Just a little bit of fun...

...with "Photo Booth"

Did you know...

...that Godiva chocolates is owned by the Campbell Soup Co. ? I thought my last truffle tasted a bit...tomatoey....

Amelia and I trekked out to the mall one day last week, partly because I had some shopping to do but mostly because it was too cold and rainy to do our routine outdoor activities, and we both needed a change of scenery!

Our first stop? The mall's indoor PLAYGROUND! Because we got there a little early (15 minutes before all the stores opened) we were the first and only ones there, so for a few minutes, Amelia had the place to herself. I took advantage of the opportunity to get some pictures. =D


Amelia LOVES cars! She spent about 15 minutes crawling around, climbing up and down, and playing on this one.



You can't really see them in this picture, but there are three big slides on this "airplane." It's definitely a favorite!

Amelia attempts to climb up one of the airplane slides -- it's no small feat in socks!


~posted by Ang

Just a few laughs

Hopes this doesn't violate any copyright laws....

Our Little Bumblebee

Our church does a "Trunk or Treat" every year on Halloween --a sort of fall festival for families. Though we don't celebrate Halloween, we enjoy participating in the Trunk or Treat and, this year, dressing Amelia up as a little bumblebee. :-) She had such a fun time (mostly because she was outside where she could really spot the airplanes!). This year there were circus swings, which Mia was very excited about! The swing looked a little big for her, but she rode in it like a champ and loved it!

The "10-Second Rule"

I think the 10-second rule should be extended to 15 seconds for a piece of fruit. Surely something in fruit is so healthy as to counteract any dirt on the ground.

And definitely it should be 30 seconds for chocolate. Very few things can keep chocolate from being good for you.

I like...

popcorn and Counting Crows, especially on a rainy day when I'm reviewing lots and lots of documents.

The long 'waited pics

Here they are. Sorry, but some you'll have to rotate on your own. =) Obviously, not all of these are from the beach, but I think you'll enjoy them just the same. And yes, she's getting cuter every day (and very polite - her "Thank you" is almost flawless!).

Daily Pic - 10-23-07

Wanna trade Lunchables??

Today I feel like an 8-year-old. My lunch consisted of: pizza, applesauce, and pop-tarts. The only thing that's changed is I'm drinking coffee....

[and yes, impatient little sister, I will post pictures. Soon....Maybe...]

Shirts vs Skins

JC in KC asked for a report on the (used-to-be) red hot Redskins.

1) This request coming from KC where LJ couldn't spell first down before this week. Nonetheless...

2) I'm impressed with Jason Campbell, and I think he will lead this team for a number of years.

3) Defense seems to have stepped up back to their 2005 form. Solid.

4) Turnovers killed us this week - end score could have been a lot worse (Crosby hit the upright from ~30 yards? Yikes!)

5) Playcalling is still questionable - who's really making the calls? Gibbs (Mr. I'm-stuck-in-1992) ? Or Saunders (Mr. I paired down my playbook from 750 pages to 50 manageble pages - oh, and I'm a genius, too). Local sports radio junkies are wondering why they signal to Campbell from the sidelines instead of using the radio direct from Saunders. Hmmmm....

6) 3-2 isn't bad for a team that was 5-11 last year. But we still have to play the Cowboys twice, and at New England.

I predict the Skins will go 6-5 the rest of the season, for a 9-7 record. Should be enough to get into the playoffs, with a first round victory over Carolina, and a second-round loss to Green Bay (just for Mike's sake, I think Green Bay makes the Super Bowl and gets bowled-over by New England, 38-17).

Big Shout

My car battery died on Tuesday. (sounds of sympathy from the peanut gallery)

No big deal, thought Mr. Self-Sufficient. I'll save a few bucks, buy the battery from Costco, and replace it myself. Besides, my faithful dad had given me clear and helpful instructions to protect me from zapping myself.

Negative wires - off. Yes, half-way there!

Positive wires - twist, turn, yank, pull, douse with WD-40, cover with Dr. Pepper, lather in Baking Soda, twist, pull, hammer, mangle the head of the bolt, mumble curses under my breath, give up.

Not to be deterred from victory, I come back the next night to try again. Another hour later, I'm still in the same spot. Although this time, I was so desperate that I cut the sheathing off the contacts, in hopes that it would help.

Then comes Saturday - we have friends from TN in town, and I ask the guy to help me out. We twist, turn, yank, pull. He has a dislocated shoulder, but that doesn't stop him from putting his might into it. Lo and behold, his dueling channel locks manage to yank the wires and the entire terminal out of the old battery. Meaning: the battery is free, but we still have to get the bolt out of the terminal.

Solution - sheer destruction. Hammer and flat-head screwdriver - chip away at the metal which has melted together and prevents any loosening of the bolt. Humans: 1, Vehicle: 0 !!

In goes new battery, crank 'er up, and better than new. Lesson learned? Let Auto Zone replace your battery for free.

Fast Food

Heard on the radio - when asked if he ever stopped at McDonald's or other fast-food, and what his thoughts were about it, Wolfgang Puck replied: "I'm never that hungry."

Unfortunately, some of us don't have the time (or patience) to be so discriminating in our choice of meals.

