|
Tuesday, February 25, 2003 Now I Have Seen Everything Only in America - PeopleCards: Trading Cards based on Real People. 100% Celebrity Free Collect all 6 billion! ------------------------------------------------
Francis the Bombing Mule Thank God for PETA. Without their help, we'd be innundated with WMDD: Weapons of Mass Destruction on Donkeys. PETA has issued their ultimatum to Arafat to stop using asses to deliver suicide bombs, or else....I don't know, guess send more letters. Or send human shields. Better yet, inspectors. When asked if PETA "considered asking Arafat to persuade those who listen to him to stop blowing up people as well'', the PETA official stated "It's not my business to inject myself into human wars,". Sounds like an ideal candidate for an ass inspector; after all, it takes one to know one. ------------------------------------------------
300 dpi and 45rpms Here's something to do with your old flatbed scanner: Play records! ------------------------------------------------
Man-Eating Horse This weekend Parker got nipped by a horse. It really wasn't the horse's fault - I was feeding it an apple, and parker deecided right after it was done to stick both hands in either sides of the horse's mouth. Luckily the horse had a refined palette and could tell the difference between pudgy fingers and crunchy apples. But it left a little dent for a few minutes, and did little to curb Parker's enthusiam. ------------------------------------------------
Friday, February 21, 2003 Glogger "Imagine the power of monitoring all the bloggers' posts along with knowing all of their IPs and their search histories? It is ridiculous to think that that information can now all be linked together, and that then the search history could be attributed to a real person with a personal website describing their life and beliefs. I can't imagine a better set of tools to monitor, sort and categorize people. Taken from a post to wired.com Sound a little Big Brother? Well, Google just purchased Blogger, so the idea is not inconceivable, though Google has for the most part stayed on the more white side of the thin gray line of morality. I love Google as a product, but I don't ken to the idea of being in a database that knows everything about me. ------------------------------------------------
It's Patriotic to Bleed Yourself Dry "Defying the mythology and raising taxes is the ultimate act of political courage in America." That's what the editor of the Gainesville Sun believes. And as our county comissioners consider raising our millage rate to the legal limit in Florida, as well as creating new sales taxes for gasoline, clothing, and for, all I know, air, I am now confident that they are following in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy and his civil rights platform, Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, and FDR and his public works programs. Could not one argue that shrinking a government budget and making do with what is available would be the ultimate act of courage. Not according to the Sun - doing so brands you as an "irresponsible political naysayer" who does not understand civic duty. Someone needs to ask the Comission the hard questions, such as why this county faces a 12.5 million shortfall while other counties around us don't seem to have such financial troubles. Could it be because Alachua has discouraged business and industry, so development in these areas (and subsequent increased tax revenues) have been nil for the last decade? If we have to tighten our belts to get through, so should the county. ------------------------------------------------
In the Alligator I had a letter printed in the Alligator today. The Alligator is the Independent newspaper of UF, and is decidedly pro-liberal, as one would expect of a college newspaper. Yesterday there was a letter to the editor talking about how the upcoming war was based on a "lust of oil". I responded: In response to Marilyn Galan's Tuesday letter, "Racist cartoon inappropriate,", it is not the war which shows a "lust for oil", but rather France's stubborn stance to keep Saddam Hussein in power. Although I'm thrilled to see that my letter made it to print, a second letter I sent did not, and in many ways I feel it was the more important letter. The editorial in the Alligator yesterday asserted that America faces no danger as no one will ever use a weapon of mass destruction on us for fear of reprisals. Furthermore, terrorism is inevitable, our current build-up in the Middle East serves nothing but to disrupt sweetheart's Valentine's Day, and Harry Truman alone was responsible for the end of World War II (not the combined efforts of millions of American citizens and soldiers, just Truman). I see that today my challenge to a two paragraph letter was printed, but that no criticisms of the half-page editorial were offered. Is this indicative of bias (or just journalistic judgment that you shouldn't print two letters