Last night Tim and I went to Red Robin in Morgan Hill, CA. We didn’t have anything in particular we were in the mood for, but just wanted something good. Finally, we settled on Red Robin because of the allure of their Garlic Parmesan Fries. Mind you, I’m not normally a fries eater because cooked potatoes are like pure blood sugar and never mind the fact that I never know what oil in which those bad boys were cooked. But we were hungry and wanted “something good” so we threw all caution to the wind.

Red Robin is a nice place to sit and eat. You can take your time even when it’s busy. We’ve never felt like we were rushed out of there. I normally have the prime rib dip, but last night I had the Shrimp & Cod duo. The shrimp was pretty predictable for a restaurant of this type, the cod was very nice done, and their cocktail sauce is nice and hot just like I like it (not overwhelmingly hot, just tongue tingly in that way horseradish has). Tim had a food-gasm over his Bruschetta Chicken Sandwich. It had a chicken fillet on ciabatta bread with provolone cheese, pesto sauce, balsamic cream sauce & typical bruschetta veggies.

And their Garlic Parmesan Fries? So good! These nicely done steak fries have raw, hot garlic on them in little clusters as well as shavings of Parmesan cheese. I like to put on the Red Robin Seasoning they have on the tables. Dip them in ketchup and I could almost eat just the fries for dinner! If you gotta die by french fries, these are the ones! If your meal just comes with regular steak fries, you can upgrade to the Garlic Parmesan Fries for just a little more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cynthia Clinton offers web design, graphic design, Dreamweaver instruction, copywriting services, document formatting services, and photo enhancement through her primary business Cloistre Media. She also leads life changing Break Out Of Negativity workshops for individuals in the evenings as well as corporate clients during the business day. Additionally, she’s been a Jewelry Designer since 1997 and has published 4 jewelry making books. She is available for jewelery making classes on weekends and sells her jewelry making books & projects online.

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The Back Story

When I heard that getting hearing aids was imminent, I started checking into whether my BlackBerry was hearing aid compatible. I dug around everywhere online and couldn’t find anything to indicate that it was. In fact, hearing aid compatibility wasn’t mentioned at all on the BlackBerry site, at least not for the BlackBerry Pearl, which I owned.

I adored my BlackBerry Pearl and couldn’t even imagine living without it. Until I realized I was getting hearing aids, that is. If my BlackBerry wasn’t hearing aid compatible then I could wind up with only having texting capability, which wasn’t okay with me since there are still many, many people out there who do not text. Some don’t have cell phones and some with cell phones don’t have a cell phone or cell phone plan that supports texting. Some just refuse to pay extra for it. Being a technology-loving hearing-impaired person, I pay extra for it. However… I don’t want to be limited to texting because, frankly, I also pay for cell PHONE service and want to get my money’s worth. Additionally, it cuts me off from part of my audience.

That being said, I’m a hardcore RIM and BlackBerry fan who had to step away from BlackBerry due to life circumstances and attempt to find another phone that could give me the same functionality as the BB - or at least the features I used the most since I didn’t use the BB to its utmost potential. I didn’t want to give up the features I was used to using like email, IM, texting, speakerphone, bluetooth connectivity, the ability to post to twitter and other social media, the ability to take and send pictures, and web surfing.

So I shopped around for a phone that was hearing aid compatible all the while remembering my friend Lindsay’s beautiful LG Lotus. I didn’t know that much about the lotus other than it was the most beautiful cell phone I’d seen anywhere. My only wish was that it was also available in these additional colors: deep, deep red, lime-ish green, and copper (so that it looked like copper foil) all with the same raised flower design. I also wished they’d had a black version with the raised flower design.

