In Response to Nancy's Comments:

ARRRR, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Actually, when I don't have colds, I can smell things. My sense of smell is still attenuated, but I have noticed a marked improvement since the beginning of the year.

Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway supply the voices for Mermaidman and Barnacleboy on Spongebob Squarepants. Clancy Brown supplies the voice for Eugene Krabs, which I always found profoundly disturbing.

carseat
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I hope Helly's dad is okay. I hope Helly is okay! News like that can make for a long, long weekend.

I'd best write this entry before I get busy or like last week, I won't find the time. The twin themes of last week were stress and sleeplessness - the latter thanks to Brenden, who for some reason has forgotten how to go night-night. The stress was work-related: nothing serious just some heavy workloads with deadlines fast approaching.

I ended the week with a cold, one I didn't catch from Brenden. So far he seems fine. I have mentioned that I catch colds the way Willie Mays caught fly balls, right?

Big fat kitty is teaching Brenden how to speak. Any time I'm in the kitchen, BFK waddles in and starts meowing at the top of his lungs because he wants a kitty treat or a pet, or both. So if I'm in the kitchen, Brenden will toddle in and start going "Mao? Mao? Mao? Mao?" and won't stop unless I give him a cookie or some raisins. He's not satisfied with a pet on the head.

Brenden's eating habits are amusing me: I've managed to transition him to eating whatever we are eating with only a few forays into Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee land. These meals include Indian and Thai curries. He's handling the heat just fine, even though I do notice his milk consumption goes up on those days. There's a lot of speculation about children's food preferences being set in the womb, and maybe it's not all hooie because I ate spicy, spicy foods when I was pregnant. Brenden also loves lemon wedges. I know because I always give him my wedge out of my iced tea when we go out to eat. The faces he make are priceless, but he'll actually consume most of it.

Of all things, I have a consultation with a plastic surgeon today. He's going to look at the discolorations on my face (melasma or cholasma, also known as the "mask of pregnancy") which I've had since before I got pregnant. I think it was from birth control pills. I'm tired of it so I'm going to see what treatment options he recommends. I have a fixed price in my head - if he goes over it screw it. I'm self-concious about it, but not *that* self-concious.

Mom and Brenden

Mom and Brenden
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

While the rest of the world froze, those of us in Alabama had a balmy if somewhat windy weekend, with temps topping out in the low 70's on Saturday. Brenden and I spent some time outside; both at the dropzone and at home.

On Sunday we were playing in the leaves I have yet to throw out. Brenden decided he wanted to play in the van, so I let him. At one point I asked him: "do you want to do see daddy?" He excitedly said "Dada!" and looked around for him. I said, "If you climb in your seat, we'll go see daddy!" I said it a few times, but finally he got the idea and climbed into his seat. I buckled him in and off we went. My god, we're finally communicating beyond "No!" and "Whaaa!" although there's plenty of that too.

I'm down to 129. I was forced to buy a pair of jeans because the ones I have are just too baggy. I bought a pair of Wrangler's and bought the size I wore compulsively in college: 30 waist, 30 inseam. I'm happy to report they are loose on me. I only bought one pair because I want to lose a little more. I'd kill to find a steady supply of 28-29, which is my real size about now. 30-30 is the lowest most places stock.

I need to write about Deadwood eventually, because it's the most fascinating show I've seen in a long time. 24 has started again, BSG and Lost are returning soon, so I'm thrilled. American Idol is coming back soon too, but I intend to use most of that time this year doing something else, like clipping my toenails.

Chill out redux

Chill out
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Cut & paste meme from Nancy

1. Elaborate on your default icon.
Me and el jefe. The full pic is on Flickr - me with a sardonic stare, Brenden all relaxed.

2. What's your current relationship status?
Married for 7 years.

3. Ever have a near-death experience?
I think so - a car crash when I was 15 and broke my back. My brain pragmatically said "uh-uh, not going to be here" and I have no memory of the accident.

4. Name an obvious quality you have.
I know a little bit about most things as opposed to super knowledgeable about a few things. Is that a quality or being a superficial know-it-all?

5. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
The Veronica Mars theme song - We Used To Be Friends. I blame Nancy.

