Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Nothin'...
..like waking up at 3:14am and having a toddler, under gastrointestinal distress, upchuck all over your arm and down your side. Today we're experiencing some of the joys of parenting and CP was even nice enough to pass a little bit of her fun and games on to me. The tiny slobbery smooches were worth it though.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Sleep Number
This past weekend, the LW and I struck out on a mattress and pillow hunt. The pillows were relatively easy to find. The Sears right down the way had a 2 for 1 gig going on and we got some nice pillows for what they probably should cost anyway. Little did I know however, what a dramatic effect this would have on the way that most of my torso now feels when I wake up. If you'd told me that just getting a pillow that will support my head properly when sidelying would have made my neck feel this much better, I'd have suggested that you put the crack pipe down.
We both picked up a little bit of comfort, but a little bit of worry came with it. While we were at the store (cavernous department type), CP decided that she would run around and hide from us. Yayyy! Just what I wanted to do was to be "that guy" walking the isles of a store trying desperately to find my runaway progeny. Evidently she thought that it would be cool to disobey her mother's order to stop and instead head out of the area at high speed. This wouldn't be a problem at Costco or something that's laid out on a grid, but this was the home decor/curtains/bed pillows area of the store where everything is everywhere. She quickly found her way into a back hallway and through an open door into the stock/warehouse area. Just as we were about to get really wound up, a kind store employee came out of this area with her. All of this took place in about 45 seconds, but I think that I shed a few years off of my life in that store.
After this, we were off in search of a new mattress. A friend of ours works at a furniture place, so we shopped around a little before buying one from him. We found out later that all of the folks in there selling furniture work for 100% commission. On selling our bed, he made $4. What a bite in the arse. The LW and I found out that our coil spring sleep number is 380 + 8.1%. Geez, I hate to part with that much money for a mattress, but we need some really good sleep and I think that this will help. We'll know more on Friday morning....early.
We both picked up a little bit of comfort, but a little bit of worry came with it. While we were at the store (cavernous department type), CP decided that she would run around and hide from us. Yayyy! Just what I wanted to do was to be "that guy" walking the isles of a store trying desperately to find my runaway progeny. Evidently she thought that it would be cool to disobey her mother's order to stop and instead head out of the area at high speed. This wouldn't be a problem at Costco or something that's laid out on a grid, but this was the home decor/curtains/bed pillows area of the store where everything is everywhere. She quickly found her way into a back hallway and through an open door into the stock/warehouse area. Just as we were about to get really wound up, a kind store employee came out of this area with her. All of this took place in about 45 seconds, but I think that I shed a few years off of my life in that store.
After this, we were off in search of a new mattress. A friend of ours works at a furniture place, so we shopped around a little before buying one from him. We found out later that all of the folks in there selling furniture work for 100% commission. On selling our bed, he made $4. What a bite in the arse. The LW and I found out that our coil spring sleep number is 380 + 8.1%. Geez, I hate to part with that much money for a mattress, but we need some really good sleep and I think that this will help. We'll know more on Friday morning....early.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Stop Loss & Taxes
Paying quarterly sales taxes and city taxes today. Fun stuff. AZ has a website that allows you to file online and pay online as well. It's pretty simple as long as you have your online sales stuff setup correctly. Photoreflect has a page where you set up your taxes and stuff, but if you let it, it will collect taxes for every county and municipality in your state - not what I want for basically point of sale stuff here in my town. Folks will argue, like I did down at city hall, that the photos are purchased from the web and shouldn't be taxed, but when it comes down to it, the photos are being paid for here in town from me and printed locally, so I'll pay, support the good and the bad that come from my little bit of tax revenue and go on.
