How I warm tortillas

Anyone who loves Mexican food loves a fresh warm tortilla. And if you aren't fortunate to get homemade tortillas every time, you might suffer from the dilemma of how to warm a tortilla so that it is still warm and pliable. I learned how to warm tortillas from my mother, who to this day probably still warms her tortillas directly on the burner. I did it this way for many years too, but I found that it dries out the tortilla. I personally hate a dry tortilla cracking and spilling its contents. I'm not a definitive source on tortillas, but this is what has worked for me in my experience.

Flour tortillas. Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel, and reheat in the microwave.


Corn tortillas. You can do the same trick with the damp paper towels, but I find that sometimes tacos made from these corn tortillas will still break. Lately I have been using a new trick. In a skillet, heat a small amount of vegetable oil. I use extra virgin olive oil. Spread the oil with a spatula. Then place the first tortilla in the skillet. Then flip it over and put a second tortilla on top. Then flip again and place a third tortilla, etc. Continue in this manner so that all sides are evenly coated with the oil and heat through. If there is too much oil after reheating, just dry the tortilla with a paper towel.

Hope that helps with your tortilla eating adventures!

Mickey hat

We have rediscovered this knit Mickey hat and decided to model in the mirror.

San Antonio Turkey Trot 2009

I went into this 4 mile race not really knowing that much about it. Like, for instance, I thought that this was a road race. It was actually a race through a wooded park. So most of the race was on paved trail wide enough for 3 or 4 runners. Some bits were not paved at all. At one point in the first mile, I overheard someone say, I didn't know that this was a single-file race. I had to chuckle because it was true. It was a bit difficult in the first mile as runners sorted out where they belonged with regards to pace. Supposedly, we were to line up by pace, but it was difficult to hear what was going on, so I, like most people just walked up to the starting area without regards to pace at all. But it was a pleasant, if cold, run through the woods in San Antonio. I ran the whole way except for at the two water stations. I'm not a fast runner and my goal is always to finish the race, but I'm happy with my time as well (43:38).

Goodbye, La Princesa

From Little Man Aug 2009

La Princesa, like most of our other cats, strayed into our lives and into our hearts. She was probably already an old girl when we met, but we are not sure. She was a very playful and friendly kitty, and our little man loved her very much.

Yesterday, we said goodbye to La Princesa. She had run away from home about 3.5 weeks ago, but came back to us Friday night, the coldest night this season. We had worried about her and looked for her and were so glad to see her again. We tried to help her this weekend, but she was very sick, and at last we decided it was the best thing to let Princesa go.

She loved to hang out at the little man's bathtime, so here is a photo to remember her.

From Little Man Aug 2009

Haircut by Mama, pajamas by Sesame Street

A few weeks ago, I decided to save $15 at the barber's and cut the little man's hair myself. It was a good thing, because that was 20 minutes of non-stop screaming. I, of course, can see all of the crooked spots, but overall, I think it turned out fine. Here he is post-haircut and bath, and sporting his new Elmo pajamas, which he loves.

Día de los muertos and Requiem

Two weekends ago, though I was pretty beaten down by a cold, I dragged myself out of bed to go Austin's Día de los muertos celebration downtown. It's a parade and street festival with tents and a stage for live music. It's only a block long, and we didn't stay very long, but all three of us really enjoyed it.



Unfortunately that was the highlight of my otherwise lost and bedridden weekend. Here are a few more photos of the little man on the playground.



This last weekend was a little better for me. Last Friday, the little man wore his handmade Superman costume (thanks J!) to school. He didn't want to wear the removable cape, though, even though I tried to convince him he would be just like Superman and Super Grover. And there were two other Supermans in his class. They were all so cute! That afternoon in his class, they had a little party and both Mama D and I went. Here are a few pictures of the little man before school, struggling to not wear the cape.



Saturday, Mama D played spectacularly with the St. Edward's orchestra, performing Danse Macabre, excerpts from Pictures at an Exhibition, The Noonday Witch, and a little bit of Mahler's Symphony No. 1.

