Table for Eight

A memory of a not-so-really-really-good day: Brandon's exit. Survivor Caramoan. (c) CBS, Monty Brinton, 2012. One of the greatest "take-aways" from Survivor--for me--has been recognizing how truly fortunate we are I am to have my basic needs (shelter, water, food, freedom to choose, etc.) met on a daily (even hourly) basis. I mean, I think I was always a grateful person. Well, at least I hope I was. But since Survivor, I'm the kind of person who literally thinks, "How awesome is this toliet?" every time I walk into a bathroom now. Or the kind of person who wants to say out loud, "This water is crystal clear ... no diarrhea-fest today!" And I'm not being sarcastic. I literally mean it, "We are so blessed to have clean water and toliets." Anyway, my point! When your basic needs are met, life is so good. And then ... on days when you have your basic needs met AND  EXTRA amazing things happen, life is REALLY REALLY

Celebrating Valentine's Day. This was a crazy-fun week. (Maybe a little heavy on the crazy.) But fi rst and for emost, guess who got engaged yesterday? Whitney and Keith fro m Survivor South Pacific ! Is that the sweetest thing ever ? ( Y e s!) . They fe ll in love on the island during Survivor South Pacific , and have been to g e the r ever since. It's really incredible. And here's her ring. Isn't it beautiful? (PS: I've asked if I can be the f lower girl. Stay tuned. Ha !) We are so happy for them ! Our family loves Ms. Whit and Keith! Ms. Whitney Duncan's engagement ring (soon to be Whitney Tollefson!).   Whitney Duncan, (c) CBS, 2011. Second, our guinea pig, Amelia Valentine Pond (named for Dr. Who) cele brated her bday yesterday. And our kids SPOILED her . They made her cake out of ruffage, guinea pig pellets, and water. She loved it, but it looked like Vegemite!   Then, our oldest daugh ter h ad a

I just finished reading a book where one of the main characters (a Buddhist monk) asks another main character (a westerner) this one simple question: "Why so angry?" And the westerner's reply? Ironically, he's kind of angry about being asked such a question.  You see, he doesn't think he's angry at all. I have thought about that question a lot lately ( Why so angry? ). I wonder whether a lot of us (ME?) are walking around Planet E rather angry? Well, maybe not angry in the literal sense of the word, but angry as in frustrated, sad, short-fused, impatient, intolerant, overwhelmed, etc. Why? Well, for me and my house, I think when we are angry it's because we have filled our lives with too much noise. It's chaotic. And chaos makes us cranky. I love metaphors, so here goes: If life is a radio, then I'm trying to listen to 1.1 million stations-- all at once! And yet, I only have 2 ears. So, in an effort to &quo