The Island...

A group of people live on an island. They are all perfect logicians -- if a conclusion can be logically deduced, they will do it instantly. No one knows the color of their eyes. Every night at midnight, a ferry stops at the island. If anyone has figured out the color of their own eyes, they must leave the island that night.

On this island live 100 blue-eyed people, 100 brown-eyed people, and the Guru. The Guru has green eyes. Everyone on the island knows the rules (but are not given the total numbers) and is constantly aware of everyone else's eye color. Everyone keeps a constant count of the total number they see of each (excluding themselves). However, they cannot otherwise communicate. So any given blue-eyed person can see 100 people with brown eyes and 99 people with blue eyes, but that does not tell them their own eye color; it could be 101 brown and 99 blue. Or 100 brown, 100 blue.

The Guru speaks only once in all their endless years on the island. Standing before the islanders, she says the following:

"I can see someone with blue eyes."

Who leaves the island, and on what night?

There are no mirrors or reflecting surfaces, nothing dumb, It is not a trick question, and the answer is logical. It doesn't depend on tricky wording, and it doesn't involve people doing something silly like creating a sign language or doing genetics. The Guru is not making eye contact with anyone in particular; she's simply saying "I count at least one blue-eyed person on this island who isn't me."

And lastly, the answer is not "no one leaves."

This is a pretty tricky logic puzzle. Tim, Jeff, Beth, and I discussed it for about an hour the other night. Tim & Jeff already knew the answer, but we had to work through it to fully understand it. We even acted it out after we thought we had it solved.

My best recommendation is think about it in a small number first, then work up to the 200 people. Good luck!

All I want for Christmas...

So I will ask you all what I ask all of my swimmers on the day after Christmas... What was your favorite thing that you got? You can only pick one thing, no cheating!

Today's Tidbit: Only one present made me cry this year, not too shabby. Oh wait, even though I am emotional, I don't think I've ever cried at a gift before. Way to go, Beth!

Merry Christmas!

I pray that you all have a most blessed and merry Christmas! My goal for the next few days is to keep my focus on the true reason for this season and to share that with the people around me. I sit in awe that the greatest gift ever given came in the form of one tiny baby all those years ago. This is a song that serves as my gentle reminder. Merry CHRISTmas to you all!

We Are The Reason

by Avalon

As little children
We would dream of Christmas morn'
Of all the gifts and toys
We knew we'd find
But we never realized
A baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

We were the reason
That He gave His life
We were the reason
That He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

As the years went by
We learned more about gifts
The giving of ourselves
And what that means
On a dark and cloudy day
A man hung crying in the rain
All because of love, all because of love

CHORUS

I've finally found the reason for living
It's in giving every part of my heart just to Him
In all that I do every word that I say
I'll be giving my all just for Him, for Him

We are the reason
that He gave His life
We are the reason that
He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all that He could give
To show us the reason to live

He is the reason to live....

My Favorite Sports Movies

Matt's home for Christmas! Yeah! Last night he spent the night at our house. He and I stayed up late watching "Miracle." It is one of my all-time favorite movies! It just gets me every time. Watching the movie again inspired me to come up with a Top 20 List of my favorite sports movies. I am a total sucker for any kind of sports movie. My preliminary list had over 30 movies on it. Anyway, here it is...

20 - Cinderella Man (2005)
19 - The Replacements (2000)
18 - Angels in the Outfield (1994)
17 - Hard Ball (2001)
16 - Happy Gilmore (1996)
15 - Friday Night Lights (2004)
14 - D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
13 - Coach Carter (2005)
12 - The Cutting Edge (1992)
11 - Invincible (2006)
10 - Field of Dreams (1989)
9 - Hoosiers (1986)
8 - Bend it Like Beckham (2002)
7 - The Mighty Ducks (1992)
6 - A League of Their Own (1992)
5 - Cool Runnings (1993)
4 - Remember the Titans (2000)
3 - Seabiscuit (2003)
2 - Facing the Giants (2006)
1 - Miracle (2004)

Today's Tidbit: Facing the Giants comes out on DVD on January 30th. I have already pre-ordered three copies :)

My dog looks like Chuck Norris!

Beth was a big fan of Nate's Celebrity Look-A-Likes. She did one of Howie and told me to post it on my blog.

Today's Tidbit: I love that it's two in the morning and I am up cleaning for the cleaning people.

A Christmas Carol Top 10 (NRHEG Version)

Well, not going to lie... Yesterday was pretty fun. Here is my last Top 10 for a musical this year :( I know, we are all crushed by this development! So, to everyone who had a part in yesterday's events... THANK YOU!

10 - Nate's 5.2 million bagels
9 - "What the heck is she holding?"
--- "I don't know, is it..."
--- "Oh my gosh, it's a heart!"
8 - Awkward conversation at Wal-Mart?
7 - Whistle...
--- "STOP RUNNING!" - Ben
--- Kid stops running.
6 - The car rides with Emmalee and Aaron!
5 - Mariah making Aaron sit on the aisle and the reason behind it :)
4 - The "store" experience with Emmalee and Aaron
3 - DICE!!!
2 - Adam & Hillary's song. They seriously did an amazing job!
1 - "Daddy's Little Tax Deduction" and all the other Phineas jokes!

