If you didn't know today was Name Your PC Day... you are not alone.  I didn't know until recently.  In fact, I emailed a friend a couple nights ago to see if she had a name for hers and she didn't.  She asked me if that made her weird; and I said  "no... I think those that name their computers are weird."

Well I think I was wrong.  It seems it is quite common for a person to name their PC.  So now I feel a little "left out".  I mean, I spend so much time on my laptop that it is almost like an extension of myself; like a dear friend!

Just as Alice, in Alice in Wonderland, I became curiouser and curiouser.  So I talked with my good friend Bridget Ayers over at The Get Smart Blog.  She didn't have to think about it,

My PC is Roxie, my old Dell laptop was Rocky it was a big behemoth Grey laptop that though not the sharpest PC out there slugged it out till the very end. My new laptop is a little white sleek HP that packs a bigger punch than good old Rocky but she still rocks it…..so Roxie.

Bridget was so kind to pose this question to the members of Get Smart Women Social Network. 

I am impressed with the names some people give their computers; and even more impressed with the stories behind the names.  Like Jennifer at Connect with your Teens,

I'm going to name my laptop "Little Red". I have a small Dell laptop inspiron 1420 that came in a variety of colors. I was tempted to get it in pink but my teenage son said that was too girly and talked me out of it. I wanted something fun and bright so I chose red with a matching red mouse and I love it. It is small and light enough to carry around, so "Little Red" is the perfect name for it.

And Paulette at www.letche.net/blog,

My present Sally has been a cool HP laptop in the last 11 months. Sometimes its naughty but what do you expect from a laptop that stays 24/7 working. My last laptop Teddy, was a Dell. I still owe Teddy a lot apology. I constantly rocked the life out of the battery watching "24" and "Desperate Housewives" for hours until it gave up the ghost. My "Junky" desktop, is a warehouse for most of my stuff. I still find it difficult to let go of some unnecessary data. But honestly I'm looking forward to getting Nikky, a cute Gateway convertible laptop. Unfortunately, Gateway made it impossible for me to get her out of the US last year. Sad!...

The image I'm using above, is of Paulette's Nikky.  She is a real beauty!

I started to think this was a female phenomenon, the naming of one's computer.  However, I quickly found out that my male friends give their PC's a moniker as well.  I talked with Greg from Nerd Beach,

My PC's name is Twip; this name isn't that unusual given that my previous computers included such names as Tweng and Twung.  The names are handy, unique labels, without any real meaning.

I got a quick note from my friend JB at The Launching Pad,

Mine is named "Mac"  hee hee.....

Ummmm, so are we to assume your PC is a Mac?  Or is there more to the story?  JB will have to let us know.

I know I'm not the only person who has NOT named their computer; it is definitely more commonplace than I realized though.  So I need your help.  My readers who know me or have a sense of who I am from my blog - help me name my computer.  I use my laptop a lot.  She is for the most part a constant companion.  I however, cannot come up with a name for her.  I had no trouble at all coming up with a name for my son, after carrying a child for 9 months and giving birth makes naming them a bit easier I suppose, but I keep coming up with nothing when it comes to my laptop.

If you have a suggestion for me, leave a comment and if I choose your name I'll devote a post to your blog or website. 

Oh, and if you have a name for your computer - we would love to hear it!  If you're like me and don't have a name yet, you have until midnight tonight, November 20, 2008, to come up with a name.  Hope to hear from you!

Okay, I didn't get this idea myself.  It came from a guy named Steven; who goes by the Digg name sjbdallas.   Saturday I was on Digg doing my 'Digg stuff' and came across a story from cracked.com titled, 6 Signs Your About to be Attacked by Zombies.  In the comments sjbdallas remarked "We also need "6 signs you're about to turn into a zombie".

Thus the 10 Signs... were born.  So in the spirit of Halloween and zombie movies here are my ten signs:

  1.  You start to notice that some people not only have good taste... but taste good too.

  2.  It takes you ten times longer to walk to the mailbox.

  3.  People avoid or run from you.

  4.  You start to develop a pronounced dragging on one side of your body.

  5.  You start hanging out at the mall with groups of strangers.

  6.  Your deodorant doesn't work anymore.

  7.  You have nightmares about shotguns.

  8.  You order steak rare... like in still moving.

  9.  You think George A. Romero does documentaries.

10.  You doctor diagnosed you with onset Rigor Mortis.

If you would like to add to this list, leave a comment and share it with us!

