Why I Keep A Pirate In My Purse

By Lara

I have been notified that there was some question as to why I carry a pirate in my purse. Since Captain Jack and Boromir play a role in the year of the birthday items here and there, I suppose that is a reasonable inquiry. (See Beth's article for an explanation of why she keeps a prince of Gondor in her possession...)

When Beth's daughter was in the 4th grade, she had a project called "Flat Stanley." There are plenty of people with elementary school children who are intimately familiar with this project. Being an 8-year-old girl, however, Beth's daughter decided that her Flat Stanley just could not be a boy... because boys were gross. She named her paper doll Flat Stanleigh.

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Boromir Explained

By Beth

It has been brought to my attention that many readers will not understand my references to Boromir and Captain Jack. Since they have joined Lara and me on some of our birthday adventures and will continue to do so, for my next article, I will attempt to explain my half of the duo, mainly Boromir.

It all began in 1992 with the release of the movie Patriot Games, based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name. My father had read the book and once the movie was out on video (there were no DVDs yet) he bought it. I was an innocent young girl of 13 or so when I first laid eyes on the character of Sean Miller, as played by Sean Bean, in this movie. An obsession began. Patriot Games quickly became my favorite movie, eclipsing Treasure Island (the one with Charlton Heston and a young Christian Bale *swoon*). I knew the whole movie by heart, could quote all of Sean Bean's lines, in order with a reasonably good Irish accent and even went out and bought the soundtrack. It wasn't just the character of Sean Miller that I loved, I loved the story too.

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YOB: #5. Go To The Beach In Winter

By Beth

I'm not a huge fan of the beach. Mostly because I'm not a size 2, but I also don't like sand getting stuck in places that never see the light of day, or sunburn, or sand fleas, or sweating buckets. I do like the feel of sun on my skin and the sounds and (most) smells associated with the beach though. So I would say it's a love-hate relationship. Ironically, most of the family vacations I've taken in the past several years have been to beach-y type places. These trips have obviously taken place in the summer when the beaches are most crowded, very hot and no matter how great the water pressure is in your shower, the chance of you emerging from the tub completely sand free are about the same chance I have of ever being a size 2. So when we put going to the beach on the list, we decided it needed to be in the winter, and that we had to build a sandcastle. We would successfully avoid sunburn in the winter as well as people who are a size 2 and sand fleas, most likely. There would still be the issue of sand everywhere, but not nearly as bad as it would be in the summer. Neither one of us was planning on actually wearing anything other than jeans and a shirt, sweatshirt and jacket if it was cold so our non-daylight seeing parts would be safe from sand intrusion.

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YOB: #4. Make Pretzels (Point/Counterpoint)

By Lara

One of the many things that I love about Beth is how she makes me aspire to excellence. Literally. She forces me. Sometimes she uses a sharp stick. Sometimes she tells me over the phone about the funny article that she has written about our pretzel making adventure.

Even if this article isn't as funny as hers, (and it won't be, I'm sure) I will at least be able to defend myself.

I made pretzels for the first time as a child. My grandmother had given my parents a recipe for soft pretzels, and my father thought it would be a good activity to introduce at the church Halloween party. Dad told me that I could be his helper. Being an only child in the home of a minister, I had already learned that being "helper" meant doing a lot of the work so other people could enjoy themselves. Making pretzels, however, was the exception.

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YOB: #4. Make Pretzels (AKA Pretzel Turds)

By Beth

I'd never made pretzels before, I've watched them being made at Auntie Anne's loads of times, made play-doh pretzels and sat like a pretzel in kindergarten but actually making edible pretzels was something I'd never done. I think we partly put it on the list because I'd never done it and because we needed some things that wouldn't cost millions of dollars and could be done on a whim, with very little planning. Plus, it sounded like fun.

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