Get your thinking cap on, baby.

It's been said that the true measure of how great an idea is, is that when people hear it, their first instinct is to ask: "Why didn't I think of that?"

Spanx
The printing press (Gutenberg walked away making bank off the Bible)
Facebook (a close third to the printing press)
Zippers
The Automatic Teller Machine (Jim's favorite)
Gore-Tex fabric
The Table Top Beer Tap
GPS

When I discovered that someone had invented a tiny machine that could tell you where you were (even when you were lost on the back roads of Kentucky with no cell service) and how to get back to your home, just by clicking a few buttons, I wondered why, exactly, I hadn't thought of this.

I'm always lost! I definitely should have thought of it!

As I read the NYT headlines today, I felt this way. I discovered that a couple, on the brink of foreclosure of their two homes, held a raffle to auction their house. Each ticket was $100 and a portion of the ticket sales went to charity.

Not only did they earn enough to pay off the debt of their homes, they also gave over $200,000 in surplus to their charity.

Now, raffles are springing up all around the country, as more and more families struggle to own their homes.

The reason consumers wonder why, exactly, this hadn't been their idea first is because there is a necessity that surrounds each of these ideas.

Americans need the housing market to be stimulated.
...and so they raffle.

Outdoorsies need to stay dry while hiking Everest.
...and so they Gore-Tex.

College students need (want may be more accurate) to stay in touch while creepily stalking their friends (and acquaintances...or strangers).
...and so they Facebook.

Yesterday marked the stock market crash heard round the world. And after a depressing evening of news-watching, I'm beginning to think that the only way we're going to find our way out of this is with some amazing new invention.

I mean, people won't buy homes. People won't invest. People won't shop.

We're at somewhat of a stalemate.

But think, if tomorrow someone comes out with an invention that gets people buying, investing and shopping, we'd all be OK (this may or may not be the optimist in me speaking.)

Imagine if tonight, while the world slept restlessly, worrying about their finances, someone invented a Sustainable Home that sold for $200, but was large enough to house any size of family, and made every homeowner a shareholder of the company while donating $50 to any charity and also generated money which would be directly put into the economy while avoiding inflation entirely...

We'd be set!

In this case, I'm afraid realism may win out over optimism. Somehow I doubt we're on the brink of this invention.

But if we all put our heads together, you never know what we might come up with...

The gift that never stops giving...

Most kids love field trips. I despised them.

Actually, I didn't just hate them. I was afraid of them.

Whenever there was a field trip, I woke up feeling sick. Of course, this ailment was all mental, because I was so afraid of the activities...I was perfectly healthy.

The reason I feared field trips so was because I worried that I'd have to go to the bathroom on the bus. And I worried I wouldn't be able to hold it and I'd have to ask the bus to pull over.

However, there was one field trip in first grade that I really loved. I think the main reason I opened myself up to the possibility of an enjoyable field trip was because my mom was going as well.

This field trip was to a very magical place: The landfill.

I still remember standing on this long outdoor bridge that connected one end of the plant to another. They stopped us on the bridge and told us a story about burying tires in a landfill.

You see, if you bury a tire without cutting it in half, it digs itself back up. If you cut it in half, though, it stays buried.

This was all very fascinating to my first-grade-afraid-of-field-trips-mind.

I was reminded of this fact this morning when I was watching the Today Show. They told a story about a man who built his house entirely out of tires.

I find this rather impressive, especially because he plans on spending only around $50 or $100 on gas each month.

This house, in turn, reminded me of the Solar House at Georgia Tech. The house is able to run entirely on solar power and is a step toward increasing sustainable living in the United States.

This weekend, I was lucky enough to see this house in person. I had this wonderful opportunity because my amazing siblings bought me a plane ticket to Atlanta for my birthday.

I was able to spend the weekend with Jim (while extending my birthday even longer-my siblings know me so well!).

The weekend couldn't have been more perfect. Between spending time with his friends, my friends and one another, we had an amazing time.

