Lexie Houdini Keller. This was taken last year. We finally had to give up on the straps all togther. She got out of the five point harness and onto the tray in the short time we were out of the room. 

The weather started getting rough. The tiny ship was tossed.

A common hazard of working with the gals I work with is the frequent humming of a easily recognizable tune or jingle that immediately get stuck in your head. Over, and over, until eventually someone (Carrie) turns on her radio. It's become almost like a game. Like Roger Rabbit with shave and a haircut... We each feel compelled to finish. Val and I make pigeon noises over the cube wall to each other. KC and I speak fake Arabic languages to each other from across the cubes. It even sounds like we are actually communicating. Occasionally the four gals in the next cube all start whistling different tunes at the same time, sounding chaotic. TT says, "Excuse me," after each car horn or Tri-met bus hydraulic noise. Carrie make very impressive fake fart noises. It was really awesome before my sound card malfunction. Now we depend solely on Val for computer sound effects. Four of us have window seats here on the second floor. Another favorite pastime is heckling the general public outside on the streets. We do not discriminate against gender, race, or age...We heckle them all. Thankfully we can only be heard by each other. Earlier today Val compared us to Statler and Waldorf, the two old men in the balcony of the Muppets show. Val also mentioned this morning that we should all take a field trip, and I had an instant flash of the seven of us in public...Scary. I told them it would be like the movie, "The Dream Team."I've mentioned before that I like my job. These are among the most important reasons I do. Even LB entertains me. Sure she is a little holier than thou, but she has a great sense of humor and for the most part is lighthearted.

Word(s) of the day: HOOLIGANS

Lexie log: We had a block stacking fest last night. We pulled out the peek-a-blocks from the bottom drawer. We got over ten tall, I think even 15. Lexie had a blast knocking them down each time. -- We finally got the new DVD/VHS player hooked up. It's awesome. Now we can watch regular TV in surround sound. AND.... Lexie can watch her movies on the big screen in hi-fi! Last night we put in her latest Baby Einstein, "Seasons". She was ecstatic! She danced and sang and generally cavorted about. The music was awesome, the pictures larger than life. Soooo worth it! Thanks Grammy and Grampa! Better than we even expected. Now, there are other movies and programs for Lexie that we can rent that weren't available on DVD. And...When we get the Lexie videos to VHS, we can watch them on the big screen.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, the oddity of my co-workers, summer, longer days, March of Dimes, tupperware, fun, my husbands cooking, flavored coffee, and texture.

Lexie feeds Canadia goose. This picture was taken over a year ago at a park close to our house. 

We don't need another hero, we don't need to know the way home.

Breaking news...Timber sale protester up on stilt tent teepee thingy, suspended above the intersection of downtown Portland street, stopping traffic.

Last night we on and off watched a PBS special on the recent Tsunami and the history of natural disasters around Sumatra.

Word(s) of the day: ALEXIPHARMIC

Lexie log: Well, she's got a cold. She hasn't had one for quite some time. It made her very cranky and irritable. She wouldn't drink water, or take children's Tylenol. All she seemed to want was candy and bubbles. No candy, but she did dance around chasing bubbles for about an hour. She had fettucini Alfredo and four cheese pasta for dinner. Her nose is runny and she sounds stuffed up. Daddy gave her a bath around 5:30pm and then I gave her another one around 10:00pm. She wouldn't calm down and a bath was the only thing she wanted. We brushed her teeth and she taught pink puppy how to swim. She seems to be doing better as of lunch when I spoke with Daddy.

FUN WORD SITE! CLICK ME!

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, weird words, sign language, calculators, the colors of the world, hexagons, and cohesive thoughts.

Lexie with Sierra in the background at the beach last year. I can't remember if I already posted this one. We all went to the crab and lobster festival. 

Tiny Bubbles...

Sing it Mr. Ho! I really haven't heard the song in so long, I can't remember how it sounds. Well, after a hectic morning, that I probably over dramatized, the day seems to be calming down. It seems to me that I have been ranting or b-tching about something constantly. If I sat close to myself I'd want me to shut my yapper. So, well now, the bridge has been built, and I have gotten over it.

My organizational skills required tweaking today, and I actually had to create a 'to do' list to keep from freaking out over what I was going to tackle today. Then I had an issue with an insurance company supervisor over their misinterpretation of HIPAA guidelines. Thankfully, just before lunch, the provider relations rep, who also tried to say I was wrong, apologized and corrected herself. What's my matter? Apparently I've crossed over the bridge I built and crawled back into my dwelling. Hehe.

Word(s) of the day: SCRUMPTIOUS

Lexie log: Yesterday Lexie had a total fit at Costco for no apparent reason. Grammy had to take her and distract her by running her all over the place. I guess she thought it was a great big play ground. Grammy got her Easter present of a battery operated bubble blower. It's pretty powerful too. Takes eight dubble A's. I almost can't believe the way I just spelt double. In fact, I knew it was wrong, but I left it just because it's so strange. I even couldn't remember the correct way and had to ask TT and Carrie. Dubble A's for the Bubbles. I do believe the cheese has done slid off my cracker! The bubble blower (has the word 'Gazillion' and 'Typhoon' in the title) was a huge hit with Lexie. We had tons of fun, even in the dark, out on the back deck last night. It didn't look like many of the pictures came out very good though. We'll have to wait for a warm sunny day in the yard for that. -- Grammy and I got two more digital disks catalogued for, so only ten left, and then the copying begins. It is so hard to skip through them in fast motion to catalogue. I can't wait to watch them. Already it made me nostalgic. She is such a funny, beautiful, charming baby!

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, Grammy and Grampa's love and generosity, Lexie's bond with Grammy, video and pictures, our cats, bubbles, and left over Costco chicken enchiladas.

GROSS! I screamed so loud last night when one flipped out of my 'collecting cup' and onto my hand, I thought the neighbors would call for help. Ooohy ooohy ooohy, I screamed like a little baby. 

These boots were made for walking...

Just another not-so-manic Monday. I was trying to rhyme with the rest of the song, but it got to be trying and tedious, so I quit. As usual, a day full of weekly reports and batchwork.

Try this out for a fun at work...Discuss at length exactly what 'nits' are, better yet even look them up an show co-workers. Next, see how long it takes for everyone to get the eebie jeebies and phantom bugy itchies.

It has been raining all weekend, wonderful, glorious rain that we so badly need. The backyard is 'springing' to life. I sure do wish I like yard work, but I don't. I just want to enjoy the finished product. I think maybe if there wasn't so much to be done, I wouldn't mind, perhaps even enjoy, the occasional project. But, there is just too much icky stuff.

For some strange reason, every time it rains after a dry spell, all the slugs make a mass exodus for our outdoor carpeted deck. They all appear to be headed for the back door, I can't figure it out. I have to go around collecting the little immigrants in a disposable cup and deporting them back farther out in the yard. They come in all different sizes and patterns. I'll have to post the picture I took last night of the crop I gathered from yesterday evenings rain. I stepped outside in my fuzzy socks with Lexie in my arms to show her the pouring rain. The sound really is quite impressive with the corrugated plastic deck cover. Well, I can tell you that the sound of a popping slug body sure sounds like you would imagine the sound of a popping eyeball squashing it with a rubber mallet, if one were to take the time to imagine such things. And in socks, it is a not so pleasantly cool instant wet spot on the bottom of one's foot. This prompted the immediate deportation of my little Limax Maximus friends. Then Daddy put a pop can with roses lime juice in the yard. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet.

Uranus was named after a Greek God.

