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July 30, 2006
It's Internet Mecca!!
Or at least a close second to ebaumsworld.com...a big hats off to my sister Becca for showing me this fantastic website, from which I am now building my Christmas list.
The Most Coveted Christmas Present 2006 would, of course, have to be the as-authentic-as-possible-without-being-in-a-galaxy-far-far-away-or-majority-shareholder-in-Industrial-Light-and-Magic Light Saber.
Isn't it gorgeous? The only drawback (which would be conquered in another galaxy, or by official licensure by ILM, to be sure), is that the blade is not retractable. But my sister, who in fact has title to one already, says the sounds and lighting more than compensate for this shortcoming. *pining* I want mine in "Darth Vader Red."
Another must-have from ThinkGeek.com - what else? - the Blue LED Faucet Light, of course! The water at 2602 Arcadia Drive must look like the substance the Third Kind wash their cytoplasmic pseudopodia with!
And without a doubt, all of you who have stockings within my sphere of influence should be expecting this most-excellent emotional gratifier: The Mini Pet Cactus! I can hear my sister-in-law squealing already! (I didn't want to spoil the surprise, Kristen, but this is just too wonderful)
The description from ThinkGeek.com was, as the late Robert Palmer would say, "simply irresistible":
"Virtual pets are fun, but sometimes they can be a virtual pain in the virtual backside. You have to virtually feed them and virtually play with them. And yes, they virtually love you, but it's just not the same as real love. But one has to admit, most virtual pets are easy to carry around, whereas most real pets either won't fit in your pocket (like a dog) or wouldn't survive in your pocket (like a trout). We have the solution: the Mini Pet Cactus.
The Mini Pet Cactus will love you unconditionally. All you have to do it is water it once a month for about a minute (instructions on packaging). Each cactus comes with a strap to attach to your jacket, cell phone, etc., so you can take it with you everywhere. Nothing says fun like talking to your cactus in a public place - until security asks you to leave, that is. Want to display your new pet at home or in the office? Try the Mini Pet Cactus Stand (sold separately). It has an adhesive back to attach to a wall, your monitor, your forehead, etc. The Mini Pet Cactus is waiting to be adopted…by you! " (thanks, ThinkGeek.com)
Is that not something we all want?!?!?! Nay, we all need?? My desk at work is already anthropomorphically pleading for one!
I could, I suppose, wax pietistic and remind myself that there are those in the world who do not have food to eat or adequate clothing and shelter - and here we are buying and selling apparatuses to make our running water look like "futuristic alien mouthwash," but I'M NOT! I'm going to relish the blessings God has bestowed upon us to play Skywalker with our nearly-authentic Light Sabers, and derive a sense of belonging from miniature cacti.
Now, if you'll excuse me, Stephen and I have a Star Wars date.
Posted by brad at 03:47 PM | Comments (6)
July 29, 2006
Care for a piece of Octopus anyone?
So, Stephen wanted an octopus/ shark birthday party. The shark was covered by the blow-up pool and the pinata. That left the cake being an octopus. I kinda had an idea in my head for how I could pull off an octupus using cupcakes for the tentacles. It worked. I was so pumped. I googled octupi cakes and didn't get much in the way of anything. Very disappointing. The body of the cake is a formula can that just baked with a dome shape at the top naturally. Then I just tapered the tentacles with big and mini cupcakes. That icing under any other circumstances (besides octupi or maybe halloween) would have been extremely disturbing, but worked great for Mr. Octo here. I had hoped to put the face on him with icing instead of candy, but as you can see in the pictures, the icing is drooping because it is melting. It was seriously that hot that day and in our house. I think on a cooler day with a better icing situation it could have come out even cuter. As well as with Lexie's starfish. But ya know it tasted great and almost all of it got eaten. Stephen was thrilled and now when somebody googles 'octopus cake' that will actually a pretty good idea of how to make one. if I do say so myself.
We didn't catch a picture of Lexie smiling. But she did like her cake. She was just so hot. Eventually that cake ended up a big pile of mush. I think she ate a good bit of it. And she shared with the other babies (Bryce and Natalie)in high chairs on either side of her. It was good practice for them since both of them have their big 1st bdays coming up soon.
Posted by adrienne at 10:59 AM | Comments (6)
July 23, 2006
Sometimes it's sweet to be a Presbyterian
This morning, Reverend Sans T delivered a terrific sermon on the Davidic covenant. So the word "covenant" was heard quite frequently.
Stephen was sitting on my lap, and I typically try to engage him in nutshell bits of a sermon to sort of "bring it down to him" - and to keep him awake so he naps later while we want to (shameful, right? I must confess, though). I whispered, "Stephen, can you say 'covenant'?"
Stephen: "Cubbanant"
"It means God loves us and makes us promises to take care of us. You're a part of that covenant, and God loves you!"
His big blue eyes got even bigger and he looked at me with awe: "Daddy, I'm a cubbanant!"
Good stuff! God's so gracious!
Posted by brad at 05:17 PM | Comments (3)
July 12, 2006
Happy Birthday!
Happy 1st Birthday, Lexie Lou!
