Shake it to the left...
...and shake it to the right.
For the finale, the video.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Dancing Machine
We finally captured Lauren's sweet dancing skills on Thanksgiving. While shopping for Christmas decorations, Grandma found a snow globe that plays music when you press a button. Of course Lauren liked that. First, the still shots.
Shake it to the left...
...and shake it to the right.
For the finale, the video.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Shake it to the left...
...and shake it to the right.
For the finale, the video.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Twelve days of Christmas can be awfully pricey.
While doing my normal morning news roundup, I found this article about what the gifts outlined in the Twelve Days of Christmas would cost if purchased today. First of all, who has the time to come up with this, and who really cares? Apparently I do.
The cost of buying each of the items once would be $19,507, but if you bought them repeatedly like the song suggests, it would add it up $78,100 for all 364 items. I never really noticed it before, but this song has a strange fascination with birds. You'd end up with 184 various birds by the time it was all said and done. And 100 assorted drummers, leapers, dancers and pipers to throw quite a party. I wonder how they'd mix with the birds.
The cost of buying each of the items once would be $19,507, but if you bought them repeatedly like the song suggests, it would add it up $78,100 for all 364 items. I never really noticed it before, but this song has a strange fascination with birds. You'd end up with 184 various birds by the time it was all said and done. And 100 assorted drummers, leapers, dancers and pipers to throw quite a party. I wonder how they'd mix with the birds.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Book Report #1
So, I have the list of books that I'm reading on the right side of the page. I figured I might as well give you at least a high-level report on what I think of them.
I just finished reading The Collected Stories by Grace Paley. I had never heard of Grace Paley until a couple of months ago when she died. NPR had several stories about her, and she sounded like an intriguing woman who was ahead of her time. Another plus is that she wrote primarily short stories, which are much easier to fit into my schedule than a novel. So, I bought The Collected Stories, which is a compilation of three of books of short stories: The Little Disturbances of Man (1959), Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1974), and Later the Same Day (1985).
The first thing that struck me is how different her writing style is from what I'm used to reading. Call it the "book club" mentality or whatever you want, but I tend to read all contemporary fiction, usually from the bestseller section. I'm a victim of marketing. But Paley's writing style is vastly different. The tone, pace and vocabulary remind me of talking with my grandmother or great-grandmother. It made more sense in the stories from the 1959 book, but even the 1985 stories had the same kind of flow. It took awhile to get used to, but eventually I really liked it. This style was an interesting juxtaposition to the subject matter of the stories. Political commentary is woven throughout, and there are some definite sexual references. I know, women in the '50s thought about these things, but I don't think I've ever seen these ideas expressed from a female writer of that time period. I'm probably just reading the wrong books.
Secondly, it's amazing how much I was able to get to know characters in just a few short pages. Some characters, or archetypes of characters, appear in multiple stories, even in different books. All the stories feature female characters who are strong in their own way. Many are single mothers, many are poor, many are just trying to find happiness in a difficult world. I saw a piece of myself in all of them.
The other thing that intrigued me about this collection is that I really didn't like some of the stories. But that made me like the others that much more. I realized that not every story Paley had to tell would resonate with me, but would with another reader. And most importantly, these stories are rooted in her real life experiences. Some of these I will never have, and will never be able to relate to. And that's just fine with me.
So, my recommendation would be to keep this book around to pick up and read when you have a few minutes or need a break from a current novel you're reading. It's around 400 pages, so you're definitely not going to read it one sitting. Unless you sit for a really long time. Women will probably like it better than men, given the feminist undertones (well, sometimes they're not so "under"), but there are some interesting, if not entirely likeable, male characters as well. I'm glad I discovered this author. Thanks, NPR!
I just finished reading The Collected Stories by Grace Paley. I had never heard of Grace Paley until a couple of months ago when she died. NPR had several stories about her, and she sounded like an intriguing woman who was ahead of her time. Another plus is that she wrote primarily short stories, which are much easier to fit into my schedule than a novel. So, I bought The Collected Stories, which is a compilation of three of books of short stories: The Little Disturbances of Man (1959), Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1974), and Later the Same Day (1985).
