Reflection

Well it's the last day in 2011, so I guess it's time for some reflection. It's been quite a busy year and I think a lot people have a hard time looking back at the year as a whole. Here's my list of 2011 happenings followed by 2012 resolutions and wishes for the new year.

2011 at a glance
- planned a wedding
- planned a long distance move
- learned how to run
- ran my first 5k alongside my family
- celebrated 2 years at my job
- visited the west coast for the first time in 9 years
- became obsessed with estate jewelry
- uncovered my personal style
- set our life plan in motion
- changed my name
- changed our day-to-day lives
- started working from home
- started Evan's new career
- welcomed Max Richmond into the world
- shared joy with other friends expecting babies
- won my own personal Christmas spirit award
- started healthy new family traditions

Wishes for 2012
- learn to snow shoe
- enjoy our first VT winter
- buy a house with my husband
- get a dog
- learn the ins and outs of antiquing
- run longer races (10k, half marathon)
- improve my yoga practice
- maintain long distance friendships
- build new local friendships

Resolutions for 2011
- be happier and more confident in myself
- make healthier choices daily
- live in the present, look forward to the future, learn from the past
- do something nice each day
- always treat my marriage as a priority
- be patient and tolerant
- make a dedicated effort for self improvement

Well that's it on my end. What are you resolving to do or not do in 2012?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind

25 days of viral videos - Merry Christmas

We made it!

Merry Christmas to all!

25 days of viral videos - Christmas Eve

I won't lie, I'm losing a little steam at the end here. One more video and we're done! I've really enjoyed this experience and 5 days of the week I've really appreciated starting my day with a laugh. It's been a little hard to force myself onto the computer during the weekend, but all in all it's been a really great experience.

As I sit down to enjoy the first few moments of down time with my husband during this month, I watch this video and laugh. Because today's post is so late I've posted 2 videos. Neither is really that old or rare, but they never fail to make me laugh. Much like my husband :) Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

25 days of videos - day 23

Only a few more videos left! I won't lie, I'm running thin on the good stuff. Hopefully I have enough ammo up my sleeve to really push through the next few days.

While the Bedroom Intruder got it's day in the sun, I feel like there are so many good news stories that get much less attention these days. This amazing piece of journalism comes to you from 2006. For anyone who has since heard me say "The whistles go WOOO" will now understand my insanity.

25 days of videos - day 22

Only three more videos to go! What will I choose? Today's video was brought to you by my High School years. I was chatting with a friend about the experiment and she reminded me of this little ditty. I can't believe I forgot about it! Thankfully I have thoughtful and hilarious friends to help me remember things like this.

Here's a little holiday cheer from our friends in Japan...

25 days of videos - day 21

Yesterday a good friend reminded me of an old good friend I had. Muffin Films. Muffin Films kept me occupied on those lazy, procrastination-filled days called Finals Prep. I may not be using my degree now, but I still enjoy Muffin Films. Take that SUNY system!

the festival of lights

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. As my first Jewish holiday as a married goy-Jew lover I prepared my first Seder meal. I won't lie, my brisket was the shiz. No joke.

Here are a few shots of our holiday

25 days of videos - day 20

Holy Moses only 5 days until Christmas! Some rain yesterday sopped up all of our snow but we've got some flurries going on right now. Let's make it count mother nature! If I don't have a white Christmas I'll have a blue Christmas without it...

Ok so tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and because I love my husband I've been preparing my very first Seder. Also because I love my husband I've posted today's video. Ok so she's not exactly Jewish because she loves her Christmas tree, but this Long Island mother impersonation is so close to a Jewish mother I just had to post it on the first night of Hanukkah.

It also makes me want to be this kind of mom someday. Love her.

25 days of videos - day 19

Ok I was lazy this weekend and it's triple post day. Sue me. There are like 6 days until Christmas and I'm really psyched about it.

Here's another little gift for you pre-holiday. Tomorrow starts Hanukkah so maybe I'll find some awesome Jew-y videos to post. A new challenge! Today's video is also about giving.

25 days of videos - day 17 & 18

Today I'll hit you with a one two punch of videos. I took this weekend off to unplug and get away from the computer. Hope you didn't miss me too much. The next 2 videos are more informational in nature so ladies please take notes.

25 days of videos - day 16

There's been something on my mind for years and because it's 1 month until my birthday and only 9 days until Christmas I feel it needs to be said. Jesus was hot. There I said it. Why has this not been more of a part of Christianity? I think it would really help the religious scene to get more followers. "Hey everybody, come to church and stare at a half naked dude with hot abs for an hour". But I digress...

Today's video is in honor of Jesus' abs.

25 days of videos - day 15

I can't believe December is going by so quickly. Only 10 days left until Christmas. I don't know about you but I've been baking a ton! Cookies here, cakes there. It's a veritable smorgasbord over here. You know what my favorite sweet to bake is? Chocolate! Speaking of chocolate, today's video is probably one of the more popular choices I'll post, but it's too good to pass up.

25 days of videos - day 14

Today's post was donated by Amanda. Also known as MKF. MKF and I became fast friends because of our mutual love of the awkward and obscure. It was no surprise when she reminded me of this little gem. Honestly, I had likely blocked the sad little dance number at the end out of my head.

When I shared this video with Jessica (another lover of the strange and awkward) she said "Ouch, I feel a little skeevy just having watched that! That dance at the end was so...sad and lonely."

So please, enjoy and review. This one has gotten a lot of early response so I'm interested to see how it goes over.

