Happy New Year!
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

To all of you, I wish you a happy, lovely 2007. :)

Boas Festas! - Happy Holidays in Portugese

Boas Festas!
Originally uploaded by Marcos Fontes.

This was from a flickr friend... :)

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday and ate lots of yummy food. I had a great time, seeing family and my two little nephews. One a year and a half old, the other 6 mo. old. They're a hoot.

Little E., the one year old, got a wagon and my dad took him outside to give him a ride in it. When they came back in he kept saying Moo in kind of a low voice and pointing at the sky. Dad translated, Moo is Moon. Ha!

Little J. is a squealer. He's pretty entertaining, but can get pretty loud. He's got a Johnny Jump up so when you hold him up so he's standing on your lap he jumps and jumps, squealing all the while. :D

Gotta love the munchkins!!

Frog Christmas

Frog Christmas
Originally uploaded by Magpie Skinny.

10 very unscientific ways to deal with holiday stress.
By Polly

1. Shorten the gift list. This is not a joke. This year, buy only for the people closest to you. Give cards and a hug to the rest. You will feel like a thousand pound weight has been lifted. Don’t feel guilty.

2. Admit you’re human. There are only so many days, and only so many hours. If you’re not ready to admit that, check out the dark circles under your eyes and the vein popping out on your forehead. It will be okay.

3. Play A Charlie Brown Christmas – The Vince Guaraldi Trio every chance you get. It’s like a sedative.

4. Have an eggnog, hot buttered rum, hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps, or the holiday drink of your choice. A little glow from the drink and a glow from the Christmas lights and all will be right with the world. (Drink in moderation.)

5. Avoid the situations you know will make you mad. I can’t drive into the parking lot at the mall after Thanksgiving without feeling like I have a severe case of Tourette’s syndrome. So I don’t do it. There is always somewhere else I can go to get what I need. Saving a buck isn’t worth feeling like the top of my head is going to come off.

6. Manage your expectations. It’s just a day. It’s an important day for many of us, but it’s still 24 hours long. Then it’s the next day.

7. Wrap every gift alike. Go with me on this. It will look like your signature wrap, and you will not have to deal with 50 of those obnoxious rolls of gift wrap and 85 shiny bows. It streamlines the process and saves you time and money.

8. Buy what you can online. This is not original, but it’s still valid.

9. Set your own limits and stick to them. Family and friends may demand a lot of your time, but don’t let them suck you in beyond what you are willing. You will end up resenting them, and resentment does not lead to holiday cheer. Refer to #6. They need to manage their own expectations, too, and you’re not responsible for that.

10. Have fun, laugh about it and repeat #3 and 4.

Liverpool 1960

liverpool 1960
Originally uploaded by bazchimp.

Look close at this great old image from Bazchimp. These people had the right idea about Guiness!! :D

Pancake Meow

Pancake Meow
Originally uploaded by queeneshell.

Check out this cute website, with yummy edible looking jewelry! :) www.pancakemeow.com

Neat Painting from Flickr...

weeping ship, acrylic on collaged canvas, 9x12 inch oval
Originally uploaded by Bird in the Hand.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Mark Twain)