of course my little sister was the first one to cruise in with the answers to yesterday's Use Your Toboggan (UYT - which answers btw were monkey business, hit the road, smarty pants, puppy love, and hold your horses).  of course she was.  why wouldn't she?  she is the best.  well done HNN.  today's was lame, but here's one from a few days ago that was entertaining:

also you know when you're looking to make a big change (like say, moving, for example) and it's pretty much a done deal but you're still always looking for little signs to confirm that it's all gonna work out perfectly?  little signs like the person you hope to move in with posting (and raving about) your favorite movie trailer since 'i heart huckabees' on their blog, without the two of you ever even discussing it?  oh yeah.  it's all coming together.

over christmas i spent a few days with the family at a little ski resort in maryland called wisp.  the snow was crap, but skiing with my brother and tubing with the rats n' weenies were both very nice.  runner-up for the best moment of the week came on a particular ski run that passed right by the house we stayed in.  (it was fantastic - when we got tired, we just stopped in the middle of the run, took of our skis, and walked into the backyard.)  anyways, so it's the morning of our last day there, my brother and i are skiing, and my sisters and their families are just about to leave.  so my bro and i come cruising down this run to say goodbye, and there, lined up on the side of the slope, is the whole fam, yelling and cheering for us.  fantastic.  turns out everything is better with a cheering squad.  too bad only lame football and basketball players get them.  like they need the ego boost.  we swim team kids sure could have used some of that support.  we're the ones who had to walk around in speedos for pete's sake.

anyway, the winner for best moment of the week came the night before during the greatest game of cranium, probably in the history of the game.  my little sister and i were on a team, and due to some really unfortunate dice rolling and a few weak cameo performances, we trailed the whole game.  but as the other teams got lazy and insisted upon picking star performer cards, they kept drawing club craniums, which my sister and i just kept winning.  long story shorter, we ended up in the middle with one other team, and it came down to this typically obscure data head question:

What did Dr. Samuel Johnson call "a triumph of hope over experience"?

1. the publication of his dictionary
2. his journey to Scotland
3. marrying a second time
4. his terminally ill son's miraculous recovery

i was clueless.  but my little sister, without batting an eye, announced the answer was 'c', citing the fact that 'marrying a second time was such a "cranium" answer'.  which of course it was, thus wrapping up the greatest comeback in cranium history.  (incidentally that data head card is now in my wallet.  it comes with me everywhere i go.)

for my birthday this year, my little sister gave me the '365 days of cranium' calendar, which provides a new cranium activity everyday.  (she says it was to commemorate the victory.  i think she just wants to keep me in shape for inevitable XMAS'09 rematch.)  but then she got jealous, and started IMing me to know what the clue for the day was.  so here's what i'm gonna do.  everyday there is a fun creative clue, i'll put it up on the blog.  first person to put the right answer in the comments gets a shoutout when i post the answer, and a smidgeon of my respect.  here's the first one.  enjoy.  -d