goGUgo

Using Pictobrowser

2008-10-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

I just posted a piece on Uptake about a recent visit to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Thanks to a nifty piece of software, I was able to include a great photo slide show through my Flickr feed.Pictobrowser is a quick and easy tool that takes a set from your Flickr stream and makes it into a nifty slide show, with hardly any fuss.Of course, I was having trouble with

Ideas from BlogHer08 - it's about time!

2008-09-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

As I think about getting Kitchen Gadget Girl up and running, and driving traffic and readers to the site, I uncovered a host of ideas from BlogHer that I had not processed. I share them here, mostly to keep track for myself, but just in case they might be useful to someone else.One of the speakers I heard that weekend was Anne-Marie Nichols. Her Write Spot blog shows bloggers how to promote your

Photo tips for Flickr

2008-09-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

I love using Flickr - I mostly use it to make photos ready for my blogs. My food blog, Kitchen Gadget Girl, uses lots of photos, so this morning, I ran out of room on my free Flickr account. Fortunately, I remembered how to make my photos smaller by exporting them out of iPhoto. Once I did that, I was able to upload everything I needed. Here is what I did:1. In iPhoto, select the photos I want to

Money does grow on trees...

2008-09-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

at least, that is what my kids think!The Big Guy is actually pretty good with money management. In January, we decided to give him an allowance, and after figuring out that a weekly plan would not work for us (who ever has $1 bills in their wallet) we came up with a monthly payout. The first of each month, he gets his allowance and promptly organizes it into his Learning Cents Bank - 55% in spend

Remembering September 11th

2008-09-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

The internet is full of beautifully written tributes to 9/11, some are here, here and here. But this afternoon, as I stopped by our local fire station to take this picture, I tried to explain to my kids what happened on 9/11/01.Both kids talked about it in class today, talked about the Twin Towers and the disaster. I am not sure how many details they heard, but for some reason, tonight I felt as

Alaska for photo Friday

2008-08-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Debbie at DeliciousBaby started Photo Fridays. She is looking for bloggers to post a fun travel photo on Friday, then share the photo. Here is my submission for today, a photo from our recent trip to Talkeetna, Alaska.

Is it so hard to believe

2008-08-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

that my name is Gudrun? This weekend I received an email from someone I met at BlogHer, and she addressed it thusly:Hi Gudrun (eek - I don't know your real name)Really? The fact that my name is in my email and on my business cards is not enough to make it real? Gudrun is a real name. Honestly.My favorite - when I am signing up for something, or buying something, and they ask for my name, and I

Two kinds of swim moms

2008-07-26T15:57:00.001-07:00

IMHO, there are two kinds of swim moms. The first is aware, alert and focused on their child. They arrange themselves on the pool deck so they can see the race, making sure they are there to greet their child when they exit the water. They might take photos, they might not. They are probably wearing a shirt for their team, and have most definitely been a volunteer whenever asked.These moms carry

Damn USPS and their boxes

2008-07-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

I don't normally like to swear, but after today's experience with the USPS, I must vent! Two post offices, two boxes and some tears later, I finally have my package shipped off to Australia (late, I might add, for a birthday party, but that is another story)...First post office, this morning at 9:30am - I took my two presents in, took them to the counter and asked if I should use the Flat Rate

BlogHer: Rule 1 and 2

2008-07-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

1. Stop entering into every conversation or interaction with someone else with the idea that it will turn into a blog post. Stop talking like a blog post. Relax, enjoy the interactions!2. Comfortable shoes are a must - really, I kid you not.P.S. These are notes to myself as I participate in BlogHer this weekend. Sometimes a girl just needs a little reminder.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-09T07:26:00.001-07:00

Oak Leaf HydrangeaJuly 2008

Ordering cards for BlogHer

2008-07-02T20:05:00.001-07:00

Ack, BlogHer is only three weeks away and today the pre-conference guide was released. It suggested bringing business cards - business cards? What business am I in exactly? But, I dutifully marched myself over to moo.com and found some great, retro-styled mini cards that will fit my needs perfectly. As soon as they arrive, I will post a picture. So cute they are, really!

