So the holidays typically mean parties, get togethers and sometimes unexpected visits from friends and family.  Here’s how to turn your train-wreck mess into something presentable in only 30 minutes.  I highly suggest (and have used) the laundry basket shoved in the closet trick!  Do you have any good tips to add to this “save your a** list?”…Chime in!

–THREE MINUTES.  Use a laundry basket to pick up random items all over. . . and shove it in a closet.

–ONE MINUTE.  Close all the doors to the bedrooms, and any other rooms that are messy and not intended for guests.

–TWO MINUTES.  Grab a few hangers and make room in your coat closet for their coats.

–TWO MINUTES.  Take any dishes and glasses off the sink and countertops.  Put them on a cookie sheet and stick them in the oven.

–FIVE MINUTES.  Wipe off the kitchen counters and the rims of the bathroom sinks.

–FIVE MINUTES.  Empty the trash in the kitchen and bathrooms;  reline the garbage cans.

–FOUR MINUTES.  Wipe the fingerprints off your appliances with glass cleaner.  Give the toilet a very quick scrub.

–3MINUTES.  Quickly and lightly dust the coffee table and other spots where the guests will be.

–FOUR MINUTES.  Vacuum the living room and any areas where guests will be.  Shake out the bathroom rugs.

–ONE MINUTE.  Burn scented candles in the bathroom and kitchen.  (Yahoo!  News)

OK so we are a nation of spoiled-instant gratification-non-waiting-no tolerance for inconvenience Americans.  And I’m just as guilty as the rest of you!  So they did this poll recently and asked “if you could have any drive-thru service that does not already exist, what would you want to have?”   The over whelming response was Drive Thru Daycare!!

Yes! Yes! Yes!   Here’s LeeAnn Sommers at the window… “Uhhh yeah I’ll take my kid and a strawberry shake please”…Love it!  Now I realize not everyone has kids so maybe this prospect is not as exciting for you as it is for me so let me know what your fantasy drive-thru service would be.  Keep it clean gentlemen!! 

You could be forgiven for thinking that baby names like “Apple” and “Sunday” are common these days . . . but really, only celebrities with no sense of reality give their kids stupid names.  Maybe now that the Brangelina twins have arrived, Vivienne and Knox will become the new hot baby names.  Not too out there eh??

–And even though most parents give their babies pretty ordinary names . . . the top baby names of today look nothing like the top baby names of 1950.  Check this out and then add your favorite baby names to my list.  ps..our son is Roman Michael so I’m partial.  Tell me your kids names!

–In 1950, the top ten baby names for boys and girls according to the Social Security Administration were . . .
#10.)  Gary and Kathleen.
#9.)  Charles and Carol.
#8.)  Thomas and Sandra.
#7.)  Richard and Deborah.
#6.)  William and Nancy.
#5.)  David and Susan.
#4.)  Michael and Barbara.
#3.)  John and Patricia.
#2.)  Robert and Mary.
#1.)  James and L

–You still hear those names often today . . . but here are the names you probably hear the most, according to this list of the top 10 baby names from 2007 . . .

#10.)  Andrew and Elizabeth.
#9.)  Matthew and Hannah.
#8.)  William and Abigail.
#7.)  Anthony and Olivia.
#6.)  Christopher and Sophia.
#5.)  Daniel and Madison.  (–The name Madison become a really common female name after the movie “Splash” came out in 1984.  In the movie, DARYL HANNAH took the name Madison after seeing it on a street sign in New York City.)
#4.)  Joshua and Ava.
#3.)  Ethan and Emma.
#2.)  Michael and Isabella.
#1.)  Jacob and Emily.  (Yahoo! News)

(–And get this . . . names are so diverse today that the top 10 boy and girl names only account for ONE-TENTH of all baby names.  That means there probably ARE a lot of kids running around with the names “Apple” and “Sunday”.)