. I wanted to be a teacher and writer most of my childhood. I let fear and lack of confidence keep me from doing this for 15 years. Now, I have just scratched the surface on both dreams.

2. I have always been afraid of heights, even to the point of panic attacks. Last month I rode to the top of the Skylon Tower in Niarga Falls, Canada (520 feet high) on an elevator that is outside the tower and glass. Once on top I went to the open air observation deck and looked out to the falls and the cities around me and for the first time I felt a sense of freedom not fear. Sure my knees were shaking, but I felt free. I even went to the edge and looked down. I am not saying it cured my hieghts fear, but it did teach me that in order to not let the fear of something hold me back, you have to look it in the eyes and charge it down.

3. I love animals. Any shape, color, size, breed, etc... So much so I wanted to keep the mouse we found in our kitchen as a pet.

4. I am addicted to myspace. nuff said

5. I love music. I don't care what kind, genre etc it is from, I want to hear it. I may not be able to tell you what band is playing, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Right now I am listenting to a smooth jazz station in the car, new age at work, country on my mp3 player and hiphop at home. I let my mood dictate the music which then dictated my mood. May not make sense to you but it does to me. :) I am also a lyrics hog. I have notebooks of lyrics that have been important to me and parts of my life. Songs that I wrote down as far back as when I was 14 years old and had to press stop then rewind on my cassette player.

6. I dream of going to Paris, Tuscany, London and Dublin (and every town in between) sooner rather then later.

7. I love being a mom! I am far from perfect and I am ok with that. I know how far I have come from a blue print I was handed by family. I have my neighbor growing up and Mrs. Pat for that. I also owe alot to my mother in law and sister in law. THey are great examples in all that they do.

8. If I had a choice to do anything for a day it would be to sit on a beach, basking in the sun, watching my children and husband play while I read a book unintereupted.

That's the end of getting to know Shannon a little better with 8 Facts. Now who's the lucky folks!

1. Sara - My sister, my friend. We need to get together before the boys grow up on us!!

2.Heather- I miss you!! We need to invent a teleporter machine from your house to mine so we can see each other more!!

3.Sammie - You are my mini me! I love you like a sister, daughter, friend. I am supposed to be your mentor you have taught me so much.

4. Nicole - It has been only 5 minutes since we graduated right?!?! Not the 18 years of grey hairs and aching joints that my calendar says...miss you!!!

5. CK- you are more important to me and the family then you will ever know. You are my hero and if I am a fraction the amazing person you are I will be happy. I love ya like a sister Tina!!

6.Rachael Rachael -7. Miku 8. Mary Beth - you ladies have been like lil sisters to me for most of my life. You are the most amazing and beautiful women I know. I am forever grateful to have found you once again.

"I couldn’t help but wonder..."

I am not sure why, but I have been on this vintage clothing kick lately. Well, I guess you can't call it vintage if you already wore it once upon a life time ago, or can you?

I have been hitting the most awesome thrift stores lately and having a ball trying on outfits (or making fun of them). Yesterday, I had awesome luck at Goodwill on some fabulous suits and vintage tops. One of which I wore yesterday. It was bright and loud and pheasant style. Super comfy. I wore it with some Capri's and dress shoes. I stopped before in the ladies room on the way to the class I am teaching and it dawned on me why this new kick…I have been channeling my inner Carrie.

I have been watching the tons of "sneak peek" footage and pics from the filming of Sex and the City Movie and I realized how much I miss my gals. Crazy outfits and all. Guys have there car shows while I have my Sex and the City. Much like the men getting ideas on how to fix up their latest hot rod, I get ideas on how to fix up or even wake up my wardrobe.

So, in this crazy thing we call life sometimes ya gotta dig deep and play a part that is fun and different from your normal personal. It keeps you and others on their toes, as well as helps keep ruts at bay. So dust off your stilettos ladies…its time to dance!

How 9/11 Made Us Stupid...by Tomas Friedman...

Not long ago, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran a fake news story that began like this:
"At a well-attended rally in front of his new ground zero headquarters Monday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani officially announced his plan to run for president of 9/11. 'My fellow citizens of 9/11, today I will make you a promise,' said Giuliani during his 18-minute announcement speech in front of a charred and torn American flag. 'As president of 9/11, I will usher in a bold new 9/11 for all.' If elected, Giuliani would inherit the duties of current 9/11 President George W. Bush, including making grim facial expressions, seeing the world's conflicts in terms of good and evil, and carrying a bullhorn at all state functions."

