A Special Evening

I had a lovely night out recently at the Gardiner Cafe, inside the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art downtown. I was invited to a women's financial seminar which included guest speakers, and a 3 course dinner with wine pairings prepared by chef Jamie Kennedy in the Gardiner Cafe inside the museum. We were also able to do a tour of the museum. It holds collections dating from 700 AD.

I went with a girlfriend and we had a great time at the upscale dinner. At our table, the lovely young woman who sat on one side of me was a film producer and an aspiring author. She had started this book and got the idea to use Google Earth to visit 'locations' that would help her set the scene. You can zoom in on a railroad track in Vancouver, for example. She was a married mother of two young children and unfortunately had to leave before the main course to attend another event.

Another young woman had a busy job involving a lot of travel to the U.S. We spoke about the X-Ray scans versus the 'pat downs'. She said she missed a flight once just being stuck in security, because they don't move you up anymore if you are in danger of missing your flight. I mentioned I was happy at home simply raising my kids. Admittedly, I said, some people get their self-esteem from their job. The young lady assured me that while she had a good job, she didn't get her self-esteem from it and that she would be perfectly happy not to work! We laughed, but she did say she wished she had a job where she was actually helping someone, as opposed to working for pure corporate profit. It was interesting that she had already come to that self-knowledge and that was certainly a good thing.

The other ladies at the table were just as interesting, with different stories to tell, but this is not a book! Of course, we also spoke about finances, as boring as that can be, it's necessary to have knowledge of your financial affairs and indeed a will, because life can change at any moment. As we left, Jamie Kennedy presented each lady with his autographed cookbook. The weather was mild (-2C) and the big city, night time atmosphere was a great break from the daily routine. Oh, I had the pickerel for my main course, but I heard the squab (a deboned kind of pigeon) was equally delicious.

Sunday Sketches - Elephant

This week's Sunday Sketches is of a 'Drowned Elephant Calf' claimed by recent floods in Sri Lanka. The startling photo caught my attention in the newspaper.

Please stop by the other participants to see what they did this week!








News

Winterlicious 2011 (runs Jan 28 - Feb 10 this year)

'Every winter over a hundred fine dining restaurants in Toronto offer prix fixe (fixed price) lunch and dinner menus as part of "Winterlicious", which also includes special culinary-themed events. If you want in on the Winterlicious Prix-Fixe promotion, reservations are highly recommended and easy to make'

I've never attended one of these, but I've been hearing about it for years, it's a popular promotion.

Some Healthy New Recipes

I found some healthy new recipes to try:

Garlicky Baked Crispy Chicken

Caesar-ish Salad

News

Kindle books now outselling paperbacks at Amazon

Amazon sales up 40% in 2010

Baked Chips

I bought some of these baked potato chips. They are by no means calorie free, but they taste quite good and it says it has 80% less fat than the regular fried ones. I think they have improved on the taste, I remember trying them years ago and they weren't very good. To go with them, I made some dip with 3% sourcream, onion flakes, paprika and dried basil. But they are fine without any dip. They also come in other flavours as pictured.

News

Awesome Foundation offers cash for crazy ideas

What do you think of Starbucks' new size?

10 cheap ways to be happy

Droste Fudge Brownies

K asked me to make some brownies on the weekend, and I found this simple recipe on the internet for Droste fudge brownies. They were chewy, moist and quick to make! I will be sure to whip them up again, just about anytime I have unsalted butter on hand. It's just a matter of adding 6 or 7 ingredients to a bowl, mix for one minute and bake.


News

Polar bear swam for 9 days straight looking for ice

Looking at ‘food porn’ and imagining eating helps you eat less: Study
The article says:
'Morewedge believes that using visualization — imagining eating potato chips for a period before eating your first chip — could reduce the amount you eventually eat. But he warns that distractions, such as television or a second snack option would likely impair the process.'

Car Trouble

Well, K had to go to his Science exam early yesterday morning, except that my car wouldn't start. This was kind of stressful. Luckily, M was working at home that day and took K to school on time. M looked at us as if we had done something to the car, I guess he was stressed too. He thought the battery needed a boost, but we hooked the cables up to no avail. So we called CAA auto service to come and tow it to the car shop.

