Renee Stelle

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Mocha Cappuccino

2010-02-07T17:27:00.010-05:00

She probably doesn't remember this, but years ago my sister Karen introduced me to the Mocha Cappuccino drink by Bolthouse Farms. I absolutely love it! They make fruity drinks too, but the mocha is my favorite by far. I usually buy it at Wal-Mart but it's available at other grocery stores too. It does not have a strong coffee taste (which is good because I only like sweetened coffee drinks)...it actually seems more like creamy chocolate milk. It's so smooth going down!

It has no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors, no gluten and no genetically modified ingredients. It provides 18 Amino Acids which are essential building blocks required to grow, repair and maintain your body. SOME of the nutritional info is as follows:

Per 8 oz serving:
10g protein
150% Vitamin C
150% Vitamin B12
150% Vitamin B6
45% Calcium
20% Vitamin D
20% Magnesium
20% Zinc
10% Iron
8% Vitamin A

The label on the bottle says "Our Perfectly Protein Mocha Cappuccino is a smooth blend of 100% Arabica coffee and low-fat milk. We then add premium cocoa and a touch of Madagascar vanilla extract to round out the flavors." Now doesn't that sound delicious?

Best Sno Cone

2009-07-26T17:48:00.008-04:00

On our way back to Tulsa from Colorado, we stopped in Norman, OK and spent the weekend visiting my brother Greg and his wife Chelsea. They took us to an Eskimo Sno stand which was right down the street from them. I got a Strawberry Chocolate sno cone and Craig got a Margarita Swirl sno cone. I wasn't sure if I'd like the chocolate part of mine but it was very delicious (the thin chocolate syrup tasted a lot like the thicker Hershey's chocolate syrup). The next day, we stopped and got a large Margarita Swirl sno cone to split. It was sooooo good--it had fresh squeezed lime juice on top and was served with a sour straw. I'd say it was the best sno cone I've ever had!

Boy, oh boy I wish I had an Eskimo Sno just down the street from us in Florida! You think they'd have plenty of sno cone stands in town since the weather is warm most of the year but I have never seen one. They had some in Tulsa, for crying out loud.

Face Mask

2009-07-03T19:48:00.002-04:00

I finally went and bought a face mask so I could limit my sneezing when I dust the house. It's not fun to wear but it works and is better than sneezing literally 50 times, blowing my nose half that much and feeling miserable for the rest of the day.

Knitting Project - Hat

2009-06-05T17:55:00.006-04:00

I finished another knitting project! The pattern was called "Awesome Toboggan (Worsted)" and I chose the option for the turn-up brim. I got the pattern from my friend Rebecca who took the class last summer (I had to miss that class because I was out of town). There weren't any stitches in the pattern that were new to me so it was a pretty simple project. I used circular needles for most of it and then double pointed needles to gradually close it off at the top. The yarn I used is 100% Baby Llama from Peru because it's so soft. It is hand wash or dry clean only.

Hat with brim turned up:

Alisa loves her new hat. She wore it much of the day (indoors, because it's hot outside). She can maybe wear it in the evenings in Colorado this summer, but other than that we will have to put it away for fall/winter. It fits her and there is plenty of room for her to grow in it. Hooray!

Open Windows and Doors

2009-04-25T14:13:00.006-04:00

I love this time of year because we don't need the heater or air conditioner. We stopped using the heat in February when we left town for a month. And we haven't turned the air conditioner on yet. In the mornings and evenings, it's usually cool so we open the doors and windows and let the cool breeze blow through. That, plus the ceiling fans is all we've needed so far. There have been a couple of days here and there where it was pretty hot in here (especially the 3rd floor) as it was 85 degrees outside with no breeze, but we've survived. We'll see how much longer we can go like this. We may have to turn it on soon because Alisa's room (on the 3rd floor) gets really hot. We put a 2nd fan in there the other day but she still wakes up from naps with a sweaty head.

Women's Self Defense Class

2009-04-16T21:30:00.020-04:00

I took a free women's self defense class at Taekwondo USA tonight. It was fun, informative and empowering. The owner of the place talked to us for a bit about always observing our surroundings, having confidence and not being an easy target. Then he demonstrated some basic self defense moves for us to practice. We paired up and practiced them, holding a kick pad on our arm for our partner to use as a target. For our "graduation" we each got to break a board with our foot (the key is to not stop your kick at the board, but to keep kicking through the board). Pretty cool! We were also given a packet of coupons from local businesses and a discount on any Taekwondo class and uniform if we signed up that night.

He said most attacks on women are by someone they know. The statistics he gave us for the reasons a man attacks a woman are:

power 80%
anger 15%
situation 3%
kill 2%

I actually found them comforting because the 2 with the least % are the ones I've worried about the most. Also, once he explained that there are many ways we can make the man feel less powerful and not have control over us, he will be likely to give up and seek out an easier target...and therefore the 80% is greatly lowered. He showed us a great trick for getting a man to back away or get off of us. It is the throat poke where you drive your index finger and middle finger into the "valley" below the thorax and then downward. This restricts his breathing and puts you in control.

He also mentioned that car doors that are locked crush differently than doors that are not locked. It is safer and less damaging to you to have your car door locked when in an accident. I had always thought it would be better to have it unlocked so it could be opened more easily after an accident. And, of course, it is also safer to have your door locked so a pedestrian can't open the door and hop in your car.

Baggallini

2009-03-19T23:26:00.010-04:00

I found these great products at a bookstore. One is a phone case with a pocket for money and your ID and the other is a bag that folds back into its own pouch.

Here are the specifics of each:

Flip Phone Case:
*light weight, water resistant nylon
*wear it over your shoulder, around your waist or clip it to another bag
*zippered compartment for credit cards, ID, money, keys and lipstick
*belt clip, 3" strap and detachable, adjustable 52" strap
*3" x 4.5" x 2"
*weighs 4 ounces

Bag:
*made of lightweight, durable, water-resistant 70D ripstop nylon with PVC backing for extra durability
*easily folds back into its own 5 1/2" x 4 1/2" pouch
*zips open to a 15"T x 18"W x 6"D shopping bag with zippered top
*weighs 8 oz

The Baggallini was the perfect bag for taking on the airplane. When our luggage was 2 pounds overweight, I pulled it out and stuffed some stuff in it to avoid the crazy $150 overweight charge.

Deer

2009-03-17T09:17:00.003-04:00

I was getting a wet rag to wash Alisa's face after breakfast when I saw deer out the back window of my sister's house in Oregon where we've been visiting for nearly a month. She lives in an awesome neighboorhood with lots of trees and common green spaces between houses where anyone can walk or play. I called to those who were awake in the house--Alisa, my nephews Michael and Daniel and my mom (who just arrived last night for a visit)--to come see the deer. More and more deer entered my view--I think there were 6 or 7 in all. They slowly made their way down the common area behind my sister's house as we took pictures of them with my mom's camera. I didn't get any pictures with my camera because the battery was being charged and I figured by the time I retrieved it, the deer would be gone and I would have missed seeing them so long.

Dirty Dog

2009-02-15T13:45:00.000-05:00

Our dog LOVES to run outside and splash in the creek behind our house. We hose her off and dry her with a towel before letting her come back in the house but apparently she's still pretty dirty. Here is a dirty spot on the wall from her frequently rubbing her back on it to scratch herself. There is a spot like this on each landing of our staircase and here at the bottom of the stairs outside our bedroom--ew! Lucky for us, it wipes off easily.

Stain Remover

2009-02-08T01:07:00.007-05:00

I accidentally sat on plate of hot Bagel Bites a few days ago. I had set it in my office chair upstairs and put my drink on the desk in what little open space there was (reason I couldn't put the plate on the desk). I turned to move something from my desk and was then distracted by Alisa who came into the room. It was then that I sat on the plate. Oh nooooooo!

I immediately took off my pants and wiped off the cheese and sauce on the butt and upper leg areas. I put Shout Ultra Gel on the stain and washed them. That Shout has worked for nearly all other stains our clothes have had over the years but it didn't work on these (the circular grease spots were still there). I read online that spraying WD-40 on a stain and then rubbing Dawn dishwashing liquid on top of that and then washing as usual would work. I tried that but it didn't work. It seemed to rearrange the stain--some spots were gone but others appeared and others were larger.

So then I bought OxiClean Max Force today and sprayed it on the stain and washed the pants again. It completely removed the stain! I am SO relieved because the pants are fairly new and are my favorite (comfy exercise pants). To show you how distraught I was after the first two stain removal attempts didn't work, I went to Kohl's to see if they were still selling the pants so I could buy another pair (they were not). Thank God for OxiClean! Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the process.

New Cell Phone Battery

2009-02-04T12:32:00.001-05:00

I am so glad to have a new cell phone battery! For the past couple of months, I've had to leave my phone plugged into the charger 24/7 because the power would drain so quickly. When I unplugged it, the battery would show full power but after talking for just 5 minutes, it would die and turn off my phone. So frustrating! Then if I turned it back on, it would show maybe 50% power. I had to plug it in to make a call though.

I bought a new extended-life battery on eBay and I am loving it. I can go days and days without charging my phone now. The battery is bulkier than the original regular one, but it's totally worth it. It still fits in my various cell phone pockets on purses and wrist wallets...it's just a tighter fit.

Here it is with the new battery bulging out the back:

It's quite nice now because the bulky battery protects the camera lense from getting scratched because now it never touches the table or whatever it is laid on:

Sickness Took a New Turn

2009-01-28T12:25:00.002-05:00

Turns out that my sickness is lasting longer than 24 hours like I initially thought, but it's taken a new turn (no more puking, thank God). I sneezed a ba-jillion times yesterday and then had super runny nose. It's been runny and stuffy off and on ever since. At least my snot has been thin and clear instead of thick and greenish yellow.

Pukin' Sick

2009-01-26T18:05:00.009-05:00

I woke up nauseated at 5 AM yesterday. A little while later, I emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet and then felt much better, though shaky. I went back to bed but didn't really fall asleep because then I felt nauseated again half an hour later. I heaved again into the toilet several times but there was not much that came out (painful!). The cycle was repeated one more time and then I went back to bed and actually slept a few hours this time. Craig ended up moving upstairs to sleep in the guest bed in Alisa's room so he wouldn't catch what I had since he would be on baby duty the next day.

I was starving in the morning but didn't want to go upstairs because Alisa would see me and cry to be held by me (she really favors me in the morning). Craig came downstairs soon to check on me and I asked him to bring me some toast, crackers and juice. He brought me 2 pieces of buttered toast, various crackers and apple juice and said Alisa had a fever. It seems that we both caught something at the Zoinks Kidstation the previous day. I prayed that she wouldn't throw up like I had been.

I ate one piece of toast very slowly. A little while later it all came up into the toilet. Ugh. I spent the next couple of hours trying to sleep. I could only manage to sleep half an hour at a time. Each time I woke up, I could hear Craig and Alisa making noises upstairs (Craig asking Alisa what she wanted to eat, Alisa crying or playing, the floor creaking from them walking, etc). I read a book for a little while while eating some Saltines and graham crackers and drinking apple juice for lunch. They stayed down for quite awhile but then some of them came up. Dang.

I went upstairs for a bit when Alisa was napping and then went back downstairs to sleep before she woke up. I got a good hour or more of sleep in the armchair in the fish tank room--the noise from the tanks is so peaceful. I hadn't seen Alisa all day so I went back upstairs again after Craig tried to get her to eat dinner. She was happy to see me and asked me to read her a book right away. We read and snuggled for awhile and then I had Ramen noodles for dinner. We snuggled some more and she kept wanting me to carry her into the kitchen. I kept asking her what she wanted and she couldn't tell me but cried if I tried to leave the kitchen. She didn't want anything to eat. Eventually, I had to go sit down in the living room because I was weak. A little while later, it was time for Alisa to get ready for bed. I was going to do it but then felt nauseated again so I called for Craig to help with her while I rushed to the bathroom. Some of my dinner came up, but not all of it. At least I was keeping some food down.

Craig put Alisa to bed and then we watched some shows we had TIVO'd. It helped take my mind off my nausea (except the part of "My Name is Earl" when Earl and Randy started puking in the box they were mailing themselves in!). Alisa woke up crying around 10 PM so Craig went to comfort her and ended up bringing her downstairs. She sat on my lap while we finished watching a show. She was so hot that it made me feel more nauseated so I set her on a pillow next to me and just put my arm around her. It was then 11 PM and I was ready for bed. Craig took Alisa upstairs and let her sleep in the guest bed with him. He didn't want to catch what I had and he wanted to be near her if she woke up again.

We all slept all night and I felt so much better in the morning. I took a shower and felt so refreshed. Alisa still had a fever but wasn't as hot and she was more playful and talkative. I've been able to keep all my food down today, though I haven't been able to eat much. I'm being careful with what I eat. I'm so glad it lasted less than 24 hours. I weighed 3 lbs less after the ordeal (no complaints there, though I'm sure it will pop back on me in no time as it wasn't fat loss). My stomach and chest is sore from 8 or 9 rounds of forceful heaving! I hate being sick! I know it could have been worse, but it was still no fun.

It's crazy how I'm always sick just on the weekends. I very rarely have missed work for an illness--I just miss all the weekend fun. It's a good thing I felt better today though because it was a busy work day. And our internet went down around lunch time so I had to go to Starbucks to use their internet. I couldn't have done that if I was still sick.

I'm Teething Too!

2009-01-20T18:26:00.001-05:00

It's strange to be teething at the same time as my 1-year-old daughter, but it's true. One of my wisdom teeth is coming in (top left). When I was a child, my teeth came in late so it's not surprising that my wisdom tooth is coming in so late. Since my baby teeth came in late, they also fell out late. The dentist had to remove a couple of the brackets from my braces when I was about 12 so the baby teeth could come out (several were pulled)...and then he put them on the permanent teeth once they were all the way in. I had braces for a long time (more than 4 years) because I got them when I was in 5th grade and still had a few baby teeth.

Anyway, I don't remember if the dentist said I had more wisdom teeth hidden away or not based on my x-rays years ago (seems like there might have been just 2). I sure hope it doesn't cause problems and have to be removed. Seems like it would cause my top teeth to shift and undo the straightening achieved by the braces. Craig has all 4 wisdom teeth in and they have been fine thus far and don't need to be removed, so that gives me hope that mine won't have to be pulled.

Nativity

2009-01-12T00:07:00.006-05:00

We have finally acquired all the pieces to our Demdaco Willow Tree Nativity. It has taken years because we only got one group of pieces per year since they were kinda expensive.

The figures and creche in this picture were sold as 5 different sets:

Creche (1 piece)
Main Set (6 pieces)
Shepherd and Stable Animals (4 pieces)
The Three Wisemen (3 pieces)
Ox and Goat (2 pieces)

Knitting Project - Lacy Neck Cowl

2009-01-11T13:19:00.008-05:00

I finished knitting the Fells Point Cowl, my 4th knitting project. I took a 2-session class for it with my friend Rebecca. The only new stitch I learned was how to do "yarn overs", which are really easy. The cowl is made with 85 yards of Mission Falls 1824 Wool (100% merino superwash) so it's machine washable.

I think I'll wear it more often than my scarf because I've never liked all the excess material on scarves that needs to be tucked in my coat or pushed out of the way (especially when playing in the snow). The neck cowl can be pulled up to cover the nose too (something I frequently need to do in cold weather because my nose starts running if it gets just a little bit cold).

I think I will knit a hooded neck cowl sometime...one that can be pulled up to cover my head and ears when I wish for extra warmth. I can use the same pattern for it, I just have to triple the amount of yarn.

Knitting Project - Chunky Socks

2009-01-11T13:02:00.005-05:00

I finished knitting 1 of 2 socks, my 3rd knitting project. I had to take a break because I got involved in a class for another knitting project. I know I shouldn't wait too long to knit the 2nd sock though because it could end up being a different size (as my knitting style could change). I took a 3-session class with my friends Rebecca and Amy to learn how to do this. I learned how to knit on double-pointed needles (challenging!) and I learned how to do Kitchener Stitch (to close it up at the toes). Knitting with 4 double-pointed needles is challenging for me. I'm sure once I get more experience it won't be so bad. But boy, did I struggle through the 1st sock!

Here is my Slouchy Slipper Sock (made to be worn around the house, without shoes), made from Araucania Yarns lamb's wool (hand dyed in Chile). It can be dry cleaned or hand washed in cool water.

Keeping Up With The Dishes

2009-01-10T22:03:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it. Ever since Christmas I've been keeping up with the dishes every day. That is, I'm not leaving a pile of dishes in the sink overnight (or longer) to wash by hand later (usually days later). I've been washing them each day so it never gets to be a huge overwhelming pile. Hopefully I can keep this going for a long time! I've always been good about loading dirty dishes in the dishwasher right away, but I've been bad about the ones that can't go in the dishwasher.

