The gift that keeps on giving

Look at what I got!

A Holga!* A present from the ever lovely Julie T for the work I did on her Bad Home Cooking banner. I am so excited about this! And do you see that little white box to the left of the camera? That is film** baby! Yup, it's a cheap plastic 120 medium format film camera. Oh the fun I will have!

But not today. Cause I'm sick. The baby started it with her running nose. Chris went down suddenly Thursday night. And when I woke this morning I was not my usual sunny self. I've just been a slug all day; reading a book on typography and glancing at the CSS book without the energy to actually pick it up. I'm hoping I will have more pep tomorrow because I want to finish up the work I've started on Sain't Christopher's project. Now that the ethical dilemma has been resolved (he asked, she said yes), I can proceed with a clear conscience. And when it is done and has been declared "Glorious!" maybe the Sain't will send me more film (wink wink nudge nudge).

* Because how was she going to ship a hoagie?!
** I've read that Ilford's film has a minty flavor. Sweet!

An overnight sensation

Rome might not have been built in a day but what about a toddler?

We went to Santa Cruz this past weekend. We left Friday morning with a cute little 11 month old girl who crawls like a speed demon but could be contained by setting her in the grass. Such a sweet little baby. By the time we put her to bed – all that had changed. She was still sweet but life as we knew it was over.

Friday afternoon Paul came by. After awhile, Chris, Paul, Kyle and I went out front leaving Grandma to watch the baby. And who should come crawling out the front door and down the sidewalk? The baby. (Doing quite a number on the knees of her pajamas I might add) Thinking we can keep an easy eye on her, we set her in the dreaded grass. And Paul (who will soon go home and not have to spend the rest of his day keeping track of the baby) starts to lure Erin across the lawn. Pulling up grass and sprinkling it in front of her – waving leaves in her face – and BAM! Erin’s fear of crawling on grass is conquered. I suppose that’s not too awful. But after she started crawling down the sidewalk towards Portola Drive we went back inside.

Later, after our guard has been let back down because we were inside - where it’s safe - someone asks “Where’s Erin?” Not seeing her anywhere on the floor where she should be, we find her on the stairs. Not in front of the stairs but on. the. stairs. She’s crawled up the first step and we stand there, watching in horror as she continues up the stairs! So not good. We bought a gate Saturday morning.

And because these things like to come in 3's – she finished off the day by perfecting the stand and scoot - fine let’s call a spade a spade – the stand and walk around the furniture routine. Good gravy, if this is what that fresh sea air will do to you next time we'll go to LA!

I’m sure other things happened this weekend but until the PTBWSD* subsides I’ll be damned if I can remember any of it!

*Post Traumatic Baby Walking Stress Disorder

Since we’ve been home we have removed the bumper from her crib (rendering it a bleak prison cell – I have vowed to buy prettier sheets!).
And now we need to re-baby-proof everything that 2-3 feet off the ground. Oh the joy.

How was your weekend?


p.s. – I just wanted to mention that I could have gone with the whole ‘She has risen’ Easter theme but I didn’t. There might be a hint of regret.

Neither horseshoes nor hand-grenades

I’m so close...

So, I’ve been muckin’ around knee-deep in code all week, determined to get this blog in shape. And last night I found it – the chunk of code that will contain this beast. And as you can see Elfini-land is now 800px wide and will stay that way until I say otherwise! That is how great my powers are.

Unfortunately there is still a slight problem. When I am editing my template and hit ‘preview’, the site looks perfect! It floats in the center of the window as it has been instructed to do. Yet when I open the page on its own, I find it snuggled up tight to the left. Refusing to budge even a little bit. What the hell?! It’s making me a bit claustrophobic and I have not yet been able to figure out what it causing this blatant disobedience. But I will. It might take me another half dozen chapters but I will emerge victorious!

And after that - who knows? Maybe a line delineating the side bar. A colored background? Or maybe some blinky lights pointing to the comments link!
The world is my css oyster!

I’ve got mad skittles!

Skidlios

Skills

I’ve got mad skills. That’s talent. Man, don’t you have an 11 year old? (Want one?)