The war stuff topic came up when I was back in AR with the parents. They said that they had recently seen a movie called "Stop Loss". They couldn't believe that the military could actually do something like that. When they told me this I just sat there for a minute...stunned. I couldn't believe that after what's heading into a decade of the wore on turror, they had no idea that this was and had been happening. Heck, I was worried about that crap happening to me in the first gulf war debacle. They argued that I could go into downtown Durrrdanelle and stand on a corner asking people if they'd heard of it and that my percentages of positive answers would be really low. All of this from pretty smart people who have a "Support Our Troops" magnetic sticker on their over-sized SUV. They also mentioned seeing "Rendition", and couldn't believe that stuff either. I think that I asked them if they'd been under a fkn rock, then (again) told them to turn off Fox News.
The war stuff topic came up when I was back in AR with the parents. They said that they had recently seen a movie called "Stop Loss". They couldn't believe that the military could actually do something like that. When they told me this I just sat there for a minute...stunned. I couldn't believe that after what's heading into a decade of the wore on turror, they had no idea that this was and had been happening. Heck, I was worried about that crap happening to me in the first gulf war debacle. They argued that I could go into downtown Durrrdanelle and stand on a corner asking people if they'd heard of it and that my percentages of positive answers would be really low. All of this from pretty smart people who have a "Support Our Troops" magnetic sticker on their over-sized SUV. They also mentioned seeing "Rendition", and couldn't believe that stuff either. I think that I asked them if they'd been under a fkn rock, then (again) told them to turn off Fox News.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Home Again
The recent trip to Arkansas went pretty well. We stretched the driving into two days on the way there instead of the usual two. It was a bit tough in the last hours with CP, but not too bad. We didn't have to stop on the side of the road anywhere and put on boxing gloves and that was a plus. This trip started out a little rough with all of the car parts and maintenance stuff. I was unsure about what a 100k mile cam and lifters set were supposed to look like and the fuel injection timing was a little goofy. The injection timing was well within specs though, so off we went.
We found New Mexico to be just as dirty and filled with strange folks as the last time we went through there. With a 600 mile fuel range, food and bladder space were our only limiting factors. Texas and Oklahoma were equally dirty and filled with strange folks, but Oklahoma took the prize for overall nastiness by a slim margin. We pulled in to what appeared to be a brand new pizza place in Okema to use the restrooms since we were traveling with a newly potty trained toddler - it was worse than some truck stops that I've seen - disgusting. (for reference for those who don't know me, I was in the Navy for six years and I've seen some really awful toilets..and countries that seemed to be just one big toilet.) After rolling back and forth through Oklahoma a couple of times, we figured that it must be really hard to get any kind of service employee - especially janitorial service folks.
We made it to Grandee's just after they had arrived home with CP's cousins from Kansas City. They were all happy to see each other and we were glad to be out of the car after 25 hours. We had a wonderful few days with just my folks and the cousins. It was good fun with play and pool time in abundance. My brother's kids are growing up fast and it was a joy to see how they are as little people. By Thursday, folks started showing up from all over. We got to hang out with relatives that we haven't seen forever and some that the LW has never met. My folks had a house full of people, but managed to keep everything running along smoothly. We visited and just got to be. Of course, my dad, in keeping with his genetic heritage, repeated the same stories several times (without the benefit of volume feedback from a hearing aid), but we all just smiled and nodded...again. My brother took all of the kids to the new pool up on Mt. Nebo and it was a big hit. There were some tired kids that night.
The day after we made it there, the LW went out to take the car over to the library at Arkansas Tech. Wouldn't you know, it wouldn't start. I started sweatin' about this, and literally too because it was 104 degrees by noon and 75% humidity. My dad and I started checking things over and I was worried about the timing. I did some reading on the web, which is a chore on dialup, and found that the o-rings on the TDI's diesel filter can leak air after a while and cause all kinds of crazy problems. Well, the filters that I buy, don't usually come with new o-rings, but that will change soon. Luckily, the OReilly auto parts place there actually had one of the filters in stock with the o-rings. After that, it was running like a top, but we adjusted the timing anyway. Later, I installed the Panzer skid plate (aka JackRabbit deflector) for the trip home.