from the same source on one page)? ------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 20, 2003 European Disunion Before Europeans accuse President Bush of being a bully for arguing that the UN back their own resolutions, they should look in their own back yard. French President Jacques Chirac threatened hopeful EU candidates in Eastern Europe that they have jeapordized their chances of joining the EU by supporting the U.S. in using force against Iraq. Calling them 'irresponsible' and stating 'they should have remained quiet', Chrirac went on to snub them from an EU conference on Iraq, told them that they have less of a right to voice poltical stances than EU member nations, and then threatened to vote aginst them from joining the EU altogether. This is this type of world leader who gets nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?. I'm voting for Bono. Disturbingly, and not unexpectedly, Eastern Europe is countering this response from France, and apparently Germany, with its own rhetoric. A Czech official stated that "Not so long ago we were being told Berlin wanted a European Germany. Now it seems [the EU] is to be a German Europe.". The current debate seems to splitting Europe apart even as it was on the verge of uniting. ------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 15, 2003 I Want Them Painted Black Everyone at work could tell I was in a funk - mainly because I was mad at myself for today's events. For instance, when Micheal and Cecile came to me with yet another problem in the Educational Modules system, I nearly blew up...but I manged to hold it in check, but was horribly curt with them. Later I apologized - now I know how David Banner must have felt. Even at the end of the day, I watched people walk by with flower bouquets and muttered under my breath "There goes four dollars..." On a more positive note, I'm being considered for a major photography gig on Elance. At least, I'm the last service provider currently being considered by the company. My bid is high for the work that needs to be done, but mainly its because of an enormous commute to get the job done (it's in Richmond!). I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though, as it's a wonderful opportunity to do some corporate photography work. ------------------------------------------------
Friday, February 14, 2003 Today I bit off more than I Could Chew I had decided earlier this week to take Valentine's Day off as a vacation day to try my hand at the lucrative field of temporary flower delivery man. It would have paid $4 per delivery, averaging about $12 dollars per hour. Fairly good money for a minimum of work. The florist asked me to come by at 8 to begin the day. At the same time, in my email inbox was a request for submission of proposals to redesign the website for the Madison County Economic Development Council. I had procrastinated in writing the proposal, as I was intimidated by the wordage in the proposal request. However, after speaking to the Council Director, I was confident that I could supply the services he was requesting. Then came the dilemma: the proposal had to be on his desk by 2:00 pm on Valentine's. I finished the proposal and had it ready to mail by 5:30 yesterday. Even with FedEx, the earliest they could deliver the proposal was by 4:30. After discussing the problem with Kristin, I decided to take a gamble and drive the 90 miles to Madison to deliver the proposal and then drive back to the florist. This morning, the plan went without a hitch until I arrived in Madison. There, I discovered that the building did not have a street number, nor the name MCDC. After searching out a phone book and trying to verify I was at the correct address, I left the proposal on the doorstep and returned to Gainesville, but arrived at 9 am. The florist no longer needed drivers. And so I lost out on the sure bet for the long shot. It may pay out; I just spoke to the Director and he said he is very impressed with what he has seen in the proposal and said he will be contacting me next week to go over the proposal with me. Keep those fingers crossed, ladies and gentlemen! ------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 13, 2003 Net Effect From the North Florida Emergency Preparedness web site following our upgrade to code Organge alert: "Be prepared to do without service you normally depend on that could be disrupted – electricity, telephone, natural gas, gasoline pumps and Internet transactions." That's right - in the event of the detonation of a dirty bomb or widepreade epidemics of Anthrax, don't expect to be able to bid on Ebay. ------------------------------------------------
Country Roads, Take Me Home Kristin and I just completed the Find Your Spot.com Quiz, which indicates the towns you would feel right at home in. After several dozen questions, I was presented with alist of 24 towns, in North Carolina, Washington, and Virginia, with a few in Alaska, Montana, and Utah to boot. Kristin's list was completely different than mine. We then decided to take the quiz together. Out town of preference: Elkins, West Virginia! ------------------------------------------------