And that Halloween evening, even though he refused to put on his costume, the little man had a great time at J's party. Since this post doesn't have enough photos, here is another slideshow from party.



Sunday was Day of the Dead, and I spent my morning run reflecting on the loss of one of the co-founders of my company to brain cancer. As my lungs burned and I coughed up phlegm (residual from the cold), I thought about what a remarkable life he had. Later that morning, D and I went to Central Presbyterian to hear the performance of the Requiem by John Rutter. It was a Requiem that I had not heard before. The arrangement was made specifically for the Wild Basin Woodwind Quintet. I really enjoyed the music and it was perfect to be in that moment contemplating life and death and everyone.

Pumpkin painting

The little man really likes happy faces. Since he can't draw them himself, he loves it when someone else draws them for him. And if you forget something, like the nose, he will tell you about it. After drawing a few happy faces, he finally started to decorate his Halloween pumpkin that we got last weekend for him. He really enjoys painting, and using all kinds of methods: paint markers, finger painting, and brushes. Hope you enjoy this photo slideshow. It was fun for us watching and helping him paint.

Goofing off at the pumpkin patch

We attempted to take some photos of BabyBoy at the pumpkin patch this weekend. Here you can observe his goofing off skills. First, here he shows he does not want to look at the camara.


Here he is giving his very exaggerated smile. He just started to do this after weeks of me encouraging him to smile so I can brush his teeth.


Lastly, we have the pen cap!

At the Apple Store

This was taken last month at the Apple store. He looks almost as happy as I was getting my new iPod Nano. Actually, I think he is happier. Nothing is like the pure joy of a child.

The little man at day care

Too close!

This is why I don't post too many videos anymore. My son is very aware of the camera and gets too close!

Haircut and watching Norm

New haircut.


And watching New Yankee Workshop with Mama D.

More August photos of the little man

Disneyland 2009

Part 5 of 5. (Finally!)

19 months

The little man is now into bubbles, Elmo and stars. He was actually getting into stars at the 4th of July. He knows other shapes from our little shape sorter toy, but I think he is only able to say star. And bubbles he is pretty keen on as well. He loves to blow bubbles outside. Lately, though, it has been too hot to play outside. So we started giving him bubble baths which he loves. Even if he doesn't want to take a bath, I can talk him into it with the promise of bubbles. Elmo is a relatively new development, as in just a few days ago, he started saying Elmo (Ehmo, Ehmo, Ehmo!). We have a Sesame Street t.v. remote control with pictures on the number buttons. We say what each picture is, including the car, kitty, guitar, rocketship, and ball. It also has Ernie, Bert, Oscar, and of course Elmo. Something just clicked in him in the last few days, and he started saying Elmo a lot. Yesterday we went to Walmart, and decided to get him an Elmo plush doll, an Elmo book, and an Elmo DVD. He is just now getting interested in the t.v. He doesn't really watch more than 5 minutes at a time, but the DVDs have really helped me distract him long enough to trim his nails (which was always a weekly battle). I've also noticed of late that he is really getting in the manipulative toys and working on his fine motor skills. He likes to play with the shape sorter, and he also likes to pull apart and put together his Lego blocks. And of course, we think he is such a sweetheart. :-)

Dana Point with mi prima

Part 4 of 5. The little man loved the beach! Well, he loved the water, but not the sand so much. He doesn't really like dirty hands or dirty feet, so it was a bit of problem at times. And he was having so much fun playing with the little dump truck, he wouldn't eat very much. Too busy! After the beach, we were all going to go somewhere for lunch, but the little man fell asleep in my arms as I was about to put him in the car seat.

Friday night at the Angels game

Part 3 of 5.

In Anaheim

Part 2 of 5. The little man loved spending time with Abuela, Grandpa and his uncle. There were new toys to play with, and a new "outside" to discover and explore. He loved picking up and examining leaves on the ground. And watering the plants with Abuela.

On the way to LAX

The first in a series of our vacation to Orange County, CA.