The first thing that struck me is how different her writing style is from what I'm used to reading. Call it the "book club" mentality or whatever you want, but I tend to read all contemporary fiction, usually from the bestseller section. I'm a victim of marketing. But Paley's writing style is vastly different. The tone, pace and vocabulary remind me of talking with my grandmother or great-grandmother. It made more sense in the stories from the 1959 book, but even the 1985 stories had the same kind of flow. It took awhile to get used to, but eventually I really liked it. This style was an interesting juxtaposition to the subject matter of the stories. Political commentary is woven throughout, and there are some definite sexual references. I know, women in the '50s thought about these things, but I don't think I've ever seen these ideas expressed from a female writer of that time period. I'm probably just reading the wrong books.
Secondly, it's amazing how much I was able to get to know characters in just a few short pages. Some characters, or archetypes of characters, appear in multiple stories, even in different books. All the stories feature female characters who are strong in their own way. Many are single mothers, many are poor, many are just trying to find happiness in a difficult world. I saw a piece of myself in all of them.
The other thing that intrigued me about this collection is that I really didn't like some of the stories. But that made me like the others that much more. I realized that not every story Paley had to tell would resonate with me, but would with another reader. And most importantly, these stories are rooted in her real life experiences. Some of these I will never have, and will never be able to relate to. And that's just fine with me.
So, my recommendation would be to keep this book around to pick up and read when you have a few minutes or need a break from a current novel you're reading. It's around 400 pages, so you're definitely not going to read it one sitting. Unless you sit for a really long time. Women will probably like it better than men, given the feminist undertones (well, sometimes they're not so "under"), but there are some interesting, if not entirely likeable, male characters as well. I'm glad I discovered this author. Thanks, NPR!
Almost Thanksgiving
For some reason it doesn't really feel like it's almost Thanksgiving. The weather has gotten colder, we have 14 ft. of leaves in the back yard and Ohio State beat Michigan, but it still doesn't feel like Thanksgiving should be this week. I'm not looking forward to the time suck that occurs once Thanksgiving hits, either. It's like the world goes into some kind of weird time warp making Christmas seem like it's 2 weeks after turkey day.
Since our family and friends are scattered across the country, our Thanksgiving is usually pretty low key. We'll be heading to my mom's house, about 15 minutes away, so at least we won't have to pay outrageous gas prices to travel somewhere. Of course my mother doesn't know how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for less than 12 people, so we'll definitely have leftovers upon leftovers. I basically gave up on grocery shopping this weekend, knowing we'd be eating turkey and stuffing for half the week.
I'm cooking a few things, but cooking is somewhat of an art form now that Lauren is walking around. She's close to 3 ft. tall, so her hands can easily reach the open flame of the gas burners on the stove. (Don't worry, she hasn't burned herself since her birthday.) She understands most of what we're saying, but she doesn't understand why she can't touch the stove and why Mom and Dad are so mean when they say no to that. Any serious cooking or baking has to be done after Lauren goes to bed.
The last 3 or 4 days have been interesting around the house. Lauren and Chris have both developed a nasty, snotty, cold. I'm not quite sure how I've managed to avoid it. Maybe Chris has been getting more snotty, open-mouth kisses from Lauren than I have. It's probably only a matter of time.
Have a good week!
Since our family and friends are scattered across the country, our Thanksgiving is usually pretty low key. We'll be heading to my mom's house, about 15 minutes away, so at least we won't have to pay outrageous gas prices to travel somewhere. Of course my mother doesn't know how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for less than 12 people, so we'll definitely have leftovers upon leftovers. I basically gave up on grocery shopping this weekend, knowing we'd be eating turkey and stuffing for half the week.
I'm cooking a few things, but cooking is somewhat of an art form now that Lauren is walking around. She's close to 3 ft. tall, so her hands can easily reach the open flame of the gas burners on the stove. (Don't worry, she hasn't burned herself since her birthday.) She understands most of what we're saying, but she doesn't understand why she can't touch the stove and why Mom and Dad are so mean when they say no to that. Any serious cooking or baking has to be done after Lauren goes to bed.
The last 3 or 4 days have been interesting around the house. Lauren and Chris have both developed a nasty, snotty, cold. I'm not quite sure how I've managed to avoid it. Maybe Chris has been getting more snotty, open-mouth kisses from Lauren than I have. It's probably only a matter of time.
