Two , Four, Six, Eight...

Cristine and Julie

are really GREAT.

Join me in celebrating this...

B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y  W*E*E*K!

Let's start by wishing them both a 

Happy Birthday!

My sister Ellen loves numbers.  I don't know if she is all that good at math, but she loves finding meaning in numbers.  For a while she was even into numerology.  Somehow using your birthday, birth month, and a series of other specially selected numbers to determine, what I think was, your lot in life.

I remember she somehow figured out that my oldest son Ricky (birthday 1/20/93) and his best friend Danielle (birthday 2/10/93) when added, subtracted, multiplied, then divided by the double secret super special number... actually had the same astrological number - and therefore, I think, destiny.  It meant that they would always somehow be on the same plane.  It meant, that when the tides brought troubled waters for one, troubled waters would be met by the other.   

Normally all of this talk about numbers might go right over my geometry-failing, statistics-hating self.  But this year, numbers have caught my attention.  This year, in fact, this week I will turn forty three (4+3) on October 7.  Coincidence... I'm not sure.

Let's have some more fun.

Forty-three.  I can pine over that number or I can embrace the number (albeit it big) and look for the 43 reasons why this number is so important...

1. 4= number of seasons; winter, summer, spring, fall... fall - the fourth season and my favorite.
   
2. 3 = number of daughters my parents had.  (Yes, I am the third).
   
3. 4+3 = 7, number of days in a week.   
   
4. 3+4+ 0 = My parents street address in New York
   
5. 4x3=12 = the number of months in a year
   
6. 4th month = April, the month Matthew was born
   
7. 3rd month = March, the month Jack was born
   
8. 43, number of cathedrals in the Church of England 
9. 43, the number adopted by the online community as a representation of organization (ie. 43 things.com) 
10. 43things.com, http://www.43folders.com/
    
11. 43folders.com, http://www.43things.com
12. 43kix.com, http://www.43kix.com/
13. 43 = number assigned to President George Bush; 30 days left of 43 (come on #44!).
    
14. 43 = Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States in 1943
15. 43 = number of this year's Super Bowl! (Yes, I am as old as the Super Bowl!)
    
16. 43 = minutes is the length of Pink Floyd's song, Dark Side of the Moon
    
17. 43 = a prime number - the 14th smallest prime number
    
18. 43 = 41+2
    
19. 43 = 11+13 + 19
    
20. 43 = 2+11+13+17
    
21. 43 = 3+5+7+11+17
22. 43 = The number of consecutive district titles tyring to be won by St. Francis de Sales of Toledo, Ohio (a national record in any high school sport).
23. 43=the designation of Interstate 43, a freeway in Wisconsin
24. 43, The year actor George C. Scott, actress Glenda Jacks, and the movie, Patton won Academy Awards.
25. 43 = the number of different herbs and spices contained in the Spanish Liqueur Licor 43.
26. 43, the year the Pentagon was finished being built and we were in the middle of WWII
27. 43 state to join the union, Idaho.  (It's been a long time since an "Idahonian" visited our fun community.
28. 43 = the number of Richard Petty's race car when he won his 7 Winston Cup Championships.
29. 43 = % of workers who call in sick without excuses, according to CareerBuilders.com
30. 43 South, the name of a company in Tasmania, specializing in growing cut flowers.
31. 43 = The year people such as Newt Gingrich, Barry Manilow, Mick Jagger, and tennis great - Arthur Ashe - were born.
32. 43 = Almost the price of a first class stamp ($0.42), but only $ 0.03 in 1943
33. 43 miles, the equivalent to 69.201792 kilometers.
34. 43 = the number of muscles required to frown
35. 43 = a number, according to a religious website, that "...represents a time of waiting for some blessing from the Lord."
36. 43 = International code for Austria
37. 43 verses in the Old English epic Beowulf.
38. 43 = the year London was founded by the Romans as Londinium
39. 43 species of birds in the Antartica
40. Three hundred-43 = number of fire fighters who died on September 11
41. 43 feet, the average length of the male Gray Whale
42. 4-3 = 1, number needed to complete my list of 43.  Do you have one?

Announcements:

• Countdown to the Super Bowl: Congratulations to Nicole, winner of this week's Throw Down, between she and Julie!  Nicole, I heard about your costly mailing experience.  Next time we will consult ahead of time about which day you should mail.  Hopefully the win makes the cost of mailing more palatable!  Click on the Struble Suds site to hear more about the this week's Throw Down.  Next up Katie and Maureen...
  
• Congratulations, Cheryl:  Cheryl was one of two people who predicted Atlanta would win over Green Bay.  She wins a gold star for coming closest to guessing the final score.
  
• Blog-a-thon: We still have PLENTY-o-spots left for blog-a-thon participants.  Remember, this initiative is to raise money for the Helping Hand family we adopted for the holiday.  Sue, Brian, Maureen (...and I) appreciate you helping us reach our goal.
• Festival of Birthdays:  Our very own Cheryl has started a fun new blog.  The very purpose is to recognize people she knows on their birthdays.  Check it out at festivalofbirthdays@blogspot.com

Signing off until tomorrow...