just in time

Is it a rule at your house that someone is always sick at Christmas-time?  It is in our house. Usually it's Tom, but this year I drew the short straw.   Hooray.

Simple + Free

I just received notice that my subscription to Real Simple magazine is about to expire, and they are offering a free gift subscription if I renew. If you would like to be the recipient of this gift, be the first to comment and it's yours!

*UPDATE* Looks like the magazine is heading to Sweden!

Mibo

I love well-designed objects, but I love them even more when they are free.  This awesome calendar comes from Mibo.  All you have to do is go here and sign up to receive a free pdf of the calendar pages.  And as you can see from the picture, once they have outlived their usefulness as a calendar, they can be cut up and used as artwork.  For my friends in Europe and the U.K. these are sent in both U.S. letter and A4 format. 

Or, if you ask very nicely, I might just email the files to you myself.

Merry Go-Round

Every year I struggle to come up with something to give my coworkers for Christmas. Something small and inexpensive... but not junk.  The past couple of years I have made homemade treats.  I was thinking this year I would make some homemade peppermint swirl marshmallows, but I worry that people will be sick of receiving sweets.  So I'm hoping one of you can help me come up with a healthy, delicious (and easy) alternative that people might actually like. 

Mod Christmas

I'm in love with this wreath.  I'm usually pretty traditional when it comes to my Christmas decorations, but this just grabbed my attention on sight.

from Kenneth Wingard, via my adventure is your advantage

Thanks for Water

My amazing friend Judy has launched her second annual fundraiser, Thanks for Water. Judy has traveled to several countries in the world for humanitarian expeditions in the last few years, which inspired her to commit to building a water project in a third-world country, every year, for the rest of her life (I told you she was amazing!).

She needs our help to do this. You can donate any amount you wish, all donations are tax deductible and are handled by CHOICE Humanitarian. Here is some information about this year's project:

We will be raising money for small villages in San Luis Potosi, Mexico called El Tecolote and Las Margaritas. This is a very dry area and water is scarce. They would like to build a project which would include 3 water cisterns and an animal corral structure with a large roof that will provide for a water catchment system to harvest rainwater. The estimated cost for this full project is $7,500.

You can read more about this project, and about her mission in general, at the project's blog http://thanksforwater.blogspot.com

Among the many things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving season, give thanks for water and an opportunity to help bring this source of life to others.

Pushing Daisies

I love this television show, and you should too. It is in danger of being canceled, which would be very sad indeed. Where else do you get Vivian and Lily, the Darling Mermaid Darlings, plus detective Emerson Cod, a girl named Chuck, a geeky-hottie named Ned, sassy Olive Snook, and an eatery called The Pie Hole? Not to mention poor Digby the dog. So please start watching if you aren't already! (Especially if you are one of the mythical "Nielsen" households). Read here for more about how to save the show. You'd be doing me a personal favor.

Is that really necessary?

I hate leaf blowers, and I make no apology for it. You can give me reasons why you think they are the greatest invention ever, I will still hate them. They are loud, polluting, energy-wasters.

Raking is enjoyable. Raking is good exercise. Raking makes your lawn healthier. Raking could prevent me from strangling you at 7:00 AM. 'Nuff said.

Today I'm in love with...

French Femme Pop

I don't even remember what led me to it, but today I stumbled on AccuRadio's French Pop: femmes internet radio station. I'm really digging it. Check it out here. (Go to "French Pop" in the alphabetical list, then click "Femmes".

Four Years

I love this image, because this is exactly what I feel when I think about the possibilities the next four years bring. Whether or not you voted for Obama, I hope everyone can come together to help bring about positive change for our country and the world.

(image from Obey Giant)

Get out and VOTE!

If you are in the U.S. and you have not yet done so, please take the time to go vote today!




(Cool poster by Obey Giant)

Does this ever stop sucking?

You would think after more than five years of trying to get pregnant, I'd stop getting my hopes up. Especially as we aren't really "trying" at the moment (taking a break sometimes does wonders for the psyche). But once I thought it might be a possibility, I got a little excited again. Silly me!

Bright and Beautiful

Isn't this pretty? It's so different than what I usually like, but I was really inspired when I saw it. I don't think I could ever go this bold in a living room, but maybe in the bathroom, or the office?

