All things STEM from imagination!

What a sterling concept Debbie Sterling has embarked upon.  Brainstorming toys for girls... They're  still pink and purple, the colors for girls of all ages, but they stimulate little girls' brains and imaginations......Perfect.. then those little girls grow up to be big girls with working brains and awesome imaginations (not that we aren't already.)  The acronym for this advancement in thinking and play is STEM.... let's get these little minds going in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math... Well she got my vote ......and my money.  I know, I said I was finished shopping....................in September..... but everybody who knows me knows better.. I talk a good game!  So today, I just placed my LAST online order...really!  I bought the Roominator which allows you to build rooms with elevators and merry go rounds that work and this little techy device below that has lots of moving parts as well....that you make move!  It sure is a good thing that the kids have 2 full weeks of vacation this year...we're gonna need it to play with all these toys.... I mean, SHE'S gonna need it to play with all these toys.....;-)

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/no-more-ironing-boards-engineer-aims-reinvent-toys-girls-6C10629732

Christmas in Moravia....

This week-end threw us head first (like we weren't already there) into Christmas.  On Saturday, we made the rounds for Christmas in Moravia.  A light dusting of evening snow set the scene perfectly. We signed up for raffles and visited local businesses that were participating. We rode a pony, listened to stories from Mrs. Claus at the library and had lunch at the church Advent Fair. Our next stop was a visit with Santa and a newly, updated ID card from the Sheriff's helpers.  We weren't yet exhausted so we decided to head to the movies and see Frozen.... A wonderful new Disney/Pixar movie.  Sunday morning was breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus, cookie decorating and even a few passes by the Grinch in Locke. We ended the week-end with a quiet and cozy afternoon of football...snowy, often lousy...football.  But even a bad day of football is better than a good day without it..at least in my playbook!!!  It was a fun week-end of Christmas in Moravia.....and Locke and the girls are anxiously awaiting their big trip to New York next Saturday... I hope it's all they are wishing it to be:-)

Amazon drones?

I'm an Amazon junkie.. there, I've gotten through the first step by actually admitting it. About 85% of all I have purchased for Christmas has been through Amazon.com.  I almost expect to click on the site and have someone say, "Morning Sandy, What can we do for you today?" I have been a bit unhappy the last few years as my packages had generally been delivered by UPS... this year more and more are being dropped at our local post office and I have to go lug them to the car...one of the things I disliked about brick and mortar shopping... the lugging!  BUT.....let the heavens open above..maybe in the very near future, an "octocopter" can deliver my packages.  I know the weight limit will be about 5# and I may not be within the 10 mile warehouse range but it's a pretty cool concept.   BUT (again), there may be a very big issue with octocopters flying around my house.  My family really likes to shoot things....especially things flying through the air. On the up side, they are completely safe with me. I welcome flying objects, winged or otherwise, and I can't hit a stationery target at 4 feet.  I decided to do a little research on the subject and found out that these flying delivery devices are somewhat protected.....Take a look:

Amazon delivery drones will be escorted by drones equipped with Drone Operated People Eliminator (D.O.P.E.) missiles in case of delivery disruption. The D.O.P.E. will be operated by the Manually Operated Remote Operation Network (M.O.R.O.N.)

Any customer whose delivery is not received due to failure on the part of the M.O.R.O.N. should contact the Independent Delivery Insurance Operational Team (I.D.I.O.T.) and file a claim to let the I.D.I.O.T. know that the M.O.R.O.N. didn't use the D.O.P.E. to protect your package.

 

I'm realizing that these drones have been totally  (yeah right) vetted in the electronic community so I eagerly await the arrival of one on my doorstep.

The End of an Era

:-(   Today I'm walking around with a bit of a heavy heart.  Everything else I carry is heavy too so it should feel at home.  They say I have a fatty (lumpy) liver and I know most everything else ( above and below the belt) is lumpy too but I've always managed to keep a happy heart and have a glass half full attitude.  We've talked about the whole accepting change thing in our little blog discussions but the talking really doesn't make it easier.  100 + years is a long time to run a successful, small business.  It's made it through depressions and recessions and even fires and now it's kaput! I saw the handwriting on the wall when the fertilizer business was sold then the fuel business was sold and now the feed business has been sold. The real estate remains but this too will be marketed when the mill and bins are dismantled.  The storefront will stay open to sell some bulk product for a couple of years but the guts are history... I think the guts died on December 24, 2006!  I'm not second guessing the decisions made by management and it is rightly their choice to make...so says my head but my heart keeps interrupting.

