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From my new favorite TV show, Whatever Martha (where Martha Stewart is made fun of by her daughter). In this episode she hosts ‘Peanut Butter’ (the person) – an artist and face painter. Take a look:
Filed under: Children, Entertainment, Funny, hilarious | Tagged: face painting, Martha Stewart | 1 Comment »
I once had an easy button on my desk. It was given to me by a former employee who turned out to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic, if you know what I mean.
At first it was cute, and at the end of every meeting or discussion, inevitably someone would push the button and we would all be entertained by the very polished voice of the “That Was Easy” man.
Over time, this button began getting on my nerves, to the point that I wanted to throw it at the next person who pushed it, because I realized that most of the time when the button was pressed it was not an easy situation – so it became more of a tool for sarcasm than anything else.
Fast forward a few months. My 8 year-old daughter was at work with me one day and she was busy setting up her space in an empty cubicle nearby. I was giving her items from my office for use on her desk, and one of them was the Easy Button. I handed it to her and looking a little annoyed she said,
Mom, haven’t I told you before that NOTHING is easy?
What could I say? She was right. So we threw it in the trash. And that was the end of my easy button.
Filed under: Being Thankful, Children, Quotations, Random Ramblings, Taking Action, life, thoughts, work | Tagged: Rants | 2 Comments »
Punky decides to take over Felicity’s bed (yes- Felicity, the American Girl doll has a bed). Notice the glowing eyes. Pet cemetery anyone? Needless to say, D was quite upset.
Filed under: Children, Funny, family | Tagged: american girl, felicity, persian cat | 1 Comment »
(I added number 6)
1. Grow up financially – Develop and implement a financial plan that supports my life goals
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not in all kinds of debt. As a matter of fact the only debt I have is my house. The problem is that I spend only cash – all of it. So I never save any money (other than retirement stuff). Here are some of the things I want to do:
2. Achieve and maintain excellent health.
Generally my health is pretty good, but I want it to be great. I want to walk and hike a lot. Take yoga to reduce stress. Eat fresh, minimally processed, local foods. Reduce my BMI and lose another size (or 2).
3. Be where I am
I spend a lot of time worrying about and preparing for what is next. While this may be important, I often forget to enjoy what I am doing at that time. So I will:
4. Have more fun
Go on adventures, road trips, enjoy family and friends. Laugh more. Don’t take myself so seriously.
5. Find ways to make a difference
At work, at home, in my community. No matter what I am doing, do it in a way that makes a difference. Be creative and innovative. Don’t take things personally, focus on progress and impact.
6. Focus on buying local products
This includes buying mostly food/drink that is grown and/or produced within a 150 mile radius (a good place to start is my local farmers market). Support local business as well (check out the 3/50 project for a simple way to do this).
Filed under: Adventures, Being Thankful, Fitness & Health, Go Green, Health & Wellness, body, exercise, family, goals, life, make a difference | Tagged: budget, goals, locavore | 3 Comments »
I recently started a new job and one of the first tasks I had to do was participate in the sexual harassment training. I absolutely agree that this is important but you have to admit, some of the training videos are pretty entertaining. Several years ago, someone shared this with me – it’s pretty funny.
Filed under: Entertainment, Funny, work | Tagged: sexual harassment, training, workplace | 4 Comments »
I am so thankful for such a wonderful day. Great friends and family gathering around the table, where we went around the table to say what we were thankful for. I am blessed.
Dinner was by far the best Thanksgiving meal I have had in a very long time. The meal was fresh and full of flavor. It was a lot of work (since I was the only one cooking) but well worth it. Only a few non-local ingredients were used (see my summary below).
Farmers Market purchases (things I purchased last weekend at my local farmers market):
From my deck garden: Fresh Rosemary, Sage, Thyme – all from my deck garden. I used these for the turkey as well as for the stuffing.
To decorate my table: I used some blue glass bottles with sprigs of sage, lavender, lemon verbena and rosemary (all from my deck). Beautiful.
Local beverages served:
Blenheim Vineyards 2005 Virginia Meritage
Barboursville Vineyards 2006 Virginia Chardonnay
Barboursville Vineyards 2006 Virginia Cabernet Savignon
Afton Mountain Vineyards 2007 Virginia Gewurztraminer – by far my favorite of the evening
Starr Hill Virginia Dark Starr Stout
Non-local ingredients: Salt, Pepper, Stuffing mix, chicken broth, flour, celery, walnuts, some spices, coca-cola
Filed under: Being Thankful, Food, Go Green, Random Ramblings, life, make a difference | Tagged: buy local, farmers market, locavore, virginia, wine | 1 Comment »
It will swell your tongue, make you do things in the middle of the night that you will never remember, and make you commit suicide. But you can still get a free 7-day trial online.
I don’t watch much television – and have not watched prime-time in a while. I turned it on tonight and this was the first commercial I saw. Really quite scary, sort of.
Filed under: Fitness & Health, Health & Wellness, I need to vent | Tagged: advertising, commercials, drugs, sleep, Television | Leave a Comment »
I was recently asked about my holiday wish list. My mature, responsible self tried to respond with pleas for world peace and an end to poverty. My selfish, all-about-me self responded with this:
I like themes – this year it’s all very Jeffersonian:
Book:
Thomas Jefferson’s Scrapbooks: Poems of Nation, Family and Romantic Love Collected by America’s Third President (Hardcover)
Vacation:
A 2 night stay at this bed & breakfast which was designed by Thomas Jefferson, along with dinner and a wine-tasting at the vineyard:
Weekend Seminar:
Full tuition for The University of Virginia Travel & Learn series: Jefferson Weekend Seminar – THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION IN AMERICA
Wine:
A 1 year subscription to the Virginia Wine of the Month club
Gadget:
Amazon Kindle – so I can read my favorite Jeffersonian books wherever I go
What’s on your list?
Filed under: Books, Learning, great ideas, inspiration, life, travel | Tagged: charlottesville, christmas, gifts, holiday wish list, Thomas Jefferson, virginia wine, wine | 3 Comments »
As Christmas rapidly approaches – I thought I would share one of my favorite holiday tunes to get in the spirit.
All I Want for Christmas – Draco and the Malfoys
For those of you who don’t know – this is Wizard Rock.
Yup, I’m a geek.
Filed under: Entertainment, Music, harry potter, inspiration | Tagged: harry potter, holiday music, wizard rock | Leave a Comment »