Random Free Drinks

2009-01-03T14:42:00.010-05:00

Whenever I hang out at the Starbucks near my house for more than an hour, they happen to offer a free drink at the bar to the first person who goes up to get it. It's always some blended drink that is messed up (meaning, not exactly as the customer ordered so it had to be remade) or just an extra somehow. The first time it was something really tasty but I didn't really consider taking it because I had just finished my drink and was really watching my caloric intake that month. Today, they offered 2 of the same drink and I heard a guy by the bar ask another lady that was standing there if she wanted it. She said no so he said he'd just have to take both home with him. I thought that was a bit selfish since he didn't give anyone else a chance to take it (like me--because I would have taken it this time since I finished my drink hours ago!). I do give him points for at least asking one person though.

Anyway, then the guy spills his water all over the bar and the floor and shouts to an employee that the lid came off when he picked it up. Then he ran out with 3 drinks (the one he ordered and the 2 free ones...he didn't wait for a replacement water and he didn't even pick up the cup that spilled). One of the employees complained to another employee about how he just ran off and didn't even offer to help clean up.

Maybe some day I will be the lucky one to get the free drink. It's a good way to try some drink that I wouldn't normally think of ordering. I hope the guy had someone else waiting at home to give the extra drinks to because if not, then he really shouldn't have taken both of them.

New Pizza Stone

2008-12-26T21:02:00.006-05:00

I love pizza stones! I bake everything on them (mostly pizza, chicken, french fries, garlic bread, rolls, "pigs in a blanket", cookies and brownie pizza) and nothing ever sticks. Cookies are SO much better when baked on stoneware! The first stone I bought (about 8 years ago) broke when Craig dumped frozen fries on it--it shattered because the stone was hot, as it sat on a hot stovetop (accident). My Pampered Chef consultant at the time replaced the stone for free but it took a couple of weeks to get the new one. It was hard to go even that long without a stone so I decided we should have a backup one in case one breaks again. So....

I recently got a 2nd pizza stone from Pampered Chef. The new one is on the left and the old one is on the right. As you stone lovers know, the old one is WELL seasoned (that's why it's so dark) and something to be envied:

I bought the new one because Pampered Chef was having a 25% off sale on stoneware and the new one has handles:

1/2 Stick of Butter

2008-12-25T16:29:00.007-05:00

I just discovered that Land O Lakes now sells butter wrapped in 4 Tbsp portions. I didn't realize that is what I was buying--I only noticed it when I opened the box at home to bake bread. This is perfect because I often only use half a stick of butter/margarine at a time and the cut end needs to be wrapped or it will start to darken and change. So this saves me the step of wrapping the exposed end. I don't normally buy Land O Lakes but I might do so from now on.

Jacksonville

2008-12-18T19:51:00.009-05:00

My parents flew in from Tulsa, OK to visit us this past week. We picked them up at the airport in Jacksonville on Saturday. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive that we were willing to make because they could only visit us if they flew to there because it was such a great rate. They had talked about visiting for Thanksgiving, but couldn't find a flight at the advertised low rate (they were sold out by the time they looked) so we were very sad. But then we were thrilled when they called in December and said the great rates were being offered again and that they wanted to come before Christmas.

We got to the airport a little early and noticed that they had a courtesy waiting lot where you could park and wait. It was great because then you didn't have to go into the regular lot and be charged by the hour. I've never seen a courtesy lot before and I thought it was so nice of them to do that! The only catch was that you had to stay with your car, which was really no problem at all. It was cold and windy and Craig didn't want to get out so he sat in the back with Alisa while I got out and stretched my legs for 10 minutes.

We had a good time with my parents and Alisa got over her fear of Grandad (she was afraid of him when we visited them in August). She sat on his lap and gave him hugs. He was thrilled! We picked out and decorated our Christmas tree and celebrated Christmas early with them. Alisa loved the gifts they gave her, especially the shopping cart and fake food!

Craig stayed home with Alisa today while I took my parents back to the airport. After I dropped them off it was 10 AM so I went to Starbucks (free wi-fi) and did some work on my laptop. When I had finished all my outstanding tickets, I drove 20-30 minutes to the beach. It was a gorgeous 78-degree day and people were on the beach in bikinis. Some were surfing in wetsuits. I walked on the sand for a bit and took some pictures. Then I went shopping and ate a snack at One Hot Cookie. I had been looking forward to eating there for over a year. I love cookies and ice cream and that place provides both. And even better, the cookies are baked to order so they are hot! I went to another Starbucks next, did some more work and then drove home.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T21:04:00.015-05:00

It was just the 3 of us again for Thanksgiving. I cooked a turkey (my 2nd one ever), green bean casserole, marshmallow sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, crescent rolls and opened a can of jellied cranberry sauce. I bought a 10-lb turkey and thawed it in the fridge 2 days ahead of time, however it needed a little more thawing so I put it in the sink with cold water for an hour or two. Awhile after I filled the left side of the sink with water, I heard dripping and discovered that it was leaking. There was water all under the sink. I immediately drained the sink and filled the right side to put the turkey there. Then I took everything out from under the sink, soaked up all the water with an old towel and but a large bowl under the dripping pipe. It turns out it was dripping from right up under the sink where the grout or whatever holds in the silver drain part in. We don't need to get it fixed right away, as long as we don't fill that side with water. I left a little bowl under there to catch any little drips so I won't have another puddle to clean up.

Anyway, other than that water disaster, the cooking went well and I wasn't stressed about the timing of everything like I was last year. Craig and Alisa slept in past 9:30 AM and I got a lot done while they were sleeping. Alisa had a fever, which we think was from teething, though she was also getting over a cold. She only wanted to eat mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving and yesterday, but she enjoyed all the leftovers today.

Cuddling with Minga:

For days, I had been sneezing whenever I sat in my usual spot on the couch so we decided to pull everything out from behind the couch (photo boxes, folding chairs, tub of blankets, etc) and clean the area really well. During the cleaning, Alisa enjoyed sitting on her extra carseat (the one we use when we fly somewhere) that was in its backpack style carrying case. She wasn't sitting in it the proper way though, because it fell on its back as she climbed on it. (She insisted on wearing her purple Crocs in the house--she loves them!).

Alisa talking to her sheep named Baa Baa:

Carrying Baa Baa while wearing my sheep slippers:

It was so nice to have 2 days off from work, making it a 4-day weekend! I always plan to do major cleaning projects around the house on long weekends, and though I rarely get them done, I'm always so hopeful at the beginning of the weekend. Hey, at least this weekend, I cleaned behind the couch!

On Friday night, I hosted the Movie Club, which is a bi-monthly event with the moms group I help organize. I declared it a pajama night too, so everyone wore their pajamas. Unfortunately, it was raining, so some moms' slippers got wet walking down our driveway. Well, we all had a good time anyway and thoroughly enjoyed the snacks we all brought.

Making Progress

2008-11-20T17:05:00.015-05:00

I have completed my 4 training sessions with my personal trainer. They were all challenging and left some part of me sort for 2-3 days. Some parts were so challenging that I could not do a simple bicep curl unless I took a quick break because my muscles were fatigued from the series of lifts she had me doing. I laughed when that happened because it was only 8 lbs and so unexpected. Another time that I laughed was when I had only 5 reps of a ab/core exercise left but I just could not sit up until I took a quick break. The worst exercise was the wall sit because it burned SO BAD! She had me sit/squat with a large exercise ball behind my back against the wall for 10 seconds and stand up for 5 seconds, then sit/squat for 20 seconds and stand up for 10 seconds, then sit/squat for 30 seconds and stand up for 15 seconds, then sit/squat for 20 seconds and stand up for 10 seconds, then sit/squat for 10 seconds and stand up for 5 seconds AND THEN REPEAT THE WHOLE THING 3 TIMES (with a different leg exercise in between each set)!!!

As soon as I got home after each training session, I wrote down everything I did so I could remember and do it again on my own. I now have 5 45-minute weight training routines I can do (includes the original circuit training session). My eating habits have improved each week. The 1st week, I ate an average of 134 calories per day above the 1500 limit. The 2nd week, I ate an average of 100 calories per day above the 1500 limit. The 3rd week, I ate an average of 96 calories per day UNDER the 1500 limit. The 4th week, I ate an average of 17 calories per day UNDER the 1500 limit (went to the fair and several events with food this week so that was good considering all the yummy temptations). I have lost the anticipated 1 lb per week since I've started. And that's with me only working out an average of 3 days per week. Hooray! I wanted to work out more than that but Alisa had a runny nose for 2 weeks so I couldn't drop her off in the kids' room (Craig was busy writing his dissertation and couldn't watch her) and things came up for work some days when I wanted to go when she was napping (when Craig could have watched her). Anyway, I'm very hopeful for this next month because I should be able to exercise more if I plan ahead better and go to bed earlier.

Under $2/gallon

2008-11-20T12:27:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to continue with gas price postings but I just had to do one more because gas is down to $1.97/gallon for regular unleaded! I don't remember seeing it for less than $2 in several years! I thought it was going to go back up again (as it always does) before it went below $2.

Giddyup N' Go Pony

2008-11-14T12:27:00.005-05:00

I saw a commercial for this Little Tykes Giddyup N' Go Pony today and looked it up online to find out more about it. The video on the Amazon page (click the link above) made me so happy I laughed (you gotta watch it). What a great toy, especially for a horse lover! I wish Alisa was old enough to ride it now!

Lowest Yet

2008-11-13T09:09:00.000-05:00

Gas is down to $2.05/gallon of regular unleaded. That is over 20 cents cheaper than it was when we moved here over 2 years ago!

The Price is Right

2008-11-10T12:00:00.001-05:00

I was flipping channels on the little TV attached to the treadmills at the gym when I came across The Price is Right. I haven't seen that show in years (I used to watch it all the time)...well, except I did see the last episode hosted by Bob Barker back in 2007 because I heard it was his last show.

I always liked watching this game show the best because even as a highschooler, I could play along by guessing prices and such and I enjoyed the variety of games. Back then, I never bought groceries or TVs or anything and therefore didn't pay attention to the prices when I was shopping with my mom. However, the more I watched the show, the better I got at guessing the prices and that felt good. Also, I didn't find any part of the show to be annoying (as I do with all other gameshows) and I really liked Bob Barker.

I didn't know Drew Carrey is the new host until today. He was funny in the episode I saw while working out. Watching the show brought back warm fuzzies and I actually became VERY excited (like I wanted to jump up and down...but just kept jogging instead) when a guy won over $20,000 playing Plinko. I rarely saw anyone win that much playing that game. I love it when the prizes fit the contestant...this one guy was in band on tour and he won little travel trailer. Good times.

Weather Can Affect Election Results

2008-11-04T12:16:00.007-05:00

I heard an interesting story on NPR Sunday about how the weather can affect a presidential election. Who would have thought?!

"A change in the weather really can change an election, according to Florida State University researcher Brad Gomez. Gomez tells host Andrea Seabrook about two presidential elections — in 1960 and 2000 — that might have turned out differently if the weather had shifted."

Click here to go to the NPR page where you can hear the audio clip (3 minutes 38 seconds).

Women's World

2008-10-29T18:22:00.006-04:00

I joined a gym 2 weeks ago because I heard on the radio that they were having a one-day special where you could join for $1 instead of the usual $99 or $199. I realized that I wasn't going to get back into exercising on my own because it's been over a year since Alisa was born and I hadn't done anything yet. I've been thinking about joining a women's gym for years so I didn't have to think twice about joining when I heard the special offer. I knew that the fact that I am now paying $49.99/month for a gym membership will motivate me to exercise, if only to get my money's worth.

Women's World is about 5 minutes from my house and they have free unlimited classes and childcare. It will certainly make it easier to exercise knowing that if Craig is busy, I can bring Alisa with me and drop her off in the awesome kids' room. They also make smoothies for $2-$3.50 so that's handy as you can get them with protein building or fat burning powder and even use them as a meal replacement. Most of the treadmills, ellipticals and stairmasters have little TVs attached so you can plug in some headphones and watch whatever while you exercise.

The day after I joined, I had my fitness assessment. I knew that I gained 10 pounds since Alisa was born (after having lost all the pregnancy gain by nursing), but I was horrified to hear that my BMI is 34% (last I had it checked was in college and it was 26%). My almost daily bowl of ice cream 2-3 hours before bedtime was a big contributor to this weight gain.

The next day I had the intro to circuit training (free with membership). I signed up for a month of personal training so my personal trainer was the one to show me how to use all the circuit training machines and what weight and number of reps to start with. She wrote it down on a log that I can use whenever I go there so I can easily keep track of what I do each time.

I'm most excited about attending the fitness classes. So far I've tried the Triple Twenty class, the Body Pump class and the Zumba class. I enjoyed and was challenged during all of them. The challenge during the Zumba class was more coordination than endurance. In case you don't know about Zumba (the newest rage), it's Latin-infused aerobic dancing. I have no dancing skills so I was very awkward during the class. However, nobody was paying attention to me so I wasn't too concerned. I will go again sometime because I enjoyed it and the music. It will just take time to learn the steps and become more comfortable shaking my hips and what not.

I had my first personal training session last week and boy was it tough! I enjoyed it though. My trainer showed me lots of moves with free weights that I had never seen before. A couple days later, I started the treadmill workout plan that my trainer developed. It's basically walking slow for 2 minutes, walking fast for 2 minutes, jogging for 2 minutes and then repeating each of the 3 for 3 minutes, then 4 minutes, then back down to 3 minutes and then 2 minutes (42 minutes total). As time goes on, I will be able to do each activity faster and will end up walking/jogging farther and burning more calories in the same amount of time. I'm supposed to do weight training every 3 days (to give my muscles time to repair in between workouts) and cardio 4-6 times per week (for at least 45 minutes each time) so that could be the treadmill workout or going to a class.

Anyway, everyone I've encountered at the gym has been really nice and helpful (staff and fellow exercisers). I like being there and that's a good sign. After all, my workouts wouldn't endure if I hated being at the gym.

I've been keeping a food log of all the foods (with portion sizes) I eat each day as recommended by my trainer. I haven't done a food log in years. It is kind of annoying but it is certainly eye opening to how many calories I take in. Also, just the fact that I have to write down everything I eat and knowing my trainer will see it, makes me think twice about whether or not I really want to eat that cookie or whatever. I won't have to do the log forever, just long enough to get a good idea on how to judge my caloric intake. To reach my goal weight of 135 lbs by spring (losing 1 lb/week), I need to consume 1200-1500 calories per day. On days that I exercise (burn 200+ calories) I can consume closer to 1500 calories. On days that I don't exercise, I should try to consume closer to 1200 calories. It is certainly an adjustment to cut down my caloric intake (I've been bad the past few months eating too much fast food and almost always eating a snack too close to bedtime) but I am getting there.

We'll see how I do during the holidays! It shouldn't be as difficult as last year because we won't be visiting family for Christmas (I'm sad about that) and therefore be bombarded by tasty treats every day.

Knitting Project - Scarf

2008-10-28T23:05:00.017-04:00

I finally finished my first knitting project! I wasn't really in a hurry to finish it once I got going because I didn't know what I wanted to knit next. I mostly only worked on it for a couple hours each week when I met up with some other moms at a coffee shop so it took me 3 months to finish.

Here's my scarf, made from 60% Merino Wool, 20% Alpaca & 20% Silk (spun in Peru):

"Blocking" the completed scarf to keep the edges from curling up involves simply wetting it and pinning it down on foam board while it dries for a couple of days:

I have started my next project, which is a hat for Alisa. I wasn't able to take the hat class at the local yarn shop but I got the pattern from a friend who took the class and she is giving me pointers. It is certainly different knitting "in the round" so I'll let you know how it turns out.

Best Measuring Spoons

2008-10-27T19:23:00.004-04:00

I have a set of plastic measuring spoons that aren't round or oval, but more of a rectangular shape. I love them but a few (including the very important teaspoon) have disappeared ever since my husband started using them to measure salt for soaking his ear piercings. I've been looking for measuring spoons that aren't round for many many months now because the round ones don't fit into spice containers as well. I finally found a set that is actually round on one end and oval on the other. That is so handy when you need to measure several spices and liquids in the same amount and don't want to wash or dry the spoons in between). As a bonus, there is a hidden magnet in the middle of each one so when they nestle together, they STAY together in the drawer. Perfect! Well, almost perfect...there is no 1/8 tsp so I'll have to use the one from my other set.

Price Dropped Again

2008-10-26T14:22:00.000-04:00

And now gas is down to $2.51/gallon for regular unleaded. I never understood why they change the price so often, even just by a penny sometimes!

Even Cheaper Gas

2008-10-25T21:02:00.001-04:00

Gas is down to $2.55/gallon for regular unleaded. Even better.

Sick

2008-10-22T17:29:00.006-04:00

I was sick this past weekend (stuffy/runny nose, felt a bit weak, had no energy) and I didn't leave the house for 2 days (Sunday & Monday). The first thing I did when I finally did step outside, was to take Alisa to another pumpkin patch. Last night was the first night in many days that I slept well. What a relief! I'm not used to waking up numerous times during the night and having trouble falling back asleep so it really affected me. I really hate going to bed with a stuffy/runny nose.

My nose is still randomly runny. I'll be fine for a few hours and then super drippy for an hour. I've literally used an entire box of Kleenex!

Gas Prices are Down

2008-10-21T15:44:00.000-04:00

Gas is down to $2.77/gallon for regular unleaded. Hooray!