In a blink, it was time for everyone to head home, and for us to begin the long trip back to Tucson. It was a good time, but maybe next time we'll head there when it's cool and the leaves are changing colors. On the way home, we split the trip up into three days and CP had a much easier go of it. We learned that if needed, she can handle a 13 hour day in the car with us and that she's good for 120-150 miles between potty stops. Also, the car got 44 mpg on the way out and roughly 48 mpg on the way back. P.S. If you're ever in Shamrock, TX, don't stop at the Dairy Queen there...it won't treat you right.
We found New Mexico to be just as dirty and filled with strange folks as the last time we went through there. With a 600 mile fuel range, food and bladder space were our only limiting factors. Texas and Oklahoma were equally dirty and filled with strange folks, but Oklahoma took the prize for overall nastiness by a slim margin. We pulled in to what appeared to be a brand new pizza place in Okema to use the restrooms since we were traveling with a newly potty trained toddler - it was worse than some truck stops that I've seen - disgusting. (for reference for those who don't know me, I was in the Navy for six years and I've seen some really awful toilets..and countries that seemed to be just one big toilet.) After rolling back and forth through Oklahoma a couple of times, we figured that it must be really hard to get any kind of service employee - especially janitorial service folks.
We made it to Grandee's just after they had arrived home with CP's cousins from Kansas City. They were all happy to see each other and we were glad to be out of the car after 25 hours. We had a wonderful few days with just my folks and the cousins. It was good fun with play and pool time in abundance. My brother's kids are growing up fast and it was a joy to see how they are as little people. By Thursday, folks started showing up from all over. We got to hang out with relatives that we haven't seen forever and some that the LW has never met. My folks had a house full of people, but managed to keep everything running along smoothly. We visited and just got to be. Of course, my dad, in keeping with his genetic heritage, repeated the same stories several times (without the benefit of volume feedback from a hearing aid), but we all just smiled and nodded...again. My brother took all of the kids to the new pool up on Mt. Nebo and it was a big hit. There were some tired kids that night.
The day after we made it there, the LW went out to take the car over to the library at Arkansas Tech. Wouldn't you know, it wouldn't start. I started sweatin' about this, and literally too because it was 104 degrees by noon and 75% humidity. My dad and I started checking things over and I was worried about the timing. I did some reading on the web, which is a chore on dialup, and found that the o-rings on the TDI's diesel filter can leak air after a while and cause all kinds of crazy problems. Well, the filters that I buy, don't usually come with new o-rings, but that will change soon. Luckily, the OReilly auto parts place there actually had one of the filters in stock with the o-rings. After that, it was running like a top, but we adjusted the timing anyway. Later, I installed the Panzer skid plate (aka JackRabbit deflector) for the trip home.
In a blink, it was time for everyone to head home, and for us to begin the long trip back to Tucson. It was a good time, but maybe next time we'll head there when it's cool and the leaves are changing colors. On the way home, we split the trip up into three days and CP had a much easier go of it. We learned that if needed, she can handle a 13 hour day in the car with us and that she's good for 120-150 miles between potty stops. Also, the car got 44 mpg on the way out and roughly 48 mpg on the way back. P.S. If you're ever in Shamrock, TX, don't stop at the Dairy Queen there...it won't treat you right.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
DieselGeek and Grandy Camp
Just the other day when I was talking to my mom about their American-made vehicle woes and other things, she mentioned that my two nieces are going back to Drrrrdanelle with them soon. Wow..a second Grandy Camp for the kiddies - they'll have fun. What a grand thing it would be to get CP in the same place as the lovely little nieces...hmmm.This is a great idea, but the TDI is about to roll over 100k and needs a timing belt changed. We've been on several trips and a year ago when we bought it, the odo said 78k. Last night the LW and I bit the somewhat interest-laden bullet and purchased the parts for the TDI's timing belt repair. I've got the rest of the necessary things and should be able to knock it out without too much hassle....other than the 100+ degree temps and afternoon desert rains, that is. Mmmm...mechanicin' once again.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Pooped
It's potty training time around here and it's been tough on both of us parents. CP is deathly afraid of pooping and it's frustrating the hell out of us. We hate to really take her anywhere because she'll wait until the most inopportune moment to load her panties. The LW has dealt with this on a 3:1 ratio to my chances at it.
