Saturday, July 31, 2010

Random end of July stuff...


  • Ade's big-girl bedtime is still working... fingers crossed. What a life changer!
  • Ade is in love with her Zhu Zhu pets, an obsession started by Grammy's bday gift of Nugget. The Zhu Zhus, I admit, are an obsession I don't mind. These little hamsters are adorable and I love all their little many accessories!
  • Last weekend we drove to Jenna's baby shower in PA - lordy what a trip. Although it was awesome seeing everyone, the drive up was hellish. With traffic and pregnant-lady peestops, it took 9.5 hours. On the way back, we decided to go halfway, stay at a Hampton Inn past DC, and finish the drive Sunday morning.
  • While I was gone, Ryan took Ade on a hike, complete with backpacks and snacks.
  • We also took some photos during Jenna's maternity photo shoot that are adorable!

  • The garden box that Ryan and I bought each other last year for our 5year anniversary (wood is the traditional gift...) is planted and thriving this summer. We did an early morning harvest this week, which Ade adored:

Daddy's guest appearance

From Ryan...

So here I am with a long overdue cameo appearance on Adelaide's blog. The last 3 years have certainly been something and I really am lucky to be the father of such an awesome little girl. Coming back from a week at the beach and getting to have a wonderful Father's day before going back to work was a special treat. This was really the first year where Adelaide was excited to make Father's day special for me. She was even so generous as to let me watch the World Cup in the morning instead of her usual eye opener of Max & Ruby and Sponge Bob. That's pretty much how the day went, I relaxed, watch 3 games of the World Cup and capped it off with dinner of my new grill. It was a wonderful balance of relaxation and spending time with Stephanie and Adelaide. Part of what enabled this relaxation was a morning trip out by Adelaide and Stephanie to do some errands. Upon returning Adelaide was extremely excited to tell me she got me a card for my birthday and ran over to show me. Stephanie and I both protested, saying not to show it to me until my birthday. At first Ade put the card behind her back and she told me she got me an Elmo card. Then it became too much for her to bear and she had to show me. I looked away as she tried to show me, but she quickly shifted to remain in front of me... insisting that I look. Did I see it, maybe...

Adelaide and Stephanie had another surprise up their sleeves for my birthday a couple days later. Adelaide did a much better job keeping this one under wraps. I knew they got me a cake.. because of Adelaide (so maybe much better is a stretch), but the details remained a mystery. The morning of my birthday came and Adelaide finally was able to give me the Elmo card, she was overjoyed. My manager at work was nice enough to give me my birthday off, so while Adelaide was at school, and Stephanie was on conference calls, I was enjoying one the best soccer matches I've ever seen, the US extra time victory over Algeria to secure their group. As the work/school day can to a close, Stephanie was off to get Adelaide and my surprise cake before we went to Buffalo Wild Wings at my request of course. But... seemingly hours later, the door opens and Adelaide comes racing over to my chair and leaps right up. She was wasting no time, she needed to tell me right away that they got me a cake with "hot dogs and basketballs". Naturally, this is a surprise. I can honestly say I was not expecting a cake ... with "hot dogs and basketballs. It was in fact hot dogs andsoccer balls..... Adelaide made these selections because in her mind they are two of my favorite things. The selections were so obscure of course that the employee being told about this cake actual asked for confirmation that Stephanie was indeed serious with these selections. Of course Adelaide was serious and it was delicious. We might not have gone to Buffalo Wild Wings because it was too late (sushi was a good alternative and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings the next day), but Adelaide and Steph did a great job of making a very special couple days!

