SantaClaustraphobia - again! Already!

It is that time of year again. Time to get serious about my fitness level. I know most people think about this in the spring, but I am not like most people.

My work is doing SantaClaustraphobia again - the fear of looking like Santa Claus. Our motto is 2 and no more. If you gain less than two pounds over the holidays, you get a free t-shirt. As some of you know, I'll do almost anything for a free t-shirt!

Last year I lost about 8 pounds over the holidays - from two weeks before Thanksgiving to the middle of January. I am sorry to say that I gained it all back over the Spring and Summer. So the only place I have to go is down.....our office is having a competition with other offices for bragging rights to the team that looses the most. Hope I can contribute to their success!

Traveling Masterpiece

I have been participating in a project for over a year now. It is called the Traveling Masterpiece. A canvas has been circulating through a list of those interested in contributing to the canvas. We get the canvas in the mail add something to it and send it on. I was appalled that it has taken over a year to reach me....until I had it of course. Now I see why it has taken so long. First I had to admire the work I received. Then I had to wait for inspiration to strike on how to improve the canvas. Then I had to get brave to actually apply my idea. Then I had to admire it for awhile. Now, I am ready to part with it and send it on it's way.

The masterpiece is nothing like I imagined. It is different, better, grows on you....it tells a story! Very cool - I hope to be involved in a project like this again.

I have asked Super Hubby to take a picture of it, so hopefully I will add a picture very soon so you can see the traveling masterpiece.

Happy Birthday US Marine Corps

Sorry for the quick post - but needed to wish a Happy Birthday to everyone connected with, in love with, or associated with the Marine Corps. It's the Corps' birthday today born in 1775~

Semper Fi.

Weekend Here I Come

This should be an exciting weekend. Ashley, aka The Princess, has her first horse show where she's totally in control. Previously she's been on lead line with an adult leading her and she is perched atop the horse - sort of a proto-type Auto Pilot. This year she has progressed to walk trot where she is in charge of the horse. She is very good at hanging on - but working on the finer points of riding and showing. We are all very excited - hopefully I'm not putting to much pressure on her! We'll know tomorrow morning if the pressure cooker gage blows! I am taking the camera (the one I haven't broken yet) with me, so you should actually see some pic's on Monday'ish.

As a side note....I am participating in National Blog Month, so I've been exposed to some blogs I don't normally see. It's been really fun. This morning I read Fleur De Aleta.
Aleta had a great post yesterday about credit card company shenanigans....The requirements to be part of this organization is to blog every day during the month of Oct....I'm not doing so well, but it's interesting to wander around and see other blogs.

Prepare not Change

Today's post is in honor of National Blog Action Day. The subject is Climate Change. I am ashamed to say that I am not as informed scientifically on this subject as I should be....why should a crafty girl feel guilty about this you ask????

(Thanks for asking) Because I work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where cutting edge really cool science is being done on Climate Change. So if you want to know some really technical stuff about the subject, click on the link to read a cutting edge article and then follow your nose around their site.




As for me and my naive understanding, I am wondering why the world is so concerned with slowing down climate change as opposed to preparing for it's eventual happening? Perhaps we are, but we're just not hearing about it? I base my opinion about the inevitable climate change on the many offerings the History and Science television channels produce depicting what happened during the previous catastrophic climate upheavals - you know ice ages, mass warming trends which assisted the separation of continents and so on?

Believe it or not, even without the intervention of man, the climate changes! Shocking I know! Who would have thought such a thing.....surely these scientists who suggest such a thing are crazy! Or is that passionate - I always get those confused. So, if the climate is going to change anyway or some meteorite is going to crash into earth causing devastating climatic variances, I would prefer the scientists work on survivability. Might I suggest we start with the cockroach, now there is a creature that has survivability! Next they need to develop a space suit we will look good in. That's it, that's the extent of my scientific suggestions, everything else I leave to the professionals.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about clean water, pollution reduction, green spaces... but for the sake of enhanced living experiences not to avoid climate change....that one was set in motion long before we humans could do anything about it....lets learn how to live with it!

Oh and I almost forgot....I would like affordable solar panels so I can become independent from the energy companies....now I'm finished!

Planning my Christmas Dinner

Well folks, I know this is crazy, but I'm actually planning my Christmas menu!

ThistleDew is hosting the Family Christmas on my side of the family. My fab sister Ellie from Windy Meadows started the tradition about five years ago. My siblings, and their families, and our mother get together a few weeks before Christmas to do fun things including a stocking exchange. We collect funky and cheap items throughout the year and stuff each others stockings. Sometimes it's caste off items, sometimes it's fun toiletries, sometimes its hilarious stuff we find at a garage sale....you just never know. It also includes retro candy! A personal favorite of mine.

Well since ThistleDew House is newly built and this is our first Christmas - we're hosting! So I must compete with my Fab Sister.....which is going to be difficult. I have decided to do a traditional English Roast Beef Dinner with Prime Rib, Yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes. This could cause some concern on my husband's side of the family because I made this dinner for them 10 years ago and they have been requesting a repeat ever since....a few things have held me back....#1 the cost of prime rib, #2 you can never make it as good as you did the first time. This is ok for my family, because they didn't have it the first time (which did turn out awesome). I did practice for a month on the Yorkshire puddings, until my husband cried uncle already!

So I have put on my calendar to order the Choice Cut or Prime Cut Standing Rib roast the second week of November to ensure I have an awesome piece of meat come the second week of December. More on the recipes I've chosen and a pictorial session of the meal assembly to follow over the next two months.

For now, it's back to crocheting....with pictures of that to follow after I fix the camera.

Blog Action Month

I have joined the blog action month - see the icon to the left. I guess I'm a little behind as it's the 8th and I'm posting my first blog....sorry about that.

I am very into crocheting now - it's getting colder and I'm getting motivated.....more tomorrow!