New big girl beds!

Today was graduation from a toddler bed and crib to big-girl, twin-size bunk beds. We convinced A that a big-girl bed meant a big-girl bedtime routine. No more bedtime bottle!

Now playing...

A favorite from high school. I had to clean off the turntable to play it.

STOOOOOOPID!

Okay.... so some guy over at the DFI-Street forum started a "What's the dumbest thing you've ever done" thread. There's a whole bunch of dumb stuff in there but this one really stands out as a classic.

Wahts the dumbest thing youve ever done?

Ill kick this off......Back in Jr. high we had a microwave in our classroom, the safty was broken and it could run with the door wide open. On a dare i stuckmy head in, and fired it up. it was only like 2 seconds....but i won the bet with no apperant sideaffexts.

Ummm..... you sure there weren't any side affects?

When Kris says road trip she is so not kidding

You may recall that when I first posted about blues legend Buddy Guy's restaurant in Chicago, Kris commented ROAD TRIP. Etouffee, here we come! Unfortunately, Buddy's website is being revamped, so the menu is gone. I was hoping to spend some time figuring out what to order before we go, but I guess I'll just have to spend an extra hour at the restaurant. An extra hour listening to the blues? Not so bad...

TOO MUCH TV!

When the kids ask to watch TV I usually say no, it is not good for your brain. By the time I get home from work in the evening they have already watched Sesame Street (1hr) and Clifford (1/2 hr). So when I saw the study that J-Walk linked to stating that more than one hour a day in childhood decreases a kid's likelihood of graduating from college, I was happy. I have ammunition. Not that a five or two year old care what the scientists say. I do, though. Except when they say that chocolate is bad for you. Or speeding. Or avoiding the dentist. But that's another post...

Google Moon

Check it out.

COOL!!!!

They imploded two of the Towers dorms in Ames yesterday. I lived in Wilson (one of the ones left standing) when I was at ISU.

Here's a story and there's some good video here. Sorry...... I can't link directly to it so you'll have to look for it.

This is the first drawing that Z ever drew of me and is still my favorite

Getting to know me

Kris sent me the "getting to know you email" that I have received in one version or another at least a dozen times before. I enjoy reading about my friends, but I never forward these on because I never forward emails to long lists of people. Especially emails that tell me to. Even if I think they might care. So Kris, although I can't bring myself to email this to a bunch of people, I enjoyed reading your answers, and here are mine if you are interested.

1. What is your current occupation? clinical microbiologist
2. What color is your hair? L'Oreal Blonde 8G
3. What are you listening to right now? my favorite - peace and quiet
4. What was the last thing you ate? tootsie roll
5. Do you wish on stars? No
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I hate questions like this, but my favorite color is green
7. How is the weather right now? 87 degrees, sunny
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My husband
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? One of my favorite people
10. How old are you today? 36
11. Favorite drink? Water with lemon or lime
12. Favorite sport to watch? ice skating
13. Have you ever dyed your hair? I never thought I was vain until the gray started coming...
14. Do you wear contacts or glasses? not yet
15. Pets? We've downsized from 2 dogs, a cat and a 125 gallon aquarium to the current ZERO
16. Favorite month? October
17. Favorite food? Enchilada Atencio at El Paragua in Espanola, NM
18. What was the last movie you watched? Raising Helen
19. Favorite day of the year? Easter
20. What do you do to vent anger? I usually cry when I'm angry, which usually ticks me off even more
21. What was your favorite toy as a child? My books
22. Fall or Spring? Fall
23. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
24. Cherry or Blueberry? Blueberry
28. When was the last time you cried? Listening to Tammy Trent's testimony on Focus on the Family
29. What is on the floor of your closet? mostly Chuck Taylors - lots of colors
29A. What is under your bed? drawers
30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? My sister (although we weren't really friends until college)
31. What did you do last night? ate crispy chicken burritos at Taco Time (YUM!), and then shopping at Borders
32. Favorite smell? babies after a bath
33. What inspires you? the written word
34. What are you afraid of? losing a kid (We had a scary five minutes at Chucky Cheese's the other day -- shudder!)
35. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, mayo, ketchup and mustard
36. Favorite car? that cute BMW roadster
37. Favorite dog breed? whatever mutt mix my old dog Bones was
38. Number of keys on your key ring? four
39. How many years at your current job? four
40. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
41. How many states have you lived in? two
42. How many cities have you lived in? six if you define city loosely
43. Who do you miss the most? my grandma
44. Were you named after anyone? I don't think so
45. Do you use sarcasm alot? Too much

Weird.....

