Marketing Beauty

Marketing wrinkles my brain. How do we make people want something? Be willing to sacrifice other necessities to purchase it? How do we make a product so appealing in just thirty seconds time? Are we gullible enough to fall for that? Apparently so. Lately there have been a few companies who have pulled back the…

Space Camp!

I just received a message from space. I got a birthday package from Space Camp courtesy of my friend Tracy. It had nerdy shirts, NASA stickers, and antigravity paraphernalia, along with this little gem.   Tracy, and a team of highly trained high school teachers (who moonlight as space cowboys) got to attend adult space…

A Galaxy Far, Far Away…

I met R2D2 at work today. No joke. See? He came delivering an important message to some kids I was working with. He brought a storm trooper and Darth Vader with him (who incidentally had foreign accents… which made me giggle!) It was a delightful pause in a hectic day. I loved seeing the looks…

Adult Cereal?

Until this week I had no idea there were different classes of cereals. I knew some were healthier, some more vibrantly colored, but I found an inarguable distinction in the store.   The adultness is present in the very names of these cereals. What kid would whine for Fiber Flakes or Colon Blow Clusters given…

Living in the Mess

Life is messy. I learned that in new ways as my house was re-carpeted last week. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like being unable to get to my dresser or shoes or underwear drawer because they were in my shower, behind seven layers of other stuff. I didn’t like how much time it took…

Carpet Preparedness

It’s hurricane season and everyone is talking about preparedness. But I’ve been preparing for my own life-altering situation. Last week my house got new carpet… nice, right? Yes and no. It is beautiful, and currently stain-free, but it was back breaking work for weeks before and after. Our installers were particular about what furniture they…

Running and Asceticism

I’ve never experience the runner’s high, endorphine-flooded, goofy-this-feels-like-walking-only-faster-I-could-run-forever state of being. I feel every foot-pouding step, every muscle contraction, every oxygen-drenched breath when I run. I run for two reasons: 1. The sense of accomplishment is addicting. 2. To tell myself, “no.” When I completed my first 5K, I was totally pumped. Not by runner’s…

Loving My Limits

 Loving my limits  By Leigh McLeroy (c) 2013   I don’t want a super-sized Diet Dr. Pepper. A medium, heavy on the ice, is fine–thank you. And I don’t covet more space than the 1,400 square feet I happily came to call my own last April. (Actually, there are still days when I think it…