Adventures in Life

Below are a few pictures of Alex that I took. I didn't want to pay $100 for Easter pictures since he will be having his 6 month pictures taken soon. He had a great time grabbing and playing with the eggs.

Serious Alex

Alex and Easter eggs

Alex

Alex and a few buddies

Alex playing with the Easter basket.

Alex, Elsa, and Clara

The bricks have been delivered for our landscaping. They officially start tomorrow! I have already taken the "before" pictures, but I am going to wait to post them until I can also post the "after" pictures.

Posted by at 8:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Monday 03/30/09). Gabe and I have been renting free movies on Monday for a few weeks now. If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday (03/31/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is this weeks code 89ZQJ3. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.

If you are actually paying for the movie there is a neat option where you can reserve it and it will be there when you go to pick it up. This is particularly helpful if it is a new release. Unfortunately, this option does not work with the promotional codes.

The codes SHPNSVE2 or REDBOX are available for first-time redbox customers and these are ongoing codes that are available for use anytime, not just on Mondays.

The codes BREAKROOM or DVDONME are for a free rental and are also ongoing codes. They do not have to be used on Mondays.

SHPNSVE2, REDBOX, BREAKROOM, and DVDONME are limited to once per credit (or debit) card.

Posted by at 2:20 PM | Permalink

Make sure and check out the Robots entry. I added a couple of photos.

We did manage to watch Twilight on Monday, the 23rd. It was pretty good. I think I need to watch it again.

Tuesday Alex became ill. He started throwing up and we put him on Pedialyte. He ended up in the emergency room at 2:00 a.m. Thursday. I couldn't go with Gabe to take him because I was at home throwing up every 30 minutes and running a fever. He was finally released at 9:00 a.m. after they give him anti-nausea medicine since he couldn't even keep Pedialyte down. Gabe started getting sick on Thursday, but luckily he only had the fever portion of the illness. We pretty much stayed inside and watched movies and basketball Thursday, Friday, and early Saturday.

Saturday we went to the Butterfly Garden and Safari Trail in our neighborhood. Safari Trail is a path with statues of about 24 different species of animals. There are probably more than 75 individual animals (multiples of some species). Along with the statue, there is a board that displays information about the corresponding animal. It is really neat and a lot of fun. We wanted to go to the Desert Museum, but we didn't feel like walking around that much. Plus, we were able to stay close to home.

Beginning of Safari Trail. (As you can tell by all of the green grass, this area is landscaped and constantly maintained.)

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Gabe and Alex hanging out with the wildlife on Safari Trail.

We were supposed to have a party on Saturday, but we had to cancel it. We will reschedule, but I don't think all of the bread that we purchased will make it. Maybe we should donate it to a food bank. I started feeling normal again Saturday evening and Gabe was much better.

Today we are hanging out at home again. Gabe is pretty much back to normal and so is Alex. He has been back to full strength formula for about 24 hours and things seem to be going well. We might start working on the garage, though I am not holding my breath.

We decided on a landscaper! This is great news for us. Our backyard is currently just dirt. We had three estimates and the one we selected was the design we liked the most, the least expensive, and he can start the soonest! So, the landscaping starts on Wednesday. It should take a week to a week and a half to complete. Hopefully it will be ready for our rescheduled party.

Alex 5 Months (next to a 12 month outfit).

I have been recording Castle after Dancing with the Stars. We decided to watch the show while we were all three sick on the couch. I really, really like it. It is about an author that helps solve murders. It reminds me a lot of James Patterson. I told Gabe this while we were watching and then James Patterson came up on the screen playing poker with Castle. I will be adding it to our list of shows.

Posted by at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Callapidder Days is have a Spring Reading Thing. The idea of the post is to make a list of books you would like to read by June 30, 2009. There is no minimum or maximum number of books or reading material to add to your list. So, here is my list. I think I am being a little overzealous (since we still have a lot to do with our house), but I am going to give it a shot.

Run For Your Life by James Patterson
Rites of Spring (Break) by Diana Peterfreund
Tap & Gown by Diana Peterfreund (Available May 19, 2009)
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
8th Confession by James Patterson (Available April 27, 2009)
Why Do Men Have Nipples? by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, M.D.
Book of Numbers by Adam Spencer
Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost
Broken Music: A Memoir by Sting
Catch Me if You Can by Donna Kauffman

Join the fun and make your own list. If you would like to read reviews of books as written by the Spring Reading Thing participants you can check them out here.

