I’ll miss Polaroid, but I haven’t used my camera in years

Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, technical

It’s only fitting that Polaroid would stop producing film today. It was 13 years ago that I purchased a Polaroid OneStep camera to take pictures at my daughter’s 4th birthday party.

I painted a picture of a skateboarding dog from the “” book, and cut out the face. The kids stuck their heads in the hole, and I took their pictures with the camera. I remember how excited the kids were to run around the yard with their pictures and watch them develop. Once they were done, the kids personalized some cheap frames I’d bought. My daughter still keeps hers on her dresser.  :)

Today, my daughter convinced my mother and sister to purchase her a . No matter that I’d shown her how to easily convert a digital photo to a fisheye in Photoshop. She’s fascinated with the old school way of taking pictures. We all think she’s shortsighted, as the film and developing will cost her more than she expects and the results may not be that great, but she won’t be swayed.

Perhaps I should keep that old Polaroid after all. Maybe we’ll get some film off of eBay for her.

In the meantime, I’ll appreciate all the websites that use .

Goodbye, Union 76

Posted on 31. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in local news

The Union 76 gas station at the the corner of Angeles Crest and Foothill in La Canada closed today. Here are a few pictures I took. It happened quite quickly. I hope something replaces it soon, but I’m not optimistic.

11:00 a.m.:

11:30 a.m. The pumps are roped off.

@ 3:00 p.m. Fence added, truck sucking remaining gas.

Bandfest highlights field shows of Rose Parade bands

Posted on 30. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in education, local news, music

The Rose Parade bands aren’t just marching bands: they’re great on the field, too! Today we attended Bandfest, where we enjoyed seeing the field shows of seven of the bands that will be marching in the Jan. 1, 2009 Rose Parade.

The following bands performed at the 2 pm show we saw:

• Ballou High School
• Broken Arrow High School
• McQueen High School
• Pasadena City College Honor Band
• Prairie View A&M
• Remo Marching Percussion Ensemble
• Riverside Community College
• United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite

We enjoyed cheering for Gina T. in the PCC Honor Band. This is her third year as a Herald Trumpet, and she almost became a Rose Princess. What a gal!

Ballou High School is an inner city high school in Washington, DC. The announcer said that not too long ago, they barely had a band. Their incredible director, Darrell Watson, has done an amazing job of building a top-notch band that beats well-endowed suburban bands. When he appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show, he said that his dream was that the band would march in the Rose Parade some day. The Ellen show people made some phone calls that helped introduce the band to the Tournament of Roses folks, and the rest is history. .

The McQueen High School band, from Reno, Nevada, was also excellent. What a contrast to the Ballou band, however. Whereas everyone I saw in the Ballou band was Black, there were no Blacks in the McQueen band. There was more integration in the Prairie View A&M band, which had several Whites. And this at a historically Black school! Our nation has a long way to go before it’s fully integrated.

The Marine Corps band was very precise. Everyone stood in respect for them, and we all enjoyed seeing them re-enact planting the flag at Iwo Jima. We were on the “wrong” side of the field, but here’s a picture anyway:

My favorite band was Prairie View A&M. We’d enjoyed them immensely at the Angel City Classic a few months ago, so we knew it was worth sticking around in the cold for them. Here’s a short video of them marching around the field after their show:

Why I understand why Barack Obama invited Rick Warren to speak even though I wouldn’t

Posted on 29. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in religion

Since I took such a long break between postings, I figured I’d step back into blogging feet first and post something controversial…

Two summers ago, my son played on a travel baseball team. One weekend he had a tournament in Costa Mesa, so he and I spent a few nights at a hotel there. Because his Sunday game didn’t start until the afternoon, we decided to worship at Saddleback Church in the morning and hear Rick Warren preach. I’d seen him in the videos for “The Purpose-Driven Life” book our church small group studied, and I was curious to see what he and his church were like in person.