Yesterday I pretty much got a definitive vote of no confidence from her on the potty training (..and parenting) front and had to get in the car and leave the house swearing. I figure that holding CP down at the potty even though she's crying isn't all that torturous when I know that she's about to poop on the floor. The LW thinks that this is "ruining" her and making her all that more afraid of pooping and of me. While that may be true, I feel that there comes a time when coddling and letting the little one do what she wants to do needs to be replaced with stern parental steadiness .....and that's what I supply. It's a tough go either way. Add to this a muggy 80 degree house and it's a recipe for some serious fun and games.
On a happier note, CP was the belle of the ball again at the track & field event. She did the 50M and the softball throw, and the long jump, I think, but this time added the 200M. I missed most of it while taking photos, but heard other people talking about how she stopped at every relay blue line and would wait for the LW to say, "ready...set...go!". This kid is a funny one and everyone got a kick out of seeing her run.
Yesterday I pretty much got a definitive vote of no confidence from her on the potty training (..and parenting) front and had to get in the car and leave the house swearing. I figure that holding CP down at the potty even though she's crying isn't all that torturous when I know that she's about to poop on the floor. The LW thinks that this is "ruining" her and making her all that more afraid of pooping and of me. While that may be true, I feel that there comes a time when coddling and letting the little one do what she wants to do needs to be replaced with stern parental steadiness .....and that's what I supply. It's a tough go either way. Add to this a muggy 80 degree house and it's a recipe for some serious fun and games.
On a happier note, CP was the belle of the ball again at the track & field event. She did the 50M and the softball throw, and the long jump, I think, but this time added the 200M. I missed most of it while taking photos, but heard other people talking about how she stopped at every relay blue line and would wait for the LW to say, "ready...set...go!". This kid is a funny one and everyone got a kick out of seeing her run.
New Memory
I don't know how many of you have used them before, but NewEgg.com is the best. I had some problems with their chat support yesterday, but that's probably outsourced to a generic call center like most other places. Calling NewEgg's customer service line was the ticket and it got my problem (caused by "Brown" - see previous post) handled quickly.
I called after the chat person asked me if I'd like to have a refund or a replacement. Well, I need the equipment so I asked for a replacement...only after this did I find out that it would take 7-10 days to get the replacement on the way. That's a no go, so I called NewEgg customer service. I talked to a nice lady and told her the story of what had happened. She said that they'd finish the claim with "brown", but that I needed to order another unit. Well, that's my only option for getting one, so I said ok....now here's the kicker....the NewEgg CSR said that when I ordered the unit, to set it up for overnight delivery and they'd credit the shipping charges ($25) back to me. I did as she said and my shipping was credited. In addition to this, the hard drive showed up this morning ahead of the time that FedEx said that it would. It's now formatted and handling the load of raw photos that were waiting.