Honorable Mention: Brandon's hair, Mariah texting Aaron during the show, and children's dance with Scrooge

Christmas Movies

Since I feel that Tim just did not do some movies justice (by leaving them off his list), here is my Top 10 Best Christmas Movies! I love getting out the good ol' VHS tapes and watching them this time of year. Beth and I also have our Moxie set to record several of them when they air in the next 10 days. Merry Christmas to you all!

Honorable Mention: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and Christmas Vacation (1989)

10 - Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
9 - Frosty the Snowman (1969)
8 - The Santa Clause (1994)
7 - Home Alone (1990)
6 - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
5 - Love Actually (2003)
4 - Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
3 - The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
2 - A Christmas Story (1983)
1 - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

Today's Tidbit: Christmas is only 10 days away! Woot woot!

I have CDO...

... It's like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, except in alphabetical order. Like it should be!

I really don't have anything fun and exciting going on in my life, can you tell?

Today's Tidbit: This is from my parents' Christmas lists... I guess they can match?

Cabela's Shearling Slippers - in Gold/Size 8
Cabela's Shearling Slippers - in Chocolate/Size 11

The Office

Well, I did it. I finally caved in to the whining of Beth, Nate, and Matt. I watched the first season of "The Office" last night with Beth. Since there aren't a lot of shows still running new episodes, our Moxie is completely empty. I know, it's very sad. It was still pretty early, I think 10:30 or something, so we decided to watch something. Our first thought was a movie, but I didn't know how long I'd be awake for, so I wanted something shorter. We decided on a TV show on DVD. Beth suggested "The Office" because I was in the mood for a comedy. I decided that it was time to take the leap.

Pretty sure I was hooked within mere minutes. That show is hysterical! So we watched all 6 first season episodes. I am hoping to start the second season later on today! Woot woot!

So here's the name of the game... I will say a quote from the first season. You tell me who said it. It's pretty easy, but that's okay. This first one is for Nate because he says it's his favorite "The Office" quote of all-time.

1) "Abraham Lincoln once said that 'If you're a racist, I will attack you with the North' and these are the principles I carry with me in the workplace."

2) "Okay, if I have to do this, based on stereotypes that are totally untrue, that I do not agree with, you would maybe not be a very good driver."
"Aw man, am I a woman?"

3) "Because right now, this is a job. If I advance any higher, this would be my career. And if this were my career, I'd have to throw myself in front of a train."

4) "Studies show that more information is passed through watercooler gossip than through official memos, which puts me at a disadvantage because [picks up water bottle] I bring my own water to work."

5) "One word, two syllables... Demarcation."

6) "So what colors do you like?"
"Gray, dark gray, charcoal."

7) "Um Pam, one more thing. Um, how do girls your age feel about futons?"

Have fun with that one kids!

Today's Tidbit: As many of you know, I was a nanny for 6 kids last year. They wanted me to keep doing it this year, but I couldn't because of subbing. Well the mom had to leave town today to go be with her mom up in Canada. They asked if I could help out with the driving. For the next three days I won't be subbing at all. Instead, I'll be playing "mom" again. You should see the driving schedule. It's completely insane! But that's okay. I'm excited because I haven't seen the kids in a while. Good times are about to be had by all!

I can only imagine...

Well, I had something all ready to post... But things change. I just received an e-mail from my brother, Matt. His note said that it made him cry and he thought we'd like it too. My first reaction was, "Oh, this must be really funny." I thought for sure he meant crying from laughter because he doesn't cry too easily. I looked farther down to find the link and saw that the e-mail came from his swim coach. The note along with it said, "Sometimes we forget how good our lives really are. Enjoy your life, everyone in your life and everyday you are alive." I obviously then realized that Matt really meant he cried, not laughed.

I just visited the website and read the article. It is easily the most incredible story I have ever read/seen. I teared up while reading the article, but really lost it when I saw the video. Our God is so amazing! I just can't even put it into words. The story of this father and is son have left me in awe. Please read it, and watch the video. It is well worth taking a few minutes out of your day to do so.

http://cjcphoto.com/can/

Will Beth swear off french silk pie now?

I really have nothing important to blog about... So here's something for you all to chew on.

Question: How does moldy pie taste?

Beth learned this the hard way last night. She coached at a swim meet in Northfield all day. Being the nice sister that I am, I drove up and picked her up when she was done. We headed over to our favorite restaurant in town, Rueb 'N Steins. We used to frequent this place often when Beth was an Ole.

Anyway, that's not exactly the point. We both ordered burgers and enjoyed our dinner. The time came to order desert. I ordered a hot fudge brownie sundae and Beth ordered french silk pie. She has had the pie there several times, and I think she likes it quite well. We started eating our desert and kept on talking. She was probably 3/4 of her way done and I saw her start spitting it out. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. She said it didn't taste right.

That was when we noticed the big, green, fuzzy spot! Sick! Yep, that's right. Nice and moldy for you! Thank goodness the waitress did the right thing and didn't make us pay for the pie. Oh gosh, it was nasty! I'm still laughing about it.

We had to call Mom and find out how much mold you'd have to eat to get sick. She assured us that Beth would live. Again, thank goodness! So there you have it... The moldy pie story.

Answer: Not very good!

Today's Tidbit: For some reason, all of my second graders wanted to draw pictures of me today. There was great debate over whether my hair is black or brown. They also insisted that I am not a REAL teacher. Ouch! So my question is, what am I exactly?