After much prompting (read: begging, flattery, although not nearly enough bribery) I put down the bon-bons and made Julie her new blog banner. After many hours of my patented ‘learn as you go’ Photoshop methods and several phone calls, I think we have a winner. Well, she hasn’t taken it down in 2 days so I’m going to claim it a success.

So, go check it out- Bad Home Cooking and tell us what you think.

Now I really have to fix my own blog. After getting my new monitor, I discovered my template is not a fixed width but all free floating. Now I’m all for “willy-nilly” and “go-with-the-flow” but not when it comes to recipes or blog design! So, I am once again reading books on html and css looking for that one line of code that will fix everything. I really don’t want to have to start from scratch.

And Sain’t Christopher – I haven’t forgotten about your banner. In fact I have a couple ideas. But first I need to learn how to use Illustrator. Don’t worry; I’ve got a book for that too.

Dear kwall1000

Whoa, I just signed an email 'Mom'.
I actually paused - that has got to be the strangest thing I've ever typed. Mom. Three little letters have never felt so surreal.

Schadenfreude

You should call me. Right now. I just got back from the dentist and half my face is sliding down to my shoulder. No, I’m pretty sure it is, but I’m not going to risk looking in a mirror for confirmation. Anyways, if you were to call me I would talk funny. And the odds are good that I would also bite my tongue. And then you would laugh - cause that’s how my friends roll. I know – I hand picked you for our matching evil streaks.

I had a very small cavity and spent more time getting shot full of Novocain that actually being drilled on. I’m not complaining about that at all. But I did miss my favorite part of getting a filling. Yes, I have a favorite part. Are you surprised? Well you shouldn’t be. It’s all a part of my rosy half-glass-full outlook on life that I somehow managed to get. (Now that surprises even me!)

Anyways. The part I like is actually a sound. And you won’t get this unless you too have lived at some point in a part of the land that has real winters – complete with snow and air you can’t breath. The sound of a filling being packed is the same sound as walking on crisp snow. I love that sound! Can you hear it? Well, today’s filling was so small there was no sound. So here I sit with a head full of Novocain, a suspected fat lip and no upside other than getting to lay back in a comfy chair for a half hour instead of sitting here at my desk.

On second thought - forget it. I’m letting all calls go to voicemail.

Yankee Doodle Daddy

John S. Reiff

6 years ago my folks moved from my childhood home in Redford to Northville, Michigan. A railroad track runs through their new community and the two halves are connected by a bridge. My dad lives just over the bridge. And apparently he has been decorating!

This sight did not surprise me as we drove up to his house last September. My dad is all about the Flag. I'm pretty sure I knew how to fold a flag before I knew how to tie my shoes.

And it seems that my dad's patriotic display has been getting him all kinds of attention. Last summer, there was an article written about him in the local paper. I don't think we were in the door 5 minutes before he was showing me a copy. I would have put a nice link here for you but apparently the South Lyon Newspaper only has a 14 day archive. So carpel-tunnel be damned - here is the article:

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Veteran's flags fly proud at Crossing by Margaret Fogelsonger

From the time he was a boy, World War II veteran John Reiff has had a love affair with the American Flag. Reiff, who served in the 302nd Combat Engineers Company in the Pacific Theater, recalls walking to school through a small business neighborhood and watching as shopkeepers put out the flag for display. They did this daily. He also recalls that on Flag Day, his neighborhood was a riot of color with American Flags on display at all homes. In his classroom, the Pledge of Allegiance was not just a routine occurrence, but was explained by the teacher as to why they recited this pledge each and every day. From these experiences, Reiff internalized a love for the flag and an enduring appreciation for what our flag represents. He continues that dedication and appreciation to this day.

Fondly referred to as “The Flag Man” by residents of Northville Crossing Manufactured Home Community, where he has lived for five years, Reiff’s respect for the flag, and what it represents, is obvious. Adorning the bridge that connects the two sections of the community are more than 150 American Flags: one for each Michigan soldier that has died in the Middle East conflicts. Reiff explained that each month, the VFW in Redford sends him the names of Michigan soldiers killed in conflict. For each one, an American Flag is displayed. He said the best months are the ones where no names are sent to him.