Have a good week!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Forget last weekend, fans of Ohio teams
Let's just say last weekend wasn't so great for fans of pretty much any Ohio sports team. OSU football, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Cleveland Browns all lost. The Bengals won, though, and CC Sabathia won the Cy Young award for the American League. I guess it's not all bad.
I'm getting ready to watch the Jackets take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Cross your fingers...we got off to a good start but have lost 4 straight. Someday we'll have a good team.
I'm getting ready to watch the Jackets take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Cross your fingers...we got off to a good start but have lost 4 straight. Someday we'll have a good team.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Congratulations. You all read at a collegiate level.
You'll notice a new icon on the right side of the screen showing that this blog's reading level is College (undergrad). I can't compete with Insource/Outsource, but hey, college level is pretty darn good for a family blog. (Thanks James!)
Even though I missed a day of posting, I'm still going to try to post daily. I'm not making any promises for Thanksgiving weekend, though. Too much tryptophan won't make for good blogging, although the pictures of Lauren eating her first Thanksgiving dinner will.
Have a good week!
Even though I missed a day of posting, I'm still going to try to post daily. I'm not making any promises for Thanksgiving weekend, though. Too much tryptophan won't make for good blogging, although the pictures of Lauren eating her first Thanksgiving dinner will.
Have a good week!
Monday, November 12, 2007
I'm a failure.
Apparently 10 days was all I could make it. Maybe I'll blame it on my rousing celebration of Veterans Day. Of course that would be lying. I just forgot.
To make up for it, some long overdue Lauren pictures!
Halloween
You may notice that the wings to the angel costume are practically strangling her. It's the only way we could get her to leave them on. The halo also stayed home. We made it to one house.
Getting ready for winter
Chris swears that second picture is Lauren, but I think he actually found a Lauren body double. She doesn't really look like that. Ever. Her hair does look like that most of the time, though. There's too much for it to lay nicely, but not enough to do anything with. Throw a hat into the picture and you end up with Donald Trump. Someday the pigtails will arrive.
To make up for it, some long overdue Lauren pictures!
Halloween
You may notice that the wings to the angel costume are practically strangling her. It's the only way we could get her to leave them on. The halo also stayed home. We made it to one house.
Getting ready for winter
Chris swears that second picture is Lauren, but I think he actually found a Lauren body double. She doesn't really look like that. Ever. Her hair does look like that most of the time, though. There's too much for it to lay nicely, but not enough to do anything with. Throw a hat into the picture and you end up with Donald Trump. Someday the pigtails will arrive.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Lauren's a big girl
I've officially decided that Lauren is no longer a baby and instead is a little girl. It's a little sad to admit it, but at the same time it's pretty rewarding because I must have had something to do with it. Some ways that I know she's not a baby anymore:
Go Blue Jackets.
1. She eats the same food I do.I could probably try to think of 3 more to complete a top ten list, but I'm drowning my sorrows from the Buckeyes' loss, so I'm not going to.
2. She only naps once a day.
3. She wears shoes, and not just because they make her outfit look cute.
4. She points to things and then says what they are. Like the cats.
5. She throws tantrums. I'd be fine if she didn't do this one.
6. She meets me at the door when I come home from work.
7. She tickles me.
Go Blue Jackets.
Friday, November 9, 2007
TGIF
This has been kind of a crazy week at work, so I'm definitely glad the weekend's here. I don't have any plans to do anything other than hang out with Lauren, and that's just fine with me. Oh yeah, and post on here once a day.
Okay, that's the true slacker post. Have a good weekend everyone!
Okay, that's the true slacker post. Have a good weekend everyone!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
I've made it a whole week!
It is kind of satisfying to look at the listings of posts by month on the right side of the screen and see 7 for November as I begin this post. And I actually kind of like taking the time to write a little something every day. It makes me think about what's important and interesting in my life. Like planning for the holidays. I know, I just ranted a few days ago about how it's not time for the holidays yet. But apparently the evil marketing machine is getting to me and I've resigned myself to start thinking about Christmas now.
If you're like me, there's always at least one person you get stuck on, and all of a sudden its December 23rd and you still don't have a gift for them. In an effort to prevent the Bilek family from being your sticking point, below are some things we'd like as gifts. Not that you have to buy us a gift. Cards are fine.
Lauren
--board puzzles, the simple wooden ones with little handles on the pieces
--books! Just make sure the pages don't rip easily. She likes pop-ups, but understand that they will likely be ruined within a month.