One of my favorite things about the month of October is Halloween.  To be more specific... the horror/scary movies that come on during the month of October.  Ever since I was a young girl I have been a fan of horror movies... the scarier the better. 

I don't know if you're old enough to remember when Chiller (Theatre) came on Saturday nights at 11:30 p.m; well sometimes my mom would allow  me to stay up late with my uncle (he stayed with us for a while) who was eight years older than me, and watch the first movie that would come on Chiller.  It was usually a double-feature; I could have watched both but my Uncle had specific rules to turn the TV off after the first movie went off. 

Also, who could forget Movie Macabre which featured campy B horror host Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark. They also showed campy B movie double-features.  I was/am a horror movie junkie!

So this time of year gets me to thinking about all the horror movies I love watching; which in turn, got me thinking about which movie monster, madman and/or mutant was the scariest.  Here is my list of the top 10 scariest movie monsters:

Freddy - In the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Freddy Krueger kept many a teenager frightened to go to sleep.  The undead Krueger inhabits the world of dreams and attacks his victims while they’re sleeping. His weapon of choice: A leather glove, from which sprouted four 6-inch knives.  Of all the 80's horror movie monsters that were supernatural, undead or non-human, Krueger was the scariest.

Jack Torrance - The first Stephen King book I ever read was The Shining; I have been a King fan ever since.  One of King's scariest characters is Jack Torrance. As you watch The Shining you get to watch Jack's lapse into insanity slowly unfold.  How horrifying to watch a father try to kill his own child.  The scene where Jack uses the axe to break through a door and the creepy and famous line "Here's Johnny" was creepily and most excellently played by Jack Nicholson.

Norman Bates - Any man who is such a mommy's boy is scary, in my opinion.  Seriously, Norman Bates is scary because once again he is a flesh and blood human. Also the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho kept women from taking showers for years.

Leatherface - What makes Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre so scary, is that he is based on a true story.  To think that there was a man wearing a mask made of human skin, wielding a chainsaw and killing people that his family of cannibals directed him, really creeps me out.

Annie Wilkes - How can Kathy Bates be scary?  It's Bates character Annie Wilkes that's scary. In Stephen Kings Misery, Annie Wilkes is romance novelist Paul Sheldon's number one fan, unfortunately for him.  She is an obsessed fan that will do anything to keep him.  The scene with the sledge hammer still makes me wince.

Jaws - The reason Jaws is so scary for me is that it is a shark.  Something real and tangible.  I remember when I first saw Jaws, which happened to be on TV while I was babysitting a 3 year old that was napping.  I think I was thirteen and to this day I'm scared to get too far out in the ocean. When Jaws first came out their were many people who felt the same way.

Damien - How much scarier can you get than the child of Satan?  I think it is scary when the monster is a child.  How creepy to see a little boy or girl who should be innocent, look at you with lifeless or steely eyes.  In The Omen, Damien can send chills down your spine with the look in his eyes as he kills off those around him that could interfere in his reign over man-kind.

Pennywise - This one is almost a gimme, seeing that clowns can be downright scary in their own right.  However, Stephen King's malevolent, shape-shifting, child-killing monster in It is the scariest clown of all.  Pennywise is the ultimate child's nightmare!  I read the book before seeing the movie and if I had not already been scared of clowns before, I was after reading the book and definitely after seeing the movie.

Regan MacNeil - The twelve year old Regan from The Exorcist is scary because she is a child that is possessed by Satan.  There is something horrifying about a child being evil and Linda Blair played Regan in a way that reportedly caused heart failure to some of the moviegoers at the time, it was that frightening. I mean seeing a kid spewing pea soup, rotating her head 360 degrees and abusing a crucifix is pretty darn scary!

And the number 1 scariest monster/madman of all time (to me) is....

Hannibal Lechter - Lechter is horrifying because he IS human.  The scariest monsters to me are those that are of human flesh and blood.  Because they could be "real".  Not to mention Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal the Cannibal in Silence of the Lambs was so eerily frightening.  And of course there is the thought that he would like to eat my liver with a side of fava beans and a nice Chianti.

So these are my top ten scariest monsters.  Who or what do you think is the scariest movie monster?  We hope to hear from you!

To you my faithful readers - you are in the right place.  I decided to do a little "remodeling" so to speak.  My posts have not nor will not change.  I will continue to write about the things that interest me.