6. Name a celebrity you would marry.
Hm. Nope, can't think of one. Marry a twinkie? Erk.

7. Who will cut and paste this first?
I doubt anyone will.

8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
Never.

9. Do you wear a watch? What kind?
My $175 swiss army watch is broken. My Burger King Star Wars watch is broken, too but it cost me a lot less.

10. Do you have anything pierced?
Ears. 2 in left, 1 in right.

11. Do you have any tattoos?
Celtic knot band around my left arm.

12. Do you like pain?
Depends on what I'm doing. I like the pain of exhaustion from working out because it means I'm accomplishing something. But pain for pain's sake? Disgusting.

13. Do you like to shop?
No.

14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
A roll of 100 stamps out of a machine. Put 2 $20 bills in, was given a Sacagawea dollar as change.

15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card?
Does American Express count? I haven't used a real credit card in 6 or 7 years and can't remember the last time I used it. If so, then a toy chest off of Amazon.com.


16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?
my husband. I *hate* phones.

17. What is on your desktop background?
Brenden riding Tigger.

18. What is the background on your cell phone?
No background, just a screen with numbered buttons.

19. What was the last movie you watched?
Snakes on a Plane. It was a movie about snakes on a plane.

20. What was the last book you read?
Olympos, by Dan Simmons. Nifty!

Brenden in the Field

Brenden in the Field
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Hooray, new pictures!! Ileana is sending me a cd of the photos that were taken on her new camera and brother Jon's camera from Christmas. She sent me a few which were posted on Flickr. I love this photo: this was from a day where Ilu, Andrea and I walked over to the old house, then walked over near the pond. I carried Brenden for a while, which I'm happy to say was not exhausting (it would have been 6 months ago). When I set him down he toddled on back to the new house, which you can see in the background.

I think one of my favorite moments on Christmas day was hearing my dad laugh during dinner. He was laughing at Brenden, who, at 2 in the afternoon, had refused to nap. Poor B was in his high chair and nodding off while stubbornly trying to stuff more food into his face. The deep need to sleep won out and Jon took him upstairs to nap after using a finger to sweep his mouth for stray food. Jon said the poor kid was so out of it he never even flinched when he stuck his finger in his mouth.

So my diet and exercise plan is working fine. I'm at 131 which is nice, and I can actually see some of my abdominal muscles again. I still have a lot of flab (which Brenden likes to play with, ew), and while I have a long way to go to regain my strength, I am progressing at a fairly rapid clip. And in case you are wondering, no you can't lose weight and gain muscle, but gaining strength does not necessarily mean gaining muscle. I might write more about my dieting plan later, if I actually stick to it.

Brenden worked hard this weekend and can now properly say 'kitty'. He also said 'Elmo!' and can point to his nose, tongue, and chin if I ask him. We're working on 'ear', 'hand', and 'toe'. He likes to say 'pabaa!' 'pabaa!' (his new attempt at spongebob) when we watch the show. When the fish comes on during the opening song, he opens and closes his mouth just like a fish. It's cute.

Unbaa! Unbaa!

spongebob squarepants
Originally uploaded by max remmelts.

Letter to Brenden Month 19:

Hey, Bud. Christmas was fun but exhausting as your physical skills develop but your common sense remains dormant. I suppose in order to have common sense you have to be able to have coherent thoughts, and in order to think coherently you need to be able to speak.

I could swear you are juuuuust on the verge of getting the idea of language. I was thrilled while we were in Oklahoma that you were able to recognize both brother Jon's cat Lucy and Andrea's cat Geidi as "Kitty!" (pronounced 'tseetee'). And I was so proud when your dad called me up yesterday to tell me you had said "Spongebob!" (pronounced 'unbaa'). I'm so proud!! *Sniff!*

We also think we heard you say something that rhymes with "sockplucker" which tells me we shouldn't be watching "Deadwood" while you're in the room.

And the coolest thing is when I ask for a smooch, you plant one on my cheek. Sometimes you headbutt me, but that's okay.

