Miscellaneous thoughts

Mom, here's an article for you to read. It's on the topic of donating to charity on behalf of your loved ones instead of giving them gifts!

Well, my sister that lives in California told me that a neighbour's 21 year old university-aged son just committed suicide. Apparently there's been 4 this year at Stanford University. We really have to be careful of stress in young kids. Talk to your children?

Can you believe a company like GM could go bankrupt? The world must be coming to an end.

I saw a young man leaving the gym this morning with a double stroller containing kids that couldn't have been more than 6 months old. He was on his own. It's usually a mom in that scenario. They have a child minding service there while you work out.

News

Are You A Sugar Addict?

Hot Drinks Help Fight Common Cold: Study

Top 10 food trends of 2008

Amish gene trait may inspire heart protection

A sign of the times

So I'm in Chapter's book store browsing this morning. I decided to search online at one of their kiosks for a book. I had to get help 'excuse me, but is there a mouse on this computer?' The answer 'it's touch screen, touch the screen'. Well, it did have a big sign on it that said 'touch the screen'! Ok, the last time I was in there searching it was a regular computer!

I cooked a lot today. I made beef stir-fry with ginger, and then I sauteed some mushrooms. I also roasted (baked) some cauliflower and zucchini, along with baked salmon fillets.

K has his middle school music concert tonight. L emails me from school occasionally during the day regarding schedule changes, etc. Sort of like she's at the office!

Well, I should wrap some gifts.

News

Consumers dreaming of a cheaper Christmas

Compression Wear

Our driveway is like a sheet of ice today, I did try to salt it down. M had some electrical wires delivered and I saw the delivery man having some fun skating down to his truck.

I'm currently subscribing to Chatelaine Magazine and I received this recipe for
Chunky country fries . The neat thing about it is that it uses egg whites instead of oil to coat and bake the fries in and claims it looks and tastes like the real thing! Worth a try don't you think?

I have an adventure story in my news today. And have you ever heard of compression athletic wear? It's the latest thing according to the story below.

News

Crash survivor didn't think he would 'make it out'

Silver-woven and to all a good tight fit

Seven Things Meme and a funny post

Choose this award Or this award



I was 'tagged' by Japra

Here are the rules:
1. Do five jumping jacks
2. Balance on one foot.
3. Call a friend to say hi.
4. Take a hot bath.
5. Hug your kid or your dog.
6. Post seven (or whatever you have time for) random things about yourself.

Then, choose your award(s) and i.d. five people (or whatever) for the meme. Oh yeah, and let the people know you chose them. Oh yeah, and link back to me"



So, here are my "Seven Things"

1. I love flowers, they're so beautiful
2. I had at least 50 penpals from around the world when I was a teenager. It was so fun receiving all this mail. (relatively inexpensive hobby) I remember receiving this package of pastries from a penpal in Tunisia. They were delicious! I remember keeping in touch with this one girl from France until she got married and even sent me a photo. Do you suppose blogging is like a modern day online version of this?
3. I admire fearless and adventurous people, being as I tend to overthink a situation.
4. I've sailed with my family on a gondola in Venice and we were serenaded by the gondolier on a hot summer's day in broad daylight.
5. I like people who are young at heart, whatever their age.
6. I nag my husband but he needs it, I think!
7. I actually like doing groceries, it's not a chore for me.


I won't select anyone to play, but feel free if you're in the mood. It's kind of fun thinking of random things about yourself.

Oh, I found a funny post from The Bold Soul, worth reading

Full Circle

We shovelled a fair bit today, then it got slushy and it's now raining as the temperature rose to 5C (42F)...but if it freezes tonight it won't be pretty on the roads tomorrow morning. I should see what happened to the bunch of snowmen the neighbour and his son created earlier today, complete with carrot noses.

L's first employment contract arrived in the mail today, so she has to sign it and return it to the town. She'll be working at the same community centre where she took swim lessons herself as a little girl. She then did volunteer work with them and now she has a real job there! It's come full circle and it's a nice feeling to think she's giving back in some way.

News

Monochrome for the holidays

Bad economy helping Web scammers recruit `mules' (AP)

P.E.I. households greenest in the country

Scientists find nutty risk reducer: Eat more nuts

Wait a second: 2008 gets extended by timekeepers

Energized

I'm so sluggish and tired in the mornings, the cold weather doesn't help. I think arthritis is rearing it's ugly head. The wonder of it all is that I force myself to go to the gym. After the exercise, I'm miraculously energized and raring to go about my day. I must keep remembering that. The 'Amazing Race' winners Nick and Starr Spangler were on TV this morning. Starr says she's now dating Dallas, another contestant on the show. They had met during the series. The next Amazing Race will start February 15th. We love that show. The winners rack up so many air miles, it was fascinating to see how much territory they cover in those weeks.

The best story below must be that 'dogs have a sense of fairness'. It's known that they do have intelligence.

News

Studies show dogs have sense of fairness

Cold sore virus linked to Alzheimer's, study suggests

Dinosaurs were total airheads, study finds

Putting Facebook before exams

Ornament exchange

It's -6C outside and -21C with the windchill (-10F?) and it snowed a bit last night.
So what do you think of these fabric garlands? Something different. I kind of like them. My sister says she prefers traditional green garlands.

I read in a magazine about a family ornament exchange at their Christmas gathering. So you pick a name and choose an ornament for that person. That may be a fun idea for Christmas parties in general.

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Two breeds of Buffalo Bills fans

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