Word(s) of the day: PROBOSCIS


Lexie log: This was a nice longer than ususal weekend. Friday, my dental cleaning went very well.
The periodontist mentioned that his mother sees one of the doctors here at the clinic. We talked at length about dental/gum care. The mouth is an amazing thing. He was even able to tell what side I sleep on just from looking in my mouth. We talked about how Lexie should get sealants, even on her baby teeth. It didn't take too much to convince me. His kids, now 27 and 28, have never had a cavity. Lexie already loves to brush her teeth. Well, more like she loves me to brush her teeth with the Braun electric. Still good though. -- After breakfast Friday, we took a nap, then went to the zoo. Even though it was a weekday, it was still packed with kids because of Spring Break. She had a blast. For the most part, we let her run on her own. She was pretty good about holding our hand until she became too excited. After a while, it was just like Newport Aquarium, she was just running to run and didn't care about the exhibits anymore. Unfortunately, she was just a little too short to go on the Sponge Bob ride. At one point I got her some fruit Mentos from a candy machine and she held fast onto those. Even if she had one in her mouth, she had one tightly grasped in her hand. When she finally took a spill on the concrete, she refused to let loose the Mento grasped in her hand and came out of it with a scraped up pinky knuckle. Mommy kissed it better multiple times over the weekend. She is not willing to have a bandaid stuck on her however. -- Friday night she got in trouble because we walked in on her trying to remove Charlie from his tank. He was thoroughly terrified. Lexie was so hurt and cried when we tried to explain that she was hurting him. It was so cute and sad. She just wanted to play with him. -- Saturday we phone ordered Stanford's for lunch and had curbside pickup all on a gift card from Grammy and Grampa. It was delicious. Then, at 3:00 we went to our gym where they were having an Easter egg hunt. Lexie was wonderful again at this. She was one of the first kids to get five eggs, and I only had to point out one or two. Lots of candy, jelly beans, later she had quite the sugar high. We rented a couple of movies from Blockbuster. We had to take Tigger's movie back the next day, it was so scratched up it wouldn't play through. She did enjoy the Wiggle's movie, but I think there was too much uninteresting stuff between the songs and dancing for her liking. We couldn't find any Boobah DVD's or we would have gotten one of those. -- Sunday was a stay at home and watch the rain Easter. We watched a couple college basketball games. For some reason any game with a ball Lexie calls baseball. I think it must be because she first started trying to learn words during baseball season. We went and exchanged the faulty Tigger movie with 'The Little Polar Bear'. She sure does love that kiddy sleeper. The artwork looks very familiar to her favorite, Harold and the Purple crayon. So, she already has artistic preferences. Oh, well, I guess she also prefers the cool colored crayons. Sunday evening Lexie and I sat on the floor of her room and put together an alphabet puzzle. The letters are still a little for her to orient in the puzzle than objects like cars or hats. Great weekend. We need to get Lexie some rain gear so we go puddle stomping.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, rain, green grass, dusk light, butterflies, flowers, slugs- I guess, Easter, and potatoes.

Saturday Easter egg hunt at our gym. They had one in the child care area. 

June 26 2001. 18 weeks prego with Bump (Daddy's nick name for her before we found out she was a girl, then it was Bumpette). I called her Kicky Baby and Belly Dancer before she actually had a name. I can still clearly see her profile. 

Video killed the radio star.

Beautiful sunrise on the drive into work this morning. It's nice to finally have some daylight to drive in. Driving over the Willamette on the Marcum bridge the view was fantastic. The silhouette of Mt. Hood next to a brilliant golden red sunrise. It's also nice not to have to drive home with the sun in my eyes.

I wonder what the average life span of a blog is. Recently, three blogs that myself and a co-worker read every once in a while seem to have dried up. One outright disappeared. I wonder how many people originally think, "Wow! What a great idea!" and then eventually loose interest. One person actually quite their blog because it was all about their horrible roommate (flat mate) and they ended up moving out. The subject matter for the blog ceased to exist.

Mini-bitch session: 1) I'm a little tired of LOST being a re-run. I've never been addicted to a series before, but this one has got me hooked. 2) Yesterday I could barely hear the radio at work all day because SOMEONE (Carrie!) had a hang-over. There, do feel sufficiently blog flogged!

Strange dictionary definition excerpt for the day:

"...usage Since some people take sense 2 to be the opposite of sense 1, it has been frequently criticized as a misuse. Instead, the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is necessary."

Okay, guess the word!
(What a fun game.)


Word of the day: MISHMASH


Here is another odd time filler for the Linguistically Internet Inclined. Go to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary and look up a word, like 'pull' for instance, and see how far off from that word you can get by following the synonym hyperlinks. Verbs work best. Here is mine: SOGGY-SOAKED-STEEP-SHEER-SWERVE-DEVIATE
and this one was kinda funny:
PULL-ROOT-BASE-FOUNDATION-ENDOWMENT.
It really is only fun if you are extremely bored.


They started filling the pool at the gym last night. I noticed it on the way to the steam room. Since it won't be open again until Monday, it made me wonder how long it takes to fill. I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing tonight. This was a strange but really cool thing though; There are eight spouts around the insides of the pool, and each one was streaming water into the pool. It wasn't even 1/8th of the way full. It is an indoor pool in a large room with the walls about eight feet away from each side of the pool. The ceiling is very high, like a warehouse. The echo in there is great. The steam room is adjacent to the pool, with the door opening at one end of the pool. From inside the steam room, after the steam had stopped, you could hear the muffled sounds of the water filling the pool. After I spent about 15 minutes stretching and relaxing in the steam room, I decided to sit on the bench outside the door for a couple of minutes. The combination of the way you feel after 20 minutes exercise and a good steam bath is wonderful enough, but through in the exhilarating coolness when you step out and sit down and listen to this huge cement room echoing with eight streams pouring onto cement and slapping against the water. It was so neat, I probably sat there for at least five to ten minutes. The effect was almost that of a slow waterfall into a large pool, but without the background noises of birds, bugs and wind...Just the water. Man, do I love water.

Lexie log: When I got home yesterday, she was nap-less and wanting to be entertained. She so loves the karate dance game, that she would not leave Daddy alone, just had a tantrum and kept pulling his arm and clothes to get him into our bedroom. He did give in for a while, but this game will wear anyone down quick...Except for Lexie, even when she is tired. When he came back out, she tantrumed some more and I tried to get her to give Daddy a break, but she kept squirming and kicking and screaming. Then, as I was taking her into the office to try to distract her with some online Teletubbies, she spotted the large sketch pad and Crayons Grammy brought her Monday. We sat on the office floor and colored for a while. She was tired enough that she refused to let me draw. All I got to do was watch and comment. She had three elements that worked well with; the circle, the line, and the aggressive smash dot (with a tail). She tends towards the cool colors; purple, blue, green, and violet red. The fact that the white Crayon left almost no visible mark on the paper did not deter her from using it for a while. She made sure to keep the Crayons neatly lined up next to each other and next to the tablet. When we were done with drawing we got in the car to do some errands and hopefully convince her to take a nap. She didn't. We came home and she ate dinner, chicken pieces, ketchup, corn, and macaroni and cheese. Then a brownie for desert. She watched both Teletubbie DVD's and then caught up with me putting away laundry in the bedroom. Lexie climbed up on the bed and sat in the middle. I had the clothes hamper thingy on the bed and piles of clothes sorted and semi-folded. I put a couple shirts on hangars and walked into the closet to hang them, and when I cam out a class F1 hurricane had been through. No, not hurricane Hugo...Hurricane Lexie! There was a nice pile of clothes on the floor and Lexie's two stuffed Wockies (cat-like neopet animals) were playing with one of Mommy's green socks. In fact, they appeared to be playing tug-o-war, with a little help from Lexie. We had some more fun folding laundry, she had a bath, and then I got to invent my version of karate dance time. Lexie lay on her back in the middle of the bed and I throw a dark green sheet over her and then shake the end of the blanket, like you would shake out a carpet over the railing, causing the sheet to undulate over her, like green waves. She just loves it. I'm thinking I probably would too. At some point she springs up and grabs the wave of sheet and continues to laugh. All this with our 80's music CD blaring in the background, "Video killed the radio star." At the end of the evening, she wanted to watch more Teletubbies. So after Dad turned in, we sat up, still nap-less and watched "LOOK". I still have the theme song stuck in my head. I kept falling asleep, and as soon as she would notice my eyes closed, she would leap onto my stomach and Heimlich me back to attention. Finally she gave in and let me go to bed, and she crawled in next to us a little later. I sure am glad she doesn't pull marathon nights like that very often.