Reality Hits Hard So I imagine all fans of American Idol now know how Frenchie was disqualified for some risque pictures she took for an adult website. The message boards at American Idol are full of Frenchie commentary - how she will be missed, how her past disqualifies her from being an 'idol', how she was the major talent in the competition. The most powerful messages are those of Fox's manipulation of the show - evidence shows the show producers knew that Frenchie had posed for nude photos as early as November, yet allowed her to compete until February sweeps weeks to grab ratings in the controversy that would follow her ousting. A shrewd marketing plan, to be sure, but one that may backfire for the show, if it is seen to be manipulating the viewers. The one person that seems will be benefiting the most will be Frenchie; listening to the Idol producers discussing today's events, it seems likely that Frenchie is being signed right now by Simon's label, independent of the show's rigid guidelines. Go Frenchie! As reality shows become even more numerous, the fact that many of these people are just as fallible as the rest of us, if not more so, becomes more and more apparent. Today, when the bachelors confronted Trista in a studio format, one bachelor was conspicuously absent - Greg T., who was arrested for apparent cocaine possession hours after leaving the show two weeks ago. The host acknowledged his absence, and quickly went on to the other bachelors :) ------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 12, 2003 Canadians Ban Language in the Name of Peace A school board up in Canada recently removed the word 'Gun' from spelling test after a pacifist couple protesting their daughter being exposed to the word. Stating that 'gun' is synonymous with 'death', they questioned why their daughter should have to learn to spell this word? Why should any child have to learn any word? Why do we need to be able to communicate with one another? How can her parents protest their daughter learning this word without knowing the definition of gun and how to spell it? How will their daughter be able to articulate her beliefs about guns without knowing the word? Banning the word is censorship, and is an abuse of the educational system. I don't know how a sane education board could make this decision. Perhaps its because Canadains are closer to the magnetic pole, and that's affecting the way they think. At least that would explain Jim Carrey. ------------------------------------------------
Duct Tape is the Ultimate Barrier Who knew that duct tape is an effective weapon against biological, chemcial, and radiological attacks? MacGyver is so set. One question: if you seal your family in aroom with plastic sheeting and duct tape, how do you breathe after about, say, thirty minutes? ------------------------------------------------
"Sincerity is not a test of legitimacy." On the face of it, I would agree with this statement. Just because you believe the world is flat, that man never landed on the moon, or that flying planes into buildings will further your political agenda, does not make it true. You are sincere about a belief, not about a fact. However, this phrase has been used in recent weeks around Gainesville to promote a local Baptist church. The church's pastor, in radio advertisements, uses this statement after describing a conversation with a waiter at a local restaurant, in which he waiter tells him "it doesn't matter what religion you believe in, as long as you are sincere."? And that is when the pastor goes into his "legitimacy" speech, quoting the Bible, and challenging people to come to his church and ask "hard questions"? about their faith. His argument is flawed. In essence, he is saying you should challenge your beliefs, then convert to my religion, because it is legitimate. His commentary leads us to believe that his religion, Christianity, is a truth, not a belief, as other religions are. It's hypocrisy on a monumental scale. This week, his new ad questions the basic nature of man. Although some believe man is good and others believe that man in neutral and society shapes them, he counters that the Bible tells us that man heart is basically "deceitful", and that we must accept this to truly understand our place in the world. What is this man saying? Is he saying the 5 billion of so individuals on Earth who practice a religion not based on the Bible are wrong? How can he make such an assumption? Could not one argue that all religions are a reflection of one basic truth? Is he saying man is basically evil? What kind of message of hope and comfort is this sending? No matter how eloquent or persuasive his discourses might seem, this pastor's statements seem positively Medieval, as if spoken by a fervent devout monk on the Crusades. "Mankind is evil and full of sinners! All who do not believe are heretics!"? If this is what is entailed when challenging your beliefs, I think I'll let sleeping dogs lie. ------------------------------------------------