I was very impressed. Although the church campus was huge, we were made to feel very welcome. As for Rick Warren, he was an amazing preacher. He spoke for several times longer than any pastor that I’d ever heard, but I didn’t look at my watch once. He challenged us to give more of our money to people who need it and causes that make a difference, and spoke about how he and his wife “reverse-tithe” and give 90% of their money away. He was sincere and thoughtful, and I talked about that sermon for weeks afterward. In fact, a few weeks later, when our whole family was in Orange County on a Sunday, I brought my husband and daughter to Saddleback.

Even so, I don’t agree with everything Warren says. For example, I opposed Prop. 8 (the anti-gay marriage proposition), whereas he supported it. There are very few people I completely agree with, so I’m still willing to appreciate the way he’s challenged me to grow in my faith because I believe him when even though he doesn’t think they shouldn’t be able to legally marry. In fact, he and Barack Obama are in agreement on Prop. 8 – with full marital rights, but not marriage itself. They disagree on abortion, however.

I believe that Obama chose Warren to speak at the inauguration because he wanted people to hear an outstanding orator who would inspire them to come together to support each other at a critical time in our country’s history. Choosing Warren demonstrates that people can disagree on key issues but still agree to come together for the greater good.

I’m sure Warren will inspire, but I don’t think I would have chosen him. I think he stands for divisiveness in many peoples’ minds, and I’m sure Obama could have chosen someone more inclusive who would articulate how his vision fits with a spiritual one. However, I have no idea who an alternate speaker might be. Is there an amazing preacher out there who can inspire without dividing? There must be. And I wish Obama had asked that person to speak.

Christmas wrap-up; self-imposed blog vacation OVER!

Posted on 28. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in movies, my life

I’ve never taken so long off from posting…but it’s been a little crazy here, so reality took priority.

The holidays officially started on the 23rd, when we picked up the buche de Noel, tamales and empanadas from Porto’s. The wait was worth it! Next year I might get the snowman cake, but I don’t think it’ll fit in the fridge. Here’s a picture of the buche de Noel. We finally finished it this evening. Or rather, I did. MUST WORK OUT TOMORROW!!!

My sister and her family arrived that afternoon. They even brought their new toy poodle, Jacques. He weighs 2 lbs., and I think I can fit my fingers on one hand around his body. His fur makes him look bigger. He’s very sweet.

On Christmas Eve morning, I treated my nieces and nephew to see “Bolt” at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood. There was a goofy (dopey) stage show beforehand, complete with dancing chipmunks. The snow was cool, however, and the movie was great.

Bolt reminds me of my dog.

We stopped by Whole Foods on the way home and picked up our ham and way too many delicious Italian cookies.

That afternoon my mother and stepfather arrived, and we all went to church in the evening. Afterwards, we enjoyed the tamales. Actually, I didn’t – I’m not into tamales. I’m not sure what I ate, but I probably topped it off with peppermint marshmallows. We had seven extra people plus the dog sleep at our house that night and the next night.

We opened our gifts quickly on Christmas morning, since my husband drove to the airport to pick up his sister. We pushed the tables together and had a wonderful dinner, and even enjoyed a few rounds of Table Topics before we left the table.

My guests left on the 26th, but I’m not sure what I’ve done since then that’s kept me so busy. There was a lot of cleaning up to do, plus I made the mistake of going to the Glendale Galleria yesterday with my son and taking a half hour to find a parking spot and another half hour to get out of the garage. I saw “Slumdog Millionaire” with my husband (FABULOUS!!!) and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (very good!) with the whole family. I learned how to use iMovie on my Mac (way better than any program I’d had on my PC) and paid some bills before year-end.

On Tuesday the guests return…hopefully I’ll be ready!

I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season!

Should I pay for college or buy a bed?

Posted on 20. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in economy, shopping

My daughter’s 17th birthday is fast approaching, and I need to decide what to get her.

Should I save for college or get this $47,000 bed?

I think I’ll skip the bed. My daughter always liked Belle better than Cinderella anyway.

