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The Next Step
Abby is on to the next step. She can now pull herself up on furniture. Would I be wrong to suggest the possibility of walking within a couple of months??
She's 7 and a half months old. Clever girl.
What a mess!
I left early for work yesterday, Canada Day. It was 7:45am when I left the house. Just down the street from where we live, I came across a big mess by the side of the road. It consisted of 3 empty tin foil containers, a magazine, a phone book and lots and lots of balled up tin foil. How very, very strange.
As you see from the picture, there's an empty toilet roll, a candy wrapper and something pink, which I think was a tealight candle.
My question is: what on earth could this be about? Why so much balled up tin foil? I mean, who goes to the grocery store, buys three packs of foil and sits by the side of the road to ball it up??
Before you suggest it, this wasn't in front of a house, so it couldn't have come from a broken garbage bag. It was at a clearing on a cul-de-sac.
Any ideas? Some kind of ceremony or ritual??
(And yes, I went home after work, got the camera and went back out again... all so that I could post this picture here.)
VideoClix - Video Monetization
I have just been introduced to VideoClix, a revolutionary new software that can be used to create clickable videos. It allows the viewer to click on the video, at any given point, on any given character or item. Depending on how you choose to set up your video, the viewer can cast a vote, get further information or even make a purchase. All without stopping the video!
VideoClix supports a multitude of platforms (the Web, DVD/CD-ROM, IPTV, HD, iTunes, iPod, 3G and Flash Lite mobile devices) and enables your visitor to enjoy the highest quality viewing without having to download a new player or plugin.
And best of all... the Lite version of VideoClix is free.
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Appointment Update
I have a cold and I'm a bit snotty. Charming, huh? This morning was Jake's appointment with J, the speech language pathologist, and I had intentions of taking Jake there while Stephen looked after Abby. But drowsy with cold and a bit sniffly, we thought it best if I did go and infect a whole new group of people with my bug.
So Stephen took Jake instead. I filled a bag full of Jake's favorite things along with their corresponding pictures and sent them on their way.
How did it go? Well, apparently, Jake seemed a bit nervous today. He climbed on to Stephen's lap upon arrival and wouldn't get down during the whole visit, making the picture exchange a little difficult. Jake wasn't interested in the Cheesies, the juice or the Cheerios, so very little was accomplished today.
We go again in a week and no doubt I'll be feeling better by then. Hopefully, Stephen and I can both take him in and, hopefully, Jake will feel more comfortable and willing to perform.
I forgot to mention that a couple of days ago, Stephen and I were doing the picture exchange with Jake here at home and when we showed him the Cheesie, Jake smacked his hand down on the picture and swiped it off the table in anger. Twice! We took that to mean that he knew what we wanted him to do but was refusing to cooperate. We may just be getting through!
The Police 2-Disc Compilation
As you’ll know, I’ve mention my love of the band The Police in my blog before, but with the release of the new 2-disc compilation Police CD, I feel it’s only right to mention them again. The CD was released on June 5th of this year and even comes with a vintage Police poster! I bought the CD a couple of weeks ago, soon after it’s release, and it was definitely worth the money. A must-have, I’d say!
Please click on this to go and view an awesome banner where you can watch The Police's videos, listen to tracks from The Police's new 2 CD hits collection, enter to win a trip to NYC to see The Police in concert and even view details about their current world tour.
This website has everything a Police fan could ask for, with videos of the band rehearsing (in the Multimedia section) to a detailed track list (under Discography). Find out about the band’s tour for the new album release and use the link provided to buy tickets directly through Ticketmaster. There’s also a cool Jukebox features that allows you to play a huge variety of Police music while you surf the site.
So whether it be sending Police info to a friend or downloading Police ringtones, this website caters to the ultimate Police fan. Enter the contest to win tickets!
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Unwatched Movies
A few days ago, Stephen and I went to the local corner store to rent a movie. We like this little shop, even though there's a Blockbuster nearby. We didn't really know what we were looking for, but I was definitely in the mood for something scary.
The deal is that you get one movie for one dollar. Not the new releases, obviously. So Stephen found two that he wanted to see and went out to the car to sit with the kids and left the final decision up to me. The two movies were The Da Vinci Code and An American Haunting. I'd never heard of the latter and had heard good reviews of the former. They both looked good though.
So, for a buck a piece, I figured that I'd get both.
I went to the cash and rangled an amazing 3-day rental for $2 for the two movies. Another benefit of shopping with the little guys!
