So Black Friday has come and gone, and I am nearly done with the Holiday shoppage once again.  Other than stocking stuffers and a possible gift or two for the parents or the Hub, the only people I have left to shop for are my 9 year old nephew and my 6 year old niece.  Both of whom are super bright and super picky. Any ideas?

I did extremely well, shopping-wise, saving more than I have spent so far by wisely shopping particular sales and comparing the ads on Thursday evening, post-turkey.

By 9 am we had been to 7 stores and it was time to call it a day.  Not bad for a morning's work.

Of course, some of the shopping was done earlier, courtesy of Amazon, Woot, and Etsy.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Etsy.  Handcrafted, unique, everything you can imagine, and I've had nothing but good experiences with all of the sellers I've dealt with.  Many of your favorite bloggers also sell their crafty output at Etsy.  Look them up!

What were you up to post-Turkey day?

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:35 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Another meme.  This one from wRitErsbLock:

Do you remember your first favorite song?If so, what was it?

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme by Simon and Garfunkel

What do you refuse to eat?

among other things, boiled or fried eggs

Have you ever injected any kind of drug before?

in myself, no.  In various animals, many times.

Do amusement park rides make you sick?

wooden rollercoasters.  Gimme the loopy-loop steel ones any day, though!

Who is your favorite Star Wars character?

Gonna have to go with Princess Leia. Although I am also partial to Padme, R2, and Chewbacca.

What kind of cheese do you put on your sandwiches?

I prefer Cojack or Provolone, depending on the sandwich

What was the first thing you ever learned how to cook?

Armenian Bulgur Pilaf

Did you ever collect beanie babies?

I have a few, but I never collected them.

When was the last time you got a haircut?

Have you ever been to a bachelor/bachelorette party?

yes.  And mine was a royal bust. The best part was TPing the Best Man's truck

Where are you most ticklish on your body?

my knees

Have you ever bailed anyone out of jail?

No, but I put someone IN

WhatÂ’s the last board game you played?

Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble.

Do you still own any VHS tapes?

yes.  Many!

Do you shop at JC Penney's ever?

my original engagement ring came from JCP.  And they used to carry a style of wrangler jeans that fit me like a glove.  I miss those jeans.

If there was a real Jurassic Park, would you visit it?

I want to see the lab.  And the Triceratops.

Do you ever read the newspaper?

I read the ads in the Thanksgiving Day edition.

Do you eat your mac & cheese with a fork or a spoon?

Usually a fork.  I like Mac n Cheese with stuff in it (veggies, hotdogs, chili, etc.)

Is there any medicine/pill you take everyday?

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I probably take more pills than you do.

How many 20 dollar bills do you have on you right now?

two actually.  I went to the First Bank of Grocery Store this afternoon

Would you do meth if it was legalized?

Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers to survey questions?

If I was, would I be answering this?

Do you think Obama will be assassinated?

Probably not. He doesn't fit the pattern, although GWB seems to have done well so far, and he does....

Have you ever made out with someone and then never saw them again?

no.  Paths tend to cross in small groups....

Do you drink egg nog?

What is it with the frigging Egg Nog questions??  Once and for all NO WAY.  It sucks.

What are you wearing?

Jammies and a fuzzy blanket.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:46 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Picking up on a very simple meme:

Open up your computer, click on the 6th file of pictures, and then on the 6th picture, and post what you get.

And here it is (reposted from Flickr):



Looking down from the top level of the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Library to the Presidential Motorcade diorama on the lower level.  On display are President Reagan's actual limousine and a secret service follow vehicle.

This is a lot of fun!  I'm not tagging anyone, but you can do it if you like!  Leave your link in the comments so everyone can click around and see all the pictures!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:12 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 That's where I left my limo! So embarrassing...

Posted by: Helen at November 23, 2008 12:35 AM (yeF5m)

2 these limo looks so good.

Posted by: Limo Rentals at November 23, 2008 05:17 AM (G7cuL)

3 What a great shot!! Mine's up; nothing special... Enjoyed doing it, though. Great meme!

Posted by: pam at November 23, 2008 06:55 AM (l6NIn)

4 What a neat meme...and a neat picture too. (Anything about RR is great, anyway!) Mine's up...it might lead to another post down the road.

Posted by: Mrs. Who at November 24, 2008 05:26 PM (3mj6F)

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In keeping with yesterday's post, a better way to say thank you to our vets is to give a little back to help a lot.

