Dreamer

Decisions, decisions...

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:42:59 GMT

Trying to decide what to do for my birthday this year being all wrapped up as always with the holidays and other people's b-days. Haven't seen any New Year's invites floating around yet, though people tend to have several to choose from, so we were thinking maybe a new years party at the house, or a lovely afternoon tea the following Saturday once people have recovered from whatever it was they did on New Years... Do you have an opinion on which you might be more inclined to attend if it were offered?

View Poll: Birthday Options

crust of dream

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:47:04 GMT

before I forget... and I don't know why I find this terribly amusing... but I had a dream last night in which I was preparing food of some sort and I cannot recall exactly the essential element of the dish, but it occurred to me that I should put it on top of garlic bread. I remember it looking very delicious but it was quite matter-of-factly pointed out to me by Zoe that I could not just eat a crust sandwich. I woke up this morning trying to remember what was in my crust sandwich so that I could have one.

My best Day ever. By zoe

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:38:49 GMT

I hugged Testoodo he was flufy and I was on TV Dancing at the baskitball Game and the Terps won!

CrAzy weekend

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:24:02 GMT

So, I flew to Seattle this weekend for Jessica's ~~wedding~~ elopement.

I got up at 5:30 am on Saturday and drove to BWI and parked in the long term parking which was remarkably easy and efficient. Packed only one bag to carry on so no bag checking required. Plane was small but no one in the middle seat on both legs of the flight so got a little extra elbow room. Was flying Northwest and while the seats aren't quite as comfortable for sleeping in, and there was no TV/Movie at all, they at least provided a decent amount of snacks free of charge (pretzels/peanuts/cookies).

Stopped in Minnesota and that was a fairly pleasent little airport, but more neat gift shops and not so many places to actually grab a bite to eat that wasn't sitdown (which I didn't have time for) or fast food (which I didn't want to eat). The only other alternative was a terrible pre-packaged sandwich from the airport, or a terrible pre-packaged sandwich on the plane. Got the one on the plane - it actually looked much tastier but had no condiments to speak of but a smear of honey mustard. I survived.

I brought "Last Watch" to read on the plane and by the time I arrived in Seattle was about halfway through. Good stuff.

Jessica and Moira and Clint met me at the airport. J was also supposed to meet her dress at the airport, unfortunately this did not happen. So instead of heading straight up to whidbey Island for wine and cheese tasting, we got to drive to Maple Valley to locate the missing dress. Eventually it was recoved, and some yummy terriyaki and tempura was I acquired (because I was scared to order the "Mountain of Meat"). Then we drove out to Bothel to acquire something that was forgotten (which ended up having been with us the whole time) and finally up to the ferry and out to the Island. So all told I spent about 7 hours in a plane and about 8 hours in a car on Saturday.

Sunday was the ceremony and a tea party reception. Got to meet many of J's good friends who were all quite lovely. I rebuilt her bouquet replacing some bright yellow and pink flowers with orange mums and red tulips. I did her hair myself and we made it out to the Lighthouse. Everything was gorgeous and I took lots of pictures. Then it was back to the hall where people were already laying out a delicious spread of goodies and brewing some fine tea. After, I caught a ride back down to Olympia with her family so my parents could give me a ride to the airport in the morning. That was another 3 hour drive Sunday night.

At parents house got to spend some time with Ninja the cat and Davey the dog and stayed up way too late watching crime shows I never watch. Up early, snafu trying to print boarding pass. Went up to breakfast in Tacoma and to the airport on time. Got some delicious Caramel Apple Spice cider from Starbucks which I found out for the Grande size is a mere 380 calories. I wish they hadn't put that on the menu. I was perfectly content not knowing.

Flight back also uneventful - nice mountain views on the way out and over the Rockies. This plane had a TV thing, so watched an episode of Psych which was amusing. In minnasota again, this time I opted for a Quiznos sub which was far tastier than the sandwich from the plain, but also significantly lacking in condiments. Made it to Baltimore on time and finished my book exactly as they started letting people off the plane. *awesomes*

Drove home. And for the record that was 7 hours in a plane and 2 hours in a car for that day.

On top of all this merriment however, I had gotten a call on Friday that my fried was in the hospital having a stint put in his heart. Got a couple updates as the weekend progressed and he was doing well, so I wasn't too worried. He came home from the hospital Monday and I talked to him yesterday and he is well, but also came home with a diagnosis of diabetes (insulin requiring) on top of the heart issue. I'm sorry I wasn't able to visit him in the hospital, but I'm glad he is recovering well.

