May 2011
1 post
Life is complicated
I’ve been pretty successful with the whole weight loss thing, but it’s incredibly complicated and time consuming to attempt to be frugal and healthy. Worth it, you understand, but definitely time consuming. I probably spend 3 hours every two weeks going through grocery sale papers, coupons, and recipes trying to find a combination that is healthy and reasonable from a cost...
2 tags
Weight Watchers. . .again
Okay, so I’ve been on WW twice before. Lost about 40-45 pounds each time. I have gained it back both time, and then some. Though the “then some” this time was a result of quitting smoking as opposed to just going completely off the reservation.
Anyway, I started exercising at the end of March and lost 5 lbs. before I went on WW again on May 1. I’ve now lost a total of...
April 2010
2 posts
2 tags
I have a challenging son
Apparently I am not alone as I found today a blog dedicated to the subject: Challenging Boys.
Logan is a lot like me in some ways. His face is the very picture of an Ostroth. As such, I have a pretty good sense of what he will look like when he’s grown. Probably a lot like this:
All of the Ostroth boys look a lot like that.
But his personality is a lot like Eric’s. And that is...
1 tag
I am a liberal
I am not about to apologize for it. I am not sure why I should.
I am proud to share a political philosophy with the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. and yes, Barack Obama.
I am proud to support equal voting rights for women and minorities, reproductive choice for women, gay rights, civil rights, education, health care,...
March 2010
2 posts
10 things I love about me
Or at least 10 things I love about my life.
I have a job that I actually like—at least most days.
I am financially secure enough to pay my bills and not be afraid of the occasional extra expenses.
My child is healthy.
I am smart and well-educated.
I live in a safe, small town.
My carport. No, seriously. No frost. No need to get wet with rain or snow when I get out of the car.
My...
2 tags
Doing the right thing
Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t easy. But here’s something that is part of what I would call my rules for life.
You should always do the right thing, even if you’re afraid of what the consequences of that action might be.
That is, I realize, not always an easy thing to do—both because it’s hard to not be afraid because sometimes bad things happen even when you...
February 2010
7 posts
1 tag
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve...”
– This quotation is inscribed on a plaque in the stairwell of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
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I'm pretty sure that not everyone gets it.
It is possible—perhaps even likely—that I have drunk the Koolaid, but I don’t think everyone gets the importance of private philanthropy at Virginia Tech.
We’re getting ready to start a mini-campaign in which we will ask faculty and staff to contribute to The Campaign for Virginia Tech and we’ve gotten some pretty negative responses from a few people.
Now, let me...
2 tags
1 tag
Amy's other photos →
Why now?
Okay, so I have tried blogging before. I don’t really like it for the same reason I was never into journaling. I don’t really know what that reason is, you understand, I just know it’s the same one. And I fully recognize that it’s odd that a person who has an obvious inclination toward writing wouldn’t feel an inclination toward journaling and blogging. But there...
2 tags
It sits on top of a hill. From the bottom, it’s almost invisible. Just a peak of a white column or a brick wall as the breeze shifts branches slightly. There’s a path, if you know where to find it. About a hundred yards from the front door there’s a gate—rusted and falling off its hinges, a big gap between the side of the gate and the brick wall it was once attached to. But the gate is still...
Sometimes Facebook isn't enough
And sometimes I am curious about how stuff works. So, like my test of Twitter, this is a test of Tumblr.