Long-time readers know that Soldier's Angels is one of my favorite groups, and in particular, Project VALOUR-IT which provides voice-activated laptops and other technological devices to wounded servicefolks who can't otherwise easily communicate with the outside world or who need help with rehabbing their injuries.

Imagine being stuck in a hospital in the Middle East or Germany, your family and friends thousands of miles away in the US, and your hands and arms are casted up.  How do you hold the telephone?  How can you type an email, even just to say, "I'm fine, and I love you?".  VALOUR-IT makes that possible through our donations.

And VALOUR -IT depends on all of us.  Without donations, they are quickly running out of funds with a waiting list hundreds of names long.  Even a small donation ($5) goes a long way.

Each year, bloggers team up in a friendly competition to see which service can raise the most funds for our wounded vets.  All the money goes to VALOUR-IT, regardless of which team you donate to, but it's fun to compete.

As usual, I am soliciting donations for Team Army (Go Army, Beat Navy!) in honor of my precious husband's service.

Just click the button to make a donation, either here or at the top of the left sidebar.  If you'd like to  "join up" and help as well, click here.

Thousands of wounded vets (and a hundred or so bloggers!) thank you!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:14 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Well, it's over for me anyway.  As of 7:15 this morning.

Our polling place is at a little church a block or so away, and we thought the lines would be small this morning, so we decided to chance it.

Arriving at just before 6:45, this is what we found:

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:26 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I've been thinking a lot about Prop 8.  It's the only ballot measure I haven't yet decided on.

My head tells me to vote yes and tell activist liberal judges to get a fucking clue.  That CA's registered Domestic Partnership law provides the same rights to gay couples who register as marriage does to straight couples.  That marriage is a construct not of the state, but of the church, and really the RDP law should apply to gays and straights both as a "civil union," a mere contract.  That "marriage" is solemnized and consecrated by your belief system, whatever that is, and abides by those rules.  God's rules.  Or gods' rules.  Whatever you believe.  Not the state's rules. 

I worry about the consequences for churches and ministers who are against marrying gay couples, for whatever reason.  Will they be breaking the law if they refuse?  Will they lose their 501 status? Will anyone be allowed to believe that homosexuality is wrong or state that belief?  It may be bigoted, but in this country, people have a right to believe as they choose.  We call it Freedom of Religion.

And you know, I just am so tired of all the in-your-faceness of the Prop 8 fight.  I just want to vote no to say HA!  Keep your "whether you like it or not" and all your Gay PDA on TV (for the record, all PDA on TV makes me sick, we've just seen a lot of it with this Prop 8 thing).  It makes me want to be perverse and give all the Prop 8 opponents the finger.

But my heart tells me differently.

As I've mentioned many times on this blog, one of my dearest friends is gay, and he married his partner about 5 years ago in one of the most beautiful, heartfelt weddings I have ever seen.  I was proud to be a "bridesmaid" and stand up for them, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I remember feeling so clearly the love between them, and seeing how precious they were to each other.  I could never take away from them the things that DH and I have, the comfort of knowing we are each other's first and last resort, that we make each other's life and death decisions, that we share the rights and responsibilities of our life together for better and for worse.

I received this today, via email.  I hope my friend won't mind me sharing it with you in part, and with the names redacted, of course.

Hi Everyone,

As you know, we're barely a day away from the most historic election of our time. But as you are also probably well aware, there's a lot more at stake than the Presidency.

Here in California, one of the most important -- and one of the closest -- issues you can vote on is Prop 8.

Prop 8 seeks to eliminate fundamental rights for one group of people. If passed, Prop 8 would take away something very close to Nick and me: our marriage. I trust you agree that eliminating fundamental rights -- from anyone -- is unfair and wrong.

...

If you want to help but don't have much time, here's something simple you can do:

The simplest thing you can do is to call everyone you know when you have a few free minutes on Tuesday and bug them to go vote if they haven't. Even if they say in advance that they'll vote, call them on Election Day to make sure they've voted. Even if it looks like the Presidential contest is over nationally by 5 or 6 pm our time, it's still critical that everyone goes to the polls to vote NO on 8. And even if it's raining, and even if the lines are long ... that shouldn't matter.

Finally, please modify and pass along this e-mail to everyone you know in California.

(And, no, you don't need to call N or me on Election Day -- we have both already voted by absentee ballot.)

Thanks so much for all your support!

Love,
A (& N)

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:23 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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