heather and david's blog

If I ever change careers...

2010-06-11T22:02:00.002-05:00

I want to be a cake decorator! Here's my latest creation: Morel Cake.

New Camera - New Photo Shop

2010-05-24T19:58:00.002-05:00

I have a new digital camera. I had been wanting one for a long time as my old one was at least 5 years old and my list of complaints about it kept growing. I went to National Camera since I knew that I would get professional advice. After an hour experimenting with a variety of cameras and an employee patiently humoring my indecision, I purchased a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1. I was surprised by my decision having not considered Sony prior to my visit to the store but I am very happy with it so far especially after taking their free introduction to your digital camera class to learn some tips beyond what is covered in the manual.

I'm glad that my experience was a positive one as my preferred photo processing store Midwest Photo Service has just gone out of business. I had been working with Rob and his staff for years and was always impressed with my experience there. They helped me with several personal projects that other places either couldn't or wouldn't do. I will miss them. As long as their website remains active, you can read more about the history of the company here.

Tripod

2010-05-05T21:32:00.002-05:00

Today we mark another first. Quinn held her pencil with a tripod grip rather than using her fist. It was pretty cool!

A Wish

2010-04-25T22:06:00.002-05:00

Quinn became a Junior Ranger on Saturday. She learned about birds from park rangers and was able to see an Eagle up close. Then on Sunday, we went to the 4th annual Wishes for the Sky event at Harriet Island which we have attended all 4 years. This year she was able to make her own wish..."I wish for lots of Eagles in the sky."

Nutcracker Cake

2010-04-23T22:19:00.000-05:00

A few months ago Quinn announced that she wanted a Nutcracker birthday cake. I immediately started planning...drawing sketches, collecting supplies, internet and library research. After hours and hours of preparation, the cake turned out really well!

2010-04-05T03:26:00.002-05:00

Someone has viloated Facebook's "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities" on the April Fools page to the neighborhood newspaper (lower right in linked page).

Damn Kids!

2010-03-26T01:23:00.003-05:00

I (David) just had to trespass (for the night) someone I know of One on One fame from my place of work. First conflict of interest in 13 years: not bad.

New Years Eve (A Day Late)

2010-01-01T21:42:00.002-06:00

Since David had to work on New Years Eve, we celebrated New Years Day Eve. With Quinn spending the night at Grandma Boo's, we decided to try out a newer restaurant in Lowertown called The Bulldog. I had heard that they had great burgers (good for me) and a great selection of beers (good for David).

The food was tasty and done to our liking. I always like finding a new restaurant that'll cook a medium rare burger but this burger was one of the best I've ever had! I was so excited about the quality of the meat and the cooked-to-perfection patty that I had to call and share the news with dad (another burger connoisseur). Typically I would have a hard time eating a 1/2 lb burger but tonight I easily scarfed it down. David got a veggie burger that he also found tasty.

The patrons ran the gamut: families with young kids, business people, younger couples, girls that looked like they probably had fake ID's, hipsters and a Serpico-like character carrying a Hollister bag. But the one that took the cake was a 20's-something man wearing a double breasted sweater. No further comment.

Condensed, comprehensive Greentyre review

2009-12-22T07:17:00.003-06:00

...also for key words: green tyre tire

Since so many people land on this blog because they googled "Greentyre review" I have taken the liberty of combining the two previous posts on this subject and editing out the superfluous content (and for those who don't have the patience for even this, just be advised not to buy them).

Here are the reviews as they appeared chronologically:

The maiden voyage went poorly. A perfectly true wheel came untrue before I even made it up a hill. So the next day I trued the wheel on the bike and then tightened each nipple an extra ½ turn. That evening I gave the bike another test ride. By the time I got home, the wheel was again a bit wobbly. After such a thorough tightening, I just knew that the tires had to be the cause. Which was part true. The actual cause was that the spokes had too much room to move up and down since I was running a double-layered rim with a solid tire. I found a suitable single layer rim, and spent part of Sunday rebuilding the wheel

Sunday evening, I took the bike out on the first actual commute. This time, everything stayed true. Thus, I was finally able to pay attention to how the solid tires actually perform. They were definitely not awful. They are substantially heavier than pneumatic tires. However, since I was riding such a light bike, it was hardly an issue. Rolling resistance on the other hand, made a huge difference. Changing between my various bikes usually makes a difference of 1 to 2 MPH in my cruising speed. But this bike, with these tires put me down at least 5 MPH. On the plus side, though, what time I lost in speed I likely made up for by taking the most direct route to work, which is coated with a thick layer of broken glass. Plus, on the ride home from work Monday morning, I stopped for a drink and this gave me the opportunity to impress folks by lodging darts into my tire. Nevertheless, it is looking like I will be switching back to normal winter tires at some point. The other downside to these is their stiffness. They allow you to feel everything on the road that is bigger than a grain of sand. Had I chosen a thinner model with a higher PSI equivalent, I probably could have solved the rolling resistance problem, but the stiffness would probably have given me calluses. All in all I would say these tires are ideal for a light weight commuter bike that has lots of suspension; I would highly recommend them if that is what you are going to put them on.

A second review of Greentyres: I had put the tires on my bike last night so that I could test them again on my commute to work. I wanted to see if the needless worry and tool-packing associate with pneumatic tires could outweigh all the downsides of Greentyres. If the tires worked out this time around, I'd use them all weekend for my trips. In my first review, I suggested that they were “ideal for a light weight commuter bike that has lots of suspension”. However, now that I've gotten used to normal tires on the bike that they were initially tested on, things have changed. Not only do the tires perform far worse than I remember, but they also don't last. As I was mounting them, I noticed that one of the few, if not the only skids I had made in the short time I used them, had left a bald spot so deep that there was no trace of tread left. On my ride into work I could feel the bump of the bald spot on every revolution. So yeah, I no longer recommend them for suspension commuter bikes. Instead, I'd say that these tires are well suited for those content to ride department store brand bikes, but who don't have the time/tools/expertise to maintain their tires.

First Skate

2009-12-10T21:29:00.002-06:00

It's finally cold enough to skate...okay, maybe it's too cold to skate. Tonight with the temperature hovering around 0 degrees, HealthPartners hosted an employee family night at Winterskate. Quinn's been asking to go ice skating for a while. With some support from mom and the wall she made it out onto the ice. She exclaimed several times "I'm doing it mommy!"

Diastema: A gap between the front teeth

2009-11-29T08:35:00.007-06:00

A couple years ago at Quinn's first dental visit her dentist asked us if her upper labial frenulum (the tissue that connects her upper lips to her gums) high attachment runs in the family. Neither of us could think of anyone in the family that has had this. Her dentist advised us that this tissue will need to be cut sometime before her adult teeth come in to prevent the same gap from forming again and to possibly lessen the need for braces.

While in Milwaukee, I came upon a letter written in 1957 from my great grandma Mimi. In the letter I learned that my aunt Karen also had this. I'm glad to finally have an answer!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T21:48:00.004-06:00

We had a wonderful time with friends and family. Wish we could have stayed longer. Thanks so much to Auntie Pat for hosting!

Morris Alphabet

2009-11-18T21:28:00.013-06:00

We've been searching for letters and numbers everywhere.

While in Morris over the weekend, we found several letters.

And we found numbers at daycare.

Seeds

2009-11-10T18:16:00.001-06:00

The daycare summary from Monday said this...

"This morning at group time we discussed a revelation that came to Quinn at snack time. We were having bagels with lots of seeds on them. She found a large seed in her bagel and said that she wanted to talk about it during group time. She thought that if she planted the seed she could grow a bagel plant. We discussed this for a while debating on whether or not it would grow into a tree or a flower."

Christmas Comes Early in St. Paul

2009-11-07T14:22:00.004-06:00

While driving to the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center this morning, we encountered a road block. There was a large crane in the middle of the road. We decided to investigate. A stately tree was being removed from the front of a house on Third Street. While chatting with neighbors we learned that the tree was selected by the city to be used downtown for Christmas. It's somewhat sad to see the neighborhood lose a full grown tree but we will proudly visit the massive pine this winter in all it's glory.

God save the Queen's publishing companies!

