Candy Heart Generator
My favorite Valentine’s Day website is the Candy Heart Generator at www.cryptogram.com.
Just type your message into the text box (up to four lines), click on a candy heart color (yellow, green, orange, pink, purple, white, & blue), and cryptogram.com generates a realistic candy heart with pink type for you!
To share your candy heart as a jpeg, right click on your heart and “save image as.”
If you don’t love Valentine’s Day, you can switch to “Goth Mode” and make a black heart with white, orange, red, or green type.
Enjoy!
Filed under holiday | Tags: candy, candy heart, candy heart generator, cryptogram, goth heart, heart, valentine, valentine's day, valentine's day candy heart | Comment (0)New Breed Added to 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
There is only one newly-recognized breed joining the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the Dogue de Bordeaux or French Mastiff.
The Dogue de Bordeaux will compete in the Working Group along with the Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Bernese Mountain Dog, Black Russian Terrier, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, German Pinscher, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Komondor, Kuvasz, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Newfoundland, Portugese Water Dog, Rottweiler, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, St. Bernard, Standard Schnauzer, and Tibetian Mastiff.
According to the Dogue de Bordeaux Society of America (www.ddbs.org): Believed to have originated in France more than 600 years ago, the Dogue de Bordeaux is highly regarded for his balanced temperament and imposing presence. The Dogue de Bordeaux, also known as the French Mastiff, Bordeaux dog, Bulldogue Francais, or most commonly among fanciers, as the DDB, is a fearless, powerful dog who excels at both guard dog work and companionship to his family. With a head that may well be the largest in the canine world, the Bordeaux is unmistakable in appearance.
I have an acquaintance who owns a French Mastiff and I can vouch for both the imposing presence and the balanced temperament. Congratulations French Mastiffs!
Filed under interests | Tags: breeds, dog, dog show, dogs, dogue de bordeaux, french mastiff, Westminster, working group | Comment (0)Alternative, Green Gift Ideas for Men, Women, or Children
Tired of giving “stuff”? Here are a few alternative, green gift ideas for men, women, and children.
Heifer International Gift Site
Give the gift of animals (or a partial gift) to help increase sustainable development and end world hunger and poverty.
A $20 donation can buy a flock of chickens, ducks, or geese. $60 will buy a trio of rabbits. $120 buys a pig, sheep, or goat.
For example, from the Heifer International web site:
Goats are great for families. The gift of a dairy goat represents a lasting, meaningful way for you to help a little boy or girl on the other side of the world.
Goats can thrive in extreme climates and on poor, dry land by eating grass and leaves. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of nutritious milk a day – a ton of milk a year. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt. Families learn to use goat manure to fertilize gardens.
And because goats often have two or three kids a year, Heifer partners can lift themselves out of poverty by starting small dairies that earn money for food, health care and education.
The Gift of Giving
When you give The Gift of Giving, you make a charitable donation, you choose a form of gift packaging, and your gift recipient chooses the actual charity!
There are hundreds of charities to choose from including ASPCA, Oprah’s Angel Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Special Olympics, Chess in the Schools, Arbor Day Foundation, Meals on Wheels, Locks of Love, Yellow Ribbon Fund, Heifer International (see above), and the World Wildlife Fund (see below).
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Gift Center
Adopt an animal or give apparel, crafts, or gift cards to benefit the WWF.
WWF has something for everyone! Adopt a polar bear, lynx, bald eagle, bison, sea otter, orca, wolverine, walrus, black-footed ferret, big-horned sheep, cougar, moose, snowy owl, grizzly bear, Mexican gray wolf, hellbender salamander, woodpecker, harbor seal, monarch butterfly, red-footed booby, great white shark, Galapagos marine iguana, Galapagos sea lion, giant tortise, Darwin’s fox, blue whale, jaguar, macaw, pygmy marmoset, red-eyed tree frog, anaconda, spectacled bear, toucan, vampire bat, black jaguar, three-toed sloth, giant anteater, emperor tamarin, pink river dolphin, golden lion tamarin, dolphin, manatee, crocodile, mandrill, chimpanzee, Afrian wild dog, western lowland gorilla, okapi, bonobo, hippopotamus, ring-tailed lemur, hedgehog tenrec, sea turtle, cheetah, zebra, dugong, leopard, giraffe, meerkat, snow leopard, tiger, amur leopard, wild Mongolian horse, panda, red panda, white-cheeked crested gibbon, mekong dolphin, douc monkey, clouded leopard, pygmy elephant, tarsier, orangutan, Sumatran rhino, proboscius monkey, clown fish, stingray, octopus, whale shark, sulphur-crested cockatoo, emperor penguin, rockhopper penguin, koala, duck-billed platypus, wombat, Tasmanian devil, or kangaroo. I hope I didn’t miss anything!
Here is a link to the 2008-2009 WWF Gift Catalog.
I know I would love getting anything from one of the organizations listed above as a gift instead of a silly trinket or some chocolates this Valentine’s Day…
Filed under holiday, interests | Tags: alternative gifts, animal adoption, charitable gift, chartity, donate to charity, gift ideas for children, gift ideas for men, gift ideas for women, green gifts, Heifer International, heiger.org, The Gift of Giving, Valentine's Day gift ideas, World Wildlife Fund | Comment (0)Perfect Gift Idea for Anyone
The perfect gift for anyone is a Roomba. Men/women, boyfriend/girlfriend, lover, spouse, parent, grandparent, or special friend – everyone will love this gift.
Roomba home robots by iRobot maneuver around and under furniture to clean floors so you don’t have to. All you have to do is make sure it is docked properly to keep it charged, empty compartments, and clean filters, rollers, and brushes regularly to keep your Roomba running like a champ.
Roomba vacuum cleaning robots are generally priced from $100 USD to over $500 USD on irobot.com or Amazon
I was given the Roomba model pictured below as a gift last year. I own two short-haired cats and a jersey wooley house rabbit so between pet hair and hay for my bunny along with everyday dirt, my Roomba has had its work cut out for it. It is still going strong.
Men, we all know how women are: I advise you to pick up a bouquet of flowers or piece of jewelry to give a girlfriend or wife along with the Roomba.
Last year, I received a Roomba (specifically, a refurbished model like the pictured below) with a nice pair of diamond earrings. I wear the earrings constantly and use the Roomba daily and think about my boyfriend and what great gifts he gave me every time I don’t have to vacuum.
