Craft Hope

For all us of who can only watch the devastation in Haiti from the comfort of our safe and structurally-sound homes, there is yet another way we can help outside of texting and making other donations. Craft Hope. It's an Etsy shop set up by volunteers and by crafting folks donating their goods. All proceeds will go directly to Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. I watched a very distrubing video on BBC today about one of the field hospitals in Port-au-Prince there is no anesthetic, no sterilization, and very little supplies for the international medical teams to work with. Gut wrenching. I hope all those working tirelessly at the Port-au-Prince airport can make some head way today and tomorrow in getting the much needed supplies out to the people and those working to help them.

Here's the link: www.etsy.com/shop/crafthope

I just purchased these:

December 2009 Recap - Part 1: Hawaii

That is so long overdue! Here's a not-so-brief recap:

As previously mentioned at the beginning of December I got to go with Mike to Honolulu! Mike was there for work and I got to be a lady of luxury! Sleeping late, hanging out poolside and checking out the beaches. The following is a boat load of photos - enjoy!

The view from our room!



Kailua Beach





Bellows Beach - this is a stunning beach! Mike & I spent 2.5 days there because we loved it so much. The beach is located on the Bellows Air Force Base so a portion of it is opened to the public and the remainder is open to military personnel and dependents!















We also went to the Dole pineapple plantation - tasty!







And here are some randoms:















Christmas photos next!

It ain't just for breakfast anymore...

You need to check out this website! It is hy-ster-ical!!!

www.theoatmeal.com

Be sure to read:

Why I'd rather be punched in the testicles than call customer service

Why I believe printers were sent from hell to make us miserable

How a website design goes straight to hell (this one gets funnier as it goes)

There's also a bunch of genuinely informative little scripts about grammar, coffee and beer.

Anyways, check it out - you will enjoy it!

Words of the Day

Nefarious:
extremely wicked or villainous.

The word originated between 1595 - 1605 and was used to describe as against divine or moral law. And apparently a synonym is flagitious.

Flagitious:
shamefully wicked, as persons, actions, or times.

This gem of a word originated way back between 1350 - 1400. Geez, those middle-age folks really knew how to have a verbal throw down!

I came across Nefarious while reading an article on Facebook security/privacy changes and it lead me to Flagitious, which I thought was too good of a word not to share.

"God, you're being ssssoooooo flagitious right now!"....or something like that.

Oh and in addition to these fantastic words, apparently every year for the last 15 years the University of Lake Superior in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (who knew there were two Saults?!) releases a list of words that should be banded in the new year for being overused or just plain obnoxious in the previous year. Their list of words that should be banded in 2010 are:

shovel-ready,
in these economic times,
stimulus,
toxic assets,
too big to fail,
transparent/transparency,
czar,
tweet,
app,
sexting,
friend (as a verb),
teachable moment,
bromance,
chillaxin’,
Obama-prefix words (such as Obamanomics)

I have to say I agree with all of these picks and would have also added socialists/socialism to the list because that term has been so compulsively misused by America’s right (ie: Fox “News” and the GOP) that every time I hear it I want to slap the user with a 2x4. Just saying.

Anyhooooo, I will be posting in the next day or two all my photos from Hawaii and Christmas - be forewarned, it is going to be a very lllllllllllooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg post!

New Year

Well, I've been a very bad blogger as of late and will remedy it as soon as I am back in WA and have access to my Hawaii photos and can upload photos from our visit home. We leave here (Ottawa) on Saturday and I'm already sad to be leaving. I hate leaving. It's snowing right now and my suburb looks like its been captured in a snowglobe. Everett is the complete antithesis of a snowglobe...anyways...I am happy to be returning to my Moose and the new adventure that awaits me on Monday.

What adventure is that you ask? Well, I got a job. A real full-time permanent employee status job! And I start on Monday with what appears to be a week of orientation and then maybe expected to hit the ground running after those 5 days of grace. I'm looking forward to starting anew and to learning all the ins and outs of my new company and new field, it will be both interesting and a challenge - exactly what I've been looking for!