Like all good satire, the story made me both laugh and cry, because it reflected something so true — how much, since 9/11, we've become "The United States of Fighting Terrorism." Times columnists are not allowed to endorse candidates, but there's no rule against saying who will not get my vote: I will not vote for any candidate running on 9/11. We don't need another president of 9/11. We need a president for 9/12. I will only vote for the 9/12 candidate.

What does that mean? This: 9/11 has made us stupid. I honor, and weep for, all those murdered on that day. But our reaction to 9/11 — mine included — has knocked America completely out of balance, and it is time to get things right again.

It is not that I thought we had new enemies that day and now I don't. Yes, in the wake of 9/11, we need new precautions, new barriers. But we also need our old habits and sense of openness. For me, the candidate of 9/12 is the one who will not only understand who our enemies are, but who we are.

Before 9/11, the world thought America's slogan was: "Where anything is possible for anybody." But that is not our global brand anymore. Our government has been exporting fear, not hope: "Give me your tired, your poor and your fingerprints."

You may think Guantánamo Bay is a prison camp in Cuba for Al Qaeda terrorists. A lot of the world thinks it's a place we send visitors who don't give the right answers at immigration. I will not vote for any candidate who is not committed to dismantling Guantánamo Bay and replacing it with a free field hospital for poor Cubans. Guantánamo Bay is the anti-Statue of Liberty.
Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association, told me that the United States has lost millions of overseas visitors since 9/11 — even though the dollar is weak and America is on sale.
"Only the U.S. is losing traveler volume among major countries, which is unheard of in today's world," Mr. Dow said.

Total business arrivals to the United States fell by 10 percent over the 2004-5 period alone, while the number of business visitors to Europe grew by 8 percent in that time. The travel industry's recent Discover America Partnership study concluded that "the U.S. entry process has created a climate of fear and frustration that is turning away foreign business and leisure travelers and hurting America's image abroad." Those who don't visit us, don't know us.

I'd love to see us salvage something decent in Iraq that might help tilt the Middle East onto a more progressive pathway. That was and is necessary to improve our security. But sometimes the necessary is impossible — and we just can't keep chasing that rainbow this way.

Look at our infrastructure. It's not just the bridge that fell in my hometown, Minneapolis. Fly from Zurich's ultramodern airport to La Guardia's dump. It is like flying from the Jetsons to the Flintstones. I still can't get uninterrupted cellphone service between my home in Bethesda and my office in D.C. But I recently bought a pocket cellphone at the Beijing airport and immediately called my wife in Bethesda — crystal clear.

I just attended the China clean car conference, where Chinese automakers were boasting that their 2008 cars will meet "Euro 4" — European Union — emissions standards. We used to be the gold standard. We aren't anymore. Last July, Microsoft, fed up with American restrictions on importing brain talent, opened its newest software development center in Vancouver. That's in Canada, folks. If Disney World can remain an open, welcoming place, with increased but invisible security, why can't America?

We can't afford to keep being this stupid! We have got to get our groove back. We need a president who will unite us around a common purpose, not a common enemy. Al Qaeda is about 9/11. We are about 9/12, we are about the Fourth of July — which is why I hope that anyone who runs on the 9/11 platform gets trounced.

October Begins...

I have to admit I love this time of year; the cool breeze, leaves changing, football, just cool enough to wear your favorite cozy sweatshirt and jeans. At night you need an extre blanket because leaving the windows open makes you snuggle more. Playing outside doesn't cause you to get all sweaty. Long walks gathering leaves for fall school projects are fun. Hiking with the family is a lesson in nature and the world around us. You begin to discover hidden nooks around the towns you live in as you step in to warm up and have a cool drink. Life slows down again for the last time before the winter holidays are upon us. The daylight is shorter so you tend to be at home with the family earlier then in summer. Dinners of chili and homemade chicken soup begin as well as baked goods. Having the windows open allows the smells of the yumminess fill the neighborhoods. Campfires in back yards are starting up. Smores and scary stories are being gobble up. Fall is a great time of reflection. We watch children go off to school and can remember our school days. We watch the big homecoming game with this new generation but yet can recall where we were for our homecoming. As the apple trees and pumpkins are ready to be picked the ciders and pies become plenty. So on this first day of October I raise my hot cocoa to all the sprits of fall and the beauty they bring.