If you haven't gathered by now, I have an eclectic personality.  I have many interests so that will come through in my writing.  The one thing that is steady and true is that I write mainly for women.  That is not to say that men could not/would not find what I write about entertaining or informative; in fact, men could benefit greatly by many things I write about.

However, my target audience is women.  I am a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, work at home mom and much more.  I wear many hats... therefore, I write about those things.  I sometimes write about hot topics in the news or a movie or TV show I like; or whatever is going on in my life or what's on my mind.

It has been just over six months now since I started Blog by Donna and through blogging I've come to realize that writing is one of my passions.

My content hasn't changed.  Just the look of my blog.  If you are just stopping by for the first time... I hope you find what I write about helpful or at the least entertaining.  And for those of you that are regulars - thank you for making these past six months such a joy!

On the Today Show this morning, September 26, 2008, they were discussing the Parenting magazine article on Why Good Dads Make Moms Jealous. 

I will admit to a twinge of jealousy from time to time when my son prefers my husband over me.  However, I think it is wonderful that my husband wants to be a hands-on dad.

According to todayshow.com,

Today's dads spend 21.7 hours a week on childcare and related duties like shopping and housework, up 9 hours from 30 years ago, according to research by the University of Maryland.  We moms say we want our spouses to be do-it-all dads: We're forward-thinking women of the 21st century. Besides, if they did less, we couldn't possibly juggle our busy lives without going nuts.

Although moms confess "We don't ever want to be pushed off that throne of being Mommy."

I guess some women's egos get the best of them.  We as women, have come so far and are so used to having to do everything (in many cases) that it's hard to let go and not be in charge or "be the best" at everything. 

Sometimes we have to relinquish some of our power.  This is something I finally realized... and it has turned out to be a good thing in our family. 

See I wanted my husband to help more and be an active participant in parenting our son.  Luckily, my husband also wanted to be an active dad from the start.  The thing is that when he did parent, I would find fault in it.  What I mean is that I was being too picky...  I knew (in my mind) that I could do it better.

Come to find out... sometimes I couldn't do it better.  In fact, sometimes daddy actually did it better!  Much to my dismay.  So I started backing off and letting him do things the way he chose to do them.

Now 5 years later we have it down to a science, well not exactly, but it does work for us.  There are things that he does better, or my son prefers his daddy to do; and there are some things that he prefers his mommy do.  The other things... well, we just take turns. 

I am very happy that over the years men have stepped up and are taking their role as dads more seriously.  I know my husband is the best!  Now if I could just get him to clean the bathroom.

I would love to hear how you feel about this topic.  Hope to hear from you!

Well today is the first day of Fall and I can't believe another summer has come and gone.  I use to love summers but as I get older I really hate the heat.  My favorite season is Fall and Spring, but sadly here in East Tennessee it seems that the Falls and Springs are getting shorter and shorter. 

For anyone lucky enough to live near the Smokey Mountains the Fall has to be your favorite season, in my humble opinion.  All the changing leaves are a spectacular site to behold; and one that I highly recommend everyone experience at least once in their lifetime.

My life has gone through a lot of changes this summer, with my son starting school being the biggest.  And I am excited about this Fall and all it has to offer me. 

Here is one of my favorite songs to say goodbye to Summer; Don Henley's The Boys of Summer.

I would love to know what your favorite season is and why.  I hope to hear from you!  Until then have a wonderful Fall!

I have been really busy lately and had to take a little break from my blog... but I'm back!  I thought that once my son started school I would have a lot more time on my hands - but it has actually been the opposite!

Starting next week I will be spending every Tuesday at my son's school.  I'll be reading to his class, working with them in small groups with art projects and generally anything my son's teacher needs me to do.  I'm looking forward to this and "C" is so excited about his mommy sharing his school experience with him.

We also added a new member to our family.  Bugsy!  He is a cute and sweet little bunny.  My parents gave him to my son, and of course, I am the one taking care of him.  I knew I would be the one mainly responsible for the care of the rabbit when I told my mom she could give him to my son.  I will do a post with some pictures of Bugsy sometime soon.  So now we have two dogs, a turtle and a bunny to take care of; granted the turtle really isn't much of a problem and my DH takes care of the dogs more than I do.

I have also been busy starting other projects... more on that later...

I want to take this time to say thank you to those of you that emailed me, checking to see if I was okay.  I know I post at least once a day - most days more, so some of my readers were wondering what happened to me.  So once again thank you and I'm back!

