Here is something that probably should be obvious but wasn't until now.  We have had so many discussions of stem cell research, the collection of stem cells from the umbilical cord and other ways, such as from the fetus of aborted babies that finding out that there is an option that is available from every female on a monthly basis is encouraging.

It may seem like something that you don't want to "mess" with, or think about, but if this is a way to work toward the cure of so many diseases and accessible on a monthly basis then perhaps it should receive serious consideration.

Just go to CNNMoney  and read the story.  It means that science is looking at alternative methods of working toward cures, interesting and hopeful.

I went to the site to find out why it is that you can't just use the blood from your arm instead of the menstral cycle and this is what it says: "What is unique about a woman's menstrual blood versus blood extracted from her arm?
While most blood stem cells reside in the bone marrow, a very small number are present in the bloodstream and the quantity is usually not sufficient to support therapeutic application. In contrast, a woman's menstrual blood includes tissue shed from the endometrial lining of the uterus which potentially contains hundreds of millions of rich and abundant stem cells that can possibly be procured, processed, isolated, and cryopreserved. Ultimately, these stem cells may potentially be differentiated into many other cell types, which could possibly serve as a source for a wide range of regenerative therapies ranging from cardiac disease to diabetes, to anti-aging and wellness applications."  Interesting.

The website for this information is at http://www.celle.com/about_faq.aspx, you may want to take the time to read it, pretty informative.

The movers were at the house yesterday and loaded all that was left and will take it to the warehouse in DM until they load the stuff here and head for the new house.  It was both a great thing to get done and watching them load the boxes and desks and stuff at a speed that would make me pass out from exhaustion.  Then of course, it was sad. 

The house has been the center for lots of joy, challenges, excitement, our marriage, new businesses and family.  I just wish that someone that will love it as much as we did will buy it and be as happy there as we were.  It's got great history and good vibes (at least for us.)

The house had been closed up so it smelled like an old house, I hate that smell.  The basement was damp (no water, just damp from all the rain the southeast has gotten.)  So, opening it all up was a good thing, then the ceiling fans were engaged and it helped a lot.

B called while I was getting something to eat to tell me of the terrific sale that GH made.  Such exciting news, it is always fun to make the "big" sale and know that what you are doing makes sense!  I called back later to talk to her but she wasn't there so got to visit with J for just a couple of minutes.  He's a very busy boy!

C comes to the area today, it will be a blast for her to see all her high school friends and see what mischief they can get into!  She'll be here Sunday night before flying home then in short order we will be there.  Whew, busy month for all of us!

I called H the other day to find out how in the world to load books on my IPod.  It just wasn't working.  Ended up calling Audible.com for help and got the neatest guy, talked to me like the Prof does so it all made sense.  It wasn't me, it was a glitch that he removed and then I could load them all!  It works great now, listened to a book while I was driving home from MP.  It will sure be nice to have it while driving to AZ! Thanks H, nice to know it wasn't us LOL

zennioptical.com offers you a wide range of frames to choose from that will not break the bank!  If you look over the different styles you will see that they have some style and options for getting sunglasses as well as bi-focals and standard lenses. 

Having just gotten glasses I can tell you that this option is a nice one, it sure beats hundreds of dollars for the same frame at a well known place in the mall.

Driving through Fairfield, Iowa on the 5th of July, 2008, we were suprised to see a huge sign in the yard of a house on the main street of the town telling everyone not to hire a certain construction company.  It was such a strange sight that we turned around and took some pictures to share.  Now this is someone that is totally furious with a hired company and letting everyone know about it.

Then we took a look at the house, seems like they have a right to be upset!

As we were driving toward the square we saw the sign of the company on the store front that houses the Elks Club.

It would probably be worth the companies time and effort to go finish the job to get the owners to remove the sign, can't be good for business!

If you are planning a trip to Portugal you will want to have a car to get around to see the things the country has to offer.  If you are headed for the beach you can pack your picnic lunch, blanket and sunscreen and take a scenic drive to enjoy the day at the beach.

It's less expensive to rent online than it is to try to put up with the hassle once you get in country so take the time and do it before you leave home! 

The opportunity for a car hire Portugal is easy to do and the site gives you ideas of things available to see and do in country.  This down to earth country will make it seem like you have found the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of your everyday life.  Meet the people, see all the historic sites, take some time to enjoy the fabulous food, travel the whole country in your rented car. 

While most of Europe has been overrun with hotel development, poor planning and lack of services Portugal has wisely used its resources wisely to make an inviting, hospitable and warm environment for visitors from all over the world.  Make some new friends and return often to see them again.

