13 Question Quiz June 18, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Fun & Games, Humor, Nature.Tags: Pew Research Center, Quiz, Science in Society, Smithsonian
11 comments
Do you know more about science and technology than the average American?
Take this 13-question quiz to test your knowledge of scientific concepts.
Click here: Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz
Then see how you did in comparison with the 1,006 randomly sampled adults asked the same questions in a national poll conducted by the Pew Research Center and Smithsonian magazine.
Share your results with us too!
Aah . . . what a smart bunch!
How To Go To Sleep (For Moms) June 18, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Home & Garden, Humor, Joke, Life Balance.Tags: Chores, Humor, Joke, Life Balance, Sleep
32 comments
For some, sleep comes easily. These fortunate few sit or lie down, close their eyes, and fall sound asleep (and start snoring!) in mere seconds.
For others, especially moms with small children, going to sleep is more involved:
1. When you are too exhausted to dot another “i” or cross another “t,” head toward the bedroom for some much needed shut-eye.
2. Wait! What’s that smell? Swing by the litter box and stop to scoop the poop that Johnny was supposed to clean up before he played video games for three hours this evening.
3. Continue heading down the hall.
4. Glance out the front door. Yup, Susie’s bicycle is still lying in the driveway, directly behind your husband’s car, even though she promised she would put it away before spending two hours IM-ing her BFF, Jill.
5. Move the bike out of the target zone of the morning commute.
6. Return to the front door. Wait! What’s that noise?
7. Glance to the right to identify the subtle squishing sound coming from the side yard. Yup, the sprinkler is still on, even though your husband swore he turned if off hours ago.
8. Wade through the mini swimming pool in the middle of the lawn to turn off the spigot.
9. Head back inside. Take off soggy shoes and leave them in the laundry room to wash tomorrow.
10. Turn out the laundry room lights.
11. Notice that the lights you turned off in the kitchen thirty minutes ago are now back on.
12. Head to the kitchen to investigate.
13. Discover that the kitchen you tidied up after dinner now has a blobs of ice cream melting on the counter, drips of chocolate smeared across the floor, and dirty bowls stacked in the sink.
14. Tidy up the kitchen.
15. Turn out the light.
16. Head to the bedroom.
17. Wash your face.
18. Brush your teeth.
19. Floss your teeth.
20. Change into your pajamas.
21. Rub hand-cream on your hands.
22. Put moisturizer on your face.
23. Climb into bed.
24. Lie down and get comfortable. Aah . . . that’s better!
25. Wait. What’s that noise?
26. Yup. Daisy’s scratching at the back door because Jeffrey forgot to let her in before going to bed.
27. Get up and let the dog in. Give the dog a biscuit. Fill up the dog’s water bowl.
28. Return to bed.
29. Lie down and get comfortable.
30. Wait! What’s that racket?! Realize your husband’s snoring is drowning out the thoughts that usually keep you awake at night.
31. Turn on the light.
32. Find the ear plugs.
33. Turn off the light.
34. Lie down.
35. Wait! Did anyone make the lunches for tomorrow?
36. Stumble out of bed and wander out to the kitchen.
37. Get out the bread, peanut butter, and jelly.
38. Seriously?! Someone put both jars back empty without adding them to the shopping list?! Yup, they did.
39. Get dressed.
40. Drive to the Quickie Mart to buy peanut butter and jelly.
41. Return home.
42. Make sandwiches.
43. Clean up the kitchen. For the third time.
44. Return to the bedroom.
45. Put on your pajamas. Again.
46. Lie down and get comfortable.
47. Listen to your husband’s I-don’t-have-a-care-in-the-world-snores as you wait for sleep to descend.
48. Glance at the clock.
49 Do some quick calculations.
50. Yup . . . you have to get up and do it all again in five short hours.
Aah . . . that’s better!
So, which camp do you fall into? Do you fall into bed and fall fast asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow?
Or do you lie awake and wonder why sleep is as elusive as an eel?