New Ice Cream Flavor

2008-10-17T11:08:00.005-04:00

I just discovered my new favorite ice cream flavor--Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns. I don't usually buy (or even look at) the Ben & Jerry's ice cream because it's expensive, only comes in a small size, and has almost twice the calories as other brands. But boy, is it delicious!! I absolutely LOVE cinnamon rolls and ice cream, so to put the two together is bliss!

Assistant Organizer of Local Mom's Group

2008-10-15T22:17:00.001-04:00

I joined a local Moms' group in April this year, a week after Alisa turned one. I would have joined sooner if I had known about it. Anyway, I made a lot of new friends and happened to meet some of the assistant organizers at the first few meetups I went to (book club meeting, scrapbooking night and a Mom's Night Out). At the end of September, when an assistant organizer (AO) moved to another state and another one stepped down for personal reasons, my AO friend asked if I wanted to be one too. I gladly said yes.

My main job is to schedule events for the calendar. I also can approve (or deny) new members, respond to message board posts, email members and check the main email account. I've been having a blast so far. October was a busy month with lots of fall festivals around town. I'm sure the rest of the year will be busy too with holiday events.

Recipe Blog

2008-10-12T23:09:00.005-04:00

This is what I should be doing tonight:

But this is what I am actually doing tonight (the 1st post explains the blog):

http://www.recipejunkies.blogspot.com

Fixed Leak

2008-10-01T17:19:00.004-04:00

We survived the week without the A/C on. It was kinda rough on 2 of the days that were hotter, but we made it. Brian came and fixed the pipe today. Turns out there wasn't a crack in the pipe, the connector part just wasn't glued on! It's surprising that it didn't leak before this! Thankfully, the ceiling in our bathroom dried well and left no water spots/stains.

Leak!

2008-09-26T21:28:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday, I noticed that there are water spots in the ceiling above our shower. Eek! We looked upstairs and discovered that it's from a cracked pipe going to the A/C unit in the laundry room. There was a small puddle running from that to behind the dryer. We turned off the A/C to prevent further leaking then turned on the ceiling fans and opened the doors to let the air circulate. Thankfully, the weather is cooler now (about 82 degrees during the day) so we haven't been roasting. Craig called his construction friends and they are going to come by and replace the pipe.

Restaurants Closing

2008-09-25T21:09:00.003-04:00

What's going on? My favorite restaurants that are close to my house keep disappearing! It actually started over a year ago when Smokey Bones suddenly shut down (it was a recent discovery for us and we were looking forward to going back since it was just outside our neighborhood). Last week, I noticed that the nearby KFC is closed and boarded up. I love getting their Potato Bowl Combo from time to time. It is all my favorite stuff from there--mashed potatoes and gravy topped with corn topped with fried boneless chicken bites topped with shredded cheese! You can also get the version with a biscuit (another of my favorite items from there).

Tonight, I went out to rent a movie and then pick up some dinners from Boston Market on my way home. The Boston Market is just across the street from the north entrance to our neighborhood. Since I was coming from the Blockbuster in the south, I turned into the parking lot by Friday's and Steak 'N Shake to cut through to go to Boston Market. I was upset when I saw road blocks between the Steak 'N Shake and Boston Market but I figured I'd just park and walk over. Then, my mouth dropped open as I noticed that the Boston Market wasn't even there anymore! It was a pile of rubble! They totally knocked it down! A bulldozer was still parked there. WHAT?! I had no idea that was coming! What happened?! I love their food! I hate it when I'm craving something and looking forward to getting it but then I am denied in such a horribly shocking way!

Man, they better not take away the Taco Bell or Wendy's that are near my neighborhood! Those are my cheap-meal favorites. Speaking of Wendy's, the 2 that I've been to here play Christian music (not sure about the other locations here). I find that unusal since there aren't many restaurants that do that anywhere.

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of businesses closing that I like, Scrapbook Market is closing forever. Their closing sale began last week. I heard it was total madness the first few days as ladies waited in line for hours to check out and store employees worked until midnight (several hours past the normal closing time). When I went at 2 PM days later, it wasn't crowded and I didn't have to wait in line to check out. You just gotta avoid the lunch and after-work rush if you can. Now, I will have to buy scrapbooking supplies at places that don't have as big of a selection, like Target and Michael's.

Date Night

2008-09-23T23:55:00.009-04:00

Craig and I have been going on a date every other week for a few months now. We hired a couple of sitters from the highly recommended and certified Seminole Sitters LLC and have been very happy with them. We have been going to dinner and a movie each time since we haven't been able to go to the theater much at all since Alisa was born (we are behind in our movie watching). We've used a few gift cards and free movie tickets but even with some of those, we won't be able to keep it up much longer because it makes for an expensive night when you add in the sitter expense too. Now that the weather is cooler, we can do cheaper dates like take a picnic dinner to a park and skip a movie.

I ate at Logan's Roadhouse for the first time tonight and it was wonderful (Craig had eaten there before). We didn't have to wait long for a table (it was only a Tuesday night, after all), the place wasn't too loud and the food was excellent. Craig and I ordered the Monday/Tuesday special "2 Meals for $14.99". The teriyaki chicken breasts I ordered were so nice and juicy, the sweet potato was delicious and stayed hot for a long time, the mashed potatoes were yummy, the free yeast rolls were awesome and throwing peanut shells on the floor was fun. We both ordered dessert because they had some very tempting "Mini Buckets" for only $1.99. We each got the Nutter Butter Fudgeslide which is chilled chocolate mousse, fudge & Nutter Butter topping with a crunchy peanut cookie. Oh it was sooooo good and just the right amount! I wish more restaurants would offer smaller desserts for half the price like that because usually Craig doesn't want the dessert I choose (the rare times that I order dessert) and the portions are too large for me to eat it all at once without guilt or feeling sick from the richness and high amount of calories. I will definitely be going back to Logan's Roadhouse soon. I just went to their website and signed up for their club so I'll get free stuff via email (starting with my birthday, which is coming up).

Gas Update

2008-09-19T18:04:00.002-04:00

Gas is now $3.58 and available at some stations (others have no gas). It could be a couple of weeks before all the stations in this town have gas all the time again. At least the price is back down!

Destin with Friends

2008-09-18T17:33:00.044-04:00

My good friend Sheryl (we lived in the same neighborhood in elementary school and went to the same church) and her husband Daniel came to visit us from Seattle for the 2nd time. We had a splendid time, as expected.

Sheryl and Daniel were so helpful with Alisa and she loved them. She didn't cry around Daniel like she does with most men that come into our house--she actually spent a lot of time playing with him because she really liked him. They also were so helpful in the kitchen. They made so many delicious meals for us and cleaned them up before I even knew what happened! It was so nice but I felt a bit guilty since they were the guests but seemed to be doing all the work.

Alisa and Minga liked playing with Daniel:

We decided at the last minute to make a trip to Destin for 2 nights. We rented our friends' beach house (a mere 2 blocks from the beach) and it was wonderful.

Sheryl taught Alisa a new dance move in the car on the way to Destin:

Alisa walked with Sheryl and Daniel to the beach store after lunch at Fudpuckers:

Here we are enjoying the pool at the beach house:

Sheryl and I took a peek at the beach while the guys kept swimming at the pool and Alisa took a nap:

Our first morning at the beach was cut short by a rainstorm:

Sheryl and Daniel spent one day with local friends while Craig, Alisa and I hung out with my cousin Steven and his wife Erin who flew in from Tulsa to vacation for the week. We ate lunch on the patio at Hard Rock Cafe and then hung out in the pool while Alisa took her afternoon nap. Then we ate dinner at Fisherman's Wharf Seafood House and walked on the beach to see the sun set and moon rise (Alisa loves the moon and she went crazy seeing the large moon rise).

The weather was perfect for our last morning at the beach:

Lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise before driving home:

This sign made me laugh because someone put a sticker on the man that made it look like a "Hula Hoopers Crossing" sign:

Back at our home, Sheryl read Alisa bedtime stories on her last night in Florida:

Gas Shortage in Florida Caused by Consumers

2008-09-17T22:31:00.015-04:00

What a week! Our friends Sheryl & Daniel visited us from Seattle. We went to the beach on Friday and as we arrived back to Tallahassee around 4 PM we noticed that every gas station we passed had a crazy long line of cars at every pump. We began to get nervous and wonder what we had missed while we were out of town. As we got closer to our home, we noticed several of the gas stations were completely out of gas. Their price signs were blank and they were deserted. It was creepy.

As soon as we got home we went online to see if we could figure out what was going on. I found and skimmed over an article from the local paper online that said gas prices were going to go up 20 to 30 cents a gallon but that one gas station in town advertised that is was going to raise prices to $5.50/gallon that weekend. It kept emphasizing that there is no gas shortage even though all those oil rigs in the gulf near Texas had shut down because of the hurricanes. So, apparently everyone raced to the pumps to get the last of the cheaper gas and actually caused the gas shortage in town. Thanks a lot, guys.

We were thinking about spending 2 nights in Destin (160 miles one way) so we needed to have a full tank of gas in order to make the trip. We didn't get any gas that evening and forgot to get some until the next night at 9 PM because we were just chilling at home all day. We waited in line behind 4 cars and a motorcycle at the only gas station in the area that had any gas left. We paid $4.11/gallon and they were letting each person buy only $40 worth. It was reported there was only one other station in town with gas and it was $5.49/gallon there. We were thankful to get enough gas to get us on the road to Destin because the attendant said they weren't getting any more gas until Monday.

We found another station with gas many miles outside of town and topped off the tank for $3.95/gallon. The gas stations in Destin were out of gas too. It was insane. If the gas shipment came in on Monday like that one attendant said, there must have been a rush to the pumps again because most stations were totally out when we arrive home Tuesday afternoon. I took Sheryl & Daniel to the airport at 6 AM this morning and then decided to fill up my gas tank again since we used a good portion of it for the Destin trip and since there was still a shortage. I bought gas for $3.93/gallon and the pumps were pumping sooooo slowly. It was annoying because I had to stand there and squeeze the nozzle handle the whole time because it didn't have that little piece that allows you to let go and have it still pumping. And then the stupid thing didn't shut off automatically when my tank was full so some of it spilled over and splattered on my feet. Thankfully, only a few drips landed on me so I didn't smell like gasoline.

I went home and decided to see how much gas was in Craig's Jeep (he was still sleeping as it was only about 7 AM). It only had 1/4 of a tank so I went back to that gas station and filled it up. It took even longer to fill than my car because it was emptier and the pumps were running even slower. I'm not exaggerating when I say this, but the pump was dispensing only one cent per second or just a tad faster for a lot of the time. It sped up for a little bit just when 2 cars left and no one else had moved in yet. It was sooooooo ridiculous. And it didn't shut off automatically again, but at least this time I suspected it. It took me literally 30 minutes to pump 13 gallons of gas!! I'm so glad the pump was available right when I pulled in or I would have had to wait about 30 minutes for someone else to pump their gas and 30 minutes for my own gas. I hate slow pumps! I hate that people panic and make things worse! At least now we are set for a couple of weeks if we limit our driving (which is easy since neither of us have a daily commute).

Haircut

2008-09-13T21:59:00.009-04:00

I got my hair cut today. I'd been thinking about it for awhile but hadn't taken any action (deciding where to get it cut). My friend Sheryl came to visit this week and before I even said anything about wanting to get my hair cut, she said I should get my hair cut and explained what style she thought I should get. My mouth dropped open because it was exactly the same style I'd been thinking about getting. She wanted me to get it cut while she was in town, but we were busy until Saturday, then we had plans to go to Destin for 2 nights and then she would be leaving the day after we got back. So, Saturday was our only free day so we had to find a walk-in place. Most of them were too busy, already closed (it was 3 or 4 PM) or expensive ($40+) so we ended up going to SuperCuts. I was a little nervous about going there because it's so cheap ($12) that it makes me think the hair stylists aren't as experienced. The lady that cut my hair was excited when I told her I wanted a short bob that was longer in the front because it is her favorite style to cut. I wasn't able to see much while she was cutting my hair because I wasn't wearing my contacts and had to take my glasses off. She didn't get the part right about my hair being longer in the front with a gradual slope to the back (even though I reminded her halfway through), but it still looks good. When we got home, Sheryl wanted to restyle it (the hair stylist didn't do much of that for the $12 price) and that was when we realized that it wasn't even on the sides (even after the lady and I had talked and agreed that she should part it down the middle while cutting so that I could part my hair on either side later without it being so uneven!). Oh well, it's not too noticeable to the average passerby. It could be worse.

Before (with Sheryl):

After (we didn't get a focused picture of the back, but you get the idea):

Flooded Lake Ella

2008-09-06T15:48:00.012-04:00

Lake Ella majorly flooded from the few days of rain we had due to Tropical Storm Fay at the end of August. So many people walk around the lake daily (just over half a mile), but were then unable to because it was out of commission for a couple of weeks. The small lake has something different on each side--a park, residential homes, shops & cafes and the main road.

Here are before and after pics (click each one to see larger version):

The water almost completely covered the benches and picnic tables on the other side of this tree:

The road was completely flooded:

This picture was taken from the gazebo that is on the peninsula that meets up with the road pictured above...this whole area was completely under water (you couldn't see the rocks, grass or sidewalk!):

The flooded gazebo as seen from the residential side:

The far side of the lake is residential:

The flooded road:

Since the road around the lake flooded, some residents couldn't use their cars because the water was all the way up to their houses and their cars were trapped in the driveways:

None of the water in this picture was here before the flood--it went all the way up to the doors of some shops:

Flooded parking lot (you can just see the tops of the trash cans):

The water reached the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial helicopter at the American Legion Post 13--yikes!:

My Daughter

2008-09-03T13:55:00.001-04:00

In my opinion, Alisa is absolutely the best in the world. I am so in love and fascinated with her. She is so adorable, delightful and so many other wonderful things!!

Poor Minga!

2008-09-02T16:00:00.007-04:00

We just found out that Minga has hip dysplasia so we shouldn't breed her. We will be getting her spayed soon so at least now we won't have to deal with her bi-annual bleeding when she's in heat. Craig took her to the vet after she had been yelping here and there and refused to jump in the Jeep (something she loves to do). At first he thought she hurt her paw while playing in the yard, but then thought her hips or some other joint was hurting her.

Canine Hip Dysplasia is caused by a loose hipbone-thighbone connection and is genetically transmitted (common in Labrador Retrievers, among many others). Dog Hip Dysplasia results from the abnormal development of the hip joint in the young dog. It leads to hind-end pain and lameness that can range from mild to crippling. Therapy consists of weight control, moderate exercise (most importantly, to improve muscular support), vitamin supplementation and pain relief medication.

On a happier note, Minga has matured a lot this year (her 2nd year of life). She is SO good with Alisa (she's always been good, but now is even better and calmer). She lets Alisa sit on her, touch her ears, etc. If Alisa drops food from her highchair while eating, instead of Minga rushing to get it as she used to, she waits for me to say "go get it". I didn't think that would ever happen on it's own like that!

Easy Rigatoni RECIPE

2008-08-31T21:19:00.002-04:00

Here is a tasty recipe in the Prevention Magazine's "eat up slim down" cookbook by Jane Kirby, RD and David Joachim:

Easy Rigatoni

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
8 oz rigatoni
2 Tbsp (1/2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese

Warm oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook 10 minutes or until tender. Add tomato paste and cook 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook rigatoni according to package directions. Drain. Toss with sauce. Serve with cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 427 calories, 16 g protein, 65 g carbohydrates, 11 g fat, 68 mg cholesterol, 938 mg sodium, 6 g fiber

Diet Exchanges: 0 milk, 4 vegetable, 0 fruit, 3 bread, 0 meat, 2 fat

Sometimes I add 1 lb browned ground beef to the sauce (so then nutritional information is incorrect).

Tropical Storm Fay

2008-08-24T15:56:00.010-04:00

We had tons of rain this week due to Tropical Storm Fay. It rained a little each day earlier in the week and then nonstop from Friday to Sunday with some strong winds at times. We kept hearing branches and pinecones fall on the roof and balconies. A few times we heard really loud thudding sounds but didn't see what had fallen.

The city was giving out free sandbags to anyone who needed them this weekend. At least 12 deaths in the US were blamed on Tropical Storm Fay. I heard that one utility worker died when a tree fell on him while he was working on restoring power to some homes. How awful!

Here is the creek behind our house on Saturday just before 1 PM (you can see a huge puddle forming on the lowest part of our yard between the creek and where I took the picture from our balcony):

And here is the creek behind our house on Saturday just before 3 PM (it totally flooded--the creek joined with the huge puddle and became one big rushing creek--and took over about half of the yard directly behind our house):

The runoff for the water from the highway is along our property on the other side of the city fence that runs perpendicular to the creek so that water was joining the flood party here:

I prayed that no large branches or trees would fall on our house or cars and my prayers were answered. This large branch fell outside our fenced area:

And this large branch fell inside our fenced area (thankfully it didn't damage the fence):

The water was all the way up to the 3 trees on the right for a couple of hours (a nice little patch of sand was left behind so maybe Alisa can play in it):

Unfortunately, our only banana tree that was producing bananas so far fell over during the storm:

The bananas were not ripe enough to eat so we are sad that we don't get to try any this year after all:

Here is a video of our flooded creek:

New Paint Smell

2008-08-15T09:05:00.006-04:00

Every time we come home after being out of town for a week or more our house smells new, like fresh paint. You'd expect a musty smell from being shut up so long, but for some reason, it always smells like new paint. Not real strong, but noticeable at first. I like it.