Posted by adrienne at 10:16 AM | Comments (2)
July 09, 2006
A Review
We saw this twice while we were in Houma this past weekend. We really enjoyed it. We saw it with Becca, Brad's sister, and then later we kidnapped his grandmother, Miggy, and took her to see it. Meryl Streep does an incredible job. And it was interesting to see Anne Hathaway all grown up and not the girl from Disney's Princess Diaries. That world (of high fashion) is so far removed from my life that it was hard to watch and believe that it is real. One of Becca's friends said of the movie, "It will make you want to go shopping and never eat again." In a way that sums up the movie. But there are also good lessons like not judging people because they ignore fashion or because they are really interested in fashion and in the end being true to yourself (ideals, morals, friends, etc.) over the illusions of glitz and glamour. Obviously because this movie was made in Hollywood there are things we didn't agree with, but overall it was pretty funny and we really enjoyed it. I didn't know it was made from a book, but now I've won the book off eBay and will be reading it as soon as it gets here. Favorite quote~ "Oh, you look so skinny" "Do I? Oh thank you. I haven't eaten anything in 3 weeks and when I feel like I'm going to faint I eat a cube of cheese. I'm one stomach flu away from my goal weight."
I went to see this one last night with my sister, Stephanie. We had been warned that it wasn't as good. I don't know if I would say that. I think I will continue to watch the first one over and over again when I get a craving for pirates, but this second one had much more gruesome stuff to go with all the funny stuff you were looking forward to. I don't know that I will want to watch it over and over again. It is very long. And they do manage to reintroduce quite a few of the characters from the first one in surprising places. On the whole I am glad I saw it and will go see the third one whenever it comes out. If you go see this movie stay through the credits and catch the surprise at the end. (though I guess it isn't a surprise now, is it?)
This picture is from the movie/documentary Paperclips. Brad got this movie from Netflix because it had an unreleased Alison Kraus song on it. We watched it a couple of nights ago and it was very moving. I recommend it to homeschooling families when you are covering the Holocaust or WW2. Here is the synopsis:Whitwell Middle School in rural Tennessee is the setting for this documentary about an extraordinary experiment in Holocaust education. Struggling to grasp the concept of six-million Holocaust victims, the students decide to collect six-million paper clips to better understand the extent of this crime against humanity. The film details how the students met Holocaust survivors from around the world and how the experience transformed them and their community.
I have read many biographies of Holocaust survivors and seen a few movies. In this film you see a few survivors tell some of their memories. It is very difficult to watch. Now that I have small children the thought of living in that time brings intense pain. I have no clue what it was really like. I am humbled by the fact that I live in ease and comfort and peace. I do not know, nor can I even begin to understand the trauma, pain and agony that so many went through. It is hard to believe that something so atrocious really happened, but there is no limit to the depravity of man's heart without God. The message of the film was that we don't need to forget those who died. And that that is what happens when hatred and intolerance reign. I agree that we shouldn't forget all those who died. And that we should be very grateful that we were born in America. But the answer is not tolerance and love toward all, but every knee and every heart bowed in surrender to our Lord Jesus Christ. As that happens and we love our neighbors as ourselves then the fear of something similar happening again will be gone.
Posted by adrienne at 02:24 PM | Comments (4)
July 08, 2006
Thank you, Stacy & Clinton!
Friday nights with LesBourgeoisie, if we're not hanging out with friends, are spent unwinding from the busy week, usually over bought-food and some moderate consumption of alcohol. I like to watch a movie, but inevitably I'll walk into the living room about to ask Adrienne, "What do you want to rent?" and she already has it turned to TLC.
"What Not to Wear" is on!
So I sit down and try to discuss what movie we'll watch - but I end up mesmerized. "We'll just finish this one...just to see how Nick does the hair." But we always finish, and then watch the next one too. Another guilty pleasure.
Before I packed on post-marital weight, I was a big "style-over-comfort" kinda guy. Then I got fat, and I just wanted what fit. Now, almost 40 lbs lighter, I'm liking what I can fit into, and we need to watch our clothing budget more closely. I think I'll call "What Not to Wear" a fitness aid, right?
Stacy London (with a very sarcastic look that says "Interesting."): "Hmmm...look at this. A Corduroy. Leopard print. Jumper."
Which she flings into the stainless steel trash can ŕ la Oscar the Grouch.
Adrienne and I fall off the couch laughing. It's great stuff, folks.
Posted by brad at 08:49 PM | Comments (4)
You'll always have a special place in my heart, Alison, but...
...gosh, I'm so diggin' this guy Sufjan! He's like the Porterhouse steak of music - and it gets cooked closer to perfection with each album - though I've only completely immersed myself into two of them - Greetings from Michigan and Illinois. But that's OK...A Sun Came and Seven Swans are both on their way here.
When I listen to Alison Krauss, her rich voice is great, and she has extraordinary musicians in her band, Union Station...I love the sound of the Dobro. I just really find the music deeply entertaining. Butthis guy...wow. I've never had music just haunt me the way his does. Both musically and even more with the lyrics. I typically don't pay too much attention to lyrics. Adrienne does, and it drives her nuts when I really enjoy a song for its vocals, musical quality, etc., and the lyrics are all glorifying a one-night stand or something. Gosh, I want to like re-publish all these lyrics into book form and meditate on and dissect them like an English professor would do with his class over Milton, Donne, T.S. Eliot, or Whitman.
Though his style and art is all his own, he's like a combination of so many different artists, to me. When I've described him, after my initial raving, I've said, "He's like Simon & Garfunkel, more mellow Smashing Pumpkins, The Fifth Dimension, a touch of bluegrass, and a flamboyant high school musical all rolled into one act. And with LOTS of different instruments - all of which he plays himself."
Continue reading "You'll always have a special place in my heart, Alison, but..."
Posted by brad at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2006
There's a birthday boy!
Posted by adrienne at 04:11 PM | Comments (6)