It's time to share some knowledge that has always been fascinating to me. This is the first leap year that I have been on my blog, therefore it's time for me to share the rules of the Julian Calendar.
Believe it or not there was a time when different groups of people were on different calendars. However, Julius Caesar being a genius he came up with the way most of the Western world has since ordered their days, weeks, months, years, leap years, decades, centuries, I think you get the idea. Nowdays we actually follow a modification of the Julian Calendar called the Gregorian Calendar.
The earth revolves around the sun at approximately a rate of 365.20 days per year. In order to solve this problem they put in place the leap year, every four years we get an extra day. However, since it isn't exactly .25 days extra rotation per year we have to adjust somewhere. Therefore we DO NOT have leap years on any years that are divisable by 100 that are not also divisble by 400, examples include 1900 and 2100, and by the same rule 2000 was a leap year. Confused yet?
So enjoy your leap year! If you are around in 2100 you won't be able to enjoy it...
Sorry about the long break, but I haven't really taken the time to sit down and write a blog. There have been some exciting goings-on at Casa de 10lees...
First, we knew it was spring when the animals came out. Not the groundhogs, but the raccoons! The cats were the first to announce their presence, which isn't unusual because our Little Kitty is very vocal with other our backyard kitty intruders. I assumed it was only another kitty - so after a few minutes I looked back, and it was raccoons, who were not all that scared of me. They were adorable, sitting up and spreading their hands out while gazing pleadingly at me. I didn't feed them though, that seemed like a bad idea unless I wanted regular raccoon visits and, perhaps, nesting.
Another exciting this is that my daffodils and tulips and hycinths that I planted last year are coming up. I will take some pictures once they bloom!
In some sad news, one of my childhood haunts burned down recently. For those of you who didn't know: I grew up at a ski area owned by my family. It was owned by my Grandfather, who was the one who started the business, my father was shot there, I learned to ski there with no adult supervision and knocked myself out at least twice while skiing (one of which required a trip up in a sled) and discovered my true fear of heights. My Uncle took over, and eventually bankrupted, the business - therefore the lodge has been uninhabited since 1996 or so... but it still held some very fond memories about skiing on one ski, terrorizing the adults, and running into small lift buildings when losing control while racing (this was one of the times I knocked myself out). So long fair lodge... may you rest in peace!
And today I kept the economy afloat single handedly by doing some shopping! It was thrilling to spend some hard earned money on makeup and Easter candy (for the kids... really!!). I hope you have done your part - buy a little something for yourself today...
I lazed around this weekend, which was great and partly due to Scott having a hurt back. As a favorite movie says 'I did nothing and it was everything I thought it could be'...
So I thought I would share with you a quote that is on the wall in my Yoga center. At my center it is incorrectly atributed to Nelson Mandela's Inaguration speech in 1994, but it is actually a quote from Marianne Williamson's book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles and it really struck me:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Hopefully you find it meaningful too...
Every year I discuss the best of the Superbowl Commercials. Every year I am disapointed in the quality, the commercials aren't as good as I expect they are going to be.
Pepsi was funny this year - both with their first commercial that had where everybody was falling asleep and 'What is Love' was playing the background (hilarious!) and you can't beat Chris Kattan saying 'Stop IT' to everybody doing the head bop. Their second commercial with Justin Timberlake being pulled towards some teenage girls for Pepsi Rewards - really you can't beat seeing him get hit the crotch with a mailbox three times. Also another SNL shout out with an Andy Sanberg cameo.
The Tide To Go ad with the nonsensical stain yelling over the job interviewee was pretty hilarious and it sold the product as well. Will Ferrell selling Bud Light by saying inappropriate phrases was clever (Bud Light - suck one).
Interesting to have a Cargill and Frist commercial for Coke. I thought it was an interesting commentary... but didn't really think it capture the whole point of 'selling stuff'.
Honorable mentions: the Budweiser Horse training a la Rocky was pretty good, the Bridgestone screaming commercials were both funny, ETrade with their barfing baby was amusing up until the baby barfed - that just grossed me out, and Shaq as a jockey for Vitamen Water.
Worst commercial: Doritos mouse trap commercial, they might have saved it if the guy in the mouse costume had run away with the Doritos instead of punching the guy with the Doritos in the face repeatedly.
I was hoping the Giants would win and they DID in a nail biter of an ending!!
One of my favorite shows is The Soup, which shows 10pm on E!. Hilarity ensues - well if you like clip shows.
One of my favorite clips is the Rainbow Bright one, and I have linked it here for you...just click here.
And to balance that out with something more artistic, some of my friends should check out The Black Book. One of our most recent video rentals it is intensely entertaining and moves by much quicker than it's 145 would suggest. As I have warned some of my friends - full front nudity of both sexes along with explicit violence. It's a European movie (made in Holland) and it shows. I definetly loved this movie, it reminded me of Munich because it captured my imagination even after the movie was over.
Have a great Super Bowl Sunday!