A photo from a year ago

Tour Time
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

'06 in Review (the highlights):

January: Brenden stands up!
February: Brenden and I visit Oklahoma.
March: Saw Walk the Line. It certainly wasn't Brenden's hospital stay!
April: Opening the pool (slow month!).
May: Vacation in Oklahoma and Helly and Alan's Wedding (not so slow month).
June: Brenden's first birthday.
July: Brenden's first haircut (another slow month).
August: Sinus surgery (the highlight there were the Lortabs) and Tennessee vacation.
September: Vasquez passed away (not a highlight but memorable enough). I miss my kitty.
October: Took Brenden to his first birthday party.
November: House remodeling.
December: Christmas in Oklahoma.

Wow, do I have a dull life! Actually that's good and I'm not complaining. If I asked for an interesting life, I'd probably be teleported to Baghdad or something.

Last year's resolutions were to watch more movies and be nicer to my husband. I think I accomplished those, but I still need to work on them both.

Here are this year's resolutions:
1)Eat less (DUH!). I weigh 133 right now. I'd like to get to 125.

2)Exercise more. I simply want to return to the shape I was in just before getting pregnant with Brenden.

3)Maintain a budget, the details of which I shall not bore you.

Happy new Year, everyone. This is my third attempt at writing a blog entry in the last week; I haven't been busy as much as too tired.

christmas in Oklahoma was great - I spent most of my time chasing Brenden. He didn't react well to being in a new place and he tended to wake up constantly, which meant that everyone else in the house woke up constantly as well. The last 3 days we were there I had Jon go sleep in the garage loft with Andrew and Jonathan and I kept B in bed with me. He was sleeping pretty well by the time we left. Everyone was pretty gracious about Brenden's hyperactive nature. They also showered him with Christmas loot. Pictures to eventually follow and more on that below.

I really didn't do anything while we were there. I read some - I reread "Into Thin Air" which is a fascinating account of a disastrous season of climbing on Mount Everest, and made progress through "Olympos", by Dan Simmons. I really can't think of anything else I did.

I spent most of the holidays dealing with the tail-end of the cold B gave me. I wrote several paragraphs detailing what I blew out of my nose and comparing it to a jellyfish invasion but decided better and deleted it.

I didn't get much for Christmas but on the other hand I didn't really want much. I got some nifty bunny slippers, some nice hoodies and a comfy robe. Hell, I tried to hold back a couple of hundred dollars from the stock sale check when my company went private, but I *still* couldn't find anything I wanted. I put it on the airplane instead. All I want for Christmas is to be the hell out of debt!

Actually, I fell in love with my brother Jonathan's camera. It's a slim Canon digital. Ileana got one for Christmas. Both husband Jon and I loved their cameras so much I didn't really use my old digital one while we were there. So we have tons of pictures but I have to beg Ilu and brother Jon to send them to me.

I think the best part of Christmas, besides seeing Ilu and Dad, was spending time with Andrew and brother Jon. I really haven't spent much time with them since they were kids. Andrew is a big movie nut and it was funny listening to him and Andrea argue about stupid movies. Is this stuff genetic? Also: Drunken Boykin Monopoly was a hoot.

I have lots more to blog, but I'll have to write later. I should get to work.

6 months ago

crawl
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Our holiday preparations are pretty much in place: we leave for Oklahoma to my dad's place this Saturday. It will be us three, my sister and her husband Eddie, and brothers Andrew and Jonathan (dad and Ilu's kids. I say kids but they are both grown too). With all them kids you think dad would have more grandchildren. All of us are slackers!

Brenden and I had a rough weekend. He was sick with a cold and a lot of coughing - he would wake himself up then wake me up. I could get him back to sleep with a little water, rocking, and meds, but then it would take me forever to get back to sleep. I have some kind of bug now - so far I'm not sure what it is, maybe another sinus infection.

Speaking of my sinuses, I am occasionally experiencing good days, where I can smell without loading up on medications. This development is encouraging. I'm sure it has a lot to do with getting rid of the carpeting. I'm also trying to be scrupulous when it comes to my meds.

