Saturday, June 07, 2008

Just got back from driving Merry home after she watched Jesse for us while we went to see IJ4.

I think we both liked it well enough, but like others have said, it’s probably ranked 4th out of the 4 Indy Jones movies. It is what it is though, which is an action movie that’s light on story/plot and heavy on action and stunts. I went in expecting just what I got.

There were a couple of stunts that I’d love to see the Mythbusters tackle.

I won’t give away any plot points, but I am struggling with the end a bit. The the end-end, but the dénouement. Those who have seen it will know what I’m talking about. It is one reason why I am considering warning my parents against going to see it tomorrow like they are planning. And I can’t warn them too much without giving away crucial information. It’s a shame, because I really liked the movie otherwise.

It is time for Indy to retire from the action and adventure, though. Let the young ones tackle the bad guys and rescue histories antiquities and treasures.

3 stars out of 5.

This makes me very unhappy.

BERMUDA HIGH OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC THROUGH MONDAY WILL BRING HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS TO THE REGION ON WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS. HIGH TEMPERATURES ACROSS MOST OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA AS WELL AS THE BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREAS WILL REACH THE MID AND UPPER 90S EACH DAY. A FEW LOCATIONS MAY REACH 100 DEGREES.

THE HOT TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH HIGH HUMIDITY WILL CAUSE HEAT INDICES TO APPROACH 105 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON. HEAT INDICES MAY APPROACH 110 DEGREES SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

Gah.

Beau told me it’s soupy humid out there already this morning. I hucked out some junk for the trash early this morning (Annie did wake me up at 5:30am so it seemed like a good time to sort through some boxes from the move last summer to clear out space for Jesse to roam down here) and Beau took it out to the deck to hold for Monday’s trash pick up. He said it’s gross and that’s saying something - he likes the heat.

I took Enchanted with us to Disney, thinking that we could watch it one night after a long day at the park. Turns out our modern (and one of the newest additions to the resort) didn’t have a DVD player, but just a VHS. What’s up with that? My mother planned to complain about that and a few other things that didn’t live up to expectations at the timeshare.

Anyway, we finally watched it last night. I liked it a lot. I think Beau didn’t like it as much. I found it hilarious, sweet, and a brilliant spoof of Disney fairytales while still keeping the spirit of a Disney fairytale. I was quite ... er ... enchanted by it and may buy it eventually for my kid(s) to watch when they’re older.

3.5 stars out of 5.

Friday, June 06, 2008

I was previously running the blog on a really old version of EE and started getting consistent comment spam. I went into update the blacklist and was unable to, so it was clearly long past time to update the blogware. Let me know if things look wonky or if you get error messages.

Rapture insurance. Did you know it exists? Me neither, but Fox has the news:

A new Web site is offering a miraculous service — e-mails sent to loved ones left behind on Earth after you’ve been swept up to heaven in the Rapture.

YouveBeenLeftBehind.com promises to alert up to 62 people exactly six days after the event that, according to the Bible, signals the beginning of Armageddon, Wired magazine’s Threat Level reports.

“You’ve Been Left Behind gives you one last opportunity to reach your lost family and friends for Christ,” the site promoting the service says.

Final e-mails from vanished subscribers will be triggered when three of the site’s five Christian staffers fail to log in for six days in a row.

[...]

“In the encrypted portion of your account you can give them access to your banking, brokerage, hidden valuables and powers of attorneys,” the site says.

“There won’t be any bodies, so probate court will take seven years to clear your assets to your next of kin. Seven years, of course, is all the time that will be left,” it explains. “So, basically the Government of the Antichrist gets your stuff, unless you make it available in another way.”

There’s a bit more info at Wired Threat Level.

[via the view from her]

Thursday, June 05, 2008

At Epcot, I bought spice packets in Morocco for seasoning meat and chicken for kebabs. I’m excited to experiment with them. The one for meat, I think I’ll try to do with lamb, but I may wuss out and use beef. And then there was a separate packet for chicken that I bought as well. I need to read the packet directions to see what I need to do and also what other odd ingredients we may need that we don’t keep on stock regularly. And I also want to read up on Moroccan food to see what side dishes/bread would be good to serve with them as well.

Also, I wonder how they’d work in the crock pot?

So now we’re actively working on the California trip and have finalized a few things this week already:

1. We will be staying with Beau’s uncle near Santa Barbara for the first two nights - this saves money, of course, which is nice. But it also gives us some nice time to visit with him. And we’ll add a tour of something touristy for that area on our first full day before we head north to San Luis Obispo.

Related: We’ll be shipping some needed Jesse-items for the week directly to Uncle W. Already we have bought and shipped a PeaPod Toddler Bed/Tent to him. We figure this was a good investment for future travel, too, and it will give Jesse his own little pup tent to play with/in whenever he wants.