Reiff began his active work on behalf of Old Glory one Flag Day many years ago. His daughter had a friend visiting who asked him why so many flags were being flown in his neighborhood. He realized that the young lady had no knowledge of Flag Day and what it represents. He decided to change that. He put together a presentation about Flag Day and the American Flag and over a period of time, visited every school in Redford explaining to students how our flag came to be and what Flag Day represents.

Reiff’s friends and neighbors often contribute money to help purchase his flags. Recently, one resident presented him with 5 dozen flags to help in his effort. And his display of flags on the bridge sometimes receives unique acknowledgement. This memorial day, four restored World War II planes that had done a fly over in Milford, flew over his house. Reiff’s wife Virginia watched as they flew over, slowly turned and came back low over the bridge. As they passed, all four tipped their wings in salute to the flags. She said it was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen.

When asked what the flag really means to him, Reiff replied, “It’s just a piece of cloth, but it has represented our Country for over 200 years. The flag remind me of the freedom, opportunity and privilege we all enjoy living in the United States. I believe that each and every one of us should revere the Flag and look at it with the highest respect.” Reiff shows his respect by taking the flags down every 10 days and inspecting them to assure they are still in good condition.

As he said, the flags must never be displayed in a manner that restricts their furl. For this reason, all of his flags fly freely and proudly as a symbol of one man’s dedication and respect for the Red, White and Blue.

While I don't remember the incident with my friend but I do remember him coming to my school and giving a presentation on the flag every year. He was so proud of this article and told me that teachers in the area were reading it in classrooms. A copy was sent to my Aunt Ellen in Sacramento and it started making the rounds in California too!


I went out with him a couple days later as he took the flags down for the winter. A week later my parents left for Florida. I'm sure a copy of the article went with them.

Pain, sweet sweet pain…

Yesterday morning, after dropping Kyle at baseball practice and putting Erin down for her nap, I did something wonderful – a full hour of yoga! This really shouldn’t be news. But the reality is that I haven’t done any yoga-proper since I became pregnant over a year ago. Oh yes, I am ashamed. But it’s not like I never did any yoga – I would stretch many evenings before bed – forward folds, gentle twists, a much modified child’s pose. But yesterday was the whole enchilada . Beginning, middle, end. Standing poses, balancing poses, twists, and a long Shavasana. It was glorious.

Today – I can’t move. And I couldn’t be happier.

love thursday

It is what it is

Controlled Burn

Where have I been? In hell baby. Sure, a slight exaggeration – but last week kinda sucked. And it’s taken me this long to recover. You see, I was not built to be a stay-at-home mom. And what’s worse? Being a work-from-home mom.

Hey all you SAHMs – I’M. NOT. WORTHY!

Yes, Wayne’s World was on cable last weekend. Why do you ask?

Jen’s family was sick with the flu last week, so I had Erin with me all week. I would bring her to the office with me every morning for an hour or so and then work from home the rest of the day. Damn, I don’t know how you ladies do it. I suppose if that is your normal gig it would be ok, but it’s not mine. And by the end of the week I was a wreck. And Saturday morning while Kyle was having a small fit due to lack of food, I was hearing that little voice telling me to run away…run away…

So I did. In a round-trip kind of way. I sped down the freeway as fast as I could while listening to Soundgarden at an unhealthy volume. I eventually turned around, switched to the Pixies, and came home feeling much better. Then we ate cake.


She’s a 10!

…month old. It's true, Erin is now 10 months old. Crazy. She’s got 4 teeth on the bottom and the upper teeth are just starting to break though. She’s not walking yet – thank goodness. But I’m sure this is just the calm before the storm. She was pulling herself up to standing last month, but she seems to have given that up for Lent and I haven’t seen her do it in awhile. Other than that one time I looked at the baby monitor and saw her standing in her crib. Then she let go, fell backwards and bumped her head on the other side of the crib*. Yeah, that’ll teach her. If you’re not going to hold on – stay on your butt where it’s safe!