• Not just IM capability, but IM by several carriers and I don’t have to pick one… I can use them all and flip back and forth between them.
• Full QWERTY keyboard for texting.
• A music player on the front, which admittedly, I don’t use.
• Speakerphone.
• Bluetooth capable.
• Applications for the home screen like weather, horoscopes or a stock ticker.
• Web surfing w/favorites for quick access.
• Email, not from just certain pop emails or whatever, but also from 3rd party emails like Gmail and I don’t need a separate app for each type. Like the IM, I can just flip back and forth from type to type by clicking the tabs
• Real, fully-functional GPS which I thought my BB was supposed to have but didn’t really. I didn’t have to pay anything extra - I just had to sign up right through my phone. Took less than 5 minutes and it works AWESOME!
• I can check and post to my MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• I can add tons of shortcuts.
• I can access my account info right from my phone.
• Direct access to Google.
• By default, the phone doesn’t beep or make horrible noises when I get a text message or anything. A portion of the message will flash on the screen and a very discreet light will flash on and off very quickly. This is so unobtrusive that it doesn’t even wake me up at night. The BB would wake me with its flashing. The LG Lotus is very classy & discreet.
• It’s got Maps.
• It’s got Music, TV, Games.
• It’s got a 2mp camera.
• It’s got a camcorder and for lengths I can choose Video Mail or Long Video.
• It’s got a great alarm clock that is even better than the one I had with my BB. I can set up to 3 daily (or not daily) alarms, there is another alarm called Walk The Dog that I could actually use as a 4th alarm and it even has a Quick Alarm which is nap or walk timer that you can set for 1 minute later, 10 mins later, 30 mins later, or an hour later without have to dink with selecting a time or even knowing what time it is now - I just select how many minutes later I want it to go off.
• I can add multiple phone numbers and email for each contact and distinguish between them. If I want to text my friend, John, but his home number comes up first, I’ll tell me that number cannot receive texts and ask if I want to continue, so then I can say no and simply hit the left or right arrow to scroll through the numbers I have for him to get the right one.
• It came with a mini-SD card and an SD card adapter so I can just pop the mini out of the phone and into the adapter and plug it into my computer to download my pictures - just like a regular camera. All without having to plug in my phone. Groovy! And… you can add more memory. It supports up to a 12gb SD card.
• It’s got voice-activated dialing, though I admit I haven’t tried it yet. It’s on my list of things to do, though! Could be very useful in an emergency and much safer while driving since you can’t really be caught holding a phone anymore.
• It supports up to 3G speeds where available.
• And… the cord is the neatest I’ve seen so far. The charging cord comes apart in 2 pieces. The USB cord, plugs right into a regular male plug you’d plug into the wall - this is for charging. If you want to use your phone as modem or otherwise connect phone to computer, you snap off the electrical plug and plug it into your computer.

To be honest there is one noticeable downside to the LG Lotus. The full QWERTY keyboard is very tight. The buttons are raised “pillows” so that you don’t have to have your finger on the whole button or you can use your thumbnails like I do, but it’s a pain. Even after having the phone 3 or 4 months now, I’m still not as fast at typing on it as I was on the BB. The BB Pearl has 2 letters on each key and it has sure-type software which mostly accurately guesses what you are typing. You don’t need that with the Lotus since each letter has it’s own key (you press the function key to type numbers and punctuation), so you’d think it would be faster, right? But sadly… no. The small keyboard is kind of hobbling and that reduces thumb-typing speed. I imagine it would be hellish if I had fake nails, but I can’t confirm since I haven’t had the luxury of fake nails in awhile.

Would the cramped keyboard keep me from purchasing an LG Lotus again? No way. Do regret my purchase because of it? No way! It’s just inconvenient is all and text messaging is not as quick and enjoyable as it once was. Now, I kind of groan when I have to text and I avoid responding to email via the phone, tho I will read it.

So there you have it. There are many, many pluses to using the LG Lotus and just one tiny drawback. Virtually every cell phone or smart phone out there has at least one drawback, so don’t let it stop you from owning this classy, pretty phone. The LG Lotus is just like a woman… pretty AND smart!

I do recommend getting one of those clear covers for it, though. The case doesn’t really scratch easily but the outside screen as well as the inside screen both show fingerprints like crazy.

NEWSFLASH! The LG Lotus now comes in a red, but they change the raised pattern. The red is a “tattooed paisley”. That raised design doesn’t grab me as much as the raised design on the purple does, but it’s bound to appeal to a lot of other people. Beautiful! Want one yet? You know you do!

Oh, and if the guys don’t like the raised designs or the colors, they can still play too. The LG Lotus is available in a slick, shiny black!

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I’m a personal development counselor…

Firstly, I’m not a psychotherapist or psychologist. Moreover, I don’t even believe in the value of psychotherapy and psychology as it is typically used today. Unfortunately, neither will go away just because I don’t believe in their value [snarky grin]. To be clear, I think the science of the mind is worthwhile study - we are fascinating machines - but I find zero benefit in people seeing a therapist for years, going over and over their issues, traumas and past pains ad nauseum. I find worse than zero benefit - as in negative zero benefit - from the prescription drugs these people are passing off as “care”.

