Scrapbooking my life...one page at a time

Someday ...

Someday you'll take a picture of your friends, and put it in a photo album with plans on never losing it.

Someday you'll realize a flaw in something you trusted to be perfect.

Someday you'll regret because we all do.

Someday you'll lose some one you love, but not necessarily because of death.

Someday you'll wish time moved a little slower, or maybe you already do.

Someday you'll pray like you've never prayed before.

Someday you'll want something so bad that you'd die for it, but you won't get it.

Someday you won't care that you aren't rich, or you'll find a friend who doesn't care that you are.

Someday you'll recognize the change, either in a positive or negative way.

Someday you'll look back on that picture and get butterflies because you miss it, and you know it.

- Unknown -

Bodies ...

Human Lungs

Both captivating and edifying, Bodies ....The Exhibition unveils the many complex systems, organs and tissues that drive every aspect of our daily lives and unite us all as humans. Featuring over 200 specimens consisting of whole-bodies and individual organs that have been meticulously dissected and preserved through an innovative process, Bodies ...The Exhibition will enlighten, empower, fascinate and inspire.

Yesterday I went with friends to see Bodies: The Exhibition in downtown Seattle before the show left town this weekend. 

The show, since it's introduction into the U.S. has been quite controversial.  To read more information regarding the controversy click here.

Without getting mired in to much detail about the controversy suffice it to say there is still much speculation and contention about how & where the bodies were obtained.

Mike & I thought about going to see the show the last time that it was in Seattle but in the end decided to pass on it but this time several friends were going to check it out and so I decided to tag along.

The Human Head & Brain

I am not going to post too many pictures because some people may find them disturbing and well, yucky.

I will say that there were several HS school field trips at the show the same time as us and the students all seemed to be genuinely interested in bodies and the 'plastination' process used to preserve the cadavers

I am sure that Katy will see quite a bit of animals preserved using this process as most medical and veterinary schools around the world use them for teaching anatomy & other courses.

I will say that I found the show very interesting and informative but it is definitely not for everyone. 

Heart Health

• The muscles in your heart can create enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet.
• Nearly 80% of all sudden cardiac arrests happen at home.
• Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day.
• Your heart rate can rise as much as 30% during a yawn.

Blood Bank

• Every drop of blood in the body passes through the heart once per minute.
• By donating just one pint of blood, four lives can be saved.
• There are about 100,000 miles of blood vessels in an adult’s body.

Take a Deep Breath

• In the average lifetime, a person will breathe in about 45 pounds of dust.
• A cough releases air that moves at speeds up to 60 mph.
• A sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph.
• The lungs are the only organ in the body that can float on water.
• An average yawn lasts about six seconds.
• Smokers lose an average of two teeth every ten years.

Building Bones

• Bone is five times stronger than mild steel.
• Every three months our bone cells are completely replaced.
• Almost a quarter of your bones are in your feet and ankles.
• One out of 20 people have an extra rib.
• It is impossible to lick your own elbow.
• A person's nose and ears continue to grow throughout his or her life.
• Your thumb is the same size as your nose.

Staying Healthy

• Airborne bacteria from a flushing toilet can reach a toothbrush placed within six feet.
• The distance droplets can travel after a cough or sneeze: 3 – 12 feet.
• The number of germs, per square inch, on a toilet seat: 49. The number of germs, per square inch, on an office telephone: 25,000.
• One third of men don’t wash their hands after using the restroom.
• Unfortunately, germs can stick to food dropped on the floor in less than five seconds.

You Are What You Eat

• Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a calorie.
• If your stomach didn't produce a new layer of mucous every two weeks, it would digest itself.
• People eat more popcorn when watching a sad movie as compared to a happy one.
• Food can get to your stomach even if you are hanging upside down.
• The small intestine is about four or five times larger than the large intestine.

Made in America

• The majority of models are skinnier than 98% of American women.
• Each year there are approximately 60,000 trampoline injuries in the United States.
• It is estimated that during his lifetime, an American man will spend between four and five months shaving.

Shape Up!

• Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
• The record for most pushups ever performed in one day is 46,001.
• Weight lifters who work out in gyms decorated in blue can lift heavier weights.
• Kissing for one minute burns 26 calories.
• The amount of time in a day that a preschooler is sedentary: 89%.

Women & Men

• On average, women blink twice as often as men.
• Girls’ brains account for 2.5% of their body weight. Boys’ brains account for 2%.
• A woman's heart beats faster than man’s.
• On average, women speak more than three times more than men.
• If a man never trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly 30 feet long in his lifetime.

On the Outside

• Fingernails grow faster on the hand you favor.
• Perspiration is odorless; it is the bacteria on the skin that creates an odor.
• The average human eyelash lives about 150 days.  
• People that smoke have 10 times as many wrinkles as a person who does not smoke.

- Smile, it does a body good -

 

N

So True ...

Uncle Frank sent me this hilarious post and I wanted to share it with you.  If you laugh, even once, then you are now officially 'over the hill'.

I laughed so many times - I think I must be nearing 100 ... 

If you are 30 or older, you might think this is hilarious!!

 When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning....Uphill... Barefoot...BOTH ways… yadda, yadda, yadda

 And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!  

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.  You've got it so easy!  I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!  
And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
 

• I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
•   

• ·There was no email!!  We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen!   Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there!  Stamps were 10 cents!

• Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us.  As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

• There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes!  If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

•  Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!  There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car..  We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby!  Dig? 

• We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting!  If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

•  There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't 
  make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!!

•  Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING.  Yeah, right.  Please!  You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

• And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was!  It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!!  You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

 

• We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics!  We had the Atari 2600!  With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'.  Your screen guy was a little square!  You actually had to use your imagination!!!  And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever!  And you could never win.  The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died!  Just like LIFE!

• You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing!  You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!!  NO REMOTES!!!  Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!

•  There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning.  Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!

• And we didn't have microwaves.  If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove!  Imagine that!  

•   And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long.  Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort.  And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!   And car seats - oh, please!   Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on.  If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place! 
  

  See!  That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten!  You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or any time before!

I think I like the ones about cartoons and seat belts the best.  Which one is your favorite!!!

Thanks for sharing Uncle Frank

Hope everyone has a great day

N

Earth Hour ....

 

About Earth Hour

On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations.

On March 27th you can choose to participate in this years 4th Annual Earth Hour:

Participation is easy. By flipping off your lights on March 27th at 8:30 p.m. local time you will be making the switch to a cleaner, more secure nation and prosperous America.

Set Your Clock

On Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. local time, Earth Hour will once again cascade around the globe, from New Zealand to Hawaii

Sparking a Movement

Since its inception three years ago, Earth Hour’s non-partisan approach has captured the world’s imagination and became a global phenomenon. Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 – involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.

Last year, 80 million Americans and 318 U.S. cities officially voted for action with their light switch, joining iconic landmarks from around the world that went dark for Earth Hour, including:

• Empire State Building
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Broadway Theater Marquees
• Las Vegas Strip
• United Nations Headquarters
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Seattle’s Space Needle
• Church of Latter-Day Saints Temple
• Gateway Arch in St. Louis
• Great Pyramids of Giza
• Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens
• Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro
• St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City
• Big Ben and Houses of Parliament in London
• Elysee Palace and Eiffel Tower in Paris
• Beijing’s Birds Nest and Water Cube
• Symphony of Lights in Hong Kong
• Sydney’s Opera House

So what will you be doing at 8:30pm on Saturday, March 27, 2010?

• will you sit next to a cozy fire next to the one you love?
• Go for a moonlit walk with the family?
• Hit the hay early & get a good nights sleep
• Join other kindred spirits in your community & unite in bringing awareness to Climate Change!
• Sit out on the front porch & have a heart-to-heart with your children about life on our planet.

You'll find me sitting on the back deck enjoying .... the peace & quiet and gazing up at the stars!

