New Year's Resolutions

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted and that Christmas has come and gone. I had a lovely Christmas and hope you did as well--perhaps later I will go into some of the very nice gifts I received. But now we are on to New Years and that means New Years resolutions. As you know I recently read Bridget Jones's Diary in an attempt to inspire my own diary writing (which is working very nicely). Those of you who have read this fabulous book will know that it begins with a rather lengthy list of Bridget's resolution. Well, I thought some of these resolutions were quite good so I've decided to start off my new year by being lazy and copying some of her resolutions (I had initially thought I would copy all her resolutions cause I would have been guaranteed success in some of them like less alcohol and cigarettes, but then I decided while the continued victory over these things may have temporarily made me feel successful in the end I would have known that I was no better off than when I began--and being better off is kind of the whole point--also am obviously not going to be working on my grammar this year).

I Will Not:

1. Behave sluttishly around the house, but instead imagine others are watching. (read lazy for sluttishly)
2. Allow in-tray to rage out of control. (read mailbox for in-tray)
3. Get annoyed with family.
4. Get upset over men, but instead be poised and cool ice-queen. (only I don't want to be an ice-queen so strike that last bit)
5. B**** about anyone behind their backs, but be positive about everyone.
6. Sulk about have no boyfriend, but develop inner poise and authority and sense of self as woman of substance, complete without boyfriend.

I Will:

1. Reduce circumference of thighs by 3 inches (i.e. 1 1/2 inches each). (read lose 10 pounds here as I am hopeless at properly measuring thighs--how do you know if you are measuring in the same spot)
2. Purge flat of all extraneous matter.
3. Give all clothes which have not worn for two years or more to homeless. (read give all horrible clothes that I wear only when all my decent clothes are dirty away--feel sorry for homeless)
4. Improve career and find new job with potential.
5. Make better use of time. (read watch less tv here--yeah for writers strike as soon will be nothing good to watch on tv anyway)
6. Not go out every night but stay in and read books and listen to classical music. (very good match for no. 5)
7. Go to gym three times a week not merely to buy sandwich. (hurrah, my gym doesn't even sell sandwiches)
8. Make up compilation "mood" tapes so can have tapes ready with all favorite romantic/dancing/rousing/feminist etc. tracks assembled instead of turning into drink-sodden DJ-style person with tapes scattered all over floor.

Also, feel that I should put up some good religious things:

1. Will read Book of Mormon again at least once. (needn't correspond with Sunday School lessons since am currently exiled to nursery)
2. Will read Joseph Smith lessons. (Will correspond with Relief Society Lessons as a way of uniting with my sisters everywhere)
3. Will read from Preach My Gospel at least 10 minutes every day.
4. Will continue good work of writing in journal.
5. Will continue good work of Family History.

Also will be reporting once a month to you on my resolutions as a means of forcing myself to do at least some of them.

Facts That You May Possibly Find Interesting

Believe it or not, you can read what follows.

I cdnuolt blveiee, taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd, waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor, of the hmuan mnid, Aoccdrnig to rscheearch, at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer, in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng, is taht the frist, and lsat ltteer, be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses, and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae, the huamn mnid, deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod, as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?

Also did you know that it is impossible, to lick your elbow.

Coca-Cola, was originally green.

The State, with the highest percentage of people, who walk to work is Alaska

The cost of raising a medium-size dog, to the age of eleven: $16,400

And finally, 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

Sorry, it just needed to be a lazy post day.

Resolution No. 1

So I went to my spinning class for the first time in 6 weeks last night. (I was actually sick for six weeks) I hadn't coughed once all day so I thought it was finally time to get my butt back in gear. Well it took about 10 minutes into the workout--just the warm up--until I started to feel the burn in my lungs. It was the kind of burn you might feel if you run outdoors in cold weather really hard and for a long time. I guess that I'm not entirely ready to work out--or at least not work out too hard. The problem is that once my lungs do recover enough for me to get a good workout my legs will probably no longer be able to do the work. So in spite of my current state of not being able to work out, I've decided to post my first New Year's resolution.