Linking for contest-love

2008-07-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

I am a sucker for contests, I will enter one even if the prize is not remotely useful to me, like a set of personalized onesies for your triplets. But I do it anyway!Stefania at CityMama has a cool contest going - she is doing it to raise awareness of her new gig with Savvy Source, building a network of parent bloggers focused on local stuff. In addition to allowing me to enter the contest, she

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

First camping trip with Yuki the Prius, June 2008Thule Rack with a Thule BoxIce Bat and Plunko along for a ride

I love a good 4th of July parade

2008-06-27T12:56:00.001-07:00

I put together a list of parades in the Bay Area for UpTake, and thought I would share them here. A few years ago, we went to the Danville Parade, and I have to say it is one of the better ones. Get there early though, our friends told us that folks start camping out the night before!read more | digg story

Summer to-do list

2008-06-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

Besides it being beyond hot this last week, I also realized that summer vacation is short and I had better put together my to-do list before things get away from me. Here for your reading pleasure and amusement is what I hope to get done this summer:1. Replace the fence on the side yard (no, not myself, silly, hire someone!)2. Paint master bedroom and bathroom (hold-over from last summer)3.

A local's perspective: Palo Alto

2008-06-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

This morning, my blurb about Palo Alto was published on the UpTake blog. I enjoyed reminiscing about my hometown, and sharing my favorites. Since I had fun writing it, I thought I would repost it here and create a little meme. If you are reading this and I don't know you, please consider yourself tagged. I would also love to see responses from Erica from Plain Jane Mom, May-Ling, and Naomi from

Facebook secretary

2008-06-12T11:42:00.001-07:00

This would be perfect - along with someone to fold my laundry, fix my kid's lunches and blow dry my hair, a Facebook secretary would be just what I need!read more | digg story

Last Day of School Observations

2008-06-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday Thoughts, that is new and clever. Here are mine for today, not all necessarily related to school....I am disappointed that Hillary will not be the Democratic candidate, however, I will be voting Democrat this fall. Why any Hillary supporter would switch sides, I will not understand.Stay At Home Mom - that is an oxymoron. As I work less and less, I also stay home less and less. I am

Presenting Mr and Mrs GirdlePants

2008-06-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Big Guy loves reading Captain Underpants and yesterday, with the help of the Fourth Epic Novel, Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants, we all discovered our silly names. From here forward, our family shall be known as:Fluffy and Falafel Girdlepants, with their children Doofus and Stinky and dog Wafflechunks.Now, I know their is controversy about Captain Underpants (

Wordless Wednesday: Butterfly Power

2008-05-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

From Little A's butterfly projectMay 2008

How a 7 year old can ruin a birthday

2008-04-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

I know, at the advanced age of 29 (for the 10th time!), I should be a little more sensitive, but my son ruined my birthday and I want to complain about it.Grow up Gudrun, is what I am saying to myself. But he hurt my feelings.The Big Guy was tired of everyone having a birthday except him (Little A, DH and I all have our birthdays within a sever day period), so at my birthday dinner, he threw a

What is with Online Travel? Is it still a place to win?

2008-04-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

Check out this opinion about the online travel industry and what it would take to be successful. read more | digg story

In the news again

2008-04-23T07:24:00.001-07:00

I hope this will end soon - it is embarrassing, especially when people stop me in the street! Ack!

10 Sweet Years

2008-04-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary....it is also the birthday of Little A.Best anniversary gift ever.10 years is a long time, but frankly, with a couple kids thrown in there, it seems like just yesterday that DH and I met playing Ultimate Frisbee with Ebb&Flow. Now we are into that second decade of marriage where you really see if you can do it. The kids are getting older, they won't need us

The T-List Does Twitter: Join the Travel Twitterati! (Beta)

2008-04-16T11:00:00.001-07:00

A fun little application of Twitter for folks who are interested in travel and the travel industry. Lots of friends from T-list are already included, fun to see what everyone is up too!read more | digg story

Wordless Wednesday: Green Cast

2008-04-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

First cast, dislocated elbow, February 2008

Birthday party madness

2008-04-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have worked myself into a tizzy about a kid birthday.Little A's birthday is coming up in two weeks. She is oh so popular in her class (my dream undoubtedly), so I thought we should invite the whole class. Also, as room parent, I felt like being inclusive.But then I realized she has other friends outside her class, and we were slowly creeping up to 25 kids. After last year's 5th

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Musee D'OrsayMarch 2008

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame CathedralParis, FranceMarch 2008

The 80's: Would someone please enlighten me?

