Hell hath no fury

Wow, keeping up some semblance of a regular schedule of posting amusing anecdotes here is getting harder and harder.  Between family, the store, and now the holidays descending upon us, blogging keeps getting pushed further and further down the priority list.

I'm here to tell you about what happens when a four-year-old cumulatively loses about 4 hours sleep in a weekend.  We had people over on Friday and Lola was up late being the life of the party.  Then Saturday, we went to dinner at friends and she stayed up late with her DG who was babysitting.  So last night, the trifecta was completed and Rayna and Kelly came over for dinner.  We were determined to put Lola down and hour early, at 8pm, because she didn't even get a good nap.  We started at 8.  Over the course of the next hour, we bargained, scolded, spanked (yes, we spank, but it's pretty rare and really just for these most hellish occasions), coerced, and generally fought with our daughter.  She wants Dada, she wants Mama, she wants milk, she's cold, she's hot, her head hurts.  One thing after another, the games get played.  And Dada gets more and more frustrated and pissed off.  The screaming reaches a crescendo and another round of spanking.  Eventually, Lola got so upset she threw up in her bed.  And then on her floor while we were stripping the bed.  Great.  We took away her little Christmas tree.  Finally, after what felt like hours of battle, she settled in and went to sleep.  Let us never schedule a weekend like this again.

In other family news, we're gearing up for the holidaze, the (real) tree is up, stockings are hung, and "we'll tell Santa if you're naughty" threats are tossed around casually.  I can only think of two things that might comprise my list, so I should really be thankful for all I have and don't lack.  EcoReno is joining in - Morgan's building a trash Christmas tree to show off during the CalAve merchants' annual Holiday Stroll (in which we are participating).  Winter is a mere two weeks away according to the calendar, but we have yet to see any real snow, and people are still riding bikes outside.

Library work is its typical self, but we're circling our wagons for yet another cut to the budget.  People are now getting concerned about layoffs, but they are still telling us that's the last possible option.  I'm feeling pretty solid and lucky to be able to feel that way - we're seeing more and more people we know, or one degree of separation away, that are impacted negatively by the state of the economy.  If someone could please turn things around, now would be a good time to do it.

Been drinking some interesting beers lately.  Between two friends, I secured three bottles of The Abyss this year, as well as some Hallertau, and one precious bottle of Palo Santo.  As long as we're talking festive, Morgan and I got a chance to go out to a movie recently, saw the new James Bond movie.  A little disappointing as a Bond movie, acceptable as a movie, and enjoyable as an opportunity to go out for an evening.

Not much else to report really, so I'll sign off here.  I've got some EcoReno blogging to do too, so take a look there if you'd like.  We did just buy a new camera since the old one started failing, so I'll have a whole slew of new photos of kids and holidays and stuff to post soon, but for now, check out this cool website.

Lola's magnum opus

This is what happens when a 3-and-a-half-year-old helps herself to the digital camera, accidentally puts it in video mode, and gets creative, unsupervised and unbeknownst to any of the adults in the house.  39 little clips of 1-3 seconds each (about 2 minutes total, so be patient, it's a bigger file than most videos around here).  Found later, thoroughly enjoyed, and stitched together for your enjoyment.   Thanks, Lola.  You're really great.

New snagfilm

OK, their site is back up.  Here's one I had heard of a year or two ago and thought would be a good one:

Movies and current events

Did that work?  Found this cool new site with lots of neato documentaries.  Thought I'd try sharing some here from time to time.  Not that I've watched them, just that they seem like good ones I'd like to watch some day.  So that's the first one, about a heavy metal band in Iraq.

Aside from that, catch up on the week's news with Harper's Weekly roundup.

Confession

I am a sucker for romantic movies.  I love romantic comedies. I can read the ending within the first five minutes, but I don't care that I know what is going to happen.  I LOVE them!  I am now watching The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law.  Yep, love it.  Getting worked up even though I have seen it and know what is going to happen. Just watched 27 Dresses the other day and loved it, too.  Maybe all started with Pretty Woman? No, I think it was Pretty in Pink. Wait, it was Can't Buy Me Love. Hold on another sec, I am thinking that one of my all time favorites is Say Anything. I have thought about 6 others while writing this blog. I can tell you if you are interested or become my friend on Netflix.