Flying with a Baby

2008-08-14T22:50:00.011-04:00

We flew to New Jersey and stayed for 5 days visiting Craig's family and celebrating his grandfather's 90th birthday. Then we flew to Tulsa and stayed for almost 2 weeks visiting my family and attending my brother Greg's wedding. Then we flew home to Tallahassee, so that was 6 flights total (with 3 layovers).

The Tallahassee airport had a kids play area (rug with letters on it, wooden structure with activities like movable beads, mirrors, etc) at our gate and Alisa didn't want to leave it to get on the plane. What a great idea to help entertain the kids (though I hate to think how many germs are on all that stuff)! We were wanting to wait until the last minute to board the plane so she'd have to sit on my lap less so when it was time to go we had to quickly tear her away from the play area and she cried. She stopped crying once we made it to the ramp though.

We purchased our tickets online from Travelocity.com and on the confirmation page it said we needed to call to have Alisa added as an infant in arms. We did that but apparently the person didn't do it correctly because we had to have it adjusted at each airport. Also, we didn't know ahead of time that we had to sit on the right side of each plane because that side has an extra mask that drops down if the cabin loses pressurization. So, we had to have our seats changed a lot too.

We checked a large suitcase for Craig & I and a small suitcase for Alisa. Unfortunately, ours was overweight (which we didn't think about till late the night before our morning flight but we didn't know what the fee would be). It was 11 lbs overweight so we had to pay a flat fee of $80. We didn't pack anything heavier than a pair of sneakers, so it was just that our suitcase was so large that it held lots of clothes, etc. The dumb thing is, even if it was just 1 lb overweight, they'd still charge us $80 (if that had been the case, though, we would have taken some clothes out on the spot and just carried them to save the money). And unfortunately, the fee has already gone up for that and for even checking regular bags (darn oil prices!).

We brought my laptop backpack (I had to bring my laptop to do some work) which also had books and snacks in it, Alisa's diaper bag (very necessary!), an umbrella stroller (so great for getting Alisa around at the airport and it fit easily through the security scanner machine, unlike many of the regular large strollers), and a special large backpack that held Alisa's carseat, booster seat and blanket. My friend recently flew to New Jersey and checked her baby's carseat and the airline lost it. Well, since you can't leave the airport unless your baby is in a carseat, I didn't want to risk that happening to us so we didn't check it. I ordered the carseat bag to make carrying it around in the airport easier (and it keeps it clean). Since we didn't buy a plane ticket for Alisa (she's free until age 2) and the flights were full, we just had them check the carseat bag at the gate along with the stroller.

We had to pay the $80 overweight fee again when we flew from New Jersey to Tulsa because our suitcase was 9 lbs overweight (I put all the heavier stuff in Alisa's small suitcase this time but it didn't help much...and also we had more in the bags because Alisa had been given tons of new clothes during our stay). We had talked about buying a small suitcase and paying the $25 fee to check it (rather than the $80 overweight fee on our large suitcase) but we forgot. Well, we remembered to do that before our flight from Tulsa to home (we knew we'd need another suitcase eventually anyway because we only had the two). Craig found a bright orange suitcase (hard to miss and reminds him of his favorite football team the Denver Broncos) that was on sale for 50% off. Instead of checking it though, we took it as a carry-on to avoid all fees. And the cool thing is, instead of having to shove it under the seat or in the overhead bin, he just had it gate checked with our 2 special baby items.

Getting through the security screening wasn't fun, but it could have been worse. We kept Alisa in the stroller until the last minute because the one time we didn't, she just wanted to run off and go exploring (and therefore cried when we wouldn't let her). So then we had to quickly fold down the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt with our other stuff (backpack with laptop removed for screening, diaper bag, carseat bag, shoes and my watch). We even had to take Alisa's shoes off and she was just wearing those soft moccasin-type shoes. At least I thought to wear slip-ons to speed up the process a little.

I was a bit nervous about flying for the 1st time with Alisa because I wasn't sure how she'd do on the plane (I figured she scream and cry to get down and walk around all the time). To our relief, she did pretty well since we kept her busy with books, snacks and toys. She spent a lot of time flipping through the airplane magazine, pointing to the letters and having me make the sounds for each one (it's been good timing with her recent obsession with letters). She did wiggle a lot but since she didn't have to be buckled in a seat I let her stand on my legs facing me while holding my hands for balance and then stand or sit on the floor for a bit (anything to keep her quiet and to keep her from kicking the seat in front of us). She laughed when the plane lurched a bit during each ascent and descent because it tickled her tummy. That was so cute! She waved and said hi to those around us, babbled and laughed at a baby that was behind us on one flight and at a lady across the aisle who was playing peek-a-boo with her on another flight. She even slept a bit on 2 of the flights. I tried to get her to suck on her sippy cup or chew some food to help pop her ears but she didn't always do it so thankfully she wasn't bothered by the pressure.

Alisa pooped in her diaper about an hour before our 2nd plane landed and it was so stinky (as is the norm these days). There was no place I could change her (she throws a fit and squirms a lot when I change her in public anyway) so we just had to wait until we got to the airport. I felt bad for the guy next to us (Alisa and I were sitting in the middle seat of the set of 3 seats), but what could I do? Her only outburst on the plane was while we were waiting to get off the plane. She wanted to sit in my seat by herself so she was trying to push/pull me off and was crying loudly because she wasn't getting what she wanted. She would have kept crying about it if I didn't either let her have the seat or pick her up and distract her. For the sake of the other passengers, I let her have the seat and I stood crouched over until it was our turn to get off.

I was so happy to find flight times that were not early morning or late evening so that we wouldn't have to wake Alisa up or keep her up late to get to the airport. All my initial searches had at least one crappy time and at least one long layover in the mix so I was shocked to find all good times with short layovers for the cheaper price when I searched again a few days later. I didn't think about her afternoon naps though. She was fussy during each of our short layovers because it was her naptime. She was tired, but since there was so much activity around us in the airport, she decided she wanted to walk around. It was a bit tricky since our layovers were short and we needed to get to our gate, go to the bathroom, change her diaper, get some food and eat it, all while she was trying to run off (though she was usually reaching for our hand so we'd come with her). We couldn't abandon our luggage, so one of us had to go to the bathroom while the other one tried to keep Alisa still by our luggage and then one of us ate while the other walked around with Alisa. It was pretty exhausting keeping up with Alisa at the airport and even just holding her on my lap on the plane, trying to keep her from crying and disturbing those around us. I was kind of on edge (internally) almost the whole time and later realized that I had been sitting in the plane with just my toes on the floor (instead of my whole foot) because I was trying to keep Alisa from sliding off my lap. I kinda got cramps and sore legs from doing that.

On the last leg of our journey (returning home) we were told that the flight was overbooked and since our boarding tickets only said "Seat Request" we had to wait until everyone had boarded to see if there was room for us or if someone would volunteer to give up their seat. That was scary because we just wanted to get home and weren't sure how Alisa would handle a 3-hour wait until the next flight. Thankfully, they called our names and we got to get on the plane. However, we ended up sitting on the plane for an hour before takeoff because just as we approached the runway, an employee noticed that a door had dropped open on the nose of the plane. We had to taxi back to the gate and wait for a mechanic to check it out. Alisa ended up falling asleep soon after and slept during the entire wait. I knew she really needed that nap so I was afraid to move and therefore sat somewhat stiffly for that hour, holding her awkwardly on my lap with one arm (where she had fallen asleep). I wished I had my book then but it was in the bag we ended up gate checking at the last minute.

Next time we fly we will have to pay for Alisa's ticket, but she will be older and easier to care for (though we might have another baby by then too). She will be able to sit still better and occupy the time by coloring or something. And she probably won't be such a messy eater (she got cheese & cracker crumbs all over both her hands, her face, her shirt, her pants, my pants and my shirt during several flights but luckily I had wet wipes handy).

Listening to Daddy's iPod at the Newark airport (8-03-08):

Sheep Slippers

2008-07-27T19:12:00.000-04:00

I got these cute sheep slippers many months ago and Alisa loves when I wear them.

Gasoline

2008-07-25T12:09:00.005-04:00

Gasoline here is down from $4.05 to $3.91 (at the cheapest regular stations--I think Sam's Club is a few cents less than that for members). Who knew that $3.91/gallon could ever sound so wonderful?! When we moved here in July 2006, it was around $2.19 and that was high compared to Tulsa.

Learning How to Knit

2008-07-20T15:50:00.009-04:00

A few of us (Rebecca, Cristina and I) from the local moms group took a knitting class at a local shop here. The class was held on the past 2 Saturdays for 2 hours each. We all really enjoyed the class and really liked our teacher. She taught us the basics (knitting and purling) using circular bamboo needles and the pattern for a scarf. The circular needles are good to learn on because you can push your work off the needle and onto the connecting cord. This allows you to take a break without the risk of your work slipping off the end of the needle and getting messed up (since as a beginner you probably wouldn't know how to fix it) or you can more easily count how many rows you've knit if you've lost track.

I found knitting to be awkward and tricky at first and nothing like I thought it would be (though I didn't really know what to expect since I'd never seen anyone knitting up close before). Somehow during the first class, I was adding an extra stitch for each row so my scarf was getting wider. That explained why I was the last one finished with the 1st section. The instructor taught me how to drop a stitch on each row to correct my mistake so that was good to know. She also said it's common for beginner's to knit too tightly and that is certainly the case for me. I don't have a problem stitching loosely when purling though, just when knitting. Since we were using fat bamboo needles and bulky wool, it made it more awkward to make the stitches when things were too tight.

We were supposed to finish our scarf before the 2nd class a week later so she could teach us how to "bind off" and weave in the ends to finish it. I kept messing up when I got back into it at home a day or two after class. I ended up unraveling the whole thing and starting over because something was way out of whack (what appeared to be a missed loop a few rows back and something else in another part) and I wasn't sure how to fix it nicely. It was late in the evening and I didn't want to wait until the next day to go by the shop for help, plus I wanted to start fresh to get rid of the messed up section where some rows were wider because of the extra stitches. I looked in the knitting book I got for Christmas (that I hadn't ever used before) and online to remind me how to "cast on" to start over. This time, I was careful and didn't add any extra stitches. I learned a lot through my mistakes and something clicked by the time I finally got to the 3rd section (where it changed from stockinette stitching back to garter stitching). I totally understood the importance of having the yarn in back for knitting and in front for purling, as well as how to recognize some things with the work that was already done.

The shop is offering a hat knitting class during the next 2 Saturdays but I'm not taking it because I will be out of town one week. That's another reason she gave us circular needles to learn with because you use them to knit hats, which is a common 2nd project. I will try to take the hat class next time they offer it.

Anyway, I didn't finish my scarf by the next class but I was able to practice binding off anyway and the instructor unravelled that part for me afterwards. I will post a picture of the finished product (hopefully soon).

Another Tall One

2008-07-19T17:40:00.001-04:00

Today I saw another man that had to be 7 feet tall. He was at a bookstore and was younger than the last one. So crazy that I've seen two now within weeks of each other!

Cat Fight

2008-07-17T10:22:00.001-04:00

This morning at about 4:40 AM Craig and I were awakened by the most horrendous hissing, meowing and scrambling sounds. Apparently there was a cat fight on our balcony. It lasted a few minutes and sounded just awful. We couldn't see what was happening because the outside lightbulb is burned out. It sounded so bad that I was creeped out and had trouble falling bask asleep. When I woke up again around 8 AM, I discovered that the main balcony (above ours) had tons of cat crap on it and smelled so foul. It was all in one corner--on the lid of the large ice chest, on 2 of the 4 the pool noodles we had just recovered from a container under the house, on the railing and even on the vinyl siding of the house. It was on top of the railing and down the outside of the railing. Apparently, a cat took a dump over the edge of the railing and it hit the outside of the railing and part of the house as it fell down and landed on the top of our balcony railing. Who knows, maybe the cats fell with it and that's how they got to our balcony. Our only guess as to what they were doing on our property is that a bird recently built a nest in the hanging pot on our main balcony and some baby birds recently hatched there. I sure hope the cats didn't get any birds. When I was cleaning it all up with a hose, Minga was standing there sniffing and sniffing and sniffing.

Snail

2008-07-10T23:40:00.003-04:00

This snail has been living on our fountain for some time now. Craig found him on our balcony railing after it rained one day. He spends most of his time on the globe part of the fountain:

Destin

2008-07-10T23:22:00.000-04:00

Our friends from Tulsa invited us to hang out with them at their family's beach house in Destin this week. Since it wasn't a weekend, I could only afford to take off work one day for the trip. We made the 2 1/2 hour drive and stayed in a hotel Monday night (since the beach house was jam packed full of their family). On Tuesday, we swam in the pool at their house, then swam in the gulf and played on the beach (2 blocks from their house) and then swam in the pool again while Alisa took a 2 hour nap.

For dinner, all 17 of us went to The Village of Baytowne Wharf (a pedestrian village with shops, restaurants and nightclubs overlooking the Choctawatchee Bay) in Sandestin. We ate on the deck at Poppy's Seafood Factory. It is right by the water so we had a great view of the sunset and could walk out on the long dock to cool off in the breeze while waiting for our food. I had grilled chicken with pineapple mango salsa on top, served with saffron rice. It was the most flavorful chicken dish I've ever had. I loved the rice too. It was well worth the $21!

We said goodbye to everyone after paying our share of the bill and walked around the loop of shops on our way out. As we crossed the wooden bridge over the water to get back to the entrance/exit, Alisa noticed the moon (she was mesmerized by it) and actually said "moon" for the 1st time. We had to wait a few minutes for our car to be brought to us (we had to use valet parking as there was no big parking lot nearby and our friends did the valet thing and we needed to stick with them). We changed Alisa's diaper back at their house and put her in her pajamas for the drive home. She fell asleep in the car after a few minutes of pointing out the window and saying "moooon" in her sweet little voice. When we arrived home around midnight, she woke up briefly when we took her out of the car but fell back asleep after we rushed her upstairs to her crib.

It was our 1st trip to Destin and we want to go back as soon as possible and stay longer. The sand is so soft and white and the water is gorgeous with just the right amount and strength of waves for swimming. There is a water park, recreation park and plenty of shops and restaurants in the area.

Gorgeous beach:

Gorgeous water:

Shops at Baytowne Warf:

The pavement by the shops had big shells embedded in it:

Shops at sunset:

Book Club

2008-07-09T23:03:00.003-04:00

In April, I joined the local Meetup.com moms club. My first event to attend was a playground playgroup with Alisa where I met a few other moms. My second event was the book club's first meeting. We met at Borders and 5 moms showed up, which is a good sized group for discussions. We sat outside because the weather was nice and introduced ourselves (2 of us were new and the other 3 already knew each other). We offered suggestions of what books we should read then chose the books for the first 3 months and set the dates for the meetings. For the second meeting, there were 6 of us and we met at Borders again and discussed the first book we had read. We all said what we thought of it and then just talked about other things and got food and drinks. For the third meeting, we met for dinner at a restaurant. There were only 3 of us but we had a great time and mostly talked about our kids (which is always entertaining).

I've never been part of a book club before. This one has given me the motivation I need to get back to reading for pleasure again (at least 1 book a month). Even though we don't actually discuss the book for very long, I still like being part of the club. It's nice to know your friends are reading the same book at the same time as you. And it's nice to get together at least once a month for a moms night out.

Rare Shopping Experiences

2008-07-09T22:59:00.001-04:00

I was shopping at Sam's last week and I saw the tallest guy I've ever seen in person in my life. He had to be over 7 feet tall because the top of my head only came up to his armpits. Wow!

Have you ever been the last customer out of a large store like Toys 'R Us? I was tonight. There were a few families in there when I arrived 30 minutes prior to closing, but by the time I got up to the register 5 minutes before closing, I was the only one left. The manager said there should be some kind of prize for being the last customer out, but he didn't give me anything.

Rain and Thunder

2008-06-26T08:26:00.006-04:00

We've finally been getting some rain, which is good. However, it's been ruining our plans a lot lately, which is bad. We've missed 2 of the free Saturday night concerts in the park because of the rain. Last week we were all packed up with a picnic dinner and on our way with friends and then the gray clouds rolled in and it started pouring so we turned back. Yesterday, Alisa and I were on our way to an ice cream social/kiddie pool party when it decided to rain. We had gone 1 mile south with sunny skys but then got into the rain. It started raining and raining hard--so hard that I had trouble seeing the road and the light at the intersection I was at went out as I was sitting there. It was strange to me because the light went out and then the traffic going my way started going. I ended up doing a u-turn after the light to go back home and the traffic going north with me was going through the light. I'm not sure if anyone going north to south was ever going to stop and let the east to west cars go. I thought if the light is out you have to treat it like a stop sign.

