Holy Grail

A few years ago, maybe longer than I thought, my mom asked for a particular Christmas gift. It did not seem complicated at the time. I combed malls as did my other family members (I guess this preceded internet shopping). She wanted a white cotton cable-knit sweater (cardigan). It was an impossible item! I am happy to say I found it!!

http://www.landsend.com/cd/fp/prod/0,,1_2_1930_66620_149539_127286_5:view=59,00.html?CM_MERCH=PAGE_66620&sid=4650134624869113010

I went to nearly every sweater shop in Ireland with Mom, and I am sure that this one will not be right due to the dark buttons!! Here you go Mom, I tried. Let me know if you want me to pick one up for you!

PS This relates to my laundry related rant. I went out tonight and bought more underwear (even though I have about 40 pairs). I bought this whimsical pair due to phrases on it that I read. I saw "ski bunny" "snow angel" Aspen, etc and bought them. When I was looking at them when I got home, I saw more holiday related phrases which was OK until I read "Stuff my stocking" That unfortunately was the first phrase Mike saw on them. So I picked myself a classy pair of undies allright!

PPS To my family, I get dibs on this present if Mom actually likes the sweater.

Laundry List

I have to go to the Laundromat, and it really drives me crazy. I have bought socks and underwear in the middle of the Christmas rush around here to avoid going. I go about once a month, and we do a ton of laundry to reduce the frequency of our visits. Of course I was excited on vacation in Cape Cod when we had a washer and dryer!
I am always agitated in there. They blare this lite rock station (and the TV is always blaring as well), and it is always the John Tesh show when we get in there. His theme is "Intelligence for you life", and he reads advice out of Women's magazines. This adds to my bad mood. I swear I hear "Don't go breakin' my heart" by Elton John every time I do wash. The kicker is when John Tesh told us how to flush a toilet! I keep it in check, but listening to that and waiting for a dryer may kick in some laundry rage in me. I keep it sealed up and raise my blood pressure instead. I also can not understand people in there who seem happy. I guess I need to work on it!

Got your goat

I can not believe that it is almost December. I am really not even close to ready for Christmas lights. It may be since it has been so mild for the last month. It does not feel right yet. Of course I am getting a ton of catalogues. I received a really cool one this year from a charity where you can purchase animals (or a share of an animal) for a family in need (generally 3rd world). The animals are used for milk, eggs, or even wool to help support a family. I could give a goat or even a water buffalo for Christmas! Anyways, I am sharing the link 'cause it looks like a great charity (and I would love to say I gave a goat or a pig for Christmas!).

http://www.heifer.org

Back to the Grind

I had a nice Thanksgiving visit to Detroit. It was suprisingly warm and sunny. Of course I came down with a cold when I arrived (it never fails despite my obsessive hand washing!), but it was not very severe. Here are some pics. The Colemans getting their tree and some family fun.

Ed in Canis Lupis

Here is our friend, Ed Rychlick showing off on Canis Lupis!! Another preview for Park City.

Family Guy

This one's for Horney. She was a big Aha fan.

Mike shredding at Park City

Now that it has cooled down, it is time to think about snow! This is a taste of what is to come in Park City!

New Yorkers

Mike and I were out to eat the other night, and the table next to us was filled with loud New Yorkers. Mike keeps telling me that I am a New Yorker now too, but I am not sure if I agree.
1. I do not feel like a New Yorker.
2. I still feel like a Michigander.
3. The vast majority of my life was spent in Michigan.
I feel like I am a person from Michigan who lives in NY (if that makes sense). I do suppose after 20 years here I may feel otherwise, but it has only been 5. How long do you have to live somewhere to identify yourself in that region??

Political Preschoolers

Another fascinating article, but I can not help feeling it is biased.

http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/04/predicting_politics.php

The apple does not fall far from the tree

Here is an article about autism research and the focus on genetics.

http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/11/when_two_minds_think_alike.php?page=1

Baker J

I had this half-assed idea today that I would bake bread to accompany the soup I was making. I have never tried to bake bread, so I bought a loaf in case I failed (which was in the realm of possibility). I followed directions and tried to assess if the dough had risen enough, etc. This is the result. Needless to say, I am excited. As a bonus, the bread also tastes good!!

Hey Turkeys!

I was wondering who is in town during the thanksgiving holiday (MI that is!). I am staying until Mon night, and would love to see everyone if they around following various family obligations (and haircut). Let me know when we can grace you with our presence.

