Food - Family - Festive Fun

-- our pretty red, white & silver tree --

So the holiday season is officially upon us. Thanksgiving is always so crazy. Many family members to see & so much food to eat. We enjoyed ourselves. It was nice to see everyone and even greater to not be at work! YAY for a break. Dinner with my favorite siblings, lunch at the in-laws, dinner at my parents, shopping, resting, holiday decorating, birthday celebrations, reading, sleeping late and just taking in all the things that I am thankful for and don't get to do enough of. So with christmas plans and a packed full work agenda waiting in the wings ... I am looking forward to one more day here at home. 

-- yup, we're turkeys. what can i say? --

Google Talk BETA!!!

I have previously alluded to my love of Google and all the fun products and services they provide. My friend AJ introduced me to yet another fun treat today ... Google Talk. Yes, friend that is G-Chat with audio and video capabilities. It also does gmail notifications, regular IM, PC-to-PC (or Mac-to-Mac) voice calls and file transfers. Get excited!! Hope to see you soon.

Do something kind today

I know that most of us spend hours a day on the computer. Between doing work and surfing the net for personal reasons, we rack up a lot of screen time. I hope that you can find it in your heart to participate in this worthwhile initiative. Below are details about the Bert Show's Big Thank You 2008. I urge you to take 15 seconds (really it takes that long) and send a message of thanks or appreciation to deserving soldiers around the world.

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Last year, Bert Show listeners answered the call. In just two weeks, the Bert Show listening community collected over 350,000 handwritten thank you letters that were sent to every serviceman and servicewoman stationed outside the United States. The Bert Show's Big Thank You 2007 was a patriotic symbol of support and an extraordinary success. This year we're going even bigger.

The goal of The Bert Show's Big Thank You 2008 is to collect 1,051,200 unique messages by Thanksgiving Day. Each message will be posted on this site, and when we reach our goal, we will have enough messages to display a new flashing one on this site every thirty seconds ... for one entire year!

Our servicemen and women -- no matter what branch of the military they are in, no matter where in the world they are stationed-- will only be a click away from seing your thoughts of appreciation! It's ambitious, but with lots of help it can be done. Help us say 'thank you' by submitting your message here! And tell your friends about this site and encourage them to leave messages and tell their friends about the Bert Show's Big Thank You 2008. You will be notified of the exact time your message will be flashed for all the troops to see after you click the submit button.

Happy Organizing!

HO - HO - HO!!
Yup it's another great place to go searching for the perfect gift for that someone special in your life. I am a little OCD when it comes to organizing things. I love bins, cubbies, folders, boxes ... basically any mechanism to keep things neat & tidy. If you are cursed with this same affliction, than http://www.organize.com/ is the place for you. **WARNING** once you start searching this site, it's hard to stop. They recently added a new section that I think is fantastic. It is called the {she} shop. Think of woman you would like to buy a gift for. Is she a career girl? A mom? The ultimate party hostess? A bride-to-be? They have compiled a list of items based on the general needs of particular categories. It doesn't cover everything, but it is a great jumping off point. Pretty fun huh? I love it. I just ordered the biggest shoe rack ever. Looking to clear up some major floor space in the ole' closet. Review to come, post installation of course. Happy organizing.

Olan Mills

We've all seen them. Let's be honest, most of us can claim to appear in at least one. The Olan Mills portrait. Check out these classics -- HILARIOUS!! The captions are priceless. Thanks Erik for this fun little piece of entertainment. If you want more just Google image search "olan mills"... there are way too many.

ICE is here!!

Well almost. The The Indie Craft Experience Holiday Shopping Spectacular 2008 is this Saturday, Nov. 15 from 11 am - 6 pm at Ambient + Photo Studio (Located at 585 Wells St. SW Unit A * Atlanta, GA 30312). Please come out and support independent artists and crafters!! You can check out photos from past shows at the ICE Flickr page.

Pink Loves Brown

Nicole Balch is an awesome indie crafter and founder of her own company Pink Loves Brown. She makes the greatest stationary suitcase sets. She also has tons of other amazing products like bookplates, pins, magnets and the cutest collection of "periodic table of sentiments". All of her stuff is so original and lovely. Speaking of ... she also has a super fun blog called Making it Lovely. She just added 13 paper suitcase stationary gift sets to her store, you should check it out. Psst...this is a fun gift for anyone in your life who like to give cards or write letters.

Election Day

I have made it a point not to talk politics here, however I felt like this was the only day appropriate to say a few words about our democratic process. This is by far the biggest and most widely anticipated election that most of us will witness in our lifetime. There have been heated debates, passionate speeches, an abundance of promises, mountains of anxiety and more "enthusiasm" than anyone could have predicted. This election will define our country today. No matter which way the people of our nation swing the vote, we will all be affected. Do whatever you feel is right. If you're uninformed, or for that matter mis-informed, stay home. Voting is a privilege. Don't haul yourself out to the polls to vote for this guy just because you are afraid the other guy might win. Do not feverishly denounce one candidate and yet, when questioned about your righteous indignation, not even possess the capability to articulate why. Don't vote based on the content of chain-letter emails and slanderous Internet messages. Don't vote for your party because that is what you've always done. Don't vote for that white guy because he's the status-quo. Don't vote for that black guy just because he's not. Know the issues at hand. Know what you stand for and choose the candidate that most closely reflects your ideals. Do not be lulled into a false sense of acceptance with your choice for President. Do not let yourself forget for one minute that he is not a one man decision making machine. Our President is pushed, pulled, swayed, bullied and bought by the advisors, government leaders, lobbyist, media, corporations, analyst and us that surround him. They all "aid" him in making the important decisions he faces while in office. The campaign has been important. This election day is a huge deal. Do not forget though that the "change" will be made over the span of the whole presidential term. I've heard people say vote with your heart. Please, I beg you, engage your brain in the process. Do not be fooled. Do not be apathetic. Do not be ignorant. Please. Happy Election Day.

-- oh how i LOVE google --

Just a thought ...

How far you go in your life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.
-- George Washington Carver