Monday, February 10, 2003 Errrrrrrr, ER? Parker's emergency room bill just came in. The costs for his use of the nebulizer, room, and chest x-ray were right about what I was expecting. His pharmacy costs, however, were $4000 dollars. Excuse me? Four thousand dollars?!? Parker had four abuterol treatments, one dose of motrin, and one dose of steroids. If I were to go down to the local pharmacy, I could get this entire prescription for right about 40 dollars. And that would be enough abuterol and steroids for a week's regimen. How outrageous is this? If our government really wanted to help the American people revitalize the economy, they should curb hospital overcharging. If hospitals didn't overcharge, then insurance companyt rates would decrease, and the average consumer would have more disposable income, thereby bolsetring the economy. I understand hospitals have a profit to consider, but this kind of overcharging is ridiculous. Here's hoping that the majority of this charge will be absorbed by our insurance. In the mean time, I think I'll ask for an itemized bill. ------------------------------------------------
Feline Urges "I have a 10 mouth old gray tabby cat that I need to find a new home for. If anyone would like to take her please e-mail me or call me. Also I will give a carry cage with her for easy transportation. I hate to send her to the animal shelter. Thanks, Scott" Even though I know we don't have room, I...must...resist...urge. ------------------------------------------------
"Gentlemen, Let's Broaden Our Minds!" We went to a friend's art exhibit this Saturday. We only spent a half hour, as Parker got a little antsy, and it was impossible to let him walk around, what with glass-beaded marionettes within arm's reach. It was interesting, and it got me to thinking that I might be able to put on an art show of my own at some point, if I can figure out how to fund it. Afterwards, I discovered I had not fulfilled my roles as an introducer. Specifically, I did not introduce Kristin to a coworker, who at Christmas had knitted a teddy bear for Parker. At the show, Annaliese doted over Parker and offered to take Parker home. Kristin thought she was a complete stranger and was understandably freaked. I must remember to do introductions next time. ------------------------------------------------
Friday, February 07, 2003 To Park or Not to Park I couldn't believe my luck. I got to work and found a spot right out front of the office, near the construction area. But was it really a spot? It was at the end of a row near a turn. There were no outer markings to define it as a spot, but there was no do not park cross hatches either. Plus, the space was big enough for three cars. Still unsure, I looked about for several minutes to see if I could find a parking patrol officer. Seeing none, I walked inside and called the Parking Services decision to find out if it was okay. I got a mixed answer - depends on the ticketer. Deferring to discretion, I chose to move the car. Mind you, I was inside for about three minutes. I walk back outside to find that I had received a ticket. Again I looked around No parking officer in sight. angrily I drove to the appeals office to fill out a statement and to get the woman who helped me at the office to sign my form to state I was on the phone with her at the time of the ticketing. As it turns out, the ticket was just a Warning ticket, but it still peeves me. I ended up at the parking garage roof. The robins were swarming over head and flying near enough to touch. I need to bring Parker here. ------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 06, 2003 Parker's Animal Planet Yesterday Parker learned the word bird and says it while pointing to them in the air. He's so taken with animals - I wonder if it because of his room decor? ------------------------------------------------
El Jefe, the Jumping Bean From meetings to projects to even more projects, today has been one thing after another. It's the busiest I've felt in the office in a long time. My office changes its look today to. Systems took away the PC to do work on various other sundry Financial Affairs tasks, meaning that I now have to revert back to the slightly tinny speakers of the Mac G4. Yes, I know the PC has other uses than as a stereo, but man, those speakers sure were sweet. a few things seen here and there today and in the past week:
