Some of this season’s hot toys for girls, including Care Bears and My Little Pony, are giving me major deja vu from my Christmases of yore. I’ve seen Strawberry Shortcake for sale in toy aisles, too. Just add She-Ra, Rainbow Brite and Popples to the mix and you could recreate some of my most memorable childhood Christmas mornings for a whole new generation. Anyone else getting funky flashbacks from these blast from the past toys?
Posted by Lori O’Toole Buselt
It’s Nov. 29, and there’s still no sign of the bottom of the Halloween candy stash in my desk drawer.
I try to chip away at it every day — a Hershey’s kiss here, a snack-sized Snickers there. But it’s still a virtual chocolate buffet in there.
Maybe I’d better start sharing. It’s darn near Christmas candy time.
Nah.
– Posted by Denise Neil
Christmas gifts are expense enough this time of the year. But what do you do when the old garage door breaks, the galvanized pipes burst in the basement — twice, before you get the message — and light fixtures fail to turn on?
I’ve had a run of bad luck with my 1949 house. When I moved in 14 years ago, it was one of those “cream puffs†that had been well cared for. I milked that as long as I could. Now things are breaking not one at a time but all at once, and I’m reminded of the admonition to maintain what you own instead of waiting for it all to fall apart.
As I spoke to the plumber before heading off to work today, I told him I’d review my finances to see how I could pay for new pipes. I’d better remember to buy a lottery ticket on the way home from work tonight.
This line from a Bob Dylan song keeps playing over in my head: “When you got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose.â€
It’s a new liberation I’m only starting to embrace. I think the car is leaking oil.
– Posted by Annie Calovich
Happy Monday. Cyber Monday, that is. Today is expected to be a mega shopping day for online sites as people return to work — and to computers with faster Internet connections — after Thanksgiving break.
I admit that I’ve done some of my most creative shopping online already for items I couldn’t find in town. But I feel a tinge guilty shopping on the Web for things I can buy in my community. Does anyone have this experience?
And how many of you do Internet shopping while at work?
Posted by Lori O’Toole Buselt
Stumped already on what to get the dozens of people on your holiday gift list? Be sure to pick up Monday’s copy of The Eagle, which will include the WichiTalk Gift Guide. We’ll give you lots of gift ideas for $10 or less for anyone you may be shopping for. Other stories include:
Posted by Lori O’Toole Buselt
You can summarize my euphoria today in one simple, yet powerful, sentence: KU is headed to a bowl, and K-State is not.
Posted by Lori O’Toole Buselt, KU grad
We reheated Tom last night for dinner and did the same thing for today’s lunch. Our bellies are full from the delicious homemade turkey noodle soup we just ate.
Tom served us well. He is cryogenically preserved in my freezer in four hearty servings of soup. One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my FoodSaver home vacuum packaging system. Tom will stay fresh in my freezer for up to a year. Don’t be surprised when you see an update on this blog titled “Day 301 - Tom lives on!”
posted by Jaime Oppenheimer
The hour-long yoga class I took yesterday morning before my turkey dinner and pie doesn’t even come close to offsetting the calories I consumed.
According to this Web site, which calculates the damage done by your specific Thanksgiving dinner, I need to walk 27 miles or 55,560 steps to burn those Turkey Day calories.
What really did me in?
– a slice of Mom’s pecan pie (480 calories)
– the glass of egg nog (343 calories)
– the turkey itself (340 calories)
– green bean casserole (225 calories)
Good thing I enjoyed every bite. What was your calorie-laden Thanksgiving weakness?
Posted by Lori O’Toole Buselt
Tom turned out to be the life of the party. His juiciness was enjoyed by all and I put another knot on my culinary belt by roasting my first turkey.
The good news is that he’s not gone forever. In addition to having a fridge full of leftovers, his bones are now simmering in a giant pot. This will soon become the broth in turkey noodle soup.
It didn’t take long for Tom’s tryptophan to work its magic. Shortly after our meal, my brother and brother-in-law crashed on my couches while the cleanup was done by me and my pregnant sister and pregnant sister-in-law (Gloria Steinem would NOT approve). Those two better not be faking sleep to get out of work. I just created a list of things for them to do when they wake up.
posted by Jaime Oppenheimer, experienced turkey roaster—–
I pulled Tom from his 12-hour bath and rinsed him, patted him dry then pinched his butt (that was for good luck). I waved good-bye and put him in the oven at 10:08 a.m. He’ll stay put for 2-3 hours.
I miss him already.
posted by Jaime Oppenheimer