Changing Blog and Sarah Palin Radio

Hi all:

I know I've been MIA for a while, but I'm back with a different emphasis. I started this blog three years ago to be a central collection site for the reviews I write for various publications. And I'm leaving those reviews here.

But longtime readers noticed how I got caught up in this current election and began posting about it. Well, the election is over (actually not in Georgia or Minnesota, but I digress), and I'm pretty disappointed with the results. Instead of throwing my hands up, however, I'm taking the opposite tack and keeping informed and getting involved to make sure our country doesn't go the way I fear under the current powers in Washington. And to make sure it doesn't happen again in 4 years ...

The current president-elect essentially began his run for president with his speech at the 2004 Democrat National Convention. Seemed to work out well for him.

This year Sarah Palin gave her own landmark speech at the Republican National Convention and though she has made no commitments for four years from now, there are several groups organizing on her behalf. These groups are also advocating action now for conservative causes, such as helping Senator Saxby Chambliss retain his U.S. Senate seat in the run-off election in Georgia, in addition to encouraging Governor Palin to consider a 2012 run.

We can't skip being involved in the next 4 years - or our country may be so changed that it's beyond fixing. For example, rumors are swirling that the president-elect is considering removing term limits for the President ... Not to mention bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, otherwise known as government censorship, and signing the Freedom of Choice Act, which removes any and all restrictions on abortion, including parental consent, partial birth abortions, etc.

So anyhoo, this blog will have a bit of a different slant for the foreseeable future. I hope others feel compelled to get involved as well. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people can only be as good as the people who get involved!!

To that end, let me conclude this post with a new Internet radio station courtesy of wsradio called Sarah Palin Radio. They've got two 30-minute shows up now interviewing people who have started TeamSarah.org and DraftSarahforPresident.com, groups that have over 60,000 and over 100,000 members respectively so far - a population growth that has happend AFTER the current election.

At the Sarah Palin Radio page, you can add your e-mail to be notified of new broadcasts. And you can click the "Listen to Sarah Palin Radio 24/7" link to get to the current broadcasts.

Engage,
hrh

I've been tagged for 8 random facts!

Hi all:

Tagging is a game played in the blogging community whereby one blogger writes up his or her own list on a certain topic and then "tags" a certain number of other bloggers to respond with their own lists on the same topic.

Sometimes the topics are "Top 10" lists of movies, TV shows, books, etc. Sometimes the topics are more personal, such as the one I've been tagged with, which is to reveal "8 Random Facts About Myself."

I've never actually played before, but since CJ - one of the lovely ladies behind Title Trakk - tagged me, I'll give it a go!

The first rule of the game, however, is to post the rules of the game. Here they are:

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

8 random facts/habits about me ...

1. I've been to China twice traveling with friends who have adopted two adorable, precious girls. We've been to Beijing, Nanning, and Guangzhou. My favorite city was Nanning!
   
   
2. I've been to every United State except Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Montana, and North Dakota.
   HINT: Take a road trip to all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead sites, and that will give you Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Missouri - and, of course, all the states in between! [Click on the states for info. on each LIW site.]
   
   
3. My sister and I took the LIW trip in 1993 - the year the Mississippi flooded its banks. We saw Mark Twain's boyhood town of Hannibal, MO all flooded! We took 2 weeks and spent only $500 each (including souvenirs!) by tenting in national and state parks and eating 2 meals a day!
   
   
4. I've also been to Brazil (on a missions trip) and Prince Edward Island (twice!) to visit Anne of Green Gables country!



5. In 6th grade (#5 and I'm already reaching!), I came in second at the state chess championships in Hartford. (alas, I don't play much anymore ...)



6. I was a Finalist at Write Safe for my spec script called "The Bridge" for Joan of Arcadia.



7. My ultimate dream vacation is a 3-month cruise around the entire perimeter of the Mediterranean Sea from the Strait of Gibraltar in the West to the Israeli coast in the East and of course, including the various European Rivieras, Italian and Greek Isles, and Alexandria and the northern coast of Africa. Preferably with a side trip up the Nile to the Valley of the Kings, etc. And side trips in Israel to Masada, Qumran, the Dead Sea, Caesaria, the Sea of Galilee, etc.



