Friday, November 30, 2007

Pics from Thanksgiving #2 are up!


And they are MAAAHVELOUS!

Last night Tom cooked a turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, brocolli and crescent rolls. I declare it Thanksgiving #3! Now we'll have leftovers till Christmas! YAY!

I couldn't help it, it was funny!

I just had to try this out: The Amazing Death Predictor

And my prediction was:

Angela: At age 49 you will fall into a tank at a large aquarium and be eaten by suckerfish.

Uncanny isn't it. Well maybe not really uncanny. Maybe just very funny. Guess I'll try to avoid going to the Seaquarium till I'm well into my 50's.

In real life though I have some AMAZING photos of Nicky from last weekend that JM took. He is SO cute! I'll get a few up this weekend. Promise!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Apples and Rice

First you must see the video Tom took of Nicky eating his first apple. Oh he's had apples before, but only cut up or as applesauce. THIS was a whole apple! Click here for the video.

And this is just something I found via a blog I read today. Free Rice is a word-game to test your vocabulary. Simple and fun right? But by having advertisements on each page they're actually able to generate money from the site to donate rice to hungry folks around the world. I've gotten up to level 45 at one point but seem to hover right around level 40 as an average. Oh, and I donated over 1000 grains of rice! :)


So how did you do?

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

What does this really mean?

So I did this little readability test for both my home blog and my work blog. This is what came out:

This blog:
cash advance


Work blog:
cash advance


Kind of weird huh.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Angela Day

So last week Tom went over to his Dad and JM's house to help build a feeding pen. Of course Nicky went along and, even more obvious, JM was ready with the camera. JM and Nicky ran around outside in the beautiful weather while Tom and his dad worked really hard. After a few hours JM had a ton of gorgeous pictures of Nicky (I picked just a few to upload) and the feeding pen was all done! I'm amazed at how much work they did in just one day!

Oh, and when I asked Tom if the weather was nice he said "it was so beautiful he named it after me and called it Angela Day." Just one more reason I married him! This man knows how to flatter a Leo and make her smile.

Grandpa and Tom with Nicky by the newly finished pen:

Thank You!

I think this is just the cutest thing EVER! But then again, I may be a little bit biased... CLICK HERE for the video!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

A Big Night Out

Well darn. I missed posting yesterday. We had a houseful of company with Nicky's Aunt Jessie here till Sunday afternoon and Nana here till Sunday morning and with all the visiting going on I didn't get around to sitting at the computer at all. Bummer.

Well we had a very nice visit with Aunt Jessie. Nicky now says "Aunt" although admittedly it sounds more like "Ent" at this point. He started saying it about 2 minutes before Jessie got here actually. Aunt Jessie stayed in Nicky's room and while he did wake her up most mornings around 7am with "Ent, Ent, Ent" we usually were able to take him out of there in a little while so he and Tom could drive me to work. So she did get a little sleeping in on her vacation.

I'll have to take a look at the few photos I did try to take. I'm not sure any of them came out right.

But JM took a bunch of photos of Nicky when Tom and Nicky went over there during the week. Tom helped his dad build a feeding pen and JM and Nicky ran around outside with the camera. The photos are beautiful and I'll have my work cut out for me picking out which ones to upload. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do that tomorrow.

Because LUCKY ME I have tomorrow off for Veteran's day! Apparently not everyone gets Monday off, but we do at UF, so I'm hoping for some rest and then to get into the den to try to organize it. It's a wreck! The whole place has become the dumping ground for all things we don't want Nicky to have access to, and so it's pretty much a giant junk drawer. The challenge will be to get it done while Nicky isn't in there with me. Not an easy thing to do since he's down to one good nap a day when we're lucky (and sometimes NO nap or only a 10-30 minute catnap).

Nana came to visit on Friday and we left Nicky with Nana and Aunt Jessie for the evening so that Tom and I could go out on a "date." It was very nice and relaxing. We don't yet feel the desperate need to get away for adult time yet, but it was fun to go to our favorite restaurant where we can't take Nicky. We went to the Melting Pot and had a lovely (and incredibly expensive- for us) dinner. I can just imagine trying to take Nicky there! There couldn't possibly be a place for highchairs since the controller for the burner is in the only spot you could put one. And there's a freaking stovetop on the table for goodness sake! I'm thinking Nicky'll have to be around 12 before we could take him here. And even then it would most likely be a waste for a kid. Maybe we'll introduce fondue at home first when he's around 8 or so. I do think it's fun. (Just really expensive at the restaurant for a kid.)

After a lovely dinner (we skipped getting a dessert because we were so freaking stuffed) we realized we had to go pay a bill and didn't have an envelope. So we headed home to get the envelope and take a potty break. It was just exactly Nicky's bedtime so we brushed his teeth and put him to bed before heading back out to continue our date.

