What’s up?
The holidays are officially over at my house. DH took down the Christmas lights outside, while I took down the tree. We are all back to school and work.
Thank you so much for your holiday cards. I love receiving them, and once again, I have made a New Year’s resolution to get our family photo taken in the fall so that we can send the cards out on time. 
What about you? Any New Year’s resolutions on your end?
In education news: D.C. charter schools expelled students at a much higher rate than traditional public schools, according to the Washington Post.
In quirky international news: an Icelandic teenager is suing for the right to keep the name her mother gave her. Her name, which means “light breeze” in Icelandic, is not on a government-approved list of names. I had no idea such a thing existed!
What else is in the news? What’s up with you?
oh! i forgot!
re. the crazy news re. names, yes some countries have approved name lists,
and in France they can reject the name you choose for your kid (there was one parent who wanted to name their kid MEGANE = megan, but they rejected it (or wanted to?) because in France that is the name of a car, you know like silverado,lol)
The logic behind these lists is that they are “protecting” children from later on being bullied for having ridiculous names…
not sure how i feel about it, but sometimes when I read the crazy names some celebs give their kids, I understand why these laws exist!
Finally, i posted my resolutions for 2013 on my blog, am thinking that way they are out there in the universe and i will be more motivated (guilted really) into keeping them… check them out here and let me know if any of them are yours too! http://tmblr.co/ZIci9vb6GuX3 (ladydeelg.tumblr.com)
I read somewhere that in this case, the Icelandic language cannot handle a girl with a name that conjugates male. The heavily gender-tangled language garbles everything in the sentence when you try to do that, and she’d have to use masculine pronouns or something (can’t say I read this carefully). I’m not sure why she can’t just go with an official passport name for linguistic purposes and go by Blaer with friends and family.
I have to wonder why her parents chose the name then, unless they have a thing about gender and wanted to make a statement.
I’m bothered by the fact that the name was actually used for a female character in a book by a notable Icelandic author. I’m curious how he got around the pronoun issue.
Here is the link to Rei’s diary on it:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/04/1176256/-Heard-The-One-About-The-Totalitarian-Icelandic-Government-Refusing-A-Girl-Her-Name
I didn’t make specific resolutions but I might steal some of yours… date nights and pitching the mail are sorely needed here.
So, I signed up for match.com and holy cats, it’s like zappos for men! I would buy everything online if that were possible so I am digging it. Just the e-mails and winks and “likes” are such an ego boost, it’s better than therapy. I don’t know who could be against online dating, really. It’s safer than meeting in a bar, less political and fraught with cross-interests than dating at work, and really, who meets people at the grocery store? I am going to collect profiles for a week then start contacting some people back. I’m thinking coffee is a good place to start, or lunch.
Lol. “I’d like him in a size large…” Have fun!
LOL! You should TOTALLY do a diary on this.
I should! I have already seen some very interesting profiles. Like the guy who said he wasn’t opposed to paying for plastic surgery for his potential mate. I got some nods of interest from farmers (we live spitting distance from farm country) and the one that made me laugh said in response to the “Do you have pets?” question: “Well, if you count cows as pets, I’ve got a bunch.”
My friend who now has someone she is dating that she met online said the profiles she saw were full of guys who put up pictures of themselves either fishing or doing motocross. I don’t know why every middle aged guy out there wanted a picture up of himself doing one of those things but it seemed to be nearly universal.
When I put up pictures, the site had suggestions like “Now add a picture of yourself with your friends.” “Now add a picture of yourself outdoors.” Which I ignored. But if taken literally, it might lead to a proliferation of fishing and motorcross pics, especially out in my part of town!
Ah, maybe that explains it! She could never figure it out. She found a nice guy that way in any case.
Jennifer Weiner has a free ebook short story up on Amazon about someone who gets asked to script doctor an online dating profile. It’s pretty funny.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0078XG13W/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=26973087330&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14619699351565436076&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_zpdj79gl3_b
that free story became her last book and it is FABULOUS.. I highy reccommend it!
Just downloaded. You should be on commission (though for the free books, maybe not).
Lol! So awesome! My good friend and her husband met online 12 years ago before it was a “thing” and they had to lie about how they met! I think it’s the best thing ever (Internet dating that is). Please keep us updated!!! Love seeing you happy.
Good for you. One of my girlfriends here in Melbourne met her husband via online dating; they’re just about to celebrate their one-year anniversary. Why should anyone be against it – as you say, it gives you a chance to feel around about someone before you set something up. Hope you have fun.
A little while ago we were discussing where to order online prints. At Improve Photography they did a test of 11 different companies against one another with the same print. They compared on quality, cost, etc. Here are the results. They like Pro DPI. They did not like either Snapfish or Shutterfly on cost or print quality relative to some other sites.
Thank you! Good info!!!
Awesome, thanks!
Awesome, thanks! I’ve had photographers recommend MPIX and Clark Color (the latter of which was not reviewed here). We were really happy with MPIX for our newborn photos from y’all. If Pro DPI is better than MPIX, I will definitely give them a try.
For those who sent holiday greetings, mine will be days late and dollars short. But hey, I am getting around to it.
I did the big diet successfully in 2012 and lost 42 pounds so this year the goal is to keep it off. I also plan to donate more of my time and money to progressive issues here in my states and doing more volunteering at the food bank.
Wow congrats! 42 lbs is a big f’n deal!
For those who sent holiday greetings, mine will be days late and dollars short. But hey, I am getting around to it.
I did the big diet successfully in 2012 and lost 42 pounds so this year the goal is to keep it off. I also plan to donate more of my time and money to progressive issues here in my states and doing more volunteering at the food bank.
I’m happy because I have plans to visit LG in february!!!!! Can’t wait!!! Be jealous
I’m not jealous – I’m happy that you get to visit with her!
So neener, neener.
I’m not too proud to admit to being both happy for you and a little jealous.