The little man is 18 months today!

He is playing with his new tee pee from our good friend K.

Going for a stroll

Bathtime with goggles

Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2009

The actual "Blogging for LGBT Families Day 2009" was yesterday, but we have been taking care of sick toddler since Sunday. And that is how it is for us. We are two women in love, partners for many years, who decided a few years ago to start our own family. I didn't start this blog until our son was about 6 months old, but I'm glad to be part of the blogging community. I don't feel like I have much wisdom to share, but just the common experience of being a parent, and lesbian parents at that, makes the world feel a little smaller. I actually started this blog last year so our families could see photos and videos of our son growing up, but it has turned into much more. I have friends from all over that tell me they love seeing the little man grow up.

I'm not as political as I probably should be, so, I don't really write that much about that topic here. But I am proud to be living in this day and age, where we are on the tipping point of acceptance and equal rights. I don't know if D and I will ever get married, but it is so important from a legal perspective. And in living in Texas, without even same-sex domestic partnership recognition here, it is so important for us that other states can achieve these milestones in equality.

Politics aside, we are definitely a family. We are both mommies. Sure, our family is a little different. But we are proud parents, and eager to whip out the photos to anyone that asks. There are days where we say, I can't believe we have a son! He is a miracle to us. And for me, though our life has changed so much with the little man, it feels like this is how it always should have been for us, now that we have him.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

Last weekend, we were out running errands, as we typically do on the weekends. We were starving with the kind of hunger only large amounts of fat and cholesterol can sate. So, we decided to head to Mighty Fine Hamburgers. I went into the bathroom to wash three baby spoons for the little man. An older lady saw me and asked, "Are you feeding three kids?"
"No, this is in case he drops one," I replied.
"Oh, you are so prepared!".
"Well, not actually, I just bought these spoons at Target, because I did not plan ahead."

But that was last weekend. This weekend was Memorial Day Weekend. We didn't go out of town, but stayed home. A staycation, I've heard it called. We didn't go to any parades, but silently thought about family members who have served.

A new thing for us as a family, though, was taking the little man along the Lady Bird Lake trail (formerly known as Town Lake trail). The weather was beautiful yesterday and it was an all around perfect morning for a stroll. Those not from Austin may not know that the underside of the Congress Avenue bridge is home to the largest population of Mexican Free-tailed bats. Even though I've lived here for many years, I just learned that the bridge was renovated with special channels specifically for the bats to nest. As we passed under the bridge, it almost seemed like the wheels of the jogging stroller were suddenly squeaky, but it was just the colony saying hello to joggers, bicyclists, and strollers below. Here is a little slideshow of our little nature walk.



Since it was a hot weekend with highs in the 90s, we had hoped to go to the nearby public pool. But alas, the little man is down with a little cold. He just has not been himself, quite cranky and fussy. I think we have really started the long hot summer months here, so, I'm sure we will have many more opportunities this summer to hit the pool.

On the home front, we finally got the flooring installed for the new part of our living room. Here La Princesa is modeling the new floor.


My favorite tweet of the week is actually related to Memorial Day:


Random thought of the week: Due to the marvelousness of iTunes random play, I just noticed that both Marco Antonio Solís and Maná sing "Si No Te Hubieras Ido". I can't decide which I like better. They are both pretty good. Marco Antonio has a superb voice, and the Maná version has a bit more of a rock edge.

Hope you had a swell weekend and hope you are all doing well.

Action, no action, and eating better

Star Trek was awesome. I saw it at the IMAX yesterday afternoon with work folks and D. I want to see it again. I won't give away anything about the movie, but it was a very clever way to refresh the movie franchise. If you are a Trekkie, no doubt you will see it. But I think even if you are not a Trek fan, you would enjoy it as well. Lots of action and adventure.