Friday night

Tonight is a quite a rockin' friday night. I have to get up early for a course in the city tommorrow, so I am going to bed early so I do not waste my money and sleep!! We hit a Mexican place that we have not tried before, and it was really good. There are not a lot of local places that we get excited about. Anyways, it was a suprise that the joint served Paulaner Octoberfest beer. It went well with Mexican food!
Since the Spartans are in the toilet, I am going to watch Michigan-Ohio State LIVE! This way, nobody can unintentially give the score away. For how much nobody cares around here, we have had scores spilled to us left and right. I was planning on rooting for Michigan. I figured it was better to have Big Ten and State pride. It is too bad about Bo. It is almost fitting that he passed on the eve of the annual grudge match.
Here is a random picture. It is in Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island. Really cool place! Enjoy and good night!

Storms and Sanders

I do not know what the weather is everywhere else, but it was almost 70 here today. I just went for a walk at 11 PM in my shorts and sweatshirt, and I was overdressed! It even smelled like spring, and I expect to see some crocus tommorrow.

On a unrelated note:
Sanders is opening a shop in Birmingham. This is for you nostalgic Detroiters who can not get enough of Bumpy Cake!

http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061116/NEWS02/611160314/1019

Where is the arrogant academic?

I would like to request that the arrogant academic get back online and put up some well written posts (to make up for this drivel!).

I am nothing to you

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Jinx!

Remember my fond post about our remaining Escort Wagon going strong at 121,000. Well, I am sad to say its days are numbered due to a heater core situation. I hope I did not jinx the car.

a bad dream keane

Here is a band I want to see live. This is my current obsession, but the album is the best I have heard in a long time. The lead singer needs to hurry out of rehab!

beavis and butthead

A classic

Random Pic of the Day

This is a rainbow we spotted in the Little Yoho Valley in Banff. We experienced a wide variety of weather that day which was typical of the area.

They began to speak in Tongues

This happens to me a lot when I am leaving messages for people on their answering machines!! Check it out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/07/health/07brain.html?em&ex=1163307600&en=d5ef9ac8275473a1&ei=5087%0A

Small Miracles

I was not feeling hopeful for the election the other day. I was really upset after 2004, so I had to rely on my experience as a Spartan fan to cope. At any rate, here is a related item from a reputable source.

Rumsfeld: 'My Half-Assed Job Here Is Done'

Tarzan Broadway TV Commercial

This is why we do not frequent Broadway shows. This ad has been running, and I thought it was a joke initially.

Frito-Lay Angrily Introduces Line Of Healthy Snacks

Read this one if you need a good laugh. I almost wet my pants.

Barney's movie

From the Springfield Film Festival. It makes me a little sad.

Octoberfest

Here are the Octoberfest beers that have been sampled in this house in the last 3 years (to the best of my memory).

Sam Adams
Saranac
Hacker Pschorr
Hofbrau Munchen
Spaten
Paulaner
Becks

I still have to award the best to the Germans. I have yet to have a bad Octoberfest beer from there.

style, superhero edition

Safe from Terrah?

I try not to be too political here, but I was disturbed to hear about this in the Times. Apparently, some senators thought they knew better than the intelligence community, and they released a website that explicitly instructed how to build nuclear arms. Nice one! I guess trying to prove Saddam had WMDs is more important to releasing sensitive information to anyone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/world/middleeast/03cnd-documents.html?ref=washington

Fresh air

A couple of months ago, some bonehead scraped the side of my car pulling out of a parking space. Of course, I noticed the car in the space next to me was askew, but I parked anyways (mistake). The idiot did not even write me a note, so now I am stuck with it (unless they were so clueless that they did not realize they scraped it up!). It is not a huge scratch, but it is down to the metal. I did have touch up paint that Ford sent me at home. When I read the bottle, I did not want to use it due to the following warning: "This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm." Mike and I figured that saving a few bucks was not worth exposure to whatever is in the bottle.
I stopped by a body shop today, and the guy suggested to use the touch up paint. I told him about the warning on the bottle, and his response was that the warnings were similar to warnings on McDonald's coffee. I do not consider myself an alarmist, but I think people are too casual about their exposure to chemicals around the house. I recently heard that even your plug in air fresheners can cause lung damage. You forget that fresh smell is a chemical released in small droplets. The same person using that would not tolerate a plant in their area discharging droplets of chlorine in the air! I could not imagine spraying Raid at a roach, even though I think they are really gross. I guess I should stop my hippie rant now, but maybe I will go check out what type of masks may help from the hardware store.

Exercise science

I studied physiology for my undergrad degree, and even took exercise physiology before graduate school for fun. There are so many misconceptions out there about exercise(check out all of the late night abdominal machines). You hear the same things over and over, and soon they are the truth without any science behind it. Here is a link to a Times article about marathons, cramping, hydration, and race conditions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/sports/othersports/03marathon.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

Americans Celebrate 10 Millionth 'Bring Yourself To Work Day'

Family Guy - bill on capital hill

School house rocks!

Birthday Girl

Happy birthday. This proves that age is just a number!