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Housewarming parties are some of my favorite social gatherings. You always get to meet lots of new people, see a new neighborhood and, of course, take the grand tour of your friends' new home. And it's customary to bring a gift (my favorite part!) whether it's something to help furnish the new house or a little treat to enjoy during the party.
My friends recently moved from a small one bedroom apartment into a two-story, three bedroom house. They held an open house-style party so people could come and go throughout the day. I was on the welcoming committee, helping to restock refreshments and placing gifts in their proper places, etc., while the happy couple gave their tours. It was a busy day with all their friends bringing food and gifts and laughter into the new home.
At the end of the day, we all collapsed on their new couch and marveled at the turnout, talking about how lucky they are to have such great friends and neighbors. It's no wonder they call it a housewarming: the good company, good food, good wine and good wishes for the future left all of us feeling, well, warm inside.
Scientists have confirmed what my equestrian friends have known for a long, long time: your horse knows when you're happy and when you're mad or sad. Not surprising since horses have a lot of the same facial expressions as human beings. Why wouldn't they be able to read those expressions as well as (or better than!) humans?
“Horses may have adapted an ancestral ability for reading emotional cues in other horses to respond appropriately to human facial expressions during their co-evolution. Alternatively, individual horses may have learned to interpret human expressions during their own lifetime,” said Karen McComb, one of the study's authors.
Seems that when you're angry, your horse will look at you out of its left eye and its heart rate will accelerate. According to researchers, this might be a survival mechanism - a warning to the horse that it could be in for a rough day. This tracks with what my friends say: that their horses pick up on the tiniest change in their moods. In fact, one of my friends claims her horse knows her moods better than she knows her own!
So next time you're getting ready to ride, take a close look at your horse first. It might know how you're feeling before you do!
George Clooney might be one of Hollywood's biggest "dreamboat" stars, but when it comes to pitching woo, his acting is better than his real-life pitch. Just ask his fiancée, Amal.
In fact, when Clooney staged an elaborate proposal scenario, she almost missed the whole thing. Here's how Clooney tells the story to People magazine:
"I've got it all set up, timed out and the song (his aunt Rosemary Clooney's song "Why Shouldn't I") is coming and she gets up to go wash the dishes, which she's never done. And I'm like, 'What are you doing?' and she comes back in. And finally I said, 'Ya know, I blew out the candle' and I said, 'I think the lighter's in the box behind you.' And she reaches around and she pulls out the box and I've got just the ring sitting in there and she pulls it out and she looks at it and she's like, 'It's a ring' – like as if somebody had left it there some other time."
It took Amal a full 25 minutes to figure out that Clooney was proposing marriage. In fact, he had to drop to one knee and say, "Look, I hope the answer is yes, but I need an answer I'm 52 and I could throw out my hip pretty soon."
Not exactly the most romantic proposal in the world, but you have to admit, it was sincere. And hilarious.
Diver Cesar Espino is one heroic human. Just ask the 45-foot Bryde whale whose life he saved off the Canary Islands in Spain. Well, you can't really ask the whale, but you can watch the video:
The whale had become so badly entangled in fishing line that it couldn't free itself. Trapped by the heavy lines for what appeared to be many days, the whale had become emaciated and was clearly distressed. That's when Mr. Espino stepped (swam) in, spending over an hour cutting the ropes from the whales mouth and fin. He stopped only to breathe.
Free at last, the whale began to swim away, as Cesar followed to make sure the enormous creature would be okay. Cesar's friend posted the video of the whale's ordeal and his friends heroics. Since then, it's been viewed over a million times. Our hats are off to Mr. Espino and our hearts go out to the Bryde whale, hoping it won't need a similar rescue any time soon!
Can you believe Valentine's Day is right around the corner? It snuck up on me and I admit: I'm at a bit of a loss this year. Or at least I was. Then I decided to do something different this year. Something a little bit sassy.
Back in my younger days, I used to get -- and give -- some pretty naughty gifts. Since I'm not quite too old yet, I thought I'd get up to some of my old tricks this year and find some eye-popping, jaw-dropping gifts for my dear husband.
Yes, Valentine's Day is a day for candlelight, romance and luscious chocolates. But there's no law that says you can't mix a little sassy with the sweet.
Social media helped reunite a little girl and her stuffed bunny, Jellycat earlier this month. A worker at the Adare Manor Hotel posted a picture of the toy, saying: “I lost my owner at breakfast” on the hotel's Facebook page. Isn't that sweet? But wait, it gets a lot sweeter.
While they waited to find Jellycat's owner, they gave the stuffed toy the full VIP treatment. The hotel posted pictures of the lost bunny as he enjoyed a spa treatment on the patio, a snack of tea and cakes and, finally lounging in bed with the television remote and a nice chocolate.
The hotel in Adare Village, Ireland found Jellycat's owner the next day. After Kate Hogan and Jellycat were reunited, the little girl sent a note to the hotel: “Thank you for taking such good care of my special Jellycat. I was so lonely going to sleep last night, but I now know he had the best time.”
Maybe the story didn't "break the internet". But it sure broke the "Awwwww..." meter!
Your "Share A Sweet Story" Gift Guru,
Linda
PS: You can see Jellycat's entire adventure at Adare Manor on their Facebook page.
Nothing like starting off the new year with a good old-fashioned feel-good story. Especially a feel good all-over tale with a happy ending.
Shelter volunteer and dog rescuer Rebecca Burley was taking Roxanne, her rescued Lab/Hound mix, for a walk in their neighborhood in Suffolk, Virginia when they ran into a search party. Police were looking for an elderly woman who had wandered off into the cold wearing nothing but her nightgown. Ms. Burley promised to keep a lookout and she and Roxanne continued on their walk.
Just a few minutes later, Roxanne started to pull hard on her leash, leading her owner right to the ditch where the missing woman lay, shivering in her nightgown. Roxanne's human alerted authorities and before long, EMTs arrived to rescue the woman from the ditch.
Rebecca says Roxanne the Rescuer is "a natural". Roxanne? Well she was just happy to gobble up some extra special treats that day.
