(no subject)

The upshot to Gabe waking every three hours tonight with night frights is that now I know I don't have to wake up for real two hours from now.

guest manners

I just stumbled across this post on susananswergirl, asking whether it's rude to ask dinner guests to help with the dishes after dinner.

My thought is that while it might be slightly rude, it's even more rude if the guests do not offer to help. I was raised that as a guest you should always offer to help clean up. I was also raised that as a traditional hostess you should refuse anything more than minimal help (such as clearing the table, loading the dishwasher), but minimal help can make a big difference. But if the guest is hanging out after the end of the party and the hostess starts cleaning, then the guest should insist on helping (or leave).

And yet, at my last party, despite some 10 or 11 people staying overnight, only one person offerred to help with the dishes in the morning, and that person ended up leaving earlier than the others while I continued cleaning. Am I wrong in what I think is proper ettiquite? Or are my guests inconsiderate? It's not going to lead me to stop throwing parties, but I'm just curious if my expectations of guests are inappropriate.

Snow?

So how many of you are home b/c of a snow day? How are you spending it?

I slept in, am taking a leisurely lunch of Bagel Bites, after that I'm going snowshoeing in the park behind my house, then (after thawing out) I'll grade the stuff I should've done last night.

whoo

I snowshoed for an hour through the little park behind my house - though T$ says that you're not supposed to snowshoe unless there's at least 8" of snow on the ground, probably so there's less chance of hitting rocks under, but I don't treat mine as well as I should (2.4" reported), so whatever. Took a preventative puff from my inhaler before I left and never had lung problems. Heart rate was 140-170, still working on keeping it at the lower end of that range.

I wore silk long underwear, socks, new ski pants, silk undershirt, cotton long top, fleece sweatshirt, new "triple system" jacket, new winter boots, fleece scarf over my face, wool hat, sunglasses, hood over my head, snow shoes, new thick gloves, hydration pack. At the start there was a little breeze on my ankles, but I figured out how to pull the ski pants over the boots to stop that. Next time I need to readjust the snowshoes so they're a bit bigger for the boots.

Sat on the park swings for what must've been ten minutes without any ill effect, it was great. There were only two things I couldn't fix for this trip. There was mostly sleet coming down, and with that Noreast wind, it blew right in the eentsy crack between the sunglasses, scarf, and hood on my right cheek. I could probably buy a full face mask / ski mask to stop that, but I expect it's rare that I'd find need to use it. And the second was that the tube on the Women's *Winter* Camelback froze up. Next time I'll either put the whole thing on under my jacket (and over the sweater), or over the jacket and feed the tube up through the armpit hole in my jacket.

That was fun! :)

Note to Self: Tax Tips

Tax tips from CNN, including various deductions.

My friend Steven the Singing CPA recommended

Since your income was low (no offense intended), you most likely qualify for VITA (Volunteers in Tax Assistance). This is a federal program where volunteers prepare your taxes for you for free. Call 800-829-1040 to find out where the nearest VITA center is to where you live.

Note to Self: do it!

(no subject)

Anyone else find it ironic (under definition 3a1) that I Drew This's banner ad rotation includes Wal-mart?



Ozy and Millie too, though it's apolitical.