Learn more about how Earth Hour began, what we’ve accomplished, and what is in store for 2010. Click Here  EARTH HOUR  

TO ADD YOUR NAME TO THE EARTH HOUR WALL CHART & CHECK OUT WHO ELSE HAS PROMISED TO TURN OUT THE LIGHTS CLICK HERE.

Enjoy the Day

N

Day One ...

CHOCOLATE ...

For the past 16 days I have either been away from home or had house guests. 

It is always a bit of an adjustment when they first get here and then, just as I start to relax and enjoy myself, they all leave ...

Today I face an empty house.  

Jessica & Aidan were here visiting the first week (they drove down the same day as Mike & I came back home after our short visit to Canada. 

We were so busy having fun the entire week they were here.

 

Jess & Aidan

If Aidan doesn't look real happy it's probably because he wasn't.

It was early, cold & he was the only little kid on the tour. 

Once we got him pumped full of chocolate he started enjoying himself ...

First we went on a 'Chocolate Indulgence Tour' of Seattle.  Jessica found this company, Savor Seattle Food Tours on line  and they were great.  

Jessica, Aidan & I went on the tour and here is some of what we saw and sampled along the way ...

First stop: A Chocolate Cocktail ...

At Oliver's Lounge, located in the Mayflower Hotel, we were treated to a yummy combination of coffee liquor, dark chocolate liquor, and rum. 

Although Prohibition was abolished in 1933, some states enforced “Blue Laws” that prohibited certain aspects of alcohol sale and distribution. Until 1976, Seattle enforced a Blue Law that stated that lounges could not be viewed from the outside to avoid tempting passers by with the sight of bartenders mixing drinks. Oliver’s Lounge in the Seattle Mayflower Hotel became the first “Daylight Bar” and featured floor-to-ceiling windows that displayed the lounge activities to the street.

We were definitely warmed up & ready to go…

Dark Hot Chocolate

Aidan was treated to a thick & creamy dark hot chocolate to warm him up ...

 

Yum!

Next, Triple Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie from the Dahlia Bakery.   

 

Then, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies -  Chewy, gooey, Chocolaty goodness ...

The Dahlia Lounge, Dahlia Bakery, Lola and the Serious Pie are all Eateries own by Tom Douglas, a famous Seattle Chef & Restaurateur.

I have seen both Serious Pie (Pizzeria) and Lola (Mediterranean / African Food) featured on the Food Network.

 

Aidan & Nana

The morning of the tour was sunny but COLD & breezy.

I ended up going to Old Navy and buy the long sleeved blue t-shirt that you in this picture. 

Aidan wore his hat up most of the walking tour.

Tour Group

We then wandered over to the Chocolate Box. 

There were about 16 people on our tour. 

You can see Aidan & I up at the front in the corner. 

Thankfully, even though it was cold - it did not rain.

The Chocolate Box

The Chocolate Box: Where all things Chocolate converge ...

And, I.mean.all.things.chocolate!!

Chocolate Bacon Bar

I bought Mike a Mo's Chocolate Bacon Bar.  It consisted of dark, dark chocolate and real bacon bits!

It tasted surprising good proving the old adage that 'EVERYTHING TASTES BETTER WITH BACON ON IT"

Like a kid in a candy store ...

The Chocolate Box had just about anything & everything chocolate.

Next, we visited '106 Pine' which is a very, very wine shop owned & run by the folks who run the Chocolate Box right next door.

They fed us yummy chocolate cupcakey concoctions and ...

 

U' mm ....

Dark Chocolate & Lime Gelato. 

So good.

Beyond description ...

 

Our Tour guide was very funny & informative. 

She carried around this bright pink umbrella so we could spot her easily when we went down to the Pike Place Market.

 

Good idea because it was crowded.

At the market we stopped off at The Confectional for some incredible Chocolate  Raspberry Cheesecake following the

'Worlds Best Spiced Hot Chocolate ...

The cup may appear small but I tell you, they sure knew how to cram a WHOLE LOTTA taste and WOW into that couple of sips ...

KuKuRuZa

Then it was off to the Kukuruza, Gourmet Popcorn shop.