Not much action has been happening lately with the home improvement project. There has been a lot of waiting. We had some more cement poured in order to raise the floor level a little bit. So, we have been waiting a few weeks until that cured. I think next week we will see some more activity in the way of second coat of paint and floor installation. I'm really, really, really ready to get my house put back together a little. We still have most of the living room stuff in boxes, so things are not so accessible or ergonomic around here.

My favorite tweet of the week is from Sara Gilbert (of Rosanne fame):

Yeah, I do that too (the sneaking part). I don't want my son to see me eat any bad stuff like cookies (which he usually requests at least once a day). Not that I eat them a lot, but I try to be conscious of it. Most days, it seems all I can get him to eat is cereal. And sometimes fish sticks. He really likes fish sticks, but I myself can't eat that everyday. But it is funny how his favorite word is now "nah" and he uses it the most at meal time. I cannot get him to eat vegetables for the life of me. I know it is a common dilemma, though. However, I was very happy this morning to get him to eat a little papaya.

Hope you are all doing well, and eating well too!

Signing and playing in the mud

The last few weeks, the little man has been signing a lot. His daycare teaches the kids how to sign American Sign Language starting in the infant class, but he has just now started signing words himself. The words he now knows are: more, food (which, for him, sometimes means drink), milk, cracker, finished, please, bye-bye, and down. We also sign to him, water, and thank you. It has been amazing that he now lets us know when we wants to eat or drink something, and when he is finished eating. Now if I can only convince he should be eating more than crackers!

This weekend, we started working in the backyard a little bit. Actually it was D doing all of the hard work digging holes, and the little man and I picked up sticks and rocks so we can eventually mow. It had rained last night, so the ground was nice and wet, and very sticky. We don't usually go outside when it is wet, but, decided we needed to today. I think this was the first time for the little man to play in the mud. You can see from the shots below taken from my mobile phone, he got a bit muddy.


Look at those cute chubby and muddy legs!

He actually didn't know what to make of the mud. He kept wanting me to wipe it off of his hands. Not sure if we will have a neat freak on our hands.

He has lately been showing more acceptance to wearing hats. He used to hate it, but then there was hat day at school a few weeks ago, and the teachers said he actually wore his hat a little bit. Since then, he will wear a hat from time to time for a few minutes. Mostly, he loves to practice taking it off and then putting it back on.

If you have been following my tweets (that is, my posts on twitter.com/cmsadler), you already know that there was a school closure for swine flu here in Austin. And though this is not the little man's school, it is where we take him on the weekends to play. The school is a pre-kindergarten school, so their playground is very suitable for his abilities. We have taken him to the nearby park, but there are so many other bigger kids, we really have to make sure he doesn't get run over by them. Anyways, the news story that ran on our local station was that the Lucy Read School was closed for a probably case of swine flu, and they showed school district employees sanitizing the classrooms. Well, yesterday, we wondered if they were done cleaning the school, and decided to go over there to play. As we drove by, we saw a crew in the playground hosing off the equipment. So, hopefully next weekend, we will get over there and he can play.

One of the things that I have been enjoying lately is doing video chats with my parents. We have been doing weekly phone calls, usually Sunday evenings since, I don't know, since forever. Anyways, as we both now have MacBook Pro laptops, we have everything we need to do a video chat. My parents really enjoy seeing the little man. And he really enjoys it too. He loves to blow kisses and say "hi". But he doesn't stay in my lap for very long. I try to aim the camera so that my parents can see him running around. He loves to do show-and-tell for them. Usually I will say something like, where is your dinosaur?, and he will find it and show it to them. Here he is showing them his basketball.


I hope this post finds you all well.

Home Improvement Update

This installment features new exterior paint, exterior and interior light fixtures, Mr. Slim HVAC unit, and glass blocks.

Music: "That Was Then" by Stretford

This way, mama

Taxes and imaginary things

I hope everyone had a swell weekend! Here are a few random odds and ends from over here deep in the heart of Texas.

I'm continually amazed at how my son's mind works. He has started doing this imaginary play thing where he pretends to scoop up something in his hand and then hands it to you. I'm not sure what age this type of play is typical (he's 15 months old now), but it is an amazing thing to see. He will also pretend to give his little teddy bear/blanket lovey to his big stuffed teddy bear.

