see a penny, pick it up

U.S. Mint rolls out a new penny

The Lincoln Cent has been redesigned again. But not everyone is celebrating.

Posted by Money Staff on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 12:18 PM

This post comes from Anna Vander Broek of MSN Money.

Those of you who still use the penny as currency (rather than as a screwdriver or for scratching off lottery tickets) may soon notice America’s 1-cent coin has gotten a facelift.

The U.S. Mint has changed the design for the reverse -- or “tails” -- side of the 2010 Lincoln Cent, which entered circulation on Feb. 11 (everywhere but Puerto Rico, which received the new penny in late January). Michael White from the U.S. Mint says penny inventory is very high, however, so you may not see a new penny right away.

The U.S. Mint kicked off the release of the new penny during a ceremony at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The design was chosen out of 18 candidates. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made the final call.

The penny’s new reverse side features a union shield with 13 vertical stripes and a scroll draped across reading “One Cent.” (Check your nearest couch cushion and you’ll see the old penny portrays the Lincoln Memorial.) The Web site of the U.S. Mint explains that the stripes represent the 13 original states and the banner signifies “a single union in support of the federal government.” The new penny’s front face will continue to illustrate President Lincoln, designed by American sculptor Victor David Brenner back in 1909.

The 2010 penny follows the four different reverse designs, each one depicting a stage of Lincoln’s life, used on the 2009 Lincoln pennies. The special pennies were produced last year to commemorate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Cent.

A penny for your thoughts

Not everyone is excited about the prospect of a new penny. Some would rather see the coin disappear altogether. The anti-penny group Citizens for Retiring the Penny explains on its Web site why it believes the penny is a waste of time and money.

The half penny was eliminated in 1858, when it was worth over 10 times what the penny is worth today. Assuming that the timing was correct before, this means that we should have eliminated the penny 50 years ago.

Some Americans won’t even accept the penny as currency. Alko Office Supply, owned by Gary Shows in downtown Berkeley, Calif., has a sign hanging over the cash register that reads, "We are a penny free store,” reports NPR.org in a story debating the worth of the penny.

Even President Obama seems to think the penny has overstayed its welcome. “We have been trying to eliminate the penny for quite some time -- it always comes back,” he said at a press conferience in 2008, according to a blog post on Politico.com. (Although in 2005 when Obama was a senator from Illinois, he co-sponsored the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin Redesign Act, which required the new penny designs in 2009 and 2010.)

A penny actually costs more to make than it's worth. In 2009, the unit cost to produce the penny was 1.62 cents, according to the U.S. Mint.

Find a penny, pick it up

The penny still has many fans. Pro-penny group Americans for Common Cents "aims to inform and educate policymakers, consumers and the media about the penny’s economic, cultural and historical significance." The group also emphasizes the penny’s importance for charity through organizations such as Penny Lovers of America and Habitat for Humanity’s Parade of Pennies.

A poll conducted by Coinstar in 2006 found that only 27% of Americans want to get rid of the penny. Four out of five Americans will still pick up a penny on the ground.

so, what do you think? i am personally a penny supporter, simply because of math. 1 is a factor of 5. so until that changes, i'll still be saving pennies.

SWAT!

jarvis varnado is your new ncaa shot-blocking record holder, with 536 blocked shots, and the season isn't over yet!

GO DAWGS!

wednesday wussy

there are not enough hours in the day. do any of y'all feel this way? between working during tax season, trying to lose weight, cook dinner (and make sure the kitchen is stocked!), teach pilates (more on that) and keep a clean house, a walked dog and a happy husband, there is no time left for me to veg out watching golden girls and olympic figure skating (which the law student says is not a sport. i disagree vehemently) or finish my painting unless i forego more than one of the above-listed necessary chores. i just cannot make it all happen before 9 o'clock.

more on pilates: i'm annoyed. i teach one class a week to pay for my membership, then sub in as needed. i was scheduled to sub for a 4:30 class last week in addition to my regular 5:45 class that day, when we had an emergency at work. plus, we were going to see the north mississippi allstars that night, and i wanted to work out, and cook dinner (please see grievance above), so i tried to get out of it due to the work emergency (i really didn't know what i would have to do, and our hours are extended during tax season). but she (instructor) wouldn't hear of it, not even due to the emergency and said there was no way we could cancel class. so i agree to teach (again), everything at work goes normally, and i head out to the studio at 4:30. now, this class alternates between an aerobics class and a pilates class. i only do pilates, so that's what i was teaching. so, how many people show up? ONE. it's normally a full class of college girls who come for cardio. i thought it was very strange none of them showed up. and why couldn't she teach the class? she had a date. in town. i ended up seeing her out at the show (with her date), and she apparently had started partying at 4:30 on the dot. now, she had cancelled the sunday class. why? again, her date. i know it's her business, but it seems silly to cancel a full afternoon class for lots of clients but not a repeat class for one person, all because of a date. but you can't go by me.