I also have a quick "what we're watching" update: the Discovery Channel has been showing a 6-part series "Everest: Beyond the Limit" which has been fascinating viewing: apparently Mount Everest has become so damn popular to try to climb that the most dangerous things are the traffic jams. The series, of which the last ep which airs tonight, follows one group as they attempt the climb - the coolest things are the Sherpa-cams. The entire series will be shown concurrently starting at 5pm (eastern, I presume) New Year's eve, if you want to set your TiVos. If you read "Into Thin Air" you might like this series.

Yippie-kay-yay!

yahoo
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

A meme from Nancy:

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence
3. Post the text of next 3 sentences on your blog
4. Name of the book and the author
5. Tag three people

The Book: Dynamic HTML, by Danny Goodman

The text:
For Internet Explorer 4, the TextRange object and related functionality is guaranteed to work only on Windows platforms. The macintosh version of I.E. 4.0., for example, does not support the TextRange at all. Plan your deployment accordingly.

I'm not going to tag anyone. My dear sweet Neptune, I need to read something for fun!

Big B, little B, what begins with B?

Big B, little B, what begins with B?
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Short butts- I mean bits

Last night Jon and I watched Super Size Me, an amusing/scary documentary about fast food. He didn't tell me anything I didn't know, except he went into explicit detail about why fast food is bad, mmmkay. But remind me, when it's time for my son to go to school, to investigate for myself what kind of crap they're feeding him. I remember what our high school served: starches, covered in starches, with a side of starch. And ketchup, which was our vegetable.

Brenden is 18 months old and was given several dozen Hotwheels as a gift. Yes, I let him play with them, under my supervision. Really the only danger they pose is for us adults. Hotwheel + slick floor = twisted ankles.

I'm losing weight again - I have been dieting since the end of October with mixed results. I am happy that I'm still on it despite the holidays and the abundance of free candy left over from Halloween at work. I now weigh 135, which means I am now taking off the weight that I gained just before I got pregnant. I have been exercising by walking and Jon and I have started back on weights. While one of us does our reps, the other one plays with/corrals/bribes Brenden.

Family Portrait

Family Portrait
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

What we've been watching:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Not as good as the first one, but a welcome addition to our DVD collection. Why? Pirates! Sword fights!! Monsters that gave Jon and I nightmares!!! No, really. We both had seriously vivid dreams about Davey Jones and his crew the night after we watched it.

Nacho Libre: Rented because we both like Jack Black, who should receive an Oscar for the actor having the most fun with his career. The movie itself was... odd. It's helpful to know about Mexican wrestling (which is a hoot, especially if you have watched only WWF in the past).

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: Nifty concept (retro sci-fi), but Meh execution. I like Jude Law, but he's a bit too androgynous for some of the roles he takes especially this one. The movie has some nifty Giant Freakin Robots, which is always a plus.

In the series world, everything seems to be on hiatus or in repeats. Battlestar Galactica is still showing first runs and this season might be the best one ever. Last night's episode, where Kat's past catches up to her, made me cry, and the episode before that where Starbuck and Apollo resolve some old issues by literally beating the crap out of each other was terrific. And I'm glad to see Colonel Tigh back on the job!

Veronica Mars shifted format slightly for the 3rd season (don't worry, no spoilers here) and I think is still trying to adjust. Veronica's in college now and instead of one big mystery per season, the writers have changed it up into 3 mystery arcs. The first mystery was put to bed and I have mixed feelings about this arc. Still I'm going to stick with this show because the first two seasons were so awesome.

Mememememe!

Using our new kitchen
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Hey, One word Meme time:

1. Yourself: lazy
2. Your spouse: hyper
3. Your hair: long
4. Your mother: retired
5. Your father: grilling
6. Your favorite item: camera
7. Your dream last night: Ugh
8. Your favorite drink: Guinness
9. Your dream car: Mustang
10. The room you are in: cubicle
11. Your ex: gone
12. Your fear: incompetence
13. What you want to be in 10 years: rich
14. Who you hung out with last night: family
15. What you're not: organised
16. Muffins: chocolate
17: One of your wish list items: robe
18: Time: fugit
19. The last thing you did: read
20. What you are wearing: jeans
21. Your favorite weather: warm
22. Your favorite book: worn
23. The last thing you ate: cheese
24. Your life: nice
25. Your mood: active
26. Your best friend: husband
27. What you're thinking about right now: coffee
28. Your car: Saturn
29. What you are doing at the moment: coffee
30. Your summer: fun
31. Your relationship status: better
32. What is on your TV: Pirates
33. What is the weather like: cold
34. When was the last time you laughed: seven