Perhaps this is why some of the first casualties of this economic crisis are high-end baby stores.

Why do we treat dogs better than humans?

Posted on 19. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in economy, non-profits, shopping, things that bug me

When Andy Bales‘ Facebook status said that the Union Rescue Mission urgently needed teen gifts for the last day of its Christmas Store, I kicked into high gear. As the mother of two teens, I’m a pro at shopping for that demographic. So I went on a major spending spree at Target and had fun choosing everything from basketballs to electronics to hooded sweatshirts. I headed down to Los Angeles’ Skid Row, and dropped off the goodies at the Union Rescue Mission loading dock.

On the way back, I passed through some of the worst of Skid Row. My heart broke. There were throngs of people spilling into the streets, including families with little kids. The streets were so thick with pigeons that I had to slow down to avoid hitting whole flocks. Then, just as I thought I was out of the bedlam, there was a body in the road. Dead? I don’t know. But traffic was stopped on the north side of Pershing Square as we waited for the ambulance to arrive. I sat in my car, only feet away, hoping to see some sign of life. I saw none. It was all too much…I cried. I felt so foolish for crying. After all, I used to volunteer at Union Station in Pasadena. I’ve also updated the Outreach portion of our church website for years, and have read many stories about and seen many pictures of Skid Row. But this was way more than I expected.

I had one more errand to run: I wanted to drop off some extra dog supplies at the Pasadena Humane Society. After I made my donation, I walked around the facility. What a contrast to the hell on earth I’d just seen downtown. The dogs, sad as they were to be in pens, were many times better off than the humans I’d just seen 30 minutes before. They were kept in clean cages and were well-fed. Volunteers were going from cage to cage to cuddle them and let them know they were loved. There was only one pigeon.

I bet that many of the people on Skid Row would have been happy to trade places with these dogs.

What kind of society is this that we treat our fellow humans this way?

I’m glad that I brought the gifts down there today, but I feel like it’s just a drop in the bucket of what’s needed. I wish I could make more of an impact, and I wish that our society as a whole cared for the needy better.

PS – I had my camera with me, but I didn’t think it was respectful to take pictures. I looked for pictures on the internet that depicted scenes similar to what I saw today, but I couldn’t find any. There were tons of pictures of Skid Row, but none that were nearly as dramatic as what I saw. I checked Google Street View, and their cameras only show a minute fraction of the number of homeless I saw today. Go to the corner of 5th St. and San Julian St. in Los Angeles and see for yourself. Then do something.

Do you find salvation at the spa?

Posted on 18. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in religion

If you went to the BRAVO urban spa | salon in Pasadena you might. Then again, you might not.

Here’s a picture I took today between the Macy’s on South Lake Ave. in Pasadena and Bravo. I was struck by the irony of the word “SALVATION” on the sign even as the Salvation Army bell-ringer stood 20′ away. We had a nice discussion about it, and he happily agreed to pose next to the sign.

Where do you find salvation?

A year of highs and lows at the tank

Posted on 18. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in economy, local news

Today I filled my near-empty Prius tank for a total of $14.10. Wow. This spring I blogged about people spending upwards of $100 for a tank of gas. Long live my small hybrid and low gas prices! (Although I’m not expecting the latter to last long.)

According to the letters to the editor in today’s La Canada Outlook, I won’t be buying my gas at the Union 76 station up the street after Dec. 31st. The owner blames local construction and poor traffic patterns for an unsurmountable loss of business. I’ll miss it, but not that much. I tried getting my husband’s car smog-checked there a few weeks ago and the mechanic told me to come back the next day and allow four hours to get it done. I went across the street to Shell, and they did it in 25 minutes. Shell also has the mini-mart and the drive-thru car wash, so they get the bulk of my business.

Mostly I’ll just be unhappy to see yet another one of the four corners at the top of my street surrounded by a chain-link fence.

Yet one more Business I’ll Miss.