8. My ultimate pipe dream is to sell my house and (unencumbered with all those homeowner expenses) live in an RV, so I can satisy my travel habit!!

That's all I can think of on the spot. I guess I'm not very random after all - I just like to TRAVEL!

I now tag Michelle Sutton, Eve Nielsen, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Rebecca Grabill, Becca Johnson, (can never have enough Rebeccas!) Sharon Hinck, Frank Creed, and Karen Hancock.

Sooo, what are 8 random facts about you??

hrh

Do You Want To Live To Be 100?

Hi all:

In writing a wellness article for my day job, I came across a free site called "Living to 100." It's run by Dr. Thomas Perls and contains two Life Expectancy Calculators, one for people who are under 49 years old and one for those who are over 49 years old.

[I don't know what you do if you are 49 years old!]

It took me 10 or 15 minutes to fill out my calculator (under 49), which contains questions about your family history, your current eating and exercise habits, etc., confidentially, and then calculates your life expectancy.

If you're not happy with what the calculator projects, the system also gives you personalized tips for each area to increase your life expectancy. It even tells you how many months or years each lifestyle change will add to your life.

Of course, there are many variables that tools like this cannot account for. But I thought it was still a fun exercise, especially the personalized info. at the end. For example, I learned that too much iron can actually decrease your life expectancy, so you shouldn't take iron supplements. Hmmm, and I cook in iron skillets ...

If you want to know more about Dr. Perls before bothering with the calculator, check out this article by CNN's Sanjay Gupta or tune in to CNN on April 14 or 15 at 8:00 p.m. USA Weekend and Time Magazine also featured the calculators.

I hope this doesn't sound like a commercial, I'm not endorsing the calculators, just passing on an interesting wellness site.

BTW, in case you're curious, I'm going to live to be 89. Sounds good to me.

Then my supervisor, who is 6 months younger than me, took it and found out she's going to make 102! Wait a minute now ...

Have fun if you decide to use the calculators!

Of course, keeping it all in perspective:

Psalm 139:16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

hrh

April Fool's Writing Challenge!

Hi all:

I signed up for the April Fools' Writing Challenge:

and committed to writing 15,000 words in April. That works out to 500 words a day. What was I thinking? Am I a fool or what?

Many different kinds of writing count for this challenge, but I signed up mainly for my fiction and script writing. I've only actually done about 500 words in that area ... but I've done lots of qualifying writing! Honest!

Seriously, here's my word count progress meter, which is already in progress, because it's already April 9 ...

2,000 / 15,000 (13.3%)

I'm also going to post the progress meter in my sidebar.

You can help me out by checking my Word Progress Counter throughout the month and sending me a gentle reminder to "GET WRITING!!"

Thanks so much!

hrh

MySpace Space and Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books

Hi all:

I cleaned up my blog a bit over the weekend, 'cause it's been around for more than a year now, and you know how clutter starts accumulating the longer you live somewhere? Well, I feel like my blog is getting too cluttered. So I took off some items and rearranged slightly. Still in progress ...

However, I also added a couple of things, including "Where Else I Live Online," which links to my Shoutlife and MySpace pages. Yep, I've taken the plunge into MySpace. You've probably heard the horror stories about teen predators and the like. But the truth is you can monitor your privacy pretty well.

I wasn't planning on going on MySpace, but I needed to contact someone, my e-mail kept getting bounced from his virus software, and I could only think of reaching him through MySpace. Which means you have to register, which means you have the space, so, hey, why not fill in a few things on your profile?

So, waalaa! I'm on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/166218955

If you visit, listen to the song I have playing on my profile by Five for Fighting. I looooovvve that song. Beautiful piano, lovely melody, great lyrics. And if you stop by, leave me a comment.

Anyhoo, I also added a link under "My Reviews" to homeschooling Mom's blog, Semicolon, and her "Saturday Review of Books." Lots of reviews to check out there for bibliophiles.

Enjoy!

hrh

Sickness, Snow, and Space Science Quiz

Hi all:

I've been under the weather for the past 2 weeks with a cold that won't quit, but I think it's finally quitting now! Speaking of weather, we're in the midst of a 24-hour Nor'Easter here and the snow is lovely! Especially blowing around in the blustery winds. It's a good thing I like snow since it may be falling through tomorrow morning ...