 

They had many, many different kinds of 'gourmet' popcorn but in the end - I think I still like regular old movie theater popcorn the best.

Next we visited Frans Chocolates. 

Very upscale, Very Chic chocolates.

A'salted' Caramel Chocolates

By the time we hit Fran's we were all on Chocolate Overload (yes, it's possible) and so we each carted home a bag of yummy chocolates for later.

The tour cost $44.95/person (including Aidan). 

Was it worth it?  

Absolutely!!!

We had fun, ate some incredible chocolate, and had a great time!  Well worth the money.

Tomorrow ...  Day Two, Painting!

Now go Eat Your Chocolate!

N

Years ...

52 years,  Sounds like an awfully long time - but feels like just a blink, a wink & a nod. 

But, it is what it is. 

No complaints.

Here is my B-Day Interview:

For today & this coming year ....

I WANT:  Sunshine, lots of Sunshine!
I HAVE:   Everything I need & most of what I want.
I WISH:   And hope that everyone is living 'Knee-Deep' in love.
I PLAN:  To hold nothing back and become more courageous.
I MISS:   My Mom!  Forever & always!
I HEAR:  Birds chatting with the sky.
I WONDER:  What next month will look like?
I REGRET:   Selling my last house.
I DREAM:    Of having going on lots of new adventures.
I PRAY:     The Wars in Afghanistan & Iraq are over soon.
I CRY:   A.lot.  I am often moved to tears.
I AM:    Illogical but practical.
I MAKE:   Beautiful babies & gardens.
I WRITE:     Letters & cards.
I CONFUSE:    Mike - alot!
I BELIEVE:    In the power of 'Hope'
I HOPE:    I find some 'get-up & go' soon.
I NEED:    God & my family & friends
I SHOULD:    Move more.
I LOVE:   Mike, my Girls, Family, & Friends & Sushi
I RESPECT:  Mama Nature
I CAN:     BBQ an awesome steak
I CAN'T:    Change a tire, bake a pie or do complex math.
I PLAN:    To visit at least 4 new cities.
I ANTICIPATE:    Watching Kate graduate.
I CREATE: Chaos, Calmness & sometimes a beautiful mess.
I SMILE: Often.
I COVET: A Canon Rebel XSi
I FIND: Passive aggressive people a bore.
I CRAVE: Good books, movies & people.
I REJOICE:    In my marriage.
I LAUGH:     At myself all the time.
I FEAR:    The economy
I WILL:     Focus more on doing & less on wishing
I WON"T:     Waste time regretting or fretting.

Whats a B-Day without some wishes:

I wish everyone a GREAT day - Filled with balloons & cake.

N

Rummaging ...

Ever have those days when you seem to be just rummaging around for some kind of wonderful ...

Well, today started out as one of those days (couldn't sleep all night - up at 4:30am) but then I finally found some ....

I hope you find your wonderful today and if not ...
- enjoy some of mine -

Hugs

N

Here is the story of 'Free Hugs'

How it all started:

I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.

And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.

Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.

Why Did it get banned?

Public liability fear and red tape. But its all okay now! Make sure tocheck your local laws before embarking on your Hugathon!

Special Thanks

I would just like to thank Sick Puppies for their incredible song "All the Same " which the free hugs campaign video would have never been the same without.

Check it out at:  www.freehugscampaign.org

Embrace Life ...

A friend had this video posted on his Facebook the other morning and it was so powerful that I wanted to share it with everyone.

It's true genius is not in its message (albeit a good one) but in its simplicity.

Buckle up!

N

Golden ....

Team Photo

There is nothing quite as exciting as a friendly rivalry to spice up a game and that is exactly what made yesterday's Olympic Hockey Game between Canada & the USA such an Off-The-Chart, Over-The-Top event.

It was a game that brought out the 'Hockey' in all of us!  It was the game of the century and Win or Lose it was the perfect ending to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics!

Ava B.