--CDs. She's discovered music and dancing. Please no Barney. Please. Seriously.
Dan Zanes is good, though.
--clothes in size 24 months or 2T. She still has chunky thighs, so stretchy is good. I have yet to find a pair of jeans that will fit.
--bath toys
--deposits to a 529 plan
--cash
Chris
--gift certificates to Golfsmith. He would like to get some new clubs for next season, and can use his employee discount.
--black socks
--cash
Deena
--gift certificates to Ann Taylor Loft
--women's business tote that will hold a laptop. Hard to explain, but they basically look like big purses, and are much more stylish than my wheelie computer bag.
--books. I've been reading more lately, so if you have a book that you love, I'd love to read it
--cash
You'll notice that cash is listed for everyone. Some people feel cash is impersonal, but I'm not one of them. Every year Chris and I put together the cash we receive for the holidays to buy one larger gift the whole family can enjoy. Last year it was our new TV. A couple years before it was a digital camera. You get the idea.
So there it is. The 2007 Bilek Family Christmas Wish List. Happy Holidays!
If you're like me, there's always at least one person you get stuck on, and all of a sudden its December 23rd and you still don't have a gift for them. In an effort to prevent the Bilek family from being your sticking point, below are some things we'd like as gifts. Not that you have to buy us a gift. Cards are fine.
Lauren
--board puzzles, the simple wooden ones with little handles on the pieces
--books! Just make sure the pages don't rip easily. She likes pop-ups, but understand that they will likely be ruined within a month.
--CDs. She's discovered music and dancing. Please no Barney. Please. Seriously.
Dan Zanes is good, though.
--clothes in size 24 months or 2T. She still has chunky thighs, so stretchy is good. I have yet to find a pair of jeans that will fit.
--bath toys
--deposits to a 529 plan
--cash
Chris
--gift certificates to Golfsmith. He would like to get some new clubs for next season, and can use his employee discount.
--black socks
--cash
Deena
--gift certificates to Ann Taylor Loft
--women's business tote that will hold a laptop. Hard to explain, but they basically look like big purses, and are much more stylish than my wheelie computer bag.
--books. I've been reading more lately, so if you have a book that you love, I'd love to read it
--cash
You'll notice that cash is listed for everyone. Some people feel cash is impersonal, but I'm not one of them. Every year Chris and I put together the cash we receive for the holidays to buy one larger gift the whole family can enjoy. Last year it was our new TV. A couple years before it was a digital camera. You get the idea.
So there it is. The 2007 Bilek Family Christmas Wish List. Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Slacker post alert
Sorry, nothing really good to report. Lauren's still waking up about 5:45-6am. I've gone from a relatively respectable 10pm bedtime to a 9pm bedtime, so apparently I should go hang out at the retirement home. And it's cold. Not Minnesota cold, but cold enough that I don't think we should take Lauren outside since we haven't bought her a winter coat or mittens yet. Not that I think she'll actually leave the mittens on her hands, but at least if they're in her vicinity it means I'm not necessarily a bad mother.
Have a good day!
Have a good day!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Nigerian scams and a tired baby
Hmm, which to start with first. I'll keep you waiting on the Nigerian scam.
First up, the time change. Usually I love "falling back." It seems like you get an extra hour of sleep, which is awesome. However, someone forgot to tell Lauren about that. This is the first time we've gone through a time change that's really affected her. She's aware enough now to know when it's time to get up and when it's time to go to bed. For the last few months you could set a clock to her nighttime sleep pattern: in bed at 7pm, out of bed at 7am. While 7am is still kinda early, especially on the weekends, we didn't really think we should complain since it was 12 continuous hours of sleep, something that seemed impossible about a year ago. Then the time change comes. Now we can't get her to stay awake until 7pm, and she's up at 6am. I suppose we should have started easing her into the change a few days ahead of it, but nobody told me that. None of my books, no websites, not the news, nothing. Argh. So, Chris is having fun trying to make her stay in bed until 7am, and I'm having fun trying to keep her awake until 7pm.
Last night it was actually pretty funny. Apparently when she gets really tired she likes to run laps around our kitchen. Then every once in a while she'll stop and just stare off into space, rubbing her head. It's like stopping makes the tired start. So then she's off running again. She also found it pretty entertaining to dig in Chris' belly button. Chris didn't appreciate it so much.
