Belated Christmas Catch Up

Happy new year to you all!

Sadly, I spent much of my holiday sick and asleep. Who knew that a human could sleep 18+ hours a day for days on end?!

Be that as it may, we stuck pretty OK-ish to The Compact this year. We had to get a *few* things for the kids...especially the two younger ones who believe in Santa. Still, we mostly made cards and other projects. (Sorry to say that they went out before I could snap shots.)

Among the best gifts...in my book...was a game I gave the family, "A Kingdom for Keflings." Firstly, it is a very fun little game. You are a giant, helping the Lilliputian-like Keflings build up their town. For kids, it is great because it teaches them about planning (you need to check out blue prints of the buildings the Keflings need, and get the resources lined up) and other fun life skills. Secondly, there is nothing but zeros and ones! I saw a demo version via Xbox Marketplace, checked it out, then downloaded it. No print, poster, or other ads. No discs, packaging, etc. Just entertainment...delivered straight to you, with no extras. Pretty cool!

I'd also like to introduce you all to Akoha...a "play it forward" game. It is a great way to inspire and encourage random acts of kindness, and also certain social messages. Essentially, there are cards that describe a mission to complete...anything from "buy a friend a cup of coffee" to "send drinks to a couple in love" to "donate on hour of your time" and so on. When you do the mission, you give the card to the person/people you're completing it with. They can go online and you can track when, where and how that mission has gone out into the world and reached you. Read all about it at www.akoha.com. My favorite "play it forward" mission: give someone a compact flouresent a.k.a. "the Al Gore card." (BTW, if you're interested in getting a mission, just send me an email...we can exchange addresses and I'll make you part of one of mine!)

A final holiday reminder (mostly to myself!)...Chinese New Year is right around the corner. While not as consumer-focused as Christmas, we'll still have to be careful. Having said that, I am pretty much resigned to getting some things...sorry! We are having the entire family over and we are simply going to need a few things...even just entertaining things.

All the best!