The rule is, emphasize the items you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis (Never have. Don't want to.)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (does a Great Lake count?)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (Never have. Don't want to.)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (Hint: don't go in the late afternoon in late autumn. There are no artificial lights.)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person Sort of. From a corporate jet flying low for the view. Can't wait to see it really "in person".)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee


Hat tip: Hools at Shofar, So Good

When some of us see a dirty car, the extent of our inspiration might be to inscribe a smiley face or an eloquent "Wash me" on the back window. Not Scott Wade.



Hat tip: Julia at Shofar, So Good

1. Click here.
2. Start at the top.
3. Read through to the bottom.
4. Try to stop laughing. Fail.
5. Send link to your friends.

I guess I still haven't gotten it out of my system. Or the first dustings of winter snow have caused me to become a little unbalanced.

You Are Boggle

You are an incredibly creative and resourceful person. You're able to dig deep and think outside the box to get things done. You are a non linear thinker. You don't like following directions You draw your inspiration from the strangest places sometimes. You're constantly inspired.

Got this good idea from Jen at Conversion Diary. Put random remarks together under an appropriate title, and voila! A blog post.

(1) Even though it's a thinly disguised way to increase the information and profit they extract from me, I'm grateful to Amazon for giving me that little "Add to Wish List" button to stick on my toolbar. In the last few days I've added Monastery Mustard, Rosary Bracelets, an "I'm Blogging This" t-shirt, what looks like an exceptional hymnal and the collected play-by-plays of the legendary Bob Ufer.

(2) Every year I resolve to finish my Christmas shopping well ahead of time. This year would be a particularly advantageous time to follow through, because a greater proportion of my gifts will need to be mailed than usual. So why is it that finding the exactly appropriate gift for someone, a solid sense of what the budget ought to be, and the willingness to commit to one choice or another all seem to withhold themselves until December 17?

(3) I've never done this before, but I just opened a special bank account into which I intend to squirrel money for special outlays like recreational travel. Somehow it makes a big psychological difference that the money is completely separate from that mish-mash that is our main account, and all the accounting tricks, mental reservations and budget discussions in the world wouldn't accomplish what seeing that little amount grow bit by bit will do for me and my resolve. So returnable bottle revenues (unless my stepdaughter gets to the bottles first), the results of little sacrifices, perhaps my paltry but esteem-enhancing profits from doing business in Second Life -- that's where they'll go, earning me interest and a certain amount of glee.

(4) I note with some distress that my first 3 items are centered around shopping and money. Perhaps that's enough flirtation with the root of all evil for now.

Courtesy of my sister-in-law:

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May,
You may live in Canada.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there,
You may live in Canada.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Canada.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number,
You may live in Canada.

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of Detroit for the weekend,
You may live in Canada.

If you measure distance in hours,
You may live in Canada.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once,
You may live in Canada.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day,
You may live in Canada.

If you can drive 90 km/hr through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching,
You may live in Canada.

If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both unlocked,
You may live in Canada.

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them,
You may live in Canada.

If you know what "Hosers" and "Newfies" are,
You may live in Canada.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit,
You may live in Canada.

If the speed limit on the highway is 80 km, you're going 90, and everybody is passing you,
You may live in Canada.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow,
You may live in Canada.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction,
You may live in Canada.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car,
You may live in Canada.

If you refer to your neighbors to the south as "North Americans",
You may live in Canada.

If you wonder why some of these surprise some people,
You may live in Canada.

Update

I forgot the most important one:

If you know in the depths of your heart that the Stanley Cup ought never live anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line,
You may live in Canada.

Thanks to the inimitable Tom McMahon.

Blogging a Way to Connect
The Ann Arbor News, 11/9/08

Texting While Driving is Bad
Reuters

Bacon Beats Fries
The Denver Post

Defensive driving took a new twist on the freeways of Detroit.

I was feeling a little hungry, and I had finished the hat I was knitting, and, well, one thing kind of led to another.

(Hat tip: Julie at The Happy Catholic.

Update: Apparently not everyone appreciates the artistry of this.

I've given in. In spite of my completely indefensible prejudice that Microsoft is the Evil Empire and Google is warm, fuzzy and out to slay dragons in my defense (well, just look at the name, for Pete's sake), I've gone and gotten a Windows Live account. In spite of their admission on the so-called "privacy statement" that, yes they do require personal information and, yes, they combine that with information obtained from other companies, and yes, they use cookies and 'other technologies' to keep track of my interactions with their sites and services -- well, I have no excuse.

My reason was that some folks I follow have been waiting with bated breath for the next release of Windows Live Writer, and I supposed I'd give it a try. So this is my Windows Live Writer Test Post. If all goes well, it should look the same to you and be easier for me. That's what we call a "winning value proposition" in the jargon.

But I still feel like I should skulk around and go atone for something somewhere. Anyone need their dishes washed?

Today I'm meeting with a friend at The Annex (aka Panera, known the world over for it's free wi-fi, bless them). Talking to people is fun. Coaching is great. Combining them is heavenly.

More Cowbell - video powered by Metacafe

One of those from the Vatican visiting Lourdes for the beginning of the 250th anniversary of the apparitions attempted to bring home some holy water from the site. However, as you might already suspect, it was confiscated by airport security.

I hope they know what a treasure they've got. Hey, if they auction off their impounded items, I'll bid on it.

HT: The Weather Channel