Family Photos

Webkinz Family Photos (I'll have to post my cat collection next!)

Prince Tobbe

I received another Webkinz. This one is a tie-dye frog. He's very soft and likes french fries. He's not as photogenic as Evori, but here are two pictures of him below.

At work, they had a wrapping station with lots of paper, bows, and ribbons for us to use so I actually got a little fancy with my wrapping this year and used glittery ribbons and bells and stuff. It was fun and I wished I had more gifts to wrap.



Merry Christmas!!

Personality

I enjoy doing personality tests. Here's a new one I found.



Passionate
You are in touch with your emotions, and sometimes you react before you think. The good news: you don't tamp down your feelings. The bad news: you sometimes say or do things that you later wish you could take back.
You do not live your life on an even keel; you do not go for long periods without experiencing some mood swings.
Aesthetic
You appreciate art, beauty, and design; you know that they are not superficial but absolutely crucial to living the good life. You have good taste, and you're proud of it.
You don't think it's pretentious to be moved by art and beauty. You're not one of those who believe it doesn't matter what something looks like as long as it does its job.
Those with a high score on the "aesthetic" trait are often employed in literary or artistic professions, enjoy domestic activities — doing things around the house — and are enthusiastic about the arts, reading, and travel.
Creative
You are good at solving problems, coming up with original ideas, and seeing connections between things, connections that most other people miss.
You do not shun abstractions and concepts in favor of the concrete and tangible.
People with a high score on the "creative" trait often are employed in such fields as finance and scientific research, and enjoy avant garde and classical music as well as literary fiction and scholarly non-fiction.
Intellectual
You are thoughtful, rational, and comfortable in the world of ideas. People find you interesting to talk to. You're the living embodiment of the saying "You learn something new every day."
You do not avoid abstract conversation, experimenting with new ideas, or studying new things. It bores you to stick to the straight and narrow of what you already know.
In general, those with a high score on the "intellectual" trait are employed in such fields as teaching and research, and are enthusiastic about reading, foreign films, and classical music.
Curious
You like to get to the bottom of things. You're not content knowing what someone did; you want to know why they did it.
You don't simply take things as they are and move on; you're not content skimming along on the surface; you don't feel you're wasting time by digging for the meaning of things.
Understanding
You are willing to take the time to find out what's going on with other people, especially if they're in distress. You're a good listener, you don't criticize, and you offer unbiased, respectful, honest advice when it's requested.
You don't feel the need to impose your standards on others or say things that, even though true, cause pain.
With a high score on the "understanding" trait, it is likely that you are enthusiastic about charitable work, helping others, and making the world a better place.
Original
You are constantly coming up with new ideas. For you, the world as it exists is just a jumping-off place; what's going on inside your mind is often more interesting than what's going on outside.
You don't feel that the road to success is to be a realist and stick to the program; you never stop yourself from coming up with new ideas or telling the world what you're thinking about.
Warm
You have a genuine interest in other people. You're a natural host, and are always thinking about how you can increase the happiness of those around you. When friends have problems or are in trouble, you're usually the first person they turn to for aid and comfort.
You don't always say exactly what you're thinking; you don't like the idea of causing anyone pain because of your criticism.
Scoring high on the "warm" trait suggests that you are among those who enjoy domestic activities — doing things around the house — and are enthusiastic about charitable work, helping others, and making the world a better place.
Empathetic
You are in touch with your own feelings, which helps put you in touch with the feelings of others.
You don't buy the logic that your happiness comes ahead of everyone else's because unless you're happy you're incapable of making anyone else happy.
Cautious
You very rarely make a move without first considering the pros and cons and, therefore, rarely do anything foolish or extravagant.
You are not rash; you almost never act before you think and, therefore, rarely end up doing things you later regret.

Webkinz Again

My little fellow now has some new clothes and a tree to celebrate Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you!

Webkinz

I finally succumbed and agreed to adopt a webkinz. Meet Evori. He was born February 14th.

Cat Animation on YouTube

This little animation is well done - love the purring.