25 days of videos - day 13

Today's video comes to you from the guys at The State. I'm not sure how many of you actually watched the State back in the 90's but it was the best thing MTV had  going and was unfortunately quite short lived. I still long for the days of sketch comedy and frequent cross dressing. Now you get reality shows and drag queens (not that I'm complaining).


After The State disbanded, 3 members (Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain) started a group called Stella. In the same nature and style of The State, Stella is/was an underground cultish comedy group that put out short videos on their website that range from funny, to awkward to uncomfortably sexual. The best skits include all three.

So please enjoy this video from three Jews about their quest to find and befriend Santa.

25 days of videos - day 12

Happy 12/12 everyone! Just think, it one short year everyone will be as excited about today as they were about 11/11/11.

Today's video isn't really vintage, but it's what I'll call a New Classic. This video fulfills my love for cute animals, nature videos and awesome accents. The three of them combined makes me giggle at this video probably more than I should. I hope you do too.

25 days of videos - day 11

In honor of the Muppet Movie, I've chosen today's video as All Through the Night by Escort. This video really helped me get through the Muppet-free years of the early millennium dancing and singing along with puppety fun.

Only 2 weeks to go!

25 days of videos - day 10

Our tenth video comes to you from my Freshman year of college and Homestar Runner. If you've never been to homestarrunner.com please clear out an evening and go nuts. My roommate freshman year and I were on this site non-stop. I actually believe it was my homepage at one point and we definitely redid one of the sketches on our answering machine.

Only 15 more days left of videos. Do you have any favorites yet?

25 days of videos - day 9

DAS IT!

25 days of videos - day 8

I've been feeling like I need advice a lot lately so it seemed appropriate to post this next video. Little Mermaid was my favorite movie for what was probably an inappropriately long time when I was growing up. Luckily for me I married a man with Disney Prince hair so all is good in the kingdom.

Granted, I won't be taking any of this advice (except the part about crabs... that's true) any time soon, I thought you all might enjoy a few nuggets of knowledge from Ariel.

25 days of videos - day 7

Today's video may ring a few bells for some of you out there. While the actual video itself was a phenomenon in its day, the song has resurfaced thanks to our dear friend Rhianna. I'm not sure if many Rhianna fans out there know where this song originated and I kind of hope this video is the reason she chose this sample. If so, major points Rhianna. Mayjah!

25 days of videos - day 6

Today's viral video is dedicated to none other than Ben Smith. Ben was my best friend through all of college and mostly because we shared a child like glee and fascination for videos like this one.

Phrases like "my spoon is too big", "I am a banana" and "my anus is bleeding" were peppered into our conversation and daily life. Honestly, they still should be. I may reinstitute a Rejected Cartoons day where we  speak only in quotes from this 9 minutes of wonder. So without further adieu. Enjoy.

25 days of videos - day 5

Ok I know. Two posts in one day. BUT I was behind so I wanted to get caught up. This is another post-college/wasting time at work video that comes from my days with those funny bitches at ABI.

It's been along time since these were shown during the Superbowl in 2006, but I still find an excuse to quote Terry Tate at least a few times a year. It's comedy gold... like that necklace...

25 days of videos - day 4

I know, I know. I'm already falling behind. I can do this, I swear!

Today's post is post-college and may be more of a current(ish) viral video, but it's still amazing and ties to the holidays because I always want shoes.

25 days of videos - day 3

When I think back to my bartending days in Rochester I think of this video. Not only were my fellow bartenders and I obsessed with this video, we got the bar to play the song nightly with the equally absurd video on the big screen. Oh the perks of working at a night club.

Warning: This video isn't what one would call family friendly or safe for work. Honestly it's practically German pornography. But it's hilarious and that ridiculous mustache is amazing.

the kindness of strangers

A friend shared this amazing story with me and I just had to return the favor. Stories like this make me want to be a better person. Not sure if I'd have the cojones to reach out to a mugger like that, but it's proof that a difference can be made if you try.

A Victim Treats His Mugger Right

 http://www.npr.org/2008/03/28/89164759/a-victim-treats-his-mugger-right

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.
"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.
As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"
"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.
The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."
The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."

Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."
Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

Produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo.

25 days of videos - day 2

Good morning and welcome to day 2 of 25 Days of Viral Videos! Today's video comes to you from Korea in 1999. Having worked in Koreatown for more than 2 years, I'm quite surprised it took me as long as it did to revisit this video.

As a college freshman I was obsessed with this video. Not just the choreographed dancing of 2 lithe hairless teenage Korean boys, but the catchy song (who's lyrics I totally figured out and sang). Viewing this gem again was like a conversation with an old friend. Lame I know, but it was still fun and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

p.s. - I was (not) surprised to find that I still pretty much know the entire dance. How I missed the opportunity to sing this karaoke style in Koreatown is beyond me. #missedopportunities

25 days of videos

After sharing one of my favorite old viral videos back from the days before youtube, I've decided to treat you all to 25 days of Viral Videos.

Now it wouldn't be a holiday treat if it was current viral videos. You can find those on your own you lazies. No, this is oldie but goodie viral videos from my college days and beyond. Maybe even before. Who knows! 25 videos is a lot. Anyhoo. The first video in this advent calendar of humor come from the folks at Nutrigrain. I was reminded of this video because everyone I know is having, wants to have or has had a baby and the classic line of "yeaaaahhh. Babies everywhereeeee" came flooding back into my brain.

Without further adieu, here's video #1