Looking for something fun to do this Sunday without getting out of your pajamas? Here are some easy family friendly projects and crafts that Wood Sprite and I might tackle. Tell us about your plans in the comments below!
Print out some free Valentine’s gum wrappers for easy goodies this year. (Sprite and I will probably design our own instead; we need to make 30 for our homeschool party.
Years ago, I used to print and make gifts to include in Wood Sprite’s Christmas stocking, Easter basket and other gifts. One year I even made her a bunch of toilet paper tube animals for Easter—a frog, a chick, a lamb and other little puppets. All I did was glue on features that I drew with markers on construction paper and she adored them! I’m telling you, toddlers do not need much.
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New column! Fortune 500 Forum :- ) :: crowd goes wild ::
:: buried in crumpled Dixie Cups ::
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Ahem. :: taps microphone ::
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A Tale of Two Engines, Dept.
In the late 80's and early 90's, Boeing launched a critical new program, the one that produced the 777 jumbo jet. Only two engines, but transatlantic. Quality Assurance was critical, because the FAA wasn't going to sign off on two-engine ocean flights unless ... well, you get the idea.
With programs like this, there is just a leeeeetle bit more at stake than a 71-91 won-loss record. It isn't like Boeing execs have less pressure on them than does Howard Lincoln.
They put a bright young 30-something executive in charge of their sparkly-new Quality Assurance department. Think Keanu Reeves.
This bright young executive needed, in turn, an ideas man, somebody who could help him move QA into the next generation. That ideas man happened to be ... guess who? You got it. 'twas Your Humble Correspondent.
Keanu was not messing around, when he said he wanted to go next-generation. Before Keanu hired Dr. D, he put Dr. D through a long series of interviews. In these, Dr. D was required to demonstrate new ideas, respond to skeptical questions, and the like... one time Dr. D was asked to produce a list of 20 different process improvements to the QA system.
Something which, by the way, had Dr. D wallowing in white boards and dry-erase markers.
This bright young executive wanted real improvement. And so he wanted outside consultants, people who had NOT worked inside the system, people who could bring ...
*** FRESH PERSPECTIVE. ***
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We Been Putting Planes In the Air for 40 Years, Dept.
There are good reasons to hire from within. There are good reasons for groupthink. There are times when the priority is to get everybody on the same sheet of music. Sometimes you need to stop asking questions, and just get the final print into the can.
This, however, wasn't the time.
As many small pets as we’ve said goodbye to—a hamster, mouse, frogs, a bunny, and more—death is still such a difficult concept for Wood Sprite, as it is for most young children. Wood Sprite still brings up these animals (particularly her rabbit) on a weekly basis. She understands that they are gone, but it seems like they passed away just yesterday.
Even if you’ve already “put Christmas away,” as we have, you can still make these lovely hanging vases out of clear Christmas ornaments if you take advantage of all of the sales going on right now. Grab some clear ornaments for a buck and make them in minutes for some beautiful winter and spring decorations.
We just bought our house, and while we are still over the moon excited, we have lots of work ahead of us. It’s an old 50s house, built by my grandparents, and everything from the cinderblock basement to its siding needs either repairs or complete remodeling. It will probably take us a few years to get everything we want done complete, but we are taking it one day at a time.
The people behind “Home Alone with pug puppies” now bring a version for cat lovers: “Lion King with kittens and stuffed animals.” I particularly love their casting choice for Scar. Adorable!
Image courtesy Flickr/kevin dooley
An Irish farming magazine recently held a contest on their Facebook page to find the best “farmer selfie.” The Irish Farming Journal received dozens of entries from farmers young and old, most of them posed with their animals. The winning entry is shown above, and the gallery of contestants offers a fascinating peek into a world that most of us non-farmers know little about.
Wood Sprite loves to explore various types of wildlife, and frankly so do Indy and I. Some of the most interesting stories we read each week involve animal species and their unique talents and adaptations. Here are some fun facts we’ve learned this week.
This year, Wood Sprite was diagnosed with asthma, so you can imagine how paranoid I am now about cold weather, which triggers my own mild asthma sometimes. During the past week, we had a couple of very cold days during which she stayed inside most of the time. We did a bunch of fun indoor activities to compensate, but boy, did she hate staying inside! If you need some fun things to do, I highly recommend these stuffed animal activities that we did.