I think that I am just a sucker for good movies. I know that there are those out there that don't agree with my choices. But my thought is - isn't it nice not to be scared, not to think how the world could end, and know that you can swim in deep water?  Sometimes, I think that Marc and I have this perfect love story movie.....met online, were engaged shortly after (I had no intention of marrying when I met him), the perfect wedding, the perfect relationship, the perfect kids, and now the perfect life.  See....they do really happen.

Saying all this, I do have some other favorites.  There are movies that I like that I would not want to live out.  Random titles would include: Thirteen, The Patriot (it is the Heath Ledger fantasy - check out 10 Things I Hate About You), Hotel Rwanda, The Savages (most recently), Rear Window, The Apartment, The Princess Bride, etc..... Okay, there are sooooooooooo many that I could list.  These are not even the best choices - there are so many coming to mind now. Plus, TV series!  Six Feet Under and Arrested Development are two of my top favorites.  I know that so many more will pop into my head as favorites.  But my confession is.....I LOVE romantic movies!!!!! Happy endings are the way to go for this viewer....oh yeah, The Notebook....another GREAT romantic movie.  There are so many!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy movie watching!

Side note for those that care......Firefox 3 came out today.  I have only been using it since writing this blog.  It really 'rocks' so far!!!

Happy Earth Day

Just a few minutes to catch up before heading to work, seems like lots to talk about here.

First, off it's sort of spring birthday season around here.  Happy birthday to Lola's Nana today, and last Friday to Morgan.  Had a nice little gathering Friday night here, followed by dinner out at Lulou's on Saturday night.  Quite delicious, quite expensive.  I celebrated Morgan's birthday by paying a visit to Reno's first microbrewery, then picked up ingredients for a honey wheat beer I'm planning to brew and rhizomes to plant some hops out back.

Also speaking of birthdays, I just heard from an old friend (Bret for you out there who might remember him), announcing the birth of his daughter Evalina on Saturday night.  Congrats to Bret and his wife, welcome to Evalina.

In a recent spate of eco-activity around here, partially Earth Day inspired, partially coincidental, we've been purging some plastics around here to avoid bisphenol-A, and I've been ballparking solar systems.  Sort of dismayed to realize that just to offset about half of our electric consumption with solar, we're looking at probably close to $20,000 up front, even after generous rebates.  So I dunno if that's going to happen.  Might start with solar water heating.

Two final brief blurbs and then I'm out:

Sidney has two new teeth coming in.  Yay for teeth, but boo on the accompanying crankiness and how bad it makes him feel.  :-(

Recent movies seen: No Country for Old Men - excellent, violent, tense, really enjoyed.  Juno - Excellent in all respects, story, characters, music, dialogue.  Totally loved it.

blah, blah, blah

Sometimes I feel that I just go on and on about mindless crap that no one cares about. Then again, I think that I avoid blogging about stuff that is great because I don't have enough to say. Anywho, here are some random thoughts that I have had lately:

- We went and saw Hair last Friday. It is being put on by TMCC theater group. It was FABULOUS!!! I love a great musical. Still waiting to see my favorite: West Side Story. Even better would be if I could sing and audition. I wonder if one voice lesson would help? My mom used to cover my mouth in church.

-Just watched La Vie en Rose. Great movie. Love Edith Piaf. Saw her grave at Pere-Lachaise in 2002. I checked out some footage of Edith Piaf on You Tube. Marion Cotillard did an excellent job! She portrayed her so wonderfully!

-Found another Cooks Illustrated cookbook at work (to buy)! I love these cookbooks. They simplify and get the perfect recipe!

-Spring is coming. Yea! Nicer weather and longer days. Don't forget to set your clocks on Sunday.

- Christian won Project Runway!! If I could only sew! I can already hear my name being said by Tim Gunn and Michael Kors. Fabulous reality TV. I also watch The Biggest Loser. So great to see people take control of their lives. I am not a big Brittany fan since Bernie had to go home this week.

-Hilary? Does she have a chance? Big win in Texas. I am still in favor of Obama.

