Highlights of 2007

So, what are your highlights of this grand year? Or maybe it was the low points...In any case, why not share with everyone in the comments, and we can either celebrate or commiserate with you!

My highlights?

1. The Rotary Okangan International Children's Festival.
2. My new job with Service Canada.
3. My continued relationship with Metro.

It's early and I have to get my act together to walk to work. I'll probably add more in the comments!

Lori

Food, Family & Fun

...not necessarily all at once.

As my co-worker and I slog away at our projects in a very quiet office, I find myself really looking forward to this whole festive season.

Tonight, we've got some friends in from the Big Smoke for Christmas, and one is even staying to the New Year. I've got a pot roast in the slow cooker, for a delish, no-effort dinner.

Tomorrow, the Day itself, we've ended up with a table of 11. Not bad for a couple whose family is elsewhere for the season. My mom is coming and a few local friends will round out the group.

And, thankfully, the gift pile is a mere dribble...we've got the message out to most that we'd rather not accumulate any more, or buy into the seasonal hype.

So, to everyone, enjoy your day tomorrow. If you are one of the many in the world that do not celebrate Christmas in any of its forms (religious, familial, or consumer), here's a lovely post from Lifehack.org on some ideas for you.

Peace on Earth, and all that!

Lori

Okay. Enough already.

(Visit the gallery of error messages, or create your own, at the Error Message Gallery)

I'm hoping one more post will do it -- drop the cat herding video off the main page.

But this is my last post tonight. I've got Irish Stew cooking...

UPDATE: You'll notice the Cat Herding video doesn't start automatically anymore. I took Nag's advice, and used a screen shot and a link to the video, rather than embedding it. Whew!

Lori

Weird Kitchen Stuff for the Hard-To-Buy-For

8. Instant Hot Dog into Octopus Shaper

Octodog Franfurter

Converter -What the heck is an Octodog?? Well it's a new, unique way to make your hot dog. Just insert hot dog into the Octodog push down and get the craziest looking hotdog you've ever seen." See it here.

That's just one of the wonderful but weird listed at this post.

Here's one that Metro and I saw in Paris:

3. Stab Your Old Boyfriend Knife Holder

" No knife holder has taken a

"greater stab" at the theatrical than this specially designed "Ex" knife holder. Et tu, Brute?.. STORE YOUR KNIVES IN AN ANONYMOUS EFFIGY DEDICATED TO WHOMEVER YOU PLEASE! Take out your frustrations as you store your knives! See it here.

Here's my photo of it:

Thought about buying it for someone...but who??

Lori

Women! Listen up!

Actually, I think the women that visit my blog (or at least those that comment...) are not the audience for this brilliant post that I stumbled on... 20 Posts All Women Should Read from the AllDivaMedia blog.

From the Diva's introduction:

From Body Mass Index, to filthy diamonds, to the Playboy myth, here is a list of 20 posts that all women should read. Some will inspire you, some will upset you, but most of all these posts should educate you. It wouldn’t hurt for the men to check them out as well.

There's some great links in this list -- and I've yet to follow them all.

And do you know of any posts that should also be included?

Lori

(P.S. The (auto-starting) Cat Herding video should be off the front page now. If you're missing it, here's the link to that post!)

Has this happened to you?

The 7 Warning Signs that You're Drunk on Your Own Words

A couple of hours pass and you come back to reread your post. As you scan through it, you feel a weight in the pit of your stomach. This post isn’t brilliant. It’s arrogant, disconnected, and desperate for attention.

Oh, goddess...yes. I've been there.

But not too often.

Read and learn people, read and learn. And pass it on to those who need to know.

Lori

Palindromes...

Really, who's got the time to figure out that

"Go hang a salami. I'm a lasagna hog."

is a palindrome??

Or, here's one about my cat:

A nut for a jar of tuna.

Found at HowStuffWorks.

Lori

Sometimes, life makes sense...

Normally, I'd pass odd stuff like this on to raincoaster, but as I've heard from my loyal readers, if I can't push the cat herding video off the front page (very funny, but auto-starting!), they may never come back....

So, today, live from Head Injury Theater -- an explanation for stupid people:



A few more posts...

Lori

"May the Farm be with you"

Lifted shamelessly from the lovely Nag...



"Trust your peelings, Cuke!"

Gads.

Lori

Have you Ever?

A weird-but-wonderful list lifted from alejna at collecting tokens -- this checklist of things do to before you die tickled my fancy (or my desire to talk about myself!), so here it is.

So, bold if I've done it.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain [since 'rock-climbing' is below, I'm assuming this is walking up]
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer [okay, a geek wrote this list!]
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach [even went swimming]
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror [I'm going to assume this means full costume & full participation at a public viewing.]
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery [technically yes, but nothing altering...]
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language [did I mention that there are overtones of geek in this list?]
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts [I mean, really!]
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Hmm. 74 in all. Some of these I'll never do...like scuba diving, or touching a tarantula. Others I hope I never do, like #149.

You know the drill -- tag yourself if this intrigues you, and let me know how it goes!

Lori

A Concern

(sorry it's so small)

How do I find out if my cats have blogs?

(From Wondermark by David Malki)

Lori

I've always wanted to try this...

How many times has it come up in conversation?

"Have you ever listened to Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz?"

Here's a site with all of the synchronicities detailed.

I've always wanted to know -- what would prompt someone to think "I'm going to match up a Pink Floyd album with that movie, see what happens"? What came first, the idea or the drugs??

Well, one day I'll find me a copy of The Wizard of Oz...see what happens.

Lori