I called after the chat person asked me if I'd like to have a refund or a replacement. Well, I need the equipment so I asked for a replacement...only after this did I find out that it would take 7-10 days to get the replacement on the way. That's a no go, so I called NewEgg customer service. I talked to a nice lady and told her the story of what had happened. She said that they'd finish the claim with "brown", but that I needed to order another unit. Well, that's my only option for getting one, so I said ok....now here's the kicker....the NewEgg CSR said that when I ordered the unit, to set it up for overnight delivery and they'd credit the shipping charges ($25) back to me. I did as she said and my shipping was credited. In addition to this, the hard drive showed up this morning ahead of the time that FedEx said that it would. It's now formatted and handling the load of raw photos that were waiting.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
What Brown Did for Me
I use NewEgg.com for computer stuff and they ship UPS. Well, yesterday I cursed as I watched the UPS truck pass our house only to stop 3 houses down the street. I thought that he might come back because evidently they don't have anything on the truck that tells them that there are other packages for that area on the truck. It's happened before. This time I wasn't so lucky. I checked the tracking number and it showed "delivered - front door". There's just one problem, they delivered it to someone else's front door. Getting the package (a hard drive for my photo business) has proven to be an exercise in futility since the neighbors aren't home and the UPS depot won't answer their phone calls from the national customer service folks. So, one of my neighbors has my hard drive, I've got photos that need to come out of the camera to be processed for sale, and all I got from "Brown" was "I'm sorry". What a joke.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tucson Track & Field
Tucson Parks & Recreation has a track & field series that is really great. The only bad thing is that tonight is the last night of this term. I've been taking photos at the event for a few weeks. The LW got tired of CP on the sidelines not too long ago and decided to enter her in some of the events. I'm glad that she did because CP absolutely loves it! She does the 50M run (not really a dash), long jump, and the softball throw. It's the highlight of her Tuesdays and she can't wait to go. Here's the kicker.....it costs $2 to enter your little person in as many events as they want to try. The staff are really nice to the kids and they put up with the chaos with a smile. There's even a guy there with kids who compete who owns a Papa John's franchise out on Silverbell - he sells mini pizzas for $2 each.
I really wish that the city could advertise this series a little better next year. We wouldn't have found it if we hadn't been in the park one day and seen a lot of people running. On Thursdays, the same series hosts distance running events at different locations. Here's the tiny little tag line from the city's website:
I really wish that the city could advertise this series a little better next year. We wouldn't have found it if we hadn't been in the park one day and seen a lot of people running. On Thursdays, the same series hosts distance running events at different locations. Here's the tiny little tag line from the city's website:
July 1, 8 and 15 - 6:30 p.m. - Adults: $3/children: $2
2008 All-Comers Track and Field Tuesdays continue for the summer. Includes long jump, softball throw, shot put, high jump and various dashes/runs. Contact the Sports Office at 791-4870.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Health Care
Some of the problems with health care in this country became very clear at our house yesterday for this self-employed person who is married to a contract tech worker. I took CP to the doc for a shot and a checkup and they told me that I needed to pay them right there. Well, the LW and I have high deductible insurance, but usually our stuff still runs through the insurance for system for the discount that they've negotiated - well baby isn't covered. The lady at the front desk made sure that I heard this and didn't really want to hear anything else. "Well baby isn't covered, you'll have to pay today." On we went. I tried to explain that it goes through the insurance and then we pay the discounted rate.......nothing. So, we get called in and all is well with the doc. Her nurse comes in and gives CP the shot and we're on our way to the billing desk. The nurse, by the way, was the quickest with a syringe that I've ever seen. It was over in a blink and CP didn't even have time to react before the brightly cartooned bandage came out. Well, we got to the desk and all that the lady there wanted to tell me was that I needed to pay and that well baby visits weren't covered by my insurance. She called another girl over and that's what she said too. I argued that it should be run through the insurance and she eventually realized that too, but she said that she didn't have the authority to allow that. Well baby visits aren't covered. Well, I was at the point where I was going to bitch slap the whole lot of them, so I paid the bill and left, only to find a new Acura TL parked so close to CP's door that I couldn't open it. So we walked around to the other side, cleared the seat and I put her inside. This wouldn't have been a problem regularly, but it was raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock outside. After I cleared the front of the car, soaking wet by this time, I yelled at the lady sitting in the car and asked her whether "she always parked like a dumbass!?". Then we left.
$300/month for insurance with a $5000 family deductible and well baby care isn't covered. It's time to bail out of this country because it's going to $hit. All the lame-ass fox news types (my parents included) want to do is bitch about how bad socialized health care would be and how high taxes would be. Just let one of them fall off of a company payroll with a heart condition and see how much they like life after their cobra coverage wears out. The rat bastards will be crying for socialized health care when they have to tap a 401k just to afford Blue Cross. They might just get a taste of being treated like the rest of us.
