Fast food

Well, I lined up in the bitter cold this morning to attend the local country chrismas craft show. Well, it was sunny and bright and Santa made an appearance, even singing Christmas carols. I found a few little things for myself, and some little gifts (jewellery). I seem to have a collection of little Christmas trees going. I got M his favourite banana walnut bread from the usual stand and passed on the miniature Mennonite cookie selection.

I think I'm taking a break from the cooking today, and we'll do fast food. Everyone always eats that.

News

Weird Secret Santa Office Gifts Can Reveal More About You Than You Might Like

Children Get A Fifth Of Daily Calories From Drinks: StatsCan

Salsa Verde

I bought some green salsa today, as suggested by Just a Plane Ride Away. It's made with tomatillos and I was really keen on trying it. It tastes a bit like regular salsa, just green. So it may be a good idea for my next Christmas party, something different.

Gosh, I had a busy day today. K had a checkup with the thyroid doctor. His levels were great, so he gets to stay on the same medication and follow up in about a year's time.

Oh, we woke up to a winter wonderland, but it didn't last. Maybe it's better that way. Although I did hear that they've started skiing up north in Barrie already.


News

Green Bin Program Hits Condos, Apartments

Great Gifts Under $30

Food for thought

I forget which magazine I was reading in a doctor's office, but the topic was communication within families and wills. It cited examples where misunderstandings about inheritances lead to lifelong estrangement. It said you have to be fair to your children. For example, if you helped one child with a downpayment on a house, and then leave him an equal share upon your death...the other siblings may have bad feelings toward that child. The fair thing would be to count that downpayment as part of his inheritance. This other example was about this good son that had supported his ailing mom for 18 years. He was financially well off and was happy to do it. Then he suddenly passed away and his sister, who is not as well off or able, is now having to cope with looking after their mother. It seems his will left everything to his wife who now refuses to help. The sister is no longer speaking to his wife. The best thing would've been for the brother to have stated his wishes in his will, but he never thought he'd pre-decease his mom. So it advises people to talk about their plans before the fact so there is no misunderstanding. Well, this was my quick interpretation of the article anyway. Food for thought.

Went for a quick walk in the cold with a friend. It's supposed to snow later this afternoon and into tomorrow. I bought stamps to mail my Christmas cards, it's such a habit now. Wonder if one day they will become obsolete?

News

HP launches first multi-touch laptop, the TouchSmart tx2

Stem cells restore hearing, vision in animals

Woman gets first trachea transplant without drugs

Baby it's cold outside

and they're predicting significant snow on Thursday.

Well, I'm proud of myself for putting air in my own tire this morning. The car was complaining about it and I didn't think I should wait too long. I've done it before, but I'm not too mechanical, being a more analytical type of person. So saying, I know a mom that goes to full serve for her gas fillups. I think most people do that for themselves, even in winter.

I found some date/almond rolls at the grocery that are low calorie and taste good if you like dates. The cashier told me they reminded her of a recipe she uses from her aunt that was rice krispies, nuts and date squares. I should google that.

My mom's follow-up appointment with the heart specialist went very quickly this afternoon, I was amazed when she was called in right on time especially as the waiting room was very busy. The waiting room serves several doctors, though. I waited an hour for my own doctor yesterday.

News

Toronto Could Get First Significant Snow For Thursday Morning Commute

Tooth Decay Contagious, Dentists Warn, And Parents Pass It To Their Children

Unhappy folks watch more TV, happy ones read: study

Kangaroo genes close to humans

Scientists find prehistoric "nuclear family"

Twilight

The new Twilight movie is all the rage here, opening this weekend I think. The stars are already famous and the movie hasn't even opened yet! They made a live appearance at a local TV station last week and there was a huge noisy crowd of teenagers all over the street outside.

I notice that people are sending a lot of emails from their iphones and blackberries these days, I thought graduating to a wireless laptop computer was a step up, but there are people now that are hooked up wherever they go with these other tools. Talk about addiction.

I'm 'purposefully engaged' this week with a round of doctor appointments. I just got back from mine, my mom has one tomorrow and K has one on Thursday. My doc would go and tell me to book a routine ultrasound, the one where you have to drink 4 glasses of water. (yuk) And my car is telling me it's time for service, this light comes on every time I start the engine.

The good news is that a friend of ours that suffered a major heart attack a little over a year ago told us he's recovered most of his heart function through all the new medication they have now. He only had about 35% of heart function right after the attack.

News

Discovery offers way of tracking cancer in blood

Monitoring your vices online

Toilet news and other things

My girlfriend made this lovely fresh fall arrangment for me, she's a florist and was over for pizza Friday night.

Notice all the birds in the trees?

Christmas display at the mall

You have to read this toilet story below! It starts 'Would you, if given the choice, forsake a roll of paper and select a toilet that offered a warm seat, a cleansing spray, and a waft of warm air to gently dry the essentials?'

It's that time of year again, when our newspaper delivery guy starts leaving our newspaper right at the front door instead of on the sidewalk. We usually leave a tip towards Christmas.

K has a big science project starting up on hydraulic and pneumatic systems, so I started doing a bit of research in order to be able to help him. I must admit that I'm getting immersed in this learning. Engineering has never been my forte, but you do get engrossed if you give yourself up to discovery and new challenges. I figure I'm warding off alzheimer's and keeping the brain sharp this way. Did you know the heart is a hydraulic system and that your lungs are pneumatic systems? Youtube has some great videos on pneumatic systems, so I'll get him to have a look at those today.

K's new favourite clothing store is now West 49, we got him a new hoodie sweater from there yesterday. He told me he likes lighter, bright colours and seems to know exactly what he wants the minute he sees it. I'm like that with furniture. My new favourite store is Pier 1 Imports.

M and L went to the tennis bash last night to pick up this huge trophy that she gets to keep for a year. They gave her a smaller one that is hers to keep. I heard the food was really good too. The bad news is she mislaid her emergency asthma spray that I just refilled days ago. Hopefully it will turn up this week, else I'll have to go get another one.

It snowed a bit this morning and there's still some on the grass.

News

Toilet habits are no laughing matter

Bed Bug Epidemic Hits Toronto

Other Planets

I found this neat floor planner software at The Clutter Diet. There is a free version and it allows you to re-arrange your furniture virtually. It's fun.

It's an awesome story below where they've captured images of planets outside our solar system. "It's only a matter of time before we get a dot that's blue and Earthlike" believes the astronomer who helped find them after an 8 year search. What do you think? I think there must be other earth-like planets out there, and maybe for good reason we haven't found them yet. Star Wars could become a reality.

News

Images captured of 4 planets outside solar system

Will Canada's high-end coffee sellers keep percolating?

Gadget geeks on a budget will likely trade down

Got their kicks Sneaker freaks may be making a smart investment