1. I would like to lose 10 pounds.

I always hate to make these kind of resolutions (weight loss)--and haven't actually done so before--I suppose my goal should be more along the lines of I want to be healthier by exercising 3 times a week, but I really want to lose 10 pounds and when I get back to working out again it should be totally doable: less than a pound a month. So there it is. Resolution number 1 is publicly recorded.

Merry...errrr...Holidays

Let's face it, most of you are probably not going to get a Christmas card from me. This isn't because I don't have the desire to send you a Christmas card, because I do have the desire. It is just that sometimes desire and action are just not compatible (you can call if lazy if you want or even a personal failing on my part, but I prefer to think of it in happier terms that tend not to place the blame entirely on my shoulders)--plus I don't even know some of you. So in the spirit of making that attempt to "send" Christmas cards, I present you, my internet friends and family, with a Christmas card...errr a Holiday card (in the spirit of the kind of political correctness that I can live with because I fully recognize that some of you will be celebrating Hanukah, Kwanza, or perhaps nothing at and what you celebrate neither destroys or detracts from my celebrations or the goodwill I have toward each of you.) Plus my sister says that until I get married I am not an adult (even though I am now 32) and not required to do adult things like send Christmas cards.

Happy Holidays

With Much Love,

Yankee Girl

Man-Candy Monday: Regency Men

I will be at a training meeting for most of the day Monday so I thought I would post something a bit early that you could enjoy on Monday.

Day of Shame

So former Senator Mitchell released his report on steroids in baseball and even though we pretty much knew that the information was going to paint baseball in a horrible light, it is still a sad, sad day. For my part, I would just like to say that I would like to see a one-strike-and-you're-out policy. I don't think steroids (and the like) have any place in baseball and a strict and immediate policy would be the most effective way to keep them out. Additionally, I think the whole asterisk thing next to Barry Bonds name is silly. Rather, I don't think he (and others like him) should even be on the list of homerun hitters (or other like lists). What has been accomplished by cheaters has no place with what has been accomplished by the greats without steroids. Having said my bit, I am fully aware that nothing like this will be implemented because the suits in baseball aren't interested in the integrity of the sport. But I have hope that with this report we may begin to see some change that will bring some of the greatness of the sport back.

Dish Rags

Dish rags for everyone. Last night, in a small attempt on my part to break through the isolation of serving in the nursery, I attended a Relief Society crochet class. These classes (or get togethers) will take place once a month with fun new patterns each month. I must admit that when I first found out that we would be making dish rags this month I was not thrilled by the notion. I mean, I can purchase them cheaper already complete than I can by purchasing the materials and spending my time making them. But I figured that it was a good first step in learning how to crochet. I was the first to arrive (and I was 10 minutes late) and didn't have the correct materials (not my fault--being isolated in nursery no one told me until it was too late that the list of supplies had changed from what was originally announced) but it all worked out thanks to some lovely sisters in my ward. One funny near-mishap nearly occurred when I was asked how much experience I had and I was on the cusp of replying that I was a crochet virgin, but one look at the woman that asked me and I knew that kind of a comment would not be appreciated. I was the youngest one there by about 20 years so I can't exactly say that the evening was roaring fun, but it was enjoyable. Much of the conversation of the evening revolved around female operations (by which I believe they meant hysterectomies) and people who had died and were perhaps in the process of dying. At one point one of the sweet women mentioned that I was very quiet and while I wanted to point out that I don't really have any experience with hysterectomies, I merely claimed that I need to concentrate or I would lose what I was doing--which wasn't a lie. I think next time, though, I will try to recruit someone a bit closer to my age. So who wants a dish rag?

Skipping Christmas

At the risk of delving back into negativity, I've just finished reading Skipping Christmas by John Grisham and I hated it. I spent the entire book wondering why so much effort was being wasted caring what the neighbors thought and why so much energy was being wasted by the neighbors trying to enforce their ideas of Christmas on others. Furthermore, I found the characters to be entirely selfish, racist, and stupid. Even the presentation of the perfect gift at the end couldn't save this book for me. I hated it. I am now in need of a good book to read. Any suggestions?

