On the Tenth Working Day of Christmas...

On the tenth working day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Ten Lords a Leaping!

Instead of ten, today I give you ten times that amount! 100 stocking stuffer ideas. Great for last minute gifts.

1) $5 gift cards (Starbucks, Borders, Cold Stones, etc)….2) A favorite candy (M&M;’s or mini candy bars)….3) CD of favorite music….4) A favorite magazine….5) Nail Polish….6) Paperback by an author they love….7) Hand Lotions….8) Tic Tacs or breath mints….9) Nice pens….10) Chapstick….11) Pocket knife….12) Socks….13) Mini Flashlight….14) Gloves….15) YoYo….16) Small photo frame w/ picture….17) Votive Candle….18) Personalized Key Ring….19) Golf balls…20) Golf Tees….21) Mini Perfumes….22) Travel Clock….23) Letter Opener….24) Fun, Colored Office Clips….25) Cool White-Out Tape….26) Uno/Phase 10 Card Game….27) Colored Pencils….28) Ruler….29) Small Measuring Tape….30) Rubber Band Ball….31) Lipstick….32) Eye Shadow….33) Makeup Remover….34) Nail Polish Removal….35) Measuring Spoons….36) Wooden Spoons….37) Bendy Straws….38) Tide-To-Go….39) Batteries….40) Fingernail File….41) Small Makeup Bag….42) Fishing Lures….43) Movie Tickets….44) Pocket Calculator….45) Matchbox Cars….46) TechDeck Finger Skateboard….47) Bouncy Ball….48) Shoe Strings (Fashion Color)….49) Brainteaser Mini Wire Puzzle….50) Stopwatch….51) Pedometer….52) Vitamins….53) Kitchen Timer….54) Cookie Cutters….55) Ice Cream Scoop….56) Nice Razor….57) Stress Ball….58) Magnifying Glass….59) USB Flash Drive….60) Cuff Links….61) iPod Ear Buds….62) iTunes Gift Card….63)Toothbrush….64) Lifesavers….65) Mini Kleenex Packets….66) Handkerchief….67) Tire Pressure Gauge….68) Eye Glasses Cleaner and Cloth….69) Address Pre-inked Stamp….70) Earrings….71) Hair Clip….72) Comb/Brush….73) Eyelash Curler….74) Bobble Head….75) Reusable Shopping Bag….76) Shopping List Pad….77) Travel Book….78) Travel Electrical Adaptors….79) Sleep Mask….80) Mini Book Light….81) Luggage Tags….82) Purse Hanger (To keep off of floor)….83) Luggage Scale….84) Compass….85) Portable Mini Speakers….86) Zhu Zhu Pet….87) Cool, Decorated Erasers….88) Pencil Sharpeners….89) Personalized Pencils….90) Digital Golf Scorecard….91) Money Clip….92) Mini Bubble Bath….93) Scented Soaps….94) BBQ Tank Gauge….95) Fingernail Clippers….96) Back Scratcher….97) Recipe Cards….98) Chopsticks….99) Mirror Compact….100) Personalized Christmas Ornament

Good luck on your last minute gifts and Happy Holidays!

~Kel

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On the ninth working day of Christmas

On the ninth working day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…Nine ladies dancing!

Now who WOULDN’T want nine dancing ladies? Who cares what kind of dancer they are, ballerina, stripper, cha-cha, or your just random drunk who thinks they can dance! Who cares? Dance, Dance, Dance and have a great time doing it!

Go ahead and dance like him if you want. Did you know that dancing burns a ton of calories? An hour of vigorous dancing (think quickstep, not waltz…or in my household it is the Michael Jackson Dance Experience for the Wii) can burn up to 500 to 700 calories depending on your height, weight and fitness level. And it's a lot more fun than trudging along on the treadmill – WOW!