Related post: Papa Says Get Economical (Weekly Writing Challenge)
Everyone Loves A Good Mystery! June 17, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Bulletin Board, Writing & Writers.Tags: Blogging, Blogs, Contest, Mystery, Writing Contest
16 comments
Susanna is hosting another FABULOUS writing contest:
The Fourth of July Secret Mystery Writing Contest
The Contest: Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 400 words about the 4th of July in which a secret is revealed or a mystery is solved!
* You may choose any 4th of July setting you like: country, city or small town, sleep-away camp or vacation, with family or friends or all alone, at a parade, a picnic, a fireworks show or a bonfire, in the middle of the woods or in a country where the locals don’t celebrate 4th of July.
* Your secret or mystery doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. It could be:
Who took Granny’s award-winning Fourth of July cherry pie?
Or what did Robin tell Sarah who told Olivia who told Gracie about Anna in cabin 7?
Or where did the flags for the parade disappear to?
Or why doesn’t Becky Sue want to go to the fireworks show?
Or what Old Mrs. Hootenspiegal knows about the mayor!
Just reveal or solve a secret or mystery of some kind by the end.
* Your entry should be posted on your blog between Monday July 1 at 12:01 AM EDT and Friday July 5 at 11:59 PM EDT, and your post-specific link should be added to the link list on the official Fourth Of July Secret Mystery Contest post which will go up on Susanna’s blog on Monday July 1 and remain up through Sunday July 7. The post will remain up through Sunday to give everyone plenty of time to read, but the entry list will be closed at midnight Friday so Susanna has time to judge.
* If you don’t have a blog and would like to enter, copy and paste your entry into the comments on Susanna’s July 1st post by midnight Friday July 5th.
Oh, say can you see . . .
by the dawn’s early light
What’s been shrouded in mystery
all through the night?
Oh, the prize?
I’ll let Susanna tell you: The Fourth of July Secret Mystery Writing Contest
* * * * *
So . . . do you have a favorite 4th of July tradition? A picnic? A parade? A pie eating contest? A date with a hammock?
Scram Scrabble June 16, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Fun & Games, Humor, Travel & Leisure, Word Play.Tags: Board game, Crossword Puzzles, Game Night, Scrabble, Word game
13 comments
Playing games gives us a chance to live, love, laugh, and learn . . . no electronic gadgets (televisions, computers, cell phones) required.
One of our favorite word games . . . Scram Scrabble.
The letter tiles from Scrabble are all you need ~ no timers, no paper, no pencil, no game board. It works best with three to five players, but two or six players can play without changing the rules.
1. Place Scrabble tiles face down on the table.
2. Players draw seven tiles each. Keep them face down until all players have drawn.
3. Someone shouts “Go!” or “Start!” or “Happy Father’s Day!”
4. Everyone turns over his or her tiles and uses the letters to form cross words. Player A used his 7 tiles as follows:
W R I T
E
S
T
5. As soon as one player uses all seven tiles, s/he yells “Take 2″ and everyone must take 2 more tiles and merge them into their crossword puzzle by adding on to existing words or rearranging words already formed. If Player A drew an E and an R, he might add those letters as follows:
W R I T E R
E
S
T
6. Once again, as soon as a player uses all tiles, he yells “Take 2″ and everyone takes 2 more tiles. If Player A drew an A and a T:
W R I T E R
E
S A T
T
7. Players are free to move letters and can completely dismantle a crossword puzzle to shift letters around during the game. Player A could rearrange his letters to create:
W R I T
E
S T A R E
T
8. Once all the tiles are drawn, the first player to use all his or her tiles in a completed puzzle yells “Scram Scrabble!”
That player wins the round . . . unless one of his words is misspelled (or fabricated).
9. Each round takes ten-twenty minutes, depending upon the skill of the players and the number of players involved ~ with 2 players, it takes longer to draw and use all tiles. With 6 six players, the rounds speed up because players have fewer tiles to draw and use.
Great for adults and children or teams ~ with an adult and a young child (who is just learning to read) on each team.
WARNING: It’s addictive! Players often want to finish their crossword puzzles before starting the next round.
Ready . . . Set . . . S-C-R-A-M!
* * * * *
To all you DADS out there . . . Happy Father’s Day!