$300/month for insurance with a $5000 family deductible and well baby care isn't covered. It's time to bail out of this country because it's going to $hit. All the lame-ass fox news types (my parents included) want to do is bitch about how bad socialized health care would be and how high taxes would be. Just let one of them fall off of a company payroll with a heart condition and see how much they like life after their cobra coverage wears out. The rat bastards will be crying for socialized health care when they have to tap a 401k just to afford Blue Cross. They might just get a taste of being treated like the rest of us.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
1 Chicken Down
This morning as I was chasing our main garden destroying chicken out of said garden with and old yard rake, she expired. I don't recall doing anything to press her out of the garden that I haven't repeated on several occasions, but there was a flurry of chicken feathers against our low flimsy fence and then it was over. I have mixed feelings about it really. I'm glad that my garden will be safer and that the chicken I most despised for waking me up is gone, but this was the LW's favorite layer and she's understandably saddened by all of this. This incident has put me, and the chicken on the stove right now, in hot water.
In other news: it's hot. It's about 80 inside and sticky right now with the swamp cooler going. Ahhh.... the rainy season.
In other news: it's hot. It's about 80 inside and sticky right now with the swamp cooler going. Ahhh.... the rainy season.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Johnny Nash & The Mayor
I was discussing with the LW, my thoughts on having a quiet house and a relatively clear head this morning. I've been able to turn off the "Holy #@*t, where's CP?!" switch in the back of my mind and relax without worry. "Without worry" is a pretty tall order with a toddler in the house.
Being able to just sit and think this morning, without having to constantly be ready to react to something toddler related, is for me, akin to the way the local desert looks and feels after a slow cool rain. Everything is clear and clean. I thought of that Johnny Nash song from my childhood. Bright sunshiny day indeed.
I heard this story on NPR this morning too. It reminded me that many things are possible when kids are loved. Listen to it - don't read the text.
Being able to just sit and think this morning, without having to constantly be ready to react to something toddler related, is for me, akin to the way the local desert looks and feels after a slow cool rain. Everything is clear and clean. I thought of that Johnny Nash song from my childhood. Bright sunshiny day indeed.
I heard this story on NPR this morning too. It reminded me that many things are possible when kids are loved. Listen to it - don't read the text.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Run to Logan
CP and the LW took off this morning for a weekend wedding trip to Boston. A cousin is getting married and the LW has some other business stuff there. I talked to them when they were sitting in O'Hare and all seemed well. I hope that the iTunes downloads will keep her busy. She has a whole season of Yogi Bear, Thomas the Train, and TeleTubbies to watch on the LW's iPod. I even watched some of the old Yogi stuff yesterday while it was downloading and syncing up. It struck me as odd to watch that old cartoon on such a tiny device. When I watched that 'toon as a kid, the TV remote was 8x as big as the 80G classic....and that's if you had a TV new enough to have a remote. Dad used to tell us that's what we were for...changing the channels.... in addition to tax relief, of course.
It's been a tough couple of weeks here. CP has grown increasingly agitated and I think that it has to do with staying inside. I can't really see turning her out into the 108 degree heat, so it's just been rough. She's doing well and really starting to turn on the wordplay. I'm sure that she'll be a big hit this weekend.
It's been a tough couple of weeks here. CP has grown increasingly agitated and I think that it has to do with staying inside. I can't really see turning her out into the 108 degree heat, so it's just been rough. She's doing well and really starting to turn on the wordplay. I'm sure that she'll be a big hit this weekend.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Friday
It's Friday and I have nothing planned. It'll be a good day though. CP is snuggled up next to her mom and I couldn't go in there with the camera or it would wake both of them. Last night I got out on the bike while the LW and CP were downtown with friends. A photographer buddy of mine was shooting a swim meet over at a local pool. It was a hoot! All of those little people running around...
