This time, the hat tip goes to my Mom for sending this amazing video to share. Thanks Mom!
Age Calculator
Hat tip to my Dad (that’s a photo of him and my mom in Antarctica, on a penguin searching expedition) for helping to keep The Soap Queen blog varied and not entirely soaping related.
Did you ever wonder how much damage that extra vodka & tonic was doing to your long term health? Or maybe that spare tire around your middle? Now you can find out with the Age Calculator. Click here to figure out how old your body really is.
My actual body age turns out to be 11 years old and I have a life expectancy of 94. I guess I should start planning for a very long retirement!
Photos from Seattle Trip
My parents recently went to Seattle. They stayed downtown and their hotel had a beautiful view of the city.
The next day, they walked around Greenlake and look what they saw! Aren’t the turtles precious?
Pop Culture Break!
I’ll admit it. I bought Britney Spear’s new CD. And (defensive voice) it’s good. The CD should be an effective comeback vehicle for her (if she can get her personal act in gear).
What’s not good is her profligate spending habits. Click here to see CNN’s article on Britney’s spending round-up. It’s a textbook example of money not buying happiness and also proof that even rich people don’t save.
More Wildlife at our House
Thanks for the comments yesterday about our hilarious wildlife. The little critters make us laugh every morning as we drink our coffee. Here are a few more videos of the squirrels eating and playing.
Frolicking Squirrels
Our chipmunks and squirrels have become happy (and complacent?) on our deck, eating gifts of peanuts (shelled and unshelled).
Despite my husband’s fears of our squirrel’s imminent starvation, they eat enough peanuts to empty both feeders every week or so.
Happy Saturday!
While these aren’t the chipmunks at our house, ours have been out in full swing all morning. I will post a video or two of them later.
We’re busy today, catching up on the mundane that doesn’t get done during the week (cleaning, washing dishes, actually speaking longer than a brief “Hi” and “Goodbye!”). Sadly, today won’t be spent playing with soap and toiletries because the dirty clothes hamper calls. Our kitchen is safe for another few days.
Upcoming this week: Ranting about Business 2.0’s lack of female business covers, photos of a fun soap party at Otion, and a new contest! Look for the Lake Samish Chipmunk videos later today.
Hiking at Mt. Baker
We love Washington State – the beautiful hiking is a side-effect of the large amounts of rainfall we have. My family came up for the weekend. We all piled into the car and drove an hour to Mt. Baker for some hiking (slipping and falling) in the snow.
This is me and my Dad, after hiking past an avalanche on Mt. Baker
Me, happy to be descending
My crazy husband swimming in a pond surrounded by snow!
My freezing husband shivering dry after his snow pond swim.
After the hike, we had a wonderful dinner at Milanos and took in a sold out Circus Show by the incredibly talented U & I Productions. We finished off a wonderful weekend by making beeswax candles. The Soap Queen blog will focus on our container candle trials this week.
Hiking at Mt. Baker
We love Washington State – the beautiful hiking is a side-effect of the large amounts of rainfall we have. My family came up for the weekend. We all piled into the car and drove an hour to Mt. Baker for some hiking (slipping and falling) in the snow.
This is me and my Dad, after hiking past an avalanche on Mt. Baker
Me, happy to be descending
My crazy husband swimming in a pond surrounded by snow!
My freezing husband shivering dry after his snow pond swim.
After the hike, we had a wonderful dinner at Milanos and took in a sold out Circus Show by the incredibly talented U & I Productions. We finished off a wonderful weekend by making beeswax candles. The Soap Queen blog will focus on our container candle trials this week.
Self Check Out
I generally shy away from the self-service check out counters at the grocery store. I am slow at checking myself out and often have produce. Produce foils me at self-service check out. Plus, there’s something about the self-checkout that I resist. I psychologically feel cheated if I have to do more of the work myself, with the check out. I rather like watching the checkers quickly swiffing my groceries across the barcode scanner. Their efficiency is impressive.
Apparently, I should rethink my position on self service check out. According to the E-Week, self-checkout has caused impulse sales to plunge (yes, plunge!) 43 percent for snacks.
Self-Service Checkout as a diet tool? I’ll add that to my mental diet-tip arsenal.
I don’t surf …
I’m not sporty nor daring enough to surf. This video is an astounding representation of what it’s like to be inside the tip and curve of a wave.
Squirrel, on our Porch
How cute is this guy? Chris and I try to spend 5 minutes together in the morning, sipping coffee and discussing our schedules for the day. This morning, look who joined us? It wasn’t an accident. Chipmunks and squirrels “forage” for peanuts that we cleverly hide in a bird feeder. It’s a great way to trick them into playing in front of our morning-coffee window. Small adorable furry animals are a great way to start the day off right. It’s difficult to be in a bad mood when the squirrels are running around and frolicking.I’m working on a swirling overview, complete with photos now. Check for that later today or tomorrow. Also, the winner of the Moon Valley Contest will be announced tonight!
Current state of the Bathroom
I got interviewed for another blog this week (Breakfast with the People). They asked a funny follow up question about my post where I mentioned Chris was painting a new bathroom cabinet!
Here is a photo of the project all done. Notice how the cabinet matches the walls and tile?
I’m a lucky girl. Now I have my very own mirror and space so I don’t have to elbow Chris out of the way to get ready in the morning. Just another reason why crafty husbands are the best kind to have.
Kayaking this morning
Chris and I started out our day kayaking. It was a wonderful way to start the day. This is an actual photo of our morning scene. It looked idyllic. It was idyllic.
It took extra effort to get out of bed early, to drag the kayaks to the water but it was worth it. I’ve been reflecting back on the 20 minutes of quiet contemplation throughout my entire day.