Of course, as the plane started to take off on my return flight, I became a little anxious that I might not be able to make it until we reached our ideal destination of 10,000 feet before I was able to use the restroom.

But, luckily, I was able to suppress my anxiety just long enough, in order to sit back and enjoy the flight. How blessed I am to have such fabulous people in my life!

Slippery little guys...

I'd like to think I had a lot to offer to my friends in elementary school: I lived within walking distance of McKameys (R.I.P.), we had a pool, and my mom always provided us with great snacks.

However, I quickly learned that while my friends were more than happy to play in the pool and ride bikes outside, there was another reason they always chose to come to my house instead of theirs: my sisters.

No matter what we had planned for the day, the first question was: Can Courtney and Ashley do it with us?

And while I certainly didn't mind this at all, I'm sure my sisters (seven and five years my senior) were not thrilled with the idea of playing house with us.

There is something inherent in all children that makes them absolutely adore older kids. I'm not sure what it is, exactly; maybe it's their confidence (my sisters knew how to run the world at age twelve) or that they had such fun ideas (I never would have thought of setting up a tent to pretend camp out). I mean, my preteen sisters were just oh-so wise and worldly.

I'm afraid that the Bratz dolls may have used this star-struck attitude of the youth to their unfair advantage.

Really, why would an eight-year-old girl want to play with a makeup-free doll when they could be playing with a dressed up, sexualized Bratz doll?

Personally, I think my American Girl, Molly, (or even Barbie!) could have dominated Sasha (the current Brat of the week) any day. However, I have a sad feeling that when I was young, I would have definitely wanted a Bratz doll.

From the start of production, I've never quite understood why you would let your children play with a Bratz doll.

Merriam-Webster defines a brat as having immature and annoying characteristics. Would it sell quite as well if it were called Annoyingz? I doubt it.

Of course, this has all been said over and over, and I think the controversy of the Bratz dolls has been sufficiently discussed.

This week, though, the company took a large hit when Scholastic cut all Bratz products from their book clubs and fairs. By Scholastic taking a public stand against the company, they'll most likely lose any support they once had in school systems. Certain schools may even take steps to ban the dolls entirely (sounds like Giga pets!).

Banning the dolls in schools is possibly the largest setback the company may face. If it happens, it will be a crucial moment for Bratz dolls- a potential source of decline.

Just as Scholastic's stand was a vital moment, so was the failure to stand of several models in Milan during fashion week. A number of models fell on the catwalk due to aslippery fish pattern decorating the runway.

Essentially, the models have one job during fashion week: to walk. Failing to walk properly down the runway must be highly detrimental to their careers.

Personally, I find myself much more inclined to sympathize with the models than the Bratz. But let's be serious, I'm more of a Barbie girl myself.

Tan? Really?

I think it happened overnight. The temperatures dropped. The humidity (almost) broke. The air smelled differently. And the leaves began to change color.

I don't know if I was too distracted to notice, or if summer snuck out stealthily, but it seems as if fall is here to stay.

I'd like to say that the red and yellow leaves are what got my attention, but I'd be lying. The colors that got my attention were those that are MIA.

It seems that this fall, aside from plaid (yaay), nude is very popular. Not in the way that will leave exhibitionists rejoicing in their birthday suits, but in the way that will bring my mom, the Queen of Bright Colors, to tears.

Fashion Week proved it, tan is the trend.

It's somewhat ironic, though, that you can say it a number of ways: tan, beige, nude, camel, khaki, ecru...

And yet, it almost always looks the same. While I have sworn off khakis since my days working at a golf course, I admit that wearing tan well can be a triumph. However, in the darkest days of February (ah!), paired with the whitest days of skin color, very few look their best in beige. I can only hope that the trend will have run its course by then.

I'll let it slide for fall, but if Michael Kors and Patrik Rzepski try to tell me that tan (or even ecru) is in for the holiday season, I'm going to have to ask my mom to give them a call. I mean, there is only so much neutrality I can take before I am forced to go on the offensive.