Moment of Silence

Please hold a moment of silence for my snowman (which you can now view in all of his former glory a couple of posts down). That is indeed his head sitting quietly at his feet.
Good news, though, it finally snowed properly over the weekend so I can now resurrect Mr. Snowman in even more perfection than he previously knew.

English Teachers

I recently overheard a few of my students talking about some teachers at the particular Second Ed. institution I am employed by. One of them was complaining about a particular teacher with the basic complaints that this teacher requires students to figure out how the teacher thinks and mimic it. In a nutshell, the student was complaining because the teacher doesn't teach (the student actually defined teaching as teaching a student how to think not teaching the student the "correct" answer to bubble in on a test). One of the other students tried to stand up for this teacher by saying that the teacher was a great teacher because he/she taught the student that books like Jane Eyre are truly horrible books, but if you skip the book and go right to the Cliff notes the story is actually pretty good. AHGGGGG!!!! I don't even know what else to say. The first student summed up his argument by saying that the problem with unions is that they protect the incompetent. I've got to say that I'm beginning to agree with him because this kind of teaching is just so incredibly wrong.

Concert Tickets

So about 4 months ago I won a 6 month membership to the Brad Paisley fan club. Now, I'm not a huge country fan, but a free membership is free so I took it--besides if I were to like country I would definitely like Brad Paisley since so many of his songs are funny and charming. So now Brad is coming in concert and my sister and I took advantage of my free membership and bought special VIP tickets before tickets even went on sale to the rest of you suckers. Which means I am now going to my 2nd country concert--which is a lot since, like I already said, I don't like country music a whole lot. Since I like lists, I thought this would be a good time to give you my incredibly extensive list of concerts I have attended. Please feel free to let me know what concerts you have attended in your life--especially your first.

1. New Kids on the Block (My very first concert--I was like 15; Classic)
2. Tommy Page (Another Classic)
3. James Taylor (A true classic--this is where I learned to identify the smell of marijuana)
4. Barenaked Ladies (Best concert ever)
5. Creed (Who can argue with Scott Stapp in leather pants)
6. Martina McBride (But I only attended half the concert--got in free)
7. LeAnn Rimes (I was surprised at how much I liked this concert--also free)

There it is. My extensive lists of concerts I have attended. It really is a sad sort of short list, but I still have time to make it better.

Also, don't forget to check out my sad, sad snowman in the post below.

Confessions of a Complete Failure

So, I've pretty much finished up my Christmas shopping. I will probably need to come up with a few extra gifts (just in case)--maybe some plates of cookies, but otherwise I am done. I still have the whole Christmas card thing to settle. I've always been pretty bad about sending them out, but I'm going to try harder this year. I've just figured out the menus for our Christmas Eve dinner and our Christmas Eve buffet (really looking forward to that). But I have just realized that I am a complete failure in the whole get into the Christmas spirit. I haven't attended a single Christmas concert or event and have no current plans to do so. I haven't watched a single Christmas TV special or movie in its entirety (I saw bits of A Very Shrek Christmas and Rudolph). I decided against going to the work Christmas party since those are just not fun to got to when you don't have a significant other and everyone else does. I haven't had any Christmas candy or cookies. And perhaps the most embarrassing, I haven't listened to any Christmas music (hangs head in shame). I intend to rectify the lack of Christmas music in my life today, but still I need a few more suggestions on how to get in the spirit.

I did make a rather sad snowman with my niece Ellie. Still I suppose it counts for some spirit.

5 Things To Do Before I Die

A lot of people have lists of things to do before they die so as a nod to the pack, I thought I would create my own list for your purusal, but I've decided to keep it short and sweet. I figure that I can update and change it as I accomplish any of these items thereby keeping my list both manageable and doable (I can just imagine people at age 97 looking over their list in smuggness and then suddenly freaking out when they realize that they have overlooked number 67: See Backstreet Boys live in concert, something that they no longer can do as all the Backstreet Boys are dead by this time making their list permanently incomplete.).