Hewitt Brothers served many people for many years and I'd like to think it will be remembered fondly as an icon in the small town business world...it will surely be remembered in my world:-)

Hobby Lobby Heaven

One wall of ornaments...there were FOUR

I enjoy shopping......from the comfort of my home, my comfy desk chair and near the TV and frig....but I may have a new obsession with brick and mortar......Hobby Lobby.  The drive is doable albeit through "downtown Ithaca" traffic.  Yesterday, the God's were with me and I hit every single light GREEN....and there were many!  With the exception of cheeseburgers, this store has everything I love!  Many of my favorites were marked at 50% discount yesterday including everything Christmas!!!  Being finished decorating, shopping and wrapping, there was little I needed but I did plan ahead to next Christmas for a few items.  Home decorating items ABOUND>>>>> clever metal signs, wall art of ALL kinds, kid's items, fabric, furniture, vases, floral crafts, woodworking, scrapbooking and more and more and more.  It was amazing.  I kept finding things that I knew others would like so I snapped pictures and sent them on their way... I think I really could be a personal shopper,,,,,personally I loved everything....

                                     I mean seriously.....who takes pictures IN a store.........That'd be me:-)

For the theater

Thanks goodness I ventured here AFTER B's birthday!

                                                                          Man Cave accessories?                                                                              

really, Paris?               

Giving Tuesday

We've made it through Black Friday and Cyber Monday arriving safely at Giving Tuesday.  This is a relatively new holi"day" intended to pique our interest in giving and share our wealth...if we still have any extra in our wallets.  As I mentioned previously, Bailee and I have our sights on the kids at Semillas de Amor in Guatemala.  We're focusing on Fatima most of all.  I figured at this time of my life I would probably be in need of a sponsor myself...someone in AA or GA or even SA (shoppers Anonymous) but I'm thrilled that we are able to be the sponsor.  Semillas de Amor is not your average orphanage or at least what we have always perceived.  These children are loved!  They are taught by caring teachers and given the best possible life they can afford.  Thankfully, some of he things these kids are being taught cannot be purchased.  They're learning gratitude, patience, hope and love.  Those things do not come from wallets or checkbooks.  These children write thank you notes ( I know many living here that don't), they pose for pictures with bright smiles and warm hearts and they give back the love they obviously are receiving.  I think they even love those they've never met. Some of us have trouble loving those we see every day:-(
So today, on Giving Tuesday, I'm hoping that my friends and family will feel good about what they have and share.  The only rich you need to be is in your heart... corny I know, especially from me but we all have that extra $20 and giving it to someone else is really a gift right back to you.  I learned that early on from my Dad... he used to give us gifts on HIS birthday.  Now I know why:-)

A Crafty Christmas

With the majority of my shopping completed, I can now do the fun stuff!  The crafty little things that please me almost as much as the giving part.  I decided I needed to dress up the outside of the house for daytime as well as night.  I bought 2 pair of shutters and Jeffrey painted them bright Christmas red for me.  I donned them in green swags and red snowflakes and my Grinchy hubs (better than some years though) hung them for me yesterday.. I LOVE THEM!!

My other Christmas craft is for Bailee.... ok, kind of for me too.  We're making an American Girl town.  We both have enough imagination so we don't need the actual streets (or do we????) so store fronts are our focus.  So far we are set with the Lincoln Elementary School (Addy's era), Bailee's Gym for the (doll like you), the Red Cross (Molly's era) and the Trading Post for Kaya.  The street lights are coming along and we should have the town up for Christmas soon. Santa has been advised to hopefully contribute some props for Christmas morning!

A new store, Hobby Lobby, has just opened in Ithaca and I think I might need to see if they have any accessories that will brighten up our town.  I may come home brokey wokey but hey, who isn't at Christmas time!

Enjoy a few pix of the Christmas shutters and Global City:-)

Some school supplies...from skewers:-)

Kaya's Trading Post

Bailee's Gym

Lincoln Elementary School

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