Tick tock, tick tock......

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It seems St. Joseph isn't the only statue with a useful place around the house.  Drop in at Mrs_Who's new digs and read how a statue of the Holy Mother helps out around the house!

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J.R. Salzman, the blogger behind Lumberjack in a Desert has been wounded in Iraq by an IED.

"it is hard for me to tell you all this but i was hurt by an ied here. my right arm has been amputated below the elbow, my left has four working fingers. my legs are fine so l can still logroll! i am on my way to the hospital in germany, then back to the states for more care. i am in high spirits. i am going to be ok, but i will have a long road to recovery. please remember me in your prayers, as well as those who were injured with me. i will let you know more as time passes."

J.R. in full battle gear

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Anyone who was part of one of the AIDS debates at DW knows this one is true:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Caltechgirl the Sophisticated of Wallop upon Deane Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

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This blog is now officially on hiatus for the holidays.

Of course, as loyal readers, you know that probably means I'll be posting pretty frequently. :-)

Anyway, I leave you with this, a message of love, peace, and tolerance for the Holidays...
(NSFW without headphones)

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Have you stopped by to check out the newest member of the Bad Example Bunch?  It's Bitterroot, also known as =HC=, husband of my blog sis Mrs_Who.

And he's got a great story to tell about their Golden Retriever.....

"...Mothers can tell what every different nuance in a baby's cry means.  I've never understood that.  But I can understand my dog. 

I can tell the difference between a cat in the parkbark, a strange dogs are in my yard!  bark, and even a neighbor girl and her boyfriend are talking/making-out in her driveway bark.  There's also the strangers walking past the yard bark, and of course the usual bored reply to the other barking dog down the street bark.

But at about 2:30 this morning, she was barking something different.  It definitely wasn't a bored or cat bark - it was more insistent.  She almost sounded scared.  As I listened, her barking intensified - whatever it was was really unnerving her - she was already up to DefCon 2.  I got up and went to the family room at the other end of the house and peered out the windows.  I saw nothing.  By this time, Dog is going positively ape-shit out there.  Something or someone is in the yard, and it's definitely a stranger bark!  I moved as quickly as I dared through the darkened house to secure my gun and flashlight.  (I know, I know)   They should have been in my hands before I went to investigate.)  Damn!  Mrs. Who or the kids - okay, maybe even *I* left the MagLite somewhere other than where it was supposed to be.  Too late, I can't turn-on lights to search for it.  There's no time, and I'll only handicap my own night-adjusted eyes - blinding myself and possibly even making a silhouette of myself!...."

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1 Wow - I linked here from my email and watched your "Sesame Streets" video - too funny. "You talkin' to ME? You must be talkin' to me, 'cause I'm the only one here..." I was surprised to see just below that the name of a not-so-widely-read book that I had read some time ago which I found... intriguing. I was even more surprised to discover that the post beneath that book title was a link to my site and my story! Thanks!! As for the book: "4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks" I can identify... 8-|

Posted by: Bitterroot at December 21, 2006 04:46 AM (GValb)

2 Oops - I goofed my link to the book in question... for anyone interested. (Note: It's a good way to brush-up on your prime numbers!)

Posted by: Bitterroot at December 21, 2006 04:50 AM (GValb)

3 I just reAD THAT BOOK THIS YEAR, AND LOVED IT...

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at December 25, 2006 11:16 PM (oSNDT)

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If you don't have snow, at least you can make snowflakes.

Go here. 

Click on "Find A Flake" and type in Caltechgirl to see mine!

stolen from VW Bug

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I got tagged by Teresa, so here goes:

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper and fancy bows

2.Real tree or artificial? REAL.  Cut down by me is even better.

3.When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving Weekend if I can.

4.When do you take the tree down? After Epiphany.

5.Do you like eggnog? No way.  It's nasty.

6.Favorite gift you received as a child? Hmmmm.  Either my CD boombox or one of any number of Barbies.

7.Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, it's at my mother's house, though.

8.Hardest person to buy for? My mother.  She's very particular.  I'm tough to shop for, because I just buy myself what I want, usually.

9.Easiest person to buy for? Hubby.

10.Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. Except for people who don't want their addresses known....

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Socks.  When I was 8 I got about 30 pairs of socks.  Yecch.

12.Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas. A close second is A Christmas Story.

13.When do you start shopping? I start whenever I see something that would be a great gift.  The bulk is usually done on Black Friday.

14.Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, actually

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Hmmm. That's tough, my latkes are pretty good.

16.Clear lights or colored on the tree? Color!  The brighter, the beter

17.Favorite Christmas song? I like most of them. You name it, I know it.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both.  We're traveling home.

