avablog

It’s when someone else takes a picture of Ava that’s more awesome than anything I’ve taken. Witness:

Nice work, Ben. Taken with a Canon XTi and a Sigma 17-70mm macro lens. SIGMA IN THE HOUSE!

Which I guess is why this story makes the skin on my back wrinkle up like a Shar Pei’s pelt:

A man tried to kill himself with a wood chipper in Roseville Thursday afternoon.

The crew of a tree repair service company was clearing trees in a public area when the man appeared and jumped head-first into the industrial-sized wood chipper.

Kowabunga, dude.

I can just see it now: My child with pale, white skin; bright-red lipstick; and a tight miniskirt. Prancing on a stage. Brazenly showing her breasts. *help me*
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Often, when I return home from work on a Friday afternoon, Ava will have created something cool during her day off from school. Last week, I was particularly surprised to come up the front walk and find this chalk drawing in front of me:

David Price has a book out on the (relatively short) history of Pixar, one of my favorite companies in the world.
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Now that Mother’s Day is behind us, let’s get back to reality, shall we? My recommendation to you, guys, is to print this up, frame it, and hang it in a prominent location in your home. Preferably near your wife’s vanity.

Marital Rating Scale

UPDATE: 1943 Guide to Hiring Women. Thanks, Mara!

UPDATE UPDATE: And who could forget this classic?

Enjoy.

*breathe*

HA HA HA HA HA HA

*gasp*

HA HA HA

From CNN:

“Reports: Twister kills two mothers protecting kin”

Kin? I take it this was after the mothers jumped up from their rocking chairs on the front porch, spit out their hay stems, and ditched their moonshine jugs in the root cellar.

Thanks to Greg for pointing me to this sweet photo viewer Web browser add-on. If you like looking at pictures like I like looking at pictures, this is a really nice piece of software to have on hand.

Leah and I went to see Iron Man last night, and since we get to movies so infrequently, it seems worth posting about.
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Gosh, this post could go anywhere with a subject line like that, eh? But I’ll keep it clean.
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I’m trying my best to remain above the political fray this year, but I’m reading up on the process when I can and trying to stay up to speed. This tidbit really sums up my feelings about the Democratic race this election and speaks to my general apathy about the political process:

“After the Reverend Wright controversy, Hillary Clinton had the nomination in her hands. Obama was suffering the worst press month of his campaign,” said Republican media consultant Alex Castellanos. “Then she had a choice. She could have gotten bigger, more presidential, less political, could have risen to defend Obama. ‘This is outrageous and has no place in politics.’ She didn’t do that. Instead, she chose to become smaller, more political, less presidential. Her own political instincts betrayed her.”

I really feel for anyone who endeavors to put him or herself in a position in which they have to please all the people all the time, but my sense is that Obama has really done a better job than his Democratic opponent of “keeping it clean” through all this, even with the burden of a nasty surprise from his past.

When it’s time to go inside and get ready for bed, but you want to stay outside and play “owl:”

Take notice of the green Croc in the upper right. It was removed and tossed during the course of the meltdown. We’re loving 3 1/2 so much!

Poom Poom and G.G. were in town over the weekend to spend some time with Ava. The stay began with a bout of what Leah and I like to call “Madison weather:” Cold, wet, and windy. But things shaped up steadily as Saturday wore on, and by yesterday, the weather was downright amazing. We got to spend a lot of time outside. Saturday afternoon we took a stroll over to Hickory Hill Park to look for wildflowers. Ava rode her trike:

Our tasty stimulus “check” arrived in my account this morning by the magic of EFT. Remind me to give Ava an extra big hug this evening when I see her; she was worth another couple hundo! We’d put the money in savings, but sheesh, I may as well cash it, roll the bills up real tight, and stick it all in a coffee can buried in the back yard, what with interest rates what they are. I have a feeling my quandary about what to do with this money will be solved once Leah reads this post. Shoes and bags and shoes and bags and pants and shoes and bags and blouses and shoes and bags….

Ava was stoked about going around to deliver May baskets to her friends in the neighborhood this evening.

These were headed for Aaron and Claire. We also hopped into the car and went out to Grandpa Chuck’s; he sure was surprised to see us. G.G. and Poom Poom are coming to town this weekend to spend some QT with the girl. Leah and I were hoping to get a bit more yard work done during that period, it sounds like the weather isn’t going to cooperate. It’s fine. The plants I put in last weekend could use some water.

I bet you don’t remember avablog post# 443, do you? I forgive you. I guess.
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We got a call bright and early this morning that the guy Leah had contacted to remove a dying tree next to our house was on his way to do the job. The bulk of the action was over within 15 minutes of him showing up, but I did manage to get some shots of the tree coming down, you know, for posterity.

A couple recent shots I wanted to share. First, Ava:

Now, Leah:

As always, click the images for larger versions. Trust me, it’s worth it here.