The sky was sunny with a few puffy clouds over our house and to the north and northwest, but the sky was as dark as it could be to the south and southwest. Since the party was to the south, I decided we should turn back because we were already running late (Alisa took a long afternoon nap) and I didn't want to drive 20 minutes in the hard rain only to get there and discover that the ice cream was all gone and everyone was leaving. I've never seen just a defined difference before between the dark and rainy clouds and the sunny and puffy clouds. It was as if a line was drawn at the east to west road where the light went out. It was really wild because usually when it's raining in town, the rest of the town will at least have grey clouds overhead. All the dark clouds and rain started a mile south of our home. I ended up going north to a baby consignment store to try some sandals on Alisa before going home. The sky remained sunny and it didn't rain a drop there or at our house until maybe 11 PM.

If Alisa gets a worried look on her face after hearing loud thunder, we start quoting the part of the Dr Seuss book "Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You?" that says "Boom, boom, boom! Mr Brown is a wonder. Boom, boom, boom! Mr Brown makes thunder" because it helps her to relax since she always smiles at the part.

The thunder was so frequent and so loud last night around the time I was going to bed that it seemed like it could wake the dead. Our whole house was shaking. Once I was in bed, there was a really really really loud boom right over our house and then it rumbled around to the north and east for about 15 seconds, which is a long time for continuous thunder. I prayed that Alisa wouldn't wake up with all that noise and she didn't. We are due for more rain today (and every day this week), but right now the sun is shining.

Turtle

2008-06-15T00:05:00.000-04:00

We got a new pet at the end of May. Craig has always wanted a turtle and his friend's sister's friend had a baby turtle she needed to get rid of so it was a perfect match. It is a 1-year-old Sulcata turtle (also known as an African Spurred Tortoise because it has spurs on its back legs). It is the 3rd largest kind in world--if it's a male, it will grow up to 30 inches long and if it's a female it will grow up to 20 inches long. In a few years, we will be able to tell if it's male or female by the shape of its shell. It has a lifespan of 150 years!

We have been feeding it clover, chickweed and blades of grass from our yard and Spring Mix lettuce and shredded carrots from the grocery store. Every other day we sprinkle calcium powder on the lettuce. Its terrarium has a water dish, bathing pool with live grass and a tunnel. We change the water and rake/sift out any remaining food and poop every morning. Alisa and Minga like watching the turtle, which is the cutest little turtle we've ever seen.

Fun in Tallahassee

2008-06-13T23:54:00.008-04:00

I love Tallahassee! There is a lot to do here year round (thanks to the mild winter weather) and many events are free. From March through November, there is the downtown marketplace every Saturday morning/afternoon where you can buy art, crafts, jewelry, local produce and listen to live music. All summer long there are free concerts downtown every Saturday night where you can enjoy live music while eating a picnic dinner on the lawn. During June & July, there are free kid movies 2 days a week at the 2 main theaters.

There are lots of lakes, parks, public pools, etc. and the gulf/beach is 45 minutes away. Several local farms offer berry picking. All the libraries here have a story/music time for the kids. And of course, there are the typical city activities such as movie theaters, museums, festivals, nurseries/gardens, kid play places and even historic sites.

One interesting thing is that Tallahassee is the capital of Florida but there is not a highway that goes through or near downtown (I-10 only runs north of the city). We don't need one as the city is not huge and it's easily accessible. There is one 2-3 lane road that circles around the entire city (with I-10 making up the northern part) and most of the main roads branch off of it and lead to central downtown like the spokes on a wheel.

We have lived here for 2 years now. Craig has finished taking all his classes and now all that remains is his dissertation (which will take 1-5 years). Craig had a job interview in New Jersey (where he grew up) last week and we thought we'd be moving there next month (he had a 50/50 chance of being hired because there were 4 people left in the running for 2 positions). It all happened so fast--reading about the school online, sending his curriculum vitae, having a phone interview and then flying out for a 2nd interview. We just found out today that he wasn't offered the job because they wanted someone who could commit to teach there longer than 2 years and wouldn't have their attention divided (as Craig would with working on his dissertation while teaching at the schoool). We were shocked because the 3-day interview process (observing, teaching and interviewing) went well and the teachers and students really liked Craig.

However, we are very glad to be staying in Tallahassee for at least another year. We didn't want to try to quickly sell our house in this market and pack and move in a frenzy. We will be more thankful for what we have here since we thought we were going to suddenly leave before we had originally intended. It's weird because I feel like I've been given a 2nd chance here (weird because it's not like I've blown anything that would cause me to need a 2nd chance). I've been discovering new things around town lately and was sad about having to miss them when I thought we would be moving soon. I was pregnant during the 1st 9 months that we lived here so we didn't get out as much as I would have liked (I became carsick so easily). And then after Alisa was born, I was so busy nursing her all the time and adjusting to being a mom that I didn't really get out and do things around town until last fall. Lately, I've been having a blast going out about 3-6 days a week with other moms and babies. I didn't want to give that up so soon and thankfully I don't have to.

I want to take Alisa to the beach a lot this year now that she can walk and really enjoy it. We haven't been since she was 6 months old and had just learned to sit up on her own. We've got to take advantage of our proximity to things here in Florida while we are still here!

Curious George

2008-06-09T09:46:00.003-04:00

I've been recording the cartoon Curious George for Alisa lately. She loves monkeys and cartoons so it's the perfect combination. Today, she watched an episode that had me chuckling a lot. It was about a new traffic light that was just put up in the country. Here's some of what the narrator said:

"George noticed that people seemed to like red a lot, because they all stopped to look at it. People who liked red, didn't like green. When the light turned green, everybody drove away. And when it came to yellow, so far people only slowed down enough to look a little bit. The lights were always changing. People didn't get much time to enjoy their favorite colors. So George thought of a way to make it more fair for everyone. George made a special green side because someone who liked green was bound to show up. A yellow side, for those who might prefer yellow. And a red side, which George predicted would be the most popular."

20,000 Pictures!

2008-06-08T13:47:00.004-04:00

I've had my digital camera for just over 2 1/2 years now and I've taken just over 20,000 pictures/videos with it! I know this because it labels the images with a 4-digit number (0001 through 9999) and it has just lapped back to 0001 for the 2nd time. That averages out to about 22 pictures a day (which happens to be my favorite number!). So yeah, you could say I'm a picture-loving, picture-taking maniac.

Spider in My Keyboard!

2008-05-31T21:32:00.003-04:00

Craig bought me a fancy new laptop for Mother's Day. I was strongly encouraged by my dad and the network guys at work to get one with Windows XP (as opposed to crappy Windows Vista) so I ordered a Dell online. I won't bore you with the specs, I'll just say it's a good one and I love it (it's my first laptop).

A few minutes ago, I was responding to an email while sitting on the couch with my laptop when a dime-sized spider scurried by my hand and went under the keys. I was horrified! I can't type knowing there is a spider somewhere under my fingers! I didn't want him to crawl out and get on me and I didn't want him to get squished, leaving his remains stuck under the keys. I put the laptop on the ottoman and ran the edge of a napkin in between the keys to see if the spider would move. He scurried under another key. When Craig came upstairs I asked him to get the vacuum (I didn't get it because I didn't want to look away and then not know if the spider had left or not because even if I didn't see him again I'd be paranoid that he was still lurking somewhere). Anyway, Craig turned on the vacuum and held the hose with crevice attachment close. I pushed the corner of the napkin under the Ctrl key where I thought he was hiding and he scurried under another key near the edge. Craig moved the vacuum hose closer and it scared the spider out of hiding and he crawled off my laptop and onto the ottoman. We had to move the ottoman to see where he'd gone...we found him crawling on the carpet so Craig vacuumed it up. I didn't want it getting on the couch and hiding in the blankets or Alisa's large stuffed bunny. Problem solved.

New Flowers

2008-05-20T17:45:00.007-04:00

Craig planted new flowers in our yard. He got them from his friend Brian (who got them from his job site) and we don't know what they are called yet. Do you know?

Losses

2008-04-20T21:37:00.005-04:00

I was rooting through out the diaper bag at home after church today and realized Alisa's new teething ring was not in it. Apparently the girls in the church nursery took it out of the bag and didn't put it back or tell us so it was left behind. Also, when we dropped Alisa off, the girls didn't ask if she would need to eat and we didn't think to tell them that she would NOT need a bottle (we usuallly tell them but we were out of practice because she hasn't been to church in several weeks and I guess I assumed they would realize she didn't if we didn't specifically say that she did). Well, when Alisa started crying 10 minutes before the end of the service they tried a few things (probably the teething ring) and made her a bottle with the stuff that was in our diaper bag (it's always there just in case). She didn't want the bottle because she wasn't hungry, she was just tired, I think, because she fell asleep right away in the car. So, that was formula for a 6-oz bottle down the drain (because you have to dump any leftovers an hour after she puts her mouth to it).

I bought a large box of baby wipes yesterday (8 packs in it, I think) and realized today that they didn't make it home. Craig helped unload the groceries from the car so I didn't notice it then. I bought them at Wal-Mart and usually I load the groceries in the cart from the spinning bag holder as the cashier fills the bags, but this time there was an extra person at the register who was bagging the items. She loaded the cart and I didn't pay close attention. I did glance at the bag holder before walking away and I didn't notice a large box sitting on top so the cashier must have put it in a bag and it was overlooked. Dangit! There goes $12 down the drain.

Another disappointment of the weekend was that I made a large purchase at a scrapbooking store yesterday and the girl who rang up my stuff didn't mention that they have a frequent buyers club (it was my 1st time there). I went back to the store today to get a few more things and the girl there today mentioned the club, signed me up and said I will get 15% off after every $150 I spend, plus other coupons throughout the year. I would have gotten 15% off today if that other girl would have signed me up yesterday (the girl today said she couldn't add in my purchase from yesterday for the discount tally)! I would have saved more than $10. Phooey!

Stupid Bank Fees

2008-04-16T19:34:00.003-04:00

We were charged a $5 maintenance fee on our savings account this month at Bank of America. I check my transactions online every few days and as soon as I saw that erroneous charge I called the bank. The guy who answered said he couldn't refund it and he gave me the number of the people who could. Turned out to be the 800 number on the back of my debit card. It was an automated system and I was getting nowhere in trying to get to an actual person. After many minutes of listening to options and pushing buttons, my call was disconnected prematurely. That made me mad! I asked Craig if he could watch Alisa and I raced out the door to go to the bank in person. They closed in 15 minutes so I had to hurry. (Another thing I hate is that the lobby closes at 4 PM).

I was waiting in line when the greeter lady asked if anyone had a transaction not involving cash. I did because I just was depositing some checks and asking for a refund on that stupid fee. She said she could help me at the customer service desk so I went there with her. She gave me a receipt for the deposit and then looked at the issue about the fee. She said we were charged a fee because we didn't make a deposit to our savings account that month (a requirement for our account). I said that we had automatic deposit set up for the same day every month so that we would never be charged a maintenance fee and it had been fine like that for over a year. She looked closer and said our statement this month closed 1 day before the automatic deposit went through. I thought, "Now that's a dirty trick!" She said she' d go ahead and issue the refund this time as a courtesy to us. Oh geez, a courtesy...like we didn't deserve it and won't get it next time something funky like that happens. She ended up changing our account from a Custom Savings to a Regular Savings so that wouldn't happen again. She said the interest rates are the same but now we can make more than 1 withdrawal per month and won't be charged a maintenance fee as long as we have a balance of at least $300.

After all that was resolved, she got really excited and started telling me about a credit card offer that appeared on the computer screen. She acted like it was such a great card and great deal that that I would definitely want to get it. Craig and I have a joint account but when she clicked over on Craig's name he also had an offer, but it was slightly different so she was comparing the two. I almost laughed at her speech and attitude because she was so excited but I was not impressed at all. First of all, we already have 2 credit cards from them (used them for 0% balance transfers for a year and don't use them now but just haven't cancelled them yet) and we get offers all the time for more. How can one company/bank keep offering you more and more cards when you already have 2 of theirs?! (Her reason was that this card was better...that you earn reward points faster. Well that may be true, but if you are constantly seeking a better card then you'd be opening a new account every year and that is not good for your credit rating.) Second, the limit on these new offers was for $2,000 and $3,000 (we're used to $10,000 and $12,000). Third, the 0% interest rate was only for 6 months (we're used to 12-18 months with no transfer fees).

It stinks that Bank of America charges monthly maintenance fees to have a savings account (unless you meet special requirements) when the interest earned is so puny. I miss Tulsa Teachers Credit Union in Oklahoma. They never charged me fees and they had better hours. The best savings account I have found is with ING Direct (online account that can be linked to your local bank account) . I opened an account in 2003, and their interest rate has been mostly around 3-4% since then (that is AWESOME for a simple savings account!). There are no fees or required minimums on my account. I love it! (Note: If you want to open an ING savings account nowadays and have $250 to put in it, I can send you a link that will get you $25 free...just let me know).

Strange Feeling

2008-04-11T15:38:00.001-04:00

I'm so used to being near Alisa that when Craig took her to the store with him a little while ago, I kept thinking she was napping in the next room and that I had forgotten to turn the baby monitor on. He has only taken her with him a few times so it is VERY rare for me to be at home without her. It was a strange feeling.

Alisa is ONE Year Old Today!!

2008-04-07T22:24:00.022-04:00

It is hard to believe that Alisa is now ONE YEAR old! She survived her first year without any major mishaps. What an exciting--and tiring--year it has been...full of many new things for all of us!

Alisa's eyes are still blue so there's a good chance they will stay that way--hooray! I love blue eyes. My eyes and Craig's eyes are hazel (green with brown around the center, to be exact).

Alisa gained only 2 oz this month--she went from 21 lbs 11 oz to 21 lbs 13 oz. She grew about an inch taller, making her 29 1/2 inches. She is in the 50th-75th percentile (closer to 75th) for weight and height, which surprised me because she is so much chubbier than all the babies I've seen around town so I thought she was above the 75th. Her hair is longer with even more curls by her neck, but there's still not enough on top to put in a barrett or little pigtail. She has 4 teeth coming in at once on the top (with one further along than the rest). She helps us dress her by pushing her arms through the sleeves now.

She has been sleeping 11-12 1/2 hours each night and taking 2 naps (about 1-2 hours each). She has been protesting naps recently but usually only for 30 seconds, starting right after we put her in bed and are leaving the room. We put her on her back and she used to roll over right away and get comfy while sucking her thumb, but now she sits up right away and cries really hard and loudly.

She has enjoyed all the food we have given her--she didn't want a large amount of baby food in a sitting at the beginning of the month, but by the end of it she wanted a lot most of the time (even after an 8 oz bottle). She especially loves finger foods. We finally started feeding her some food from our plates (chicken, steak, tomatoes, sweet potato fries, tortillas, mashed potatoes, pasta, etc.) and she really enjoys that. I know she will now come begging for us to give her some of our food when she sees us eating it (just like our dog Minga does) since she's tasted the goodness. We will be introducing her to whole milk this week and make the switch away from formula and the bottle. She's learned how to drink water and juice from a sippy cup.

Alisa still pays attention to little details--she will find the smallest speck of dirt on a hard surface or piece of fuzz on the carpet and pick it up. She knows where certain foods and toys are kept so she points to them (or the area they are kept) when she wants them. If she sees an object she wants, she will often cry if she doesn't get to have it right then (oh boy).

This will be my last monthly post about Alisa. If you want to keep up with her happenings from now on, you can go directly to her website (which is updated frequently). The link to it is in the "links" section in the right-hand column on my main page, in case you hadn't noticed it before.

Alisa loves looking at and carrying this large card that Grandmom sent for Valentine's Day:

Standing on her own (3-13-08):

Mmmm, kiwi (3-17-08):

Alisa's favorite place to stand in the office (it's Minga's favorite place too so they are often both there side by side):

Walking practice (3-19-08):

She actually stayed asleep in her carseat when we brought it in the house and she even slept for another hour because we set it in her quiet room (3-21-08):

Her shirt says, "He's not just my Daddy, he's my hero!" (3-21-08...before Craig had his morning coffee):

Yes, she sometimes wears a dress (3-22-08):

Happy Easter (3-23-08):

She seemed afraid to put her leg in the grass because she kept it up in the air like this most of the time:

Last year's Easter basket from Grandmom:

New booster seat with toy tray, which is handy in restaurants when she's not eating (3-23-08):

Craig's friend Tory gave Alisa this funny pacifier (3-26-08):

At Maclay Gardens, which is just up the road from our neighborhood (4-01-08):

First birthday! (4-07-08):

Lying by her many presents:

Birthday card and wrapped present from Nana (Alisa enjoyed the stickers on the wrapping):

Birthday dance with Daddy (a new tradition):

Girls Weekend Out

2008-04-06T22:43:00.012-04:00

Alisa and I went to meet my old college roommate Courtney and her 5-month-old daughter Hayden in Macon, GA this past weekend. They live in Alabama and we wanted to meet halfway, but there isn't much of anything in the middle of Alabama so we looked into meeting in Georgia. I discovered that Macon is almost the same distance from both of us and they were having their annual Cherry Blossom Festival so we decided to meet there. Courtney reserved 2 nights at a Days Inn for all of us.

