Bed Bath and Beyond Class Action Lawsuit

If anyone is looking for proof that America is lawsuit crazy, here is some interesting news. There is a class action lawsuit against Bed, Bath and Beyond that claims that the company misrepresented the thread counts on their sheets. It states that the company listed the number of threads per square inch of fabric instead of the number of yarns. The company denies any wrongdoing and has come to a settlement that gives customers who bought certain sheets from them the right to get full refunds or to get gift cards.

I found out about this through an e-mail that they sent out to their customers. I don't remember ever buying sheets there but even if I did I probably wouldn't go to the trouble of trying to find a receipt for some sheets I bought up to 7 years ago (that's what the lawsuit covers). I am curious to find out who the people wronged by the sheet scandal are. Do they have thread counting microscopes at home? :-)

Spinny ride in Dubrovnik

Still testing out my new ilife '08 I found this video and it made me laugh. We are in Dubrovnik, Croatia in 2006 and we had just gone grocery shopping. This ride was outside the store and we decided to try it. Hilarity ensued. :-)

LT enjoying the wind

I am trying out my new ilife '08 and one of the great features is being able to post to youtube straight from imovie. This was from two summers ago when we drove across country. Thought it was pretty cute.

Traffic in LA is amazing

I saw this pic and thought we definitely need these devices in Los Angeles. Maybe they help people's blood pressure go down in traffic.

:-)

This morning was one of those mornings that make me think that our state needs to fund a research project on the science of traffic. Yesterday I pulled out of my driveway at 8:13 and there was no traffic on my street. I drove away and was on the freeway within minutes. Granted, I was off the freeway within minutes as well, as I only use the freeway as a quick way to get to the surface streets I take on my way to work. Today, I pulled out of my driveway at roughly the same time, and proceeded to sit in front of my building in traffic for 3 full stop light cycles until it was finally my turn to turn left. Once I turned left, it was all good and it took me the usual 45 mins to drive 12 miles to work. But during that time spent gazing at my building from the street, I couldn't help but think something is wrong with how our lights are timed or how our streets are designed. Thursday is traditionally a heavier traffic day is LA because a lot of people take fridays off so they all need to work Thursday. But that still doesn't explain that huuuuuge difference in traffic levels on my street from day to day. Just needed to get that off my chest. :-)

Chili on a rainy day

Today it's been raining most of the day and I decided to make a big batch of crock pot chili so we could have that as our meal of the week. I generally make a big batch of something on the weekend that we can have as leftovers during the week because our schedules are a little weird and it's good to have something ready at any time of the day or late night. :-)  So today I made a recipe from my cookbook called "Fix- it and Forget- it Cookbook, Feasting with your Slow Cooker."   There were many chili recipes to pick from so my choice was based on how much time I had which wasn't much. (I didn't get back from the store until 4pm which is bad for a slow cooker.)  I found one that needed 4 hours to cook and told Chad we'd be having a late dinner. :-) It turned out fantastic so I just had to share it. This recipe is courtesy of Jeanne Allen from Rye, CO.  I don't know Jeanne but I thank her for her fabulous chili.

Trail Chili

2lbs ground beef

1 large onion diced

1  28-oz can diced tomatoes

2  8-oz cans tomato puree (paste)

2 cans kidney or pinto beans undrained. I use pinto because I prefer them

4-oz can diced green chilies

1 cup water

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. mild chili powder

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. pepper

1. Brown beef and onion in skillet. Drain. Place in slow cooker on high

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook on high 30 minutes

3. Reduce heat to low. Cook 4-6 hours.  (I chose 4 because of my lack of time. :-) )

Top individual servings with shredded cheese. 

Norman

Norman is Steve and Liesl's dog and he is so cute I had to blog about him.  He's our nephew dog so of course we are very proud of him and love to take pictures of him. He is so photogenic. These are a few of my favorites. :-)

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

I bought a wii this Christmas after having fun trying to find one on nowinstock.net .    I knew it would provide fun for our family at Christmas and was so glad when that proved to be true. We had several fun and entertaining games of bowling, golf, baseball and even boxing! The games that come with the wii are fantastic. I had also purchased the mario olympics which was also fun but a little harder to do well at.  The funniest part was watching my dad bowl as he looked like he was really at a bowling alley and almost smacked the television several times. These are some pics from the fun! :-)

A Great Christmas

This Christmas was an extra special one because my brother Steve and his wife Liesl and their doggie Norman came to visit so we were all together for Christmas. We had a great time together and enjoyed each other's company immensely. We skied, played, laughed, wii'd, relaxed and had a great time together. These are some pictures from the week.