hiatus

well, it looks like everyone has taken

a blogging hiatus.

we were all out of our respective towns a couple weeks ago,

celebrating birthdays and summer.

BML and CMD share a birthday,

RBD follow shortly after.

so all of the boys headed out to Idaho for some

celebratory fly fishing...in the warm Idaho

SNOW.

(i am SURE one of them will tell you about it in the near future.)

on the other hand, FTD, P man, and I

headed to the Emerald coast to visit with mom/bluegee

and grandmother.

is there anything more beautiful?

maybe bathtime with aunt t

 (who learned quickly to just stay in her bathing suit)

or popsicles on the porch...

or fried crab claws, fried fish, and fried shrimp with GG.

we did it all in our short, sweet, wonderful visit

back to our home state.

we beached...

which P loved...the harder the wave smacked him in the face,

the happier his giggles.

the more sand aunt t threw in his face,

the bigger his grin.

we pooled...

 (at 830am - would hate to be there with the crowds)

and on the way back to o-town,

we over heated.

big time.
so, as every floridian would do, we stopped.
at publix.  the coldest, most awesome grocery store
in existance.

p man stole my ice cream sandwich.
it was 102 degrees.
and the car air conditioner went out on us.
he was a trooper.
FTD and I....well...that's another story.

Gems and Big Skies

Most people probably don't think of Idaho or Montana first when they think of taking a vacation. What could be so awesome about a bunch of potatoes and cows. Well, actually looking at both of these seemingly mundane things for acres and acres, you gain an appreciation for the farmers who provide food stuffs for the rest of us(or at least I do). Even if you don't have a sense of amazement from the rolling fields, it is impossible to look over miles of land with snow-capped mountains in the distance and not be awe-stuck. It truly is a beautiful and under-appreciated area.



So this is where BML, RBDII, and RBDIII, and I went to celebrate a few birthdays and to just generally have a great time. We went to the same location last year and had an incredible time, so we were all pumped to get back and 'rip some lip'.

We had been warned that the weather was a little shaky, but when we arrived, it was perfect, so clearly we(I) thought that it would stay that way...

Day 1 of fishing:
"I don't think the heavy stuffs gunna come down for quite a while"

Cold. Like, really cold. We drove down to the put-in spot for the drift boats and geared up for a cold, but awesome day of fishing. Then it started to mist. I was concerned. Mist was followed by rain. I was quickly miserable. Like, so miserable that, without my asking, our guide brought out a skull cap and a couple pairs of gloves for me. Now, you can't really fly-fish with gloves on, but, today, you could.



Thankfully RBDIII caught a fish fairly early on in the ordeal, so that certainly lightened the mood a little, since we knew we wouldn't be shut out. At one point, I had to literally take a break from fishing to sit down and warm my hands. Which may or may not have been directly linked to the fact, that I too had caught a fish and stuck my hands into the icy water to retrieve it for a picture.



Finally it stopped raining, which was awesome. It was still real cold. We all caught some fish, which was great, and we finished the drift at about 3. Some(BML and RBDII) thought we were done for the day. Au contraire mon frere. We went back to the shop to drop off the boats and headed to "The Outlet". Oh yeah, when we stopped, it started to snow. No lie. Snow.

The Outlet was pretty awesome. I found a little honey hole and was just crushing fish(As were others, but I was mainly concerned about me). Totally made up for being miserable for the first 2/3 of the day.






Day 2:
"We are fishing today my friends"

Well, the morning weather wasn't much better on the second day of our adventure. However, we were all pretty excited for what was in store. The plan was to head into Yellowstone and fish what is called "Firehole", named for it's "warm" water. (Sidenote, there was some warm water, it just wasn't the water we were thigh deep in)

The drive from our place to the "put-in" was pretty long, but most of it was interesting once we got into the park. The Buffalo were walking literally in the road for part of the way, and didn't even have the courtesy to have their "wide load" signs and light on. But, I digress. We pulled over on the side of the road (no lie) and geared up to hike to our first location. As we hiked the mile plus to the river, we spotted a lone Buffalo just kinda hanging out. It caught us by surprise (or at least it did me. I wasn't interested in being "Buffalo'ed")



I was fishing pretty terribly early, so when we took an early lunch, I was not disappointed. After lunch, everyone went back to fishing, but I took a little cat-nap, because I needed to rest up and refocus for the remainder of the day. Our guide was kind enough to document my nap for me.