We talked about where to go. We were too stuffed for dessert or coffee, too tired to do a movie, I'm too sensitive to smoke for a club (and Tom won't dance anyway), and we didn't have plans for a show or performance. It was too late for the museums and most stores, and there were extenuating circumstances that even put parking out of the question. So darn.

We ended up at Publix. Yep. For our BIG NIGHT OUT we went to dinner and the grocery store. Lovely. We picked up some candy, greeting cards and playing cards (so we could play canasta with Jessie). On the way home we dropped off payment for a bill. We're so romantic.

But it was fun anyway. And probably the most fun was having Nicky go out to dinner with Nana and Aunt Jessie (they went to Chili's) and hearing how GOOD he was, and how BEAUTIFUL, and how he was such an ANGEL. I never get tired of hearing people compliment him. (Heck I ordered pizza for dinner tonight and tipped the driver extra because she was mooning over how cute Nicky was.)

Today after Nana and Aunt Jessie headed home (not together of course, but off to their respective homes) Tom's Dad and JM came over for lunch. We all looked at the awesome photos JM took and watched Nicky play on his trike. Right now the most fun thing seems to be to push the trike up to the counter and then try to stand on the seat though. Not the safest way to use it.

After they went home, Nicky, Tom and I all went down for a nap. What could be better than a nice nap on a beautiful Sunday afternoon after a week of company? Company is fun of course- I'm an extrovert remember? I LOVE company! But when everyone does go home, the quiet they leave behind is so peaceful don't you think?

Friday, November 09, 2007

Right brain or Left brain?

You may have seen this before, but I thought I'd post it for those who haven't. It's a moving image of a woman spinning. But which way is she spinning? I can see it both ways, can you?

Oh, and my cold is starting to move into my chest. Just like this time and this time too. Lucky me. But I've got a 3-day weekend starting tomorrow and hopefully I'll be feeling a lot better after that.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Spammers Suck

While cleaning out my old emails I found some responses I'd sent to some scammer spammers. Guess these guys caught me on a bad day when the delete button just wasn't enough. My responses are in bold.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rev Thomas & Rachael David
[mailto:revtomdavid@christianbookscenter.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 7:55 PM
Subject: Hello my good friend


Dear Sir/Madam,
We are Rev Thomas & Rachael David, we print christian books and export to Europe/America. We are searching for a christain representative who can help us establish a medium of getting to our costumers in America/Canada as well as recieving payments due to our ministry. Our clients find it difficult to release payments to us because they find it difficult to make wire transfer or we have no representative closer to recieve checks from. But with you around, they can easily send the funds to you if we tell them that you are our christain brother/sister.
If you are interested in representing our ministry, we will be very glad as you shall be entitled to 5% of every total amount you recieve for us. Directives would be given to you on how to send the funds across to us.
Please contact us for more information. Subject to your satisfaction you will be given the opportunity to negotiate the mode of which we will pay for your services as our representative in America. There is no more responsibility than this like travelling to meet them or spending money from your pocket.
I hereby request you forward any proof of your identities, your current telephone and fax numbers including your forwarding address to establish trust and business relationship and also to enable us inform our clients to communicate with you.
Thanks,
Remain blessed
Rev Thomas & Rachael David
http://www.christianbookscenter.com/


To whom it may concern:

In an effort to promote education, I have included color-coded editing to your email below. Red words are misspelled, and blue words indicate a grammatical error which may include punctuation, subject-verb agreement, or other egregious errors. Rather than earn money by scamming hard-working people, perhaps you should further your education and attempt to obtain honest employment. If you would like me to edit further works of creative writing, please include the words "for editing" in the subject of the email.

Thank you,
Angela



-----Original Message-----
From: Darren Wheeler [mailto:oct11@app.topica.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 12:00 AM
To: Public Services Division
Subject: Charity Assistance.


Hi all my name is Darren, I have never asked for charity before but when I typed it in a search engine I came up with your email address. My wife had a car accident last year, shattered her back in a few places and now is paralyzed. I spent 9 years in the British Army and am now disabled, we have two kids. We are extremely poor and are in need of assistance. Our car is on its last leg and we really need a wheelchair accessible dependable vehicle. In addition the house we live in is extremely old and the doors (except for the front) will not allow for a wheelchair to pass through them. So we need a dwelling which will allow for a wheelchair to pass through the doors. In addition this will give her a sense of "independence" to where she can move freely about the house and can bathe in the bathroom. What's sad is.... I have searched the internet only to my disgust. It seems all these charity sites only want to take things, and don't provide a place for a "needy" person such as ourselves to apply. One of them, wont say which, but seemed to be a popular one, provided a contact email, which didn't even work In conclusion, I appeal to your conscience to send whatsoever the Lord lays in your heart to give to help us out of this condition. Please feel free to reach me at my personal email address: pioneercoy@netscape.net Sincerely, Darren L. Wheeler

"Darren"
How stupid do you think we are? You sent this to a department at a university. Remove our address from your list. Your emails have been forwarded to www.truthorfiction.com and the United States Secret Service.
AKM


I totally did send that one off to TruthorFiction.com and the Secret Service too (although now it seems the FTC is the one to report to). Doubtful that anything happened, but you never know.

