avablog

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I think we’ve read this book 20 times since G.G. left. Ava gets a huge kick out of the two trolls featured in the story, Mig and Tig. Mig and Tig employ the talents of a hedgehog to steal all the Christmas accouterments of a little girl named Treva and her brother Sami. Treva catches up to the trolls and teaches them about the spirit of Christmas. All well and good.

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Those of you who were prescient enough to register an account here at avablog have access to all the pictures I put up of Ava from time to time. If you haven’t registered, don’t despair! You can always click on the “register” link over at the right and set up an account (it’s easy and fast). If I know who you are, where you came from, or how you came across the blog, I’ll set your user level to allow you to see all the posts.

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For a while there it was looking like our fledgling New Year’s Eve party was going to be snubbed out this year due to Rachel’s monstrous schedule at school. Luckily for all of us (and especially for her), Rachel’s carved some leeway into the next year, which means she and Kevin are a “go” for this year’s festivities.

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Sunday night, Leah and I watched a show about the methamphetamine catastrophe in Iowa. When I was writing that first sentence, I hesitated for a bit in consideration of the best way to describe meth’s impact in this state. Epidemic is the word you hear thrown around most often. But after watching the soul-dampening profiles of these addicts and their families, it’s clear that this is more than “just” an epidemic. More, even, than a catastrophic epidemic.

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Our workplace has a United Way drive every year, during which we put on various events aimed at raising money for that organization. One of the main events is a bake / book / movie sale.  Employees are encouraged to bring in stuff from home that they’d like to donate, and it’s all organized and […]

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The John G. Shedd Aquarium is an awesome place to visit. I hadn’t been there in years before we visited this past weekend. But when you go to Shedd Aquarium as a child, there’s something you don’t remember so much: This is what we saw as we were leaving. That’s the admission line. My recommendation […]

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As my faithful readers already know, last night Leah and I went to a 9 p.m. showing of Marty Scorcese‘s The Departed.

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I try not to do this too often, but this is just too good to pass up.  I love The Outsiders, Kubrick, Full Metal Jacket, and bad acting, so of course I love this, too.

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This is a confounding time of year, weather-wise. I’m starting to get this nervous feeling that I need to take advantage of every minute of mild, sunny weather, before the cold rain and then snow of winter sets in. Take yesterday, for example. A couple friends and I biked over to the Amana Colonies to […]

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Miles Davis died on this day in 1991.  It’s not a fact I have in memory; I heard it on the local Jazz station today at noon as I was driving downtown for lunch. By 1991, I was aware of Miles only as an image on a stage blowing long (by that time, high, often […]

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Pictures. More later. XOXO, Us

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I stayed home with Ava this morning, as she’s presently under quarantine from her daycare for having had a fever yesterday. We had a really nice time.  The wonderfully paradoxical thing about this 24-hour-fever-free rule at the daycare is that infants rarely have fevers that last for more than a couple hours (if treated promptly […]

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Ava’s building quite a little library for herself. She must have close to 100 books already, and she can’t even read on her own. A lot of her books are ones that I had when I was a kid. Where the Wild Things Are. The Giving Tree. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Blueberries for Sal. The […]

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Leah and I got a babysitter last night and went out to dinner. It was really nice, after some initial turbulence. Our meals were good, and it was half-price wine night where we dined, so we got a nice bottle for not a lot of money.

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I try not to post too much stuff like this here in deference to my sister in law, who prefers all Ava all the time.  Hopefully she’ll be able to cut me some slack just this once. Via BoingBoing.

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Leah’s taking Ava to Decorah this afternoon for a girls weekend, so I’ll be on my own until Sunday afternoon.  What to do, what to do…. Tonight I’m going to have a little screening of International Blue Velvet, which is on loan from a friend.  I’ve never seen it before, and everyone I’ve ever heard […]

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Whew! What a whirlwind. Where to begin? This alliterative moment brought to you by the letters W and H.

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I don’t read a lot. I know, I know. It’s terrible. Illiterate parents raise illiterate children. Fortunately, Ava will probably grow up to be semi-literate, at least, thanks to Leah (who, in addition to being a semi-voracious reader, is beautiful, sharp as a tack, funny, and the love of my life — happy now? ;)). […]

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This is what your Daddy was listening to when he was your age. That is one funky blind man. And those kids are loving it!

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