What I Learned On my Vacation....
This last week, I took time off from work. While on my vacation I learned the following:

*You can go years from watching Days of Our Lives and still be able to pick up the story pretty much right where you left off. Also, the Christmas episode of Days doesn't change either.

*Daytime TV really isn't that great, but I will say that if you have a desire to earn your degree as a medical assistant or massage therapist, there are many options available to you.

*While I don't mind being at home on a vacation with nothing to do, I'd still like the option to do something. However, that is hard to do when you get slammed with 22 inches of snow over 3 days. 3 days people. Here is the before (taken on Wednesday, Dec. 23) and after (taken Saturday, Dec 26th) of the snow pole at the end of our driveway so that the plows know where the corner of the driveway is. Yes, it's piled up that high.







*Wii Monopoly is nothing like regular Monopoly. Like regular Monopoly....I'm terrible at it.

*I still can't master Wii archery. And I used to teach archery at camp. Sad. Very, very sad.

*Shrink wrapping your windows with one of those home window kits is great....if the double sided tape would continue to stick to the window. What good is a window sealing kit if the darn thing won't stay stuck? Can't wait to see next month's heat bill!

*Speaking of a chilly house, you know it's cold when the cat sleeps on the bed and covers her face with her paws.



*The Big Guy got one of those chocolate oranges in his stocking this year. While the chocolate oranges are fun to whack on the counter and have little sections to eat, I still don't like fruit flavored chocolate. I try it every year thinking my taste buds will change. Nope. Not at all.

*Because of the snow fall, the Big Guy couldn't drive to work on Friday because of terrible road conditions. This resulted in sharing the remote control. I learned he doesn't care for 70's sitcoms. How could I have not known this?

*Because of the snow, I had an impromptu craft project. I made a Tooth Fairy pouch for my friend Jennifer who's 6 year old has her first loose tooth. Here it is.....isn't that cute?




Speaking of my cat....

She just popped up and peeked over the coffee table at me the other night. All I saw were ears and two eyes. Cracked me up.

I also came to the recollection that next Christmas, there will be big changes in our lives and the lives of those around us, which is very exciting and scary all at the same time. Check out my blog on Friday for my plans for 2010.

There is more on deck than a wedding, people! No. I'm not pregnant.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!
I hope your Christmas is full of love, joy & warm hearts.

Image from Google Images

Scene from A Christmas Story

I know ours is.
As well as 22 inches of snow that began on Wednesday night and isn't supposed to end until Saturday morning.

Have a great holiday, everyone!

What Do These Women Have In Common?

So what do Valerie Bertinelli (you know...the actress from One Day at a Time, Touched by an Angel and the Jenny Craig commercials)....





Former First Lady Laura Bush (yes. Laura Bush)....

Author & Breast Cancer survivor Kelly Corrigan (you go girl....).....

Emmy Award & Oscar Winning actress Helen Hunt (I loved the show Mad About You....)....

And Author Lee Woodruff (he husband is Bob Woodruff who was the journalist who was injured in Iraq while doing a media piece...)....

What do these women have in common?
Besides awesome promotional photos?

They will be a part of the Smart Talk lecture series! If you remember, last year I got to attend the lectures of Phylicia Rashad and Diane Keaton. This year, the series is back and they have some amazing women set to lecture.

Never in my life would I have thought that I'd be attending a lecture outside of college. Then again, I'd probably attend more lectures in college if Helen Hunt or Former First Lady Laura Bush were giving them. Regardless, this isn't your typical lecture about how someone is trying to push their cause or get you to donate money to some organization.

Nope.

While they may be celebrities, you often forget that you're listening to a celebrity and are listening to a woman who is just like you. As the press release says, "...The performers share their real, very personal views and life experiences in a way that is intimate, empowering and, above all, connected to the lives of women everywhere."

If you're interested in attending, check out the Smart Talk site and see if a lecture is happening near you!

Now....what would you ask each of these ladies if you had the chance? Give me an idea because honestly, I'm easily star struck and I need something to ask these amazing women!

Anyone got any ideas?
I'm writing this post from my refurbished laptop! My friend R did great work and for $70 (and a pan of Cinnamon Rolls), he was able to put in a new hard drive, reinstall all of my software and walla! A working laptop!

Thanks, R!

The other day Amy and I did a phone interview with the alumni office at our undergraduate, The University of North Dakota. We talked about our 3 day team (which is made up of a lot of UND graduates) and the card project. We were asked to give our interview to be a part of the upcoming winter edition of the alumni magazine to share our story of how we came to be.

One of the questions I was asked....how do people know about your project? My reply was "mostly word of mouth."

That's when it hit me. There has to be a way to promote our cause. We do work with Spirit Jump, and that is pretty much where we get our card requests. I'm grateful for this connection and we will continue to work with them. But I'd like to be able to see our project get requests from all over. How cool would it be for us to get card requests from Spirit Jump and other means?

In other words, I want to expand.

But how?

Any ideas?