and that brings us to figure skating. the law student thinks this is a bogus sport because appearance plays a part in the judging. sorry, dude, no one wants to look at frumpy, ill-dressed figure skaters. they have to be perfect, glide seemingly effortlessly over ice on metal blades, jump in the air and land, and look good doing it too. time doesn't control the winner--they do, by constantly out-performing the previous skater. they are every bit as much an athlete as any other olympian. so there, law student.

p.s. the scale says 115.4 today--almost down to fighting weight! i'm sure it's just being polite, but i'll take it.

obedience

please check out this post. i am always so challenged by katie. this post is so true--we are called to God's heart, and faith without works isn't worth much. we have to choose the story we want to live in: the world's, or our God's. and i struggle daily, because i am so comfortable. and in the spirit of the lent season, i thought it was so appropriate. enjoy!

weekend recap

krista, kissey and mandi

i am so glad to be home. but not because i didn't have fun.

i went to nashville this past weekend to visit one of my best and first friends from college, since she's now so much closer than new york. we had a blast! i don't really go out much at home unless there's something major going on (like the north mississippi allstars last week), or i drag the law student out of the house because, contrary to popular belief, there is only so much criminal minds one can watch.

friday night we went out to hear a band, then on to a local favorite. mandi decided on tequila shots at the end of the night, and we all thought it was a great idea. at first, it was--those things made us giggle. everything for the next 45 minutes was absolutely hilarious. but after that, things weren't so funny and nobody felt really awesome saturday morning until after heath made breakfast (pancakes from scratch!). we shopped a bit and then dropped by a bachelorette party, followed by sushi for dinner. then, krista and mandi decided to take me to a lesbian bar to see my reactions, since i'd never been to one before. we listened to lots of karaoke, and i think we got hit on by 2 swinger couples, but you can't go by me. we did not end the night with tequila shots, and everyone was ok with that. sunday brought us the sweetest stray pit bull mix that mandi named "lady." she had mange, but not too bad, and was skinny, but not too skinny. we called a pit rescue service, since the humane society would have put her down immediately. she was super sweet, only wanted to be petted, and obviously had been someone's pet and then recently abandoned. i hated to leave her!

and now, the bad part. i absolutely hate driving in the rain. i hydroplaned a few years ago, then had a few more bad experiences, and have been terrified ever since. it reduces me to tears, and last night was no exception. i drove head-on into a huge band of storms around jackson, tennessee (after fighting terrible and uncharacteristic traffic out of nashville). but i handled it well, for me. then there was memphis. by this time it was pouring rain so hard i couldn't see the road, it was dark, and i was scared stiff. i made it through memphis and breathed a sigh of relief, only to have it start pouring again in southaven all the way to holly springs. i was going 45 miles an hour, couldn't see the road to save my life, and cars are just flying past me. i have no idea how they made it. by the time i pulled off on my exit, i was starting to lose it. i pulled into a gas station and sat and squalled for 20 minutes by myself. i called ben and mom and cried to them too (scared them to death, i'm sure). i collected myself finally and waited out the storm per weather reports. but when i finally decided to drive the last 28 miles home, my car wouldn't start. battery=DEAD. apparently, i had left my car turned on while having my come-apart in the car. great. i started crying all over again. so i went into the gas station, with wet hair and puffy eyes, and the sweet man working had jumper cables and gave me coffee while he waited for someone he knew to come jump me off. someone finally walked in and agreed to jump off my car. so i walked out into the rain and popped the hood of my car (rather unsuccessfully). there was a truck next to me, and i thought this was the nice man who was going to get me home and end my awful night. but it wasn't. it was another guy (who finally got my hood up) and he ended up getting me going while the original guy looked on. my battery is super corroded, and the law student is actually getting me a new one right now. so, i made it home at 9 o'clock, physically and emotionally drained, but grateful.

p.s. while the 2 men were jumping off my car, popping my hood and examining my battery, etc., one of them made a comment about where i live. "oh, does your daddy or your boyfriend live there?" "yeah, my husband is in law school there." apparently i look barely old enough to drive.

bride of christ

the glorious hem

such a sweet sweet message. i got chills and tears in my eyes. what a wonderful promise!