Dominican Republic

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:35:31 GMT

V hasn't posted on the honeymoon yet, but here's some of the pictures I took and a very brief overview of the trip:

1. First impression of resort not good - bed hard as rock, leaky AC, giant puddle on floor.
2. New room, better view, bed hard as a not as hard rock, no leaky AC.
3. Buffets not as good as hoped, ok for a couple days but progressively downhill.
4. Beach very nice, water warm for swimming but not enough waves. Scenery gorgeous.
5. Jealous of Resort we should have been at right next door looking all awesome and mocking but with armed guards to keep people out.
6. VIP bar and Beach saving grace of resort. I'll let V talk about the Mama Juana.
7. Horseback riding trip through countryside was fantastic, great time.
8. Hot
9. Cascade show. Big pool party/BBQ (right outside our balcony window - very cool) dancers, fire breathers, weird game show interludes, more dancing on floating platforms. Went on FORever. Music still blasting at 1:00 (right outside our window - not as cool)
10. Ocean World, got to play with some sea lions and swim in the tiger grotto which was neat, rest was pretty disappointing, no aquarium just several marinas linked together with dolphins, nurse sharks and sea lions, then the little amazon section with birds and the tigers. That was it. No comparison to Singapore.
11. City tour - Cable car ride was awesome, lunch outside the compound was awesome, got to do some shopping and other tours that V got more pictures of than me I think.
12. Dinner on the last night was phenominal - escaped the compound for a real meal, walked down the beach to a restaurant, ate outside, food was fabulous. Would consider going back just to eat there again.

Click through to view the gallery:

halloween pics

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:55:08 GMT

OK - uploaded some pics today, we'll start with halloween, but I went through some honeymoon pics as well, so I'll try and post some of those later.

This year Zoe was a dragon, Riyan was a guitar hero and Vale was a Pokemon trainer. We carved 2 pumkins, one with three faces (each of the kids designed a face, and then my Nightmare before Christmas pumpkin that has zero on one side and the graveyard hill/moon on the other side.

Click through to view the entire gallery:

Home Sick

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:29:22 GMT

Whatever Zoe had this weekend she generously shared with me. Nothing like fever and chest congestion to show how much you care!

On the up side, had time to sort through some wedding pics. I posted some to facebook last week but they were bmp files which LJ turned up its nose at. So these are some that my mom took (picture should link up to the gallery if you want to see more)

phew

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:17:06 GMT

I cannot begin to go into all of the events of the past week and a half at this moment, but as I am now happily married and honeymooned I can say that everything was a success.

I wish that we could have invited more people, but I am so happy for all of the people who were able to make it. The day went by so quickly and things were forgotten and not planned out as well as they could have been (or at least perhaps not communicated properly to the powers that be), but all in all I was quite happy - the weather was wonderful and everything was beautiful.

We are slowly collecting pictures from various sources and I will post some here and on facebook I imagine. Also pics form the honeymoon which I have slightly more control over (as much as my camera would allow anyway).

Thanks especially to everyone who flew in from long distances to be there and everyone who helped out - especially Telf cause she could be where I could not and she had so much other stuff going on and helped us so much anyway. And also to my maid of honor and (I'm please to say, her new fiance) who were phenominal in helping us manage everything that had to be done and for cooking a fantastic feast and putting up with my micro-managing. And my mom for watching the kids while we were gone and also to Oliver for all his unexpected chauffering and transportation arranging genious that got everyone where they needed to be.

Weekend Plans

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:52:33 GMT

Tomorrow I am volunteering at the Virginia Scottish Games festival. I have never been to this one. Telf and I had hoped to try and sell stuff there, but it was way too expensive for a booth. However, the Glengarry Bhoys are playing throughout the day and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

I will be helping out with the Child Games (mini-caber tossing!) at 3:00 which should be fun, and if anyone is interested in driving out, there is info here: http://www.vascottishgames.org/

It is not the close VA.

I *might* be helping on Sunday as well as they really need people, but it's pretty far to drive out two days in a row. Kids are free on Sunday though, so that's nice.

Monday, V and I have to drive up to the wedding site and do a final walkthrough and finalize catering stuff. So it looks like a lot of driving for one weekend.