I received an email yesterday from an ABC reporter wanting to ask my opinion on Oprah Winfrey not inviting Sarah Palin on her show.  On Monday I did a post about Oprah's season premiere on Sept. 8, 2008 and I'm assuming in the reporter's research she happened upon my blog.  I stated in my blog that I am a fan of the Oprah Show...and I am.

So I called Emily Friedman for a phone interview.  She was very nice and to the point.  She asked her questions and I answered them.  I realize now that many people do not/will not agree with my opinion of Oprah's decision to not invite Sarah Palin to HER show.

See, Oprah is not a journalist (she began her career as co-anchor but is currently a talk show host), and it is her talk show;  She can have whomever she wishes on her show and talk about whatever topic she wishes.  If we don't like it we have the option to change the channel.  However, to me this is a moot point because Obama's appearance on the Oprah Show was in 2006 before he announced his candidacy for President.  She could have just as easily had Sarah Palin on at any given point before McCain announced her as his VP choice, but no one really heard of Palin before.

Besides, she is entitled just like everyone else to support whomever she wants for president.  Last I checked this is still a free country.  Celebrities are notorious for their backing and support of political candidates; the overwhelming majority being democrat.  It is their prerogative... just as it is yours and mine.

I have written many posts and not once before now have I written anything remotely political.  Why?  I learned a long time ago not to discuss or argue religion or politics...for one you rarely ever change anyone's mind and second - it can bring out the worst in people.

However, I am breaking my own rule to discuss, briefly, my political views.  I told ABC reporter, Friedman, that I was undecided as to who I will vote for come November.  This is only partially true.  I have been torn about who I think would make the best president.  I am a registered democrat...but would not vote strictly my party just because they are a democrat.  I have to believe in what they stand for and believe they can run our country.

Sadly, I feel that both the democratic and republican parties are more alike than different.  I believe that both parties have made promises that they won't/can't keep. 

I can say I am proud that a black man is running for president and that a woman could be our next vice-president; regardless what happens this is the most monumental and historical election ever!  I just don't believe they have our (the US citizens) best interest at heart. 

The only candidate we have that stands for the Constitution is Dr. Ron Paul.  The Constitution is what this country was founded on and I think we have lost sight of this.

Now, I have put it out there so you can see a tiny glimpse as to what my political views are and this could affect the way some people see me.  Just as it does some people's views of Oprah Winfrey.  You see I have many friends, family and acquaintances that have differing political views than mine...does this change my opinion of them?  No.  I believe that we all have our opinions and beliefs and I respect my family and friends beliefs, regardless as to how different they may be from mine.

Differences make the world go round.  Come on - how boring the world would be if we all believed, looked and behaved the same way.  And why can't we have different ideas or beliefs without being mean and nasty to those with differing ideas or beliefs than ours?  My biggest issue with this is that women are complaining saying that Oprah is a "women's show" and she being a woman herself, should want the first female VP candidate on her show. 

Because she is a WOMAN?  I strongly believe that women should not vote for Sarah Palin just because she is a woman, no matter how phenomenally proud I am of a possibility of a female VP.  Just as I strongly believe black people should not vote for Obama, strictly because he is black.  I do realize the great pride one would feel in the first ever possibility of a black president, but just as proud as I was at the prospect of the first female president in Hillary Clinton, I would not vote for her just because she is a woman.

To conclude, I feel that Oprah made a good choice in not having Palin on her show.  Since she is an avid supporter of Obama she probably wouldn't be able to give an unbiased interview to the opposing candidates. If Oprah asked a tough question of Palin, people might complain that she was "attacking" Palin and blame it on her favoring Obama.

You can check out the interview at ABCNews.Go.com.  I also want to say that the title may be misleading...Oprah says that Palin is welcome to her show; just not until after the election. 

We would love to hear your opinion on Oprah's decision to not have Sarah Palin on her show.  Hope to hear from you.

There has been a change in women over the last three decades.  Mostly good and some bad, as I'm sure some would argue; but one of the biggest changes is in the motherhood department.  Or should I say the lack of motherhood. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau report. "American Community Survey 2006 and 2006 Population Survey," today's, U.S. women are having fewer babies, and more women are choosing to be childless.

The data is from the Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey.  The surveys aimed to discover how many children are being born, to whom, and what the fertility rates are around the country.  Women aged 15 to 50 were surveyed about fertility between 2005 and 2006.

Although I didn't have my son until I was 38, these findings were astounding to me.