------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 05, 2003 It's Beyond My Control Today just feels askew. I noticed that my neatly trimmed moustache, is in fact, uneven, to the tune of about a third of an inch. Kristin told me the other day she doesn't like it, that it makes me look like an insurance agent. Recently, I've been looking at it in much the same way. I don't look like Freddy Mercury - I look like a used car salesman. A quick poll at work (i.e. the closest two offices to mine) seems to bear out the consensus. Thus the Great Experiment ends. Time to shave it all off and begin a beard again. What else is askew? The work environment in general. The next office newsletter focuses on student assistants, so there was a flurry of photo taking to include in the newsletter. Some assistants were not happy about me taking their photos...so I quietly 'lost' those photos when sending to the editor. Today those student's supervisors asked me to come back and take the photos again, to the assistant's (and mine) chagrin. So much for trying to solve things covertly. Though sometimes being covert can go to far. I identified a problem the other day in an area that I have indirect access to and wanted to bring it to the attention of the Department head. In order to do so, I had to go through a step process email that allowed a supervisor to mention the problem so as to make it appear that I had not directly had access to the problem. Although this might be done to shield me from questions regarding the problem, as I am responsible for maintaining the apparatus that identified the problem, should I not be allowed to present a problem when it occurs rather than going through convoluted channels. Someone once said the office environment is rather like the French Court. I guess it's beyond my control. ------------------------------------------------
It's a Beautiful Morning Actually, I wouldn't have given up this morning for anything. From the parking garage to my office, I was accompanied by a gently flowing stream of scarlet falling stars and gentle whistles and chirps. Above my head, a flock of hundreds of robins, accompanied by dozens of sparrows, flew in twos and threes through the clear crisp sky. I wish they were heralding a return to warmer temperatures, though my pessimistic side believes they're just flying farther south. ------------------------------------------------
Turnaround The weather flipflops, as it is wont to do in an area that is called Florida in name only. Yesterday, spring had come, with a warm sun shining down as a benevolent master on its grateful subjects. Today, winter's harsh winds and frosty glare seized the land, and the subjects suffered the weight of discarded sweaters and jackets. And I again found myself without a coat. Curses! ------------------------------------------------
Monday, February 03, 2003 Late Night Ramblings It looks like I'm having a late night, like I'm trying to recapture the glory days of college when I could stay up all night and not show any ill effects the next day (don't ask, I did it far too often, and probably led me to thinking that a Night Auditor position at hotels was a rational employment opportunity). I've slept on and off again throughout the night, but I had to catch up on some possible Elance projects. It's ironic that in a full month of no nibbles it's only at the end of the billing cycle that I get some real leads and at least one project coming my way. Still, it might be too little too late, and I might not renew. Then again, I might. It can be good money (Stress the word CAN). I also found myself waxing nostalgic over high school friends - probably because I am finally about to update the Class of 1992 site. I think I might actually have tracked two more people down from the senior class, which is actually a lot harder than they make it look on TV. For some reason, my computer doesn't go to the proper internet site right away...I probably have to get that checked out. One of the friends, Matt Midboe was actually running a blog himself and referenced our site's blog. Unfortunately, he has since decided to neglect his blog, which I can well understand, as it sometimes slips one's mind, and sometimes it is hard to think of something to say about the day. "I ate a cheese sandwich", indeed. Still, I do wish I had found it earlier. Matt has gone through some hard times in the past few years, and I wish I could have been there for him during it. Here at home, Parker has taken to carrying around his talking stuffed animals and trying to talk into them like a telephone. Today he had his first slice of cherry pie, but was more interested in dried fruit and fried wontons. As he's still under the weather, it was hard to get him to et much of anything else today, though he did suck on a Thousand-Island drenched tomato for quite a while. Like everyone else in America, I'm saddened by the shuttle disaster yesterday, although I am sorry to say I'm not as shocked as I was once would have been. NASA has had a bevy of maintenance and mechanical woes in the past few years, and today I read a compelling argument for the dissolution of the shuttle program in its entirety. The shuttle is out-of-date, both aeronautically and electronically, it is oversized, and costs too much to put into orbit. What's worse, NASA intends to continue using the existing shuttles until 2020, when they will be 40 years old! Airliners fall apart at that age, and the shuttle get a lot more stress and fatigue that commercial planes do. I believe it is time to look for alternatives. What's especially chilling about the whole matter is that the disaster appears to have been caused by the damage suffered during launch. If that is so, that means the crew worked for sixteen days in space, not knowing that their fate had already been sealed. ------------------------------------------------
