My hometown of Cleveland...

... has a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. The C.L.E. Clothing Company comes up with the best t-shirts, and even loves to pick on the suburbs every now and then. But right now, this one is my favorite.

The Burning River Surf Club

Awesome.

I'm hiring...

... an Elf for our shelf. I know the recession has hit everyone hard and elves are probably the first to get laid off. Santa is being ruthless this year. There are rumors that Rudolph might be let go, which is bad because then he won't have insurance to get that glowing tumor removed from his nose. Mrs. Claus is only giving sugar cookie bonuses this year, which is making everyone cranky.

But really, I do need to hire an Elf for the simple reason that the one at Nana and Poppy's house has been really useful in keeping Sadie in line. He keeps an eye on her, and she knows that the Elf will report back to Santa if she's naughty. It's a win-win situation. So, I'm taking resumes and there will likely be a lengthy interview process to make sure we get the right kind of Elf. Not like Buddy. Our house can't handle that kind of chaos.



Right now, I don't think I can even handle Sadie throwing the Baby Jesus across the room like last year.

This is laughable....

This is an ad from the 1940's from an exhibit at the National Postal Museum called Victory Mail. Let's count all the things that are innaccurate (at least by today's standards) with this image. But while we have a laugh, remember those who are in the military both here and abroad, and are protecting our country at a great personal sacrifice.


The laughable parts of this ad are:

1. The baby is sleeping.
2. Heels! At Home. Really?
3. She's skinny. Like, right after having that baby. Makes me think she must adopted, or kidnapped the kid.
4. She's actually cooking. I don't have time to cook.
5. Her make-up looks good. If it's hot enough to have a fan, her make-up should be sliding off her face.
6. Nothing I own would fit in cupboards that size. Except maybe the pen she is writing with.
7. Nobody cooks in a cute dress like that. You'll get stuff on it. The apron just delays the inevitable.
8. Does anyone's hair shimmer in the light like that? If it does, please tell me what hair product you are using.
9. Things are running smoothly? You are so lying. Or sleeping with his best friend. This goes with the fact she's wearing a dress and heels. Who is she dressed to impress? Hmmmm.....after clicking on the image, you can read that the soldier's kid brother comes over and "helps her with the garden." No wonder the soldier's son (aka. NEPHEW) looks more like him every day.
10. She really wishes she had a air conditioner. But she won't write that in the letter.

Did I miss anything?

You want me to blog... like, for work?

I work in a weird place. Yesterday, I was actually at the Museum Support Center which is mentioned in Dan Brown's book The Lost Symbol. I had the opportunity to hang out in the wet pod, and I know what a thawing, frozen octopus smells like. It isn't pleasant.

But now you can follow some of my writing on the Smithsonian Journeys blog, every Tuesday and Thursday. This week, I wrote about Antarctica and about the people who actually LIVE there. But the video is way cool, so head over there and watch the whole thing. (And leave a comment about how much you love the blog post. I do have a boss to impress.)

And yes, Buzz Aldrin really will be on that tour to answer all of your questions. How awesome is that?