Wet weekend

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:57:50 GMT

Saturday we celebrated the youngest monkey's birthday at the water park. Brought a tasty picnic and acquired some Spongebob cupcakes which proceeded to melt and smoosh in the heat like a Dali painting. Kids had fun, weather was nice. I went on a water slide which I haven't done before and it was suitably amusing.

headed out a little early to prepare for picnic number two at WolfTrap as we were going to see the National Symphony Orchestra performing the music of John Williams, which I thought the kids would enjoy. Got there nice and early and had to wait for them to open the gates. Finally got in and staked out a nice place on the lawn, que thunderstorm and torential rain. Luckily the weather was acting all suspicious and we grabbed a couple umbrellas before leaving. But, 3 kids under one, and us under the other was not entirely sufficient coverage. V ventured out and acquired $12 rain ponchos which we superior to huddling under the umbrellas, but not as ideal as one might like for $12.

The rain stopped for a bit and picnic was managed ackwardly, but rain started back up again a couple times throughout. The lightning was glorious. The kids managed to stay mostly dry and were very well behaved and enjoyed the music (especially when the had some costumed actors enacting light-saber duels aroubd the stage). V and I were completely soaked, except for the top of my left thigh which remained dry. Accident on the beltway on the way home meant it took an hour and 15 minutes (only took 20 minute to get there). And when we got home, the power was out! Fun times.

eloquence fails me: I did stuff

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:49:42 GMT

Been a while since an actual update.

This weekend we saw the Harry Potter and I was pleased with it. It was funny where it should be funny (even if in a mocking way), and serious/dark as appropriate. One change in the story I didn't agree with, and I probably would have liked more on the super potions/half-blood prince and less on the Ron/Hermione business, but overall it was acceptable. (Except that Zoe tried to wait the whole movie to go to the bathroom and when she finally decided she couldn't wait anymore - yeah, Dumbledor and Harry in the cave. Nice timing Z. Of course that's the fastest I've ever seen her use the bathroom, so we did get back in time for the last part of the lake scene - but totally missed finding the horcrux)

Other movies we watched from the Netflix this weekend: "Mongol" which was awesome - I saw it last year at the silver. I recommend it. And last night we watched Brick. The description of the movie is not entirely accurate but it was really good - totally captured the Pulp/noir theme and stuck it into a high school setting. Well, actually more like taking high school stereotypes and sticking them into the pulp noir theme, as there wasn't exactly any "school" involved. It actually reminded me of a Timothy Hunter type storyline, but without magic. Or maybe it was just cause the main character reminded me of TH.

Yesterday was also full of cooking. I remade the Cherry Almond jam with success (8 jars turned into 6.5 jars), and also made a batch of Vanilla Almond Apricot butter. I used an actual vanilla bean instead of just the extract and it is really lovely. I used the "less sugar" pectin and only added about 3/4 cup of sugar to the whole batch and it worked out quite well. But 3lbs of apricots only made 4.5 half pints. I think I may have to make more because it came out so yummy. And then V made his cheesecake as well, which I can't wait to try with some cherry topping...

BUT I'm trying not to eat all that stuff - I think making the jam is nice because it lets me get out that urge to bake, and at the end I have something that can last a long time and I don't have to stuff my face with the cookies or cupcakes or whatever else I might be tempted to make and then eat right away.

I've been working out about 5-6 days a week still, not too intense cause my ankles have been bothering me after anything more than a low-impact type workout. Been trying to give them a break by working on upper body/abs stuff, but it doesn't burn as many calories as the running/aerobics. Even walking at lunch which I've been doing for months has been hurting my ankles recently, I think I may be nursing a bit of a stress fracture situation, they feel fine after a day of rest, but I think they need a few days to heal up properly, which I haven't really given them because it puts a crimp in my routine.

The other thing of note this weekend - I bought some sample flowers to play with since I'm planning to make my own center pieces and bouquets. I got ten stems of sunrise lillies, and 10 stems of the black callas, plus a random garden bouquet from giant so I could experiment with the different fillers and whatnot. I think I am happy with my plans, but the flowers are taking over the dining room table - the lilly stems are quite large with 4-5 blooms/buds on each - it's like a jungle. Stalin's only knocked them down once so far.

