carrie and judah

Carrie posted this today about talking to Judah. So awesome!

Recently I was talking on the phone with my friend Judah, who just turned 6.

C: So, are you excited about your birthday?
J: YAAAAA!!
C: Hey you get to go to school on your birthday, are you doing anything fun at school?
J: We're gon' have cupcakes, and um, everyone will know it's my birfday.
C: You should run around at recess and yell "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!" just to make sure everyone knows.
J: Um, I think if I did that people would think I was kind of weird.
(I'm always taken aback when kids I know are suddenly old enough to use reason.)
C: So what do you want for your birthday?
J: SPY GEAR!!!
C: Spy gear? Like a pen that turns into a camera?
J: ...Yeah!
C: Like a...(trying to think of things that don't shoot or kill)...cool pair of sunglasses?
J: ......Yeah!
C: OK, spy gear. So, what's your favorite thing to eat for dinner?
J: Um, I like pizza, I like corndogs, I like hamburgers...
C: Totally, me too.

I was confused about this Spy Gear thing so I asked Stephanie. She said "oh, it's this toy with a camera on it so you can go spy on your sister or whatever." I believe it might be something like this. Wow, kids today! Nothing makes me reach more quickly for my Geritol than a child's toy that boasts about its "black and white video feed captured with 1/4 VGA CMOS camera."

My brother used to love his remote control cars. I distinctly remember the way they would wheeze over the cement sidewalk outside and smash repeatedly into the deck. It was amusing to lean the control level in one direction and watch the poor stupid car turn in an endless circle. Remote control cars are cute to see motoring around because you imagine a gerbil or squirrel driving them.

But if my brother had had a remote control car with a spy video camera, I would have smashed it with a wiffle ball bat as soon as I saw it peeping around the corner. Ain't nothin cute about that!

doorbells & sleighbells & schnitzel with noodles

This picture cheers me up.


Know what else cheers me up? Dogs with cones!!

big black caucus

I'm just never going to get tired of hearing newscasters talk about the "black caucus."

obama your mama

Politics are so overwhelming and silly and I feel like I can’t keep up. I try to keep up a little bit but there’s so much to keep track of and then I just want to take a nap. My dear friend Jamie from high school emailed me yesterday and he said:

“I was perusing your blog the other day and I saw that you’re a fan of Obama. I just wanted to ask you what you liked about him and what you think he would do to help our country.”

So I wrote back and said:

“If you watched his Iowa victory speech that pretty much sums up why I like him and what I think he would do to help our country. I would elaborate more but I'm at work right now and the answer I just gave might suffice. If not, let me know!”

Jamie said:

“I didn’t watch his victory speech, but I took the time to read the transcript and while his speech was eloquent it was also filled with rhetoric and generalities. It didn’t say all that much. So I guess I would like you to elaborate….when you have the time and if you so desire.”

Then I said

“His speech did have a lot of rhetoric and generalities, those generic "we're united and moving forward!" statements that make the crowd go "eeeeee" for ten minutes and throw their panties onstage. Off the top of my head, here are some of the reasons I like him: he endorses health care reform and he seems to understand how bad it is now and how much it needs to change. I like that he wants to end tax-breaks for companies who outsource jobs overseas. I don't like how the middle class is disappearing and the wealthy and the impoverished are increasing, and he seems to understand that and wants to give the middle-class tax breaks. I think the wealthy should have the most taxes. I like that he wants to free the US from our dependency on oil and I love that he wants to bring the troops home. I like his voting record in the Senate. He could be as full of shit as anyone, but realizing that I still really like him and have hope that more than half of the country will vote for SOMEone and get behind SOMEbody in some semblance of a majority. I don't think any one politican is The Answer for our problems and I think when people start thinking that there is, that's when we run into problems. Basically, I would be happy if anyone besides who we have now would be president because I'm really disappointed by the decisions he's made.

Hmm, I think I just wrote a blog entry. :)”

otitis media vs. otitis externa

Ann-Krestene just posted about how hydrogen peroxide quickly cured her daughter's ear infection. I get excited about any way to avoid using antibiodics if possible. I work in an emergency room and MRSA is on the rise due to widespread antibiodic and antibacterial-gel use so I'm really conscious - okay, downright paranoid - about it. And as Ann-K says, hydrogen peroxide is $1 a bottle, can't beat that with a stick.

five more pictures

by the amazing Kristen at Blush Photo

christmas in san francisco

Long time coming with the xmas pictures. We drove down to San Francisco and it was a great time. Before we left the kids and I made toffee like we do every year.



snowy trees in Oregon



Mount Shasta



the neighbors' giant snowglobes



Lolly stayed with Nana and we did a day trip with Judah. Here are David, Judah & Aunt April in San Francisco



getting pizza on Powell St.



in Union Square



Chinatown



at the gate



Lion o' Judah



Hotel Triton, our favoritest



I like you. Do you like me?



Nuts are just funny.



in Citizen Cupcake. Look at those identical grins



in Virgin Records



Nana made Lolly little heart sandwiches



watching Peter Rabbit with Nana



holding the almost-gone skeins of yarn



heading back with the blankets I made them



the view from the passenger seat



Uncle Richard and Aunt Mae are the bestest



Mae gave me this Drury Lane creamer set she got in London



"sharing" with Cousin Elijah



reading in the rocking chair



it was sunnier on the 2nd day of the drive



rest stop



...and now we're at the end.