Laugh for the Day

This letter in the newspaper yesterday morning made me giggle ... (and giggle harder at the thought of how many people won't get it!)

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!

Thanks, E-Girls!

One of the favored gifts this year for the boys came from the E-Girls of Denver (daughters of my friend Alice, their names all start with "E".) They sent the boys message fans - you can set a personalized message in the fan blades - it's magic if you ask me - and it lights up whatever you want it to. Here, Ben makes his into a thank you note!

And here, Ty lets the world know what is on his mind:

Merry Christmas!

We had a good couple of days spent with family, exchanging gifts, greetings, and good wishes. The boys & I were buy until the last minute, finishing up some gifts we made. I made mittens for my sister-in-law and neice, 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!

Christmas Eve we spent at our house. Steve came over, too, and we all exchanged gifts.


The boys got Steve an automatic-adjusting wrench, and they got me season 10 of Friends - the final season, which I never saw and so now can satisfy my curiosity about what exactly happened to Monica, Rachel, and all the rest!


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!

Ben's gift from me came in a huge triangular box -- he called it the industrial strength Toblerone, and that really is what it looked like! (it was two books inside.)


On Christmas morning Santa had come to Steve's so we were all there for the "big" gifts. Both boys got a Nintendo DS ... which is what they really, really wanted (and were pretty confident they were getting), and that was the end of that ... they played pretty much the rest of the day!



In the afternoon we went to Steve's sister's house for lunch, then in the evening we went to my brother's house for dinner - a long, full, day.




More pictures and details coming later :-)

huh?

There is a new commercial on TV these days which should be meaningful and powerful. It's about girls in Africa who can't go to school for a few days each month ... because they lack "protection" - at least that's what I think they call it, though right now as I type it that sounds like birth control, which they probably don't have either but that is a whole-nother issue.

Anyway, the "tagline" of this commercial (which is for Kotex, and touts that when US consumers purchase Kotex produtcts, the company will now donate products to these girls so they don't have to miss school) is "Use your period for good."

Ummm, as opposed to using your period for evil?

Finally -- all these years it's just been a hassle -- but now women can unite. And. use. our. periods. for. good.

I will sleep better tonight.

The Daily Coyote

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.

There is a part of me that wistfully wants to live this woman's life. When I was young I thought I would live a life like hers once I was all grown up. Ah well! I'll just have to make due with my poodle and bichon.

Two Weeks Left

I just spent a few minutes reading my final posts of 2006. I was specifically looking to see if I had made any New Year's Resolutions so I could report in on how I did. While I wrote about the making of resolutions, I didn't exactly make any, other than to say that I was starting Tae Kwon Do which should help me lose weight and be more fit.

Tae Kwon Do lasted until I went to Africa this summer and then I never got around to starting up again. Now I've joined Snap Fitness, and hopefully that will last longer (and, BTW, I can bring free guests any time if anyone wants to check it out!)

As Christmas is drawing near and the end of the year is naturally following, I do find myself thinking about what I want from 2008. 2007 has been filled with so much that I did not plan on, and so much of the change has been so good but some of it is frustrating. I hope that in 2008 I can find ways to better manage those parts of my life which currently frustrate me. Some of it is professional, some of it personal, some of it financial, some of it physical.

I am going to try to come up with a tangible list of resolutions for the coming year. Measureable resolutions. And realistic. (might be a pretty short list!) So that a year from now, when I look back, I can compare where my life is then with where it is now. And celebrate.

TA-DA!!!!

Not only are they both done, but they are both the same size and the stripes even mostly kinda match up! Woo-hoo! (Now the real test is will I ever make another pair?!)

O, Christmas Tree

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.

New Knitting

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.)

I did another Amazing Shrinking Bag to send to a friend for her birthday. This time I only did the shrinking process once so it ended up being the right size (according to the pattern.)

Then this weekend the Knitting Queen came over to teach me how to make socks.

By my calculations, this is the most expensive sock I have ever owned, 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.

Luckily I really, really like it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLA!!!!!!!

She knows how to party ....

Home for the Holidays

My friend Shawn introduced me to this company ... One trip through the website and I was hooked. Measure and tape ...
Rub carefully ...
Peel away ....
Wow! What a great decoration!