Hey, does anyone know if I'm using semi-colons appropriately?

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, pools and water, I get tomorrow off and my dental appointment over with, Lexie's laugh, Mom's blog comments even if she's too shy to actually attach them to my blog, and everything in the world that is light and fluffy.

This blog-program has been brought to you by the following sponsors... And by the support and contributions of viewers like you.

Memories! Here is the first pictue of Lexie. The ultrasound taken when I was about 13 weeks pregnant. 

You don't bring me flowers anymore.

Strange thing happens at work once every couple weeks. I end up having to help the clinic's accountant get dressed. It always cracks me up, so I thought I'd share. It's a legitimate request on her part, as she has trouble and pain with her hands and fingers. So, every so often she walks out to my desk holding out one of her arms for me to roll up her sleeve or button a cuff.

Yesterday I sent an email to the office administrator with the answer to a question we had about one of the provider networks we contract with. It was detailed yet concise, and even co-workers who weren't familiar with the situation were able to understand my explanation. Why then, when I came in to work this morning, did his reply state, "I need a map." Thanks for the early morning mental contortion JB. When I read this my face squinched all up and I started blinking really fast. I still haven't gotten over it yet. He's here but I haven't had a chance to meet with him about it yet.

Duty update: So far this morning I've posted payments, made copies, reset password, unlocked account, looked into print spooler issue long enough to discover that Seth was already working on, chit-chatted work and non-work related with co-workers, and researched some trivial question on the Internet, such as the age difference between Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and a White Snake video.

TT coined a term I really like today. Something that technical writers would be most prone too. Apparently she reading/auditing directions for a job duty that someone else wrote up. She used the term, 'Narcotic Instructions'. Funny.

Ok, the last work piece for today's blog. I realized this morning that I've had a major attitude change towards calling patients. I used to avoid it like the plague, in fact, I didn't really like making any calls, even insurance. Now that I've been working harder on my A/R report, I've discovered that calling patients is the best way to get things resolved, and on top of that, they are pretty much pleasant and nice to talk to. I mean, had I ever really taken the time to think on the subject, common sense would tell me that they would be highly motivated to do anything that would help the insurance pay instead of them. And since billing insurance is theoretically really only an extra service, it is the ultimately the patient's responsibility, they are quite helpful. Not to mention that, in general, the insurance companies are much more helpful and willing to work with their members then to providers. This has been Business Office Principles 101. Okay, class dismissed.

Word(s) of the day: BITUMINOUS

Okay...Hello? Is anyone out there? No one sends me comments anymore.

Lexie log: The karate dancing Monday night was such a hit, we went for another round last night. Finished off the video tape with it. -- I think I forgot to mention that Lexie has started taking a half a children's' chewable vitamin a day. Yah! -- When I got home from the gym last night Lexie hadn't taken a nap yet (it was already 5:00pm). She was on her sit'n spin, and Daddy said that she was refusing to quit even though she was literally falling asleep at the wheel. She would rest her head on the wheel and spin herself around with one hand. Anyone who has read past blog entries may notice that I changed the way I spell sit'n spin. Well, this is because I looked it up on the Internet to see if there were any reports of hazards or dangers for children who use this toy to excess. We know Lexie is an adrenaline junkie for sure, she loves to fall, fly, get dizzy, spin, etc., but sometimes when she's on the thing she tilts her head and makes these creepy expression looking like her eyes are going to roll in the back of her head. I'm 99.9% positive that this is just some technique she uses to "heighten" the experience of spinning and vertigo, but it is still very unsettling to see. Last Monday, Grammy couldn't even take it anymore, so she moved the thing out to the back deck. I know from experience that she is simply intensifying the adrenaline. When I was her age and even older I would do similar things. I used to lay down on my Dad's office floor and roll back and forth over and over as fast as possible just to experience the physical effect, like a miniature version of what a person would feel on a rollercoaster, or other thrill amusement park ride. So, like her mother (me) Lexie will probably become an adrenaline and or thrill junkie. I just hope and pray that she keeps it to a healthy level and doesn't cross the line to artificial substances. It is so very important to both her Dad and I that she understands the difference between a healthy, natural high, and drug abuse. Ok, done with my little worry trip for now. All this poured out of my head because of a sit'n spin?

Today's blog was brought to you by the letter Z, and the number 3.

Today I am grateful for Frank and Lexie, flowers, rain, my Northern Blooms of Alaska bookmark that some patient included with their payment coupon and that TT gave to me because she knows I was listening to a book about Alaska, coffee, water, my new swimsuit, and rainbows.

Last Summer at Sandy River 

Mmmm, Mmmm, soup is good food.

Mmmm, Campbell's chicken noodle soup for lunch. I have an annoying hang nail on my right index finger that was driving me nuts...Now the bandaid is making me fussy. It is a lovely Elmo bandaid, but it makes typing weird and sorting through papers is odd. Inconsequential info about moi.

The pool at the gym has been drained.

Wow! I just found out that today is National Goof Off Day! Woohoo!

Word(s) of the day: LOOFAH

Lexie log: Last night we had a blast dancing in the bedroom. We turn the radio on really loud and Lexie dances on the bed, and we dance around. Daddy and Lexie did the best karate dance ever. Daddy danced around making fake karate chops until he stops half a foot in front of her, and then she fakes getting hit and falls to the bed laughing hard. It was soo fun and fun to watch. Daddy actually broke out in a sweat they played so hard. -- Grammy and I started the digital to VHS project. We numbered all the tapes (all 15 of them!), and started a spreadsheet to keep track of number, contents, and approx date. We watched three (of 15!), and it shouldn't take too many more to get them organized. The time consuming part will be to actually copy them to VHS, also while keeping Lexie from turning the power off. It was really neat to fast forward through them though. Little treasures.

Fruit?? Sponge??

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, prayer, soup, sponge fruit, silk, and teeth.

Little China Doll. This is the outfit we got her at Jantzen Beach Saturday. It is really beautiful, light, and comfortable. She loves it and the shoes. 

Jantzen Beach horse ride. She loved it! No nap all day and she didn't want to leave. She screamed 'Horsey! Horsey!' all the way to the car. 

Riding Clifford at Jantzen Beach Saturday 

Little boy blue and the man in the moon

Doing icky refunds this morning. I don't know why I put them off. I don't like pulling the EOB's for one thing. The refund I did this morning took me a little over two hours to do. Last week, on Monday, I thought I was doing a great organizational thing by putting one 'yucky' task a day from Wednesday through Friday. My theory was that it would be easier to do later in the week. Wow! What a great procrastination tool I invented for myself semi-consciously! Did I do any of the projects? No. By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was half way through my week and couldn't be bothered with the hassle. So, I just plow into it this Morning with the thought that I'm not pulling any batches until I get these things out of my inbox. It's working quite nicely.

