The Times They Are A Changing

“
Card (tarot) Reading Day is February 21

“And each one there has one thing shared:
They have sweated beneath the same sun,
Looked up in wonder at the same moon,
And wept when it was all done,
For being done too soon.” Neil Diamond

February 21

Card Reading Day (tarot)
Love Your Pet Day
Tyne Daly’s Birthday (1946)
Kelsey Grammer’s Birthday (1955)
Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Birthday (1958)
Jenifer Love Hewitt’s Birthday (1979)
Nina Simone’s Birthday (1933)

February 22

Be Humble Day
Walking the Dog Day
International World Thinking Day
George Washington’s Birthday (1732)
Drew Barrymore’s Birthday (1975)
Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin’s Birthday (1962)
Julius Irving’s Birthday (1950)
Edward Kennedy’s Birthday (1932)
Robert Young’s Birthday (1907)

February 23

International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day
Tennis Day
Dakota Fanning’s Birthday (1994)
Peter Fonda’s Birthday (1939)

February 24

National Tortilla Chip Day
Edward James Olmos’ Birthday (1947)
Enrico Curuso’s Birthday (1873)

February 25

Ash Wednesday
Pistol Patent Day
Paper Currency (introduced by Lincoln in 1862)
George Harrison’s Birthday (1943)
Zeppo Marx’s Birthday (1901)

February 26

National Pistachio Day
Carnival Day
Tell a Fairy Tale Day
Michael Bolton’s Birthday (1953)
Johnny Cash’s Birthday (1932)
Fats Domino’s Birthday (1928)
Tony Randle’s Birthday (1920)
Jackie Gleason’s Birthday (1916)
“Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Birthday (1846)
Levi Strauss’ Birthday (1829)

February 27

International Polar Bear Day
No Brainer Day
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Birthday (1807)
Josh Groban’s Birthday (1981)
Chelsea Clinton’s Birthday (1980)
Ralph Nader’s Birthday (1934)
Elizabeth Taylor’s Birthday (1932)
Joanne Woodward’s Birthday (1930)
John Steinbeck’s Birthday (1902)

February 28

Public Sleeping Day
Floral Design Day (acknowledge floral designers for making life a little prettier)
Bernadette Peters’ Birthday (1948)
Mario Andretti’s Birthday (1940)
Gavin MacLeod’s Birthday (1930)
Zero Mostel’s Birthday (1915)

In my ever present search for that “free lunch” I’ve come across free movie sites. What better time for this with the holiday season. It’s a good entertainment for kids as well as watching that Christmas movie you adore and can’t find on cable or satellite TV.

Hulu: A large selection of free movies including updates on new ones quite often. Also, they have season episodes of action TV programs like Heros, Crusoe and Prison Break. You can find comedy, animation, romance etc. Movies are organized and easy to find.

Public Domain Torrents Movies: They offer over 250 action movies including horror movies, if that’s your thing. You can find comedy, animation romance, etc.

Google Video : All kinds of movies and TV episodes including sporting events.

Emol.org Movies: Over 200 classic films. If you love the oldies like I do, this is the place to find that movie you’d like to see just one more time. Also watch these on your iPod or iPhone.

Surf the Channel: Hundreds of free movies to pick from.

Joost: Movies are high quality and well organized - all types including documentaries.

Most of the year I really try to eat a healthy diet. Even during holidays I don’t go completely crazy, but I have been know to stray a bit. Jenn at General Parenting has been posting some mouth-watering holiday cookie and candy recipes. Not only are they extremely tempting, they are on the low end of complicated which is how I like my recipes. This got me thinking.

Many times Christmas is one of the few times we some of our friends and family through the whole year. With everyone’s budget dragging below sea level, there must be a way to still enjoy the parties and get-togethers we normally have. Of course, large extended families have been picking names for gifts (outside their immediate families) for a long time. So, that might be a nice practice this year even if your extended family isn’t so large.

