Jabober

Yesterday, we went to the fair. Read the extended entry to see the pictures.
Allison looking at the newborn piggies.


The kids enjoyed the turkeys. Every time they went "gobble gobble", the kids belly laughed.


Of course, we had to stop and play the nutrition video games.


These are Watusi bulls. They have the biggest horns in the world. They are from Africa.


Here, Allison is explaining to me that the ostrich can run very fast.


The kids try latchhooking a rug.


The kids enjoyed many rides.


They got pretty wet on this one.


Lots of rides spun them in circles. They have stomachs made of iron.

Fun was had by all. My mom and her husband came along. And we met my friend, Evelyn, as well.

Posted by Tammy at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's a strange coincidence that the two books I read this week were titled Undead and Unpopular and Friends: An Exposé.

Undead and Unpopular, written by Mary Janice Davidson, is the second in a series about various kinds of undead and supernatural beings. I like this series for many reasons, one being that the story and character interaction is so over the top into absurditiy that it makes one fully aware they are reading a work of absolute fiction (you know, instead of trying to make it seem like vampires really exist in an oh-so serious way as vampire books tend to do). It also poses interesting "real-life" conundrums that the undead living in our would would probably face. I also liked it because the author is bawdy, reckless and appeals to the wild child in me (not that it's hard to find her :). Not for the easily embarrassed (no violence, but VERY adult content indeed), I would recommend it to anyone who likes "mature" fun and fantasy wrapped up in one.

Friends: An Exposé was just about as opposite as one could get from Davidson's vampire story. Written by Joseph Epstein, this was basically an in-depth study of the author's experience with friendship throughout his life, interspersed with comparisons to friendships of the past as described in literature. Thought-provoking as it was, I ended up skipping about 1/3 of the book near the end. Hearing about his friendships described in great detail eventually made me tired - because, well, he isn't my friend, just some guy, who wrote a book. Who cares about his friends? But he did make some interesting generalizations about friendship, particularly friendships from the male perspective, that were both enlightening and surprising. Would I recommend it? Sure. Go for it. I would recommend Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent first though, especially if you are a woman.

Posted by Tammy at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yoshi installed digital cable in our house last night. Now, we have our phone, our internet and our cable all on one line. Good: our internet connection is 5X faster, it's altogether cheaper, it's paid for on one bill. Bad: we can't use TiVo on digital cable until we buy the $700 TiVo upgrade.

We can still TiVo the old regular cable channels. But if we want to watch Showtime or any one of the many new channels we got as part of the digital cable package, we have to do it live - without being able to fast forward through commercials.

Posted by Tammy at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oh man, how could I have forgotten today is Talk Like a Pirate Day? AAARRRR!

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

Posted by Tammy at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, Allison did it. She made her egg salad recipe.

Scrambled Eggs
Peanut Butter
Chocolate (we didn' t have cookies)



She swears it's good. I just can't bring myself to try it. Anyone want to come over and try some, and let me know if it's good?

Posted by Tammy at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, let's say for the sake of argument that you thought Weird Al's video was lame. This next video is double-plus awesome. It appeals to that "just a little nerdy" side I love so much, it has "out of the box thinking" written all over it, then mix that up with some fitness equipment - and you have the perfect formula for a music video. Oh, and the music is good too.

And if you liked the Weird Al video, you'll love this. Enjoy!

OK, Go!

Posted by Tammy at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember in an earlier post I said I liked 'em "a little nerdy"? Someone even commented on it. Well, Yoshi sent me this today. I think it's AWESOME! :)

Weird Al is Nerdy

Posted by Tammy at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are two samples of Cameron's piano playing.

Resonant Chamber. (2.8Meg file) Cameron heard this song on Animusic and took it upon himself to recreate it on the keyboard. He played the background rhythm and recorded it on his keyboard. Then he played it back, during which, he played the melody.

Prelude of the Future. (1.3Meg file) This is Cameron's own creation that he's been working on for a few weeks.

Posted by Tammy at 01:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Allison said she wanted to make an Egg Salad.

I asked her how to make it. She said, "First you put in the eggs. Then add... uhm...peanut butter."

