Lola's Holiday Greeting

Lola demonstrates the special modification downloaded from PleoWorld.com She looks especially festive in front of the Christmas tree!

 

Happy Holidays!

An Idiot Bakes a Cake

I should have known! If an idiot can do it, I'll screw it up!
I found this recipe for Chocolate Idiot Cake from David Lebovitz and thought I would try it before possibly serving it for Christmas dinner. I even ordered the glass-bottom springform pan! I tested the pan's watertightness beforehand and found that it wasn't, so I wrapped it in foil, as directed (except the foil wasn't wide enough, so I used several sheets.)
Well.. as the picture shows, I'm an idiot!
The foil wasn't watertight and I forgot to cover the pan before baking... ARGH! Although it was ugly and slightly overdone, it was very tasty and I will try again!

Lola Video Console

I've created a video console to organize video of Lola.

Pleo Joins the Family

Pleo arrived today! It is the cutest thing! I had thought of naming it Lola, but I keep calling it Pleo... It took about 3 hours to charge the battery and then the fun began! Below is a short clip of Pleo meeting our cat, Beezus. UPDATE: I've decided - Lola is her name.

OK, this amazes me!

Apparently, sugar is more addictive than cocaine.. read on to see what I mean.

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Wanderers

Well, it's been almost 2 months since we said goodbye to the Fox and Hounds. Bill and I torment each other every time we pass by the darkened building by saying "Wanna stop in to the Fox for a nightcap?" The answer is, of course, always "Yes!"
The Tower Table Gang is still orphaned, searching for a place to land. We have checked out a few places, such as:
Northern Lakes - Location is good. Drinks are slightly pricier in some cases. Cigars are welcome. Bar is a bit bright. They do have a few high-tops in the corner that could accomodate a larger group. It can get a bit "fishy" in there. Staff is competent.
Charlie's Crab - Bar is not really conducive to a large group. Drink prices are comparable to the Fox, but their liqour selection is lacking. The staff can't compare at all to the Fox. Cigars are welcome.
Forte - With a gaggle of former Fox and Hounds staff, this is quickly becoming Bill's and my favorite lunch place. Needless to say, the staff is what we expect - Great! Evenings are a bit trickier with rush hour traffic. Cigars are welcome. Free 2-hour parking in the structure behind the theater. Has a couple of areas that could accomodate a group.
Morton's - Costs are slightly higher than the Fox. Cigars are welcome. Staff is good. It's possible to fit a larger group, though probably not the whole gang.
Maggiano's - We had a "field trip" here on Friday night. We were able to fit 9 people comfortably and could take over more tables to fit more. The drink prices were reasonable. The staff was competent. Not sure about cigars here.
Heroes - Jeff, Julie, Bill and I checked this place out a month, or so, ago. Certainly not fancy. Drink prices are very reasonable. There are a couple of spots in the bar area that could accomodate our group. The staff, if not always professional, is friendly.

In With the New

I am in the process of setting up my own website.
I am still in the planning stages. I've had the domain for a while now, but haven't made it public.
I am hoping to migrate my blog over there, when I can figure out how to do that!

The Good Old Family Road Trip

The long version of my response to this post, entitled How To Survive That Road Trip.

Loved the article! It takes me back to the annual road trips from Michigan to visit my grandparents in Rockglen, Saskatchewan from the mid-60's to the mid-70's. My mother would bravely drive me and my 3 brothers, 1500 miles, alone, before there were interstates routes and DVD's. The scenery was the entertainment and, at the tender age of six or seven, the trip seemed interminable.
Now, almost 40 years later, when I return to Saskatchewan, I find the scenery to be some of the most beautiful I've seen. (I know, I know. It's the prairie, quite desert-like, really.) I believe that those early road trips are a huge factor in how I see things now.
Having made this road trip with my own children with electronic gadgets, in-car video(a TV-VCR combo, strapped to the back of the van driver's seat, atop a cooler), books and toys, I feel that they just didn't get as much out of the trip as I did. Sad!
They missed out on sleeping two to a sleeping bag (Dangerous! Don't try this at home!), in the back of station wagon. They missed out on off-the-beaten path diners and motels, now near extinction from chain restaurants, fast food and hotel chains. We traveled in times of few "rest areas" and made do with pit stops along the side of the highway, along with infrequent gas station stops.
Back then, my parents didn't have a credit card, just a Shell/Conoco gas card. All gas stops had to be at Shell/Conoco stations. Because of this restriction, we became quite adept at the roadside pit stops. My children have no such talent. Pity!

