Thursday, November 30, 2006
The Lost Package
I got quite the surprise in the mail this week...and what a story it is:
About 2 years ago, right after Devera was born, a woman who I had met in a lampworker/jewelry designer Ebay Group (called the Bead Hive) said she was going to send a bracelet for Devera. So I gave her our address and didn't think about it again. Since Devera had just been born, you can imagine that Toby and I were pretty busy and pre-occupied at the time. Anyway, last week I got the package in the mail, complete with a Sept. 15th, 2004 postage stamp. 2004 - - isn't that crazy? It's even stranger because in all my years of doing Ebay, online sales, and basically sending anything in the mail I've never had anything lost, stolen, or damaged. I wrote an email to the woman thanking her for the bracelet and she thought the story was pretty funny.
Anyway, I wish that package could talk....I wonder what happended to it.
About 2 years ago, right after Devera was born, a woman who I had met in a lampworker/jewelry designer Ebay Group (called the Bead Hive) said she was going to send a bracelet for Devera. So I gave her our address and didn't think about it again. Since Devera had just been born, you can imagine that Toby and I were pretty busy and pre-occupied at the time. Anyway, last week I got the package in the mail, complete with a Sept. 15th, 2004 postage stamp. 2004 - - isn't that crazy? It's even stranger because in all my years of doing Ebay, online sales, and basically sending anything in the mail I've never had anything lost, stolen, or damaged. I wrote an email to the woman thanking her for the bracelet and she thought the story was pretty funny.
Anyway, I wish that package could talk....I wonder what happended to it.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thanksgiving Weekend in Seattle
We went to Seattle for Thanksgiving to spend it with Toby's Mom. On Friday, we went downtown and had a super fun time. Yes, there were definitely crowds (see top picture), but it was all worth it seeing Devera on the carousel (that's her in the pink coat and matching pink soccer hat) and enjoying the little trains in the windows!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
My Little Pilgrim
Aren't these guys cute? Devera made this little pilgrim hat at school and was sure proud to show it off to Mommy and Daddy. Devera's teachers always tell me there are 3 things Devera loves doing at school: doing art projects, singing, and playing playdoh. Hey, what do you know, those are the 3 things she likes to do at home too! Have a Great Thanksgiving Everyone!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
The Elections
For a person who considers themselves in the political "middle" this was probably the best election result in years. That sounds a little weird when you consider that the democrats kind of ran away with the evening. Here are a few things that I thought went well:
(1) Ok, I have to admit it, when Arnold Schwarzenegger first got voted into office in California I thought, "Oh my god, he's an idiot". He'd been known to be pretty chauvinistic and his "acting" abilities smelled of another Jesse Ventura (I actually lived in Minnesota when he won - ecarumba!). But I have to eat crow, because I think he's been pretty good so far. His wife, Maria Shriver, really balances out his agenda for one. He's also awesome on the environment...he's actually figured out how to go around the president. Other countries are dealing DIRECTLY with California....that's pretty cool. And he actually admits when he's wrong....that's pretty refreshing these days.
(2) The democrats winning now puts some restrictions around how much power the president has. Say what you will about Bush, some love him, some hate him....but he's pretty polarizing no matter how you look at it. At least now he can't push every hard-headed desire through congress.
(3) Many of the democrats who won are much more toward the center than in the old days. These "Blue Dog" democrates are actually focusing on balancing the budget...something neither the old democratic agenda used to care about and something the new republican agenda is not currently caring about.
(4) I'm actually excited about 4, yes FOUR, of the possible 2008 candidates! I've always really liked John McCain...he's a genuinely good guy, Hiliary was instrumental in Bill Clinton's presidency and he was solid, Rudy Giuliani did an awesome job leading NY through 9/11, and Barack Obama is super dynamic on the democrats side and actually seems to want to make good decisions, even if it means going against his own party.
So what does all this mean? For me it means that instead of the 2 outside fringes of society pushing all their agendas through, now it's the moderate middle (otherwise known as a compromise) gaining a ton of steam. So I'm actually kind of excited again about where things are headed!
(1) Ok, I have to admit it, when Arnold Schwarzenegger first got voted into office in California I thought, "Oh my god, he's an idiot". He'd been known to be pretty chauvinistic and his "acting" abilities smelled of another Jesse Ventura (I actually lived in Minnesota when he won - ecarumba!). But I have to eat crow, because I think he's been pretty good so far. His wife, Maria Shriver, really balances out his agenda for one. He's also awesome on the environment...he's actually figured out how to go around the president. Other countries are dealing DIRECTLY with California....that's pretty cool. And he actually admits when he's wrong....that's pretty refreshing these days.
(2) The democrats winning now puts some restrictions around how much power the president has. Say what you will about Bush, some love him, some hate him....but he's pretty polarizing no matter how you look at it. At least now he can't push every hard-headed desire through congress.
(3) Many of the democrats who won are much more toward the center than in the old days. These "Blue Dog" democrates are actually focusing on balancing the budget...something neither the old democratic agenda used to care about and something the new republican agenda is not currently caring about.
(4) I'm actually excited about 4, yes FOUR, of the possible 2008 candidates! I've always really liked John McCain...he's a genuinely good guy, Hiliary was instrumental in Bill Clinton's presidency and he was solid, Rudy Giuliani did an awesome job leading NY through 9/11, and Barack Obama is super dynamic on the democrats side and actually seems to want to make good decisions, even if it means going against his own party.
So what does all this mean? For me it means that instead of the 2 outside fringes of society pushing all their agendas through, now it's the moderate middle (otherwise known as a compromise) gaining a ton of steam. So I'm actually kind of excited again about where things are headed!
The Wheels on the Bus....
