Verdell is preparing to enter the World Canine Freestyle Organization's video contest. As his costume, I ordered a bow tie. Here are some pics:
Henry also wanted to try it on:
It may look better on him. Verdell needs a smaller size. I'm not sure this will stay on the entire performance.
Verdell and Henry play at a local park.
Verdell was convinced I had treats and rarely left my side. This is Henry playing with a stick.
I have found something great. Something exciting. Something that will clean our place!
Introducing Easy Off Bam Multi-Purpose Grime & Lime Remover.
From the bottle:
"Powerful foaming formula removes even the toughest stains and dirt on many surfaces. Works on stubborn grime, soap scum, grease, lime scale buildup, rust stains and dirt. Dissolves hard water in seconds. For use on tubs, shower tile, glass, kitchen surface es, stone, concrete, faucets and shower heads."
This stuff really works. It works well and fast. I find it works best if you spray it and leave it about a minute before wiping it off. It worked on old toilet stains, toaster grunge that had accumulated so that we could no longer see in the toaster, old stove grunge, a thoroughly scary sink that smelled like vomit, though no one claimed it. A few squirts, a one minute wait, and presto!!! Clean! Our kitchen has never looked better. I now know if something is in the toaster and the sink is Fly Lady clean.
I give it my cleanest recommendation! It minimizes elbow grease and maximizes clean.
I will say that if you use it in the bathroom, make sure you open a window or turn on a fan. Also, it's best to use gloves when cleaning because it is so powerful and it helps to wipe everything down with water after you are through so things do not streak.
The toilet cleaner is also outstanding and got rid of old toilet ring in minutes without much scrubbing and now our toilets are gleaming.
Good luck!
Well, I officially have a book out. Will anyone read it? Hard to say, but it's pretty neat and I can display it in my bookcase and casually point it out to people and offer to pose for a picture with it. You know, the basics.
You can find it on:
amazon.com
(For my international fans)
amazon.co.uk
blackwell.co.uk
abebooks.com
The cover art is below. You may ask why there is a tiny clay figure pushing a cart with a giant telephone. Especially because the majority of the book deals with the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Did they have shopping carts and telephones like that? Well, the answer is no. But the people were shrinking even as their purchasing power was increasing. So while the people were small, evidently they were not smart enough to scale down futuristic phones to a more appropriate size.
Blurb from the back cover:
Historically, scholars of economic growth have focused almost exclusively on aggregate output or income as a way to assess the standard of living in a society. This work supplements and challenges this methodology by using evidence of the biological standard of living to measure the physiological adjustments of human populations to changes in economic conditions. Human stature captures the biological costs and benefits of economic activity and serves as a primary indicator of the biological standard of living. While income and output appear to steadily improve over time, human stature fluctuates through time, implying that the general increase of incomes came at the expense of health, nutrition, and ultimately height.
The book begins by using an innovative estimation technique to generate per capita GDP figures for Colonial America, then finds evidence of convergence and divergence of stature in the nineteenth-century United States, before concluding with the global exploration of the impact of economic and health variables on stature in the nineteenth century. The book is addressed to researchers in Economics, History, Nutrition, and Health.
Well, it might be, but I'll share a few anyway.
Robert is not in any of the pictures because he took them all! Thanks to him for sharing the pictures and documenting Christmas 2007.
Granny and Jerry's Tree
Mom and Charlotte
Charlotte in trouble
Dad with his Gamecock Golf Cover
Pete and I with our new Bose!
My new lip enhancer
Jerry and Granny
Jerry
Mom and Dad's Tree (and new TV!)
The day before Thanksgiving was a spectacular one! The weather was beautiful and I took pictures of Verdell and Henry.
We recently visited Austin, Texas for a business conference. I had no business being there, but we had a lot of fun.
We stayed at two places: Barton Creek and Courtyard at the Marriott in the heart of downtown Austin. Barton Creek was absolutely gorgeous and here are the pictures to prove it.
Golf at Barton Creek
I was treated to a manicure, a custom massage, and a hot stone massage. It was every bit as good as it sounds. Here is a picture of the hot tub at Barton Creek.
Our room at Barton Creek was fabulous. 
I love a good snack bar.
On Friday night, we took a horse guided tour of downtown Austin. The next day we took a picture of Bob, our horse guide.
I also visited Book People, the largest book store in Texas. I was in heaven with three floors of books and excellent staff selections. I walked out with six books varying from historical fiction to how to tap into my creativity. So far Founding Brothers and The Other Boleyn Girl are fantastic. 
I expected Austin to be flat and dirty, but it was hilly and picturesque!
We moved to a downtown Austin hotel for Friday and Saturday night.
Here is a picture of our hotel.
Me, before our exhausting walk.
This is a picture of Pete and I in the lobby of our downtown hotel.
Me before eating Texas's version of BBQ (not like NC BBQ at all)
Pete waiting for a cab.
Saturday we spent most of the day walking. Since it was a nice day, we decided to walk...and walk....and walk. In the morning, we took a cab to Lamar street and ate breakfast at a great place. Then we went in search of the "cool" places to shop. Apparently cool means expensive. I saw many cute tops, but I wasn't spending $210 for a black knit top. It was crazy. So we walked back to the hotel, which was a good ten blocks.
After a brief rest and picking up the camera, we decided to walk to see UT's campus. Hmmm. It was oh, 23 blocks from our hotel, but to our credit, we did it!
This is a picture of me with the Freedom Mare at UT.
After walking around UT, we were a bit delirious and I decided to break the speed limit. Pete was kind enough to capture the moment.
Mid-stride
Proof I am a speed demon.
We also saw UT's Bell Tower, the site of Charles Whitman's shootings in 1966, one of the first school shootings in the U.S. (an autopsy showed he had a brain tumor).
Pete's business client was actually present during the shootings in 1966 and was on the cover of Time magazine. 
Prior to our UT visit, we toured the Capital building, the biggest Capital building in the country, even bigger than D.C.'s.
View from the steps of the Capital building.
Pete and I in the Capital building, which was quite ornate.
Ceiling view...quite impressive!
Me opening the door to the Capital building.
This is a view of Capital Street from the steps of the Capital. It's a neat picture because you can see so much from the site.
The front of the Capital buiding...
The top...
Here is the gate to the Capital, originally built to keep livestock from wandering on the premises.
Two more views...
We ended the day by walking 24 blocks back to our hotel. Our feet are swollen and I can't wait to sleep!