2009-11-05T05:54:00.005-06:00

I (David) couldn't wait for the familial library to acquire the last of this trilogy after its American release date in May of 2010. I was left with a desperate cliff hanger in completing the second book. Fortunately the Brits are way ahead of us when it come to publishing popular fiction. So I ordered the import and can expect it in two weeks.

Inspired by the investigative characters in these novels, I couldn't stop digging after the happy discovery that I could get the import. I had to find out more. To my surprise, the author's homeland is even more way ahead than the Brits! The Swedes have a TV mini-series/movie-thing that will be released on DVD (get this...) this month!!! I'm glad I happened upon this series so late in the game. I just hope the DVD has English subtitles.

Here are some previews for those interested.

Halloween

2009-11-01T20:25:00.004-06:00

Quinn asked to be a princess this year. So we went with the theme and decided to go as a queen and king. Shortly before Halloween, she changed her mind and wanted to be a ghost. Again she changed her mind and wanted to combine the two and be a ghost princess.

We're Baaack

2009-10-24T20:04:00.002-05:00

Been a while since we've made a post...this one's for you Auntie Pat!!!

We've been neglecting posting on our blog for the last several months. We could make excuses but we're not going to bore you with that. Lots has been going on. Rather than ramble on in a long post, best to just take a photo tour of what we've been up to. Scroll down to Photos on the right margin and check them out.

FIND!

2009-03-01T09:54:00.003-06:00

After years of perusing the aisles of Goodwill, I was thrilled to look down on a bottom shelf in dishware and discover a Peter Leach pot! I outwardly expressed my joy upon finding it that while I was standing in line to check out, a gal who had witnessed my excitement approached me and said, you would appreciate this more than I. She showed me another bowl in her cart and happily gave it to me.

Improv Dance

2009-02-02T04:09:00.008-06:00

The other evening, Quinn decided to entertain with some new moves (borrowing heavily from some break dancing influence):

Click to Play

Melodeon now fixed

2009-02-02T03:29:00.003-06:00

Click to Play

The melodeon now works with very little effort.

Sewing

2009-01-28T00:00:00.000-06:00

A couple months ago I took a fun sewing class and learned to make these Chrysanthemum Pouches (a picture of me on the site is the link to the St. Paul Community Education Class list). My friend and I spent many enjoyable hours together making several for holiday gifts.

After the class I decided it was time get the Singer sewing machine that mom bought for me several years ago at an estate sale serviced. Steve shared some interesting history about this machine: "Singer 66. This is a beautiful machine - constructed in the fall of 1952. It utilizes parts left over from WWII - the black anodized parts. It is in excellent condition (collectable) and will last many generations if properly maintained. It produced one of the best and most dependable straight stitches of any machine."

How I Spent Inauguration Day

2009-01-27T21:09:00.005-06:00

A relaxing retreat.

Testing new technology

2009-01-24T11:41:00.001-06:00

Here's seeing if the new camera works well online.

Happy New Year Everyone!

2009-01-01T02:53:00.002-06:00

Our Silly Neighbors

2008-12-30T09:32:00.002-06:00

http://m.twincities.com/articles/189351309

"Q"

2008-10-17T04:49:00.003-05:00

Quinn has been practicing her Qs for a while now. Each time they become a bit more clear. It began with her scribbling a signature in each corner of a completed drawing. Now she just puts a big Q on any art related thing she makes.

Race for Precedent

2008-10-14T03:52:00.006-05:00

Not that we have thus far been devoting any blog space to recent national politics, but in the seemingly endless fight for fairness in coverage of the national stage, it seems necessary to at least go as far as to post this photo:

And since we have gone that far, might as well follow up with a good hour long video.

Putting on the brakes

2008-10-09T03:32:00.001-05:00

I (David) have decided that it may be time to halt the recklessness of riding with only a coaster brake. Despite St. Paul's hills, it has suited me well until this week's commute. On the way into work the other night, I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to draft a bus for nearly a half mile. Though I've drafted before, it has always been in daytime traffic when buses make frequent stops. This time however, the bus traveled an incredibly long distance, pulling me effortlessly at a speed around 25 MPH. I gauged my speed by looking at the passing fixed objects (something I've never dared do before while drafting). Both the act of drafting, as well as taking my eyes off the bus got me to pondering the idea of an additional brake.

On the commute home from work, I also realized that it would be nice to have a back up break when one decides to get airborne on the mountainous pavement extrusion of the 2^nd street hill (downtown St. Paul) and loses one's chain in the process. -- Good thing I was wearing boots with thick soles.

Risks aside, I came to no harm, and got to enjoy the added delight of a seemingly easy ride up the Kellogg/3^rd Street hill due to a dense fog preventing the full realization of how much more of the hill was still ahead of me.

Sunny day

2008-09-13T06:43:00.004-05:00

I have been subpenised for a criminal trial, so I'm going to miss it:

How we spent our summer vacation

2008-09-02T03:25:00.032-05:00

... a pictoral story (aka the lazy blogger's method).

The state fair:

Harvest Festival:

National Night Out:

Enjoying summer fruits:

Arts and crafts:

A visit from Uncle Paul:

And a trip out west to visit family:

More photos here

Plus, bonus cell phone video clips:

Click to Play

Summer weekends

2008-07-15T03:54:00.014-05:00

There aren't many things in life that ought be treasured more than a weekend at the family cabin. Of all the joys wrapped up in such a package, the photos alone are enough to offset any obstacles encountered within the duration of a planned cabin outing;

which leaves the divine simplicity of time shared with loved ones, the tranquil (and splashy) surroundings, and investigating local recreation traditions.

Departure from such serenity is often a challenge met only with absolute necessity. However, when one has a date with a birthday party...

and a tall glass of lemonade...

it makes the transition far easier.

A fun-filled month

2008-06-30T23:59:00.002-05:00

Peter celebrated his 75th birthday on June 9th. Julia flew into town for his big day and Quinn finally got to meet her Aunt Julia.

Congratulations to our friends Jackie and Fred who tied the knot on June 12th!

On June 21st we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Another wonderful time had at the Covington Inn.

Also on June 21st the Catalpas (Heather's favorite tree) bloomed.

Hot sticky weather waranted breaking out the kiddie pool. Quinn enjoyed the water slide.

On June 28th the St. Paul skyline changed yet again. The Xcel smoke stack was imploded. We woke up early to go down to the bluff to watch it all happen from a safe distance.

The video version:

Click to Play

Timeless Joy

2008-06-16T06:30:00.005-05:00

Last week's visit to the "Cottage House" brought a discovery for Heather that just couldn't be passed up. Along with a couple of other toys, she bought a delightful desk-looking thing designed to entertain children of all ages for hours on end. And it has been working. Quinn has spent longer stretches of time with this toy than she has with any other. Here are a couple of examples of how entrancing it can be...

Click to Play

Back for more

2008-06-11T03:36:00.003-05:00

In recent months, one or more crafty criminal types have been stealing my (david's) precious free time. This, of course, effects us all in ways such as you not being able to read up on my thoughts and activities in a timely manner.

For example, last Wednesday I had ensured that extra security measures were in place to protect the time I had set aside to attend one of our block club's first big social events, a neighborhood BBQ. Despite receiving threats from meteorologists, the well attended event went on without problems, fun was had by all, and the fruits of camaraderie were thoroughly consumed (as were all the turkey hot dogs I brought).

Today, similar measures are being taken to insure I will again be with the block club for our monthly meeting. Hopefully this pattern of protected free time will set a precedence which will prevent any further would be criminals from victimizing me in the future. And thus, you will again have better access to the ritual documentation one would expect to find here.

So Long Green Stairs

2008-05-22T03:55:00.005-05:00

Over the last few days, I knew something was up with the green steps on the west side bluffs. They had been blocked off for the last couple months as had the sidewalk below. On Monday while enjoying a cup of coffee at Grumpy Steve's, I watched as several surveyors and city workers stood at the bottom of the steps and stared up. I was hoping they were there to reopen the stairs.

Unfortunately, yesterday, my hopes were dashed. When I got to work, I looked up and the bridge and landing at the top of the bluff were gone. There were workers cutting the metal and 2 cranes in place taking the stairs down one or two levels at a time. By the end of the day, just a few flights of stairs remained.