19.Can you name all of SantaÂ’s Reindeers? You mean some people can't????

20.Angel on the tree top or a star? This year a star, previously, a Winnie the Pooh Angel.

21.Open the presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve with the extended family, Christmas day with the immediate family.

22.Most annoying thing about this time of year? The frigging lines.

23.Do you have Jebus in your heart this Christmas? He's a little big to fit in my heart.... but he knows how I feel about him.

24.What would you like for Christmas? Snow and ice.  I love winter weather, but it's a little scarce in CA

Now, I'm supposed to tag 5 people so, sorry gals....

Mia

Rachel

Mandy

JustMe

Sissy

Have some Christmas fun!

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You Should Spend the Holidays In

Brazil - with fireworks and huge christmas trees made out of lights

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If you don't recognize yourself in this one, you've been doing all your shopping online (good for you!)...

h/t QOAE

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At work or in school: I work best by myself. I like to focus on my ideas until my desire for understanding is satisfied. I am easily bored if the subject holds no interest to me. Sometimes, it is hard for me to set priorities because so many things are of interest.
With friends: I may seem reserved. Although my thoughts and feelings run deep, I am uneasy with frequent displays of emotion. I enjoy people who are interesting and of high integrity.
With family: I am probably seen as a loner because I like a lot of private time to think. Sometimes, I find family activities boring and have difficulty following family rules that don't make sense to me. I show love by spending time with my family and sharing ideas and interests.
Take this quiz!

Well, I'm certainly not that reserved or aloof with friends and family, but otherwise pretty nail on the head. And my favorite color.

h/t Sleepy Beth

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You Are Vixen

Sexy and sultry, you're the one all the other reindeer dream about. Why You're Naughty: That fur pulling spat you got into with Dancer over Santa. Why You're Nice: Because even when you're nice, you're still delightfully naughty!

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Some of this is a spun argument, for example most kids in high income homes have two parents because most of the time it takes two incomes to reach that level, but all in all, an interesting hypothesis and a new interpretation of data that social scientists have been mining for years.

In this article from the City Journal, sociologist Kay Hymowitz posits that there is an increasing gap in marriage between the educated and the less educated in America, and that this gap has startling implications for the children of both married and unmarried parents.

Princeton sociologist Sara McLanahan, co-author of the breakthrough book Growing Up With a Single Parent, has fleshed out the implications of the Marriage Gap for children in an important paper in Demography—and they’re not pretty. McLanahan observes that, after 1970, women at all income levels began to marry at older ages, and the average age of first marriage moved into the mid-twenties. But where mothers at the top of the income scale also put off having children until they were married, spending their years before marriage getting degrees or working, those at the bottom did neither.

The results radically split the experiences of children. Children in the top quartile now have mothers who not only are likely to be married, but also are older, more mature, better educated, and nearly three times as likely to be employed (whether full- or part-time) as are mothers of children in the bottom quartile. And not only do top-quartile children have what are likely to be more effective mothers; they also get the benefit of more time and money from their live-in fathers.

For children born at the bottom of the income scale, the situation is the reverse. They face a decrease in what McLanahan terms “resources”: their mothers are younger, less stable, less educated, and, of course, have less money. Adding to their woes, those children aren’t getting much (or any) financial support and time from their fathers. Surprisingly, McLanahan finds that in Europe, too—where welfare supports for “lone parents,” as they are known in Britain, are much higher than in the United States—single mothers are still more likely to be poor and less educated. As in the United States, so in Europe and, no doubt, the rest of the world: children in single-parent families are getting less of just about everything that we know helps to lead to successful adulthood.

All this makes depressing sense, but when you think about it, the Marriage Gap itself presents a puzzle. Why would women working for a pittance at the supermarket cash registers decide to have children without getting married, while women writing briefs at Debevoise & Plimpton, who could easily afford to go it alone, insist on finding husbands before they start families? For a long time, social scientists assumed, reasonably enough, that economic self-sufficiency would lead more women to opt for single motherhood. And to listen to the drone of complaint about men around water coolers, in Internet chat rooms, on the Oxygen Network, and in Maureen Dowdworld, there would seem to be plenty of potential recruits for Murphy Browndom. Certainly when they talk to pollsters, women say that they donÂ’t think thereÂ’s anything wrong with having a baby without a husband. Yet the women who are forgoing husbands are precisely the ones who can least afford to do so.

There's lot more to the article, including at least 2 more sections I'd like to excerpt. Go here to read the whole thing.

h/t Ron Coleman at Dean's World

Venomous Kate also has an interesting take on the article.

So, what do you think?

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Well, baby steps I say.  Here's a start, huh?