Rain drops and cough drops

Posted on 18. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, technical

I was reminded today of why I left New Jersey so long ago: I HATE cold weather. Give me a 110-degree day any time over a 30-degree day. It was in the mid-30’s here today, with rain and wind. Hopefully that means it snowed in other parts of town.

I stayed inside today to avoid the inclement weather, and got lots done. Sort of. I spent about an hour on the phone with the customer support people at Parallels, and they STILL can’t figure out how to allow me to print from the Windows portion of my new iMac. Silly stuff. They tried escalating my call, but the queue (I love that word, but hate the concept) was four hours long. Supposedly they’ll call within a day. Hopefully it won’t be in the middle of the night, since that is daytime in India.

I think I ate about 500 cough drops today. Any recommendations for brands or flavors? I probably should have just taken some DayQuil instead. Maybe this cough will go away some day and I’ll be able to go to Curves again. In the meantime, I don’t want to infect people.

Yolicious is no longer delicious

Posted on 16. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in economy, food, local news

Yolicious has closed its Montrose location. Perhaps it was the economy, but more likely it was the competition from Dolci Mango down the block. We loved Yolicious. They had great frozen yogurt, and if one of the teenage boys was serving you’d get a lot. They also had ample seating and eclectic music. The only downside was that we’d sometimes feel compelled to sit inside because people at the outdoor tables of the restaurant next door smoked.

Dolci Mango, on the other hand, has been busy since the day it opened on the northwest corner of Honolulu and Oceanview, in the heart of Montrose. As much as I liked Yolicious, I prefer Dolci Mango because you only pay for as much or as little fro-yo and toppings as you serve yourself. You can also mix and match flavors and toppings, so you get exactly what you want.

I’m still sad to see Yolicious close, however. I’ll have to dig into my purse and toss all my frequent buyer cards. At least we still have equally attractive fro-yo alternatives.

I’m adding Yolicious to my list of Businesses We’ll Miss.

Vivian Stringer is my new heroine

Posted on 15. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in books, feminism, inspirational people, sports

When Vivian Stringer recruits players for the Rutgers women’s basketball team, she doesn’t just promise them that they’ll play on a wonderful team. She looks the parents in the eye and promises them that if their daughter plays for her, she’ll treat her like a daughter, and do everything she can to make sure she graduates and is prepared for life. She means it, too: she’s still in touch with most of the young women she coached.

She’s the real deal. She comes from modest roots, as the daughter of an African-American coal miner, but was raised with self-confidence and an incredible work ethic. She also has a huge heart, and genuinely cares for everyone she knows. She’s overcome incredible adversity: the death of both her father and her husband at young ages, caring for a daughter who suffered severe brain damage from spinal meningitis, surviving breast cancer, and more, but she soldiers on and makes the most out of life.
I haven’t played on a basketball team since 8th grade, and I didn’t play any school sports in high school. Even so, I was completely entranced by her autobiography, . By the time I got to the end of the book, where she recounts how she chose to respond to Don Imus’s “nappy-headed hos” comment, I wasn’t at all surprised that she handled it with the utmost of grace and courage.

She inspires me, and I think she’d do the same for you. If my recommendation isn’t enough, 24 out of 25 reviewers on gave this book 5 stars, and the other gave it 4 stars. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such positive feedback for a book on Amazon! This would make a perfect gift for a coach, teacher, or athlete.

Businesses We Miss

Posted on 13. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in economy, local news, movies

At 4:00 pm yesterday, the Gordon Biersch restaurant in Old Town Pasadena closed its doors to the public. No longer will we be able to reserve the private room with the round table and nibble on garlic fries and calamari as we sample fine micro-brews.

I wonder whether some day my kids will tell their kids, “Back in my day, there were stores dedicated to the most specialized products and restaurants for every cuisine. In some places, it seemed like every street corner had a fancy coffee store, and there were more cleaners, nail salons, and framing stores than we could count.”

Is that day coming soon? While I admit that we consume way too much, and could easily scale back, I’ll miss some of the places that have closed or that are likely to close soon. I also feel bad for the owners and workers at these establishments, as it’s tough to find a new job in this economy.