-Kelly Ricciardi cut Lola's hair. Lola got her first "official" hair cut.







-Sid is getting so big!



and he is starting to sleep through the night:)

-and Lola.....



-and both of them.......

I'm that old?

I was watching the Teen Tournament on Jeopardy the other night. The category was Really Old Movies. Two of the questions were, "What is E.T.?" and "What is Goonies?" I do realize this was a "teen" game, but am I "really old?"

One more thing...

Along the same lines as the trivia/IQ tests linked below, may I present:

71%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews

Marketing machine

This is kind of cool while at the same time being a bit off-putting in all its capitalist extravagance - the marketing machine that is The Simpsons Movie. That website has so much stuff to explore it's kind of intimidating me. But this is fun...you can create an avatar there.   So here's me as a Simpson:

In brief...

Huh, I forgot to title my last post, so just did it now.  See below.

Briefly, the offer we submitted was countered with terms we can't accept, so we're back in limbo with the house buying/selling situation.  Bummer, truly.  I hate having to listen to my own advice, that everything happens for a reason, and if it's meant to be, it'll happen somehow.  I don't really know if that's true, but it seems to be a lot of the time, so I keep telling that to myself and whoever else it applies to.  I really hope so.

Saw a sneak preview of Knocked Up last night.  Really really liked it.  Funny, sweet, enjoyable movie.  Same stars from this director's usual stable, so if you liked Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, 40-year-old Virgin, you'll probably like this.

That's all for now, wish us luck...

Untitled?

Well, here we go...we put in an offer on the house we really like yesterday! Contingent on the sale of our house, and we have to wait another day for an answer because one of the sellers is in Iraq. We're feeling good about the offer we made as well as our chances of selling our house. We've got a couple interested parties and a good backup if they don't come through. More details to come as things develop. Also saw another nice house that would be a good backup if the first one doesn't work out, coincidentally, with a floor plan identical to Turi and Mich's place.

Been a booming last few days around here. Family is all gone home now, but we had a great time with all our visitors. Shot some balls at the Aqua Range with Paige and Grandpa Dave, and even made some beer yesterday for next month's celebration of impending baby brother. It's bubbling away happily on the basement stairs now.

Also during my nice five-day weekend, I finally finished The Kite Runner, enjoyed the last third of it far more than the first two-thirds that took me forever to read; plowed straight through Michael Connelly's new The Overlook and really enjoyed it (although it was a pretty quick read, a bit shorter than a typical Connelly book); and finished the Burning Man book I started a long time ago, Inspired Madness, and put down when I found it a bit too Burroughs Naked Lunch oddball-like in language and style. Wow, that was quite the lengthy sentence. Oh yeah, we also started watching Volver last night. Jury's still out for me particularly since we didn't finish it yet, but it's sort of weird too.

OK, that's all for now. With any luck, next time I write we'll be in escrow.

Just stuff

Are you freakin' serious?

I just find it hard to believe some things despite strong evidence that they're true.

Sorry, I've been remiss in posting, especially any new Lola pictures lately aside from the cookie thing recently. And sorry for using such huge files for that one. Hopefully I'll figure out the thumbnail feature of Wordpress next time. Speaking of learning new things, I did have a major score this week and figured out how to share the printer downstairs so we can print from the wireless laptop, as well as share files between the two computers. It's really sweet.

Grandpa Dave is here (geez, I just found the photo gallery broken when I went create that link...why does this stuff keep happening?!?!?) for a visit and Madeleine and her mom should be here tomorrow. I'm lucky enough to have some time off, from 1pm tomorrow through next Tuesday. Hopefully will get some beer brewed, root beer made, and even swing a golf club a little bit at some point. Holiday weekend, woo-hoo! And speaking of fun stuff, we actually got to the movies last weekend, to see Spider Man 3. Good show, good fun, if you don't try to take it too seriously and can appreciate some of the typical Raimi goofiness. And Michael Moore's new movie looks promising.

Lola is really a firecracker these days. Her speech is to the point of having nearly normal conversations with her now, even if her statements aren't always true or realistic. She's also becoming quite the rough and tumble kid now that weather is improving and she likes to play outside so much. Scraped knees, stubbed toes, all of that is more or less commonplace around maison Tiar these days.