Brenden being Curious

Brenden being Curious
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Short and perhaps not so sweet this month:

Letter to Brenden 18 Months
Hooray, my sweet little fella; you are now a whole year and one half! Many websites, blogs, and discussion boards state that the terrible twos often start early and you are no exception. What you are displaying is frustration, often because you have to deal with the word "NO!" many, many times during the day. You attempt to vent your frustration by throwing or hitting things, or hitting me - you tried to pull that on your dad once.

Once.

Naturally, these actions invoke another spate of "NO!"s from your loving parents and you don't know what to do. Welcome to Earth.

Up, up and away!

Squee!
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

What we've been watching (the Good, the Bad, the Ugly but not in that order:

The Bad: Strangers With Candy - this movie may be the straw that broke the camel's back. I had to review it and I am still trying to come up with 700 words to say "It's not my cup of tea". Bleh.

The Ugly: BloodRayne - I know better than to watch an Uwe Boll film, but I ended up watching this because of an unfortunate exchange of information with my husband. He was going through the OnDemand movies, reading the descriptions and stopped on Bloodrayne. I said "Hey did you know Michelle Rodriguez and Kristina Lokken are dating?". Bad move - he immediately turned on the movie, despite my assurances that it sucks. I really don't know if they are dating for real, they might just be best buds. Still, more power to them if they are.

As for Bloodrayne, it was actually entertainingly bad, with a whole bevy of embarrassed actors including Sir Ben Kingsley. The Queen is going to take his knighthood away if he keeps slumming in crap like this. The best was a perfectly miscast Micheal Madsen as some sort of medeival vampire hunter. Rodriguez and Lokken are simply unfortunately here, but at least it looks like they got more out of the movie than a paycheck.

The (really, really) good: Superman Returns I loved this movie! I'm very glad I saw the 2 original Christopher Reeve Supermans recently because this movie takes up where they left off (thankfully ignoring the 3rd and 4th movies). Superman has been away for 5 years, unsuccessfully trying to find remnants of his homeworld. When he returns he finds things have changed radically - Metropolis and Lois Lane have moved on, having found a way to live without the man of steel. Bryan Singer directed - he did the first 2 X-Men movies and I don't blame him for dropping X-Men for something as iconic as Superman (although the X-Men franchise suffered from his loss).

Singer plays off the original 2 movies like I mentioned as well as the comics, and he gives the movie his own touches. The one I liked best are all the characters (except perhaps Jimmy Olsen) have more dimensions. Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) benefits the most. He's still the evil genius buffoon, but he's actually somewhat scary in this movie. Lois Lane is still your standard feisty reporter, but she is prickly and hurt as old wounds open when Superman returns. And Superman himself (played by Brandon Routh who is spooky in his resemblance to Christopher Reeve yet doesn't do an impersonation) seems so lost and alone even as he saves countless lives. Singer gives Superman an ethereal quality (as well as overtly touching on the Christ/Atlas/Prometheus imagery). It also doesn't hurt that Routh is almost disturbingly beautiful.

If I have quibbles the movie drags in places, and my biggest problem with the movie I can't really discuss because that would be spoiling it. Let's just say that Jon and I had a mini-argument about why Superman can't have a relationship with a human woman and it degenerated fast into territory that Kevin Smith would be proud of.

File this under "No shit, Sherlock!"

Giggle Break
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 88%

You are a movie buff of the most obsessive variety. If a movie exists, chances are that you've seen it. You're an expert on movie facts and trivia. It's hard to stump you with a question about film.

Are You a Movie Buff?

New living room

New living room
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

If you take a surf on over to my Flickr account you'll see a whole passel of pictures of the house. I hope Helly doesn't gnash her teeth too much: getting it done so quickly cost us pretty close to five figures, way more than we wanted to spend. Nonetheless, I'm loving our living room. It looks like a living room now, instead of an Inquisition tortute chamber.