Here's the full story from yesterday's pioneer press.
http://www.twincities.com/ci_9327647?source=most_emailed

Thunder and Lightning

2008-05-06T06:43:00.007-05:00

A couple weeks ago mom and I went to the only showing in Minnesota of the documentary Song Sung Blue at the St. Anthony Main theater during it's annual film festival. It is a story of a couple best known as Thunder and Lightning who formed a Neil Diamond tribute band. Their story is one of living a dream but coming short of attaining their ultimate goal. The story is both inspiring and heart aching.

The film maker interviewed my Auntie Pat, late Great Uncle David and his best friend Tom D'Amato. They spoke about their experiences with and memories of the couple. The film also shows that Eddie Vedder is a very classy guy.

Though the people voted and Song Sung Blue wasn't popular enough to get a second showing at St. Anthony Main, the film is making it's way around the country and I would highly recommend you catch a screening if it comes to a theater near you.

Happy May Day!

2008-05-01T19:15:00.000-05:00

We've finally gotten around to posting photos from Quinn's 2nd birthday and some random photos from the last month. Enjoy!

Quinn Turns 2

2008-04-21T21:26:00.002-05:00

Spring in Minnesota

2008-04-09T02:10:00.005-05:00

Spring has sprung though Minnesotans may beg to differ. We have had below normal temperatures and a few measurable snowfalls in the last few weeks. Poor folks up in northern Minnesota were buried in 24+ inches of snow!

Despite the temperatures, our backyard is starting to come to life once again after a couple days in the 50's. Greenery is finally pushing out of the once frozen tundra and bathing itself in the warmth of the sun.

More photos.

Follow Up

2008-04-04T07:53:00.000-05:00

In recent days it has become more apparent that Quinn wants to be just like her friends. Apparently the yogurt was just the tip of the iceberg.

For example, we have been trying to take her shopping for new shoes over the last couple of weeks and each time we have failed. During recent shopping trips she has thrown a temper tantrum and run out of a store in the mall. Finally we went to a store where she seemed pleased with the selections. She picked a pair of white and pink Nike's with laces and a pair of black Mary Jane shoes. The next week at her daycare, I saw that two of her friends have almost the exact same shoes.

She's been known to call things that her friends have by their names. She calls her new black shoes "Ava's" since Ava has a similar pair. She also calls fruit snacks "Anja's" since Anja gave her some for Valentine's day.

I never imagined conformity would start at such a young age!

One month to go

2008-03-21T06:10:00.001-05:00

Let the birthday party planning begin. Though we were hoping to limit Quinn's exposure to kids cartoon characters as long as we could, we're going to try to let Quinn pick her own theme and we're guessing there will be a toss up between Elmo and Thomas.

In recent weeks her love of characters has become obvious. One day she flat out stopped eating Yo-Baby which had been her favorite yogurt for a long time. Trying to figure out why she wouldn't eat it any longer was a little puzzling. Then one day at daycare she said yogurt and pointed to her friend's Trix yogurt that was a chartruese and hot pink in color. I then realized that she only wanted the characters on the side of the packaging. So, although she doesn't know anything about Dora yet, we purchased some yogurt with Dora on it and alas she's eating yogurt again.

The joys of new experiences

2008-03-11T04:52:00.005-05:00

A new hat.

A new use for a box.

A Little R&R

2008-03-03T03:57:00.014-06:00

Pardon me Roy...

Is that the cat that chewed your new shoes? Eh em, I mean, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

Now that the weather has finally warmed up, we have been taking advantage of the more mild temps by planning more outings. Over the last two weekends we have fostered Quinn's love of everything train by visiting the train museums. This last weekend was the Jackson Street Roundhouse.

The prior weekend was Twin Cities Model Railroad Museum. We had been desiring to take her there for quite some time since she had started showing an interest in trains last summer. As we expected, she had a blast! She kept saying "train, choo-choo, there's one, another one, I see 'em, I hear 'em." She also hollered in excitement when trains would come around the bend and out of tunnels. One mom there with her toddler son said "it's so nice to see girls fascinated with trains." After hearing that comment I came to realize that of the two dozen or so kids there, only 3 (including Quinn) were girls and she seemed the most excited.

Model train hobbies run in our family. My (Heather's) late Great Uncle David's hobby began as a way to help his son Johnny develop fine motor skills and Johnny kept the tradition going. They both had rooms in their house just for their train sets. Though on a smaller scale, my Uncle Mark also has an interest in model trains. Perhaps we will continue the tradition someday.

Saving energy makes cents

2008-02-24T20:58:00.000-06:00

We had a home energy audit done on Friday. The auditor came in with an arsenal of black plastic cases like one would expect to see at a crime scene investigation. Quickly he unpacked and within minutes our back door looked like our home was under quarantine with a red plastic door with a clear round peep hole resembling a port hole in a boat and underneath an opening for the blower fan that would be used pull air out of our house and produce a negative pressure.

We took a tour around the house infared camera in hand. It was like we had x-ray vision and could see through walls. Dark = cold. Light=hot.

The good news is our aging house is fairly efficient and we learned where an investment would best be spent. So the plan is to get estimates to have insulation blown into our outer walls between the joists. Next winter hopefully our heating bills will be lower and our toes warmer.

I wonder when "Fresh Cuts at Thirty Two" will go to press

2008-02-21T05:18:00.003-06:00

A City Pages Article:

http://articles.citypages.com/2008-02-20/feature/skinheads-at-forty/

Daytona 500 Baby!

2008-02-17T14:46:00.002-06:00

Here are our top 5 picks for today...

Heather:
Hamlin
Waltrip
Earnhardt
Martin
Johnson

David:
Hamlin
Waltrip
Earnhardt
Kenseth
Stewart

Quinn:
"No cars. Cars boring. 8"

Martin is in the 8 this year so we think she wants Martin to win today.

And no, David and I did not consult on our top 3 picks. Choosing the same drivers was purely a coincidence.

Blackberry Outage

2008-02-12T21:22:00.000-06:00

My Blackberry Pearl has been acting up recently and t-mobile customer service helped me resolve the issue by making sure I turn it on and off every few days and to take the battery in and out once a week. I knew there must be a problem with the system when doing this yesterday didn't seem to help.

Supposedly there was a major hiccup in blackberry service nation-wide. I barely noticed. Other than receiving a text message too late and not being able to access the internet, I didn't experience too many problems.

Since my old blackberry crashed last year and I lost everything (I sometimes still mourn all the information I lost) I now back it up using David's PC about once a week. I would highly suggest if you have one to do the same.

Super Fat Tuesday: The school was bursting at the seams.

2008-02-06T11:04:00.000-06:00

After having to work a little late, we got to our caucus a little later than we had planned. By 6:30 when the event was set to start, the cars were backed up about 3 blocks away from the school. Chaos. David knowing the neighborhood well, went around the traffic and got us a sweet parking spot in a back lot. After walking around the school to the main entrance after trying unsuccessfully to gain access through a couple side doors, we got to the front and encountered a long line. More chaos. Knowing our ward and precinct ahead of time allowed us to bypass the line of people waiting to learn what their's was. We made our way to the classroom and even more chaos. There was no sense of order. Blank pieces of post-it note like paper used for the ballots were being handed out to anyone who walked in the door without verification that the voters even lived in our precinct. Eventually, a couple people took over and made a sign-in sheet that had to be filled out before any ballots were exchanged. Chaos settled.

It was obvious that no one had predicted the turn out would be so enormous. Most of the classrooms were standing- room only with lines of people waiting outside the door for a chance to cast their presidential preference ballots and/or participate in the caucusing. Even David was impressed with the turnout. Having experienced the caucus 4 years ago, which he had expected to be just as much if not more popular, he was surprised to see well over double the turnout. People in the hallways running the show were exclaiming as much. I overheard comments such as "this is amazing, unbelievable, and exhilerating."

This experience motivated me after a 4 year hiatus to want to become an election judge again. When I get my invitation letter this year, this time I will accept rather than decline.

No Naps!

2008-02-01T06:30:00.001-06:00

Quinn had decided recently that it is time to experiment with skipping her naps in the afternoon. She seems to think she can do it without any repercussions. But the other day it became obvious to us, after a mid-evening bath, that she may get tired a bit prematurely. Unfortunately, she doesn't yet understand that the evidence of this (below) should be scrutinized differently than any other series of Quinn photos.

