Virginia Public Sessions on Autism - Revised

Delegate Shannon Valentine just forwarded these dates along. Notice time change for Roanoke and addition of Woodbridge:

October 15, 2008
4:00-8:00pm
Natural Science Center
Virginia Western Community College
3102 Colonial Avenue, SW
Roanoke, Virginia 24038

October 2, 2008
6:00-9:00pm
Nicholas Student Center
John Tyler Community College
13101 Jefferson Davis Highway
Chester, Virginia 23831

October 30, 2008
6:00-9:00pm
Frederick W. Beazley Building, Room 222
Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth Campus
7000 College Drive
Portsmouth, Virginia 23703

November 10, 2008, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building
15941 Donald Curtis Drive
Woodbridge, VA 22191

Quote of the Day - September 24, 2008

From Real Simple:

I have to just concentrate on concentrating.
— Martina Navritilova

Quote of the day - September 22, 2008

"If you are not getting as much from life as you want to, then examine the state of your enthusiasm."

Norman Vincent Peale

Quote of the Day - September 19, 2008

Non-writers continually ask where we get our ideas. It's the
leaping off points we derive from daily life that create our
most exciting concepts; it's practically impossible not to get
ideas if you pay attention to the minute details of the world.

~Jennifer and Joseph, The Burry Man's Writing Center

Cupcakes

Thought you'd be interested in this new line of handpainted beaded "Cool Cupcakes" jewelry from Angela Moore Design's holiday/resort 2009 catalog that was just released today. The indulgent, calorie-free design is available in a classic bead bracelet ($50), a petite bead bracelet ($45), a little girls' bracelet ($35), a necklace ($95), a pendant necklace on a suede strand ($30), and a hair tie ($12).
To purchase, visit angelamoore.com - click on Shop then Jewelry then Holiday/Resort 2009. Please enter Consultant #300400 at checkout.

Quote of the Day - September 18, 2008

Mean people suck. - a random bumper sticker

Quote of the Day - September 15, 2008

From Real Simple and hearkens my "Guy in the Glass" post:

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
— Mark Twain

Best of Lynchburg

www.lynchburgliving.com/bestof

Please follow link and vote for Craddock Terry Hotel as best bed and breakfast, Waterstone and Shoemakers for all appropriate restaurant categories like best seafood, steak, atmosphere, wait staff and overall for Shoemakers.

Just fyi - you need to fill out at least 50% of the ballot before submitting.

Thanks!

Tailgating Tips

As featured in the Roanoke Times, September 11, 2008

Tailgating Tips – the Un-Sports Illustration of the Game
By Catherine Chapman Mosley

It was a brutal day at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville for UVA’s season opener. I’m not sure which was worse – the Trojan’s 52-7 torching of the Cavaliers OR Charlottesville’s oppressive heat. Since I was there for the tailgating, I will say the latter. Wandering from tailgate to tailgate, I endeavored to stay hydrated with water and Diet Coke while unable to taste a bite of food.

As I apprenticed with Southern Living’s ‘Gameday Gal’ Cassandra Vanhooser (http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/tales_from_the_road/gameday_gal/index.html)at Saturday’s game, I gathered these top five tips for a successful tailgate:

5. Arrive early
What more can you say? For the early birds at Saturday’s UVA game, they got the worm which was shade…

Without a parking pass, we were relegated to pay $30 for a fraternity house space.

“May I have a receipt?” my friend asked.

Apparently the frat boys had never been asked for this. Twenty minutes later, we received the darling, handwritten note we requested.

“Excuse, me,” said an older gentleman, drinking a beer in the driveway. “I don’t mean to offend you, but may I ask why you are wearing black? Does one of you ladies expect someone to get ‘bear-red’ today? (Translation – do you expect UVA to get buried?)”

“It’s slimming,” I replied as I began to question my choice of game day attire, which brings me to point #2…

4. Dress appropriately
I thought my black capris and top would be cool (temperature-wise and fashionably) and “objective.” After all, I was attending the game as a journalist.

I must admit I haven’t been to a college football game in years and multi-tasking all week to prepare to be out of town for a day, I failed to remember that black absorbs heat. Thankfully, the Cavaliers handed out ‘Orange Power’ towels to soak up the sweat that was dripping obviously from every well-dressed Wahoo.