Anyhoo, I did manage to turn in a graphic novel review, but I don't think it's been published yet. I'll let ya' know when, 'cause it's a fun one.

In the meantime, here's a space science quiz to see if you're smarter than a 5th grader! BTW, does anyone watch that show? Of all the reality shows, that's the only one that peaks my interest, though I suppose, technically, it's a game show.

On to the quiz from Space.com:

The following 10 statements straddle the line between fact and fiction in space science. If you haven't been paying very close attention, the truthfulness of some might be hard to gauge. Jot down which side of the fact-fiction line you think each falls.

1. We have strong evidence that our solar system is not the only one; we know there are many other Suns with planets orbiting them.

2. Some organisms can survive in space for years -- without any kind of protective enclosure.

3. Organisms have been found thriving in scalding water with temperatures as high as 235 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. We now have evidence that some form of life exists beyond Earth, at least in primitive form.

5. We currently have the technology necessary to send astronauts to another star system within a reasonable time span. The only problem is that such a mission would be overwhelmingly expensive.

6. All of the gas giant planets in our solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) have rings.

7. In the "Star Wars" films, the Imperial TIE Fighters are propelled by ion engines (TIE stands for Twin Ion Engine). While these spacecraft are fictional, real ion engines power some of today's spacecraft.

8. There is no gravity in deep space.

9. The basic premise of teleportation -- made famous in TV's "Star Trek" -- is theoretically sound. In fact, scientists have already "teleported" the quantum state of individual atoms from one location to another.

10. Tatooine, Luke Skywalker's home planet in the "Star Wars" films, has two Suns -- what astronomers would call a binary star system. Scientists have discovered recently that planets really can form within such systems.

I'll post the answers tomorrow ...

Enjoy!

hrh

New ShoutLife page!

Hi all:

I'm experienceing blogger technical difficulties at the moment, which I may or may not have fixed, but in the meantime, I think I can squeak out a brief note to let you know I just set up a new ShoutLife page here: www.shoutlife.com/heatherrhunt.

ShoutLife is kinda' like MySpace, which is very different from Blogger, so I'm still trying to figure it out. But you can sign up under People, Music, Authors, Organizations, or Groups, so it's a way to network and spread the word about your work, professional and/or charitable. I signed up under Authors. :)

It's free, too, so if any of you decide to sign up, let me know, and I'll "friend" you!

Here's my ShoutLife profile pic:

Come join the fun at ShoutLife!

hrh

A Visit from Two Sincere Young Men

Hi all:

Here's a more serious entry than others of late:

Last Saturday morning I received a visit from two clean-cut young men in suits who appeared at my door eager to speak with me about how I and my family could get to heaven. They had a book with a plan of salvation for me and my family and really, really wanted to share it with me.

Can you guess who they were? Yep, Elders So-and-So and So-and-So from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And that little book they were so fervently pushing was the book of mormon.

I did speak with them for 20 minutes or so in person - and for many hours afterwards in my head and heart as I rehashed how the conversation went. I've been praying that the Holy Spirit worked through me to speak the truth in love and not try to argue with these sincere young men. 'Cause I certainly admire their devotion and their sacrifice. They're out here from Utah for their 2 years of service. After they left my house, I kept an eye out and they were probably in the neighborhood for more than 3 hours. When they returned to their car, which was parked near my house, they sat there for another 20 minutes or so. I don't know if they were praying, comparing notes, or what. But their dedication was obvious.

I just wish they weren't so devoted to the book of mormon. They remind me of Saul. He was passionately devoted to his faith, so much so that he left his home and family (like these young men) to work for his faith, but when he encountered the person of Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, he turned all his considerable passion toward working for Him. I've been praying all week that Jesus would reveal Himself to these devoted young men so they could turn their energies toward His work. ... And for myself, that I would develop the fervent energy of these two young men to do Christ's work, too.

'Cause in truth, their devotion puts me to shame in some respects. Sadly, they work so hard because they believe by doing so they are earning their salvation. I find myself hoping they return so we can talk some more.