Restaurant Critic

2008-01-26T08:18:00.001-06:00

A new restaurant has moved into the former Nikita's coffee shop and the former Pop's Family Café. Though I find the name of the restaurant lacking in taste, The Strip Club is named for it's menu which is mostly devoted to steak. We had planned a visit there last night with members of our block club but Quinn cut our trip short. After 15 minutes, she was done so we don't have much to critique other than some social and environmental observations. The restaurant is very very dark. Everything is black: the waitstaff's clothes, the napkins, the paper placemats, the tables, and chairs. The lighting is also kept to a minimum. Since it is such a small place the acoustics leave a lot to be desired too as I found myself having to lip read the person talking two seats down from me since I could hear nothing. In the time we were there they didn't even hand out the drink menu till most of our party had shown up. Despite everyone having arrived by the time we left, we never even got to see a dinner menu so we can't comment on that. Supposedly their food is fantastic...something we'll have to comment on at a later time. This place is definetly NOT child friendly despite having a single high chair that they had to go into their secret room to get out. Leave your kids at home. Also, the clientele is a bit high brow which is not representative of the working class neighborhood that surrounds it. Supposedly this restaurant will bring more yuppies into the neighborhood that will buy up the old rundown Victorians for cheap and fix them up thus revitalizing the neighborhood. A nice idea but will it become a reality? The restaurant is just one block off the the freeway so the outsiders don't need to venture far into our neighborhood and thus may miss our charming array of turn of the century homes.

In addition, just a couple miles away, we have a 4-star restaurant. The Tea House is an Asian restaurant in the strip mall behind Target on Suburban Avenue. David and I went there for a lunch date a couple weeks ago. We both ordered off the lunch menu which was very resonably priced especially for the quantity of food. David had the chicken in bean sauce and I had my standby favorite: sesame chicken. I wanted to try the scallion pancakes which got high marks from the Pioneer Press; the waiter told me they had run out. Though David was able to finish his meal (despite being thin, his stomach can accomplish enormous amounts of food) I brought home half. I would highly recommend this place. Reservations are probably not necessary but seeing how popular the place has become, it may be a good idea to call ahead if you plan to go during the standard lunch and dinner hours.

A Retreat

2008-01-21T00:39:00.000-06:00

As David has mentioned in his posts, I was away for a few days on a retreat. I spent my days at the peaceful Dwelling In The Woods. Peace, quiet, welcoming people, serene surroundings, meditation, prayer, friendly smiling faces, delicious food, Reiki, reading, music, bird watching, sunset gazing, staying up late, sleeping in and doing a whole lot of nothing is how I spent my time.

Day Four

2008-01-17T12:29:00.000-06:00

Success

Mommy returned home. None of Quinn's denied requests for milk have been met with significant protest. And last night, Quinn again remained alone in her own bed until we awoke her after nearly 11 hours.

Heather, the obviously lighter sleeper of the two of us, reported that Quinn awoke numerous times last night. In the interest of Quinn's independent sleeping habits, this is of course good news. Unfortunately, for light sleepers this doesn't necessarily mean a better night's sleep, but rather that things will be a little different for now.

Next on the agenda for great experiments will be weaning Quinn from her pacifier. Perhaps if it is not there to fall out of her mouth at night, then she will not awaken to try to find it.

Day Three

2008-01-16T09:28:00.000-06:00

It was more than obvious that Quinn missed Mommy when we got home from a day in daycare. The timing of her "Mommy" inquiries makes me think that a ritual nursing was what she really wanted. However, the frequency of her inquiries/complaints/pleas throughout the evening show that she missed mommy, the person, as well.

Nevertheless, last night the second phase of the great weaning experiment began. Putting an end to co-sleeping has been a process we started over a month ago. Last night Quinn went the whole night without anyone else in her bed (with the possible exception of a cat). Only once were my services needed to help her find her pacifier. Once located, she fell back to sleep before I could put the blankets back on her. When I woke up in my own bed and saw that the clock said 5:30, I was so impressed that I could not fall back to sleep. So I enjoyed a quiet breakfast, and took my time preparing for the East Side Social Networking meeting at 7:30. Grandma came over shortly after Quinn woke up and entertained her while I was at the meeting. Now the two are together at Grandma's house, and when I next see Quinn, Mommy will be with me, so stay tuned to see how the thrilling conclusion turns out.

Day Two

2008-01-15T14:37:00.001-06:00

Things continue to move more smoothly than expected. Of course, that may be because Andy and Bill came over last night to help out a bit. They went to great lengths to show Quinn how to have fun when Mommy is out of town. Take a look:

Click to Play

Quinn did manage to throw a small tantrum in the middle of the night, but it was not prefaced with questions or desires for mommy, so it may have just been one of those oddities that strikes her from time to time.

Day One

2008-01-14T12:52:00.001-06:00

No Mommy and no milk. Quinn's first 24 hours have gone by without any significant problems. Mommy is missed, but so far, no tantrums, and no dehydration. If days 2 and 3 go the same way, then when mommy returns, she will do so without milk.

Car Wash

2008-01-04T05:21:00.001-06:00

Just in case you happen to be in the neighborhood, the downtowner car wash in St. Paul now has a second location...

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T00:12:00.000-06:00

Happy 2008!

This year, we resolve to blog more than last year.

And to get things started on the right path, we have finally updated the link to our second Flickr.com account after waiting months for yahoo to transfer our old photos.

The catch however, is that Flickr will only accommodate such a large photo album for a short period of time; we have been given a "pro version" trial for 3 months. This means that YOU only have a month and a half or so to dig through our old album and download photos before who-knows-what Flickr decides the fate of our collection will become. So get to it. Here are a few samples of what you'd be missing if you don't:

What to do when snowed in?

2007-12-05T02:44:00.001-06:00

Why, Bounce, of course!

Click to Play

30 days hath September, April, June and November.

2007-11-27T02:51:00.000-06:00

When I was growing up, time seemed to sometimes go by agonizingly slow especially when I was waiting for something big to happen...a birthday, holiday or summer break. Adults always told me that time would go by faster as I got older. Especially since having a child of my own, I have noticed time seems to be going by faster than it ever has before. I feel like I blinked once and this month was gone.

Because of this, I have started to rethink how I am living my life. I have learned that if you pay attention and live in the moment that time slows down. In order to be able to take the time to do this, I realized that the organized chaos way of living was taking that precious time away from me. So, I have been trying to rid myself of the chaos. Though, this is a very slow process and I have experienced some bumps in the road along the way, it's a work in progress. My goal this winter is to go through a box a week from the attic. I could just throw them out since many things I haven't seen since we moved into our house almost 4 years ago so I doubt I would miss them. But, I'm not quite at that point.

The other part that I want to tackle is something I learned while watching Oprah; the acronym "O.H.I.O"...Only Handle It Once. The chaos is a lot easier to manage if it is only dealt with once...whether it is going through mail, putting away laundry, or filing away important papers.

Another way to give me more time to enjoy things is a monthly cleaning service. That way, we can have someone else take care of those more tedious chores that often demand our precious time. Thanks dad for helping out with that! (And also thanks for the new upgrades to our house. We are loving everything.)

As our house continues to come together, I am proud of what has been accomplished over the years. At this rate, we have grown so much into our home that we will probably be here a long long time.

A leisurely drinking cruise

2007-10-30T06:22:00.001-05:00

There is more to life than blogging about one's wee little child (or not-so-little as the case may be). Biking and drinking are just two of many things that come to mind. In fact, this blog was actually rooted in those activities, as the Saturday Night Bike Rides were too under-documented back in those days. But, as this author has strayed from regularity on those rides, the sighting of the famed "Pedal Pub" as it went past Quinn's day care will have to suffice as a means of reconnecting this corner of the web with those who drink and bike.

And with that, it is time to reflect on the goings-on just prior to the pub sighting: a window decorating project at Quinn's daycare...

The project was preceded by a parent/child potluck in which we got to socialize with the parents of Quinn's roommates.

In other Quinn related news, Heather finished Quinn's Halloween costume just in time for Zoo Boo. Since Quinn is so fond of Boobahs, Heather figured this is what she would want to be for Halloween if she were capable of saying as much.

Also, Quinn got a bee at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. I had the foresight to take a photo shortly after she received it. Moments later, one of the wings popped.