Dancing with a group of friends can also brighten your spirits and make you laugh (or is that just me laughing at everyone else?) Shake your booty and feel good about it! “Dance like no one is watching, love like you’ll never be hurt, sing like no one is listening and live like it’s heaven on Earth”

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On the Eighth Working Day of Christmas…

So anyone who knows me knows that I have a crazy obsession with milk.  I love it.  I literally go through a gallon of milk every couple of days.  To me it’s delicious so I suppose that it’s only natural that I get to do 8 Maids of Milking.  But the big question is…what the heck should I write about?

Here are some fun facts about my favorite beverage milk.

·         It takes 29 cups of milk to make 1 pound of butter.

·         A cow can't give milk until she has given birth to a calf.

·         A cow drinks over 117 gallons of water in a week, no wonder cow farms smell.

·         The average cow produces 90 glasses of milk each day — or about 200,000 glasses of milk throughout her life.

·         A cow's udder can hold 25 - 50 pounds of milk.

·         Cows were first brought to Plymouth Colony in 1624.

·         Most cows give more milk when they listen to music.

·         Blue whale calves drink as much as 132 gallons of milk a day. A baby whale can increase its weight by 200 pounds in one day.

·         Yak's milk is pink.

·         Camel's milk does not curdle.

·         Cows have an amazing sense of smell — they can smell something up to 6 miles away, like food.

·         Milk is better for cooling your mouth after eating spicy food. (Milk products contain casein, a protein that cleanses burning taste buds.)

Hope you enjoyed these fun facts about milk.  Drink milk!

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On the Seventh Working Day of Christmas...

The last birds mentioned in The Twelve Days of Christmas are swans. Swans are beautiful birds, but don't start out that way. Remember the story of The Ugly Duckling? A little baby swan wasn't accepted into the group because he wasn't cute like the other ducklings. That is until he grows into a beautiful swan.

An interesting little fact about swans is that they are monogamous and some of those bonds last for life. This may be why a common picture of swans shows them forming a heart with their necks and heads.

My dad was able to capture a moment like this earlier in the fall. He was an avid photographer and while at an arboretum with my mom he caught a pair of swans forming a heart. He even entered the photo in a contest at the arboretum and placed in the top 25!

Now that Christmas is a mere 10 days away, I hope your shopping is almost done or at least started and you are able to enjoy the holiday season!

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On the Sixth Working Day of Christmas...

Oh yes, lucky me, I get to blog about Six Geese-a-Laying. I never was one to be a fan of birds, especially ducks and geese. I remember trips to the farm when I was younger and the birds were so comfortable with people being around that they would just hang out. I know I have heard a handful of stories where a duck or goose has chased someone. In fact, a goose chased my sister around a farm once, making her scream obnoxiously with her hands flailing about. My sister tried to kick the poor thing. Don’t worry, nothing bad happened to it. Anyway, not to mention, when geese make their mark they leave behind a disgusting obstacle course of goose poo. It is no fun walking around having to dodge hordes of pesky geese while carefully trying not to step in any of their goose “goodies”.

Last year I remember hearing on the news that as the population of Canadian geese grew, wildlife biologists and technicians were asked to control the increasing number of these pests who now call New York City parks their homes. In July, biologists working with the Federal Agriculture Department rounded up almost 400 geese and gassed them with carbon dioxide.

Although an extreme measure, authorities justified the extermination in an effort to make the skies around New York City safer for humans to fly. The elimination of geese will hopefully help to avoid a similar event, which occurred January 2009. I am sure you all remember hearing the story about a flock of geese which flew into the engines of a US Airways jetliner causing the airplane to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River.

So yes, goose poop can be annoying and, getting around these big birds in the skies can also be dangerous, but is it fair to annihilate these pesky birds for our convenience? I am not one to be all crazy and save an animal’s life just to risk a human’s, but the thought of killing 400 geese all at once makes me grossed out. After all, how will we ever get to the golden egg if we kill all of the geese? I want a golden egg damn it. I hope they checked them first at least. Morbid? Yes. Sorry, Merry Christmas :-) .

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On the Fifth Working Day of Christmas...

On the Fifth Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me... Five Gold Rings!

