Things I learned this week

No ,the "test comment post" wasn't my post for today. One of the things I learned this week was that one regular CBL reader has trouble getting the comments to work. I believe that situation has been corrected.

Other things I learned:

* Not all high school graduations are a travesty. Here is a story about a good one.

* I learned about the rare phenomenon called "circumhorizontal arc"... because we saw one on our way to Eugene today.


* I have been presented with the opportunity to learn how far I will go to be "green" and save money. My daughter came home from school Friday with a energy efficiency kit, which included a thermometer to measure the temperature of the hot water (way too hot), two CFLs, and a low flow shower head. Also included was a workbook that she needed to fill out and turn in. In order for her to receive full credit, we had to install the shower head.
Our old shower head used 3 gallons per minute, according to her calculations. The new shower head uses 1/2 gallon per minute. So I am barely getting wet in there. It's difficult to rinse my nether regions, not to mention my thick, luxurious hair.
I had just about thrown in the proverbial towel, when I looked in the tub to see how much water had accumulated during my 10 minute shower- not even an inch. I am not sure I can hang in for the long haul...

Things I learned this week

We went fishing today, where I learned that no matter how much state-of-the-art gear and tackle a kid has available, a kid will likely choose to tie a piece of found leader to a stick and drop it three inches from shore.
I learned some other things, too.

* Former Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson is good friends with my Rock Star boyfriend, Eddie Vedder. I never really cared much about the Big Unit before... But I figure he must be an okay guy if Eddie hangs out with him.

* I learned that my cousin's son Jack is on a unicycle team. He's 9.

* I learned that a nine year-old ran a marathon today. Two things make me happy about this kid: 1. His parents seem to have a good perspective on this. His dad ran the marathon with him, and set the pace- to keep the kid from running too fast. The kid was happy to run, and sprinted the last 3/4 mile to the finish, which indicates he was not exhausted. 2. The kid's name is Bill. I love that. No one names their kids Bill or Jeff or Tom or Jeremy anymore.

*Speaking of Jeremy, I was saddened to learn that my friend Jeremy lost his friend Jeff in Iraq last year. I hate IEDs. This war makes me wish we still did it civil war style, where soldiers marched to battle prepared to fight and prepared to die, but with a leader and a plan and a drummer. None of this side of the road surprise bullshit. I wonder: if we still fought wars that way, would battles become like sporting events, televised with real-time commentators and telestrators?

Things I learned this week

Don't confuse this guy with Max from Where the Wild Things Are. He is dressed as a fork, so that he can chase Flap Jack in the Eugene Marathon 5k. Everyone who finished before Flap Jack won a years' supply of Krusteaz pancake mix.
I believe that the fork man won the race. Flap Jack was 5th or 6th. Mr. Fork entertained me before the race, so I took his picture, and he gets my weekly Sunday photo nod.

Here's what I learned this week:

* I found a fantastic money management website, pocketsmith.com. Lifehacker gave me the tip. PocketSmith is exactly the kind of application that I have been looking for since I started earning paychecks and paying bills. Its centerpiece is a forecasting calendar, which shows you how much money you will have available on any given day. You can tell it how much you would like to save, and it tells you how long it will take you. It is in its beta form, and once Lifehacker spilled the beans, they got a lot of traffic which strained their servers, but the folks who run the show seem to be genuinely working hard to get this app up and running smoothly. Bonus: you don't have to give them any personal or account info.

* I learned about the handful bra, a sports bra designed for girls with small boobs. The thing with us is that regular sports bras squish our boobs into our chest, and we look like teenage boys in tank tops. The handful bra has pads, and it is cute and soft to boot. I do not know whether or not they are made in Oregon, but Handful is an Oregon company. The one good thing about being a member of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee is that we don't have to spend a lot of money to get a good, supportive bra. I don't think I have ever spent more than $15 for a bra. The Handful bra is $40, but I think it's worth it, and my next bra will be a Handful. Also: their logo is awesome.

Things I have learned this week

Sunday Again! The weeks sure fly by. This weekend went quickly because my dad came to visit. Dad has a high activity- to- hour ratio- that is to say, he can squeeze a week's worth of "stuff" into about 36 hours. I didn't learn amything about distilleries, or Newport, but I like this picture of the distillery sign that I took in Newport in February.

*I learned about golf push carts. Push carts have three wheels, and you put your bag on them and push, as opposed to pull carts, where you pull. Pull carts are convenient because they are smaller and you can store your bag attached to the cart. Push carts are superior because you don't tip the cart to move it... so you don't spill your beer. My dad bought one for my husband, it even has a hand brake!