2008-03-07T16:07:00.001-08:00

What is the fascination with the 80's - you know, that decade a couple decades ago. The one that encouraged radical hairstyles, crazy music and strange clothing? There are 80's parties to go to, which always require 80's clothing - last time I wore a short denim skirt, leg warmers, and a polo shirt with the color up. Oh, and some hideous white jewelry. It was awful.Today, I have been forced to

Loving the public library!

2008-03-06T16:18:00.001-08:00

I think I am in love with my library again....My fondest memories were when I was but a young girl and I would go to the Los Altos Library after school and read Judy Blume books from the adult section. I loved my library then for providing me this unique (and salacious) opportunity.Now, I love them libraries (Menlo Park and Redwood City) because I can stop in after dropping the kids off somewhere

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Sonoma, CaliforniaFebruary 2008

Valentine's Day - the aftermath

2008-02-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

Besides being totally exhausted this morning, I think my kids were still coming off yesterday's sugar-high. Two, sometimes three, times a year, the school actually condones giving the kids copious amounts of candy, in an effort to celebrate a mostly Hallmark-holiday. But I digress.....For most of January and the first week of February, amidst much yelling, screaming and hair pulling, we managed

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-12T20:38:00.001-08:00

Big Thunder RailroadDisneylandJanuary 2008

Kidget Review: Peanut Butter Mixer

2008-02-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Today I received the Grandpa Witmer's Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Mixer, which I ordered after seeing it in a magazine. We eat natural peanut butter (well, sun butter and peanut butter) at home, which tends to separate, which drives me nuts, especially when I try to stir it and it comes out the top and the oil gets everywhere. This tool seems to combat that problem.You screw the supplied top on

I Blog For Life

2008-02-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

well, not really.But, I was so inspired by Jill's post over at SVMoms, who wrote about our wonderful weather in the Bay Area this morning, that I threw on my exercise clothes, grabbed the iPod and hit the street. It was so great to be outside with the big blue sky above, really helps a girl's overall optimism (either that or the barista this morning made mine a double...)I am listening a lot to

Valentine's Day Gift Swap

2008-01-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

Kailani over at An Island Life organized a Valentine's Day Gift Swap! I signed up a couple weeks ago, and today she emailed me with my swap partner, Naomi of superdumb supervillain.I love swaps - I did one back in 1994 or 1995 with a woman from New Zealand. It was organized on rec.food.cooking and the idea was to trade foodie things from your local area. I know I sent her a copy of San Francisco

Day of Beauty: Queen for a Day

2008-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

Back in December, I was the lucky winner of the Silicon Valley Mom's Blog Makeover Contest. This entirely random event has been such a source of excitement over the last 7 weeks, culminating in yesterday's Day of Beauty (said in a deep voice, with much drama!) It picked up steam in early January with the article in the Menlo Park Almanac (who knew so many of my neighbors read this weekly?), and

Pet Peeves

2008-01-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Gudrun's Pet Peeves1. Drivers who drive in the pouring rain without their lights on.1a. These very drivers who talk on their cellphones at the same time.2. Drivers who talk on their cellphones while driving (without using a hands free device). Yes, I know that this will soon be illegal, but it seems as though some people are getting in all they can before the deadline.3. People who call San

I am famous

2008-01-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

well, only really in my own mind. But yesterday, the Almanac, our local paper, posted a brief article about my contest winnings. Very exciting, a couple friends have emailed me and I feel very much like a celebrity :-)Yipee....

New Traditions

2008-01-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

I think we might have found our new Christmas Eve tradition - without going into a lot of detail, we have been trying to find a dinner/gift opening plan for Christmas Eve that is a mix of DH's traditions and my own. This year we seemed to have hit the nail on the head. In the afternoon, we made tamales (see previous post for details). At 5pm, we went to a children's Christmas Eve church service.

Car Buying Adventure

2007-12-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

Today, I bought a new car. Well, at least I negotiated over the phone with the dealer on a price for a new car, which will be available sometime in the next two weeks. The guy I was dealing with pulled every trick in the book. Here are the statements and actions I experienced over the 2 day period of negotiation:"We have one coming in tomorrow that was ordered for another couple, but they have

Starting a G-List

2007-12-19T13:17:00.001-08:00

Not that this will come as a surprise, but there are other Gudruns out there in blog land! I have found a couple:Gudrun PGudrun in Manchester, UKGudrun BloggaGudrun's Schmunzel-BlogThere has to be more out there, maybe I should start a G-List, like the even popular T-List of Travel Blogs. Anyone with the name Gudrun can add themselves to the list and we could create a big web of Gudruns. This

Marriage

2007-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

From Little A the other day:"I cannot wait to get married when I am older, but I don't want to kiss on the lips".