July 2010 tweets

  1. Someone mowing lawn before 7am. I applaud the enthusiasm, but I'm sure others still sleeping on a Sat aren't so thrilled. #fb
  2. @sethpackham Big Brother to just name one! Now what *I* miss?
  3. @kristameyer not exactly. We have 3 not 4 boxes, DVR only working on 1 and no ondemand. Live tv wha???
  4. @kmbauer when in this room we don't *always* have laptops/phones, strange to say! Ha!
  5. Wish the DirecTV box had the time on it like the TWC box did. I need to buy a clock for this room now. Weird.
  6. DirecTV install ruined our whole day, our dinner plans, and still isn't even installed properly. #doublefail #fb
  7. Looks like no DirecTV for us after all... they can't find anywhere to put it on our giant huge roof. #fail #fb
  8. Karaoke Revolution Glee is coming out in November. Party at my house! Dueling/dueting Wii and PS3!
  9. Wow - that was my 3000th tweet!
  10. Anyone have the cordless phone systems w bluetooth that add your cells to the topology? Feedback? #fb
  11. RT @ibmdesign “Design is so critical it should be on the agenda of every meeting in every single department." Tom Peters
  12. RT @hotdogsladies MSOffice needs 1 tiny feature to win me over-an indefatigable robot who stands by my desk, holding a gun to my head 4ever.
  13. Lightning fried our cordless phone. Cycling through handsets on a 20min rotation to get thru 2day's calls until I can buy new ones.
  14. RT @ibmrational: Software is best developed by team reacting & responding to each other to achieve best outcomehttp://bit.ly/whyJAZZ
  15. I am a travel agent and a psychologist so far today.
  16. @kristameyer Stop.
  17. @kristameyer One DVR viewable from all TVs!!! Not as good as storing on the cloud, but one step closer w/ DirecTV
  18. TWC entirely down - no cable, modem, phone line. Glad I have mobile broadband, and looking forward to our direcTV install Friday!
  19. Grandpa Nino told me I reminded him of a tennis player. When I mimed swinging racket, he said, "You don't know much about tennis, do you?"
  20. @susanpeich New LG. The drawer model looked great in the kitchen, but we've handwashed too many dishes the past 2 years.
  21. @danieltosh Add Raleigh NC to your tour!
  22. My dishwasher now cleans dishes. Imagine that!
  23. So glad we are home for the afternoon though sad it was such a whirlwind trip to PA!
  24. Outside of DC for the night at a Hampton Inn. Thanks, IBM, for the corp rate! I love hotels. #fb
  25. Jenna has been showered! #fb
  26. Leechburg is oddly precisely the same as 15 yrs ago. #fb
  27. Grand tally was 5 rest stops plus traffic to total an 8hr drive turning into 9.5 hrs. But, we are here and we've been fed. All is well. #fb
  28. I hate grooved pavement. Rest stop #4. #fb
  29. Rest stop #3. #fb
  30. Rest stop #3. #fb
  31. Headed to PA w pregnant sister for baby shower - wanna place bets on # of rest stops??? :-) #fb
  32. RT @parenting As a Parenting subscriber, you are eligible to earn up to 20% cash back at 100 of your favorite storeshttp://bit.ly/dxzzjW
  33. @heathermnelson Uh oh - were you left off our invite??
  34. @1capplegate I have this feeling you will be an amazing mom. If the news is correct, from a twitter stranger, congrats!
  35. Ade just told me she made up a word: turks. She says this word means when you go on lots of vacations. I want to turks.#fb
  36. We got caught at B&N yesterday during crazy thunderstorm. This morning kids books are stuck in my head. #fb
  37. Always oddly satisfied when I throw trash from my car away in the garbage outside of Target. #fb
  38. Another day of not much at all. Might be the last one like this for the next 10 weekends, based on our current calendar of plans! Yikes!
  39. RT @burckart: Congrats @andyivory on the birth of his first little boy this morning!
  40. Inexplicably relaxed this weekend. #fb
  41. So excited we're going back to OBX again next month! Ry and I can eat out and Ade can bury Gpa in the sand! Fun for all!#fb
  42. Often I catch myself thinking, "I love my home." However, it is never when I am outside surveying my appalling landscaping.
  43. @susanpeich @heatherfrantz Feels like I could lose my life on these rental sites, hunting through. (Hours later...)
  44. Scratchy throat, burning eyes. Tired. Sinuses.