Hope your day overflows with memory-making sweet surprises and lots of sticky fingered FUN.
Aah . . . that’s better!
One Little, Two Little . . . Nine Little Piggies June 15, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Amazing Animals, Animal Welfare, Special Events.Tags: Charlotte, Pig, Piglet, Special Events, Weekend Theme
30 comments
Charlotte had piglets!
Nine of them.
And she’s only stepped on one.
Once.
That we know about.
To congratulate her, or learn more about her experience ~> NINE little teensy weensy piglets..The Aliens Have Landed.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related post: Sidey’s Weekend Theme ~ A Little Bird Told Me . . .
A Motorcycle Monkey June 14, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, Fun & Games, Humor.Tags: Humor, Monkey, Motorcycle, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
22 comments
Look at all these seductive curves . . . sleek, luscious, inviting.
Related post: Weekly Photo Challenge ~ Curves
From “Moo” To Moosewood June 14, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Animal Welfare, Food & Drink, Health & Wellness, Humor.Tags: Diet For A Small Planet, Humor, Lifestyle Choices, Vegetarianism
28 comments
People accustomed to eating meat often ask why I became a vegetarian. If I want to avoid a sustained conversation about my lifestyle choices, I say, “I don’t like meat.”
If they seem genuinely interested and I’m not pressed for time, I expand my answer, ”Being a vegetarian is better for me, better for the planet, and better for the animals that I would otherwise be consuming.”
If they press for more information, I elaborate along the following lines.
In my early teens, I read Diet for a Small Planet and learned how inefficient it is to feed the planet by growing grain for animals and then eating the animals.
If we ate the grain, and skipped “the middle man,” we would be able to feed more people, for less money, with less environmental impact, and fewer greenhouse gasses (including massive amounts of methane created by cows).
I decided to become a vegetarian. Since I have never much liked meat, cutting it from my diet didn’t involve any supreme sacrifice.
Giving up chocolate or pizza would have been far harder.
But my mother refused to let me make such a drastic (to her) lifestyle change at such a young and tender age. Not while living under her roof!
At home, I ate what everyone else was having. I would fill my plate with fruits, grains, and veggies before deigning to take a tiny sliver of London Broil or a single meatball. I learned to fly under the radar without loud pronouncements about what I would or wouldn’t eat.
But when we went out to eat, I got to “vote my conscience.”
When we went to the Lobster Shanty for an elaborate Sunday brunch, the highlight of the meal for the rest of the family was having their steak and eggs cooked to order.
Not Me. I wanted the buffet items ~ fresh melon, bagels, sliced oranges, waffles, fresh pineapple, pancakes, etc.
After we got settled, the waitress came around and took our orders, “Steak, rare. Eggs, fried.” “Steak, medium rare. Eggs poached.” And so on.
When she got to me, I would smile and say, “No steak, no eggs.”
My father would look at me, wondering who my real father was, and say, “The steak and eggs are the best part.”
I would look at him, wondering who my real father was, and say, “Order them anyway you want. I don’t want eggs or steak.”
Sandy, our Great Dane, became the beneficiary of this brunch battle because my uneaten steak went home with us in a doggie bag.
After college, I moved in with my parents for a year before heading to law school. I came across my copy of Diet for a Small Planet and decided, once again, to cut meat from my diet.
After a few weeks, my mother started worrying that a diet devoid of meat would cause malnutrition. Since she continued to harp on the magic of meat at every meal, I had a series of blood tests run to alleviate her concerns.
The result?
I was not anemic. I did not have iron poor blood. None of the test results revealed even the slightest hint of malnutrition or dietary deficiency.
Huzzah!
Vindicated by the medical profession, I continued to omit meat from meals.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Quote: I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals . . . I’m a vegetarian because I hate plants. ~ A. Whitney Brown
Resources: A Month of Meatless Meals * Moosewood Cookbooks * Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) * Care2
“I Love It When That Happens!” June 12, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Food & Drink, Humor, Synchronicity & Mystery.Tags: Avocado, Barefoot Contessa, Food, Ina Garten, Mystery, Synchronicity
40 comments
Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Yesterday at lunch, BFF and I watched Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, prepare lunch for her Architects.