So today I’ve started a “Businesses We Miss” page on this blog. I’ll also include a New Business section, and would love to see that be bigger than the Closed Businesses section. This page will include businesses that I frequented or were located near where I live. I may even include a few others that are just so cool I don’t want to forget them.

Please let me know if I miss any!!

Besides Gordon Biersch, I’ll miss its next-door neighbor at One Colorado, the Laemmle Theater. The last movie I saw there was the poorly-reviewed Clone Wars, an animated Star Wars spin-off. I saw it with my son and our young friend Obed from Pakistan. We enjoyed seeing the wish trees afterwards. The theater’s been purchased by an Australian firm that’s converting it to a high-end viewing experience, complete with gourmet food and blankets when you get cold. I can’t wait to put that in my New Business section.

I also hear that Triangle, the little clothing store next to the La Canada Vons, is closing. I never went in there. I wonder if Vons will ever wind up expanding? I used to go there all the time so that the eScrip dollars would go to my kids’ school, but when Ralphs added their school rewards program I decided to shop there instead.

Stop the presses! I agree with David Dreier on something!!

Posted on 11. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in politics

Here it is: I would have voted against bailing out the GM, Ford, and Chrysler, just as David Dreier did. And, apparently, as the Senate just did.

Here’s why:

• American automakers have had a long enough time to make their cars more reliable.
• They haven’t responded quickly enough to changing market conditions that want more hybrids and less SUVs.
• Chrysler was bailed out 20 years ago, and it clearly didn’t work well enough.
• Our government is in the business of governing, not manufacturing cars, so I don’t expect the money to make enough difference.
• The industry is saddled with union contracts that make it hard to automate or turn a profit.
• The companies have a culture which stifles innovation.
• , and many “foreign” cars are, so why bail out these guys instead of the others? Oh, that’s right – they don’t need it.
• Why stop here? Why not bail out Talbots? Or the ? Or Office Depot? They all provide American jobs. (I’m not saying we should bail these others out – I’m just noting that they’re hurting, too.) It’s not as if the car makers are critical to national security.
• At that rate, why not bail out parents who have lost what they saved for their kids’ college educations? Or retirees? Or the healthcare system?

I don’t think we should have bailed out AIG or the banks, either. I don’t think the money will have the full benefit that congress expects, and I think it’s shortsighted to put future generations in so much debt.

It’s not about blue collar or white collar: it’s about how the money collected from all of us can best be used to benefit the nation as a whole.

Quote of the Day:

“Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it.  Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want and their kids pay for it.”

~Richard Lamm

Here’s an interesting video about a Ford assembly plant in Brazil that has an efficient, high level of automation that Ford doesn’t/can’t have in the U.S. My latent industrial engineer loves this stuff…

“Le Refuge des Fondus” knockoff opens in NYC!

Posted on 10. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in food, my life, travel

When I studied in France in the early 80’s, I discovered a restaurant that remains my favorite to this day: Le Refuge des Fondus. It’s on Rue des Trois Freres, in the Montmartre district of Paris. It’s very relaxed: the tables are so long that you need to climb over them to get to your seat. There’s a very simple menu, consisting completely of fondue. People sit side by side with strangers and drink wine from baby bottles. When I got married, my friend Geoff D. even got us a set of glass baby bottles in honor of the restaurant. Ever since I started this blog, Le Refuge des Fondus has been listed as my favorite restaurant on my About page.

So I was THRILLED this evening to see that someone has created a Refuge des Fondus knockoff restaurant in New York City! According to the NY Times:

Jacques Ouari is unapologetic about having copied the concept of Le Refuge des Fondus, in the Montmartre district of Paris, for his new Cave des Fondus. This cellar restaurant at 20 Prince Street (Elizabeth Street), opening Dec. 10, mimics the original down to the silliest details: beer and wine are served in baby bottles, and in order to be seated on the benches against the wall, guests must climb over the communal tables. Eating fondue, rarely a solo activity, and often messy, does lend itself to having fun.