"... I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." -Revelation 21:2-5

valentine's post

in honor of the hallmark holiday based on a massacre, here are 14 (random, not exclusive) things i loooooooove, in no particular order.

1. a snack of lays potato chips and a cold coke. sweet and salty.
2. cherry 7-up
3. weekends at smith lake with sunset cruises and water skiing.
4. horses. riding horses, drawing horses, the smell of horses, baby horses, horse races, you name it. i am a horse freak.
5. my daily dose of dear prudence, margo howard, and celebrity gossip on msn.
6. snow skiing. my favorite activity. it's been over a year since i've been.
7. the golden girls on dvd. i watch them incessantly and it never gets old.
8. joe's jeans. they fit so well. i'll never wear another brand.
9. organic eating, and mouthing off all kinds of information about it to friends and family so that they look at me funny.
10. my grandmother's dream cookies. oh my gosh, we marshall grandchildren just go NUTS for them. i just made my first batch, and they came out more than ok. the law student says i've opened pandora's box.
11. roxy and rowena.
12. hysterically laughing at absolutely nothing with best friends. i miss you and all our random jokes, nights out, slumber parties and lazy afternoons.
13. curling up with a good book that i can't put down. except to eat lay's potato chips or dream cookies. except in bed.
14. the law student. he's my favorite. and i'm his. i'm incredibly blessed.


p.s. i have not worked out in 2 days and i just scarfed down 2 extra-large dream cookies. i put extra frosting on the second one (shame, but only a little). the scale will not be so generous tomorrow, i'm afraid.

links

these posts just spoke to me and i want to share them with you. i love these blogs!

the Journey

sarah dawn


read and be challenged. have a wonderful weekend!

i want to go to there

i'm seriously daydreaming about a vacation. the last vacation i had was in 2008. the law student and i went to upstate new york to visit grammi, gloucester, ma to visit extended family, new york city to visit mandi and heath, and then made our way home via d.c. and north carolina, stopping to visit my cousin lane and the law student's brother tim and wife sara. it was a trying trip. just ask amanda and heath. photos below. but after traveling 8 days in a car together, i know our marriage can withstand anything.

ben and grammi

lauren vs. the lobster

gloucester fishermen's memorial

our exit into new york city. or so we thought.

heath, mandi, kissey and the law student. we had made up at this point.

law school graduation is in may. then, the bar in july. i want to go on vacation right after graduation. i'm thinking of here:

a vineyard in california

or here:
the gulf coast

or here:
los angeles, to visit friends.

so back to our budget we go. by saving carefully and intentionally, we should be able to afford a short respite from work/the bar exam. for now, i'll just daydream at work.

facelift and a recipe

a new look for my blog! you like?

i still need a cute header that matches, maybe with a photo. and for the life of me, i cannot figure out how to add a photo under the "about me" section. help, please. thanks!

let's do a diet and exercise update, shall we? where did i leave off? saturday? boy, do we have some catching up to do! i did not work out at all saturday and ate leftovers for lunch, followed by dinner out with dad at boure. sunday, after church, we had salad and macaroni and cheese, then i taught pilates, went to the gym for over an hour (yay me!), and cooked steaks with veggies for dinner while the law student slept through most of the super bowl. we're miami dolphins fans.

monday, i blew it. yogurt, coffee, and peanut butter crackers at work, and then--kaboom. no exercise. for dinner: raisins, fritos and french onion dip, and a bowl of cereal. after a nap, i had fritos and french onion dip again, followed by a bunch of raisins. yesterday was better. an apple, 2 fun size candy bars at work, then dinner: beef, cheddar and potato pie (and a twix ice cream bar. shut up). i walked roxy in the freezing cold and went to the gym too. i have high hopes for today too. i'm down one pound already. i know it could be anything--water retention, scale, empty stomach vs. full--but i'll take it.

i know you're still interested in that beef, cheddar and potato pie--it's the law student's new favorite dish. i came home one afternoon to find it already placed in the cookbook stand next to the stove. so here's the recipe! you can look it up on rachelraymag.com, but i had adjust the amounts because i use a small pie pan or something. it's super, super easy and very tasty.