I won, I won: SVMoms Makeover

2007-12-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

I am so excited, Beth from the Silicon Valley Moms Blog just told me I won the Makeover Contest. I am so thrilled I cannot even stand it. For the real announcement, check this out. Prizes include:A transformation facial and classic massage at Thermae Day Spa and Salon. A hip and stylish outfit from Calla Clothing, along with a pair of shoes from Calla Kicks.Stylish haircut, manicure and makeup

Here Comes Another Bubble - The Richter Scales

2007-12-06T11:57:00.001-08:00

Hysterical, especially the part about blogging everything!

Candle Making for Gifts

2007-12-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

After reading an interesting post on Boogiemum about candle making, I finally found the time to do the same project with Little A. I was a little nervous, as I have not made candles before, but it actually turned out to be much easier than I anticipated, mostly because the directions on Boogiemum were so clear and she included pictures.I started with a pound of Parowax Household wax, which I cut

Advent Calendars for everyone!

2007-12-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, we had an au pair for a year from Switzerland, and she made us the greatest advent calendars I have ever had. Each day was a different surprise and she made the whole thing by hand. Sadly, she had to return home to take care of her parents, so she was not around another year, but ever since then, I have loved advent calendars. This year is no exception, although for different

Tamale making update

2007-12-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

For my zillions of readers who have been worrying themselves sick over my post from Thursday, I wanted to provide a follow up after my Cookie Exchange and Tamale Making Party. In short, it went great. Here are the details....Yesterday and this morning, I worked pretty hard. I had a great experience at Chavez Market, where I was able to pick up the masa, corn husks, pork and chicken, as well as

Mama's Christmas list

2007-11-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

Around our house lately, much energy and time has been focused on creating our Christmas lists. And even though I want to reduce the amount of items coming into the house this holiday season, I feel as though I should help out my husband, who I understand might be having trouble coming up with gift ideas. Any of these items, alone, or in multiples of 3, would be absolutely wonderful to find under

Under the weather and trying to do to much

2007-11-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

It is quite possible that I have too much planned for this weekend. I am slightly under the weather (a cold caught on our trip to San Diego), I think I am working a little too hard, and even though it is all for fun, I might need to cut back. Here is the deal:On Sunday, I am hosting my annual cookie exchange party. To this shindig, I invite 8 of my friends who enjoy baking (or those who don't!)

Wordless Wednesday

2007-11-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

Upside down on the Knights Tournament at LegolandNovember 2007(not pictured, Little A, gleefully next to the water blaster)

Pie Making

2007-11-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we decided to make 2 more pumpkin pies (we did not seem to get enough at Thanksgiving). In a rare turn of events, I found the patience to make them with the kids, even letting them help with the pie crusts. Little A demonstrates her pricking technique while the Big Guy shows what a good crimper he is.The pies turned out well (with all this help, how could they be bad?!). In fact, we

Stack O'Catalogs

2007-11-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

And the stack grows, although slowly. Up to eight inches, and it is not even December. I wonder if things will pick up after December 1, or maybe as we get closer to the last day to send items to arrive in time for Christmas.It would be interesting to find a way to measure the amount of emails that I get - at the moment, I am up to about 20 messages a day with special holiday savings!Related

Going Green this Christmas

2007-11-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

After writing my post earlier this month about keeping the lead out of our holidays, I got to thinking about having an overall greener Christmas season. In addition to buying less, wrapping in reusable packaging, and recycling the heck out of everything, I thought it might be good to try to cut back on my energy. The only problem with that is that I am addicted to pretty lights on the outside of

OMG, I forgot to post

2007-11-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

I forgot, I did not think it was going to happen, I had made it the rest of the way through the month without forgetting, even with a trip to San Diego thrown in. And I don't have a particularly good excuse, yesterday was pretty normal - after having my first facial (see here for the reason why), I spent a little time holiday shopping (mostly pointing out to my husband what I would like), the ran

Car Travel Bingo: Los Angeles Edition

2007-11-23T22:48:00.000-08:00

On our recent driving trip to Southern California, we packed a travel bingo game for the kids, you know, the kind where you have a grid with items that you are supposed to look for and check off. We played it on the way home and DH and I were amused by some of the squares - Water Tower, Tractor, Cow and Tollgate. These things seemed more at home in the wilds of Iowa, not necessarily relevant to