He has also been quite particular about his clothing lately. He does not like it when his sleeves are tight around his arms. Sometimes even sleeves with a button on the cuff will cause him to protest. Then, this morning, he would not let me put on his left sock and shoe. Since I had an appointment to get to, I said, okay, let's hit the road. And then in the car, he started complaining that his left foot was bare, by pointing to it and pouting. Pretty adorable.

I finally finished filing my taxes this evening! I didn't really mean to wait until the last minute (technically, April 14th is not the last minute), but it somehow turned out that way. I had been fighting TurboTax for about a week with this rounding error. It was only a .09 difference, but I guess it's in my personality to want it to be correct. Well, I gave up, and filed it with the small error. TurboTax said my audit risk was low anyways. Let's hope so.

We got our house painted last week. It really is nice. I picked out the colors myself and it looks fabulous. (Of course, I'm not biased.) I will try to get some video or pictures up soon. (I've been busy with this rounding error.)

And lastly, the little man does not like ranch dressing.

Egg hunt and Spring party!

The egg hunt and Spring party took place yesterday (4/9/2009) at daycare. He had just found an egg, and immediately opened it and started eating the cookies. Then he was not too interested in the egg hunt after that. Cookies trump plastic eggs when you are 15 months old.

Hope you have a great weekend, and if you celebrate, Happy Easter!

Home improvement update: drywall, paint

Drywall installation, texture, and paint! And Bernie the Electrician's cute little happy dance!

Sorry this is about a week old. I had the video ready, but we finally did the voiceover for it tonight.

Music: "Last Time Around" by Stretford. (Yes, that is me playing saxophone.)

And I'm not sure why iMovie does that little "tink" in the beginning. I think it's a bug from the voiceover countdown cue (3-2-1-go).

First year molars

It's been a lovely weekend here. I have successfully managed to procrastinate on my taxes. I'm almost done, though, just one little part I am not sure about. Anyways, we have had a typical weekend here of chores, shopping, and playtime. As you can see in the previous posting, the little man has a ton of drool, which means, yes, he is teething. This past week, all of his first year molars have just broken through, but still have a long ways to go. The tough thing about molars is that there is more surface area, which means more crankiness, and sometimes it is tough to get him to go down for a nap or nighttime. But my plan to wear him out today helped this evening. We went to the Austin Children's Museum this afternoon. He always has a blast there. This was the first time since his ear tubes were put in, and the first time he was walking with confidence. He even trotted a bit. He had a great time in their little toddler area.

This morning we went to our usual HEB store for our weekly grocery trip. We don't go to the closest HEB, but the next closest one, which happens to cater to the large Jewish community in that area. They have a kosher deli there, and it also tends to be a community social gathering place. It can be tricky to maneuver the cart if you don't get there early enough. Anyways, they have had their Passover displays up for a short time, but we just noticed the following item which I thought was interesting.



Hope you all had a splendid weekend and you are all well. Cheers.

Bugs and Pi

Thanks Ma for the new t-shirts!

My 14 month old son tells fart jokes

Here is my latest video. It's not quite as fancy as the previous ones, because now I am trying to learn Final Cut Express, which is quite a step up from iMovie. All I have figured out thus far is importing the video, trimming the clips, and adding cross-dissolves between clips. But I have found a tutorial site for Final Cut Express, thanks to the power of twitter, of all things. So, hopefully I will get a chance to learn how to use it better.

So, this brings me to the subject matter of the video. It has been a week and a half since my son had the ear tubes put in his ears. I might have been anxious for results, but I feel like we could see a difference in his balance even that evening. We had rented an hotel room for a few nights because of the home improvement project. I had wanted a little bit of quiet and a much less dusty environment for his recuperation. He actually did very well, and we checked out of the hotel after only one night. As you can see in the video, he kept showing signs that he was tired, but he kept on playing and playing! The next part of the video was actually shot a few days ago.