you'll need: 1 lb. ground beef, 1 carrot or a few baby carrots, 1 stalk of celery, 1 clove of garlic, a few small new or red potatoes, cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces, give or take), salt & pepper, 1 egg beaten with water, 1 dark beer (like samuel adams winter lager) and 2 cold puff pastry sheets (i used pepperidge farm--2 sheets to a pack) and a little flour.

first, preheat your oven to 375. heat a pan or skillet on medium high heat. chop your veggies and garlic and toss in. add the beef, breaking it up, and cook for about 10 minutes. lower the heat just a bit and add about half a cup of your beer (and drink the rest). add the cheddar cheese and stir. meanwhile, flour a surface and roll out one puff pastry sheet to a 12-inch round. i personally can never get mine round, but it still tastes the same. place this in a pie pan. roll out the other sheet in flour to an 11-inch round. toss your beef mixture into the pie pan. brush the egg wash onto the edges of the first pastry sheet. place the second sheet on top and crimp the edges together to seal. brush egg wash all over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil if the pastry crust darkens quickly.

not me monday

i'm definitely not wearing pants that are just a smidge to tight to remind me what not to eat today. it's been a few months since 1) i could find these pants and 2) since i could actually fit into them without wincing every time i walked or sat down or moved in general. i didn't realize yogurt could make you feel fat. i'm pretty sure i weigh more than my mother did at my age, and she had already had one kid. hi mom! i know you read my blog. love you.

farmer's market store

there's a store! and it is full of goodies. i stopped by today for milk, and ended up crossing off half my grocery list. risotto, beef, sausage, veggies, fruits and herbs, and i even got a coke made with sugar--my favorite. they also stock awesome dried herbs on the cheap, loose teas and lots of grains. just another thing i will miss about oxford.

which brings me to my next point. hopefully, i will have the chance this year to miss oxford. most oxford/ole miss alums love oxford for different reasons than me--like ambiance, ole miss athletics and hazy memories from the bars.
a few things i love:
-living so close to a wonderful spacious park, pat lamar park and lake patsy. it's been great for us and roxy.
-l & m's kitchen, even though it's already gone. the ravine is a close close second.
-not paying rent. thanks, dad. our little 3-bed, 3-bath brick house has spoiled us. a huge kitchen, extra bedroom and room for an office--couldn't be better. well, there's no pool...
-the farmer's market in the spring and summer. fresh produce and local meats are awesome.
-my pilates studio. i love pilates and love teaching, and glad i found it!
-our church, the orchard. wonderful atmosphere and a fantastic small group. love y'all.
-the shopping. not that i can afford it.

yesterday's food: cwc&s, cereal, pack of peanut butter crackers, then dinner at old venice with friends. the law student and i shared a pizza and crawfish rolls, then drinks in the burgundy room. exercise: NONE. and it looks about the same for today, unless you count scrubbing toilets and vacuuming. speaking of, i think i left a toilet soaking...

p.s. i'm getting a bit tired of posting my exercise and diet habits. not that i care if you see--i feel silly only posting that info, and i just don't always have that much material for a post. for example, this one. so i think i'll start keeping up with it in my google calendar, and maybe a weekly update if i feel like it. have i mentioned i love gmail?

thursday night

1. if any of you out there know what an EIN (or FEIN) is, please never never never have more than one business per EIN. it will save you much ill will from your accountant. i don't care what the tax advantages are.

2. food: cwc&s, leftover mac & cheese, an apple, a handful of raisins and a handful of cashews before dinner, roasted salmon with shallots and canned tomatoes over spinach, roasted fingerling potatoes with boursin cheese (omg i love that stuff), a glass of red wine, and one measely, delicious milk dud. after last night's twix encounter, i have emerged victorious tonight. exercise: pilates and 35 minutes of cardio.

3. white jeans and a dan marino jersey. i love 30 rock.

4. i'm sad j. d. salinger died. i have never read the catcher in the rye. i have read franny & zooey, raise high the roof beam, carpenters, and seymour: an introduction. i loved every word of them.

