universal design

So down the street from my house, near our little man-made lake, is an abandoned building. This is an uncommon thing in our neighborhood as we're a nice planned community. So plans are being made to remove this "eyesore" and replace it with- you guessed it- TOWNHOMES!

These will be no ordinary townhomes, however. These partially county-funded gems will follow the new Redevelopment Housing Authority (RHA) resolution requiring any new county-funded housing projects be built using universal design practices. Apparently someone is worried about the aging population in Fairfax County.

Universal design essentially means handicapped access. Switches are lower, you can fit a wheelchair under the kitchen sink, elevators, and door levers instead of knobs (a new trend I really don't like- hard to keep kids from opening doors with levers).

So I'm wondering...do they really think this type of house is going to appeal to people outside of the disabled community? Is there a plethora of wheelchair-bound folks dying to live in a townhouse in Burke Centre that I'm not aware of? Seems like another fun trendy thing Fairfax County is doing to be "cutting-edge." Wouldn't it make more sense to require new county-funded construction to be built to greener standards? That's a trend that's really hot right now that we can all get on board with.

What I'm really wondering though, is where is this abundance of people nearing retirement age? The "aging population" of Fairfax County is in general tremendously physically active. My Dad lives here, he's retirement age...and he runs or bikes like 5 miles each weekend. I'm not seeing compromised mobility in his near future. I'm also pretty sure these folks might want to move from this hugely expensive area when they get down to living off those nest eggs. This must be somebody's pet project.

titling my blog

Did you notice that I have a title now? You can thank my husband for that. He told me I needed one and I came up with something terribly unimaginative. Then, my sister-in-law had a car accident. So I told him that perhaps I would write my next entry about how people here in the DC area drive like rabid lunatics and that anyone who had ever spent any time in other metro areas would certainly know this to be true. I think I claimed to have some additional insight into this fact that I intended to expound upon, but at the moment it eludes me. So he suggested Stating the Obvious, then said, no how about OVERStating the Obvious which I did not agree to as I do not believe I am actually overstating anything. Hence, my title was born.

Of course, he has yet to come up with a clever title for his blog.
It's an overcast day with showers likely in the afternoon.
Virginia, Maryland, and DC are having their primaries today.
Trees give life.
So do women.
Be well.

facials vs. manis & pedis

Ok, so I really don't get the whole manicure/pedicure craze. This may be due in part to my lack of disposable cash, and the fact that I use my hands in a more "active" way, but I really don't get it. Women go, let's say every two to three weeks to get their nails done and about every 4-6 weeks to get their toes done. I may be wrong with the specifics, but I imagine this adds up to at least $50 a month- probably closer to $60. Why not get a facial every two months? It's great for your skin, hugely relaxing, and you get an arm, shoulder, neck and face massage. It's a far more luxurious experience- not to mention the health benefits.

Every time I've gotten my nails done, they chip within the week, and the fake nail stuff always comes off or just feels weird. I know, for a nominal fee you can go in and they will retouch or repaint them for you. Sounds like a lot of time in a "salon" with noxious fumes to me. I get a private warm steamy room with relaxing music for a facial. I sit like cattle in a stall at a crowded nail salon where the service technician (generally) is talking or yelling to another technician in a foreign language, or suddenly speaking to me as I try to decipher what she is asking me. Hmmm. Not very relaxing to me.

So yeah, I don't get it. Just my opinion, but if I have money to spend on pampering and beautifying myself, I'm going for the facial everytime!

bandwagon blogger

Everyone I know seems to have a blog. My husband keeps telling me I should have one. So, now I have a blog too.

I'm normally hugely anti whatever is the in thing, even if I was into it before it became hip. I'm fairly certain that this has something to do with me being a middle child in a family in which I was generally overshadowed by my older sister, mostly simply because she had 2.5 years experience on me in virtually every endeavor I embarked upon. So I'm affected with this need to set myself apart from the crowd. If you know me, then you probably already knew that about me.

I'm a mom to two AWESOME boys who continually astound me with their wit, creativity, and imagination and a wife to a man who does the same. I'm frequently humbled by my lot in life. I suppose the only thing I want for is a yard with mature trees (and a brook, but I'm probably pushing it there).

So that's me.