Shoes Blocks Kitties

Here are some recent pics and vids for ya!

Feeding her baby and building with blocks


Allie has now learned how to put her hat on by herself...this just happened to be during nakie time!

Hanging out with Daddy and Hershey

I inherited my shoe obsession from my grandmother. Now I dutifully pass it down to my daughter.


Allie dancing



Allie building



Allie is a good mama



Allie on the phone

Lake Tahoe, July 2008

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you are quite likely on the verge of a nervous breakdown and just need to get out of town for a little R&R for a few days? This was one of those vacations. I had reached the end of my rope and just needed to get out of the day-to-day hustle and bustle for a little bit. So we did some research and ended up in Lake Tahoe. It was exactly what I needed! A nice vacation on the water with nothing planned, doing things on a whim and when we felt like it. The lake was gorgeous and the weather was a beautiful 80-degrees and sunny!

On Sunday we went to the pool and then walked to Harvey's and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Allie was dancing the entire time and drank about a third of Mike's chocolate shake! On Monday we spent the day on the water, walked to Coldstone and had our fave (Mint Chocolate Chip with cookie dough), went to the pool, and then drove to Applebee's later that night for dinner. On Tuesday we checked out and then stopped for breakfast before heading back down the hill. It was a great three days!

The view from our hotel room balcony at Royal Valhalla

The minute we walked in our room Allie pointed at the lake and just yelled out in delight! She loved going out onto the balcony and watching the water or the horse carriages go by. We loved sitting on the balcony and just taking in the clean Sierra air. It was so nice just to sit and have a drink and read a book while watching the lake.

We went out to the pool a couple of times. Even though we didn't get a good shot of it, Allie loved her raft!

Munching away after the pool

We spent a good portion of Monday at the beach. This was Allie's first real time playing in sand...she had a blast!

Daddy building sand castles and teaching her how to use a shovel - she learned super quick!

In the water with Mama

Tuckered out after a day in the sun...

On the way home we stopped at IHOP for breakfast. This is what Allie got...the before and after. She didn't eat much but she sure had fun doing it!

It was a great trip and we hope to go back soon!

Driver's Reaction Time

A friend of mine, in her blog, said that the average driver's reaction time is 0.75 seconds, or one car-length, per 10 mph according to an automotibile manual.

Test your reaction time here. To be honest, I scored very slow...it told me to go get a cup of coffee!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf

CA Wildfire pictures

Here are some awesome pics of the California wildfires. Leave it to a Boston website to post the best pics of our state's fires.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/07/californias_continuing_fires.html

Bored? Donate!

On the days where I feel like I found the end of the internet, I go to http://www.freerice.com. It's a multiple-choice vocabulary game, and every right answer you give will donate 20 grains of rice to people in needy countries. I know 20 grains of rice doesn't sound like much, but in less than 15 minutes tonight, I donated 4,000 grains of rice. The game is terribly addicting and fun!

Since www.freerice.com was introduced in Oct0ber 2007, this month has been the slowest so far in the history of the site, and right now is when these poor and poverty-stricken countries need the most help.

So please - if you're bored, go give it a shot. It doesn't cost you a thing but time, and hey - who coudn't stand to broaden their vocabulary a little every day?

(Thanks mamajeeper!)

Randoms

I cleaned off my phone so here are some random pics from the past week!
First today - we spent all morning outside in the sprinkler and then Allie begged to go back out after we got home from Target!

And again...

Hanging out

Bath hair!


Mmmmm...Jamba Juice

The latest Jib Jab

Hehe - No matter who you're for, this is funny!

JibJab - Time for Some Campaignin'

My sentiments exactly...

From now on, I'm gonna show this to everyone who tells me I have a walk in the park because I work at home...

Quick outside trip!

Allie and I have been cooped up in the house for two days due to the smoke and heat (and my crazy work schedule)...but we just couldn't take it anymore and I took her outside for a little bit today. She loves her new playset slide thing-a-majig!