Mr. Ouari’s Cave is decorated with a rollicking peasant mural, sort of Bruegel the Elder meets Red Grooms. It sets the scene for cheese fondue, a melt of three kinds, served with bread, ham and salad, or beef fondue cooked in hot broth, which comes with fries, sauces and salad. Each is $23 a person. There are pastries to dip in molten chocolate for dessert. Reservations are not accepted.

We have a Melting Pot fondue restaurant near us, and it’s wonderful, but it’s expensive and not nearly as fun. It’s hard to be serious when you’re squished together drinking wine from baby bottles.

I wonder what they’d have for my kids? I’d really like to take them there!!

Why my husband’s not banished to the doghouse

Posted on 09. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in advertising, my life, videos

When I told my friend Deirdre that on our 20th anniversary, my husband and I got a cushy La-Z-Boy sectional sofa, she said she’d have to talk to my husband about this. I insisted that it was truly what I wanted, and to this day I love sitting on that couch. (although I’m usually at my computer!)

Here’s a funny video/ad about husbands who wind up in the doghouse because they don’t understand their wives’ desires:

I read one review of the video that called it sexist. They have a point. I found it funny anyway, because I’ve seen similar situations. But I’ve learned to make it easy for my husband and tell him what I want. It’s much easier that way. Or I just treat myself and take the pressure off him. We started going out over 23 years ago, and got married over 21 years ago…so I guess it works.

I wonder what the video would look like from the guy’s perspective? Perhaps he’d bring home 10 choices of diamonds, and none would be good enough. Personally, I’ve told my husband never to get me a diamond anything. My wedding ring is enough for me.

Stand up against hate

Posted on 08. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in politics

Hate is blooming. All across the country, hate groups are sprouting up and thriving, some in response to the election of Barack Obama. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center,

In New York, a black teen was attacked with a bat on election night by four white men who shouted “Obama.” In Los Angeles, swastikas and racial slurs were painted on cars, sidewalks and houses. In Idaho, schoolchildren on buses chanted “assassinate Obama.”

In addition, hate groups report that membership is surging. We’ve identified 888 organized hate groups — white supremacists, neo-Nazis, anti-immigrant extremists, anti-gay groups and others — represented by the dots on the map.

Thankfully, the Southern Poverty Law Center tracks and exposes hate groups, and uses legal means to put them out of business.

Add yourself to their “Stand Strong Against Hate” map:

As the ranks of hate swell, people of goodwill must stand up and be counted.

Add yourself to our map as a voice for tolerance. Join people across the nation who are standing strong against the hate, racism, and intolerance infecting our communities, schools and political debate.

I think the only state on the map without a hate group in it is New Mexico, but I can’t tell for sure. Let’s hope for a day when there are no more red dots on the map.

Best cheap stocking stuffer: CVS earplugs

Posted on 07. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in shopping

I’m a light sleeper. That would be great if I were one of my ancestors, and needed to be on the alert for wild animals or marauding tribes. But in suburbia in 2008, it means I hear the freeway, the cars driving past, the guests who wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and the dog up the street. I’m lucky that’s all I hear; I can’t imagine how sleep-deprived I’d be if I lived in a densely populated city.

I’ve become a connoisseur of fine earplugs. The foam ones that you scrunch up and shove in your ears are the worst: they usually fall out by the middle of the night, and don’t offer much hearing protection. Awhile back I discovered silicone earplugs made by BioEars, and even blogged about them. They work very well, but I recently found something even better and cheaper. When our local CVS store didn’t have any BioEars in stock, I decided to spend $1.99 and try their generic brand of “Ultra-Soft Silicone Earplugs with Microbial Protection.” Oh. My. Gosh!! They work incredibly well. They form easily to the shape of your ear, and are just a little bit sticky, which makes them far less likely to fall out. They block noise incredibly well, to the point where I just hear my breathing and heartbeat. Sure, if there’s something really loud, I hear it. When I wear these, I sleep very soundly and have lots of dreams. Amazing dreams. But I don’t bore you with those.
I’m going to buy some as stocking stuffers for my relatives this year. At just $1.99 for two pairs, you can’t beat them!!