This theme in fact has very deep meaning to me. Almost a year ago to the day, I got engaged. December 15, 2010 Nick and I headed to see the Hartwood Celebration of Lights, a typical holiday tradition for most western Pennsylvainers.

As we headed through the multi-mile light display, we came to the 12 days of Christmas show. Little did I know, this is where Nick planned to pop the question. Ten short days away from Christmas, it was cold, Chase was in the back seat, and as we approached the fifth day of the 12 Days display, Nick stopped the car ( ignoring the "do not stop your vehicle" signs posted everywhere). He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box... as cute as could be he said, "Instead of five gold ones, how about two diamond rings? Will you marry me?" And in our typical crazy, funny relationship fashion, he opened the box, and the rings were upside down. I said yes! I had only been waiting on this day for almost seven years at this point.

Here we are, almost a year later, preparing for a big move into "our house," planning a wedding and getting ready to start our lives together, as a family.

A ring – it symbolizes so much!

Do you know the origin of engagement rings?
A diamond engagement ring symbolizes a promise of love and marriage.
One of the most prolific wedding traditions in the United States is that of the diamond engagement ring. Today, a diamond engagement ring symbolizes a promise of love and marriage, and cements plans for a wedding. However, the tradition of diamond engagement rings has a colorful history. Engagement rings were first given to women during Victorian times as a sign of the man’s wish to marry her, much like today. The reasoning behind the gift of a ring was that the man had to provide some type of collateral to the woman to prove his good intentions. The ring served to guard against a man promising marriage and then taking off before the marriage occurred, leaving the woman with nothing.

Nick better not take off…

Can you find the sweet gold rings in our photo?

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On the Fourth Working Day of Christmas...

On the fourth working day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Four Calling Birds!

I have nothing to write about four calling birds. I Googled it. I YouTubed it. I came up with nothing. Nothing funny. No good recipes. And my creative juices have been sucked right the hell out of me trying to figure out when I'm gonna clean, wrap, bake, etc.

So four calling birds.  If I had four magic, effing birds to call upon to help me through this Christmas disaster, which, by the way, the world tells us is supposed to be magical and enchanting, these are the four I would call.

1. A cleaning service.  I love to clean.  I know, I sound insane, but there is an unmatched satisfaction in a clean toilet or dog/child footprintless floor. But if someone could keep my house clean I would be forever indebted. I can get it there, it's the keeping it there that I struggle with.

2. A baker. I can't bake. I have adult ADHD and cannot measure an ingredient to save my effing life. Baking requires skill and preciseness. Neither of which I have, unless it is about cleaning. Read #1.

3. Santa. Dude, I can't do your job. I don't want your job. I can't live up to the high expectations of my children--who are already bought for who keep adding to their list. I'm gonna go bankrupt over gifts that by December 30 they won't give a sh*t about anyway! And I hate wrapping. I don't have the attention span. See #2.

4. Jesus. I love you. I do. But somehow, somewhere along the lines your birthday became a complete pain in my ass. I want to celebrate you. Who doesn't want a big shindig for the big B-Day? But seriously, can you control the marketing and retail people, and Martha Stewart, who tell me is has to be perfect? I'm glad you were born. All Christians are glad you were born. I'm sure your mother is reminiscing about giving birth to you, what time you were born, how much you weighed, detailing each gift from the magi. But me, I just want it to be quiet and simple. It's not. HELP ME!

I have a friend, who at every holiday gathering and every birthday would yell "Happy F*cking Blah Blah." (OK, it happened once, on a very drunk New Year's Eve, but it has become the norm among my friends...OK, one friend). The guy who yelled it knows he yelled it because I remind him every year, but he probably doesn't exactly remember the first time he yelled it.

I digress. Happy F*cking Blah Blah. My your holidays be warm, special and exactly what you expected. Up to and including the NFL Snuggie you get from your cousin in the grab bag and the worthless piece of sh*t fruitcake you got from your aunt who knows "how much you love fruitcake!"

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