5 Things To Do Before I Die
In no specific order


1. See the Yankees play live in New York

2. Be fluent in a second language

3. Learn to play the violin

4. See every Shakespeare play performed live: 24 to go (or 22 if I have seen Lear & Shrew--can't remember)

5. Visit every state in the United States: 31 to go

Too Early for Chocolate?

I know there is a definite idea around when it is appropriate to drink alcohol and when it is too early, but I am wondering if there are similar restrictions concerning chocolate (or candy in general). I've been at work for an entire hour now (since 7am) and have a small stash, in this case, of Reece's Pieces (I left the good British chocolate that I recently got in the mail home in anticipation of soon being completely recovered from the flu and being able to enjoy said British chocolate fully) and I just can't decide if it is too early to start digging in. There is a large part of me that keeps saying: yes, it is too early; chocolate is not a breakfast food; and I have recently brushed my teeth and should let the effects of the toothpaste sink in a little more before taking specific steps to destroy my teeth. But then there is a small part of me that says: chocolate (and by default candy) is actually one of the main food groups and therefore can and should be eaten as opportunity arises despite time of day. What say you?

New Career Option

A brand new career path opened up for me yesterday when I took my seat for the first time as an official time keeper at a high school girl's basketball game (I was also in charge of the buzzer--the buzzer which is primarily used to buzz the officials to point out something that they have missed or don't know. I can practically hear the envy of some of you at having not just the opportunity but the responsibility of buzzing referees). I was a little nervous, at first, that I would start the clock at the wrong time or forget to stop the clock at the right time (both mistakes I made, but not badly) but as time went I on and I began to get used to pushing the buttons, I really started to enjoy it. Now the reason I say this may be a new career option is that I actually get paid more to push a button at basketball games than I get to supervise college courses--see this is what I have been talking about, public education is so screwed up.

Now, for a semi-related question, How does one go about telling a guy that his fly is open? It is immediately awkward to point out because it immediately becomes apparent to the person with their fly open that you were looking at that section of their body. One of the refs last night had his fly open (the only reason I noticed it is that he walked up to the desk I was sitting at and stood there for a while and his fly just happened to be at my eye level--seriously people!) and I didn't know what to do. In the end I did nothing, but did feel guilty about it. After halftime, though, the fly was up so I felt a bit better.

Hurrah for Wednesdays

I'm so very happy it is Wednesday. Wednesdays are good days. Wednesdays, while not as good as say Saturday or Friday or even Thursday (little Friday), are great because they mean the week is half over. If I wait to celebrate Wednesday until after work it is even better because then the work week is more than half over. Wednesdays are very empowering as they always make me believe that the worst is behind me and that I can make a couple of more days until the freedom of the weekend. Another great reason for loving Wednesdays is that is my favorite night for television watching. It starts off with Pushing Daisies and finishes up with my favorite piece of man candy on CSI: NY. I was just over on Wikipedia looking up the word Wednesday with high hopes of giving you some fascinating little tidbit about this wonderful day, but apparently beloved as it is it is not very interesting. Wikipedia did, though, inform me that it is a very popular tradition in the United States to wear a sweater vest on Wednesdays leading to Wednesdays being called Vestday--popular tradition? I've never heard of that. I really must find a more reliable source for quick information.

In a non-Wednesday related thought, we didn't get snow. Now when we do finally have snow I will probably curse it, but right now I'd kind of like a bit of snow--if for no other reason than that I would really like to wear my so cute boots. When I said that my preparedness was going to stave off the snow, I wasn't really serious.

And finally, for those of you who dying to know: I'm up to 9 cups of water a day and it really hasn't been very hard to drink that much. I feel all sorts of healthy, my kidneys are all flushed out, and I am very justified for smugly looking down on all of you soda drinkers--for shame. For those of you who were wondering, I'm already more than halfway through my bathroom book Bridget Jones's Diary.