Posted by at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Wednesday 03/18/09). If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Thursday (03/19/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is the code MMM325. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.
Free movie Wednesday is a promotion for the month of March.

Posted by at 9:59 AM | Permalink

Happy Anniversary Duane & Anna!

Posted by at 8:00 AM | Permalink

I am joining the Ultimate Blog Party 2009. You can join too. Just go and check out 5 Minutes For Mom. While you are there, you might as well peruse some other Ultimate Blog Party blogs.

In case this is your first time visiting, my name is Stephanie and I have been married to Gabe for 5 years. We have a son, Alex. He is almost 5 months old. Our other children are our dogs, Elsa and Clara. We are currently living in Arizona (since August 2008), but we are both transplants from Illinois.

I enjoy reading. Some of my favorites include James Patterson's Alex Cross series, Harry Potter, and Twilight. I also like to scrapbook. However, since Alex's arrival I have fallen behind. Spending time with Gabe, Alex, Elsa, and Clara is at the top of my list. Gabe and I watch Ugly Betty, American Idol, and Dancing With the Stars. It is a fun way to spend time together. We also like going to the zoo.

Alex

Gabe & Stephanie

Elsa

Clara

There are so many cool prizes to be won at this year's Ultimate Blog Party, but my top three picks would be:

* Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer from Moms Who Think.
* Halo SleepSack Wearable Blanket from Halo Innovations.
* $25 gift card to Target from Mummy Deals.

And if my top three picks are already chosen, I would very happy with anything else especially related to babies since I have a 5 month old.

Thanks for stopping by.

Posted by at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I finished my Yahoo! bracket. I am doing okay. I am a sucker for U of I every year. I am not going to be a sucker for them next year...I say that every year.

I finished reading Breaking Dawn last Tuesday. It was a decent way to end the Twilight Series (I am assuming it is the last book). I won't say anything else just in case someone out there isn't finished with the book yet. The new James Patterson book Run for Your Life is next on my list. It is the second book in the Michael Bennett series.

Gabe went to Phoenix last Thursday for the First Robotics Competition. He has been working with a local high school to help them prepare a robot for the competition. The bus left at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. So, Alex and I drove up separately. We stopped at Ikea on the way up and arrived at the competition around 4:00 p.m. Thursday was a practice day. Around 8:00 p.m. we all went out to eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

Friday was the first day of competition. Alex and I waited until 1:00 p.m. to go to the competition. Before heading to watch the robots, we went to the Irish Culture Center and went on the guided tour. The competition was a lot of fun to watch. We went out to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and I had Twisted Mac and Cheese...yummy!

Irish Culture Center

Saturday Alex and I headed back in the morning and everyone else went to the competition. We stopped off at Target and bought Twilight. I was hoping to watch it Saturday night, but we never got around to it. Gabe's team made it to the next round of competition that was on Saturday. Unfortunately they didn't win, but they did get a bronze medal. I think they all did a great job!

Alex Picture

Last night around 9:00 p.m. we sat down to watch Twilight. We didn't actually make it through the movie. We both fell asleep and went to bed at 10:30 p.m. I am hoping to watch it tonight. I will make a comment that the actors in the movie do not look like the characters in my mind. The closest is Victoria, but in the movie her hair is not nearly red enough.

Posted by at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The following recipe is from The Little Book of Farmhouse Cooking. It was purchased on our trip to Ireland. I decided to pull it out and pick out a few recipes to make for St. Patrick's Day. The picture does not do the food justice. Too bad I can't just show you the picture from the book.

Apple Nut Tart (serves 6)
9 oz plain flour (I used all-purpose flour)
5 oz caster sugar (I used granulated sugar...I could have put it in a coffee grinder to make it super fine)
4 1/2 oz butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 lb dessert apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I did not peel the apples)
2 oz hazelnuts, coarsely ground (I used chopped pecans)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
juice of 1 lemon (I skipped this)
3 tbsps apricot brandy (optional) (I skipped this)
4 oz apricot jam, melted
2 oz chopped hazelnuts (I used chopped pecans)

1. Sieve together the flour and 4 oz of the sugar into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (I used a pastry blender.)