YouTube gems

Lately I've been downloading more and more YouTube music videos to upload to my iPod and iPhone. I found a great little program that makes it quite effortless. Unfortunately, when I went to look for the link, I found that the program (iTube) doesn't seem to be available anymore. Sorry! (Updated below)

Anyway, I thought I'd post a few videos that I've recently added. Here's one:

This is from Israel Kamakawiwo Ole.
Update: 10/11/07
iTube has been renamed. You can download Ares Tube here

I Call Her "Beeba"

My first born. My wise one. She is twenty-one now, an adult, living in an apartment at school. This will be the first summer since she went away to college that she won't be here.

It all hit home when, a few days ago, I found the fortitude to clean up her bedroom, something I've been asking her to do for the past two years. It is not an easy job, and, three days later, I'm still working on it. I have found $53 in bills and coins strewn around the floor. I filled a garbage bag with empty Coke and root beer cans. Apparently, my daughter thought that underwear was disposable, as evidenced by the 15 pair that I found shoved in her closet (yes, I threw them out!) I've found Japanese condoms, incense, a book on Great Sex (yikes!) and her "Chicky Baby" Puffalump (a la Pee Wee's Playhouse) along with elementary school class photos and snaps of friends at Prom.

As I boxed up her treasures, I was struck by the mix of personalities that lived in that room over the past 18 years since we moved to this house. A little girl with her stuffed animals, a lover of dolphins and horses, a magician with her box of tricks, a world-traveler with her Japanese souvenirs, a brilliant writer with her spiral notebooks filled with stories, a young woman with her emerging sexuality, all rolled into my Beeba.

The photo above really sums up how far she's come. A Teddy Bear Bank, given as a baby shower gift, (created by a friend I no longer know,) sitting next to her sushi dishes, boxes of books and DVD's. All of these things give a glimpse of the complex, beautiful young woman she's become. My beloved Beeba.

Milt's Mini Bottles

My late father-in-law, Milt, collected mini bottles for over 30 years. He kept them next to the bar in his office building, in a specially designed case. When DeliBoy and his siblings sold the building recently, I volunteered to catalog and sell the mini bottles.. over 500 of them!
Here's just a sample..



MiniBottles

Brrrr!!! No School Today!

Nick is so happy! Even if he did wake up, take a shower, get dressed and arrive at school to an empty parking lot. He's happy as a clam, now, back in bed, playing Wizards of Warcraft, or whatever it's called.
I checked the school website when Bill and Nick got home. Yep, there on the front page was the statement "School is closed for all of BH School District today January 5th." Very reassuring that they couldn't get the date right! I checked the local TV station website and found that there were 388 schools or districts closed today. Don't want those little munchkins freezing their fingers and noses off at the bus stop!
The weather widget on my computer is reading -6 degrees and it's not going to get much warmer. It's not fit for man or beast outside today. We even have a mouse somewhere in the family room. With four cats, that's one brave mouse!

The Vanity Press: As Low As It Gets

The Vanity Press: As Low As It Gets

Technorati tags: military, video

I'm somewhat speechless about this video. I worry for the soldiers who were brave enough to speak out about these high pressure tactics to get troops to re-enlist.

Add this to the stories about extending the tours of National Guard soldiers and it's a wonder they can get anyone to enlist in the first place. Can it really be that some units learned of the Pentagon's changes to deployment policies via relatives or web sites, instead of their commanding officers?