Private Education

I hate to say this but the longer I work in public education the more dissatisfied I am with the so-called education that is being offered. Now before teachers everywhere try to hunt me down, I am obviously not trying to say that that all teachers everywhere are bad or that it is impossible to get a good education through the public school system. I'm just saying that I believe there is clearly a problem on several fronts of public education (take your pick from poorly qualified teachers, teachers who merely go through the motions of keeping current on their qualifications, or counselors who haven't a clue or simply couldn't be bothered to do their job properly--my latest pet peeve is teachers that are more interested in being their students best friends than in teaching them). In this system it falls increasingly on parents to be in the know and be thoroughly involved in their children's education--something that should be happening even in an ideal education system, but is all the more important in a system that is failing its students.

Now, I don't have children of my own to worry about, but I do have nieces and I am worried. So, in an attempt to do my part in my nieces education I have decided to begin supplementing their education--mommy and daddy will have to do the worrying about their classroom learning. My first attempt at this took place last Wednesday with my four-year-old niece Tess. We went up to the Museum of Fine Arts to view that Andy Warhol exhibit. I thought this was a very good introduction to the Arts for a four year old since Warhol is very colorful--my niece very much appreciated his use of pink. Her favorites were the Marilyns and the Maos. I really fancied the works on Jackie and John F. Kennedy, but the highlight for me was when my niece took a hold of my hand and told me she loved me so much because I'm perfect. I think it is safe to say that we had some fun together and are both looking forward to doing something together again. Unfortunately, Tess doesn't live near me so our supplemental activities won't be entirely regular (the other nieces are only 1 so I am going to give them a couple more years before inflicting the arts on them), but it is a start that I'm rather pleased with. Sorry no pictures. I had a temporary brain freeze over Thanksgiving and hardly took any photos at all.

**small note on the museum: it was surprisingly nice and had a decent collection--I am a fan of dutch artists and was pleased to find several in the regular collection. My one real complaint is that the shop was complete rubbish. We went in hoping to find a nice Warhol postcard to remember our outing by, but there were no post cards of the exhibit at all and only 2 or 3 of the regular exhibit. Very disappointing.

I am a prolific journal/diary starter. I have started so many journals/diaries that they are really not to be counted. I guess you could say that I am very good at starting a journal/diary. The part I struggle with is the whole regular writing thing that is expected of journal/diary writers. The only time I have ever been very good was when I was in Northern Ireland--even then I don't think I wrote an entry the last 2 or 3 months of my stay there. But since returning, I have been having a hard time convincing myself that there is something to write about--which is horrible because I haven't stopped thinking, doing, saying, etc. all the things that I did in Ireland it is just that the locale doesn't seem quite so cool. But I have recently decided to once again make the attempt and have gone so far as to purchase a wonderful, new journal that I am determined to finish so as to be able to proudly display it next to my Ireland journal.


It's gorgeous, isn't it? In case you can't tell, it is a lovely red leather. I absolutely love it and must finish it because it really must be displayed. As a means of inspiring me to write I have decided to re-read Bridget Jones' Diary. This is actually a great book for me to start reading right now since I was just saying in my last post that I need a good bathroom read (I drank 8 cups of water yesterday and I'm up to 5 cups of water today). One side effect that you may need to brace yourselves for is a temporary penchant to drop the subject from my sentences, an over use of the phrase "in the manner of," and possibly a preoccupation with being eaten by Alsatians.


I was just thinking about another book I just finished titled Book of a Thousand Days which, like Bridget Jones' Diary, is a diary. Interestingly, both these books books could be said to be loosely about how an ordinary (but to those who really know them obviously wonderful) girl makes her way in the world and through all the ups and downs of life ends up with a most amazing man. Is this how journals/diaries work? Could it be then that the reason I, an ordinary (yet possibly wonderful) girl, am still single is because I have yet to finish a journal? Food for thought? or horrible way to set wonderful girls up for disappointment? Ask me again in a year.

Randomness

So, I haven't anything really interesting to post about, but I thought I should at least attempt to put a post up as there probably won't be many more posts this Thanksgiving week (not that there were many last week).