  45. RT @jowyang Old Spice Man responds to digerati, great videos http://tcrn.ch/a4LLYJ Ashton one is funny. Which brands will follow suit?
  46. Looking for 3+bedroom over Aug14 weekend in Myrtle Beach - any suggestions? #fb
  47. Got my latest hardcover blogbook installment - relieves the guilt I have for not scrapbooking ;-) Try it out:http://tinyurl.com/3akrys9
  48. Ade went to sleep by herself like an angel, but Ryan is tossing and fidgeting. I reminded him to stop acting out for my attention. #fb
  49. RT @rationalsupport Innovate 2010 is coming to Costa Mesa, CA on July 28. http://ow.ly/2b1dj via @ibminnovate
  50. So thankful for the slow email today. (No whammies!)
  51. Ade's 3 yro checkup - her growth scale put her in the "small peanut" range:-) Enjoying a DD donut treat before school/work now. #fb
  52. Just got my settlement from an Expedia class action suit - $7.90 in a coupon for my next Expedia purchase. Woowoo!
  53. Redoing work I did last week, sigh. :-(
  54. @JazzDotNet OldSkool request - just now found myself wishing for static screencaps in addition to videos on proj pgs
  55. This Krispy Kreme in Wake Forest is going to be bad for my health, but good for my belly. Eating my second one today...
  56. There are Zhu Zhu pets running rampant around my house.#fb
  57. Despicable Me was so cute! #fb
  58. @susanpeich ouch
  59. With my Italian heritage and Ryan's soccer genes, Ade is a little footie! Go kid! #fb
  60. At Ade's first soccer practice! She is running around shouting, "Goal!!!" #fb
  61. @kristameyer til lunch - planning to eat at The Granary then to Southpoint to shop
  62. Happy 3-0 to @jmet7980 @Jenna Trunzo and g'morning from lovely Fearrington! #fb
  63. @jmet7980 and I are in robes and slippers eating truffles watching Big Brother after 5star meal at Fearrington. Happy bday, Jenna! #fb
  64. @kmbauer Agree! This will be my 3rd visit - just finished tea! Yumm lemon curd...
  65. Leaving to celebrate @jmet7980 bday at Fearrington! Food and pampering, here we come! :-)
  66. @kristameyer Get you some goodies??
  67. If your tweet is nothing but a link, random punctuation!!!! -- motivational shouts (let's go!) and c8zeee speld wrds plz dnt bother. #fb
  68. Crafting a good email is like working clay. You have to get started with all the ideas, then massage into an organic shape. #loadofcrap #fb
  69. Join me for the shortest marketing conference ever:http://j.mp/bffIVj
  70. What a nice morning - even I feel tempted to do some physical activity. Jogging seems appealing from my front porch rocker. #fb
  71. I always set volume to even number settings, making it sometimes too quiet or too loud. #ItsJustMyOCD #fb
  72. Anyone wanna share a bottle of wine with me? I've got an excellent Barossa open... :-) #fb
  73. @sethpackham Ug, poor little buddy.
  74. The SeaMonkeys are already dead :-( @jmet7980
  75. @burckart Yes! Let me read one book on it. Perfect trial.
  76. eReaders should give 30day money-back for those of use not sure if we still need the tactile feel of a book, but willing to give it a try.
  77. @burckart mighta convinced me to grab a Nook for $150. Considering it.
  78. Finger crossed Adelaide sleeps through the fireworks, the 4th of July being a night of angst for all parents of young children.
  79. Ate a lot of grilled cookout food, but still sitting in bed hungry for some reason.
  80. Relaxing, and just truly chilling out today before out little cookout. Feels good to do nothing.
  81. @sethpackham We loved it. Great movie.
  82. @susanpeich Happy birthday, Dana!!!!
  83. @burckart Bring some over later!
  84. I'm at Coquette (Circle at North Hills, Raleigh).http://4sq.com/99x739
  85. Upon hearing Ry & I were going on a date, Ade took my mom and sister's hands exlcaiming "Yea! Now we have time to do craft projects!" #fb
  86. If the invites were evites, can you send electronic thanks too or do I have to hunt up stamps and addresses?#modernetiquette #fb
  87. So annoyed when I look for someone and they aren't on Facebook. Bothered.
  88. I want to go on a cruise too.
  89. RT @JazzDotNet: Jazz.net is now on Facebook! Stop by to share some of your experiences with us and become a fan!http://bit.ly/d2JYb0
  90. Today feels like a Friday. But it's not. :-(

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