3 Ring Binder

A little montage of a year in the life – mine, specifically. Happy New Year to all of my blog readers. By the way, my daughter requested the dramatic ending.  Who'd have guessed?

This woman found an interesting way to make the most of a less than ideal situation. I love good ideas.

As the cold of snow, Without a melting stream, Produces only a fog, Between life and a dream. From the clay of youth, To the specter of age, Swim in the now, In the know, this stage. As what is new does not mean better, Old has no necessary wisdom to give. There is but one universal truth: You have this life, note well, and live.  

I've heard of Boxing Day for a long time but never bothered to find out what it means. You can look on Wikipedia , Fact Monster , or any of your favorite search sites to find out.  Or you can watch my 47 second video with an ill-fitting bit of audioswap jazz music in the background.  Actually, much like suit and Johnny Bravo , the audio bit was exactly the same length as the video bit, so I chose it. In addition to what I've included, it seems that Boxing Day has become the traditional day of charitable giving.  As I truly want to make the world a better place for me and my children to live in, I am once again giving to an organization that continues in its tireless efforts to educate, elucidate, and enlighten us all on the sanctity and sovereignty of the individual - the organization that consistently ties pursuit of happiness on this earth to reality.

I started last night, but today has been the big wrapping day. At first you may be tempted to say, if you don’t know how to wrap a box, make a bow, or craft a gift tote already, it’s too late, lady . I freely admit the videos are pretty lame, but even we seasoned veterans can use a tip or two to improve our wrapping skills. And we did! Better creases, folding to edge, flattened lightly wired ribbon. (Ignore the man on the left.) Make little gift bags out of topical magazine images (e.g. food magazines for little homemade sweets). If you don’t own it already, you should so you can play it while you wrap: my favorite Christmas rapping.   Or, you can listen to this beautiful music and study the cello hold: one of my essential wrapping moves. (Sometimes I do wish I had a prehensile tail.) I need to remember this earlier next year . I hope all your holiday plans are wrapping up beautifully.

Last night I had the cocktail party that I’ve been working on since I got the book, Mix Shake Stir , out of the library in November.   Apparently, I was working on the idea of the cocktail party (sharing fabulous holiday drinks with friends) more than the execution of the cocktail party.   The gleaming glassware, festive lights, roaring (but non-smelly gas fireplace) fire, cedar candles, George Winston playing Vince Guaraldi’s Linus & Lucy music wafting through the air, fancy clothes (beads, fur, wraps, fuzzy socks, Christmas bulb earrings, and goggles) were no match for my lack of actual immediate availability of drinks!   You see, I have rules. As my objective for the evening was to share my new found enthusiasm and information about different cocktails, my plan was to make one of each of the seven drinks in the offing and have the ladies pick straws.   There were no short straws, only straws in ten different colors (apparently straws are another thi...

This is a small, but not insignificant method of floor cleaning around here.  Think about that the next time "5 Second Rule" pops into your head at my house.

Inspired by my friend, Cheryl , and her efforts to showcase her wild side (in leopard print clothing, only), here is what I could dig out this morning: Leopard Clothing This is Lucy, our dress manikin. On an incredibly excellent day, or perhaps right after a bout of the flu, and with the best undergarments imaginable, I am the same size as Lucy.  Here, she models some of my collection of shirts (and a Snuggie which I couldn't resist including) of the leopard print variety.  I have some zebra print shirts as well. Animal Print Accessories I could not find my leopard print winter boots, but I added the farm boots, the pony hair and black leather ballet-toed flats (my favorite) and the Steve Madden pony hair wedges (not comfy). I made the hats on the bottom left and top right. The bottom left hat was made from an old coat my grandmother was throwing out - it's my favorite. The top right hats are my daughters. I snuck a dalmation head band in ...

Yes, I know it's dead for now. But the important thing to understand is what the "public option" really means. This brief animation does a great job in explaining the problem in less than a minute. Its simple and clear message inspires me to do something more with my little animation experiments. (via WeStandFIRM )

These women could be my new best friends. Ladies United for the Preservation of the Endangered Cocktail (LUPEC): [A] classic cocktail society dedicated to breeding, raising, and releasing nearly extinct drinks into the wild (a.k.a. Boston-area bars and restaurants.) Founded in February 2007 by Misty Kalkofen and nine fellow cocktail enthusiasts, LUPEC Boston is the city’s first and only female-oriented cocktail society. The ladies of LUPEC Boston meet once a month to sample delicious cocktail creations from a bygone era, and educate themselves about the important and nearly forgotten forebroads who sipped them.   And did I mention they blog! (That’s where I got that bit from). How about the alter-egos? Did I mention those? I find this all quite interesting – and in my own backyard, no less. From the Boston Globe’s article: The women get together at least once a month to talk about how cocktails and spirits have played a role in history and feminism. Per LUPEC’s bylaws, these...

Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and ev-er-y where. Go tell it on the mountain, That the Objectivist Round Up is here . That last line takes a little getting used to, but it's worth it. (Nice suggestion, Jenn) This is how I imagine it sounding (but with the appropriate words):

An article in today’s Boston Globe puts the health care bill into its proper perspective, albeit inadvertently. With the public option seemingly out of contention, President Obama is urging the Democrats to pass what they can for historic purposes.    There are no fewer than seven references to the historic importance of the passage of the bill by the politicians interviewed. Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois: “What remains is dramatic. We just don’t want to lose the opportunity, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’’ “If Congress passes a health care bill, those who voted for it are going to be part of history,’’ said Senator Paul Kirk, Democrat of Massachusetts. The historic significance? “The bill would require that nearly all Americans buy health insurance and would provide government subsidies to those who can’t afford it on their own.”   In short, an historic expansion of government control over health care.    Rolling with the loss of the...

[I wrote this on December 23, 2008. I’m sharing it today – December 15, 2009 – the day I print, cut, fold, stuff, stick, and mail about 80 cards and 50 newsletters.   Last year, I had them all out by the first week of December.   To date, we’ve gotten 4 cards. But I’m not bitter.   Because of electronic media I can know more than I ever wanted to know about my friends’ lives; but I just can’t touch electronic images, my daughters can’t fight over who gets to open the next email, we can’t put .jpg files on the tree for family to peruse. I'm sad to notice the decline in this lovely tradition of sending Christmas Cards.] This is a topic about which I had previously given little thought: the number of Christmas cards sent out vs. the number of Christmas cards received. This year, we ran a scant 33% return!   In retrospect, I think we usually run a good 75% return on these lovely little year-end missives, so I was a little shocked not only by the low numbers, but t...

It's still not quite right, but the cleaner buildings are much better looking than my first attempt .  There is no real pop of color, just grays and desaturated tones, so that bit of delight is missing. My daughters are both in front of the tree and in the carriage, so there is some magic. It's one of two images I will be printing on the "you choose" foldng card because the relatives and some of the children insist that we actually be able to see their faces.  I like my Christmas missives to be a little interactive. Sadly, there is no matching game on the newsletter this year.

I wanted to update you on the last three Holiday Cocktail experiments: the Guilty Kilt, the Ginger-Tonic, and the Pomegranate Gimlet. The Guilty Kilt was moved up from the Honorable Mention category to the must-have cocktail.   Now I know that some of you will be shocked and awed that on the first night we actually used the single-malt Scotch in the mix when it called for blended Scotch whisky, but I loved it !   It was sweet and smoky, and just plain yummy. Odder still, Stephen loved it! This is odd because until that night, he hadn’t had any alcohol other than wine – ever!   And he only started drinking wine in his 30s!   So, you can imagine my surprise to find him shaking one up every night since then!   He moved on to the blended Scotch whisky, but n amed the one with the single-malt the Big Catholic Guilty Kilt.   The second drink I tested was the long awaited Ginger Tonic: the non-gin drinkers gin drink.   Yeah. It was okay .   I rea...

because that's what I do. Sometimes. Not that often, really.  I try not to just pass things on, but rather send them along with my own personal flair.  Recently, I think I flair -ed myself right out. But I digress. Here , for you reading pleasure, is the 126th Objectivist Round Up.  Enjoy.

. . . But the sound was so delightful. When I took this little video of the snow coming down yesterday morning, I heard only the sharp hits it made against my leather coat. When I watched the movie later I also heard the train horn and the crazy little fat birds chirping away. Pretty. The use of flash in a snowstorm makes an interesting effect.

1. Cool video. 650 Million Years In 1:20 Min. 2.  The consensus is in!  We want the world's land masses to stay where they are! Make sure people know your stand on putting an end to this globally destructive process.  Cool  t-shirts and  sweatshirts make fabulous Christmas gifts.  Especially for me as I get approximately $1 for each one sold! 3. Serving snacks has never had such a feeling of power as when you serve them on these map plates .  Slide the peanuts, save the world.