And last but not least, worthy of mention, I've been studying for the PMP exam. In case you are not familiar it's a pretty hardcore project management certification exam. I've been studying since October last year (not continuously, but I took to exam prep classes and am on my second read through the book. I was accepted into the exam in June, and I'm scheduled to take it in August, which is coming up fast. The good news is that if I pass it, my company will reimburse me the $500 exam fee, plus I'll have an awesome cred. If I don't, I'm stuck with the bill, plus another $275 to retake the exam. I'm sweatin that about now, but I wanted to get it out of the way before the wedding.

Jam Report Part 2: The Tasting

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:05:31 GMT

Well, after a week, batch one seems to have thickened up quite nicely on its own and I declare it a success. We have now also consumed an entire jar of batch one (Sour Cherry with orange/almond flavoring), and it was officially yummy. I think my favorite application was on top of "Mission to Marzipan" ice cream. The oldest monkey reports deliciousness in his PBJ, it was tasty on toast and pancakes, and I also tried it on pork chops with couscous and it was all quite tasty.

This morning I opened a jar of batch 3 (Sour Cherry with orange/vanilla) to see the difference in texture, and I have to say it was the absolute perfect consistency. Batch 3 was definitely the winner.

I haven't tried batch 2 yet, which is still a little runny, but of good consistency for syrup and toppings. And batch 4 is downright soupy and still needs to be re-made as soon as I acquire some more lids.

I think next on my jammy agenda will be an Apricot fruit spread if I can find some nice looking apricots. Also if I make it out to pick blackberries or raspberries I think I will try to make syrup or coulis instead of jam. Well, maybe some jam too, you know, for kids.

The Jam Report (part 1)

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:12:58 GMT

So, 6 hours, 8 quarts of cherries, 31 half-pints of jam. Christine came over to help which made a big difference as it would have taken much longer if I had had to pit all those cherries myself, despite the nifty cherry pitter I acquired which was awesome.

We experimented using the flavors of almond, orange and vanilla and made 4 batches with various combinations. Sadly, it seems that only 1 of the batches has really fully set. The first two batches we used much less sugar than the recipe called for which was probably the problem. I have not opened any yet to try, but they seem thickened and jammy, just not quite set so may still be tasty and spreadable. The last batch, which had the most sugar and the most pectin is down right soupy and will have to be redone. The third batch, which appears to have been successful, is the only batch in which we added some lime juice (which the recipe only suggested for sweet cherries). Perhaps that made the difference.

Stay tuned for Part 2: The Tasting

Jam Time

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:42:17 GMT

On Sunday I am going to try and make preserves. I have acquired the requisite materials. I will have sour cherries from Butler's Orchard, and some peaches, maybe some rhubarb. I have not done this before so it will be something of an experiment. I have one cohort already, if anyone else is interested, let me know. You can bring your own fruit, or just help out. If it goes well, I expect there may be other attempts on future weekends.

Stuff that is new

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:35:08 GMT

1. I signed up for a Tai Chi class that started last weekend. So far I like it. It is good exercise but also relaxing. The class is 8 weeks I think, so it should help me stay centered and not too stressed out as the wedding approaches.

2. The kids started their summer camp this week, so far so good except that 2 out of the first 3 days we've had to pick them up early due to someone not feeling good. Vale is in a separate camp for middle school age kids and he seems to be adjusting to all the new bullies, etc. His camp is at the activity center a couple of blocks away so he is able to walk there and home on his own which he is excited about.

3. Bridesmaid dresses have finally been ordered, I was starting to stress about that. They were a lot more expensive that what I had anticipated getting, but I they look really nice and I think the girls will be happy with them.

4. We decided on a honeymoon yetserday. This is our mini-honeymoon, just 5 days. Next year we want to do a bigger wine-tasting trip to Germany. But for now, we are going to an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, which looks like a very nice place. I've also decided I want to go to Costa Rica at some point, and not just to see whale sharks. Apparently they have neat hotels on volcanoes with hot springs and cloud forrests with tarzan-style canopy tours, and all sorts of cool stuff.

5. I've been using the Wii a lot more - picked up Wii Active, an exercise/personal trainer game and it is actually a pretty decent workout. I enjoy being able to make my own workouts using the various sports activities like the cardio boxing and tennis. They also have volleyball, basketball, inline skating, dance (which is pretty lame actually), and running/track. You can set different endurance levels and set some activities to random so it's not the same every time even if you're doing the same workout.

a movie-rific weekend

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:55:38 GMT

OK, haven't posted in a while but I had a very nice weekend so I decided to share. Friday V was off to his gaming so the kids and I watched Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which was actually not that bad. Not as hilarious as the first, but certainly a much better film than the second. Then I watched the Jane Austen Book Club, which was full of random people (including Marc Blucas) and at one point in the movie they ran into people at a convention playing vampire which I thought was amusing.