But she crawls like a little speed demon - her little tushie waving side to side. Quite funny. And when she really gets going, she swings her head side to side too! Which often results in her banging her head into something. Apparently it’s hard to see where you’re going what with the head motion blur coupled with your hair hanging in your eyes. Time to invest in more barrettes – it’s what a good parent would do eh?

*Girl's gonna be tall. She will sleep sideways in her crib, her head pressed against the bumper and her feet sticking through the rails on the other side. And yet at her 9 month check-up the Dr said she was only in the 70-75 percentiles for weight and height! How can that be? But her head circumference – in the 80th percentile. Ha! I knew that little pumpkin had a big head! So, when she starts whipping that melon around, watch out!


Next up to bat…

Kyle - who turned 11 on the 1st! And now he’s a man. Well, a mini-man. Ok, he’s still just a boy – skinny as a pencil and with hair like a girl. But he did something that can only be described as "manly" on the eve of his birthday. He removed his own stitches! (Yes, I know – it was only one stitch but ‘stitches’ just sounds better.) I was dreading having to spend another million and a half hours at the urgent care to take out that stitch, so I offered Kyle the $20 I would have spent on the co-pay if he let Chris remove it instead. Well, after first saying no, the allure of cold hard cash won and upstairs they went. And armed with a Swiss Army knife and some alcohol, Kyle performed his first medical procedure! I was impressed to say the least. Now we have a doctor in the family. Yes we do! Shut up!!

Now we just need to keep said doctor from prescribing himself steroids. Cause the boy is playing baseball! He started Little League last weekend and is very excited about it*. And apparently he’s pretty good even though he’s had no formal training. (Isn’t my child wonderful?) Coach says he’s fast and has good foot-work. I knew all that dancing around was a good thing. (I’m looking at you Chris!)

* His favorite thing seems to be his new 'cup'. Boys are weird.


Well it is an election year...

I guess I need to change my tag line. I can’t write in my man Zbigniew on my Presidential election ballot. And not because I can’t spell his name! He was born in Poland. So, until Ah-nold gets the constitution amended I’m S.O.L.

But you can do your patriotic duty and vote for me! Yes, in a fleeting (and probably foolish) moment of hopefulness, I have submitted another photo for inclusion in JPG magazine. See, over there on the right – click the picture and vote "Yeah'. If you vote for my photo and it is published, the sheer number of copies of the magazine that I will buy will single-handedly revitalize our economy. Vote for me! Don’t let the terrorist win.

Too far?

Flour and Water... Doh!

When I was a kid my favorite dinner was ‘Beans and Dumplings’. Not only did I love eating it, I have fond memories of my mom making it. Sorting thought the beans, rolling out the dough for the dumpling – flour everywhere – cutting the dough into strips and then squares.
Beans and dumplings = happiness in a bowl.

I don’t remember my dad making Beans & Dumplings during my teens. I moved out (an act not directly related to the lack of Beans & Dumplings that I am consciously aware of). And then I took off to California. But whenever I went home to visit I would ask (more like beg and plead) for Dad to make them for me. And he would. But the dumplings were different. He didn’t roll them out into flat noodle-like squares. He would just add drop biscuits on top of the soup (yep, it’s really just white bean and ham soup, who knew?). And don’t get me wrong – it was still yummy in my book. But I really wanted those dumplings. I would ask him to tell me how to make them and he would say that he couldn’t remember. Ugh. Would I never have my childhood favorite again?!

And then - a kitchen miracle. I made Beans and Dumpling. With flat rolled dumplings!!! All because we left Santa Cruz a day early.

P had bought a ham to make for dinner on New Years Day. But when we decided to go home on New Years Eve she sent the ham home with us. Well. That ham sat in the fridge for another week while I would occasionally mutter something about having to cook that ham. Thankfully there was an entry for Holiday Ham in the 2007 edition of Cook’s Illustrated that Chris got for Xmas. And again Cook's Illustrated held my hand through the scary process of essentially re-heating our pre-cooked spiral cut ham. Cook's Illustrated told me to ‘throw away the pack of glaze that comes with your ham’ and provided me with a delicious glaze of maple syrup, orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, pepper etc. It sounds crazy but it worked! The ham was good. But damn there was a lot left over.