Catching Up

2007-10-23T02:16:00.000-05:00

So we have a little catching up to do again. A couple weeks ago I celebrated birthday number 32. Now David and I are the same age again. Though age doesn't seem to phase him as much as it does me, it always makes me feel better that David reaches his birthday almost five months before I do.

I spent most of my birthday weekend shopping. I made a trip to the Apple Valley Goodwill with mom and Faith. Then on Saturday, David and I went furniture shopping at Ikea. Thanks to mom for watching Quinn for us overnight too!

Last weekend the weather was perfect and we decided to go apple picking at Aamodt's Apple Farm. Apparently every other family with young children had the same idea. The crowds were a little too much for Quinn. She prefered the seclusion of the trees near the edge of the farm. Next year when we go apple picking, we will likely try cousin David's family orchard.

This recent weekend we made another trip to Duluth for the MRID fall conference and to see family. While I was busy with morning workshops, David and Quinn enjoyed the St. Louis County Heritage and Arts Center. We had a nice visit and lunch with Aunt Pat and Cousin Bob. After more workshops, we had a wonderful time sharing good food and good conversation with Cousins Mary and David who were kind to open their home to us again.

When we got home we celebrated Quinn's half birthday with half a birthday cake! Happy 1 1/2 Birthday!

We have also updater our Flickr photo album with the above photos and more (including the ones missing from our last post), so enjoy. And keep your eyes peeled there for more photos to be added soon (as soon as Gmail is working again).

Music and more...

2007-10-08T02:54:00.001-05:00

So this post is a week late, but better late than never. We were waiting on some photos of our trip to the indoor water park in Bloomington, but it may still be awhile before we get a chance at copying those photos. Although the real reason for tardiness is that we've been a bit on the busy side. Anyway, rather then preempting every day's title with "last", just remember that they are all from the week prior...

We'll start with Wednesday [9/26/07 for those keeping track]. Wednesdays are the days that Quinn and David get to spend together. Since David is prone to early naps on these days, it is best that we go out somewhere where there are no couches. And since school is now in session, the local playground is no longer an option. So we went to Margret Rec Center; a playground Quinn has only been to once before. She loved it. She is finally big enough now to go down the big kid's slide.

Click to Play

Friday morning was Quinn's weekly trip to Grandma's house. Reports indicate that she had a blast.

Friday evening, Quinn and David went to the third annual "Watch the Glow of the Setting Sun on the Red Brick Brewery". Quinn didn't see much of the sunset, but she enjoyed climbing on the rocks (as did David).

Saturday morning began with yet another trip to Swede Hollow, This time to see the band Barra. A great way to wake up on a Saturday morning. Quinn even seemed to recognize one of the tunes she has heard before on a Solas CD.

Saturday evening, Thanks to Grandma Jan's friend Billy (and thanks to Grandma Nan for watching Quinn at the time) we went to the Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald. More good music. Jan even had to go out and buy the CD of the featured band. David, on the other hand, was impressed enough by just the house band. There was even a surprise appearance by Martin Sheen. He made his singing debut on the show. Though his singing abilities left a lot to be desired, his acting, of course, was phenomenol.

On Sunday morning [insert missing photos here] we went to the Water Park of America, again, thanks to Billy. Unfortunately for Quinn, water slides are still too much of a big kid's thing. But there was plenty to do there to keep her entertained. This was followed by a lunch feast (on Billy's tab - thanks Billy) at Outback Steakhouse. David ate so much that he was able to go to the evening's concert without refueling. The concert, if you were wondering was Harv; the headliner at this year's Nordic Roots Festival.

Click to Play

Normally David devotes countless hours and numerous blog entries to this festival. However this year, things changed a bit. For starters, Quinn's time demands make a weekend long event hard to enjoy. Secondly, this year's festival was lacking ever-so-slightly in the "wow! This is the most amazing thing ever!" department. And lastly, with so many great new local bands playing more traditional styles, it is hard to go an entire year without seeing great live music. Next year is likely to be different though, as it is rumored to be the last Nordic Roots Festival. This of course means that all of the big names will likely be there.

Anyway, until the next belated post, which will cover Heather's birthday, enjoy last week!

Robot Wars

2007-09-24T03:13:00.001-05:00

The weekend's big event was the Battle Royal of the toy robots. Here is a peek at the three finalists for this year's title winner...

Cannon-bot

Scorpion-flower-bot

Wheelie-bot

All three were put in the ring. After several minutes, it appeared that none of the robots were making a significant advancement. So a late entry was allowed to participate in the battle, and carnage ensued...

Quinn-bot

After mere seconds, the far superior "Quinn-bot" was declared the grand champion.

Here is the Quinn-bot doing its victorious "Dizzy Dance":

Click to Play

Another Anniversary

2007-09-22T18:08:00.000-05:00

It appears that many of our friends and aquaintances have dating anniversaries this month. Well, we do too. September 25th will be our (fill in the blank) dating anniversary. If you have a guess which number it is, let us know.

Recalls

2007-09-14T06:12:00.001-05:00

Keeping track of recalled products is enough to make a person's head spin. Since Quinn was born, I (Heather) have kept an ongoing list of all the toys and products we have bought or received for her. I log the manufacturer information, product numbers, where and when it was purchased.

Though none of the toys manufactured in China tainted with lead have found their way into our home (at least not yet), we returned a rattle from Target that had been recalled due to small parts that can break off and become choking hazards. We also have some vinyl bibs that we plan to return. Though the brand we have was not recalled as of yet, a smiliar brand was because the vinyl contains lead that apparently only becomes a hazard when the material breaks down.

On the news today I heard them mention that China has agreed to stop using lead paint in toys shipped to the US. You would think that would have been an agreement made when the US companies decided to ship their production overseas.

The news also warned that although the stores are pulling these products from their shelves, there's no way to have this type of accountability for second hand stores like Goodwill and Once Upon a Child. So, the products may still end up in homes.

While shopping at the Apple Valley Goodwill store a few weeks ago, I snapped this lovely photo that was printed on a toy...

If there aren't more stringent rules and regulations about controlling or eliminating harmful chemicals that make their way into our children's bodies through toys, food, water supply, etc., who knows what kind of mutations their kids and several generations beyond will have. 18 mouths....perhaps!?

Parenting tip...

2007-09-11T04:10:00.000-05:00

Everything You Need To Know About Parenting You Can Learn From Roseanne:

I (Heather) always wondered whether we would end up parenting like the Cosby's or the Connor's. I think we have found ourselves at a happy compromise between the two.

The other day I caught a rerun of Roseanne. Darlene and Becky were trying to calm a baby that they were babysitting. Dan enters and determines right away that the baby is fussing because he is teething and in pain and asks for a frozen waffle. He gives it to the baby and says that the cold waffle helps the gums feel better and all the grooves catch the drool. Since Quinn doesn't like any of the typical recommended teething comforts, I kept that in the back of my mind for the next time Quinn started teething.

In the last week, a new tooth emerged and two more are about to break through. She has been miserable. So, we tried the waffle trick. She liked them so much she said "mmmm" and "more." Several mini-waffles later she was back to her happy playful self again.

New Shoes!

2007-09-08T10:25:00.001-05:00

Yay!

A long drive

2007-09-04T04:54:00.001-05:00

Labor Day weekend, a time for family and celebration.

In between numerous bouts of long drives, celebrating with family was definitely the theme for our weekend.

Our main event for the weekend was joining family in Duluth to celebrate the life of Uncle Bob. As new parents, we often hear that a measure of one's success in life is not through any possessions or careers, but rather through the character and values that develop in one's children. Envisioning the tasks and tools required to achieve such a success with our own offspring can be a terribly intimidating vision. How Uncle Bob and Aunt Pat were able to pull it off with their own six children and have the success sustained through to another generation of countless grandchildren, is amazing to extremes of impossibility. There is not one of Uncle Bob's decedents that fails to be a model of a respectful, creative, and intelligent citizen. There was no question on Saturday that Bob will be missed; most notably by our beloved Aunt Pat, who has our additional sympathies for her recent surgery.

Uncle Bob holding Quinn
On either side of our time in Duluth, was our visit to Three Lakes WI with family and friends of the family. Though our visit was somewhat abbreviated, we always welcome the opportunity to enjoy the company, the serenity, the setting, the lake, and a few breaths of fresh air (not to mention Heather's ride on the legendary Garwood).

Click to Play

It was a dark and stormy night...