Afterword I picked up a book I must have bought a couple years ago or so and never got around to reading, The Book of Atrix Wolfe and it was delightful and finished it before the weekend. I haven't been up reading real late like that in a long time and messed me up in the morning on Saturday, but it was worth it. Got a hose and a sprinkler for the kids to play in which they quite enjoyed.

Sunday we went and saw Star Trek and the kids really enjoyed it (Riyan was trying to engineer a starship out of the cardboard cup holder tray on the way home). They didn't understand why we were always laughing during the movie - they didn't think it was funny. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to, but it did seem a little over the top in places. I'm not sure I buy it as the start of a new franchise, but it was fun.

Then home for some yard work - I pruned down the smoke tree to a more reasonable size, and de-thistled the back yard while V mowed the lawn (our house came with a decent lawn mower it turns out). Later we watched "Taken" from netflix which was definitely a fine display of liam neason kicking butt and taking names.

Monday we went back over to the Rio for Joe's Crab Shack, shared a tasty steam pot, got some ice cream and walked around the lake. Made it back to the car just as the torential rain began to come down.

Then back to work and I pretty much have no idea what day it is right now.

Goodbyes

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:16:02 GMT

Mary said goodbye last night. It was peaceful and I was with her. I will miss her very much but I am glad that she no longer has to suffer the frailties of her age and her sickness. We are going out today to find a tree to plant in our yard to remember her.

It's all you can say...

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:24:17 GMT

Had to pick Zoe up this morning from school, so she ended up coming with me to a dentist appointment. She was pretty good throughout, putting up with all sorts of questions from the doctors and such. On the way out another lady asked her name, and dutifully she said "Zoe" and the woman exclaimed that Dr. Baer's new baby was named Zoe too (which we'd already heard once or twice). Then she said, "I have a cat named Zoe!". Zoe's was response was "Omlette du Fromage", then she turned to me and said "Let's go."

Zoe vs. Cats

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:43:31 GMT

Took Zoe to see Cats last night up in Baltimore. I've only seen it a couple of times, but this version was not that great. Partly due to our seats which were way on the side and our view, which I thought would be better because we were in the first row of the balcony, was partly obscured because of the railing in front of us. And this was the first performance in that theater for the run and I don't think they had all the kinks worked out with the sound - sometimes it was very hard to hear. I think a combination of those factors left me feeling that the energy wasn't really there for most of it, though Gus/Growltiger was quite good.

But Zoe enjoyed it. This was her second "fancy" play, she saw Tarzan in NY a couple years ago. She has seen the movie of the play, and listened to the soundtrack quite often so she was very excited. I gave her the program so she could read the names of the cats. She got very excited everytime she read one she remembered - "Rum Tum Tugger is in this one!" "Skimble is in this one!" "McVity? Whose McVity? Oh - Macavity! Macavity is in this one!"

Amusing Zoe moments included before the show when they made an annoucement over the loudspeaker and she started sniffing around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Then she tried to smell out where the cats were - she concluded they were hiding in the junk. She giggled incessently during the first big number when the shoe dropped and wanted to know why they were singing to a shoe.

She had not seen Growltiger before as that scene is not in the movie, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. "What?! A cat that's a pirate?!". Then, about 3/4 of the way through the play, she leaned over and said "I doubt those are real cats. Cats do not walk on two feet. And they don't wear clothes." She was a big fan of Mr. Mistoffelees and his sparkling confetti cannons that sprayed the audience though.

At the end, Old Deuteronomy sends Grizzabella up to the heavyside layer, the big tire lifted up and smoke was pooring from the bottom like a rocket launch, which impressed her at first, only it kept on going for the whole last song and Zoe said "Ok - he can come down now! He doesn't have burn up the whole stage!"

And of course, she wanted to know where Grizzabella had gone and I told her "up", and she was all like, "What? She's in the attic? On the roof? Those are the only things I know that are up. The sewers? Oh, wait, that's down."

stuff and things

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:21:20 GMT

At my behest, V made a delicious Irish Stew for dinner last night. It was really yummy. It was the perfect st. patrick's day dinner. We had mint ice cream sandwiches for dessert, cause you know, they're green an all. I think tonight I will be making apricot pecan chicken.