Alisa and I left Florida at noon and arrived in Macon just after 4 PM. I had to stop to feed Alisa and she really took her time drinking her bottle so it took us an hour longer to get there (I needed a restroom break too). Courtney and Hayden were already settled into the room when we got there so they helped us unload the many bags from our car. I brought more bags on this trip than any other because of Alisa and her stage in life--I brought her regular diaper bag, a bag of her food (baby food in jars, oatmeal in box, snacks in bags), a bag of her drinks and dishes (formula, bottles, bottle cleaning supplies, bowls, spoons), a bag with her CD player in it, a bag of her toys, a bag with her Pack 'N Play bed, a small suitcase for both of our clothes, a small ice chest, her large stroller, her new booster seat, and 2 baby carriers that strap on me (the hip hammock is a new one I got and it folds up small so I brought it in case I wanted to try it instead of the normal one). Unfortunately, our room was on the 2nd floor and the place didn't seem to have an elevator nearby so we made many trips up and down the stairs. Since Alisa had just met Courtney, I couldn't leave her in the room with her while I unloaded the car because she'd be really upset. So, we both carried stuff in one arm and our baby in the other arm.

Rain was predicted for Saturday so we decided to go downtown and check out the festival right away. We stayed for about 2 hours looking at the people, the rides, the many food vendors, the cherry blossom trees and the park. We ate some chicken fingers and fries for dinner and I thought the chicken fingers were excellent and certainly the best I've ever had at a place like that. We had to wait 8 minutes for them to cook so we knew they were fresh and hot. Yes, very hot--I gave Alisa some tiny pieces of the chicken and I kept burning my fingers trying to break the strips apart to cool them for her. We would have stayed a bit longer but the rain storm was about to hit and we wanted to get back to the hotel before it started. We got our lemonade and funnel cake to go.

We played with the babies in the hotel room, took pictures and talked till about midnight. I drank some Gatorade and it was so good I couldn't get enough of it (and I had just recently had a slushee and some lemonade so it's not like I was parched). I let Alisa crawl around on the bed until she fell asleep around 10:30 PM. If I had put her in bed at the normal time (9 PM) she would have cried to get out because she could still see us. I couldn't let her cry because she would wake Hayden, who has a difficult time staying asleep. I was able to put sleeping Alisa in her Pack 'N Play bed so I could get some sleep alone in the queen-size bed.

Much to our surprise, however, Courtney's cell phone made a loud noise around 4 AM because she had been sent text message. That woke Alisa up and she cried and seemed confused about where she was. I picked her up quickly to quiet her. I put her music on and rocked her in my arms to get her to fall back asleep. I figured it would take 20 minutes max...boy, was I wrong. That little stinker stayed awake for 2 hours! My arms and back started hurting from standing and swaying with her so I layed down on the bed and cuddled her on my chest. She laid her head down and was sucking her thumb for awhile like she was going to go to sleep but then she picked her head up and was wide awake. She crawled around on the bed and me and started talking, playing and giving me kisses. She frequently looked over at the bed Courtney and Hayden were on--it was too dark to see them but she knew they were there. She was being so super cute and silly but I had to refrain from laughing and playing with her because she needed to go back to sleep since it was only about 5 AM and I was tired.

I tried to put her back in her bed a couple of times when it seemed that she had drifted off to sleep but she screamed as soon as I did. I had to take her back to bed with me to keep her quiet. I love snuggling with her but didn't want her sleeping in bed with me because I was afraid she'd fall off the bed and hurt herself with all the movement she does at night. And I wouldn't be able to get in the shower in the morning before she woke up because she would likely wake up while I was in there and start crying and crawl off the bed. We ended up sleeping till about 10 AM and I managed to get a shower while Courtney played with the babies.

It rained off and on all day Saturday so the festival events were cancelled. I was bummed about that because I wanted to eat some international foods and see the arts and crafts, fireworks, etc. We got lunch at Chick Fil-A on the way to the mall and ate it in the car while the babies slept--it was the tastiest it's ever been for me. We spent about 5 hours at the mall pushing the babies in strollers, shopping, feeding the babies and changing their diapers and shopping some more. There was a great store there called Steve & Barry's. Everything there was $8.98 or less and it was a huge place with all kinds of stuff--shirts, shorts, jeans, nice pants, skirts, backpacks, coats, shoes, etc. Nothing I tried on fit me right so I didn't get anything for me, but I bought some t-shirts for Craig and pants for Alisa.

The babies did pretty well, though Alisa started crying when Courtney and I were laughing in the photo booth at the end of the photo session of the babies. She was tired and overreacted to our loud laughing. A while later she screamed her head off while I changed her diaper. We were about to leave and didn't want to walk all the way to the restroom which was far away (Alisa freaks out when I put her on the changing table in public restrooms anyway) so I changed her in the stroller in the deserted hallway. I wanted to change her outside because she likes being outside, but it was raining and that exit didn't have much of a covering so we would have gotten wet. Anyway, I hated that whole event and will not ever do that again. People did start walking by and were probably wondering what I was doing to my baby because she was screaming so loudly and squirming so badly, which only made the whole ordeal last longer. She is difficult when tired. I should have changed her in the stroller in a quieter department store bathroom but I didn't think of that then.

Hayden was dozing off in the car on the way to get dinner so we went to the drive-thru at Zaxby's. Alisa started crying because she was tired of being strapped into a seat all day (stroller and carseat). I offered her some Cheerios because it was getting close to her dinner time but she didn't want any. She cried and woke Hayden who then cried. The cries escalated as they both upset each other with their crying. Hayden's cries turned into loud high-pitched scream-crying, which Courtney said she hadn't heard before. There were only 2 or 3 cars ahead of us in the drive-thru line but it took forever to get our food. The girls hardly stopped to take a breath for at least 20 minutes. It was bad, real bad. During the middle of it all, when we knew there was nothing we could do but hurry back to the hotel as soon as we were out of the drive-thru line, Courtney and I started laughing to relieve our stress. We took some videos of the screaming girls. Then, we finally had our food in hand and raced back to the hotel. The girls stopped crying as soon as they were out of their carseats.

It was then time for Alisa to eat so I made her a bottle and she drank it on my lap while I ate my food. It was the best Zaxby's chicken strips and fries I have ever had (that seems to be the theme of the weekend--all the food was especially good). I gave Alisa some bits of chicken and toast after she finished her bottle because she was still hungry. We once again played with the babies in the hotel room (I remembered that I had brought glow sticks for them to play with), took pictures, talked till about 11:30 PM and watched TV. There was a show on about parenting multiples and they had babies in events like a diaper derby, finger painting contest and eating contest. It was fun to watch.

That night I was able to put Alisa in bed before 10 PM and before she was totally asleep. I put her music on repeat so it would block out the noise of the many trains that kept coming through the area. She slept until 6:30 AM when she woke up crying. I think she was cold or something because I didn't hear any loud noises this time. I let her sleep in bed with me and didn't even try to put her back in her bed. We slept till 9 AM Sunday morning and then loaded up the cars and said our goodbyes. I was so hot and sweaty from loading the car and from standing in the hotel office to pay my portion of the bill because the room was like a sauna. Ugh. What a way to begin the drive home.

Alisa slept for an hour and 45 minutes during the drive home. It took 4 hours to get home because I had to stop to feed Alisa (since we didn't leave immediately after she ate breakfast). I wasn't in a hurry so I didn't mind--the stopping time doesn't bother me like the driving time does (I get tired and sore from driving, not from food/bathroom breaks). As I was feeding Alisa, I noticed that her pants were wet. I realized I had forgotten to change her diaper right before leaving, but she had only been in it for a few hours so it shouldn't have leaked (she can go all night without leaking). I didn't want to change her inside Taco Bell, I didn't want to take the stroller out of the trunk because it was partially buried and I can't change her on the seats in the car anymore because she getting so big and her carseat is in the middle...so I opted to change her on the trunk of the car because it's spacious and flat. I didn't want her to squirm and try to roll over while I was changing her because I could smell that she had pooped too, so I decided to change her while she was still drinking her bottle. I got out of the front seat with her still leaning back on my left arm and shoulder drinking her bottle and squatted by the back seat to get the diaper changing supplies out. Then I carried her back by the trunk and spread out the changing pad and laid her on it. The plan was awkward at first (since I carried her so she could keep drinking during the setup time too) but it worked like a charm because she was happily distracted by her bottle and didn't squirm at all during the diaper change. She finished drinking it as I put the stuff away and sat back in the front seat. Then I needed to go to the bathroom. I just got her a new big girl carseat so I didn't have the luxury of her infant carrier carseat where I could have carried her into the bathroom in that and set it on the floor without her touching the floor. And again, the stroller was buried so I didn't want to pull that out to put her in it. I ended up strapping on the baby carrier and putting her in that because even though it was awkward using the toilet with her strapped to my front, it was better than trying to hold her by myself or having her sit on the dirty bathroom floor (I knew she wouldn't stand up the whole time). Oh, the things we moms do with/for our children!

Alisa started getting fussy during the last half hour of driving, as she did on the way to Macon. We made it home though, safe and sound. It was a fun weekend in spite of the baby crying episodes and it was so good to see Courtney again and meet baby Hayden. I think we will plan to meet up again next year or sooner.

My Car

2008-03-27T18:10:00.010-04:00

I took my car into the shop the other day for the 90,000 mile maintenance (a bit late on that scheduled maintenance as my car now has 93,000 miles on it). They always wash my car when I take it there (even for just a quick oil change). However, I always forget that they wash my car since I don't go very often. This time it was a very pleasant surprise as my car REALLY needed to be washed. I had planned on washing it in our driveway days earlier but didn't get around to it. It had a thick coating of yellow pollen and tree junk all over it, as well as the typical dirt and bird droppings.

Oh, speaking of my car...on my way home from church Sunday I decided to stop by the park to see what time the city Easter egg hunt started. I could see the roped off areas but the place was deserted. I parked and got out of my car to go read the signs that had been hung by some trees. I got back in the car and backed up to leave. I was thinking deep thoughts or something and didn't totally look behind me as usual. I ended up backing into a tree! What was a tree doing at that part of the parking lot?! The crunch was horrendous even though I was barely moving. I thought for sure the trunk was all dented in, making it hard to open. I parked and got out to look. Luckily, no one was around to see my carelessness. I was surprised to see that there weren't any dents...just some scratches and a bit of paint scraped off of the lower left side of the bumper. If you step back, it just looks like it's dusty (white dusty, like from a gravel road). Whew.

Hassle with Bananas

2008-03-26T18:51:00.003-04:00

I went to Wal-Mart this afternoon with Alisa. I had 18 items in my cart so I got in the checkout line for 20 items or less. The girl had scanned all my items except the bananas (which aren't scanned anyway). When trying to ring up the bananas she kept getting an error that said the scale wasn't attached. She pushed a few buttons and jiggled the scale but she couldn't ring them up. She called for help and the lady that monitors the self-checkout lanes came over. She tried to ring up the bananas and got the same error so she said I had to go to another register because that scale was messed up. I asked if that meant all my items had to be scanned again and re-bagged at a new register or if they could pull up my transaction on their system and finish with just the bananas. I was remembering the time when someone had pulled up my transaction recently at a different Wal-Mart when I left my wallet in the diaper bag in the car. She didn't really give me a clear answer...just said something like it's my choice...that I could forget the bananas or go to another register. I was kinda surprised they didn't just dismiss the error and throw the bananas in for free. Anyway, I asked the question again but she didn't directly answer it so I said I would pay for everything that was already scanned and then I'd take the bananas and ring them up myself at a self-checkout lane, which was one lane over.

I had to wait on a lady to finish her transaction at the self-checkout lane. Alisa started crying because she saw me take a credit card out of my wallet and she wanted to hold it. It was almost naptime and she's more dramatic when tired. She was crying very loudly and tears were streaming down her cheeks. I wouldn't let her hold the credit card though. I tried to get her interested in her toys or the paper I had given to her earlier to hold but she only wanted the credit card. I had to just tell her no and let her scream. I was not about to take her out of her seat to calm her down because the lady would be finished in just a minute. I quickly rang up the bananas which were 97 cents. All that extra hassle for 97 cent bananas! Geez. Alisa loves bananas though and wants them nearly every morning for breakfast. She actually wanted them as soon as she saw me put them in the cart so I had to distract her and hide them (they aren't ripe yet). Alisa fell sound asleep in the car as soon as we left, but her crying was still ringing in my ears. Not a good way to end a shopping trip.

Church Videos

2008-03-18T12:38:00.009-04:00

We liked the first small group (Bible Study) we went to after choosing a church so we've gone back each week. It meets at the house of the guy in charge of Spiritual Formation & Administration at our church. He has a son that is 4 months younger than Alisa. Currently, there is no babysitter so Alisa plays with toys on the floor in the room with us during the meeting. She has done well being around all those strangers.

Each week at church there is a video (created by some members of the church) that goes along with the pastor's message. This video is from his "In God We Trust?" series about money. It's especially hilarious if you are familiar with the 80's/90's commercials for the Playskook "My Buddy" dolls.

Beauty of a Small Company

2008-03-17T18:16:00.005-04:00

EasyTEL Communications, the phone company I have been working for the past 5 years, has stayed small with 30-45 employees during that time. There are many benefits to working at a small company. We all know each other by name (as well as personal info about those we work closely with) and we know what each person does at work (so when we need to call another department, we know exactly who we are calling...it's not just a name on a list), we celebrate birthdays monthly with cake and other goodies, and so on.

In my position, I have to deal with many other local phone companies each week as their customers are leaving them to be serviced by us or vice versa. I get frustrated because most of them are difficult to work with. Most other companies are bound by some automated system of some sort and so their activities are restricted. Some can't process more than one order at a time for a customer (the pending order has to complete first, which usually takes days). Some companies are so stinkin' picky with parts of an order that they will reject it if you abbreviate Suite as SUIT instead of STE (you have to know which company prefers which abbreviation) or if the letter of authorization from the customer is more than a week old. Some companies have a lot of rude and unhelpful employees. Some companies seem to want to waste your time by rejecting orders for ridiculous reasons (don't they realize that it wastes their time too?!). Some companies make it VERY hard for you to get ahold of someone on the phone to ask them a quick question about an order. Some companies transfer your call to 3 different departments and leave you on hold for an hour before you get to talk to the right person. Some companies don't update their records when the customer requests it so then it delays your order.

We at EasyTEL can do anything...we are not tied down by systems. Call us at a moment's notice and we'll do it. We are very nice people too. We will not be rude or send you on a wild goose chase. No one is as easy to deal with as we are. We are relaxed and not picky about minor parts of orders that others send us. I work for a truly excellent company with a wonderful owner and employees! I am very very very thankful.

Minga is 2 Years Old Today

2008-03-13T22:23:00.006-04:00

Craig put part of Alisa's toy on Minga's head to serve as a birthday hat:

Alisa removed the hat, but then put it back on:

Minga's favorite activities are riding in the Jeep, playing fetch, swimming, and walking/running in the woods and creek:

Toenail Drama and Blueberries

2008-03-09T09:19:00.007-04:00

Today I went to pick Alisa up out of her crib when I jammed my toe on the drawer under her crib. I wasn't rushing and didn't seem to kick the drawer very hard but a lot of my big toenail ripped off. It wasn't ripped all the way off though...it was hanging on by a thread. It looked awful and was torn all jagged and in layers in some places, but my toe didn't bleed or anything. I was mostly upset by the fact that now I'm in danger of getting an ingrown toenail as it grows out. I had problems with ingrown toenails in college because I kept clipping my toenails too short (mostly the big toenails). It got so bad one time that I had to soak my feet several times a day and put ointment on my toe where puss was coming out. It hurt all the time--even more when wearing shoes or when walking. If I bumped my toe or if someone stepped on it, I would really scream and be in a lot of pain for a long time. It was horrible, but eventually (after many many months) it healed itself. I've had reoccuring trouble with various toes, but nothing as bad as that time in college.

You know how most people think of tomatoes as a vegetable but they are really fruits? Last night I dreamt that blueberries were redefined as vegetables. Weird. I probably dreamt about blueberries because I just read that kids under age 3 should not be given whole blueberries because they are a choking hazard (you just have to mash or cut them up).

Alisa is 11 Months Old Today

2008-03-07T22:24:00.063-05:00

Alisa gained 1 lb 4 oz this month--she went from 20 lbs 7 oz to 21 lbs 11 oz. Her hair is even longer with a more curls at the bottom (especially when it's raining outside). Her 3rd tooth (1st on top) is starting to cut through the gums and her 4th tooth (2nd on top) is getting ready to cut through.

She was sick this week after having been briefly around another baby at the end of last week who had been sick and still had a runny nose. She had a fever for 2 days and a runny nose and occasional cough for over a week. Her spirits were pretty high most of the time and after a few days of me constantly clearing out and wiping her nose, she stopped resisting and just let me do it.

This week she went back to sleeping 12 or more hours each night and taking 2-3 naps (about an hour each).

She outgrew all her 9-month-sized feety pajamas so I bought her some "big girl" pajamas, which are short-sleeved tops with matching pants or shorts.

