Quit Talking 'Bout Yourself!

Well, maybe just one more time. Thanks to Cagey, here's more about my fav subject: ME!


8 passions in my life:

1. Mr. Goofy


2. Goofy Junior


3. Reading


4. Dancing


5. Experiencing New Things


6. Helping Others experience/learn new things


7. Competition


8. Food

8 things to do before I die:

1. Drive a Nascar


2. Hang-glide


3. Travel to New Zealand


4. Get a pedicure


5. Travel to Mount Everest Basecamp (Cagey- let's go!)


6. Visit the Pyramids


7. Own a motorcycle (or at least a 50-mph scooter)


8. Drink wine in Tuscany

8 things I often say:

1. Okey-doke


2. NO!


3. You've got to be kidding!


4. Holy Moley!


5. Darn it! (Have had to tame down my potty mouth)


6. Wine?


7. Dessert?


8. Hey!

8 books I read recently:

1. The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans


2. Blaze by Stephen King


3. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss


4. Microtrends by Mark J. Penn


5. Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: GET OUT THE SHOVEL -- WHY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG by John Stossel


6. Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen (for a book club)


7. The five dysfunctions of a team: [a leadership fable] by Lencioni, Patrick


8. The Hummer and the Mini: Navigating the Contradictions of the New Trend Landscape by Robyn Waters

8 songs that mean something to me:

1. "Rosanna" by Toto (song that was playing when I met Mr. Goofy 25 years ago - yikes!)
2. "Release Me" by Pearl Jam (makes me shiver)
3. "Every Step of the Way" by Steve Walsh
4. "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog
5. "4 out of 5" by Soul Coughing
6. "She's a Rebel" by Green Day
7. "Dancing by Myself" by Bill Idol
8. "Jaded" by Green Day

Lazy or Smart? You Decide.

Option 1 - Homemade Thanksgiving dinner for the Goofy household (plus in-laws):

$20 Turkey
$ 5 Ingredients for Cornbread Stuffing
$ 6 Potatoes for Mashing
$ 5 Ingredients for Green Bean Casserole
$ 5 Dinner Rolls
$ 7 Ingredients for Pumpkin Pie
$ 7 Ingredients for Apple Pie
$ 10 Miscellaneous: Butter, Cranberry, Cool Whip, Gravy, etc.

NOTE: This does NOT include the TIME spent thawing, preparing, mixing, stuffing, buttering, cooking, baking, slicing, whipping and....cleaning up. Groan.

Option 2 - Go out for Thanksgiving dinner to a Restaurant that:
- won the Best Overall Restaurant in KC in 2006
- is located on the Country Club Plaza, which is famous for turning on their obscenely huge array of Christmas Lights on Thanksgiving night
- serves the full-blown traditional turkey dinner (including dessert), all-you-can-eat, for $20 per person
- did I mention that kids eat free?
- or that Goofy Junior LOVES Christmas Lights?

This year we are choosing Option 2*. We have reservations at 6:30pm. The Plaza Lights go on at 6:45pm.

No cooking, no cleaning - just eating, drinking and getting in the merry spirit of the holidays.

So...Lazy or Smart?

I say BOTH.

*My mom-in-law's quote was "Boy, we are getting smarter in our old age, aren't we?" so I think she's down with it.

One Laptop Per Child

Goofy is taking a moment from her regularly-scheduled goofiness for this public-service announcement.

Heard of the One Laptop Per Child initiative? (if not, check out the link in that last sentence, 'cause I can't do it justice) Coming up this Monday, November 12th, there is a special promotion called "Give One Get One". This is pure marketing genius, IMHO.

Donate $399 to give the gift of education (via a laptop sent to a child in a developing country) and also get a laptop for your child. Two laptops for 400 bucks!?!? That's a good deal in my book.

AND...
You get to feel good that you did something for a child you don't know AND you get to feel good that you did something for a child you do know. That's pure double-delicious coolness in my book.

And the laptops are space-age super-cool looking. They are mostly bright green with two antennae poking up from the monitor like ears. They even have a handle. Why doesn't my laptop have a handle? Oh yeah, then the laptop bag makers wouldn't have anything to sell me.