On the menu:
* California Iced Tea
* Lobster Paella
* Avocado & Grapefruit Salad
* Shortbread Cookie Hammers
Neither of us liked the look of the salad.
“Wow! That Avocado looks . . . “
“Slimy.”
“Slimy! Yes! That’s exactly the word I had in mind.” I continued, “Of course, lots of people like Avocado. Food preferences are so personal. It’s funny that . . . “
I paused to watch Ina dropping Lobster chunks and frozen peas into the Paella.
A minute later, BFF picked up the thread of my thought . . . even though I hadn’t left an audible trail of breadcrumbs for him to follow.
“It’s funny that you and I dislike the same foods ~ food that other people adore ~ mushrooms, eggs, avocados, eggplant, sushi, calamari.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say!”
I love it when that happens.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Have you ever read someone’s mind? Saying exactly what they were going to say, before they said it? Picking up where they left off?
Even when they could have headed in any number of different directions?
Don’t you love it when that happens?
Related posts: When Silence Is Awkward (Suzicate) * Sometimes You Just Know * Pretty SWIFT, eh?
How To Fake “Happy” June 10, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Health & Wellness, Life Balance, Mindfulness.Tags: Depression, Happiness, Health, Life Balance, Mood, Wellness
48 comments
People often say I am the most positive person they know . . . that I give them a daily dose of much needed “positivity.”
When I admit that I’ve struggled to maintain equilibrium since my teens, they are inclined to disbelief.
“But . . . you seem so happy.”
Of course I do.
Happiness is my life preserver.
If I didn’t fake “happy,” I would be sucked into the murky depths of despair by the state of the world.
You can fake “happy” too.
* Smile, though your heart is aching.
* Laugh when you feel like crying.
* Claim what isn’t, as if it were, until it becomes.
The best way to be happy is to be happy.
Simple in concept, but challenging in application. Like any other skill (writing, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument), if we wish to become more proficient, we must practice, practice, practice.
It is in the doing that we become.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Quote to Ponder: We do not laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh. ~ William James
Related posts: Better Thoughts -> Better Results * The Art of Happiness * Zen & The Art of Happiness * Everlasting Happiness * Choose Happiness * Sidey’s Weekend Theme ~ Happiness
I Am NOT A Bottle of Wine June 8, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, People.Tags: Happiness, Labels, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, People, Stereotypes
46 comments
I steer clear of labels for several related reasons:
(1) Labels are superficial. Hypocrites wear labels, claiming to be one thing while doing another. Actions speak louder than words.
(2) Labels are superfluous. We don’t have to call ourselves “feminists” to be pro-active in the fight for equality. All we have to do is keep coming back to the task.
(3) Labels are imprecise. Meanings shift from place to place, person to person, and with changing times. A label might mean one thing to me and hold a different meaning for you.
When we characterize our actions and beliefs with labels, we can get caught up defending ourselves against out-dated stereotypes and over-generalizations.
(4) Labels encourage people to pigeon-hole us, to presume to know more about us than they do, all based on a label applied to our countenance.
They ask what we do so they know which cubbyhole to stick us in:
Rich man? Poor man? Beggar man? Thief? Doctor? Lawyer? Indian chief?
Cocktail party questions are a convenient form of shorthand communication. Nothing more.
(5) Labels are misleading. The things we have done and the roles we have “played” don’t define the totality of who we are at THIS moment.
“If who you are is what you do, who are you when you don’t?”
(6) Labels are limiting. Words can’t encompass the essence of “me.” Trying to distill ourselves down to a single word or phrase is frustrating.
How could we ever hope to encapsulate our infinite awesomeness in words?
(7) Once we realize we are NOT the labels we wear, we see who we really are.
And we are FREE.
When I first stopped practicing law, I didn’t know how to respond when people asked the ubiquitous question, “What do you do?”
I didn’t have a “new label” to apply.
I decided I don’t need a label.
I am NOT a bottle of wine.
Or a banana.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Quote to Ponder: Our infinite worth lies beyond all labels.