2007-08-14T04:06:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning's storm hit pretty hard in the Grandparent's hood by Como. Not many trees were left standing on their block. Fortunately, apart from a couple significant limbs falling, they still have more trees in their yard than most of the rest of the block combined. Perhaps the storm gods remembered taking their front yard pine tree years ago and decided to skip them for the most part.

All said and done, the aftermath was quite a sight.

Click to Play

A week in the life of a cell phone

2007-08-09T05:16:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was dedicated to cousin Mary's wedding in Duluth. We all welcomed David Jensen into the family. As usual with the events that bring my (David's) extended family together, there was a lot of catching up to be done. In my attempts to engage several of the youth in our common language (water fights), my efforts to throw a Colombian into the lake backfired when a sibling in my blind spot pushed me into the lake instead; linen suit and all.

Also while in Duluth, Quinn and I got to witness a boat (the "American Spirit") leaving the harbor.

Click to Play

Once back home, Quinn quickly immersed herself in her usual play routines.

Graffiti chalk in the alley.

Ms. Quinny Goodman.

A Family of Strings

2007-08-04T16:19:00.001-05:00

There is one for each of us. The newest addition is the baritone Uke (the one on the left) which was my (David's) belated something-or-other present. So now we can all play some stringed harmonies.

Dump run

2007-07-30T04:04:00.003-05:00

It's time once again to dump the contents of my phone...

Click to Play

Error

2007-07-28T10:59:00.001-05:00

Being the Norse cyclist that he is, I (David) didn't question Whitebread when he claimed that he was capable of riding while intoxicated. When we finally left the bar, he was riding the single speed that I had lent him. After crashing it twice, I thought maybe he would fair better on the Frankenschwinn with all of its British styling that he was used to. When he crashed that one, I insisted he ride the single speed again for the remaining two crashes before we made it home. I had to wrap him in gauze before I'd let him sleep on the linen sheets of our guest bed.

Had the buses not stopped running by that hour, or had he not spent the last of his American dollars, and potential cab fare, buying rounds for the bar (an act which I defended to any would-be bouncers as something not of a crazy drunk, but as a man who misses his favorite American dive bar), then perhaps an alternative could have been considered. But at least it will make for a good drinking story should he get deported from Norway and return to town again.

Tomato Stealers

2007-07-19T05:58:00.003-05:00

Tuesday we made a mental note to harvest 3 tomatoes that have recently ripened to a nice shade of red. Unfortunately, yesterday morning as I (Heather) was leaving for work, we saw a squirrel trying to run under the fence with the biggest tomato in his greedy little mouth. We've had this happen in years past and still don't quite understand why the squirrels insist on stealing our produce when they tend to take one bite and then leave the remaining part abandoned somewhere in our yard. A note to our neighborhood squirrels: when you leave a partially eaten piece of fruit or vegetable, we find this a bit insulting as we would prefer that if you insist on stealing our food that you go ahead and eat the entire thing. You see, once you've taken a bite, we no longer want it either. We find your habits to be just downright wasteful.

After harvesting a smaller tomato, we put it on our table to enjoy later. However, Quinn had other ideas. When she sat down for dinner, I turned my back for a few seconds and when I turned around, she had the tomato in her hand and was eating it like an apple! She didn't manage the skin too well, so I peeled it for her and she ate the whole thing! I guess she takes after David who has been known to do the same thing. Unlike me, I didn't start liking tomatoes till I was an adult.

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue

2007-07-11T04:01:00.001-05:00

Something Old:
This may not sound very nice, but rest assured my dad approved of the first part of this topic...he's the "something old." Dad came to visit and worked on projects from the moment he arrived. Though he was busy, we found time for fun too. We saw George Thorogood at the Taste of Minnesota, went to Elko to watch the car races, went to the Velodrom to watch bicycle races, and went to the Como Zoo and Saturday Live with Quinn. He also went to the back to the 50's car show with Nan and Peter. We are so appreciative of all the things he did for us to make our home more comfortable and appealing.

Something New:
In ECFE, we've learned that as infants develop they tend to focus on one area of development at a time. Having gone through emotional, social and physical phases, it would appear that Quinn's working on language now. She has learned to use some new words and signs. She says "ball", likes to say "Hi" to everyone and is working on saying "all done." She formed her first simple sentences too by saying "Hi dog" and "Hi Dad." In addition to the signs she already knows, she also started signing "bed", "more", "dada", "mama", "monkey" and "pacificer" all within the last week. She also signed "all done," "bath," and "bed" in succession as you can see in this short video.

Click to Play

Something borrowed:
Thanks to Peter and our neighbor John, we were able to borrow some of the tools we needed for dad's projects.

Something blue:
Quinn is also learning colors. Dad asked her to bring him a blue ring from her rainbow stacking toy and she was able to pick out the blue one from all the other colors.

To finalize the theme for this blog, we celebrated our 4th anniversary a few weeks ago. We enjoyed our annual overnight stay at the Covington Inn. Thanks to mom for watching Quinn all night for us.

If you can't find a partner...

2007-06-13T07:08:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Media Dump

2007-06-12T05:07:00.001-05:00

Time to clean out David's ol' cell phone. Let's see what it has been holding for us...

A rare find at the Farmer's Market:

Here we have a Bridgestone MB2 with a John Deere color scheme.

I briefly owned this same bike after I talked its owner down from his $45 sticker price at a garage sale. It wasn't my size though, so I gave it to Matt after a couple of weeks. If he still has it then it is locked away in some secret vault, I'm sure. I talked to the owner of this one, she said that her dad had the exact same bike. Sorry, Matt, but I guess they aren't as rare as we thought.

Here is Quinn (among others) at her last day of ECFE class.

Quinn helping out on recycling day.

Quinn, having already mastered soccer and basketball, tries her hand at a predecessor of baseball/softball/cricket:

Click to Play

Quinn's first temper tantrum:

Click to Play

And lastly, a glimpse at the new breed of "gang" plaguing the East Side; roving gangs of skateboarders. Donchya wish you lived here?

How is this possible?

2007-06-05T06:40:00.000-05:00

After being the points leader at the beginning of the NASCAR season, Mark Martin, after missing several races this season and dropping to 14th, is a contender once again after finishing 7th in Monday's race at Dover. He is now 12th in points.

Good thing we're not fans of a driver who's been in every race this year and is only 20th in points.

Today was the last race on network TV. It'll be on cable now till the middle of September. If you have cable we may make an appearance on your doorstep during the summer.

Dining out

2007-06-04T05:23:00.001-05:00

Well after several months of having it on our list of things to do, the three of us finally managed to make it down to the Viaduct Inn for some local Mexican food (and Mexican beer for David). The place is an amazingly well kept Art Deco bar. Yet the thing that impressed David the most was the ancient oversized urinals in the men's room; truly designed with drinking in mind (they were even recessed down a good 9 inches into the floor).

Of course the food was good too. Certainly not "Americanized" mexican food, but it was a bit more contemporary than simple traditional Mexican food one might find at places like Taco House.

Also last weekend: Quinn discovers shadows, and pages through her book of people and places she knows.

Peek-a-boo

2007-05-30T04:15:00.001-05:00

We see you too.

Stick a fork in it

2007-05-21T04:02:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, while we were eating lunch, Quinn started fussing. She was eating the same thing we were eating, so we realized it couldn't be envy for our food. I (Heather) realized that she was staring at my spoon as I put it in my bowl and in my mouth. Could she possibly want her own utensil, I wondered. So I handed her a kid-size fork and she knew just what to do with it, though she needed a little help to get the food on the fork.

Later in the day, Quinn, David and I went to Blaine's Velodrome for some good old bicycle track racing. This was a first for all of us. David enjoyed the races, though he seemed more interested in meeting up with old friends (and the fact that there was beer and cheese sticks there) than in actually watching the races. I on the other hand, really enjoyed the racing. Watching people go fast and turn left seems to come as a natural form of entertainment for me. Between NASCAR, speed-skating, and now bike track racing, I can't help but find them all entertaining. Quinn, however, lost interest after watching about two laps around the track. She was more interested in running down the grassy hill nearby. After a while she lost patience with that too and we decided that we should leave the race early though we would have rather stayed.

By the way Little Guy Racing Team...though Quinn was wearing a U of M sweatshirt, rest assured she was not rooting for their team.