All rooms except now have laminate floors, and now is a good time to compare and contrast laminate vs. carpet:

Laminate flooring is good because:

• Easier to keep clean
  
• Easier to spot and avoid stepping in cat puke
  
• Children learn the laws of physics quicker
  
• Good excuse to buy bunny slippers
  
• Looks wonderful and isn't as expensive as hardwood flooring
  

Laminate flooring is bad because:

• Harder to be lazy and ignore the dust drifts and cat puke.
  
• Child's lack of understanding of the laws of physics leads to more bumps on head.
  
• Sound isn't absorbed as well so house is now noisier.
  
• Cold on the tootsies.
  
• Cat hates cold floor therefore takes up residence on pillows or head.
  
• Cat spins his wheels madly when trying to run away from small marauders.
  

70's brown shag carpet is good because:

• Hides spills, cat puke, cat hair and dirt well.
  
• Warm on the tootsies.
  
• Child somewhat protected from spills.
  
• Cat can fall asleep wherever he wants.
  

70's brown shag carpet is bad because:

• Won't find the cat puke until you step in it.
  
• Will destroy your sinuses and cause you thousands in medical expenses, even if you have insurance.
  
• Looks like crap.
  

So there you have it. I have noticed little effect on my sinuses yet because I still have a sinus infection (appointment w. doc today), plus I'm still taking meds that keep my nose clear so I don't know yet if I can ease off on taking them. Once I get completely infection-free we'll see.

Brenden's room

Bs room
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Well my estimate on getting the house finished was optimistic. Maybe Friday. Ugh, it will have to be Friday because after that we will have run out of money. Jon and I have successfully avoided credit card debt and we're not going to start now.

I never did comment on the elections, did I? Well I was disappointed when Daniel Craig was selected. When the Broccolis were talking about a 'younger' Bond, I was expecting very young, like mid-20's. I was hoping they'd consider Mathew MacFadyen. Technically Craig is younger than Pierce Brosnan, but he's still not what I pictured. Oh, okay, Daniel Craig is not very good looking. At least he doesn't do it for me. I have to admit, though, no Bond ever did it for me except maybe Timothy Dalton and he lasted for only 2 movies.

But the reviews for Casino Royale indicate that this might be the Bond movie I've been hoping for all my life. I'm not really exagerrating - Dr. No came out 2 years before I was born and I can recall seeing every Bond movie that came out in the theater since The Man with the Golden Gun. Yes, I saw every single Roger Moore Bond, the best of which was The Spy who Loved Me. It was all downhill from there but I sat through them all.

When Dalton took over, I was so optimistic. The Living Daylights is still one of my favorites - the script seemed to care about the story and characters (well, in the context of James Bond movies). License to Kill, however was a total mess so exit Mr. Dalton. Pierce Brosnan I like so I was happy to see his Bond movies starting with Goldeneye but they slowly deteriorated and he lasted for 4 movies - I saw every single one of these in the theater, though.

So here we are at Casino Royale, a new Bond with reportedly all the crap jettisoned and I'll probably have to catch it on DVD because Monkey boy is just not ready to sit in a theater seat for 2 hours.

Stripped Room

strippedroom
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Bare nekkid walls!

This process is going much faster than planned. This shot was taken Monday; Todd used the panelling you see here as templates because the wall panelling is the same dimensions as the drywall. They were able to hang almost all the drywall yesterday and even got a good deal mudded (whatever that means - all I know is they aren't far from painting which should be happening today).

This photo also doesn't show that most of the rest of the carpeting is gone (hooray!).

More photos to follow eventually.

More writing

writing3
Originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Oh! I should add: yesterday when I picked him up from daycare, I led him to the car holding his hand, opened the door, and he got in all by hisself and sat down in his chair! He patiently waited as I buckled him in. This might not sound important, but I have always carried him to the car and placed him in his seat. He's been fighting me lately and now I know why: he wants more independence.

This coming Monday Todd our contractor is coming back and he and Jonathan are going to tackle the living room. This part of the job includes taking the panelling up and putting up drywall. Brenden and I will be banished to the bedrooms (which I need to take photos of because they are beatiful! If not a little stark. I need to put some pictures up, or something. Maybe some dogs playing poker.