all that i heart

14 days of everything I love.

Well, almost everything.

I'm sure there are a lot of Valentine's Day haters out there blah blah blah-ing about how it's wrong to commercialize love, blah blah blah. I'm not one of them. I heart Valentine's Day. I'm a lover of love. Stay tuned, you might just win something I heart, because I heart you too!

-Love me (bow-chica-wow-wow)

Family Togetherness

I can't believe January is almost over. This month has slipped away so quickly because we've spent most of it playing with my family as one big extension of Christmas break. Having family around reminds you just why you love them. And why you don't. {Just kidding}. This was the first time in...I don't know, a long time that all my siblings have been together. Unfortunately I only have 2 pictures to summarize all the good times we had. Fortunately both pictures happen to summarize exactly what we did.

1. Eat food. Seriously, all we did was eat. And constantly at that. We did go bowling once, but mostly we just ate. This is my sister Marci demonstrating first hand how efficient we are at consuming food. It's a Richman thing, Brad almost couldn't keep up.

2. Kodak moment. My family loves to tease each other. It's how we show affection. Being the youngest, naturally I receive the brunt of it. And because I'm so awesome I am able to handle it with the class and dignity of a toddler. This pose, of me and Brad, is one of a kind. It takes a lot of practice to perfect the one-handed self portrait and my family was quick to point out that we are the pro's. It's very true. We always take the one-handed self portraits and surprisingly they are the only ones I ever like. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of these in the family archives waiting to be cherished, no doubt, by our posterity.
P.S. we also did have a real family photo taken while everyone was here. Maybe that will come later.

So there you have it. Family togetherness at it's finest. Love you fam! Thanks for playing with us (and for helping contribute to our increasing waistlines).

End of an era

June 23, 1910-January 27, 2008
I believe it's true, that the prophet of your youth is the one you will revere the most.

Next-generation shopping is overrated

My cute father-in-law is always up to speed on the latest advances in technology. He sent me this article about a grocery cart-mounted computer that scans items you put in your cart so you don't have to wait in a check-out line. It's so smart, arguably, that it will find items in the store for you while it tracks your location, all the while popping up advertisements and coupons depending on which isle you are on. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't like it (and neither did Lee). All you uber busy mommies might though...

• Just another avenue to be bombarded with unwanted advertising
  
• Just another way for a computer to track everything we buy
• Just another reason not to interact with other humans (heaven forbid!)
• Just another excuse for poor customer service that we pay more for
  

sunshine on a cold day

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Yellow

You're yellow, the color of joy and energy — two things you definitely bring to everyone around you. It's hard for anyone to be sad or lonely in your presence; your sunny disposition and cheery outlook just won't allow it. The warmth of your personality shines through in the kindness you show friends and family (and strangers, too). Always ready with a lighthearted joke or heartfelt compliment, you know how to make people feel good about themselves, so they can't get enough of you. Yellow is a warm and inviting color for a warm and inviting person — you!

Take this test >

A night of pizza pie

Watch me totally rip it up on the slopes. Like Tiff says, I'm a "speed demon."

Night Skiing at Brighton from Gina Duncan on Vimeo.

Paper or Plastic?

Last week on my way home from work I stopped behind a beautiful silver BMW at a busy-with-rush-hour intersection. All of a sudden a paper cup came flying out the driver side window, hit the pavement, and rolled to a stop. My face flushed scarlet red. Impulsively I yanked the e-brake and reached for my door handle so blustering mad I could have picked up the paper cup and the BMW and chucked them both across the freeway to the nearest dumpster. But the light turned green. Instead I could only honk in utter disbelief . I threw my car into gear and cursed silently all the way home. I am more offended by this than anything I see on TV.BD and I make a valiant effort to waste less, drive less, recycle more and all that. But it discourages me when there are bozo's in the world who feel so entitled that they can just throw garbage onto the street. Really, how lazy and disgusting can you be?
As part of our resolutions for 2008 BD and I have decided to step up our effort in a few small ways. This becomes addicting. Once you've made a simple change that makes a huge difference you feel empowered. Now when I'm at the grocery store and the bagger asks me "Paper or Plastic?" I can answer, "Neither!" because I got me these sweet cloth grocery bags for Christmas. My grocery store actually pays me not to use their bags. So not only am I throwing away less paper and plastic, I'm saving money. Brilliant.This concept is also true for lots of stuff including light bulbs. Using CFL's (compact florescent light bulbs) saves you dollars, as in actual cha-ching, per month on your electricity bill. This is a no-brainer people.
And even though I can't stand Al Gore and his hypocritical shenanigans, he has done a marvelous job getting people to talk about big environmental issues when no one else would. Kudos. Now thanks to big names like Oprah (watch her latest 1.4.08 episode: Going Green 101) I think people are starting to catch on. Are you?

Mocktail 2008-Ringing in the New Year in Style

Time to reminisce. Yet another year has broken into our lives, made us laugh, made us cry, then suddenly fled the scene of the crime before we could press charges. 2007 (SO last year) was filled with adventure, heart ache, good times and much much more in between. Our Third Annual Mocktail Party was the perfect way to ring in the New Year. Brad and I look forward to hosting this party all year long. After the last of the party-goers had trickled out the door we (foolishly) started to clean up with what little energy we had left. At 3 am were were laughing and reminiscing about the past 3 years in this house and could hardly stand to think that this may be the last Mocktail here. We have so many unforgettable memories that we will always cherish. But, no matter where we live next year...the Mocktail will happen and ya'll will still have to come. Wishing an absolutely wonderful 2008 to all. Happy New Year!

Check out the archives of Mocktail 2006 and 2007!

Christmas Festivities