I got back to the car feeling pretty pleased with myself for the deal I'd made. Stephen and I looked forward to sitting side by side on the couch and finally doing something other than work on our computers in the evening.
That evening, we didn't get to watch a movie though because Jake was very late to bed and kicked up a real fuss. By the time he settled down, it was past 10pm and we were both too tired and emotionally drained.
The following evening, I went to bed around 9pm, just after putting the kids to bed, because I had a cold and was feeling really drowsy.
And the next day? Things needed doing and we never got around to it.
Today, we returned the movies. Unwatched. How pathetic is that? Three whole days and, somehow, we just couldn't manage it.
I paid another dollar though and asked for The Da Vinci Code for one more day. The girl behind the counter listened to my tale of woes and gave it to me for two days. Bless her. It looks like Stephen and I will take a stab at movie night one more time.
So, no one call us after 9pm tonite, OK? Of tomorrow night, please. Just in case.
Thanks. 
Angel with an Attitude
As I sit here typing, Abby is in bed screaming. Over the last week, she has suddenly discovered how to throw her weight about and has simply refused to go to bed. It's past her bedtime now and she's very obviously tired.
We can tell that she's going to grow up into a force to be reconned with. She's showing quicker development that Jake did and is already walking herself around the edge of the couch. And she's not even 8 months old yet. She is loud and stubborn as hell.
This technique of putting the baby to bed and letting them cry themselves to sleep worked with Jake and I have every confidence that Abby will learn the technique of getting herself to sleep too. It is all too easy as a parent to give the baby the last bottle of the night while they fall asleep in your arms and then to put them to bed while they are already asleep. This all comes crashing down though when they get old enough that the bottle no longer knocks them out. By that time, the baby has not learn to fall asleep by themselves and you end up with episodes like I'm going through right now.
So, to any expectant parents out there: try, whenever possible, to put the baby to bed awake. Right from birth.
Wait! She's quiet. Is it blip? Or has she fallen asleep? I'm off to check on my angel... my angel with an attitude, that is.
The Da Vinci Code - SPOILER ALERT!
The night before we had to have the movie back, Stephen and I finally saw The Da Vinci Code. I liked it. Stephen was fairly luke warm about it. I had read the book previously and so I knew what was coming up and didn't have to concentrate too hard at following the ins and outs of quite a detailed story.
At one point, I looked over and Stephen's chin was resting on his chest and his eyes were closed. Hmmm.... sleeping? Yes, my darling husband was asleep. Was the movie that boring?
Stephen did spend most of the movie awake and rated it a 6 out of 10. I'd give it a 7, I think. Good, but I wouldn't watch it again. It was a bit too long.
SPOILER ALERT!
I found the most exciting part - the part that gave me a thrill and made me feel quite emotional - was at the very end when Hanks' character finally figures out where Mary Magdalene's sarcophagus (sp?) is. The music worked so well with the visual and I felt like I was walking alongside him as he followed the path back to the Louvre. The camera pans up and looks down from above Hanks' head and through the floor to the space below. And there she was. That bit was very well done and ended the movie on a real high for me.
Affordable Web Hosting Services
I have several websites and I’m always looking for deals on my webspace. I like to get the best package I possibly can at the very lowest price. I want minimal downtime and a reliable name. Plenty of storage space, PHP, My Sql, plenty of email accounts: it’s all important to me.
It often seems like I find a good webhosting company at a decent price only to find that one or two important features are missing from the package. Or I’ll find a package that has everything I need and then realize that I’ll be paying twice as much as I’d like to. That minimizes any profit that I might have made on the sites that I’m designing.
Without naming names, I am paying a little more than I’d like to right now for my webspace and domains and I do experience downtime more often than I find acceptable. I’ve been shopping around for new a provider and have now been introduced to Host208 - Webhosting Services.
Host 208’s all-inclusive web hosting packages are suitable for all types of internet users, from the advanced user who needs all the bells and whistles to the web design novice who is looking to learn how to use those features. Their business package (not just for businesses!) is comparable to the package I have now with another company except that their prices are lower. At only $4.50 per month, this package is exactly what a lot of web designers would need without breaking the bank.
Host 208 also guarantee a 1-hour response time from the customer support department so that you’ll never be left in the dark.
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Two new friends
Abby has two teeth now. They are both on the bottom, but I'm sure the top two will make an appearance pretty soon. So watch your fingers, and sometimes your toes, here comes Abby. And she's got quite a bite on her!