Death to Spammers & Scammers! (Or at least long, miserable, internet-less stints in prison)

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Does anyone remember this?

Remember The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

I admit I only went to a theater to see a live show twice. But we just rented the DVD for The Rocky Horror Picture Show from the library and watched it along with this script and it brought back memories.

I know there are others out there that remember this...but are they willing to admit it?

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

It was a One-Eyed, One-Horned, Flying Purple People Eater



And he sure looked strange to me!

JM sent me a CD of the photos she took on Halloween and they're all so good! It was tough but I managed to limit my uploads to only 19 pictures. Just a few :)

Her photos show more of what it was really like at Boo at the Zoo too: a wooded path that wound through the cages and fences, decorated mostly with cardboard, with zookeepers and student volunteers dressed up as a wide variety of characters along the way.

There was a swamp monster


And a very strange dragon lady


And of course a few witches


And Captain Hook


And much more.

And I'd forgotten that Tom and Nicky went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Halloween morning. JM got some amazing photos there! And while I did upload several to the photobucket page, I'll just show you my favorite here:



He's so beautiful and I'm so lucky! I love this boy!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Who you calling Fool?

So I did this little online thingy (not really a quiz, more like a fortune cookie) and this came up for me. Very Interesting...

You Are The Fool

You are a fascinating person who is way beyond the concerns of this world.
Young at heart, you are blissfully unaware of any dangers ahead.
You are a true wanderer - it has be difficult finding your place in this world.
Full of confidence, you are likely to take a leap of faith.

Your fortune:

You are about to embark on a new phase in your life.
This may mean changing locations, jobs, friends, or love status.
You are open about what the future will bring, and free of worry.
You have made your peace with fate, and you're ready to start down your new path.


I wonder if this is in regards to a job I hope to apply for in the spring or a surgery I hope to have sometime next year. Or maybe it's in regards to my plans to clean out the darn den! Our den is such a mess right now and I'm hoping to spend this weekend in there with Tom organizing everything. What a relief that would be!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Getting sick

Well, I'm coming down with a cold or something. At least I'm finally getting over my surgery. I'm taking zinc and maybe that will help me get over this quickly.

Enough about me though. Jessie came to visit today and will be here this week. Nicky now can say Aunt and PooPoo. LOL! Nice combo huh.

I'll have to be sure to get some good photos of Jessie and Nicky together to add here soon. But right now I'm off to bed to recuperate before work tomorrow. I've used all my leave on the surgery and so have to work through my cold. Hopefully zinc really works.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Nicky and Colin

Colin and his parents came to visit this weekend. We spent the first half of the day cleaning house, because of course we're sure that somehow this will give the impression that we've got things all together and under control (or at least that we don't usually have mounds of clean clothes piled in our bedrooms). Funny because Gayle and Thad have known us for over 10 years and they pretty much know and love us as the slobs we are.

But we cleaned anyway. Hmm, actually I should have taken a photo so that I could give everyone in the internet the impression that I'm all organized all the time. Darn.

Well even though I gave them crappy directions and sent them 34 miles out of the way, they finally made it here right at the end of Nicky's nap. It only took a few minutes for Nicky to warm up to Colin and then they were running around non-stop for the rest of the day. Colin is 4 and Nicky is 1 so it is a big age difference, but they both seemed to have a lot of fun.

They even sat together at the "kids table" for dinner. Which impressed the heck out of Tom and I since usually we still strap Nicky into a highchair for meals.



Then they took a bath together. Splish Splash!



Then they ran around in their jammies for a while. They got to go to bed a little late since the time changes tonight (that's our attempt to get them to sleep a little later too). And now they're both in bed. Well, not together, cause OMG no sleep would happen then! But Nicky is in his crib and Colin is in the other room. And it's just now nearing 11. Nice!

Of course now you'd expect all us grown ups to sit around and play a game and chat till 2am. But I'm writing my daily blog entry and yawning, Tom's watching some special on The Who, and Gayle and Thad are falling asleep with Colin.

We are officially lame.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Getting Dirty



Today Tom and Nicky took me to the Rheumatologist. I'm trying to figure out what causes all the pains I get off and on in my limbs and joints. I've had it for years and it comes and goes seemingly at random. The good news is I don't have the markers for arthritis or lupus, but the bad news is they don't have a clue what's causing it. My levels on one of the blood tests was high- the one that measures inflammatory response was a little elevated. But doesn't give us much info. So now I have a standing order for the lab to go get repeat blood work the next time I have a flare up of the pain. At least the doctor didn't say it was just all in my head.