So I’ll say it again, I’m not a psychotherapist or a psychologist. I am a personal development counselor. Not a religious counselor either, but a guide that is here to aid you in becoming your very best, happiest, most joyful self.

I Will Never Tell You What To Do…

You can come to me and say, “Cynthia, I don’t know what to do,” and we will talk about your problem together and I will help you discover what you really want to do, what you really want to happen, how you really want it to resolve and I will help you see how that could be possible and what your next steps could be. But I will never tell you what to do. I will help you find the answer yourself, but I have neither the right nor the responsibility to decide for you what you should do. In fact, NO ONE but you has the right or the responsibility to tell you what you should do.

I know that life is confusing sometimes. I know that often we wish we could have help in navigating life’s difficult decisions. I agree that you should have help with whatever decisions are troubling you. If you’re lost, you should definitely seek the counsel of someone because inaction is as dangerous as a bad decision. In fact, inaction is almost always a horrible decision. If you need help, I’m good choice and you’ll feel better after we talk. You’ll have a sense of purpose instead of feeling lost. It is one of the higher honors of my life to be able to assist you in your times of need in this way.

Getting help doesn’t mean you’re weak or stupid…

Everybody needs help sometimes. Getting help doesn’t mean you’re weak or stupid or incapable in any way. It means you’re committed to tackling your problems. It means you’re showing up for yourself and the people who matter to you. It means you’re actively seeking positive change. There is no downside to getting help when you need it.

A small “however” on life-threatening matters….

If you are in a life-threatening situation such as domestic violence,
it is my duty as a caring citizen of Planet Earth to tell you to get
yourself to safety and offer whatever services I can to aid you in that
endeavor. Yes, in that instance, I will most assuredly advise you to
“make your plan”. True my to statements above, however, I will not
define your plan for you. I will help you discover it for yourself, but
I will not tell you what to do.

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A month or so ago when the cables were cut that wiped out internet and long distance phone service for much of the south bay, I actually had to use the phone book. It reminded me of the joy (sarcasm) of using the Yellow Pages.

Let’s face it, there isn’t just one “yellow pages” anymore. There are a zillion different brands and you know what? Nobody cares. Know why? Because we’re using the internet to find the products and services we need. I remembered what a pain it was to use the phone book when I couldn’t find the business I was looking for in the yellow pages section. The business was probably listed, but for the life of me I couldn’t find the right category and that meant I couldn’t find the business. Oh how I wished for Google and its 2-second job of doing the dirty work for me.

I have somewhere around 10 phone books tucked away in different parts of my house “in case of emergency” but I really just want to throw them all away. I’ve stopped bringing in most new ones that are dropped off at the house. Most of them go straight into the garbage can. I don’t even bother taking them out of the plastic wrap. Chunk - in they go. I update every few years, but that’s about it. I mostly keep them around, like I said - in case of emergency, but they are still pretty useless as a source of information. I figure they will be handy as seating, step stools, or stuff to burn in the event of nuclear halocaust.

That being said, if you have a product or service you’d like me to buy or at least consider buying and you’re only listed in the phone book, then we will probably never meet. If your only presence online is the cheesy phone book listing where you don’t even have an actual domain email address for your business but are using yahoo, gmail or something equally unprofessional, your chances with me are still pretty slim. Why? Because if one of your competitors took the time, effort, or dollars to create (or hired someone to create) an actual online presence with a real domain name (as in www.yourbusiness.com), then I’m 80% more likely to give them my business instead of you unless I already have positive experience with you.

Why? Because online is how I choose to search for information in this day and age and I appreciate it when a business makes it easy for me to find their product or service online. I appreciate it when they are thoughtful enough to make sure I have the information I need to find them, consider them, etc.

If you’re on a budge, even a great looking, one-page informational site can be enough to help people find you online and express your solid interest in the internet customer.