"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."      Eleanor Roosevelt

Now before you’re all impressed by my pursuit of the perfect holiday cocktails and the incredibly glamorous life I must lead in order to embark on such an endeavor, I’m here to set the record straight:   I take my charge quite seriously.   And I take my credit card charges quite seriously.   But . . . it’s all good. Okay, it’s not really all good. Some of the drinks have been duds, but it has been good, as well as really fun, learning about the different types, blends, and taste combinations of alcoholic beverages so I can share some lovely holiday spirits with my friends. Most of you probably know a lot about your favorite beer, wine, and spirits.   However, with the exception of a few experiments in college – including the time my roommate and I made our own Kahlua during which I came dangerously close to losing my eyebrows probably trying to kick an imaginary crash cymbal while boiling vodka – I knew nothing about spirits.    I could drink...

Because I always dream of having a White Christmas, I was glad there was a lovely little snow event last night which just slightly covered the ground making things pretty and white.  But when I woke up, I was surprised to find not only the roads and walkways still covered, but also the trees completely full of snow.  By 8:00 o'clock this morning, the sun was out and the Blue Skies rendered the normal shades of snowstorm gray a little more brilliant, giving my backyard the feeling of a Winter Wonderland. I tell you, the whole thing made me want to break out into a few Bing Crosby standards - all at the same time!

After a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day yesterday, I found something to smile about at the local nursery's Christmas gift shop. When I looked at this scene of little trinkets under a Christmas tree display,       I immediately saw a child’s Christmas wish for a dog. I thought it was strange to have something so concrete among the "hope","peace", and "believe" abstract set, so I did a double take.  Even though it took me a only second to realize that it was just “hope” upside down and not a partially obscured "a dog", I was delighted by my interpretation for an appreciable moment. Sometimes that’s all you get. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Yesterday, at a White House forum on job creation, President Obama asked some private sectors employers what the government could do to help create jobs, assuring them that “every demonstrably good idea” would be considered, going so far as to say: “What’s holding back business investment and how we can increase confidence and spur hiring? And if there are things that we’re doing here in Washington that are inhibiting you, then we want to know about it.” But when a medical devices CEO said that the administration’s aggressive legislative agenda caused the business uncertainty and was “really what’s holding back the jobs.”    Obama responded: “[I]f we keep on putting off tough decisions about health care, about energy, about education, we’ll never get to the point where there’s a lot of appetite for that.” Interesting.   If I’m reading this correctly, his plan is to continue to try to shove more of his aggressive, single- employer , big government agenda down our thro...

Supported by the unquestioned faith of millions, the state is the new church. Government, as emergency   employer ,  bloats while actual businesses, made up of non-taxpayer funded workers, continue to be strangled by excessive regulations and taxation .  The global warming consensus of the mainstream media (WSJ excepted) digs deeper into politics and appeals to ridicule while all but ignoring the fact that the actual scientific work of major scientists involved in pushing that consensus is questioned .

Once, Bendy Wendy had a yoga school. She taught new practitioners, was no fool, ‘Til she ran an ad, Then she was had, By bureaucrats who thought she was merely a tool . But Bendy Wendy is fighting back .  

It happens every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas: that mad urge to visit New York City.  Watching this doesn't help. But it is does have some of my favorite Will Ferrell  moments . I am determined to get there sometime before 2010 and have a Blue Smoke Martini before or after eating dinner at Craft .  I'd best get planning.

Boring: tr.v. To make weary by being dull, repetitive, or tedious. Bored: adj. The state of being weary or uninterested due to repetition, tediousness, or dullness.     Bore: n. One that is wearingly dull, repetitive, or tedious. Though I am often weary of the repetitious nature of housework, I am rarely bored. I am, however, increasingly concerned that I am becoming boring. Boring as dirt (in a non- Hodgins way). That’s why I was so interested in this article in today’s Boston Globe, as the author discovers much to his dismay, that he is becoming boring.  After initial assessment of his own dullness, the author discusses how people are boring when they think they know it all (i.e. a bore) and how they are charming when they actually do know it all but hold it close to the vest. That’s more of a personality issue.   My concern with being boring is limited to my being boring to even myself .   Sadly, this sometimes happens. But what struck me as mo...