We must demand total transparency and honesty in recruitment practices to ensure that the brave men and women who do enlist go into their contract with their eyes wide open.

'Help' Lara Logan

This is a link (sorry, it's convoluted to get to the video, but persevere! It's worth it! Yes, you have to watch the commercial first!) to a video from CBS' web site. The reporter, Lara Logan, has put out a plea for help to let this report be shown.
from: Lara Logan
subject: help

The story below only appeared on our CBS website and was not aired on CBS. It is a story that is largely being ignored, even though this istakingplace verysingle day in central Baghdad, two blocks from where our office is located.

Our crew had to be pulled out because we got a call saying they were about to be killed, and on their way out, a civilian man was shot dead in front of them as they ran.

I would be very grateful if any of you have a chance to watch this story and pass the link on to as many people you know as possible. It should be seen. And people should know about this.

If anyone has time to send a comment to CBS – about the story – not about my request, then that would help highlight that people are interested and this is not too gruesome to air, but rather too important to ignore.

Many, many thanks.

Please, if you feel as I do, let your friends know about this report. Contact CBS to let them know that they should air this report. It is time that we stop disinfecting the news that comes out of Iraq, if, for nothing more than, to let the supporters of the war know the real situation over there.

I support our troops. I don't support this "war."

Want to see more of Lara Logan? Watch this video.

Blog for Choice

Why do I choose to participate in this Day? I wish to educate über-conservatives such as an acquaintance who wrote this to DeliBoy in an email regarding illegal immigrants:

Bill you mean like abortions? Liberals support over 3500 a day in the USA. At that rate how long before we could get rid of all the Mexicans?

Repugnant, I know. Since I was cc'd on this email, I responded:

Where did this come from? The misguided belief that Liberals encourage abortions? I don't know anyone who is in favor of someone having an abortion (although you would admit that it would be cheaper than supporting a welfare mother - which conservatives are obviously against). What Liberals support is the personal choice of what medical procedures will and won't be performed on our bodies (don't forget Terri Schiavo). Period.
Conservatives seem to subscribe to the belief that government should not intervene into "Business", that a free market will take care of itself. And yet, they find no problem with involving themselves in our personal lives.. how do you reconcile that?

He never responded. Coward! I believe that I know what is best for me, thank you very much!

Wired 15.01: It's Alive!

Wired 15.01: It's Alive!
If you haven't seen this cute little guy yet, it's worth taking a look! I never thought I'd want a robot (unless it could clean my house, do my laundry and cook dinner) but I definitely want one of these!

Technorati tags: robot

Yummy!

Want to tell someone they're special? How 'bout saying it on an M&M? Masterfoods, parent company of M&M's has a cool new option -- personalized M&M's! Okay, they're not cheap ($11.95 for a 7oz bag, with a minimum order of 4 bags required) but I couldn't resist buying some for my son's upcoming 18th birthday. You get two different colors and 2 lines of print, 8 characters per line. No profanity or corporate names, but you can get creative with them!

The Peace We Seek

It still holds true...

"What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time."

-- President John F. Kennedy at American University 10 June 1963

Why not?

My husband, Bill (aka DeliBoy) has begun publishing his own blog called What the hell, why not. Everyone else has one. I believe that it will be political in nature, but I'm not sure yet. I'll have to wait for the 2nd post to see where it goes!
Good Luck DeliBoy!

Birthday in Las Vegas

My daughter, Danni, turned 21 on December 26th! She and I went to Sin City to celebrate. We took a helicopter ride over the Strip at night to see the lights, went to see The Phantom at the Venetian and gambled.. alot! Danni won over $200 playing penny slots. We had a great time!

Help for the Masses

The Kim Komando web site is a wealth of information for the non-geek. I still go there to find software recommendations such as the WinStatDir program which will show you graphically what you have on your computer.

She also sends out a weekly newsletter to keep you up to date.