2. We have booked a room at a Motel 6 that happens to be across the street from Beau’s high school for the rest of the week. Much cheaper (about half the cost, actually) than anything else we found, so thanks for that tip, Gwynne. We didn’t have need for a cushy place since we’ll only be sleeping there anyway.

3. Beau’s Mom has scheduled a dessert with some friends for one night so that folks can meet me and Jesse. Beau is well loved, so people are curious about the chick who snagged him. I have no doubt that Jesse’s charming self will outshine Beau’s bride and that is just fine with me.

4. I’m starting to look into what we want to do on our outings. We know that we want to go to Hearst Castle - I’ve been there, but it’s been 25 years. We know that we’ll spend a day in the Monterey area - I need to figure out specific things we want to do (including a possible meet up with Ith?) besides a visit to the aquarium.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Final thoughts from the Disney trip:

1. It is amazing how many people, mostly men, will pick their noses in public. I don’t mean a mere scratch, but an actual digit-up-the-nostril pick. The best (worst?) example was the Dad who was seated at a nearby table at the character breakfast in Cinderella’s Castle who had his thumb up a nostril so deep I thought he wouldn’t be able to get it out. Guh-ross.

2. I totally forgot to post about the palmetto bug attack I endured while at Hollywood Studios. My father was witness to it - I felt a tickle along my side, under my shirt, while we waited for the rest of the crew to come back from a ride. We were with Jesse, who was napping in the stroller at the time. Dad and I were seated on a brick retaining wall with flora behind us, trying to stay in the shade. So I felt this tickle and kind of brushed at it absently, figuring the breeze had ruffled my shirt. But then I felt that same tickle at my right shoulder just at my collarbone, so I kind of brushed at it. That’s when the yucky brown spot appeared on my shirt, along with a sickly sweet smell, and then I felt something fall down my sleeve.

*shiver*

I didn’t see anything drop out of my sleeve to the ground so I started shaking it to get whatever it was OUT OF MY SHIRT! “Dad, help me!” Dad just stood there, confused. “There’s something in my shirt, help me.” He just stood there, confused. “What do you want me to do?” he asked. “I don’t know, but there’s something in my sleeve and I can’t get it out,” I was getting frantic. Just then I felt the tickle again *shudder* and I patted the spot hard. Finally this 1-2 inch long brown roach-like thing fell out of my sleeve to the ground and skittered down the drain we were standing on. Gah!

Clearly it was not dead, so my guess is that I scared bug poo out of it onto my shoulder/shirt. Nasty. Beau had the backpack with the baby wipes, so I had to wait for what seemed like forever until he came back and I could clean it up. The smell was horrible, but I have to say that baby wipes continue to astound with their cleaning power. They will clean up anything.

3. I think I may have a spot of basal cell carcinoma (yes, I’m self-diagnosing, based on internet photos) on my arm. I noticed the spot after our first full day at a park after I had gotten a slight sunburn on my arm and this spot was red and raised. Today it is back to smooth and tan colored, but I’m going to a dematologist to have it looked at anyway. The other weird dermal thing from the trip is that I developed a scaly rash on my wrists/hands that is still clearing up. I originally thought that I was having an allergic reaction to the sunscreen we were using, but I didn’t get the rash anywhere else. Then yesterday I had the thought that maybe is was a reaction to the sun/hairspray combo - because I realized that my hands and wrists get sprayed a bit when I spray my hair since I use my hands to cover my face from the mist.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

So I got this email from Beau this afternoon right as I was leaving for home:

This is regarding your application for the position of Archivist at [redacted], announcement [redacted].

We are unable to consider your application for this position because you did not submit a narrative description of your experience as it applies to each of the knowledges, skills and abilities listed in the vacancy announcement.  This information is needed to evaluate your experience.  As stated in the announcement, applicants who do not submit this information will not be considered.

We appreciate your interest in this position and wish you the best of luck in your job search.

[name redacted]
Lead Human Resources Specialist
National Archives and Records Administration

Bummer! Those damned KSAs will kill you every time you apply for a fed job. It seems like such a perfect job for Beau. I immediately started praying - for Beau, for wisdom in how to encourage him, for wisdom for the next steps, for peace, etc. And I prayed like that for the first half of my commute - until I felt peace about it all.

Got home to see mail on the kitchen table. On top was an opened letter from NARA, so I picked it up and read this:

Dear Mr. [Beau]:

Re: Your application for Archivist ... [there follows redacted information about the job he was just rejected for by email].

This is to update you on the status of your application for the position.

You were rated qualified for the position. The next step in the process involves a review of all qualified applicants against the job requirements for this position… [yadda, yadda, yadda].

Huh?

Turns out Beau got about 6 of the rejection emails (he didn’t tell me about that until much later), which he thinks are in response to the iterations of the application he saved while working on it at the USAJOBS.gov website. The hard copy snail mailed letter is in response to his final submission of the application packet. At least that is what we’re hoping.