We bounced around to a few other spots in Yellowstone, which was just really cool. It was interesting/hilarious the looks we got from other tourists who couldn't believe we were just parking and walking into the water. High comedy. I think everyone managed to at least catch a couple fish along the way, so it was a highly successful day when you couple the fishing with the incredible landscape.



Day 3:
"The Sun'll come out, tomorrow"

Blue skies and warm weather. What a great day to finish off a great trip. Well, it wasn't exactly warm early in the day, as I still had on most of my "warm-weather gear" but, it certainly looked like it might warm up as the day went on. I will admit, I struggled early in day 3 as well. Just not a fast started I guess. I was pretty impressed with my ability to get my lures out of snags. I was told to cast aggressively, so I did. Really tried to get under those trees, in tight to the bank, and let the drift run a little closer to rocks than normal. Of course, right as our guide would say, "Ok, this is a great bank, we need both guys casting good here." Dad and I would inevitably both get hung up. It happened often, it was kinda funny, but mostly not.



Dad was able to rip some monsters from the depth, as I, the birthday boy (one of them) was shut out. Pretty much got no-hit by the fish during drift number one. The good news was that it was warm enough to strip down to a normal t-shirt, which I was happy about.



We drove over to the next spot and stopped for lunch prior to launching for drift number two of the day. I little while into the drift, I decided to crack open a birthday beverage. I figured, if I'm not going to catch any fish, might as well have an ice-cold (not really) bevey to enjoy. Well, as soon as I popped that top, I managed to land a few fish. All they needed was for me to have some liquid refreshment. Come on get in my boat, fish. Come on and get in my boat, fish fish. (You either got that or you didn't. If you did, you think I'm hilarious. If you didn't - well, you might still do) Sadly, my run was short-lived and not a great many fish were caught that day by me. Though my back-seat partner managed to grab himself a good number.


OH. This happened earlier, and I forgot to mention it, but the Dallas Mavericks gave me a great early birthday present by staging an incredo-comeback in game 2 of the NBA finals. Like, super incredo. I was pretty pumped to say the least.

Anywho. That about "sums up" the fishing trip. I did leave dinners etc out, because well, it would have been way longer than it already is, and there are only two places to eat there, and both are really just OK. Although I did have some delicious ribs night number one.

I hoped you enjoyed reading about out journey. I'll try and make the next post happen sooner than later, and certainly a bit shorter.



As our guide Dan would say: tight lines,
MD

Crime to be Broke in America

Today I went down to the ferry building because I forgot to pack my lunch. I spent $11 on a bento box that I didn't enjoy that much just because I couldn't decide what I really wanted. Then, because I have a bit of a sweet tooth, I stopped by the candy shop and spent $7 on a package of chocolate graham wafers. Later in the afternoon I went with a co-worker to grab an afternoon cup of coffee and spent $3.95 on a chai tea latte.

While we were sitting and sipping in the evasive sunshine, an old woman who looked a little worse for the wear approached. "Excuse me, pardon me for interrupting and bothering you but I am wondering if either of you can help me get something to eat" she said. I was taken aback at her demeanor, clearly downtrodden and embarrassed. I wondered what had made her choose me instead of the 25+ other people sitting in the same area. Immediately I knew that I wasn't going to be able to turn her down. "What do you need that you would like me to help with?" I replied. "Just maybe a slice of pizza or a sandwich, doesn't have to be much". Since the city has quite a large (and aggressive) homeless population, it is not unusual for people to ask for money and be upset when you offer them food. This woman seemed genuine. I asked her if she'd like to walk across the street to subway so that she could order her own sandwich. She grinned with an empty mouth and said that sounded just fine and thank you for not being rude. We quietly walked together through the crosswalk and into the shop, engaging in some small talk but unable to hear each other well. There was a lot of smiling and nodding.