Meanwhile K called to say he had finished his exam half an hour early. He said it was easy. He is allowed extra time due to his learning disability. Maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all! He was well prepared to the point where we were watching old episodes of 'Entourage' the night before the exam.

The serviceman arrived in about an hour and a half. He used a portable kind of battery charger to boost the car. I didn't even know such things existed. So with these, you don't need to have another car around in order to boost your car battery. While the car was still running, I drove it to the car shop. We ended up having the battery replaced and fortunately it is still under warranty, so there was NO CHARGE.

I had a dental appointment in the afternoon, so I was glad to have the car fixed in a little over an hour while I waited.

News

Beautiful People

Here's some sensible eating advice:

Until vegetables dominate meal plates, weight loss will be slow

Photo Machine

M needed to print some photos, something we don't do often. So I was at Costco and snapped the photo machine to show him the different types of input the machines accept these days. I was surprised, it takes every imaginable type of input. We are really in the digital age.

I heard these young girls talking at the gym yesterday. They looked about 18. Anyway, they helped me figure out why I'm so comfortable with a scheduled routine. It brings a sense of order to your day, and being a fairly organized person, that's important. I think one of them had a crazy work schedule, and she said she needed some sense of order to her day.

The general conversation at the gym was about the weather and how cold it's been the past few days, although today is supposed to be the start of a 'warming trend' (-4C as opposed to -19C). At -19C, the car struggles to start in the morning!

While I was on the elliptical machine, Linda Evans (of Dynasty) made an appearance on the Rachel Ray show. First of all, she's a beautiful woman. She spoke about her life and she sounded like a really nice person. She and Rachel said they cook for love as opposed to having a favourite dish, meaning that what you cook depends on who you're cooking it for. You want it to be something THEY love. They got along famously. Now, I wouldn't say I cook for the same reason. My favourite dishes tend to be what 'I' love, lol.

K and I had an enjoyable lunch yesterday at Swiss Chalet after one of his exams. I had a 'buy one get one free' dinner coupon that expired this week, so we wanted to use that, and we love Swiss Chalet. We both had Super Sundaes for dessert, they have the best chocolate sauce and all the whipped cream on top of the cold ice cream makes it even better.

M celebrated the birth of a new great-niece yesterday! The family is growing. His niece now has a boy and a girl.

News

Dubai opens 'world's highest restaurant'

The Weekend

It was a good weekend, although bitterly cold (-15C). K seemed to finish all his studying as he had been working hard during the week. So on Saturday we took a break and went out to dinner at Boston Pizza. This was K's choice, he loves their chicken wings. We had a nacho appetizer. M and I split an order of seafood pasta. Interestingly, we had been to a Boston Pizza at the other end of the city before Christmas and the servings there seemed to be double the size. That's why we thought we would split a main course. Anyway, we were quite full afterward and happy not to have over-eaten. Dessert was our favourite, a brownie and ice-cream concoction that we all split. The waitress was sweet to remind us we could use our Air Miles card for points at the time of paying the bill.

Later that night, we watched the first season of the Entourage TV series starring Adrian Grenier. I had seen an article on this actor in the newspaper and thought he was so handsome. Entourage turns out to be a male friendship comedy drama with lots of swearing, etc. But we loved it. It's apparently completed its sixth season, so we have lots of catching up to do. I don't watch a lot of TV, so it was a relaxing change for me.

L had video-called earlier in the day to report that she had had the most wonderful big breakfast at a restaurant. Two eggs over-easy, bacon, french toast and then she showed us the leftover pancake she had brought home. It looked huge and delicious. They were celebrating a friend's birthday. Apparently the celebrations would continue that evening as they were also going out to dinner.


News

Website challenges visitors to do nothing

Crocodile loses appetite after swallowing cell phone

Sunday Sketches - Mirror

I did a mirror for today's Sunday Sketches. M thought it was a wreath, L thought it was a ring, and K guessed correctly that it was a mirror! I took inspiration from a mirror I noticed in a store at the mall, pictured below. Please visit the other talented artists participating this week!






