Table for Eight

Lots to rememb er and  honor here in the US today: 1. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, legacy, and birthday observance today. 2. The Inauguration of President Barack Obama. (c) Lainey Melnick, via @pinterest at the Inauguration Ceremony ***** I hope you have a beautiful start to your week! PS: I wanted to share this with you today.  Yes, it's religious. Ye s, it's forward of me. But for me, God is LOVE--regardless of your belief-system. So everywhere and every time I hear GOD, I think LOVE. Much love to you today. God Is Able by Smokie Norful God is able, God is able God is able and He won't fail Tell me who can make a mountain Move out of my way And who can make a miracle Because of my faith And when the doctor says no Who can still say yes And when I'm in trouble Who's right there to help me pass every test God is able, God is able God is able and He won't fail Tell me who can make a r...

NYC on NYE. (We spent our NYE in SLC.) If the first week of 2012 is any indication of what the whole year is going to be like, then I think I may need to add an extra multi-vitamin to my regular health routine. Why, you ask? Well, because for the first time since I was "in the game," I haven't known what day of the week it is. (Sidenote: You don't have access to watch/calendar in the game, so even though you are able to count the number of days you've been playing, you really do start to lose a sense of traditional time.) In other words, life has been pretty busy. Here's a sampling of the insanity  this week's schedule: 1. Work out. Working out will always be a mental mountain for me to climb. BUT, after preparing for Survivor, I know how much it can change your life. SO, I will do it even when I don't want to. Period. That being said, I can barely walk, climb stairs or sit down this week--as a result of increasing my weights. ...

Friday Night Pizza and Movie With Friends, June 2011. (While mom was in Samoa) Each night at the dinner table we play a game called "High/Low." (I think I learned about it from a movie about 15 years ago, and we've been doing it ever since.) It's really simple, each person just shares one "High" (good thing) from the day and one "Low" (not-so-good thing from the day). And that's it. I think there are about 2.7 million reasons I love "High/Low."  But the main reason I love it, is that i t helps us know what's going on with everyone in the family (and helps us know where people need support, sympathy, congratulations, etc.). But I also like "High/Low" because it reminds me/us: 1. That you aren't alone.  You share your life with lots of people--and your life matters to a lot of people (your family, for one). 2. That life is filled with BOTH highs and lows. No matter who you are, life is going to ...

Savaii jury members at Ponderosa with Jeff Probst and David Burris (executive producers). First of all, thank you to everyone who sent suggestions for New Year's Eve celebrations. (What did we do before the internet? Seriously, I think I received about 50 really fun ideas by the end of the day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!) So, have you decided how you'll spend New Year's? After reading all of the suggestions, here's what we decided: 1. We're going to spend the first half of the evening with our whole family, doing chocolate and cheese fondue. We're going to listen to loud music and do "noisemakers" vs. illegal fireworks. (Sorry, Lu and Zu.) 2. The teenagers are going to go to a regional church NYE dance from about 10-12:30pm. (It sounds really fun, there will be a DJ, food, a balloon drop, ping-pong, and a game/video room ... and chaperones. Woo hoo.) 3. The rest of us are going to see a movie (Sherlock Holmes) from 10-11:30pm...