On to the Nigerian scam. You may have read about these, offically known as advance fee frauds. In a nutshell, you get an email from some guy in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. offering to give you a portion of his fortune for helping him move it to an offshore account. What really ends up happening is you have to send money to some scammer and you never get the fortune. I had always heard about these and couldn't believe people actually fell for them. There are even people who have a hobby of messing with the scammers and getting them to do really crazy things. Turnabout's fair play, I guess. Well, one showed up in my junk mail box today. Woo hoo! I've officially been targeted. Sorry, Brooks Fung, you'll get no money from me. What scares me is that these freaks now have my email. Oh well, I guess they'll just deleted along with all the offers for Viagra I get.
First up, the time change. Usually I love "falling back." It seems like you get an extra hour of sleep, which is awesome. However, someone forgot to tell Lauren about that. This is the first time we've gone through a time change that's really affected her. She's aware enough now to know when it's time to get up and when it's time to go to bed. For the last few months you could set a clock to her nighttime sleep pattern: in bed at 7pm, out of bed at 7am. While 7am is still kinda early, especially on the weekends, we didn't really think we should complain since it was 12 continuous hours of sleep, something that seemed impossible about a year ago. Then the time change comes. Now we can't get her to stay awake until 7pm, and she's up at 6am. I suppose we should have started easing her into the change a few days ahead of it, but nobody told me that. None of my books, no websites, not the news, nothing. Argh. So, Chris is having fun trying to make her stay in bed until 7am, and I'm having fun trying to keep her awake until 7pm.
Last night it was actually pretty funny. Apparently when she gets really tired she likes to run laps around our kitchen. Then every once in a while she'll stop and just stare off into space, rubbing her head. It's like stopping makes the tired start. So then she's off running again. She also found it pretty entertaining to dig in Chris' belly button. Chris didn't appreciate it so much.
On to the Nigerian scam. You may have read about these, offically known as advance fee frauds. In a nutshell, you get an email from some guy in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. offering to give you a portion of his fortune for helping him move it to an offshore account. What really ends up happening is you have to send money to some scammer and you never get the fortune. I had always heard about these and couldn't believe people actually fell for them. There are even people who have a hobby of messing with the scammers and getting them to do really crazy things. Turnabout's fair play, I guess. Well, one showed up in my junk mail box today. Woo hoo! I've officially been targeted. Sorry, Brooks Fung, you'll get no money from me. What scares me is that these freaks now have my email. Oh well, I guess they'll just deleted along with all the offers for Viagra I get.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Who am I?
I'm spending my day today pitching my project at work to senior leadership, meaning VPs and above. It's kind of weird because I'm not really asking their permission to continue the project, but I still need their blessing in order to be successful. I have to be assertive and confident so that it doesn't appear that I'm asking whether I can do it, but deferential enough to show that I value and respect their opinions.
As I listen to myself in these meetings, I sometimes wonder how I've turned into the corporate robot I appear to be. Here are things I heard myself saying today:
"We've worked hard to make sure our cross-functional team is aligned across all touchpoints so the messaging is consistent."
"I appreciate your feedback on that point. I'll make sure I touch base with (insert name here) offline to make sure we address it."
"We'll just be covering the first 17 pages of the deck I sent this morning. The remainder is an appendix for your reference."
What? Do I really talk like that? I'm like a bad version of The Office or Office Space. What's worse is that's what's expected. Nobody can actually come out and say "Different departments worked together for once so we don't seem like idiots." Or, "Oh crap, I forgot to address that. I don't want to talk about it now, though." Or, "I could only get an hour on your schedule so we can't talk about everything I know about this, but I still want you to know it."
And I'm not even 30 yet. Oh dear.
As I listen to myself in these meetings, I sometimes wonder how I've turned into the corporate robot I appear to be. Here are things I heard myself saying today:
"We've worked hard to make sure our cross-functional team is aligned across all touchpoints so the messaging is consistent."
"I appreciate your feedback on that point. I'll make sure I touch base with (insert name here) offline to make sure we address it."
"We'll just be covering the first 17 pages of the deck I sent this morning. The remainder is an appendix for your reference."