News

Arthur Frommer: The lessons travel has taught me

'Travel has taught me that, despite differences in dress and language and condition, all the world’s people are essentially alike. We have the same urges and concerns; we yearn for the same things. And those who patronize others or regard them as funny or backward are foolish indeed; they have not yet learned the lessons of travel'

Senior Olympic Synchronized Swimming

This is a hilarious video.

K is studying for end of semester exams this weekend. So far, he's had his best semester ever in terms of marks. He's thinking about getting a job, seems to be motivated to make some money. But I'm thinking he should wait until the summer, so he can focus on schoolwork.

L is busy looking for off-campus housing with a bunch of her floormates. So far, the first place they looked at seems to be the best. They've seen about 15 other places. I think it won't be long before they make a decision. She's doing some fund raising for one of her school clubs among other activities. We seem to be communicating a lot with Gmail Video Chat. She always knows when I'm online and will just make a quick video call whenever.

I'd like to see the new Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman movie, 'No Strings Attached'. Of course, it didn't get a good review because it's a mindless romantic comedy, but it's what I like.


News

75 Surprising Expiration Dates

Third of young grey whales eaten by killer whales, scientists find

Dinner with girlfriends

I got this in an email and thought it was a good one:



A group of 15 year old girlfriends discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Dairy Queen next to the Ocean View restaurant because they only had $6.00 between them and Jimmy Johnson, that cute boy in Social Studies, lives on that street and they might see him and they can ride their bikes there.

10 years later, the group of 25 year old girlfriends discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the beer was cheap, they had free snacks, the band was good, there was no cover and there were lots of cute guys.

10 years later, at 35 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the cosmos were good, it was right near the gym and if they go late enough, there wouldn't be too many whiney little kids.

10 years later, at 45 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the martinis were big, and the waiters there had tight pants and nice buns.

10 years later, at 55 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the food there was reasonable, the wine list was good, they had windows that open in case of a hot flash, and fish is good for your cholesterol.

10 years later, at 65 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because lighting was good and they have an early bird special.

10 years later, at 75 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because food was not too spicy, the restaurant was handicapped accessible and they even had an elevator!

10 years later, at 85 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they had never been there before.
____________________________________________________________





News

A personal top 10 list can help you make changes - I thought this was a great read, and has useful, self-help info.

Canadians spend most of waking life sedentary: StatsCan

Colonoscopy and Other Things

Warning, colonoscopy topic may be offensive to some (-:

M had a routine colonoscopy a few days ago. You are sedated for this procedure, so I followed him to the hospital and brought him home. He seems to be fine and won't require one for another 10 years. The room had a few other patients undergoing the same procedure. There wasn't much privacy so you could hear what everyone was saying. I swear the doctors are getting younger (as I age). So the doctor told one of the ladies they did find and remove 4 small polyps inside her colon. They told her not to worry as they are usually benign, and that they would follow up with her as necessary. The hardest part of the procedure seems to be the preparation the day before to empty your bowels, and having to have just clear fluids like broth and non-red jello.

We were discussing the weather among other things with the nice nurse. She remarked that the snow and ice generally never disrupt her schedule, she never thinks it's such a big deal. I told her that was a very Canadian thing to say, as we laughed. She was telling us her daughter turned 21 in university this year. The daughter and her friends went out to celebrate and one of the guys decided to pick her up and run. The girl had been wearing very high heels. Well, he tripped and she went flying onto the pavement. She hit her head and broke her pelvis. The poor mom gets this call and has to drive down to the school to get her daughter. Horrified, I asked if she was ok. She is, after a 6 week recovery. Kids will be kids and it was a horrible accident. The people in emergency did not seem surprised, 'Oh, turned 21', they figured you go out to celebrate and things can happen. They must have seen it all.


