Frosty day

A nice day today -- although a a bit chilly, around 17 degrees. The trees have all turned white -- called hoar frost. It's gorgeous.

M.I.A.

Oh my, I've been derelict in my posting duties. That's what a nice vacation and the subsequent busy time at work will do to a blogger. Apologies all around, peoples.

A lot of websites have gotten their hands on the Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) sales ads and I've been perusing them for good deals. I'm currently in the market for an elliptical workout machine and once again my love of in-depth research is making it hard to narrow the choices down to just one lucky winner. So the search continues. I will probably get a NordicTrack elliptical that will be on sale at Sears on Black Friday, with an extended warranty. I don't need to be lugging a big heavy machine back to store if it breaks down. Those suckers can come to my house and fix it for me!

Last year we got up crazy early to visit Home Depot on Black Friday. It wasn't busy by any means but the under cabinet mounted microwaves we wanted were pretty much flying off the showroom floor. We got one for the house and one for the condo (which I sold last year). That was a really great deal, but I haven't seen anything too amazing this year.

3 Cool Things - 11/14/08

Tiny Prints -- we just used this company for some holiday invites here at work and they turned out really, really nice. The cost was reasonable as well.

Here's a coupon if you would like to try them out: Save 10% of one future purchase of $40 or more at Tiny Prints. Enter the promo code TPWINTER at checkout. Offer expires February 1, 2009.

---

Do you have questions? Metafilter has the answers!

Ask Metafilter!

If anything, it's entertaining to read people's responses...

---

Free online polaroid image maker:

The site creates polaroid-like images from your digital photos. Bittersweet because Polaroid has discontinued the original cameras -- no one needs them anymore since the digital format has taken over the world...

Uncle Ted's house party

An interesting blog by Juror #11 from Senator Ted Stevens' recent trial in Washington, D.C.

This woman replaced Juror #4 when 4 left to attend her "father's funeral," also known as the "Breeder's Cup." What a fruitcake!


People have asked me why the government is making such a big deal about the house renovations portion when it looks like nothing much was done. Well peoples, jacking up a house in Alaska is done all the time because it basically DOUBLES the size. Heck, my parents did it to one of their homes back in the day. Many times it's cheaper than buying a new house, especially if you like the current location of your abode. Uncle Ted's house doesn't look very fancy from the outside, but it's fairly typical for the ski resort area (Girdwood) that the Stevens' live in.

One of my Alaskan friends says it's ok for Ted to have accepted the gifts and renovations because he's done so much for our state -- then she said that anyone who has taken office supplies is operating under the same principal. Sorry friend, but stuffing a sheaf of copy paper and stack of hi-lighters into your purse is not the same as taking $250,000 worth of stuff.

More vacation photos

If I remember correctly, this was Bahia Honda State Park...

No Name Pub -- lots of character, good beer and excellent pizza! Even saw some little Key Deer on the way home.

Some fishermen gave me some scraps to feed the big fishies around the docks.

American Gothic, Halloween style! In Key West...

Our first Bloody Mary of the day!

Roosters were everywhere in Key West...walking around the restaurants like they owned the place.

Delicious seafood...


Unfortunately I am in one of the 50% of Asians who are stricken with the dreaded "Asian Glow" -- the red flush that appears when we drink. Mine starts at about 2 beverages - making me look like I've had around, say, 12 shots of tequila.

What a great trip -- can't wait to check out the Keys again! Thanks Em and Slee!

Let it snow...

Maybe this stuff will stick around and we'll finally be able to pull out the x-c skis...

It's hard to tell in the photo but the snow is coming down pretty hard. I'm preparing for a 45-60 minute commute home, which usually runs about 25-30 minutes.

She's baaaaack

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late, but it was totally worth it people. I spent a lovely few days in the Florida Keys with two awesome girlfriends. We laid out in the warm sun, drank amazing beverages and had some seriously fantastic meals.




Look at this view from the condo we stayed in!


I don't think anyone ate better than us girls this past weekend! Conch fritters, lobster reubens, oysters, shrimp -- oh my mouth is watering now just thinking about it. And my girls are wine afficionados, so we had some smooth reds straight out of Em's beautiful glass decanter. They also drank me under the table -- sigh, I've fallen a long way since my sorority days. :-)


I'll post more photos tomorrow, promise.

Alaska Cam

A webcam that overlooks Anchorage's 4th Avenue downtown -- one of the oldest streets in town:

The sign at top right in the photo is for the historic 4th Avenue Theater -- here it is in the 40's:

I remember going to a film with my dad at the theater when I was in elementary school. If you know my dad, you know he loves movies and it was so great to spend time with him like that. We sat up on the balcony and as I looked up, the big dipper from Alaska's state flag was lit up on the ceiling. Not sure of the 4th Avenue Theater's currrent status since it was sold and slated for demo, but last I heard it is supposed to be kept as a historical building. I sure hope that is the case -- it is a fabulous holdover from Anchorage's early days before statehood.

Back to the webcam -- the site also features memorable and interesting photos from past days -- this one is called "BeeZilla!" Rawr (or Buzzzz)!

