Google Labs recently came out with a tool that lets you scour digitized books from way back when to 2008, using whatever words in whatever timeframe you want. After thinking of all the bad words that I could put in there (because that's ALWAYS the first thing we think of putting in these things - even though some of us won't admit it!), I added the names of my family. You'll see that Tom shows up most frequently, and I'm barely a blip on the screen:
And if you go through you'll see some cool things like:
In the mid-1700's the REALLY liked dogs more, but only for a very short time.
Espresso still beats latte, but latte is gaining on espresso (in the books at least - I'm not a fan of strong coffee at all).
Between all of the colors in ROY G BIV, Red wins.
Texas is written about more than Oklahoma or Louisiana. Yes, I went there.
People call it the television when they write about it - not the TV really.
Regardless of what you look up, the
Google Labs Books Ngram Viewer is a really cool thing to play with! (And yes, for the record, the "S" word tops the list of the ones I typed in, and we swear a lot more in books in 2008 than we did even in 2004 or 1996. And we swear a whole hack of a lot more than in the early 1900's. But we talk about our donkey's less...
Max - rocking the trumpet at his band's holiday concert at Barnes and Noble. Well, as much as you can rock out Jingle Bells and other holiday standards! He IS the trumpet master!
Lucy has been putting on her cool brown boots by herself for a month or two now - actually since she got her new boots to replace those that were lifted at Chick Fil A (but that's a story for another time). But recently she started putting on her sneakers by herself too! She's getting pretty good at it, but she's still hit or miss on getting the shoes on the right feet! She's getting closer every day though - we're up to the jacket and even sometimes shoes on the right feet now!
Is it wrong to covet a pair of boots - snow boots to be specific? And is it wrong to want a second pair, even though the first pair is also very cool? Oh my. Same general price as the first pair, second pair ON SALE. Does that even matter in the land of coveting? And can I wear snow boots in the NOT snow and avoid looking like a big dork? Or do I really care if I look like a dork wearing snow boots in the NOT snow? What a dilemma...but they are pretty: 
Celestial Seasonings comes out with Holiday Teas every year, and every year as soon as I see them I buy them. But this year there was one on the shelf that I didn't recognize. It is called Gingerbread Spice, and I think I'm in love. I like teas that are fruity or thick, but this one has a completely different taste. It's not only good by itself, but with a wee bit of milk it sends the flavor right over the top. Super yummy! So, back to the store for me - gotta get some more of this before it's gone for the season! ;) Gotta feed my newest addiction! 
In case you're wondering, the robots are taking over the planet. But they'll be wearing gloves. Yes, gloves. 