I purchased a $5 tee shirt. But that’s a whole ‘nother story. Thanks for the loan, Bates (my brother and die-hard Cavalier fan).

Finally, remember this is a football game. Dressing up is fun but keep practicality in mind. That also includes comfortable shoes.

3. Go all out on food if you are able
So, your team is outmatched. At least you will be able to enjoy the party.

Gameday Gal loves to see fun decorations and taste delicious food. Most of the tailgates we visited Saturday included Southern favorites such as fried chicken, ham biscuits, chicken salad, pimiento cheese, potato salad and deviled eggs. Fluids were prevalent.

“This is what you come for,” says Charlie Loftin of Charlottesville who catered for the UVA football team from 1974-2005. “I haven’t missed a game in 37 years. It’s wonderful to see friends you haven’t seen in a while and drink a beer with them.”

I came bearing gifts for all the tailgating hosts and hostesses we visited. Natalie Langley of Lynchburg’s www.paperbuzz.com had given me several sleeves of “Hoo’s Thirsty” cups. I also found a couple of preppy flasks at the JCrew Clearance Store.

As far as accessories were concerned, Sandra Bailey of Virginia Beach had a very French look including an adorable pig in Wahoo attire. She also brought blue and orange flowers for all her tailgating neighbors. Apparently there was a French film crew at the game, thus the French theme.

My additional favorite accessories included the UVA football helmet/chip and dip and bottle opener that plays “The Good Old Song.”

2. Be in a good frame of mind for the game
Moderation is the key. However, after the Trojans hit a 24-7 lead at half-time, the woman next to me commented, “This is the kind of game where you wished they sold beer at the concession stand.”

1. Keep food safety top of mind
This is number one for Gameday Gal.

Obviously you don’t want to make your guests sick. With the early season heat and even later on, food safety can’t be understated. In places where you don’t have proper refrigeration, coolers should have plenty of ice and placed out of direct sunlight. This will greatly reduces food safety concerns.

At least our seats were beneath the overhang, shaded with a frequent breeze. My quest for tickets is a story in itself. When Gameday Gal wanted to go to the season opener, I didn’t realize it was the hardest ticket to get in thirty years. My new hero is my fellow writer and former Board of Visitors member, Georgia Willis Fauber.

Quote of the Day - September 11, 2008

From Real Simple:

Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.
— Blaise Pascal

Quote of the day

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty."
-- Winston Churchill

The power of prayer

A friend forwarded this to me:

August 31 at 11:00am my husband(Ivan) was taking surfing lessons below the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. He had been surfing about and hour with the instructor. As I lay back in my chair and said to myself that he was in good hands, God gently turned my head so as not to see my husband being tossed in the crashing wave. Ivan floated face down for minutes until the instructor pulled him to safety. As my name was yelled out, I ran to the rescue of my husband lying in the surf as the instructor ask me to hold him as he dialed 911. At that moment, I surrendered him to my loving God to gently protect. He was air lifted to Norfolk immediately. Charlie and Amanda, the local surf shop owners, drove me 3 hours to Norfolk. It was the longest drive of my life.
Ivan was operated on September 1 and is in the recovery state in Norfolk.
My days are filled with focusing on encouraging and loving my husband. You see, Ivan is my soul mate, and my best friend.
Please keep us (Ivan and our families) in constant prayer as we are trying hard to deal with this event.
==================================================================
Carolyn Lewis & Sherry Ferguson went to see Ivan & Sherry last Thursday (9/4) and I went on Friday (9/5). Sherry’s mom, Shirley, has been staying with Sherry for several days now. Everyone is very tired and worn-out.
During my visit, Ivan was sitting up in the bed following his dinner. He is talking as normal, and there are not extra mechanical devices of any sort hooked-up to him. He has a neck-brace that is keeping his head in the proper location. He was a lot better than I was personally expecting. He is able to move his arms some, and there was some mention of a few fingers having some level of movement controlled by Ivan. His hands are not in his control, nor anything below his waist. Everyone is being very positive about working to get Ivan up & moving around again. We are praying for Ivan’s complete recovery, if that is God’s will.
After Ivan’s stay in the hospital, he will be moved to a rehabilitation center, which could be for a long time.
Sherry is working to find a neurologist to take Ivan’s case for treatment and rehabilitation. There are a number of rehabilitation centers around the country that deal specifically with spinal cord injuries. There are many unknowns at this time about locations and timing. Sherry is hoping to get closer to home. The hospital in Norfolk is about 4 hours drive away from her home.
There are going to be many really tough days that both Ivan & Sherry will be facing. As Sherry has already asked – please keep Ivan, Sherry, and their families in your prayers.