PS – DON’T get the Tyr silicone earplugs for swimming. They’re completely useless.

Here are links to past stocking stuffers:

• Monkey Key Covers
• Bottle Camp Tripod
• Twist Magnet Pen (but the ones I gave didn’t have Dora on them!!)

Yulogizing over my favorite new Christmas words

Posted on 06. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in cool websites

From Addictionary.org:

• yulogize: noun, from the root word Yule; the act of giving a commemorative speech or song particularly related to the Christmas season. (I prefer it as a verb.)
• wrapalanche: noun, Mountain of discarded paper and ribbons from Christmas morning.
• Rudelf: noun, A young child who spoils Christmas by being loud, obnoxious and ungrateful.
• tannenbum: noun, Someone who refuses to help decorate the Christmas tree.
• Santa cause: noun, A Christmas gift in which a donation to a charitable cause is given in the recipient’s name.
• jinglebills: noun, Those large credit card bills that come in right after the Christmas shopping season.
• jinglesmells: noun, The lovely aroma that comes from the kitchen during the Christmas Holidaze, mainly desserts and cookies!
• Seasons GrEatings!: noun, Why do people gain so much weight between October and January?

I wonder if any of these will become commonly-used words? I love the way English evolves.

His day went from bad to worse: let’s do what we can to help

Posted on 05. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in local news

Imagine this: You get laid off from your job, and then that night you’re awakened in the middle of the night because a wildfire is rapidly approaching. You only have time to grab a few things, and everything else is destroyed in the flames.

That’s what happened to Jeffrey Smith. He was laid off from the Speech Department of Glendale Community College on November 14th. That night, we was awakened by firemen and evacuated with minutes to spare. His home wound up being burned to the ground.

Jeff’s friends are organizing an online silent auction to help raise money for him in these incredibly difficult times. Click here to check it out, and bid on as many items as you can.

Here’s the earthquake info

Posted on 05. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in environment, my life

A 5.5 located 117 miles east-northeast of Los Angeles. Click here for more info.

Wonder if my father will call? I told him it’s ok to call if it’s greater than 5.0. We’ve had that deal ever since I moved to California for college in 1981.

NOTE: It was later downgraded to a 5.1. Read more here.

Earthquake – did you feel it?

Posted on 05. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in environment

Just felt an earthquake. (occurred around 8:18 pm) The chair I’m sitting in shook, and so did the ceiling fan cord and the cords to the blinds. My husband didn’t feel it, but he’s on the first floor.

Video of my grandparents’ 1936 wedding

Posted on 04. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, videos

I FINALLY put the four-minute video of my ! My uncle had transferred the movie to a VHS tape for me many years ago, and my stepfather recently transferred the VHS tape to a DVD. I had to import that file to ArcSoft to then export it to the correct format for YouTube. You get the point: this was a long time coming!

May I introduce to you the newly-married couple: Marjorie Dorothea Rose Jaeger and Harold Frederick Christie. They were married at the First Congregational Church in Brooklyn, NY on June 26, 1936. I think they’d only met that February, so it’s a pretty impressive event given that it was pulled together so quickly. I think my grandfather asked my grandmother to marry him after knowing her for only two weeks. Maybe that’s where I get my quick decision-making from. They were married until my grandmother died in the beginning of 1994.

I wish I knew who all the other people in the video were, and what they’re saying. Both of their fathers had passed away by this point, but I can’t figure out which ones are their mothers. It’s so neat to see everyone looking so happy. I wish I could have known them.NOTE: It gets blurry for a few seconds as they walk down the aisle, but it re-emerges at the reception.