The letter says there were a lot of applications and that they expect it to take several weeks to evaluate those rated qualified. We will be notified either way.

So now we know to pray for the next step in the process and we’ve got a glimmer of hope for this job prospect. And it means the house hunting is still on hold until we hear back again.

I’m working, working, working. My inbox and desk chair were full of things accumulated in my 10 days away from the office. Fortunately, after sorting it all it turns out not to be unmanageable. I should be able to get caught up in my three days in the office this week. I have a new, large stack of prisoner medical that I’ll work on at home on Friday and Monday.

What I’m glad to report is that I do feel refreshed and relaxed post-vacation. Getting away, even with the busy-ness and heat of the days at the parks, was exactly what I needed.

Now we’re preparing for the California trip. It’s unlikely that we’ll get a timeshare unit at this point, so we’re looking into hotels for the week. And I’m trying to figure out what of Jesse’s crapola we actually need to take with us and whether or not we should ship some of it out there before flying out so that we don’t have to deal with hauling it onto the plane. Anyone traveled across country with a toddler that can give recommendations either way?

Monday, June 02, 2008

Dan in Real Life is a cute, cute movie and I heart Steve Carell.

Sweet, funny, and touching. 4 stars out of 5.

Day 6: Back to Magic Kingdom. But first, I had to get in a few hours of work, which I managed to do on Thursday night and Friday morning. I got a pretty good connection to the remote network despite only one bar on my wireless aircard.

So Friday morning we skipped breakfast at the condo because we had our scheduled breakfast at Cinderella’s castle that morning. We met the Cooties there because they had to get there super early for my niece’s and nephew’s princess/cool dude makeovers. Somehow I didn’t realize there would be the whole picture taking session with Cinderella herself prior to being seated. So we waited for a bit, while I thought they were prepping our table. No, they were just trying to get other families seated so that they had room in the reception area for getting us all into the hall to get pictures with the Princess. By the time it was our turn, Jesse was done with the whole thing and cranky. The family picture we have shows everyone with lovely smiles except for Jesse who just looks like he wants out of there as fast as possible. It kind of cracks me up. Breakfast itself was pretty good and all of the princesses came by to bestow their charm and kisses on Jesse. Princess Aurora left a nice kiss on his forehead in dark pink lipstick. I wiped it off as we were leaving the castle to spare him the curious looks later.

We then spent the next few hours killing time before our tea at the Grand Floridian. I’ll be honest. At that point I was Disneyed out. Done. Finis. Ready to get out of the sun with my heat rash and sweat. Ready to no longer deal with The People. We did ride the Peter Pan thing, which Jesse seemed to enjoy. And we rode the train that circles the perimeter of the park to the monorail station where we hopped on for our trip to the hotel for tea.

Tea was lovely and that is a really nice hotel. Jesse slept through the first half of our tea and then woke up in time to eat a snack before we headed back to the monorail to the parking lot. The evening was spent doing laundry and preparing to pack (I couldn’t actually pack because Jesse was sleeping in our room).

Day 7: The Return to South Carolina. We managed to leave close to the target time and had a relatively easy drive to the Cooties’ home. Dinner was fabulous ribs from Firebonz and a viewing of Raiders of the Lost Ark at the request of the Cootie kids in honor of the Indiana Jones stunt show we saw.

Day 8: The Return Home. We got home in good time and managed to watch a movie before hitting the hay. The review will follow.

I took no photos in the parks. I know. I’m a terrible parent. However, my father and Denis both took pictures in the parks and I know they have some good ones of Jesse. But I did take pictures in the car on the way down and back and also at the pool on his first trip there. I’ll leave you with these two pictures from the drive home yesterday.

I find them hilarious. He did this on the trip down, too, apparently to block his head/eyes from the sun coming in the window. The thing on his head is MooMoo - a cow blanket-lovey thing that he sleeps on/with. And his feet must be uncovered when sleeping.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Still having fun. Hot, sweaty, sunburned fun. Because it is HOT.

Day 2: Epcot. Beyond a lot of walking, I can’t remember what we did at Epcot. We ate lunch at the Rose & Crown Pub in England. I know that the kids enjoyed the Nemo place. Marmie and I took all three kids to Turtle Talk with Crush, which was an interactive thing where Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo chatted with the kiddos. It was very cute and Jesse enjoyed it.

The best part for me was at Liberty Square - for the Memorial Day holiday they had singers in the rotunda at The American Experience. Jesse was enthralled with the singing. Then he paid close attention to the movie/animatronic presentation inside the theater. At several points after a moving oratory he said “A-men” in his drawn out way. This happened about 5-6 times and it was way too cute. I was worried he would be bored, but he watched the whole thing.