What’s a girl to do with all that ham?! I called my dad. "Dad, I have ham. How do I make Beans and Dumplings?" And do you know what he told me? My dumplings? Just flour and water. All those years and he couldn’t remember flour and water?!! Oh-kay then. Let’s not dwell on that. I was on a mission. He quickly ran through the process of making everything while I scribbled notes. I bought a rolling pin. And that Saturday I was as ready as I was going to get. Now you know that I only want to cook something when I have very specific directions and measurements. None of this "fly by the seat of your pants" "add a smidge" "to taste" "what ever I had in the pantry" kind of crap for me! So I was relieved to see that the directions for Bean Soup on the bag of beans pretty much matched the instructions my dad had given me. I just might be ok.

So, you’ll need a bag of Great Northern Beans (the grocery store only had 'Small White Beans'. I tried to be brave). No need to soak them overnight – just sort though them, throwing out any bean that's not up to snuff or that might be a rock, and rinse them thoroughly.

Put the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Water should be around 2-3 inches over the beans. Boil for 5-10 minutes and then turn off for an hour. Easy enough right?

While your beans are sitting there stewing in their own juices, chop up your ham – as much as your want – ugh! Chop up a yellow onion. And get ready to make a mess on your counter-top its dumpling time.

Hey - check out my new mandoline:

Flour the surface you are working on and make a ball of dough with you guessed it: flour and water. Dad said that I wouldn’t need to add any salt because of the ham – but in hindsight I would add a bit of salt to the mix. And no, I don't know how much a 'bit' is! Now roll out the dough dusting the ball, rolling pin and counter with flour as you go. Don’t forget to roll the dough on a nice layer of flour of your dumpling will stick. Roll roll roll (you're adding more flour as you go right?) until about 1/8 inch thick. Pull out your pizza cutter (or a knife) and cut dough into squares. Mine were about 1 1/2 inch squartangles (because of that sticking I mentioned).

When the hour is up – throw everything into the pot! Turn the stove back on and season to taste. Dad recommends garlic, pepper, thyme and maybe even some oregano. Again he was vague. Oh and you might need to add more water. Maybe.

My notes say to cook for another hour. Only when we receive the phone bill will I know how many times I called my dad that afternoon. But, it was all so worth it in the end!

Ta-da! The perfect comfort food:

But I still have some ham left over...

a stitch in time

We interupt this blog with urgent news from Urgent Care...

That's where Kyle and I ended up this afternoon.
I was at the office happily working on a new post (I was on my break of course) when I got a call from the school nurse. Kyle got hit with a purse on the playground and his lip is cut. She thinks he might need a stitch or two. There is a pretty big chunk of flesh missing. Ok then. Did she say purse? Who has a purse on the playground during recess? Did a teacher wallop my child? I must have misunderstood. Not panicing (hey- it's my story and I'll tell it like I want to), I save my work, leave the clean up for the morning, put the FedEx shipment in the hall and drive to the school. Call Chris on the way so that he can pick up Erin from Jen's. Call Jen who reminds me that Chris will need a carseat for Erin. Alrighty, we need to switch cars at some point. And hey - did you know that they closed the Urgent Care at the hospital? Me neither. So back to the car in the parking lot 2 time zones away and off we go to find the Med7 Clinic. One stitch is not worth the $100 emergency room co-pay. We are both very brave. And 4 hours later we are home with a stitch in Kyle's lip because some girl likes to carry bricks in a purse that is bigger than mine that she then swings around until it lands against my poor baby's face.



Oh I double dog dare you to click on that photo!

All by myself

Everybody sing! “Don’t wanna be all by myself anymore…”

Oh wait. Yes I do! And I will be! Starting this evening, for roughly 24 hours! Completely and utterly alone. Hmm. I’m missing them already. Well, some of them.