The women behind the counter seemed surprised when I directed her attention to the petite woman dressed in sweats, missing some teeth when she asked for my order. My friend was fairly soft spoken, so I needed to be there to relay the requests. "What kind of bread would you like?" the server asked. Your softest kind was the response. Please add turkey and swiss cheese. Do toppings come with or are they extra? She looked at me for approval. "They come with the sandwich", I said. "Please, order what you would like". Tomatoes and a little bit of dressing. I paid the bill of $4.95 as the cashier still looked curious about the situation.

I walked back to work with a little spring in my step. I'm not sure how hungry she was or if anyone else had helped her that day. But I gained a little bit of perspective about the things that I take for granted and hope that I can remember this lesson. Everyone deserves to be shown a little kindness. Regardless of my other charitable contributions, sometimes it just feels right to give in the moment.

triple chocolate chunk cookies & immigration

first of all,

scroll down and read the post from FTD.

i don't know why it got posted after my sickness post,

but it did.

read it.

she's funny.

though this is P's response to

"Stop the Bus!"

NO!

i'm trying to start my project searching

off with a bang.

so today, i started off with triple chocolate chunk cookies.

essentially chocolate chip cookies but with

milk, dark, and white chocolate chunks.

delicious, right?

i set out my materials,

*side note: i am not going to go through with the recipe,

and what to do and all of that.

plenty of really awesome bakers / foodies do that.

that's not what we're about here.

adventuring, and learning,
that's what we're about.

*2nd side note: i am also listening to intelligence squared podcast

while i pretend that mixing ingredients together

is actually baking.

you should subscribe to this podcast -
learning.

look how delicious all of that chocolate looks!

first, i tried my sheet pan usually reserved for

mom's chocolate sheet cake.

and what the heck!?

is it warped?

see how the batter all moved to the top right corner?

so there was no dough in the bottom right...

which meant it burned in 30 seconds.

awesome.

so i tried mini-muffins.

okay.

so they don't really look all that great.

if there were a picture in the book, i am sure mine would look exactly

the OPPOSITE.

but they taste delicious!

(and mom, i only had a couple bites of raw dough)

my across the street neighbor used them to bribe her son to eat his dinner.

i'd consider my baking a success.

(don't worry H, if you are reading this, i won't do this often,

blog about you i mean.)

by the way,

the debators on intellengence squared were debating
"should the U.S. stop taking the world's huddled masses." it got heated just around the time
 i turned on the mixer.

so i missed some of the yelling.

i was disapointed with the result.

of the debate, like i said, the cookies were

a success.

and after the baking,

and the podcast,

and cleaning up,

and starting a load of laundry,

at five - twenty five p.m.

i walked upstairs and discovered this sweet scene...

precious p peacefully passed -out.

(that was for you mom.)

for nearly two hours.  get well sweet p!

those cute little buns you see there in blue?

yep.  cloth diapers.

we're really doing it over here!

i'll keep you updated on our progress.

currently we are using fuzzibunz one-size pocket diapers.

and i have to go get them from the laundry so we can do round 2

tomorrow.

stay tuned for another thrilling blog post from

naptown!

AND, all you 16 readers - if you have adventuring / learning
project ideas, please send them our way!

quarantined...with a purpose

the only people who responded to my plea for help

were sister, and my mom.

typical.

sisters advice? adventuring

(we're adventuring, come along with bert and ernie...)

moms advice? learning.

also so typical.

i did get one other response...

the sickness.

we've been caught by the FEVER.

all three of us, but sweet little P the worst.

it seems that at least for the short term,

my restlessness should be devoted to taking care of little man.

which means two doctor visits, the pharmacy, lots of tv time,

and Popsicles.

this is what our counter looked like...

animal crackers, juice, Excedrin, pediasure, Tylenol, toilet scrubbers, disinfectant,

and coffee.  for me.  because i wanted it.

p had a fairly high fever for several days,

so what began as this...

turned into this fake smile...

that's my boy! cool water is the cure-all.  mostly.

my sick boys out for an evening stroll. 

way past p's normal bedtime.

yes, i know it is still light outside.

it's been about a week, we are slowly recovering.

when we get back to things i plan on finding some projects.

my new friend across the street

sent over some websites that she uses to find projects.

we have photography, writing, crafts, baking...etc. etc. etc.

so if i remember, i will take pictures and blog as i go.

adventuring

and

learning

all the way home.