And, as long as I'm tossing out links willy nilly here, check out this newish online encyclopedia of all things Nevada. Really a nice site, if you find such things of interest.

And lastly, this odd blog claiming to be written by a man on the run from the law, with his adopted son. Could be fiction, could be delusion, could be a clever marketing idea for a movie or something. Found that somewhere, I thought Metafilter, but it wasn't. But in searching Metafilter for the link, I was reminded how amazingly chock full of wonderous reading that site is. It's also a massive timesuck, so proceed with caution. Also fun, Ask Metafilter, for giving or receiving (or just reading) oddball advice from the masses.

And that's all for now.

Updates

Geez, as life gets busier, so my postings here get further apart.

We're in full-steam-ahead house prep mode around here, I've discovered how challenging both cement work/bricklaying and carpet laying are to the average do-it-yourselfer (me). A bit more paint touching up, a basement shower, and a lot of general tidying and we'll be ready to put this place up for sale. Even got a storage unit today...nothing in it yet, but it's a step. Might have done it but it had to go and rain and snow today!

Lola's a sick little puppy today, just the usual runny nose and sneezing and coughing cold business, but she really becomes a pill. Not that she's particularly crabby, just needy, prone to crying, and especially inclined to doing and touching everything she's told not to.

Since I last wrote, we've had a couple wildfires already, gone to a booksale, and both been trounced out of the basketball pool at work. So it goes. Finally saw The Departed this week, great movie.

Coming up, we've got our trip to San Diego in a mere eight days, and it looks like we're going to Portland for a visit with Maggie and cadavers in June. Seems psychotic to juggle all that, selling and buying a house, all while impending baby brother looms on the horizon, but...I guess we're just crazy like that. Oh yeah, and I think we're going to see Bruka's production of Reefer Madness this weekend.

I feel like I had more to say but that's probably just due to chronic brain overflow these days. I'll wrap up with a head count of sorts: Maggie comes to visit this weekend, Pop's in Paris, Mom comes in about two weeks, and everyone else is right where they're supposed to be. That's all for now, I'll try to update a few pictures soon.

Good times

I was mostly prompted to write by just watching the newest trailer for the Simpsons movie.  Although I'm somewhat over the Simpsons on TV, the movie looks great and I'll be sure to see it.  Then I figured I had a few other things to babble about...

Speaking of movies, it's been a while since I've offered any commentary on any...we started the Big Lebowski yesterday, then dozed off, not due to boredom, just sleepy (oh yeah, I was sick yesterday, up several times in the night to visit the bathroom, but fortunately, it was just a 12-hr bug, as I was good to go by dinnertime), and I really enjoyed what I saw.  It's been a while since I've seen it and I think I'm liking it more the second time around.  We also watched World Trade Center last week and enjoyed it quite a bit.  I don't think the events of 9/11 will ever fade enough from memory that I need movies to remember.  Sometimes I feel like I'm still in shock from that day, and I think about what a pivotal event history will record it as.   Somewhat related, I had a question at work last week about the conspiracy theories surrounding the collapse of WTC building 7, which was a new one on me.

The new laptop arrived today, so this will be the last post on the old one.  Still undecided whether to sell the old or use it as a Linux testbed.

Ultrasound to determine and divulge the gender or baby #2 is scheduled for next Monday.  Will we or won't we find out?  The issue remains unsettled for now.

One last thing I meant to post a week ago - we managed to squeeze in a visit to Rebekah Bogard's show at UNR.  We both really love her ceramic work and just had to share.

That's all for now, time to start tinkering with the new computer.

Ruminations

First, we've got a couple new ultrasound images to view, taken earlier today:28542857The pen outlines are from Dr. Chun, OB/GYN.

A new school of thought around the Tiar household: maybe we shouldn't add on to this house. For about the same cost each month, we can probably just move into a house that has the size and arrangement we need. We're not committed to living on Novelly Dr. forever, so we're thinking maybe about 18 months out, rolling some of the equity here into a downpayment on something different. Hopefully still a good market then, hopefully in a nice old neighborhood.