After that we went to lunch and Tom got Nicky fruit punch to drink. It was so funny! He was belted into a highchair, but was bopping around like mad after a while. I think sugar really affects him no matter what the research says. He was awfully cute though.

Then Tom dropped me off at a clothing store while he and Nicky picked up dog food. I had a gift certificate and was finally going to buy some clothes for myself! I found two tank tops and a pair of pants. I think these are the first clothes I've bought since maternity clothes! Fun stuff.

Then we headed home while Nicky crashed, poor kid was so tired! And Tom mowed the lawn. After Nicky's nap when Tom was finished we ran around in the backyard.

Nicky had lots of fun playing in the dirt (which was much preferred over the piece of dried up doggy-doo he first picked up). Sampson even helped him dig in the dirt. I caught a little movie which is a lot easier than taking a photo on this camera. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Halloween (and NaBloPoMo)

NaBloPoMo?

I know you're wondering if that's just some strange cult thing, but NaBloPoMo is much more innocent. No dancing with rattlesnakes or talking white lizards in the desert required. It stands for "National Blog Posting Month" and is a challenge for the month of December. As far as I know it started just last year when someone decided that instead of National Novel Writing Month (where folks write a whole novel in November!) that they could commit to posting on their blog for every day of the month. I thought it was a neat idea last year, but this year I'm ready to belly up to the keyboard and give it a shot myself. Hence the fancy little badge over on the right side of the screen. I figure I've been so bad about posting lately and this might just give me the kick in the pants I need to get my ass in gear. (Even as sore as it STILL is!)

So here's post number one!

Halloween 2007

Nicky and Tom came to pick me up at work and we headed off for Boo at the Zoo. We did this last year, but at only 7 months old Nicky was pretty blitzed out. We expected this year to be much more exciting and didn't even bring the stroller (you may start laughing here).

Ready to go! We've been changed, bug sprayed and costumed. Where's the candy?


We met up with a buddy from work and his cute little boy and in my haste to snap a photo of his son (batman) before they went into the zoo I completely and utterly ignored said buddy's wife. I only realized that I didn't greet, nor look at, his wife when I was drifting off to sleep last night. Apparently I've lost all social skills. (Maybe the surgeon cut that part out by mistake. Who knew that's where the epicenter of social nicety nestled?) I did apologize at work today by the way. I am a dork.

Anyway, we waved them on into the zoo and headed for the back of the line to get in. It was a very long line, but moving pretty quickly. We were also trying to keep an eye out for Nicky's Grandma who was supposed to meet us there. We saw her just before we were going into the park and she joined our little group. Yay!

Waiting in the super long line:


So for the uninitiated (which I imagine is the majority of anyone stumbling across this blog), Boo at the Zoo is a free program at the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo. This is at our local community college and the students and zoo folks decorate the path through the zoo for Halloween, dress up and let kids say trick or treat and get candy. They usually have a radio station there, and the cost of admission is one canned good per person. It's all a big donation drive to collect food for folks in need over the holidays. Not sure how much they pulled in this year, but last year it was over 6,000 cans of food!

So anyway, lots of camera opportunities along the path and I even had Nana's camera with me to take a few photos and movies, but I haven't quite gotten the hang of it so mostly took photos of the back of Nicky's head. But with JM there I'm sure she must have gotten a few cute ones with her super awesome professional camera. I'll post them when we get them!

About halfway through the zoo I was really ready to be done. I think I was zoo'd out before Nicky even. But we stuck with it (not really much choice actually) and made it through. I think it probably took about an hour to go through. That was the longest I'd stood up and walked since the surgery and my behind was not happy with me. Ow. Poor Tom ended up carrying Nicky for most of the walk. It was just too crowded and he was too overwhelmed to stay down for more than a minute or two at a time. But he was more interested this year, and stayed happy which was nice. Especially since the little girl behind us was having a sugar-induced meltdown.

After we were through the zoo we hightailed it to the car and to the grocery store to grab some sandwiches for dinner and a bag of candy in case we had any trick or treaters show up when we got home. We had two groups of kids show, so good thing Tom bought 3 bags of candy! I really must take some to work next week. (IF it makes it through a 3 day weekend uneaten- HA!)

This year instead of reaching desparately for his binky once we got in the car, he reached for a lolly pop. Yummo! - Notice though he's still naked after Boo at the Zoo. Costumes get HOT in Florida!


All in all I think it went pretty well. I don't know if we'll do it again next year though. I just heard about a cool idea to have a Trunk-or-Treat. And that sounds like FUN! I might have to figure out a group to put one of these on for us. Maybe the libraries? Maybe Tom's church? We'll see.

And there's the post! HA! Done with 6 minutes to spare before midnight!