From www.housetohome.co.uk

Tetris, anyone?

I have been known to go through periods of Tetris addiction. So when I saw these new tiles, they sparked my interest. I'm loving the idea of using them as a backsplash. I think I'd go with blue though, as pink isn't really my thing. From www.tetris-tiles.com

Verbarius

I saw this cool clock on one of my favorite web sites today, Apartment Therapy. It is called the Verbarius clock. I'd probably set it to German, but it would be fun if we could get Chinese characters for Tom.

Verbarius is the first clock in the world that tells time the way people do. It has five preloaded languages: English, German, Spanish, French and Russian. You can easily upload any additional language you like—from Latin to Eskimoan—using the USB port.

The clock spells out time differently every minute. It’s either forty-five minutes past four, or fifteen minutes to five, or four forty-five, or a quarter to five.

If you have about $220.00 in spare change, check it out here.

Scrunchie

Are gymnasts the only ones who still wear scrunchies? I hope so. They should have stayed in the 80's where they belong.

Don't you just love the Olympics?

I have a new crush. His name is Sascha Klein, and he is a diver on the German Olympic team. I don't really know anything about him... for all I know he could be gay. What I do know is that he is HOT! See for yourself:






PS... My friend asked me if I would think he was so hot if he were from another country (in case you don't already know, I love all things German). I don't think it would matter where he came from though, he's just that good-looking!

Wow, sometimes patience really does pay off!

I posted a few months ago about our new patio dining table, and how we wanted new chairs to match. I've been scanning the internet like a hawk ever since then, hoping to find something I liked for less than $150 per chair (a LOT less). A couple of weeks ago I finally saw a classified ad for the very same chairs I had been wishing for. They match our table exactly, and the seller was asking $150 for ALL EIGHT! They were brand new, but to Tom's delight she had already put them together. She even kindly offered to put five of them in her mini-van and follow me to our house when she saw that I could only fit three in our car. I thought that was really nice of her. Finally, our set is complete. Now we just need all of you to come over and make yourselves comfortable!

Isn't it funny how the littlest things make us happy?

Yes, we have no bananas...

I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I am cursed. It's the Banana curse. Never heard of it? Don't worry, I think it might be unique to me.

I don't indulge in milkshakes or the like very often, but when I do I always want the same thing: chocolate with bananas. It never seems to fail, however, that I get the short end of the banana stick. As in, they completely forget the bananas. And I, ever hopeful, keep believing that this time it will be different. And every time I am disappointed I think, "This is the last straw. I have lost my faith in milkshake-slinging enterprises." Yeah, I know. You would think I would check to make sure before I leave these cursed establishments that they did indeed put those bananas in. But I always forget and assume that surely, this time they will have remembered. It can't possibly be my lot in life to never get what I ask for. So I go on my merry way, only to reach home and clench my fists and curse the heavens when I discover NO BANANAS.

This evening's debacle is no different. It looked ok , like maybe there were some banana chunks in there. Although it did look more like a vanilla shake with some chocolate syrup on top. (PS... If I'd wanted a vanilla shake with chocolate syrup, I would have asked for it. What is your shake mixing thingamajig for, if not mixing shakes so I don't have to do it myself?) Still, I happily mixed and stirred it to a lovely chocolaty consistency, looking forward to the first banana-infused bite, but to no avail.

Now I am depressed and can't even bring myself to eat it. Plain chocolate is just so... vanilla.

Note to self...

If you're planning on mucking about the hardware store, don't wear white.

Earth-Friendly Thuggery

'Sup? Lately I've been thinking - the countless evenings spent cruisin' the hood and looking for rivals to smoke and punk-suckas to jack up are taking a toll on the environment, and my wallet! '64 Impalas aren't known for their great gas-mileage, and at $3.50 a gallon for unleaded? SHEESH!! I brought this up in last week's meeting. As a result, my fellow Psycho 7s and I decided that we, as THE R.P. Alpha-gang and integral members of the community, need to set a good example for our neighbors by reducing our carbon footprint.