We had a great weekend. Watched the Incredibles, Sky Captain, Bruce Almighty, and Without a paddle. We watched Sky Captain Sunday morning and it turned the day in a movie day. It was a great movie. It made us want to rent more, so we went to Blockbuster and got the others. Bruce Almighty is one of my all time favorite movies. A must own, for me. Frank and I laughed so hard we were in tears, and then turned around and the movie was so touching it made us cry. Yes, we laughed, we cried. Just an all out excellent movie! Bruce Almighty was definitely a hard act to follow, but Without a Paddle was still also funny. It took me over half the movie to figure out why one of the three main characters looked so familiar. The main character from the TV show Scrubs. Wow, he looked incredibly different. The only way I finally recognized him was from his mouth. Great to see Burt Reynolds with a cameo.

Word(s) of the day: CRUX OF ABSOLUTE IMPORTANCE

Carries word of the day: SERENDIPITY

Lexie log: Saturday after an egg sandwich breakfast, we drove out to Jantzen Beach to ride the carousel. She rode the airplane, and Clifford after we got her an outfit. The problem was, that she had been up since 10:00 without a nap and we hadn't had lunch yet. She was thrilled to ride the carousel, she went twice, but getting her off was another story. I took her into the restroom for a change of diaper and it was, shall we say impeccable timing. The diaper was not wet as Daddy had thought, but it was about to be. Poor little darling, she was so tired she didn't know what to do. But...she did get to use the potty for the first time. It didn't go over very well with her however. Thank goodness for a change of clothing, too bad it was only shorts, but Jantzen Beach is an indoor mall. She wriggled kicking and screaming so intense, that her stroller couldn't contain her. It was all I could do to hold her on the way out. Then we got in the car and she was fine. Next we stopped by Gramma Betty's for a while. She had chocolate mile, which re-fueled her energy level for a while, and played with Gramma and Yancey. She fell asleep in the car moments before we got home and the two of us took a nap for two hours. Then an evening of dinner, bubbles, bath, and TV. Sunday we stayed around the house horse-played on the couch and watched movies, followed by more bubbles and another bath. Excellent weekend. Oh yeah, almost forgot. Last night, Frank and I were on the computer in the office at the back of the house, and Lexie went off into the living room. A while later I kept hearing this short, squeaking sound. I jokingly told Frank it sounded like she was playing basketball in there. Then we stopped what we were doing and listen for a while to see if we could figure out what she was doing. We kept hearing the occasional squeak and the and then every once in a while a muffled thud. Then when I thought to myself that it sounded like basketball players shoes squeaking on the court, I realized what was happening. Our floors are all linoleum. She had gotten Daddy's big, heavy tennis shoes from next to the couch, in the living room, at the opposite end of the house. She slipped her feet into the shoes and was making her way down the hall to us. Once I told Frank what I thought was going on, we both waited with great anticipation for her to come around the corner. It was hysterical! Frank ran and got the digital camera, we shot a little of it, but it didn't do it justice. She was wearing a yellow summer dress and huge men's grey and black tenny runners. Funny!

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, movie days, potatoes, Frank's cooking, sign language, indoor plumbing, rain and wind, our house and yard, Mom and Dad, and life.

Jesus is just all right with me, Jesus is just all right, Oh yeah, Jesus is just all right with me, Jesus is just all right.

That song by the Byrds came out 34 years ago, the same year I was born, 1970. I was going to copy/past the entire lyrics for the title, but that's all that would fit.

Hardly anyone here today. Pretty much just LB, Carrie, Val and myself over here. There having some St. Patrick's Day Potatoe potluck today. Hate potlucks! Brought my own lunch. I always forget anyway. Jimminies am I sour today! Actually, I've been pissy off and on all week. Frank would refer to it as Pooky Monster Syndrome.

Word(s) of the day: GIMMICKRY

Rubber band ball update: it is now the size of a baseball and it bounces nicely.

Lexie log: I forgot on yesterday's blog log to add the word chocolate (pronounced chalk-it) to the list of repetitive requests. She means to ask for chocolate milk, something she has around once a week, usually on the weekend. She gets so excited about it, she does the "chalk-it muk" dance. The beverage held high above her head as she races up and down the halls singing, "chalk-it! chalk-it!" -- Apparently she has been on the sit-n-spin for over an hour today. She had already been on for about a half hour at lunch when I called to talk to Daddy, and after we got off the phone he called me three times and left a message consisting of the irritating music that things puts out. He is, thankfully, very good-humored about it all and says, "As long as she's having fun/enjoying herself." -- I'm looking forward to watching the Incredibles with her tomorrow.

Today I am grateful for Frank and Lexie, caribou, Charlie and the cats, pillows and blankets, hangars, airplanes, precipitation, and quirky stream of consciousness thoughts that put a smile on my face when I'm feeling blue.

Grammy and Grandpa taking a walk at Champoeg park last Spring. 

Hotel tantrum. A couple weeks ago when we were in Olympia. Apparantly Mommy and Daddy couldn't get the door open to go to the pool fast enough for her. 

I was walking down the street one day...Does anybody know what time it is? Does anybody care?

Too much coffee this morning. Val was talking to me from her desk on the other side of the cube wall, then all of the sudden I looked up and she was right there getting ready to do an Irish jig for me. Well, let me tell you, I sure let out a yelp! In fact, that's exactly what it sounded like too. Sounded like someone stepped on a dogs tail. It was good for an office chuckle, and I'm pretty sure it woke a few people up too.

The weather changed a little this week. Finally got some rain yesterday and it cooled down quite a bit. Weather quote from Val, "Chile today, Hot tamale!"

Bumble Bees are awesome!

Word(s) of the day: ÉIRE LAND LUACHARMA'N


Happy St. Patrick's Day! I accidentally wore green today. I have some really old memory of a highschool teacher who was Irish telling us that green is not really the official color of the Irish, that it really is red. I haven't been able to find anything to support this yet. In fact I see more support for the colour blue, so maybe my memory is slightly faulty on this one. Here is a quote from an Irish FAQ:

"A major misconception is the association of St. Patrick with the colour green. The confusion arises from the phrase "the wearing of the green," which means to wear a shamrock. St. Patrick used the three-leaved plant to explain the Trinity of the Christian religion.

Actually blue is the colour associated with St. Patrick. "St. Patrick's blue" can be seen on ancient Irish flags."

I find this very interesting. Don't know where I pulled red from, but the more I think of it, I think it has something to do with red hair. Yes, yes, next year I will wear blue for this day.

The National Flag is a tricolour of green, white and orange. The green represents the older Gaelic and Anglo-Norman element in the population, the orange the Protestant supporters of William of Orange, while the white represents a lasting peace between the two traditions. First flown as an emblem of the Young Ireland movement of 1848, the flag did not come into popular use until after the 1916 Rising.

The National Anthem of Ireland is "Amhrán Na bhFiann" (The Soldier's Song) written in 1907 by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney. It was formally adopted as the national anthem in 1926.

The National Day of Ireland is St. Patrick's Day, celebrated by Irish communities all over the world on 17th March.

The Constitution of Ireland is Bunreacht na hÉireann, the basic law of the State. Adopted by referendum in 1937 it defines Ireland as a sovereign, independent and democratic state. It sets out the administrative structure of the Government and states that all powers of the Government derive under God from the people. It defines the structure and principles of legal and social policy to guide the Oireachtas (Parliament). The rights of every citizen are also enshrined in the constitution.