Quinn's first painting

2007-05-15T03:15:00.001-05:00

She skipped finger painting all together and moved up to a paint brush to make Mommy a special gift for mother's day while at daycare.

Oops...

2007-05-09T02:11:00.000-05:00

I knew there was another "first" to be added to the previous post, but what it was specifically had escaped me at the time I wrote it. Monday was Quinn's first day of daycare. Previously, she has had the occasion during the week to be under the watchful eye of either Christine or grandma Nan, but now she is institutionalized. In the past, it was often a bit of a challenge to say goodbye to her when dropping her off. On Monday however, both Heather and I felt sick after leaving our screaming, teary-eyed, little one with the teachers at her school.

Still, she seems to be adjusting well, except for her inability to be content with suggested activities. I'm sure she'll get the teachers to adapt to her learning style before too long.

The book of "firsts" grows bigger

2007-05-08T03:59:00.001-05:00

Not only does young Quinn get to make entries in the book, so does dad. Friday I (David) went on my first inaugural St. Paul Critical Mass. Sure, there have been other inaugural critical masses here, but this one looks like it will stick (at least for the summer).

On Saturday, Quinn attended her first Cinco de Mayo parade. She was a bit too young for it last year.

And here is a photo of Quinn's first guitar solo. This one actually happened some time ago, but I didn't have the chance to remove it from my phone until just recently.

Overdue notice

2007-05-04T05:03:00.001-05:00

Fortunately there are no fines for long overdue blog entries.
Nevertheless, it does make some people give you the old "grumpy" face...

which, although might be better than the "yucky" face...

it isn't quite as good as the "yummy" face.

That's all for now. We promise our next update will come much sooner, and have far more literary content. More photos of Quinn's birthday and other activities from the last month can be seen on our photo album.

Can you say "all done"?

Steel Maiden

2007-03-27T04:51:00.001-05:00

The “All Steel” blue Raleigh was dusted off yesterday so as to provide Quinn with her first real introduction into the wonderful world of bicycling. Lacking in baby-sized helmets, we kept the trip short; just down the road to Mounds Park where the baby swings are located. I felt quite naked riding around with a helmetless child on the back. I kept expecting passers by to loudly proclaim my idiocy as a parent. Then I realized that this is the East Side where such third world practices are the norm. Except for the sun being in her eyes, Quinn really seemed to enjoy the ride. Due to the positioning of the child-seat, her feet were conveniently positioned in just the right place to communicate when she wanted to go faster, and she continuously reminded me that i was going way too slow. Perhaps this weekend we will get her a helmet (and me some deluxe-padded bike shorts) and go for a longer ride.

Your munici-pal

2007-03-19T02:55:00.001-05:00

David has been keeping busy with District council and city budget projects. They take up a bit of time, leaving little for luxuries like blogging. The neighborhood's newspaper has a section this month in which residents can vote for what we want to be called (ie "bluffalos") which inspired the former council president to don this costume. Unfortunately the online version of the paper doesn't have this feature, so it can't be hot-linked. But don't be surprised if you soon see this mascot roaming the bluff.

Is this worth something?

2007-03-13T10:03:00.000-05:00

After enjoying lunch at Fat Lorenzo's on Sunday, mom and I (Heather) were driving back to her house and spotted a guy putting a formica table and matching chairs set out on his sidewalk. We pulled over and asked him how much he wanted and he held up the cardboard sign he was just about to affix to the chair that said "FREE." I asked him why he wouldn't sell them on eBay or Craig's list since he could potentially make a few hundred bucks and he said he just didn't have the time to deal with it. We don't need the set in our house because we already have a similar dining set in our kitchen but we thought we may be able to make some money if we can't find anyone who could use it.

After picking up the furniture we headed to the cottage shop. I ended up with some good finds including some vintage fabric scarves, an child's abucus, and a cute little shamrock romper for Quinn to wear on Saturday.

I got home just in time to see the last 55 laps of Nascar. Martin finished 5th and is still the points leader after 3 races. He plans to race only 22 of the 36 races this year after toying with total retirement a couple years ago. They polled the other drivers to rate the odds that he would change his mind to race full time this season since he is off to such a great start. They also polled the fans but only 31% thought he would change his mind. The first race he is planning to sit out is Britsol on 3/25. We will be watching to see if he ends up in the driver's seat or decides to watch the race from the comfort of home. We are not sure why he is doing so well this season but we love it! Perhaps it was the team change or driving a Chevy instead of a Ford.

Speaking of driving...here's some humor from the road. Many exit ramps often have people waiting at the intersections begging for money. Often their signs read something like "homeless - will work for food." That's pretty generic considering the creativity that I have seen recently. I appreciate the honesty of one person who's sign simply read "BEER." If I had been on his side of the road I probably would have given him some change simply for being direct about what he was planning to do with the money. That gave me a great idea that I had considered proposing for the super bowl commercial idea contest from several months ago. I figured Budwiser may hit on this one. I envisioned this: A disheveled man holds a sign at an intersection at the end of a freeway exit ramp that simply says "BEER." Random drivers hand him cans or bottles of Miller, Heineken, etc. and he turns them down until someone offers him a Bud. He takes the beer, swigs it down, throws down the sign and walks away. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I exited the freeway and there was a man at the corner holding a sign that read, "Running for
President. Need Campaign Funds." Now that's original!

Feb. Fun

2007-02-26T05:53:00.001-06:00

That is it; please, no more photos.

Walk around the clock

2007-02-20T04:23:00.001-06:00

Despite all the glorious hype about the roominess of the Toyota Camry, When you pack in three adults, one midget sister-in-law, and a fully loaded baby car seat, things can get a little like a sardine can when it comes to long distant trips. Nevertheless, noting such could be considered a patient observation more so than a complaint, considering the worthwhile time we all had with our trip to Milwaukee.

We went to visit Uncle David and Aunt Pat. David is about to undergo some new medical therapy to treat his cancer, and we wanted to pay a festive visit before new medications make festivities lethargic and burdensome. So we loaded up the car and made for an exceptionally social weekend.

We were hosted by the Watsons themselves. Many an extended family member (some actual, some unofficially adopted) stopped by to pay a visit to the homestead while we were there. Li'l sis Faith got to go ride a horse, and Uncle David's son John stopped by to load a new tune in the juke box. The tune was Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock;" an elusive 78 record we brought down to round out Uncle David's collection. It is an album he's been searching for at antique stores across the country for 40 years! He could not stop saying wow when we presented it to him.

Quinn had a blast too. With carpeted floors everywhere, she didn't have many reservations about attempting new stunts. Here she is on her first attempts at flying solo:

Click To Play

Next on Uncle David's wish list is a 78 of Chubby Checker's "The Twist." So if any of you out there come across it, please pick it up for us and we will gladly pass it on to him.

Heavy Metal

2007-02-13T03:11:00.000-06:00

In the ongoing quest to keep ahead of Quinn in the perpetual child-proofing saga, we've found that we've needed to do a bit of shopping. We've looked at formaldehyde-free carpets, purchased non-toxic paint for her room, and recently, I (David) made a trip to a salvaged hardware store to find replacement lock for the stereo cabinet doors.

When I walked into the store, Quinn and I were greeted by the clerk and a customer, both of whom were women in their early 70s and seemed to be retaining dated biases about dads with infants when they criticized me for Quinn's lack of complete mummified bundling that ought to be required when transporting a child from a warm car to a warm store. After obtaining the appropriate hardware for the cabinet, I then asked if they had any radiator covers. The clerk said that they go too fast to keep any in stock. This was followed by saying that they only served to decrease efficiency anyway, so I might want to avoid them. I told her that I was simply looking for one to cover the one radiator in the house that has paint chips falling off of it.

This is when the sales pitch for childproofing really began to reveal itself. Both of the women thought I was foolish to take concerns about lead paint seriously. The customer-lady asked if that was one of the silly things they are teach young parents in those goofy parenting classes. This was followed by the 2 women walking down memory lane, finishing each other's sentences when it came to things like playing with the mercury beads that they obtained from broken thermometers (“...rolling it around in our hands” they both said simultaneously). That was when I really began to study the women, noticing that the customer-lady was wearing no other makeup with the exception of a very unnatural shade of Barbie-pink lipstick. I also realized then that the clerk had been struggling the whole time I was there to remember some simple terminology related to her profession, such as “brass” and “paint”. That is why I was overjoyed when the clerk finally relented her pro-heavy metal stance to provide me with an alternative to radiator covers; a sand-blasting service.