|
|
Wednesday, February 26, 2003 This week, really just these past few days, have shaken things up in my world. Nothing earth-shattering, just a little bit of tremoring. I'm hoping te next week or two will allow things to settle where they may. I do know that I have a lot of things to think about and reconsider, etc., so I'll try to keep the blog updated. Parker is doing pretty well, he's thoroughly enjoying our daily walks and relishes getting into the stroller, which is a real blessing. He's asleep now, so I should shortly follow. ------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 22, 2003 Parker is AMAZING. We have the Tupperware Shape-O® shape sorter toy, and Parker has been able to get shapes into the holes for a while now, as long as you find the right hole for him. Well, last night during his bath he was playing it and actually turning it to find the right hole!! He's growing up so quickly. He's also taken to picking up his Sparkling Symphony™ Rock & Play Piano™ to carry it to someone who can change the musical instrument setting. He hasn't quite figured that out yet. ------------------------------------------------
Parker got his first freckle today! (Or should I say we first noticed it today.) It is on his left pointer finger. Although I have them on the backs of my hands and even the palms, I really don't have any on my fingers themselves. Neither does Jeff. Odd, hunh? ------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 15, 2003 I'm not exactly sure what is up with Parker the last several nights, but he's wanted nothing to do with Jeff putting him to sleep. I'm not sure why he feels so adamant about it, but it has upset Jeff enough that I'm just not going to push it for a little while. I've enjoyed it when Jeff has rock-to-sleep duty, because it gives me a little free time and Parker has often fallen to sleep easier with Jeff rocking him than with me nursing him. I can rock him to sleep as well, but only if he really doesn't care one ay or the other about nursing. I've thought about trying to force the issue, and like this evening, it just sent Parker into a tantrum. I know it will happen when Parker is emotionally and phychologically ready for it, but the days when he seems so much more like a little man than a baby boy it is easy to forget. ------------------------------------------------
Thursday, February 13, 2003 A good friend of mine (and fellow playgroup mom) has invited me to her church here in Gainesville. We talked about religion and have similar views on things, so I kinda feel that I might enjoy this church. Jeff, though, will probably see this in an entirely different way. I'm not sure why, but I've honestly never been able to get from Jeff a true sense of what he believes or what he thinks about spiritual matters. I know he doesn't think on it much, but, DARN IT, I wanna know!!! ------------------------------------------------
The whole concept of the Terror Alerts and "stocking up" terrifies me more than anything. I am more afraid of North Korea than Iraq or even Al-Qaida right now. What is more scary for me is that we seem to not even be addressing them. ------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 08, 2003 We bought our house brand-spanking new. You would think that this means it is in pristine order and little will go wrong, right? Oh no. We've lived here 3.5 years (since August 1999) and it looks like most of our bathroom grout, the toilet seals, and even the grout that connects the kitchen counter to the wall all need to be replaced. Our carpet needs serious shampooing (or replaing with laminate wood floors, but that's way beyond our price range). There are dents and dings at the corners of our walls in places. Our yard is a disaster still. And we still have an ant problem. I didn't expect this to be a dream home, but I did expect it to hold up at least this long!! ------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 05, 2003 Parker is obsessed, desperately obsessed, with animals. I do not say this lightly. If we are out and about, on a walk, at a park, in a public area in general and Parker sees an animal, that is THE ONLY thing on his mind. Yesterday at the end of playgroup we went to a nearby playground/dog park. We walked past a house that had two dogs that ferociously barked and