My CD drive keeps opening up by itself. I close it..... and a few minutes later it does it again.

Maybe it's possessed.... or maybe it's hungry.... or maybe it's sticking its tongue out at me.

Hmmm.....

A joke

I thought I'd post a joke for you that I picked up in the joke thread at DFI-Street forum. A lot of the jokes are dumb and/or tasteless..... but I thought this one was pretty good.

The Cowboy Baptist

A cowboy walks into a bar in Texas, orders three mugs of beer and sits in the back room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn.

When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.

The bartender approaches and tells him, "You know, a mug goes flat after I draw it so it would taste better if you bought just one at a time."

The cowboy replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Australia, the other is in Dublin and I'm in Texas. When we all left Wyoming, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days we were together. So I drink one for each of my brothers and one for myself."

The bartender admits that this is a nice custom and leaves it there. The cowboy becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way. He orders three mugs and drinks them in turn.

One day, he comes in and orders only two mugs!

All the regulars take notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says,"I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss."

The cowboy looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a light dawns and he laughs. "Oh, no, everybody's just fine," he explains...

"It's just that my wife and I joined the Baptist Church and obviously I had to quit drinking.

Hasn't affected my brothers though."

Bad Monkey

This afternoon my daughter and I were looking at guitar effects pedals at the Digitech web-site. We were trying to decide which one we liked better -- Bad Monkey or Screamin' Blues.

We both agree... the name Bad Monkey is way cooler. And we both like the puke green color. She insists though, that it should actually be gray.... "because bad monkeys are gray." Ahhh yes... I forgot. She also likes one of the Bad Monkey sound clips the best. But it's one of the sound clips where the effect is turned off... for comparison you know. So.... I'm not really sure if that should count as a plus or a minus.

After listening to the Screamin' Blues sound clips, I have to say I like it better. And since I get however many votes it takes to ensure victory..... Screamin' Blues wins.... by one vote. I do wish it had a cooler name though. I guess I could change my name to Screamin' Blue.... and pretend it's my signature model. Yeow!

Now Playing...

Go buy it!

And I've heard rumors... that if you ask real nice like... Kris will even sign it for you.

Wow!!!!

Danny Way jumps Great Wall of China.

"I came to China with a goal and that was to jump over the Great Wall," said Way. "I have accomplished that and I feel like my job is done. I was aware of the dangers and my heart was pumping in my chest the whole time, but I managed to pull it off with the help of my team, and I'm honored to have my visions embraced by the people of China. Skateboarding has yet to realize its full potential, and by bringing this event to the people of China and the rest of the world, I hope I've contributed to the future of skateboarding and helped bring my sport the global attention it deserves."

Way's first attempt over the Wall ended with a controlled fall that saw him clear the 61ft gap before throwing his board and sliding to the bottom of the landing ramp on his back. His second attempt was successful, and on his remaining three jumps he upped the anti by completing spectacular 360 degree spins over the Wall.

Reality Show Premise Generator

This is a hoot... Here's an example:


Rappers Row
A group of Ambitious rappers stranded on a City basketball court competes for a Record Deal.
But the catch is: Their rhymes have to be composed in iambic pentameter.

Thanks to Popping Culture.

Shhh! Don't tell!

I don't know if it is her age or temprement, but Z, our 5-year-old is easily frightened. I often have to reassure her that there are no real bears in Iowa, and assuredly none in our house. She is also scared of lightning and thunder. When there are storms in the evening forecast I try to get her to bed before the rain starts so I don't have to explain again that thunder is just noise, and she is safe from lightning in the house.

Today this story was in the news. A 7-year-old girl was sleeping in her bed during a thunderstorm, and lightning hit the roof, traveled into her bedroom, and set her mattress on fire. She and her sister yelled for their father who grabbed the mattress and took it down the stairs and out of the house. Everyone was fine; only Dad had some minor burns. The video of the little girl describing "lots of bad words around here" is precious.

Lets keep this story between us, shall we? I don't think Z would be able to see it in perspective.