Thanks for listening - and for praying for these young men if you are so led.

hrh

P.S. All this musing led me to some intriguing thoughts about God, us, and time. I'll share my thoughts on that in another blog soon ...

Blog Update and photo

Hi all:

A quick note to let ya' know I added local weather conditions from Wunderground to the right sidebar just in case anyone's interested in the weather in Southeastern Connecticut at any given time!

In more exciting news, I added a Cbox below the weather info. that lets you leave me a message in real quick time. Type in the boxes, click "go" and pop comes your message in the box below. [NOTE: You can leave the e-mail/URL box blank if you don't wanna' put that info.]

I'll have a more interesting post soon ...

In the meantime, here's another photo of cutie Lilly and moi from our China trip that dear friend Gail just sent me:

Enjoy!

hrh

Happy (late) Anniversary to Me!

Hi all:

I just noticed my blog's one-year anniversary was January 28! Woohoo! Or should I say "Moo hoo?!" In honor of this (non)momentous occasion, I present the

The Groovy Singing Cow ~ When You're Smiling!

Click on the cow or the link to watch the groovy cow lip-synching to Louis Armstrong's "When You're Smiling." I love this. What expressions. And those teeth! Impossible to watch and listen without smiling. :)

Enjoy! And here's to (maybe) many more years of my blog.

hrh

P.S. For a blast from the past, read my first entry: Welcome!

What are your spiritual gifts?

Hi all:

The subject of spiritual gifts recently came up in one of the e-mail lists I'm on. I love this subject 'cause it gets deep to the heart of those meaty existential questions like:

• Who am I?
  
• What is my purpose in life?
  
• What am I here for?
  
• What does it all mean?

You know, chit chat like that!

Anyhoo, I found some nifty online tools for people to use to help them figure out their own spiritual gifts.

First of all, here's a Biblical overview of spiritual gifts by Gene Wilkes, author of Jesus on Leadership. And here's the 5-page pdf survey based on his and other books. This one is not interactive, so it requires you to print it out to answer the questions and graph your spiritual gifts. Both these resources are free and provided by

If you want to do an online survey of your spiritual gifts, try this one, which is sponsored by

It includes surveys for individual gifts and group gifts, such as for churches, small groups, mission teams, etc. After you take the survey, it gives you a 4- or 5-page summary of your gifts. Check it out here. It's free!

Here's another one put out by


This one includes 25 questions and further information about your results. Check it out here. It's also free.

That should get you started. I want to take them, too, to see if my gifts have changed from when I did it years ago. Actually, I don't even remember what my results were back then.

I'll let ya' know how my results turn out. Feel free to share yours, too. For example, any surprise gifts?

Enjoy!

hrh

China Trip Wrap-up

Hi all:

Cute photo of the week:

My friend, traveling companion, and mother of these two sweet girls, has written up the amazing story of her family's two-year wait for daughter number two. I think it's a great and fitting wrap-up to this great adventure that some of you may have been following here on my blog and on the family's website.

The adoption agency she used, America World Adoption Association, has now posted the article.

Here's how it begins:

“Hold that plane!”

I felt like I was in the middle of a movie scene as my husband, four-year-old daughter, and I dashed through Detroit International Airport to make our flight to Beijing via Tokyo on November 16, 2006.

“Hurry, hurry!” I kept yelling back to my good friend Heather, who was lagging behind. “They’re boarding NOW!!”

Finally arriving at the gate, we met up with my equally nervous father-in-law and breathed a sigh of relief as our traveling group was finally together and could settle into our 12-hour flight to Japan ..."

Click here to read the rest of the happy conclusion and for another adorable photo of Lilly.

I love a happy ending!

Take care,

hrh

Happy New Year and Full Wolf Moon!

Hi all:

Long time no post!

Jet lag, the holidays, blah, blah, blah. I know, excuses, excuses.

But I'm going to start updating again more regularly. Promise ...

In the meantime, Happy New Year - and enjoy the Full Wolf Moon!!

Yep, that's what I said, "Full Wolf Moon."

According to this article on Space.com, Native Americans in the Northeastern United States used to name each full moon and keep track of time by the month of that full moon. So the first full moon of 2007, which occurred this morning, in fact, is the Full Wolf Moon.

