A hug is the new high-five

I love hugs. Hugs can be platonic, excited, friendly, welcoming, warm, romantic and just plain awesome. Who doesn't like getting hugs? One great thing about not living close to a lot of my friends is the fact that I get to hug them when I see them. If I have a bad day, just a couple minutes of a hug turns my mood right around. A hug can comfort you in ways that are unexplainable when situations arise that are too deep for words. A hug is a genuine way to say "I care about you."

Apparently not everyone shares my love for hugs. Apparently there are school principals and teachers around the nation who view hugs amongst friends as "dangerous territory." Really? You think hugs are dangerous? Are the concerned that a hug will lead to a kiss which will lead to....? Give these kids some credit. It's a hug. I hope this isn't what America has come to. Forbiding hugs - give me a break!

I hereby make it my personal vow to hug as much as possible. Not so much that I get creepy or anything, but when necessary and relevant, I'm gonna hug. You're gonna like it.

Ear plugs

There are some days that I really wish I would invest in a pair of ear plugs. I'd carry them in my purse because there are so many times a day I could use them!

Do you ever go into sensory overload? I do. I don't know that it's really a sensory overload but more of a sound overload. It happens to me when there are so many sounds my brain is trying to process that I start to go nuts. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, I absolutely hate it. It happened today.

I was at work where our office walls are pretty thin and you can usually hear a conversation next door, especially if folks are laughing. Well I've already got a jaw ache (cavity fillings yesterday, ugh!) and so my sensitivity is heightened. There were three people chatting in one office next to me, what sounded like two people in the office on the other side and at least four people talking loudly and laughing down the hall. Now I'm not saying that casual conversation doesn't belong in the work place. It does. It's to no fault of the people talking, I'm just a bit cranky and my brain was trying to process every voice all at once. Couple that with hearing the phone ring and doors opening and closing and printer's printing. Yikes. My head almost exploded.

So on my next shopping trip, I'll once again debate on whether or not to buy some ear plugs. If you see me wearing them, take no personal offense.

The Simpsons, Frank Sinatra, the U.S. flag and Edgar Allen Poe

What do these four have in common? In the present or some time in the past, these four have all been featured on a United States Postal Service stamp. That didn't even cross your mind, did it? Here's my beef with the postal service and it has nothing to do with their service. As a friend of mine pointed out, they do a heck of a job delivering a letter from NY to CA for only 42, scratch that, 44 cents.

I'm not really that agitated about the price increase. They need to make money, I get it. What I'm irked about are the stamp designs. Please don't think I'm unpatriotic but I'm incredibly bored with the the Liberty Bell and the U.S. flag. I've always thought of stamps as the accessory on an envelope. Just like a pair of diamond studs says classy and sophisticated to an outfit, a U.S. flag says here's my money Westar, thanks for the electricity. Boring! Although I must admit that the newest flag design is a vast improvement over the past few.

Instead of issuing a set of stamps that contains brightly colored flowers or a stain glass window design, they issue this, this, and Lord help us, this!

I have no desire to put cartoon characters with electric solid backgrounds on my neatly addressed, pretty envelope. The Olympics have been over for some time now, and Mr. Poe would necessitate for me to address my envelope with my left hand to make his creepy portrait stamp work.

I don't think I'm asking for too much. A cheery, relevant stamp. Alas, I've decided to purchase the newest "love" stamp, the King and Queen of Hearts. It's the best out of the bunch.

I'm begging the stamp designers out there, please, no more Edgar Allen Poe!