It was beautiful today.  We went to the track this evening where John met us.  The  horses were running for the second to last night of Thoughbred racing, then it’s on to the quarters along with the Thoughbred.  We may get to one more day of races before we leave but if we don’t tonight was fine.  The last race was truly spectacular.  The race was 1 mile 70 with a field of 11 (I think) and the beginning had them pretty much bunched up except for two horses that were way behind.  At the final turn the two from the back took off like they had jet engines and came in 1^st and 2^nd.  That race was worth $46 to the winner of a $2 bet.  Since I didn’t bet it was not a big deal to me but the race was sure fun.

We got home in time to do some work on www.delawarebeautiful.com but it’s late enough now to call it a night.

We may go to MP tomorrow to get the boxes packed into the bigger boxes, the driver will be there on Tuesday to load from there.  Not so many trips back and forth left now.

We have covered things from this site before but now we are looking at work boot options.  If you are going to be on your feet on varied terrain for a long period of time you will want to have something like these boots to make it possible for you to actually survive the agony such work requires.

The site is actually rather interesting to look over, didn't realize there were so many different things that you could buy if you were a police officer or a "wanna be" police officer.  The flashlights are cool.

Enjoy your travels through the site, maybe you will find something you just have to have!

What a delightful evening, the Prof's parents were here for dinner and then we all went to the capital for the concert on the hill.  It's such a neat way to spend the 3rd.  The symphony playing patriotic songs, a Broadway actor singing some of the songs from his run and then Simon Estes singing songs such as "Old Man River" and "You'll Never Walk Alone." Just a great way to spend the night, with over 125,000 other people!  It was mobbed, but everyone was so courteous that it wasn't an issue. 

We had to park a long way from the center; in fact we parked at the old Friends Church which was taken over by Mercy Hospital some time ago.  What a beautiful building and now it’s just there with windows covered over with plywood and not a Friends Church left in Des Moines.  Bummer.

The walk back to the car was primarily up hill so we weren’t sure if the Prof’s mom could make it, but we took our time and she did just fine although it was hard for her.  The exercise was good, she said, and we agreed.

I took some fried chicken and the other things that go with it down to the front desk clerk tonight before we sat down to eat, when she brought the plate back she had it filled with sugar cookies.  Nice trade J

Dinner tonight was rather funny (only to me) because it was a repeat of the dinner we had at C’s the other day.  I wanted the space in the freezer so cooked the chicken, it was a hit so all was good and no one else knew that we had just had it on Sunday!  Of course, they hadn’t had it so it was a treat for them.  Although we did end it with chocolate cake and ice cream.  The Prof and I didn’t have the ice cream but his dad is a huge fan of ice cream so we figured he would like it…he did!

Have a great 4^th! 

Seeing New York from the river is truly a fun experience, looking at the skyline, seeing the Statue of Liberty, getting a sense of just how crowded the city is can all be accomplished with the tour.

Things to do in New York City  gives you a whole range of different options, you may want to take the double decker bus tour and see the city from the streets.  We did both and were really glad we did.

Trusted Tours & Attractions has a wide range of places for you to learn about.  You would be able to learn of the opportunities in 23 different cities.  Are you planning to go to Orlando?  Look over the options that they have there for you to see.  You won't be able to see all the things that are offered on a tour in the same timeframe or without getting frustrated fighting the traffic and not knowing your way around so take a tour, it's far less stressful and you might meet some other people on the tour that you would like to spend some extra time with while you are in the city.

 Sign up for their newsletter and have a chance to win a hand held GPS system which will certainly be a big help when you aren't on a tour!  They offer an online travel guide for your information to give you a sense of the things available in each city.  Going online and reading about the places you are going to visit is helpful in giving you ideas of what you actually want to spend your time seeing and the cost of each of those attractions.

If every Monday could be like this one it would certainly be ok with me.  We received the final payment from our large account and I got a phone call from the guy we built a website for telling me that he put the payment in the mail today.  Sweet.

I lined up the moving company today, as soon as the paperwork arrives I will double check to make sure it is what we discussed and then we will get things rolling on that end.  The girls went house hunting today and it sounds as though my search is going to be shorter than anticipated, they believe they have found the house that we are going to have.  We'll see, it's a month before we will be there so we have to see if it will still be available or if they will work with us.  We'll know this weekend.

Tomorrow will be the day to go over the presentation for Thursday.  Think I've got it together, I did it last week, but now by going over it any changes should be very noticeable.

George Karlan, what a funny, funny man.  How sad that he died, but, how great that he lived to share his talent with us.  Sometimes he was a little (or a lot) more vulgar than I like, but when he kept it clean (which wasn't often) I really enjoyed him!