Anyways, this is my last post for 2009. 2009 wasn't a totally stellar year so here's to 2010 - may it be fun-filled and spent with those I love! I hope to get online with photos at the ready on Sunday!

Peace out and Happy Happy New Year!

Mele Kalikimaka!!!

Or the alternative title of: Robyn has a lucky feather stuck up her bum!

This is just a quick check in to say that tomorrow morning mike & I will be flying off to Honolulu for the week! Hellzzzzz yessssssssss! How did this all come about? Well, Mike will be in Honolulu for a week long training course and I'm tagging along because this is one of those trips that the Navy says its ok to bring your spouse! Yay Navy! My accompanying him was a last minute decision - we decided Monday and I don't really feel prepared or like its actually happening but we're getting up at 4am tomorrow morning so I guess its real! :)

In other news and lucky feather related - I have an incredibly thoughtful and generous husband! I got my Christmas present today - 20 days early but for good reason - Mike bought me a digital SLR Nikon camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!! I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Its something we've both been wanting for a few years now and Mike already owns 4 Nikon lenses so that's how he came to purchase this camera. Nikon has been pretty consumer savvy, they could have made the SLR models with their own specific lenses thus forcing consumers to buy all new sets of lenses, but they didn't. If you have a Nikon lens that was made in the last 60 years, it will work on today's SLR models. I like things like that. I haven't figured out how to use it yet (we've been busy packing and tidying) but that's what the 6 and a half years of flying time is for!!!!

I'm bringing my laptop so I'll post photos of this weekends activities and Hawaii in the coming days!

PS - Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaiian for Merry Christmas! Think Bing Crosby...

So many little things...

To get caught up on! I've been both busy and at times a little lazy! But here's a little catch up from the past few weeks.

1) I finished my year-long contract on November 17th and while I'll miss some lovely friends I made there, generally, I'm relieved the year is over. It was a bit of a rough go.

2) I've been keeping myself busy with applying and interviewing for work and being a little Susie Homemaker as evidenced below...

3) American Thanksgiving was last Thursday and my mother-in-law prepared a lovely and tasty feast! I contributed to the celebration with Paula Dean's Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle! It was very tasty y'all!




4) I really like to bake, its fun and I like the level of concentration it requires, focus without intense focus. Anyways, the only hindrance to baking is that it leads to high caloric consumption! Therefore, with my extra time, I've decided to fatten up my puppy instead of myself! I've taken to creating dog biscuits for my Moose.



Check out my newest toy! A 3 cup Cuisineart chopper/grinder! De-lightful!





These tasty treats are the result of leftover chicken thighs & drumsticks from Mike's birthday dinner (frozen raw, not caked in jambalaya!), pinto beans, whole wheat flour, chicken broth, canola oil, grated carrots and grated apples. Moosey approves of them and when I pull them out, he actually licks his lips! He will be sharing them with his buddy Angus.

5) Lastly, last weekend I went to this neat little shopping area in the city of Bothell called Country Village. Country Village is a little western looking 'town' that was built in the 1970s. It has been and continues to be home to a variety of antique, decor, clothing and toys shops owned and operated by women. In one of those antique shops, I found a vintage travel poster for my favourite place on earth, Edinburgh!!!! I saw it and absolutely had to have it. Sarah, brace yourself!



Edinburgh is (in my opinion) one of the best places on earth. It is beautiful, majestic, historically rich, fun, and filled with kind and cheerful people. I was very lucky to spend a year and a half there, doing my master's degree, working and meeting some of my nearest and dearest friends - Sarah (http://themcwoods.blogspot.com/) is one of those people and Mike & I are thrilled to be crashing in on her family's Christmas on our way back to Ottawa for our family's Christmas! You should check out her blog and Christmas card, which is fantanbulous!

Anyways, at a later date I'm going to do a Edinburgh post! Bonne nuit.