Day of Thanks

2007-11-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

Boogiemum has been celebrating November by posting everyday about something she is thankful for. I appreciate that she has taken the time to do that, as I really feel that I have waited until the last minute to think about what I am thankful for, and am worried that I will miss something. Here are 10 things that I am thankful for on a daily basis:My two wonderful children, who are great kids,

Stack O'Catalogs update

2007-11-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

While we were gone, I am sorry to report that we did not have a huge gain in the stack of holiday catalogs. Today, the stack rises to only 5 inches, a gain of 2.This afternoon, I did a little crafty activity - I made invitations for an upcoming party. The inside was done on the computer, and on the front of each card, I put a little folded origami Christmas tree, each invitation with a different

Must post, so tired...

2007-11-20T22:57:00.000-08:00

Another long day today, the last of our mini vacation. We woke up in Carlsbad after staying the night at the West Inn & Suites, a hotel I would highly recommend. From the moment we checked in, we were treated like their most important guests. The staff at the front desk were helpful and friendly, the free shuttle to Legoland was convenient, and even the restaurant next door was great. DH and I

White Lies...Go Through My Lips

2007-11-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

When is it ok to tell a white lie? And when is it ok to bring your kids in on the lie?Today, while at Legoland, we discovered that one of the rides was for kids age 6-13. There was another corresponding ride for kids age 3-5, but when we looked at it, we knew our 5 year old could handle the ride for older kids and it would allow us to stay together as a family. So, we instructed our 5 year old to

Big whales

2007-11-18T21:42:00.001-08:00

Shamu and some other killer whale Originally uploaded by goGUgo Today we visited Sea World in San Diego as part of our mini vacation. My sister joined us - my husband likes to say that his in-laws are very punctual. Our day ended with dinner in Old Town, which interestingly enough, was not what I had thought was Old Town, which turned out to be Bazaar del Mundo, which actually no longer

New time sink

2007-11-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

For research purposes, I joined Facebook (yeah, right), claiming that I needed to know what FB was about to help with my new job, mostly focused around new media marketing. So, I joined, and I have been building up my network. I found lots of friends from different parts of my lives. Then I started a group to find high school classmates for my upcoming reunion. Then I found a friend who is

Rest stops along the way

2007-11-16T23:39:00.001-08:00

.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Rest Stop,originally uploaded by goGUgo. Today was a big day - the kids got out of school at 12:15pm and by 12:45pm we were on the road, bound for San Diego. Nine hours later, we pull into Pacific Beach, our home for the next 3

Salad days and The Stack O'Catalogs

2007-11-15T21:20:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, I have a great lunch day. Three days a week, I work from home, and sometimes all the stars are in alignment for a great lunch. Today was one of those days. From last night's dinner, I had saved leftover salad (without dressing), along with organic red bell pepper and black beans. This lunchtime, I added an organic avocado and a firm Fuyu persimmon. I whipped up a Dijon

Wordless Wednesday

2007-11-14T20:20:00.001-08:00

View from the 42nd Floor of the Mandarin Oriental HotelSan Francisco, November 2007

Blogger Butt

2007-11-13T21:32:00.000-08:00

My husband called me this morning, in the middle of my work-from-home day. I had been sitting on the bed, working on the computer (blogging for my current job) and when I got up to get the phone, I had the worse case of Blogger Butt. You know, when your butt falls asleep because you have been sitting on your a$$ blogging for the last 2.5 hours. It was good he called when he did, or who knows how

Veteran's Day

2007-11-12T21:20:00.000-08:00

I want to write about Veteran's Day (yes, I know the actual day was yesterday), but I am at a loss at where to start. My family has several veterans, men who fought in WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. My dad, uncle, grandfather, several great-uncles, all participated in real ways in the wars of their day. And my grandmother participated too, as a nurse. All of that is in the past, ending with the

More fun with tomatoes

2007-11-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I posted about Daylight Savings and Tomato Canning. This week, my chef friend sent me a new recipe to preserve roasted tomatoes:Sprinkle tomato halves with sugar and kosher salt and olive oil and roast in a slow oven 200' for a long time or even over night. Once they are dehydrated completely, layer them in clean jars or plastic container with olive oil on top to make a seal. Keep