We tried taking mass-transit for few days, but the "No weapons, no loud music, no cussing" rules were really cramping our style. Besides, trying to coordinate our daily exploits around the bus schedule is not easy! Missing a knife fight because the bus was late is no way to maintain street cred, and when you can see the bus from a mile away it kinda negates the element of surprise. So we scrapped the bus idea.

Finally, we determined that we could kill two birds with one stone by rollin' thru the hood on bikes! We can now help save the earth and still look tough doing it! Best of all, Lupe, our gang treasurer, reports that our "new gold chain and NBA jersey" budget is back in the black! Here's me straddling my new ride. Any ideas on how I can mount Andrei, my AK-47? Now we'll strike fear into the hearts of punk-suckas everywhere when they see the posse rollin' down the street in V-formation...

WORD! RP HOLMES! BETTA RECOGNIZE!

Y'all better check yourselves!!

'Sup? Now that we are living in Rose Park, I'd thought it would be a good idea to try and blend in. I've since joined the Psycho 7 Crips, but i think my crew is starting to figure out that I'm not Crip material. I don't know why, it could be due to my skinny 5' 7" frame, or maybe because I'm may be a little too violent, is that possible for a gang banger? Nonetheless, I've since received several new tats, learned some nifty gang signs, and received a cool new nickname, T-Loco. I'm having a great time, participated in my first drive-by, and the UPS guy just delivered my new AK-47 (see above). It's amazing what you can get from Craig's List.

We now control everything from 600 North to 1000 North and from Redwood to 1200 West.

I'm considering creating my own gang. JRPP, or Jewish Rose Park Posse. Instead of bandannas we will wear yarmulkes, and rather than "jumping" someone in, I'll make them eat Kosher for a month! Word! RP Holmes!

Stay tuned for more tales from the 'hood.

en plein air

Now that the weather is warming up, we've been doing a lot of work outside and dreaming up plans for our patio, yard, and garden. Here are some things on our wish list:


A nice two-person hammock:


A BBQ grill:

A porch swing (don't these look comfy ?):




Some chairs to match the patio table we just bought:

For Carolyn

I saw this on one of my favorite sites today, Apartment Therapy. I can totally see Carolyn doing this. She has a knack for refinishing and repurposing, and generally making things beautiful and fun. I miss you dear!

Bring Trader Joe's to SLC

Go here to request a a Trader Joe's in Salt Lake

What the... ?

I have no words.

Time Flies

Sorry for the delay in updating. It's hard to believe we have already been in our house for 3.5 months! So many disasters in such a short amount of time. But that's for another day.

As far as the flood goes: Not surprisingly, the plumber determined that the sellers had neglected to install a small but very necessary fitting, which is what caused the pipe to burst. After frantically moving everything out of the room, we rolled up the carpet and moved it outside while we borrowed a wet-vac and tried to suck up as much water as we could from the carpet pad. But it was a poorly-made composite pad and was too far gone to fix, so we ripped it all out (that stuff is really heavy when wet!). We rolled the carpet back out and rented a very large blower from the home center to dry it out. That took a couple of days but it did a really good job, and for only $20.00 it was totally worth it. We were able to save the carpet.

We went and bought new padding and arranged for an installer to come put it down. We could have done this ourselves, but the actual carpet had never been stretched and tacked down, so we figured we would get the installer and kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately when he arrived he told us what we had been suspecting all along, that the carpet was cut too small and could not be stretched enough to fill the gaps between carpet and wall. So if you look close, you can see cement and unused tack strips around the perimeter of the room. Eventually we'll get some new carpet, but it's not really a priority right now.

Welcome to the Joys of Homeownership

I'm sorry I haven't got any exciting pictures or anything. But let me tell you, taking pictures is kind of the last thing on your mind when you go to the basement and discover water up to your ankles and a pipe spewing water like Old Faithful. We're still in clean-up mode. The plumber is coming out Friday to figure out and hopefully fix the problem, but we still need to get the carpets cleaned and replace the padding. We will probably have to replace the baseboards, which we most likely would have done eventually anyway since it's just another thing the sellers did wrong in the first place.

Let me say a big THANK YOU right now to Sherry and Alina, who happened to be on their way over to see the house just as we discovered the mess, and helped us frantically move all our clothes and furniture out of the bedroom in time to save most of it from serious damage. I love you guys!