News

Portable photo booths the latest in wedding trends

Golden Globes

Have a read through this article and tell me what you think:

Ricky Jervais' rudest Golden Globes jokes

Some of my friends love this guy and don't have a problem with these jokes. Granted they are funny, but I think he went too far. Shouldn't the Golden Globes be a more classy affair? These famous actors are real people with feelings and deserve some respect, regardless of whether one is rich or poor. Shock value and high ratings go hand in hand these days, it's ok as long as it's entertaining?


News

Joining social media revolution comes at a price - your privacy

Creative Tuesdays - Scarf

When I heard this week's theme was 'scarf', the first thing that came to mind was a houndstooth pattern. So here is my houndstooth scarf. Can you spot an error in my pattern? I guess that's what makes it a true original! It's really a fascinating, classic pattern and it was quite tricky to do. I pencilled it in and then finished it with a finepoint marker. Please stop by the other Creative Tuesday entries to see their interpretation of 'scarf''.





News

Study suggests genes influence who we befriend

Street Addresses

I was having a discussion with some friends about street addresses around the world. One of my sisters made this comment about the addresses in Costa Rica, where someone she knows has a property:

' Costa Rica is one of the worst. No street addresses, so people have to get Post Office boxes or take their chances. Addresses there are directions from the the nearest known place. Like 2 streets east from the train station and 4 blocks south of the American Mall in San Jose. I once had to FedEx a package to a bank there for my friend and and the address was 6 lines long with Mdirections only, so crazy. My friend has a house there and he has no idea what the address is . He says he once saw it and just couldn't bother trying to remember it. You have to pay your phone and utility bill in the local offices or set up your account there with a credit card so you can get it charged monthly.' She went on to say 'It's small enough that they can find you though. It seems to work locally. People get so used to that they don'twant it changed. They go by directions!'

Apparently it's like this in most of Latin America, so courier companies make a fortune delivering things, nobody relies on the mail.

Another friend was saying: 'Some may think the postal codes in Canada and the U.K. are strange enough. In many countries in Europe, the word 'street' comes before its name, so instead of 'Wall Street' you would have 'Street Wall'.


News

3 Ways to design your own clothes online

Sunday Sketches - Tortilla

I was flipping through magazines at the dentist's office last week and came across a McDonald's ad. I decided to draw their tri-colour tortilla chips for this week's Sunday Sketches.

I trudged thru the newly fallen snow to church yesterday evening. I don't think the wind chill was -11C like they said, it wasn't too bad. There were a few changes on the choir for the New Year. They had a boy (about 12 years old) on drums, woke us up! He was cute like a young Justin Bieber. There was another older boy on guitar, playing very quietly. The choir sang a lively folk song at the end 'Malo malo thanks be to God'.

News

Lose weight, stay active: Six small changes can help keep off pounds

Chimps seen caring for next generation's young

Soft Puff Mints

My latest food craze are these soft puff mints. They are soft, chewy and addictive. I seem to be having 5 of them at a time (I stop for the day after 5 or 6).

Here is a healthy recipe called Penne Primavera with Fresh Salmon that I got from the 'Your Healthy Weight' website. It's on my list to try.

Penne Primavera with Fresh
Salmon

8 serving(s)

Ingredients

3 2/3 (900 ml) cups whole wheat penne

2 1/2 cups (625 ml) 2% MF milk

2 tbsp (25 ml) flour

1/3 cup (75 ml) basil pesto or more to taste

1 cup (250 ml) medium-spicy salsa

2 large garlic cloves (or to taste), minced

8 oz (250 g ) fresh salmon fillet, cooked and chunked

2 cups (500 ml) cooked chopped broccoli flowerets

2 cups (500 ml) cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup (50 ml) fresh basil, chopped

Preparation

In large pot of boiling water, cook pasta until almost tender. Drain pasta and return to pot. Whisk flour into milk and pour over pasta. Stir in pesto and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in salsa. Gently add broccoli and salmon pieces and reheat about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato halves, sprinkle with fresh basil and serve immediately.

Simplicity Wall Calendar

I found the perfect wall calendar this year called 'Simplicity - Inspiration for a Simple Life', it has a beautiful photo and quote for every month. Even better, I think it's an 18 month calendar. I thought I would share the lovely 'January' photo with you. The quote for the month says 'Honest minds are pleased with honest things', by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher.