What? Do I really talk like that? I'm like a bad version of The Office or Office Space. What's worse is that's what's expected. Nobody can actually come out and say "Different departments worked together for once so we don't seem like idiots." Or, "Oh crap, I forgot to address that. I don't want to talk about it now, though." Or, "I could only get an hour on your schedule so we can't talk about everything I know about this, but I still want you to know it."
And I'm not even 30 yet. Oh dear.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
When did November 1st turn into the day after Thanksgiving?
Did I misplace my calendar? Did Congress pass some new act changing the date of Thanksgiving from the 3rd Thursday in November to November 1? Kind of like messing with the time change? Please tell me. Because I'm about to boycott Christmas.
Case #1:
It all started on October 30. Being the procrastinator that I am, Chris and I took Lauren to Target to buy her Halloween costume. I figured we'd get some good deals since we waited so late. We get to what used to be the Halloween section, only to find that it was now a tree farm. All Halloween stuff was moved to the endcaps (the things on the ends of the aisles), and all the Christmas trees, stockings, lights, snowmen, etc. was now in its place. In October. Even their website is holiday-fied.
Case #2:
I went to lunch at Olive Garden with my mom on Friday, November 2. Yummy salad and breadsticks. All was fine. Then the bill came, with the little Andes mints. I love those, so I snatched mine right up. Until I saw the wrapper. It had holly leaves on it and said "Happy Holidays."
Now, if the graphic was a pumpkin and turkey, it might not have bothered me, but holly leaves are a sure sign of Christmas.
Case #3:
On the Today show yesterday morning, they had a segment on how to find the right type of coat for your body. I know, earth-shattering news. When the models came out, they were standing in front of white Christmas trees.
"Winter Wonderland" was playing in the background. I suppose you could argue that "Winter Wonderland" is technically not a Christmas song, but when combined with traditional Christmas decor, I think it is. I turned the channel to SportsCenter.
I could go on and on. Maybe I'm oversensitive due to my past life working in retail, but I think it's gotten ridiculous. Stores had sales this weekend that are supposed to rival those of the traditional Black Friday. It's just not fun anymore.
I haven't made up my mind yet whether or not to boycott all things Christmas, such as card sending and gift giving. Maybe I'll just refuse to actually buy anything and just regift or hand make my gifts. That sounds like a lot of work, though. I'll keep you posted...
Case #1:
It all started on October 30. Being the procrastinator that I am, Chris and I took Lauren to Target to buy her Halloween costume. I figured we'd get some good deals since we waited so late. We get to what used to be the Halloween section, only to find that it was now a tree farm. All Halloween stuff was moved to the endcaps (the things on the ends of the aisles), and all the Christmas trees, stockings, lights, snowmen, etc. was now in its place. In October. Even their website is holiday-fied.
Case #2:
I went to lunch at Olive Garden with my mom on Friday, November 2. Yummy salad and breadsticks. All was fine. Then the bill came, with the little Andes mints. I love those, so I snatched mine right up. Until I saw the wrapper. It had holly leaves on it and said "Happy Holidays."
Now, if the graphic was a pumpkin and turkey, it might not have bothered me, but holly leaves are a sure sign of Christmas.
Case #3:
On the Today show yesterday morning, they had a segment on how to find the right type of coat for your body. I know, earth-shattering news. When the models came out, they were standing in front of white Christmas trees.
"Winter Wonderland" was playing in the background. I suppose you could argue that "Winter Wonderland" is technically not a Christmas song, but when combined with traditional Christmas decor, I think it is. I turned the channel to SportsCenter.
I could go on and on. Maybe I'm oversensitive due to my past life working in retail, but I think it's gotten ridiculous. Stores had sales this weekend that are supposed to rival those of the traditional Black Friday. It's just not fun anymore.
I haven't made up my mind yet whether or not to boycott all things Christmas, such as card sending and gift giving. Maybe I'll just refuse to actually buy anything and just regift or hand make my gifts. That sounds like a lot of work, though. I'll keep you posted...
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Go Bucks!
OSU's still undefeated after beating Wisconsin 38-17 today. It wasn't the most impressive win this season, but a win's a win. Lauren had a little party at Grandma's house today, so Chris and I are enjoying a night off (Thanks Grandma!)
That's gonna be it for today. This posting everyday thing is hard.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Day 2, still going strong
Woo hoo! I'm posting for my second day in a row. Something tells me this will get harder as the month goes on.