Experimenting with Quince

2007-11-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

For some reason, I am super fascinated with the fruit called Quince. They are lumpy, bumpy and when ripe, smell intoxicating. A neighbor has a tree in her backyard and was gracious enough to share many, many with me. The beautiful scent made my kitchen smell wonderful, but this week, it was clear I needed to start doing something with them.When I think of quince, the first thing that comes to

Get the Lead Out: Safe Holiday Shopping

2007-11-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard about the recall of toys from China that contained lead, I was a little concerned, but not so much that I did anything. Then another recall, and a little more concern, but then again, not much done. When the recalls started rolling in after that, I started tuning them out, it was too much.Today, however, Parent Bloggers Network has asked me to think about what will happen

Volunteer Thursday

2007-11-08T21:49:00.001-08:00

I think I am becoming my mother-in-law, and this time, in a good way. Today, after squeezing in an hour of work, I made 4 cakes for a bake sale on Saturday to benefit Habitat for Humanity in San Diego. Our local parent's club is sponsoring the bake sale, and I am a big fan of baked goods, so I volunteered to make a couple things to sale. My contributions will be wine cake, pumpkin cranberry bread

Wordless Wednesday

2007-11-07T23:23:00.000-08:00

San FranciscoNovember 2007

Little Shopping Carts

2007-11-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

Our grocery store has those little shopping carts, for your little shoppers to "help" you. Unfortunately, they are exactly at the height of your Achilles tendon, and as we all know, kids are not the best drivers (hence the reason we don't give them drivers licenses until they are adults), and so exactly what you think might happen, did happen today while shopping. And naturally, being in front of

Our Candy Buy-Back Program

2007-11-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

For two years now, I have offered (well, actually, there is not much of an option) to buy my kid's Halloween candy at a rate of $.10 a piece. This year, my son started asking me about it early in October, so I knew I was in good. My daughter was not so sure, but I think our weekend shopping trip sealed the deal.On Halloween night, both kids were very goal oriented, bringing home 300 pieces of

Daylight Savings and Tomato Canning

2007-11-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

Today is one of my favorite days of the year, with Thanksgiving and my kid's birthdays in close contention. The reason I love it is today is the day we change our clocks back. Almost every time I looked at the clock today, it was an hour earlier than I thought. I really did gain an hour!And with my hour, I read the entire Sunday paper, looking at every ad; I made 3 containers of potato leek soup

Man Hair

2007-11-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

In the hotel room this morning, I was so excited to see the extra super-close up mirror, the one "ladies" use for applying makeup and such. I even took a picture.And then, I decided to take a look at my face, marvel in the beauty of my pores and give myself that up close inspection everyone needs to do from time to time. And then I discovered, I have MAN HAIRS!I am sure someone else has covered

Can you hear me now?

2007-11-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

Heard this morning at 1:45 a.m."Did you check the price of blah blah blah?" "Yeah, $13.50"and then"What about blah blah blah?"Him: Humm, that sounds like people talking outside the house, I won't bother to get up and investigate, I am sure it will all go away soon. Me: D&#m walkie talkies. The kids were using them this this afternoon. Who the heck is using our frequency? Better get up and take

Day 1: Intro to NaBloPoMo

2007-11-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

I am not sure I am going to get this right - on various occasions, I have written NaBoPloMo, NaPloBoMo, NaMoPloBo....and I am not 100% positive what it is all about, except that I know I have pledged to write a blog post a day for the entire month of November. Fun, yah!Yesterday was Halloween, and while I am opposed to so much candy and sugar, our family does have a great time. Our day started

Wordless Wednesday

2007-10-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

Photo of squash, waiting to be delivered from ourCommunity Supported Agriculture (CSA)Two Small Farmsphoto by Andy

Halloween jewels

2007-10-30T15:14:00.001-07:00

fun project to do with your kids at Halloween that does not involve candyread more | digg story

Bridesmaid dresses: Potential fashion disasters!

2007-10-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

I love Daily Candy, the weekday update of everything that is interesting and new. My husband even knows about it!In any case, this week has been all about wedding stuff, which I would normally ignore, as we are approaching our 10th(!) wedding anniversary. However, something caught my eye this morning:DRESSThe MaidsWhat: TwoBirds dresses come in one size (fits 0-16) and can be worn ten different

Wordless Wednesday

2007-10-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hamburger and Hotdog cupcakes from my son's 7th birthday partyJuly 2007

Wordless Wednesday

2007-10-17T15:05:00.001-07:00

Bikes in Shanghai, China, May 2004

Environmental Awareness, One Water Bottle at a Time

2007-10-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

In honor of Blog Action Day, I thought I would write about single serving drink containers. Last week, Jennifer over at Tree Hugging Family posted about using refillable soap dispensers. In my comment to the post, I also suggested that we avoid using single serving drink containers and buy in bulk. At our house we have purchased CamelBak plastic bottles and use them daily in backpacks for water.