Lexie log: Although her communication skills are developing quickly she still is most expert at repetition. I don't mean mimicking, she is also excellent at that. I mean that when she wants something, she repeats the word over and over and over and over. She uses the questioning pitch or intonation to show this is a request. She also uses the sign language word for "ouch" or "pain", touching the tips of the two pointer fingers, every time she says the word. Somehow, maybe she found it easier at the time, she substituted the sign for "more" with the sign for "pain". The sign for more is:

Close to pain, but touch only the tips of the pointer fingers is quicker and easier for her. She really means to say that she wants something, and it happens to be something she has had before and wants, "more". Last night I started reinforcing the correct sign for more and she is picking it up. The most popular requests can be heard almost without fail all on a daily basis. They are: "Shower? Bubbles? Milk? Cookie? Burger?" Lexie: "Shower? Shower? Shower? Shower? Shower? Shower?" Mommy: "Later. In a little while, honey. Not just yet. We have to wait a while princess. Later. Later. " That's a typical evening five minute conversation.

Today I am grateful for Frank and Lexie, sign language, words, shamrock, telling the official colour of the Irish story over and over to my co-workers, scissors, and fluffy white clouds.

Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa! Lexie and Grandpa and the Newport Aquarium 2005. 

Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?

Happy Birthday Dad! Grampy Scotto is 62 today. I love my dad so much! Intelligent, grounded, kind, compassionate, spiritual, handsome, incredibly funny, quirky, with a great sparkle in his green eyes. I love you Dad! Let me know what you and Mom come up with for you schedule for the next 62.

I don't get Blockbuster's new 'no more late fees' deal. We just rented 'The Incredibles' last night, and I was curious so I read the receipt. It says, "No more late fees". Says the movie is due back on the 17th by midnight, but if we keep it until the 24th we bought it, and we owe and additional $16.70. So what about the days in between? Can we keep it until with 22nd with no additional charge? I must find this out.

According to there website, that's about the gist of it anyway. We have until the 23rd and then they consider it purchased. Then we have another 30 days to return it for a credit minus restock fee. Cool.

Breaking news from TT's hubby Licksan: Scott Peterson got the death penalty for the murder of his wife and unborn child. What a creep. Seems like there are way to many husbands killing their families over the last few years. Icky trend. This guy was a piece of work. I can't even describe it right now without shaking my head.

Word(s) of the day: GIST

Lexie log: Yesterday, I was so beat from who knows what, so instead of going to the gym, like a good girl, I went for a nap day a day early. Lexie had already napped, but she knew Mommy was tired so she came up and tucked me in, crawled under the blanket, said, "Mommy tired", pretended to snore, and stared at me with a huge smile on her face, waiting for me to fall asleep. It was precious. When I finally had kept my eyes closed long enough (it was hard not to peak at her), she left to go play loudly in the living room. We watched most of the Incredibles, great movie, and played with the new bubble set Grammy got her Monday. It was pretty neat, but it sure did get a lot of bubble snot on the floor. Frank ended up having to mop again, and Lexie slipped. We've decided to save the bubble for outside from now on. I just got of the phone with Daddy and he and Lexie are watching the movie again.

Today I am grateful for Frank and Lexie, rest, Mom and Dad, stuffed animals, bubbles, and weekend activities.

Groovin'......on a Sunday afternoon

Wee, work day is half over! I'm still frustrated about this switch to PTO instead of vacation and sick time. It seems like it will take forever for me to get enough for Alaska trip and camping. I only had 26 hours last paycheck. I missed a day of work last week so I going to be pretty short on this weeks pay check. Oh well, we're still happy!

We were talking about TT stopping by work on Friday with her Grandboogie Riley and I thought it might be neat if Lexie were able to pop in one day. I'm trying to come up with some scheme that makes it possible for Grammy to pop in one afternoon with her. I would just love that, and so would some of my co-workers. Maybe we can find some park or activity over on this side to do after I get off work some Monday.

Word(s) of the day: MOLUCCAN COCKATOO

Lexie log: An afternoon in the life of Lexie: Yesterday Grammy came over and Lexie got to take a twilight bath, just hall lights, no bathroom light. Grammy and Grampa also bought an inflatable double pool with two pools attached by a slide. The one pool is deeper than the other, with the top of the slide at the lip of the pool, and the bottom in the adjoining pool. It looks great and we can't wait to use it. Grammy and I watched Lexie dance and sing to 100% funk CD in the office. She is such a cute dancer, and she loves it so much. Then, Lexie, Grammy and I went to Safeway to pick up Flinstone vitamins, macaroni and cheese and turkey dogs. I pushed Lexie in her swing while Grammy made Macaroni and cheese with dogs. Daddy cut the lawn and Lexie ran around and played with me in the yard. We ate dinner on the back deck. Grammy went home after we ate. Lexie hadn't quite finished, she is a very patient and slow eater, I'm so glad of this and hope it never changes. Grammy brought over Bambi, so we rolled Lexie in front of the TV to watch while she finished dinner. She hadn't napped at all, so we fully expected her to be out like a light in minutes. She finished to whole movie. We played around with the sit-n-spin, took some video, and she even watched Bambi again, on my lap, ok, well most of the movie. We didn't see the end. Can you believe this was the first time I've seen that movie? Well, she stayed up until we went to bed. First whole day with no nap. I think it was a fluke.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, vacation, having a job, Recess peanut butter cups, plastic utensils, our back deck/yard and house, and laughter.

Last Easter. 

One Fish Two Fish, Dead Fish New Fish

Another full weekend with the babe and hubby. Work is still just that, work. Had a small cube meeting to "clear the air" this morning. Too much tension in the air. I like both, but sometimes there seems to be too much friction between the two and I feel uncomfortable being in the middle. I'm glad this seems to have all worked out. It's nice to have the camaraderie and jovial laughter, but is it worth the sick tension when you have to sit so close to people you don't always get along with? It's not like we all took any vows like till death do us part when we were hired, but we all spend so damn much time together that it is much better to get along. I am truly blessed to have the co-workers I do have though. When I think back to all the people I worked with in the past, I wouldn't trade this bunch in. Hey, they put up with me, don't they!

Right now I'm on the phone with Frank and a wave of contentedness came over me. I love that feeling, wish I could bottle it.

