avablog

The new wall decals that Leah purchased for Ava’s room:

I took this shot downtown in front of the Java House sometime last week.

I just like the way it looks, is all. Dunno why she was standing like that, but, then, why does she do any of the things she does?

Something tells me I’d be sleeping in the guest room this evening even if I were home. Dinner was a small, deep dish, anchovy, fresh garlic, and spinach pizza at Giordano’s. Whew. Oh, and the garlic bread appetizer. Why not? I never get to indulge in garlic at home, and Chicago is not a town to eat in if you’re not able to eat garlic. I have a couple pics of the pizza, which I’ll post once I’m home. Kim, if you’re reading, I’ve forgotten which pizza place that was with the parchment paper. I will say that the deep dish pie I get from Wig & Pen East compares very, very favorably with what I had tonight. If you haven’t tried that, do so at your earliest convenience.
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I can’t tell who works here at SPSS in the Sears Tower and who’s just here delivering sandwiches. Must be nice to show up to work every day in sandals, shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt. Surely lots and lots of work must be getting done in spite of this relaxed attire? I wonder if the HR lady at my office reads this blog. If so, TAKE NOTE!
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I love my per diem. After class today, I hustled a couple blocks and sat down to a really nice dinner at The Parthenon, “in the heart of Greektown.” Man, was it good. I had a fried zucchini appetizer (insanely good), then braised lamb with spinach rice (accompanied be a nice glass of the dry house red), and finally a piece of baklava. Really fantastic, and the place was almost completely empty. I’m tempted to eat Greek again tomorrow evening, but I’m thinking Giordano’s might be in order. How can I be this close to Chicago deep dish pizza and not have some?

And I don’t tell him that nearly often enough. Since Mark and I live and work in the same place, we have a LOT of together time, and it’s easy to get on each other’s nerves and take one another for granted. When he leaves, though, I realize just how much he does for our family–and how much I value his company. I miss his jokes and his beautiful eyes. I miss our family hugs and his stoic presence.
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I did a fair amount of driving yesterday. We left the State Fair around 12:30 or so and got back just in time to get cleaned up a little before heading over to a block party at my dad’s house. It was a nice way to relax a bit before getting back on the road for Chicago, where I’m taking a three-day training course on data modeling software. Don’t you wish you were me? I started missing Leah and Ava even before I got to my hotel room!
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We’re heading out here in a couple minutes for the Iowa State Fair near Des Moines, IA, in case ya didn’t know. Ava’s already told me this morning that she wants a corndog. I told her I want a lemonade shakeup. I’m told there’s something there this year called a roast beef sundae, and I’m mildly interested in ordering one, if for nothing else than to take a picture of it. I have to say, it sounds like my kind of dessert.

Oh, also, my friend Tim, who’s a top-ranked amateur triathlete, was on The Early Show yesterday. He’s been chosen by Outside Magazine as one of the “Fittest Real Men in America.” It’s a neat honor, and it goes to a good guy. Congrats, Tim!

Little froggy escaped from the shower and ran outside. This shot was obviously taken AFTER we got the towel around here. The front porch was full of nudity there for a couple minutes.

Also featured: Leah’s knee.

Watching the Olympics here. Women’s beach volleyball. I don’t follow the sport, but I do like watching and playing volleyball, so when the pros are playing in the Olympics, well, I’m there.
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My little sister’s a real bitch–at least according to Ava. Before anyone gets the wrong idea about my feelings toward my delightful and brilliant sister (who is also my dearest friend), I will explain that Ava’s latest imaginary obsession has been to pretend that she is a puppy dog, surrounded by other naughty and rambunctious canines who do her bidding. Ava has insisted on being both “Mama Dog” and “Baby Dog” at different times during this game (lately, she’s been a young pup named “Sprinkles”), but my sister consistently has been Ava’s “Sister Dog.”
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I hate to gloat. Really, I do. But this is just so tasty. Via /.:

Apple Inc.’s market capitalization exceeded Google today. That means that the combined value of all Apple’s outstanding shares of stock exceeded the combined value of all Google’s outstanding shares of stock. Apple’s stock is worth $157 billion and change vs. Google’s $156 billion. Other companies Apple has surpassed in market cap include Cisco, HP, and Intel. Also, Apple is now worth 3 times the value of Dell Computer, despite Dell’s founder and CEO declaring over a decade ago that if he ran Apple, he’d ‘shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.’“

From a story in today’s WSJ:

For decades, the cultural battle over abortion has been about what goes on inside a woman’s womb. But more and more, the focus is shifting to what goes on inside her head.

Activists on both sides are awaiting a comprehensive report reviewing two decades of published research on mental health and abortion, to be presented this week at the American Psychological Association’s annual conference in Boston.

The report comes at a pivotal time as some judges and lawmakers have begun to make decisions in part based on peer-reviewed studies suggesting women who have had abortions are at higher risk of anxiety, depression and substance abuse.
…
Priscilla Coleman, a researcher at Bowling Green State University in Ohio whose work is often cited approvingly by abortion opponents, said at least 10% to 20% of women suffer serious, prolonged ill effects from abortion.

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There aren’t words enough to describe how much I like The Crooked Spoon Cafe in downtown Grand Marais. Leah and I ate there last year; you might recall I had the blue crab cakes and jicama slaw.
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We were way too busy lounging on the shore, hiking, eating, drinking coffee, taking pictures, collecting sea glass, and skipping stones to ever sit for long on the computer. Hope you all had as nice a week as I did.

It’s comforting to know the scandals keep coming at the UI while I’m away.

Refer to it in your advertising as a “ginormous yum rocket.” Who comes up with this stuff? I think this was an ad for Subway that ran last night during either Law & Order or Project Runway (do NOT get me started on Suede. Just don’t.). In any case, it was a truly gag-inducing bit of ad copy, and I hope the person responsible for it was summarily dismissed from his or her position. Sounds harsh, I know, and it’s a tough time to be without a salary, but ginormous yum rockets only cost, like, $5, so dinner’s covered.

We leave this afternoon for our annual Grand Marais vacation. I call it “our,” even though it’s really Leah’s family’s vacation; I just married into it. They keep tolerating my presence (barely) each year, so I keep going.
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I don’t recall what occasioned it, but I got it in my mind a couple days ago that we should pick up some new books for Ava, namely Mr. Popper’s Penguins and The Trumpet Of The Swan. Someone read these to me when I was younger, and memories of them came rushing back recently.
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So here’s a weird thing: For the last three weeks or a month, Ava has been waking up almost exactly 90 minutes after falling asleep and crying inconsolably for five minutes or so. You can darn near set your watch to it. We’ve been sliding onto bed next to her and patting her back or legs, but she doesn’t wake up during these episodes. She just cries and asks for her mommy, then falls back asleep.
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I found a black strapless bra in the parking lot at work this morning on the way into work. So, if you’re missing a black strapless bra (and have relatively small breasts, by the looks of it), you know where to look.
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