2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and drop in the egg. Gradually incorporate the flour into the egg using a knife or, as the mixture becomes firmer, your fingers. Continue kneading the mixture together, until it forms a smooth dough.

3. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes, then roll out and use it to line an 8-inch greased flat tin. (I used a tart pan.)

4. Layer the apple slices and the ground hazelnuts (chopped pecans) in the pastry case. Sprinkle over the cinnamon, remaining sugar, lemon juice and apricot brandy, if using.

5. Pour the melted jam over, and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts (or pecans). Bake in a preheated oven at 425 F, for 35-40 minutes or until the fruit is soft and the tart is golden brown.

This is yummy! I will definitely make this again and I will not wait for St. Patrick's day before I do. Gabe really liked it too.

Posted by at 11:41 AM | Permalink

The following recipe is from a Weight Watchers Cookbook Around the World. A friend gave it to me because she didn't use it. I have made a few recipes from it and we have not been disappointed. The picture does not do the food justice.

Mashed Roots (serves 6)
4 cups cubed peeled baking potato (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups sliced peeled parsnip (about 12 ounces)
2 cups cubed peeled turnip (about 12 ounces)
2 bay leaves (I skipped the bay leaves)
5 tablespoons reduced-calorie stick margarine
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I skipped the pepper)

1. Place first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan; cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Drain well, and discard bay leaves. Return vegetables to pan; add margarine, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth.

These were okay, but next time I will just make regular mashed potatoes. White potatoes in a white bowl make a terrible picture.

Posted by at 11:20 AM | Permalink

The following recipe is from The Little Book of Farmhouse Cooking. It was purchased on our trip to Ireland. I decided to pull it out and pick out a few recipes to make for St. Patrick's Day. The picture does not do the food justice. Too bad I can't just show you the picture from the book.

Chicken Cobbler (serves 6)
4 chicken joints, 2 breasts and 2 legs (I used 3 very large boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
2 1/2 pints water (I used chicken broth...you will see why in the recipe)
1 bay leaf (I skipped this ingredient)
4 whole peppercorns (I skipped this ingredient)
2 carrots, peeled and diced (we sliced ours)
24 button onions, peeled (we used a quarter of a large onion)
6 tbsps frozen sweetcorn (I just used canned corn)
1/4 pint double cream (we used heaving whipping cream)

Topping
14 oz plain four (we used all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 tbsps baking powder
pinch salt
5 tbsps butter or margarine
12 fl oz milk
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt (umm...didn't use this either)

1. Place the chicken in a deep saucepan with water, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool. Skim and discard the fat from the surface of the stock. Skin the chicken and remove the meat from the bones. (Umm...I didn't do this.)

2. Continue to simmer the stock until reduced by about half. (Okay, I just used chicken broth added the carrots and onions and went from there). Strain, then add the carrots and onions. Cook until tender and add the sweetcorn. Stir in the cream and season. Add the chicken. Pour into a casserole.

3. To prepare the topping, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.

4. Rub in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles small peas (I used a pastry blender). Stir in enough of the milk to bind the mixture.

5. turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Roll out with a floured rolling pin and cut with a pastry cutter (I just cut the biscuits out with a juice glass). Brush the surface of each round with the egg mixture (I didn't do this part...so my biscuits didn't brown as nice as the picture in the book). Place on top of the chicken mixture and bake for 10-15 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 375 F. Serve immediately (we let it sit for about 5 minutes).

Okay, if you actually made it past the picture (which was absolutely terrible), the cobbler was very yummy. I actually thought about doing this post without the picture because it looks so unappetizing. I will make this again. I would make the biscuits every week if it weren't for all of the butter. Gabe and I are laughing about how unappetizing the picture looks.

Posted by at 10:47 AM | Permalink

The following recipe is from The Little Book of Farmhouse Cooking. It was purchased on our trip to Ireland. I decided to pull it out and pick out a few recipes to make for St. Patrick's Day. The picture does not do the food justice. Too bad I can't just show you the picture from the book.

