You gotta know how to fold 'em

Some of us (me) were born with the folding gene; others of us (the spouse, our daughter) were not. But even those of us blessed with the ability to neatly fold clothes have (admit it) struggled with folding fitted sheets.

I learned to fold fitted sheets from my mother, using the two-person, hold-the-sheet-by-the-corners-width-wise-and-then-fold-corner-to-corner-and-bring-the-half-folded-sheet-to-the-other-person-to-finish-folding method, which worked pretty well -- as long as you had someone helping you. But what to do when/if you were alone? In my case, I emulated the two-person, corner-to-corner method by spreading the fitted sheet on my (queen-sized) bed, going from one side of the bed to the other. Very inefficient, but it works.

But now, thanks to my friend, Justin, and Jill Cooper of www.livingonadime.com, my days of running around the bed to fold a fitted sheet are over! Behold, the power of "How to Fold a Fitted Sheet"!



If I did not already have a set of sheets in the dryer when I watched this video early this morning, I would have done a load. And even though it took a few tries, and my fitted sheet didn't look as neat as Jill Cooper's, the technique absolutely works.

Bonus folding video, for those of you who have always wondered what the best way to fold a t-shirt was:



Btw, if any of you understands Japanese, let me know what she says!

Sayanora and happy folding!

Cat gets back massage (video)

Sure, I could have written about the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death and his newly released final interview. (Thirty years?! Wow, I feel old.)

Or I could have chosen to blog about the death of Elizabeth Edwards at the too-young age of 61. (So sad.)

But I didn't. And you know why? Because on a sad day like today what the world really needs is... a video of a cat getting a massage in a shiatsu back and neck massage chair.

Cat gets a back massage | akilli.tv

Hey, it was either the cat getting a massage or pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows.

Sleep Camp

Feeling tired?

Ever feel that naps are wasted on the young?

Wish every day was National Go-Back-to-Bed Day?

Or that you could just hibernate for the winter?

Are you at the point where the thought of a good night's rest sounds even better than a good night of sex?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you need to attend Sleep Camp. That is, as soon as the spouse and I work out a few details and open it. But I'm pretty sure we have a can't-miss concept here. After all, who wouldn't want to learn how to get a better night's rest, especially if it meant taking a few days off from work in some beautiful locale where you didn't have to do anything but relax?

Think of Sleep Camp as a kind of a co-ed, exercise-or-not spa vacation, where the main (and only) goal was to sleep for at least eight hours a day. Where you would learn which mattress and pillow was right for you. And where instructors would hold classes with names like How to Grab 20 Winks, Nap Like a Nipper, How to Sleep Anywhere Anytime, and Learning to Sleep with a Snorer -- and would teach you easy exercises (for lack of a better word) and tricks that would help you get to sleep faster and have sweet dreams, when they weren't giving massages and waiting on you hand and foot.

Sounds like a dream to me.

But let me ask all of you, if such a camp existed, would you sign up?

(Of course now that I've revealed our brilliant idea someone is bound to steal it, but I'm too tired to care right now.)

Finally, a cure for UGG boots

I have never owned a pair of UGG boots, and frankly, until recently, had never been much tempted to own a pair. In fact, I have fond memories of hanging out in Santa Barbara with my friend, Larissa, making counting how many women we saw wearing UGG boots and mini skirts (in 60-plus-degree weather) into a drinking game. But that was before I beheld UGG Bailey Button Triplet Boots and suddenly
felt the irresistible pull of UGG boots.

Thank goodness, though, for UGGCITRIN, the only vaccine for the UGG boot virus.



[A big THANK YOU to Friend of the Blog (FOB) Another David S. for letting me know about UGGCITRIN.]

Best Hanukkah song EVER (UPDATED with more great Chanukah music!)

I flip my latkes in the air sometimes sayin ayy ohh spin the dreidel
Just wanna celebrate for all eight nights singin ayy oh, light the candles

We say al hanissim
Oh yea for all eight nights
Then we play dreidel
By the candlelight

And I told you once
Now I told you twice
Bout the miracle
Of the candlelight

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, begins tonight at sundown. And if I wasn't already Jewish (though I grew up celebrating Christmas), I might consider converting, at least for Hanukkah, after hearing "Candlelight" by the Maccabeats -- which is dynamite -- about the Hanukkah miracle. Seriously, best Hanukkah song EVER. (Sorry Adam Sandler and Orrin Hatch.)



[Major hat tip to FOB Rosita for sending this to me.]

I don't know about all of you, but I can't wait to hear what the Maccabeats have in store for Passover.

In the meantime, Chanukah Sameach!

UPDATED: This Chanukah music mashup video featuring Jewish a cappella group Six13, just sent to me via commenter Chana, is so good, I had to include it here.

Alcohol-infused whipped cream + pink fluffy unicorns

Forget Jell-O shots, my friends. Indeed, why go to the trouble when there is now... alcohol-infused whipped cream. Let me just type that again: alcohol-infused whipped cream. An idea so brilliant, it is only a matter of time until the FDA bans it (and some concerned parent gets on my ass about seemingly promoting the stuff, which, in the case of CREAM, contains 15% alcohol by volume and is therefore totally inappropriate for children).

But between us adults, seriously, where was this product when we were in college -- or, to be politically correct (and legal), when we were in our 20s? Can you image the whipped-cream frat parties?

Though, come to think of it, my mother was putting rum in her whipped cream for as far back as I can remember, though I doubt her whipped cream was 30 proof, and I seem to have survived without too much brain damage. Then again, I wasn't squirting cans of the stuff down my gullet every weekend.

Of course, without alcohol-infused caffeinated drinks (or caffeine-infused alcohol) to kick around anymore (though I believe you can still order Irish coffee at many restaurants), the FDA and concerned citizens (aka killjoys) need something to go after, and it's probably just a matter of time until Whipped Lightning (the makers of Whipahol, available in Hazelnut Espresso, German Chocolate, and Caramel Pecan) and CREAM (tagline: Get Whipped), although they are marketed to adults and are only available in liquor or package stores, get pulled.

Until then, please squirt responsibly. Otherwise you might start seeing (and singing about) pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows.



[MAJOR hat tip to FOB Larissa. I love you, (wo)man.]

UPDATED: Got an email from Kyle over at newsy.com asking me to include this video they did about the alcohol-infused whipped cream craze. Happy to oblige, Kyle.

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

And now... we dance! (Yet another '80s flashback blog post)

Anyone get that reference? Anyone? Anyone?

If you guessed "Mike Myers as Dieter from the Saturday Night Live sketch Sprockets," you are absolutely correct!



Anyway, I am, for some reason, in total 1980s flashback mode this weekend, specifically 1980s techno-pop or alternative/new wave British dance music mode. You know, stuff like Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough"...



Bronski Beat's "Why?"...



And "Don't Go" by Yaz (or Yazoo).



If I could have found more videos for Yaz, specifically for "Situation*," which my friend, Emma, used to call "Blue Mouth," I would have posted them all here. I totally (heart) Yaz.

So what music makes you want to put on your your your your boogie shoes? This is the part of the blog post where we leave comments.

UPDATED: Ooo... look what I just found! [H/T to a certain blonde currently living in Bangkok.]



When last I looked for "Mirror in the Bathroom" by The English Beat, I couldn't find it anywhere. Doing happy dance now.

*Note: Many thanks to FOB Dave S. for reminding me that the song was called "Situation," NOT "Move Out," as I had originally written. (Hanging head in shame.)