I finally bought one of those 'group deals', 10 hot yoga classes for $19. Enough people were interested so we got the deal. It's for M to try, not me, hope it does him some good. A friend had told him yoga is good for various aches and pains.

Ricky Martin's new video has gone viral. I like it, do you? He just 'came out' the other day and is really happy now.

News

Clerk’s error wins woman $1 million in Lotto

2010 hottest year in Canada on record

What Love means / from the thoughts of 4-8-yrs.-old

I received this in an email and really enjoyed it:

What Love means to a 4-8 year old ....A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?'
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
----------------

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8
----------------

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4
----------------

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5
----------------

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6
----------------

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4
----------------

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7
----------------

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that.They look gross when they kiss.'
Emily - age 8
----------------

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
----------------

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
----------------

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt,then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7
----------------

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6
----------------

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8
----------------

'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6
----------------

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5
----------------

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7
----------------

'Love is when your puppy licks your faceeven after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4
----------------

'I know my older sister loves mebecause she gives me all her old clothesand has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4
----------------

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and downand little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7
----------------

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toiletand she doesn't think it's gross.'
Mark - age 6
----------------

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it.But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8
----------------

And the final one:
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor,the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'

Zumba

I went to a Zumba dance class at the gym last week. It was so much fun, I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

I found this description of the class:

'A fusion of hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves create a one-of-a-kind fitness program that will blow you away! With a combination of fast and slow rhythms, tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Isn’t it about time that you ditch the workout and join the party.'

So pretty soon, I'll have some Justin Bieber moves down pat, if I don't put my back out first, lol.

News

Eating carrots 'makes you more attractive': study

Twitter users have regional accents, study finds

The Topic Turned to Crime

Last week, I noticed about 6 cop cars outside a local bank, and feared the worst. Yes, they were investigating a bank robbery. The shuttle driver was taking me to pick up my own car from the repair shop. He's retired and we started talking about crime.

He said he recently had a flat tire and CAA came to replace it. They noticed that he had a very old spare tire. He was surprised and figured it was switched when he was having some work done on the car in Florida at a GM Dealership.

Then he said he knew this young man and his father from a local rep basketball team. It turns out the father had robbed about 5 local jewellery stores and was now serving time in jail. The son had been implicated in one of the robberies, being a big, burly guy. Apparently the wife/mom is quite attractive and the driver figured it must have been expensive to keep her dressed in that style. She has since had to get a job and the son had to quit basketball due to the high rep fees. It's a sad story and we blamed it on greed and on our society that forces people to try to keep up with appearances so much.

Food Photos

L and I were trading food photos on the weekend. We opened our last box of Christmas chocolates, they are sooo good, I think I will have one now. L made a spinach, cheese and potato omelette with a 100 calorie bagel for supper one night. It looks equally delicious in a healthy way.

Sunday Sketches - Bracelets

I copied these bracelets from a newspaper clipping over the holidays. So I guess I'm still in holiday mode. Well, we're still finishing up our Xmas goodies. We opened the last box of delicious chocolates today. Drop by Blue Chair Diary to see the other Sunday Sketches for this week.

Let the New Year Begin!

I received this free Jetta (Volkswagen) travel mug in the mail a few days ago because we went in for a test drive the other day, how neat is that? We really are in the market for a new car this year. Apparently their new diesel powered Jetta is winning a lot of awards and selling well. It's great value for the price. Of course, I like the more expensive models.

That same day, L received a $10 refund cheque in the mail, a school book rebate we had mailed in awhile back. Then M came home with a BestBuy gift certificate he had received at work. To top it all off, I had taken my car in to repair the tire. They didn't find any problems, other than they made sure all the tires had the right amount of air. But get this, there was no charge! Let the New Year Begin!

Tryptophan and Turkey Trivia

Is there something in turkey that makes you sleepy? According to this article, there is an amino acid called tryptophan in turkey that does just that! The topic came up in my exercise class at the gym the other day. Who knew?