Today I'm going to brag on Nationwide for a bit. Nationwide is the title sponsor of the PGA's Nationwide Tour, a sort of minor leagues for the real PGA Tour. The Nationwide Tour Championship is being played at the Barona Creek Golf Club this week. That's in San Diego. Unless you've been living under rock, you know this area of the country was devastated by wildfires, started by some kid playing with matches. This is what Nationwide's doing about it:
So there you go. Instead of trying to actually make money off the Tour's biggest event, the PGA and Nationwide are basically forgoing any profit and donating the money to charity instead. I think that's pretty cool.
Today I'm going to brag on Nationwide for a bit. Nationwide is the title sponsor of the PGA's Nationwide Tour, a sort of minor leagues for the real PGA Tour. The Nationwide Tour Championship is being played at the Barona Creek Golf Club this week. That's in San Diego. Unless you've been living under rock, you know this area of the country was devastated by wildfires, started by some kid playing with matches. This is what Nationwide's doing about it:
Nationwide and the PGA TOUR created "Birdies for Relief," a program that will donate a minimum of $200,000 to the Red Cross Fire Relief Fund, established to provide direct support to victims of the recent wildfires. For every birdie made during the event held at Barona Creek Golf Club, Nationwide and the PGA Tour will donate $100 each, for a total of $200 per birdie. Both organizations have committed to a guarantee of at least $100,000 each or $200,000 total. The four-round championship begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday.
In addition to the donations made through the program, Nationwide donated 40 Pro-Am playing spots in support of local relief efforts. The Championship, via the Century Club of San Diego, which is managing the Tour at Barona Creek, extended invitations to San Diego firefighters to participate in the Barona Pro-Am. Twenty-eight will be participating, along with eight junior golfers from San Diego's First Tee Program, the Pro Kids Golf Academy. Each firefighter will be paired with a member of the Nationwide Tour.
The Century Club of San Diego also announced the decision to grant free admission to the Tour and encourage spectators to make a donation to the Red Cross Fire Relief Fund at the gate in lieu of a ticket purchase.
So there you go. Instead of trying to actually make money off the Tour's biggest event, the PGA and Nationwide are basically forgoing any profit and donating the money to charity instead. I think that's pretty cool.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
NaBloPoMo
What the heck is that? It's National Blog Posting Month. So, in an effort to spend every last minute of my day doing something other than working, playing with Lauren or watching TV, I'm gonna try it. Basically the goal is to get bloggers everywhere to post once a day for the entire month. Why? I don't know. It's the Internet. What this means to you is that you're probably going to learn more about the Bilek family than you ever wanted or needed to know.
On to family news, since it's been awhile. Last night was Lauren's first official Halloween. I don't count last year since she couldn't really do much other than eat, sleep and fill a diaper. This year didn't really count either. Yesterday Lauren decided she wasn't going to sleep much, so by the time 6pm rolled around, she was reallllllly crabby. We still stuffed her into her angel costume (purchased at Target the night before) and took her to the neighbor house across the street with her little plastic pumpkin. We had to practically glue the wings to her, and the halo had evil pokey things on the headband so we gave up on that. I'll post some pictures later tonight. She was sufficiently cute, even if she did scrape her knee on the driveway.
We also went to Tenzin's first birthday Oktoberfiesta over the weekend. The weather wasn't the greatest, but the food and company were. I've decided that first birthdays are really just preparation for what goes on Christmas morning.
Alright, I better stop before I run out of things to write about tomorrow.
On to family news, since it's been awhile. Last night was Lauren's first official Halloween. I don't count last year since she couldn't really do much other than eat, sleep and fill a diaper. This year didn't really count either. Yesterday Lauren decided she wasn't going to sleep much, so by the time 6pm rolled around, she was reallllllly crabby. We still stuffed her into her angel costume (purchased at Target the night before) and took her to the neighbor house across the street with her little plastic pumpkin. We had to practically glue the wings to her, and the halo had evil pokey things on the headband so we gave up on that. I'll post some pictures later tonight. She was sufficiently cute, even if she did scrape her knee on the driveway.
We also went to Tenzin's first birthday Oktoberfiesta over the weekend. The weather wasn't the greatest, but the food and company were. I've decided that first birthdays are really just preparation for what goes on Christmas morning.
Alright, I better stop before I run out of things to write about tomorrow.
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