Interesting Things We Didn't Know Last Year ...

I recently read an article on the BBC News website that listed 100 things we didn't know last year. Did you know:

• there are 200 million blogs that are no longer being updated
• the lion costume from the Wizard of Oz was made from real lions
• each person sends an average of 55 greeting cards per year
• more than 90% of plane crashes have survivors (ha ha - to all you Lost fanatics)
• watching television can act as a natural painkiller for children
• a domestic cat can frighten a black bear to climb a tree

Some of these are specifically british, but there are some very interesting findings on this list also. And yes, there are links to more information on each of these, so you can research further to decide if you find them to be true or not.

Here's the link if you're interested - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/index.html#a007948

A Big Day ...

Today is Sam's 1st birthday! I can't believe it's been a whole year. He's grown so much and learned so many new things. We'll be having a small party with the grandparents this weekend at the house. It'll be Sam's first taste of cake and I can't wait to see how he likes it!

Here are a few pics of him playing around the house. He's quite the crawler - and he just started last week. He'd like to be walking, but his balance isn't quite ready yet. It'll be soon enough I'm sure.

The New Digs ...

We're closing on our house next week - Nov. 15th - and we can't wait. Apartment living isn't as fun when you're old and have a family. The sound of someone else's stereo blaring through my walls is annoying rather than an invitation to party. And I really don't enjoy hearing my neighbors argue (reality tv has ruined the excitement for me) or their phone ring at 2 am. As you can tell, I'm well on my way to crotchity old woman.

We plan on staying in this house for a long time and feel like it's a nice house in a really nice neighborhood. So for those of you that are interested, here is what the new place looks like:

And check out this backyard:

Will post more pics when we get in and the movers bring our things.

My Boys ...

Aren't they cute?

Hair Loss - For A Good Cause ...

As many of you know, I have been growing my hair out for the past 3-4 years. My intentions have always been to donate this hair when it's long enough - well that day finally arrived this past weekend. Actually, I was going to wait until next spring but just couldn't hold out that long. So this past week I went online and picked out the lucky new hair salon - Salon 54 (I read some reviews on salons near the new house and picked one that I thought would do well without charging too much). I made an appointment for Saturday but was still thinking that I'd just get a trim to make sure my new stylist could cut the mustard before giving her full reign on my new 'do. But when Saturday arrived, I was really ready for a change. So I went back online to hairdos.com and chose the new style I thought would be cute. Off I went to Salon 54 to let Jean work her magic. Here are a few before shots:

I really wasn't as scared as I appear in these pictures. On the contrary, I was very excited. Jean was very nice and seemed pleased that she would be able to do something more than a trim for a change. The salon owner quickly got his camera and took some before pictures of his own. Then I pulled out my pictures of the style I wanted (yep, I had front view, right view, left view and back view - didn't want any confusion about what I wanted her to do). Jean was also happy that I knew what I wanted - it takes the pressure off of her when trying to guess what I'm talking about when trying to explain a hair style. She pulled my hair back into a ponytail, measured it to make sure there was enough (you have to have at least 10 inches of hair and it has to be bound) and started whacking it off. Then she got me shampooed and started shaping up what I had left. Here is the final result:

And there you have it. When I get sick of the short hair, I'll start growing it out again for donation. It's a great, free way to help kids with cancer. Here's the website if you'd like more info - Locks of Love.