In other turkey trivia, at the New Years Eve party, someone told me they mis-calculated the timing while baking their turkey this Christmas. Instead of using 60 minutes in hour, they used 50, or something like that. So the turkey was not ready in time, they ended up having to wait an extra 2 hours. From now on they will have 2 people calculate the time and then double check! I commented that it was probably better this way than to have the turkey overcooked!

On a family note, K was on a winter field trip up north for 3 days this week. He had great fun tobogganing and backpacking. I was happy that they slept in cabins this time. They even dug a hole in the lake and jumped in for a bit. The teacher had them warm up in the sauna first.

Chiropodist

I've noticed that the days are getting longer, and I like that.

Well, the tire pressure light has been coming on for a particular wheel on my car once too often so I will have to take the car in to get the tire checked/repaired.

I've been checking out places in the area that do foot care for seniors, such as nail cutting. It turns out you are looking for a chiropodist/podiatrist or at least someone that is experienced with these matters. Then I'll pass the information on to my mom so she can decide what she wants to do.

My friends are telling me that Paula Abdul's new show 'Live to Dance' is a hit, very entertaining. I will have to watch the next episode. Here is a CBS preview, Paula's all heart.

I don't know why I find stories about lottery winnings fascinating. I don't buy tickets on any regular basis myself as I hate having to check them. Do you buy lottery tickets? Here are a few recent articles:

Spanish lottery player retrieves tickets worth nearly $12 million from garbage bin

First comes glee, next paperwork for lottery winners
-it seems this story has become tainted with reality. Additional claimants have come forward so payment is being delayed pending an investigation. Can you imagine knowing you've won the lottery and having to wait maybe 3 years for settlement?

Genetics Testing

I've been subscribing to a bunch of these group discount sites (Groupon, etc). Every day, you are presented with a special offer and if enough people buy the deal, the price will be guaranteed. I have yet to buy one of these deals, but one of these seemed very interesting the other day. It's a newer type of company offering genetics testing of all things:
Newtopia GeneticsA world first, Newtopia Genetics is a revolutionary form of DNA testing. It will reveal what you never knew about yourself before! Are you ready for this? I don't think I am.

Creative Tuesdays - New Year

Here's my Creative Tuesdays - New Year entry. I decided to put the focus on 'Inner Beauty' for the New Year. This is what my sketch represents.

A Booming Business

It's cold again here after a bit of mild weather. The past 2 weeks seem to have gone by in a flash and flurry of activity. The kids are already back at school today. L left on the train yesterday morning and is safely in her residence and already has a busy week ahead. She has volunteered for at least 3 clubs. As usual, it was sad to see her go, but it was time to get on with her life. It's a homecoming of sorts when they return to school. It's time for a lot of students to start thinking about off campus housing for the next school year.

K will be tired today at school after many late nights. His end of semester exams are looming towards the end of the month. The good thing is that all our Christmas decorations are packed away and I can get back to a regular exercise routine. The gym has been crowded with a lot of people we don't normally see. It usually thins out again by the end of the month.

I had bought lottery tickets for a big jackpot for me and my mom, so I went to check them at the lottery booth yesterday. You can self check your tickets by scanning them into a little machine. I was surprised how busy it was there. The lottery is a booming business. My mom won a free play, so I have to go get her to sign the ticket. She's staying alive!

Sunday Sketches - The Hairstyle

I sketched a fashion photograph that caught my eye in the newspaper the other day. Let's call this one 'The Hairstyle'. Drop by Blue Chair Diary for this week's Sunday Sketches. And Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year 2011!

We went to a fun open house party at a friend's house last night. The host estimated there were about 50 people in attendance, a higher than normal turnout, perhaps due to the mild weather. It rained a bit that day and the temperature was about 8C. Delicious hors d'oeuvres were served and we ended up staying until just after midnight. K met a few boys his age and there were lots of other kids, so he had a great time too.

L went to a party at her friend's house.

Smitten Kitchen posted a milk punch recipe that looks really interesting, as I've never had that before.

News

10 technologies on their way to the scrap heap