3 Cool Things - 11/7/08

I'm out town but have scheduled this post to pop up on Friday - so as not to disappoint my scores of blog readers. :-) So many cool things, so little time...

---

Video game cupcakes -- via CakeWrecks:

---

External hard drive - back up your computer now! My old computer was a desktop version and when it started to die I scrambled to transfer all my precious files to cd's. It took a while and not everything made it. (RIP mp3's) This time around I learned my lesson and have routinely backed up my laptop. Send files to your hotmail or gmail account, pay for storage online or get an external hard drive. I chose the latter -- it's super small (3"x5"), lightweight and easy to transfer files:

---

SmartWool -- this stuff is A-MAZ-ING. It's 100% top quality wool but: 1) is washable and able to be thrown into the dryer without shrinkage; 2) is wearable for DAYS before it starts to stink; 3) feels just like cotton; and 4) wicks away moisture (aka icky sweat). Hallelujah! I've been wearing this stuff for the last year or so and it has made such a difference when skiing, snowshoeing or out on the boat. It's my favorite of the tech wools: Icebreaker, Ibex and Swobo.

My friends with babies swear by these SmartWool booties -- apparently they are the only footwear that manages to stay on a little one's foot. And they have traction on the bottom.

Lust for leather

I love Coach handbags because of the relative affordablility (compared to Louis Vuitton or Prada) and classy design (for the most part). But Kate Spade is another one of my favorites and I scored an unbelieveable deal on this purse (in brown):

Let's just say I didn't pay full price - or even half! Probably one of my best deals yet. It's coming with me on my upcoming trip since the bag is huge - it's my new favorite carry-on.

Wheeee!

I'm feeling pretty great today -- it's one day before I leave for Miami. People are definitely jealous when I mention where I'll be traveling...

Can you feel the excitement?!

Trashy design

Ahh, I just love innovative design for been-around-the-block household items, via this Swedish design studio:

Organizing

Since D comes from a "less is more" type of background and I have a "nesting" type of personality, the name of the game in our household is compromise. And that's difficult for me - I like to have fun, beautiful and useful things all over the house. But now, before I buy random things I ask myself if we really need this whatsit or thingamajig and what purpose it will serve in our lives. So we still have leftover random stuff around, but it seems to be getting better.

Stuff we can live without gets shuffled off to a few places, depending on value:

• eBay -- lets you reach a wide audience, but must deal with no bidders (or non-paying bidders) for your item and schlepping boxes to the post office. I have a little 30# scale in my craft room so we can print postage from home.
  
• Craigslist -- woohoo, this site is awesome! Through Craigslist D and I found tenants for our rentals, sold furniture, got rid of the awful original cabinets in the kitchen, unloaded scores of small items and overall found some great deals. Just be prepared for people to flake out. And NEVER hold items -- say first come, first served. Otherwise you'll be waiting at home for a buyer to show up and when they don't, you will kick yourself for telling everyone else the item has already sold. And cash is king, people. There's also a free section on Craigslist -- it's surprising to see how many people will drive across town for a free item worth $5.
  
• Consignment stores -- my nicer clothes get dropped off here. It's a 50/50 split and the store sets prices. This place is Sarah Palin's favorite Alaskan consignment shop.
  
• Salvation Army / Big Brothers, Big Sisters / Value Village / SPCA / Goodwill -- call these places to pick up big pieces of furniture or lots of bags - drop off smaller items yourself, it saves the charity time and gas. Make sure you know what to drop off -- for some reason the Salvation Army in AK will not take exercise equipment. Go figure. Don't forget the slip -- new IRS rules dictate that taxpayers must have evidence of their tax-deductible donations.
  
• Clothing exchange party -- also called a Naked Lady Party! It's not risque, I promise. The girls and I have done this once so far -- you get together with your friends and bring clothing, accessories, shoes, purses, etc. to exchange with each other. Make sure everything is clean and neat - no one wants to take home dirty or stained stuff. If at home, serve drinks/snacks -- we held ours at a dessert bakery and were able to enjoy pastries and coffee.

Honestly, an organized home makes you feel better -- call it Feng Shui or common sense, but it's all good. If you can, clean everything out of a closet and go through all items one by one. OR try this technique -- turn all of your hangers backwards. After you have worn a piece of clothing and are ready to put it back in the closet, put the hanger back the right way. After 6 or 12 months you will see the clothing that hasn't been worn. That stuff should probably be sold, given away or burned -- your choice.

I know that Martha can be a bit annoying, but that woman knows her stuff. Some good ideas here: Organizing Tip of the Day.

The white stuff

Yay! It's finally snowing again after weeks of cold, dry weather.

Can't wait to dust off the snowshoes and x-country skiis and hit the trails! Here I am in 2006 out at Nancy Lake (near Wasilla):



Cabins can be found all along the edge of the lake, which is pretty popular with snowmachiners -- tracks are visible next to me in the photo.

Mr. Roboto

Had to share this photo from Friday -- one of my coworkers dressed up like a robot for Halloween, complete with video screen! Faces of famous robots would scroll across the screen - R2D2, that robot from "Lost in Space," Transformers, Bender from "Futurama." It was pretty entertaining:



He even had a fan inside to cool it down -- leave it to the Tech guys to create such an innovative costume!