She wasn't as interested in food this month as last month. She didn't finish many bottles and refused a lot of spoon foods. She never refused finger foods though (Cheerios, fruit puffs, bananas, pears, mango). We gave her some apple juice for the 1st time and she guzzled it down.

Eating Cheerios at a restaurant (2-27-08):

She can walk much better now while pushing her Walk 'N Ride toy around or while holding onto your hands or the table or ottoman.

She enjoys taking baths so much that if you take her in the bathroom while the tub is still filling with water she will scream and cry and try so hard to get in the tub immediately (before the water is the correct temperature). She stands up in the tub a lot and has stomped her legs quite a bit. She has also plopped down on her belly and excitedly kicked her legs and moved her arms almost like she's swimming.

Alisa's latest bathtime discovery is that it's fun to wave the washcloth around and slap things with it (water, walls, herself). It gets things really wet, including any bystanders (3-05-08):

Alisa loves feeling the various materials on the quilt Grandmom made for her (2-13-08):

Valentine's Day with monkey from Grandmom and holiday bib:

Alisa frequently does this leg lift (2-14-08):

Alisa loves bubbles (2-20-08):

Fun getting dirty at Lake Ella (2-29-08):

Alisa likes to stand under my desk but soon she won't be able to because she will be too tall (2-25-08):

Alisa's favorite spot under Craig's desk is the shelf that's supposed to be for the tower (which Craig doesn't need because he has a laptop):

Getting a closer look at the crib mobile animals (2-07-08):

Playing with my old stuffed animals for the 1st time (2-25-08):

Playing with her stuffed animals in the morning (mostly the penguin in these pics):

Craig bought Alisa a soccer ball (2-26-08):

Last time to wear this warm outfit (2-27-08):

Winter dress:

Enjoying the sunshine and flowers (2-19-08):

Enjoying her books:

Looking at the photo book with family pictures so she will recognize them when she sees them again (2-25-08):

Alisa loves looking at magazines...after while she will rip a page out and carry it--or more often, a piece of it--around for a long time:

Playing with the plush ABCs (2-18-08):

Playing with little dolls that each get tucked under their own little blanket on the larger blanket Aunt Janet made for her:

Silly doggie (2-26-08):

First day she constantly practiced standing up without holding onto anything--she used Craig's legs as a pushing off point (3-02-08):

New umbrella stroller for times when we don't need the big and bulky stroller (3-05-08):

New outfit for spring pictures (3-06-08):

Wockenfuss

2008-02-28T17:50:00.000-05:00

On Valentine's Day, Craig told me he wanted to buy me a box of Wockenfuss chocolates. He said he would have bought them secretly and surprised me on that day, but he didn't want to get the wrong kind so he told me I could choose the assortment I wanted. I chose all the creams, except coconut...so that means I got raspberry, lemon, orange, buttercream, chocolate, peanut butter and mint. Some are covered in milk chocolate and some in dark chocolate. Perfect!

It was actually better this way because I had the fun of choosing the chocolates and then anticipating their arrival in the mail. There is a lot of joy and excitment for me in the anticipation of events, special days and things arriving in the mail. It was also a loving act for Craig to even buy me chocolates because he doesn't like me to eat a lot of sweets since they are bad for me. Still, he knew how much it would mean to me and since I only eat 2 at the most per day, it's not too bad.

The Wockenfuss Candy Co is in Baltimore, Maryland which is where my mom grew up. We used to visit there every other summer. Every year at Christmas, someone in our family out there (usually Pop-Pop, my mom's dad) sends my parents a box of Wockenfuss candies for us to enjoy as a family. We LOVE the tradition and LOVE the candies. I was excited to have my very own box to enjoy. Of course, Craig can have some too, but he rarely wants one because they are so sweet.

Videos of Alisa - December

2008-02-23T22:22:00.015-05:00

Alisa talks to the babies pictured on the box that her toys came in and makes heeee noises every once in awhile (first day to do that noise) (12-04-07):

Alisa shakes ring toys while sitting in Bumbo chair (12-04-07):

Alisa plays with the plastic Pillsbury Doughboy that Mommy got years ago with a cookbook order (12-04-07):

Alisa talks to the Pillsbury Doughboy (12-04-07):

Alisa sings and plays with Tigger in Bumbo chair (12-04-07):

Alisa says da-da and plays with rattle and feet on changing table (12-05-07):

Daddy takes Alisa's 1st Christmas present from Nana out of the packaging (12-09-07):

Daddy drops the shaker balls in the "Tiny Love Musical Stack & Play" toy that Nana sent to Alisa (12-09-07):

Daddy pats hand over Alisa's mouth while she makes noise resulting in the hubububba sound (12-09-07):

Daddy and Alisa laugh on hotel bed on the way to Tulsa for Christmas (12-15-07):

Daddy makes Alisa laugh then smooshes her cheeks at Grandmom & Grandad's house (12-17-07):

Videos of Alisa - November

2008-02-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry these are so late. It takes more than an hour for each 1 minute video to upload the YouTube (and then just a few seconds to upload to my website after that) and I didn't get around to it until weeks after getting home from our Christmas visit to Tulsa.

Alisa crawling towards Minga (11-14-07):

Alisa crawls around while playing with Tigger (11-14-07):

Alisa plays with Tigger and gets up on her hands and feet (11-14-07):

Alisa sings while sitting in the Bumbo chair (11-14-07):

Alisa talks loudly to Minga (11-17-07):

Alisa laughs and shares Tigger with Minga (11-17-07):

Alisa pull a book off Daddy's little bookshelf and flips the pages with her thumb (11-23-07):

Alisa standing up using the Bumbo chair (11-24-07):

Alisa looks at the babies pictured on the box her Walk 'n Ride toy came in (11-29-07):

Incredible Sense of Smell

2008-02-12T12:04:00.002-05:00

We all know that dogs have an incredible sense of smell, right? I am able to see it first hand when throwing objects for Minga to fetch. Even if I touch a small stick for 2 seconds with just 2 fingers, Minga will hunt it down in the woods and bring it back. She won't stop hunting until she finds the exact one I just threw. It's amazing and fun to watch. Sometimes it takes her awhile to find it, which is good because then she gets more exercise running around. We usually open the front gate and then throw things off the back of the main balcony so she can get the most exercise while fetching. She stands with us on the balcony and sometimes watches where the object lands and then runs so fast along the balcony, through the gate and then turns and tears down the grassy hill to the back yard to find the object. If she's been searching for awhile with no luck she will stop and look up at us. We encourage her that the object is still out there by saying, "Go get it...where's the stick?" and then she continues hunting. Most of the time she dashes through the creek at least once to cool off.

It's apparent that she doesn't search based on sight because when we throw the red frisbee for her she will sometimes run right past it (where it's obvious to the eyes, but she won't notice it). She will eventually come back by it and pick it up.

Bigger and Better Fish Tank

2008-02-10T17:11:00.003-05:00

We now have a 6-foot-long, 125-gallon fish tank! We put it down in the new room, which is mostly used as a study and game room.

(You can click on any of the pictures for a closer view).

Here it is on the first day or so in late November (the water is murky because the sand hadn't settled completely yet):

Here it is now with some new additions (more rocks and shells):

These are the cichlids that used to be in our 20-gallon tank:

Craig got this 75 lb quartz rock from his friend Kevin, who got it out of a river in Vermont:

Craig got these slate rocks (about 20 lbs each) from a creek by his friend Jeremy's house in Arkansas:

Here is a video Craig got of the fish:

Mom's Day Out

2008-02-09T22:01:00.002-05:00

We moms from the monthly playgroup that I take Alisa to had our first Mom's Day Out today. We met at a nail salon for a pedicure and only 4 of us actually showed up. It was my 1st pedicure and it was nice. I chose the paraffin wax as an extra to the basic pedicure. After trimming my toenails and buffing all the rough spots on my feet (which kinda tickled), the lady massaged my feet and legs (up to the knee) with oils. That felt sooooo good. Then she dipped my feet in the hot wax several times, wrapped them in plastic bags and let them dry while I had hot towels wrapped around my legs. She came back awhile later and peeled off the soft wax. She completed the pedicure by painting my toenails a pinkish red color I had picked out. I haven't had my toenails painted since college or shortly after so it's weird seeing them like this again.

We ate lunch at a restaurant called Chez Pierre. The weather was gorgeous so we ate on the deck by the fountain. It was peaceful and we were the only ones out there for a long time. We talked about our babies (of course), husbands/boyfriends and jobs. The best part was when we told each other our quirks/obsessive compulsive tendencies. We laughed so much.

Afterwards, one girl had to take lunch to her husband at work but the rest of us picked up our babies from our homes and went to a playground. It was Alisa's first time at a playground. She wasn't fond of the swings but the other moms said their babies weren't fond the first time they were in a swing, but now they love them. Alisa loved sitting on and trying to climb up the slide. She played with the mulch that covered the ground but didn't put any of it in her mouth, which was surprising and great. She enjoyed watching the big kids run around and play. She kept screeching at them while smiling and one time got everyone's attention.

I stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home. Alisa had fallen asleep in the car so I put the baby seat on the shopping cart so she would stay asleep. After I had filled the cart, I did the self checkout and then realized that I had left my wallet in diaper bag in car. I pushed the Help button and when the lady came over I told her what happened. There were people in line behind me so she suspended the transaction to free up that station and said I could pay at her station when I came back with my wallet. I left the cart full of groceries there and carried Alisa in her seat all the way out to my car. I was mad at myself and did not enjoy the walk. Alisa is getting heavy and it's harder to carry her in her seat now (hurts my upper back and shoulders just thinking about it). I could have grabbed another cart and pushed her out in that but I didn't think of it in time. I walked quickly because she was heavy and my ice cream was melting so then my legs were tired. Oh well, I survived. That experience should help me to remember to check my purse for my wallet before going inside next time.

I took Alisa and the groceries home and then went out by myself for a snack and to run a few other errands. I got my favorite cold drink at Panera Bread and by the time I walked out of there it was packed with an early dinner crowd. I just took it to my car and drank some while reading a book, rather than taking up a table for just me. While I was sitting there, a girl got in the car next to me and commented to her friend that my car looked like it had been riddled with bullets. She didn't see me sitting there. My car still has hail damage all over it from the 2004 storm in Tulsa so that's what she was talking about. I hardly even notice it these days.

New Highway Fence

2008-02-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

Many months ago, Craig contacted the city and told them the drainage ditch by our property had issues (haybales and rocks had washed away and the creek was filling with too much sand) and also that the fence separating our property from the highway was falling over in places. They asked if we could wait until after hurricane season and we said yes. Well, they put in a new fence this past week and Craig even convinced them to haul off a huge pile of tree limbs from our property that some other guys left by the fence when we had our trees trimmed (saved us like $400-$600). Go Craig!

This is the view of the highway from our balcony. During the summer you can't even see the highway or the drainage ditch or culvert because of the trees and tall grasses.

Putting the rocks in place:

Alisa is 10 Months Old Today

2008-02-07T23:55:00.050-05:00

Alisa gained 1 lb this month--she went from 19 lbs 7 oz to 20 lbs 7 oz. Her hair is noticeably longer with a bit of a curl at the bottom and her 2 bottom middle teeth are still the only ones showing. It is so hard to cut her fingernails these days because she is wiggling and constantly trying to grab the nail clippers. The best time to cut them is when she's sleeping but she rarely falls asleep in our arms nowadays. Her nails end up being pretty long by the time I get around to cutting them and she sometimes scratches her face at night.

She has liked all the foods we've given her except cottage cheese (and it was even mixed with pureed fruit). She loves Cheerios and bananas, probably mostly because she gets to pick them up with her fingers. She has been easier to feed this month. She's focused when drinking her bottle (doesn't usually take breaks) and hasn't been getting too messy when eating spoon foods. We don't have to burp her anymore...she will burp on her own within minutes of finishing her bottle.

She sleeps 11 hours each night and started taking longer naps (1 to 1 1/2 hours). She doesn't usually get fussy before a nap anymore, but she will still suck her thumb off and on, slow down in her movements or become a little frustrated with toys. If she doesn't show signs of tiredness, we just put her in her crib about 2 hours after she started eating her last meal and she will lay down and fall asleep soon after (no crying!). She usually happily plays in her crib for 30 minutes to an hour or more upon awakening. However, she is usually fussy after her short evening nap--if she has one (depends on when her day started)--and wants to be held for awhile after (doesn't happily play in her crib upon awakening).

She is fearless when it comes to crawling on the edge of the bed or couch--she would dive off if we would let her (we have to hold her tight to keep her from landing on her head once she determines to take the plunge).

She can take a few steps while pushing her Walk 'N Ride toy around or while holding onto your hands or the table or ottoman (she's just not motivated to take more than a few steps yet). She loves crawling on hard floors. She enjoys taking baths and is constantly crawling and standing up in the tub.

She laughs and smiles a lot and also makes lots of puzzled faces in response to sounds and other new things. She loves hugging and kissing her stuffed animals (she does this in the morning and after every nap). She likes to clap her hands, my hands and even her stuffed animals' hands. She also loves pulling off her socks and playing with them.

We got her a learning table and she loves it. It lights up and plays various songs, sounds and words when different parts are pushed, spun, opened, etc.

She loves looking at books and magazines (especially those with pictures of babies in them). The 1st time I gave her a magazine to look at on her own, she kept putting it up to her face (1-24-08)...all the other times she'd turn the pages and eventually rip one out and carry it around:

Reading the Dr Seuss book "Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You?"...she loves the sounds I make when reading this book and joins in on the line "He can sound like a clock...he can tick, he can tock" by clucking her tongue (2-05-08):

She started pointing at things this month, which is handy for letting us know what she wants to take a closer look at. The 1st time she pointed at something (a large lizard sculpture on the wall) was when she was sitting in her friend Benjamin's highchair after eating lunch there (1-16-08):

Checking out her new giraffe shoes, which are super comfy and soft (good for babies who are starting to stand and/or walk):

She cried after drinking her bottle because she was still hungry and didn't want to wait until I finished preparing her spoon food. After she stopped crying, she had one tear under each eye, as if they were intentionally placed there (1-15-08):

She always ends up playing under my desk when I'm working or playing on the computer:

She thinks it's so fun to sit in our office chairs and spin...here she is in my new chair (1-16-08):

New pajamas from Aunt Janet (so she'd be close to matching the pajamas of her older girl cousins on Christmas morning):

Alisa loves this new ball we got for her (1-20-08):

She always has something in her hand or mouth, even when crawling (1-24-08):

Standing for one of the 1st times without holding onto anything for support (1-23-08):

Alisa absolutely loves these little ducks (we were given 4 of them so there is one in each main room):

She thinks it's hilarious when I put or let her put toys in my mouth (1-27-08):

This is the face she made after I said "No" to touching the nightlight (2-06-08):

Savannah, Georgia

2008-02-06T23:56:00.001-05:00

We took a weekend trip to Savannah, Georgia to meet up with my sister Karen and her friend Nathan. It was a 4 1/2 hour drive. We arrived Saturday afternoon and checked into the hotel. We had gotten a deal online through a 3rd party that gave us $40 off the room, but it was for a smoking room only. We asked the receptionist if we could change to a non-smoking room but she said they were completely booked. I believed it, because a little while later there were 13 taxis lined up outside waiting for their fares. We saw some kids dressed up so it was either a wedding party or some other formal event.

I unpacked all the baby stuff (Pack 'N Play, toys, food and bottles) and settled into the room. Minutes later, I realized Alisa's bare knees and the tops of her shoes were black from crawling on the floor (I hadn't put her pants back on yet after changing her diaper). I was horrified! The dirt wiped off easily with a wet washcloth but I didn't want her to crawl around on that dirty floor once she was in her pajamas because they wouldn't wipe so clean. A little while later, the toilet wouldn't flush anymore so Craig called the front desk. The receptionist said it had broken earlier and they had done a quick fix until they could buy a new chain. She said a room did open up and since the quick fix no longer worked, we got to move to a non-smoking room that was larger and had a separate sitting area with a pullout couch bed and another TV. Wahoo--free upgrade! We packed everything up and then unpacked again in the new room, putting Alisa's bed in the separate area so we wouldn't disturb her. Alisa's knees did not become black from the carpet so I realized it was just soot from the smoking room--disgusting!

Alisa loved feeling the smooth hotel bedspread:

We ate dinner at a great Mexican place called Cilantro's that was near our hotel. Then we drove around downtown so Alisa could take a nap in the car and we could scout out the town. It was dark by then so we got to see what the town was like all lit up. We drove down River Street by all the shops and restaurants and then up and down some other streets, passing many of the 22 town squares. We didn't see Karen that night because her flight arrived after 9 PM and Nathan picked her up.

Bridge over Savannah River:

River Street:

River Street Market:

One of the 22 squares (most had fountains or statues in the center):

There are lots of cool houses like this in town:

Sunday morning we ate free breakfast at the hotel and it was delicious. I had a sausage biscuit and french toast (nice for a continental breakfast!). We met Karen at Nathan's RV, which was parked with the other circus vehicles at the Civic Center. From there we walked around town looking at the old houses and pretty squares. Nathan briefly joined us for lunch at The Mellow Mushroom (pizza place) and then we walked back to the Civic Center to see the circus. There was a mixup with our tickets at the Will Call booth so we called Karen's cell (she was then backstage with Nathan) and Nathan had to call some people to figure out what happened to the tickets he had set aside for us. By the time they found them, we had missed the preshow (where you can see some of the animals and entertainers up close) and Nathan was late to his position.