Who knows what future generations of elderly people will be able to accomplish when they aren't bogged down by the repercussions of eating too many lead paint chips.

Morning Glory

2007-02-02T17:41:00.000-06:00

Bitter cold is forecasted for this weekend. Time to don the long underwear, parkas, scarves, hats, mittens, gators, and anything else you can find in your closet. Though some Minnesotans may take offense to this quote about St. Paul from a New York reporter back in the 1800's, I (Heather) am beginning to wonder if he was on the right track; "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation." This quote is credited as a reason why the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce started the Winter Carnival in 1886.

Though we haven't partaken in any of the carnival festivities yet, there are hundreds if not thousands of people nutty enough to venture out in this cold to celebrate winter. Although our high on Sunday will be a balmy -5, we may still venture out to catch the car races on ice. You see, it has been a whole 3 months without Nascar and we are getting anxious to see some racing again. The green flag will drop on the next season on February 18th. Daytona 500 baby! Place your bets now. Tim...any predictions?

Back to the cold...On the way to work this morning I caught this glorious sight of a sundog. I've heard about sundogs and seen pictures but had never seen one for myself. Though mother nature can sometimes be cruel, I cannot curse her for creating such a beautiful sight on such a cold morning.

A growing child

2007-02-01T03:29:00.000-06:00

Inspired by my (David's) recent upload of some cell phone videos, Heather suggested that we post some of the higher quality videos that we've been taking with the digital cam-corder. So that is just what we've done. These videos show the progress Quinn has been making in terms of physical and mental growth. Let the record show, however, just in case it becomes relevant in the distant future, that in the chronology of these videos, Quinn was kicking a soccer ball before she learned how to crawl.

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Biding time

2007-01-30T03:43:00.000-06:00

Until the weekend(s) and/or until “part time”

Last week, since we had no ECFE class, we went to a “play date” with other ECFE class members. It was during Quinn's nap time, but she managed to stay alert through most of it. Or at least until the pizza arrived, allowing us to eat in the peace and quiet of the other playful children.

Since on the subject of Quinn sleeping, and since I uploaded some new photos, here is one of her sleeping:

And the other new photos are of her playing the piano, and her sitting in a toy duck.

So even though we managed some fun during the week, the real fun always happens on the weekend. We were originally going to bring Quinn out to the Cedar Cultural Center to see the Klezmatics. However, we all know what they say about the best laid plans. So instead, we went to see Sister Faith doing her dance thing. Quinn may have enjoyed that more than the Klezmatics since she so easily gets hypnotized by dancing.

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And of course, since we're already uploading videos, here is another of Quinn's pastimes:

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So that was last weekend, this weekend Quinn and your author (David) will be parting ways for a while so that I can do my time at the Stupor Bowl X. That is, of course, assuming I ever hear back from the volunteer coordinator.

Then, in a few weeks, I will supposedly be going part time. As Homer once said: “woo hoo, 4 day weekend!” Or in my case, many 4 day weekends. That means days like today, where I get off work, go to the dentist, and then bring Quinn to the Red Balloon for a “story time” will be a lot easier to stay awake for.

You know Jack?

2007-01-22T06:25:00.000-06:00

Surprise Surprise; more baby pictures. This time however, they aren't of Quinn. Instead, they are of Quinn's new cousin, Jack. That's right. Not only are we mom and dad, we are now aunt and uncle. Brother John and sister Kelly had young one of their own on Thursday. Read more here, and see more here.

John and I (David) did a little comparing of notes of the whole delivery process. I had neglected to inform him of a couple of crucial things to remember during the process. But in hindsight, and for the benefit of future expectant fathers, here are those details: One, remember to pack a beer. Hospitals don't have vending machines for this sort of thing, and if you forget one, it can be a long time before you get the chance to have one. Second, remember to eat. Even short labors like Heather's can be a long, energy-draining period of time. If you find that you have a few seconds in that time in which to stuff a handful of mixed nuts into your face, your body will thank you for it. While you're at it, wash it down with a beer.

Although brother John doesn't have the good fortune of a 12 week paid paternity leave like I did, he does work from home. So he will be enjoying all of the same delights I had in those first few months of Jack's babyness. Having been back at work for many months now (Quinn just turned 9 months yesterday), Heather and I have been feeling the effects of our limited-day-care lifestyle for way too long. Despite a couple of setbacks in the job search for something that is more enjoyable and pays better, it looks like my ancient request to reduce hours at work is finally going to be established soon. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be enjoying my time at home like I did with my days off mentioned in the last post. Quinn and I had a blast that week, despite our illnesses. It was a great break from our usual days where I try to bide our time in between naps.

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Bike news: Yeah it has been a while since anything bike related has appeared on this blog. And even though I haven't been biking, I have a couple things to report. First is that we purchased a modern bike seat for one of my bikes. Unlike the vintage British child's seat or the car-seat-fastened-to-the-bike-trailer, this one has Heather's seal of approval. So once the weather also meets her approval, we'll be off and riding. Second, Stupor Bowl 10, also known as SBX, is just around the corner. I've been hounding Tim to get me on board as a volunteer (at a cushy location), but details haven't been finalized yet. The next month is shaping up to be a fun one, and some actual biking will be taking place.

Illnesses

2007-01-06T21:46:00.000-06:00

An annoying little bug has invaded the Skelton household this week causing runny noses all around. More of an annoyance than anything, this cold has made its rounds starting with Quinn earlier in the week and hitting us just in time for the weekend. Why is it that many a weekend has been ruined by an illness? Why can't these little bugs invade our bodies during the week so we have an excuse to get out of work?

On top of Quinn's runny nose, she has been teething for the last couple of weeks too. Poor child! It's just one blow after another. What's next? A first ear infection?

Despite the illnesses, a few good things have happened this week. Faith passed her driver's test! Congratulations! Also, a former high school classmate and I also reconnected. She and I have found out that we have been living parallel lives. The amount of things that we have in common is uncanny!

Next week David is off for a few days. He's planning to take advantage of this by finding some new activities to enjoy with Quinn. Perhaps a puppet show at the Central Library, storytime at the Red Balloon, or perhaps a trip to MOA to see Underwater World.

Technology, baby toy, and mullet spotting

2007-01-05T05:18:00.000-06:00

We heard from high authorities that if we, as parents, were to ever come across the LittleTikes garden toy thing, we should buy it. They don't make the product anymore, and for infants who are learning to stand and/or walk, it is the equivalent to a tickle-me-elmo. We have witnessed this first hand in our ECFE class. In fact, the value of this device was proven to such an extent to one of our classmates that she paid well over $50 for one on eBay and then drove to Chicago to pick it up.

So when we accidentally came across one for $25 while window shopping a used goods store, we bought it. Although Quinn genuinely seems appreciative, her towering height over the normal learning-to-stand aged children make the toy a bit of a hazard seeing as the walls designed to support are at waist height and could cause her to topple overboard. Still, we can always consider the purchase an investment. Perhaps we can sell it to someone from Montana for $80.

I (David) have been enjoying the new cell phone since I got is some time ago. The above photo was taken with it. Unfortunately it doesn't always produce that high of a quality photo. As was the case when I tried to capture the image of this Mullet in Cub Foods:

The video quality is okay, but the view is often small. But for those interested in the content, it can still come in handy for blogging purposes.

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An apology to our readers

2007-01-02T00:44:00.000-06:00

Apparently somewhere around last March, we had made it so that comments had to be moderated. It wasn't until this weekend that we discovered that there was some work to be done on our part to ensure that comments actually appeared. For a while we simply suspected that we were not loved. We have overwhelmingly been proven wrong. So all of those backlogged comments have finally been posted. We would go back and respond, but they go so far back that the efforts would likely be futile. Nevertheless, we would like to thank everyone for all the congratulations on the birth of our baby daughter. Her name is Quinn, for those who asked. And to Tim, and all his comments on the various race car drivers he had been a fan of last year, yeah, we know they all sucked.

We'll be looking into making the comments here more user friendly.

And a Happy New Year

2006-12-31T11:22:00.000-06:00