We haven't noticed any new words yet. He says ga-ga for gato, ma for mas, ba-ba for ball/bottle/bye-bye, and car (for car). I am amazed that he can say a few really hard words, both related to his favorite foods. He can say cracka for cracker and yogur-gur-gur for yogurt. Imagine those both with a guttural r sound.

For what he can't say yet, he still finds ways to get his message across. Whether it's pointing or shrieking, he let's us know what he wants. His abuela would say, He's a communicator! He also has a sense of humor as well. He has been blowing raspberries for months. But the other day, he farted, and then blew a raspberry and giggled. This is not learned behavior, but rather, him telling a fart joke!

Lunch at Frank and Angie's with D

Austin, TX

Installing the I-beam, part 2

A few people have asked me after seeing the I-Beam movie, what happened next? So, here is what happened over the few days it took to get it up and welded in place. We actually have drywall installed now, with the first pass at taping and floating finished. So, the videos are a little out of order chronologically speaking.

Hours after ear tube surgery...

...he's walking with ease and laughing.

Plastic Wonderland

My little drummer boy

Hose nozzles - a collection for everyone

We found this beloved assortment at an estate sale last weekend. Taken from D's iPhone.

First haircut: the movie

Finally got the haircut video up on YouTube. Actual haircutting was a few weeks ago. :-)

Little Man Walking

Pardon our construction and after-dinner messes. :-)

Installing the I-beam

Large metal beam delivered today

Scared la mierda outta me when they plopped this down on the driveway.

FYI There are 16 of these signs

Between Corpus Christi and San Antonio. There were only a few on I-37.

Big smiles at Water Street Grill

Corpus Christi, Texas.

Dinner at Robstown, Texas local legend Joe Cotten's Barbecue

First haircut

The last few days have made me think about how much my son has grown, and how, at the same time, he is still just a baby. He has had a fever for four days, which he finally broke today. The first evening of his illness, he was just whimpering and miserable and wanting to be rocked to sleep. I haven't rocked him to sleep in a while, so, I was thinking that this felt really nice. My son is not really a cuddly kind of person. He gives great hugs, and does show lots of affection for me and D, but he doesn't really like to cuddle. He is a man of action. He hugs and then he is off doing something else. Anyways, I hadn't cuddled and rocked him to sleep in quite a long while, and it was something I had missed. However, the five other times I had to get up in the middle of the night to comfort him and rock him to sleep left me exhausted, and reminded me of when he was a one month old. I didn't miss the exhaustion.

Yesterday, despite being feverish and rashy, his abuela (my mother) gave him his first haircut. I had envisioned that maybe we would only get bangs and one side done in the first sitting. But he was actually very good during the whole thing. He didn't sit totally still, but still let us turn his head when needed. I think his haircut came out quite nice, and he looks like a handsome one year old now, much more mature.

Barbara Jordan 'True Patriot'

Taken by mobile phone at Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

Late afternoon corona effect

Taken from my mobile phone yesterday afternoon. The sun was setting and coming through the back window of my car to produce this effect.

Austin Children's Museum, 9 Feb 2009

Busted lip and other random stuff too big for twitter

A week ago, the LittleMan busted his lower lip. He was crawling on the kitchen tile in his fleece pajamas and did a face plant. You can see the damage in the photo above. He's all better now. He is almost ready to walk. I keep saying "any day now", of course, but he is getting more and more interested in it, but is still afraid to let go when he is cruising around the furniture.

The LittleMan is also starting to talk a little. He can say: mama, da'a (Dara, a.k.a Mama D), kee cah or cah (cat), gah-gah (cracker), mah (more). And it is amazing how many words he understands, too. We talk about body parts, clothes, food, the kitties as well as count and sing.

I'm still looking for a job. I've done some interviews, and have another one scheduled for tomorrow. I hope to have something by the end of the month, but one never knows in these situations, especially in today's economy. I've had a couple of job postings close on me. "We have decided not to fill the position," or "We lost our requisition, and can't hire anyone right now."

