Eight glasses of water?
Hard to swallow
So now researchers say there is no evidence to suggest that one needs to drink eight glasses of water daily, which the Nutritional Council recommended in 1945 ("Myth busters," Dec. 22). Just think, all of these years we've been diluting ourselves!
and the boys made beaded book marks for all the relatives - Ty is holding up a handful, making it hard to see, but they were a big hit!
The boys got each other Legos ... they didn't even bother wrapping them, just left them in the bright yellow bags and made each other close their eyes when handed the bags to try and inject an element of surprise!
and that really is what it looked like! (it was two books inside.)
Stumbled across this new site the other day and I enjoy checking it out if not daily, at least once or twice a week. It's pictures of a coyote growing up as a pet (of sorts) and the story of how it came to be.
(Now the real test is will I ever make another pair?!)
Earlier this week we put up our tree. We had to find a fairly narrow one to fit in the space available and I think we did quite well! So does our holiday dog whose favorite spot these days is lying on the landing, nearly as high as the tree-top! He must feel really big when he's up there.
I've managed to do a bit more knitting here and there, a few rows at a a time (ok, more than a few rows at some times ... like when I'm watching Survivor or Amazing Race.)
and I don't own it's partner yet (well, I guess technically I own it, but there is some assembly required.) I didn't even have to buy the yarn (that was my birthday present! What a nice friend that Queen is) but even if my time was worth minimum wage, this is one high-priced sock.
Measure and tape ...
Rub carefully ...
Peel away ....
Wow! What a great decoration!
Was searching through old stuff last night (and not finding what I needed) but did come across this and thought I would share. I do'nt remember when it was taken but it has to be around 1982 or so ... so maybe 25 years old? We really did clean up nice!
Right now they are having great fun trying all the different sounds and effects of the keyboard - there are 500, Ben tells me! I'm sure we will all be discovering our favorites in the days to come.
I wish this was the view out my front window but alas, it is not. This is my parents' view, though, after the first snowfall of the year on the northern shore of Lake Superior.
This weekend I took a mitten-knitting class ... or, as I keep saying, a knitten-mitting class. I took the class with my friend The Knitting Queen, and I was feeling quite proud of myself last night. In the actual class, I finished the first of my pair of mittens. Yesterday, I made the second one, and started a new pair, getting mitten #1 about 1/3 done. Man, was I feeling accomplished!
Wow, that hardly seems possible. I remember so clearly what life was like when it was just Ben 'n' me, hanging out at home or ECFE or strolling the Mall with Sharon & Sylvia. He was always such a radiantly happy baby. I only remember two times ever that he cried seemingly without end ... both were in the wee hours, and one time I was in his bedroom with him and the other I had him downstairs ... eventually whatever it was ended ...
When Ty came along, Ben was still his cheery self, he never asked that the baby go back, and never was mean to him. It probably helped that Ty "brought" Ben a present in the hospital! Gradually Ben got taller, began reading, became interested in Legos, and then more technical games. The levels of his books, games, and Lego sets have all increased in complexity, but those three things remain his great loves in life!
Happy Birthday, My First-Born!
Could be a dangerous site to spend too much time on ... on the other hand could be a great place to do my Christmas shopping this year!
Here Ben welcomes his brother:
And here he is today, opening his gifts at the restaurant of his choosing -- Old Country Buffet. All the retired folks shuffled around us with smiles on their faces and wished him a happy day. 
He hates it when I say this, but MY BABY is so OLD!!! I just can't believe it's been ten years.
Today I did three handy-person (no gender assumptions here!) jobs around the house and I am feeling quite adept at wielding minor power tools :-) I have my Dad to thank for that. He has been building and fixing and constructing and re-doing things since I was a baby, and growing up I was often his right-hand-girl, 
assisting with all kinds of projects and jobs. I learned early on how to use most tools - either through using them myself or observing him closely. As a result, there are very few household repair-type jobs that I don't feel qualified to tackle. And there's something empowering about even little things - like installing a new smoke detector (one of today's jobs) in under 10 minutes! I went to the hardware store this morning (the local one, not Home Depot) and enjoyed walking up and down the aisles, 
looking at all the cool stuff and imagining the projects which would make purchase of said stuff necessary ... it was not unlike, in a small way, the feeling I get at bookstores. Just experiencing the richness of the offerings, knowing that whatever I need I could get, was a pleasant feeling.
Aww, I have a new fantasy. It's to be part of the Rock Bottom Remainders. Have you heard of them? It's a group which convenes once or twice a year to perform for charity. A band made completely of famous authors. Amy Tan. Stephen King. Dave Barry. Scott Turow. This list goes on and on. They are passably good though certainly will never stop writing for this gig. But they all look like they are having so much fun, and what an incredible group of people just to hang out and chat with.
And for three, I bought myself a present: The Tassimo.
The seasonal variation on a theme ...
And our personal favorite, the "make it look like something else altogether!"