"Oh, peanut butter?" I asked.

"Yes, and then you put in crumbled up chocolate chip cookies."

Think I should let her make it? :)

Posted by Tammy at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night, while Allison was piling away her 3rd helping of pasta, she asked, "Do we grow when we sleep?"

We had a fun conversation about growing and sleeping. Then she polished off a 4th helping, before running to the kitchen and grabbing a popsicle for dessert.

This morning, she went to put on her clothes, and nothing in her drawer fit. The first pair of pants she pulled out was not only half-way up to her knee, but looked like it was strangling her. We tossed it into the "save for Megan" pile, and she tried on another pair of pants. Same thing with that one. Then another. Then another. We finally got to a size six pair of shorts that's she's been avoiding because the last time she tried them on, they kept falling off. And guess what? They fit.

Now, Allison's drawer is empty. Time for me to go through Cam's old clothes and see if I can pull out out 6's for tomorrow. And Monday, when my mom comes over, we'll have to go buy Allison a whole new set of pants and shorts.

Oh how my mom's going to hate that!....NOT!

I knew kids could have growing spurts over night - but this is crazy! Soon, she's going to be taller than Cam.

Posted by Tammy at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I got the new Rachel Ray magazine in the mail yesterday. It rocks. Cameron and Allison like it just as much as I do. We've been negotiating on who gets to read it. I made a couple things from the magazine's recipes. Mmmm tasty. And super duper easy. Rachel, you are now my new cooking buddy.

Oh, and because of the magazine, and of our successful dinner making extravaganza tonight, Cameron has decided that he wants to "make his own food." I can't wait to see what he comes up with using things we have around the house.

Posted by Tammy at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In August, we went to the Homeschool Association Conference in Sacramento. Here's a picture of Yoshi and the kids making balloon animals.


After the conference, we met up with a friend near San Francisco, and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to get home.


A few days ago, we had a curriculum sale at our local homeschooling group. One of the things we got was a bag full of paper scraps. Allison was SO excited. She pulled out the scissors and the tape.


Yesterday, while at an indoor playground, Allison lost her first tooth. She was playing with it with her tongue and - sploop - it fell out. She is very happy.

Posted by Tammy at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What would you do if you were 18, just about ready to graduate high school and your parents base your entire adult success on going to college—but you don't get accepted anywhere?

If you're Justin Long, and you're in the movie Accepted, you create your own fake school, and write yourself a letter of acceptance to show your parents.

Of course, things are never as simple as that. One thing leads to another, and suddenly, Justin finds himself not only a student of a fake school, but the founder of a school for a thousand other kids who didn't get in to any other college.

When there's no teachers, no dean and no curriculum, the students decide their own courses of study and that where things get even crazier.

it's not an award winning movie, but perhaps the makings of a mine-cult classic. Yoshi and I both enjoyed the characters, the story and the comedy. Some scenes were on the embarassing side, which make me squirm a bit. But when we left the theatre, Yoshi said to me, "That was kind of like a homeschooling college." That was the clincher for me; thumbs up.

If you're in the mood for something light, something very silly, and a totally unrealistic storyline (almost like an educational fairy tale?), you'll like this movie. If poking fun at our educational system bugs you, you probably won't. Cuz there was lots and lots of pokes.

It kind of made me think of what Ferris Beuler would be like if he had done a movie about college. Justin Long reminds me of a young Matthew Broderick. Kind of a smart-ass, and kind of cute, in a nerdy sort of way. Just the way I like 'em.

Posted by Tammy at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For my birthday, my very loving friends and family gave me generous gifts. So generous, that I ended up with four bottles of wine, in addition to the two I already in stock. That leaves me with 6 bottles, and nowhere to put them.

We're looking at a couple wine cabinets at World Market. And I'd like to get a mini-cellar to go with. But for the time being, our counter in the kitchen is sporting the wine-bottle decor. I'll put the 'spensive ones in front, so it looks like all my bottles are high-class like that.

And so, with all the wine I have now, I'm thinking, it's high time to have that wine, cheese and chocolate party I've been talking about. So who's in? (Guys, if you don't like wine so much, we can provide beer.)

Posted by Tammy at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)