We missed our first pickup as CSA members and I'm pretty bummed about it. For some reason, the alarm in my Zire didn't transfer to this week.
There's a supermoto event this weekend ..and.. a nekkid bicycling event. I hope that I can make it to one or the other.
We missed our first pickup as CSA members and I'm pretty bummed about it. For some reason, the alarm in my Zire didn't transfer to this week.
There's a supermoto event this weekend ..and.. a nekkid bicycling event. I hope that I can make it to one or the other.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Coffee Bus & The Zoo
The SAHD meetup was this morning at the Coffee Bus. CP was yelling "City Bus!" the entire way there. We were out of the house early and had to run by the bank, but "City Bus!" was all that she could think of saying. We made it there a little after 9am and the rest of the gang were already there. We had five dads show up and a total of eight kids. It was a little busy up on the top of the bus with all of the little ones running around. I'm sure that the two girls up top thought that the conversation was pretty funny too.
Following this, I went looking for a Rash Guard type of shirt for swimming. CP has one and I think that it'd be a swell idea to have one too. That way all of my glowing whiteness won't turn to glowing redness. Well, all of the shirts that I found were made in Thailand, and evidently they only fit people from Thailand. There must not be too many 6' tall people there with 46-7" chest measurements...or is that just me?
After that bit of fun and games, we met Aunt Carie at the Edith Ball Rec center and were going to go rounds in the pool with the little people. We found once we'd arrived and unloaded that the pool doesn't open for free swim until 1pm. Luckily, Aunt Carie has a membership at the Zoo, so we went across the parking lot and found the water area there. You know, the one that's next to the otters. All of us had a good time and went out for tacos later. There's a tired kid asleep at our house now.
Following this, I went looking for a Rash Guard type of shirt for swimming. CP has one and I think that it'd be a swell idea to have one too. That way all of my glowing whiteness won't turn to glowing redness. Well, all of the shirts that I found were made in Thailand, and evidently they only fit people from Thailand. There must not be too many 6' tall people there with 46-7" chest measurements...or is that just me?
After that bit of fun and games, we met Aunt Carie at the Edith Ball Rec center and were going to go rounds in the pool with the little people. We found once we'd arrived and unloaded that the pool doesn't open for free swim until 1pm. Luckily, Aunt Carie has a membership at the Zoo, so we went across the parking lot and found the water area there. You know, the one that's next to the otters. All of us had a good time and went out for tacos later. There's a tired kid asleep at our house now.
Drunk Morons and Crazy People with Guns
This and this pretty much say it all today.
I guess the neighbors of this Delich loser that shot the cops said that he would talk to rocks and fruit in his back yard. I want to know how that idiot got all of the weapons that he was shown with....and how he afforded a really expensive looking house. The house doesn't appear to be in his name, so maybe he was just renting or living off of someone else. Either way, he should have had some meds or a bullet.
I bet the guy that ran into all of those cyclists is trying to claim that he's a US citizen so he can lawyer up and get off. I wonder if Mexico would fry him up. I think that if someone did that at a race here, the cops would have to pry people off of their drunk arse.
I guess the neighbors of this Delich loser that shot the cops said that he would talk to rocks and fruit in his back yard. I want to know how that idiot got all of the weapons that he was shown with....and how he afforded a really expensive looking house. The house doesn't appear to be in his name, so maybe he was just renting or living off of someone else. Either way, he should have had some meds or a bullet.
I bet the guy that ran into all of those cyclists is trying to claim that he's a US citizen so he can lawyer up and get off. I wonder if Mexico would fry him up. I think that if someone did that at a race here, the cops would have to pry people off of their drunk arse.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Flavorbank
Man, the Penzey's catalog took a big hit in the shorts last week. My LW found a store nearby called Flavorbank. CP evidently had a good time playing on the piano in the store while the store owner, Jennifer, helped the LW shop for spices. We even got some samples! I think that the coolest thing she brought home is called RAS Al Hanout by Afrikya. It's the best thing for oatmeal since brown sugar. It'll totally change the way that you look at a tired old bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. We'll be going back.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Onward Atheist Soldier
Read this in my old local rag, the Pitch this morning and it just made me mad. That major that gave him a hard time is just a santorum style stain on the military, but there are tons like him. They've bought into several different flavors of koolaide and won't be persuaded otherwise. Another blogger has a good rundown. You'd think that a military leader with a college education would have the good sense......ahhhh, nevermind. Nothing's changed since I was in....