Mystery paw print spotted on pool cover

Posted on 03. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in animals

When we lived up the mountain, there was much more wildlife than we have here in the valley. I miss the quail, lizards and hawks, but I don’t miss the rattlesnakes, mountain lions and coyotes. (Though I still occasionally see the latter here.)

I recently spotted dozens of paw prints like this one on our pool cover:

I’m not sure what it’s from. Raccoons and skunks have five fingers, but this doesn’t look completely like the pictures I’ve seen of their prints. I don’t think it’s an opposum print, since one of their “fingers” is an opposable thumb that extends backwards. The print might not be too representative, since the animal was probably slipping around like it was on a waterbed. I think it was a raccoon, since none of the prints had the distinctive hind foot of the skunk.

Perhaps it’s related to Bigfoot…

Yes Means Yes

Posted on 02. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in books

Congratulations to my stepsister, Jaclyn Friedman, on the publication of her book, .

I received it yesterday, so I haven’t had the time to read the whole book yet. But Jaclyn’s essay is wonderful. It’s a reminder that although females can take precautions that lessen the chance of sexual assault, it’s not their fault if they’re assaulted. Also, we need to teach our sons to not only respect females, but to avoid situations where their judgment may become impaired.

I look forward to reading more of the book, but from what I can tell, I’m coming at the topic of sex from a different perspective. I believe that optimally, sex should enhance an already existing relationship based on love and respect. I think that casual sex merely intended for physical pleasure is only momentarily satisfying, and can distract people from developing more meaningful attachments.

Either way, I’m very proud of Jaclyn, and hope that this book helps lead us to a time when women no longer need to fear sexual assault.

Yes on Ate

Posted on 02. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in politics

I was delighted to receive the “Yes on 8″ sign that I won from the Rattling the Kettle contest in yesterday’s mail. The possibilities of what to do with it were endless, but then my dog spoke up. He said that he’s all about love and acceptance, and wanted to help take care of the sign.

So he did.

Thanks, Ricky! And thank you, Dave, for a fun-filled evening of watching my dog destroy the “Yes on 8″ sign!

Handbells were my ticket to California

Posted on 01. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in animals, music, my life, religion, travel

Miss G Dog would have played handbells if she could have. Unfortunately, she lacked opposable thumbs. Hopefully God gave them to her in heaven. At any rate, she gets them in cyberspace on my new Christmas-themed header.

I first visited California with the Tower Hill Presbyterian Church (Red Bank, NJ) high school handbell choir. We landed in San Francisco, and I was thrilled to see palm trees for the first time. The family I stayed with gave me a tour of the city, and constantly apologized for how dirty it was. Are you kidding? I thought it was 100x nicer than any East Coast city I’d ever been to. It’s no wonder I wound up out here.

Our trip continued up the coast, where we played in a handbell festival at Humboldt State. We also saw Crater Lake and Medford, Oregon, which remains the most beautiful place in the U.S. I’ve ever visited. We drove back down through California’s Gold Country, and enjoyed visiting Yosemite and the old mining town of Columbia.

I remember wondering why the palm trees didn’t have coconuts, and why I didn’t see a bear in Yosemite. I finally saw coconuts on my honeymoon to Tahiti, but I’m still waiting to see a bear. That’s probably good.

We were a pretty awesome handbell choir. We even cut a record, but I think that only our parents bought it. I played the third position from the bottom, which meant I handled pretty big bells. When the choir director would turn his back, I’d flip them. I never missed. To this day, I’m awesome at flipping my hairbrush like that. The bells were REALLY expensive, and he would have been really peeved if he’d known I flipped them.

That’s as rebellious as I got in high school. Flipping handbells. My parents were really lucky. I think they knew it, too.  :)

I won a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “Outliers”!

Posted on 01. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in books

Here’s a shout out to Mitali Perkins, an amazing friend from college who not only writes excellent young adult books but also has a great blog. She recently ran a contest on her blog to give away several copies of Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Outliers, and I’m one of the winners. Yay!!

I can’t wait to read it, as I really enjoyed his previous books, and . Thanks, Mitali!!