Get Boo'd

2007-10-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we were Boo'd, sometime early in the morning by a very clever person. This is one of my favorite Halloween/October traditions - in the dark of night, or early morning hours, you go around to three houses in your neighborhood and leave them a bag of treats and a cute little note. All anonymous, and very fun.Melissa Summers at AlphaMom put together a great piece on how she

I saw Al Gore today

2007-10-12T11:40:00.001-07:00

Al Gore, winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, was in Palo Alto this morning. Thanks to a tip-off from a friend-of-a-friend, I was able to stand around with lots of press folks waiting for his arrival to the Alliance for Climate Protection, which incidentally, will receive 100 percent of the proceeds of the award. I snapped this picture of Al getting out of his care (a Mercedes E320 CID). I think

Wordless Wednesday: Red Barn

2007-10-10T20:12:00.001-07:00

Red Barn in Iowa, April 2007

Re-Tivo'd for the Season

2007-10-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

We finally have our Tivo set for the new season of shows. Here is our Season Pass Manager line up:1. Burn Notice2. Desperate Housewives3. House4. My Name is Earl5. The Office6. Grey's Anatomy7. Ugly Betty8. Entourage9. Psych10. The Closer11. How I Met Your Mother12. Project Runway13. The Unit14. Nip/Tuck15. Monk16. 30 Rock17. Big Love18. King of the Hill19. Heros20. MI-521. Chuck22. Private

Technorati Blog Claim

2007-10-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile

Pulling my kids out of school to travel: Would you?

2007-10-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

True confession time - when my son was first born, I made several vows: I will not allow my kids to use pacifiers.I will not allow my kids to leave the house with runny noses.I will not pull my kids out of school to travel. and on, and on. Well, as it turns out, my husband does not feel the same way, and slowly, I am beginning to see the benefits of missing school to travel with our family. The

Wordless Wednesday: Hello, can you hear me now?

2007-10-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Quote of the Day

2007-09-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

seen on a delivery truck this morning while biking to work:“A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.” Elsa Schiaparelli, 1896-1973

Whines and link love

2007-09-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

I just got home from work, picked up the kids and was going to come home and start whining about my day. Work was hard; the wind is blowing something fierce and commuting by bike was hard; I didn't like the lunch I brought from home; summer is over; did I already say that work was hard? In any case, I was prepared to whine my way through the evening, until I got home and read my blog.There were

Wordless Wednesday: Water fountains

2007-09-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

Water fountain in Southern California, August 2007

Where do babies come from?

2007-09-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Miss A's current favorite book is the Merck Manual of Medical Information. She was thumbing through it this afternoon while we were doing her homework (read: parent work). She found a picture of a baby being born and asked "is that what it looks like when the baby comes out of your mouth?". What? She said the picture looked like a mouth. So I asked her where she thought babies came out of and she

Chocolate, Parisian-style

2007-09-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

We are going to Paris next year, I can hardly wait! I told my French friend Thierry about my trip today, and he asked what our plans were. I told him I had nothing much in mind, except, that every day I would eat a chocolate croissant. He thought this was a fine plan and sent me a couple suggestions:Clotilde Dusoulier from Chocolate & Zucchini wrote about L'Etoile d'Or. Her account made me

Cooking together

2007-09-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Little Miss A and I are cooking together. Several things happened today to make this possible:1. I have two heads of cabbage from our CSA that have been in the veggie bin since last week2. I listened to a podcast of Kitchen Wisdom from NPR and they featured a risotto recipe with cabbageBada-bing, bada-boom, we are in business. This risotto recipe is made in the microwave, so it is pretty fast.

Eat Local Challenge

2007-09-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

September 2007 is Eat Local Month, according to Locavores (and many other foodie sites), and the idea is simple. For one month, try to eat what is local in your area. The challenge can take on many aspects, I guess it depends on how intense you want to get, but I liked the first two suggestions of Katherine Gray at Dish To Dirt, namely:1. Eat local whenever possible