The next Survivor

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and
3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play
two sports
and either take music
or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must
take care of his 3 kids;
keep his assigned house clean,
correct all homework,
and complete science ! projects , cook, do laundry,
and pay a list of 'pretend' bills
with not enough money.

In addition, each man
will have to budget in money
for groceries each week.

Each man
must remember the birthdays
of all their friends and relatives,
and send cards out
on time--no emailing.

Each man must also
take each child to a doctor's appointment,
a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make
one unscheduled and inconvenient
visit per child
to the Urgent Care.

He must also
make cookies or cupcakes
for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for
decorating his own assigned house,
planting flowers outside
and keeping it presentable
at all times.

The men will only
have access to television
when the kids are asleep
and all chores are done.

The men must
shave their legs,
wear makeup daily,
adorn himself with jewelry,
wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes,
keep fingernails polished
and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks,
the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches,
and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or
slow down from other duties.

They must attend
weekly school meetings,
church, and find time
at least once to spend the afternoon
at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to
read a book to the kids
each night and in the morning,
feed them, dress them,
brush their teeth and
comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size
and doctor's name.
Also the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear and
what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island
based on performance.

If the last man does win,
he can play the game over and over
and over again for the next 18-25 years
eventually earning the right
To be called Mother!

After you get done laughing,
send this to as many females as you
think will get a kick out of it and
as many men as you think can
handle it.
Just don't send it back to me.... I'm going to bed.

Roanoke Regional Writers' Conference

From my friend and writing mentor, Dan Smith:

Dear Lovely Writers Conference Lovely People,

I wanted to let you all know that we're getting ready to start pushing for
registration for the 2009 Roanoke Regional Writers Conference at Hollins
University Jan. 23-24. I hope you'll take a few minutes and go to the
Hollins Web site (under "News, Culture and Events" and then the writers
conference on the right) and register for the conference. We need to start
getting some kind of feel for how many to expect.

Here's a direct link to the page:

http://www.hollins.edu/news-events/writers/writers.htm

Registration is just above Sharyn McCrumb's photo.


Dan Smith
Editor
Valley Business FRONT
28 Kirk Ave.
Roanoke VA 24011
985-0408
editrdan@msn.com

'If you can't annoy somebody, why write?' Kingsley Amis

My friend Gameday Gal

You need to read her blog for more on college football in the South!

http://talesfromtheroad.southernliving.com/tales_from_the_road/gameday_gal/index.html

Sale!

From EToys, just north of Danville on 29 South...


Hello Again!

As always, thank you for attending our past Distribution Center Sales at our Blairs, Virginia location.

We wanted to share information with you regarding our upcoming sale on Saturday, September 20th,
2008. All items wil be sold at 50% of the ticketed price. There will be testing stations available for you
as all sales will be final.

The sale will begin at 7:00 am and last until 3:00pm. At this sale, we will continue to have items from all
our subsidiary companies: Etoys, Baby Universe, Dreamtime Baby, My Twinn and Kbtoys.

Finally, thank you for supporting our sales in the past. It is a great opportunity for us to receive your
feedback regarding the sales, and we look forward to seeing you.


THE PARENT COMPANY

www.etoys.com
www.mytwinn.com
www.kbtoys.com
www.babyuniverse.com
www.dreamtimebaby.com

A bipartisan issue

"Children with special needs inspire a very special kind of love." - Governor Palin

I am happy to see this topic raised in the Presidential election. From the news this morning:

10.2 million kids with special needs
14 percent of all kids
1/5 of all families

Your thoughts?