A Christmas meme stolen from Cobb:

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot Chocolate.  Egg Nog is nasteeee.  NASTY.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? WRAP!!  Where's the fun otherwise?

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White is too boring to bother with.  Colors on tree and house.  The more the merrier.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?  Occasionally.  Usually the plastic variety. 

5. When do you put your decorations up?  Usually the weekend after thanksgiving.  Tree stays up until at least Epiphany (Jan 6).

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My stuffing or latkes and bacon, our traditional Christmas eve fare

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: Hmm, that's a tough one.  Let's put it this way, I can tell a Barbie wrapped up under the tree from a mile away....

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? You mean that Santa isn't just one dude with a sleigh and Rudolph?  I STILL believe in Santa.  Come on now.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? My Dad's side comes to our house on Christmas Eve, so we open those presents then.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? well, we have a bunch of ornaments, most of which have some meaning for us from characters to tradiational ornaments, as well as colored globes and glass icecicles.  Big Gold Star for the top.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I love love love snow!  I hate the idiots who don't know how to drive in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Nope.  My ankles are too weak.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My favorite gift I ever got was DH getting holiday leave from Basic Training.  The best gift I ever gave was the microwave we got Mom last year.  She was shocked!

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? The time to relax and enjoy, to sing songs and smell pine trees.  To act like a 4 year old.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Peppermint ice cream.  My favorite all year round, but much easier to find at the holidays.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas Eve at my parents' house.

17. What tops your tree? This year, a big gold star.  Previously a Winnie the Pooh Angel (which makes a better table decoration since it is usually to big for the HUGE ASS TREE we always get).

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I love giving.  I'm very good at it, and I love to watch people's faces light up at the surprise.  I'm terrible to buy for because I want to be surprised and blown away like they are, but no one has managed it yet.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?  All of them.  The songs are the best part!

20. Candy canes: One is generally enough.  Really.  Give me the ice cream!

21. Favorite Christmas movie? 1. White Christmas 2. A Christmas Story 3. Love, Actually

22. What do you leave for Santa? Whatever Santa asks for.  Usually popcorn and fudge and a glass of milk.

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1 Favorite Christmas movie... The Desk Set. *grin* Guess I'll have to get hold of Love Actually since I've never seen it.

Posted by: Teresa at December 06, 2006 06:20 AM (5UR9t)

2 1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Egg nog, no contest 2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? depends on how my family was feeling when I was a kid... of course, I never believed, but I played along for the presents... 3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? neither 4. Do you hang mistletoe? If I thought someone would be dumb enough to actually kiss me, I'd nail bushels of the stuff all over my ceilings... then invite them over to my place... 5. When do you put your decorations up? I don't decorate 6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? hmmmmm.... cranberry sauce 7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: when "Santa" tripped over and crushed the Hot Wheels city my brother and I received... and he was asking what happened... I knew my grandmother had gotten up in the middle of the night and forgotten about it being in the floor... 8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I've always known Santa was someone in the house; mom asked me when I was six if I believed, and I told her no; she told me not to tell my brother... too many illogical things happening where the Santa myth was concerned, and I wasn't a child who took anything at face value 9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I don't do Christmas, although I buy for my kids while secretly awaiting their realization that Christmas is BS 10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? blah 11. Snow! Love it or dread it? snow? no such thing anymore... global warming killed it all out... unless you live in or near the Arctic Circle or near the South Pole... anyway, I like snow 12. Can you ice skate? no 13. Do you remember your favorite gift? no 14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? When they're over 15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? pumpkin pie 16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? hiding in a closet until everyone's gone 17. What tops your tree? what tree? 18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? are we still talking about holidays? 19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Christmas Time is Near ~ Chipmunks (I think that's the title) 20. Candy canes: ack! no 21. Favorite Christmas movie? 1. Die Hard 2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Boris Karloff rocks) 3. nada 22. What do you leave for Santa? a loaded bear trap...

Posted by: Thomas Warlock at December 06, 2006 04:00 PM (qeZ2A)

3 White Christmas is my all time favorite movie. LOVE IT.

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 07, 2006 08:21 AM (MwQOF)

4 Thomas, my husband also swears Die Hard is a Christmas movie. And it's one we watch on Christmas Eve.

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 07, 2006 08:22 AM (MwQOF)

5 Well, Die Hard 'is' a Christmas movie... sort of. It takes place at the appropriate time.

Posted by: Thomas Warlock at December 07, 2006 09:30 AM (NvS/T)

6 I'm not arguing with you. I was backing you up, in case people in your life give you the hard time my husband gets.

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at December 07, 2006 07:34 PM (0Pi1o)

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