Word(s) of the day: OODLES

Lexie log: We had another great weekend. Saturday I got up at 8:22 and started cleaning the house. Spring cleaning in Winter. I believe that it would be wonderful if we had guests about once every two months. That would really keep us on the ball as far as being tidy. Frank did all the floors, vacuum and mop, and I did glass, windows, mirrors, dusting, dishes, etc. The house is so pleasant after a good cleanup. Saturday we went to the exotic bird show at Washington County fairgrounds. We tried to stop by Stanford for a bite to eat before we went, but Lexie wouldn't sit still and wasn't going to let us eat without throwing a fit. Of course then I had a tantrum too since we were so hungry which makes me extra irritable. The bird show was really neat. Lexie was fascinated by all the birds and actually got to pet a large parrot. I fell in love with a white cockatiel, it's too bad we can't have a bird now. Someday maybe. After the birds, Lexie ran around in the grass with some other older kids who were waiting outside with a puppy. She had a blast. They were Katie and Isaac that ran around with her, and the other kids sat with the puppy. Lexie had such a marvelous time, she didn't stop laughing and running, it was just a joy to watch. Then she napped in the car while I went into Petco. The last of the Dalmation Mollies that my manager gave us died last week. I'm positive it was due to lack of oxygenation of the water, since there is no aerator and plants never lasted long. Lexie loved having the fish though, so I thought we'd get ourselves a fish that is somewhat easier to care for.
We got a beautiful red betta, his name is Charlie. We got new, white gravel, clean two gallon tank, with water treated for Bettas, and special Betta food. Frank is still having a difficult time believing that he isn't hungry all the time, but he is sticking to the instructed diet from the back of the food. -- Then Lexie and I drove out to Sherwood to say goodbye to cousin Jason and Maggie and Keara before they headed down to live in California. Uncle Steve was in town for a couple days and we got a pre-visit for about 45 minutes. Lexie led Steve around the lawn and out to the forest. I was just tickled pink to see the two of them in the trees. I wish my pictures had come out better, they were either too dark with the flash going off while they were too far away, or too blurry with no flash. Maybe Grammy can get the dark ones lightened up a bit. Lexie took to her great Uncle Steve right away. -- Sunday we got up and cleaned more house, then went to do errands and apply the window tint to Lexie's car window. Talk about a pain in the butt. And of course I wanted to wait to eat until we were done, so again with the irritable hunger. It looks so-so with a few crinkles at the front of the window, but oh well, it works. -- Then Steve, Chris, and Grammy came over for a few hours and we had a great visit. Lexie showed off her Sit-n-spin skills, and we spent time on the deck snacking, chatting, and blowing bubbles. Steve illustrated his amazing ability to manipulate objects using only his mind. Then we all headed over the P.F. Changs for dinner. We were 45 minutes early for our reservations, so we walked up to the fountain at the Street of Tanasbourne mall and sat on the edge as Grammy and Lexie played in the water. Wonderful dinner, and Lexie behaved very well. She spent most of the time drawing circles on the magnetic sketch toy the waitress loaned her to keep her busy. She really liked it, which is great because most of the toys we bring to distract her don't keep her attention long enough. She was an angel, and the restaurant was actually pretty loud anyway. She just loved the horse statues out front (picture below). We did determine that she does not want to eat at restaurants though. She had chicken and noodles, which had we placed them in front of her at home, she would have eaten. However, she refused anything but milk while there. We didn't get home until 8:30pm, hours after her normal dinner time, and Lexie had fallen asleep in the car. I stayed up as long as I could and helped Frank heat up a kids dinner for her, but finally I had to turn in. I'm sure Lexie woke up shortly after I fell asleep and I'm sure she was hungry. At some point I stumbled into the kitchen for something to drink and vaguely remember seeing her in her high chair in the living room, eating dinner while bleary eyed Daddy chaperoned. When I asked this morning he said they went to bed sometime after two. Yikes.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, family, Charlie, kind people like Carrie for giving me chili for lunch, weekends, clean house, and coffee.

Lexie and the PF Chang 'horsy'. Sunday night we had a farewell dinner at this restaurant. Good food, great company. Lexie didn't want to leave the horsies. "Bye bye Horsy!" 

Great (and I mean great) uncle Steve and Lexie out at the Sherwood forest. We loved his visit and wish could do it a lot more often. 

Another pool picture from our trip to Olympia. 

We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who comes on at five. She can tell you ’bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye.

It's Friday and it's lovely. I've been working on projects and A/R all day, no payment posting. But I do have a good start on my projects. Found out yesterday that the research I did for the Aetna
settlement brought in over $2000.

Word(s) of the day: PING

I am really tired of stress and worry. I try to avoid it as much as possible, but it is hard when you are surrounded by people who are always raising the question, "What if?". And the news media doesn't help. Let's spend an hour dragging our attention to every little detail of the negative crap that surrounds us and maybe, just maybe, point out the occasional good news. It seems that I almost have to have a gratitude journal just to cancel out the negative worries. Here is a list that I came up with of all the things I could choose to be afraid of today, if I felt like it:
Bird flu, mad cow, world war, earthquakes, aids, tsunamis, car crash, west Nile, heart attack, drowning, bear attacks, hypothermia, banana peels, guns, second hand smoke, wild coyotes, anaphylactic shock, cancer, tornados, terrorists, hepatitis, plane crash, volcanoes, falling off a cliff, starvation, nuclear holocaust, meteors, ozone depletion, septicemia, Alzheimer’s, liver disease, stress, obesity, emphysema, sinking ship, pollution, homicide, infant mortality, measles, pneumonia, kidney disease, shark attack, poisonous snake bite, high blood pressure, lightning, sleep apnea, train wreck, diabetes, leprosy, meningitis, chemical or germ warfare, falling down stairs, house fire, drive-by shootings, flood, global warming, and death by worry.

Lexie log: I came up with an idea to help Lexie along with pottie training. One of her obstacles, is that she is not very good at taking off her own clothes. She loves to bath so much, that I have decided to use a bath as incentive. When she wants to play in the tub, she has to do her best to take off her own clothes. It worked really well last night. She has trouble with the back of her pants and pull-ups, but she catch on soon enough. I bet this backfires on me this summer. I can just see her taking off her clothes all the time and trying to run around bare butt. -- We have also been having an issue with diapers not being absorbent enough the last two nights. In my opinion, the diaper is probably fine, it's more likely an issue of changing her earlier in the morning. Waiting until it is too late isn't working well. Last night, Lexie brought the last little milk in her bottle to bed with her, I think the cap wasn't on good enough, and it leaked all over the top of our bed. I woke up freaked that it was pee, at about 2:00am, far too early. It was just milk. Dad woke up too and was going to toss the empty bottle over to the covered hope chest. It was pitch dark in the room and I had just sat up to get out of bed. I got pinged in the back of the head with a plastic bottle. Hehe.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, pianos, swimming pools, Spring weather, socks, tea, flowers, and calendars.

Mareseatoats and doeseatoats and littlelambseativy, a kid'lleativytoo, wouldn't you.

Out of commission yesterday so no blog entry.

Well, St. Helen's blew her top again Tuesday evening. Not nearly as massive as May 1980, but still an ash/steam plume visible for miles. Lucky for Portland the wind was blowing it to the Northeast.

Looking forward to the bird show this weekend. We saw a large blue/green/yellow/red parrot sitting on the passenger head rest of a large truck with all the windows open. I guess we were gawking so noticeably that the driver felt obliged to explain. He said it is funny when people try to stick their fingers in the open window and get a nip in response. I said she must make a great 'gaurd-bird', and he said she was worse than his dog. He said she can't fly, so she gets to ride shotgun with the windows down. Pretty neat.

Uncle Steve will be in town and we shall visit with him on Sunday, I believe. The house may be a bit messy, but oh well.

Word(s) of the day: FESTOONED


Lexie log: If there ever was such a thing as a Sit-N-Spin competition, Lexie would qualify. She is all about practice, practice, practice. She has even added her own unique style. She started with a simple sideways evil glance look. Now, she rocks back at the point when her arms are at the far end of the spin wheel causing the base of the sit-n-spin to lift off the floor at that point. Sometimes it even 'walks' across the floor. Another technique is her one handed bull rider approach. Once she gets to goin' purty good, she spins with one hand and the other hand is held up in the air like a bull rider. When she combines the two techniques, she actually looks like she is riding a bucking bull. Yesterday afternoon we went to an autoparts store to see about getting a window tint for the back left car window. Lexie has a fit when the sun beats on her, I don't blame her, and those silly little wind up like blind ones don't work worth a darned. We found a really great one, but it was expensive ($15.00) and looks like it might be a little tricky to install. We'll probably try this weekend. I'm sure she'll appreciate it. It's even got sparklies.

How does non-dairy creamer work?

