Happy New Year, Heathens!

Here's to an interesting year coming to a close, and the beginning of a fresh new year full of change and promise.



I hope you're all having fun with your celebrations and being safe getting to and from any parties.



This change is really just an arbitrary moment in time. A time to take stock, and a time to celebrate.

Next year will be awesome. I know, that's my optimism speaking, but we'll make it the best year it can be. :)

Thank you for helping me be my best this year. Luvz U guyz!

Aww, damnit, I was aiming for posting at exactly midnight. But my awesome husband just called to wish me a Happy New Year. Damn, I love that guy. Ok, thank you again for being such great readers and commenters. Suggestions always welcome, as are guest posters. :)

Since I'm already late, how about one more lolcat? Let's see if I can find a really good one. (actually the optimist pessimist is one of my favs at the moment :P )

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's 2009!

A Grateful Atheist

I learned about a study through Scientific American yesterday. Psychologists, writing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that people keeping a weekly gratitude journal exercised an hour and a half longer per week than those who kept a complaining journal.

Basically, once a week for 10 weeks, people in the study would write down up to 5 things they were grateful for. It could be as simple as "waking up this morning". By the end of the study, they were working out an hour and a half more per week than a group that wrote about life's hassles, like "stupid people driving".

Ironically, I've had trouble being motivated to exercise and keep a food journal since Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd give this a shot. Last night I wrote down 5 things I'm grateful for. It was pretty easy.

But that got me thinking. It smacks of "counting your blessings", doesn't it? I just wondered, if I'm not grateful to someone, how does that work?

Gratitude: noun - the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.
Origin: 1400–50; late ME < ML grātitūdin- (s. of grātitūdō) thankfulness, equiv. to grāt(us) pleasing + -i- -i- + -tūdin- -tude

Ok, so I guess I can be grateful, and it doesn't have to be to anyone in particular. I guess I was thinking it was more like the christian idea of counting your blessings and thanking god. Blech!

Being free of god, I wasn't sure about how gratitude worked. I guess it's just an acknowledgment of what is good in your life.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the study with you. Aren't you lucky, you get my thoughts that go with it as an added bonus. :P

Have a great day! I'm grateful for you! :)

Where Do I Get My First Slave?

Hallelujah!! I've found the Lord! Slavery is OK according to the bible and I get to have one of my very own! I think I might get a breeding pair so that I can grow more. Once you've gone slave master, one is never enough, you know. Plus, I can sell the extra for cash.

I just don't know where to buy my first one. Walmart has knock-off slaves. They may be the least expensive, but they don't last more than 6 months, so it's not worth it. I think I'll try Amazon, they're great for most stuff. My friend got a slave from them and it was damaged in shipping. They replaced it right away, no questions asked. Plus they throw in an owner's guide on care and feeding. Slaves can be tricky, so that might come in handy.

And you're probably about to lynch me for this post, aren't you? Hey don't blame me. PZ Myers helped me find the light of the lord. I guess the shining light of reason really goes to Jean, who really is a visionary. She's a born again christian, who happens to also be black, which in this circumstance only makes her logic so much more compelling. I know that sounds like an ad hominem attack, but no, in fact it is merely an observation. Jean has opened my eyes. Jean is a raging ignorant whackjob moron.

Saying Thanks

In my electronic travels today, I stumbled upon a blog post from this guy Mike. He talks about how he used to thank god for everything good that happened to him, such as praying at meals, for his good grades and all that kind of thing. He's an atheist now, though.

Here is an excerpt:

I forgot to thank so many people for the so many good things I had in life and yet I managed to thank a god that I don’t see and is high unlikely to exist. ....