Stop The Bus

I heard Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on the radio in the car the other day. I never hear them while in the car. Part of this is probably because I don't drive that often anymore. Apparently that's part of the culture out here. Everyone loves their bikes, walking shoes and public transit. Well - that's an exaggeration. I don't know anyone that loves public transit as much as they love the idea of it. I'm one of those. Not driving to work is pretty awesome. Ideally, that's a whole 25 minutes you get to listen to news podcasts (I'm a fan of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Science Fridays) or read your new favorite book just plucked from the shelves of the public library. If you're careful, you can even drink your morning coffee on your commute, maybe do some morning meditation to prepare you for the day. Plus, if you're lucky like I am, you live a few blocks from the bus stop. This allows for some blood flow to start moving and gets you exercise in disguise. Ideally, it is 25 minutes of bliss before you put your noise to the grindstone and glue yourself to your non-ergonomic chair.

Ideally. You all caught that right? The adverb means –

1. In accordance with the ideal; perfectly

2. In theory or principle

3. In idea, thought or imagination

I'd like to call your attention to the word "imagination" which, when used as a noun is "the faculty or action of producing ideas, especially mental images of what is not present or has not been experienced".

My bus rides have never co-existed with the ideal. Usually I am squished between two large men and their briefcases or sharing oxygen with someone who hasn't ever seen a toothbrush. Once I was fortunate enough to listen to Justin Beiber for 30 minutes through the incredible decibel levels of a young man 3 rows behind me. the doors have been shut on me as people push for position, fights as to whether or not the line begins at this corner or that one, unsolicited conversation and sometimes an ab and leg workout from having to brace oneself against the various speeds and brake forces needed to combat the hills.

I swear I am going to ride my bike to work from now on. Oh wait. . .

Cyclists have a whole different set of issues to deal with during the morning commute. I can only guess that since most of these folks are smarter and more fit than I am, they've avoided rush hour and/or know routes that do not include the major arterials. Still, they try to turn and a bus runs them over. They stay in the bike lane and a car door opens and slams them to the ground. Cyclists are a different breed. I want to be like them. I want to ride with one pant leg up (just like I learned at Lee Middle) with a fancy messenger bag that lights up even in the day time. I want to wear those fancy clip-in shoes to help with the peddling without falling at a stop sign. Sigh. One day. One day I will be brave. For now I just have this idea that I would end up staring up at the crux of my route, whimpering like a lost puppy in the rain, begging for a time machine.

Pax and I walk a lot. So much so that when I told my trainer (the JCC gives you one free session probably hoping that you'll love it so much you'll sign on for eleven hundred hours of personal training.) that I walk probably4 miles a day he scoffed at me. I don't know if he thought I was over or under selling but I did not appreciate it. Anyway, walking is dangerous too but I got myself a neon windbreaker that is just as functional as it is cute (super functional and cute boys). The neon helps with visibility but it doesn't keep vehicles from creeping on me in the cross walk as if I should be sprinting across. Heaven forbid they have to wait to make their turn. I was walking the street the other day - not jay walking - and had a little white man light telling me that it was safe for me to cross. At the same time, oncoming traffic had a green arrow, signaling it was okay for them to make a left turn. Say What? Some one is going to lose that battle and it's me against 2,000 pounds of steel. I concede and am left in the median crossing my fingers for an especially thoughtful motorist to slow long enough to make like a gazelle.

Commuting. It's dangerous.

restless

i know,

you would expect the restless title from CMD, or FTD

(no offense to the two of you)

but its me!

i just spend entirely too long reading about

blogging code, of all things.

and thinking maybe i could get back into programming.

you know, like in high school.

except then i remembered that i dropped

Advanced C++ after two days since the first assignment

had my fellow classmates laughing with joy

and me in tears.

projects.

i am on the lookout for projects.

not like etsy projects, because crafts aren't really my thing.

i actually enjoy cooking / baking but that always involves

going to the grocery store, and messing up the kitchen.

sister FTD tweeted

(i know, we tweet too...social media....)

this link.

http://read.bi/kcEyNm

and now i'm thinking more than ever before.

what can i do? seriously.

i am taking suggestions.

and since we know why most of you come here,

i won't leave you hanging...

good of both of us huh?