TulipGirl

Need a laugh? Pray for Coal.

More seriously, CPSC.

(Via Camille @ GCM)

We have a couple of people on our gift list who have everything they’d ever want or need and are pretty hard to buy for. But, I bet none of them has their very own crocagator. I’m tempted. Buying a ‘gator is a very Floridian thing to do–even if they don’t get to unwrap it under the Christmas tree.

(For more ideas, check out the 2005 Gift Guide For the Hard to Buy For Bunch)

What have you done?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside outside 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 (and survived the crush afterwards)
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 not cared 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
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 wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
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. Got 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
96. Raiseding children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
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
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
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
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

(Via Amy and Thicket Dweller)

Yup, we need a girl. . . *grin*

Removing a Stuck Ring

This is the sort of thing you can find on LifeHacker, one of the sites I visit weekly and always come away knowing something new. . .

But I didn’t get this from LifeHacker, I got it from mom2threePKs.

Pretty cool, huh?

So, we’ve been in the States a year. Our mailbox overfloweth with junk mail. Hubby put us on the Do Not Call list and took steps to minimize junk mail when we first moved in. For one reason or another, we’re back on some lists. Here are the resources I’ve used today to minimize junk mail, phone calls, and e-mails.

Phone:
Do Not Call Registry (free, register online)

E-Mail:
E-mail Opt Out List (free, register online)

Junk Mail:
Opt Out Mailing List ($5 register online, free register by mail)
More Steps to Limit Junk Mail
More Opting Out Info
Opt Out in the UK

Pre-Screened Credit Cards (via Brian):
www.optoutprescreen.com

In this long-lost footage of a Monty Python’s Flying Circus interview, Terry Jones reminds me of my little brother.

(via Katie’s Beer)

As a long-time reader of The Corner at NRO (and longer-time reader of the dead tree version of NR) I was tickled to find the CrunchyCon blog hosted on their site.

Between my kitchen worms and the name of our third son, I think I qualify.

(via The Seven Realms)

Don’t know what to study? Choose the quick and easy way–with a blog quiz!

I like the New Year.

I like having a time to collect my thoughts from the past year. A time to reflect, be grateful, see how far the Lord has brought me.

I like having a time to dream.

A few years ago, some girlfriends introduced me to the idea of a “Mondo Beyondo List” for the new year. This is the list of all the wild and crazy dreams we have, the things that are so out there it is almost scary to write them down. This isn’t a resolutions list of eating healthier and spending wiser. This is the mondo beyondo list, the ideas that tug at your heart and are almost out of reach even of day dreams.

I’m taking some time this week to day dream. And I’ll post my Mondo Beyondo list come January 1st. (Well, at least part of it–some is too scary to post publicly–you know. . .)

Please share yours, too–either on your own blog or in the comments.

Mondo Beyondo Lists:
Lenise’s
Kristen’s
Hannah Im’s
Amie’s
Christina’s

For the Single Guy in Your Family:
Chicks

For the melancholy Lit snob:
Poe Action Figure

For the Neighbor Who Is Has A Headache:
Happy Company Head Trip Tingler Massager

For the QF Family at Church:
Industrial Sized

For the Millionaire Who Has Everything:
He Doesn’t Have A Toilet in Africa
(Thanks, Marion!)

Ask Napolean. Sweet

Lyrics here.

(Via Mollie.)

Viewers Beware.

Yesterday a friend mentioned to me she heard that gas prices were going to be hitting $3 in our area. So, I went and filled up the car and was thankful to be paying “just” $2.69. Later that day, the same gas station was at $2.79. Today the sign at that one read $2.89–but that station was out of gas.

I did fill up today at another station for $2.89. And these are all “regular” prices listed–the higher end gas is already over $3. My father-in-law travels alot and filled up his tank in North Carolina for $5 a gallon this week.

Here are some helpful sites (which I found a few months ago) for finding the most economical gasoline in your area–if it’s still available. It’s also great for the curious among us who want to compare prices around the country.

GasBuddy: Good site, links to local state gas price sites.

GasPriceWatch: Good potential, but not useful for our area.

This really makes me miss the well-developed public transportation system of Kyiv. That, and living in a city where groceries, church, and friends were within an easy walking distance.

Once More With Hobbits.

Clever.

it’s amazing how slugs know
more about the weather
lovers drown as slow
so stay with me forever
and i never will suspect the sky

creatures climb the window pane
to avoid the coming rain
is it hard to be so sane
when love is crazy?
go on, drag me through the dirt
come on, kiss me where it hurts
love for better, love for worse
is so amazing

amazing how they crawl
up without confusion
lovers fear the fall
heaven’s retribution
but i only know the demons revel in our madness

creatures climb the window pane
to avoid the coming rain
is it hard to be so sane
when love is crazy?
go on, drag me through the dirt
come on, kiss me where it hurts
love for better, love for worse
is so amazing

amazing how slugs know
more about the weather
lovers drown as slow
so stay with me forever
cause i don’t see any clouds tonight
and i never will suspect the sky of cruel intentions

creatures climb the windowpane
to avoid the coming rain
is it hard to be so sane
when love is crazy?
when i drag you through the dirt
let me kiss you where it hurts
love for better, love for worse
is so amazing

it’s amazing
it’s amazing

Interesting family to have over for dinner.

The Schuchardts.

We used to have A-See-Dee-See ACDSee (thanks, Jared) for photo editing. I liked it. After the last computer update, it’s gone. *grump* Can’t find the disc (seems like the discs for most of our software didn’t make the trip back from Ukraine.)

Anyway, I have pics of the first day of school, but I need to crop them and size them before uploading and sharing them. Any recommendations for *free* and easy photo software that I can download? Thanks!

Hubby downloaded the coolest thing today–Google Earth. I spent at least an hour looking for every place we’ve lived. Hubby and the boys looked at the places we’ve travelled the past few years. They even saw the pyramids! Totally an amazing google tool.

Gotta love Google.

Free Starbucks Ice Cream!

Mark your calendars for June 29th.

(Via Trish)

Florida Newspapers

Sarasota County Libraries

MyFlorida.com Portal

JobFocus Sarasota/Bradenton

Mote Marine Shark Tank Webcam

SouthWestern Bell Yellow Pages

Every time we move, I wonder “How did we manage to accumulate all this stuff?!?!”

I’ve been cutting back on my coffee and replacing it with water and herb tea. The baby weight I’ve held onto since #4 was born hasn’t gone anywhere and I’m not happy with that. I realized that the huge quantities of coffee I drink (along with the requisite cream and sugar) were adding more calories a day than I realized–especially in the winter when I always have a cuppa hot joe in my hand.

So, I’ve been slowly replacing all but my morning coffee with hot tea. My favorites are peppermint, chammomile, lemon, and green tea. I often make the boys lavender tea when they come in from the cold or right before bed. I like a tad of honey with the green tea (or when I’m sick) but other than that, I drink them sweetner-free. I can’t wait to try Adagio teas–in fact, their Cha Cha blend sounds like something I’d love. For now, though, my usual comes from a small company that sells teas made from herbs gathered in the Carpathian Mountains.

I came across Adagio Teas earlier this week. After reading about their blogging promotional all over (and challenged by Andrea), I’ve finally decided to public my decision to break my coffee-habit.

Those who love learning about and talking about tea, be sure to check out the Adagio Tea sponsored online magazine, Tea Muse.