* I learned quite a bit about men's formal attire. We went suit shopping for Spencer today. He needed either a suit or tuxedo, either would be okay at the dinner we are attending next weekend. We started at Men's Wearhouse, where the extra-attentive sales girl showed us sport coats for $180.00. Too much money. Then we checked at Gottshalk's, nothing impressive. We figured that we wanted to spend about $200, and if we couldn't get a nice suit or jacket for that, we could rent a tux. Then, we went to Mr. Formal to see how much a tux rental would be. Mr. Formal sells their rental tuxes- we ended up buying a nice tuxedo, including new shoes for $209.
Spencer will have an opportunity to wear it once or twice a year, so we feel like we got a good value. We will see on Wednesday, when we pick it up.

* I learned that at Goodwill in Silverton, Oregon, everything is $2.99, or 5/$10 everyday. THAT is how much thrift store stuff should cost!

Things I have learned this week

I spent the day with my daughter and Julie Andrews today. We watched Mary Poppins twice, and the Sound of Music once. These old movies make me want to wear skirts and blouses with smart wool coats and gloves. They make me want to watch my language, but never bite my tongue. I think the world needs more Julie Andrews, so I am doing my part.

It's been an incredibly busy week, here are some things I have learned:

* Zales sucks.

* There is such a thing as Easter Trees. I guess I have been oblivious for a while to the latest trends in Easter decor. My Girl Scout troop received a donation of Easter Tree ornaments, so we had to make trees to hang them on. They turned out cute. According to the internet, Easter Trees aren't a recent Target invention- they have been a Scandinavian tradition for many years. Who knew?

* I learned how to import a blogger template. I am mostly happy with it.

* And here's an idea I had, not really something I learned: I think Easter should rotate dates through the year. My daughter, who is a pain in the butt to get out of bed 363 days a year, pops right out on Easter and Christmas to see if anybody left her anything. What if she never knew when to expect baskets or gifts? Every day would hold the possibility of something exciting. Perhaps I just need to show her that the possibility already exists every day.

Things I have learned this week

Today in the lovely Willamette Valley, the rythmic hum of lawnmowers fills the air. It is a sunshiny day and I rode my bicycle to the YMCA and back. The front door is open.

* I am an excellent starter, but a piss poor finisher. This personality trait may have something to do with my "dabbling". This week I started writing daily. I have three or four pieces started, but I can't seem to finish them. You may have noticed that the soccer post ends sort of in the middle. This is an example of the piss poor finishing I am referring to.
* My cousin Megan has a blog and is doing a 365 photos project. She takes great photos, and she is hilarious. I have something to look forward to each day.
*Costco has pulled a muffin switcheroo. Muffins used to be 18/ $6.49. The crappy part was that you either had to buy 18 bran muffins, or buy the assortment they chose, which always seemed to include 6 poppyseed that nobody likes. Now, they package the muffins in individual flavor trays, 6 to a tray, and let you choose 2 flavors for $6.49, which effectively raises the price of the muffins from 36 cents each to 54 cents each.
* my keyboard doesn't have the "c with the line through it" cents symbol.
* I want an old school Nikon or Olympus camera with lots of lenses and filters, and I want to learn to use it to take amazing photgraphs on film.
In conclusion, I learned some things this week.

Things I have learned this week

This is Murphy. He had a tough 4th of July, so I put him on the interbay. He's a Newfoundland/Husky mix, and there ought to be a law forbidding those two breeds to , uh, breed. He has a soft fuzzy wooly undercoat like a Husky. He has extra oil in his topcoat like a Newf, which makes him waterproof. When he sheds, the wool gets caught in the oil and makes dog fur glue. The whole process takes about 3 months and about 4 different kinds of brushes, including, (I can't believe I'm admitting this) a dull steak knife.

When Gus sheds, his hair just sort of pops out. Removing his old hair is like peeling an orange. So, there's all you never wanted to know about my big dog's hair. Maybe next week I will fascinate you with a fun story about my little dog's fleas.

Here is what I learned this week.

*Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Actually, Jefferson wrote it and signed it. They both became presidents. They both died on July 4, 1826. Wierd, huh?

*It's hard to think of things to blog about.

*The new White Stripes cd is great.

Things I have learned this week

That's my dog, Gus. He's a Great Pyrenees. (Sometimes, he's just a pretty good Pyrenees) I have two other dogs. One more dog, and I'll be the crazy dog lady. I didn't learn anything about Gus this week, but he was a good boy so I put his picture on the interbay. Here's what I learned:

*Napoleon Bonaparte wasn't super short. He was 5'6", average height for a man in his day. The British made up stories about him being 5'2" to try to literally belittle him.

*The Prime Minister of Canada is Stephen Harper.

*The Padres just got a whole lot cuter.

*Mitch Canham is dating a girl named Marlis, and she is stunning. Possibly better looking than he is. She looks really smart and funny, too.

* If you are planning a wedding in the Seattle area , check out Gerald Pope photography. Lovely work.

*If your hangers keep complaining about being cold, you can buy them charming handmade ponchos here.

* (4/09-sadly, your hangers will have to tough it out, the ponchos are no longer available.) Carnegie Deli brand pastrami from Costco is not nearly as delicious as it looks. It's just okay.