5. my google reader was completely flummoxed today. not one blog update appeared. at all. so tonight, i went around re-following folks. just now all has returned to normal. i still have not managed to un-follow myself.

off to make the bed and get in it.

day 2

the law student just came home with not one, but two twix ice cream bars. how mean is that?????

as promised....

diet: leftover crazy mexican chicken, only one serving of box mac & cheese, no twix ice cream bar (yet), zapp's cajun crawtators chips (love those things), turkey and cheese sandwich with mayo, one half a can of ginger ale and a pack of peanut butter crackers.

exercise: 1.1 hours cardio, ab work and some weights. not much though.

if the bulldogs don't win tonight, that twix bar may have to console me. if they do win, it might celebrate with me! i'm getting hungry just thinking about it. i am very upset with the law student right now.

by the way

mila wins!

me and my big mouth

my mouth keeps getting me into trouble. the scale has never consistently stayed above 115 for weeks (okay, months. shut up.) on end. i absolutely hate it. i have never really had to deal with weight issues--it's always been relatively easy for me to use mostly minimal or moderate effort to stay in shape. i've NEVER had to restrict my diet. or if i have, i don't remember and it must have been way easier, probably because i was too busy partying or working out to notice. i know my exercise quota is lower now, and my eating is up (part of being married is a hungry husband!), but man! i do pilates, walk the dog, have started to incorporate cardio--i'm hitting a wall here! and since all this extra is settling right onto my belly, it all comes back to my mouth. so, diet restrictions it is. and to keep me accountable, i'm going to blog what i eat. every day. i know you are about to pass out from all the excitement. here goes.

monday: coffee with cream and sugar (from now on, cwc&s), one slice roast pork with carrots and potatoes, spaghetti with meat sauce, 1 chik-fil-a chicken nugget dipped in polynesian sauce, and most of a chik-fil-a cookies and cream shake. it was not as good as regular cookies and cream ice cream. exercise: walked the rox 1.5 miles on the track.

tuesday: cwc&s, greek yogurt with strawberries, 1 pack peanut butter crackers, 1 slice american cheese and some raisins while waiting on dinner, spinach salad with carrots, tomatoes, croutons and ranch; rice; sauteed zucchini and some crazy mexican chicken dish i made: 1/2 chicken breast and a sauce made up of cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, roasted tomatoes and black beans. i tried to make fisherman's bake cod, but the fish was slimy after its defrost and stunk up the whole house, so we threw it out. i made this chicken dish up on the fly, and it turned out ok. i must remember it and improve upon it. exercise: walked roxy mostly 1.5 miles at the track, taught pilates for 1 hour, then 30 minutes on an elliptical.

not only does my mouth getting me in trouble by taking in too much, it also gets me in trouble by speaking too much. i am haunted by this passage in matthew 12.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

jesus is talking to the pharisees here, but i think it applies. i've heard the phrase, "you will be held accountable for everything you say, not necessarily in a court of law." and i believe it to be true. our words are a direct reflection of the condition and contents of our hearts. jesus speaks harshly of a sharp tongue, and also clearly spells out there is no room for neutrality or fence-flopping in Him. words have power. it's truly terrifying to me to think that every word i have uttered, every curse, every shred of gossip and untruth and meanness, with or without thinking, will be used to judge me in the end. and it should be enough to scare the impulse out of me. i have struggled with this recently and am now recommitting to speak truth and kindness, even when i deem it undeserved, because i am undeserving.

celebrity look-alike vote and other misc. things

so, apparently it's celebrity look-alike week on facebook. again. who is in charge of this stuff, anyway? so, here are my celebrity look-alikes, and i cannot make a decision.

ginnifer goodwin, of big love fame

and mila kunis, best known as jackie on that 70s show.

who do you think i look like most? please vote in the comments.

in other news, i stayed in my pajamas all day yesterday, ate leftover pizza, didn't exercise (or even really get off the couch all that much), ignored the unfolded laundry and didn't brush my teeth until about 9 pm. i did start a painting though--i've been thinking about this painting since september. just now getting to it. and so far, i like it. a lot. it's a painting of grammi's house, for the law student's mom. hopefully i can take it slow and get it done this week. which, hopefully, signifies a return to painting more. i firmly believe it is one of my God-given talents and that i ignore it all too often.

this saturday the law student and i braved the cold and ice to go see jersey boys at the orpheum with mom and becca. so much fun! i loved all the songs and the cursing.



the law student just turned in his bar application on friday, after an extensive self-background check and a huuuuge money order. now he's churning out letters to former employers. i really don't know what all is involved. all i know is that it makes him completely stressed out and unable to sleep until 4 a.m. poor thing. i can't wait until this is all over, which is beginning to look like may 8--graduation day.

i think now i'll look up celebrity look-alikes for my friends. or finish payrolls. whichever.