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The Year in Pictures

December 31st, 2007. Published under General. 3 Comments.

It’s that time of year for reflection on the year past and making plans for the year to come.

Looking back on 2007, it was the best year to date.

I got the Chester Man back into my life.

I went on a fantastic road trip with Tim.

I replaced the Butt Phone with one that takes awesome pictures (the Motorola RIZR).

We finally finished painting the upstairs hallway and railing.

Pixel and Roxy are good too.

I also took Tim rock climbing for the first time and he liked it so much, I bought him climbing gear for Christmas at Ye Olde Second Jobbe and will be going more soon.

I’ll be doing my New Year’s Resolutions tomorrow.

* * * * *

Speaking of Ye Olde Second Jobbe, they periodically have a “garage sale” where they sell damaged and otherwise used items that have been returned but can not be resold as new. So they stock up these returns and 3-4 times per year, they have a “garage sale” where they sell this merchandise at a DEEP discount (non-returnable of course).

I scored a practically brand new pair of Born boots whose problem was that the person wore them outside then returned them (Ye Olde Second Jobbe has a very liberal return policy) - nothing else was wrong with these $89.00 boots. Here’s a photo I found online of them:

They’re comfortable and squishy and wonderful and I picked them up for $2.93. SCORE!!

* * * * *

As of now, we’re not doing anything tonight for New Year’s Eve - but if you go out and about, please be safe.

Happy New Year!

That 5-Year-Old Had It Coming….

December 28th, 2007. Published under General. 2 Comments.

I had to make a quick post to share this twisted site a friend posted on Pownce:

How Many 5-Year-Olds Can You Take In A Fight?

Personally, I can take on 26 of the little ankle biting buggers.  I think I was hampered by the fact that I’ve never been in a fight - I’m not sure my drunkenly punching someone in the nose by accident (and the accidental target laughing at me) really counts as a fight.

I’d love to hear how you all do!

Inspiring Story of Volunteerism

December 19th, 2007. Published under General. No Comments.

(the video won’t work in the RSS feed - go to the post page to view)

This is a video that an online friend Darius Monsef (of COLOURlovers) produced to tell his story of volunteering and why he does it. Here’s what he said about it on his Digg submission:

I don’t usually submit my own stuff, but, well… The stuff isn’t usually as important as this is to me. The video is short so please watch it. It tells my story of volunteering and spending my last 3 holidays seasons away from home. Please help a fellow digger do some good this holiday season. Thank You. (HODR is a 501c3 Non-Profit)

I help coordinate efforts like this (and volunteer for those efforts) on a much smaller scale in my job currently and I can tell you that any little bit helps. Whether it be volunteering your time or donating funds towards a cause - any amount is appreciated.

It’s great to see someone doing something selfless for others.

For my friends and family out there that do volunteer: thank you.

Design and Mondays

December 17th, 2007. Published under General. 2 Comments.

I tweaked my WordPress theme and put in my own photographic banners (refresh to see all 5 banners - they randomly rotate) and changed the colors for links. I’ll probably tweak it a little more, but not much.

Things are still busy as hell - but I seem to be doing OK with being that busy. T-minus 5 days until I can open my Xmas gift (I already know what it is) and I can’t wait. Photos (and possible video content) to come in the future! I may be able to use that damn podkitten.com domain after all!

The latest Tech Snark is out today - our “Holiday Special” - and it’s a good one. I love the intro. Go listen!

Anyway, I’m wrapping some things up. Hope everyone has a good week!

Santas!

December 5th, 2007. Published under General. No Comments.

Here’s some photos from the Santa Run on Saturday:

Me and Bree:

Santas running in lots of snow:

It was a lot of fun and all for a good cause. And, it seems, heralded the beginning of winter!

Defining “Fat”

December 4th, 2007. Published under General. 3 Comments.

My weight has always been a touchy subject with me. I’ve always felt, even from a relatively young age, that I was “too fat”. I’m not really. Ignore the bad hair (was staying at a cabin with no running water) and add 10 pounds onto this picture (click for larger photo):

That’s what I look like. The women in my family tend to carry extra weight around the middle, so that’s where most of my extra 10 pounds ended up. I keep flip-flopping back and forth between “I’m healthy, lighten up and enjoy life” and “oh dear god I’m a fat cow.” I made fun of Britney Spears at the VMA’s because of how “fat” she looked in her stage outfit - but the reality is, she’s probably only a size 7 (something I haven’t seen since high school), albeit a doughy size 7, but a 7 nonetheless. Which makes me feel like a jerk.

More recently, photos of Jennifer Love Hewitt frolicking in the Hawaiian surf in a bikini have been making the rounds of the gossip blogs (click for larger photo):

The “outrage” and “disgust” over how “fat” she really is prompted the actress to post a message on her blog:

This is the last time I will address this subject.

I’ve sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women’s bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I’m not upset for me, but for all of the girls out there that are struggling with their body image.

A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn’t make you beautiful.

What I should be doing is celebrating some of the best days of my life and my engagement to the man of my dreams, instead of having to deal with photographers taking invasive pictures from bad angles. I know what I look like, and so do my friends and family. And like all women out there should, I love my body.

To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini — put it on and stay strong.

Xoxo,
JLH

You know, that’s a philosophy I can live with. Granted, winter is not the time for bikinis, but I’ll try to learn to lighten up about my body. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop going to the gym and eat nothing but Pizza Rolls and drink beer. (I do love Pizza Rolls and beer!) Exercising makes me feel better about myself and it also is a fantastic stress reliever. I’m just going to try and stop obsessing about this pooch I’ve always had and love my body for what it is: a German/Irish/Polish farm girl who isn’t going to get any taller than 5′5″ or weigh less than 130 (that’s if I starved myself) pounds.

Love thyself!