Melodrama - Adventure

I'm coordinating a project at Librivox.org - a dramatic reading of The Perils of Pauline by Charles Goddard. There are lots of small parts available for people who want to try their hand at recording for the web. Join up at http://www.librivox.org/.

The Perils of Pauline is one of the first damsel in distress serials. The story is complete with undaunted hero, courageous damsel, unscrupulous villains galore, and other worldly interest. Before getting married, Pauline wants to experience the world and have adventures. When her guardian dies and leaves her an estate in trust of his secretary, adventures suddenly become more hazardous. Pauline charters aeroplanes, meets untrustworthy pirates, braves dangerous China Town, flies in a hot air balloon, adventures in the Wild West, encounters international spies, and escapes many other perils with the aid of her would-be fiancé, Harry, and an Egyptian mummy.

Dr. Seuss

What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book? Most people say "The Cat in the Hat." Mine is "To Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street." I love the imagination run wild. Imagination has always been something I've valued. I'm considered creative. When I was little, less than 5, I once said that I wanted to grow up to be a Fire Engine. My family enjoys and supports creativity and my mother only encouraged these types of fancies. If you haven't read this book, check it out of the library.

Aprons

Aside from hobbies, I collect aprons. This first one is from Solvang in honor of our Scandinavian heritage.

This one is from my sister. A Christmas gift last year that she made for me. I love the colors.

This one was made for me by my mom. It reminds me of making cookies because the pattern is gingerbread boys and girls. It's also nice and old fashioned.

This one I made just this year. It is my Petter Rabbit apron. We got the pattern at a quilt shop and thus the cute fabric. It even has buttons with a Beatrix Potter story pattern.

This one was my grandmothers. It has lots of lovely applique work and a pretty scalloped edge.

This one I bought on eBay. It has a combination of applique and needle work.

Finally, this one, also from eBay, has some nice lace to go with the applique. I love strawberries.

The funny thing is that I forget to wear them when cooking or baking and end up with flour all over me.

Carcassone

I love games. This one is nice because it mixes strategy with luck. It's also tactile because you have tiles to place. My favorite one of the Carcassone games (and I own a lot of extentions) is The City because it also builds walls and looks neat when it's done. You can play an online version of the game here against the computer or against other human players.

Textile Arts

I like various textile arts. Occassionally, I work on bobbin lace. It's made with thread wound on bobbins which are twisted and crossed to form patterns on a pillow.

Artwork

I have so many "hobbies." They're probably better termed interests. I flit from one to another. However, I am pleased with my work from time to time. Here are some things I did years ago in JC.

Travian

Another game I've been glued to lately is Travian. As far as animation goes, it's pretty static. It's more a numbers and strategy game. I got sucked in because I keep doing a spreadsheet to plan out what I'm going to build next. Plus it doesn't end quickly so I keep going because I want to finish. Below is a screenshot from their site: http://www.travian.com/

Flowers

At the local Lucky store you can either buy flower bunches 3 for $12 or buy an arrangement for various amounts. A bundle of roses costs $12. I went for an arrangement as buying the individual bunches would have cost about the same, probably a little more and that would not come with a vase. Not only that, but Lucky will do an arrangement for you or freshen up one they already have. So here is what I got.

Slitherlinks

I'm addicted to slitherlinks. It's a logic puzzle that is a cross between a maze and a dot-to-dot. "The puzzle consists of a grid of dots, with some clue cells containing numbers. You connect horizontally or vertically adjacent dots to form a meandering path that forms a single loop or "Slitherlink." The loop must not have any branches and must not cross itself. The clue numbers indicate how many lines surround the cell. Empty cells may be surrounded by any number of lines (from 0 to 3). "

There are a lot of them here. I started out with the 7x7 and then the 10x10s. Now I'm working the 20x20 easy puzzles. (I can do the 7x7 and 10x10 pretty easily now.) With the 20x20 I start by using a colored pencil to mark all the lines I'm sure of at first glance and then come back with regular pencil to complete the rest. Sometimes I even color them in afterwards.