Carrot Soup (serves 4)
1 lb of carrots
1 medium onion
1 medium turnip
2 garlic cloves, crushed (Umm...I forgot the garlic!)
1 1/4 pints water or vegetable stock (I used chicken broth)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and ground white pepper, to taste (I omitted the white pepper)
Toasted sunflower seeds, flaked almonds and pistachio nuts, mixed together for garnish (I skipped these ingredients)

1. Peel the carrots and cut them into thick slices. Peel and roughly chop the onion and turnip.

2. Put the vegetables, garlic and water or stock, into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Add the herbs and seasoning, and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

4. Using a liquidiser or food processor, blend the soup until it is thick and smooth.

5. Reheat the soup as required, garnishing with the seeds and nuts before serving (We skipped the nuts).

This soup was okay. I will probably try something different next year. After tasting the soup, I thought it might be good with some ginger, but Gabe didn't agree.

Posted by at 10:30 AM | Permalink

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Monday 03/23/09). Gabe and I have been renting free movies on Monday for a few weeks now. If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday (03/24/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is this weeks code HG7W56. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.

If you are actually paying for the movie there is a neat option where you can reserve it and it will be there when you go to pick it up. This is particularly helpful if it is a new release. Unfortunately, this option does not work with the promotional codes.

The codes SHPNSVE2 or REDBOX are available for first-time redbox customers and these are ongoing codes that are available for use anytime, not just on Mondays.

The codes BREAKROOM or DVDONME are for a free rental and are also ongoing codes. They do not have to be used on Mondays.

SHPNSVE2, REDBOX, BREAKROOM, and DVDONME are limited to once per credit (or debit) card.

Posted by at 8:20 AM | Permalink

Happy Birthday Shari!

Graphic courtesy of Pat's Web Graphics.

Posted by at 8:15 AM | Permalink

Gabe and I just returned from dinner. We went to Two Girls Pizza with Josh and Amy. Gabe and I are now back and watching American Idol.

Paula thinks none of the contestants are in the bottom three and she doesn't believe it? This is the 8th season of the show does she know how things work? Come on Paula!

I was a little worried that Adam might have ended up in the bottom three. I started to think I should have actually voted. :)

I am glad that they didn't use the one save on Alexis. Okay, that was my American Idol wrap up. Now I need to complete my bracket on Yahoo.

Posted by at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Wednesday 03/18/09). If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Thursday (03/19/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is the code GTL456. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.
Free movie Wednesday is a promotion for the month of March.

Posted by at 9:24 AM | Permalink

It was 88 at 5:33 p.m. today. I talked to some people in my family and it was 74 back in Illinois. They were wearing shorts and flip flops. It needs to be 90 for me to break out the shorts...though I did think about it today. The only problem is that it is really warm outside, but the businesses keep it downright cold inside.

I am going to try something new tonight. I am watching American Idol (we recorded it) and I am going to comment as I watch. This way my post may not be a week late. :)

It is country week on American Idol. My thoughts on that...great (sarcasm). I am NOT a country fan.

Michael did a great job. I think country is his genre. Hmm...no one else really agreed with me. Well, Paula did, but that doesn't count.

Allison was pretty good. I was really surprised to see how she fit in with country. She is really versatile. Previously, I thought of here as a rocker (like Heart or Pat Benatar).

Kris did a really good job. I kind of liked him without the guitar. He seems like a really nice guy.

Lil is not my favorite performer (even though I know she can sing). However, I think she would make a decent country singer. Simon cracked me up with the Lil vs. Little discussion.

Adam and Randy...what a great combo. Randy Travis had me laughing out loud when he said he didn't know about Adam. I had to pause the TiVo so I could laugh and not miss any of the show. I paused it on Adam and his expression looked evil. That made me laugh too. Oh, Adam and his black nail polish. I really, really liked Adam's arrangement of Ring of Fire. It reminded me of something Godsmack would do. He sort of reminds me of Sully. Adam seems sort of Goth/Vampire-like tonight.

Scott was better than I had anticipated. Go Scott! He is from Arizona!

I really liked the way that Alexis made the song her own.

The contestants seem really vocal with the judges this season. They are all talking back quite a bit. I don't recall this occurring in previous seasons.