We had a great visit with grandma (D's mom) yesterday. I'm looking forward to my family visiting us later this week and next week. Since I'm not employed right now, this actually is great timing for me.

The home improvement project is going well also. The new siding is complete, just needs paint (to be done later with the new addition). We have a new roof now too, with a ridge vent. No more squeaky whirly-gig vents. The workshop is framed. And we have had some electrical work done as well. We got new light fixtures and fans for the bathrooms in the existing house, and lighting and wiring has begun in the new addition. Hopefully I can get a video up of some of the latest updates.

Home improvement update: fascia and soffit

We have had a few delays due to weather. And despite Austin Energy cutting the power for several hours to trim trees next door, Neil's crew was able to finish replacing the fascia and soffit that had rotted behind the old aluminum siding. It looks spiffy now. Next week the entire house will be reroofed.

Direct link to YouTube video.

November family photo

November 2, 2008

Strolling through New Orleans, November 2008

Throwing the ball (at 9 months)

This is my first attempt at doing a movie in iMovie. Note the nifty title at the beginning. As you can tell from the title, this is BabyBoy's first time playing catch with me at 9 months. Not to brag or anything, but I think that this was advanced for a 9 month old.



Hope you enjoyed that. I'm new to this iMovie thing, so expect more, and better, and mo' better stuff later. I have a lot of video to sort through!

Unhappy!

"It's very cold outside. We must bundle up!"



"I don't care if it is 40 degrees. I don't want to wear the sweater and the jacket."



"Smile, Mama!"

Ew! I think that's a typo!

From babycenter.com.

BabyBoy after the walk home from school

Patriotic butterfly wings

At 11th and Lavaca near the state capitol, I saw this guy riding a bike and wearing patriotic butterfly wings. I took this from my mobile phone from the car. I love Austin, Texas.

Today is a new day!

Yesterday, I was laid off from my job at Phurnace Software. It was a short but good run at that startup company. It was a bummer to be laid off for a second time in less than a year. I guess that is the economy these days.

But today, I have a renewed sense of hope that something good is on the horizon. I worked on my resume last night, and I'm ready to hit the pavement running. Thanks for the nice thoughts and wishes friends and family have already sent me via email, phone, and Facebook.

Home improvement update: framing

We have been having many delays on our project. The foundation took much longer than we expected. Last week, after much anticipation, the lumber was finally delivered to our house.



And then on Friday, the framing began.

I think the cat ate the cake

Last night, I left the cake uncovered after dinner while I was getting BabyBoy bathed and ready for bed. I went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up and found this. Uh-oh. (Or as BabyBoy would say, "uh-uh".)

BabyBoy's First Birthday Part 2

Saturday, we had a few family and friends over to celebrate BabyBoy's birthday. This was the real party. He got some cool toys he really enjoys, like the Sesame Street T.V. remote, a pull-along puppy dog, and a drum and percussion set. He also got some clothes. I think he was oblivious to the clothes as usual.

This morning, even though it was a bit chilly, we went outside on our driveway and pulled the puppy along. And this afternoon, there was much drumming going on.

BabyBoy's First Birthday

We went to Hey Cupcake! after we picked up BabyBoy from school and each got a cupcake to celebrate his first birthday.

BabyBoy has a new pair of shoes

Last weekend we went to a specialty children's shoe store and bought a new pair for BabyBoy that actually fit his narrow fit. These are Tsukihoshi brand and are narrower than most of the baby shoes you find. I was so proud of BabyBoy when yesterday morning he actually handed me his shoes to put on, instead of the usual daily protest. And he kept them on all day long.

Trekkie in training

Star Trek shirt was a Christmas present from J. He was very squirmy (as always), so in case you can't read it, it says, "Resistance is futile" which every Trekkie should know.

Updated Xmas 2008 photos

I updated the Christmas 2008 slideshow with some of my mom's photos: Christmas 2008. It includes this photo, which I call, "I AM the camera!"