And… if you’re one of the few people out there that are saying you don’t have time for the internet, consider this: Just because you don’t have time for the internet, doesn’t mean there aren’t people on the internet every day looking for you and your business, product, or service.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Cynthia Clinton offers web design, graphic design, Dreamweaver instruction, copywriting services, document formatting services, and photo enhancement through her primary business Cloistre Media. She also leads life changing Break Out Of Negativity workshops for individuals in the evenings as well as corporate clients during the business day. Additionally, she’s been a Jewelry Designer since 1997 and has published 4 jewelry making books. She is available for jewelery making classes on weekends and sells her jewelry making books & projects online.

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BASIC DREAMWEAVER INSTRUCTION
Benefit from my college education! Learn from a straight-A student!

Did you buy Dreamweaver CS3 with the intention of building your website yourself, but then were overwhelmed by the learning curve?
Don’t be embarrassed, you aren’t the only one. Dreamweaver’s learning curve has intimidated some of the best, but you can take power over it and never be intimidated by Dreamweaver again.

If you have Dreamweaver CS3 and want to be able to quickly learn how to make a basic site in Dreamweaver, I have a couple of options to offer you:

• You can take my course in a single 3-hour block.
• You can take my course broken up into 3 one-hour sessions.

The course is for one person at your location with your own software. I’ll bring my laptop with my own software installed so I can show you examples and we can walk through things together. Please have your software installed PRIOR to my visit.
You will learn all the basic things you need to create a simple, informational website:

• How to create a new web page
• A quick way to create new pages based on the 1st page you created
• How to layout a web page so that it makes sense
• How to add images like pictures, logos, banners, etc.
• How to create links that link your pages together as well as link to outside pages
• How to create a contact form
• Common mistakes new webmasters make in designing their pages
• How to avoid ticking off your web host

Contact me for pricing information & we’ll set up a day and a time that works for both of us! Contact Cynthia Clinton via email at cynthia at cynthiaclinton dot com or call 408-843-8080.

Group Instruction Available

Group instruction at your location is available on request and the cost is reduced by 15% per person.

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Me, my friend John, and my brother James went out to the shooting range at Mt Madonna. It was cool and damp and the fog rolled in so heavy at some points that our clothes were wet and it was like big chunks of moisture were in the air. It felt like we could almost eat them!

This is me bow shooting with my brother and my friend, John.  You can’t see John, unfortunately because he’s taking the picture lol. I was really thrilled and proud of myself that after nearly 30 years, and with a bow that was too big for me (never used a compound bow before), I still hit paper many times. This is a hobby I’m going to keep pursuing as soon as I can afford to get myself a bow that sized right for me. For now, I borrow a spare John has.

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Today, the same as every day, I’m thankful for so many things, but the ones at the top of my mind as I write this are as follows:

~ I’m thankful for Tim and his friendship.  I’m grateful for the very significant help he gives me.  I’m thankful he decided on the course of action that he did because it’s enriching his life already.  Wow!

~ I’m thankful for my wonderful son.  I hear horror stories from people about their children quite often and I’m so very fortunate to have a grown child that is hands-down one of the neatest, most orginal people I know.  Thank you for this pleasure!

~ I’m so grateful for the level of my personal evolution.  The world is a vast and incredible place that defies explanation on so many levels.  I’m happy to know what I know now, I’m grateful for the questions for which I yearn answers, I’m happy to be viewing the world from my current perspective.

~ Related to the above entry, I feel so very fortunate to be blessed with the tools to help so many people improve their lives.  Being able to do this work touches me to my core and in every moment I know this is why I’m here.  Bless you, bless you, bless you.

~ I’m thankful for my challenges.  Oh yes, I am.  I’m thankful because those challenges are my teachers.  I’m thankful I have the capacity to learn.  I’m thankful for the gifts contained in the challenges, both seen and unseen.

~ I’m hugely grateful for the peace in my soul and the breath in my body.

~ I’m thankful for having the drive and the grace to dance my prayer to the earth.  Some dancing is fun expression, but other dancing is deeply meaningful, solitary even in groups, and a soulful way to connect to the divine.

~ I’m blessed with my BFF, John.  If there ever was a white knight on a steed… it’s John.  I’m so privileged by our association.

I’m thankful for other things and people not on the list, but writing every single one would be exhaustive.  These are at the top of my mind today.

Blessings on you and your house.  May you be prospered in all your ways.  Love, love, love.