Kyle is at his dad’s this weekend. And after his behavior the last couple weeks, it’s a much needed break for all of us. Chris was trying to plan one of his speed-runs to the coast to dive on Saturday. The only snag was that I have an appointment to get me hair done on Saturday afternoon and all our usual babysitters had previous engagements. Hmpf. I suggest Chris goes on Sunday. Well, that would be ok for him but he wants to go with Victor who can only go Saturday. Ok then. So, we are pondering how to make this work – do I call Kyle’s 12 yr old cousin Sandy to watch Erin? The highly recommended babysitters from the next block who I don’t really know? …hmm…what to do, what to do…

Then Chris casually mentions that he talked to his mom earlier and she was lamenting the fact that she hasn’t seen the baby in weeks and doesn’t know when we’ll be coming back down to Santa Cruz…

Ding! (insert light bulb going on here)

Chris can take Erin with him! He was planning on driving down to Carmel Friday evening, spending the night at Trents’s and then diving all day Saturday before coming home around 6pm. So, now he drives down to Santa Cruz, spends the night at his folks place, leaves the baby with Grandma and goes to Carmel to dive all day Saturday. Rip the baby from Grandma’s arm – I mean pick Erin up- and drive home as planned. Win win win!

A couple phone calls later and everyone is happy and I am declared a genius! Well, it’s about time.

Do you want to know a secret?

I don't like keeping secrets from you. But "you", my readers, can be counted on one hand and 2 of those fingers are my in-laws. And I bet they are my most devoted lurkers - slinkin' by day after day looking for that grandbaby fix.

Anyways, when you are planning a gift for said in-laws you find yourself having to watch what you say. And censor what you add to your flickr account. Not an easy task. But now that the holidays are over and it is no longer all "hush-hush don't ruin the surprise" I can tell you (if there is actually anyone else out there besides Chris and his parents) that I published a book!

Published. Is that correct? Should I say self-published? Made? Created with down-loaded software and then paid to have copies printed?

Either way, here it is!

And then there...

By Dawn Blanchfield

Book Preview

And then there was Bean... - a Christmas present for the grandparents. Check it out and then buy 2 or 3 copies.


Edited to add: I don't know why the 2 badges are not showing up properly. I'll look into it later. Right now the boss-man is sending me out in the rain to buy oatmeal. I really do love my job.

Because I Can

Yes, it's another bouncy baby video. Now with more screeching.


Question: Can I get in trouble if the Shaken Baby Syndrome is self-inflicted?

Happy New Year

Wow. We had weather. Real weather. And I’ve had a headache. For 3 days. That is so not good. By the third evening you mind goes to bad places. Lucky for you I can’t even begin to think about typing during a migraine. I think Chris worries enough what with my frequent requests for an ice pick. If you suffer from migraines too you’ll get that. And my sincere sympathies.

But today I feel better. And not a moment too soon because tonight we have tickets to go see Walking with Dinosaurs at Arco Arena. And yes, the tickets are through Chris’s company so we will be sitting center stage in the private box again. To quote Kyle: “Awesome”.

And the last 3 days weren’t a total waste – Chris got a lot done! He was in baby-proofing mode and finished cleaning up all the wiring in the office and installed those annoying latches on the cabinets under the kitchen sink. That baby is everywhere and into everything!

Oh dear – it’s after 3. I have less than an hour to get everyone ready to go. Fun for me. I just need to remain calm. No tension. No more headache! Wish me luck.

Ho Ho Ho

I am not a slacker mom. I braved the mall on Christmas Eve and was duly rewarded.

I hope Santa was good to you too! We are stretching out the holiday like a Stretch Armstrong doll of old. Chris opened his presents on Christmas morning. But the rest(Kyle and Erin)waited until Wednesday evening when Kyle came home from his holiday with his Dad. And tomorrow we head down to Santa Cruz for an extended weekend and Christmas with the in-laws.

And look here - another gift for you. There should be more matching outfits in 2008! Enjoy.

Merry Christmas! Do you have a tissue?