V's parents are in town for a few days - we are all heading down to Virginia Beach this weekend as his sister is running a marathon. Should be fun. Hopefully the weather will be decent.

We have a lot of garden work to get started on as well as soon as spring really starts to kick in. Our yard is covered in daffodils at the moment, which is fine, but I can't wait to add in some irises and lillies and callas. Need to find a place for a nice lilac as well.

hee!

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:40:53 GMT

I love these guys: http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?source=family&itemId=14503

And also these: http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?source=recent&itemId=16750

Irksome Dream

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:39:56 GMT

So, I had a dream last night which took place at some sort of college/university where I was a student. I remember attending a class, politics or something in a large lecture hall. I think there was a movie shown, but anyway, I left the class (or maybe there was a fire alarm or something)and soon realized I had left some of my books there. In particular was the book my Grandfather wrote, which is one of my favorites and also of extreme personal value, the others not so much, but still. I went back to the classroom and reported the missing books to the building staff there who said they hadn't seen anything and I should try back later.

I went downstairs to the main desk and behind the desk they had many books and other items laid out, including mine. I pointed out to the woman that I had just reported that book missing and asked if I could have it back now please. Well, she informed me that all these items were up for auction and bids had already been placed, so she was sorry but it would not be possible to give it back to me (note: she did not sound at all sorry). I set about trying to first prove to her that it was in fact mine, same last name, inscription, etc. and that I had only just lost it (not like it had been sitting unclaimed for days and days - and I only really cared about the one, they could keep the others if they wanted) but she did not care in the slightest.

I had another class in the afternoon with the same professor, so I went up to try and getthe professors help in getting my book back. But when I got there, instead of a nice lecture, desks were pushed asside and people were jump roping. I was handed a too long jump rope that had to be folded in half for one person to use, but then it was too short to be comfortable, but I made an effort and finally was able to speak to the professor who thought it all sounded a bit unbelievable that they would do that, so he agreed to go down with me and plead my case. By then, there was a papers in front of all the items with various bids, some quite extravagant in the millions of dollars. My book had a bid of $5,800 and was marked as sold! Grrrr!

And that was when I was woken up by Zoe crawling into bed from a bad dream. I was so irate at the nerve of those people not giving me my book that I was not able to go back to sleep for some time. I was awake enough to realize that I was not still dreaming, and that, in fact, nothing of mine had been stolen, but I was just asleep enough that it didn't matter in the slightest, so I kept thinking up scenarios in which the building staff had concocted a giant conspiracy to steal stuff from students and then make money for the school by selling them, or extorting money from the students to buy back their own things. And then I tried to consider applicable laws and whether or not I should just call the police and what I would say to them to make a reasonable argument for the return of my property.

I have no idea how long it took me to actually get back to sleep, but as you can see, I'm still quite irritated about the audacity of the whole incident.

Quickie

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:27:03 GMT

Zoe went on a field trip last week to the Natural History Museum. I asked each of the kids in my little party what they wanted to see. The little boy wanted to see the T-Rex (easy), the little girl wanted to see gold jewelry (found some African tribal jewelery that fit the bill), Zoe wanted to see the saphires (had to make our way to the very end of the gems & minerals section to find them, but they were impressive. Had to lift all the kids up so they could see the "star" in the star saphire). And halfway through the trip they all decided they needed to see the mummy, so we eventually found that as well.

Anyway, afterwards when I asked Zoe what she liked best at the museum, she said it was "the stacked heads with the gonzo nose" which is to say, the totem poles.

On the side

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:38:54 GMT

So, my friend Mike has some opportunities coming up that require the services of a web designer, or someone who is relatively good at throwing together a quick website. He provides the graphic design for the most part, logos, photos, etc. and the clients are usually political candidates.

Not a full-time gig by any means, but anyone interested in a little extra work on the side, I'd be happy to pass on your contact info.

The Funny

little_mymble@yahoo.com — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:27:42 GMT

A couple weeks ago, we were watching tv and a commercial came on that asked, "Do you dream in chocolate?" V immediately declared that, no, he dreams in colors. And Zoe, who was playing on the floor, not really watching the tv said wistfully, "I dream in frogs."