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Sometimes life is so overwhelming
that I want to stand on a cliff overlooking the ocean
facing into a cold, biting wind
wearing just a long shimmery night gown
as pale as my skin
hair and gown blowing back
blowing   b l o w i n g     b  l   o    w    i       n         g
until little pieces of me
one by one
detach in wisps
and blow away with the wind
the wisps fly off of me
more and more quickly
until everything
even the scent of my perfume
is but a memory

©Cynthia Clinton 08/21/08

Note: I have an interesting relationship with the wind and have since I was small.  I’ve always felt like messages were carried to me on the wind.  I put messages for other people on the wind, sometimes little gifts, and I tell people to stick their head out their front door at some point that day so they can receive their gift.  It sounds corny, but there’s power in it.  Sometimes people will give me news and I’ll say, “I know… it was on the wind a month ago.”  I get messages in other ways too, but there’s something about the wind and me.  If I could choose the way in which I left this earth at the end of this life, this is the way I would choose to go.  I wish I could make it so (but not now lol)
This is what I’m currently listening to…

And this book sounds utterly yummy… Can you tell what kind of a mood I’m in?

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The California Supreme Court has overturned the same-sex marriage ban.  Same-sex marriages are now legal in the state of California.  However, according to this article in the Mercury News, some court houses are refusing to provide an marriage ceremonies to anyone because their employees object to same-sex marriages.  They can’t discriminate and refuse service to some, so they aren’t providing wedding ceremonies to anyone, though they are still issuing marriage licenses.  Crappy!

If it’s legal in your state, then you should shut up with your personal objections and perform the service if that’s the line of work you’re in!  You are a public servant and, during work hours, it’s not your job to have an opinion about the services you provide or any judgment about the people using said services.

I don’t make these statements lightly or without personal knowledge.  I was a county employee for over 12 years and I can tell you that it was never my job to have a personal opinion about any of the work I was to perform.  When swearing in officers or public officials, should you refuse to do your job because you don’t like some of the people you’re swearing in?  No, you should mind your own business and do your job.  If someone is getting a passport with a visa request for a country you don’t approve of, should you refuse to to do your job?  No, you should mind your own business and do your job.  If someone is filing for a divorce and you don’t think 3 years constitutes long enough of a “try”, should you refuse to file their papers?  No, you should mind your own business and do your job.  See where I’m going with this?

When I worked in local government, one small part of my job was issuing marriage licenses at the court house.  The County Clerk would generally perform the wedding ceremonies, but he did such a brief and poor job of it, that I volunteered to provide the ceremonies when I was on duty.  Of course, the ceremonies there were very brief, but they were as nice as one could make them in the time allowed.

I can tell you right now that I would have performed the ceremony for any person who could legally wed in the State of California - and whether I personally objected or not is not something I would have let affect my service to others in the course of my job.

For the record, I do not object.  If the right to marry a same-sex partner is so important to the people of the State of California that they took it to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court overturned the ban, then who am I to find fault with it or be a conscientious objector?  It’s legal in my state and people want it, so I will do it.

I will perform same-sex wedding ceremonies!

I’m a Spiritual Humanist duly Ordained Clergy Person, which means I can perform any legal marriage in the state of California.  You can read more about my spiritual credentials here.  I will perform same-sex wedding ceremonies without judgment.  My wedding ceremonies are beautifully meaningful without any of the churchy references found in most ceremonies.

Contact me for prices and details.  Cynthia @ 408-310-0027… you can call or text at this number.  If calling from out of the area, you may call toll free 1-888-701-0808.  I accept cash and credit cards.  If you call and I don’t pick up, it just means I’m busy or I didn’t hear the phone (I’m hard of hearing), so be sure and leave me your name, number, the best time to call, and let me know it’s regarding a marriage ceremony.  You can also email through the contact form on the Contact Cynthia page.

The article says the same-sex marriage issue will be on the ballot in November.  Maybe between now and November is your only opportunity for a legal marriage.

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Hi, are there any fellow Twitterers out there?  If so, follow me!  I’ll follow you right back, I promise.  Here’s my link:

http://twitter.com/cynthiaclinton

If you don’t Twitter, maybe you want to.  Check it out.  It’s a neat way to let other people know what you’re doing in 140 characters or less.  I want to know what you’re doing.  Really.

At my www.wholyone.com/blog, you’ll notice the reddish box in the extreme right sidebar that says “what am I doing…” - that’s my Twitter Badge that gives my latest Tweets.

If you’re already all a’Twitter or you decide to sign up, I’ll see you there :D.

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