Did Danny have stage fright in front of Randy Travis? It sure looked like it. I did not like his jacket, but he did an amazing job singing. He gave me goosebumps!

The Anoop I liked in the beginning is back! I guess he can sing more than just My Prerogative.

Megan was pretty good. I wasn't as impressed with her performance as the judges were.

Matt was pretty good. I don't think that he was better than Danny. However, I just might be slightly biased.

Oh I would add Matt to the list of performers that the judges would save if they were voted off. I am not sure who I would vote off this week. I guess it would most likely be either Megan or Matt. Does Allison remind anyone else of Audrey Griswold (Dana Barron) from National Lampoons Vacation?

The dance off on Dancing With the Stars is a really interesting idea. I figured it would be Steve-O and Steve in the bottom two instead of Belinda and Steve. I am currently rooting for Steve. Something about Belinda just rubs me the wrong way. I think it might have something to do with her rolling her eyes when Steve was talking. Steve has such a great attitude. Well, Belinda was voted off. I am going to bed.

Posted by at 8:31 PM | Permalink

It has been a while since I have updated, so here I go.

Below are the pictures of Alex rolling over for the first time.

Starting out during tummy time.

Midway through the roll.

Completed roll.

Apparently he wasn't finished!

I used to be a fan of Anoop, however I did not like his American Idol performance last week. Now I have started to wonder if he can actually sing, or if he can only sing My Prerogative. Anyway, even though I was not a Jasmine or Jorge fan, I still believe that based on the performance, Anoop should have been sent home. I guess we will see what happens this week. It should be interesting since the judges have a "get of jail free" card. Right now I think they will only use it to save Danny, Adam, or Lil.

Saturday I went to a Pampered Chef party. I ordered the bread mix. I really want to see if it is as good as Tastefully Simple. I also ordered the Sun-Dried Tomato Herb Oil Dipping Seasoning.

On Sunday Gabe, Alex, and I went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival in Tucson. The parade was a lot longer and much more interesting than I had anticipated. We will most likely go back again next year. It is an added bonus that it was in the 70's.

Alex sporting his "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirt. He didn't wear this to the festival. Since everyone seems to like touching him we didn't want to give them an excuse to kiss him.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

Green Man Group

Apparently Star Wars characters enjoy St. Patrick's Day.

Darth Vader even made an appearance...though he wasn't wearing green.

Alex showing off his green beads.

Fire Truck

The festival was also a lot of fun. The type of craft booths reminded me a lot of the festival in my hometown. We had Irish Stew for lunch and it was really good.

We had our St. Patrick's day dinner on Sunday. It was a lot easier to cook the meal while Gabe was home to watch Alex and help me. So, we decided Sunday would be a better day than Tuesday. I pulled out a cookbook that we purchased while we were in Ireland. We had Carrot Soup, Chicken Cobbler, Mashed Roots, and Apple Nut Tart. I will post the recipes to each menu item as I get a chance.

I was really disappointed that Steve-O was not able to dance last night on Dancing With the Stars. As much as he is not one of my favorites, he is pretty entertaining to watch. Gilles is still my favorite guy. I just hope people vote for him. Maybe the judges need a "save" like the American Idol judges. Ty was a thousand times better last night. I actually smiled through his entire performance. As far as the girls go, I liked both Melissa and Shawn's performances.

Posted by at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by at 8:04 AM | Permalink

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Monday 03/16/09). Gabe and I have been renting free movies on Monday for a few weeks now. If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday (03/17/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is this weeks code 2GR4N8. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.

If you are actually paying for the movie there is a neat option where you can reserve it and it will be there when you go to pick it up. This is particularly helpful if it is a new release. Unfortunately, this option does not work with the promotional codes.

The codes SHPNSVE2 or REDBOX are available for first-time redbox customers and these are ongoing codes that are available for use anytime, not just on Mondays.

The codes BREAKROOM or DVDONME are for a free rental and are also ongoing codes. They do not have to be used on Mondays.

SHPNSVE2, REDBOX, BREAKROOM, and DVDONME are limited to once per credit (or debit) card.

Posted by at 8:20 AM | Permalink

Alex rolled over from tummy to back yesterday. Gabe wasn't home to see it and I couldn't grab the camcorder fast enough to record the event. I did manage to grab my camera. The shots are a progressive roll.