******************************************************************

Photos courtesy of Team Boulanger - News story courtesy of  SI.com (a CNN network site)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (si.com) -- There's a reason we come, despite the nonsense. There's a reason we come to the Olympics still, every two years now, despite the fact that sometimes you get William Shatner or the odd, massive inflatable moose.

What with all the overdone stagecraft and security hassles, the butt-covering parsing of words or the smugness of IOC officials who speak of an "Olympic movement" that never moves quite far enough when it comes to abuses committed under those oh-so-hallowed rings, it's easy to forget.

But the reason rises most clearly, every time, at the end.

It rises during the closing ceremony, at the moment when stagecraft fades and the simplest of human acts begins.

The athletes walk in.

 

Jimmy B.

That's it:

They walk into some stadium, as they did again Sunday evening at Vancouver's B.C. Place to end the 2010 Winter Games, and the clearest picture of what the Olympics means emerges......It happened again Sunday.

There the athletes were, smaller and more real suddenly, snapping pictures like tourists, waving to cameras -- "Hi, Mom!" -- milling aimlessly, mashed together in the most accomplished mosh pit in history. Canadians, Americans, Russians, Finns: all the stiffness, posing, pre-competition jitters was gone, dissolved in a moment of pure fun.

There's nothing else like it in sports.

We didn't get that in Beijing. Organizers at the 2008 Summer Games ran a minutely-controlled and choreographed farewell that looked great on TV, but killed any hint of spontaneity; the athletes were all but herded into pens.

But Canada is no China; it's the land of half the world's great comedians. When a faux-repairman, giant screwdriver on his belt, kicked off Sunday's festivities by "fixing" the same arm of the cauldron that so infamously failed to rise at the opening ceremony, allowing speedskating legend Catriona Le May Doan to finish the torch-lighting ceremony she missed a fortnight ago, we knew we were in good hands.

Nothing is so endearing -- and rare -- as an Olympic host that can laugh at itself.

John B.

Then again, Canada could afford such looseness.

The same Olympics that had begun with disaster, with the death of a 21-year old Georgian luger on the morning of the opening ceremony, and spent its early days focused on weather problems, a massive ticket cancellation, and the seeming underperformance of Canada's Olympians, had ended in triumph.

"Alexandre," VANOC Chief John Furlong, said during his speech to moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau, "your first gold medal gave us all permission to feel like and behave like champions. Our last one will be remembered for generations."

Furlong's delivery may have been stilted, but the response was not. The crowd of 60,600 rose to its feet, unscripted, and stopped his closing speech cold for a good minute, cheering the biggest win in Canadian hockey history.

Such chesty flagwaving was seen across Vancouver and Canada throughout these games, but hit new levels in the aftermath of the hockey win -- horns beeping, men hugging, a once-shy country openly reveling in its success.

 

Hannah B.

"That quiet, humble national pride we were sometimes reluctant to acknowledge seemed to take to the streets as the most beautiful kind of patriotism broke out all across our country," Furlong said. "So many new and dazzling applications for the Maple Leaf."

I think Sarah summed it up very well in a previous blog post when she said

... "I have to say, I have never felt this much patriotism in my lifetime. I see more Canadian flags stuck in gardens, hanging in windows, lining driveways, up on the sides of buildings then I have ever seen on any Canada Day.

On every side street you drive down they are somewhere. It is a great feeling to have such sense of pride of where you live and where you belong!! I have always appreciated where I live but have not felt this bubbling sense of pride!!

Olympic fever has caught on full force in our household and has touched many, many more everywhere we look. The idea of drawing a country and the world together in a peaceful celebration of support has definitely succeeded here.

Aside from all of the negativity these games have brought financially and the debt they will leave behind (very bad) I am glad that my children have experienced something so powerful in their country. They are proud Canadians and have been finding every opportunity to wave their Canadian flag, wear their Olympic clothing and cheer on our Canadian Athletes.

So aside from everything else at least these games will leave a lot of us with a sense of pride and patriotism that we maybe didn't feel before!  SB

Well done Canada & Well done Team Boulanger

- patriotism has never looked so darn adorable -

N