In the past month...

...ok, it's been over a month, so here's a rundown:

1) We took our yearly family vacation to Tybee Island (Savannah, GA) with the Davis family. Two years ago, there were no great-grandkids. Last year, there were three. This year: FIVE (thanks to the dynamic duo, Super Stephan and Mighty Marcus). As it happens with little ones around, it was sometimes more stressful than relaxing, but we enjoyed the water, the views, the walks, and the family. Mia traveled well, making the ~12 hour trip in one day, each way. Good for her!

2) We painted our living room, and partly up the stairwell to the third floor. Partly in that it's very tall and we didn't have time to finish. I have no motivation now - that's not good.

3) Work has definitely kicked back into gear, with Board meetings, more tasks, and lots of changes (and it's an election year, so the politicking is undeniable).

4) Mia has grown more and more - 2 inches, in fact, in the last 3 months. She's saying a number of words, signing a LOT of words, giving the sweetest smiles and kisses, and becoming much more independent. She loves the outside and takes Mommy on walks to the playground almost every day.

5) We're on a short vacation to Richmond. I have a conference tomorrow and Tuesday, and the girls decided to join me. We've done some exploring, retracing old steps, and now the little one is napping. We're sitting in a little corner alcove down the hall from our room, and thankfully there's free wireless internet (to keep up with Fantasy Football). Which leads to #...

6) ...the Redskins are 2-0 !!?? People questioned the signing of Jason Campbell when the 'Skins had two "viable" QBs. People questioned his ability, said he hadn't done all that well at Auburn throughout his career (although his last year was amazing) - I always thought he had potential. He's still learning the ropes, but he has poise, strength, and a HUGE arm. If you can overthrow Santana Moss 50 yards down field, you have a strong arm. Quite a change from our 35 year-old Brunell who couldn't hit 25 yards consistently.

So that's life in a nutshell. I'm sure pictures will be forthcoming, but in a few days.

S-C-R-A-B-B-L-E

Scrabble word of the day:



[It was worth 86 points!]

Summer Pics

It is HER car, after all....

It's never a good thing when you receive a call from an unknown area code and it's your wife on the phone saying, "Everything is ok, but...."

[5 minutes earlier]

Ang and Mia were enjoying a nice day on the town, doing some midday shopping. Ang put Mia in the car seat, and Mia had been such a wonderful shopper that when she asked for the "keese," Ang was more than happy to oblige.

[3 days earlier]

Mia was playing in the basement and found Ang's keys in her purse. She picked them up, found the new Pilot key, and started hitting buttons. Imagine her surprise when after a couple of button pushes, the horn honked. And again. And again. She really liked it.

[Back to 5 minutes earlier]

Mia quickly found that same button and excitedly pushed it. Twice. The horn honked (oh boy!). Oh no. It would have been fine, but Mom (Ang) was not in the car with Mia. Nor had Mom left any doors open. She was getting the stroller to put in the trunk (what do you call the back of an SUV?). Surely, it must have been another car. Oh no. It surely was our adorable little genius of a girl.

[Quick meteorological interlude]

After some sweltering days last week, it has cooled off nicely and today was overcast and 75ish. Thankfully.

[Back to "present"]

I jump in the car at work, call AAA, call the Sheriff's Office (AAA suggested it), and head down the road. I'm about 20 minutes away. AAA says it will be an hour (ugh!). Sheriff's Office says they don't carry slim-jims anymore, but in cases of emergency could break the window (hope this isn't an emergency).

Mia, now, is just having a blast. Playing, and happily strapped in her car seat. Ang tries to get her to press "the other button," which she does lightly, but not enough to open the doors.

Then, the fire truck shows up. Drives around, finally finds Ang, who incredulously asks, "Are you here for ME???" (As a matter of fact, yes.) And while they only had a minute or two to try to slim-jim the door open (so maybe they do carry them still), I drove up, clicked the clicker before I even got out of the car, and 30 seconds later the fire truck was gone, ambulance left, and deputy could go back to fighting crime.

And our sweet li'l Mia was just as happy as could be. Who needs OnStar - I am my own OnStar!!!

Barry Bonds

So my sis asked about my thoughts on Barry Bonds. Here's a quick rundown:

1) Did Barry use performance enhancing drugs? Yes
2) Did it help him hit more home runs? Yes
3) Does it negate the amazing feat? No
4) Is Bud Selig a doofball? Yes

Here's my thought. I think Bud realizes that baseball didn't do enough to prevent the use of performance enhancing drugs. Should they have? Maybe, maybe not. Surely the McGwire/Sosa home run race brought baseball back from the dead zone. And there was no condemnation of their efforts, or attempts to curb steroid use after their historic years.

So all in all, I think Bud feels a twinge of guilt. He realizes that he could have stepped up. He could have instituted better drug testing, made earlier attempts to set harsh fines for drug use (as he's done now). But instead, he sat on his laurels (is that the phrase??) and it's now turned into a huge controversy.

Asterisks. Speculation. Air of suspicion.

Thanks, Bud.

Mia's new toy ... er... safety device =)

Morning Time with Mia