Lola is quite the maniac these days. Her sentences are getting longer and consistent, although she does babble like a talking chimp as well. Lots of energy, but great night's sleeps. For all of us. And she's eating quite a bit more. When I pick her up, she's heavier and just...bigger in general. Not a baby anymore, by any stretch of the imagination.

Brief movie review: Children of Men was really good. Bleak, depressing view of the future, but with brief beautiful moments of levity amid the chaos. I like Clive Owen quite a bit. He plays the "ordinary man caught in extraordinary circumstances" role triumphantly here.

Well, that's about it for tonight I suppose.

Taking the lead

It is official. I am ahead in the Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament. The score as of today is 15-14. I'd like to think that my skills have only improved and Marc has no chance, but that theory is highly unlikely. Hey, I was down by six!

For other fans, it was thrilling to see Jack Bauer again last night. The new season of 24 had begun. Poor Amy started watching a rerun on another channel and missed the first 15 minutes. She thought for sure she was done for the season. A bit conflicting to rerun an old episode as you are premiering a new season. Wonder how many people watched the wrong channel thinking they were duped into watching a rerun?

Marc and I have been giving some thought to adding on to our house. Anyone know of a good draftsman? Contractor? Any suggestions?

Lola has been signed up by Nevada Casting. We went in thinking it was open call, and it had been canceled for that week. The woman in there asked Lola a few questions and to smile. She signed her up right then. She loves to have her picture taken. We'll see how it pans out. I'll keep you updated.

Watch The Inconvenient Truth. It is a way to start. We have some serious issues facing our planet. As a parent, do it for our children.

Monday morning roundup

Seems like there are a few things blog-worthy floating around, so let's get right to it...

We had our first real snow on Saturday, just a few inches, but it turned streets into a rink.  We ventured out to a retirement party for Morgan's current library boss and my former boss, but opted out of a 2nd party in a far valley.  The lame-duck Toyota performed admirably in 4WD to get us there and back.  Speaking of cold weather, the thermometer this morning reads a frosty SIX degrees!  That's cold!  Fifteen below zero for you non-Fahrenheit folks!

Wellness - Little Lola is still sickly, the scare from eight days ago behind us, now just with upper respiratory issues.  Cough cough, sniffle, sneeze, buy stock in Kleenex.  Daisy has mostly recuperated from her growth-removal surgery, but reeks to high heaven with food, water, and snow getting caught in her headcone and, presumably, rotting there.
Intermission: Check out this remarkable mime performance (8 minutes).  Apparently the music is amazing too, but I had it turned down when I watched it.

Brief movie review: Watched Thank You for Smoking the other night, both thought it was great.  Definitely recommended.

Maggie is off to New York for the holidays, there's a diaper in need of changing, I'm out of time here, so that's it for now.

Updates

Finally got around to adding a new Lola video to the site.  Hope you enjoy it.  Also, while I was at it, I changed the Lola page so the "how old" part loads faster and looks much better.  Finally, made a few changes to the links page.

Dinner at 4th Street was excellent, as expected.

Started watching United 93 tonight.  So far so good, pretty intense.

Last news of the night:  I bought a new car today!  More details and maybe photos tomorrow.

Movies

I forgot!  As rare as outings to the movie theatre are, I feel I shouldn't pass up an opportunity for a brief review of what we saw.

As Morgan mentioned, Lola's first movie theatre experience was "Flushed Away".  Pretty good animated flick, as expected from Aardman.  Nothing to complain about that I can think of.

On Sunday, Morgan and I got to see the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale.  Typically excellent Bond action.  The cars, the action, the women...all top-notch.  I like the new Bond too, he seems cut out for this.  Maybe not as much as Remington Steele Pierce Brosnan, but he's pretty likeable.  Bond trivia note: This is actually the third version of "Casino Royale".  The very first Bond "movie" of all was Casino Royale, an episode of a TV series called "Climax" with Barry Nelson as Bond, then there was a David Niven spoof of Bond movies with that title in the late 60s.
And just so this isn't all about movies, for the benefit of all the non-Reno readers...we've got snow!  Just a dusting here in the valley, but a bit more in the mountains.   Pretty dang cold out there though.

That's all folks, take care!