The last few days I have been trying to be really good about my water intake. I did a search on CNN about how much water I should be drinking everyday and they provided a couple of different theories. One of the theories was called the replacement theory and it basically states that just to replace the water that is used by your body each day a female adult should be drinking 9 cups of water (adult males should be drinking 13 cups). This, I understand, takes into account that about 20% of the food that we intake is made of water. Now up until recently, I was lucky to get in 2 cups of water (or water related substance) a day. Not very good. So, like I said, I have been trying to be good--or at least better--about my water intake. So far I have only reached a high of 7 glasses of water in a single day. The most noticeable benefit is that my skin actually does look lots better and I'm not using as much lip balm. The most noticeable downside is all my extra bathroom time. I could possibly turn this into another high if I obtain a good bathroom read.

I've titled my post randomness and so let's now randomly continue. Last night I dreamed that I was married to Prince William.

Now if you were paying attention to my man-candy post you will have noticed that Prince William doesn't at all fit into my tall, dark, and handsome scheme. Sure he is tall and a bit handsome (if a bit young), but he doesn't have the dark thing going on at all. So where did my little dream about him come from? Last night before going to bed I watched a PBS show about Windsor castle. The show was actually mostly about Prince Philip so I suppose I should be happy that I didn't dream I was married to Prince Philip instead.

Although, all those medal are pretty cool looking. The funny part of the dream was that in the dream I had convinced William to convert, which would be tricky since I believe he is in line to be the leader of the Church of England, commit to changing diapers, making beds, and doing laundry--I guess to make us more normal. But the thing is, if I marry royalty it would seem that not having to make my bed and do laundry would be one of the reasons behind the marriage in the first place. I mean really, if I want to be all normal I'll marry someone normal; if I don't ever want to clean another bathroom I'll marry royalty. We also had two sons named Aiden and Patrick--I'm pretty sure choosing Irish names would not go over very well in the British public. So pretty much I destroyed British royalty in my dream last night by ruining their church leadership, getting rid of all the royal perks, and naming my children after the Irish. I'm not really sure where all this hostility toward the British is coming from since I really do like them and their chocolate a lot. All I can really say to the Brits is that I'm sure you'll agree with me that Kate is a much better option than me.

Oh, I need another bathroom break.

It Was Murder!

I was going to do another copout post on account that I am still a little woozy on my feet, but I didn't get around to taking a picture that must go with my copout post for it to be of any worth so instead you get to hear a little story about my family genealogy.

Family genealogy is something that I have been interested in for some time now and recently I have had the time, my desire, and a little success all correspond together. My mother is also really getting into doing the research and this little story actually comes from some research my mother did.

One bright sunny day my mother called me and declared (in a rather excited voice) that my great-great grandfather had been murdered. (Not that she was happy that he had been murdered, but it is a bit uncommon and a bit interesting.) She gave me the date of his death and I took the research from there by doing an article search in the Boston Globe's archives. Sure enough there were like 5 or 6 articles all about it. Unfortunately, since the Globe is a money-making newspaper they would not let me read the articles before forking over some of my money. So I relayed the information back to my mom and let her pay for the articles (don't judge--it was her research anyway. I was just helping out.). Then I had to wait for her to finish work and come home with the articles before I could learn all the details of my great-great grandfather's murder. In the ensuing hours I worried that he was killed in a drunken bar fight--it is an unfair stereotype to assume that being Irish his murder would automatically revolve around being drunk especially since I have lived in Ireland and know the character of a good may Irishpersons...or maybe that is why I jumped to the unfair stereotype (I'm kidding, I'm kidding).