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Funny Sh..tuff
Conversation in CP's room this morning:
CP: Mommy aaheharumfarted inaruhtub (giggle)
LW: Yes honey, you farted in the tub and it went further than that...
It's funny now, but it wasn't funny at the time. Toddler poop in the tub disintegrates quickly and can make a serious mess of the parents, bathroom, and toddler in short order. Ahh just one of the many things that you figure out as a parent.
CP: Mommy aaheharumfarted inaruhtub (giggle)
LW: Yes honey, you farted in the tub and it went further than that...
It's funny now, but it wasn't funny at the time. Toddler poop in the tub disintegrates quickly and can make a serious mess of the parents, bathroom, and toddler in short order. Ahh just one of the many things that you figure out as a parent.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
13 Days
nex
..spent on the road in one way or another.
We had some good fun at the Whiskey Off Road and I got to take some cool photos with some of the new and rented toys. The wife stopped before the 6 miles of downhill to help me with CP, who after a half day on the trail, was in full meltdown mode.
After we got home on Sunday, we did some laundry and repacked the car for our Tuesday morning departure for points east of the Mississippi. We decided to surprise the great grandparents with a toddler and a birthday party and it turned out well. Both grandmothers damn near keeled over when they saw CP standing at their doorsteps. We had two birthday parties and a visit filled with good food and happy people.
On this trip, we decided to start out really early in the morning so that CP would only realize a few hours in the car seat. It worked well until we started jumping time zones. A 1:30 wakeup for 7 hours+ of driving is a little old after 3 days in a row...and causes mumbled sailorish swearing after 4 days in a row. That time zone thing is pretty funny....nobody back there realizes that when they start clattering around the kitchen at 6am, that it's still 4 for us...and more importantly CP.
Our days of staying in the Van Horn KOA are numbered. They dicked us around by not unlocking our cabin when we arrived and the wife was....well...displeased. We'll probably start visiting the motels there. CP loves the rabbits that inhabit the place, but there are more rabbits than people in that town, so we'll find more of them.
I hope that in the next week we'll be able to catch our breath. We really need to drop CP off with some friends in town and have a weekend of down time.
..spent on the road in one way or another.
We had some good fun at the Whiskey Off Road and I got to take some cool photos with some of the new and rented toys. The wife stopped before the 6 miles of downhill to help me with CP, who after a half day on the trail, was in full meltdown mode.
After we got home on Sunday, we did some laundry and repacked the car for our Tuesday morning departure for points east of the Mississippi. We decided to surprise the great grandparents with a toddler and a birthday party and it turned out well. Both grandmothers damn near keeled over when they saw CP standing at their doorsteps. We had two birthday parties and a visit filled with good food and happy people.
On this trip, we decided to start out really early in the morning so that CP would only realize a few hours in the car seat. It worked well until we started jumping time zones. A 1:30 wakeup for 7 hours+ of driving is a little old after 3 days in a row...and causes mumbled sailorish swearing after 4 days in a row. That time zone thing is pretty funny....nobody back there realizes that when they start clattering around the kitchen at 6am, that it's still 4 for us...and more importantly CP.
Our days of staying in the Van Horn KOA are numbered. They dicked us around by not unlocking our cabin when we arrived and the wife was....well...displeased. We'll probably start visiting the motels there. CP loves the rabbits that inhabit the place, but there are more rabbits than people in that town, so we'll find more of them.
I hope that in the next week we'll be able to catch our breath. We really need to drop CP off with some friends in town and have a weekend of down time.
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