The vaccinations were ok. He screamed his little head off for a few minutes and I don't think I have ever seen his face so red before. I even brought along his favorite toy, but it didn't seem to help. Two more months until we have to go through it all again.

My favorite male celebrity on Dancing With the Stars is Gilles Marini. I think that he and Cheryl did an outstanding job. I think Ty might be going home (unless Jewel's fan base helps him out) and Steve-O wasn't nearly as terrible as I had expected. I am pulling for Steve Wozniak, though I am not sure that he will be around long...I hope he proves me wrong. I did however have a very difficult time focusing on Steve while dancing. Did anyone else feel that Karina needed a little more covering her butt crack other than a tiny string of sequins, or whatever the tiny piece of material was? Maybe she is hoping the more skin she shows, the more votes they will receive. On a side note, I don't really think that it was such a great idea to pair Chuck Wicks with his girlfriend. I think Cheryl has replaced Julianne as my favorite female professional dancer.

My favorite female dancer (based on dancing ability) is Melissa Rycroft with Shawn Johnson right behind. I really like Holly Madison. She isn't the best dancer, but she is still one of my favorites. I really expected Denise Richards to be the next Brooke Burke...I was wrong. Can I cheer for Maks but not Denise?

I now have two favorites on American Idol. Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert. Though I didn't care for Danny's song choice last night, he still did a great job. There isn't much to say about Adam, other than he rocked the house. Gabe said Adam reminded him of David Cook. I was a huge fan of Anoop, but not after last night's performance (he just might be going home). Kris is kind of growing on me. There is something about Lil that I just don't like. I am not sure what it is, but she can sing.

Now I need to send some pictures to Wal-greens to print and then head out to get our free movie rental. If the library is open, I might swing by there...I have a few books ready for pick-up. I need to get all of this finished before American Idol tonight. Actually, I usually let it start and then start watching (we record it) so we can fast forward through all of the commercials.

Posted by at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Wednesday 03/11/09). If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Thursday (03/12/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is the code JBG123. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.

Posted by at 2:02 PM | Permalink

I don't really have any cool pictures to post with this entry. This is unfortunate, because I am not a fan of blog entries without pictures. The reason for the lack of pictures is we didn't do a lot this weekend. We managed to knock the "to do" list down from around 120 things to about 60 or so, so that was an accomplishment.

Oh, I did get a new phone. It actually came in the mail today. My contract was up and this one is a pda too. This is a very good thing since my palm pilot has been on the fritz lately and had managed to loose all of my data twice. The last time it reset back to 2004. I gave up on it at that point and started using paper to keep track of things. I *might* give it another chance later on.

Another thing we have been doing a lot of lately is figuring out travel/vacations. We booked our cruise to Alaska on Norwegian Cruise Line. A little extra searching and Gabe found an even better deal on Celebrity. The overall cost is about the same, but the Celebrity cruise was a nicer one (it was 40% off). We haven't cruised on Celebrity before and it was primarily due to the price. So, we booked the Celebrity Alaskan cruise and canceled our Norwegian cruise. This changed our departure port from Seattle to Vancouver. We also managed to find first class tickets to Vancouver using our frequent flier miles. This is a really good thing since the tickets are around $2,300 if we purchased them. Just in case you are wondering, if we had to purchase them we would definitely buy coach!

Dancing with the Stars is back on for the eighth season starting tonight. I wonder how Steve-O managed to snag a shot on the show. Anyway, I am looking forward to the show.

American Idol is really starting now. The final contestants were chosen and this week, in my opinion, the real competition starts. Danny is my favorite. I must say I am glad that Tatiana is not going to be joining the show this week. Her drama was too much to handle.

Alex is going to the doctor today. It is time for the 4 month shots. I hate the appointments when he has to get his vaccinations. I know they are necessary, so I make Gabe come along to those appointments. While I am thinking about it, I am going to grab the baby Tylenol and throw it in the diaper bag...be right back.

Did you miss me while I was gone? That took a little longer than I expected. In addition to the Tylenol I also took out the trash, did some dishes, replaced the car seat cover that I washed, and cut myself a piece of chocolate cake that I made yesterday. I still need to grab the laundry.