scared me to death. I honestly felt that if those dogs could dig under that fence any faster, we'd have been appetizer and main course. Then we get to the park, and play for a while on the playground area. Then two dogs arrive at the park. It is a huge park, but Parker spots them readily. And runs, yes runs, for them. What is a Mama to do? This happens not once, not twice, not even three times. We are talking CONSTANT. I finally get him distracted enough for the dogs and owners to make an escape (and he never got near the dogs either and screamed heartily about that) when he spots sandhill cranes flying overhead. He is entralled and points and says, "Buh, buh, buh". He then runs into a field that has a few birds in it in the far distance. I got my exercise that day! Then today, we went to library preschooler storytime and at the library was a cat. He did everything in his power to get to that cat and I finally gave in when I observed how friendly the cat was. So I'm stooped down with Parker in front of me. The cats rubs on me and Parker sits down next to it when it lays down. He goes to put his head on the kitty's belly and I stop him thinking, "Our cats at home aren't particularly fond of this move at times, and they like Parker" and he screams. And cries. So we leave and go to lunch to wish our mommy-friend, Denise, a happy 36th birthday. Afterwards we go to another park and Parker while there sees birds flying overhead, points and calls out repeatedly and insistently, "Buhd, buh, buh, buhd". If that wasn't enough, two more moms come with toddlers slightly older than our bunch and ..... a puppy!! Intrigued beyond belief and finally gets to sit down and the puppy crawls in his lap!! Parker is in heaven and a little unsure of the whole situation of a teething puppy gnawing on his hand. I hope it satisfied his obsession at least a little bit.  Because we are NOT getting a dog. ------------------------------------------------
Monday, February 03, 2003 Books On My TO READ List: **Secrets of the baby whisperer for toddlers by Tracy Hogg **Our babies, ourselves : how biology and culture shape the way we parent by Meredith Small **The family nutrition book by William Sears **American Academy of Pediatrics guide to your child's allergies and asthma : breathing easy and bringing up healthy active children by Michael Welch **Vegetable gardening in Florida by James Stephens **Month-by-month gardening in Florida by Tom MacCubbin **Super baby food : absolutely everything you should know about feeding your baby and toddler from starting solid foods to age three years by Ruth Yaron I don't know when I'll have time to get through them though .... ------------------------------------------------
I desperately want to get rid of our television. But I'm admittedly addicted. (We won't even discuss Jeff, who reading this won't even check out the links, because he knows I'm serious.) I think of all the other stuff I might get done without it (like curtains or the ton of books I've now borrowed from the library), and how much nicer it would be to not have Parker hitting it when it is off or pointing up to his videos. The AAP recommends no television for children under the age of 2. This must be why. I don't think television is inherently evil, but I do think that it keeps us from doing more important things. Like reading, or doing the laundry that neeeeeeeds to be done. Of course, then there is the computer. When I had no modem, I actually did get alot more done. I've tried to tell myself that I won't go online for a whole day. It doesn't happen. I said I wouldn't on Sunday ... did. And today ... did. I might not tomorrow, at least not until late, simply because of playgroup, and I won'tbe here during Parker's nap. Sigh. ------------------------------------------------
Just wanted to share the pictures of our hospital trip. Honestly of the three of us, I think Parker looks the best. Just goes to show that a sick child can take everything out of the parents.   ------------------------------------------------
Sunday, February 02, 2003 Today, I made Wheat Germ Muffins for Parker (and us). Jeff and I tried them and I was quite surprised at how good they were. I threw in some mixed dried fruit instead of raisins (since Parker has wiped us out of those). We are all pretty much better, although I have something else going on with me that I hope resolves itself quickly. ------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 01, 2003 We've been teaching Parker signs that we found on the Sign With Me website. As of today, his repertoire includes:  MORE and  EAT. ------------------------------------------------
Getting no comments on our blogs really sucks. It feels like noone cares about what's going on with our lives. I'm trying to convince Jeff that we should just take them down, because stupid me keeps coming to see if anyone has anything to say. It's depressing. ------------------------------------------------
|