The report finds 20% of women today aged 40 to 44 have no children. That percentage is double what it was 30 years ago.

Here are more statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau report

• The average number of children a woman aged 40-44 will have is 1.9
• 67% of women who recently gave birth worked outside the home.
• 36% of women who reported giving birth for the survey were never married separated, divorced or widowed.
• Mothers in North Carolina, Mississippi and the District of Columbia were the lease likely to have never married.
• Of those 1.5 million mothers who were not married, 190,000 of them were living with an unmarried partner.

The Face of Poverty

• 25% of women aged 15-50 who'd recently given birth were living below the national poverty level.
• Fertility rates were twice as high for those living below the national poverty level when compared to those living more than 200% above the poverty rate.

International Moms

• 20% of all births reported in the survey were to U.S. moms that were themselves born in another country.
• In California, that percentage doubled, with 41% of moms being foreign-born.

So Who is Having the Most Children?

• Hispanic women average the most children at 2.3.  That's higher than for Asians, non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans, although second-generation Hispanic women have fewer babies than their mothers did.

Most Delays in Having Babies are for School

• Women with a bachelor's degree or more college education had the highest fertility rates between the ages of 30 and 34 (133 births per 1,000 women).
• Women who did not complete high school had the most birth rates between the ages of 20 and 24 and 25 to 29 (199 births per 1,000 women and 146 births per 1,000 women, respectively).

It is interesting to see that not only are women having children later in life, but either opting to not have children at all - or by waiting to finish school and start careers, they have missed their window of fertility altogether.

Whatever their reasons...more and more women are foregoing motherhood altogether.  If you have an opinion about these statistics, we would love to hear them.  Hope to hear from you!

SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau report. "American Community Survey 2006 and 2006 Population Survey." News release, U.S. Census Bureau.

Yesterday morning, August 21, 2008, just before school was to start, fifteen year old Ryan McDonald was shot and killed in his high school's cafeteria.  At 8:11 a.m. Jamar Siler, a fifteen year old fellow student at Central High School shot Ryan McDonald in the chest.

Central High School is located in North Knox County in Eastern Tennessee, a community that is still reeling over the recent church shootings approximately three weeks ago.

You can go to WBIR.com and read the timeline of events as they occurred today as well as read more about the case.  I want to use this time and place to talk more about my thoughts and feelings in regards to this tragedy.

I am a mother, so as soon as I heard that there was a shooting in of all places, a school, I felt a sense of panic.  My son just started kindergarten this year, he wasn't in school on Thursday because he only attended one day this week and starts full time next week, but I could imagine how I would have felt if he were not with me. 

I know every parent who had a child in Central High School yesterday must have been beside themselves with worry.  It was I know, a very scary day yesterday for thousands of parents, grandparents and other relatives of the approximately 1200 students that were at the school yesterday. 

Just as I'm sure is the case anywhere that something like this has happened, people start talking about taking their kids out of public schools and either homeschooling or enrolling them in private schools.  I absolutely understand and have had the same feelings and discussions with my husband.  However, I have to be logical and realistic.

What I mean is that for one - I will not live in fear or project that fear onto my son.  That does not mean I won't teach my son to be cautious.  We should all listen to our instincts and be aware of what is going on around us.  And another thing is that this could have happened anywhere!  As I mentioned above just three weeks ago there was a shooting inside a church.  And you hear of people being killed in their own homes, shopping malls and various other public places all the time. 

So does this mean I just keep myself and my family locked up in our home away from the world?  No.  I can't or won't do that.  I just have to hope and pray that my son will be safe when he is away from me. 

That being said, I want our schools to be safer!  I want to know that my son's school is doing EVERYTHING humanly possible to protect him and keep him safe.  I do feel confident that my son's elementary school does take all the precautions to do just that. 

My husband and I discussed homeschooling our son; and decided for our son, at this time, it would be better for him to have the social aspect of school.  And we already agreed that when he enters middle school we will re-evaluate this decision.  If at anytime we are not satisfied with our child's education or have concerns regarding his safety we will pull him out and home school.

Before leaving I want to say one other thing about Knoxville.  It seems we have had a lot of press/media lately; with the church and now school shooting.  But I want people to know that this is a community of faith-based people.  A community that cares and will be the first to step up and help others in need.  We have suffered some senseless tragedies lately but we will over come it and come out stronger.

My thoughts and prayers are with Ryan McDonald's family, the students and faculty of Central High School and their families.