Toby and I had to go down to the coast for a quick trip this weekend, so we spend 5 hours in the car roundtrip. My Mom was visiting last week and brought Devera a CD of all her favorite songs....like Wheels on the bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, etc. Devera listened to this CD non-stop the entire trip! We even tried to get her to listen to a different CD but that caused a minor meltdown in the back seat. So she's pretty persistent when she wants to be. Fortunately, that can be really fun some times too. Like whenever I ask her what coat she wants to wear out (she has like 6 of them), she always says, "football jacket" - - which is the New Orleans Saints jacket I bought off of Ebay about a year ago. So the downside of all this is that I absolutely cannot get rid of that stupid "Wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round song!"
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Little Buddies
Aren't these guys cute? This is Devera with her buddy Livvy. Livvy loved doing Devera's hair - - I can't believe Devera actually stood still this long! We're headed out to breakfast tomorrow with Livvy and her family for crepes....mmmmm crepes!
Friday, November 10, 2006
The Whole Manly "Truck" Thing...
So Toby and I were talking a few weeks back about how car companies had done such a great marketing job with truck sales. It started when we were just casually talking about the United States' dependence on oil. That conversation is interesting enough but we got to a point where we were talking about how in the U.S. our cars get such crappy gas mileage. So it's no secret that our love for big cars is a big driver of this. Anyway, at the end of the conversation we were both pretty amazed by how well the big car companies have marketed trucks. It's Amazing! Basically, they've sold the concept that it's not masculine to drive anything but a truck! Think about that for a minute. How many guys really need a truck? I know, we need it for hauling stuff. ....not really. Let's see, one trip to Home Depot to buy oversized stuff once per year. Maybe I could just pay $50 to have the stuff delivered to my house. Ok, buying a truck for hauling is a pretty lame excuse unless you are a general contractor. Maybe we need it to drive the kids around. Again, oversold. Think about it, kids do actually fit in cars. Ok, but I definitely need it for off-roading. Oh, I guess you are right, I haven't gone off-roading since I was 16. And it's not just the stereo-type of the football/nascar-watching guy drinking beer on the couch all weekend. It's sold just as hard to the guy working 60 hours a week for an internet start-up company. So even though it's a total sales job, you have to hand it to the auto-industry, they've done a remarkable job of selling.
BUT, now I'm starting to see some "anti-truck" commercials...I believe the first ones in my lifetime. I think it's passat and/or jetta that are running them. Basically, it's people driving around in monster trucks and other fancy cars with blow horns saying things like, "I drive this because my parents didn't pay enough attention to me" and "I drive this to show you that I make more money than you". The tagline is the funniest - "Lowest Ego Emissions". There's another one where a couple are sitting in their car and the wife honks the horn at the big truck in front of them because they don't go on the green. A huge guy gets out of the car and starts heading back to their car with an obviously furious look on his face. But the guy walks right by their car and goes to the monster truck in back of them (not so subtly hinting that meaner people buy trucks). Anyway, after seeing 25 years of commercials with scantily-clad women ohhing and aweing over the guy driving the monster truck after he's just returned from his off-roading trip with his buddies it's nice to see something different for a change. So tomorrow when I drive my base model Honda Accord I might just take it off-roading to see how it holds up. And if I get stuck in the mud I'll have to call one of two dozen guys I know that own a truck. Maybe I'll find a real use for them afterall.
BUT, now I'm starting to see some "anti-truck" commercials...I believe the first ones in my lifetime. I think it's passat and/or jetta that are running them. Basically, it's people driving around in monster trucks and other fancy cars with blow horns saying things like, "I drive this because my parents didn't pay enough attention to me" and "I drive this to show you that I make more money than you". The tagline is the funniest - "Lowest Ego Emissions". There's another one where a couple are sitting in their car and the wife honks the horn at the big truck in front of them because they don't go on the green. A huge guy gets out of the car and starts heading back to their car with an obviously furious look on his face. But the guy walks right by their car and goes to the monster truck in back of them (not so subtly hinting that meaner people buy trucks). Anyway, after seeing 25 years of commercials with scantily-clad women ohhing and aweing over the guy driving the monster truck after he's just returned from his off-roading trip with his buddies it's nice to see something different for a change. So tomorrow when I drive my base model Honda Accord I might just take it off-roading to see how it holds up. And if I get stuck in the mud I'll have to call one of two dozen guys I know that own a truck. Maybe I'll find a real use for them afterall.
Monday, November 06, 2006
The Pineapple Express...
Wow - we have had an amazing amount of rain the past few days. My Mom has been visiting from Detroit this week and I think she is surprised by the non-stop rain. I have to admit, it's been a pretty crazy amount. I heard we had 3 inches in the last 24 hours. I guess the rain is coming from a jet stream out of Hawaii...hence the name "pineapple Express". Our trip out to the coast this weekend was filled with, you guessed it, more rain. In fact, many of the rivers towards the coast are now overflowing their banks. The beach was awesome though, it was fun to go to the aquarium while we were there - - they had a special crab exhibit. At our house, the basement has a little water in it and our roof has a small leak too....but nothing to get too excited about. I'll keep you posted....
Friday, November 03, 2006
2 New Auctions - Paw Prints & Elegance
My Mom is in town visiting this weekend so Devera is getting tons of time with Grandma & Grandpa...she's having a fantastic time! Tonight we are headed out to the coast for the weekend, definitely looking forward to that. I did get a chance to put up 2 new auctions today. The first is my annual paw print set - - with a brand new color combination, and the second is a beautiful set created using the gold reflective glass that I enjoy so much. I think of all my sets, these are the 2 that I always get the most questions/interest in. Good luck to those of you who are bidding - - I really appreciate the support! If you are interested in taking a look at either of the auctions CLICK HERE. I'll try to post later in the weekend and let you know how the coast was.