Here's the appropriate snippet from the article:

Jan. 3, 8:57 a.m. EST – The Full Wolf Moon. Amid the zero cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. It was also known as the Old Moon or the “Moon After Yule.” In some tribes this was the Full Snow Moon; most applied that name to the next Moon.

I'll try to remember to keep you posted about each full moon's name. BTW, the next full moon is February 2.

Take care,
hrh

Guangzhou, China to Tokyo to Minneapolis to Baltimore

Hi all:

Whew! What a long trip home. I can tell you how to get a 3-day weekend: Fly East from China to Baltimore, that's how!

We left our hotel in Guangzhou at 6:00 a.m. Saturday, December 2, and flew to Tokyo. We left Tokyo at 3:40 p.m. and flew 10 hours to Minneapolis arriving at 11:00 a.m. - Saturday December 2! Then on to Baltimore finally arriving back at the family's house around 5:30 p.m. - which felt like 6:30 a.m. Sunday December 3 to us. Yep, we were pooped.

Bringing Lilly home:

Lilly likes flying!

She had several bottles enroute on our 24-hour trip!!

We're home!!

Daddy and Abby are soooooo glad to be home!

Lilly meets Grandpa!

Lilly likes her high chair.

We've reached the end of the journey. I may have some overall reflections once I debrief.

I hope you enjoyed the trip!

Take care,

hrh

Buddhist Temple and Chinese Christmas

Hi all:

Friday December 1 was our last day in China. In the afternoon we took a taxi with one other family to a Buddhist Temple, the Guangzhou Liurong Temple, which is several centuries old.

Studying the layout of the temple grounds:

Several buddhas:

Here's an incense burner:

It has a pagoda that's 9 stories tall.

I climbed up about halfway with Jim and Abby, but Abby's fearless, and I was worried about her. She kept sticking her head through the railing!

It's a long way down from here!

So we came back down!!

In the evening the China Hotel had a Christmas reception in the lobby with wine, beer, soft drinks, and snacks. The wait staff were in tuxedos and Santa hats. Bing Crosby was piped in singing Christmas carols!

They had a girls choir.

The same strolling musicians we heard at Thanksgiving.

Santa Claus for the Chinese kids to sit on his lap and get their picture taken.

Daddy and Abby check out the festivities!

A very surreal day!

Next up: The looooong trip home!

Take care,

hrh

Shamian Island, Guangzhou, China

Hi all:

Thursday, November 30, was another free day, so we went back to Shamian Island to hang out and finish up last-minute shopping.

Here's a goldfish pile-up in the hotel lobby pond of the White Swan Hotel, which is where most adopting families stay. [We were in the China Hotel.] We used the taxi stand at the White Swan to travel to and from Shamian from our hotel.


Here's a shop run by a Chinese man and his sister named Jordon and Wendy. He chose his American name after Michael Jordan, and hers was chosen for her by her English teacher:



Here's Abby with one of the many life-like sculptures in a Shamian Island park:

Lilly's on the move in the park!

Mom plays with the girls while Dad watches the fun:

Helpful signage!

Here's our party in Lucy's Bar and Grille:

Yes, it's named after Lucille Ball. Here's one of the many pieces of American entertainment memorabalia hanging in the restaurant (This one's for you, Mom!):

One more entry on our looooong trip home and the happy homecoming will wrap up our China trip!

Take care,

hrh

Cruise on the Pearl River, Guangzhou, China

Hi all:

Wednesday, November 29, was a free day, so we went down to the hotel's Kiddieland for a while to let the kid play. Both Lilly and Abby loved the playroom.

Lilly's on the move!

Lilly's found something to play with:

We also went on an evening dinner cruise on the Pearl River. Here's Jim showing his ticket to get on the ferry in the background.

Here's the family at dinner:

Here's Abby showing us the lighted boat parade.

Here's Lilly on the top deck amazed at the decorated ships:

This was the last night of the boat parade which touted tourism in Guangdong Province. Some magnificent floats. Enough to make another slideshow, but here are a few shots:

I'll probably do 2 more entries to finish the trip log.

I hope you're enjoying the journey so far!

Take care,

hrh