Anyway, she eventually did come home and read through the articles only to find that the murder did in fact revolve around a drunken brawl. The good news was that my great-great grandfather was likely not drunk and was completely innocent. Apparently my great-great grandfather was at the local bar having a friendly drink when a couple of adult bullies began to beat up an old man who they claimed owed them money (as the court record would later show the bullies actually owed the old man money). Well regardless of who owed the money my great-great grandfather didn't think it was right that two men in their 30s should be beating up an old man and stepped in and broke up the fight. The two bullies didn't take too kindly to this and stole a large knife from the bar and followed my great-great grandfather home. Shortly before he actually reached home the two men attacked him from behind in the street and slit his throat. There was a policeman nearby who was able to sort out what had happened, but my great-great grandfather died almost immediately on the scene. I was further pleased to read in one of the articles that my great-great grandfather was considered by his neighbors to be a good father and husband and a hard worker. Now, just in case you were wondering what happened to the bullies…they were both locked up for a very long time and were both reported in the newspapers to be ne’er-do-wells.

So that is my interesting little story about my family as discovered in researching our family history. Now, obviously I wish that he hadn't been murdered especially in the manner that he did die cause it just sounds horrible, but also because it was about 1895 and he left his wife with something like 8 young children and it must have been truly hard for them to even survive. Still, it makes for a good story and finding interesting things like this is good incentive to keep on looking through all the records--hopefully for a few more happily-ever-after stories.

Who Are You Going to Vote For?

I'm not feeling great today so I thought I would just give you a link and let you go have some fun somewhere else.

If you are still unsure who you are going to support in the 2008 Presidential election, you can go here and take an online quiz that will match you up with the candidate that you have the most in common with regarding the issues (obviously not a comprehensive list and so should not be taken as the end all as far as who you choose to vote for--just a bit of fun). I scored a 25 with Mitt Romney (even though I feel very strongly about a couple issues that I disagree with Mitt on). Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton all came in second with 20 points. Interesting result for me, huh?

What were your results?

Preparedness

So recently I spotted these fun rain boots (or galoshes or wellies or whatever else you would like to call them) and decided that I had to have them. I bought them a half a size too big so that I could wear thermal socks with them and turn them into my winter boots—much cuter than the faux-fur lined options I’ve been spotting around town. Another great thing about these really cute boots is that they actually stand-in as functional sculpture in my bedroom where they stand beside a black bookcase and in front of a red-brick colored wall. Of course, one of the most important things to consider (and something I expect every single one of you to begin sending in your thanks for) is that now that I am prepared for rain, slush, hail, or snow, we will most certainly have the warmest, driest winter on record. (Not that I’m trying to discount global warming)

It is the First Tuesday of November

What are you doing reading this? Go Vote!

Man-Candy Monday: My Five

Cause sometimes you just need a little something more to get you through a Monday.

For any of you who are wondering how to blog well, may I suggest a visit to my friend Nemesis' site. One of my favorite label's that she uses is Men I Love which she often also refers to as Man Candy. So as a way to pay homage to her genius, I present to you my own Man Candy.

In the manner of Friends I am open to having 5 men on my freebie list (that I wouldn't actually sleep with given the chance, until of course one of them comes to his senses, drops the perfectly beautiful girl that they are with, and after dropping to one knee marries me. But until then I can still think nice things about them), but can only think of 4 for now so I'll have to keep you updated on that elusive no. 5. Now without any further ado:

Viggo Mortensen but only when he is Aragon and is dripping wet.

Derek Jeter had to make the list both for his good looks and his overall stand-up guyness.

Iaon Gruffudd really do I have to explain why? I hope Nemesis will forgive me for trespassing on her list of future husbands, but really I think I might have seen him first.

Eddie Cahill who was actually on Friends, but I didn't fancy him at all until he cut his hair and was allowed to take on his natural New York accent in his role on CSI: NY. In fact, I've got to say that I do think that at least half of his attractiveness stems from his very nice accent and his funny comments on the show. The pic doesn't really do him justice but I couldn't really find one that did. I guess you'll just have to go watch the show.



Any ideas on a no. 5?

Halloween 2

Don't get too excited about multiple posts in one day--or maybe you should because it almost certainly will never happen again. I saw this over at Another Shade of Grey's site and thought it needed to be shared.