It has some really interesting ingredients, most of which I don't recognize, one is described as a 'milk derivative'. I have been trying to research this, and I find some interesting facts about Non-dairy creamer.
--Non-Dairy Creamer (NDC) is also a software system for utilizing IMAP from within a Java application.
--Non-dairy creamer is extremely flammable when suspended in the air, more so even than flour. I'm assuming they mean the powdered form.
--Invented in 1961
--Other odd people have researched this topic and posted their findings in their blog.


Time to go back to work.

Summer is coming! Spring is nine days away! This picture was taken late last August. The pool sat outside all day with the sun warming the water all day. This was taken about 10:00 at night. She had something with red sauce for dinner and needed a bath. The water was at least as warm as a bath by then, so she took a little late night splash bath. 

Getcha getcha ya ya da da.

Another gorgeous day outside. My A/R looks awesome! This is Buttercup Girdlebrains reporting to you live from cube one along with Loopy Applebrain and Pinky Bubblebuns.

I don't know how long it's been since I 'blogged' this complaint, but the temperature in this building is still far from under control. The HVAC air conditioning system is far from automatic. I'm just not hopeful that it will ever be pleasant. I moved one of our make-shift mobile thermostats to my desk from the ailseway ten feet away, and it jumped from 70 to 75 in five minutes. I just walked back to the Dot-matrix in the back hallway by the "control room" and overheard the contractors discussing that they had to wait until the outside temperature is 60 degrees to do something. There are boilers, fresh air intake, ....hmm...I shouldn't have even to start to list the equipment I overhear them referring to, because I can't remember it all. There is some elaborate link on the intranet that monitors the current temps in whatever location you select, even shows a historical graph that's fun to look at. But...90% of the people I hear are uncomfortable 100% of the time. Someone always has a fan on, and 20 feet away, someone else always has their portable electric heater. Although this may mean some job security for the contractors, I feel pity for the way it makes them seem semi-incompetent and at the nightmare of a building/system they have to deal with. Hey, but progress is progress! Hell, we finally got an exhaust fan installed in the bathroom last year.

Vexing question of the day: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Grammy asked me something like this on Sunday in the RV, and I was overly perplexed by it. I never stopped to realize exactly how contented I am with my current job. The issue is that there doesn't really seem to be any upward progress or ladder to climb. I actually think that is one of it's appeals. I used to strive to be team lead, supervisor, trainer etc. Don't want to anymore. My favorite of these jobs was trainer, and I would possibly consider accepting that position again. I think I was decent at it. This place is so under-documented though. Hardly any policies or procedures are in writing. That is something I would not want to take on. The other issue is location. It would be nice not to have to drive this far to work, but I am starting not to mind so much. I like the people, for the most part, I like the atmosphere, I like the work load and content, I love the hours, and the pay is decent. Anyway, the question some how pinched a nerve in my psyche, like maybe I should really look for a job in IT. Mommy tantrum: Mommy throws herself to the ground, pounds with alternating fist violently while screaming, "I DON'T WANNA! I DON'T WANNA! I DON'T WANNA!" Bushism: "Not gonna do it."


Mini HVAC update. Just went back there again and they are all sitting around the conference room table (waiting for it to hit 60?) talking about political magazines with our hyper-green-party IT man, Seth. NRA and New Republican. Hmmm... sounds like a HOT topic, get it? hahaha HOT.....


Word(s) of the day: VEX

Lexie log: Grammy picked a picture for the March of Dimes thingy. One of my favorites also. It on the blog a ways down, the close up of her face with wild hair before her bangs were cut. There is a bird show at the Washington County fairgrounds next week. Val, the bird girl, said something about it today. Cost five dollars for adult, Lexie probably free. Seems like a great idea since she loves birds as well as fish. Last week aquarium, this week bird show? I hope we get to go. -- She is still stubbornly resisting saying, "I love you". To me, it's now obvious that she is not doing it because her Daddy keeps prompting her too. She refuses to perform, and the more you try to get her to do or say something she knows you expect of her, the more she refuses. It will come when she feels like it. Just called home on the phone for lunch and Lexie answered the phone. She said, paper, cookie, Elmo, you scarda me, and something that sounded like, 'oh birdas", with a bunch of Lexie gibberish in between. Loving her phone calls.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, stretches, fine felt-tip pens, baby talk, Alaska, Ken Follet, magnets, peace of mind, and contentment.

Sally Jessie? No...just silly baby with Mommy's glasses. 

Summer Breeze....makes me feel fine.

What an awesome weekend. Too, too short. Here we are at the s-hole again. I was having an awesome morning until the outburst. Now I'm cranky. This too shall pass.

OK, better now. Mood has passed, splitting pain behind left eye gone. Back to business as semi-usual.

Smell of the day: Full diaper, brought to you by the peds department! All fans a blowing.

Word(s) of the day: SQUINCH

Lexie log: Saturday we went to Gramma Betty's for a good part of the day, and sat on the porch with Gramma and Aunt Patty. Nice day outside. Lexie's cried so hard when Aunt Patty went back to her house. It also seemed like she finally said "I love you". She mimicked Gramma Betty when we left. Sunday left the house at 8:14am and drove up to Grammy's in Yamhill. We all piled in the RV and after multiple stops for gas, food, Safeway bakery and coffee, finally headed Southwest to Newport. Gorgeous day! Lexie fell asleep on the way, good since we hate taking her places without a nap. It changes the entire outing (like the trip to the aviation museum). We had a great trip to the aquarium. Started out with the inside exhibits. Lexie was so excited, she kept running from one exhibit to the next and then back again, staying a few moments in front of each one in amazement. We saw jellyfish, kelp forest fish, sea pens, and well all kinds of aquatic life. I held her up for the touch tide pool and she felt the back of a starfish. That's all she would touch though. It kind of freaked her out. Then she was content to look and splash. Next we headed for the outdoor exhibits. She raced around and around the Puffin exhibit not noticing the birds. I finally got her to stand still and check them out. Not even two feet inbetween her and the birds in the water. She laughed when they would stretch out there wings, puff up, and shake. For the rest of the exhibits, she was content to race past, peeking momentarily at the animal, and go about kicking up the gravel walkway. She was having a blast. She was interested in the animals, but a little uncomfortable. We think it was because of their size. Grampa pointed out that it seemed instinctual to be hesitant to be so close to such large creatures. She saw the Octopus, Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Sea Otters up close. Then she just kept racing around the same exhibits with her Grampa happy to chaperone her and a semi-unlesiurely pace. We had a little bit of trouble in the Deep sea exhibit, where you go through underground clear tubes with fish, rays, and sharks swimming all around you. She wanted to zoom through and there were just too many people in a confined space. Grampa ended up having to carry the wriggly little thing through most of it, back and forth actually. Then she ran around the exhibits some more as Frank and I slowly viewed the animals. She finally started to run out of gas. Grampa swears she said clear as a bell, "How do we get outta here?" We'll, then we left, wondering how long she was actually looking for the exit to the maze of exhibits. Next we went to lunch at a brew/pub, that you actually have to walk through the brewery to get to the restaurant part. Although I wasn't very impressed with the view being cut off by the steel bar table, we could still see most of the bay, docks, boats, and enjoyed a good lunch. By this time she was tired and restless and wouldn't sit in a chair. While we waited for our meals, Grammy took her over to the lego table and kept her occupied. When lunch came, I scarfed down my French Dip and then walked her around screaming until Frank came and relieved me. Afterwards got out her trike and headed for the boardwalk. She was so tired, we thought she would give up right away and start a fit. We were wrong. The excitment over getting to try her trike outside and actually being able to mostly reach the pedals gave her a second wind. She triked, with some guidance, halfway up the boardwalk and then got off and met two more toddlers. Dylan and Rowan were walking the pier with their mother. Lexie was very happy to have some strange conversation with Rowan (two years old) It was the cutest thing to watch them walk up the railing, point out, Rowan would say, "Boat" and then Lexie would say, "Yeah", and then start chatting away in gibberish. We went all the way to the end and back, passing people with crabpots and fishing. At one point the three children went racing ahead, and it was the cutest thing. Of course we forgot to bring digital or video camera, since we thought the trike experiment was going to be a short live tantrum. That'll teach me. Grammy, Lexie, and I slept on the way home, Grampa and Frank chatting up front. What a great excursion.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, Newport, grapefruit, antioxidants, prayer, that people can't read my mind, that I can't read other people's minds, and energy.