We left in the late afternoon and then Beau and I decided to take Marmie and Pop up on their offer to watch Jesse for the evening so we went back for a dinner date. We could only get reservations at the San Angel Inn in Mexico, but dinner was delicious. We then walked around for about an hour before heading back home.

Day 3: Chill Out Day. A few of us did go back to Epcot to ride the rides we were not able to get to the previous day - Mission Space and Test Track. I only rode the Test Track ride. I definitely have an inner ear balance problem that makes me more prone to motion sickness. I think that’s why my morning sickness was so bad, actually. So I opted not to do the Mission Space ride.

The rest of the day was a whole lot of nothing. We took a long nap in the afternoon and then took Jesse to the pool for his first swim. I took pictures of him floating with Beau. He didn’t like it at first, but seemed to not hate it after a while. Beau took him back to the pool last night and said he did about the same.

Day 4: Magic Kingdom. Mecca for kids. This was a fun, long day. Jesse enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh ride and It’s a Small World, although he did fall asleep half way through Small World. I know - imagine that. He enjoyed the parade, waving at the characters as they rode past. I can’t remember what else we did. Jesse spent a while with Marmie and Pop so that Beau and I could ride Space Mountain together.

Day 5: Hollywood Studios. We rode Tower of Terror and the Rockin’ Rollercoaster first thing. While we did that, Marmie and Jesse went with the Cooties to the Beauty and Beast show. From there we went to an early lunch at the 50s Prime Time Diner. The payoff for the whole week was at Playhouse Disney. I was hoping Jesse would enjoy that show since it featured most of the shows he knows from Disney Channel - Tigger and Friends, Little Einsteins, Mickey’s Playhouse. He loved it - was on his feet most of the time - stamping and swinging and clapping his hands.

Jesse has been great - he’s such a good kid. Rare moments of crying. He’s napped pretty well in the Ergo or the stroller. Eating well. Playing well with his cousins. Sleeping hard each night and waking up at his normal time ready for the day.

Today we head back to Magic Kingdom for a character breakfast at Cinderella’s Castle. Then we’ll do the things we missed the other day and then finish the afternoon with tea at the Grand Floridian.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

We’re officially having fun.

Day one started early with the final packing before we hit the road. We left on time and made pretty good time getting to the Cooties’ home on Friday. Jesse did great during a long, boring car ride.

Day two started early with repacking of cars to get all of our crap into the two cars. We managed to get everything except for the stroller and a small bin of toys/books/DVDs into my mother’s Highlander. The two orphans went into the Cooties’ van. We decided not to caravan since we figured that would slow us down needlessly. So the Highlander, with Pop, Beau, Jesse and I, hit the road first. The van caught up with us at lunch and then they moved ahead when we had to make a diaper change later in the afternoon. We got to the timeshare in the late afternoon and after checking in and getting all of our stuff inside, Marmie, Denis, and I went to the local Publix to grocery shop.

People, you have not seen the sheer quantity of people at a grocery store until you go to the local store next to the timeshare on the day that everyone checks in. It’s worse than Christmas. That we’re here on a holiday weekend didn’t help. So we spent 90 minutes buying our stuff for the week. And then bought dinner at Quiznos. And then we crashed for the night. Oh, Jesse did very well on that leg of the trip, too.

Day three, today, was a trip to Animal Kingdom. I had never been there so I was excited. We had a good start to the morning - everyone was ready to go when I went to change Jesse’s diaper before we got in to the cars. What I found was explosive poop that required a bath. So he was nice and clean for the day of sweat and sunscreen. It’s hot. I believe this is the first I’ve mentioned that fact, but it will not be the last.

Did I mention that it’s HOT? Gah.

So we had a good day at Animal Kingdom - Jesse’s only meltdown point was a lunch. He was tired and completely on sensory overload. Having lunch at the Rainforest Cafe didn’t help. So he didn’t eat much lunch and was generally unhappy. But we managed to eat ourselves and keep him calm enough in the meantime. It was after lunch that I decided to wear him in the Ergo, borrowed from the Sleepys. It took some figuring, but we got him loaded on my hip and while it was very hot, it was a pretty comfortable carrier. He quickly dozed off for about an hour and then woke up happy and ready for the rest of the day.

Got home and it was my night to cook. I had opted not to crock pot today’s dinner since it would have overcooked completely. So I made that green curry chicken from our dinner with the Sleepys. Even my finicky nephew liked that chicken. And Jesse scarfed it down, too. After dinner, I bathed him and put him to bed and then I took a shower myself. As soon as I complete this post I’m headed for bed, too.

Tomorrow: Epcot.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

I found SCC’s website where they set up a memorial blog for Maria. A note from his manager:

Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman’s completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type. And yet we trust in a God who was not surprised by this and because of Jesus I am certain through faith in Him we will see Maria again. - Jim Houser (Manager)

Included is a cute video of SCC with Maria, who is adorable.