Anyway, I just wish that I could explain to Alex what was going to happen at the doctor's office when he receives the vaccinations. I would feel so much better about the entire situation if he could just understand what is going on.

Posted by at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Monday 03/09/09). Gabe and I have been renting free movies on Monday for a few weeks now. If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday (03/10/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is this weeks code F3T9L6. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.

If you are actually paying for the movie there is a neat option where you can reserve it and it will be there when you go to pick it up. This is particularly helpful if it is a new release. Unfortunately, this option does not work with the promotional codes.

The codes SHPNSVE2 or REDBOX are available for first-time redbox customers and these are ongoing codes that are available for use anytime, not just on Mondays.

The codes BREAKROOM or DVDONME are for a free rental and are also ongoing codes. They do not have to be used on Mondays.

SHPNSVE2, REDBOX, BREAKROOM, and DVDONME are limited to once per credit (or debit) card.

Posted by at 8:20 AM | Permalink

Nicole tagged me in the fourth picture picture game. At least that is what I am calling it. Basically, this is how you play. Go to the fourth file in your picture folder. Then choose the fourth picture and post it on your blog.

This picture is from 2005. Bree, Jenny, and I all roomed together at the American Optometric Association Convention in Dallas. Bree is in the back and I am in the front of the picture.

I am going to tag Rosanne (Bits of Life, Scrapbooking and Cooking), Maria (Busyness Girl), Andrea (My Chihuahua Bites), Betsy (Snips, Snails, and Mommy Tales), and Beckie (Infarrantly Creative). Feel free to play even if I didn't "tag" you. Leave a link to your post in the comments section and everyone can check out your fourth pic too.

*Wow, I really need to update my blog roll!*

Posted by at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

If you have a redbox movie rental station and a credit card you can get a free movie today (Monday 03/02/09). Gabe and I have been renting free movies on Monday for a few weeks now. If you aren't sure where your closest redbox station is you can look it up on the website. Go to the red box station and choose the option to rent with a promotional code. Enter your code, select your movie, swipe your credit card, and go home and watch your movie. Your credit card will not be charged as long as you return the movie by 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday (03/03/09). You can either return the movie to the redbox it was rented from or to any other redbox location. Here is this weeks code MS72K3. This code can be used once per credit (or debit) card.

If you are actually paying for the movie there is a neat option where you can reserve it and it will be there when you go to pick it up. This is particularly helpful if it is a new release. Unfortunately, this option does not work with the promotional codes.

The codes SHPNSVE2 or REDBOX are available for first-time redbox customers and these are ongoing codes that are available for use anytime, not just on Mondays.

The codes BREAKROOM or DVDONME are for a free rental and are also ongoing codes. They do not have to be used on Mondays.

SHPNSVE2, REDBOX, BREAKROOM, and DVDONME are limited to once per credit (or debit) card.

Posted by at 9:10 AM | Permalink

Happy Birthday Maren!

Graphic courtesy of Pat's Web Graphics.

Posted by at 8:59 AM | Permalink

Today we went to the Reid Park Zoo. It was warm and nice today, so we neglected our "To Do" list. Before the zoo we had lunch at the Javelina Cantina and we were able to eat outside.

Javelina Cantina

The zoo was nice. It reminded me of your typical zoo with the typical animals. It looks nothing like the desert.

White rhino cooling off in the mud.

This zebra was running around while we were there.

Elephants

Flamingos

Anteater (I do not recall seeing one of these at a zoo before.)

Alex at home.

Alex 4 months and 1 day old.

We used our coupons for both the free 2-liter of Dr. Pepper and the Kashi Frozen Entree. Fry's was having a buy one get one free sale on Kashi dinners. So, we actually ended up with two free frozen dinners instead of just one.

I watched the movie Vantage Point last week. I definitely recommend it if you have not watched it. It stars Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, and Jack from Lost (Kent Taylor). The movie keeps repeating the same series of events several times. However, each time it is from a different character's point of view. The repeated events go through an assassination attempt on the President of the United States in Spain. Because this movie is no longer in theaters, it is definitely a renter.

We didn't end up cleaning out the garage this weekend (the weather was too nice). Maybe next weekend.

Posted by at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)