Lexie as aviatrix. Her first sit in the cockpit of a plane. I thought I alread posted this one from the museum trip, but I didn't see it anywhere. 

Little fairy angel. This is from Easter 2004. She is really sitting on our back deck examining a super ball she got as a gift from Grammy. Grammy did the special effects on her computer. 

You make me feel like dancing...I wanna dance the night away.

Okily Dokily neighbor. File this one under stranger than fiction. Conversation started with today being 030405...345. neato. Then Carrie mentions that she Sulu's autograph at a Trek convention on 1701, and I used to have a phone number 649-1701. Well anyway, the resulting questions and research turned up this little gem. Here is a farewell quote from Stmody, one of the many whiz kids of the Heaven's Gate mass suicide. Enjoy:

"We watch a lot of Star Trek, a lot of Star Wars, it's just like going on a holodeck...we've been on a holodeck, we've been in an astronaut training program...we figured out a day equals one thousand years...played it out mathematically...it's roughly thirty minutes...we've been training on a holodeck for thirty minutes, now it's time to stop and put into practice what we've learned...so we take off the virtual reality helmet, we take off the vehicle that we've used for this task. We just set it aside, go back out of the holodeck to reality to be with the other members in the craft, in the heavens."

Weeeeee!


Word of the day(s): BUGABOO I decided to walk over to Urling's for the lunch special. Earlier this morning the office Admin and the business office manager were discussing taking pictures of a couple guys that park themselves on a bus stop bench across the street on 43rd ave. Something about daily lewd comments and intoxication. So, on my journey to Urling's I was a tad bit more observant than usual. Actually, I so rarely leave the office during the day, so more observant than what? I don't know, but anyway...I spotted the fellows upon the bench and then some. I'd say about half the people I saw were dressed in dark clothing, un-shaven, carrying enough stuff in bags or other containers to leave an impression of homelessness. Usually in twos, but the occasional loner. None of them looked unhappy, some were very happy looking in fact. Our building has a security guard that walks the premise inside and out. He thinks the bench fellows are squatting in a vacant apartment in the building on 43rd and Broadway. This place has been broken into more than once. The last one I remember was the pharmacy, took a bottle of Vicodin. One time the security caught a guy hiding in the radiology bathroom after close, waiting for everyone to leave. Every so often when I'm on my way in at 6:30am I see the odd happening. I park next door in the lot people use as a thoroughfare between Sandy and the Max station. Also between the Towers (government subsidized housing) and the Chevron station. I have been approached in my car and asked for money to buy a daughter her feminine hygiene products. No daughter in sight. I have seen many people urinating, sometimes in the middle of the day, both on and off the property. There is a couple who occasionally use the side entrance walkway as their temporary lodging. Came across her squatting for her morning constitutional one morning last winter. There have been many stolen cars dumped in the side lot. Last year, the police busted a ring of car thieves who were pillaging a car in the alley next to the bench on 43rd. It was suspected that one previous security guard had an "arrangement" with the local hookers. Odd resume entry. "Security guard/pimp; Safely and securely manage property while conducting 'business as usual' and keeping the ladies safe." That guard is no longer here. Another guard caught a man an women getting intimate in our dumpster. There was another incident reported with a naked person standing on the hood of a car in the lot, as well as countless other activities I'm sure I haven't heard of. Interesting place to work. Lexie log: I got a voicemail at work this morning was simply Lexie saying "purple". -- Recently she discovered how to make a fist and knock on a door. This is a great pairing with another of her older discoveries. She yells, "Coming!" whenever anyone knock on our front door. She also just learned how to slam doors. Lots of door activity at our house. Yesterday when I came home from work and walked in the front door, Lexie ran out of her room to greet me. She stopped in front of me, smiled and squinted her eyes in her trademark smirk face, then turned tail and ran into her room. I pursued down the hall and had just enough time to see her turn and slam her bedroom door on me with a big smile on her face and breaking into a giggle. What's a mom to do, so I knocked on her door. After a short pause I hear, "Coming!" and the door flies open to my little greeter daughter. Man, is she fun. About an hour or two after I picked my word of the day, my business office manager used it in a sentence. Kind of weird.

It's time again for the annual March of dimes baby photo contest and I can't decide what picture of Lexie to submit. This ill be the third year she's been entered.


Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, R.V.'s, E-bills, Stevie Wonder, Steve Martin, computers, 24 hour fitness, cats, deodorant on a towlette in a packet like the KFC moist wipes stuck in my purse zipper pocket in case of emergency caused by rushed forgetfulness, blue cheese dressing, and internet research.

It's hard to get by just upon a smile

I'm wondering this morning if I might need to be tested for sleep apnea. I just took a quiz from a brochure and scored a seven out of ten. According to the material, you only need three to show symptoms. I am literally tired of being tired. It's is not so bad sometimes, but others it is almost painful to be awake. I am not an insomniac. I am out like a light within five minutes of my head hitting the pillow. I just don't seem to get rest from my sleep sometimes. This week has been like that for me. I've decided that I will keep exercising for another month to see if that helps it, and if this doesn't change, I'll talk to the doc about it.

Word(s) of the day: CHARCOAL

Lexie log: She is getting better at talking on the phone. I just got of the phone with her. It is a gorgeous day outside and I told her to drag her Dad out to play in the backyard. I love the little nonsense words she uses to string together the real words she knows. My favorite is "Doogadoockado", and then there is "Minamanumanuan." "Mommy? Dubbadunna doogadoockado Penny? Minamunumanuna Daddy munumuna muna. Bye." That was the conversation we had just now. -- I'm excited about the aquarium this weekend. I've heard so far that the weather is supposed to be great. If we take the R.V., I'd like to try to remember to bring her trike to see if she can ride somewhere. Her feet are almost long enough to push the pedals one revolution, but not quite without thick soled shoes on. Last time we tried, we went up and down our hall. She had a blast. It was kind of difficult to turn around though. And then after awhile she became more interested in the tassels. This tricycle was a gift from Grammy and Grampa. It was ordered custom online. Lexie, Frank and I sat on the phone with Grammy and picked out the color of each part from the pedals and wheels to the grips. Each time we would show Lexie a choice of color she would choose purple, so she has a beautiful purple trike. -- Easter is coming we don't know what we are doing yet. Maybe this year we will go to a public egg hunt, but I'm not sure yet.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, hammocks, flowers, rainbows, people watching and compassion.

Still in the fetal position. This is a while back, but when I called home from work yesterday afternoon, Frank said she had left the living room and he heard a door slam. He got up a couple minutes later to check on her. Thinking she had gone into her room, he looked but she was not there. But, our bedroom door was closed. He opened it to find she had climbed into bed and tucked herself under the covers for a nap. 

I could compile an entire scrapbook of sleeping Lexie pictures. What is it that is sooo adorable about sleeping babies?