Tick or Treat

Happy Day-After Halloween

I had a wonderful Halloween and hope you did as well. The weather was so great! This year one of my sisters took over the cooking responsibilities and made a fabulous (and very hot) chili. She has a great recipe for veggie chili with a twist that adds things like potatoes. It really made it a fun new flavor for all of us (did I say it was hot? cause it was hot). We also had some lovely crusty bread to go along with it. I was in charge of the drinks and went with the classic standby of milk which I then turned into ghosts. Then two of the nieces took the neighborhood by storm with their oh, so cute costumes. They were ready to hit the road far before their parents were. We didn't have too many trick or treaters so we have a ton of candy--still trying to decide if that is a good thing or not. Below you'll find a few pictures of the fun.

Now, on a completely different point that I had promised not to bring up again until after Thanksgiving--A certain local radio station is playing Christmas music. And they are not just playing a few Christmas songs scattered in their mix; It is all Christmas music. I made the discovery this morning while I was driving to work and my first response was one of great indignation: It is not Christmas! I like Thanksging! It is a perfectly good holiday to celebrate! But, then I didn't change the channel.

Just a Wee Bit Sensitive

So I just have to tell this story about my sweet niece. She and I were hanging out one day reading when her father started telling me a story about her bathroom habits. Apparently, my niece requires her privacy when pooping. Let me clarify a little. My niece is one year old and is still, obviously, in diapers. So whenever she feels the need to poop she will drop whatever she is doing and move behind the lazy-boy recliner in the family room to gain a little privacy. There she grunts a little, stiffens up a bit, and does her business. Well, one particular time she happened to be reading the Costco coupon brochure when urgency required her to stop and move behind the recliner. She stayed there very briefly before coming out to retrieve her Costco ads and then return to finish her business behind the recliner. Well, both her dad and I found this story hilarious and began laughing. Well, my sweet niece didn't find us laughing at her bathroom habits quite as funny. Her eyes went all sad-puppy on us and her bottom lip started quivering and then she let it all break out into full on tears which continued for sometime and completely put her off her dinner.


Sorry honey. We love you. We will bring this story up again, though, when you hit your teen years—but only because we do love you.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Okay, so technically it isn't looking a whole lot like Christmas right now, but it was on Sunday and that has completely put me in the mood for Christmas and all things Christmas. That has meant that in a completely unprecedented act I have begun...wait for it...to Christmas shop! Yes, I have now officially purchased 2 entire Christmas gifts. Normally I run frantically through stores the week of Christmas silently cursing anyone who is walking too slow or standing in line in front of me. This, obviously, does not help get me in the spirit of Christmas and sometimes knocks any spirit I may have previously gained right out of me. This year, with any luck, will be different. Having successfully completed my Christmas shopping (maybe even before Thanksgiving), I can avoid the malls and all their gaudy decorations and Chipmunks Christmas carols. Instead, I can focus on all the lovely aspects of Christmas such as family, the music, the Christmas performances, and (gasp) the birth of Christ. Now for those of you who are thinking it is a bit premature to have a Christmas post (I do realize that we haven't even celebrated Halloween or Thanksgiving), this will be my last Christmas post until after Thanksgiving--that is unless I do actually finish my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving in which case you will all be forced to celebrate with me.

Hmmmm, are you wondering if you're going to be the lucky gift recipient?

Merry Christmas

Black October

So in a moment of bored brillance I decided to dye my hair. In the past I have always gone lighter than my natural color so this time I thought I would try darker. By darker I was thinking a nice dark brown--something that would go well with all the nice fall colors and my dark sweaters. What I got was black. And what I mean by black is BLACK. It was so black that it was nearly blue. After I got over the initial shock of it (and washed it about 20 times so that it faded into a less shocking black) I started to like it. Then when I started heading out in public again I received enough compliments on how well it suited me that I really started embrassing it. I still have to avoid a certain bathroom lighting scheme that continues to send uncomfortable shock waves through me and I haven't quite brought myself to wear a light color next my dark hair for fear the BLACK would pop back out, but on the plus side I have been told it is sexy (by a student I work with---soooo entirely inappropriate). Also, it perhaps suits my mood a little since the Yankees are out of the race for the World Series yet again.