I don't know when it started but there are certain Christmas carols that I can't sing along with without crying. Silver Bells, White Christmas and Little Drummer Boy come to mind. And Little Drummer Boy is the worst - that one has been working me since I was a little kid. I'm not sure what it is, but about half way through my voice starts to crack and the next thing you know the tears are rolling down my cheeks. Kyle of course finds this highly amusing. It's the only time he will actually encourage me to sing. And I am that person who puts on the All Christmas Carols All The Time radio station in the car. Kyle would complain but he knows the alternative is NPR and he would endure an endless loop of the High School Musical CD if he didn't have to listen to the stupid news every day. He really does suffer. And no, we don't have that CD, but I've threatened. And that kid doesn't know how good he's got it. I don't sing loudly in public. But my dad did. All year long.

And when I was a kid, lo so many years ago, we watched the Bing Crosby Christmas Special every year. And I remember seeing this duet with Bing and David Bowie in '77 - loved it then and love it now. Enjoy!



And sing along. At the top of your lungs! Until the kids promise to clean their rooms just to get you to stop! Ho Ho Ho. Good times.

And a Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Dawn - Santa's favorite elf (where do you think the name elfini came from?!)

p.s. Remind me next year to ask Santa for some water-proof mascara in my stocking.

Christmas came early this year

Last month Chris remodeled of our home office. He got rid of his desk and built a 2 person desk the length of the far wall. My printer and cabinet of drawers divide the space into His and Hers. And with the man on a mission, I got my Christmas presents early!

We have been promising Kyle that we would set up his computer downstairs on the homework desk for ages now. (“His” computer meaning my old Dell from the time before Chris) We also needed to get me a computer of my own as I was hogging Chris’s machine, affectionately called "our" computer, with all my photo work. And not only was I hogging all the computer time, I was bitching about said computer. Loudly. To anyone who would listen. Because Chris’s computer is old and slow and just couldn’t handle my photo editing software or the amount of photos I was storing on the hard drive. The computer would constantly lock up causing much cursing. It would take me forever just to edit a few pictures. There was much unhappiness. And there was talk of a laptop and monitor. But then in one of those manna from heaven moments – we were sent home from Santa Cruz with one of the in-law’s extra computers. (The move of their permanent residence to Santa Cruz where they already had the weekend place produced a lot of ‘we have 2 of these now – take this home.’ Ask me about all my new kitchen gear!) And suddenly we had enough machines for everyone. And without the cost of a laptop to worry about, Chris splurged on my new monitor!
Behold! The Samsung SyncMaster 245BW.

Oh yes, it is the Maserati of monitors and I couldn’t be happier!
And to bring the computer up to speed, Chris ordered a new video card, added a gig of memory and a second extra large hard drive. And my computer goes vroom. I can now get through a batch of photos in no time! Life is good!


I think Chris would put it this way:

New monitor and graphics card… $$$.$$
Chair, floor mat and mouse… $$$.$$
Getting her off my computer… Priceless

Catch up on your reading

...at the movies.

I finished reading Charlie Wilson’s War a couple months ago. And now it’s going to be a movie. I feel so hip and happening, wow and now.

I first heard about the movie on Thanksgiving Day when Chris saw a preview on TV. He said Tom Hanks was in it. Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson?? At first I just couldn’t see it. But slowing I started to warm to the idea. And then I watched the preview online and yes - Tom Hanks as Charlie. It works. And Julia Roberts as Joanne, the Texas Socialite? Well that works too. I’m still not completely sold on Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA-man Gust but I’m keeping an open mind.

And this morning on NPR's Fresh Air, they aired a previously recorded interview with the author George Crile (he passed away last year) and another one with Charlie Wilson from ’03. Take a listen – very interesting stuff.

Strange, I just googled Charlie Wilson’s War so I could create some links for you, and I found this quote from The Chicago Sun-Times regarding the Golden Globe nominations:

"Charlie Wilson's War,'' the much-hyped satire starring Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts (opening next Friday), led the pack in comedy/musical categories -- snaring five nominations, including a nod for best actor to Hanks and supporting actress to Roberts."

Comedy/Musical category? Really?! Will we see the mujahedeen form a chorus line and start singing the praises of Allah and the Oerlikon while congress does the Can-Can?

God I hope so.