In a way, you could look at these times as almost a blessing. I don’t use that work often, but think of how you can make Christmas so much more personal than you have in the past when you shopped at the mall for gifts. There are still some gifts you can make, although time is getting short. The important thing about making gifts is to be reasonable about the time you have to put into it. Don’t, at this late date, plan on making all your gifts. You will be overwhelmed and won’t enjoy the holidays. Find that one person who would really enjoy getting something you handmade.

Parties and Getogethers

1. A sit down dinner for 14 might be out of your budget this year as far as pre-Christmas parties go. So, consider a later party around 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm when your guests have already eaten their evening meal. Ask every one to bring their favorite cookie/candy/dessert they usually make for the holidays. Also, ask them to bring copies of the recipe so party members can take them home. (I thought of this idea as it’s much like a cookie exchange). All you have to supply is your dessert dish and recipe, holiday decorating and drinks (eggnog, coffee, etc.).

2. If you do decide on a pre-holiday dinner, there’s no need to serve prime rib or any really expensive foods. How about a Mexican food theme? I have a simple and delicious recipe for Chicken Enchiladas. If anyone is interested, just ask and I’ll send it to you. Finish with Spanish rice, black beans and a green salad. Easy peasy! Dessert again can just be those holiday cookies and candies you’ve been baking. Go one step further and have each person/family bring a new unwrapped gift for a needy child. The next day you can deliver them to a location requesting these gifts.

3. What about a holiday party for kids. The food is always easy which, of course, will include the holiday goodies. But, set up a craft table. This can be done for any age group and almost all kids love doing arts and crafts. Just make sure the crafts are age appropriate. They could make ornaments, holiday decorations or even a gift for mom or dad. Take a stroll down the isles of your local craft store for ideas. There are plain ornaments that just need painting. After the kids have painted them, you could take them outside or in the garage and spray a clear coating on them while they enjoy their food. After they are dry, attach inexpensive thin ribbon for hanging. This article tells how to make Christmas snow globes out of baby food jars (but it would seem any small jars would work).

Ask each child to bring a clean small jar with them, but plan on having some extras for those who forget - they are kids after all. This sounds like so much fun, I wonder if this idea wouldn’t make a good party for an afternoon tea. Just find something a little more sophisticated for the adults (probably women) to create.

Note: Send your invitations via email or go to evite.com

For some time now Sharon Osbourne has been in the list of “Hot Trends.” What makes her so popular. Sure she’s married to Ozzy Osbourne, but his name is not in hot right now. Sure, she’s one of the hosts of “America’s Got Talent.” But, the other two guys names aren’t hot right now either. She’s a woman who speaks her mind and is still likeable and I think she would have actually made a better vice presidential candidate than Sarah Palin. But, I’ll bet she’s not Republican, so she wouldn’t have been a choice for McCain. So, what does make her such a hot topic right now?

So let’s look at some facts which may give us a clue to Sharon Osbourne’s popularity.

* She’s rather short at 5’2”
* She’s British
* Appeared on “The Osbourne’s” and “America’s Got Talent” and the British “The X Factor.”
* There’s a slew of boring information about her kids, step kids and so on.
* Apparently she and Ozzy have a suicide pact so that they will die at the same time.
* She’s managed Ozzy Osbourne longer than the two have been married
* She was named the most important person in Rock according to Kerrang Magazine
* Dropped out of school at age 15

Oh sure, this doesn’t sum up her life. But there still is no formula here, as far as I can see, that tells us why Sharon Osbourne is so popular. It really comes down to the question of fate. Are certain people meant to follow a certain path in life. I’m not disputing “free will” which I believe we all do have. Yet, does fate play a certain part in a person’s future? We can all certainly attest to the fact that some bad actors have become very famous and some lousy books have been published. Many talented people never become successful in the field they choose to follow. Is it because those talents are meant for another path? This all not to say that Sharon Osbourne is not beautiful, talented and famous and perhaps it’s just her path in life to be acknowledged as so. Maybe she would have been famous without the notoriety of being Ozzy Osbourne’s wife.