Alisa enjoyed watching the performers in their sparkly costumes at the circus. Craig had her in the baby carrier at first and she happily bounced up and down. She drank a bottle while watching the little daschunds and the elephant do tricks. She fell asleep during the last 20 minutes but woke up as we were walking out.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking and shopping on River Street. We ate an early dinner at Kevin Barry's Pub (Irish) where the Shepherd's Pie and Irish Beef Stew were excellent. Craig headed back to the hotel room to watch the Superbowl on the 42" plasma TV and the rest of us walked to a coffee house for dessert. Alisa took another nap in the stroller and woke up about 20 minutes before we left the coffee house. I had a very rich and super delicious piece of chocolate toffee mousse. I'm sure it had a ton of calories in it, but it was so good that I didn't care very much. It's okay to splurge every once in awhile. We made it back to the hotel room in time to watch the last quarter of the very exciting game.

Monday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel again, walked around town and then ate lunch at The Pirates House. Most of the 15 rooms were closed off due to renovations so what we saw was not very impressive. The food was good, but the buffet was overpriced. One of the staff was dressed up like a pirate and closely resembled (in dress and speech) Johnny Depp's character (Captain Jack Sparrow) in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He entered the room singing to Alisa because the lyrics of the song that was playing had something to do with a sweet child or girl (I can't remember the song right now). Alisa looked worried when she saw him and started to get upset so he left before she could escalate. We walked up and down River Street again and then Craig, Alisa and I headed home. Karen and Nathan drove to Tybee Island (about 25 minutes from downtown) for some camping. They were going to stay the rest of the week to explore the city more and do things, like a trolley tour.

Alisa loved riding on the cobblestone streets...she made noises so her voice would vibrate as she bounced along in the stroller. She also enjoyed the streets that had oyster shells in them because they were rough too.

Shell sidewalk by cobblestone street:

This boat sprayed 2 streams of water for quite awhile...not sure why they were doing it, but it was nice to watch and they made a rainbow:

Aunt Karen and Alisa:

Cool staircase to get down to the river on the east end:

Circus

2008-02-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

I saw the Ringling Brothers Boom A Ring (Gold Tour) circus in Tallahassee on January 8th and the circus in Savannah on February 3rd. I hadn't been to the circus since I was a little girl. The reason I went twice in the span on one month is because my sister Karen knows the circus trumpet player and she was visiting him both cities and he got us free tickets to the shows and backstage passes to the one in Tallahassee.

It was a one ring circus...I will mention some of the highlights for me.....

I was amazed at watching the woman that did the rope stuff. She climbed a rope and did all sorts of poses from it, like holding on with just her legs and what not. Several times she wrapped the rope around herself in a specific way and then let go and her body spun over and over (either side over side or head over heels) and down the rope, stopping just before hitting the floor. Man, you have to get that just right or you will go splat! She also did maneuvers from a rope swing and she was swinging very high and fast.

It was also cool to see another strong woman do tricks on the rings. She would swing a lot and let go and be hanging upside by just her legs. Before her ring act, she did tricks with 6 big cats. She was the only one in the caged ring with those cats and she handled them beautifully. She went straight from the cat act to the ring act, just removing her fancy long coat and shoes. Usually people get a break in between acts, so I was impressed by her.

The 6 little dachsunds that did tricks were cute and funny. The music went really well with their running, hopping and twirling. I liked watching the elephants too. One woman came out riding the male elephant and had him do all sorts of things like standing on the stool, spinning and waving with his trunk. She stood and sat on him in all sorts of positions and it was so neat to see. She also went from the male to the female elephant and at one point had one foot on each one's head (which is risky). Nathan told us that the elephants need traveling companions and they use a zebra as one because they get along so well. At the show in Tallahassee, the zebra companion came out on stage with the elephant--so cute!

The wheel act was exciting and dangerous. There were 2 large wheels (like hamster wheels) connected with a long straight part so they could spin up and over each other (looked like an amusement park ride). There was 1 guy in each wheel. They'd run and jump inside each one as it went around and around and up and down. Then, the little guy got on the outside of his wheel and ran around it like that. He did lots of scary jumps as the wheel went from the highest point and started to go down. He got pretty crazy and there was no safety wires or crash pad for him. He even did some of it blindfolded!

There is a guy named Justin Case that is Australian (I met him backstage) but played a French character in the show. He came out quite a lot in between acts, wearing a coat and hat and carrying a small case. He rode a bicycle that kept falling apart (handle bars, seats, each wheel, etc. came off) and each time he'd put it back together all wrong and ride it like that. It was clever and funny. Just when you thought he couldn't think of any other silly way to put the bike together, he'd do another way and actually ride that thing! And sometimes he rode it while standing on his head! He said that he was the first one to ever do one of the tricks he did, which was riding it while sitting on the front of the bike where the handle bars meet the front wheel with the bike totally vertical. At one point, he pulled a tiny bicycle out of the case he had been carrying around and he rode it around the elevated walkway of the ring. This bike was so small (just bigger than his foot) it was incredible that he could even ride it (he put his feet on the pedals like normal). And later, he opened the case again and pulled out an even tinier bicycle. The entire thing was SMALLER than his foot and he successfully rode it through a flaming hoop. The crowd went wild! It was sooooo funny and amazing!

Hooray for the circus!

Church

2008-01-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

We finally started going to church again. We had visited several churches after we first moved here, but stopped going after Alisa was born because of her schedule (or lack thereof). We decided we'd be able to go now because she is on a pretty predictable schedule and can go many hours between feedings. I searched online for the next church to try...we are looking for a non-denominational church with people our age (preferably starting to have kids, like us). I found a couple of options that looked good and I chose the first one to try based on their website. It has their beliefs, info about the leadership team (including interests and musical taste, which are similar to ours) and other stuff.

The church meets at a YMCA on the south side of town. We went to the 10:30 AM service because Alisa usually sleeps in until 9:00 AM. The first thing we did was check in at the kids counter because it was right by the entrance. They asked Alisa's name, typed it in the computer and promptly printed 3 stickers--one large one with her name to stick on her back and 2 small ones with a number and letter that matched the ones on the large sticker. The smaller ones were for Craig and I--so that either of us could pick her up without them wondering if she was really our daughter or not...a bit of a security check. We passed by the table with bagels and coffee to go find the nursery. The pastor greeted us and led us back to the nursery. We were worried that Alisa would cry when we left her there because she has separation anxiety, but thankfully she did not. There were several girls working in the nursery and lots of toys for Alisa to play with so that helped.

The worship was our style--the leader sang and played guitar and there was another singer and the band, complete with a violinist. The message was good and short (we don't like really long services). The pastor came up to us afterwards and mentioned that he checked on the kids during the announcement break and saw that Alisa was doing fine. Nice of him to do that, to tell us and to remember her name.

The service was arranged slightly different than what we are used to. They sang one song then gave you a minute to fill out an information card (which we did since we were first time guests). They played a Radiohead song during that time, which we enjoyed because we like Radiohead and had never heard it played in church before. Next was a video clip they created that related to the message and yet was humorous. Then the pastor spoke and they ended with worship and the offering. They had free Bibles at end of each row that they encouraged anyone to use and to take home if desired. I'd never seen that before and was impressed.

The 2nd week that we went we stayed afterwards for the newcomers lunch to find out more about their community groups. The pastor sat at our table for quite awhile learning more about us and answering our questions. So far so good. Our next step is to choose a community group to go to on a weeknight. This just may be the church we settle into...with no further looking necessary (that would be nice).

Alisa is 9 Months Old Today

2008-01-07T23:52:00.021-05:00

Alisa gained 7 oz this month--she went from 19 lbs to 19 lbs 7 oz. Her hair is noticeably longer again and her 2 bottom middle teeth have fully emerged.

Alisa likes to stand, but is wobbly on her feet. She sleeps 11 hours each night and started taking shorter naps (usually 30 minutes).

She went on her first long distance trip (3 weeks in Tulsa for Christmas and New Year's). She was overwhelmed at times with all the new faces but she did warm up to the family. She enjoyed watching her older cousins play, but sometimes needed to get away from all the noise. I worked almost full time from the office in Tulsa during our visit (since I had to be considered an independent consultant after moving to Florida and I no longer get any paid vacation) so Craig and Grandmom took care of Alisa during the day.

Nana (Craig's mom) mailed Alisa's Christmas presents from West Virginia and we opened them early since we didn't have room in the car for them during our trip to Tulsa. Here Alisa is playing with the "Tiny Love Musical Stack & Play" toy (it lights up and plays various sounds and songs when you drop a shaker ball in the elephant's head):

Craig adorned her with the elephant parts from her toy and, surprisingly, the ring stayed on her head for quite awhile:

Alisa loves playing with the nesting cups:

Tasty bath finger puppets:

Fun with bow that was on 2nd Christmas present she received (mailed from my friend Joyce in Texas):

Looking at the "Happy Baby Colors" book that Nana sent:

Lifting a flap on the "My Little People Farm Lift-the-Flap PlayBook" that Nana sent:

Sliding the book around on the carpet:

Looking at Reader's Digest with Grandmom (my mom):

With the grandparents in Tulsa:

Laughing with Grandad (my dad):

Baby's 1st Christmas hat:

Sitting on Jonathan's lap (my cousin). I think he was the only one she didn't get clingy and upset during the initial encounter. I think it's because he was smiling so big and he's such a joyful person that it put her at ease. She doesn't usually let people hold her when she first meets them and he got to hold her almost right away!

She couldn't get enough of standing by the popcorn tin and banging on it with a spoon:

Eating breakfast on the day she first said ma-ma (ironic that she said it when daddy was feeding her):

Grandmom was thoughtful and borrowed this highchair for Alisa from her church during our visit:

Alisa loved crawling under the chairs in the dining room at Grandmom & Grandad's house:

She made this face for the first time in Tulsa...and she did it repeatedly:

Alisa couldn't resist the ornaments on the tree:

Fun with Aunt Karen:

Alisa loved crawling on the hard floors at Grandmom & Grandad's house:

After opening first present on Christmas morning:

Christmas dress:

Playing with cousin Anna's new water baby:

Playing with Aunt Lindsay's necklace:

Anna loved playing with her youngest cousin Alisa:

Cousin Anna was very helpful:

Alisa scraped her forehead and nose on the coffee table at our friends' house. She was recovering from an illness, but kept wanting to stand and play at the table. She was a bit weak still and ended up falling and hitting the table with her chin and then forehead before I could catch her. Her forehead didn't bleed at all as just a thin layer of skin was scraped off...but it sure scabbed over well and looked bad.

New Walk 'N Ride toy:

90,000 miles

2008-01-04T19:45:00.000-05:00

The odometer on my 2000 Honda reached 90,000 miles today:

Tulsa Ice Storm

2007-12-28T18:50:00.000-05:00

We are in Tulsa, Oklahoma right now for the holidays and the week before we arrived there was a crazy ice storm in Tulsa. Many thousands of people were without electricity for at least several days. Dozens of utility trucks drove in from nearby states to help work around the clock to get the power restored to homes and businesses. And many tree-trimming businesses came from other states to help trim trees and remove broken branches. My parents were without power all week...it was restored 2 days before we arrived.

(You can click on each picture below for a closer look)

My uncle Don took these pictures of the ice covered trees:

The trees were so covered in thick ice that many broke apart like this (even the really big trunks!):

Most homes had large piles of branches like this out front all week waiting for the yard waste removal trucks to come by and take them:

October Visitors

2007-12-10T23:09:00.000-05:00

My long time friend Sheryl and her husband Daniel came to visit us from Seattle at the beginning of October. We went to the beach twice (St George Island and Shell Point Beach) and Alisa wore her swimsuit and enjoyed the water for the first time.

Our spot at St George Island (10-04-07):

Eating at The Blue Parrot on St George Island:

At Shell Point Beach (10-06-07):

My Mom, Dad and brother Greg visited in the middle of October. We went to Maclay Gardens, Shell Point Beach and then Jacksonville Beach for the first time.

Relaxing at the park at Maclay Gardens (10-14-07):

Walking around the gardens:

This tree has branches that grew down to the ground and even started going under the ground in a few places:

St George Island is our favorite beach so far (1 hour and 50 minutes away). It's always been quite empty when we've gone and the sand and small waves are nice. It has good bathrooms and a shower to rinse off all the salt and sand. There are also several restaurants nearby (with one right on the beach).

Shell Point Beach is the closest (45 minutes away), but doesn't really have waves to enjoy. It does have hermit crabs to watch at low tide and shells to scavenge (which makes the sand not so soft and feet friendly). There are no restaurants nearby.

Our spot at Shell Point Beach (10-16-07):

Jacksonville Beach was stinky because of the seaweed that had washed ashore on the day we went. I'm not sure if it's normally like that. If so, then it's not worth the 3 hour drive for us. I think you had to pay to go out on the pier. The sand was nice though and there were lots of shops and restaurants nearby.

Our spot at Jacksonville Beach (10-17-07):

Shocked at Wal-Mart

2007-12-07T23:55:00.000-05:00

I was shocked when checking out at Wal-Mart today. I was charged 1 cent for 4 bananas. That's 1 cent TOTAL, not per banana! So funny! I always just buy about 4 bananas and I don't remember being charged so little before.

I was doing the self checkout and when I scanned the Wite-Out, the machine said to please wait for assistance because approval was needed. I was shocked and thought approval was only needed for alcoholic beverages and stuff like that. Guess too many teens have been sniffing Wite-Out...the lady said you have to be 18 to buy it--wow!

Alisa is 8 Months Old Today

2007-12-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

Alisa had more new solids this month (squash, green beans, peas, mango, pears) and she likes them all. She gets excited when it's time to eat spoon foods. I prepare them in batches by pureeing them with water in the Magic Bullet (like a small blender) that a friend recommended and then freezing them in serving size portions using ice cube trays with plastic wrap over them. Once the portions are frozen, I put them in labeled Ziplock freezer bags. Before bed, I put the portions that she will eat the next day in baby bowls with lids and they are thawed by the next morning. I just mix some cereal for her right before feeding her and the meal is complete. That Cube Food Method is described in the book "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. The book has so much information on how to prepare your own baby food, what foods can safely be introduced at what ages, recipes, and so much more. I highly recommend it.

Eating sweet potatoes (for first time) and rice cereal (11-03-07):

We got her a highchair and she looks so small sitting in it:

Wearing bib from Grandmom on Thanksgiving:

Alisa gained just over 1 lb this month--she went from 17 lbs 13 oz to 19 lbs. Her hair is noticeably longer and her 2 bottom middle teeth are emerging. She wiggled all the way out of her Bumbo chair for the first time in just a few seconds a couple of days ago. She also started making a new funny noise this week that sounds like a long drawn out heeeeee sound or like she's gasping for air. She thinks it's hilarious (and so do we), especially when she really draws it out. Silly girl!

We had to put the baby gate up by the living room because Alisa is so mobile and we don't want her falling down the stairs. We originally bought the gate for Minga when she was a puppy and slept in the kitchen in our apartment (we hadn't used it at this house until now). Alisa is a fast and excellent crawler and she can quickly pull herself up using whatever is around (Bumbo chair, door, coffee table, ottoman, our legs, stool, chair, baby gate).

She loves standing, climbing over things (Minga, our legs, Bumbo chair) and looking at pictures of babies (she talks to the baby pictured on the big diaper box).

Minga is very good about letting Alisa climb over her. It's funny because sometimes Minga will look at us like "Do I have to take this right now? I'm tired!" However, she knows if Alisa is really bothering her she can just get up and walk away.

Alisa spends lots of time talking to and touching the pictures of the babies on the diaper box and the boxes her large toys were packaged in:

She sleeps 11 hours (instead of 12 hours) each night and started taking longer naps (1 hour to 2 1/2 hours). We lowered her crib mattress since she stands up frequently after napping and a few times was trying to get out of the crib (yikes!). These pictures were before we lowered the crib:

She pulled books off the bookshelves in the office for the first time 2 weeks ago (she tried before that but didn't actually pull any off). I was impressed that instead of ripping or slobbering on the book, she just flipped the pages over and over with her thumb:

Choosing next book to pull off:

We also got her an Exersaucer this month. I meant to buy one sooner but wanted to find the right one and I was just so busy with work and Alisa that it took me awhile to get around to it. We chose one that will last a long time--it can be transformed into a play table once she's walking and too tall to use it as an Exersaucer.

She says da-da all the time and occasionally says da-dee. It is super cute!

Good times with Daddy:

Sitting in toy bin (11-08-07):

Choosing toy from toy bin (11-26-07):

The Pillsbury Doughboy is a new toy that I dug out of a box (got him free when I ordered a cookbook many years ago) and Alisa loved him immediately:

See the resemblance? (11-16-07):

Alisa shares Tigger with Minga (11-07-07):

She is always going after the jingly tag on Minga's collar (11-14-07):

Sometimes she plays with Minga's ear and tries to suck on them (11-26-07):